Islamabad, Feb 20 : President of Palestinian state Mehmood Abbas has said the Kashmir dispute between Pakistan and India can be resolved through talks.

In an exclusive interview to Waqt News, Abbas stressed that said Pakistan and India were neighbours and could settle the dispute through negotiations.

He was told that many people in Pakistan believed that the Palestinians did not raise their voice in favour of the Kashmir dispute as emphatically as they should.

Islamabad, Feb. 19 : Drone strikes in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) were being conducted with the government's complicity, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has said.

Khan added that there would be no drone strikes and military operations if PTI comes into power

Islamabad, Feb 18 : Iran has planned to establish a new base near Pakistan's border in the Sea of Oman.

According to Iran's state-run media, the location is Pasabandar, near Iran''s border with Pakistan.

The move came as Pakistan prepared to sign an agreement with a Chinese firm to hand over the control of Gwadar Port, the News reports.

Iran's state run media quoted Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari as saying that the naval base which is under-construction is located in the country''s far east coasts in the Gwatr Gulf along the borders with Pakistan.

Islamabad, Feb 16 : Indian troops shot and killed a Pakistani soldier who crossed the Kashmir border, after questioning, officials form the Pakistan Army have claimed.

The Pakistani military condemned the killing, saying the soldier had become lost and crossed the LoC "inadvertently", and civilians had seen him being questioned by Indians troops.

Islamabad, Feb 16 : The Lahore High Court has issued a notice to the interior and foreign affairs secretaries on a petition seeking release from Pakistani jail of two Indian prisoners.

Justice Shujaat Ali Khan issued the notice seeking release of Ram Das and Mangal Singh as they had already undergone the sentence.

According to the Daily Times, the judge directed both secretaries to file their reply within two weeks.

Islamabad, Feb 14 : The Lahore High Court has ordered an anti-terrorism court to complete the Benazir Bhutto murder case trial in three months.

The Rawalpindi bench of LHC asked the ATC to conduct day-to-day proceedings and submit a report of its verdict to the court's registrar office in three months.

The court issued the order on a petition filed by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Jan 5.

Islamabad, Feb 14 : The Pakistani government has urged the Taliban to
announce a 30-day ceasefire as a precursor to peace talks which the
banned terror group had offered earlier this month.

The
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) stepped up attacks in recent months,
leading to fears that violence could mar general elections scheduled to
take place by mid-May.

Ehsanullah Ehsan proposed talks with
Islamabad provided that certain opposition politicians, including main

Islamabad, Feb 12 : Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik on Tuesday said that if the government of India wants to cancel his passport and arrest him for sharing dais with 26/11 Mumbai terror attack accused Hafiz Saeed, he is ready for that.

Yasin Malik, a moderate Hurriyat leader, was on a hunger strike over the weekend in Islamabad to protest against the execution of 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, where Hafiz Saeed also joined him on the stage.

Islamabad, Feb 10 : The Bangladesh Cricket Board announced on Saturday that Australian Shane Jurgensen has been promoted from bowling coach to head coach of Bangladesh on a one-year deal. Jurgensen guided Bangladesh to a 3-2 one-day international series win against West Indies at home in December when acting as interim coach after Englishman Richard Pybus refused to continue in the wake of a contract dispute, the News reports.

Islamabad, Feb 9 : An advisor appointed by the Lahore High Court has suggested that the Pakistani government should not involve itself in Jamatud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed's case over terrorist attack in Mumbai in an American court.

Islamabad, Feb. 8 : Pakistan''s opening batsman Imran Farhat has left for South Africa to join the country''s squad playing a test series against the hosts.

 Imran said it is not an easy task to play cricket in South Africa, adding that he will make all-out effort to win the matches for the country with good display of the game, reports The News.

The Pakistan team lost the experienced Test opener Taufiq Umar due to a muscle injury. Umar''s injury paved the way for Imran to join the squad.

Islamabad, Feb. 8  : Pakistan Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has said that more needs to be done in the fight against terrorism, according to a statement by the International Security Assistance Force
(ISAF).

 Kayani said this during a meeting with outgoing commander of the 50-nation coalition force in Afghanistan General John Allen, reports The Dawn.

General Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the new ISAF commander, also attended the meeting at the military headquarters in Rawalpindi.

Islamabad, Feb 7 : The cost of corruption in Afghanistan has risen sharply and half of all citizens paid a bribe to public officials last year, according to a new United Nations study.

More than 11 years after a US-led invasion led to billions of dollars in aid flowing into one of the world''s poorest countries, Afghanistan ranks among the most corrupt nations on earth, reports The News.

Lahore, Feb 6 : Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed has urged India to "leave Kashmir", while addressing a rally in Lahore to mark Kashmir Solidarity Day on Tuesday.

Saeed, who is believed to be the mastermind behind the Mumbai attacks in 2008, said India''s army of 800,000 will lose and Kashmiris will get independence, reports The Express Tribune.

Saeed expressed support for all Kashmiri leaders and prayed to God to protect and unite them. He was applauded by supporters amid chants of ''al-jihad, al-jihad''.

Karachi, Feb 6 : Pakistan have 10 days to figure out a way to counter South Africa''s new-ball bowling attack ahead of the second Test at Newlands.

Captain Misbah-ul-Haq said their inability to find a way to deal with the new ball was the major factor in their 211-run defeat in the first Test on Monday, reports The Dawn.

The next Test will be played in Cape Town where South Africa bowled Australia out for 47 in November 2011 and New Zealand for 45 just last month.

Karachi, Feb 6 : Former Pakistan coach Mohsin Khan has said that the team''s 211-run drubbing in the first Test in Johannesburg at the hands of the Proteas was a result of the team''s lack of determination, fighting spirit and killer instinct.

Pakistan were bowled out for 49 in the first-innings, their lowest total in the format, before being dismissed for 268 in the second innings to hand a 1-0 lead to South Africa in the three-match series, reports The Express Tribune.

Lahore, Feb 6 : British-Pakistani boxer Amir Khan has arrived in Lahore to make preparations for his wedding.

Amir got engaged to Pakistani-American student Faryal Makhdoom on January 29 last year and will get married to her this year in New York, reports The Nation.

Amir visited the Data Darbar shrine where he prayed for his success and for the success of other Muslims across the world.

He later went out for wedding shopping with his fiancé, father Shah Khan and brother Haroon.

Lahore, Feb. 4 : The Pakistani politicians whom the Taliban consider trustworthy, have deferred their response on their latest proposal of seeking guarantees from them as a pre-condition to hold talks with the government.

Earlier on Sunday, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) set a pre-condition for talks with the government.

Lahore, Feb. 4 : Pakistani senator Pervaiz Rashid has strongly condemned a statement by Minhaj-ul-Quran International chief, Tahirul Qadri, who said that had he not announced to end the long march, martial law would have been imposed in the country.

Rashid said that Qadri, in order to save himself from the humiliation and failure of the long march, had started levelling such allegations against defence institutions, reports the Daily Times.

Rashid said that such an act by Qadri had exposed his negative mentality.

According to media reports in Pakistan, fishermen caught a 12-foot whale shark off the coast of Karachi on Friday.

The whale-shark, weighing around 4 tonnes, was dragged to the Karachi Fish Harbour on Friday morning. Several people gathered at the harbour to catch a glimpse of the large fish. Jumman, the captain of the fishing vessel caught the fish along with his 14-member crew.