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                        <title>Latest News, Breaking News &amp; Top News Stories | The Express Tribune</title>
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			<title>Pharma market access tops Pak-Ethiopia talks</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634686/pharma-market-access-tops-pak-ethiopia-talks</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634686/pharma-market-access-tops-pak-ethiopia-talks#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 20:24:43 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[Our Correspondent]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[Federal Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan called for expediting regulatory approvals for Pakistani pharmaceutical companies seeking access to the Ethiopian market, as the two countries discussed expanding bilateral trade, investment and economic cooperation.

Ethiopian Ambassador to Pakistan Dr Oumer Hussein Oba called on the minister in Islamabad. The commerce minister highlighted Pakistan&#39;s growing pharmaceutical industry and its interest in expanding exports to African markets, stressing that timely approvals and transparent procedures were essential to building exporter confidence.

The Ethiopian ambassador said he had taken up pending pharmaceutical registration issues with Ethiopian health authorities and received positive assurances regarding early resolution. The meeting also reviewed Ethiopia&#39;s ongoing World Trade Organisation accession process, with the commerce minister underscoring the importance of reciprocal market access. Both sides discussed a proposed visa waiver agreement for diplomatic and official passport holders.]]>
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			<title>PM urged to reject yarn exclusion from EFS</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634685/pm-urged-to-reject-yarn-exclusion-from-efs</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634685/pm-urged-to-reject-yarn-exclusion-from-efs#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 20:24:42 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Our Correspondent]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2634685</guid>
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				<![CDATA[Textile council seeks protection for inputs, says genuine exporters must not be penalised]]>
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				<![CDATA[The Pakistan Textile Council (PTC) has urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to reject demands seeking the exclusion of all yarns and fabrics falling under Chapters 52 and 55 of the Pakistan Customs Tariff from the Export Facilitation Scheme (EFS), warning that accepting them would cause serious and lasting harm to the country&#39;s value-added exports, according to a statement issued on Tuesday.

Copies of the letter, signed by PTC Chairman Fawad Anwar, have been sent to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chairman and the secretary, Ministry of Commerce.

In the letter, the council said it fully supported government action to curb misdeclaration and misuse of the EFS, but noted that associations representing businesses focused on the domestic market are now seeking further exclusions. Raw cotton, cotton yarn and grey cloth were removed from the scheme in 2025 through SRO1359(I)/2025.

PTC pointed out that these demands are contrary to the understanding reached during earlier consultations that no further exclusions would be sought.

&quot;Accepting these demands would cause serious and lasting harm to Pakistan&#39;s value-added exports,&quot; Chairman Fawad Anwar stated in the letter.

The council highlighted that global textile and apparel demand has moved firmly towards man-made fibres (MMF). According to Textile Exchange&#39;s Materials Market Report 2025, synthetic fibres accounted for 69% of global fibre production in 2024, while cotton&#39;s share fell to 19%.

MMF-based products account for about 63% of global textile and apparel trade, but only about 12% of Pakistan&#39;s textile and apparel exports. Competing countries are expanding rapidly in this segment, with Bangladesh targeting an increase in the MMF share of its apparel exports from about 24% to 40% by 2030.

The letter noted that Pakistan has almost no viscose or lyocell fibre production, while the domestic polyester value chain carries cost and scale disadvantages against Chinese and ASEAN producers. Value-added exporters therefore rely on imported MMF yarns and fabrics, many of which are specified by international buyers, to secure and deliver orders.

PTC warned that the 2025 exclusions already require exporters to pay taxes upfront on those inputs, adding to liquidity pressure and production costs. Excluding all yarns and fabrics under Chapters 52 and 55 would raise input costs and lock up working capital for apparel and made-ups exporters, restrict access to the fibres that drive global apparel demand, discourage investment in new value-added and MMF-based capacity, and weaken buyer confidence in Pakistan as a stable sourcing destination.

On misuse, PTC reiterated its full support for firm action against misdeclaration, under-invoicing and diversion of EFS imports into the domestic market.

The letter stated that FBR and Pakistan Customs have the legal powers, systems and personnel to detect and prosecute such cases, and that recent detections show enforcement is effective.

&quot;The misuse of a few cannot justify penalising genuine exporters or dismantling a scheme that is central to export competitiveness,&quot; the chairman added.

PTC requested the prime minister&#39;s intervention on three points: EFS should remain available for all legitimate export inputs, with no further exclusions of yarns or fabrics under Chapters 52 and 55; FBR should strengthen enforcement through input-output coefficient audits, reconciliation of EFS imports against export documents, risk-based examination and strict penalties for offenders; and concerns of domestic suppliers should be addressed by restoring zero-rating on local supplies of inputs to EFS users, rather than by taxing imported inputs.

PTC stated that textiles and apparel remain Pakistan&#39;s largest export sector and that its growth depends on competitive access to the inputs the world market demands. The council reaffirmed its commitment to working with the government to curb misuse while protecting the genuine exporters who earn foreign exchange for the country.]]>
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			<title>Govt eyes 30% EV target for 2030</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634684/govt-eyes-30-ev-target-for-2030</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634684/govt-eyes-30-ev-target-for-2030#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 20:24:42 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Our Correspondent]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2634684</guid>
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				<![CDATA[SAPM directs EDB to explore cooperation with EU on technical training, capacity building]]>
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				<![CDATA[Pakistan has set a target of increasing the share of electric vehicles (EVs) to 30% by 2030, Adviser to the Prime Minister for Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar Khan said, as he sought European Union (EU) cooperation on EV skills development, technical training and capacity building.

&quot;Pakistan has set a target of increasing the share of electric vehicles to 30% by 2030. Achieving this transition requires more than introducing new vehicles; it demands a skilled workforce, technical expertise and the development of a supporting industrial ecosystem,&quot; the adviser said during a meeting with an EU delegation.

He noted that several companies had entered Pakistan&#39;s EV market, creating a growing need for trained technicians and engineers. He stressed that timely investment in skills development would prepare Pakistani youth for emerging employment opportunities. &quot;Pakistan missed important opportunities during earlier phases of the global automobile revolution, but we cannot afford to miss the electric vehicle revolution,&quot; he remarked.

The adviser said the government&#39;s forthcoming Auto Policy, expected in the coming weeks, would place particular emphasis on EVs. Work was also underway on a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) Policy, he added. He said the transition could reduce the country&#39;s oil import bill and create opportunities for local value addition.

He directed the Engineering Development Board (EDB) to engage with the EU delegation and explore practical areas of cooperation.

The EU delegation expressed interest in exploring cooperation.]]>
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			<title>Oil mixed as WTI hits two-week high</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634683/oil-mixed-as-wti-hits-two-week-high</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634683/oil-mixed-as-wti-hits-two-week-high#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 20:24:42 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Our Correspondent]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2634683</guid>
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				<![CDATA[Gold recovers as investors await US data; rupee appreciates one paisa]]>
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				<![CDATA[Oil prices were mixed on Tuesday as hopes the US-Russia diesel deal could free up more supplies from Moscow offset attacks in Saudi Arabia and Yemen that could result in additional supply disruptions.

Brent futures were down 59 cents, or 0.6%, at $106.06 per barrel at 1659 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 73 cents, or 0.8%, to $94.47.

That put WTI on track to close at its highest since September 24 for a second day in a row. On Monday, Brent closed at its highest since September 15.

Gold prices in Pakistan rose on Tuesday, recovering part of the previous session&#39;s losses, as international bullion prices remained largely stable ahead of key US inflation data and remarks from the Federal Reserve (Fed) chair later this week.

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that it did not see any direct link between a deal on exporting Russian diesel to the US and Moscow&#39;s own stance on the Ukraine peace talks.

It was commenting on a Reuters source-based story, which reported that US President Donald Trump&#39;s envoys had told Ukrainian officials on Friday that the deal to allow Russian diesel exports was part of an attempt to draw Russia back into negotiations over a possible peace settlement in Ukraine. Russia was the world&#39;s third-biggest crude oil producer behind the US and Saudi Arabia in 2025, according to US energy data. Sanctions designed to keep Russian energy out of global markets have helped support oil prices since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Meanwhile, in the local market, the price of gold per tola increased by Rs900 to Rs440,836, according to rates released by the All-Pakistan Gems and Jewellers Sarafa Association (APGJSA). The price of 10-gramme gold also rose by Rs771 to Rs377,945.

On Monday, gold had fallen by Rs2,100 per tola to Rs439,936.

In the international market, spot gold edged down 0.1% to $4,164.70 per ounce by 1526 GMT, while US gold futures for December delivery declined 0.1% to $4,188.40 per ounce.

Silver prices in the domestic market remained unchanged at Rs6,532 per tola.

Director of Interactive Commodities Adnan Agar said the international gold market was moving within a narrow range as investors awaited fresh cues to determine its next direction.

Gold traded between a high of $4,200 and a low of $4,150, standing near $4,154 at the time of his assessment, he said. The market remained sluggish, with prices struggling to break out of their prevailing range.

Agar identified the $4,240-$4,280 range as an important resistance zone, suggesting that gold could face difficulty moving higher unless prices crossed these levels. His comments pointed to continued uncertainty over the near-term direction of bullion.

Investors are awaiting US consumer price index (CPI) data due on Wednesday and producer price index (PPI) figures scheduled for Thursday. The releases could offer fresh clues about inflationary pressures and the Fed&#39;s future monetary policy.

The US dollar slipped from its highest level since April last year, while the yield on the 10-year US Treasury note fell to its lowest in more than a week.

The rupee appreciated by one paisa against the US dollar, closing at Rs276.96 on Tuesday, compared with Rs276.97 in the previous session.]]>
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			<title>Govt seeks 15-year Saudi oil facility</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634682/govt-seeks-15-year-saudi-oil-facility</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634682/govt-seeks-15-year-saudi-oil-facility#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 20:24:42 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Our Correspondent]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2634682</guid>
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				<![CDATA[Aurangzeb raises $1.2b deferred payment facility with SFD chief]]>
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				<![CDATA[Pakistan on Tuesday took up the issue of revival of the $1.2 billion annual oil facility on deferred payments with the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), as both sides discussed ways to deepen energy cooperation.

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb raised the matter with SFD Chief Executive Officer Sultan Abdulrahman Al-Marshad on the sidelines of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) annual meetings taking place in Thailand.

The Ministry of Finance released the details of the meeting but did not comment on the oil facility. Adviser to the Finance Minister Khurram Schehzad also did not respond to a question regarding the Saudi response to the Pakistani request. People privy to the discussions said Saudi Arabia was examining the matter.

According to an official handout, Aurangzeb highlighted Pakistan&#39;s improving macroeconomic position and renewed access to international capital markets.

&quot;Discussions focused on expanding trade and investment, strengthening private-sector engagement, following up on the bilateral investment protection agreement and exploring opportunities for refinery upgrades,&quot; according to the finance ministry.

The official handout noted that both sides recorded satisfactory progress on SFD-supported projects and emphasised the importance of developing a fresh pipeline of projects. &quot;The SFD reaffirmed its continued support to Pakistan within its mandate,&quot; it added.

Saudi Arabia has also extended $3 billion short-term debt through the SFD, which the Kingdom further rolled over for three months in July.

Since 2019, Saudi Arabia has been providing oil on one-year deferred payments. The last facility was signed in February 2025, which expired in April. Instead of seeking short-term financing, the government is now seeking a long-term pipeline to lower immediate external financing requirements.

For the fiscal year 2027-28, the IMF has assessed the country&#39;s annual gross financing needs at nearly $30 billion, which the government is planning to cut by securing long-term rollovers of the existing external debt.

The interest rate on the previous facility, finalised before the Pak-Saudi Strategic Partnership Agreement, was 6%, according to economic affairs ministry officials. The last agreement was part of Saudi Arabia&#39;s broader financial assistance to Pakistan through the SFD, which had provided approximately $6.7 billion for oil derivatives since 2019.

Pakistan is now seeking a $6.7 billion concessional oil financing facility from Saudi Arabia for a period of 15 years, aimed at ensuring energy security amid heightened Middle East conflict that may keep global prices high and put additional stress on the country&#39;s foreign exchange reserves.

The country&#39;s annual petroleum group import bill surged to $16.8 billion in the last fiscal year &ndash; 5.8% higher. There was a 32% increase in crude oil import cost, which jumped to $7.2 billion in the last fiscal year. The trend is continuing in the current fiscal year and the cost of crude oil import further increased 40% during the July-August period of this fiscal year.

In July this year, a spokesperson of the Ministry of Economic Affairs had told The Express Tribune that the matter of the Saudi oil facility on deferred payments was under discussion with Saudi authorities.

Saudi Arabia has emerged as Pakistan&#39;s major bilateral lender after China and lately provided $3 billion in short-term deposit through the SFD for helping the country make debt repayment to the United Arab Emirates.

The IMF has not included the Saudi oil facility in its projected inflows for Pakistan for the financial years 2026-27 and 2027-28, according to the third staff-level report. Any such deal between both governments would offset the impact of any addition in the cost of fuel imports, said government officials. The finance minister also met IFC Regional Vice President for the Middle East and Central Asia Imad Fakhoury.

The finance ministry said the discussions focused on strengthening IFC support for private-sector-led growth and jobs, and translating macroeconomic stability into sustainable growth.

The meeting reviewed IFC&#39;s expanding portfolio, small-business financing, entrepreneurship, capital markets, and green and digital bonds. The finance minister reaffirmed commitment to Reko Diq and appreciated IFC&#39;s financing leadership, it added.

Discussions also covered mining infrastructure and value addition, affordable housing and developer financing, and agricultural development through improved storage, cold chains and electronic warehouse receipt financing.

The finance ministry said both sides explored greater private-sector participation in livestock development and support for pharmaceutical exports through stronger regulatory standards and investment.]]>
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			<title>Pakistan's universities should form character by design</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634674/pakistans-universities-should-form-character-by-design</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634674/pakistans-universities-should-form-character-by-design#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 19:30:41 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Dr Asghar Zaidi]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[Previously, I wrote in these columns that character is stamped on us, like the mark on a coin, by what we do again and again. Universities do much of that stamping, although they do it more by default than by design. They receive young Pakistanis at around eighteen, when habits are still soft and the brain is still maturing, and send them out as doctors, teachers, engineers, civil servants and business executives. So how should such character formation begin?

It begins with clarity about who we want to be. On a university campus, it must begin with those who lead, teach and serve, because students learn who to be by watching exemplars among their teachers. The habits students pick up from their teachers last a lifetime.

A decade of research at the Oxford Character Project frames character formation in three words, BE, KNOW and DO: who to be, what to know and what to do. Our universities usually start with DO: rules, codes and disciplinary committees. Yet experiments show &quot;don&#39;t be a cheater&quot; reduces cheating; &quot;don&#39;t cheat&quot; does not. The Oxford research points to BE as the starting point. Our own tradition has long done the same, joining taleem, instruction, with tarbiyat, the character formation of the person. The lesson is that a university that informs minds without forming persons has done only half its work.

Pakistan&#39;s 280+ universities and Degree Awarding Institutions, with nearly two million students, have given the country remarkable people, yet they form character more by default than by design. The 2017 tragedy at Abdul Wali Khan University in Mardan remains a painful reminder that a campus can provide education and still fail at character formation. Those who teach need it too: a 2023 Nature analysis placed Pakistan among large research-producing nations with the highest rates of retracted papers. Most are withdrawn because of misconduct, such as plagiarism or fabricated data: failings of character, not of intellect.

The Higher Education Commission has answered with courses, most recently Understanding of Holy Quran (Fehm-e-Quran) I and II, one credit hour each, compulsory for Muslim students since Fall 2025. These are welcome, but character is not delivered like content, one credit hour at a time. We can learn from Oxford&#39;s research, which names seven strategies that form character: habituation, practising virtue in small acts until it becomes second nature; reflection, looking back honestly on our experiences; exemplars, learning from people whose lives we admire; a shared language of virtue; moral reminders at the moment of decision; systems that make good conduct the easier path; and friendships in which we help each other grow. All seven begin with one decision: who we mean to be.

Abroad, America&#39;s Wake Forest University has used these seven strategies since 2017, helping more than 75 faculty build character into their courses. At home, Lahore&#39;s Superior University has made &quot;Leading with Character&quot; its guiding philosophy, from top management to students. The lesson: a university becomes what its people decide to become.

Who we mean to be deserves to be written down as a personal mission statement. Once written, a mission statement works as a personal constitution. Like a nation&#39;s constitution, it sets the principles against which every decision is tested and serves as a compass when the road is unclear. Research on moral reminders shows how it helps: because we want to think well of ourselves, being reminded of our commitments makes wrongdoing much harder to justify, even in our own minds. But any constitution is only as good as the way it is honoured.

A good personal mission statement must cover every role we play. A student is also a son or daughter; and a rector, a vice chancellor or professor is also a parent, a colleague and a mentor. The accounts officer who releases a scholarship on time teaches fairness as surely as any lecture. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) taught that each of us is a shepherd, responsible for our flock. Each of us, then, leads someone, and none of us is exempt from the character that leadership demands.

Because our roles compete for the same hours, a personal constitution must also set priorities: which role leads when two collide, and what we will not sacrifice for success. Hazrat Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) recalled that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), leader of a whole community, served his family at home and went out to pray when the time came.

BE is only the first step. KNOW asks us to understand ourselves under pressure, the people we serve, and where a judgement matters more than rules. DO turns both into small daily acts: one act of courage, a commitment kept when it is inconvenient, a friend with permission to tell us the truth. The Quran puts the test plainly: &quot;Why do you say what you do not do?&quot; (Surah al Saff 61:2).

Toxicity, deceit, exploitation and egoism are all around us, and it is tempting to withdraw and leave change to others. Yet &quot;Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change what is within themselves&quot; (Surah al Ra&#39;d 13:11). Imagine campuses designed for character, where vice-chancellors, professors, staff and students have each written down who they mean to be and what guides them, and then live it every day. Such universities would send Pakistan not only graduates with degrees, but citizens with a decision-making framework. Our campuses will form character either way. Let us form it by design, one personal constitution at a time: written, understood and lived.]]>
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			<title>Wealth management in AI age: will machines replace human adviser?</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634673/wealth-management-in-ai-age-will-machines-replace-human-adviser</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634673/wealth-management-in-ai-age-will-machines-replace-human-adviser#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 19:30:41 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[DR MUHAMMAD WAQAS              ]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[Artificial intelligence is no longer confined to technology laboratories. It has entered our banks, investment platforms and financial institutions and, increasingly, our personal financial decisions. From analysing markets and preparing financial plans to detecting fraud, AI is rapidly changing how wealth is managed. This raises an obvious question: will it eventually replace the human wealth manager?

Traditionally, wealth management has rested on the relationship between a client and an adviser. The adviser does far more than recommend investments. He or she tries to understand the client&#39;s finances, family responsibilities, ambitions, tolerance for risk and long-term priorities. A portfolio that looks optimal on a spreadsheet may be wholly unsuitable for someone who cannot emotionally bear large swings in its value.

AI is exceptionally good at the mathematical side of this equation. Modern systems can process vast quantities of financial and economic data in a fraction of the time a human analyst would need, compare investment alternatives and monitor portfolios. They can also automate routine administrative work, freeing professionals to spend more time with clients. Recent industry research from LSEG describes this as a shift from gathering information to interpreting and coordinating insights.

For ordinary investors, this could be valuable. Personalised advice has long been expensive, and therefore associated with the wealthy. AI-powered tools could reduce costs and extend financial guidance to people who could never afford it.

But accessibility should not be confused with reliability.

One of the biggest dangers of AI-based advice is that an answer can sound convincing without being correct. Financial decisions involve uncertainty, incomplete information and changing circumstances. A system may produce a sophisticated-looking recommendation while missing the individual&#39;s complete financial picture. Research from MIT Sloan found that AI can offer useful guidance on saving, spending and investing, but that its recommendations vary with the quality of information supplied by the user. The researchers also identified weaknesses in responding to income shocks, rebalancing portfolios and managing retirement drawdown. Investors should think twice before treating a chatbot as a personal financial adviser.

Then there is the question of accountability. If a human adviser&#39;s recommendation causes a client serious harm, regulatory and professional responsibilities apply. An AI system has no professional responsibility or fiduciary judgment. Responsibility ultimately rests with the institution, adviser or individual who deploys it. That is why human oversight will remain critical.

The UK&#39;s Financial Conduct Authority, in its 2026 wealth-management research, acknowledges both sides. AI can reduce friction, improve efficiency and help close the advice gap, but the regulator also warns of risks involving fraud, cybersecurity and consumer harm. These concerns are far from theoretical. The more financial institutions rely on interconnected digital systems and third-party technology providers, the graver the consequences of a major technological failure. The Financial Stability Board has recently placed AI-related cyber risk among its principal concerns for financial stability, according to Reuters.

Privacy is equally important. Wealth management requires highly sensitive information: income, assets, debts, tax circumstances and often family details. Institutions must ensure that convenience does not come at the cost of confidentiality.

Algorithmic bias is another worry. AI learns from historical data, which may carry existing inequalities. If an algorithm reproduces them, automated decisions could disadvantage particular groups of customers. The US Government Accountability Office has likewise flagged data quality, privacy, bias and cybersecurity as key risks of AI in financial services.

Interestingly, investors themselves do not appear to be asking for a fully machine-driven future. A 2026 HSBC survey of around 10,000 affluent and high-net-worth investors across ten markets found that 73 per cent use AI for finance and investment. Yet only 12 per cent said it was the most influential factor in their latest investment decision, while 62 per cent named financial professionals and institutions as their main source of ideas.

This points to a more realistic outcome: AI will not necessarily replace the adviser, but it will change what the adviser does. Less time will go on collecting information, preparing routine reports and repetitive calculations. More will go on interpreting AI-generated insights, managing risk and, above all, acting as a trusted human partner in decision-making.

That matters because money is deeply tied to human behaviour. Consider an investor whose portfolio has fallen 20 per cent in a market crisis. An algorithm can explain historical probabilities and estimate recovery periods. A human adviser can sit with that investor, understand the anxiety driving the urge to sell and prevent a damaging emotional reaction. That dimension cannot easily be reduced to code.

For developing economies such as Pakistan, the AI revolution offers both opportunity and risk. Digital financial services and AI tools could bring investment education and basic financial guidance to a far larger population. But low financial literacy, limited understanding of investment risk and inadequate consumer protection could leave inexperienced investors especially vulnerable to misleading AI-generated recommendations.

Pakistan must therefore think beyond simply adopting financial technology. Regulators, financial institutions, universities and technology companies should work together on responsible AI adoption, stronger data protection, transparent algorithms, effective consumer safeguards and better financial literacy.

The goal should not be to choose between humans and machines, but to combine their strengths. AI can process more information than any individual adviser, spot patterns and speed up analysis. Humans bring context, empathy, accountability, ethical judgment and an understanding of circumstances that may never appear in a dataset. The future will not belong to the institution with the most sophisticated algorithm alone, but to those who can pair technological intelligence with human wisdom.

The real question is not whether AI can manage money. It is whether we are prepared to ensure that, as AI takes on ever more important parts of our financial lives, a responsible human being remains willing to explain the decision, challenge the machine and stand behind the advice. That is where the future of trustworthy wealth management will be decided.]]>
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			<title>Four Nobels, one human quest</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634672/four-nobels-one-human-quest</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634672/four-nobels-one-human-quest#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 19:30:41 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Dr Intikhab Ulfat]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[Every October, Stockholm becomes the capital of curiosity. Nobel week is more than a parade of famous names; it reminds us that civilisation advances because someone spends years asking a question others have overlooked. Of the six prizes associated with Nobel season, five were created under Alfred Nobel&#39;s will. Peace, however, is awarded separately in Oslo by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, while Economic Sciences was established in 1968 by Sweden&#39;s central bank in Nobel&#39;s memory. That leaves four prizes - Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Literature - that form intellectual quartet.

The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine went to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel &quot;for their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics&quot;. Their work transformed a light-sensitive protein from algae into a tool that can switch selected cells, neurons, on or off with remarkable precision. It gave neuroscience a way to move beyond observing the brain and begin interrogating specific circuits. Light, once something the eye detected, became an instrument for asking the brain how it works.

Physics then took us from the brain to the universe. Francis Halzen received the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin. Neutrinos are elusive, passing through matter with barely a trace. IceCube turned a cubic kilometer of Antarctic ice into a detector capable of catching the faint signatures of these cosmic messengers. There is something poetic in using the coldest ice on Earth to learn about the most violent events in the cosmos.

Chemistry brought the journey back to the molecular scale. Henri B Kagan and Kenso Soai were honoured for discoveries involving non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis. Their work showed how tiny initial differences between left- and right-handed molecular forms can be dramatically amplified. Molecular handedness matters profoundly in biology and pharmaceuticals, and it also touches one of life&#39;s enduring puzzles: why living systems overwhelmingly favour molecular orientations.

Then came Literature, and with it Anne Carson. The Canadian poet, classicist, essayist and translator received the 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature for a &quot;bold and inventive oeuvre&quot; that, through playful dialogue with the classical tradition, has created new forms for contemporary literature. Carson is an apt companion to this year&#39;s scientists because she too works at boundaries. Poetry becomes criticism, translation becomes reinvention, ancient Greece enters modern life, and fragments become new wholes. Her work reminds us that discovery is not confined to laboratories; language, too, can reveal worlds that were present but unseen.

Taken together, these four Nobel Prizes tell a unified story. Medicine used light to probe the brain. Physics used Antarctic ice to detect ghostly particles from the cosmos. Chemistry showed how a barely perceptible molecular imbalance can become decisive. Literature honoured a writer who makes ancient voices audible again. In every case, the achievement lies in perceiving what was difficult to perceive.

That may be the deeper lesson of Nobel week. Universities divide knowledge into departments because administration demands names on doors, timetables and budgets. Nature is less obedient. A photon may belong to physics and medicine at once; chirality connects chemistry with life; a classical text can belong simultaneously to scholarship and poetry. Great intellectual advances often occur where such boundaries become porous.

For those of us who have spent a lifetime in universities, this is worth remembering. Education should not produce specialists who know more and more about less and less. It should cultivate curiosity able to cross disciplinary walls. The 2026 laureates remind us that knowledge begins when someone notices a faint signal, a flash of light, an elusive particle, a tiny molecular preference, or an old line of poetry, and refuses to dismiss it as insignificant.]]>
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			<title>Unstoppable rabies</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634671/unstoppable-rabies</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634671/unstoppable-rabies#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 19:30:41 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[editorial]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Editorial]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[A disease that is entirely preventable continues to claim lives in Sindh, exposing the provincial government&#39;s persistent failure to address a public health crisis that has been allowed to worsen for years. At least 38 rabies cases have been reported this year at just two major hospitals in Karachi, while more than 26,000 dog-bite cases have been recorded at these two facilities alone.

The provincial government&#39;s response has largely consisted of announcing programmes and making assurances that have yielded little tangible improvement. The Sindh Rabies Control Programme was launched in 2022, yet its implementation has been hampered by inadequate funding and limited operational coverage. As recently as December last year, officials acknowledged that only about Rs66 million of the Rs265 million allocated for vaccination and sterilisation during the financial year had been released. In May, the chief minister launched another province-wide campaign, while a fresh strategy for managing Karachi&#39;s stray dog population was announced last month. Meanwhile, the number of people suffering dog bites remains alarming. Such repeated announcements mean little unless accompanied by sustained implementation and measurable results. The government must explain why, despite years of programmes and considerable expenditure, it has failed to bring the situation under control. Although the government claims to have upgraded 278 anti-rabies units across Sindh, their effectiveness needs to be assessed independently.

The way forward requires a coordinated and sustained response. Mass dog vaccination and sterilisation must be expanded across the province, supported by reliable funding and regular monitoring. Health facilities must follow standardised treatment protocols, while public awareness campaigns should reach communities where misconceptions and reliance on traditional remedies continue to endanger lives. The provincial government must also establish clear accountability for failures in both animal population management and emergency medical care.]]>
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			<title>K-P's terror surge</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634670/k-ps-terror-surge</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634670/k-ps-terror-surge#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 19:30:41 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[editorial]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Editorial]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[Terrorist incidents in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa surged by almost 200% between March 2024 and September 2026, with police and security personnel targeted in 73% of attacks recorded this year. One of the most concerning findings in the government security reports recently shared with the federal cabinet was that terrorist drone attacks more than doubled in the past year, reaching 170 in 2026.

The federal government and security forces responded to the security situation with increased intelligence-based operations, eliminating hundreds of terrorists and disrupting militant networks across K-P. If only all parts of the government were working together, the results might have been even better. Unfortunately, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government, especially its top leadership, has been preoccupied with political activity and rallies in other parts of the country, rather than governing.

Even late in the game, when the federal cabinet was considering emergency measures, the provincial government seemed more focused on planning rallies. Even the security reports explicitly blamed the K-P government&#39;s &quot;flawed policies and its soft approach towards militants&quot; for enabling terrorist elements to establish a foothold. More than 9,000 police posts remain vacant, the Safe City project is confined to Peshawar, and the CTD faces severe shortages of weapons and trained personnel. The chief minister also insisted on negotiating with terrorists, which directly undermined the federal government and security establishment.

The situation now is remarkably different, as the federal government has taken K-P&#39;s elected leadership off the board. Going forward, Islamabad will bear full responsibility for improving security in K-P, as it will have direct control of the provincial security apparatus. We can only hope that the unfortunate series of events that has led us here can be reversed, and K-P sees some semblance of security again.]]>
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			<title>Flawed poverty paradigm</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634669/flawed-poverty-paradigm</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634669/flawed-poverty-paradigm#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 19:30:41 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[editorial]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Pakistan&#39;s societal strata are sinking deeper into destitution. The UNDP&#39;s Multidimensional Poverty Index report has unmasked the grim reality of the country&#39;s stagnant social mobility. Poverty is on the rise, leaving more than one-third of the population facing severe deprivations in healthcare, education and basic living standards. Alarmingly, 38.3% of Pakistanis are &quot;multidimensionally poor,&quot; compared to just 16.4% people in India and 14.9% in Bangladesh. These sobering statistics follow closely on the heels of a World Bank assessment, which revealed that Pakistan accounts for approximately 48% of the region&#39;s &quot;extreme poor&quot; living on less than $3 a day.

These statistics paint a grim picture for an economy where the lion&#39;s share of revenue is consumed by debt servicing and defence, leaving less than Rs1.5 trillion for national development out of a massive Rs17 trillion budget outlay. Unsurprisingly, the human cost is devastating: over 40% of children under five suffer from stunting, approximately 26 million children remain out of school, 70 million people lack access to basic sanitation, and the population of unemployed stands at a staggering 5.9 million.

The fact that these UNDP estimates rely on household surveys from different years is more than enough to highlight the urgency of this widespread deprivation. Furthermore, the world body warns that an additional 12.9% of the population remains highly vulnerable to falling into acute poverty. Critical sectors - including nutrition, child mortality, school attendance, sanitation, drinking water, electricity and household assets - are in desperate need of a comprehensive Marshall Plan. They can no longer be resuscitated through the piecemeal measures.

Sustained economic progress requires a strategic shift toward human resource development, a goal that remains unattainable without meaningful grassroots empowerment. The existing lopsided paradigm of funding from the federal to the provincial domains is infected with lethargy and corruption, further compounded by a lack of accountability. Structural poverty can only be mitigated by mobilising the masses for self-development and placing local communities directly at the vanguard of decision-making.]]>
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			<title>Protest movements in South Asia face their own test</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634668/protest-movements-in-south-asia-face-their-own-test</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634668/protest-movements-in-south-asia-face-their-own-test#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 19:30:41 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Dr Ikramul Haq]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[India&#39;s Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) offers South Asia an uncomfortable lesson: people treated as politically disposable can turn humiliation into solidarity. What began as online satire has become a movement demanding answers about examinations, employment and the credibility of elections.

The name followed Chief Justice Surya Kant&#39;s reported comparison of some unemployed young people to cockroaches in May. He subsequently said his criticism concerned people using bogus degrees, not India&#39;s youth. That clarification belongs in any honest account. The wider question is why an image of contempt found such a receptive audience.

On October 10, 2026, Reuters reported the detention of founder Abhijeet Dipke ahead of a Delhi demonstration seeking election chief Gyanesh Kumar&#39;s resignation. Authorities restricted transport and mobile internet, citing public order. The movement had already helped force the education minister&#39;s resignation over examination paper leaks in July.

The current dispute concerns revisions to voter rolls. Critics allege partisan exclusion; the Election Commission rejects wrongdoing and says entries were flagged during a draft exercise, with opportunities for reinstatement. These competing claims require transparent scrutiny.

An examination scandal becomes politically explosive when a qualification is a family&#39;s only plausible route out of insecurity. An electoral dispute becomes more dangerous when citizens already doubt that peaceful participation can change their lives. Economic frustration and institutional distrust reinforce each other.

South Asia has seen this interaction before. Sri Lanka&#39;s 2022 uprising grew from economic collapse. Bangladesh&#39;s 2024 protests began over public employment quotas before becoming a revolt against Sheikh Hasina&#39;s rule. In Nepal in 2025, anger over corruption combined with opposition to a social media ban.

These histories do not establish an inevitable regional domino effect. Each country has its own institutions, divisions and political choices. They do suggest that a grievance can widen rapidly when those responsible refuse accountability and treat dissent itself as the problem.

Pakistan should examine this warning without the satisfaction that a neighbour&#39;s difficulties so often provoke. Our question is whether a young citizen can obtain decent education, compete fairly for work, challenge an injustice and influence public decisions without money or patronage.

For governments, the answer must appear in budgets and everyday administration. Tax policy should ask more of privileged wealth and ease the burden on ordinary consumption. Public spending should improve schools and services, while recruitment and examinations must be open to credible independent scrutiny.

Young people also need meaningful participation between elections: functioning local governments, representative student bodies and political parties that allow newcomers to rise. Repeatedly inviting them to celebrate the nation while denying them a voice in its affairs cannot build lasting loyalty.

Protest movements face their own test. Mobilising anger does not confer immunity from scrutiny or provide a programme for governing. Violence against opponents and minorities destroys democratic claims. Removing a minister or government achieves little if arbitrary power survives under new management.

The likely regional development is further mobilisation around concrete failures of opportunity and representation. Whether it produces reform, repression or another cycle of disappointment will depend on choices made by governments and movements alike. No honest analysis can name the next capital or predict the timetable.

South Asia&#39;s rulers still have room to respond through fair opportunities, credible elections and accountable institutions. That room narrows whenever peaceful criticism is answered with humiliation or coercion. A generation asking for a future should not have to bring a capital to a halt before anyone listens.]]>
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			<title>Omani FM arrives in Pakistan, to co-chair Joint Ministerial Commission session</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634667/omani-fm-arrives-in-pakistan-to-co-chair-joint-ministerial-commission-session</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634667/omani-fm-arrives-in-pakistan-to-co-chair-joint-ministerial-commission-session#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 18:58:58 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Anadolu Agency]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2634667</guid>
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				<![CDATA[FM Albusaidi is also expected to pay a courtesy call to PM Shehbaz]]>
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				<![CDATA[Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi arrived in Pakistan on Tuesday for a two-day visit to co-chair the eighth Pakistan-Oman Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) session, according to the Foreign Office (FO).

Albusaidi, visiting at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and FM Ishaq Dar, was received by the Economic Affairs Division secretary and the FO&nbsp;additional secretary (Middle East).

&nbsp;



His Excellency Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi @badralbusaidi, Foreign Minister of the Sultanate of Oman, arrived in Islamabad today on an official visit to Pakistan during 13-14 October 2026. He was received at the airport by Additional Secretary Economic Affairs&hellip; pic.twitter.com/ALpb65f9HN
&mdash; Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) October 13, 2026


The FO said that the visiting dignitary would hold a bilateral meeting with FM Dar.

The 8th Session of the Pakistan-Oman JMC will&nbsp;also be held in Islamabad during the visit and would be co-chaired by the two foreign ministers.

Albusaidi is also expected to pay a courtesy call to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

In an earlier statement, the FO had said the meeting would provide an &quot;important platform&quot; to review the &quot;full spectrum of bilateral relations&quot; and strengthen cooperation across various fields.

The FO had said the visit reflected the longstanding fraternal relations between Pakistan and Oman and was expected to further deepen mutually beneficial cooperation across multiple sectors.

Albusaidi&#39;s visit coincides with regional diplomacy to contain escalating hostilities in the Middle East.

The two countries have participated in mediation efforts to bring a negotiated settlement to the US-Iran war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Read More: Oman&rsquo;s Sultan, Iranian FM discuss regional crises, push for diplomacy, peace

Oman has engaged in talks with Iran to establish temporary or safe commercial shipping routes through the near-closed waterway.]]>
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			<title>Govt cuts petrol by Rs2.71, diesel by 3 paisas for Oct 14</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634662/govt-cuts-petrol-by-rs271-diesel-by-3-paisas-for-oct-14</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634662/govt-cuts-petrol-by-rs271-diesel-by-3-paisas-for-oct-14#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 17:45:51 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Web Desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2634662</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Petrol price decreases to Rs392.66 per litre, while HSD will cost Rs396.82 under daily price mechanism]]>
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				<![CDATA[The federal government on Tuesday&nbsp;decreased the price of petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs2.71&nbsp;and 3 paisas per litre, respectively, for October&nbsp;14.

According to a notification issued by the Petroleum Division, the price of petrol was fixed at Rs392.66&nbsp;per litre, while HSD would cost Rs396.82&nbsp;per litre for&nbsp;Wednesday.

The latest revision comes a day after the&nbsp;government&nbsp;decreased the price of petrol by Rs2.93&nbsp;per litre, while increasing the price of HSD&nbsp;by 61 paisas&nbsp;per litre for&nbsp;October 13.

Read:&nbsp;Govt cuts petrol by Rs2.93, increases diesel by 61 paisas for Oct 13

On July 17, the government announced a new pricing mechanism under which petroleum product prices would be reviewed and notified daily, replacing the weekly pricing mechanism, as renewed tensions between the United States and Iran continued to drive volatility in global oil markets and raise concerns over fuel supplies.

On September 13, PM Shehbaz announced a special relief scheme offering Rs100 per litre off petrol for motorcycles, three-wheeler rickshaws and cars with engines up to 800cc, in an attempt to shield lower-income consumers from the impact of rising petroleum prices.

Under the proposal, an estimated 11.8 million beneficiaries would be covered. Around 10 million two-wheeler users and 800,000 three-wheeler users would be entitled to relief on 20 litres of fuel per month, translating into a maximum monthly benefit of Rs2,000 per beneficiary.

Another one million users of cars up to 800cc would receive relief on 30 litres per month, providing them with a maximum benefit of Rs3,000 each.

