Mahmood Khan Achakzai, a prominent Pakistani opposition leader, has called on Pashtuns in Pakistan to obtain Afghan identity cards, a proposal that has drawn criticism from Afghan politicians and former officials. Achakzai, leader of the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party and a senior opposition figure in Pakistan, argued that because millions of Pakistanis hold dual citizenship with countries such as Canada […]

A blast targeting a train carrying military personnel killed at least 24 people on Sunday in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan. A blast targeting a train carrying military personnel killed at least 24 people on Sunday in Pakistan’s turbulent southwestern province of Balochistan, a senior official said. Army servicemen were among the victims of the attack in the provincial capital […]

Pakistan Hosted Iranian Military Planes To Insulate Them From US Attacks There’s been some outrage in D.C. and among the pundit class over a late in the day Monday CBS News report alleging that US-ally Pakistan allowed Iran to park military aircraft at its airfields, and thus outside the US-Israeli strike zone during Operation Epic Fury: President Trump and admin […]

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday that recent militant attacks inside the country, including the attack in Bannu that killed 15, had been organized from Afghanistan’s territory. “Our assessment indicates that this attack was conducted by terrorists based in Afghanistan,” Pakistan foreign ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi told reporters. He added that Pakistan had formally raised the matter with the Taliban and […]

The regime bets that international legitimacy can be translated into domestic stability. But that depends upon whether it can leverage international goodwill to manage grievances and the economy at home. IntroductionIn an increasingly multipolar world, Pakistan has become more strategically relevant. Over the past three years, Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir has steadily consolidated control and formalized the […]

Pakistan’s army chief, Asim Munir, warned that military operations targeting militant infrastructure and safe havens inside Afghanistan would intensify, as relations between Islamabad and the Taliban continue to deteriorate over security disputes. Speaking at a high-level security meeting attended by senior military officials, Munir said the presence of militant groups in Afghanistan had produced “reverse consequences” for Pakistan’s security and […]

Informal talks between figures from Afghanistan and Pakistan aimed at easing Taliban-Pakistan tensions were held in Istanbul this week, with Qatar and Turkey facilitating the discussions, according to the Turkish aid organization, IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation. The talks, titled “Afghanistan and Pakistan: A dialogue in the spirit of Ta’aruf – 1”, were conducted under a “Track 1.5” format, bringing together […]

A senior Taliban official has said that they are prepared to take additional steps to reduce tensions with Pakistan if Islamabad makes an initial move, as cross-border clashes continue. “If Pakistan takes one step, we will take two steps forward,” the head of the Taliban’s chief minister’s office, Abdul Wasi, said during a meeting with Richard Lindsay, the UK special […]

Despite its long alienation from the world, Pakistan has emerged as an essential mediator in negotiation efforts between the United States and Iran—suddenly a major international player. As the United States and Iran inch toward a peace deal, Pakistan has emerged as an unlikely but indispensable mediator in the negotiations. It has hosted high-level talks in Islamabad and shuttled proposals […]

Pakistani missile strikes in eastern Afghanistan’s Kunar province killed at least three people and wounded 45 others on Monday, local sources said, in an escalation of cross-border tensions between Taliban and Pakistan. The strikes targeted areas in Kunar, including Asadabad, the provincial capital. Among the sites hit was the Faculty of Education at Sayed Jamaluddin Afghani University, which sustained damage, […]