NEW DELHI: From Pakistan "hailing" the Afghanistan peace deal to internet giants threatening to suspend services in the country, here's a round-up of everything that made headlines in the neighbouring country over the past few days:
Here's your weekly Pakistan round-up:
1 
After the signing of the peace deal between the US and the Afghan Taliban in Doha on February 29, Pakistan "hailed" it as a "major step" towards peace in Afghanistan after 19 years of war and hoped that Afghan factions would avail this opportunity to reach a mutual accommodation.
Pakistan was represented at the signing ceremony in the Qatar capital by its foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.
In a sense, the peace deal is a victory of sorts for Pakistan, which has been Taliban’s principal supporter.
Pakistan had been pressured by US to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table and prima facie, it has delivered.
"Pakistan played a key role in US-Taliban negotiations that resulted in the signing of the accord," said The Dawn.
Pakistani media also underlined how Pakistan "fulfilled" its part of the responsibility in terms of facilitating this peace agreement.
The US and the Taliban signed the landmark peace deal in Doha on Saturday to bring lasting peace in the war-torn Afghanistan and allow US troops to return home from America's longest war.
Pakistan 'hails' US-Taliban peace deal
After the signing of the peace deal between the US and the Afghan Taliban in Doha on February 29, Pakistan "hailed" it as a "major step" towards peace in Afghanistan after 19 years of war and hoped that Afghan factions would avail this opportunity to reach a mutual accommodation.
Pakistan was represented at the signing ceremony in the Qatar capital by its foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.
In a sense, the peace deal is a victory of sorts for Pakistan, which has been Taliban’s principal supporter.
Pakistan had been pressured by US to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table and prima facie, it has delivered.
"Pakistan played a key role in US-Taliban negotiations that resulted in the signing of the accord," said The Dawn.
Pakistani media also underlined how Pakistan "fulfilled" its part of the responsibility in terms of facilitating this peace agreement.
The US and the Taliban signed the landmark peace deal in Doha on Saturday to bring lasting peace in the war-torn Afghanistan and allow US troops to return home from America's longest war.
2 
Internet giants, including Facebook, Google and Twitter, have threatened to suspend their services in Pakistan over the new censorship rules introduced by the government, according to a media report.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf government announced a new set of rules to regulate social media activity and has given all digital companies and social media platforms three months to adhere to the new regulations.
Under the new rules, social media companies will be obliged to disclose any information or data to a designated investigation agency, when sought. Failure to abide by any of the provisions will entail a fine of up to Rs 500 million.
In a letter written to Prime Minister Imran Khan on February 15, the Asia Internet Coalition (AIC) comprising Facebook, Twitter, Google, Amazon, Apple and other tech giants urged the government to revise the new sets of rules and regulations for social media, the News International reported on Friday.
The internet giants, however, threatened to suspend their services in the country if the rules are not amended, the report said.
Writing about the censorship, Dawn newspaper said, "The censorship would deprive the users of a release valve, a learning tool to exchange ideas, experiences and thoughts with the wider world at near-zero cost and take away an essential life aid in this century."
Internet giants threaten to suspend services in Pak over new regulations
Internet giants, including Facebook, Google and Twitter, have threatened to suspend their services in Pakistan over the new censorship rules introduced by the government, according to a media report.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf government announced a new set of rules to regulate social media activity and has given all digital companies and social media platforms three months to adhere to the new regulations.
Under the new rules, social media companies will be obliged to disclose any information or data to a designated investigation agency, when sought. Failure to abide by any of the provisions will entail a fine of up to Rs 500 million.
In a letter written to Prime Minister Imran Khan on February 15, the Asia Internet Coalition (AIC) comprising Facebook, Twitter, Google, Amazon, Apple and other tech giants urged the government to revise the new sets of rules and regulations for social media, the News International reported on Friday.
The internet giants, however, threatened to suspend their services in the country if the rules are not amended, the report said.
Writing about the censorship, Dawn newspaper said, "The censorship would deprive the users of a release valve, a learning tool to exchange ideas, experiences and thoughts with the wider world at near-zero cost and take away an essential life aid in this century."
3 
US President's two-day visit to India on February 24-25 made headlines in Pakistan as the media focussed on how Donald Trump "praised" the country and its PM Imran Khan.
Dawn newspaper while mentioning the mega event of PM Modi and Trump in Ahmedabad and focussed on how the US President praised Pakistan during his address. “Our relationship with Pakistan is a very good one and thanks to these efforts, we are beginning to see signs of big progress with Pakistan. And we are hopeful of reduced tension, and greater stability and future harmony for all of the nations of South Asia,” the newspaper quoted Trump.
Another website The News International had a story with the headline, 'Trump tells India ties with Pakistan are very good'. It said, "The roars of appreciation for Trump at Motera stadium turned into a pin-drop silence when Trump said ‘the Pakistan-US relationship is a very good one.'"
Most of the Pakistani media stressed on how President Trump stressed on "good relations" with Pakistan during his visit to Pakistan.
Trump 'praises' Pakistan on India visit
US President's two-day visit to India on February 24-25 made headlines in Pakistan as the media focussed on how Donald Trump "praised" the country and its PM Imran Khan.
Dawn newspaper while mentioning the mega event of PM Modi and Trump in Ahmedabad and focussed on how the US President praised Pakistan during his address. “Our relationship with Pakistan is a very good one and thanks to these efforts, we are beginning to see signs of big progress with Pakistan. And we are hopeful of reduced tension, and greater stability and future harmony for all of the nations of South Asia,” the newspaper quoted Trump.
Another website The News International had a story with the headline, 'Trump tells India ties with Pakistan are very good'. It said, "The roars of appreciation for Trump at Motera stadium turned into a pin-drop silence when Trump said ‘the Pakistan-US relationship is a very good one.'"
