UNITED NATIONS: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday he believed the world was united on pressing the Taliban after speaking with Pakistan, China and Russia, key players with Afghanistan’s new rulers. Blinken met Thursday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly with his counterpart from Pakistan and held talks with ministers of … Read more
Pakistan wants the world to develop a roadmap that leads to diplomatic recognition of the Taliban and then engage them to discuss it. “If they live up to those expectations, they will make it easier for themselves, they will get acceptability, which is needed for identifying,” said Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi. He suggested the … Read more
UNITED NATIONS: The five permanent UN Security Council members found common ground Wednesday over Afghanistan with officials saying all the powers would press the Taliban to be more inclusive after their military takeover. China and Russia have described last month’s Taliban victory as a defeat for the United States and moved to work with the … Read more
KARACHI: Newly appointed Afghanistan cricket chairman Azizullah Fazli said Wednesday he would visit neighbouring Pakistan later this week to invite the side for a one-day series. The war-torn nation has steadily risen in international cricket over the past few years, with stars such as the world’s top spinner Rashid Khan, but there have been calls … Read more
Federal Finance Minister Shaukat Tareen has said that the rise in inflation due to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program will provide direct subsidies on food items to the poor. Shaukat Tareen said that there was a 50 percent difference in the global prices of ghee which we kept at 30 percent. The prices of … Read more
PAK v AFG: Newly appointed Afghanistan cricket chairman Azizullah Fazli said Wednesday he would visit neighbouring Pakistan later this week to invite the side for a one-day series. The war-torn nation has steadily risen in international cricket over the past few years, with stars such as the world’s top spinner Rashid Khan, but there have been … Read more
UNITED NATIONS: The humanitarians of the United Nations said that 635,000 people in Afghanistan were routed from their homes this year because of violence, with more than 12,000 recently displaced to Kabul, mainly from Panjshir Province. The World Health Organisation (WHO) and its partners have reached 8 million people in the first half of 2021, … Read more
Teenage Afghan girls were not allowed to return to school on Saturday, according to reports, as classrooms throughout the nation reopened for the first time since the Taliban rule took over. Secondary school lessons for boys in grades seven to twelve will resume on Saturday, the start of the Afghan week, according to the Taliban … Read more
Girls in Afghanistan will be allowed to return to school as soon as possible, the Taliban said Tuesday, after announcing the remaining positions in its all-male cabinet. “We are finalising things… it will happen as soon as possible,” spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on girls’ education. It comes after the education ministry ordered male teachers and … Read more
Former cricketer Shoaib Akhtar said on Monday that the cancellation of the tour to Pakistan by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) was a ‘writing on the wall’. “They are all colluders. It was expected that if New Zealand decides to call tour off, England will follow suit,” the fast bowler told the media, … Read more
Director-General Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) Major General Babar Iftikhar said some leading international and Indian media outlets published and aired fake news stories in an attempt to propagate Pakistan’s interference in internal affairs of Afghanistan. In an interview to a local news forum, the spokesperson of the military’s media wing said the manner in … Read more
Pak-Afghan Cooperation Forum (PACF), on behalf of the Pakistan government on Sunday dispatched 17 trucks loaded with 300-ton edibles to Afghanistan on a humanitarian basis. Briefing media at the at Pak-Afghan border Torkham, Chairman, Pak-Afghan Cooperation Forum (PACF) Habibullah Khan Khattak, said: “Afghans are our Muslim brothers and neighbours and we have centuries-old relations with … Read more
Germany has appreciated the positive role played by Pakistan in bringing about the Doha Process for stability, peace and prosperity in Afghanistan. In an exclusive interview with Radio Pakistan, German ambassador to Pakistan Bernhard Schlagheck said it has been acknowledged by the United States, the world community and Germany also recognizes this very positive role … Read more
National Security Advisor Dr Moeed Yusuf said India orchestrated a hoax narrative and used Afghan soil to perpetrate terrorism against Pakistan. The National Security Advisor wrote in his article published in the British online newspaper ‘The Independent’ said Pakistan has always supported dialogue and political settlement to end the war in Afghanistan and was badly … Read more
