Despite an heightened threat of violence on the eve of Ashura (9th and 10th of Moharram), no major incident of violence particularly of sectarian nature was reported in the country though four militant attacks were reported that caused no human life but 11 people including four security forces personnel were injured. Since security forces were…
On 21 August, US President Donald Trump announced new US South Asian policy. President Trump cleared the way for the deployment of thousands more US troops to Afghanistan while pillorying ally Pakistan for offering safe haven to “agents of chaos”. “My instinct was to pull out,” Trump admitted. But following months of discussion, Trump said…
In the recent past, Intelligence Bureau (IB) has come in the limelight for variety of reasons. In one of the instances, IB has been accused by one of its own employee of “protecting” terrorists. A serving assistant sub-inspector (ASI) of IB, Malik Mukhtar Ahmed Shahzad, has accused his senior officers of not taking action against…
A day after Rohani won his second term as president of Iran, at least five mortar shells fired from Iran landed into Chaghi area of Balochistan. When the mortars were being fired, American president Donal Trump was in Saudi Arabia where he criticized Iran. Pakistani Prime Minister and former Chief of Army Staff and head…
Pakistan’s new counter-terrorism policy measure known as National Action Plan (NAP) has yielded mixed results. The NAP is another policy instrument utilized by Pakistani policy makers following the terrorist attack on Army public School in Peshawar on December 16, 2014. Now after two years of announcement of NAP, there exists uncertainty about the effective implementation…
Terror funding of militant groups operating in Pakistan or from Pakistan is a serious concern for Pakistani authorities and international community. For Pakistani authorities, terror financing of groups operating against Pakistani state are of prime concern while for International community terror funding of groups operating from Pakistan against United States or India are of major…
On April 17, 2017, Director General of Inter Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) revealed in a press briefing that head of Jamat-ul-Ahrar’s media commission and former spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan has surrendered before Pakistan Army. Ehsan was previously spokesman of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan before Shahidullah Shahid (late) had replaced him. Surrender of Ehsanullah is apparently a big…
While the government has come quite heavily against sectarian violence and religious persecution, it clearly failed to initiate any meaningful initiative to reform our criminal justice system With a full media blitz Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad has been launched nationwide. What differentiates it from Operation Zarb-e-Azb is perhaps the resolve now visible within the political leadership to…
Has ISIS become operational in Pakistan? DAESH or so-called Islamic State has claimed responsibility of deadly Quetta blast in which more than 70 people have been killed on August 9. It also claimed responsibility of another attack in same city two days later on security convoy of a judge. The claims were made by ISIS’s…
On Saturday June 3, 2017, Pakistani security forces cordoned off an area Koh-e-Maran (Maran Mountains) in Mastung district of Balochistan. Forces had received an intelligence input that two Chinese who were kidnapped from Quetta were brought in the area. Security Forces initially took it an easy task but very soon found that in these barren…