Afghan | Pakistan

ISLAMABAD - Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi yesterday discussed counterterrorism efforts in a meeting with his Afghan counterpart Sirajuddin Haqqani in Kabul.

ABBOTTABAD: In a major crackdown against document fraud, Abbottabad Cantonment Police have arrested a group allegedly involved in helping Afghan nationals illegally obtain Pakistan’s Computerised National Identity Cards (CNIC). The crackdown was launched on the special directives of District Police Officer (DPO) Umar Tufail (PSP) and led by SHO Cantt Police Station, Cadet Abdul Ghafoor […]

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Sunday discussed counterterrorism efforts in a meeting with his Afghan counterpart Sirajuddin Haqqani in Kabul. The visit comes after a series of steps between both nations to improve ties, such as the revival of the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) and the upgrading of each country’s diplomats from the rank of chargé d’affaires to ambassador. Both countries also held the inaugural round of the Additional Secretary-Level Mechanism talks earlier in the month. “Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi holds an important meeting with his Afghan counterpart Sirajuddin Haqqani,” the Interior Ministry said in a post on X. Naqvi was warmly welcomed by interim Afghan Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani upon arrival at the Afghan Ministry of Interior, the post said. “Discussion on bilateral relations, particularly counter-terrorism, infiltration, and the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban [Pakistan],” took place, according to the interior ministry. Effective management of the Pak-Afghan border,...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar held important meetings with Afghan and UAE officials to strengthen bilateral relations, enhance economic cooperation, and promote regional connectivity.

A German court ruled on Tuesday that the government must issue visas to an Afghan family previously accepted under a programme for those at risk after the Taliban seized power in 2021. The new government under conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz has frozen the programme, but Berlin’s administrative court said the family had been given a “legally binding” commitment and must be allowed to travel to Germany. About 2,500 Afghans with similar approvals are estimated to be in Pakistan waiting to be able to travel to Germany. The programme was set up for those who worked with Germany’s army or other institutions in Afghanistan, as well as journalists and activists judged to be threatened by the Taliban. However, the new government under Merz — who made a crackdown on immigration one of his key election pledges — has said in its coalition agreement it wants to end the programme “as far as possible”. The family concerned by Tuesday’s decision is currently in Pakistan and had lodged an urgent appeal, telling the co...

As many as 350 Afghan students have reached Pakistan to pursue studies in top-tier Pakistani universities across diverse disciplines under HEC Allama Muhammad Iqbal Scholarships to Afghan Students (Prime Minister’s Directives).

German police said on Thursday they had shot dead an Afghan man after he used a knife to attack officers trying to arrest him, seriously wounding one of them. The incident happened in the southern city of Wangen when two officers attempted to detain the 27-year-old man at his home to take him to serve a prison sentence for assault. “In the course of the operation, the man suddenly pulled out a knife and attacked the officers without warning,” police and prosecutors said in a joint statement. “As a result of the attack, the police officers fired several shots.” The Afghan died at the scene despite efforts to resuscitate him, they said. One officer was seriously injured after being stabbed several times, but was not in a life-threatening condition. The authorities have launched an investigation into the use of a firearm by police. Several serious attacks in Germany carried out in recent times — some by migrants — including knife attacks and car-rammings, fuelling a heated debate on immigration. Chanceller Fried...

Veteran journalist and news director of the Associated Press for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Kathy Gannon on Friday said that the presence of various militant groups on Afghan soil posed a significant challenge to regional security. Speaking at an event titled “Geopolitical Shifts and Security Challenges: Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the Regional Power Play” organised by the Institute of Regional Studies (IRS) in Islamabad, Gannon — who in 2014 was attacked and wounded while reporting from Afghanistan — said, “While Afghanistan might not want all the militant groups on its territory nor did Kabul invite them all, but they were still there.” According to a press release, Gannon emphasised the importance of restoring trust between Pakistan and Afghanistan, appreciating the recent positive developments in relations between the two neighbours. She said that “Pakistan could better influence the Afghan government by treating it as an equal and a partner in pursuing its regional objectives.” “She also urged Islamabad to...

Afghan women working for the United Nations in Kabul have been threatened by unidentified men because of their jobs, the organisation and several women told AFP on Thursday. Multiple women working for various UN agencies told AFP on condition of anonymity they had been threatened on the street and over the phone by men warning them to “stay home”. UN staffer Huda — not her real name — said that for weeks she has been bombarded with messages abusing her for “working with foreigners”. “The messages keep coming and they are always harassing us … saying, ‘Don’t let me see you again, or else’,” the young woman told AFP. She said her office had advised her to work from home until further notice. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) confirmed that UN staff had been threatened. “Several United Nations female national staff members in the Afghan capital Kabul have been subjected to threats by unidentified individuals related to their work with the UN,” it said in a statement. Considering the th...

Acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on Sunday described the improvement of ties with Pakistan as a “very positive development in bilateral relations,” the Afghan foreign ministry said in a statement. Earlier this week, both nations agreed to upgrade their diplomatic relations by exchanging envoys — a key step towards normalising ties after years of strained relations between Islamabad and the Taliban administration in Kabul. Pakistan on Friday announced its elevation of diplomatic representation in Afghanistan from Charge d’Affaires to Ambassador level, as bilateral ties “move on a positive trajectory.” According to the statement, Muttaqi spoke to Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar over the phone and discussed upgrading diplomatic relations. “Muttaqi called it a positive step and expressed hope that the remaining stages would be completed soon,” the statement said. “Both sides expressed that upgrading the level of diplomatic relations would pave the way for expanding cooperation...

Pakistan Army spokesperson Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry has accused India of using Afghan soil to wage terrorism against Pakistan and urged the Afghan people not to allow their land to be used for such activities.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Afghanistan’s interim Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and agreed to extend the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to Afghanistan. On Monday, Deputy PM Dar arrived in China’s capital of Beijing on a three-day official visit at the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Yi amid regional tensions. The trilateral forum was established in 2017, with earlier meetings held in Beijing and the Afghan capital. China said on Tuesday that it supports Pakistan in defending “national sovereignty and territorial integrity”, after a ceasefire ended four days of fighting with India over a deadly attack in occupied Kashmir. “Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar Member of the Communist Party of China Political Bureau & Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China Wang Yi, and Acting Foreign Minister of Afghanistan Amir Khan Muttaqi, held an informal trilateral meeting in...

Pakistan on Thursday allowed 150 stranded Afghan trucks carrying goods for India to cross the Wagah Border, easing a weeks-long bottleneck, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The moves came nearly a week after Pakistan shut off its borders for any trade with India, including to or from a third country, in response to New Delhi’s measures following a deadly attack in occupied Kashmir. India, without proof, implied cross-border links, which Pakistan denied and instead sought a neutral probe. A document shared by the foreign ministry today, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, acknowledged a request made by the Afghan embassy in Islamabad on April 28 regarding containers stranded at different transit points in Pakistan. “The ministry has the honour to inform that in view of the brotherly relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the government of Pakistan has decided to permit stranded Afghan trucks, carrying goods in transit to India, which entered Pakistan before April 25, 2025, to c...