Joe Root's century in vain as England were shown the door.
Asim Munir and his brand of short-sighted army officers give no inkling of paying heed, changing course or learning lessons from the past, observes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
'Don't be fooled. There is nothing more moderate about the revived Taliban government'
In fact, the Taliban apparently collects about 10 per cent as cultivation tax from opium farmers and 15 per cent as heroin tax from laboratories and smugglers that smuggle narcotics into Pakistan. This, by itself, is a revenue stream estimated at USD 250-300 million.
The US military efforts in Afghanistan were akin to filling a bucket that had gaping holes, asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'If they aim to remain aligned with the public sentiment, as any democratic government should, then they must respond. Why else would the prime minister have cut short his visit to Saudi Arabia? And why would he have instructed the home minister himself to travel to Srinagar to assess the situation firsthand? This suggests that something is indeed being planned. I am quite certain of that, although the exact form it will take remains to be seen.'
Pakistan would want to take full advantage of the situation to direct Taliban trained terrorists into the Kashmir Valley, alert Lieutenant General Ashok Joshi (retd) and Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
"We are in talks with the Taliban on a daily basis through both political and security channels. I'm not going to get into the details of those discussions here, to protect those discussions, which are covering a wide range of issues," Sullivan told reporters at a White House news conference.
The Council adopted the resolution proposed by France, the United Kingdom and the United States with 13 Council members voting in favour and Russia and China abstaining.
Supporting the Taliban means supporting anti-India, anti-humanity, anti-women and anti-children acts, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath said on Wednesday, cautioning people to be wary of sympathisers of the Islamic extremist group.
In a US-India Joint Leaders' Statement issued after the first in-person bilateral meeting between US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House on Friday, the two leaders underscored the importance of combating terrorism in Afghanistan.
Raising concern over the nearly 1.25 crore feedback submissions received by the parliamentary committee scrutinising the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, Bharatiya Janata Party member Nishikant Dubey has called for a probe into their sources, including in the possible role of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence and China.
For the last eight years, since the Taliban fled from Kabul in November 2001, India has staunchly opposed a dialogue with any section of it. India's position has remained: there is no purpose in talking to the Taliban; there is no such thing as a moderate Taliban.
Despite differences almost all the militant factions agree that fighting inside Kashmir is the holiest jihad, reports Tahir Ali in Islamabad
Soon after the gunshots were heard at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, where Trump was golfing, the FBI said that it is "investigating what appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump".
All things taken into consideration, the Taliban statement on Kashmir portends trouble ahead. The Taliban is notorious for doublespeak and when it says there is no link between the Kashmir issue and the Afghan settlement, the opposite must be taken into account as well, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The United States has imposed sanctions on two individuals linked with the Taliban and the Haqqani network, the US Department of Treasury has said.
The National Security Strategy document should flag all major issues concerning security strategy and provide guidelines to concerned departments to work out suitable action plans. Since the global and regional geopolitical canvas is dynamic, the NSS document should be deliberated at length before formulation and should be reviewed periodically, recommends Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
The United Nations Security Council has split a key sanctions list on the Taliban and Al Qaeda to inspire the radical Islamic militia to join the reconciliation efforts in Afghanistan.
'The struggle of insurgents and pro-independence political activists is fuelled by a deep conviction that not only is a free Balochistan possible, but they also believe that Pakistan will inevitably break apart, leading to Balochistan's independence.'
The embassy said it was 'cognisant' that some may attempt to characterise this move as an internal conflict, allegedly involving diplomats who switched allegiance to the Taliban, adding "that this decision is a result of broader changes in policy and interests".
Indian officials on Sunday said that an Indian plane was not involved in a crash in Afghanistan amid reports that an aircraft from India met with an accident there on Saturday night.
The Pakistan army on Monday launched an all-out offensive using jets and tanks in the restive North Waziristan, killing nearly 184 Taliban fighters including foreigners, while six soldiers were killed in an IED blast, the first military casualties in the operation.
'It has been 14 years since I began living in exile and it's shocking that the situation in Balochistan has only worsened rather than improved.'
India has demanded the United Nations to slap sanctions against the new Taliban leader in Afghanistan, saying it is "sheer folly" that the leader of a proscribed entity is not yet designated as a terrorist individual.
The United States has reacted cautiously to a deal between Pakistan and Taliban in the restive Swat valley saying while there is a track record of such agreements not working, it will be supportive if it meets the benchmark of ending domestic and international terrorism. Washington is willing to see what results the deal bring in and would be supportive if it leads to end terrorist violence, brings in individuals outside the political process into political process.
The Pakistani Taliban on Monday warned all international organisations and individuals to leave the country or face violence as it was in a "state of war". Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said that Pakistan had buried the desire of its people for peace in the North Waziristan tribal region and launched a military operation to make its western backers happy.
The United States embassy in Pakistan has warned about a possible terrorist attack against American citizens at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad and prohibited American staff from visiting the five-star facility, an official statement said.
Safdar Nagori, SIMI's notorious face, told investigators how he trained his terrorists on the lines of the Taliban.
US Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel has apologised after he was caught on cameras asking an Indian member of an audience if he was a member of the Taliban.
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.
Former Pakistan premier Benazir Bhutto said she does not blame the government for the terrorist attack on her homecoming parade in Karachi.
The 13th report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team cites a UN Member State as saying that Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), a Deobandi group ideologically closer to the Taliban "maintains eight training camps in Nangarhar, three of which are directly under Taliban control."
Love Storiyaan comes alive in the courageous and fearless voice of six spirited romantics speaking direct dil se, applauds Sukanya Verma.
A former top envoy of the country questioned Pakistan's decades-old Kashmir policy.
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.
Member-States must ensure that measures taken to counter terrorism comply with their obligations under international law, a spokesperson for the UN secretary general has said, asserting that the global body had "no information" about the whereabouts of Al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri killed by a US drone strike in Kabul.
In a stinging letter, the three wrote, 'We cannot be mouthpiece of such a government which has unleashed oppression on student community'.
After a year's delay due to COVID-19, the 19th Asian Games officially opens in Hangzhou on Saturday with hosts China eager to lift a country mired in economic gloom.
India, which has been at the forefront of the years-long efforts to reform the UNSC, began its two-year tenure at the Council on Friday last.
