Maham Khan

For decades, Pakistan has hosted one of the world&#39;s largest refugee populations, providing sanctuary to millions of Afghans fleeing conflict. But by October 2025, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif declared that Pakistan could no longer sustain this burden, citing security threats and socio-economic challenges. The result: over 1.47 million Afghan nationals repatriated in what Islamabad said is an orderly but necessary response to an escalating crisis.&nbsp; The numbers tell a grim story. Between 2023 and 2025, Pakistan experienced a devastating wave of terrorist attacks with alleged or confirmed links to Afghanistan. In January 2023, a suicide bomber killed 95 people at a Peshawar mosque. In July 2023, an attack on a political rally in Bajaur claimed over 50 lives. By December, 23 soldiers died in a military post attack in Dera Ismail Khan.&nbsp; In 2023, Pakistan&#39;s former Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti stated that 14 of 24 suicide bombings in that year alone&nbsp;involved Afghan nationals. The pattern continued into 2024 and 2025. After seven soldiers were killed in North Waziristan in March 2024, Pakistan&#39;s defense minister declared that terrorism against Pakistan was &quot;mostly being conducted from Afghanistan.&quot; Most recently, in November 2025, a suicide bombing at an Islamabad district court killed 12 people. Pakistani officials stated that the bomber was an Afghan national and the attack was orchestrated from Afghanistan. For Pakistan, these aren&#39;t isolated incidents but evidence of a systemic problem: militant groups, particularly Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISIS-K), operating from Afghan territory to launch cross-border attacks. Pakistani officials have repeatedly asked the Afghan Taliban of preventing its soil from being used by these militant groups. Despite diplomatic assurances to the contrary, the Taliban regime has done little. The diplomatic efforts were genuine but ultimately futile. Throughout 2025, Pakistan engaged in multiple rounds of high-level talks with Afghanistan&#39;s Taliban government, mediated by Qatar and Turkey. In April, Pakistan&#39;s Foreign Minister visited Kabul. In May, trilateral talks were held in Beijing. When deadly border clashes erupted in October, three separate negotiation rounds were convened in Doha and Istanbul. All failed. Pakistan demanded verifiable action against militant groups; Afghanistan either could not or would not deliver. The humanitarian dimension of this crisis cannot be ignored. According to an International Organization for Migration report in late November,&nbsp;435,279 Afghan nationals returned to Afghanistan between July and September alone. 93% left through self-organized returns, driven overwhelmingly by fear of arrest. The deportees came from areas that had suffered terrorist attacks: 28% from Quetta, 11% from Pishin. In September 2025, a suicide bombing at a political rally in Quetta, near Pishin, was claimed by the ISIS-K. This is the tragic calculus of national security meeting humanitarian obligation. Pakistan has legitimate security concerns. When diplomatic channels fail and attacks continue, a government faces pressure to act decisively. The international community has largely remained silent, treating this as a bilateral issue rather than a regional crisis requiring multilateral solutions. Afghanistan&#39;s Taliban regime has proven unable or unwilling to control militant groups within its borders, leaving Pakistan with few options. Meanwhile, Afghan refugees become pawns in a security crisis not of their making. There are no easy answers here. Pakistan&#39;s security concerns are real and documented. The failure of diplomatic engagement left Islamabad feeling it had exhausted peaceful options. But the mass repatriation of over a million people, many of whom have known only Pakistan as home, raises profound questions about refuge and the limits of hospitality when national security appears threatened. What remains clear is that this crisis demands more than bilateral negotiations that end in deadlock. It requires sustained international engagement, pressure on the Afghan&nbsp;Taliban to deny sanctuary to militant groups, and genuine support for both Pakistan&#39;s security needs and the humanitarian needs of displaced Afghans. Without it, we&#39;re left with what we have now: a tragic situation where everyone loses, and the most vulnerable pay the highest price.

Blogs

When diplomatic channels fail and attacks continue, a government faces pressure to act decisively.

Pakistan's refugee crisis: When security concerns force difficult choices

24 years ago, the twin towers fell in Lower Manhattan, reshaping not just the skyline but the lived reality of every Muslim in America. This January, Zohran Mamdani will be sworn in as New York City&#39;s 111th mayor&mdash;its first Muslim, first South Asian, and first African-born leader.&nbsp; The geographic irony is almost too perfect: a Muslim mayor taking office in the very city whose police department once mapped every mosque within 100 miles, where &quot;wearing traditional Islamic clothing&quot; was listed as a radicalization indicator, where informants infiltrated wedding parties and college rafting trips in the name of counterterrorism. The distance between those two moments&mdash;between surveillance subject and City Hall&mdash;tells a story not just of individual achievement but of collective survival, political awakening, and the hard-won transformation of a community that refused to disappear. Since at least 2002, the NYPD&#39;s Intelligence Division engaged in what can only be described as systematic religious profiling. The Demographics Unit mapped 28 &quot;ancestries of interest&quot; associated with Muslim populations while explicitly excluding non-Muslims like Coptic Christian Egyptians or Iranian Jews. Undercover officers embedded themselves in mosques, bodegas, coffee shops, and barber shops. Their job, according to civil liberties groups, was to &quot;live the life of a fake Muslim&quot; inside these communities. The statistics are staggering: anti-Muslim hate crimes jumped from 28 incidents in 2000 to 481 in 2001 alone. But numbers can&#39;t capture what surveillance does to a community&#39;s soul. As Dr. Debbie Almontaser, a longtime Muslim advocate, testified: &quot;The community was traumatized because of how invasive the surveillance was.&quot; Trust evaporated&mdash;not just between Muslims and law enforcement, but among Muslims themselves. You couldn&#39;t be certain your neighbor wasn&#39;t an informant. Abdullah Ahmad, a Pakistani-American Brooklynite, who grew up in the 2000s, remembers this atmosphere vividly. &quot;Growing up in New York, it was a lot of Islamophobia,&quot; he recalls. &quot;That smear campaign mentality, the stigmatism that came from the Bush administration and everything after, it shaped how we moved through the world.&quot; Yet this is also where the story turns. Because surveillance, for all its trauma, had an unintended consequence: it politicized a generation. When your community is under siege, you have two choices:&nbsp;retreat or organize. New York&#39;s Muslims chose organization. Mamdani&#39;s victory carries symbolic weight that no single person should have to bear. A 2017 Pew Research survey found that 75% of US&nbsp;Muslims agreed there is &quot;a lot of discrimination&quot; against their community. The UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion noted that &quot;widespread negative representations of Islam, fear of Muslims generally, and counterterrorism policies have served to perpetuate, validate and normalize discrimination.&quot; Into this climate steps a 34-year-old who spent his early years in Uganda and Cape Town, a &quot;third culture kid&quot; who once worked as a foreclosure prevention counselor in Queens. He&#39;s being asked to represent not just eight million New Yorkers but, symbolically, 1.8 billion Muslims worldwide. Yeliz Coban, a Turkish-American Brooklynite,&nbsp;understands this weight differently. &quot;It feels like being heard,&quot; she says simply. &quot;Not just being spoken at or spoken about, but truly listened to. It feels like someone who understands both the quiet resilience and the heavier burdens that Muslim communities have carried. His win isn&#39;t just symbolic&mdash;it&#39;s emotional. It feels like the city finally made space for us at the table.&quot; But the political opposition Mamdani faces reveals how precarious this moment remains. President Trump branded him a &quot;communist&quot; and vowed &quot;political retribution.&quot; Sitting members of Congress used fear-mongering, warning that his election would cause &quot;another 9/11.&quot; Trump even endorsed independent Andrew Cuomo&mdash;his political opponent&mdash;to prevent a Muslim from leading America&#39;s largest city. Masroor Jehangiri, a Pakistani-American living and studying in Staten Island, a predominantly Republican-leaning borough of NYC, feels both pride and anxiety. &quot;As a Muslim, I certainly feel proud and enabled that a person from our background can now become mayor of one of the greatest cities in the world,&quot; he says. &quot;This also comes with worry about how much Mamdani can actually deliver seeing how bad the political opposition has gotten. But I&#39;m glad his campaign revealed the mindsets of the politicians that lead us.&quot; Here&#39;s what makes Mamdani&#39;s victory genuinely transformative rather than merely symbolic: he didn&#39;t win by running away from controversy or making himself palatable to power. He won by building the largest grassroots campaign in New York history&mdash;100,000 volunteers knocking on three million doors. He won by centering economic justice: freezing rents for two million New Yorkers, making buses free, creating universal childcare, building 200,000 affordable housing units. &quot;A year ago, almost nobody had heard of Zohran Mamdani,&quot; Masroor notes. &quot;He used social media and multiple mediums to connect with younger generations, but he was also out on the streets doing ground work, genuinely connecting with everyday New Yorkers. For the first time, we witnessed a politician being genuine and honest,&nbsp;who doesn&#39;t seem trained to say certain answers but rather knows what answers people want.&quot; Abdullah saw this authenticity firsthand. &quot;Zohran has been a person of the community since the very beginning. He can speak to folks in Harlem because of his Ugandan background, or with all the desis [South Asians] in Jackson Heights.&nbsp;I recently had friends who went out for Halloween, and he was at the clubs speaking. No other politician would do that. I went to Yemeni delis, and they still have his posters up.&quot; This matters because it reframes the narrative. Mamdani isn&#39;t asking Muslims to be grateful for a seat at the table&mdash;he&#39;s reorganizing the entire table around working people&#39;s needs. South Asian voter turnout in the 2025 NYC primary increased by 40% compared to 2021, not because of identity politics but because a candidate finally spoke to their lived economic reality. The path from surveillance to City Hall wasn&#39;t inevitable, it was built. Built by Muslims who refused to self-censor out of existence, who organized despite fear, who raised their children to claim space rather than apologize for occupying it. Abdullah captures this generational shift perfectly: &quot;This 9/11 rhetoric is sort of ending. Yeah, you can instill fear from the Trump administration or Cuomo or whatever. But I think love and hope trumps all of that.&quot; Yeliz&#39;s hopes are more personal but no less powerful: &quot;My prayer is that Mamdani leads with integrity, keeps his promises, and shows this city that representation isn&#39;t something to fear but something that can expand our collective sense of belonging. If he does that, even those hesitant now will see that this moment isn&#39;t a threat, it&#39;s an opportunity.&quot; 24&nbsp;years ago, Muslim New Yorkers became surveillance subjects in their own city. Today, one of their own will lead it. That transformation didn&#39;t erase Islamophobia or solve systemic discrimination. But it proved something more important: that communities under siege can organize their way to power, that the children of immigrants can reshape the cities that once profiled them, that the distance between &quot;suspect community&quot; and City Hall is shorter than it looks&mdash;if you&#39;re willing to knock on three million doors. The future isn&#39;t certain, but it&#39;s no longer being written about Muslims. It&#39;s being written by them.

