Lahore: PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, set to become Pakistan's next Prime Minister, on Tuesday reached out to his rival Imran Khan and suggested that the two of them should play a "friendly match". Sharif visited the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf chief at Shaukat Khanum Hospital, where he is recuperating after fracturing his spine in a fall at a campaign meeting days before the May 11 general elections. Sharif inquired about Imran's health...
10:54 PM, May 14, 2013
New Delhi: There is no invitation for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to visit Pakistan to attend the swearing-in ceremony of PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, who will be forming the next government there. "There is no specific proposal on the table, of a specific request for a specific occasion," Syed Akbaruddin, spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs told reporters when asked if there was an invite for the Prime Minister...
09:10 PM, May 14, 2013
New Delhi: The Indian football team's tour of England, where it was scheduled to play three international friendlies against Pakistan and Bangladesh, has been cancelled. English Premier League club Fulham FC, whose Craven Cottage ground was hired to organise the matches, issued a statement informing about the cancellation. "The club would like to inform supporters that the international friendly matches scheduled to be played at Craven Cottage in June between...
09:09 PM, May 14, 2013
Islamabad: Nawaz Sharif's PML-N has emerged as the single largest party in Pakistan's landmark General Elections with 123 of the 272 Parliamentary seats but fell short of a majority and would form a government with support of independents and smaller parties. The PML-N's two closest rivals the Pakistan People's Party and Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf lagged far behind with 32 and 27 seats, respectively. Earlier, trends from the counting of...
08:50 PM, May 14, 2013
Islamabad: The Pakistan Cricket Board has surprisingly awarded axed allrounder Shahid Afridi and batsman Younis Khan category A contracts while increasing their pay by 15 percent. Both players were dropped for next month's Champions Trophy, but will be given monthly retainers of around $3,600. Test and one-day captain Misbah-ul-Haq, Twenty20 captain Mohammad Hafeez and offspinner Saeed Ajmal were also given category A contracts. Fast bowler Umar Gul, Umar Akmal and...
06:26 PM, May 14, 2013
Ferozepur: Two weeks after Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh's tragic killing in a Lahore jail, CNN-IBN is meeting other spies who have spent decades in Pakistani jails, but are almost never acknowledged. Gopal Das wears his scars as proudly as a soldier, claiming he was on the payroll of the Research and Analysis Wing, drawing Rs 1,500 a month till he was caught by Pakistani rangers in 1985. "Today former terrorists...
02:55 PM, May 14, 2013
Islamabad: Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf is set to form government in the militancy-hit Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province with the backing of the Jamaat-e-Islami while the PML-N and several smaller parties are expected to form a coalition in the restive Balochistan province. The Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf emerged the single largest party in Khyber-Pakhtunkwa by bagging 35 of the 99 directly elected seats far short of a simple majority. The Jamaat-e-Islami, which won seven seats,...
02:37 PM, May 14, 2013
Islamabad: Returning to England for the Champions Trophy will be "very sensitive" for the Pakistan's players following the spot-fixing scandal three years ago, team manager Naveed Akram Cheema said Monday, urging his squad to just focus on the eight-team competition. Cheema took over as manager in 2010, soon after three Pakistan players were charged of spot-fixing in a Test match during Pakistan's last tour of England. Later fast bowlers Mohammad...
02:27 PM, May 14, 2013
Islamabad: Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's judicial remand over the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in 2007 was extended by a fortnight on Tuesday by an anti-terrorism court. The court of Judge Chaudhry Habib-ur-Rehman in Rawalpindi extended Musharraf's judicial remand till May 28 and also put off hearing his bail application till May 20, prosecutor Chaudhry Azhar told reporters. The next hearing of the Bhutto assassination case will be held on...
02:06 PM, May 14, 2013
Islamabad: Nawaz Sharif's emphatic victory at the hustings in Pakistan will provide him sufficient room to shape his party's own agenda, the global rating agency Moody's said but warned the new government will inherit the effects of overall policy inertia. The rating agency also said any flare up in relations with India could impact Pakistan's credit fundamentals. "(Nawaz Sharif's) PML-N's near majority should provide it with sufficient political room to...
01:52 PM, May 14, 2013
Beijing: Pakistan may improve its ties with India and fine tune its anti-terror strategy under the new government headed by PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif, Chinese analysts have said. Under Sharif, the relationship between Pakistan and India might also improve, Wang Dehua, head of the South and Central Asian Studies Institute at the Shanghai Institute for International Strategic Studies told state-run Global Times said. "In 1999, Sharif managed to invite then...
12:44 PM, May 14, 2013
Islamabad: Nawaz Sharif's PML-N has emerged the single largest party in Pakistan's landmark general elections by bagging 122 of the 272 parliamentary seats that went to the polls on May 11, the Election Commission announced on Tuesday. The PML-N's two closest rivals the Pakistan People's Party and Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf lagged far behind with 31 and 26 seats, respectively. Earlier, trends emerging from the counting of votes had shown...
12:36 PM, May 14, 2013
Washington: Nawaz Sharif's decision to invite Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is a "positive sign", the United States has said and expressed its willingness to work with the new government in Pakistan. "We have seen those comments. I don't want to analyze it too much, but to say that it is a positive step and we look forward to working with the new government as it's formed," State Department spokesperson Jen...
11:00 AM, May 14, 2013
London: British Prime Minister David Cameron has telephoned Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif to congratulate him on his party's success in general elections. Cameron, who took time out of an official US tour to telephone Sharif, agreed to work with him to strengthen bilateral relationship. "The Prime Minister spoke to Nawaz Sharif earlier today to congratulate him on his party's success in the recent Pakistani elections. They agreed...
09:36 AM, May 14, 2013
Washington: Pakistan's Ambassador to the US, Sherry Rehman, has resigned from her post. Congratulating the new parliament on its election, Ambassador Rehman has sent in her resignation to the Prime Minister, saying that it is time a new envoy come in as quickly as possible so that there is no gap in the relationship, an Embassy spokesman said. A political appointee of the previous government and a close aide of...
09:30 AM, May 14, 2013
Washington: Even as there is a sense of positivity over Indo-Pak ties after the outcome of Pakistan polls, a former Pakistani diplomat believes a regime change is unlikely to bring any substantial shift in Islamabad's approach. Former Pakistan Ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani noted this while giving an analysis of the post-election scenario in Pakistan. "We will have a kind of a hug-hug, embrace-embrace, but no substantial changed attitude...
09:21 AM, May 14, 2013
New Delhi: Government sources on Tuesday said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will not be attending the swearing-in ceremony of Pakistan's Prime Minister elect Nawaz Sharif. India is likely to formally decline Sharif's invitation to Manmohan. The Prime Minister's Office (PMO), however, has said that no formal invite has been received yet for Sharif's swearing-in ceremony. Sources, however, added that that Sharif may consider India's invitation a visit to soon. Speaking...
09:21 AM, May 14, 2013
Mumbai: A month after Indian Coastguard intercepted a suspicious small ship called MSV Yusufi off the Mumbai coast, what initially seemed to be a case of smuggling, is turning into a major puzzle for the investigating agencies. MSV Yusufi triggered panic last month, when intelligence agencies intercepted suspicious chatter of its crew through banned satellite phones. They were told by their Dubai handler to land at the Colaba coast in...
08:41 AM, May 14, 2013
Islamabad: PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, who is set to be Pakistan's Prime Minister for a record third time, says that India and Pakistan should jointly address their fears. Meanwhile, Sharif on Monday invited Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his swearing-in ceremony. However, sources said that India is likely to formally decline Sharif's invitation to Manmohan. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has said that no formal invite has been received...
08:13 AM, May 14, 2013
New Delhi: After incursions in Ladakh, China has now flexed its muscles in the Indian Ocean. The Indian Navy has expressed concern about increasing presence of Chinese navy's submarines and warships in the region. Defence Minister AK Antony will open the bi-annual Naval Commanders Conference in Delhi on Tuesday. The minister, fresh from flagging off the Navy's first MiG-29K squadron in Goa, is expected to highlight concerns over the increasing...
07:40 AM, May 14, 2013
