India and Pakistan on Wednesday announced additional Confidence Building Measures related to Kashmir, including increasing cross-LoC trading days and expanding travel to include tourism and religious aspects.
Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar will carry the "complete mandate" of Pakistan's government and opposition during her interaction with Indian officials, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Tuesday. Gilani made the remarks while taking the leadership of all political forces "into confidence on the dialogue process with India", an official statement said. Khar "would be able to put across Pakistan's perspective with confidence", he said.
Nearly six months after Pakistan shut North Atlantic Treaty Organisation supply lines to Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar has said she personally believes that the routes should be reopened. Khar made the remarks while speaking to reporters, who accompanied Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on an official visit to Britain, The Express Tribune said on Monday.
The Pakistani government has no information about the presence of Al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri in the country, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said on Monday, hours after United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Washington believes he is somewhere in Pakistan.
In the face of a call from Leader of Opposition Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan for a "befitting" response to "propaganda from the Indian government" over the ceasefire violations, Khar reiterated her government's "commitment not to escalate the situation."
India and Pakistan are back on the dialogue table to sort out issues between the two nations, Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar has declared, saying that Islamabad cannot afford to be selective in improving ties with its neighbours.
The government has reportedly taken note of Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar's offer of talks at the foreign minister-level to take steps to tone down the belligerence from both sides with regard to the recent violations of the November 2003 ceasefire violations.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, who had earlier accused India of engaging in war-mongering, has offered to hold "discussion and dialogue" with her Indian counterpart Salman Khurshid to resolve the crisis at the Line of Control.
Lashkar-e-Tayiba founder Hafiz Saeed has criticised Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar for promising to take action against him if India provides evidence, saying the government had been unable to resolve outstanding issues like the Kashmir issue.
He was the mastermind of the deadly 26/11 terror strike and the United States administration has already declared a bounty of $10 million for him.But the Pakistan government has, time and again, expressed its reluctance to prosecute Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief and Lashkar-e-Tayiba founder Hafiz Saeed.
Pakistan has said it would not hinder the proposed United States-driven initiative to open peace talks with Taliban in Qatar, refuting reports that it had blocked some key Taliban figures from flying to Doha to participate in the process.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar has warned that Islamabad will not tolerate any further unilateral action by the United States, like the raid that killed former Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in his Abbotabad hideout.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday held a meeting with the country's army and intelligence chiefs to discuss the regional security situation and the reconciliation process in Afghanistan, reflecting the easing of tensions between the civilian and the military leadership.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar's husband Feroz Gulzar has rubbished rumours about differences in their relationship as a campaign to malign his wife.
Amid an uproar in Pakistan's political circles over a visit by a United Nation's Working Group on enforced disappearances, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar on Thursday said the panel is not mandated to conduct any investigation or fact finding work.
Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt, who is travelling with External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on his visit to Islamabad, reports that both India and Pakistan are cautious about keeping the peace process moving forward.
India and Pakistan on Saturday agreed to adopt a forward-looking approach in normalising their ties, while recognising the need to "expeditiously" bring perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai attack to justice. Both External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and his Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar emphasised the need for the two countries to set the sight on the future and not be held "hostage" by the past.
For India and Pakistan, the divergence on traditional issues remains, but there is a search for new areas of convergence, believes B Raman
Pakistan is keen to sign a new visa agreement during External Affairs Minister S M Krishna's visit to Islamabad during September 7-9 for talks with Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, official sources said on Friday.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna will visit Pakistan for three days from September 7 to review the last round of the bilateral dialogue process with his Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar, the Foreign Office announced on Friday. Krishna will be visiting Pakistan for "holding a review meeting with the Foreign Minister at her invitation," the Foreign Office said in a brief statement.
New Delhi and Islamabad have, in the recent past, taken many positive steps to make bilateral relations cordial. For instance, the two countries have firmed up a draft bilateral visa agreement that will ease travel between the two countries.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar on Wednesday said Islamabad is not backtracking on its decision to normalise bilateral trade with New Delhi.
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.
The United States has the right to target the Haqqani network that not only kills American troops in Afghanistan, but also sponsors Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence, said Senator Carl Levin, who chairs the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee.
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External Affairs Minister S M Krishna will undertake a three-day visit to Pakistan from September 7 to review the second round of the composite dialogue with his Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar, reports Amir Mir.
India and Pakistan are engaged in a "substantive dialogue process" that Islamabad hopes will be "uninterrupted and uninterruptable" as it looks forward to resolve all outstanding issues like the Kashmir dispute, Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said on Tuesday.
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has told her Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar to take strong action against terrorist groups particularly Lashkar-e-Tayiba and the Haqqani network, which is blamed for last week's deadly attack on American embassy in Kabul.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had discussed with her Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar the "language" of her statement apologising for the death of 24 Pakistani soldiers in a cross-border NATO air raid while she was working on its draft during the last several weeks.
Pakistan's new Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf retained most key members of former premier Yousuf Raza Gilani's cabinet in the same positions as he allocated portfolios among his council of ministers.
Striking a note different from the established line, Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar has spoken of the need for an "out-of-the box" solution to the Kashmir issue, saying that militancy would not help in resolving the long-standing dispute with India.
Pakistan has refused to budge from its position seeking a United States apology for a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation air strike that killed 24 of its soldiers last year, saying this is necessaryfor ending a six-month blockade of vital supply routes for foreign troops in Afghanistan.
Carrying forward their engagement process, India and Pakistan on Wednesday announced new Confidence Building Measures, notwithstanding the unhappiness in New Delhi about Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar's meeting with Kashmiri separatist leaders.
Pakistan has ruled out unilateral withdrawal of its troops from Siachen, the world's highest battlefield, and sought greater trust with India. The troop withdrawal should happen when both countries trust each other, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said while speaking at her alma mater, the Lahore University of Management and Sciences.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday chaired a meeting of Pakistan's top civil and military leadership ahead of the resumption of a trilateral initiative with Afghanistan and the US to boost the Afghan peace and reconciliation process.
The remarks made by Indian Army Chief General Bikram Singh following the beheading of an Indian soldier on the LoC last week were 'very hostile', Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said on Tuesday, as she asked Indian leaders to 'catch up' with developments in her country.
Pakistani media analysts and politicians have called for a review of the deployment of forces at Siachen, where soldiers from the two countries have been engaged in standoff since 1984.
Pakistan on Thursday hoped that the ceasefire violations along the Line of Control would not be a setback to or derail the peace process with India.
Days after Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar contradicted President Asif Ali Zardari during a meeting with a visiting United States diplomat, speculation is rife that her portfolio may be changed.
There has neither been an agreement between Pakistan and the United States for a military offensive in North Waziristan, nor has any final decision been taken on the operation, Pakistan's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar has said.