Infinity Social Updates

An estimated 1.8 million people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are at risk of climate change-induced health issues in the coming years, according to a research-based adaptation plan issued by the provincial health department. The plan projected that people in the province may face life-threatening challenges, including diseases, injuries, and fatalities caused by natural disasters such as floods and landslides. The KP health department, with support from the Evidence for Health programme and funding from the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office, has officially launched the “Climate and Health Adaptation” plan in the province this month. According to the report, climate change and environmental degradation are expected to trigger severe health crises in the province, including reduced health productivity, premature mortality, and an increase in seasonal diseases. “Vector-borne diseases like malaria and dengue are projected to rise by 30–40 per cent in KP, while waterborne illn...

Indian soldiers killed two fighters in India-occupied Kashmir (IoK) along the border with Pakistan as they attempted to cross into the India-occupied part of the territory, the army said on Friday. An “intense and heavy firefight” was triggered on Thursday night between soldiers and “infiltrating terrorists” near the Line of Control, the Indian army’s White Knight Corps said in a statement on social media. The overnight fighting led “to the neutralisation of two terrorists”, the statement said, referring to the suspected fighters. Weapons and “war-like stores” were recovered from the site, the army claimed, but it was not clear if the bodies of slain fighters were also retrieved. The incident could not be independently verified. India has a permanent deployment of more than half a million soldiers in the disputed territory, and groups have waged a struggle for self-determination for decades. Fighting has decreased since 2019, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government imposed...

A policeman was martyred in Quetta when unidentified assailants shot him dead in the early hours of Thursday as he was returning home from work, police told Dawn.com . According to Rabia Tariq, Public Relations Officer for the Balochistan Inspector General of Police, the victim, Mehboob Shah, was returning home via the Manu Jan Road when the suspects gunned him down. “The suspects ambushed him in front of his house, opened fire on him and fled,” Tariq told Dawn.com . “Policeman Mehboob Shah died on the spot. His body was shifted to a hospital, before being handed over to his family for burial after funeral prayers at Quetta Civil Lines.” She added that the policeman had completed a shift at the United Nations office in a housing scheme in Quetta. No further details were provided. In September last year, a police officer was martyred in Quetta when unidentified gunmen opened fire on his car. Sub-Inspector Aman­ullah was on his way to the Amir Muhammad Shah­eed police station for...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said that the government was ready to form a parliamentary committee to continue talks with the PTI as against the party’s demand to constitute a judicial commission to probe the protests of May 9, 2023, and November 26, 2024. After more than a year of heightened tensions between the government and the PTI, the two sides commenced negotiations in the last week of December to bring down political temperatures. But despite weeks of negotiations , the dialogue process stalled on major issues — the formation of two judicial commissions and the release of PTI prisoners. Last week, PTI decided to boycott the fourth round of talks (which were scheduled to take place on Jan 28) with the government, a day after it announced that party founder Imran Khan issued directions to call off negotiations due to a delay over the formation of judicial commissions. Speaking at a cabinet meeting today, PM Shehbaz said, “We are ready to form a House committee...

Iran is ready to discuss its nuclear programme if Western countries show they are “serious”, the foreign ministry spokesman was quoted as saying in an interview published on Thursday. “We have said several times that we are ready for discussions, but only if the other side is serious about this,” Esmaeil Baqaei said. Tehran has signalled to the West several times recently indicating a willingness to reach an agreement over its nuclear programme. In an interview with Sky News posted to his official Telegram channel on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the new US administration should work to win back Tehran’s trust if it wants a new round of nuclear talks. In Thursday’s interview, Baqaei expressed hope that new US President Donald Trump would adopt a “realistic approach” towards Iran. During his first term which ended in 2021, Trump pursued a policy of “maximum pressure”, withdrawing the United States from a landmark nuclear deal which imposed curbs on Iran’s nuclear ...

The Foreign Office on Thursday expressed Pakistan’s desire to improve economic ties with the United States, a day after a delegation of investors led by Gentry Beach, US President Donald Trump’s close aide, met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Pakistan and the US have delicate and complex ties, shaped by shared security concerns and divergent strategic priorities. In a press briefing today, FO spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said, “We want to further improve economic ties with the United States.” Responding to queries, Shafqat termed members of the visiting delegation as “good businessmen”. He clarified that the visit was not organised through the FO, adding that businessmen touring Pakistan was a “routine” matter. Shafqat said that further questions about the visit should be referred to the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC). Beach also stated yesterday, “We plan on investing billions of dollars in Pakistan across several different areas, including critical minera...

The government removed Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Director General Ahmed Ishaq Jahangir from his position on Wednesday amid ongoing action against other officials of the watchdog. According to a notification by the Cabinet Secretariat, Jahangir, a BS-21 officer of the Interior Division was transferred and posted as an Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Establishment Division “with immediate effect and until further orders”. Once an officer is made an OSD his services are put on hold indefinitely without assigning any reason. The FIA had dismissed 13 of its officials a day earlier and stopped the promotions of three constables said to be involved in the Greek boat tragedy in 2024. Five Pakistani citizens perished after their boats capsized near Greek islands in December 2024. More than 80 Pakistanis, including minors, were aboard the unfortunate vessels, which capsized in the Mediterranean. Earlier, 37 officials suspected to involvement in these incidents were dismis...

Australia’s Steve Smith on Wednesday joined a select group of batsmen to reach 10,000 career Test runs during the first morning of the opening Test against Sri Lanka. Smith started the match on 9,999 runs and on his first ball pushed for a single off Prabath Jayasuriya in Galle to be the 15th Test batsman and fourth Australian to the milestone. The stand-in skipper raised his bat to acknowledge the applause from the crowd. The 35-year-old joined fellow Australians Ricky Ponting, Allan Border and Steve Waugh in a list led by India’s Sachin Tendulkar, who made 15,921 runs in his red-ball career. Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar was the first to cross 10,000 runs in Test cricket when he achieved the feat against Pakistan in 1987 at Ahmedabad. Smith is leading Australia in the two-match series after regular captain Pat Cummins opted out due to the birth of his second child. He has an impressive average of more than 55 across 114 prior Tests, including 34 centuries since h...

Two soldiers were martyred and five terrorists were killed in a foiled attack on a security checkpost in Balochistan’s Qila Abdullah district, the military’s media affairs wing said on Tuesday. A statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said terrorists attempted to attack a checkpost of the security forces in the district’s general area of Gulistan on the night between Monday and Tuesday. “The attempt to enter the post was effectively thwarted by own troops,” the ISPR said, adding that this forced the terrorists to ram an explosive-laden vehicle into the post’s boundary. It added that five terrorists, including two suicide bombers, were “sent to hell” in the ensuing exchange of fire. “However, during the intense fire exchange two brave sons of soil, Naik Tahir Khan, 39, and Lance Naik Tahir Iqbal, 26, having fought gallantly, paid the ultimate sacrifice and embraced martyrdom,” the statement added. The ISPR said that a sanitisation operation was being conducted i...

Bears maintained their hold on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday as shares lost nearly 1,500 points. The benchmark KSE-100 index declined by 1,489.96 points, or 1.31 per cent, to close at 112,030.36 points from the previous close of 113,520.32. Yousuf M. Farooq, director research at Chase Securities, said, “The market opened under pressure today following a news report yesterday in which the petroleum minister stated that Rs82 billion from the profits of state-owned companies would be used to shield consumers from rising gas costs.” He said the remarks “raised concerns among market participants that the government may revert to using state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to appease the public, echoing past practices”. However, he believed “that such an action may not be legally feasible”. Moreover, Farooq said that the market appeared to be “taking a breather” after witnessing a significant rally from October to December last year, adding that such corrections were normal....

India and China have agreed to work on resolving differences over trade and economic issues, New Delhi has said, as relations continue to thaw after a deadly 2020 border clash. Following a meeting on Monday in Beijing between India’s top diplomat Vikram Misri and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, India’s foreign ministry also said that both sides would negotiate a framework on the resumption of flights after five years at an “early date”. China’s foreign ministry confirmed today that flights would resume, and said Wang had told Misri that China and India should commit to “mutual support and mutual achievement” rather than “suspicion” and “alienation”. “Specific concerns in the economic and trade areas were discussed with a view to resolving these issues and promoting long-term policy transparency and predictability,” the Indian statement said without going into detail. Analysts say sluggish economies and trade threats from US President Donald Trump are encouraging China and In...

Pakistan and China reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral ties as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar held a meeting with the Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong on Tuesday, the Foreign Office said. A day earlier, the FO rejected “baseless and unfounded” allegations targeting Pakistan’s commitment to China’s policies, stressing that Beijing continued to be Islamabad’s “all-weather strategic partner”. The development came in response to growing criticism of Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s participation in an event sponsored by the New Federal State of China (NFSC), an anti-China group. The FO described the One-China Policy as a consistent cornerstone of Pakistan’s foreign policy, emphasising that the country’s stance remains the same. Pakistan has held strong bilateral relations with China which has supported it through many investments and development projects such as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project which was termed as a “lifeline” for ...

The head of the World Food Programme in Afghanistan says the agency can only feed half the millions of Afghans in need after cuts in international aid and an impending freeze in US foreign funding. Many people were living on just “bread and tea”, WFP Country Director Hsiao-Wei Lee told Reuters . Afghanistan was tipped to the brink of economic crisis in 2021 as the Taliban took over and all development and security assistance to the country was frozen , with restrictions also placed on the banking sector. Since then humanitarian aid — aimed at funding urgent needs through non-profit organisations and bypassing government control — has filled some of the gap. But donors have been cutting steadily in recent years, concerned by Taliban restrictions on women , including their order that Afghan female NGO employees stop work, and competing global crises. Lee told Reuters shortly before finishing her three-year term in Afghanistan that funding cuts had meant that roughly half the 15 m...

Iran and the United States have not exchanged any messages since the return of Donald Trump to the White House, a senior Iranian diplomat said on Monday. “It has only been a few days since the new American administration took office and no messages have been exchanged,” Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi told the local ISNA news agency. During his first term, Trump pursued a policy of “maximum pressure”, withdrawing the US from a landmark nuclear deal which imposed curbs on Iran’s nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief. Tehran adhered to the deal — known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — until Washington’s withdrawal but then began rolling back its commitments. Efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear pact have since faltered. “We have to plan calmly and patiently. When the policies of the other side (Trump) are announced, we act accordingly,” said Takht-Ravanchi. On Thursday, Trump said he hoped to avoid military strikes on Iran’s nuclea...

The Foreign Office (FO) on Monday rejected “baseless and unfounded” allegations targeting Pakistan’s commitment to China’s policies, stressing that Beijing continued to be Islamabad’s all-weather strategic partner. The statement came amid several social media as well as local and an Indian media reports claiming that Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, during his recent visit to the United States, attended an event hosted by a lobbying group that campaigns against the neighbour’s ruling Chinese Communist Party. Responding to reporters’ queries in Houston, Naqvi had termed the reports “propaganda”, asserting that neither he attended any such “anti-Chinese state” events, nor he would ever accept such invites. Today’s FO statement, issued on behalf of spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan, quashed the reports, stressing that China continued to be Pakistan’s “all-weather strategic partner”. “Responding to media speculations, the spokesperson categorically rejected baseless and unfounded allega...

North Korea conducted a strategic cruise missile test on Saturday, state media KCNA reported on Sunday. According to the report, the country’s leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the test, which described it as a test-fire of an “important weapon system”. The underwater-to-surface strategic cruise missiles travelled 1,500 kilometres and flew between 7,507 and 7,511 seconds before hitting their targets, KCNA reported. In a separate KCNA report on Sunday, North Korea’s foreign ministry vowed the “toughest counteraction” against the United States as long as Washington “refuses” Pyongyang’s sovereignty. The military alliance and joint drills between South Korea and the US were to blame for the growing tensions in the region, the ministry said in a statement carried by KCNA . The statement came as US President Donald Trump said during an interview on Thursday that he would reach out to Kim again after the two developed a working relationship in Trump’s first term. North Korea’s war deterre...

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto looked on as guest of honour at India’s annual military and cultural parade in New Delhi held to mark the country’s 76th Republic Day on Sunday. Republic Day marks the adoption of India’s post-independence constitution in 1950 with the parade being held at a revamped colonial-era boulevard that also hosts important government buildings. “May this occasion strengthen our efforts towards preserving the ideals of our Constitution and working towards a stronger and prosperous India,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday on the social media platform X. The annual show is a colourful and tightly choreographed spectacle featuring the country’s missile systems, fighter jet fly pasts, motorbike stunts and floats representing different Indian states. An Indonesian military marching contingent also took part in the celebrations. The event coincided with Prabowo’s two-day state visit to India, his first to the country since becoming president ...

President Donald Trump’s foreign aid pause has forced a suspension of flights for more than 40,000 Afghans approved for special US visas and at risk of Taliban retribution, a leading advocate and a US official said on Saturday. Most of those stranded are in Afghanistan and the rest are in Pakistan , Qatar and Albania, said Shawn VanDiver, head of #AfghanEvac , the main coalition of veterans and advocacy groups working with the US government to evacuate and resettle Afghans who worked for the United States during the 20-year war . The stoppage was triggered by Trump’s order to halt foreign development aid for 90 days pending a review of efficiencies and consistency with his “ America First ” foreign policy. Experts and advocacy groups say the foreign aid pause has led to chaos in US and international aid operations and halted nutrition, health, vaccination and other programs. The order also triggered a suspension by the State Department of funds for groups that help Afghans with...

A track marshal was killed during the Hub Rally Autocross in Karachi when one of the cars lost control and hit him, dragging him into a ditch on Saturday. Rescue-1122 official Hassaan Khan told Dawn.com that the organisers of the Hub Car Rally organised the race on the Karachi motorway, near DHA City. “During the race, one car spun off the track and hit a volunteer traffic marshal named Danish, who was standing at a cabin to guide the drivers,” he said. Khan said that the car was moving so fast that it not only destroyed the cabin, but dragged the marshal into a ditch. The driver, identified as Tariq Khan, sustained minor injuries thanks to safety equipment in his vehicle, but the marshal suffered spinal and head injuries, according to Khan. “He was rescued and sent to the trauma centre at Civil Hospital Karachi, where he expired during treatment,” he added. from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/jhBJsdp

An officer of the Rescue 1122 service was arrested on Saturday in Punjab’s Mandi Bahauddin district in connection with a rape allegation made by a woman, according to police. Mandi Bahauddin District Emergency Officer Imran Khan confirmed the arrest as well as the suspect’s suspension in a video statement, noting that a complaint had been filed against a rescue and safety officer (RSO) of Rescue 1122 in Malakwal. “Our head office immediately initiated an inquiry and suspended him,” he said, adding that Rescue 1122 was coordinating with the law enforcement agencies. A first information report (FIR) was registered today against the suspect at Mandi Bahauddin’s Malakwal police station under section 376 (punishment for rape) of the Pakistan Penal Code . In the FIR, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com , the complainant stated that the suspect had been assaulting her for three years. The suspect also “blackmailed” her by offering employment in exchange for four tolas of gold, it a...

Authorities in India-occupied Jammu and Kashmir were investigating a mysterious disease that has claimed the lives of 17 people, local media reports said on Saturday. The deaths, including those of 13 children, have occurred in the remote village of Badhaal in Occupied Jammu’s Rajouri area since early December. The village was declared a containment zone earlier this week with around 230 people quarantined, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported. All of the fatalities had damage to the brain and nervous system, Amarjeet Singh Bhatia, who heads Rajouri’s government medical college, said. “The winter vacations have also been cancelled to deal with the medical alert situation,” PTI quoted Bhatia as saying. The victims were members of three related families. The federal government has launched an investigation with health minister Jitendra Singh saying an initial probe suggested the deaths were “not due to any infection, virus or bacteria but rather a toxin”. “There i...

Senior PPP leader Raza Rabbani denounced the National Assembly’s passage of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes (Amendment) bill on Friday, warning it would curtail freedom of expression, despite his party’s support for the legislation a day earlier. The National Assembly rushed the controversial amendments to the country’s cybercrime laws yesterday amid protests, with PTI lawmakers and journalists walking out of proceedings. PPP members had voiced their support during the voting. “The bill will further scuttle freedom of expression by setting up authorities under executive control,” Rabbani said in a statement released today. The bill, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com , proposed a new provision, Section 26(A), to Peca, to penalise perpetrators of “fake news” online, that said: “Whoever intentionally disseminates, publicly exhibits, or transmits any information through any information system, that he knows or has reason to believe to be false or fake and likely to cause o...

Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf were named in ICC Men’s ODI Team of the Year as the global cricketing body revealed its selection on Friday. Opening batter Saim Ayub was at the top of the ICC’s selection for his “breakout season” following his ODI debut in November against Australia, where he scored a combined 125 runs from three ODIs. Three of his last five innings have produced centuries, including two in South Africa in December, a three-match series that saw him average 78.3, ICC said. In his nine ODI appearances for Pakistan, the left-handed batter scored 515 runs at an average of 64.37 and a strike rate of 105.53. He also hit three tons and one fifty, while his highest score was 113. Earlier this month, Ayub was ruled out of competitive cricket for six weeks after the youngster fractured his ankle. However, he will not need surgery and will instead undergo rehab in London, the Pakistan Cricket Board confirmed last week. Pacer Afridi had a “big impact” despi...

PTI has decided to boycott the fourth round of talks with the government, a day after it announced that party founder Imran Khan issued directions to call off negotiations due to a delay over the formation of judicial commissions. The PTI and the government had been engaged in talks to bring down political temperatures. After two rounds of meetings, the third round was held seven days ago (Jan 16) in which the PTI formally presented its demands in writing. Despite weeks of negotiations , the dialogue process has hardly moved forward on major issues — the formation of judicial commissions and the release of PTI prisoners. On Monday, the government assured the PTI of a response to the opposition’s ‘charter of demands’ within seven working days after the party warned it would boycott the next round of talks if judicial commissions were not formed to probe the May 9 and November 26 incidents. National Assembly speaker Ayaz Sadiq has called the meeting for the fourth round, schedul...

Former premier Imran Khan said on Thursday that neither he nor his spouse Bushra Bibi benefited financially from the Al-Qadir Trust case, and that business tycoon Malik Riaz could testify that he was the only prime minister who “never sought anything from him for personal or financial gain.” Last week, Imran and Bushra were convicted in the £190m Al-Qadir Trust case in which Riaz and his son are also co-accused and proclaimed offenders . Following the conviction, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Tuesday swung into action against Riaz to bring him back to Pakistan from the United Arab Emirates. As PTI and legal experts pointed to the need for accountability for all those involved, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar had said a day ago that consultation was ongoing on how to bring the other absconders back. A post on X from Imran Khan’s account on Thursday said: “Neither Bushra Bibi nor I have financially benefited from the Al-Qadir Trust in any way. “Malik Riaz wi...

The Special Investment Facilitation Council’s (SIFC) Executive Committee on Thursday stressed the importance of close coordination and cooperation among relevant stakeholders to strengthen the country’s industrial sector, state-run Radio Pakistan reported . The SIFC is a committee that helps foreign investments, intending to improve the ease of doing business for investors and to attract investments from other countries. In May last year, the Pakistan Business Council (PBC) had advised the SIFC to focus on transforming the investment climate. PBC chief executive Ehsan Malik urged the council to address fragmentation and silo working of key ministries to ensure long-term predictability of policies. In September, four countries allocated $27 billion] 3 for investment by launching various mega projects in Pakistan under the SIFC framework. Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal chaired the committee’s 12th meeting in Islamabad yesterday. The ...

Space-based observational data can be used by health professionals to understand global health risks and to tailor recommendations for populations at increased risk of the impact of climate change, a recent study published in The Journal of Climate Change and Health shows. The research titled ‘Innovative use of space technologies to address climate change related global health crises’, led by Canadian physician Dr Farhan M Asrar references technologies such as Aura, DMSat-1, GOSAT, Landsat, MetOP, SciSat-1/ACE and the Sentinel series, which gather critical data about the Earth’s atmosphere, land and aquatic ecosystems. For instance, they monitor the atmosphere by collecting data on greenhouse emissions such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen dioxide and ozone. For observing aquatic ecosystems, they monitor chlorophyll and sea salinity and for terrestrial changes they keep track of vegetation. The paper suggests that the same data, obtained through technologies currently availabl...

Turkiye was preparing to bury its dead on Wednesday a day after a huge fire killed 76 people at a ski resort hotel, as questions grew over safety measures at the luxury establishment. Nine people have been detained, including the owner of the hotel, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said. As the nation observed a day of mourning, dozens of families were preparing to bury their loved ones who died as the blaze ripped through the 12-storey hotel. But alongside the grief, there was anger, with many newspapers publishing allegations of negligence at the mountaintop hotel in Kartalkaya, which lies about two hours northwest of Ankara. “It was not the fire but the negligence which was responsible for so many deaths,” said the pro-government Hurriyet newspaper. The fire, which began in the dead of night, struck at peak season for the Grand Kartal Hotel, which had 238 guests staying at the start of a two-week winter break. The hotel expressed deep sorrow in a statement on Wednesday and pl...

India is evaluating its choices to counter US President Donald Trump’s tariff threats to foes and allies alike, according to a Bloomberg report on Wednesday, which range from presenting a trade deal, cutting tariffs and importing more goods from the US. Citing people familiar with the matter, the report stated that the Modi-led government had mapped out several scenarios to counter steps the new US administration “may take to narrow India’s trade surplus with the US which was $35.3 billion for the year ended March 31”. The US was India’s largest trading partner for the period, according to data from India’s commerce ministry. “Among the options discussed, the government could buy more whiskey, steel and oil from the US,” Bloomberg said, adding that the officials also discussed decreasing import tariffs, with the list of likely products including “bourbon whiskey and farm goods like pecan nuts”. Oher proposals under consideration included reducing duties on goods imported fr...