29 years ago this August, Pakistan's dictator, the general who made jihad part of Pakistani State policy, died in a mysterious air crash. Did the KGB, the then USSR's dreaded espionage agency, assassinate Zia-ul Haq? Was India's RA&W responsible for blowing Zia's military aircraft out of the skies? Was it Zia's many enemies in Pakistan's military? Was it a box of mangoes as Mohammad Hanif speculated in his fascinating novel about Zia's death? Or was the assassin someone else?
29 years ago this August, Pakistan's dictator, the general who made jihad part of Pakistani State policy, died in a mysterious air crash. Did the KGB, the then USSR's dreaded espionage agency, assassinate Zia-ul Haq? Was India's RA&W responsible for blowing Zia's military aircraft out of the skies? Was it Zia's many enemies in Pakistan's military? Was it a box of mangoes as Mohammad Hanif speculated in his fascinating novel about Zia's death? Or was the assassin someone else?
United States authorities have complained to Pakistan's Foreign Office about the alleged harassment of American diplomatic staff and expressed concern at the "inaction" on an earlier complaint lodged two years ago. In a letter to the Foreign Office earlier in March, the US administration updated Pakistani authorities on the alleged harassment of staff of its embassy and consulates.
The Haqqani network, which is blamed for the recent attack on American embassy in Kabul, receives protection and support from the Pakistani spy agency Inter Services Intelligence, an influential think-tank has told American lawmakers.
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has told her Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar to take strong action against terrorist groups particularly Lashkar-e-Tayiba and the Haqqani network, which is blamed for last week's deadly attack on American embassy in Kabul.
police suspect the blast was the result of a squabble between sweepers at the Ambassador's residence.
United States Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter has decided to step down this summer after serving less than two years and is likely to be replaced by a diplomat serving in Afghanistan, a move that comes at a time when the bilateral ties are at a critical juncture.
The Pakistani Taliban on Friday targetted a United States consulate convoy in Peshawar with a car bomb killing one person and injuring over a dozen others, the first attack on Americans in the country since Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's death.
For two decades the US paid in blood and blood money for dependence on Pakistan to carry out one president's boast. Now, having been defeated by its proxies, another president will go into Rawalpindi's embrace to satisfy his constituents, predicts Shekhar Gupta.
The newspaper said that on February 8, the State Department spokesman P J Crowley, had contacted the paper's executive editor, Bill Keller, asking him not to speculate charges in the Pakistani press.
Dubai Police authorities said that there are still some unidentified bodies and the number of Indians who died in the accident could rise further.
Khadim Hussain Rizvi is now gone. But the mass appeal of fundamentalism among Pakistan's burgeoning, young, illiterate, unemployed and angry population isn't, observes Shekhar Gupta.
An American national, who was blacklisted and deported from Pakistan in 2011 after he was allegedly caught spying on sensitive installations, has been arrested after he arrived at the airport in Islamabad.
Pakistani authorities had told United States officials that the statements given by David Headley, the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks suspect, to American investigative agencies would not carry any value in Pakistan's courts and would be treated as "hearsay with little evidentiary" value.
With Pakistan rejecting visa to an Indian yoga instructor, India will now hold an in-house event at its High Commission in Islamabad to mark International Yoga Day on June 21, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Tuesday.
American nationals have been warned not to travel to a hill resort, north of the Pakistani capital, due to fears of sectarian violence, a US Embassy official said on Wednesday.
Pakistani intelligence agencies have warned that the local Taliban, the Jandullah group and other banned militant groups have plans to target foreigners, embassies and Shia clerics and worship places in major cities in Pakistan, including capital Islamabad.
The Blinken visit indicated that the Biden administration is still somewhat tentative about the specifics of its relations with India, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan, who has served multiple stints at India's embassy in Washington, DC.
Much before the human rights violation by the Pakistani Army became public through the media, a top American diplomat stationed in Islamabad had advised the US Government to keep reports of such abuses under wraps.
