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One of the early calls that Vladimir Putin took following his expected victory in the Russian presidential election last weekend was from Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani. He congratulated Putin on his success and invited him to visit Islamabad in September which the Russian leader accepted, according to newspaper reports citing an official statement. It would be the first visit by a Russian head of state to Pakistan which stood on the other side of the Cold War, peaking in its emergence as the staging ground for the U.S. campaign to defeat the Soviet Union’s occupation of Afghanistan. It’s...

Brigadier Ali Khan, currently facing court martial for alleged links with the banned Hizbut Tahrir, had conspired with an air force pilot to bomb the General Headquarters with an F-16 jet during a conference of the corps commanders, reported BBC on Thursday. Brig Ali Khan was arrested last year on suspicion of having contacts with the Hizbut Tahrir. He has been accused of trying to stage a rebellion against the government and planning an attack on the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi. His family has denied the charges. Major Suhail Akbar, a prosecution witness, said in his statement that Khan and...

With a police officer wounded and the presidential palace breached, the Pakistani capital has launched a fresh offensive against a uniquely feared enemy in the Muslim country, the city’s ever expanding population of wild boar. Each night, packs of the hairy beasts emerge from Islamabad’s river beds, parks and scrubland to rifle through the overflowing rubbish bins of its mostly wealthy residents and growing number of restaurants. City authorities are laying poison and have announced free hunting permits to cull the wild pigs’ numbers. But to make sure residents don’t get caught in the crossfire, they only allow shotguns. There...

<p>ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Every winter, the capital of Pakistan's Islamic republic is overrun by what is many Muslims' worst nightmare: sounds of screeching wild pigs.</p> <p>Motivated by hunger, the reviled animals descend each night from neighboring hills to feed on the garbage bins of Islamabad's most exclusive addresses — from high-end hotels to the capital's embassies and even the president's residence. On their way to feeding grounds pigs cause traffic accidents and send locals hurrying for cover. Some Islamabad residents have reportedly been injured or even killed by belligerent hogs.</p>

Every winter, the capital of Pakistan's Islamic republic is overrun by what is many Muslims' worst nightmare: sounds of screeching wild pigs. Motivated by hunger, the reviled animals descend each night from neighboring hills to feed on the garbage bins of Islamabad's most exclusive addresses — from high-end hotels to the capital's embassies and even the president's residence. On their way to feeding grounds pigs cause traffic accidents and send locals hurrying for cover. Some Islamabad residents have reportedly been injured or even killed by belligerent hogs. ... Now Islamabad officials have all but given up trying to contain the...

India had twice told the U.S. that Osama Bin Laden was not in a cave somewhere but hiding in an urban area close to Islamabad, according to a report by The Times of India. The information is also likely to fuel speculation that Pakistan knew of the al-Qaeda leader's whereabouts. The first lead came in mid-2007, soon after bin Laden's ally Ayman al-Zawahiri attended a Taliban meeting in Peshawar, that was also attended by leaders of Haqqani network, an insurgent group based in North Waziristan, and at least two ISI officials. Zawahiri is said to have rushed to Islamabad after...

At a recent event on Pakistan co-sponsored by Brookings and the U.S. Institute of Peace, several panelists cogently stressed the need for greater transparency on the parts of Washington and Islamabad as a necessary step in forging better relations. Inevitably, the sad story of Pakistan's F-16s emerged during a panel discussion. In the early 1980s, the United States agreed to sell Pakistan F-16 fighter jets. This decision was taken when the United States worked closely with Pakistan to repel the Soviets from Afghanistan. The F-16 was the most important air platform in Pakistan's air force and it was the most...

A leading U.S. newspaper says the U.S. wants to expand the area within Pakistan where Central Intelligence Agency drones can operate. The Washington Post, citing unnamed U.S. and Pakistani officials, reported late Friday the U.S. appeal is focused on the areas surrounding the Pakistani city of Quetta and tribal areas. The newspaper says U.S. officials believe Quetta is not only a Taliban sanctuary, but also serves as a base for sending money, recruits and explosives to Taliban forces inside Afghanistan. A Pakistani official said Saturday Islamabad will not allow an expansion of drone attacks beyond tribal areas, and only tolerates...

(CNN) -- SNIPPET: "The charge centers around a one-way ticket that authorities allege Abdel Hameed Shehadeh purchased from Queens, New York, to Islamabad, Pakistan. Shehadeh originally told investigators that the purpose of his trip was to visit an Islamic university and attend a friend's engagement party. But he later admitted to FBI agents in Hawaii that he bought the ticket in order to join a fighting group such as the Taliban, according to a criminal complaint unsealed in New York Monday."

Islamic militants shot and killed a Christian lawyer, his wife and their five children in northwestern Pakistan, just days after a pastor nearly died in a seperate attack linked to Muslim extremism... Police found the bodies of attorney and evangelist Edwin Paul and his family at their home ...Haripur Station House Officer Maqbool Khan... "We went and found seven bodies in a house." Paul’s Muslim neighbor, Mushtaq Khan, told reporters a group of armed men had threatened the lawyer the previous day. "On Monday a group of armed men stopped Paul and took him by the collar and said, ‘Leave...

NOTE The following text SNIPPET is a quote: YOU ARE HERE: Home > Reports > Consular Affairs Bulletins > Report Warden Message: Non-Specific Threat to Serena Hotel Islamabad CONSULAR AFFAIRS BULLETINS South / Central Asia - Pakistan 5 Aug 2010 U.S. Embassy Islamabad released the following Warden Message on August 5, 2010: This Warden Notice is to notify American citizens that access to the Serena Hotel in Islamabad has been temporarily halted while security officials investigate a non-specific telephonic threat. The Embassy has no further details at this time, but has advised personnel to avoid the area around the Serena...

Pakistan's arms supply relationship with North Korea dates back to 1971 when the late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, then foreign minister under the late General Yahya Khan, visited Pyongyang and sought North Korean arms supplies to strengthen the Pakistani armed forces in the face of a looming war with India. Pakistan then did not have diplomatic relations with North Korea. The visit led to the signing of an agreement on September 18, 1971, 10 weeks before the outbreak of the war with India, for the supply of North Korea-made conventional weapons to Pakistan. Under another agreement signed the same day, the...

A Pakistani man was detained at the U.S. Embassy in Chile yesterday after field tests detected explosive residue on his hands and personal items, the State Department said today. A U.S. official tells ABC News the man had been recently added to a U.S. terror watch list, and as a result his U.S. visa was in the process of being revoked. In accordance with U.S. law, the man had been notified of the intention to revoke his U.S. visa and he was at the embassy to discuss the matter.

The Pentagon on Thursday said Pakistan would decide when to move against extremists in North Waziristan and that it was not Washington's role to dictate timing of military operations in the country. US officials have long urged Pakistan to take its offensive against Islamist militants to North Waziristan, home to an array of extremists including Al-Qaeda and the so-called Pakistani Taliban. Revelations that a foiled car bomb plot in New York City may have been linked to the Pakistani Taliban have added fresh urgency to US requests for action by Islamabad in North Waziristan. Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell repeated...

A FIRE broke in the US chancery building in Islamabad, but there were no immediate reports of any casualties, a US embassy spokesman said. "There was a small fire in the main chancery building," embassy spokesman Richard Snelsire said. "There is no information on any casualties or fatalities."

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQzlIT9zDlI "Indian diplomat turns spy" Video Description - quote: ndtv — April 27, 2010 — Madhuri Gupta, an IFS officer, has confessed that she sold secrets for love, money and because "service conditions were bad". Category: News & Politics Tags: Barkha Dutt diplomat IFS officer India Madhuri Pakistan spy NDTV 24x7

Suspected Islamist militants attacked the offices of Federal Way-based World Vision in Islamabad, Pakistan on Wednesday killing at least 5 people. Reports say the militants first set off a bomb, then opened fire on the agency. The people killed are believed to be Pakistani earthquake relief workers.

ndia and Pakistan held their first formal talks in 14 months yesterday, seeking to put their volatile relationship back on track after it was derailed by the devastating 2008 Mumbai attacks. Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir met for three hours in New Delhi for talks that offered little hope of a breakthrough, but carried vital importance for regional peace and stability. Arguments over the agenda and a brief exchange of fire between Indian and Pakistani border guards before the meeting augured badly for major progress, with the probable best-case scenario an agreement to keep...

NEW DELHI: SNIPPET: "The US national, identified as Winston Marshal Carmichael, was detained late last night after CISF personnel found knife in his hand baggage during the security check when he was to leave for Doha in a Qatar Airways flight, official sources said. ( Watch Video ) Reminiscent of the case of terror suspect David Headley, arrested in Chicago in October last for allegedly plotting terror strikes in India, Carmichael is a convert from Christianity to Islam. The New York resident changed his religion some 40 years ago. Carmichael, who was flying to Doha in a Qatar Airways flight,...

SNIPPET: "The premier English-language jihadi forum has members in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad..."