Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan chief Hakimullah Mehsud and three others were killed in the US drone attack in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal area near the Afghan border on Friday.
Pakistani Taliban has warned that boys and girls of its suicide squad will launch "massive" strikes across the country, including the commercial hub of Karachi, if military operation in Swat and other tribal areas are not halted immediately.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official asserted that US President Donald Trump, during his presidency, has really strengthened all aspects of the US-India security and defence cooperation to build a comprehensive, enduring and mutually beneficial defence partnership.
New Delhi and Beijing are the only two regional capitals that have commented on US President Donald Trump's speech on August 21 outlining the way forward in Afghanistan. The Indian foreign ministry statement was effusive in praise, while the Chinese statement has been one of cautious and guarded hope. Delhi has identified itself with Trump's Afghan strategy, whereas the Chinese stance is calibrated -- observant and objective, keeping a distance, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Pakistan and Afghanistan on Friday began negotiations on a Strategic Partnership Agreement even as Kabul called on Islamabad to take more steps, including the release of Taliban detainees, to push forward the troubled peace process in the war-torn country.
Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan has urged the United States to strike a deal with the Taliban in Afghanistan on the pattern of the Swat pact, saying that the real threat was from the Al Qaeda. "The only way forward is dialogue, which is what (Afghan President) Hamid Karzai is finally saying. You have to start talking to the Taliban," Khan said. He warned that US President Barack Obama's Afghan policy is 'exactly the same way as the mess' made by Bush.
Commander of the Task Force in Afghanistan Major General David Rodriguez also said the Taliban in Afghanistan probably will not stage a spring offensive in the volatile eastern region bordering Pakistan.
'US forces have killed Mullah Dadullah Akhund, a member of the 12-member shura of the Neo Taliban.'
At least 30 militants were killed and 15 others injured in the air strikes in Pandiali area of Mohmand Agency, sources close to the security forces said.
The US military has confirmed that they will not return to the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan either to destroy or to retrieve the equipment.
Taliban militants in the terror hotbed of North Waziristan have threatened the Pakistan government with a "big war" if the country's army launched any military operation in the region.
Mullah Abdul Salaam Zaeef, a former high-ranking member of the Taliban regime has refuted reports that he is involved in any sort of negotiations between the Britain and reclusive Taliban leader Mullah Omar. Earlier, a section of the British media had reported that Mullah Zaeef's recent visit to London was aimed at facilitate British-sponsored talks between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and senior members of the Taliban.
A United States general was killed in an attack at a British-run army training centre in Kabul on Tuesday -- the highest-ranking American casualty since the 9/11 attacks.
A force of about 700 US and Afghan troops flown into the area by Black Hawk helicopters seized the mountainous high ground in Kunar provinces, Marwara districts and launched a swoop pre-dawn on Sunday on unsuspecting 200 insurgents camped in the area.
'Our friends are going to get killed. Taliban are going to kill us. Our women are not going to have any more rights'
At least two militants have been killed and 13 injured as the Taliban launched a wave of attacks on Afghanistan's capital Kabul on Monday. The attack happened as some members of President Hamid Karzai's cabinet were being sworn in.
Cut off from the world and having to contend with an orthodox and repressive Taliban government, Afghans are facing the brunt of Pakistan's decades old policy of nurturing militant groups, note Harsh V Pant and Kriti M Shah four months after the Taliban took Kabul.
The first rocket caused some damage inside the heavily fortified palace compound, while the second hit the capital's police headquarters, but caused no casualties, reports Sky News.
During the visit to the gurudwara, some pro-Khalistan elements shouted questions about Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, killed in Canada in June this year.
A high-level group of Afghan, Pakistani and American officials will meet on Thursday for the first time since September last year for talks on the peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan, including efforts to involve the Taliban in negotiations.
Musharraf also demanded that coalition fighting Taliban help spread economic development in Pashtun areas to wean them away from the Taliban and ensure that they do not join them.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai will arrive in Islamabad on Monday on a one-day trip to discuss the frayed ties with Pakistan and seek release of Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Barader as a confidence building measure.
Australia are still planning to host Afghanistan in the countries' first ever Test, Cricket Australia (CA) said, despite uncertainty raised after the Taliban seized power in the South Asian country.
Pakistan has said it would not hinder the proposed United States-driven initiative to open peace talks with Taliban in Qatar, refuting reports that it had blocked some key Taliban figures from flying to Doha to participate in the process.
A change in the name of the Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) magazine 'suggests a refocusing' of the terror group from Afghanistan to Kashmir, a United Nations report has said.
An American drone strike on Tuesday killed at least nine Pakistani Taliban militants in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province
Afghanistan on Tuesday said it has received reports of reclusive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar being killed, but they have not been confirmed.
Interrelations of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan on Thursday took centre stage at the Jaipur LitFest where panelists discussed the upswing in talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan besides India's ties with its neighbour.
Afghan women's cricket team formed in 2010 was quietly dissolved this year amid Taliban threats, insecurity and conservative beliefs.
Accusing Pakistan of harbouring Taliban and Al Qaeda militants, a top Afghan official on Monday said the global community is committing a blunder by embracing it as a strategic partner despite the fact that terrorism emanating from the region is affecting India, United Kingdom and others. "Unfortunately, the military-intelligence establishment of one of our neighbours still regards Afghanistan as its sphere of influence," Rangin Dadfar Spanta said.
India has much paranoia in India about a new 'Terroristan' coming up between Pakistan and a Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. Pakistan has zero ability economically, diplomatically, geostrategically or militarily to create one. If they try, it will be great for India as they will destroy themselves yet again, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
Pakistan's Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Tuesday refused to confirm the death of Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour but said a DNA test will be done to establish the identity of a man killed in a American drone strike last week.
Paramilitary Frontier Corps personnel repelled the attack in which Taliban fighters used suicide bombers, rockets and assault rifles to overwhelm the security forces check post in Jansi area of Khyber tribal region.
The Pakistan military believes that American and British military will withdraw from Afghanistan -- and when they do, they will need old Taliban friends such as Jalaluddin Haqqani and his son Sirajuddin to minimise the influence of India in its Afghan backyard.Although Pakistan's military chiefs have been talking about an 'imminent' assault since last June, all the evidence has pointed to deep reluctance to launch a massive ground offensive.
Initial reports state that one person died and three others have been injured.
"Op Devi Shakti in action! @IAF_MC flight with 24 Indian and 11 Nepalese evacuees from Kabul is on its way to Delhi. #DeviShakti," external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted in the morning.
Taliban's supreme commander Mullah Mohammad Omar, now in hiding, has put pressure on his groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan to form a new grouping which has pledged to stop targetting Pakistani security forces and instead focus attention on US-led troops in Afghanistan.
The development came soon after Ghani left Afghanistan following the Taliban advance into the capital city, Sputnik reported.
The Afghan government was holding secret talks with the Taliban's No 2 when he was captured in Pakistan, and the arrest infuriated president Hamid Karzai, according to one of Karzai's advisers.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances