PM VOWS TO WIPE OUT TERRORISM, SAYS TERRORISTS’ DEFEAT ‘ONLY A MATTER OF TIME’
g PREMIER SHEHBAZ SAYS SECURITY FORCES CONDUCTING RELENTLESS OPERATIONS AND TERRORISM WILL BE ‘ELIMINATED COMPLETELY’
g LAUDS SECURITY FORCES FOR KILLING 15 TERRORISTS IN BALOCHISTAN, SAYS OPERATIONS WILL CONTINUE UNTIL LA STING PEACE RESTORED
g PAYS TRIBUTE TO MARTYRED PAF GROUP CAPTAIN A SIM TARIQ, VOWS PERPETRATORS WILL FACE JUSTICE
g HIGHLIGHTS TÜRKIYE VISIT, SAYS TURKISH INVESTORS SHOWED STRONG INTEREST IN PAKISTAN ’S ENERGY, MINING AND MARITIME SECTORS
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday directed health authorities to adopt a more effective strategy for polio hotspots in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) reaffirming the government s unwavering commitment to eradicating the disease during talks with senior representatives of key global health organizations supporting Pakistan's antipolio campaign The directive came during a meeting with a seven-member delegation of the Polio Oversight Board comprising representatives of Rotary International the Gates Foundation the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, Gavi and other partner organizations backing Pakistan's polio eradication programme Polio eradication is an important national priority and all stakeholders should further accelerate their joint efforts," Prime Minister Shehbaz was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) The prime minister specifically directed the authorities to pay special attention to polio hotspots in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and adopt an effective strategy to address them," underscoring the need for focused interventions in areas where transmission continues to pose a challenge Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan remain the only two countries in the world where wild poliovirus remains endemic
‘responsibility to protect’ doctrine
ISLAMABAD S TA F F R E P O R T Pakistan has called on the United Nations to apply its “Responsibility to Protect” (R2P) doctrine consistently and without selectivity warning that the international community s collective commitment to prevent genocide war crimes ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity has fallen short in situations of prolonged conflict and foreign occupation Addressing the United Nations General Assembly's annual debate on the doctrine Pakistan s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said the credibility and effectiveness of the R2P principle were being undermined by inconsistent implementation and the failure to act in the face of mass atrocities “With an unprecedentedly high number of conflicts all over the world the edifice of R2P stands on tenuous grounds he said Our shared objective to protect fundamental human rights and to prevent the recurrence of mass atrocities is
protection, no accountability The promise of ‘Never Again’ unfulfilled,” he added The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) doctrine emerged from international efforts to prevent a recurrence of atrocities such as the 1994 Rwanda genocide and the 1995 Srebrenica massacre following the international community's failure to stop the mass killings
R E P O R T Security forces killed 15 terrorists in a large-scale joint clearance operation launched after a deadly overnight assault on a police check post in Balochistan's Kach Mangi Phase III area of Ziarat district where nine police personnel including two Station House Officers (SHOs), embraced martyrdom, the Balochistan government said on Tuesday "Security forces police and other law enforcement agencies have completed a joint clearance operation against the terrorists in Ziarat, during which 15 terrorists
were killed " Adviser to the Balochistan Chief Minister Shahid Rind said in a statement According to police, at least nine police officials, including two SHOs, were martyred during the night between Monday and Tuesday when terrorists affiliated with Fitna al-Khawarij attacked the police check post in the Kach Mangi Phase III area of the tourist district of Ziarat Fitna al-Khawarij is the term used by the state for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreeke-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Shahid Rind said the heavily armed militants launched the attack late Monday night, triggering an intense exchange of fire with police
that continued for several hours
Following the assault security forces launched a coordinated clearance operation involving the Frontier Corps, Balochistan Police, the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) the Special Operations Wing and the AntiTerrorism Force (ATF) he said The joint clearance operation has been successfully completed, during which 15 terrorists were killed, and there will be no safe haven for them in the province " Rind said He added that eight police personnel who had been abducted during the attack safely returned as a result of the operation
BISHKEK
President Asif Ali Zardari and Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov on Tuesday renewed their commitment to strengthening bilateral relations with both sides placing particular emphasis on expanding trade economic links and investment cooperation according to a joint statement issued during Zardari s official visit to Kyrgyzstan Zardari arrived in Kyrgyzstan a day earlier on a four-day visit from July 6 to 9 The joint statement said the two presidents expressed satisfaction over the progress in ties between their countries and reiterated the need to move forward on understandings reached during Zhaparov s visit to Pakistan in December
The two leaders stressed the importance of sustained political engagement and closer institutional contact, including between parliaments, governments, and foreign ministries They also signalled their willingness to work towards what the statement described as “a strategic partnership centred on trade economic cooperation and investment Ministers and relevant agencies were directed to step up efforts to carry out previously agreed measures and take practical steps to promote commercial activity, investment, and business-to-business
Ufone-Telenor merged company
TH E Directorate General of Cus-
