Author: Leo Luther Alvarez

Islamabad, Pakistan – A United States-based news outlet has published what it claims to be the details of a diplomatic “cypher” – or a secret cable – that suggests the US administration wanted to remove former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan from power last year. Khan was sacked from power in April 2022 after he lost a no-confidence vote in parliament. He alleged he knew of the “cypher” while he was in office which, according to him, proved the US hatched a conspiracy with the help of his political opponents and the Pakistani military to remove him. He later made a U-turn,…

Pakistan’s army has sacked three senior officers, including a lieutenant general, over last month’s violent attacks on military assets by former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s supporters to protest his arrest, an army spokesperson says. At least 102 people are currently being tried in military courts in relation to the violence, Major General Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry said at a news conference on Monday in the garrison city of Rawalpindi. He gave no details regarding how many of the defendants are civilians or military officials. He also declined to name the senior officers who have been fired but said they were dismissed…

The foreign ministers of Ukraine and Pakistan called Thursday for the restoration of the Black Sea grain initiative to ensure global food security, days after Russia halted the wartime deal that had allowed grain to flow from Ukraine. The two sides made the demand at a news conference after Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba met with his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari after arriving on his first visit to the Islamic nation. Kuleba also met with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, according to a government statement. It quoted Sharif saying that the conflict in Ukraine has had a significant global…

Asad Ali was in his teens when he decided to illegally migrate to Turkey from his home country, Pakistan, in 2017. Exhausted from walking, he surrendered midway, in Iran, and was deported back to Pakistan. He attempted the journey again — this time with proper documentation to enter Iran, followed by a rough, illegal journey to Turkey. When he returned to Pakistan in 2020, Ali documented the hardships he had faced, turning them into a 104-minute documentary he later uploaded on his YouTube channel.   The documentary — where Ali can be seen walking along the Turkey-Iran border in Dogubayazit, taking bus rides,…

At least 50 people, including eight children, have been killed by floods and landslides triggered by monsoon rains that have lashed Pakistan since last month, officials have said. The summer monsoon between June and September brings 70-80% of south Asia’s annual rainfall every year. It is vital for the livelihoods of millions of farmers and food security in a region of about 2 billion people – but it also triggers landslides and floods. “Fifty deaths have been reported in different rain-related incidents all over Pakistan since the start of the monsoon on 25 June,” a national disaster management official said, adding that…

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif delivered a speech on Tuesday, emphasizing the need for unity among the nation and political parties to overcome the ongoing crisis and lead Pakistan towards a path of progress. During the inauguration ceremony of Margalla Avenue, the prime minister expressed his belief that the dream of a prosperous and developed Pakistan could only be achieved by setting aside differences, abandoning conspiracies, and upholding the rule of law. He acknowledged Pakistan’s abundant natural resources and highlighted the importance of harnessing the nation’s talented minds and skilled workforce. He emphasized that the key ingredient lacking was the collective…

The itinerary for Pakistan’s tour of Sri Lanka is now out, with the two matches set to be played between July 16 to 28. The two-match Test series will mark the opening round of fixtures for both Sri Lanka and Pakistan in their World Test Championship 2023-25 campaign. Galle and Colombo have been shortlisted as the two venues, with the matches to be played between July 16 to 28. Pakistan will land in Sri Lanka on July 9 and will play a warm-up fixture on July 11 and 12. The first Test will be played at the Galle International Cricket…

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s religious affairs ministry has decided to send additional Hajj assistants to the holy city of Madinah to deal with the problems of pilgrims and facilitate them throughout their spiritual journey, said an official statement released on Friday. The Saudi authorities reinstated Pakistan’s pre-pandemic Hajj quota of 179,210 pilgrims and scrapped the upper age limit of 65 in January. About 80,000 Pakistani pilgrims are expected to perform the annual Islamic pilgrimage under the official scheme while the rest will be facilitated by private tour operators. The religious affairs ministry, which has been overseeing Hajj-related arrangements, held a meeting on…

In a significant development, a truck laden with cold chain containers carrying seafood from Pakistan has successfully reached Kashgar city in China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, traversing the cross border land route. This groundbreaking achievement marks the first-ever transportation of seafood containers from Pakistan to Kashgar city via the CPEC, according to a report by Global Times published on Friday. A representative from the Pakistani transport company expressed excitement about this milestone, stating, “This is the first attempt at bilateral cross-border road transport business in partnership with a Chinese firm. The cost and price of cold chain transport on this…

Deputy Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan Vepa Hajiyev and Foreign Minister of China Qin Gang held bilateral talks in Xi’an city on April 26 as part of their participation in the 4th meeting of foreign ministers in the “Central Asia – China” format, the Foreign Ministry of Turkmenistan reported. The sides discussed topical issues of the Turkmen-Chinese partnership in a wide range of interaction in the political, diplomatic, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian spheres. The parties stated that today the Turkmen-Chinese relations of comprehensive strategic partnership are dynamically developing in many areas. Diplomats also touched upon regional and international issues of…