TRIPOLI: Libya’s only operational oil refinery was “severely” damaged after gunmen battled for three hours around the complex, the National Oil Corporation said. “The Zawiya Oil Complex was severely damaged as a result of skirmishes by armed groups,” Libya’s state oil company NOC said late Tuesday. “Those involved held no regard for the lives of workers … Read more
BRUSSELS: NATO defence ministers on Thursday pushed to bolster the alliance’s defences, as they weighed the calamitous end to their involvement in Afghanistan. “We are in the midst of a transformation of NATO. Over the last years we have stepped up and refocused on our collective defence to protect our own territory,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at … Read more
BUCHAREST — Visiting U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin pledged here on Wednesday to continue to work with partners in the Black Sea region. “We will continue to have about 1,000 soldiers, through rotation, in Romania,” Austin said at a joint press conference with his Romanian counterpart Nicolae Ciuca. “The U.S. will continue to provide … Read more
The director-general of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency, Faiz Hameed, on Saturday hosted a meeting of intelligence chiefs of some countries in the region on the situation in Afghanistan. According to the report, no official statement was issued regarding the meeting but an intelligence source confirmed that the meeting was held privately. The meeting was attended by intelligence chiefs … Read more
Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said on Sunday that Pakistan had very clear policy on Afghanistan, and that was that it wanted stability and peace in the neighbouring country. Talking to the media after offering condolences to Mujeeb-ur-Rehman Shami, editor of Daily Pakistan, over the death of his elder brother here … Read more
“Everything will be okay,” said Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed, director-general of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), during his visit to Kabul. In a video released by Channel 4 News on its Twitter account, the ISI chief can be seen at a hotel in Kabul with Pakistan’s ambassador to Afghanistan, Mansoor Ahmad Khan. "Will you be meeting senior … Read more
Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt Gen Faiz Hameed is in Kabul to hold talks with the Afghan Taliban, reported multiple media outlets on Saturday. According to sources, the DG ISI arrived in Kabul under the direction of Prime Minister Imran Khan. They added that the PM sent the intelligence chief of the country … Read more
“America is back,” goes President Joe Biden’s catchphrase, but his unapologetic exit from Afghanistan shows America won’t be back to business as usual. Beyond the trauma of the Kabul evacuation, Biden is pitching a much broader retreat: a halt to using vast military resources to impose order and US values around the planet. “This decision … Read more
With the Taliban take over in Afghanistan, Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa told parliamentarians on Monday that Pakistan’s “timely steps for western zone border management” had ensured that the country’s borders were ‘secure’. “Due to our timely steps for western zone border management, today despite challenges Pakistan’s borders are secure … Read more
Forming the government in Afghanistan is the responsibility of the Afghan people, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said stressing that regional powers will have to help to stabilize the country. In an interview with TRT World, the information minister said that Pakistan’s efforts for inclusive government in Afghanistan must be supported. “Pakistan is working with regional … Read more
Rockets flew across the Afghan capital on Monday as the United States raced to complete its withdrawal from Afghanistan, with the evacuation of civilians all but over and terror attack fears high. President Joe Biden has set a deadline of Tuesday to withdraw all US forces from Afghanistan, drawing to a close his nation’s longest … Read more
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated on Friday that Turkey has held its first talks in Kabul with the Taliban. He added that Ankara was still assessing the group’s offer to assist in functioning the international airport. The discussions were apprehended at a facility of the military at the Kabul airport where Turkey’s embassy is momentarily … Read more
Director-General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Babar Iftikhar said on Friday that the situation on Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan is “fairly normal and pretty much under control” and assured the nation that the army is prepared and will not be unaware if something happens on the western front. The DG ISPR in a press … Read more
WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden once again defended his administration’s handling of withdrawal from Afghanistan, denying America’s allies questioning the country’s credibility over the ongoing chaotic evacuation. “This is one of the largest, most difficult air lifts in history, and the only country in the world capable of projecting this much power on the far … Read more
