ISLAMABAD: Militants have stepped up attacks on security forces in northwest Pakistan raising fears of a revival of their insurgency and a return of lawlessness as brighter prospects for peace in Afghanistan herald shifting Islamist alliances.
The ethnic Pashtun border region was for years a haven for militants who fled the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. But the Pakistani military cleared out the strongholds in a 2014 offensive, driving most of the fighters into Afghanistan.
But since March, Al-Qaeda-linked Pakistani Taliban, facing the risk of losing havens on the Afghan side of the border if their Afghan Taliban allies make peace there, have unleashed a wave of attacks on the Pakistani security forces.
Bolstering their bid to re-establish themselves in the border lands, the Pakistani Taliban, or Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), struck an alliance in July with half a dozen small militant factions.
“The group’s capability and military strength has increased, as has their reach,” said Mansur Khan Mahsud, executive director of the Islamabad-based FATA Research Center.
September has seen near daily incidents, from roadside bombs to sniper attacks, to ambushes and the killing of residents accused of collaborating with government forces.
The militants have killed at least 40 soldiers since March, according to a Reuters tally of official figures.
At least 109 people were killed in 67 attacks between January and July — twice the number in 2019, according to the FATA Research Center.
“TTP’s regrouping is concerning both because of its own activities and its links to groups like Al-Qaeda,” said Elizabeth Threlkeld, a former State Department official who served in Pakistan, now deputy-director for the South Asia program at the Washington-based Stimson Center.
“It could again provide significant support to international terror groups if it continues to regain ground.”
UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCE
Militant violence surged in Pakistan after it was pressed to sign on to the US-led war on terror after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, even though it had for years supported the Afghan Taliban.
Soon the Pakistani government found itself under attack from home-grown Taliban but the military succeeded in pushing them out of the region, known as the tribal areas, in 2014, forcing the Pakistani Taliban into Afghanistan.
Millions of residents were displaced by the fighting but since then, militant violence in Pakistan has largely ceased.
But now fears are growing that the surge of Pakistani Taliban violence is an unintended consequence of efforts to make peace in Afghanistan.
In February, the Afghan Taliban and the United States struck a deal allowing for the withdrawal of US forces in exchange for Afghan Taliban guarantees they would not harbor other militants.
The United Nations said in a report in July there were more than 6,000 Pakistani fighters in Afghanistan, most affiliated with the TTP, who could be heading home if they lose their refuge.
“It’s a concern for everyone,” a Western security official based in Pakistan told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Pakistan’s military did not respond to a request for comment on the violence but its spokesman said on Twitter recently that the attacks were “meant to derail (the) Afghanistan Peace Process.”
For those living in the area, insecurity is again becoming a daily worry.
The TTP issued a statement this week telling residents to leave “until peace returns”.
“Our war against Pakistan is continuing and you will continue to see daily attacks,” the militants said.
Attacks surge in northwest Pakistan as Afghan peace effort brings shifting sands
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Attacks surge in northwest Pakistan as Afghan peace effort brings shifting sands
- Militants have killed at least 40 Pakistani soldiers since March, according to a Reuters tally of official figures
- Bolstering their bid to re-establish themselves in Pakistan’s border lands, Pakistani Taliban have struck an alliance with half a dozen small militant factions
‘Our hands are clean,’ Pakistan briefs UNCA about conflict with India over Kashmir attack
- The attack sparked a four-day India-Pakistan military standoff that killed 70 people last month in their worst fighting in decades
- A Pakistani delegation, led by ex-FM Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, is currently visiting key capitals to present Islamabad’s stance on conflict
ISLAMABAD: A top Pakistani representative on Tuesday told journalists at the United Nations (UN) that Pakistan had nothing to do with an April attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that sparked a four-day military conflict between the neighbors, reiterating Islamabad’s offer to cooperate with New Delhi on militancy and other issues under a “comprehensive dialogue.”
Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, a former Pakistani foreign minister, has been leading a nine-member parliamentary delegation, constituted by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, to New York, Washington DC, London and Brussels to present Pakistan’s stance on last month’s standoff with India.
The conflict, in which the two countries traded missile, drones and artillery fire, was triggered after India accused Pakistan of supporting militants who killed over two dozen tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam resort town on April 22. Islamabad denies involvement.
Speaking to United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA), Bhutto-Zardari noted that immediately after the April 22 incident, Islamabad had offered its cooperation to New Delhi and the international community in investigating the assault.
“The prime minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, offered publicly to India, the international community that Pakistan was ready to be part of any impartial, international investigation into this terrorist attack,” he said.
“We did so because we were confident that our hands are clean, and we had nothing to do with this terrorist attack. The Indian government refused Pakistan’s offer and chose instead to conduct their illegal strikes.”
He said Pakistan only ever acted in “self-defense” after India attacked multiple Pakistani cities on May 7, but the difference between 2019 India-Pakistan cross-border airstrikes and the 2025 military standoff was that they were now in a more “precarious position.”
“It’s not a question of if, but when the next war is fought,” Bhutto-Zardari said.
Nuclear-armed Pakistan and India have a history of bitter relations. Both countries have fought three wars, including two of them over the disputed region of Kashmir which either of the two claims in its entirety, since gaining independence from British rule in 1947.
The latest conflict, the worst between the neighbors in decades, killed around 70 people on both sides and came to a halt with a United States-brokered ceasefire on May 10.
“I must emphasize that the global community today is less safe, post this ceasefire, post this conflict with India, then we were before,” Bhutto-Zardari said. “And it’s simply because that threshold for full-blown military conflict between the two nuclear-armed nations has come down.”
Asking New Delhi to not use militancy as a “political tool,” the former Pakistani foreign minister once again urged India to hold a dialogue with Pakistan to resolve all outstanding issues, including the Kashmir dispute.
“Pakistan’s position today is that we would like to have a comprehensive dialogue with India,” he said. “Pakistan would still like to cooperate with India to combat terrorism. We can’t leave the fate of 1.5, 1.7 billion people in the hands of non-state actors and terrorists for them to decide at a whim that two nuclear-armed powers will go to war.”
The Bhutto-Zardari-led Pakistani delegation arrived in New York on Monday as part of Islamabad’s diplomatic outreach, amid heightened tensions with India despite the ceasefire between the two countries. Another delegation, led by Special Assistant to Pakistan Premier Syed Tariq Fatemi, is set to visit Moscow.
In a meeting with US Acting Permanent Representative to the UN Dorothy Shea in New York, the Pakistani delegates urged Washington to play its role in ensuring a dialogue between Pakistan and India to address all outstanding issues, Pakistani state media reported earlier on Tuesday.
Bhutto-Zardari expressed “deep concern” over India’s immediate attribution of blame to Pakistan without any “credible investigation or verifiable evidence.”
“Such premature and baseless allegations exacerbate tensions and undermine prospects for constructive dialogue and peace,” he told the US envoy.
On Monday, the Pakistani delegates held a meeting with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) envoys at the UN, wherein they reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to peace, restraint, and diplomacy, and called for the restoration of the Indus Waters Treaty by India, Pakistan’s Permanent Mission to the UN said.
India suspended the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan a day after the attack at the Pahalgam resort town. The move drew a sharp response from Islamabad, which said any attempts to divert or stop the flow of its waters by India would be considered an “act of war.”
About 80 percent of Pakistani farms depend on the Indus system, as do nearly all hydropower projects serving the country of some 250 million.
“Bhutto-Zardari expressed grave concern at the unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty — a move that Pakistan considers a blatant act of weaponizing water and a violation of international and treaty obligations,” the Pakistani mission said.
The delegation also urged the UN Security Council to play a “proactive role” in promoting de-escalation, ensuring respect for international law and treaties and facilitating peaceful resolution of disputes.
Pakistan, Uzbekistan to devise joint strategy for completion of UAP rail connectivity project
- The $4.8 billion project aims to enhance regional trade and logistics movement by connecting the three countries
- It is part of Pakistan’s efforts to position itself as a key transit hub, connecting landlocked Central Asia to the world
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Uzbekistan have agreed to formulate a joint strategy for the completion of the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (UAP) railway project, Pakistani state media reported, amid Islamabad’s efforts to open new regional trade avenues.
The development followed a meeting between Pakistan’s Railways Minister Hanif Abbasi and Uzbek Ambassador to Islamabad, during which the two figures held detailed discussions on the approximately 850-kilometer-long railway connectivity project, which includes a 647-kilometer rail track passing through Afghanistan.
The trilateral initiative was launched in 2021 to enhance regional connectivity by linking Central Asia with Pakistan’s southern ports of Gwadar and Karachi through Afghanistan. The project aims to improve trade access for landlocked countries and strengthen economic integration across the region.
“Upon completion of this project, Pakistan will gain the shortest and most efficient route to Central Asia, which will not only increase trade volumes but also strengthen the region’s economy on a solid footing,” Abbasi was quoted as saying by the APP news agency.
“This railway corridor will significantly reduce transit time and transportation costs, benefiting all stakeholders.”
Pakistan is seeking to leverage its strategic position as a key trade and transit hub to connect Central Asia with global markets and since last year, there has been a flurry of high-level visits, investment discussions and other economic engagements between Islamabad and Central Asian republics.
Abbasi highlighted that the corridor is expected to handle an annual freight capacity of 15 million tons, which could help boost exports and imports across the region, according to the report.
“This project will not only reinforce economic ties but will also play a pivotal role in promoting regional peace and stability,” he said.
On the occasion, Ambassador Tukhtaev acknowledged investment opportunities in Pakistan’s railway sector and emphasized the importance of collaborative efforts to foster economic prosperity and create employment for both peoples, according to the APP report.
Both officials also acknowledged the positive impact of the UAP project in promoting peace and stability in Afghanistan.
Last week, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar also held a phone call with his Uzbek counterpart, Saidov Bakhtiyor Odilovich, to discuss steps to advance the UAP railway project, including the framework agreement and its signing mechanism.
Over the years, the project has faced significant challenges, including security concerns in Afghanistan, and the need to reconcile differing railway gauges across the three countries.
“Emphasizing the importance of the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (UAP) Railway Line Project for regional connectivity, both leaders agreed to work closely for an early finalization of the framework agreement,” the Pakistani foreign office said.
From Nigeria to Pakistan, TB testing ‘in a coma’ after US aid cuts
- President Trump’s gutting of the USAID has also stalled vital research in South Africa and left TB survivors lacking support in India
- WHO says ‘the drastic and abrupt cuts in global health funding’ threaten to reverse the gains made by global efforts to fight the disease
LAGOS/JOHANNESBURG/MANILA: At a tense meeting in Nigeria’s capital Abuja, health workers poured over drug registers and testing records to gauge whether US aid cuts would unravel years of painstaking work against tuberculosis in one of Africa’s hardest hit countries.
For several days in May, they brainstormed ways to limit the fallout from a halt to US funding for the TB Local Network (TB LON), which delivers screening, diagnosis and treatment.
“To tackle the spread of TB, you must identify cases and that is in a coma because of the aid cuts,” said Ibrahim Umoru, coordinator of the African TB Coalition civil society network, who was at the Abuja meeting.
“This means more cases will be missed and disaster is looming.”
This desperate struggle to save endangered programs is being replicated from the Philippines to South Africa as experts warn that US aid cuts risk reviving a deadly infectious disease that kills around one million people every year.
President Donald Trump’s gutting of the US Agency for International Development has put TB testing and tracing on hold in Pakistan and Nigeria, stalled vital research in South Africa and left TB survivors lacking support in India.
The World Health Organization says “the drastic and abrupt cuts in global health funding” threaten to reverse the gains made by global efforts to fight the disease — namely 79 million lives saved since 2000 — with rising drug resistance and conflicts exacerbating the risks.
In Nigeria, TB LON is in the firing line.
The project was set up in 2020, during Trump’s first term, and received $45 million worth of funding from USAID. The US development agency said at the time it was committed to a “TB free Nigeria.”
Five years later and with the same president back in charge but now with a more radical “America first” agenda, USAID support for TB LON’s community testing work was terminated in February, according to a TB LON official. The official did not want to be named because he was not authorized to speak on behalf of the project.
‘HARD WORK IN JEOPARDY’
TB kills 268 Nigerians every day and cases have historically been under-reported increasing the risk of transmission. If one case is missed, that person can transmit TB to 15 people over a year, according to the World Health Organization.
The Thomson Reuters Foundation spoke to half a dozen health workers who collect TB test samples for TB LON but had stopped doing so in January due to the US aid freeze.
Between 2020-2024, TB LON screened around 20 million people in southwestern states in Nigeria, and more than 100,000 patients were treated as a result.
“All that hard work is in jeopardy if we don’t act quickly,” Umoru said, adding that non-profits working with TB LON had laid off more than 1,000 contract workers who used to do TB screening.
Nigeria’s health ministry did not respond to request for comment on the effect of the USAID cuts on TB programs.
In March, First Lady Oluremi Tinubu declared TB a national emergency and donated 1 billion naira ($630,680) to efforts to eradicate the disease by 2030.
In South Africa, medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said TB and HIV programs had been disrupted across the country, making patient tracking and testing more difficult, according to a statement sent to the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
South Africa had a TB incidence rate of 427 per 100,000 people in 2023, government data showed, down 57 percent from 2015. TB-related deaths in South Africa dropped 16 percent over that period, the data showed.
Minister of Health Aaron Motsoaledi said in May that the government would launch an End TB campaign to screen and test 5 million people, and was also seeking new donor funding.
“Under no circumstances will we allow this massive work performed over a period of more than a decade and half to collapse and go up in smoke,” he said at the time, referring to efforts to tackle TB and HIV.
BLOW TO CRITICAL RESEARCH
South Africa is also a hub for research into both TB and HIV and the health experts say funding cuts risk derailing this vital work.
The Treatment Action Group (TAG), a community-based research and policy think tank, says around 39 clinical research sites and at least 20 TB trials and 24 HIV trials are at risk.
“Every major TB treatment and vaccine advance in the past two decades has relied on research carried out in South Africa,” said TAG TB project co-director Lindsay McKenna in a March statement.
People struggling with poor nutrition and those living with HIV — the latter affects 8 million people in South Africa — were also more at risk of contracting TB as aid cuts made them more vulnerable by derailing nutrition programs, community outreach and testing, said Cathy Hewison, head of MSF’s TB working group.
“It’s the number one killer of people with HIV,” she said.
In the Philippines, US cuts have disrupted TB testing in four USAID-funded projects, and affected the supply of drugs, Stop TB Partnership, a UN-funded agency said.
“The country has a nationwide problem with recurrent drug shortages, which is leading to a direct impact on efforts to eliminate TB,” said Ghazali Babiker, head of mission for MSF Philippines.
In Pakistan, which sees 510,000 TB infections each year, MSF said US cuts had disrupted TB screening in communities and other services in the hard-hit southeastern province of Sindh.
“We are worried that the US funding cuts that have impacted the community-based services will have a disproportionate effect on children, leading to more children with TB and more avoidable deaths,” said Ei Hnin Hnin Phyu, medical coordinator with MSF in Pakistan.
“We cannot afford to let funding decisions cost children’s lives.”
Pakistani delegation urges US, OIC states to play role for ‘comprehensive dialogue’ with India
- Tensions between neighbors Pakistan, India remain high despite the two countries agreeing to a ceasefire on May 10
- A Pakistani delegation is currently visiting key capitals to present Islamabad’s stance on recent conflict with India
ISLAMABAD: A high-level Pakistani delegation, set up by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, has urged the United States (US) and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) envoys at the United Nations to play their role for the resumption of a “comprehensive dialogue” between Pakistan and India to resolve the Kashmir dispute and other issues, Pakistan’s mission to the UN and state media said on Tuesday.
Led by former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, the nine-member parliamentary delegation arrived in New York on Monday as the first stop in a diplomatic mission to present Pakistan’s position in world capitals following Islamabad’s recent military conflict with India. The group headed by Bhutto-Zardari will visit New York, Washington DC, London and Brussels. Another delegation, led by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Syed Tariq Fatemi, will also visit Moscow.
Tensions between Pakistan and India are high after they struck a ceasefire on May 10 following the most intense military confrontation between the nuclear-armed neighbors in decades. Both countries accuse the other of supporting militancy on each other’s soil — a charge both capitals deny.
The latest escalation last month took place following weeks of tensions after India blamed Pakistan for supporting an April 22 attack on the Kashmir territory it governs that killed 26 tourists. Pakistan denied involvement in the incident and called for an international probe. Both countries traded missiles, artillery fire and drone strikes before Washington brokered a ceasefire on May 10.
” Bhutto-Zardari has urged the US to play its role in ensuring comprehensive dialogue between Pakistan and India to address all outstanding issues,” the state-run Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported after the Pakistani delegates’ meeting with US Acting Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Dorothy Shea in New York.
Bhutto-Zardari briefed Ambassador Shea on the developments following the April 22 attack, expressing deep concern over India’s immediate attribution of blame to Pakistan without any “credible investigation or verifiable evidence.”
