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The Times of India Chidanand Rajghatta September 24, 2019 Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has made the explosive disclosure that the Pakistani army and ISI trained al-Qaida and other terrorist groups to fight in Afghanistan. Although it has long been known that the Pakistani military trained the so-called mujaheddin that fought Soviet troops in Afghanistan under CIA tutelage, it is the first time that any Pakistani leader has directly and  specifically confirmed the Pakistan military and intelligence agency trained al -Qaida — which is largely a post-Soviet withdrawal entity — and continued to maintain links with the group. Al-Qaida was founded in 1988 by Osama bin Laden even as Soviet troops were leaving Afghanistan. Specifically, al-Qaida was formed in Peshawar, Pakistan on August 11, 1988. Soviet troops started to leave Afghanistan on May 15, 1988 and the withdrawal continued till February 2, 1989. Khan said the Pakistani military continued to have links w...

The Tribune September 25, 2019 Kamran Yousaf Pakistan’s three-way foreign policy challenge At a time when Pakistan wanted to solely focus on Kashmir, it now also has to deal with increased instability in Afghanistan as well as lurking fears of a possible conflict in the Middle East.  Prime Minister Imran Khan visited Saudi Arabia last week before heading to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly session. The main purpose of his visit to Riyadh was to garner the support of the Kingdom for Pakistan’s row with India over Kashmir. But just days before his meeting with the Saudi King and Crown Prince, the Saudi oil facilities were struck by missiles.  The unprecedented attacks carried out through drones shut down the Kingdom’s half of oil production but significantly sparked fears of a war in the already volatile Middle East. Saudi Arabia and the US have accused Iran of being behind the attack, although Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed the respon...

The Forbes September 12, 2019 Panos Mourdoukoutas The US-China trade war has provided Indian Prime Minister Modi with an opportunity he couldn’t refuse: to change the game in Kashmir for China and Pakistan. Back in August New Delhi terminated Article 370 of the Constitution, asserting its power in the disputed Kashmir region. This week, India called on China and Pakistan to suspend activities related to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). “We reject the reference to Jammu and Kashmir in the joint statement issued by China and Pakistan after the recent visit of Chinese Foreign Minister,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar is quoted as saying in Hindu.“J&K is an integral part of India. India has consistently expressed concerns to both China and Pakistan on the projects in so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which is on the territory of India that has been illegally occupied by Pakistan sinc...

Indian Defence News September 23, 2019 Pakistan appears to be falling grossly short of delivery on the 27-point action plan prepared by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to help it escape ‘black listing’, with sources monitoring its actions against terror financing indicating that Islamabad has delivered on only six of the 27 points so far. ‘Black listing’ by FATF stands to choke Pakistan’s access to international finance. Pakistan currently figures on the FATF ‘grey list’ and is up for a final review of its status at the FATF plenary meeting in Paris next month. The objectives of the Financial Action Task Force are to set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to integrity of the international financial system. Sources monitoring Pakistan’s implementation of FATF action plan said Pakistan has located only five of the 100-plus UN-d...