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Tag: Pakistan

  • Kashmir crisis: Sri Lanka rejects claims, says ‘it never supported Pakistan’

    Kashmir crisis: Sri Lanka rejects claims, says ‘it never supported Pakistan’

    In what is being termed as an embarrassment for the country, Sri Lanka has rejected Pakistan’s claims of enjoying President Maithripala Sirisena’s support against Indian decision to revoke Article 370 of its constitution in held Kashmir.

    “The president acknowledged that Jammu and Kashmir is a disputed territory and expressed his desire that this dispute should be resolved according to wishes of Kashmiris under UN [United Nations] Resolutions,” read a statement issued following Pakistani High Commissioner Maj Gen (r) Dr Shahid Ahmad Hashmat’s meeting with the Sri Lankan president Tuesday.

    According to the statement, President Sirisena “also offered Sri Lanka’s mediation and facilitation of dialogue between Pakistan and India to re-activate the SAARC [South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation] forum”.

    The Pakistani High Commission’s claims, however, were rejected by the Sri Lankan president on Thursday.

    “The President’s Media Division wishes to state that the said meeting took place at the request of the High Commissioner of Pakistan and during which he briefed the president about the recent developments with regard to India’s abrogation of Section 370 and annulling of Article 35A of the Constitution of India.”

    It added that the president gave a patient hearing to the high commissioner’s views and said that both Pakistan and India have excellent friendly relations with Sri Lanka, adding that the country’s interest is to see the growth of regional cooperation.

    “The president did not make any other comment on the issues pertaining to Pakistan and India,” it concluded.

  • Pakistan becomes first country in South East Asia to conduct successful 5G test

    Pakistan becomes first country in South East Asia to conduct successful 5G test

    Pakistan has become the first country in South East Asia to conduct a successful 5G network test, Dunya News has reported.

    According to the reports, Chinese telecom company Zong conducted the test on Pakistan’s Independence Day (August 14), paving way for a new digital revolution in the country.

    5G is the fifth generation of cellular network technology with 10 times faster data download and upload speeds as compared to 4G, with wider coverage and more stable connections.

    The network’s home router speed has been recorded as four 4 gigabytes (GB) per second, which means that with 5G you can download a 50 GB file in just two minutes.

    It is estimated that 5G technology will bring industrial opportunities worth $1.2 trillion to South Asia and South East Asia over the next five years.

    Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) had in June, invited applications for 5G wireless network trials in the country and presented the framework for test and development of future technologies.

  • This Pakistani claims to be the founder of Bitcoin

    This Pakistani claims to be the founder of Bitcoin

    A Pakistani named Bilal Khalid, currently living in the United Kingdom (UK) has claimed to be the founder of Bitcoin, originally known as Satoshi Nakamoto.

    The true identity of Bitcoin’s founder is unknown and it is also said that Satoshi had a huge collection of coins worth almost $10 billion.

    According to the details, Bilal in a series of blogposts has provided evidence to support his claim of being Bitcoin’s creator, along with his story on what inspired him to work on digital currency.

    Bilal says that he derived the name Bitcoin from BCCI (the Bank of Credit and Commerce International) and wrote that he graduated from Al-Khair University in Pakistan, and later took online courses from Yale, Duke, and University of California-Irvine.

    He also shared the story of how he lost his coins collection, which as of right now are 10,037,062,000.00 USD, and would have made him the richest Pakistani.

    However, he says the loss was too big for him to take and that is the reason why he gave up on cryptocurrency.

  • Over 40 Azad Kashmir residents stranded in India after authorities ‘refuse to open border’

    Over 40 Azad Kashmir residents stranded in India after authorities ‘refuse to open border’

    As many as 42 residents of Pakistan’s Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) region have been left stranded in India after authorities reportedly refused to open “Rah-e-Milan” gate on the Line of Control (LoC) for the weekly bus service.

    The bus service that runs across the LoC — between AJK’s Rawalakot and Indian occupied Kashmir’s (IoK) Poonch district — is the brainchild of former IoK chief minister (CM) Mufti Mohammed Sayeed.

    “Every Monday the weekly bus service operates between Rawalakot and Poonch via Chakan da Bagh, but this week it didn’t,” Indian media reports quoted an Indian official as saying.

    Out of 42 AJK residents left stranded in Poonch, 27 were due for their return today and taken to the gates at the LoC around 11 am on Monday, but Pakistani authorities didn’t let them pass forcing their return to Chakan da Bagh crossing point.

    “We conveyed the message to Pakistani authorities but they didn’t respond and hence the bus service could not operate,” the official said.

    Tensions are running high on either side of the border ever since New Delhi abrogated Article 370 of its constitution to rob the disputed valley of its autonomy.

    The disruption in cross border travel follows Pakistan’s decision to suspend operations of Samjhauta Express between Wagah in Pakistan and Attari in India along with Thar Express that used to connect Khokhrapar in Pakistan with Munabao in India’s Rajasthan state.

    Earlier this month, the Lahore-Delhi bus service was also suspended.

  • Sheikh Rasheed, and the three essential oils he should be buying

    Sheikh Rasheed, and the three essential oils he should be buying

    Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed was spotted buying what looks like aromatherapy essential oils with PM Imran Khan’s buddy Aneel Mussarat in London. While we don’t exactly know what he bought we can recommend oils we think would work best for his personality and job.

    Sandalwood Oil

    Used to calm nerves. Sheikh was in big trouble after the Railway’s Rs 28.62 billion loss was made public. So he could do with something to calm his nerves.

    Lavender Oil

    Helps with stress relief. Opposition parties were asking for Sheikh’s resignation after 80 train accidents took place in his first year.