toms Valuation has fixed the customs value of rubber stoppers for injectables at $14 63 per kg to ensure uniform assessment of imports and protect government revenue
The value has been determined through Valuation Ruling No 2100/2026, under Section 25A of the Customs Act, 1969 The rul-
ing will remain applicable until it is rescinded or revised under Section 25A(4)
According to the ruling the Directorate General of Customs Valuation, Karachi, initiated the exercise after observing that the goods were being assessed at lower values Notices were issued to relevant stakeholders for a meeting scheduled on May 18 2026 to obtain documentary evidence before determining customs values During the consultation, importers argued that their declared transaction values were genuine consistent with recent import trends and did not
Govt keeps gas tariffs unchanged despite Ogra cut in prescribed prices
SG
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01
The adviser said the terrorists had paid a heavy price for attempting to undermine peace in Balochistan and reaffirmed the government s resolve to confront terrorism with full force
He said there would be no safe havens for terrorists in the province and that every attack would be met with a strong and decisive response while intelligence-based operations (IBOs) would continue with greater effectiveness
Rind said those challenging the writ of the state would be brought to justice adding that there would be no compromise on peace stability and the protection of the people of Balochistan
World Bank backs stronger loc al govts in Pakistan as spending share falls to 4.7%
system, based on international practice, would require stronger local governments supported by transparent and rule-based provincial transfers
Such transfers it said should provide predictable funding improve district-level budgeting promote equity through indicators such as population and poverty and align financing with service delivery responsibilities in sectors including health and education The report said structured sub-provincial participation in fiscal decisions would also improve accountability
Under Article 140A of the Constitution provinces are required to establish local government systems and devolve political administrative and financial authority to elected local representatives
fell from around 10% in 2005 to around 4 7% in 2024 It said this decline continued even after the 18th Constitutional Amendment as few of the additional resources transferred to provinces were made available to local governments
The World Bank said Pakistan remains an outlier in terms of the proportion of government spending carried out through local governments
The report noted that Punjab’s population is comparable to that of the world’s 12th-largest country while Sindh s population is equivalent to that of around the 26th-largest country
Punjab accounts for about 1 6% of the world s population, while Sindh accounts for around 0 7%, it said At this scale, the report said, lower tiers of government could help shorten accountability loops and improve adherence to the “home rule” principle without undermining economies of scale or creating high administrative costs
The World Bank said a fiscally aligned federal
He further said Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Ghulam Sarwar and eight police personnel safely reached Kach police station after traversing difficult mountainous terrain while Constable Rizwan was also rescued safely
Although no group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, Rind blamed the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a consortium of several militant groups operating in the country for carrying out the assault
According to Ziarat Superintendent of Police (SP) Abdul Qadoos Dehwar the terrorists specifically targeted police personnel deployed at the Kach Mangi Phase III check post He confirmed that security forces, police and other law en-
However, the Constitution allows provinces to design their own local government structures, resulting in different frameworks across the country
The World Bank said provinces continue to retain significant control over the vertical distribution of resources
Each province first deducts priority or obligatory expenditures from its revenues, after which the remaining amount becomes the divisible pool available for transfer to local governments In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa the Provincial Finance Commission defines obligatory expenditures as mostly non-discretionary public expenditures In Sindh priority expenditures are determined at the province s discretion, with no formal constraints and with nontax revenue excluded Punjab sets an arbitrary share of
forcement agencies subsequently conducted a joint clearance operation in which 15 terrorists were killed
Among those martyred were SHO Mangi Muhammad Hussain SHO Kawas Sohbat Khan Anti-Terrorism Force (ATF) in-charge Head Constable Saifullah and other police personnel Police and the terrorists exchanged heavy gunfire for several hours during the operation
The bodies of the martyred personnel were shifted to the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital Ziarat for legal formalities and post-mortem examinations SP Dehwar said the terrorists abducted several local residents along with police personnel during the attack, adding that five of the abducted civilians
later managed to escape Meanwhile residents of Ziarat staged a protest against the attack by blocking the national highway at Ziarat Cross, suspending traffic and causing long queues of vehicles Authorities said search and intelligence-based operations were continuing in the area while action against facilitators of the terrorists had also been intensified
Earlier on Monday, protesters continued to block Quetta's Airport Road outside BA Mall following a deadly armed clash in the Hanna Urak area that left four men dead and several others injured, demanding the immediate arrest of those responsible and stronger security measures
The demonstrators placed the body of one of the deceased on the road and continued a sit-in, disrupting traffic on one of the city's busiest arteries They vowed to continue their protest until the authorities took concrete action against those involved in the attack
1
COMMENT
New Green Revolution?