On Sept 17, the government reintroduced austerity and fuel conservation measures amid rising fuel prices, tightening business operating hours and restricting public events.

Under the measures, notified with immediate effect, shops, markets, shopping malls, bazaars, departmental stores, grocery stores, general stores and kiryana shops would close by 9pm throughout the week, according to a notification issued by the Cabinet Division.

Marriage halls, marquees and other commercial venues hosting festive events would close by 10pm, while restaurants, cafes, eateries, food outlets and standalone fruit and vegetable shops would be allowed to operate until 11pm. Takeaway and home delivery services would remain exempt from the timing restrictions.

Global geopolitical developments continue to pose significant risks. International oil prices are influenced by decisions taken by OPEC+, conflicts in the Middle East, sanctions on oil-producing nations, and disruptions in critical shipping routes such as the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea. Any interruption in these supply chains can immediately increase crude oil prices and freight costs. Since Pakistan imports the majority of its petroleum requirements, these developments quickly translate into higher domestic fuel prices.

Oil prices ​were mixed on Tuesday as hopes that the US-Russia diesel deal could free up more supplies from Moscow offset attacks in Saudi Arabia &zwnj;and Yemen that could result in additional supply disruptions.

Brent futures were down 59 cents, or 0.6%, at $106.06 per barrel at 12:59 pm&nbsp;EDT (1659 GMT), while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 73 cents, or 0.8%, to $94.47.

Diesel prices rose to record highs in many parts of the world in recent &zwnj;weeks due ⁠to global supply disruptions linked to Ukraine&#39;s attacks on Russian energy infrastructure and Iran&#39;s attacks on Middle East energy infrastructure.

&nbsp;]]>
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			<title>Govt was left with 'no option' but emergency, governor rule: PM Shehbaz</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634660/govt-was-left-with-no-option-but-emergency-governor-rule-pm-shehbaz</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634660/govt-was-left-with-no-option-but-emergency-governor-rule-pm-shehbaz#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 17:01:21 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[APP]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2634660</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Says 'Pakistan comes first', nothing is more important than the country’s progress and survival]]>
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				<![CDATA[Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said the government had been left with &quot;no option&quot; but to impose an emergency and governor&rsquo;s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa amid the deteriorating security situation in the province, saying &ldquo;Pakistan comes first&rdquo; and nothing was more important than the country&rsquo;s progress and survival.

The federal government imposed an emergency and governor&rsquo;s rule in K-P on Sunday under Articles 232 and 234 of the Constitution. The government cited the deteriorating law and order situation and what it called a lack of support from the provincial administration in the fight against terrorism.

Addressing the PML-N&rsquo;s parliamentary party meeting, the prime minister praised the &ldquo;brave people&rdquo; of K-P for their sacrifices in the fight against terrorism, saying the menace had been eradicated from the province by 2017 but resurfaced after the PTI came to power.

&ldquo;After that, terrorists had started returning to Swat. They were given a free hand and brought back,&rdquo; he said.



&quot; میں آپ سب کا دل کی اتھاہ گہرائیوں سے شکر گزار ہوں کہ آپ میری درخواست پر یہاں تشریف لائے۔

یہ ایک ایسا موقع ہے جب پاکستان کے صوبہ خیبر پختونخوا میں گزشتہ چند ماہ سے صورتِ حال انتہائی خراب، بلکہ دل خراش رہی ہے۔ یہ وہ صوبہ ہے جو پاکستان کے خوبصورت ترین صوبوں میں سے ایک ہے۔ وہاں کے&hellip; pic.twitter.com/ofQt3RAjqG
&mdash; Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) October 13, 2026


The prime minister stated that after the PTI formed the government in K-P in 2024, the federal government had made every effort over the past two and a half years to resolve issues through engagement.

The premier said meetings had been held with former chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur, who was assured of the federal government&#39;s full support in the fight against terrorism, further adding that meetings had also been held with non-functional chief minister Sohail Afridi.



&quot;2024 میں پی ٹی آئی کی حکومت بنی تو ان اڑھائی سالوں میں ہم نے حتی المقدور کوشش کی۔ ان کے سابق وزیراعلیٰ علی امین گنڈاپور سے ہماری کئی ملاقاتیں ہوئیں اور ہم نے ہر طریقے سے انہیں یہ باور کرانے کی کوشش کی کہ ہم آپ کے ساتھ چلنے کے لیے تیار ہیں۔ ملک کی ترقی اور خوشحالی کا یہ سفر ہمارا&hellip; pic.twitter.com/Ro8wUChZVq
&mdash; Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) October 13, 2026


&ldquo;Every day, our people, our armed forces and police personnel are being killed. There are daily sacrifices in Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. If this brutality is not completely eliminated, the progress we have made over the past two and a half years will come to a halt,&rdquo; he said.

PM Shehbaz said the government had made progress over the past two and a half years through a &ldquo;unique partnership&rdquo;. However, he added, if a provincial government was bent on dismantling that partnership, a political party was intent on destruction and stood in the way of the country&#39;s journey towards development, action would have to be taken.

Referring to his meeting with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director in New York, the premier said the lender&#39;s chief had praised Pakistan&#39;s recent reforms, describing the country as &ldquo;a new Pakistan&rdquo;.



وزیراعظم محمد شہباز شریف نے مسلم لیگ (ن) کے پارلیمانی پارٹی کے اجلاس سے خطاب کرتے ہوئے کہا کہ نیویارک میں آئی ایم ایف کی مینیجنگ ڈائریکٹر اور لندن میں سٹی بینک، جے پی مورگن سمیت عالمی مالیاتی اداروں کے نمائندوں سے ملاقاتوں میں پاکستان میں گزشتہ ڈھائی سال کے دوران ہونے والی&hellip; pic.twitter.com/od7hpNFK8U
&mdash; Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) October 13, 2026


He said delegations from six leading banks had also appreciated the country&#39;s recent progress, although they had expressed reservations over incidents of terrorism in Pakistan.

The prime minister said that while terrorism was spreading and instability was being created, the PTI was devoting all its resources and time to political agitation, including long marches and sit-ins, instead of focusing on development and prosperity.



&quot;یہ دھرنے اور لانگ مارچ، کون نہیں جانتا کہ گزشتہ سال اسلام آباد میں کیا ہوا؟ 2014 میں کئی مہینوں تک ڈی چوک خالی نہیں کیا گیا، وہاں گندے کپڑے دھوئے گئے اور قبریں کھودی گئیں۔ اسی دوران چینی صدر کا دورۂ پاکستان بھی مؤخر ہو گیا۔

جب کوئی ملک کی ترقی روکنے پر تُلا ہو اور دہشت گردی کے&hellip; pic.twitter.com/3GSad2inec
&mdash; Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) October 13, 2026


He added that the people of K-P had been waiting for development projects for 13 years, but the provincial government&#39;s time and resources had been consumed by long marches and sit-ins, further asking how any civilised society could tolerate this.

