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☆ 'Unprovoked violation': Iran strikes Syria, Iraq and Pakistan as Middle East tensions spike
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Speaking to CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday night, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian defended his country's actions. watch nowTehran also hit what it said were Islamic State targets in northern Syria in tandem with its strikes on Iraq. In response to the Red Sea attacks, the U.S. and U.K. governments last week began launching missile strikes against Houthi positions in Yemen. While the U.S. has hit Iranian proxies in Syria and Iraq since the Gaza war began, the missile strikes marked the first U.S. attack on the Yemeni group. Iran's foreign minister told CNBC on Tuesday that the Houthis "are not receiving any orders or instructions from us."

Persons: Pakistan —, Masrour Barzani, Hossein Amirabdollahian, Ebrahim Raisi, Israel —, Umar Karim, Iran — Organizations: United Arab Emirates, . Security, CNBC, Economic, Iranian, Islamic, Sepah, Anadolu Agency, Getty, King Faisal Center for Research, Islamic Studies, Middle, Iran Yemen's Locations: DUBAI, United Arab, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Israel, Gaza, Baghdad, Kurdistan, Tehran, Israeli, U.S, Erbil, Iraqi Kurdish, Davos, Islamic State, Balochistan, Israel — Tehran, Lebanon, Hamas, Yemen, Red

☆ Taliban Minister Raises Return of Deported Afghans' Assets in Pakistan Visit
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

By Charlotte GreenfieldISLAMABAD (Reuters) - The Taliban's acting commerce minister said he had asked Pakistan to help return the assets of expelled Afghans and discussed ways to overcome Afghanistan's stalled banking sector transactions during a four-day visit to Islamabad this week. Acting minister Nooruddin Azizi's arrival in the Pakistani capital marked the first public visit by a senior Taliban official since Pakistan announced its policy to deport thousands of undocumented Afghans and other foreign citizens after Nov. 1. The Taliban have said the security issues are a domestic matter for Islamabad and called on Pakistan to stop deportations. Azizi said a major focus of the visit had been raising the problem of Afghan deportees being unable to return their assets from Pakistan. Pakistan's commerce minister and a spokesman for the commerce ministry did not respond to request for comment.

Persons: Charlotte Greenfield, Nooruddin, Azizi, Asif Shahzad, Mohammad Yunus Yawar, William Maclean Organizations: Taliban, Pakistan, Reuters Locations: Charlotte Greenfield ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Islamabad, Afghanistan, Islamic Emirate, Uzbekistan, China, Kabul

☆ Taliban minister raises issue of refugee assets during Pakistan visit
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Charlotte Greenfield | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Naseer Ahmed/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsISLAMABAD, Nov 14 (Reuters) - The Taliban's acting commerce minister met Pakistan's foreign minister in Islamabad this week, an Afghan embassy statement said on Tuesday, discussing trade and how the thousands of Afghan citizens Pakistan is expelling could take cash and other assets back to their homeland. Taliban officials say militancy is an internal matter for Pakistan and have called on Islamabad to halt its deportation of Afghan citizens. Afghan citizens returning to Afghanistan have said there are restrictions on the transfer of cash and property to Afghanistan from Pakistan, where many had built businesses and homes for decades. Last month, Pakistan set a Nov. 1 start date for the expulsion of all undocumented immigrants, including hundreds of thousands of Afghans. Pakistan's foreign office said the Taliban acting commerce minister would also undertake a trilateral meeting with representatives from Pakistan and Uzbekistan on Tuesday.

Persons: Naseer Ahmed, Haji Nooruddin Azizi's, Jalil Abbas Jilani, Jilani, Charlotte Greenfield, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Balochistan Province, Chaman, Rights ISLAMABAD, Islamabad, Afghan, Karachi, Western, Uzbekistan, South, Central Asia

☆ Keeping Lights Off: Undocumented Afghans Go Underground in Pakistan
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +5 min

She is one of thousands believed by rights activists to be in hiding in Pakistan to avoid deportation under a government push for undocumented migrants to leave the country. That includes over one million Afghans, many of whom the Pakistan government says have been involved in militant attacks and crime. 'WORSE THAN PRISON'Reuters spoke to a dozen undocumented migrants trying to stay under the radar of the nationwide sweep. "This is worse than prison," said a 22-year-old Afghan man who said he ensured the lights remained off at night. Some locals who are helping the Afghans arrange for food and water to be secretly smuggled into the shelter under the cover of night.

Persons: Ariba Shahid, Mohammad Yunus Yawar, Sijal Shafiq, Shafiq, Wafa, I'm, Saleh Zada, Gibran Peshimam, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Reuters, Authorities, United Nations Locations: Mohammad Yunus Yawar KARACHI, Pakistan, Kabul, Afghanistan, Karachi, United States, Hazara, Islamabad, France, Canada

Persons: Saleh Zada, Akhtar Soomro, Sijal Shafiq, Shafiq, Wafa, I'm, Gibran Peshimam, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS, Rights, Authorities, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Badakhshan province, Kabul, Karachi, Pakistan, Rights KARACHI, Afghanistan, United States, Hazara, Islamabad, France, Canada

REUTERS/Fayaz Aziz/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsISLAMABAD, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Pakistan said on Friday that it would repatriate all illegal immigrants including hundreds of thousands of Afghan nationals in orderly phases rather than in one go. She did not have exact data on the total number of illegal immigrants, including Afghans. Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti said on Tuesday some 1.73 million Afghans in Pakistan had no legal documents and the number of Afghan refugees in Pakistan totalled 4.4 million. Pakistan has hosted the largest number of Afghan refugees since the Soviet invasion of Kabul in 1979. Pakistan's foreign minister Jalil Abbas Jilani defended the order for the departure of illegal immigrants, saying no other country allowed illegal immigrants to stay and live.

Persons: Fayaz Aziz, frayed, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, Sarfraz Bugti, Bugti, Jalil Abbas Jilani, Hong, Albee Zhang, Ryan Woo, Robert Birsel, William Maclean Organizations: United Nations, Refugees, REUTERS, Rights, Aid, Phoenix TV, Thomson Locations: Pakistan, Peshawar, Rights ISLAMABAD, Islamabad, Kabul, Afghanistan, U.S, Tibet, Beijing

☆ Pakistani minister defends decision to expel Afghans
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"So, accordingly，this is in line with the international practice that we have taken this decision." Pakistan's interior minister said on Tuesday some 1.73 million Afghans in Pakistan had no legal documents and the number of Afghan refugees in Pakistan totalled 4.4 million. In defending the decision to expel Afghans, Pakistani authorities said 14 of 24 suicide bombings this year had been carried out by Afghan nationals. "Whenever there was any problem, people would immigrate to Pakistan, take refuge in Pakistan," Jilani said. "But now I think it has been more than 40 years, so the government of Pakistan has taken a decision," Jilani said, noting that the situation in Afghanistan had stabilised.

Persons: Fayaz Aziz, Jalil Abbas Jilani, Hong, Jilani, Albee Zhang, Ryan Woo, Robert Birsel Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Phoenix TV, Thomson Locations: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Torkham, Rights BEIJING, Europe, Asia, Tibet, U.S

Underwood Archives/Getty Images Feinstein gets her makeup touched up for a photo shoot in San Francisco in 1955. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images Feinstein attends a campaign event for her mayoral run in San Francisco in 1971. Clem Albers/San Francisco Chronicle/Getty Images Feinstein attends a memorial service for assassinated Supervisor Harvey Milk in San Francisco in 1978. Roger Ressmeyer/CORBIS/VCG/Getty Images Feinstein speaks at the signing of an anti-gun bill at San Francisco City Hall in 1982. Douglas Graham/CQ Roll Call/Getty Images Feinstein greets first lady Hillary Clinton at the 2000 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles.

Persons: Washington CNN — Dianne Feinstein, Feinstein, Gavin Newsom, Newsom, NBC’s “, ”, Feinstein’s, Ramsay Hunt, I’m, “, ” Feinstein, Lindsey Graham, Amy Coney Barrett, Leah Millis, Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Sen, Dick Durbin, Kevin McCarthy, Chuck Schumer, “ Dianne Feinstein, ” Schumer, Sen, Dianne Feinstein, Joe Biden, Celeste Sloman, Dianne Emiel Goldman, George Moscone, Harvey Milk, Duke Downey, Clem Albers, Janet Fries, Quentin Kopp, Sal Veder, Richard Blum, Walter Mondale, Georges, Roger Ressmeyer, Steve Ringman, Tony Bennett, Jeff Reinking, Neal Ulevich, Bishop Desmond Tutu, Eric Risberg, Willie Brown, Cecil Williams, Dr, Martin Luther King Jr, Paul Sakuma, Kim Komenich, Mark Reinstein, Barbara Boxer, Alan Greth, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Carol Moseley, Braun, Doug Mills, Charles Tasnadi, Kathleen Brown, Bill Clinton, Dirck Halstead, Lisa Leslie, Gigi Goshko, Douglas Graham, Hillary Clinton, Clinton, Paul J, Richards, Orrin Hatch, Patrick J, Leahy, William H, Pryor Jr, Scott J, Ferrell, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Schwarzenegger, Tim Sloan, Rick Friedman, Condoleezza Rice, George W, Bush, Colin Powell, Chuck Kennedy, John Roberts, Mark Wilson, Eileen Mariano, Mariano, interning, Tom Williams, Carson, Jay L, Barack Obama, Ralf, Finn Hestoft, Hina Rabbani Khar, Brendan Smialowski, Jacquelyn Martin, AP Sen, Chuck Grassley, Christine Blasey Ford, Brett M, Kavanaugh, Ford, Donald Trump, Chip Somodevilla, Barrett, Bonnie Cash, Graham, Samuel Corum, Jonathan Ernst, Simone Biles, Larry Nassar, Aly Raisman, Maggie Nichols, McKayla Maroney, Bob Dole, Oliver Contreras, Kent Nishimura, Kevin Dietsch, Dianne Feinstein's, Moscone, Milk, CNN’s Dana Bash, Dan White, ‘ Dan, ’, Harvey, California’s, Bash, Richard Blumenthal, Bill Clark, Annette Bening, Donald Trump’s, South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham’s Organizations: Washington CNN, Senate, California Democratic, Democratic, Press, Democrats, Democratic Party, Capitol, Senate Intelligence, California Democrat, Capitol Hill, CNN, Golden State ”, Illinois, Republican, New York Times, Underwood Archives, Getty, San Francisco City Hall, San Francisco, of Supervisors, Bettmann, San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Ice Company, White, Steiner, Forbidden, Democratic National Convention, United States Senate, United, United States women's, team, Convention, Washington Post, Circuit, Images California, McClatchy, Tribune, Service, Supreme, California, Rancho, Pakistan's, AP, Committee, White House, Los Angeles Times, Stanford University, San, Supervisors, Administration Committee, federal, Inc, South Carolina Republican, Judiciary, Intelligence, Appropriations Locations: Washington, California, San Francisco, America, ” San Francisco, Washington , DC, DC, Forbidden City, Beijing, China, Feinstein , California, Los Angeles, United States, New York, AFP, Boston, Rancho Bernardo, San Diego, San Francisco , California, Maryland, San Francisco County, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut

PESHAWAR/KABUL, Sept 15 (Reuters) - The main Afghanistan-Pakistan land border crossing reopened on Friday after being closed for nine days following firing between guards on both sides, a senior Pakistani official told Reuters. Thousands of travellers and hundreds of trucks laden with goods were left stranded last week by the closure the Torkham border crossing, at the western end of the fabled Khyber Pass. Spokespersons for Pakistan's foreign ministry and the Afghan authorities in Nangarhar province confirmed the reopening of the crossing. "The border closure was causing huge losses to traders and common people of the two neighbouring countries," Ziaul Haq Sarhadi, director of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry said. The Taliban foreign ministry criticised the closure of the crossing and said Pakistan security forces had fired on its border guards as they fixed an old security outpost.

Persons: It's, Abdul Nasir Khan, Torkham, Ziaul Haq Sarhadi, Amir Khan Muttaqi, Mushtaq Ali, Mohammad Yunus Yawar, Gibran Peshimam, Tom Hogue, Gerry Doyle, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: Reuters, Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Thomson Locations: PESHAWAR, KABUL, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Pakistan's Khyber, Nangarhar province, Pakistani, Peshawar, Jalalabad, Nangarhar, Kabul, Torkham

☆ Pakistan says Taliban forces building 'unlawful' structure in border dispute
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Trucks loaded with supplies to leave for Afghanistan are seen stranded at the Michni checkpost, after the main Pakistan-Afghan border crossing closed after clashes, in Torkham, Pakistan September 7, 2023. The Torkham border crossing between the neighbouring nations has been closed since Wednesday after forces from both sides exchanged fire, stranding hundreds of trucks laden with goods and thousands of travellers. The Taliban administration foreign ministry at the weekend criticised the closure of the border and said Pakistan security forces had fired on its troops when they were fixing an old security outpost near the border. Disputes linked to the 2,600 km (1,615 mile) border have been a bone of contention between the neighbours for decades. The Taliban administration denies it allows the use of Afghan soil for militancy and says Pakistan's security is an internal matter for the Pakistani government.

