Infinity Social Updates

Young students gathered in New Delhi on Saturday for the first street protest by the satirical “ Cockroach Janta Party ” (CJP) over alleged irregularities in recent major examinations. Carrying paper cockroach masks and pamphlets, the protesters called for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan who has faced criticism over the irregularities, including question paper leaks and technical glitches. The CJP has garnered millions of followers on social media since its launch last month. Modi’s government has blocked the movement’s X account in the country, a move the CJP has challenged in a Delhi court. Political analysts say the group’s popularity has begun to dent Modi’s image despite his party’s recent victories in key state elections, even as wider frustration grows over rising fuel prices and gas shortages brought by the Iran war. Abhijeet Dipke, head of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), holds a copy of “My Autobiography” by Dr. B. R. Ambed...

In what Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Friday called an “important milestone”, the government announced a fixed tax rate scheme for small shop owners in an effort to build a more “equitable, balanced and sustainable” tax system. The voluntary ‘Asaan Scheme’ aimed at small shops with annual earnings of Rs200 million, seeks to broaden the tax net by imposing a 1 per cent fixed tax on net income of the business. Shop owners will have to sign up for the scheme via a form available in multiple local languages. The announcement was made during a press conference by the finance minister along with State Minister for Finance Bilal Azhar Kiani. According to Kiani, shop owners who opt in for the scheme will receive Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) plaques displaying a unique QR code on them to be placed outside their shops and a point of sale system inside their shops. Tax inspectors making the rounds of the market will be able to acquire tax details for these shops using their QR code...

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Friday reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to the “Shanghai spirit” and called for a joint strategy among SCO member states to counter terrorism, organised crime, drug trafficking, cybercrime and terror financing. Naqvi said this at a special meeting of the Ministers of Interior and Public Security of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. He said the region faced “serious and complex security challenges” that were interconnected, noting that criminal and terrorist networks were rapidly adapting to technological advancements, exploiting artificial intelligence, digital platforms, online networks and cryptocurrency transactions to expand their activities. The interior minister emphasised the importance of modernising institutional coordination and enhancing intelligence-sharing mechanisms across the region to tackle these threats. Shared threats demanded shared solutions, Naqvi told the delegates, further calling for a comprehensive ...

LOWER SOUTH WAZIRISTAN: Two sons of a prominent tribal elder, Malik Jamil Wazir, were killed after unidentified armed men opened fire near Kari Kot Bazaar in Wana tehsil, police said on Friday. Wana Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Asghar Ali Shah said the deceased were identified as Naveed Wazir and Moeenuddin Wazir. He said the two brothers were travelling on a motorcycle from their home towards Kari Kot Bazaar when they were targeted by the unidentified gunmen. Both died on the spot, while a passerby sustained injuries during the attack and was taken to the hospital for medical treatment, he said. He added that the attackers fled the scene immediately after the incident. The injured passerby and the bodies of the deceased were shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital in Wana. Police recorded the incident in the daily register at the City Police Station Wana and launched an investigation. The tribal elder and his family have been targeted previously. One of his sons wa...

The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday dismissed a review petition filed by Zahir Jaffer and maintained its earlier verdict upholding his death sentence in the Noor Mukadam murder case. Noor, aged 27, was found murdered at Zahir’s Islamabad residence in July 2021, with the probe revealing she was tortured by him before being beheaded. Zahir was sentenced to death by a trial in February 2022 and his sentence has already been upheld by the SC once. Prior to that, the Islamabad High Court had also dismissed his plea challenging the trial court’s verdict. A three-member bench comprising Justices Hashim Khan Kakar, Salahuddin Pahnwar and Ishtiaq Ibrahim heard Zahir’s review plea on Thursday. Advocate Khawaja Haris appeared as Zahir’s counsel, while Shah Khawar was present from the respondents’ side. Both presented their arguments during today’s hearing, following which the bench announced its verdict. After today’s ruling by the SC, a presidential pardon under Article 45 of the Constit...

When Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang makes his second visit to South Korea in just seven months this week, it won’t be only to meet top memory chip and robotics executives, but to throw the first pitch at a baseball game and appear on a TV talk show. While a celebrity in his own right, the charm push by the Taiwan-born 63-year-old highlights South Korea’s critical position in the AI landscape. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix between them make about 70 per cent of the memory needed for AI chips like Nvidia’s. And the country’s strength in manufacturing and robotics sets it up to be a key player in physical AI, where AI is embedded in robots, cars and factories. “Nvidia’s dependence on South Korean suppliers is rising,” Jeff Kim, an analyst at Seoul-based KB Securities, wrote in a research note. Huang “needs a manufacturing site for physical AI”, Kim said. “South Korea is emerging as a perfect testbed.” Asia’s fourth-largest economy is also a major Nvidia customer, with the Silicon Vall...

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) on Thursday ruled that directions to the high courts for expeditious decisions in pending matters by superior courts should be issued sparingly and couched in appropriate words. The judgement comes against the backdrop of a recent petition by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) before the Supreme Court challenging its May 12, 2026 direction to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) for deciding in two weeks the sentence suspension pleas of human rights lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha in the controversial social media posts case. The NCCIA had also requested the SC to recall and withdraw that order to help preserve the “sanctity and independence of the judiciary, maintaining equality among citizens and avoiding discrimination”. According to a three-page order by Justice Aamer Farooq, issued in deciding a dispute between the Gujranwala Electric Power Company (Gepco) and Master Tiles and Ceramics Indu...