Articles

The geographic irony is almost too perfect: a Muslim mayor taking office in the very city whose police department once mapped every mosque within 100 miles.

New York once surveilled its Muslims, now Zohran Mamdani leads it

In late October 2025, Indian audiences watched a Bollywood hero demand a DNA test of the Taj Mahal. In &ldquo;The Taj Story&rdquo;, the protagonist claims the 17th-century mausoleum was originally a Hindu temple &lsquo;stolen&rsquo; by Muslim rulers. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has repeatedly rejected this theory, and centuries of historical and architectural records credit Mughal emperor Shah Jahan with commissioning the monument for his wife Mumtaz Mahal. Yet in Narendra Modi&rsquo;s India, history is increasingly subject to reinterpretation. When cinema becomes a vehicle for myth presented as fact, and when millions absorb propaganda as entertainment, it amounts to a systematic reframing of Muslim contributions to the subcontinent, and of the identities of the 200 million Muslims who live in India today. India&rsquo;s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), have refined a strategy of cultural revision: rewrite textbooks, challenge monument origins, recast Mughal history as occupation, demolish mosques and build temples in their place, and enlist Bollywood as a mass-scale amplifier. <figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/6cb9827c-b2ee-4b47-837d-1d998cce1d25-2.png" alt="2.png" class="fr-fil fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">Paresh Rawal promoting his movie The Taj Story on X.</figcaption></figure> The temple that never was The claim that the Taj Mahal was once a Shiva temple, &ldquo;Tejo Mahalaya,&rdquo; originated with P.N. Oak&rsquo;s 1965 book. Historians and the ASI have long dismissed the idea. In 2022, India&rsquo;s Supreme Court rejected a petition to open 22 sealed Taj Mahal rooms to search for Hindu idols, calling the request &ldquo;publicity interest litigation.&rdquo; The ASI has stated that the rooms are simple maintenance spaces. Even within India, voices are raising eyebrows over this narrative. Before the film premiered, many were quick to label it as propaganda.&nbsp; &quot;I think this story is pure propaganda,&rdquo; one Indian X user bluntly put it. <figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/bd64d234-dec7-4248-a489-c62aad1266b5-3.png" alt="3.png" class="fr-fil fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">An Indian X user stated that the entire story was &quot;pure propaganda&quot;. (X)</figcaption></figure> Some went further, openly hoping for the movie to flop &quot;badly&rdquo;. <figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/e36968de-f78d-4d9a-838b-627efa0fb68d-7.png" alt="7.png" class="fr-fil fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">(X)</figcaption></figure> One particularly sharp-witted user quipped, &ldquo;Nothing says trusted research like watching a movie [and] rewriting history! 22 mystery chambers, divine murtis, courtroom &lsquo;eyewitnesses&rsquo;&mdash;all checked. &quot;Next up: history books sold at the popcorn stand. Taj Mahal facts brought to you by Bollywood, not archaeologists.&rdquo; <figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/4d663e50-9c31-4bc8-ab9e-45ee20c20879-9 (this).png" alt="9 (this).png" class="fr-fil fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">(X)</figcaption></figure> And it wasn&rsquo;t just the narrative itself that irked people. The main actor&#39;s shifting stance didn&rsquo;t go unnoticed. A user unearthed an&nbsp;October 2017 post&nbsp;from Paresh Rawal, where he had stated, &ldquo;Taj Mahal&mdash;Symbol of Love becomes the symbol of Hate!!!(sic)&nbsp;Stupid [and] unnecessary [and] sad [and] pathetic controversy.&rdquo; As the&nbsp;user wryly noted, it looks like Mr. Rawal may have had a &quot;change of heart&quot;&hellip; or perhaps a change of narrative. <figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/0db6e1bb-c756-4612-a431-f3ae9829f95f-6.png" alt="6.png" class="fr-fil fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">(X)</figcaption></figure> When myth shapes law The Taj Mahal&nbsp;debate evokes an earlier, far more consequential case: the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya. Hindu nationalist groups spent decades claiming the 16th-century mosque stood atop the birthplace of the Hindu deity Ram. In December 1992, tens of thousands demolished the mosque. The violence and riots killed thousands. After a 17-year inquiry, the Liberhan Commission named BJP and RSS leaders &ldquo;responsible&rdquo; for the demolition. But in 2019, the Supreme Court, while declaring the mosque&rsquo;s destruction illegal, awarded the land to a Hindu trust. In January 2024, Modi inaugurated a new temple on the site in a nationally televised ceremony. The message many took from the sequence was clear: demolish first, wait, then receive recognition. Rewriting identity in classrooms The historical revision extends to classrooms. School textbooks have been reworked to minimize the cultural, architectural, and scientific contributions of Muslim dynasties, particularly the Mughals, who shaped Indian identity for centuries. Mughal emperors are increasingly framed as &ldquo;foreign occupiers&rdquo; rather than rulers whose legacy is interwoven with Indian music, language, art, and city-building. Curriculum is not neutral. What children learn determines who they believe belongs. The politics behind the rewrite Proponents of these changes argue they are restoring &ldquo;authentic Hindu history&rdquo; suppressed by earlier scholars and Muslim rule. But the effect is to cast Indian Muslims as historical outsiders in their own country. If the Taj Mahal, a globally recognized symbol of India, is reframed as &ldquo;originally Hindu,&rdquo; then Muslim claims to Indian cultural heritage are weakened. If mosques are reclassified as former temples, then every mosque becomes contested. Pluralism erodes quietly, long before violence erupts, through shifts in who is considered rightful. What is at stake The Taj Mahal itself will not change. Marble does not respond to political pressure. But the idea of India that built the Taj, a state where Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and other communities participated together in shared cultural production, may not survive if historical narrative becomes a tool of exclusion. The transformation unfolding is not simply about monuments or textbooks. It is about defining who belongs in the world&rsquo;s largest &#39;democracy&#39;. When a nation with 1.4 billion people and one of the world&rsquo;s largest Muslim populations reorders its history around a singular religious identity, the implications are global. Cinema scenes can become political reality. A fictional demand for a monument&rsquo;s DNA test reflects a deeper shift: the attempt to rewrite not just history, but citizenship itself.

India’s ruling BJP have refined a strategy of cultural revision: challenge monument origins, recast Mughal history as occupation, demolish mosques and build temples in their place, and enlist Bollywood as a mass-scale amplifier.

Taj Mahal: Hindu nationalist revisionism reshapes India’s monuments and memory

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is advancing a strategy to expand its meat and agricultural exports, aiming to position itself as a major player in the global halal market through regulatory reforms, infrastructure upgrades, and international partnerships, officials and industry experts said. The country aims to capture a larger share of the global halal market, valued at about $407.8 billion in 2023, according to a report by ICRIC, an affiliate of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Success could generate billions in foreign exchange and create jobs for millions, though infrastructure deficits and regional competition pose significant challenges. Untapped export potential Pakistan has 251.3 million livestock, with a growth rate of 3.18% annually since 2006, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics&rsquo; 7th Agricultural Census released in August 2024. The sector accounts for 63.6% of agricultural GDP and 14.97% of the total GDP, as per the Economic Survey 2024-25 released in June 2025. The Ministry of National Food Security and Research reported in June this year&nbsp;that over eight million rural families rely on livestock as their main livelihood. Despite this massive base, meat exports reached just $512 million with 123,515 tons in fiscal 2024 &mdash; a 20% increase from $426 million but under 3% of total exports, according to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics data reported in July 2024. Over 97% of Pakistan&#39;s approximately 2.2 million tons of meat production is consumed domestically, according to the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan&#39;s Meat Export Strategy 2023-2027. The government aims to address&nbsp;barriers through infrastructure investment, skills training and technology upgrades to modernize processing facilities, improve cold storage networks and strengthen disease control systems. Infrastructure challenges Infrastructure deficits remain the primary obstacle. In September 2025, the government announced plans to establish modern abattoirs and processing facilities nationwide to meet international halal standards. Outdated cold chains limit capacity. Production costs reach $5 per kilogram compared with India&#39;s $3.5 per kilogram, as revealed during a meeting with PM&rsquo;s&nbsp;Special Assistant Haroon Akhtar Khan with industry stakeholders on October 20, 2025. Foot and Mouth Disease restricts access to premium markets. October 2025 discussions with Malaysia and Qatar addressed these challenges while opening cooperation channels. Pakistan also vowed to improve disease control, breeding programs and traceability systems. Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain said at an October 19, 2025, meeting that Pakistan would overcome production costs and cold chain deficiencies through targeted interventions and public-private partnerships. International cooperation International partnerships provide access to expertise, technology and markets. October 2025 meetings with Australia, Malaysia, Qatar and the United States secured technical support. The Samsons Group is partnering with the Ministry of National Food Security and Pakistan Agricultural Research Council to improve livestock breeds, feed quality and disease control.&nbsp; The partnership aims to position Pakistan in, while promoting value-added products and agro-tourism in areas including Malam Jabba Valley in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Australia, which exported 1.69 million metric tons of beef in 2024, according to Meat and Livestock Australia, will provide technology transfer.&nbsp; Discussions with Qatar and US focused on improving livestock genetics, disease management and research to enhance compliance and market access in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and beyond. Private sector role Private sector engagement drives the strategy. Government partnerships with private companies aim to modernize processing and boost export potential through capital investment. Their focus on value-added halal products aligns with growing global demand for certified, sustainable food. Government-backed initiatives, including Samsons Group&rsquo;s Malam Jabba Valley project, combine mountain agriculture and livestock development to create rural income and enhance sustainability. Economic visionPakistan&rsquo;s livestock population grew from 143 million in 2006 to 251.3 million in 2024, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. Dr. Ikramul Haq, a leading Pakistani economist, says this growth presents a major opportunity for the country. &ldquo;Pakistan has huge potential in this sector, thanks to its rapidly growing livestock population. With one of the largest livestock populations in the world, this subsector is vital, accounting for more than 60% of the country&rsquo;s total agricultural economy,&rdquo; he said. He noted that boosting productivity, quality and compliance could drive significant growth in domestic and international markets. Pakistan aims to increase competitiveness in key markets. The United Arab Emirates accounted for 39% ($200 million) and Saudi Arabia 28% ($142 million) of meat exports in fiscal 2024, according to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics data. Expansion targets include Europe and Southeast Asia. The strategy positions Pakistan as a major player in the halal market, leveraging its large livestock population, established halal practices, strategic location between Middle Eastern and Asian markets, and a young workforce.

