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 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.
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.
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 opposition leader said Musharraf's refusal to form a commission to probe the Kargil debacle was self serving and untenable.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
'It was the hostility of the Yunus regime that made India careful and wary of dealing with them.' 'They gradually backed off and lowered the noise, but the damage was done.' 'Their true colours had been exposed.'
'They contest to ensure they win the election.'
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 prime minister will be from Pakistan People's Party, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz joint secretary Siddique-ul Farooq said on Friday.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
'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 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.
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.
Two AK-47 rifles, two Glock pistols, and a huge cache of ammunition were seized from them, he said.
There was no response from the government but it has taken note of the demand, Sangma said.
A day after Pakistan agreed to grant former prime minister Benazir Bhutto an amnesty from prosecution in corruption cases against her, Interpol has put the govt in a fix by enquiring about her status. Interpol had issued red corner notice on Bhutto.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari plans to not only disband the political wing of the spy agency but also make it accountable to his country's parliament, reports Amir Mir
Abdullah said they are claiming that terrorism is over but the ground situation shows that it has increased in otherwise peaceful Jammu region.
In a sign of growing rancour between Pakistan's ruling coalition partners, Pakistan People's Party chairman Asif Ali Zardari has lashed out at Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz president Shahbaz Sharif for not taking steps to release his friend, who is in a Punjab jail for nine years on charges of drug smuggling. The PML-N president has reportedly turned down the request though his party is in power in Punjab.
The ruling Pakistan People's Party on Friday named former IT Minister Raja Parvez Ashraf as it candidate for the post of prime minister hours before a special session of Parliament convened to elect a new premier.
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.
Pakistan People's Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has said that the office of President of Pakistan was the 'right' of his party and the Sindh province. He added that a dedicated worker of slain former premier Benazir Bhutto's party would soon be installed at the post.''I know it very well that there are some remnants of dictatorship, who want to destabilise the coalition government,'' he said without naming President Pervez Musharraf and his political allies.
