<p>President Bidya Devi Bhandari has said the Buddhism is not just a religion, but a way of life dedicated to spiritual advancement of entire humanity. </p><p>In a message of best wishes for all success of the 28th general conference of the world fellowship of Buddhists, the 19th general conference of the world fellowship of Buddhist youths and the 10th meeting of the world Buddhist university council being held in Seoul from September 26-30, the President said Lord Buddha, an immortal son of our country born in Lumbini in southern Nepal was a staunch advocate of world peace, fraternity and non violence. <br>
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<p>Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said implementing the constitution together with concluding the remaining task of the peace process is the topmost priority of the government. <br><br>Inaugurating the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Effectiveness Conference in Kathamandu today, the Prime Minister said a process to amend the constitution has been initiated with the political consent to find a ground for the meaningful enforcement of the country's main law. <br><br>The government has started preparations for holding the three-tier elections, he added. <br>
<br>The Prime Minister expressed his hope that the Nepal's new constitution would prove a milestone in attaining economic progress with establishing political stability. <br>
<br>Admitting that the SAARC, a regional bloc of eight South Asian countries, has yet to prove its effective presence in the socio-economic development of the region's people as envisaged in its charter, the Prime Minister insisted on the restructuring of the SAARC mechanism. <br>
<br>The 19th SAARC Summit is to be held in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad. <br>
On the occasion, the Prime Minister said poverty, terrorism and climate change impact are the common challenges for development facing the SAARC countries and such issues should be addressed through collective efforts. <br><br>Also speaking on the occasion, Speaker Onsari Gharti expressed her hope that the conference would be successful in furnishing recommendations to the SAARC heads of the governments to make the 19th SAARC Summit successful. <br></p><p><br>Former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal said though the South Asia is rich in human and natural resources, the region is still under the extreme poverty in the absence of the proper utilisation of such property. </p><p>
Former Deputy Prime Minister Sujata Koirala expressed her confidence that the conference would be successful in meeting its goal. <br>
In the inaugural session, Committee President Prabhu Saha said the working papers on different five topics will be presented during the conference.<br></p>

<p>India's army says it has carried out "surgical strikes" against suspected militants along the de-facto border with Pakistan in Kashmir.</p><p>The operation was aimed at preventing attacks being planned by Pakistan-based militants, a senior army official said.</p><p>He said "significant casualties have been caused to the terrorists and those who are trying to support them".</p><p>Pakistan denies India carried out any strikes and says two of its soldiers were killed in cross-border shelling.</p><p>The notion of surgical strike linked to alleged terrorists' bases is an illusion being deliberately generated by India to create false effects, the Pakistani military said in a statement.</p><p>Pakistan said its soldiers died in "unprovoked" firing along the Line of Control dividing the disputed region.</p><p>A territorial dispute between the two countries over Muslim-majority Kashmir has been running for decades, but tensions flared earlier this month after a militant attack on an Indian army base in Kashmir left 18 soldiers dead.</p><p>India blamed the attack on Pakistan, which denied the claim.<br><br><br><br></p>