The United States government on Monday released $100 million in budget assistance to Afghanistan. The agreement was signed between Afghan Finance Minister Iklil Hakimi and U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan John Bass in Kabul.

The American message was communicated shortly before Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit. As war clouds gathered over the Korean peninsula following the North Korean missile tests, visiting U.S. officials have asked India to cut down ties with Pyongyang, senior diplomatic sources have said. American pressure on the issue has been rising over the last few months even as India […]

Pakistan Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has said that he would ask the United States President Donald Trump administration to shun its “militaristic approach” in resolving the Afghanistan issue and that the “talks with the Taliban will bring peace to the war-torn country.” Asif also said that Pakistan would reproach the U.S. for its new Afghanistan policy at the United […]

Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi Sunday said that Pakistan wanted collaborative efforts to fight against terrorism, responding to a media report that the US could drop Pakistan as an ally. Talking to the newsmen here, the prime minister said the National Security Committee had responded to the statement of US President Donald Trump and the very policy was being […]

Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa has said that terrorism being a transnational threat can only be defeated through intelligence-sharing and coordinated effective border management. Addressing the meeting of the Quadrilateral Counter Terrorism Coordination Mechanism (QCCM) held here on Sunday, he highlighted achievements of Pakistan in fight against terrorism. The participants also signed an outline cooperative mechanism which […]

India’s foreign ministry said on Monday it had agreed with China to an “expeditious disengagement” of troops at a disputed border area where soldiers from the two countries have been in a stand-off for more than two months.

Pakistan’s military has launched a major operation in its volatile tribal areas to stop the Daesh terror group making inroads into areas bordering Afghanistan, the military’s spokesman said on Sunday. Pakistan has long denied Daesh having a foothold inside the nuclear-armed nation despite a series of attacks claimed by the group over the past two years, including a bombing in […]

South Korean and US forces began computer-simulated military exercises on Monday amid tension over North Korea’s weapons programmes, while a report it has earned millions of dollars in exports is likely to raise doubt about the impact of sanctions. South Korean President Moon Jae-in said the joint drills, called Ulchi Freedom Guardian, were purely defensive and did not aim to […]

Southeast Asian foreign ministers ended an impasse on Sunday over how to address disputes with China in the South China Sea, issuing a communique that called for militarisation to be avoided and noting concern about island-building. The South China Sea has long been the most divisive issue for the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), with China’s influence looming […]

Indian forces on Monday killed five alleged rebels in Indian-held Kashmir, reports said. The five were killed in a major gun battle in the Machhil sector of the border in northern Kashmir, the reports said, quoting an Indian defence spokesman. Press Trust of India news agency quoted the spokesman as saying that a major ‘infiltration’ bid was foiled in the […]