Pakistan

In the early 2010s, Iran believed that a war waged against it by Israel, which would pull in the United States, was an inevitability. At the time, American newspapers were warning that Israel was on the verge of bombing Iran, the IAEA was working hand in glove with the Americans to increase pressure on the Persians, and the country was being suffocated by sanctions that were only looking to get worse. The Iranians, according to political analyst Trita Parsi, made a strategic calculation at the time — that the war would come and it would devastate them, but it would also destroy the Americans. In this book, Losing an Enemy: Obama, Iran, and the Triumph of Diplomacy, Parsi notes that Iranian officials thought the Iraq war had already turned the US into a ‘limping giant’, that another war in the region would end its superpower status, and that it would no longer be able to dominate the Middle East. Sure, they ventured, Iran would be ruined by the war, but they placed their hope on the longevity of Persia as a ci...

Germany’s data protection commissioner has asked Apple and Google to remove Chinese AI startup DeepSeek from their app stores in the country due to concerns about data protection. Commissioner Meike Kamp said in a statement on Friday that she made the request because DeepSeek illegally transfers users’ personal data to China. The two US tech giants must now review the request promptly and decide whether to block the app in Germany, she added. DeepSeek did not respond to a request for comment. Apple and Google were not immediately available for comment. According to its own privacy policy, DeepSeek stores numerous personal data, such as requests to its AI programme or uploaded files, on computers in China. “DeepSeek has not been able to provide my agency with convincing evidence that German users’ data is protected in China to a level equivalent to that in the European Union,” Kamp said. “Chinese authorities have far-reaching access rights to personal data within the sphere of influence of Chinese companies,” ...

Sri Lanka’s top court on Friday halted a government move to acquire land in northern regions still reeling from the consequences of a decades-long civil war, 16 years after it ended. Sri Lanka’s north bore the brunt of the conflict in the 37-year-long Tamil separatist war, which was brought to a bloody conclusion in May 2009. Many among the Tamil minority lost their land title deeds during the years of displacement, and the area was also hit by the 2004 Asian tsunami. The Supreme Court order concerning nearly 6,000 acres of land came a day after UN human rights chief Volker Turk ended a three-day visit, during which he urged the authorities to return private lands still occupied by troops. The UN estimates that at least 100,000 people died in the war, with 40,000 of them from the Tamil minority killed by troops in the final months of the conflict. Turk also asked Sri Lanka to investigate allegations of war crimes and punish the perpetrators. Successive Sri Lankan governments have refused internationally backe...

Indus River System Authority (IRSA) on Friday released 308,000 cusecs of water from various rim stations with an inflow of 449,621 cusecs.

Anti-Muslim online posts targeting New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani have surged since his Democratic primary upset this week, including death threats and comments comparing his candidacy to the September 11, 2001 attacks, advocates said on Friday. There were at least 127 violent hate-related reports mentioning Mamdani or his campaign in the day after polls closed, said CAIR Action, an arm of the Council on American Islamic Relations advocacy group, which logs such incidents. That marks a five-fold increase over a daily average of such reports tracked earlier this month, CAIR Action said in a statement. Overall, it noted about 6,200 online posts that mentioned some form of Islamophobic slur or hostility in that day long time-frame. Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist and a 33-year-old state lawmaker, declared victory in Tuesday’s primary after former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo conceded defeat. Born in Uganda to Indian parents, Mamdani would be the city’s first Muslim and Indian Ame...

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Friday imposed a complete ban on drone coverage of Muharram processions and gatherings, warning that strict legal action would be taken against anyone violating the order.

Supreme Court Justice Salahuddin Panhwar has recused himself from the Constitutional Bench reviewing petitions in the reserved seats case, following an objection raised by senior lawyer Hamid Khan.

Acting US Ambassador to Pakistan, Natalie Baker on Friday met with Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to discuss matters of mutual interest, including regional security, counterterrorism, and enhanced bilateral cooperation.

At least seven tourists drowned and eight others remain missing after sudden flooding in the Swat River swept away 18 people, including 10 members of a single family, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Friday.

A poliovirus case has been confirmed in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa’s Tank district, marking the seventh case from KP this year and bringing the total countrywide tally to 13, the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) said in a press release on Friday. Pakistan is one of the last two countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan, where polio remains endemic. Despite global efforts to eradicate the virus, challenges such as security issues, vaccine hesitancy, and misinformation have slowed progress. This year, Pakistan has undertaken three nationwide Polio campaigns so far — in February, April, and May. Polio eradication efforts in Pakistan routinely face security issues. According to the press release, the case was detected in an 18-month-old child from the Union Council Amakhel in KP’s Tank district. “With this latest detection, the total number of polio cases in Pakistan in 2025 has reached 13, including seven from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, four from Sindh, and one ...

Federal Economic Affairs Minister Ahad Khan Cheema held high-level discussions on Thursday with the World Bank leadership in Washington DC, and welcomed the strengthened collaboration with the global financial institution in strengthening the economy, according to statement by the ministry on Friday. In January, the World Bank pledged to provide $20bn to Pakistan under a 10-year country partnership framework (CPF) to support inclusive and sustainable development within the country. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had welcomed a $40 billion “investment” by the World Bank, stating that the inflow will open “a new chapter” in various sectors of the economy. In a meeting with WB Operations Managing Director Anna Bjerde and South Asia Regional Vice President Martin Raiser, the federal minister welcomed the strengthened collaboration between Pakistan and the Bank over the past year, the statement read. This enhanced engagement has culminated in the development of the new country partnership framework (CPF) 2026-2035,...

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, in her message on Deafblind Day, paid tribute to individuals with dual sensory impairment, describing them as “truly special” and symbols of courage and dignity.

Gilgit - Former Director General of the Strategic Plans Division (SPD), Lt Gen (Retd) Mazhar Jamil, on Thursday called for the institution of robust Confidence-Building Measures (CBMs) and a comprehensive Strategic Restraint Regime (SRR) between Pakistan and India for promoting regional stability.

Bulls regained control of the trading floor as shares at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) climbed nearly 1,600 points at the close of the first session on Friday, a day after the passage of the federal budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The KSE-100 index climbed 1581.77 points, or 1.3 per cent, to stand at 123,628.23 at the close of the first session, from the last close of 122,046.46 points. Awais Ashraf, director research at AKD Securities, said, “[The] passage of [the] federal budget with the absence of aggressive incremental revenue measures and slight relief for salaried and business is also well received by the investors.” The National Assembly on Thursday passed the federal budget for the FY25-26, with an outlay of Rs17.57 trillion, despite opposition calls for the budgetary proposals to be made public and for the passage to be delayed until public input had been sought. “The ceasefire between Iran and Israel has redirected investor focus toward improving macroeconomic fundamentals. Lower inflation ...

The Ministry of Religious Affairs has announced the commencement of advance registration for Hajj 2026, urging intending pilgrims to complete the mandatory process by July 9.

India has deported without trial to Bangladesh hundreds of people, officials from both sides said, drawing condemnation from activists and lawyers who call the recent expulsions illegal and based on ethnic profiling. New Delhi says the people deported are undocumented migrants. The Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has long taken a hardline stance on immigration — particularly those from neighbouring Muslim-majority Bangladesh — with top officials referring to them as “termites” and “infiltrators”. It has also sparked fear among India’s estimated 200 million Muslims, especially among speakers of Bengali, a widely spoken language in both eastern India and Bangladesh. “Muslims, particularly from the eastern part of the country, are terrified,” said veteran Indian rights activist Harsh Mander. “You have thrown millions into this existential fear.” Bangladesh, largely encircled by land by India, has seen relations with New Delhi turn icy since a mass uprising in 2024 toppled Dhaka’s gov...

Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir on Friday stressed the “indispensable” role of the civil bureaucracy within governance to probationary civil officers — as part of an initiative aimed at strengthening understanding between Pakistan’s civil and military leadership, according to the military’s media wing. In the wake of recent Indian aggression, Field Marshal Asim Munir has repeatedly appreciated the strategic foresight of the country’s political leadership, and vice versa. On June 18, Field Marshal Asim Munir met with US President Donald Trump in a high-level meeting — marking the first time a US president has hosted top Pakistani military leadership. Today’s engagement is part of a broader initiative to strengthen “institutional synergy and mutual understanding” between Pakistan’s civil and military leadership, according to a statement by Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR). Field Marshal Asim Munir, while speaking to probationary officers of the 52nd common training program (CTP) of the Civil ...

ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif received a telephone call from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio Thursday evening and discussed bilateral and regional issues.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI)’s lawyer Thursday concluded his arguments in the review petitions filed against the Supreme Court judgment on PTI reserved seats.

Islamabad - Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq has appreciated NAB’s historic record direct and indirect recovery amounting to Rs.