SAARC debacle: Lanka for ‘viable options’
Colombo: With the collapse of the SAARC summit in Pakistan, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has said that the failure of the regional grouping to deliver “acceptable results” for all members would spell a “bleak future” and compel his country to find other “viable options”. His remark assumes significance as Sri Lanka was one of the five SAARC member-states which sided with India in pulling out of the summit scheduled in Islamabad on November 9-10 over the Uri attack. PTI
Pak to shut Indian channels from Oct 16
Islamabad: Amid the strained Indo-Pak ties, Pakistan’s electronic media watchdog on Tuesday announced that TV channels showing Indian programmes without permission would be suspended from October 16, a day after it sought reciprocity from India to allow airtime to Indian content in Pakistan. The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority has granted chairman Absar Alam the authority to revoke or suspend licences of companies illegally airing Indian content without prior notice. PTI
Plea against India in White House
Washington: The current tension between India and Pakistan has reached the White House cyberspace, with two petitions being filed against the two countries and seeking response from the Obama Administration. The White House has stopped accepting signatures for one of the petitions that sought to designate Pakistan as a “state sponsor of terrorism”, days after it gained a record half a million signatures. Another petition claiming that India is “involved in spreading terrorism in its adjoining countries” has been submitted on the White House website. PTI
Dialogue key to reduce tension: US
Washington: The US has called for “calm and restraint” from India and Pakistan amid the increasingly strained relations between the two neighbours and urged both militaries to keep their lines of communication open to help defuse tension in the region. “We urge calm and restraint on both sides. We understand, as we said last week, that the militaries are in touch. We believe that that continued communication is vital to reduce the tension,” State Department spokesperson Elizabeth Trudeau said. PTI
