Page 21 - Pakistan

One killed as Taliban militants take hostages in northwest Pakistan

At least one policeman was killed and many others were injured when Pakistani Taliban militants seized a counter-terrorism centre and took some people hostage in the Bannu district of Pakistan's troubled Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. One of the militants, who had been arrested and being interrogated at Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) police station inside the cantonment, on Sunday snatched an AK-47 from the police and opened fire. He then freed other suspects being held at the building who took control of the compound. They also took several policemen hostage. The situation is still tense 17 hours after the incident as a military operation is going on. The body of one policeman killed in the shooting has been shifted to a local hospital in Bannu. Akram Khan Durrani, a former chief minister of the province, and sitting provincial minister Malik Shah Muhammad have reached Bannu to initiate talks with the militants. Both Durrani and Muhammad hail from Bannu. Militants have demand

Indicators suggest Pak's economic situation would worsen in future: Report

Pakistan's economy still remains critical and several economic indicators suggest that the situation could get worse. Food shortage, depleting energy, and foreign reserves may create a bigger problem

Will IMF loans to Pakistan continue after fuel prices are slashed?

As per the IMF loan rider, Pakistan, with its dwindling foreign exchange reserves amid strict repayment schedule, had committed to increase levy on fuel and eliminate subsidies

Pakistan rejects India's criticism of Bilawal Bhutto's uncivilised outburst

Pakistan on Saturday rejected India's criticism of Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari's "uncivilised" outburst against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that it showed New Delhi's "growing frustration". The Pakistani minister resorted to a personal attack against Prime Minister Modi and slammed the RSS after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar described the neighbouring country as the "epicentre of terrorism" during his visit to New York to attend UN events. On Friday, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi in New Delhi said that Bilawal's "uncivilised outburst" seemed to be a result of Pakistan's increasing inability to use terrorists and their "proxies". In a strong condemnation, Bagchi said Bilawal's frustration would be better directed towards the masterminds of terrorist enterprises in his own country that has made terrorism a part of its state policy. "Pakistan is a country that glorifies Osama bin Laden as a martyr, and shelters terrorists like ..

J P Nadda says Rahul Gandhi speaking language of China and Pakistan

In an all-out attack on Rahul Gandhi for his remark that Chinese soldiers are beating up Indian Army personnel in Arunachal Pradesh, the BJP said on Saturday that the Congress should expel him from the party as its president J P Nadda accused him of speaking the language of China and Pakistan. "This underlines the question mark about his patriotism. He had also questioned surgical strikes and Balakot air strikes. It is a reflection of his metal bankruptcy," Nadda said as a number of senior party leaders seized on the former Congress president's comments to target the opposition party which is seeking some sort of political revival with Gandhi's 'Bharat Jodo Yatra'. At its official briefing, Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said if Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge is not "remote-controlled" and if the opposition party stands with the country, then Gandhi should be expelled for his comments as they "belittle" India and break the morale of its armed forces. Bhatia

Pakistan could reconsider strategy for Afghanistan under Taliban: FM Bhutto

Pakistan could reconsider its strategy for dealing with Afghanistan's Taliban rulers, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has said, as he expressed disappointment over their failure to prevent the banned TTP from conducting cross-border terrorist attacks in his country. Addressing a UN event in New York Bilawal said: "Pakistan will not tolerate cross-border terrorism by the TTP (Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan) or other terrorist groups, like the BLA (Balochistan Liberation Army). He said that Pakistan could reconsider its strategy for dealing with Afghanistan's Taliban rulers, but it could not afford to disengage with Kabul, the Dawn newspaper reported. Separately, in his address to a commemoration event to honour the victims of the December 16, 2014, terrorist attack on the Army Public School (APS) in Peshawar, Bilawal said that Kabul's Taliban rulers had failed Pakistan's hope and expectation of constraining the TTP from conducting cross-border terrorist attacks. The TTP militant

Pak minister's personal attack on PM Modi new low, even for Pakistan: India

India on Friday launched a no-holds-barred attack on Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari for his "uncivilised" outburst against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said the comments were a "new low" even for that country. In a strong condemnation, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the Pakistan foreign minister's "frustration" would be better directed towards the masterminds of terrorist enterprises in his own country that has made terrorism a part of its "state policy". "Pakistan is a country that glorifies Osama bin Laden as a martyr, and shelters terrorists like (Zakiur Rehman) Lakhvi, Hafiz Saeed, Masood Azhar, Sajid Mir and Dawood Ibrahim. No other country can boast of having 126 UN-designated terrorists and 27 UN-designated terrorist entities," Bagchi said. Bagchi said Pakistan foreign minister's "uncivilised outburst" seemed to be a result of Pakistan's increasing inability to use terrorists and their "proxies". The Pakistan foreign minister

Pak FM Bilawal Bhutto launches vituperative personal tirade against PM Modi

Pakistans Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari veered off into a personal vituperative tirade against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi using extreme, unparliamentary language

UN may run out of food for Pakistan flood victims due to lack of funds

The UN World Food Programme will run out of funds to feed 2.7 million people by Jan. 15, Chris Kaye, the agency's representative in Pakistan said

