Page 82 - Pakistan

Indian, Pakistani soldiers exchange sweets on Diwali along LoC in J-K

Indian Army exchanged sweets with their Pakistani counterparts on the occasion of Diwali on Sunday along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. However, there was no traditional exchange of sweets and pleasantries between the two sides along the International Border (IB), the officials said, attributing it to the tense situation following the recent ceasefire violations by Pakistan Rangers that left a Border Security Force (BSF) jawan dead. A BSF jawan was killed in Pakistan Rangers firing in the Ramgarh sector of Samba district during the intervening night of November 8 and 9, the first loss of life on this side after the renewed ceasefire was agreed upon by the two countries on February 25, 2021. Earlier, two BSF personnel and a woman were injured in cross-border firing in the Arnia sector of Jammu on October 26, while another BSF jawan was injured in a similar incident on October 17. BSF and Pakistan Rangers held two flag meetings on t

80 fishermen released from Pakistan arrive in Gujarat, reunite with kin

Eighty fishermen released from a jail in Karachi in Pakistan reached Vadodara in Gujarat by train on Sunday, from where they were taken to Veraval in the state's Gir Somnath district by bus to be reunited with their families for Diwali, an official said. The fishermen were released by Pakistani authorities on Thursday and were handed over to a team of the state's fisheries department at the Attari-Wagah border in Punjab the next day, an official release said. They had left the Gujarat coast at regular intervals in 2020 and were held by the maritime forces of Pakistan for allegedly fishing in that country's waters. Of the 80 fishermen who have been released, 59 are from Gir Somnath district, 15 from Devbhoomi Dwarka, two from Jamnagar, one from Amreli, all in Gujarat, while three are from the Union Territory of Diu, the release said. "All of them were caught in 2020. About 200 fishermen are still languishing in Pakistani jails. The freed fishermen will be able to celebrate Diwali wi

Taliban criticises Pak's decision to deport Afghan immigrants from country

Kharoti, in an interview with TOLO News, added that Pakistan should treat Afghan immigrants responsibly and allow them to return to the country of their own volition

IMF asks Pakistan to strictly implement anti-money laundering laws

IMF staff directed Pakistan to devise a clear policy to detect 'suspicious transactions' in tax crimes and asked to pass clauses for strict punishment in the upcoming finance bill

Pakistan court orders return of Nawaz Sharif's seized property, assets

An accountability court in Pakistan on Friday ordered authorities to release all properties and assets seized from former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in 2020. Judge Muhammad Bashir of the Islamabad accountability court heard the Toshakhana corruption case against the 73-year-old Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo who returned to Pakistan on October 21 after about four years of self-imposed exile in London, The Express Tribune newspaper reported. The judge issued an order to return all properties, vehicles, and bank accounts owned by the three-time former prime minister, which were seized in 2020 on the orders of an accountability court during a hearing of the Toshakhana case. More than 1,650 canals (approximately 0.8 sq km) of agricultural land, a Mercedes Benz car, a Land Cruiser, and other vehicles were confiscated by the three-time prime minister in 2020 after he was declared a proclaimed offender in the Toshakhana case, according to the report. The court had ordered t

Pak most vulnerable in South Asia to balance of payment crisis: Moody's

Pakistan and Sri Lanka have experienced significant BOP pressures because of very low exports and FDI, combined with much weaker policy management and higher political risk

Pakistan's Punjab provincial govt launches online portal for Sikh tourists

For the first time, Pakistan's Punjab government has launched an online hotel bookings and security services portal for Sikhs intending to travel to the province from India and other parts of the world for pilgrimage. Launched on Thursday, the 'Sikh Yatra Booking Portal', was termed as a "groundbreaking religious tourism programme" by Punjab's caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi. "For the first time, we have launched 'Sikh Yatra Booking Portal' -- a groundbreaking religious tourism programme designed to facilitate Sikhs eager to visit their holy places in the country," Naqvi told reporters here on Friday. He asserted that the initiative represents the first of its kind in Pakistan. "As part of this programme, Sikh pilgrims from across the globe can now conveniently make online hotel bookings through the Sikh Yatra Booking Portal," Naqvi said. "Besides, the visiting Sikhs will have the option to hire security services and arrange transportation as well with the added privilege of

Shortage of lamination paper results in pendency in Pak's passport printing

An acute scarcity of lamination paper, which is used in Pakistani passports and typically imported from France, has resulted in a sharp decline in the issuance of the key travel document in the cash-strapped country, media reports said on Friday. Thousands of Pakistanis, who need the green-coloured book, for travelling abroad for study, work, or leisure are stuck, with no end to their ordeal presently in sight, The Express Tribune newspaper reported. Quoting a senior officer of the passport office in Peshawar, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, the newspaper said, they could presently process only 12 to 13 passports per day as compared to 3,000 to 4,000 passports daily previously. The newspaper also quoted sources in different regional passport offices, who too, it said, were in the dark about a concrete timeline and that People may have to wait for another month or two. However, The Pakistan Observer portal quoted the Interior Ministry sources who said, The order for ...

Here is why Pakistan's citizens are unable to get their passports on time

Citizens across the country are at their wit's end as their hopes of studying abroad and moving out of the country have been affected

We raise issue of ceasefire violations along LoC with Pakistan, says MEA

Pakistan's recent ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LoC) and incidents of firing on the international border are a breach of bilateral agreements, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday. A BSF head constable died after sustaining injuries in unprovoked firing by the Pakistan Rangers along the international border in Ramgarh sector of Jammu and Kashmir's Samba district on Thursday. "Such incidents of ceasefire violations and cross-border infiltration, sometimes done with drones and with firing, are violations of bilateral agreements and we always raise and take up these matters with Pakistan," Bagchi said replying to a question on incidents of ceasefire violations by Pakistan. It was the third incident of ceasefire violation by the Pakistan Rangers on the international border in the last over three weeks. In a significant move aimed at reducing tensions, the Indian and Pakistani armies on February 25, 2021 announced that they would cease firing across the Lo

IMF urges Pak officials to tax agriculture, real estate, retail sectors

The recent demand was kept during an ongoing review of the USD 3 billion stand-by arrangement (SBA), Geo News learned on Thursday

80 fishermen released by Pak to be brought to Gujarat on Friday: Official

Eighty fishermen from different parts of Gujarat were released from a jail in Karachi in Pakistan on Thursday and a state government team from here has reached Punjab to receive them, a senior official said. They will be handed over to the state fisheries department team at the Attari-Wagah border on Friday afternoon, Gujarat Commissioner of Fisheries Nitin Sangwan said. "They belong to different parts of Gujarat. We will bring them to the state by train," Sangwan informed. "These 80 fishermen were caught by Pakistani authorities nearly three years back after accusing them of fishing in waters of that country. They had set sail from Gujarat coast at regular intervals in 2020. As per our records, there are 173 Indian fishermen languishing in Pakistani jails," said Jivan Jungi, national executive committee member of India-Pakistan People's Forum for Peace and Democracy, an NGO. In May and June, the Pakistan government had released nearly 400 Indian fishermen who were arrested under s

Pak decides not to back Taliban after it fails to rein in TTP group: Report

In a major policy shift, Pakistan has decided not to support the Afghan Taliban's case at the international level or extend any other assistance following Kabul's failure to neutralise the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terror group, according to a media report on Thursday. At the same time, Islamabad will no longer extend any special privileges to the interim Afghan Taliban government in a move that suggests a deterioration in relations between the two neighbours, The Express Tribune newspaper reported. The TTP, which has ideological linkages with the Afghan Taliban and is also known as the Pakistan Taliban, was set up as an umbrella group of several militant outfits in 2007. Its main aim is to impose its strict brand of Islam across Pakistan. Pakistan had hoped that the Afghan Taliban after coming to power would stop the use of their soil against Pakistan by expelling the TTP operatives, but they have apparently refused to do so at the cost of straining ties with ...

Pak's third ceasefire violation in 24 days injures BSF personnel in Jammu

A BSF personnel was injured in unprovoked firing by the Pakistani Rangers along the International Border (IB) in the Ramgarh sector of Samba district on early Thursday, a senior official said. The firing targeting Border Outposts in the district is the third ceasefire violation in 24 days by the Pakistani Rangers along the IB on the Jammu frontier. One BSF personnel suffered injuries and was evacuated to a local hospital, the official said. The injured personnel was later moved to the GMC Hospital in Jammu, he said. "During night intervening 8/9 Nov 2023, Pakistan Rangers resorted to unprovoked firing in Ramgarh area which was befittingly responded to by BSF troops," the BSP said in a statement. Ramgarh Community Health Centre Block Medical Officer (BMO) Dr Lakhwinder Singh one BSF jawan was injured in Pakistani firing and reported to the centre for treatment around 1 AM. Villager Mohan Singh Bhatti of Jerda said the firing started around 12.20 am and later escalated into big ...

