Hina Rabbani Khar, on Tuesday, became the youngest and first woman foreign minister of Pakistan. The swearing-in ceremony was held at Islamabad where Farooq H A Naik, chairman senate and caretaker president presided over the ceremony in the absence of President Asif Ali Zardari, who is in Kabul for a day-long visit.
Pakistan strongly condemns and rejects the announcements made by the Indian Government regarding Jammu and Kashmir, the statement said. "As the party to this international dispute, Pakistan will exercise all possible options to counter the illegal steps," it said.
'Nawaz Sharif knows a coup in 2016-2017 will not only complete Pakistan's isolation, but even a whiff of instability will frighten the world into imagining another Islamic State-zone, and this in a fully nuclearised subcontinent,' says Shekhar Gupta.
Pakistani officials have dismissed reports that Prime Minister Gilani has already accepted his Indian counterpart's invitation to watch the semi-final match between the cricket teams of the two countries, saying a decision would be made when the premier returns from a visit to Uzbekistan.
Pakistani officials have dismissed reports that Prime Minister Gilani has already accepted his Indian counterpart's invitation to watch the semi-final match between the cricket teams of the two countries, saying a decision would be made when the premier returns from a visit to Uzbekistan.
Pakistan's political and military elite have been shaken by damaging disclosures about the country's foreign policy and internal politics in hundreds of secret US diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks, with the media screaming "WikiWreaks havoc" and "WikiLeaks bombs rock Islamabad".
The test, conducted at an undisclosed location, was witnessed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Chairman Gen Shamim Hyder Wyyne.
Raveesh Kumar, spokesperson in the ministry of external affairs, said India welcomed that the people of Pakistan have reposed their faith in democracy through general elections.
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton received a cool welcome in Pakistan on her recent trip, mainstream American media reported on Saturday adding this is reflection of the low-ebb in relationship between the two countries.
United States Senator John Kerry, on a mission to Pakistan to ease tensions in the wake of the American raid that killed Osama bin Laden, has been told by Pakistan Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani that the unilateral action had generated 'intense feelings' among his soldiers.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari had a secret meeting with a group of senior Taliban operatives in April last year during which he expressed the Pakistan government's "support for their mission", a researcher studying developments in Afghanistan has alleged.
United States President Barack Obama joined world leaders in paying rich tributes to late Special Envoy for Af-Pak region Richard Holbrooke, calling him a leading light who served the country until his final moments. "It is no coincidence that his life story so closely paralleled the major events of his times," Obama said, eulogising Holbrooke, who died on December 13, at a memorial ceremony, also attended by visiting Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday.
Amid speculation of a military takeover in Pakistan, its powerful army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has bluntly told the civilian leadership to put its house in order through measures like a crackdown on corruption and improvement in its "faltering" response to the devastating floods.
The Pakistani election on July 25 has a strong Indian flavour and connection, says Vivek Shukla.
Two top United States security officials are traveling to Pakistan on Tuesday to meet the country's civil and military leadership and press for more aggressive action against Al Qaeda-allied groups. Central Intelligence Agency Director Leon Panetta and the National Security Advisor General James Jones, who are embarking on a visit to Islamabad, will meet President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani, Army Chief General Ashfaq Kiyani.
The Pakistan government has been blamed of politicising flood relief efforts after it revealed plans to name new towns built for flood victims as 'Benazirabad,' after the former slain premier Benazir Bhutto, a report in Telegraph.co.uk stated.
Most Pakistani politicians have not matched the contributions made by Hollywood star Angelina Jolie and the national cricket team for the millions of people affected by devastating floods sweeping the country.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will host a quadrilateral summit with leaders of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Tajikistan on Wednesday to discuss the situation in the volatile Af-Pak region.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday said his government will review all laws that 'militate against' Pakistan's minority communities, weeks after gunmen shot dead two Christians accused of blasphemy outside a court in Punjab Province.
Pakistan on Friday expressed its satisfaction over a United Nations panel's report on the killing of former premier Benazir Bhutto, saying it had vindicated its stand that former dictator-turned-president Pervez Musharraf's regime was responsible for her assassination in 2007.
Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf believes that he os the panacea for Pakistan if it were to be saved from being a failed state, thanks to the 'inept and pathetic performance' by President Asif Ali Zardari led civilian government in Islamabad.Musharraf said that at the time he left office, the poverty rate in Pakistan, according to World Bank figures, had been halved, from 34 percent to 17 percent. "Which government has done this?" he asked.
Pakistan has claimed it had gone 'out of the way' in its peace overtures towards India but failed to get a positive response, after United States President Barack Obama asked the two nations to begin talks on 'less controversial issues' and resolve their differences. Claiming that Islamabad wants early resumption of the composite dialogue process with India, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari said that his country stands for peace in the region and the world.
It was evident that no preparatory exercise for political and inter-departmental consensus-building in New Delhi before embarking on the trust-building exercise in Islamabad was undertaken.
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
Visits at the top level help in imparting the required momentum to bilateral relations, says B Raman
Pakistan has agreed in principle to launch a full-fledged military operation against Taliban militants in North Waziristan. But it will be a tough task for the country's army, as the terrain is believed to be the stronghold of numerous Arab, central Asian, Pashtun and Punjabi militants.The military operation may increase the flow of US aid to Pakistan, but the consequences might be unaffordable for the beleaguered country.
Pakistan's ruling Pakistan Peoples Party on Wednesday denied that former President Pervez Musharraf was given a "safe exit" after his resignation under a negotiated settlement guaranteed by "international and local" stakeholders, saying that no such deal was struck.
Making light of Sunday's incident in Srinagar in which a shoe was flung towards his son, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Union Minister Farooq Abdullah on Monday said it was 'wonderful' that he has joined the elite club of former United States President George Bush, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and other leaders.
More than 300 million British pounds of aid for victims of the 2005 Pakistan earthquake has been diverted by President Asif Ali Zardari's government, raising fears that this will deter donors coming to the aid of flood devastated people in the country., a report stated.
A landmark constitutional reforms package aimed at striking down the Pakistani president's sweeping powers and strengthening democratic institutions was tabled in Pakistan's parliament on Friday, with the ruling Pakistan People's Party describing it as a "bill of hope".
The ruling Pakistan People's Party's efforts to finalise a constitutional reforms package suffered a major setback after it failed to achieve consensus with the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz on the procedure for appointing judges and on renaming the North West Frontier Province.
China, which plans to have a rail link with Pakistan through the strategic Karakoram ranges, has signed another agreement with the country for building two highways in the disputed Gilgit-Baltistan region in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir close to the Chinese border.
Jailed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz with 64 and former president Asif Ali Zardari's Pakistan Peoples Party with 43 seats are placed at number two and three respectively, the Election Commission of Pakistan said.
Pakistan's top leadershipon Friday, asked the US to help prevent infiltration of militants and drug trafficking from Afghanistan and to boost the civilian security apparatus so that it could effectively combat militancy.
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