    Rosemary Oil

    Helps with focus. We all need more of Sheikh’s famous predictions.

  • PIA earns Rs7-8bn from Hajj operations, 50% less than anticipated figure

    PIA earns Rs7-8bn from Hajj operations, 50% less than anticipated figure

    Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has earned a revenue of Rs7-8 billion from Hajj operations against the anticipated figure of Rs25 billion, The Express Tribune reported.

    According to reports, around 250,000 people went to perform Hajj from Pakistan this year. Out of the total number of pilgrims, PIA flew more than 82,000 pilgrims, which is 20% more than previous year’s 68,000.

    PIA and Saudi Airlines, being major services, covered around 100,000 Pakistani pilgrims, while the remaining pilgrims were carried by Airblue, Etihad, Emirates and others.

    Further details reveal that the Hajj package offered by the government this year cost around Rs400,000 while privately undertaken pilgrimage has no upper limit and can go up to Rs3 million.

    Meanwhile, the ticket prices from Lahore, Islamabad ranged from Rs110,000 to Rs150,000 and tickets from Karachi airport cost between Rs100,000-Rs105,000.

  • Islamabad responds to Indian hint at ‘using nukes against Pakistan’

    Islamabad responds to Indian hint at ‘using nukes against Pakistan’

    Pakistan has taken exception to Indian defence minister’s statement on the use of nuclear weapons, saying the “substance and timing of the statement was highly unfortunate and reflective of India’s irresponsible and belligerent behaviour”.

    Rajnath Singh had on Friday said that New Delhi may see a major shift in its nuclear weapons doctrine by doing away with the ‘no first use’ policy in the future. ‘No first use’ is a pledge to not use nuclear weapons as a means of warfare unless first attacked by an opposition using its nuclear arms.

    “Till today, our nuclear policy is ‘no first use’. What happens in future depends on the circumstances,” the Indian defence minister had said while addressing a gathering in Pokhran, the site of India’s nuclear tests in 1998.

    In a subsequent tweet, Singh had added:

    “It further exposes the pretense of their no first use policy, to which we have never accorded any credence,” Pakistan Foreign Office said while reacting to the Indian defence minister’s statement.

    “No first use pledge is non-verifiable and cannot be taken at face value, especially when the development of offensive capabilities and force postures belie such claims,” the statement read and added that Pakistan always proposed measures relating to nuclear restraint in South Asia.

    “Pakistan will continue to maintain a credible minimum deterrence posture.”

  • Misbah likely to become both chief selector, head coach

    Misbah likely to become both chief selector, head coach

    Former skipper Misbahul Haq has been tipped to play a dual role as both the chief selector and head coach of the Pakistan cricket team under the new model developed by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Dawn News reported Friday.

    According to reports, the selectors and the team management would previously start a blame-game to avoid taking responsibility for any poor show. However, this development is expected to help the board hold a specific authority/person accountable in case of any defeats.

    In this regard, PCB has also appointed Misbah as the camp-commandant for the pre-season training camp being held at National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Lahore from August 22 to September 7.

    The former captain reportedly selected the players for the camp himself and will also coach them during the training session, which will further prove his skills for the dual role that he is likely to be assigned soon.

    PCB Cricket Committee had earlier sacked head coach Mickey Arthur, bowling coach Azhar Mahmood, batting coach Grant Flower and trainer Grant Luden over the national cricket team’s poor performance at the 2019 World Cup.

  • Indian tennis captain seeks ‘safety guarantee’ before travelling to Pakistan

    Indian tennis captain seeks ‘safety guarantee’ before travelling to Pakistan

    Indian tennis captain, Mahesh Bhupathi, has demanded a “safety guarantee” before travelling to Islamabad for next month’s Davis Cup clash against Pakistan.

    The unusual demand comes days after the International Tennis Federation (ITF) responded to another Indian request for the second round of security assessment by a green signal to the safety plan in place.

    “We just want guarantees on safety,” Bhupathi was quoted as saying by reports.

    The All India Tennis Association (AITA) said on Wednesday they had written to the sport’s governing body once again asking them to shift the tie to a neutral venue or to postpone it for a couple of months until tensions simmer down.

    In reaction to New Delhi’s unilateral action to abrogate Article 370 of the constitution and strip occupied Kashmir of its special status, Pakistan last week asked Indian High Commissioner Ajay Bisaria to leave, suspended bilateral trade and all public transport links with India.

    Tensions are soaring on both sides of the border ever since.

    ITF has already responded to a previous AITA request, saying they were satisfied with the current safety plan in place in Islamabad.

    The AITA has named a six-member squad under Bhupathi for the September 14-15 tie. The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men’s tennis. It is run by the ITF and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format.

  • Abhinandan to be awarded one of India’s highest bravery awards

    Abhinandan to be awarded one of India’s highest bravery awards

    Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman of the Indian Air Force (IAF), who was arrested after being shot down by Pakistan Air Force (PAF) over intrusion in February 2019, will be conferred with the Vir Chakra, India’s third-highest wartime medal.

    According to media reports, Abhinandan’s name was recommended by the IAF for the gallantry awards annually conferred upon on India’s Independence Day.

    Meanwhile, Indian media has claimed that the IAF pilot was shot down because he could not hear instructions asking him to turn back after his communications system was jammed by Pakistan.

    “If his MiG-21 Bison had been equipped with anti-jamming technology, Abhinandan may have turned around when instructed to,” a report claimed, adding that it would have prevented him from being shot down and taken captive by Pakistan.

    Abhinandan was shot down during a dogfight with PAF jets on February 27 as tensions soared following the February 14 Pulwama attack. He was handed over by Pakistan to India at the Wagah-Attari border crossing on March 1 as a peace gesture.