Rezaul H Laskar is the Foreign Affairs Editor at Hindustan Times. His interests include movies and music.
Articles by Rezaul H Laskar
Zardari, PPP rally behind Gilani
Pakistan's beleaguered Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani (left), facing calls to resign from former allies, received a boost as President Asif Ali Zardari and the ruling Pakistan People's Party (PPP) threw their weight behind him.
Updated on Jan 04, 2011 02:09 AM IST
None | Rezaul H Laskar, Islamabad
Pak lobbies hard to to protect Pasha
Pakistani diplomats are engaged in hectic behind the scenes diplomacy in a bid to stop the Obama administration from supporting a lawsuit filed against ISI chief, Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha in a US court by relatives of two Jewish American victims of the Mumbai terror attacks.
Updated on Dec 24, 2010 05:13 PM IST
PTI | Rezaul H Laskar, Islamabad
Cameron's Pak warning: FO mulling asking Zardari not to visit UK
British Premier David Cameron's warning to Pakistan to stop promoting the "export of terror" appears to have cast a shadow on bilateral ties, with the Foreign Office even debating the possibility of asking President Asif Ali Zardari to call off an upcoming visit to London.
Updated on Jul 30, 2010 04:39 PM IST
PTI | Rezaul H Laskar, Islamabad
India not prepared to evolve a roadmap for talks: Basit
Pakistan wanted to evolve a roadmap to discuss bilateral issues with India during the recent Foreign Minister-level talks but the other side was not prepared to do so, Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said today.
Updated on Jul 18, 2010 08:30 PM IST
PTI | Rezaul H Laskar, Islamabad
Qureshi unwilling to visit India unless talks result-oriented
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi today upped the ante by saying he was unwilling to travel to New Delhi for talks unless India is prepared to hold a "meaningful, constructive and result-oriented" dialogue to resolve outstanding issues with Pakistan.
Updated on Jul 18, 2010 12:36 AM IST
PTI | Rezaul H Laskar, Islamabad
Pak crackdown on terror groups
Pakistani authorities have formed special task forces to crack down on 17 radical groups, including the Jamaat-ud-Dawah and Lashkar-e-Tayyeba, in the wake of the suicide attack on the Data Darbar shrine.
Updated on Jul 06, 2010 12:31 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Rezaul H Laskar, Islamabad
India, Pak FSs to meet tomorrow
Aiming to bridge the trust deficit between India and Pakistan, Foreign Secretaries of the two countries will meet in Islamabad tomorrow. The issue of cross-border terror, that has been preventing improvement of ties, is expected to dominate the talks.
Updated on Jun 23, 2010 09:53 PM IST
PTI | Rezaul H Laskar, Islamabad
Over 100 Pak nationals airlifted from Kyrgyzstan
A military aircraft today brought back 134 Pakistani nationals, most of them students, who were stranded in Kyrgyzstan after deadly ethnic clashes erupted in the Central Asian country last week.
Updated on Jun 15, 2010 02:48 PM IST
PTI | Rezaul H Laskar, Islamabad
Military hardware only for defenisve purposes: Pak to US
Pakistan has assured the US administration that American military hardware provided to it will be used solely for defensive purposes, a top US official said on Thursday.
Updated on Jun 10, 2010 09:10 PM IST
PTI | Rezaul H Laskar, Islamabad
Pak's Supreme Court summons Law Minister
Pakistan's Supreme Court on Friday summoned Law Minister Babar Awan to explain why the government had not fully implemented its verdict annulling a graft amnesty that benefited President Asif Ali Zardari and thousands of others.
Updated on May 14, 2010 12:48 PM IST
PTI | Rezaul H Laskar, Islamabad
Pak court adjourns 26/11 case till May 22
A Pakistani court conducting the trial of LeT's operations chief Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and six other suspects in the Mumbai attack case adjourned proceedings till May 22 after the prosecution sought more time to gain access to Ajmal Kasab, sentenced to death by an Indian court.
Updated on May 08, 2010 03:19 PM IST
PTI | Rezaul H Laskar, Islamabad
Kasab's sentence will have no effect on Indo-Pak talks: Qureshi
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said that the death sentence handed down to Pakistani national Ajmal Kasab by an Indian court for his role in the Mumbai terror attacks will not affect the proposed talks between the two countries.
Updated on May 08, 2010 02:42 PM IST
PTI | Rezaul H Laskar, Islamabad
Pak SC seeks Kasab's confessional statement
Pakistan Supreme Court today sought the confessional statement of Ajmal Kasab, convicted for his role in the Mumbai attacks, while hearing LeT commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi's petition seeking his acquittal in a case related to 26/11 strikes in Islamabad.
Updated on May 05, 2010 08:00 PM IST
PTI | Rezaul H Laskar, Islamabad
Pakistan media hails talks between Gilani, Singh
The decision by the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan to resume the stalled peace process is a significant breakthrough though the two sides will have to work quickly to address issues like Kashmir and terrorism to make real progress, local media said on Saturday.
Updated on May 01, 2010 05:24 PM IST
PTI | Rezaul H Laskar, Islamabad
Ex-MI chief denies ordering hosing down of Bhutto murder site
Pakistan's Former Military Intelligence chief Maj Gen Nadeem Ijaz Ahmad has rejected as "baseless" reports that he had ordered hosing down of the site in Rawalpindi where Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in December 2007, the media here said today.
Updated on Apr 29, 2010 03:48 PM IST
PTI | Rezaul H Laskar, Islamabad
US rejects allegation of involvement in Benazir assassination
The US on Wednesday dismissed as "false" and "outrageous" the allegations made by former Inter-Services Intelligence agency chief Hamid Gul that the United States government was involved in the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto.
Updated on Apr 21, 2010 11:44 PM IST
PTI | Rezaul H Laskar, Islamabad
Suicide bomber kills four including TV journalist
A suicide bomber on Friday blew him up in a hospital in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta, killing at least four persons, including a TV journalist, and injuring over 10 others.
Updated on Apr 16, 2010 12:19 PM IST
PTI | Rezaul H Laskar, Islamabad
Zardari asks Parliament to pass bill that seeks to clip powers
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari today asked lawmakers to adopt the landmark constitutional reforms package that is aimed at stripping his sweeping powers, saying it would remove the distortions made to the 1973 constitution by successive military regimes.
Updated on Apr 05, 2010 09:49 PM IST
PTI | Rezaul H Laskar, Islamabad
No dictator can trample the constitution again: Zardari
Set to be stripped of his sweeping powers, President Asif Ali Zardari today said the draft constitutional reforms package tabled in parliament will ensure that "no dictator can trample the constitution" again.
Updated on Apr 04, 2010 08:41 PM IST
PTI | Rezaul H Laskar, Islamabad
Desperate Zardari turns to Sharif for help
Facing dilution of his powers by a bill introduced in Parliament, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari is seeking to mend fences with opposition PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif.
Updated on Apr 04, 2010 12:51 AM IST
PTI | Rezaul H Laskar, Islamabad
Qureshi begins Saudi visit to deepen ties
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi today begins an official visit to Saudi Arabia amid speculation in diplomatic circles here that the kingdom could play a supportive role in improving Indo-Pakistan ties.
Updated on Apr 03, 2010 01:28 AM IST
PTI | Rezaul H Laskar, Islamabad
Zardari set to lose sweeping powers
Problems appeared to be multiplying for beleaguered Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari who may be stripped of his sweeping powers, with the government today bringing a landmark bill that could strengthen Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's hands.
Updated on Apr 03, 2010 02:21 AM IST
PTI | Rezaul H Laskar, Islamabad
Zardari wanted UN to quiz Rice, Karzai on Bhutto killing
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari asked the UN to delay a report on the assassination of Benazir Bhutto as he wanted investigators to quiz four personalities, including former US top diplomat Condoleezza Rice, who had prior information on threats to her life.
Updated on Apr 01, 2010 04:13 PM IST
PTI | Rezaul H Laskar, Islamabad
5 Indian fishermen arrested in Pakistan
In the second such incident this week, Pakistani authorities today said they had arrested five Indian fishermen and seized their boat for allegedly fishing illegally in the country's waters.
Updated on Mar 27, 2010 04:50 PM IST
PTI | Rezaul H Laskar, Islamabad
US-Pak dialogue should not be judged only on civil N-deal: Pak
Pakistan said the success of its ongoing strategic dialogue with the US should not be judged in the context of whether it could obtain a civil nuclear deal similar to the one inked by America and India, as Islamabad failed to get a clear commitment from Washington on such a pact.India concerned about US-Pakistan talks on Afghanistan
Updated on Mar 25, 2010 07:48 PM IST
PTI | Rezaul H Laskar, Islamabad
Constitutional amendment bill to be tabled in Pak Parl tomorrow
Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani today said Pakistan government will table a Constitutional reforms package in Parliament tomorrow to fulfil a pledge to remove changes made to the Constitution by previous military regimes, amid reports that it contains amendments aimed at cutting the President's sweeping powers.
Updated on Mar 25, 2010 03:33 PM IST
PTI | Rezaul H LaskarRezaul H Laskar, Islamabad
PAF deploys air-to-air refuelling aircraft
The Pakistan Air Force on Sunday deployed its first air-to-air refuelling aircraft during an ongoing air exercise, with officials describing the event as a "milestone" in the enhancement of the force's capabilities.
Updated on Mar 21, 2010 10:00 PM IST
PTI | Rezaul H Laskar, Islamabad
Lawyers for accused in 26/11 demand Kasab be brought to Pak
Lawyers for LeT's operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and six more accused in the the Mumbai attacks case today demanded at an anti-terror court that Ajmal Kasab be brought from India to Pakistan to face trial with the other suspects.
Updated on Mar 20, 2010 05:40 PM IST
PTI | Rezaul H Laskar, Islamabad
'Pak-India talks to figure at strategic dialogue with US'
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi today said the issue of stability and peace between Pakistan and India will be part of the upcoming US-Pakistan strategic dialogue as Islamabad wants Washington to address its security-related concerns in the region.
Updated on Mar 18, 2010 07:40 PM IST
PTI | Rezaul H Laskar, Islamabad
India's involvement in Lahore attack cannot be ruled out: Pak
Pakistan has said India's involvement in recent terrorist attacks in Lahore cannot be ruled out and evidence of its alleged role in fomenting unrest in Balochistan province has been provided to New Delhi through diplomatic channels.
Updated on Mar 16, 2010 03:42 PM IST
PTI | Rezaul H Laskar, Islamabad