Lahore, Jan 5 : Convicted Indian spy Sarabjeet Singh's lawyer Awais Sheikh has said that he anticipates his client's release in the wake of Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari paying attention to the fresh mercy petition.

"This time, there are bright prospects of Sarabjeet Singh's release," The Express Tribune quoted Sheikh, as saying.

Lahore, Oct 12 : Pakistan has no objection to granting the most favoured nation (MFN) status to India, Commerce Minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim has said, according to a news report. “We will definitely carry it on. However, we want to proceed step by step,” the Dawn quoted Fahim, as telling reporters after inaugurating an exhibition of carpets.

He said that technical details would be finalised at a meeting of the commerce secretaries of the two countries to be held in New Delhi next month.

Lahore, Oct 8 : Religious and religio-political parties have held rallies across Pakistan to protest against the death sentence awarded to Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri, the self-confessed assassin of former Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer, and to press the government for his early release.

Lahore, Oct 3 : Pakistan Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has said the Pakistan Government would first exercise the option of holding a dialogue with the Haqqani network rather than taking military action against it, to arrive at a peace settlement.

“We should give peace a chance at the first place by holding dialogue with the militants,” he said.

His statement a US accusation that Pakistan has links with the militant Haqqani network.

Lahore, Sept 17: Banned Pakistani fast bowler Mohammad Amir has reportedly admitted to his involvement in last year's spot-fixing scandal before a court in England.

The corruption charges relate to Pakistan's Test match against England at Lord''s last year, when a British tabloid claimed that Aamir, Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif had colluded in a spot-fixing scam organised by British-based agent Mazhar Majeed.

Lahore, Sept 6: Following the withdrawal of an advertisement of an alcoholic drink in New Zealand that took a dig at Pakistani cricketers over match-fixing scandals, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has said that it does not intend to pursue the matter any further.

Lahore, August 28 : Out-of-favour Pakistan batsman Ahmed Shahzad, often criticised for his attitude, is not ready to accept the allegations about his lack of discipline, insisting that he has done nothing wrong.

Shahzad has a history of disciplinary issues since his club-cricket days, and his attitude problem was first highlighted in 2008, when the then team manager Abdul Raqeeb had reported his disruptive behaviour during the ICC Youth World Cup in Kuala Lumpur.

Lahore, Dec 2 - "Munni Badnaam Hui Darling Tere Liye" from the Bollywood film "Dabangg" might have legions of fans but not the real life Munni, a mother of two in this Pakistani city, who has been harassed so much that she has shut her small shop.

Munni, a fairly common name in the subcontinent, is ruing the day the song became a hit. Her store is located at her home and she has been unable to open it since the song became popular.

Authorities have said that gunmen rushed into a hospital in Lahore, Pakistan, on Tuesday and killed four people before fleeing.

The New York Times has reported that police said the motive was to free a militant who had taken part in Friday's attack on two Lahore mosques of the persecuted Ahmadi sect.

Local commentators speculated the intention of the attackers was not to free the militant but rather kill him to prevent him from revealing information about the attack to the police.

Lahore, Jan 23 : The Pakistani government Saturday barred the chief election commissioner (CEC) and the panel's secretary from visiting India to protest the snubbing of the country's cricketers at the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction.

The CEC, Justice (retd) Hamid Ali Mirza, and panel secretary Ishtiak Ahmad Khan were about to leave for New Delhi at 2.30 a. m. when they were stopped by the government at Lahore Airport, Online news agency reported, quoting official sources.

Lahore, Jan. 10 : British Foreign Secretary David Miliband has rejected claims that he held secret talks with the Afghan Taliban leadership, saying that the United Kingdom has never negotiated with any militant group.

“(Taliban Supreme Commander) Mullah Omar is a criminal,” the Daily Times quoted Miliband, as saying.

He, however, said, that Afghan officials were making efforts to engage the Taliban in a dialogue.

Replying to a question, Miliband said he had never claimed that Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden was in hiding in Pakistan, “but the Al Qaeda leader was also not in Afghanistan”.

Lahore, Jan. 9 : Two Pakistani employees of the US Consulate, who were earlier held for driving vehicles bearing fake licence plates, have been arrested in Karachi again.

Ghulam Jilani and Mazhar Ali were arrested as they arrived in the city on a visit, the purpose of which has yet to be ascertained.

On Thursday, the US took strong exception to the “continued provocative actions and false allegations against its personnel” by Pakistani law enforcement authorities.

Meanwhile, the Senate’s Standing Committee on Interior has expressed dismay over the unlawful movement of diplomatic and non-diplomatic staff of foreign missions in Pakistan.

Lahore, Jan. 9 : Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Syed Munawar Hussain has asked the Pakistan Government to target the unmanned US aircrafts carrying out drone strikes within Pakistani territory.

Hussain condemned US Senator John McCain over his remarks about the continuation of drone attacks inside Pakistan's Tribal Areas.

He demanded that the government register a strong protest against McCain's comments, as the drone strikes were undermining Pakistan's sovereignty and integrity.

The Daily Times quoted the Hussain as saying that the US has turned Pakistan into its colony due to the weak policies of the government.

He added that the economy was suffering irreparable losses due to the prolonged load shedding in the country. (ANI)

Lahore, Jan. 9 : Former Pakistan skipper Imran Khan has lashed out at the national side for missing “a golden opportunity to beat Australia in their own backyard.”

“They missed a golden opportunity to beat Australia in their own backyard after so many years. Our team has a lot of talent but they are short on temperament and this was visible in the way we allowed Australia to comeback and win the Test in Sydney,” The Nation quoted Khan, as saying.

Lahore, Jan. 9 : The Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) has urged the Obama administration to review its policy of launching drone attacks within Pakistan’s territory.

The Daily Times quoted Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid Secretary General Mushahid Hussain as saying that innocent people are being killed by the US drone attacks, and the strikes are undermining the government’s counter-terrorism efforts.

Meanwhile, PML-N leader Sardar Mehtab Abbasi said that the party considers US drone attacks in the Tribal Areas of Pakistan as a “foreign intrusion” and the Pakistan Government should ensure Pakistan’s sovereignty by making its policies effective.

Lahore, Jan. 8 : Former Pakistan Foreign Minister Khursheed Mahmood Kasuri has slammed the PPP-led Government for failing to maintain ties with India - even at the level left by the Pervez Musharraf regime.

The Dawn quoted Kasuri, as saying that the Sir Creek dispute was on the verge of being signed during his tenure as foreign minister from 2002 to 2007, but the progress over the issue got stalled after the formation of the new government.

Lahore, Jan 7 :Hundreds of commandos of the Elite Force, the highly trained wing of the Pakistan police force, have been deployed to protect Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and his family, despite his assurances that he would not employ their services for his personal protection.

The Elite Force specializes in Counter-Terrorist operations and performing high-risk operations, which can''t be carried out by the regular police.

Lahore, Jan 7 : Doctors at the Ganga Ram Hospital here will Friday protest a proposed health care bill that, among other provisions, prescribes doctors to be booked for patient's accidental death during treatment.

The decision was taken Thursday at a meeting of the joint action committee (JAC) of representatives of the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), the Society of Family Physicians and the Private Hospitals' Association.

Lahore, Jan. 6 : After the reorganization of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Nawaz Sharif is likely to be elected the party’s new president, while Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif is expected to reclaim the office of the party’s Punjab president.

According to the Daily Times, the above developments are part of the party’s reorganisation campaign following the dissolution of the party’s various bodies on November 7 last year.

Lahore, Jan. 6 : The United States has sought from the Pakistani government an early arrest and extradition of Ilyas Kashmiri, the fugitive chief of the pro-Kashmir Jihadi group, Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (HuJI), in connection with the assassination of seven CIA agents in Afghanistan’s Khost province.

Kashmiri is being accused of coordinating a suicide attack on the CIA Forward Operating Base on December 31, 2009, which killed seven CIA officers and injured six others.