Pakistan has lodged a protest with Afghanistan's authorities over Tuesday’s terrorist assault in Dera Ismail Khan district, in which suicide attackers killed at least 26 soldiers and wounded more than 30.
An affiliate of the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack, one of the deadliest in the country. The TTP has strong links to the Afghan Taliban, who rule Afghanistan, and the attack occurred in a region near the two countries' border.
Islamabad has demanded that the Afghan Taliban take action to eliminate militant hideouts in Afghanistan's territory and hand over TTP leaders wanted for terrorist attacks.
But analysts say the previous government in Pakistan made a mistake when it held peace talks with the TTP, as the discussions gave the militants a chance to reorganise themselves.
Jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's Tehreek-e-Insaf party was seen as seeking closer ties with the TTP.
“Several key commanders of the TTP were released and numerous of its militants returned to their native areas in Pakistan as a result of those talks,” political analyst Dr Khadim Hussain told The National.
Dr Hussain is the former managing director of the Bacha Khan Trust Education Foundation research organisation.
“The parliament had very limited role in those peace talks. And when the talks failed, we witnessed its harmful consequences," he said.
The attacks come as Pakistan prepares to hold its general elections in February.
Dr Hussain said it would be an injustice if voting is delayed because of the unrest.
He said in the year 2008, the security situation was also very fragile, but elections were still held.
“If decisive action is not taken against the militants, such attacks would continue even after the elections,” he warned.
Dr Sarfraz Khan, a former director of Area Study Centre at Peshawar University, said the chances of an election could be affected by a surge in violence.
“I won’t link the Dera Ismail Khan blast to the coming elections but such incidents are a result of our country’s wrong policies. However, if bad incidents continue, then the coming elections may also be affected,” he said.
“The Taliban government in Afghanistan has also emboldened the militants fighting against Pakistani security forces. Terrorist incidents have increased since the Taliban formed a government in Kabul.”
Gun-and-bomb attack
Zeeshan Khan, chief of the police station in Daraban, told The National that the attackers comprised two suicide bombers and four others, all of them using sophisticated weapons.
“First they rammed the explosive-laden vehicle into the boundary wall of the army base, causing a huge blast that not only damaged the army base but also affected our police station," he said.
"After the vehicle blast, two bombers also detonated explosives around their bodies. The remaining terrorists entered the premises and started firing.”
The army base had been established in a school building, adjacent to the police station.
“Most of the casualties happened due to the blasts and firing by the militants. According to estimates of the area’s bomb disposal squad, about 100kg explosives were used in the attack,” he said.
Khalid Jan, a resident of the area, said the blasts have caused fears among the residents and also damaged nearby buildings.
“The window panes of houses were broken as a result of the blasts. One family living close the attack scene left the home as their house building developed cracks,” he said.
The attack was claimed by the Tehreek-e-Jihad-e-Pakistan (TJP).
TJP spokesman Mullah Mohammad Qasim said a group of its suicide bombers stormed the military compound at around 3am. It named one of the attackers as Maulvi Hassan Gandapur.
A security official who asked not to be named told The National that analysis would show the Tehreek-e-Jihad-e-Pakistan is part of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, carrying a different name.
“They use the name of TTP whenever they like so, and sometimes they claim an incident by the name of TJP when it suits them,” he said.
He said the name of TJP was created because the Afghan Taliban face criticism whenever the TTP stages attack in Pakistan, since its militants mostly hide in Afghan border areas.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Results
Stage 7:
1. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal - 3:18:29
2. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - same time
3. Phil Bauhaus (GER) Bahrain Victorious
4. Michael Morkov (DEN) Deceuninck-QuickStep
5. Cees Bol (NED) Team DSM
General Classification:
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 24:00:28
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:35
3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:02
4. Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:42
5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
The five pillars of Islam
Zayed Sustainability Prize
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Day 3 stumps
New Zealand 153 & 249
Pakistan 227 & 37-0 (target 176)
Pakistan require another 139 runs with 10 wickets remaining
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Two products to make at home
Toilet cleaner
1 cup baking soda
1 cup castile soap
10-20 drops of lemon essential oil (or another oil of your choice)
Method:
1. Mix the baking soda and castile soap until you get a nice consistency.
2. Add the essential oil to the mix.
Air Freshener
100ml water
5 drops of the essential oil of your choice (note: lavender is a nice one for this)
Method:
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The years Ramadan fell in May
AIR
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RESULT
Bayern Munich 5 Eintrracht Frankfurt 2
Bayern: Goretzka (17'), Müller (41'), Lewandowski (46'), Davies (61'), Hinteregger (74' og)
Frankfurt: Hinteregger (52', 55')
Dark Souls: Remastered
Developer: From Software (remaster by QLOC)
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Price: Dh199
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
MATCH INFO
First Test at Barbados
West Indies won by 381 runs
Second Test at Antigua
West Indies won by 10 wickets
Third Test at St Lucia
February 9-13
Country-size land deals
US interest in purchasing territory is not as outlandish as it sounds. Here's a look at some big land transactions between nations:
Louisiana Purchase
If Donald Trump is one who aims to broker "a deal of the century", then this was the "deal of the 19th Century". In 1803, the US nearly doubled in size when it bought 2,140,000 square kilometres from France for $15 million.
Florida Purchase Treaty
The US courted Spain for Florida for years. Spain eventually realised its burden in holding on to the territory and in 1819 effectively ceded it to America in a wider border treaty.
Alaska purchase
America's spending spree continued in 1867 when it acquired 1,518,800 km2 of Alaskan land from Russia for $7.2m. Critics panned the government for buying "useless land".
The Philippines
At the end of the Spanish-American War, a provision in the 1898 Treaty of Paris saw Spain surrender the Philippines for a payment of $20 million.
US Virgin Islands
It's not like a US president has never reached a deal with Denmark before. In 1917 the US purchased the Danish West Indies for $25m and renamed them the US Virgin Islands.
Gwadar
The most recent sovereign land purchase was in 1958 when Pakistan bought the southwestern port of Gwadar from Oman for 5.5bn Pakistan rupees.
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%3Cp%3EEncourage%20innovation%20in%20the%20metaverse%20field%20and%20boost%20economic%20contribution%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EDevelop%20outstanding%20talents%20through%20education%20and%20training%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EDevelop%20applications%20and%20the%20way%20they%20are%20used%20in%20Dubai's%20government%20institutions%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAdopt%2C%20expand%20and%20promote%20secure%20platforms%20globally%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EDevelop%20the%20infrastructure%20and%20regulations%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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Rating: 5/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
