A landmark constitutional reforms package, which includes proposals to strip the president of his sweeping powers, was on Thursday submitted to the speaker of Pakistan's Parliament by a key committee that finalised it, ahead of its possible introduction in the House on Friday.Raza Rabbani, the leader of the 26-member parliamentary committee on constitutional reforms, presented the package, popularly referred to as the '18th Constitution amendment'.
'If the US intention was to use the FATF platform to isolate Pakistan and impose sanctions against it, that is not going to work when influential countries such as Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, China and Russia will not lend support to the US campaign,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
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 United States has said that it is willing to address all the concerns of Pakistan and find a middle ground to take forward their important and crucial relationship.
Despite the government's hectic efforts to avoid voting on the no-confidence motion against Khan, the joint Opposition succeeded in its month-long efforts to oust Khan from the prime minister's office as 174 members of the 342-member National Assembly voted against him in the wee hours of Sunday after a day of high drama.
India on Tuesday slammed Pakistan for trying to create 'war hysteria', saying it was aimed at diverting attention from the real issue of ending terrorism emanating from that country.Reacting to comments by Pakistan's Army Chief General Pervez Kayani that the armed forces had the right to defend borders in case of any aggression, External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said, "The talk of war or creating war hysteria is diversionary."
Parliament Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury will represent Bangladesh at the swearing in ceremony of Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi on May 26.
The cable was reportedly sent on March 7, a day before the Opposition submitted the no-confidence motion and requisitioned a National Assembly session for voting on it.
Rahul said that an atmosphere of fear has been prevailed in the country.
Amid the shouting of slogans against former dictators Zia-ul-Haq and Pervez Musharraf, the members of the lower house of parliament approved 102 amendments, including several that will transfer powers from the office of the President to the Prime Minister.
Khan met Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin on February 24, the day the Russian leader had ordered a "special military operation" against Ukraine.
Scores of PTI workers and policemen suffered injuries in the violent clashes. So far, no casualty has been reported.
Seeking to wriggle out of the FATF's grey list, Pakistan has imposed tough financial sanctions on 88 banned terror groups and their leaders, including Hafiz Saeed, Masood Azhar and Dawood Ibrahim, by ordering the seizure of all of their properties and freezing of bank accounts, a media report said.
The Pakistan People's Party on Tuesday nominated 51-year-old Mirza, a medical graduate, and Faisal Karim Kundi as its candidates for the posts of speaker and deputy speaker respectively of the Lower House of Parliament. The two candidates are expected to win as the Pakistan People's Party and its allies -- Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Awami National Party and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam -- have a majority in the National Assembly.
Union Minister Gen (Retd) V K Singh has said that the Indian Army is capable of executing daring operations to avenge 26/11-like attacks by eliminating offshore criminals but certain "considerations" preventing it from doing so.
The terror attack on Parliament 12 years ago, on this very day, had evoked nation-wide outrage and botched India's fragile ties with Pakistan further.
He was the chief of the hardline political party Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Sami.
The inquiry into the March 9 incident was done by Assistant Chief of Air Staff Operations (Offensive) Air Vice Marshal R K Sinha where during routine maintenance and inspection, a BrahMos missile got fired accidentally and landed up in the Mian Channu area of Pakistan.
Opposition leader Imran Khan's political party on Monday decided to withdraw its lawmakers from the National Assembly and all provincial assemblies except Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, piling pressure on beleaguered Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to quit, even as efforts by the ruling PML-N to reach out to anti-government protesters failed.
The ruling Pakistan People's Party has decided to hold the general election and the polls to the Senate ahead of schedule against the backdrop of rampant speculation that the government may not be able to complete its tenure, according to media reports on Friday.
With the political crisis in Pakistan taking a violent turn, the Supreme Court on Monday offered to assist in ending the ongoing impasse between protesters and the Nawaz Sharif government.
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.
Pakistan's cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan has claimed that President Asif Ali Zardari, chief ministers of three provinces and 61 per cent of Members of Parliament have never paid any taxes, reflecting the widespread corruption in the country. Khan alleged that Zardari and former Premier Nawaz Sharif were hand-in-glove. While Sharif had paid only Rs 5,000 as tax, Zardari had paid no tax at all, he claimed.
Opposition parties slammed the amendment, saying the new law was "draconian" and could be misused against anyone opposed to the ruling establishment.
Two of his allied parties also withdrew their support and joined the ranks of the rejuvenated Opposition.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will arrive in Pakistan on Monday on a two-day visit to deepen economic and strategic ties between the two "all-weather" allies.
The Samjhauta Express left Lahore for Attari on Thursday morning.
As a cornered Pakistan faced all-round flak for its failure to detect Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's presence on its soil, its parliament on Saturday slammed the United States raid that killed him and warned that the transit facility to Afghan-based North Atlantic Treaty Organsition forces would be withdrawn if "unilateral" American actions like drone strikes continued.
The Opposition PPP on Thursday alleged that the PTI-led government was planning an assault on the Sindh House in the federal capital.
'As India progresses and takes an increasingly hardline approach to Pakistani hostility, the young and restless population of Pakistan, sooner than later, will demand 'Gazwa e Hind' (conquest of India),' warns Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
What you need to know about Mukarram Jah Bahadur, the 8th Nizam, who will be laid to rest in Hyderabad today.
Separatist leader Masarat Alam, who was invited for Pakistan National Day celebrations at the High Commission in Delhi on Monday, will not be attending the event.
Today, the two countries, ruthlessly divided by the Radcliffe line that pierced their very heart, grapple with the political challenges of the present. Yet, when friendships develop there are no borders, observes Payal Singh Mohanka.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has said that Islamabad should not beg New Delhi for talks."We should tell India that if they are not ready for talks then Pakistan is also not eager to enter any talk process," Leader of the Opposition Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan told the House in categorical words.Chaudhry Nisar was referring to the talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani.
In its mouthpiece, Saamna, the party says, "If Pakistan considers us as its enemy, it is a matter of great pride. It is like getting a Mahavir Chakra."
As many as 174 members voted in favour of the motion in the 342-member House while members of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf were absent during the voting.
Pakistan's parliament on Friday voted unanimously against military involvement in the Yemen war, tacitly rejecting a call by oil-rich Saudi Arabia to become part of its coalition that is fighting against Houthi rebels.
'The Modi government has turned the basic fundamentals of its Pakistan policy on its head.' 'It means an admission that its hands-off-Hurriyat policy was flawed and it is ready to engage with Pakistan without minding if the Kashmiri separatists talked to the Pakistani government,' says Rajeev Sharma.
Alleging that China and Pakistan have 'a strategy to invade India', Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Tuesday asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to give an assurance to Parliament that the country is safe from a possible external aggression.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances