KABUL: At least 12 people were killed and 60 wounded on Thursday after Taliban fighters struck a gate outside police headquarters in the Afghan city of Kandahar on Thursday, police and government officials said.
The attack comes as Taliban and Afghan representatives, including some government officials, agreed earlier this month to a basic road map for negotiating the country’s political future, a major step that could help propel peace efforts to end the long war, now in its 18th year.
The Taliban said in a statement their fighters had detonated two car bombs and entered the police offices in Kandahar, the former seat of the Taliban when they ruled Afghanistan from 1996 until they were ousted by a US-led coalition in 2001.
Tadeen Khan Achakzai, the police chief for Kandahar, said insurgents had used a “car bomb” to strike the main police station of the province while Kandahar’s governor, Hayatullah Hayat, told reporters 12 people, including civilians, were killed in the attack and 60 more were wounded.
Thick plumes of smoke could be seen rising from the site of the attack, caused by the first blast which the Taliban said was a suicide bombing. Several more explosions were heard later after at least three Taliban fighters managed to make their way into the compound, witnesses said.
Experts say after a lapse of many months, the Taliban had once more become active in Kandahar and had managed to conduct a series of bloody attacks in recent months there. The Taliban also killed at least 30 commandos in one single attack in the southwestern Badghis province, one of the deadliest single incidents for the force.
However, according to local and foreign estimates, even more civilians have been killed in pro-government raids in the past two weeks, sparking protests against the government.
Taliban and government forces have also suffered casualties in battles in various parts of the country.
A Taliban infiltrator on Wednesday killed one government general in Ghazni province while the head of guards protecting President Ashraf Ghani’s personal residence, another general, succumbed to his injuries in an explosion in his car in Kabul.
A Swedish aid group recently shut down over 40 of its medical clinics in Wardak province after it said the Taliban had ordered them to do so.
The meeting of Afghans and the pledge of the two main warring sides in Qatar, following seventh rounds of talks between the Taliban and US diplomats, has raised hope of reduction of violence, now dampened by recent attacks.
US and Taliban officials are expected to resume talks in the near future, with the withdrawal of US-led troops from Afghanistan being a main sticking point in the discussion.
Taliban attack on police headquarters kills 12 in Afghanistan’s Kandahar
Taliban attack on police headquarters kills 12 in Afghanistan’s Kandahar
- Taliban said in a statement their fighters had detonated two car bombs and entered police offices
- Insurgents have managed to conduct a series of bloody attacks in Kandahar in recent months
Imran Khan’s party says wants to conclude negotiations with Pakistan government by Jan. 31
- Khan’s PTI, Pakistan’s government kicked off talks to ease political tensions on Monday
- PTI says Khan will not accept any “deal” with the government for his release from prison
ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party announced on Thursday it wanted to conclude its negotiations with the government by Jan. 31, 2025, reiterating that it wanted a judicial commission to probe violent nationwide protests that broke out in May 2023.
The PTI and the government opened formal negotiations on Monday to ease political tensions in the country. Both sides moved to reduce tensions after Khan threatened a civil dissidence movement and amid growing concerns he may face trial by a military court for allegedly inciting attacks on sensitive security installations during the May 9, 2023 protests.
The PTI has put forward two demands: the release of political prisoners and the establishment of judicial commissions to investigate protests on May 9 last year and Nov. 26 in Islamabad this year, which the government says involved his party supporters, accusing them of attacking military installations and government buildings.
Members of the PTI’s negotiation team, Omar Ayub and Sahibzada Muhammad Hamid Raza, spoke to the media after meeting Khan in the Adiala prison in Rawalpindi. The negotiating committee apprised Khan regarding Monday’s talks with the government.
“The cutoff timeframe for negotiations is the end of January,” Raza told reporters outside Adiala prison. “By Jan. 31, we want to take these negotiations to their logical conclusion.”
Raza reiterated the PTI’s demands for the formation of judicial commissions for the May 9, 2023 and Nov. 26 protests.
“Our stance on the Nov. 26 (Islamabad protest) is quite clear: As of today, according to our data, 13 of our supporters were martyred, 64 suffered bullet injuries and the number of our missing supporters is between 150 to 200,” he said.
He said Khan will not accept any “deal” by the government for his release from prison. “Imran Khan will after facing all his cases in court, come out through the courts,” Raza said.
The next round of talks between the government and the PTI is scheduled to be held on Jan. 2.
Khan’s ouster in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence in 2022 has plunged the country into a long-term political crisis, particularly since the PTI founder was jailed in August last year on corruption and other charges and remains behind bars.
His party and supporters regularly hold protests calling for his release, with many of the demonstrations turning violent, including the one on Nov. 26 in which the government says four troops were killed and the PTI says 13 of its supporters died.
The negotiations on Monday were held days after Pakistan’s military announced prison sentences for 25 people involved in the May 9 protests.
The military announced on Thursday it had sentenced 60 more civilians, among them Khan’s nephew and two retired army officers, to prison sentences ranging from two to 10 years, for the May 9 protests.
