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Pak PM Imran Khan calls Antony Blinken’s remark ignorant, says Islamabad treated like a hired gun
Khan said the best way forward for peace and stability in Afghanistan is to engage with the Taliban and incentivise them on issues such as women’s rights and inclusive government.
A day after the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US would reassess its relationship with Pakistan, Prime Minister Imran Khan called such comments ignorant, saying he has never heard such ignorance. Khan said the Islamabad was used like a hired gun by America.
In his first interview with the CNN, after the Taliban took over, Khan said the best way forward for peace and stability in Afghanistan is to engage with the Taliban and incentivise them on issues such as women’s rights and inclusive government.
Khan revealed that despite being a non-NATO ally, he has not spoken with US President Joe Biden since the Taliban takeover. He said I would imagine he’s very busy, but our relationship with the US is not just dependent on a phone call, it needs to be a multidimensional relationship, said Khan.
On Taliban, Khan said said that the world should give Taliban time on human rights but fears chaos without aid. He said the Taliban are looking for international aid to avoid a crisis, which could be used to push the group in the right direction towards legitimacy. However, he warned that Afghanistan could not be controlled by outside forces.
No puppet government in Afghanistan is supported by the people, he said. So rather than sitting here and thinking that we can control them, we should incentivize them. Because Afghanistan, this current government, clearly feels that without international aid and help, they will not be able to stop this crisis. So we should push them in the right direction.
However, earlier, Pakistan PM had endorsed the Taliban’s advance in the war-torn country, describing it as breaking the shackles of slavery. Now Pakistan wants the world to give some time to understand the Taliban. Khan has also questioned America’s understanding about the same terrorist network Haqqani.
Imran Khan has openly said that ‘the US could never understand the Haqqani network’. Praising the Haqqani network, the former cricketer said- ‘Haqqani is the Pashtun tribe of Pakistan. These people were the Mujahideen who fought the war against the Soviets. Khan was trying to cover up the relationship between Pakistan and Haqqani network.
Meanwhile, commenting on Blinken’s remarks, Khan said Pakistan is now seeking a more pragmatic approach in dealing with Afghanistan”s new leaders. He said we were supposed to make them (the US) win the war in Afghanistan, which we never could.
On Monday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US country will be reassessing its relationship with Pakistan. Blinken was testifying in front of the US foreign affairs committee on the hasty pull-out from the war ravaged country. The US lawmakers said Pakistan’s ISI openly supports Taliban and Haqqani Network, however, it is time to consider stronger relations with India.
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Khan has denied US claims that Pakistan harbours terrorists and provide them safe havens.
What are these safe havens? Khan asked. The area of Pakistan along the border of Afghanistan had the heaviest surveillance by the United States drones … surely they would have known if there were any safe havens?
Khan said he cannot destroy his country to fight someone else’s war.
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Suicide bombing near Turkey Parliament building in Ankara, 2 cops injured
Turkey’s main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu has slammed the attack in Ankara and stated that terrorism is a crime against humanity.
Turkey’s interior minister Ali Yerlikaya on Sunday asserted that two terrorists carried out a bomb attack in front of the ministry buildings in Ankara. He added that one of them died in the explosion and the other was “neutralised” by authorities there.
Earlier, Turkish media reported that an explosion was heard near the parliament and ministerial buildings, and broadcasters showed footage of debris scattered on a street near the Interior Ministry. A footage from Reuters showed soldiers, ambulances, fire trucks and an armoured vehicle gathered near the centre of Turkey’s capital, where the police have blocked multiple key roads.
Taking to social media X, formerly Twitter, Ali Yerlikaya, the interior minister, said that two police officers were slightly injured in the incident at 9:30 a.m. He added that two terrorists came with a light commercial vehicle in front of the entrance gate of the General Directorate of Security of their Ministry of Internal Affairs and carried out a bomb attack.
The interior minister further mentioned that one of the terrorists blew himself up and the other was neutralised, which usually means was killed. He noted that their struggle will continue until the last terrorist is neutralised.
Reports said that Ankara’s chief prosecutor initiated an investigation into what it also called a terrorist attack. Authorities did not identify any specific militant group, as yet.
Meanwhile, Turkey’s main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu has slammed the attack in Ankara and stated that terrorism is a crime against humanity. The leader of the Republican People’s Party mentioned that no matter from whom and where it came from, they will fight it together as a country and will never give treacherous ambitions a chance.
The concerned authorities in Ankara have cautioned the citizens over suspicious packages and bags that are being detonated in a controlled manner. Ankara Security Directorate asked citizens not to panic.
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Balochistan blast: Pakistan alleges India’s involvement in suicide attack, toll rises to 60
Sarfaraz Bugti told media that civil, military and all other institution will jointly strike against the elements involved in the Mastung suicide bombing.
Pakistan interior minister Sarfaraz Bugti in a shocking claim alleged India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) intelligence agency for the suicide blast in Balochistan. The blast that took place on Friday claimed the lives of nearly 60 people, leaving 60 others injured. The Indian government, on the other hand, is yet to make an official statement on Sarfaraz Bugti’s allegations.
The suicide bomb attack targeted a procession which gathered to celebrate Prophet Muhammad’s birthday near the Madina Masjid at a place called Mastung. The blast tore through the mosque in the southern province of Balochistan after the bomber denoted his explosive near a police vehicle where the people gathered for the procession.
Sarfaraz Bugti told media at Quetta that civil, military and all other institution will jointly strike against the elements involved in the Mastung suicide bombing. Without providing much details or evidence, the Pakistan minister claimed that RAW is involved in the suicide attack.
Wasim Baig, the spokesman for Balochistan’s health department, asserted that seven more people had died in hospital since Friday, which had caused the rise in the death toll. He added that more patients remained in critical condition.
In addition, a second attack on Friday at a mosque in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had killed nearly five people. Police on Saturday lodged a report to initiate an investigation, mentioning that they had sent DNA from the suicide bomb attacker to be analysed.
So far, no group has claimed responsibility for either attack. A surge in terror attacks in Pakistan’s western provinces has cast a shadow on preparations and public campaigning in the run-up to January’s general elections, but until now the attacks had mostly targeted security forces.
The Pakistani Taliban (TTP), which is responsible for some of the bloodiest attacks in Pakistan since the group’s formation in 2007, denied responsibility for Friday’s blasts. On Saturday, a statement from the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) said that an FIR with murder charges and terrorism offences has been registered against an unidentified attacker.
The caretaker government of Balochistan announced three days of mourning in the wake of the attack.
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Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, Mahmood Qureshi held guilty in cipher case
The PTI leaders’ trial has been requested by the FIA, and it is expected that they would be sentenced in accordance with the law.
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi were found guilty on Saturday by Pakistan’s top investigating agency in the cypher case, a case involving the alleged exposure of state secrets.
The charge sheet against Khan, the Tehreek-e-Insaf party chairman, and Qureshi, who are both presently being held in custody on judicial remand, was submitted by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to a special court set up under the Official Secrets Act, according to the Pakistan Observer website.
Imran Khan, 70, was detained last month following the filing of a complaint against him for allegedly breaking the Official Secrets Act by revealing a covert diplomatic cable (cypher) issued by the nation’s embassy in Washington last year in March.
The PTI leaders’ trial has been requested by the FIA, and it is expected that they would be sentenced in accordance with the law.
The vice chairman of PTI is 75-year-old Shah Mahmood Qureshi. Asad Umar, the former general secretary of the PTI, is not on the FIA’s list of suspects, but former principal secretary Azam Khan has been portrayed as a key witness in the FIA’s case against Imran Khan, according to GeoTV, a well-known news outlet. The challan also contains Azam Khan’s statement recorded under sections 161 and 164.
The speeches by Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Imran Khan from March 27 are also included in the FIA’s attachment.
The Pakistan Observer further noted that the FIA had provided the court with a list of 28 witnesses in addition to the charge sheet. According to the report, the list of witnesses includes names such as current foreign secretary Asad Majid, previous foreign secretary Sohail Mahmood, and additional foreign secretary Faisal Niaz Tirmizi.
Imran Khan had been imprisoned on remand three times earlier on September 26. Along with Qureshi, his judicial remand was initially extended until September 13 and then again until September 26.
The former PM was transferred from Attock prison to the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on the same day, one day after the Islamabad High Court instructed authorities to do so.
