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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will next week host the leaders of Afghanistan and Iran at a summit devoted to counter-terrorism, the foreign ministry in Islamabad said Thursday. The talks come at a time of heightened tension between Iran and the United States, notably over speculation about a possible Israeli attack against Iran’s controversial nuclear programme. It also comes with Afghanistan keen to start peace talks with Taliban insurgents. Kabul is reportedly concerned about being sidelined by contacts between the US and the Taliban. “It is a two-day summit, to be held on February 16 and 17 in Islamabad,” ministry spokesman Abdul Basit...

KARACHI – The American government is willing to promote the US investment in Pakistan, particularly in the energy sector. This was stated by US Consul General William Martin during his visit to Karachi Stock Exchange where he also rang the bell for commencement of the day’s trading. He assured the audience of the United States ’commitment to a strong bilateral relationship and to continuing strengthening of economic opportunities between the two countries. William expressed his delight on his visit to the Karachi Stock Exchange. US Consul General applauded the initiative by the KSE’s Board to promote dialogue with regional exchanges....

CIA’s bio attack on Pak suspected Cuba suffered scourge in 1981 Akhtar Jamal Islamabad—Fears are growing in Pakistan that the spread of dengue fever also known as break-bone fever may have been caused by some kind of biological experiment or deliberate release of virus by foreign elements. Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) representatives have called on security agencies to investigate fears of deliberate spread of dengue virus in Pakistan. According to a report, the PMA members and experts have demanded in-depth investigation over mysterious spread of Dengue virus in Punjab. Dengue fever is an infectious tropical disease caused by the dengue...

ISLAMABAD (APP) – The USAID Pakistan Mission Director Dr. Andrew B. Sisson has said that despite financial constraints and tension is Pak-US relations the USAID has been providing financial assistance for various sectors including energy, education, health and rural development programmes. In an interview with the news agency, the USAID Pakistan Chief said, “We are here to help Pakistan to develop its economy, to provide better future to Pakistani citizens, helping to improve its energy supply, stablise its conditions in FATA, improve educational opportunities for kids, provide jobs, and improve health sector.” He said, “we think this is in the...

Chinese military allowed to take photographs, samples of aircraft's 'skin', despite CIA objections, Financial Times reports ISLAMABAD — Pakistan gave China access to the previously unknown "stealth" helicopter that crashed during the commando raid that killed Osama bin Laden in May despite explicit requests from the CIA not to, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. The revelation, if confirmed, is likely to further shake the U.S.-Pakistan relationship, which has been improving slightly after hitting its lowest point in decades following the May 2 bin Laden raid. During the raid, one of two modified Blackhawk helicopters, believed to employ unknown stealth...

US to double ‘Fulbright Scholarship’ for Pakistanis: CG By Asad Farooq KARACHI: The United States Consulate in Karachi and the Blinck, a social organisation, jointly organised a youth conference to mark the International Youth Day under the theme of ‘Youth Participation in Decision Making’ at a local hotel here on Friday. About 100 youngsters participated in the discussion and action forum at the programme. Addressing the ceremony, US Consul General (CG) William Martin, who was the guest of honour, said that young people are making history and bringing fundamental changes in their societies as well as international community. He presented...

Israeli arms fuel Karachi unrest SLAMABAD (APP) - Interior Minister Rehman Malik, hinting at involvement of foreign hands behind unrest in Karachi, on Sunday said Israeli-made weapons were being used by miscreants in the mega city. “Over 200 persons have been arrested and Israeli-made weapons including AK-45, have been recovered from them. It proves that foreign hands are behind the unrest in Karachi,” he told mediamen here at Benazir Bhutto Shaheed International Airport. The minister said that investigation was being conducted to know who were supporting these people and supplying them weapons. He said media would be given access to...

US plans Jewish state in IHK Lahore – The CIA designed a plot to create a rift in Pakistan as well as other Islamic states and China for the supremacy of the US and India in 1994, it has been revealed. The CIA planned to create rift among the Army, other sensitive departments and the political forces in Pakistan to establish another Jewish state in the Indian-held Kashmir. According to the design, the international aid-backed non-government organisations are in action to implement the plan of strengthening Indian lobby in Balochistan and establishing another Israeli state in IHK. , which would...

Pakistan college contest: Praise for bin Laden LAHORE: Two months after the covert US raid that killed Osama bin Laden, posters emblazoned with images of the burning World Trade Center towers appeared at the country’s largest university advertising a literary contest to glorify the slain al Qaeda chief. The poem and essay competition at the prestigious Punjab University shows the footholds of hard-line radicals on college campuses and growing efforts to raise their profile and influence even in the relatively cosmopolitan atmosphere of Pakistan’s culture capital, Lahore. The contest’s organisers have kept their identities hidden. But many students and teachers...

Pakistan, China friendship a lush tree: Ambassador Khan PDF Print E-mail BEIJING, MAY 31 (APP): Premier Wen Jiabao has wisely described the friendship between Pakistan and China as a “lush tree with deep roots and thick foliage, full of vigour and vitality,” said Pakistan’s Ambassador to China, Masood Khan.The Chinese Premier made these remarks on the morning of December 19, while addressing a packed session of Pakistani parliament during his official visit to Pakistan.“The sentimental bond between our peoples is thus a constant image.An aura of warmth and affection permeates our relations. Diplomats in Beijing and around the world hear...