The national flag carrier with the support of the Pakistan embassy Kabul and local authorities brought back another 350 passengers from Kabul to Islamabad on Friday. According to the available details, around 350 passengers including foreigners and local Afghans attached with the World Bank and other international organisations, Afghan Wireless communication, Vimco Imtiaz construction company, … Read more
Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations Munir Akram has welcomed the fact that the Taliban are giving assurances to form an inclusive government in Afghanistan and to uphold human rights of its citizens, saying the international community should hold them to that commitment. Responding to questions during an interview on a major American television network, … Read more
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday said that the ideal time to end the Afghan conflict through negotiations would have been when the US and NATO troops were at maximum military strength in Afghanistan. A statement issued after the National Security Committee meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan, stated that continuation of foreign military presence for … Read more
Afghanistan is in dire straits at the moment and its security forces have been weakened after the state failed to stop the Taliban’s attacks. Adding to Afghanistan’s woes, Washington has announced plans to evacuate its citizens from Kabul, a symbol of the US presence after nearly two decades of conflict. Following the Taliban’s takeover of … Read more
KABUL: Taliban on Friday claimed to have taken control over key southern Afghan cities of Lashkar Gah and Kandahar, after weeks of heavy clashes between the Taliban and government forces. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on his social media account that they overran government offices, including provincial police headquarters, in Lashkar Gah, capital of Helmand … Read more
US on Tuesday stated that Washington was in conversation with Pakistani leadership about the alleged “safe havens that exist along that border between Afghanistan and Pakistan”. Addressing reporters during a press briefing, Pentagon Press Secretary John F Kirby said that US was mindful that those safe havens were providing a source of more insecurity, more … Read more
The United Nations has expressed deep concern for the safety and protection of the people in Lashkar Gah, capital of Afghanistan’s Helmand province, who could be trapped by fighting between government forces and the Taliban, said a UN spokesman. Taliban fighters have moved in on three provincial capitals in the last few days and seized … Read more
Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani blamed US ‘abrupt’ decision to withdraw its troops for the country’s deteriorating security, Al Jazeera reported. Presenting his security plan before Parliament on Monday, Ghani said the situation in the war-torn nation will be “under control within six months”, adding that the US has pledged its full support. “The reason for … Read more
China told a visiting Taliban delegation on Wednesday it expected the insurgent group to play an important role in ending Afghanistan’s war and rebuilding the country, the Chinese foreign ministry said. According to Reuters, nine Taliban representatives met Foreign Minister Wang Yi in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin on a two-day visit during which … Read more
KABUL: Fifteen diplomatic missions and the NATO representative in Afghanistan urged the Taliban on Monday to halt their military offensives just hours after the rival Afghan sides failed to agree on a ceasefire at a peace meeting in Doha, NDTV reported as saying. Taliban made no mention of a halt to the violence in Afghanistan after … Read more
The Taliban say they will retaliate if all foreign forces do not complete their withdrawal by the deadline. Speaking to the BBC, Sohail Shaheen, a spokesman for the Taliban’s political office in Qatar, said: “no foreign troops, including military contractors, should remain in the country once the withdrawal process is complete.” “If they leave their … Read more
Hundreds of Taliban fighters have been killed in fierce fighting with Afghan officials in several Afghan provinces, while Washington has announced it will complete the withdrawal of its troops by the end of August. According to the report, Washington’s announcement came at a time when all US and NATO troops evacuated Bagram Air Base, from … Read more
The fast-paced withdrawal of foreign troops amid stalled peace talks and rising incidents of violence in Afghanistan could threaten to undermine Pakistan’s efforts to facilitate Taliban’s return to Kabul through power-sharing arrangements that have international backing, a report by the International Crisis Group said. The report compiled by the think-tank with information received from Islamabad, … Read more
Pakistan was not expecting the Afghan Taliban to make rapid inroads after the US and NATO forces started to withdraw from Afghanistan from May 1. When the US and NATO forces started withdrawing their troops from Afghanistan, the Taliban have took control over 69 of the 407 districts in the country, including the northern districts … Read more
