Current Final

Category: National

  • Govt hints at relocating jailed Imran Khan

    Govt hints at relocating jailed Imran Khan

    Advisor to Prime Minister (PM) on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah has hinted at the possibility of relocating jailed former premier Imran Khan in case of security or health concerns.

    Speaking to a private media outlet, Sanaullah said that arrangements could be made under special provisions if any security or health issues arise.

    “However, nothing of the sort has so far been discussed,” he clarified.

    Sanaullah said that the decision to conduct the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder’s trial within jail premises was also made to ensure his safety. “If he [Imran Khan] is brought to the complex where courts are situated, it could be very dangerous,” he said, adding that it was also the reason why no one had objected to it.

    When asked if the verdict in the Al-Qadir Trust case against Khan had been deferred as part of the ongoing negotiations between the government and PTI, the former Punjab Law minister said the two had nothing to do with each other. The delay might have to do with the relevant judge’s unavailability, he added.

    “We [incumbent government] and the PTI are on the same page that the verdict in this case will not affect the negotiations,” Sanaullah said.

    It merits a mention that the government and the PTI have finally broken ice with negotiations formally starting to end the political deadlock that had been continuing for nearly three years.

    Both PM Shehbaz Sharif and the jailed PTI founder have formed negotiation committees in a bid to end tensions surrounding the crackdown on the opposition party.

    With talks continuing despite temporary setbacks, the former ruling party has so far put forth two key demands that include the formation of a judicial commission comprising to investigate the May 9, 2023, and November 24, 2024, events, besides the release of all the political prisoners.

    The talks had hit a roadblock amid the PTI’s refusal to submit its demands in writing without discussing it with party founder Khan amid an alleged ban on his meetings with the negotiation committee in jail.

    With the members of the PTI committee meeting Khan earlier this week, they were permitted to the submit their demands in writing, ending the deadlock.

    While a third round of talks is still awaited, the government has also asked the PTI to provide names of jailed party workers for discussion on their potential release from jail.

    Separately, unverified reports have also claimed backchannel talks between the PTI leadership and state authorities for the provision of relief to the incarcerated former PM as well.

  • FIA launches probe into Maryam Nawaz’s AI video

    FIA launches probe into Maryam Nawaz’s AI video

    The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Cybercrime Wing has initiated an inquiry into individuals involved in editing and spreading doctored images and videos of Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Maryam Nawaz and United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan on social media.

    The doctored images and deepfake videos circulated on the internet after Nawaz, while accompanying Pakistani Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on January 5, greeted the Emirati President with a handshake.

    Lahore’s FIA Cybercrime Wing has stated that action will be taken against individuals involved in uploading AI-generated videos and fake images – whether the culprits are situated in Pakistan or abroad.

    The News quoted FIA sources who have reported that 10 social media accounts have been identified for allegedly spreading fabricated content intended to propagate negative narratives.

    Deepfakes that manipulate genuine audio, photos, or video of people into false likenesses are becoming increasingly convincing and easier to make as AI enters the mainstream.

    In May 2022, the FIA Cybercrime Wing arrested a man in Peshawar on charges of circulating fake videos of Maryam Nawaz on social media, specifically on X (formerly Twitter).

    Doctored images and fake videos are used to discredit individuals’ roles in society, and politicians, actresses, and well-known social media activists have been victims of this in recent years.

    Earlier, Punjab Information Minister Azma Zahid Bokhari had been the victim of the deepfake video. 

    In an interview with the Associated France Press (AFP), she voiced the urgency of tackling fake images Bokhari asserted that the judiciary and the system of police need to be modernised to counter such issues as deepfake videos are frequently used to discredit women.

    In Pakistan, where media literacy is poor, AI is weaponised to defame women in the public sphere with sexual innuendo deeply damaging to their reputations in a country with conservative mores.

  • Announcement or threat? Social media trolls PIA for its unique way of announcing new flights

    Announcement or threat? Social media trolls PIA for its unique way of announcing new flights

    Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), the country’s national flag carrier, has posted a picture announcing the resumption of direct flights between Islamabad and Paris from January 10 this year; however, the image has a lot of people confused about the messaging.

    PIA announced the resumption of direct flights to France after the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (Easa) listed the ban on PIA flights to Europe in November 2024 after more than four years.

    The European aviation regulator banned the Pakistani airline in Europe over doubtful pilot licences in 2020 after PIA’s flight from Lahore crashed near Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport, killing around 100 people.

    During Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) tenure in 2020, then-aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar alleged “almost 40 percent” of pilots working in Pakistan airlines had fake licences in an infamous National Assembly speech.

    Following the minister’s remarks, European and UK authorities banned PIA from their territories, which were the airline’s most profitable routes.

    The European aviation regulator announced that PIA “demonstrated to the European Union Aviation Safety Agency compliance” safety standards, lifting a four-year ban on PIA.

