Pakistan

A powerful 5.

PAKISTAN has done it again. The country has held on to its spot near the bottom of the Henley Passport Index, ranking 103rd out of 106, just above Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. For the fifth time in a row, our passport holds the dubious distinction of being among the world’s least powerful. Consistency demands commitment and successive governments have shown plenty of that, especially when it comes to standing still. While others jostle up and down the index, Pakistan’s passport remains a model of stability. Holders of the green booklet can travel visa-free to a grand total of 31 destinations — a list that mostly includes islands most have never heard of and countries one might only encounter in a geography quiz. Meanwhile, top spot holders, Singaporeans, can breeze into 193 destinations, and South Koreans into 190. One could blame geopolitics, global suspicion, or our own bureaucratic enthusiasm for paperwork. But the truth is that passport strength reflects far more than airport convenience: it mirrors inter...

A high-level meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, was informed on Friday that as of October 16, a total of 1,477,592 Afghan nationals have been repatriated and the government will grant no further extension. A drive to expel more than 1.3 million Afghan nationals with Proof of Registration (PoR) card holders, the last category of refugees legally living in the country without visas, has been underway since Sept 1 this year. According to a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the meeting’s attendees were told that only those Afghans who possess a valid Pakistani visa would be allowed to stay in Pakistan and the number of exit points on the Afghan side are being increased to make the repatriation process smoother and faster. “Officials informed the meeting that harboring Afghan nationals residing illegally in Pakistan or allowing them to stay in guesthouses is a criminal offense, and efforts are underway to identify such individuals. The public will be involved in the repatriat...

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Rawalpindi, Islamabad and other northern areas were jolted by tremors on Friday, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD). The PMD’s data showed that the quake was registered with a magnitude of 5.6 at a depth of 120 kilometres at 5:15pm. Tremors were felt in Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Peshawar, Swat and Chitral. The PMD stated that the quake’s epicentre was in the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) registered a 4.7 magnitude quake less than 30km from the western Pak-Afghan border, at a depth of 10km at 4:53pm. However, USGS also registered a 5.5 magnitude earthquake less than 10km Pakistan’s northern border with Afghanistan. This one was registered at 5:15pm at a depth of 10km. A screenshot of a map showing two earthquakes registered north and west of Pakistan. — Screengrab via USGS Last week, a magnitude 5 earthquake struck close to Punjab’s Layyah on Saturday night, according to the PMD. The department said the quake occurred 50k...

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government was holding urgent talks on Friday to overturn a ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans attending a match at Aston Villa that Israel’s government branded “shameful”. Birmingham-based Villa said the club had been informed by the Safety Advisory Group (SAG), responsible for issuing certificates for matches, that no away fans would be permitted at the Europa League match on November 6. “Shameful decision! I call on the UK authorities to reverse this coward decision,” the foreign minister of Israel, Gideon Saar, posted on X. A UK police commissioner asked local officials to review the decision as criticism of the ban mounted, including from Starmer and European governing body UEFA. Starmer, a keen football fan, called the move “wrong”. “We will not tolerate antisemitism on our streets. The role of the police is to ensure all football fans can enjoy the game, without fear of violence or intimidation,” Starmer wrote on X. A spokesman for the prime minister said on Friday that conve...

Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari said on Friday that the provincial government had forwarded the summary for banning the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) to the Centre. “The Punjab cabinet has given its approval for banning the TLP, and this has been forwarded to the Centre. So the legal requirement with regard to the provinces has been fulfilled. The provincial government, after giving its approval, has forwarded the summary to the Centre,” she said at a press conference in Lahore. Her statement comes a day after the Punjab government decided to ask the Centre to ban the TLP, which had conducted a protest march “in solidarity with Gaza”, pledging to reach Islamabad and protest outside the US embassy. However, on Monday, the authorities launched a pre-dawn operation in Muridke, where the TLP had set up its protest camp on its way to its planned destination. The move by law enforcement agencies had triggered violent clashes, chaos dozens of arrests, resulting in the protest’s premature end. There have ...

On paper, Pakistan has begun to conserve its sea. In July, the country created its third marine protected area around Miani Hor, a swampy coastal lagoon approximately 100km west of Karachi. This joins Astola Island and Churna Island, created in 2017 and 2024, respectively. These are meant to become safe havens for corals, fish and other marine species. But the reality of Pakistan’s marine protected areas (MPAs) is trawlers sweeping the seabed, discarded “ghost nets” entangling marine life, and fishers shocking their catch with electric currents. Pakistan has promised to protect 30 per cent of its ocean by 2030. At present, these three MPAs cover less than 1 per cent. “Pakistan is a very terrestrial country and most conservation efforts are based there, as people are starting to understand the issues and are loud about the problems,” explains Rab Nawaz, senior director for biodiversity programmes at WWF-Pakistan. He worries that Pakistan’s sea is consequently being overlooked: “We are already losing much of th...

