Infinity Social Updates

Originally published on May 9, 2024. “ISPR sahib , listen to me carefully. Respect is not [confined] to a single institution; respect should be for every single citizen,” thundered then-PTI chief Imran Khan in a video released a little after 11am before departing for the Islamabad High Court on May 9 last year. Policemen escort former prime minister Imran Khan as he arrives at the high court in Islamabad on May 12. — Aamir Qureshi/AFP/File Hours later, he was arrested in the Al Qadir Trust case . The case was irrelevant to his supporters and the development was expected — nevertheless, Imran Khan was “a red line” and so, protests erupted almost immediately. But within hours, they turned into riots that lasted more than 24 hours across Pakistan. When the smoke from torched vehicles and tear gas finally cleared, condemnations poured in and a chase ensued. Nearly 500 first information reports were registered. Thousands were arrested, of whom 105 were handed into military cust...

Six people were arrested on Friday after a polio vaccination team and policemen accompanying them were allegedly “attacked” by residents in an informal settlement in Karachi’s Korangi. Pakistan is one of the last two countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan, where polio remains endemic, with the disease mostly affecting children under five, and sometimes causing lifelong paralysis. Despite global efforts to eradicate the virus, challenges such as security issues, vaccine hesitancy, and misinformation have slowed progress. Amid persistent alarm over polio, the Sindh government launched a week-long immunisation drive on Monday against the debilitating disease that has so far affected 18 children in Sindh. This year’s last polio vaccination drive targets 10.6 million children under the age of five. A total of 64 children in Pakistan have contracted the poliovirus this year. A statement from the Korangi senior superintendent of police’s (SSP) spokesperson said polio personnel an...

Bulls managed to grab a hold of the trade floor after three days as shares at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) managed to climb nearly 3,000 points on Friday in intraday trade. The surge comes a day after the benchmark KSE-100 index suffered the largest single-day point-wise loss of 3,790 points on unabated across-the-board selling pressure. The KSE-100 index climbed by 2,996.39, or 2.82 per cent, to stand at 109,271.36 points from the previous close of 106,274.97 at 2:39pm. However, failing to sustain the rally, shares plunged further in intraday trade, standing at 108,189.52 points, up by 1,914.55 from the previous close. The index lost over 5,000 points or 4.4pc in the previous two sessions post-rate cut , which could be classified as nervous selling if it was called panic-offloading despite positive economic indicators. Tahir Abbas of Arif Habib Ltd (AHL) told Dawn yesterday that the correction was healthy since the market had consistently set records in recent weeks. ...

US president-elect Donald Trump on Friday threatened the European Union (EU) with tariffs if the bloc does not reduce its “tremendous” trade gap with Washington through oil and gas purchases. “I told the European Union that they must make up their tremendous deficit with the United States by the large-scale purchase of our oil and gas,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform in the early hours of Friday. “Otherwise, it is tariffs all the way!!!” According to US figures, goods imports from the EU were $553.3 billion in 2022, while its exports to the bloc were $350.8bn. This puts the US goods trade deficit with the EU at $202.5bn that year. Trump, who takes office in January, has made sweeping threats of slapping tariffs on US trading partners — including Canada, Mexico and China — which could send reverberations across the global economy. Accusing Canada and Mexico of allowing the United States to be flooded with illicit drugs and undocumented migrants, he had anno...

China’s ruling Communist Party used an agent in California to influence state politics, US prosecutors said Thursday as they unveiled criminal charges against a Chinese national. FBI agents arrested Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 64, at his home in Chino Hills, near Los Angeles, on charges that he acted as an agent for a foreign government while getting involved in local politics. The complaint claims Sun served as the campaign manager and close confidante for an unnamed politician who was running for local elected office in 2022. During the campaign, he is alleged to have conspired with Chen Jun — a Chinese national who was sentenced to prison last month for acting as an illegal agent of Beijing — regarding his efforts to get the politician elected. The US Department of Justice said Chen discussed with Chinese government officials how they could influence local politicians, particularly on the issue of Taiwan. China considers the self-ruled island of Taiwan part of its territory. Beijin...

THE unfolding humanitarian crisis in Kurram district, particularly in Parachinar city, has reached alarming proportions that demand immediate state intervention. For over 70 days now, the district’s main artery connecting it to Peshawar has remained blocked, transforming Parachinar into a virtual island accessible only by air. The consequences for its residents have been devastating. The crisis stems from deadly tribal clashes that erupted after a November attack on a convoy claimed at least 43 lives, spiralling into internecine violence that has now killed over 130 people . While the immediate trigger was this incident, the region has long simmered with tribal tensions over land disputes, occasionally inflamed by sectarian undertones. However, the real tragedy today extends far beyond the fighting — it lies in the suffering of innocent civilians caught in the crossfire of this complex conflict . Reports from Parachinar paint a grim picture. The local hospital faces critical sh...

United Nations special envoy Geir Pedersen called Wednesday for “free and fair elections” in Syria and urged humanitarian assistance to the war-torn country after Bashar al-Assad’s ouster this month. Addressing reporters in Damascus, Pedersen said, “There is a lot of hope that we can now see the beginning of a new Syria”, which he expressed hope would also include a “political solution” in the Kurdish-held northeast. The UN envoy called for “a new Syria that, in line with Security Council Resolution 2254 , will adopt a new constitution … and that we will have free and fair elections when that time comes, after a transitional period.” Resolution 2254 , adopted in 2015 at the height of the civil war, set out a roadmap for a political settlement in Syria. After rebel forces captured Damascus on December 8 and toppled Assad’s rule , Pedersen expressed his hope the Syrians could rebuild their country and that “the process to end sanctions” imposed under the former government could begin...