Two top Taliban and Al Qaeda-linked militants were killed in northern Afghanistan in combat operations conducted by the country's Special Operations Unit and coalition troops, officials said on Monday.
Expressing concern over political instability and drug trafficking in Afghanistan, Russia and Pakistan today said the situation could deteriorate further post-2014 after International Security Assistant Forces are withdrawn from the country.
Police personnel checked vehicles and conducted flag marches at various places in Punjab on Wednesday while central forces maintained a tight vigil in Tripura.
The 2003 BSF operation that eliminated terrorist Gazi Baba in Jammu and Kashmir, the subject of an upcoming action film, "Ground Zero," crippled the Jaish-e-Mohammed. The mission, which earned the BSF a dozen gallantry awards, is being portrayed in the film releasing on April 25. The operation, described in the BSF's 50th anniversary book, involved a daring raid on a house in Srinagar where Gazi Baba was hiding. The BSF faced heavy gunfire and grenades, with officers sustaining injuries and one constable, Balbir Singh, being killed while protecting his superior officer, Narendra Nath Dhar Dubey. Dubey, who led the operation, received the Kirti Chakra, India's third highest peacetime gallantry award.
The Human-rated LVM3 vehicle, the Crew Escape System and the Crew Module and Service Module are all in final stages of testing and integration.
Prince Harry, known as Captain Wales in the British military, on Friday arrived at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan's Helmand province to start an operational tour as an Apache helicopter pilot, the defence ministry said in London.
A SpiceJet employee, Mudasir Ahmad Khan, claims he was assaulted by an army officer at Srinagar airport for enforcing baggage rules. He demands action against the officer, while the army says it is cooperating with the investigation.
Images from the English Premier League matches on Saturday, August 30.
The temporary suspension of the crucial North Atlantic Treaty Organisation supply route to Afghanistan by Islamabad last year in response to incursions by allied forces and the Davis Raymond episode reflects the fragile nature of the United States-Pakistan relationship, the Obama administration said in a new report.
Trump has played throughout his career as a deal-maker who could deliver where others could not, and Ukraine represents the ultimate test of that image, notes Manish Dabhade.
'The Pakistani State has to realise that the pigeons have come home to roost.'
The Border Security Force (BSF) remains on high alert along the International Border (IB) and has not let its guard down, BSF Inspector General, Jammu Frontier, Shashank Anand said on Tuesday. Operation Sindoor, aimed at preventing infiltration attempts, continues as Pakistan cannot be trusted, he added. Anand highlighted the BSF's robust response after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, including destroying multiple terror launch pads and thwarting infiltration attempts.
The Pentagon leadership has strongly denied reports that it has pressurised Pakistani army chief General Ashfaq Kayani to extend the military's anti-Taliban operations into North Waziristan, in the wake of the botched Times Square bombing attempt by Pakistani-American Faisal Shahzad, who received terror training in that region.
When the internal security situation spirals out of the control of the provincial law and order machinery, the CAPFs can be called in, providing a security buffer before the Army is deployed.
Top military commanders of Afghanistan, Pakistan and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation on Sunday discussed border control measures and mechanisms to avert "untoward incidents" along the Afghan frontier, as the three sides resumed high-level military contact after a break of several months.
'Trump has personally weighed in to overcome doubts and reservations about Pakistan among his top advisors.'
Two days after NATO forces conducted air strikes against militants within its territory, Pakistan on Monday protested against such attacks, saying they were "unacceptable" and a violation of its sovereignty.
However, leaders of the NATO-led ISAF mission countries at the end of their Chicago meeting pledged to have a long-term commitment to Afghanistan, given that they still have a long way to go in the fight against terrorism and achieving political stability and satisfactory-level security in the country, to have another NATO-led mission for Afghanistan post 2014.
Two top United States officials have called off visits to Islamabad without assigning any reasons, reflecting the current tensions between the two countries as they struggle to reset their troubled ties a year after the killing of Al Qaeda's Osama bin Laden.
Sixteen Afghans were killed by a 'rogue' United States soldier who walked off his base and opened fire on them in their homes in the early hours of Sunday morning. The dead include nine children and three women, plus five wounded.
