QUETTA: PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Thursday emphasised the need to counter terrorism by defeating its narrative and underscored the importance of restoring peace and political stability in Balochistan through grassroots political processes. Mr Bhutto-Zardari made these remarks during a meeting at the Chief Minister Secretariat after he arrived in Quetta on a two-day visit. The meeting was attended by …
MALAKAND: Former senator Hidayatullah Khan was killed, along with three others, on Wednesday in a blast from an improvised explosive device (IED) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur, officials said. Malakand Regional Police Officer Muhammad Ali Khan Gandapur confirmed the deaths, saying that the former senator’s car was targeted in an IED attack in Bajaur’s Damadola area. He added that no one …
DOHA: Leaders of the Afghanistan interim government held a meeting with Pakistani officials in Doha on Monday in what was seen as an effort to ease tension following the announcement of a fresh operation against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which security officials insist operate from Afghan soil. Relations between the two neighbouring countries have lately become strained, largely because of the TTP …
PESHAWAR: Nine terrorists were killed by the security forces in two separate operations in Khyber and Lakki Marwat districts on Monday, the military’s media wing said. A statement issued by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that the security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation in Tirah area of Khyber, where seven terrorists, including high-value terrorist commander Najeeb alias Abdur Rehman, and …
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 …