Infinity Social Updates

An Indian court weighed in on one of the country’s most sensitive religious disputes on Wednesday by permitting Hindu worshippers to pray inside a mosque in the city of Varanasi. The Gyanvapi mosque is one of several Islamic houses of worship that Hindu activists, backed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party, have sought for decades to reclaim for their religion. It was built in the 17th century by the Mughal Empire in a city where Hindu faithful from across the country cremate their loved ones by the Ganges river. The court in Varanasi ruled that Hindu worshippers — who believe the mosque replaced a destroyed temple to the deity Shiva — could pray in the building’s basement. Its verdict ordered district authorities to “make proper arrangements within the next seven days” to facilitate worshippers. The decision is the latest in a long-running legal saga over Gyanvapi’s future. This month, India’s official archaeological agency said a survey of the site appeared to corroborat

A PTI-backed independent candidate was shot dead in Siddiqabad area in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur district in Wednesday, according to police. Khar Police Station House Officer (SHO) Rasheed Khan said Rehan Zeb Khan was canvassing in the area when unidentified armed men open fired on his vehicle. The cop said Rehan was taken to the District Headquarters Hospital where he succumbed to his wounds. According to the SHO, four other people were also injured in the attack. District Police Officer Bajaur, Kashif Zulfiqar told Dawn.com that the incident appeared to be a “targeted killing”. He said that law enforcement authorities were conducting a search operation in the area. Meanwhile, the PTI said Rehan was a party-backed candidate for a National Assembly seat. It strongly condemned the killing and said blatant attacks on its representatives in the run-up to the general elections raised a “big question mark” on the fairness of polls. The party demanded an immediate probe into the

A photo of former prime minister Imran Khan has been circulating on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) since Tuesday. It showed the PTI founder, who has been incarcerated at Adiala Jail since August last year, sporting a grey beard. The photo, however, is doctored and dates back to August 2023. According to fact-checking platform iVerify Pakistan, a social media user — who appears to be a PTI supporter based on her posts and header display on X — put up a photo of Imran in which he could be seen with a beard. The user questioned if the ex-premier’s photo was recent. The post gained over 199,000 views and was shared 1,100 times. The same photo was shared by other X users as well, all asking if the image was a recent one. It must be noted that the photo went viral the same day Imran was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison in the cipher case. Investigating the claims, the iVerify platform conducted a reverse image search and ran the photo through a fake image-dete

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday directed the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) to ensure that former prime minister Imran Khan as well as the candidates of all political parties were given “free and unrestricted” access to media ahead of the forthcoming February 8 general elections. The order was passed by Justice Shams Mehmood Mirza on a petition filed by Imran — who is currently incarcerated at Adiala Jail — last year against Pemra’s decision to bar all satellite TV channels from broadcasting his speeches and press talks. The ban was imposed with “immediate effect” after Imran had lashed out at former army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa for what he called “protecting incumbent rulers in their alleged corruption cases”. The PTI chief had subsequently approached the court through his lawyer Ahmed Pansota and challenged the ban, arguing that Pemra’s order was “purely driven out of vengeance”. The LHC had later suspended the operation of the order and sent th

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has downgraded Pakistan’s growth estimate for fiscal year 2024 to two per cent, according to a report issued on Tuesday. The Fund’s World Economic Outlook (WEO) for January said the estimate was downgraded by 0.5pc from 2.5pc in October’s outlook. The IMF’s latest growth forecast is lower than the government’s 3.5pc GDP growth target for the current year Meanwhile, the IMF raised its 2024 global growth forecast to 3.1pc, citing unexpected resilience in major advanced and emerging market economies around the world, including the United States and China. The updated figure is 0.2 percentage points higher than the October forecast. “The global economy continues to display remarkable resilience, with inflation declining steadily and growth holding up,” IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas told reporters in South Africa on Tuesday. “The chance of a soft landing has increased, but the pace of expansion remains slow and risks remain,” he

At least two people were killed while seven sustained injuries in a bomb blast in Balochistan’s Sibi on Tuesday, police said. Sibi Station House Office (SHO) Zakaullah Gujjar confirmed the casualties and injuries to Dawn.com . He said the blast occurred at the city’s Jinnah Road. The police official said the injured were being moved to Civil Hospital Sibi for medical treatment, adding that the condition of most of them was serious and there were fears of a rise in the deaths. “Security forces reached the spot and immediately surrounded it after receiving news of the incident,” he said, adding that the bomb disposal squad was collecting evidence from the crime scene. Balochistan Health Secretary Abdullah Khan Noorzai imposed an emergency in all hospitals of Quetta and Sibi in the wake of the incident, according to a statement from the provincial health department. “Instructions have been issued to Sibi’s medical superintendent to provide the best healthcare facilities to patients.

Bears continued to dominate the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday and dragged its benchmark index down by over 900 points. According to the PSX website , the KSE-100 index lost 931.98 points to stand at 61,841.74, down 1.48 per cent, from the previous close of 62,773.72 points. The benchmark of representative shares opened the week a day earlier with a decline of more than 1,000 points , the biggest single-day fall in over a month. The losses were attributed to profit-taking ahead of the announcement of the monetary policy. Today, energy stocks such as K-Electric Limited, World Telecom Limited, Hascol Petroleum Limited, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited and Pakistan Refinery Limited witnessed major activity. Shahab Farooq, director of research at Next Capital Limited, attributed the bearish momentum to political uncertainty ahead of the February 8 general elections. “Geopolitical concerns, along with foreign selling, restricted market performance,” he told Dawn.com

After a special court handed former prime minister Imran Khan and ex-foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi 10-year jail sentences each in connection with a case involving the disclosure of state secrets, legal experts and political analysts unanimously criticised the verdict, questioning its merit as well as the haste with which the trial was concluded. The cipher case pertains to a diplomatic document that the Federal Investigation Agency’s charge sheet alleges was never returned by Imran. The PTI has long held that the document contained a threat from the United States to oust Imran as prime minister. The conviction, which came after Special Court (Official Secrets Act) judge Abual Hasnat Moham­mad Zulqarnain appointed a state counsel for Imran and Qureshi — a move they vehemently opposed — means that both stand disqualified from contesting elections for the next five years, including the one that is a little over a week away. Here is what legal eagles and political experts Daw

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Monday withdrew permissions for foreign visits by federal ministers, advisers, and relevant officials until the completion of the election process. In a notification, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com , the Cabinet Division said: “No leave for any foreign visit shall be granted till the completion of the election process and the assumption of office by the new government”. “I am directed to convey that the prime minister has been pleased to withdraw all permissions for foreign visits, official or private, granted to the federal ministers, advisors and special assistants to the PM, and all federal officers with immediate effect,” it stated. “All federal secretaries are requested to ensure compliance of the directions,” the notification, issued by the cabinet senior joint secretary, added. The directive comes less than two weeks ahead of the forthcoming general elections. The incumbent interim setup is in its final days before t

India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah was reprimanded by the International Cricket Council Monday for “inappropriate physical contact” with England’s Ollie Pope during the home team’s 28-run Test defeat this weekend. The incident occurred during England’s second innings when Bumrah, after bowling and completing his follow-through, “deliberately stepped in Ollie Pope’s way as the batter went for a run, leading to inappropriate physical contact”, the ICC said in a statement. Pope’s match-winning 196 handed India only its fourth loss in their last 47 Tests at home since 2013 — but the hosts still remain favourites in the five-match series after losing the first Test. Bumrah had been reprimanded for breaching the ICC code and had “admitted the offence and accepted the sanction” with one demerit point added to his disciplinary record, cricket’s apex body said. The ICC code relates to “inappropriate physical contact” with a player, umpire, spectator or any other person during a matc

India’s navy said on Monday it had freed an Iranian fishing vessel that had been hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia in the latest attack against shipping in the Indian Ocean. The hijacking off Somalia fuelled concerns about a resurgence of Indian Ocean raids by opportunistic pirates, coming on top of a separate surge of attacks launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. “The fishing vessel had been boarded by pirates and the crew taken as hostages,” Indian navy spokesman Commander Vivek Madhwal said, naming the vessel as the Iranian-flagged Iman. India had deployed its warship INS Sumitra — which was on anti-piracy patrol off the east coast of Somalia in the Gulf of Aden — after receiving a distress message from the fishing vessel. The warship “intercepted the vessel” and then worked to “coerce” the hijackers to release the crew and boat, Madhwal said, without giving an exact location. The warship “ensured the successful release of all 17 crew members along with the boat”, he ad

Two people were injured in a grenade attack on the National Party’s election office on Sunday evening in Balochistan’s Mastung, according to police. City Police Station House Officer (SHO) Abdul Fatah told Dawn.com that unknown persons had lobbed a grenade at the party’s election office before fleeing. He said the injured persons were identified as Ghulam Mohiuddin and Abdul Aziz Shami, adding that they were initially shifted to the DHQ Hospital in the area for medical treatment. SHO Fatah said Shami was later transported to Quetta for further medical treatment. He said that the police had also set up a checkpost in the area. Earlier this week, a police constable was martyred in an armed attack at the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) regional office in the Turbat town of Kech district. Officials said unidentified assailants on motorcycles opened fire and threw a grenade at the office, leading to a brief shootout. The constable, identified as Nimroz, succumbed to multiple

