Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi on Sunday met his Bangladesh counterpart Aminul Islam and ICC deputy chair Imran Khwaja in Lahore, even as efforts to resolve the standoff over Pakistan's proposed boycott of the high stakes T20 World Cup match against India gather pace.
PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi said Pakistan's decision to boycott their T20 World Cup match against India was aimed solely at securing "respect" for Bangladesh.
PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi will attend the Pakistan-India T20 World Cup match in Colombo and is expected to hold talks with ICC officials to ease tensions after a recent boycott threat.
The India vs Pakistan match in the T20 World Cup will go ahead as scheduled after Pakistan's government on Monday decided to withdraw its boycott call.
A Pakistani court barred the government from extraditing five Afghan Taliban leaders captured in the country, including Mullah Baradar, and asked the administration to explain its position in the matter on Friday.
"In celebration of the birthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and in conjunction with 'Sewa Pakhwada', the historic and world-famous 'Big Shahi Deg' at Ajmer Dargah Sharif will once again be used to prepare and distribute 4000 kg of vegetarian 'Langar' food, continuing a tradition that has been upheld for over 550 years," an official statement from the Dargah authorities said.
A local court in Ajmer has issued notices to the dargah committee, the Ministry of Minority Affairs, and the Archaeological Survey of India on a plea seeking to declare the shrine of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti a temple. The petition, filed in September, has sparked a heated debate, with politicians and community leaders weighing in on the potentially volatile issue. The dargah committee has declined to comment, but the Anjuman Syed Zadgan, a body representing the caretakers of the dargah, described the petition as a deliberate attempt to fracture society along communal lines. The petition comes just days after four people were killed in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, following a local court ordering survey of a Mughal-era shrine. The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which fixed August 15, 1947, as the cut-off date for status quo on the character of religious places, is at the centre of much of the debate. Several politicians, including Union minister Giriraj Singh and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, have weighed in on the issue. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has called the civil court's decision to entertain the petition unwarranted and has asked the Supreme Court to immediately intervene.
Rediff.com's Tahir Ali reads behind the lines on Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari's private pilgrimage to Ajmer Sharif and analyses the decline of Sufism in Pakistan
Pakistan Peoples Party chief Asif Ali Zardari and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Nawaz Sharif on Friday failed to break the deadlock over modalities for impeaching Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and reinstating deposed judges.
Can ordinary citizens counter this backward march? Can peace activists ensure that the two communities retain their bonds? Do they have a choice, asks Jyoti Punwani.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday praised the powerful Army and its chief Gen Raheel Sharif and stressed on the need to work together for a strong economy, democracy and containment of terrorism.
A body representing the 'Khadims' of the Ajmer dargah has condemned a plea in a local court that seeks to declare the shrine of Khawaja Gharib Nawaz as a temple, saying right-wing forces were trying to "isolate" Muslims and "disrupt" communal harmony in the country.
The upcoming Delhi Assembly elections are set to be a thrilling contest between the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the resurgent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Congress. The BJP is focusing on its "Parivartan" (change) slogan and a targeted campaign against AAP over corruption allegations, while AAP is highlighting the credibility of its leader, Arvind Kejriwal, and his promises to deliver on his promises. The Congress, seeking to reclaim its lost footing in the national capital, is also campaigning with a renewed vigor.
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.
The ceremony was scheduled to be held on Monday, but President Alvi had refused to administer the oath to the lawmakers, compelling the government to postpone it.
A 'chadar' was on Sunday offered on behalf of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the dargah of sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti.
Where were Bollywood stars travelling last weekend?
While disposing of the application, Lahore High Court Chief Justice Khwaja Muhammad Sharif directed the federal and Punjab governments to ensure that foolproof security is provided to Lakhvi and his counsel Khwaja Sultan.
The actress wore a skirt that managed to infuriate religious heads.
These are obviously not 'organic' desertions but brought about under intense military pressure, post the 9/5 arrests. It seemed as if the party was being dismantled the same way it was brought into power!, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W, India's external intelligence agency.
Learning perhaps from the Kargil debacle, Musharraf tried hard to evolve as a statesman in his dealings with India, recalls Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
In his application filed last week, Lakhvi had claimed that there was a purported threat to his life as a number of agents of the Indian spy agency Research and Analyses Wing were present in Rawalpindi. He asked for his trial to be transferred from an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi to Lahore.
No official meeting is scheduled during the visit of Pakistan Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, who is arriving on Saturday in Jaipur on a pilgrimage to Ajmer Sharif.
A Pakistani court on Monday directed the government not to deport five American Muslim youths, arrested on suspicion of terror links, to the United States or any other country. Chief Justice Khwaja Muhammad Sharif of the Lahore high court issued the order in response to a petition filed by former Inter Services Intelligence agency official Khalid Khwaja. In his petition, Khwaja said the five youths should be tried under Pakistani laws.
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.
He was awarded the Amir Amanullah Khan Award by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani after the inauguration of the landmark Afghan-India Friendship Dam.
Six newborn babies died and several others were injured when a fire broke out in the nursery ward of a leading hospital in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, officials said.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari's decision to visit Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti's Dargah at Ajmer Sharif with his family members on April 8 indicates his willingness to walk the extra mile to normalise relations with India. But is his timing wrong? Alok Bansal wonders.
A Pakistani court on Tuesday issued notices to the Sports Ministry and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), asking them to file responses on the spot-fixing scandal by September 7.
Pakistan's Supreme Court has struck down President Asif Ali Zardari's order appointing two top judges, stoking fears of a fresh showdown between the government and judiciary with the ruling Pakistan People's Party blaming the fiercely independent Chief Justice for the crisis. Going against the recommendations of the country's top judge Iftikhar Chaudhry, the President on Saturday appointed Lahore High Court Chief Justice Khwaja Muhammad Sharif as a judge of the apex court.
Two Pakistani courts have turned down Interior Minister Rehman Malik's requests seeking exemption from personal appearance for the hearing of two cases that were reopened after the Supreme Court annulled a graft amnesty last month.
Sources also told PTI that Judge Awan was likely to go on leave for three weeks in the near future and this could further delay proceedings in the trial.
Hina Rabbani Khar, who is in India on her maiden visit as Pakistan foreign minister, will pay a visit to the revered Sufi shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer on Thursday before going back home.
A Pakistani court gave three weeks to the federal government to submit a detailed reply on the status of 10 high-profile Afghan Taliban leaders who are in the custody of authorities.
A Pakistani court on Monday served notices to the federal government and the national association of film producers seeking their response to a petition seeking a ban on the exhibition of Indian films to protest the exclusion of Pakistani cricketers from the IPL.
Judge Malik Muhammad Akram Awan of anti-terrorism court replaced Rana on the orders of Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court Khwaja Mohammad Sharif. Rana was conducting in-camera the trial of the seven suspects, who included senior Lashker-e-Taiba operatives Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and Zarar Shah, in the high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.
Pakistan on Thursday said it was "disturbed" by reports that India could be preparing for additional nuclear tests and hoped a unilateral moratorium on testing would remain in place in the region.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf speaks to Haji Syed Salman Chisti, Gaddi Nashi, Dargah Ajmer Sharif, the hereditary custodian of the dargah and the 26th generation descendant of Khwaja Garib Nawaz (as the Pir is known) to understand the meaning and significance of the gesture.
The accident occurred when Zakaria Express collided with the stationary Fareed Express at Juma Goth Train station. Two bogies of Fareed Express and one bogie of Zakaria Express were completely destroyed in the collision.
The gorgeous gal turns 25 on July 29.
