Tag: Kabul

  • Kabul to cooperate with Pakistan in probing Bisham terror attack

    Kabul to cooperate with Pakistan in probing Bisham terror attack

    The Foreign Office of Pakistan on Friday stated that Taliban authorities in Afghanistan had assured Pakistan of their cooperation in the investigation into the Bisham suicide attack in which five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver were killed.

    “The Afghan side has agreed to examine the findings of the investigation and to work with Pakistan to take the investigation to its logical conclusion,” said the FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch in a press briefing.

    This development came after the visit of a high-level delegation led by Interior Secretary Khurram Agha to Kabul.

    China also welcomed the progress in the investigation and urged Pakistani authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice.

    In recent years, tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan have flared up as Pakistan blames Afghanistan for letting their territory be used by TTP against Pakistan.

  • Taliban government in Kabul urges Islamabad to show restraint over Afghan migrants

    Taliban government in Kabul urges Islamabad to show restraint over Afghan migrants

    Taliban authorities urged Pakistan on Thursday not to make a unilateral decision on repatriating Afghan migrants, saying they shouldn’t be “harassed,” after reports Islamabad would renew an eviction campaign.

    More than half a million Afghans fled Pakistan last year after the former government ordered undocumented migrants to leave or face arrest as Islamabad-Kabul relations soured over security.

    Islamabad initially set a November 2023 deadline but official sources, who asked not to be identified, told AFP in March that Pakistan is gathering data on Afghan migrants – including those residing legally in the country – ahead of a renewed push slated to start after the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

    A final decision has not been made on a repatriation push, according to Pakistan officials, but the Afghan deputy minister for refugees urged restraint in a meeting with a top Pakistani diplomat in Kabul.

    “The issue of refugees is bilateral and decisions regarding them should be made through an understanding between both countries,” said Abdul Rahman Rashed, according to a ministry statement on social media platform X on Thursday.

    “They shouldn’t be harassed until a joint mechanism is reached.”

    Taliban authorities have urged Afghans to return home since taking power in 2021 but they also have condemned Pakistan’s actions, saying nationals are being punished for tensions between Islamabad and Kabul, and have called for people to be given more time to leave.

    Millions of Afghans have poured into Pakistan over the decades, fleeing successive conflicts and political upheaval.

  • PM Kakar wants Islamabad and Kabul to collaborate on shared objectives

    PM Kakar wants Islamabad and Kabul to collaborate on shared objectives

    Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, the interim Prime Minister, has urged his Afghan counterpart in a letter to cooperate in order to accomplish shared objectives, The News reported on Monday.

    The letter from PM Kakar to Mullah Muhammad Hasan Akhund, the acting Prime Minister of Afghanistan, comes as tensions between the two nations are rising as a result of an increase in cross-border terror incidents.

    In his letter, PM Kakar said: “Pakistan has close fraternal relations with Afghanistan, as we are neighbours and brothers. Pakistan-Afghanistan relations are rooted in religion, culture, and history.”

    The Premier declared that Kabul and Islamabad will continue to work together to strengthen bilateral, political, security, and economic ties.

    Earlier, Pakistan accused the Afghanistan government of misusing the transit trade agreement.

    “It is important for our customs authorities to ensure that any border trade that takes place complies with the understandings and agreements that exist between Pakistan and Afghanistan and that such commercial activities do not contravene Pakistani laws,” the Foreign Office had said.

  • Blast in Kabul near Ministry of Foreign Affairs

    Blast in Kabul near Ministry of Foreign Affairs

    An explosion has taken place in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kabul. Multiple casualties are being reported.

    In a tweet, a spokesman of the Kabul Police Command, Khalid Zadran confirmed the tragedy.

    He wrote, “Today around 4 o’clock there was an explosion on the road of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which unfortunately resulted in casualties. Security teams have reached the area, and the details of the incident will be shared later.”

    According to media outlets, at least three people have lost their lives as of now.

    It has also been reported that the blast took place when a meeting was underway between a Chinese govt delegation and Taliban representatives inside the ministry.

    This is a developing story.

  • ‘Apni hadd mein raho’: Male MNA reacts after female ministers unite to slam his remarks against Hina Rabbani

    ‘Apni hadd mein raho’: Male MNA reacts after female ministers unite to slam his remarks against Hina Rabbani

    Women Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) from treasury benches extended their support for State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hina Rabbani Khar, after Jamaat-e-Islami’s (JI) MNA Abdul Akbar Chitrali criticised her on the recent visit to Afghanistan.

    MNA Chitrali said that he was not against any female minister, but he believed that the government should have included some tribal elders in the Khar-led delegation that visited Afghanistan.

    Minister for Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman defended the decision, saying that if Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari decided to send a women delegation to [Kabul], he is correct in making this choice. “This is a message from Pakistan that this government and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) work and takes pride in promoting its women, protecting their rights and giving them representation,” she said.

    Quoting the example of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto, the minister said she was the first elected woman prime minister of Pakistan and was highly praised across the globe.

    “This debate on gender difference has ended in the entire world, as to who is a man and who a woman. People are known for their performance and merit and not for their gender. Our women are excelling internationally and continuing to do so,” said the minister.

    Referring to the incumbent government, she said: “We, being coalition partners, are on one page and Khar’s visit to Afghanistan has projected the soft image of Pakistan.”

    Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb also spoke up, asking that all parliamentarians, especially the male community, should encourage and acknowledge the competency of women ministers appointed on merit.

    “Hina represented Pakistan in Afghanistan. This is a moment of pride for the entire nation,” she said, rebuffing Chitrali’s objections.

    She said the Taliban rulers had no problem negotiating with Khar, who had taken up Pakistan’s concerns very well during her trip to Kabul.

    Right from Fatima Jinnah to Kulsoom Nawaz and Najma Hameed, she said, women had sacrificed to strengthen democracy in the country. They were all pride of Pakistan, she added.

    “This is a wrong impression from our side that such gender discriminations is happening in our own parliament, in Pakistan. I got emotional seeing Hina Rabbani Khar sahiba sitting at the table alongside the Afghanistan government doing the negotiations. We in Pakistan should be proud of her,” said Aurangzeb.

    Later, Chitrali took to the floor of the house and promptly got into a verbal dispute with Aurangzeb and PPP Federal Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Shazia Marri said, “Don’t try to scare me. I am not scared of anyone. Who are you? Aram say betho [ Sit down]. We respect women, but they should remain within their limits.”

    Ayaz Sadiq then intervened, after which Chitrali offered an apology, stating that he was sorry if his remarks hurt anyone.

    He added that his comments were taken in a negative context as he did not mean what his colleagues thought he had said.

  • US warns Taliban of action if terrorists ‘regroup’ in Afghanistan

    US warns Taliban of action if terrorists ‘regroup’ in Afghanistan

    The United States (US) has warned of action if the superpower sees “international terrorists regrouping in Afghanistan” while saying that US’ broader goal was to make sure that “terrorists and others aren’t able to use Afghanistan as a launch pad for attacks on Pakistan.”

    US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price, in a press briefing, stated: “We also have capabilities when it comes to counterterrorism in the region that does not leave us entirely beholden to the Taliban.”

    He also mentioned the killing of the al-Qaeda leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri by a US strike in August this year to prove the superpower’s capabilities to act against terrorists.

    The spokesperson also added that the Afghan Taliban had been “either unable or unwilling to live up to the commitments that they’ve made in a number of areas.”

    Answering a question, Price said, “Of course, we’ve seen other groups also active. You mentioned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), among others. We are determined to work with our partners in the region, including Pakistan, to do what we can to take on the threat of terrorism in the region, and certainly the threat of terrorism that extends well beyond the region.”

    Terming Pakistan an “important partner”, Price said that the US values its bilateral relationship with the country. “We welcome opportunities to expand cooperation in areas that are of mutual interest to us and to Pakistan. That, of course, does include when it comes to counterterrorism”, he added.

    Earlier this week, Pakistan’s Head of Mission to Kabul Ubaid-ur-Rehman Nizamani escaped an assassination bid in Afghanistan. Last month, a suicide attack— for which TTP claimed responsibility— rammed a police escort for a polio vaccination team in Quetta.

