The American AI company Anthropic announced it will add an invisible watermark to text produced by its Claude chatbot so as to comply with European Union regulations.

But the company noted that this mark only means the text was processed by Claude, not that the chatbot actually generated it.

The new feature unveiled on Monday in San Francisco will not be visible to humans and will remain in place even after text is cut-and-pasted. But the tool has limitations, Anthropic said.

Detecting a Claude watermark means the text may have been processed by Claude but does not confirm the source, the company said in a statement.

For example, it said, “Claude may not be the original author. People often use Claude to proofread, translate, summarise, or convert files. The output can carry a Claude mark even if the underlying ideas, text, or data originated from another source.”

Conversely, a text that is very short or has been heavily edited may not carry a watermark.

When Claude generates a supported file type like .jpg, it will attach signed provenance metadata in line with an open standard used to record information about content provenance, Anthropic said.

It said only Claude models launched on or after August 2 will feature the new watermarks. Earlier ones will be upgraded.

These changes are meant to comply with new EU regulations on artificial intelligence that say AI-generated content must feature machine-readable markings. Violations risk drawing stiff fines. Anthropic said it will use these watermarks all around the world, not just in Europe.

Anthropic is among some 190 organisations that signed a voluntary EU code of good practice late last month, with others including Google, Meta, Microsoft, Mistral and OpenAI.

Google has come up with SynthID, a non-public advanced digital watermarking and detection technology. It is pushing for industry giants like Apple, Nvidia and OpenAI to adopt this standard.

Anthropic has not yet released a watermarking detection tool as called for in the EU code of good practices.

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he secretly switched planes in Turkiye last month at the direction of the Secret Service, but that the plane he ultimately flew on was still more vulnerable than Air Force One.

Following a Nato summit in Ankara, Trump was transferred from Air Force One to a military plane via a catering truck in an extraordinary deception prompted by an Iranian assassination threat, US media reported.

The White House did not disclose the change and it remained a secret until the Washington Post first reported it on Monday.

Some media commentators questioned whether the operation left Trump’s aides and journalists travelling with him at risk aboard the plane presumed to be carrying the president.

“I think actually the plane that I flew on was at greater risk,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday.

“I think it was at greater risk because that would be the plane I think that they would be more likely to go for.”

After a day of social media memes portraying Trump as hiding out in the catering truck, the image-conscious president, who often promotes memes of himself as a bold and courageous leader, said he was following the direction of the Secret Service, the agency that protects the president.

“Well, it’s only up to Secret Service. I just follow what they’d like to do, so I go by Secret Service and the military,” Trump said.

“I guess there was a threat out there. I didn’t really ask too much about it. I get a lot of threats,” Trump said.

The White House said at the time that the president was flying aboard Air Force One from Turkiye to Britain. But moments after Trump boarded the plane, he left it in secret via the catering truck and boarded another aircraft for the flight to Britain, the Post said on Monday, quoting unnamed sources.

Trump had taken a newly renovated Qatari-donated jet to Ankara for the Nato summit but unexpectedly announced he would use an older Air Force One when departing the country, a move that prompted questions about the newer plane’s security.

The trip to Nato was the first international travel for the new plane, whose speedy upgrades triggered questions over its cost and security, and took place as hostilities escalated with Iran, which borders Turkiye.

WASHINGTON: A report by the United States State Department has said that Pakistan needs to strengthen parliamentary oversight of public finances by improving the timely disclosure of budget proposals, government debt and other fiscal information.

The State Department’s 2026 Fiscal Transparency Report, an annual assessment, identified several areas where greater transparency and oversight were needed, including the timely publication of the executive budget proposal and fuller disclosure of government debt obligations, particularly those of major state-owned enterprises.

“During the review period, the government made its enacted budget and end-of-year report widely and easily accessible to the public, including online,” the report said.

At the same time, it noted that Pakistan “did not publish its executive budget proposal within a reasonable period”.

The department said timely access to the government’s proposed budget was important for public scrutiny of spending and revenue priorities before the budget was formally approved.

The report recommended that Pakistan make its executive budget proposal publicly available within a “reasonable period”, allowing Parliament and the public greater opportunity to examine government spending plans.

The assessment also pointed to gaps in information about Pakistan’s financial liabilities. It said the government “made only limited information on debt obligations, including major state-owned enterprise debt, publicly available”.

Greater disclosure of such obligations would provide a clearer picture of the government’s overall financial position and allow legislators and the public to better assess the potential fiscal risks associated with state-owned enterprises.

Despite these shortcomings, the report found that Pakistan’s publicly available budget documents contained substantial information about government finances.

“Publicly available budget documents provided a substantially complete picture of most of the government’s planned expenditures and revenues, including natural resource revenues,” it said.

The State Department also gave a broadly positive assessment of Pakistan’s public financial auditing system. It noted that the budget information was “generally reliable and subject to scrutiny by the country’s supreme audit institution”.

The report further found that the supreme audit institution met international standards of independence and that its findings were made available to the public within a reasonable period.

It also examined Pakistan’s handling of natural resource contracts and licences. It found that the government had established legal and regulatory criteria and procedures for awarding contracts and licences for natural resource extraction and appeared to follow them in practice.

The State Department similarly found that Pakistan published accessible information about public procurement contracts. It also said the country’s sovereign wealth fund had a “sound legal framework”.

The report identified three principal steps Pakistan could take to improve fiscal transparency.

The first was making the executive budget proposal publicly available within a reasonable period. The second was disclosing detailed information on government debt obligations, including those of state-owned enterprises.

The third was subjecting military and intelligence agencies’ budgets to parliamentary or civilian public oversight. The report’s finding on military and intelligence spending came as part of its broader assessment of the country’s public financial oversight. It said those budgets were not subject to “adequate parliamentary or civilian public oversight”.

Overall, the report did not describe Pakistan’s fiscal system as lacking transparency across the board. It credited the government with making enacted budgets and year-end reports widely accessible, providing substantial information on revenues and expenditures, publishing procurement information and maintaining an audit institution that it found to meet international standards of independence.

Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Tahir Andrabi was asked to comment on the report during his weekly press briefing.

“We have seen the US Department of State’s Fiscal Transparency Report 2026 and Pakistan is included among the 67 countries not meeting the minimum criteria,” he said.

He held that Pakistan adhered to “internationally established best practices in respect of fiscal transparency, budgeting process, and financial disclosure”, which he said was a part of Pakistan’s own constitutional and regulatory framework.

Andrabi added that Pakistan was part of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, which “by design focused on structural reform and improving fiscal management”.

“Pakistan has successfully completed three IMF reviews, and its reform process and the measures taken under the process have been widely appreciated, including by the credit rating and upgrading by three international rating agencies as well as the Fund,” the spokesperson told reporters and referred them to the Ministry of Finance for further information.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday condemned the attack by Yemen’s Houthis on a commercial vessel in the Red Sea that claimed the lives of three Pakistanis and said Islamabad was in contact with the relevant authorities to ascertain further details.

The attack targeted a Tanzania-flagged vessel Tihamah, causing deaths and injuries among its crew. Apart from three Pakistanis, an Indonesian was also killed in the attack.

Dar said in a post on X that he had also received reports of a Pakistani being injured in the attack.

“We extend our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families,” he said, adding: “Pakistan strongly condemns the Houthi attack on a non-combatant commercial vessel.”

“Such attacks endanger innocent lives, constitute a violation of international law, and pose a serious threat to freedom of navigation, maritime security, and the safety of commercial shipping in the Red Sea,” he said.

“We are in contact with the relevant Saudi authorities, as well as the internationally recognised government of Yemen, to ascertain further details of the incident and the circumstances surrounding it,” he added.

Dar said he had directed the embassy in Riyadh to coordinate with the authorities concerned and “strongly pursue all necessary measures” for the retrieval and repatriation of the dead and for the provision of all possible assistance to the injured Pakistani national.

“We are closely following the situation and will continue to remain in close contact with the concerned authorities,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Office spokesperson reiterated that efforts were underway to repatriate the remains of the killed nationals and to provide assistance to the injured.

“We learnt with this deep concern about this unfortunate incident involving an attack on vessel … This was a commercial vessel in the Red Sea,” Tahir Andrabi said during his weekly press briefing.

“The government of Pakistan will continue to closely follow the situation and will share the details with the media as and when available,” he said.

He also commented on the recent maritime coalition announced by Saudi Arabia, saying, “We support freedom of navigation in maritime security of international waterways under international law.

“Pakistan is the signatory of this coalition. We abide by its communique and we are ready and willing to assist Saudi Arabia and other coalition partners as an operationalisation of this communique to preserve the safety and security of global maritime,” he said.

Three different ships came under attack in the Red Sea and Gulf of Oman on Tuesday, taking simmering tensions in the world’s most key energy trading corridor up another notch.

Yemen’s coastguard said the initial strike on the Tihamah caused a fire and extensive damage to the vessel, killing four sailors, including three Pakistanis and an Indonesian. A second strike targeted the vessel as rescue workers carried out a mission to evacuate the ship.

Separately, a Houthi-linked media outlet later reported that the group’s armed forces targeted a ship in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait that it said was carrying Saudi military equipment.

Meanwhile, the Panama-flagged container ship Vela Nova was struck by a missile in an attack off Pakistan while sailing into the Gulf of Oman, maritime security sources told Reuters.

Tuesday’s strikes were the latest in a number of deadly attacks against ships in and around the entrance to the Red Sea since the Houthis announced a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia last month.

Last month, Pakistan had condemned the Houthis’ threats to Saudi Arabia and to trading with the kingdom via the Red Sea, warning that it had the right to self-defence if its “maritime interests” were targeted in “any hostile act”.

It had later doubled down on its warning, describing any attack on its maritime interests as a “red line” and declaring that such a strike would be treated as an attack on the country.

On July 30, Saudi Arabia also unveiled plans for a multinational maritime defence coalition to protect shipping and energy supply routes in the Red Sea region following a meeting of representatives from 43 countries. Fourteen participating countries, including Pakistan, issued a joint statement supporting the coalition and welcoming the consensus reached on its foundational arrangements.

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Sardar Mohammad Sarfraz Dogar on Tuesday administered oath to three newly appointed judges, raising the strength of the high court to 10, while three seats remain vacant.

The three vacant positions are expected to be filled through transfers in accordance with the decision of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP).

Those who took oath were Justice Ayyaz Shaukat, Justice Umair Majeed Malik and Justice Shahrukh Arjumand.

Justice Ayyaz Shaukat is an expert in tax, banking and commercial matters, with extensive experience in constitutional, corporate and commercial litigation. He has previously represented clients before superior courts in complex legal disputes.

Court’s strength rises to 10, three seats still vacant

He had served as advocate general (AG) Islamabad before his elevation to the high court. In March this year, he was appointed chairman of the Pakistan Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority.

His experience in public law and commercial litigation is expected to contribute to the adjudication of the diverse constitutional and civil matters coming before the IHC.

Justice Umair Majeed Malik is a well-known lawyer with expertise in legislative drafting and several specialised areas of law. He served as a legal consultant with the National Accountability Bureau from 2002 to 2005.

His professional experience also includes the oil and gas sector, where he dealt with petroleum laws, regulatory regimes, petroleum policies and rules, gas sale agreements, employment and labour laws and procurement contracts. He has also provided legal opinions and advisory services to the construction sector on laws, rules, regulations and bylaws and drafted and vetted various construction contracts.

Justice Shahrukh Arjumand belongs to the remote district of Upper Dir in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and is the first judge from the district to be elevated to any high court.

He obtained his LLB degree from the University of Peshawar and joined the judiciary as a civil judge in 2003. He was promoted to the rank of sessions judge in 2017. His elevation marks a significant development for the legal fraternity of Upper Dir, which has historically remained underrepresented in the superior judiciary.

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2026

• Calls off demonstration after registrar assures early hearing of cases
• KP CM Afridi voices concern over reports about ex-PM’s health
• Urges treatment under supervision of personal physicians

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehre­ek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday staged a protest outside the Supreme Court over the health of incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan and delays in his pending cases, but it called off the demonstration after the court registrar assured party leaders that the cases would be fixed for hearing next week.

