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ISLAMABAD � Shahid Khaqan Abbasi took the oath of office Tuesday as Pakistan's new prime minister to replace Nawaz Sharif, who was disqualified by the country's highest court last week on corruption charges.

The 58-year-old Abbasi is a staunch Sharif ally and senior member of his ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, or PML-N, party.

Earlier in the day, Abbasi won 221 votes in the 342-member legislative lower house of parliament, or National Assembly, which is dominated by PML-N and its allied parties.

His closest rival, Syed Naveed Qamar, from the opposition Pakistan People's Party, secured 47 votes.

Pakistan was plunged into political uncertainty Friday when a five-member panel of the Supreme Court disqualified Sharif from holding public office. The panel forced Sharif to quit, saying he failed to disclose a monthly salary from a Dubai-based company owned by his son.

Sharif, 67, has denied wrongdoing. His previous two stints as prime minister of Pakistan in the 1990's also were cut short, and he was ousted over allegations of corruption.

Sharif's party won the 2013 election, bringing him to power for a record third time. His latest stint was due to end in June 2018, when the next national elections in Pakistan also are due.

In a speech to parliament, Abbasi dismissed suggestions the anti-Sharif judicial verdict caused divisions in the ruling party or undermined its political credentials.

"There was no dissension in our ranks. There were no defections. The party stands united as it was whomever the prime minister (Nawaz Sharif) named was supported unanimously," Abbasi said.

Abbasi also dismissed concerns of political and economic instability resulting from Sharif's dismissal.

"Within four days, the democratic process is back on track, he said.

Abbasi, however, confirmed he assumed office on an interim basis for 45 days. The ruling party wants to elect Sharif's younger brother, Shahbaz Sharif, as the permanent successor, according to party officials.

Shahbaz Sharif, 65, is the chief minister of Pakistan's most populous Punjab province. He is expected to contest by-elections due next month to win a parliamentary seat before he takes over from Abbasi as the country's chief executive.

Opposition parties, independent analysts and newspaper editorials have criticized the political maneuvering as dynastic and undemocratic.

In past years, political turmoil encouraged the military to stage coups to oust elected governments and seize power; but analysts say that for the first time, the judiciary has dismissed an elected prime minister on corruption charges, in a country where the powerful until now have escaped prosecution.

The judicial verdict also has triggered calls for holding other state institutions, including the Pakistan military, accountable for their actions.

Source: Voice of America

ISLAMABAD � U.S. military officials have confirmed the death of four additional senior Islamic State leaders in a July 11 airstrike in northeastern Afghanistan that also killed the top leader of the terrorist group.

The drone attack struck IS headquarters in Kunar province, which borders Pakistan, and eliminated Abu Sayed, the amir of Islamic State's self-styled Khorasan province branch, or ISK-P.

A U.S. military statement Sunday listed names and titles of the four slain terrorists identified as senior IS advisors, including Sheik Ziaullah, Mulawi Hubaib, Haji Shirullah, and Assadullah.

The U.S. military confirmed Sayed's death at the time, but could not immediately provide details of other commanders killed by the missile strike.

Sayed was the third ISK-P chief the U.S. military has eliminated in the past year in its bid to prevent the group from establishing a foothold in Afghanistan.

"We will be relentless in our campaign against ISIS-K, the statement quoted General John Nicholson, Commander of U.S. forces in the country. He used one of several IS names.

"There are no safe havens in Afghanistan. We will hunt them down until they are no longer a threat to the Afghan people and the region, he added.

Observers acknowledge the death of Abu Sayed and other top leaders have dealt a considerable blow to the group's Afghan operations.

U.S. airstrikes have primarily been responsible for killing about 20 founding and some of second-generation leaders of ISK-P since it launched extremist activities in the country two years ago, notes Kabul-based Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN).

The 'decapitation' of ISK-P has been well underway over the past two years as the US military has stepped up its military campaign, mainly through air strikes, against the group in Nangarhar, the non-governmental organization wrote in an article last week.

