A brazen attack by Pakistani Taliban militants on Minhas Airbase in Punjab province on early Thursday will likely make the country’s military think twice about an offensive it is planning in the restive North Waziristan Agency. According to reliable sources, at about 2am militants from the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) entered the air base in the …
Continue reading “Militants warn Pakistan over tribal offensive”
Pakistan’s top spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), has been accused of harassing witnesses appearing at the country’s investigation into the United States military raid that last year killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Witnesses at the Abbottabad Commission have come forward to say that the ISI would has been picking them up while traveling to …
Pakistan’s Supreme Court has ordered the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency to close a notorious cell that focused on monitoring internal politics, in a direct challenge to the ISI’s ability to operate as a “state within a state”. In a judgement that puts pressure on the agency to be more accountable to the prime minister, …
Allegations made public by the Indian intelligence agencies as they question Syed Zaibuddin Ansari, the suspected mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, are producing a bitter chill between Pakistan and India, just as Islamabad is working on an uncertain thaw in relations with the United States. Ansari, alias Abu Jundal, who was arrested last week, …
Tens of thousands of activists from banned jihadi organizations arrived in Islamabad this week to protest the government’s decision last week to re-open the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) supply route from Pakistan to Afghanistan. A coalition of more than 40 religious parties know as Difah-e-Pakistan Council – the Defense of Pakistan Council (DOC) – …
Pakistan’s ruling party and its coalition members are scrambling to nominate a new prime minister following the disqualification of Yousuf Raza Gilani for contempt of court. The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that as Gilani had failed to appeal an April 26 conviction for contempt of court, he was barred from office. The historic verdict …
Pakistan ranks 12th on an index of failed states around the globe, according to a new report prepared by the Fund for Peace, an independent non-profit research and educational organization that works to prevent violent conflict and promote sustainable security in the world. Its neighbor Afghanistan ranks seventh. The fund’s 2011 index is the seventh …
The Pakistan government has formed a judicial commission headed by a Supreme Court judge to probe the murder of Asia Times Online Pakistan bureau chief Syed Saleem Shahzad, after journalist organizations staged an unprecedented protest. A commission headed by Justice Main Saqib Nisar, a sitting judge of the Supreme Court, has been formed to investigate …
slamabad police have not made any progress investigating the death of Asia Timers Online Pakistan bureau chief Syed Saleem Shahzad, a top official from the force has told Asia Times Online. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said police had failed to get any video footage that would trace any culprits and …
Doubts persist over whether or not Ilyas Kashmiri, the head of al-Qaeda’s operational arm, has been killed in a United States Predator drone strike in Pakistan, with speculation swirling that reports of his demise might be a ploy to take the heat off the most wanted man in the region. Kashmiri, 46, the operational commander …
