Infinity Social Updates

HYDERABAD: The Model Criminal Court of Dadu on Monday acquitted all eight accused in the triple murder case of an ex-PPP UC chairman and his two sons in the district’s Mehar town. The ex-UC chairman, Raees Karamullah Chandio and two sons, Mukhtiar and Qabil, were gunned down in an armed attack on their residence in Ahmed Colony on Jan 17, 2018. The attack was blamed on their PPP colleagues, MPA and Chandio tribe chieftain Sardar Chandio and his brother Burhan Chandio. Both the accused were members of the Sindh Assembly at the time of the offence. Mukhtiar’s daughter Umm-i-Rabab Chandio, who is a lawyer, has been pursuing the case along with other counsel. During today’s hearing, an additional session judge, Hassan Ali Kalwar, ruled that the prosecution failed to prove the case and acquitted the accused, extending them the benefit of the doubt. Other than the two MPAs, the accused included Sikandar Ali Chandio, Ali Gohar Chandio, Abdul Sattar Chandio, Zulfiqar alias Qadoo Chandio, ...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar will embark on an official visit to China on March 31 at the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, according to a statement issued by the Foreign Office (FO) on Monday. The FO said that Pakistan and China enjoy an all-weather strategic cooperative partnership, characterised by “close coordination and regular consultations” on regional development and international issues. “In this context, the upcoming visit will provide an opportunity for both sides to hold in-depth discussions on regional developments, as well as bilateral and global issues of mutual interest,” said the FO statement. It added that “FM Dar’s decision to undertake the visit, despite medical advice to rest following a hairline shoulder fracture sustained yesterday, reflects the importance Pakistan attaches to its relationship with China”. Earlier on Friday, Dar held a telephone call with Wang Yi, during which they exchanged views on the ev...

As the war in Iran threatens to imperil United States President Donald Trump’s legacy, the political stakes also are rising for two of his top lieutenants: Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio . The pair, widely viewed as potential successors to Trump, have been thrust into still-developing negotiations to end the war at a moment when the Republican Party is already weighing its post-Trump future. Vance has taken a cautious approach, reflecting his scepticism toward prolonged US military involvement, while Rubio has aligned himself closely with Trump’s hawkish stance and emerged as one of the administration’s most vocal defenders of the campaign. Trump has said both men were involved in efforts to force Iran to accept US demands to dismantle its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes and allow oil traffic to pass freely through the Strait of Hormuz . With the next presidential election due in 2028 and term limits barring Trump from running again, the p...

The first Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) direct flight to London in six years took to the skies on Sunday afternoon after a special inauguration ceremony at Islamabad International Airport. The national flag carrier is expected to operate four weekly flights from Islamabad to London. These will be operated from Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 4, according to an earlier statement issued by the PIA spokesperson. PK-785’s voyage was inaugurated by Defence Secretary Lt Gen (r) Muhammad Ali, British High Commissioner Jane Mariott, and Chairman PIA Consortium Arif Habib, who jointly cut the ribbon, state-run Pakistan TV reported. The flight was scheduled to take off at 12:50pm, but faced a slight delay, eventually departing at 1:19pm. On March 26, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif had said that the PIA would commence its first direct flights from Islamabad and Lahore to London’s Heathrow Airport on March 29 and 30, respectively. Last September, PIA had received the go-ahead to r...

LAHORE: The Punjab Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) on Saturday claimed to have arrested 36 suspected terrorists belonging to various banned organisations in province-wide operations over the past month. Those arrested included two dangerous suspected terrorists of Fitna-al-Khawarij from Faisalabad and Jhelum, recovering heavy explosives and weapons, according to a press release issued by the CTD. Fitna-al-Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The press release said that in a month-long campaign, CTD Punjab arrested a total of 36 terrorists from various banned organisations and foiled a major terrorist plan during operations across Punjab. According to the spokesperson, CTD conducted 366 intelligence-based operations (IBOs) in different districts, questioning 338 suspects and seizing weapons, explosives, and other prohibited materials. It said that the arrested suspects belong to the TTP and other banned grou...

United States President Donald Trump said on Friday that “Cuba is next” in his latest threat against the Caribbean island, as he dismissed concerns that recent American military actions would cost him political support. Cuba’s communist government has faced mounting pressure from Trump, who imposed a de facto oil blockade in January and mused about “taking” the country. Speaking at the Saudi-backed FII Priority investment forum in Miami, Trump said his Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement wanted “strength” and “victory”, citing the January raid where US forces seized Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. “I built this great military. I said, “You’ll never have to use it,” but sometimes you have to use it,” Trump said. “And Cuba is next, by the way. But pretend I didn’t say that.” Trump did not specify what he planned to do with Cuba, telling the media to “disregard that statement” before repeating “Cuba’s next” to laughter from the audience. In his Friday speech, the Repub...

China’s foreign ministry accused the media of publishing “false information” on Friday following a report that said the country’s top semiconductor firm has sent chipmaking tools to Iran. The report, which cited information from two unidentified senior officials in US President Donald Trump’s administration, said contract chipmaker SMIC “began sending the tools to Iran roughly a year ago”. A US official was quoted in the report as saying they had “no reason to believe that any of this has stopped”. China is a key partner of Iran but has not announced military assistance to Tehran in the war triggered by US-Israeli strikes on February 28 , repeatedly calling for a ceasefire. The chipmaker, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), did not respond to an AFP request for comment on Friday. Asked about the report at a regular news conference in Beijing, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said he was “not familiar with the situation”. “What I can tell you is that ...