pakistan How is Pakistan balancing religion and politics in its response to the coronavirus? By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Fri, 24 Apr 2020 21:26:05 +0000 As Ramadan begins, Pakistan has loosened social distancing restrictions on gatherings in mosques, allowing communal prayers to go forward during the holy month. David Rubenstein Fellow Madiha Afzal explains how Prime Minister Imran Khan's political compromise with the religious right and cash assistance programs for the poor help burnish his populist image, while leaving it… Full Article
pakistan Pakistan’s dangerous capitulation to the religious right on the coronavirus By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Mon, 04 May 2020 20:00:05 +0000 Perform your ablutions at home. Bring your own prayer mats, place them six feet apart. Wear masks. Use the provided hand sanitizer. No handshakes or hugs allowed. No talking in the mosque. No one over 50 years old can enter. No children allowed. These guidelines are part of a list of 20 standard operating procedures that Pakistan’s… Full Article
pakistan Pakistan’s dangerous capitulation to the religious right on the coronavirus By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Mon, 04 May 2020 20:00:05 +0000 Perform your ablutions at home. Bring your own prayer mats, place them six feet apart. Wear masks. Use the provided hand sanitizer. No handshakes or hugs allowed. No talking in the mosque. No one over 50 years old can enter. No children allowed. These guidelines are part of a list of 20 standard operating procedures that Pakistan’s… Full Article
pakistan On April 30, 2020, Vanda Felbab-Brown participated in an event with the Middle East Institute on the “Pandemic in Pakistan and Afghanistan: The Potential Social, Political and Economic Impact.” By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 20:51:33 +0000 On April 30, 2020, Vanda Felbab-Brown participated in an event with the Middle East Institute on the "Pandemic in Pakistan and Afghanistan: The Potential Social, Political and Economic Impact." Full Article
pakistan Imagining assistance: Tales from the American aid experience in Iraq in 2006 and Pakistan in 2011 By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Mon, 07 Mar 2016 00:00:00 -0500 For more than a decade, government assistance to Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan (the so-called AIP countries) has dominated United States aid efforts. And as the examples below illustrate, American institutions and mindsets found it extraordinarily difficult to adjust to aid in unsafe places. Cameron Munter draws on his experience as the head of the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Mosul, Iraq in 2006 and as ambassador of the United States to Pakistan in Islamabad in 2011, with a description of U.S. reconstruction and state-building from which we may find lessons to consider in the future. In 2006, when he went to Mosul as the first leader of the first PRT, the American civilian and military authorities in Baghdad painfully learned that the post-conflict situation would not correct itself. The undergrowth of our own bureaucratic structure prevented us from gaining a sophisticated understanding of our surroundings. Members of the PRT came and left after a few months, without passing on their hard-obtained knowledge. Local authorities quickly realized that the PRT had neither the money nor the firepower of the brigade commanders. And most of all, the guiding principles in place were still the creation of a kind of constitutional framework where political leaders, police, courts, businesspeople, and citizens would have institutions familiar to Americans, institutions that would work as we knew how to make them work. Munter arrived in Pakistan at a time of great hope for U.S.-Pakistani relations. In 2011, in a series of meetings with the U.S. deputy secretary of state for resources and the head of USAID, Kerry-Lugar-Berman priorities took center stage: education, energy efficiency, job creation, special projects in the tribal areas, and public health. It is one thing to define a task and quite another to apply it to the specific context of a country in which security considerations prevent most USAID workers from even laying eyes on their projects. Overall, it seems the United States was much better at measuring its commitment to a prosperous, democratic Pakistan at peace with its neighbors by counting how much it spent and how fast rather than creating the proper relationship with those on the ground with whom it might have partnered. Under these circumstances, what are lessons learned? When security is shaky, assistance is difficult. It may be that in situations like the AIP countries, we only have the capacity to engage in humanitarian aid and immediate reconstruction. If that is so, then the whole question of engagement in dangerous places is reopened: In a military setting, with military tasks, and thus a military system of organization, can civilian assistance succeed? Money spent is the way we measure commitment in such a setting, and that doesn’t bring the results we need. Downloads Imagining assistance: Tales from the American aid experience in Iraq in 2006 and Pakistan in 2011 Authors Cameron Munter Image Source: © STRINGER Iraq / Reuters Full Article
pakistan Beyond Madrasas: Assessing the Links Between Education and Militancy in Pakistan By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 23 Jun 2010 09:31:00 -0400 OverviewIncreasing educational attainment is likely to reduce conflict risk, especially in countries like Pakistan that have very low levels of primary and secondary school enrollment. Education quality, relevance and content also have a role to play in mitigating violence. Education reform must therefore be a higher priority for all stakeholders interested in a more peaceful and stable Pakistan. Debate within the country about education reform should not be left only to education policymakers and experts, but ought to figure front and center in national dialogues about how to foster security. The price of ignoring Pakistan’s education challenges is simply too great in a country where half the population is under the age of 17. There has been much debate concerning the roots of militancy in Pakistan, and multiple factors clearly come into play. One risk factor that has attracted much attention both inside Pakistan and abroad is the dismal state of the national education sector. Despite recent progress, current school attainment and literacy levels remain strikingly low, as does education spending. The Pakistani education sector, like much of the country’s public infrastructure, has been in decline over recent decades. The question of how limited access to quality education may contribute to militancy in Pakistan is more salient now than ever, given the rising national and international security implications of continued violence. The second half of 2009 witnessed not only the Pakistani government stepping up action against insurgents but also the release of a new Pakistan National Education Policy that aspires to far-reaching and important reforms, including a commitment to increase investment in education—from 2 to 7 percent of gross domestic product. Hundreds of millions of dollars in international education aid have been newly pledged by donor countries. This renewed emphasis on education represents a substantial opportunity to seek to improve security in Pakistan and potentially also globally over the medium to long term. Policymakers both inside and outside Pakistan should give careful consideration to whether and how education investments can promote peace and stability, taking into account what we now know about the state of the education sector and the roots of militancy. This report takes a fresh look at the connection between schools, including but not limited to Pakistan’s religious seminaries, known as “madrasas,” and the rising militancy across the country. Poor school performance across Pakistan would seem an obvious area of inquiry as a risk factor for conflict. Yet to date, the focus has been almost exclusively on madrasas and their role in the mounting violence. Outside Pakistan, relatively little attention has been given to whether and how the education sector as a whole may be fueling violence, over and above the role of the minority of militant madrasas. Downloads Download Full Paper - English Authors Corinne GraffRebecca Winthrop Full Article
pakistan The hit on the Taliban leader sent a signal to Pakistan By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Sun, 22 May 2016 12:06:00 -0400 The death of Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Mansour in an American drone strike is a significant but not fatal blow to both the Taliban and their Pakistani Army patrons. The critical question Afghans and Pakistanis are asking is whether this is a one-off or the beginning of a more aggressive American approach to fighting the war in Afghanistan. Mullah Mansour became the Taliban's leader last year after it was revealed his predecessor, Mullah Omar, the founder of the Taliban, had been dead for two years from unknown causes. Mullah Omar's death in a Pakistani hospital in Karachi had been covered up for two years by the Pakistani Army's intelligence service, the Inter Services Intelligence Directorate or ISI, and the cover-up allowed the ISI to manipulate the Taliban very effectively behind the scene. Mullah Mansour was the ISI's handpicked successor. There was resistance to his selection by some Taliban commanders, but the ISI forced them to acquiesce. Since the fall of Kabul to American and allied forces after 9/11, the Taliban leadership has made its headquarters in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province in Pakistan. For 15 years the Quetta Shura, as the assembly of leaders is known, has been protected by the ISI in its Pakistani safe haven where it is free to plan operations, conduct training, raise money and prepare terrorist attacks to strike American, NATO and Afghan targets in Kabul and elsewhere. While drones pummeled Al Qaeda targets elsewhere in Pakistan, the Taliban leaders were immune. So this operation is unprecedented, the first ever effort to decapitate the Afghan Taliban. Mullah Mansour apparently was killed in Baluchistan very close to the Afghan border. He pressed his luck too far it appears. It's too soon to know the details of how he was found, but he was likely visiting front-line commanders. The ISI will find a successor. They will work with the powerful Haqqani network, inside the Taliban, which has its own sanctuary in Peshawar Pakistan. The challenge will be to hold together the fractious movement, especially as the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) is trying to rally dissidents to its cause and create an Islamic State Vilayet, or province, in Afghanistan. The ISI and the Haqqanis are prepared to be ruthless to keep control of the Taliban. The elected Pakistani government led by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been trying to persuade Mullah Mansour and the Quetta Shura to join in peace talks with the Afghan government, which is led by President Ashraf Ghani. The US and China have encouraged the political process. But Sharif has no power over the Pakistani military and its ISI minions. Indeed, now that Prime Minister Sharif is engulfed in a scandal caused by the Panama papers, his goal is simply to survive in office, and some Pakistani political commentators expect the army to oust Nawaz Sharif in a soft coup this summer. The Afghan peace talks are not likely to get going as long as the army calls the shots in Pakistan. The killing of Mansour in an unprecedented operation has produced elation in the Afghan security forces, who hope it does it actually does mark the start of more aggressive attacks against the safe havens in Pakistan. But that's probably a misplaced hope. A discreet operation in the border region is not the equivalent of hitting targets deeper inside Pakistani territory. Inevitably, the attack will be another blow to U.S.-Pakistan relations, even if both Washington and Islamabad try to paper it over. The U.S. Congress, after years of passively accepting Pakistani duplicity, has become much less willing to fund arms deals and aid to the Pakistani army. A recent administration proposal to sell F16 jets to the Pakistani military at sweetheart prices has been killed, wisely, on The Hill. The next U.S. president will confront a complex and worrisome challenge in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is not quite as bad as the disaster President Barack Obama inherited eight years ago, but it is one of the toughest foreign policy issues the next team will face. What do the candidates think they can do about it? It's not too early to start pressing them for answers. This piece was originally published by The Daily Beast. Authors Bruce Riedel Publication: The Daily Beast Image Source: © Fayaz Aziz / Reuters Full Article
pakistan U.S. Embassy Pakistan: First to Pass One Million Fans on Facebook By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: The U.S. Embassy in Pakistan has just cracked a diplomatic milestone: becoming the first mission in the world to pass one million fans on Facebook. Its rise to top spot has been swift. The embassy only decided to make social media a priority in late 2011. Following a request to Washington for technical assistance… Full Article Uncategorized
