Pakistan

Influenced by rape case victims like Muktaran Mai and others, Pakistan's national assembly has voted to change the country's strict Sharia laws on rape and adultery. Till date, rape cases in the conservative country were dealt with in Sharia courts, which made it mandatory for rape victims to have four male witnesses to the crime - if not they faced prosecution for adultery. Now civil courts will be able ... [full story]

In a move which questions Pakistan's will to stop terror and bloodshed across South Asia, the former head of Pakistan's Lashkar-e-Tayiba, Hafez Mohammad Saeed  was freed from detention amid reasons that this was Pakistan's internal matters should not be influenced by foreign pressure.   Supporters chanted "God is great" after Saeed left a guesthouse where he had been held in Sehkhupura, near Lahore, said Yahya Mujahid, a spokesman for his ... [full story]

In what has become an almost routine practice for both countries, Pakistan's coast guards have reportedly arrested 22 Indian fishermen for fishing illegally in Pakistani waters in the Arabian Sea. Both the countries have failed to put in place any mechanism to avoid such accidental incidents and it’s usually the poor fishermen who have to suffer for the animosity between the two rivals. According to Lt Cmdr Attiqur Rehman, a spokesman ... [full story]

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said at a briefing in Islamabad that Pakistan did not mind India sharing the evidence of alleged cross-border involvement in the Mumbai blasts with other countries. But for Islamabad, it would remain an allegation unless it saw the evidence for itself.  The Ministry said it had not yet received any evidence from India of the Mumbai police allegation that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence was involved in the July 11 train blasts. India last ... [full story]

Just as family members of Mohammad Afzal Guru, set to be hanged on October 20 for his role in the 2001 attack on Parliament are seeking pardon for him from President APJ Abdul Kalam, there have been unconfirmed reports that Pakistan is lobbying for Afzal Guru and might even hang Indian citizen Sarabjit Singh in retaliation if his death sentence is not revoked. According to some intelligence sources, there is back ... [full story]

A long power failure across major Pakistani cities coupled with news that Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf was undergoing health check-up sparked rumours of a coup to unseat the President who is on an 18-day foreign tour connection with the release of his book 'In the Line of Fire'. As power board officials appeared on TV channels to explain that the failure was due to a technical fault, Islamabad was abuzz ... [full story]

 India will rework on the India-Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline once the report of experts on the feasibility of the project is available, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said. Talking to reporters on way home from Havana, he said during his meeting with Iranian President Ahmedinijad, the latter agreed the two countries must work together to strengthen bilateral relationship in every possible way. He told Ahmedinejad that both the countries had centuries-old ties of civilisation and culture ... [full story]

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said the joint mechanism must inspire confidence in both countries and if it does not work "then we have to deal with consequences". he also maintained that Pakistan has given explicit commitment to join India in the fight against terrorism. The PM also said that Pakistan had realised that things cannot be business as usual if terrorism was not under control and during his meeting with President ... [full story]

Muslim leaders are angry over remarks made by Pope Benedict XVI during a speech at a German university this week, saying they were anti-Islamic. The pontiff quoted a 14th-Century Christian emperor who said Muhammad brought only "evil and inhuman" things to the world. Benedict went over the historical and philosophical differences between Islam and Christianity and explored the concept of holy war, or jihad. He stressed that the words of Emperor Manual II Paleologos ... [full story]

Prince Charles and his wife Camilla are set to embark on a dangerous and risky visit to Pakistan where threats of terrorism and suicide bombings happens almost every day. According to Britain's The Daily Mail, the prince agreed to take this trip because he is regarded as an "ideal figurehead" to visit a Middle Eastern country in the midst of the fight against terrorism and extremism. The trip is scheduled to take place in late October, when the prince ... [full story]