Will Russia's entry deter Trump on his warpath?, asks Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
To get back into reckoning and ensure India's interests are given their due in Afghanistan, we need to evaluate a new mix of soft and hard options, writes Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
Observing that working conditions have made doctors and health professionals susceptible to violence, the Supreme Court on Tuesday constituted a 10-member task force to formulate a national protocol for ensuring safety and facilities for them in the wake of the rape and murder of a medic in Kolkata.
Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Thursday called for transparent ties with US based on mutual trust as he met American commander in Afghanistan, days after the two sides struck a deal ending a seven-month blockade of NATO supply routes.
No immediate reason was given for the absence of Zardari from the photo session, in which all the leaders participated.
According to English daily Dawn, goods manufactured in India are reaching Kabul through Pakistan under the tags of International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
The top United States commander in Afghanistan has said that they are facing difficulties in their latest military campaign against the Taliban due to lack of cooperation from Pakistan.General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of the International Security Assistance Force and US Forces in Afghanistan, is believed to have pursued this line in his secret visit to Islamabad over the weekend, during which he met President Asif Ali Zardari and Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has confirmed that its crew are well-equipped to handle potential GPS spoofing incidents, asserting that all relief missions to earthquake-hit Myanmar were successfully completed as planned. The IAF's statement follows reports of GPS signal tampering during relief flights, which raised security concerns. Sources in the military establishment had earlier suggested that IAF transport aircraft carrying relief materials to Myanmar faced "GPS spoofing", prompting the IAF to assure that its crew are capable of handling such situations.
Pakistan's parliament will decide the contours of future relations with the United States and its allies after November's cross-border NATO air strike, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said on Thursday.
A first-year student of a law college in south Kolkata was allegedly "gang-raped" inside the institution by an alumnus and two senior students of the institution, a police officer said on Friday.
The United States has announced the appointment of a new commander of its forces in Afghanistan as it now starts sending an additional 21,000 troops to this war-torn country to fight against the Taliban and the Al Qaeda. "McKiernan was asked to resign," Gates told reporters at a Pentagon press conference. Both the White House and the Defense Department said the changes in the top US military leadership has been taken in view of US President Barack Obaama's new Af-Pak policy.
A Turkish military helicopter on a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation mission crashed into a house outside the Afghan capital Kabul on Friday, killing at least 15 people -- 12 soldiers on board and three civilians on the ground.
Asked about the expectations from the US, Azar said Washington and Israel are "completely in sync". He said he felt that the US would "support" Israel's action.
"It is shocking to note that Turkey, the second-largest arms supplier to Pakistan after China, has played a key role in modernising Pakistan's navy and enhancing its aerial warfare capabilities. "This defence collaboration is not just commercial; it is ideological, targeting the stability of South Asia and emboldening Pakistan's military adventurism," SJM national co-convenor Ashwini Mahajan said in a statement.
An IndiGo flight from Delhi to Srinagar encountered severe turbulence near Pathankot on Wednesday, prompting the crew to request permission to enter Pakistani airspace to avoid the weather. However, their request was denied. The aircraft, an A321 neo operating flight 6E 2142, experienced hailstorm and turbulence, triggering various warnings and forcing the autopilot to trip. The crew managed to safely land the aircraft in Srinagar after a harrowing experience. The incident is under investigation by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which confirmed there were no injuries to passengers but noted damage to the aircraft's nose radome.
The US defence secretary's visit comes ahead of the visit by US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice.
The Border Security Force (BSF) launched "Operation Sindoor" in retaliation to unprovoked firing and shelling by Pakistani Rangers along the International Border (IB) in Jammu. BSF troops destroyed three terrorist launch pads and targeted 76 Pakistani border outposts and 42 forward defence locations. The BSF action came after Pakistan launched heavy firing and shelling on 60 Indian posts and 49 forward positions, reportedly providing cover for an attempted infiltration by 40-50 terrorists.
Pakistan military spokesperson Lieutenant General Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry told a hurriedly called press conference in Islamabad at around 4 am that th Pakistan air force's Nur Khan (Chaklala, Rawalpindi), Murid (Chakwal) and Rafiqui (Shorkot in Jhang district) airbases were targeted.
'The government has to explain (to the army, air force and navy chiefs) whether they want a punitive strike, a deep punitive strike, or whether they want limited war or an all-out war, will it be a circumscribed war or will it be a shallow attack along the border.'