pakistan India-Pakistan: The Next Critical Steps By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 In his first major address on the Administration’s on-going efforts to end nuclear proliferation in South Asia, Deputy Secretary Talbott will give an on-the-record report on the status of the negotiations with India and Pakistan as well as outline U.S. government goals for the next critical steps. Full Article
pakistan What’s the relationship between education, income, and favoring the Pakistani Taliban? By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Mon, 19 Oct 2015 10:28:00 -0400 The narratives on U.S. development aid to Pakistan—as well as Pakistan’s own development policy discussion—frequently invoke the conventional wisdom that more education and better economic opportunities result in lower extremism. In the debate surrounding the Kerry-Lugar-Berman bill in 2009, for instance, the late Ambassador Richard Holbrooke urged Congress to “target the economic and social roots of extremism in western Pakistan with more economic aid.” But evidence across various contexts, including in Pakistan, has not supported this notion (see Alan Kreuger’s What Makes a Terrorist for a good overview of this evidence). We know that many terrorists are educated. And lack of education and economic opportunities do not appear to drive support for terrorism and terrorist groups. I have argued that we need to focus on the quality and content of the educational curricula—in Pakistan’s case, they are rife with biases and intolerance, and designed to foster an exclusionary identity—to understand the relationship between education and attitudes toward extremism. My latest analysis with data from the March 2013 Pew Global Attitudes poll conducted in Pakistan sheds new light on the relationship between years of education and Pakistanis’ views of the Taliban, and lends supports to the conventional wisdom. The survey sampled 1,201 respondents throughout Pakistan, except the most insecure areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan. This was a time of mounting terror attacks by the Pakistani Taliban (a few months after their attack on Malala), and came at the tail end of the Pakistan People's Party’s term in power, before the May 2013 general elections. On attitudes toward the Pakistani Taliban, or Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), 3 percent of respondents to the Pew poll said they had a very favorable view, 13 percent reported somewhat favorable views, while nearly 17 percent and 39 percent answered that they had somewhat unfavorable and very unfavorable views, respectively. A large percentage of respondents (28 percent) chose not to answer the question or said they did not know their views. This is typical with a sensitive survey question such as this one, in a context as insecure as Pakistan. So overall levels of support for the TTP are low, and the majority of respondents report having unfavorable views. The non-responses could reflect those who have unfavorable views but choose not to respond because of fear, or those who may simply not have an opinion on the Pakistani Taliban. The first part of my analysis cross-tabulates attitudes toward the TTP with education and income respectively. I look at the distribution of attitudes for each education and income category (with very and somewhat favorable views lumped together as favorable; similarly for unfavorable attitudes). Figure 1. Pakistani views on the Pakistani Taliban, by education level, 2013 Figure 1 shows that an increasing percentage of respondents report unfavorable views of the Taliban as education levels rise; and there is a decreasing percentage of non-responses at higher education levels (suggesting that more educated people have more confidence in their views, stronger views, or less fear). However, the percentage of respondents with favorable views of the Taliban, hovering between 10-20 percent, is not that different across education levels, and does not vary monotonically with education. Figure 2. Pakistani views on the Pakistani Taliban, by income level, 2013 Figure 2 shows views on the Pakistani Taliban by income level. While the percentage of non-responses is highest for the lowest income category, the percentages responding favorably and unfavorably do not change monotonically with income. We see broadly similar distributions of attitudes across the four income levels. But these cross-tabulations do not account for other factors that may affect attitudes: age, gender, and geographical location. Regressions (not shown here) accounting for these factors in addition to income and education show interesting results: relative to no education, higher education levels are associated with less favorable opinions of the Pakistani Taliban; these results are strongest for those with some university education, which is heartening. This confirms findings from focus groups I conducted with university students in Pakistan in May 2015. Students at public universities engaged in wide ranging political and social debates with each other on Pakistan and its identity, quoted Rousseau and Chomsky, and had more nuanced views on terrorism and the rest of the world relative to high school students I interviewed. This must at least partly be a result of the superior curriculum and variety of materials to which they are exposed at the college level. My regressions also show that older people have more unfavorable opinions toward the Taliban, relative to younger people; this is concerning and is consistent with the trend toward rising extremist views in Pakistan’s younger population. The problems in Pakistan’s curriculum that began in the 1980s are likely to be at least partly responsible for this trend. Urban respondents seem to have more favorable opinions toward the Taliban than rural respondents; respondents from Punjab and Baluchistan have more favorable opinions toward the Taliban relative to those from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which as a province has had a closer and more direct experience with terror. The regression shows no relationship of income with attitudes, as was suggested by Figure 2. Overall, the Pew 2013 data show evidence of a positive relationship between more education and lack of support for the Taliban, suggesting that the persisting but increasingly discredited conventional wisdom on these issues may hold some truth after all. These results should be complemented with additional years of data. That is what I will work on next. Authors Madiha Afzal Full Article
pakistan Climate Change Affecting Pakistani Power Supplies By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Fri, 14 Mar 2008 09:12:39 -0400 Basically, Pakistan's hydroelectric reservoirs are drying up. Several are reported to be at "dead level," which means the turbines can only use run-of-the-river flows, and have lower output as a result. Because natural gas supplies are also low, Full Article Business
