As he settled down to his job as army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa -- who died last week; his passing did not merit even an obituary in major print or electronic media in Pakistan! -- developed a vision of reducing his country's and his institution, the army's traditional hostility toward India, points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
The Supreme Court has announced it will begin final hearings on May 5 regarding the constitutional validity of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA), with over 200 petitions challenging the law.
'We are only going to the Supreme Court to protect the rights (of Muslims) which are given by the Constitution. Nothing more,' says Indian Union Muslim League MP P V Abdul Wahab, explaining why the IUML has challenged the Citizenship Amendment Bill in the Supreme Court.
Creating a powerful new chief of defence forces has split the Pakistan military into four competing factions, points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
Giving a boost to the Pakistan's Ruling Party in the politically crucial province of Punjab ahead of this year's general election, two top leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz and Pakistan Muslim League - F, including Governor Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood, have joined the party along with their lawmaker sons.
In the recent Bangladesh elections, four minority candidates, including two Hindus, secured parliamentary seats, highlighting the evolving political landscape and representation of minority communities within the BNP's victory.
'The BNP's election manifesto lists grievances against India, mirroring the attitude of past BNP governments.' 'Political parties have been careful not to say bad things about China.'
A senior leader of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Wednesday claimed that the military operation against India was designed under the supervision of the party president Nawaz Sharif.
'Many senior Bangladeshis feel Bangladesh will fall into anarchy if the Jamaat becomes an important part of a future government or has disproportionate influence in the government.'
Indian business tycoon Sajjan Jindal, along with his family, attended the wedding festivities of the grandson of former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif in Lahore. Jindal, the managing director of JSW Steel, was among 700 local and foreign guests who attended the wedding of Sharif's grandson Zayd Hussain Nawaz at their palatial Jati Umra Raiwind residence in Lahore on Sunday. Several other Indians also attended the festivities.
The result is a big blow to the military establishment, revealing the limits of 'political engineering'. It reflected the anger of the electorate, especially its younger voters, who have spoken decisively against the persistent harassment and victimisation of Imran Khan's political party, asserts Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
Pakistan claims it was a mosque and an educational complex that were hit in the strikes at Muridke, located at about 40 km from Lahore.
A war between Pakistan and India is no more an option to resolve their disputes as both countries have become nuclear powers, a senior Pakistan leader has said. "Now that both countries have turned a nuclear power, I do not think war will be an option," Mushaid Hussain Sayed, secretary general of the pro-Musharraf Pakistan Muslim League-Q, said.
'Five months after the elections in February 2024, the Pakistan army has not been able to break Imran Khan's resolve and break his political party.'
India has also taken note of reports of Saeed's son Talha contesting elections in Pakistan and said the "mainstreaming" of radical terror outfits in the neighbouring country is nothing new and that it has been part of its State policy for a long time.
Senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Maryam Nawaz, the daughter of three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, on Monday, became the first-ever woman chief minister of a province in Pakistan when she was elected to head the Punjab province, describing it as an 'honour' for every woman in the country.
The 73-year-old leader castigated the judges for legitimising military dictators.
Shehbaz Sharif, the younger brother of former premier Nawaz Sharif, is expected to become Pakistan's new prime minister as the coalition of leading political parties led by them is set to comfortably cross the simple majority mark to form the next government after elections produced a split mandate.
'The government is saying 88 Hindus have been killed, but it could be much more.' 'Their properties are being looted, their businesses have been ransacked. I am getting distress calls from there.' 'Muslims who believe in the philosophy of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman are also under attack. Most of those who have fled Bangladesh after Sheikh Hasina's fall are Muslims.'
Senior Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz leader Shahbaz Sharif on Wednesday claimed there was 'concrete' proof of India's alleged involvement in fomenting unrest in Pakistan's Balochistan province and tribal areas. Sharif, the brother of former premier and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, claimed India is involved in disrupting peace in tribal regions like Balochistan and Waziristan. "There is concrete information that India has a dirty role in destabilising Balochistan," he said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday slammed Rahul Gandhi for his 'surrender' barb at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying it is not only a grave insult to the armed forces and country but also no less than treason.
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.
Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf has "conceded to his exile in London" and made up his mind not to return to Pakistan in the wake of the Supreme Court's verdict that the emergency imposed by him in 2007 was unconstitutional, according to one of his close aides.
Opposition parties allege the visit was aimed at 'capping' the country's nuclear programme ahead of President Musharraf's visit to the US.
At least 22 people, including five women and two children, were killed and over 60 others injured on Tuesday when a powerful car bomb went off outside the home of a senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader in Punjab province, the latest in a wave of terror attacks in Pakistan that have claimed more than 500 lives since October.
There was no progress in the formation of a new coalition government in Pakistan on Tuesday as top leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) failed to agree on a power-sharing deal in their latest round of talks, indicating deepening fissures in the country's political landscape.
INDIA bloc parties are set to raise issues such as the Pahalgam attack, US President Trump's claims of brokering a ceasefire, and concerns over electoral roll revisions in Bihar during the Parliament's Monsoon session.
In a surprise development, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz on Tuesday nominated its president Shehbaz Sharif as the prime ministerial candidate of Pakistan instead of the party supremo and three-time former premier Nawaz Sharif.
Whenever tenures of army chiefs were extended in the recent past, prime ministers were subsequently eased out of office by the same army chief, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
The newly-elected National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament, is meeting to elect the prime minister.
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.
On Sunday, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) formed the committee to probe the explosive allegations levelled by former Rawalpindi Commissioner Liaquat Ali Chattha that widespread rigging aided by the judiciary and the top election body took place against jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's party in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.
Khan, 71, has been lodged at the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on account of multiple cases against him.
Mian Javed Latif said a decision on PML-N supremo and the three-time prime minister Sharif's anticipated return will be discussed with the coalition partners.
The political and ideological differences between the Congress and Shashi Tharoor is no longer a matter of whispers.
Bilawal has said the reality is that his party does not have a mandate to form a federal government.
Khan is now our enemy and he will be treated like that," Pak's Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah declared.
Hamza was re-elected to the post by just three votes amidst high drama.
In an interaction with a group of Indian journalists, the three-time prime minister and president of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-N described Jaishankar's visit as a "good opening" and said both sides should now engage and move forward.
Pakistan's election commission has formed a high-level committee to probe the explosive allegations levelled by a senior bureaucrat that widespread rigging aided by the judiciary and the top election body happened against jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's party in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.