JALALABAD: At least two people were killed and 19 others were wounded in separate explosions in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad on Saturday, according to a health official and local media. The attacks, which targeted Taliban vehicles, are the first deadly blasts since the American withdrawal from Afghanistan. An official from the health department … Read more
KARACHI: The Utility Stores Corporation (USC) has been found to have sold tonnes of the imported white sugar in the market instead of selling it to the under-privileged people at subsidised rates. The Customs authorities have seized 500 bags (50kg each) of white sugar, which was being smuggled to Afghanistan. “[The] Customs Squad Nowshera intercepted … Read more
A top general admitted the United States had made a “mistake” when it launched a drone strike against suspected Islamic State militants in Kabul, killing 10 civilians including children instead during the frenzied final days of the US pullout from Afghanistan last month. The strike, a macabre coda to the 20-year US war in Afghanistan, … Read more
Prime Minister Imran Khan called for formation of an inclusive government in Afghanistan to strengthen national unity and create long term stability in the war-torn country. In an interview to Russia Today television he said, “We think that in the interest of Afghanistan and for long term stability an inclusive government should be formed to … Read more
KABUL: “He was a pilot of an American plane, not the driver of a rickshaw. His arrogance caused the death of many Afghans including my brother Zaki,” alleged Hajji Zukria. Sitting cross-legged on a mattress in a rented house here in Qala-e-Fathullah locality of Kabul, Zukria accused the arrogance of the US pilot of the … Read more
ISLAMABAD: International cricketers should support Afghanistan’s men’s team, not punish them by boycotting matches if the Taliban bars women from playing, the former director of the women’s side said. Tuba Sangar, who fled the country for Canada shortly after the fall of the country to the hardline Islamist group, warned that sports sanctions would damage … Read more
Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Peshawar on Wednesday arrested a suspect involved in preparing fake travel documents for Afghanistan. According to Deputy Director FIA Peshawar Aftab Butt, it was observed that for the past few weeks Pakistani citizens were going to Afghanistan through Torkham Boarder on fake documents. He added that the Pakistanis were travelling by … Read more
Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain has welcomed the Afghan women football team’s arrival in Pakistan, via the Torkham border crossing. “We welcome the Afghan women football team, who arrived at Torkham Border from Afghanistan,” he tweeted. He said the female players have valid Afghan passports and Pakistani visas. The Afghan women … Read more
KABUL: Da Afghanistan Bank (DBA) on Sunday said the central bank has so far not received any formal notification concerning freezing of its assets. “So far, Da Afghanistan Bank has not received any formal notification pertaining to the freezing of monetary reserves of this bank and the bank has been informed of it through the … Read more
ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Tuesday urged the United Kingdom to “accept the new reality” and assist the Taliban with aid to avert an economic collapse. In an interview with the British publication The Independent, Foreign Minister Qureshi called on the UK and its western allies to assist the Taliban with supplies with … Read more
Pakistan is monitoring the ability of the new Taliban government in Afghanistan to deliver on the commitments and promises to uphold human rights that they have made to the international community before extending recognition to it, Ambassador Asad Majeed Khan has said. “Whether the Taliban actually abide by those (commitments) is their call,” the Pakistani … Read more
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Monday on Pakistan to deny legitimacy to the Taliban unless they meet international demands, acknowledging concerns that Islamabad has supported militants from Afghanistan. Testifying before Congress on the Taliban victory in Afghanistan, Blinken heard from lawmakers across party lines who pushed for a harder line on Pakistan, an … Read more
Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi Monday cautioned the international community against a sluggish response over Afghanistan as it could cause grave humanitarian consequences. “The challenges are daunting. The situation is becoming dire for around 18 million people of Afghanistan – directly in need of humanitarian assistance,” the foreign minister said in a statement delivered … Read more
Afghan women wearing full face veils sat in rows at a Kabul university lecture theatre Saturday, pledging commitment to the Taliban’s hardline policies on gender segregation. About 300 women — covered head-to-toe in accordance with strict new dress policies for education — waved Taliban flags as speakers railed against the West and expressed support for … Read more
