By Rumman Ahmed Indranil Mukherjee/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images Analysts say that the rupee’s new low could be a serious threat to the financial health of corporate India. As the rupee loses value against the U.S. dollar, executives at Indian companies that earn in dollars should be rejoicing, right? Wrong. In fact, executives at these companies are as dumbstruck by the rupee’s sharp losses as the rest of corporate India. On Thursday, the rupee hit an all-time low of 56.37 for one U.S. dollar, though it bounced back by Friday afternoon to trade at 55.64 rupees. Still, its value has fallen 23% in the last one year, with a large part of the losses coming in recent weeks as global investors dumped currencies of emerging countries like ... Continue reading →

The court issued an arrest warrant for former president Pervez Musharraf and former prime minister Shaukat Aziz over the killing of Nawab Akbar Bugti. (2 hours ago) TodayGilani said Pakistan was a courageous nation with unmatched resolve and urged the Commonwealth countries to be more relevant to the needs of its member by being more resilient (4 hours ago) TodaySri Lankan openers fought hard to remain united after their team conceded a 164-run lead to Pakistan on the third day of the second Test. (5 hours ago) TodayRussia successfully test-fired a large long-range missile whose future as a mainstay had been clouded by past failures. (6 hours ago) TodayThe missile, with a range of 700 kilometres, has stealth capabilities can carry both nuclear and conventional ... Continue reading →

The Supreme Court of Pakistan Building.—AFP (File Photo) ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Friday suspended Farahnaz Ispahani’s National Assembly membership over her dual Pakistani and American nationality, DawnNews reported. A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, issued the ruling while hearing the dual nationality case. The petition was filed by Syed Mehmood Akhtar Naqvi seeking a declaration against parliamentarians and members of different provincial assemblies holding dual nationality. The court ruled that Ispahani could not partake in the proceedings of the National Assembly. It further said that Ispahani also could not participate in any of the committees of the National Assembly. The court also said that parliamentary members were the people’s representatives, and Ispahani had confessed to being ... Continue reading →

By Tom Wright Prakash Singh/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images Lately, negotiations have centered around trade, with Pakistan earlier this year agreeing to steps that would open its markets to Indian exports. India and Pakistan are hoping a meeting in Islamabad will continue to eke out small advances toward improving a battered bilateral relationship, this time with the progress on the granting of visas. Pakistan’s Interior Secretary Khawaja Siddiq Akbar began two days of talks Thursday with Indian Home Secretary R.K. Singh, the latest in a flurry of meetings that have taken place in both countries over the past year. Both nations have focused on small issues where they can make progress, hoping the bigger roadblocks to a normalization of relations – namely the divided region of Kashmir ... Continue reading →

CURRENT AFFAIRS JAMMU & KASHMIR Interlocutors call for review of Central laws after 1952 Report makes room for Pakistan’s involvement in peace process and separation of Ladakh from Kashmir Riyaz Wani Srinagar The report submitted by the three-member panel of interlocutors on Kashmir has called for a review of all the central laws and articles of the Constitution applicable to Jammu and Kashmir after 1952--a recommendation that forms the core of the autonomy agenda of the ruling National Conference (NC). The general public in the state and the government in particular see these laws responsible for diluting the J&K’s special status under Article 370, which limited the Centre’s authority in the state to the three subjects of defence, communications and the currency. The report also ... Continue reading →

NEW DELHI: A constitutional committee should review all central laws extended to Jammu and Kashmir and make permanent article 370 of the constitution that grants the state special status, a three-member team of interlocutors led by journalist Dileep Padgaonkar has recommended. The panel had been tasked with ascertaining the views of the people on resolving the Kashmir tangle. In its report, submitted to Home Minister P. Chidambaram in October 2011 and made public Thursday, the interlocutors also noted that there was consensus in the border state that its distinctive status guaranteed by article 370 must be upheld. The report also said its erosion over the decades must be re-appraised to vest it with such powers as the state needs to promote the people's welfare on ... Continue reading →

CURRENT AFFAIRS JAMMU & KASHMIR Interlocutors call for review of Central laws after 1952 Report makes room for Pakistan’s involvement in peace process and separation of Ladakh from Kashmir Riyaz Wani Srinagar The report submitted by the three-member panel of interlocutors on Kashmir has called for a review of all the central laws and articles of the Constitution applicable to Jammu and Kashmir after 1952--a recommendation that forms the core of the autonomy agenda of the ruling National Conference (NC). The general public in the state and the government in particular see these laws responsible for diluting the J&K’s special status under Article 370, which limited the Centre’s authority in the state to the three subjects of defence, communications and the currency. The report also ... Continue reading →