'We welcome (you) back to the purana Pakistan,' top Opposition leader Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said on Sunday, as he took a jibe at ousted Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan following the adoption of a no-confidence vote against him.
Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-N has emerged the single largest party in Pakistan's landmark general elections by bagging 122 of the 272 parliamentary seats that went to the polls on May 11, the election commission announced Tuesday.
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.
In a bid to capitalise on the Pakistan People's Party led government's dipping popularity due to its slow response to the catastrophic floods, former Pakistan president General Pervez Musharraf is likely to formally launch his party, the All Pakistan Muslim League (APML), next month.
President Pervez Musharraf has admitted that he's negotiating with all political outfits in Pakistan, including the parties of former premiers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh praised Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for his efforts to reduce the distance between the hearts of people in Jammu and Kashmir and Delhi. Singh asserted that the BJP government treats Delhi and Kashmir equally, emphasizing a commitment to bridge the gap between the regions. He criticized Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq for his remarks against India and reiterated the importance of PoK as an integral part of Jammu and Kashmir.
Whenever tenures of army chiefs were extended in the recent past, prime ministers were subsequently eased out of office by the same army chief, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
'They contest to ensure they win the election.'
The dastardly dimensions of the attack are gradually sinking in even as the Government of India announced its immediate diplomatic and other retaliatory measures. It is generally expected to be followed up with punitive military action across the LoC, sooner than later, observes Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
The elections in the country should be held within the stipulated time of 90 days after the dissolution of the National Assembly.
People across Pakistan on Sunday paid tributes to slain former premier Benazir Bhutto and offered special prayers on the second anniversary of her assassination even as her close aides called on the PPP-led government to identify and bring her killers to justice.
Pakistan People's Party leader Sherry Rehman was a close friend of Benazir Bhutto and was in Bhutto's vehicle when she was assassinated. After the PPP won the elections, Rehman became a minister. She quit months later but remains a member of the party. Excerpts from an interview with Jyoti Malhotra.
'The present generation, either due to historical amnesia or political propaganda, has been fed a narrative that paints India as an adversary rather than an ally.'
The youth, Rahul Dev, has been recruited as a General Duty (GD) pilot officer in the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), Daily Pakistan reported. Dev hails from Tharparkar, the largest district in Sindh province, which is the home to a large population of Hindu community, local media reported on Monday.
Leaders and members of the Hindu community rue the fact that they are not given proper representation and many are not even registered as voters.
There is a growing feeling within that country that these might provide a fresh start by bringing a new, and perhaps less corrupt and more responsive, government to power, says Seema Mustafa
Pakistan's main opposition Pakistan Muslim Lea-Nawaz chief Nawaz Sharif has demanded early elections, amidst speculation about the future of beleaguered President Asif Ali Zardari and the Pakistan Peoples Party-led government that has been rocked by string of crises.
With the Pakistan People's Party's efforts to strike a deal with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz not bearing fruit, candidates of the three main parties, including Asif Ali Zardari, on Saturday remained in the fray for the September 6 presidential poll in Pakistan.PPP chief Zardari, PML-N nominee Saeed-uz Zaman Siddiqui and Pakistan Muslim League-Qaid's Mushahid Hussain Sayed will be the three candidates contesting the elections.
Pakistan's two main Opposition parties stepped up efforts on Friday to identify a consensus candidate for Prime Minister and hammer out a power-sharing formula after the former rivals agreed to form a coalition government.
The fate of properties worth Rs 15,000 crore inherited by actor Saif Ali Khan and his family from Bhopal's erstwhile rulers hangs in the balance due to uncertainty over filing an appeal against an order of the Office of the Custodian of Enemy Property. If an appeal is not filed by the Bhopal Nawab's successors, the properties could fall under the Centre's control, lawyers have said. The matter stems from a 2015 ruling that declared the Bhopal Nawab's property "Enemy Property" due to the eldest daughter, Abida Sultan Begum, migrating to Pakistan after the Partition. However, a 1962 order recognized Sajida Sultan Begum, the second daughter, as the sole successor to the properties after the death of Nawab Hamidullah Khan. The dispute is currently with the Mumbai-based Office of the Custodian of Enemy Property, following a Madhya Pradesh High Court order that directed the filing of a representation within 30 days. The high court's order also raised the issue of limitation as the appeal was filed after a significant period. The properties include Noor-Us-Sabah Palace, Dar-Us-Salam, Bungalow of Habibi, Ahmedabad Palace and Flag Staff House. The Enemy Property Act was passed in 1968 to regulate properties left behind in India by those who emigrated to Pakistan.
