Rezaul H Laskar In Islamabad

Stories by Rezaul H Laskar In Islamabad

U-turn by Pak prosecutors in 26/11 case

U-turn by Pak prosecutors in 26/11 case

Rediff.com   12 Jan 2011

The Federal Investigation Agency has decided to pursue a petition filed in the Lahore high court to challenge an anti-terrorism court's decision not to declare Kasab and Ansari as fugitives.

Pak divided on lifting onion export ban

Pak divided on lifting onion export ban

Rediff.com   10 Jan 2011

The Pakistan government on Monday appeared divided over resuming onion exports to India with the Agriculture Ministry not averse to lifting the ban but the Commerce Ministry has some reservations.

Pakistan: Taseer's killer confesses in court

Pakistan: Taseer's killer confesses in court

Rediff.com   10 Jan 2011

The assassin of Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer confessed in a Pakistani court that he had acted alone in killing the politician and that he he had been planning the attack before being deployed to guard him.

Taseer murder: Cop in Pak PM's team detained

Taseer murder: Cop in Pak PM's team detained

Rediff.com   9 Jan 2011

A Pakistani policeman attached to Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani's security detail has been detained along with an official of the country's electronic media watchdog in connection with Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer's assassination, while investigators are looking for a cleric who motivated the killer. Mumtaz Qadri, the Elite Force guard gunned down 66-year-old Taseer in Islamabad on Tuesday for opposing the controversial blasphemy law.

Pak: Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer assassinated

Pak: Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer assassinated

Rediff.com   4 Jan 2011

Pakistan's Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer, an outspoken leader of the ruling Pakistan People's Party, was on Tuesday assassinated by one of his security guards in a gun attack at a market in the heart of Islamabad. Taseer was getting into his car at Kohsar Market in Islamabad's posh Sector F6/3 area when the guard from the elite force of Punjab police shot him with an automatic weapon at a close range. He was rushed to the Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

Bhutto murder planned in brigadier's house: Report

Bhutto murder planned in brigadier's house: Report

Rediff.com   31 Dec 2010

A fresh probe had uncovered the role of nine men, including the brigadier in whose residence the plot was hatched, The Express Tribune newspaper reported, quoting unnamed sources. The findings of the investigation, conducted under the Interior Ministry's supervision, were deliberately kept under wraps, even from the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party's top leaders, it claimed.

ISI officers to be quizzed in Bhutto murder case

ISI officers to be quizzed in Bhutto murder case

Rediff.com   23 Dec 2010

Several high-ranking officers of the Pakistan's Military Intelligence and spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence would be quizzed in connection with the 2007 assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto, authorities said.

Top selling Blackberry application is made in Pak

Top selling Blackberry application is made in Pak

Rediff.com   23 Dec 2010

A Blackberry application from a Pakistani company has made it as a top seller across the world.

Benazir assassination: 2 Pak police officers held

Benazir assassination: 2 Pak police officers held

Rediff.com   22 Dec 2010

Two top Pakistani police officials were on Wednesday arrested in a courtroom on the orders of an anti-terrorism judge who is conducting the trial of suspects accused of involvement in the 2007 assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto.Judge Rana Nisar Ahmed, who is conducting the trial within the high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi for security reasons, rejected the bail applications of former city police chief Saud Aziz and former SP Khurram Shahzad.

Pak slams French nuke reactor sales to India

Pak slams French nuke reactor sales to India

Rediff.com   9 Dec 2010

Pakistan criticised a multi-billion-dollar agreement finalised by France to sell twonuclear reactors to India, saying the deal would create"mistrust" and have "serious security implications" in South Asia.

FM may visit, if there's agreement on outcome'

FM may visit, if there's agreement on outcome'

Rediff.com   9 Dec 2010

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi is expected to visit India next year if there is agreement on the "agenda" and "outcome" of his parleys with his Indian counterpart, the Pakistani Foreign Office said on Thursday.

Zardari to ink $7.6 bn TAPI gas pipeline pact

Zardari to ink $7.6 bn TAPI gas pipeline pact

Rediff.com   9 Dec 2010

President Asif Ali Zardari is scheduled to ink an agreement on the $7.6 billion Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project with the Turkmen and Afghan heads of state at Ashgabat on December 11.

Guess who is slamming the ISI now?

Guess who is slamming the ISI now?

Rediff.com   8 Dec 2010

Branding Pakistani intelligence agencies including the Inter Services Intelligence as a 'rogue agency', the country's top nuclear scientist A Q Khan has said that it takes orders from the army chief and not the civilian government. Charging that the ISI operated outside the law and totally ignored court orders, Khan, in a scathing attack on the military intelligence agency, said it was being used against politicians and as an 'extended arm of the dictators'.

Pak military and politicians shaken by WikiLeaks

Pak military and politicians shaken by WikiLeaks

Rediff.com   3 Dec 2010

Pakistan's political and military elite have been shaken by damaging disclosures about the country's foreign policy and internal politics in hundreds of secret US diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks, with the media screaming "WikiWreaks havoc" and "WikiLeaks bombs rock Islamabad".

Kayani has learned the lesson from Mush: Wikileaks

Kayani has learned the lesson from Mush: Wikileaks

Rediff.com   1 Dec 2010

Pakistan Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has "learned the lesson" of his predecessor General Pervez Musharraf and prefers staying behind the scene while manipulating the government's decision-making on key issues, according to secret American documents released by WikiLeaks.

Pak says nuclear arsenal is safe, slams WikiLeaks

Pak says nuclear arsenal is safe, slams WikiLeaks

Rediff.com   29 Nov 2010

Pakistan on Monday criticised the release by WikiLeaks of secret United States' diplomatic cables which raise concerns that radioactive material in nuclear power stations could be used in terror attacks. Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit described the release of the sensitive documents as 'irresponsible behaviour' and said Pakistan is taking stock of revelations concerning the country.

Pak hasn't nabbed majority of 26/11 suspects

Pak hasn't nabbed majority of 26/11 suspects

Rediff.com   28 Nov 2010

Pakistani authorities have made no progress in tracking down 20 suspects, including Karachi-based Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative Muhammad Amjad Khan, who were named in a chargesheet filed in an anti-terrorism court a year ago for playing a key role in facilitating the Mumbai attacks.

FIA to question Musharraf in Bhutto murder case

FIA to question Musharraf in Bhutto murder case

Rediff.com   23 Nov 2010

A 32-point questionnaire on alleged lapses in security for former prime minister Benazir Bhutto will be sent to Pervez Musharraf following the government's decision to include the former military ruler in the probe into her assassination, Pakistani officials have said.

Terror group in Pak splits for better coordination

Terror group in Pak splits for better coordination

Rediff.com   18 Nov 2010

"The creation of the cells is aimed at coordinating the banned group's activities in the area ranging from the southern port city of Karachi to Waziristan in the restive tribal belt bordering Afghanistan," the Express Tribune newspaper quoted its sources in Kohat, Hangu, Peshawar and Lahore as saying.

Pak slams US support for India's UNSC bid

Pak slams US support for India's UNSC bid

Rediff.com   8 Nov 2010

Pakistan said US President Barack Obama's endorsement of India's bid for permanent membership of the UN Security Council would add to the "complexity" of efforts to revamp the world body's most powerful organ.