Russia and China are tight-fisted and Iran is broke and none of them has the political will or capacity to bankroll the Afghan economy, which only the US can, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The 'Shura' or council of a Taliban faction led by Hafiz Gul Bahadur yesterday warned parents not to send their children to five schools near the cantonment in Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan Agency.
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan's Shura (the supreme council) has decided that Hakimullah Mehsud will not directly meet the media as it would help spy agencies locate him.
The two commanders identified only as Iqbal and Gul Muhammad, both hailing from Faisalabad were arrested earlier this week by law enforcement agencies.
The fighting broke out between Hakimullah Mehsud and Wali-ur-Rehman during a meeting of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan 'shura' or council to choose Baitullah's successor following the outfit chief's reported death in a US drone attack, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Saturday night.
As the Pakistan government and the outlawed Taliban prepare for peace talks, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday said he wants to overcome both terrorism within the country and outstanding issues with India through dialogue as peace is vital for reviving the country's economy.
"The international community should put effective pressure on Pakistan to implement its stated commitment to deal with terrorist groups within its territory, including members of Al-Qaeda, Taliban's Quetta Shura, Hizb-e-Islami, Lashkar-e-Tayiba and other like-minded terrorist groups," Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said in New Delhi.
A key militant of the banned Lashker-e-Tayiba and his 34 Afghan followers have been arrested by Pakistani authorities in the Nowshera area in the country's northwest. LeT leader Matiullah alias Abu Tallah and his followers were arrested during a pre-dawn raid on his madrassa or seminary at New Dagai village in Nowshera district on Tuesday, police told the media. From the same district, Pakistani intelligence had captured some top Taliban commanders.
The United States long-suspected Pakistan of sheltering Mullah Omar and even confronted then President Asif Ali Zardari in 2011
Pakistan, which has propped up the new Taliban leadership, would be keen to use its influence over the group to neutralise India's presence in the region.
'The ISI has given a stunning display of its capacity to do with impunity what it likes within Kabul. Incensed over the triumphalism of the hardliners in Kabul, the ISI has hit out; it is a typical ISI reflex action that Indians are familiar with,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The APG released its much-awaited 228-page 'Mutual Evaluation Report' on Saturday, 10 days ahead of the key Financial Action Task Force's plenary meeting which will give its decision on Pakistan's 'grey list' status.
We should be prepared for a phase of increased tensions in India-Pakistan relationship thanks to the evolving situation in Afghanistan, says Shyam Saran.
Two legislative amendments seeking a cut in the United States aid to Pakistan have been defeated in the House of Representatives with most lawmakers arguing that it is essential to maintain ties with a nuclear armed country despite it not doing enough in the war against terrorism.
Two suspected operatives of Al Qaeda have been arrested in New Delhi and Odisha and Delhi Police on Wednesday claimed to have busted a module of the terror group's Indian sub-continent wing operating out of the country.
'It was a mission undertaken in darkness in every sense -- literally, because Afghanistan had no electricity at that time; and, metaphorically because Delhi historically dealt only with the Pashtuns of Afghanistan and the foreign ministry's vast archives had nothing to offer on the culture and politics of the northern tribes in the Hindu Kush.'
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