'It is typical of China's strategic deception of making virtue out of necessity,' observes Rup Narayan Das.
As the Pakistan People's Party plans to file a review petition against the Supreme Court verdict on Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, experts say that the premier should step down on moral grounds before the country plunges into another political crisis. Tahir Ali reports
In a major blow to beleaguered Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, the supreme court on Friday rejected his appeal, asking him to appear before it on February 13 to frame contempt charges for not reopening graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.
"President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, the government and the people of Pakistan have condemned the blasts in Mumbai and expressed distress on the loss of lives and injuries," said a statement issued by Foreign Office spokesperson Tehmina Janjua.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's public relations officer on Saturday acknowledged that David Coleman Headley, a terror suspect detained in the United States, is his half-brother, but dismissed as incorrect reports that his family is related to the premier.
Rejecting criticism that India 'capitulated' to Pakistan, the government has said an assurance by Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to go after the masterminds of Mumbai terror attacks seriously prompted the issuance of the Indo-Pak joint statement.
A large number of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf candidates had contested as independents after the ECP had snatched the former prime minister Imran Khan-led party of its iconic cricket bat symbol.
Pakistan wants to resolve all outstanding issues with India, including Kashmir, through dialogue as war is not the solution to any problem, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said. \\n\\n"We do not want to resolve any problems through war. The solution of all problems is dialogue and we believe in dialogue," Gilani said while addressing a public meeting at Shakargarh in Punjab province.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Friday appointed Lt Gen Zahirul Islam as the new chief of spy agency Inter Services Intelligence, reports stated on Friday.
Pakistan and China are disagreeing over whether Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has given the Chinese a gift, an entire naval base at the mouth of the Persian Gulf.
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday underscored Pakistan's importance in the peace process in Afghanistan and sought Islamabad's support for the reconciliation process in the war-torn country.
Months after the Supreme Court unseated him, former premier Yousuf Raza Gilani has claimed that an 'unannounced Bangladesh-model government' is functioning in Pakistan in the presence of a 'worthless' parliament that has no say in decision-making.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari's ordinance giving constitutional protection to all decisions made by former premier Yousuf Raza Gilani during the period he was disqualified, was on Tuesday challenged in the supreme court.
Leader of ruling Pakistan Peoples Party Asif Ali Zardari has chosen veteran politician Makhdoom Shahabuddin as the replacement for ousted Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, state-run media reported on Thursday.
The ruling Pakistan Peoples Party on Tuesday asked its workers to remain calm following Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's disqualification by the Supreme Court as the party leadership decides its future course of action in consultation with its coalition partners.
It appears that there is some coordination between Chinese interlocutors, the Hekmatyar group, the Kabul regime and different tribal factions in Afghanistan and Pakistan. This indicates a long-term vision for the region, says Srikanth Kondapalli
Despite the supreme court's orders and pressure from opposition parties, the government has been reluctant to write to Swiss authorities to reopen corruption cases against the Pakistan president. Tahir Ali reports from Islamabad
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari Monday blamed national and international forces for his Pakistan Peoples Party defeat in the May 11 polls while the party's losing candidates held former premiers Yousuf Raza Gilani and Raja Pervez Ashraf responsible for the debacle.
Six suspects, including two women, were arrested Thursday during an operation to trace the kidnapped son of former premier Yousuf Raza Gilani in Pakistan's restive northwest, officials said.
Former premier Yousuf Raza Gilani's son Ali Haider, kidnapped by gunmen while campaigning for Pakistan's landmark elections, had received threats from the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Sipah-e-Sahaba.
Former premier Yousuf Raza Gilani's son Ali Haider was on Thursday abducted by suspected militants who shot and killed two persons in Punjab province, triggering fresh concerns about Pakistan's general elections that have already been badly hit by Taliban violence.
Inter-Services Intelligence chief Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha's recent visit to Qatar, home to the US Central Command's regional headquarters, has sparked speculation about an 'intelligence back channel' between Pakistan and the US to reset troubled security cooperation.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Sunday said all state institutions, including the judiciary and army, should work within their constitutional limits as tensions continued between the civilian government and the powerful military over the Memogate scandal.
Terming November's North Atlantic Treaty Organisation air strike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers as an infringement of the country's territorial integrity, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday underlined his government's resolve to defend the national frontiers.
Mir Hazar Khan Khoso was on Monday sworn in as Pakistan's caretaker Prime Minister by President Asif Ali Zardari during a ceremony held at the presidency.
The confrontation between the two will continue in other forms and other arenas, but to describe the recent judgement disqualifying Gilani as a judicial coup would be overstating its significance and implications, says B Raman.
A Pakistani court on Thursday issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for Pakistan Peoples Party prime ministerial candidate Makhdoom Shahabuddin in connection with alleged irregularities in the import of a large amount of the controlled drug Ephedrine during his tenure as health minister.
While Pakistan's right opposition parties as well as the mainstream Urdu media have welcomed the supreme court's verdict disqualifying Yousuf Raza Gilani as the prime minister, the country's liberal English newspapers have expressed serious reservations over the apex court's decision, describing it a judicial coup and stating that the judges' decision to play the role of judiciary, legislature and executive in Gilani's case, may find some takers. Amir Mir reports.
Pakistan's supreme court referred to two judicial verdicts by Indian apex court in its ruling disqualifying Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani following his conviction of contempt.
Leaders of the ruling Pakistan People's Party believe that the allegations of corruption levelled against Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry's son have some link to the Supreme Court's decision to disqualify Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday called off a planned visit to Russia to attend a summit after the Supreme Court's disqualification of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani plunged Pakistan into a political crisis.
The Election Commission of Pakistan on Tuesday issued a formal notice disqualifying Yousuf Raza Gilani as a member of Parliament, hours after the Supreme Court ordered it to do so.
The Pakistan government's top law officer told the supreme court on Monday it had no role to play in the disqualification of the Prime Minister, which could be decided only by the National Assembly speaker or the election commission.
Pakistan is expected to reopen the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation supply line anytime now, as the United States has agreed to tender an apology in 'soft words' over the Salala checkpost incident, reports Tahir Ali
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Saturday rejected American accusations linking Pakistan's spy agency Inter Services Intelligence with the Haqqani terror network, saying the allegations reflected "policy disarray" within the United States administration on achieving peace in Afghanistan.
Nearly six months after Pakistan shut North Atlantic Treaty Organisation supply lines to Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar has said she personally believes that the routes should be reopened. Khar made the remarks while speaking to reporters, who accompanied Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on an official visit to Britain, The Express Tribune said on Monday.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani faces the prospect of being disqualified as an member of Parliament for five years after Pakistan's supreme court ruled on Monday that he "wilfully, deliberately and persistently" defied the highest court and brought the judiciary into "ridicule".
Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar will carry the "complete mandate" of Pakistan's government and opposition during her interaction with Indian officials, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Tuesday. Gilani made the remarks while taking the leadership of all political forces "into confidence on the dialogue process with India", an official statement said. Khar "would be able to put across Pakistan's perspective with confidence", he said.
Virtually rejecting the Pakistan Supreme Court's directive to reopen graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Thursday said he would rather go to jail for committing contempt of court than violate the Constitution.
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