Latest news with #Taliban-linked
India Today
30-04-2025
- Politics
- India Today
India takes Taliban on its side, pushes Pak into corner after Pahalgam
India is taking the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan on its side as it moves to act against Pakistan over the Pahalgam massacre. India has held talks with Kabul, even as Pakistan faces a Taliban-linked insurgency in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. This comes even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave "complete operational freedom" to the Indian armed forces on their response to Pakistan. The Taliban have condemned the terror attack in Kashmir, and are reaching out for better ties with New is quite a diplomatic coup for New Delhi, which snapped formal ties with Kabul after the Taliban takeover in August 2021. Pakistan, which hosted and sponsored the rebels, seems to have lost Indian delegation visited Kabul on Monday, where it met the Taliban's top leadership and discussed "recent regional developments", pushing Pakistan further into the corner. The Indian diplomatic trip to Kabul comes just days after Pakistan's foreign minister Ishaq Dar visited Afghanistan following a year of strained ties marked by border disputes, terror allegations, and the mass deportation of Afghan refugees by Islamabad rushing its officials to world capitals, tucking terrorists into bunkers, pleading for neutral probes, shifting air defence to the border, and unleashing relentless cross-border fire, Pakistan has turned panicistan. Kabul's overtures to New Delhi would add to Islamabad's has briefed diplomats from 25 countries, including the G20 and Gulf nations, on the Pahalgam attack and its zero-tolerance policy on terror, according to India's Kabul diplomacy is a smart tactical move. One has to remember, Pakistan cultivated the Taliban for decades in its ambition for "strategic depth".Then ISI chief, Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, rushed to Kabul to celebrate soon after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. The equations have changed greatly. The Image of ISI chief Faiz Hameed in Kabul's Serena Hotel, after he rushed to Afghanistan after Taliban takeover in 2021. (Image: Social Media) MODI GIVES FREEDOM TO ARMED FORCES AFTER PAK CLAIMED INDIAN ATTACK IMMINENTIndia's talks with the Taliban leadership come even as it keeps all options open on its response to the Pahalgam Narendra Modi, who has vowed to "identify, track, and punish" those responsible for the terror attack, on April 29 gave the Indian armed forces "complete operational freedom" to decide the mode, targets, and timing of a Modi's "free-hand" to the armed forces came in as Pakistan Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said that it had "credible intelligence" about India's military action on Wednesday claimed that India was planning military action on Pakistan "in the next 24–36 hours" on the basis of "baseless and concocted allegations" of Islamabad's involvement in the terror attack in claim followed another claim by Pakistan's Defence Minister, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, where he said an Indian attack was imminent."We have reinforced our forces because it is something which is imminent now. So in that situation some strategic decisions have to be taken, so those decisions have been taken," Asif told Reuters on KABUL CONDEMNS PAHALGAM TERROR ATTACKAmid the charged atmosphere, India's diplomatic outreach to Afghanistan can be considered a April 28, India's Joint Secretary for Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran, M Anand Prakash, met Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in the meeting, alongside strengthening bilateral ties, trade, and transit, both sides also exchanged views on 'recent regional developments'.The mention of "exchange of views on recent regional developments" was a message in itself. India's Special Representative from the foreign ministry, M Anand Prakash, met Afghanistan's Foreign Minister Maulvi Amir Khan Muttaqi in Kabul on Monday. (Image: Hafiz Zia Ahmad on X) advertisementIn fact, the Taliban-led government of Afghanistan had condemned the Pahalgam attack, ahead of the meeting with the Indian delegation."The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan categorically condemns the recent attack on tourists in the Pahalgam region of Jammu and Kashmir, and expresses condolences to the bereaved families," Taliban spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi the meeting, the Afghan side reiterated that it posed no threat to any country, an assurance earlier echoed by the Emirate's foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, in statement, coupled with the diplomatic engagement between India and Afghanistan, suggests a growing alignment between New Delhi and Kabul, particularly as Pakistan-Afghanistan relations ties with the Taliban have soured in recent years, exacerbated by Islamabad's decision to expel Afghan refugees and accusations that Kabul was allowing the Pakistani Taliban to use its soil for attacks on the Pakistani Taliban's warming ties with India, including its acceptance of Indian humanitarian and infrastructure aid, have further strained this and its military establishment, over the years had cultivated and nurtured the Taliban in quest of "strategic depth" against India. Islamabad's hosting of Taliban leaders and anti-India terrorists was aimed at bleeding India with a "thousand cuts" over recent developments put a spanner into the works of the Rawalpindi-Islamabad India prepares to punish the Pahalgam attackers and their backers, its smart tactical move on the Afghan front might provide some strategic leverage, and it could complicate Islamabad's position amid its strained ties with Afghanistan.
Arab News
01-03-2025
- Arab News
Thousands attend funeral for senior Taliban-linked cleric slain in Pakistan's northwest
AKORA KHATTAK: Thousands of mourners attended a funeral Saturday for a Taliban-linked cleric slain in Pakistan's northwest. Hamidul Haq, the head of Jamia Haqqania seminary, was one of seven people killed in a suicide bombing a day earlier at a mosque inside a seminary compound. Police said Haq was the target of the attack. He was the son of the late Maulana Samiul Haq, who is considered a founding figure for the Afghan Taliban movement. Many Afghan Taliban have studied at Jamia Haqqania in the past few decades. Nobody has claimed responsibility for Friday's attack. Authorities issued a photo of the alleged suicide bomber and urged the public to identify him, offering a reward of 500,000 rupees, or $1,787, for information on his name, parentage and place of residence. Mourners packed into the main hall of the seminary for Haq's funeral, with more praying on the street. The prayers passed without incident due to a heavy police deployment and seminary students guarding the venue. The bombing at Jamia Haqqania seminary was one of four attacks in Pakistan on Friday, two of them at mosques, which were unusual both in their number and timing, just before the holy month of Ramadan.
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Thousands attend funeral for senior Taliban-linked cleric slain in Pakistan's northwest
AKORA KHATTAK, Pakistan (AP) — Thousands of mourners attended a funeral Saturday for a Taliban-linked cleric slain in Pakistan's northwest. Hamidul Haq, the head of Jamia Haqqania seminary, was one of seven people killed in a suicide bombing a day earlier at a mosque inside a seminary compound. Police said Haq was the target of the attack. He was the son of the late Maulana Samiul Haq, who is considered a founding figure for the Afghan and Pakistani branches of the Taliban. Many Afghan Taliban have studied at Jamia Haqqania in the past few decades. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Nobody has claimed responsibility for Friday's attack. Authorities issued a photo of the alleged suicide bomber and urged the public to identify him, offering a reward of 500,000 rupees, or $1,787, for information on his name, parentage and place of residence. Mourners packed into the main hall of the seminary for Haq's funeral, with more praying on the street. The prayers passed without incident due to a heavy police deployment and seminary students guarding the venue. The bombing at Jamia Haqqania seminary was one of four attacks in Pakistan on Friday, two of them at mosques, which were unusual both in their number and timing, just before the holy month of Ramadan.
Washington Post
01-03-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Thousands attend funeral for senior Taliban-linked cleric slain in Pakistan's northwest
AKORA KHATTAK, Pakistan — Thousands of mourners attended a funeral Saturday for a Taliban-linked cleric slain in Pakistan's northwest. Hamidul Haq, the head of Jamia Haqqania seminary, was one of seven people killed in a suicide bombing a day earlier at a mosque inside a seminary compound. Police said Haq was the target of the attack.
The Independent
01-03-2025
- The Independent
Thousands attend funeral for senior Taliban-linked cleric slain in Pakistan's northwest
Thousands of mourners attended a funeral Saturday for a Taliban-linked cleric slain in Pakistan's northwest. Hamidul Haq, the head of Jamia Haqqania seminary, was one of seven people killed in a suicide bombing a day earlier at a mosque inside a seminary compound. Police said Haq was the target of the attack. He was the son of the late Maulana Samiul Haq, who is considered a founding figure for the Afghan and Pakistani branches of the Taliban. Many Afghan Taliban have studied at Jamia Haqqania in the past few decades. Nobody has claimed responsibility for Friday's attack. Authorities issued a photo of the alleged suicide bomber and urged the public to identify him, offering a reward of 500,000 rupees, or $1,787, for information on his name, parentage and place of residence. Mourners packed into the main hall of the seminary for Haq's funeral, with more praying on the street. The prayers passed without incident due to a heavy police deployment and seminary students guarding the venue. The bombing at Jamia Haqqania seminary was one of four attacks in Pakistan on Friday, two of them at mosques, which were unusual both in their number and timing, just before the holy month of Ramadan.
