With a flick of the reins, Jamshed Dasti launched his run for Pakistan's parliament from the back of a donkey cart, cantering through the rutted streets of his home town to file his nomination papers as supporters erupted into cheers. With the opening act in his campaign unfolding exactly as planned, Dasti beamed the beatific smile of a man who might look like an underdog, but who is sure he has the momentum to humble his wealthy rivals at next month's general elections.
His choice of transport was no accident: Dasti wants to persuade poor voters that Muzaffargarh, a farming district in Punjab province long ruled by a Pajero-driving, land-owning aristocracy, is about to change forever. For his biggest rivals are none other than the Khar dynasty, which has wielded huge influence in the district for decades, and whose most famous heiress, Hina Rabbani Khar, was foreign minister until last month.
"Because of me, people have realized they can have a better life," Dasti told Reuters. "Their poor neighbour is now running for elections against the lords of a vast kingdom. How can this not give them hope?"
The son of an illiterate labourer and part-time wrestler, Dasti is a rare example of how a man of modest means can mount a credible challenge to a patronage system prevalent in Punjab where the landed elite can perpetuate their grip on power by intimidating tenants or buying votes with bribes....
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02:15 PM, Apr 28, 2013
Islamabad: Pakistan's former foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar is unlikely to contest polls to parliament in May as her father is a candidate for the National Assembly constituency that she represented earlier, according to a media report on Sunday. The nomination papers of Khar's father, Ghulam Rabbani Khar, for parliamentary constituency number 177 in Punjab province have been approved by poll authorities. Khar was quoted by The Express Tribune as...
06:25 PM, Apr 07, 2013
On the eve of Prime Minister Raja Parvez Ashraf's visit to Ajmer Sharif, Pakistan on Friday said the only way to overcome problems in its relations with India is through "building trust and confidence". ...
11:59 PM, Mar 08, 2013
Strongly rejecting Organisation of Islamic Cooperation's suggestion of allowing an OIC fact- finding mission to Jammu and Kashmir to assess rights situation there, India today said the grouping has no "locus standi" on such matters and termed suggestions to this effect by Pakistan Foreign Minister as "propagandist". ...
02:33 PM, Feb 08, 2013
Seeking to internationalise tensions along the Line of Control, Pakistan has called for an investigation into the recent incidents there by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. "We would also welcome an OIC fact-finding mission to investigate the recent incidents of ceasefire violations along the LoC," Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said while addressing a meeting of the OIC contact group on Kashmir in Cairo on February 6. ...
04:43 PM, Feb 06, 2013
Pakistan will stick to a policy of non-escalation with India in the wake of increased tensions over a string of ceasefire violations along the Line of Control, its Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar has said. In the face of a call from Pakistan's leader of Opposition Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan for a "befitting" response to "propaganda from the Indian government" over the ceasefire violations, Khar reiterated her government's "commitment not...
06:45 PM, Jan 22, 2013
Against the backdrop of chill in relations over the beheading incident, India on Monday said ties with Pakistan can move forward in a "sensible and calibrated" way once the "dust settles". "I think it is important that we let little time go by so that the dust, as it was, settles. Then in a sensible and calibrated manner we can move forward," External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said. ...
06:18 PM, Jan 21, 2013
With beheading of an Indian soldier by Pakistani troops clearly weighing on her mind, Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi on Friday said India's dialogue with its immediate neighbours must be based on accepted principles of civilised behaviour. ...
04:39 PM, Jan 18, 2013
India on Friday noted the "positive indications" from Pakistan following the tension at Line of Control (LoC) in the wake of beheading of its soldier and said it will give an "appropriate" response if Islamabad makes a formal proposal for talks between the foreign ministers. ...
03:39 PM, Jan 18, 2013
Hina Rabbani Khar has suggested talks at the foreign ministry level to resolve the Indo-Pak crisis. ...
09:58 PM, Jan 17, 2013
A day after Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar invited her Indian counterpart Salman Khurshid for talks to defuse the LoC tension, India has said it will be possible only after those responsible for the barbaric killings of the two Indian soldiers are brought to book. "The only problem that needs to be resolved is the inhuman behaviour of the Pakistan forces. Talks with Pakistan are possible only after Pakistan...
11:10 AM, Jan 17, 2013
As the tensions between India and Pakistan escalated with more ceasefire violations reported on Tuesday and the war of words intensifying on Wednesday, both the countries are now looking for measures to de-escalate it. While both the countries have ordered their troops to strictly honour the ceasefire agreement, Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar has invited her Indian counterpart Salman Khurshid for talks. ...
07:49 AM, Jan 17, 2013
Continuing with its tough stand against Pakistan over the ceasefire violations at the Line of Control (LoC) and the killing of Indian soldiers, India on Wednesday warned that the tension could hit economic ties between the two countries, even as the neighbour accused India of war mongering. ...
05:48 PM, Jan 16, 2013
Even as corruption charges threatened to topple Pakistan's second Premier in a row, the country's Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar drew a parallel with India, saying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had also faced "very big" allegations. "The problem of corruption plagues many countries within South Asia and elsewhere also," Khar said. ...
01:38 PM, Jan 16, 2013
Even as the Line of Control remains tense, the war of words between India and Pakistan has intensified. India has raised Pakistan's continuing support to terror groups at the United Nations, seeking international action against state sponsors of terror. India named Pakistan terror groups Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jamaat-ud-Dawa as major security threats to South East Asian countries. ...
11:15 AM, Jan 16, 2013
Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar accused India of engaging in "war-mongering" in the aftermath of clashes and killing of two Indian soldiers at the Line of Control(LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir. Khar also said Pakistan is "deeply disappointed" to hear statements from India that are "upping the ante" and claimed her government is creating a "precedence" of not following war-mongering. ...
11:08 AM, Jan 16, 2013
The situation along the India-Pakistan border continues to remain tense after India reported four ceasefire violations even after the flag meet. Indian troops, however, did not retaliate and officers say that they will not react in haste but will take their time. But, the Pakistani army claimed that Indian troops killed a Pakistani soldier in the disputed territory of Kashmir. ...
07:51 AM, Jan 16, 2013
Pakistan has been "one of the biggest victims of terrorism", Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said on Tuesday, noting a "uni-dimensional" approach to defeat the "hydra-headed monster" will not be sufficient. ...
10:36 PM, Jan 15, 2013
The remarks made by Indian Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh following the beheading of an Indian soldier on the LoC last week were "very hostile", Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said today, as she asked Indian leaders to "catch up" with developments in her country. ...
09:36 PM, Jan 15, 2013
The Pakistani attack on an Indian Army area domination patrol in Poonch could have been planned over a month if not more, say Indian Army sources. ...
02:32 PM, Jan 10, 2013
