Pakistan's Shahbaz air force base in southern Sindh province, which is home to the country's newest F-16 jets, is 'controlled by the United States', a senior official has said. Health Secretary Khushnood Lashari made the stunning claim about the Shahbaz airbase in Jacobabad area during an appearance before the Standing Committee on Health of the Senate or upper house of Parliament on Wednesday.
Responding to External Affairs Minister S M Krishna's invitation to visit India, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has made it clear that he would accept it if the talks are to be "result-oriented", covering all issues of importance, including Kashmir. He stressed the need for "positive and constructive approach" after his July 15 talks with Krishna ended on a bitter note, particularly on Kashmir and terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna had conveyed the offer of aid to his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi during a telephone conversation on Friday.
Days after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed willingness to consider autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan on Thursday said such measures would not help resolve the vexed issue and harped on the 'right to self-determination' for the Kashmiris."It is important to first acknowledge and summon the courage (to say) that the Jammu and Kashmir issue is there and it can't be addressed unless it is properly diagnosed and a proper prescription is given," said a spokesperson.
Pakistan has said it is ready to take action against Jamaat-ud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed but added that India should give 'concrete evidence' that stands 'legal scrutiny' and holds him responsible for the Mumbai terror attacks. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi insisted that his country was committed to bringing the perpetrators of 26/11 to justice but could not give any specific time-frame for conclusion of the trial in the case as the judiciary acted independently
Gilani said Pakistan wants "good neighbourly relations with India" and would like both sides to "address all issues and disputes between them peacefully".
Upping the ante, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said he is unwilling to travel to New Delhi for talks unless India is prepared to hold a "meaningful, constructive and result-oriented" dialogue to resolve outstanding issues.
Pakistan's leading newspapers have lamented that the Indo-Pak foreign ministerial-level talks have produced nothing but a promise for more talks.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna called on Asif Ali Zardari and discussed the issue of terrorism, with the Pakistani President stressing on timely intelligence sharing between the two countries to prevent acts of terror. Krishna, who met Zardari and discussed issues of bilateral concern.
Pakistani Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira dismissed as "baseless propaganda and assumptions" India's allegation that the Inter-Services Intelligence was behind the Mumbai attacks. "When the two Foreign Ministers are meeting, such allegations should not be made," he said during an interaction with a group of Indian journalists, a day ahead of a meeting between the Foreign Ministers of India and Pakistan.
Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Tuesday, that he was hopeful that the upcoming meeting between the Foreign Ministers of Pakistan and India will pave the way for "progress of structured dialogue".
Pakistan is in contact with India to address certain technical issues related to the trial of seven suspects linked to the Mumbai attacks, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Tuesday.
A Pakistani anti-terrorism court conducting the trial of the seven Mumbai terror attack suspects on Saturday issued fresh arrest warrants for Ajmal Kasab and Fahim Ansari. Judge Malik Muhammad Akram Awan, who is conducting the trial behind closed doors at the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi for security reasons, heard arguments by the prosecution and the defence.
At least 49 people were killed and over 70 injured when a motorcycle-borne suicide bomber targeted a government office in a crowded market in Pakistan's restive tribal belt on Friday, the latest in a wave of terror attacks that have rocked the country. The attacker detonated his explosives outside the office of the assistant political agent at Yakaghund village in Mohmand Agency.
Pakistani investigators are looking into a list of six individuals, including three former army officers, named by India for acting as controllers and handlers of the terrorists who carried out the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The names of several of these six individuals had cropped up during investigations by Indian and American law enforcement agencies but they have so far not officially been made part of Pakistan's probe into the Mumbai incident.
The Pakistan Army distanced itself from media reports that its chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani had arranged a secret meeting between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the leader of the Haqqani militant network based in North Waziristan.
India maintains that it wants to be part of the project but cannot go ahead till its concerns with regard to security and issues related to pricing of gas are addressed.
The Pakistan government has trashed former president Pervez Musharraf's four-point formula to resolve Kashmir issue, saying it was "his thinking" which did not have the endorsement of Pakistan Parliament or Cabinet and suggested a fresh approach to address the vexed problem.
As he prepares to meet External Affairs Minister S M Krishna in July, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said 'nothing dramatic' should be expected from 'one sitting' and emphasised that the dialogue process should be made 'irreversible'.Qureshi, who along with Krishna has been tasked to bridge the trust deficit, said mutual suspicions were the main reason for the trust gap and the two countries should work towards removing those.
"We will provide every possible assistance in addition to what you are talking about voice samples," Malik told media persons when asked whether Pakistan would provide voice samples of the handlers of 26/11 attackers.
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