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LAHORE: A Pakistani national was repatriated to his home country from India on Tuesday after spending 17 years in jail on charges of spying. “Muhammad Shahid Iqbal Bhatti, a Pakistani citizen imprisoned in India, was repatriated to Pakistan via the Wagah-Attari border today,” Pakistan’s High Commission in India said in a post on X. Separately, an official told Dawn that Bhatti was a resident of Kasur and was handed a 17-year sentence by an Indian court after he was accused of spying for Pakistan. Quoting Indian media reports, he said Bhatti was arrested in August 2008 by police in Indian Punjab. While in custody, he was interrogated for living in India allegedly without legal documents, the official said, adding that the then-chief manager of the State Bank of India had filed a complaint against him in November 2008. “Subsequently, Bhatti was sentenced by a court and sent to jail on charges of spying. He spent nearly 17 years of his life in prison,” the official said. He further said that as Bhatti’s prison t...

WASHINGTON: Two Pakistani nationals were indicted in the United States for their alleged role in a $10 million healthcare fraud scheme that targeted Medicare and private insurance programmes, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Thursday. According to a statement by the DOJ, Burhan Mirza, 31, and Kashif Iqbal, 48, along with several co-schemers, were accused of submitting fraudulent claims for medical services and equipment that were never provided. The alleged scheme operated during 2023 and 2024 and involved nominee-owned laboratories and durable medical equipment providers, it said. The DOJ added that three other alleged co-schemers had already pleaded guilty in the case: Mir Akbar Khan, 57, of West Chicago, who admitted recruiting nominee owners for the fake medical businesses; Fasiur Rahman Syed, 47, an Indian citizen who resided in Chicago; and Navaid Rasheed, 43, a Pakistani citizen who lived in Plano, Texas. All three were awaiting sentencing, it said. The statement quoted the indictment as saying ...

ISLAMABAD: Nearly 200 Pakistani students stranded in Afghanistan for months due to the closure of the border have demanded permission to cross the Torkham border, according to their representatives. Taliban authorities have told them that Pakistani diplomatic missions should officially approach them and verify the list with an official stamp. However, Pakistani officials are reluctant to do so, the affected students told Dawn from Kabul and Jalalabad. The Taliban allowed the first group of 26 students to cross Torkham on Jan 12, and Pakistani authorities also opened the border specifically for them. However, the students who arrived at Torkham on Jan 13 have not yet been allowed to cross, as Taliban authorities insist that the Pakistani embassy or the consulate in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province, should officially verify the list. Dr Riazullah Wazir and Amanullah Wazir, representatives of the students in Kabul, said students had met the Nangarhar governor and officials at the Pakistani embassy an...

A Spanish court has sentenced a Pakistani man to 36 years in jail for murdering three elderly siblings over debts reportedly linked to an online romance scam. A jury in October convicted Dilawar Hussain of killing the two sisters and their disabled brother in Morata de Tajuna, near Madrid, in December 2023. In November, a Madrid court sentenced Hussain to 12 years in jail for each murder, citing a “psychological alteration” as a mitigating factor, according to a copy of the ruling seen by AFP on Friday. Hussain has appealed the sentence. Hussain, 44, turned himself in to police and admitted the killings after the siblings’ partially burned bodies were found in their home. The siblings, who were in their 70s, had been beaten to death, possibly with an iron bar. When he took the stand at his trial, Hussain asked for forgiveness, saying he had “heard voices” and “was not in my right mind”. Neighbours told Spanish media the tragedy was linked to a fake online love affair, in which the two sisters believed they we...

British counter-terrorism police are investigating a series of what authorities have described as “highly targeted” attacks against two Pakistani dissidents living in the United Kingdom, according to a report published by The Guardian on Friday. Scotland Yard’s counter-terrorism command took over the investigation following four attacks that began on Christmas Eve in Cambridgeshire and Buckinghamshire. One person has been arrested, and one of the incidents involved the use of a firearm. The attacks targeted two prominent supporters of former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan, who is currently incarcerated. One of the victims told The Guardian that his attackers appeared to be “fair-skinned, white or wearing masks” and said he feared for his life. The first two attacks took place on Christmas Eve. In Chesham, Buckinghamshire, two men broke into the home of a dissident shortly after 8am and vandalised the property. The second attack occurred at the Cambridgeshire home of rights lawyer Mirza Shahzad Akbar, a h...

