Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan Sign Defense Agreement
Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan signed a joint defense agreement that treats an attack on any of the countries as an attack on all three, the Pakistani foreign ministry said (Reuters).
According to Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan, the pact could also include joint defense industry projects and counterterrorism operations (NYT).
Pakistani Military Rejects UN Report Alleging Civilian Deaths in Afghanistan
Pakistan’s military rejected a “baseless” recent United Nations report that said Pakistani cross-border military operations killed nearly five hundred civilians and wounded over one thousand in Afghanistan between October and June; military spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry said Pakistan had targeted only hideouts and infrastructure used by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and that the operations were carried out in self-defense (AP).
Islamist Militants Kill Ten Police Officers in Northwest Pakistan
A drone attack and ambush by Islamist militants at a police post in northwest Pakistan killed at least ten officers, police said, the second such assault within a week; no group has claimed responsibility for the attack (Reuters).
Afghan Official Killed in Targeted Attack
Two armed attackers assassinated Zabihullah Amiri, the director of the Information and Culture Department in Badakhshan, the Afghan Interior Ministry said (Reuters).
Suicide Bombing in Pakistan Kills Fifteen
Islamist militants drove a vehicle filled with explosives into a Pakistani security checkpoint, killing fifteen people, including twelve soldiers, the military said; Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack, saying four suicide bombers took part (Reuters).
Pakistan Rejects Amnesty International Call for War Crimes Investigation
Pakistan rejected Amnesty International’s call for an investigation into Pakistani airstrikes on a drug rehabilitation center in Kabul on March 16, which killed at least 269 civilians and injured 122 others; Amnesty called the strike a “possible war crime,” while Pakistan described the operation as a lawful act of self-defense (AP).
U.S. State Department Issues Statement Supporting Pakistani Self-Defense
The U.S. State Department said that it “supports Pakistan’s right to defend itself against terrorist attacks,” following Pakistan’s airstrikes on Afghanistan (Reuters).
At Least Twenty-Nine Killed in Overnight Strikes on Afghanistan
Pakistan conducted overnight airstrikes in Afghanistan in response to the previous day’s militant attacks across Pakistan; Afghan officials reported that the strikes killed at least 36 civilians and wounded more than 160 others, while Pakistan reported that 29 fighters were killed (AP)
Three Pakistani Soldiers Killed After Militant Attack
Pakistan’s military said that three members of its paramilitary Rangers force were killed and four others wounded in fighting after militants launched an attack on the southern port city of Karachi (AP)
Pakistan Train Bombing Kills At Least Thirty
More than thirty people died in a suicide bombing on a train in southwestern Pakistan, officials said, in the latest attack claimed by separatist Balochistan militants (Reuters)
Taliban Meets with EU Officials in Brussels
An Afghan Taliban delegation met European Union officials in Brussels for the first time, which the EU has defended as a step towards making it easier to repatriate asylum seekers (Reuters)
Two Roadside Bombs in Northwestern Pakistan Kill Seven
Two roadside bombs in northwestern Pakistan killed at least seven people, authorities said; no groups immediately claimed responsibility, but suspicion is likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban, who have been blamed for similar attacks in the past (AP)
Afghanistan Says Its Airstrikes Hit Militant Hideouts in Pakistan
Afghanistan said it had launched airstrikes on hideouts of Islamist militants in two Pakistani provinces; Pakistan’s Information Ministry denied the assertion, saying that a “rudimentary drone” from Afghanistan had entered Pakistani airspace but was immediately shot down (Reuters)
Twelve Killed in Clash Between Pakistani Forces and Militants in Balochistan
Clashes with insurgents in Balochistan province killed five soldiers, including an army major, in addition to seven militants, the military said; an outlawed separatist group claimed responsibility for attacking the soldiers (AP)
Pakistan Increases Defense Spending by 18 Percent in New Budget
Pakistan’s finance minister presented the government’s new budget to lawmakers, which includes an 18 percent increase in defense spending amid regional tensions (AP)
Pakistan Air Strikes Kill Civilians in Eastern Afghanistan
Pakistan conducted air strikes targeting villages in Khost, Kunar, and Paktika provinces, which the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan confirmed killed 13 civilians and injured 10 others; Pakistan’s Information Minister claimed the strikes killed militants from Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (NYT)
Pakistani Strikes Kill At Least Twenty-Six in Afghanistan
Pakistan’s military struck militant hideouts along the Afghan border, killing at least twenty-six, Pakistan’s Information Minister said (Reuters)
Taliban authorities claimed that the strikes had killed at least thirteen civilians, including eleven children (Reuters)
Taliban Fire on Protesters in Herat Following Women’s Arrests for Hijab Violations
Taliban security forces fired on demonstrators in the Jebrail area of Herat city, where residents had gathered to protest the detention of women and girls by Taliban morality police for alleged hijab violations; at least two people were killed, and many more were injured, though fatalities were not independently verified (BBC)
Russia Says It’s Establishing “Full Partnership” with Afghan Taliban
Russia is establishing a “full-fledged partnership” with Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban and is encouraging other countries in the region to expand cooperation with Kabul, a senior Russian security official said (Reuters)
Pakistan Blames Afghanistan for Deadly Attack on Police
Pakistan blamed Afghanistan-based militants for a car bombing at a police post in the country’s northwest that killed fifteen police officers, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said (Reuters)
Pakistan summoned a senior Afghan diplomat to lodge a formal complaint over the suicide attack (AP)
Afghanistan Blames Pakistan for Cross-Border Attacks
Afghanistan accused Pakistan of carrying out attacks into its territory that hit civilian areas, killing at least three people and wounding fourteen; Pakistan’s Information Ministry denied the allegation on social media (AP)
Pakistani Troops Destroy Afghan Taliban Posts
Pakistan’s military targeted and destroyed several Afghan Taliban posts in what officials described as a response to “unprovoked aggression;” the attack came after a mortar shell fired by the Afghan Taliban hit a house in Balochistan province, killing one civilian and wounding two others, an unnamed official said (AP)
Taliban Accuses Pakistan of Striking University
Afghanistan’s Taliban government accused Pakistan of carrying out strikes in its border province of Kunar on Monday that killed seven people and wounded at least eighty-five at a university and in residential neighborhoods (Guardian)
Pakistan’s information ministry called the accusation a “blatant lie” (NYT)
Unnamed Afghan and Pakistani officials told Al Jazeera that the countries have been firing at each other across their shared border, even after a China-mediated ceasefire (Al Jazeera)
BLA Kills Three in First Attack on Pakistan Coast Guard Boat
Separatist insurgents ambushed a Pakistan Coast Guard patrol boat near the Pakistan-Iran border on Sunday, killing three personnel in the first militant attack on the maritime authority’s vessels in the Arabian Sea; the Balochistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility, calling the strike a new phase in its military strategy extending beyond land operations into maritime territory (Reuters)
China Brokers Afghanistan-Pakistan Pledge to Seek Conflict Resolution
China’s foreign ministry said that Afghanistan and Pakistan agreed during peace talks to pursue a comprehensive solution to their conflict, which erupted last October; both sides committed to avoiding actions that could escalate tensions, with Beijing pledging to continue facilitating dialogue (Reuters)