Category: South East Asia

The making of militants in India’s ‘paradise on earth’

Kashmiri farmer Yusuf Malik learned that his son Owais, a 22-year old arts student and apple picker, had become an armed militant via a Facebook post.

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Taliban Kill Dozens of Security Forces in Major Strike in Afghanistan

The Afghan military has suffered its worst loss of the year in southern Afghanistan, with at least 40 security force members killed in a Taliban attack this past week, but senior officials had still not released a death toll two days later, according to residents and functionaries from the area who spoke on Sunday.

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Islamic State claims Kabul blasts – AMAQ

Islamic state claimed responsibility for several explosions in the Afghan capital Kabul that killed six people and wounded 23, the group’s news agency AMAQ said on Thursday without providing evidence of its claim. The attack happened during celebrations to mark the Persian new year, an Afghan government spokesmen said.

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UN: Afghan Peace Talks Offer Glimmer of Hope

A report to the U.N. Human Rights Council says nascent peace talks in Afghanistan offer a glimmer of hope to a country that has been at war for decades.

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India to Buy More Air-to-Air Missiles Amid F-16 Deployment by Pakistan – Report

The Indo-Pak border has become a hot-bed of hostilities after the 14 February Pulwama terror incident. Indian fighter jets are doing patrol sorties on a continual basis in fully weaponised mode carrying air-to-air rockets.

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Afghanistan Again Postpones Presidential Election

Officials in Afghanistan have delayed the country’s presidential election for a second time, setting Sept. 28 as the new date. They also announced Wednesday that provincial council elections in all 34 Afghan provinces would be held on the same date.

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Turkistan Islamic Party head decries Chinese occupation

Abdul Haq al-Turkistani, the emir of the al Qaeda-affiliated Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP), has released a new message decrying the Chinese occupation of the territory commonly known as Xinjiang. Al-Turkistani’s message is addressed to head of the Taliban, the leader of al Qaeda, as well as several high-profile al Qaeda ideologues. He calls on them to offer additional ideological support […]

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Why the Taliban should be required to renounce al Qaeda in any deal with US

Last week, Afghanistan’s national security adviser, Hamdullah Mohib, launched into a broadside against Zalmay Khalilzad, the chief American diplomat responsible for negotiating with the Taliban. Addressing reporters in Washington, Mohib insinuated that Khalilzad is seeking to install himself as the “viceroy” of a new “caretaker government.” The State Department quickly issued a sharp rebuke, saying that any condemnation of Khalilzad […]

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Taliban routs Afghan forces in western Afghan district

The Taliban has routed an Afghan National Army company and a border police force while pressing its offensive in the western Afghan district of Bala Murghab in Badghis province.

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Pakistan assures US to deal ‘firmly’ with all militants, says NSA Bolton

The assurance was given by Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi during a phone call on Monday, Bolton said on a day when Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale called on US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo here and discussed the need to bringing those responsible for the Pulwama attack to justice and the urgency of Pakistan taking meaningful action against militant […]

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