The Asia Cup to be played in Bangladesh from February 24, will be played in the T20 format for the first time in the tournament's history. The tournament which precedes the vital World T20 to be held in in India in March, has a rich history with India and Sri Lanka winning it five times each. Pakistan have been victorious on two occasions while Bangladesh's best finish has been their runner-up performance in the 2012 edition. Team India will be led by MS Dhoni and the tournament will also see Virat Kohli returning after taking a break from the recently concluded three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka. Dhoni will be chasing history to become the most successful skipper in the tournament history. The Indian skipper and former Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga have both recorded same number of nine victories and four defeats in the Asia Cup All the matches will be played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Mirpur. The qualifying rounds involving Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Oman has begun from Friday.
Apparently trying to dabble in internal rivalry in the Hurriyat, Pakistan has invited hardline leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani as the 'Chairman' of the amalgam along with six other Kashmiri separatist leaders for a meeting in Islamabad later this month.
Suspended Indian Premier League commissioner Lalit Modi has demanded that he be provided with a copy of all the decisions taken at the Cricket Board's Special General Meeting held in Mumbai on Saturday, his legal counsel Mehmood Abdi said.
Suspended IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi on Wednesday hit back at the BCCI, questioning the legality of its July 3 Special General Meeting convened to determine his fate and called it a "khap panchayat".
Terming the foreign secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan, scheduled to be held in New Delhi on February 25, as an 'exploratory' meeting, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said Islamabad wants a meaningful dialogue.Interacting with media persons after addressing the Institute of International Studies in Beijing, Qureshi said all issues confronting both countries must come up for discussions during the upcoming talks.
"we're talking about Kashmir and the relation to what's going on with Pakistan and India. And if we can help, we certainly will be helping," the President said.
The graves of several luminaries of Hindi cinema, including legendary playback singer Mohammad Rafi and music composer Naushad are in the danger of being dug out to make way for new ones. This is due to the space constraints faced by the Muslim Majlis, the trust which manages the Muslim Kabrastan (Burial ground) in the Santacruz-Juhu area of suburban Mumbai.
Pakistan has negated claims that the Kashmir issue was close to settlement through backchannel diplomacy between Islamabad and New Delhi, with the country's foreign minister saying there was no mention of such developments in the records of the Foreign Office.
Ahead of the meeting with his Indian counterpart, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Saturday said New Delhi should engage itself in talks to resolve the Kashmir issue."We hope New Delhi will realise the ground reality and world trends which essentially include negotiations and talks on resolving outstanding issues," he said. Qureshi was addressing a press conference after his meeting with All Parties Hurriyat Conference Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.
The London Conference on Afghanistan will be an occasion which India could use to showcase its massive humanitarian efforts in war-ravaged countries, which many diplomats believe is "undervalued" and little understood by the international community. India is providing US $ 1.3 billion in aid to improve infrastructure, education and medical health of the beleaguered country.
Azad has been restrained from visiting Delhi for four weeks. The court also directed him not to hold any dharna in the national capital till the elections are over.
India said onTuesday that all issues, including India's concerns over terrorism, will be discussed during External Affairs Minister S M Krishna's talks with Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in July. "No issues are to be kept aside," Krishna told journalists accompanying him on his three-day visit to Kazakhstan.
Suspended IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi on Tuesday received four documentary proofs of his alleged wrongdoings from the BCCI, which said it could not offer other evidences since those were of verbal nature.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna will visit Islamabad on July 15 for talks with his Pakistan counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi to work out the modalities for carrying forward the dialogue process to discuss outstanding issues in an atmosphere of mutual trust.
The death sentence awarded to Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone terrorist arrested during the terror siege on Mumbai in November 2008, will not affect any future talks between New Delhi and Islamabad, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said.Qureshi clarified that the Mumbai special anti-terror court's judgment against Kasab will not hinder the proposed talks between the foreign ministers of the two neighbouring countries.
Ahead of a possible meeting between their prime ministers in Thimphu, Pakistan on Tuesday said it wanted the resumption of composite dialogue with India at the political level, as the outcome of parleys between the foreign secretaries had been 'disappointing'."I don't think a forward movement can take place at the foreign-secretary level," Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said, adding, "If you want real progress, it will have to come from the political leaders"
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has denied Islamabad's role in last year's Mumbai terror attacks, but claimed that his government has concrete evidence to prove India's involvement in the ongoing terror activities in Pakistan."Now, it has been admitted globally that Pakistan was not involved in the Mumbai terror attacks. We have concrete evidence regarding Indian involvement in terror activities in Pakistan," the Daily Times quoted Qureshi as saying.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Saturday welcomed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement favouring dialogue between the two countries and said it matched Islamabad's point of view.
Lalit Modi's attorney Mehmood Abdi on Tuesday said he will push for a neutral Supreme Court judge on the Board of Control for Cricket in India's disciplinary panel that is probing alleged financial irregularities by the suspended IPL chairman in the running of the T20 event.
Close on the heels of President Obama's announcement of the revamped Afghan strategy, Pakistan has said that it is concerned about the negative implications of the new US policy in Afghanistan.
Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao has met Home Secretary G K Pillai against the backdrop of apparent differences between the ministry of external affairs and the ministry of home affairs in connection with the Indo-Pak talks held recently. Rao met Pillai on Thursday and is understood to have briefed him about the recent talks between External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi.
Pak Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said despite acknowledging at a bilateral meeting in at Sharm-el-Sheikh that dialogue was the only way forward for the two countries, India did not yet appear to be ready.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi termed as a 'positive development' the Joint Statement issued last week after talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani in Sharm-el Sheikh, Egypt, and said it needed to be taken forward.
Pakistan's powerful ISI is no longer considered a "friend" of Taliban in Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has claimed.
Addressing a joint press conference in Washington along with Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that over the next few days the strategic talks will focus on Pakistan's energy and water needs.
Countering his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi's retort that India was not ready for the talks and that the Indian delegation got policy orders from New Delhi during Thursday's talks, Indian Foreign Minister SM Krishna on Friday said it was normal to stay in contact with the leadership.
"I think the foreign minister of Pakistan does not know the ABC of diplomacy. He has to learn the basic elements of diplomacy i.e. courtesy and respect. You may or may not agree with the other person but you cannot leave courtesy and respect due to him," Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said.
Pakistan on Friday claimed that any talks between the Indian government and separatist Kashmiri leaders will not be successful without its involvement.
Home Minister P Chidambaram virtually ticked off Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi for his statement that it was difficult for his country to rein in elements like Lashkar-e-Tayiba founder Hafiz Saeed.
Iran and Pakistan recently signed an export deal that commits Tehran to selling natural gas to Islamabad from 2014.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that a solution to the Kashmir dispute is critical for better ties between Pakistan and India. He also emphasised that there was a dire need to resolve the issue in accordance with the aspirations of Kashmiris. Qureshi further said that the Pakistan government had invited Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to resume the composite dialogue, which was necessary for ensuring peace in the region.
Pakistan on Tuesday said it wants 'all bilateral issues,' including Kashmir, to be discussed at the foreign secretary-level talks on Thursday and feels much progress would not be made if India restricts the dialogue to a 'narrow agenda' of terrorism.
The decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan's Paktika and Khost provinces, thereby allowing militants to escape or seek reinforcement from the other side of the Pakistan border clearly exposes the US intentions, says a security expert.
Suspended IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi on Tuesday submitted his reply to the third showcause notice issued to him by the BCCI alleging irregularities in awarding theatrical rights during the third season of the Twenty20 event, his legal counsel said.
Putting the onus of resumption of dialogue on India, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Wednesday said he was ready to meet his Indian counterpart S M Krishna anywhere at anytime and was even willing to fly back to New York on Thursday if he has time.
As the United States Congress issued an "explanatory statement" saying the aid bill does not seek to compromise Pakistan's sovereignty, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the debate on the conditions in the legislation can be concluded as US concerns allayed its fears.
US President Barack Obama is expected to sign into law on Wednesday, the Kerry-Lugar bill for US $ 7.5 billion aid to Pakistan after two powerful Congressional committees issue an "explanatory statement" addressing concerns of its opponents, mainly the Pakistan Army.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi will chair the inter-ministerial meeting at the Foreign Office in Islamabad on Wednesday to assess the Indian offer of talks, after which a clearer picture of Pakistan's response is expected to emerge.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said the United States may be aware about Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden's present location.
India's latest offer of talks has been taken up by Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.
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