Lahore, July 21: The Pakistan Army and then President General Pervez Musharraf grilled all prospective candidates before appointing them as ministers in the government.

This is Pakistan’s former Religious Affairs Minister Ejaz-ul-Haq’s claim, and he adds that former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was also interviewed by army generals before he was made the country’s Finance Minister.

The Daily Times quoted him as saying that in those days, a minister was first interviewed by army generals and then by Musharraf.

Aziz, Ejaz claimed, was quite keen to become Pakistan’s Finance Minister, adding that the Chaudhry brothers had reservations about his appointment.

Lahore, July 18: Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said that by supporting the US-led war against global terrorism, Pakistan was not fighting a proxy war, but because it was in its own interest.

He said that Islam was a religion of peace, tolerance and harmony, but a handful of Muslims were bringing a bad name to it by indulging into terrorist activities and killing innocent people.

The prime minister further said that terrorism must not be linked to Islam.

“A handful of people were bringing a bad name to Islam, which was a religion of peace, tolerance and harmony. Islam preached a message of love and terrorist activities were destroying this image in the entire world,” the Daily Times quoted him as saying while talking to reporters here last evening.

Lahore, J

Lahore, July 17: The Pak

Lahore, July 16 : Pakistan’s security controls on its border with Afghanistan are a “real concern” for the US, following an attack two days ago that killed nine US soldiers at a camp near the frontier.

“There is a deep concern about cross-border infiltration into Afghanistan and then back (across) the border,” State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters. 

Pakistan understands “the importance of engaging in the counter-terrorism fight,” he added.

The soldiers were killed in Kunar province in north-eastern Afghanistan, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force said in a statement. 

Lahore, July 14 :