With a narrow industrial base and dysfunctional politics, and a counter-productive national security agenda, Pakistan could well remain an "international migraine", writes T N Ninan
Pakistan Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Monday warned Imran Khan that he would be arrested if he dared to launch fresh anti-government protests, and blamed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief for indulging in the "politics of agitation." Sanaullah fired the salvo at the former prime minister while speaking to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) workers at a party convention in Multan in Punjab province, according to the Dawn newspaper. The minister's warnings come days after Khan instructed his workers and supporters to prepare for the Jail Bharo Tehreek' (fill the prison movement) against the federal government for inflicting custodial torture on his party leaders and delay in announcing fresh general elections. "I ask the people to get ready and wait for my call for 'jail bharo tehreek'. There will not be that much space in Pakistani jails to have them all," Khan, the 70-year-old former cricketer-turned-politician said during his television address from his Zaman Park residen
Pakistan's former military ruler General Pervez Musharraf's body will be laid to rest in Karachi, and will be brought back to the country on a special flight that will leave for Dubai on Monday, media reports said. Musharraf, the architect of the Kargil War in 1999, died on Sunday in Dubai after a prolonged illness. The 79-year-old former military ruler, who had been in the UAE since 2016, was undergoing treatment for amyloidosis at American Hospital Dubai. Musharraf's body will be laid to rest in Karachi, and will be brought back to Pakistan on a special flight that would leave for Dubai on Monday, according to the Dawn newspaper. However, the Pakistan government has not issued an official statement on the date or venue of the burial of the country's former president. Meanwhile, the Khaleej Times reported that the Consulate General of Pakistan in Dubai has issued a no-objection certificate (NOC) to repatriate his body to Pakistan. We are in touch with the family and the consulat
Pakistan is contesting the fiscal gap in achieving the primary deficit and urged the IMF for incorporating flow of reduction under the revised Circular Debt Management Plan (CDMP)
Pakistan's former military ruler General (retd.) Pervez Musharraf, the architect of the Kargil War in 1999, died on Sunday in Dubai after a prolonged illness. The four-star general, who ruled Pakistan in a dictator-style and passed away on Sunday at the age of 79, was born in Delhi. During his reign in power, he engaged with India on various crucial issues, including Jammu and Kashmir. Below is a timeline of his engagements with India: * August, 1943: Musharraf was born in 1943 in Delhi. His family moved to Pakistan after the partition in 1947. *June, 1964: Musharraf joined the Pakistan Military Academy. *October, 1999: Musharraf, the then Chief of Army Staff, leads a bloodless military coup, deposing the then prime minister Nawaz Sharif and installing himself as the head of the government in the capacity of Chief Executive. *June, 2001: Musharraf declares himself as the president of Pakistan after the incumbent, Mohammad Rafiq Tarar, resigns. *July, 2001: Musharraf and the then
The Pakistan government revoked the tariff through the one-sided agreement draft issued to the PoK (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir), as per the report in Siasat Edit
A Pakistan court on Tuesday said that PTI chief and former Prime Minister Imran Khan will be indicted in connection with the Toshakhana refrence case
Without a bailout package from IMF and support from others, India's neighbour will be pushed deeper into the abyss
Pakistani authorities on Wednesday arrested Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party senior leader Fawad Chaudhry, hours after he publicly censured the government for scheming to arrest party chairman Imran Khan. Fawad, a close aide of ousted prime minister Khan, was taken into custody from his residence in Lahore after a case was registered against him at Kohsar Police Station on the complaint of the Secretary Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). This imported government has gone berserk, PTI leader Farrukh Habib tweeted. An official PTI Twitter account also posted videos, showing a convoy of police vehicles which the party claimed was carrying Chaudhry after his arrest. The arrest of Fawad, 52, came amidst rumours that the government may arrest PTI chief and former premier Khan. Fawad's arrest comes after he, along with scores of party workers, gathered outside Khan's Zaman Park residence in Lahore, claiming to avert the government's alleged plan to arrest the party chief. The arrest o
The outage lasted for more than 16 hours, especially when temperatures were forecasted to fall to around 4 degrees Celsius (39°F) in Islamabad and 8 degrees Celsius (46°F) in Karachi
Pakistan faced a major power breakdown on Monday due to a "frequency variation" in the national grid, leaving millions of people in large parts of the country, including capital Islamabad and financial hub Karachi, without electricity. According to the Ministry of Energy, the system of frequency of the national grid went down at 7:34 am local time, resulting in the breakdown. System maintenance work is progressing rapidly, it tweeted. Energy Minister Khurram Dastgir said the restoration work was going on. "I can assure you that power will be fully restored across the country within the next 12 hours, he was quoted as saying by Geo News. Explaining the failure, he said the authorities shut down the power generation system at night due to lower demand in winter to save fuel costs. But when the systems were turned on in the morning, frequency variation and voltage fluctuation were observed in the south of the country somewhere between Dadu and Jamshoro resulting in shutting down of
Pakistan's mobile phone imports declined by 66 per cent in the first half of the current fiscal year 2022-2023, compared to the same period of the last fiscal year, according to official figures
The ship agents have forewarned the cash-strapped Pakistani govt that all export cargoes could come to a halt as foreign shipping lines are considering stopping services
Pakistan desperately needs breathing space and financial generosity, but India should not indulge it
BJP National President JP Nadda on Friday said "Pakistan has been isolated" and the world has understood where terrorism is emanating from
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan warned that the country could slide into Sri Lanka-like situation if "free and fair" elections were not held by the incumbent government
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that it was embarrassing for him to seek more loans from friendly countries, saying it was not a permanent solution for the cash-strapped country's economic challenges. Addressing the passing out ceremony of probationary officers of the Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS) here in the capital of Punjab province on Saturday, Prime Minister Sharif regretted that during the past 75 years, different governments whether headed by political leadership or military dictators could not address the economic issues. Sharif said it really embarrassed him to ask for further loans while lauding the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the financial support, Geo News quoted him as saying. He said that seeking foreign loans was not the right solution to address Pakistan's economic challenges as the loans would have to be eventually returned. The prime minister said that sustainable development goals (SDGs) could be achieved and foreign loans avoided had th
In a video shared on social media, some people riding a motorcycle are seen chasing a truck carrying sacks of flour, and people can be seen chasing the vehicle to buy the lot
Pakistan's Punjab Assembly on Saturday evening stood dissolved after Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman refused to sign an advice of Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi. Elahi on the "wish" of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan on Thursday had sent the advice to dissolve the assembly. As the governor did not sign the dissolution summary, it stood dissolved 48 hours (Saturday evening) from the time the CM sent it to governor as per the Constitution. The governor said in a tweet: "I have decided not to become part of the process leading to the dissolution of Punjab Assembly. I would rather let the Constitution and law take its own course. Doing so will not hamper any legal process as the Constitution clearly provides a way forward." The governor also invited CM Elahi and Leader of the Opposition in the PA, Hamza Shahbaz (son of prime minister Shehbaz Sharif), to start the process of the appointment of the caretaker chief minister. He asked them to submit their nominations by .
Prices of pulses are going up, thanks to the non-clearance of imported consignments at the port due to a delay in the approval of relevant documents by banks, Dawn reported