NEW DELHI: India has once again claimed to have taken into custody a ‘Pakistani pigeon’ with Urdu scribble written on its wings, from Bamial village in Indian Punjab as well as a ‘Pakistani boat’ along with its crew from the Arabian Sea off Gujarat coast. The pigeon, detained by the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) […]
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Afghan friendly fire kills five soldiers: official
KABUL: An Afghan air force strike killed five soldiers and a police officer in western Afghanistan, an official said Saturday, the latest in a series of so-called “friendly fire” incidents. Afghan helicopters “mistakenly” bombed their own forces after calling in air support as they battled the Taliban in the Kensk area of Farah province late […]
India evacuates thousands living near Pakistan border
RANBIR SINGH PORA: India evacuated thousands of people living near the border with Pakistan on Friday, a day after carrying out “strikes” along the de-facto frontier in disputed Kashmir that have dramatically escalated tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours. Authorities in parts of northern India said they were evacuating villages within 10 kilometres (six miles) of […]
Afghanistan inks peace deal with warlord butcher of Kabul
KABUL: Afghanistan on Thursday signed a peace agreement with notorious warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, paving the way for him to make a political comeback despite a history of war crimes and after years in hiding. Hekmatyar, who heads the now largely dormant Hezb-i-Islami militant group, is the latest in a series of controversial figures that Kabul […]
Police rearrest IHK activist under controversial law
SRINAGAR: Authorities in Indian-held Kashmir (IHK) have charged a leading human rights activist under a controversial security law and rearrested him shortly after a court ordered to release him, a police officer said on Thursday. Khurram Pervez was formally charged on Wednesday night under the Public Safety Act (PSA) that allows detention for up to […]
India backs off major retaliation over IHK army camp raid, for now
SRINAGAR/NEW DELHI: For all the shrill rhetoric immediately following Sunday’s attack on an Indian army camp in Held Kashmir, which New Delhi blamed on Pakistan, the threat of a sudden escalation in hostilities between the nuclear-armed rivals has receded for now. Two days after 18 Indian soldiers were killed, in the biggest blow to security […]
India test fires surface-to-air missile
New Delhi: India test fired a new, long range surface-to-air missile jointly developed with Israel from a defence base off Odisha coast on Tuesday. The long range missile, a product of joint venture between India and Israel, was test launched from a mobile launcher at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur around 10.13 hours, […]
Modi thrashes out response to deadly Held Kashmir raid
SRINAGAR: India’s prime minister on Monday summoned top security advisers to thrash out a response to a deadly raid on a Kashmir army base blamed on ‘militants’ from Pakistan, amid calls for tough action against the nuclear-armed nation. Narendra Modi has vowed to punish those behind the attack in which gunmen hurling grenades stormed a […]
Main accused in Samjhauta bombing case gets bail
CHANDIGARH: Swami Aseemanand, main accused in the 2007 Samjhauta Express train blast case, was granted bail on Friday by a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court at Panchkula. The blast occurred near Panipat in which 68 people, mostly Pakistani nationals were killed. Aseemanand belongs to a right-wing Hindu outfit and is facing trial in three […]
India arrests prominent Kashmiri rights activist
SRINAGAR: Police have arrested a prominent rights activist in India-held Kashmir a day after he was barred from leaving India to travel to Geneva to participate in a session of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council, police and family members said on Friday. Police picked up Khurram Parvez from his home in Srinagar late […]