pakistan Climate Contributes To Lahore Pakistan's Daily Power Blackouts - Australian Coal To The Rescue? By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Wed, 07 Jan 2009 15:30:30 -0500 People often write of climate associated flooding, loss of agricultural productivity, spread of tropical disease, and so on. The City of Lahore, Pakistan is experiencing Full Article Business
pakistan China Builds Dam on Indus, Doesn't Tell Pakistan By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Wed, 25 Mar 2009 15:15:00 -0400 If you're already on TreeHugger it's safe to assume that you've got an interested in what lies under the great green umbrella. And, now, if you've also got an Full Article Science
pakistan Illegal Logging by Pakistan's Timber Mafia Increased Flooding Devastation By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:11:00 -0400 Forget for the moment about to what degree climate change has influenced the flooding in Pakistan. A new article in China Dialogue brings to light a new angle on one very aggravating factor on the overwhelming devastation: Illegal logging by the 'timber Full Article Business
pakistan Pakistani Soldier Plants 20,101 Trees in One Day! Sets New World Record By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Thu, 30 Sep 2010 11:40:00 -0400 Let that sink in for a second: Over a period of 18 hours and 40 minutes on September 29th, Muhammed Yousuf Jamil, a Lance Naik (Lance Corporal) in the Pakistani Army singlehandedly Full Article Living
pakistan Pakistani Timber Mafia & Climate Change Caused Much of Summer's Flooding By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Wed, 13 Oct 2010 15:05:00 -0400 Back when 20% of Pakistan was underwater, I wrote about the influence of deforestation on the flooding--deforestation caused in no small part by illegal logging at the hands of the so-called timber mafia, a group with Full Article Business
pakistan Rogue Storm From Bay of Bengal Caused 2010 Pakistan Flooding By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Tue, 25 Jan 2011 11:45:00 -0500 We know that illegal logging contributed to the devastation caused by last summer's flooding in Pakistan, when up to 20% of the nation was underwater. New research now sheds light on how so much rain fell: A rogue Full Article Technology
pakistan As Pakistan Powers Down, Protests Mount: Climate Change A Root Cause By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Fri, 08 Jul 2011 22:27:18 -0400 After Pakistan's extensive hydroelectric power resources dried up in 2008, Australian coal was marketed to satisfy the growing power consumption Full Article Business
pakistan Southern Pakistan Hit By Worst Floods in Living Memory By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Mon, 19 Sep 2011 11:46:00 -0400 If you thought the flooding in the northeast in the wake of Hurricane Irene and subsequent storms dropping heavy rain, thank your lucky stars you're not in Pakistan. In a repeat of last summer, the nation is again in the grips of catastrophic flooding, Full Article Science
pakistan Climate Change Will Destroy 5% of Pakistan's GDP By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Fri, 23 Mar 2012 13:00:00 -0400 Climate-related disasters and other losses will cost Pakistan $14 billion each year, a former environment has said. Full Article Business
pakistan Pakistani Villagers Set World Record For Tree-Hugging By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Fri, 15 Jun 2012 14:03:55 -0400 In a recent show of solidarity with the forests and one another, more than a thousand villagers gathered to simultaneously give their beloved trees a loving squeeze. Full Article Living
pakistan Do Well in School, Get a Solar Panel, Pakistani Students Told By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Tue, 23 Oct 2012 16:24:00 -0400 $46 million is going to give students who do well their own solar power. Full Article Energy
pakistan As sea waters rise, coastal communities in Pakistan suffer By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Tue, 04 Jun 2013 18:06:00 -0400 A new report chronicles the impact of climate change along Pakistan's shores. Full Article Science
pakistan Woman transforming plastic waste into bricks for building 'silver houses' in Pakistan (Video) By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Wed, 07 Sep 2016 14:40:55 -0400 For the last two decades, Nargis Latif and her organization have been researching how to divert waste from landfills and reusing it as quick and cheap construction materials. Full Article Design
pakistan Pakistan turns unemployed workers into tree planters By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Mon, 04 May 2020 11:00:00 -0400 The country's ambitious reforestation project has received a surprise influx of laborers, thanks to coronavirus. Full Article Business
pakistan Pakistan's Wasil Foundation Wins Islamic Microfinance Challenge - Islamic Microfinance Challenge By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: 17 Jun 2014 17:12:00 EDT Watch this video highlighting Wasil Foundation's work. Full Article Agriculture Banking Financial Services Awards Not for Profit Broadcast Feed Announcements Corporate Social Responsibility MultiVu Video
pakistan Trees Cocooned in Spiders Webs Were Spotted After The Massive Floods In Pakistan By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Tue, 05 May 2020 07:00:00 PDT The floods that submerged one-fifth of Pakistan's territory took more than six months to recede.One of the most affected regions was the Sindh region, located in the western corner of South Asia. At their peak, the floodwaters were up to 20 feet deep. About 20 million people were displaced.But apparently, people were not the only ones seeking shelter from the devastating floods. One of the unexpected side-effects of the flooding has been that millions of spiders climbed up into the trees to escape the rising floodwaters, turning them into futuristic-looking trees cocooned in spiders' webs.The people living in that area claimed they have never seen this phenomenon before but were glad to discover that those cocooned trees were actually significantly reducing the numbers of mosquitos and thereby, the risk of malaria. It is thought that the mosquitoes were getting caught in the spiders' webs which would be one blessing for the people of the area, facing so many other hardships after the floods. Check out some of the stunning photos, released by the department of international development. Full Article spiders trees Pakistan floods
pakistan Hundreds of repatriated Pakistanis test positive for virus By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 12:34:32 -0400 Hundreds of Pakistanis who were repatriated from the Middle East -- where many lost jobs amid coronavirus shutdowns and were living in cramped conditions -- have tested positive for COVID-19, officials said Friday. Pakistan has so far brought about 20,000 nationals home, among them a large number of unskilled workers who had been labouring in Gulf nations only to see their jobs disappear as lockdowns slowed economic activity. Of the 2,069 Pakistanis returning from the Middle East to the southern province of Sindh, more than 500 tested positive for the coronavirus, Murad Ali Shah, Sindh's chief minister, told a press conference. Full Article
pakistan Pakistani host jokes about Rishi Kapoor and Irrfan Khan's demise, actor Adnan Siddiqui apologises By www.mid-day.com Published On :: 3 May 2020 08:19:50 GMT For the uninitiated, the demise of Rishi Kapoor and Irrfan Khan has left a void that will never be filled. The legends have only left millions of memories for all of us through their films and performances, both of which will always stay unforgettable. Their collective contribution to Indian Cinema was over a 100 years, yes! However, a Pakistani host by the name of Amir Liaquat recently made fun of their deaths and that has forced another Pakistani actor Adnan Siddiqui to take to his social media account to apologise. Taking to Instagram, he wrote- "So I don't know how to explain what I'm feeling right now or what to say. But this needs to go out. I was invited on the live chat show 'Jeewey Pakistan' yesterday when this unfortunate incident happened." (sic) He added, "The anchor Amir Liaquat Sahab joked about something extremely sensitive. Not only were they both close to me but also as a human it was wrong on so many levels. I cannot even call it 'hitting below the belt'." (sic) Have a look at the post right here: View this post on Instagram ð. A post shared by Adnan Siddiqui (@adnansid1) onMay 1, 2020 at 3:30pm PDT In case you were unaware, Siddiqui played the role of Sridevi's husband in Mom and also shared the screen with Irrfan Khan in 2007's International film, A Mighty Heart. He even shared a picture from one of the stills from that film to mourn the actor's sudden demise and wrote a long note. Have a look right here: View this post on Instagram “Inna Lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un”..... "Verily we belong to God, and verily to Him do we return."! . . . Disturbed and gutted!! A fine soul gone too soon. I had the honour of first meeting Irrfan as a co-star on the sets of ‘A Mighty Heart.’ For one of the scenes after learning his lines I saw him doing the scene again and again which left me puzzled. I asked him, Irrfan Sahab ye kya kar rahe hain aap? He replied- We’re both playing CID agents which means we’ll be showing our ID cards everywhere. I’m practicising the scene so I don’t look clumsy while showing the ID card. And that was the first time I realised what a fine actor he was. We’d become friends on the sets and used to hang out together after the shoot. I remember for another scene, he wanted to know a word in Urdu used commonly in Pakistan and he asked me. He was a great actor but didn’t shy away from learning and perfecting his art. One of the evenings, he shared an incident where him and his friend got the role of an extra actor in James Bond series “Octopussy” which was shot in India. But because they cycled to the set, they were late and the shoot was over. He told me since then he wanted to do a Hollywood movie. Our careers in Hollywood started together, but he proved his mettle and conquered the fort. In 2018 while attending IPPA in London. I found out that he was in London, though he wasn’t meeting anyone he agreed to meet me. We had a long chat about movies and world in general. He looked so positive. His last words were- “Adnan, I’ll be fine very soon and I’ll be back. InshAllah”! Who knew today, I would be penning this note. Condolences and strength to his family. Irrfan, you will be missed a lot. Rest in peace my friend.ð A post shared by Adnan Siddiqui (@adnansid1) onApr 29, 2020 at 3:02am PDT And this is what he had to say about Kapoor's unfortunate death: View this post on Instagram Another huge blow!. It’s very devastating to see two legends of Bollywood passing away in two days . Rishi Sahib , you will be remembered always! ðð½ A post shared by Adnan Siddiqui (@adnansid1) onApr 29, 2020 at 11:21pm PDT What are your opinions on this whole issue? Catch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here. Also, download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps. Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news Full Article
pakistan Maharashtra ticket collector suspended for raising pro Pakistan slogan By www.mid-day.com Published On :: 16 Feb 2019 02:16:50 GMT Pune:Pune Rural Police on Friday arrested and immediately suspended a Junior Ticket Collector, Kr Upendra Bahadur Singh, for allegedly raising pro-Pakistan slogans during an event organised to pay tribute to CRPF jawans who lost their lives in the Pulwama terror attack. Maharashtra: Pune Rural Police has arrested a Jr Ticket Collector, Kr Upendra Bahadur Singh, for allegedly raising pro-Pakistan slogans during an event to pay tribute to CRPF jawans who lost their lives in #PulwamaAttack. He has been booked u/s 153(B) of IPC&is in police custody. — ANI (@ANI) February 15, 2019 He has been booked under section 153(B) of the Indian Penal Code. Primary information revealed that he was frequently seen misbehaving even while duty. At least 45 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel have been killed in an explosion in Awantipora area of Kashmir on Thursday, in one of the deadliest terror attacks on security forces in the valley in over a decade, police sources said. The incident took place when some 2,547 CRPF personnel were coming in a convoy of 78 vehicles from the transit camp in Jammu and headed to Srinagar. The attack took place at around 3.15 pm when CRPF convoy was moving from Jammu to Srinagar, they said. The convoy comprised 70 buses in which around 2500 personnel were travelling, according to Home Ministry sources in Delhi. The toll is expected to go up, the sources said. Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever Full Article
