WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said Saturday he had called off a secret summit with the Taliban and Afghanistan’s leader, abruptly slamming the door on a year of diplomacy to end America’s longest war.
In a Saturday evening bombshell, Trump said that he had planned unprecedented, albeit separate, talks with the two sides Sunday in Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland, but that the Taliban’s persistent, grisly campaign of violence made them untrustworthy partners.
“Unbeknownst to almost everyone, the major Taliban leaders and, separately, the President of Afghanistan, were going to secretly meet with me at Camp David on Sunday,” Trump said in a tweet.
“Unfortunately, in order to build false leverage, they admitted to an attack in Kabul that killed one of our great great soldiers, and 11 other people. I immediately canceled the meeting and called off peace negotiations.”
“What kind of people would kill so many in order to seemingly strengthen their bargaining position? They didn’t, they only made it worse!” Trump said.
A US soldier and another service member from Romania were killed in the car bombing Thursday in Kabul — the latest major attack claimed by the Taliban even as they negotiated with a US envoy on the withdrawal of thousands of troops.
Trump would have met the Taliban at Camp David — scene of secret 1978 talks as Jimmy Carter brokered peace between Israel and Egypt — days before the 18th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, which triggered the US invasion that toppled the militants’ regime.
Washington was jolted by the announcement from Trump, who is fond of dramatic gestures but whose Twitter pronouncements have often come into question later.
“The idea that Trump was planning to host Taliban leaders at Camp David is a rather big surprise,” said Laurel Miller, who served as the US special representative on Afghanistan and Pakistan until early in the Trump administration.
“Why a lethal attack in Kabul on Thursday would be the reason for calling it off, considering the multiple recent Taliban attacks, is unclear,” Miller, now the Asia director of the International Crisis Group, told AFP.
Congressman Tom Malinowski, a Democrat who has been pressing for clarity on the US strategy in Afghanistan, called the idea of Taliban leaders at Camp David “weird.”
“And everyone knew they’ve been continuously committing terrorist attacks. But I’m glad the president called off this farce, and hope this good decision sticks,” Malinowski tweeted.
The announcement by tweet appears abruptly to end, at least for now, a painstaking diplomatic process led for nearly a year by Zalmay Khalilzad, the Afghan-born veteran US diplomat who held nine rounds of talks with the Taliban, usually in Qatar.
Afghanistan’s internationally recognized president, Ashraf Ghani, had been outspoken in his criticism of the emerging shape of the withdrawal agreement with the Taliban, who have refused to negotiate with his government.
Selling the plan in Kabul, Khalilzad said that he had reached an agreement “in principle” with the Taliban — who ruled much of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 during which they imposed a draconian version of Islam.
According to parts of the draft deal that had been made public, the Pentagon would pull about 5,000 of the roughly 13,000 US troops from five bases across Afghanistan by early next year.
The insurgents in turn would renounce Al-Qaeda, promise to fight the Daesh group and stop jihadists using Afghanistan as a safe haven — the primary reason for the 2001 invasion.
US public opinion has soured on nearly two decades of war and Trump, after initially being persuaded to reinforce US troops, has said that the United States should not pursue “endless” war.
Trump’s announcement draws a fresh question mark on whether the United States will leave Afghanistan anytime soon.
The decision comes weeks before Afghanistan is set to hold elections, an unwieldy exercise even in more stable times.
Trump had been uncharacteristically reticent about Afghanistan in recent weeks, with all eyes on whether he would approve a final deal.
Washington had hoped that a withdrawal of US troops would lead to negotiations between the Taliban and Kabul on a more permanent peace.
The Taliban have shown no signs of letting up on violence. Claiming responsibility for Thursday’s bombing, which shook a fortified central area of Kabul, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that a “martyrdom seeker” — or suicide bomber — had killed “foreign invaders.”
Trump has walked away from high-stakes talks before. In February, his aides pressed him not to accept a deal in Hanoi with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un — another individual whom it would have long been unthinkable for a US president to meet.
But Trump soon made clear that he wanted to keep talking, calling Kim a friend, and arranged to meet him in June as the US leader visited the Korean peninsula.
In bombshell, Trump calls off secret summit, talks with Taliban
In bombshell, Trump calls off secret summit, talks with Taliban
- US president wanted to host Taliban delegation at Camp David but changed his mind after attack in Kabul
- Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had been outspoken in his criticism of America’s withdrawal agreement with Taliban
In tense relations with India, Pakistani TV dramas break down barriers diplomacy often cannot
- Pakistani dramas offer millions of Indians a glimpse into life across border into arch-rival country
- Pakistani dramas offer simplicity, depth of writing and limited episodes, says actor Khalid Anam
KARACHI: Two Pakistani women sit together on a couch, rehearsing their lines while a director scrutinizes them. Waiting off camera for his scene is the male lead, an actor blessed with “Bachelor” hair and fine bone structure.
Also out of sight: the Islamabad homeowners, who are holed up in a separate room and whose furniture and knick-knacks will be seen by millions of viewers — many from the society that has been their country’s neighbor and uneasy sparring partner for much of the past century.
This is the set of the Pakistani drama “Adhi Bewafai,” or “Half Infidelity” — one of what some in other nations would call “soap operas.” But these dramas, it turns out, are not just for Pakistanis.
Realistic settings, natural dialogue and almost workaday plots about families and marriages make Pakistani dramas a hit with viewers at home and abroad — especially in the neighboring country that split with Pakistan in 1947 and is its nuclear archrival today: India.
Television, it seems, is succeeding where diplomacy sometimes can’t.
Several thousand people work in Pakistan’s drama industry; the country produces between 80 to 120 shows a year, each one a source of escapism and intrigue. They offer Indians a tantalizing glimpse into life across the border — and manage to break through decades of enmity between the two governments.
Maheen Shafeeq, a research associate at the Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad, says there is effectively no relationship between the two governments.
Each government is fixed on a single issue it cannot move past — for India, it’s “terrorism” for Pakistan, the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
“The governments are very much opposed to each other,” she says. “They don’t agree what they should talk about.”
Although it’s difficult for Indians to visit Pakistan, where these shows are filmed, they faithfully follow the plot twists and turns through platforms like YouTube, ZEE5, and MX Player.
For those of a certain generation, however, it wasn’t always so easy to keep up.
Kaveri Sharma, a writer in the Indian city of Patna, recalls her mother-in-law and aunt jiggling antennas in the 1980s and 1990s in hopes of catching a signal from Pakistan’s state broadcaster, PTV.
It’s how Sharma first realized that the country next door was a drama powerhouse. It inspired her to discover the shows for herself years later, even going on to watch them with her own daughter.
“They feel familiar, but they are also a break from our own lives,” Sharma says. “I don’t see any differences between the two countries. Everything is relatable. I see Karachi and think that it could be Lucknow or Patna. What happens on the shows could happen to me or my friends.”
She had heard only negative things about Pakistan since childhood — that it was the enemy that would take everything from India. The TV dramas have added subtlety and detail to this image for her. She would love to visit, but is unlikely to get the opportunity.
So she explores Pakistan through the locations, malls, offices, streets and restaurants depicted on the small screen. The names of popular Karachi neighborhoods roll off her tongue.
Sharma, like Bibi Hafeez in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad and Punita Kumar in the central Indian city of Raipur, raves about the dramas’ universality of themes, the strong characterization and the emotional range.
“Pakistani characters are not only heroes or villains. They have shades to them, and that is very human,” says Kumar, who chanced upon a Pakistani drama through a chunky videocassette when she was a teenager living in the northern Indian city of Aligarh. It was love at first watch.
“They captivated me. We got a cable connection that offered PTV. Then YouTube came and I realized I could search for whatever drama I wanted. I haven’t taken a stop,” she said. “We get exposure to Pakistani life in the scenes, but the struggles the characters have with their relatives are ones I would have with my own.”
Pakistani TV veteran Khaled Anam is delighted by Indians’ enthusiasm for the country’s serials and the barriers they help erode.
“What Bollywood is to India, dramas are to Pakistan,” says Anam, who is based in Karachi and has worked as an actor since the 1980s. He has appeared in many dramas, including the ratings smash “Humsafar” (“Life Partner”).
India’s productions go big, while Pakistan’s are more low key
India dominates the movie market in South Asia and beyond, with big stars and bigger budgets. Pakistanis have been exposed to Bollywood films for decades, although the prevailing hostile political climate means they can’t watch them in movie theaters.
The bans are mutual, though. India, like Pakistan, restricts content from across the border in movie theaters and TV channels.
And while India is no slouch when it comes to TV production, it doesn’t offer viewers what Pakistan does, according to Anam: simplicity, depth of writing and a limited number of episodes.
“There are 15-minute flashbacks in Indian serials. (The characters) are decked out and dolled up. It’s a fantasy world. The shows go on forever. Everything is ‘DUN dun dun!’” says Anam, mimicking a dramatic musical riff and shaking his hands.
The actors on the couch in Islamabad are rehearsing lines about a woman who is disrespectful and so, according to one of them, is an unsuitable marriage prospect.
The delivery and grammar could be heard in virtually any South Asian household.
“Pakistanis are generally emotional people, and that is in their dramas also,” says Islamabad-based director Saife Hassan. “It would take me less than two minutes to explain the plot of the super-duper hit ‘Kabhi Main, Kabhi Tum’ (‘Sometimes Me, Sometimes You’). It’s about the emotions between a husband and wife.”
Hassan, who began his TV career in the 1990s, says Indians frequently comment on his social media pages and send him direct messages about his work. He even recalls Indian viewers praying for the recovery of a character who was in a coma.
Hassan would love to see more homegrown dramas make it onto platforms like Netflix, as some Indian shows have with great success. But he wonders whether international audiences would understand and connect with Pakistani stories or lives:
“The way we think is different from the West. Our shows are not driven by events. They are driven by emotions.”
There is also a lack of raunch in Pakistani dramas, which are family-friendly with little to no vulgarity, violence, or even action. Indians, therefore, are a natural audience for Pakistani dramas, Hassan says.
“They are our people. They are like us. They eat like us,” he says. “I love India, and I love Indians. They have grown out of this animosity.”
Pakistan stocks surge by over 1,400 points amid decline in oil prices, policy rate cut hopes
- Benchmark KSE index closes at 113,713 points, surging 1.3 percent more from last close
- Central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee is set to review interest rate on Mar. 10
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) surged by over 1,400 points on Thursday as bulls dominated the trading session, with analysts attributing the rise to a drop in oil prices at the international market and investors’ hopes of a further cut in the policy rate by the central bank.
The benchmark KSE-100 index rose by 1,459.41 points or 1.3 percent to close at 113,713.17 points on Thursday, up from the previous close of 112,253.76.
The development takes place as the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is set to review the interest rate on Mar. 10, with many expecting the bank to slash the interest rate further.
“Stocks closed bullish led by scrips across the board amid speculations ahead of SBP policy announcement on March 10,” Ahsan Mehanti, managing director and CEO of Arif Habib Commodities, told Arab News.
It said investors’ expectations for further ease in the central bank’s policy after treasury bill auction yields remained flat, following a decade-low consumer price index inflation which was recorded at 1.5 percent year-on-year in February.
Prominent Pakistani brokerage house Topline Securities attributed the surge in stocks to a sharp decline in global oil prices.
“This rally was primarily driven by a sharp decline in international oil prices, which plunged to multi-year lows, uplifting investor sentiment,” Topline Securities said in its daily market review.
“Moreover, speculation surrounding high-level meeting on the clearance of the longstanding circular debt further fueled optimism across the board.”
The report highlighted how the benchmark index surged to an intraday high of 1,617 points causing the equity market to witness a robust rebound in today’s session.
It added that a total of 372 million shares changed hands which generated a turnover of Rs26.2 billion with PIBTL dominating the volume charts.
