Page 37 - Pakistan

Pakistan appoints Shafqat Ali Khan as foreign ministry spokesperson

Pakistan has appointed senior diplomat Shafqat Ali Khan as the new spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a media report said Wednesday. Shafqat, currently serving as Additional Foreign Secretary for Europe, previously represented Pakistan as an ambassador to Russia and Poland, The Express Tribune newspaper reported. He has extensive experience in diplomatic affairs. He replaces Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, who has been serving as the Foreign Office spokesperson since Nov 2022. According to media reports, Baloch is likely to be appointed as ambassador to France.

Warring tribes in Pakistan's Kurram reach peace deal after weeks of clashes

A peace agreement was reached between two warring parties in northwest Pakistan's restive Kurram district after more than three weeks of efforts to broker a ceasefire amid sectarian violence, officials said on Wednesday. Representatives from the Alizai and Bagan tribes signed the 14-point agreement, agreeing to demolish all private bunkers and surrender heavy arms to the administration, said Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, spokesperson for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government. Sectarian clashes between the two tribes resulted in the killing of 133 people between November 21 and December 2. Tribal council member Malik Sawab Khan confirmed that 45 representatives from both sides signed the agreement, which included a ceasefire, commitments to dismantle fortifications and surrender their weapons. One party signed the peace pact few days ago while the other party signed it on Wednesday, Saif said. "We congratulate the people of Kurram on the signing of the peace agreement," he said, noting

Govt asks Pakistan to expedite release of Indian prisoners in its custody

India on Wednesday urged Pakistan to expedite the release and repatriation of 183 Indian fishermen and civilian prisoners in view of completion of their jail terms. In addition, Pakistan has been asked to provide immediate consular access to the 18 civilian prisoners and fishermen in Pakistan's custody, who are believed to be Indian, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. India made the request in the context of the exchange of lists of civilian prisoners and fishermen by both the countries as part of a practice to do so on January 1 and July 1 every calendar year under the framework of a 2008 pact. India has shared names of 381 civilian prisoners and 81 fishermen in its custody, who are Pakistani or are believed-to-be-Pakistani. Similarly, Pakistan has shared names of 49 civilian prisoners and 217 fishermen in its custody, who are Indian or are believed-to-be-Indian, according to the MEA. "The government of India has called for early release and repatriation of civilian ...

At least 3 killed in separate terror attacks in Pak's restive northwest

At least three people, including a child, were killed and 11 others injured in three separate terror incidents in Pakistan's restive northwest on Wednesday. A police constable and a labourer were killed and two others injured when unidentified militants attacked a police checkpost in Daraban area in Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at 1 am this morning, police said. In a separate incident, a child was killed and four others were injured when a bomb planted in a motorbike exploded in Azam Warsak area of South Waziristan district, police said. In another incident, at least five policemen were injured in an explosion caused by a roadside bomb in Mamaskhel area of Bannu district. On Tuesday, two policemen were killed and another injured in an attack by unidentified assailants in Daraban Kalan in Dera Ismail Khan district, bordering South Waziristan. According to an official report released on Monday, security forces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa killed 270 terrorists in 2024, .

Pakistan begins its two-year tenure as non-permanent member of UNSC

Pakistan began its two-year tenure as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on January 1, with Ambassador Munir Akram saying that the Pakistani delegation will play an active and constructive role in addressing key challenges facing the world. Our presence will be felt in the Security Council, Ambassador Akram, Pakistan's top diplomat at the UN, told state-run APP (Associated Press of Pakistan) news agency. From Wednesday, Pakistan will sit in the Security Council for the 2025-26 term as a non-permanent member the eighth time that the country has had a seat on the 15-member body's horseshoe table. In June, Pakistan was elected to the council with a massive majority as a non-permanent member, polling 182 votes in the 193-member General Assembly far more than the required 124 votes representing a two-thirds majority. We enter the council at a time of great geopolitical turbulence, intense competition between the two largest powers, raging wars in Euro

Kerala CM condemns Maharashtra minister Rane's 'mini Pakistan' remark

The Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday vehemently criticised Maharashtra Minister Nitesh Rane for calling Kerala a "mini Pakistan" and said his remarks were highly "provocative and condemnable". The Sangh Parivar's basic approach towards Kerala is exposed through the words of the Maharashtra minister, the CM said in a statement. The Sangh Parivar believes that they can isolate a place that's difficult for them to influence by alienating and spreading hate campaigns and these statements came as part of that, he said. A minister, who made the hate statement, does not deserve to continue in the position, Vijayan said. "It is surprising that the leadership of the country's ruling party is yet to react to the minister's act of serious breach of oath, which amounted to insulting the country's Constitution," he added. Later in a post on social media X, the Chief Minister termed the Maharashtra minister's comment as "deeply malicious & utterly condemnable". Such rhetoric .

BSF recovers 3 Pakistani drones from border areas in Punjab's Amritsar

The drones were recovered from Rajatal village in Amritsar, Punjab, and were effectively neutralised using advanced technical countermeasures

Taliban vs Pakistan: Why are they fighting?

Tensions are escalating along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border following deadly clashes between Afghan Taliban forces and Pakistan’s military. Watch the video to know the reason behind the conflict.

Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission gets licence for largest nuclear plant

Pakistan is set to construct its largest nuclear plant for electricity generation after the country's atomic energy regulatory agency issued the licence for it. The Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA) issued the licence to build Chashma Nuclear Power Plant Unit 5 (C-5, the largest plant producing electricity through nuclear power with a capacity of 1200 MWe, according to a PNRA press release issued on Thursday. The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission applied for the licence in April of this year, along with the Preliminary Safety Assessment Report and other documents about the design and operational aspects of nuclear safety, radiation protection, emergency preparedness, waste management, and nuclear security, the Dawn newspaper reported. After a thorough review and assessment of and fulfilment of regulatory requirements in compliance with the relevant national and international standards, the licence was issued, the PNRA press release stated. C-5 is an advanced ...

Pakistan 2024: Troubled ties with neighbours, economic woes and Imran Khan

Pakistan was haunted by political uncertainty, economic instability, a deteriorating security situation and troubled relations with neighbours in 2024. But what defined the year were not just these perennial ills but the country's inability to tackle incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan. Amid political turbulence, Pakistan hosted a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) conclave, which was also attended by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar -- the first high-ranking Indian minister in nearly a decade to visit Islamabad amid frosty ties between the two neighbours. The last Indian foreign minister to visit Pakistan was Sushma Swaraj. She had travelled to Islamabad to attend the 'Heart of Asia' conference on Afghanistan in December 2015. In his address at the SCO event, Jaishankar said, "If friendship has fallen short and good neighbourliness is missing somewhere, there are surely reasons to introspect and causes to address." He also said if activities across borders are

Pakistan solider killed, 11 wounded in firing by Afghan Taliban forces

A Pakistan paramilitary soldier has been killed and 11 others injured in firing by the Afghan Taliban forces at the border posts of Pakistan troops, days after strikes by Pakistan targeted the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) militants. According to defence sources, the Afghan troops resorted to unprovoked fire on multiple Pakistani border posts in the Upper Kurram district on Saturday morning. They fired at posts in Ghozgarhi, Matha Sangar, Kot Ragha and Tari Mengal areas using both light and heavy weaponry, sources said. Pakistani forces retaliated, inflicting significant losses on the other side as seven to eight personnel of the Afghan forces were killed in the exchange of fire, sources added. However, in the fire exchange, a Frontier Constabulary (FC) soldier was killed and 11 others were injured. The incident of firing occurred days after Pakistan targeted terrorist positions in Paktika province of Afghanistan to punish the banned TTP militants, allegedly using Afghan soil to

Days after Pak airstrike, Afghan Taliban targets several points in Pakistan

The statement, which was released by Taliban did not directly specify that Pakistan was hit, but said the attacks were conducted "beyond the "hypothetical line"

Pak village mourns Manmohan Singh's death, says 'like loss in the family'

: The entire village is in mourning. We feel that someone from our family has died today, Altaf Hussain told PTI as a group of local residents held a meeting to condole the death of village boy Manmohan who became prime minister next door. Hussain is a teacher at the same school in Gah village where Manmohan Singh studied up to class 4. His father Gurmukh Singh was a cloth merchant and his mother Amrat Kaur a homemaker. His friends called him Mohna'. The village lies about 100 km southwest of capital Islamabad and was part of Jhelum district when Singh was born. But it was included in Chakwal when it was made a district in 1986. Surrounded by lush green fields, the place can be reached from M-2 motorway linking Islamabad to Lahore, as well as from Chakwal city. The former prime minister died at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi on Thursday night. He was 92. Raja Ashiq Ali, nephew of Raja Muhammad Ali, a schoolmate who travelled to Delhi in 2008 to me

Pak army officer dies, 13 terrorists killed in 3 ops in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

A Pakistani army officer died and 13 terrorists were killed in three separate operations conducted by security forces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the military's media wing has said. All the operations took place in the early hours of Thursday, it said. In the first operation, security forces targeted terrorists in the Jani Khel area of Bannu district, killing two terrorists. A second operation in North Waziristan resulted in the neutralisation of five terrorists, with eight others injured. However, Major Muhammad Awais, 31, was killed in the gun battle. In the third operation, security forces engaged terrorists in South Waziristan, killing six and injuring eight others. The military emphasised its commitment to eliminating terrorism, saying, "Sanitisation operations are being carried out to eliminate any other kharji (militants) found in the area...such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve." According to recent statistics from the interior ministry,

Afghanistan summons Pakistani envoy over airstrikes in Paktika province

Pakistani side has been clearly informed that protecting Afghanistan's national sovereignty is a red line for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan

Pak airstrikes kill 46 in Afghanistan; mostly women, children: Taliban

Pakistan's airstrikes on eastern Afghanistan killed 46 people, mostly women and children, a Taliban government official said Wednesday. Hamdullah Fitrat, the deputy spokesman for the Afghan government, said that six people were also wounded in the Paktika province bordering Pakistan. This comes a day after Pakistani security officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity in line with regulations, told The Associated Press that Tuesday's operation was to dismantle a training facility and kill insurgents in the province of Paktika in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, in a statement, Mohammad Khurasani, the spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, claimed that 50 people, including 27 women and children, have died in the strikes. Residents in the area told an AP reporter over the phone that at least 13 people were left dead, adding that the death toll could be higher. They also said the wounded were transported to a local hospital. Pakistan has not commented on the .

Pakistan airstrikes 7 Afghan villages, killing 15: Here’s why

On December 24, Pakistan carried out rare air strikes inside Afghanistan, hitting 7 villages and killing atleast 15 people. Watch the video to know the reason behind Pakistan's move.

US expresses concern over sentencing of 25 civilians by Pak military court

Expressing concern over the sentencing of 25 civilians by a military court in Pakistan, the United States on Monday said it lacked judicial independence, transparency and due process guarantees. The United States is deeply concerned that Pakistani civilians have been sentenced by a military tribunal for their involvement in protests on May 9, 2023. These military courts lack judicial independence, transparency, and due process guarantees, said State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller. The United States continues to call on Pakistani authorities to respect the right to a fair trial and due process, as enshrined in Pakistan's constitution, he added. However, a close aide of President-elect Donald Trump described it as too little and too weak. You are late. And this is too little and too weak. Speak normally. Free Imran Khan, said Richard Grenell, who served as acting director of national intelligence under President Trump in 2020 and was the US ambassador to Germany from 2018 to

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Pak govt forms panel to negotiate with jailed ex-PM Imran Khan's party

The PTI welcomed the formation of the government committee for negotiations, calling it a "positive step"