Economy

Pakistan is pursuing reforms, infrastructure upgrades, and international partnerships to expand its halal meat exports, though outdated facilities, disease control gaps, and logistics challenges continue to limit competitiveness.

Pakistan targets global halal market with reforms to boost meat exports

ISLAMABAD: At the recent Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly in Geneva, an Indian representative from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Aparajita Sarangi, claimed that &ldquo;Kashmir is an integral part of India&rdquo; and that &ldquo;the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India was completely legal and irrevocable.&rdquo;&nbsp;However, a fact-based review of international documents and ground realities shows that this claim does not align with historical, legal, or international facts.&nbsp;1. Kashmir&rsquo;s status is defined by the UN as disputedThe United Nations Security Council (UNSC) passed resolutions in 1948 and 1949, specifically Resolutions 47 and 51, that recognized Jammu and Kashmir as a disputed territory. These resolutions called for a free and impartial plebiscite to determine whether the region&rsquo;s people wished to join India or Pakistan.&nbsp;That plebiscite has never been held, and the region&rsquo;s status therefore remains undecided under international law.&nbsp;&ldquo;Kashmir&rsquo;s future must be determined by its people, not by unilateral declarations,&rdquo; Pakistan maintains in its consistent position before international forums.&nbsp;2. World&rsquo;s most militarized regionIf Kashmir were truly an &ldquo;integral part&rdquo; of India, it would not require the presence of hundreds of thousands of troops. Independent global assessments describe Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir as one of the most militarized zones in the world, with a long history of armed resistance and civilian unrest dating back to 1947.&nbsp;3. India&rsquo;s 2019 actions contradict international commitmentsIn August 2019, India revoked Article 370 of its constitution, stripping Jammu and Kashmir of its special autonomous status. Pakistan and international observers have called this action a violation of UN resolutions and an attempt to alter the region&rsquo;s demographic and political identity.&nbsp;Since then, Pakistan has marked August 5 as &ldquo;Youm-e-Istehsal,&rdquo; or Day of Exploitation, observing it as a reminder of what it calls India&rsquo;s &ldquo;unilateral and illegal actions&rdquo; in the occupied territory.&nbsp;4. Human rights concerns remain documented&nbsp;International human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have reported arbitrary detentions, restrictions on free speech, and limitations on movement in Indian-occupied Kashmir since the revocation of Article 370.&nbsp;Reports by Reuters and AFP indicate ongoing fears of demographic changes and suppression of dissent in the region.&nbsp;5. Global and Kashmiri voices call for self-determinationThe All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) and other Kashmiri political groups continue to demand implementation of the UN-mandated plebiscite. In 2025, APHC spokesperson Abdul Rashid Minhas reaffirmed the group&rsquo;s commitment to peaceful self-determination, despite restrictions and detentions.&nbsp;&ldquo;Kashmiris remain steadfast in their demand for the right to decide their own future,&rdquo; Minhas said earlier this year.&nbsp;Prominent Kashmiri leader Yasin Malik, currently imprisoned, has also consistently called for self-determination and an internationally supervised plebiscite.&nbsp;6. International concern over India&rsquo;s stanceDebate over India&rsquo;s 2019 actions has extended to foreign parliaments and academic circles. A 2020 US Congressional discussion raised concerns that India&rsquo;s decision could destabilize South Asia and escalate tensions with Pakistan.&nbsp;The Harvard Law Review (2021) described India&rsquo;s Kashmir policy as resembling &ldquo;settler colonialism,&rdquo; referring to demographic engineering through new domicile laws.&nbsp;Dispute recognized by the worldWhile India insists that Kashmir is an &ldquo;internal matter,&rdquo; the United Nations, international law, and decades of unresolved conflict demonstrate otherwise.&nbsp;Until the promised plebiscite is held and the will of the Kashmiri people is respected, the status of Jammu and Kashmir will remain disputed, not integral to India.&nbsp;As Pakistan consistently asserts: &ldquo;Kashmir&rsquo;s future lies in the right of its people to self-determination, not in unilateral claims.&rdquo;

Indian army soldiers light earthen lamp on a fence to celebrate Diwali, near the Line of Control in Akhnoor sector, Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. October 16, 2025. (AP)

Fact Check

Kashmir remains a UN-recognized disputed territory despite Indian claims. International law and UN resolutions call for a plebiscite to determine the region’s final status through the will of its people.

Fact Check: Why Kashmir can never be an integral part of India

ISLAMABAD:&nbsp;At first glance, it feels almost anachronistic&mdash;two countries announcing a barter agreement in the third decade of the 21st century, in a world hurtling towards a cashless economy. Yet, this is precisely the economic route countries like Pakistan, Iran, and Russia seem to be charting in 2025. On Sunday, Pakistan and Iran formally signed an amended Business-to-Business (B2B) Barter Trade Mechanism, first introduced in 2023, aimed at boosting bilateral trade between the two sanction-hit economies. The news was confirmed by Pakistan&#39;s Ambassador in Tehran, Muhammad Mudassir Tipu. According to Tipu, the revised statutory regulatory order (SRO) followed &ldquo;an exhaustive process of deliberations,&rdquo; and addressed longstanding concerns of the business communities in both countries. He expressed optimism that the framework would &quot;substantially elevate Pakistan-Iran trade and diversify its base.&quot; Business bodies and chambers of commerce were encouraged to circulate the SRO among their members to enable them to capitalize on what he termed &ldquo;mutually-beneficial trade dividends.&rdquo; This development follows another high-profile barter deals. In October 2024, Pakistan signed a barter deal with Russia in Moscow. According to Pakistan&rsquo;s Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), the agreement involved Russian firms and Pakistani companies exchanging agricultural commodities such as chickpeas, rice, mandarins, potatoes, and lentils. The deals were sealed during the first-ever Pakistan-Russia Trade and Investment Forum, with over 60 Pakistani firms showcasing goods and services with a combined export value exceeding $500 million. The forum also featured high-ranking Russian officials and banks, who expressed an interest in alternative payment mechanisms given the continuing SWIFT sanctions on Russia. Why barter? Why now? The resurrection of barter as a tool of statecraft and economic survival has not gone unnoticed. Once relegated to history books, barter has made a curious comeback. To be clear: this isn&rsquo;t romantic nostalgia for ancient trade routes or a step toward alternative economic utopias. Rather, it is a direct response to modern geopolitical and financial constraints, especially in economies heavily burdened by sanctions, currency volatility, and restricted access to global banking infrastructure. According to economist Dr Ikramul Haq, barter offers developing countries like Pakistan a strategic lifeline in a world where Western-dominated financial institutions and reserve currencies&mdash;primarily the US dollar&mdash;remain gatekeepers of international trade. For nations under sanctions such as Iran and Russia, barter becomes less of an option and more of a necessity. &ldquo;The bartering system helps to end dependence on keeping foreign exchange reserves and mitigate fluctuations,&rdquo; Dr Haq explained. &ldquo;In case of Iran and Russia, the additional reason is sanctions on banks imposed by the US and other states.&rdquo; This also explains why Dr Haq advocates for Pakistan to expand such mechanisms to all &quot;Golden Ring&quot; countries&mdash;a term sometimes used to refer to the emerging bloc of Russia, China, Iran, Turkey, and Pakistan. Iran: A crisis economy Iran&rsquo;s embrace of barter is less a strategic pivot than an act of economic survival. Its 2025 macroeconomic outlook is, by most accounts, grim. According to the World Bank, Iran is projected to experience a 1.7% contraction in GDP this year, with the Iranian Parliament&#39;s own research center forecasting -0.3% growth in the first half alone. This is compounded by inflation, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projecting a 43.3% inflation rate for 2025, up from 32.6% in 2024. Sanctions are at the heart of Iran&rsquo;s economic woes.&nbsp;Renewed UN sanctions, reinstated in September 2025, have severely impacted the country&rsquo;s oil revenue and foreign exchange reserves. The 12-day war with Israel only accelerated inflationary expectations and currency depreciation. Meanwhile, Iran&rsquo;s currency&nbsp;is in free fall. While officially pegged at 42,000 IRR per USD, the free-market rate is substantially worse. In the most pessimistic&mdash;but widely accepted&mdash;scenario outlined by the Iranian Chamber of Commerce, inflation could hit 90% and the exchange rate could reach 165,000 tomans (equivalent to 1.65 million rials) per dollar by the end of the year. Poverty is escalating just as quickly. The World Bank estimates that 32.7 million Iranians, out of a population of 86 million, now live on less than $8.30/day, the international poverty threshold. Despite a life expectancy of 77.7 years, Iran&rsquo;s per capita GDP stands at $5,528.9, with total GDP at $475.3 billion (in 2024). Against this backdrop, barter offers Tehran a path&mdash;however limited&mdash;to bypass the dollarized international system and maintain trade flows without exhausting its dwindling reserves and navigating sanctioned banking channels. Russia: Sanctioned but still trading The Russian economy, though more resilient than Iran&rsquo;s, is also being dragged toward alternative trade arrangements by necessity. Following years of Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine, Russia&#39;s access to the global banking system remains severely constrained. The IMF&rsquo;s 2025 report revised Russia&rsquo;s GDP growth forecast to 0.6%, down sharply from 4.3% in 2024. While not collapsing, the Russian economy is clearly losing steam. Several factors are contributing to this slowdown: 1. &nbsp; &nbsp;High interest rates imposed by the Central Bank to curb inflation 2. &nbsp; &nbsp;Reduced oil revenues due to global price volatility and export limits 3. &nbsp; &nbsp;Dwindling fiscal reserves, which had previously cushioned the impact of sanctions Inflation remains persistent, projected at 9% in 2025&mdash;more than double the global average. Meanwhile, the ruble, which has seen periods of extreme volatility, is currently trading at around 81 per USD. Some analysts predict a gradual devaluation, with one Central Bank survey expecting it to average 102 per USD before year&rsquo;s end. Still, Russia has adapted in typical Kremlin fashion&mdash;by building elaborate sanctions evasion networks and deepening ties with countries willing to trade outside the dollar-based system. India, the UAE, and China continue to do business with Moscow, albeit with their own forms of risk mitigation. For Pakistan, therefore, entering a barter arrangement with Russia isn&#39;t just symbolic&mdash;it&rsquo;s practical. It offers access to agricultural exports, manufacturing goods, and even energy commodities, without dealing with SWIFT-related complications. Is barter a long-term economic model? Barter is not without its critics. Most mainstream economists and leading financial institutes&mdash;including Merwan Engineer, Shouyong Shi and even David Graeber&mdash;consider it inefficient or inherently limited. Without a standard medium of exchange, trade requires perfect bilateral balance&mdash;something rare in complex global supply chains. There are also logistical challenges: matching needs, coordinating delivery timelines, and ensuring equivalency in value. However, in sanction-heavy geo-economic environments, these inefficiencies are often deemed a worthwhile price to pay for strategic autonomy. As Dr Haq noted, barter arrangements allow developing economies to maintain trade relationships, conserve foreign reserves, and resist dependency on Western financial systems. That said, barter alone is not a remedy. For it to function as a sustainable supplement&mdash;not just a sanction workaround&mdash;countries must build legal frameworks, logistics networks, and valuation protocols. The involvement of chambers of commerce, as seen in the Pakistan-Iran SRO, is a step in that direction. But the elephant in the room remains: is this a temporary adaptation, or a signal of a deeper shift in the global economic order? Beyond barter Some experts see the return of barter not as nostalgia, but as a prelude to a new parallel financial system&mdash;a multipolar world where dollar hegemony is diluted by yuan, and local currencies backed by commodity exchange or digital tokens. Efforts like Russia&rsquo;s Mir payment system, China&rsquo;s digital yuan, and bilateral clearing mechanisms between BRICS nations indicate that barter may be a stepping stone toward broader de-dollarization efforts. If so, Pakistan, Iran, and Russia are early adopters of a model born not of economic idealism but of necessity&mdash;required due to sanctions, resource constraints, and diplomatic isolation. Final thoughts Barter, once dismissed as archaic, now occupies an unlikely position in the toolbox of 21st-century economic diplomacy. While unlikely to replace modern financial systems, it offers a stopgap&mdash;and in some cases, a strategy&mdash;for nations navigating a world of geopolitical fragmentation and asymmetric economic power.

