Page 148 - Pakistan

Turkey assisted Pakistan in setting up secret cyber-army against US, India

Turkey has secretly helped Pakistan in setting up a cyber-army camouflaged under the bilateral agreement which was used for domestic political goals as well as directed to attack the US and India

No place for Pakistani thinking in New Kashmir, says BJP leader

The Kashmir unit of BJP celebrated 'Accession Day' at the party office in Rajbagh on Wednesday in the presence of many senior leaders and party workers

Pak drops ISI representative from team probing journalist's death in Kenya

The Pakistan government on Wednesday reconstituted a panel probing the killing of senior journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya by dropping an ISI representative from the team, days after he was shot dead by the Nairobi police. Sharif, 49, a former reporter and TV anchor with ARY TV, and known for his proximity to former prime minister Imran Khan, had fled to Kenya after he was booked on charges of sedition and peddling anti-state narrative by Pakistan's security agencies earlier this year. The journalist was shot dead at a police checkpoint at an hour's distance from Nairobi on Sunday night. The Kenyan police later said it was a case of mistaken identity during a search for a similar car involved in a child abduction case. On Wednesday, the Interior Ministry removed a representative of the Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) from the list of officials who will be part of the team that will ascertain facts in the killing of Sharif from the Kenyan Police and relevant authorities. The minist

Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif to meet Chinese President Xi on China visit next week

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will embark on a two-day visit to China next week and meet President Xi Jinping during which they will review the all-weather strategic cooperation partnership and exchange views on regional and global developments, the foreign ministry said here on Wednesday. Sharif will be among the first foreign leaders to visit China following the recently-concluded historic 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in which President Xi won an unprecedented third five-year term in power. Sharif's trip to China comes at a time when cash-strapped Pakistan is making all efforts to arrange billions of dollars for payment of debts and bridge trade deficit. Pakistan owes Paris Club countries a combined sum of around USD 10.7 billion. The Paris Club is a group of officials from major creditor nations whose role is to find coordinated and sustainable solutions to the payment difficulties experienced by debtor countries. According to the International

Pakistan brings home body of journalist Arshad Sharif killed in Kenya

A plane carrying the body of an outspoken Pakistani journalist who was shot and killed by Nairobi police while living in hiding in Kenya touched down at an airport in Islamabad just after midnight Wednesday, officials said. Arshad Sharif was killed Sunday night when the car he was in sped up and drove through a checkpoint outside the Kenyan capital and police opened fire. Nairobi police expressed regret over the incident, saying it was a case of mistaken identity during a search for a similar car involved in a child abduction case. Sharif was traveling with another Pakistani resident, Khurram Ahmed, when their car failed to stop for reasons that remain unclear despite being flagged down at the checkpoint. Police opened fire and laid chase. Sharif's car flipped over and he was shot in the head and killed. His family in Pakistan said Ahmed, who had initially been identified as Sharif's brother by the Nairobi police, was not a relative but that he was the driver of the car, according

Pakistan kicks off week-long nationwide anti-polio vaccination campaign

Pakistan has kicked off a week-long nationwide anti-polio vaccination campaign in an effort to prevent more children from falling victim to the crippling disease

Pak PM leaves for Saudi; to attend summit, hold talks with Crown Prince

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday left for a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia to attend a key investment summit and hold bilateral talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The Saudi Future Investment Initiative Summit, often referred to as Davos in the Desert' aims to lure in investors to the desert kingdom. The summit has been an annual feature since 2017. Confirming his attendance at the summit, the PM tweeted: The present state of the global economy needs new thinking and bold vision to overcome the irritants and forge new paths. There are serious concerns about the threat of global recession hitting the economies. The pandemic and climate-induced disasters have already put immense strains on developing countries. High time the world explored solutions to the deepening challenges through candid dialogue, Sharif said in the tweet. Sharif during his travel to Saudi is being accompanied by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and other officials and would try to convinc

Pakistan convinces Saudi Arabia to revive $12 billion oil refinery: Report

Pakistan has persuaded Saudi Arabia to revive a USD 12 billion state-of-the-art deep conversion refinery and a petrochemical complex in the country, a project that was shelved by the oil-rich Gulf Kingdom during the Imran Khan regime, a media report said on Monday. The development comes ahead of the visit of a delegation from Saudi Arabia led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Pakistan next month. The Pakistan government has made efforts to persuade Saudi Arabia to honour the MoUs signed three years ago and invest in Pakistan, The News reported. In 2019, Crown Prince Mohammed visited Pakistan when Khan was the prime minister, and signed MoUs for an investment of USD 21 billion, including the project of a deep conversion refinery and petrochemical complex with an investment of USD 12 billion. Subsequently, when Khan tried to cobble up a bloc of Islamic countries with the consent of Turkey and Malaysia, outside the ambit of the Saudi-dominated Organisation of Islamic Cooperation

With stagnating flood water, Pakistan's Sindh districts face termite attack

Due to the presence of stagnant flood water, Sindh's Dadu and Jamshoro districts are facing a termite attack, adding to the woes of the Pakistani citizens, media reports said.The situation arose as there was no action taken in the past two months to suck the stagnant water out in areas across district Dadu and Jamshoro in Sindh province, reported Geo TV.Termites have infested the wooden doors and windows, and have severely damaged homes across the two districts in Sindh. This also poses a significant risk of infrastructural deterioration along with an economic risk of loss of worth millions.To get rid of the dire situation, the flood affectees have urged the provincial government to resolve the issue by spraying termite killers across impacted areas in the districts.In the aftermath of the devastating floods in Pakistan, health facilities are reporting alarming levels of severe acute malnutrition among children in affected areas, UNICEF has warned.More than 1 in 9 children under five .

