A lawmaker from Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's party has questioned the government over its continued patronage to Jamat-ud-Dawa chief and mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attack Hafiz Saeed, describing it as a reason for international isolation of the country.

"Which eggs is Hafiz Saeed laying for us that we are nurturing him? The efficacy of our foreign policy speaks for itself when we could not curtail Hafiz Saeed," Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz parliamentarian Rana Muhammad Afzal said during a meeting of the national assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs.

"India has built such a case against us about the JuD chief that during the meeting on Kashmir, foreign delegates mention Saeed as the bone of contention between Pakistan and India," Afzal said.

He recalled his recent trip to France, where he had been tasked to explain the worsening situation in Kashmir and said that the name of Saeed was brought up time and again by foreign delegates as he is considered a 'notorious character' in international circles.

Furious over Afzal's remarks, Saeed asked Sharif to take action against such people in the ruling party. "I caution Nawaz Sharif to be aware of his 'foolish friends' who are hurting the Kashmir cause. They must have some hidden agenda which the premier should dig out," Saeed said in response.

He said such elements are trying to create differences between the Pakistan army and the civilian government and this will be very dangerous for the country.

Saeed also asked the prime minister to give extension to Army Chief General Raheel Sharif who is retiring next month.

Four terrorists were eliminated by Army on the Line of Control while trying to infiltrate in Naugam sector on October 6, Army's Northern Command said on Saturday.

Four AK 47 rifles with 16 magazines, 349 rounds of ammunition, a GPS device and a radio set, two wire cutters, clothing and eatables, one samsung mobile and a first-aid kit were recovered from the killed terrorists.

Hand grenades and UBGL grenades have Pakistani ordnance factory markings, the army said.

Pak origin markings are also seen on eatables and medicines recovered.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has been admitted at Apollo Hospitals for over 10 days. During her absence, retired IAS officer and her adviser Sheela Balakrishnan is looking after the administration

Even as the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo is on the path to recovery, rumours over her successor have started doing the rounds, Yahoo News reported, quoting a Kannada Daily.

The Kannada media has reported that Jayalalithaa had already finalised her successor in Tamil star Ajith, who is said to share a good relationship with the chief minister.

The reports add that she has already made up her mind on the next person, who will lead the AIADMK.

A Kannada daily further adds that the party is aware of her decision and reportedly willing to accept Ajith as their next leader.

Jayalalithaa wants him to be the next chief minister and conveyed the same to the leaders of the AIADMK.

Read here.

A case has been registered against a school in Kochi for allegedly teaching students objectionable content and exhorting them to lay down their lives for Islam, with police suspecting that the curriculum has been drafted with persons close to controversial preacher Zakir Naik.

The Peace International School at Thammanam in Ernakulam is run by a trust headed by some 'influential local businessmen'. Police has registered a case under Sect 153A and 34 Indian Penal Code against the school principal, administrator and three trustees, police sources said.

The case was registered on the basis of a report filed by the Ernakulam District Education Officer, stating that 'what was being taught was not secular'.

'The case was registered for teaching students objectionable content in the syllabus... what was not secular. Islamic curriculum was being followed and students were being exhorted to lay down their lives for Islam,' the sources said.

The school has classes from the LKG to eighth standard.

'We suspect that this school's curriculum has been drafted with persons close to controversial preacher Zakir Naik, of Mumbai based Islamic International School,' the sources said.

A complaint has been filed against Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi in Chandauli Court in Uttar Pradesh over his 'Khoon ki dalali' comment for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, the youth wing of Bharatiya Janata Party, also staged a protest against Rahul over his remarks against PM Modi.

Rahul had hit out at the PM on Thursday, accusing him of 'hiding behind the blood of soldiers' and said that he was politically exploiting their sacrifices.

'Jinhone Hindustan ke liye surgical strike kiye hain,unke khoon ke peeche aap chhupe hain. Unki aap dalali kar rahe ho. Yeh bilkul galat hai. (You, Modi, are hiding behind the blood of soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir and those who carried out the surgical strikes for India. You are exploiting their sacrifices, which is very wrong),' Rahul had said.

BJP had reacted sharply to his comments yesterday, with party chief Amit Shah saying that the Congress vice president 'crossed all limits'.

Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam's wife Geeta Nirupam has claimed that her family is receiving threats after her husband's remarks on surgical strikes conducted by the Indian Army last month.

In an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she wrote, 'I am a dignified 50 year old lady who is openly being abused and accused in the most vulgar and demeaning manner possible not only on social media but even via phone calls. What have we done to deserve this social disgrace? Is this how you would like your own mother and wife to be treated if you make a political comment or express your political opinion? Is not your profession different from your family life?'

'If a girl is raped or molested, activists organise candle-marches to restore modesty, but not one person is ashamed of using social media to abuse, emotionally torture and verbally rape the women in my family by threatening to burn my husband alive or killing him in broad daylight -- just because he expressed his opinion. Is this any different than barbarianism?' she said.

Click to read the full letter.