Khan’s party has pointed out that the sentencing is contrary to the International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights, to which Pakistan is a party.
Pakistan downplays pro-Imran Khan comments by Trump special envoy nominee
- Grenell on Tuesday urged Biden administration to push Pakistan for Khan’s release from prison
- Pakistan foreign office refuses to comment on Grenell’s remarks made in “individual capacity”
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office spokesperson on Thursday downplayed comments by US President-elect Donald Trump’s special envoy nominee, Richard Grenell, who this week called for ex-PM Imran Khan’s release from prison, describing them as statements made in his “individual capacity.”
Speaking to Newsmax TV, an American conservative television channel on Tuesday, Grenell called on the Joe Biden government to use its last days in power to push for Khan’s release from prison so he could run for office in Pakistan.
Grenell has attracted attention in Pakistan since last month when he began posting on X about Khan. On Nov. 26, Grenell posted, “Release Imran Khan!” as the jailed leader’s supporters staged protests in Islamabad demanding his release. In a follow-up post, he said, “Watch Pakistan. Their Trump-like leader is in prison on phony charges … Stop the political prosecutions around the world!” Grenell has since continued to express support for Khan.
Khan has been in jail since August 2023 on charges he claims are fabricated by the government and the powerful military to prevent him from participating in politics. Both the government and the military deny the allegations.
“As far as any individual capacity, anyone making statements in their individual capacity, we would not like to comment on that,” Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said during a weekly press briefing in response to Grenell’s statement.
“We continue to engage with officials and public personalities in the US and continue to discuss with them issues of mutual interest and mutual concern.”
She highlighted how Pakistan has repeatedly reiterated its desire to have “positive and constructive” relations with the US based on “mutual respect, mutual interest, and non-interference” in their respective domestic affairs.
Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif also downplayed Grenell’s recent posts supporting Khan this month, saying the government did not expect the remarks to have any “repercussions” once Trump came to power in January 2025.
Khan, ousted from office after a parliamentary vote in April 2022, has since led an unprecedented campaign of defiance against Pakistan’s powerful military. The military is widely believed to be aligned with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s coalition government, but it denies interfering in politics.
Despite his imprisonment, Khan remains highly popular. His Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party rallies draw thousands nationwide, and the party has held several rallies to build public pressure for his release.
Last month, four soldiers and 12 PTI supporters were killed during a protest in Islamabad after security forces raided a demonstration in the heavily policed Red Zone, home to key government and diplomatic buildings, as well as the Supreme Court.
Khan’s party was also banned from Pakistan’s general election on February 8, 2024, but PTI candidates ran as independents.
Despite the ban and Khan’s convictions for charges ranging from corruption to leaking state secrets, millions of his supporters voted for him. Independent candidates from his party secured the most seats, though not enough to form a government. Khan remains ineligible for office while in prison.
Pakistan military sentences 60 civilians to jail of 2-10 years
- Military sentenced 25 civilians to prison time ranging from two to 10 years on Dec. 21
- Khan supporters charged with attacking military installations during protests on May 9, 2023
KARACHI: A Pakistani military court has sentenced 60 civilians to jail time ranging from 2 to 10 years in connection with riots in which supporters of jailed ex-premier Imran Khan were accused of attacking army facilities, the military said on Thursday.
The announcement comes days after the military said it had sentenced 25 people to prison for participating in violent protests on May 9, 2023, when hundreds of alleged Khan supporters stormed military and government installations and even torched a top commander’s house. The riots followed the former premier’s brief arrest by paramilitary soldiers in a land bribe case that day.
The military initiated army court trials of at least 103 people accused of involvement in the violence and there have been widespread reports it also plans to prosecute Khan under the Pakistan Army Act on charges of treason and attempting to incite a mutiny in the military.
A list of the 60 convicts announced on Thursday included two retired military officers, Brig. (retired) Javed Akram and Captain (retired) Viqas Ahmed Mohsin, and Khan’s nephew Hassan Khan Niazi.
“The trial of 9th May accused under military custody has hereby been concluded under the relevant laws,” the Inter-Services Public Relations, the military’s media wing, said. “All convicts retain the right to appeal and other legal recourses, as guaranteed by the Constitution and law.”
The military said the government and army remained steadfast in “their commitment to upholding justice and ensuring that the inviolable writ of the state is maintained.”
The federal government’s spokesman Attaullah Tarar said the verdicts showed that “rule of law has prevailed.”
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party also reacted to the development, saying the Dec. 21 verdicts by military courts against 25 civilians had been met by concern by the US, UK and the EU.
“Despite concerns shown by the US State Department, UK Government and European Union, they went ahead with convicting more civilians, in violation of almost the entire operative part of International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights to which Pakistan is a party,” the party said in a statement.
The verdicts come as the Pakistani federal government this week opened talks with the PTI in a bid to bring down political temperatures.
