Islamabad, April 22, 2012 The owner of the aircraft that crashed near the federal capital on Friday evening killing all 127 on board was detained on Saturday and barred by the government from leaving the country as speculations spread thick and fast about the airworthiness of the aeroplane, which is now being called a “flying coffin”. As the grieving families of those killed went about the painful task of identifying the mangled bodies and burying them, ...
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Islamabad, April 21, 2012 A private aeroplane with 127 people on board crashed near the federal capital on Friday evening just as it was approaching the Benazir Bhutto International Airport in Rawalpindi for landing. With over 100 bodies recovered five hours after the crash and given the condition of the dead, rescue workers were not hopeful of finding any survivors from among the 121 passengers and six crew members on board. The aircraft of Bhoja Airways, B4-213, was ...
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ISLAMABAD, April 8, 2012 Over 100 Pakistani soldiers guarding the frontiers on the Siachen glacier have been trapped under heaps of snow after a massive avalanche hit a military camp early morning on Saturday. Despite daylong searches, not one of the 117 soldiers was located but the Army has not given up hope, though condolence messages have begun coming in as prospects of survivors began fading with every passing minute. Click here for a PDF version of the graphic. ...
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DERA ISMAIL KHAN (PAKISTAN): Pakistani intelligence officials say dozens of French Muslims have been training with the Taliban in northwest Pakistan. The officials said on Saturday they were investigating whether Mohamed Merah, a Frenchman of Algerian descent suspected of killing seven people in southern France, had been part of this group. Merah traveled to Pakistan in 2011 and said he trained with al-Qaida in Waziristan. He was killed in a gunfight with police Thursday in the French ...
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NEW YORK: A Pakistani journalist and best-selling author cautions that Pakistan is heading towards anarchy in his new book that offers solutions for his country's frayed ties with the United States and how US peace talks with the Taliban is crucial in its exit strategy from Afghanistan. The writer, Ahmed Rashid, who frequents the dinner tables of the world's top leaders offering advice, gives a dire assessment of the region he has reported on for more than 30 years in "Pakistan On The ...
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ISLAMABAD: Prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani will call for Pakistan to be given "nondiscriminatory access" to nuclear technology for peaceful uses, including power generation, at the Nuclear Security Summit to be held in Seoul next week. Gilani, who will attend the Summit in Seoul along with foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar, will be among the lead speakers at an inaugural dinner being hosted by the South Korean president for heads of state and government in the meet. "The PM will make ...
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ISLAMABAD, March 23, 2012 In a telling statement on the growing intolerance, the State of Human Rights in 2011 report of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) shows that 389 members of various Muslim sects were killed last year. This includes 100 Hazara Shias in targeted attacks in Balochistan alone. By virtue of being the biggest non-Sunni Muslim sect in the country, Shias accounted for the largest number of those killed but, according to the HRCP report released ...
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ISLAMABAD, March 21, 2012 Pakistan's Central Board of Film Censors has banned the Saif Ali Khan-Kareena Kapoor starrer Agent Vinod scheduled to be released here on Friday along with its India opening. While the Board itself has not made any official statement, the reason being bandied about is that it contains uncharitable references to the ISI. Because of its star cast, Agent Vinod had begun trending on Pakistani media earlier this month itself with several news channels ...
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Mumbai, March 17, 2012 The Pakistan Judicial Commission, which is in India to record the statements of four witnesses in the November 26, 2008 terror attack here, was on Friday denied permission by the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's court to cross-examine the witnesses. Sources told The Hindu that such heated arguments ensued during the proceedings that India's Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam was questioned about his locus standi by the Pakistani commission in ...
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Islamabad, March 2, 2012 Without diluting its stated position on Kashmir, Pakistan on Thursday articulated a desire to recalibrate its relationship with India that has hinged on hostility till date. Arguing that three wars with and perennial hostility towards India had not achieved any results on outstanding issues, Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar made out a case for giving trade and peace a chance. Briefing mediapersons here on foreign policy initiatives, Ms. Khar ...
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KAMRA, Pakistan, February 20, 2012 Inside a high-security Air Force complex that builds jet fighters and weapons systems, Pakistan’s military is working on the latest addition to its sprawling commercial empire - a home-grown version of the iPad. It’s a venture that bundles together Pakistani engineering and Chinese hardware, and shines a light on the military’s controversial foothold in the consumer market. It all comes together at an Air Force base in Kamra ...
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Lahore-Wagah Border (Pakistan), February 14, 2012 Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on Monday undertook a historic visit to Pakistan through the Wagah border with the commitment to double bilateral trade in the next three years and remove trade barriers to share economic prosperity with its neighbour and facilitate people to people exchange. Walking into Lahore, Mr. Sharma, leading a huge delegation of Indian CEOs and officials, was given a warm welcome and ...
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Islamabad, February 13, 2012 Pakistan is not backing the Afghan Taliban and it is up to the people of Afghanistan to decide whether the militants should be part of any future government in Kabul, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said. It is up to the Afghans to decide the shape of the future dispensation in their country and Pakistan will only support any political reconciliation process that is Afghan-led and Afghan-owned, Mr. Gilani said during an interview with Al-Jazeera. ...
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ISLAMABAD, February 10, 2012 The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday dismissed the intra court appeal filed by Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani against the Apex Court's February 2 order asking him to appear before it on February 13 to be formally charged with contempt. The eight-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, passed the order after a marathon argument by the premier's counsel Aitzaz Ahsan that stretched over two days. Mr. Ahsan had ...
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ISLAMABAD, February 2, 2012 Pakistan on Wednesday dismissed the secret report of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), which again flagged links between the ISI and the Afghan Taliban, as “old wine in an even older bottle”. Interacting with journalists in Kabul after her meetings with the Afghan political leadership — including non-Pashtun leaders — Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar sought to disregard the reports on the ‘secret' NATO document, ...
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Islamabad, January 20, 2012 Pakistan’s former military ruler Pervez Musharraf on Thursday delayed his plans to return home from self-exile after warnings from the government that he would be immediately arrested on his arrival in the country. Leaders of Musharraf’s All Pakistan Muslim League told the media that he had delayed his plans to return to Pakistan later this month after consulting friends and party leaders. “Musharraf may not return to Pakistan this ...
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ISLAMABAD, January 14, 2012 (Tehelkanews) Pakistan’s top military and civilian leaders were set to meet on Saturday in a closed-door session to discuss new rules on coordinating with the United States and NATO, officials said. Islamabad’s uneasy alliance with the U.S. was brought to the brink of collapse by November air-strikes which killed Pakistani soldiers. The meeting could also provide an opportunity for reconciliation between the military and the civilian government ...
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New Delhi, May 30, 2011 (PTI) After a gap of three years, defence secretaries of India and Pakistan on Monday met here to discuss the long-pending Siachen issue. Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar is leading the Indian delegation at the two-day talks with his Pakistani counterpart Lt General (Retd) Syed Ather Ali. India and Pakistan decided to resume the talks last year after Prime Ministers of both the countries met in Thimpu and decided to take forward the dialogue process. While ...
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NEW DELHI, May 30, 2011 The sale was considered only ‘symbolically important' by the U.S., but had many strings attached The sale by the United States of F-16 military aircraft to Pakistan, announced in 2005, was celebrated as a sign of deepening strategic ties between Islamabad and the Bush administration in Washington. Described by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as an attempt to “break out of the notion that [India and Pakistan are in] a hyphenated relationship,” the decision ...
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CHENNAI, May 26, 2011 Of concern were claims relating to helicopter operations, radar maintenance and Joint Staff operations. The United States Embassy in Islamabad was extremely concerned about the misappropriation of money given to Pakistan as reimbursement of costs of fighting terrorist outfits such as al-Qaeda and the Taliban. A number of cables sent between 2007 and 2009 to Washington by U.S. Ambassador Anne W. Patterson called for a thoroughgoing review of the Coalition Support ...
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