KABUL: President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has signed a decree for the release of the first batch of Hezb-e-Islam prisoners. The first batch of the prisoners to be released from the jails will include over 70 inmates. The officials in ARG Palace said last month that the release of Hezb-e-Islami prisoners will kick off as the per the peace agreement and ...

In his speech at TED Global, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani remarked that an average Afghan listens to three radio stations a day because “the world matters to them”. And it is truer in the case of a change in power in neighbouring Pakistan — The Khaki State. This impact amplifies whenever there is a change of command in the Army’s ...

After the dismemberment of Pakistan in 1971, and defeat in war with India, Pakistan Army launched a military operation in Balochistan. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto neither gave orders for Balochistan operation, nor did he tender suggestion for the military action in East Pakistan (now Bangaldesh). It is, thus propagated by the military and security regime of Pakistan that it was Bhutto ...

EDITORIAL: Over two years after the drawdown of foreign troops, a group of about 300 US Marines has returned to the ballet-weary southern province of the country. US soldiers have come again to the Helmand province to help the Afghan security forces to nip the evil in the bud. Commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, General John Nicholson ...

KABUL: Former President, Hamid Karzai on Sunday said that insecurity in Afghanistan affects the situation in Pakistan. “And if the situation in Pakistan is insecure, it affects Afghanistan situation,” Karzai told a high-level delegation from the National Assembly of Pakistan who met the ex-president in Kabul. Karzai said that the two countries should choose any possible ways to strengthen friendly ...

KABUL: Hezb-e-Islami Afghanistan (HIA) leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar on Sunday said that he and his party were ready to honestly cooperate with the government for ensuring security in the country. Delivering speech among thousands of supporters in eastern Nangarhar province, Hekmatyar said: “We become ready for cooperation with the government to reinforce security.” “I accept this government as a fact and ...

KABUL: The leader of Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin Hekmatyar once again slammed the Taliban group for leading a baseless insurgency, claiming that the group is the main reason behind the presence of the US forces in Afghanistan. Speaking during a gathering in eastern Nangarhar province in the presence of Second Vice President and other high level officials, Hekmatyar said the insurgency led ...

KABUL: The former president, Hamid Karzai the other day has addressed an International Security Conference hosted by Moscow’s Defense Ministry. The Russian defense ministry is organizing the international security conference every year, inviting various key political leaders, defense officials and experts from many corners of the world to share views and experiences. In his speech, Hamid Karzai has shad light ...

The sacking is a setback for the Sharif government at a time the Prime Minister is facing heat over the Panama Papers case. The leaked information was published in Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper and spoke of a rift between the civilian and military leadership. Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif approved the removal of Syed Tariq Fatemi, his special assistant on foreign ...

PESHAWAR: Art has no boundaries. In Pakistan, celebrated actor Vinod Khanna’s death trended at number two on twitter with people paying rich tributes to him. Even Pakistan Television(PTV), the state-owned channel, has aired a special programme on the 70-year-old. “His death proved that art has no boundaries. His death is being mourned in Pakistan,” Ihsanullah Tipu Mehsud, a journalist said. ...