People barter goods in San Miguel market, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina. (REUTERS)

Banking

Business

Developing nations like Pakistan, Iran, and Russia are reviving barter trade as a strategic workaround to bypass dollar dependence, financial sanctions, and restricted global banking access.


In the age of digital trade, why are developing countries turning to barter?

It&rsquo;s happened. Again. Predictably. Inevitable.&nbsp;Perhaps it was bound to happen. In an era of unverified media and echo chambers amplifying right-wing Indian nationalist narratives, another seemingly innocent historical site has become collateral damage. This time, the 14th-century architectural marvel Adina Mosque in West Bengal has become the latest casualty of this aggressive Hindu nationalist revisionism. An innocuous post by Yusuf Pathan, brother of famed cricketer Irfan Pathan, documenting his visit to the historic Adina Mosque, was all it took.&nbsp; Pathan wrote on X (formerly Twitter): &quot;The Adina Mosque in Malda, West Bengal, is a historic mosque built in the 14th century by Sultan Sikandar Shah, the second ruler of the Ilyas Shahi dynasty. Constructed in 1373&ndash;1375 CE, it was the largest mosque in the Indian subcontinent during its time, showcasing the region&#39;s architectural grandeur.&quot; <figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/206772c2-98f7-433f-8c89-d7d47dbc6c7e-1.png" alt="Yusuf Pathan's post on X (Twitter) regarding Adina Mosque" class="fr-fil fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">Yusuf Pathan&#39;s post on X (Twitter) regarding Adina Mosque</figcaption></figure> Historical fact, you might think. Not in today&rsquo;s India. No sooner had the post gone live than a digital avalanche of faux outrage, conspiracy theories, and archaeological fiction followed&mdash;largely driven by Hindu nationalist accounts hell-bent on turning every brick and dome into a misplaced remnant of a Hindu temple. Enter Grok&mdash;Elon Musk&rsquo;s latest toy and a large language model (LLM). For context, an LLM is a sophisticated system that processes and generates text by analyzing massive datasets, unlike a sentient intelligence But that didn&rsquo;t stop users from weaponizing it. An Indian X user, 𝐕𝐑 (@0xVeepul), asked Grok under Yusuf&rsquo;s post: &ldquo;Is the above information correct?&rdquo; To which Grok replied&mdash;calmly and factually: &ldquo;Yes, the information about the Adina Mosque is accurate based on historical records. It was built by Sultan Sikandar Shah in 1373&ndash;1375 CE and was the largest in the subcontinent at the time.&rdquo; <figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/7f765913-3caf-42fa-b5e2-cb16e2482cd1-2.png" alt="Screengrab from X" class="fr-fil fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">Screengrab from X</figcaption></figure> Cue outrage. Unwilling to let facts spoil a good myth, other users doubled down. PlanH (@planH_In) declared with full nationalist indignation: &ldquo;Dear Yusuf Pathan, you are standing in the campus of one of the largest Hindu Temples, Adinath Temple, which was desecrated and occupied by Islamic invaders [&hellip;] It is time to undo the injustice and barbarity, and reestablish the temple.&rdquo; <figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/c63e9860-5048-49b7-958d-c0d2a1ba844c-4.png" alt="An Indian X user argues that the historic 14th-century Adina Mosque in West Bengal, India was originally a Hindu temple. (X)" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">An Indian X user argues that the historic 14th-century Adina Mosque in West Bengal, India was originally a Hindu temple. (X)</figcaption></figure> Once that claim didn&rsquo;t quite hold up to scrutiny&mdash;or reality&mdash;goalposts were shifted. Another user, now armed with poorly cropped images of carvings, asked Grok: &ldquo;@grok Can you verify this image belongs to the same place?&rdquo; Again, Grok tried to inject sanity: &ldquo;The images you shared appear to be close-ups of carvings at the Adina Mosque in Malda, West Bengal. Sources like OpIndia, and India Today indicate the mosque incorporates Hindu and Jain motifs from reused temple materials, matching the terracotta figures and designs shown. They align with the site&#39;s documented architecture.&rdquo; <figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/ddc6e295-1651-47d7-8ff0-b9aa103f10fd-6.png" alt="Grok fact-checks an Indian X user's claim that images from inside the Adina Mosque prove it was once a Hindu temple. (X)" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">Grok fact-checks an Indian X user&#39;s claim that images from inside the Adina Mosque prove it was once a Hindu temple. (X)</figcaption></figure> In other words: yes, some recycled materials were used. That&rsquo;s not the same as &ldquo;Hindu temple desecrated by Islamic invaders.&rdquo; But nuance, it seems, is not welcome in this arena. The storm continues, echoing the now infamous Babri Masjid debacle&mdash;and, more ludicrously, the attempts to &quot;reclaim&quot; even the Taj Mahal as a Hindu site. Babri Masjid: The blueprint of manufactured outrage The Babri Masjid dispute remains the cautionary tale that refuses to fade. Constructed in the 16th century by Mir Baqi, a general under Mughal emperor Babur, the mosque stood in Ayodhya until it was demolished by a Hindu mob in 1992. The justification? The belief that it was built atop the birthplace of Lord Ram&mdash;a claim without conclusive historical proof. As Reuters have reported, the mosque&rsquo;s destruction triggered nationwide communal riots, leaving over 2,000 dead. The Supreme Court of India later ruled in 2019 that the demolition was unlawful&mdash;while paradoxically awarding the land for a Hindu temple, citing archaeological surveys. These very Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) surveys, ordered in 2003, claimed the presence of a pre-existing structure with &quot;non-Islamic&quot; architectural features. Yet these findings were hotly contested. Archaeologists Supriya Varma and Jaya Menon, court-appointed observers of the dig, later accused the ASI of methodological flaws and ideological bias (Huffington Post, December 2018). In their 2010 article in the Economic and Political Weekly, they argued the excavation &quot;did not find anything that supported ASI&rsquo;s conclusion.&quot; Historian and professor Arshad Islam, in his academic paper Babri Mosque: A Historic Bone of Contention (International Islamic University Malaysia), went further&mdash;arguing that the narrative of Ram&rsquo;s birthplace was a colonial invention.&nbsp; According to Islam, the British used such stories to divide Hindus and Muslims and consolidate imperial control&mdash;a legacy still haunting the subcontinent today. The Taj Mahal: From mausoleum to mythical mandir Not even India&rsquo;s most iconic monument is safe. In 2018, BJP Member of Parliament Vinay Katiyar claimed the Taj Mahal was originally a Hindu temple, named &ldquo;Tejo Mahalaya,&rdquo; and suggested it would be &ldquo;converted&rdquo; into a temple soon (Al Jazeera, Feb 6, 2018). This was not satire&mdash;it was a genuine policy statement. Let&rsquo;s be clear, historical records, including the Padshahnama from the Mughal period, confirm the land for the Taj was legally purchased from Raja Jai Singh. Archaeological evidence, according to the ASI, has found no indication of a temple beneath the structure. And the locked rooms, long a source of conspiracy theories, have been periodically opened for maintenance, and photos are public. Still, the myth persists&mdash;thanks largely to one man: P.N. Oak. A self-styled revisionist, Oak founded the &ldquo;Institute for Rewriting Indian History&rdquo; in 1964 and proposed, among other things, that virtually every major monument in India&mdash;Muslim, Christian, or otherwise&mdash;was originally a Hindu temple. His claims were so fantastical that India&rsquo;s Supreme Court dismissed a case based on his theories as &quot;frivolous&quot; and labeled it a &quot;publicity interest litigation.&quot; His &lsquo;ideas&rsquo; still inspire popular media. In October 2025, The Taj Story&mdash;a film starring Paresh Rawal&mdash;reignited this theory with a tour guide character demanding a &quot;DNA test&quot; for the Taj Mahal. According to The Print&mdash;an Indian digital platform&mdash;the film resurrects long-debunked conspiracy theories under the guise of entertainment. A pattern of appropriation This is no longer about academic disagreement. This is ideological repurposing masquerading as historical correction. From the Babri Masjid to the Adina Mosque, and even the Taj Mahal, the pattern is clear: 1. &nbsp; &nbsp;Identify an Islamic monument. 2. &nbsp; &nbsp;Launch a campaign of pseudohistorical claims. 3. &nbsp; &nbsp;Demand &ldquo;reclamation.&rdquo; 4. &nbsp; &nbsp;Ignore evidence, facts, and historians. 5. &nbsp; &nbsp;Repeat. This systematic targeting of Muslim heritage is not accidental&mdash;it&rsquo;s a calculated cultural war waged via hashtags, LLM prompts, and WhatsApp forwards.