    The agency has also granted the ‘Third Country Operator (TCO)’ authorisation to Airblue, allowing the private airline to start commercial flights to Europe.

    Dawn News reported that the positive development came due to the aviation ministry’s “complete focus” on strengthening the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) and ensuring safety oversight in line with the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s standards.

    Therefore, the PIA announced its plans to expand both its domestic and international operations by launching new flights starting in January.

    Though the latest development is positive, the official handle of PIA on X (formerly Twitter) is getting trolled online for uploading a picture that might resemble a dark moment in the world’s history.

    One social media user wrote: “PIA please change the angle of your plane. It’s looking like 9/11 here.” Another user wrote: “I think every Pakistani should clarify that this plane isn’t aiming for Eiffel tower. And the designer should be fired ASAP.”


    Some social media users were disappointed with the post writing: ” ‍♂️Who approved this graphic ? Delete it!! Mutlab aqal istimal karni he nahi hai ..  Give PIA away for free at this point and keep the debt. This is an embarassment.” Another user wrote: “Tell me this isn’t an actual ad. Do you guiz not understand this entire layout, and the tagline sounds more like a threat than anything else.”


    Some social media users uploaded a PIA advertisement in a French newspaper from the 20th century in which the PIA aeroplane’s shadow was imprinted on the Twin Towers in New York.

    Journalist Waseem Abbasi commented: “Keep the plane a little to the side. Flights have resumed with great difficulty.”

    Many X users edited the PIA’s recently uploaded image with one user fixing a white flag above the plane seemingly headed towards the Eiffel Tower.

  • Sher Afzal Marwat unleashes furious attack on Salman Akram Raja

    Sher Afzal Marwat unleashes furious attack on Salman Akram Raja

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Sher Afzal Marwat hit back at lawyer Salman Akram Raja in retaliation on Thursday, declaring his appointment as party secretary general was not in accordance with the party constitution.

    Appearing on the ARY News programme Khabar, PTI firebrand Sher Afzal Marwat stated that, according to the party constitution, Salman Akram Raja cannot become the party’s secretary general. “Only the elected person who has contested an intra-party election is eligible for the position of party secretary-general,” he explained.

    He went on to say that Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan and Firdous Shamim Naqvi are public officeholders. “Salman Akram Raja is a stranger [to the party],” he added.

    Earlier, lawyer Salman Akram Raja, while speaking on the ARY News programme Off The Record on the same day, downplayed Marwat’s claims, which he recently linked to party founder Imran Khan, saying, “Only two or four party members are deemed capable of having the right to speak about the party.

    “Marwat statement has nothing to do with the party’s official narrative. His [Marwat] statements are unimportant,” Raja said.

    Following statements from Raja, who questioned Marwat’s understanding of the party’s policy matters, Marwat assailed him.

    The PTI senior leader accused Raja of terminating him in the middle of the Iddat case when Raja was representing former premier Imran Khan. Raja then took over the case himself.

    “I will give him a befitting reply if he speaks against me again,” Marwat said.

    When asked whether PTI founder Imran Khan is aware of Marwat’s claims about Salman Akram Raja’s unconstitutional appointment as party secretary general, Marwat said, “I will meet Khan Sahib tomorrow and inform him about Salman Akram Raja’s appointment. I am sure Khan Sahib will not tolerate any violation of the party constitution.”

    The PTI firebrand also alleged that YouTuber Adil Raja is an Indian intelligence agent and questioned, “Why do they [pseudo-PTI social media activists] expect me to defend them on TV when they regularly abuse me on social media?”

    “How can he — who was Nawaz Sharif’s lawyer in the Panama case, Khawaja Asif [now Defence Minister], and PML-N’s Nausheen Iftikhar against PTI’s candidate Asjad Malhi — taunt me?” he mocked.

  • Eight Atomic Energy Commission officials rescued from militants

    Eight Atomic Energy Commission officials rescued from militants

    Eight out of 17 officials from the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) have been rescued from the custody of militant groups, Dawn reports, citing sources.

    Earlier, it was reported that at least 16 private workers of the PAEC, along with their driver, were allegedly kidnapped by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Thursday in the southern Lakki Marwat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

    The local police say that the incident took place on Thursday morning in the area of Qabul Khel, known to have a huge collection of uranium mines operated under the Atomic Energy Commission.

    However, a recent report suggests that a senior police official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, revealed that a rescue operation was immediately launched after the partially successful incident. “Eight workers have been recovered so far, including one who was injured,” the official said.

    Another official claimed that three workers had been injured and were transferred to the district headquarters hospital.

    The kidnapped PAEC workers were on their way to a project site in the Qaboolkhel area of Lakki Marwat when their van was intercepted by armed militants near Wanda Painda Khan.

    The kidnappers took the hostages to an unknown location and set the van on fire in a forested area along the Kurram River.

