Category: National

Sindh Governor House set a new world record with a one-hour 16-minute fireworks show during Independence Day celebrations in Karachi.

The event featured a grand concert and other festivities, with Asia’s biggest stage set up inside the Governor House. Singers Kaifi Khalil, Ali Zafar, and Atif Aslam wowed the crowd with stellar performances, drawing a large crowd of citizens who enjoyed the dazzling lights and musical acts..

According to reports citing the Governor House spokesperson, efforts were made to officially register the fireworks display with Guinness World Records, with foreign representatives present to witness the attempt.

Speaking on the occasion, Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori said the fireworks record was set to send a message to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, declaring, “We have shamed you before the world.” MQM-Pakistan leader Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui added, “We broke the world record in fireworks, and even India knows such a long display could turn into a volcano.”

Many religious groups, including Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F), joined hands on Monday to protest against the demolition of a mosque in Islamabad.

The Madni-Mosque, located near Rawal Dam Chowk in the federal capital, was demolished on Saturday night, while the Capital Development Authority (CDA) planted tree saplings at the site, which were later uprooted by protesters. 

JUI-F Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Naeema Kishwar, also submitted a resolution condemning the demolition of the mosque.

Addressing the protesters, JUI-F Islamabad chapter Emir Mufti Owais Aziz announced that legal proceedings would be initiated against the demolition of the mosque, adding that the government was planning to raze 50 mosques in Islamabad and vowed to resist the move.

“If the police refuse to register the case, we will consider them enemies of Islam,” Aziz threatened, noting that razing mosques overnight was an act of hostility towards Islam.

He alleged that the Frontier Corps (FC) was illegally occupying greenbelts along Embassy Road and Margalla Road. “While mosques are being demolished in the name of beautification, no action was taken against the illegal occupation by FC on these prime roads,” he said.

As tensions rose, Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry, accompanied by the Islamabad commissioner, inspector general of police, and deputy commissioner, met on Sunday night with a group of clerics headed by Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidari. 

In a statement, Chaudhry said the madrassa located on Murree Road was relocated with the consent of its administration. “A modern-style facility has been constructed on the new site at a cost of Rs40 million, which provides high-quality accommodation, meals and religious education to around 200 students,” he added.

A claim circulating on social media states that Kasim Khan, one of the two sons of the incarcerated founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan, in a recent interview with a US-based news channel Real America’s Voice (RAV), stated that he was looking towards Israel to secure his father’s release from prison.

Claim

A social media user posted a video on X (formerly Twitter) on July 30 with the caption, “Kasim Goldsmith has said that my father Imran Khan made a mistake by demanding freedom from America. We are ashamed of this. Our eyes are towards Israel now. My father has done a lot for Israel and now they should help us too (sic).”

Similar claims can be seen here, here and here.

Fact

The 39-second video clip featuring Kasim, which was shared online, did not mention Israel. In the video, Imran Khan’s son can be heard clearly saying that “we are looking to America at the moment” for support for his jailed father.

He added that a lot of people in the United States have expressed “concern” about his father’s cases, adding, “It seems like it might be the only route out at the moment.”

Kasim’s response followed the interviewee’s question: “Who are some of Imran Khan’s allies, either in Pakistan or across the globe, who can help secure Imran Khan’s release from jail?”

Verdict: The clip has been misrepresented. Kasim Khan did not say he was looking to Israel for his father’s release.

Diplomats at the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi are reportedly facing harassment in the host country, with basic utilities and services to their residences being disrupted.

According to media reports published on Tuesday, four Pakistani diplomats living in rented private residences in India have been issued notices to vacate their homes. 

The extension of Indian visas for 17 staff members, including diplomats, is also pending in the Indian Ministry of External Affairs. Three to five months ago, a request was made to New Delhi for the extension of visas for Pakistani officials.

Pakistani diplomats are under constant watch, and their home gas and internet services are being cut off from time to time, according to reports.

The water supply to the Commission in New Delhi has reportedly been cut off, while the delivery of Indian newspapers to the commission has also been barred for a month and a half. Meanwhile, the PHC has informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs authorities.

Relations between both countries deteriorated following the April 22 attack in Pahalgam in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), which killed 26 people, leading to a military confrontation between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

In May this year, the Indian government declared two Pakistani officials posted at PHC in New Delhi persona non grata, accusing them of “activities not in keeping with their official status.”

In response, Pakistan had declared a staff member of the Indian High Commission (IHC) in Islamabad persona non grata, directing the diplomat to leave the country within 24 hours.

Recent diplomatic engagement by Pakistan with the United States (US) President Donald Trump’s administration has signalled an unexpected thaw in Washington-Islamabad ties, eliciting a strong reaction from India, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Monday.

Describing the improved relations between Islamabad and Washington DC as an “unexpected resurgence”, the newspaper said that Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal General Asim Munir has twice been received in high-level settings in the US this summer, most recently in Florida, where he attended the retirement ceremony of Gen Michael Kurilla, head of US Central Command.

According to the FT, a month after the Pakistan and India clashes, Asim Munir met with US President Trump in June for a two-hour private lunch; the meeting was particularly notable as Trump had previously been openly critical of Pakistan.

“What’s happening in US-Pakistan relations is a surprise. I would describe the relationship now as one that’s enjoying an unexpected resurgence, even a renaissance. Pakistan has very successfully understood how to engage with such an unconventional president,” the newspaper quoted Michael Kugelman, a non-resident senior fellow at the Asia Pacific Foundation, as saying.

Attributing the change in tone to a diplomatic strategy by senior Pakistani officials, combining counterterrorism cooperation, outreach to individuals in Trump’s business network, and agreements involving energy, mineral resources, and cryptocurrency, the FT said that the moves were accompanied by positive messaging towards the White House.

Citing the transfer of an Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K) suspect, Sharifullah, to the US from Pakistan, the report declared the move a key development between both countries. The suspect is alleged to have masterminded the Abbey Gate attack at Kabul airport in August 2021, killing at least 170 Afghans alongside 13 US service members.

When the suspect was being transferred to the US, Trump praised Pakistan for the arrest in his State of the Union address.

The newspaper also detailed an April agreement between World Liberty Financial, a Trump-backed cryptocurrency initiative, and Pakistan’s crypto council. One of the venture’s co-founders remarked during a visit to Pakistan on the scale of the country’s mineral resources.

The FT noted that India responded with “deep irritation” to the improving relations, especially since US tariffs on Indian goods were raised to 50 percent, while Pakistan faced a lower rate of 19 percent.

Trump’s reiteration that he brokered a ceasefire agreement between Pakistan and India in May was lauded by Islamabad; conversely, New Delhi emphasized that the agreement had been reached through direct channels between the Director General Military Operations (DGMO) of both countries.

The United States (US) has formally designated the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and its militant faction Majeed Brigade as Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO), the US State Department said in a statement on Monday, chalking up a huge diplomatic victory for Pakistan. 

The move also adds the Majeed Brigade as an alias to the BLA’s previous listing as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) group.

The BLA has claimed responsibility for multiple attacks, including the October 6 suicide attack on a road near Jinnah International Airport, killing three people, including two Chinese engineers, and injuring at least 11 others.

In March this year, the BLA claimed responsibility for the hijacking of the Jaffar Express train en route from Quetta to Peshawar, which left 31 civilians and security personnel martyred and saw more than 300 passengers taken hostage.

“Today’s action taken by the Department of State demonstrates the Trump Administration’s commitment to countering terrorism.  Terrorist designations play a critical role in our fight against this scourge and are an effective way to curtail support for terrorist activities,” read the press statement.

It further said that the actions were taken under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, and Executive Order 13224, as amended. “FTO designations go into effect upon publication in the Federal Register,” the statement concluded.

Islamabad has already termed BLA and Majeed Brigade ‘Fitna al-Hindustan’, saying that the insurgent groups are conducting their anti-state activities with India’s backing.

Balochistan Chief Minister (CM) Mir Sarfraz Bugti welcomed the move, attributing the credit to the federal government and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir, who recently traveled to the US and engaged in high-level discussions with military leaders, for communicating Pakistan’s stance against terrorism to the Trump administration.

“BLA and Majeed Brigade shed the blood of the innocent in the name of rights and ethnicity,” he said, stressing that the world must unite to eliminate the scourge of terrorism.