Archive for July, 2020

Taliban: Calls for Halting War Before Afghan Peace Talks ‘Illogical’

Afghanistan’s Taliban has dismissed as “illogical” escalating domestic and foreign calls for the insurgent group to cease hostilities before the commencement of intra-Afghan peace negotiations.

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Within the Taliban, clashing views of Afghanistan’s future

In talks in Doha and in Kabul, the Taliban’s leaders have struck a conciliatory tone: Issues of human rights, democracy and power sharing are open for discussion, they said, and will be worked out during peace talks with the Afghan government.

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India Is Well Into The Great Game

What has triggered the on-going Indo-China face-off , if not its roots are to be found in August 5, 2019 when BJP led NDA-2 abrogated J&K Article 370 and made Ladakh a UT, inviting snarls from China.

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Punjab: Emerging Challenge

On July 5, 2020, the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology reportedly took down 40 websites run and operated by the pro-Khalistan Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), on a recommendation from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA). These websites were being used to propagate anti-India sentiment across the world and for trying to recruit young Sikhs to join militant […]

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India Needs High Jump, Not Yoga To Win War With China

War between India and China is on the cards. Though there is a retreat on both sides for the time being there is every possibility that war would break out any time in future. Unlike a war between India and Pakistan or with any other neighbouring country war with China will have to be fought on two fronts. One, the […]

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What Iran Wants in Afghanistan

And What U.S. Withdrawal Means for Tehran Negotiations to end the long-running war between Afghanistan’s central government and the Taliban slowly inch along, punctuated by spasms of violence. The Taliban and the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) often lash out with attacks on the Afghan security forces and civilians, with the ISKP frequently targeting Shiite communities. Any settlement will likely […]

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Pentagon chief confirms he was briefed on intelligence about Russian payments to the Taliban

Secretary of Defense Mark Esper confirmed Thursday that he had been briefed on information regarding Russian payments to the Taliban, seemingly acknowledging that Russia’s support for the militant group in Afghanistan is not a “hoax,” as President Donald Trump has claimed. However, Esper also made clear that he has not seen intelligence that corroborates claims that American troops were killed […]

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Taliban, despite ‘peace’ talks, led the world by far in 2019 terrorist attacks, study finds

Almost 8,500 terrorist attacks took place in 2019, killing more than 20,300 people – some 5,460 were known perpetrators and 14,840 were victims, according to a report released this week by the University of Maryland’s National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) as part of its Global Terrorism Database (GTD).

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Afghanistan to release prisoners from Taliban list in push for talks

Afghanistan is to release more Taliban prisoners in the hope of getting peace talks going, a government spokesman said on Thursday, after the insurgent group provided the government with a revised list of several hundred of their detainees.

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Taliban Suicide Bomber Kills Three as Violence Rises Despite Peace Push

A Taliban suicide bomber detonated an explosive-packed military vehicle on the approach to the provincial governor’s residence and police headquarters in the Afghan province of Kandahar on Wednesday, killing at least three people, authorities said.

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