Most of the Pakistani media stressed on how President Trump stressed on "good relations" with Pakistan during his visit to Pakistan.
4 
Asia Bibi, the Pakistani Christian woman who spent years on death row after a 2010 conviction of blasphemy, said that she has been invited to live in France by President Emmanuel Macron.
Bibi was acquitted of blasphemy conviction last year and has since been living with her family in Canada.
"France is the country from where I received my new life... Anne-Isabelle is an angel for me," she said, referring to the French journalist Anne-Isabelle Tollet, who waged a long campaign for her release and later co-wrote Bibi's book 'Enfin Libre! (Finally Free).
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo is to bestow an honorary citizenship certificate granted to Bibi by the city in 2014, when she was still behind bars.
Speaking outside Macron's Elysee Palace headquarters, she said, though, that she needed time to make a decision about whether to move to France, saying she wanted to focus for now on her health and her family.
An Elysee official said: "France is ready to welcome her if that is her wish, in accordance with the procedures for a request for asylum."
Bibi, a farm worker and a mother of four, was convicted in 2010 of making derogatory remarks about Islam. She spent eight years on death row. She was released in October 2018 after Pakistan's Supreme Court overturned her conviction.
Christian woman in blasphemy row: I've been invited to live in France
Asia Bibi, the Pakistani Christian woman who spent years on death row after a 2010 conviction of blasphemy, said that she has been invited to live in France by President Emmanuel Macron.
Bibi was acquitted of blasphemy conviction last year and has since been living with her family in Canada.
"France is the country from where I received my new life... Anne-Isabelle is an angel for me," she said, referring to the French journalist Anne-Isabelle Tollet, who waged a long campaign for her release and later co-wrote Bibi's book 'Enfin Libre! (Finally Free).
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo is to bestow an honorary citizenship certificate granted to Bibi by the city in 2014, when she was still behind bars.
Speaking outside Macron's Elysee Palace headquarters, she said, though, that she needed time to make a decision about whether to move to France, saying she wanted to focus for now on her health and her family.
An Elysee official said: "France is ready to welcome her if that is her wish, in accordance with the procedures for a request for asylum."
Bibi, a farm worker and a mother of four, was convicted in 2010 of making derogatory remarks about Islam. She spent eight years on death row. She was released in October 2018 after Pakistan's Supreme Court overturned her conviction.
5
Pakistan says US invited to invest in CPEC
In an interesting move, Pakistan has invited the US to join the $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), an ambitious infrastructure project.
On February 27, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's adviser on commerce Abdul Razak Dawood said the government made the offer during a meeting with the US trade delegation led by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on Wednesday, The Express Tribune reported.
Khan's commerce advisor Razak said: "The US has shown interest in (Pakistan's) energy, oil and gas, agriculture and food processing".
Sharing details of the meeting, the advisor said that the US officials have also expressed interest in e-commerce. "They have agreed that the US International Development Finance Corporation would help in developing of new businesses in Pakistan," Dawood said.
China has committed to invest money in Pakistan as part of the CPEC under which it planned to build a number of special economic zones.
CPEC, connecting China's Xinjiang with Pakistan's Gwadar port, is regarded as the flagship project of the multi-billion dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) which is aimed at furthering China's global influence with infrastructure projects funded by Chinese investments all over the world.
On February 27, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's adviser on commerce Abdul Razak Dawood said the government made the offer during a meeting with the US trade delegation led by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on Wednesday, The Express Tribune reported.
Khan's commerce advisor Razak said: "The US has shown interest in (Pakistan's) energy, oil and gas, agriculture and food processing".
Sharing details of the meeting, the advisor said that the US officials have also expressed interest in e-commerce. "They have agreed that the US International Development Finance Corporation would help in developing of new businesses in Pakistan," Dawood said.
China has committed to invest money in Pakistan as part of the CPEC under which it planned to build a number of special economic zones.
CPEC, connecting China's Xinjiang with Pakistan's Gwadar port, is regarded as the flagship project of the multi-billion dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) which is aimed at furthering China's global influence with infrastructure projects funded by Chinese investments all over the world.
6 
Pakistan's former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been declared an "absconder" by the government for violating the bail requirements by not presenting his medical report from his doctors in London, Dawn Newspaper reported.
Sharif, 70, went to London in November last for treatment after the Lahore high court allowed him to go abroad on medical grounds for four weeks.
According to Sharif's physician, the three-time Prime Minister is suffering from complex multi-vessel coronary artery disease and substantial ischemic and threatened myocardium for which he is due to undergo surgery.
But the Pakistan government has decided not to extend Sharif's bail and declared him an “absconder”. The government, however, did not elaborate how Sharif could be declared an "absconder" legally, the paper said.
On December 24, 2018, an accountability court had sentenced Sharif to seven years in prison in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption case and acquitted him in the Flagship case.
Nawaz Sharif declared ‘absconder' for violating bail terms
Pakistan's former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been declared an "absconder" by the government for violating the bail requirements by not presenting his medical report from his doctors in London, Dawn Newspaper reported.
Sharif, 70, went to London in November last for treatment after the Lahore high court allowed him to go abroad on medical grounds for four weeks.
According to Sharif's physician, the three-time Prime Minister is suffering from complex multi-vessel coronary artery disease and substantial ischemic and threatened myocardium for which he is due to undergo surgery.
But the Pakistan government has decided not to extend Sharif's bail and declared him an “absconder”. The government, however, did not elaborate how Sharif could be declared an "absconder" legally, the paper said.
On December 24, 2018, an accountability court had sentenced Sharif to seven years in prison in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption case and acquitted him in the Flagship case.
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