Pakistan

Court cites inconsistencies in witness statements, mishandling of evidence

A Dutch court broke the hearts of a couple after ruling that their marriage, whose wedding vows were drafted with the help of artificial intelligence, was not valid. The couple thought they had sealed their love at the April 2025 service in Zwolle, in the north of the country. Seeking an informal civil ceremony, they had asked a friend to officiate — so the friend turned to ChatGPT to help compose the vows. Between them, however, they missed the point, a Zwolle court ruled on Tuesday. Couples are required by law to declare that they will fulfil all the legal obligations linked to marriage, the court noted in its judgment. “The aforementioned statement shows that the man and the woman did not make the declaration referred to in Article 1:67, paragraph 1, of the Dutch Civil Code,” it ruled. The ruling quoted the AI-generated vows to make its point. “Do you promise to stand by (women’s name) today, tomorrow, and forever?” the man was asked during the ceremony. “To laugh together, grow together, and love each oth...

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Wednesday sought a “policy shift” and urged the inclusion of the provincial government in counter-terror policy-making. Federal authorities have criticised the PTI-led KP government for failing to ensure security in the province, with KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi saying that the party was in disarray and unable to achieve any of its policy goals. In a speech at Peshawar University’s convocation ceremony, the CM said that the people of KP had warned about the resurgence of terrorism in the province, but were brushed off as propaganda. “We would issue warnings that they (terrorists) were in the mountains and they were coming, that they had reached our markets and homes,” CM Afridi said. “We were told that we are spreading propaganda.” He highlighted that if there was going to be a military operation, then the people of KP needed to be taken into confidence and made part of the policy process. “There needs to be a policy shift, but not behind closed doors,” he...

Neighbourhoods plagued by sewerage failures, unsafe wiring and poor drainage

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Campaign targets paper mulberry trees to address long-term health, environment concerns

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PECTAA to conduct exams, private schools excluded from the system

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'Bright Tribes' package to boost education, health, infrastructure, and job creation

Locals demand promised roads as Duber Dam sit-in continues

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A group of former PTI leaders and others on Wednesday proposed that the government and the opposition hold talks to reduce tensions and suggested that political prisoners be released as part of “confidence-building measures.” They made proposals in a formal statement issued at the conclusion of Wednesday’s conference in Islamabad, organised under the banner of the recently formed National Dialogue Committee (NDC). Ex-PTI leaders — including Fawad Chaudhry, former Sindh governor Imran Ismail, Dr Shahzad Waseem, and Mahmood Moulvi — are leading the initiative. “The meeting agreed to the proposal to initiate a fruitful negotiation process and declared that, in this regard, the government and the opposition should form separate committees comprising their respective representatives, between which the dialogue process should be initiated,” the statement read. The NDC proposed that President Asif Ali Zardari, PML-N President Nawaz Sharif, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif represent the ruling coalition in the talks...

January can be weird. One minute you’re enjoying fireworks, the next you’re staring at your inbox, wondering how you forgot your email password over the holiday break. The glitter fades fast, and suddenly it’s back to deadlines, group chats and figuring out if you’re supposed to feel different now. The new year often arrives with the pressure to improve: Cue the “new year, new me” captions and ambitious planners that still smell like a Kinokuniya display table. But let’s be honest: Not everyone is in the mood for reinventing themselves. Maybe you’re in the mood for just a little glow-up, or maybe you’re just trying to get through your to-do list without spiralling. Either way, here’s a mix of tools and tricks to help you ease into the year, whether you’re looking for fresh ideas, familiar favorites or just a little structure to soften the return to real life. Don’t know where to start? Try a brain dump Before you dive into your to-do list, consider starting with a brain dump. Think of it as emptying the menta...

A district and sessions court in Islamabad has declared former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur an absconder and directed authorities to arrest him after he repeatedly failed to appear before the court.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi announced on Wednesday that a dedicated protection unit is being set up in Islamabad to strengthen the security of Chinese nationals in Pakistan.

The United Nations on Wednesday said decades-long discrimination and segregation of Palestinians by Israel in the West Bank were intensifying, and called on the country to end its “apartheid system”. In a new report, slammed by Israel, the UN rights office said “systematic discrimination” against Palestinians across the occupied Palestinian territories had “drastically deteriorated” in recent years. “There is a systematic asphyxiation of the rights of Palestinians in the West Bank,” UN rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement. “Whether accessing water, school, rushing to hospital, visiting family or friends, or harvesting olives — every aspect of life for Palestinians in the West Bank is controlled and curtailed by Israel’s discriminatory laws, policies and practices,” he added. “This is a particularly severe form of racial discrimination and segregation that resembles the kind of apartheid system we have seen before.” A number of independent experts affiliated with the UN have described the situation in ...

At least four civilians were killed in coalition strikes in Yemen on Wednesday, two hospital sources told AFP, as the force raided the home province of a separatist leader who was kicked out of the presidency. More than 15 airstrikes hit Dhale, the home governorate of Aidaros Alzubidi, whose Southern Transitional Council (STC) grabbed swathes of territory last month before seeing the advance rolled back by the coalition and forces. “The initial toll from the strikes on the province of al-Dhale is four civilian deaths and six wounded,” medical sources at the Al-Nasr and Al-Tadamon hospitals in al-Dhale told AFP. The coalition said it had given Aidaros Alzubidi a 48-hour ultimatum to come to Riyadh for discussions, after Southern Transitional Council (STC) grabbed swathes of territory last month. But he failed to board the flight carrying his delegation, and the coalition struck his home province of al-Dhale after accusing him of mobilising “large forces” there. Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), wh...

KARACHI: The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) on Wednesday arrested journalist Muhammad Aslam Shah on charges of “defamation through social media”. The agency registered an FIR against Shah on December 29, 2025, under Section 20 (offences against the dignity of a natural person) and Section 24 (cyberstalking) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Act, 2025. Shah has done extensive coverage of Karachi’s water issues. In the FIR, a copy of which is available with Dawn, Tabish Raza Husnain, the complainant, alleged that Shah was “doing defamation propaganda against me and my senior Col. Anjum in different Facebook WhatsApp groups and make false and baseless allegations on me”. He also alleged that Shah used “abusive language which caused me significant distress and damage to my reputation”. In the FIR, the NCCIA said that the complainant had submitted screenshots of the alleged content. It further noted that during the inquiry, the agency issued multiple notices to the accused, “dir...