Hindu devotees wait to enter the Hindu god Lord Ram temple after its inauguration in Ayodhya, India, January 23, 2024. (Reuters)

This systematic targeting of Muslim heritage is not accidental—it’s a calculated cultural war.

Another historic mosque dragged into Hindu temple narrative storm

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu no longer enjoys the excuse of waging a war on Gaza to manipulate corruption charges, opposition, and public scrutiny. Legal challenges Netanyahu is currently confronting three separate corruption trials. According to AFP, he faces allegations of receiving luxury items valued at over 260,000 USD, including cigars, jewelry, and champagne from wealthy businessmen in exchange for political favors. On June 29, 2025, an Israeli court postponed Netanyahu&#39;s testimony in the corruption trial. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for the case to be &lsquo;cancelled&rsquo;. In his recent address to the Knesset in Tel Aviv, Trump asked Israeli President Isaac Herzog to pardon Netanyahu. Political opposition Yesh Atid, led by Yair Lapid, represents the primary opposition bloc. However, the group faces significant challenges in presenting a unified alternative to Netanyahu&#39;s government. Reuters reported in September 2025 that the opposition&#39;s attempt to dissolve parliament and force early elections failed, primarily due to ultra-Orthodox factions striking a deal with Netanyahu on mandatory military service. The opposition&#39;s internal fragmentation remains a critical weakness, with deep ideological differences preventing a united front. Coalition dependencies Netanyahu&#39;s government heavily relies on far-right parties like Otzma Yehudit and Religious Zionism. Party leaders Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have threatened to destabilize the coalition over policy disagreements, particularly concerning the Gaza ceasefire deal. British politician Callum Miller noted that Netanyahu&#39;s dependency on far-right partners forces more radical actions, prioritizing coalition unity over national interests. Military establishment critique The Israeli security establishment has sharply criticized Netanyahu&#39;s leadership. As documented in &lsquo;Netanyahu vs The Generals: The Battle for Israel&#39;s Future,&rsquo; high-ranking security officials have publicly challenged the government&#39;s strategic decisions. Michael Oren, a former Israeli ambassador to the US, stated in October 2025 that Israel has exhausted major military options against Hamas. Judicial reform controversies A bill passed in March 2025 allows what the Israeli opposition termed as increased government influence over judicial appointments. Many have raised substantial concerns about judicial independence. Reuters reported in April 2023 that thousands of Israelis have protested in Tel Aviv against the government&#39;s judicial reform plans. In July 2023, AFP described mass protests and strikes across Israel sparked by the government&#39;s reform initiatives. War on Gaza management Netanyahu has faced mounting criticism over the conflict&#39;s management. The Guardian reported on October 14, 2025, that Netanyahu&#39;s rhetoric emphasized continued military presence, contradicting claims of a &lsquo;concluded conflict.&rsquo; Reuters noted that opposition leader Benny Gantz withdrew from the emergency war cabinet, criticizing what he believed had been Netanyahu&#39;s lack of strategic planning. Hostage families&#39; pressure The Hostages and Missing Families Forum has become a powerful opposition voice. AFP reported that many family members demonstrated against Netanyahu during his United Nations General Assembly speech. In October 2025, Reuters reported the forum&#39;s continued dissatisfaction with the ceasefire-hostage deal. Political prospects The Israel Democracy Institute&#39;s October 2025 report revealed mixed public sentiment with only over 40% of Israelis having trust in Netanyahu. A Maariv poll in The Times of Israel on October 10 showed Netanyahu&#39;s Likud party projected to win 27 Knesset seats, a slight increase from previous standings. While still significantly short of a majority, this shows uptick in positive public perception. The temporary boost is likely from the hostage-ceasefire deal. However, the same Democracy Institute study showed that 64% of Israelis believe Netanyahu should resign over the October 7, 2023 security failures. His ability to maintain political relevance amidst significant opposition indicates a capacity for strategic political maneuvering. Existing public opinion data suggests that he may be able to form a coalition government in the upcoming October 2026 elections.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a joint press conference with US President Donald Trump (not pictured) in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, DC, US, September 29, 2025. (Reuters)

Netanyahu faces mounting legal, political, and public challenges after Gaza war, with corruption trials, opposition criticism, and 64% of Israelis believing he should resign over security failures.

Can Netanyahu survive the odds after Gaza peace deal?

ISLAMABAD: The latest teaser for Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan starrer Neelofar hit the Pakistani cinema scene on Sunday, creating significant buzz with its 1:37-minute runtime. Slated for a November 28 release, the teaser offers a short glimpse into a quintessential love story between the country&#39;s most famous on-screen pair. <figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/387cca99-e592-40c5-b192-10cce9b93d37-4.png" alt="(Neelofar the film/YouTube)" class="fr-fil fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">(Neelofar the film/YouTube)</figcaption></figure> This is Mahira Khan and Fawad Khan&rsquo;s third on-screen collaboration, following famed performances in Humsafar and The Legend of Maula Jatt. Love&#39;s playful prelude The teaser begins with a playful exchange that immediately captures the audience&#39;s attention. Mahira&#39;s character playfully challenges Fawad&#39;s, saying, &quot;Next time you will dance with me,&quot; to which he responds with a simple &quot;no.&quot; Her clever retort, &quot;Why? I will not see, promise,&quot; hints at her character&#39;s blindness. Nostalgia&#39;s embrace Fawad Khan appears in a study that breathes nostalgia, surrounded by books and an antique office table. Dressed in a traditional shawl and kurta pajama, he picks up a woman&#39;s scarf, immediately creating a sense of memory and longing. The scene is carefully crafted to evoke a sense of past and present, drawing viewers into a living time capsule. Moments between memories The teaser navigates between different time periods, with scenes of Fawad Khan&#39;s character blindfolding himself echoing earlier moments where Neelofar ties a scarf around his eyes. Echoes of Lollywood&#39;s golden era The teaser is a nostalgic love letter to mid-20th-century Pakistani cinema. It features vintage elements like a radio cassette recorder, the main couple dancing in the fields, the heroine releasing a kabootar&nbsp;(pigeon) into the sky&ndash; &ndash;and, of course, the hero and heroine sharing a moment in the iconic green train cabin&mdash;capturing the essence of Lollywood&rsquo;s golden age. <figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/88c60a96-e6b4-4d4a-8eec-cad73f8afb01-2.png" alt="Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan on a Pakistani train. (Neelofar the film/YouTube)" class="fr-fil fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan on a Pakistani train. (Neelofar the film/YouTube)</figcaption></figure> The mid-20th century setting is meticulously captured with Fawad Khan in a newsboy cap reminiscent of Bhutto&#39;s style. From hairstyles to clothing, the movie transports viewers to a bygone period. A love destined for heartbreak The teaser suggests a potentially tragic love story. Fawad&#39;s character appears to be reminiscing about a passionate romance marked by tragedy. One particular scene shows Neelofar leaving Pakistan, crying as she boards an airplane. Humsafar&#39;s mini reunion The film boasts an impressive ensemble cast including Fawad Khan, Mahira Khan, Madiha Imam, Sarwat Gilani, Atiqa Odho, and Behrooz Sabzwari. It feels like a mini Humsafar reunion, bringing together several beloved actors from that iconic drama. Producer&#39;s first dance While the film is written and directed by Ammar Rasool, it marks Fawad Khan&#39;s debut as a producer. Braille and brilliance A notable detail is the film&#39;s title displayed in Braille, cleverly reflecting Mahira&#39;s character&#39;s blindness. Audience&#39;s reaction Initial reactions have been overwhelmingly positive. Viewers expressed eagerness to see the film, particularly praising the soft music and the intimate romantic scenes between Fawad and Mahira. <figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/3195179d-4c47-4736-9591-b2344915e41f-1.png" alt="The movie has a mid-20th century setting. (Neelofar the film/YouTube)" class="fr-fil fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">The movie has a mid-20th century setting. (Neelofar the film/YouTube)</figcaption></figure> Nostalgia gravy train It seems Pakistan will not miss out on the nostalgic (particularly the mid-20th century setting) gravy train sweeping the globe, with several 2025 releases diving into the positive, sunshine and rainbows era of the 60s. (We&rsquo;re looking at you in particular, The Fantastic Four: First Steps!) This isn&#39;t Hum&#39;s first foray into nostalgic storytelling either, with previous dramas exploring similar time periods this year alone.

Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan reunite for the third time in Neelofar. (Neelofar the film/YouTube)

Film & TV

Entertainment

This is Mahira Khan and Fawad Khan’s third on-screen collaboration, following famed performances in Humsafar and The Legend of Maula Jatt.

Mahira and Fawad: Pakistan’s ultimate on-screen couple reunites in Neelofar

&quot;Someone like me and someone like you shouldn&#39;t work&quot; &ndash; or should they?&nbsp; Welp, it was bound to happen: Pakistan meets South Korea, or is it? Our very own &ndash; or maybe half? &ndash; Zayn Malik collaborated with Blackpink&#39;s Jisoo on a new track &quot;Eyes Closed&quot;, released today. The power of Pakistani fans meets the global K-pop fandom &ndash; the official music video already has over 5 million views! On Wednesday, Zayn shared a picture of him and Jisoo on Instagram, with the post stating &quot;JISOO X ZAYN. Digital Single &#39;𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐒 𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐃&#39;&quot;. Spotify&#39;s official account remarked almost a day later: &quot;We have our eyes wide open for this one!&quot; Even Spotify knows the power of Jisoo stans and Zayn&#39;s diehard desi fans! <div class="fr-embed instagram-embed" style="width: 50%; display: block; max-width: 600px;"><div class="fr-embed instagram-embed" style="width: 50%; display: block; max-width: 600px;"><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-1" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DPhbeI1EyxA/embed/captioned/?cr=1&v=14&wp=444&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com&rp=%2Farticles%2F1206%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A1%2C%22os%22%3A136185%2C%22ls%22%3A839%2C%22le%22%3A1273%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="720" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-1" scrolling="no" style="background: white; max-width: 540px; width: calc(100% - 2px); border-radius: 3px; border: 1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219); box-shadow: none; display: block; margin: 0px 0px 12px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0px;">&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div> While Zayn kept it professional with an official announcement, Blackpink&#39;s Jisoo knew exactly how to grab attention. She amped up the relatability factor by sharing cute pics of her and Zayn goofing off like besties! The post garnered more than 2.1 million likes in just an hour. Artists, take notes! &ndash; or their PR teams, we suppose. <img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/2c4dc61e-e748-4b81-a9ca-b71c9edd7be0.png" style="width: 494px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Screenhot of Jisoo's Instagram account">Screenshot of Jisoo&#39;s Instagram account The music video: A cosmic journey of love and confusion The MV opens with a spaceship straight out of 1960s science fiction, with Jisoo emerging from a cryopod, crooning about how &quot;time is standing still&quot;. <figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/cd3d07d8-80e8-43cf-aaaa-0ef96fb62cfe-1.png" alt="Spaceship hurtling through space (Screenshot from the music video " class="fr-fil fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">Spaceship hurtling through space (Screenshot from the music video &quot;Eyes Closed&quot; by Jisoo and Zayn on YouTube, uploaded October 10, 2025)</figcaption></figure> Zayn, equally lovelorn, responds that he knows &quot;what you&#39;re feeling and I know you wanna say it&quot;, while nestled in his own cryopod. The video then pauses over their interstellar personnel identification cards: <table style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; width: 37%; margin-right: calc(63%);" id="isPasted"><thead><tr><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0.75pt; width: 36.3373%; text-align: center;">Detail</td><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0.75pt; width: 63.372%; text-align: center;">Information</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0.75pt; width: 36.3373%; text-align: center;">Traveler</td><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0.75pt; width: 63.372%; text-align: center;">Z A Y N</td></tr><tr><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0.75pt; width: 36.3373%; text-align: center;">Destination</td><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0.75pt; width: 63.372%; text-align: center;">LV-500</td></tr><tr><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0.75pt; width: 36.3373%; text-align: center;">Cryosleep Chamber</td><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0.75pt; width: 63.372%; text-align: center;">[Number not fully visible]</td></tr></tbody></table> <figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/e1b00842-eb5d-4977-81e3-768b815e5974-2.png" alt="Interstellar personnel identification (Screenshot from the music video " class="fr-fil fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">Interstellar personnel identification&nbsp;</figcaption></figure> Jennifer Lawrence&rsquo;s Passengers vibes, anyone? Decked out in all black &ndash; that jacket is magic, we tell ya! &ndash; Zayn reassures his beloved that he feels the same, but &quot;we gotta be patient&quot;. <figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/410097d5-0f29-47f2-b5b6-2826c285fbe7-3.png" alt="(Screenshot from the music video " class="fr-fil fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">(Screenshot from the music video &quot;Eyes Closed&quot; by Jisoo and Zayn on YouTube, uploaded October 10, 2025)</figcaption></figure> Floating like a space-age Romeo, Zayn turns zero-gravity into a metaphorical love dance. Tilted precariously in his chair, he&#39;s the poster child for cosmic recklessness &ndash; defying gravity while crooning about falling in love with eyes closed. Who needs watching where you&#39;re going when you can drift romantically through the universe, one anti-gravity chair-tilt at a time? It&#39;s part love song, part physics-defying performance art &ndash; a zero-gravity trust fall into romance? <figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/4318fd13-bfcf-4106-8c44-3742e14d4bf2-5.png" alt="Zayn's flirtation with zero-gravity (Screenshot from the music video " class="fr-fil fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">Zayn&#39;s flirtation with zero-gravity&nbsp;</figcaption></figure> Visual oddities and lyrical musings The duo unite in an endless white hallway with a red carpet, declaring &quot;ain&#39;t nobody perfect but it&#39;s all good&quot;. Weird mercury-like liquid mechanisms float inexplicably in between shots of the duo &ndash; because why not? <figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/1665b49f-9cd7-4047-8eed-361e75cfda9f-4.png" alt="(Screenshot from the music video " class="fr-fil fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">(Screenshot from the music video &quot;Eyes Closed&quot; by Jisoo and Zayn on YouTube, uploaded October 10, 2025)</figcaption></figure> &quot;The past can&#39;t hurt us if we don&#39;t look, let&#39;s let it go,&quot; they sing, with Jisoo standing eerily still in a black sleeveless dress, reminiscent of the twins in Kubrick&#39;s The Shining. The camera pans out with a 360-degree flip that would make a cinematographer dizzy. <figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/31f40123-292b-4ce1-8290-b59d75a6a478-6.png" alt="Jisoo staring at the camera while standing in the hallway a la The Shining (Screenshot from the music video " class="fr-fil fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">Jisoo staring at the camera while standing in the hallway a la The Shining&nbsp;</figcaption></figure> Very next moment, Jisoo is sure to inform us how she has &ldquo;got tunnel vision every second&rdquo;. It might be about love but hey, if it fits! A hovering robot follows her every move. Veiled threat? Media metaphor? Your guess is as good as ours. <figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/60a5f43c-dcfa-45d9-a506-9ba027638b2f-7.png" alt="(Screenshot from the music video " class="fr-fil fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">(Screenshot from the music video &quot;Eyes Closed&quot; by Jisoo and Zayn on YouTube, uploaded October 10, 2025)</figcaption></figure> The two could also be seen circling each other like cosmic kindergarteners playing an intergalactic version of &quot;Ring Around the Rosie&quot;. Who says you&#39;re too old for childhood games? Not them! as they sing simultaneously about &quot;the names and faces of who we were with&quot; &ndash; part nostalgic waltz, part space ballet? <figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/e5363b76-1535-401b-a8a9-0e89665a8183-8.png" alt="Jisoo and Zayn's galactic " class="fr-fil fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">Jisoo and Zayn&#39;s galactic &quot;Ring Around the Rosie&quot;&nbsp;</figcaption></figure> The Saturn surprise and final thoughts Just when you were getting immersed in the futuristic setting, Jisoo appears with a smartphone, cradled by impossibly long, spiky nails &ndash; peak 2020s fashion and tech, ladies and gentlemen! <figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/28463204-a6a7-4eb7-b2a0-bbc66bea4804-9.png" alt="Spiky nails meets smartphone - peak 2020s! (Screenshot from the music video " class="fr-fil fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">Long spiky nails and smartphones - peak 2020s!&nbsp;</figcaption></figure> The climax? They pass&nbsp;Saturn! Yes, with all this advanced interstellar transportation, they end up at Saturn. Because why not? A glimpse of four other passengers suggests this might be an exclusive elite space party. Technology advances, but human nature? Stubborn as ever. The MV ends before revealing the final destination, but hey &ndash; they crossed Saturn! Why this ringed planet? Your guess is as good as ours &ndash; probably somewhere between &quot;random cosmic dartboard&quot; and &quot;we thought it looked cool&quot;. The video&#39;s theme matches the lyrics about as well as a penguin matches a desert landscape &mdash; and about&nbsp;as well as Zayn and Jisoo&#39;s on-screen chemistry. Chemistry or lack thereof They share less screen time than a celebrity&#39;s attention span &ndash; a grand total of 30 seconds! It&#39;s the musical equivalent of a long-distance relationship where both parties forgot to turn on their video call. Compare this to the electric collaboration between Bruno Mars and Blackpink&#39;s Lisa in &quot;APT&quot;. While the &quot;Eyes Closed&quot; MV is racking up impressive numbers, will it reach the heights of &quot;APT&quot;? We aren&#39;t so sure! The existential question So what are we left with? A music video that&#39;s part sci-fi fever dream, part love ballad, and entirely a testament to the beautiful chaos of cross-cultural collaboration. Zayn and Jisoo have created something that defies easy categorization &ndash; is it a love song? A space odyssey? A commentary on modern relationships? Perhaps the most profound moment comes when they sing, &quot;Really shouldn&#39;t work, yeah, the history is proof&quot; &ndash; a line that could apply just as much to their musical collaboration as to the relationship in the song. The video leaves us with more questions than answers: 1. &nbsp; &nbsp;Why Saturn? 2. &nbsp; &nbsp;What&#39;s with the hovering robot? 3. &nbsp; &nbsp;How many passengers are actually on this spaceship? 4. &nbsp; &nbsp;Is this a love story or a sci-fi narrative? Only Zayn and Jisoo know for sure &ndash; and they&#39;re keeping their Eyes Closed.

Jisoo and Zayn in the music video "Eyes Closed" 

Zayn Malik and Blackpink's Jisoo launch "Eyes Closed" – a cosmic love saga where zero gravity, Saturn, and 30 seconds of screen time collide in deliriously bizarre musical matrimony.

'Eyes Closed': Zayn Malik and Blackpink's Jisoo's cosmic confusion cruise 

WASHINGTON: Police in Washington said Wednesday they had detained a suspect after two National Guard troops were shot blocks away from the White House. &quot;The scene is secured. One suspect is in custody,&quot; The DC Police posted on X. This is a developing story. Please refresh the page to see updated information as it becomes available.

