Category: South East Asia

IEA reaches agreement on purchase of oil and gas with Russia

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry says that Kabul and Moscow have reached an agreement on the purchase of oil and gas and this agreement will be signed soon. Nooruddin Azizi, acting Minister of Commerce and Industry, said Saturday that many banks in Afghanistan and Russia are under embargo and money will be transferred through a third country. “Alhamdulillah, we […]

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Hekmatyar calls for elected body to decide future governance system

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of Hizb-e-Islami, on Friday called for establishment of a council whose members would be elected by the people and which would draft a constitution and decide the future governance system. “We never want to join a government which is not formed based on the people’s votes…where the highest authority is not a council that would represent the […]

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Travel ban waiver necessary for engagement with IEA: China

Extending travel ban exemptions for leaders of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) is necessary for world’s engagement with the government, China’s ambassador to the United Nations has said. A UN Security Council waiver allowing 13 IEA leaders, including Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, to travel abroad expired last Friday, after member states failed to agree on a possible […]

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Tajikistan coal exports to Pakistan resume via Afghanistan

Sher Khan customs office of Kunduz province says that the export of coal from Tajikistan to Pakistan via this port has started again and it is loading more than 100 trucks of coal daily. “It has been four days since the coal transit started, I ask the traders to have their tariff and transit documents when requested, and the traders […]

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Taliban Taps Former Gitmo Detainee to Crush Afghan Resistance

Afghanistan’s Taliban government tapped a former Guantanamo Bay detainee to lead the group’s campaign to counter a resistance movement in the country’s Panjshir Province, a spokesman announced yesterday according to MENAFN. That commander, Mullah Abdul Qayyum Zakir, will be in charge of snuffing out resistance efforts in Panjshir and part of Baghlan province. After the Taliban’s return to power in […]

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Pakistan court extends former premier Khan’s pre-arrest bail on terrorism charges

A Pakistani court on Thursday extended former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s pre-arrest bail for one week in a terrorism case over a speech, his lawyer said, shortly after the former premier appeared in court in person amidst tight security. Khan’s lawyer and political aide Babar Awan told Reuters bail had been granted until Sept. 1, after which they will apply […]

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Afghanistan must not be used as terror launch pad: Singh at SCO

India’s Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said Afghanistan should not be used as a launch pad for terror activities in the region, and called for national reconciliation and stability in the country. Speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ meeting in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on Wednesday, he said Afghan territory must not be used to “intimidate or attack any country […]

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Zawahiri’s death still under investigation by IEA: Mujahid

Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, said Thursday that Washington’s claim they killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahir in Kabul is still only an allegation and that the IEA’s investigation is ongoing. “Zawahiri’s death is still a claim and efforts are going on for this case and his death report is not yet finalized,” said Mujahid. Speaking […]

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Pakistan Politics With Imran Khan

Politics in Pakistan is again creating turmoil. Media reports said: Former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s close aide and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader, Shahbaz Gill’s room at Parliament Lodges was raided by police contingents in the presence of Gill who was brought to the location amid strict security measures. The police team led by the senior superintendent of police (SSP) found […]

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Pakistan A Victim Of Tug Of War Among Super Powers – OpEd

This year Pakistan is celebrating Independence Day 14th August, when the clouds of imminent default are getting thicker. While the people have complete faith in the economic resilience on the country, a lot needs to be done on war footings. To carve out its future strategy, a dispassionate review of nearly three-quarters of a century has to be done, find […]

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