Persons: Fayaz Aziz, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, Charlotte Greenfield, William Maclean Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Afghan, Torkham, Rights ISLAMABAD, Taliban

☆ Afghan Taliban criticises closure of main border crossing with Pakistan
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Trucks loaded with supplies to leave for Afghanistan are seen stranded at the Michni checkpost, after the main Pakistan-Afghan border crossing closed after clashes, in Torkham, Pakistan September 7, 2023. REUTERS/Fayaz Aziz/file photo Acquire Licensing RightsKABUL, Sept 10 (Reuters) - The Afghan Taliban criticised the closure of its main border crossing with Pakistan this week after clashes between security forces, saying the halt in trade would see heavy losses for businesses. The busy Torkham border crossing closed on Wednesday after Pakistani and Afghan Taliban forces started firing at each other, according to local officials. The statement said the incident had started after Pakistani security forces fired at Afghan Taliban forces fixing an old security outpost near the border. Disputes linked to the 2,600 km (1,615 mile) border have been a bone of contention between the neighbours for decades.

Persons: Fayaz Aziz, Mohammad Yunus Yawar, Charlotte Greenfield, Michael Perry Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Afghan Taliban, Taliban administration's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thomson Locations: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Afghan, Torkham, Rights KABUL, Islamic Emirate

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi gestures as he speaks during an interview with Reuters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) office in Islamabad, Pakistan June 25, 2020. REUTERS/Salahuddin/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsKARACHI, Pakistan, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Pakistani opposition leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi was detained on Saturday, his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party said, just hours after he said it would challenge any delay to the country's election in the courts. Party spokesman Zulfi Bukhari told Reuters the specific reason for the detention of Qureshi, twice Pakistan's foreign minister, was not immediately clear. The outgoing government approved a new census in its final days, meaning new electoral boundaries must be drawn up by the Election Commission. IMF BAILOUTThe election commission said on Thursday that new constituencies would be finalised by Dec. 14, state television reported.

Persons: Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Salahuddin, Zulfi Bukhari, Qureshi, Bukhari, Imran Khan, Khan, Haq Kakar, Ariba Shahid, Toby Chopra, Alison Williams Organizations: Pakistan's, Reuters, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, REUTERS, Rights, PTI, IMF, Supreme, Monetary Fund, Thomson Locations: Islamabad, Pakistan, Rights KARACHI, Karachi

☆ Pakistan to send its cricket team to participate in World Cup in India
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-06 | by ( Charlotte Greenfield | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Cricket - Asia Cup - Final - Pakistan v Sri Lanka - Dubai International Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates - September 11, 2022 Pakistan players stand during the national anthems as the Asia Cup trophy is displayed before the match REUTERS/Christopher Pike/File PhotoISLAMABAD, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Pakistan has decided to send its cricket team to India to participate in this year's 50-over World Cup, the foreign office said on Sunday. The neighbouring countries, who share fraught relations, have played each other only in multi-team events at neutral venues over the last decade. India has ruled out travelling to Pakistan for the Asia Cup, which is scheduled to begin on Aug. 31. Pakistan's foreign office said it had concerns about its cricket team's security during the tournament and would convey them to the International Cricket Council and Indian government. Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Alex Richardson and Ed OsmondOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Christopher Pike, Pakistan's Bilawal Bhutto, Zardari, Charlotte Greenfield, Alex Richardson, Ed Osmond Organizations: Asia, United Arab Emirates, REUTERS, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, International Cricket Council, Thomson Locations: Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Dubai, United Arab, ISLAMABAD, India, ., Goa, Kashmir

☆ Hague court rejects India's objections over water treaty arbitration
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

AMSTERDAM/NEW DELHI, July 6 (Reuters) - The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in the Hague rejected on Thursday India's objections to a Pakistan-initiated procedure over water use in the Indus River basin, reopening a procedure that had been blocked for many years. India called the arbitration proceeding illegal as a neutral expert was also looking at the issue and the World Bank-brokered treaty prohibits parallel proceedings. India has boycotted The Hague court proceedings and questioned the competence of the court. A spokesperson for India's foreign ministry, Arindam Bagchi, said India's "consistent and principled position has been that the constitution of this so-called court of arbitration is in contravention of the clear letter and spirit of the Indus Water Treaty". Pakistan's Foreign Office said that it remained fully committed to the implementation of the Indus Water Treaty and its settlement mechanism, which it termed a "foundational agreement" between the two countries.

Persons: Hague, Arindam Bagchi, Bagchi, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, Krishn Kaushik, Gibran Peshimam, Richard Chang, Kim Coghill Organizations: AMSTERDAM, World Bank, Ratle Hydro, GV De, Thomson Locations: DELHI, Pakistan, India, Hague, Pakistan's, Amsterdam, New Delhi, Karachi

☆ Families of missing in Greece migrant boat disaster plead for recovery of bodies
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Karolina Tagaris | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/4] Adil Hussain, 44, from Pakistan, whose brother Matloob, 43, went missing after a deadly migrant shipwreck off the coast of Greece last month, cries during an interview with Reuters in Athens, Greece, July 4, 2023. If they are dead, take them out," Adil Hussain said, urging Greece to hire a vessel to recover them. Lawyers representing families of the missing plan on Thursday to ask judicial authorities investigating the case for the boat to be retrieved. Survivors have said that the ship capsized after a disastrous towing attempt by the Greek coast guard, which Greece denies. A spokeswoman for Pakistan's Foreign Office, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, said bodies would be transported to Pakistan upon verification and release by the Greek authorities.

Persons: Adil Hussain, Matloob, Stelios Misinas, Matloob Hussain, Adil, Hussain, we'll, Takis Zotos, Zotos, Alam Shinwari, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, Muhammad Ayub, Muhammad Yasin, Lefteris Papadimas, Renee Maltezou, Gibran Peshimam, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS, Titanic, Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency, FIA, Pakistan's Foreign, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Pakistan, Greece, Athens, Stelios Misinas ATHENS, Syria, Egypt, Libya, Italy, Pylos, Turkey, Islamabad

☆ Pakistan summons US deputy mission chief over US-India statement
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LeT is the Islamist group blamed for the 2008 Mumbai attacks in which more than 160 people were killed, while Jaish-e-Mohammad claimed responsibility for a 2019 bombing in Indian Kashmir that killed 40 Indian paramilitary troops. Relations between India and Pakistan have been fraught for years. India says Pakistan has helped Islamist militants who have battled Indian security forces in its part of Kashmir since the late 1980s. Pakistan denies the accusation and says it only provides diplomatic and moral support for Kashmiris seeking self-determination. Additional reporting by Simon Lewis and Humeyra Pamuk in Washington Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Alex RichardsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Joe Biden, Narendra Modi, Matt Miller, Washington, Mohammad, Simon Lewis, Humeyra Pamuk, Charlotte Greenfield, Alex Richardson Organizations: U.S, Indian, White, . State, Thomson Locations: ISLAMABAD, U.S, Pakistan, United States, India, Mumbai, Kashmir, Britain, Washington

The ministry added that it was surprised by the joint statement and said it had "close counterterrorism cooperation" with the United States. Relations between India and Pakistan have been fraught for years. Pakistan's foreign ministry said India was using the allegations of extremism against Islamabad to deflect from the situation in Kashmir and the treatment of minorities in India. New Delhi has for years accused Pakistan of launching militant attacks in India, including the one in 2008 in Mumbai that killed over 165 people. India also says Pakistan has helped Islamist militants who have battled Indian security forces in its part of Kashmir since the late 1980s.

Persons: Joe Biden, Narendra Modi, Evelyn Hockstein WASHINGTON, Biden, Modi, Kanishka Singh, Angus MacSwan Organizations: India's, White, REUTERS, Relations, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Pakistan, United States, India, U.S, Islamabad, Britain, Kashmir, India . New Delhi, Mumbai, Jammu, New Delhi, South Asia, Washington

☆ Hundreds rally in Pakistan-ruled Kashmir against India G20 meet
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Abu Arqam Naqash | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan, May 22 (Reuters) - Hundreds of people rallied in Pakistan-administered Kashmir on Monday to protest arch rival India's decision to host a G20 tourism meeting in its part of the disputed Himalayan region, said a government official. Several protesters demonstrated in Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and other cities, chanting: "Go India go back and boycott, boycott G20 boycott!" He termed the G20 gathering as illegal, and an attempt by India to seek legitimacy over its control of the disputed region. The G20 tourism working group meeting is the first international event in the region since the conversion. India at present holds it presidency, and is set to host its annual summit in New Delhi in September.

