Afghanistan | Pakistan

Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir on Wednesday said that peace between Pakistan and Afghanistan could only prevail if the Taliban regime “renounced their support for terrorism and terrorist organisations”. According to a statement by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), CDF Munir made the remarks as he visited Wana in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s South Waziristan to review the prevailing security situation and operational preparedness along the Western border. “He reiterated that peace could only prevail between both sides if the Afghan Taliban renounced their support for terrorism and terrorist organisations,” the statement said. It said that CDF Munir laid a floral wreath at the martyrs’ monument to pay homage to those who had rendered supreme sacrifices in defence of the motherland. “He offered fateha and reaffirmed that the sacrifices of shuhada remain the cornerstone of Pakistan’s security and resilience,” it added. During the visit, CDF Munir was given a comprehensive b...

Amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, air routes passing through Pakistan and Afghanistan have emerged as some of the busiest aviation corridors in the world, according to flight tracking data.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Saturday rejected claims about a Pakistani jet being shot down in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar and the pilot being captured. The ministry’s fact check account on X attributed the claims to Afghan Taliban officials that were “amplified by Indian media”. “The Ministry of Defence of the so-called Islamic Emirate claimed that Afghan forces shot down a Pakistani fighter jet in Nangarhar and captured its pilot alive. The claim was widely amplified by Indian media and Afghan propaganda outlets,” it said. The ministry further said Pakistan’s armed forces had not reported any aircraft loss and stated that no “independent international media outlet or defence monitoring agency” had verified the claim. “The story relies solely on statements from Afghan officials and selective media amplification,” it said. It further stated that there was no visual proof of crash debris, the wreckage site or the captured pilot. “No geolocated imagery or satellite evidence supports the claim,” i...

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan’s valiant defence forces carried out precise operations, inflicting heavy losses on terrorist outfits and targeting their logistical support bases in Afghanistan, said Foreign Office Spokesperson here on Friday.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday visited General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, where the military leadership gave him a “detailed briefing” on the situation between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The development comes after Pakistan’s security forces launched an operation, dubbed Ghazab lil-Haq, against the Afghan Taliban after it launched unprovoked attacks along the border between both countries on Thursday. According to a handout by the Prime Minister’s Office, PM Shehbaz said that zero tolerance should be adopted against the nexus between the Afghan Taliban and Fitna al Khwarij and its malicious actions. Fitna al Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) “The actions of the Afghan Taliban regime and Fitna al Khawarij against Pakistan are unacceptable,” he said. He added that the country’s armed forces, under the leadership of Chief of Defence Forces Asim Munir, were always ready to defend the country. “Pakistan knows how to defend itself agai...

The Foreign Office (FO) on Thursday said that Pakistan’s recent strikes against neighbouring Afghanistan were carried out to ensure the “safety of Pakistani citizens” and to prevent “imminent terrorist attacks”. FO spokesperson Tahir Andrabi made the statement while responding to a question during his weekly press briefing. Pakistan targeted terrorist camps and hideouts overnight in the Nangarhar and Paktika provinces of Afghanistan over the weekend, with an official saying that “more than 80” terrorists had been killed in the air strikes. The strikes were the most extensive military engagement between the two neighbours since border clashes broke out in October last year. During Thursday’s press briefing, the FO spokesperson was asked about civilian casualties in the strikes, the total number of terrorists killed, and the locations of the camps targeted. In his response, he said, “Let me begin by reiterating that the intelligence-based selective targeting of these seven terrorist camps and their hideouts in ...

Pakistan has boosted security and arrested dozens of suspects as it fears a rising wave of militant attacks following its air strikes in Afghanistan, Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry said on Wednesday. “Our forces are on high-alert to combat any attacks,” Chaudhry told Reuters. “You know the militants always react whenever we go after their hideouts in Afghanistan.” Pakistan carried out air strikes on targets in Afghanistan over the weekend on what it said were militant targets responsible for a spate of recent suicide bombings on Pakistani soil. Islamabad blames Kabul for allowing the fighters to use Afghanistan as a safe haven. Kabul denies the charges, saying the militancy is Pakistan’s internal problem. Pakistani and Afghan forces exchanged fire along their border on Tuesday, with each side accusing the other of initiating the clash. There have also been a number of militant attacks, including the ambush of a police vehicle in Kohat in which five officers and two civilians were killed and a s...

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry briefed the Senate on Monday on recent strikes targeting terrorist hideouts in Afghanistan, pointing out that they were carried out following multiple attacks by militants in Pakistan and saying that Islamabad “cannot tolerate this anymore”. Pakistan carried out airstrikes on Afghanistan in a retaliatory operation late on Saturday night, targeting groups responsible for recent attacks in its territory. The strikes were conducted in retaliation for a series of suicide attacks in Islamabad, Bajaur, and Bannu that had claimed the lives of Pakistani security personnel and civilians. Mentioning these incidents, Chaudhry said they were “linked” to Afghanistan-based actors, adding that it was subsequently decided to give a “decisive response” to the neighbouring country. “As a result, our Air Force carried out strikes in three Afghan provinces, Paktika, Nangarhar and Khost on February 21,” he said, adding that there were reports of the deaths of over 100 militants ...

ISLAMABAD: Parliamentary Secretary for Information and Broadcasting Barrister Danyal Chaudhry on Monday stressed that national security was “non-negotiable” after Pakistan carried out strikes on terrorist targets in Afghanistan, killing over 80 terrorists. “Pakistan has always chosen the path of dialogue and peaceful coexistence. But when Afghan soil continues to be used for proxy attacks, we have no choice but to defend our homeland. National security is non-negotiable,” Chaudhry said in a statement. The PML-N MNA affirmed that the people of Pakistan “stand firmly” with their armed forces in the fight against terrorism. He urged the Afghan government to take “decisive action to prevent its land from being used for cross-border militancy”, warning that lasting peace in the region depended on the “complete dismantling of terrorist sanctuaries”. Noting that the recent operation “successfully neutralised militants involved in attacks on Pakistani soil”, Chaudhry stressed: “This action was aimed solely at those r...

Pakistan issued a demarche to the Taliban regime over the use of Afghan soil for a terrorist attack on security forces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur that martyred 11 soldiers, it emerged on Thursday. According to a press release by the Foreign Office (FO), the demarche was issued on Wednesday afternoon when the FO summoned the Afghan deputy head of mission. “Pakistan condemned in the strongest possible terms the vehicle-borne suicide terrorist attack followed by a fire raid on Pakistan military and law enforcement agencies’ posts in Bajaur, carried out by Fitna al Khawarij [or] the TTP,” the statement said. Fitna al Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The FO expressed concern that the group, whose entire leadership is based in Afghanistan, “operates with impunity from Afghan soil”. It re-emphasised that Pakistan had received repeated assurances from the Afghan Taliban regime, “but, regrettably, with no visible or concrete actions”. “The A...

South Africa prevailed in a double Super Over thriller as Afghanistan came up agonisingly short of a famous victory after their T20 World Cup clash ended in a tie on Wednesday. Afghanistan were 187 all out after South Africa scored 187-6 in Ahmedabad. The teams were tied again after a breathless first Super Over saw them both score 17, before South Africa won off the final ball of a heart-thumping second sudden-death showdown. After South Africa bludgeoned 23 from their second super over and Afghanistan lost a wicket off the second ball of theirs, Rahmanullah Gurbaz was left needing four sixes off four balls for an unlikely victory. Gurbaz sensationally launched Keshav Maharaj into the crowd three times with some huge blows. A wide off the fifth ball meant Afghanistan still needed six to win but now a four would send it, incredibly, to a third Super Over. With nerves jangling and pulses racing, the left-arm spinner held his nerve to bowl a wide yorker that saw Gurbaz smack into the grateful hands of Davis Mil...

Opener Tim Seifert struck a blistering 65 off 42 balls to lead New Zealand’s highest-ever run in a T20 World Cup as they beat Afghanistan by five wickets on Sunday. After Afghanistan made 182-6, New Zealand were driven by Seifert’s 42-ball knock and 42 by Glenn Phillips to achieve their target with 13 balls to spare in Chennai. New Zealand’s previous best chase in the T20 World Cup was their 167 against England in the 2021 semi-final. Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman had New Zealand in early trouble when he struck on successive balls in the second over of the chase to dismiss Finn Allen, for one, and Rachin Ravindra, for a duck. The hat-trick was avoided by Phillips, who then got going with wicketkeeper Seifert in a partnership of 74 for the third wicket to thwart Afghanistan’s spin-heavy attack. Captain Rashid Khan let out a roar as he broke through to dismiss Phillips, who inside-edged onto his stumps. Leg-spinner Rashid dropped Seifert on 48 off his own bowling, and the batsman reached his fifty with a...

Snow and heavy rain have killed 61 people in Afghanistan in the past three days, disaster officials said on Saturday, with a major road and power also cut in several provinces. The deaths occurred mainly in central and northern provinces between Wednesday and Friday, according to a map released by Afghanistan’s disaster management authority (ANDMA). The “initial figures of casualties and destruction” also include 110 injured people and 458 houses that were either partially or fully destroyed, ANDMA said on social media platform X. A total of 360 families were affected, said a spokesman who asked people in a video message to avoid unnecessary travel on snowy roads. The spokesman also told AFP that most of the casualties were caused by roof collapses and avalanches, while many also died from frostbite in sub-zero temperatures. The emergency department in the southern province of Kandahar said six children were killed when the roof of their home collapsed in strong wind and heavy rain on Wednesday. Houses were a...

