The penalized diplomat retired from the service last year and is now the president of the Institute of Regional Studies, a think tank of the Pakistan Foreign Ministry

Modi said both sides will continue to build on the shared understanding to expand cooperation in multiple areas, including hydropower, development and connectivity.

India’s timely push for connectivity projects in Nepal under its Neighborhood First policy is crucial, especially when China has expanded its presence rapidly in the last decade in key infrastructure sectors in Nepal

Last month, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said India hopes to become a permanent exporter of wheat, shipping as much as 15 million tons this year, compared with about 7.2 million in 2021-22. Officials are pushing the World Trade Organization to relax rules so that India can export from state reserves, Goyal said

“Natural pastures are depleting which has led to many species of animals, birds, and moths becoming extinct,” Ashiq Ahmed, a Pakistani wildlife expert, was quoted as saying by The Express Tribune. “Butterflies used to be common but they are rarely seen now.”

The Indian government has decided to supply this quantity of urea immediately to Sri Lanka at the request of the Colombo despite a ban on the export of urea from India. Sri Lanka is the only country after Nepal to receive such assurance

Over 4,000 Kashmiri Pandits are living in transit camps in various parts of Kashmir after they were given government jobs under a special employment package launched in 2010. The angry protesters also raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah and Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, NDTV said

The extension of exemption will help Afghan traders. Earlier, New Delhi also provided 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat to the country in the grip of a humanitarian crisis

Overall, the ties between the two countries are growing in all important domains, including security cooperation, climate change, food security, and energy sectors. In September 2021, two countries launched the US-Bangladesh Energy Taskforce, an initiative to help advance energy cooperation among the stakeholders of both countries

Earlier this week, Islamabad had cleared the appointment of a trade minister at its High Commission in New Delhi but stressed that there was no change in its trade policy with India. The appointment had raised the hope for the revival of trade ties which remains stalled since August 2019 when Pakistan suspended ties after New Delhi ended the special status of Jammu and Kashmir

Soon after his appointment, the new prime minister said he will work with both the opposition and the governing party to overcome the hardships faced by people. Importantly, he also assured that the peaceful protest, “GotaGoGama” will be allowed to continue their agitation

The government on Thursday announced a temporary ban on foreign tours of its employees and deferred the implementations of large projects relying on heavy imports as part of measures to save dollars, reported The Daily Star

The Rajapaksa family, which dominated the country’s politics for much of the last two decades, today is struggling for its political survival in the face of the worst economic crisis since the country's independence in 1948

On the calls for the abolition of the executive presidency, a demand forwarded by many parties, President Rajapaksa said it will be considered, and “with the new government & their potential to stabilize the country, we will have an opportunity to discuss this & work towards a common consensus.” 

In recent months, several prominent people in Pakistan, including officials and businessmen, have been advocating the resumption of trade ties with India which, they said, could greatly help the country’s ailing economy