Infinity Social Updates

Striker Mohamed Salah scored the winner as Liverpool came back from a goal down to beat Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 and go top of the Premier League ahead of Manchester City’s showdown with Arsenal later on Sunday. Salah’s sublime second-half strike leaves Liverpool on 67 points, three ahead of second-placed Arsenal and four ahead of City on a pivotal day in the title race. The Egyptian striker tormented Brighton, taking 12 shots to notch up his highest total in a Premier League game and, even though only one of them found the back of the net, it was to prove vital. Danny Welbeck gave Brighton the lead after 84 seconds when his side broke up a Liverpool attack and burst forward to find him just inside the box and he drilled an unstoppable shot past Caoimhin Kelleher to break the deadlock. The early goal jolted Liverpool into life and Luis Diaz put them level in the 27th minute after Joel Veltman’s attempted clearance went awry, allowing the Colombian winger to steal...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday responded to US President Joe Biden’s letter and said Pakistan was willing to work with the United States on the shared targets of international peace and regional security. Biden had written to felicitate PM Shehbaz on Friday, assuring that Washington would continue to stand with Pakistan to tackle “the most pressing global and regional challenges”. In his first communication with the new administration, the US president had noted that the “enduring partnership between our nations remains critical to ensuring the security of our people — and people around the world”. Interestingly, Biden had not had a similar communication with former prime minister Imran Khan when the US president assumed office. In his response to the US president’s letter today, released by the Prime Minister’s Office, the premier said: “Pakistan is willing to work with the US towards a common goal of global peace and security and development and prosperity of the regi...

Awami National Party (ANP) leader Zahid Khan has criticised PTI’s Asad Qaiser for advising his party’s chief minister in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to snap all ties with the federal government. On Friday, the PTI central leader advised KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur to snap all ties with the federal government as the Centre would not accept his demands. The advice had come a day after Gandapur met Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi in Peshawar and discussed a joint strategy to fight terrorism. “This is my advice to the KP chief minister that he should end all contact with the federation as it [the federal government] will not accept any of his demands,” said Qaiser in a statement. “They have not appoi­nted a single officer on your [the CM’s] demand and neither there has been any progress on the issue of the payment of the arrears to the province,” said Qaiser, who had served as the National Ass­embly speaker under the previous PTI government. “This is the time for resistance and not con...

PTI founder Imran Khan has appointed three focal persons for meetings with him in Adiala Jail after standard operating procedures (SOPs) were agreed to with the prison superintendent regarding visitation, it emerged on Saturday. The document regarding the SOPs for the “smooth conduct of meetings of convicted prisoner Imran Khan Niazi with his lawyers, family members, friends/colleagues”, dated March 28, was issued in compliance with various Islamabad High Court orders this month. As per the SOPs, PTI leaders Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Sher Afzal Marwat, and Barrister Umair Ahmad Khan Niazi have been designated the focal persons for meetings with Imran at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail. The document said Imran would be permitted to meet his family and lawyers in two separate sessions on Tuesday and his “lawyers/friends” in one session on Thursday with the time for the meetings ranging from 30-45 minutes with a maximum of six people allowed in each session. It added that those intending ...

A Gujranwala anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Saturday sentenced 51 convicts to five-year prison terms in a case pertaining to the attack on Gujranwala cantonment following the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan on May 9 last year. More than 100 civilians are under trial for their alleged role in attacks on army installations during the riots that followed Imran’s arrest on May 9 last year. The Rahwali Cantt police had registered a case against suspects involved in an attack on the cantonment in Gujranwala in which dozens of people were injured and one person was killed. At the time, Senior Superintendent of Police (Investigation) Usman Tariq Butt had also received injuries. The first information report was registered under the anti-terrorism law as well as on the charges of attempted murder. The sentence was announced today by ATC Judge Natasha Naseem Sipra. As per a warrant of commitment on sentence of the convicts, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com , the rioters ...

