Pakistan on Monday executed former police commando Mumtaz Qadri, who brutally assassinated former liberal Punjab governor Salman Taseer for seeking reforms in the country's controversial blasphemy laws, triggering nation-wide protests by Islamists who called it a "black day".
Prime Minister Narendra Modi seems to have secured a rare concession from Pakistan that 'terrorism' and not the issue of Kashmir be the central theme of the India-Pakistan dialogue.
'Pakistan is full of 'religious entrepreneurs' like Hafeez Saeed who poison the minds of the young so that they can be motivated to become terrorists. They work in concert with the rulers of Pakistan. It is a private-public partnership.'
According to the short order, Sharif will have to submit two surety bonds worth Rs 10 million each for his release in the case.
Confrontation between Pakistan government and the opposition escalated on Wednesday with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif rejecting demands for his resignation and Imran Khan calling off the dialogue with his regime until he quits.
Police on Thursday night stormed a youth convention of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf in Islamabad and arrested scores of party workers, prompting party chief Imran Khan to announce nationwide protests on Friday, ahead of his rally next week seeking Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ouster from power.
Pakistan opposition leader Imran Khan on Sunday warned the Nawaz Sharif government that thousands of his supporters could enter the high-security Red Zone in Islamabad if the Prime Minister refused to quit, even as popular cleric Tahir-ul Qadri issued a 48-hour ultimatum demanding the same.
Extensive firing continues in the area and heavy contingents of elite force have been deployed.
Officials said both the factions of the Hurriyat are likely to be banned under Section 3(1) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or the UAPA, under which "if the Central Government is of opinion that any association is, or has become, an unlawful association, it may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare such association to be unlawful."
Legendary Pakistani philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi, who had dedicated his life to humanity and serving the poor, died in Karachi from renal failure. He was 92.
Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan on Friday night said he told Prime Minister Narendra Modi to expect sabotage by "vested interests", but stressed that talks between India and Pakistan should go on "uninterrupted".
'It seems that the BJP in its desire to catapult Modi onto the international stage, knowing the image deficit due to visa denials, has caused unhappiness in Tamil Nadu, uncertainty in Bangladesh and a churning in Pakistan that Sharif may or may not be able to control,' says Ambassador K C Singh.
Both Messrs Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri claim to march independently, but most of Pakistan believes they are marching to the Army's tune
As Pakistan celebrated its Independence Day on Thursday, the fear of violence loomed large with the capital turned into a fortress ahead of two massive anti-government rallies, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and fresh elections.
Cops revealed that the staffer Mehmood Akhtar was sharing sensitive defence documents and deployment details of the BSF along the Indo-Pak border to the ISI.
Tehreek-e-Taliban has claimed responsibility for the brazen attack on the Pakistan Army's Headquarters in Rawalpindi on Saturday, which left four of its militants and eight soldiers dead.
Last year, Maryam Nawaz accompanied her father to Washington, but played a role beyond being the dutiful daughter. She was 'discovered' by the White House, and was hosted by Michelle Obama.
At least 75 people were killed and 115 others injured in the attack.
Pakistan called in the Army to restore order after violent clashes.
In a golden moment in Pakistan's chequered 66-year political history, President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday left the presidency after successfully completing his five-year term, paving the way for India-born Mamnoon Hussain to take over.
Pakistani authorities claimed to have foiled a plot to target Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif by busting a terror network planning to launch suicide attack on his residence in Raiwind on the outskirts of Lahore.
India is worried about Pakistan getting the Taliban to ignite trouble in Kashmir, observes Ramesh Menon.
Amid deepening concerns in China over the regrouping of the ETIM, blamed by Beijing for all the violent attacks in its volatile Xinjiang province and elsewhere in the country, Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Mullah Baradar at Tianjin and sought to prevail on him to build a 'positive image and establish a broad and inclusive political structure that suits Afghanistan's national realities'.
Pakistan's anti-government protesters had a quiet day in Islamabad's high security area where they have been camping demanding Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's resignation, even as opposition leader Imran Khan vowed to continue the sit-in until goals achieved.
Dreaded Islamic State militant group has appointed a breakaway Taliban commander as its chief in Khurasan, a historic name used by militants for an area covering Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of India.
It said the prime minister of Pakistan has neither chosen to condemn the heinous act nor condoled with the bereaved families.
The fissures in the Taliban leadership has deepened as a top dissident commander vowed to target Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan chief Baitullah Mehsud, days after a noted tribal militant was gunned down for speaking out against the feared warlord. Turkistan Bhittani, a dissident Taliban militant commander, has spoken out against the leadership of Baitullah.
Afridi had ran a fake vaccination drive in Abbottabad city to help CIA agents track the former Al Qaeda chief, who was later killed by US Navy Seals in a controversial raid on May 2, 2011.
The court delivered the verdict after postponing it for four times in the Avenfield corruption case -- pertaining to the ownership of four flats in the posh Avenfield House in London.
Pakistan's law minister Zahid Hamid on Monday quit as the government "surrendered" to hardline religious groups, who called off their violent protests in Islamabad that had left six people dead and hundreds injured.
The arrested persons were planning to carry out a grenade attack on a temple at the behest of their Pakistani handler to disturb peace and communal amity in the district.
Pakistan's opposition leader Imran Khan on Thursday hardened his stand by withdrawing from dialogue with the government and vowed to continue his fight till the end, apparently buoyed by the Supreme Court's washing off its hands of the protests.
'He will be constrained if and when he tries to set the foreign policy agenda that is not to the liking of the army.'
14 places in Kashmir and eight places in the national capital were raided by the NIA.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan militants have found sanctuary in Afghanistan's eastern provinces, which are under the Haqqani network's control, reports B Raman
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday cancelled his upcoming visit to the United States where he was scheduled to attend the Nuclear Security Summit.
The attacks on Karachi airport and the Airport Security Force camp are growing signs how Pakistan's home-made monster, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, is growing stronger and is no longer under the tight grip of the Inter-Services-Intelligence, its godfather. Vicky Nanjappa reports how these attacks are just the beginning and there are many more to come.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan has welcomed the Pakistan government's offer for peace talks with all insurgent groups. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani had said recently that his administration was ready to hold negotiations with all militant groups, including the Haqqani network.
'The only quality required in this tenure is to be the military's yes man and that he has the capacity to do so.'
While Sharif and his daughter, Maryam, have been sent to jail on corruption charges, a designated terrorist, Saeed, is not only free but actively seeks votes for the elections while targeting India and the United States.
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