Muhammad Imad Abbas

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will participate in upcoming talks between Iran and the United States aimed at easing escalating tensions, the Foreign Office confirmed on Thursday.&nbsp;In a statement to Pakistan TV Digital, a Foreign Office spokesperson said Pakistan has been invited to take part in the Iran-US engagement and will be &ldquo;taken on board during the talks.&rdquo;&nbsp;Relations between Tehran and Washington have sharply deteriorated in recent weeks, following anti-government protests in Iran and a subsequent security crackdown. US President Donald Trump has warned of possible military action if tensions continue to escalate.&nbsp;The United States has also reinforced its military presence in the Middle East, including the deployment of an aircraft carrier group, amid growing concerns over regional stability.&nbsp;Publicly addressing the situation, Trump said he remained open to diplomacy but issued a warning if talks fail. &ldquo;I hope we&rsquo;re going to work something out,&rdquo; he said, adding that &ldquo;bad things would happen&rdquo; if no agreement is reached.&nbsp;Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran supports negotiations under clear conditions. &ldquo;I have instructed my Minister of Foreign Affairs, provided that a suitable environment exists, one free from threats and unreasonable expectations, to pursue fair and equitable negotiations,&rdquo; he said in a post on X.&nbsp;He added that the diplomatic effort was initiated following requests &ldquo;from friendly governments,&rdquo; underscoring Iran&rsquo;s stated preference for dialogue while maintaining it would respond decisively to any aggression.&nbsp;Pakistan has traditionally positioned itself as a proponent of regional diplomacy and de-escalation, particularly in matters affecting Middle East stability.

Foreign Affairs

Pakistan will participate in upcoming talks between Iran and the United States aimed at easing escalating tensions, the Foreign Office confirmed on Thursday

Pakistan joins Iran-US talks as tensions rise: Foreign Office

ISLAMABAD: The United States committed more funds to rebuilding Afghanistan than it did to reconstructing 16 European nations under the post-World War II Marshall Plan, according to a report released Wednesday by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR).&nbsp;Created by Congress in 2008 to provide independent oversight of US reconstruction efforts, SIGAR compiled its findings from original research, including interviews with US and NATO military and civilian officials, contractors, nongovernmental organizations, and Afghan government personnel.&nbsp;The report found that between 2002 and mid-2021, Congress appropriated approximately $144.7 billion for Afghanistan&rsquo;s reconstruction, far exceeding inflation-adjusted Marshall Plan spending.&nbsp;&ldquo;The mission promised to bring stability and democracy to Afghanistan, yet ultimately delivered neither,&rdquo; the report said.&nbsp;Despite nearly $90 billion allocated for security-sector assistance, Afghan security forces collapsed rapidly after the US military withdrawal in 2021.&nbsp;&ldquo;Costs were immense. Tens of thousands of people, including more than 2,450 US servicemembers, were killed. Many more were injured, among them more than 20,700 US servicemembers,&rdquo; the report added.&nbsp;SIGAR cited numerous interviews with former US and NATO officials, contractors, NGOs, and Afghan government staff, concluding that &ldquo;the seeds of failure in Afghanistan had been sown long before the final withdrawal.&rdquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;Success, when measured against the ambitious goals set by the United States, may never have been achievable, regardless of the strategies adopted or the resources invested,&rdquo; the report said.&nbsp;&ldquo;The outcome in Afghanistan should serve as a cautionary tale for policymakers contemplating similar reconstruction efforts.&rdquo;&nbsp;Funding overviewThe report provided a detailed breakdown of how the funds were allocated. Of the total appropriations, 60% went to security, 24% to development projects, 5% to humanitarian assistance, and 11% to agency operations.&nbsp;Reconstruction funding peaked between 2009 and 2012, coinciding with surges in US troop deployments and civilian personnel in Afghanistan. During this period, SIGAR noted that almost 40% of total reconstruction funding was disbursed, with security-related projects consuming the majority of resources.&nbsp;Even after the US military withdrawal, assistance continued. Between October 2021 and June 2025, nearly $3.5 billion was appropriated for Afghanistan, with more than 72% earmarked for humanitarian aid to address urgent needs among Afghan civilians.&nbsp;Waste, fraud, and abandoned equipmentSIGAR&rsquo;s report highlighted significant instances of mismanagement, identifying 1,327 cases of waste, fraud, and abuse that resulted in at least $26 billion in lost funds and over $4.6 billion in potential savings.&nbsp;&ldquo;Criminal investigations resulting from SIGAR oversight led to 171 convictions, including some of the largest tax evasion and conspiracy cases in US history,&rdquo; the report stated.&nbsp;These investigations also recovered $1.7 billion through criminal fines, restitution, forfeitures, and civil settlements.&nbsp;The report further revealed that the United States left behind more than $38 billion in military equipment and civilian infrastructure during its withdrawal, much of it rendered unusable or vulnerable to insurgent takeover.&nbsp;Factors behind the mission&rsquo;s failureAccording to SIGAR, multiple strategic and operational shortcomings contributed to the collapse of the US reconstruction effort.&nbsp;The report criticized US alliances with corrupt Afghan powerbrokers, noting that such partnerships undermined efforts to promote democracy, good governance, and human rights. Flawed institution-building, unrealistic timelines, and rapid spending also increased opportunities for corruption and weakened program effectiveness.&nbsp;&ldquo;The gap between ambition and reality was vast,&rdquo; the report said.&nbsp;Other challenges included a persistent lack of understanding of Afghanistan&rsquo;s complex social, economic, and political dynamics, insufficient monitoring and evaluation of reconstruction programs, and the compounding effects of a prolonged conflict on development efforts.&nbsp;SIGAR noted that these issues created &ldquo;fundamental flaws&rdquo; in America&rsquo;s two-decade-long mission.&nbsp;&ldquo;If there is one overarching lesson to be learned from a tragedy that unfolded over 20 years, it is that any US mission similar in context, scale, and ambition must confront the real possibility of failure,&rdquo; the report said.&nbsp;Oversight challengesThe report also highlighted difficulties in overseeing US assistance programs.&nbsp;SIGAR was the only office of inspector general dedicated exclusively to Afghanistan reconstruction, facing hurdles such as limited agency cooperation, poor record-keeping, difficulty accessing program sites amid ongoing conflict, and high staff turnover at implementing agencies.&nbsp;&ldquo;A robust, in-country presence is critical to establishing a network of local sources to overcome the difficulty of conducting on-site investigations amid an ongoing war,&rdquo; the report added.&nbsp;Legacy and lessonsDespite the massive financial and human investment, SIGAR concluded that US reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan fell short of their stated objectives, leaving a complex legacy of fiscal cost, human suffering, and strategic lessons for future policymakers.&nbsp;&ldquo;The outcome in Afghanistan should serve as a cautionary tale for policymakers contemplating similar reconstruction efforts,&rdquo; the report said.&nbsp;The findings underscore that while US aid and military engagement were unprecedented in scale, structural challenges and misaligned strategies ultimately prevented the establishment of a stable, self-sufficient Afghan state.

Afghanistan

According to a SIGAR report, US Afghanistan reconstruction spending exceeded $144 billion, yet widespread corruption, strategic failures, and weak Afghan forces led to mission collapse and lasting instability.

US spent more on Afghanistan reconstruction than Marshall Plan: report

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan responded with counter-fire after Afghan border forces launched unprovoked artillery shelling into Kurram district on Saturday night, a local police official told Pakistan TV Digital.&nbsp;The official said the incident occurred at around 8:00 p.m., when Afghan forces &ldquo;fired 6&ndash;7 artillery rounds&rdquo; into Upper Kurram in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.&nbsp;Pakistani forces &ldquo;responded with heavy weaponry,&rdquo; he said, adding that &ldquo;relative calm had returned&rdquo; by the time authorities assessed the area. &ldquo;It was initiated from the Afghan side,&rdquo; the official confirmed.&nbsp;The exchange comes amid heightened tensions along the Pakistan&ndash;Afghanistan frontier. Earlier this week, Pakistan&rsquo;s Foreign Office said the security understanding reached in Qatar last month, meant to halt cross-border attacks, was no longer <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-not-to-hold-any-dialogue-with-terrorist-groups-foreign-office" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">functioning</a>.&nbsp;Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi told reporters during his Friday press briefing that the arrangement &ldquo;was never a conventional ceasefire,&rdquo; but a commitment that Afghan soil would not be used for attacks inside Pakistan.&nbsp;&ldquo;Interpreting it in that sense, the ceasefire is not holding,&rdquo; he said, citing recent assaults involving Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Fitna al-Khawarij (FAK), and Afghan nationals. He added that continued incidents, including an attack in Islamabad, had eroded Pakistan&rsquo;s confidence in the mechanism.&nbsp;Pakistan&rsquo;s military has also raised concerns over cross-border facilitation of militants. During a November 25 briefing, military spokesperson Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said Afghan forces &ldquo;routinely open fire on Pakistani border posts&rdquo; to <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/afghan-regime-now-a-threat-to-regional-security-says-pakistan-military" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">divert</a> attention and enable militant infiltration.&nbsp;He noted that large stretches of the Afghan side lack functional governance, allowing hostile groups to exploit gaps between border posts.&nbsp;Chaudhry said the difficult terrain, divided tribal communities, and distance between Pakistani posts and the frontier further complicate border control. Despite fencing and surveillance, he added, the porous environment and limited law-enforcement presence on the Afghan side continue to create vulnerabilities exploited by militant elements.

Security

Afghan forces fired artillery into Upper Kurram Saturday night, prompting Pakistani retaliation, police said. Calm later returned amid ongoing concerns over cross-border attacks and militant infiltration.

Pakistan retaliates after Afghan forces fire unprovoked border shells: police

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s top intelligence official, Lieutenant General Asim Malik, has arrived in Istanbul to resume negotiations with the Afghan Taliban leadership, security sources told Pakistan TV Digital on Wednesday.&nbsp;Malik, the Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), is expected to meet Afghanistan&rsquo;s interim intelligence chief Abdul Haq Wasiq as both sides enter the next phase of talks on the ongoing ceasefire and cross-border security arrangements.&nbsp;Pakistan&rsquo;s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif earlier confirmed the delegation&rsquo;s travel plans and reiterated that Islamabad expects decisive action against militant groups operating from Afghan territory, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).&nbsp;The ceasefire was initially agreed in Doha on October 18&ndash;19 and reaffirmed during last week&rsquo;s discussions in Istanbul. A principal-level meeting is scheduled for November 6 to finalize implementation details, including the establishment of a joint monitoring and verification mechanism.&nbsp;Afghan spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has said that both sides will continue talks to address remaining issues, stressing Kabul&rsquo;s desire for stable, respectful, and non-interfering bilateral relations.&nbsp;Officials describe the progress as a significant move toward regional stability, while underscoring that the ceasefire remains conditional on Afghan territory not being used for attacks in Pakistan.&nbsp;&ldquo;This outcome reflects patience, diplomacy, and firm commitment to national interest,&rdquo; one official said.

Pakistani and Afghan Taliban delegations meet again today in Istanbul to finalize ceasefire implementation and anti-terror measures.

Pakistan intelligence chief in Türkiye for crucial Afghan talks

ISLAMABAD: Fierce clashes among rival Taliban factions in Afghanistan&rsquo;s Badakhshan province over the control of lucrative gold mines are exposing widening internal divisions within the group, according to officials and local reports. The ongoing disputes underscore how competition for valuable mineral resources continues to drive instability, corruption, and armed conflict in the region. The mines, which once served as a significant source of revenue for the Taliban during their insurgency, have now become the center of violent power struggles among different Taliban-aligned groups. On Wednesday, Afghan interim security officer Abdul Halim Hamidi was killed in a confrontation with an armed group linked to a businessman in Badakhshan, according to local media. Spokesperson for the Taliban-run Badakhshan Police Headquarters, Ehsanullah Kamgar, said the group involved was made up of &ldquo;10 to 12 armed men associated with a businessman active in the mining sector.&rdquo; Kamgar said the men had been the subject of multiple complaints before security forces were deployed. This incident followed several recent confrontations in the Shahr-e-Buzurg district. Earlier this week, at least five Taliban members were killed and three were wounded when clashes broke out between local and non-local Taliban fighters over mining control. Local reports named Shafiqullah Hafizi, the current Taliban director of mines in Badakhshan, and Abdul Rahman Ammar, the former head of the department, as key rivals in the dispute. During the fighting, Abdul Hamid, operations chief of the Taliban&rsquo;s Border Brigade, was among those killed, according to local media. Earlier this month, at least 10 Taliban members were also killed in heavy clashes in Yalor village, Yaftal district, involving Taliban members from Helmand and local Taliban fighters from Badakhshan. Local Taliban members accused fighters from Helmand of &ldquo;seizing the gold mines&rdquo; and cutting them off from revenue. Reports in Badakhshan suggest that Taliban members from the southern provinces were supported by the provincial Taliban governor and police chief, further deepening internal resentments. Strategic and economic ImportanceBadakhshan has long served as a key corridor for armed groups operating in northeastern Afghanistan. The Shahr-e-Buzurg district borders Chah Ab in Takhar, providing access to Dasht-e-Archi in Kunduz. A route historically used by insurgents. The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime has noted that natural resources in Badakhshan are a major driver of conflict, stating that competition for the mines has &ldquo;created conditions of lawlessness and conflict and a hollowed-out state.&rdquo; Estimates suggest Afghanistan holds nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral reserves. Tolo News, citing a security chief in Badakhshan, reported that the Taliban earn approximately $0.4 to $0.7 million per month from the Raghistan gold mine alone. Historical precedentThe struggle for control of Badakhshan&rsquo;s gold mines predates the Taliban takeover in 2021. In 2014, a local commander named Abdul Malek seized the mines, claiming that local MP Zulmai Mujadidi had personally profited from exploiting them for over a decade. By 2016, the Taliban were reportedly receiving around 50% of mine revenue, allowing them to expand influence in the region before their return to power. Regional spilloverThe conflict has also taken on a cross-border dimension. On Aug. 24, Taliban fighters and Tajik border forces exchanged fire near the Panj River in Badakhshan, after mining activities altered the river&rsquo;s flow and threatened farmland on the Tajik side, according to reports. This was the first direct armed encounter between Tajik forces and the Taliban since 2021. While the Taliban have largely suppressed rival insurgent groups, such as the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), internal conflicts driven by competition for natural resources are emerging as a significant and escalating challenge to their authority.

Deadly clashes among Taliban factions in Badakhshan over lucrative gold mines highlight growing internal fractures within the group, with local and non-local forces competing for revenue in a region critical to Afghanistan’s mineral wealth and strategic routes

Gold mine power struggle exposes widening rifts inside Taliban ranks

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Afghanistan are preparing for a second round of talks in Istanbul, a follow-up to discussions held in Doha earlier this month, aimed at establishing what Islamabad calls a &ldquo;verifiable monitoring mechanism&rdquo; to address cross-border militant activity.&nbsp;The Pakistan Foreign Office confirmed on Friday that the dialogue will continue under T&uuml;rkiye&rsquo;s facilitation.&nbsp;The Afghan government also confirmed the talks. In a statement posted on X, Afghan spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said the Acting Deputy Interior Minister Haji Najib had departed for T&uuml;rkiye &ldquo;to follow up on the agreement reached in Doha several days ago.&rdquo;&nbsp;At the time this report was filed, Pakistan had not publicly announced its delegation.&nbsp;While the agenda is expected to focus on preventing cross-border attacks, analysts caution that the core issues driving tensions remain unresolved.&nbsp;&lsquo;Elephant in the room&rsquo;Abdul Basit, senior associate fellow and head of the South Asia desk at the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR), told Pakistan TV Digital that progress will remain stalled unless Kabul acknowledges the presence of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Afghan soil.&nbsp;&ldquo;The Afghan side is not ready to accept the fact that the militant Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan continues to operate from its soil,&rdquo; Basit said. &ldquo;As long as Kabul continues to refute that, any breakthrough will remain but a distant dream.&rdquo;&nbsp;Basit said Pakistan wants the Taliban authorities to dismantle militant hideouts used to orchestrate attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul, meanwhile, has demanded assurances that Pakistan will respect Afghanistan&rsquo;s sovereignty following recent cross-border strikes. &ldquo;Both parties are entering the talks with different aims,&rdquo; Basit said.&nbsp;Strained public sentimentJournalist and Afghanistan-Pakistan affairs analyst Sami Yousafzai said mutual distrust is deepening, particularly after recent clashes along the border.&nbsp;&ldquo;Healing that relationship will likely require consistent diplomatic engagement, confidence-building measures, and perhaps third-party facilitation at some stage,&rdquo; Yousafzai told Pakistan TV Digital.&nbsp;Without trust, analysts argue, discussions will remain procedural rather than transformative.&nbsp;Possible scenarios aheadBasit warned that if Kabul continues to deny the presence of TTP militants, Pakistan may see &ldquo;only one option, to target the leadership of the TTP in Afghanistan,&rdquo; a move he said would be justified by Islamabad in the name of national security.&nbsp;Analyst Inam Ul Haq described the Taliban&rsquo;s current posture as &ldquo;maneuvering the roof&rdquo; under the Doha framework, maintaining diplomatic cooperation while preserving ideological space for groups aligned with their worldview.&nbsp;T&uuml;rkiye&rsquo;s roleThe Istanbul round reflects T&uuml;rkiye&rsquo;s growing role as a mediator between the two uneasy neighbors. Ankara facilitated the Doha discussions, where both sides agreed to continue dialogue and maintain a ceasefire announced on October 19.&nbsp;Despite the challenges, analysts say continued engagement is preferable to confrontation.&nbsp;The upcoming talks, Basit said, represent &ldquo;an opportunity to begin reshaping the relationship, provided both sides are ready to speak plainly about the realities on the ground.&rdquo;

Following last week’s Doha talks, Islamabad and Kabul meet today in Istanbul to discuss a verifiable monitoring mechanism, though analysts warn progress remains uncertain amid ongoing disputes over militancy and border security.

Pakistan, Afghanistan to resume talks in Istanbul amid persistent tensions

ISLAMABAD: Interim Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi has dismissed claims that Afghanistan poses a security threat to its neighbors, even as multiple reports highlight that militant organizations continue to operate from Afghan territory, fueling instability across the region. During a recent visit to India, Muttaqi addressed concerns about militancy and regional security. Responding to questions from the Indian press, he said, &ldquo;Pakistan is not our only neighbor. China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan&mdash;why don&rsquo;t they have any complaints?&rdquo; However, a number of reports, including those by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), suggest that several armed groups maintain a presence in Afghanistan. These groups are said to threaten not only Pakistan but also other countries in the wider region. According to the UNSC&rsquo;s findings, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) remains the most prominent Pakistan-focused militant organization operating inside Afghanistan. The TTP, formed in 2007 and aligned with Al-Qaeda, is estimated to have around 6,000 fighters stationed across Afghanistan&rsquo;s Baghlan, Wardak, Nuristan, Kunar, Ghazni, Kabul, and Helmand provinces. The report further notes that the TTP &ldquo;continues to receive logistical and operational support&rdquo; from Afghanistan&rsquo;s de facto authorities and that its militants are &ldquo;trained in camps set up by Al-Qaeda.&rdquo; In April this year, Pakistan&rsquo;s military reported killing 54 TTP fighters attempting to infiltrate from Afghanistan. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) stated that the operation was part of ongoing counterterrorism efforts along the border. Militant groups based in Afghanistan are not limited to the TTP. The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which has waged an insurgency in Pakistan&rsquo;s southwestern Balochistan province, is also believed to maintain safe havens inside Afghanistan. BLA commander Aslam Baloch, also known as Achu, was killed in Kandahar in December 2018, according to Al-Jazeera.&nbsp; The UNSC report adds that the BLA has a &ldquo;non-aggression pact&rdquo; with the TTP, under which both groups refrain from targeting each other, and that TTP provides training support to Baloch militants. The Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), another major group, reportedly commands between 4,000 and 6,000 fighters in Afghanistan, including defectors from the Afghan Taliban, TTP, and Al-Qaeda. ISKP has expanded its reach across the region. Last year, Pakistan, in coordination with T&uuml;rkiye&rsquo;s National Intelligence Organization (MIT), arrested ISKP&rsquo;s media head, Abu Yasir al-Turki, during a joint intelligence operation near the Afghan border. Meanwhile, Al-Qaeda continues to maintain training facilities across Afghanistan, used by both its members and TTP operatives. The group&rsquo;s South Asian affiliate, Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), remains ideologically aligned with the Taliban. AQIS&rsquo;s second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, was killed in a US drone strike in Kabul in July 2022, according to the US Department of War. Other regional outfits, including the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP), which targets China, and Tehrik-e-Taliban Tajikistan, reportedly operate from Afghan soil. The TIP, led by Abdul Haq Turkistani, maintains ties with both the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, with Abdul Haq serving on Al-Qaeda&rsquo;s executive council, according to the UNSC. Similarly, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), with an estimated 500 to 800 fighters based in northern Afghanistan, continues to pose a threat to Central Asian states. Afghanistan-based outlet Amu TV has described the IMU as maintaining &ldquo;deep historical ties&rdquo; to Afghanistan&rsquo;s insurgency. Despite these documented presences, the Afghan Taliban government continues to deny harboring foreign militants. Muttaqi&rsquo;s remarks in India reflect Kabul&rsquo;s consistent position that Afghanistan is not a source of regional instability. Still, the contrast between official statements and international assessments underscores the region&rsquo;s lingering security dilemma, where assurances of peace coexist uneasily with the persistent activity of transnational militant networks.

Multiple UN and intelligence reports indicate that militant networks, including the TTP, BLA, ISKP, and Al-Qaeda affiliates, continue operating from Afghan soil despite Taliban denials, raising fresh concerns over regional stability and cross-border security threats

Militants expand footprint in Afghanistan as Taliban downplay regional threat

ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan&rsquo;s interim Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi is on an official seven-day visit to India, emphasizing the potential of Iran&rsquo;s Chabahar Port as a vital trade link between India and Afghanistan.&nbsp;The visit, delayed earlier due to visa clearance issues, marks the first official trip by an Afghan interim minister to India since the Taliban takeover. Previously, India&rsquo;s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval visited Kabul in January 2021 during former president Ashraf Ghani&rsquo;s tenure.&nbsp;Addressing a press conference at the Afghanistan Embassy in New Delhi, Muttaqi underlined the significance of Chabahar Port, calling it a &ldquo;good option for trade.&rdquo; He urged both India and Afghanistan to &ldquo;remove obstacles&rdquo; to its full utilization, noting that &ldquo;US sanctions have complicated operations.&rdquo;&nbsp;Chabahar is not a new trade idea for Afghanistan. Successive governments have explored it as an alternative route connecting Afghanistan to global markets through Iran, bypassing Pakistan. Yet, questions remain over whether it can become a reliable trade corridor that benefits Afghan traders and strengthens regional ties.&nbsp;Why Chabahar matters for India?Located along Iran&rsquo;s southeastern coast on the Gulf of Oman, Chabahar holds strategic importance for India. It lies just 550 nautical miles from Gujarat&rsquo;s Kandla port and offers New Delhi a direct trade corridor to Afghanistan, Central Asia, and Europe, circumventing Pakistan.&nbsp;Since 2016, India has invested heavily in the project, spending nearly half of its allocated 4 billion Indian rupees. A year ago, India signed a 10-year agreement with Iran&rsquo;s Ports and Maritime Organization to manage and develop the port through India Ports Global Limited (IPGL).&nbsp;The initiative is part of India&rsquo;s broader vision to integrate Chabahar into the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), linking India to Russia via Iran. Originally proposed in 2003 as a counterbalance to Pakistan&rsquo;s Gwadar Port, developed under China&rsquo;s Belt and Road Initiative, the Chabahar project has faced repeated delays due to sanctions and bureaucratic hurdles.&nbsp;Challenges facing the projectDespite India&rsquo;s commitment, challenges persist. Afghan experts say Kabul remains skeptical of India&rsquo;s reliability as a partner.&nbsp;&ldquo;Afghanistan continues not to see India as a dependable ally because New Delhi has traditionally remained distant from Kabul,&rdquo; said Zia Ur Rehman, a Pakistan-based expert on Afghan affairs, speaking to Pakistan TV Digital.&nbsp;He added, &ldquo;India&rsquo;s renewed interest in Afghanistan is driven by geopolitical signaling aimed at maintaining influence along Pakistan&rsquo;s western border.&rdquo;&nbsp;India&rsquo;s caution stems from its fraught history with the Taliban. The hijacking of an Indian Airlines plane to Kandahar in 1999 and the 2008 Kabul embassy bombing, both linked by India to Taliban elements, continue to shape New Delhi&rsquo;s approach.&nbsp;Meanwhile, Afghan traders remain reluctant to abandon the shorter and cheaper trade routes through Pakistan. &ldquo;Chabahar increases transport costs, and those dealing in perishable goods cannot afford delays of several days,&rdquo; said Qudrat Ullah, a local trader speaking to Pakistan TV Digital.&nbsp;Sanctions and strategic setbacksComplicating matters further, the Trump administration&rsquo;s decision to revoke the US sanctions waiver on Chabahar has disrupted India&rsquo;s plans. The exemption, granted in 2018, allowed India to operate freely at Iran&rsquo;s Makran coast despite broader sanctions on Tehran.&nbsp;&ldquo;This move will disrupt New Delhi&rsquo;s strategic and economic ambitions in Iran and Central Asia,&rdquo; said Rehman, adding that the decision exposes Indian operators at Chabahar&rsquo;s Shahid Beheshti terminal to punitive action under the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act (IFCA).&nbsp;As Afghanistan&rsquo;s acting foreign minister pushes for renewed cooperation, India faces a delicate balancing act, navigating strained regional dynamics, economic sanctions, and a skeptical Kabul, all while striving to keep its Chabahar ambitions afloat. NOTE: $1 was equal to ₹88.72 (Indian Rupees) at the time of publishing of this article.

India

Experts warn India’s Chabahar ambitions face major setbacks after the Trump administration revoked sanctions waivers, exposing Indian operators to punitive action and disrupting New Delhi’s strategic trade and connectivity plans in Iran and Central Asia.

