Iran was the chance to arrange a concert of nations, to actually be a Vishwaguru. Instead, we are watching from the sidelines as Pakistan, the same country that is apparently still at war with Afghanistan, hosts talks between US-Israel and Iran. The irony is hard to miss, points out Amberish K Diwanji.
Indian authorities have dismantled a terror module with suspected links to ISIS and other extremist organisations, allegedly involved in radicalising youth across multiple states.
Indian authorities have dismantled a terror module with suspected links to ISIS and other extremist organisations, allegedly involved in radicalising youth across multiple states.
'The White House lunch that Trump hosted for Munir last year came just after Munir returned from a visit to Iran, at a moment when Israel and Iran were at war.' 'Trump said after that lunch that the Pakistanis know Iran very well. He likely views Munir as a useful interlocutor that can give helpful insights on Iran.'
'In such a scenario, Iran could proclaim itself victor, rebuild, re-enforce its diminished regional proxies to further destabilise neighbouring nations and take control of the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz.'
The delegations from the US and Iran head to Islamabad on Friday, carrying a ceasefire that is already fraying, a Strait that is technically open and practically closed, and a negotiating agenda that would challenge even parties actually negotiating in good faith, which these groups are not. Prem Panicker continues his must read blog on the Iran War.
If the Iranian regime needs to be punished for promoting quasi-terrorist outfits like Hezbollah and Hamas, then what about Pakistan which has spent decades exporting terror around the world, killing thousands, particularly in Afghanistan and India? asks M R Narayan Swamy.
It is learnt that India was mulling various options relating to the project after Trump administration threatened a 25 per cent additional tariff on countries doing business with Tehran.
Israel and the United States had a plan. Iran punched back. And now the Gulf is reeling, the world is beginning to feel the pain and, as on date, no one in Washington or Tel Aviv appears willing to admit that the punch has landed, notes Prem Panicker, continuing his must-read blog on the war in the Middle East.
Trump said that the decision would be "immediately" in effect and that the "order is final and conclusive."
India is evaluating its involvement in the Chabahar port project in Iran due to potential US tariffs. The US had granted India a waiver for the project, but it expires soon. India is exploring options to continue supporting the port's development while minimizing exposure to US sanctions.
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).
In a key revelation, former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer John Kiriakou has said that Al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden, who was the most wanted terrorist for the United States after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, had escaped from the Tora Bora hills in Afghanistan in the guise of a woman.
India has said it will take all steps to protect its national interests and ensure comprehensive national security in all domains after Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed a strategic defence pact.
Sources have revealed that at least five hardcore terrorists affiliated with banned terror outfits Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) were killed in Indian strikes in Pakistan on May 7th. The strikes targeted nine terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Among the dead were Mudassar Khadian Khas, a LeT leader, and Hafiz Muhammed Jameel, the brother of JeM founder Maulana Masood Azhar. Other notable casualties included Mohammad Yusuf Azhar, a brother-in-law of Masood Azhar, and Khalid alias Abu Akasha, a LeT operative. The Pakistani military and government officials were present at the funerals of the slain terrorists.
'I noticed a nine-year-old child hugging another child every few minutes.' 'The two were sisters and were playing in their village when an armed gang attacked their village and set fire to it.' 'They hid together, only to witness their mother and father being killed.' 'Now, the older child is constantly comforting the younger one.'
Glimpses from India and around the world that will make you smile and cry.
The Taliban's widening campaign in southern Afghanistan is made possible in part by direct support from operatives in Pakistan's military intelligence agency, the New York Times said, citing US government officials.
Seventeen civilians have been beheaded by Taliban insurgents in southern Afghanistan for attending a party, government officials say.
'What is going on is the under counting of the migration population in urban areas.' 'It has been going on in the last few censuses.'
The United States on Thursday launched a major operation against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan, according to military officials.The operation comes in the wake of a similar operation by British troops last week, and is the largest since the US moved additional troops to the strife-torn country earlier this year.Operation Khanjar -- 'strike of the sword' involves 4,000 US troops, mostly Marines, and 650 soldiers from Afghanistan as well as the police.
According to a New York Times report, the Marine Expeditionary Brigade is leading the operation, which has been described as the first major push in southern Afghanistan by the newly bolstered American force.
>The Indian Army still uses old British-era names and recruits soldiers based on caste or region, which hurts national unity, argues Colonel K Thammayya Udupa (retd).
Both teachers in Japan, they had been travelling in Pakistan in early August.
Badar Khan Suri, an Indian postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University, is facing deportation after US authorities accused him of "spreading Hamas propaganda" and having "close connections to a suspected terrorist." The Department of Homeland Security claims Suri has been actively promoting antisemitism on social media and is connected to a senior Hamas advisor. Suri's lawyer, Hassan Ahmad, argues that his client is being targeted due to his wife's Palestinian heritage and their opposition to US foreign policy towards Israel. The incident follows the self-deportation of another Indian student from Columbia University who was also accused of supporting Hamas.
'The camp would provide military training for 1,800 ordinary Taliban fighters and 200 low-level commanders,' an unnamed Afghan government official was quoted by The Independent as saying.
In his petition, Suri's lawyer said that he is being punished as his wife, who is a US citizen, is of Palestinian heritage and because the government suspects that he and his wife are against the US foreign policy towards Israel.
In days of smart, networked technology and no shame over collateral damage, what will blow up next -- cars, mobile phones, TV sets, refrigerators? And where?, asks Shyam G Menon.
'And for me to just be hitting a tennis ball in the United States right now and have people come and watch me play ... I would want to be myself in this situation rather than anyone else in the world.'
India and Iran on Monday signed a 10-year contract for the operation of a terminal at the strategically important Chabahar port in Iran, a move that will boost regional connectivity as well as trade ties. This is the first time India will take over the management of an overseas port that will also have a multiplier effect on trade among India, Iran and Afghanistan as efforts continue to directly tap the potential in Central Asia, bypassing neighbouring Pakistan.
Some individuals or small families were still 'being pulled through the gates somehow' as of Saturday, CNN reported citing a source familiar with the situation.
Ali Haider Gilani, son of ex-premier Gilani, has been recovered from Afghanistan's Ghazni province, Pakistan's Foreign Office said in a statement.
The National Security Strategy document should flag all major issues concerning security strategy and provide guidelines to concerned departments to work out suitable action plans. Since the global and regional geopolitical canvas is dynamic, the NSS document should be deliberated at length before formulation and should be reviewed periodically, recommends Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
In the second-biggest city of Kandahar, a long line of green armoured vehicles was driven in single file on Wednesday, with the group's flags attached to it, Dawn reported cities agencies.
Speaking at a programme in Kolkata on Tuesday night, he said that in the past, even the US has been appreciative of the fact that the Chabahar port has a larger relevance.
'The Indian government is better prepared this time and has reached out to all contenders and not putting all eggs in one basket.'
At least ten Taliban insurgents were killed and 14 others captured in joint operations by coalition and local forces in different parts of Afghanistan, authorities said on Saturday.
A spokesman for Taliban, Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, rang an international news agency to confirm that the Taliban had kidnapped the four men.
Six people, including four policemen, were killed in southern Afghanistan by Taliban insurgents, who first poisoned their food and then launched an attack on their checkpoint.
'If the Chinese are bringing Pakistan more 'behind the curtain,' in terms of intelligence and military cooperation, it will be tailored to their common interests like confronting India over territorial disputes'
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