The late Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar asked Pakistan’s Chief Executive Gen. Pervez Musharraf to bomb southern Kandahar province if the group’s policies were causing problems to Islamabad, it has been reported.

The call by Mullah Omar was reportedly made following pressures by United States on Islamabad regarding the presence of al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan.

Washington was apparently urging Islamabad to engage with Taliban regarding bin Laden, considering “the fact that Pakistan was the strongest supporter of the Taliban, was of particular concern” to the US, warning that the Bin Laden issue was eating away relationship between the two countries.

A local newspaper in Pakistan – Dawn News, citing a secret US cable reported that Musharraf conveyed this message to then US Under Secretary of State Thomas Pickering at a meeting in Islamabad on March 26, 2000.

In the meeting, “the chief executive referred to the recent visit of DG ISI Gen Mahmud to Kandahar as evidence of what it was like to deal with the Taliban”.

“Mullah Omar told Mahmud he was sorry that Taliban policies were causing Pakistan problems and suggested that if (Islamabad) did not like (those policies), it might want to bring in its weapons and begin shelling Kandahar,” Gen Musharraf told Mr Pickering.

Replying to US concerns, Musharraf had confirmed his country’s engagement with the Taliban on three major issues, including terrorist training camps and the sanctuary being given by the Taliban to Pakistani terrorists and criminals, the peace issue, and the Osama Bin Laden.

He admitted less progress on bin Laden issue with Taliban, noting his recent meeting with Taliban interior minister who had exhibited a “little bit” of flexibility on the issue and continuously insisted to see proof of Bin Laden’s guilt.

However, the Taliban interior minister had indicated the possibility of constituting an Ulema council, bringing together religious scholars from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and perhaps the OIC, to consider the evidence against Bin Laden.

In the meantime, the secret US cable also revealed a brief assessment of Pakistan’s Afghan policy which was sent to Washington in a secret message by the US Embassy.

The secret message reads “Pakistan’s rationale for supporting the Taliban is also unchanged: It is committed to establishing a friendly regime in Afghanistan beholden to Islamabad, hostile to Iran and India, dominated by Pashtuns, and uninterested in pursuing territorial claims against Pakistan.”

At least 23 Taliban militants and affiliates of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group were killed during a clash in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan.

According to the local government officials, the clash erupted late on Thursday afternoon in Pichegram district.

Provincial police spokesman Hazrat Hussain Mashriqwal confirmed the incident and said several houses were also torched as a result of the clash between the two militant groups.

He said the clash has also incurred casualties to the civilians and several members of the two groups were injured with the affiliates of ISIS group taking to social media saying the houses were belonging both to Taliban and ISIS militants.

The Taliban militants group has not commented regarding the incident so far.

Yesterday’s incident comes as the activities of ISIS affiliates were reduced after receiving major blows during the recent months that resulted into death of the group’s senior commanders and leaders.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s top military commander General Philip M. Breedlove said Thursday that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group is an emergent capability in Afghanistan.

Gen. Breedlove said “The there are places where there are actually fighting between the Taliban and ISIS because they do not share some of their belief systems in the way things should be done and then there are other places where there doesn’t appear to be fighting and so these are all things that we are going to have understand in the future.”

According to Gen. Breedlove the group will have a hard time to become a part of this society because their approach to their religion, which he believes is very different.

Pakistan’s National Security and Foreign Affairs Advisor Sartaj Aziz will share ‘compelling’ evidence regarding the dismantle of Haqqani Network with the Afghan officials during his visit to Kabul, Pakistani officials have claimed.

Accompanied by director general military operations, Aziz is expected to meet President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani to brief about Pakistani military’s gains against the Haqqani network.

A Pakistani official quoted by a local newspaper said their assessment shows that majority of the attacks are now being planned from within the Afghan soil.

Afghan government also slammed Pakistani officials for their remarks regarding the elimination of Haqqani Terrorist Network following military operations in tribal regions of Pakistan, saying “The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan believes that one of the major differences between Afghanistan and Pakistan is regarding the presence of terrorist groups, specifically the Haqqani Network in Pakistani soil.”

“The recent remarks by Pakistan’s National Security Advisor Sartaj Aziz, suggesting that the Haqqani Network has been decomposed following military operations, are repeated claims by Pakistani officials during the past one decade,” a statement by Presidential Palace said.

The Palace insisted that documents and evidences shows that the network’s leadership, commander and control, supportive infrastructure and sanctuaries are still operational in Pakistan.

The statement further added that the government of Afghanistan has repeatedly handed over evidences regarding the Haqqani Network operations in Pakistan and has urged the Pakistani government to take action.