pakistan Man attacks wife for ignoring him and watching 'Pakistani Drama' By www.mid-day.com Published On :: 13 Mar 2019 04:13:52 GMT A 40-year-old man allegedly attacked his wife with a chopper after he felt she was giving more importance to watching a show, 'Pakistani Drama', on her mobile phone than speaking to him, police said on Tuesday. The accused, Asif Sattar Nayab, has a business of installing hoardings and stays with his family in the Salisbury Park area, they said. Nayab was arrested by the Swargate police and booked for attempt to murder after his wife registered a complaint against him on Monday evening, the police said. According to the police, the couple had a quarrel on Monday morning. "The woman had sent her son to bring milk from a shop but when she found that the milk pouch was damaged and some milk had spilled over, she started scolding him. "Listening her voice, Asif intervened, which led to a heated argument between the couple," said a senior officer from the Swargate police station. The woman, in her complaint, said the quarrel escalated in the evening when Nayab came home and found she was not speaking to him, he said. "When Asif came home from work, his wife went to the bedroom. When he went to the bedroom to speak to her, she kept watching a show named 'Pakistani Drama' on her mobile. "Asif felt she was ignoring him and giving more importance to the show on her mobile phone. Felt ignored, Asif attacked her with a chopper (a knife-like tool) in which her right hand's thumb broke," the officer said. Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever Full Article
pakistan 25 Sindhis from Pakistan cast vote post getting Indian citizenship By www.mid-day.com Published On :: 29 Apr 2019 15:34:42 GMT Pune: Weeks after getting Indian citizenship, around 25 Sindhis, who migrated from Pakistan years ago and made Pimpri-Chinchwad their home, had another reason to celebrate when they got an opportunity Monday to cast their votes for the first time. One of them, Rajendra Thakur, migrated to India from Pakistan 37 years ago. Today, Thakur looked a happy man after voting for the first time in India. The 52-year-old is among nearly around 25 Sindhis from the Pimpri-Chinchwad area, that falls under the Maval Lok Sabha constituency, who voted for the first time. Those who exercised their franchise for the first are among the 45 Sindhis from the city who got permanent citizenship of India early last month. "It has been over 37 years that I have been living in Pimpri-Chinchwad. All those years, except discussing politics, I could not take part in any democratic process such as election and could not cast my vote. "But today, for the first time, I voted," said an elated Thakur, who is into the business of supplying electrical items. He said several Sindhis have migrated to India from Pakistan over the years for a better future and all of them, including himself, had been living on long-term visas (LTVs) till they became Indian citizens after a prolonged wait. These visas needed to be renewed after every two years and the process was very lengthy and tedious, he said. Thakur thanked Balasaheb Runwal of 'Mere Apne' Foundation and Pune district collector Naval Kishore Ram for helping in getting citizenship. "It was Balasaheb Runwal of Mere Apne Foundation, who all those years fought for our cause. Credit also goes to Pune collector Naval Kishore Ram who expedited the process to issue citizenship certificates in March," said Thakur. "I came to India in 1982 along with my sister when I was 15 as the situation back in Karachi was not good. "When we got the Indian citizenship certificates in March, we felt like winning a long-fought war and I can not express my happiness in words after casting my vote," he added. Dr Vijay Bulani has a similar story to tell as he, too, was among the voters. "I am very happy that we got a chance to participate in the democratic process of our country," he said. Talking to PTI, district collector Ram said the applications of all these people were pending before him. "I decided to look into the long-pending issue and expedited the entire process of issuing permanent citizenship certificates by bringing all authorities concerned together. "And in one go, all these people were issued their citizenship certificates," the bureaucrat said. He said while issuing the certificates, the district administration also got them to fill their voter registration forms and it is good that out of 45, 25 people could vote. Runwal said these people had faced many hardships as they used to run from pillar to post to get their LTVs renewed. "So I decided to take up the issue through my organisation and followed it up with several authorities, including the Union home ministry. In all this process, BJP's Pune MP Anil Shirole helped me," he said. Runwal said the district collector expedited the entire process to issue the certificates. "Now after these 45 people, there are more 200 applications from the city are in the pipeline and we are sure that all these people will get their permanent citizenship certificates soon," he added. Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also, download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get the latest updates Full Article
pakistan Former Pakistan cricketer Zafar Sarfraz dies of coronavirus at age 50 By www.mid-day.com Published On :: 14 Apr 2020 07:52:28 GMT Former Pakistan first-class cricketer Zafar Sarfraz has died of COVID-19. According to a report in geo.tv, Zafar succumbed to the novel coronavirus at the Lady Reading Hospital late Monday. The 50-year old is the first professional cricket player from Pakistan to succumb to the coronavirus, after testing positive last Tuesday. He had been on a ventilator for the past three days, hospital officials added. Zafar, a left-handed batter and slow left-arm orthodox bowler, played first-class cricket from 1988 to 1994 and List A cricket from 1990 to 1992. He made 616 runs from 15 first-class games for Peshawar and also had 96 runs from six one-day games before retiring in 1994 and moving on to coach both the senior and the Under-19 Peshawar teams in the mid-2000s. Zafar was the brother of late Pakistan international cricketer Akhtar Sarfraz, who went on to play four ODIs between December 1997 and October 1998, scoring 66 runs in four innings. Last month, great Pakistani squash player Azam Khan had also died of novel coronavirus at the age of 95. Azam, who won four consecutive British Open titles between 1959-62, had tested positive for COVID-19 in March end and breathed his last in London's Ealing Hospital. Over 5,000 confirmed coronavirus cases have been reported so far in Pakistan, including 96 deaths. Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates. Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever Full Article
pakistan Pakistan cricket doesn't need India to survive, says PCB chief Mani By www.mid-day.com Published On :: 15 Apr 2020 10:53:49 GMT Pakistan Cricket Board has suffered massive revenue losses but it doesn't need India to "survive" and keep its finances flowing, PCB chairman Ehsan Mani said on Tuesday. Terming the BCCI as "unreliable", Mani said Pakistan cricket is vibrant and strong enough despite not playing any bilateral series with India for long. "We have suffered losses but they (India) are not in our thinking or planning. It is like a Pie in the Sky situation. We have to live without them and we don't need them to survive," he said in a podcast released by the PCB's media department. "I am clear if India doesn't want to play we have to plan without them. Once or twice they have made promises to play against us but pulled out at the last moment," the former ICC head added. India had avoided playing Pakistan in a full bilateral series since the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008. Mani said resumption of bilateral cricketing ties with India in the foreseeable future is uncertain. "Right now we play against them (India) in ICC events and Asia Cup and that is okay because we are interested in playing cricket. "We want to keep politics and sports apart," he said. Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates. Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever Full Article
