Infinity Social Updates

Doors are not yet closed on all-rounder Shadab Khan to make a comeback in the Pakistan side ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup, skipper Salman Ali Agha said on Saturday. Shadab last featured for the national side back in June during the T20I series against Bangladesh before an injury ruled him out. Since then, Pakistan have found their main all-rounder in Mohammad Nawaz, who has starred with both bat and ball across past six months as the team won a tri-series in the UAE before making it to the Asia Cup final. On Saturday, Pakistan won another tri-series, this time at home, after beating Sri Lanka clinically in Rawalpindi — the match seeing Nawaz take three wickets to turn the game around for the hosts. Apart from Nawaz, opener Saim Ayub has also consolidated his role as Pakistan’s impactful spin option while Abrar Ahmed and Usman Tariq have announced themselves as worthy specialists. Salman, however, didn’t rule out the possibility of Shadab’s return when the teams flies out to S...

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Sunday said that the notification regarding the Chief of Defence Forces’ (CDF) appointment will be issued “in due course of time”, the process for which had started. “There is unnecessary and irresponsible speculation about CDF notification. Please be informed that the process has been initiated. PM is returning shortly. Notification will be issued in due course of time. No room for any conjecturing. Period!” Asif said in a post on social media platform X. The CDF position , created under the 27th Constitutional Ame­nd­ment, replaced the now-abolished office of the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, which formally ended on Nov 27. Officials and observers had expected the new notification to coincide with the abolition of the CJCSC post, but November 29 was seen as a critical marker being the date on which the original three-year tenure of the incumbent Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Field Marshal Asim Munir , was set to expire. Asif’s s...

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Sunday slammed the sisters of Imran Khan for giving an interview to Indian media. Last week, Imran’s sisters had camped outside Adiala Jail, where the PTI founder is currently incarcerated , along with other PTI members after being denied a meeting. According to the PTI, Aleema Khan, Dr Uzma Khan and Noreen were “sitting peacefully” outside the jail when they were manhandled and “violently detained” by police. “These three sisters of Imran Ahmed Niazi sahib , on May 9 they were also present at the Core Commander’s House,” he said, but added that until now they had not been told not to “cry victimisation”. “If you ask my legal opinion, their presence is proof … They were there on May 9, they brought groups there and it is visible in the cameras that all three are present there,” Tarar said. “The drama being made today — there is a reason for that.” He said that the foreign policy success after Marka-i- Haq was not being digested well by the ...

Dear Auntie, I am writing to seek advice as I am quite frustrated. I have always been close to my mother as, growing up, I was very lonely. I was shy and got bullied at school. Let’s just say my childhood ended early. We’ve always tried our best to be open and keep a healthy relationship, but communication started getting harder for me the more I grew up. Now, I am 16 and we fight a lot. I know this is mostly because our opinions differ greatly. My family has always been religious and stubborn with certain rules. My brother and I share different values and beliefs from our families, which is hard for them to grasp. Despite the differences, I want to get along with my mother and to compromise on things peacefully. I feel my relationship with her is only getting worse and one major reason for my chronic stress and anxiety is my declining relationship with my mother. I see myself becoming more and more like my father every day, unable to control my irritability and temper. I am scar...

The Supreme Court, in a case concerning the custodial death of a citizen, upheld that the state has a duty to protect the ‘right to life’ of citizens and to prevent custodial violence and killings, it emerged on Saturday. The case pertains to the custodial killing of Zaryab Khan, who was detained in 2020 in Punjab’s Dera Ghazi Khan, and later died in police custody. It was alleged that two officials of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) tortured the detainee and caused his custodial death. They were later acquitted by a criminal court but were dismissed from service over misconduct by the regional police officer. Subsequently, they filed an appeal with the SC, arguing that the dismissal is “baseless” if they have been acquitted in the case. In a seven-page judgment, authored by Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, SC dismissed the petitions and upheld the earlier ruling. “The Constitution imposes a duty upon the State to protect the right to life of every citizen and to prevent custod...

Global airlines scrambled on Saturday to fix a software glitch on their Airbus A320 jets as a recall by the European planemaker temporarily grounded aircraft in Asia and Europe and threatened travel in the United States during the busiest weekend of the year. The recall of 6,000 planes, covering more than half of Airbus’ global A320-family fleet, is among the broadest in its 55-year history and is a blow for the planemaker weeks after the A320 overtook the Boeing 737 as the most-delivered model. Airlines worked through the night to make fixes after Airbus issued the emergency recall to 350 operators around the world, and global regulators directed carriers to remedy the software problem before resuming flights. That appeared to help head off the worst-case scenario and capped the number of flight delays in Asia and Europe early on Saturday. The US will face high travel demand later in the day after the Thanksgiving holiday period. “It’s not as chaotic as some people might think,” ...

Noor Zaman staged a stunning 3-2 victory over compatriot Hamza Khan to retain his title at the Chief of Air Staff (CAS) Serena Hotel International Squash Championship in a battle of the junior world champions. Hamza dominated the first two sets 11-9, 11-7 before second seed Noor flipped the script and took the next three games 11-7, 11-4, 11-8 to win the final and retain his title at the Mushaf Squash Complex on Friday. Noor kept his cool as he began his comeback in the third game before demolishing Hamza in the fourth. The final remained relatively smooth-sailing as both players accepted the referee’s rulings and kept arguments to a minimum. Noor dominated the first set with a massive 6-1 lead over Hamza before he scored another point, only for Noor to switch gears and take the score to 9-2. Hamza was inching his way back to victory at 8-10 when Noor won the game and match, dropping his racket and throwing his hands in the air in celebration. The two embraced in a long hug an...

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Friday published for the first time directives to improve the prevention, detection and treatment of infertility, which affects millions across the globe. “One in six people worldwide experience infertility during their lifetime,” said Pascale Allotey, the global health body’s head of sexual and reproductive health. “The condition affects individuals and couples across all regions and income levels. “And yet access to safe and affordable care remains highly inequitable.” Allotey told reporters that the issue of infertility had been neglected “for far too long”. The new guide would provide a “unified, evidence-based foundation” to ensure care is safe, effective and accessible for all, she added. According to the WHO, infertility is a condition of the male and female reproductive system, defined as the inability to achieve pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual relations. The situation can lead to major distress, stig...

A court in Bangladesh sentenced ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday to 21 years in prison for corruption, a week after she was given the death penalty for crimes against humanity. Hasina, 78, is currently residing in India and has defied court orders that she return to Bangladesh. She was sentenced in absentia on November 17 to be hanged for crimes against humanity after ordering a deadly crackdown against a student-led uprising last year that eventually ousted her. But three other cases had been brought against the ex-leader by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) over land grabs of lucrative plots in a suburb of the capital Dhaka. Hasina received seven years’ imprisonment in each of the three cases, Dhaka Tribune reported. Several other accused were also handed varying prison terms, it added. It is unclear if the sentences will run concurrently. Hasina’s conduct “demonstrates a persistent corruption mindset rooted in entitlement, unchecked power, and a greed...

Lawyers held a protest march in Karachi on Wednesday, demanding “immediate” steps for the protection and preservation of the Karoonjhar Mountain range. Located in Tharparkar , the mountain range rises to a height of 305 metres and runs approximately 19 kilometres in length. Karoonjhar alsi has economic significance for the local people as it is rich in minerals and plants having medicinal value. The Sindh High Court Bar Association had announced a protest today, calling for the preservation of the mountain range, and planned to march from the Sindh High Court to the Chief Minister House. However, the protesters were barred from reaching the CM House due to the placement of containers to block the routes leading to the building. The measure also created inconvenience for the commuters who asked by the traffic police in multiple advisories to travel on alternative routes. Police personnel were also deployed in the area. The SHCBA protesters, meanwhile, gathered at PIDC Chowk, where ...

The Foreign Office (FO) on Wednesday expressed “grave concern” over a United Nations (UN) report that observed systemic human rights violations in India-occupied Kashmir. UN experts on Monday raised the alarm over “serious human rights violations” in Indian-occupied Kashmir by the government of India in the aftermath of a terror attack in Pahalgam in April this year, for which Delhi blamed Islamabad without any evidence. A press release issued by the FO today said, “Pakistan notes with grave concern the latest findings by the United Nations Special Procedures experts regarding India’s illegal measures in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).” It said that the report “once again underscores the severe and systematic human rights violations endured by the Kashmiri people under Indian occupation”. It noted “with alarm” the UN experts’ observations that India’s actions had resulted in the “extensive arbitrary arrest and detention of nearly 2,800 individuals, includ...

Jeena Wada Khilafi Hai By Ghazi Salahuddin Aaj Publications ISBN: 978-969-648-128-7 194pp. Stories are ubiquitous and take on many forms. Even the stories themselves have their own accounts — detailing how they came to be, sometimes shared in an instant and, in other instances, forgotten only to be revived later. Occasionally, the story of stories proves to be more captivating than the stories themselves. Ghazi Salahaddin, a distinguished journalist and social activist, has recently released his first collection of Urdu short stories, titled Jeena Wada Khilafi Hai [Living is Against the Pledge]. The story behind this book is just as intriguing as the 10 stories it contains. These stories were penned in the 1950s, nearly 70 years ago, and were featured in esteemed literary magazines such as Adab-i-Lateef [Light Literature] and Naya Daur [New Era]. However, the stories faded into obscurity, even forgotten by the author himself. He ceased writing stories. Why? Ghazi sahib addres...

Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry refuted allegations by the Afghan Taliban on Tuesday that Pakistan had conducted overnight strikes in Afghanistan, state media reported. The statement by the head of the military’s media wing came hours after the Afghan Taliban spokesperson accused Pakistan of attacks in Khost, Kunar and Paktika provinces. According to state broadcaster Pakistan TV , the military spokesperson refuted the claims of conducting strikes inside Afghanistan. “Pakistan Army has not attacked civilians inside Afghanistan,” it quoted him as saying. “Whenever Pakistan attacks someone, it announces it,” he said, adding that Pakistan never attacked civilians, according to local media . “In our view, there are no good and bad Taliban,” he said, adding that there was “no distinction” between terrorists. “The Taliban government should make decisions as a state, not as non-state actors,” said Gen Chaudhry. H...

Pakistan’s atmosphere is “almost clear” of the ash plume from a volcanic eruption in Ethiopia, Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) spokesperson Anjum Nazeer Zaighum said on Tuesday, adding that the ash cloud was now present over parts of India. The Hayli Gubbi volcano, located in Ethiopia’s Afar region about 800 kilometres northeast of Addis Ababa near the Eritrean border, erupted for several hours two days ago. The eruption sent a column of ash and smoke rising nearly 45,000 feet into the atmosphere. The dangerous ash plume from the eruption had drifted across the Red Sea and disrupted operations on one of the world’s busiest air routes. By Monday, the plume had spread east over Yemen and Oman and was tracking toward the airspace of Pakistan and India, forcing airlines to cancel flights or fly costly detours. The Met Office spokesperson said the ash plume was first detected in Pakistan about 60 nautical miles south of Gwadar around 10am on Monday. Zaigham said the ash plume r...

Among the many problems Pakistan faces, including security challenges and climate change, is unchecked population growth . Already home to over 241.5 million people, Pakistan’s population is projected to surpass 300 million within five years and approach 400 million by 2050. Data compiled by research organisation Population Council , UK Aid and the United Nations Population Fund shows the average annual growth rate — based on data from 2017 to 2023 — is 2.55 per cent, resulting in the population of 241.5 million, making Pakistan the fifth most populous country in the world. The consequences of this growth are visible across every sector, such as malnutrition and a demand for jobs, infrastructure and healthcare that cannot be kept up with. Here are some statistics from across the country. National The total fertility rate, defined as the average number of children a woman has during her reproductive age, is 3.6, which is the highest amongst countries in South Asia. This high ferti...

The Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) has issued a tender to purchase 100,000 tonnes of rice for supply to Bangladesh, it emerged on Monday. After decades of troubled relations, Islamabad and Dhaka have seen improved ties and increased bilateral engagement since the August 2024 ouster of ex-premier Sheikh Hasina. The deadline for submission of price offers is 11:30am on November 28, according to the TCP tender issued on November 20, which was seen by Dawn . The tender invites “separate sealed bids” from companies, partnerships and sole proprietors for buying 100,000 tonnes of long grain white rice ( IRRI-6 ) “for export to Bangladesh in the shape of break bulk cargo” through Karachi ports. Price offers have to be valid for 21 working days after submission. The rice must be available for shipment within 45 days after the contract award. The bids shall be submitted for a minimum quantity of 25,000 tonnes, or multiples thereof, and a maximum quantity of 100,000 tonnes, +/- 5 pe...

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Monday approved Rs25 billion for the reconstruction of 315 internal streets and 60 major roads across Karachi while ordering the proper installation of streetlights throughout the metropolis. Karachi’s road networks have been in shambles with thoroughfares riddled with potholes, posing serious dangers to commuters across the city, particularly after the latest spell of rains . According to a statement by CM Sindh’s spokesperson, Abdul Rashid Channa, a meeting on the reconstruction of Karachi’s roads and streets was chaired by CM Murad today. Minister for Local Government Nasir Shah, Mayor Karachi Murtaza Wahab, Chief Secretary Asif Haider Shah, Principal Secretary Agha Wasif, Senior Member Board of Revenue Khalid Haider Shah, among others, also participated. “After heavy rains, Karachi’s roads are in a state of disrepair,” CM Murad was quoted as saying. “Mega projects are underway, causing traffic problems. I want development work to be a...