Pakistan has remained gripped by political unrest and uncertainty since Khan’s ouster from power through a parliamentary no-confidence vote in April 2022. He blames his removal from the PM’s office on his political rivals led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the all-powerful military. Both reject the charge.
Though Khan was released days after his brief arrest on May 9 last year, he was rearrested in August and has since been in jail in a slew of cases he says are politically motivated.
Pakistan says prioritizes diplomacy, day after airstrikes in Afghanistan kill 46
- Pakistan army and government have not yet officially confirmed the airstrikes
- Media reports say Pakistan had hit militant hideouts, killing several insurgents
ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said on Thursday Islamabad prioritized diplomacy with neighboring Afghanistan, a day after the country's Afghan Taliban rulers said at least 46 people including women and children had been killed in Pakistani airstrikes in the eastern border province of Paktika.
The Pakistan army and government have not yet officially confirmed the airstrikes, which the Afghan Taliban have condemned, saying they had targeted "mostly civilians."
Media widely reported on Wednesday that Pakistani security forces targeted multiple suspected hideouts of the Pakistani Taliban, also known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), dismantling a training facility and killing several insurgents.
At a weekly press briefing on Thursday, Baloch declined to confirm Tuesday’s airstrikes but said Pakistan was committed to the security of its people, and its security and law enforcement personnel conducted operations based on “concrete intelligence” against terror groups operating in the border areas.
“I would like to add here that Pakistan believes in dialogue and diplomacy. We have always prioritized diplomacy in our relations with Afghanistan,” Baloch said. “Despite the presence of terror hideouts and sanctuaries, and the consistent threat they pose to Pakistan, we have always opted for diplomacy.”
Baloch reiterated Pakistan's demand that Afghanistan prevent the use of its territory for terror attacks against Pakistan, calling on the neighbor to work with Islamabad to combat the threat posed by groups like the TTP.
“And any issues that either side has with regards to border management, trade and transit trade, security, terrorism, these issues remain high on our bilateral agenda,” Baloch added.
Border tensions between the two countries have escalated since the Taliban government seized power in 2021, with Pakistan battling a resurgence of militant violence in its western border regions.
Islamabad has accused Kabul’s Taliban authorities of harboring militant fighters, allowing them to strike on Pakistani soil with impunity. Kabul has denied the allegations.
The banned TTP group said in a statement on Wednesday the strikes had hit “the homes of defenseless refugees” on Tuesday evening, killing at least 50 civilians, including 27 women and children.
Deadly air strikes by Pakistan’s military in the border regions of Afghanistan in March that the Taliban authorities said killed eight civilians had prompted skirmishes on the frontier.
China, Pakistan unveil sculptures of founding fathers, highlighting strategic ties
- The statues unveiled in Pakistan’s federal capital have been created by a veteran Chinese sculptor
- PM Sharif says the event showed the depth of Pakistan-China ties based on trust and cooperation
ISLAMABAD: A Chinese delegation visiting Pakistan on Thursday unveiled sculptures of the founding fathers of both nations, Chairman Mao Zedong of China and Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah of Pakistan, in a ceremony, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif hailing the event as a testament to the historic bonds between the two nations.
The event honored the pivotal roles of Mao and Jinnah in shaping the destinies of their respective nations. Mao led China through a transformative revolution, laying the foundation for its rise as a global power, while Jinnah, revered as
Pakistan’s father of the nation, spearheaded the movement for the creation of an independent homeland for Muslims in South Asia.
Last year, Pakistan’s diplomatic mission in Beijing unveiled similar statues of the two leaders during a ceremony attended by high-ranking Chinese officials and dignitaries.
The sculptures unveiled in Pakistan’s federal capital today were created by veteran Chinese artist Yuan Xikun, who expressed his pride in contributing to this historic project.
“It’s a great honor for me to be here at the Prime Minister’s Office for the unveiling ceremony of the sculptures of Pakistan’s father of the nation Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the brave leader of China, Chairman Mao Zedong, which I had been invited to create,” Yuan said.
“It’s the best commemoration of the 148th anniversary of the birth of Jinnah and the 131st anniversary of the birth of Mao Zedong,” he added.
Pakistan marked Jinnah’s birth anniversary, which falls on December 25, just a day ago, while China is commemorating Mao’s birthday today, December 26.
The Chinese sculptor said the inauguration of the statues reaffirmed the common admiration and respect that the two nations have for their leaders.
He also maintained the ceremony symbolized the brotherhood between the two countries.
Prime Minister Sharif, who was present at the gathering, underscored the depth of Pakistan-China relations, describing them as a model of mutual respect, trust and cooperation.
“The historic bonds between Pakistan and China forged over decades are a testament to our shared values, mutual respect, trust, and cooperation,” he said.
Highlighting the multifaceted collaboration between the two nations, Sharif praised initiatives like the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), cultural exchanges and educational programs.
“Hundreds of young Pakistani students visiting Chinese universities and learning Mandarin are building a bridge between Beijing and Islamabad,” he added, adding the first batch of Pakistani agriculture graduates would visit China early next year to gain expertise in modern farming techniques.
