Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Pakistani Foreign Ministry said Pakistan has made a formal request to join BRICS, saying it is an important group of developing countries.

"We have taken this decision after having noted the BRICS proclaimed openness to inclusive multilateralism," the ministry's spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch told a weekly media briefing on Thursday.

By joining the group, Pakistan can play an important role in furthering international cooperation and revitalization of inclusive multilateralism, she said.

ISLAMABAD, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Pakistan's Supreme Court accepted on Wednesday a bail application from detained former Prime Minister Imran Khan, his lawyer said, a day after another court declared illegal his trial on charges of leaking state secrets.

The former cricket star is fighting various legal battles in the hope of securing release from jail and leading his party in a campaign for a Feb. 8 general election, which his arch rival, another former prime minister, is hoping to win.

ISLAMABAD, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- A soldier and three terrorists were killed in two separate operations against the militants and an attack on security forces in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the Pakistani military said on Tuesday.

One of the operations was conducted in Dera Ismail Khan district, where security forces launched an intelligence-based operation, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan Arm, said in a statement.

ISLAMABAD, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- One person was killed and 12 others were injured when an oil drilling company's convoy was attacked in Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Monday, police said.

The incident happened in the Drazanda area of Dera Ismail Khan district, where a number of well-equipped militants ambushed the convoy, escorted by paramilitary troops Frontier Corps (FC), and fled the scene, Deputy Superintendent of Police in Drazanda Sher Ullah told Xinhua.

Karachi, Nov 13 (PTI) The Chinese and Pakistani navies are holding week-long drills in the Arabian Sea during which the two all-weather allies will also conduct joint maritime patrols for the first time, a media report said on Monday.

The Chinese and Pakistani navies at a naval base in Karachi on Saturday kicked off the 'Sea Guardians-3' exercise in the waters and airspace of the northern Arabian Sea in drills that include anti-submarine operations, Dawn News reported on the exercises which will end on Friday.

ISLAMABAD, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- Ghulam Khatoon, a native of the underdeveloped Thar Desert in Pakistan's south Sindh province, has evolved from a financially challenged housewife into a resilient and independent woman, all because of the waves of development brought by the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to her hometown.

ISLAMABAD, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan's Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) conducted multiple operations, recovering over 200 kg of drugs and arresting seven suspects, the ANF said on Friday.

During the anti-narcotics operations, the ANF recovered drugs, including opium, hashish, heroin, methamphetamine and others, the ANF said in a statement, adding that other than drugs, 1,000 intoxicated tablets were also seized.

ISLAMABAD, Nov 7 (NNN-APP) – Pakistan’s National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), has cancelled over 18,000 illegal identity cards, through its robust monitoring and corrective mechanism, NADRA said.

“NADRA is resorting to stringent rectification measures, through better coordination with other stakeholders and strict internal scrutiny,” NADRA said in a press statement.

ISLAMABAD, Nov 06 (APP): The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia is hosting a three-day “International Conference on Women in Islam” in Jeddah starting on Monday.

Organized by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the conference aims to highlight the successes of Muslim women and their role and contributions to the development of the OIC Member States.

ISLAMABAD, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- Four soldiers, including an officer and three militants, were killed during a clash between the security forces and terrorists in Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Monday, a military statement said.

The security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation in the Khyber district of the province on the reported presence of the terrorists, which led to the clash, the military's media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in the statement.