Jannik Sinner produced a comeback for the ages to outlast Daniil Medvedev 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 and 6-3 in a high-quality final and win his maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open on Sunday, becoming the new King of Melbourne Park. Sinner became the first Australian champion for a decade not to be named Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal or Roger Federer in the first men’s title clash at Rod Laver Arena since 2005 not to feature any of the “Big Three”. Italian Sinner had dominated the tournament en route to the final, with a thumping victory over holder Djokovic in the semi-finals to end the Serbian’s long reign. Third seed Medvedev came into the contest as the first man since Pete Sampras almost three decades ago to reach the final after multiple comebacks from two sets down and he made a fast start to ease through the opening set with a double break. It was only the third and fourth times that the in-form Sinner had dropped his serve in the tournament and the 22-year-old appear

With less than two weeks to go until the February 8 general elections, PTI’s Barrister Gohar Khan on Sunday unveiled the party’s election manifesto which promised social and constitutional reforms. The manifesto was announced as the party carried out election campaigns across the country, alleging that authorities were preventing party-backed candidates from doing so. Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Gohar said PTI’s manifesto was titled ‘Shandaar Pakistan, Shandaar Mustaqbil aur Kharaab Maazi sey chutkara’ . He said that the party leaders who compiled the document were unable to be present for the press conference over fears of being arrested. Talking about the manifesto, the PTI leader promised to form a truth and reconciliation commission to address the injustices faced by the common man. He said that the party had always emphasised that the rule of law should prevail in the country and every citizen should be treated equally. “We cannot have two laws, one for the ri

Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui is focusing on Karachi’s development in the run-up to the February 8 polls, bent on ending the PPP’s 15-year-long rule in urban Sindh, one which he has termed a “nightmare”. A former deputy convener of the united MQM, a former chief of the All Pakistan Muttahida Student Organisation (APMSO), and a former leader of overseas wings, Siddiqui has risen through the ranks and has ample experience when it comes to leadership. Following the decision to move away from Altaf Hussain after August 22, 2016 — which was taken by Siddiqui, Farooq Sattar, and Amir Khan — Siddiqui was elected as the deputy convener of the party. In 2018, he replaced Sattar as convener. Despite resistance and several visits to the courts, Siddiqui has maintained his hold on the key position till date. Since the 1988 general elections, the party, once united and led by Altaf, had always emerged as the single largest party in Karachi — with t

(From left) A three-way contest is expected on NA-214 between Abdul Razzaque Rahimoon of GDA, jailed PTI leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi and PPP’s Pir Ameer Ali Shah Jilani. • Highest ever 71pc turnout of women voters recorded on NA-214 in 2018 polls • Tough contest expected on two NA, four PA seats in the district THE desert district of Tharparkar is among a few areas of rural parts of Sindh where a tough contest is expected during the Feb 8 general elections. Over 723,000 registered voters will choose two members of the National Assembly and four members of the Sindh Assembly on the day of polling. The candidates of three main parties — the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) — seem more interested in mustering support of female voters keeping in view their highest ever turnout of over 70 per cent during the 2018 general elections. The contests on NA-214 and NA-215 are among 14 main candidates associated with leading p

KHYBER: Tribal customs and traditions are the main hurdle to three women candidates for general seats of provincial assembly in Khyber district as they run a restricted door-to-door campaign and focus mostly on female voters. Shakira Shinwari, Lal Zaida and Naseem Riaz have filed their nominations for PK-69, PK-70 and PK-71, respectively, alongside 76 other male contestants for the three provincial assembly seats in Landi Kotal, Jamrud and Bara. Shakira Shinwari and Naseem Riaz are contesting elections as independent candidates while Lal Zaida has the backing of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf-Parliamentarians. None of these three female candidates have so far organised any public meeting nor are their personal posters or banners anywhere in sight in their respective constituencies. Motivated by her family support and backing to try her luck in the February 8 general elections for the first time, Shakira Shinwari believes that she can be a better choice to raise voice for the legitimate