The development takes place as an International Monetary Fund (IMF) team is in the country for the first review of the $7 billion loan program that Islamabad secured last September.
A nine-member mission, led by IMF Mission Chief in Pakistan Nathan Porter, is in the country to assess Pakistan’s economic performance and determine the release of a $1.1 billion tranche from the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) over the next three weeks, secured as part of Islamabad’s economic recovery plan.
Pakistani experts divided over impact of IMF’s ongoing review on cenbank’s interest rate policy
- Pakistani analyst says central bank may maintain policy rate due to IMF’s demand of higher taxes
- Pakistan’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is set to meet on Mar. 10 to review borrowing rate
KARACHI: Financial experts on Thursday remained divided over whether the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) ongoing first review of Pakistan’s $7 billion bailout program will lead to the central bank increasing or decreasing the interest rate next week.
The central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is set to meet and review the interest rate on Mar. 10. The development takes place as a delegation of the IMF is reviewing Pakistan’s economic performance in Islamabad under its $7 billion Extended Fund Facility program.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has reduced borrowing rates by a cumulative 1,000 basis points since June 2024 to 12 percent to spur economic growth. Shankar Talreja, director of research at brokerage firm Topline Securities, told Arab News he expected the central bank to maintain the interest rate at 12 percent and not introduce a further cut.
“We expect the central bank to remain prudent and observe the status quo in upcoming meeting,” Talreja told Arab News.
Talreja explained that since Pakistan is facing a revenue shortfall and to achieve the desired tax-to-GDP ratio, the IMF can push the government to impose additional tax measures. These in turn can lead to inflation which would cause the SBP to maintain the interest rate at 12 percent rather than slash it further.
The IMF has expressed concern over Pakistan facing a revenue shortfall of about Rs600 billion in this fiscal year.
The international lender wants cash-strapped Pakistan to increase its revenues by scrapping energy subsidies and imposing taxes on agriculture, real estate and retail sectors.
Talreja said the anticipated tax measures may bring pause to the interest rate easing cycle “for a few months.”
He said certain tax measures were already outlined in the IMF’s detailed report, such as the increase in advance income tax on imports of machinery, withholding tax on supplies and increase in federal excise duty on sugary drinks.
“Any shortfall over and above Rs500 billion will trigger additional tax measures to be taken by the government in its new budget for the financial year 2026,” Talreja explained.
A majority of market participants said they expected a rate cut ranging from 50 basis points to 150 basis points, a survey conducted by Topline Securities said last week.
The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), Pakistan’s top trade body, on Wednesday called for a 500-basis-point (bps) cut in the policy rate. The body said businesses remained dissatisfied with monetary policy and demanded a cut due to easing inflation.
Muhammad Waqas Ghani, head of research at JS Global Capital Ltd., disagreed with Talreja. He said the IMF can set a lower tax target for Pakistan, which would not trigger further inflation.
“We believe that the IMF review and the miss in tax collection targets will not impact the SBP’s decision,” Ghani told Arab News.
Pakistan’s macroeconomic indicators have gradually improved since it secured the IMF bailout last summer. The country’s consumer price index (CPI) inflation rate, maintaining a downward trend on Monday, hit a more than 9-year low at 1.51 percent year-on-year in February.
If the IMF approves the first review of the loan, the country is in line to receive about $1 billion as the second installment of the loan package.
Pakistan army chief slams Afghanistan for ‘harboring’ militants after deadly Bannu attack
- Five soldiers, 13 civilians killed on Tuesday in attack on military base in Bannu city in northwestern Pakistan
- Military says attack was orchestrated from neighboring Afghanistan whose Taliban rulers deny allowing militant activity
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan army chief General Syed Asim Munir said on Thursday Afghanistan continued to be a “safe haven” for militants, a day after the military said an attack on a cantonment in the country’s northwest had been planned and orchestrated from the neighboring country.
