Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan and fiery cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri have been booked under the anti-terrorist act for attempting to attack Pakistan's parliament.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi claimed in a rally in Indore that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence was trying to recruit disgruntled riot-affected youngsters to carry out its nefarious plans. Vicky Nanjappa finds out the truth behind his statement
The fuel price hike for the last 16 days had caused inconvenience and disappointment among the general public.
Taliban forces in Pakistan have announced a ten-day ceasefire in the restive north western Swat valley, as peace talks between a senior cleric and local authorities are believed to have struck a deal to enforce Shariah laws in some parts of the region.The announcement of the truce came a day after a Chinese engineer, abducted by the Taliban six months back, was set free in Swat as a 'goodwill gesture'.
A Muslim cleric of the Jama Masjid in Bharatpur has been detained for interrogation in connection with the Jaipur serial blasts that killed 66 people, the police said on Monday. Mohamaad Ilyas, the Imam of the Jama Masjid, was detained on Friday and had been taken to Jaipur for further investigations by the Special Investigation Team (SIT), Circle Officer (City) Ratan Lal Bhargava said.
Rouhani, who is on his maiden visit, will meet President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday and will discuss cooperation on regional and international issues of mutual concern.
There are many such young men in Maharashtra, mainly in the industrially backward Marathwada region, who had once fallen victim to ISIS's propaganda but are now leading a normal life with the help of the employment training programme.
The EU too urged Pak to ensure "safe and secure conditions" for the polls.
The Afghanistan government has ordered private TV stations in the war-ravaged country to stop broadcasting popular Indian soap operas by April 15, a move that apparently reflected the growing influence of hardliners who criticised the serials as being 'un-Islamic'. Several private Afghan TV channels, including Tolo, Ariana and Shamshad, broadcast the Indian soap operas dubbed in Pashto and Persian. Action will be taken against TV channels that do not stop airing the serails.
Individual banks should break away from the industry pact and have their own settlements with the unions, recommends Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board on Thursday said there was no scope of change in the triple talaq system and rejected the suggestion by some community outfits for building a consensus on making a three-month period mandatory before finalisation of divorce.
The Pakistan Army on Sunday launched a fresh drive against pro-Taliban militants in the northwestern Swat region amidst indications that the security forces would adopt a tougher approach against the ultras in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.
Imams in Uttar Pradesh have been asked to give special discourses after Friday prayers to apprise Muslims that Quran does not approve of any kind of terror activity, a step aimed at checking their exploitation by militant outfits, in the name of Islam. Ulemas (Muslim scholars) under the banner of 'Movement Against Terrorism', which was formed after a meeting of Muslim clerics and scholars in February, have sent letters to imams throughout the state.
Pakistani social media star Qandeel Baloch who was killed for bringing "shame" to the family by posting risque videos and posts on Facebook was strangled to death by her cousin and not by her brother, a polygraph test found on Saturday.
'Who put the fear of god into Imran Khan and how it happened we do not know, but the great cricketer panicked and called Mahathir to regret that he cannot attend the KL Summit,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Television is a tool of enjoyment and most widely used for 'prohibited' things and impossible to use 'without a sin,' says a fatwa by Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband, a view brushed aside by three influential Muslim organisations.
A prominent Muslim cleric on Wednesday asked the government to order a high-level inquiry into the activities of the saffron outfits, including the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal, accusing them 'of playing a role in the recent terror attacks' in the country.Syed Ahmed Bukhari, Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid in New Delhi, raised the demand during a meeting he had with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday morning.
Dr Gupta handled Shivade's blows with quite some equanimity... So it was often only Shivade down in the mud pit, egging and enticing the doctor to join the fight, while Dr Gupta cautiously kept to the sidelines, barely stepping a toe into the mud.
He said that Taslima should tender a written apology for all her 'anti-Islamic publications as per the traditions of the Holy Prophet'. He also sought an assurance from the writer that in the future, she will desist from writing 'blasphemous' material.
The prime minister made these remarks at a meeting of the council of ministers, while asserting the need to maintain an atmosphere of amity and harmony in the country.
Security has been put on high alert across the nation as the Supreme Court of India is all set to deliver its verdict in the Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute, Sabarimala case and a host of other legal wrangles.
Tension continues to simmer in Pakistan's Swat valley with fresh troop build-up while the extremists loyal to pro-Taliban cleric Maulana Fazlullah have released 48 captured soldiers.
A fragile truce in the Swat valley of northwest Pakistan collapsed on Wednesday as troops targeted militant hideouts with artillery and helicopter gunships, killing at least 20 insurgents. The attacks on armed followers of pro-Taliban cleric Maulana Fazlullah in and around Matta were launched after the militants carried out overnight attacks on police posts near Kabal and Saidu Sharif, officials said.
Police and paramilitary troops set up security posts and bunkers protected by sandbags in Kabal, a small town near Maulana Fazlullah's stronghold at Imamdheri.
A pro-Taliban cleric's militant followers on Saturday clashed with security forces at several places in Swat valley of northwest Pakistan leaving up to 15 people dead, a day after troops backed by helicopter gunships attacked a seminary run by him. The skirmishes erupted after security forces attacked Maulana Fazlullah's sprawling madrassa at Imamdheri, three kilometres from Mingora, the headquarters of Swat district in North West Frontier Province.
The Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind, an 89-year old largest such Islamic body in the country that issued a 'fatwa' signed by 6,000 Muslim clerics in Hyderabad ten days ago against terrorism, on Monday moved the Supreme Court for release of a large number of Muslim youths held in connections with blasts in Malegaon in 2001, 2006 and 2008.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has ordered a probe into the matter.
The iftar will be attended by Shia cleric and religious leader Maulana Kalbe Sadiq, Christian priest Anand John, Sikh leader Gurcharan Jeet Singh and Sandip Pandey, Magsaysay award winner and convenor of National Alliance for People's Movement
Should we really pay attention to them, asks Ajit Balakrishnan.
Clerics at Uloom's Darul ifta, the body which issues fatwas, says contraceptives are permissible so that 'the children are properly nourished.'
The army said the militants were apprehended during a search and cordon operation at Kuza Bandai in Swat, where troops have been conducting a major operation since mid-November 2007 to quell the activities of pro-Taliban cleric Maulana Fazlullah and his followers.
A 32-year-old man from Haryana's Mewat district has been arrested by Delhi Police for suspected links with Al Qaeda.
The ripples of Lal Masjid crackdown were felt mostly in tribal areas of NWFP like Malakand Agency and Bajour.
The Bush administration said the Pakistani authorities themselves have to deal with the situation arising out of the standoff between the military and the radicals led by Lal Masjid clerics.
Pakistani security forces have retaken a strategic mountain from pro-Taliban militants in the restive Swat valley in north-west Pakistan and shut down an illegal radio station used by their radical head as a propaganda machine.
Estimates of the remaining militants varied from 2,000 to 5,000 some of whom were believed to be members of the banned Jaish-e-Muhammad.
The government showed little inclination to attempts by Lal Masjid clerics to work out a negotiated settlement for a conditional surrender through Islamic scholars.
The troops are moving closer to Shangla and consolidating their positions and eliminating the militants before making a push towards Alpuri.
Pakistani soldiers backed by helicopter gunships fought pitched battles on Friday with pro-Taliban militants in the north-western Swat Valley, where at least 80 militants including a top rebel commander have been killed since Thursday night.
Pakistani army troops backed by helicopter gunships on Thursday kept up their offensive against armed followers of a pro-Taliban cleric in Swat valley, killing at least 20 militants across the restive region.
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