SHAFAQNA

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) –Malik Ishaq, leader of the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) group, has been arrested by authorities in central Pakistan. Ishaq surrendered on Friday in front of media in his home in the city of Rahim Yar Khan. Ishaq's surrender comes less than a week after the armed pro-Sunni group, banned since 2001, claimed responsibility for a market bombing that killed more than 80 Shia Muslims in Balochistan province. Ashfaq Gujar, a senior police officer, said Ishaq, arrested on…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) –Pakistan has asked Afghan authorities to hand over a senior Pakistani Taliban commander who was captured in that country during an Afghan operation, the Pakistani foreign ministry says. Maulvi Faqir Muhammad is described as a top-ranking member of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and was captured while trying to cross over from Afghanistan's Nangarhar province into Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). He was captured during a raid by members of the Afghan intelligence agency, the…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – Thousands of Shias in Pakistan have held a sit-in in the city of Quetta, refusing to bury their dead for a second day, demanding that security forces protect them from armed Sunni groups. More than 4,000 women blocked a road in the southwestern city on Monday, vowing to continue their protest until the authorities take action against those behind the attack that killed 84 members of the Hazara Shia community. Protesters chanted "stop killing…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) -- Pakistani politician Imran Khan has strongly condemned the massacre of Shia Muslims in a recent bombing in the southwestern city of Quetta. Speaking to reporters at a press conference in Islamabad on Monday, Khan also denounced the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) - the terrorist group that claimed responsibility for the deadly attack in Quetta - and demanded that Pakistan’s government do more to protect Shia Muslims in the country.  Khan, who is the leader of the Pakistan…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) -- Ahmadinejad made the remarks in a meeting with Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik in Tehran on Monday.  “Iran and Pakistan have deep and brotherly ties, and this has developed a sense of close brotherhood between the two countries,” the Iranian president stated.  Ahmadinejad stressed the role of Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan in tackling regional issues.  “The problems in the region, which are rooted in interference by foreigners, should necessarily be solved by regional countries,…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – Shia Muslims in Pakistan have called on the government to take decisive action after a bombing by a Sunni group  killed 84 people in Quetta, even as the country’s interior minister assured better security for the beleaguered minority. "We want to register our protests. We demand that the Pakistani army and judiciary take notice of the blasts and launch targeted operations against those responsible for such acts of terrorism," Fida Husain Sadiq, a Shia…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) –A bomb in southwestern Pakistan has killed at least 84 people and left more than 200 others injured, rights activists and officials say. The death toll rose on Sunday, after more bodies were pulled overnight from the rubble left in the wake of the explosion, officials said. Local community leaders told Al Jazeera that rescue workers and victims' families were still identifying bodies, and that the death toll was likely to rise further. The improvised explosive…

Pakistanis will elect 272 representatives to the National Assembly and 577 representatives to provincial assemblies in Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Baloochestan. The political party that secures 172 seats in the National Assembly, either independently or in coalition with other parties will lead the next government. SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – March 18, 2013 is the day when the current Pakistan’s government term ends. The current government which is from Pakistan’s People Party (PPP) will announce a date for…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) -- Speaking in Britain, after talks with Prime Minister David Cameron, they said they would "take all necessary measures" to achieve such a goal. They backed the opening of an Afghan office in Doha and urged the Taliban to do the same for talks to take place. The two men reaffirmed their aim to work towards a strategic partnership. They said they hoped to sign an agreement strengthening ties on economic and security issues, including trade…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) –Funeral prayers have been held in the northwestern Pakistani town of Bannu for nine solders killed in an attack at an army post that killed at least 35 people. Taliban fighters wearing suicide vests fired automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades at the base in Serai Naurang in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in a pre-dawn raid on Saturday, officials said. At least 10 civilians and 12 fighters were among the dead. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for Saturday's…