At least 10 persons were killed and 20 others injured when three bombs ripped through a cinema hall in this restive northwestern Pakistani city on Tuesday.
Shaken by the Taliban terror attack in which 148 people, including 132 school children, were killed in Peshawar on Tuesday, Pakistan has pledged to announce a "national plan" to tackle terrorism within a week with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif saying "this entire region" should be cleaned of terrorism.
A 'barat' of over 100 Taliban militants, using decorated vehicles, carried out the surprise assault on sleepy guards at Pakistan's third largest jail in the restive northwest region to walk away with 250 prisoners, including top commanders of the outlawed outfit.
In a major setback to peace talks, the Pakistani Taliban on Wednesday refused to extend the 40-day "gift of ceasefire" but said they were committed to the process the government initiated to find a solution to the decade-long insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives.
Three burqa-clad Taliban terrorists stormed the training institute and opened indiscriminate fire, killing at least 12 people, half of them students, before being shot dead by security forces on Friday.
The invitation for the meeting to India was extended by Qatari special envoy for conflict resolution Mutlaq bin Majed Al-Qahtani during his visit to the national capital last week.
TTP chief said the blast was in retaliation for killing LeJ chief Chotu, along with three others in an encounter.
Over 100 Christians have been arrested for allegedly being part of a mob that lynched two men after Taliban suicide attacks on two churches.
The statement comes Days after Trump sought Imran Khan's help in the Afghan peace process.
The election seem to have been conducted without any major security lapses. However, in the coming weeks, the military situation in Kandahar could tilt in the Taliban's favour, notes Aveek Sen.
Atmar briefed Jaishankar about the situation in the war-torn country amid growing security concerns over the Taliban fighters rapidly seizing control of a large number of areas, forcing many countries to scale down their presence there.
A Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party MLA over the weekend hit out at Akhtar and said no film involving him will be allowed to be screened till he apologises for his remarks.
Mr Modi might have questions to ask himself on the most formidable strategic challenge before India that he inherited from the United Progressive Alliance: The triangulation between China and Pakistan. The failure to break out of it, or even loosen it a bit, is something to reflect on, notes Shekhar Gupta.
Malala Yousufzai's book has been banned in Pakistan's private schools after the teenage activist was accused of becoming a tool of the West for writing "highly controversial" contents in her memoir.
'Omar Khorsani has called repeatedly for the most barbaric of attacks. He is very adept on social media. He is, in other words, eerily similar to the ISIS leader Baghdadi.' 'The crux of the army's 'strategic asset' policy -- its policy of regarding militants as those that can help Pakistan pursue its regional interests -- is that Pakistan needs help in weakening India or in keeping its presence minimal in the region.' Michael Kugelman reveals what the world can expect next from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, the terrorists responsible for the Peshawar school massacre.
Two days after Pakistani Taliban appointed a new chief, a US drone today targeted one of the key commanders Waliur Rehman as it fired missiles on his stronghold in South Waziristan killing eight people, mostly militants and wounding another nine.
The billions India invested in dams, schools, etc in Afghanistan will be gone. The Hindu and Sikh population of Afghanistan has already shrunk from some 200,000 to about 500, points out Rajeev Srinivasan.
External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said India will continue to extend all support to the Afghanistan as a contiguous neighbour, in a clear reference that the Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir belongs to India.
The United States on Friday said that Pakistani leaders must take action against rapidly expanding Taliban militants who now pose an 'existential threat' to Islamabad. "I think that some of the leaders certainly understand that (threat posed by the Taliban), but it is important that they not only recognise it but take the appropriate actions to deal with it," United States Defence Secretary Robert Gates told reporters during his visit to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.
The Afghan Taliban is struggling to find a successor to slain chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour.
With a narrow industrial base and dysfunctional politics, and a counter-productive national security agenda, Pakistan could well remain an 'international migraine', observes T N Ninan.
United Arab Emirates is the favourite to host the ODI tournament in March.
Captain Sharan and Flight Engineer Anil Jaggia both confirm that the hijackers seemed to know a lot about flying an aircraft. Without help from the ISI or the Pakistan army, it was impossible, points out Utkarsh Mishra.
'Anybody can claim anything,' Pakistan army spokesperson Major General Athar Abbas said. 'I do not think the Pakistani Taliban has the capacity to carry out attacks overseas because the army has destroyed their facilities.'
Afghanistan doesn't have a women's team since the Taliban took over.
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.
Expressing concern over the situation in Afghanistan, a group of eminent persons, including former ministers K Natwar Singh, Yashwant Sinha and Mani Shankar Aiyar, on Wednesday urged the government to continue engaging with the Taliban and not allow any political party to use the developments in that country to communally polarise Indian society for electoral gains.
New Zealand Cricket officials have commissioned international security consultant and expert Reg Dickason to visit Pakistan later this week to carry out a thorough security and COVID-19 assessment before advising them whether they should send their team to Pakistan.
Biden's remarks could be seen as a setback to the Shehbaz Sharif government's bid to improve ties with the US.
Trump disclosed that he was to meet the Afghan President and senior Taliban leaders on Sunday at his Camp David retreat.
Security has been beefed up across Pakistan to fend off a looming threat by Taliban to launch the "biggest attack" on some unspecified important installation, officials said on Monday.
The blast occurred in the mosque in the Police Lines area around 1.40 pm when a suicide bomber present in the front row during the Zuhr (afternoon) prayers blew himself up, security officials said.
Afghanistan will remain a frontline state for Washington for a foreseeable future in terms of the potential threats to US national security from terrorist groups, asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar, who played a stellar role in beginning India's dealings in Afghanistan in 1994.
With commercial flights from Kabul airport yet to resume, media reports said the Afghanistan team had been looking to travel to Pakistan by road and fly to Colombo via Dubai.
'We have been bold and innovative on recognition in the past and we do not need to rush,' advises Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
An examination of some user profiles linked to these banned outfits indicates open support of sectarian and extremist ideology. A few of these profiles have also publicly 'liked' pages and groups related to weapons use and training.
Dreaded Islamic State of Iraq and Syria is trying to expand its influence in Pakistan, with pamphlets being distributed in Peshawar and border provinces of Afghanistan, seeking support for jihad.
For Afghans in India, including medical tourists from the war-torn country as well as migrants and refugees staying here much longer, the safety of friends and families is the biggest concern - particularly for those linked to the now collapsed government or who have had work ties with the US.
"We have removed the leader of an organisation that has continued to plot against and unleash attacks on American and coalition forces, to wage war against the Afghan people, and align itself with extremist groups like Al-Qaeda," the US president said in a statement.
Ryan Wesley Routh, who authorities suspect was planning to attack the Republican presidential nominee as he played a round of golf, made these remarks to The New York Times.
