PAKISTAN: New details have emerged regarding a private meeting between a Pakistani model Qandeel Baloch and religious scholar Mufti Qavi days after the selfies of the two went viral in internet. Mufti Qavi was suspended from the Ruet-i-Hilal Committee as well as the National Ulema Mushaikh Council of Pakistan after the photographs went viral. Both Mufti Qavi and Qandeel Baloch ...

A lot of sane minds are furious and raising questions over the Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa government’s decision of allocating Rs. 300 million in their annual budget, for a notorious religious Madrassa, Darululoom Haqqaania, located in the Nowshehra district of Pukhtoonkhwa. Haqqania is run by Jamiat Ulema Islam (S) chief, Maulana Sami-ul-Haq, who is also known as, “Father of the Taliban.” The ...

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Afghanistan have decided to constitute a high-level bilateral mechanism to consult and coordinate on various important issues relating to security and civilian movement between the two countries. The agreement emerged during a meeting held between Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz and Afghan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani on the sidelines of SCO Summit ...

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani senator has criticized the Taliban policy adopted by Islamabad and warned that the dichotomy in the state’s policy towards militants has brought Afghanistan and Pakistan close to a dangerous collision. “Pakistan refuses to acknowledge that the Taliban ideology on both sides of the Durand Line is to destroy modern state structures,” Pakistan Peoples Party Senator Farhatullah Babar ...

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on Friday said Darul Uloom Haqqania agreed to implement reforms in return for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government’s budget allocation of Rs300 million for the religious seminary. “Musharraf received billions from the west for madressah reform and even Maulana Samiul Haq was approached but he rejected the grant, now they are ready for reforms ...

KARACHI: A famous Pakistani religious figure and politician Mufti Abdul Qavi is under fire because of selfies with a famous Pakistani model Qandeel Baloch which have gone viral in the social media websites. Mufti Qavi is the head of the religious wing of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) which is led by former Pakistani cricketer Imran Khan. The selfies went viral shortly ...

Children scavenge through the garbage in this file photo. ISLAMABAD: Nearly 39 per cent of Pakistanis live in multidimensional poverty with the highest rates in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and Balochistan. Though the national poverty rates have dropped from 55 to 39pc since 2004. According to Pakistan’s first ever Multidim­ensional Poverty Index (MPI), launched on Monday, progress across ...

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani foreign affairs adviser Sartaj Aziz has said the Afghan government should offer Taliban something they cannot gain in battlefield in a bid to bring peace and stability in Afghanistan. Sartaj further added “We can only bring the Taliban on the table using our influence, but ultimately Afghanistan has to talk with them. They (Afghan government) should strengthen ...

KABUL: Afghanistan and Pakistan on Monday agreed to establish ‘an effective mechanism for consultation and coordination of issues of mutual concern and interest.’  “This will be proposed for the consideration of the two countries’ leadership, who will meet on the sidelines of the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Tashkent, Uzbekistan,” the Afghan Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The ...

ISLAMABAD: Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz on Sunday said the United States wants Pakistan to act against the Afghan Taliban but “Pakistan cannot fight Afghanistan’s war on its own soil”. In an interview with the state-owned Pakistan Television (PTV), Aziz maintained that US authorities have the “misconception” that Pakistan is backing certain Taliban groups or the ...