The eastern province of Nangarhar borders Kunar, and several of its districts are considered IS strongholds. Afghan security forces, backed by U.S. airpower, have been conducting major operations in the province to eliminate IS bases.

IS is also under attack from Afghanistan's Taliban insurgency and facing emerging internal differences, but there are no visible signs its appeal to some radicalized sectors is fading, AAN warns.

ISKP has shown it is resilient. Recruits continue to pour in to Nangarhar from various provinces of Afghanistan as well as from Pakistan, the watchdog noted, adding the group can be expected to put all its efforts into holding out against Afghan and U.S. forces to retain its strongholds in Nangarhar.

Source: Voice of America

Two Pakistani diplomats who were abducted in June have been "safely recovered" by security forces in Afghanistan, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry says.A ministry statement on July 26 said the diplomats, who were with the Consulate General in Jalalabad, had...

An Afghan official says the Taliban has seized control of a district in southeastern Afghanistan, the third to fall to the militants in as many days.The Taliban's apparent capture of Jani Khel district in Paktia Province, along the porous border with P...

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BEIJING � China on Monday warned India not to push your luck by underestimating Beijing's determination to safeguard what it considers sovereign Chinese territory, amid an ongoing standoff between the two neighbors over a contested region high in the Himalayas.

Defense ministry spokesman Col. Wu Qian reiterated China's demand that Indian troops pull back from the Doklam Plateau, an area also claimed by Indian ally Bhutan where Chinese teams had been building a road toward India's border.

China's determination and resolve to safeguard national security and sovereignty is unshakable, Wu said at a news conference to mark the upcoming 90th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army.

Here is a wish to remind India, do not push your luck and cling to any fantasies, Wu said. The 90-year history of the PLA has proved but one thing: that our military means to secure our country's sovereignty and territorial integrity has strengthened and our determination has never wavered. It is easier to shake a mountain than to shake the PLA.

India has called for both sides to withdraw forces and a negotiated settlement to the standoff that began last month after Chinese troops began working to extend southward the road from Yadong in Tibet.

While the sides have exercised restraint thus far, heated rhetoric in both Beijing and New Delhi has raised concern over a renewal of hostilities that resulted in a brief but bloody frontier war between the sides in 1962. The nuclear-armed neighbors share a 3,500-kilometer (2,174-mile) border, much of it contested, and China acts as a key ally and arms supplier for India's archrival, Pakistan.

The crisis is expected to be discussed when Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval visits Beijing at the end of this week for a security forum under the BRICS group of large developing nations that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

STATE DEPARTMENT � President Trump said he intends to nominate John Bass as U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan. The longtime diplomat has been the American ambassador to Turkey since 2014.

In announcing the nomination, a White House statement said over the past decade the ambassador has supported "efforts to mobilize allies and marshal resources to combat terrorism and instability in Iraq, Syria and Southwest Asia." Bass has served at six U.S. missions overseas since becoming a diplomat in 1988.

He joins Alice Wells, a career Foreign Service Officer (FSO), who was quietly named the acting Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, late last month.

The two officials arrive at a pivotal time as the Trump administration deliberates its military and diplomatic strategy in Afghanistan, after nearly 17 years of war.

The administration's decision on whether to send more American troops to the country is not expected for "weeks," a Pentagon official told VOA Thursday.

Ambassador Wells' appointment came with little fanfare at a time when there is increasing attention on the expected closure of Office of the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan (SRAP), which is part of the planned downsizing and restructuring of the State Department.

Critics said it prompted confusion about U.S. diplomacy in the region where nearly 10,000 American troops are deployed.

Wells assumed the duties on June 26, according to the State Department.

Ambassador Wells is ensuring that the department's approach to Afghanistan and Pakistan is integrated within our broader approach to the region, a State Department spokesperson told VOA.

Source: Voice of America

Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique has said that no train driver will be allowed to suspend train service for acceptance of their criminal demands.Talking to newspersons in Lahore on Sunday, he said all those trains have been set off to the destin...