Judiciary is perhaps the only organ of the state that has strengthened itself over time in Pakistan. Yet the cases of even extreme importance are delayed for years. The scenario of Dr Shakil Afridi’s case is not much different. It has been over five years since the Abbottabad raid by the US Navy Seals that killed Osama bin Laden took place. Following bin Laden’s death, Dr Afridi was arrested on the charges of high treason.…
Posts published in “Day: September 5, 2016”
Considering that Pakistan has a long contiguous border with Afghanistan and is closely engaged diplomatically and in the fight against terrorism, it is strange indeed that the US has set up trilateral talks that include India but exclude Pakistan on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session later this month. Stranger still is the remark by US Secretary of State John Kerry who said his hope was that “Pakistan as a country is not…
RAWALPINDI: Designating the Sharif family a security threat, Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri on Saturday called Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif an Indian agent, who is working on the ‘enemy’s agenda’ to destroy Pakistan. “The rulers are allies of the enemy nations and terrorists. If their rule doesn’t come to an end, they would devour every institution including Pakistan Army and Pakistan’s nuclear programme,” Dr Qadri said, while addressing a rally in Rawalpindi.…
Report in The Express Tribune Lahore High Court Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah on Friday disposed of a petition seeking a directive for the government to block access to the website of India Today magazine. Petitioner Abdul Hameed in his petition stated that the magazine recently published a derogatory photo of Army chief General Raheel Sharif. However, the LHC CJ observed that only the parliament was authorised to take a decision in this regard.…
ISLAMABAD: The federal government has so far managed to avoid the $605 million penalty to be imposed by Iran as per the GSPA (gas sale purchase agreement) under the IP gas pipeline and will avert $1.183 billion by March 2018 which is close to the price of 700 kilometers Gwadar-Nawabshah pipeline that stands at $1.353 billion, a top official of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources told The News. “Under an agreement with Iran,…
Karachi: Surge in cheap goods from China is hurting at least four local manufacturing sectors, slowly eroding their share in the domestic markets, a think tank said. The annual report on trade and manufacturing data, released by the Pakistan Business Council (PBC), showed that paper and paper board, electric motors, ceramic tiles and footwear sectors are taking the brunt from increased imports mainly from China. In 2015, domestic manufacturing of paper and paper board decreased…
QUETTA: Pakistan’s border authorities lodged a strong protest on Friday with Iranian authorities on firing of mortar shells in the Parom area of Panjgur, the bordering district of Pakistan with Iran. Sources said that Pakistani officials lodged the protest with Iran’s border authorities in writing and termed the incident a violation of Pakistan’s territory. Sources said that Pakistan’s officials had demanded a flag meeting with Iranian authorities on the issue. “They had fired 20 mortar…
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s cabinet has given the go-ahead for negotiating a long-term defence agreement with China, according to documents available with The Express Tribune. The approval was given in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on July 15, 2016 at the Governor House in Lahore soon after his return from London. The cabinet considered the summary to initiate negotiations on a draft agreement between Pakistan and China on a long-term strategic framework agreement for…
The writer is a senior superintendent of police On April 18, 2015, while General Sher Mohammad Karimi, Afghan Chief of General Staff, was presiding over the 132nd passing-out parade at the Pakistan Military Academy, Kakul, the Islamic State (IS) field operators were carrying out its first deadly attack on Afghan soil in Jalalabad. The suicide attack at a bank was so powerful that 33 persons died on spot, and more than 100 were injured. Later,…
The writer teaches international politics at the Free University Brussels. China today boasts one of the most capable foreign services in the world. I have learned to appreciate its young diplomats as remarkably diligent, perceptive, and acculturated. Yet, even those bright officials struggle with an increasingly pressing challenge: to reconcile China’s promise of mutually beneficial foreign relations with a reality of unequal economic partnerships. China’s New Silk Road, also known as One Belt, One Road,…
bud”. The nation can thus rest easy, as the Pakistan Army said has foiled the attempts of Islamic State (Daesh) to organise itself in Pakistan by carrying out timely operations. Pakistan Army spokesman Lt-Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa in media briefing said 309 terrorists belonging to Daesh had been arrested – including 25 foreigners of Afghan, Syrian and Iraqi nationalities. On the same day, Army Chief General Raheel Sharif stated in Gilgit that Modi and RAW…