Suicide bombers drove two vehicles packed with explosives into a military base in Bannu city in an attack staged by more than a dozen militants on Tuesday. The army said five soldiers and 13 civilians had been killed in the assault, which caused a partial collapse of the military compound’s outer wall and damaged nearby infrastructure, including a mosque and residential building.
Pakistan is battling a surge in attacks by its own chapter of the Taliban movement, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), on police and military in areas near the Afghan border. Islamabad says the militants operate from neighboring Afghanistan, whose rulers deny the charge.
“Terrorist groups … continued to operate from Afghan soil against Pakistan,” the military said in a statement, quoting Munir after he visited Bannu on Thursday. “The use of foreign weapons and equipment in recent terrorist attacks was clear evidence that Afghanistan remained a safe haven for such elements.”
The army chief added that “no entity would be allowed to disrupt Pakistan’s peace and stability.”
The Afghan government has not responded to Pakistan’s accusations.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the military said intelligence reports had “unequivocally confirmed the physical involvement of Afghan nationals” in the Bannu attack, adding that evidence proved the attack was orchestrated and directed by insurgents operating from Afghanistan.
“Pakistan expects the Interim Afghan Government to uphold its responsibilities and deny its soil for terrorist activities against Pakistan. Pakistan reserves the right to take necessary measures in response to these threats emanating from across the border,” the military said.
Jaish-e-Fursan Muhammad, a militant faction affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement released to media.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Taliban authorities in Kabul of facilitating cross-border militant attacks, a charge Afghan authorities deny.
The TTP was formed in 2007 as an umbrella organization of various hard-line groups operating individually in Pakistan.
The TTP pledges allegiance to, and gets its name from, the Afghan Taliban, but is not directly a part of the group that now rules Afghanistan. Its stated aim is to impose Islamic religious law in Pakistan, as the Taliban have done in Afghanistan.
The TTP is responsible for some of the bloodiest attacks in Pakistan, including on churches and schools and the shooting of Malala Yousafzai, who survived the 2012 attack after she was targeted for her campaign against the Taliban’s efforts to deny women education.
Militants have targeted Bannu several times in the past also. Last November, a suicide car bomb killed 12 troops and wounded several others at a security post. In July, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden vehicle and other militants opened fire near the outer wall of the military facility.
International hockey returns to Pakistan as German junior team arrives in Islamabad
- Pakistan marked first international hockey match played in the country for 7 years when it played series against China in 2011
- Before that, Pakistan had last staged an international match in 2004 when it hosted the Champions Trophy in Lahore
ISLAMABAD: The German Junior Hockey Team, world champions, arrived in Pakistan on Thursday for a four-match series, marking the return of international hockey to Pakistan after nearly a decade and a half, the government’s press department said in a statement.
Pakistan marked the first international hockey match played in the country for seven years when Chinese played four matches here in what was dubbed as the ‘Friendship Series’.
Before that, Pakistan had last staged an international match in 2004 when it hosted the Champions Trophy in Lahore but after that foreign teams refused to play in the country due to security concerns.
Since the September 11 attacks in the United States, foreign teams have been reluctant to travel to Pakistan in many sports and the South Asian country was left completely isolated as a sporting venue after militants attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore in March 2009.
“Under the vision of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, this initiative aims to provide Pakistani junior players with international exposure and reestablish Pakistan as a hub for global hockey,” PID said about the four-math series between Pakistan and Germany.
“The series will feature one match in Islamabad and three in Lahore, promising a thrilling competition for fans.”
The two teams will face each other in Lahore on Mar. 6, 8 and 11 while one match will be played in Islamabad on Mar. 13.
“The series holds great significance for both teams as they prepare for the Hockey Junior World Cup being played 2025 in India,” state media reported.
Field hockey, Pakistan’s national sport, once propelled the country to Olympic gold and global glory, but the game has waned in popularity and participation over the past two decades. Poor management, lack of infrastructure and the rise of cricket has contributed to the decline. The failure to adapt to modern demands, including fitness and artificial turfs, has further deepened the crisis.
According to the latest rankings released by the International Hockey Federation, Pakistan is ranked number 15 in the world in field hockey.