Having close ties to Al-Qaeda and hard-line elements in Pakistani military intelligence, the Haqqani terrorist network is accused of staging numerous cross-border attacks from their base in North Waziristan, including the 19-hour siege at the US Embassy in Kabul in September 2011.

Haqqani network was formed in the late 1970s by Jalaluddin Haqqani. The group is allied with al-Qaida and the Afghan Taliban and cooperates with other terrorist organizations in the region.

The network is considered the most lethal insurgent group targeting the NATO-led coalition security forces and Afghan personnel in Afghanistan.

The US Department of State designated the HQN as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on September 7, 2012.

http://www.sada-e-azadi.net/index.php/en/afghanistan/north/13046-dostum-clears-28-villages-of-insurgents-in-kohistanat

Four militants and an Indian military trooper were killed Thursday in a fierce gunfight in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said.

The gunfight broke out at Vilgam in Handwara of frontier Kupwara district, about 85 km northwest of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

“Four unidentified militants were killed, while one critically wounded military paratrooper succumbed in a gunfight at Handwara in Kupwara district this morning,” India’s official broadcaster All India Radio (AIR) quoting police officials said.

The gunfight triggered in the area Wednesday evening and lasted until Thursday morning.

Military and police officials said they launched the operation on specific intelligence inputs about presence of militants in the area.

A police spokesman based in Srinagar told Xinhua bodies of slain militants were yet to be recovered.

“Search operation is going on and we have not recovered the bodies of militants so far,” the spokesman said.

This was the second gunfight in less than 24 hours in the region.

An Indian military trooper and a militant were killed, while as another trooper wounded in gunfight on Wednesday at Ladoora- Rafiabad in Baramulla district.

According to police the slain militant was affiliated with Lashkar-e-Islam a breakaway group of Hizbul Mujahideen, responsible for attacks on mobile phone communication network.

Last week Indian military said it killed four militants in a fierce gunfight and captured their associate alive.

A guerilla war is going on between militants and Indian troops stationed in Indian-controlled Kashmir since 1989. The gunfight between the two sides takes place intermittently across the region.

Ministry of Defense has announced that more than 100 Taliban militants have been killed and wounded in newest security operations in the country.

A statement issued by the ministry on Thursday morning states that the operations were carried out in the jurisdiction of Kunar, Maidan Wardak, Ghazni, Logar, Paktia, Kandahar, Zabul, Helmand, Ghor, Farah, Baghlan, Sar-e-Pul, Kundoz, Faryab and Takhar provinces in the past 24 hours.

According to the statement, 78 militants were killed, 36 wounded and 2 others detained during these operations.

The statement further states that eight soldiers from the Afghan National Army (ANA) also embraced martyrdom by landmine explosions and insurgent fire during these operations.

Afghan security forces have been busy in several large-scale military operations against Taliban and other militant groups in parts of the country.

During these independent operations, Afghan forces have retaken areas that were under Taliban control for many years.

Afghan forces launched independent military operations against insurgents after taking full charge of security from NATO-led security forces at the beginning of this year.

http://www.khaama.com/ministry-of-defense-more-than-100-taliban-killed-wounded-in-newest-security-operations-3862

In an ISIS video released on 31 August on social media, three masked men threatened to kill the president of the Maldives, Abdulla Yameen, and to unleash a terrorist campaign on the islands, one of the world’s most sought-after holiday destinations.

The group are demanding the release of opposition leader Sheikh Imran Abdulla, who was arrested in May following anti-government protests. So far the video’s authenticity remains unconfirmed.

Abdulla was accused by the government of inciting violence among protesters, who were demanding the resignation of the president over the imprisonment of former president Mohamed Nasheed and other political leaders. Abdulla aimed to overthrow the government and “called for clashes with the police if necessary,” according to reports in the Guardian newspaper.

In the video the men threatening to bomb resorts. The threat of terrorism could seriously undermine the country’s tourism industry, which would be disastrous for the local economy.

The Maldives in the Indian Ocean is sold has a holiday paradise to the world’s wealthy. In 2014, Prince William and Kate Middleton rented out the five-star Cheval Blanc Randheli resort on the Noonu Atoll, on the northwest of the Maldives archipelago.

Famous for its pristine, palm-fringed beaches and warm, azure waters, it is a top destination for luxury, long-haul tourism but that could soon change in the event of attacks, in the same way as Tunisia – popular with package tourists from Europe – has been targeted by Islamic militants.