RECENTLY, I attended the press conference for the Adab Festival, an event that features prominently on the nation’s cultural and literary calendar. I’m always glad to see regional and provincial languages promoted at our literary festivals, and this year at Adab, one of the languages of Gilgit-Baltistan — Burushaski to be precise — was included in a mushaira in which poets Ahmed Ali Jan and Qamar Kazmi participated. This inclusion resonated with me this year because I’ve been teaching expository writing at the AKU’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences this semester, and many of my students come from Gilgit-Baltistan, Chitral, Hunza, Kohistan. They’ve left their homes up in the mountains to seek knowledge in the big bad city of Karachi, but they’re also educating everyone here about themselves, their land, culture, norms and values, and their dreams and hopes for the future. At first I had no idea of Gilgit-Baltistan’s Buddhist history, or how Sufi preachers brought Islam to Baltistan from P...

A United Nations wildlife trade body decided on Sunday not to restrict India from importing endangered animals, after many countries supported reversing an earlier, stringent recommendation that had embroiled the private zoo run by Asia’s richest family. Vantara , a 3,500-acre zoo in Gujarat run by the philanthropic arm of the Reliance conglomerate led by Mukesh Ambani and his family, had faced allegations from non-profit and wildlife groups of improper imports of some animals, triggering higher scrutiny by Germany and the European Union. After visiting the facility in September, the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cities) issued a report this month asking India to “not issue any further import permits” as discrepancies had been found between exporter and importer trade data, and there were insufficient checks on the origin of some animals. At the Cities meeting in Uzbekistan, live-streamed on Sunday, the recomme...

Pakistan and the European Union (EU) have underlined the importance of further deepening trade and investment ties, including through the EU’s GSP+ scheme, as a driver for sustainable growth, export diversification, job creation and mutually beneficial economic opportunity, the Foreign Office (FO) said on Saturday. The development came as 7th Strategic Dialogue between Pakistan and the EU was convened in Brussels. The meeting was co-chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and EU’s chief diplomat Kaja Kallas. The GSP+ status allows Pakistan to enjoy duty-free or minimum duty on European exports. According to the FO, the meeting provided a “comprehensive review” of the full spectrum of Pakistan-EU relations, “building on the positive momentum of recent high-level engagements and sustained institutional interactions”. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to a “broad-based, multidimensional and forward-looking partnership anchored in shared values, the UN...

The PTI on Saturday issued specific instructions to its polling agents and workers for the by-election scheduled for tomorrow in Lahore’s NA-129 constituency. The by-election is being held after the seat fell vacant in July following the death of PTI MNA Mian Azhar, the father of party leader Hammad Azhar. Hammad issued “important instructions” for his party’s polling agents in a post on X today: “When the bags containing election materials are opened in the morning, make sure that the Forms 45 and Forms 46 in them are blank and shown to you. This is most important.” The PTI leader stressed the importance of the polling agents’ presence during the polling and the counting processes. “The polling boxes must not be out of sight at any moment.” Hammad further told the agents that it was their “right to obtain the Form-45 [filled] as per the count”, and that any staff who obstructed this would be liable to strict legal punishment. He directed all PTI workers at the party camps outsid...

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi on Friday announced a “new reward” for the upcoming Pakistan Super League (PSL) edition set to be held in April 2026. “Complementing the Pakistan Super League’s growth, I am thrilled to announce a new reward for franchises in the forthcoming editions,” Naqvi said on X. The champions will take home $500,000 — the same as the 2025 edition — while the runner-up team will take home $300,000, which is an increase of the previous year’s $200,000 reward. Additionally, a $200,000 reward will be given to the “best franchise contributing towards cricket development. Separately, PCB announced on Friday that the auction for the two new PSL franchise teams will take place on 6 January, 2026, while the decision for which cities have been shortlisted will be made after December 15. “This marks a significant milestone in the league’s continued expansion and its commitment to expanding its footprint across Pakistan,” the board said of the d...

Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb on Friday said she was “honoured” that members of the US Congressional Pakistan Caucus have recognised the provincial chief minister’s “bold vision” to mechanise brick kilns, end bonded labour and “peshgi” exploitation, and build a green, ethical and “investment-ready” brick kiln industry. Peshgi system is the commonly used term for the practice of debt bondage in Pakistan. Instead of just seeking wages in exchange for labour, poor workers take an advance from an employer (in cash or any other form) under the obligation to work for that employer until the debt is paid off. “Child labour at kilns, once a painful reality, was eliminated under a campaign initiated by [then chief minister] Shehbaz Sharif, neglected for [four] years, and now fully revived and strengthened by CM Maryam Nawaz,” Aurangzeb said in a post on X. The senior minister’s post highlighted that all brick kilns across Punjab have been geo-mapped, QR-coded, drone-surve...