Americas

US President Donald Trump says two National Guardsmen critically wounded; suspect severely injured

Suspect in Washington shooting in custody: city police

Hong Kong: A huge fire engulfed a crowded Hong Kong high-rise complex, killing at least 36 people and leaving more than 200 unaccounted for in the city&#39;s worst blaze in decades. The fire, which started on Wednesday afternoon and was still burning in the early hours of Thursday, shocked the Chinese financial hub, which has some of the world&#39;s most densely populated and tallest apartment blocks. Huge flames first took hold on bamboo scaffolding on several apartment blocks of Wang Fuk Court, which contains nearly 2,000 flats in eight towers in the northern district of Tai Po and was reportedly undergoing estate-wide maintenance. City leader John Lee early on Thursday gave the death toll as 36, including a firefighter, with 279 people unaccounted for. Twenty-nine people were hospitalized, with seven in critical condition. Lee said the fire was &quot;gradually getting under control,&quot; with flames still spotted at four out of the eight buildings in the complex. He was speaking almost 12 hours after the fire broke out. The cause was still not known. At the scene of the fire, an AFP reporter heard loud cracking sounds, possibly from the burning bamboo, and saw thick plumes of smoke billowing from the buildings as flames and ash reached high into the sky. A 65-year-old resident surnamed Yuen said he had lived in the complex for more than four decades and that many of his neighbors were elderly and might not be mobile. &quot;The windows were closed because of the maintenance, (some people) didn&#39;t know there was a fire and had to be told to evacuate via phone calls by neighbors,&quot; Yuen told AFP. &quot;I&#39;m devastated. There is loss of property and loss of life, and even a firefighter has died.&quot; More than 900 people sought refuge at temporary shelters, Lee said. &#39;Unable to reach people who requested help&#39;&nbsp;Authorities said they will launch a probe into the fire as well as into the materials on the buildings&#39; exterior that may have caused the blaze to spread faster than usual. A police officer at a temporary shelter told AFP it was unclear how many people were unaccounted for because residents were still trickling in late into the night to report missing family members. Sections of charred scaffolding fell from the burning blocks, and flames could be seen inside apartments, sometimes belching out through windows into the night sky, casting an eerie orange glow on surrounding buildings. &quot;The temperature at the scene is very high, and there are some floors where we have been unable to reach people who requested help, but we will keep trying,&quot; said Derek Armstrong Chan, the deputy director of fire service operations. He said the fire likely spread from one building to another due to the wind and drifting debris, although he added that authorities are investigating the cause of the blaze. Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed condolences to the victims, including &quot;the firefighter who died in the line of duty,&quot; according to state media. &quot;He offered sympathies to the families of the victims and those affected by the disaster, and called for making every effort to extinguish the fire and minimize casualties and losses,&quot; state broadcaster CCTV said. Lee, the city leader, said he was &quot;deeply saddened&quot; and that all government departments were assisting residents affected by the fire. &#39;Dare not leave&#39;&nbsp;A Tai Po resident surnamed So, 57, said the fire was &quot;heartbreaking.&quot; &quot;There&#39;s nothing that can be done about the property. We can only hope that everyone, no matter old or young, can return safely,&quot; So told AFP. An apartment owner in his 40s who did not want to give his name told AFP that the government needed to help those made homeless by the blaze. &quot;The fire is not yet under control, and I dare not leave, and I don&#39;t know what I can do,&quot; he said. Residents were seen being evacuated via large coaches, with local media reporting that adjacent blocks were also being cleared. Sections of a nearby highway were also closed by the firefighting operation. Deadly fires were once a regular scourge in densely populated Hong Kong, especially in poorer neighborhoods. However, safety measures have been ramped up in recent decades, and such fires have become much less commonplace.

Asia

City leader John says 279 people are unaccounted for; 29 people are hospitalized, seven in critical condition.

Hong Kong high-rise fire kills at least 36, 200-plus missing

BERLIN: NASA has confirmed that it will contribute to Europe&#39;s Martian rover Rosalind Franklin, which is scheduled to launch in 2028 after repeated delays, the European Space Agency said on Wednesday.&nbsp;The rover aims to be the first on the red planet capable of drilling up to two metres (6.5 feet) below the surface to search for extraterrestrial life.&nbsp;However, the mission relies on several elements from NASA, which US President Donald Trump has targeted with steep budget cuts since returning to the White House in January.&nbsp;ESA director general Josef Aschbacher said he had received &quot;a letter from the NASA administration to confirm the contributions&quot; of the US space agency to the mission.&nbsp;&quot;That is good news,&quot; Aschbacher said on the sidelines of the ESA&#39;s ministerial council meeting being held this week in the German city of Bremen.&nbsp;The mission was originally intended to launch in 2020, but suffered several setbacks.&nbsp;In 2022, it was suspended after the ESA ended cooperation with Russia -- the agency&#39;s main partner for the mission -- following Moscow&#39;s invasion of Ukraine.&nbsp;The ESA then turned to the United States for help.&nbsp;Aschbacher said NASA was contributing to three of the mission&#39;s elements: the launcher, radioisotope heater unit and braking engine.&nbsp;The braking engine had been confirmed some time ago, but the other two elements will be a relief for the ESA.&nbsp;NASA is also providing &quot;one instrument to analyse traces of possible life on Mars,&quot; Aschbacher added.&nbsp;The rover, which is named after British scientist Rosalind Franklin, is planned to touch down on the Martian surface in 2030.

Artificial Intelligence

NASA will contribute key elements to Europe's Martian rover, Rosalind Franklin, launching in 2028. The rover aims to search for life by drilling 2 meters below Mars' surface. It suffered delays, including suspension in 2022 due to the war in Ukraine.

NASA confirms support for delayed European Mars rover: ESA

Pakistan TV Satellite

ISLAMABAD: Iran has expressed its readiness to play a supportive role in addressing ongoing tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, offering a &ldquo;blank cheque&rdquo; to help resolve these issues, while also emphasizing the strengthening of trade and economic relations between Tehran and Islamabad. In an exclusive interview with Pakistan TV, Ali Ardeshir Larijani, Secretary of Iran&rsquo;s Supreme National Security Council, highlighted Tehran&rsquo;s willingness to assist if Pakistan seeks Iran&rsquo;s involvement in resolving regional issues. &ldquo;Pakistan is very dear and honourable to the Iranian people,&quot; Larijani said, adding we can help ease regional tensions. Earlier, addressing a press conference, the senior Iranian official said: &ldquo;We are prepared to give the Pakistanis a &lsquo;blank cheque&rsquo; to help resolve the regional issues, to be used whenever they deem necessary.&rdquo; <div class="fr-embed youtube-embed"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4FfT1CCdgvQ?si=_GiRA_uvmnUEmz-l" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen="" style="width: 100%; height: auto; aspect-ratio: 16 / 9; max-width: 100%; display: block;"></iframe>&nbsp;</div> He said this is the blank cheque for peace, and Pakistan can encash it whenever it wants. In the interview with Pakistan TV, Ali Larijani said: &ldquo;We have left this matter to our Pakistani brothers and are ready to move forward if they see a role for us. Our goal is to support the solution for the people of Pakistan.&rdquo; Larijani also noted that Iran has shown &ldquo;expressive readiness&rdquo; to help facilitate dialogue and cooperation between Pakistan and Afghanistan, following discussions with Pakistani leadership. Pakistan and Iran share historically friendly ties, with cooperation spanning trade, energy and regional security. Over the past decade, both countries have worked on multiple initiatives, including energy pipelines, cross-border trade agreements and joint efforts to maintain stability in Afghanistan. Iran has previously too shown its interest in fostering peace and stability in the region. Pakistan also emphasised the importance of regional collaboration in trade, transport and energy infrastructure, seeking to strengthen bilateral ties through tangible projects. Larijani also touched upon bilateral trade and investment initiatives. He noted that following the recent visit of Iran&rsquo;s president, both countries have intensified efforts to enhance economic cooperation, particularly in agriculture, railway networks and pipeline projects. &ldquo;Work has begun on promoting trade and economic ties between our countries, especially in agriculture, as per the directives of our leaders. We are exploring various avenues to elevate trade volume,&rdquo; Larijani stated. He added that both sides have discussed multiple strategies to expand and strengthen these relations, with optimism for tangible outcomes in the near future.

The Newsroom

Iran offers a “blank cheque” to help Pakistan ease tensions with Afghanistan, while urging stronger trade, energy and investment cooperation following recent high-level engagements and economic discussions.

Iran offers ‘blank cheque’ to support Pakistan-Afghanistan peace, eyes stronger bilateral ties

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday unveiled a proposal for a Regional Maritime Dialogue, a multicontinental framework aimed at bringing together countries from the Gulf Cooperation Council, Central Asia and Africa to address shared maritime challenges and strengthen cooperation, according to an official statement.&nbsp;The initiative was introduced by Maritime Affairs Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry during a breakfast reception hosted by Pakistan at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) headquarters in London.&nbsp;Delegations from more than 173 countries, including over 100 maritime ministers, attended what officials described as one of the most widely participated events of the IMO Assembly week.&nbsp;Calling the IMO &ldquo;the pinnacle of maritime diplomacy,&rdquo; Junaid told delegates that Pakistan was &ldquo;ready to play a proactive role in shaping regulations that reflect the needs of our region.&rdquo;&nbsp;Junaid and IMO Secretary General Arsenio Dominguez also jointly inaugurated a model of the PNSC ship Karachi, one of three new vessels the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation intends to acquire.&nbsp;The minister said the rapidly evolving maritime environment required new regional mechanisms capable of addressing &ldquo;operational, environmental, regulatory and technological needs.&rdquo;&nbsp;He added, &ldquo;Our maritime policies must reflect our vulnerabilities and our priorities.&rdquo;&nbsp;According to the proposal, the Regional Maritime Dialogue would prioritize emissions reduction, maritime safety, coordinated search-and-rescue operations and navigational safety.&nbsp;Junaid highlighted Pakistan&rsquo;s current role as coordinator of NAVAREA IX, one of 21 global navigational zones under the World-Wide Navigational Warning Service, responsible for ensuring ships receive timely and reliable safety alerts.&nbsp;To support long-term capacity building, the minister also proposed the establishment of a Regional Maritime University and a Regional Maritime Training Institute, arguing that new IMO regulations, autonomous shipping and digitalization demand updated skills.&nbsp;&ldquo;We want to prepare our workforce for the future of shipping, where technology, environmental compliance and digital skills will be essential,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;Reaffirming Pakistan&rsquo;s ambition to emerge as a regional maritime leader, Junaid said the country remained committed to working closely with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and partners across Central Asia and Africa to shape global maritime policy and advance shared development priorities.

Climate & Environment

At IMO headquarters in London, Islamabad proposes a multicontinental maritime dialogue linking Gulf, Central Asian and African states to strengthen cooperation on safety, emissions, regulation and future shipping technologies.

Pakistan seeks multicontinental alliance to shape future of global shipping

ISLAMABAD: Bahrain has conferred its highest state award on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as both countries move to deepen political, economic and defense cooperation, according to the Prime Minister&rsquo;s Office (PMO).&nbsp;In a meeting in Manama, King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa presented Pakistani PM with the Order of Bahrain (First Class), described by the PMO as &ldquo;the highest award Bahrain confers on heads of state and government.&rdquo;&nbsp;The PMO said PM Sharif thanked the King for the warm reception and for what he called Bahrain&rsquo;s &ldquo;longstanding goodwill and friendship toward Pakistan.&rdquo; He also commended &ldquo;His Majesty&rsquo;s leadership in promoting peace, tolerance and coexistence.&rdquo;&nbsp;According to the PMO, King Hamad told Sharif that Bahrain had &ldquo;the privilege of being represented at a legal forum by none other than Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah,&rdquo; adding that Pakistan&rsquo;s founding father &ldquo;remained Bahrain&rsquo;s lawyer for a long time.&rdquo;&nbsp;Both sides reviewed the &ldquo;encouraging momentum&rdquo; in bilateral ties and agreed to strengthen cooperation in political, economic, defense and cultural fields.&nbsp;The PMO quoted PM Sharif as reaffirming Pakistan&rsquo;s commitment to deepening relations &ldquo;based on shared faith and mutual respect.&rdquo;&nbsp;The prime minister thanked the King for Bahrain&rsquo;s continued support, including the establishment of the King Hamad University for Nursing and Allied Medical Sciences in Islamabad, inaugurated in September 2025.&nbsp;He also expressed gratitude for Bahrain&rsquo;s solidarity following recent terrorist incidents in Pakistan.&nbsp;On economic ties, the PMO said the prime minister highlighted Pakistan&rsquo;s desire to expand trade and investment, noting that bilateral commerce is expected to grow with the upcoming Pakistan&ndash;GCC Free Trade Agreement, now in its final stages.&nbsp;He invited Bahraini investors to explore opportunities through the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), particularly in food security, IT, construction, mining, tourism and healthcare.&nbsp;The PMO added that PM Sharif expressed appreciation for Bahrain&rsquo;s support to the more than 150,000 Pakistanis living in the Kingdom and thanked King Hamad for pardoning Pakistani prisoners.&nbsp;Both leaders reaffirmed the importance of the defense partnership and agreed to continue cooperation in training, logistics, manpower and defense production.&nbsp;They also discussed developments in Gaza, agreeing that peace and stability are &ldquo;long overdue for the people of Gaza,&rdquo; the PMO said.&nbsp;At the end of the meeting, the PMO noted that both sides expressed confidence that the visit would &ldquo;further consolidate the enduring friendship and cooperation between Pakistan and Bahrain.

Foreign Affairs

In Manama, PM Shehbaz Sharif receives Bahrain’s highest honor, strengthens Pakistan-Bahrain ties, discusses trade, defence, regional issues, and affirms commitment to deepening bilateral cooperation, says PMO.

 Bahrain awards top honor as leaders deepen strategic Pakistan ties

GAZA CITY: The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Israel returned the bodies of 15 Palestinian prisoners on Wednesday under the US-brokered ceasefire exchange deal.&nbsp;&quot;The Ministry of Health announces the receipt of 15 bodies of martyrs released today by the Israeli occupation via the International Committee of the Red Cross, bringing the total number of bodies received to 345,&quot; the ministry said in a statement.&nbsp;A medical source at Gaza&#39;s Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Yunis confirmed it had received 15 bodies via the Red Cross.&nbsp;Under the ceasefire deal, which came into effect on October 10, Israel was required to turn over the bodies of 15 Palestinians for every deceased Israeli returned.&nbsp;The 15 bodies returned on Wednesday were in exchange for the remains of Dror Or, one of the last three deceased hostages held in the Palestinian territory, whose body was handed over to Israel on Tuesday by militants, via the ICRC.&nbsp;Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said in a statement that the handover &quot;reflects Hamas&#39;s steadfast commitment to fully complete the exchange process and its ongoing efforts to finalize it despite significant difficulties.&quot;&nbsp;The last two hostages&#39; bodies still in Gaza are those of Israeli Ran Gvili and Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak.&nbsp;At the start of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, militants were holding 20 living hostages and 28 bodies of deceased captives.&nbsp;Hamas has since released all the living hostages and returned the remains of 26 dead hostages.&nbsp;In exchange, Israel has released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in its custody and returned the bodies of hundreds of dead Palestinians

Middle East

Israel returned 15 Palestinian bodies to Gaza under a US-brokered ceasefire deal, exchanging them for the remains of Israeli hostage Dror Or, Hamas says it remains committed to completing the process, with two hostage bodies still in Gaza.

Israel returns 15 Palestinian bodies to Gaza under US-brokered ceasefire deal

ISLAMABAD: In a significant endorsement of its role in global arms control, Pakistan has been re-elected to the Executive Council of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) for the term 2026-28. The vote was held during the 30th Session of the Conference of States Parties in The Hague, Netherlands, from Nov. 24 to 28. The 41-member Executive Council serves as the organization&#39;s principal policy-making body, overseeing implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and ensuring member-state compliance. It also advances scientific and economic cooperation for peaceful chemical use. With 193 states as parties, the convention is widely regarded as one of the most successful international disarmament treaties, having verified the destruction of an entire category of weapons of mass destruction. Pakistan, which ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention&nbsp;in 1997, has remained an active contributor to the OPCW mandate and has been part of the executive council multiple times.&nbsp; The Pakistan Foreign Office said the country continues to host routine OPCW inspections at relevant national facilities and participates in capacity-building and technical cooperation initiatives.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1993554767017353469&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2Fnew%2F&sessionId=3ba96c4b85199724f9f942c96144bb1d2a408154&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 922px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>The foreign office described the re-election as an endorsement of Pakistan&rsquo;s &ldquo;constructive contributions&rdquo; and a reflection of member states&rsquo; confidence in Islamabad&rsquo;s commitment to strengthening global chemical security. &ldquo;Pakistan will continue to provide effective leadership and support to the work of the OPCW,&rdquo; the statement added. According to its website, the OPCW oversees the global endeavor to permanently and verifiably eliminate the use of chemical weapons.

File: Entrance of the OPCW headquarters in The Hague - Wikimedia Commons 

Security

Pakistan was re-elected to the 41-member Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons for 2026-28. Islamabad’s active participation and hosting of routine inspections highlight its ongoing role in promoting chemical weapons disarmament and compliance.

Pakistan retains seat at chemical weapons elimination body

ISLAMABAD: Information Minister Attaullah Tarar has said a truly futuristic approach is essential to move forward. Speaking at PTV Home&rsquo;s programme &lsquo;Rising Pakistan&rsquo; on the occasion of the channel&rsquo;s 61st anniversary, Attaullah Tarar said new platforms are being created to connect Gen Z with PTV. The minister said during Pakistan-India war, it was realized that there was a need to start channels as a stratcom tool. &ldquo;We are encouraging private sector channels as well,&rdquo; he said. Attaullah Tarar said Pakistan TV Satellite has a fresh and new look and &ldquo;our stories are being quoted by international media outlets like BBC and Reuters&rdquo;. He said our strategic and geopolitical situation is such that exclusive stories from here have international significance.&ldquo;We brought new vigour in English media, whether it be digital or satellite,&rdquo; he said. Attaullah Tarar said very capable women were heading most departments in PTV, adding that it is a women-led initiative in the information domain.He said in sports, we got exclusive rights of many series through which we generated revenue. The minister said a sustainable model is needed.&nbsp; He went on to say that we are trying to do collaboration with the private sector for PTV Home. &ldquo;We can make good dramas and do collaborations with the private sector under profit-cost sharing basis,&rdquo; he said, adding that public-private partnership is a way forward. He said those who are leaders in entertainment in private sector should be invited to collaborate with PTV. The minister said today all those who are leading the entertainment industry say they started from PTV. He added that PTV has given birth to the entertainment, sports and news industries. Attaullah Tarar said he does not believe in criticism for the sake of criticism, adding that there should be constructive criticism to bring reforms. He said the private sector will be strongly encouraged in media projects, adding that Pakistan Idol was launched as private sector collaboration at a minimum cost. The information minister said the government aims to expand youth involvement through private sector programmes.

Speaking at PTV Home’s programme ‘Rising Pakistan’ on the occasion of the channel’s 61st anniversary, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said new platforms are being created to connect Gen Z with PTV. (Photo: Pakistan TV Satellite)

SAT News Desk

Speaking at an event marking PTV's 61st anniversary, the information minister said new platforms are being created to connect Gen Z with PTV.

Moving forward with futuristic approach is essential: Tarar

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir praised the &ldquo;professionalism, resolve and commitment&rdquo; demonstrated by Pakistan&rsquo;s Armed Forces during Marka-e-Haq, stating that it had &ldquo;enhanced the global stature of Pakistan.&quot;&nbsp; He was addressing participants of the National Security Workshop&ndash;27 at GHQ, Rawalpindi, according to a press release by Inter-Services Public Relations, the military&#39;s media wing. The Pakistan Army defines the period of conflict with India, starting from the April 22 Pahalgam attack to the May 10 conclusion of Operation Bunyanum Marsoos, as Marka-i-Haq in May. The army chief said Pakistan was a &ldquo;country of consequence and is destined to reach its rightful place in the comity of nations,&rdquo; ISPR said.&nbsp; The army chief highlighted the &ldquo;fluid regional environment shaped by heightened geopolitical competition, cross-border terrorism, and hybrid threats.&rdquo; Despite complex challenges including &ldquo;externally supported militancy and information-centric warfare,&rdquo; Pakistan&rsquo;s armed forces, intelligence agencies, and law-enforcement institutions continue to demonstrate unwavering professionalism and resolve to safeguard national security,&rdquo; the ISPR quoted him as saying. Participants were also briefed on ongoing &ldquo;national efforts against illegal activities, including the crackdown on smuggling, narcotics trafficking, and organized criminal networks that adversely impact security.&rdquo; Updates were shared on enhanced border controls and the repatriation of illegal foreigners to maintain internal order and protect national interests. Field Marshal Munir reiterated that the &ldquo;territorial integrity, security and protection of every Pakistani citizen is paramount for the Pakistan Army and will not be compromised under any circumstances.&rdquo; He reaffirmed the army&rsquo;s commitment to supporting federal and provincial governments. &ldquo;Coordinated national efforts and institutional synergy are vital for lasting peace, stability and prosperity,&rdquo; ISPR quoted him as saying. The National Security Workshop, run by the National Defence University, brings together parliamentarians, senior civil and military officials, academics, and representatives from civil society.

Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir addresses participants of National Security Workshop–27 (NSW–27) at the General Headquarters (GHQ) on November 26. — (ISPR)

Says success earned during Marka-e-Haq 'enhanced the global stature of Pakistan; crackdown on smuggling, narcotics trafficking, and organized criminal networks that adversely impact security continuing.

Articles by Maham Khan