WASHINGTON: A Pakistani parliamentary delegation, led by Senator Babar Siraj Khan Nasir, arrived in Washington on Tuesday evening for a series of high-level engagements with US lawmakers and officials as part of a renewed push to strengthen bilateral ties. The delegation, which includes members of both the Senate and the National Assembly of Pakistan, will also engage with the members of the Pakistani diaspora to emphasise the significance of their participation in promoting national causes in the United States. The delegation will participate in multiple forums, beginning with an Inter-Parliamentary Group (IPG) session at the Rayburn House Office Building on Wednesday, followed by a press conference at the National Press Club (NPC) and a diplomatic reception in New Jersey. According to Dr Gholam Mujtaba, chairman of the Pakistan Policy Institute USA (PPI-USA), who has been instrumental in organising the visit, the engagements are designed to promote legislative-to-legislative dialogue, deepen institutional c...

Pakistan’s passport ranking has improved on the Henley Index in 2026, rising from 103 in 2025 to 98 this year, according to figures released on Thursday. According to the latest rankings, Pakistan’s travel document was placed 98th on the list, tied with Yemen. It ranked higher than Iraq (99), Syria (100) and Afghanistan (101). The ranking showed that Pakistan’s passport allows visa-free access to 31 countries, including visa-on-arrival (VOA). Pakistan’s ranking on the Henley Passport Index from 2006 to 2025. — screengrab via Henley’s website Singapore ranked the highest, with visa-free access to 192 countries, followed closely by Japan and South Korea with 188. Denmark, Luxembourg, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland tied for the third spot with visa-free access to 186 countries. According to the Henley Index, Pakistani passport holders have free visa access to Barbados, Cook Islands, Dominica, Haiti, Micronesia, Montserrat, Rwanda, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Vanuatu. While a visa-on-...

Amid ongoing violent protests in different parts of Iran, Pakistani students studying at various universities and religious institutions, along with pilgrims visiting holy sites, have started returning to Pakistan through the Gwadar route.

Noor Zaman surged in the global squash rankings to break through in the Top 30 on Monday and reach a career best after a scintillating performance at last week’s Karachi Open that saw all six Pakistani players at the tournament improve in the PSA list. Noor reached world number 30 on the Professional Squash Association (PSA) rankings, having achieved his previous career best of 37 on October 27 after a series of international wins. The 21-year-old gave former world champion Mohamed Elshorbagy a run for his money as he took the Englishman to five intense games at the Karachi Open quarterfinals before being defeated 3-2, thereby ending Pakistan’s streak at the international championship. Noor, the U23 world champion at the same venue last year, is no stranger to strong comebacks and lengthy, five-game matches. He was narrowly defeated in the fifth game with a match scoreline of 11-2, 11-8, 6-11, 8-11, 11-9. Former world number one Elshorbagy called Noor one of the most focused players he’s ever seen. “It’s grea...

ISLAMABAD - For the safety and security, Pakistani nationals were advised to avoid all unnecessary travel to the Islamic Republic of Iran until conditions improve, the Foreign Office (FO) Spokesperson said in a press statement on Saturday.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan’s ambassador to Iran Muhammad Mudassir Tipu said the mortal remains of two Pakistani nationals Armanullah s/o Gul Rahman and Ihtasham s/o Mukhtar Gul, both residents of Nowshera, have been repatriated to Pakistan through Taftan border earlier Tuesday.

ISLAMABAD: Italy has offered more than 10,000 jobs to Pakistani workers over the next three years. According to an agreement reached between the two countries, Italy has allocated a labour quota for Pakistan. As many as 10,500 Pakis­tani workers will be provided employment in various sectors, including ship brea­king, hospitality, healthcare and agriculture, as well as welding, technician roles, chefs, waiters, housekeeping, nursing, medical technicians and farming. Skilled and semi-skilled job aspirants will travel to Italy for employment in these sectors. Each year, 3,500 Pakistani workers will sec­ure overseas jobs under seasonal and non-seasonal quotas. This includes 1,500 Pakistanis under the seasonal quota and 2,000 under the non-seasonal quota annually. Italy is the first European country to allocate job quotas specifically for Pakistan. The second meeting of the Pakistan-Italy Joint Working Group will be held in Islamabad in February 2026. Published in Dawn, December 28th, 2025

Sultan Aziz Azzam, a spokesperson for Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K), was arrested by Pakistani authorities this year, a recent report submitted to the UN Security Council has revealed. IS-K is a branch of the Islamic State terrorist organisation active in Central and South Asia, according to the US-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies think tank. The United Nations’ 16th report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team noted that IS-K’s ability to operate in the region had been degraded as a result of high-profile arrests by Pakistan, such as that of Azzam from the border region this May. The state-run Associated Press of Pakistan said that Azzam was arrested by intelligence agencies during an operation near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The APP report claimed that following his arrest, IS-K propaganda arms, such as the Al-Azaim Foundation, had suffered a major blow. “Overall, the capability of [IS-K] has been degraded as a result of counter-terrorism operations,” the UN repor...

