In its first public appeal to Taliban and other Afghanistan-based militant groups, Pakistan on Friday asked them to "turn a new leaf" and join direct talks with the Kabul government under a peace process aimed at ending the decade-old war in the neighbouring country.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has insisted his country had not been "complicit" in sheltering slain Al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden and said the latter was able to live undetected for so long in Pakistan due to a global 'intelligence failure'.
Pakistan cricket captain Misbah-ul-Haq was fined 15 per cent of his match fee showing dissent to the umpire after his dismissal in the second one-dayer against New Zealand in Sharjah.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani has said that the Constitution has explicitly spelt out ways to remove him from his position, and added that no one can force him out. Gilani said that he would not step down through unconstitutional means, and would exhaust all means to have a fair trial.
Sixty-five per cent of Pakistanis want Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to resign after his conviction of contempt by the supreme court, according to a poll conducted by a leading media group.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Sunday said the parliamentary committee on national security will probe the issue of the secret memorandum sent to the United States military seeking help to prevent a military coup in the wake of the killing of Al Qaeda's Osama bin Laden.
Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani was on Monday indicted by the Pakistan Supreme Court on contempt charges for refusing to revive graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari, a move that may force the beleaguered leader to quit. Gilani, 59, the first Pakistani prime minister to be arraigned for contempt by the apex court, pleaded not guilty in the packed court room.
Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir and Ambassador to the European Union Jalil Abbas Jilani are among possible contenders to replace Husain Haqqani, who resigned as the country's envoy to the US because of the "Memogate" controversy.
Yusuf Raza Gilani, despite being Pakistan's elected prime minister, has little or no control over the country's nuclear arsenal and the armed forces, explains Amir Mir
A day after his conviction for contempt by Pakistan's Supreme Court, a defiant Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani on Friday dared the opposition to move a vote of no-confidence against him and said only the Speaker could disqualify him.
At least 24 more people were killed and over 200 injured as violence continued in Karachi, taking the total death toll to 82.
Gilani said the people and Parliament would be taken into confidence on the issue of giving MFN status to India.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani's son Ali Musa has said he is ready to face trial in a case of alleged irregularities in the import of a large amount of the controlled drug Ephedrine. Ali Musa cut short his honeymoon in South Africa and returned to Pakistan on Saturday after being named as an accused in the case by the Anti-Narcotics Force.
Just when the political skies in Islamabad were clearing, the Supreme Court of Pakistan has formally charged Prime Minister Syed Yousfa Raza Gilani with Contempt of Court and has summoned him once more on February 13 to frame charges against him. Amir Mir reports.
India's seeking Most Favoured Nation status from Pakistan will be the top agenda during the two-day Commerce Secretary level talks beginning in New Delhi on Monday.
A seven-judge bench led by Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk issued the order on Thursday afternoon after hearing arguments from Gilani's lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan, who argued that the premier had not committed contempt by acting on the apex court's orders as the president had complete immunity from prosecution within Pakistan and abroad.
There were speculations galore about the Pakistan premier's early departure in the wake of the Indo-Pak bilateral talks, reports Prasanna D Zore from Addu
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh describing his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani as a "man of peace" after their meeting in Maldives on Thursday led to fresh sparring between BJP and Congress in New Delhi.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday said the option of an early general election "is open" but political elements wanting polls ahead of schedule would have to take up the issue with him after the budget session of Parliament in May.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has dismissed reports that he was considering a proposal to grant another extension to Inter-Services Intelligence chief Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha and said a decision on this issue would be made at the "appropriate time".
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrived in Gan on Wednesday on a four-day visit to Maldives during which he will attend the South Asian Association For Regional Cooperation Summit and have a meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani.
"Pakistan has made very important contribution to international counter terrorism cooperation as well as great sacrifices," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu said, as Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, began a key visit to the country, declaring China as his country's best friend.
Beleaguered Pakistan government appears to be in no mood to tone down in the battle of attrition when Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani appears before the Supreme Court on Thursday in compliance with its direction. Gilani, who is already involved in a tussle with the powerful army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, is unlikely to offer apology to the court which has issued a contempt notice for failing to reopen graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari, sources said.
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.
Hours after Pakistan Supreme Court on Monday issued a contempt notice to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, the leaders of ruling coalition decided that he should appear in the apex court on January 19 in the matter relating to reopening of corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.
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.
Pakistan on Friday highlighted the need for continuation of dialogue process with India, saying it was an "encouraging sign" that the parleys are helping develop better understanding of each other's point of view on all issues, including Jammu and Kashmir.
Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani on Friday said he would not seek a vote of confidence from parliament against the backdrop of an escalating row with the judiciary and military as his government did not want any clash between state institutions. "I have no need for a vote of confidence," Gilani told a special session of the National Assembly or lower house of parliament that was convened by the ruling coalition after the Supreme Court warned action could be taken.
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.
Pakistan prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's lawyer on Wednesday said he feared that would not get a fair trial in the contempt case and that the government could not act on the supreme Court's orders to revive graft cases against Asif Ali Zardari as long as he was the president.
"Some have-nots wish to become haves and they talk of elections. But they don't know that we will act according to the law and Constitution. We are moving according to the consensus in Parliament," he said.
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.
Asserting that Pakistan and India cannot afford another war, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday said his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh is a "sensible and sane" person who wants the two countries to resolve their important issues.
Days ahead of the hearing of two crucial cases against him in the Supreme Court, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Friday made it clear he was not afraid to face the outcome of the judicial proceedings.
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.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani has declared that his government will not follow the past rulers' policy of saying 'Yes Boss' to the United States on every matter."The government is guarding supreme national interests in having diplomatic relations with other countries, including the US. Like past rulers, nobody should expect us to say 'Yes Boss' to America, and bow to any foreign pressure, since we will not go against Pakistan's interests," the prime minister vowed
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said that his government is ready to start parleys with Taliban, but evaded questions whether the reconciliation would include the Haqqani faction.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has claimed "victory" in the recent stand-off with the United States, saying he has received a message from Washington that America needs Pakistan's support to win the war on terror.
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