ISLAMABAD: The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc), beleaguered by internal rifts, is headed for more difficult days ahead as India is attempting to block on ‘procedural grounds’ the appointment of a Pakistani diplomat as the next secretary general of the regional body. The Saarc secretariat can, therefore, potentially remain a headless body for a long time if the ...

KABUL: The supreme leader of the Taliban group Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada has replaced 24 shadow officials in a bid to consolidate his influence over the insurgency, it has been reported. The replacements include 16 shadow governors and eight other provincial-level officials including one whose job will be to offer technical support for major attacks on urban areas, according to a ...

ISLAMABAD: Prominent academic and human rights activist Salman Haider who went missing earlier this month from Islamabad is “fine and safe”, his brother Zeeshan Haider confirmed to media. Zeeshan Haider provided no details about his brother Salman’s whereabouts. Haider was one of five who disappeared in early January from different cities, including bloggers Waqas Goraya, Aasim Saeed and Ahmed Raza ...

BY FARHAT TAJ: In support and honour of Bakhtyar Orakzai, my student from KUST, kidnapped by intelligence agencies of Pakistan Bakhtyar Khan Orakzai, born in1986, is from the Mishti tribe of Orakzai agency in FATA. The intelligence agencies of Pakistan abducted him in 2015 apparently on suspicion of his connection with the Taliban. At the time of abduction, he was ...

KARACHI: Columnist, historian and cultural critic Nadeem F. Paracha published his second book, ‘The Pakistan Anti-Hero’ on Friday. Paracha’s second offering, published by Vanguard Publications, explores the political and social evolution of Pakistan’s polity, which he first wrote about in his debut, ‘End of the Past’. According to a press release issued by Vanguard, ‘The Pakistan Anti-Hero’ digs into the ...

ISLAMABAD: A scuffle broke out in the National Assembly on Thursday when five members from the opposition parties requested the speaker to submit a privileged motion against the prime minister. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jddDoNQHaQk During Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s address in the house, PTI lawmakers reportedly indulged in sloganeering against the government. PML-N’s Shahid Khaqan Abbasi approached Qureshi and requested him ...

By Imran Ehsan & Maqsood Butt The land along Bedian Road is about 90 acres of which he got 50 acres as a 4-star general and 40 acres as COAS through Border Area Committee LAHORE: Former chief of army staff General Raheel Sharif has been allotted 868 kanals and 10 marlas of land (about 90 acres) on Bedian Road Lahore, ...

HEIDELBERG: German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung on Monday tweeted documents to ‘help’ Pakistanis form their own opinion on the role of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s daughter in Panamagate. “For those in Pakistan who doubt the role of the prime minister’s daughter Mariam Safdar in Panama Papers – some of the documents. Judge yourself,” Süddeutsche Zeitung tweeted, along with attachments purporting to ...

PESHAWAR: At least 18 people were killed in a blast at the Sabzi Mandi (vegetable market) in Kurram Agency’s Parachinar area on Saturday morning, a government official said. “At least 18 people have been killed and 47 wounded,” Ikramullah Khan, a senior government official in Parachinar, told AFP. Khan said the blast was caused by an improvised explosive device (IED) ...

PAKISTAN: The Taliban militants group can carry on insurgency for a very long time, Pakistan’s foreign affairs adviser Sartaj Aziz said as he insist that the Afghan leaders to review their “fragmented” approach to peace talks with the Taliban on containing and ending the resilient insurgency. Aziz made the remarks during an interview with the Voice of America. He said ...