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Lahore (Agenzia Fides) - Imran Masih, a 38-year-old Christian from Faisalabad, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for blasphemy, was acquitted on appeal today, December 15, before the Lahore Supreme Court. The court overturned the first instance sentence that sentenced him to life imprisonment in 2010. This is confirmed by the Catholic lawyer Khalil Tahir Sandhu, who defended Imran, like many other Pakistani Christians unjustly accused of blasphemy. "This is good news for justice, for Christians, for the country. We are happy for the positive outcome of the process which, ultimately recognizes freedom for an innocent person. But on the...

29 years ago this fortnight, Pakistan's dictator -- the general who made jihad an integral part of Pakistani State policy -- died in a mysterious air crash. Did the KGB, the then USSR's dreaded espionage agency, assassinate Zia-ul Haq? Was India's RA&W responsible for blowing Zia's military aircraft out of the skies? Was it Zia's many enemies in Pakistan's military? Was it a case of exploding mangoes as Mohammad Hanif speculated in his fascinating novel about Zia's death? Or was the assassin someone else? Kallol Bhattacherjee delves into the persistent puzzle of Muhammad Zia-ul Haq's death. IMAGE: General Zia-ul Haq...

President Ronald Reagan secretly recorded some of his conversations with foreign leaders, discovered author William Doyle, who shared some of these never-heard tapes exclusively with The Post. "Until now, taping was thought to have stopped in the Nixon era. I discovered that was not the case," Doyle said. The recordings from the White House Situation Room include Reagan trying to convince an intractable Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin to hold off the pullout of Israeli troops from Lebanon in 1983 until Lebanese forces can replace them; the president discussing the release of Western hostages in the Middle East with Pakistani...

A veteran State Department diplomat and longtime Pakistan expert is under federal investigation as part of a counterintelligence probe and has had her security clearances withdrawn, according to U.S. officials. The FBI searched the Northwest Washington home of Robin L. Raphel last month, and her State Department office was also examined and sealed, officials said. Raphel, a fixture in Washington’s diplomatic and think-tank circles, was placed on administrative leave last month, and her contract with the State Department was allowed to expire this week. Two U.S. officials described the investigation as a counterintelligence matter, which typically involves allegations of spying...

Excerpt - The plane crash that killed President Muhammad Zia ul-Haq of Pakistan has spawned myriad conspiracy theories since his C-130 plunged into the Bahawalpur Desert with his top generals and the US Ambassador on board exactly 20 years ago tomorrow. The despot’s death changed Pakistan’s political landscape in an instant, ushering the Muslim state into a period of shaky civilian rule, similar to the situation the country finds itself in today. American, Soviet, Pakistani, Indian and even Israeli intelligence agents are among those blamed for sabotaging the plane. But now, two decades on, the The Times has reviewed the...

Pakistan Army Dominant Since Nation Born By STEPHEN GRAHAM – 9 hours ago ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan's army has led the country for more than half of its 60-year history and dominated — or ended — the fragile rule of the few civilian governments to take office. The country's position on the front line of America's war on terror and the army's increasing involvement in the economy suggest the generals are well-equipped to defend their privileges — and may be reluctant to share them in the name of democracy. Officers and their families have their own upscale schools, hospitals...

I did not come this far in life to be intimidated by suicide bombers. There is a battle raging in Pakistan for the hearts and minds of a new generation. It is a battle for the future of Pakistan as a democratic nation. The new generation will choose moderation or extremism; it will choose education or illiteracy; it will choose dictatorship or democracy; it will choose tolerance or bigotry; and it will choose peace or war. I returned to Pakistan this week to lead the fight for democracy. With the blood of my supporters on the streets and on...

via translation - Mrs. Bhutto accuses supporters of the former military regime PARIS-Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto accused the supporters of the former military regime of General Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq to have instigated the attack have referred Thursday in Karachi, in an interview broadcast Friday by online french weekly Paris Match. "I know exactly who wanted to kill me. These are the dignitaries of the former regime of General Zia who are now behind extremism and fanaticism, "said Mrs. Bhutto in the interview given in the night from Thursday to Friday Karachi and published on the website of the journal...

Every year, as we enter a New Year, my mind goes back to Daniel Pearl, the Mumbai-based American correspondent of Wall Street Journal, who met with a brutal end to his young life during a visit to Karachi in January 2002 to enquire, inter alia, into the suspected Pakistani links of international jihadi terrorists. In his keenness to find out the truth, Pearl fell into a treacherous trap laid by a mixed group of Pakistani terrorists belonging to different organisations and orchestrated by Omar Sheikh, a British resident of Pakistani origin, who had participated in the so-called jihad against the...

WASHINGTON: Under tremendous pressure from the United States, Islamabad’s ruling dispensation appears to be zeroing in on Pakistan’s national hero, Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, as the source of nuclear proliferation. Several people, perhaps up to 25, included some of Khan’s closest aides, have been detained in recent days. Some of them have been dragged out of their homes kicking and screaming, according to family members who have spoken to the Pakistani media. Khan himself has been treated more circumspectly, but he has also been questioned exhaustively and further steps against him seem imminent. The military government already seems to be...

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's probe into its secret nuclear programme has revealed limited approval of cooperation with Iran by former military ruler Zia-ul-Haq while the fate of its father of atomic bomb Dr A Q Khan hangs in balance. The investigation of nuclear scientists, currently being grilled to determine allegations of proliferation of nuclear technology to Iran, pointed out that at least two Pakistani scientists acted inappropriately and exchanged information with Iran beyond the limit authorised to them by the government in late 1980s, the News daily reported on Saturday. It said one of them could be booked for violating Official Secrets...