Two AK-47 rifles, two Glock pistols, and a huge cache of ammunition were seized from them, he said.
Citing sources within the Federal Investigation Authority (FIA), the Geo News reported that the names of the PTI leaders and its party chief have been added for their involvement in the May 9 violence and desecration of martyrs' monuments.
In a news conference with Bol News, she said, "India should not forget that Pakistan has an atom bomb. Our nuclear status is not meant to remain silent. We will not back down if the need arises."
A total of 328 MPs of the 342-member National Assembly were sworn in by outgoing Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain, after which the House offered special prayers for slain former premier and Zardari's wife Benazir Bhutto who was killed in a suicide attack on a pre-poll rally in December. Zardari and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief Nawaz Sharif, who did not contest the election, watched the proceedings from the gallery reserved for guests.
'A stable and strong Pakistan with an anti-India mindset and hatred is not good for us.'
'It showed me that this man had courage. He makes his own decisions, but he also trusted me enough in that moment to walk with me into the crowd,' Modi tells Lex Fridman on his podcast.
Abdullah said they are claiming that terrorism is over but the ground situation shows that it has increased in otherwise peaceful Jammu region.
"We believe that all the difficulties the country is facing can be resolved with the support of all the political parties," Zardari told journalists after meeting Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman. The PML-N has indicated that it will support the PPP-led government from outside. Zardari has been working to get the backing of all parties, including the Jamiat, for the government and his meeting with Rehman was part of these efforts.
"The continuous carpet bombing of Pakistan by drones is not only counterproductive on the war on terror, it's also an egregious violation of our sovereignty and must end," Bilawal Bhutto told the MSNBC news channel in an interview.
Police in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province said on Monday that an initial probe has suggested that the banned terrorist group Islamic State is behind the suicide attack on a political convention of a hardline Islamist party that killed at least 46 people and injured over 100.
Voicing concern at the deteriorating security situation in Pakistan's restive tribal areas, the US on Tuesday asked the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz to narrow its differences with the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party over the operation launched against militants in the country's northwest.
Voting for this crucial phase, covering 40 assembly segments across seven districts -- Jammu, Udhampur, Samba and Kathua in the Jammu region and Baramulla, Bandipora and Kupwara in north Kashmir -- is scheduled for October 1.
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.
Pakistan's National Assembly on Wednesday endorsed the proclamation of the emergency by President Pervez Musharraf amidst a boycott by opposition lawmakers and a protest by Pakistan People's Party workers.
The names of PPP's Punjab Province president and formal Federal minister Shah Mehmood Quereshi, senior leader Yousuf Reza Gillani and firebrand lawyer Aitaz Ahsan were also doing the rounds for the top post.
The Delhi High Court has refused to stay the trial court proceedings against Delhi Law Minister Kapil Mishra for allegedly posting objectionable tweets during the 2020 assembly elections. The court rejected Mishra's plea challenging a sessions court order dismissing his petition against the summons of a magisterial court in the case. The court said there was no need to stay the trial court proceedings and that the trial court was at liberty to proceed further with the matter. The high court granted four weeks to the police to file its response to the petition and posted the hearing on May 19. The hearing is slated to come up in the trial court on March 20.
But it is less adventurous. It seems, at last, that in its eighth decade, Pakistan has settled into being a parliamentary democracy just like Bangladesh has and like we have always been, observes Aakar Patel.
"Give up arms and come for talks or our forces will hunt you down," the home minister said in election rallies in Jammu and Kashmir.
Abul Kalam Azad chose not to contest Congress Presidency and to throw his weight behind Nehru, instead of Patel, a decision he would come to regret. Patel would have seen his plan through, while Nehru, in Azad's opinion 'gave Jinnah the opportunity to sabotage' it, notes Aakar Patel.
Pakistan Peoples Party chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Monday returned to the country after spending over a week in Dubai but will not lead the party's campaign for the May 11 general election, one of his close aides said.
