Washington: US President Barack Obama is at loggerheads with his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari, refusing to meet him apparently over blockage of NATO supply lines into Afghanistan, an issue which continues to strain ties between two nations, American media reports said on Monday. 'The New York Times' said a deal to reopen the supply lines fell apart as Obama began talks on ending the NATO alliance's combat role in...
12:58 PM, May 21, 2012
Washington: Raising the issue of "drone strikes" and delay in payment of collation support fund, the Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, in his meeting with the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, has called for addressing the issue of trust deficit between the two nations. Zardari, during the meeting, noted due to the trust deficit, it would be difficult for Islamabad to rejoin counter-terrorism co-operation with the international community. In...
10:57 AM, May 21, 2012
Washington: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has arrived in Chicago to attend the crucial NATO Summit which is expected to take important decisions with regard to the future of Afghanistan, where the stakes of Islamabad are very high. Zardari is accompanied by Foreign Minister, Hina Rabbani Khar, and the Foreign Secretary, Jalil Abbass Jilani, besides his spokesman Farhatullah Babar. His first scheduled appointment with the NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh...
05:12 PM, May 20, 2012
Islamabad: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari's donation of $ 1 million to the famous sufi shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti at Ajmer will be paid from Pakistan's public exchequer, his spokesman has said. Zardari announced the donation, which the shrine's administrators have described as one of the biggest in recent years, when he offered prayers at the Dargah on April 8. The President visited the shrine in Rajasthan after meeting...
05:37 PM, May 18, 2012
Karachi: Pakistan's ailing virologist Khaleel Chishti on Wednesday reunited with his family after nearly two decades amidst moving and tearful scenes at the Karachi airport where hundreds of people gathered to welcome him. Chishti, who spent 20 long years away from home in Indian jail on charge of involvement in a murder, was brought out of the Jinnah international airport in a wheelchair, looking frail and weak but with his...
11:47 PM, May 16, 2012
New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh conveyed to Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari that India's concerns on terrorism have to be addressed and anti-India activities have to be stopped there if the people of India were to support and sustain progress in bilateral relations with Islamabad. During the visit of Zardari to India on April 8, Singh and Zardari had discussed the issue of terrorism and the Prime Minister told...
03:48 PM, May 16, 2012
Washington: The US on Tuesday said that NATO countries have decided it is important to have participation of Pakistan at the Chicago Summit on Afghanistan hoping that Islamabad would be able to reopen the supply routes by then. "We are making progress, and we will continue to work on this throughout the week. Obviously, it'll be a wonderful signal if we can get it done by the time of the...
12:20 AM, May 16, 2012
Islamabad: NATO on Tuesday invited Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari to its crucial upcoming Chicago summit, a day after Foreign Minister Khar publicly indicated Pakistan's willingness to end its six-month blockade of supplies for foreign troops in Afghanistan. NATO Secretary General Rasmussen telephoned Zardari in the afternoon and invited him to the NATO summit in Chicago beginning from the 20th of this month. President's spokesperson Farhatullah Babar said that the...
07:16 PM, May 15, 2012
Islamabad: Pakistan Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani cannot be stopped from performing his duties as the Supreme Court did not disqualify him when it convicted him for contempt, the High Court in Islamabad has observed. There is no mention of Gilani's disqualification in the Supreme Court's detailed judgement regarding his conviction for contempt for failing to reopen graft cases in Switzerland against President Asif Ali Zardari, the Islamabad High Court noted....
04:16 PM, May 12, 2012
Islamabad: Pakistan is moving towards granting Most Favoured Nation-status to India "despite some hurdles" as the two countries have made significant progress in trade cooperation, President Asif Ali Zardari said on Wednesday. Zardari referred to the importance of regional trade while addressing a dinner hosted by him at the presidency to mark the 50th anniversary of Pakistan-EU relations and said his government had designated 2012 as the "Year of Regional...
11:59 PM, May 09, 2012
Islamabad: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani faces the prospect of being disqualified as an MP for five years after Pakistan's Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that he "wilfully, deliberately and persistently" defied the highest court and brought the judiciary into "ridicule". A seven-judge bench headed by Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk issued a 77-page detailed order regarding the conviction of the premier for refusing to act on directives to revive cases of alleged...
06:16 PM, May 08, 2012
New Delhi: Nearly one month after he was granted bail, the Supreme Court on Friday will decide if Pakistan scientist Khaleel Chishti can return to Karachi. The 80-year-old Pakistani scientist was granted bail by the Supreme Court in April this year after having spent several years in prison for his alleged involvement in a 1992 murder. He then filed a petition seeking his return. The apex court had admitted his...
10:47 AM, May 04, 2012
Islamabad: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday said that granting Most Favoured Nation-status to India was a "paradigmatic shift in policy driven by the business sectors on both sides of the border". Zardari made the remarks at a dinner hosted by the Lahore Chambers of Commerce and Industry at the presidency in Islamabad. "The decision would reconstruct the region's economies and increase its stability," he said. The dinner was...
07:49 AM, May 03, 2012
Islamabad: The Pakistan government desires to expand ties with India in diverse fields, especially trade, while maintaining peace and promoting prosperity in the region, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Wednesday. "Pakistan is a peace-loving and moderate country and wants to have friendly and cordial relations with all countries, including India," the premier said while addressing a "special integration camp" being attended by contingents of scouts and girl guides...
11:24 PM, May 02, 2012
Islamabad: The opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party on Monday announced a nationwide stir against the government of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani after he refused to quit following his conviction in a contempt of court case. The Supreme Court on Thursday found Prime Minister Gilani guilty of contempt of court and gave him a symbolic sentence of less than a minute for failing to reopen the corruption cases against...
03:21 AM, May 01, 2012
Lahore: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Sunday said no premier from the ruling Pakistan People's Party will approach Swiss authorities to reopen corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari. Gilani made the remarks during a meeting with lawyers at his residence in Lahore three days after the Supreme court convicted him of contempt for refusing to act on orders to write to the Swiss government to reopen cases of...
12:09 AM, Apr 30, 2012
Lahore: Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Saturday said he did not need permission from the Leader of Opposition to enter Parliament following his conviction of contempt by the Supreme Court because he is a unanimously elected premier and a lawmaker. Gilani made the remarks two days after his conviction while talking to a lawyers' delegation at Governor's House in Lahore. He was responding to Leader of Opposition Chaudhry...
10:18 PM, Apr 28, 2012
Washington: The US has said it continues to work with Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani as it believes that he remains leader of the democratic government there. "There was a court decision. He was given a 30-second sentence, I believe, and he remains the prime minister of Pakistan," State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland told reporters at her daily news conference. "And as such, we continue to work with him,...
09:53 AM, Apr 28, 2012
New Delhi: Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani is likely to file a review petition in the Supreme court on Friday. This comes after the Pakistan cabinet decided that he will not quit from his post. The apex court found him guilty for contempt of court and was given a symbolic sentence of a 30-second detention in the courtroom. Gilani was convicted for not following a court order to reopen...
08:34 AM, Apr 27, 2012
New Delhi: Amid renewed engagements between India and Pakistan, the Home Secretaries of the two countries are likely to have a bilateral meeting in Islamabad in the last week of May. New Delhi has conveyed to Islamabad that Home Secretary RK Singh was ready to travel to the neighbouring country for the dialogue anytime after May 22 when the Budget session of Parliament comes to an end. "Now, Pakistan has...
07:40 PM, Apr 26, 2012