Bajrangi Bhaijaan is an overearnest, oversimplified, preposterously sweet and frequently schlocky film, which works because of a finely picked supporting cast, some sharp lines of dialogue and, most crucially, because of its overall heart, writes Raja Sen.
US officials have agreed to take "suitable steps" in giving India a direct access to Headley, a statement released by the Indian Embassy in Washington said on Wednesday.
The White House has rejected a revelation by a prominent US journalist who claimed that an operative of Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence had revealed the hideout of Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden who was later killed in a raid by American commandos.
Pakistan's military courts have gained a disrepute for not being transparent and violating all provisions of a fair trial.
He said China understands India's concerns over the issue.
India boycotted Pak National Day event over invitation to Hurriyat leaders.
The US and Pakistan then struck a deal that the US would raid his compound but make it look as if Pakistan was unaware, Hersh said.
India is worried about Pakistan getting the Taliban to ignite trouble in Kashmir, observes Ramesh Menon.
As an immediate fall-out of the Federal Bureau of Investigation foiling a Lashkar-e-Tayiba plot to use United States nationals to carry out major terror attacks in India, the Indian Embassy in Washington has tightened visa approval norms for Pakistan-born American citizens, whose applications would now have to be cleared by New Delhi. An instruction in this regard has recently been issued by Union Home Secretary G K Pillai.
India should do what we can to ensure that our two friends do not get into a confrontation that is meaningless and ultimately damaging to everyone including us.
Hinting at Pakistani link to the Kabul embassy attack, India on Saturday said Afghanistan faces threat from terrorists and their "patrons residing across the border" and that the blast was handiwork of those who want to undermine Indo-Afghan friendship.
With its new army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa set to take charge, Pakistan has asserted that focus will remain on country's eastern border with India, even as the US nudged Islamabad to keep the pledge of not allowing use of its soil for terror attacks against neighbours.
A top US diplomat on Thursday said Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was based in Pakistan's tribal belt and senior Taliban leaders operating from Quetta were playing a key role in fomenting unrest in Afghanistan, prompting Islamabad to dismiss the charges as "mere speculation".
The hearing in the appeals of the 17 Indians sentenced to death for killing a Pakistani man was adjourned for the third time by a Sharjah Court of Appeals on Wednesday. The court fixed September 1 for the next hearing. "The court did not accept an interpreter arranged by the Indian embassy as he had not been cleared by the United Arab Emirate's ministry of justice," said Bindu Suresh Chettur, the lawyer for the 17 Indians.
Former Pakistani military dictator Pervez Musharraf possibly knew about slain Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and his place of hiding, an eminent British journalist who reported for years from Afghanistan and Pakistan for the New York Times has claimed.
Pakistani officials confirmed the development while the US embassy spokesperson refused to comment, saying the information 'appears to be only hearsay', The News daily reported. Some diplomats in Islamabad were aware of the Taliban operation but were not ready to speak on record. One of the hijacked helicopters had already been sold to an unidentified customer in Afghanistan, the report said.
Former Pakistani ambassador to Afghanistan and former chief secretary of the North West Frontier Province, Rustam Shah Mohmand, tells Aditi Phadnis that the United States is part of the problem in Afghanistan.
Pakistan poses a 'bigger' security challenge than Afghanistan for the United States and the rest of the world, a top American diplomat has said. Christopher Dell, who currently runs the US embassy in Kabul, said Pakistani Taliban groups had formed a common front to attack North Atlantic Treaty Organisation troops in Afghanistan. "Pakistan is a bigger place, has a larger population, it's nuclear-armed. It has certainly made radical Islam a part of its political life," he said.
An Indian national has been arrested in Spain for alleged links with the al-Qaida and India has sought consular access to him, Indian government said here on Wednesday. The name of the arrested Indian has been given as Jangeet Singh, sources said citing information received from the Indian embassy in Spain.
American intelligence agencies have for the first time directly linked the suicide attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul to Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence and indicated that it might have been authorised by the top officials as those involved in assisting militants were not renegades, a media report said in New York on Friday.
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