 | PM Gilani to visit Qatar to talk Afghan peace
04 February 2012
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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani will explain Pakistan’s stance on the issue of peace talks with the Afghan Taliban when he travels next week to Qatar to meet the Gulf state’s leaders, a government spokesman said Saturday.
Last month, the Afghan Taliban announced they would set up a political office in Qatar, a major development in a peace process that has already been marked by setbacks and mistrust among the central players.
The trip by Prime Minister Gilani on Monday comes amid unease in Kabul and Islamabad over the decision by the Taliban to open the Qatar office. Officials in both countries have said they fear they are being left out of the peace process.
”Our prime minister will have discussions in this connection with the Qatar leadership,” foreign office spokesman Abdul Basit told a local television station. ”He will also inform them that what is the Pakistani perspective in this situation.”
Pakistan is an important player in moves to end the 10-year-old war in Afghanistan because many of the leaders of the insurgency are said to be sheltering on its territory.
The country’s security forces are alleged to have links with the militants that could be useful in bringing them to the negotiating table. | | See Also in Political News
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|  Pakistan to lose $650m if NATO supplies not resumed
18 May 2012
WASHINGTON: Lawmakers in the House of Representatives debating the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) 2013 voted 412-1 for an amendment that could block up to $650 million in proposed payments to Pakistan unless Islamabad lets coalition forces resume shipment of war supplies across its territory.
War-weary US lawmakers clashed over Afghanistan policy and vented their frustration with Pakistan’s border closing on Thursday as they debated an annual defense policy bill that seeks $642.5 ... Full Story |  Local bodies: SHC orders Sindh govt to hold polls within 90 days
18 May 2012
KARACHI: Taking notice of a delay in local bodies election, the Sindh High Court ordered the government of Sindh on Friday to hold polls within 90 days, Express News reported.
The elections have not taken place since the last local government tenure ended in 2009.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had earlier remarked during a hearing in Balochistan that powers to hold local bodies election have been devolved to the provinces under the 18th Constitutional Amendment, but they ... Full Story |  Obama will ‘see’ Zardari in Chicago
18 May 2012
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama has no plans to hold a bilateral meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari on the sidelines of the Nato Summit in Chicago, but he will “see him” during the conference deliberations, a top White House official said Thursday.Specifically asked whether President Obama will have talks with the Pakistani leader, White House National Security Adviser Tom Donilon said that 61 heads of state/government will be attending the two-day summit on Afghanistan and there were ... Full Story | |
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