On August 3, 2020, two civilians, identified as Mondipalli Ajay Kumar and Mondipalli Mohan Rao, were killed in a landmine explosion near Chintalaveedhi, located in the interior part of the ‘Andhra-Odisha Border (AOB)’ region, in Visakhapatnam District of Andhra Pradesh. According to the Police, the two tribal youth ventured into the forest in search of cattle when they inadvertently stepped […]

In its attempt to cross the last hurdle to the Intra-Afghan Negotiation (IAN), the Afghanistan Government on August 13, 2020, started the process of releasing the last batch of 400 ‘high value’ Taliban prisoners. The Office of the National Security Council tweeted on August 14, 2020,

It should’ve been the happiest day of their lives. Instead, it was the worst. Mirwais and Rehana’s wedding in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul last year was targeted by an IS suicide bomber, killing more than 90 of their guests. The couple lost close family members and friends, and the attack took a heavy toll on their mental health.

One year ago, India rescinded constitutional provisions giving special status to Jammu and Kashmir, the disputed territory also claimed by Pakistan. Kashmiri militancy is growing, often with Pakistani encouragement. Allies should urge New Delhi to relax its clampdown and Islamabad to stop backing jihadist proxies.

For Afghanistan’s peace talks to work, the Taliban will need to shift focus to what they want, not what they oppose. They should develop clear negotiating positions on key issues and work to convince their members that peace requires compromise.

Pakistan’s information minister said Wednesday he hoped that five new bills passed in Parliament aimed at curbing terror financing and money laundering will lead to the country’s removal from an international watch list.

Taliban parades fighters as 400 more prisoners are freed The Taliban released a series of photographs that show its fighters parading in the eastern Afghan provinces of Logar, Laghman and Ghazni. The Taliban fighters were operating in broad daylight, without fear of reprisal from Afghan or Coalition forces.

A Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up near a military vehicle carrying a brigadier and two junior officers in a former tribal region in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday, wounding all three, officials said.

The Taliban reaffirmed Tuesday its commitment to ending violence in Afghanistan, while emphasizing that a comprehensive cease-fire has to be discussed during intra-Afghan peace negotiations due to begin later this month.

A bomb targeting a vehicle from Pakistan’s Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) exploded in a busy market in southwestern Pakistan near the Afghan border on August 10, killing at least five people and wounding 10 others, police and hospital officials said.