PA K I S TA N I agriculture is beset by a number of problems, among them the lack of mechanization A report in the latest issue of this newspaper ’s Profit magazine examines this and shows that Pakistan has fallen behind countries like China, India and Bangladesh in one important metric, that of horsepower per acre whereas they had been around these at the time of the 1960s, when the Green Revolution is supposed to have begun, with the introduction of new seeds and varieties of existing crops Best by the problems posed by a failure to carry out changes to seeds by research, as well as by the vicissitudes of climate change the country is shooting itself in the foot by paying little or no attention to the question of farm mechanization So far, agriculture has carried the burden of the country providing it food security, and employment for the majority of its population Unfortunately, it is not very efficient, and unless this efficiency is improved by mechanization there will be a collapse of agriculture with a dramatic spread of starvation Already, there are signs of deprivation and food crisis that could get out of control if not dealt with immediately It does not help that there is an impending water crisis Not only does India have evil intentions towards the waters of the Indus but climate change is making the future look bleak
The main problem with mechanization is that it is expensive Such equipment as harvesters blazers or seed drills do not come cheap They are also needed to run all the time, not to be parked One solution, the Custom Hiring Centres seemed derived from the Soviet Machine Tractor Stations, which operated independently of the collective farms, to which it would hire out equipment Another means of obtaining the machinery tried in the past have been farmers cooperatives However, there has been a problem supervising them in the past
It has also been observed that these mechanization efforts were made to improve agriculture The problem now seems to be that of saving it It should be noted that one tractor manufacturer is going into electric vehicles and while the manufacturers have gone into equipment there is not enough being made The government has started worrying about agriculture, and it must also examine this aspect along with other problems like seeds
Dedicated to the legac y of late Hameed Nizami Arif Nizami (Late) Founding Editor
M A Niazi Editor Pakistan Today Babar Nizami Editor Profit
a
A n o s t a l g i c g o o d b y e t o t h e A y a t o l l a h
TE H R A N this week is draped in red and black The air over five cities of Iran and Iraq carries the low murmur of a nation staging its own resurrection through grief Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei this man spent 35 years as the most powerful person in Iran and a global leader of millions He was born in 1939 in Mashhad the son of a modest cleric in a household where religious study was less a career choice than an inheritance He came of age inside the seminaries
and
happened
s
and
networks of
mullah s opposition to the monarchy
ened into something more systematic He was arrested repeatedly through the 1960s and 1970s By the time the 1979 Islamic revolution whisked the Pahlavi dynasty away he was already a tried-and-true lieutenant of Ruhollah Khomeini the man whose name would shape the Islamic Republic and eventually his own The new state wasted no time in repaying his loyalty He became a founding ideologue of the Revolutionary Guard Corps political apparatus In 1981 he escaped a bombing that nearly ended his career before it dawned an assassination attempt that left his right arm permanently paralyzed That same year he became president a post he held for two terms while the country bled through its war with Iraq The presidency in that era was a weaker office and subordinate to the Supreme Leader Khamenei spent those years learning the limits of formal power and the deeper currents of informal power that actually moved the Islamic Republic When Khomeini died in 1989 Khamenei was an unlikely heir He lacked the religious credentials that the office of Supreme Leader traditionally demanded Many senior clerics doubted he had the scholarly weight for the job He got it anyway elevated in rank almost overnight by an Assembly of Experts eager to approve Khamenei Khamenei built a system of parallel institutions the Revolutionary Guard chief among them that answered to him directly and could override the elected government whenever the elected government drifted too far from his preferences He oversaw the curbing of the 2009 Green Movement after a disputed election the calming of the 2019 fuel protests and
Justice cannot be a favour
Justice system exposed
and
institutions among
of Pakistan s
has historically been
less by the absence of laws than by the visible unevenness of their application across class and connection The second thread in this story the forcible entry into a magistrate s residence to record statements before the victims scheduled departure
ro u t i n e a b s e n c e fo r c i t i z e n s w i t h o u t a m i n i s t e r Ês f a m i ly t r e e o r a fo r e i g n p a s s p o r t i s n o t a s t r u c t u r a l i n ev i t a b i l i t y. I t i s a c h o i c e , r e p e a t e d c a s e by c a s e , t h a t a g e n u i n e ly e q u a l j u s t i c e s y s t e m wo u l d n o l o n g e r n e e d t o m a k e . Th e f o u n d i n g g e n e rat i o n p a s s e s
t h ey a r e w a t ch i n g a n e r a cl o s e , o n e w h o s e f u l l c o s t s a n d a ch i ev e m e n t s h i s t o r i a n s w i l l s p e n d d e c a d e s w e i g h i n g T h e
n ;
s e n t e n c e h e b e g a n mu s t n ow, f i n a l ly, f i n d i t s ow n e n d i n g
extends the same argument The DIG defended the move as necessary to avoid the appearance of stalling given international scrutiny This is precisely the dynamic O Donnell described: state institutions perform with unusual rigour where public visibility and external pressure are concentrated while routinely lapsing into informality where such pressure is absent Foreign victims with embassies and international media attention behind them generated exactly that pressure Domestic complainants overwhelmingly do not and Ayesha Jalal s work on the postcolonial state s coercive and discretionary tendencies reminds us that this asymmetry is not incidental but constitutive of how the state has historically allocated its attention and resources None of this suggests that international pressure produced an admirable outcome by accident It suggests more usefully that the ingredients of a functioning blue area political direction transparency coordination are always available to Pakistan s institutions Their routine absence for citizens without a minister s family tree or a foreign passport is not a structural inevitability It is a choice repeated case by case that a genuinely equal justice system would no longer need to make The writer is a PhD Scholar at Keele University UK and can be reached at KajalManshad@gmail com She tweets @KajolManshad
The Karachi squeeze
Privacy undone
Countr y falling behind on farm mechanization
Kajal ManShad
Threatening peace and securit y
IN D I A S defence establishment is pursuing an ambitious modernisation drive with profound implications for regional and global peace and security On 12 February 2026 New Delhi approved a defence upgrade plan of Rs 3 6 trillion (approximately $40 billion) to modernize the capabilities of its army navy and air force across multiple domains This initiative includes the
Times of India on 4 January 2026, India has recently raised a drone force called ‘Bhairav’ with over 100,000 operatives, calling it the future warfare force New Delhi has also heavily invested in many other lethal weapons platforms These include about 4,200 main battle tanks, 522 fighter jets and a bluewater navy with two operational aircraft carriers, 18 conventional diesel-electric submarines (SSK) and 100 active surface vessels India has also launched projects concerning space satellite systems, such as the Indian Space Research Organisation’s Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) regional navigation satellite system Consequently, this expansive military modernisation, spanning land, sea, air and space domains, reflects a shift toward power projection capabilities, which risks undermining regional peace and stability in an already fragile security environment India’s planned acquisition of 114 additional Rafale fighter jets, advanced surveillance platforms, and maritime interdiction systems goes beyond routine incremental upgrades The accelerated pace of these acquisitions appears partly driven by efforts to address capability gaps and restore military credibility following the shortcomings exposed during the May 2025 conflict with Pakistan The scale and scope of India’s modernisation may also indicate preparations for future aggression against Pakistan, particularly as Indian political and military leaders keep threatening Pakistan with Operation Sindoor 2 0 The scale of India’s military build-up and modernisation is further reinforced by its deepening partnerships with France and Israel On 18 February 2026, during the 6th
Annual Defence Dialogue, India and France renewed a 10-year defence cooperation agreement and signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to facilitate the domestic production of Hammer missile systems in India Deployed on Dassault Rafale aircraft, the Hammer is a precision-guided, air-toground munition designed to enhance standoff strike capabilities India has also maintained a deepening strategic partnership with Israel to expand defence cooperation and arms procurement New Delhi is widely regarded as one of Israel’s largest defence export destinations, contributing significantly to its defence industry In recent years, India has continued to procure a broad range of advanced systems, including air defence, surveillance and unmanned platforms
Reported agreements and ongoing negotiations between the two sides indicate a sustained trajectory of high-value defence transactions During Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Tel Aviv on 25-26 February 2026, two days before the initiation of war against Iran, India and Israel agreed to establish the Critical and Emerging Technologies Partnership To New Delhi, this initiative will give new impetus in areas such as military application of AI, quantum computing and critical minerals trade Figures from the International Defence Cooperation Directorate (SIBAT) of Israel’s Ministry of Defense show that, between 2020 and 2024, India imported more than $20 5 billion worth of weapons from Israel In November 2025, the two sides signed a MoU for purchase of weapons worth $8 6 billion by India, which include SPICE 1000 precisionguided missiles, Rampage air-to-surface missiles, Air Lora air-launched ballistic missiles and the Ice Breaker missile system Alarmingly, systems such as the SPICE 1000, with autonomous target acquisition capability independent of GPS through advanced electro-optical homing, enhance
strike precision while simultaneously compressing decision-making timelines India’s expanding high-end defence acquisitions signal a shift toward integrating advanced and disruptive technologies to make up for the substandard performance of its armed forces witnessed during the Four-Day War imposed by nuclear-armed India against nuclear-armed Pakistan India’s modernisation of its conventional military forces is complemented by its unprecedented build-up of nuclear warheads fissile material stockpile and missile development India’s 11 unsafeguarded nuclear reactors remain outside the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) thereby retaining the technical flexibility to divert domestically processed nuclear fuel toward its weapons programme This gap in monitoring by the IAEA raises serious concerns about transparency and the broader trajectory of India’s strategic capabilities Concurrently India continues to expand the reach and survivability of its strategic forces through the deployment of nuclearpowered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) and K-series submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) The induction of the MIRV-capable Agni-V and reports regarding the prospective development of the Agni-VI programme with a range of up to
IndiaÊs military modernisation drive is not only being left unchecked, but is being encouraged for geopolitical and commercial considerations by the West. This trajectory risks institutionalising strategic instability in South Asia, where IndiaÊs rapid conventional force modernisation and nuclear expansion reinforce one another IndiaÊs military buildup, coupled with unsafeguarded fissile material production and expanding conventional and second-strike capabilities, weakens the normative foundations of regional restraint IndiaÊs military build-up not only destabilises deterrence stability in South Asia, but also poses a wider threat to global peace, security, strategic stability and survival.
Gene-edited humans
on human embryos to study early development or disease (this research is legal in the UK and US as long as the embryos are destroyed within 14 days) The lead author of one study Dieter Egli said that the technology wasn t yet ready for the clinic but the advances would guide responsible research to achieve its ultimate safe and effective use This encapsulates the view of many scientists who believe the regulated use of germline editing to eradicate hereditary conditions is inevitable and the main objection is around safety
Safety concerns rather than any larger ethical ones form the basis of most laws against gene editing – making them less ironclad than they initially appear The position of the influential Nuffield Council on Bioethics is that human germline editing is not ethically unacceptable in itself a line also held by the US National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine As the bioethicist R Alta Charo points out each new technological advance chips away at objections over
safety, forcing us toward more fundamental questions on whether this technology should be used at all, and if so in what situations Any changes to the law must consider these questions and specific uses, rather than a narrow definition of safety The public, it seems, is running ahead of scientists on this front New polling by Ipsos for the Progress Educational Trust found that a majority of citizens in the UK, Spain and the Netherlands supported the use of gene editing to correct lifethreatening genetic conditions like cystic fibrosis, and a plurality support using it on difficult but manageable conditions like asthma (Italy returned a plurality in support on both questions) Given that IVF research was strongly opposed through the 1980s, this shows a remarkable degree of trust in science, and a newfound willingness to tinker with the very stuff of life But human germline editing should not be a fait accompli There are genetic conditions that can’t be treated with existing methods like embryo selection, and if the technology is deemed safe it should be considered first only in these rare cases Designer babies are not just a bogeyman We already know that in jurisdictions including the UK, where donor selection is illegal in IVF, some couples will use companies abroad to screen for desirable traits It is worrying that in the US there are already collaborations between such IVF companies and labs doing base-editing research, showing how short the leap is likely to be from medical treatment to ondemand genetic designs Any discussion must make it clear that while regulation can limit these darker uses, it is unlikely to eliminate them entirely Human germline editing should remain banned for the time being – that is clear on the grounds of safety alone But that argument may not always hold, and we can’t rely on it for ever It’s time to have the conversation about what happens next
I PA C i s d e a d . L o n g l i v e t h e D S A
militar y modernisation
Italy seeks to contain Trump row before Nato summit
Italy
with US President Donald Trump senior ministers said as
Minister Giorgia Meloni prepares to attend the Nato summit in Ankara after a fresh social media jibe from the US leader Meloni had previously been regarded as one of Trump’s closer European partners, but ties have deteriorated in recent weeks after he told Italian television channel La7 last month that she had begged him
ticularly online and that Rome had chosen not
Pakistani delegation meets D r Yunus at Global S ocial Business S ummit
Standard Char tered, fCCi par tner to launch fCCi expo 2026 to advance business growth, industr y collaboration
FAISALABAD S TA F F R E P O R T
Standard Chartered Pakistan and the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FCCI) officially unveiled the upcoming FCCI Expo 2026 during a soft launch event in Faisalabad The event brought together prominent business leaders industrialists entrepreneurs, and key stakeholders from across the city As the Title Sponsor of FCCI Expo 2026, Standard Chartered has partnered with FCCI to power one of Pakistan's leading business exhibitions The main event is scheduled to take place from 24 July to 26 July 2026 at the Lahore Expo Centre The soft launch marked the formal introduction of the Expo highlighting its role as a catalyst for business connectivity and investment opportunities The launch event was attended by approximately 150 distinguished guests from Faisalabad s business community, serving as a platform for meaningful dialogue on the opportunities and challenges shaping Pakistan s industrial and commercial landscape Commenting on the partnership Saadya Riaz Head Wealth and Retail Banking, Standard Chartered Pakistan
across the province and will seek assistance from other institutions, including the police, in this regard Senior Sindh Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon, while addressing a press conference along with provincial ministers Makhdoom Mehboob-uzZaman Muhammad Ali Malkani and Muhammad Bakhsh Khan Mehar said that during a lengthy Sindh cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah directives were issued to take indiscriminate action against hoarders in order to stabilize flour prices He said that Sindh and Punjab had witnessed bumper wheat crops; however hoarders attempted to create an artificial shortage by purchasing wheat in large quantities from farmers As a result the cabinet decided to seal the warehouses of hoarders and launch a crackdown against them Sharjeel Inam Memon said that the cabinet has decided to introduce an integrated weight management system in the Food Department involve the Sindh Information Technology Company in the project and give SITC one month to conduct a detailed review SSGC carries out grand raid at Karachi's Abul Hasan ispahani road KARACHI S TA F F R E P O R T
The Sui Southern Gas Company Ltd unearthed a grand theft operation that was being carried out at Gulshan View Apartment, Abul Isphani Road, Gulzar-e-Hijri, Scheme 33, Karachi The Counter Gas Theft Operations team together with Customer Relations Department (CRD) Domestic Theft Distribution Department and SSGC
N J A B Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Tuesday reaffirmed her government's commitment to public service, saying the upgradation of Rural Health Centres (RHCs) was ensuring the delivery of quality healthcare services at people s doorsteps while declaring that her administration had drawn its guiding principles of governance and public welfare from Quaid Muhammad Nawaz Sharif
"We have learnt the lesson of public service from Quaid Muhammad Nawaz Sharif the chief minister said while talking to Members of the Punjab Assembly (MPAs) Mian Shahid Hussain Khan and Muhammad Aoun Jahangir, who called on her to discuss public issues, the law
and order situation, and ongoing development projects across the province according to a statement issued by the Chief Minister s Office (CMO)
The meeting also featured a detailed discussion on constituency-related matters and the prevailing political situation The legislators expressed grief over the tragic Kahna incident in which chil-
CM launched 'Apna Khet Apna Rozgar' initiative to empower landless families: A zma
LAHORE S TA F F R E P O R T
Punjab Minister for Information and Culture Azma Bokhari has said that Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz is rapidly translating her vision of public service social welfare and economic empowerment into reality through people-centric initiatives across Punjab She said that after the landmark "Apni Chhat Apna Ghar" and "Apni Zameen Apna Ghar" programmes the Punjab Government has now launched the Apna Khet Apna Rozgar scheme describing it as another historic initiative aimed at empowering landless and underprivileged families Azma Bokhari stated that under the Apna Khet Apna Rozgar scheme, 30,000 families are being provided ownership of agricultural land She added that more than 180 000 people have already become homeowners under the Apni Chhat Apna Ghar programme while in the first phase of the Apni Zameen Apna Ghar" initiative, 2,000 deserving families have received free residential plots reflecting the Punjab Government's commitment to providing dignified
Bokhari
housing opportunities Highlighting the government s support for the agricultural sector, the Information Minister said CM Maryam Nawaz has placed farmers' welfare at the forefront of her development agenda Across Punjab 900 000 Kissan Cards and 30 000 Green Tractors have been distributed, while 5,000 farmers have received Super Seeder machines and 8,000 tube wells have been converted to solar power She said these initiatives would enhance agricultural productivity reduce cultivation costs and significantly improve farmers incomes Azma Bokhari said that the Punjab Government s public welfare programmes are no longer limited to announcements but are producing tangible improvements in the lives of citizens
FFC, Yara Partner to Boost Pakistan's Crop Nutrition
RAWLPINDI
S TA F F R E P O R T
Fauji Fertilizer Company Limited (FFC), Pakistan's leading fertilizer manufacturing and marketing company fully backed by intensive and knowledge-based advisory services has further strengthened its commitment to agricultural innovation through its strategic collaboration with Yara International ASA Founded in Norway in 1905, Yara is one of the world s foremost crop nutrition companies, operating and supporting farmers and industries with its fertilizers and crop nutrition solutions in over 140 countries, with footprints in all continents
The collaboration brings together FFC s 48-year legacy of trust extensive nationwide marketing network and deep understanding of Pakistani agriculture with Yara's global expertise in crop nutrition, agronomic expertise, and advanced technologies to provide Pakistani farmers with world-class biological and specialty plant nutrition solutions
As part of the strategic collaboration between FFC and Yara International the SONA and Yara brands have entered into a co-branding arrangement to introduce a premium portfolio of advanced biological and specialty plant nutrition products in Pakistan The portfolio comprises five foliar biological products, YaraAmplix Optitrac™, YaraVita Crop Boost™ YaraVita Bortrac™ YaraVita Frutrel™ and YaraVita Solatrel™ along with the premium highly soluble calcium fertilizer YaraLiva Tropicote™ The product portfolio was officially unveiled at Sona Tower, FFC Head Office, Rawalpindi, during a ceremony attended by senior leadership from FFC and Yara International Rapid population growth climate change and increasing environmental stresses pose serious challenges to agricultural productivity of Pakistan and national food security FFC s collaboration with Yara International is a step forward to address these challenges through high quality crop nutrition solutions tailored to Pakistan's cropping systems and agronomic conditions
order to stabilize flour prices
E C P A G A I N W A R N S K P, C E N T R E O V E R
E L AY I N LO C A L B O D Y E L E C T I O N S
Aleema unveils new PTI protest strategy after Adiala
Jail meeting denied again
Former prime minister and PTI
founder Imran Khan's sisters staged a sit-in near Adiala Jail on Tuesday after they were once again denied a meeting with the incarcerated party founder, while Aleema Khan announced a change in the party's protest strategy, saying only Imran Khan's three sisters would visit the prison in future and party workers would no longer be called to gather outside the jail
According to PTI leaders, Tuesday had been a scheduled day for meetings with Imran Khan at Adiala Jail However, when the meeting did not take place his sisters including Aleema Khan staged a protest at the Factory Checkpost near the prison
Addressing supporters during the sit-in, Aleema Khan said the party had decided to revise its protest strategy and that future vis-
its to Adiala Jail would be limited to Imran Khan's three sisters
"We have presented our future course of action today From now on only the three sisters will come to Adiala Jail Party leaders whose names are approved for meetings may come, but workers will not be called," she said, while thanking supporters who had participated in previous protests
Aleema Khan said the PTI founder had already conveyed his message regarding a street movement adding that the party leadership would lead protests in their respective districts to build pressure on the government
She maintained that the movement was aimed at restoring constitutional and legal rights rather than securing family meetings alone
Meanwhile, jail sources said former first lady Bushra Bibi was allowed to meet members of her family at Adiala Jail
According to the sources her
sister-in-law, Mehr-un-Nisa Maneka, and daughter, Mubashra Sheikh, met her in the jail's conference room for around 40 minutes during which they discussed her health and well-being
Attendance at the protest remained lower than expected despite appeals by PTI leaders for supporters to gather outside the prison
During the sit-in clashes broke out between rival groups of PTI workers after one group attempted to approach Aleema Khan and was stopped by another group
The confrontation turned violent, with workers exchanging punches and tearing each other's clothes
Women present at the protest intervened to separate the rival groups but fresh scuffles erupted shortly afterwards, during which one worker s glasses were broken
Police sources later said two PTI workers were taken into custody from the protest site
to the search area, while the Pakistan Air Force deployed a SAAB surveillance aircraft and the Pakistan Navy launched an ATR aircraft to assist in the operation The Pakistan National Shipping Corporation also diverted its commercial vessel Lahore to support the ongoing search effort Meanwhile, global flight-tracking service Flightradar said preliminary ADS-B data suggested a "possible crash", although the information had yet to be officially confirmed
ISLAMABAD N E W S D E S K
The National Industrial Relations Commission (NIRC) has scrapped its entire 2025 recruitment exercise and ended the services of 10 appointees after an inquiry found multiple violations of the Civil Servants Act, 1973, and the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority Rules, 2004 An inquiry report signed by acting chairman Sardar Tahir Sabir said the recruitment process was invalid from the outset and identified a series of procedural and legal flaws These included the improper formation of the Departmental Selection Committee (DSC), the absence of open competitive bidding in the hiring of the Candidate Testing Service (CTS), breaches of quota rules, appointments of overage candidates and the use of fabricated documents The move came after objections were raised earlier by the Accountant General of Pakistan Revenues (AGPR) which had stopped salary payments to the newly appointed employees through a letter dated March 2 2026
ISLAMABAD
N E W S D E S K
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday allowed one more adjournment in former prime minister Imran Khan s appeal against his conviction in the £190 million corruption case, while making clear that no further delay would be entertained A two-member bench comprising Chief Justice Sarfaraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Asif issued the written order in the criminal appeal moved by Imran against his conviction in the Al-Qadir Trust case, also referred to as the £190m corruption reference The conviction had been handed down by an accountability court in January 2025 At the hearing Imran s counsel Sardar Latif Khosa sought two weeks time The court accepted the request after the counsel gave an unequivocal undertaking that he would not ask for another adjournment on any ground and would present arguments on the merits at the next hearing The request for adjournment is acceded to It is, however, made abundantly clear that this shall constitute the final opportunity,” the order stated
The bench further directed that if the defence did not proceed with arguments at the next hearing, the court would not grant more time and would decide the appeal on the basis of the available record after hearing the respondents’ side The matter was adjourned until a date to be fixed by the registrar s office Who appeared before the court Along with Khosa, senior counsel Salman Akram Raja and Fatehullah Barki appeared for Imran Khan The National Accountability Bureau was represented by Special Prosecutor Javed Arshad and Senior Special Prosecutor Muhammad Rafay Islamabad Advocate General Naveed Malik also appeared with state counsels Background of the case
The £190m case relates to the Al-Qadir Trust settlement NAB alleges Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi received billions of rupees and land measuring hundreds of kanals from a real estate firm in exchange for legalising Rs50 billion that had been identified and returned to Pakistan by the United Kingdom during the previous PTI government
The amount had been placed in the Supreme Court’s account as part of a settlement involving the property tycoon On Jan 17 2025 an accountability court in Islamabad sentenced Imran Khan to 14 years in prison and Bushra Bibi to seven years in the same case
