President Asif Ali Zardari enjoys full immunity from prosecution in criminal cases in Pakistan and abroad, one of the country's top lawyers said on Wednesday ahead of a crucial hearing in the Supreme Court on the issue of reopening graft cases against the president.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani will come face to face for the first time since they crossed swords over the memo issue, when a cabinet committee meets on Saturday to discuss crucial issues related to national security and relations with the US.
As confrontation mounted between the Pakistan government and the army on the one side, and the judiciary on the other, opposition leader Nawaz Sharif said holding immediate polls was the only was out of the crisis.
Pakistan's ruling coalition leaders have decided to call an urgent session of parliament on Thursday in the wake of a warning from the Supreme Court that action could be taken against the president and prime minister for failing to reopen high-profile corruption cases.
The ruling Pakistan People's Party has decided to hold the general election and the polls to the Senate ahead of schedule against the backdrop of rampant speculation that the government may not be able to complete its tenure, according to media reports on Friday.
'The show is about women taking ownership of their lives.'
The Parliamentary Committee on National Security has been asked by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to conduct an inquiry into the secret memo that sought the US help to prevent a possible military takeover in Pakistan in the wake of the killing of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in May.
Zardari had reached out to Ahsan, one of Pakistan's leading lawyers and former Interior Minister, after he became embroiled in the controversy over a secret memo that sought US help to stave off a possible coup in Pakistan following the killing of Osama bin Laden.
Deposing for the third day after his cross-examination began on Wednesday, Headley said Yousuf Raza Gilani, former Pak PM, had visited his house after the 26/11 attacks.
The series of domestic political crises has sipped into Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's diplomatic agenda. He will be addressing the 66th session of the United Nations General Assembly on 24, September.
Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir is set to become Pakistan's High Commissioner in India as part of the biggest reshuffle of envoys approved by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, according to a media report on Tuesday.
China on Tuesday denied any talks with Pakistan for building a naval base at the strategic Gwadar deep sea port, which was built with its assistance in Balochistan.
Pakistan's main opposition leader Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday demanded that the government should form a judicial commission within three days to ascertain how Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was able to hide in the country.
Rejecting Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's criticism of the unilateral action that killed Osama bin Laden, the United States on Monday asserted that it would not apologise to the Pakistan government for the incident.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh did not mince words when media persons hurled a volley of questions at him while returning from Maldives. Rediff.com's Prasanna D Zore, who was part of the media delegation on board prime minister's special aircraft, reports.
Cornered back home for his "man of peace" remarks about his Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani at the ongoing SAARC summit in Maldives, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday went on the offensive stating that the ties between the two countries were far from normal.
The two leaders also agreed that bilateral trade will be conducted on Most Favoured Nation basis.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh leaves New Delhi on Wednesday on a 4-day visit to Maldives to attend the SAARC Summit on the margins of which he will meet his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani.
Evidently on the strength of continuing information provided by Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative and Pakistani American David Coleman Headley alias Daood Gilani, who was an integral protagonist in the conspiracy that led to the horrific 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, four new Lashkar handlers of Headley have been chargesheeted in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (Chicago).
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be meeting his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani on the sidelines of the SAARC Summit to be held in the Maldives next week.
Tahir Ali assesses Pakistan's draining popularity among Afghanistan's power circles and the Taliban, both of whom are fed up with Islamabad's double-standards
With the Supreme Court of Pakistan determined to take up the issue of presidential immunity on February 1, the country may have to yet again brace itself for a rocky month ahead, reports Amir Mir.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday said the Shunglu Committee report on alleged irregularities in the conduct of Commonwealth Games was being analysed by various ministries.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday said cricket and diplomacy between India and Pakistan should be kept separate and the game should allowed to remain a game.
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi is not the only one to support Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's 'cricket diplomacy' in inviting Pakistan President Asif Zardari and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani to visit India and watch Wednesday's semi-final game between India and Pakistan at Mohali.
With Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani accepting Dr Manmohan Singh's invitation to watch the India-Pakistan World Cup semifinals, Mohali has hit fever pitch. India's security agencies face a daunting challenge before Wednesday's high-profile clash as intelligence agencies have warned for a possible terror strike at one of the WC venues, says senior analyst B Raman.
The Pakistan government has announced it would posthumously confer the Hilal-i-Pakistan, one of the country's highest civilian honours, on late United States Special Representative Richard Holbrooke.
In a blow to Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's government, key partner Muttahida Quami Movement on Monday quit his government at the centre and also made an exit from the ruling coalition in the Sindh province, citing Pakistan Peoples Party's "undemocratic and dictatorial" attitude."
In what could be a prelude to a possible operation in North Waziristan against the Al Qaeda militants holed up there, Pakistani military commanders have met with the President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, a move termed by a leading daily in Islamabad as "far from routine".
The United States has refused to confirm the death of Harkatul Jihad al-Islami chief Ilyas Kashmiri in a recent drone strike in Pakistan's South Waziristan region.
A Pakistani commission to probe how Osama bin Laden lived undetected in the garrison city of Abbottabad has run into rough weather days after its formation, with one member refusing to join the panel and the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz criticising the manner of its formation.
The Pakistan government on Tuesday formed a commission to probe the killing of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in a covert United States raid in the garrison city of Abbottabad and to determine the nature and causes of lapses associated with the incident.
The United States has conveyed a veiled threat to Pakistan that their bilateral defence cooperation can come under a cloud if the standoff on the issue of double murder-accused US national Raymond Davis' immunity persists.
Kashmir Solidarity Day will be observed in Pakistan on February 5, as it has been every year since 1990. The propaganda that is being organised is on predictable lines.
Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf on Monday said the American operation against Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden on Pakistani soil was a 'violation of our sovereignty' and felt the Gilani government should have been kept in the loop.
A Pakistani policeman attached to Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani's security detail has been detained along with an official of the country's electronic media watchdog in connection with Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer's assassination, while investigators are looking for a cleric who motivated the killer. Mumtaz Qadri, the Elite Force guard gunned down 66-year-old Taseer in Islamabad on Tuesday for opposing the controversial blasphemy law.
As a follow-up to the talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani, India has decided in principle to resume bilateral cricket ties with Pakistan. Government sources said the time of the visit, the venues of the matches and other logistical issues would be decided by the cricket boards of the two countries.
British Prime Minister David Cameron on Tuesday called on India and Pakistan to strengthen their peace process and trade relations, saying the time is ripe for the two countries to replace the mistrust of the past with opportunities for mutual progress.Cameron, who made a day-long visit to Islamabad at the invitation of Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, said Britain wants a strong relationship with both India and Pakistan.
Pakistan has ruled out any possibility of involving the United States to resolve its outstanding issues with India as it clearly stated that both Islamabad and New Delhi should endeavour to "take ownership of their own affairs" without the interference of any third country.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Friday appealed to the people from all walks of life to play their role in maintaining peace and security in Karachi.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances