The Taliban in Afghanistan have mediated a temporary ceasefire between Pakistan and a local Pakistani Taliban militant group following talks between the two sides in Kabul, an official said on Wednesday. The Pakistani Taliban – known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) – has carried out some of the bloodiest attacks inside Pakistan since 2007. It is not directly affiliated with […]

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday told Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari that US President Joe Biden’s administration was looking forward to working with the new government in Pakistan and discussed “expanding partnership” between the two countries. The meeting took place in New York on the sidelines of the food security meeting that the US is hosting in […]

Talks were held in Kabul between the government of Pakistan and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), acting as mediator, spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid tweeted. Good progress has been made in the talks and both sides agreed to a short-term ceasefire, Mujahid tweeted. “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, in good faith, strives for a successful negotiation […]

Today, Afghans make up the largest refugee group in the world and Pakistan hosts the world’s second largest number of refugees in its territory. An estimated 3.5 million Afghan refugees are present in Pakistan since 1980s, half of which are registered, and it is speculated that about equal number of them are living unregistered. These refugees who hail from Afghanistan […]

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) conceived on the notion of mutual development is a game-changer not only for Pakistan but also for the entire South Asian region. Under the auspices of this project, Gwadar port would become a hub of economic connectivity with the Middle East and North Africa. CPEC could simultaneously address Pakistan’s energy-starved economy and bolster Pakistan’s relations with […]

It may be said without mincing words and unequivocally that the latest decision of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif not to increase electricity and gas tariffs and prices of petroleum products has pushed Pakistan further away from reconciliation with International Monetary Fund (IMF). He was required to approve the increases, as a preamble to the commencement of negotiations between IMF and […]

The new government could either take the decision of cutting fuel subsidies or call for fresh elections and leave that tough decision to an interim government. There is a meme on the internet showing three children playing a videogame but only two have their controller cords plugged into the console. The third child, who appears to be the youngest, is […]

Pakistani police arrested a would-be suicide bomber who planned to blow herself up near a convoy of Chinese nationals along the China Pakistan Economic-Corridor (CPEC), a police statement said. Monday’s arrest came two weeks after a woman suicide bomber blew herself up on a university campus in the southern port city of Karachi, killing three Chinese teachers and their Pakistani […]

Some segments of the Afghan society are looking at Pakistan with suspicion, says a former ambassador. Syed Abrar Hussain, speaking at an event in Islamabad, urged the neighbours to take effective steps to overcome their trust deficit. The ex-ambassador to Afghanistan asked the governments and peoples of both countries to realise that gaps were detrimental to them. With multiple socio-cultural […]

Pakistani officials said Sunday militant attacks in the country’s northwest had killed at least eight people, including security force members, children and members of the minority Sikh group. The deadliest attack occurred in North Waziristan, a volatile district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing three soldiers and three children, according to a military statement. It said the children were aged between […]