Negotiations between the embattled Pakistan government and protesters on Monday made "some progress" even as opposition leader Imran Khan stuck to his demand of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's resignation to end the 26-day political impasse that has paralysed the nation.
Pakistan's supreme court on Monday ordered the supporters of Imran Khan and cleric Tahirul Qadri to clear the Constitution Avenue within 24 hours so that the movement of judges and officials is not hampered.
Describing the protests as a "mutiny against Pakistan", the government on Tuesday turned to Parliament for support as demonstrators continued to put pressure on a defiant Nawaz Sharif to quit as prime minister.
The Pakistani Supreme Court ordered for a joint investigation team to probe the allegations of money laundering against his family.
Fresh controversy erupted after Pakistan's powerful Army Chief met Premier Nawaz Sharif on Monday to discuss ways to resolve the deepening political crisis with media reports claiming that the embattled prime minister was advised to step down during the meeting.
'That is not a democratic ideal obviously, but it is a practical reality.' 'It is a consistent feature of politicians in Pakistan that their rhetoric on the army softens the closer they get to the seat of power.'
Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf's petition seeking Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's disqualification in connection with the 'Panama Papers' leaks has been sent to the Election Commission, the National Assembly Speaker said on Saturday.
The admission came in the midst of his virulent campaign against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to resign after his two sons and a daughter were named in Panama Paper leaks as having offshore companies.
Signs of a possible solution to the political crisis engulfing Pakistan emerged on Tuesday with the embattled government saying it has reached an agreement with Imran Khan's party on most of their demands, except that of Premier Nawaz Sharif's ouster which it said is non-negotiable.
Sharif said that Khan's position was much weaker this time than in 2013 when last general elections were held.
About 2,000 activists of Tehreek-i-Khatm-i-Nabuwwat, Tehreek-i-Labaik Ya Rasool Allah and the Sunni Tehreek Pakistan for more than two weeks have been blocking the Islamabad Expressway and Murree Road that connect Islamabad with its only airport and the garrison city of Rawalpindi.
While ruling out the possibility of a military takeover, observers warned that the "military may move in if there is a major public disorder in the country".
Five Pakistani soldiers and at least 27 militants, including some foreigners, were killed On Sunday in clashes and air strikes in the restive northwestern tribal belt, where the military has launched a major offensive against the Taliban.
At least 200 religious scholars in Pakistan have issued a fatwa terming suicide attacks as "un-Islamic" and said the Islamic governments are bound to crush rebel groups like the Taliban, ISIS and Al-Qaeda.
Inciting the public to raise funds for jihad (holy war) is not allowed to individuals or any organisation in Pakistan and is considered as treason, the Lahore high court has ruled even as it dismissed appeals of two terrorists convicted for raising funds for a proscribed terror outfit.
Pakistan opposition leader Imran Khan and cleric Tahirul Qadri tonight marched with thousands of their supporters to enter the heavily fortified 'Red Zone', the capital's diplomatic and political enclave, as minor clashes took place between anti-government protesters and security personnel.
Pakistan's Punjab government has said that the involvement of a "foreign hand" could not be ruled out in the Wagah Border suicide bombing, even after three homegrown militant factions separately claimed responsibility for the attack that killed at least 61 people.
Opposition political parties this month sought a no-confidence motion in parliament to remove Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.
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.
Women came out in large numbers to vote on Wednesday despite terror attacks and repeated threats.
Earlier on July 30, Khan, 65, had expressed his desire to take the oath of prime minister on August 11, as his party announced that it had acquired enough seats in the lower house through coalition talks to form a majority government.
Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan chief Saad Hussain Rizvi was on Thursday released from the jail, weeks after Prime Minister Imran Khan-led government entered into a 'secret agreement' with the radical Islamist party which was involved in recent deadly clashes with the police.
As the country readies to go to polls on July 25, one can't deny the role of the military, but there are other factors too.
Three burqa-clad Taliban terrorists stormed the training institute and opened indiscriminate fire, killing at least 12 people, half of them students, before being shot dead by security forces on Friday.
'Pakistan is paying the price for ignoring secularism. In seeking to be ever more Muslim to define its nationhood, it has become a terrorist haven.'
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday chose Lt Gen Asim Munir as the new Army chief to replace incumbent General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
Sharif said his family business has been targeted for over six decades but "there is no single sentence.
At least 69 people including women and children were on Sunday killed and over 300 others injured in a powerful suicide blast in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore.
The Opposition in the Pakistan Punjab assembly on Tuesday staged a walkout to protest against Saeed's detention.
Pakistan's powerful army chief has stepped in to mediate between the embattled government and the protesters seeking resignation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, bringing the military back into the centre stage and signaling a possible end to the high-political drama.
A tense standoff continued in Pakistan on Saturday as overnight talks between the government and protesters demanding Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's resignation made little headway in breaking the political logjam.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday hit back at his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, saying poverty cannot be eradicated by "driving tanks on farmlands" and once again needled India by calling Hizbul commander Burhan Wani the "valiant son of Kashmir".
A five-member bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Saqib Nisar, gave the unanimous verdict on several identical petitions pertaining to the duration of disqualification of a politician under Article 62(1)(f) of the Pakistan Constitution, reported Samaa TV.
Bibi was convicted in 2010 after being accused of insulting Islam in a row with her neighbours. She always maintained her innocence, but has spent most of the past eight years in solitary confinement.
The deceased include 12 policemen, one paramilitary and two civilians, a police official said.
Kalashnikov-wielding terrorists in police uniforms on Wednesday gunned down 47 Shia Ismaili Muslims, including 16 women, shooting them in the head as they attacked their bus in Pakistan's volatile Karachi city in the latest sectarian violence claimed by the dreaded Islamic State terror group.
The apex court ordered the government to act against those propagating 'hatred, extremism and terrorism'.
Immediately after India launched its surgical strikes, sources said, it had informed the US of its action.
'Women have 100 per cent inclusion in the health sector. They are also teaching in the education sector. They are working in each and every one of those sectors where they are required'
Amid Pakistan Army's mediation efforts, protesters have stepped up pressure on the embattled government with cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri setting yet another deadline of 24 hours for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to quit.
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