NATO on Sunday resumed supplies for its forces in Afghanistan after Pakistan reopened the main supply line, which it had closed to protest the death of its two soldiers in a cross-border raid, even as United States drones killed 7 militants in North Waziristan tribal area in a fresh attack.
Russia ruled out joining the US-dominated North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's military bloc on Tuesday saying such a move would jeopardise its sovereignty as it asserted that it was capable of ensuring its security.
Hours after Afghan forces repulsed major suicide attacks by Taliban on Kabul, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai blamed "intelligence failures" for the assault, particularly on the part of US-led NATO alliance.
Saeed has pledged to tour the country to mobilise the people against any decision by the government to reopen the supply routes, which were closed after a cross-border NATO air strike killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in November.
Pakistan on Thursday said it was yet to decide on attending a NATO Summit next month that will focus on Afghanistan though it was developing a "work plan" on resetting ties with the United States on the basis of guidelines approved by its Parliament.
The resolution, which was passed unanimously, would extend the NATO led force's area of operations to several provinces which are now ruled by armed warlords.
The White House has ruled out United States President Barack Obama offering "formal condolences" to Pakistan over the killing of its 24 soldiers in a NATO strike, as suggested by his top diplomat in Islamabad in a desperate bid to salvage deteriorating ties, a media report said on Thursday.
The government is contemplating the imposition of the fee to be collected by the army-run National Logistics Cell as a condition for reopening the supply routes that were closed in retaliation for a cross-border NATO air strike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in November.
The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan has taken responsibility for the attack on NATO supply trucks in Sindh, which claimed 5 lives on Friday. The TTP has warned that such attacks will continue till Pakistan blocks the supply line to Afghanistan for NATO trucks.On Friday, nearly 12 Taliban militants blocked a road at Shikarpur Sindh and stooped the NATO tankers. After chasing away the drivers, they set nearly 35 tankers on fire. Some of the tankers were destroyed completely.
The top United States admiral involved in the Libyan war has admitted to a US Congressman that forces of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation are actively targeting and trying to kill Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. House Armed Services Committee member Mike Turner said that Samuel Locklear, commander of the NATO Joint Operations Command in Naples, told him NATO forces are trying to kill Gaddafi.
'Now it's for India to also make certain decisions. The sky's the limit. You've got to be strategic.'
'Communist China continues to aggressively expand its domain in the Indo-Pacific region.' 'It's crucial for the USA to continue its support in countering these malicious tactics.' 'India, along with other nations in the region, is not alone.'
The military alliance had been divided over the stand taken by the US over Iraq.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for trying to help find a peaceful solution to the Ukraine crisis.
The Pakistani military on Monday rejected the regret expressed by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation chief for a cross-border air strike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers and warned that the action could have "grave consequences".
The committee noted that Indian export market was at present confined to neighbouring nations like Nepal, Myanmar\nand Maldives, besides catering to the replenishment market.
Expressing "strong concern", China on Monday said it was "deeply shocked" by NATO air strikes on Pakistani border posts that left 24 soldiers killed and asked NATO to respect Pakistan's sovereignty besides seeking a probe into the incident.
For the first time in seven months, trucks carrying supplies for NATO troops crossed from Pakistan to Afghanistan on Thursday after authorities in Islamabad lifted a blockade of the vital routes ending a bitter standoff with the United States.
Pakistan is reportedly lobbying for new government in Kabul without Hamid Karzai as president.
United States President Barack Obama is at loggerheads with his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari, refusing to meet him apparently over blockage of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation supply lines into Afghanistan, an issue which continues to strain ties between two nations, American media reports said on Monday.
"Whatever happened over the weekend on the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan is a tragedy. We express regret for it and as well as condolences for the loss of life. In no way shape of form should this be construed as an intentional attack on Pakistan by the United States. That is simply incorrect," Pentagon Press Secretary George Little told media persons.
An alliance of over 40 religious and extremist groups forged by Lashkar-e-Tayiba founder Hafiz Mohammad Saeed has vowed to march to the Afghan border to force Pakistan government to close NATO supply routes.
The Pakistan government is considering the possibility of making compromises in its efforts to obtain an apology from the US for a cross-border NATO air strike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers last year, according to a media report on Thursday.
Kamala Harris used her forceful presidential acceptance speech to present herself as a leader who could unite the country to chart a 'new way forward' and warned Americans of 'extremely serious' consequences of putting her Republican rival Donald Trump back in the White House.
First look of Pranab Mukherjee with the NATO secretary general.
Twenty tankers which were destroyed were on their way to Afghanistan, and were attacked on the outskirts of Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, early on Wednesday morning,a group of gunmen opened fire at nearly 40 tankers parked at Akhtarabad along the main highway between Quetta and the border town of Chaman, a witness said.
Had it not been for the slow but sure emergence of China as a threat to the western order, would India have been accepted as a near-equal partner by individual western nations, jointly and severally, questions N Sathiya Moorthy.
'The die is cast. The wave is for her.' 'We will win this. The numbers are going to be higher than people are saying.' 'It is going to be more closer to Obama's numbers than Biden's numbers.'
Greece is spending three times as much on security as Sydney did in 2000 because of increased terror fears.
Pakistani authorities have temporarily stopped the movement of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation trucks to Afghanistan following an attack by militants even as the Foreign Office on Thursday said a new memorandum of understanding covering the transportation of supplies will be signed soon.
"For more than a year, General Allen has served with distinction as the Commander of US Forces and NATO International Security Assistances Forces in Afghanistan, seeing us through a critical period in our military efforts and in Afghanistan's transition," Obama said.
The Biden administration's failure in stopping two major wars and several minor ones was seen as a major disaster by many Americans and the world at large, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
The Afghan government could collapse following the departure of NATO forces in 2014, especially if the presidential elections that year are fraudulent, a report has warned.
Minister of Environment Magnus Heunicke urged for national unity in the wake of the assault, emphasising the importance of collective responsibility in safeguarding one another, irrespective of "political disagreements, election campaigns."
A mechanism for Europe which will link together the missile defence assets from different allies under the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's command has been declared operational by the organisation. Announced by the alliance 18 months ago, the system has been termed by NATO Director General Anders Fogh Rasmussen as a step towards the organisation's long-term goal of providing full coverage and protection for all its European partners.
The Pakistani Taliban threatened on Tuesday to attack NATO supply trucks if they tried to resume supplies to troops in Afghanistan. Tahir Ali reports.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi stated this after a meeting with visiting NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, who sought deepening cooperation and developing political dialogue between Pakistan and the European military alliance to achieve common strategic objectives. Any 'activation on the eastern border' would affect Pakistan's involvement in the war on terror, Qureshi told a joint press conference after their talks.
NATO on Monday endorsed plans to hand over to Afghan forces the complete responsibility of security in the war-torn country by 2013 as the military alliance gradually transitions in its role from combat to training before their final withdrawal in 2014.
The expression of remorse by United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was enough to break the deadlock that had led to the blocking of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's supply routes for the last seven months, following the killing of 24 Pakistani soldiers in a cross-border NATO strike at the Salala check-post in November last year.