“Such premature and baseless allegations exacerbate tensions and undermine prospects for constructive dialogue and peace,” he was quoted as saying.
On Monday, the Pakistani delegates held a meeting with OIC envoys at the UN, wherein they reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to peace, restraint, and diplomacy, and called for the restoration of the Indus Waters Treaty by India, full respect for the ceasefire, and the resumption of a “comprehensive dialogue, with the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute at its core,” Pakistan’s Permanent Mission to the UN said.
India suspended the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan a day after the attack at the Pahalgam resort town. The move drew a sharp response from Islamabad, which said any attempts to divert or stop the flow of its waters by India would be considered an “act of war.”
About 80 percent of Pakistani farms depend on the Indus system, as do nearly all hydropower projects serving the country of some 250 million.
“Bhutto-Zardari expressed grave concern at the unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty — a move that Pakistan considers a blatant act of weaponizing water and a violation of international and treaty obligations,” the Pakistani mission said.
The former Pakistani foreign minister thanked OIC countries for their efforts and role aimed at de-escalation, mediation and ceasefire during the conflict. He highlighted that the only path to peace was in dialogue, engagement and diplomacy.
“OIC has emerged as the moral conscience of the world in these difficult times,” Bhutto-Zardari said, thanking the OIC member states for their steadfast support for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
The statement said that the OIC’s permanent representatives appreciated Pakistan’s briefing and reaffirmed their solidarity with the country.
“They reiterated their concern over the worsening security situation in South Asia and stressed the importance of upholding the principles of the UN Charter and international law and in this regard, the sanctity of treaties, including the Indus Waters Treaty,” Pakistan’s UN mission said.
The Pakistani delegation also met Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, president of the UN Security Council for June, according to a statement issued by Bhutto-Zardari party.
“The Pakistani delegation stressed that in the face of a growing trend of unilateralism and escalation, the Security Council must play its crucial role to ensure peace and conflict resolution,” it said.
The delegation urged the Security Council to play a “proactive role” in promoting de-escalation, ensuring respect for international law and treaties and facilitating peaceful resolution of disputes.
The statement said Birkett reaffirmed the Security Council’s commitment to upholding international peace and security in line with its mandate.
Bitter rivals India and Pakistan have fought three wars, including two of them over the disputed region of Kashmir, since gaining independence from British rule in 1947. Both claim the Himalayan territory in its entirety but rule it in part.
Pakistan stock market hits record high on ADB funding boost, insurance sector buying
- The benchmark KSE-100 index gained 1,573.07 points, or 1.32 percent, during Tuesday’s trading
- Anticipated relief for oil refineries, real estate and agri sectors played catalyst role, analysts say
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) surged to an all-time high of more than 120,000 points on Tuesday, with analysts attributing the rally to the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) financing package for Pakistan and strong buying by insurance companies in banking, fertilizer and power sectors.
The benchmark KSE-100 index closed at an unprecedented high of 120,450.87 points, marking a gain of 1,573.07 points, or 1.32 percent, from the previous day’s close of 118,877.80.
The development follows the ADB’s approval of an $800 million package to help Pakistan enhance fiscal reforms and economic stability, alongside the government’s approval of over Rs800 billion for public sector development projects in the upcoming budget.
“Stocks closed all time high led by scrips across the board after ADB approval of $800 million financing package,” Ahsan Mehanti, CEO of Arif Habib Commodities, told Arab News.
“Government set FY26 growth target at 4.2percent and government approval for Rs880 billion PSDP in the federal budget FY26 announcements next week.”
Mehanti said the anticipated budgetary relief for oil refineries, real estate and agriculture sectors, along with gains in rupee’s value, played a catalytic role in the bullish close at the PSX.
Raza Jafri, head of Intermarket Securities, said this was the first time the KSE-100 Index has ever closed above the 120,000-point mark.
“Strong buying by insurance companies in sectors such as banks, fertilizers and power led the market higher,” he said.
The budget for fiscal year 2025–26 is expected to be presented in Pakistan’s lower house of parliament on June 10, following the Eid Al-Adha holidays.
Pakistan’s annual inflation rate rose to 3.5 percent in May, though the country’s macroeconomic outlook has improved in recent months, supported by a stronger current account balance, increased remittances and declining inflation.
Authorities remain cautious as they aim to build on recent economic stabilization, guide the country toward gradual growth, and reaffirm their commitment to ongoing economic reforms.