United States President Barack Obama has cast his ballot for the November 8 general elections, which would elect his successor, by taking benefit of the provision of 'early voting' in his home town of Chicago.

Early voting, which has gained popularity in the last few election cycle, allows a voter to exercise their right to vote several weeks ahead of the main date of the general elections.

Though it varies from State to State, in some cases it can go back to as many as 50 days.

However, he did not tell the press travelling with him,who did he vote for.

In fact, he pretended to hide his voting in a basement of the Chicago Board of Elections.

Obama has been campaigning for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton to succeed him in the Oval Office.

After locating his machine and beginning to vote, Obama looked up at the pool and cracked, 'they can't see who I'm voting for can they?' and feigned an effort to shield the screen.

Asked who he voted for, the US President looked up and smirked.

'Voted early today. Make sure you vote too,' Obama said in a tweet.

Pakistan's High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit has claimed that Islamabad never wanted any increase in tensions with New Delhi.

The Express Tribune quoted Basit as saying in an interview published in the Outlook magazine on Friday,'We never wanted to escalate the situation either vertically or horizontally.'

'Pakistan has always proportionately responded to whatever [ceasefire] violation has taken place in the past. That continues to be our stance,' he said.

Replying to a question asked about what he thought happened on the night of September 29 -- the night Indian army carried out surgical strikes on the Pakistan side of the Line of Control -- Basit said, 'If you [India] want to label cross-LoC firing as surgical strikes, that is your prerogative and we can't stop you.'

'But I can assure you, had there been any surgical strikes, Pakistan would have responded immediately and proportionately. If there is any action from the Indian side, you can rest assured Pakistan will respond,' he added.

However, the Pakistan envoy warned that India was setting a dangerous example by claiming to have carried out covert raids across the LoC. 'It is very dangerous to nurture false expectations. There are high stakes involved on both sides,' he said.
 
He further said that 'we are very confident that our deterrence is working and Pakistan will never allow the credibility of its deterrence to erode.'

An Army jawan was injured as Pakistani troops violated ceasefire in Mendhar sector of Poonch district on Saturday morning.

Pak troops fired at three Indian posts across the Line of Control.

This is latest in the series of ceasefire violations by Pak forces post the surgical strikes by the Indian Army on September 29.

Pakistan media has reported that Lt General Rizwan Akhtar, the Director General of the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate is likely to be replaced within the next few weeks.

Lt. General Akhtar was appointed as the head of ISI in September 2014 and took office in November 2014.

Quoting official sources, the Nation states that a security official privy to the development, confirmed the impending change of command and said that preparations were underway for the changes.

However, he may be leaving the position earlier than the typical three-year tenure of a ISI DG.

The report further states that the corps commander of Karachi, Lt General Naveed Mukhtar, is most likely to replace him.

Army Chief General Dalbir Singh and Honorary Group Captain Sachin Tendulkar, among others, at the Air Force Day celebrations at Hindon Air base in Ghaziabad. Photograph: ANI

The Election Commission has said that no political party will be allowed to use public funds and government machinery to carry out activities that amount to advertisement for it.

The Commission directed that no political party shall henceforth either use or allow the use of any public funds or public place or government machinery for carrying out any activity that will amount to advertisement for the party or propagating the election symbol allotted to the party.

The commission also clarified that any violation of the directions will be treated as violation of a lawful direction of the Commission.

The development comes following a judgement of the Delhi high court which had in July remanded back to the poll panel a plea seeking cancellation of Bahujan Samaj Party symbol 'elephant' for alleged misuse of public funds by the erstwhile Mayawati government in installing its statues across the state.

Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha assured the country on Saturday that the IAF is fully capable of countering any security threat.

He was speaking on the occasion of 84th Air Force Day celebrations at Hindon Air base in Ghaziabad.

Air Chief Marshal Raha said the attack on Pathankot airbase is a stark reminder of the times we live in.

"Acquisition of 36 Rafale aircrafts in next few years could greatly enhance our operational capability in near term," he said.

Earlier, Raha conferred Vayu Sena Medals, Vayu Sena Medals (Gallantry) and Vishist Seva Medals after inspecting the guard of honour.

Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus has condemned Donald Trump's sexually aggressive comments about women in a curt statement: 'No woman should ever be described in these terms or talked about in this manner. Ever.'

The RNC chiarman's statement came as the revelations about the Republican nominee's crude remarks added a newly urgent threat to his candidacy.

In the recording, Trump boasts about his sexual prowess and describes grabbing women by the genitals.

Democrats seized on the comments, first reported in the Washington Post, to renew their arguments that Trump is sexist and unfit to be president, while even many members of his own party said they could not defend them.

Trump, for his part, released a statement shortly after the Post published its report Friday afternoon, apologising for any offense they caused, but not for the comments themselves.

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Russia may be deploying Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad for war games or political gesture: Reuters quoting US intelligence official

US President Barack Obama has declared a state of emergency in North Carolina ahead of Hurricane Matthew.

With Jayalalithaa in hospital, TN Guv meets her ministers, chief secy