ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s economy is on a path to long-term recovery, thanks to a stabilization program backed by the International Monetary Fund, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said ahead of a first review of a $7-billion IMF bailout set for early in March. The comments came in Sharif’s meeting on Tuesday with Kristalina Georgieva on the … Read more
WASHINGTON — In Kabul, Afghanistan, a major midwifery program — girls’ only higher education option — has closed. Across Pakistan, dozens of development programs have ground to a halt. In Bangladesh, a health research center has laid off more than 1,000 employees. The fallout comes two weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration suspended foreign … Read more
At least 16 Pakistanis have died in a migrant boat accident off the coast of Libya, Pakistani officials said Tuesday. Survivors of a migrant boat rescued in the Atlantic Ocean near Morocco in January have come home in recent days with harrowing stories to tell. VOA Pakistan bureau chief Sarah Zaman met with a survivor … Read more
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to Washington this week for a visit expected to be dominated by issues relating to trade, immigration, defense and strategic ties. India, which has built a strong partnership with the U.S., is expecting to face turbulence on issues such as trade but hopes mutual geostrategic concerns will help maintain … Read more
New Delhi — As Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to the United States for a two-day visit starting Wednesday, officials in New Delhi expressed optimism that the visit will herald a renewed and substantive partnership. However analysts said there will be contentious issues to navigate on trade and immigration, which are among U.S. President … Read more
At least five people were killed when a suicide bomber with explosives strapped to his body detonated outside a bank in northeastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, police said. The blast took place at 8:35 a.m. near the Kabul Bank branch in Kunduz province, killing the bank’s security guard and four others including civilians and members of … Read more
Islamabad — United Nations counterterrorism officials warned during a Security Council meeting Monday that an Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan remains a significant threat to regional and global security. The discussion centered on the threat posed by Islamic State, also known as Daesh, and its regional offshoots to international peace and security. The Afghan-based Islamic … Read more
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit the U.S. on Wednesday. President Donald Trump announced Modi’s White House visit as India’s foreign secretary, Vikram Misri, met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing, where they agreed to restore bilateral ties and resume direct flights and pilgrimages by Indian pilgrims to a holy … Read more
PATNA, India — At least 31 suspected Maoist rebels and two police officials were killed on Sunday in the deadliest combat so far this year in central India, police said. Hundreds of police and paramilitary soldiers launched an operation in the forests of the Indravati area of Chhattisgarh state based on intelligence that large number … Read more
NEW DELHI — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Hindu nationalist party won the most seats in the high-stakes state legislature election in the country’s federal territory, including New Delhi, for the first time in over a quarter-century, according to official data Saturday. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party won 47 seats in the 70-member assembly that … Read more