Islamabad, Pakistan CNN —Pakistan’s Foreign Minister will travel to India next month, the most senior-level visit in seven years in what is a major diplomatic breakthrough between two nuclear-armed neighbors with a long history of fractious relations. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s (SCO) foreign ministers meeting on May 4-5 in the western Indian coastal state of Goa, Pakistan’s foreign ministry confirmed Thursday. This is the first time that the most senior Pakistani foreign office representative has visited India since 2016. Diplomatic relations between India and Pakistan have been beset by decades of distrust and occasional bouts of open conflict. The SCO and China’s growing hand in diplomacyThe SCO is an eight-member regional security and economic grouping led by China, and its members include India, Pakistan and Russia.

The external financing is needed to fully fund the balance of payments gap for the fiscal year that ends in June. Last week Saudi Arabia also told the IMF it would provide financing of $2 billion to Pakistan. Dar has said Pakistan has given details of the scheme to the IMF, which has asked how it would it find the resources needed. The IMF program will disburse another tranche of $1.4 billion to Pakistan before it concludes in June. Reporting by Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam, writing by by Shilpa Jamkhandikar; editing by Sudipto GangulyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Taliban aim to boost Afghan security forces, anti-aircraft capacity -army chief
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Mohammad Yunus Yawar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

In his remarks on Tuesday, Qari Fasihuddin Fitrat, a Taliban commander from the northern region of Badakhshan and the chief of army staff, condemned incursions by foreign drones into Afghan airspace. Fitrat said a major defence focus was securing Afghan airspace against drones and other incursions. He also stopped short of naming Pakistan, against which the Taliban administration has regularly protested, accusing its neighbour of allowing drones to enter Afghanistan. Ties between the neighbours have occasionally been tense as as Pakistan has accused the Taliban administration of allowing Afghan territory to be used as a haven for militant groups. The Taliban administration denies allowing its territory to be used for attacks on others, however.

☆ Pakistan condemns India's decision to hold G20 meetings in Kashmir
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Danish Ismail/File PhotoISLAMABAD, April 11 (Reuters) - Pakistan on Tuesday condemned India's decision to hold Group of 20 meetings in the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir next month, calling the move "irresponsible". India currently holds the rotating year-long presidency of the G20 and is set to host a leaders' summit in New Delhi in early September. India's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request seeking comment on the statement from Pakistan. New Delhi has long accused Pakistan of stoking a decades-long separatist insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir, the only Muslim-majority region in India. Pakistan also accuses India of human rights violations in the parts of Kashmir under its control, a charge New Delhi rejects.

☆ Pakistan posts highest-ever annual inflation; stampedes for food kill 16
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( Asif Shahzad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Akhtar SoomroISLAMABAD, April 1 (Reuters) - Consumer price inflation in Pakistan jumped to a record 35.37% in March from a year earlier, the statistics bureau said on Saturday, as at least 16 people were killed in stampedes for food aid. The March inflation number eclipsed February's 31.5%, the bureau said, as food, beverage and transport prices surged up to 50% year-on-year. A spokesman at the statistics bureau said the inflation number was the highest ever year-on-year increase recorded by the bureau since monthly records began in the 1970s. Annual food inflation in March was at 47.1% and 50.2% for urban and rural areas respectively, the bureau said. Core inflation, which strips out food and energy, stood at 18.6% in urban areas and 23.1% in rural areas.

CROTONE, Italy, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Rescuers pulled the body of a man out of the sea on Tuesday, raising the death toll from a migrant shipwreck near the southern Italian coast to at least 64, including about 14 children. Rescuers said most of the migrants came from Afghanistan, as well as from countries including Iran, Somalia and Syria. Pakistan's foreign ministry said 20 Pakistani citizens had been on the boat, and 16 of them had survived but four were missing. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in an interview on Monday that she had written to European Union institutions calling for immediate action by the bloc to stop migrant boat trips so as to prevent more deaths. Reporting by Angelo Amante, Remo Casilli writing by Cristina Carlevaro, editing by Keith Weir and Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Main Afghan-Pakistani border crossing closed, residents report gunfire
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KABUL/PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Feb 20 (Reuters) - The main border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan was closed on Monday, officials from the two sides said, and residents in the area reported the sound of gunfire near the normally bustling border transit point. It was not immediately clear if Afghan or Pakistani authorities closed the Torkham border crossing, near the Khyber Pass, but it comes after relations between Afghanistan's ruling Taliban and Pakistan have deteriorated sharply. Media reported that the border was closed on Sunday evening but did not give a reason. Clashes between Afghan and Pakistani security forces have also at times closed the second most important crossing between the two countries, at Chaman to the south. A Taliban foreign ministry spokesperson said later Pakistan should raise issues in private and not at public forums.

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