Pakistan

A London high court has ruled against YouTuber and former Pakistan Army officer retired Major Adil Farooq Raja in a high-profile defamation case filed by retired Brigadier Rashid Nasir, a former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) officer. The defamation suit was filed in August 2022, but was made public in April after the respondent stirred another controversy in Pakistan over his allegations targeting leading film and TV actresses. On Thursday, the court found Raja’s allegations of corruption, electoral interference, and human rights abuses against Nasir to be “false and baseless”, ordering him to pay £350,000 in damages and legal costs. Justice Richard Spearman KC delivered the judgment, ordering Raja to pay £50,000 (around Rs20 million) in damages and approximately £300,000 (around Rs110m) in legal costs. The court also directed Raja to publish a summary of the verdict on all his social media platforms, confirming that his claims against Nasir were untrue. In addition, he must apologise and give a written a...

he Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan has announced fully funded PhD scholarships under the US-Pakistan Knowledge Corridor Project, offering Pakistani students the opportunity to pursue doctoral studies at top 300 QS World-Ranked universities in the United States.

Otis Khan missed a penalty as Pakistan played out a goalless draw against Afghanistan at the Jinnah Stadium in Islamabad on Thursday, securing their first point in the third round of qualifying for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. Nolberto Solano’s side had the better of the opportunities against the jaded visitors, who only arrived in Islamabad less than 24 hours before kickoff due to a prolonged visa problem. However, the hosts weren’t able to capitalise on the chances — notably Otis’ opportunity when he blazed his spot-kick over the bar midway through the second half — in front of a fervent home crowd. The draw meant Pakistan and Afghanistan both got off the mark in Group ‘E’, and they trail joint-leaders Syria and Myanmar by five points. Syria were hosting Myanmar later on Thursday in a clash between two teams with maximum points from their two games. The winner of the group advances to the tournament finals in Saudi Arabia.

A Chinese research team from the Institute of Zoology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences has uncovered a key mechanism explaining why different organisms independently evolve similar functions when adapting to similar environments, using an artificial intelligence (AI) protein language model. Convergent evolution, or convergence, refers to the repeated, independent emergence of the same trait in two or more lineages of species during evolution, often indicating functional adaptation to specific environmental factors. The research team uncovered the critical role of high-order protein features in adaptive convergence. Despite the significant evolutionary distance between bats and toothed whales, both species have independently developed the ability to perceive their environment through echolocation. The research team, led by Zou Zhengting, proposed a computational analysis framework named “ACEP”. The core innovation of this framework lies in its use of a pre-trained protein language model. “A protein language ...

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in the federal capital has extended the interim bail of Senator Azam Khan Swati in a case related to the November 26 protests, granting relief until November 13, 2023.

The air quality in Karachi has sharply deteriorated following a change in wind direction, pushing the metropolis to sixth place among the world’s most polluted cities, according to air quality monitoring data released on Thursday.

Pakistan received $3.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Thursday said Pakistan welcomes the agreement on first phase of the Plan, including an immediate ceasefire, release of hostages and prisoners, and unhindered humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Indus River System Authority (IRSA) on Thursday released 100,900 cusecs of water from various rim stations with an inflow of 109,500 cusecs.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday directed the authorities concerned to secure the best possible deal for the state-owned enterprises proposed for the privatisation, warning against any red tape or delay in the process.

Former senator Mushtaq Ahmad, detained by Israeli forces during last week’s Gaza aid flotilla interception, has left Jordan for Pakistan.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday issued the schedule for the by-election in NA-1 Chitral Upper-cum-Chitral Lower, following the disqualification of MNA Abdul Latif under Article 63(1)(h) of the Constitution.

Google announced on Thursday that Pakistani students of age 18 and above will be able to gain access to a free one-year subscription to its AI Pro plan. According to a press release by the company, the offer is designed to help students “enhance their learning, research, and creativity through advanced AI tools — at no cost”. The Gemini AI Pro Plan allows these students to access Google’s most capable AI features. These include the Gemini 2.5 Pro model, which gives higher access to its “most capable model” for features like Deep Research to assist with assignments, research, and creative projects. Gemini is also available in Google Apps, “bringing AI assistance directly into Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Meet, helping students summarise emails, create study presentations, and analyse data more efficiently”. Students also gain access to NotebookLM, Google’s personalised, AI-powered research and writing tool, and are given higher limits to tools for creating videos from text or photos, including Veo 3 in Gem...

Italy are struggling to qualify automatically for next year’s World Cup finals and the pressure on the team is exacerbated by the tension surrounding next Tuesday’s qualifier with Israel in Udine. Italy was the scene of some of Europe’s biggest pro-Palestinian protests last weekend, as Israeli forces continue their offensive in Gaza. Hundreds of thousands of people gathered across Italy in anger at Israel’s actions, and calls for the country to be barred from international sport have grown louder. The protests were in response to Israel’s military operation in Gaza, which was sparked by the attack by Hamas fighters on October 7, 2023, on Israeli communities near the Gaza Strip. During Friday’s massive strike action in support of the Palestinians, demonstrators went to the Italian national team’s training centre in Florence to demand the match against Israel be called off. As of Tuesday only around 4,000 tickets had been sold for the game in Udine, a small city in Italy’s far north-east, which was picked speci...

In a bid to conserve marine biodiversity, Pakistan has launched a project — estimated to cost Rs90 million — to protect sea turtles during shrimp trawling using Standardised Turtle Excluder (TEDs), the maritime affairs ministry said on Thursday. Sea turtles along Pakistan’s coast face many anthropogenic threats, including habitat degradation, plastic pollution, and entanglement in fishing gears such as deep-sea trawlers. Pakistan’s shrimp exports to the US have been banned since 2017 because fishermen were not using the TED in their nets, endangering turtles. A TED is a specialised mechanism fitted into shrimp trawl nets that allows sea turtles and other large marine animals to escape while retaining shrimp, the statement said. “Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry has announced the launch of a PKR 90 million initiative aimed at protecting sea turtles during shrimp trawling operations, as part of broader efforts to sustain marine biodiversity and ensure the long-term health of ...

Shehbaz calls for Pak-KSA joint efforts for global strength pledges to work for realisation of Pak-Saudi joint business ventures Assures to address AJK people’s concerns.

A cop was martyred in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Dera Ismail Khan as a police checkpoint came under attack from multiple sides by terrorists late on Wednesday, officials confirmed on Thursday. Recently, multiple areas of KP — including Bannu, Peshawar, Karak, Lakki Marwat and Bajaur — have seen a series of terrorist attacks, particularly targeting police personnel. DI Khan Regional Police Officer (RPO) Ashfaq Anwar confirmed to Dawn.com that a police checkpoint in DI Khan’s Khutti area was attacked by terrorists from multiple sides. When asked to confirm if the checkpoint in charge — identified as Ahmed Nawaz — was seriously injured during the attack and later succumbed to his injuries, Anwar said, “Yes.” Funeral prayers for the deceased were offered today at the Ijaz Shaheed Police Lines, the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported. In attendance at the funeral were: RPO Ashfaq Anwar, District Police Officer Sahibzada Sajjad Ahmad, SPs of CTD, investigation, city, and headquarters, officers of security forces,...

World Post Day is being observed today (Thursday) across the globe, including Pakistan, to raise awareness about the crucial role of postal services in people’s daily lives, business operations, and overall social and economic development.

A major of the Pakistan Army was martyred and seven terrorists were killed during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) by security forces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Dera Ismail Khan district, the military’s media wing said on Thursday. The development comes a day after the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that 11 security personnel, including a lieutenant colonel and a major, were martyred in an exchange of fire between the forces and the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorists in KP’s Orakzai district. According to the ISPR’s statement issued today, security forces carried out the IBO on Wednesday on the reported presence of “khwarij belonging to Indian proxy, Fitna al Khwarij” in the Daraban area of DI Khan. Fitna al Khwarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned TTP. During the operation, the ISPR said, seven “Indian-sponsored khwarij were sent to hell” due to effective engagement by security forces’ troops. However, during the intense exchange of fire, 30-year-...

A Pakistan Army major embraced martyrdom, while seven Indian-sponsored terrorists were killed during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in the Daraban area of Dera Ismail Khan on Wednesday night, the military’s media wing said.