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UNDERSTANDING IRAN’S WAR STRATEGY

“And worse I may be yet. The worst is not So long as we can say, ‘This is the worst.’” — William Shakespeare, *King Lear* PROLOGUE The United States’ on-again, off-again war against Iran continues. While we are witnessing another lull at the time of writing, after a brief escalation following the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the structural logic of the conflict remains unchanged. If anything, Ukraine’s sinking of Iran’s merchant ship in the Caspian Sea threatens to imbricate the European and Asian theatres, especially if Kyiv attacks more Iranian ships and Iran retaliates. The war imposed on Iran by the US and its Zionist partner already involves 12 active state actors, a number that makes untangling the entanglement into a nightmare. Notwithstanding, many people in Pakistan have raised a number of questions regarding Iran’s policy and continue to fuss over why Iran can’t just cut a deal with the United States, get sanctions relief and get on with li...
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Bodies of Nirmal Purja, 4 other climbers airlifted to Skardu after Broad Peak avalanche

Bodies of five more international climbers, including world-renowned British-Nepali Nirmal Purja, have been airlifted to Skardu after they were killed in an avalanche on Broad Peak, the Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) said on Thursday. The avalanche struck on July 30, cutting off contact with the 10-member international expedition led by 43-year-old Purja on Broad Peak, one of the world’s highest mountains. His company confirmed there were no survivors . “Following one of the most technically demanding recovery operations on Broad Peak, the Alpine Club of Pakistan confirms that the bodies of Nirmal Purja, Wang Zhong, Nima Sherpa, Gyalu Sherpa, and Killi Pemba “Kilu” Sherpa have been transported to Skardu CMH Hospital by helicopter,” ACP said in its statement on Thursday. “Following necessary procedures and documentation, they will be transferred to Islamabad,” it said, adding that they have been prepared for repatriation to their respective home countries under special arrangements...
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Imran's sons express concerns about father's health in fresh interview with CNN

The sons of ex-prime minister Imran Khan, Kasim and Sulaiman, have reiterated concerns about their incarcerated father’s health in a fresh interview with CNN published on Thursday. Their interview comes as the PTI marked three years since Imran was imprisoned on Aug 5, 2023 for concealing details of Toshakhana gifts. After his eye ailment came to light in January, the PTI founder’s family and party leaders have repeatedly voiced concerns over a lack of access to him. In the CNN interview, Kasim and Sulaiman said they had “no updates because his (Imran’s) family, doctors [and] lawyers haven’t been allowed to see him for seven months”. “Been more in the dark than we’ve ever been through his incarceration,” Kasim said, noting the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) order for a phone call between them every two weeks. Speaking to CNN from London, the duo claimed that each time they speak to the media about their father, Pakistani authorities made it harder for them to see him by alle...
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National Dialogue Committee urges IHC to facilitate meetings with Imran, Bushra

ISLAMABAD: The National Dialogue Committee (NDC) has approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC), seeking directives for jail authorities to facilitate a meeting with incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan and his spouse, Bushra Bibi , arguing that the denial of visitation rights violates fundamental constitutional guarantees and prison regulations. The petition, filed under Article 199 of the Constitution, read with Section 561 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Pakistan Prison Rules, 1978, was submitted by NDC Chairman Mahmood Baqi Molvi along with fellow committee members Imran Ismail, Barrister Muhammad Ali Khan Saif and Fawad Ahmed. The petitioners, all former federal ministers and senior PTI leaders, contend that the jail administration has imposed an “illegal and arbitrary ban” on meetings with the imprisoned couple since their incarceration on August 5, 2023. The petition asserts that the respondent authorities, including the Federation of Pakistan through the...
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Piece of SpaceX rocket believed to have crashed into the moon

A SpaceX rocket piece floating in space since last year was expected to have smashed into the moon at high speed early on Wednesday morning, though the impact was unlikely to be confirmed for at least several hours. The school-bus-size object is the second stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that had launched a lunar lander from Firefly Aerospace toward the moon in January 2025. Weighing four metric tons, the rocket body had been due to hit the moon around 2:35am ET (11:35am PKT), travelling at 5,400 miles per hour, but none of the spacecraft orbiting the moon were expected to be in a position to capture images of the impact live. The space junk would have kicked up a plume of lunar dust that would likely be illuminated by sunlight but difficult to spot with the naked eye from Earth. It was likely to be at least several hours before scientists would be able to confirm the crash by studying images from telescopes in the Americas, the BBC ...
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Why India's petrol shift has motorists fuming

India’s aggressive drive to expand ethanol-blended petrol is facing growing resistance, with a protest march on Tuesday demanding the government rethink its decision to make E20 fuel the national standard. Opposition leader Arvind Kejriwal marched towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence carrying petitions signed by more than 200,000 people, but was stopped by police before reaching his destination. India, the world’s third-largest auto market, says the biofuel move is helping curb dependence on imported crude and boost farm incomes. But motorists have voiced concerns over vehicle performance, and the government’s campaign has upset India’s vast middle class — a key voter base for Modi, who worry that they are being forced to shoulder the costs of the transition. AFP breaks down the speed bumps on India’s fuel blending road. What’s ethanol-blended petrol? E20, the fuel at the centre of the controversy, is essentially petrol mixed with 20 per cent ethanol — which is produ...
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Cop allegedly rapes woman inside Lahore police station; entire staff suspended

LAHORE: The entire staff of Lahore’s Ghaziabad police station was suspended on Tuesday after it emerged that an assistant sub-inspector had allegedly raped a woman in the presence of senior officials on the premises on Sunday. Lahore DIG (Operations) Faisal Kamran confirmed the development to Dawn , saying that the woman was allegedly raped by an assistant sub-inspector inside a room at the police station. He said the woman had identified the exact room where she was allegedly raped in the presence of senior police officials. “The room was located on the upper floor of the police station,” he said. The DIG said he suspended the entire staff of the police station because, according to police rules, all of them were responsible for keeping a check on any wrongdoing at the station. “No one bothered to enquire why the ASI had brought the woman to the police station in the absence of any female personnel,” he said. Over 70 personnel and officials deployed at the police station have bee...
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