Claiming responsibility for the audacious attack that left at least 30 dead -- on two mosques of the Ahmadis sect in Lahore, the Punajb Taliban vowed to intensify attacks against the sect whom they describe as "worst infidels than Jews".
Amid accusations by Pakistan that America deliberately sabotaged peace talks by killing Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud, the Unites States on Sunday said the militant group has a "symbiotic relationship" with the Al Qaeda and provided "safe haven" to terrorists.
Pakistani authorities and the local Taliban have agreed to a ceasefire in the troubled Swat valley following peace talks between militants and religious hardliners, a top official said on Saturday. Syed Mohammad Javed, the commissioner for Malakand division which includes Swat, told reporters that the security forces and the Taliban would observe the truce. He made the announcement after meeting Maulana Sufi Mohammad, a hardline cleric who is negotiating with the militants.
Seven Pakistani security personnel were on Monday killed when Taliban militants ambushed their vehicle near a strategic tunnel in the troubled North West Frontier Province.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked US President Donald Trump for acknowledging Pakistan's role in counter-terrorism efforts after the country arrested a wanted terrorist. Trump thanked the Pakistani government for helping arrest "Mohammad Shareefullah", also known as Jafar, who supported and conducted activities on behalf of ISIS-K in support of multiple lethal attacks, including the Abbey Gate attack in 2021. Sharif said the terrorist, an Afghan national, had been apprehended in an operation along the border with Afghanistan.
'If there is a military standoff eyeball to eyeball on the western border, the Chinese could create problems by making movements in the north, in our northeast, which could involve us tying down some forces there so that could stretch our military actions.'
'Shock, confusion, and paralysis reigned.' 'Pakistan was caught in a most embarrassing situation. It could neither claim credit for the operation nor admit to a dismal intelligence failure and lack of army preparedness.'
The columnist said that Munir was reported as saying on stage at a Brussels gathering that: "God has made me protector of the country. I do not desire any position other than that."
Nearly three years after she was assassinated, investigators have concluded that former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was killed by the Pakistani Taliban in a gun-and-bomb attack in Rawalpindi. The FIA is expected to submit its report on the investigation to an anti-terrorism court on October 30. The FIA's investigation team was initially reluctant to submit the chargesheet to the court because it could not complete its probe regarding the three accused who are absconding.
United States President Donald Trump said that the US is trying to regain control of Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, which is currently under the control of the Taliban government after the US troops withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021.
An earthquake in Afghanistan's east has killed at least 610 people and injured 1,300, a spokesman for the Taliban government said on Monday, PTI has reported quoting AP.
There has never been a moment in India's history when it has been so adrift in the world, so confused about what it stands for and against and so humiliated, asserts Aakar Patel.
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.
India reasserted that Pakistan requested a cessation of firing via DGMO contact and addressed concerns about Pakistan's roles in UNSC committees.
'I am worried that Pakistan will still feel compelled to take substantive military action beyond this apparent drone activity.' 'If so, the crisis could persist for a while more and dangerous days are still ahead.'
The Taliban's main challenge comes on the financial and economic front and there Pakistan doesn't have the capacity to be of any meaningful help, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The announcement on expansion of CPEC was made following a meeting among Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar and Afghanistan's Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Beijing, according to a Pakistani readout.
'There's a lot of sense in what Prime Minister Modi did, but the Indian government has to be really prepared for a really sharp escalation spiral.'
'Pakistan has power -- they have the power of terrorism and the reluctance of the world to act against them.'
Sections in the US State Department and Pentagon have always felt more comfortable dealing with all powerful Pakistani generals instead of elected civilians, points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
Former Indian ambassadors urge New Delhi to closely monitor the unfolding political crisis in Nepal, citing regional instability and potential implications for India's interests.
India has said it will consider engaging in development projects in Afghanistan and provide material support to the country in the health sector. The announcement came after Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri held talks with the Taliban regime's acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Dubai.
Among the 24 injured are 14 civilians, including women and children, with several said to be in critical condition.
Trump thanked the Government of Pakistan for "helping arrest this monster".
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.
A UN Security Council report states that The Resistance Front (TRF) claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam terror attack and published a photograph of the attack site. The report also cites assertions that the attack could not have happened without the support of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT).
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.
India-US relations, like Rome, were not built in a day, nor can they be demolished in a day.
All said and done, when the new global order emerges, India can only remain with the democracies, asserts Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
A resurgent Taliban in Pakistan's northwestern Swat valley on Monday vowed to enforce Islamic laws across the country while ruling out the possibility of laying down arms, following the implementation of Sharia in the region.The Sharia or Islamic law regime approved recently by President Asif Ali Zardari will not be confined to Malakand division, which includes Swat, and the Taliban wants the system to be enforced in other parts of Pakistan, Taliban spokesman said.
The Taliban is showing its strong discontent as the high hopes given to it by the Pakistani military have been dashed, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Pakistan is "in an active counterterrorism fight right now and they have been a phenomenal partner in the counterterrorism world", the general said.
Hundreds of Afghan protesters, including many women, took to the streets of Kabul on Tuesday, September 7, 2021, in an anti-Pakistan protest chanting 'Death to Pakistan', denouncing Islamabad's interference in Afghanistan as well as airstrikes by Pakistani jets in Panjshir province in support of the Taliban.
The Taliban government in Afghanistan is not going anywhere. That being the case, why is the hesitation to establish formal diplomatic relations with the Taliban? asks Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (Retd).
Secret talks between Pakistani security agencies and the local Taliban have entered a "decisive" phase and both sides are hopeful it will lead to a "lasting" agreement to restore peace in the country's restive northwestern tribal region, a media report said on Tuesday.
Then 18, Talash crossed the border into Pakistan after Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan in 2021 before settling in Spain as a refugee the following year. The International Olympics Committee changed break-dancer Talash's life forever by including her in its refugee squad for the Paris Games.
If the Taliban have proved one thing over these two decades, it is that they are way smarter than their big brother, observes Shekhar Gupta.
'Pakistan is a nuclear country.' 'With the kind of situation that is there in Pakistan today, America will help Pakistan stay afloat.'
Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, the spokesperson for the Pakistan Army, is the son of a nuclear scientist who was sanctioned by the United Nations and the US for providing information and expertise to al-Qaeda, according to Indian officials. Chaudhry's father, Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood, allegedly provided insights into nuclear weapons infrastructure and raised funds for a fundamentalist organization linked to the Taliban. Mahmood was arrested in 2001 after admitting to meeting Osama bin Laden but was later released.
'The worst case scenario for Pakistan is a full-scale Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.' 'Pakistani militants would be inspired and emboldened and seek to replicate the Taliban's successes in Pakistan.'
'Throughout the nearly 20-year US-led war, State sponsorship from Pakistan has been a constant.'
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