Infinity Social Updates

A 4.7-magnitude earthquake was felt by residents of Karachi on Monday, while the first day of Eidul Fitr was being observed. According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), the earthquake was recorded 75 kilometres north of Karachi at 4:10pm and had a depth of 19km. A Dawn.com correspondent confirmed that there were no reports of damage so far. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said on its website the earthquake had a magnitude of 4.6, as opposed to a magnitude of 4.7 reported by the PMD. The USGS said the quake’s centre was located 65km east-southeast to Uthal in Balochistan and had a 10km depth. The earthquake struck at 4:10pm, according to the USGS as well. In June of last year, A 3.2-magnitude earthquake was also felt in several parts of the city. It was the third earthquake felt in the metropolis over a period of a few weeks. In May 2024, a 2.3-magnitude earthquake had jolted parts of the metropolis, including Gadap Town, Katohr and areas of Malir d...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a telephone conversation on Monday with the Chief Adviser of the Government of Bangladesh Professor Dr Muhammad Yunus, to extend his warm wishes and greetings on the occasion of Eid ul-Fitr, Radio Pakistan reported. In the years since the split between Pakistan and Bangladesh, Dhaka’s leaders — especially the ousted regime of Sheikh Hasina — stayed firmly in the Indian camp, preferring to maintain close ties with New Delhi and keeping Islamabad at arm’s length. However, ever since a popular uprising that saw Hasina’s government toppled in August of last year, with the disposed premier fleeing by helicopter to her old ally India, there has been a thaw in ties between the two capitals, with trade and bilateral relations seeing a marked improvement. “The prime minister expressed his satisfaction at the positive momentum in bilateral relations between the two countries, particularly in trade and travel,” the report said. It added that the two lead...

Billionaire Elon Musk on Sunday handed out million-dollar checks to two voters in Wisconsin and promised smaller payments to others who help elect a conservative candidate to the state’s top court in a closely watched election. The Tesla CEO, a top adviser to US President Donald Trump, handed out oversized checks at a rally in Green Bay as he sought to drum up enthusiasm for a state Supreme Court election that is already the most expensive judicial race in US history. Musk said he would also pay supporters $20 for every voter they recruit over the next two days. He said he was spending the money to raise awareness of a race in which liberal Susan Crawford seems to be running ahead of conservative Brad Schimel. “We actually are in serious danger of losing the election,” he said. “We’ve got to pull a rabbit out of a hat.” The April 1 contest will determine the ideological tilt of the state’s top court as it considers abortion rights, labor rights and possibly election rules. Techn...

Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry, during his state visit to the United Kingdom, attended a dinner on Sunday hosted by UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper in honour of visiting ministers and discussed a range of bilateral issues. Pakistan and the UK share a longstanding relationship characterised by historical ties, trade, and a significant Pakistani diaspora in the UK. In 2024, Pakistan was the kingdom’s 51st largest trade partner, while the UK ranked as Pakistan’s third-largest, following China and the United States. The UK also stands as the third-largest source of remittance inflows to Pakistan, trailing only Saudi Arabia and the UAE. During the event, Chaudhry held discussions with Cooper on various bilateral matters, focusing on strengthening cooperation between the two countries. Today, the minister is set to hold key meetings with the UK Home Secretary and interior ministers from other countries, where topics such as effective border management, prevention of illega...

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has compiled profiles of 1,987 individuals involved in terrorist activities in order to develop a comprehensive database of terrorists and their sympathisers under the recently unveiled Provincial Action Plan against terrorism. The 84-point action plan was unveiled during a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur here on Wednesday. Minutes of the meeting, a copy of which is available with Dawn , revealed that the participants discussed unrolling of the action plan, coordinated efforts to uproot terrorism, fostering trust between people and state and upgrading police equipment. The home and tribal affairs department will take the lead in the monitoring and execution of the plan besides serving as a nerve centre for its coordination, according to the minutes. Initiative comes under Provincial Action Plan against terrorism Officials informed the forum that under the action plan to dismantle the terrorism ecosystem, 609 p...

