Pakistan hosts summit involving Afghanistan, Iran

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will next week host the leaders of Afghanistan and Iran at a summit devoted to counter-terrorism, the foreign ministry in Islamabad said Thursday. The talks come at a time of heightened tension between Iran and the United States, notably over speculation about a possible Israeli attack against Iran’s controversial nuclear programme. It also comes with Afghanistan keen to start peace talks with Taliban insurgents. Kabul is reportedly concerned about being sidelined by contacts between the US and the Taliban. “It is a two-day summit, to be held on February 16 and 17 in Islamabad,”ministry spokesman Abdul Basit told reporters. It will be attended by Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Iranian President Mahmoud...

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Posted in: INTERNATIONAL

Af-Pak said to attract fewer foreign fighters for jihad

PARIS: The Afghan-Pakistan jihad is attracting fewer foreign fighters following the death of Osama bin Laden, the growing threat posed by US drones, and lack of funds, Western security officials say. While no precise figure is available, it would appear that the number of would-be jihadists from abroad has been drying up, according to one security official who declined to be named. However, more Pakistanis are willing to take up the fight and make up the numbers, he also warned. “Over the past six months, young Frenchmen there have nearly all left Pakistan. There were 20 to 30 of them, who had either converted (to Islam) or had links to the Maghreb; today there are hardly any left,” he said. “Other European countries whose...

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Posted in: INTERNATIONAL

Rights violations shame Pakistanis at Congress hearing

WASHINGTON: Guilt and shame were the two dominant feelings that overwhelmed many Pakistanis at a US congressional hearing room on Wednesday as witnesses detailed human rights abuses in Balochistan. Some were also troubled – while some felt elated – as all five US lawmakers who attended this unusual hearing of the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations stressed the Baloch right to self-determination. But this emotive session – which often drew warm applause from Baloch nationalists – offered little insight into how to resolve this difficult issue. Perhaps, that’s not even the intention of those who had organised the meeting. They wanted to highlight Balochistan as a possibly explosive spot close to a US war-theatre...

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Posted in: INTERNATIONAL