Government jobs are given as patronage to ex-fighters and exiles living quietly in Pakistan. But not all possess the technical skills required for the job. It was 20 years ago when the jihadi, a defense ministry official in the Taliban’s first government, fled Afghanistan as U.S. troops swept into the country. He settled in southwestern Pakistan with other Afghans, bought […]

“… Which country’s army operates housing schemes? The army’s job is to protect the country’s borders; not to participate in commercial activities. — Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar, 2019 If one goes by what’s written on the top-left hand side of its entrance, then it’s clear that the imposing building on the banks of Islamabad’s Rawal Lake is […]

On January 7, 2022, two terrorists were killed during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) on Amirwanda Road within Lakki Police Station of Bannu District. On January 5, 2022, two soldiers were killed during an IBO in Kot Kili village in the South Waziristan District. The operation was carried out by Security Forces (SFs) following reports of terrorist presence in the area. […]

A band of suspected Daesh militants is on the run in Pakistan after escaping a police raid that killed six other members of the group, officials said Monday. Counterterrorism police said in a statement they had stormed a hideout in the southwestern city of Quetta on Saturday and killed six militants, but “around four to five managed to escape.” A […]

Khalid Balti, former spokesperson for Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, has been killed in Nangarhar province. A senior leader of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (Pakistan Taliban or TTP) has been killed in eastern Afghanistan, Pakistani security officials say, as a peace talks process between the armed group and the government remain stalled. Khalid Balti, also known by the nom de guerre Muhammad Khorasani when […]

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi met with Turkmenistan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Wafa Khadzhiev on Saturday and discussed bilateral cooperation, including restarting the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) Pipeline project in Afghanistan. The Turkmen delegates included deputy Foreign Minister Wafa Khadzhieve, Mohammad Murad Amanov, the chief of the TAPI company and Turkmen ambassador to Kabul Hoja Ovezov. […]

The Pakistan government has concluded its country-wide campaign to verify and update the data of an estimated 1.4 million registered Afghan refugees and to issue them with smart identity cards, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, said Sunday. Following a short pilot, the campaign, supported by UNHCR, began on 15 April 2021 and ended on 31 December 2021. It was the […]

Pakistani counterterrorism police killed six militants from the Islamic State group in an overnight raid at a hideout in the southwestern city of Quetta. A police statement issued Sunday said the raid was carried out in the provincial capital’s Manzoor Shaheed precinct area. It said the raid was based on strong intelligence the militants were preparing to stage an attack […]

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees says Pakistan has issued smart identity cards to 700,000 Afghan refugees in that country. Babar Baloch, UNHCR spokesperson in Pakistan, told reporters that the first phase of issuing new electronic documents and reviewing the information of 1.4 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan has been completed. He said that the process in partnership with […]

The Pakistani military has said the fencing project along the Durand Line with Afghanistan will continue despite issues raised in recent weeks. Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar said on Wednesday that 94% of the border fence has been completed and that work on the remaining section continues. “We are totally focused, and under the western […]