Infinity Social Updates

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday expressed concern at the “sudden” US‑Israel coordinated attack on Iran, despite “positive direction” observed in talks between Washington and Tehran. The minister made the remarks while addressing a session of the Senate. He recalled that the process of talks between the two countries was “going successfully”, citing the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Austria, where Pakistan held a meeting with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief, Rafael Grossi, who Dar said was “optimistic that dialogue was heading in a positive direction”. The foreign minister also recalled his conversation with the foreign minister of Oman last night, where he was told that the last round of talks between the US and Iran had ended “on a positive note”. “He told me that after the talks, the Omani FM flew to Washington, where he met the vice president and told him that the dialogue was going in a positive direction,” Dar said...

A PPP delegation met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad on Tuesday to discuss the political situation in the country as well as the regional situation. A press release issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said that a delegation of PPP parliamentarians met with the premier today. “The Pakistan People’s Party is an important coalition party of the government,” PM Shehbaz said according to the statement. “The PPP supported the government at every step in important decisions for national development and progress, for which it is grateful.” The meeting discussed the current political situation in the country as well as the prevailing regional situation in the Middle East, but the statement did not provide details of the discussions. The PPP delegation included Senator Sherry Rehman, Raja Pervez Ashraf, and Members of the National Assembly Naveed Qamar and Aijaz Jakhrani. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar, Federal Ministers Ahsan Iqb...

India and Canada on Monday reached a string of agreements, including on critical mineral cooperation and a “landmark” uranium supply deal for nuclear power, the countries’ leaders said in New Delhi. The pacts, which also covered technology and promoting the use of renewable energy, were announced after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney hailed a fresh start in the relationship between their nations. “Our ties have seen a new energy, mutual trust, and positivity,” Modi said. Ties effectively collapsed in 2023 after Ottawa accused New Delhi of orchestrating a deadly campaign against Sikh activists in Canada, accusations India rejected. Carney’s visit — his first to India since taking office last year — is not only aimed to reset strained ties, but also to push efforts to diversify trade beyond the United States. “There has been more engagement between the Canadian and Indian governments in the last year than there has been in more than two decade...

Every Ramazan, like clockwork, the markets begin to change their rhythm. The footpaths thicken with shoppers, as fruit stalls glow brighter, stacked high with bananas, apples and other seasonal fruits. The vegetable sellers speak faster, not because they want to deceive you, but because there are simply too many customers and too little time. This isn’t an anomaly, this is seasonality. The patterns repeat every year and disposable income keeps shrinking further. Over the last six years, prices across the board have increased by more than 111 percent, while prices of a broad-based basket of food has increased by 116 percent. Effectively, prices have more than doubled in many cases and remain around that range. Despite the run-up, a price bump is also a regular occurrence. When you track food prices week-by-week and month-by-month, you see a recurring ‘Ramazan Premium’, a step-up in prices that arrives with remarkable regularity. It does not hit every item equally. It concentrates in ...

South Africa survived a brilliant all-round show by Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza to record a five-wicket win on Sunday, which means they remained unbeaten ahead of a semi-final against New Zealand on Wednesday. After Zimbabwe scored 153-7 in New Delhi, South Africa survived an early wobble. Dewald Brevis hit 42 off 18 balls as the 2024 runners-up reached 154-5 in 17.5 overs. Raza earlier hit 73 and then took 3-29 with his off-spin for Zimbabwe, who had stunned Australia and co-hosts Sri Lanka in the group stage to reach the Super Eights. Raza struck on the third ball of the South African chase to send back Quinton de Kock, caught behind for a duck. Raza bowled skipper Aiden Markram for four in the next over. Ryan Rickelton was hit on the helmet by a bouncer from Brad Evans and took five minutes to recover. He then lifted Evans for two straight sixes in the next over before the bowler had him caught for 31. Brevis and David Miller, who hit 22, put on 50 before two more quick s...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday postponed his official visit to Russia, citing the recent “regional and internal situation”. The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) confirmed the development in a statement. It added that the premier’s visit to Russia was of “great significance” for advancing the bilateral relations between the two countries, but given the current situation, it was being postponed. A new date would be decided after “mutual consultations”, the statement added. According to Russian media, PM Shehbaz was due to travel to Russia from March 3 to 5. The development comes as Pakistan launched Operation Ghazab lil-Haq against the Afghan Taliban earlier this week after the neighbouring country targeted Pakistani positions along the border. Separately, the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday, assassinating Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Tehran called the strikes unprovoked and illegal and responded with missiles fired ...

Pakistan’s shortcomings were laid bare during their lacklustre T20 World Cup campaign which ended on Saturday when the team failed to reach the semi-finals. From the captain Salman Agha, who was criticised for not being a T20 player, to slow batting rates and the use of all-rounders not up to the job, the Green Shirts were shown to be behind the times in the rapid-fire format. Former wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal believes there is a huge gulf in standard between Pakistan and the top sides such as India, West Indies, South Africa and England. “Other teams have evolved to the demands of Twenty20 cricket, but neither our team nor our players meet those standards,” Akmal told AFP . “It is like other teams are playing on the moon and we are on earth. We only beat smaller teams but lose to top teams.” Pakistan had high hopes for the T20 World Cup after sweeping Australia 3-0 in a pre-tournament series. The team boasted a quintet of spinners that should have been suited to the ...