New Delhi’s Chabahar ambitions face hurdles amid Afghan FM’s India visit

Muhammad Usman Amin

Mariam Ellahi

ISLAMABAD/RAWALPINDI/PESHAWAR: Afghanistan has requested Pakistan to halt its &ldquo;heavy counteraction&rdquo; after the Pakistan Army launched a strong and sustained response to unprovoked cross-border firing from Afghan forces, security sources told Pakistan TV Digital.&nbsp;According to the sources, Afghan troops carried out unprovoked firing late Saturday night across multiple points along the Pak-Afghan border, including Angoor Adda, Bajaur, Kurram, Dir, Chitral in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Baramcha in Balochistan, allegedly to facilitate the infiltration of Khawarij formations, a faction Islamabad identifies as Indian-sponsored proxies of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).&nbsp;Pakistan Army positions responded with full force using artillery, tanks, and aerial assets, effectively targeting Afghan military posts and militant hideouts.&nbsp;&ldquo;A strong and decisive response from the Pakistan Army against Afghan forces is ongoing. Afghan forces are in a state of panic due to the intense retaliation,&rdquo; security sources said. &ldquo;Several Afghan posts have been abandoned as a result of heavy losses.&rdquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;Afghan soldiers fled, leaving behind multiple bodies at their posts following Pakistan&rsquo;s effective and intense response.&rdquo;&nbsp;Security sources confirmed that Afghanistan has formally requested Pakistan to halt its counteraction, as Pakistani forces continue to target positions linked to Khawarij and Daesh elements operating from Afghan territory.&nbsp;The sources further revealed that Pakistani forces employed a combination of precision artillery and drone strikes to destroy multiple Afghan posts. &ldquo;The Army&rsquo;s timely and decisive action has neutralized key militant hideouts under the protection of Afghan authorities,&rdquo; one official added.&nbsp;District administration officials confirmed that several missiles were fired from the Afghan side targeting civilian areas across the border, prompting Pakistan&rsquo;s &ldquo;measured but powerful&rdquo; military response to protect its citizens.&nbsp;Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned Afghanistan&rsquo;s unprovoked firing, calling it a &ldquo;blatant violation of international law.&rdquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;Pakistan&rsquo;s brave forces have shown, with an immediate and effective response, that any provocation will not be tolerated,&rdquo; Naqvi said.&nbsp;&ldquo;Our forces are vigilant, and Afghanistan is being answered brick for brick. The fire and blood being played out from Afghanistan have links to our perennial enemy,&rdquo; he added, referring to India.&nbsp;&ldquo;Afghanistan will be given a strong, decisive response, just as India was, so it will not dare cast a covetous eye toward Pakistan,&rdquo; the minister warned.&nbsp;Defence analyst Hassan Khan told Pakistan TV that the current Afghan behavior reflected a deep betrayal of Pakistan&rsquo;s long-standing support.&nbsp;&ldquo;Pakistan hosted millions of Afghans for decades. Now, their behavior has completely changed,&rdquo; Khan said. &ldquo;Afghanistan is harbouring and providing hideouts to groups like the TTP, BLA, and Majeed Brigade. Their forces are now giving cover to Fitna al-Khawarij to harm Pakistan.&rdquo;&nbsp;Another analyst, Agha Iqrar, stressed that Pakistan must reassess its Afghan strategy.&nbsp;&ldquo;The Afghan Taliban are not only hosting, harbouring, and funding TTP and Fitna al-Khawarij, but more than 42 militant groups are operating from Afghan soil,&rdquo; he noted. &ldquo;Pakistan must take decisive action and redefine its Afghan policy.&rdquo;&nbsp;Taliban officials in Kunar, Nangarhar, Paktia, Khost, and Helmand confirmed to AFP that clashes were ongoing along several points of the border.&nbsp;The escalation follows two days after a deadly terrorist attack on the Police Training School in Dera Ismail Khan, in which six policemen, including trainees, embraced martyrdom. According to ISPR, members of &ldquo;Fitna al-Khawarij&rdquo; rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the facility but were eliminated after an intense firefight.&nbsp;In the wake of the rising tensions, Saudi Arabia and Iran have both called for restraint and dialogue.&nbsp;The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in a statement by its ministry of foreign affairs, said:&nbsp;&ldquo;The Kingdom is following with concern the tensions and clashes along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. We urge both sides to exercise self-restraint, avoid escalation, and prioritize dialogue and wisdom to preserve regional stability.&rdquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;Saudi Arabia reaffirms its support for all regional and international efforts aimed at strengthening peace and prosperity for the two brotherly Pakistani and Afghan peoples.&rdquo;&nbsp;Meanwhile, Iran&rsquo;s ministry of foreign affairs expressed similar concern, urging both countries to resolve their differences peacefully.&nbsp;&ldquo;Iran is closely monitoring developments and calls on both sides to engage diplomatically to prevent further escalation,&rdquo; an Iranian spokesperson said in Tehran. &ldquo;Peace and cooperation must prevail over confrontation.&rdquo;&nbsp;Security officials in Islamabad reiterated that Pakistan remains resolute in defending its sovereignty.&nbsp;&ldquo;Any future aggression or attempt to aid terrorist infiltration will be met with a strong and immediate response,&rdquo; one senior source emphasized.

Islamabad’s security sources say Pakistan Army’s strong and coordinated retaliation destroyed multiple Afghan border posts, forcing Afghan troops to flee amid mounting casualties. The clashes follow recent militant attacks in Dera Ismail Khan linked to Afghanistan-based groups.

Afghanistan urges Pakistan to halt ‘heavy counteraction’: security sources

Pakistan military spokesperson says recent intelligence confirms foreign-backed militants are regrouping along the Afghan border, warning that Pakistan will respond firmly to any threat against its citizens, sovereignty, and regional stability.

Pakistan says India using Afghan soil to fuel terror attacks

NEW YORK: Paramount Skydance announced Thursday it will acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in a deal valuing the combined company at $110 billion, after beating Netflix in a bruising bidding war.&nbsp;The agreement ends a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/paramount-poised-to-acquire-warner-bros-after-netflix-walks-away" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">five-month bidding saga</a>&nbsp;and creates an entertainment behemoth whose impact on a struggling media landscape &mdash; and connections to Donald Trump&#39;s White House &mdash; will be closely scrutinized.&nbsp;The merged entity will include CNN, HBO and Nickelodeon as well as some of Hollywood&#39;s most valuable franchises, including Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, the DC Universe, Mission Impossible and SpongeBob SquarePants.&nbsp;Under the terms of the agreement,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/paramount-counters-netflix-with-hostile-bid-for-warner-bros" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Paramount</a>will pay $31.00 per share in cash for all outstanding Warner Bros. Discovery shares, implying an equity value of $81 billion &mdash; and $110 billion when including the debt Paramount will take on.&nbsp;The transaction has been unanimously approved by both companies&#39; boards and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, the companies said.&nbsp;&quot;Our pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery has been guided by a clear purpose: to honor the legacy of two iconic companies while accelerating our vision of building a next-generation media and entertainment company,&quot; said Paramount Chairman and CEO David Ellison.&nbsp;The deal closes a saga that ended Thursday when Netflix walked away, unwilling to match Paramount&#39;s latest offer.&nbsp;Questions now pivot to the Ellison family, which will control a constellation of media properties spanning the globe.&nbsp;Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison is the father of Paramount CEO David Ellison and largely financed his son&#39;s takeover of Paramount and his subsequent bid for Warner Bros. Discovery.&nbsp;Larry Ellison is also a longtime ally of President Trump. Both Paramount and Netflix have sought to curry favor with the White House, with Paramount winning out.&nbsp;The Paramount offer includes financing from three Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds -- those of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi -- which could attract regulatory scrutiny.&nbsp;Paramount has also offered a $7 billion regulatory termination fee should the deal fail to close on regulatory grounds, and has covered the $2.8 billion breakup fee Warner Bros. owed Netflix when it walked away from their agreement.

The Paramount sign is seen outside the Paramount Studios in Los Angeles, California, on December 9, 2025. (Photo: AF/File)

Entertainment

The agreement ends a five-month bidding saga and creates an entertainment behemoth whose impact on a struggling media landscape — and connections to Donald Trump's White House — will be closely scrutinized.

