Pakistan

Operation Black Thunderstorm was an aggressive military operation that commenced on April 26, 2009 conducted by the Pakistan Army, with the aim of... retaking Buner, Lower Dir, Swat and Shangla districts from the Taliban after the militants took control of them since the start of the year. A temporary ceasefire was called in the Malakand region on February 16, 2009. The provincial government agreed to allow the implementation of Sharia in the region once violence had stopped. Muhammad traveled to Swat to discuss peace with Fazlullah and his followers, who agreed to observe the ceasefire. On February 24, 2009 Muslim Khan, spokeperson of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan publicly announced that his group would observe an indefinite ceasefire. The ANP, the governing party of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa sent the bill to President Asif Ali Zardari, who delayed signing it into law until "the writ of the government [had] been established." Soon after that the militants expanded their territory into other districts and by mid-April they took Buner, Lower Dir and Shangla. With the Taliban takeover the militants came within 60 miles of the capital of Pakistan, Islamabad.
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The United States and Pakistan have been engaged in several military confrontations and skirmishes inside Pakistan territory. These incidents have... involved the U.S. military and NATO-led ISAF forces, who have been present in Afghanistan fighting the War on Terror since 2001, and the Pakistani Armed Forces. Most of the exchanges have been indirect friendly fires, usually started when American-led security forces have intruded into Pakistani territory or airspace. Since the beginning of the war on terror in 2001 and the subsequent U.S. invasion of Afghanistan to oust the Taliban and al-Qaeda movement, the U.S. has launched several air strikes across into northwest Pakistan to target militants connected with the Afghanistan war who it alleges have fled the country and sought temporary shelter in Pakistan's bordering tribal areas. These strikes have been protested by Pakistan, as a violation of national sovereignty, and have resulted in tense diplomatic relations between the two countries. They have also caused an uproar among Pakistan's civilian population and politicians and have fueled anti-American sentiments.
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The Afghanistan–Pakistan skirmishes are cross-border shellings that have occurred along the Durand Line between the Pakistani Armed Forces and... the Afghan Border Police as well as the Afghan military. The latest conflict began in July 2003, then in May 2007 and continued again in June 2011 after hundreds of Pakistani missiles began shelling Afghanistan's territory in Nuristan, Kunar, Nangarhar and Khost provinces. General Mohammad Zahir Azimi, spokesman for the Afghan military, claimed that the first incident started when Pakistani troops attempted to create a military outpost inside Paktika province of Afghanistan. Pakistan's military spokesman Major-General Waheed Arshad, said that Afghanistan had initiated hostilities because the Afghan National Army opened "unprovoked firing" on five or six border posts in the Kurram Agency of FATA, Pakistan. Pakistan's government and Inter-Services Intelligence had been involved in the affairs of Afghanistan since the 1970s. On the other hand, Afghanistan ignores the poorly marked Durand Line , a fact that has irked Pakistan.
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On September 27, 1996, the Taliban seized the Afghan capital Kabul and established the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The Islamic State of... Afghanistan government remained the internationally recognized government of Afghanistan. The Taliban's Emirate received recognition only from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. The defense minister of the Islamic State of Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Massoud, in opposition to the Taliban created the United Front . The United Front included all Afghan ethnicities: Tajiks, Uzbeks, Hazaras, Turkmens, some Pashtuns and others. Massoud fought for a republic and national consolidation to achieve a lasting peace in Afghanistan. During the conflict, the Taliban received complementary military support by Pakistan and financial support by Saudi Arabia. Pakistan interfered militarily in Afghanistan, deploying battalions and regiments of its Frontier Corps and Army against the United Front. Al Qaeda supported the Taliban with regiments of imported fighters from Arab countries and Central Asia.
