PM COURTS BAHRAINI INVESTORS WITH PAKISTAN’S SWEEPING ECONOMIC OVERHAUL BLUEPRINT
’S BUSINESS ELITE TO TAP PAKISTAN ’S ‘ IMMENSE INVESTMENT POTENTIAL’
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g SAYS STRUCTURAL REFORMS, DIGITAL MODERNISATION DRIVING PRIVATE-SECTOR-LED GROWTH, OFFERING LONG-TERM JVS IN AGRIBUSINESS, IT, MINERALS, ENERGY AND TOURISM
as
of the
of
of
Committee (CJCSC) was officially
under the
Constitutional
ing the end of nearly five decades of tri-service representation at the apex of military decision-making The historic change coincided with the retirement of the 18th and final CJCSC, General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, even as the government had yet to formally notify the appointment of the country’s first Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) under the new structure The operationalisation of the amendment to Article 243, passed by parliament on November 13 and
signed into law by President Asif Ali Zardari dissolves the coordinating post created in 1976 which critics had long argued never fully realised its intended role of ensuring robust synergy among the army, navy, and air force Gen Mirza bid farewell to the services during a ceremony at Joint Staff Headquarters on November 26 reflecting on the evolving responsibilities of the tri-services Under the restructured command hierarchy, oversight of joint operations, multi-domain planning, and inter-service integration is now consolidated in the newly created CDF who will concurrently serve as Chief of the Army Staff (COAS)
This dual-hatted role merges operational, administrative, and strategic authority into a single office Although no official notification had been issued by Thursday evening, Field Marshal Asim Munir is widely
expected to assume the position, resetting his tenure to a fresh five-year term with the potential for a fiveyear extension keeping him in command through at least 2030 and possibly 2035
The CDF-cum-COAS will exercise expanded influence, including over the nuclear command via a newly created four-star post the Commander of National Strategic Command (CNSC) Appointment and extension of the CNSC will be tied exclusively to the CDF s recommendation, shielded from judicial review a move experts describe as unprecedented
Parallel revisions to the Army Navy and Air Force Acts eliminate the CJCSC office, redefine service hierarchies, and strengthen the CDF s role across joint and strategic domains, though the National Command Authority Act has not yet been amended
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Security forces killed 22 Indian proxy terrorists during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) conducted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Dera Ismail Khan district according to the military s media affairs wing on Thursday
In a statement the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that the operation was conducted on the reported presence of terrorists belonging to Indian Proxy Fitna al-Khawarij Fitna al Khawarij is a term designated by the state for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)
“During the conduct of the operation own troops effectively engaged the khawarij location and after an intense fire exchange 22 khawarij were sent to hell the ISPR stated Sanitisation operation is being
conducted to eliminate any other Indian-sponsored kharji found in the area as the relentless counter-terrorism campaign under vision Azm-iIstehkam (as approved by the Federal Apex Committee on National Action Plan) by security forces and law enforcement agencies of Pakistan will continue at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country the statement read Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif paid tribute to the security forces for the successful operation Earlier on Tuesday 22 terrorists were killed during an IBO in Bannu the ISPR said in a statement
During the conduct of the operation, own troops effectively engaged the khawarij location and after an intense fire exchange, 22 khawarij were sent to hell ” the statement said 3 cops martyred in terrorist attack on Hangu police checkpost
Three police personnel were martyred during a terrorist attack on a checkpost in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Hangu on Wednesday night
PBC CLOSES DIALOGUE ON
SINDH APPROVES PL AN TO SET UP 600 EV CHARGING STATIONS ACROSS
complete Pakistan expects the process to be finalised within the coming fortnight The update was shared during a recent meeting between the petroleum minister the OGDC chief and Munib Hussain a London-based
partner at international law firm Milbank which represents the project s financiers
The meeting also reviewed broader developments in Pakistan’s mining and oil and gas sectors, with participants expressing support for strategic investments and sectoral growth initiatives Pakistan has devised two execution plans for the project Under Plan A, the government and its partners are securing funding from lenders, while Plan B involves continuing operational activity regardless of the timing of financial close Machinery has already been deployed at the site and construction work is underway The formal signing ceremony is scheduled for January Pakistan’s mineral sector, despite its extensive resource base currently contributes about 3 2% to GDP with mineral exports accounting for only 0 1% of global trade The country spans an outcrop area of 600,000 square kilometres and holds 92 known
minerals 52 of which are commercially exploited The sector produces an estimated 68 52 million metric tons annually, supporting over 5,000 mines and 50,000 SMEs and providing employment to roughly 300 000 people Located in Balochistan s Chagai district the Reko Diq mine contains one of the world s largest undeveloped copper and gold deposits The project, operated and revived by Canada’s Barrick
8 billion while thousands of direct and indirect jobs are expected to be created A planned second phase aims to lift copper output to 400,000 tonnes and gold production to 500,000 ounces per year
TH E Israeli security forces have launched a new operation in the Tubas Governorate raising the suspicion that the Netanyahu government is not just far from a two-state solution but is working on the Greater Israel plan which involves expelling or massacring all Palestinians still in the Occupied Territories Israel has faced a check in Gaza where Palestinians have refused to simply line up and get killed and Israel has turned its attention to the West Bank There unlike Hamas in the Gaza Strip it has received more cooperation from the Palestinian Authority ruling party Al-Fatah but it has been engaged in an operation that started in January in Jenin where it seems the Islamist resistance is concentrated Though the situation in the West Bank is far from the sort of disruption and destruction in the Gaza Strip there has been a resumption of building new settlements and settlers have become more aggressive
The expansion of the operation in the West Bank is an indication of why Israel agreed to a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip It also shows that like Hitler Israel cannot be appeased It has hardly been implementing the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip feeling free to bomb whenever it sees fit US President Donald Trump was quick enough to put his name to the Gaza Peace Plan but has shown little enthusiasm for ensuring that its terms are being met In short as predicted at the moment of signing he has fallen in with Israeli wishes Israel has not fulfilled one of the basic purposes of the ceasefire to reopen an aid route for a Gazan populace which was literally starving The Peace Plan failed to bring peace to the Middle East and the renewed operation in the West Bank merely shows that its peace is disturbed by the presence of Israel of the continuing illegal occupation of Palestine The need felt by Israel for what is being described as
FO R four
to
since returning to power in August 2021 has proven the opposite Far from fulfilling the promises laid out in written agreements such as the 2020 Doha Accord and the 2024 Pakistan–UAE–Afghanistan trilateral arrangement the Taliban have repeatedly violated their obligations while reaping political concessions, financial inflows, and diplomatic space Today, Afghanistan is no longer merely unstable; it is a revived hub for transnational jihadism The world can no longer afford to look away The Doha Agreement s first requirement was clear: The Taliban would enter intra-Afghan dialogue to negotiate a political settlement with the then-government in Kabul In return, 5,000 Taliban prisoners were released on the condition that they would not rejoin militancy What followed was a straightforward betrayal Instead of sitting across the table from the Ashraf Ghani administration the Taliban escalated their offensive and a significant number of the released prisoners returned immediately to the battlefield The result was not political compromise but the violent takeover of Kabul in August 2021 Taliban 2 0 promised inclusivity and moderation What Afghanistan received instead was an exclusionary hardline emirate that mirrors the obscurantist rule of the 1990s Women and girls were banned from secondary and higher education, barred from most workplaces, and erased from public life Ethnic minorities Tajiks, Uzbeks, Hazaras, and others remain structurally marginalized Afghanistan is home to 14 major ethnic groups yet the Taliban regime is almost entirely Pashtun in composition In a 49-member cabinet only a handful of Tajiks, Uzbeks, Baloch, or Nuristanis are present; every key ministry is held by Pashtuns aligned with the Kandahar Shura The leadership is composed almost exclusively of former Taliban commanders not technocrats or representatives of Afghanistan s diverse society The Taliban promised change but inequality and repression remain cornerstones of their rule The second major plank of the Doha Agreement was even clearer: The Taliban would never again allow Afghan soil to be used to threaten other countries Instead Afghanistan has regressed into a sanctuary for global jihadist groups The killing of Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul in August 2022 one year after the Taliban assumed power was the first unmistak-
