Latest news with #AsifShahzad
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pakistan to create military force to supervise missiles after India conflict
By Asif Shahzad ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -Pakistan will create a new force in the military to supervise missile combat capabilities in a conventional conflict, apparently a move to match neighbouring arch-rival India. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the creation of the Army Rocket Force late Wednesday at a ceremony held in Islamabad to commemorate the conflict with India in May, the worst in decades. The ceremony was held a day ahead of Pakistan's 78th Independence Day. The force "will be equipped with modern technology," Sharif said in a statement from his office. "This force, capable of targeting the enemy from all sides, will prove to be yet another milestone with regard to further strengthening our conventional war capability," he said in a repeat broadcast of his speech on Thursday by local TV news channels. He did not give further details. A senior security official, however, said the force would have its own command in the military which would be dedicated to handling and deployment of missiles in the event of a conventional war. "It is obvious that it is meant for India," he said. In response to a question about the force, an Indian foreign ministry spokesperson said: "It is (a) well-known modus operandi of Pakistani leadership to whip up anti-India rhetoric time and again to hide their own failures." The two nuclear-armed nations have kept upgrading their military capabilities, fuelling a longstanding rivalry since their independence from British rule in 1947. Tension between the two countries soared in April over the killing of 26 civilians in Indian Kashmir, an attack New Delhi blamed on Islamabad. Pakistan denied involvement. The conflict that erupted in May saw both sides using missiles, drones and fighter jets. The neighbours have fought two of their three wars since independence in 1947 over Kashmir, which they both rule in part but claim in full.
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pakistani Islamist militants use drones to target security forces, officials say
Pakistani Islamist militants use drones to target security forces, officials say By Asif Shahzad PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) -Islamist militants in Pakistan have started using commercially acquired quadcopter drones to drop bombs on security forces in the country's northwest, police said, a potentially dangerous development in the volatile region. The use of such drones, which are powered by four rotors allowing for vertical take-off and landing, is worrying the overstretched and under-equipped police force, the frontline against militant attacks, officials said. Two quadcopters sent by the militants targeted a police station earlier this month, killing a woman and injuring three children in a nearby house in Bannu district, said police officer Muhammad Anwar. A drone spotted over another police station on Saturday was shot down with assault rifles, he said. It was armed with a mortar shell, he said. At least eight such drone attacks have targeted police and security forces in Bannu and adjacent areas in the last two and a half months, he said. Regional police chief Sajjad Khan said militants were still trying to master the use of the drones. "The militants have acquired these modern tools, but they are in the process of experimentation and that's why they can't hit their targets accurately," he added. The militants are using the quadcopters to drop improvised explosive devices or mortar shells on their targets, five security officials said. They said these explosive devices were packed with ball bearings or pieces of iron. Provincial police chief Zulfiqar Hameed said the police lacked resources to meet the new challenge. "We do not have equipment to counter the drones," he told the local Geo News channel on Sunday. "The militants are better equipped than we are," he said. No militant group has claimed responsibility for the drone strikes. The main militant group operating in the northwest is the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban. But they denied using the drones. "We are trying to acquire this technology," a TTP spokesman told Reuters. In 2024, Islamist militants carried out 335 countrywide attacks, killing 520 people, according to the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies, an independent organisation. In recent weeks, thousands of residents from the border region have staged protests, aimed against both the attacks by militants and what they fear is an offensive planned by the army, according to a statement issued by the demonstrators. They said they feared that a military operation against the militants would displace them from their homes. A sweeping operation against militants in 2014 was preceded by a forced evacuation of hundreds of thousands of residents. They spent months, and in many cases years, away from their homes. Pakistan's army did not respond to a request for comment on whether an operation was planned. Solve the daily Crossword
The Star
20-07-2025
- The Star
Pakistan arrests suspect after viral video of couple shot dead in the name of `honour`
QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) -Pakistan on Sunday arrested a suspect after a video emerged on social media of a woman and a man being shot and killed for marrying against the wishes of their families, in a so-called honour killing, authorities said. The couple, who were not identified, were shot dead on the orders of a local tribal council last month in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, according to provincial authorities, who investigated after the video went viral. One of the suspects has been arrested after the location and people in the video were identified, the provincial chief minister, Sarfraz Bugti, said in a statement. A case has been registered against all those involved, he said. The video shows people in a desert, and some pickup trucks and SUVs that they had apparently driven there. The woman is given a copy of the Quran, the Muslim holy book, and she then tells a man: "Come walk seven steps with me, after that you can shoot me." The man then follows her for a few steps. A local police official said the woman did not cry or seek mercy. "You are allowed only to shoot me. Nothing more than that," the woman says in the regional Brahavi language, translated by the official. It was not clear what she meant by "nothing more than that". The man, who had followed her, then aimed a pistol at her. The woman, wrapped in a shawl, stood still as shots were fired. She remained standing after two shots, delivered from close range, dropping to the ground after the third shot. That is followed by a series of gunshots. The footage then shows a bloodied man lying on the ground, close to the woman's body. Then, men are shown shooting at both the bodies. Reuters could not independently verify the authenticity of the video. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said that in 2024, there were at least 405 "honour killings", criticising the authorities for failing to stamp out these crimes. Most victims are women, and killings are usually carried out by relatives professing to defend their family's reputation, human rights groups say. Conservative families do not allow couples to marry against their wishes. Such killings are against the law. (Writing by Asif Shahzad; editing by Giles Elgood)
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Pakistan open, 'not desperate' for talks with arch-rival India, says foreign minister
By Asif Shahzad ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -Pakistan is "ready but not desperate" for talks with arch-rival India, its foreign minister said on Wednesday, in remarks that underline the lack of a thaw between the two nuclear-armed neighbours following their worst military conflict in decades. Both sides used fighter jets, missiles, drones and artillery last month in four days of clashes, their worst fighting in decades, before agreeing to a U.S.-brokered ceasefire on May 10. "Whenever they ask for a dialogue, at whatever level, we are ready but we are not desperate," Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told a news conference in Islamabad. The spark for the recent fighting between the old enemies was an April 22 attack in Indian Kashmir that killed 26 people, most of them tourists. New Delhi blamed the incident on "terrorists" backed by Pakistan, a charge denied by Islamabad. Dar said Pakistan wanted a comprehensive dialogue on a range of issues including water, whereas India wanted to focus only on terrorism. "That's not on. Nobody else is more serious than us. It takes two to tango," he said, referring to comments by Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar that the talks should only cover the issue of terrorism. The Indian foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Dar's remarks. New Delhi has previously said that terrorism and dialogue cannot go hand in hand. Pakistan is keen to discuss water rights after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty following the April 22 attack. The treaty guarantees water for 80% of Pakistan's farms from three rivers that flow from India.
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Pakistan to upgrade diplomatic ties with Afghanistan in easing of tensions
By Asif Shahzad ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -Pakistan will designate an ambassador to Afghanistan, the first since Kabul fell to the Taliban in 2021, the country's foreign minister said on Friday, announcing an upgrade in diplomatic ties that shows some easing of tensions between the two neighbours. Currently, Pakistan and Afghanistan's top envoy in each other's country is a charge d'affaires, a lower level than ambassador. Pakistan has not yet said who will be nominated to the upgraded post. Announcing the decision to upgrade diplomatic representation, Pakistan's foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, said bilateral relations had been on a positive trajectory since he visited Kabul with a Pakistani delegation last month. "I am confident this step would further contribute towards enhanced engagement," he said on X. Afghanistan's foreign ministry and Taliban's charge d'affaires in Islamabad did not immediately respond to a request for comment. China, which hosted an informal meeting last week between the Pakistani government and the Afghan Taliban administration, said afterward that the two countries planned to upgrade their diplomatic ties. Pakistan and Afghanistan have had a strained relationship since the Taliban administration took power after the withdrawal of U.S.-led NATO forces. Islamabad says that Islamist militants who launch attacks inside Pakistan use Afghan soil. Kabul denies this, saying such militancy is Pakistan's domestic problem to handle. No country has formally recognised the Taliban administration since it took power, with foreign powers calling for it to change course on women's rights. Pakistan becomes the fourth country after China, UAE and Uzbekistan to designate an ambassador to Kabul. Although those governments say they have not formally recognised the Taliban's government, diplomats and experts say that having an ambassador officially present their credentials represents a step towards recognition.