pakistan Pakistan female cricketer Sana Mir retires, sports fans show her love By www.mid-day.com Published On :: 27 Apr 2020 03:15:21 GMT Pakistan's top female cricket star and former captain Sana Mir retired from international cricket on Saturday and sports lovers from the country have showered honours on her achievements in the game. The 34-year-old Mir announced her retirement after 14 years in cricket which she was honoured as one of the most successful female spin bowlers in ODIs cricket history, reported Xinhua news agency. Sana Mir took to Instagram to share a heartfelt post about her retirement. View this post on Instagram For all my fans and cricket lovers, words fall short when I want to thank all of you for your love, support and encouragement you extended in the past 15 years. It has been an honour to serve Pakistan in cricket and to wear the green Jersey with absolute pride. It is time for me to move on. In sha Allah the service will continue in essence in a different form. Pakistan Zindabad. ðÂÂÂÂÂÂðÂÂÂÂÂÂðµð° A post shared by Sana Mir (@mir.sana05) onApr 25, 2020 at 2:18am PDT Mir said in a statement that it was an honour for her to serve Pakistan and she has retired with absolute pride, adding, "words fall short when I want to thank you all for the love, support and encouragement in the past". Here are some of the fan reactions on Instagram as well as Twitter. aqsa_javed__ - I'll miss you my inspiration for sure thankyou for motivating me and yeah you have set a very high goal for every girl out there. Thankyou for making Pakistan so proud. Pakistan zindabad saboora1532 - Sana you are the biggest inspiration for all of us ...We love you ... Your hard work and your passion has made so many people to rethink over the fate of Pakistani girls in cricket... Thank you And God Bless You omama__siddiqui - Thankkkkk you for whatever you did for Pakistan and cricket for those great and wonderful 15 years!!! You deserve all the love, support, and appreciation for being an amazing, strong, and courageous woman. Stay happy and loved for the rest of your life You have been an extraordinary inspiration for thousands of women around the world. Thank you for being SANA MIR!!!!! ovaisfazal7Thank you for your services. You will be missed on the field. But your passion and dedication for the game have left a deep impact on how women are perceived in sports. LEGEND!!! May Allah guide and bless you in all your endeavours. Ameen i_am_muhammadusman - I wish you best of luck for your future endeavours, Miss Sana Mir. We are proud of you. Thanks for your services for the country. amalmurtaza - Congratulations and all the very best for whatever comes your way! You are Pakistan’s pride and our family’s too mA! A fan named Adil Tasawar said on Twitter, "when we talk about Pakistan women cricket, one person first in our mind she is Sana Mir, thank you Sana you give honour and dignity." Another fan named Shamilo paid tribute, saying, "Sana Mir truly changed the course of women's cricket, became the first household name in the women's game. That in and of itself is an achievement, but she also helped create a legacy of players behind her." Four years after her appearance at the international level cricket, Mir took the reins of Pakistan women team as captain and played a vital role to lift the team's international ranking. She led Pakistan team to win gold medals from the 2010 and 2014 Asian Games. Inputs from IANS Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates. Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever Full Article
pakistan Pakistan legend Mohammad Yousuf picks his favourite Indian batsmen By www.mid-day.com Published On :: 5 May 2020 06:42:35 GMT Amidst the break from cricketing events due to the COVID-19 pandemic, legendary Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Yousuf picked his favourite Indian batsman of the current era. During a recent Question and Answer session on social media with fans, Yousuf was asked to name his favourite Men In Blue cricketer. The legendary middle-order batsman then picked Indian skipper Virat Kohli and swashbuckling batsman, Rohit Sharma, as his favorite cricketer. Rohit, who is now the vice-captain of the ODI team, has played 224 ODIs, 108 T20Is, and 32 Tests so far. The limited-overs vice-captain has so far scored 14,029 runs across all formats. In the longest format, he has also reinvented himself as the batsman started opening the batting in Test cricket last year. Rohit is the only player in the world to have three double tons to his name in ODI cricket. He also holds the record for the highest individual score in the 50-over format as he played a knock of 264 runs against Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens. On the other hand, Kohli is widely hailed as the run-machine and has many records under his belt. In 86 Test matches, he had 7,240 runs studded with 27 centuries and 22 half-centuries. In 248 ODIs, he has amassed 11,867 runs with an average of 59.33. In the shortest format of the game, he has played 82 games in which he slammed 2,794 runs at an average of 50.80 with the help of 24 fifties. Both Rohit and Kohli would have been in action for their respective franchise had the Indian Premier League (IPL) commenced from March 29. However, the tournament has been suspended indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic. Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates. Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever Full Article
