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Posts tagged as “Taliban”

Defeating terrorism

by Imran Malik in The Nation, Jan 14, 2023The people of Pakistan have spo ken. And the government must pay heed. – The widespread, spontaneous, and vociferous protests by the people of the erstwhile FATA, in particular both Waziristans, Bajaur, Wana, Lakki Marwat, Bannu, D I Khan, Swat, etc against the re-emergence of terrorists in their areas must have taken Terrorism Central (myriad terrorist groups milling around in the wildlands of Afghanistan) and the Afghan…

Taliban hard-liners consolidate control with crackdown on women

By Susannah George in The Washington Post, Jan 10, 2023 at 2:00 a.m. ESTISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Taliban hard-liners are consolidating their control over Afghanistan with the recent bans on women’s education and work, overriding the wishes of some Taliban officials in the capital, Kabul, and at the provincial level, according to government and aid officials. The Taliban’s supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, and his fellow ultraconservatives based in Afghanistan’s second city of Kandahar are cracking down…

War of words

by Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry in Dawn, January 8th, 2023The writer is a former foreign secretary and author of Diplomatic Footprints.PAKISTAN’S leadership has lately been engaged in a war of words with the Afghan Taliban. Our frustration is understandable. The Taliban regime in Kabul was not doing enough to stop the TTP from using Afghan soil to launch terrorist attacks against the people of Pakistan. The National Security Committee meeting on Jan 2, without naming Afghanistan,…

Taliban ‘committed’ to safety of Chinese in Afghanistan after Isis attack on Kabul hotel

by Amy Chew in SCMP, Jan 8, 2023The Taliban has said it will guarantee the safety of Chinese nationals in Afghanistan, three weeks after an Islamic State affiliate attacked a Kabul hotel that caters to Chinese businessmen. Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen told the Post on Wednesday that the regime had an “obligation” to maintain the safety of Chinese nationals. “The current government reiterates its obligation to maintain the safety of Chinese nationals and all other…

People-to-People Engagement, A better Afghan Policy for Pakistan

By Nizamuddin Rezahi in Khaama Press, Jan 8, 2023Following the ban on university education by the Taliban authorities, Pakistan could embark on a new policy by allowing Afghan female students to complete their studies in Pakistan. Despite the souring relations between Islamabad and Kabul on security matters, particularly, the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) sanctuaries on Afghan soil, Pakistan still needs to prioritize its relations with the Taliban in Kabul. Considering the rapid changes taking place…

Afghan aid at risk from Taliban ban on women, warns United Nations

by Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic editor, in The Guardian, Jan 7, 2023The UN’s lead humanitarian coordinator has said UN-supplied aid cannot continue if the Taliban do not lift their ban on women working for humanitarian aid agencies in Afghanistan. Martin Griffiths, the head of the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, is due to visit Kabul shortly to discuss the impasse. Although he said he did not want to pre-empt talks and was willing…

Taliban admin in oil extraction deal with Chinese company

Reuters report, Jan 6, 2023A screengrab shows a view of the CNPC (China National Petroleum Corporation) plant near the Amu Darya basin in Sar-e Pul northern province of Afghanistan. Reuters file photoAfghanistan’s Taliban-led administration is to sign a contract with a Chinese company to extract oil from the Amu Darya basin in the country’s north, the acting mining minister said on Thursday. The contract would be signed with Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Co…

Taliban (IEA) to Prosecute Afghan Media Outlets Operating from Abroad

By Nizamuddin Rezahi in Khaama Press, Jan 3, 2023The Taliban courts will soon announce its decision regarding the media outlets whose executives have fled the country and run the outlet from outside the country Afghanistan International reports. Abdu Haq Hemad, director of media assessment at the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s ministry of information and culture has accused the media organizations of spreading propaganda against the ruling regime. “A decision has been made regarding these media…

Taliban set sights on foreign investment

Reuters report, January 3, 2023KABUL: The Taliban administration will encourage self-sufficiency and wants international trade and investment, the acting commerce minister said, as Afghanistan faces isolation and suspension of some humanitarian operations over restrictions on women. “We will start a national self-sufficiency programme, we will encourage all government administrations to use domestic products, we will also try to encourage people through mosques to support our domestic products” Haji Nooruddin Azizi said. “We will support any…

No country will be allowed to attack Afghanistan: Kabul

report in The News, Jan 03, 2023KABUL: Reacting to Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah’s statement about targeting the TTP hideouts inside Afghanistan, the interim Taliban government Sunday said it would not allow anyone to attack the Islamic Emirate and asked Pakistan to share its reservations with Kabul. The interior minister, in an interview with a local news channel had hinted that Islamabad might target the TTP in Afghanistan if Kabul did not take action to dismantle…

Defence Ministry Rejects Pakistan Official’s Remarks on TTP in Afghanistan

By Banafsha Binesh in ToloNews, Jan 2,2023 at 9:41 PMThe Ministry of Defense reacted to recent comments by Pakistan’s interior minister about the presence of Tehreek Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the possibility of a raid on them by Pakistan in Afghanistan, saying that the Islamic Emirate is prepared to protect the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Ministry of Defense in a statement called the remarks provocative and baseless and said that any issues or…