Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to an immediate ceasefire and setting up of 'mechanisms' to ensure lasting peace after days of violent clashes along the border that left several soldiers, civilians, and terrorists dead on both sides, officials said on Sunday.
Pakistan launched fresh air strikes targeting terrorist hideouts in Afghanistan, killing several people, including three cricketers, casting a shadow over the expected talks in Doha amid a fragile ceasefire that had temporarily halted hostilities between the two sides.
US President Donald Trump claimed he could easily solve the conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan, amid escalating hostilities. He also expressed dismay at not receiving the Nobel Peace Prize despite resolving eight wars.
India abstained from a UN General Assembly vote on a resolution regarding Afghanistan, citing the need for a balanced approach that combines incentives and disincentives, and calling for new initiatives to address the humanitarian crisis.
Terrorism and insurgency in J&K had subsided when India demolished East Pakistan -- for the simple reason that Pakistan understands power. We need to follow Chanakya's dictum of Saam, Daam, Dand, Bhed for strategising against Pakistan, asserts Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (Retd). The ground truth is that unless we are prepared to acknowledge our shortcomings, including massive intelligence failures, punish those responsible and take corrective actions, we will continue in the same vein, asserts Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (Retd).
'Afghanistan is a beautiful country but has no luck as far as lasting peace is concerned'
Three teenage girls have made a brief documentary which shows a much more cheerful side of Afghanisthan's capital, Kabul. It has broken the stereotype of bombed out sites and terror attacks the world associates with this war-ravaged country.
Initial reports state that one person died and three others have been injured.
Indian assets and personnel in Kabul could come under fresh attacks in the near future with intelligence inputs suggesting that terror groups like Haqqani faction of Taliban have recently been enquiring about Indian projects and residential complexes of those working on these.
A French restaurant popular with foreigners in Kabul was the target of a New Year's Day bombing on Friday, officials said.
Terming the Kabul embassy bombing an attack on the Indo-Afghan friendship, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday declared that it would not deter New Delhi from continuing its reconstruction of the war-torn country and announced a fresh assistance worth $450 mn for it.
Amid threats of fresh attacks on Indian assets in Afghanistan following the deadly suicide bombing at its embassy, Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon arrived in Kabul on Sunday to discuss ways to revamp security to thwart designs of the Taliban and its mentor Inter Services Intelligence.
Doval's visit to Moscow comes weeks ahead of the G-20 foreign ministers' meeting in New Delhi.
Foreign policy is always a work in progress and ups and downs are built into foreign policy process. What is permanent is national interest. Hopefully, this year, which will also witness general elections in the country, will also clear clouds in the foreign policy horizon, observes Rup Narayan Das.
Zawahri's long balcony visits gave the CIA an opportunity for a clear missile shot that could avoid collateral damage.
The embassy cited the rescue of the engineers in fresh security advisory while calling upon all Indians in Afghanistan to strictly adhere to the measures advised by it in view of a spike in violence in that country.
With Kabul falling into the hands of the Taliban, bilateral trade between Afghanistan and India will get impacted significantly in these uncertain times, according to exporters. Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) director general Ajay Sahai said domestic exporters should follow caution looking into the political development in Afghanistan, particularly with regard to payments, for which adequate credit insurance may be availed by them. "The trade will be impacted. It would reduce due to the growing uncertainty in Afghanistan," he said on Monday. Former FIEO president and country's leading exporter S K Saraf too said there will be a significant fall in the bilateral trade.
The Taliban knows that Washington holds the key, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
For Afghans in India, including medical tourists from the war-torn country as well as migrants and refugees staying here much longer, the safety of friends and families is the biggest concern - particularly for those linked to the now collapsed government or who have had work ties with the US.
Like China, India too should connect the dots and move ahead with a long-term perspective in Afghanistan, advises Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'I am not envious of those who are making millions. It's their era and I had my era.'
At a joint media briefing with Lavrov, Jaishankar listed issues such as "factors of instability" such as terrorism and its cross-border manifestation and said it remains a "major concern".
Biden's authorisation of 5,000 troops in his statement on Saturday included 1,000 who are already on the ground in Afghanistan, according to a defence official. A battalion of 1,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division were redirected to Kabul, instead of their original standby position in Kuwait.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
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.
A coordinated Taliban assault on the Afghan capital was quelled on Wednesday after raging for 19 hours in a hail of rockets, grenades and suicide blasts that left 14 dead and six foreign troops wounded.
At least 54 suspected militants belonging to a pro-Taliban outfit, including its spokesman, were killed on Wednesday when Pakistani fighter jets pounded their hideouts and troops clashed with the insurgents in the volatile northwest tribal region near the Afghan border.
Indian missions in Afghanistan are under fresh threat from terror outfits as intelligence inputs suggest that such groups are planning new attacks. The fresh inputs received from Indian as well as international intelligence agencies said that terrorists may target Indian missions in Kabul and Jalalabad, Union Home Ministry sources said.
Just how have Bollywood's star kids been entertaining themselves in the lockdown?
'I told the Indian foreign office, whether you recognise Kabul or not, we will fight to the last and return to the gates of Kabul,' recalls Afghan Ambassador Masood Khalili.
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
The Taliban helmed attack on the Afghan parliament on Monday, ended with all six gunmen killed, the interior ministry said.
The Afghan deputy foreign minister explains how his nation's President became disillusioned with Pakistan. Ajai Shukla listens in.
With increased security threat on Indian assets in Afghanistan, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police will dispatch a fresh contingent of its troops to the war-torn country next week to augment the security of key Indian assets."A batch of officers and personnel will leave for Kabul in the next ten days to augment our strength," Director General of ITBP Vikram Srivastava told PTI.
A number of documents indicate that Pakistan International Airline has put embargo on Afghan citizens who have travelled to India.
Beyond the barbed wire and watchtowers, though, lies a story that casts more than a little doubt on whether this dream will ever be realised. Praveen Swami reports.
Sources said a rare exception was made to allow arrival and departure of Aziz, who led the Pakistani delegation, by air at Amritsar which is not a designated port for entry and exit of Pakistani nationals, besides giving swift clearance despite a last minute change in his scheduled arrival by a special flight.
As many as 38 flights, including 23 domestic and nine international, were diverted from the Delhi airport to nearby cities between 6-8.45 pm.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai is in Pakistan on a day-long visit to mend frayed ties with Pakistan and to seek the release of high-profile Taliban prisoners, including Mullah Barader, to give a fresh impetus to the reconciliation process in his war-torn country.
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