Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Sept 24 (Reuters) - The Taliban's new defence minister has issued a rebuke over misconduct by some commanders and fighters following the movement's victory over the Western-backed government in Afghanistan last month, saying abuses would not be tolerated.

Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob said in an audio message that some "miscreants and notorious former soldiers" had been allowed to join Taliban units where they had committed a range of sometimes violent abuses.

ISLAMABAD, Sep 23 (APP): As Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to address the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) forum in New York this week, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged the international community to “spotlight the human rights abuses” of his government.

The address of the Indian prime minister is expected to outline “global issues” and list his government’s “achievements on the domestic front”.

ISLAMABAD, Sep 20 (APP): Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi left here for New York on Monday to attend the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

During his visit from September 21-25, he will participate in various high-level meetings and side events, and also deliver a talk at the prestigious think-tank Council on Foreign Relations.

The foreign minister will hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts and the UN leadership.

ISLAMABAD, Sep 19 (APP): The national tally of COVID-19 active cases recorded on Sunday were 63,909 with 2,580 more people testing positive for the deadly virus and 3,164 people recovering from the disease during the last 24 hours.

Seventy-one corona patients have died during past 24 hours, 61 of whom were under treatment in different hospitals and 10 of them perished in their respective quarantines or homes, according to the latest update issued by the National command and Operation Centre (NCOC).

ISLAMABAD, Sep 18 (APP): National Security Advisor Dr Moeed Yusuf on Saturday said India orchestrated hoax narrative and used Afghan soil to perpetrate terrorism against Pakistan.

The National Security Advisor wrote in his article published in the British online newspaper ‘The Independent’ said Pakistan has always supported dialogue and political settlement to end the war in Afghanistan, and was badly affected by war in Afghanistan.

The NSA raised the question of whether the world would repeat the mistake of leaving Afghanistan and the region.

ISLAMABAD, Sep 18 (APP): Prime Minister Imran Khan Saturday said that he had initiated dialogue with Taliban for an inclusive government in Afghanistan to include Tajiks, Hazaras and Uzbek ethnicities.

The prime minister, who paid a two-day visit to Tajikistan mainly to attend the SCO Summit met with the leadership of Afghanistan’s neighboring countries and including Iran, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

ISLAMABAD, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi has said here that the international community should continue engaging with the Afghan Taliban.

Addressing a press briefing Friday during his visit to Pakistan, the UN official said the UNHCR is engaging with the interim Taliban administration in Afghanistan on humanitarian matters, urging the world to do the same.

ISLAMABAD, Sep 17 (APP): United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (NHCR), the UN Refugee Agency, called for more global attention and funding support, to counter the impact of COVID-19 on forcibly displaced people worldwide.

The COVID-19 emergency tops the list of UNHCR’s top-10 underfunded situations in 2021, said a press release.

ISLAMABAD, Sep 16 (APP): As a United Nations report seeking an international inquiry into multiple human rights violations and abuses and deliverance of justice for people in Kashmir gathers dust, the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) continue to suffer in silence.

LAHORE, Sep 13 (APP): Former Australian batsman Matthew Hayden and former South Africa pacer Vernon Philander have been appointed batting and bowling coaching consultants for Pakistan men’s national cricket team for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.