g PREMIER SHEHBAZ PAYS TRIBUTE TO 100,000 MARTYRS, INCLUDING SECURITY PERSONNEL AND CIVILIANS, IN FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM g LAUDS KP ’S SACRIFICES, VOWS UNITED FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM, INCLUSIVE NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
g
REITERATES PAKISTAN ’S DESIRE FOR PEACEFUL RELATIONS WITH AFGHANISTAN WHILE SAFEGUARDING NATIONAL SECURITY, CONDEMNING SOCIAL MEDIA ATTEMPTS
PM reaffirms resolve to defeat terrorism,
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01
Premier Shehbaz expressed regret over certain flawed decisions post2018, including the release of hardened militants and the return of thousands of individuals from Afghanistan which he said had led to a resurgence of terrorism He warned that terrorism remains a serious threat to Pakistan s peace development and prosperity, particularly in KP, where security personnel continue to embrace martyrdom to safeguard the nation’s future He strongly condemned attempts on social media to malign martyrs and spread poisonous propaganda in line with narratives of Pakistan s enemies, asserting, This nation will not rest until terrorism and its facilitators, inside or outside Pakistan are completely eliminated ” Highlighting federal support to provinces the prime minister recalled that under the 2010 NFC Award, all provinces agreed to allocate one percent of the divisible pool to KP in recognition of its sacrifices against terrorism He said that over the past 15 years this amount has reached approximately Rs800 billion for capacity building and counter-terrorism efforts
in the province Similarly, Balochistan received a 100 percent increase in its share of resources while Punjab voluntarily sacrificed part of its share Premier Shehbaz emphasized that national progress is meaningless unless all provinces develop equally In this context, he announced that Rs400 billion have been allocated for the 850-kilometre “bloody road” project from Karachi to Chaman in Balochistan with no provincial contribution required He also highlighted federal initiatives including solarization projects in Balochistan, expansion of Danish schools in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and GilgitBaltistan merit-based laptop schemes education endowment funds and training of 1 000 young agriculture graduates from across Pakistan in top Chinese universities
brotherly relations with Afghanistan
decades with dignity and generosity However, he expressed concern over
option
in it Without going into any political argument, if you compare KP s journey of prosperity over the past 10 years with Sindh, Punjab, or Balochistan, the truth becomes clear,” he remarked
THE horrendous fire at the Gul Plaza market in Karachi was not just devastating, but also horrifying, because of the lack of finality While 26 people were confirmed dead, which meant that heirs and other loved ones could begin performing the mourning rituals and customs, another 69 were merely reported as missing , which dozens of families were stuck in limbo, not knowing whether to mourn or not, left to hope against hope, not knowing what fate the ‘missing’ had suffered The Sindh Chief Minister has announced Rs 10 million for each victim Though the money may eae immediate pain it does not serve as an adequate substitute for the person lost nor does it compensate for the various sins of omission and commission which various governments have been guilty of The economic loss has been tremendous with about 8000 people rendered jobless after 120 shops were destroyed The effect on the entire area are not easily quantifiable, for the plaza was the focus of shopping for the entire neighbourhood
It is still to be established that the fire was caused by a short circuit, though the jerrybuilt wiring of the plaza, more often than not visible to the naked eye, made that hypothesis entirely tenable, even likely There is the possibility of arson, as the reconstructed plaza will probably be worth much more than the previous building was worth However,
Niazi
T h e C o n t r
H o w D i d W e G e t t o T h i s P o i n t ? Th
THE Sixteenth Report of the United Nations Security Council’s Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team offers the most authoritative international assessment so far of Afghanistan under Taliban rule Far from portraying a coherent or resilient governing system the report reveals a political order defined by extreme centralization, rigid ideological control, weak institutions and unresolved internal contradictions Together these characteristics raise serious doubts about the regime’s long-term effectiveness and its capacity to deliver sustainable governance stability or economic recovery At the apex of the Taliban system stands Hibatullah Akhundzada, who exercises undisputed authority as Amir al-Mu’minin Unlike conventional heads of state Akhundzada does not operate through formal institutions or collective decision-making structures The report makes clear that he is not a symbolic figurehead but the ultimate arbiter of policy, ruling primarily through religious decrees Physically isolated in Kandahar now the regime’s real political capital he does not engage in debate consultation or public accountability Governance therefore is not merely centralized; it is personalized to an extraordinary degree This concentration of power permeates the entire administrative system Akhundzada appoints loyalists across ministries and provincial structures, while Councils of Ulama have been established in every province to report directly to Kandahar These councils function less as mechanisms of representation and more as instruments of ideological surveillance Policy disagreement is discouraged, and dissent whether bureaucratic, political or religious is managed through dismissal, detention, coercion or exile
The result is an environment in which conformity is rewarded and initiative is punished Beneath the surface of enforced
