Pakistan-India bilateral relations remained frozen for the fourth year over the vexed Kashmir issue but analysts hope the strained ties could be repaired if Nawaz Sharif becomes the prime minister for a record fourth time in the general elections in February in the absence of his main challenger Imran Khan who is in jail in multiple cases.
He attributed the nation's predicament to unseen forces orchestrating decisions from behind the scenes, reducing elected officials to mere puppets.
The three main political parties in Pakistan on Sunday intensified their efforts for the formation of a coalition government after it became clear that the coup-prone country faced a hung Parliament after general elections marred by allegations of rigging.
Rejecting Biden's comments, Pakistan foreign minister Bilawal at a press conference here said that Pakistan was following the global standards.
There was no progress in the formation of a new coalition government in Pakistan on Tuesday as top leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) failed to agree on a power-sharing deal in their latest round of talks, indicating deepening fissures in the country's political landscape.
Though the two-day SCO Council of Foreign Ministers' meeting began at the Taj Exotica Resort in Benaulim on Thursday evening with a reception hosted by Jaishankar, the main deliberations took place on Friday.
Qin, who recently succeeded Wang Yi, had a phone call at the request of Bilawal on January 9, a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement in Beijing said on Tuesday.
Clearly, her father hopes that a successful tenure in Lahore will give Maryam the ballast to be prime minister after the next general election.
In a historic decision, Pakistan President Asif Zardari has decided to formally recognise his 31-year-old daughter Aseefa Bhutto as the First Lady of the country, according to a media report.
Pakistan's election commission on Sunday declared the final result of Thursday's general elections in which independent candidates backed by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's party got the biggest piece of the cake by winning 101 seats.
'Outrage will take place sooner than later, because it's not only that their mandate has been stolen, but the most important issue right now is the sinking economy in Pakistan.' 'Inflation is 26%-27%. It is backbreaking inflation.' 'Food, energy, education, health, which are the primary things that every family requires, is going beyond the reach of the masses.'
As part of the PML-N and PPP alliance, Shehbaz Sharif, the younger brother of former premier Nawaz Sharif, is expected to become Pakistan's next prime minister.
Pakistan government gave clearance to the country's senior men's team to travel to India for the 2023 World Cup, ending months of uncertainty over their participation in the showpiece.
Shehbaz Sharif, the younger brother of former premier Nawaz Sharif, is expected to become Pakistan's new prime minister as the coalition of leading political parties led by them is set to comfortably cross the simple majority mark to form the next government after elections produced a split mandate.
The announcement of results was delayed beyond normal, giving air to speculation about vote rigging.
Biden's remarks could be seen as a setback to the Shehbaz Sharif government's bid to improve ties with the US.
The result is a big blow to the military establishment, revealing the limits of 'political engineering'. It reflected the anger of the electorate, especially its younger voters, who have spoken decisively against the persistent harassment and victimisation of Imran Khan's political party, asserts Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
Jailed ex-Pakistan premier Imran Khan's party-backed independent candidates on Friday sprang a surprise by winning 86 seats out of the 201 results declared following unusual delays and allegations of rigging, as the country appeared heading towards a hung assembly.
PCB is expected to get clearance for sending its team for the ODI World Cup, provided a security delegation visits India first and gives its nod.
Pakistan's election commission has formed a high-level committee to probe the explosive allegations levelled by a senior bureaucrat that widespread rigging aided by the judiciary and the top election body happened against jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's party in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.
The PML-N, however, rejected the demand and claimed that it was winning Thursday's elections.
If the Pakistani foreign minister attends the meeting in person, it will be the first such visit from Islamabad to India since 2011.
With former prime minister Imran Khan in jail, Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is tipped to emerge as the single largest party in the elections.
'Victims of terrorism do not sit together with its perpetrators to discuss terrorism.'
Shehbaz Sharif, the joint opposition's candidate for the post of prime minister, on Sunday vowed that the new government in Pakistan want to 'move forward' and not indulge in 'politics of revenge'.
Sources in the PML-N told the Press Trust of India in Lahore that Nawaz Sharif decided to withdraw himself from the race for the prime minister's office for his daughter and political heir, Maryam Nawaz, 50.
The lawmakers expressed concerns about "pre- and post-poll rigging in Pakistan's recent parliamentary elections" and urged the US Congress to "withhold recognition of a new government in Pakistan until a thorough, transparent, and credible investigation of election interference has been conducted".
Doubts over Pakistan's participation has meant that the dates and venues for the World Cup are yet to be confirmed with just over three months left before the start of the tournament.
The Election Commission of Pakistan has announced that independent candidates, a majority of them supported by the PTI secured 101 seats, followed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) with 75 seats, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) getting 54 seats, and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) bagging 17 seats.
Among the political parties, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) emerged as the largest party, winning 227 seats, followed by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) with 160 seats.
Pakistan PM forms high-level committee to decide on national team's participation in ODI World Cup
Shehbaz, 72, who was the consensus candidate of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), received 201 votes, 32 more than what was required to become leader of the House in the 336-member Parliament.
Last month, Pakistani authorities released 198 Indian fishermen, languishing in a prison in Karachi after arresting them for allegedly fishing illegally in the country's waters.
Latif claimed that 72-year-old Nawaz will face the cases as per the law and the Constitution, reiterating that PML-N believes in court and will accept its verdict.
PCB acting chairman Zaka Ashraf will push for the country's ODI World Cup matches at neutral venues at the ICC meetings in Durban this week.
A video shows that Shehbaz was asking an aide for help, however even after the aide's assistance, his headphones dropped once again.
PCB chief Najam Sethi said that they had sent a proposal to ACC that India can play their matches at a neutral venue.
The SHO said that Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act had been included in the FIR, adding that the Chinese national would be presented before a court in Abbottabad.
Mr Modi might have questions to ask himself on the most formidable strategic challenge before India that he inherited from the United Progressive Alliance: The triangulation between China and Pakistan. The failure to break out of it, or even loosen it a bit, is something to reflect on, notes Shekhar Gupta.
At the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Xi Jinping and PM Shehbaz Sharif will attend via video conference, the 23rd meeting of the Council of Heads meeting of the SCO on July 4.
