Britain, Pakistan form joint task force on education

October 10th, 2009 NEW YORK - Investigations being carried out into the massive Al-Qaeda backed bombing plot has revealed that Najibullah Zazi, the airport shuttle bus driver arrested earlier, had traveled to Pakistan with another two men, Zarein Ahmedzay, and Adis Medunjanin. The two men, one of whom attended Flushing High School with Zazi, have denied their involved with the Al Qaeda, saying they didn't have any role in the bombing plot.

October 8th, 2009 LONDON - British and American varsities dominated a list of the worlds 100 best universities published Thursday but more institutions from southeast Asia made their way into it. The number of universities from southeast Asian countries - Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, China and Singapore - increased from 14 to 16 in the QS/Times Higher Education rankings, with the University of Tokyo the highest ranked Asian institution at 22.

October 7th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Orissa Wednesday constituted a task force consisting eminent academicians to prepare a prospective plan document for higher education, officials said. The task force will be led by Trilochan Pradhan, a former director of the Institute of Physics and former vice-chancellor of the state's Utkal University, according a government notification.

September 21st, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The United Kingdom and Pakistan have agreed to set up a joint task force on education to be headed by noted British educationist Michael Barber. Talking to the media along with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi after the meeting with the President Asif Ali Zardari, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said they had extensive discussions on education.

September 21st, 2009 PHILADELPHIA - Former President Pervez Musharraf has said Pakistan would never allow foreign troops on its territory. Addressing a Pakistani doctors organization in Philadelphia, Musharraf said that Pakistan's defence is strong and no force can challenge the sovereignty of the country.

July 16th, 2009 LONDON - Cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan has lambasted Britain for its 'mad' Afghan strategies. Speaking in front of a joint audience of Foreign Press Association and Commonwealth Club members here, Khan said the British' Afghanistan policy was 'mad', 'given Albert Einstein's definition of madness as doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results.' He said the current policy of carrying of carrying out military offensive against Al-Qaeda and other extremist outfits in Afghanistan has failed and proved counterproductive in tackling the terror threat.

June 29th, 2009 DHAKA - Bangladesh has sought British help for its land border management and maritime security as part of a string of joint working groups it seeks to set up within the South Asian region and outside with the US, Australia and Russia. The first such Joint Working Group (JWG) was set up with Britain Sunday to enhance counter terrorism cooperation between the two countries.

June 11th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India and the US will set up a joint working group to boost bilateral relation in the field of education, it was announced Thursday after a meeting between Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Kapil Sibal and the US Under Secretary William J. Burns. The group will be headed by Sibal and US Secretary of Education, and it will meet once a year alternately in India and the US.

May 28th, 2009 LONDON - Pakistan may acquire three Type 42 Batch 3 destroyers from Britain after they are retired from the Royal Navy (RN). Pakistan is also in discussion with the United States to acquire FFG 7 frigates.

May 13th, 2009 LONDON - Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari Wednesday promised to improve his embattled country's ties with India under the terms of a new 'strategic dialogue' between Pakistan and Britain. The strategic dialogue, to be co-chaired by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Zardari, will rest on four 'fundamental principles', Brown said after the two leaders met at his Downing Street office in central London.

May 8th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to form a joint border security force. Addressing a press conference, the Interior Ministers of Pakistan and Afghanistan also said that both the countries would exchange prisoners.

May 6th, 2009 LONDON - About 20 top military and intelligence experts of Britain will now advise the Pakistani Amry in fighting against the Taliban and Al Qaeda in the country, the Online news agency has reported. The British advisers will liaise with the Pakistani Army and particularly with the Frontier Corps, an ethnic Pashtun paramilitary force on the frontline of the battle with the Taliban, according to Whitehall officials.

May 5th, 2009 LONDON - Concerned by the expanding threat from the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, Britain is planning to amplify its military and intelligence presence in Pakistan to help the country counter the existential threat, the Guardian reports. According to the newspaper, Whitehall officials have revealed that at least 20 'military advisers' will interact with the Pakistani army and particularly with the Frontier Corps and advice them over planning more effective strategies to counter the extremists.

April 27th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Britain and Pakistan on Monday expressed a firm resolve to jointly fight against terrorism. Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani addressing a joint press conference along with his British counterpart Gordon Brown, said Pakistani is united in the battle against terrorism.

April 26th, 2009 LAHORE - Former Pakistan High Commissioner to Britain Akbar Ahmad has said that it is very important for Islamabad to safeguard the tribal regions along the Afghan border because once this territory caves in to the hands of the extremists, the task to prevent the whole country from being toppled over by the insurgents would become much more difficult. "If you lose them, then you lose Pakistan, followed by Afghanistan, The Daily Times quoted Ahmad, as saying.