Pakistan News

BANNU: An alleged militant commander and two people were killed in separate incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district, while militants also attempted to blow up a key link bridge, local sources said on Saturday. The Police Peace Committee said that Shahid, son of Mir Khatam and a resident of Wali Noor in Jani Khel, was killed near Kangar Bridge during an operation on Friday night. The deceased was said to be a close associate and facilitator of militant commander Akhtar Muhammad and was allegedly involved in several terrorist activities. In a separate incident, two bodies were recovered from Domel Link Road. The deceased were later identified as Ghazi Marjan and Parvez, residents of Wanda Sarai Naurang in Lakki Marwat district. According to reports, the two men had allegedly been abducted and later killed by militants. Police launched an investigation into the incident. Meanwhile, militants attempted to destroy the Teri Ram Bridge on Miryan Road with explosives. Local sour...

The United States opened their World Cup campaign with a 4-1 win over Paraguay on Friday, powered by a first-half double from striker Folarin Balogun, but the victory was tempered by concern over the fitness of Christian Pulisic. The emphatic Group D win marked a dream start for the co-hosts, whose four goals were their most ever in a World Cup match. Balogun became the first US player to score twice in a World Cup game since the 1930 tournament. “Amazing result,” US captain Tim Ream said. “It’s exactly the way we wanted to start the tournament.” The US broke through Paraguay’s vaunted defence in the seventh minute when Pulisic deftly split two players and found Weston McKennie, whose cross was kicked into the net by Damian Bobadilla for an own goal. Shortly after the first-half hydration break, Pulisic raced with the ball up the left side and sent a perfect cross to Balogun, who angled his shot past the diving goalkeeper Orlando Gill for a 2-0 lead. B...

Families of those killed in last year’s Air India plane crash gathered at the site on Friday to mark the anniversary of the disaster, still awaiting answers about its cause. On June 12, 2025, a Boeing 787 crashed into a medical college shortly after take-off in India’s western city of Ahmedabad, killing 260 people in the deadliest air disaster for a decade. Indian authorities are expected to issue an interim report in the coming days, a source of frustration to the victims’ relatives, who had been expecting a final disclosure. Suresh Patni, a driver, came to the site where the plane exploded in a ball of flame, engulfing his teenage son Akash at his family’s tea stall. “We are here today only to remember him on his first death anniversary,” Patni told AFP. Family members of Air India plane crash victim Akash Patni pay tribute at remembrance portraits set up for him at the crash site on the first anniversary of the disaster in Ahmedabad on June 12. — AFP ...

Bangladesh and India have agreed to deepen ​cooperation along their shared border with improved intelligence sharing and coordinated patrols, according ‌to a joint statement released on Friday, amid strained relations over alleged undocumented migration. Dhaka has accused Indian authorities of attempting to force migrants across the border without due process, complicating efforts to stabilise ties following the 2024 ousting of Sheikh ​Hasina and India’s broader effort to identify and deport undocumented migrants. Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and India’s ​Border Security Force (BSF) described the discussions as “cordial, positive and forward-looking”, according to the statement ⁠released at the end of a four-day meeting of top border officials in New Delhi. ​The regular talks also covered “illegal, inadvertent and forcible crossing at border areas,” an increasingly contentious issue in ​recent months. Bangladesh and India share a more than 4,000-kilometre border, one of the world...

THIS is not an obituary. Far from it. It is a tribute to someone who is completing the first 100 years of a crowded, productive life. Syed Babar Ali was born on June 30, 1926. For the past few weeks, numerous relatives, friends, business associates and educationists have joined in celebrating his centenary. Eleven years ago, in 2015, he recounted his life in a published memoir Learning from Others . He compressed 89 years of his life into 237 succinct pages. How does one compact 100 years of his life into 800 words? Yet, perhaps that is what he would wish — to have his life set down on a single sheet of paper. Every Pakistani — the living and the yet unborn — should read this memoir, if they wish to understand who was who, who did what and when, and how a single person has beneficially affected the lives of millions of us Pakistanis. Syed Babar Ali was born into money. His father Syed Maratib Ali had a flourishing business in Ferozepur and post-1947 in Lahore. That enabled Babar to ...

Pakistan’s prominence in global diplomacy has risen in recent months as a result of the role the country has played in brokering negotiations between the USA, Iran and the Gulf countries. Inevitably, however, this will lead to questions about the ways in which its leaders are seeking to translate this recognition in a manner that supports people in the country as well as the wider region. A clear area in which Pakistan can leverage its current global standing is the higher education sector. The stakes are considerable. Pakistan has one of the world’s largest youth populations, and demand for higher education is rising. Recent analysis by QAA (2025) notes that Pakistan has over 250 million people, around a third of whom are under 14, with university enrolment growing by more than 50 per cent over a decade. UK transnational higher education provision in Pakistan also grew from around 7,985 students in 2019–20 to 13,575 in 2022–23. Transnational higher education refers to the arrang...