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.
Two AK-47 rifles, two Glock pistols, and a huge cache of ammunition were seized from them, he said.
Our top leaders want to see Sharif as the Prime Minister in case our party does badly in the upcoming general elections," the Dawn quoted the ruling party sources as saying in Islamabad.
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.
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.
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto had said after the 2002 elections that the United States had decided to 'do away with' Pakistan and to get her eliminated, according to a senior Pakistan People's Party leader.
The Pakistan army is staring at the greatest, scariest, existential threat to its power in their country. This threat has come from a populist riding democratic power, observes Shekhar Gupta.
Abdullah said they are claiming that terrorism is over but the ground situation shows that it has increased in otherwise peaceful Jammu region.
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.
The Pakistan Muslim League N chief Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday demanded early general elections, saying the country's problems would increase as long as the Pakistan Peoples Party-led government remains in office.
'The resolve has to be there, the will has to be there. Above all, our top leadership has to adopt a statesman-like approach' says Pakistan's Interior Minister Faisal Hayat.
Pakistan is bracing for another day of violence that broke out in many cities after the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan for alleged corruption with the leaders of his party announcing a countrywide strike on Wednesday to protest against the fascist government.
The opposition leader said Musharraf's refusal to form a commission to probe the Kargil debacle was self serving and untenable.
Ruling out fleeing Pakistan, embattled President Pervez Musharraf said the killing of Pakistan People's Party leader Benazir Bhutto upset his "plan" under which he would have wielded control over key portfolios of security, foreign and defence while she would be the prime minister. In an interview to the Channel Five, Musharraf said that it was not his nature and training to be a mere spectator and leave things unfinished.
Pakistan's Law minister Babar Awan resigned on Wednesday to appear as the government's counsel in a case in the Supreme Court seeking a review of the death sentence awarded to former premier Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. President Asif Ali Zardari, who also heads the ruling Pakistan People's Party, recently asked the apex court to review the death sentence awarded to Bhutto in 1979.
Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto, won the Pakistan presidential election on Saturday, according to an unofficial tally of results. Zardari, who had been widely expected to win, had secured 458 out of 702 electoral college votes, according to partial Election Commission results.
'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.
A total of 22 people, including many policemen, have been arrested by Pakistani authorities over the killing of Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer, amid reports that a top official had warned about the extremist leanings of the assassin of the outspoken Pakistan Peoples Party leader.
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.
Pakistan Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf will announce on August 14 the roadmap for the next general elections that are likely to be held in the first week of November, months ahead of schedule.
The crisis encircling Pakistan's fragile ruling coalition reached a boiling point on Sunday with the Pakistan People's Party refusing to comply with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's demand on reinstating sacked judges within a deadline and the ally also not enthusiastic about supporting Asif Ali Zardari for presidency.
The ruling Pakistan People's Party has nominated senior leader Makhdoom Shahabuddin for the post of premier following the Supreme Court's disqualification of Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani. Shahbuddin is also a Sajjada Nashin or the descendant of a Sufi saint like his predecessor Yusuf Raza Gilani.
"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.
Pakistan Muslim League, a key partner in Pakistan's ruling coalition on Tuesday withdrew 17 of its ministers from the federal cabinet, saying the Pakistan People's Party-led government had failed to honour its commitments and to resolve the problems of the people.
A leader said Bhutto and her husband's frozen wealth, including both inland and offshore bank accounts as well as assets, is worth $1.5 billion.
ASJ Chander Jit Singh underscored he would first consider the issue of jurisdiction and whether or not to transfer the case to a special court meant to try lawmakers, considering Rashid was now an MP.
A Pakistani court on Wednesday rejected a petition seeking the registration of a criminal case against Mansoor Ijaz, the central character in the memo scandal, for allegedly inciting people against the government. Additional Sessions Judge Wajahat Hussain of Islamabad rejected the petition filed by Khalid Javed, an activist of the ruling Pakistan People's Party.
The Pakistan prime minister will be from Pakistan People's Party, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz joint secretary Siddique-ul Farooq said on Friday.
There was no response from the government but it has taken note of the demand, Sangma said.
Former premier Raja Pervez Ashraf's nomination papers for a parliamentary constituency in Rawalpindi were rejected by authorities on Monday, even as the Election Commission completed the verification of nominations of the 24,094 candidates contesting the May 11 polls.
There is no change in India's Pakistan policy after general elections in the neighbouring country, Defence Minister A K Antony said on Saturday. "There was no change in our policy towards Pakistan," he told mediapersons at the Hindustan Aeronautics complex in Nashik.
Pakistan People's Party chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has left on a foreign trip and will not be present in the country when it goes to polls on May 11, according to a media report. Bilawal, 24, will not address any rallies or meetings ahead of the general election due to threats to his life, sources in the PPP were quoted as saying in the report.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Sharif, 70, and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) vice-chairman and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Sunday filed their nomination papers for the post.
Former Pakistan premier Nawaz Sharif has threatened to pull his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party out of the ruling coalition and "sit in the opposition" if judges sacked by former president Pervez Musharraf are not reinstated by Friday.
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.
'Who are Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti to issue certificates?'
They said police parties fanned out to find them amid reports that they had been abducted and killed by terrorists.
For the first time in their lives, 186 Pakistani Hindu refugees in Delhi cast their votes in the Delhi Assembly polls, marking a significant moment in their journey towards citizenship. Having received Indian citizenship under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, they expressed hope for a better future with permanent homes and stable livelihoods. The refugees, who have lived in makeshift shelters and struggled with daily wage work for decades, felt a sense of belonging and empowerment after exercising their voting right.
A Pakistani businessman who was inspired by Indian anti-graft campaigner Anna Hazare to begin a fast unto death against corruption ended his protest on Tuesday after parliamentarians assured him of action on his demands.
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.