Dead Osama was brought into Abbottabad and ‘killed’ Special Correspondent Washington—Information collected from various sources and pieced together gives altogether a different turn to the Abbottabad episode and this scribe now tends to believe that the slain Osama bin Laden was captured and killed some years ago by the US forces and was brought in a coffin to Abbottabad on the night between May Ist and 2nd and “killed.” Some reports suggest that the body of the dead Osama was lying in a morgue specially erected by US Army in a small safe house at the Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan...

Pakistani Parliamentarians were left stunned when a lawmaker led a prayer for slain al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden [ Images ] in the National Assembly despite being told by Deputy Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi not to do so. Maulvi Asmatullah, an independent candidate from Zbob in Balochistan province, stood up in the lower house of Parliament yesterday and said lawmakers should pray for bin Laden, who was killed by United States commandos in a unilateral raid on his hideout in Abbottabad on May 2. Two lawmakers from the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province -- former federal minister Attaur Rehman, the...

United States Monday that his country could respond to any future U.S. raids on its soil with "full force," in the latest escalation of rhetoric in the wake of Usama bin Laden's death. Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, like other officials in Islamabad, said the killing of bin Laden in northern Pakistan was a positive step. But, reflecting concerns that the unilateral strike violated his country's sovereignty, Gilani sent a clear message to the United States. He warned any "overt or covert" attack would be met with a "matching response" in the future. "Pakistan reserves the right to retaliate...

Mother-in-law dies’ on news of bin Laden killing DUBAI: Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden’s first mother-in-law died of a stroke after hearing the news that US forces killed him in Pakistan, a London-based Arabic newspaper reported on Sunday. Nabih al Ghanem, the mother of bin Laden’s first wife, Najwa, was taken to a hospital in Latakia in northern Syria where she died after suffering the stroke, the Asharq al Awsat daily said. It said the woman in her 70s “could not bear the bad news and lost consciousness” after US President Barack Obama announced bin Laden’s killing by US...

CHENNAI: A Pakistani businessman alleged by the U.S to have had a direct link with Osama bin Laden, of plotting to acquire chemical and other weapons for al-Qaeda, and offering his media network for al-Qaeda propaganda was among the Guantánamo detainees whose repatriation the Pakistan government actively pushed. The 64-year-old Saifullah Paracha remains in the Guantánamo Bay prison, possibly its oldest inmate and among the last six Pakistani prisoners not yet considered fit for release and repatriation by U.S. authorities. A U.S Embassy cable from Islamabad, dated August 30, 2006 ( 76668: confidential/noforn) details that a delegation of Pakistani officials...

ISLAMABAD: Osama bin Laden may have lived in Pakistan for over seven years before being shot dead by US forces, senior Pakistani security officials said on Saturday, a disclosure that could further anger key ally Washington over the presence of enemy number one in the country. One of Bin Laden’s widows told Pakistani investigators that the world’s most wanted man stayed in a village for nearly two and a half years before moving to the nearby garrison town of Abbottabad, where he was killed. The wife, Amal Ahmed Abdulfattah, told investigators earlier that Bin Laden and his family had spent...

Pasha meets CIA station chief ISI Director General Lt-Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha held a meeting with CIA station chief Mark Carlton in Islamabad on Friday, a private TV channel reported. According to sources, the ISI DG in meeting with the CIA station chief protested over not taking Pakistan into confidence on May 2 raid in Abbottabad. The intelligence officials have given a clear message to Washington that the United States will be responsible for consequences in case of repeat of such operation within Pakistani territory, sources added. Online adds: To allay both domestic and international anger and dismay over the...

ISLAMABAD – Top commanders of the Pakistan Army have unanimously decided to reduce presence of US military personnel in the country to bare essential. Chairing the 138th Corps Commanders Conference held Thursday at General Headquarters, Rawalpindi, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, while discussing the US raid to kill Osama bin Laden, made it very clear that any similar action violating the sovereignty of Pakistan will warrant a review on the level of military and intelligence cooperation with the United States. As regards the possibility of similar hostile action against strategic assets, the commanders reaffirmed that, unlike...

Palin says India-US ties are key to world’s future, warns of China’s rise in New Delhi speech By Associated Press, Saturday, March 19, 6:46 PM NEW DELHI — U.S. politician Sarah Palin stressed the importance of America’s ties with India, saying they were based on the shared values of freedom and free-market capitalism, while sounding a warning note on China’s rise during a speech Saturday in New Delhi. The visit to India is a rare foreign venture for the ex-Alaska governor and reality TV star, who was John McCain’s running mate in his failed 2008 campaign for president. The trip,...

Court rejects Davis’ claim of immunity * Additional district and sessions judge rules US national has failed to produce any legitimate document proving his diplomatic immunity * Court adjourns case until 8th LAHORE: A lower court on Thursday rejected the application of US national Raymond Davis seeking diplomatic immunity from murder trial against him. The court held that the accused did not enjoy immunity, as the certificate required to substantiate his diplomatic status had not been submitted by the Foreign Ministry. Additional District and Sessions judge, Muhammad Yousaf Aujla, was hearing the murder trial inside the Kot Lakhpat Jail against...