HParents wouldn’t
and his
about
He claims that
has been attacked by media Congress and law enforcement agencies like
other president in history At the same time he boasts that he has improved the economy and made our cities safer than they have ever been None of this is true In an effort to impose his will and worldview, he has surrounded himself with White House staff and Cabinet that not only heap praise upon him and carry out his every whim but also support his efforts to silence and intimidate those whom he has denounced as critics Herein lies a fundamental difference between President Trump s first and second terms In the former, some senior members of his staff and Cabinet served as a check on his behaviour Many were fired and replaced He began his second term with
Kandahar-based hardliners clustered around Akhundzada and Kabul-based pragmatists most notably the Haqqani Network led by Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani Haqqani has openly and privately expressed concern over governance failures and the international isolation produced by rigid policies, particularly the ban on girls’ education
His prolonged absence from Afghanistan in early 2025 following the Hajj and his carefully calibrated remarks upon return suggested an internal balancing act rather than reconciliation While some observers dismiss these tensions as manageable, the absence of a clear succession plan makes leadership continuity a latent vulnerability
The fate of senior Taliban figures who criticized core policies illustrates how ideological discipline is enforced Officials such as Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai and religious scholar Abdul Sami Ghaznawi were dismissed, detained or forced into exile for questioning the ban on girls’ education These cases underline a troubling reality: even internal religious debate once a hallmark of Islamic scholarship is increasingly criminalized Ideological rigidity has become not just a policy choice but a tool of political control
Crucially, the Taliban do not view popular consent as a source of legitimacy Governance is opaque poorly communicated and strictly top-down with little regard for public accountability The sudden nationwide internet shutdown in October 2025, ordered without explanation and later partially reversed, exemplified the arbitrary nature of decision-making Reports that the order was countermanded by the prime minister rather than Kandahar further exposed internal tensions and the absence of clear institutional authority
Although the regime has consolidated control over major urban centres, its writ remains uneven Powerful factions, particularly the Haqqani Network, enjoy significant operational autonomy so long as they do not challenge regime unity Selective tolerance of local deviations from unpopular policies reveals the absence of a uniform rule of law and highlights the transactional nature of Taliban cohesion
One of the most consequential findings of the report concerns the systematic reengineering of Afghanistan’s education system Education has been placed under Akhundzada’s direct authority and transformed into a vehicle for ideological indoctrination Curricula have been rewritten to erase civic values, democracy, constitutional law, human rights, women s rights and international institutions At least 18 academic disciplines have been banned outright, while more than 200 subjects are taught only after ideological revision Entire fields political science sociology economics law media and gender studies have been hollowed out The continued ban on girls education remains the most contentious internal issue, contradict-
ing Afghanistan’s own religious traditions in many regions and carrying devastating longterm economic consequences
Despite acute fiscal constraints, the Taliban have prioritized the construction of mosques and madrassas nationwide Ministries have been instructed to expand religious infrastructure and strengthen curricula based exclusively on the Hanafi Deobandi school of thought Other Islamic traditions have been systematically erased while surveillance and crackdowns on non-Deobandi religious actors have intensified Ideological uniformity has come at the expense of religious pluralism and social cohesion
On security the report offers a mixed picture Overall violence has declined compared to pre-2021 levels and sustained operations against ISIL-K have weakened but not eliminated the group ISIL-K continues to operate in small cells, particularly in northern and eastern Afghanistan, retaining the capacity for highprofile attacks More concerning is the presence of over 20 other terrorist groups that remain active most maintaining cooperative relationships with the regime The absorption of former militants into security forces increases manpower but heightens risks of ideological infiltration, corruption and factionalism
Economically, the regime governs amid severe stress GDP contracted sharply in early 2025 unemployment hovers around 75 per cent and more than 7zs 0 per cent of the population depends on humanitarian assistance Forced returns of millions of Afghans and restrictions on female aid workers have further strained capacity, despite modest improvements in domestic revenue collection
The report’s conclusion is sobering While the Taliban have consolidated power and imposed a form of order this stability is brittle It rests on coercion ideological conformity and repression rather than inclusive governance or broad-based legitimacy For Pakistan and the wider region, these internal dynamics carry serious implica-
is not to enquire into the ideas but to use the superficial debates as tools of intellectual dominance The comment sections of these accounts depict an alarming situation regarding the safety of those who disagree The level of tolerance is so low that people publicly abuse and threaten one another While these threats may