A brokerage firm, in its note, confirmed that 2025 was the second-best Ramazan for the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) returns since 2015. Arif Habib Limited highlighted that the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded a 5.2 per cent return during Ramazan in 2025. The bull run during the month was majorly attributed to the staff-level agreement (SLA) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in addition to the government’s circular debt resolution plan, where media reports suggested that significant progress had been made and the government was working to reduce electricity prices. The market rebounded, mainly driven by the SLA reached following the first review under the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility, paving the way for releasing the second tranche of $1.1bn. A new 28-month $1.3bn arrangement under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) was also reached. Pakistan’s GDP grew by 1.73 per cent year-on-year in 2QFY25, while GDP growth for 1HFY25 stood at 1.54pc compared to 2.3...

Elon Musk’s xAI acquired X in a deal that valued the social media platform at $33 billion and allowed the value of his artificial intelligence firm to be shared with his co-investors in the company formerly known as Twitter. The deal could also help xAI’s ability to train its chatbot known as Grok. “xAI and X’s futures are intertwined,” Musk, who also heads automaker Tesla and SpaceX, wrote in a post on X: “Today, we officially take the step to combine the data, models, compute, distribution and talent.” He said the combination values “xAI at $80bn and X at $33bn ($45bn less $12bn debt)”. Representatives for X and xAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Much of the deal’s specifics remain unclear, such as how X’s leaders would be integrated in the new firm or whether there would be regulatory scrutiny. Musk, the world’s wealthiest man, is also a close ally of US President Donald Trump and heads the Department of Government Efficiency. Saudi Arabian investor Princ...

Tens of thousands of people gathered in Istanbul on Saturday to protest against the jailing of Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, President Tayyip Erdogan’s main rival, sustaining the largest demonstrations Turkiye has seen in more than a decade. Hundreds of thousands have heeded opposition calls and taken to the streets nationwide since Imamoglu was detained last week and then jailed pending trial on graft charges. Protests have been mostly peaceful, but nearly 2,000 people have been detained . The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), other opposition parties, rights groups and Western powers have all said the case against Imamoglu is a politicised effort to eliminate a potential electoral threat to Erdogan. The government denies any influence over the judiciary and says the courts are independent. Tens of thousands of people waving Turkish flags and banners poured into the sea-front rally grounds at Maltepe on the Asian side of Istanbul for Saturday’s “Freedom for Imamoglu” rally...

A fire erupted near an oil refinery in Karachi’s Korangi and efforts to extinguish it were under way, a statement by Rescue 1122 said on Saturday. According to the statement, a fire broke out in a gas pipeline near the refinery. “More than 20 fire brigade trucks from Rescue 1122, KMC and PRL are participating in the fire extinguishing process,” it added. Sindh Rehabilitation Minister Makhdoom Mehboub Zaman instructed Rescue 1122 Director General (DG) Abid Jalaluddin Sheikh to remain in constant touch with his staff. Zaman said that Rescue 1122 and Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) personnel were continuously working to control the fire. View this post on Instagram A statement issued by the Edhi Foundation said that an ambulance and volunteers were present on the site. No casualties were reported in the incident. Fire incidents are common in the metropolis due to the absence of adequate fire safety measures in buildings. ...

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has once again drawn controversy and backlash over his new tattoo which spells ‘ kafir ’ (infidel), which many say is Islamophobic, Turkish outlet TRT World reported on Friday. Hegseth posted pictures on his X account where he joined the US Navy’s SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team One at a base in Pearl Harbour in Hawaii on Wednesday. One of the pictures showed a new tattoo on his arm that reads ‘ kafir ’, which according to TRT World is the Arabic word for infidel or disbeliever. Activists and experts have argued that the tattoo is an Islamophobic symbol from the man overseeing the US military. “Hegseth just got a kafir tattoo under his Deus Vult tattoo — a Crusader slogan. This isn’t just a personal choice; it’s a clear symbol of Islamophobia from the man overseeing US wars,” Nerdeen Kiswani, a Palestinian activist, said on X. “’ Kafir ’” has been weaponised by far-right Islamophobes to mock and vilify Muslims,“ she added. “It’s not about his p...

In the wake of rising insurgency across Balochistan, the government on Friday emphasised that the option of dialogue — through which terrorism in the province can be addressed — has always been offered, even allowing the opposition members to participate in the process. Balochistan faces a spate of attacks targeting the police and security forces, and in some cases, civilians hailing from Punjab. A press conference by the Balochistan government was held in Quetta today by spokesperson Shahid Rind and provincial ministers Mir Shoaib Nosherwani and Zahoor Ahmed Buledi. Nosherwani acknowledged the recent “wave of terrorism” in Balochistan, saying: “These are unconventional incidents, so they must be dealt with in an unconventional manner through a new strategy. “Intelligence input, consensus from the people, and public support is important,” Nosherwani added. Nosherwani admitted that concerns about Balochistan are frequently brought up at various forums, particularly about “bad g...

Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday said that the government was committed to regulating sugar prices and monitoring its supply to ensure market stability, state-owned Radio Pakistan reported . Contrary to the rates announced by the prime minister as well as several attempts by the government to maintain retail sales at Rs130 per kilogramme, sugar prices in the markets continue to soar above Rs180 per kg in various markets across the country. Previously, the deputy prime minister had cautioned that retail sugar prices should not exceed Rs164. However, despite Dar’s warning, consumers continued to pay high prices for sugar — with the average national price of sugar in various cities hovering between Rs164-180 per kg. While chairing a meeting in Islamabad, he expressed his resolve on the prevailing sugar crisis in the country, according to the report. During the meeting, he reviewed compliance with the committee’s agreement reached earlier, expressing his “satisfaction with...

Israel’s defence minister on Friday threatened Beirut after rocket fire from Lebanon, rattling an already fragile truce that had largely ended more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah. “If there is no quiet in Kiryat Shmona and the Galilee communities, there will be no quiet in Beirut either,” said defence chief Israel Katz , referring to the northern towns towards which the rockets were launched. Israel’s military said in a statement on Friday morning that two “projectiles” were launched from Lebanon towards Israel. One was intercepted, it said, while the other fell in Lebanese territory. It was the second time rockets were fired from Lebanon since the November ceasefire brought an end to the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, though Israel has continued to conduct occasional strikes in Lebanon’s south despite the truce. “The Lebanese government bears direct responsibility for any fire toward the Galilee,” Katz said. Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli strike in...

A station house officer (SHO) and his colleagues remained unharmed when their vehicle was caught in an explosion in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur area on Thursday, police confirmed. Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities over the past year, especially in KP and Balochistan, after the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022. Bajaur District Police Officer (DPO) Waqas Rafique told Dawn.com that the explosion targeted a vehicle belonging to Khar police station SHO Rashid Ahmed near Tang Khatta Pul, adding that no casualties were reported in the explosion. “Police are at the scene and security has been tightened,” DPO Rafique said. “The bomb was planted at the side of the road and heavily damaged the SHO’s vehicle. “Checking has been tightened at the entry and exit points of Bajaur and an investigation has been launched,” the DPO added. Separately, the police disarmed an improvised explosive device (IED) plan...

Two people were killed and 17 others injured after an explosion occurred near a police vehicle in the Barech Market area on Quetta’s Double Road, officials said. Confirming the deaths, Balochistan’s health department spokesperson Dr Waseem Baig said, “The injured have been moved to the trauma centre at Civil Hospital.” Civil Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Abdul Hadi Kakar told Dawn.com that the condition of four wounded people is critical. Balochistan Government Spokesperson Shahid Rind said in a statement that the explosion occurred near a police vehicle, adding that the nature of the blast was being determined. A Dawn.com correspondent present at the site of the incident also said that a police vehicle was hit by the explosion. Last week, a member of the Anti-Terrorist Force (ATF) was martyred and six others were injured —three of them critically— when a roadside bomb targeted a police vehicle on Quetta’s Brewery Road. The security situation in Balochistan has deteriorate...

New Zealand stumper-batsman Tom Latham was ruled out of the one-day series against Pakistan with a hand injury on Thursday leaving Michael Bracewell to continue as the side’s captain. With regular white-ball captain Mitchell Santner busy in the Indian Premier League, Bracewell led New Zealand to a 4-1 victory in a T20 series against Pakistan. Latham was due to lead New Zealand in the three-match ODI series beginning in Napier on Saturday, but he fractured his hand while batting in the nets and will require at least four weeks to recover, the New Zealand Cricket (NZC) said in a statement. Opener Will Young, meanwhile, will miss the last two ODIs to be with his wife as they await the birth of their first child. “It’s obviously disappointing to lose Tom as captain on the eve of the series and we wish him a speedy recovery,” New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said. “The side is in safe hands with Michael, who’s done a great job through the T20I series.” Henry Nicholls will retur...