The party approached the Supreme Court registrar seeking early hearings of Imran’s cases and access for his family members and personal doctors.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, who joined the protest outside the apex court, expressed serious concern over reports regarding Imran’s health, saying the nation had grave reservations about his wellbeing.

“We neither politicise Imran Khan’s health, nor has Imran Khan ever raised the issue of his health with the objective of seeking any form of relief,” the chief minister said.

“It is therefore imperative that his health is treated with the seriousness it warrants and that, with the necessary moral courage, the demand for his treatment under the supervision of his personal physicians, in the presence of his family, is accepted,” he added.

Speaking to the media, Afridi said that during his tenure as prime minister, Imran had permitted Nawaz Sharif to travel abroad for medical treatment despite questions having been raised about the authenticity of medical certificates submitted in his case.

“Imran Khan was aware of those concerns, yet he acted in accordance with the principles of humanity and compassion and allowed Nawaz Sharif to travel abroad for medical treatment,” he said.

“Today, Imran Khan himself is being denied fundamental human rights and access to justice. This is deeply concerning and completely unacceptable,” Afridi added.

He claimed that Imran had been imprisoned in fabricated cases, while his political opponents were themselves involved in corruption and misuse of public resources.

“They engaged in corruption, acquired properties and assets abroad, and looted the wealth of the country and its people,” he alleged.

The chief minister said those responsible for what he termed injustice should remember that “no one can escape justice” and everyone would ultimately have to answer for their actions. He said the country’s justice system was facing a severe test of its institutional integrity.

“If even one judge takes a principled stand for justice, it will give other judges the courage and confidence to do the same,” he said.

“The people are looking to the judiciary with hope. If judges do not deliver justice, and do not perform the very duties for which they draw their salaries, then where will the people turn in their pursuit of justice?” he asked.

Afridi said he was witnessing “a spark of revolution” in the eyes of the country’s youth which, if allowed to intensify, would become increasingly difficult to contain.

He warned that if what he described as oppression and injustice continued and public resentment deepened, circumstances could reach a point where even an appeal from Imran might no longer be sufficient to restore goodwill among the people.

“The rulers and decision-makers must understand the gravity of the situation, open their eyes before Sept 27 and steer the country towards justice, constitutional supremacy and the rule of law. Otherwise, the situation could become increasingly difficult to manage,” he cautioned.

Hearings assured

PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja said the party had approached the Supreme Court registrar seeking early hearings of cases involving Imran and permission for his sisters and personal doctors to meet him.

Speaking to the media after meeting the registrar, Raja said the party had requested that Imran’s pending cases be fixed for hearing without delay.

“We have been assured that all the cases will be fixed for hearing next week and the cause list will be issued,” he said.

Raja said the party would raise the matter before the court next week and expressed hope that relief would be granted to Imran and his wife, Bushra Bibi.

Following the meeting with the registrar, Raja announced an end to the protest outside the Supreme Court. He said the party would return to the streets on Thursday (tomorrow) for “true freedom” and appealed to the public to join the protest.

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2026

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump secretly flew out of Turkiye last month on a smaller plane than previously known due to an assassination threat from Iran, the Washington Post reported on Monday.

According to an anonymous US official who spoke to the Post, Trump boarded an Air Force One jet in Ankara on July 8, but then moved into a catering container attached to the plane.

The container then ferried him to a smaller C-32A aircraft that flew him to Britain, while media and some officials were led to believe Trump was still on the bigger jet.

The Iranian threat had previously been reported by US media as the reason that Trump did not fly out of Turkiye aboard the new Boeing 747-8, gifted to the United States by Qatar, which he had used to fly into the country.

Trump, who was in Ankara for a Nato summit, said at the time he would be taking the older Boeing 747 so that members of the US military at an airbase in Britain could tour the new plane.

However, several US media outlets, including the New York Times, reported that a threat from Iranian proxy forces had prompted the switch.

Journalists on the old plane out of Ankara were also told to keep their window blinds down — a step normally reserved for war zones — furthering suspicions of security concerns.

The plane swap prompted renewed scrutiny of the Qatar-gifted jet, which The Times reported did not have the same security features as the older jet, including anti-missile defences.

Qatar’s royal family donated the luxury airliner last year after Trump complained about the state of the two aging Boeing 747 jets that had served as Air Force One since 1990.

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2026

ISLAMABAD: Chairperson of the Senate Standing Committee on Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman has questioned the need for maintaining the Pakistan Climate Change Authority (PCCA), arguing that its mandate, functions and expertise substantially overlapped with those of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination.

Chairing a meeting of the committee on Tuesday, Ms Rehman said the government should reconsider the institutional structure of PCCA, particularly at a time when the ministry of climate change was facing declining budgetary resources.

She pointed out that the ministry’s allocation under the Public Sector Development Programme had fallen to Rs2.478 billion from Rs3.5bn, while Rs2.7bn had been allocated in the previous fiscal year. Against this backdrop, she questioned the rationale for establishing a separate authority and sanctioning 24 posts when its core responsibilities appeared to duplicate those already assigned to the ministry.

“The question is what additional value is this authority creating when the functions listed under its mandate, are already the responsibility of the ministry?” she asked.

Sherry says climate change ministry doing same work as PCCA; sees no reason for a separate authority with 24 sanctioned posts

The senator also questioned the deputation of ministry officials to the authority and the transfer of technical personnel between the two institutions. She said her concerns were not directed at individual officers but at institutional duplication and repeated shifting of the same expertise from one government structure to another.

The committee was informed that the PCCA had initially been conceived as a mechanism for providing enhanced technical support.

Ms Rehman questioned whether the required capacity could instead have been developed within the ministry itself rather than through another institutional structure.

She also challenged the authority’s role in coordinating with provincial governments, noting that the ministry already had a mandate for such coordination.

The committee further sought details about the PCCA’s ability to mobilise international climate finance, including resources from the Green Climate Fund.

The chairperson directed the climate secretary to appear before the committee at its next meeting with a comprehensive explanation of the authority’s institutional justification, staffing and deputation arrangements, financial implications, technical value, international linkages and climate-finance mobilisation capacity.

The meeting observed that PCCA should be abolished if it failed to demonstrate a distinct and measurable institutional value.

The committee also reviewed the growing threat posed by Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (Glofs) and accelerated melting of the country’s glaciers. A UNDP official informed the meeting that Pakistan had more than 30,000 glaciers and that climate change was accelerating glacial melting. The committee was also told that 108 disaster events had been dealt with through early warning systems, including two Glof incidents.

Members expressed dissatisfaction with the briefing, saying substantially similar information had been presented to the committee the previous year without adequately showing what had changed on the ground.

Ms Rehman called for a stronger assessment of glacial melt, vulnerable communities and future risks, and urged closer coordination among the National Disaster Management Authority, Pakistan Meteorological Department and climate authorities.

The committee also examined implementation of the Islamabad Capital Territory (Prohibition of Plastic Book Covers) Act, 2026. She criticised weak enforcement and the continued widespread use of plastic in the capital, saying plastic waste was contributing to blocked drains and environmental pollution.

She also questioned claims that certain products were biodegradable or recyclable without adequate standards and verification.

While stressing the need for enforcing the ban, she said affordable alternatives must be made available, particularly to low-income consumers who are dependent on plastic packaging for everyday goods.

The committee emphasised that effective plastic regulation required both enforcement and practical alternatives to enable consumers and businesses to shift away from harmful materials.

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2026

LAST month, 117 prominent activists and former officials from India and Pakistan wrote an open letter to Narendra Modi and Shehbaz Sharif calling on the two prime ministers to resume engagement as both countries faced shared economic, security and environmental challenges that needed urgent attention.

The letter is unlikely to have any effect. The India-initiated absence of a dialogue is not just a consequence of the conflicted India-Pakistan relationship. It is a policy by itself underscoring India’s negative posture towards Islamabad that betrays no hint of a change.

Even if the dialogue did take place it might change little. Historically, whether or not India and Pakistan were talking, their relationship showed little variation, as if it had been inoculated against friendship since infancy. Yet the relationship is not doomed forever; its failure is less due to the complexity of issues than to the policy choices by the two sides, especially India.

Modi’s hard line on Pakistan is not exceptional. That has been the default position of most Indian leaders. Yet, there are aspects that are new. Traditionally, India has had a foreign policy and a Pakistan policy. Since 2014, when he became PM, Modi’s Pakistan policy has had no precedent in hostility, intransigence and intolerance.

Even if there was a dialogue, it may change little.

In many ways, the policy is a re-enactment of the pre-1947 Indian National Congress and Muslim League tensions — now injecting the RSS view of Muslims, Pakistan and Kashmir. The Kashmiri resistance and jihadist currents flowing across the region following the two Afghan wars have made their own contribution to the problems in the relationship. They have played right into the hands of the Hindu nationalist agenda that underpins Modi’s mindset and populism.

Populism thrives on grievance and fear. Populists invariably create an enemy, especially a historical one, and nourish their followers’ nostalgia for the past and yearning for some strongman to ensure justice and retribution for them.

Marketing-savvy and skilled in the use of digital tools, Modi has knitted together real-life issues like terrorism and security and magnified their impact on the public mind by linking them to Indians’ historical memories of communal mistrust and animosity. The way Modi has played terrorist attacks since Pathankot in 2016 has triggered an enormous emotional response from Indian citizens, hardening existing public attitudes towards Pakistan. He derives his political mileage from it.

Not talking to it is also consistent with India’s unsuccessful attempts to project a malign image abroad of Pakistan. In some ways, it is derivative of India’s traditional policy of treating its South Asian neighbours as ‘satellite’ states not worthy of an equitable share in any agreement with India. It wants to impose its hegemony but cannot, at least not on Pakistan. By refusing to talk, India can keep up an illusion of hegemony.

It is embarrassing to be an unconvincing regional power to whom Pakistan had the so-called pretensions to speak as an ‘equal’. India is unable to impose its will on a smaller neighbour not only diplomatically but, as proven by Operation Sindoor, militarily as well. How can it stand up to China? The absence of dialogue masks this inconvenient truth and keeps the West’s bets on it alive.

The absence of dialogue sidelines Pakistan and helps Modi create new ground realities in occupied Kashmir, something he is doing on the water issue too. India is using the Indus Waters Treaty not just as a leverage on other points of conflict between the two countries but also as a cover to possibly violate the IWT and create new facts on the ground. It also gives India’s leadership and diplomats an opportunity to make baseless allegations as evident in a recent Newsweek op-ed by India’s ambassador to the US, in which he blamed Pakistan for India’s suspension of the treaty.

Finally, the relationship operates in a tense regional security environment whose parameters now extend to the Middle East, especially after the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement and burgeoning India-Israel relations. And it beats to the rhythm of a competitive geopolitics focused on the rivalry between the US and China that loom large on the foreign policy canvas of both India and Pakistan. This enlarges the scope of the India-Pakistan conflict, and in the broader context of a rising world disorder makes the issues of war and peace between the two still harder to resolve.

Much more needs to change on both sides for a dialogue to succeed — especially on India’s part as it was the latter country that cut off dialogue. Without such a change, it would be a dialogue to nowhere, yet again.

The writer, a former ambassador, is adjunct professor, Georgetown University.

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2026

• Calls on international community to pressure Israel to halt settlement expansion on Palestinian land
• Guterres says Israeli settlements in occupied West Bank have no legal validity and violate international law

WASHINGTON: Pakistan on Tuesday urged the international community to persuade Israel to halt new Jewish settlements on Palestinian lands, warning that the situation was approaching a “dangerous tipping point”, as UN Secretary-General António Guterres said all Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank had no legal validity and constituted a “flagrant violation” of international law.

Britain urged Israel to do more to prevent and prosecute settler violence, while Russia warned that the West Bank was approaching a “point of no return” and risked profound regional destabilisation, as the UN Security Council debated escalating attacks on Palestinians and settlement expansion.

“The situation is approaching a dangerous tipping point. Unless this trajectory is reversed, the consequences for the two-state solution — and for peace and stability across the region — could be catastrophic,” Pakistan’s UN Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad told the Council.

