Persisting ambiguity over the possibility of an Indo-Pak dialogue taking place on the sidelines of next week's SAARC summit in Bhutan, has once again hijacked attention from broader and more complex issues involving this nearly 25-year-old regional grouping.
President Asif Ali Zardari signed into law a landmark constitutional amendment bill on Monday that will strip him of his sweeping powers, saying it would help prevent the emergence of dictatorships in Pakistan.
Nuclear weapons will not be used, in case, a war breaks out between Indian and Pakistan, said Pakistan Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar on Tuesday.This was reported by a Pakistani website.
After some plain speaking by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, US President Barack Obama has leaned on Pakistan to rein in the Lashkar-e-Tayiba. Singh, who met Obama in Washington on Sunday night, emphasised that Pakistan needed to take "convincing action" against those responsible for Mumbai attacks.
The criticism of the Indo-Pakistan joint statement is largely misdirected and based on the misperception that the composite dialogue has already been resumed and will continue full tilt no matter what Pakistan does. In fact what Dr Singh and Gilani agreed to was much more limited and laced with caution.
The dossier with proof of 'India's involvement in subversive activities in Pakistan' was handed over by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh during their recent meeting at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, the Dawn newspaper claimed quoting sources as saying.
India on Tuesday demanded a 'visible response' and undertaking from Pakistan on bringing the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attacks to justice, as officials and leaders of the two countries prepare to meet in Sharm-el-Sheikh to review Islamabad's actions on its promises.
In a significant move, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has agreed to relinquish some key powers like appointment of the army chief and dissolution of Parliament.Pakistan's political parties have also reached a basic consensus on the move, which they claim will bolster Pakistan's democratic constitution, which has been heavily altered by the country's successive military rulers. Zardari also wants to restore Pakistan's constitution as it was made in 1973.
Claiming that the Kashmir issue holds the key to durable peace in the region, Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday sought a 'constructive and purposeful' dialogue with India to resolve the problem. "Pakistan remains committed to finding a just and peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the United Nations Security Council resolutions and aspirations of the Kashmiri people," Gilani said while addressing a meeting in Islamabad.
The Pakistan Supreme Court on Thursday ordered action against former prime minister Raja Parvez Ashraf and several others in the multi-billion rupee development funds case.
Pakistan's elected government will complete its tenure as there is no threat to democracy and the army has no intention of coming to power, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said.
Freezing or calling off the re-engagement process in the wake of Tahawwur Hussain Rana's confession on 26/11 will be an easy option, but that will take both India and Pakistan back into stewing in their past, feels strategic expert B Raman
We must take note of the feelings of hurt and bitterness coming out of Pakistan after the World Cup semi-final loss to India. But we should not allow these to create self-doubts in our mind about the wisdom of the exercise set in motion at Mohali, says B Raman
In the run-up to the much-awaited cricket battle, signals from New Delhi suggest that Mohali is neither Sharam-el-Sheikh of 2009 nor Shimla of 1972 (where the bilateral meeting between then prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto inked the historic agreement).
United States has stepped up diplomatic efforts to defuse the deepening political crisis in Pakistan, with Special Envoy Richard Holbrooke asking the country's top leadership to resolve differences with the PML-N so that they could focus on the war against militancy.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari is under tremendous pressure from different quarters to step down, which probably is the reason why he handed over the 'nuclear button' to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, but analysts believe Zardari has tightened his clutch on the presidency for the time being.
Pakistan's powerful Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani was on Thursday night given a three-year extension in service, ending months of speculation over his continuance.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari is committed to shed some constitutional powers well before March 30, the deadline he set for materializing his plan, well-placed official sources have said.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban ki Moon on Tuesday said he had impressed upon top Pakistani leadership, including President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani that they should fully cooperate with India and thoroughly investigate the Mumbai terrorist attacks. Addressing a press conference on returning from his visit to India and Pakistan, he said the Pakistani leaders had 'committed to me that they will fully cooperate' with India in the investigation
China and Pakistan on Thursday signed two agreements and MoUs pertaining to space technology and energy as Beijing pledged $190 million for a satellite project.
Amid the tensions between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks, Indian High Commissioner Satyabrata Pal attended a dinner hosted by Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari for envoys of the non-Muslim countries in Islamabad.The dinner hosted by Zardari on Saturday night at the Presidential palace was also attended by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.Apart from the Indian High Commissioner, envoys of the United States, China, Britain, Russia were present.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has once again said that Islamabad would continue its support to the Kashmiri people and the government's decision to give autonomy to Gilgit Baltistan does not mean that it has shelved the Kashmir issue."We gave internal autonomy, sovereignty to Gilgit Baltistan which was a long standing demand of its people but this does not mean that we have forgotten Kashmir issue. We will continue to give moral and diplomatic support," he said.
