Accused of conspiring against President Zardari, Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha is now in a fix. If he refutes the allegation by naming whistleblower Mansoor Ijaz, it would put a huge question mark over the credibility of his own statement in the scam. Amir Mir reports from Islamabad.
Pakistan People's Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said he can "bridge the gap" between his country and the United States even as he defended the handling of the case of Pakistani doctor who helped the Central Intelligence Agency to track down Osama bin Laden and was sentenced to 33 years in jail.
This is the fifth mercy petition from Sarabjit, who was sentenced to death for alleged involvement in a string of bombings in Punjab in 1990 that killed 14 people.
Pakistani people would foil any attempt to overthrow the elected government, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Friday as speculation mounted in the country of possibility of a silent coup.
Diplomatic circles in the US were expecting "low-level participation" by Pakistan in the crucial conference beginning on Monday in the German city, Dawn News channel reported, quoting its sources.
Admitting that the 'memogate' scandal has raised questions about the strength of Pakistan's civilian government and the influence wielded by the powerful military, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said it was "ridiculous" to link President Asif Ali Zardari to the controversial note. questions. It doesn't take much to be able to raise those questions," Khar said. She was responding to a query about the 'memogate' controversy.
United States special envoy Marc Grossman on Thursday met Pakistan's top civil and military leadership as part of efforts to salvage bilateral relations following the covert American operation in Abbottabad that killed 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.
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 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.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and the United States have reasons to be gratified by the turn of events in the country with regard to the memogate scandal. B Raman analyses
Pakistan on Friday test fired nuclear-capable Hatf-7 cruise missile with a range of 700 km that can hit targets in India. The test of the "indigenously developed multi-tube" cruise missile system was successful, said a statement issued by the military. The Hatf-7 or Babur missile has stealth capabilities and can carry nuclear and conventional warheads, the military said. The test was witnessed by Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee Khalid Shameem Wyne.
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.
International diplomats condemned the assassination of Salmaan Taseer, governor of Pakistan's powerful Punjab province and a key aide of President Asif Ali Zardari.
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.
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.
"Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif has decided to rename the Prime Minister's Secretariat as Prime Minister's Office with immediate effect," said a brief statement issued by the premier's media office.
A carefully modulated exercise is evident from the reports emanating from Beijing on the current visit of Pakistan's army chief Ashfaq Kayani, says B Raman
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.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yosuf Raza Gilani has accused an unnamed lawmaker of being in touch with 'memogate' scandal blower Mansoor Ijaz, hinting that there was a conspiracy against President Asif Ali Zardari
Pakistan's Supreme Court on Thursday directed Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to ask Swiss authorities to revive graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari and to submit a report on the issue on March 21.
Amid a controversy over a secret memo sent to the then United States military chief to prevent a possible military coup in Pakistan, the spokesperson of Admiral Mike Mullen said that the former top general never met the Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz and does not know him.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar on Wednesday underlined Pakistan's commitment for "friendly, cooperative and good" neighbourly relations with India as she met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi and handed over an invitation to him from Yousuf Raza Gilani.
Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Zaka Ashraf might step down or could be told by President Asif Zardari to resign in the next few days following the dismal show of the team in the ongoing Champions Trophy.
Hina Rabbani Khar is set to become Pakistan's first woman foreign minister, with Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani recommending her elevation as a full-fledged minister, ahead of the Indo-Pak Foreign Minister-level talks in July.
Newly-appointed PCB Chairman Zaka Ashraf said improving Pakistan cricket's image, which has taken a beating due to allegations of match-fixing, is his top priority.
The Pakistan government on Tuesday did not retain Ijaz Butt as chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, and appointed Zaka Ashraf.
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi is not the only one to support Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's 'cricket diplomacy' in inviting Pakistan President Asif Zardari and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani to visit India and watch Wednesday's semi-final game between India and Pakistan at Mohali.
The Pakistan government has announced it would posthumously confer the Hilal-i-Pakistan, one of the country's highest civilian honours, on late United States Special Representative Richard Holbrooke.
In what could be a prelude to a possible operation in North Waziristan against the Al Qaeda militants holed up there, Pakistani military commanders have met with the President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, a move termed by a leading daily in Islamabad as "far from routine".
Pakistan government is expected to confer posthumously one of the country's highest civilian awards for bravery on slain Minority Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, who was lauded by President Asif Ali Zardari as a symbol of tolerance, harmony and respect for minorities.
Kashmir Solidarity Day will be observed in Pakistan on February 5, as it has been every year since 1990. The propaganda that is being organised is on predictable lines.
The ruling Pakistan People's Party has authorised Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to dissolve his jumbo cabinet and form a smaller council of ministers amid demands for political reforms from the opposition and international donors.
Earlier, Pakistan People's Party had elected first Hindu woman named Ratna Bhagwandas Chawla as a senator.
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."
Pakistan may appoint Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir as its next High Commissioner to India to replace current incumbent Shahid Malik, whose term is set to end in June.
Experts trace the reasons for the 26/11 attacks to the Pakistan's military interest in three key areas: Kashmir, Afghanistan and nuclear armaments.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has accused the army, which covertly supports the 2008 Mumbai attacks perpetrator Lashkar-e-Tayiba, of playing a double game in the ongoing war on terror, and an "abundance of evidence backs him up," Bruce Riedel, a former Central Intelligence Agency officer, has said.
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