World Bank advises Pakistan to take internal steps for economic recovery

World Bank on Sunday advised Pakistan to take internal measures along with help from the international community by implementing economic reforms to recover from the cataclysmic floods

PM Modi lauds Kohli for spectacular innings in India's win over Pakistan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday congratulated the Indian cricket team on its win over Pakistan in the T-20 World Cup and lauded Virat Kohli for his "spectacular" innings. "The India team bags a well fought victory! Congratulations for an outstanding performance today. A special mention to @imVkohli for a spectacular innings in which he demonstrated remarkable tenacity. Best wishes for the games ahead," the prime minister tweeted. Kohli's magical 82-run knock engineered India's four-wicket win over arch-rival Pakistan in their blockbuster T20 World Cup face-off at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, packed with 90,000 boisterous fans, on Sunday.

World Bank advises Pakistan to take internal steps for economic recovery

World Bank Vice President for South Asia, Martin Raiser advised Pakistan to take internal measures along with help from the international community to recover from the cataclysmic floods

Pakistan requests China to rollover $6.3 billion debt maturing in 8 months

Pakistan has requested China to rollover its USD 6.3 billion debt that is maturing in the next eight months as part of its overall plan to arrange USD 34 billion in the current fiscal year to meet its debt and external trade-related obligations, according to a media report on Sunday. Another proposal was also under consideration to seek a fresh Chinese loan to repay the maturing bilateral debt during the fiscal year 2022-23, ending on June 30, the Express Tribune newspaper reported. The issue of rollover and refinancing of nearly USD 6.3 billion commercial loans and the central bank debt was discussed in a meeting between Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong and Finance Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Saturday, the paper said. The USD 3.3 billion Chinese commercial loans and USD 3 billion worth of Safe deposits loans were maturing from now till June next year, according to the Ministry of Finance officials. The Safe deposit is on the balance sheet of the central bank. In additi

Anti-Pakistan protest held in Paris to mark Oct 22 as 'Black Day'

Members of the Indian diaspora in France, along with friends of India, took to the streets in large numbers to demonstrate outside the Pakistan embassy in Paris to demand peace in Kashmir

Pakistan, China to launch three new CPEC-like corridor projects: Report

Pakistan and China are set to start three new corridors in November, in addition to the multiple billion dollars China Pakistan Economic Corridor, to strengthen bilateral ties

Former Pak PM Imran Khan to announce date for the mega protest next week

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday said he will announce the date for his much-publicised mega protest next week to press for the dissolution of the National Assembly and announce snap polls in the country. Khan, 70, was disqualified on Friday by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for failing to inform it about the money he received after selling the state gifts, also known as the Toshakhana case. Khan made the comments while addressing a press conference along with Senator Azam Swati, who was granted bail by a local court in a case about his controversial tweet against Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa. I will announce the date of the long march on either Thursday or Friday, he said.

Economic distortions hold back economic growth of Pakistan, says World Bank

The World Bank said that economic distortions hold back the economic growth of Pakistan

Pak PM Shehbaz calls Imran 'certified thief' after his disqualification

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday tore into Imran Khan, describing the ex-premier as a certified thief, a day after his disqualification in the concealment of assets in the Toshakhana case. Khan, 70, was disqualified on Friday by the Election Commission of Pakistan for failing to inform it about the money he received after selling the state gifts, also known as the Toshakhana case. Addressing a news conference in Lahore, Prime Minister Sharif said Khan had been proven as a certified liar and a thief. He, however, cautioned that this was not a moment of happiness, but one of reflection. Talking about the gifts which Khan purchased at a discounted price from the state depository or Toshakhana and sold at hefty profits, Sharif said he should have auctioned the gifts and deposited the proceeds in the government treasury. He said that he too had once received a letter from the Cabinet Division about being able to buy a state gift after paying a certain amount. I answe

Imran Khan challenges Pak Election Commission's disqualification ruling

Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan on Saturday challenged in Islamabad High Court the top election body's decision to disqualify him from holding public office for five years in the Toshakhana case for hiding proceeds from the sale of gifts he received from foreign leaders. The 70-year-old cricketer-turned-politician lost membership of the parliament, as well as, barred from contesting elections for five years after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday found him guilty of hiding the proceeds from the sale of precious gifts. He filed an appeal in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) through his counsel Barrister Ali Zafar. Zafar appealed to the court to take up the case immediately for a hearing on Saturday. The IHC accepted the appeal but observed that the matter was not urgent to be dealt with on the same day as the application was filed and set the hearing on Monday.

Imran khan to face long legal battle in wake of disqualification verdict

Former prime minister Imran Khan will have to go through a gruelling legal battle to regain his political turf in the wake of his disqualification from holding public office for five years in the Toshakhana case for hiding proceeds from the sale of gifts he received from foreign leaders, according to a media report. Khan on Friday lost membership of Parliament, as well as, barred from contesting elections for five years after the Election Commission of Pakistan, the top constitutional election body, found him guilty of hiding the proceeds from the sale of precious gifts which he got as prime minister from different heads of states. However, there is confusion about whether the five-year disqualification would apply only to the five years term of the current assembly, or whether the disqualification period would start from the date of the verdict by the ECP. The tenure of the current national assembly began in August 2018 and would be completed in 2023. Khan already tendered his ...