Muhammad Ibrahim

ISLAMABAD: Recent security developments have reinforced Pakistan&rsquo;s long-standing assessment that Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Afghan Taliban operate as a mutually reinforcing nexus, where pressure on one group is met with retaliation by the other. The pattern was again visible this week after Pakistan launched <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-says-297-taliban-fighters-killed-in-afghanistan-strikes" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Operation Ghazab lil Haq</a>&nbsp;in response to unprovoked cross-border attacks. As <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/why-pakistan-struck-afghanistan" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pakistan struck Afghan Taliban targets</a> inside Afghanistan, TTP elements attempted to escalate violence inside Pakistan, including failed drone attacks in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Pakistan&rsquo;s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar confirmed that TTP-linked terrorists attempted to launch drones in Abbottabad, Swabi and Nowshera, but said Pakistan&rsquo;s anti-drone systems intercepted all of them, preventing any loss of life. &ldquo;These <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-responds-afghan-border-fire" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">incidents have again exposed direct linkages</a> between the Afghan Taliban regime and terrorism in Pakistan,&rdquo; Tarar said in a statement. Terrorist groups&#39; messaging, released the same day, removed any remaining ambiguity. A TTP faction, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, publicly issued directives to its terrorist operatives across Pakistan to escalate attacks on security forces, portraying the violence as retaliation for Pakistan&rsquo;s military action against Afghan Taliban targets. The message openly described attacks inside Pakistan as an act of &ldquo;solidarity&rdquo; with the Afghan Taliban. An earlier internal directive attributed to TTP leadership went further, declaring that the &ldquo;Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan stands with our mujahideen&rdquo; and ordering commanders to escalate attacks while amplifying propaganda through media channels. <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pm-sharif-briefed-at-military-headquarters-as-pakistan-inflicts-heavy-taliban-losses" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pakistani officials</a> say this coordinated messaging reflects an operational reality that has persisted since the Taliban takeover of Kabul in 2021: Afghan soil has increasingly been used as a safe haven for groups targeting Pakistan. Islamabad maintains that the return of the Taliban to power removed constraints on terrorist networks, enabling training, planning and cross-border attacks with impunity. Security sources argue the sequence is now predictable. When Pakistan confronts terrorist infrastructure inside Afghanistan, TTP cells activate inside Pakistan. When TTP strikes Pakistani targets, protection and facilitation trace back across the border. Pakistan says repeated diplomatic engagements have failed to alter this behavior and that the Afghan Taliban regime has neither acknowledged nor acted against the presence of anti-Pakistan terrorist groups on its territory. As military operations and militant reprisals continue in parallel, Pakistani authorities say the distinction between the Afghan Taliban and TTP is no longer theoretical but operational. A shared ecosystem in which an attack on one triggers a response from the other.

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Pakistan says recent drone attempts, militant directives, and retaliatory strikes demonstrate a coordinated operational pattern, where pressure on the Afghan Taliban consistently triggers Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan attacks inside Pakistan, reinforcing concerns over cross-border safe havens.

TTP–Taliban nexus exposed as attacks and retaliation mirror each other

Saima Ayub

A child stands in the middle of the room. Arms folded. Lips pressed tight. Eyes burning with a quiet storm.&nbsp;You say, &ldquo;Pick up your bag.&rdquo;&nbsp;The child says, &ldquo;No.&rdquo;&nbsp;And just like that, the air changes.&nbsp;We call it stubbornness. A difficult nature. A bad habit. A strong will gone wrong.&nbsp;But after years of watching children in classrooms, corridors, playgrounds, and parent meetings, I&nbsp;have learned something unsettling and honest: stubbornness is rarely about defiance. It is usually about&nbsp;distress.&nbsp;A child is not born stubborn. A child becomes stubborn when they feel unheard, unseen, or overpowered.&nbsp;In school, I have seen the quiet child suddenly refuse to write. The cheerful one who refuses to share. The&nbsp;obedient student who one day simply says, &ldquo;I won&rsquo;t.&rdquo; Parents are shocked. &ldquo;He was never like this.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;She&nbsp;used to listen.&rdquo;&nbsp;Yes. Because something has shifted inside.&nbsp;Children live in a world where almost everything is decided for them, what to wear, when to wake up,&nbsp;what to eat, when to study, how to sit, and how to speak.&nbsp;Their lives are structured by bells and instructions.&nbsp;And while structure is necessary, control without voice breeds resistance.&nbsp;Stubbornness is often a child&rsquo;s small, trembling attempt to say, &ldquo;I want some control too.&rdquo;&nbsp;Psychologists speak of autonomy as a basic human need. Even a four-year-old wants to feel capable. When&nbsp;that need is repeatedly dismissed.&nbsp; &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t argue.&rdquo; &nbsp;&ldquo;Just do as I say.&rdquo; &ldquo;Because I said so.&rdquo;&nbsp; The child&nbsp;learns that the only way to be heard is to resist.&nbsp;And resistance becomes a habit.&nbsp;There is another truth we rarely admit. Sometimes children become stubborn because we are.&nbsp;A rushed parent. A tired teacher. A command given without eye contact. An instruction repeated louder&nbsp;each time. The child mirrors what they see. Stiffness creates stiffness.&nbsp;I remember a boy in my school who refused to participate in group work. Every day, the same battle. His&nbsp;teacher insisted. He resisted. Voices rose. Tears followed.&nbsp;One afternoon, instead of insisting, the teacher sat beside him and asked softly, &ldquo;What worries you about&nbsp;group work?&rdquo;&nbsp;He whispered, &ldquo;They laugh at my English.&rdquo;&nbsp;That was the stubbornness. Not rebellion, fear.&nbsp;Once we understood that, everything changed.&nbsp;A graceful response does not mean permissiveness. It means firmness with dignity. Boundaries without&nbsp;humiliation. Authority without anger. When a child refuses, pause before reacting. Ask yourself: Is this about power, fear, tiredness, or simply a&nbsp;need to be noticed?&nbsp;Offer limited choices. &ldquo;You can start with math or English. Which one first?&rdquo; Choice restores dignity.&nbsp;Acknowledge feelings without surrendering rules. &ldquo;I know you&rsquo;re upset. The homework still needs to be&nbsp;done.&rdquo;&nbsp;Stay calmA calm adult regulates a storming child. A shouting adult creates a hurricane.&nbsp;And sometimes, let natural consequences teach. If a child refuses to pack their bag, allow them to face the&nbsp;discomfort of forgetting a notebook, without rescuing them immediately. Responsibility grows when we&nbsp;step back.&nbsp;Above all, protect the relationship. No lesson is more important than trust.&nbsp;Children who feel safe do not need to fight for control. They learn cooperation because they feel&nbsp;respected.&nbsp;In my years as an educationist, I have seen stubborn children grow into strong leaders, once their will&nbsp;was guided, not crushed. The same firmness that says &ldquo;No&rdquo; at five can say &ldquo;I stand for what is right&rdquo; at&nbsp;twenty.&nbsp;Stubbornness is raw strength. Mishandled, it becomes rebellion. Understood, it becomes resilience.&nbsp;So the next time a child folds their arms and says &ldquo;No,&rdquo; do not see an enemy.&nbsp;See a small human being, struggling to find their voice in a world that often speaks over them.&nbsp;And respond, not with force, but with steady grace.

