SHAFAQNA

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) -- A petition accusing Pakistan's ambassador to the United States of committing blasphemy has been filed with the country's Supreme Court. Police were directed on Thursday to investigate allegations against Sherry Rehman, who has already faced death threats from militants after calling for reforms to the country's anti-blasphemy law, according to court documents. If the police find that there is enough evidence to support the allegations, the court will press charges against Rehman. According to Pakistan's blasphemy laws,…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) -- The anti-corruption official charged with arresting Pakistan's prime minister on bribery charges is refusing to obey a Supreme Court order to do so, setting off another showdown between the courts and the executive branch. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court ruled that Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf should be arrested on charges that he took kickbacks and other graft when working to bring power plants to Pakistan during his time as the country's minister of water and power. However, the chief of the…

SHAFAQNA(Shia International News Association)--The armies of India and Pakistan have reached an agreement to "de-escalate" military tensions along the disputed border of Kashmir after a recent flare-up in violence. Jagdeep Dahiya, spokesman for the Indian army, said an "understanding has been arrived at between the two director-generals of military operations to de-escalate the situation along the Line of Control" (LoC), on Wednesday. He said senior military commanders for both nations had spoken for 10 minutes over the phone before they reached their…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – Pakistan has been engulfed in violence as protests organized by a cleric demanding government resignations continue. Meanwhile villagers in the North of the country demand justice following a deadly assault on their settlement that left 15 dead. Several thousand people took to the streets of north-western Pakistan shouting anti-army slogans and displaying the bodies of 15 local villagers who they claim they were murdered in their homes by the military in an overnight raid.…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) --  Skirmishes between the Pakistani and Indian armies in Kashmir left two Pakistani soldiers and two Indian soldiers dead last week. Each side accuses the other of violating a ceasefire that has been in place since 2003. The following coverage by Al Jazeera English provides background on the recent flare-up. Although cross-border firing on the Line of Control in Kashmir is not unusual, many fear the escalation in tensions between India and Pakistan because of their nuclear capabilities. The two…

SHAFAQNA(Shia International News Association)--The Pakistani army said on Wednesday it will protest to India over the killing of a Pakistani soldier in Kashmir, the fifth fatality in hostilities between the nuclear-armed neighbors this year. Indian troops shot dead the soldier at a position called Kundi during firing from the Indian side of the Line of Control in the disputed Himalayan territory, Pakistan's army said in a statement. The Indian defense ministry declined to comment. Two Pakistani and two Indian soldiers…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – The Pakistani Supreme Court has ordered the arrest of Raja Pervez Ashraf, the country's prime minister, in connection with a corruption case, officials say. The court ordered the arrest of Ashraf on Tuesday morning, in case relating to contracts for the purchase of rental power plants by the federal government when Ashraf was the federal minister for water and power. Ashraf, in his capacity as minister for water and power, "violated the principle of…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) -- Pakistan’s supreme court ordered the arrest of Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf in a corruption case on Tuesday afternoon, in a drastic intensification of hostilities between the country’s embattled government and its opponents. The court order came as an enigmatic preacher turned politician, Muhammad Tahir-ul Qadri, addressed thousands of supporters outside parliament and repeated calls for the government’s ouster. In earlier speeches, he said that a caretaker administration led by technocrats should take its place.…

SHAFAQNA(Shia International News Association)--The Pakistani police have attacked supporters of an influential Muslim cleric during an anti-corruption rally in Islamabad. The security forces used tear gas to disperse a growing crowd of demonstrators holding the protest rally near the parliament building on Tuesday.  Reports say the protesters also threw stones at security forces near the parliament and smashed the windowpanes of vehicles.  The demonstration was held after Pakistani cleric Tahir-ul Qadri called on his supporters to march into the capital…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) --  WHO and what is Tahir ul Qadri? And, more importantly, who is behind him? Those are the questions now racing through political Pakistan, with no firm answers. The religious cleric, previously a minor figure politically, has been living in Canada since 2006, where he acquired Canadian citizenship. Since he arrived back in Pakistan last month, however, Mr Qadri has caused a political sensation with his demands that Pakistan's democratic system be reformed. He wants to throw the “criminals”…