Pakistan Archives - Wontumi Online

29 Sep

Pakistan: At Least 50 Killed, Dozens Injured In Mastung Blast

wontumionlineNewsAsia, blast, Pakistan

At least 50 people have been killed and more than 50 injured in a suicide attack in Pakistan, police say. The blast happened near a mosque in the southwestern province of Balochistan on Friday as people gathered to celebrate the birth of the Prophet Muhammad. Officials in Balochistan have declared a state of emergency. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Meanwhile, a separate blast has taken place at a mosque near Peshawar City in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Footage from the scene in the Balochistan city of Mastung showed the injured being rescued by emergency responders and locals. Balochistan's…

‘No Luxury Cars, No 5-Star Hotel Stay’: Pakistan Ministers To Forgo Pay, Perks For IMF Bailout

wontumionlineNewsIMF Bailout, Pakistan

Pakistani ministers can no longer fly business class or stay in five-star hotels abroad. And the government thanks them for taking salary cuts. The South Asian nation fighting to stay solvent and avoid a debt default has unveiled $764 million of cost-cutting measures needed to help revive a $6.5 billion of International Monetary Fund bailout. The government will follow up with further austerity measures in the next budget in July, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Wednesday. “This is need of the hour,” he said after a cabinet meeting in Islamabad. “We have to show what the time demands from us and…

Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s Ex-President, Dies Aged 79

wontumionlineNewsPakistan, Pervez Musharraf

Pakistan’s former president General Pervez Musharraf, who seized power in a coup in 1999, has died aged 79. The former leader – who was president between 2001 and 2008 – died after a long illness, a statement from the country’s army said. He had survived numerous assassination attempts and found himself on the front line of the struggle between militant Islamists and the West. He supported the US “war on terror” after 9/11 despite domestic opposition. In 2008 he suffered defeat in the polls and left the country six months later. When he returned in 2013 to try to contest…