'Denying access to the country to writers of both foreign and Indian origin casts a chill on public discourse; it flies in the face of India's traditions of free and open debate and respect for a diversity of views, and weakens its credentials as a strong and thriving democracy'
'That would be ridiculous and uncharacteristic of the PM.' 'It is also not how things happen in illiberal States.' 'In such places, lower-level functionaries of every rank and hue seek to ingratiate themselves with the highest authority by going pell-mell after dissenters and outsiders,' points out Mihir S Sharma.
His future visit to India is likely to be banned as he allegedly concealed the fact that his father was a Pakistani.
International diplomats condemned the assassination of Salmaan Taseer, governor of Pakistan's powerful Punjab province and a key aide of President Asif Ali Zardari.
A punitive majoritarian State can make an example of individuals who raise their voice in criticism of the prime minister and divisive politics, warns Sunil Sethi.
Pakistani police have questioned the stepmother and a stepbrother of kidnapped son of slain Punjab governor Salman Taseer over their alleged "property dispute" and now believe that religious fundamentalists could be behind the abduction.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari vowed to expose and punish those responsible for the assassination of Salmaan Taseer and said that the Punjab Governor was "killed to sharpen the polarisation in society to derail the democratic process".
A total of 22 people, including many policemen, have been arrested by Pakistani authorities over the killing of Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer, amid reports that a top official had warned about the extremist leanings of the assassin of the outspoken Pakistan Peoples Party leader.
Pakistani police is probing the possibility of supporters of slain Punjab governor Salman Taseer's assassin being behind the kidnapping of his son as part of leads into the case, but are yet to make any headway.
Amid chaos and high-drama, the a ssassin of the outspoken Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer was on Thursday remanded in a five-day police custody by a Pakistani anti-terrorism court, where his supporters greeted him with rose petals.
A Pakistani Taliban faction linked to terrorist Qari Hussain on Thursday claimed responsibility for the assassination of Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer, saying the 'man who killed him was from among us'."We claim responsibility for the killing of Salmaan Taseer. The Punjab governor was our target and we have planned this programme and the man who killed him was from among us," said Shakirullah Shakir, a spokesman for the Fidayeen group associated with Qari Hussain.
A stalwart and outspoken politician and a business tycoon, Pakistan's Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer assassinated by one of his security guards in a gun attack at a market in Islamabad on Tuesday, donned many roles in his career that expanded over four decades. In his hey days he was an icon of youth politics in Pakistan and was know for his proximity with Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and his daughter Benazir. But among all of this, not many are aware of Taseer's Indian connection.
Pakistan's Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer, an outspoken leader of the ruling Pakistan People's Party, was on Tuesday assassinated by one of his security guards in a gun attack at a market in the heart of Islamabad. Taseer was getting into his car at Kohsar Market in Islamabad's posh Sector F6/3 area when the guard from the elite force of Punjab police shot him with an automatic weapon at a close range. He was rushed to the Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
A Pakistani anti-terrorism court on Saturday handed down death sentence to the police guard who assassinated Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer for calling for changes in the country's controversial blasphemy law.
Suspicion has grown over whether the Pakistani policeman who assassinated Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer acted on his own or was assisted in the act following emergence of a raft of evidence that he had been declared unfit for guarding VIPs because of his extremist leanings.
Bilawal Bhutto, son of the former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto, has blasted those who have come out in support of the killer of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer and vowed to wage a "jihad" against fundamentalists.
It is un-Muslim to be a liberal -- that is the message that Qadri and those behind him in the conspiracy (if there was a larger conspiracy) have sought to convey through the assassination of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, says B Raman.
Salmaan Taseer, governor of Pakistan's powerful Punjab province and a key aide of President Asif Ali Zardari, was on Tuesday assassinated in Islamabad by one of his security guards who was angered by his opposition to a controversial blasphemy law
Salman Taseer, the slain governor of Pakistan's Punjab province, has been posthumously conferred with one of the country's highest civilian honours, months after he was gunned down by an extremist police guard for favouring amendment to the controversial blasphemy law.
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.
A Pakistani police guard said he had no regrets for gunning down Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer, calling him an "apostate", as an anti-terrorism court indicted him for the assassination. Mumtaz Qadri, 26, who has already admitted gunning down Taseer outside a restaurant in Islamabad on January 4, was indicted on a murder charge during in-camera proceedings at Adiala Jail in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, his lawyers said.
An anti-terrorism court has refused to issue arrest warrants for two clerics whose fiery speeches reportedly incited the police guard who gunned down Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer for criticising Pakistan's controversial blasphemy law. Investigators probing the governor's assassination had submitted an application to Rawalpindi-based anti-terrorism court Judge Malik Mohammad Akram Awan, seeking warrants for the arrest of the unnamed clerics.
Nearly two months after Shahbaz Taseer, the son of slain Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer was kidnapped, Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Monday said he was alive and was being held near the border with Afghanistan.
Pakistani investigators on Wednesday probed the possibility of a larger conspiracy behind the killing of Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer by his bodyguard as they arrested 23 people.
The assassin of Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer confessed in a Pakistani court that he had acted alone in killing the politician and that he he had been planning the attack before being deployed to guard him.
Pakistani religious parties have offered blood money to the family of slain Punjab governor Salman Taseer to pardon his killer.
Praising commando of Pakistan's Elite force Mumtaz Qadri for assassinating Punjab Governor Salaam Taseer, the Taliban warned that all those who opposed the blasphemy law would meet a similar fate.
Hamid Mir, once a friend, once an enemy of the assassinated Punjab Governor, pays tribute and also speaks of the challenges that now face Pakistan.
The Pakistani judge who gave the death sentence to Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer's self-confessed assassin has sought refuge in Saudi Arabia with his family after receiving death threats from religious extremists.
Pakistan PM forms high-level committee to decide on national team's participation in ODI World Cup
PCB acting chairman Zaka Ashraf will push for the country's ODI World Cup matches at neutral venues at the ICC meetings in Durban this week.
British writer and historian Patrick French has died in London after battling cancer for four years, his family announced on Thursday.
Also, an instance of a politician from the desert state allegedly donating about Rs 2 lakh to the organisation is under the radar of agencies probing the case.
The case is likely to be handed over to the NIA for probe after registration of a case under the stringent anti-terror law Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
Shah also said that such murders have taken place in Pakistan too, mentioning the violent deaths of politician Salman Taseer and rights activist Sabeen Mehmood.
The article also said that the opposition Congress party has little to offer other than the dynastic principle.
Imran Khan on Sunday announced that his party will resume the march to Islamabad from the same spot where he survived an assassination attempt but sustained bullet injuries during a rally in Punjab province, saying he prefers 'death instead of living the life of a slave'.
Khan said he was hit by four bullets on his right leg during the assassination attempt.
Slain Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer, Oscar-winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy and Interior Minister Rehman Malik were among those who were awarded the country's highest honour on Pakistan Day on Friday. Taseer, who was gunned down by a policeman last year for his calls for reforming the controversial blasphemy law, was awarded the Nishan-i-Imtiaz, Pakistan's highest civilian award. The award was received by his widow Aamna Taseer.
Pakistani police have arrested four suspects in connection with the kidnapping of Shahbaz Taseer, son of slain Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer, police officials said on Saturday.
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