Page 46 - Pakistan

Protests in Pakistan after govt raises taxes by 40% under IMF bailout

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose coalition government has only been in power for seven months, is urging patience in a country that can no longer keep up

Vehicle used as IED in Karachi airport explosion carried 80kg explosives

Shah Fahad, a citizen, was listed as the owner of the car, ARY News reported, citing sources investigating the matter

Police identifies bomber responsible for explosion near Karachi Airport

According to the police, the attacker was identified as Shah Fahad registered the vehicle used in the attack under his name on September 5

Life returns to normal in Pak's capital, Imran Khan's party ends protest

Life was returning to normal in the Pakistani capital on Monday after the violent protest by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf supporters subsided in the wake of high drama involving the mysterious disappearance of the party leader Ali Amin Gandapur. Gandapur, the chief minister of the restive Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province in the northwest, is a mercurial PTI leader and confidante of jailed party founder Imran Khan. With shoulder-length flowing hair, a thick moustache, a broad chest and considerable height, he boasts a towering personality. Following Imran Khan's directives, he announced that the party will stage a protest at the famous D-Chowk of Islamabad in the heart of the city on Friday - the same venue where the PTI had organised a sit-in for 126 days in 2014. Leading a caravan of dozens of vehicles and overcoming road blockades and resistance by police, he finally managed to reach the capital on Saturday afternoon. After arriving in the national capital, he left his supporters and

Pakistan rules out bilateral talks with India during Jaishankar's visit

Pakistan on Monday ruled out talks with India on bilateral issues during the upcoming visit of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to Islamabad to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. India on Friday announced that Jaishankar would lead a delegation to Pakistan to participate in the SCO summit in Islamabad. However, Jaishankar ruled out chances of bilateral talks during his visit to Pakistan. Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that Pakistan will host the 23rd Council of Heads of Government of the SCO member States from October 15 to 16 in Islamabad. Responding to a query about the visit of Jaishankar and India-Pakistan ties, she said Pakistan has received an "intimation officially with regards to this visit" and it was ready to welcome all members. "Regarding your question about bilateral meetings, I would like you to refer to the remarks made by the Indian Minister for External Affairs on 5th of October, in which he maintained that his vi

Pak's anti-terrorism court sends 130 supporters of Imran's party to jail

An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan on Monday sent 130 supporters of former premier Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party to jail on judicial remand for attacking police personnel during a protest in Lahore. "ATC Lahore Judge Irfan Haider denied the police physical remand of 130 PTI workers and sent them to jail on judicial remand in as many as four cases related to attacking police and violation of public gathering during a protest outside historic Minar-e-Pakistan held on October 5," a court official told PTI after the hearing. He said the defence lawyers opposed sending the suspects to jail on judicial remand, requesting the court to release the PTI activists as the police have booked them in fake cases. "They argued that police failed to collect any evidence in the shape of CCTV footage... They said that was enough to expose their lies in these cases," he said. The court, however, sent them to jail on judicial remand. The police on Saturday arrested 130 supporters of Kha

Pak's separatist group claims bombing that killed 2 near Karachi airport

A massive blast outside Karachi Airport in Pakistan on Sunday killed two people and injured at least eight, officials said. Police and the provincial government said a tanker exploded outside the airport, which is Pakistan's biggest. But the provincial home minister, Zia Ul Hassan, told local TV station Geo that it was an attack targeting foreigners. A Home Ministry official told The Associated Press that it was an attack on Chinese nationals, one of whom was injured. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to the media. Thousands of Chinese workers are in Pakistan, most of them involved in Beijing's multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative that connects south and central Asia with the Chinese capital. Videos showed flames engulfing cars and a thick column of smoke rising from the scene. There was a heavy military deployment at the site, which was cordoned off. Deputy Inspector General East Azfar Mahesar told media that it seemed like it was a

Jaishankar's Pak visit will likely start better relation: Farooq Abdullah

National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Saturday expressed hope that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's upcoming visit to Islamabad for the SCO meeting would mark the start of a better relationship between India and Pakistan. India on Friday announced that Jaishankar will travel to Pakistan to attend a conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in mid-October. It is the first time in nearly nine years that India's external affairs minister will travel to Pakistan even as the ties between the two neighbours have remained frosty over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan. Pakistan is hosting the SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) meeting on October 15 and 16. "I am hopeful that they will be able to talk on every issue. Economic issues are very important for all of us, the world itself. And I am sure they will talk on bilateral matters also. "I hope they will be friendly and they will try to achieve better understanding

Islamabad on edge as Imran Khan supporters, police clash on streets: WATCH

Islamabad, Rawalpindi remained on high alert as clashes broke out between security forces and Imran Khan's PTI. The protestors demand Khan's release amid suspended mobile services and curfew

EAM Jaishankar to visit Pakistan to attend meeting of SCO this month

India on Friday announced that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will travel to Pakistan to attend a conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in mid-October. The announcement was made by external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal. The last Indian external affairs minister to visit Pakistan was Sushma Swaraj. She had travelled to Islamabad in December 2015 to attend a conference on Afghanistan. Pakistan is hosting the SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) meeting on October 15 and 16. "The external affairs minister will lead our delegation to Pakistan to participate in the SCO summit which will be held in Islamabad on October 15 and 16," Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing. The spokesperson clarified that the external affairs minister is travelling to Pakistan only to attend the SCO summit. In August, Pakistan invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the SCO's summit. Jaishankar's visit to Pakistan assumes significance as it is seen as a ma

CBI-monitored probe into Tirupati laddoo row, Jaishankar travels to Pakistan & more

In the Tirupati laddoo row, the Supreme Court today ordered a CBI-monitored Special Investigation Team to probe into the allegations of adulterated ghee being used in the laddoos.

Security increased in Pakistan ahead of protest by Imran Khan's party

Pakistan's authorities sealed off the capital Islamabad on Friday to foil a planned protest by the Tehreek-i-Insaf of former premier Imran Khan to show solidarity with the judiciary and increase pressure to release the former prime minister from the jail. The call for protest was given by a 71-year-old cricketer-turned-politician who has been incarcerated at the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi for more than a year. He asked his followers to converge at the iconic D-Chowk of the capital to register a protest. It is the same venue where Khan held a sit-in for 126 days in 2014 against alleged rigging in the elections. The government responded by imposing Section 144 in the city to outlaw all sorts of protests and gatherings and blocked all major entry points to the capital by putting shipping containers on the roads. Pillion riding was also banned for two days and the Metro bus service between Islamabad and Rawalpindi was suspended. Similar measures were also taken to stop protestors from

EAM S Jaishankar slams Pakistan: Watch his full address at UNGA

In his address to the General Debate of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said Pakistan's cross-border terrorism will never succeed

Bidding for Pakistan's national airline delayed to Oct 31: Officials

Pakistan's government has previously said it would sell between 51-100 per cent of the loss-making airline as part of reforms urged by the International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Pakistan cuts 150K jobs, dissolves six ministries as part of IMF deal

In an effort to minimise administrative expenditures, cash-strapped Pakistan on Sunday announced to abolish about 150,000 government posts, close six ministries, and merge two others, as part of reforms agreed upon with the IMF under USD 7 billion loan deal. The International Monetary Fund on September 26 finally gave a nod to the assistance package and also released over USD 1 billion as the first tranche after Pakistan committed to cut expenditures, increase tax-to GDP ratio, tax non-traditional sectors like agriculture and real estate, limit subsidies and transfer some fiscal responsibilities to provinces. Addressing the media on his return from the US, Minister for Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb said that a programme had been finalised with the IMF, which would be the last programme for Pakistan. We need to implement our policies to prove that it will be the last programme, he said, and emphasised that in order to join the G20, the economy must be formalised. The minister said ...

J&K activist slams Pakistan PM Sharif for his remarks on Kashmir at UNGA

Activist Beigh stressed that despite the lies peddled by Pakistan, the PoGB and PoJK areas rightfully belong to India

Pakistan government plans to privatise several institutions or shut them

Earlier on August 22, the federal cabinet approved the privatization of two departments under the Petroleum Division, ARY News reported

Seven labourers killed in terrorist attack in Balochistan's Panjgur

As per Dawn's report, the labourers were attacked while sleeping in the same room of the house where they were working

Kashmiri activist raises concern over persecution of minorities in Pak

His address comes as international scrutiny over Pakistan's human rights record, particularly regarding its treatment of minority communities, continues to grow

This is only 'karma': EAM S Jaishankar slams Pakistan in UNGA address

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said Pakistan's cross-border terrorism will never succeed and its actions will "certainly have consequences", stressing that it is "karma" that the country's ills are now consuming its own society. In his address to the General Debate of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, Jaishankar also said that the issue to be resolved between India and Pakistan is now only the vacation of illegally occupied Indian territory by Pakistan, and the abandonment of its long standing attachment to terrorism. Many countries get left behind due to circumstances beyond their control, but some make conscious choices with disastrous consequences. A premier example is our neighbour, Pakistan, he said. Today we see the ills it (Pakistan) sought to visit on others consume its own society. It can't blame the world. This is only karma, he said. Jaishankar said Pakistan's cross border terrorism policy will never succeed, and it can have no expectation