The Punjab government has prepared a comprehensive plan to accelerate industrial growth across the province, with Rs30 billion earmarked in the current fiscal year to upgrade and provide missing facilities in industrial estates.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed all the provincial governments as well as federal and provincial institutions to work together to ensure the swift repatriation of Afghan nationals residing illegally in Pakistan.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Friday approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC), seeking permission to meet PTI founder Imran Khan in Adiala Jail. On Thursday, Afridi, who was elected as the provincial chief minister on Monday, was denied a meeting with Imran during a visit to the prison. The PTI founder, imprisoned since August 2023, is serving a sentence at Adiala Jail in a £190 million corruption case and also faces pending trials under the Anti-Terrorism Act related to the May 9 protests. Afridi said he waited outside the prison for around two hours yesterday bef­ore departing. Speaking to reporters, he said he would announce his cabinet after consulting Imran and seeking his input. He claimed he had officially notified the Punjab government and the federal government of his plan to visit Adiala, but received no response, adding that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif did not reply to his subsequent request, made during a phone call, to facilitate a meeting with Imran. Per Afridi’s writ pet...

Foreign Office Spokesperson Ambassador Shafqat Ali Khan, in his final weekly media briefing on Friday announced key diplomatic developments, including Pakistan’s re-election to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), the implementation of a temporary ceasefire along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, and the country’s active.

The Ministry of Religious Affairs has extended the registration deadline for the private Hajj scheme until October 22.

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has directed authorities to submit a report on the health and living conditions of all animals at Karachi Zoo, following Tuesday’s decision to transfer brown bear Rano to a sanctuary for medical care. The case of Rano, a female Himalayan brown bear who stirred public outcry over her ailing health in the zoo, has brought into sharp focus the neglect of animals kept in captivity in Karachi. Rano’s relocation was finally ordered on Tuesday by the SHC after a petition was submitted to recognise her deteriorating condition. During the continuation of the hearing of the case today, the SHC called for a further report on all animals kept in captivity at the zoo. The report is to include details on animals’ “physical and psychological health, living conditions, qualifications and training of zoo staff”, as well as alternative plans for animals if they are shifted from the zoo, according to lawyer Jibran Nasir, who was representing Rano’s case on behalf of the petitioner Jude Allen Pereira. ...

The recent floods have caused an estimated economic loss of Rs822 billion across Pakistan, according to an initial government assessment released on Friday, which paints a grim picture of the devastation to the country’s agriculture and infrastructure sectors.

Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari announced on Friday that the Punjab cabinet has approved a ban on Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) and forwarded a summary to the federal government recommending the party’s proscription.

The Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Naveed Ashraf, reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment towards cooperation with the United States over matters of maritime security during a visit to the country, the military’s media wing said on Friday. The Pakistani and US Navy share a long-standing relationship. In September, the US Navy ship USS Wayne E. Meyer departed from Karachi on a two-day port call, strengthening the enduring maritime cooperation between the Pakistan Navy and the US Navy. According to the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement, “Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Naveed Ashraf, visited [the] United States of America as part of ongoing efforts to further strengthen bilateral maritime cooperation and defence engagements.” Over the course of the visit — which concluded last Friday — Admiral Ashraf met with the US Deputy Chief of Naval Operations, Vice Admiral Yvette Davids, and Acting Vice Commandant of the US Coast Guard, Vice Admiral Thomas G. Allan Jr. “Matters of professional interest, regional ...

India has halved its purchases of Russian oil, a White House official said, but Indian sources said no immediate reduction had been seen, as President Donald Trump’s administration presses New Delhi and other nations to buy less Russian crude. Russian oil is a main irritant for Trump in prolonged trade talks with India — half of his 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods are in retaliation for those purchases. His administration says Moscow is using petroleum revenue to fund its war in Ukraine. The White House official told Reuters on Thursday that talks with an Indian delegation in Washington this week have been productive and that Indian refiners were already cutting Russian oil imports by 50%. But Indian industry sources said on Friday that New Delhi had not informed refiners of any request to cut Russian imports. Trump says Modi pledged to halt Russian oil purchases Refiners have already placed orders for November loading, including some cargoes for December arrival, so any cut could be visible in December o...

Four terrorists were killed after security forces foiled a suicide attack on a military camp in North Waziristan’s Mir Ali district, state-run PTV reported on Friday. “According to sources, a khawarij attempted to carry out a suicide attack against security forces in Mir Ali. One kharji rammed a vehicle loaded with explosives into the wall of the security forces’ camp after which three more khawarij tried to enter the camp,” the report said. “As a result of security forces’ timely and courageous action, the three khawarij were killed outside the camp. Security forces did not suffer any losses in the incident. In the last two days alone, 88 terrorists supported by the Afghan Taliban have been killed,” the report said. Khawarij is a term that the state uses to refer to terrorists. Meanwhile, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi paid tribute to security forces for foiling the attack and praised their professionalism. “Salute to the brave soldiers who thwarted the evil intentions of Khawarij,” Naqvi said, according to ...

Pakistan security forces on Friday successfully foiled a suicide attack by Khawarij in Mir Ali, North Waziristan.

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb met with China’s Deputy Finance Minister Liao Min in Washington and sought Beijing’s support for Pakistan’s membership in BRICS’ New Development Bank (NDB), the Ministry of Finance said on Friday. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the plenary meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) in Washington, DC, where Aurangzeb had arrived on Sunday on a six-day trip from Oct 13 to 18. NDB — established in 2015 by the BRICS — is a multilateral development bank aimed at mobilising resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS, as per their website. In February, the Economic Coord­ination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet had approved Pakistan’s membership in the NDB. In a statement issued today, the ministry said, “Aurangzeb sought China’s support for Pakistan’s membership in the NDB and welcomed enhanced investment from Chinese enterprises in key sectors, including information and communication technology, agriculture, indu...