Pakistan's Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the government to lift a travel ban on former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, paving the way for him to leave the country while awaiting trial for treason and other charges. - Reuters
Russia and fragile ex-Soviet ally Tajikistan have begun large-scale military drills close to the Central Asian state's restless border with Afghanistan, a Tajik military official confirmed Tuesday. - AFP
Two weeks ago, Pakistani government officials and Taliban militants secretly met in Islamabad in an effort by Pakistani officials to pressure the Taliban to join the Afghan peace talks (Reuters). Pakistan’s threat to expel the Afghan Taliban from their traditional safe havens in Pakistan was not enough to compel the group to commit to the peace talks. A retired military officer in Islamabad who is close to the peace process said, “They (the Taliban) no longer need their Pakistan bases in the same way, so if Pakistan threatens to expel them, it does not have the same effect.” Officials and spokesmen from both sides deny the meeting took place. The Taliban continues to publicly state their disinterest in participating in the peace process. A member of the Taliban’s leadership council recently said, “They (Pakistani officials) have asked our representatives to bring more decision-making people to the next meeting ... to the meeting with U.S. and Afghan officials. This is their dream, but they will not be able to see our senior commanders.”
Google deletes app used by Pakistani intelligence officials to spy on India
Google deleted from its PlayStore an application called SmeshApp, a spyware tool capable of infecting smartphones and personal computers (TOI). According to CNN-IBN, the app was being used by Pakistani intelligence officials to snoop on Indian soldiers and gain access to troop locations and counterterrorism operations. The information was stored on a server based in Germany but was collected by a man based in Karachi. The CNN-IBN report also posits that there are 10 fake Facebook accounts used by Pakistani intelligence officials to communicate with unknowing Indian troops. After learning of the app’s use, Google deleted it.