Author: admin

By Special Correspondent New Delhi: China has carried out an aerial drill over the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, a pre-emptive move designed to remind Buddhists scattered across the vast Himalayan plateau of the Communist Party’s military might that last crushed the uprising of young Tibetans ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The aerial drill comes days after the United States enacted the Tibetan Policy and Support Act of 2020, which reaffirmed the right of Tibetans to choose a successor to their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. The Tibetan government-in-exile based in Himachal Pradesh, Dharamshala, described the US legislation as historic.…

By Our Staff Reporter Islamabad: Pakistan has strongly condemned the latest extra-judicial killings by the Indian occupation forces of three Kashmiri youth in Srinagar on 29 December 2020. The families and neighbors of the martyred Kashmiris — Aijaz Maqbool Ganie, Zubair Ahmed Lone, and Athar Mushtaq Wani (aged 16 and student of Class-11) — have affirmed that the young boys were innocent, who visited Srinagar on the fateful day and became victims of Indian state-terrorism. Issuing a strong worded statement Pakistan’s Foreign Office said it was inhuman to refuse to hand over dead bodies of martyred. “It is doubly inhuman…

By Editor Foreign Affairs Islamabad: Pakistan has approached the United Nations Secretary General in New York and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva to seek immediate release of Kashmiri human rights activist and political leader, Asiya Andrabi, incarcerated in infamous Tihar Jail in India. It has been highlighted that Ms. Andrabi’s life is in danger owing to imminent risk of persecutory conviction by a sham court on 18 January 2020. As a champion of human rights and an ardent advocate of women empowerment, Ms. Andrabi has worked tirelessly for social reforms and realisation of fundamental freedoms for…

By National News Desk Islamabad: Even as the Pakistan Democratic Movement intensifies its campaign to oust the government of Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf from power, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Saturday remained insistent that the government will not resign on 31 January, as requested by the opposition alliance. “PM Imran Khan enjoys the confidence of the National Assembly. Why would he resign on the Opposition’s demand?” said Qureshi, who is also the PTI’s senior vice-president, while speaking to Geo News, after the 11-party opposition alliance announced its goal of intensifying its anti-government campaign by asking Imran Khan to resign…

By Our Special Correspondent Washington: On the first day of the 117th Congress, a bill was introduced at the U.S. House of Representatives to end the designation of Pakistan as a major non-NATO ally. Introduced by Republican Congressman Andy Biggs, the bill removes Pakistan’s designation as a major non-NATO ally, a status that allows for a variety of benefits, such as access to excess US defence supplies and participation in cooperative defence research and development projects. The bill also notes that the US President cannot issue a separate designation of Pakistan as a major NATO ally unless the President certifies…

By Our Staff Reporter Quetta: Terrorists killed eleven coal-miners on Sunday in Baluchistan’s Mach area. The incident has caused outcry across the country. Officials confirmed that terrorists kidnapped the coal miners who were on the way to their workstation. Later on all of the miners were shot dead at close range, according to officials. “ Miners were kidnapped half way to their workstation and taken to nearby mountains. They were shot dead at close range,” Moazzam Ali Jatoi, an official with the Levies Force told media following the incident which has kicked off a wave of terrorism and shock across…

By National News Desk Islamabad: The Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry welcomed the Government’s decision to reduce the value of Afghan-origin goods imported to Pakistan via the Torkham and Chaman borders and also urged the Government of Afghanistan to reduce the value and regulatory duties of Pakistani exports. SCCI President Sherbaz Bilour, senior vice-president Manzoor Elahi and vice-president Junaid Altaf, in a joint statement issued here on Friday, hoped that the government’s decision would boost economic and trade activities between the two neighbouring countries. They said that although the decision lasted three months, it was an important step towards…

By National News Desk Islamabad: Pakistan will purchase 1.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine from China’s Sinopharm, the Minister said on Thursday, the first official confirmation of the purchase of the vaccine by the South Asian country as it fights a second wave of infections. On Thursday, China approved the COVID-19 vaccine developed by the state-sponsored pharmaceutical giant Sinopharm, its first approved vaccine for general public use. “The Cabinet Committee has decided to initially purchase 1.2 million doses of the vaccine from the Chinese company Sinopharm, which will be provided free of cost to frontline workers in the first quarter…

By National News Desk Islamabad: A senior Pakistan Army colonel on official duty in Congo has been accused of converting United Nations mission staff to Islam. Islam is a minority religion in the Central African country and, as reported, the colonel approached a few Christian UN missionaries and asked them to convert to Islam. According to the IBT report, Colonel Saqib Mushtaqi is a contingent Deputy Commander of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). In the meantime, taking note of the incident, the General Headquarters (GHQ) initiated an internal investigation into the…

By Our Staff Reporter Peshawar: In a move which has brought shame to millions of Pakistanis, hardliner Islamists partially damaged the (samadhi (shrine) of a Hindu saint and set it on fire in the Karak district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday. The incident took place in Karak’s Teri town. As seen in TV footage, thousands of people stormed the ancient shrine of revered Hindu saint , and partially damaged it in presence of police. Mob comprising Sunni Muslims set the building on fire then. Law enforcement personnel dispersed the mob after the violence. “Mob comprising slightly above a thousands attacked…