Pakistan News

Thousands protest against Charlie Hebdo in Karachi

Karachi - Thousands of people marched through Pakistan's largest city on Thursday in the country's biggest protest yet against French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo for publishing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.

Pakistanis protesting at Charlie Hebdo burn French flags

Islamabad - Protests against French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo were held across Pakistan on Sunday as thousands of people in almost all major cities chanted slogans against its printing of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.

AFP photographer recovering after Pakistan protest shooting

Karachi - AFP photographer Asif Hassan was recovering in hospital on Saturday after being shot while covering an anti-Charlie Hebdo protest outside the French consulate in Karachi.

Clashes at Charlie Hebdo protest in Karachi, three injured

Karachi - At least three people were injured Friday in clashes between anti-Charlie Hebdo protesters and police outside the French consulate in Pakistan's Karachi, officials said, including an AFP photographer who was shot in the back.

US, Pakistan vow to intensify crackdown on militants

Islamabad - The US and Pakistan vowed Tuesday to intensify a crackdown on militants hiding in lawless border areas, as top diplomat John Kerry urged renewed peace talks with India to strengthen regional stability.

Kerry to visit Pakistani school attacked by Taliban: official

Islamabad - US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived Monday on an unannounced visit to Pakistan and reportedly plans to visit a school where Taliban gunmen last month killed 150 people in the country's worst ever militant attack.

Children return to Taliban massacre school in Pakistan

Peshawar - Survivors of Pakistan's worst-ever militant attack returned Monday to the school where Taliban gunmen massacred their classmates, with students and parents expressing a mixture of defiance and apprehension.

Fiery Pakistan bus-tanker crash kills 62

Karachi - At least 62 people including women and children were killed early Sunday in southern Pakistan when their bus collided with an oil tanker, starting a fierce blaze which left victims burnt beyond recognition.

'Evil' British preacher Abu Hamza jailed for life in US

New York - A US judge on Friday sentenced British hate preacher Abu Hamza to life behind bars for the deadly kidnapping of Western tourists in Yemen and terrorism, calling him "evil" and his crimes "barbaric.

New Delhi imposes direct rule in Indian Kashmir

Srinagar - Indian Kashmir was brought under New Delhi's direct rule Friday after political rivals failed to agree on a power-sharing coalition, more than two weeks after elections in the country's only Muslim-majority state.

Pakistani father sacrifices five children 'to gain magic powers'

Karachi - A Pakistani father-of-six is on the run after strangling five of his children to death, apparently believing the sacrifice would endow him with magical powers including alchemy, police said Friday.

Pakistan legislators approve military courts for terrorism

Islamabad - Pakistan's parliament Tuesday approved the setting up of military courts to hear terrorism-related cases, after a Taliban massacre at a military-run school in the northwest shocked the nation.

Pakistan issues death warrants for six more militants: Official

Karachi - Pakistan on Saturday issued orders to hang six more militants, official said, the latest in a wave of executions in the wake of the Peshawar school massacre, which claimed 149 lives in the country's deadliest terror attack.

Pakistan cleric investigated after child molested and killed

Lahore - Pakistan police on Saturday launched an investigation against a prominent cleric after a six-year-old boy was found strangled and dumped in a mosque after being sexually abused.

Four killed in fresh India-Pakistan border clashes

Jammu - Indian and Pakistani troops traded fire along their tense border on Saturday, killing four people including a teenage girl and forcing hundreds to flee their homes in the latest round of deadly clashes.

Pakistani boat blows self up after India navy chase

New Delhi - The crew of a Pakistani fishing boat blew up and sank their vessel after trying to evade capture at the hands of the Indian navy in a high-speed chase at sea, officials said Friday.

Pakistan court extends detention of 'Mumbai attacks mastermind'

Islamabad - A Pakistani court Thursday sent the alleged mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks to jail for two weeks in the latest round of a tussle over his detention that has worsened ties with India.

Top Bangladesh Islamist sentenced to hang for war crimes

Dhaka - Bangladesh's war crimes court Tuesday sentenced a leading Islamist to death for rape, mass murder and genocide during the country's 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.A.T.M.

Pakistan court remands alleged Mumbai attacks mastermind

Islamabad - A Pakistani court Tuesday remanded the alleged mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks in police custody for two days in a kidnapping case, a day after another court approved his release.

Top Bangladesh Islamist sentenced to hang for war crimes

Dhaka - Bangladesh's war crimes court Tuesday sentenced a leading Islamist to death for rape, mass murder and genocide during the country's 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.A.T.M.

Pakistan court suspends detention of Mumbai attacks 'mastermind'

Islamabad - A Pakistani court on Monday suspended a detention order on the alleged mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, government lawyers said, drawing a sharp protest from India.

Pakistan airstrikes, gun battle kill 55 militants

Peshawar - At least 55 militants were killed in airstrikes and a gun battle with ground forces in Pakistan's troubled northwest where the military launched a major offensive this year, officials said Saturday.

Pakistan court issues arrest warrant for hardline cleric

Islamabad - A Pakistani court has issued an arrest warrant for a hardline Islamic cleric who suggested the massacre of school children in country's worst ever terror attack was understandable, after he allegedly threatened people criticising him.

'Facilitator' of Taliban school attack killed in Pakistan

Peshawar - Pakistani security forces have killed a Taliban commander who allegedly facilitated the Peshawar school massacre, which left 150 people dead in the country's worst ever terror attack, officials said Friday.

Pakistan announces anti-terrorism action plan after school attack

Islamabad - Pakistan on Thursday said it will set up military courts for terror-related cases, as part of an ambitious anti-terrorism plan following a deadly Taliban school attack that killed 150 people.

Extremist leader to be freed as Pakistan mulls new terror steps

Islamabad - The leader of a banned Pakistani sectarian militant group is set to walk free from jail, officials said Tuesday, even as the government considers "radical changes" to tackle militancy after a Taliban school massacre.

Pakistan to execute 500 terror convicts in coming weeks: officials

Islamabad - Pakistan plans to execute around 500 militants in coming weeks, officials said Monday, after the government lifted a moratorium on the death penalty in terror cases following a Taliban school massacre.

Pakistan bail appeal delayed for Mumbai attacks suspect

Islamabad - A Pakistani government prosecutor said Monday he had been forced to delay his appeal against a court order which grants bail to the alleged mastermind of the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai.

Pakistanis pray, resolve to fight terror at stricken school

Peshawar - Thousands of Pakistanis Sunday mourned the 149 people -- mainly children -- massacred by the Taliban, as the government executed four more militants on death row despite an outcry by rights groups.

Pakistan hangs four more militants after school attack

Lahore - Pakistan on Sunday executed four more militants after ending a six-year old moratorium on the death penality following a Taliban school attack that killed 149 people, officials said.