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The Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank established on 22 August 1966 to facilitate economic development of countries in Asia. The... bank admits the members of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and non-regional developed countries. From 31 members at its establishment, ADB now has 67 members - of which 48 are from within Asia and the Pacific and 19 outside. ADB was modeled closely on the World Bank, and has a similar weighted voting system where votes are distributed in proportion with member's capital subscriptions. At present, both the United States and Japan hold 552,210 shares, the largest proportion of shares at 12.756% each. China holds 228,000 shares , India holds 224,010 shares , the 2nd and 3rd largest proportion of shares respectively. The highest policy-making body of the bank is the Board of Governors composed of one representative from each member state. The Board of Governors, in turn, elect among themselves the 12 members of the Board of Directors and their deputy.
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The United Nations Stabilisation Mission In Haiti , also known as MINUSTAH, an acronym of the French translation, is a United Nations peacekeeping... mission in Haiti that has been in operation since 2004. The mission's military component is led by the Brazilian Army and the force commander is Brazilian. MINUSTAH's mandate was most recently extended by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1944 past its October 15, 2010 deadline amid fears of instability. The mission's current mandate runs through October 15th, 2011 with the intention of further renewal. The force is composed of 8,940 military personnel and 3,711 police, supported by an international civilian personnel, a local civilian staff and United Nations Volunteers. Following the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the United Nations reported that the headquarters of the mission in Port-au-Prince had collapsed and that the mission's chief, Hédi Annabi of Tunisia, his deputy Luiz Carlos da Costa of Brazil, and the acting police commissioner, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's Doug Coates of Canada, were confirmed dead.
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The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation is an organisation of South Asian nations, founded in December 1985 by Ziaur Rahman and... dedicated to economic, technological, social, and cultural development emphasising collective self-reliance. Its seven founding members are Sri Lanka, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Afghanistan joined the organization in 2005. Meetings of heads of state are usually scheduled annually; meetings of foreign secretaries, twice annually. It is headquartered in Kathmandu, Nepal. The 16 stated areas of cooperation are agriculture and rural, biotechnology, culture, energy, environment, economy and trade, finance, funding mechanism, human resource development, poverty alleviation, people to people contact, security aspects, social development, science and technology; communications, tourism . The concept of SAARC was first adopted by Bangladesh during 1977, under the administration of President Ziaur Rahman. In the late 1970s, SAARC nations agreed upon the creation of a trade bloc consisting of South Asian countries. The idea of regional cooperation in South Asia was again mooted in May 1980.
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The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental... organisation of fifty-four independent member states. All but two of these countries were formerly part of the British Empire, out of which it developed. The member states cooperate within a framework of common values and goals as outlined in the Singapore Declaration. These include the promotion of democracy, human rights, good governance, the rule of law, individual liberty, egalitarianism, free trade, multilateralism, and world peace. The Commonwealth is not a political union, but an intergovernmental organisation through which countries with diverse social, political, and economic backgrounds are regarded as equal in status. Activities of the Commonwealth are carried out through the permanent Commonwealth Secretariat, headed by the Secretary-General, and biennial meetings between Commonwealth Heads of Government. The symbol of their free association is the Head of the Commonwealth, which is a ceremonial position currently held by Queen Elizabeth II.
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University of the Punjab , colloquially known as Punjab University, is located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The University of the Punjab is the... oldest and biggest University of Pakistan. The University of the Punjab was formally established with the convening of the first meeting of its Senate on October 14, 1882 at Simla. It was the fourth university to be established by the British colonial authorities on the Indian subcontinent . According to the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan, Punjab University is one of the top ranked general universities in Pakistan. The University of the Punjab came into existence as a result of a long drawn struggle of the people of Punjab after the Indian Mutiny in 1857. Prof Dr GW Leitner was the founder of the university. Contrary to the three previously established universities, which were only examining institutions, the University of the Punjab was both teaching as well as examining body right from beginning.
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The International Islamic University, Islamabad is a seat of Islamic learning in Pakistan. The foundation of the International Islamic University,... Islamabad was laid on November 11, 1980. The desire to produce scholar and practitioners, imbued with Islamic learning, and capable of meeting the needs of the Muslim Ummah was the raison d'être of this university. The university was reconstituted as International Islamic University, Islamabad with the promulgation of Ordinance No.xxx of 1985. The university is ranked at No. 8 in Pakistan and 3470 in the world. It is completely distinct from the International Islamic University in Malaysia. There are two campuses of university. The university's Old campus is located around the Faisal Mosque. It was designed by a Turkish architect and was donated to the university by late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. The mosque is spread over an area of 190,000 square meters and can accommodate about 80,000 people. The New campus is located in Sector H-10 of Islamabad, a sector given solely to the university.
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The University of Peshawar is a public sector university in the city of Peshawar, Pakistan. The university was established in October 1950 by Mr.... Liaquat Ali Khan, the first Prime Minister of Pakistan as an offshoot of Islamia College Peshawar, which was founded in 1913. The University of Peshawar is an institution where educational facilities exist from nursery to Ph.D. Located in Peshawar, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, it operates as a residential campus spread over 1,000 acres . The University of Peshawar is ranked as the 4th Best General Purpose University by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan . The university comprises six faculties with forty postgraduate departments, four centres, two centres of excellence, four colleges and three high schools. Student population on campus is over 20,000. In its inaugural year it had an enrollment of 129, of whom one was a female. Although the university was established in 1950 it was initially Islamia College. The founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who had visited the college in 1928 had great admiration for it.
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Somy Ali is a former Bollywood actress and current model and journalist. She has her own clothing line, So-Me Designs apart from running a non... profit organization, No More Tears. Additionally, Somy is currently touring the United States giving lectures about social issues. Born to an Iraqi mother, Tehmina and a Pakistani father, Madan, she has two sisters, Hina and Huma and one younger brother, Mohammed. After studying at the Convent of Jesus & Mary High School in Karachi until the age of 7, she, her mother and brother re-located to Florida U.S.A, before moving to Mumbai, India to focus on her acting career, where she appeared in 9 movies and had several modeling assignments. In January 1999, Somy returned to the U.S.A to obtain a Bachelor's degree in Psychology. She attended Nova Southeastern University in Florida and graduated in three years' time. Somy worked at a local radio station doing talk-shows on social and political issues for two years while working on her bachelor's degree.
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Sultan Muhammad , popularly known as Sultan Rahi, in a Muslim family of Saharanpur, was a notable Pakistani film actor who was prominent in Pakistan... in Punjabi films during the 1970s and 1980s. He was mostly popular among people in Punjab, Pakistan and among Sikh and Punjabi community of India. He appeared in more than 700 Punjabi and Urdu-language movies, and is named in the Guinness Book of Records as the most prolific actor. Some of his major films include Maula Jatt, Sher Khan, Chan Veryam, Kaley Chore, and The Godfather. On January 9, 1996 at the time of death, he was 58 years old. Sultan Rahi was an extra in the 1959 film Baghi. Although he struggled for a few years in the early 1960s, playing only a few supporting roles. The turning point came in 1972, when three of his films celebrated diamond jubilees. In 1975 he became an action icon for the lovers of Punjabi films. The year 1979, changed his whole life as his film Maula Jatt became the most successful Pakistani film to date. It broke all records and did wonders for the Pakistani film industry. Rahi worked most often with directors Masood Rana and Younas Malik.
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Saeed Khan Rangeela was a Pakistani Lollywood actor, singer and director. His birthname was Mohammad Saeed Khan and he was born in Nangarhar,... Afghanistan. He took a keen interest in body-building and physical exercises as a teenager. He moved to Lahore at a young age and earned his livelihood by painting billboards for the Lahore movie industry. Once, when shooting of a film was taking place, some jolly character was found absent. The director called for Mohammad Saeed Khan to play the part which he did. All those present during the shooting were amused by his style. This way luck made him an actor. Rangeela made his professional cinematic debut in a 1958 Punjabi film Jatti, directed by M.J. Rana. He started playing humorous roles in movies and became very popular. Much later he formed Rangeela Productions to produce his own movies. He not only produced films but also directed his productions, sang songs, and wrote some scripts as well. His movies, to the surprise of many film industry stalwarts, attracted a large number of viewers. The film Diya aur toofan, May 9, 1969, was Rangeela's directional debut.