Retired Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, a former chief justice, was on Saturday appointed the head of the inquiry commission that will investigate charges of interference into judicial independence by the intelligence apparatus. On Tuesday, six Islamabad High Court judges — out of a total strength of eight — wrote a startling letter to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) members, regarding attempts to pressure judges through abduction and torture of their relatives as well as secret surveillance inside their homes. A day later, calls emerged from various quarters for a probe into the investigation, amid which Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa summoned a full court meeting of the Supreme Court’s judges. After a meeting between CJP Isa and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday, the duo decided to form a commission to investigate the concerns of interference in judicial affairs following the cabinet’s approval. According to the Terms of Reference (TORs) for the inq...

At least five people were killed and eight injured on Friday in rain-related incidents in northern parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA). A PDMA report, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com , said that three children had died in Shangla while one adult and one child passed away in Bajaur. The report stated that four of the five fatalities and five of the eight injured were children. Meanwhile, Rescue 1122 spokesperson Rasool Khan Sharif told Dawn.com that two people died and a girl was injured after a roof collapsed in the Banda China area of Alpuri Shangla. He also confirmed that two children were swept away by flash floods after lightning on Friday. Separately, National Highway Authority Deputy Director Ghulam Abbas said that the Karakoram Highway was blocked at multiple locations between Kohistan of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Diamer of Gilgit Baltistan on Friday. However, he said, teams were on the spot to remove lands...

Former Senate chairman Raza Rabbani on Friday said the Special Investment Facilitation Council was “infringing on provincial autonomy” by taking up education-related matters. The statement comes a day after the SIFC convened a meeting to review a new education policy and deliberate on an “ education emergency ” proposal. The SIFC was established in June last year under an “economic revival plan” devised by civilian and military leaders to capitalise on “untapped potential in key sectors” and attract foreign direct investment (FDI). The then-cabinet had approved a number of initiatives, including proposed legislation for amendments to the Investment Board Ordi­nan­ce to em­power the SIFC to facilitate FDI. In November, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had raised questions on the SIFC’s creation, advising Pakistan against creating a group of preferred investors or distortions in the country and to ensure transparency and accountability in its business deals. Last week, n...

India’s main opposition party said on Friday it had been asked to pay an additional 18.2 billion rupees ($218 million) in taxes, which it called an attempt by the tax department to financially cripple it weeks before general elections. Calling the latest notice from the Income Tax Department “tax terrorism”, Congress treasurer Ajay Maken told reporters the party would fight the demand in court. India will vote in seven phases between April 19 and June 1 in general elections Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to win and secure a record-equalling third straight term. “The law is on our side, we have no doubt about it, but by the time we get relief, elections will be over,” Maken said. The Supreme Court is expected to hear the case on April 1, he added. A tax department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday, which is a public holiday. The tax department has said it can not comment on individual tax notices as they are confidential. Congr...

His soldier son toured Afghanistan with insurgents in his crosshairs, but American traveller Oscar Wells has a different objective — sightseeing promoted by the interim Taliban government’s fledgling tourism sector. “It is a unique place, it touches my heart,” the 65-year-old Indiana farmer told AFP , praising “its magnificent mountains” with “people living in the old way”. Marvelling at the 15th century Blue Mosque in northern Mazar-i-Sharif, Wells is among a small but rising number of travellers coming to Afghanistan since the war’s end . Decades of conflict made tourism extremely rare, and while most violence has now abated, visitors are confronted with extreme poverty, dilapidated cultural sites and scant hospitality infrastructure. They holiday under the austere control of Taliban authorities, without consular support after most embassies were evacuated following the fall of the Western-backed government in 2021. They must register with officials on arrival in each province,...

At least eight passengers of a family, including women and children, died on Thursday after a pickup fell into a gorge in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Buner. Rescue 1122 spokesperson Niaz Muhammad Khan told Dawn.com that the pickup truck was travelling from Buner’s Sawari area to Shangrai Kandao when it suffered the fatal accident. He said the bodies of the deceased — five women, two children and a man — were moved to their houses in Shangrai Kandaw. The Rescue 1122 official said it seemed that either the driver lost control of the steering wheel or there was a technical fault in the pickup, resulting in the vehicle falling into a 1600-foot-deep gorge from the rough dilapidated road. The spokesperson identified the deceased as residents of of Shangrai Kandao’s Shahi village. Sub-divisional Police Officer Amjad Khan told Dawn.com that a preliminary report was registered at Gul Bandai police station and further investigation would be initiated, adding that the bodies were handed over to r...

Sindh Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ghulam Nabi Memon took notice after videos of aerial firing allegedly by the son of a high-ranking Karachi police official surfaced on Thursday. Videos shared on social media allegedly showed the son of Karachi East Deputy Inspector General of Police Azfar Mahesar firing a pistol and rifles into the air while travelling in a luxury car. In one such video, policemen were also purportedly visible. Footage of the alleged incidents went viral on social media. A statement issued today from the Sindh police said IGP Memon ordered an inquiry against the DIG East and directed Karachi’s additional IGP to carry out the investigation. The statement added that departmental action would be initiated upon the inquiry’s completion. It said the investigation would also probe whether the weapons used in the incident were officially issued or not. “No one will be allowed to spread fear and chaos like this,” IGP Memon vowed. Meanwhile, DIG Mahesar told Dawn.c...

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Thursday allowed the federal government to increase electricity rates by Rs2.75 per unit for all consumers across the country for three months — April to June — with additional revenue impact going beyond Rs85 billion. The increase was allowed under quarterly tariff adjustment for the second quarter — October to December 2023 — of the current fiscal year. Documents released by the authority on its website said the increase would apply to all consumer categories, except lifeline consumers, including both consumers of ex-Wapda distribution companies and K-Electric. A letter said the authority’s decision was being sent to the federal government for intimation and action before its notification by Nepra. The authority said it had applied the hike “in the interest of consumers” from April onwards after the expiry of existing applicable quarterly adjustments in March. from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/XB36SdP

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday held a meeting with Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa at the Supreme Court, Radio Pakistan reported. Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar and Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan were also present during the meeting, according to the state broadcaster. The gathering comes a day after the apex court held a full-court meeting to take stock of allegations levelled by six IHC judges — out of a total strength of eight — against interference in judicial affairs by the country’s intelligence apparatus. An informed source told Dawn that the sitting considered initiating suo motu proceedings under Article 184(3) of the Constitution in light of the letter, but no final decision was taken in this regard. AGP Awan met CJP Isa on the issue and in an interaction with the media, described the situation as “very alarming”, which needed a thorough probe. PBC meeting on April 5 Chairman Executive Committee of the Pakistan Bar C...

A 20-year-old man was injured after getting tangled in a loose kite string in the Azizabad area in Karachi on Wednesday, police said. Central SSP Zeeshan Shafiq Siddiqi said that Awais was riding a motorbike when the string caught him in Mohammadi Colony. He was shifted to a hospital where his condition was said to be out of danger. Meanwhile, the Central SSP Siddiqi said they have launched a crackdown against kite flying and manufacturing of kites, He said the police seized thousands of “dangerous strings” and set them on fire to avoid tragic incidents during their raids in several areas of the district central. The incident comes after Punjab police intensified crackdown across the province on kite flying after two deaths in Sargodha and Faisalabad due to the strings of stray kites. The two incidents forced Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to call a meeting on law and order and crime situation here on Sunday where she ordered a crackdown on the making, selling, and buying of a ch...

Sunrisers Hyderabad posted 277-3 for the highest-ever Indian Premier League (IPL) total in a match against Mumbai Indians with Heinrich Klaasen unbeaten on 80 off 34 balls on Wednesday. Australia’s Travis Head hit a 24-ball 62 to lead the batting assault after Hyderabad batted first and went past the previous IPL best of 263-5 by Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2013. Head, dropped on five by Tim David off skipper Hardik Pandya, got his fifty in 18 balls and after his departure, Abhishek Sharma reached his half-century in 16. The team’s 100 came up in just seven overs and Hyderabad, led by Australia’s World Cup- winning captain Pat Cummins, posted the tournament’s highest-ever total in the first 10 overs of 148-2. Abhishek fell for 63 off 23 balls but there was no respite for the bowlers who were at the receiving end of some punishing batting. It was raining sixes with 18 hits over the fence in 20 overs of Hyderabad’s innings as the South African pair of Klaasen and Aide...

An International Cricket Council (ICC) delegation visiting Pakistan to inspect venues and facilities for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 called on Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi on Wednesday. Pakistan signed the hosting rights agreement with the ICC in December to hold the tournament. There had been doubts about whether Pakistan would stay as the host country for the Champions Trophy after India had forced the PCB into hosting most of the matches of September’s Asia Cup in Sri Lanka. It will be the first major global cricket tournament to be played in Pakistan since 1996 when it hosted the Men’s Cricket World Cup alongside India and Sri Lanka. According to a press release issued by the board today, the meeting discussed the “lead-up to and successful conduct” of the event next year. PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi said it is an absolute pleasure and welcome development for the board and the fans across the country. “The PCB will arrange top-notch facilities as pe...

A day after six people, including five Chinese nationals, were killed in a suicide bombing in Bisham , Information Minister Ataullah Tarar said that a joint investigation team (JIT) would be formed to investigate the incident. On Tuesday, six people, including Chinese nationals working on the Dasu dam project, perished in a suicide bombing in Shangla District’s Bisham when a suicide bomber rammed into the bus transporting the Chinese staff. The attack prompted China to demand a thorough probe into the deadly blast and security for its citizens. In response, Islamabad announced a swift probe to hold the “perpetrators and accomplices” accountable. According to police, the bus was travelling from Islamabad to Kohistan when it came under the attack on Karakoram Highway. “It was a suicide attack on the Chinese convoy and an explosive-laden vehicle approaching from Kohistan hit the bus,” Bisham Sub Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Juma Rehman told Dawn . SDPO Rehman said that following th...

Police in the Indian capital detained dozens of opposition supporters on Tuesday as they attempted to march to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence to protest against last week’s arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Kejriwal, a key opposition leader whose Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has governed the national capital territory for a decade, was arrested by the financial crime-fighting agency on corruption charges relating to the city’s liquor policy, weeks before India begins voting in general elections on April 19. He was remanded to the custody of the Enforcement Directorate until March 28, with the lawyer for the agency arguing he was the “kingpin” in the case and needed to be interrogated. Kejriwal’s party, all of whose main leaders are now imprisoned in connection with the case, says he has been “falsely arrested” in a “fabricated case”. The federal government and Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) deny political interference. On Tuesday, Kejriwal’s supporters att...

A major bridge in the US city of Baltimore collapsed early on Tuesday after being struck by a container ship, sending multiple vehicles and people plunging into the frigid harbour below. Dramatic footage showed a 300-metre vessel hitting the Francis Scott Key Bridge, bringing the steel-built structure crashing into the Patapsco River. View this post on Instagram Lights from what appear to be vehicles could be seen on the road surface as the bridge warped and crashed in sections, with the third tranche cantilevering upwards before it, too, tumbled into the water. As daylight broke over the search and rescue operation with divers in the water looking for survivors, the horrifying extent of the incident became apparent. Twisted stanchions of steel lay draped over the deck of the ship, on which stacks of containers teetered precariously — adding a further dimension of danger to rescue and recovery work. Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott s...

Five Chinese nationals and one Pakistani were killed in an attack on their convoy in Bisham tehsil of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Shangla, according to the regional police chief and a station house officer (SHO). Reuters quoted Mohammad Ali Gandapur, the regional police chief, as saying that a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a convoy of Chinese engineers which was on its way from Islamabad to their camp in Dasu. “Five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver were killed in the attack,” Gandapur said. The provincial police had reached the spot and started relief operations. The rest of the people in the convoy have been protected, Gandapur said. Bisham SHO Bakht Zahir, while talking to Dawn.com , also confirmed that the incident claimed six lives, of which five were Chinese engineers and one was a Pakistani. He said it was a “suicide blast” and the authorities concerned were collecting evidence. Security arrangements were tightened at the spot and the bodies we...

The Islamabad police has booked protesters and organisers of a rally in support of Palestinians in Gaza, it emerged on Monday. Save Gaza Campaign, a civil society movement of civilians and organisations taking action against the Israeli bombardment in the besieged strip, posted earlier today on social media platform X that the police had registered a first information report (FIR) against its leader Humaira Tayyaba and her husband and the movement’s patron, former Jamaat-i-Islami senator Mushtaq Ahmad for leading a sit-in at D-Chowk on Sunday. The FIR was registered at the capital’s Kohsar police station on the complaint of Station House Officer Shafqat Faiz on Sunday. The complaint was filed under Sections 148 (rioting armed with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter...