Pak concerns over Indian role in Afghanistan not groundless: US

WASHINGTON: In an acknowledgement of Pakistan’s concerns over India’s presence in Afghanistan, US Special Representative James Dobbins has said Islamabad’s fears are “not groundless”.

The US diplomat, in an interview with the BBC Urdu Service in Washington, recognised the cross-border infiltration of hostile elements into Pakistan from the Afghan side.

Al-Qaeda leader Zawahiri is said to have ordered terrorist attack

Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri ordered the head of the terrorist group’s Yemen affiliate to carry out an attack, according to intercepted communications that have led to the closure of U.S. embassies and a global travel alert, said a person briefed on the case.

In one communication, Zawahiri, who succeeded Osama bin Laden, gave “clear orders” to Nasir al-Wuhayshi, the founder of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, to undertake an attack, the source said. McClatchy newspapers first reported the exchange on Sunday.

UK evacuates Yemen embassy staff amid threat

Britain’s Foreign Office says it has evacuated all staff from its embassy in Yemen due to increased security concerns.

The moves come shortly after the U.S. State Department ordered non-essential personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Yemen to leave the country following the threat by al-Qaeda that has triggered temporary shutdowns of 19 American diplomatic posts across the Middle East and Africa.

US terror alert fails to deter tourists to the UAE

The US embassy in Abu Dhabi and the consulate in Dubai are among 19 diplomatic posts that will remain closed till Saturday in response to a possible Al Qaeda attack in the region.
The list includes 15 of the 22 that were already ordered closed on Sunday due to the security fears, as well as four additional posts.

But the global travel alert issued by the US State Department on Friday, warning of the dangers of travelling to the Middle East during August, seems to have done little to dampen the tourism sector in the UAE, as it gears up for a busy Eid.

Zawahri vows Al Qaeda to free Aafia, Guantanamo inmates

DUBAI: Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri said the group would spare no effort to free Aafia Siddiqui as well as the hunger striking inmates at Guantanamo Bay, according to an audio recording posted on the Internet on Wednesday.

“The (hunger) strike by our brothers at Guantanamo unmasks the true ugly face of (the United States of) America,” Zawahri said in an audio recording posted on an Islamist website and whose authenticity could not be verified.

John Kerry expected to visit Pakistan on July 31

ISLAMABAD: US Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to arrive in Islamabad on July 31, sources told DawnNews on Monday.

Kerry had accepted an invitation to visit Pakistan, extended to him by Adviser to Pakistan's Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz during a meeting held on the sidelines of the 20th Ministerial Meeting of the Asean Regional Forum on July 2.