Author: News Desk

Foreigners visiting tourist spots in Pakistan’s northern areas have expressed deep disappointment over widespread littering and the lack of dustbins in several locations.

A video of Australian tourist John Fuller is circulating online, showing him collecting trash near the stunning Rama Lake, a breathtaking natural site in Gilgit Baltistan’s Astore.

In the video, Fuller highlighted rock defacement near the lake, urging tourists to “leave nature as it is”.

He points out the complete absence of trash bins in the area. “We are taking rubbish back down with us which we collected, because there are no bins here at all,” he was heard saying in the 85-second video.

He emphasised that the situation could be improved easily by placing a few bins along the trail.

Fuller collected a large amount of trash from the surroundings of the lake. “Please put your rubbish in a bin, if you can’t find a bin, take the rubbish home with you and put it in the bin at your home,” he appealed.

This is not the first time that tourists have filmed trash scattered in tourist hotspots. Another tourist, Alex Wanders, highlighted the same issue in an Instagram video posted on July 3.

The video shows trash scattered just a few steps away from a dustbin in Passu, a village in Upper Hunza, located along the Karakoram Highway.

He quoted the locals as saying that 99 percent of the trash around viewpoints comes from Pakistani male tourists travelling on group bus tours from Lahore, Karachi & Islamabad.

An elderly man lost his life on Thursday after attempting to swim across the vast Abbasia Link Canal near Uch Sharif in exchange for a Rs1,000 bet.

According to Rescue 1122 officials, some locals dared 66-year-old Shabeer, a retired railway employee, to swim across the deep and wide canal, wagering Rs1,000 on the risky challenge.

Despite not being a trained swimmer, Shabeer accepted the bet and jumped into the water.

Eyewitnesses told Rescue 1122 that as Shabeer began struggling and drowning, onlookers laughed and recorded videos instead of helping. The footage was later uploaded to social media.

Someone eventually called Rescue 1122 when the man disappeared beneath the water. By the time the rescue team arrived, Shabeer had already drowned.

Divers later recovered the body and handed it over to his family.

As the video went viral, social media users condemned those who provoked the elderly man to take the dangerous dive and then failed to assist him, demanding their arrest.

However, Uch Sharif police have yet to take any action regarding the incident.

Pakistan has extended its airspace ban on Indian aircraft until August 24, as confirmed by a statement from the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) released late Friday. The restriction, first enacted on April 24, is part of reciprocal actions taken by both nations amid military clashes between the neighbouring countries.

The PAA stated that the ban applies to all aircraft registered in India as well as those operated, owned, or leased by Indian airlines or operators, including military flights. The Authority mentioned, “All aircraft operated by Indian airlines will not have permission to use Pakistani airspace. This ban will remain effective until 4:59 am Pakistan time on August 24.”

The closure of airspace was initially declared after an attack in Indian Illegally occupied Jammu and  Kashmir resulted in the death of 26 people. India held Pakistan responsible for the incident, although it did not present evidence, while Pakistan denied any involvement and called for an international investigation. Tensions between the two nations intensified, culminating in a four-day long military clash in May.

In addition to the conflict over Kashmir, Pakistan’s decision also followed India’s unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty earlier this year, which Pakistan characterized as a breach of longstanding agreements. The airspace ban was implemented as part of a series of reciprocal actions following these events.

This latest extension is the third occasion that Pakistan has lengthened the restriction. The ban was previously renewed in May and June after its initial one-month period had ended.

Indian airlines have had to divert their flights due to the airspace closure, resulting in increased flight durations and higher operational expenses. Air India, which provides several long-haul flights to Europe and North America, estimated in May that the ongoing ban could cost the airline approximately $600 million annually. The airline has requested compensation from the Indian government to mitigate the financial burden.

The closure impacts both civilian and military aviation. Indian commercial flights to Western destinations are now taking extended routes that avoid Pakistan, leading to greater fuel usage and operational delays.

The PAA announced the most recent extension through a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen), notifying all operators that Pakistani airspace will remain off-limits to aircraft registered or operated by India until the specified deadline.

Pakistan Air Force’s (PAF) state-of-the-art JF-17 Thunder Block-III fighter jet, currently in the United Kingdom (UK) to participate in the prestigious Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) 2025, is earning praise from international aviation experts.