T r y i n g
TH E federal government has convened on December 7 the inaugural meeting of the National Finance Commission with that meeting intended to begin a process which is supposed to last for five years but which may well last for much longer The present NFC is supposed to make the first Award since 2010 The missed Awards are 2015 and 2020, with an Award due in 2025 The Award which should be in force at the moment should have been halfway through its life
Though Martial Laws are more disruptive of NFC Awards elected governments have hardly covered themselves with glory One result is that not a single Award has been made on time, even though the Constitution’s timeframe is clear enough This is because one or other province has prevented a consensus being formed with the result that Awards are not enacted It could be noticed that NFCs were constituted in 1979 (when the First Award expired) and then five years later in 1984 but on neither occasion was an Award enacted The existing Award was renewed, a formula thus being found to overcome the difficulty This use of Article 160, which says that nothing shall be illegal just because it was not done on time has been extensive
The failure of the NFCs constituted in 1980 and 1985 to prepare Awards which could be enacted was succeeded by two PM, Muhammad Khan Junejo and then Benazir Bhutto, who did not address the issue at all It was not till 1991 that Mian Nawaz Sharif constituted an NFC, whose Award was enacted, thus giving the country an Award for the first time in 17 years
The next Award was due in 1996 but was delayed by a year In 2002 under the Musharraf Martial Law an NFC was constituted but no Award made That had to wait until 2010
However, since then, even though there have been political governments in office This is the first time an NFC has been constituted This indicates that an NFC Award is not high on the list of government priorities probably because it is well to let sleeping dogs lie and also because not much is going to be solved Second, there was no path to an Award As the Award needs consensus, it means that any one province can stop its being made by a simple refusal That meant that while the PTI was in power in KP, the PML(N) had no hope of getting an Award though
When the PTI took office at the Centre the PPP s Sindh government provided a bulwark against consensus It seems there is a repeat of the 2014 situation where the PTI can block consensus It probably will, holding the release of imprisoned party founder Imran Khan an essential condition for KP’s consent His release or otherwise seems to have nothing to do with an NFC Award but the new KP CM is more of an Imran fan than his predecessor However there is the factor that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif back in 2009, became the first CM to form part of the con-
able sign Repeated assessments by analysts and former intelligence officials indicate that senior al-Qaeda figures, including Saif al-Adl and Hamza bin Laden have been sheltered in Kabul Multiple credible international reports reinforce this pattern UN monitoring teams in 2025 detailed al-Qaeda s efforts to reorganize in Afghanistan rebuild networks and reactivate sleeper cells abroad The General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) the Taliban’s intelligence arm has been implicated in providing safe houses movement passes and weapon permits to Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan leaders Estimates suggest 6 000–6 500 TTP fighters and a dozen senior al-Qaeda operatives are present in Afghanistan The Taliban s continued tolerance indeed facilitation of these groups directly threatens Pakistan and the wider region Pakistan has borne the brunt of this failure Despite signing a trilateral agreement with Pakistan and the UAE in 2024 which included commitments to relocate TTP militants away from the border the Taliban delivered only symbolic compliance A few hundred fighters were moved, with no transparency or monitoring mechanism Some of the funds designated for relocation reportedly ended up bolstering extremist groups under the guise of refugee assistance Despite enormous diplomatic outreach four visits by Pakistan s Foreign Minister multiple missions by senior defense officials, hundreds of flag meetings, démarches, and protest notes the Taliban have refused to sever ties with militant groups that target Pakistan Instead the flow of NATO weapons worth an estimated $7 billion abandoned during the U S withdrawal has strengthened the TTP and other anti-Pakistan proxies The Taliban s behaviour is not just a regional problem; it is a global one In recent
sensus for an NFC Award even though his party was in the opposition in the Centre Only if Sohail Afridi can follow that example will an Award be possible
Apart from party politics there are disputes looming over both the vertical and horizontal splits both of which are determined by the NFC Once it is decided which federal taxes are to be placed in the federal divisible pool, it is then decided how that pool should be split between the federal governments Then comes the horizontal split which is between the provinces
This is the first NFC which will involve a debate on both the vertical and horizontal splits The federal provincial split now stands at 57 5 percent It has been calculated that the federal debt servicing, salary and administration burden may soon be next only by borrowing, unless the federation keeps more of the taxes it makes The natural step is for the federal government to demand that the divisible pool be reduced It would mean a reduction in the provincial share something which will be strenuously resisted by all provinces, and it would need only one to refuse consent for there to be no Award
The horizontal split has also been hotly debated in the past and one of the achievements of the last Award was to move away from the population basis
Population was not abandoned entirely and was given 82 percent weightage Federal ministers have expressed reservations about population, which makes it likely that it will try to further reduce its weightage There are two issues which the federation is likely to take up, which had been agreed at the last NFC but which have not been implemented The first was the setting up of Provincial Finance Commissions which were supposed to divide the provincial budgets between the provinces and the local governments, and then the local governments were supposed to divide their share among themselves This was not operationalized, primarily because the provincial governments did not like the loss of control it meant The provinces are also likely to face awkward questions about service delivery The provinces have to deliver health and education Indeed interwoven is the
e r n m e n t s s hy a w ay, bu t t h e b a s i c p ro b l e m h a s n o t b e e n
s o l v e d : t h e c o u n t r y i s p o o r I f t h e c o u n t r y w a s r i c h e r, a n d t h e
f e d e r a l c o l l e c t i o n s g r e a t e r, t h e f e d e r a l d i v i s i b l e p o o l wo u l d b e
e n o u g h fo r b o t h f e d e r a l a n d p rov i n c i a l n e e d s . H o w e v e r, t h e N F C i s n o t a l l o w e d t o i n d u l g e i n w i s h - f u l f i l l i n g f a n t a s y
months, Russia, China, Iran, Central Asian states, the UN, the SCO, and even the Collective Security Treaty Organization have issued stern warnings Their assessments are unambiguous: Afghanistan has become the central incubator of transnational terrorism From ISIS-Khorasan training camps to al-Qaeda networks and TTP staging posts the country is once again a launchpad for violence far beyond its borders These concerns are not political accusations ” They are formal statements from major powers and international organizations The Taliban have violated their commitments under the Doha Agreement and subsequent promises to regional states They have taken financial assistance $80 million per month from the USA at one point, additional funding from UN agencies, and relocation support from UAE without altering their conduct
The world must now accept what is evident: The Taliban have no intention of fulfilling their promises Their regime remains ideologically rigid internationally duplicitous and regionally destabilizing
The international community must move past hopeful rhetoric and adopt a policy anchored in accountability If the Taliban continue to provide sanctuary to terrorist groups violate human rights and undermine regional stability punitive measures must follow including targeted sanctions, diplomatic isolation, and restrictions on financial flows that prop up their regime A stable Afghanistan is in everyone’s interest But stability cannot be built on deception The time for wishful thinking is over; the Taliban must finally be held responsible for the promises they have broken
The writer can be reached at asadmalik2008@gmail com
The international community must move past hopeful rhetoric and adopt a policy anchored in accountability If the Taliban continue to provide sanctuar y to terrorist groups, violate human rights, and undermine regional stability, punitive measures must follow including targ eted sanctions, diplomatic isolation, and restrictions on financial flows that prop up their regime . A stable Afghanistan is in ever yoneÊs interest. But stability cannot be built on deception. The time for wishful thinking is over; the Taliban must finally be held responsible for the promises they have broken.
AsAd AlI
between personal belief and institutional role On National Unity Day in 2025, the Chief of Army Staff, iGen Upendra Dwivedi,n full uniform, received a traditional tilak and garland from Hindu priests during a public ceremony Defenders may dismiss this as harmless culture yet in a deeply diverse multi-faith society such overt privileging of one religion by the top brass erodes the perception of neutrality When the highest-ranking soldier openly participates in explicitly Hindu rituals in uniform it sends a clear message down the chain of command: Hindu ritualism is not just accepted it is endorsed as part of institutional culture
The boundary between private faith and public duty was pushed even further in May 2025 when the COAS paid a high-profile visit, again in uniform, to the ashram of Hindu spiritual leader Jagadguru Rambhadracharya in Chitrakoot Madhya Pradesh This was not a quiet off-duty pilgrimage; it was a spectacle The spiritual leader later claimed to have given the COAS diksha religious initiation, likened to Lord Hanuman’s initiation in Hindu tradition and in return publicly asked him to “reclaim Azad Jammu and Kashmir as dakshina ” a religious offering In that single tableau General Dwivedi was symbolically recast not as a neutral constitutional officer of a secular republic, but as a disciple bound by a spiritual obligation bestowed by a religious preceptor It is hard to imagine a more direct breach of the invisible wall that should separate the temple from the barracks
Even the naming conventions of military operations now mirror this ideological turn Traditionally, Indian military operations were given neutral or technical labels Under the current dispensation, however, operations are increasingly christened with explicitly Hindu religious terms with “Sindoor” and Mahadev being emblematic examples
Names are never just labels; they are semiotic choices that shape internal culture and
external messaging By invoking Hindu religious vocabulary in military operations, the institution is, wittingly or unwittingly, recasting itself as the armed wing of a Hindu nationalist project When this trend is coupled with bellicose statements by senior officers that echo ruling-party talking points and hardline rhetoric including open threats and boastful references to Hindutva ideals the distinction between a professional military and a partisan instrument of power becomes perilously thin
Structural and institutional shifts add another layer of concern The Agnipath recruitment scheme introduced in 2022 has altered the demographic and cultural pipeline feeding the armed forces While officially justified on grounds of efficiency, youthfulness, and budgetary prudence, credible reports suggest that a significant proportion of new recruits are connected ideologically or organizationally to Hindu nationalist ecosystems such as the RSS and its affiliates When large inflows of young soldiers are drawn from pools already steeped in Hindutva narratives, the long-term impact on military culture is not hard to foresee It risks creating an echo chamber in which majoritarian nationalism is treated as common sense rather than as a contested political ideology Sainik Schools long considered incubators for future officers are undergoing a similarly consequential re-engineering These institutions, crucial in shaping the mindset and values of prospective officers are increasingly influenced by organizations close to the Hindu nationalist network including Vidya Bharati and groups tied to the Ram Mandir movement Curricular and extracurricular activities that foreground a Hindu civilizational narrative over a secular, pluralist ethos risk grooming a generation of officers whose primary loyalty may tilt toward ideological majoritarianism rather than the constitutional framework If the well is poisoned at the source, the water down-
stream cannot remain pure Cultural and symbolic shifts of this kind carry very real human consequences particularly for minority officers and soldiers Reports have surfaced of systemic pressure on Sikh, Muslim, and Christian officers to participate in Hindu rituals or at the very least remain conspicuously silent when such rituals dominate official functions A stark example is the case of Lt Samuel Kamalesan a Christian officer dismissed in 2025 for
The same pattern is visible along India’s tense frontiers In December 2024 the Fire and Fury Corps unveiled a statue of the 17th-century Maratha ruler Shivaji near Pangong Tso in Ladakh flanked by a saffron flag Pangong Tso is a strategically sensitive border region; installing a saffron-framed emblem of Hindu martial glory there is far more than an exercise in heritage pride It is a loud political and ideological signal aimed simultaneously at domestic audiences and external rivals Rather than projecting a secular pan-Indian military identity, the institution appears increasingly comfortable wrapping its strategic posture in Hindutva-inflected iconography Religious rituals involving senior military leadership have further blurred the line
By binding the militaryÊs identity to a partisan religious project, India risks undermining the very pillars of cohesion, professionalism, and legitimacy on which any modern armed force must rest In the attempt to recast the Indian military as „Modi ki Sena,‰ the political leadership may reap short-term applause from its core constituency, but it is, in effect, playing with fire When the gun and the saffron flag are symbolically welded together, the consequences reach far beyond momentary political gain It is not only minorities or the wider region that have cause for concern; it is the long-term stability, institutional integrity, and constitutional balance of the Indian state itself that ultimately hang in the balance
Israeli normalization with Saudi Arabia is desirable but
Many were anticipating whether Mohammed bin S alman’s trip to Washington would lead to S audi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords, but it wasn’t to be
as an immovable obstacle, Israel deserves the same deference when it points to its own public’s deep broad opposition to a Palestinian state
TH E tantalizing prospect of normalization with Saudi Arabia is something various US officials – including US President Donald Trump – have dangled before Israeli eyes for months The idea was that after the Gaza war ended and after Washington re-engaged energetically in the region Riyadh would finally take the fateful step and join the Abraham Accords That mirage flickered again last week when Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) arrived in Washington for a lavish White House reception that provided the perfect backdrop for the announcement of a historic breakthrough It wasn’t
CREATION OF A PALESTINIAN STATE
SEEN AS A THREAT TO ISRAEL: A Palestinian state may sound nice on paper, but in Israel’s post-October 7 reality, it is widely seen as an existential threat Normalization with Saudi Arabia has clear strategic economic and symbolic value but not at the price of abandoning Israel s core security doctrine or ignoring the hard lessons learned over the past two years There is another uncomfortable truth beneath last week’s spectacle Saudi Arabia walked away with a great deal simply by showing up in Washington: public rehabilitation after years of being treated as untouchable; movement toward nuclear cooperation; the prospect of eventually acquiring fifth-generation American fighter planes; and the designation as a major non-NATO US ally All of this came without Riyadh taking a single meaningful step toward Israel Much of this reflects Washington s desire to anchor Riyadh firmly in the American orbit at a time when global competition with China has become a defining strategic priority This broader context is sobering for Israel Saudi Arabia today has options including dancing with Beijing and Moscow and is using those suitors to negotiate with the US from a position of strength MBS can afford to be patient He can say not yet to normalization and can make no meaningful gestures
of this downward spiral is remarks by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi that acknowledged the importance of a Taiwan crisis to Japan s national security Her statement of the obvious infuriated China prompting Beijing to take a series of steps to punish Japan China has again resorted to economic coercion, part of a well-rehearsed diplomatic playbook China seeks to intimidate Japan and encourage it to distance itself from Taiwan The Japanese government must not bend Taiwan is central to Japanese national security China must learn that it cannot cow this nation or others and force them to put Chinese interests above their own The rupture in relations with China began earlier this month when Prime Minister Takaichi told a parliament session that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan and would thus oblige the government to exercise its right to collective self-defense That comment followed the prime minister s meeting with Lin Hsin-I a former vice premier of Taiwan at the APEC leaders meeting in South Korea, a show of respect that pricked Chinese sensitivities When her Diet remarks were questioned by opposition lawmakers, Takaichi repeated them, insisting that they were “consistent with the government’s longstanding position,” although she later conceded that they were based on a worst-case assumption and that any future decision would be based on actual circumstances and not a hypothetical China reacted with fury as it reasons that Taiwan is a renegade province that is destined to be reunited with the mainland Any actions that might forestall that future and the implication of Takaichi’s remark is that Japan would assist the United States in efforts to defend Taiwan from attack are anathema to China China s consul general to Osaka reacted with an appalling and offensive post on social media that seemed to call for violence against the prime minister Tokyo lodged a protest with Beijing over the post while Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara called it extremely inappropriate and demanded that it be deleted It has since disappeared
China’s Foreign Ministry then denounced Takaichi’s comments calling them “gross interference in China’s internal affairs Japan s ambassador to China Kenji Kanasugi was summoned to China s Foreign Ministry to hear a complaint That is all standard diplomatic procedure China then resorted to economic coercion to show its displeasure First, the Chinese government announced that it would reimpose a ban on the import of Japanese fishery products China had prohibited the import of those items in 2023 following Tokyo s decision against Beijing s wishes to discharge treated wastewater from the Fukushima No 1 nuclear power plant where reactors melted down following the March 2011 triple catastrophe China claimed that the discharge would pollute local fish and seafood products, even though international inspectors gave the project a green light At first Chinese officials blamed Japan for failing to provide technical materials it had promised about the testing of the seafood imports but they added that Takaichi
‘Modi ki Sena’
Tariq Khan Tareen
nance work
A firefighter was among the 55 killed with dozens in hospital in critical condition, Hong Kong authorities said on Thursday afternoon Around 279 people remain uncontactable Chung said 900 residents were spread across eight shelters Indonesia s foreign ministry said on Thursday that two Indonesian migrant workers in
Afghan national shoots t wo US soldiers near White House
in Afghanistan The incident which left two Guard members critically wounded, was an act of evil, an act of hatred and an act of terror,” Trump said “It was a crime against our entire nation He confirmed that the man taken into custody after the daylight shooting two blocks from the White House was a foreigner who entered our country from Afghanistan ” The suspect had arrived in the United States in 2021 on those infamous flights Trump said referring to the evacuations of Afghans fleeing as the Taliban took over the country in the wake of the US retreat after 20 years of war The shocking attack, carried out next to a metro station at a time when the streets and offices of downtown Washington were bustling also puts a new focus on Trump s controversial militarization of an anti-crime push around the
country Trump has deployed troops to several cities all run by Democrats including
S
A comprehensive media briefing on the performance and achievements of the Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) was held on Thursday 27th November at the FTO Regional Office Lahore highlighting the historic reforms, unprecedented taxpayer relief, and nationwide outreach accomplished under the leadership of Dr Asif Mahmood Jah, Hilal-e-Imtiaz, Sitara-e-Imtiaz
The session was conducted by Abdul Basit Khan Advisor Media FTO Lahore who presented key aspects of institutional progress during the past four years Business Community Reaffirms Confidence in FTO Prominent members of the media and business community attended the briefing Founding member of the Sheikhupura Chamber of Commerce and leading business personality, Mr Manzoor-ul-Haq, praised the vision of Dr Asif Mahmood Jah and stated that the Federal Tax Ombudsman stands as the most effective and accessible ombudsman institution in Pakistan
He commended the FTO model for providing swift, transparent, and inexpensive justice to traders and
taxpayers Renowned cartoonist Javed Iqbal from Daily Jang also lauded the achievements of Dr Asif Mahmood Jah, noting that the unprecedented volume of public relief and refunds issued in recent years had set new standards for accountability and taxpayer facilitation
Senior journalist Ashraf Sohail expressed appreciation for Dr Jah s service-oriented approach stating that his tenure revived taxpayers confidence in the state s grievanceredressal machinery” and delivered genuine relief to those historically deprived of timely justice
Key Performance Highlights (January–September 2025)
According
(2023–24) → 39 30 days in 2025
Record-Breaking
IN THE 1,320 MW PORT QASIM COAL-FIRED POWER PROJECT AS RECEIVABLES RISE TO RS80 8B ($288 MILLION) DESPITE CEO’S LETTERS TO
Outstanding receivables owed to power
Rana Sana hints at accountabilit y of those who ‘harmed countr y in past’
ISLAMABAD s tA f f c
Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs
Senator Rana Sanaullah on Thursday stated that individuals who harmed Pakistan in the past “may face accountability when the time comes but stressed that the government s immediate priority is the nation s development Speaking on a TV talk show, Sanaullah remarked “Those who caused harm to the country in the past may face their time of accountability but for
LHC rules that marriage c annot continue when both spouses refuse reconciliation
The Lahore High Court has upheld a family court s decision to grant khula ruling that no court can compel a marriage to continue once both husband and wife clearly express that they no longer wish to remain together The judgment reinforces long-standing principles of Islamic and statutory law that prioritise mutual consent harmony, and emotional well-being in matrimonial relationships The husband had challenged the family court’s September 24, 2025 order dissolving the marriage arguing that the nikah was void because the wife had allegedly concealed previous marriages He claimed that the khula decree should not stand until those supposed earlier unions were resolved But the court noted that he failed to provide any official documentation certified nikahnamas or records to support his allegations
Justice Ahmad Nadeem Arshad dismissed the constitutional petition, affirming that the family court’s ruling was legally sound and free of any jurisdictional error He observed that when both spouses categorically reject reconciliation the essential foundations of matrimonial life collapse A court, he said, cannot be expected to preserve a union that both parties have abandoned Justice Arshad emphasised that Islamic principles centre on tranquility affection and mercy within marriage When these elements disappear and a wife expresses strong aversion while the husband also refuses to resume marital life, forcing the continuation of the relationship would inflict emotional and psychological harm
The court clarified that Islamic law statutory provisions and equitable principles do not allow compelling a woman to stay in a marriage she wishes to leave especially when the husband is similarly
unwilling A mere unproven allegation about a previous marriage, the ruling added, cannot override the presumption of validity attached to an acknowledged nikah
The judge further held that the husband s separate suit challenging the nikahnama does not prevent the family court from deciding the wife s khula case As long as the marriage remains legally recognised the family court can dissolve it under relevant principles Citing the landmark Khurshid Bibi precedent the court reiterated that a wife s clear declaration of hatred or inability to live with her husband is sufficient grounds for khula In this case, the wife had stated she could no longer continue the marriage and the husband himself told the court he did not wish to reconcile Finding no procedural flaw or misapplication of the law, the Lahore High Court dismissed the petition as meritless and upheld the dissolution of the marriage
UAE halts visa issuance for Pakistani citizens
DUBAI Ag e n c i e s The United Arab Emirates has stopped issuing visas to Pakistani nationals, interior ministry officials informed a Senate committee on Thursday They disclosed that Pakistan narrowly avoided a complete passport ban that had been under consideration by the Gulf state Officials cautioned that if such a ban were to be imposed in the future reversing it would be extremely difficult The update emerged during a committee briefing where concerns were raised over the potential diplomatic and economic fallout of the UAE s move This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available
e n t The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has summoned the Director Inspector General of Investigation on December 9 in connection with the alleged abduction of a woman and her three minor daughters from Lahore and Bahawalpur The case is linked to a financial dispute involving former PIA Chief Executive Officer Musharraf Rasool The court directed the DIG to clarify whether statements from the
police officers involved in the
had
and whether those carrying out the
ation
Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani stressed that any removal of individuals without a warrant amounts to abduction emphasizing the court s intent to uncover the truth in a case involving the humiliation of a woman and her children
The petition alleges that police officials, acting on behalf of unidentified parties abducted Sana Sohail wife of Sohail Aleem along with
her daughters 12-year-old Harim seven-year-old Laiba and three-year-old Nimra from Lahore on September 17 The family was later implicated in a fabricated criminal case registered at Tarnol police station in Islamabad CCTV footage reportedly shows the family being taken into custody at around 7 a m and transported to Islamabad, where they were subsequently shown as arrested in a First Information Report filed three days later under the Pakistan Penal Code and Arms Ordinance