Mountaineer Samina Baig has completed an expedition where she skied to the last degree of the South Pole, according to her brother. Mahboob Ali told Dawn that she was part of an international expedition organised by Elite Exped, which departed from Pakistan on December 2. It reached Union Glacier on December 6 and she completed her journey on December 14. In a post on her Facebook page, Baig said she was “deeply grateful and humbled” to have successfully skied to the last degree of the South Pole, part of her pursuit of the Explorer’s Grand Slam. “This ski journey has never been accomplished by any Pakistani in the past. It has been one of the most challenging and meaningful experiences of my life, and it is still difficult to put into words,” she wrote. “From standing on the summit of Mount Everest in 2013 to completing the Seven Summits, the highest mountains on each continent, from climbing K2 and Nanga Parbat to now reaching the South Pole, this journey has taken me across the highest mountains and the mo...

The 11 Pakistani fishermen in Indian custody.—Courtesy Coastal Media Centre KARACHI: Indian forces have detained 11 Pakistani fishermen, including two boys, from Pakistani waters near Kajar Creek and confiscated their boat. However, Indian media reported that their Coast Guard had on Dec 10 apprehended the 11 Pakistani fishermen after their boat was allegedly found inside Indian waters near Jakhau. According to Kamal Shah of the Coastal Media Centre, all 11 fishermen belonged to Ibrahim Hyderi and they were out on a fishing expedition. As news of their arrest reached Ibrahim Hyderi, there was utter confusion and panic in their homes. The fishermen, said to be related to each other, live in close vicinity to each other, which created an atmosphere of mourning in their neighbourhood. All those captured are residents of Ibrahim Hyderi; their families seek govt intervention The fishermen’s families have urged that the government intervene in retrieving them. Local residents and area leaders have also demanded tha...

ISLAMABAD - The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Thursday issued notices to the federal government and other concerned authorities in a petition filed by an overseas Pakistani citizen residing in Cambodia, seeking the removal of his name from the blacklist.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday dismissed Indian media reports claiming that a man arrested in the US for illegal possession of a machine gun was Pakistani, clarifying that he is an Afghan national.

Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said on Thursday that a man arrested by the US police last week in Delaware after he was found in possession of a handgun, ammunition and written plans for an attack was not of Pakistani origin and was an Afghan. “He is not [a] Pakistani national or [of] Pakistan origin. He is an Afghan, spent a few years as a refugee [in Pakistan] and then went to the US, where he spent most of his life,” Andrabi said in a statement shared with journalists. His clarification came after several media reports, including those from Indian and American news outlets, identified the suspect as a man of Pakistani origin. A USA Today report said the arrested man, Luqman Khan, was a Pakistan-born US citizen, who was arrested on November 24. Similarly, reports by the New York Post and India’s Hindustan Times and Times of India, among others, also identified him as a Pakistani immigrant. According to a report by The Associated Press from earlier today, which also does not identify Khan as ...

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on Saturday emphasised that the mandate of the planned International Stabilisation Force (ISF) for Gaza should be focused on monitoring the ceasefire and securing the territory’s borders, as he suggested a broader Pakistani role in the reconstruction and recovery of the conflict-battered territory. “Our position on the stabilisation force is clear that its main mandate must be monitoring the ceasefire on the ground to ensure that both sides abide by their commitments, and securing the borders of Gaza,” he said while talking to Dawn shortly after landing in Islamabad for a two-day visit during which he would discuss with Pakistani leaders a wide agenda — from consultations on conflicts, including Gaza and Sudan, and the dispute over the Iranian nuclear programme, to ways of intensifying economic cooperation. His comments came after Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar disclosed publicly for the first time that Islamabad had conveyed to international part...

The Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi said on Friday that three Pakistani prisoners in India were repatriated via the Wagah border. The border, which connects Lahore with the Indian city of Amritsar, is the only active land crossing between the two neighbours. It was closed to general traffic following a brief but intense military conflict earlier this year. The high commission identified the prisoners repatriated today as Asghar Ali, Ramzan and Muhammad Idrees, saying that it would continue working towards the “release and repatriation of all Pakistani prisoners in India”. The Foreign Office (FO) told Dawn the identities of the arrested fishermen and when they were taken into custody. Ramzan, 43, from Lahore, was arrested in 2010 by India on charges of illegally crossing the border and possessing narcotics. After receiving consular access, his status as a Pakistani national was confirmed in February 2011. Meanwhile, Muhammad Idrees from Narowal was arrested in 1995 for allegedly crossing the border illeg...