Infinity Social Updates

The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement signed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye may on the face of it appear to be a creation of an Islamic equivalent of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato). It plainly is not, but reflects a gradual, yet unmistakable, reordering of the Gulf’s security architecture at a time when confidence in traditional security arrangements is under unprecedented strain. For decades, the Gulf’s security rested upon an uncomplicated bargain under which the United States guaranteed regional stability, safeguarded maritime trade and energy infrastructure, and in return retained an unrivalled strategic presence across the region. Though that arrangement has not disappeared, repeated crises over the past few years have exposed its growing limitations. The inability of that arrangement — which emerged after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait — to deter attacks on energy facilities, repeated disruptions to commercial navigation, uncertainty generated by Washington’s c...

RECENTLY put into trial operation , Jalalpur canal has stoked a new controversy between Punjab and Sindh. A summary of the Sindh government, raising objections against the project, was already pending with the Council of Common Interests (CCI) since 2024. Sindh had been raising objections on this project from its inception, but these have been consistently disregarded. A 117km-long main canal with a design discharge of 1,350 cusecs off-taking from the right bank of the Rasul barrage on the Jhelum river, it aims to irrigate a culturable command area of about 68,000 hectares in the Potohar plateau of Punjab, mainly in Pind Dadan Khan and Khushab during the Kharif season. The Asian Development Bank had provided financial assistance for design and construction of the project to the Punjab government. Punjab claims that it will use its own share of water for the new canal through internal adjustment. Sindh, however, has questioned the source of additional water of approximately 0.5 mil...

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye on Friday signed the “Makkah Joint Defence Agreement” aimed at strengthening collective deterrence against any act of aggression, the Foreign Office (FO) said. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed the pact, “reflecting the three states’ shared commitment to further strengthening their collective security and to promoting peace, security, and stability in the region and beyond, in pursuit of a secure and prosperous future”, the FO said. Earlier in the day, PM Shehbaz, accompanied by Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, met with the Saudi crown prince in Makkah on Friday. PM Shehbaz arrived in Saudi Arabia on a three-day official visit on Thursday. The Foreign Office (FO) has noted that although the visit was taking place amid heightened tensions in the Gulf, it carries “signifi...

“And worse I may be yet. The worst is not So long as we can say, ‘This is the worst.’” — William Shakespeare, *King Lear* PROLOGUE The United States’ on-again, off-again war against Iran continues. While we are witnessing another lull at the time of writing, after a brief escalation following the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the structural logic of the conflict remains unchanged. If anything, Ukraine’s sinking of Iran’s merchant ship in the Caspian Sea threatens to imbricate the European and Asian theatres, especially if Kyiv attacks more Iranian ships and Iran retaliates. The war imposed on Iran by the US and its Zionist partner already involves 12 active state actors, a number that makes untangling the entanglement into a nightmare. Notwithstanding, many people in Pakistan have raised a number of questions regarding Iran’s policy and continue to fuss over why Iran can’t just cut a deal with the United States, get sanctions relief and get on with li...

Bodies of five more international climbers, including world-renowned British-Nepali Nirmal Purja, have been airlifted to Skardu after they were killed in an avalanche on Broad Peak, the Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) said on Thursday. The avalanche struck on July 30, cutting off contact with the 10-member international expedition led by 43-year-old Purja on Broad Peak, one of the world’s highest mountains. His company confirmed there were no survivors . “Following one of the most technically demanding recovery operations on Broad Peak, the Alpine Club of Pakistan confirms that the bodies of Nirmal Purja, Wang Zhong, Nima Sherpa, Gyalu Sherpa, and Killi Pemba “Kilu” Sherpa have been transported to Skardu CMH Hospital by helicopter,” ACP said in its statement on Thursday. “Following necessary procedures and documentation, they will be transferred to Islamabad,” it said, adding that they have been prepared for repatriation to their respective home countries under special arrangements...

The sons of ex-prime minister Imran Khan, Kasim and Sulaiman, have reiterated concerns about their incarcerated father’s health in a fresh interview with CNN published on Thursday. Their interview comes as the PTI marked three years since Imran was imprisoned on Aug 5, 2023 for concealing details of Toshakhana gifts. After his eye ailment came to light in January, the PTI founder’s family and party leaders have repeatedly voiced concerns over a lack of access to him. In the CNN interview, Kasim and Sulaiman said they had “no updates because his (Imran’s) family, doctors [and] lawyers haven’t been allowed to see him for seven months”. “Been more in the dark than we’ve ever been through his incarceration,” Kasim said, noting the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) order for a phone call between them every two weeks. Speaking to CNN from London, the duo claimed that each time they speak to the media about their father, Pakistani authorities made it harder for them to see him by alle...

ISLAMABAD: The National Dialogue Committee (NDC) has approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC), seeking directives for jail authorities to facilitate a meeting with incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan and his spouse, Bushra Bibi , arguing that the denial of visitation rights violates fundamental constitutional guarantees and prison regulations. The petition, filed under Article 199 of the Constitution, read with Section 561 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Pakistan Prison Rules, 1978, was submitted by NDC Chairman Mahmood Baqi Molvi along with fellow committee members Imran Ismail, Barrister Muhammad Ali Khan Saif and Fawad Ahmed. The petitioners, all former federal ministers and senior PTI leaders, contend that the jail administration has imposed an “illegal and arbitrary ban” on meetings with the imprisoned couple since their incarceration on August 5, 2023. The petition asserts that the respondent authorities, including the Federation of Pakistan through the...