Established as a homeland for India’s Muslims in 1947, Pakistan has had a tumultuous history that has unfolded in the vortex of dire regional and international conflicts. Beset by assassinations, coups, ethnic strife, and the breakaway of Bangladesh in 1971, the country has found itself too often contending with religious extremism and military authoritarianism. Now, in a probing biography of […]

Since Pakistan gained independence in 1947, only once has an elected government completed its tenure and peacefully transferred power to another elected government. In sharp contrast to neighboring India, the Muslim nation has been ruled by its military for over three decades. Even when they were not directly in control of the government, the armed forces maintained a firm grip […]

India on Thursday successfully test fired a new surface-to-air missile, developed jointly with Israel, from a defence base off Odisha coast. The medium range missile (MR-SAM), a product of joint venture between India and Israel, was successfully test launched from a mobile launcher in the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur at around 08.15 hours, a DRDO official said. “The […]

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a five-day visit to Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya beginning July 7, with an aim to further deepen India’s engagement with the resource-rich African continent where China has been expanding its influence. The Prime Minister’s visit comes within weeks after President Pranab Mukherjee and Vice President Hamid Ansari travelled to Africa to […]

As India and Pakistan look to break the logjam in ties, the two countries will hold a dialogue between the Indian Coast Guard and Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) this month. Official sources said a Coast Guard team will visit Pakistan from July 12 to July 14 to attend an international conference on maritime issues in Karachi and also engage […]

In a sign of increased offensive operation by the security forces, the army has killed nearly 72 militants this year in Jammu and Kashmir as compared to about 38 last year. Defence officials said the spurt in their elimination has alarmed various militant groups, and the recent attacks by them is a “result” of that.

The United Nations has thanked Pakistan for extending by further six months the stay of registered Afghan refugees residing in the country. The United Nations spokesman, Stephane Dujarric said this at a regular briefing in New York, Radio Pakistan reported on Friday. On Wednesday Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif granted extension in the stay of POR card holders Afghan refugees for […]

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has extended Afghan refugees’ stay in the country for six months, the PM office said on Wednesday. The period of the Proof of Registration (PoR) cards that allow Afghan refugees to stay in Pakistan was scheduled to be expired on June 30. Afghan Ambassador in Islamabad Omar Zakhilwal and spokesperson for the UN refugee agency […]

“Enormously concerned” over recent increase in tensions between India and Pakistan, US Secretary of State John Kerry has spoken with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to work out how to tamp them down, acknowledging that the latter had just finished a conversation with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The increase “in the tensions publicly between India and Pakistan” over India’s […]

The head of the United Nations opened peace talks on Yemen on June 15 with a call for a humanitarian ceasefire, saying the country was on the verge of a collapse that the Middle East could not withstand. Ban Ki-moon said the truce, called to mark the start of the holy month of Ramadan, should last for at least two […]