WASHINGTON: Pakistan’s envoy to the US, Masood Khan, has urged Washington to provide small arms and modern equipment to the country to ensure the success of Operation Azm-i-Istehkam, a newly approved counter-terrorism initiative. The federal government recently greenlit the reinvigorated national counter-terrorism drive, however, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif clarified that this initiative would not be a large-scale military operation and would …

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Interior Mohsin Naqvi on Thursday briefed his Chinese counterpart Qi Yanjun on the progress made in the probe into the Bisham attack in which five Chinese engineers and their Pakistani driver were killed. During a meeting at the Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations in New York, Mr Naqvi and Mr Qi discussed bilateral relations, security-related matters and cooperation between the …

ISLAMABAD/PESHAWAR: Amid a surge in terror incidents, which Pakistan blames on the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leadership hiding in Afghanistan, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Thursday hinted at the possibility of cross-border strikes to eliminate militant hideouts in the neighbouring country. The defence minister’s statement came on the same day as Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s warning about the critical security situation …

WASHINGTON: The US State Department on Wednesday said that no country should face the kind of terrorist attacks Pakistani people have suffered from, adding that Washington has a shared interest with Islamabad in combating threats to regional security. On Saturday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led federal government approved a reinvigorated and re-energised national counter-terrorism campaign — originally titled Operation Azm-i-Istehkam but later rebranded as Vision …

ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Sunday criticised the opposition for not supporting the newly announced counterterrorism operation called Azm-i-Istehkam as the latter demanded that Parliament be taken into confidence before any offensive against militancy was launched. The government on Saturday announced the operation, vowing to unleash the full force of the country’s military, diplomatic, legislative, and socio-economic arsenal to decisively defeat …

ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Saturday approved a reinvigorated and re-energised national counter-terrorism campaign, Operation Azm-i-Istehkam, that symbolised the national resolve to eradicate extremism and terrorism from the country. The campaign was launched with the consensus of all stakeholders, including the provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, during a meeting of the Central Apex Committee on the National Action …

NEW YORK: Pakistan has called on the United Nations for a “concerted campaign” to recover all weapons from terrorist groups, such as the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Speaking at the UN’s Fourth Review Conference of the Programme of Action (PoA) on Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) on Tuesday, Ambassador Munir Akram expressed Pakistan’s “grave concern over the acquisition and use of modern …

DELHI: Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Tuesday said his country wanted to “find a solution to the issue of years-old cross-border terrorism” with Pakistan. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was sworn in on Sunday for a record-equalling third term at a grand ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the president’s palace in New Delhi, attended by leaders of seven regional countries, underlining …

LAKKI MARWAT/BAJAUR: At least seven security officials, including an army captain, were martyred after an improvised explosive device (IED) targeted their vehicle in Lakki Marwat on Sunday, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police repulsed a pre-dawn ambush at their checkpost in Bajaur. Local officials said the vehicle was on its way to the Kaichi Kamar area when it came under attack near …

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Friday said that the Taliban administration in Afghanistan had assured Pakistan of its cooperation in investigation into the Bisham suicide attack in which five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver lost their lives. “The Afghan side has agreed to examine the findings of the investigation and to work with Pakistan to take the investigation to its logical …