pakistan Pakistan gets USD 1.39 billion loan from IMF By www.mid-day.com Published On :: 24 Apr 2020 07:54:43 GMT Islamabad: Pakistan has received an emergency loan of $1.39 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to boost its foreign exchange reserves in the wake of the further economic downturn due to the Coronavirus crisis. The $1.39 billion loan is in addition to the $6 billion bailout package that Pakistan has signed with the in July last year to stave off a balance of payment crisis. Pakistan in March had requested the IMF for a low-cost, fast-disbursing loan under its Rapid Financing Instrument to deal with the adverse economic impact of COVID-19. Pakistan on Thursday reported 742 new cases and 15 more deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the infection tally to 10,513 with 224 deaths in the country. Globally, more than 2.6 million people are infected and at least 1,83,000 killed by the deadly COVID-19. Govt gives in to imams' demand Pakistan government has given in to the demands of the imams who demanded that mosques be exempted from the COVID-19 lockdown during Ramzan, New York Times reported on Thursday. It said the govt had on Saturday signed a deal allowing mosques to remain open if people follow 20 rules, including maintaining a six-foot distance while praying. Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates. Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever Full Article
pakistan Three More Dengue Cases Reported in Pakistan, Total Cases Rise to 37 By www.medindia.net Published On :: Three more patients were confirmed infected with dengue in Rawalpindi in Pakistan. Authorities there are gearing up to tackle the rising cases of the mosquito-borne disease. Full Article
pakistan Tax-News.com: Pakistan Targeting Panama, Bahamas Leaks Taxpayers By www.tax-news.com Published On :: Thu, 20 Oct 2016 00:00:00 GMT Pakistan's Finance Minister, Mohammad Ishaq Dar, has directed the Federal Board of Revenue to approach the tax authorities of nine territories about information in the Panama and Bahamas leaks. Full Article
pakistan MIT Technology Review: Is Pakistan running out of fresh water? By www.iwmi.cgiar.org Published On :: Mon, 02 Apr 2018 03:41:26 +0000 The sight of water flowing from taps may soon be a luxury, with people having to queue up at tankers for just a bucket load of water for their daily needs. Full Article Asia News IWMI in the news Regional News South Asia News Z-News Arif Anwar desalination Pakistan Water Scarcity
pakistan Pakistan Reported 179 Coronavirus Cases By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Pakistan reported 179 coronavirus cases after a sharp raise reported among pilgrims who had returned from Iran through the Taftan border and were quarantined in Sukkur. Full Article
pakistan Childhood HIV in Pakistan: New Findings By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: In Pakistan, HIV was mostly transmitted to children as a result of health care providers using contaminated needles and blood products, revealed results Full Article
pakistan Tax: The Global Forum on Tax Transparency welcomes Pakistan as new member By www.oecd.org Published On :: Mon, 01 Oct 2012 14:32:00 GMT Pakistan has joined the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes. As the 111th member of the Global Forum, it will participate in the peer review process which encourages all countries to adopt effective exchange of information in tax matters. Full Article
pakistan Pakistan becomes the 104th jurisdiction to join the most powerful multilateral instrument against offshore tax evasion and avoidance By www.oecd.org Published On :: Wed, 14 Sep 2016 15:27:00 GMT Today, at the OECD Headquarters in Paris, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Minister of Finance of Pakistan, signed the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters. Full Article
pakistan OECD launches programme in Islamabad to support Pakistan in implementing new international tax standards By www.oecd.org Published On :: Fri, 20 Jul 2018 10:00:00 GMT As part of a mission held from 16 to 19 July 2018 in Islamabad, Pakistan aimed at launching the induction programme to support the implemention of the BEPS measures and initiating the TIWB programme, an OECD delegation met in Islamabad to discuss the progress of the country in implementing the new international standards to combat tax avoidance and tax evasion. Full Article
pakistan Turkey Imports from Pakistan By tradingeconomics.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 12:32:00 GMT Imports from Pakistan in Turkey decreased to 21155.06 USD THO in March from 24820.60 USD THO in February of 2020. Imports from Pakistan in Turkey averaged 26509.45 USD THO from 2014 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 41307 USD THO in May of 2014 and a record low of 17464.61 USD THO in January of 2016. This page includes a chart with historical data for Turkey Imports from Pakistan. Full Article
pakistan Germany Imports from Pakistan By tradingeconomics.com Published On :: Sat, 25 Apr 2020 11:16:00 GMT Imports from Pakistan in Germany decreased to 137300 EUR THO in February from 197176 EUR THO in January of 2020. Imports from Pakistan in Germany averaged 81994.24 EUR THO from 2000 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 197176 EUR THO in January of 2020 and a record low of 38065 EUR THO in April of 2000. This page includes a chart with historical data for Germany Imports from Pakistan. Full Article
pakistan Pakistan Government Bond 10Y By tradingeconomics.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 14:46:00 GMT Pakistan 10Y Bond Yield was 8.23 percent on Friday May 8, according to over-the-counter interbank yield quotes for this government bond maturity. Historically, the Pakistan Government Bond 10Y reached an all time high of 95.15 in October of 2009. Generally, a government bond is issued by a national government and is denominated in the country`s own currency. Bonds issued by national governments in foreign currencies are normally referred to as sovereign bonds. The yield required by investors to loan funds to governments reflects inflation expectations and the likelihood that the debt will be repaid. Full Article
pakistan Pakistan Stock Market (KSE100) By tradingeconomics.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 14:45:00 GMT The KSE 100 decreased 8132 points or 19.64% since the beginning of 2020, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks this benchmark index from Pakistan. Historically, the Pakistan Stock Market (KSE100) reached an all time high of 53127.24 in May of 2017. The Karachi Stock Exchange 100 Index is a major stock market index which tracks the performance of largest companies by market capitalization from each sector of Pakistani economy listed on The Karachi Stock Exchange. Since October 15th, 2012 it is a free-float index. The KSE100 has a base value of 1000 as of November, 1991. Full Article
pakistan Pakistan IP Addresses By tradingeconomics.com Published On :: Fri, 27 Oct 2017 17:54:00 GMT IP Addresses in Pakistan increased to 2921934 IP in the first quarter of 2017 from 2917426 IP in the fourth quarter of 2016. IP Addresses in Pakistan averaged 1378412.38 IP from 2007 until 2017, reaching an all time high of 2921934 IP in the first quarter of 2017 and a record low of 125909 IP in the third quarter of 2007. This page includes a chart with historical data for PakistanIP Addresses. Full Article
