US is highly unlikely to relent in its drone campaign since the tactic has proven to be the most effective tool to destroy Al Qaeda's leadership, says Lisa Curtis
At least eight persons, including three Haqqani network commanders, were killed on Thursday in a rare United States drone strike outside Pakistan's tribal belt, just a day after a top official said the US had agreed to halt such attacks during negotiations with militants.
'TTP has vowed to take revenge for the attacks that Pakistan is carrying out against Afghanistan.' 'To diminish this threat, Pakistan is hitting Afghanistan hard.'
Specialists from the counter-terror drone wing of the NSG also demonstrated the functioning of its counter-UAS mechanism at the technical area of the IAF station, sources said.
After having boasted that Obama personally orders the drone strikes, the government is now refusing even to confirm whether any documents on the subject exist, says B Raman.
There is "strong evidence" that top members of Pakistan's military, government and intelligence service gave their "active consent and approval" to CIA drone strikes in the country's lawless tribal areas between June 2004 and June 2008, according to a UN report.
Under Mission Sudarshan Chakra, the country's national security shield is to be expanded by 2035 to ensure comprehensive protection of both strategic and civilian critical infrastructure.
Describing the United States' drone strikes inside Pakistan as attacks on the Pakistan's "self-reliance and self-respect", opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday said no sovereign country can tolerate such attacks.
A source familiar with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's thinking revealed on Saturday that the department "intends to utilise all available authorities to make Iranian assets accessible for rebuilding and repair efforts related to any future damage inflicted by Iran."
At least four persons, including an alleged Al Qaeda militant, were killed on Saturday when a United States drone struck in the lawless North Waziristan region after a lull in the Central Investigation Agency's spy plane campaign in Pakistan.
Pakistan's Information Minister claims nearly 800 Afghan Taliban terrorists have been killed in Operation Ghazab lil-Haq, launched in response to cross-border firing.
Badruddin Haqqani, the key operational commander of the Al Qaeda linked Haqqani network, and top Pakistani Taliban commander Mullah Dadullah are believed to have been killed in US drone and air strikes in the tribal region of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Pakistan has announced a temporary pause in its ongoing operation against the Afghan Taliban in response to requests from Islamic countries and in view of the upcoming Eid festival, following accusations from Afghanistan regarding an attack on a rehabilitation hospital in Kabul.
A close aide of slain Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was among six militants killed in a United States drone attack in Pakistan's lawless tribal region 10 days ago, media reported on Tuesday.
Annoyed over the case of its arrested national Raymond Davis, the United States has once again resumed drone strikes in the tribal belt of Pakistan.
The United States has ordered the withdrawal of non-emergency staff from its consulates in Karachi and Lahore, Pakistan, citing security concerns amid regional tensions and protests.
'DRDO has been directed to license missile technologies to the private sector.'
Whether Islamabad sees it as acceptable or unacceptable, lawful or unlawful the US drone strikes would continue in the tribal areas of Pakistan, writes Tahir Ali
The families of victims of US drone strikes have asked Pakistan's new Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to stop the campaign by shooting down the CIA-operated spy planes if necessary, their lawyer said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that discussions aimed at halting the conflict with Iran have shown "some slight progress," while simultaneously echoing Washington's dissatisfaction with its NATO allies.
"Very soon we will have enough systems and we will target.. we will find ways to tackle this threat," the Air Chief Marshal said.
The TTP, however, did not confirm the death of its chief in the drone strike.
With the United States stepping up drone strikes on the Waziristan region in recent days, Pakistan's Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar has said his government was running out of patience and Washington must not test its limits.
As militants escape the north Waziristan hideout following Islamabad's decision to take on the Taliban in the region, they are becoming easy pray for US drones, reports Tahir Ali.
In a shift from its long-held policy, the Obama administration has admitted for the first time that four American nationals have been killed in the Central Intelligence Agency's drone strikes in Pakistan and Yemen since 2009. While the killing of American-born Al Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen was well known, the names of three others were disclosed by Attorney General Eric Holder in a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy.
While Pakistan Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has opposed the campaign of Central Intelligence Agency-operated spy planes and has urged for alternative means to target the terrorists, a drone targeted Al Qaeda' high-ranking commander Abu-Zaid al Kuwaiti, who was killed in North Waziristan last week.
A senior Al Qaeda operative is believed to be among 12 people killed in two United States drone strikes in Pakistan's lawless North Waziristan tribal region.
The Obama administration has ruled out halting the strikes by the CIA operated unmanned planes, which have been billed as the most potent anti-terror weapon, ABC news reported quoting unnamed US officials.
A senior leader of the Haqqani network, blamed for a string of deadly attacks in Afghanistan, was among the three militants killed in a United States drone strike in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal region. Jalil Haqqani, a close relative of Haqqani network leader Sirajuddin Haqqani, was among those killed, Pakistani intelligence officials said. The drone fired two missiles at a compound in a village north of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan Agency.
Notwithstanding its public denouncements against US' "unilateral" drone attacks, Pakistan approved the controversial strikes by the CIA for years under a secret deal with America, a damning media report said on Thursday.
A Pakistan minister refuted social media reports about the conclusion of the operation against Afghan Taliban, stating that the operation is continuing with full intensity.
The United States has said that drone strikes are "legal and ethical" tools against Al Qaeda terrorists in Pakistan, dismissing Islamabad's concerns over the attacks.
Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has been in Tehran meeting with Iranian officials in an attempt to mediate and resolve the ongoing conflict between the US and Iran. This marks Naqvi's second visit in less than a week as Pakistan seeks to bridge the differences between the two nations and establish long-term stability in the region.
Pak-US ties are sliding down the hill due to difference over handling of peace issue in Afghanistan and US' growing defence tie with India.
The missile strikes were carried out at Mohammad Khel and Degan in Datta Khel area of North Waziristan tribal agency that has witnessed numerous drone attacks in the past
United States drones targeted a compound and a vehicle in the restive North Waziristan tribal region of Pakistan on Sunday, killing six militants, officials said.
In the second major strike in the last four days, American drones on Monday targeted a Taliban hideout in Pakistan's restive Kurram tribal region, killing at least 15 people and wounding several others. The drone fired two missiles at the hideout, where a meeting of the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan was being held, TV channels reported. There was no official word on the incident. This was the first such attack in Kurram Agency.
In a secret deal, Pakistan allowed American drone strikes on its soil on the condition that the unmanned aircraft would stay away from its nuclear facilities and the mountain camps where Kashmiri militants were trained for attacks in India, according to a media report.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE are actively pushing Trump to take the war to its bitter finish and 'erase' Iran's presence in the geopolitics of the region. Simply put, the two most powerful Sunni Arab oligarchies are on the same page as Israel. Such interference increases the risk of a breakdown in dialogue between the US and Iran, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Pakistan's military claims to have shot down several drones launched by India, while also reporting injuries to four soldiers in a drone attack. India denies the attacks and claims to have foiled Pakistani attempts to engage military targets.
