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PCB, ICC talks conclude; PM’s advice sought on India match After ICC request, PCB leadership was set to seek political clearance as Mohsin Naqvi planned consultations with PM Shehbaz over a sensitive international decision By Asghar Ali Mubarak LAHORE: A meeting between senior officials of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the International Cricket Council (ICC) was concluded in Lahore to discuss Pakistan’s decision to skip its T20 World Cup 2026 match against India. The board said that Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Aminul Islam was also present at the meeting. Sources claimed that the possible breakthrough has been reached…

In what authorities in Pakistan described as a significant breakthrough, the alleged mastermind behind Friday’s devastating suicide bombing in Islamabad was taken into custody on Saturday, alongside a network of facilitators believed to have orchestrated the attack. The news came as a relief to many still reeling from the horror of one of the deadliest assaults the capital has seen in recent years. The bombing, which targeted an imambargah in the Tarlai area during prayers, left at least 33 people dead and scores more wounded, plunging the city into mourning and raising urgent questions about the protection of religious sites.…

By S.M. Inam Pakistan’s economy is navigating a precarious path, with debt obligations continuing to cast a long shadow over both defence and development spending. Data released on Friday by the Ministry of Finance reveals that in the first half of the current fiscal year, debt servicing consumed more than double the combined allocations for defence and the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP), highlighting the persistent fiscal squeeze under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program. Between July and December, the country’s accumulated public debt demanded Rs3,563 billion in interest payments alone. In contrast, allocations for defence stood at Rs1,044 billion…

By Muhammad Mohsin Iqbal After nearly a quarter of a century, Basant has returned to Lahore, not merely as a festival but as a long-suppressed emotion rediscovering its voice. For twenty-five years, the city carried the memory of spring like a faded photograph—cherished, yet distant. Past tragedies, when careless celebrations claimed innocent lives, had silenced rooftops and hushed laughter. This year, as kites once again rose above the Walled City and families cautiously gathered on terraces, Lahore seemed to breathe differently. The revival was neither loud nor reckless; it was measured, regulated, and reflective, shaped by time, loss, and hard-earned…

By Atiq Raja In a world obsessed with perfection—perfect beliefs, perfect behavior, perfect faith—Ittay Flescher’s The Holy & the Broken arrives like a quiet, honest breath. It does not promise easy answers or tidy resolutions. Instead, it gently dismantles the notion that holiness exists only in wholeness, inviting readers to see the sacred woven into doubts, struggles, and imperfections. This is a book less concerned with fixing faith than with befriending it, exactly as it is. At its heart, The Holy & the Broken challenges the false divide we often impose between the “spiritual” and the “messy” parts of life.…

By Subhan Baloch KARACHI: Inspector general of police Sindh, Javed Alam Odho, met a delegation of the Crime Reporters Association Karachi at the Central Police Office in Karachi to discuss strengthening cooperation between the police and the media. The delegation was led by the association’s president, Sameer Qureshi. Discussions focused on professional matters, mutual cooperation, the role of the media in crime prevention and ways to improve coordination between the police and crime reporters. The SSP for media and public relations and the director press at the Central Police Office were also present. The association’s delegation included vice-president Ubaidullah Shah,…

By Wadood Mehsud DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Saif-ur-Rehman Mahsud demanded a martyrs’ compensation package for the families of those killed in the suicide attack in Dera Ismail Khan, saying the relatives of the victims had been left without official support weeks after the incident. Addressing a press conference at the Mahsud Press Club in South Waziristan Upper, he said his younger brother, Malik Inayatullah Mahsud, was killed in a suicide bombing that struck a wedding ceremony in Dera Ismail Khan on January 23, 2026. He said no government representative had contacted the family since the attack. Mahsud said his brother was…

A brutal suicide attack has torn through the heart of Pakistan’s federal capital, leaving at least 31 dead and more than 150 injured, and casting a shadow of fear across Islamabad’s Tarlai district. The target was the Khadijat-ul-Kubra Imambargah, a sacred space where worshippers had gathered for Friday prayers, seeking solace, not violence. What should have been a moment of quiet devotion was transformed into chaos and horror. The explosion’s force shattered windows in nearby homes and offices, sending shockwaves of terror throughout the city. Eyewitnesses recounted the sickening sequence of events: gunfire echoed through the mosque’s entrance just moments…