Malik Waqar Ahmed

ISLAMABAD: More than 30 presidents of women&#39;s chambers of commerce gathered in the capital for a two-day conference aimed at expanding opportunities for women&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-offers-major-investment-opportunities-for-us-entrepreneurs-ambassador-says" target="_blank" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" rel="noopener noreferrer">entrepreneurs</a>&nbsp;across Pakistan. The 4th All Pakistan Women Chambers Presidents International Conference centered on capacity building, financial inclusion, and market access for women-led enterprises. It was organized by the Islamabad Women&#39;s Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar Khan inaugurated the event, stating that women are <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistans-powerhouses-the-women-who-owned-2025" target="_blank" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" rel="noopener noreferrer">reshaping Pakistan</a>&#39;s economy by entering new sectors, creating jobs, and strengthening household incomes. &quot;Women-led enterprises are no longer confined to micro or informal activities,&quot; the special assistant said. &ldquo;They are increasingly visible in manufacturing, services, information technology, agribusiness, and exports.&rdquo; Haroon Khan mentioned that this shift is altering market dynamics and how families cope with inflation, rising energy costs, and slow growth. He observed a clear move from survival-based businesses to growth-oriented firms led by educated women utilizing digital platforms and formal banking channels. The special assistant highlighted that official data indicate increased women&#39;s participation in small and medium enterprises over the past decade. However, policy gaps and limited access to finance still restrict scaling and productivity. He emphasized unlocking women&#39;s potential as essential for maintaining economic growth under fiscal pressure. Women entrepreneurs are helping diversify exports through value-added products in textiles, food processing, and digital services, reducing dependency on a few commodities and bolstering foreign exchange earnings. Haroon Khan pointed to recent initiatives aimed at easing business registration, expanding credit guarantees, and connecting women-owned firms to public procurement. He noted that firms led by women tend to be more resilient during economic shocks. He also acknowledged that despite policy announcements, access to affordable credit remains limited. Chamber representatives reported that high interest rates, collateral requirements, and delays in bank approvals continue to exclude many capable businesses. The Vice President of the Islamabad Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Rabia Farhan, mentioned that the country&rsquo;s central bank&#39;s loan programs are currently paused. Previously, a special women&#39;s grant with only a 5% markup was available. <img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/565084e1-6c1e-4bfd-86ab-7f2912791d7e-80463ddd-6664-419d-a8c0-8e715ce96a4d.jpg" alt="80463ddd-6664-419d-a8c0-8e715ce96a4d.jpg" class="fr-fil fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">A participant speaking at the 4th All Pakistan Women Chambers Presidents International Conference held in Islamabad, January 19, 2026.</figcaption> Meanwhile, Naima Ansari, Senior Vice President of the Pakistan-Azerbaijan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the Islamabad location offers direct access to government agencies and regulatory bodies, facilitating networking opportunities. Shabista Bakhtiyar, President of the Women&rsquo;s Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Karachi, discussed the importance of safe workplaces and increased participation in policy-making. &quot;Women need comfortable, safe, and healthy environments,&quot; Bakhtiyar said. &quot;They require spaces where they can work freely and be more deeply involved in policy-making.&quot; Other speakers included Islamabad Women Chamber of Commerce &amp; Industry Founder President Samina Fazil, Azerbaijan Ambassador Khazar Farhadov, Securities and Exchange Commission Commissioner Muzaffar Mirza, Deputy Director DGTO Pir Shah Gul, and Secretary General of UBG Zafar Bakhtawri.

Economy

More than 30 women chambers presidents met in Islamabad to discuss capacity building, financial inclusion and market access, highlighting women-led enterprises’ growing role in Pakistan’s economy amid economic challenges nationwide.

Women entrepreneurs target exports and tech at Islamabad summit

ISLAMABAD: The aroma of freshly cooked chicken and rice drifts through a parking lot as a brightly colored van pulls up near PIMS Hospital. Within minutes, a line forms, delivery riders still wearing helmets, security guards on lunch breaks, day laborers with dust clinging to their clothes.&nbsp;They are not waiting for charity. They are customers at Islamabad&rsquo;s most unusual restaurant: The Food ATM.&nbsp;For just Rs100 [$0.36], barely enough to buy a cup of tea elsewhere, they receive steaming plates of home-cooked meals that would cost three times as much at a street vendor. But this mobile kitchen serves something more valuable than food: self-respect.&nbsp;&ldquo;We charge a minimum price so no one&rsquo;s dignity is compromised,&rdquo; Tehreem Zakia, the young woman who founded Food ATM, told Pakistan TV Digital. &ldquo;We want to eradicate the dependency culture in Pakistan.&rdquo;&nbsp;In a country where many families face economic challenges, the model offers a positive alternative, providing affordable meals while encouraging self-reliance and preserving dignity by turning beneficiaries into valued patrons.&nbsp;Saddam Hussain, a delivery rider who stops by regularly, still marvels at the value.&nbsp;&ldquo;You get nothing for Rs100 these days,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;A normal meal costs Rs330 to Rs350 now. But this, excellent food for Rs100.&rdquo;&nbsp;The menu rotates daily, pushing back against the monotony of poverty. Fridays bring chicken rice with dessert, while Mondays feature bread and curry. Each day offers a small surprise, a modest luxury for people accustomed to skipping meals.&nbsp;Behind the counter, young women work swiftly, serving portions with easy smiles. University student Hoorain Mariam joined as a volunteer on her first day, inspired by watching senior students lead the effort.&nbsp;&ldquo;I&rsquo;m very passionate about working with them and serving humanity,&rdquo; she said, her eyes bright with purpose.&nbsp;The van follows a daily route through Islamabad, PIMS Hospital, the Blue Area, and neighborhoods where working people gather. Since its launch, Food ATM has served more than 49,000 meals, powered entirely by student volunteers and small donations.&nbsp;Operating in memory of Rakhshanda Memorial, these young women are doing more than feeding the hungry. They are quietly rewriting the rules of charity, proving that dignity matters as much as sustenance.&nbsp;As Hussain finishes his meal and returns to his motorcycle, he waves. Tomorrow, he will be back, not as a beggar, but as a customer.

Culture

Young women in Islamabad combat poverty with dignity, serving affordable Rs100 meals that transform charity into empowerment, restoring self-respect for thousands of working people daily.

Meals on wheels: Mobile kitchen feeds thousands for Rs100 a meal   

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s senior policymakers and business leaders underscored macroeconomic stability, reform momentum, and investment-focused governance at the Pakistan Policy Dialogue in Islamabad, positioning the forum as a signal of renewed economic confidence for international investors.&nbsp;Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said Pakistan had achieved macroeconomic stabilization and now needed growth led by the private sector.&nbsp;&ldquo;We are not talking about any other country,&rdquo; Dar said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re talking about Pakistan.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Macroeconomic stability in the country,&rdquo; the deputy PM said, citing lower interest rates, improved export financing and rising foreign exchange reserves.&nbsp;He added that while the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program are &ldquo;generally anti-growth,&rdquo; the government&rsquo;s focus is now on sustaining stability and unlocking growth potential.&nbsp;The dialogue brought together federal ministers, economic advisers, corporate leaders and development experts to discuss reforms spanning exports, digital infrastructure, climate resilience and institutional strengthening.&nbsp;Khurram Schehzad, adviser to the finance minister, said the dominant sentiment at the forum was confidence tempered with realism.&nbsp;&ldquo;Everyone is confident, everyone is positive, and of course, at the same time, critical as well,&rdquo; Schehzad said, pointing to recent macroeconomic gains and reforms as key takeaways, talking to Pakistan TV Digital.&nbsp;Digital infrastructure and investor accessibility featured prominently in the discussions.&nbsp;Mujeeb Zahoor, managing director at S&amp;P Global, said sustained investment in connectivity and enabling policy frameworks was critical to attract global capital.&nbsp;He emphasized the need for regulations that allow institutional investors and private markets to participate more effectively in Pakistan&rsquo;s economy.&nbsp;Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said inclusive growth required a sharper focus on human capital, particularly youth and women.&nbsp;&ldquo;We have to empower our youth and women, the drivers of economic growth,&rdquo; Iqbal said, noting Pakistan&rsquo;s young demographic profile and low female workforce participation, talking to Pakistan TV Digital.&nbsp;Participants said the Dialogue reflected a broader effort to project policy continuity and reform discipline at a time when Pakistan is seeking long-term investment, export-led growth and resilience against economic and climate shocks.

Pakistan’s policymakers and business leaders highlighted macroeconomic stability, ongoing reforms and investment-led growth at the Islamabad Policy Dialogue, projecting renewed confidence, policy continuity and reform discipline to international investors

Pakistan leaders highlight stability, reforms at Islamabad policy dialogue

RAWALPINDI: For months, she told her family she was visiting a friend. Instead, she was slipping into a classroom, learning how to design logos for strangers thousands of miles away. The secret held until the day she earned her first $80.&nbsp;She showed the payment to her father.&nbsp;&ldquo;He didn&rsquo;t say anything at first,&rdquo; recalls the academy&rsquo;s founder, who watched the moment unfold. &ldquo;Then his expression changed. He gave permission. After that, he started telling the neighbors himself.&rdquo;&nbsp;That single transaction did what months of arguments could not.&nbsp;She isn&rsquo;t alone.&nbsp;When 28-year-old Haal-e-Noor arrives at the small skills center in densely populated Rawalpindi, after sunset, she is already exhausted. Tucked inside a crowded neighborhood of narrow streets and concrete homes, her day has been split between an eight-hour job and household responsibilities. Her feet ache. Her hands are sore. Still, she sits down in front of a computer, eyes locked onto the screen, carefully adjusting the colors of a logo.&nbsp;&ldquo;This course of mine is almost three months long. I&rsquo;ve completed half of it and there&rsquo;s a little time left,&rdquo; she tells Pakistan TV Digital, barely looking away. &ldquo;I chose graphic designing because I want to earn from home in the future. In my opinion, the international freelancing market is a huge source of income.&rdquo;<figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/665e4240-bc44-46ae-a013-34a778fbd8fa-1228f304-e2c9-4801-916e-0ca5cfff7f12.jpg" alt="1228f304-e2c9-4801-916e-0ca5cfff7f12.jpg" class="fr-fil fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">Haal-e-Noor works on a design project during her evening class in Rawalpindi.</figcaption></figure> For Noor, this is not simply about mastering software. It is about autonomy. About earning her own money, making her own choices, and proving, to herself as much as to others, that her life does not have to be limited by expectation.&nbsp;She is one of hundreds of women enrolled at this tuition-free academy, where quiet transformations take place every evening. Some students arrive straight from college. Others rush in after work.A few are young mothers who study while their children sleep in the next room.&nbsp;In just two years, more than 600 women have passed through these classrooms. 60% are now earning on international freelancing platforms, designing logos for clients in New York, managing social media pages for businesses in London, and building websites for startups in Dubai.&nbsp;Yet the hardest lessons have little to do with design.&nbsp;&ldquo;Encouraging girls toward freelancing is the most difficult part,&rdquo; says Areeba Sajjad, the instructor who founded the academy. &ldquo;Sometimes husbands don&rsquo;t allow it. Sometimes parents say, &lsquo;Why does she need this? She&rsquo;ll get married anyway.&rsquo; We face these barriers every day.&rdquo;&nbsp;She pauses, then adds quietly, &ldquo;But we keep trying. We keep explaining.&rdquo;&nbsp;The story of the girl who studied in secret is one Areeba knows well. Months of hidden classes. One completed logo. Eighty dollars. And a father who suddenly saw possibility where he once saw risk.&nbsp;&ldquo;Our institute&rsquo;s goal is to make women self-reliant,&rdquo; Areeba says. &ldquo;Our entire staff is female. Many girls who learn here are earning well now. Most come from middle-class families. They are educated but have no opportunities. We want them to earn, to stand on their own feet, and to play a role in Pakistan&rsquo;s progress.&rdquo;&nbsp;The impact reaches far beyond individual lives. In the last fiscal year, Pakistani freelancers generated $400 million in foreign exchange earnings. Women are claiming an increasingly visible share of that digital economy, often from bedrooms, kitchens, and borrowed desks.&nbsp;From this modest classroom on the outskirts of Pakistani capital, Noor and women like her are quietly challenging deeply held assumptions about women&rsquo;s roles and worth. They are connecting to a global marketplace that does not ask permission, only skill.&nbsp;As Noor saves her work and shuts down the computer for the night, she is already thinking about the next class. The obstacles remain real, and the journey is far from over. But for the first time, the future feels like something she is building herself, pixel by pixel, decision by decision.

In crowded Rawalpindi, women like Haal-e-Noor gain digital skills, earning global incomes while challenging social barriers, reshaping futures through freelancing, determination, and quiet resilience.

Pakistani women quietly reshape futures through screens, skills, and stubborn hope

ISLAMABAD: Volunteers drive through Islamabad after dark, their cars packed with blankets and quilts, searching for workers who will spend another night sleeping on the streets. At intersections in sectors G-9, G-10, G-11, and G-13, thousands of daily wage workers gather each day. Most travel from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southern Punjab to seek work in the capital. They wait. Sometimes contractors arrive with job offers. Sometimes they don&#39;t. When night falls, and no work has come, the workers have nowhere to go. They spread out across footpaths and open grounds as temperatures drop, settling in for another freezing winter night. That&#39;s when Act of Kindness arrives.<figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/3602a02f-c215-4e3d-b1a3-dc54c9ecdf20-pic 1.jpg" alt="winter warmth" class="fr-fil fr-dib"></figure> For a decade, the volunteer organization has worked to bring relief to Islamabad&#39;s most vulnerable workers. Founder Atiq Afridi built the group on a simple premise: crowdfunding through social media to purchase blankets, pillows, and comforters, then sending teams of students and young professionals into the streets to deliver them directly. &quot;We&#39;ve been doing this for 10 years now,&quot; Afridi said. &quot;Our friends on social media contribute, then their friends join in, our teachers support us, their relatives participate &mdash; everyone becomes part of this chain of giving.&quot;<figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/f37ce50a-26ad-4624-a50c-48d744f677d3-pic 2.jpg" alt="Act of Kindness" class="fr-fil fr-dib"></figure>The chain has grown. What started as winter relief has expanded into medical camps, blood donation drives, and meal distribution programs. The organization now helps people start small businesses and operates teams in multiple cities across Pakistan. &quot;We have teams in different cities now,&quot; Afridi said. &quot;This isn&#39;t charity &mdash; it&#39;s community. It&#39;s about recognizing that the people who build our cities deserve our support.&quot; Each night, the volunteers finish distributing supplies, and workers across Islamabad settle down with new blankets against the cold. And each morning, they return to the same intersections, waiting again for work.

Volunteers use social media crowdfunding to deliver blankets and supplies nightly to thousands of laborers sleeping rough across Islamabad.

Volunteers bring winter relief to Islamabad's daily wage workers

ISLAMABAD: As dusk settles over the outskirts of Pakistan&rsquo;s capital, the narrow lanes of a low-income settlement come alive with an unusual sight. Children, many still in the clothes they wore while sorting garbage or helping their parents at construction sites, file quietly into a small neighborhood mosque.&nbsp;They leave behind the clatter of donkey carts and the metallic rustle of scrap yards, stepping into a space where the scent of incense mingles with the soft murmur of lessons.&nbsp;Inside, the prayer hall doubles as a classroom. Woven mats become desks. Chalkboards lean against marble pillars. And the mosque, a place of devotion for generations, has become something else entirely: a refuge for children denied a place in Pakistan&rsquo;s formal education system.&nbsp;These students belong to the margins of Pakistani society, overage children, daily wage earners, and garbage collectors whose families cannot navigate the bureaucracy or costs of mainstream schooling. The national picture is stark: 26.2 million out-of-school children, according to government data, giving Pakistan one of the world&rsquo;s highest rates.&nbsp;Against that backdrop, the work of this community-run initiative stands out.&nbsp;&ldquo;We go door to door and tell parents about the importance of education,&rdquo; said Farzana Naveed, a volunteer teacher, speaking to Pakistan TV Digital on Friday. &ldquo;These kids are 8 to 12 years old. I complete their primary education in 2.5 years.&rdquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;Our organization provides everything. Books, notebooks, pens.&rdquo;&nbsp;Her voice carries across the hall as she guides children through beginner English sentences. Some grip their pencils as if they are tools more unfamiliar than the metal hooks or sorting baskets they use at work.&nbsp;While many mosques across Pakistan host traditional madrasas focused on religious learning, this initiative offers an entirely secular curriculum. Science, mathematics, social studies, and English are taught in an accelerated format designed to prepare students for placement in regular schools.&nbsp;Attendance is remarkably high: 75&ndash;80 children arrive each day, often after finishing morning shifts.&nbsp;The setting may be unconventional for international readers, but its logic is rooted in local realities. Mosques are familiar, trusted, and free, eliminating the barriers that keep impoverished families from sending their children to school buildings they cannot afford to reach.&nbsp;Among the students is Hamza Khan, who spends early mornings picking through waste to supplement his family&rsquo;s income.<figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/89764863-06e4-4c57-8c7b-e3f771b0d175-WhatsApp Image 2025-12-06 at 20.22.21.jpeg" alt="Hamza-Mosque-School-PTV-Digital" class="fr-fil fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">Hamza, 10, studies inside an improvised classroom in a local mosque in Islamabad on December 5, 2025. (Pakistan TV Digital)</figcaption></figure>&ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t afford school before,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Now I collect garbage with my father in the morning, then come to school. So I can study and become an officer one day.&rdquo;&nbsp;His aspiration encapsulates a broader struggle in Pakistan, where 3.3 million children between the ages of 5 and 16 are engaged in child labor, including waste picking, brickmaking, and domestic work.&nbsp;For many, education is not simply a dream; it is a distant luxury.The initiative is run by the Junior Jinnah Trust, whose director, Muhammad Al Khyaam, believes this model can chip away at structural poverty.&nbsp;&ldquo;We&rsquo;re breaking the generational poverty cycle by educating children doing child labor,&rdquo; Khyaam said. &ldquo;We open mosque schools within their communities to eliminate access barriers.&rdquo;&nbsp;By reimagining existing community spaces, the model sidesteps the costs and complexities of building formal schools. It also leverages the cultural role of the mosque as a trusted communal anchor, something particularly potent in under-resourced neighborhoods.&nbsp;Pakistan&rsquo;s literacy rate stands at about 60.6%, a statistic that reflects decades of inequality and underinvestment. Yet inside this small mosque classroom, the atmosphere feels almost defiant.&nbsp;Children sit cross-legged under ornate calligraphy inscriptions, sounding out multiplication tables and practicing handwriting. Between their morning labor and their evening lessons lies a fragile but profound shift: the realization that they are allowed to dream.&nbsp;They are not only learning to read or count. They are learning to imagine.&nbsp;In this transformed prayer hall, where devotion has expanded into inclusion, education is more than instruction, it is liberation. And for the working children who gather here each day, it is the first step toward futures once written off by circumstance.

Education

A local mosque in Pakistan’s capital has been transformed into a free school, giving working and out-of-school children access to education, breaking cycles of poverty, and fostering hope for their futures.

In Islamabad, mosque school gives working children hope through education

Web Desk/AFP

<em style='box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px solid; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: Roboto, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 18px; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: oklch(0.985 0.002 247.839); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;'>This live blog follows updates for Day 23 of the US-Israeli war on Iran. For a recap of Day 22, go here<em style='box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px solid; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: Roboto, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 18px; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: oklch(0.985 0.002 247.839); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;'>. <hr style="line-height: 2;"><ul style="list-style-type: square;"><li id="isPasted" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 2;">Missiles strike southern Israel towns, causing damage, injuries, and widespread panic</li><li id="isPasted" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 2;">Israel launches strikes on Iran, targeting missile sites and nuclear facilities</li><li id="isPasted" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 2;">Iran retaliates with missiles and drones across Israel and Gulf countries</li><li id="isPasted" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 2;">Clashes intensify as Hezbollah fights Israeli forces along Lebanon border towns</li><li id="isPasted" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 2;">Global tensions rise as nations call for restraint and protect vital oil routes</li></ul><hr style="line-height: 2;">Trump says will &#39;obliterate&#39; Iran power plants unless Hormuz opens within 48 hours<p style='box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px solid; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: Roboto, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: oklch(0.985 0.002 247.839); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; line-height: 2;' id="isPasted">Published March 22, 2026 | 00:13 GMT<p style='box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px solid; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: Roboto, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: oklch(0.985 0.002 247.839); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; line-height: 2;'> US President Donald Trump gave Iran a 48-hour deadline to open the Strait of Hormuz to shipping traffic or face the destruction of its energy infrastructure. &quot;If Iran doesn&#39;t FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 HOURS from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!&quot; Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. Israel military says striking central Tehran<p style='box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px solid; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: Roboto, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: oklch(0.985 0.002 247.839); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; line-height: 2;' id="isPasted">Published March 22, 2026 | 01:09 GMT<p style='box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px solid; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: Roboto, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: oklch(0.985 0.002 247.839); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; line-height: 2;'> The Israeli military said its forces launched a wave of strikes on Tehran early Sunday, hours after Iranian missile fire hit two cities in southern Israel. A brief statement said Israeli forces were &quot;currently conducting strikes on Iranian terror regime targets in the heart of Tehran&quot;. Iran army says will target energy, desalination infrastructure after US threats<p style='box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px solid; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: Roboto, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: oklch(0.985 0.002 247.839); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; line-height: 2;' id="isPasted">Published March 22, 2026 | 01:41 GMT<p style='box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px solid; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: Roboto, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: oklch(0.985 0.002 247.839); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; line-height: 2;'> Iran&#39;s military renewed threats against the region&#39;s infrastructure after the US president vowed to &quot;obliterate&quot; power plants in the Islamic republic if the Strait of Hormuz is not swiftly reopened. &quot;Following previous warnings, if Iran&#39;s fuel and energy infrastructure is violated by the enemy, all energy, information technology and desalination infrastructure belonging to the US and the regime in the region will be targeted,&quot; the Iranian military&#39;s operational command Khatam Al-Anbiya said in a statement carried by Fars news agency. The statement comes after Donald Trump gave Iran a 48-hour deadline to open the vital route in the Gulf to shipping traffic after it was effectively closed in response to the Middle East war. Saudi Arabia expels Iran military attache<p style='box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px solid; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: Roboto, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: oklch(0.985 0.002 247.839); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; line-height: 2;' id="isPasted">Published March 22, 2026 | 00:02 GMT<p style='box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px solid; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: Roboto, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: oklch(0.985 0.002 247.839); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; line-height: 2;'> Saudi Arabia has ordered an Iranian diplomat and three members of his team to leave the country, as the kingdom and its Gulf neighbors face Iranian strikes in retaliation for US-Israeli attacks. In a statement condemning &quot;repeated Iranian attacks,&quot; Riyadh said it &quot;decided to declare persona non grata the military attache of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, along with three members of the embassy&#39;s military mission.&quot; They were given 24 hours to leave the country, the foreign ministry said in a message posted on social media.

Americas

Middle East

Saudi Arabia has ordered an Iranian diplomat and three members of his team to leave the country, Riyadh has given them 24 hours to leave the country.

Trump says will 'obliterate' Iran power plants unless Hormuz opens within 48 hours

WASHINGTON:&nbsp;Robert Mueller, the former FBI director who led a politically explosive investigation into Donald Trump&#39;s election campaign, has died aged 81, triggering a gloating response Saturday from the US president. US media reported that Mueller died late Friday, citing a family statement, without specifying a location or cause. Trump responded quickly on Truth Social, writing: &quot;Robert Mueller just died. Good, I&#39;m glad he&#39;s dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people!&quot; Barack Obama, whose presidency overlapped with Mueller&#39;s tenure as FBI chief for five years, hailed him as &quot;one of the most respected public servants of our time.&quot; Mueller led the FBI for 12 years, starting just days before the September 11, 2001 Al-Qaeda attacks on the United States, during which time he built up the bureau&#39;s counterterror mission. After his tenure at the FBI, he was tapped as a special counsel for the Justice Department to lead an investigation into whether Trump&#39;s presidential campaign conspired with Russia to get him elected. Starting in 2017, Mueller operated for two years quietly behind the scenes, emerging in July 2019 to testify before Congress about the probe that Trump regularly denounced as a &quot;witch hunt.&quot; For many Americans, the nationally televised hearing was the first close look at the patrician, grey-haired former FBI director. What many saw was a cautious career prosecutor who was forced to testify under duress and who deflected questions from both Democrats and Republicans by referring repeatedly to his voluminous report. Mueller said his report did not exonerate Trump but he mostly deflected questions from lawmakers seeking to score political points for their sides. A &#39;straight shooter&#39;&nbsp;That was in keeping with the career of a public servant who had spent four decades serving both Democratic and Republican presidents. Before taking on the politically sensitive Russia investigation, Mueller, a former marine who was wounded and decorated for heroism in Vietnam, enjoyed a sterling reputation in Washington. Mueller is a &quot;consummate professional and a straight shooter,&quot; then-FBI chief Christopher Wray, a Trump appointee, said in July 2019. As a young prosecutor in San Francisco and Boston, Mueller took on cases involving grisly murders, organized crime, fraud by powerful banks and terror attacks, winning some, losing some, but rarely drawing serious criticism for his work. At the FBI, he gained a reputation of being an exacting taskmaster and, despite his early Republican political alignment, someone who was appreciated by politicians of both political parties. Two of his most heralded prosecutions involved New York mobster John Gotti and General Manuel Noriega of Panama. After retiring in 2013, he joined a private Washington law practice where he handled official arbiter missions. Trump&#39;s May 2017 firing of Mueller&#39;s successor at the FBI, James Comey, resulted in Mueller being recalled to public service to lead the investigation into suspected Russia meddling. Over 22 months, his investigators issued charges against 34 individuals, including six Trump associates, and three companies. Born August 7, 1944, in New York City, Mueller grew up on Manhattan&#39;s tony upper East Side. He attended the elite, and at the time all-male, Princeton University where he earned his bachelor&#39;s degree in 1966. After college, Mueller enlisted in the US Marines, and after one year as an enlisted man, entered officer candidate school. As a marine, Mueller earned a Bronze Star for valor and a Purple Heart for wounds received in combat. In 2001, he took over an FBI beset by scandals, including the years-long deception by FBI mole Robert Hanssen and the agency&#39;s failure to turn over thousands of pages of investigative documents to Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh&#39;s attorneys. Then-president George W. Bush and legislators agreed that Mueller was the person to set the bureau right. &quot;His skills should be a perfect match for the challenge,&quot; Republican Senator Jeff Sessions said at the time. Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, heartily agreed. &quot;Bob Mueller,&quot; he said, &quot;will give the FBI a major boost that will help it get back on its feet.&quot;

Robert Mueller, the former FBI director has died aged 81; The New York Times reported Mueller's death, citing a family statement, but did not specify a location or cause.

Former FBI chief Robert Mueller dies at 81

BRUSSELS:&nbsp;The European Commission on Saturday urged EU member countries to lower their target for filling natural gas storage in the coming months, to alleviate price pressures caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran. EU energy commissioner Dan Jorgensen sent a letter asking to &quot;consider reducing your filling target to 80 percent as early as possible in the filling season to provide certainty and reassurance to market participants&quot;, down from the usual 90% goal. Iran&#39;s retaliation for the US-Israeli <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/drone-strike-hits-iraq-gas-complex-cuts-supply-official" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">war</a> launched against has included attacks on its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/oil-prices-surge-stocks-sink-on-energy-shock-fears" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">oil- and gas-producing</a> Gulf neighbors, effectively closing the strategic Strait of Hormuz to tankers. Price shock&nbsp;Oil prices have soared more than 50% since the start of the war, which was triggered on Feb. 28, and natural gas prices in the EU have risen by more than 30%. The price shock is expected to lead to a higher pace of inflation, and dampen economic growth. While Europe is entering its warmer months, this is the period its countries refill their gas storage in preparation for winter. With higher gas prices, though, and elevated risk for supply, the EU is facing competition with Asia for supply. &quot;Developments in Iran and the wider region threaten regional and global security,&quot; Jorgensen said in his letter. &#39;Refill stores early&#39;&quot;When it comes to energy, this situation and the attacks on energy infrastructure are significantly impacting global oil and gas markets.&quot; He said that the EU&#39;s gas supply &quot;remains relatively protected at this stage&quot;, as it gets most of its liquified natural gas from the United States. &quot;But, as a net energy importer on global markets, the resulting high and volatile global prices may also impact the EU gas storage projections.&quot; Consequently, Jorgensen said, EU countries should look to refill stores early, and do so over a longer period, &quot;to mitigate pressure on prices and avoid (an) end-of-summer rush&quot;.&nbsp;He noted that, in case of &quot;difficult conditions&quot; and a commission assessment, the countries can deviate from the target by up to 20%.

Business

EU energy commissioner Dan Jorgensen sent a letter asking to ‘consider reducing your filling target to 80 percent as early as possible in the filling season to provide certainty and reassurance to market participants’.

EU urges reduced gas-storage target as US-Israeli war on Iran crimps supply

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the ongoing attacks against Bahrain, extended condolences to victims, and emphasized the importance of dialogue and de-escalation. Pakistan&rsquo;s Prime Minister <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-pm-reviews-regional-crisis-iran-evacuation-afghan-security-escalation" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Shehbaz Sharif</a>, in a post on X on Saturday, said he &ldquo;spoke with my brother His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to convey warm Eid-ul-Fitr greetings to him and the people of Bahrain.&rdquo;<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" allowtransparency="true" 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=2035350150827376938&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=15b5cc666b33cd318823f53d4c29da5639c4274d&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 369px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" data-tweet-id="2035350150827376938">&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>He added, &ldquo;I reiterated Pakistan&rsquo;s strong condemnation of the ongoing hostilities in the region, particularly the attacks against <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/bahrain-naval-chief-visits-naval-headquarters-calls-on-pakistani-counterpart" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bahrain</a>, and extended my deepest condolences on the loss of lives and those injured.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;I also shared our continued diplomatic outreach for peace and stressed the importance of dialogue and de-escalation,&rdquo; the prime minister said. Conversation with Turkmenistan president&nbsp;In a separate post, Pakistan&rsquo;s Prime Minister&rsquo;s Office stated that &ldquo;Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif held a telephone conversation with H.E. Serdar Berdimuhamedov, President of Turkmenistan, on the auspicious occasion of Eid ul-Fitr, today.&quot;<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-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2035312877444448503&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=15b5cc666b33cd318823f53d4c29da5639c4274d&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 749px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" data-tweet-id="2035312877444448503"></iframe></div></div>&ldquo;The Prime Minister extended Eid ul Fitr greetings to the Turkmen President, the Turkmen leadership, and the brotherly people of Turkmenistan.&rdquo; The office added, &ldquo;The feelings were warmly reciprocated by the Turkmen President, who also conveyed his best wishes for the people of Pakistan.&rdquo; &ldquo;The two leaders expressed satisfaction at the positive trajectory of bilateral relations between Pakistan and Turkmenistan and expressed their shared commitment to further strengthen cooperation between the two countries across all spheres of mutual interest, particularly trade, energy, connectivity, and regional development.&rdquo;&nbsp; The post added, &ldquo;The two leaders also underscored the importance of enhancing collaboration in ongoing regional initiatives, particularly in advancing mutually beneficial projects. The conversation was marked by warmth and mutual goodwill, consistent with the cordial relations between both sides.&rdquo;

Foreign Affairs

Sharif says he reiterated 'Pakistan’s strong condemnation of the ongoing hostilities in the region, particularly the attacks against Bahrain, and extended my deepest condolences on the loss of lives and those injured.’

Pakistan’s PM Sharif condemns attacks on Bahrain, stresses dialogue, de-escalation

NEW DELHI: India has blocked the release of &quot;The Voice of Hind Rajab&quot;, a film about the killing of a five-year-old Palestinian girl by Israeli forces, the movie&#39;s distributor told AFP on Saturday. The Oscar-nominated docudrama by French-Tunisian director Kaouther <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/who-is-behind-the-voice-of-hind-rajab" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ben Hania</a> recounts the real-life death of Hind Rajab in Gaza last year as her family attempted to flee during Israel&#39;s war on Gaza. Manoj Nandwana of Jai Viratra Entertainment, the film&#39;s Indian distributor, said a member of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) told him that the film&#39;s theatrical release would &quot;hamper India&#39;s relations with Israel&quot;. &lsquo;It&#39;s strange&rsquo;&quot;After screening it for the board it was clear to me that they would not clear it for release in India,&quot; Nandwana told AFP on Saturday, adding that he was not officially notified of the denial. &quot;The film has been released all over the world including in Israel. Why is it bad or sensitive for Indians?&quot; Nandwana asked. &quot;It&#39;s strange.&quot; The film was, however, screened at an international film festival in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata in November last year, Nandwana said. New Delhi has expanded ties with Israel in defense, agriculture, technology and cybersecurity while balancing diplomatic interests in the Middle East and historically supporting Palestinian statehood. Over two decades&nbsp;Last month, <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/indias-modi-heads-to-israel-to-strengthen-cooperation" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Prime Minister Narendra Modi</a> visited Israel for two days -- the first trip by an Indian premier in over two decades -- just days before Israel and the United States began a campaign of airstrikes on Iran. Parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor from the opposition Congress party said blocking the film was &quot;disgraceful&quot;. &quot;In a democracy, screening a film is a reflection of our society&#39;s freedom of expression and has nothing to do with government to government relations,&quot; he said in a post on X. &quot;This practice of banning films or books because of the offence they might cause to foreign countries must stop immediately. It&#39;s unworthy of a mature democracy.&quot; Silver Lion grand jury prize&quot;The Voice of Hind Rajab&quot; was nominated for Best International Feature at this year&#39;s Oscars but lost to the Norwegian family drama &quot;Sentimental Value&quot;. Last year, the film won the Silver Lion grand jury prize at the Venice Film Festival where it left audiences in tears at its premiere.&nbsp;

India

Parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor terms blocking the film ‘disgraceful’; last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Israel for two days -- the first trip by an Indian premier in over two decades.

India blocks release of Oscar-nominated Gaza film 

JERUSALEM: Diplomats from 13 European countries and Canada on Saturday slammed growing &quot;terror&quot; by settlers against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, after a surge in deadly attacks. Since the start of March, six Palestinians have been shot dead in settler attacks in the West Bank, according to a tally of data from the Ramallah-based health ministry. &quot;We strongly condemn increasing settler terror and violence by the <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/un-expert-claims-israel-using-systematic-torture" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Israeli </a>security forces inflicted upon Palestinian communities,&quot; said a joint statement from the diplomatic missions of countries including France, Spain and Britain. &lsquo;Appalled by the killings&rsquo;&nbsp;&quot;We are especially appalled by the killings of Palestinians over these past weeks. This <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/palestinians-say-israeli-settler-fire-kills-two-in-west-bank" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">violence</a> by settler militias, aimed at taking over land and creating a coercive environment, forcing Palestinians to leave their homes, must end.&quot; The statement called on the <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/gaza-civil-defence-says-israeli-strikes-kill-at-least-5" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Israeli</a> authorities to &quot;prevent and prosecute the lethal violence, raids and attacks&quot;. &lsquo;Morally and ethically unacceptable&rsquo;Israel&#39;s military chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir on Wednesday criticized the increase in settler attacks in the West Bank, calling it &quot;morally and ethically unacceptable&quot;. Alongside roughly three million Palestinians, more than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements and outposts in the West Bank, which are illegal under international law. More broadly, violence in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, has risen sharply since the October 7, 2023. It has continued despite the ceasefire and spiked since the start of the war against Iran. Over 1,000 Palestinians killed&nbsp;According to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry figures, Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 1,050 Palestinians in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war. Israeli troops last week shot dead two children and their parents in a car, Palestinian authorities said.&nbsp; The Israeli military and police said soldiers opened fire on a vehicle over a perceived safety threat, killing four people inside. Official Israeli figures say 45 Israelis, including soldiers and civilians, have also been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations.

Since the start of March, six Palestinians have been shot dead in settler attacks in the West Bank, according to a tally of data from the Ramallah-based health ministry.

European nations decry 'increasing settler terror' in West Bank

ISLAMABAD: Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir has stressed that terrorists operating from sanctuaries across the border in Afghanistan will not be allowed to undermine Pakistan&rsquo;s security. The CDF made the remarks during his visit to Kurram, where he spent Eid-ul-Fitr with troops and officers, according to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Saturday. He offered Eid prayers with soldiers and prayed for the country&rsquo;s peace, stability and prosperity. Interacting with officers and troops, the CDF extended Eid greetings and praised their high morale, professionalism and unwavering commitment in safeguarding the nation. He commended the troops for their performance in Operation Ghazab-lil-Haq, noting that the operation is focused on dismantling terrorist networks and ensuring lasting peace in border regions. Reaffirming Pakistan&rsquo;s stance, the CDF said Afghan soil must not be used by hostile elements to carry out activities against Pakistan, while underscoring the country&rsquo;s commitment to regional peace and stability. Paying tribute to the martyrs, he said the success of ongoing operations is rooted in the sacrifices of fallen soldiers and the determination of officers and jawans. He also expressed pride in the troops&rsquo; steadfastness and reiterated the armed forces&rsquo; resolve to defend Pakistan&rsquo;s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Upon arrival, the CDF was received by the Corps Commander Peshawar, the ISPR said.

Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir offers Eid-ul-Fitr prayers with troops during his visit to Kurram on March 21, 2026. (Photo: ISPR)

Security

Makes the remarks during his visit to Kurram, where he spent Eid-ul-Fitr with troops and officers, according to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations.

Pakistan will not allow Afghan-based terrorists to threaten its security, says CDF

DHAKA: Bangladesh is pushing to secure loans of around $2 billion from multilateral agencies for tackling energy security concerns amid soaring global fuel prices driven by the Mideast war. The government has already taken several measures to curb fuel consumption, including halting production at most fertiliser factories. The government has now adopted a three-pronged approach to ensure sustainable energy supply, the prime minister&#39;s finance and planning advisor Rashed Al Titumir said Saturday. &quot;Part of that is securing loans,&quot; Titumir told AFP. &quot;The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has committed $1.3 billion, while the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has pledged $500 million as budget support,&quot; Al Titumir said, adding the government was pursuing the loans for early disbursement. The government may also approach the World Bank. &quot;As we want to keep foreign currency reserves intact, we have limited options other than seeking loans,&quot; Al Titumir said. The government is also exploring alternatives for sourcing energy from &quot;North America, South America or Africa&quot;. &quot;We are exploring all available options for alternative energy sources,&quot; Al Titumir said. Bangladesh -- which imports 95 percent of its oil and gas needs -- has not raised electricity and fuel prices despite the global surge. Most crude fuel is sourced from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, while around 35 percent of gas supply also comes from the Middle East. An attack on a site at Qatar&#39;s Ras Laffan LNG hub could disrupt gas supply, given the country&#39;s reliance on the facility. Since the outbreak of the Mideast war, authorities have taken several measures to curb fuel consumption. These include setting limits on fuel purchases, halting production at most fertiliser factories, deploying police to patrol filling stations, and using the navy to escort LNG shipments.

Dr Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir, Adviser to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh for Finance and Planning. (File photo: BSS)

Bangladesh

Bangladesh is pushing to secure loans of around $2 billion from multilateral agencies for tackling energy security concerns amid soaring global fuel prices driven by the Mideast war.

Bangladesh rushes to secure $2bn loan amid energy crisis

SAN FRANSCISCO: A federal jury in California found Friday that tech tycoon Elon Musk misled Twitter shareholders, driving down the company&#39;s share price as he was poised to buy it in a $44 billion deal. The verdict in the class action securities lawsuit means the world&#39;s richest person could be ordered to pay billions of dollars, according to damages calculated by jurors. Minutes after the judgment was announced, the entrepreneur&#39;s lawyers informed AFP that their client will appeal the decision, characterizing it as a &quot;setback.&quot; After a three-week trial in a San Francisco federal court &mdash; which included in-person testimony from Musk &mdash; the jury found that two tweets posted in May 2022 by the Tesla and SpaceX CEO contained false statements responsible for a plunge in Twitter&#39;s share price. Investor Giuseppe Pampena had filed the suit on behalf of people who sold Twitter shares between mid-May and early October 2022. Musk acquired the social media platform in late October 2022 and later renamed it X. Jurors agreed that Musk violated a securities rule that bars false and misleading statements that sink a stock price, in this case that of Twitter, the verdict form showed. An attorney for the plaintiffs estimated the damages at about $2.6 billion. Musk, who has a near-constant presence on X, did not immediately react to the verdict. Teflon tycoon?The judgment marks a rare legal defeat for Musk, often dubbed &quot;Teflon Elon&quot; for his ability to emerge unscathed from lawsuits he is expected to lose. His lawyers, in fact, reminded AFP of this track record, noting that a Texas court cleared him just that same day in a separate defamation case. In 2023, a jury in the same San Francisco federal court cleared him within hours of similar charges brought by Tesla shareholders, following his 2018 tweets claiming he had the funding to take the automaker private. The civil complaint in California accused Musk of driving down Twitter&#39;s stock price to gain leverage to renegotiate the purchase price or get out of the deal completely, causing people who sold shares to lose money. Musk tweeted at one point during the process that the acquisition deal was temporarily on hold until Twitter executives could prove the percentage of &quot;bots&quot; &mdash; fake accounts run by software instead of real users &mdash; was as low as the social media platform claimed. The plaintiffs contended that these statements were part of a scheme designed to pressure the board of directors into accepting a price lower than his initial offer &mdash;&nbsp;at a time when Tesla&#39;s share price was falling, meaning Musk would have to sell more of his shares to finance the deal. Musk abandoned his effort to get out of buying Twitter in late 2022 after the company took him to court to uphold the contract. Musk has since merged the social media platform with his artificial intelligence startup xAI and his private space exploration firm SpaceX. Forbes magazine early this month estimated Elon Musk&#39;s net worth at $839 billion, a figure based primarily on his stakes in his portfolio of companies including Tesla and SpaceX.

This combination of pictures created on October 10, 2023, shows (L) SpaceX, Twitter and electric car maker Tesla CEO Elon Musk during his visit at the Vivatech technology startups and innovation fair at the Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, 

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The verdict in the class action securities lawsuit means the world's richest person could be ordered to pay billions of dollars, according to damages calculated by jurors

US jury finds Elon Musk misled Twitter shareholders

GENEVA: A UN expert claimed Israel was systematically torturing Palestinians on a scale &quot;that suggests collective vengeance and destructive intent&quot;, in a report released to the media on Friday. Francesca Albanese, the UN&#39;s special rapporteur on the rights situation in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, said that since Hamas&#39;s October 7, 2023, attack, which triggered the Gaza war, Palestinians in custody &quot;have been subjected to exceptionally ruthless physical and psychological abuse&quot;. AFP has sought a comment from Israel&#39;s mission in Geneva, which has previously accused Albanese of being motivated by an &quot;obsessive, hate-driven agenda to delegitimize the state of Israel&quot;. Albanese has faced harsh criticism, allegations of anti-Semitism, and demands for her removal from Israel and some of its allies, over her relentless criticism and long-standing accusations of &quot;genocide&quot;. Last month, France and Germany called for her to resign following her remarks to a forum in Doha. Albanese said they had done so based on &quot;false accusations&quot; and a &quot;manipulation&quot; of what she had actually said. Though appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, special rapporteurs are independent experts and do not speak on behalf of the United Nations itself. &#39;Unprecedented scale&#39;&nbsp;A statement accompanying her new report said that while Albanese &quot;unequivocally condemns torture and other forms of ill- treatment committed by all actors, including Palestinian armed groups&quot;, this report &quot;focuses on Israeli conduct&quot;. Entitled &quot;Torture and genocide&quot;, the report &quot;examines Israel&#39;s systematic use of torture against Palestinians from the occupied Palestinian territory since October 7, 2023&quot;. It claimed that &quot;torture in detention has been used on an unprecedented scale as punitive collective vengeance&quot;. &quot;Brutal beatings, sexual violence, rape, lethal mistreatment, starvation, and the systematic deprivation of the most basic human conditions have inflicted profound and lasting scars on the bodies and minds of tens of thousands of Palestinians and their loved ones,&quot; the report said. &quot;Torture has become integral to the domination of and punishment inflicted on men, women and children, both through custodial abuse and through a relentless campaign of forced displacement, mass killings, deprivation and destruction of all means of life to inflict long-term collective pain and suffering,&quot; it said. Israel is party to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Albanese said she had gathered written submissions, including over 300 testimonies. &#39;Widespread humiliation&#39;Albanese said that since October 2023, arrests of Palestinians in the occupied territories had &quot;escalated dramatically&quot;, with more than 18,500 people arrested, including at least 1,500 children. The report said around 9,000 Palestinians were still in detention, while &quot;more than 4,000 have been subjected to enforced disappearance&quot;. Albanese said Israel&rsquo;s detention system &quot;has descended into a regime of systemic and widespread humiliation, coercion, and terror&quot;. She said Israel should &quot;immediately cease all acts of torture and ill-treatment of the Palestinian people as part of its ongoing genocide&quot; and urged all countries &quot;to do everything in their power to stop the destruction of what remains of Palestine&quot; as every delay &quot;worsens irreversible harm and further entrenches a system of cruelty&quot;. Albanese urged the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to request arrest warrants for Israel&#39;s Defence Minister Israel Katz, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. She is due to present her report to the UN Human Rights Council on Monday.

A representative of Qatar is seen on screens as he delivers a speech on human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran during a session of the UN Human Rights Council, in Geneva on March 16, 2026. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

Francesca Albanese, the UN's special rapporteur on the rights situation in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, said that since Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack, which triggered the Gaza war, Palestinians in custody "have been subjected to exceptionally ruthless physical and psychological abuse".

Articles by Malik Waqar Ahmed