Pakistan

Islamabad, Dec 17 (PTI) Pakistan on Monday released Indian prisoner Hamid Nihal Ansari, who was detained by the country's intelligence agencies in 2012 and subsequently sentenced to three years' imprisonment by a military court in 2015 for possessing a fake Pakistani identity card.

Ansari, a 33-year-old Mumbai resident, was lodged in the Peshawar Central Jail after being sentenced by the military court on December 15, 2015. His three-year jail term ended on December 15, 2018 but he was not able to leave for India as his legal documents were not ready.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Taliban say they are holding “another” meeting on Monday with U.S. officials, this time in the United Arab Emirates and also involving Saudi, Pakistani and Emirati representatives in the latest attempt to bring a negotiated end to Afghanistan’s 17-year war.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid offered no further details.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Taliban say “another” meeting is to be held with the United States, this time in the United Arab Emirates and involving representatives of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates.

The terse statement from Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the meeting would be held Monday without offering details.

The State Department has neither denied nor confirmed previous meetings, but U.S. special peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad previously said he has met with all Afghans involved in the 17-year war.

TEHRAN, December 9. /TASS/. Speaker of the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin made a proposal to hold a joint business forum of Russia and Pakistan with participation of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry during the meeting with Speaker of the National Assembly [the lower house of the Pakistani parliament - TASS] Asad Qaiser.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Washington’s special envoy tasked with finding a negotiated end to Afghanistan’s bloody 17-year-old war met Tuesday with Pakistani officials, and a Taliban official said four members from the group’s political office in the Middle Eastern state of Qatar were also in the Pakistani capital.

But the visit by the Taliban leaders, which included a former Taliban ambassador and a former governor who is also on a United Nations sanctions list, is “private,” the official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Islamabad, Dec 3 (PTI) US President Donald Trump has written to Prime Minister Imran Khan, seeking Pakistan's support in bringing the Taliban to the negotiating table to end the 17-year brutal war in trouble-torn Afghanistan, officials here said on Monday.

The development came weeks after Trump said Pakistan does not do "a damn thing" for the US, alleging that Islamabad had helped al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden hide near its garrison city of Abbottabad.

Islamabad, Nov 26 (PTI) Thousands of Sikh pilgrims from across the world have gathered at Gurdwara Punja Sahib in Pakistan's Punjab province to celebrate the 549th birth anniversary of Sikhim's founder Guru Nanak Dev.

Security was beefed up in and around the gurdwara - one of the most sacred places of Sikh religion - where dozens of officials from the security agencies were deployed, Dawn reported on Monday.

Lahore, November 24, 2018; PTI: Pakistani police have arrested over 100 members of the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan, including the radical Islamist party's chief who had given a protest call for Sunday against the acquittal of Christian woman Asia Bibi.

Last month, Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) disrupted daily life across Pakistan by staging widespread protests following Bibi's acquittal in a blasphemy case by the apex court.

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — Armed separatists stormed the Chinese Consulate in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi on Friday, triggering an intense hour-long shootout during which two Pakistani civilians, two police officers and all three assailants were killed, Pakistani officials said.

The killed Pakistani civilians were a father and a son had come to the consulate to pick up their visas to China, police said.

Islamabad, Nov 21 (PTI) Mobile phone services were shut down in Pakistan's major cities on Wednesday as the authorities beefed up security to prevent terror attacks during the Eid Milad-un Nabi celebrations, in the wake of a suicide attack in neighbouring Afghanistan that killed over 50 people, mostly clerics.

Officials said the security was tightened to avert any tragedy on the occasion of the Eid Milad-un Nabi, marking the birth anniversary of the Prophet.

However, internet services were available but faced periodic glitches.