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Ayesha Omar is a Pakistani actress, model, singer, former MTV Pakistan VJ and painter. She is best known for portraying the character of Khoobsurat... in ARY Digital's sitcom Bulbulay. Born on October 12, 1980, Ayesha graduated from the prestigious National College of Arts, Lahore, Pakistan, where she mastered the art of painting fine art. She acquired fame with two of her hit singles, "Aao" and "Koi To Ho". Since her early days at school, Ayesha had been keen in theater and charity work. She was a president at her arts school and managed theater productions along with doing costumes and conceptual creative work. She would dedicate her summers at the Rising Sun School for special children. At the age of eight, she started hosting a show with Muneeza Hashmi called Meray Bachpan Kay Din in which she would interview celebrities about their early days. However, it was her break in the light teen comedy Kollege Jeans that prompted her career in television. The show was directed by another NCA graduate Jawad Bashir and cast her alongside Ali Zafar and other prominent TV personalities.
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China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous state in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East... Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres . It is the world's second-largest country by land area, and the third- or fourth-largest in total area, depending on the definition of total area. The People's Republic of China is a single-party state governed by the Communist Party of China. It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four directly controlled municipalities , and two mostly self-governing special administrative regions , Hong Kong and Macau. Its capital city is Beijing. The PRC also claims the island of Taiwan, which is controlled by the government of the Republic of China, as its 23rd province, a claim controversial due to the complex political status of Taiwan and the unresolved Chinese Civil War.
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Afghanistan /æfˈɡænɨstæn/ , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the... centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With an estimated population of about 29 million, it has an area of 647,500 km , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world. It is bordered by Pakistan in the southeast, Iran in the west, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the north, and China in the far northeast. The territory that now forms Afghanistan has been an ancient focal point of the Silk Road and human migration. Archaeologists have found evidence of human habitation from as far back as 50,000 BC. Urban civilization may have begun in the area as early as 3,000 to 2,000 BC. The country sits at an important geostrategic location that connects the Middle East with Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent, which has been home to various peoples through the ages. The land has witnessed many military conquests since antiquity, notably by Alexander the Great, Chandragupta Maurya, and Genghis Khan.
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Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the... Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia . Both "Persia" and "Iran" are used interchangeably in cultural contexts; however, "Iran" is the name used officially in political contexts. The 18th largest country in the world in terms of area at 1,648,195 km , Iran has a population of around 78 million. It is a country of particular geopolitical significance owing to its location in the Middle East and central Eurasia. Iran is bordered on the north by Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. As Iran is a littoral state of the Caspian Sea, which is an inland sea, Kazakhstan and Russia are also Iran's direct neighbors to the north. Iran is bordered on the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan, on the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by Iraq and on the northwest by Turkey.
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Gujarat ɾat]  is a state in western India. It has an area of 75,686 sq mi with a coastline of 1,600 km, most of which lies... on the Kathiawar peninsula, and a population in excess of 60 million. The state is bordered by Rajasthan to the north, Maharashtra to the south, Madhya Pradesh to the east and the Arabian Sea as well as the Pakistani province of Sindh on the west. Its capital is Gandhinagar, while its largest city is Ahmedabad. Gujarat is home to the Gujarati-speaking people of India. The state encompasses major sites of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization, such as Lothal and Dholavira. Lothal is believed to be one of the world's first ports. Gujarat's coastal cities, chiefly Bharuch, served as ports and trading centers in the Maurya and Gupta empires. Mahatma Gandhi, considered India's "father of the nation", was a Gujarati who led the Indian Independence Movement against the British colonial rule. Gujarat played an important role in the economic history of India throughout the history of India. The state has the fastest growing economy in India.
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