Pakistan

Bitcoin reached a new record high on Sunday, rising above the $125,000 mark. The cryptocurrency reached $125,689, shooting above its previous August record of around $124,500. Bitcoin has enjoyed a strong upward momentum, with investors cautious about the United States’ government shutdown. Gains in US shares have also supported bitcoin’s rise, while investors have looked to safe haven assets while US lawmakers negotiate over funding the federal government, Bloomberg News said. US President Donald Trump and his family have also been big promoters of cryptocurrencies and are involved in various crypto endeavours that have inflated his wealth. Trump’s embrace of digital assets has reversed years of US government scepticism towards the crypto industry under his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden, with the US House of Representatives passing three landmark cryptocurrency bills in July. These regulatory changes have seen the value of bitcoin soar. “With many assets including equities, gold and even collectibles like...

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Sunday reacted to statements made by the Indian military and political leadership, terming them a “failed attempt” to restore their “lost reputation”. While he did not specify any particular statement that he was reacting to, his remarks follow recent aggressive comments from the Indian side, mentioning terrorism and warning of action. India has long accused Pakistan of cross-border terrorism, an allegation that Islamabad has repeatedly refuted and termed baseless. “The statements made by the Indian army and its political leadership are a failed attempt to restore its lost reputation,” Asif said on X. He also referred to a four-day escalation between India and Pakistan in May, during which Islamabad says it downed at least six Indian jets. Asif said India faced a “decisive defeat with a score of 6-0” in the escalation, and “if they try again [to go to fight], God willing, the score will be much better than the last time”. “The way the public opinion in India turned against the...

QUETTA: Security forces killed 14 terrorists of the Indian proxy group Fitna al-Hindustan in an operation conducted in the Zehri area of Khuzdar district on Saturday. The state designated Balochistan-based groups as Fitna al-Hindustan to highlight India’s alleged role in terrorism and destabilisation across Pakistan. Security officials said the forces launched the operation on the basis of intelligence reports about the presence of the group’s militants in the mountainous area of Zehri tehsil. According to the officials, the area was cordoned off before the action was launched. Heavy firing took place between the security forces and the terrorists, which continued for several hours. “As many as 14 terrorists were killed in the gun battle, while 20 others were injured,” the officials said, adding that a large quantity of arms, ammunition, and other equipment was seized from their possession. The Zehri operation, they added, was carried out days after security forces killed seven India-sponsored terrorists in a...

The Foreign Office said on Sunday that it was actively engaged with international partners to ensure the “safety and prompt repatriation of its citizens” who had been illegally detained after Israeli forces earlier this week intercepted a flotilla heading to break the siege of Gaza and deliver aid. Those detained by Israel also include former Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan. “Through the diplomatic channels of a friendly European country, we have confirmed that former senator Mushtaq Ahmad is in the custody of the Israeli occupying forces and is safe and in good health,” the FO statement said. It added, “We have been further advised that, in accordance with local legal procedures, [former] senator Mushtaq will be presented before a court. Upon the issuance of deportation orders, his repatriation will be facilitated on a fast-track basis.” The FO said it had previously, too, coordinated the safe return of individuals who disembarked earlier. “In this context, we express our profound gratitude t...

The Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Sunday, said that Pakistan was actively engaged with its international partners to ensure the safety and prompt repatriation of its citizens who were illegally detained by the Israeli occupying forces.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have pledged to continue supporting the teaching profession as nation is set to observe World Teachers Day on Sunday (today).

MUZAFFARABAD/ISLAMABAD/LAHORE - Peace and normalcy was restored in Azad Jammu and Kashmir following agreement between the government and Joint Action Committee on Saturday.

India must know if situation comes, the erasure will be mutual: ISPR.

ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Saturday that ceasefire in Gaza will help prevent massacre of innocent and unarmed Palestinians and realize the long-standing dream of establishing a Palestinian state.

LAHORE - National Assembly (NA) Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq has said that unprecedented development projects worth billions of rupees are being executed in his constituency, NA-120, which would permanently resolve long-standing civic issues.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will embark on a three-day official visit to Malaysia today.

• Health secretary calls the advice ‘shocking,’ says such unions are ‘high-risk and unsafe’ • MP Iqbal Mohamed defends such marriages as culturally significant, urges genetic screening over bans LONDON: Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) has found itself at the centre of a political and cultural row after a government-backed education programme published — and then quietly removed — online guidance describing the potential benefits of first-cousin marriage. UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting called the advice “shocking” and demanded an apology, saying first-cousin marriages are “high-risk and unsafe.” MP Iqbal Mohamed, however, defended such unions as culturally significant for many families. Speaking in the Commons, he acknowledged health risks but said many families see such unions as positive for building bonds and financial security, urging genetic screening instead of a ban. The document, published by NHS England’s Genomics Education Programme last week, stated that consanguineous unions can bring “s...

A school is supposed to be a place of nurturing care and compassion; where diversity in pace and interests is celebrated. Learning difficulties, when they arise, should be addressed gently and without attaching any stigma.  This child-centric objective can only be realised when teaching aligns with students’ interests and aspirations. This objective is impossible under a regime of standardised curricula, stressful competition and a narrow definition of success based on exam performance. Today, teaching objectives have shifted from children’s interests to worshipping the demi-gods of the educational system: curriculum, syllabus, exams, grades and ranking. In their devotion, teachers can lose sight of their nurturing roles, harming the experience of happy schooling and childhood itself.  A MISGUISED ASSEMBLY LINE Compounding the issue for children is the anxiety and drudgery of exams, which can strip meaning from what is taught — and learned — in the classroom. Schools follow a standardised programme of studies...

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Muslims around the world celebrated the 1500th birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) on September 6. This year’s festivities for the 12th of Rabiul Awwal — the third month of the Islamic lunar calendar — gained greater prominence due to the milestone of 15 centuries having passed since the Holy Prophet’s birth. India, with the world’s third-largest Muslim population, also saw the day being observed in areas with Muslim residents, such as the city of Kanpur in the state of Uttar Pradesh. And it is here, where the sequence of events began that subsequently triggered “crackdowns, FIRs (first information reports), detentions, arrests, internet shutdowns, political sparring and a wave of protests” from UP, Uttarakhand, Gujarat to Maharashtra, according to Indian media outlet The Wire. The Frontline reported that Zafar Wali Gali, a lane in Syed Nagar in Kanpur’s Rawatpur area, was decorated for Eid-i-Miladun Nabi on Sept 4 and a lightboard with the slogan, “I Love Muhammad”, was installed at the...

The National Cybercrime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) on Saturday arrested three people suspected of gang-raping and blackmailing a minor in Abbottabad, according to a police official. Haripur Sub-Inspector (SI) Basit Ashraf said in a statement that the suspects were part of a gang who allegedly raped a minor boy at gunpoint and filmed the assault, using the footage as blackmail. “The NCCIA carried out an operation in Abbottabad,” he was quoted as saying. “The NCCIA registered a case against nine suspects … they assaulted the victim multiple times and blackmailed him and his family with the videos.” SI Ashraf said that the suspects allegedly shared the videos on WhatsApp and used them to blackmail the victim’s family. “Mobile phones and pornographic videos were recovered from the suspects during the raids,” he stated, adding that they would be used as evidence. In July, Haripur police arrested a seminary teacher for allegedly sexually abusing a visually-impaired five-year-old child in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Hari...

London Pakistani Film Festival bridges cultures with a line-up that blends tradition, myth and modernity

From Meryl Streep to John Legend, stars align for the Albie Awards