Talks with Iranian President Fruitful : PM Modi

The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi has termed his talks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani as fruitful.
India and Iran on Saturday signed nine agreements in different areas after delegation-level talks between PM Modi and President Rouhani in New Delhi. 
The fields in which the agreements were inked include extradition treaty, Chabahar port, medicine and agriculture. 
In a joint statement, Modi said, he had a fruitful discussion with Dr. Rouhani on a wide range of issues of mutual interest. He said, the Iranian President's visit will further deepen and strengthen bilateral ties. 
Modi also said, both countries would like to see a prosperous and terror-free Afghanistan. He said, India and Iran are connected by common Sufi strain and want the region to be free of terror. 
The Prime Minister also thanked Mr Rouhani for providing leadership in developing Chabahar Port which is a gateway to Central Asia.
Both leaders also released a special postal stamp. Earlier in the day, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj called on the visiting dignitary and discussed ways to strengthen co-operation in energy, connectivity, IT, education, culture and people-to-people contact. 
The Iranian President was accorded a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhawan Saturday morning. He also visited Rajghat to pay tributes to Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi.
Rouhani will meet President Ram Nath Kovind and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu later on Saturday.
The Iranian President, who is on three-day visit to India, arrived in New Delhi last night after his stay in Hyderabad.

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Another Attack by US Shows Its Earnestness

The United States government has shown yet again that its resolve to fight terrorism is not just rhetoric but a serious preposition. US bombers have struck multiple Taliban targets in a new air offensive over the past four days in far northeastern Afghanistan near the China and Tajikistan borders.

Ever since Donald Trump has assumed charge as the President of US, he has repeatedly talked about fighting terror.

The Southern Command said in a statement that the strikes hit Taliban training facilities in Badakhshan province, preventing the planning and rehearsal of terrorist acts. The bombing also destroyed vehicles that it said the Taliban took from the Afghan National Army and were turning into vehicle-born explosive devices.

The strikes were carried out in part by a US Air Force B-52 Stratofortress, which dropped 24 guided munitions. The Southern Command, which oversees US military activities in the Middle East and Afghanistan, said it continues to carry out strikes against the Taliban and its support networks in Helmand Province in the south of the country as well.

Strikes and raids by US and Afghan forces have resulted in the removal of more than 30 million Dollars of Taliban revenue since the campaign began in November, 2017, the Command said.

US Defense Secretary James Mattis, defending the 16-year-old war in Afghanistan in a hearing by the House Armed Services Committee, said that the new US strategy of training and advisory support to local troops has the strong backing of NATO allies helping the effort.The number of allies in Afghanistan has actually grown to 41, he said.

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A Barbaric and Dastardly Act

The suicide blast that killed at least 95 people and wounded 158 others in Kabul is a barbaric and dastardly act. It reminds us that Taliban terrorism has not disappeared from the war-ravaged country Afghanistan completely. This follows the cowardly terror attack on the children and civilians in Jalalabad on 24 January.

India has strongly condemned the terrorist attacks in Kabul. The attacks have targeted innocent civilians and the wounded under treatment. There can be no justification for such reprehensible attacks. The perpetrators of these attacks and their supporters should be brought to justice. Indians stands in solidarity with the government and the people of Afghanistan at this difficult times of mindless violence and terror imposed on them.

The attackers drove an ambulance laden with explosives past a police checkpoint into a street that was only open to government workers. The driver passed through one checkpoint by claiming to be escorting a patient to the hospital. He set off the explosives at the second checkpoint. It happened near the old Interior Ministry building and offices of the European Union and High Peace Council.

Government offices, businesses, a school and a hospital are close to the site of attack. The vibrations of the attack could be felt several kilometres away.

Witnesses say the area - home to foreign embassies and the city's police headquarters - was crowded with people when the bomb exploded today. Plumes of smoke were seen from around the city. The International Committee of the Red Cross said the use of an ambulance was harrowing.

Just four days ago, explosions and heavy gunfire rocked Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel on Sunday killing at least 40 people. The victims also included a number of foreigners. The heavily-guarded luxury hotel was popular among foreigners and Afghan officials.

The siege started on Saturday night and lasted 13 hours. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack which saw more than 150 guests flee.

Witnesses said the gunmen were dressed in army uniforms, but it was unclear how many were involved. The government said three gunmen were killed while witnesses said four were involved and the Taliban said five.

The Intercontinental Hotel, an imposing 1960s structure set on a hilltop and heavily protected like most public buildings in Kabul, was previously attacked by Taliban fighters in 2011. While it shares the same name, the hotel in Kabul is not part of InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), which issued a statement in 2011 saying that "the hotel Inter-continental in Kabul is not part of IHG and has not been since 1980".

The assaults being carried out by Haqqani Network terrorists underlines the need to effectively deal with the issue of safe havens to terrorists in our neighbourhood.   

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US Indicts Pakistan Again for Terrorism Links

Ever since President Donald Trump has arrived at the helm, the United States has taken many steps against Pakistan, the scourge on the humanity, for harboring terrorism. The latest in the series is slapping of sanctions on four Taliban and two Haqqani network leaders for terrorist activities. This is again an indictment of Pakistan for its links with terrorism activities that has troubled its two neighbors – India and Afghanistan.

The US has said that Pakistan must work with the US to deny the terror groups safe haven on its soil and target their funding. All six have been designated as global terrorists by the US Department of Treasury. All property and interests in property of these persons subject to US jurisdiction are blocked and the US citizens are prohibited from engaging in transactions with them.

The four Taliban leaders include Abdul Samad Sani, Abdul Qadeer Basir, Abdul Baseer, Hafiz Mohammed Popalzai, and Maulawi Inayatullah, while Haqqani network leaders as Faqir Muhammad and Gula Khan Hamidi.

Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Sigal Mandelker said the Trump administration is targeting six individuals related to the Taliban or Haqqani Network who have been involved in attacks on coalition troops, smuggling of individuals or financing these terrorist groups.

He said the action supports the President Donald Trump's South Asia Strategy by disrupting terrorist organisations and publically exposing individuals who facilitate their activities.

This comes in the wake of a top commander of the Haqqani network along with two others being killed by a US drone attack. The drone struck a home near Pakistan's restive tribal Kurram agency bordering Afghanistan.Haqqani Network Commander Ehsan alias Khawari and two of his companions were killed during the strike. The drone strikes, carried out by US spy planes, targeted on the Haqqani Network hideout in the North .

US President Donald Trump had announced a new Afghan policy in August, in which Pakistan was accused of offering safe havens to agents of chaos.

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