If General Asim Munir, Pakistan's new army chief, wants to help defuse the current polarised atmosphere and shepherd civilian politicians towards negotiations on an acceptable date for elections, he may need to distance himself from any perception of needless hostility to Imran Khan, explains Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W, India's external intelligence agency.
There were Vedic mantras engraved along with prayer songs for Lord Shiva, Lord Rama and Lord Krishna. Neither the government nor the people of Faisalabad demanded that the carvings be removed. I felt very happy to see Sanskrit shloka
Determined to oust Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, tens of thousands of protesters on Friday marched towards the capital in two separate convoys as clashes erupted with opposition leader Imran Khan claiming that ruling PML-N activists fired at his vehicle.
Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed, who has been replaced as ISI chief, will remain in the forefront of Pakistani initiatives in Afghanistan as also in the peace talks with the Tehrik e Taliban, Pakistan. He will also get a year plus to serve in a corps command, remaining in the race for selection as the next army chief when General Bajwa retires in November 2022, explains Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing.
In a surprise military shake-up, the Pakistan Army on Wednesday announced that the powerful spy agency ISI chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed has been appointed as Peshawar Corps Commander -- a crucial position in view of the Taliban's takeover of neighbouring Afghanistan.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Sharif, 70, and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) vice-chairman and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Sunday filed their nomination papers for the post.
India will need to watch carefully and understand the new round of instability and uncertainty in Pakistan, while charting the course of its future diplomatic initiatives, points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
The Pakistan Democratic Movement, an alliance of 11 opposition parties formed on September 20, has launched a three-phased anti-government movement under an "action plan" to remove the Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf government.
As per the charges, these proscribed outfits were operating under the guise of charities and were involved in funnelling funds to terror suspects.
'Let's hold the (applause) until he's convicted'
The court sentenced Saeed to five-and-a-half years and imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 in each case. The sentences of both cases will run concurrently.
Pakistani authorities have lodged a first information report into the Pathankot terror attack case, officials said on Friday.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party has won 23 seats while the Pakistan Peoples Party was second with eight seats and the incumbent Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz secured just six seats, the state-run Radio Pakistan reported.
Pakistani security agencies on Thursday arrested two suspects involved in the car bomb blast outside the house of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack mastermind and chief of the banned Jamat-ud-Dawah (JuD) Hafiz Saeed, an official said.
Senior general refuses to retire, reveals Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Ananlysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
The trial of 7 Pakistanis, charged with involvement in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, hit a fresh blockade on Saturday after the judge hearing the case was transferred, resulting in no proceedings for the second consecutive week.
Former premier Nawaz Sharif on Saturday vowed to make Pakistan an economic power and usher in a revolution if his Pakistan Muslim League party is voted to power in the next general election. "My team will bring about a revolution in Pakistan," he said while addressing a rally at Gujranwala in Punjab province that was attended by thousands of his supporters. He contended that the PML-N would come to power again to serve the people and to make the country an economic force.
Pakistan on Tuesday hanged 17 prisoners, the highest number of executions on a single day
United Nations proscribed terrorist Lakhvi, 61, who was on bail since 2015 in the Mumbai attack case, was arrested by the Counter-Terrorism Department of Punjab province on Saturday.
Hafiz Saeed on Tuesday led a 'Kashmir Caravan' from Lahore to Islamabad
A woman and her two minor granddaughters were killed when an angry mob set alight several houses, shops in Pakistan's Punjab province belonging to the minority Ahmadi sect in riots that followed the alleged posting of blasphemous content on Facebook.
Pakistani security agencies have arrested Al Qaeda's number two, Ayman al-Zawahiri's close aide from Gujranwala and shifted him to Islamabad to investigate the Marriott Hotel suicide attack.
Saeed made the remarks while addressing a Friday prayer congregation at a mosque in Gujranwala in Pakistan's Punjab province on Saturday.
India became the first side in international cricket to reach the landmark of 700 one-day internationals during the fourth ODI against England in Bangalore on Sunday.
Security analsyst abd rediff columnist B Raman on why a new ISI chief was anointed in Pakistan.
8 people were killed in continuing clashes on Saturday between supporters of influential Pakistani cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri and security forces with over 1,000 injured across Punjab province, the Canada-based religious leader's party claimed.
The security agencies in Pakistan are clueless about the whereabouts of these 19 most wanted terrorists. Some of them have been hiding in Pakistan and others are believed to have fled the country.
A look at Sachin Tendulkar's career on the occassion of his 35th birthday on April 24, Thursday.
"He (Sarabjit) is a simpleton, who had unknowingly strayed into Pakistan. I have even stayed with him in the same jail," said Mehboob Elahi, former Indian prisoner in Pakistan who was released from the prison in 1996. "I have stayed with him in the same cell at Gujranwala jail. Not for a day or two, but at least a year and a half," 52-year-old Elahi told television channel NDTV.
The cases have been registered in Lahore, Gujranwala and Multan for collection of funds for terror financing through assets/properties made and held in the names of Trusts/ Non Profit Organisations including Al-Anfaal Trust, Dawatul Irshad Trust and Muaz Bin Jabal Trust.
Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar, considered a close confidante of army chief Gen Raheel Sharif, was appointed on Monday as the new head of Pakistan's powerful spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence.
Their identity could be established on the basis of seized diaries.
A heavily pregnant woman and her husband have become latest victims of suspected honour killing in Pakistan, just a day after another pregnant woman was killed by her own mother in the same Punjab province for contracting marriage against parents' will.
The Pakistani team investigating the Pathankot terror attack will complete its probe this week, a top official said on Monday, days after three suspects in the high-profile case were remanded to police custody.
Three students were on Wednesday taken into custody in Pakistan in connection with the Pathankot attack.
A journalist working for a private TV channel was killed on Sunday in Pakistan's Punjab province by unknown gunmen, the channel said. Yaqoob Shehzad, a news correspondent with the Express News was sitting with a friend inside an office in Gujranwala city when armed men came and opened fire.
With the maulana fully committed and PML (N) cadres prepared to court arrest, this would be the first time where both Punjabis and Pakhtuns would be standing up against the Pakistan army, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
After receiving sanction under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the NIA will name Azhar, his brother Rauf Asghar, and handlers of four terrorists -- Qashif Jan and Shaid Latif in the chargesheet to be filed soon, official sources said.
Pakistani umpire Aleem Dar, who started his international career in 2000, will stand in a record 129th Test match when Australia take on New Zealand in the first Test in Perth on Thursday.
A Pakistani court on Saturday ordered the police to register a case against Geo TV, actress Veena Malik, her husband Asad Khatak and others over a programme that allegedly contained blasphemous content.
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