While United States President Barack Obama on the occasion of Osama Bin Ladin's first anniversary arrived in Kabul to assess the security situation of the country, the Afghan Taliban has announced a fresh spring offensive throughout the country from Thursday. Tahir Ali reports
Pakistan seized 19 Afghan military posts and "terrorist hideouts" in response to alleged attacks by Afghan forces. Kabul claims significant Pakistani casualties. Tensions escalate following repeated attacks by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
India has dismissed Pakistan's recent announcement of a seven million rupees bounty on Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a "gimmick," demanding concrete action against terrorism. India highlighted Pakistan's history of similar "phoney announcements" and its alleged sheltering of Azhar, while Pakistan faces international pressure from the FATF to crack down on terror financing.
A close aide to Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif claims that Pakistan has achieved its targets in the recent military operation against Afghanistan, following attacks by Afghan Taliban forces along the border.
The Afghan Taliban have provided Pakistan the "functional blueprint" of their formal talks with United States officials in Qatar, probably the first time that the militants have shared details of their parleys with American negotiators.
Five labourers from Pakistan's Punjab province were injured in a grenade attack in Balochistan. The attack occurred in the Chagai district when assailants targeted a building housing labourers. Security forces also responded to unprovoked firing from across the border in the Chaman area, destroying multiple Afghan Taliban posts.
Pakistani security forces killed at least 13 terrorists along the Afghanistan border in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province during operations in Mohmand and North Waziristan districts.
'TTP has vowed to take revenge for the attacks that Pakistan is carrying out against Afghanistan.' 'To diminish this threat, Pakistan is hitting Afghanistan hard.'
Afghan Taliban and their Pakistani sympathisers have turned the Kharotabad area in the southwestern outskirts of Balochistan's capital, Quetta, into a safe heaven and a veritable 'vacation spot', raising fears among the people of possible strikes by US drones.
'The unexpected turn of events and assertion of sovereignty by the Taliban has baffled the Pakistan security establishment.'
As Nato leaders assemble in Chicago to discuss Afghanistan, the Taliban have issued a 14-point agenda to its leaders, with a succinct message: Get out now, reports Tahir Ali
He was arrested as part of an ongoing crackdown on the "Quetta Shura" or council of the militants led by Mullah Muhammad Omar, the elusive chief of the Afghan Taliban.
A former Inter-Services Intelligence official with close links to the Afghan Taliban has reportedly been killed nearly ten months after he was kidnapped by militants in Pakistan's restive northwestern tribal belt.
The Pakistani military has "significantly degraded" the Pakistani Taliban, but is still reluctant to take action against the elements of Afghan Taliban operating from inside its territory, a top US General said on Wednesday.
The arrest of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the second-in-command of the Taliban forces operating in Afghanistan, is being seen as a dramatic shift in the policies of Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence agency, which had hitherto covertly supported some of the organisation's top leaders.But experts warn that by helping the Central Intelligence Agency nab Baradar, the Pakistan government and the ISI will lose the sympathies of Mullah Omer-led Afghan Taliban.
Pakistan on Friday dismissed reports claiming Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Omar had fled from Quetta to Karachi, with the help of the Inter Services Intelligence, to avoid the possibility of being targeted by United States drones."This is ridiculous to say the least," Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit told reporters. He said there had been speculations about Omar's presence in Pakistan 'for years'.
A militant commander said five people were killed in the firefight and several were injured "including Mullah Mansoor."
If you're living in Afghanistan, you can be a fan of Peaky Blinders, but you certainly cannot dress like them!
Officials from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and China are meeting in Urumqi to discuss regional security concerns and potential confidence-building measures.
Pakistan announced a 48-hour ceasefire with Afghanistan following deadly border clashes. The agreement aims to facilitate dialogue and find a resolution to the conflict.
A new US intelligence report warns that India and Pakistan's relations remain at risk for nuclear conflict, fueled by terrorism and escalating tensions in the region.
The madrassa in Akora Khattak in Nowshera district of the province is known for having several top Afghan Taliban leaders among its alumni, including former Taliban chief Mullah Omar who received an honorary doctorate from the seminary.
Pakistan launched a military operation targeting terrorist hideouts in Afghanistan following a series of attacks, including a suicide bombing that killed Pakistani soldiers. The action comes after repeated calls for the Afghan Taliban to prevent terrorists from using Afghan soil to launch attacks against Pakistan.
Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif issued a strong warning to the Afghan Taliban following the collapse of peace talks, threatening military action in response to any future terror attacks originating from Afghanistan.
'If this region destabilises, then we are not far away. This region should not destabilise.'
'We need to give Pakistan something serious to think about on its eastern front -- that is the only way to actually help Afghanistan right now.'
The officials said the freed Taliban leaders include Sheikh Abdur Rahim and Mawlawi Abdur Rashid, who had served as the insurgent group's governors of Kunar and Nimroz provinces respectively during the Taliban administration before it was deposed by the US-led forces in 2001.
India has urged the United Nations to update its sanctions regime against Afghanistan, arguing that it must reflect the changed political reality and focus on incentivising positive actions rather than solely relying on punitive measures. India highlighted its ongoing humanitarian and development support for the Afghan people.
Pakistan confirms that talks with the Afghan Taliban to address cross-border terrorism have failed, citing a lack of commitment from Kabul to control militancy. Pakistan accuses the Taliban of supporting anti-Pakistan terrorists and blames India for the failure of the talks.
India has strongly condemned Pakistan's recent air strikes on Afghan territory, which resulted in civilian casualties. The Ministry of External Affairs labelled the strikes a "blatant act of aggression" and a "direct threat" to regional peace, reiterating India's support for Afghanistan's sovereignty.
Afghan Taliban forces fired on multiple Pakistani border posts in the Upper Kurram district, killing one Frontier Constabulary (FC) soldier and injuring 11 others. The incident came after Pakistan targeted terrorist positions in Afghanistan to punish the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) militants. Pakistani forces retaliated, inflicting heavy casualties on the Afghan side.
The Pashtu-language message, posted on the taliban website alemara.com, states that the US allegations are merely propaganda through which Washington wants to show that the Taliban are disintegrating and send out the message that the mujahideen are not indigenous but the product of Pakistani secret agencies.
A senior Russian diplomat has expressed apprehension over the possibility of the US attempting to regain control of the Bagram airbase in Afghanistan, amidst escalating military tensions in the region.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan with his Afghan counterpart, Amir Khan Mottaqi, following US-Israeli strikes on Iran, emphasising the need for political and diplomatic solutions.
'Islamabad feels it has no alternative, but to address the challenges from the Afghan-Taliban through an open war.'
These releases are in addition to 26 Taliban detainees freed last year by Pakistan.
A series of Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan's Barmal district of Paktika province has resulted in the death of 46 people, with six people left injured so far, with the majority of victims being women and children, as reported by Khaama Press, citing reports from Taliban authorities.
A joint Pakistan-Afghanistan jirga in Peshawar has called for an immediate ceasefire to de-escalate tensions between the two countries, emphasising dialogue and mutual respect.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a high-level meeting to review regional and internal security in light of recent events in Iran and Afghanistan.