An “unprecedented” mass bleaching event has been recorded off Australia’s western coast, scientists said on Wednesday, turning huge chunks of a celebrated reef system a sickly dull white. A months-long marine heatwave had “cooked” the sprawling Ningaloo Reef, ocean scientist Kate Quigley said, part of a world heritage-listed marine park renowned for vibrant corals and migrating whale sharks. Although environment officials were still verifying the scale of damage, data collected by Quigley and a team of scientists found it was on track to be the reef’s worst mass-bleaching event in years. “Warm oceans have just cooked the corals this year,” Quigley told AFP . “It wouldn’t be amiss to throw in the word ‘unprecedented’. “It has gone deep, it’s not just the top of the reef that is bleaching. Many different species of coral are bleaching.” Branching through shallow waters along Australia’s western coast, the 300-kilometre Ningaloo Reef is one of the largest “fringing reefs” in the...

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) said on Wednesday that authorities in the United Kingdom have still not decided whether they would lift the flight ban on the airline. The statement comes amid reports that the flight ban on the national flag carrier had been extended. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and UK authorities had suspended permission for PIA to operate in the region in June 2020 after Pakistan began investigating the validity of pilots’ licenses following a deadly plane crash that killed 97 people. The ban on PIA operating in the EU was lifted] 4 by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in November last year, which was a prerequisite for approval from the UK Department of Transportation (DfT) to allow PIA to resume its flights to the UK. A delegation of the UK’s DfT had visited Pa­­­kistan to evaluate aviation saf­ety sta­n­dards in February as well. “No announcement has been made by the UK DfT nor has any letter been received,” the statement by th...

The government said on Wednesday the country’s GDP growth rate was 1.73 per cent in the second quarter of the current financial year ending on June 30 and upgraded its estimate for the previous quarter. The government’s National Accounts Committee said in a statement that Pakistan had revised the first quarter real GDP estimate up to 1.34pc from earlier estimates of 0.92pc due to higher-than-expected growth in the services sector. The announcement came just hours after International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff reached a deal with the government for new $1.3 billion financing and praised the country’s progress on boosting macroeconomic stability. The country’s central bank said its full-year GDP growth target was 2.5pc to 3.5pc and that it expected economic activity to gain further momentum. Arif Habib Limited. in a report, noted that economy continued “to move forward, demonstrating resilience despite sectoral variations”, attributing it to NAC’s latest GDP figures. It highlight...

LAHORE: Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Monday sacked the principal and the medical superintendent of another major health facility in Lahore mainly over non-availability of medicines. During a visit to the Jinnah Hospital, the CM expressed her severe indignation over the complaints of some patients for being deprived of medicines despite their [purported] ‘availability’ in the store of the facility. Following their complaints, she ordered removal of Jinnah Hospital principal Prof Asghar Naqi and medical superintendent (MS) Prof Kashif Jahangir from their posts. Early this month, the CM had removed Mayo Hospital Lahore chief executive officer (CEO) Dr Asghar Nauman and MS Prof Dr Faisal Masood from their posts on complaints of some patients regarding the non-availability of medicines, besides poor treatment and sanitation conditions. A video clip showing the CM snubbing Prof Masood had drawn widespread criticism for “public humiliation” of a senior doctor, with some suggesting she...

Police on Tuesday claimed to have arrested a suspect involved in the assault and attempted murder of an eight-year-old girl in Mansehra’s Battal area. According to an official, the police arrested a suspect identified by the victim, who had gone missing a day before the incident. Battal Station House Officer (SHO) Shujat Hussain Shah, told Dawn.com : “On March 19, the victim’s father complained about his missing eight-year-old daughter, which led us to conduct a search operation. “We found her injured and unconscious the next day — March 20 — at a place where she was dumped under rocks,” he said. The official said the police had shifted the girl to the hospital, where she regained consciousness after four days. “Based on the girl’s account, we continued our investigation until we caught the suspect identified by the victim,” Shah said. According to the SHO, the accused had been arrested and he confessed to the crime in his initial statement. The official added that the victim, i...

