Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff Gen Syed Asim Munir visited Balochistan on Saturday amid clashes in the restive province in which 18 security personnel and 23 terrorists have been killed in the last 24 hours. The army chief was given a comprehensive brief on the prevailing security situation in the province and offered prayers at the funeral of the slain soldiers. He also visited the injured soldiers in the Combined Military Hospital Quetta. The military said the terrorists were killed in different areas of troubled Balochistan in the last 24 hours. Terror attacks have increased since the banned militant Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan group broke a fragile ceasefire agreement with the government.
'Unlike the surgical strikes and the Balakot air strikes across the LoC, we have gone further inside Pakistan and raised the bar of escalation.'
'What the Americans want is to destabilise Iran. For destabilising Iran, you need access. 'One access is through Iraq. The other access is through Pakistan.'
China supplied more than $20 billion worth of arms to Pakistan. These include 20 J-10CE and JF-17 Block III fighter aircraft, Wing Loong drones, frigates, submarines, Hongqi HQ-9P surface-to-air missiles, 240 PL-15E air-to-air missiles, LY-80 air defence systems, ZDK early warning aircraft and other weapons.
While some say an agreement was reached over the Panama Papers, others suggest that Nawaz Sharif may have handed the CPEC to the military in exchange for his survival.
India has to fill in all the critical gaps in missiles, ammunition, sensors and stockpile in the fastest possible manner, focusing on the critical instruments that worked this time, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
The Inter Services Public Relations, in a brief statement, said the Indian drone was brought down near the Line of Control in Bhimber area of Pakistan occupied Kashmir.
Punching holes into a United States probe report of the cross-border NATO air strike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers last year, the Pakistan army on Monday rejected it saying the country was considered in an "adversarial role" and not as a friend during the American inquiry
Pakistan's Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif is in China's militancy hit Muslim-majority Xinjiang province on a rare visit where he met his Chinese counterpart General Fang Fenghui, promising to crackdown on Uighur militants.
'As one former Indian diplomat put it to me, Delhi has access to the White House, but Islamabad has access to Mar-a-Lago.'
India had better be prepared. Munir could be back at our throats soon, even within the next 12 months, warns Shekhar Gupta.
The Pakistan army on Sunday took over Shamsi airbase in the country's southwest after it was vacated by the United States forces in line with a deadline set by the government following a cross-border North Atlantic Treaty Organisation attack that killed two dozen Pakistani soldiers.
Major General Asif Ghafoor's transfer indicates General Qamar Bajwa is well in control once more, pushing behind the discontent among the peer group of senior generals over extension of his tenure, says Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
"In the coming days if we see a political or constitutional upheaval in Pakistan, or an increase in instability, then we cannot rule out the possibility of another coup in the country," said defence expert Sanjeev Srivastava.
In trying to portray a globally sanctioned terrorist as a 'common man', Pakistan was exposed when its top official publically outed crucial details about Hafiz Abdul Rauf, including his national identity number which matched details in the database of the United States sanction list of terrorists.
"Pakistan Army did not commit any ceasefire violation on the Line of Control or a BAT action in the Buttal sector (India's Krishna Ghati sector) as alleged by India. Indian blame of mutilating Indian soldiers' bodies is also false," a statement from the Pakistan Army's Inter-Services Public Relations wing said.
'Trump has personally weighed in to overcome doubts and reservations about Pakistan among his top advisors.'
'After General Raheel Sharif took on the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, some sections of the military establishment may have felt unease as to whether the crackdown could be extended against friendlier 'non-State' actors like the Lashkar-e-Tayiba.'
'Already, there is talk of a possible extension for Raheel Sharif in the context of his perceived sterling, but incomplete work in the war against terror, as also the cleansing of crime and extortion networks in Karachi,' says Rana Banerji.
'Pakistan's only concern has been while they were on the FATF watch list was to distance their State institutions and organs from any direct connection with the actual execution of militancy inside Kashmir.'
The Pakistan Army has claimed that Indian troops killed two of its soldiers on the Line of Control.
India-Turkiye ties are strained over Ankara's Islamabad tilt, its arms links with Pakistan, and fallout from the Pahalgam terror attack.
The result is a big blow to the military establishment, revealing the limits of 'political engineering'. It reflected the anger of the electorate, especially its younger voters, who have spoken decisively against the persistent harassment and victimisation of Imran Khan's political party, asserts Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
'Munir hopes to solidify his hold on power.'
Pakistan Army said on Thursday that it has 'nothing to do with politics' and it will remain apolitical in the future as well, as the powerful institution asserted that its chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa was not seeking an extension and will neither accept one.
Former ISI DG Faiz Hameed's arrest sends a strong message to PTI supporters that Imran Khan's culpability for the May 9, 2023 violence could well be drawn within the purview of military courts, especially if General Hameed turns approver to save his skin, explains Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
A seemingly innocuous statement issued by a military institute of cardiology asking people not to go abroad for treatment of heart diseases has raised questions about whether the Pakistan Army had an inkling of President Asif Ali Zardari's plans to travel to Dubai.
There were reports of lobbying within the Pakistan army for the ISI DG's post, which falls vacant in June, reveals Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) has undergone a significant transformation, evolving from hit-and-run attacks to carrying out sophisticated operations with tactical precision. The group's tactics and targets have become increasingly audacious, targeting security forces, Chinese nationals, and innocent civilians. Experts attribute the BLA's evolution to various factors, including the leadership of Bashir Zeb, the group's growing intelligence network, and its exploitation of the grievances of the Baloch people. The BLA's actions are a cause for concern, as the group's sophisticated attacks pose a major challenge to security forces.
The Pakistan Army said on Monday it had registered a "strong protest" with India over what it described as unprovoked firing by Indian troops along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Pakistan army killed at least 120 suspected terrorists in the North Waziristan tribal region during the Zarb-e-Azb operation.
Ghafoor warned that military response this time will be different in case of war.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations, the media wing of the army, the terrorists attacked the security post in Dera Ismail Khan's Daraban area bordering the South Waziristan tribal district in the early morning hours.
The Pakistani military on Saturday dismissed as "absurd and baseless" a British newspaper's report that the Inter-Services Intelligence agency was behind a defamation campaign against Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar and Pakistan People's Party chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
Another extension for General Bajwa in office at this juncture looks unlikely at this juncture, observes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
'It is important India to stay focussed on its primary national objectives: Combating terrorism; not losing sight of other security and strategic concerns (on the Sino-Indian front for instance); ensuring a strong economy and registering growth which includes improving the lot of common people; and finally making certain that the social fabric remains intact and harmony among people is not jeopardised, at least any further,' asserts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The plane crashed in the suburbs of Mora Kalu village, killing 12 civilians and five crew members and destroying five to six houses, the Pakistan army said.
The ISPR has claimed that Jadhav has admitted to his involvement in espionage, terrorist and subversive activities in Pakistan
Pakistan military Thursday said it used multiple weapons, including killer drones, to carry out effective strikes against hideouts inside Iran used by militants of two leading Baloch terrorist groups responsible for recent attacks in the country.