Author: News Desk

News Desk NEW DEHLI: India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) formally charged militant groups and six individuals over the false flag Pahalgam attack in Indian-Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir that left 26 people dead and triggered some of the most severe military clashes between India and Pakistan in decades. The attack, which mostly targeted Hindu tourists in the Pahalgam region, prompted New Delhi to accuse Pakistan of supporting the assault, an allegation that Islamabad has consistently denied. According to the NIA, the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and its offshoot, The Resistance Front (TRF), were directly involved in “planning, facilitating, and executing”…

News Desk THE HAGUE: Appeals judges at the International Criminal Court on Monday rejected one in a series of legal challenges brought by Israel against the court’s investigation into its conduct during the war in Gaza. On appeal, judges declined to overturn a lower court ruling that allowed the prosecutor’s investigation into alleged crimes under the court’s jurisdiction to include events following the deadly Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023. The decision meant the investigation would continue and that arrest warrants issued last year for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant would…

News Desk KABUL: In a rare public display of clerical concern, more than a thousand religious scholars convened in Kabul this week to urge Afghanistan’s rulers to prevent the country from being used as a base for attacks on neighboring states. The gathering, which drew voices from across the country’s Islamic scholarly community, adopted a resolution asserting that anyone crossing into Pakistan to carry out armed operations should be considered a rebel acting against Islamic principles. Observers said the move highlighted growing unease among Afghanistan’s clerics over the risks posed by unregulated militant activity on their soil. Sources familiar with…

MM Report BEIJING: China unveiled a new diplomatic initiative at the United Nations this week, forming a bloc it called the “Friends of Global Governance” in a bid to present itself as a steward of a fairer international order. The grouping, launched under President Xi Jinping’s broader foreign-policy vision, brought together a cluster of states long critical of Western influence in multilateral forums, including Iran, Cuba, Pakistan, Venezuela and North Korea. Beijing framed the initiative as an attempt to inject what it described as “China’s wisdom” into global decision-making at a time of deepening geopolitical polarization. Sources claimed that China…

By Amjad Qaimkhani NEW YORK: Pakistan issued one of its starkest warnings in months over the deteriorating security landscape along its western frontier, telling the UN Security Council that militant networks entrenched in Afghanistan had emerged as the gravest threat to its national security. Addressing a Council session on Afghanistan, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative, Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, said a constellation of armed groups—including ISIL-K, Al-Qaeda, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and the Majeed Brigade—had continued to exploit ungoverned spaces inside Afghanistan to stage attacks across the border. Ahmad told diplomats that…

By Amjad Qaimkhani WASHINGTON: The United States has formally approved a $686 million package of advanced technology and support services for Pakistan’s F-16 fighter jets, a move aimed at bolstering Islamabad’s aerial capabilities and sustaining its operational readiness for years to come. According to US defence sources, the Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified Congress on 8 December that the sale would include Link-16 data link systems, cryptographic equipment, avionics upgrades, as well as training and comprehensive logistical support for Pakistan’s existing fleet. Officials described the initiative as part of a broader strategic effort to ensure Pakistan can respond effectively…

News Desk DHAKA: Bangladesh signaled a cautious openness to Pakistan’s participation in regional multilateral initiatives, even in the absence of India, highlighting a potential shift in South Asian diplomatic dynamics. Mohammed Tauhid Hossain, Bangladesh’s adviser on foreign affairs, told journalists in Dhaka that Pakistan’s involvement in a regional grouping was strategically feasible and could be advanced through ongoing discussions. He noted that proposals put forward by former Pakistani finance minister Ishaq Dar offered concrete avenues for progress, suggesting that some elements of Dar’s plan could be implemented despite historical tensions in the region. Ishaq Dar had previously indicated that a…

News Desk ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court on Thursday temporarily halted trial proceedings against activists Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha, who faced charges over social media posts made in 2023 alleged to breach the 2016 Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act. The case, which has drawn significant public attention, is now set to be reviewed by the Islamabad High Court, which had earlier rejected the activists’ petitions for relief. Supporters of Mazari-Hazir and Chattha contend that the charges represent a retaliatory response to their advocacy for women’s and minority rights, while critics argue that the posts contained misleading information or could…

News Desk DUBAI: A luxury tower in Dubai named after Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan sold out on its first day of launch, developers said, marking one of the city’s most high-profile property unveilings of the year. The “Shah Rukh Tower”, located on Dubai’s busiest artery, Sheikh Zayed Road, carries an estimated value of 2.1 billion dirhams — roughly Rs 159.6 billion in Pakistani currency. The project has drawn intense interest from investors, boosted by the actor’s global fame and Dubai’s booming real estate market. More than 6,000 guests attended the launch ceremony at Dubai Expo City, where Shah Rukh…

News Desk GENEVA: The United Nations placed India at the centre of a new report highlighting some of the world’s most serious human rights violations in Indian-illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K), as the international community marked Human Rights Day on Tuesday. The report painted a stark picture of a region where Kashmiris continue to face systemic abuses, including extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture, and severe restrictions on basic freedoms. According to the UN’s findings, more than 94,000 Kashmiris have died at the hands of Indian security forces over the years, with over 7,000 reported to have perished while in…