ISLAMABAD, April 15, 2017 – South Asia is the fastest growing region in the world–according to the latest report by the World Bank.  This is largely driven by India’s growth rebound and is not consistent among countries. Despite accelerating global growth and trade, exports remain weak. Progress on fiscal consolidation is slow, and deficits are…

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Interior Ahsan Iqbal on Sunday said Pakistan would become an industrial hub of South Asia after the completion of CPEC. Talking to State-TV, the minister said the mega project is a game changer for Pakistan as it would bring improvement in social infrastructure, energy, industrial cooperation, agriculture and many other sectors, besides…

WASHINGTON: Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal has said that China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a game-changer and will link South Asia to world’s major trading hubs such as Middle East, Europe and Latin America. Speaking at a function arranged by the Pakistan Embassy in Washington on Thursday night to highlight CPEC’s significance,…

TEHRAN: Iran inaugurated a long-awaited new port at Chabahar in the southeast Sunday, which it is hoped will be a major new trade hub linking India and Africa with Central Asia. The first three shipments of Indian wheat to Afghanistan were unloaded in the morning, according to the Iranian ports organisation. “Through this port, goods…

LAHORE: Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal said that in 2013, Pakistan was declared the weakest economy but after coming into power, the PML-N government turned it into fast emerging economy in the world in last four years. He was addressing the 1st International Youth Summit organized by University of Lahore. Ahsan Iqbal said…

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s sacrifices against terrorism are worldwide recognized and Pakistan had lost over seventy thousand precious human lives besides suffering an economic loss of over $100 billion in the war against terrorism, Spokesperson of the foreign office said here on Friday. During the weekly press briefing, the spokesperson, Nafees Zakaria said that Pakistan remained committed…

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Wednesday called upon the international community to fulfill its moral obligations on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir, to realise the dream of peace in South Asia. “The dream of peace in South Asia cannot be realised until the world continues to disregard its moral obligations by neglecting…

WASHINGTON: In military terms, Donald Trump’s long-awaited new Afghanistan strategy looks very much like the old one. But, on the diplomatic front, he took a risk in confronting unruly, nuclear-armed Pakistan. Washington has long been frustrated by Pakistan’s provision of cross-border safe havens to some of the Taliban factions and armed Islamist groups fighting against…

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday termed President Trump’s statement disappointing and said that the US policy statement ignores the enormous sacrifices rendered by the Pakistani nation in the war against terrorism.

Miami: South Asia, home to one-fifth of the world’s population, could see humid heat rise to unsurvivable levels by century’s end if nothing is done to halt global warming, researchers said Wednesday. The study in the journal Science Advances warned of “summer heat waves with levels of heat and humidity that exceed what humans can…

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit has said that Pakistan is not begging for talks with India and long-lasting peace cannot be achieved in South Asia without solving the Kashmir dispute in accordance with wishes of its people. Abdul Basit, in an exclusive interview with Rising Kashmir, said that Jammu and Kashmir was…

KATHMANDU: A regional conference organized jointly by the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) will identify actions to accelerate progress in the care of severely wasted children, which affects 8 million children in South Asia. It brings together, for the first time, government representatives, UN partners and…

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif Tuesday said it was Pakistan’s ardent desire to promote peace and cooperation in South Asia for which security and stability were the pre-requisites. Talking to Foreign Minister of Maldives Dr. Mohammed Asim who called on him here at the PM House, he said Pakistan attaches great importance to SAARC…

WASHINGTON: Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry has said that China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will pave new path of development in the country, Samaa reported. Addressing a ceremony organized by Pak-America Business Council, Chaudhry said that new economic zones will be set up in the next phase of CPEC’s development. “The…

ISLAMABAD: Investors should forget India and instead profit from the ‘quiet rise’ of Pakistan along with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, Barron’s Asia said. “Forget India. Investors looking for the next big thing should look to its South Asia neighbors instead – Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka,” the America’s financial magazine in an article said. According…

WASHINGTON: The United States has appreciated efforts made by Pakistan to promote peace and stability in South Asia. The appreciation came during talks between Special Assistant to Prime Minister Syed Tariq Fatemi and US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington. The US Deputy Secretary of State expressed concern over the increasing tension between…

  ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON: Emerging Markets, the publication that last week declared Minister for Finance Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar as the “Finance Minister of the year 2016 for South Asia” does not belong to the International Monetary Fund, clarified IMF team on Thursday. “Emerging Markets is an independent publication,” said Harald Finger, the Washington-based IMF’s mission chief to…

ISLAMABAD: Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Defence Production Lt General (Retd) Abdul Qayyum said on Wednesday that world powers should pressurize India for nuclear disarmament. Talking to APP here, the PML-N Senator said that world powers should set an example in disarmament by reducing their own arsenal. Commenting on United States call for reduction of…

South Asian economies have been growing at a rapid pace in the recent years. Their share in the world cereal harvests stands at 60 percent of the total rice and 50 percent of wheat. Fruit and vegetable production is also in the higher brackets. This rapid growth however, has not translated into any trickledown effect…

COLOMBO: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday said his vision for South Asia was a dispute-free zone where all the nations jointly fought against their common enemies of illiteracy, poverty and malnutrition. “The South Asia needs strategic stability. We should build convergences and need dialogue for the better of region,” the Prime Minister said in…

        Written By: Muhammad Luqman   In February 1987, when Indian military exercises such as Brass Tacks along Pakistani border were at their peak, the President then, General Zia-ul-Haq, ventured to the Indian city of Jaipur to witness a Cricket test match between the two countries. Zia-ul-Haq’s meeting with the Indian Prime Minister…