Paramount acquires Warner Bros. in $110 bn mega-merger

WASHINGTON: Iran agreed in talks with the United States never to stockpile enriched uranium, mediator Oman&#39;s top diplomat said Friday, in what he called a breakthrough that he hoped would prevent war.&nbsp;Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi, whose country brokered&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/iran-urges-us-to-drop-excessive-demands-to-reach-deal" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">talks between the United States and Iran</a>&nbsp;in Geneva on Thursday, said he believed all issues in a deal could be resolved &quot;amicably and comprehensively&quot; within three months.&nbsp;&quot;If the ultimate objective is to ensure forever that Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb, I think we have cracked that problem through these negotiations by agreeing on a very important breakthrough that has never been achieved any time before,&quot; Albusaidi told the CBS News program &quot;Face the Nation.&quot;&nbsp;&quot;I think if we can capture that and build on it, I think a deal is within our reach,&quot; he said.&nbsp;The minister added that Iran would not be able to stockpile enriched uranium and that there would be verification.&nbsp;He said Iran would also degrade its current stockpiles to &quot;the lowest level possible&quot; so that it is &quot;converted into fuel, and that fuel will be irreversible.&quot;&nbsp;&quot;This is something completely new. It really makes the enrichment argument less relevant, because now we are talking about zero stockpiling,&quot; said Albusaidi, who met earlier Friday with US Vice President JD Vance.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/trump-not-thrilled-with-iran-but-undecided-on-attack" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">President Donald Trump&#39;s administration</a>&nbsp;accuses Tehran of intending to build a nuclear weapon. But &quot;if you cannot stockpile material that is enriched, then there is no way you can actually create a bomb,&quot; Albusaidi told CBS.&nbsp;In a 2015 agreement negotiated by former president Barack Obama, Iran agreed to keep enrichment only to a low level that is well below weapons grade.&nbsp;Trump ripped up the deal in his first term and imposed sanctions, and in recent weeks has deployed the US military in the region to levels not seen in years.&nbsp;Secretary of State Marco Rubio has insisted that any deal cover not just the nuclear program but also Iran&#39;s missiles.&nbsp;Asked about the missile issue, Albusaidi said: &quot;I believe Iran is open to discussing everything.&quot;

A handout picture provided by the Iranian Foreign Ministry on February 26, 2026, shows Iranian diplomats and a delegation during the Iran-US talks in Geneva, Switzerland. (Photo: AFP/File)

Middle East

Its foreign minister says talks between the United States and Iran in Geneva on Thursday, said he believed all issues in a deal could be resolved 'amicably and comprehensively' within three months.


Iran agreed not to stockpile enriched uranium: mediator Oman

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/trump-not-thrilled-with-iran-but-undecided-on-attack" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">US President Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;said Friday that the United States will not step into the situation between Pakistan and Afghanistan, while praising Pakistan&rsquo;s leadership and bilateral ties.&nbsp;Responding to a question about whether Washington would intervene in a possible conflict involving Pakistan, Trump said he has &ldquo;very good relations&rdquo; with the country.&nbsp;&ldquo;Well, I would, but I get along with Pakistan, as you know, very well &mdash; very, very well,&rdquo; he told reporters.&nbsp;The US president described Pakistan&rsquo;s prime minister and military leadership in positive terms, saying he has &ldquo;a lot of respect&rdquo; for them.&nbsp;&ldquo;You have a great prime minister [Shehbaz Sharif], you have a great general [Field Marshal Asim Munir] there, you have a great leader &mdash; two of the people that I really respect a lot,&rdquo; Trump said, adding that he believes Pakistan is &ldquo;doing terrifically well.&rdquo;&nbsp;His remarks came amid heightened tensions along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, where security incidents have raised concerns about further escalation.&nbsp;Pakistan&rsquo;s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said late on Friday that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-says-297-taliban-fighters-killed-in-afghanistan-strikes" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">297 Afghan Taliban fighters were killed</a>&nbsp;and more than 450 were injured in retaliatory military strikes across Afghanistan.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 471px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2027449317087408548&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=485de7e742b2156c528f877ea42b0a2dc7039429&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px"></iframe></div></div>In a post on the social media platform X, Tarar said the action was carried out under&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-says-297-taliban-fighters-killed-in-afghanistan-strikes" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Operation Ghazb lil Haq</a>&nbsp;and involved precision air and ground strikes at 29 locations in Afghanistan.&nbsp;The information minister said 89 Taliban check posts were destroyed, 18 captured, and 135 tanks and armed vehicles eliminated during the operation.

US President Donald Trump speaks to the press before boarding Marine One as he departs from the South Lawn of the White House for Texas in Washington, DC, on February 27, 2026. (Photo: AFP)

Americas

Praises the Pakistan leadership, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir; says he believes Pakistan is 'doing terrifically well.'

Trump says US will not intervene in Pakistan-Afghan conflict

Muhammad Ibrahim

ISLAMABAD: Recent security developments have reinforced Pakistan&rsquo;s long-standing assessment that Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Afghan Taliban operate as a mutually reinforcing nexus, where pressure on one group is met with retaliation by the other. The pattern was again visible this week after Pakistan launched <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-says-297-taliban-fighters-killed-in-afghanistan-strikes" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Operation Ghazab lil Haq</a>&nbsp;in response to unprovoked cross-border attacks. As <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/why-pakistan-struck-afghanistan" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pakistan struck Afghan Taliban targets</a> inside Afghanistan, TTP elements attempted to escalate violence inside Pakistan, including failed drone attacks in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Pakistan&rsquo;s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar confirmed that TTP-linked terrorists attempted to launch drones in Abbottabad, Swabi and Nowshera, but said Pakistan&rsquo;s anti-drone systems intercepted all of them, preventing any loss of life. &ldquo;These <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-responds-afghan-border-fire" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">incidents have again exposed direct linkages</a> between the Afghan Taliban regime and terrorism in Pakistan,&rdquo; Tarar said in a statement. Terrorist groups&#39; messaging, released the same day, removed any remaining ambiguity. A TTP faction, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, publicly issued directives to its terrorist operatives across Pakistan to escalate attacks on security forces, portraying the violence as retaliation for Pakistan&rsquo;s military action against Afghan Taliban targets. The message openly described attacks inside Pakistan as an act of &ldquo;solidarity&rdquo; with the Afghan Taliban. An earlier internal directive attributed to TTP leadership went further, declaring that the &ldquo;Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan stands with our mujahideen&rdquo; and ordering commanders to escalate attacks while amplifying propaganda through media channels. <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pm-sharif-briefed-at-military-headquarters-as-pakistan-inflicts-heavy-taliban-losses" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pakistani officials</a> say this coordinated messaging reflects an operational reality that has persisted since the Taliban takeover of Kabul in 2021: Afghan soil has increasingly been used as a safe haven for groups targeting Pakistan. Islamabad maintains that the return of the Taliban to power removed constraints on terrorist networks, enabling training, planning and cross-border attacks with impunity. Security sources argue the sequence is now predictable. When Pakistan confronts terrorist infrastructure inside Afghanistan, TTP cells activate inside Pakistan. When TTP strikes Pakistani targets, protection and facilitation trace back across the border. Pakistan says repeated diplomatic engagements have failed to alter this behavior and that the Afghan Taliban regime has neither acknowledged nor acted against the presence of anti-Pakistan terrorist groups on its territory. As military operations and militant reprisals continue in parallel, Pakistani authorities say the distinction between the Afghan Taliban and TTP is no longer theoretical but operational. A shared ecosystem in which an attack on one triggers a response from the other.

Blogs

Pakistan says recent drone attempts, militant directives, and retaliatory strikes demonstrate a coordinated operational pattern, where pressure on the Afghan Taliban consistently triggers Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan attacks inside Pakistan, reinforcing concerns over cross-border safe havens.

