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The information ministry on Tuesday rubbished what it said was a “completely fabricated” report about an alleged meeting of the Pakistani leadership with the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency and Israel’s Mossad that would see Pakistan sending troops to Gaza for a peace force. A cornerstone of the US-brokered Gaza Peace Agreement is the establishment of the International Stabilisation Force (ISF), composed mainly of troops from Muslim-majority countries. According to officials close to the discussions, an announcement is expected soon from the federal government regarding the decision. Officials familiar with the deliberations, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said discussions within the government and military establishment were at an “advanced stage”. According to them, the tone of internal consultations suggests that Islamabad is inclined to take part in the mission. Earlier today, Indian news outlet First Post reported that per CNN-News 18, top intelligence source...

Posts from Afghan media outlets and users on social media platform X on Wednesday shared a video allegedly showing a Pakistani tank captured by the Afghan Taliban. However, the tank in the clip is not Pakistani. On Sunday, fierce border clashes between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban resulted in the martyrdom of 23 troops and left over 200 Taliban fighters dead, including a number of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan terrorists. Both nations claimed to have destroyed the border posts of the other side. On Tuesday, fighting flared up again between the neighbours in the Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The next day, the third major skirmish also took place, with the Pakistani security forces saying an attack by the Afghan Taliban was repulsed in Spin Boldak, killing about 15-20 Taliban fighters. Meanwhile, Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said in a social media post that the Afghan forces were “forced to retaliate” after attacks by Pakistani forces in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province. Mujahid claimed...

Pakistan is expanding its trade and investment footprint in Saudi Arabia, with over 100 Pakistani information technology (IT) firms now formally registered to operate in the Kingdom.

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.

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...

ISLAMABAD - First Lady of Pakistan, Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, lauded the compassion and dedication of Chinese doctors in saving the lives of Pakistani children suffering from congenital heart disease.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani banks led the Asia-Pacific region in equity performance during the third quarter (July-September) of 2025, according to an analysis by S&P Global Market Intelligence. The Bank of Punjab topped the list of publicly traded banks in the region with a market capitalisation greater than $100 million, delivering a total return of 176.4 per cent during the quarter. The Lahore-based bank, with a market cap of approximately $320m as of September 30, outperformed other regional lenders. The Bank of Khyber, based in Peshawar, ranked second with a total return of 108.2pc. Other Pakistani banks among the top 15 performers included National Bank of Pakistan, JS Bank, Askari Bank, and Habib Bank, bringing the total number of Pakistani banks in the top rankings to six. Six banks feature in the region’s top performers list Pakistan’s benchmark KSE-100 index also saw notable gains, advancing 11pc in July and 11.4pc in September. Investor sentiment was bolstered by the resolution of a military conflict with...

Pakistan Army spokesperson Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry has said that India failed to shoot down any Pakistani aircraft during the Maarka-e-Haq battle, emphasizing that Pakistan’s defense capabilities are based on effective strategy and modern technology rather than an arms race.

Pakistani film Moklani: The Last Mohanas has won the country’s first-ever award at the Jackson Wild Media Awards, according to a press release from production company Jawad Sharif Films. Formed in 1991 as the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival, the Jackson Wild Media Awards recognise achievements in wildlife filmmaking. According to the group’s website, it works to “maximise the impact of storytelling that highlights our urgent and collective responsibility to protect and restore our planet”. According to the press release, the film — directed and produced by award-winning filmmaker Jawad Sharif — was chosen from a pool of over 500 entries and declared the winner in the Global Voices Category at the Awards Gala in Jackson, Wyoming, on October 2. “Over 200 international judges screened more than 1,000 hours of media before selecting the film as [the] winner in the Global Voices Category,” the press release read. “The film tells the story of the Mohanas of Manchar Lake, an indigenous fisher folk community whos...

Civil society and advocacy groups gathered on Thursday outside the Karachi Press Club to protest against the detention of activists aboard the Gaza Sumud Flotilla (GSF), calling on the government to demand the release of the Pakistani delegation, led by former Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan. On Wednesday, the GSF, carrying aid to Gaza in its attempt to break Israel’s blockade, was intercepted by Israeli military forces. On board the GSF were over 400 activists from 40 countries, among them a five-member delegation from Pakistan. Thursday’s demonstration, organised by the Pakistan Palestine Forum (PFF) in collaboration with the Palestine Action Coalition (PAC) and the non-profit organisation Human Rights Council of Pakistan, aimed to mobilise the public against the state’s inaction. People of all ages gathered, chanting slogans for a free Palestine. The demonstrators demanded the immediate release of the detained Pakistanis and called on the government to take concrete action against Israel. “...

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi confirmed on Saturday that the Pakistani crew of an LPG tanker attacked in Yemen has been safely released.

WASHINGTON: In a major bipartisan initiative, US lawmakers have introduced the Pakistan Freedom and Accountability Act (H.R. 5271), aimed at imposing sanctions on Pakistani officials responsible for human rights abuses and actions undermining democracy. The bill was announced by Bill Huizenga, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on South and Central Asia and Republican Party lawmaker from Michigan, and co-led by Democrat leader from California Sydney Kamlager-Dove, along with representatives John Moolenaar (Republican), Julie Johnson (Democrat), and Jefferson Shreve (Republican). Additional cosponsors include Rich McCormick (Republican), Jack Bergman (Republican), Joaquin Castro (Democrat), and Mike Lawler (Republican). The freedom and accountability bill authorizes the US President to impose sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, which allows Washington to target individuals responsible for severe human rights violations or corruption. In this case, it would apply to current or ...

Pakistani authorities have allegedly been surveilling over four million of its citizens, via tools of mass surveillance, acquired from private foreign companies, further clamping down on the country’s cyber landscape, an Amnesty International report revealed on Tuesday. The report, titled “Shadows of Control: Censorship and Mass Surveillance in Pakistan“ alleged that “Pakistani authorities have continued to unlawfully surveil the country’s citizens, including regular citizens, journalists, as well as prominent politicians.” The rights watchdog stated that Pakistani authorities allegedly “use the Lawful Intercept Management System (LIMS) to surveil a significant portion of the population’s digital activity through Pakistani telecommunications providers.” The number of phones under surveillance could be higher as all four major mobile operators have been ordered to connect to LIMS, Amnesty technologist Jurre van Berge told Reuters. The report, citing the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), said that tel...

Bangladesh has announced 500 new scholarships for talented Pakistani students in a bid to strengthen bilateral ties between the two countries.

Posts from multiple Islamophobic, right-wing and Indian users on social media platform X since Tuesday were sharing a video of a small girl with a baby on a hospital bed, alleging that it showed a 12-year-old Pakistani girl with a newborn baby after being impregnated by a 60-year-old man. However, this video is not from Pakistan and shows two Vietnamese siblings. A day ago, a video showing a young girl with a baby was shared on X by a user sharing Islamophobic content, based on their past posts. The caption of the post said: “Pakistan: Islam is a Cult Religion. How sad … A shocking case has emerged in Pakistan where an 11-year-old girl was married to a 60-year-old man and gave birth at age 12. Really, Islam is sexual child abuse religion!” This post was viewed by over 16 million users. An Indian propaganda account on X also shared a similar post with the same claim, which received over 102,000 views. Additionally, several other users on X widely circulated the same claim as can be seen here, here, here, and h...

Former Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan will lead the Pakistani delegation aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip, according to posts from his social media account on Friday. Earlier this month, it was announced that Pakistan would be joining the Global Sumud Flotilla to break the Israeli siege of Gaza, according to a post on Instagram by the Pak-Palestine Forum, a platform aiming to advance support for the Palestinian cause. According to its website, the flotilla is a “coordinated, nonviolent fleet of mostly small vessels sailing from ports across the Mediterranean to break the Israeli occupation’s illegal siege on Gaza”. Reuters reports that dozens of boats carrying aid will depart Spain and Tunisia and set sail for the Gaza Strip. Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and Portuguese left-wing politician Mariana Mortagua are among hundreds of people from 44 countries participating in the flotilla. Sumud means “perseverance” in Arabic. Among the participants is a five-member deleg...

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday expressed his satisfaction that as a result of the consensus reached during his visit to Belarus, a memorandum of understanding was signed today to facilitate the employment of skilled Pakistani workers in different sectors of Belarus.

WASHINGTON: For the first time since their four-day flare-up in May that brought South Asia to the brink of nuclear confrontation, the prime ministers of India and Pakistan will appear on the same day at the 80th session of the UN General Assembly on Sept 26. According to a provisional schedule shared by UN officials, Pakistan may have a strategic advantage of speaking after India, giving it a direct platform to respond to New Delhi’s narrative. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will lead a high-level Pakistani delegation, which will include Deputy Prime Mini­ster Ishaq Dar, as well as the PM’s adviser on foreign affairs, Tariq Fatemi. The 80th UNGA officially opens on Sept 9, with the high-level general debate running from Sept 23 to 29. Brazil will speak first, followed by the US, where President Trump will deliver his first address to the UNGA in his second term. This year’s theme is: ‘Better together: 80 years and more for peace, development and human rights.’ According to the provisional list, India’s premie...

Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Tuesday appreciated the united front posed by the Pakistani diaspora in the United Kingdom during Operation Bunyanun Marsoos.

LAHORE: Türkiye has made changes in transit visa fee for Pakistanis, and updated rates for both single and double transit categories. The changes are part of continues efforts of Türkiye to simplify travel processes for international passengers going through its strategic hubs, especially Istanbul. A Türkiye transit visa lets Pakistani and travellers from other countries to […]