US-Pakistan relations

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Pakistan Asks US Ambassador to Explain a Biden Remark

President questioned nation's nuclear weapons safety

(Newser) - Pakistan has questions about President Biden's comment that it's "maybe one of the most dangerous nations in the world." Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said Saturday he's called in US Ambassador Donald Blome in Islamabad for an explanation, Reuters reports. In a speech Thursday, Biden said...

Taliban Tells US There'll Be No Help With IS

That's how this weekend's negotiations begin

(Newser) - The Taliban on Saturday ruled out cooperation with the US to contain extremist groups in Afghanistan, staking out an uncompromising position on a key issue ahead of the first direct talks between the former foes since America withdrew from the country in August. Senior Taliban officials and US representatives are...

Pakistan PM: US 'Martyred' bin Laden

Imran Khan says partnering with US in war on terror was a mistake

(Newser) - Pakistan's prime minister said Thursday that the United States "martyred" al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, a term that reflected a subtle stab at Washington as it's mainly used for honorable figures slain in battle. Imran Khan delivered the stab in a rambling budget speech in parliament, attacking...

The Doctor Who Helped Find bin Laden Is Stuck in Jail
He Helped Find bin Laden,
Now Languishes in Jail
the rundown
Jan 22, 2018 10:20 AM CST

He Helped Find bin Laden, Now Languishes in Jail

The AP takes a look at Shakil Afridi's ordeal

(Newser) - Shakil Afridi has languished in jail for years—since 2011, when the Pakistani doctor used a vaccination scam in an attempt to get DNA samples from bin Laden's family as a means of pinpointing his location, aiding US Navy SEALs who tracked and killed the al-Qaeda leader. Afridi...

Pakistan Frees Cleric Who Helped Taliban Fight US

Court freed Sufi Mohammed on health grounds

(Newser) - A Pakistani court has ordered the release of a radical anti-US cleric who went to Afghanistan with thousands of volunteers to help the Taliban fight against Americans after the 2001 US-led invasion. Defense lawyer Fida Gul says the court set Sufi Mohammad free on health grounds, the AP reports. Mohammad,...

Thanks to 'Double Game,' Pakistan Loses US Aid

(Newser) - President Trump, who slammed Pakistan in his first tweet of the year , has now made good on his threat to cut off aid. The administration says it's suspending all security assistance to the country until it takes "decisive action" against Taliban and Haqqani militants on its territory targeting...

Trump Slams Pakistan, Iran in First Tweets of Year

He says Iran is 'failing at every level'

(Newser) - If President Trump's New Year's resolution was to get tough on Pakistan and Iran, he's off to a great start. If it was to tone down his use of Twitter, not so much. Trump laid into Pakistan in his first tweet of the year, saying the US...

After 6-Month Hiatus, Drone Strikes Again Hit Pakistan

At least 13 killed overnight

(Newser) - Missiles from US drones slammed into militant hideouts overnight in northwestern Pakistan, killing 13 suspected insurgents and marking the resumption of the CIA-led program after a nearly six-month break, officials said today. The two separate drone strikes sparked swift condemnation by the Pakistani government. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said...

FBI Agent Arrested at Pakistan Airport

He was carrying ammo, multiple knives onto plane

(Newser) - An FBI agent was arrested at an airport in Pakistan on Monday when he tried to carry bullets and knives onto a Karachi-to-Islamabad flight, Pakistani authorities revealed today. Joel Cox was on an official trip to Pakistan to provide training for local police, CNN reports. When police nabbed him he...

US Reining In Drone Strikes in Pakistan—Maybe

But White House official denies claim

(Newser) - With Pakistan looking to forge peace with the Pakistani Taliban, the US is reducing its drone strikes in the country at Islamabad's request, US officials tell the Washington Post : "That’s what they asked for, and we didn't tell them no." The Post sees the fact...

Pakistan, Bush Made Secret Drone-Strike Deal

Meanwhile, top-secret CIA documents show Islamabad was kept in the loop

(Newser) - Though Pakistan has often condemned US drone strikes—this week, PM Nawaz Sharif called them an obstacle in the countries' relationship—officials there reportedly signed a secret deal with the Bush administration regarding the attacks. "The exact terms were never shared with civilians, but there was a protocol between...

3rd Deadly Blast in a Week Shakes Pakistan's Peshawar

At least 40 killed in latest attack on northeastern city

(Newser) - A car bomb ripped through a crowded street in Peshawar's oldest bazaar, killing 40 people in the third blast to hit the troubled Pakistani city in a week, officials said. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. The explosion appeared to have been caused by a bomb planted...

Deadliest Attack on Pakistan Christians Kills 75

Taliban wing says it will keep targeting non-Muslims

(Newser) - A pair of suicide bombers detonated their explosives outside a historic church in Peshawar today, killing 75 people in the deadliest-ever attack on Pakistan's Christian minority, officials said. The Jundullah wing of the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility, with a spokesman saying, "All non-Muslims in Pakistan are our target,...

We Distrust, Spy on Pakistan More Than You Think: Files

Snowden's 'black budget' shows 'no other nation draws as much scrutiny'

(Newser) - Included in the summary of the $52.6 billion "black budget" leaked by Edward Snowden: quite a bit of money spent keeping an eye on Pakistan. Despite the fact that Pakistan is technically a US ally, the documents reveal it is as much a target of US surveillance as...

Could Pakistan Soon Quit the War on Terror?

Leading PM candidate Nawaz Sharif says he'd do just that

(Newser) - Pakistan's leading candidate for prime minister has said he'll escort the country out of the US-led "war on terror" if elected on Saturday. Nawaz Sharif tells the BBC , "We have to" quit the effort, arguing that the move would be a step toward peace both in...

Pakistan OKed Some Drone Strikes in Secret: Musharraf

Contradicts country's previous assertions

(Newser) - In the past, Pakistan has maintained that US drone strikes in the country were carried out without leaders' involvement. Now, former leader Pervez Musharraf says the government approved some of the strikes in secret, CNN reports. Officials gave the go-ahead "only on a few occasions, when a target was...

Over US Threats, Pakistan, Iran Push for Gas Pipeline

Presidents meet to inaugurate project

(Newser) - Pakistan is starting work on a gas pipeline to Iran, a long-planned project that the US says threatens anti-nuclear sanctions against Tehran. Iran has nearly finished its own section of the pipeline; today, presidents Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Asif Ali Zardari attended a border ceremony. Some 485 miles of pipeline are...

Blowback Feared After US Strike Kills Pakistani Ally

Maulvi Nazir reportedly had truce with Pakistan

(Newser) - A pair of US drone strikes in northwest Pakistan near the Afghan border killed 13 people today, including a senior militant commander who had a truce with the Pakistani military, intelligence officials and residents said. Five Pakistani security officials said the commander, Maulvi Nazir, was reportedly among nine people killed...

Sign of Improving Relations: US Paying Pakistan $688M

John Kerry is a big supporter of such aid

(Newser) - In a sign that US-Pakistan relations are improving, the Pentagon will send Pakistan a $688 million payment, the first reimbursement sent to the country since this summer. Such payments, called coalition support funds, cover the cost of stationing troops on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, and many of them have been delayed...

Pakistan: US Drone Kills al-Qaeda No. 2

Abu Zaid al-Kuwaiti replaced commander killed in June drone strike

(Newser) - A US drone strike has killed a senior al-Qaeda leader in Pakistan's tribal region near the Afghan border, Pakistani intelligence officials said, in the latest blow to the Islamic militant network. Sheik Khalid bin Abdel Rehman al-Hussainan, who was also known as Abu Zaid al-Kuwaiti, was killed when missiles...

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