ISLAMABAD: The election authorities ordered local government polls in the country’s most populous province to be held in the last week of December, ending a yearslong delay marked by repeated changes to provincial laws and requests for more time.
Politics
Military warns India of ‘swift retributive response’ to any aggression
ISLAMABAD The military leadership warned India on Wednesday that any “imaginary new normal” in their fraught bilateral relations would be met with a “new normal of swift retributive response,” escalating tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors in a fresh exchange of bellicose rhetoric.
Imran Khan orders KP CM Gandapur to resign as PTI rift deepens and terror attacks rise
ISLAMABAD: Ali Amin Gandapur, the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said on Wednesday he would resign from his post on the orders of Imran Khan, the imprisoned founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, who has tapped provincial assembly member Sohail Afridi as his successor.
Army says 19 militants killed, 11 soldiers martyred in northwest gunbattle
ISLAMABAD: Security forces killed 19 militants in an overnight raid in the restive northwestern district of Orakzai, but the operation came at a heavy cost, with 11 soldiers, including a lieutenant colonel and a major, losing their lives in the fierce exchange of fire, the military said on Wednesday.
Regional powers urge no foreign military presence in Afghanistan after US talk of reclaiming Bagram base
ISLAMABAD: Major regional powers including Pakistan, China, Russia, Iran and India issued a joint statement, calling for “no foreign military presence” in Afghanistan, emphasising the need to respect the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity as part of broader efforts to stabilise the region.
US adds Pakistan, Saudi Arabia to new air-to-air missile contract
ISLAMABAD: The US Department of War has included Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in a new contract for the supply of US-made air-to-air missiles, and separately approved a deal to upgrade communications systems on Saudi fighter jets, according to an official statement on its website.
Zardari asks Naqvi to defuse rift between PML-N and PPP as coalition strain grows
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari has directed Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to mediate between the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and its key ally, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), amid a deepening rift that threatens the stability of the coalition government, local media reported on Tuesday.
Pakistan’s military praises Chinese weapons’ performance in clash with India
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top military spokesman has hailed the performance of Chinese-made weapon systems during a brief but intense conflict with India in May, marking a rare public endorsement amid ongoing tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors.
Pakistan, Malaysia agree to boost trade ties as Kuala Lumpur plans $200m halal meat imports
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his Malaysian counterpart, Anwar Ibrahim, vowed on Monday to deepen economic ties between their nations, with Malaysia announcing plans to import $200 million worth of halal meat from Pakistan as a key step toward expanded trade and investment.
President Zardari moves to defuse coalition rift as PPP-PML-N tensions flare over floods, water dispute
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari summoned Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to Karachi on Monday for an urgent meeting amid escalating tensions between the governments of Sindh and Punjab, as lawmakers from the Pakistan Peoples Party staged walkouts from both houses of parliament in protest over a bitter exchange of barbs with their coalition partners in the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.