TTP–Taliban nexus exposed as attacks and retaliation mirror each other

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said Friday that <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-army-kills-274-afghan-taliban-affiliates-as-operation-ghazab-lil-haq-continues" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">297 Afghan Taliban fighters were killed</a> and more than 450 injured in retaliatory military strikes across Afghanistan, as Information Minister Attaullah Tarar denounced the Kabul administration as an &ldquo;illegitimate regime&rdquo; following unprovoked attacks along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. In a post on social media platform X, Tarar said the action was carried out under Operation Ghazb lil Haq and involved precision air and ground strikes on 29 locations inside Afghanistan. The information minister said 89 Taliban check posts were destroyed, 18 captured, and 135 tanks and armed vehicles eliminated during the operation.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 2;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 471px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2027449317087408548&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=485de7e742b2156c528f877ea42b0a2dc7039429&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" data-tweet-id="2027449317087408548">&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>Earlier, while addressing a press briefing, Tarar said <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pm-sharif-briefed-at-military-headquarters-as-pakistan-inflicts-heavy-taliban-losses" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">unprovoked firing by the Afghan Taliban regime</a> along the Pakistan&ndash;Afghanistan border was being and will continue to be responded to strongly and effectively. He described Pakistan&rsquo;s response as &ldquo;immediate and decisive,&rdquo; adding that Taliban fighters fled several positions, leaving behind weapons and bodies. The minister said the latest fighting further exposed what he called a direct&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/why-pakistan-struck-afghanistan" style="color:#0073e6;">nexus between the Afghan Taliban regime and terrorist networks</a>&nbsp;targeting Pakistan. &ldquo;Afghan soil is being used for training, facilitation, and launching attacks that kill our civilians and security personnel,&rdquo; he said, referring to recent assaults on religious sites, judicial facilities, and Pakistani military officers. Tarar also launched a broad attack on the Taliban&rsquo;s governance, calling it &ldquo;a system based on repression and the perversion of religion.&rdquo; He quoted the government&rsquo;s position, saying, &ldquo;The activities of the Afghan Taliban regime and Fitna al-Khawarij against Pakistan are unacceptable.&rdquo; He accused the Kabul authorities of ruling without legitimacy, denying fundamental rights and enforcing discriminatory laws against women, children, and minorities. &ldquo;This regime has nothing to do with Islam,&rdquo; Tarar said. &ldquo;It has imposed oppression on its own people and exported terrorism across the border.&rdquo; Tarar said Pakistan&rsquo;s armed forces remain on full alert and prepared to respond to any further aggression. &ldquo;Pakistan knows very well how to defend itself,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Our response will remain strong, effective, and in defense of our sovereignty.&rdquo;

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar slams the Afghan Taliban regime as illegitimate and repressive, says cross-border attacks trigger decisive military action, confirms heavy Taliban losses and vows zero tolerance while defending sovereignty, citizens and security.

Pakistan says 297 Taliban fighters killed in Afghanistan strikes

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said Friday he was frustrated by Iran&#39;s position in talks but added he had not yet decided whether to carry out a threatened attack.&nbsp;A day after the United States and Iran held talks in Geneva, Trump said that the cleric-run state was &quot;not willing to give us what we have to have.&quot;&nbsp;&quot;We haven&#39;t made a final decision,&quot; he told reporters when asked about the use of force.&nbsp;&quot;We&#39;re not exactly happy with the way they negotiated. They cannot have nuclear weapons, and we&#39;re not thrilled with the way they&#39;re negotiating,&quot; Trump said.&nbsp;&quot;We want no nuclear weapons by Iran and they&#39;re not saying those golden words.&quot;&nbsp;Iran has said repeatedly that it is not pursuing nuclear weapons and US intelligence has found no evidence that it has made a decision to do so.&nbsp;But the United States and Israel, which carried out a major bombing campaign in Iran in June, are skeptical of the statements by Iran, which backs Palestinian militants Hamas.&nbsp;Asked if an attack would trigger all-out war in the Middle East, Trump said, &quot;I guess you could always say there&#39;s always a risk.&nbsp;&quot;You know when there&#39;s war, there&#39;s a risk in anything, both good and bad.&quot;&nbsp;Trump was circumspect on whether a US attack would bring down the Islamic republic, a sworn enemy of the United States and Israel.&nbsp;Authorities last month killed thousands of people as they crushed mass protests in the biggest threat to the ruling clerics since the 1979 Islamic revolution toppled the pro-Western shah.&nbsp;&quot;Nobody knows. There might be and there might not be,&quot; Trump said of regime change.&nbsp;Trump in his first term ripped up a nuclear deal negotiated by his predecessor Barack Obama in which Iran agreed to strict limits on uranium enrichment.

US President Donald Trump expressed frustration with Iran after Geneva talks, saying no final decision on military action has been made. He demanded Iran abandon nuclear ambitions, while US and Israeli skepticism persists amid regional tensions.

Trump 'not thrilled' with Iran but undecided on attack

ISTANBUL: Flights from Istanbul airport to Tehran were cancelled on Friday night amid a mounting US military buildup around Iran.&nbsp;Istanbul airport said flights by Turkish Airlines and two Iranian companies to the Iranian capital had been cancelled.&nbsp;Four flights to Tehran scheduled for Saturday were also cancelled, though six others remained on the schedule. A Turkish Airlines flight to the northern Iranian city of Tabriz, due to leave early Saturday, was called off.&nbsp;Turkish authorities made no comment on events in Iran on Friday, declining to join the litany of nations advising their citizens against travel to the Islamic republic.&nbsp;Turkey has a 550 kilometer (340 mile) frontier with Iran that has three crossing points.

Asia

Flights from Istanbul Airport to Tehran were cancelled Friday night amid rising US military tensions around Iran. Turkish Airlines and Iranian carriers halted services, affecting several Saturday flights, while Turkey issued no travel warning despite the situation.

Istanbul flights to Tehran cancelled Friday night: airport

CAPE CANAVERAL: NASA on Friday said it would revise its Artemis lunar program that has suffered multiple delays in recent years, in a bid to ensure Americans can return to the Moon&#39;s surface by 2028.&nbsp;The US space agency will add missions between this spring&#39;s Artemis 2 and the ultimate lunar landing, a strategic revision that NASA administrator Jared Isaacman told a briefing would allow for improved launch &quot;muscle memory.&quot;&nbsp;That means Artemis 3, which was meant to send astronauts to the Moon&#39;s surface, will now have the alternate goal of &quot;rendezvous in low-Earth orbit&quot; of at least one lunar lander.&nbsp;The next phase, Artemis 4, will aim for a lunar landing in early 2028. Isaacman said he hoped that mission could be followed relatively quickly by a second Moon landing within the year.&nbsp;&quot;We&#39;re not necessarily committing to launching two missions in 2028,&quot; he said, &quot;but we want to have the opportunity to be able to do that.&quot;&nbsp;The NASA chief said speeding up the cadence of Artemis launches would allow for building more institutional knowledge in the model of the Apollo program, which originally put Americans on the Moon.&nbsp;&quot;Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, through the shuttle program -- I don&#39;t think it would surprise many of the folks in the room that our average launch cadence was closer to three months throughout all those programs, not three years,&quot; he said. &quot;We need to start getting back to basics and moving in this direction.&quot;&nbsp;&quot;Launching every three years, your skills atrophy, you lose muscle memory.&quot;&nbsp;Space raceThe revised architecture announcement comes in the wake of repeated delays to the Artemis 2 mission, which now will not launch before April.&nbsp;It is meant to see the first flyby of the Moon in more than half a century.&nbsp;Earlier this week, the US space agency rolled back its towering SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft off the launchpad to investigate its problems and make necessary repairs.&nbsp;President Donald Trump announced he wanted Americans to once again set foot on the lunar surface in his first term.&nbsp;The US space agency now hopes to put humans back on the Moon as China forges ahead with its own effort, which is targeting 2030 at the latest for a first crewed mission.&nbsp;China&#39;s uncrewed Chang&#39;e 7 mission is expected to be launched in 2026 for an exploration of the Moon&#39;s south pole, and testing of its crewed spacecraft Mengzhou is also set to go ahead this year.&nbsp;Queried on the so-called &quot;space race,&quot; Isaacman said Friday that &quot;I think competition is good.&quot;&nbsp;&quot;We&#39;re here talking to you about what is a common-sense approach to achieve the objective, whether we had a great rival in the running or not.&quot;

