The Londoner

Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif travels to Kabul on Saturday to hold "in-depth" consultations with Afghan President Hamid Karzai on how to promote bilateral relations and Afghan peace efforts.  This will be Mr. Sharif's first official visit to Afghanistan since his election after May's parliamentary polls.  A foreign ministry statement issued Friday in Islamabad says the Pakistani leader will also hold talks with members of the Afghan High Peace Council tasked with persuading the Taliban to end violence and join a sputtering political reconciliation process.  Read the full story here.  HOME 

Usually once a series is won there is not much to get excited about but this is a little different. Pakistan , who have already racked up what their captain  Misbah-ul-Haq   called "a really big achievement" by beating South Africa for the first time in a bilateral series, stand to add to it. Victory at Centurion will make them only the second team to whitewash South Africa in an ODI series of three matches. Although South Africa will be concerned with avoiding that fate, they also have the smaller picture to consider. While the Twenty20 side has found its rhythm, the ODI outfit cannot seem to do the same. Batting inconsistencies continue to work against them and even though one game cannot help them fix it, it may be an opportunity to solve some problems. Without Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis , some of South Africa's next generation will be on display and with public speculation mounting about whether there is space for the two stalwarts in the set-up, this wil

The opener  Graeme Smith  will be replaced by Henry Davids for South Africa 's third and final one-day international against Pakistan in Pretoria on Saturday. Smith has been allowed time off following the death of his grandmother, Cricket South Africa said on Friday. South Africa are also without J acques Kallis and Dale Steyn, who are sitting out the game as a precaution because of the three-match 50-over series against India starting next Thursday, which will be followed by two Test matches. Steyn has a mild side strain and Kallis a badly sprained little finger. Pakistan have already won the series after success in the first two ODIs in Cape Town last Sunday and Port Elizabeth on Wednesday, which they won by one run. Read the full story here.  HOME 

In a ceremony full of pomp in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi , General Ashfaq Kayani has handed over the reins as the country's army chief. It is one of the most important roles in South Asia in terms of regional stability, and many observers await to see how his successor General Raheel Sharif will approach the job particularly in relation to the conflict in Afghanistan. While many Pakistanis question whether or not their country is safer after General Kayani's tenure, he has been praised for not doing what some army chiefs have done there in the past - stage a coup. Read the full story here.  HOME 

By Sikander Hayat I wanted to share an experience with you guys. I needed to apply for a Pakistani visa and went online to see what the process was to get the visa. My search took me to the website of the Pakistan high commissioner in London. This website stated that Pakistan High Commission in London and other high commissions have stopped processing visa applications and that all applications are now dealt though Gerry’s Visa Services . I went on this website and it gave the addresses of different offices in United Kingdom. I chose the Bradford office , which I thought was the easiest one to get to 80 miles but still nearer than anything else. I got my docs ready, signed & dated everything and left home at 6:00 am to get there on time for 9:00 am as same day visa service is provided between 9:00 am and 11:00 am. I got there right on time at 9:00 and after spending some time in looking for parking, I went in. There was only two more people in the office as customers.

By Sikander Hayat  Lyari is one of the eighteen constituent towns of the city of Karachi , in the province of Sindh, Pakistan . It is the smallest town by area in the city but also the most densely populated town. It is bordered by the towns of SITE Town to the north across the Lyari River , Jamshed and Saddar to the east, and Kemari to the west across the main harbour of Karachi . This town is infamous for its gangs and continuous violence among those gang to control the turf in the city. Drugs & arms smuggling are the main reasons why gangs fight to the bitter end to control the profits. Many police operations have been conducted in this area but the issues still linger as these operations are not followed up by the economic development. Infrastructure in Lyari is creaking under the pressure of population and poverty is rampant. Pakistan Peoples Party has been the political party of choice for the people of Lyari for many years but the party has not delivered the better p

By Sikander Hayat  Finally Iran has agreed to conditions set by the West to freeze the uranium enrichment at a level which is below the weapons grade. There will be full international inspection of Iran’s nuclear plants and if Iran goes back on any of the pledges that it has made to the international community, all sanctions will come into action again. This is wise move by Iran but this is not the final agreement and just an initial understanding. Iran also need to stop harassing its neighbours by supporting Shia groups in these countries. It also has to stop trying to export the shia revolution to other countries. Only once these conditions are met, Iran can become a full member of the international community. International community also needs to help Iran to move towards full democracy and loosen the hold of Mullahs on Iranian nation. A democratic Iran will be a less of a danger for the neighbourhood than the current regime in Tehran. If the West had not conspired agains