Dialogue is the only way to address outstanding problems between Pakistan and India, as both countries cannot afford wars, Pakistan Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has said.
The police guard who gunned down Punjab Governor Salman Taseer was assigned to protect key personalities, including Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani. Self-confessed killer Mumtaz Qadri was detailed on protection duties on as many as 509 occasions in the past three years, including for United States delegations, which are prime targets for terrorists.
The ruling Pakistan Peoples Party's top leadership has decided to contest the Supreme Court's move to frame contempt charges against Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, according to a media report on Friday. Gilani's lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan is likely to file an appeal in a few days against the apex court's order summoning the premier on February 13 for the framing of contempt of court charges for failing to act on orders to reopen graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari. T
Pakistani media on Tuesday warned beleaguered Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani-led government that it has been granted a "last lifeline" by the Supreme Court to end its confrontation with the judiciary as the nation can ill-afford another spell of military rule.
While Pakistan reeled under a major political crisis set off by a controversial interview given by Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to a Chinese state-run daily, the "scoop" was "blacked" out in Beijing.
Pakistan's beleaguered Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, facing calls to resign from former allies, received a boost on Monday as President Asif Ali Zardari and the ruling Pakistan People's Party threw their weight behind him. Zardari, who is camping in the southern city of Karachi, said he and the Pakistan Peoples Party have "full confidence" in Gilani and would "solidly stand behind him in foiling any attempt to destabilise the coalition government".
On the eve of a crucial meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani, the United States on Wednesday said that it encourages such development which is good for the region.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani will meet in Thimphu on Thursday, said sources.
Pakistna Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday said talks are the "only way forward to improve ties with India" and Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar's visit to New Delhi will provide an opportunity for the two sides to move ahead with the process of negotiations.
An Indian intelligence officer told rediff.com, "It's very well possible that when Zardari was out of the country Gilani took a hawkish stand to please the army chief General Ashfaq Kiyani. Right now, a hard stand against anyone perceived to be softer on India or America makes good politics in Islamabad."
In deepening tensions between the government and the judiciary, the Pakistan's Supreme Court has issued an ultimatum to embattled to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani directing him to "immediately" write to Swiss authorities to revive graft cases against the President.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani today said the ISI has given its "feedback" to India on "some information" about the Mumbai attacks that New Delhi had shared with US intelligence agency CIA.
Amid reports of a rift between them, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani met in Islamabad on Wednesday to discuss the regional security situation after the country's admission that captured Mumbai attacker Ajmal Amir Kasab is its national. The meeting came amid Pakistani media reports that Zardari was angry over Gilani's decision to sack Durrani without consulting him. Durrani had been handpicked by Zardari for the key post last year.
Weeks into new dialogue with the US on resetting relations, Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said his nation was still operating on a trust deficit with Washington.
The era of wars has ended and Pakistan is prepared to resolve all outstanding issues with India, including the Kashmir dispute and terrorism, through talks, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Monday.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani acknowledged that the case of Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed was an "issue" between Pakistan and India but said Islamabad needs "substantial" evidence against him to try him in a court of law.
The case of Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed is an "internal issue" and any evidence against him should be provided to Pakistan so that the courts can take action, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Thursday.
After the meeting, Dr Singh said, "I had a very good meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Gilani. We reviewed the state of our relationship. We expressed happiness at the resumption of trade on the two routes in Jammu and Kashmir. We also discussed possibilities of increased trade between our two countries, the visa regime. And, he told me about their commitment to the success of the joint terror mechanism talks."
Pakistani officials have dismissed reports that Prime Minister Gilani has already accepted his Indian counterpart's invitation to watch the semi-final match between the cricket teams of the two countries, saying a decision would be made when the premier returns from a visit to Uzbekistan.
Pakistani officials have dismissed reports that Prime Minister Gilani has already accepted his Indian counterpart's invitation to watch the semi-final match between the cricket teams of the two countries, saying a decision would be made when the premier returns from a visit to Uzbekistan.
Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, who met US President George W Bush in Washington on Monday, did not rule out adding more muscle to military operations in the war on terror while Bush said Islamabad must do "more" on this front.
Hours after Pakistan Supreme Court on Monday issued a contempt notice to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, the leaders of ruling coalition decided that he should appear in the apex court on January 19 in the matter relating to reopening of corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.
The Pakistan government has received intelligence inputs about terrorist threats to the Prime Minister and other top political leaders like opposition Pakistan Muslim League-N chief Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani disclosed this during an interaction with the media at Gilgit in the Northern Areas on Wednesday.
Pakistan wants "excellent relations" with India even as the two countries work to address "core issues" like the Kashmir dispute, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said.
The US and Britain should play a role in resolving outstanding issues between Pakistan and India so that this country can focus on operations against militants along the western border with Afghanistan, Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Wednesday.
Pakistani Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday said India should not get swayed by "partisan considerations" on the decisions arrived at during his meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Egypt, an apparent reference to uproar in New Delhi over certain aspects of the joint statement.
Pakistan People's Party co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari has categorically said that Yousuf Raza Gilani will be the country's new prime minister for five years and not for three months. Zardari said that he himself is not interested in the job, as is being implied. Local daily The News quoted him as saying that Gilani slept in Adiyala jail without any proper bed for three months but he never contacted his powerful friends and influential relatives for help.
Leaders of the ruling Pakistan People's Party believe that the allegations of corruption levelled against Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry's son have some link to the Supreme Court's decision to disqualify Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.
Pakistan Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani on Thursday in an unprecedented tongue-lashing against the powerful military said it is "unacceptable" if the army "considers itself a State within State" and warned that "conspiracies" are being hatched to "pack up" his government.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani will be accompanied by ex-premier Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and several of his cabinet colleagues, including Interior Minister Rehman Malik, for his visit to Mohali on Wednesday to watch the World Cup semi-final between India and Pakistan, a media report has said.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Sunday said he was prepared to resign if the issue of approaching Swiss authorities for reopening graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari was resolved by his departure.
Pakistan will conduct its own investigation into the evidence provided by India on the Mumbai terror strikes and punish any person found involved under its own laws, as it cannot allow the country's soil to be used for terrorism, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Monday.Gilani, who had on Sunday ruled out handing over any Pakistani national found to be involved in the Mumbai attacks to any other country, said that Islamabad was not acting on anyone's pressure.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will meet his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani in Thimphu on Thursday, their first substantive meeting in less than a year with India expected to make its unhappiness clear over Pakistan's inaction against perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks.
US President Barack Obama will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistani Premier Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, the White House said on Tuesday.
Pakistan's Supreme Court on Thursday directed Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to ask Swiss authorities to revive graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari and to submit a report on the issue on March 21.
Ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's meeting with his Pakistan counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani, India on Wednesday sounded positive on continuing talks but said there were some "difficult" issues still remaining and Islamabad needed to take credible action to bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks to justice.
Citing precedents set by apex courts in countries like India, Pakistan Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday filed an appeal in the Supreme Court seeking suspension of its order summoning him for framing of contempt charges over his failure to reopen graft cases against the President.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani had not handed over any dossier to him on Balochistan during their meeting in Egypt earlier this month. Intervening in a discussion in the Lok Sabha on the joint statement issued with Pakistan, Dr Singh said, "I categorically say no such dossier was given to me".Dr Singh met Gilani in Sharm-el Sheikh on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement summit.
Pakistan Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani "gave his word" on Sunday to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz that his government will not extend any help to former president Pervez Musharraf to defend himself in any court of law as they agreed to bridge the "trust deficit" between the parties.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has claimed "victory" in the recent stand-off with the United States, saying he has received a message from Washington that America needs Pakistan's support to win the war on terror.