‘ N O N O R M A LC Y ’ I N T I E S W I T H I N D I A
U N L E S S K A S H M I R I S S U E R E S O LV E D : P M
g SAYS PAKISTAN, INDIA MUST COEXIST BUT PEACE HINGES ON KA SHMIR, HAILING MAY 10 VICTORY A S PROOF OF UNITY, BRAVERY OF ARMED FORCES
g SAYS MILITARY SUCCESS, ACHIEVEMENTS ON DIPLOMATIC AND ECONOMIC FRONTS, ENHANCED PRESTIGE OF G
R I M E Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has said that Pakistan and India, as neighbors, must coexist, but meaningful dialogue cannot take place without
g PRAISES OVERSEA S PAKISTANIS FOR $38 5B REMITTANCES, CALLS THEM ‘AMBA SSADORS OF THE NATION’
Kabul urges Pakistani leaders to refrain from ‘hostile statements,’ stresses brotherly ties
KABUL/ISLAMABAD
s ta f f r e p o r t
The spokesperson for the Taliban government in Afghanistan, Zabiullah Mujahid, has said that leaders should refrain from issuing “provocative” statements stressing that Afghanistan could not be held responsible for attacks taking place inside Pakistan Mujahid s remarks came as Pakistan continues to voice concern over terrorist outfits particularly the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) using Afghan soil to launch cross-border attacks Islamabad has repeatedly urged Kabul to choose between maintaining ties with Pakistan or harboring terrorists,” but Afghan authorities have consistently rejected the allegations The comments were made during an interview with Imtiaz Gul, executive director of the Islamabad-based Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) The interview, conducted in Pushto during Gul’s recent visit to Kandahar focused on recurring irritants in Pak-Afghan ties including the presence of TTP militants and media narratives harming bilateral relations When asked whether a “joint mechanism” was needed to address such issues Mujahid replied that leaders must avoid provoca-
tive or threatening statements, warning that such rhetoric “spoils the environment ” Instead he urged dialogue and regular visits to build trust saying Giving statements to the media, spoiling the environment, and taking military action is unwise ” Mujahid also noted that militancy in Pakistan was not a new phenomenon recalling that attacks had been taking place since 2003 He said Pakistan should
Kabul if it faces threats emanating from Afghan soil However
cannot be held responsible for bomb blasts in Bannu
Thaheem pointed out that while APP employs around 850 staff with a monthly wage bill of Rs 45 million the accused transferred Rs 115 million in a single month, pocketing an excess Rs 70 million He said the money was initially pooled into one account and later distributed among the accused The defense however contested the allegations Advocate Kashif Gorsi representing Idrees Chaudhry claimed his client was not a main beneficiary asserting that Rs 150 million had been funneled into the accounts of Arshad Majeed Chaudhry, Azhar Farooq, and Ghulam Murtaza Similarly, counsel for Tahir Ghumman argued that the real beneficiaries were Arshad Majeed Chaudhry Azhar Farooq and Sajid Warraich insisting Ghumman had no role in the direct transfers The FIA has so far registered cases against 16 suspects, including senior officers and staff of the state-run news agency Early investigations revealed fake vouchers unauthorized transactions and misuse of institutional accounts
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has cautioned ministries and divisions against any complacency or delays in implementing agreements under the $8 5 billion
on national honour he remarked He described the recently signed Pak-Saudi defence pact as a guarantee of the dignity and unity of the Muslim world ” adding that under the agreement an attack on Saudi Arabia would be treated as an attack on Pakistan He reiterated Islamabad s commitment to protecting its borders as well as the holy sites of Islam
Turning to the economy, Rana Sanaullah rejected speculation about default terming such rumours unfounded He said the government had made tough yet essential choices to stabilize the economy, and while IMF conditions limited the scope for immediate relief, he expressed optimism that results would become visible soon He called on the business community to adopt transparency in order to strengthen Pakistan s global economic reputation and assured that the concerns of Faisalabad s industrial base
would be given priority During his visit, he inaugurated the FCCI’s real-time digitalization system, opened a NADRA office inside the chamber building launched renovation work and performed the groundbreaking of the chamber s new plot at the Faisalabad Industrial Estate Development and Management Company (FIEDMC) Answering questions from reporters he confirmed that Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz had earmarked major development funds for Faisalabad though part of the allocation was diverted to flood relief He acknowledged long-standing gaps in local infrastructure and pledged to advocate for a cancer hospital in the city FCCI President Rehan Naseem Bharara welcomed the Senator and pressed for key projects including the establishment of an Expo Centre, airport upgrades, and cargo handling facilities The event was also attended by Prime Minister ’s Coordinator Rana Ihsan Afzal Khan Mian Abdul Mannan senior FCCI officials and other political and business leaders
SADOZ AI WARNS AGAINST DEL AYS IN COMPLETION OF L AWI HYDROPOWER PROJECT
DG ISPR visits Cadet College Palandri, holds special session with students, faculty
first martyr of Cadet College Palandri,” they added The participants affirmed that they stand shoulder to shoulder with the Pakistan Armed Forces against any Indian aggression
Punjab Police resc
ue six abduc tees in Rajanpur K atcha operation
Visa problems for India
S ilicon Valley and India are going to be affec ted most, thus creating an oppor tunit y for Pakistan
US President Donald Trump has struck a blow against migration by imposing an annual fee of $1000 on the h-1B visa which has allowed Silicon Valley to import Indian software engineers to provide the raw labour Some in Pakistan have already scented an opportunity, as with the flow of software engineers stopped the work they were supposed to do would be outsourced and the software engineers would be able to work in their home countries, which would mean that Pakistanis could jump in and grab that work Mr Trump has apparently engaged in an old man’s reaction by slapping a tax on software engineers in the hope that, as one of his Cabinet members said, the tech firms would employ their own graduates This ignores the fact that a lot of their “own graduates” are now secondgeneration Indian-origin It also ignores the fact those own graduates are not able to compete with the Indians (71 percent of h1B holders) or even the Chinese (11 7 percent) These visas are issued only after the recommending company provides proof that it has searched, and not been able to find an American That is why it is expected that there will not be a sudden flood of Americans getting jobs at these companies but the companies will try to get their work done over the internet At the same time, there are a certain number of caveats First those who have been giving jobs to Indians are likely
Debt , existential threats and resilience
The floods have exposed flaws in the austerity polic y
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An 0ver-board austerity policy along with highly sub-optimal regulation of global finance in the wake of neoliberal assault of last four decades or so has meant that interest payment on debt, especially in developing countries, has increased tremendously because firstly, of seeing inflation mainly determined by aggregate demand whereby overboard monetary austerity policy leads to more than required increase in interest rate Secondly a downturn as has been seen in a number of countries in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic, results in the flight of capital to safe havens in the developed world This puts pressure on developing countries to increase their interest rate to compete for foreign portfolio investment– otherwise a wrong policy choice since it is highly volatile in nature and given more reliable foreign direct investment (FDI) is negatively impacted by higher cost of capital– but this entails a generally heavy toll on economic growth This procyclical nature of capital, due to the underlying weak regulation of financial markets on one hand deepens the downturn and on the other increases debt burden A September 16 Project Syndicate (PS) published article Developing countries are paying too much to borrow pointed out in this regard Why are low- and lower-middle-income countries (LLMICs) external borrowing costs so high? The issue is urgent because official aid is projected to fall sharply in 2025-26 not only has the United States shut down the US Agency for International Development the world s largest bilateral donor but several European countries have also slashed their own aid budgets Moreover, these moves come on the heels of a sharp tightening in traditional capital markets Since 2022, developing countries have lost access to commercial finance making it exorbitantly costly– or simply impossible– to refinance maturing debt Unfortunately the pandemic-era surge in counter-cyclical lending by the IMF the World Bank and regional development banks has receded By 2023, net transfers by these institutions and the Paris Club of sovereign creditors to LLMICs had already fallen to around $30
T h e b u s i n e s s o f m i s e r y
billion– less than half the $70 billion in 2020– and the IMF’s own net transfer had turned negative ’ The story would generally stop here a few decades ago as very less attention was paid to economic, epidemiological, and environmental resilience-related aspects This has drastically changed over time, mainly due to the fast-unfolding nature of the climate change crisis, and the related ‘Pandemicene’ phenomenon In the meantime lack of multilateral spirit which on one hand has fallen severely short in terms of provision of climate finance on the other hand are rich advanced countries with a lot of say in multilateral institutions to reform for instance, global sovereign debt architecture Moreover, there is also a lack of understanding of the misgivings of seeing inflation as overly a demand-side phenomenon and as a consequence this has put too much focus on using the interest rate instrument while the need is for adopting a more balanced aggregate demand-side, and supply-side policy emphasis This one side, has increased interest payments on debt, and reduced fiscal space with countries to spend towards increasing resilience against existential threats and on the other has even contributed to inflationary pressures through the channel of cost-push inflation For instance the recent line of argument by State Bank of Pakistan through its monetary policy statement (MPS) released on September 16, while inflationary pressures currently are primarily a supply-side phenomenon, at the back of flood catastrophe has wrongly linked it to the interest rate The climate change crisis requires that resilience is built-up
The climate chang e crisis requires that resilience is built-up quickly on one hand, and on the other, there is a need to invest in renewable sources of energy to rein in global warming One major step in this regard is dealing with the debt crisis facing developing countries in par ticular This is all the more impor tant, because debt related needs continue to grow as well, given the increase in intensity, and frequency of climate chang e related disasters
Iamidst the hum of development and promise exists a haunting paradox the outstretched hand of a beggar It is a hand not merely seeking alms but exposing a tear in the moral and structural fabric of society Beggary, though often viewed as a nuisance or a personal failure is in fact a mirror held up to the face of a nation It reflects not only poverty but systemic dysfunction societal neglect and the quiet normalization of human despair In cities like Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar and Karachi, the hubs of governance, culture, commerce, and diversity, the presence of beggars at traffic lights markets mosques and even upscale neighbourhoods presents an unspoken indictment of our collective conscience The roots of beggary in Pakistan are tangled and deep, growing from centuries-old traditions of charity, socio-economic disparities, and modern failures of governance Islam encourages almsgiving (zakat and sadaqa) making charity a virtue But when charity becomes routine without accountability it risks enabling professional begging rackets rather than alleviating need What was once compassion has been commodified into an industry, often exploitative, occasionally criminal, and tragically permanent In Islamabad, the planned capital designed to symbolize order and dignity beggary is disturbingly rampant Outside its glittering diplomatic enclaves and posh sectors barefoot children and disabled men crowd the intersections Despite various drives by the ICT administration and police to arrest beggars or rehabilitate them, the phenomenon persists, shifting only in location but not in intensity According to local estimates over 6000 beggars operate in the capital many trafficked from other provinces or managed by organized mafias These networks transport beggars daily, allocate territories, and collect profits at the end of each day Some even resort to maiming children to attract more sympathy, a horrifying reality
with
of
and underpasses Recent surveys suggest that the number of beggars in Lahore exceeds 25 000 a significant portion of whom are children What’s even more alarming is the increasing trend of drug addiction among street children and beggars linking the issue to a broader cycle of vulnerability, crime, and social decay In Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and a gateway to the tribal belt, beggary takes on additional layers of complexity War displacement and decades of instability have contributed to a large floating population of vulnerable individuals including widows, orphans, and internally displaced persons While many are genuine victims of conflict or poverty, the absence of a regulated welfare system has led to the emergence of exploitative networks At major intersections beggars sometimes entire families set up daily with some reportedly earning more than minimum wage Yet they remain outside the ambit of formal economy, healthcare, or education Karachi, Pakistan’s economic powerhouse, offers a striking confirmation, a city that generates over 20 percent of the country’s GDP is also home to one of the largest beggar populations The scale and diversity of the problem here are immense Reports suggest over 130,000 beggars operate in the city at any given time, though exact numbers are elusive due to the migratory nature of the population and weak monitoring The existence of beggary mafias is an open secret with some reportedly enjoying police protection or political patronage In some slums begging is even passed down generations, a profession sustained by poverty, protected by complicity and ignored by policy Across all major cities, one truth persists: the beggar is not just a passive recipient of charity but part of a broken system This system fails to provide education employable skills safety nets or rehabilitation The state s approach has been fragmented at best Despite the presence of laws criminalizing forced or organized begging, enforcement is erratic and often counterproductive Arresting beggars without offering alternatives leads to revolving-door justice Shelters where they exist are underfunded and overcrowded Welfare departments often operate in silos with little coordination between police, judiciary, and civil society Moreover, there is little to no invest-
ment in understanding the psychological and economic drivers of the phenomenon, the trauma of children born into street life the disabled left with no vocational pathways the women turned to begging after being widowed or abandoned
Beggary in Pakistan is not just an eyesore or a moral lapse, it is a deep-rooted socio-economic crisis demanding urgent attention The state must move beyond viewing it as a nuisance and instead enforce laws against organized begging mafias while prioritizing rehabilitation This includes vocational training education for street children shelter and integration into society Civil society, religious leaders, and philanthropists must shift from random giving to structured support through certified programs Zakat and donations should empower not entrap Public campaigns must redefine compassion from pity to practical help Technology can aid with digital tracking realtime reporting, and transparent aid distribution
As Pakistan aims for digital progress and global stature, it must not trample its most invisible citizens Every beggar is a reflection of systemic failure True development lies in lifting the lowest for a nation s moral worth is measured by how it treats its most vulnerable
The writer has a PhD in Political Science and is a visiting faculty member at QAU Islamabad He can be reached at zafarkhansafdar@yahoo com and tweets @zafarkhansafdar
Rescue 1122 workers
Dr Zafar Khan SafDar
Th E world stands at a brutal crossroads where morality law and politics no longer merely clash they collapse into one another leaving in their wake a wasteland of shattered credibility Gaza today is not just a humanitarian disaster, it is a mirror held up to the global order exposing duplicity and selective morality at every turn What began as televised images of civilian slaughter and endless displacement has in chancelleries and diplomatic briefings, been reduced to formulaic responses: ritual statements of concern, carefully curated legal caveats and the mechanical drafting of reconstruction plans The international legal machinery churns out orders provisional measures and warrants yet the killing continues unabated Every day that passes confirms what survivors have long understood: strategic alliances and the economics of arms weigh heavier than human life, and the promise of “never again” is a hollow refrain An extraordinary moment of legal reckoning unfolded in London where an independent Gaza tribunal chaired by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, convened 29 expert witnesses, including diplomats and jurists Their testimonies were stark: the UK, they argued has not merely failed to prevent atrocity as required by the Genocide Convention but has actively enabled it Intelligence-sharing shielding parliamentary debate from uncomfortable scrutiny, approving arms sales while evidence of war crimes mounted, and refusing to suspend cooperation with Israeli self-investigations all point to complicity This is not the story of benign neglect; it is a story of a state erecting legal and political shields around an ally accused of mass atrocity To characterise this as omission is generous what we are witnessing is structural collusion And once complicity hardens into policy international law itself becomes collateral damage
If London illustrates one pole of complicity Washington illustrates another: the weaponisation of justice The United States recently imposed sanctions on three major Palestinian human-rights organisations Al-haq, Al Mezan, and the Palestinian Cen-
The Global B etrayal of Gaza’s Struggle for Justice
tre for human Rights precisely because they petitioned the International Criminal Court to investigate Israel s alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity
Let us be clear: these groups are not fringe actors; they are the core of civil society’s effort to gather evidence, build legal cases, and keep hope of accountability alive
By designating them as terrorist affiliates and cutting their access to international financial systems the USA has turned accountability itself into a punishable offence
It is an inversion of justice so stark that it calls into question the very commitment of the USA to the rules-based order it frequently preaches This move silences petitioners chokes off documentation and leaves victims voiceless in a world court already beleaguered by delay
Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court itself has entered the fray with a gravity not seen in years In May 2025, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant citing the use of starvation as a weapon of war deliberate targeting of civilians and attacks on humanitarian infrastructure
Its filing states that they are criminally responsible as individual persons for intentionally using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare ” and that they have directed widespread and systematic attacks against the civilian population in Gaza
Prosecutor Karim Khan stressed that the warrants were not symbolic but urgent, warning that deliberate obstruction of aid and indiscriminate strikes on population centres cross the line into war crimes and crimes against humanity
Yet despite the weight of these legal moves geopolitical patrons have already sought to delegitimize the court, echoing a
familiar refrain that its jurisdiction is politically tainted The irony is unbearable: governments that celebrate ICC warrants against African leaders now denounce its legitimacy when the warrants point at Tel Aviv Law, it appears, is universal until it threatens friends
Parallel to ICC action, the International Court of Justice has played its role albeit with cautious language Responding to South Africa s genocide application the ICJ concluded that genocide in Gaza is plausible and in January 2025 ordered Israel to immediately halt acts that could constitute genocide, “ensure that humanitarian assistance is provided to the population of Gaza ” and “avoid actions that may exacerbate the suffering of civilians Those are not gentle suggestions they are legally binding provisional measures Yet the ICJ lacks an enforcement arm, and Israel s near total disregard of these orders has been documented by humanitarian agencies and legal monitors alike This gap between legal decree and political will is not academic; it is a chasm where human lives are lost daily Every child that starves every patient who dies for lack of medicine, every family that sleeps under rubble underscores the irrelevance of “binding” orders when states choose to ignore them with impunity The humanitarian catastrophe meticulously tracked by Un dashboards and aid agencies adds numbers to the tragedy According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), Gaza has reached the unimaginable: 100% of its population is in acute food insecurity, with nearly a million 32% already facing catastrophic famine conditions UnICEF and OChA report widespread child malnutrition healthcare collapse and the disintegration of water and sanitation systems UnRWA s situation
reports warn that famine has already emerged in Gaza City and will spread within weeks These are not merely statistics; they are the forensic evidence of policy choices “Starvation is being used as a method” is no hyperbole it is the reality noted in both the ICC arrest warrant and ICJ orders now corroborated by OChA s famine monitoring charts The ICJ called it out in provisional measures; the ICC wrote it into arrest warrants Still, the world debates reconstruction blueprints while people starve nor does the war economy stand idle A series of investigations including by The Economist reveal how Israel has built resilience against sanctions by embedding itself as a global arms exporter Its drones, surveillance technology, and missile systems are sold to dozens of countries ensuring reciprocal political insulation This “sanctionsproof status means that even if governments wanted to pressure Israel economically they would face blowback in their own defence sectors The result is a grotesque inversion: the more the war in Gaza continues, the more Israel’s arms industry thrives, and the more governments have a vested interest in looking away This feedback loop of profit
o r m s t o d ay w i l l
b e t o m o r row Ês p e r m i s s i o n s l i p fo r a t ro c i t i e s e l s ew h e r e W h a t G a z a d e m a n d s o f t h e
wo r l d i s n o t ch a r i t y, n o t r h e t o r i c , bu t l aw i n a c t i o n . A ny t h i n g l e s s i s a n a b d i c a t i o n a n d o n e t h a t h i s t o r y w i l l n o t fo rg i v e .
Purina pet food under its umbrella The handling of the saga by nestlé’s board has appalled the Swiss corporate establishment As one of the largest companies on the Swiss stock exchange with a bigger market capitalisation than the country s largest bank, UBS, nestlé has long been placed on
about the company lifer’s alleged preferential treatment of a colleague they suspected to be his mistress Management decided it was time to investigate But when confronted the 63year-old denied the allegations outright according to people familiar with the matter In the end the board concluded the rumours were unsubstantiated The complaints arose against a backdrop of low morale after a turbulent couple of years at the company Freixe had been appointed in August last year to replace Mark Schneider a former healthcare boss who had attempted to reinvigorate nestle s fortunes with new product lines in the health and fitness supplements space, but oversaw slowing growth in the latter half of his seven years as CEO Schneider, the first outsider to run nestlé in a century, had an at times abrasive management style that clashed with the company s consensus-driven culture employees say Freixe marked a direct contrast: a company veteran of almost four decades seen to embody nestlé s values and who promised to reinvest in unloved brands To steady the ship, Freixe was implementing an ambitious plan to cut costs by at least SFr2 5bn ($3 1bn) with the help of consultants like McKinsey Staff were nervous about potential job cuts As the summer wore on and gossip was stoked by a string of salacious reports in Swiss finance blog Inside Paradeplatz, complaints persisted The board kicked off a second investigation, this time employing external counsel The relationship between Freixe and his subordinate was an “open secret” in the company’s management current and former nestlé executives tell the FT Freixe had also met his wife at nestlé though she had not been in his reporting line The fact this latest relationship took two separate investigations to uncover raised suspicions among shareholders that Bulcke mishandled the probe In the ensuing days they piled pressure on the company to address any governance oversights Speaking to the FT last week some shareholders criticised Bulcke arguing he should have resigned when he sacked Schneider last summer Investors had been unhappy with the former CEO, but say Bulcke s oversight was insufficient You should have had the board as a counterweight to Schneider,” says Vontobel analyst Jean-Philippe Bertschy “And that’s where it went badly the board was informed about what was going on and didn t react early enough Yet even if the board had wanted to oust Bulcke changes to Swiss law would have made it difficult The Swiss Minder Initiative , passed in 2013, stripped boards of listed companies of the power to appoint or dismiss their own chair A 2020 company law reform confirmed that only shareholders can hire or fire directors and the chair with no automatic renewal of mandates This complicated chair succession planning says one nestlé insider At the company s annual general meeting this April, Bulcke was reappointed to the board, but against growing opposition from shareholders In June nestlé announced that Bulcke would not stand for re-election at the next meeting naming
two people familiar with the matter As Bulcke’s departure was announced he was given the title of honorary chair The corporate saga may be an inflection point for nestlé and consequently the wider consumer goods sector Over the past few days, investors, analysts and company advisers have been locked in discussions as to what a new nestlé should look like One school of thought goes that the company should slim down selling off slowergrowing categories like confectionery and frozen food or parts of the business that do not fit the portfolio such as skin health or the company s sizeable stake in beauty behemoth L Oréal The formula follows one that is now well played out in the consumer goods industry Multinationals from Unilever to Reckitt and Danone have all shed categories to form more focused faster-growing portfolios Freixe with Bulcke s support resisted the trend The departing chief executive believed in the merits of being the biggest food and beverage company in the world present in as many households around the world as possible I don t see the merits in being small, honestly,” he told the FT in May now the old guard is gone commentators wonder if nestlé will finally follow the herd Under a new leadership duo important decisions must now be made as quickly as possible says Kai Lehmann senior analyst at Flossbach von Storch, a top-30 nestlé shareholder, urging a ruthless analysis of the long-term growth prospects of the individual categories” Vontobel’s Bertschy says Isla’s priorities might include disposing of non-core and underperforming assets as well as reshuffling the board after years of poor corporate governance But others point to a company culture that embraced continuity over change, saying nestlé s habit of promoting its chief executives to the chair role weakens independence, and fosters conservative attitudes “People can become too close as [appeared] to be the situation between the CEO and chairman says Valentin Jentsch an assistant professor of corporate law at University of St Gallen having new people mitigates these kinds of issues That approach has now changed; Isla, the new chair, built his career outside the sector, having spent 17 years as CEO and executive chair of Inditex navratil meanwhile is a relative unknown within the business But a person familiar with both says the 49-year-old navratil will bring a more entrepreneurial spirit and agile mentality to the business With Isla in place as the first independent chair since 2005, nestlé’s corporate governance
AFGHAN TALIBAN RULES OUT ‘DEAL’ ON BAGRAM AIR BASE FOLLOWING TRUMP’S ‘VAGUE THREAT’
The statement said it had been consistently communicated to the United States in all bilateral negotiations that, for the Islamic Emirate, Afghanistan’s independence and territorial integrity are of the utmost importance It added: It should be recalled that under the Doha Agreement the United States pledged that it will not use or threaten force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Afghanistan nor interfere in its internal affairs Therefore it is necessary that they remain faithful to their commitments Accordingly it is once again underscored that, rather than repeating past failed approaches, a policy of realism and
rationality should be adopted Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Re-occupying Bagram might end up looking like re-invasion
Bagram, the largest air base in Afghanistan, was a linchpin of the USled war effort against the Taliban, whose government Washington toppled following the September 11 2001 attacks on the United States US and Nato troops chaotically pulled out of Bagram in July 2021 as part of a Trump-brokered deal with the Taliban
The loss of crucial air power saw the Afghan military collapse just weeks later and the Taliban sweep back to power
Current and former US officials privately caution that re-occupying Bagram air base in Afghanistan might end up looking like a re-invasion of the country, requiring more than 10,000 troops as well as deployment of advanced air defences
Experts say the sprawling air base would be difficult to secure initially and would require massive manpower to operate and protect Even if the Taliban accepted the US re-occupation of Bagram following negotiations, it would need to be defended from a host of threats including the terrorist Islamic State and Al Qaeda militants inside Afghanistan It could also be vulnerable to an advanced missile threat from Iran which attacked a major US air base in Qatar in June after the United States struck Iranian nuclear sites
NEW DELHI ag e n c i e s Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a public address on Sunday, asked citizens to stop using foreign-made products and instead use local ones pushing for a selfreliant campaign when trade ties with the United States have soured After US President Donald Trump imposed a
the impact of the decision in light of their “mutual benefits including strong
CM MARYAM L AUNCHES ‘SMART WASTE MANAGEMENT’ DRIVE IN PUNJAB SCHOOLS
Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan on Sunday has expressed dissatisfaction over the delays in the up gradation and beautification works of the Islamabad-Murree Expressway
He directed the officials of National
Session highlights pathways to resilience, justice for sur vivors of violence
s ta f f r e p o r t Khudi Foundation in partnership with PLUS Sparks Business Club and Mariam Faisam Amin (MFA) hosted a powerful session titled Breaking Cycles of Violence: Empowering Non-Violent Resistance for Mental Wellbeing at its headquarters in DHA Phase 7, Karachi The event brought together distinguished speakers legal experts wellness trainers and social entrepreneurs
successfully organized Karachi’s International Student Friendly Six-a-Side Football Tournament 2025 on Thursday evening The event was supported by the Thai Students Association in Karachi (TSAK) the Pak-Thai Friendship Association & Business Forum, and the Thai Airways It brought together student teams from Thailand, Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Nigeria, with players showcasing not only their sporting talent but also the spirit of friendship and cultural exchange The matches were kicked off by Mr Surashete Boontinand Consul General of Thailand in Karachi who remarked: This tournament, jointly organized by the Royal Thai Consulate-General in Karachi and Greenwich University, is a testament to our shared belief in the power of sport to transcend borders
BIL AWAL CALLS ON INT’L COMMUNIT Y TO STOP ATROCITIES OF ISRAEL AND INDIA
PPP will continue its struggle for a peaceful, democratic and progressive Pakistan, he added The PPP is actively working to create a Pakistan that is fully based on the vision of Quaid-e-Azam Bilawal Bhutto said And a Pakistan that plays an effective role for peace, stability and cooperation in the world Bilawal Bhutto
SHC C J urges govt to focus on health, justice, and educ ation along with politics
Connected Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC): Digital Trade, Emerging Regulatory Challenges, and Solutions,” said that despite Pakistan’s strategic location at the crossroads of South and Central Asia reforms needed to support cross-border e-commerce and digitally delivered services remain slow
According to ADB estimates Pakistan s digitally delivered trade in 2024 stood at only $7 93 billion, far behind ASEAN economies such as Malaysia ($39 04 billion), the Philippines ($38 57 billion), and Thailand ($50 57 billion) Intra-CAREC trade excluding China accounts for just 7% of total trade compared
Acting Sindh High Court Chief Justice Zafar Ahmed Rajput on Sunday said that while governments often prioritize political demands equal focus must be given to vital sectors like health justice and education warning that commercialization and corruption in healthcare have created an alarming situation, with malpractice persisting for years
He was speaking as chief guest at the 5th Health Care Summit 2025 and Health Care Awards organized by the Consumers Association of Pakistan (CAP) at a local hotel The event was hosted by CAP Chairman Kaukab Iqbal and attended by PPP MNA and Honorary Consul General of Yemen Dr Mirza Ikhtiar Baig businessman and Honorary Consul General of Mozambique Khalid Tawab DG Ministry of Foreign Affairs Karachi Irfan Soomro, Dr Abdul Bari Khan of Indus Hospital, Brig (R) Waqar Awan, Dr Rafiq Khanani and several other notable figures Justice Rajput called for a
strict ban on publicity linked to prescribing medicines noting that doctors are often rewarded with foreign trips and expensive gifts by pharmaceutical companies for promoting certain brands This falls under bribery and must end,” he said He pointed out that Pakistan has more registered medicines than even the World Health Organization (WHO) and urged stronger government control over the process “Curbing bribery and corruption in the medical field is essential The government must
focus on health education and jus-
ISLAMABAD s ta f f r e p o r t
Former president of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and senior diplomat Sardar Masood Khan has said that the US decision to withdraw India’s exemption from Chabahar port is another big setback for India
Sardar Masood Khan in a media interview said that on the one hand India was a strategic partner of the US, while, on the other, it was trading oil and other goods with antiAmerican countries
He said this ban is not only likely to sink India’s huge investment but also the dream of reaching Afghanistan and Central Asia through this port by bypassing
Pakistan will remain a dream
He said US President Donald Trump’s executive order clearly states that this ban will not only apply to Iran s Chabahar port but will also apply to those who manage and supervise this port Currently, the operational responsibilities of Chabahar Port are being fulfilled by India’s Ports Global Limited which is under the Ministry of Ports and Shipping of India
Sardar Masood said that the port was started from the first day on the basis of bad intentions He said that India had established a base for espionage and terrorism against Pakistan under the cover of this port He said during the recent Israel-Iran war India also used this
espionage base against Iran and the Iranian government also arrested Indian citizens connected to this espionage network India used this port like a double-edged sword against both Iran and Pakistan and is using this base of terrorism to carry out terrorist activities inside Pakistan, especially in Balochistan
To a question about the decision of the US to increase the fee for H-1B visas to $100 000 Sardar Masood Khan said the aim of this move is also to punish India
After the Trump administration came to power in the US, a large number of Indian citizens illegally residing in the US were expelled which India never expected
Abduc ted AC Ziarat found dead in Harnai along with unidentified body
Just a day before the recovery of the bodies the abductors released a video showing the Assistant Commissioner delivering their demands to the Balochistan government The Harnai district administration has taken possession of the bodies and shifted them to DHQ Hospital, where formal identification of the second victim is awaited
According to SSP Murad Ghanghro police launched an operation against the Bahalkani dacoit group after they
A banned Baloch organisation had earlier claimed responsibility for the abduction
napped a policeman on Saturday Two bandits were killed and three others injured in the shootout,” he said, identifying the deceased as Shafique Dahani and Sohbat Jagirani The SSP added that the operation would continue until the safe recovery of the abducted policeman
