Category: National

The global university ranking organisation QS has issued the list for 2026, in which no Pakistani universities could make it to the top 350 universities in the world.

According to the QS ranking, two federal universities, Quaid-e-Azam University and the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), have secured rankings of 354 and 371, respectively.

While the country’s largest university, the University of Karachi, has managed to make it to the top 1,001 universities, no other university from Sindh has been able to make it to the top 1,500 universities.

Meanwhile, other notable Pakistani universities in the rankings include Punjab University (542), Lahore University of Management Sciences (555), and the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (654).

COMSATS University Islamabad is at 664, Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences 721, UET Lahore 801, University of Peshawar 901, Lahore University 951, Aga Khan University and University of Karachi at 1001, while Islamia University of Bahawalpur is ranked at 1,401.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US) ranked first, Imperial College London (UK) ranked second, Stanford University (US) ranked third, University of Oxford (UK) ranked fourth, Harvard University (US) ranked fifth, Cambridge University (UK) ranked sixth, ETH Zurich (SZ) ranked seventh, National University of Singapore (SZ) ranked eighth, UCL London (UK) ranked ninth, and the California Institute of Technology (US) ranked tenth around the world.

Meanwhile, in the 2025 South Asian rankings, the University of Karachi ranked 58th, while Aga Khan University ranked 62nd, IBA Karachi 70, Iqra University 110, IBA Sukkur 120, NED University 131st, Dow University of Health Sciences 140, Mehran Engineering University Jamshoro 168, Ziauddin University 240, Sindh University Jamshoro 263rd, and the University of Balochistan ranked 278.

British content creator Alex Wanders has shown the world that Pakistanis do not believe in hate after wearing an Indian cricket team shirt through the back streets of Lahore.

In his video, Alex asks his viewers, “What will happen if I wear an Indian cricket shirt walking through the back streets of Lahore in Pakistan?” Wearing the blue Indian jersey, he strolls through busy local areas, greeting people with a smile and an easy “How are you?”

Far from getting any trouble, he is welcomed with laughter, kindness and harmless jokes. “Getting some strange looks right now,” Alex says at one point, but continues his walk without fear.

A little boy playfully made “poop sounds” at him, which only made Alex laugh more.

In the video, he even sits down at a roadside barber’s shop and asks, “Do you do fire haircut?” The barber politely tells him no, wishes him well, to which Alex replies, “Thank you. Have a nice day.”

At the end of his experiment, Alex says what millions of Pakistanis already know. “Okay, it turns out if you wear an Indian shirt in Pakistan, nothing happens because the people here are so friendly. Follow for part two when I wear a Pakistan shirt in India.”

His video has gone viral and the reactions say it all. Pakistani rapper Talha Anjum commented, “I’m waiting for you to wear @babarazam jersey in India.. be safe man! ✌ ”

Other users added their own thoughts.

One wrote, “Pakistan is not made up of hate, simple, our kids didn’t learn it.” Another said, “Try in India with Pakistan jersey, you’ll regret it.”

Many warned Alex that wearing a Pakistani shirt in India might not go so smoothly. “If you do the opposite, you might end up getting beaten up. Just be careful,” said another user.

Alex’s walk through the streets of Lahore shows that while cricket rivalries may be fierce, ordinary Pakistanis know how to welcome people with warmth, even when they wear opponents’ kit.

The District Education Authority Lahore has removed around 45,000 fake student enrolments discovered in schools across the city.

According to a report, these fraudulent entries were artificially boosting the official student numbers, revealing large-scale manipulation of enrolment data.

After a thorough audit, the fake records were reportedly deleted, bringing the total number of verified students down to 575,000.

This discovery has raised questions about the Education Authority’s performance and its ability to meet enrolment targets. Schools where fake enrolments were found have been issued notices and asked to explain the discrepancies.

The Education Authority is now expected to bridge the gap and reach its goal of 637,000 enrolled students by October 31.

Despite these setbacks, officials claim they are making steady progress. With support from school administrators, current enrollment has climbed back to 616,000.

However, at least 21,000 more enrolments are required to hit the target. Authorities believe they will successfully achieve this before the October deadline.

Pakistan and China are reportedly working on a proposal to establish a new regional organisation that could potentially replace the now-inactive South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), which was once dubbed the European Union (EU) of South Asia.

Citing diplomatic sources familiar with the development, a leading English daily reports that talks between Islamabad and Beijing have reached an advanced stage, with both sides agreeing that a new organisation is urgently needed for regional integration and connectivity.

SAARC was established in 1985 with member countries including Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, with Afghanistan joining later.

The recent trilateral meeting, held in Kunming on June 19, was attended by senior diplomats from Pakistan, China and Bangladesh.

According to the news report, the aim is to invite other South Asian countries, members of SAARC, to join the new regional grouping.

India is reportedly expected to decline the invitation, citing its divergent interests. 

However, countries including Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Afghanistan are expected to join the proposed alliance.

If the proposal materialises, SAARC’s role would become more irrelevant. The organisation failed to achieve its objectives under adversarial ties between Pakistan and India.

Since India’s boycott of SAARC’s meeting in Pakistan in 2016, no serious efforts have been made to revive the organisation, despite Pakistan’s keenness to host the summit.

SAARC was dealt another blow recently when India withdrew from offering special visas under the organisation to Pakistani businessmen following the April 22 Pahalgam attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

According to the report, Pakistan and China have been discussing the proposal of a new organisation for months, concluding that like-minded countries in the region should join hands for a better future.

An Indian defence official has openly acknowledged that the Indian Air Force lost multiple aircraft during the 86-hour confrontation with Pakistan in May, a rare admission amid ongoing speculation over the extent of the damage.

During a seminar at Universitas Dirgantara Marsekal Suryadarma in Indonesia, Indian Defence Attaché Captain Shiv Kumar stated that India “did lose some aircraft” during an operation on the night of May 7. The remarks were made in a session titled Analysis of the Pakistan–India Air Battle and Indonesia’s Anticipatory Strategies from the Perspective of Air Power.

Kumar attributed these losses to directives from Indian political leadership, which allegedly restricted the air force from engaging with Pakistani military targets. He mentioned that pilots were instructed to refrain from any actions that could lead to an escalation.

His statements follow a separate acknowledgement by India’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Anil Chauhan, who has also admitted that Indian aircraft were down during the May conflict. Speaking to Bloomberg Television during the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Chauhan chose not to specify the number of jets targeted. He emphasised that the underlying reasons for the losses matter more than the actual count. “What is important is not the jet being down, but why they were being down,” he stated.

These comments follow weeks of silence from Indian defence officials regarding the events of early May, when Pakistan claimed to have downed six Indian aircraft, including Rafale jets. Initially, Indian officials dismissed this claim.

However, on May 30, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy asserted that five Indian fighter jets had indeed been shot down, supporting Pakistan’s earlier assertion. Indian military sources, on the other hand, have continued to refrain from confirming any specific details.

This admission, in both diplomatic and military capacities, adds a new aspect to the narrative surrounding the brief yet intense exchange between the two nations, whose air forces remain vigilant amid ongoing tensions.

A 17-year-old girl and her alleged lover have ended their lives after the girl’s family refused her wish to marry him, leaving their village in shock.

The tragic incident took place in Chak No. 243RB, within the limits of Roshanwala Police Station. According to reports, the girl wanted to marry a boy of her own choice, but her family did not agree. Heartbroken, she locked herself in her room and hanged herself.

Her family found her body and informed the police. Roshanwala cops reached the scene, completed the legal process, and handed over the body to her family.

A few hours later, her alleged lover also took his own life by hanging. 

Police recovered his body too and handed it over to his family after completing the required formalities.

Students from Islamabad’s Institute of Space Technology (IST) have been awarded the ‘Best AI Use Case’ at the 2025 Google APAC Solution Challenge held in Manila. Their creation, GeoGemma, was chosen from over 750 submissions from more than 200 universities in the Asia-Pacific region.

GeoGemma is an open-source application that streamlines the analysis of satellite data. It utilizes a Large Language Model (LLM) combined with Google Earth Engine, enabling users to examine geospatial data through natural language queries, thus removing the need for programming skills.

The concept was conceived by Ahmed Iqbal and Hanzila Bin Younus in 2024 as part of their final-year project in space sciences at IST. They applied for a research grant through the Gemma Academic Programme by Google DeepMind and successfully obtained $10,000 in funding. Their supervisor, Dr. Sajid Ghaffar, joined the initiative to create a team dedicated to developing a tool that makes Earth Engine accessible for non-programmers.

To enhance their project for the competition, the team recruited two additional IST students. Abdullah Asif focused on front-end development, while Khaleelullah took charge of AI engineering. Together, they constructed a model capable of retrieving and processing satellite data using straightforward input prompts, simplifying the process for users lacking technical expertise.

GeoGemma can extract spatial data such as thermal imaging or temperature measurements by superimposing maps with satellite information. The tool is applicable across various industries, including oil and gas, real estate, sustainability, and logistics.

In contrast to many AI tools that necessitate cloud computing or advanced systems, GeoGemma’s model is less than 2GB and can operate on standard laptops. The team noted that this design decision was made to enhance accessibility and lessen reliance on servers.

Another group from Pakistan students from Fast University also reached the top 10 finalists at the competition. Their project involved creating a Gemini-powered document editor aimed at assisting neurodivergent users.

GeoGemma was highlighted as one of the top 10 innovations presented during the final round in Manila, where the team represented Pakistan. Their tool was acknowledged for its capacity to automate geospatial analysis and for offering an AI-driven solution that could have practical applications.

The team is currently seeking to collaborate with industries to create customized modules for various sectors.

A massive increase in fuel prices is expected from July 1 following a 50 percent hike in fixed gas charges for domestic consumers.

The petrol price is reportedly to increase by Rs11 per litre, while the price of diesel is also expected to hike by 15 rupees per litre for the upcoming fortnight.

Citing a fuel pricing outlook compiled by Arif Habib Limited (AHL), reports claimed that the average international price of Gas Oil (diesel) rose by 10.3% to $87.18 per barrel between June 16 and June 30, compared to $79.05 in the first half of June. 

Similarly, during the same period, Gasoline (petrol) prices rose 5.8% to $78.42 per barrel.

This massive increase comes after geopolitical conflict between Israel and Iran earlier in the month. Prices of WTI, Brent, and Arab Light crude rose 5.2%, 6.9%, and 7.0%, respectively, during the second half of June. 

Last week, reports citing the Ogra notification claimed that gas fixed charges for domestic consumers in the Protected category have risen to Rs600 from Rs400, while those in the non-protected category have to pay Rs1,500 as opposed to the previous charge of Rs1,000.

For non-protected consumers exceeding consumption of 1.5 cubic hectometres (hm³), the price has risen to Rs3,000 from Rs2,000