Recent terrorist attacks in Pakistan – including several at mosques – have prompted Washington and Islamabad to strengthen collaboration in tackling the challenge of militancy, analysts have told The National.
US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin and Pakistan Army Chief Gen Asim Munir held a call on Tuesday night – an important development given the security situation in the South Asian nation.
It follows a string of statements from US officials saying they would stand by Islamabad following the attacks, which killed nearly 60 people in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
While a US readout of the call said they simply “discussed areas of mutual interest as well as recent regional developments”, the discussion comes after Pakistan renewed a 15-year security co-operation agreement in August, first signed at the height of the US-led war in Afghanistan.
The agreement had languished since 2020 and its renewal comes as Pakistan is once again grappling with security threats from its neighbour as well as battling its own branch of the Taliban. Islamabad's relations with the new Taliban regime in Kabul are also at a low point, with Pakistan accusing Afghanistan of harbouring militants and forces from both sides periodically clashing along the border.
Security co-operation between the two allies dates back to 1954, with recent developments including the US renewing maintenance contracts for Pakistan's nearly 100-strong fleet of F-16 fighter jets.
But the alliance has often been strained, particularly during the US-led war on Al Qaeda in 2001 and the invasion of Afghanistan, when Washington said Pakistan was not doing enough to control militants within its borders.
Pakistan, meanwhile, accused the US of carelessness in launching drone strikes in the northern part of the country, which are thought to have killed between 400 and 1,000 civilians since 2004.
Rustam Shah Mohmand, a former Pakistani ambassador to Afghanistan and veteran observer of regional politics, told The National that the US tends to support Pakistan in areas where their interests align, yet makes decisions favouring its own national interests when divergences arise.
“While the US and India both oppose China’s influence in international politics, the US, as a superpower, continues to support Pakistan to maintain its backing in the region,” Mr Mohmand said.
“Pakistan is also committed to its alliance with China because of their shared border and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project, due to which China is extending assistance to Pakistan from time to time.”
Of an estimated $65 billion in Chinese investments in Pakistan, about $62 billion is linked to the Economic Corridor project, which features road, rail and port megaprojects. Bilateral US-Pakistan trade reached $12 billion in 2022.
Mr Mohmand acknowledged the revived threat posed by ISIS, which has ramped up attacks in both Pakistan and Afghanistan, taking advantage of the chaotic situation following the withdrawal of western forces
ISIS has lost ground and support in the Middle East, where it controlled about a third of Iraq and Syria between 2014 and 2018, but has increasingly sought other regions of instability to make gains, including the Sahel region of Africa.
ISIS threat
Some now fear Pakistan is emerging as the movement’s next major campaign ground.
Sarfraz Khan, an analyst in international affairs, emphasised previous US support for Pakistan in the fight against terrorism. He cited the US coalition's support fund as an example of financial aid provided to Pakistan to combat militancy.
“However, Pakistan has failed to fully eradicate terrorists in the military operations,” he said.
Mr Khan said the US is not openly supporting the group, as it has not released Afghan Taliban government funds – the bulk of which remain frozen – “but the US may tacitly support the Afghan Taliban to counter Chinese influence in the region”.
For now, China has a number of investment projects in Afghanistan, but they are mostly long-term mining projects that could take years to bear fruit.
Mr Khan said that there was no differentiation between the Afghan Taliban and the Pakistani Taliban in terms of ideology.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani government has set November 1 as the deadline for undocumented Afghan migrants to exit the country. Pakistan has attributed several of this year’s terrorist attacks in the country to people originating from Afghanistan.
The country is facing an upswing in terrorist activities following the termination of a ceasefire agreement between the government and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan in the previous year.
Two days before Mr Austin’s visit, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the US was committed to collaborating with Pakistan to devise strategies aimed at strengthening the country's efforts to combat violent extremism.
Last month, US Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West identified the TTP as the most significant threat to regional stability. When asked about Pakistan's role in achieving US objectives in Afghanistan, Mr West called Pakistan a strategic partner.
Sui Dhaaga: Made in India
Director: Sharat Katariya
Starring: Varun Dhawan, Anushka Sharma, Raghubir Yadav
3.5/5
The five pillars of Islam
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
WHAT IS GRAPHENE?
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But when they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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The cost of Covid testing around the world
Egypt
Dh514 for citizens; Dh865 for tourists
Information can be found through VFS Global.
Jordan
Dh212
Centres include the Speciality Hospital, which now offers drive-through testing.
Cambodia
Dh478
Travel tests are managed by the Ministry of Health and National Institute of Public Health.
Zanzibar
AED 295
Zanzibar Public Health Emergency Operations Centre, located within the Lumumba Secondary School compound.
Abu Dhabi
Dh85
Abu Dhabi’s Seha has test centres throughout the UAE.
UK
From Dh400
Heathrow Airport now offers drive through and clinic-based testing, starting from Dh400 and up to Dh500 for the PCR test.
Voices: How A Great Singer Can Change Your Life
Nick Coleman
Jonathan Cape
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Who: France v Italy
When: Friday, 11pm (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports
Dark Souls: Remastered
Developer: From Software (remaster by QLOC)
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Price: Dh199
ENGLAND SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Jack Butland, Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope
Defenders: John Stones, Harry Maguire, Phil Jones, Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, Gary Cahill, Ashley Young, Danny Rose, Trent Alexander-Arnold
Midfielders: Eric Dier, Jordan Henderson, Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard, Raheem Sterling, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Fabian Delph
Forwards: Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, Marcus Rashford, Danny Welbeck
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Ukraine 2 (Yaremchuk 06', Yarmolenko 27')
Portugal 1 (Ronaldo 72' pen)
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
Bookshops: A Reader's History by Jorge Carrión (translated from the Spanish by Peter Bush),
Biblioasis
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch automatic
Power: 169bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh54,500
On sale: now
The specs
Engine: 2-litre 4-cylinder and 3.6-litre 6-cylinder
Power: 220 and 280 horsepower
Torque: 350 and 360Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh136,521 VAT and Dh166,464 VAT
On sale: now
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