Chinese pressure sees Pakistan mull constitutional status of Gilgit-BaltistanBy AFP
ISLAMABAD, Jan 7: Pakistan is mulling upgrading the constitutional status of its northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, which is also claimed by India, in a bid to provide legal cover to a multi-billion-dollar Chinese investment plan, officials said Thursday. The move could signal a historic shift in Pakistan’s position on the future of the wider Kashmir region, observers have said, dealing another potential …
The Lessons of Mumbai were Learned by the JihadisRaffaello Pantucci Independent UK
In November 2008, a new form of terrorism filled our television screens as a 10-man cell dispatched by Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba wreaked murder and mayhem across Mumbai. Choosing prominent targets filled with foreigners and Indians, the terrorists opened fire on anyone they came across, butchering 266 before dying fighting the authorities. In so doing, they took over global headlines …
After Obama-Sharif meet, US categorically rules out nuclear deal with PakistanPTI
Washington, Oct 23: The US has “categorically ruled out” any kind of negotiations with Pakistan on India-type civil nuclear deal, terming the reports in American media “completely false”. “Let me state categorically, we have not entered into negotiations on 123 Agreement with Pakistan nor are we seeking an exception for Pakistan within the nuclear supplier group in order to facilitate …
UNGA speech: Nawaz proposes 4-point peace initiative with IndiaExpress Tribune Web Desk
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif raised the issue of Kashmir, spoke about the continuing offensive against terrorism, and more importantly put the ball in India’s court by offering a new four-point peace initiative in his speech at the 70th UN General Assembly on Tuesday. Nawaz proposes 4-point peace initiative with India 1. We propose Pakistan and India formalise and respect 2003 …
India responds to Nawaz Sharif’s U.N. speechTHE HINDU Oct 1, 2015
India hits back after Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif brings up the Kashmir issue at the U.N. Here is the full text of the statement by First Secretary, Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations: Statement by Mr. Abhishek Singh, First Secretary, Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations exercising India’s Right of Reply during the General Debate …
No alternative to talksThe HINDU Opinion-Editorial Aug 24, 2015
The failure of India and Pakistan to hold the planned meeting between their National Security Advisers, as was agreed in Ufa six weeks ago, is unfortunate, indeed disquieting. It should give pause to both Islamabad and New Delhi on what kind of relations they could possibly expect to have in the foreseeable future. Arguments to the effect that there were …
‘Altaf’s speech exceeded all limits’ – Pak interior ministerThe News International
ISLAMABAD, Aug 2: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan lambasted Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Chief Altaf Hussain on Sunday for his last night’s speech, saying the purpose of such a speech was to bring a bad name to Pakistan and its institutions. “Speeches made from London have crossed limits of all the principles, laws and regulations,” said Chaudhry Nisar while …
Lost Opportunity on Nuclear DisarmamentBy THE EDITORIAL BOARD JUNE 3, 2015 The New York Times
The United States and other nuclear powers failed to use a recent United Nations conference to advance the cause of nuclear disarmament. The meeting in May was supposed to strengthen international efforts to contain nuclear weapons. Instead, it was a reminder of the deep divisions over the future of nuclear weapons and what efforts should be made to eliminate them. …
India Backed Baloch Hijackers Executed after 17 yearsBy John Hall for MailOnline
Pakistan has executed three Baloch separatists who hijacked a plan and attempted to fly it to India in the hope of disrupting Islamabad’s first nuclear tests. Two of the men, Shahsawar Baluch and Sabir Baluch were hanged in Hyderabad prison in southern Sindh province while the third, Shabir Rind, was hanged in Karachi, officials said. The executions were carried out …
Nuclear Fears in South AsiaBy THE EDITORIAL BOARD, New York Times, APRIL 6, 2015
The world’s attention has rightly been riveted on negotiations aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear program. If and when that deal is made final, America and the other major powers that worked on it — China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany — should turn their attention to South Asia, a troubled region with growing nuclear risks of its own. Pakistan, with …
