Despite differences almost all the militant factions agree that fighting inside Kashmir is the holiest jihad, reports Tahir Ali in Islamabad
With cracks emerging in the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, its operatives are now joining the Punjabi Taliban, which is a growing threat not only for Indian but also Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence
Chief Minster Punjab Shahbaz Sharif is continuously denying the influence of militants in his province but it is fact that Punjab is home to a mix of sectarian and other form of militants.
The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan has stated that it is willing to declare ceasefire if the Pakistan government withdraws from the US-led war on terror and forms a new foreign policy in accordance to the holy Quran and Sunnah.
Top Taliban commander Usman Punjabi has been killed during in-fighting within militant groups at the North Waziristan Agency in Pakistan.Talking to rediff.com via phone from North Waziristan's Shakir Dawar, a local tribesman said, "Fighting erupted among two groups of the Punjabi Taliban. Usman Punjabi, along with three companions, and two persons from the rival group were killed on the spot." Punjabi was an active member of the Punjabi Taliban.
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".
Their shared brief: To assert India's case with clarity, rebut hostile narratives, and secure enduring partnerships for global counter-terror cooperation.
Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik has claimed that the Punjabi Taliban are preparing for a massive terror attack in the country.
Pakistani law enforcement agencies on Sunday claimed to have made a breakthrough in their probe into the recent three near-simultaneous terror attacks on security facilities in Lahore by arresting a Punjabi Taliban militant, from whom banned literature and 'jihadi' compact discs were also seized.
'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.'
According to the Daily Times, the Punjabi Taliban has broken off from LeT, and refuse to take orders from Lashkar supremo Hafiz Saeed.
The activation of diplomatic channels is likely to yield better results than a simmering hostility, recommends Ajai Shukla.
The two commanders identified only as Iqbal and Gul Muhammad, both hailing from Faisalabad were arrested earlier this week by law enforcement agencies.
It seems that the West is sending a signal to India that it can return to old hostilities unless India toes their line on Russia. It is no surprise that India is being compared with Putin's Russia in terms of targeting 'dissidents' as the West calls these Khalistani terrorists, asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
A family rivalry over property was behind the assassination of former Pakistan Minority Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, who was gunned down earlier this year, and the killing was not religiously motivated, a media report said on Tuesday.
Ilyas Kashmiri, considered one of the masterminds of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, was behind the assassination of Minority Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti earlier this year, according to a media report on Tuesday.
The son of a former Inter Services Intelligence official, who was abducted and killed by militants, has filed an application with the Pakistani police in which he has held popular TV anchor Hamid Mir and a Punjabi Taliban leader responsible for the murder.
Having steered clear of North Waziristan for years, Pakistan army is contemplating an offensive into the restive area fearing that it may have become a "witches brew of jihadi groups".
Tahir Ali profiles the Amjad Farooqi and Ilyas Kashmiri groups, responsible for the recent surge of terrorism in Pakistan.
Slamming Pakistan for not taking action against the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, a United States report on counter-terrorism on Wednesday said India remained severely affected by and vulnerable to terrorism, including from Pakistan-based groups.
'ISI mouthpieces in the media have been quick to blame India for the attack. Clearly, the intellect and worldview of these characters (which includes fairly senior retired military officers) is based on Bollywood movies like Ek Tha Tiger and Agent Vinod... More seriously, the fact that ISI touts have been using this opportunity to train their guns on India raises serious questions about all the talk of the army being on the same page as the civilian government on the issue of improving relations with India,' says Sushant Sareen.
The pre-dawn missile strike was carried out near Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan Agency that is described as a stronghold of Taliban and Al Qaeda elements.
Pakistan has agreed in principle to launch a full-fledged military operation against Taliban militants in North Waziristan. But it will be a tough task for the country's army, as the terrain is believed to be the stronghold of numerous Arab, central Asian, Pashtun and Punjabi militants.The military operation may increase the flow of US aid to Pakistan, but the consequences might be unaffordable for the beleaguered country.
Through its early days to the 1980s, Pakistan sought to expand its sphere of Islamic influence through Afghanistan to Central Asia and got Pakistani citizens recruited in the Afghan government institutions in the 1990s when the Taliban were power. Now, it is looking eastward through India to Bangladesh and Myanmar to establish an imaginary caliphate.
One of the two terrorists arrested during audacious terror strikes on two mosques of the minority Ahmedi sect in Lahore has told investigators that the attackers had received training in the lawless Waziristan tribal belt and were working at the behest of the Pakistani Taliban's Punjabi wing.
Pakistani law enforcement agencies have taken 36 suspects into custody in connection with the near-simultaneous terror attacks on three security facilities in Lahore that left 28 people dead, officials said on Friday.
The Sikhs, especially in Punjab, are already angry and frustrated, cautions Shekhar Gupta.
Ali Haider Gilani, son of ex-premier Gilani, has been recovered from Afghanistan's Ghazni province, Pakistan's Foreign Office said in a statement.
Move over Batman and superman.
'Jihadi outfits backed by the ISI are now prepared to attack targets not just in J&K, but also in Punjab. This signals an escalation in the range and scope of cross-border terrorism, which cannot be ignored,' says Ambassador G Parthasarthy, former high commissioner to Pakistan.
Senior Pakistani TV journalist Hamid Mir, who faced threats from Taliban and other terror groups, was on Saturday shot at in Karachi by 4 unidentified motorcycle-borne gunmen near a bridge on way to his office.
'The talks have to go on because we want to know what Nawaz Sharif has in his mind. We want to see how much he can deliver. We want to see if he can wrest back power from the army,' a senior government official, who deals with Pakistan, tells Sheela Bhatt.
Canada's new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has named a young and ethnically diverse cabinet, with a ministerial team that for the first time in the country's history is equally balanced between men and women.
A realistic assessment will tell us that not much has changed between India and Pakistan; the relationship remains as fraught as before with little prospect of reconciliation, notes Ajai Shukla.
Pakistan's new Army Chief has begun setting the stage to act against groups like LeT and JeM
'Nawaz Sharif knows a coup in 2016-2017 will not only complete Pakistan's isolation, but even a whiff of instability will frighten the world into imagining another Islamic State-zone, and this in a fully nuclearised subcontinent,' says Shekhar Gupta.
The Kabuliwalas of Kolkata, traditional moneylenders, have seen their numbers shrink.
'Media reports have highlighted that hawala money is coming from Arab countries. And this money is used to create disturbances in Jammu and Kashmir.'
'The real test will be in defence-related deals, for instance the Javelin anti-tank missile: Is the US willing to co-develop something with India, on terms that will support the 'Make in India' initiative? Is there defence technology transfer? Or will it dump old junk on India?' asks Rajeev Srinivasan.
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