AL AHSA (Saudi Arabia): When Stephen Constantine was appointed Pakistan’s head coach almost 18 months ago, he was clear in his mind that the target for his side should be realistically aiming to qualify for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup . A historic victory over Cambodia paved the way for Pakistan’s place in the third round of the Asian Cup qualifiers for the first time with Constantine and his charges opening their campaign in Group ‘E’ against much-fancied Syria on Tuesday. The group winner gets a spot at the tournament in Saudi Arabia with Myanmar and Afghanistan the other teams in the section. Pakistan face a tall order if they are to qualify for the Asian Cup and there has been little change to the dynamics of the sport in the country since Constantine first arrived. The Englishman had pleaded for a domestic league to begin in order to provide local players regular competition but once again, he will have players who have had little action on the pitch apart from training sessi...

Punjab police on Monday arrested three suspects for allegedly gang-raping a woman in Lahore, according to a statement by the police. “The suspects were arrested within 2 hours of being reported,” the Punjab police statement said, adding that three were arrested while raids were underway to apprehend the fourth suspect. Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Operations Faisal Kamran is personally supervising all proceedings of the case, the statement added. A case was registered against the suspects under section 375A (gang rape) of the Pakistan Penal Code, at Chung police station, the statement said. “One of the suspects called the victim to Lahore from Sahiwal and made her stay at his relatives’ house,” the statement quoted DIG Kamran as saying. “According to the initial investigation, the suspects assaulted the victim for two consecutive days,” DIG Kamran said. The victim is being provided with full legal and medical assistance, the DIG added. “The suspects involved in the hei...

One person was killed and another suffered injuries on Monday when gunshots were fired outside an Islamabad district court, police officials said. “Police officials are at the scene. One person has died and one was injured in the shooting,” said a post on X by the Islamabad Police at 1:04pm. “According to initial investigations, the incident occurred due to personal enmity. Further investigation into the incident is underway,” the police said. “Police teams are conducting search operations to arrest the accused,” the police added. from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/XU2bK0c

The situation in Quetta returned to normal on Sunday — a day after a partial shutdown — while a shutter-down strike continued for a second day in some cities across Balochistan in response to the Baloch Yakjehti Committee’s (BYC) call, which demanded the release of its leadership. The strike follows the arrests of BYC chief organiser Dr Mahrang Baloch and 16 other activists from their protest camp at Quetta’s Sariab Road as well as a police crackdown on its sit-in against alleged enforced disappearances. Mahrang had been leading the protest against the arrests of BYC activist Bebarg Baloch, his brother, and Bolan Medical College Vice Principal Dr Ilyas Baloch and his family members. Dr Ilyas and his relatives have been released . The participants were also protesting against the alleged burial of 13 bodies without identification. The strike call had been issued after the BYC claimed on Friday that three of its protesters were killed by blank shots allegedly fired by the police....

Pakistan’s special envoy for Afghanistan, Ambassador Muhammad Sadiq Khan on Sunday said that peace and progress in Afghanistan were necessary for regional stability. Speaking as a guest of honour for the flag-hoisting ceremony at the Pakistani embassy in Kabul on Pakistan Day, the envoy emphasised that his country and Afghanistan’s economic interests were intrinsically linked with one another. Earlier, the envoy had met Afghanistan’s Acting Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi in Kabul, where they vowed to sustain their diplomatic engagement to address ongoing bilateral challenges, including trade, security and the status of Afghan refugees in Pakistan. “Pakistan and Afghanistan must synergise their efforts to foster regional economic development,” he said, adding that the neighbouring country remained “one of the most important regional partners of Pakistan”. A significant development in trade relations is the reopening of the Torkham border after a 27-day closure. The cro...

China’s number two leader on Sunday called for “dialogue” with Washington, during a meeting in Beijing attended by prominent US business executives and a key congressional ally of President Donald Trump. Relations between the world’s two largest economies have plunged in recent weeks, as blanket tariffs imposed by Trump threaten China’s trade prospects. Premier Li Qiang’s comments came during a meeting with Trump supporter Steve Daines, a Republican senator from Montana. His visit has been viewed as a bid to ease strained relations, with an eye toward setting up a summit between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. “Our two sides need to choose dialogue over confrontation, win-win cooperation over zero-sum competition,” Li told Daines. CEOs of major firms including FedEx, Pfizer and Qualcomm were also present. Li said he hoped Washington would “work together with China to promote the steady, sound and sustainable development” of relations. Earlier on Sunday, Li told the ...