    A few hours after the kidnapping, videos allegedly showing the kidnapped employees surfaced online. In these videos, the workers stated that they were in a safe place with the Taliban and appealed to the government to accept the kidnappers’ demands for their release.

    However, the BBC reports that they have not been able to verify the videos independently.

    The banned militant outfit, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), issued a threat last week to target Pakistan’s military-economic projects.

    The situation in Lakki Marwat has been tense for the past year and a half, with repeated attacks on law enforcement officials.

    Separately, the police and the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) killed three terrorists from the Teepu Gull group, an affiliate of the TTP, during a joint operation in the Malang Adda area of Lakki Marwat on Thursday.

    The operation was intelligence-based, and the killed terrorists were reportedly involved in attacks on law enforcement personnel, bombings, and other acts of terrorism.

  • Qatar Airways rejects fake news claiming closure of airline offices in Pakistan

    Qatar Airways rejects fake news claiming closure of airline offices in Pakistan

    Qatar Airways issued a press release on January 8 clarifying that the airline has not shut down its offices in Pakistan after YouTuber Imran Riaz and many other accounts falsely claimed that the airline had closed their offices in Pakistan.

    A digital news platform, Raftar, took to X (previously Twitter) on January 6 to post: “Qatar Airways has shut down all city offices in Pakistan. Local Call centre operations are also suspended. However flights continue to operate.”

    Many Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporting accounts claimed similar false news, expressing disappointment in Pakistan’s political and economic situation. Many PTI-affiliated accounts shared a Siasat.pk news template as well alleging the closure of Qatar Airways offices in Pakistan.

    YouTuber Imran Riaz also falsely claimed the same in his recent YouTube video on January 8, saying: “Qatar Airways has shut down their offices in Pakistan, and it seems big companies are leaving Pakistan every day.”

    Qatar Airways’ official X account posted a clarification on January 8: “QatarAirways flights to and from #Pakistan are operating as usual, and our offices remain open.  Recent published reports claiming that Qatar Airways has closed offices in Pakistan are incorrect. For assistance, please contact our dedicated customer care line +92 21 38790002.”


    Social media user Dr Shama Junejo also took to X to write: “PTI accounts and websites again ran a heinous propaganda of Qatar Airways closing the operation in Pakistan. It is good that @qatarairways has clarified that their flight operations are running as usual, but they must take action against these fake news accounts and websites.”

    Another social media user wrote: “PTI’s fake news factory now creating issues even for international airlines. FIA should take action against those who started this fake news.”

    The digital platform, Raftar, that initially falsely claimed the news, replied to the Qatar Airways post, writing, “Our story clearly mentions closure of all “city” offices and we stand by our story. Secondly, the helpline has been made operational after our story. Thirdly we never mentioned any disruption of the flights. Best regards.”

    Social media users expressed anger over the fake news with one user calling out the digital page Raftar for its post, writing: “Bull**. My family member contacted the Qatar Airways helpline a day before your factually wrong tweet. This city offices thing is also misleading.”

  • Imran Khan’s ouster: Details of infamous cipher revealed

    Imran Khan’s ouster: Details of infamous cipher revealed

    The eleven points of the cipher, which former prime minister (PM) Imran Khan claimed proves the United States’ (US) involvement in toppling of his government three years ago, have been revealed.

    On March 27, 2022, less than a month before the no-confidence vote against Khan, he waved a letter before a huge crowd at a public rally. He claimed it was a cipher from a foreign nation that had conspired with his political rivals to overthrow the government.

    He did not reveal the contents of the letter or mentioned the country it came from. However, a few days later, he accused the US of conspiring against him and alleged that Donald Lu had sought his removal.

    The News quoted sources as saying that one of the points of the cipher pertained to US State Department official Donald Lu complaining that then-PM Khan openly assailed the US administration and supported the Taliban.

    “Pakistan’s ambassador informed Donald Lu about his transfer to Belgium and mentioned that Lu could not arrange a meeting between Pakistan’s prime minister [Imran Khan] and US President Joe Biden. In response, Donald Lu complained that Pakistan’s PM openly criticised the US administration and supported the Taliban,” the report quoted sources as saying.

    They further quoted Lu as saying that the same had “damaged relations between the two countries, and reviving these ties would take time.”

    “We need to work together to revive relations and normalise ties between the two countries, both now and after the vote of no-confidence,” the source quoted him as saying.

    The conversation points were reportedly recorded when Donald Lu attended a farewell lunch at Pakistan’s embassy in Washington. Three US officials and four Pakistani officials sat at the same table, the report said.

    According to the report, Pakistan’s ambassador, during said discussion, talked about the relationship between the Pakistani and the US administrations. After the event, the ambassador sent a cipher to the Foreign Office summarising an 11-point discussion with Lu, the source was quoted as saying.

    Other points focused on trade and illegal immigration, the report said. For instance, it added, one point mentioned Lu discussing the reasons behind Pakistan’s low rice export volume to the US that year.

  • 16 Atomic Energy Commission officials kidnapped

    16 Atomic Energy Commission officials kidnapped

    Unidentified armed men have kidnapped 16 employees of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission accompanied by a driver in the southern Lakki Marwat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.


    The local police say that the incident took place on Thursday morning in the area of Qabul Khel, known to have a huge collection of uranium mines operated under the Atomic Energy Commission.


    The security official further said that all the employees were traveling in a van when armed men stopped their vehicle near Painda Khan area, took the employees with them and set their vehicle on fire.
    Locals told BBC that the employees were kidnapped from Lakki Marwat en route to Mianwali, located on the border of Punjab province.


    It is not yet known where the kidnappers have taken the employees. 


    However, security forces and police officials have cordoned off the area and a search operation is underway to recover them with help from the local peace committee. 


    Reportedly, a few hours after the kidnapping, alleged videos of the kidnapped employees have emerged online, in which they are seen saying that they are in a safe place with the Taliban. The hostages appealed to the government to accept the kidnappers’ demands and rescue them. 


    However, BBC reports that they have not been able to independently verify the videos.


    The banned militant outfit Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) threatened to target the Pakistani military’s economic projects in a statement last week.


    The situation in Lakki Marwat has been tense for the past year and a half, with repeated attacks on law enforcement officials. 


    Two days ago, unidentified assailants shot and killed two police officers in the Ghaznikhel area of Lakki Marwat, after which the local peace committee and police personnel chased the armed attackers and killed one of the gunmen in a clash.

  • Burials in Karachi will be on govt rates from now onwards

    Burials in Karachi will be on govt rates from now onwards

    The Mayor of Karachi, Murtaza Wahab, has set government rates for burials in all registered graveyards of the space-strapped city. 

    The official rate as per the new rules will be Rs 14,300, Wahab confirmed, adding that banners stating the rate have also been put up in all graveyards.

    He warned graveyard staff that anyone found charging a higher rate would have to face strict action. Citizens have been instructed not to pay more than Rs 14,300 while also having the facility to complain about anyone overcharging them on 1339. 

    “We have initiated action against the mafia that demolishes graves,” Murtaza Wahab said on the occasion. He also stated that staff not registered with the Municipal Corporation will not be allowed to work in graveyards. 

    Like other major cities in Pakistan, Karachi faces an acute shortage of burial space. A burgeoning population and lack of space have led to astronomical burial charges, with many graveyards demanding upwards of Rs 40,000. In select graveyards this rate can go up to Rs 100,000.

  • ‘Very easy for me to cut off their food, heating’: Who is Maryam Nawaz talking about?

    ‘Very easy for me to cut off their food, heating’: Who is Maryam Nawaz talking about?

    In a vague jibe at the opposition, Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Maryam Nawaz has said that as the provincial chief executive, it was in her power to cut off food, heating and other amenities for her opponents.

    While CM Maryam did not name anyone, netizens speculate whether her statement was aimed at jailed former prime minister (PM) Imran Khan, who, when in power, publicly boasted getting air-conditioners and televisions removed from the jail cells of then incarcerated Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders.

    Addressing a cheque distribution ceremony at the University of Sargodha under the Honhaar Scholarship Programme on Wednesday, CM Maryam called out the opposition, saying, “It is easy for me to cut off one’s food, heater and fan in my authority as the chief minister.”

    Recalling the ordeal of her father Nawaz Sharif, uncle and now PM Shehbaz Sharif, and brothers as well as herself, she said they faced hardships for nearly six years. “My father, my uncle and my brother remained in jail during the [current] opposition’s reign.”

    CM Maryam was referring to the sentences awarded to her family, herself and other senior leaders of the PML-N in connection with corruption cases that they maintained were politically motivated.

    Calling out the ousted premier for facing “karma”, the Punjab CM said that she was arrested in front of her father. “I was locked up in Adiala Jail when I received the news of my mother’s death.”

    She lambasted the opposition over their politics of agitation and said she did not understand how someone who used youngsters as political fuel could go to bed at night. 

    CM Maryam also urged students to not go against the country under any circumstances. “Someone who asks you to take over or set your country ablaze is not your friend.”

    Continuing to refer to May 9 riots, she also commented on the sentencing of former premier Khan’s nephew Hassaan Niazi’.

    “He had rightly been punished as his conduct was an absolute disgrace to the nation,” she said, but, added that she couldn’t imagine what his parents were going through seeing their son sentenced for 10 years.

    On December 26, 2024, a military court awarded 10 years of rigorous imprisonment to Hassaan Niazi in connection with the ransacking of the Lahore Corps Commander’s residence (Jinnah House) in Lahore.