This could be a hammer blow to the islands’ economy that is heavily dependent on tourism, which accounts for 28% of the economy and more than 60% of foreign exchange. All of the island’s infrastructure development is led by tourism revenues.

The video is the latest and most high profile action by Isis on the archipelago’s 1,200 atolls, but Islamists have been active here for some time and many jihadis have left to fight in Syria. It is estimated that between 50 and 100 of the country’s 300,000 strong citizens have so far left to pursue jihad.

The threat of terrorism is not solely a domestic issue. The first departures of Maldivians to Syria were reported in 2013 and so far at least five citizens have been killed there. There are fears that they could travel further afield; several countries, including the UK, do not require entry visas from Maldives residents.

“There are serious concerns,” said one western diplomat in the region. “The risk is either of an attack locally or someone coming to Europe or even going on to the US.”

Endemic poverty and deprivation may be behind local radicalisation. Some of those travelling to Syria came from poor fishing communities on outlying islands; others came from the capital which features a mix of radical preaching, organised crime and social deprivation.

Democratic elections in 2008 ended three decades of autocratic rule, but have brought political instability in their wake. The World Bank has blamed the ease with which criminal gangs have recruited young Maldivians on “inactivity and apathy, unemployment, drug use and “the need for young men to prove their masculinity”

Violent attacks on so-called secular activists in the Maldives have been blamed on radicalised gang members. One blogger was badly injured in 2012 and a moderate cleric and parliamentarian stabbed to death outside his home. Gang members last year threatened local activists who ran blogs and Facebook pages calling for tolerance for homosexuals, and last August local journalist Rilwan Ahmed Abdulla was abducted and has not been seen since.

“Ahmed’s abduction was related to this radicalisation of the gangs. He was exposing and angering them. First they threatened him, then they disappeared him,” said Rilwan Moosa, brother of the journalist.

Moosa believes people in the west should pay more attention to local troubles. “This place is more dangerous than they think. It is becoming highly radicalised. This is not a paradise on Earth any more,” he said.

The Afghan government on Tuesday identified the presence of terrorist groups, particularly of the Haqqani network on the Pakistani soil “the main source of contention between the two neighbouring countries.

The declaration from the Presidential Palace in Kabul comes on the heels of a recent visit to Pakistan by United States National Security Advisor (NSA) Susan Rice.

The top security official reportedly warned Pakistani political and military leaders on Sunday that recent attacks in Afghanistan by militants based in the South Asian country threaten regional security.

Rice visited Islamabad amid tense relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan and warnings from Washington to hold back $300 million in military aid to Pakistan if not doing enough to combat the Haqqani network.

The latest Kabul attacks that killed more than 50 people and wounded hundreds last month came after the revelation of Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar’s death.

The Taliban recently confirmed their leader had been dead for two years, a revelation that derailed nascent peace talks between the Taliban and the government in Kabul.

The Presidential Palace in Kabul in a statement on Tuesday evening said Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s National Security Advisor Sartaz Aziz’s recent remarks that the structure of the Haqqani network had been dismantled on the Pakistani soil as a result of an ongoing military operation “is a repetition of decade-old assertions.”

Aziz on Monday said the Haqqani network’s infrastructure had been dismantled in the North Waziristan tribal region near the Afghanistan border.

He told a joint news conference with German Foreign Minister Dr Frank-Walter Steinmeier that the ongoing military action in North Waziristan was against all terrorists, including Haqqanis.

“Haqqani network is no longer present in Pakistan; they have shifted to Afghanistan after the recent military operations in the area,” he said, adding the infrastructure supporting the group has been destroyed.

The improvised explosive device factories and communication facilities of the dreaded organisation had been disrupted, he said, two days after the United States also renewed its call for concrete action against the Haqqanis.

The statement from the Presidential Palace said that documents and evidence showed “the leadership, administration, covert support and safe havens of the Haqqani and other terrorist networks exist on the Pakistani soil.”

It said the Afghan government always provided enough documents to Pakistan proving terrorist groups operated on its soil in order Islamabad could take action against them.

The statement said the international community had recognised that terrorist groups, particularly the base of the Haqqani network, existed inside Pakistan. “The latest move by the United States to make conditional the military aid to Pakistan in view of Islamabad’s action against the Haqqani network and other groups is a confirmation stamp on Afghanistan’s legitimate stance.”

The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan once again insisted that denying these facts weakened the war against terrorism and cooperation between the two countries on the path to stability and peace in the region.

The statement said Afghanistan was committed to regional peace and stability and renewed its call on Pakistan to deliver in an honest way on the pledges it had made regarding terrorist groups and once again urged Islamabad to take serious action against the Haqqni network.