He told the Security Council that settlement expansion, settler violence, land seizures and the extension of Israeli authority over Palestinian land were part of a broader effort to entrench the occupation and undermine the prospects of a Palestinian state.

He said these measures were fragmenting Palestinian territory and, together with settler violence, had produced the largest displacement crisis in occupied West Bank since 1967.

Pakistan also expressed alarm over escalating provocations at Al Aqsa Mosque, calling on Israel to respect the historical and legal status quo at the holy sites and halt provocative actions.

Ahmad called for international protection for Palestinians and accountability for those responsible for settler violence. He also urged Israel to immediately release Palestinian tax revenues it was withholding, saying the money belonged to the Palestinian people and that its continued withholding was severely undermining Palestinian institutions.

British Ambassador Sarah MacIntosh condemned escalating violence across the occupied West Bank, describing attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinian villages and communities, sometimes alongside Israeli Defence Forces, as “appalling”.

She said children were being exposed to repeated violence, displacement and disruption, citing the August 4 demolition by Israeli forces of three donor-funded classrooms at Shaab al-Butum school.

MacIntosh said Israeli settlers had acted with impunity for too long. “Much more must be done to prevent and prosecute acts of violence,” she said.

She also called for a halt to settlement expansion, saying the settlements were illegal under international law and undermined the viability of a two-state solution.

Russian Ambassador Vassily A. Nebenzia said the West Bank was “approaching a point of no return”, warning of the risk of profound regional destabilisation.

He blamed Israel for its “creeping” settlement expansion, escalating violence and an “unprecedented” tightening of movement restrictions on Palestinians.

Nebenzia said Israel continued its “illegal policy of building new settlements”, pointing to a government tender issued last week for more than 600 housing units in Ramallah al-Bireh.

The UN relief agency OCHA reported that 1,122 Palestinians were killed in the occupied West Bank between Oct 7, 2023, when the Gaza conflict began, and July 24, 2026. The toll included 76 Palestinians killed this year.

OCHA said Israeli forces or settlers injured at least 37 Palestinians between July 28 and August 3, while 35 settler attacks were documented during the same period.

The UN human rights office said last month that settler violence had reached an “all-time high” as new settlements were approved. It said Israeli settlers and Israeli security forces had “often” acted together in attacks on Palestinian communities.

Pakistan said the cumulative effect of settlement expansion, settler violence, land seizures and other measures was intimidation, dispossession and forced displacement.

“The path to peace lies in ending the Israeli occupation and enabling the Palestinian people to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination,” Ahmad said, calling for an independent, sovereign, viable and contiguous Pale­stinian state based on the pre-1967 borders, with Al Quds Al Sharif as its capital.

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2026

• Says proposed judicial commission meant to identify lapses, not for murder investigation
• Two more police officials added to investigation team
• Four summoned by NCCIA on Sharjeel’s plea against online defamation campaign

KARACHI: As the probe into the murder of a young businessman inches forward, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has assured the family of a fair investigation, promising that they will be kept informed at every stage of the process.

Talking to the media at the Arts Council Karachi after attending a conference held in connection with National Minorities Day on Tuesday evening, the CM said action would be taken against police and medico-legal authorities over any lapses once the case was resolved.

Commenting on the provincial government’s plan to form a judicial commission, the CM clarified that the commission was not intended to investigate the case, as that was the responsibility of the police.

“The judicial commission was being formed to identify lapses on the part of the police and medico-legal authorities,” he said.

Mr Shah said he had sent the home minister and the Karachi mayor to meet Mir Raza’s parents before the announcement about the commission, and the family had agreed to its formation. “However, when the family later said they did not want a judicial commission, we respected their opinion,” he added.

‘Traces of acid found on deceased’s shirt’

Investigators probing the murder case received the chemical analysis report from the first post-mortem examination that confirmed traces of acid on the shirt of the deceased.

Informed sources told Dawn that the report also confirmed the presence of “gunshot residue on the back of the perforation of the shirt,” which was the entry wound.

The sources said that several samples were collected during the second post-mortem examination following the exhumation of the body and so far, only the report of a DNA test had been received that confirmed that the body was of Mir Raza.

Meanwhile, the sources said that the investigators also decided to conduct geofencing of different parts of the area surrounding the crime scene in Gulistan-i-Jauhar to detect the possible movements people during a particular time.

Besides this, the call data records of the victim’s cell phone would also be obtained.

The sources said that, at the request of family’s lawyer Jibran Nasir, two new members — DSP Siraj Lashari and Inspector Mohammed Ali —had been included in the investigation team headed by DIG Amir Farooqui.

Mir Raza, an IBA graduate and owner of the eatery Wafflix, had gone missing on July 28, and his body was found a day later in bushes near Shahi Qila Ground in Gulistan-i-Jauhar.

NCCIA summons four on Sharjeel’s plea

The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has summoned four citizens on a complaint filed by Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon over “false and malicious content on social media against him and his son” in connection with the Mir Raza Ali murder case.

The NCCIA issued notices to Syed Abdullah, Amin Qureshi, Bilal Warsi and Obaid Qureshi, asking them to appear in person at the agency’s Karachi office on Aug 13 at 11:30am.

They were informed that the NCCIA was conducting an inquiry initiated on the basis of a complaint submitted by Naqvi Law Associates on behalf of Sharjeel Inam Memon pertaining to alleged dissemination of defamatory and fabricated content through digital platforms.

The development comes a day after Mr Memon had approached the NCCIA against a defamatory campaign that he owned the guest house in Gulistan-i-Jauhar where Mir Raza Ali was allegedly tortured and murdered, and that his son had left for London immediately after the incident and had since been moving around with a bodyguard.

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2026

The government on Tuesday reduced the price of petrol by Rs1.70 and increased the price of high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs1.39 per litre.

Following the revision, petrol will retail at Rs325.92 per litre while HSD will cost Rs382.25 per litre. The government continues to levy Rs114 per litre in taxes and duties on petrol and Rs100 per litre on HSD.

According to the Petroleum Division’s notification, the new prices will be applicable for August 12 (Wednesday).

The price of HSD has come down from a peak of Rs520.35 recorded on April 3. Its price had started rising from Rs281 per litre after the US-Iran war broke out on February 28.

The petrol price had peaked at Rs458.41 on April 3 after beginning its upward trajectory from Rs266 in the first week of March.

Earlier, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik announced that fuel prices would now be fixed on a daily basis due to fluctuations in international market prices following renewed hostilities between Iran and the US.

The government had been announcing weekly revisions to fuel prices since early March, alongside measures for the conservation of fuel amid possible oil supply disruptions due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The federal government in April also announced targeted relief measures to provide subsidised fuel.

The petroleum minister stated that the cabinet and the prime minister had decided to give the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) the responsibility of deciding fuel prices on a daily basis based on international market trends.

The daily pricing decision was rejected by the All Pakistan Dealers Association, which said it would consider a protest plan.

Petrol is mainly used in private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws and two-wheelers, and changes in its price affect the middle and lower-middle classes.

Similarly, changes in diesel prices also impact the public at large, as it is mainly used in the heavy transport sector, power plants and large generators.

Petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) are the major revenue earners, with monthly sales of about 700,000 to 800,000 tonnes, compared to just 10,000 tonnes of monthly demand for kerosene.

KARACHI: Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Associa­tion (PPDA) has issued a 72-hour ultimatum to the government over its failure to fulfil promises made by the petroleum minister to resolve their issues, especially the increase in margin to eight per cent on the retail sale price of petrol.

The association warned that if the government failed to meet its demands within 72 hours, petrol pumps across the country would shut down indefinitely from 6am on Saturday (August 15) and would not reopen until those demands were met.

PPDA Chairman Malik Khuda Bakhsh, along with senior office-bearers, told a press conference that petroleum dealers would be unable to continue their businesses if the government failed to accept their demands.

Mr Malik said that, following a meeting of dealers from across the country, it had been jointly decided to demand an 8pc margin on petrol. Dealers’ patience had run out, and more than 14,000 members were putting pressure on the association to take action.

Threaten indefinite nationwide shutdown from Aug 15

On Aug 7, the PPDA chairman informed the Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik that he had been receiving significant concerns from petroleum dealers and association members regarding the unresolved issues facing the petroleum retail sector.

He recalled that when the association was considering a nationwide strike previously, the minister had requested the PPDA to defer the proposed action and assured us that the issues would be reviewed and reconciled within two weeks.

The daily price mechanism system had created serious operational and financial challenges for the petroleum dealers, resulting in inventory losses, erosion of working capital and substantial financial strain on the retail sector, he informed the federal minister.

The existing commission was insufficient to cover rising inflation, electricity and gas expenses, employees’ salaries and other operational costs, he said.

Earlier, the PPDA Executive Committee meeting had also strongly criticised the “Company Allocation Policy,” describing it as discriminatory and contrary to the business interests of dealers. The association demanded that the policy be reviewed immediately and made transparent and fair.

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2026

Investigators probing the murder of young business owner Mir Raza Ali on Tuesday received the chemical examiner’s report and one DNA report, but said the findings were not yet “conclusive” enough to determine the direction of the investigation, Dawn has learnt.

Owner of eatery Wafflix, Ali had gone missing on July 28, and his body was found a day later with a gunshot wound in bushes in Karachi’s Gulistan-i-Jauhar.

Investigators are also awaiting the findings of other samples and the police surgeon’s final report in light of the laboratory findings.

The DNA report confirmed the identity of the deceased, ruling out theories circulating on social media that someone else might have been killed.

Informed sources told Dawn that the chemical analysis of samples taken during the first post-mortem examination had revealed three key findings. First, it confirmed the presence of gunshot residue on the back of the perforation in the deceased’s shirt, indicating an entry wound. Second, traces of acid were found on his shirt. Third, the chemical examiner’s report detected bupivacaine, an anaesthetic and painkiller, in his blood.

The sources said several samples had been collected during the exhumation of the body, carried out around 12 days after his death on a court’s order following an application by the family.

Meanwhile, the sources said the investigation team formed by Sindh IGP Javed Odho and headed by DIG Crime and Investigation Amir Farooqi had decided to conduct geofencing in areas surrounding the crime scene to detect the possible movements of pedestrians and people travelling in cars or on motorcycles.

The team would also obtain the call data record of the victim’s mobile phone, they said.

Moreover, on the request of the family’s lawyer, Jibran Nasir, two new members — DSP Siraj Lashari of Hyderabad and Karachi South police inspector Mohammed Ali — had been included in the investigation team.

They also said the chemical examiner’s report detected traces of acid on the victim’s shirt, but there were no acid burns on his body. Similarly, the presence of painkillers in his body did not suggest that he had been administered an anaesthetic before being killed.

The sources said investigators were still “confused” about the entry and exit wounds caused by the gunshot, which had generated considerable debate. According to them, the first post-mortem report showed a bullet wound on the chest from the front, while the second report suggested that he had been shot from behind.

They said there was a 38mm wound on the chest, along with burn marks on the shirt, while the wound on the back was 7mm in size and showed no signs of burns on the shirt.

“We are not challenging anything at this stage, but there is still confusion among investigators,” a source familiar with the investigation said.

The sources further added that the victim’s kitchen was located in the same area where his body was found, but it had been closed at the time of his death.

Meanwhile, the secretary of the investigation team and SSP RRF Mohammed Ali Raza, along with other investigators, visited the crime scene. The complainant, the victim’s father Mir Husain, and the family’s lawyer, Jibran Nasir, also joined them.

Speaking to the media, Nasir alleged that the deceased’s only digital footprint, his smartwatch, had remained in the possession of SSP SIU Samiullah Soomro for eight days without any memo, which he said amounted to manipulation of evidence.

“Ali had deleted applications from his phone; his only digital footprint was his smartwatch. However, SSP Soomro kept it with himself for eight days and distributed information extracted from it to the media,” he said. “Isn’t this criminal conduct by SSP Soomro?”

The lawyer alleged that police had taken the smartwatch from the family a couple of days after the killing but had not prepared any memo for it, which he said demonstrated the officers’ lack of sincerity.

Jibran said Ali had remained missing for around 12 hours after he was last seen and had allegedly been subjected to torture during that period before his death.

“After finding acid on his clothes, we fear that he may have been forced to consume acid,” the lawyer said.

“He was neither depressed nor deprived. He was martyred and oppressed,” he said, warning the police and government against treating the death as a suicide.

He criticised the Sindh government for including East SSP Zubair Nazir Sheikh in the initial investigation team, alleging that the Sindh High Court had ordered an inquiry against the officer over a Rs500 million extortion allegation.

“The Sindh government included such people in the investigation team,” he said.

Nasir also alleged that another officer on the initial team, SP Usman Sadozai, had been in Azad Jammu and Kashmir for the past two weeks and had not returned to Karachi. He questioned how the officer had been attending meetings of the investigative committee.

Nasir further criticised the Gulistan-i-Jauhar police for failing to notice the acid and other evidence and initially portraying the death as a suicide.

He alleged that efforts were being made to protect someone he described as “powerful, brutal and oppressive”.

The lawyer alleged that Ali’s killers were professionals who had tried to conceal his identity by pouring acid on his face and thumbs and setting the crime scene on fire.

He said it was possible that Rs300 million had been debited from Ali’s account by someone to portray it as a financial loss and create the impression that he had committed suicide after suffering a heavy loss.

Nasir said he had met the new investigation team along with the deceased’s family and had also visited the crime scene on Tuesday.

After more than five months of conflict, oil markets continue to surge and tumble over the latest developments in the US-Iran clash, including United States President Donald Trump’s shifting pronouncements.

What is behind the market’s volatility?

While the potential vulnerability of the Strait of Hormuz has long been viewed as a risk, oil markets have still been caught off guard by Iran’s ability to largely close the crucial waterway.

“What really shakes the market are surprises… and the Hormuz closure was a shock,” said Jim Burkhard, head of global energy crude oil research at S&P Global.

Brent oil prices surged more than 13 per cent in the immediate aftermath of the US-Israeli siege against Iran on February 28. Since that time, prices have been jolted in both directions as the conflict has dragged on.

“Number one, it’s the complete unexpectedness, unfamiliarity with what we are seeing,” Bob McNally, president of the Rapidian Energy Group and a former White House energy advisor to George W. Bush, said of the unprecedented curtailment of the Strait.

“There was this perception that the US would never allow it to happen,” McNally added.

About 20 million barrels per day of crude traverse the Strait, roughly a quarter of global oil demand, making the current supply shock “the biggest disruption in history”, according to McNally.

Subsequent events have jerked prices in both directions. Markets were unnerved by the US move to blockade Iran’s ports, but subsequently buoyed by a June 17 agreement between the United States and Iran to cease hostilities.

While the conflict has boosted prices overall, international benchmark Brent oil has averaged $94 a barrel since the start of the fighting, well below the $150-per-barrel level seen by some experts as possible.

One explanation is the market’s response to Trump, who has issued contradictory statements but has often described a Hormuz resolution as within striking distance. Such statements have helped keep crude prices from rising more.

“The market believes and still believes that this crisis can and will end soon,” McNally said.

Optimistic statements by the president and other Trump administration figures like Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have often sent oil prices sharply lower, posing peril to traders on the wrong side.

“The oil market has sort of burned the bulls so many times you just don’t have bulls willing to go in and trade,” McNally said. “So all you have is people who are trading, especially these algorithmic traders who are just trading on headlines.”

The Hormuz closure has lowered volumes by about 12.6m barrels per day, according to JPMorgan Chase analysts.

Some of this has been blunted by lower crude imports from China, while releases from commercial and government inventories have also offset the effects of lost supply.

In March, the International Energy Agency announced member governments would release 400m barrels of oil, the largest emergency stock release in history.

The US, Canada and Brazil have been among the countries increasing output.

Middle East producers have maneuvered some shipments away from the Strait.

For example, Saudi Arabia shifted crude exports to the Red Sea, but that avenue has also been compromised by attacks by Houthi rebels.

While the fluctuations of crude prices generate most of the headlines, analysts have also highlighted the stresses on refined products, including gasoline.

“The most pressure in the world today is on refined products because there is generally enough crude oil out there right now, but there’s not enough refining capacity,” Burkhard said.

Diesel prices have doubled compared with February, while gasoline prices are up about 50pc.

The Middle East conflict has also sidelined key energy infrastructure due to attacks, including some refinery capacity. Energy experts also point to Russian refinery outages due to attacks from Ukraine in that war.

Continued robust demand for petroleum products has led to a historic surge in refinery profit margins, resulting in huge earnings windfalls for large oil companies in the second quarter.

ISLAMABAD: The Privatisation Commission on Tuesday approved the appointment of a financial adviser for the outsourcing of Lahore and Karachi airports.

In a statement, the commission said its board of directors had approved a “consortium led by EY-Parthenon as the top-ranked interested party” for appointment as financial adviser for the outsourcing of Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore, and Jinnah International Airport, Karachi.

The board also constituted a negotiation committee to finalise the Financial Advisory Services Agreement (FASA) with the successful consortium, the statement added.

Meanwhile, the commission appointed the Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) last month as financial and transaction adviser for the outsourcing of New Islamabad International Airport.

The commission said its board also took up the privatisation of Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco) and Multan Electric Power Company (Mepco) as major transactions, necessitating the appointment of financial advisers in accordance with the applicable regulations.

Following the approval, the commission would initiate the process of appointing financial advisers for the two transactions, the statement said.

Lesco and Mepco constitute the fourth batch of power distribution companies (Discos) identified for privatisation by the government, while the privatisation process for the three earlier batches is already at different stages.

Faisalabad Electric, the first Disco in the first batch, has recently attracted a dozen local and international investors, with formal expressions of interest (EOIs) currently under review by the commission.

The deadline for submission of EOIs for two other Discos in the first batch is two months away.

A man, whom police claimed was affiliated with a “particular political party”, was shot dead by law enforcement officials on Rawalpindi’s Mall Road on Tuesday after he allegedly opened fire on security forces, injuring an official.

“The attacker, Muhammad Hussain, was immediately killed in retaliatory fire,” said a statement by Rawalpindi police.

The police added that evidence and “links have emerged from his mobile phone and other belongings”, adding that further investigation is ongoing.

“Law enforcement agencies remain fully prepared and committed to eliminating all forms of terrorism and incitement to unrest,” police said.

PTV News, quoting security sources, said the alleged assailant was a resident of Khyber district and an “active PTI member”. A PTI flag, bullets and weapons were also allegedly recovered from him, the report added.

In a statement aired on news channels following the incident, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar slammed PTI’s “politics of violence” after state media reported the incident.

Visuals of a red and green cloth, a gun, and bullets allegedly recovered from the alleged attacker were also televised by PTV News and during Tarar’s video statement.

The information minister said there was “no reason for opening fire on security personnel”, later confirming the incident location as Rawalpindi’s Mall Road.

Tarar also slammed the “politics of violence adopted by the PTI” and criticised its members for “coming equipped with weapons”.

The minister referred to the call for a long march to Islamabad, which has been announced by the PTI for September 27. He claimed that it was “on record that they always come armed at all their protests, open fire on security personnel and martyr them”.

“They do not believe in a peaceful protest, and today, the entire nation has witnessed their nefarious aims and objectives,” Tarar asserted, noting that the security personnel were targeted “in public in broad daylight”.

“This is their ideology; they believe in violence and such incidents. The PTI has always done politics of violence, and not a single one of their protests has been peaceful,” Tarar alleged.

Noting that a PTI flag and “other documents” were recovered from the alleged attacker in today’s incident, he claimed that the PTI’s aim was only to “spread anarchy in the country and ruin the law and order”.

The minister stressed that the PTI’s announcement of a long march came right after Pakistan was praised internationally after signing a joint defence pact with Saudi Arabia and Turkiye.

“Whenever Pakistan makes progress and garners respect, this is not digested by the PTI,” Tarar remarked, recalling a previous instance of the party announcing protests coinciding with the arrival of foreign leaders.

The minister reiterated his claim that the objective of “every PTI protest was to come equipped with weapons, open fire, pile up bodies, destroy law and order, and damage the country”.

However, PTI distanced itself from the incident, saying it had nothing to do with terrorism and that efforts were being made to link the party to it.

Reacting to remarks made by Tarar, PTI’s Islamabad regional president Amir Mughal said the party believed in peaceful and unarmed political struggle and rejected any attempt to associate it with acts of violence.

Mughal called for the facts to be brought before the public and urged the authorities not to use the incident to malign PTI.

He added that the narrative portraying PTI as a terrorist or anti-state organisation had already been rejected by the people of Pakistan, who, he claimed, supported the party by voting in large numbers on Feb 8, 2024.

Additional input from Mohammad Asghar

President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday conferred the Nishan-i-Imtiaz (Military) on General Aamer Raza, commander of the National Strategic Command, during an investiture ceremony held at Aiwan-i-Sadr, Islamabad.

On July 31, President Zardari approved the conferment of the Nishan-i-Imtiaz (Military) on Gen Raza.

According to state media, the ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, the services chiefs, and senior military and government officials.

In July, he was promoted to the rank of a four-star general and appointed to the position of Commander of the National Strategic Command (CNSC), according to an announcement by PM Shehbaz.

The CNSC post was created under last year’s 27th Constitutional Amendment, which made significant changes to the military’s chain of command, to assume the nuclear manager role previously exercised by the Chai­rman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), a post which was abolished.

Gen Raza has previously been awarded the Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Military) and Sitara-i-Basalat (Star of Valour).

Before his elevation, he was serving as the chief of general staff — the army’s principal operational appointment — and oversaw the implementation of organisational changes necessitated by the 27th Amendment and the restructuring that followed last year’s conflict with India, including the establishment of the Army Rocket Force Command.

A cavalry officer from the Officers Training School (OTS) and commissioned into the 6th Lancers in 1988, he has commanded an armoured regiment, an armoured brigade, an infantry brigade in South Waziristan, an infantry division, and Lahore’s IV Corps.

He also headed Heavy Industries Taxila and served as the director general of Weapons and Equipment and the chief of staff at II Corps.

Gen Raza has, however, not served in the Strategic Plans Division, the Army Strategic Forces Command or the country’s strategic missile programme, with his career largely rooted in conventional operations and force development.

Indian investigators are examining evidence linked to an Air India flight that plunged sharply mid-air last week, authorities said on Tuesday, as local media reported the pilot had tested positive for marijuana.

The Airbus A320 carrying 137 passengers and eight crew members lost about 300 feet (91 metres) of altitude shortly after departing from Thailand’s Phuket for New Delhi on August 4, before landing safely in the Indian capital.

India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) said 24 people were injured in the incident, a higher figure than the 17 previously reported by the airline.

The AAIB said it was “presently engaged in the systematic collection, preservation and examination of all relevant technical, operational, medical and human-factor evidences”.

The agency was “committed to an independent, transparent and professional investigation”, it said in a statement.

Indian media reports, meanwhile, said the chief pilot had failed a second drug screening test.

Broadcaster NDTV, citing unnamed sources, reported that the pilot had “smoked marijuana”.

The aviation ministry said on Sunday that both pilots had undergone standard psychoactive substance screening after the flight landed in New Delhi.

The captain’s initial screening produced a result requiring confirmatory testing, with samples sent for further analysis, the ministry added.

Both pilots had been removed from flying duties pending the outcome of the investigation, it said.

Air India on Tuesday said it could not comment on the reported test results because authorities had not shared the findings of the post-flight screening with them.

“We will continue to cooperate with the relevant authorities as required,” an airline spokesperson said, adding that the carrier conducts regular drug testing for crew members.

The AAIB inquiry is being supported by Airbus and France’s civil aviation safety agency, the BEA.

An Airbus spokesperson said the manufacturer was providing technical assistance to Indian authorities, with a team of experts having been dispatched to Delhi.

The BEA said it was involved in the investigation but did not plan to send investigators to India at this point.

The incident is the latest challenge for Air India as it seeks to overhaul its operations following a string of setbacks.

The carrier has faced disruption from the conflict in the Middle East and continuing operational pressures.

Its reputation suffered a major blow in June 2025 when London-bound Flight 171 crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad, killing all but one of the 242 people on board and 19 people on the ground.

