Thursday, January 14th, 2016
India welcomes Pakistan probe of airbase attack
NEW DELHI: Indian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup on Thursday during a press conference said the Indian government welcomes Pakistan’s move to form a special investigation team to probe the Pathankot air base attack and will cooperate with Pakistan in the inquiry. “We look forward to the visit of the Pakistani Special Investigation Team (SIT). We will extend it our full cooperation,” Swarup told reporters. Swarup also said the expected meeting between India and Pakistan’s foreign secretaries has been rescheduled to “sometime in the near future”. The spokesperson elaborated thatRead More
PIA office in Delhi vandalised by right-wing hardliners
NEW DELHI: A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) office in the Indian capital was vandalised by ‘hardline Hindu activists’. The activists reportedly broke windows and computers at the office. A PIA spokesman told state run Radio that the staff is safe. The Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi has contacted the Indian government and has asked for a probe on the incident, and sufficient security for PIA offices. Security personnel reached the site and assessed the damage. A PIA statement said the national carrier’s operations will continue until instructions are receivedRead More
LUMS denies arrest of student on terrorism charges
LAHORE: The Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) on Thursday categorically denied reports that a student from the educational institution has been arrested on terrorism charges. LUMS Dean of Student Affairs Yasser Hashmi confirmed that the student has not been arrested and was “present in the university’s library when he was contacted.” The Director General (DG) Administration Amir Khan also stated that “no arrest was made.” The statement from LUMS also appeared on the Facebook page of LUMS Students and Alumni Action Committee (LSAAC). According to the post from LSAAC, the rumorsRead More
FIA arrests 45 illegal money changers from Peshawar
PESHAWAR: Forty five people were arrested in a joint operation on Thursday in Peshwar’s Chowk Yadgar currency market which is believed to be a hub of illegal money changers. Those arrested were suspected of involvement in the hundi (informal money transactions) business. Superintendent Police (SP) City Imtiaz said the 45 suspects were running currency businesses without documentation. Among them is the Sarafa bazaar president. Faiz Market and Warid market inside Chowk Yadgar’s Sarafa bazaar were also sealed in the joint raid conducted by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Counter-terrorism DepartmentRead More
Not aware of Jaish founder Masood Azhar’s arrest: FO
ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office said on Thursday that it is not aware of the arrest of Jaish-e-Mohammad’s leader Masood Azhar. Foreign Office spokesperson Syed Qazi Khalilullah said in a news briefing that, “Pakistan is in touch with India to finalise the date for foreign secretaries level talks in Islamabad.” Earlier reports had suggested the arrest of Azhar, who has been named by New Delhi as the mastermind of the Pathankot airbase attack. These media reports had emerged after the government had announced on Wednesday that several individuals belonging to JeMRead More
Canada welcomes 10,000th Syrian refugee
OTTAWA: Canada has welcomed its 10,000th Syrian refugee, the government announced Wednesday, although almost two weeks behind schedule and far fewer than it had originally planned to resettle by now. A plane carrying asylum seekers landed in Toronto late Tuesday, putting the number of arrivals at 10,121 since November, when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals took office. In a statement, Immigration Minister John McCallum called it a “significant milestone” on the way to meeting the Liberal’s overall pledge to take in 25,000 Syrians. “Many people have worked day and nightRead More