Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani today said the ISI has given its "feedback" to India on "some information" about the Mumbai attacks that New Delhi had shared with US intelligence agency CIA.
Amid reports of a rift between them, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani met in Islamabad on Wednesday to discuss the regional security situation after the country's admission that captured Mumbai attacker Ajmal Amir Kasab is its national. The meeting came amid Pakistani media reports that Zardari was angry over Gilani's decision to sack Durrani without consulting him. Durrani had been handpicked by Zardari for the key post last year.
A brief statement issued by the Prime Minister's House said Yousuf Raza Gilani had sacked Durrani 'for his irresponsible behaviour (of) not taking Prime Minister and other stakeholders into confidence and lack of coordination on matters of national security'. Gilani was quoted by Geo News channel as saying that he had sacked Durrani for commenting on the issue of the nationality of Iman alias Ajmal Kasab without taking him (Gilani) or the government into confidence.
Pakistan will continue the development of its nuclear and missile programmes, which are the minimum level of deterrence required for the country's defence, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani said on Thursday.Gillani made the remarks during a visit to the Strategic Plans Division, the tri-services body that maintains Pakistan's nuclear arsenal, and the Joint Staff Headquarters at Chaklala in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.
Amidst unprecedented security arrangements to ward off any anti-China protest and militant threat, the Pakistani leg of the Olympic torch relay kicked off in Islamabad on Wednesday at a colourful ceremony attended by President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani.
American Vice President-elect Joseph Biden will travel to Pakistan this week to defuse regional tensions in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks, according to a media report.
An official statement quoted Gillani as saying that "the resolution of (the) Kashmir issue in accordance with the wishes of the people of Kashmir could ensure lasting peace in the region and bring about much needed progress and prosperity for the people." He also said that Pakistan "believes in the peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue through dialogue" and expressed "confidence that India would also reciprocate positively in this regard."
The Pakistan People's Party-led coalition comprising Musharraf's opponents came to power after his ally Pakistan Muslim League-Qaid was routed in the February 18 election. But the former General, who is being sidelined by the new dispensation, has apparently decided to keep a distance from the Parliament by not convening a joint session, which he would have addressed.Under the previous government, Musharraf had addressed parliament once during its five-year term.
President George W Bush on Friday assured Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani of the US administration's continued support for the democratic government in Pakistan in the wake of former President Pervez Musharraf's resignation.
'Yousuf Raza Gilani, the prime minister, has insisted that Pakistan is not only working to track down those who may have had links to the attacks, but also promised that if India's allegations prove true, the perpetrators will be put on trial,' Fatima wrote in a column for Al-Jazeera. 'Given the government's track record, one can understand India's lack of faith in Pakistan's justice system,' she wrote in the piece titled, S Asian neighbours' linked destinies.
"Pakistan is a peace-loving country. We don't want to have war or aggression," Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said, addressing a function on the occasion of the first death anniversary of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. "We want to have friendly relations with our neighbours -- Afghanistan and India," Gilani said.
'Common friends' of India and Pakistan are playing their role to defuse tensions between the two countries as war is not in the interest of either nation, Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Friday."War is not in the interest of any country and all issues should be resolved through dialogue," Gilani said."The peace-loving countries and the common friends of Pakistan and India are playing their role to defuse tensions between the two countries," he said.
Even as it sought to 'internationalise' the Jammu and Kashmir situation, Pakistan said on Thursday it was committed to improving relations with India and resolving all outstanding issues in a just and peaceful manner for the progress and prosperity of the two countries.
Pakistan's new Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani on Saturday offered a dialogue to militants who lay down their arms, saying ending terrorism is his first priority. He also pledged to reinstate the judges sacked by President Pervez Musharraf during emergency last year. Unveiling a slew of populist measures in his first policy statement after securing an unprecedented unanimous vote of confidence, Gillani told the National Assembly that terrorism is the biggest problem.
A stable, secure and prosperous neighbourhood is a sine qua non for the emergence of a great power. India cannot be merely seen as free-riding on the outside powers for regional stability.
Pakistan on Monday turned down British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's request for allowing UK authorities to interrogate the Pakistani suspects arrested in connection with the Mumbai terror attacks, saying it will not hand over any of its nationals to a foreign country and will act on them according to the country's own laws
Gilani, however, said it would take time to normalise relations that had worsened in wake of the Mumbai terror attacks, the News International daily said on Friday.
Taking exception to India's contention that "epicentre of terrorism" is located in Pakistan, Islamabad today warned that such comments would be counter-productive for joint efforts to combat the menace and insisted that none of those detained during the crackdown on JuD would be handed over to India.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is likely to meet his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Reza Gilani on the sidelines of the 15th SAARC Summit in Colombo against the backdrop of a spurt in terrorist activities against Indian installations and infiltration across the Line of Control.
