Less than a month after the first instance of unprovoked firing in Chaman from Afghan security forces, we have seen a repeat incident, and once again, it is unclear why this transpired. On both occasions, the Afghan security forces fired on Pakistan from across the border without any provocation, only this time, 7 civilians were killed as a result with 16 others injured. It was expected that the interim Taliban government would bring stability to…
Posts tagged as “Pakistan”
report in Dawn, December 13th, 2022SWABI: The police have issued an alert about the plans of the banned terrorist outfit Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan to attack ‘soft targets’ in Swabi and Nowshera district and ordered measures to protect the people’s lives. A police letter issued by the provisional and regional police on Sunday and available with Dawn reads, “Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan has detailed a terrorist tashkeel [group] to Swabi and Nowshera from Marawara Markaz in Kumar province of…
Editorial in Daily Times, December 12th, 2022Despite accounting for a mere three per cent of the country’s population, minorities in Pakistan live in a constant state of hypervigilance. From arbitrary blasphemy charges to forced conversions, Pakistan’s minorities have not seen a moment of respite since its independence. According to the Human Rights Commission, nearly 1000 cases of forced conversion are registered each year. The majority of these are observed in Sindh, which houses a significant…
edit in The Nation, Dec 12, 2022Once again, reports suggest that there have been calls for setting up an internal security structure on the lines of the US Homeland Security Department. This was apparently discussed last week when the board of governors of the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) met in the federal capital. This is not the first time such ideas have been tabled, inspired by foreign institutions that are not grounded in the…
By Mujeeb Rahman Awrang Stanikza in ToloNews, Dec 11, 2022 at 8:06 PMClashes between the forces of the Islamic Emirate and Pakistan military happened along the Durand Line in Spin Boldak port, a spokesman told TOLOnews. Haji Zaid, a spokesman for Kandahar governors, said that one member of the Islamic Emirate was killed and 10 others were wounded in the clashes. Meanwhile, a source from Chaman on the other side of the Durand Line told…
by Saleem Shahid in Dawn, December 12th, 2022• ISPR says ‘measured response’ given to uncalled-for aggression, which injured 16• Kandahar official says one security man killed, 13 injured on Afghan side• FO says such incidents not ‘in keeping with brotherly ties’• Border crossing closed for a few hours QUETTA: At least seven people lost their lives and 16 others suffered injuries on Sunday in Chaman, which came under heavy gunfire and artillery shelling by Afghan…
by Muhammad Amir Rana in Dawn, Dec 11th, 2022The writer is a security analyst.THE call for setting up an internal security structure on the lines of the US Homeland Security Department echoed again last week when the board of governors of the National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta) met in the federal capital. A lucrative and massive internal security infrastructure always inspires Pakistani security institutions, despite the existence of multiple constraints. The bureaucratic mindset has developed…
by Syed Fakhar Kakakhel in TNS, Dec11, 2022The writer is a Peshawar-based journalist, researcher and trainerThe recent attempt on the life of a Pakistani diplomat in Kabul has raised concerns about the law and order situation in Afghanistan. According to Taliban sources, the assailant was of Turkmen descent. If that is indeed the case, it speaks of an alarming development. Why should a Central Asian militant pick a Pakistani diplomat for a target? Pakistan has…
Report in Dawn, December 11th, 2022LAHORE: As many as 100 cases of abduction, forced faith conversion, forced and child marriage of girls and women belonging to the Christian community have been reported since January 2019 to October 2022 in Pakistan, says a report titled “Conversion without Consent” released by Voice for Justice (VFJ) and Jubilee Campaign. According to the report released on Saturday, as many as 27 cases were recorded in 2019, 12 in 2020,…
by Abdul Wahid Shahwani in Dawn, December 11th, 2022KHUZDAR: A shopkeeper was killed and seven others, including two women, were injured in a bomb blast at a shop in the main bazaar of Awaran on Saturday. The shop was completely destroyed and neighbouring shops were damaged in the powerful explosion. Levies officials said an improvised explosive device (IED) planted at a shop exploded in the rush hours, resulting in the killing of the shopkeeper and…
Pakistan-Afghanistan Relations
by Abdul Hadi Mayar in Daily Times, Dec 10, 2022The writer is an independent freelance journalist based in Islamabad covering South & Central Asia.If Pakistan objects to Afghanistan’s bilateral relations with India, it will be tantamount to its sheer meddling with the internal affairs of an independent neighbouring state. But if Afghanistan holds its relations with Pakistan hostage to its interactions with India, or any other country for that matter, it will be equally unfair…