Vajpayee, who died on Thursday at the age of 93 after a prolonged illness, had made a significant diplomatic breakthrough and travelled on a bus from Amritsar to Lahore with a delegation that included the likes of Bollywood legend Dev Anand, writer Javed Akhtar and cricket icon Kapil Dev.
Claiming that people of Pakistan need a viable alternative in this hour of crisis, former military ruler General Pervez Musharraf has said that he is "prepared to take risk" of his life to return back home from a self-imposed exile.
The Pakistan Army chief will not like to place himself in a position where he has to overthrow the elected head of state and the supreme commander of the armed forces, says B Raman
Seeking closer ties with Israel, former Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf said the Jewish state is a fait accompli, relations with it can help Islamabad come closer to the strong Jewish lobby in the US and in its conflict against India.
While the United States is unlikely to launch an attack on Pakistan, the US military build-up on the Pak-Afghanistan border is the opening salvo to unfurl a "containment strategy" toward Pakistan, says M K Bhadrakumar
Former president Pervez Musharraf has said he plans to return to Pakistan from self-exile on January 25 or 27, as he is confident that he will be acquitted in all the cases filed against him in the country.
Asked by Wilson Center president Jane Harmon, a former nine-term US lawmaker, if he bore any responsibility for the negligence or the complicity when bin Laden moved to Abbottabad since "most people believe the residence was built and constructed" during his presidency, Musharraf said, "Whether one believes it or not, let me say with confidence, I did not know."
Former President Pervez Musharraf has abandoned plans to return to Pakistan from self-exile in Britain after the military leadership "cold-shouldered" his demands for extra security to counter multiple threats to his life from militant outfits like Al-Qaeda and Taliban.
Pakistan Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani has received an unusual support from leading Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain, who described him as 'a man of principle'.
Dr Singh's invitation to Pakistan's head of State and head of government is an important but risky gesture which could have political consequences, believes B Raman
Apparently eyeing the 2013 polls, Pakistan's ex-President Pervez Musharraf raised anti-India rhetoric, claiming that the United States' "nuclear policy of appeasement and strategic cooperation" with New Delhi is seen in his home country as "an act of animosity."
The Pakistan media has received a warning from the late Baitullah Mehsud's Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, which is dedicated to overthrowing the Pakistani government, to avoid publishing "anti-Taliban" reports.
The ban extends to all Indian content on cable and radio being aired in Pakistan.
Pakistan's powerful Army chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani told a top American diplomat that his establishment wanted the resumption of back channel talks with India, but President Asif Ali Zardari was against it, according to a secret United States cable leaked by WikiLeaks.
Former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-N chief Nawaz Sharif on Saturday said that India and Pakistan were ready to resolve the Kashmir issue in 1999. "The then Indian prime minister (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee and I were ready to resolve the Kashmir issue in 1999 but General (Pervez) Musharraf did the misadventure in Kargil and then overthrew my government," Sharif said while addressing a function on Saturday to mark the anniversary of Pak carrying out nuclear tests.
Pakistan Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has "learned the lesson" of his predecessor General Pervez Musharraf and prefers staying behind the scene while manipulating the government's decision-making on key issues, according to secret American documents released by WikiLeaks.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari had wanted to retain military ruler Pervez Musharraf's close aide Tariq Aziz as a key Pakistani interlocutor for India but the move was opposed by Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, a United States diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks has said.
The former Jammu-Kashmir chief minister was subjected to a "secondary immigration check" upon his arrival in the United States.
Pakistan on Wednesday suspended a top commander of the country's major naval air base, three days after a brazen attack by Taliban militants, which killed 10 navy personnel and destroyed two spy planes in the port city Karachi, television channels reported.
Amir Mir, one of Pakistan's foremost investigative journalists, draws from personal anecdotes, meetings and off-the-record conversations with Benazir Bhutto to reconstruct her assassination in his book The Bhutto Murder Trail -- From Wazirstan to GHQ. Mir tells Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa that it becomes clear that Pervez Musharraf was in the know of the plot and the Pakistan establishment tried to stop Bhutto from returning to the country before getting her killed.