THE question of Kashmir is no longer confined to South Asia, nor can it be understood in isolation from the wider transformations reshaping global power At its core Kashmir represents a collision between a universally acknowledged right self-determination and a world order increasingly governed by hierarchy, coercion, and selective legality
The United Nations’ promise of 5 January 1949, affirming the Kashmiri people’s right to freely decide their political future was anchored in the post-war belief that law could restrain power Today that belief is visibly eroding In its place has emerged a new imperial order one that does not rely on formal colonies but operates through unilateral recognitions, territorial reengineering demographic manipulation and the strategic suspension of international norms
anniversary in the calendar of international diplomacy; it exposes a deep fracture in the moral architecture of the contemporary world order More than
decades after the
s commitment the pledge to Kashmir stands suspended between memory and neglect, reduced to ceremonial rhetoric while its substance is systematically denied What renders this prolonged inertia
indefensible is not ambiguity in law but the deliberate unwillingness of power to submit to it
From the outset, Pakistan’s position on Kashmir has remained anchored in this very legality Rather than pursuing unilateral solutions or faits accomplis Pakistan has consistently insisted that the dispute be resolved strictly in accordance with United Nations Security Council resolutions and the freely expressed will of the Kashmiri people This stance, often dismissed as rhetorical is in fact one of the few remaining examples of a state subordinating strategic impulse to an internationally agreed legal framework In contrast India has progressively sought to recast an internationally recognised dispute as an internal administrative matter, hollowing out the very premise on which the UN resolutions rest The asymmetry is not one of narratives but of method: one side invokes law the other seeks to exhaust it into irrelevance
Self-determination enshrined in the UN Charter and binding human rights covenants, was never intended to be an ornamental principle It was the engine of decolonisation the mechanism through which subjugated peoples reclaimed political agency Yet in Kashmir this right has been steadily smothered by an architecture of control The revocation of the region s limited autonomy, the prolonged suspension of political activity, mass detentions, communication blackouts, and the shrinking of
civic space have not been isolated measures They form part of a systematic project to pre-empt consent by erasing the very conditions under which it can be meaningfully expressed Recent international reports documenting the erosion of religious freedom the normalisation of majoritarian intolerance and the instrumentalisation of India s political system to marginalise minorities provide broader context to what Kashmiris have long experienced in concentrated and intensified form
The persistence of Kashmir ’s unresolved status becomes even more striking when viewed alongside other historical cases where self-determination was eventually honoured once international resolve crystallised East Timor s people were allowed a UN-supervised referendum despite decades of repression and geopolitical hesitation Kosovo’s political future was reshaped through sustained international involvement justified on humanitarian and democratic grounds Even Western Sahara though unresolved, continues to occupy a recognised place within the UN s decolonisation framework These cases demonstrate that self-determination is neither impractical nor obsolete; but is selectively activated Where compliance with international law challenges powerful allies or strategic calculations principles are deferred indefinitely
conduct which
implementation of
K a s h m i r i p e o p l e a r e a l l o w e d t o e x e r c i s e t h e c h o i c e p r o m i s e d t o t h e m , t h e n e w i m p e r i a l o r d e r w i l l c o n t i n u e t o r e v e a l i t s e l f n o t t h r o u g h d e c l a r a t i o n s , b u t t h r o u g h
s i l e n c e , c o m p l i c i t y , a n d t h e s t e a d y n o r m a l i s a t i o n o f t h e u n a c c e p t a b l e F i v e J a n u a r y
s h o u l d t h u s b e o b s e r v e d n o t a s a r i t u a l o f r e m e m b r a n c e b u t a s a m o m e n t o f
r e c
I don’t believe the Iranian regime will fall
I am in Iran watching the protests and
Behind the hopes for ar tificial general intelligence is the desire for a world without obligations to governments, workers or fellow citizens
and careful insulation so that components can operate within specifications But the most disturbing obstacle of all perhaps is that AI chips move rapidly towards obsolescence The billion-dollar centre lifted into orbit for hundreds of billions becomes space junk within five years So what s really going on when Elon Musk and Sam Altman dream of orbiting data centres? While many investors have bought into an AI future not all communities have Data Center Watch a research firm tracking community opposition to data centres in the United States reports that 20 projects were blocked in the second quarter of 2025, disrupting $98bn in potential investment Data Center Watch tracks 188 community organisations in the US which collectively have had a 66 per cent success rate in blocking or slowing projects Those opposed to data centres often cite electricity and water usage as a reason to stop new projects Electricity rates are rising above inflation across the US, and some data centre opponents worry that consumers are now competing with massive companies for scarce es-
Launch costs are coming down, led by the private companies SpaceX and Blue Origin, but for now placing a data centre in space mostly seems like a way to turn billion-dollar projects into hundredbillion-dollar ones.
sential resources Republican-leaning Georgia elected two Democrats to the state’s utility regulator in 2025 unseating Republican incumbents in what has been seen as a reaction to soaring power bills There has also been resistance to Project Jupiter, an OpenAI-backed data centre near El Paso, Texas, over its water usage, as residents of nearby communities have complained for years about substandard drinking water with high levels of arsenic In absolute terms data centres use much less water than other industrial processes such as oil refining but the haste with which local economic development organisations are working to ensure data centres have enough for cooling feels insulting to activists who’ve fought for safe drinking water Bloomberg reports that two-thirds of new AI data centres in the US are being developed in places that experience water stress while projects in China, India, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are also slated for extremely dry areas In 2021, almost two years before ChatGPT sparked the AI craze, technology scholar Kate Crawford published Atlas of AI a comprehensive overview of ethical issues associated with the emerging industry The most striking of Crawford s criticisms of AI which also included its being trained on copyrighted texts, and fine-tuned by poorly paid workers is her focus on its physicality She links the lithium batteries and heavy metals used in chip manufacturing to the environmental harms caused by the mining industry declaring AI both a physically and metaphorically extractive industry that turns natural and cultural resources into fuel for a new form of factory Crawford introduces a question that’s become increasingly important: where is AI?
One answer: AI is not in Europe European electricity is prohibitively expensive in part due to surges in natural gas prices caused by Russia s invasion of Ukraine But prices are also high due to policy decisions intended to discourage the use of coal and encourage solar and wind energy It’s these sorts of policies, designed to advance societal goals at some cost to business that keep the AI barons up at night Even if electricity were more affordable in Europe the tendency to
IRAN is caught in yet another round of widespread civil unrest These lines are written amid an internet blackout and I didn’t know if I’d be able to send them out Ever since the 2009 post-election uprising sporadic outbursts of public anger have become somewhat the order of the day, mostly silenced – brutally for a while – only to fester and uncork again on another occasion The street protest is not the sole medium through which opposition has tried to convey its dissent Iranians have tried everything – be it the very narrow and funnelled channel of elections between the limited choices offered by the state, or on social media in universities and at public events The demand for meaningful change is repeated through different means again and again yet to no avail Ever since the 2000s, the Iranian state heeds little in the way of democratic demands And when there has been a narrow crack in the state bulwark the likes of Donald Trump –by the reimposition of sanctions and violating the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action – sabotaged and derailed civil attempts at reforming the Islamic republic And here we are again Many of us Iranians grapple with the feeling that our agency counts for little The dilemma we face does not stop here
Not only are many of us unrepresented inside Iran, but also among its opposition For many, the man who is talked about as the main opponent to the Islamic republic the heir to Iran’s former monarchical tyrant Reza Pahlavi is not our cup of tea The sheer idea of returning to dictatorship and one-man power, secular though he might well be, makes one s hair stand, let alone returning to him, widely seen as an Israeli stooge, surrounded by anti-democratic forces patriarchal to his core inexperienced and distanced from Iranian society by his expat status What is more there is a high chance that the unpredictable man in the White House, drunk with his exhibition of power in Caracas, could militarily intervene And that could be an act sure to lead to an extended period of violence and probably years of war Trump has shown that despite his America first rhetoric he is willing to toy with the idea of reincarnating a new form of western imperialism He hesitates little to use military means for political ends His
threats and big beautiful presence cast a shadow over any discussion, and how ugly his words about us are: the orientalist image of west Asians as barbaric people who cannot move their country in the right direction and indeed need a white saviour in the shape of a Marvel hero Captain America At any rate the memory of his recent bombardment of Iran is still fresh, and it is not
WASHINGTON AG E N C I E S
Aletter sent by US President Donald Trump to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre claiming the United States must have “complete and total control of Greenland” has drawn strong criticism from The Atlantic which said the remarks show a president living in a different reality and risk serious damage to American alliances
In the letter, Trump said that because Norway had “decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS ” he no longer felt obliged to think purely of Peace and would instead act in what he described as US interests He questioned Denmark s sovereignty over Greenland, arguing that Denmark could not protect the territory from “Russia or China” and asking why it had a “right of ownership anyway
Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari also took to Twitter and posted about the letter Writing in The Atlantic, columnist Anne Applebaum described the letter as evidence of a president “living in a different reality citing its childish grammar erratic capitalisation and factual errors She noted that Trump did not end eight wars and that Greenland has been under Danish sovereignty for centuries, with its residents holding Danish citizenship and voting rights
Applebaum added that several written agreements affirming Danish control over Greenland were signed by the United States itself She also stressed that the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded by the Norwegian Nobel Committee an independent body not by the Norwegian or Danish governments
Trump s interest in Greenland is not new During his first term, he repeatedly suggested the United States should buy the Arctic territory, pointing to its strategic location rare earth minerals and military value Denmark rejected the proposal saying Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Danish realm Greenland has been part of Denmark for centuries and its residents are Danish citizens with self-governing rights under international law Applebaum said Trump has revived the issue not as a diplomatic
‘Take
debate but as a personal grievance, tying Denmark’s sovereignty to his long-standing anger over not receiving the Nobel Peace Prize In the letter Trump wrote that he no longer felt obliged to think purely of Peace and claimed, The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland ” She said the claims ignore wellestablished legal and historical facts Greenland has been part of the Kingdom of Denmark for centuries Applebaum wrote, adding that Danish sovereignty is backed by many written documents,” including treaties signed by the
Iqbal also attended the meeting The meeting commenced with a vote of thanks by the Executive Director, NAVTTC, Muhammad Aamir Jan, who presented a comprehensive overview of the Commission’s performance during the previous year While briefing the Board he stated During the last year NAVTTC successfully
kidnapping for ransom, and armed robbery
Recalling recent developments the spokesperson said that a day earlier 18 most-wanted dacoits had surrendered along with their weapons, including notorious dacoit Wahab Lund, who carried a head money of Rs10 million, as well as ringleaders of several criminal gangs Another notorious outlaw Shahideen Lund who was carrying a head money of Rs5 million was also among those who surrendered The spokesperson added that a day before yesterday, 11 dacoits surrendered along with their weapons during the ongoing Rajanpur Police operation in the Katcha area
Lahore Police, district admin team up to ensure ‘safe celebration’ of Basant
LAHORE staff report
The Lahore Police, in collaboration with the district administration have formally launched a public awareness campaign to ensure the safe celebration of Basant festival In this connection a special ceremony was held at Azadi Chowk which was attended by CCPO Lahore Bilal Siddique Kamyana, Lahore Commissioner Maryam Khan and CTO Lahore Athar Waheed As part of the Safe Basant campaign, the City Traffic Police installed safety antennas on motorcycles at a camp set up at the venue The CCPO commissioner and CTO reviewed the installation of safety rods on motorcycles Speaking to media persons on the occasion, CCPO Bilal Siddique Kamyana said the safety of motorcyclists during Basant would be ensured at all costs He said that safety antennas would be distributed among motorcyclists through 100 road safety camps established across the city under the Safe Basant campaign The CCPO said that the protection of life and property of the citizens is a top priority for the Lahore Police, adding that motorcyclists would not
Commenting on the development Rajanpur District Police Officer (DPO) Muhammad Imran said that all surrendered and arrested criminals would be prosecuted in accordance with the law, adding that stern and indiscriminate action would continue against criminal elements without exception H
HBL Zarai Launches
the environments where they live and work Conceived as a family friendly rural festival Khushiyan Da Mela goes beyond a conventional agri exhibition It offers farmers and their families a joyous and inclusive experience while introducing them to integrated agriculture solutions, modern farming practices, and financial inclusion through trusted agri and banking partners The initiative reflects HBL Zarai’s commitment to meeting farmers where they are both geographically and culturally
Tarar denies c urbs on Baloch students ’ admissions in Punjab varisities
i t w i t h i n t h e q u o t a w e r e g r a n t e d a d m i ss i o n Addressing concerns related t o a d m i s s i o n s i n m e d i c a l c o ll e g e s t h e m i n i s t e r s a i d e a c h university regulated admissions i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h d e c i s i o n s taken by its syndicate He added that the federal government had i s s u e d a g e n e r a l d i r e c t i v e e nc o u r a g i n g u n i v e r s i t i e s t o a cc o m m o d a t e B a l o c h s t u d e n t s u n d e r t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e q u o t a f r a m e w o r k s H e c l a r i f i e d t h a t t h e r e w a s n o b a n o r r e s t r i c t i o n o n t h e a dm i s s i o n o f B a l o c h s t u d e n t s t o m e d i c a l c o l l e g e s b u t m i n i m u m m e r i
i d a t e
c