ISLAMABAD: Nearly 200 Pakistani students stranded in Afghanistan for months due to the closure of the border have demanded permission to cross the Torkham border, according to their representatives. Taliban authorities have told them that Pakistani diplomatic missions should officially approach them and verify the list with an official stamp. However, Pakistani officials are reluctant to do so, the affected students told Dawn from Kabul and Jalalabad. The Taliban allowed the first group of 26 students to cross Torkham on Jan 12, and Pakistani authorities also opened the border specifically for them. However, the students who arrived at Torkham on Jan 13 have not yet been allowed to cross, as Taliban authorities insist that the Pakistani embassy or the consulate in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province, should officially verify the list. Dr Riazullah Wazir and Amanullah Wazir, representatives of the students in Kabul, said students had met the Nangarhar governor and officials at the Pakistani embassy an...

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar has strongly condemned the remarks made by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi regarding Afghanistan, terming them irresponsible and against Pakistan’s national interests.

Pakistan and China issued a joint communique on Monday calling for more “visible and verifiable” actions to dismantle and eliminate all terrorist organisations based in Afghanistan, and prevent them from using Kabul’s territory for militancy against any other country. The joint statement came after the conclusion of the 7th round of the Pakistan-China Foreign Mini­sters’ Strategic Dialogue, for which Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar travelled to Beijing. “The two sides called for more visible and verifiable actions to dismantle and eliminate all terrorist organisations based in Afghanistan which continue to pose serious threats to regional and global security, and prevent terrorist organisations from using the Afghan territory for terrorism against any other country and to endanger any other country,” the statement said. “The two sides agreed to keep in close communication and coordination on the Afghan issue, work with the international community to encourage the Afghan government to build an inclusive politi...

The interim Afghan Taliban regime’s interior minister, Sirajuddin Haqqani, on Sunday extended his gratitude to all organisations and actors extending goodwill and good intentions to Afghanistan, including the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Fazl (JUI-F). The comments, delivered during an event in Kabul, come after JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, on December 23, criticised Islamabad for striking terrorist targets in Afghanistan and Iran and for deporting Afghan refugees. “There comes a point when refugees become a problem, but you come together to resolve it; you don’t expel people who have been living in your country for 40 years,” he said, calling on Pakistan and Afghanistan to maintain friendly relations. A declaration from Dec 23 stated that tension “is not in the interest of either country and will only benefit anti-Islamic forces”, urging Kabul and Islamabad to resolve their issues through dialogue. Haqqani referred to the conference on Dec 23, noting that Fazl and religious scholar Mufti Taqi Usmani “expressed ...

Five people were killed in an armed clash on the border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan, Tajik state media said on Thursday. Citing a statement by the Border Troops of the Tajik State Committee for National Security, state news agency Khovar reported that three people crossed into the country late on Tuesday in the Shamsiddin Shohin district of the country’s southwestern Khatlon region, and were later located on Wednesday. “The terrorists refused to obey orders from Tajik border guards to surrender and offered armed resistance. They intended to carry out an armed attack on one of the border posts of the Border Troops of the State Committee for National Security of the Republic of Tajikistan,” the statement said. “As a result of the combat operation, all three terrorists were neutralised,” the statement said, adding that two Tajik border officers were killed during the clashes. According to the statement, this was the third “armed attack, terrorist act, and border crossing” from Afghanistan in the past mont...

Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Mohammad Sadiq on Monday shared “concerns over the large number of terrorists in the neighbourhood, hindering regional economic integration and posing serious security challenges.” In a post on X, Sadiq, who also holds the special assistant to the prime minister portfolio, said he had held separate meetings with his counterparts from China and Uzbekistan on the sidelines of the Afghanistan Neighbours Conference in Tehran. “We agreed that collective efforts needed to address this threat,” he said. Separately, senior diplomats of Afghanistan’s six neighbouring countries and Russia, who met in Tehran on Sunday, supported all efforts to reduce tension between Pakistan and Afghanistan. They expressed their readiness to help strengthen these efforts, an Iranian government statement said on Monday. Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported that the participants also called on Islamabad and Kabul to return to the negotiating table and resolve their problems through diplo...

• Host Iran taps regional players as reliable actors; warns against prescriptions ‘imported’ from foreign powers • Kabul regime declines invitation to attend; ex-Pakistani diplomat terms it ‘head-in-the-sand attitude’ • Any tension between Afghanistan and Pakistan also affects Tehran, says Iranian foreign ministry spox ISLAMABAD: Pakis­tan on Sunday urged the Afghan Taliban to rid their country of all militant groups, while Iran stressed the need for regional cooperation, rather than foreign intervention, at a multinational Afghanistan-foc­used mee­t­ing in Tehran. The calls for action came during a meeting of Special Representatives for Afghanistan from neighbouring countries, plus Russia. The Taliban were invi­ted to participate, but declined to attend, according to statements from both Iranian and Taliban officials. The high-level gathering in the Iranian capital brought together special representatives from Paki­stan, China, Russia, Tajiki­stan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan to discuss shared security conc...