In Pakistan, 97 percent of marriages take place to attain foreign nationality

October 12th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari Monday told visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada that terrorists cannot lay their hands on its nuclear weapons due to the tight security in place, the Online news agency reported. Several issues, including security, Afghanistan, energy and trade were discussed during their talks here.

October 7th, 2009 LONDON - A Sikh woman whose campaign helped persuade the British government to move against forced marriages has won a prestigious award that celebrates extraordinary achievements by ordinary people. Jasvinder Sanghera, who runs a charity that works to free people from forced marriages, was presented the Pride of Britain Award at a gala ceremony Tuesday night attended by a host of celebrities.

September 26th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Expressing disappointment over Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh's remarks that Islamabad must change its attitude and policies regarding the use of terror as an instrument of state policy, Pakistan has said that Singh's statement has no link with reality and is very regrettable. "Pakistan has a transparent agenda in the meeting of Indo-Pak Foreign Secretaries today.

September 18th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The foreign ministers of Pakistan and India will meet in New York for talks Sep 26-27, the Online news agency reported Friday. The foreign secretary-level talks will be held Sep 26, while the foreign ministers will meet a day later, a private news TV channel said quoting Pakistan foreign office sources.

August 29th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The Kerry-Lugar Bill would be approved by the American Senate by September, the coordinator of the non-military aid to Islamabad has said. The Dawn quoted Rabin Raphael, as saying that his appointment for managing the affairs in Pakistan pertained to oversee a coordinated disbursement of aid supplied to Pakistan under USAID and Kerry-Lugar schemes.

August 28th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Chinese Valentine's day saw parents of less than a year old kids gather in Shanghai to conduct mock marriages of their babies.he event, organized by a local website, was attended by numerous parents, reports the China Daily. The infants received fake marriage certificates and photographs of their temporary spouses.

July 23rd, 2009 PHUKET - Pakistan will take action against the Lashkar-e-Taiba if proof was found of its involvement in the Mumbai terrorist attacks, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said here Thursday. "We will take action against LeT if any proof is found," Qureshi told reporters when asked what action Pakistan planned to take against the perpetrators of the Nov 26 Mumbai carnage.

July 8th, 2009 PESHAWAR - One person was killed and several others were wounded in a suicide blast here on Wednesday. Eyewitnesses said the blast, which took place near the Police Colony in Chungi Bazaar of the city, was trigerred by a suicide bomber who was dragging a vendor cart loaded with explosives.

July 4th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan will share with the international community the evidence of foreign elements supporting terrorists to destabilise the country, a foreign ministry official said Saturday. "We have gathered proofs of some anti-Pakistan foreign elements supporting terrorists in our tribal areas to destabilise Pakistan and we would share it with the concerned countries at international level, foreign office spokesman Abdul Basit was quoted as saying by the Online news agency.

July 2nd, 2009 LONDON - As many as 8,000 cases of forced marriage were reported in England last year, according to a Government report. According to The Telegraph, the study published by the Department for Children, Schools and Families claims that the overwhelming majority of victims are teenage girls from Pakistan or Bangladesh.

July 2nd, 2009 LONDON - British schools were Thursday urged to look out for signs of forced marriages ahead of school holidays. "All children have the right to grow up safe from harm, Baroness Delyth Morgan, minister for young people, said.

June 3rd, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has claimed that the security system put in place for its nuclear assets is completely indigenous, and no foreign country's help have been taken to safe guard the nuclear weapons. Pakistan Foreign Office rejected reports that Islamabad is being helped by friendly countries for its nuclear security needs.

March 13th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Rejecting concerns of the international community, Pakistan has declared that its nuclear assets are safe as an elaborate command-and-control system was in place to safeguard the strategic arsenal. "Our command-and-control system is very effective, and we do not need foreign assistance to protect and safeguard our strategic assets," the Daily Times quoted Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit, as saying.

January 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's ISI agency has 'given its feedback' to India about the Mumbai attacks, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said but New Delhi Saturday maintained it had not received any response on the Mumbai terrorist attack dossier it handed over six days ago. Gilani's remarks Friday came shortly before US vice-president-elect Joe Biden arrived in Islamabad for talks with the Pakistani leadership on the tensions with India in the wake of the carnage in Mumbai, Aaj TV reported.

December 24th, 2008 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan will ignore the consular access plea of Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone terrorist arrested during the Mumbai terror strikes, the Prime Minister's Adviser on Interior Affairs Rehman Malik has said. 'There is no question of consular access unless it is proved that Ajmal Kasab is a Pakistan national,' he told reporters on the sidelines of a function Wednesday at the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) headquarters.