Pervez Musharraf will not respond to any questionnaire sent to him by Pakistani authorities regarding security lapses linked to former premier Benazir Bhutto's assassination, a close aide of the former Pakistan president has said.
'He has a splendid opportunity to capitalise on the CPEC and turn the economy around decisively, putting Pakistan firmly on a higher growth trajectory.' 'Indeed, under the Imran-Bajwa dispensation, there has been a noticeable whittling down of support to militant groups,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Calling Pakistani intelligence's failure to detect Osama bin Laden's presence in Abbottabad a "massive slip-up," ex-President Pervez Musharraf has admitted that "rogue" members of the Inter-Services Intelligence and military may have helped the al-Qaeda chief hide in plain sight in the garrison city.
In a secret deal struck a decade ago, the United States and Pakistan agreed that Washington will carry out a unilateral operation against Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden on Pakistani soil if he was found there following which Islamabad would vociferously protest the incursion, a media report said on Tuesday.
Rawalpindi's anti-terrorism court has issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for former President Pervez Musharraf in the Benazir Bhutto assassination case, Geo TV reported.
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has taken up the issue of the American 'diplomat' who has been in police custody for killing two people in Lahore, with Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and army chief Ashfaq Pervez Kayani. Clinton raised the matter during her telephonic conversation with Zardari last week and also when she met Kayani on the sidelines of the Munich conference over the weekend.
Surprised that slain Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was living in a garrison town near Islamabad, Pakistan's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf has demanded an investigation into the failure of intelligence agencies to get any clue about this.
In a major embarrassment for Pakistan's powerful army chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden was killed just yards from a military compound that he visited last month where he had famously claimed that his forces had broken the "terrorist backbone".
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.
According to a report in The Dawn, a prestigious Karachi daily, the operation that killed Osama bin Laden was carried out jointly by Pakistan's security forces and the Central Intelligence Agency.An official of the security forces, who is based in Peshawar, told the daily, "It was a joint operation between the CIA and Pakistani security forces."The Dawn quoted the official as saying, "It (operation) was carried out on very precise information."
'Muslims should not justify demolition of temples by foreign invaders.'
Former Pakistani military dictator and president Pervez Mushrarraf has said that the killer of Punjab governor Salmaan Tasser should be punished and not allowed to challenge the writ of the state, but pledged support for the controversial blasphemy law.
Following the death of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, criticism of Pakistan Army Chief inside the country has grown. His close ties with the Barack Obama administration has not gone down with the army. But will Pakistan's most powerful man be overthrown? B Raman analyses
Musharraf will have to strain every nerve to gain political traction in Pakistan
The latest tranche of WikiLeaks published in the media has revealed that Zardari had made extensive preparations in case of his own assassination and instructed his son Bilawal to name his sister, Faryal Talpur, as president.
Former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf, who wanted to visit India for attending a seminar on Saturday, was denied visa on Thursday. The decision was taken after the home ministry expressed reservations over the visit of the former Pakistani military ruler due to his recent anti-India statements, official sources said.
With Mujahedeen groups gaining more "public support and sympathy" in Pakistan, extremism is on the rise in parts of the country, former president Pervez Musharraf has admitted.
A 32-point questionnaire on alleged lapses in security for former prime minister Benazir Bhutto will be sent to Pervez Musharraf following the government's decision to include the former military ruler in the probe into her assassination, Pakistani officials have said.
Pakistan's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf has announced he will return to his homeland no later than March 23 next year to participate in the 2013 general elections, despite facing possible arrest in the country. "I am going to land in Lahore on March 23, 2012, if not earlier -- but not later," he told mediapersons in Dubai.
'He has about as much chance of coming back to power as (former Soviet) President (Mikhail) Gorbachev,' The News quoted Richard Holbrooke, US administration's Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, as saying to a gathering of American diplomats and security experts.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances