Former Pakistan captain and fast bowling great, Wasim Akram slammed the formation of an inquiry committee by the cricket board to probe into the team's poor show in the Asia Cup in Bangladesh. "I don't understand the purpose of announcing a probe committee when the national team is due to leave for India for the World T20," Akram told a news conference on Saturday. Akram, who was Director of the Islamabad United franchise which recently won the Pakistan Super League in Dubai, said that it was lamentable that instead of supporting the team the players were being put under pressure. "I don't agree with this thinking. This decision of the Pakistan Cricket Board to evaluate the team's performance in the Asia Cup at this time," he added. "It does not make sense as the World T20 is just a few days away."
Pakistan will not engage with India 'until and unless they lift the siege' in Kashmir, it said.
Pakistan, however, has categorically dismissed as 'utter fabrication' the report published in the newspaper.
There is growing acceptance of the idea in the international community that engaging the Taliban government is a far better approach than ostracising it, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Speaking in parliament during the budget session, Khan said the American forces entered Pakistan and killed Laden without informing Islamabad after which everyone started abusing his country.
According to a 2019 Congressional Research Service report of August 2019, a longstanding goal of US policy in South Asia has been to prevent the India-Pakistan conflict from escalating to interstate war.
Dawood Ibrahim is wanted in India to face the law of the land for carrying out serial blasts in Mumbai in 1993 in which scores of people were killed and injured.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on Friday retained Pakistan on its 'grey list' for failing to check money laundering, leading to terror financing, and asked Islamabad to investigate and prosecute senior leaders and commanders of United Nations-designated terror groups, including Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar.
Pakistan's close ties with China and its lack of democracy and disregard for human rights will not be overlooked, said Haqqani, who currently is a Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute think-tank in Washington.
Sharif, 70, has been in London since November last year after the Lahore High Court granted him permission to go abroad for four weeks for treatment.
The anti-terror watchdog has decided to give respite of four months to Pakistan to help her implement remaining recommendations of the task force.
FO spokesman Mohammad Faisal said that "Pakistan takes exception to the factually incorrect statement issued by US State Department on today's phone call between Prime Minister Khan and Secretary Pompeo".
From a Pakistan-trained militant to one of the prominent separatist faces in Kashmir, life has come a full circle for chief of the banned Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Yasin Malik, who was in limelight for varied reasons over the past three decades of turmoil in the erstwhile restive border state.
Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen appeared to have brought the curtain down on his cricket playing career on Saturday, announcing his decision to step away from the game in a series of messages on social media.
'The more emphatic denial of any proposal for an OIC foreign ministers meet in Islamabad appears aimed at keeping Pakistan on a leash,' notes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday approved the national cricket team's tour of England from the end of this month. The clearance from Imran, also a former Pakistan captain, came when Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ehsan Mani met him in Islamabad and updated him on the cricket matters.
'What they want to do is their call. We've seen them mainstream terrorism in the past. And what you're now telling me is they may want to mainstream hate speech. It's their call, if they want to do that. Poison pens don't work for too long'
Mohammad Irfan expects to avoid a backlash from Pakistan fans after the serving a six-month ban for failing to disclose approaches made by bookmakers during a domestic Twenty20 tournament and is happy for the chance to resume his career.
Khan said shadows of war were still hovering over Pakistan and India
Pakistan on Friday agreed to let India transport 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat and life-saving drugs as humanitarian assistance for the people of Afghanistan on Afghan trucks through the Wagah border crossing, after a row erupted between the two countries over the modalities of transportation.
In his pre-recorded video statement to the General Debate at the 75th session of the UN General Assembly on Friday, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan made references to India's internal affairs, including Jammu and Kashmir. The First Secretary in India's Permanent Mission to the UN, Mijito Vinito, walked out of the general assembly hall when Khan started his usual diatribe about India.
"We want to work closely (with) Pakistan to create a more stable and secure Pakistan as well," he said.
China has blocked a proposal by the US and India at the United Nations to blacklist Abdul Rauf Azhar, the brother of Jaish-e Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar and the deputy chief of the Pakistan-based terror group, in the second such move by Beijing in less than two months.
The UN General Assembly on Thursday unanimously adopted a resolution which calls for counter-terrorism measures, including the use of remotely-piloted aircraft or drones, to comply with international law.
A closure of the Indian mission in Kabul will be a Himalayan blunder at this historic juncture when the wheels of diplomacy and politics are set to accelerate in Afghanistan, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, in a telephonic conversation with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Tuesday, "recalled France's constant position on Kashmir", which being that "it is up to the two countries (Indian and Pakistan), under the framework of their bilateral political dialogue, to resolve this dispute so as to establish lasting peace."
The Pakistani military may shortly give Imran Khan the boot, substituting him with another puppet, predicts Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
If General Asim Munir, Pakistan's new army chief, wants to help defuse the current polarised atmosphere and shepherd civilian politicians towards negotiations on an acceptable date for elections, he may need to distance himself from any perception of needless hostility to Imran Khan, explains Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W, India's external intelligence agency.
United Nations proscribed terrorist Lakhvi, 61, who was on bail since 2015 in the Mumbai attack case, was arrested by the Counter-Terrorism Department of Punjab province on Saturday.
Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan is located across the river Ravi, about four kilometres from the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Punjab's Gurdaspur district.
Pakistan perceives that if it had declared Gilgit-Baltistan, PoK or both, which are only a part of the territories of J&K, as legitimate provinces of Pakistan it would weaken its case for the entire J&K and lead to legal complications, observes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
Haley, the first Indian-American ever appointed to a Cabinet position in any US presidential administration, said the US did not need to give money to countries that wish harm to America, go behind its back and try and "stop us from doing things".
During his visit to Islamabad, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had pressed the new Pakistani government "to do more" to rein in terror groups operating from the country's soil.
Voicing his country's support to Pakistan's stand on the Kashmir issue, he said it can be resolved not through conflict or oppression but on the basis of justice and fairness. "Our Kashmiri brothers and sisters have suffered from inconveniences for decades and these sufferings have become graver due to unilateral steps taken in recent times," Erdogan said.
India on Friday summoned a senior diplomat of the Pakistani high commission on the 13th anniversary of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, and pressed for an expeditious trial in the case, saying the families of 166 victims from 15 countries are still awaiting closure.
Trump Administration has "already wisely restricted assistance to Pakistan, but there is much more to be done
Hardening its stance further, India has once again virtually rejected Pakistan's latest invitation for talks on Kashmir.
"We call on Pakistan to stop cleansing their own minorities including Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and others," Bhat said.
Addressing the 76th UNGA session in New York, Modi called for ensuring that no country 'tries to take advantage of the delicate situation in Afghanistan and use it for its own selfish interests'.
Khan said, "If India has evidence or actionable intelligence, they should give it to us and we will take action."