Pak seeks $600 mn in loans from China banks to bridge financing gap: Report

Cash-strapped Pakistan has sought USD 600 million in fresh loans from two Chinese banks to bridge a big financing gap as it negotiates with the IMF for the release of the second tranche of a USD 3 billion bailout package, a media report said on Wednesday. Citing sources, The Express Tribune newspaper reported that the federal government was in negotiations with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and the Bank of China for a total loan of USD 600 million. Each bank has been approached for USD 300 million in financing. Negotiations are at an advanced stage and loans are expected to be received by next month, according to officials of the finance ministry. Ministry of Finance spokesman Qamar Abbasi did not respond to queries, the report said. Abbasi also did not respond to a query on whether Pakistan had sought another loan from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) of China. SAFE has already given USD 4 billion in loans that are rescheduled every year due

98% of China's aid to Pak is in form of less-than-generous loans: Report

As much as 98 per cent of China's development funding for its all-weather ally Pakistan came in the form of less-than-generous loans, with only two per cent coming in the form of grants between 2000 and 2021, according to a research report. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a global infrastructure and investment initiative by Beijing, was launched in 2013. It is thought to be the largest partnership of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It increased to over USD 62 billion over time, and at least USD 25 billion was invested in cash-strapped Pakistan. Out of the total Chinese development finance portfolio of USD 70.3 billion, committed between 2000 and 2021 in Pakistan, eight per cent was official development assistance (grants and highly concessional loans) and 89 per cent was other official sector loans, said a report in The News International, quoting AidData, a US-based research lab. With USD 14.0 billion in finance commitments, 2017 was the top year for Pakistan;

Next Pak PM won't be from Lahore: Bilawal Bhutto's veiled dig at Sharif

In an apparent dig at PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has expressed his hope that the next prime minister will not be from Lahore and hinted that his party will contest the polls "on its own" in the February 8 general election. Former foreign minister Bhutto Zardari, 35, also clarified that his party PPP does not need to look towards anyone to emerge victorious in the upcoming polls, Geo News quoted him as saying. "When it comes to elections, we [PPP] only look towards the people of Pakistan. We do not look or pin any hope from anywhere elsethe PM would only become that person, who is elected by the people of Pakistan. And I understand that this time the prime minister of the country will not be from Lahore, he told reporters. Bhutto Zardari's comments came after PPP on Sunday won big in the by-polls held across 14 districts of Sindh and also weeks after a telephonic call between his father and former president Asif Ali Zardar

Pak deports over 6,500 more Afghans; total toll reaches 170,000: Official

More than 6,500 Afghan nationals left Pakistan through the Torkham border on Sunday, taking the total number of repatriated Afghans to over 1,70,000, border officials said on Monday. The voluntary evacuation has been going on since the government gave an ultimatum to all unregistered foreign nationals to leave Pakistan by November 1 after which action would be taken against them according to law. A total of 1,74,358 Afghan nationals left for Afghanistan since September 17, adding that voluntary repatriation was still underway, but the number was dropping with each passing day, the Dawn newspaper reported, quoting officials. "There was a huge number of illegal immigrants at the border crossing soon after the deadline expired. It is now coming down, an official involved in processing voluntary repatriation of Afghan nationals said. According to official data, 6,584 Afghans, including women and children, exited Pakistan on Sunday. On Saturday, 209 deportees from different prisons acr

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Militants attack Air Force base, 9 terrorists 'sent to hell': Pakistan Army

Nine heavily armed terrorists attacked a Pakistan Air Force training base in Punjab province early Saturday and all of them were "sent to hell", the army said, a day after 17 soldiers were killed in three separate terror strikes in the country. The Mianwali Training Air Base of Pakistan Air Force was attacked by nine terrorists, the Pakistan Army said in a statement, confirming that three some damage was done to three already phased-out non-operational aircraft during the attack. The military confirmed that the combing and clearance operation at PAF Training Airbase Mianwali has been concluded and all nine terrorists have been sent to hell. The operation was launched to eliminate any potential threat in the surrounding area following the cowardly and failed terrorist attack on the base this morning, the statement said. The army said while no damage had been done to any of the PAF's functional operational assets, some damage was done to three already phased-out non-operational aircr