Last week, the airline appointed former Ethiopian Airlines chief Tewolde Gebremariam as its new chief executive.

The death toll from a devastating earthquake that flattened dozens of buildings in western Colombia jumped to 224, local authorities said on Tuesday as emergency workers dug through the wreckage for survivors.

Rescue efforts carried into a second day as emergency workers dug through collapsed buildings and flattened homes, amid expectations that the death toll from the country’s most powerful earthquake in decades could rise.

The 7.4 magnitude earthquake, the most powerful to strike the South American country in decades, tore through Colombia’s coffee-growing heartland early on Monday, reduced multi-story buildings to rubble in cities such as Pereira and Cali, and caused one of the spires of a cathedral in the city of Manizales to collapse.

Emergency teams aided by police, soldiers and volunteers worked through the night with excavators and, at times, their bare hands, hunting for survivors beneath debris.

Jose Fernando Usma, head of search and rescue for the Quindio branch of the Colombian Red Cross, said rescuers had detected sounds and some signs that could indicate survivors beneath the rubble, and were assessing damaged structures and removing debris to reach people trapped deeper inside.

“We still have a big window of time. We have approximately 24 more hours to have hope of life,” he said.

In Cali, home to about 2.2 million people, at least 95 people were killed. Dozens of buildings were left leaning precariously or destroyed outright, forcing residents into the streets.

Several of the top floors of one of the city’s hospitals — some dedicated to pediatric care — collapsed upon themselves, leaving some patients trapped and forcing some 600 others to be tended to on a street strewn with rubble, hospital director Irne Torres Castro told Caracol television.

Carmen Yasmin Garcia, 43, a Cali resident volunteering with rescue teams, said on Monday afternoon that her group had freed seven people from a collapsed building, but four others and a dog remained trapped.

“A moment ago there was scratching, but now we can’t hear anything; we still have faith that the dog is alive and we can get these people out,” Garcia said.

“We need people with sticks and spades, the more people lending a hand the better.”

In Pereira, the capital of the hard-hit Risaralda region, authorities reported 72 deaths, while officials in neighbouring Valle del Cauca, which includes Cali, reported 38 fatalities.

Pereira also bore some of the most visible destruction, with entire residential blocks reduced to piles of concrete and twisted steel. Video posted on social media and verified by Reuters showed the city’s airport violently swaying during the quake, with large chunks of the ceiling collapsing as people took shelter.

Another 13 people died in Choco, the rural province closest to the quake’s epicenter.

President Abelardo De La Espriella, who assumed power just days ago, said 1,000 members of the security forces would be deployed to the city by dawn, following reports of looting.

Cali, as well as Pereira, implemented curfews on Monday night.

“Our intention is to cooperate in any way necessary. Here, there are no distinctions or ideological divisions when it comes to defending our people or showing solidarity,” De La Espriella told journalists on Monday evening.

The disaster has drawn comparisons to a deadly 1999 earthquake that devastated the same coffee-growing region, killing more than 1,000 people, as well as to catastrophic quakes that killed more than 6,300 in neighboring Venezuela in June.

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Tuesday the EU was providing funding to support the rescue efforts.

“The EU has mobilised Copernicus, our satellite service, to support rescue and relief operations. We are providing funding to support the response, including through the Red Cross,” Kallas posted on X.

“We have also activated the EU’s crisis consular assistance mechanism to support EU citizens caught in the disaster,” she said.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also expressed deep grief over the loss of lives and widespread devastation in Colombia.

“Deeply saddened by the tragic loss of lives and widespread devastation caused by the powerful earthquake in Colombia. On behalf of the people and government of Pakistan, I extend my heartfelt condolences to President Abelardo De La Espriella, the people of Colombia, and all the families who have lost their loved ones.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the injured and all those affected by this tragedy. Pakistan stands in solidarity with the people of Colombia in this difficult hour,” he wrote on X.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar also expressed his “heartfelt condolences and sympathies” to the bereaved families of the victims.

“Pakistan stands in solidarity with the government and people of Colombia as they navigate this difficult time,” he said on X, wishing those injured in the quake a swift recovery.

The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Election Commission on Tuesday ordered re-polling at some polling stations in two constituencies in Poonch Division’s Bagh district.

Polling in four constituencies of Bagh and Haveli districts was held on Monday as part of the third and final phase of AJK elections. Balloting in the Poonch and Sudhnoti districts had been postponed over law and order concerns in the wake of tensions between protesters and authorities.

Re-polling at nine polling stations in LA-15 (Bagh Central) and 14 polling stations in LA-16 (Bagh East) will be held on August 15 (Saturday), AJK Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Ghulam Mustafa Mughal told Dawn at his office on Tuesday.

Re-polling has been ordered as the electoral process at some stations either could not begin on time or was disrupted and subsequently cancelled.

Of the four constituencies that went to the polls on Monday, the PPP and PML-N appear set to win one seat each, while a lesser-known party has won the third seat and the result of the fourth is awaited.

According to the latest unofficial figures, PPP’s Sardar Ziaul Qamar was leading the race for LA-15 with 16,637 votes, while PML-N’s Mushtaq Ahmed Minhas was trailing him with 15,015 votes.

Jamaat-i-Islami’s Brig (retd) Dr Mohammad Khan had secured 12,259 votes. The nine polling stations where re-polling has been ordered have 5,032 registered voters.

Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party president and former AJK prime minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas, who had won the constituency in the 2021 election on a PTI ticket, appeared to be out of the race.

In LA-16, PML-N’s Sardar Mir Akbar was leading PPP’s Sardar Qamaruz Zaman, who is the father of the PPP candidate in LA-15 and has served as an AJK minister in several PPP governments.

Akbar had secured 19,515 votes, while Zaman had polled 16,290. The 14 stations where re-polling will be held are said to account for about 7,200 votes.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission issued the preliminary results for LA-14 (Dhirkot), where Sajid Iqbal Abbasi of the little-known Awami Dast-o-Bazu Party defeated Muslim Conference president Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan.

Abbasi secured 40,522 votes, more than double that of Attique, who ranked second with 19,637 ballots in his favour, Form-27 showed. Form-27 lists cumulative results based on votes cast on the polling day (August 10) and by the election staff in advance polling.

Abbasi contested his first election on his party’s ticket in the constituency where the Muslim Conference president, and before him his uncle and father, had been elected in all nine elections since 1985.

Attique’s defeat also appeared to underscore the political decline of what was once the largest and longest-ruling party in AJK, but was reduced to a marginal force following the emergence of the PML-N in 2010.

The result of LA-17 (Haveli), from where AJK Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore was contesting, was still awaited, while PML-N candidate Chaudhry Mohsin Aziz demanded a recount.

Aziz alleged that Form-24s from different polling stations, containing the votes secured by each candidate, had been tampered with.

Following this, Election Commission officials began looking into the matter, while the ballot papers were reportedly transported under tight security to Muzaffarabad for counting.

Sources in the Election Commission said further decisions on the matter would be taken after the polling bags and relevant election records reached the commission’s office.

In a statement, Aziz urged PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to agree to a recount in LA-17, offering to quit politics if he failed to emerge victorious by a heavy majority.

Terming Rathore a “Form-47 prime minister”, Aziz said: “We possess the results signed by the presiding officers of all polling stations, showing a clear winning margin of 8,600 votes.”

He claimed there was a stark difference between the results in their possession and those held by the returning officer (RO). He alleged that their application for a recount, submitted to the RO, had been rejected.

“The RO’s partiality has destroyed the peaceful atmosphere of Haveli, but we will not allow anyone to steal our mandate,” he said.

“In any case, a recount is my fundamental right, and our protest will continue until a recount is conducted and the mandate is restored,” he said.

However, state-run Radio Pakistan, citing the Election Commission, reported that Rathore had won the LA-17 seat by defeating Aziz.

Elections are being held across AJK in three division-wise phases amid tensions between protesters and the authorities that have been ongoing for over two months.

The PML-N has so far bagged 24 seats — nine from Mirpur polls held on July 27 and 15 in the second phase comprising Muzaffarabad Division and the 12 refugee seats. On the other hand, the PPP has only won 10 constituencies so far.

Polling in the first and second phase of the elections was marred by allegations of rigging, scuffles and violence, with the PPP and the PML-N — allies in the Centre — engaging in a war of words.

The PPP continued its allegations of electoral malpractices on Monday as well, while the PML-N has already expressed its confidence of having a two-thirds majority to form the government in the region.

The third phase of the AJK elections was originally meant to cover all of Poonch Division. The division comprises 11 constituencies, including three in Bagh, one in Haveli, five in Poonch district and two in Sudhnoti district.

However, last week the AJK Election Commission announced that polling would only go ahead as scheduled in Bagh and Haveli due to concerns over the law and order situation. The AJK election commissioner has hinted that polling on the remaining seven constituencies could be held by Aug 20 or 21.

ISLAMABAD: Talks between the federal government and the All Pakistan Goods Transport Itehad on Tuesday ended without a resolution, with the transporters’ demands yet to be settled.

The goods transporters had announced a countrywide wheel-jam strike on Saturday over the daily fixing of petrol and diesel prices, among other issues.

Held at the Ministry of Communications in Islamabad, the talks covered the transporters’ major demands in detail.

Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan assured the transporters of the government’s full cooperation in addressing their concerns and resolving the issues faced by the sector.

However, the meeting concluded without any agreement or formal acceptance of the transporters’ demands and they subsequently announced that their nationwide wheel-jam strike would continue until their demands were accepted.

Talking to Dawn, Muhammad Owais Chaudhry, spokesman for the transporters’ association, said they would not withdraw their “legitimate and legal” demands.

“We are ready to continue negotiations with the government, but the nationwide wheel-jam strike will continue until our demands are practically accepted,” he said.

Chaudhry said the transporters had now decided to move to their main protest camp to Karachi, adding that the minister and other authorities would have to travel to the city for further talks.

The transporters’ key demands included effective and uniform implementation of the legally prescribed axle-load limit, relief in taxes, revision of diesel prices on a monthly basis instead of frequent changes, and resolution of other issues confronting the goods transport sector.

Chaudhry said the doors for negotiations remained open as the transporters wanted a peaceful resolution to their problems.

However, he made it clear that the strike would not be called off until the government accepted their demands.

“The wheel-jam strike will continue until our demands are accepted,” he reiterated.

LAHORE: As many as 12 people, including six minors, were found dead after a speeding loader rickshaw carrying 24 people fell into the Muzaffargarh Canal on Monday night after attending a marriage ceremony in a nearby village, it emerged on Tuesday.

On Monday, three loader rickshaws carrying a wedding procession were travelling to Basti Arain from Lomar Wala in Kot Addu district when one of the rickshaws lost control due to overspeeding and fell into the Muzaffargarh Canal near Sheikho Sugar Mills in Sanawan.

A rescue operation was launched after three people climbed out of the canal on their own and alerted Rescue 1122 on Monday. Subsequently, the local community, along with Rescue 1122, pulled out six people alive and recovered three bodies.

On Tuesday, as the operation continued, Kot Addu Rescue in-charge Osama Zeeshan told Dawn that nine more bodies had been recovered from the canal, taking the total toll to 12.

He added that the operation was still under way to recover the remaining people.

He said eight divers and 22 swimmers from Kot Addu and Muzaffargarh districts were taking part in the operation, with the help of the local community.

Zeeshan added that bodies had been recovered from 5, 7, 15 and 20 kilometres away from the site of the incident, and that rescuers had searched a 32km stretch of the canal.

The canal is estimated to be 12-15 feet deep and 100-120 feet wide, with a water flow of between 2,500 and 4,000 cusecs, irrigating 800,000 acres in the Kot Addu and Muzaffargarh areas.

Earlier this year, at least four people were killed and 28 injured when a bus carrying a wedding procession overturned in Punjab’s Lodhran district.

LAHORE: Ten additional judges of the Lahore High Court (LHC) took their oath on Tuesday, hours after President Asif Ali Zardari gave his assent to the appointment of the judges, ending a weeks-long deadlock.

Chief Justice Aalia Neelum administered the oath to the newly appointed additional judges at a ceremony held at the LHC.

The newly sworn judges were Ghulam Sarwar Nihung, Muhammad Ajmal Khan Zahid, Aamir Ajam Malik, Shireen Imran, Asad Ali Bajwa, Muhammad Amjad Pervez, Khalid Ibn-i-Aziz, Munawar Iqbal Duggal, Syed Farhad Ali Shah and Muhammad Usman Ghani Rashid Cheema.

In addition, Justice Tariq Mahmood Bajwa took oath as a permanent judge of the LHC on completion of his probation period.

The new appointments were made for one year from the date of their oath.

Following the induction of the new judges, 10 vacancies still remain at the LHC against the constitutionally approved strength of 60 judges.

The vacant slots will increase to 11 next week with the retirement of Justice Shahid Karim.

Earlier in the day, President Zardari approved the appointment of 19 additional judges for five high courts, along with confirmation of another five as permanent judges.

The appointments were pending since July 20 and July 21, when the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) — the body responsible for appointing judges to the superior judiciary — recommended them.

The approvals follow a positive meeting between the legal teams of the Presidency and the federal government, with sources privy to the development describing the matter as “on its way to resolution”. Another meeting between the two legal teams was expected to be held in the coming days.

The oath-taking ceremony for the judges had been scheduled for July 27 but was indefinitely postponed after President Zardari neither accorded assent to the summary nor returned it for reconsideration, with the government maintaining there was no legal justification for keeping it pending.

The president’s legal team had raised certain objections to the JCP proceedings, noting that nearly all nominees proposed by the PPP were rejected. They had also conveyed that some candidates recommended for appointment had criminal records.

The delay prompted the federal government to even consider bypassing the president’s approval by invoking Article 48(1) of the Constitution, arguing that he was required to act on the summary within a fortnight of its submission, sources said.

However, government functionaries later maintained that with the matter now sub judice, notifications could not be issued at this stage. Sources had said the government’s legal team planned to pursue an “out-of-court” settlement with its counterparts at the Presidency.

LAHORE: Amid conflicting reports regarding the outbreak of gastroenteritis in the provincial capital, some hospitals witnessed an extraordinary rush of patients brought in with severe complications of the waterborne disease.

The situation was said to be particularly alarming at the province’s largest teaching hospital, Mayo Hospital, where medics said they were receiving patients with complications including kidney failure and stroke.

Other government hospitals, including Lahore General Hospital, Jinnah Hospital and Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, witnessed a spike in the number of patients, while the management of Services Hospital said its patient numbers were routine.

“We are receiving a good number of patients with stomach infections, which may be the result of massive rains in the city,” said a spokesperson for Lahore General Hospital.

Quoting a senior medical consultant at the hospital, the spokesperson said the majority of hospitalised patients were children.

“We are receiving a large number of patients with gastroenteritis, many of them with kidney failure and stroke, which requires epidemiological investigation by public health experts,” said Dr Salman Kazmi, a senior medical consultant at Mayo Hospital, Lahore.

He said that every medical unit of the hospital was facing a very unusual situation due to the long queues of patients with gastro infections.

“I strongly believe that there may be an outbreak of cholera in the city, which has led to the extraordinary increase in the number of gastroenteritis patients,” he said.

Dr Kazmi, who is also secretary-general of the Young Doctors Association Pakistan, added that cholera outbreaks usually occur as a sudden spike in severe diarrhoea and dehydration caused by Vibrio cholerae bacteria from contaminated water or food.

Other contributing factors to a cholera outbreak include poor hygiene practices, unsafe drinking water and contaminated food.

“Even the emergency ward of Mayo Hospital has witnessed a high influx of patients with stroke, low blood pressure and complications from diarrhoea,” Kazmi said.

He said he could not comment on the official number of patients reported at the hospital due to faulty procedures in the data registration system.

Services Hospital Lahore Principal Prof Zohra said that everything was normal in the medical units of her teaching institute, denying any outbreak of diarrhoea or gastroenteritis so far.

Dr Mohammad Arshad, a former senior consultant at Shaikh Zayed Hospital, said that every year hospitals and clinics see a sharp rise in patients suffering from stomach infections, diarrhoea, vomiting and fever during the monsoon season.

Most of these illnesses were caused by contaminated water and food, he said, adding that the city’s major hospitals had been facing a rush of patients with gastroenteritis for the past two weeks or so.

Arshad said the illness might be a result of improper food storage, exposure to street food and unsafe drinking water, adding that health authorities must investigate the situation and take precautionary measures. He further said food businesses needed to exercise caution.

Arshad added that unsafe drinking water and contaminated food could affect digestive health and increase the risk of stomach infections, gastrointestinal infections and food poisoning.

International standards are often assumed to be a modern invention. They are not. Many predate the United Nations itself; the International Labour Organization (ILO), for instance, was established under the League of Nations and only later folded into the UN system. Countries have long used such standards to strengthen governance, build credibility, and integrate into the global economy.

Pakistan has been one of them.

Over the decades, it has voluntarily become a party to numerous international treaties and conventions, incorporating many of their provisions into its Constitution, national legislation, and regulatory framework, including constitutional guarantees relating to fundamental rights, labour protections and environmental governance.

It is, however, worth remembering that joining an international treaty is a sovereign, voluntary decision. Pakistan took on these obligations because they were seen as consistent with its long-term development goals, not because it was compelled to.

Today, the country is party to well over 150 major international treaties, conventions, and protocols spanning governance, trade, labour, human rights, environmental protection, maritime affairs, and more.

Far from being symbolic, these commitments strengthen market access, attract international investment, support development cooperation and trade negotiations, and reassure global buyers about the credibility of Pakistan’s regulatory framework. Many of them, notably, were undertaken decades before concepts like ESG, carbon border measures, and supply-chain due diligence became central to global trade.

Pakistan’s commitment to international labour standards illustrates this long-standing pattern well. The country has ratified 38 ILO conventions and one protocol, including eight of the 10 Fundamental Conventions — covering the abolition of forced labour, minimum working age, freedom of association, collective bargaining, equal remuneration, non-discrimination, and the elimination of child labour.

The remaining two — Convention No. 155 on Occupational Safety and Health and Convention No. 187 on the Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health — are currently under active consideration for ratification. Pakistan has also ratified two of the four ILO Governance (Priority) Conventions, on labour inspection and tripartite consultation.

Why does this matter? Because labour standards increasingly determine market access, particularly for export-oriented economies in Asia.

Pakistan has also ratified the Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, signalling its commitment to global best practices and reassuring international buyers that its exports meet internationally recognised labour standards. Tellingly, India has not yet ratified this protocol, despite its labour-related commitments under its free trade agreement with the European Union. Several major Asian textile and apparel exporters — including China, Vietnam, and Cambodia — have not ratified it either, despite being far more deeply integrated into global value chains than Pakistan.

Labour is only one part of Pakistan’s broader compliance landscape. The country is also party to 15 major Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), covering climate change, biodiversity conservation, hazardous chemicals and waste management, ozone layer protection, desertification, and cultural and natural heritage.

The scale of this engagement becomes clearer when viewed over time. The chart below traces the cumulative growth of Pakistan’s international commitments since independence and it shows a country that has, year after year, steadily expanded its participation in international legal frameworks.

Committing to international standards is no simple undertaking. Ratifying a treaty is only the beginning; it requires governments to review their domestic legal framework and, where necessary, amend legislation, strengthen institutions, and align national policies with international obligations.

Pakistan’s 18th Constitutional Amendment, for example, devolved many environmental and labour-related responsibilities to the provinces, creating an extensive compliance architecture that runs from federal ministries down to provincial departments and, ultimately, local governments.

None of this has been easy, and challenges remain. Even the world’s most advanced economies have yet to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals; Pakistan is no exception.

Part of the reason is that many international standards are negotiated and implemented within sophisticated legal and regulatory systems that are more readily supported by advanced economies. Less developed economies, by contrast, often face additional implementation hurdles owing to resource constraints and competing development priorities.

These challenges are compounded by Pakistan’s geopolitical environment. Sharing borders with India and Afghanistan, the country continues to contend with persistent security concerns and regional instability, adding further pressure on its institutions.

Despite these constraints, Pakistan has repeatedly shown a willingness to update its compliance frameworks in line with emerging global expectations.

International law keeps evolving in response to new global challenges, geopolitical developments, increasingly stringent trade rules, and more complex global value chains.

Most recently, in response to concerns raised by the United States over the risk of forced labour in global supply chains, Pakistan promptly amended its Import Policy Order to prohibit the import of goods produced wholly or partly using forced labour, well before India or Bangladesh adopted comparable measures. As a result, imported products containing inputs produced through forced labour at any stage of the value chain are now barred from entering Pakistan’s market.

The graph above tells only part of the story. Behind every point on it lie years of negotiations, legal reforms, institutional strengthening, and policy decisions. Their impact is rarely visible overnight, but none of that work has gone to waste.

Perhaps it is time to recognise that Pakistan’s engagement with international standards is not a recent phenomenon. It has been quietly laying the foundations for sustainable development for decades.

And this is the Pakistan we must not overlook.

LAHORE: A sessions court on Tuesday summoned TikToker Rajab Butt and four other suspects to frame charges against them in a case of alleged sexual assault of a social media influencer.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Zafaryab heard a private complaint filed by the social media influencer against Butt and four others and directed all five suspects to appear before the court on August 18 for indictment.

The social media influencer had filed the private complaint in 2025, alleging that she was subjected to sexual assault and subsequent blackmailing by the suspects.

She claimed to have evidence for the allegations, including WhatsApp conversations, a medical report and her statement recorded under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The suspects, who rejected the charges against them, had secured pre-arrest bail from a sessions court.

Last month, Nawab Town police registered a case against Butt and his accomplices for allegedly attacking some women and opening fire during an altercation at a cafe. A case was registered on the complaint of the same woman who accused Butt of sexual assault in 2025.

In the July complaint, she alleged that Butt attacked her and some others at a cafe.

Butt has been facing legal proceedings in multiple cases, including those involving allegations of hurting religious sentiments, promoting online gambling, and physical assault.

Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) has sent a legal notice to former Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chairman Shabbar Zaidi and sought Rs1 billion in damages over allegations that the party received money to suppress public protests, according to a statement by the JI.

The statement said the legal notice was sent on July 27 through Advocate Tahir Iqbal Malik on the directives of the party’s Karachi General Secretary Taufiquddin Siddiqui.

When Dawn contacted Zaidi for his comment on Tuesday, the former FBR chief said he had forwarded the notice to his lawyer for legal advice.

The JI’s statement, citing the party’s notice, said Zaidi made serious allegations against the party during a podcast interview and subsequently in statements circulated on YouTube, Facebook, X, TikTok, WhatsApp and other social media platforms.

The notice alleged that the former FBR chairman described the party as the “establishment’s firewall” for “diluting” public issues and protests.

In the notice, the statement said, JI’s lawyer contended that Zaidi’s statements amounted to “serious allegations against the party, including secret funding, bribery, corruption, political deception, betrayal of public interests, and alleged collusion with state elements”.

Through the notice, the JI demanded that Zaidi provides complete evidence in support of his claim, including the identity of person who allegedly made the payment; the name of person who received the money; the amount paid; the date, time and place of the payment; the method of payment; the relevant bank account or financial document; details of the alleged protest or public issue; witnesses to the transaction, documents and recordings; and the source on the basis of which the allegation was made, the statement said.

A Syrian court on Tuesday sentenced former ruler Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia, after convicting him over charges of “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity” during the country’s civil war.

The ruling against Assad, who fled with his family to Moscow as rebels closed in on Damascus in December 2024, is the first under the transitional authorities who this year began trying figures from the former government, both in person and in absentia.

Assad, who was born in 1965, became president in 2000 after his father Hafez died.

Shaped in its early years by the Iraq war and crisis in Lebanon, Assad’s rule was defined by civil war, which spiralled out of the 2011 Arab Spring, when Syrians demanding democracy took to the streets, to be met with deadly force.

A Syrian court also sentenced Assad-era official Atif Najib to death for “crimes against humanity” committed when he was head of political security in Daraa province, the cradle of the country’s 2011 uprising.

The court convicted Najib, a cousin of Bashar and arrested in January last year, of crimes including murder, “the intentional killing of children under 15”, and “torture leading to death”.

The acts attributed to him are “crimes against humanity”, the court said as it handed down “the harshest punishment against him, which is the death penalty”.

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday gave his assent to the appointment of 19 additional judges for five high courts, along with confirmation of another five as permanent judges, ending a weeks-long deadlock between the Presidency and the government over the judicial appointments.

“The president has approved the appointment of additional judges in the Lahore High Court (LHC), Sindh High Court (SHC), Peshawar High Court (PHC), Islamabad High Court (IHC), and Balochistan High Court (BHC),” the Presidency said in a statement.

It added that he had also given his assent to the confirmation of certain additional judges of SHC and LHC as permanent judges.

The appointments of 19 additional judges and confirmations of five judges were pending since July 20 and July 21, when the JCP — the body responsible for appointing judges to the superior judiciary — recommended them.

The president gave his assent to the summary forwarded by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, which was based on the recommendations of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), official sources confirmed on Tuesday.

Later, the Ministry of Law and Justice also issued notifications notifying the approvals. The new 19 appointments were made for one year from the date of their oath.

The oath-taking ceremony for the judges had been scheduled for July 27 but was indefinitely postponed after President Zardari neither accorded assent to the summary nor returned it for reconsideration, with the government maintaining there was no legal justification for keeping it pending.

The president’s legal team had raised certain objections to the JCP proceedings, noting that nearly all nominees proposed by the PPP were rejected. They had also conveyed that some candidates recommended for appointment had criminal records.

The delay prompted the federal government to even consider bypassing the president’s approval by invoking Article 48(1) of the Constitution, arguing that he was required to act on the summary within a fortnight of its submission, sources said.

However, government functionaries later maintained that with the matter now sub judice, notifications could not be issued at this stage. Sources had said the government’s legal team planned to pursue an “out-of-court” settlement with its counterparts at the Presidency.

The approvals follow a positive meeting between the legal teams of the Presidency and the federal government, with sources privy to the development describing the matter as “on its way to resolution”. Another meeting between the two legal teams was expected to be held in the coming days.

The delay had created practical complications for the high courts. Four additional judges of the PHC whose confirmation had been recommended by the JCP ceased to hold office after their tenure expired on August 4 in the absence of formal notifications.

Similarly, the term of SHC’s Additional Judge Justice Khalid Hussain Shahani expired on July 29 upon the completion of his six-month extension.

To resolve these issues, the law ministry’s notifications said the four PHC additional judges’ appointments will be considered from the date of JCP’s recommendation (July 20). Similarly, Justice Shahani’s term was extended for six months from the date it expired.

Based on JCP’s recommendations, 10 additional judges were appointed to LHC, along with three each to IHC, SHC and BHC — amounting to a total of 19.

Moreover, five additional judges were made permanent and the tenure of an SHC additional judge was extended by six months.

A woman was among 10 nominees appointed as additional judges at the LHC.

They comprised advocates Shireen Imran, Amir Ajam Malik, Asad Ali Bajwa, Barrister Muhammad Usman Ghani Rashid Cheema, Ghulam Sarwar Nihung, Khalid Ibn-i-Aziz, Muhammad Ajmal Khan Zahid, Muhammad Amjad Pervaiz, Munawar Iqbal Duggal, and Syed Farhad Ali.

For SHC, Advocate Muhammad Humayon Khan, District and Sessions Judge Suresh Kumar, and Advocate Dr Shah Nawaz Memon were appointed as additional judges.

The term of Justice Shahani as an additional judge of the SHC was extended by six months.

For IHC, District and Sessions Judge Shahrukh Arjumand, Advocate Ayyaz Shaukat and Advocate Umair Majeed Malik were appointed as additional judges.

Meanwhile, district and sessions judges Allah Dad Roshan and Abdul Qayyum Lehri, as well as Advocate Muhammad Rauf Atta, were made additional judges of the BHC.

Those confirmed as permanent judges were four additional judges of the PHC — Justices Farah Jamshed, Inamullah Khan, Sabitullah Khan, and Aurangzeb — along with Additional Judge Justice Tariq Mehmood Bajwa of the LHC.

The matter had also been sub judice before the IHC, where a plea challenging the delay in notifying the judicial appointments was filed last week.

On Tuesday, Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir heard the petition, which was filed by advocate Luqman Zafar Chaudhary through his counsel Zahid Asif Chaudhry.

The IHC adjourned the proceedings after the counsel requested the court to keep the matter pending until the law ministry issues a formal notification.

On Monday, the IHC had issued notices to President Zardari, the federation and the attorney general and directed them to submit separate concise reports explaining the timeline and present status of the summary forwarded by PM Shehbaz concerning the judicial appointments.

The petitioner’s counsel had argued that Article 48(1) of the Constitution uses the expression “shall”, imposing a constitutional obligation on the president to act on the advice tendered by the prime minister.

The proviso to Article 48(1) permits the president to return the advice for reconsideration within 15 days, after which the president is required to act within 10 days on the advice tendered after reconsideration.

For its part, the Presidency’s legal team had contended that Article 175-A did not prescribe a specific timeframe for the president’s action and that the provision could not be overridden by Article 48(1) to bypass the Presidency.

They had also referred to Article 48(2), which empowered the president “to act in his discretion in respect of any matter in respect of which he is empowered by the Constitution to do so” and states that the validity of anything done by the president shall not be called into question on any ground whatsoever.

On the other hand, government sources had maintained that judicial appointments were governed by constitutional provisions and that any deadlock must be resolved strictly in accordance with the Constitution.

Apart from giving his nod to the judges’ appointments and confirmations, President Zardari also approved the equalisation of the salaries, allowances, and pensions of Supreme Court judges with those of judges of the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC).

Moreover, he approved amendments to the 1997 order relating to the leave, pensions, and privileges of high court judges, the Presidency said.

He also gave his assent to the appointment of Haroon Akhtar as advisor to the prime minister on industries and production.

Father after father AFP spoke to in Afghanistan about the education ban that stops their daughters from going beyond primary school choked up in despair.

The pain and anguish it is causing behind closed doors is clear from interviews AFP conducted across the country, with even deeply religious fathers questioning the ruling.

The Taliban authorities justify the ban — the only one of its kind in the world — on their interpretation of Islamic law.

But “you will never find in the Quran that education is only for men”, said one devout father, while another — who praised the Taliban government for restoring security and reducing corruption — said he couldn’t “find any proper justification for this”.

All the men — whose identities AFP is protecting — described the emotional turmoil the bar is causing, with fathers losing sleep over what to do to help their bright and frustrated daughters.

Nine out of 10 Afghan men questioned in a UN survey last year said it was important for girls to go to secondary school, with nearly two-thirds considering it “pious” for a father to support his daughter’s education.

Some men have gone to prison for protesting the ban.

Girls were barred from secondary schools in March 2022 after the Taliban authorities returned to power, with universities closed to young women later that year.

The Taliban government did not respond to AFP questions about the ban.

Officials insist the ban is temporary. But after more than four years, the UN reckons “at least one million girls have been directly affected by the restrictions on secondary education”.

Engineer Ahmad — whose wife is a secondary school maths professor who is no longer allowed to teach — said he never imagined that “one day my daughters would be illiterate”.

The father of four girls said “stopping at the sixth grade” will leave them effectively “illiterate” for the demands of “the 21st century”.

“Every day and every night, my wife and I … are getting closer to the moment when our daughters will have to stay home,” he said.

With his eldest nearing the end of her time in primary school — and clandestine courses in their northern city costing more than half his salary — he sees no option but to leave.

As an ex-employee of an international organisation, he was well on track to get his family to the United States before President Donald Trump slammed that door shut.

Despite European countries regularly denouncing the restrictions Afghanistan puts on women, Sweden, Denmark and Germany have also refused them visas.

The children “do not know that we are losing our hope,” Ahmad, 40, told AFP, adding that leaving illegally was “too risky”.

“Every day” the children ask, “‘When do we leave?’”

They try to keep their spirits up whatever way they can. Their eldest might fail her final year after breaking a bone during her exams.

“She was sad, but I said to her: ‘If you have to repeat, you’ll have an extra year at school.’”

Mohammad, a doctor in a small town in Kabul province, said he always dreamed of sending his two daughters to one of the best universities.

“For the development of Afghanistan we need women, not only for the home,” he said.

His two daughters — aged 12 and 14 — are in their last year of primary, the older one having started school later.

For the last four years he has been trying to come up with ways around the ban — including sending them to school in neighbouring Pakistan, now impossible since the land border was sealed after hostilities intensified between the two countries.

Then he was told about a school that secretly teaches general subjects alongside its religious curriculum.

“It’s a private school” that charges higher fees of “around 10,000 Afghanis ($153)” a month for the two girls because “they are taking more risk”.

And there is no graduation certificate.

But Mohammad is afraid officials might inspect the school and “take my daughters into custody”.

“The most important … is that they go on learning,” the 42-year-old told AFP, adding that he told his daughters: “While I’m alive, I will find a solution for your education.”

N — who only wanted to be identified by an initial — is from Kandahar province in the south, a bastion of the Taliban movement, where he said girls can be excluded from school even before the end of primary if they are tall.

He has three sons and a 12-year-old daughter.

She “is very interested in astronomy. The other day, she did a collage of the solar system. She asked me a lot of questions, on gravity for example, and I told her that … ‘you will learn’“.

“‘How can I learn … if I cannot go beyond grade six,’ she told me.”

He moved his family to Kabul to find work and told AFP that “we have to be patient” and explore ways around the “poison” of the ban, like underground schools and online design or computer courses.

“Now I am working, I can afford the education of my children. But the opportunities are decreasing day by day, and I may not be able to support that,” with international aid also dwindling, he said.

In the meantime, he tries to shield his daughter, with her school days already numbered.

“She does not know that there is this other stress on us,” he said.

It was a feast day and everyone was celebrating, but M’s daughter stayed in her room crying. At 13, she could no longer go to school.

“Beside the school [ban], girls are not allowed to go to parks for sightseeing or refreshments, it’s really stressful,” M told AFP, clearly shaken by his child’s plight.

He tries to take her to a restaurant once a week just to get her out.

A devout logistics manager from a poor background, he worked hard to educate and improve himself, and praises the Taliban authorities for restoring security and fighting corruption.

But “I cannot find any proper justification for” barring girls from secondary education, he said.

“Sometimes when she gets so disappointed at home,” he cannot bear it, he admitted.

“I go to another room and … I hide to cry.”

M wants his daughter to go to university, and saved every cent so they could move to Iran so she could study there. But the war put an end to that.

So she could have some “social interactions”, he enrolled her in a Quranic school, “because staying at home all the time is stressful.”

However, recently she has refused to go.

“Even if I continue, there will be no future for me,” she told him.

“My daughter and her classmates were in a very bad mood” on the last day of primary school. “It was tragic,” said Nasir, who had already witnessed the pain his 15-year-old went through when her education was cut short.

The trophies the girls won for excellence at school sit alongside the books on the shelves of the home library he and his wife, a teacher, have proudly put together for them.

They tutor their daughters at home with secondhand high school textbooks they salvaged, making them stick to a strict weekday routine going “early to bed, wake up at the same time as if you were going to school.”

But alone in the living room, Nasir, 47, confided that his younger daughter “is depressed and does not always have strong morale to continue learning on her own at home”.

He gives her novels to soften the blow, as she loves to read.

The girls — who help others in their building with their homework — have recently started going to classes outside in secret.

“We have sleepless nights” about it all, Nasir admitted.

“This regime does not want educated people,” he sighed.

“When will we go back to a normal life?”

Header image: This photograph taken on July 21, 2026 shows an Afghan schoolgirl (R) holding her father’s hand leaving after taking a midterm exam at a primary school in Kabul. —AFP/File

US President Donald Trump said on Monday it would be “a terrible mistake” to replace Gianni Infantino, the embattled FIFA president who tried, and failed, to sell off part of the World Cup to private investors.

Infantino came under renewed fire in an open letter signed by three confederations — Europe’s UEFA, North and Central America’s CONCACAF and Asia’s AFC — accusing the world football boss of breaking trust “through deception”.