Bears continued to dominate the trading floor of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday as shares traded in the red and lost nearly 500 points. According to the PSX website , the KSE-100 index closed at 63,813.06 points, down 484.94 or 0.75 per cent from the previous close of 64,298.00. After rallying for three consecutive sessions, the benchmark index faltered yesterday on uncertainty about whether the International Monetary Fund would give its go-ahead to the government’s plans for reducing industrial power tariff and energy sector circular debt. The caretaker prime minister had on Wednesday directed the energy ministry to formulate an effective and durable strategy to do away with the circular debt. Speaking to Dawn.com today, Tahir Abbas, head of research at Arif Habib Limited, noted that the market remained particularly volatile ahead of the upcoming Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting — which is due on Jan 29. “Investors remained cautious and booked profit while t

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp announced in a shock decision on Friday that he will leave the club at the end of the season. Klopp, who led Liverpool into the final of the League Cup on Wednesday, had informed the club’s hierarchy that he would end his eight-and-a-half years at Anfield at the end of the current campaign. Assistant managers Pepijn Lijnders and Peter Krawietz are also leaving the club at the same time, Liverpool said. “It is that I am, how can I say it, running out of energy,” Klopp, 56, said on Liverpool’s website . “I can understand that it’s a shock for a lot of people, at this moment when you hear it for the first time, but obviously I can explain it or at least try to explain it. “I love absolutely everything about this club, I love everything about the city, I love everything about our supporters, I love the team, I love the staff. I love everything. But that I still take this decision shows you that I am convinced it is the one I have to take,” he said.

Bears returned to the trading floor of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday as shares traded in the red and lost more than 500 points. According to the PSX website , the KSE-100 index closed at 64,298 points, down 524.43 or 0.81 per cent, from the previous close of 64,822.43. The index had previously maintained an upward trajectory on expectations of measures aimed at addressing economic and circular debt issues. A day earlier, the benchmark index had briefly crossed the 65,000 milestone during intraday trade. Today, major activity was witnessed in energy stocks such as the Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC), K-Electric Limited, Hascol Petroleum Limited and Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL). Speaking to Dawn.com , Mohammed Sohail, chief executive of Topline Securities, said that “confusion in circular debt resolution” impacted the share prices of PPL and OGDC, resulting in the index’s downward trend. A day earlier, caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar had direc

President Emmanuel Macron was given a red carpet welcome and an elephant honour guard on Thursday as he started a two-day visit to India, with France eyeing lucrative deals with the world’s fifth-largest economy. Landing in Jaipur, state capital of Rajasthan, Macron will be hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a banquet in a 19th-century maharaja’s palace. On Friday, he will be the chief guest in New Delhi at a colourful military march-past with massed ranks of tanks, dancing troupes, camel cavalry and a fighter jet fly-past. India’s foreign ministry says New Delhi and Paris are “strategic partners”, while the French presidency says the trip will “consolidate and deepen diplomatic and economic relations”. Despite concerns over human rights, differences over the war in Ukraine and Delhi’s close ties with Moscow — India’s key military supplier — the US and its European allies are courting New Delhi as a military and economic counterweight to China . France hopes to build

Russia accused Ukraine on Wednesday of deliberately shooting down a Russian military transport plane carrying 65 captured Ukrainian soldiers to a prisoner exchange in what it called a barbaric act of terrorism that had killed a total of 74 people. The Russian defence ministry said six Russian crew members and three Russian soldiers had been on the Ilyushin Il-76 military transport plane shot down near the Russian city of Belgorod near the Ukrainian border. “The Ukrainian leadership was well aware that, in accordance with established practice, Ukrainian servicemen would be transported by military transport aircraft to the Belgorod airfield today to be exchanged,” a ministry statement said. “According to an earlier agreement, this event was to take place in the afternoon at the Kolotilovka checkpoint on the Russian-Ukrainian border,” it said. “By committing this terrorist act, the Ukrainian leadership has showed its true face. It disregarded the lives of its own citizens.” Russia’s f

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir on Wednesday said “negative propaganda” on social media was aimed at creating uncertainty and hopelessness in the country, state-run Radio Pakistan reported . During an address at the Pakistan National Youth Conference in Islamabad, he stressed the need for double-checking news on social media. He said that without proper research and positive thinking, there would be a chaos in the society. According to Radio Pakistan , the army chief asserted that the armed forces of Pakistan were fully prepared against any threat and conspiracy. Pakistan would never compromise on its sovereignty, he added. COAS Munir expressed full confidence in the “bright future of Pakistan”, highlighting that Allah Almighty had bestowed Pakistan with numerous mineral resources, agriculture and young human capital. “He said the sole objective behind the creation of Pakistan was that our religion, civilization and culture were totally different from that of Hindus