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A senior federal government minister on Wednesday offered to move Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan from Adiala Jail to his Bani Gala residence if the party submits a written request, media reports have stated.

Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said that Khan could be shifted to his residence, which could be declared a sub-jail. He added that PTI leaders and family members would be allowed to meet him there regularly.

“There are about 8,000 inmates in Adiala Jail who have been facing difficulties due to Imran Khan and his political activities,” he said. “If PTI submits a written request, we are ready to transfer him to Bani Gala. Party leaders can meet him there, even play ludo or other games if they want.”

He clarified that Imran Khan cannot be released but the government is “ready to move him if PTI submits a formal request.”

PTI’s senior leader and former National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser responded by saying he was not aware of the offer but will consider it if the government was serious. “If the government shows genuine intent, we will consult with our legal team and Imran Khan before deciding,” he said.

“My understanding is that the government might backtrack, but if it is sincere, we will move forward. If Imran Khan allows it, we will definitely submit a written request,” he added.

Qaiser also said that “Imran Khan has been in jail for over two years and is legally entitled to bail.” He urged the government to “remove pressure from the judiciary and let the courts decide freely.”

He further said the government should, “as a goodwill gesture, allow PTI leaders and family members to meet Imran Khan in jail so that the matter can move forward.”

It is worth noting that in January 2024, Imran Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, was moved to the Bani Gala residence after receiving a 14-year prison sentence in the Toshakhana case. The house was declared a sub-jail at the time. However, she later claimed she was being poisoned there and approached the Islamabad High Court, which ordered her to be transfered back to Adiala Jail in May 2024.

Six people lost their lives on Wednesday when unidentified armed men ambushed a vehicle in the Mirali tehsil of North Waziristan.

According to local sources, the attack occurred near Api village, where a car carrying six individuals came under heavy gunfire. All passengers were killed instantly. After the assault, the attackers reportedly doused the vehicle with petrol and set it ablaze, leaving the bodies severely burned.

District Police Officer (DPO) Waqar Ahmed confirmed the incident, saying the assailants fled the scene before security forces arrived. The victims’ bodies were later shifted to Mirali Hospital for identification, though their identities have not yet been confirmed.

The motive behind the attack remains unclear, but officials suspect that the deceased may have been members of a local peace committee. Police and security personnel have cordoned off the area and initiated a search operation to track down the perpetrators.

As critics train guns at the Punjab government for “lying to the masses” about the opening of an Imperial College London campus at the Nawaz Sharif IT City in Lahore, Novacare – one of the entities involved in the actual project – has released a statement clarifying the situation.

Imperial College London on Tuesday denied claims that it was opening a campus at the IT city being developed as part of CBD – a project aimed at making Lahore a distinguished business hub. The university clarified that all of its campuses were based in the United Kingdom (UK) and that there currently were no plans to expand overseas.

 
The statement came after the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, in a post on X on October 18, said that a meeting chaired by Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Maryam Nawaz had decided to establish a campus of Imperial College London at the Nawaz Sharif IT City. The post also mentioned that the foundation stone would be laid in November and that a 300-bed modern hospital would be built within the campus.

As trolls took to social media to call out the government for what they said was “misleading the masses, Novacare issued a statement that said that the project was actually being built, however, reports had mischaracterised the entities and relationships involved.

“We wish to clarify and nuance recent media reports and social media posts mischaracterising the entities and relationships involved in Novacare’s upcoming project at CBD NSIT Lahore,” the statement read, adding that Novacare has been affiliated with Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust since March 2024, under the Trust’s International Affiliate network.

 
“The affiliation supports Novacare’s first state-of-the-art 250-bed tertiary hospital in Islamabad, now over 50% complete and scheduled to open in Q4 2026. Under the Trust’s International Affiliate network, expert multidisciplinary teams from the Trust work with aspirational healthcare organisations like Novacare to help them establish and develop high-quality clinical standards and practices.”

 
It further said that Novacare was the second entity globally to join the network and seeks to build a nationwide healthcare network across Pakistan.

 
“As part of its national expansion, Novacare has been allotted land in CBD NSIT Lahore for its second project — an Academic Medical Centre integrating healthcare provision, education, research, and innovation within a world-class setting, benefiting from the cutting-edge technological and academic ecosystem under development by the Government of Punjab.”

 
The Lahore project, it added, will be similar in scale, quality and structure to Novacare’s Islamabad project, and Novacare intends to build upon its wider collaboration framework with the Trust, under which it is the exclusive affiliate of the Trust across Pakistan.

 
“It is important to distinguish between Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and Imperial College London. The Trust is a UK National Health Service (NHS) organisation, operating five major hospitals in London and leading one of the UK’s largest teaching hospital groups. Imperial College London is a separate academic institution; while the two work together and collaborate closely in several areas, the university is not involved in the Trust’s International Affiliate network, and hence issued a statement refuting its presence in Pakistan,” the statement concluded.

Meanwhile, Capital Business District (CBD) Punjab also released a clarification.

It said that the project was a collaborative initiative between Novacare and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust (UK), which is an independent NHS institution.

 
“The upcoming Healthcare University and Affiliated Medical College at CBD NSIT is a collaborative initiative between Novacare and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust (UK) — an independent NHS institution,” it said in a statement on X.

 
CBD further said that the project remained firmly on track under the Novacare–Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust partnership, advancing their mission to establish a world-class hub for healthcare education, research and innovation at CBD NSIT Lahore.

Lahore once again ranked as the world’s most polluted city on Thursday as its Air Quality Index (AQI) reached dangerous levels.

According to the latest data, Lahore recorded an AQI of 237, slightly higher than India’s capital New Delhi, which stood at 233. The hazardous air continued to blanket several areas of Lahore, with Barqi Road recording an alarming AQI of 485 earlier in the morning.

Other major cities also faced severe pollution levels, with Baghdad at 196, Kolkata at 157, and Dhaka at 144. Within Punjab, air quality remained poor across multiple cities. 

Environmental experts have urged residents to wear protective masks and limit outdoor activities to avoid respiratory illnesses caused by the worsening air pollution.