Indian Bride Walks out of Marriage Ceremony after Groom Fails Math Test
A marriage ceremony in India ended in a most unconventional of ways: the bride tested the groom’s math skills, and he failed, police confirmed. The groom-to-be was allegedly asked what 15 plus six is, to which he incorrectly answered 17. The bride then left, and despite all the best efforts of the groom’s family to coax her into returning, she …
Delhi Wakes Up to an Air Pollution Problem It Cannot IgnoreNeighboring Pakistan's aviation, health & agriculture also suffers
By GARDINER HARRIS, The New York Times
NEW DELHI, India, Feb 14 — For years, this sprawling city on the Yamuna River had the dirtiest air in the world, but few who lived here seemed conscious of the problem or worried about its consequences. Now, suddenly, that has begun to change. Some among New Delhi’s Indian and foreign elites have started to wear the white surgical masks …
Karachi Literature Festival brings subcontinent’s writers on same pageFatema Imani, Dawn Newspaper
“Writing is a horribly lonely profession. You’ll never know where you stand, whether you will be compensated; it’s not like other professions which have an infrastructure,” said author of ‘Home Boy’, H.M. Naqvi, during the Iowa Silk Route Residency Program session at the Karachi Literature Festival 2015 (KLF). The session, which saw local and international writers, was engaging, informative and …
India clears cows, dogs, dust for Obama Taj Mahal tripAFP
INDIA, Jan 23: As he scrubs the road to India’s Taj Mahal on his knees for less than five dollars a day, Ramjeet beams with pride at the thought of US President Barack Obama admiring his handiwork. “If everything is clean then he will be impressed,” said the aching man as he took a rest with another 10 kilometres (six miles) …
The ‘Man from Mohenjodaro’ who never left Sindh passes awayBy M Ilyas Khan BBC News, Islamabad
Sobho Gianchandani, one of Pakistan’s last leaders from its first generation of Marxists, has died at the age of 94. He suffered a heart attack and was cremated in his native village near the southern city of Larkana on Tuesday. Gianchandani was a member of the Communist Party of Pakistan and stayed active after it was banned in 1954. He …
Indian Muslims Lose Hope in National Secular PartyBy NEHA THIRANI BAGRI NOV. 8, 2014 | The New York Times
MUMBAI, India — When he set out on a muggy morning in mid-October to vote in the Maharashtra State legislative elections, Zubair Azmi intended to cast his ballot, as usual, for the Indian National Congress, the party that has promised for years to protect Muslims like him. But as he walked the streets of Byculla, a once-affluent South Mumbai neighborhood …
India, Pakistan Remain Lacking in Nuclear SecurityBy Ankit Panda The Diplomat
As the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit gets underway in The Hague, Netherlands, world leaders and nuclear security experts will ponder the future of nuclear security in the Indian subcontinent. Nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan both score poorly on several important indicators for the security of nuclear materials and their ability (or inability) to regulate their supply of both fissile material …
An Unlikely Romance Ends in Tragedy
Young American idealist killed by Indian rickshaw driver husbandBy Daily Mail Reporter Feb 21, 2014
A devoted American social worker has been stabbed to death by her Indian husband of five months – who then returned to their home and blew himself up. Erin Willinger, 35, a yoga teacher and psychologist from New York, was found dumped in a bush with multiple stab wounds to her face and body in the city of Agra on …
India and Pakistan Talk, but Tensions Are HighBy DECLAN WALSH - The New York Times
LONDON, Sept 27 — The leaders of Pakistan and India held their first official meeting in New York on Sunday, leaving with renewed promises of mutual restraint in Kashmir but little real hope for a fresh start in relations. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan shook hands for the cameras at the Plaza …
Secrets of the Thar DesertBy Nafisa Hoodbhoy
The secret to the spiritual tranquility of rural Sindh appears to emanate from deep inside the Tharparkar desert, that straddles the Indo Pak border. Although Hindus make up some 40 percent of the desert, their shrines and idols – as well as Jain temples, are as much a part of the landscape as the mosques for the majority Muslim populace. …
