FT: When the Taliban took control of Kabul in 2021, Pakistan’s then-prime minister Imran Khan lauded Afghanistan for breaking “the shackles of slavery”. Khan’s spymaster Faiz Hameed was photographed drinking tea with leaders of the Islamist militant group in a Kabul hotel. But with violence surging to a nine-year high, Islamabad’s hope that the new
Afghanistan International: John Kirby, the White House National Security Spokesperson, said that the people of Pakistan continue to be victims of terrorist attacks from the Afghan border. Kirby said that the United States will continue to work with Pakistan on counterterrorism. Kirby said at a news conference on Wednesday that Islamabad has never been a
Al Jazeera: From the 1980s when it backed the mujahideen against the Soviet Union through the first two decades of the 21st century, Pakistan was a primary backer of the Taliban, many of whose leaders found shelter on Pakistani soil. India, by contrast, viewed the group as a Pakistani proxy, shuttering its embassy in Kabul
Afghanistan International: Abbas Stanekzai, the Taliban’s deputy foreign minister, said that the group has evidence that ISIS has training centres in Pakistan. He has claimed that the Pakistani army is training ISIS fighters at these shelters. Abbas Stanekzai wrote on the social media platform X on Friday, January 10, that the Pakistani army is supplying
Amu: Rana Sanaullah, Special Assistant to the Pakistani Prime Minister on Political Affairs, has warned that Pakistan may once again carry out cross-border operations in Afghanistan as part of its counterterrorism efforts if its security is threatened. Speaking to Pakistan’s Sama TV, Sanaullah referenced recent Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan’s Barmal district of Paktika Province, asserting
Michael Hughes: Islamabad appears to be laying the groundwork for regional partnerships to strangle Afghanistan from all sides as tensions escalate with the Taliban over cross-border attacks resulting in decade-high deaths of Pakistani troops. However, although Pakistan has found a willing ally in Tajikistan, it will be harder to secure cooperation from other actors in
Khaama: International media has reported that the relationship between the Taliban and Pakistan has significantly weakened due to the intensifying insecurity in the region. Pakistan is now acknowledging that its initial support for the Taliban was a critical strategic misstep. Click here to read more (external link). Related Pakistani police claim 35 percent of militants
Amu: Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, sharply criticized the country’s previous leadership on Thursday, alleging that hasty and informal decisions facilitated the return of thousands of members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) into the country..Speaking during a briefing, Mr. Dar attributed the re-entry of 35,000 to 40,000 TTP fighters to poorly
Afghanistan International: Anwar Zeb Khan, a representative of Bajaur in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Assembly of Pakistan, has revealed that hundreds of insurgents from Afghanistan have entered the Bajaur region and seized control of five checkpoints. According to Khan, the insurgents have raised the flag of the Afghan Taliban in the area. Click here to
Afghanistan International: Emomali Rahmon, the President of Tajikistan, met with General Asim Munir, the Director-General of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), in Dushanbe. It is not yet clear whether the ISI chief met with the leaders of the National Resistance Front during his visit. Previously, some Pakistani diplomats had warned that if the Taliban failed to