Artificial Intelligence

NASA will revise its Artemis program after delays, adding missions before a planned 2028 lunar landing. Artemis 3 will test lunar lander rendezvous in low-Earth orbit, while Artemis 4 targets Moon landing as China advances its space ambitions.

NASA announces overhaul of Artemis lunar program amid technical delays

COLOMBO: Rehan Ahmed and Will Jacks smashed 44 off 16 balls to take England to a thrilling four-wicket T20 World Cup win in Colombo that denied New Zealand a guaranteed place in the semi-finals but kept Pakistan&#39;s slender hopes alive.&nbsp;New Zealand would have joined England in the knockouts with a win in their final Super Eights match and they scored 159-6 after opting to bat.&nbsp;England lost wickets early and looked like they would be squeezed out at 117-6, needing 43 from the last three overs.&nbsp;But Ahmed and Jacks took 22 off the 18th over from Glenn Phillips to turn the match on its head.&nbsp;Ahmed blasted 19 off seven balls in his first T20 World Cup match alongside Jacks, who made an unbeaten 32 off 18, to see England to 161-6 with three balls to spare.&nbsp;England will move on to a semi-final in Mumbai on Thursday against either India or the West Indies, who clash on Sunday to decide the final semi-final berth.&nbsp;New Zealand now have to wait on the outcome of Saturday&#39;s clash between Sri Lanka and Pakistan in Kandy to know if they have qualified for a semi-final in Kolkata against South Africa.&nbsp;Pakistan have an inferior run rate so need to win by 65 runs or inside 13 overs to overtake the Kiwis and deny them a place in the final four. If Pakistan qualify then the semi-final would be played in Colombo.&nbsp;England used five spinners to bowl 16 of the 20 overs on a turning track. The 2010 and 2022 champions had never bowled so many overs of spin before in a T20 international.&nbsp;Jacks returned the best figures with 2-23, while Adil Rashid picked up 2-28 and is now England&#39;s leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 11.&nbsp;Rashid was complemented by fellow wrist spinner Ahmed, who was called up in place of Jamie Overton, and took a wicket with his first ball before finishing with 2-28 from three overs.&nbsp;Glenn Phillips top scored with 39 off 28 including four fours and a six while opener Tim Seifert scored 35.&nbsp;Liam Dawson (1-32) and Jacob Bethell (0-13) were the other spinners employed by England.

Cricket

England beat New Zealand by four wickets in Colombo after Rehan Ahmed and Will Jacks powered a late chase of 160. England reached 161-6, keeping Pakistan’s semi-final hopes alive while New Zealand await Sri Lanka-Pakistan result.

Ahmed, Jacks blast England to thrilling win over New Zealand

SAN FRANCISCO: OpenAI announced Friday a massive $110 billion funding round valuing the ChatGPT maker at $730 billion, with SoftBank, Nvidia and Amazon each making multi-billion-dollar commitments as the artificial intelligence company races to meet surging global demand.&nbsp;The investment round -- one of the largest in Silicon Valley history -- includes $30 billion from Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, $30 billion from chip giant Nvidia, and up to $50 billion from Amazon, with additional investors expected to join as the round progresses.&nbsp;Alongside the capital injection, OpenAI announced strategic partnerships with both Amazon, the world&#39;s biggest cloud company through its AWS division, and Nvidia, whose AI chips remain unparalleled in their capacity for AI training.&nbsp;&quot;SoftBank, Nvidia, and Amazon are long-term partners who share our ambition to turn real scientific progress into systems that deliver meaningful benefits for people at global scale,&quot; OpenAI said in a statement.&nbsp;The eye-watering level of funding reflects the soaring costs of computing power and comes amid lingering questions about whether OpenAI and other AI companies can generate sufficient revenue to cover those costs.&nbsp;The Amazon investment will begin with $15 billion, followed by another $35 billion in the coming months when certain conditions are met, the companies said.&nbsp;According to reports, these include OpenAI going public or achieving artificial general intelligence, a sometimes ill-defined standard of AI capability that more closely matches human-level ability.&nbsp;OpenAI and Amazon also struck a deal in which the ChatGPT maker will use two gigawatts of computing capacity powered by Amazon&#39;s in-house Trainium chips.&nbsp;Amazon&#39;s cloud computing rival Microsoft, which did not participate in the funding round, remains a major shareholder of OpenAI and a strategic partner.&nbsp;In the announcement, OpenAI cited a series of user metrics pointing to a breakneck pace of AI adoption.&nbsp;Even if short of its previous forecasts, ChatGPT now counts more than 900 million weekly active users and over 50 million paying consumer subscribers, with January and February on track to be the platform&#39;s biggest-ever months for new subscriptions, the company said.&nbsp;It added that more than nine million businesses pay to use ChatGPT for workplace tasks, while its Codex software development tool has seen weekly users more than triple since the start of the year to 1.6 million.&nbsp;The figures are intended to reassure more skeptical investors who have questioned OpenAI&#39;s ability to secure revenue, with user growth for its flagship ChatGPT slowing.&nbsp;The company this month began rolling out advertising for its non-premium users in a bid to bring in more revenue.&nbsp;According to The Information tech news, OpenAI now predicts that it will burn more than twice as much cash through 2030 than previously predicted, spending $665 billion on the costs of running and training its AI.&nbsp;Competition has ramped up too.&nbsp;Arch-rival Anthropic, founded by former OpenAI employees, continues to gain ground and grab headlines for its well-regarded Claude AI models.&nbsp;Anthropic earlier this year secured a $30 billion funding round.&nbsp;Google&#39;s AI model Gemini has also emerged as a potent competitor, with Elon Musk&#39;s xAI also attracting investment and users.

OpenAI announces a $110 billion funding round valuing it at $730 billion, with major backing from SoftBank, Nvidia, and Amazon, as it expands partnerships, scales computing capacity, and accelerates growth amid rising costs and intensifying AI competition.

Articles by Muhammad Imad Abbas