  • ‘Changing threat matrix of terrorism is need of the hour’: PM Shehbaz responds to Kabul suicide blast killing 19

    ‘Changing threat matrix of terrorism is need of the hour’: PM Shehbaz responds to Kabul suicide blast killing 19

    A suicide bomb attack on a classroom of hundreds of students preparing for exams in Kabul, Afghanistan on Friday killed at least 19 people.

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif, extending his condolences, said, “Deeply grieved at the loss of young lives in a horrific suicide attack at a learning center in Kabul. Words can’t express this sheer barbarism. We send our deepest condolences & most sincere sympathies to the bereaved families & people of Afghanistan.”

    He further tweeted, “As I stated in my address at UNGA, terrorism continues to threaten not just Afghanistan & Pakistan but also the world. The international community should not let its guard down. Strengthening global cooperation against changing threat matrix of terrorism is need of the hour.”

  • ‘Everyone was fleeing the site’: At least six people killed in Kabul bombing

    ‘Everyone was fleeing the site’: At least six people killed in Kabul bombing

    The Russian Foreign Ministry and Afghan officials have confirmed that two Russian embassy staff members were among six people who were killed in a suicide bombing near the entrance of the Russian embassy in Kabul.

    The attack was claimed by the Islamic State militant group.

    “As a result of the attack, two employees of the diplomatic mission were killed and there are also victims among Afghan citizens,” the ministry said.

    “I went to the Russian embassy to get a visa. We were sitting outside. The consul came and we showed him our papers, he guided us towards the entrance door of the embassy. Suddenly the blast occurred and I fell to the ground, “a man called Faiz Mohammad told Reuters.

    Ahmad Samir, a boy who suffered head injuries in the blast, said “There were so many injured people around, everyone was fleeing the site”.

    According to the police, the attacker was recognised and he was shot. “The suicide attacker, before reaching the target, was recognised and shot by Russian embassy [Taliban] guards,” said Mawlawi Sabir, the head of the police district.

    Police said the attacker was shot dead by armed guards as he approached the embassy gate.

    The bombing appeared to be the first to target a foreign diplomatic mission in Kabul since the Taliban takeover in 2021.

    Russia is one of the few countries to have maintained an embassy in Kabul after the Taliban took over the country more than a year ago.

    It is pertinent to mention that Moscow does not officially recognise the Taliban’s government, however, they have been in talks with officials over an agreement to supply gasoline and other commodities.

  • Mullah Omar’s buried car found after 21 years

    Mullah Omar’s buried car found after 21 years

    The Taliban have discovered a white Toyota of Mullah Omar, the founding leader of the Taliban, which was buried 21 years ago. When the US forces invaded Afghanistan in 2001 as a response to the 9/11 attacks, Mullah Omar hid his personal vehicle by burying it.

    The car was discovered mostly unharmed and wrapped in plastic. However, the front mirror of the car was broken.

    Senior officials have demanded that the car should be placed in Kabul’s national museum.

    Omar died in 2013 reportedly due to illness. However, the news of his death was not revealed by the Afghan Taliban until July 2015.

  • Sikh Gurdwara in Kabul attacked, Daesh claims responsibility

    Sikh Gurdwara in Kabul attacked, Daesh claims responsibility

    The Islamic State (IS), also known as Daesh, has claimed responsibility for an attack on a Sikh Gurdwara in Kabul that killed at least two people and injured seven on Saturday (June 18). Reuters reported that on an affiliated Telegram channel, the local branch of Daesh said the attack was in response to the derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) by BJP spokespersons in India.

    The attack on Karteparwan Gurdwara killed one Sikh worshipper and a Taliban fighter. A Taliban interior ministry spokesman told Reuters that the attackers had laden a car with explosives but it had detonated before reaching its target.

    Karteparwan Gurdwara was the only operational Sikh temple in Kabul of the four Gurudwaras in the Afghan capital. This is not the first attack by Daesh on a Gurdwara. In 2020, the militant group attacked a 400-year-old Gurudwara in Kabul, which left 25 dead.

    Read more- ‘We will hunt you down and make you pay’: Biden reacts to 85 killed in Kabul blasts

    There has been a rise in attacks on religious minorities in Afghanistan. Most of these attacks have been claimed by the Islamic State Khorasan Province, ISKP (ISIS-K), the regional branch of ISIL/Daesh.