Syed Maisam Ali

ISLAMABAD: In 2025, esports in Pakistan moved beyond casual gaming, gradually becoming a formal career as young players entered the competitive scene by joining professional teams and earning income through tournaments, sponsorships, and digital platforms. Earnings extended beyond prize money, with many Pakistani players establishing full-time <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-pitches-esports-as-youth-career-path-in-highlevel-uk-talks" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">careers</a> through streaming on platforms such as YouTube, Facebook Gaming, and TikTok.&nbsp; Sponsorships, brand partnerships, and professional team contracts created a more stable and sustainable financial framework, particularly for top-tier competitors. The gaming industry has become part of the country&rsquo;s professional and creative economy, as international achievements have helped place Pakistan firmly on the global map, inspiring players to view gaming as a long-term career. While speaking with Pakistan TV Digital, one of Pakistan&rsquo;s leading esports commentators, Mamoon Sabri, said, &ldquo;I was the first Pakistani to go full-time in esports, earning a full-time income from the industry.&rdquo;&nbsp; He added that many people were earning through the esports industry in Pakistan. He noted that top Tekken players in Pakistan were making good money through prize winnings, team signings, and player salaries, ranging from around $500 to several thousand dollars. &ldquo;People are turning esports into a full-time profession as earnings come through streaming, broadcasting, and platforms like YouTube, etc.,&rdquo; Sabri added. Government support and policy developmentEarlier in 2025, Pakistan drafted its first esports policy, establishing a national federation to support game developers and the Pakistani gaming community, Radio Pakistan reported. Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan, chairman of the Prime Minister&rsquo;s Youth Program, announced a policy to support game developers and digital innovators, noting that around 60 million Pakistanis are directly involved in the sport. Khan said that the Pakistan government was taking &ldquo;concrete steps to create opportunities for youth&rdquo; in this regard. This year&#39;s Sindh E-Sports Championship saw an impressive turnout, with over 400 teams and more than 2,500 players participating, underscoring the fast-growing popularity of competitive gaming in the region. International recognitionPakistani gamers once again gained global recognition for their achievements, particularly in Tekken and PUBG Mobile. Arslan Siddique, better known as Arslan Ash, secured his sixth and seventh Evolution Championship Series (EVO) titles, winning EVO Las Vegas 2025 in August and EVO France 2025 in October.&nbsp; Ash became the only player in history to win EVO championships across three continents: Asia, North America, and Europe. In addition, he won the Tekken 8 championship at the &lsquo;LVL UP EXPO 2025&rsquo; and earned a place at the Esports World Cup 2025 with his dominant performance at Combo Breaker 2025. Atif Butt, another top Tekken player, finished as runner-up to Ash in the all-Pakistani Grand Final at EVO Las Vegas 2025 and had previously won Tekken 8 tournaments at CEO 2024 and the FV Major 2024 in Kuala Lumpur. Domestic tournament winsIn 2025, Pakistan&rsquo;s esports scene thrived, with &lsquo;4Thrives&rsquo; winning the PUBG Mobile National Championship Pakistan Spring. Hotshot Esports emerged as the champions of the GameNow Free Fire World Series Pakistan 2025, defeating the country&rsquo;s top teams and securing a coveted spot at the FFWS Global Finals in Jakarta, Indonesia. The team &lsquo;Legion&rsquo; emerged victorious in the Sindh E-Sports Championship 2025, held in Karachi, featuring over 400 teams and 2,500 players.&nbsp; Organized leagues and mobile gamingOnce limited to gaming caf&eacute;s and informal competitions, esports expanded into organized leagues, online qualifiers, and professional teams in 2025.&nbsp; Popular games such as Tekken 7 and 8, PUBG Mobile, Call of Duty (CoD), Counter-Strike 2, and Dota 2 dominated the competitive landscape, attracting players from across the country.&nbsp; Mobile esports saw rapid growth over the year as lowering entry barriers allowed players from smaller cities to compete nationally and internationally.

E-Sports

Earnings went beyond prize money, with many players building full-time careers through streaming on platforms like YouTube, Facebook Gaming, and TikTok; sponsorships, brand partnerships, and professional team contracts created a more stable and sustainable financial foundation, especially for top-tier competitors.

Esports In 2025 Emerged As Viable Career For Pakistan With Local Players Winning Globally

ISLAMABAD: As Pakistan and South Africa continue their multi-format series, the spotlight now moves to Faisalabad, marking the city&rsquo;s first international cricket match in 17 years. Excitement is high as fans pack the Iqbal Stadium to witness the ODI leg of the tour.&nbsp;&ldquo;After 17 long years, international cricket finally returns to Faisalabad,&rdquo; Pakistan Cricket Board Chairperson Mohsin Naqvi said in a post on X. &ldquo;Delighted to see the excitement as Pakistan and South Africa begin the ODI series here in Pakistan&rsquo;s own &lsquo;Manchester&rsquo;.&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-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" 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=1985647598078980446&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=8b347d42e83f712d4833b1b879296a1bdde10ec5&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 418px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>&nbsp;The ongoing tour, covering Lahore, Karachi, Multan, Faisalabad, and Rawalpindi, arrives at a symbolic moment: ten years since Pakistan successfully restored international cricket at home. Today&rsquo;s packed stadiums stand in stark contrast to the difficult period when cricket in Pakistan was forced into exile, and reflect a revival now recognized around the world.&nbsp;2009: Years of silence&nbsp;The journey back began amid adversity. In March 2009, an attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore forced international cricket out of Pakistan indefinitely. Stadiums fell silent. Home series were relocated to the UAE. Generations of fans grew up watching their national team play &ldquo;home&rdquo; matches abroad, waiting for a day when the familiar roar of a Pakistani crowd would return.&nbsp;2015: Zimbabwe breaks the deadlockThat day finally came in May 2015, when Zimbabwe agreed to tour Pakistan, the first international side to do so in six years. Sixteen players and officials were welcomed at Lahore&rsquo;s airport to scenes of emotion and relief.The series, two T20Is and three ODIs, was played before sold-out stands at Gaddafi Stadium, a moment many still refer to as &ldquo;the rebirth.&rdquo;&nbsp;Zimbabwe coach Dav Whatmore described the occasion as deeply meaningful, recalling how the packed stadium sang Pakistan&rsquo;s national anthem in unison and how players and fans alike expressed gratitude for the team&rsquo;s courage to tour.&nbsp;Gradual return to normalcyZimbabwe&rsquo;s visit paved the way for others. Over the following years, Pakistan hosted Sri Lanka, West Indies, South Africa, Bangladesh,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pcb-confirms-dates-for-australias-threematch-t20i-series-in-lahore" style="color:#0073e6;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Australia</a>, and England in bilateral tours. Each successful series strengthened global confidence, supported by upgraded stadiums, advanced security protocols, and comprehensive logistical planning.&nbsp;Pakistan Super League: The turning pointThe launch of the <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-launches-bidding-process-for-two-new-psl-franchises" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pakistan Super League</a> (PSL) in 2016 accelerated cricket&rsquo;s return. Originally played in the UAE, the league gradually shifted home. Soon, foreign stars were playing in Lahore, Karachi, Rawalpindi, and Multan, in front of passionate crowds.&nbsp;The PSL demonstrated Pakistan&rsquo;s ability to host major events consistently and safely. More importantly, it restored the joy and energy of live cricket in Pakistani stadiums.&nbsp;2023 Asia Cup: Regional stage returnsA major breakthrough came in 2023, when Pakistan co-hosted the Asia Cup. Matches in Lahore and Multan drew overwhelming attendance and praise from the Asian Cricket Council. The successful tournament further strengthened the nation&rsquo;s case as a dependable host.&nbsp;Champions Trophy 2025: Revival fully realizedThis resurgence culminated earlier this year when Pakistan hosted the ICC Champions Trophy, its first major global event in nearly three decades. Matches in Lahore, Karachi, and Rawalpindi delivered world-class organization, enthusiastic crowds, and a festive nationwide atmosphere. International players spoke highly of Pakistan&rsquo;s hospitality, culture, and cricketing passion.&nbsp;The Champions Trophy confirmed one thing: Pakistan was not just ready for cricket, cricket was home again.&nbsp;Decade of pride and CelebrationFrom empty stands to overflowing stadiums, Pakistan&rsquo;s recovery stands as one of world cricket&rsquo;s most compelling revival stories. Today, as packed crowds cheer Pakistan against South Africa, the applause carries ten years of resilience, belief, and national unity.&nbsp;Sports data analyst and journalist Azeem Siddique, speaking to Pakistan TV Digital, emphasized that the return of international cricket extends beyond sport.&nbsp;&ldquo;The revival of cricket in Pakistan is a major milestone, not just for cricket but for the entire country,&rdquo; Siddique said. &ldquo;Whenever international teams visit, industries like hotels, transportation, and food services all experience growth. It has a real economic impact.&rdquo;&nbsp;He added that while Pakistan is now a proven safe destination, perceptions built after 2009 still need time to change.&nbsp;&ldquo;Security arrangements today are comprehensive and players feel protected,&rdquo; Siddique noted. &ldquo;But the restrictions placed during tours can limit their freedom. As the environment continues to improve, that comfort and confidence will keep growing.&rdquo;&nbsp;A decade ago, Pakistan waited for cricket to return. Today, cricket does not simply return, it thrives. The journey has come full circle, and the cheers across Faisalabad speak for millions: cricket is home.

Cricket

After the 2009 attack halted cricket in Pakistan, the 2015 Zimbabwe tour marked its revival. Gradual returns by Sri Lanka, West Indies, and others, alongside PSL’s success, restored global confidence and reignited Pakistan’s cricketing spirit.


Decade of homecoming: Pakistan’s remarkable journey back to international cricket

ISLAMABAD: A United Nations expert has warned that women and girls in Afghanistan are facing &ldquo;the most serious assault on gender equality of our time&rdquo; under Taliban rule. Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, told the UN General Assembly in his report that the Taliban has built an &ldquo;institutionalized system of gender persecution.&rdquo; He said urgent and united international action is needed to stop human rights violations instead of accepting the Taliban&rsquo;s rule as normal. Bennett said the Taliban&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/taliban-government-instituted-systematic-institutionalized-campaign-to-erase-afghan-women-un-experts" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">restrictions</a> on women&rsquo;s education and jobs, including bans on women working for the UN and aid agencies, have made the humanitarian crisis even worse. He said cuts in international funding are leaving Afghans &ldquo;without the last lines of protection and support.&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" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1983987783485321623&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fmedia-library%2F&sessionId=e544ae16073ddbab59881416cdf458eff4bb230e&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 713px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;"></iframe></div></div>The UN expert also raised concern over an increase in public punishments, disappearances, and the shrinking space for <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/taliban-detains-woman-journalist-in-northern-afghanistan" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">media</a> and civil society. He said the Taliban&rsquo;s mistreatment of ethnic and religious minorities is fueling tensions across the country. Bennett warned that the Taliban&rsquo;s harsh policies could radicalize a new generation living under oppression and poverty. &ldquo;What is happening in Afghanistan will not be contained within its borders,&rdquo; he cautioned. The expert also condemned the forced return of Afghan refugees from neighboring and European countries, urging respect for international law. Despite the grim situation, Bennett said Afghanistan is &ldquo;not a lost cause&rdquo; and called for continued accountability and support for Afghan-led human rights efforts.

Asia

Americas

UN expert Richard Bennett warned the Taliban’s rule poses “the most serious assault on gender equality,” citing rising abuses, restrictions on women, shrinking freedoms, and refugee deportations, urging urgent global action and sustained support for Afghan-led initiatives

UN expert warns of worsening human rights crisis in Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD: The West Indies carved their name into cricketing history on Tuesday, becoming the first team ever in men&rsquo;s One-Day International (ODI) history to bowl an entire 50-over innings exclusively with spin during the second ODI against Bangladesh in Dhaka.&nbsp;On a slow, turning Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium pitch, captain Roston Chase made the daring call to use five spinners, himself, Akeal Hosein, Gudakesh Motie, Khary Pierre, and Alick Athanaze, each bowling their full quota of ten overs.&nbsp;Remarkably, the team&rsquo;s only specialist pacer, Justin Greaves, was not used at all.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/bangladesh-thrash-west-indies-as-rishad-hossain-shines-with-635" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bangladesh </a>were restricted to 213 for 8 in their 50 overs, unable to break free from the relentless spin assault that mixed flight, variation, and accuracy to perfection.&nbsp;&ldquo;It was all about reading the conditions,&rdquo; Chase said during the post-match talk.&nbsp;&ldquo;We knew the surface would take turn, and with the options we had, going all-spin made sense. The boys executed beautifully.&rdquo;&nbsp;According to ESPNcricinfo, no team had ever bowled all 50 overs with spin in an ODI before. The previous record stood at 44 overs, set by Sri Lanka in the 1990s and early 2000s.&nbsp;Cricket fans quickly flooded social media to hail the historic moment. One user posted on X:&nbsp;&ldquo;HISTORY MADE IN DHAKA! West Indies become the first team to bowl 50 overs of spin in ODI cricket. Sri Lanka&rsquo;s old record of 44 overs is gone!&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" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 721px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" 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=1980586914878271934&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=e833a9d4678678802b8600a1cdd6ba153b193764&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px"></iframe></div></div>Another fan shared:&nbsp;&ldquo;Fifty overs by spinners &mdash; first time ever in ODI history! Ten overs each by Akeal, Chase, Pierre, Motie, and Athanaze. Incredible balance and control.&rdquo;&nbsp;<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" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 777px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" 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=1980586420613050582&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=e833a9d4678678802b8600a1cdd6ba153b193764&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px"></iframe></div></div>While some praised the innovation, others questioned what the milestone said about modern pitch conditions.&nbsp;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s amazing, but you do wonder about pitches that give no balance to bat and ball,&rdquo; wrote one Test cricket follower.<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-2" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 849px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-2&features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1980602208501497894&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=e833a9d4678678802b8600a1cdd6ba153b193764&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px"></iframe></div></div>&nbsp;Still, the move underscored West Indies&rsquo; growing confidence in their spin depth. A quality long associated with subcontinental teams rather than Caribbean cricket.&nbsp;Chase&rsquo;s calculated gamble not only earned his side a tactical edge but also etched a new chapter in ODI history, signaling how the format continues to evolve.

The Caribbean side made ODI history in Dhaka, bowling all 50 overs with spin for the first time in men’s cricket. Captain Roston Chase said the tactic suited conditions, restricting Bangladesh to 213 in 50 overs.


West Indies rewrite ODI history with bold all-spin bowling strategy

ISLAMABAD: Meta has rolled out Instagram Map in Pakistan, introducing an immersive way for users to discover stories, reels, posts, and notes tagged to local spots. From bustling caf&eacute;s to concerts, all while keeping privacy controls firmly in place. The new feature helps people &ldquo;find what friends and favorite creators are sharing from local hangouts,&rdquo; according to a statement via Media Matter, the PR agency representing Meta in Pakistan, on Saturday. Importantly, location sharing is turned off by default, with users able to share their last active location only with selected friends, close friends, or no one at all. A clear indicator at the top of the map shows when location sharing is active, while reminders appear when adding tags. Meta has also refined the Instagram Map experience by<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/australia-bans-under16s-from-social-media-in-worldfirst-crackdown" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer"> removing</a> profile photos from map content, making it clearer when location is off, and adding preview options for tagged posts. Parents, too, are given tools to supervise teens, ensuring <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/instagram-says-its-safeguarding-teens-by-limiting-them-to-pg13-content" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">safer</a> sharing practices.<figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/d85c92fa-07cd-44c7-85b7-6460d74dab2c-PR Image 2 (1).png" alt="PR Image 2 (1).png" class="fr-fil fr-dib"></figure> The launch comes at a time when Pakistan has become one of Meta&rsquo;s fastest-growing markets.&nbsp; Facebook currently reaches an estimated 49 million users across the country, while Instagram has around 19 million active users, making it a key platform for both youth culture and emerging digital businesses, according to the DataReportal&rsquo;s Digital 2025: Pakistan report. WhatsApp, however, remains the undisputed leader: the messaging app is used by over 52 million Pakistanis, reflecting its dominance as the country&rsquo;s primary tool for communication. <figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/937963de-49a2-47b1-bd58-751d7d11faab-PR Image 1 (1).png" alt="PR Image 1 (1).png" class="fr-fil fr-dib"></figure> These numbers highlight not just Meta&rsquo;s deep penetration in Pakistan&rsquo;s digital ecosystem but also the enormous potential for features like Instagram Map, which blend social discovery with real-world connections.

Artificial Intelligence

Nearly 19 million Pakistanis use Instagram, making it one of Meta’s fastest-growing platforms in the country. To deepen engagement, Meta has launched Instagram Map, helping users explore location-tagged content with strict privacy protections.

Instagram Map debuts in Pakistan, connecting 19M users to local moments

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said its security forces delivered an &ldquo;immediate and effective response&rdquo; after unprovoked fire by Afghan Taliban forces along the Pakistan&ndash;Afghanistan border, as tensions between the two neighbours escalated sharply following recent militant attacks. In a statement, the information ministry said Afghan Taliban forces &ldquo;miscalculated and opened unprovoked fire on multiple locations across the Pakistan&ndash;Afghanistan border in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,&rdquo; prompting swift and decisive retaliation by Pakistan&rsquo;s security forces. &ldquo;Taliban regime forces are being delivered punishment in Chitral, Khyber, Mohmand, Kurram and Bajaur sectors,&rdquo; the ministry said, adding that early reports indicated heavy casualties on the Afghan side, with multiple posts and military equipment destroyed. &ldquo;Pakistan will take all necessary measures to ensure its territorial integrity and the safety and security of its citizens,&rdquo; the statement said. &ldquo;What Pakistan is facing on the western border is not just terrorism, it is war,&rdquo; said Brigadier (retd) Nadir Mir, a defence analyst, speaking on Pakistan Television. &ldquo;This is not the action of a terrorist group alone. The Kabul regime, in concert with terrorist elements, is unleashing war against Pakistan.&rdquo; Visuals circulated by Afghan security sources showed armoured vehicles moving through rugged, mountainous terrain at night, illuminated by gunfire, with sustained automatic weapon fire audible. Pakistan TV Digital could not independently confirm the precise location, timing, or context of the footage. The exchanges along the roughly 2,600-kilometre Pakistan&ndash;Afghanistan border mark the latest flare-up threatening a fragile ceasefire that followed deadly clashes in October. Earlier this week, Afghan Taliban authorities warned they would take an &ldquo;appropriate and measured response&rdquo; following Pakistan&rsquo;s recent airstrikes, which Islamabad said targeted militant infrastructure inside Afghanistan. Pakistan said the current escalation follows a series of suicide bombings inside the country, including attacks during the holy month of Ramzan. According to the ministry, Pakistan conducted precision airstrikes on seven terrorist camps and hideouts along the Pakistan&ndash;Afghanistan border after authorities established links between the attackers and Afghanistan-based militant leadership. The ministry said the strikes targeted camps linked to Fitna al Khwarij, Pakistan&rsquo;s term for Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, and Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), groups Islamabad says were responsible for recent attacks on Pakistani soil. Officials said the attacks included a suicide bombing at a mosque in Islamabad, as well as incidents in the northwestern districts of Bajaur and Bannu. A further suicide bombing in Bannu earlier this week heightened security concerns, prompting increased military vigilance. According to the ministry, responsibility for the attacks was claimed by Afghanistan-based elements of Fitna al Khwarij and ISKP, with investigations linking the attackers to leadership and handlers operating from across the border. Pakistan has repeatedly urged the interim authorities in Afghanistan to take verifiable action to prevent the use of Afghan territory by terrorist groups planning and executing attacks against Pakistan. Despite these efforts, the ministry said, no substantive action was taken, leaving Pakistan with no option but to act in &ldquo;retributive response&rdquo; to safeguard its citizens and national security. This is a developing story. Please refresh the page to see updated information as it becomes available.

Security

Islamabad says security forces engage Afghan Taliban positions after unprovoked cross-border fire, reporting damage to multiple posts and equipment while asserting its actions aim to protect sovereignty and civilian security along frontier areas.

Pakistan responds to unprovoked Afghan border fire as tensions escalate

AHMEDABAD: South Africa captain Aiden Markram led from the front with an unbeaten 82 as South Africa all but secured a T20 World Cup semi-final berth with a brutal nine-wicket thrashing of the West Indies in Ahmedabad on Thursday.&nbsp;After the West Indies fought back from deep trouble at 83-7 to post 176-8, Markram and Quinton de Kock put on 95 for the first wicket to set the platform for a thumping victory.&nbsp;South Africa raced to their target with 23 balls to spare, scoring 177-1. Ryan Rickleton was not out on 45 at the end.&nbsp;&quot;The wicket got really good again for batting, it was slightly tacky earlier when we bowled,&quot; said Markram.&nbsp;&quot;Steep bounce came from the tackiness. Fortunately, we ended up on the right side of the toss. The guys bowled really well up front to take wickets.&quot;&nbsp;South Africa are the only unbeaten side, having also dismantled the pre-tournament favourites India by 76 runs in the Super Eights.&nbsp;An India win against Zimbabwe in Chennai later Thursday will guarantee South Africa&#39;s progress to the last four.&nbsp;It will also make India&#39;s clash against the West Indies in Kolkata on Sunday a winner-takes-all decider for the final semi-final berth.&nbsp;Markram reached fifty off 27 balls and hit four sixes and seven fours.&nbsp;De Kock scored 47 off 24 balls, with four sixes and Rickleton hit two sixes in his 28-ball knock in an utterly dominant display of batsmanship.&nbsp;Record standThe West Indies earlier needed a record eighth-wicket partnership by Romario Shepherd and Jason Holder to set a target of 177 after an early collapse.&nbsp;The pair came together with their team in deep trouble at 83-7 and put on 89, the highest eighth-wicket stand in the history of T20 internationals.&nbsp;Shepherd was unbeaten on 52 off 37 balls with four sixes. Holder was run out off the penultimate ball of the innings for 49 off 31 balls with three maximums.&nbsp;&quot;Very important to get a big score, and losing so many wickets in the powerplay cost us,&quot; said West Indies captain Shai Hope.&nbsp;&quot;We were 40-50 runs short. Must commend the guys in the bottom half for giving us a chance.&quot;&nbsp;Both teams came into the match with a perfect five wins in the T20 World Cup so far.&nbsp;South Africa have played four of their five matches in Ahmedabad and captain Aiden Markram had no hesitation in opting to bowl when he won the toss.&nbsp;The West Indies took 17 off the first over, bowled by left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj.&nbsp;Kagiso Rabada&#39;s introduction halted their charge as Hope (16) edged his second ball to keeper Quinton de Kock.&nbsp;Shimron Hetmyer was dropped at mid-on by Corbin Bosch off the next delivery, but lasted only two more when he miscued to midwicket where Maharaj snapped up the catch.&nbsp;Lungi Ngidi got in the act in his first over when Brandon King on 21 edged to De Kock and two balls later Roston Chase chopped on.&nbsp;From 29-0 after two overs, the West Indies had slumped to 43-4 after four.&nbsp;Ngidi took 3-30 from his four overs, Rabada 2-2 and Bosch 2-31.

South Africa captain Aiden Markram struck an unbeaten 82 to lead the South Africa to a commanding nine-wicket victory over West Indies , comfortably chasing 177 to book their place in the T20 World Cup semi-finals.

South Africa thrash West Indies in T20 World Cup statement win

BERLIN: At least 7,667 people died or went missing last year on migration routes around the world, but the true death toll is likely higher, the UN&#39;s migration agency reported Thursday. The figure was down on 2024 when almost 9,200 deaths were recorded, but the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said numbers nonetheless reflected the &quot;global scale&quot; of the crisis faced by migrants. &quot;The continued loss of life on migration routes is a global failure we cannot accept as normal,&quot; said IOM Director General Amy Pope. She argued for safer legal routes, adding: &nbsp;&quot;These deaths are not inevitable.&quot; Funding cuts for aid groups, crackdowns on humanitarian NGOs and limited access to data are making it more difficult to accurately track deaths, the UN agency said. Sea crossings such as the perilous journey across the Mediterranean Sea from Africa to Europe remain among the deadliest routes for migrants, the report said. At least 2,108 people went missing while trying to cross the Mediterranean in 2025, and another 1,047 died or vanished while trying to cross to Spain&#39;s Canary Islands, according to IOM. The actual figures are &quot;likely higher&quot;, it said. The first two months of 2026 have already seen &quot;an unprecedented number of migrant deaths&quot; in the Mediterranean, the agency warned, with 606 people recorded dead on the crossing as of Tuesday -- even as arrivals in Italy decline sharply. &quot;There are reports of hundreds more missing at sea that cannot yet be verified,&quot; IOM said. The organization said the remains of 23 people had been washed up on southern Italian and Libyan coasts in the past two weeks. Globally, the decline in the number of dead and missing last year was partly due to fewer people attempting dangerous migration routes, particularly in the Americas, according to the agency. Lower numbers were trying to get through the US-Mexico border or cross the Darien jungle between Colombia and Panama, the organization said. The IOM recorded the fewest deaths &ndash; 409 &ndash; since the reports began in 2014 in the Americas last year, although final numbers will come later in the year.

Migrants including children picked up at sea while attempting to cross the English Channel, are escorted off a National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) Lifeboat upon arrival in Ramsgate, southeast England, on February 25, 2026. (AFP)

Europe

The figure was down on 2024 when almost 9,200 deaths were recorded, but the International Organization for Migration said numbers nonetheless reflected the "global scale" of the crisis faced by migrants.

Nearly 8,000 died or vanished on migrant routes in 2025: UN 

MOSCOW: Moscow is in no hurry to reach a deal to end the war in Ukraine, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov suggested in comments to state media on Thursday.&nbsp;Negotiators from both countries were in Geneva on Thursday for separate talks with US officials, part of a fraught negotiation process being pushed by President Donald Trump in a bid to end the fighting.&nbsp;Several rounds of discussions have failed to clinch a deal, with Moscow insisting on hardline territorial and political demands that Kyiv has ruled out as tantamount to capitulation.&nbsp;Top officials in Russia on Thursday again <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/ukraine-marks-four-years-since-russian-invasion" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">pushed back</a> on the idea a deal was close.&nbsp;&quot;Have you heard anything from us about deadlines? We have no deadlines, we have tasks. We are getting them done,&quot; state news agencies quoted Lavrov as saying.&nbsp;Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said it was too early to make &quot;forecasts&quot; or say at what stage the peace process was at.&nbsp;&quot;It would be a big mistake to try right now to define some kind of stage or make some kind of forecasts. I don&#39;t want to make those mistakes,&quot; he told state media.&nbsp;Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly said a meeting with Russia&#39;s Vladimir Putin is needed to agree on the key sticking points, like the fate of territory in eastern Ukraine that Russia is fighting to seize control of.&nbsp;Peskov repeated on Thursday that Russia will not agree to a summit until the very end of talks, and only to sign off on a deal thrashed out between the negotiating teams.

Moscow signaled it is not rushing Ukraine deal, as Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, while talks in Geneva with United States officials continue under Donald Trump’s push to end fighting.

Russian says 'no deadlines' to end Ukraine war

HANGZHOU: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ended his two-day visit to China on Thursday in the tech hub of Hangzhou, identifying &quot;challenges that we must overcome together&quot; after meeting President Xi Jinping and announcing an Airbus deal. Merz&#39;s first official visit to China came as Berlin and Beijing seek to build on decades-old economic ties to weather global uncertainty sparked by US President Donald Trump&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/trump-announces-hike-in-us-global-tariff-rate-from-10-to-15" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">tariff blitz</a>&nbsp;and erratic foreign policies. China, the world&#39;s number two economy, overtook the United States last year to become Germany&#39;s biggest trade partner. At the same time, Berlin regards the Asian country as a systemic rival to the West. The German leader was accompanied in China by a large delegation of business leaders, including executives of auto giants Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes. Merz visited a Mercedes plant in Beijing on Thursday morning, where he was shown a demonstration of self-driving vehicles. He then travelled to Hangzhou, where he visited the sites of Germany&#39;s Siemens Energy and Chinese&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/japan-introduces-ai-robot-monk-to-the-public" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">humanoid robot</a>-maker Unitree. The eastern city is home to several other major Chinese tech companies like AI unicorn&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/inside-chinas-buzzing-ai-scene-year-after-deepseek-shock" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">DeepSeek</a>&nbsp;and e-commerce giant Alibaba. European business leaders, who broadly complain China is flooding the EU market with cheap goods, have urged Merz to keep a cavernous trade imbalance at the top of his agenda. Germany&#39;s trade deficit with China hit a record $105 billion last year. &quot;We have good cooperation in China. However, there are also some challenges that we must overcome together,&quot; Merz said Thursday, singling out &quot;issues relating to competition&quot; and &quot;high capacity in China&quot;. Merz said consultations between his government and Beijing &ndash; interrupted by political developments in Berlin and the pandemic &ndash; would take place &quot;at the beginning of next year at the latest, possibly even this year&quot;, with China as host. &#39;New levels&#39; Following talks with Xi and top Chinese leaders in the capital on Wednesday, Merz said that China had agreed to purchase up to 120 Airbus aircraft, adding that it &quot;demonstrates how worthwhile such trips can be&quot;. Other contracts were in the pipeline, Merz added. The two leaders stressed their commitment to developing closer strategic relations, with Xi telling Merz he was willing to take relations to &quot;new levels&quot;. Merz said he had also touched on the sensitive topic of Taiwan, the self-ruled island China claims as its territory and which it has not ruled out the use of force to annex. Any &quot;reunification&quot; must be done peacefully, Merz said. He also discussed the Ukraine war with Xi, who, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua, said diplomacy was &quot;key to the issue&quot;. Merz said he urged Beijing to use its influence over Moscow, such as choking off the supply of items with potential military uses. &quot;I hope that in my talks I was able to foster a little understanding for the fact that the leadership of this country should also contribute to ending the war in Ukraine,&quot; Merz told reporters on Thursday before departing for Berlin. Merz was the latest in a string of Western leaders to court Beijing recently. He follows Britain&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/britains-starmer-hails-good-progress-after-meeting-chinas-xi" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Keir Starmer</a>, France&#39;s Emmanuel Macron and Canada&#39;s Mark Carney, as they recoil from the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/trump-announces-hike-in-us-global-tariff-rate-from-10-to-15" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">mercurial policies</a>&nbsp;of Trump, who is also expected to visit from March 31.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz gives a statement at Siemens Energy plant in Hangzhou, in eastern China’s Zhejiang Province on February 26, 2026. (AFP)

Merz's first official visit to China comes as Berlin and Beijing seek to build on decades-old economic ties to weather global uncertainty sparked by US President Donald Trump's tariff blitz and erratic foreign policies.

Merz says Germany, China must overcome trade gaps 'together'

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s Federal Minister for Interior and Narcotics Control, Mohsin Naqvi, announced that Pakistan, Italy, Spain, and Greece have agreed on a coordinated strategy to fight illegal migration, human smuggling, and drug trafficking, including a joint policy framework and a rapid-response mechanism. Naqvi, in a post on X on Thursday, wrote that he had a productive meeting in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-security-agencies-seize-over-135-million-in-nationwide-antismuggling-operations" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Rome</a>&nbsp;with his counterparts from Italy, Spain, and Greece at the 4-nation&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-navy-ship-seizes-drugs-worth-nearly-1-bn-in-arabian-sea" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">conference</a>&nbsp;on curbing illegal migration. <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=2026935215914975708&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=359767f66ae58c6eb6812d51c17a3cb8284785ef&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 652px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>&ldquo;Pakistan, Italy, Spain &amp; Greece agreed on a coordinated strategy against&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-customs-seizes-266000-worth-of-smuggled-goods-near-afghan-border" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">illegal migration</a>, human smuggling and narcotics, including a joint policy framework and rapid-response mechanism.&rdquo; &ldquo;European partners appreciated Pakistan&rsquo;s strong actions, noting a 47% reduction in illegal migration, and agreed on enhanced EU-supported capacity building,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;Consensus also reached on promoting legal pathways to effectively counter illegal migration, repatriation of criminals to face the law, and holding the next meeting in Pakistan later this year,&rdquo; he said.

Foreign Affairs

Pakistani interior minister says ‘European partners appreciated Pakistan’s strong actions, noting a 47% reduction in illegal migration, and agreed on enhanced EU-supported capacity building.’

Pakistani, European ministers agree on coordinated strategy to combat illegal migration

PARIS: The United Nations announced Thursday the approval of the first carbon credits under a global market aimed at reducing emissions, a mechanism that has faced scrutiny over greenwashing concerns. The UN-run market, established under the Paris climate accord, allows companies and countries to offset their excess emissions by financing projects that cut greenhouse gases in other nations. Critics fear that if set up poorly, such schemes can undermine the world&#39;s efforts to curb global warming by allowing countries or companies to greenwash &mdash; or overstate &mdash; their emissions reductions. The first credits issued under the new carbon market involve a project in Myanmar that distributes efficient wood-burning cook stoves that reduce harmful household air pollution and ease pressure on local forests, the UN&#39;s climate agency said. Implemented in partnership with a South Korean company, the project will generate credits that will count towards the climate targets of South Korea and Myanmar. The UN climate agency said the credited emissions reductions are 40%&nbsp;lower than under a previous scheme as more conservative calculations are applied under the new Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM). &quot;Our focus is on building confidence in this market from the outset, and this first issuance shows that the system is working as intended,&quot; Jacqui Ruesga, vice chair of the UN body supervising the PACM, said in a statement. More than two billion people around the world cook using open fires or inefficient stoves fueled by kerosene, coal or biomass such as wood, crop waste or dung, according to the World Health Organization. The resulting air pollution kills millions of people each year. The stoves in the Myanmar project burn woody biomass more efficiently, meaning it needs less fuel and spews far less smoke inside the home. But at current rates, only 78% of the population is expected to have access to clean cooking by 2030, the WHO said. &quot;Clean cooking protects health, saves forests, cuts emissions and helps empower women and girls, who are typically hardest hit by household air pollution,&quot; UN climate chief Simon Stiell said. &quot;The opportunities presented by this UN carbon market across all regions are vast, particularly now that strong environmental safeguards, robust standards, and a clear system for redress are in place to ensure integrity, inclusiveness and efficiency,&quot; he said. The 2015 Paris Agreement, which commits the world to limiting warming to well below 2C and ideally at 1.5C, also envisaged that countries could take part in cross-border trade of carbon reductions. New rules were agreed at the UN&#39;s COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan in 2024 for the carbon market mechanism. At the time, Greenpeace said the agreement left loopholes that would allow fossil fuel companies to continue polluting. But other environmentalists said that, while not perfect, it provided some clarity that was absent from global efforts to regulate carbon credits.

Smoke Stacks. (Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Color Photographs.)

Climate

The UN-run market, established under the Paris climate accord, allows companies and countries to offset their excess emissions by financing projects that cut greenhouse gases in other nations.

UN approves first carbon credits under Paris Agreement

ISLAMABAD:&nbsp;Pakistan marked 19 years since the Samjhauta Express bombing, saying justice remains elusive for the 68 people killed in the 2007 attack, including 44 Pakistanis, according to the Foreign Office on Thursday. At a weekly briefing, Foreign Office Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi expressed &ldquo;severe disappointment&rdquo; over India&rsquo;s &ldquo;callousness&rdquo; toward victims&rsquo; families. He said they continue to wait for justice nearly two decades later. He condemned the acquittal of four individuals, including Swami Aseemanand, whom he said publicly confessed to masterminding the attack, Lieutenant Colonel Purohit and Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur. The spokesperson said the exoneration confirmed India&rsquo;s role as an &ldquo;official and political accomplice&rdquo; in the attack carried out on its soil. Pakistan demands a fair trial for the perpetrators and abettors, he said. He termed the exoneration an example of &ldquo;Indian duplicity and state sponsorship of terrorism against Pakistan.&rdquo; He added that &ldquo;Hindutva extremism and saffron terror&rdquo; behind the attack had intensified under India&rsquo;s current government. <h3 style="line-height: 2;">Afghanistan strikes Andrabi confirmed intelligence-based, selective strikes on seven militant camps and hideouts along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The action followed recent terrorist attacks in Bajaur and Bannu, he said.</h3> The spokesperson stated the strikes were proportional and carefully planned. They targeted identified militant sites with &ldquo;utmost caution&rdquo; to prevent civilian harm. He described reported remarks from Afghan authorities about Pakistan&rsquo;s law-and-order situation as &ldquo;discouraging and disappointing.&rdquo; Attacks have increased over the past 12 to 18 months since the Taliban takeover, he said, as that militants operating from Afghanistan conduct attacks against Pakistan. Pakistan will respond &ldquo;swiftly, strongly&rdquo; in exercise of its right to self-defense, he said. Security forces remain vigilant as there is currently no structured dialogue with Kabul, and no decision has been taken on contributing troops to an ISF force discussed in Washington. <h3 style="line-height: 2;">Kashmir Andrabi condemned the extrajudicial killing of three Kashmiri youths in the Kishtwar district of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). He called it another manifestation of &ldquo;state-sponsored terrorism.&rdquo;</h3> He referred to the Kunan Poshpora incident as a grave human rights violation and said perpetrators remain unaccounted for. He stated that Pakistan will continue urging the international community and `UN human rights bodies to hold India accountable and seek a peaceful resolution in line with UN Security Council resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people. He also said Pakistan expects &ldquo;foolproof, complete security&rdquo; for its diplomats and nationals in Afghanistan, adding that Islamabad extends the same seriousness to Afghan diplomats in Pakistan. <h3 style="line-height: 2;">Israel occupation in West Bank Andrabi stated that Pakistan will outline its stance on Israel&rsquo;s recent move to annex parts of the occupied West Bank at an upcoming ministerial meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).&nbsp;</h3>&nbsp;He said that Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will represent Pakistan at the OIC&#39;s Open-Ended Extraordinary Ministerial Session, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Feb. 26-28.&nbsp; The meeting &ldquo;has been convened to consider the illegal decision by the Israeli occupation authorities aimed at expanding settlements, pursuing annexation, and attempting to impose Israel&#39;s sovereignty over the occupied West Bank,&rdquo; the spokesperson said. Dar will present Pakistan&rsquo;s case during the session. <div class="fr-embed" style="line-height: 2;"><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fphoto.php%3Ffbid%3D1374272581405477%26set%3Da.251429287023151%26type%3D3&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="748" style="border:none;overflow:hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div> In a Facebook post, the Foreign Office said Dar will &ldquo;hold sideline meetings with counterparts from OIC&rdquo; member states. Andrabi said Israel&rsquo;s measures in the occupied West Bank have drawn condemnation from the OIC and other Muslim states, as well as &ldquo;European and other world countries,&rdquo; including Brazil, France, Denmark, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. &ldquo;In this statement, we described these changes as wide-ranging and amounting to reclassifying Palestinian land as so-called Israel state land, accelerating illegal settlement activity, and further entrenching Israeli administration,&rdquo; he said. Restating Pakistan&rsquo;s long-standing position on Israel&rsquo;s occupation of Palestinian lands, Andrabi said the country issued &ldquo;a joint statement&rdquo; with &ldquo;eight other countries&rdquo; condemning a statement by the US ambassador to Israel suggesting it would be acceptable for Israel to exercise control over territories belonging to Arab states. He said Egypt, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine, along with the OIC Secretariat and the League of Arab States, &ldquo;strongly condemned&rdquo; the remarks. The US envoy&rsquo;s comment was &ldquo;dangerous, inflammatory, and clear violation of international law and the UN Charter,&rdquo; Andrabi said. He added that it threatened regional security and stability. Qatar Separately, Andrabi addressed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif&rsquo;s recent state visit to Qatar at the invitation of the emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. PM Sharif met the Qatari emir and discussed enhancing cooperation in several areas, including economic ties. Both sides agreed on resolving international disputes peacefully through &ldquo;dialogue&rdquo; and &ldquo;diplomacy.&rdquo; Sheikh Tamim will &ldquo;visit Pakistan later this year,&rdquo; he added. During the visit, PM Sharif also met Qatar&rsquo;s defense minister, Sheikh Saud Al Thani, who expressed interest in expanding defense cooperation between the two countries and &ldquo;appreciated the professionalism and expertise of Pakistan&#39;s armed forces.&rdquo;

Foreign Office Spokesperson Tahir Hussain Andrabi speaking at a weekly press briefing in Islamabad, on February 26, 2026. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs/X)

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will represent Pakistan at the Open-Ended Extraordinary Ministerial Session of the OIC.

Pakistan demands justice on Samjhauta Express bombing’s 19th anniversary

ISLAMABAD: The Bangladesh government will pilot the distribution of 500,000 Krishak Smart Cards to farmers in 15 upazilas (sub-districts) within 180 days as part of a 2023-28 development program.&nbsp; If successful, the initiative will expand nationwide,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/bangladesh-signals-push-to-revitalize-saarc" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bangladeshi</a> media reported on Thursday. The program aims to register 22.7 million&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/govt-aims-to-launch-family-card-scheme-before-eid-bangladeshi-relief-minister" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer">farmers</a> nationwide by 2028.&nbsp;Digital card system&nbsp;A meeting chaired by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/bangladesh-vows-to-reform-policies-attract-foreign-investment-in-jute-sector" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer">Prime Minister Tarique Rahman</a> in Dhaka on Monday directed authorities to roll out the digital card system as part of a technology-driven support framework for farmers. Abul Kalam Azad, coordinator of the PARTNER programme, said the Food and Agriculture Organization is collecting data to prepare the beneficiary list.&nbsp; Once the FAO submits the data and the feasibility study is complete, the Department of Agricultural Extension will finalize the beneficiary list and select the upazilas.&nbsp;Financial, logistical incentives&nbsp;The card will initially register 500,000 farmers, including landless peasants, small and medium farmers, lessees, and landowners.&nbsp; Cardholders will be able to access financial and logistical incentives, agricultural advisories, weather information and other services. If the pilot proves successful, nationwide registration will follow.&nbsp; The PARTNER project, launched in 2023, has a total budget of $1.343 billion, funded by the World Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, and the Bangladesh government.

Bangladesh

The program aims to register 22.7 million farmers across the country by 2028; a meeting chaired by PM Rahman in Dhaka directed authorities to roll out the digital card system for farmers. Cardholders will be able to access financial and logistical incentives, agricultural advisories, weather information and other services.

Bangladesh to distribute 500,000 farmer cards in 180 days

<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: source-sans-pro, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 600; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: capitalize; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: nowrap; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;" id="isPasted">GENEVA: Iran and the United States began indirect talks in Switzerland on Thursday, a last-ditch bid to avert war following the biggest American military build-up in the Middle East in decades. The Oman-mediated discussions follow repeated threats from Donald Trump to strike Iran, with the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/us-presses-missile-issue-as-new-iran-talks-to-open-in-geneva" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">US president</a>&nbsp;last Thursday giving Tehran 15 days to reach a deal. The US and Iranian delegations arrived at the venue at the Omani ambassador&#39;s residence amid tight security, following a protest by Iranian exiles at their talks last week who threw objects at the Iranian motorcade. Oman&#39;s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi later confirmed that discussions had begun, saying the two sides had expressed &quot;unprecedented openness to new and creative ideas and solutions&quot;. Iran&#39;s president insisted ahead of the talks that the Islamic republic was not &quot;at all&quot; seeking a nuclear weapon. &quot;Our Supreme Leader has already stated that we will not have nuclear weapons at all,&quot; President Masoud Pezeshkian said, in a reference to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. United Nations nuclear chief Rafael Grossi would likely also attend the discussions in Geneva, Iran&#39;s foreign ministry spokesman said. While Iran has insisted the talks focus solely on its nuclear program, the US wants Tehran&#39;s missile program and its &#39;support&#39; for groups in the region curtailed. As part of the dramatic US build-up, the USS Gerald R Ford, the world&#39;s largest aircraft carrier, sent to the Mediterranean this week, left a naval base in Crete on Thursday, an AFP photographer said. The developments follow massive protests in Iran. &#39;Sinister nuclear ambitions&#39;&nbsp;In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, Trump accused Iran of &quot;pursuing sinister nuclear ambitions&quot;, though Tehran has always insisted its program is for civilian purposes. Trump also claimed Tehran had &quot;already developed missiles that can threaten Europe and our bases overseas, and they&#39;re working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America&quot;. The Iranian foreign ministry called these claims &quot;big lies&quot;. The maximum range of Iran&#39;s missiles is 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) according to what Tehran has publicly disclosed. However, the US Congressional Research Service estimates they top out at about 3,000 kilometers -- less than a third of the distance to the continental United States. Trump&#39;s State of the Union accusations in Congress were delivered in the same forum in which then-president George W Bush laid out the case for the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Ahead of Thursday&#39;s talks, Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that Iran must also negotiate on its missile program, calling Tehran&#39;s refusal to discuss ballistic weapons &quot;a big, big problem.&quot; He followed up by saying, &quot;The president wants diplomatic solutions&quot;. But US Vice President JD Vance told Iran to take Trump&#39;s threats &quot;seriously,&quot; saying the US president had a &quot;right&quot; to use military action. &quot;You can&#39;t let the craziest and worst regime in the world have nuclear weapons,&quot; Vance told &quot;America&#39;s Newsroom&quot; on Fox News. &#39;A historic opportunity&#39;&nbsp;Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who is leading the Iranian delegation at the talks, had called them &quot;a historic opportunity,&quot; adding that a deal was &quot;within reach.&quot; The US will be represented by envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who is married to Trump&#39;s daughter Ivanka. The two countries held talks earlier this month in Oman, then gathered for a second round in Geneva last week. A previous attempt at negotiations collapsed when Israel launched surprise strikes on Iran last June, beginning a 12-day war that Washington briefly joined to bomb Iranian nuclear sites. In Jan., Tehran launched a mass crackdown on nationwide protests. Protests have since resumed around Iranian universities.

Middle East

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian reiterates that Tehran is not seeking nuclear weapons in line with the policy set by the country’s Supreme Leader; on Feb. 19, Trump said Iran had 15 days to make a deal.

Articles by Syed Maisam Ali