Pakistan

Disney previewed OpenAI’s Sora before the deal, finding the company constructive in talks, source says

.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has begun a two-day official visit to Turkmenistan, travelling to Ashgabat at the invitation of President Serdar Berdimuhamedow.

The Passport Department has introduced a revamped online verification system, finally resolving the technical glitches that had been troubling thousands of online passport applicants.

An attack on a school in North Waziristan’s Mir Ali subdivision earlier this week has jeopardised the future of more than 600 school-going children, it emerged on Thursday. On Monday night, unidentified militants blew up a government primary school in the Khushali area of Ayaz Kot. Unknown attackers had planted explosives in the school and detonated them late on Monday night. The powerful blast, which was heard miles away, destroyed a significant portion of the school building. Education department officials confirmed that more than 600 students were enrolled in the institution, which served as the only functional primary school in the area. Authorities said the remaining sections of the building have been cordoned off, while an emergency plan for alternate learning arrangements is under consideration. Local elders and parents expressed deep concern, calling attacks on educational institutions “a direct assault on the future of children”. “This school was the only beacon of hope for our children. Its destruct...

Karachi has introduced a drone-assisted e-challan system, marking a major step forward in the city’s technological upgrades under the Safe City Project.

Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry has said that accountability within Pakistan’s most influential institutions is now clearly evident.

Former chief of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Faiz Hameed has been sentenced to 14 years rigorous imprisonment by a military court, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Thursday. In a statement, the military’s media affairs wing said that the process of Field General Court Martial (FGCM) was initiated against Hameed on August 12, 2024 under provisions of the Pakistan Army Act, spanning over 15 months. “The accused was tried on four charges related to engaging in political activities, violation of the Official Secret Act detrimental to safety and interest of the state, misuse of authority and government resources and causing wrongful loss to persons. “After lengthy and laborious legal proceedings, the accused has been found guilty on all charges and sentenced to 14 years rigorous imprisonment,” ISPR said. It added that the sentence was “promulgated on December 11, 2025”. During proceedings against the ex-spymaster, the FGCM complied with all legal provisions, and Hameed was “afforded with all leg...

The Sindh government is preparing to roll out an e-challan system within the Sindh Food Authority, marking an expansion of its digital governance measures beyond traffic enforcement.

Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Thursday praised the Pakistan Army’s internal accountability mechanisms following the sentencing of former ISI chief Lt Gen (retd) Faiz Hamid to 14 years of rigorous imprisonment.

The Field General Court Martial (FGCM) has sentenced former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) director general Lt Gen (retd) Faiz Hamid to 14 years of rigorous imprisonment, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement issued on Thursday.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has set a February–May 2026 deadline for completing the first phase of the province’s comprehensive beautification plan.

Pakistan has received a disbursement of $1.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Thursday that it had received $1.2 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after the global money lending agency approved the review of Pakistan’s loan programmes. In a statement on social media platform X, the central bank said that the Fund’s Executive Board had completed the second review of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the first of the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) in a meeting held in Washington earlier this week. “Accordingly, the SBP has received SDR 914 million (equivalent to about $ 1.2 billion) under the EFF and RSF in value [on] Dec 10, 2025 from the IMF,” the central bank said. “The amount would be reflected in SBP’s foreign exchange reserves for the week ending on Dec 12,” it added. Earlier this week, the Fund had approved the fresh disbursement of $1.2bn to Pakistan under its dual-track bailout — the 37-month EFF and the climate-focused RSF. With this tranche, total disbursements to Pakistan under the EFF and RSF now stan...

Pakistan told the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Wednesday that terrorism emanating from Afghan soil posed the “gravest threat” to the country’s national security and sovereignty. Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad made the remarks while addressing a debate in New York on the situation in Afghanistan. In his statement, he highlighted Islamabad’s concerns about security, humanitarian, and socio-economic challenges emerging from neighbouring Afghanistan. Briefing the UNSC on Pakistan’s counter-terrorism efforts since the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul in 2021, the ambassador said Pakistan had maintained consistent engagement with the Afghan Taliban, conducting high-level visits, facilitating humanitarian relief, supporting the transportation of goods, and announcing trade and transit concessions. Despite these efforts, he said, threats persisted, creating mounting security challenges for Pakistan and the wider region. “Afghanistan is once again a saf...

Health Minister Mustafa Kamal on Thursday launched the last nationwide polio campaign of 2025 aiming to vaccinate over 45 million children against the crippling disease, noting that the number of cases in the country had reduced in comparison to last year. Pakistan is one of the last two countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan, where polio remains endemic. So far, the country has recorded 30 polio cases, with the highest number of cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at 19. Launching the last polio campaign of the year — set to run from December 15 to December 2 — at a ceremony in Islamabad, the minister noted the decline in cases in comparison to 2024, saying, “We have succeeded in reducing polio cases in the country.” He recalled that Pakistan had recorded 74 cases in 2024; however, this year the country only saw 30 cases. The minister said that the virus was “present in more than half of the country,” including Peshawar, Karachi, and Lahore. He stated that the government remained “determined to eliminate the ...

Renewed fighting raged at the border of Cambodia and Thailand on Thursday, with combat heard near centuries-old temples, ahead of US President Donald Trump’s planned phone call to the two nations’ leaders. At least 15 people, including Thai soldiers and Cambodian civilians, have been killed in the reignited border conflict, officials said. More than half a million people, mostly in Thailand, have fled border areas near where jets, tanks and drones have waged battle. The Southeast Asian nations dispute the colonial-era demarcation of their 800-kilometre (500-mile) frontier, where both sides claim a smattering of historic temples. This week’s clashes are the deadliest since five days of fighting in July that killed dozens before a shaky truce was agreed, following intervention by Trump. The US president said he expected to speak on Thursday with the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia to demand a halt to their renewed clashes. “I think I’m scheduled to speak to them tomorrow,” Trump told reporters at the White Hou...

Nobel laureate and Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado emerged from hiding to make her first public appearance in almost a year, waving to supporters from the balcony of her Oslo hotel early on Thursday. Machado, who won the Nobel for challenging Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s grip on power, did not arrive in Norway in time for Wednesday’s prize ceremony. Her daughter collected the prestigious award on her behalf, and delivered a blistering acceptance speech in her stead. The Venezuelan democracy campaigner made it to the Norwegian capital hours later, and went straight to see her family, Nobel Prize Committee Chair Jorgen Watne Frydnes said. From the balcony of the Grand Hotel, Machado later greeted a crowd of jubilant supporters, who sang and shouted “libertad” (freedom), according to AFP journalists. Machado, who has been living in hiding in Venezuela, was last seen in public on January 9, when she protested Maduro’s inauguration for his third term. In her Nobel acceptance speech, the ...

ISLAMABAD - The National Accountability Bureau (NAB), in connection with the observance of International Anti-Corruption Day, organized an anti-corruption awareness walk in Islamabad today, spearheaded by NAB Rawalpindi/Islamabad.

LAHORE - Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chair­man Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Wednesday said that some politi­cal forces are targeting institutions through social media and the aim of such behaviour is to weaken institu­tions, which is harmful to the country.