World sees Pakistan as 'epicentre' of terrorism, says EAM Jaishankar

The world sees Pakistan as the "epicentre of terrorism" and it should clean up its act and try to be a good neighbour, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said, asserting that the world has not forgotten where the menace stems from. He also recalled former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's blunt message to Islamabad that snakes in one's backyard will eventually bite those who keep them. Jaishankar was addressing reporters on Thursday at the UN headquarters after chairing a signature event held under India's presidency of the Security Council on Global Counterterrorism Approach: Challenges and Way Forward.' Responding to a question by PTI on Pakistan Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar's recent statements about a "dossier" and allegations against India, he said, I saw, I read the reports on what minister Khar said. And I was reminded, more than a decade ago, my memory serves me right. Hillary Clinton was visiting Pakistan. And Hina Rabbani Khar was a

Pakistan seeks more int'l aid as it fails to deal with devastating floods

The environmental disaster has brought Pakistan to its knees, as millions continue to suffer in a country entirely unequipped to manage a calamity of this magnitude

Contemporary epicentre of terrorism very much active: Jaishankar at UNSC

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar Thursday told the UN Security Council that the "contemporary epicentre of terrorism" remains very much active as he lamented that evidence-backed proposals to blacklist terrorists are put on hold without adequate reason, in a veiled attack on China and its close ally Pakistan. Jaishankar, who presided over the 'UNSC Briefing: Global Counterterrorism Approach: Challenges and Way Forward', described terrorism as an existential threat to international peace and security and said it knows no borders, nationality, or race. "The threat of terrorism has actually become even more serious. We have seen the expansion of Al-Qaida, Da'esh, Boko Haram and Al Shabab and their affiliates," he said in his address to the 15-nation Council. Jaishankar, speaking in his national capacity, said that "at the other end of the spectrum are lone wolf' attacks inspired by online radicalisation and biases. But somewhere in all of this, we cannot forget that old habits an

Suicide bomb blast leaves 2 dead, 9 injured in Pakistan's northwest

Two persons, including a soldier, were killed and nine others wounded in a suicide blast in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, the military said on Thursday. The blast took place in Miranshah town in North Waziristan. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in a statement said that a soldier and a civilian were killed in the blast. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the remote border area is a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban. With the Taliban taking control of neighbouring Afghanistan, incidents of terror have increased in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has strongly condemned the incident. Expressing his grief and sorrow over the lives lost in the incident, he said: Those carrying out suicide attacks on Muslims cannot be Muslims.

Pakistan's remittances declined 4.8% in November, says central bank

State Bank of Pakistan says remittances sent by overseas Pakistani workers decreased 4.8% in November on a month-on-month basis

Pakistan accuses India of involvement in terrorism, sabotage in the country

Pakistan on Wednesday launched a diplomatic drive to highlight what it called India's alleged involvement in terrorism and sabotage in the country. Foreign Secretary Asad Majeed briefed Islamabad-based foreign diplomats while Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar addressed a press conference on the issue, a day after Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah alleged that India was involved in a blast outside Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed's residence in Lahore last year. According to the Foreign Office, Majeed shared a "dossier" of India's alleged involvement in the blast outside Saeed's residence in Lahore on June 23 last year. Talking to reporters, Khar alleged that "no country had used terrorism better than India" as she asked the international community to take note of New Delhi's attempts to undermine Pakistan's peace and security. She claimed that there was "undeniable, indisputable" evidence about Indian involvement in terrorism in Pakistan. "This particular

Cracks appear in Pakistan's ruling coalition over gold mining project bill

Amid the ongoing political and economic instability in Pakistan, cracks seemed to have appeared in the ruling coalition when two allied parties boycotted a Cabinet meeting over a controversial bill related to the revival of a key gold mining project in the restive Balochistan province. The revival of the Reko Diq copper and gold mine project in Balochistan with billions of dollars at stake was cleared by the Supreme Court last week. A Cabinet meeting presided over by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to discuss the project on Tuesday was boycotted by two coalition partners Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) and Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-Mengal), the Dawn newspaper reported on Wednesday. The annoyed parties were of the opinion that the Reko Diq related bill -- the Foreign Investment (Promotion and Protection) Bill, 2022 -- passed by the Senate on Monday was against the rights of the people of Balochistan and that JUI-F and BNP-Mengal had not been taken on board during the ...

Broke Pakistan may seek China's help on debt bail-out as forex falls

Pakistan's external debts, which were at $65 billion in 2015, have now touched $130 billion

PM Sharif's son Suleman arrives in Pakistan after four years in self-exile

Suleman Shehbaz had requested the court to grant him bail so that he could appear before the court after he arrives in Pakistan

EU's 'demands' for GSP Plus renewal put Pakistan under pressure

In order to save its status of GSP Plus, Pakistan is dangling between the conditions put forth by the European Union (EU) as well as its domestic exports lobby

Pak's Punjab taking water from two canals despite Sindh's objection: Report

Punjab province has been taking water from the Chashma Jhelum link Canal despite the objections raised by Sindh. In addition, Punjab is taking water from Taunsa Panjnad Link (TP Link) Canal, according to Pakistan's vernacular media Pahenji Akhbar.Sindh members in the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) have raised objections for the opening up of the Chashma Jhelum link canal and Taunsa Panjnad Link Canal, according to the local report. Despite the objections raised by Sindh members, IRSA permitted Punjab to take water from TP Link Canal.Earlier, Punjab's irrigation department had informed IRSA that they will not take over 5000 cusec of water from Chashma Jhelum Link Canal. According to Pakistan's vernacular media Pahenji Akhbar, Punjab will take water from the Chashma Jhelum link canal for 10 days.Earlier in November, the Punjab Planning and Development (P & D) Board gave go-ahead to four projects for the supply of 52 million gallons of water per day to Rawalpindi. The Asian ...