ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif accused India on Saturday of trying to entangle his country in conflicts on its eastern and western borders by stoking terrorism in the region, even as Islamabad works to solidify a fragile ceasefire with Afghanistan. “If there is a need for evidence, then we have it, about what involvement India has in terrorism [in Pakistan] and how it wants to keep us busy on two fronts: the eastern and western,” the minister, Khawaja Asif told a private television channel.
Politics
CM Afridi forms all-male cabinet in KP, and familiar barriers for women persist
PESHAWAR: After days of uncertainty, the provincial northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province finalised its cabinet, swearing in 10 provincial ministers while appointing two advisers and a special assistant to the chief minister.
Pakistan partially reopens key Afghan border for refugee repatriation
PESHAWAR: Pakistan partially reopened a key border crossing with Afghanistan on Saturday, allowing thousands of stranded Afghan refugees to return home after nearly three weeks of closure prompted by deadly clashes between the two nations’ forces.
PPP gains ground in Kashmir, prepares to oust prime minister
ISLAMABAD: The chairman of Pakistan’s People’s Party, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, said his party stood ready to form a government in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, vowing to end the political turmoil that has gripped the region and reaffirming the party’s historic commitment to the Kashmiri cause.
Minister Asif disowns colleague’s claim Pakistani troops would disarm Hamas
ISLAMABAD: Defence minister Khawaja Asif on Friday forcefully disavowed comments by a government spokesman suggesting that Pakistani troops deployed to a new international force in Gaza would help disarm Hamas, highlighting tensions within the government over a prospective, and politically fraught, commitment.
Punjab govt consolidates Imran Khan’s May 9 cases for video trials in anti-terrorism court
RAWALPINDI: The provincial Punjab government notified on Friday that 11 criminal complaints filed against former Prime Minister Imran Khan in connection with the deadly riots that erupted two years ago would be tried together before a single anti-terrorism court here, with Khan set to appear via video link from the high-security Adiala Jail where he has been held for more than two years.
Fragile new truce with Taliban hinges on Kabul’s action against militants
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday portrayed a fragile new truce with the Afghan Taliban as a hard-won step toward peace along their volatile border, but one laden with stern conditions and deep scepticism, as Islamabad demanded verifiable action against militants using Afghan soil to stage attacks inside its soil.
Report warns India could weaponise Indus River flows against Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: India lacks the capacity to abruptly halt the flow of the Indus River or fully divert its tributaries in the near term. But a report warns that New Delhi could soon wield the timing of its dams to manipulate river levels in ways that could cripple Pakistan’s agriculture, at a moment when trust between the nuclear-armed neighbours has frayed to its lowest point in years.
KP chief minister forms cabinet after repeated setbacks over Imran Khan consultations
PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s new chief minister, Sohail Afridi, announced his provincial cabinet early on Friday, selecting 10 ministers, two advisers and one special assistant in a move that ends weeks of political suspense in this volatile northwestern province.
Security forces kill 22 militants, including top TTP commander – military
ISLAMABAD: In a series of sharp counterterrorism operations along restive border regions, Pakistani security forces killed 22 militants on Wednesday night and Thursday, the military said, dealing a significant blow to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan by eliminating its second-in-command.