News & Updates

(Reuters) – Hafiz Saeed, widely considered one of South Asia’s most dangerous militants, has no doubt who is to blame for devastating floods that have submerged swathes of Pakistani countryside and claimed hundreds of lives. “India irrigates its deserts and dumps extra water on Pakistan without any warning,” the bearded Saeed told Reuters, as he surveyed a vast expanse of muddy water from a rescue boat just outside the central city of Multan. “If we don’t stop India now, Pakistan will continue to face this danger.” His comments will surprise few in India, where Saeed is suspected of helping mastermind the 2008 Mumbai massacre which killed 166 people, a few of them Americans. Saeed, who also has a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head, denies involvement. But his presence in the flood-hit area is part of a push by Pakistani Islamists, militants and organisations linked to them to fill the vacuum left by struggling local authorities and turn people against a neighbour long

SAHIWAL: Twenty-seven landowner families of Dad Balooch Village have become landless tenants because of high flood and continuous erosion by the Ravi during the past two weeks. It is learnt that more than 50 acre land of these families has been washed away in recent floods. These families demand alternative agriculture land for their livelihood. As many as 144 members of these families are temporarily residing in makeshift tents established on eastern side of the river or in the flood relief camp set up by the district government at Government High School, Karam Balooch. District Coordination Officer Dr Sajid Mamhood has assured the affected families that alternative land will be arranged and allocated on a permanent basis. Mansab Ali Balooch is head of a joint Balooch family having 30 members. One month back his family was the owner of six acre agriculture land, a tubewell, an animal farmhouse and an outhouse but now he is sitting in another landowner’s area as a landles

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama has included both India and Pakistan among 22 major illicit drug-producing or drug-transit countries, says a presidential determination released by the White House. Afghanistan is also on the list. Of these 22, three countries – Bolivia, Myanmar, and Venezuela – are on a list of those who can face US sanctions. All three are accused of “failing demonstrably” to fulfil their obligations under international counter-narcotics agreements and conventions. But President Obama granted Myanmar and Venezuela waivers, declaring that it was in the US national interest to continue its assistance to them. Besides India and Pakistan, other countries on the list are: Afghanistan, the Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Myanmar, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela. The presidential memo pointed out that opium poppy trade in Afghanistan “threat

ISLAMABAD: Despite the ongoing political crisis and flash floods in Punjab, the government has facilitated 150 exhibitors to showcase their products in New Delhi to access India’s middle-class market of 600 million people. The four-day exhibition named ‘Aalishan Pakistan’, starting from today (Thursday), would allow exhibitors to showcase their products in 320 stalls ranging from garments to textiles, Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir told a news conference here on Wednesday. An art exhibition for young artists, a fashion show, business-to-business meeting of Pakistani exporters with Indian firms, and a business seminar will also be held at the sidelines of the event. A high-profile delegation of leading businessmen will also attend Aalishan Pakistan, he added. The government was under pressure from certain quarters to cancel the exhibition, especially after India called off foreign secretary level talks with Pakistan, the minister said. “However, the government values tr

At the beginning of the week, when we scan the news media around the globe to decide what media story to go with, wires started dropping about protesters occupying Pakistan’s state broadcaster PTV. The story is part of a new political power struggle in which the country’s top news channels are fighting a proxy war of their own. For three weeks now, street demonstrators led by cricket-player-turned politician, Imran Khan, have been demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, whose election last year the protestors insist was rigged. Sharif says he is not going anywhere. The way the unrest is being reported in Pakistan’s media lays bare the political divisions in the country and exacerbates them. Backing the government are Geo TV, the most watched network in Pakistan and the state-owned broadcaster, PTV. Both had their offices targeted by protestors, and, in PTV’s case, occupied. ARY, the number two news channel, backs the protest movement, and has been going at i

ISLAMABAD:  China’s foreign ministry on Saturday denied releasing any information regarding President Xi Jingping’s visit to Pakistan. “China and Pakistan have maintained close high-level exchanges… [and] are in close communication regarding the next step of such exchanges,” China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Qin Gang told reporters at a news conference in Beijing. “It is worth pointing out [however] that we never released any information about President Xi’s visit to Pakistan officially,” he said. “So, there is no basis to say we are about to cancel anything.” At the same time, the spokesperson expressed hope that all major political stakeholders in Pakistan would be able to ‘resolve their differences and restore national security’. “As for the current situation in Pakistan, we hope relevant parties in Pakistan can work together while bearing in mind the fundamental interests of the state and the people, and jointly safeguard national security,” he said. The P