Appearing to change the tone after tough talk on Mumbai attacks, the US on Thursday said Pakistan "understands its responsibilities" to respond to terrorism wherever it exists and sounded convinced that Islamabad would act against those responsible for the strikes in India.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari met Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Saturday night to discuss the fallout of the coordinated terrorist strikes in Mumbai amid India's accusations about possible Pakistani links to the attacks. This was the second meeting on Satruday of the three top leaders
Validating New Delhi's fears that Islamabad was using US security aid to beef up its military against it, the Obama administration has accused Pakistan of illegally modifying the Harpoon anti-ship missile and maritime surveillance aircraft P-3C for land attacks for potential use against India.
The Pakistani Air Force has started the production of pilot-less drones, days after Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani pressed the United States to transfer the sensitive technology for a more potent type, which is used by the American military to target the Taliban.According to details issued by the PAF, the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex Kamra has commenced the production of pilot-less planes Falco Unmanned Aerial Vehicle.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has said that Islamabad should not beg New Delhi for talks."We should tell India that if they are not ready for talks then Pakistan is also not eager to enter any talk process," Leader of the Opposition Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan told the House in categorical words.Chaudhry Nisar was referring to the talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani.
Hours after Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said that his country "qualifies" for a civilian nuclear deal with the US, like that of India, the Obama Administration in a blunt message told it that such a deal is not on platter of its talks with Islamabad.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who addressed party Members of Parliament on Thursday, backed Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on the joint statement signed between Pakistani PM Yusuf Raza Gilani and him in Sharm-el-Sheikh.
What we need to understand is that when Pakistan feels cornered its leaders will seek assistance and sympathy and export mangoes; their purpose served, they will revert to form and export jihadis. The way to handle Pakistan is not through kind gestures and misplaced magnanimity; these are taken as signs of weakness and generally used to bargain for more.
Leader of opposition L K Advani on Tuesday led a delegation of 146 members of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance and met President Pratibha Devisingh Patil to intervene in the row triggered by the joint-statement issued after talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani at Sharm-el Sheikh, Egypt -- wherein the issue of Baluchsitan was mentioned for the first time.
Pakistan on Thursday did not confirm or deny reports that it handed over a dossier to New Delhi on the alleged Indian involvement in the unrest in Balochistan, saying the issue involved intelligence matters which cannot be discussed in public. Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said the matter had been adequately covered by the joint statement issued after the meeting between Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh.
Prime Minister Mamohan Singh on Friday defended the stance taken by the Indian government, in the joint statement issued with Pakistan, after his meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Yosuf Raza Gilani at the sidelines of the Non-Aligned summit in Egypt.Dr Singh said that he had discussed the terror attack on Mumbai with Gilani, and stressed that sustained, effective and credible action needs to be taken by Pakistan to prevent terror activities on its soil.
Preparing the ground for the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani in Egypt, Islamabad has handed over a fresh dossier on its probe into the Mumbai terror attacks to New Delhi which is figuring out what it amounts to.
Against the backdrop of industrialised nations (G-8) putting curbs on full nuclear cooperation with countries like India, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh leaves for Paris on Monday hoping that the visit would help India and France "build" its strategic partnership in nuclear energy, defence and other areas.
Separately, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said during a meeting with his Norwegian counterpart Jonas Gahr Store in Islamabad that Pakistan wanted its ties with India to normalise "by resolving bilateral disputes through a sustained and meaningful dialogue process."However, "engaging in talks for the sake of talks would serve no purpose," he was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the Foreign Office.
Pakistan has said it will encourage the process of composite dialogue with India 'to reduce tensions and resolve all outstanding issues' between the two neighbouring countries.In a joint statement issued at the end of formal talks between visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and United States President George W Bush on Monday, the two sides said that the Pakistan-India composite dialogue process will be encouraged "to reduce tensions and build trust".
In some blunt talking on Pakistan's role in fomenting terrorism in Kashmir, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama has said the US should confront Islamabad on its funding of "mujahideen" groups in the valley and the terror camps running under its nose.
Members of the banned Jaish-e-Mohammed and militants from South Waziristan tribal region are fighting alongside some 5,000 Taliban fighters in Pakistan's restive Swat valley, chief military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said on Friday.
Ahead of his meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Obama said historically Pakistan has tolerated or in some cases funded the Mujahideen because they think it's somehow helpful to them in Kashmir, which continues to be a "constant instigator" of tension between Islamabad and New Delhi.
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