Pakistan has said it will encourage the process of composite dialogue with India 'to reduce tensions and resolve all outstanding issues' between the two neighbouring countries.In a joint statement issued at the end of formal talks between visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and United States President George W Bush on Monday, the two sides said that the Pakistan-India composite dialogue process will be encouraged "to reduce tensions and build trust".
"I have assured Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of our complete cooperation in investigating these attacks. We are prepared to engage India closely to expose the hidden hands behind these attacks," Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said.
In some blunt talking on Pakistan's role in fomenting terrorism in Kashmir, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama has said the US should confront Islamabad on its funding of "mujahideen" groups in the valley and the terror camps running under its nose.
Ahead of his meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Obama said historically Pakistan has tolerated or in some cases funded the Mujahideen because they think it's somehow helpful to them in Kashmir, which continues to be a "constant instigator" of tension between Islamabad and New Delhi.
India has asked Pakistan to take strict action against Lashkar-e-Tayiba founder Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, underworld dons Dawood Ibrahim and Tiger Memon and terror leader Maulana Masood Azhar, who are named in a list of 20 wanted terrorists handed over to Islamabad by New Delhi.
Highlighting the need to root out terrorism, Pakistan Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani on Thursday told his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh that 'the present state of unrest in the region demanded more cooperation in combating the menace.Gilani telephoned Singh today to congratulate him on winning the crucial trust vote and said that his success "is the success of democracy and such democratic norms must be encouraged in the region for strengthening the relations."
In the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks, the Pakistan Army chief has informed the country's leadership that if tensions with India mount further, the military will have to move troops from its restive tribal areas to the eastern borders, ending the war against local militants.
With the Pakistani link being suspected in the deadly Mumbai terror attacks, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has called a special meeting of his Cabinet to discuss the situation arising out of this development, particularly its impact on the Indo-Pak relations.
Pakistan on Saturday did an about turn on sending the Inter-Services Intelligence chief to India, in connection with the probe into the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, saying a representative of the spy agency would be sent instead of him.The decision was made at a late night meeting between President Asif Ali Zardari and General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the chief of the powerful army. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani also joined the meeting.
Late strikes with the new ball left Pakistan on 289 for seven at the close on the first day of the third and final Test against Sri Lanka on Monday. Pakistan's batsmen had dominated much of the day with opener Khurram Manzoor scoring 93 and Mohammad Yousuf 90 after sharing a 167-run stand for the third wicket.
Ranchi Rays came back from a bitter loss in their previous game to clinch a remarkable 7-3 win over table toppers Dabang Mumbai in the Coal India Hockey India League in Ranchi on Thursday.
Left-arm pace bowler Mohammad Aamer claimed three wickets in an outstanding post-lunch spell to leave Pakistan chasing just 168 for victory in the opening Test against Sri Lanka on Monday. Pakistan bowled out the hosts for 217 and then finished the third day on 71 for two -- just 97 runs shy of their victory target.
Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat against India in their Asia Cup ODI.
A high-level meeting chaired by Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in Islamabad took stock of the deteriorating security situation in the restive Northwestern Frontier Province and authorised Army Chief Ashfaq Parvez Kiyani to lead a military effort in this regard.
Skipper Florian Fuchs and striker Affan Yusuf struck a brace each as Dabang Mumbai thrashed defending champions Jaypee Punjab Warriors 10-4 to register their second win in the fifth season of the Hockey India League (HIL), in Mumbai, on Friday.
Making the announcement, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told Parliament that the Interior Ministry will be asked to 'move a summary to President Pervez Musharraf to commute the sentence of those on death row to life imprisonment'. Under Pakistan Constitution, the President has powers to commute sentences.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh concluded his visit to China on Saturday after debuting at the 7th Asia-Europe meeting Summit, where he held talks with several world leaders on issues of international concern, including terrorism and global financial crisis.
"I urged Dr Singh on behalf of people of the state that it was the right time to take bold steps. The people of Jammu and Kashmir are tired of the vicious cycle of terror and counter terror and this should be put to an end," Tarigami said.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday asked President Pervez Musharraf to address a joint sitting of the parliament as it is mandatory for him to do so under the constitution.
Faced with a financial crunch and its currency at its lowest, Pakistan's government has said it will not default on debt repayments, which are to the tune of $500 million.
Pakistanis would like to see the armed forces "confined to garrisons" as the country has already paid an "enormous' cost for frequent interventions by military in politics, Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Thursday.