Children’s stubbornness is rarely defiance; it signals distress, fear, or a need for autonomy. Control without voice breeds resistance. Calm authority, limited choices, natural consequences, and preserved trust transform defiance into resilience, guiding strong will into future leadership.

Why children become stubborn, and how to respond gracefully

As parents and guardians we think of lying as a moral crack in the wall. But when it comes to children, truth is usually softer, and sadder.&nbsp;Children lie because of fear.&nbsp;They are not afraid of prison or police rather our faces. They are afraid of our silence. Afraid of disappointing the people whose approval feels like everything.&nbsp;A child who breaks a glass does not first think about right or wrong. He thinks about what will happen next. Will there be shouting? Will love feel distant? In that quick, anxious moment, a lie becomes a small shield. &ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t me.&rdquo; It is not wickedness speaking. It is fear trying to survive.&nbsp;If we are honest with ourselves, we may remember doing the same.&nbsp;There is also imagination, a bright and restless force in childhood. A five-year-old may&nbsp;insist the cat opened the cupboard or the wind pushed the vase. To us it sounds like&nbsp;deliberate deception. But in a young mind, imagination and reality often sit side by side.&nbsp;The child is not carefully constructing fraud. He is escaping guilt the only way he knows how, through story.&nbsp;As children grow older, their lies change shape.&nbsp;An older child may hide poor marks. A teenager may lie about where she was. These lies&nbsp;are not about spilled milk anymore. They are about identity. About wanting to be seen as&nbsp;capable, responsible, mature.&nbsp;Children care deeply about how we see them. Sometimes more than we realize.&nbsp;When expectations are high and mistakes feel unbearable, truth begins to look dangerous. There is also another quiet reason: children are learningsome point. At some point a child discovers that thoughts are private. That adults cannot see inside&nbsp;their minds. It is a startling discovery. With it comes experimentation. &ldquo;If I say this, will they believe me?&rdquo; It is less a plan to deceive and more a test of the world.&nbsp;None of this means lying should be ignored. Trust, once damaged, is difficult to rebuild. But punishment alone rarely builds honesty. It often builds better liars.&nbsp;If every confession is met with anger, the child learns to hide more carefully next time.&nbsp;What then helps?Calmness helps.&nbsp;When a child admits, &ldquo;Yes, I broke it,&rdquo; and hears, &ldquo;Thank you for telling me,&rdquo; something important happens. The mistake still matters. The consequence may still follow. But the&nbsp;child learns that truth does not cancel love.&nbsp;That lesson stays.&nbsp;We must also look at ourselves. Children notice the small things. When we say on the&nbsp;phone, &ldquo;Tell them I&rsquo;m not home,&rdquo; they are listening. When we exaggerate stories or twist&nbsp;facts, they are watching. We cannot demand honesty in a language we do not speak.&nbsp;A lying child is not a lost child.More often, it is a worried child. Or an ashamed child. Or simply a growing child trying to&nbsp;manage feelings too large for his small hands.&nbsp;If we want honesty, we must make it safe. Safe to fail. Safe to confess. Safe to be imperfect.&nbsp;The real question is not, &ldquo;Why is my child lying?&rdquo;&nbsp;Perhaps it is, &ldquo;What is my child afraid of losing if they tell the truth?&rdquo;&nbsp;When we answer that gently &mdash; not with authority alone, but with understanding, we&nbsp;may find that the lies grow fewer, and the conversations grow deeper.&nbsp;And that is where trust truly begins.

Children often lie from fear, imagination, or growing identity, not malice. Honesty grows when adults respond calmly, model truth, and make mistakes safe, showing that truth never cancels love, trust, or belonging for children everywhere.

The psychology behind kids lying

Many adults believe that raising one&rsquo;s voice is a normal part of parenting, saying, &ldquo;Children don&rsquo;t listen otherwise.&rdquo; &nbsp;In homes and schools, shouting is often treated as a form of discipline. Yet shouting does not teach children to behave better; rather, it teaches them to be afraid, confused, or equally loud. As an educationist, I have seen this pattern repeated over the years and across classrooms. &nbsp; A raised voice may stop a child in the moment, but it never builds understanding.&nbsp; Silence after shouting is not obedience. It is an emotional shutdown.&nbsp; Research on child psychology and emotional regulation shows that children learn&nbsp;to manage their feelings by watching adults. When adults shout, children&rsquo;s stress hormones rise. The brain moves into survival mode, during which learning stops.&nbsp; The child may comply, but nothing is understood or remembered.&nbsp; Consider a common morning scene.&nbsp;A child is slow to get ready for school; his shoes are missing, and his breakfast is unfinished. Consequently, the parents&rsquo; voice rises with every minute. The child freezes, cries, or becomes stubborn, and by the time the child reaches school, he is already anxious.&nbsp; Teachers later complain that he is inattentive or aggressive, but the problem did not start in the classroom; it began at home, with raised voices.&nbsp; Neuroscience supports this observation. Research from Harvard&rsquo;s Center on the Developing Child shows that repeated exposure to stress &mdash; such as frequent shouting &mdash; can affect a child&rsquo;s developing brain, weakening the areas responsible for attention, memory, and emotional control.&nbsp; In simple words, shouting makes it harder for children to behave well in the future.&nbsp; Some people, however, argue that &ldquo;our parents shouted, and we turned out fine.&rdquo;&nbsp; This statement avoids an honest question: Did we truly turn out fine, or did we simply learn to hide fear and repeat the same behavior? Many adults admit they now struggle with anger, anxiety, or communication. These patterns often begin in childhood. In schools, the difference between loud authority and calm authority is clear.&nbsp; I recall a teacher who never raised her voice, even in a noisy classroom. She paused, stood still, and waited. Slowly, students noticed. Silence followed. Her calm was stronger than shouting. The children respected her not because they feared her, but because they trusted her.&nbsp; Another example comes from a parent who decided to change one habit: no shouting in the morning. Instead of repeated instructions, she created a simple routine chart with pictures. The first week was difficult. The second week was quieter. Within a month, her child became more independent.&nbsp; The parent did not lose control. She gained cooperation. Research on positive discipline confirms this.&nbsp; According to studies published in the Journal of Family Psychology, children raised with calm, consistent guidance show better self-control and fewer behavioral problems than those disciplined through yelling or threats. Calm discipline teaches responsibility, whereas loud discipline teaches fear.&nbsp; Raising your voice also damages the relationship between an adult and a child, as children may listen to a shouting adult but stop sharing their thoughts.&nbsp; They learn that mistakes bring anger, not guidance.&nbsp; Over time, this creates distance. Power should never be loud to be effective. True authority is quiet and steady. The same is true in parenting and teaching. A calm voice shows confidence. A raised voice shows loss of control. This does not mean children do not need boundaries. They do.&nbsp; But boundaries delivered calmly are clearer and stronger.&nbsp; &ldquo;We do not hit.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;We finish our homework before play.&rdquo;&nbsp; Short sentences, firm tone, no shouting. Children understand this language.&nbsp; Never raising your voice does not mean being weak.&nbsp;It means being aware. It means choosing long-term growth over short-term silence.&nbsp; Children are not broken machines to be fixed with noise. They are learning humans. When adults lower their voices, children learn to regulate theirs. When adults stay calm, children feel safe enough to listen.&nbsp; In the end, the goal is not quiet children. The goal is confident, emotionally healthy adults. And that lesson begins with a calm voice today.

Children are not broken machines to be fixed with noise. They are learning humans. When adults lower their voices, children learn to regulate theirs. When adults stay calm, children feel safe enough to listen. 

Never raise your voice at your children

Every morning tells a story. Some mornings begin with light, routine, and quiet purpose. Others begin with shouting. In many homes, the day opens not with sunlight but with raised voices. &ldquo;Hurry up.&rdquo; &ldquo;You&rsquo;re late again.&rdquo; &ldquo;How many times have I told you?&rdquo; These words are spoken quickly, often without cruelty, often with worry behind them. Yet their effect is deeper than we imagine. A child who begins his day with scolding does not leave those words at the doorstep. He carries them into the classroom, into his notebook, into his behavior, and into his sense of self. A child&rsquo;s mind in the morning is not prepared for battle. It is soft, just waking, trying to gather itself. When the first sound it hears is anger, the body reacts before the brain can reason. The heart beats faster. Muscles tighten. The mind shifts into defense. By the time the child reaches school, he is already tired. Teachers often notice this without knowing the cause. The child is distracted, restless, unusually quiet, or unusually aggressive. He forgets his books, avoids eye contact, or argues over small things. We label him careless, lazy, or illmannered. But often, he is simply recovering from his morning. Academics suffer quietly. A mind that is anxious cannot focus deeply. Reading requires calm attention. Writing requires confidence. Mathematics requires patience. A child who has been shouted at begins the day believing he is already wrong. When the teacher asks a question, he hesitates. When he makes a mistake, it confirms what he was told at home. Slowly, learning becomes a place of fear rather than curiosity. Behavior follows the same pattern. Some children withdraw. They sit silently, trying not to be noticed, afraid that attention will bring more criticism. Others do the opposite. They talk back, disturb the class, or pick fights. Both behaviors come from the same root: emotional imbalance. A shaken child will either shrink or shake others. Morning scolding shapes how a child thinks about himself for the rest of the day. Repeated often, it becomes a quiet belief: &ldquo;I am always late. I am always wrong. I always disappoint.&rdquo; Parents do not intend this. Morning is genuinely difficult. Time is short. Responsibilities are many. Yet discipline delivered in shouting loses its purpose. It may speed the child for a moment, but it slows him for the whole day. Parent&#39;s roleThere is another way, simpler but requiring effort. First, prepare the night before. School bags packed, uniforms laid out, shoes placed where they belong. A prepared morning needs fewer words. Second, wake children earlier than necessary. Rushing creates shouting. Time creates calm. Third, replace commands with reminders. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s time to wear your shoes&rdquo; works better than &ldquo;Why are you still sitting?&rdquo; Fourth, lower your voice intentionally. A calm voice demands attention more effectively than a loud one. Children mirror tone before they understand meaning. Fifth, offer one sentence of encouragement before they leave. &ldquo;Have a good day.&rdquo; &ldquo;I know you&rsquo;ll do well.&rdquo; These words travel with the child far longer than scolding ever will. Lastly, remember this: school tests knowledge, but mornings shape character. A child who leaves home feeling safe will face the world with confidence. A child who leaves home feeling small will spend the day trying to protect himself. We cannot control everything that happens to our children outside. But we control the first hour of their day. And often, that hour decides the rest. The morning does not need perfection. It needs peace.

Morning scolding quietly shapes a child’s emotions, learning, and behavior. Anxious beginnings drain focus and confidence all day. Calm preparation, gentle reminders, time, and encouragement create mornings that help children learn, behave, and face school.

How mornings shape children’s behavior

Maham Khan

The phone call comes at 9pm, after a long day at work. The man on the other end, introduced through her mother&#39;s WhatsApp network, is pleasant enough. 20 minutes in, he mentions that he can&#39;t cook. Or clean. His mother does everything, he explains, but of course after marriage, that would be his wife&#39;s responsibility. &quot;You&#39;ll still work, naturally,&quot; he adds. &quot;We want a modern woman.&quot; The woman, in her mid-20s, sits in her room and feels a familiar exhaustion. This is the third such call this week. Different men, same script: they want a working woman who will also shoulder all domestic responsibilities. &quot;This is not feminism,&quot; she says, recounting the experience weeks later. She requested anonymity to speak freely about family matters. &quot;Feminism was meant to make our life easier, not harder.&quot; 250 years ago, Jane Austen was born in Hampshire, England. The novelist would create some of English literature&#39;s most beloved characters: Elizabeth Bennet, Emma Woodhouse, Anne Elliot; women navigating the constraints of Regency-era marriage markets with wit and intelligence. Austen&#39;s genius lay not in imagining escape from the system, but in documenting how intelligent women operated within it. Her heroines couldn&#39;t opt out of marriage, economic survival depended on it, but they could resist, delay and ultimately choose partners who offered genuine respect alongside financial security. That tension between autonomy and constraint, individual preference and family pressure, remains startlingly alive in modern Pakistan. Here, the marriage market Austen satirized has evolved but not disappeared, migrating from drawing rooms to WhatsApp groups, from calling cards to biodata profiles. <figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/8ba2624f-2eee-4643-b7e6-aa6e455d2db1-drawing boards to whatsdapp.jpeg" alt="drawing boards to whatsdapp.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">The marriage market Austen satirized has evolved but not disappeared, migrating from drawing rooms to WhatsApp groups. (Illustration from Pride and Prejudice/Jane Austen&#39;s House)</figcaption></figure> Pakistan TV Digital spoke with four women who recently navigated or are currently navigating Pakistan&#39;s rishta system, the network of family connections and matchmakers through which most marriages are still arranged. Their experiences, shared on condition of anonymity, reveal how Austen&#39;s observations about marriage as transaction rather than romance remain uncomfortably relevant. Economics of eligibility The woman, living in Islamabad, describes how proposals arrive: Her mother has joined numerous WhatsApp groups dedicated to matchmaking. When a man&rsquo;s profile appears, it gets forwarded to daughters deemed age-appropriate. &quot;You don&#39;t even want to talk to them,&quot; her mother said after weeks of resistance. She finally relented. What followed were conversations lasting one to two hours, mandatory auditions with prescribed questions. Do you pray five times daily? Can you cook? In &quot;Pride and Prejudice,&quot; accomplished women needed music, drawing, languages. Today&#39;s requirements are different but identical in spirit. Several families specified height requirements: between 5 feet 4 inches and 5 feet 6 inches. &quot;My son is so tall, we want a girl that looks great next to him,&quot; mothers explained. &quot;Even if the guy had no prospects himself, he wanted a perfect wife: has to be religious and &#39;homely,&#39;&quot; she says. The word &quot;homely&quot; in Pakistani usage means domestically skilled, but the expectation is clear. The cruelest irony, she notes, is that families explicitly want working women, dual incomes are increasingly necessary, but refuse to adjust expectations around domestic labor. Unspoken rules A Pakistani woman in her early 30s who holds a foreign passport but lives in Pakistan remembers when the pressure began. &quot;From an early age, since the teens, they were telling us to mentally prepare for marriage,&quot; she says. &quot;Mind you, I was just 24 when the pressure intensified.&quot; She resisted. Proposals came and were rejected. She became engaged once, then broke it off. Her parents, she says, &quot;almost gave up on me.&quot; <figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/c621a95d-c5a6-4daf-ab0f-79224ad9e023-AustenIllustrations3.webp" alt="AustenIllustrations3.webp" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">Two centuries after the novelist skewered Regency-era matchmaking, her observations about family pressure and women&#39;s constrained choices remain startlingly relevant. (Illustration from Pride and Prejudice/The Mary Sue)</figcaption></figure> In Austen&#39;s &quot;Persuasion,&quot; Anne Elliot is persuaded at 19 to reject Captain Wentworth because he lacks fortune and connections. The novel&#39;s tragedy isn&#39;t that Anne made the wrong choice; it&#39;s that the choice was never truly hers to make. Family pressure overrode her own judgment. Rare success A 28-year-old woman based in Karachi describes a smoother experience, though one that still operated through the rishta infrastructure. &quot;My parents joined every WhatsApp rishta group on the planet,&quot; she says. She&#39;s currently working in the corporate sector and married two years ago. The proposal came through a family friend. When asked how she knew he was right, her answer is simple: &quot;I felt calm and comfortable with him.&quot; &quot;Marriage is not constant happiness, but long-term emotional safety and partnership,&quot; she says. &quot;I believe the strongest marriages operate with a mindset of &#39;us versus the problem.&#39;&quot; Darker edge For a woman based in Peshawar who married in her early 20s, the process became traumatizing. A proposal came through family friends. The prospective in-laws made their expectations clear: She would not be allowed to study further or work. &quot;They earn enough to feed me,&quot; she recalls them saying. They openly discussed their wealth while explaining her economic contribution would be unnecessary. <figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/277410c8-7eff-4bca-a973-45f50fbbc660-AFP__20061030__Del69818__v2__HighRes__PakistanSocialMarriageMass.jpg" alt="AFP__20061030__Del69818__v2__HighRes__PakistanSocialMarriageMass.jpg" class="fr-fil fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">A Pakistani Christian bride shows off her jewellery during a mass wedding ceremony of about 55 couples in Lahore. (AFP)</figcaption></figure> Her family immediately rejected the proposal. Instead of ending there, it became a pressure campaign. &quot;They started insisting and started pressurizing my parents through our mutual friends to say yes,&quot; she says. The mutual friends became intermediaries, delivering messages about what a good match it was, how turning them down was insulting. Persistent question None of the women interviewed have given up on marriage. Like Austen&#39;s heroines, they&#39;re not revolutionaries attempting to dismantle the system. They&#39;re pragmatists trying to find decent outcomes within constraints they didn&#39;t choose. &quot;I&#39;m not against arranged marriages,&quot; one told me. &quot;I&#39;m against the hypocrisy. Say you want a housewife, fine. Say you want a working woman who will also be your mother&#39;s replacement, that&#39;s honest at least. But don&#39;t dress up exploitation as feminism.&quot; What strikes me most is how little has fundamentally changed since Austen&#39;s era. The mechanisms are more efficient, WhatsApp can connect families across continents instantly, but the underlying calculation remains: women as assets to be acquired, their worth determined by attributes that serve family interests. The question Austen asked repeatedly was: Given that you must operate within this system, how do you preserve your dignity and autonomy? How do you find genuine partnership in a transactional market? <figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/bab8a1d3-b617-4a41-965a-589303f1c123-P-CE-Brock.jpg" alt="P-CE-Brock.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">Anne Elliot talking to Captain Wentworth &quot;in spite of the formidable father and sister in the background&quot;. (Illustration from Jane Austen&#39;s novel Persuasion/Jane Austen Society of Australia)</figcaption></figure> Elizabeth Bennet rejects Mr Darcy&#39;s first proposal and only accepts his second when he&#39;s demonstrated genuine respect. Anne Elliot spends years alone rather than settle. The women navigating Pakistan&#39;s rishta market are making similar calculations: seeking the same elusive balance between practical necessity and personal fulfillment.

Two centuries after the novelist skewered Regency-era matchmaking, Austen's observations about family pressure and women's constrained choices remain startlingly relevant.

Marriage market: How Jane Austen's England lives on in Pakistan's rishta culture 

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

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

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

Web Desk

Screengrab from YouTube: Official Dhurandhar trailer 

Bollywood continues to exploit Pakistan-focused narratives in films like Dhurandhar, misrepresenting real events and political imagery to drive nationalist sentiment and box-office success.

Why is Bollywood so obsessed with Pakistan?

Faraz Saeed

LAHORE: There&rsquo;s a particular magic in Lahore after sunset, just before the city lights flicker on, when the walls of Lahore Fort seem to inhale. Standing near the Roshnai Gate at that hour, I felt as if the centuries were leaning into a whisper. The Walled City of Lahore Authority&rsquo;s &ldquo;History by Night&rdquo; tour promised a journey through time, and it delivered. Our small group gathered by the British-era Roshnai Gate, murmurings blending with the scent of damp stone and blooming jasmines. Questions floated: &ldquo;Is this the original gate?&rdquo; &ldquo;What year was it rebuilt?&rdquo; There was palpable anticipation: tonight, Sheesh Mahal would open its doors to the night sky. Then, suddenly, the darbaan appeared, the king&rsquo;s guard, his voice rolling across the courtyard. The gates swung open ceremoniously, nudging us into the past. The moment reminded me of illustrations from Mughal chronicles, where courtiers awaited royal processions in poised silence. We paused at Allama Iqbal&rsquo;s mausoleum. At night, it seemed contemplative, softened by shadow. Behind it, the Badshahi Mosque glowed from within, Aurangzeb&rsquo;s vision luminous under the moonlight. Even centuries-old sandstone and marble took on a new vitality in darkness. A short walk brought us to Hazoori Bagh. The marble baradari at its center, Ranjit Singh&rsquo;s celebration of his Koh-i-Noor acquisition, gleamed in gentle white light. From afar, it seemed fragile; up close, it was resolute. Stone weathered by time, yet full of pride.<figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/e39046c1-33f0-4038-b4c8-9c75f0da7d2b-15-11-25 H.00_14_36_15.Still004 (1).jpg" alt="15-11-25 H.00_14_36_15.Still004 (1).jpg" class="fr-fil fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">The Lahore Fort during the Walled City of Lahore Authority&rsquo;s &ldquo;History by Night&rdquo; tour on November 2, 2025.</figcaption></figure> Alamgiri Gate loomed next. Even with repeated visits, its scale stilled the crowd. Cameras rose instinctively. A child tugged her mother&rsquo;s sleeve. History was no longer in books; it was breathing around us. The Picture Wall glimmered, telling silent stories of artisans who had once traced its panels with brush and gold. Nearby, craftsmen displayed wares reflecting Lahore&rsquo;s layered history. Visitors climbed onto rickshaws and wooden carts. The very routes once trodden by royal elephants. The air smelled of nostalgia, damp stone, and faint attar. By the time we reached Barood Khana, the old British ammunition depot, the night had fully claimed us. Then it happened: the performance began. Drums thundered. Swords clashed. A Kathak dancer spun so quickly her mirrors scattered sparks of light. Sufi performers, Sikh martial artists, Mughal-era daasiyaan. All came together in a living kaleidoscope of traditions, stitched carefully by the WCLA to awaken history.<figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/f2a7f014-2d68-4e39-a337-5c29e497d5af-15-11-2025.00_15_35_05.Still008.jpg" alt="15-11-2025.00_15_35_05.Still008.jpg" style="width: 380px;" class="fr-dib fr-fil"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">Dancers perform at Lahore Fort during the Walled City of Lahore Authority&rsquo;s &ldquo;History by Night&rdquo; tour on November 2, 2025.</figcaption></figure> Inside Sheesh Mahal, mirrors multiplied the magic, no LED, no projection, no modern trickery. Just light, reflection, and the genius of Mughal imagination. The Emperor arrived (an actor, yes, but so convincingly that children and adults stared wide-eyed). Music swelled; the court breathed once again. The tour ended in the fort kitchen with refreshments. Music softened, visitors lingered, unwilling to leave. This, perhaps, is the WCLA&rsquo;s greatest triumph: transforming Lahore&rsquo;s heritage from static museum pieces into living companions. 2024 alone brought new tours: Roshan Galiyan, the Yatra Sikh heritage walk, hidden fort corners, old havelis, museum mysteries, and even &ldquo;Fort Fright,&rdquo; a historical horror tour. More than 5.3 million Pakistanis visited Lahore Fort last year, alongside over 80,000 foreign tourists. A remarkable achievement for a country often misunderstood abroad. Jahangir&rsquo;s Tomb, Shalimar Gardens, and the Walled City itself saw throngs, proof that history is alive and calling.

In centuries-old stories, Lahore Fort comes alive at night. Mirrors, music, and performances revive Mughal, Sikh, and Sufi traditions, immersing visitors in history’s living spectacle.

Lahore Fort night tour: Echoes of kings, mirrors, music, memory

At the Wall Street Journal&#39;s Innovator Awards, Billie Eilish delivered a stark challenge to the wealthy elite, asking pointedly, &quot;If you&#39;re a billionaire, why are you a billionaire?&quot; Her words came moments after announcing an $11.5 million donation from her tour to support climate justice and food equity, crystallizing a generational divide that goes far beyond celebrity posturing. The contrast between Eilish and Taylor Swift epitomizes this divide. While Eilish designs sustainable tours with plant-based catering and biodegradable confetti, Swift&#39;s private jet logged 170 flights in 2022, generating an estimated 8,300 tonnes of CO2 emissions, roughly 1,200 times the average person&#39;s annual carbon footprint. A single flight from Tokyo to Las Vegas for the Super Bowl emitted 40 tonnes of carbon, with her Eras Tour generating 139 metric tonnes during its US and South American legs. Swift&#39;s representatives argue that she purchases more than twice the number of carbon credits needed to offset her travel. But climate experts repeatedly note that carbon offsets are fundamentally flawed &mdash; often unverifiable, sometimes fraudulent, and incapable of undoing atmospheric damage. The only real solution, they insist, is to simply fly less. This isn&#39;t merely a celebrity spat, but a broader generational reckoning about wealth, responsibility, and planetary survival. Eilish, born in 2001, represents a generation that experiences climate anxiety as background noise. This cohort watched Greta Thunberg sail across the Atlantic rather than fly, viewing sustainability not as a brand, but as an existential necessity. Swift, born in 1989, comes from an era when private jets were status symbols, not sources of shame. The underlying issue cuts deeper than individual carbon footprints. It&#39;s about a system that allows extreme wealth accumulation while the planet suffers. Eilish&#39;s generation increasingly sees through the performative gestures of wealthy individuals &mdash; understanding that no one truly needs a billion dollars and that such wealth could solve massive global problems rather than fund private jet junkets. Celebrity behavior shapes cultural norms, and when Swift flies private for convenience, she normalizes a fundamentally unsustainable lifestyle. When Eilish questions the very existence of billionaires, she challenges the premise that extreme wealth accumulation is morally neutral. The climate crisis demands more than individual action; it requires a complete reimagining of societal values. Carbon offsetting has become the refuge of wealthy polluters, a corporate indulgence that allows the rich to buy the right to pollute while the poor suffer the consequences of a warming planet they did little to create. Eilish&#39;s approach differs dramatically: Her tour sustainability measures are systematic, not performative, acknowledging that having a massive platform comes with a responsibility to minimize harm. The uncomfortable truth remains: The planet is burning. Some are trying to put out the fire, while others are adding fuel and calling it innovation. When Eilish asks why billionaires exist, she&#39;s articulating what her generation increasingly takes for granted: Extreme wealth is indefensible when the planet is in crisis. Swift could choose differently. She could tour sustainably, fly commercial, or simply fly less. She could donate a fraction of her estimated $1.6 billion net worth to climate causes. Instead, she buys carbon credits and sends cease-and-desist letters to students tracking her flights. Meanwhile, Eilish keeps asking the questions no one in that room of billionaires wants to answer. And the planet keeps burning.

Billie Eilish challenges billionaire wealth and celebrity hypocrisy on climate action, contrasting her sustainable, charitable approach with Taylor Swift’s heavy private jet emissions and questionable carbon offsets.

Two generations, one planet: Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift's divergent climate paths

ISLAMABAD: The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Thursday issued its first-ever presidential statement on closer cooperation with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)&nbsp;to address regional challenges, including maritime security, terrorism, and food and water security.&nbsp; The statement, submitted by Bahrain&#39;s UN representative in his capacity as Council President for April, recognizes the GCC&rsquo;s &quot;position and expertise&quot; in promoting regional peace and security, and acknowledges its &quot;contributions to regional and international stability through mediation, preventive diplomacy, technical and financial support, and humanitarian engagement.&quot; The Council requested that the UN Secretary-General, Ant&oacute;nio Guterres, include recommendations on strengthening institutional ties with the GCC in his next report, and encouraged regular briefings by the GCC Secretary-General. &quot;The ongoing escalation underlines the urgent need for coordinated multilateral action,&quot; said Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General, stressing the importance of &ldquo;strengthened&rdquo; UN-GCC cooperation. He highlighted the GCC&#39;s role in de-escalating regional tensions, supporting mediation in Gaza, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen, and its cooperation with the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism. &#39;Cornerstone of the global economy&#39;GCC Secretary-General Jassim Albudaiwi told the Council the bloc is a &quot;cornerstone of the global economy&quot;, noting its combined output exceeded $2.3 trillion in 2024 and its members&rsquo; major contribution to global oil and gas supplies. He warned that instability in the Gulf carries global consequences. &quot;Stability in the Arabian Gulf is not merely a regional concern, but is rather a global necessity,&quot; he said. Bahrain&#39;s Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid al Zayani announced that his country had submitted a separate draft resolution to the Council addressing what he described as Iran&#39;s &quot;unlawful and unjustified&quot; attempts to control navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, with a vote expected Friday. Delegates from the United Kingdom and France backed GCC states&#39; right to defend their sovereignty, with France stating Iran &quot;bears the primary responsibility for the current escalation.&quot;&nbsp; Russia countered that the conflict was &quot;the direct result of an unprovoked act of aggression by the United States and Israel against Iran&#39;s territory.&quot; China and Pakistan jointly called for an immediate ceasefire and the launch of peace talks. The GCC, founded in 1981, comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Americas

Europe

Middle East

The statement, submitted by Bahrain's UN representative, recognizes the GCC’s 'position and expertise' in promoting regional peace and security, and calls for deeper UN-GCC coordination on terrorism, maritime security, water and food security.

UNSC backs stronger cooperation with Gulf bloc in first-ever presidential statement

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday extended Good Friday greetings to the Christian community at home and abroad, emphasizing the values of compassion, tolerance and peaceful coexistence. Prime Minister Sharif in a post on X on Friday stated: &quot;On the occasion of Good Friday, I extend sincere greetings to our brothers and sisters of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pm-sharif-extends-heartfelt-greetings-on-joyous-blessed-christmas" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Christian community</a>&nbsp;in Pakistan and members of the Christian faith across the world.&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=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2039943098672025844&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=cf1149a8b3beaafec088d9fab9bb7e3150ffa371&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 369px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;"></iframe></div></div>&ldquo;May this sacred day, marked by sacrifice and reflection, strengthen our shared commitment to compassion, tolerance, and peaceful coexistence,&quot; the prime minister added.

Culture

Says, ​'May this sacred day, marked by sacrifice and reflection, strengthen our shared commitment to compassion, tolerance, and peaceful coexistence'. 

Pakistan's PM Sharif extends Good Friday greetings, urges compassion and tolerance

PARIS:&nbsp;Iran should make a deal with the United States to end the war by offering to curb its nuclear program and reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for sanctions relief, a former Iranian foreign minister said. Mohammad Javad Zarif, who served as foreign minister from 2013-2021, claimed in an op-ed for American journal Foreign Affairs that Tehran had the &quot;upper hand&quot; in the conflict against the US and Israel, but argued Iran needed to stop the war to prevent the loss of more civilian lives and damage to infrastructure. &quot;Iran should use its upper hand not to keep fighting but to declare victory and make a deal that both ends this conflict and prevents the next one,&quot; Zarif said in the piece published late Thursday. &quot;It should offer to place limits on its nuclear program and to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for an end to all sanctions a deal Washington wouldn&#39;t take before but might accept now,&quot; he added. &#39;Nonaggression pact&#39;&nbsp; Iran should also be prepared to accept a mutual &quot;nonaggression pact&quot; with the United States, as well as economic relations, he said. Tehran and Washington have had no diplomatic ties since shortly after the 1979 Islamic revolution. Zarif, one of the architects of the now moribund 2015 deal over the Iranian nuclear program, is seen as a relative moderate within the Islamic republic elite, but has no official post in the current government. However this is one of the first times during this conflict that a high profile figure in Iran has called for a deal and an end to the war, with top military and political officials urging daily for fighting to continue until the US is defeated. &#39;Back to the stone ages&#39;US President Donald Trump has evoked ongoing talks with Tehran without giving details but also threatened to send the country &quot;back to the stone ages&quot; if it fails to agree terms. &quot;As an Iranian, outraged by Donald Trump&#39;s reckless aggression and crude insults, yet proud of our armed forces and resilient people, I am torn about publishing this peace-plan in Foreign Affairs,&quot; Zarif wrote in English on X Friday. &quot;Yet I&#39;m convinced that war must end on terms consistent with Iran&#39;s national interests,&quot; he added. Zarif in the Foreign Affairs piece warned that &quot;although continuing to fight the United States and Israel might be psychologically satisfying, it will lead only to the further destruction of civilian lives and infrastructure&quot;.

Mohammad Javad Zarif (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Mohammad Javad Zarif urges Iran to end the conflict with the US by negotiating a deal to limit its nuclear program and reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for sanctions relief.

Iran's former top diplomat urges deal with US to end war

ISLAMABAD: Congress&rsquo; National spokesperson Dr Shama Mohamed renewed scrutiny of alleged RSS backing for propaganda-style films in an X post, on Thursday.&nbsp;Dr. Shama said producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah had &ldquo;openly admitted&rdquo; that the RSS supported &ldquo;Kerala Story 2&rdquo; and arguing that this showed the organisation had backed a film meant to defame Kerala. Her post brought fresh attention to a wider debate over how the BJP and the RSS ecosystem support politically aligned cinema through ideological links, endorsements, tax breaks and promotion.<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=2039579655645348127&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Flogin%2F&sessionId=c92d3faf5176e582d37f5cad3e26fa7ac3e0dbe2&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 672px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;"></iframe></div></div>At least ten films have been produced or directed by individuals linked to the BJP, the RSS, or affiliated Hindutva organisations, an Indian news outlet, The Quint, reported on Friday. The films named in the report include The Kerala Story, The Kerala Story 2 Goes Beyond, Bastar: The Naxal Story, Razakar, Swatantra Veer Savarkar, PM Narendra Modi, Accident or Conspiracy: Godhra, Bengal 1947, The Accidental Prime Minister, and Jahangir National University.&nbsp;One of the most striking claims in that report concerns producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah. The Quint said Shah acknowledged at the 2023 World Hindu Congress that The Kerala Story could not have been made without RSS &ldquo;guidance and support.&rdquo; The report said he described the RSS as the film&rsquo;s &ldquo;guardian angels.&rdquo;&nbsp;Political endorsement has also come from the top. Reuters reported that Indian PM Narendra Modi publicly praised The Kashmir Files in 2022. BJP-ruled states then moved to make the film tax-free, helping widen its reach.&nbsp;A similar pattern was seen with The Kerala Story and Article 370. NDTV reported that BJP governments in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh made The Kerala Story tax-free. NDTV also reported that the BJP government in Chhattisgarh made Article 370 tax-free.&nbsp; Taken together, the reporting suggests these films are not just cultural products. They are increasingly part of a political ecosystem where cinema, ideology, and state patronage intersect.

India

The BJP and the wider RSS ecosystem are backing a string of ultra-nationalist and propaganda-style films in India; the support is not always visible as direct funding but through political links, public endorsements, tax breaks, and coordinated promotion by party leaders and allied networks. 

Scrutiny grows over BJP-RSS backing of propaganda films

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the suicide attack on a police station in the Domel area of District Bannu, said a press release issued by Prime Minister&rsquo;s Office on Friday. The prime minister expressed grief and sorrow over the loss of precious lives in the incident that took place in the northwest of the country. Sharif prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured, the press release said. &ldquo;We are determined to completely eradicate all forms of terrorism from the country&rdquo;, the prime minister said.

Security

‘We are determined to completely eradicate all forms of terrorism from the country,’ the prime minister said, according to a press release.

PM Sharif strongly condemns suicide attack in northwest Pakistan  

JINJA: Giggles and songs ripple across a field in rural eastern Uganda where elderly women swing cricket bats as a way to reshape what ageing, health and sports can look like in later life. The so-called &quot;cricket grannies&quot; are bound together by a growing love of a game they initially knew nothing about but is now helping them manage age-related health conditions, stress and loneliness. Clad in floor-length dresses and mostly barefoot, the women, aged 50 to 90, gather weekly at a playground in Jinja district, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the capital, Kampala. Each swing draws cheers from teammates as the women turn Saturday morning practice into a lively spectacle. &quot;With the exercises I&#39;ve been doing, my legs used to hurt, but they no longer do,&quot; Jennifer Waibi Nanyonga, 72, told AFP. &quot;I spent the whole of last year without seeing a doctor for my back, yet it had previously been paining me,&quot; added the grandmother of 29. The initiative began in 2025 with just 10 grandmothers in the remote village of Kivubuka and has since grown more than tenfold. The programme was initially aimed at children, but when cricket coach Aaron Kusasira realised their caregivers had little knowledge of the game and often kept them from joining, he decided to involve the elderly women, too. &quot;We come here, we jog, we move around, we do some stretches,&quot; Kusasira, 26, said. They &quot;unknowingly have to run because they have to compete,&quot; he added. Physical inactivity is a leading risk factor for deaths from noncommunicable diseases and, according to the World Health Organization, it is more common among women globally. International health data estimates that sedentary lifestyles are costing public health systems roughly US$27 billion per year and will continue to rise if activity levels are not improved. Fresh start&nbsp; Beyond physical activity, cricket has also fostered a sense of community among the Ugandan grannies. &quot;When at home, you have no company and spend your time buried in your thoughts,&quot; said an elderly woman who only gave her first name, Patriciah. For others, the weekly meetings have proved cathartic. &quot;When I arrive here and see my friends, we get together and talk about our problems, we counsel each other,&quot; said Jennifer Waibi Nanyonga. &quot;By the time we return home, everyone is lighter and with a fresh start,&quot; she added. For coach Kusasira, training the women has been a win-win, giving him the opportunity to coach children in the area without opposition. &quot;From the kids to the elders, provided I see the smiles it&#39;s enough. I know that is a day well spent,&quot; he said.

In eastern Uganda’s Jinja district, groups of older women have embraced cricket as a way to stay physically active and socially connected later in life. Often referred to locally as “cricket grannies”, they take part in informal games and training that co

Africa

The so-called "cricket grannies" are bound together by a growing love of a game they initially knew nothing about but is now helping them manage age-related health conditions, stress and loneliness.

From bats to bonds: Uganda's 'cricket grannies'

DHAKA: The Bangladesh government has introduced a series of measures aimed at addressing the impact of global disruptions and ensuring stability in fuel oil supply, following a high-level cabinet meeting held at night at the Cabinet Room in the Parliament Secretariat.&nbsp; Under the new directives, all government and private offices will operate from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Banking hours for public transactions will run from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm, while banks will officially close at 4:00 pm, Bangladeshi state media Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) reported.&nbsp; In an effort to conserve energy, shopping malls and markets nationwide must shut down by 6:00 pm. However, essential services including kitchen markets, food outlets, and pharmacies will remain exempt from this restriction. The decisions were taken by the Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Thursday night. Later, Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Ghani briefed the journalists at the media centre of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban, saying that the government took measures considering fuel supply disruptions caused by the Middle East war.&nbsp;&nbsp;Prime Minister&rsquo;s Press Secretary Saleh Shibly was present at the briefing. Noting that several steps have been taken for the next three months to reduce government expenditure, the cabinet secretary said, &ldquo;No new vehicles, watercraft or aircraft will be purchased during this period&rdquo;.&nbsp;&nbsp;Procurement of new equipment, including computers, will also remain suspended, he said, adding, internal training has been reduced by 50 percent, while all foreign training under government funding will remain suspended until further notice.&nbsp;&nbsp;Expenditure on meetings and seminars has also been cut by 50 percent, Ghani said.&nbsp;&nbsp;Besides, he said, government spending in the power, energy and gas sectors will be reduced by 30 percent. The meeting issued a directive to reduce unnecessary travel expenses by 30 percent, the cabinet secretary added.&nbsp;&nbsp;He said new directives will be issued for the education sector.&nbsp;&nbsp;The Ministry of Education will start issuing instructions in phases from Sunday, considering the needs of different levels, so that the measures do not have a negative impact on the education system, Ghani said.&nbsp;&nbsp;In a bid to reduce traffic congestion in the capital city during the school hour, he said, the government has decided to introduce electric buses for school students instead of private cars.&nbsp;&nbsp;Educational institutions joining the initiative will be able to import buses duty-free, the cabinet secretary said, adding, the private sector will also get this facility, but a 20 percent duty will apply for commercial purposes.&nbsp;&nbsp;However, only new buses will be allowed for import, he said.&nbsp;&nbsp;Noting that imports from alternative sources are also being increased to maintain normal fuel supply, Ghani said initiatives have already been taken to import fuel from Malaysia, Indonesia, and Kazakhstan.

Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Ghani briefed the journalists at the media centre of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban (Photo : BSS)

Bangladesh

The Bangladesh government has introduced reduced working hours, spending cuts, and energy-saving measures to manage fuel shortages caused by global disruptions.

Bangladesh cuts expenditure, reduces office hours, orders markets shut after 6pm

WASHINGTON:&nbsp;US President Donald Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday and named his former personal lawyer to serve as the acting chief of the Justice Department. The US president announced the move in a social media post. &quot;Pam Bondi is a Great American Patriot and a loyal friend, who faithfully served as my Attorney General over the past year,&quot; Trump said on Truth Social. &quot;Pam did a tremendous job overseeing a massive crackdown in Crime across our Country.&quot; Bondi &quot;will be transitioning to a much needed and important new job in the private sector,&quot; the president said, and will be replaced on an interim basis by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who Trump described as &quot;a very talented and respected Legal Mind.&quot; According to The New York Times, Trump may name former Republican congressman Lee Zeldin, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, to be the next attorney general.In the meantime, the post will be filled by Blanche. &#39;Honor of a lifetime&#39;Bondi, in a post on X, said serving as attorney general had been &quot;the honor of a lifetime&quot; and said she will &quot;continue fighting for President Trump&quot; in her unspecified new private sector job. &quot;Over the next month I will be working tirelessly to transition the office of Attorney General to the amazing Todd Blanche,&quot; she said. &quot;I remain eternally grateful for the trust that President Trump placed in me to Make America Safe Again.&quot; Bondi&#39;s ouster comes nearly a month after Trump fired Kristi Noem as the head of the Department of Homeland Security.&nbsp;Democratic lawmakers welcomed Bondi&#39;s firing. Bondi served as a prosecutor for 18 years before being elected Florida&#39;s attorney general in 2010, the first woman to hold the post.&nbsp;She was reelected to a second term in 2014.

Bondi 'will be transitioning to a much needed and important new job in the private sector,' the president said, and will be replaced on an interim basis by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who Trump described as 'a very talented and respected Legal Mind.'

Trump sacks attorney general Pam Bondi, replaces with lawyer Todd Blanche

LAHORE: Pakistan&rsquo;s digital economy could contribute between 5%-7% of gross domestic product by 2030, provided structural constraints are addressed and reforms accelerate, according to a new report by the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI).&nbsp;Titled &ldquo;Recommendations for Pakistan&rsquo;s Digital Future,&rdquo; the OICCI Digital Report 2025 presents a detailed assessment of the country&rsquo;s digital landscape, highlighting both measurable gains and persistent bottlenecks shaping future growth.&nbsp;The report frames Pakistan&rsquo;s digital sector as a rapidly expanding but uneven ecosystem, where strong growth in connectivity, exports and digital finance is being tempered by infrastructure gaps and slow policy execution, raising the stakes for reforms needed to unlock its full economic potential.&nbsp;The report identifies the digital sector as an emerging driver of productivity, exports and financial inclusion, supported by a growing user base and rising adoption of digital services.&nbsp;Pakistan&rsquo;s IT and IT-enabled services (ITeS) exports have reached $3.8 billion, while the freelance economy contributes $779 million in earnings.&nbsp;Digital access continues to expand, with more than 150 million broadband subscriptions and over 200 million telecom connections. The broader mobile ecosystem contributes an estimated $17 billion to the national economy.&nbsp;The report also underscores rapid growth in digital finance.&nbsp;&ldquo;Pakistan has made notable strides in digital payments and financial inclusion. The Raast instant payment system processed Rs18 trillion in peer-to-peer transactions in FY26, demonstrating the rapid adoption of digital financial services,&rdquo; said OICCI President Yousaf Hussain.&nbsp;However, infrastructure limitations remain a key constraint.&nbsp;Only 18% of cellular towers are connected through fiber, well below the global benchmark of around 40%, limiting network capacity and readiness for next-generation technologies.&nbsp;Policy execution is another concern.&nbsp;While engagement on digital policy has improved, implementation remains slow. The report notes that only about one-quarter of recommendations from OICCI&rsquo;s 2022 Digital Report have been carried out.&nbsp;&ldquo;Only about one-quarter of OICCI&rsquo;s digital policy recommendations issued in OICCI&rsquo;s Digital Report 2022 have been implemented so far. Faster execution, improved fiber penetration and a more investment-friendly regulatory environment will be essential to unlock Pakistan&rsquo;s digital potential,&rdquo; said M. Abdul Aleem, Secretary General of OICCI.&nbsp;To address these gaps, the report recommends reducing taxes on broadband services and digital devices, accelerating fiber deployment, ensuring regulatory clarity in data protection and cybersecurity, and strengthening public-private collaboration.&nbsp;The government has set a target of $5 billion in IT exports for FY26, while analysts project exports could reach around $4.5 billion, implying annual growth of 18% to 20% from the $3.8 billion recorded in FY25.&nbsp;Under the broader Uraan Pakistan framework, policymakers are targeting $10 billion in IT exports by FY29, requiring a compound annual growth rate of approximately 27%.&nbsp;The report concludes that while Pakistan&rsquo;s digital economy is expanding and foundational elements are in place, closing infrastructure gaps, accelerating policy implementation, and investing in advanced skills such as artificial intelligence and cybersecurity will determine whether current momentum translates into sustained economic impact

Economy

Pakistan’s digital economy is growing fast and could reach 5–7% of GDP by 2030, driven by rising IT exports, digital payments, and increasing internet and mobile use.

Pakistan digital economy seen reaching 7% GDP by 2030: Report

Web Desk/AFP

'Multiple attacks on health have been reported in the Iranian capital, Tehran, in recent days amid the escalating conflict in the Middle East,' WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X.