In a video statement, an aviation expert declared the jet one of his “personal favourite aircraft” from the PAF, adding that the jet has an “excellent jammer pod as well as missile systems, probably one of the most dangerous in the world.”

“[It is] a great aircraft to see and a great aircraft, I bet to fly,” he added.

Another aviation expert called the jet “a beautiful-sounding aircraft”, noting, “It’s a big honour for us here to work with the Pakistan Air Force, and it’s just really good to see … really nice aircraft in general.”

The JF-17 Thunder Block-III, a 4.5-generation multi-role fighter aircraft, bears an EASA Radar and long-range Beyond Visual Range (BVR), which is capable of undertaking a wide variety of combat missions.

On Thursday, a contingent of the PAF comprising JF-17 aircraft and the C-130 Hercules transport aircraft landed at the Royal Air Force Base Fairford in UK to participate in the prestigious RIAT 2025, Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) had said in a statement.

“PAF’s participation in RIAT, one of the world’s largest military airshows, underscores Pakistan Air Force’s commitment to showcasing its professional excellence, operational capability and the indigenous strength of its aviation industry,” said the ISPR.

The military media wing further said that in addition to the “operational significance of this international deployment”, PAF’s JF-17 fighters executed successful Air-to-Air refuelling operations en-route to the UK with the support of a PAF IL-78 aerial refuelling tanker. 

The ISPR further said, “There is a palpable sense of enthusiasm across the United Kingdom following the recent Pakistan-India conflict, as aviation enthusiasts and defence observers were eagerly looking forward to the arrival of the Pakistan Air Force’s JF-17 Thunder Block-III. The aircraft’s combat-proven capabilities and operational excellence have garnered significant global attention, making its appearance at RIAT a highly anticipated highlight in the aerospace and defence community.”

On the night of May 6-7, when PAF downed five Indian jets, including three Rafales, as retaliation for Indian strikes in Pakistan’s cities during the conflict, the PAF formally acknowledged a month later that it was the Kamra-based 15 Squadron that led the charge in shooting down the jets.

The event is now considered one of the largest air-to-air engagements in South Asia in more than half a century.

The Senate on Friday approved the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill 2025, removing the death penalty and replacing it with a maximum prison term of 25 years for offences such as public assault of women, including disrobing, and harbouring a hijacker.

Deputy Chairman Syedal Khan Nasir chaired the session, which also passed two additional bills amending the 1951 Pakistan Citizenship Act and the 1972 Extradition Act.

All three bills were presented by Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry.

Opposing the bill, Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) lawmaker Samina Mumtaz Zehri remarked that laws concerning crimes against women should be made stricter, not more lenient.

She warned that easing punishments would embolden criminals, noting that the conviction rate in such cases is already low due to weak prosecution. She emphasised the need for reforms in both the police and judicial systems.

“This is not right. This is not going to help the country or its people,” she said, opposing the amendment.

The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2025, seeks to amend Sections 354-A and 402-C of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). 

Opposition senators Ali Zafar and Samina Mumtaz Zehri also voiced their objections to the bill.

Responding to the criticism of the bill, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar told the House that harsher punishments do not necessarily deter crime. “Giving the death penalty does not reduce crimes,” he said. “We have a very high crime rate, so we have to fix our system,” he added. 

He recalled an incident in which village elders stripped a woman of her clothing during the regime of former military ruler Gen. Ziaul Haq.

He stated, “This law was then passed by the martial law administrator,” asserting that imprisonment was a severe punishment.

“I request that we should end the terrible gift of the martial law era,” the law minister urged. He further suggested that, except for the four punishments of death under Hudood laws in Sharia, no other crimes should carry capital punishment.

According to Tarar’s explanation of the Extradition (Amendment) Bill, 2025, extradition law is based on a bilateral basis. 

According to him, there are five steps in Pakistan’s extradition process, beginning with cabinet approval. “And after an inquiry, the federal government finally approves the extradition,” he said.

He added that the amendment eliminates the requirement for cabinet approval at the initial stage. “The cases are processed under the Extradition Act, 1972, and have to be forwarded to the Federal Cabinet twice, which takes considerable time due to the busy schedule of cabinet business,” he noted.

Additionally, the Senate passed the Pakistan Citizenship Act (Amendment) Bill, which allows Pakistani diaspora members to resume their Pakistani citizenship, and the Extradition (Amendment) Bill, which addresses procedural delays in extradition requests.