Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday fixed for hearing the appeals of human rights lawyer advocate Imaan Mazari and her husband Hadi Ali Chattha against their conviction in the controversial social media posts case. According to the cause list issued by the registrar’s office, IHC’s Justice Muhammad Asif will take up the appeals on Thursday (February 19). The court also scheduled for hearing applications seeking the suspension of sentences awarded to the two lawyers. Last month, Imaan and Hadi were handed a total of 17 years in jail on multiple charges under the Prevention of Electr­onic Crimes Act (Peca) by a sessions court in Islamabad, sparking outrage among rights groups, opposition parties, and other segments of society. The written order by Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka said the prosecution had proved its case against Imaan and Hadi under Sections 9 (glorification of an offence), 10 (cyberterrorism) and 26-A (false information) of Peca. Under Section 9 of...

The Ramazan moon for 1447 Hijri has been sighted in various parts of Pakistan, and the first fast will be observed nationwide on Thursday, announced Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad, Chairman of the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee.

Karachi’s sole power supplier, K-Electric, has announced that there will be no load-shedding across the city during Sehri and Iftar timings throughout the holy month of Ramadan, ARY News reported.

The power and petroleum ministers on Wednesday assured the nation that there would be no electricity and gas loadshedding during Sehr and Iftar throughout the month of Ramazan. Addressing a joint press conference alongside Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik, Power Minister Awais Leghari said, “We have decided that there will be absolutely no loadshedding in any area — unless there is a huge fault God forbid — during the timings of Sehr and Iftar. “Even economic loadshedding in areas with high-loss feeders will be restricted at the time of Sehr and Iftar,” he added. Leghari noted that it was Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s wish that those fasting were provided with utility services in a proper and timely manner so they “do not face any issues”. Meanwhile, Malik stated that “complete arrangements” had been made to ensure the supply of gas “with maximum pressure from 3am to 10:30pm, especially during Sehr and Iftar”. Leghari affirmed that it would be ensured that “there is no suspension of electricity during t...

Chairman says applications for auction must be submitted by February 27, with $15m bank guarantee

An Indian university has been asked to vacate its stall at the country’s flagship artificial intelligence (AI) summit after a staff member was caught presenting a commercially available robotic dog made in China as its own creation, two government sources said. “You need to meet Orion. This has been developed by the Centre of Excellence at Galgotias University,” Neha Singh, a professor of communications, told state-run broadcaster DD News this week in remarks that have since gone viral. But social media users quickly identified the robot as the Unitree Go2, sold by China’s Unitree Robotics for about $2,800 and widely used in research and education globally. The episode has drawn sharp criticism and has cast an uncomfortable spotlight on India’s artificial intelligence ambitions. The embarrassment was amplified by IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who shared the video clip on his official social media account before the backlash. The post was later deleted. The stall remained open to visitors as of Wednesday morni...

Dube hits a quickfire 66, including two sixes and a four off Colin Ackermann, reaching fifty off 25 balls

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Google will build new subsea cables from its planned artificial intelligence (AI) hub in India and other locations, the US company announced on Wednesday, as New Delhi hosts a major artificial intelligence summit. Global tech giants are racing to unveil deals and investments in the country this week, as world leaders and top industry figures gather to discuss the opportunities and challenges that AI poses. Google’s announcement follows its October commitment to spend $15 billion over five years to construct its largest AI infrastructure hub outside the United States, in Visakhapatnam, an Indian port city in the southeastern state of Andhra Pradesh, also known as Vizag. The US giant said it would build “three subsea paths connecting India to Singapore, South Africa, and Australia”. It will also create “four strategic fiber-optic routes that bolster network resilience and capacity between the United States, India, and multiple locations across the Southern Hemisphere”. These would include a direct cable connect...

KARACHI: A large number of people gathered outside the Karachi Press Club on Wednesday to protest the killing of a man during an alleged encounter by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) a day earlier, alleging that the deceased was a student who was earlier arrested by law enforcers. On Tuesday, the CTD said that officials had conducted a raid on a house in Shah Latif Town on a terrorist hideout. According to the department, the men inside the house opened fire on officials, who then retaliated, leading to the deaths of four suspects. The CTD said the suspects belonged to the Bashir Zeb network of Fitna al-Hindustan, a term used by the state for Balochistan-based terrorist groups. However, on Wednesday afternoon, a large number of residents of Old Golimar, including women and children, protested and staged a sit-in outside the KPC, demanding justice for Hamdan, one of the killed suspects identified by the CTD. The deceased’s father, Mohammed Ali said that on December 29, 2025, his son Hamdan was allegedly ...

The United States will deter Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons “one way or the other”, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright warned on Wednesday. US President Donald Trump “believes firmly we cannot have a nuclear-armed Iran,” Wright told reporters in Paris on the sidelines of meetings of the International Energy Agency. “They’ve been very clear about what they would do with nuclear weapons. It’s entirely unacceptable,” Wright said. “So one way or the other, we are going to end, deter Iran’s march towards a nuclear weapon,” he added. US and Iranian officials held talks in Geneva on Tuesday aimed at averting the possibility of US military intervention to curb Tehran’s nuclear programme. Iran said following the talks that they had agreed on “guiding principles” for a deal to avoid conflict. US Vice President JD Vance, however, said Tehran had not yet acknowledged all of Washington’s red lines.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar will visit New York today to participate in a briefing of the UN Security Council on the situation in Palestine.

Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has named a former commerce minister to steer the country’s troubled economy and kept the defence portfolio for himself as he formed his first cabinet. Rahman was sworn into office on Tuesday after a landslide election victory, taking over from the interim administration that had led the country of 170 million people since a deadly 2024 uprising that toppled the autocratic government of Sheikh Hasina. The 50-member cabinet announced in a gazette notification issued late Tuesday includes Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, 76, a businessman and veteran lawmaker who has now returned to the finance ministry. Chowdhury is tasked with reviving growth after months of turmoil that rattled investor confidence in the world’s second-largest garment exporter. He had previously served in the cabinet of Rahman’s late mother, three-time prime minister Khaleda Zia, but was forced to resign in 2004. According to media reports, his resignation came after he had granted permission for Taiwa...

President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday paid tribute to the Counter Terrorism Department of Balochistan for the successful operation against terrorists in Quetta and Barkhan.

ISLAMABAD: The opposition alliance Tehreek-i-Tahafuz-i-Ayin-i-Pakistan (TTAP) announced on Wednesday it would end its days-long sit-in at Parliament House over ex-premier Imran Khan’s health concerns. However, it reiterated the demand being voiced by Imran’s family to grant the PTI founder access to his personal physicians and allow jail meetings with his relatives. Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas — flanked by National Assembly counterpart Mehmood Khan Achakzai, PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan and PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja — addressed the media in Islamabad after a Supreme Court hearing concerning Imran’s cases. “Thanks to God, there is a minor improvement compared to the situation before, when the vision had gone completely — just a little bit,” Abbas told reporters. However, he criticised the government for “not taking on board” Imran’s family or personal doctors. The senator reiterated that Imran’s longtime physicians, Dr Aasim Yusuf and Dr Faisal Sultan, should be allowed to exa...