Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar has conveyed to her German counterpart Guido Westerwelle Pakistan's decision not to participate in the Bonn Conference on Afghanistan to protest against a cross-border North Atlantic Treaty Organisation air strike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. Khar informed Westerwelle of the Pakistan government's decision during a phone conversation on Friday night. She conveyed her appreciation for Germany's commitment to peace and stability in Afghan
Ignoring fresh calls from the United States, Pakistan on Friday said it will not budge from its decision to boycott a key conference on Afghanistan's future in Bonn next week in the wake of a cross-border NATO air strike that killed its 24 soldiers.
Ordering a "time-bound" probe into the 'memogate' scandal, Pakistan Supreme Court on Thursday sought responses within 15 days from President Asif Ali Zardari, army and Inter-Services Intelligence chiefs besides others in connection with petitions before it seeking an investigation in to the controversy.
Following appeals from the United States and Afghanistan, Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday said the country cannot attend the crucial Bonn meet on the future of Afghanistan if Islamabad did not receive assurances from the world community about its security and sovereignty.
President Asif Ali Zardari has reportedly turned down a request to extend the 15-day deadline set by the Pakistan government for the United States to vacate Shamsi airbase that is believed to be used by CIA-operated drones.
Admitting that the 'memogate' scandal has raised questions about the strength of Pakistan's civilian government and the influence wielded by the powerful military, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said it was "ridiculous" to link President Asif Ali Zardari to the controversial note. questions. It doesn't take much to be able to raise those questions," Khar said. She was responding to a query about the 'memogate' controversy.
Pakistan on Saturday claimed that North Atlantic Treaty Organisation helicopters from Afghanistan fired on a military check post in northwest tribal region, killing eight soldiers and wounding four others.
Pakistan's Supreme Court on Friday rejected a government petition seeking a review of its order that struck down a controversial graft amnesty for politicians, setting the stage for possible reopening of corruption cases against top leaders like President Asif Ali Zardari.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Thursday said there was no threat to his government due to the "Memogate" scandal even as he pledged that the matter would be investigated as a top priority to uncover the truth behind the secret memo sent to the US administration.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Thursday said that there were no differences with the powerful military on the meomogate issue that has shaken Pakistani establishment and ruled out calling businessman Mansoor Ijaz to join the probe.
A businessman on Wednesday filed a petition in a Pakistani court challenging the appointment of Sherry Rehman as the country's new envoy to the United States, saying she could not hold the post as she had allegedly committed blasphemy.
Pakistan's telecom regulator on Tuesday postponed the implementation of a directive to block nearly 1,700 "offensive" words from SMS messages, saying the matter would be sorted out after discussions with the civil society. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority's move to filter over 1,100 English words and terms and 586 Urdu words and phrases from text messages had been met with outrage and ridicule by consumers and rights activists.
A Pakistani policeman was killed and eight persons were injured while defusing two bombs planted outside a girls' school in the country's volatile northwest.
At least 14 Pakistani security personnel, including an army major, were killed and 16 more injured in a clash with separatist rebels of the banned Baloch Liberation Army in the restive southwestern Balochistan province. The clash occurred in the mountainous Chamalang area, 400 km from provincial capital Quetta, where security personnel are frequently attacked by armed groups. The militants attacked a Frontier Corps camp with rockets late on Sunday night.
Former US National Security Advisor James Jones has said that he was the intermediary who delivered to former military chief Admiral Mike Mullen a secret memorandum that businessman Mansoor Ijaz purportedly drafted on behalf of the Pakistan government.
Pakistan and China will hold a two-week long joint military exercise with focus on anti-terror cooperation in Pakistan from November 16. The exercise codenamed 'YouYi-IV' will be spread over two weeks. It will also focus on the exchange of experiences and information through a "comprehensive training programme in real time", the Pakistani military said on Friday. The announcement did not specify the location of the exercise.
A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a prayer ground in northwest Pakistan on Monday, killing a political leader and his bodyguard and injuring seven others, said the police. The bomber struck as former naazim (mayor) Hanif Jadoon was leaving the prayer ground after offering Eid-ul-Azha prayers. Jadoon and his bodyguard were killed instantly, police officials said.
Against the backdrop of Pakistan's flip-flop on the issue of granting the most favoured nation status to India, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar on Friday held consultations with the top civil and military officials in Islamabad on the dialogue process with New Delhi.
Hours after announcing that it would grant the much-delayed Most Favoured Nation status to India, Pakistan government issued several confusing statements that made no direct mention of the significant step aimed at boosting bilateral trade.
Lal Masjid's chief cleric Abdul Aziz has been acquitted by a Pakistani court in four of the 12 cases registered against him for various crimes, including challenging the government writ by keeping illegal arms. Judicial Magistrate Kashif Qayyum Sheikh on Monday acquitted Aziz in the four cases that were registered against him at Aabpara police station in Islamabad. The charges in these case included delivering provocative speeches against former President Pervez Musharraf.
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