'Fears in Washington began to intensify when it was realised that subsequent Pakistani and Indian attacks on major military facilities -- which were significant in terms of geographic scope and intensity -- could rapidly take both sides to where neither actually wanted to go.' 'The US objective was to stop the fighting as soon as possible. Everything else was secondary.'
Pakistan's ruling PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain is expected to meet his rival, Pakistan Muslim League-N president and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's brother Shahbaz, in London to discuss modalities for the latter's return to the country ahead of the general election. Hussain is currently in London for a medical check-up but sources in his Pakistan Muslim League-Qaid party said he had been tasked with finalising the details for Shahbaz's return to Pakistan.
An overwhelming majority of Pakistanis believe their country is moving in the wrong direction and 59 per cent would rather have Pakistan Muslim League-N chief Nawaz Sharif as president instead of Asif Ali Zardari, a survey has said. Eighty-eight per cent of the respondents in the poll conducted by United States-based International Republican Institute said Pakistan is moving in the wrong direction, while 73 per cent said the economic situation had worsened in the past year.
The government claims the deal bars the deposed prime minister from entering the country before the completion of a ten-year exile.
Pakistani media reacted positively to the brief meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in Paris, describing it as "ice-breaker" which will lead towards easing of tension.
Modi spoke to Sharif and conveyed best wishes for the showpiece event.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday did some plain speaking with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif laying down the precondition of end to violations of ceasefire along the LoC for progress towards resumption of Indo-Pak dialogue on various issues.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday met UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during which he referred to raising of the Kashmir issue by his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif while implying that the global body was not the right forum to discuss it.
sharif's deportation was one of the rare occasion when Saudi Arabia and the royal family had been openly criticised, when traditionally they have been accorded great respect, bordering sometimes on reverence.
US Secretary of State John Kerry urged Pak PM to cooperate in the investigation.
Sharif, who recently assumed office for a record third term with a pledge to cut unnecessary expenses, gave directions to officials to cut the staff of the Prime Minister's Office by one-third so that administrative expenses can be curtailed.
Kulsoom, the wife of Sharif, died on Tuesday in London after a long battle with cancer. She was 68. Her body will be brought back and buried in the Jati Umra Lahore residence of the Sharif family.
The incoming PML-N government is ready to hold the trial of former Pakistani military ruler Pervez Musharraf over charges of treason, a party leader said on Tuesday.
Nawaz Sharif's brother Shahbaz may hold talks with Pakistani Army generals soon to negotiate a deal before the deposed premier returns home, most probably on September 9, a leading daily reported on Monday.
Pakistan has got the message that the Modi regime in New Delhi has brought in a new language of dialogue with Islamabad, sources well informed about the preparation for the Kathmandu meeting tell Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com
Sharif said that he was not aware of what Vajpayee was saying to him and promised to get back after talking to the then chief of the Army Staff General Pervez Musharraf.
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.
Nine candidates on Wednesday filed nominations for Pakistan's presidential election, with the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's India-born nominee Mamnoon Hussain emerging a clear frontrunner for the poll to be held on July 30.
Known for making controversial remarks, senior Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan outdid himself when he alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had met wanted underworld don Dawood Ibrahim in Lahore at the residence of his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif last December. Sharat Pradhan/ Rediff.com reports from Lucknow.
Thousands of anti-government protesters led by opposition leader Imran Khan on Saturday reached Islamabad with an aim of ousting Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
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.
He regretted not having set up a commission like India to go into the Kargil episode to fix the responsibility for it.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has raised the Kashmir issue with almost every world leader he has held talks with on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session, but his efforts to internationalise the dispute with India appeared to have gained no traction.
'One good outcome of Operation Sindoor -- perhaps, its best outcome -- could be that India has resumed meaningful contact directly with Pakistan at the military-to-military level,' observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
In a thinly veiled reference to another military coup in Pakistan, President Asif Ali Zardari has warned former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to understand the gravity of the situation and act wisely, lest either of them has to visit the other in jail.
Bharatiya Janata Party President Rajnath Singh on Sunday said that the United Progressive Alliance government had committed a 'diplomatic blunder' by allowing Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's advisor Sartaj Aziz to meet Kashmiri separatists on Indian soil and demanded that the talks be stopped.
The families of victims of US drone strikes have asked Pakistan's new Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to stop the campaign by shooting down the CIA-operated spy planes if necessary, their lawyer said.
Khan said the events of May 9, 2023, in which military installations were targeted, were in fact a part of the "London Plan"- the sole purpose of which was to "eliminate Pakistan's largest political force, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf".
"Kashmir was main cause of unrest in the region and India must show seriousness for resolution of the issue and honour its commitment under United Nations Security Council Resolutions," Sharif was quoted as saying by Associated Press of Pakistan.
Pakistan's apex court said it was ready to appoint a probe commission headed by a judge and armed with powers of the Supreme Court.
Last year, Maryam Nawaz accompanied her father to Washington, but played a role beyond being the dutiful daughter. She was 'discovered' by the White House, and was hosted by Michelle Obama.
'Pakistanis are one of the most intelligent people. Please convey to the Pakistani people that they are amazing,' the President-elect told Sharif, claims Pak PMO.
Khan, in the same breath, praised the Army, saying "Pakistan needs the Armed forces more than Imran Khan."
Former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif will not return to the country before the general elections, President Pervez Musharraf has said. The president exuded confidence that the ruling Pakistan Muslim League will return to power, saying the next prime minister will be from the PML. Musharraf was addressing about 170 legislators of the party, including federal ministers, at a dinner at the prime minister's House.
According to Dawn, Modi in his message reiterated India's desire to build good neighbourly relations with Pakistan.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday held a meeting with the army chief and other top civil and military leadership where he discussed the security situation and his upcoming US visit during.
As confrontation mounted between the Pakistan government and the army on the one side, and the judiciary on the other, opposition leader Nawaz Sharif said holding immediate polls was the only was out of the crisis.
Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan has threatened to drag embattled Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to the Supreme Court to seek his disqualification for allegedly lying about protesters and the army in parliament, as the political logjam showed no sign of easing.
Swaraj also said that Pak cannot take Kashmir to the ICJ.
Pakistan's powerful army and the its espionage agency Inter Services Intelligence are using "terrorist brinkmanship" to threaten India and undermine their own Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to secure domestic gains against their civilian leaders, a former CIA analyst has said.
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