The Pakistan Army has indulged in this heinous crime to aggravate tensions with India and use it as a pretext to postpone the forthcoming general election, says Alok Bansal
The attack is the latest in a string of violence in Pakistan. It comes less ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's summit to be held in the national capital.
A Delhi court on Monday issued fresh non-bailable warrants against Pakistani-American David Coleman Headley, his accomplice Tahawwur Rana, Lashkar-e-Tayiba founder Hafiz Saeed and 26/11 attack mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, who are accused of carrying out terror attacks in New Delhi.
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.
Promising fool-proof security to controversial American businessman Mansoor Ijaz when he arrives in Pakistan to testify before a judicial commission on the memo scandal, Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Saturday said even the army can be called if needed.
Although there are still no signs of a military offensive in North Waziristan by the Pakistan army, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan has said that it is all set to combat the upcoming military operation in the region that according to the outfit, would be launched in the last week of August.
The Indian retaliation came after Pakistani forces resorted to heavy shelling in several areas in north Kashmir, killing five security personnel and six civilians. A number of videos released by the Indian Army showed destruction of several Pakistani positions and bunkers across the LoC with some of them going up in flames following the Indian retaliation.
"Today there is a government in the country which cannot compromise even on one inch of the country's borders," the prime minister added.
The Indian Army on Saturday said they foiled an infiltration attempt by Pakistani BAT in Jammu and Kashmir's Keran Sector while eliminating five-seven Pakistani army regulars and terrorists.
Warning India of "unbearable damage" in case of a war, Pakistan's army chief General Raheel Sharif has said his troops are ready to tackle any long or short misadventure by the "enemy".
India and Pakistan are talking once again today at the official level. The preparation on the Indian side leaves no doubt that the focus will be on terrorism. The foreign ministry is consulting with the home ministry, defence ministry and security agencies. Pakistan will be placed in the dock. We can reasonably expect Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao to press for the complete unravelling of the 26/11 conspiracy.
Reacting cautiously, MEA said an agreement has been signed between the two countries finalising the modalities for visits and India will stick to it.
The Pakistani military on Thursday said it was "under no pressure" to carry out anti-militancy operations in the restive North Waziristan even as it emphasised that US intelligence agencies will not be allowed to conduct any "independent operation" within the country.
A top army official said on Tuesday that the assaults were carried out recently as Pakistani posts were supporting infiltration inside India.
Mohammad Saleem Rahmani alias Abu Saad, hailing from Nawab Shah in Pakistan, said the camps were located at Chamb, Keel, Athmuqam and the Lepa Valley on the Pakistani side.
There is no evidence so far that anybody in a senior position in Pakistan Army or the Inter-Services Intelligence had any knowledge about the presence of Osama bin Laden at a safe house in an Islamabad suburb, a top Pentagon official has said.
Gen Bajwa also said that the region surrounding Pakistan remains captive due to "historical baggage" and "negative competition".
General Qamar Javed Bajwa, an expert in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir affairs, on Tuesday took over as Pakistan's new army chief succeeding General Raheel Sharif and promised to improve the tense situation at the Line of Control soon.
Pakistan army chief General Raheel Sharif on Wednesday dashed off to Afghanistan to seek extradition of Taliban leader Mullah Fazlluah, whose group claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on an army school in Peshawar, which left 141 people, mostly children, dead.
At least five Chinese nationals were among the six persons killed on Tuesday when an explosive-packed vehicle rammed into their bus in Pakistan's troubled northwestern province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, officials said.
After government and political leaders, it was the turn of Pakistan army chief Gen Raheel Sharif to rake up the issue of Kashmir and breathe fire saying their armed forces were fully capable of meeting any 'external threat'.
'Many senior officers are unhappy with him, but many lower level officers are still supportive.' 'This is also not something that has happened for a long time. So this is certainly a milestone.'
Lt Gen Abbas -- commissioned in 1987 by Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) in the 41 Baloch Regiment -- has formerly served as the personal secretary to the chief of former army chief Gen Raheel Sharif.
Diplomatic and other sources say the two organisations believe they can play a role because they are intrinsically linked to policy-making in Pakistan.
Some of the terrorists arrested after infiltrating into India were found to be in possession of special fuel and powder generally used by the Pakistani army in sub-zero temperatures, raising fear that more such terrorists may cross the Line of Control during the current harsh winter months.
Plan to distribute money among politicians to influence the outcome of the 1990 general election in Pakistan was in full knowledge of the then army chief Gen Mirza Aslam Beg, ex-ISI chief Asad Durrani has informed the country's Supreme Court.
Pakistani forces fought pitched battles with Taliban fighters in their bid to wrest their hub of Sararogha in South Waziristan killing 34 militants to raise the terrorist death toll to 227, but lost 11 soldiers as insurgents opened new fronts in the lawless region.
Pakistan is abuzz with rumours that the country's all-powerful military may topple the fragile government in Islamabad within next 48 hours.
Hours after a suspected Taliban suicide bomber detonated his vehicle in Peshawar killing 49 people, Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Friday said the government had no option but to strike back on the militant stronghold of south Wazirstan."We have no other option but to carry out an operation in south Wazirstan," the interior minister told a private television channel after the attack.
'The Galwan clash in 2020 resulted in a large number of troops being moved from J&K to Eastern Ladakh which caused a thinning of deployment in the Jammu area.'
Pakistan's most wanted terrorist Baitullah Mehsud's death may actually embolden the Pakistanis as it marks a weakening of those Taliban factions that oppose Islamabad, a leading United States private intelligence agency has said. "With more confidence in its influence over the remaining Taliban elements, Pakistan could be even less willing to sell out its Taliban assets in Afghanistan," the Stratfor said.
Saeed claimed, "Kashmiris had announced before the partition that it wanted to remain with Pakistan. But after partition India forcibly sent army to Jammu and Kashmir."
This potential jihadist takeover of a nuclear-armed Pakistan poses India with a serious conundrum.
Seven militants were killed and two others injured when Pakistani security forces used gunship helicopters and artillery to target Taliban positions near Kohat town in the troubled North West Frontier Province today.
A newly formed task force set up by seven leading Indian-American groups has demanded that the focus of the United States military aid to Islamabad should be on resources needed to fight terrorists rather than enhancing the capacity of Pakistani forces.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif asserted that Pak is 'fully capable' of defending its territory against 'any aggression'.
Fresh controversy erupted after Pakistan's powerful Army Chief met Premier Nawaz Sharif on Monday to discuss ways to resolve the deepening political crisis with media reports claiming that the embattled prime minister was advised to step down during the meeting.
'There were assurances that Jaish-e-Mohammad was being reined in as was the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, but Pakistan's security forces could not risk opening too many dangerous new fronts,' notes former foreign secretary Ambassador Shyam Saran, who has just returned from a visit to Lahore.
Civilian government informs military of growing isolation of Pakistan, seeks consensus on several key actions.