But Trump backed Infantino, who awarded the US president a “FIFA Peace Prize” at the World Cup draw ceremony last year.

“FIFA would be making a terrible mistake if, for any reason, they even considered replacing President Gianni Infantino,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

Trump called Infantino “fantastic” and said he “presided over the most successful World Cup, by four times, ever presented”.

“If he is gone, it will never be as successful or profitable again!” added Trump, who attended the World Cup final with Infantino last month.

Trump’s backing of Infantino is at odds with US Soccer, which joined the voices lining up against the FIFA president.

Infantino launched, and then withdrew in the face of scathing criticism, a plan to bring private investment into FIFA competitions, including World Cups.

FIFA hit back on Saturday at efforts “to undermine” football’s governing body and Infantino. However, Monday’s joint letter from UEFA, CONCACAF and the AFC retorted: “Leadership in football is not a possession. It is not about holding — or demanding — power to be held.

“When trust is broken through deception, when an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with authority, that duty has been abandoned.”

CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani is viewed as a potential challenger to Infantino, who will be up for re-election for a fourth and final term at the FIFA Congress in March, 2027. Candidates have to be declared by November 18.

Infantino had looked certain to be unopposed for a fourth term after overseeing a successful World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada until his plans were revealed.

The 56-year-old Swiss, who has been in situ for 10 years, has received the backing of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) while South American governing body CONMEBOL is largely supportive.

Individual member associations, not confederations, vote in the FIFA election; Infantino has received support from CONCACAF’s Mexico and two AFC members — Kuwait and 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar, where he has a house.

UEFA’s threat to boycott World Cups if the private investment plan went ahead proved pivotal in Infantino withdrawing his sell-off plan.

UEFA had called it “a shabby, opaque, backroom deal” and lashed out at Infantino again on Monday for a “failure of judgment”. After the furore, Infantino received “full support” of senior FIFA directors in an emergency meeting in Morocco last week, but the three confederations said that was meaningless.

The recent meeting, where “a select number of members of the FIFA Management Committee” were present, they said, “represents a continuation of the very pattern of conduct that brought us to this moment”.

“It is not the conduct of a custodian of the game, but of one who believes the game is answerable to him.” Infantino had been basking in the afterglow of the largest ever World Cup involving 48 teams until his plans divided the sport.

“The growth over the past decade has been real. But that progress was never the work of one individual,” declared the letter.

“It was the product of FIFA, the Confederations, the Member Associations, and the thousands of people who dedicate their lives to the game.

“The expanded tournaments… were shared achievements, agreed together, delivered together.” Under Infantino’s leadership, “there is silence where there should be accountability, distance where there should be openness”, they said.

“That is why we have taken this stance: not lightly and not alone, but together, and out of duty to the game we serve. Football’s strength has always been its unity.”

Students of Cambridge International Education’s (CIE) AS and A Level across Pakistan received their results for the June 2026 exam series on Tuesday.

The CIE, part of Cambridge University Press and Assessment, offers internationally recognised exams to schools in 160-plus countries. In Pakistan, O Levels (grades 9–10) cover a broad subject range, while A and AS Levels (grades 11–12) are more specialised and advanced, providing pathways to higher education in Pakistan and abroad.

While almost 368,000 students of AS & A Level worldwide received their results today, over 315,000 who appeared for Cambridge IGCSE and O Level exams around the world will get their results on August 18, said a CIE press release issued on Tuesday.

Over 100,000 students from over 850 schools across Pakistan sat for the June 2026 exam series for Cambridge International AS & A Level, Cambridge O Level and IGCSE this year.

The most popular subjects in the country were Physics, Mathematics, Business, Chemistry and Computer Science.

This year’s June series in Pakistan and other regions was marred by the leak of its AS/A Level Mathematics Paper 12 taken on April 29, which the CIE subsequently cancelled and scheduled a re-take for June 9.

Uzma Yousuf, country director for International Education at Cambridge, congratulated the learners who were receiving their exam results.

“This has not been an ordinary year. Some students prepared for their examinations against a backdrop of regional tensions, uncertainty and disruption, which makes today’s achievement even more meaningful,” the press release quoted her as saying.

“I hope every learner takes a moment to celebrate what they’ve accomplished,” Yousuf said, thanking teachers, parents and school communities across Pakistan who supported students.

“At Cambridge, we believe education is about more than examination results. It’s about helping young people build the knowledge, confidence and skills to thrive at university, in their careers, and in life,” she added.

Yousuf said CIE looked forward to continuing innovation in assessments, such as its digital exams pilot this year and modular assessment options at A Level, for better inclusivity and flexibility for students.

“Entries for Cambridge International AS & A Levels rose 5 per cent on last year, reflecting the increasing global demand for qualifications that provide a trusted route to higher education,” CIE noted.

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Rod Smith, group managing director for International Education at Cambridge, also congratulated the students. He noted: “More students are turning to our AS & A Levels because they combine deep subject knowledge with the skills universities and employers value most.”

Smith observed that this year’s “continued growth shows just how clearly that combination resonates in a world being reshaped by AI”, expressing confidence that AS & A Levels will become increasingly important in the years ahead for this reason.

“Whether students choose to study at home or abroad, Cambridge international qualifications open doors to opportunity and prepare learners for success in a rapidly changing world,“ said Smith, as AS & A Levels students have the flexibility to stay in their home country to study.

CIE noted that the standing of its AS & A Levels as a “route to higher education is borne out by new UCAS application data”, which showed that 98pc of A Level students who applied to UK universities in the 2025 cycle received at least one offer of a place.

In parts of the Middle East, school closures caused by regional conflict meant exams could not be sat safely, affecting almost 30,000 Cambridge students, CIE pointed out.

Therefore, affected schools worked closely with Cambridge to deliver Portfolio of Evidence, an established contingency method that assesses students on a range of work marked by Cambridge examiners.

CIE exams are typically held twice a year, in June and November, with results released in August and January, respectively. This year, June series papers were held from April 23 to June 9.

KARACHI: A judicial magistrate on Monday convicted a man of spreading false and fabricated information and sentenced him to one-year imprisonment.

However, the court released him into the custody of a probation officer after he pleaded that he was the sole breadwinner of his family and the offence was committed due to “lack of knowledge and illiteracy”.

Accused Muhammad Ibrahim was booked in a case pertaining to running an “anti-state” campaign on social media platforms in February 2025 to incite “attacks on oil tankers” during a Sindhi nationalist party’s protest against a project to construct new canals.

Judicial Magistrate Gulraiz Memon (East) sentenced him to one-year imprisonment for committing the offence under Section 26-A (punishment for false and fake information) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca) and imposed a fine of Rs10,000.

Magistrate releases convict in custody of probation officer

Considering his plea and quantum of sentence, the court observed: “The convict is a young man, aged approximately 26-27 years, with a clean record…[and] he has no prior criminal antecedents and is a first-time offender.”

Reasoning for not sending him to jail, the judge noted that sending a young first-time offender to prison alongside “hardened criminals would frustrate the reformative purpose of modern penal jurisprudence”.

“Therefore, exercising discretion under Section 5 of the Probation of Offenders Ordinance, 1960, instead of sentencing the convict immediately to serve a term of imprisonment, it is directed that convict Muhammad Ibrahim be released on probation for a period of one year, under supervision of the probation officer, Karachi East,” the court ruled.

The court released him against the surety bond of Rs100,000 and directed him to maintain good behaviour and remain law-abiding during the probation period and refrain from committing any cyber offence or engaging in “illegal online activities.”

According to the prosecution, an inquiry was initiated against the accused for allegedly running an “online campaign inciting arson attack on oil tankers to cause public panic,” adding that on Feb 27, the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) had raided the accused’s location and apprehended him and recovered his mobile phone.

After technical analysis, it allegedly revealed incriminating posts uploaded on a Facebook account named “Imran Sindhi”, which was allegedly operated by the accused, the NCCIA claimed.

They also alleged that the forensic extraction revealed stored cache data and specific digital artefacts containing subversive graphic materials attributed to “SindhuDesh Intelligent Service S.I.S inciting arson attacks targeting public oil tankers and threatening public infrastructure”.

During the trial, the accused denied the allegations and claimed he was falsely implicated in this case but he did not depose on oath nor did he lead his defence witness.

However, the court rejected the defence pleas and noted that the “unrebutted oral and forensic evidence establishes beyond shadow of reasonable doubt that accused Muhammad Ibrahim was knowingly maintaining and transmitting anti-state, public-disorder material via social media from his personal smart device.”

A case was registered at NCCIA under Section 26-A of the Peca read with Sections 506 and 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Published in Dawn, August 11th, 2026

In a phone call with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani congratulated Pakistan on the signing of the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, the Foreign Office (FO) said on Tuesday.

The joint defence agreement, signed on August 7 between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, aims to strengthen collective deterrence and empowers its signatory states to treat an attack against one of them as an attack against all of them.

In a post on X, FO said that the two leaders spoke last night, during which Dar’s Bahraini counterpart congratulated him on the agreement between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkiye and also expressed intentions to visit Pakistan in the near future.

Dar, for his part, welcomed the Bahraini foreign minister’s desire to visit and expressed appreciation for his comments.

FO said that during the call, DPM Dar “reiterated Pakistan’s firm commitment to promoting dialogue and diplomacy to achieve peace and stability in the region and beyond”.

Both Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Dar have said the pact is defensive in nature, with the latter saying that it is also “open to any country in the region” willing to uphold its fundamental principles.

A day earlier, Dar had felicitated the nation on the agreement’s signing.

The foreign minister noted that the term of treating an attack on one of them as an attack against all three was “consistent with the inherent right of individual and collective self-defence under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter”.

The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement has been hailed by the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) as an “important strategic step”.

Kuwait, Bahrain and Somalia are among the countries that have welcomed it. Iran’s comments also took a rather positive tone, stressing its stance of pursuing “security mechanisms based on cooperation between regional countries”.

KARACHI: The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has summoned four Karachi residents on a complaint filed by Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon over “false and malicious content on social media against him and his son” in connection with the Mir Raza Ali murder case.

The NCCIA’s notices, dated August 10 and seen by Dawn, stated that the agency was “conducting an inquiry into the subject matter concerning allegations of defamation through electronic/digital means, which was initiated on the basis of a complaint submitted by Naqvi Law Associates on behalf of Sharjeel Inam Memon, son of Inamul Haque Memon”.

“The complaint pertains to the alleged dissemination of defamatory and fabricated content through digital platforms, which […] has caused damage to his reputation and has attracted provisions of applicable cybercrime laws,” the notices said.

All four individuals have been directed to appear in person at the NCCIA Karachi office on Aug 13 at 11:30am.

The notices said the respondents were required to bring their original CNICs, relevant evidence and documents in their defence, record their statements and submit their digital devices.

The NCCIA warned that failure to comply would compel the agency to initiate legal proceedings before the competent court of law.

The development comes a day after Memon, through his counsel, approached the NCCIA against unidentified persons for allegedly “causing harassment” and creating false and malicious content on social media against him and his son.

Memon rejected allegations that he owned the guest house in Gulistan-i-Jauhar where Mir Raza Ali was allegedly tortured and murdered, and that his son had left for London immediately after the incident and had since been moving around with a bodyguard.

He said the allegations had “no factual or evidentiary basis” and were intended to malign him and his son for “extraneous political motives”.

His counsel asked the NCCIA to register an FIR and proceed against those found responsible under the applicable provisions of the Prevention of Electronic Crime Act, 2016, and any other relevant law.

An IBA graduate and owner of the eatery Wafflix, Ali had gone missing on July 28, and his body was found a day later with a gunshot wound in bushes near Shahi Qila Ground in Karachi’s Gulistan-i-Jauhar.

While investigators initially focused their probe on the possibility of suicide, Ali’s family has been saying that he was kidnapped, tortured and murdered. Later, a second postmortem following a controversy over his first autopsy revealed that he was shot in the back, ruling out the possibility of suicide.

The counsel for Ali’s family, Jibran Nasir, had demanded that the team probing the case be changed and accused the authorities of trying to “bury the facts”.

On Sunday, a new team was assigned the case, and a murder charge was also added to the first information.