&ldquo;What option did we have in these circumstances? Should we have sat back as silent spectators and, after everything had been destroyed, said that this was our fate? No, this is not our fate. God willing, we have to build Pakistan,&rdquo; the PM said.

Read: Emergency, governor&#39;s rule imposed in K-P after president signs summary on PM Shehbaz&#39;s advice

The prime minister said that after the dialogue process collapsed, the government decided, following deliberations and consultations, to impose an emergency in the province.

Referring to the negotiations, PM Shehbaz said the final draft had been almost ready for signing after all the demands had been met. However, at the last moment, the other side said it wanted to consult the K-P chief minister, he added, adding that &ldquo;the rest is history&rdquo;.



وزیراعظم محمد شہباز شریف نے مسلم لیگ (ن) کے پارلیمانی پارٹی کے اجلاس سے خطاب کرتے ہوئے کہا کہ پیپلز پارٹی اور مسلم لیگ (ن) کے نمائندوں کی شرکت سے دن رات مذاکرات جاری رہے اور معاہدے کا متفقہ مسودہ بھی تیار ہو گیا، تاہم آخری مرحلے میں مذاکرات ناکام ہو گئے۔

بعد ازاں مولانا فضل&hellip; pic.twitter.com/slo3ivqyoS
&mdash; Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) October 13, 2026


The prime minister said that after a two-and-a-half-hour cabinet meeting attended by representatives of all coalition partners, the government decided to impose an emergency and governor&#39;s rule in K-P.

&ldquo;We decided that this is the moment when we must stop waiting any longer to save Pakistan, otherwise, everything will burn, and we will be left wringing our hands,&rdquo; he said.

Read More: &#39;Govt can&#39;t keep sleeping when it comes to citizens&#39; security&#39;: DPM Dar on K-P emergency, governor&#39;s rule

The premier said the government had been compelled to decide to impose an emergency because &ldquo;Pakistan comes first&rdquo;, adding that nothing was more important than the country&#39;s progress and survival.

The prime minister further stated that an emergency and governor&#39;s rule had now been imposed in K-P and an advisory council comprising experts and professionals had been formed. The council included doctors, educationists and financial experts, he added.



وزیراعظم محمد شہباز شریف نے مسلم لیگ (ن) کے پارلیمانی پارٹی کے اجلاس سے خطاب کرتے ہوئے کہا کہ خیبرپختونخوا میں ایک ایڈوائزری کونسل قائم کی گئی ہے جس میں ماہرین، پیشہ ور افراد، ڈاکٹرز، ماہرین تعلیم اور مالیاتی امور کے ماہرین شامل ہیں۔ حکومت کی کوشش ہے کہ صوبے میں بنیادی سہولیات کی&hellip; pic.twitter.com/TmMMoOIydn
&mdash; Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) October 13, 2026


He noted that the people of K-P were proud and hospitable and the decision had been taken solely to restore their happiness, development and dignity.

PM&#39;s meeting with parliamentary delegations

Earlier, the prime minister took delegations of Pakistan Muslim League (Q), Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) and Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Zia) into confidence over the government&rsquo;s decision to impose emergency and governors&#39; rule in K-P during a meeting at the prime minister&rsquo;s office.



وزیراعظم شہباز شریف سے پاکستان مسلم لیگ (ق)، بلوچستان عوامی پارٹی، استحکام پاکستان پارٹی اور مسلم لیگ (ضیاء) کے پارلیمانی وفد سے ملاقات

وزیراعظم کا کہنا تھا کہ گزشتہ کئی سالوں سے خیبر پختونخوا میں پاک افواج، سیکیورٹی فورسز اور پولیس کے کئی اہلکاروں نے جامِ شہادت نوش کیا اور&hellip; pic.twitter.com/ipMoqe1DYX
&mdash; Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) October 13, 2026


PM Shehbaz explained the reasons behind the federal government&rsquo;s decisions, stating that the conduct of the PTI government in the province and its failure to adopt an unequivocal stance against terrorism had posed risks to Pakistan&rsquo;s growing economy.

The premier noted that the provincial government had neither clearly condemned terrorism nor taken effective action against terrorist groups. Referring to the sacrifices of security personnel, he said numerous members of the Pakistan armed forces, security forces and police had laid down their lives over the past several years while defending the country.

PM Shehbaz said the federal government had provided more than Rs800 billion to K-P under the National Finance Commission (NFC) arrangements to support efforts against terrorism.

However, he said the provincial government had failed to take effective measures to strengthen the capacity of its Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) and establish Safe City projects to improve its counterterrorism capabilities.

During the meeting with a parliamentary delegation, the premier said an impartial technocratic advisory council had been established to assist the governor in improving law and order, strengthening the economy and eliminating terrorism in the province.

The parliamentary delegation expressed its support for the federal government amid the prevailing situation and appreciated the prime minister&rsquo;s leadership during what it described as difficult circumstances.

The delegation also said the people of K-P had remained deprived of adequate development in health, education and infrastructure during the PTI&rsquo;s tenure in the province.

It expressed confidence that, with the federal government&rsquo;s cooperation, development and prosperity in K-P would advance in line with other parts of the country.

MQM-P backs govt decisions on K-P

Separately, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) assured Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of its full cooperation with the government&rsquo;s decisions regarding K-P.

The assurance was given during a meeting between the prime minister and an MQM-P delegation led by party convener and Federal Education Minister Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui.

The delegation included Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal, Senator Aamir Waliuddin Chishti, Senator Khalida Ateeb and several members of the National Assembly.



وزیراعظم محمد شہباز شریف سے کنوینر متحدہ قومی موومنٹ ، وفاقی وزیر تعلیم ڈاکٹر خالد مقبول صدیقی کی زیر قیادت متحدہ قومی موومنٹ کے وفد کی ملاقات ہوئی.

وفد میں وفاقی وزیر قومی صحت سید مصطفیٰ کمال، سینیٹر عامر ولی الدین چشتی، سینیٹر خالدہ اتیب، اراکین قومی اسمبلی ڈاکٹر محمد فاروق&hellip; pic.twitter.com/EIfMXYF9lI
&mdash; Prime Minister&#39;s Office (@PakPMO) October 13, 2026



During the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on the country&rsquo;s overall political situation, while the prime minister took the delegation into confidence regarding the situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

PM Shehbaz described the decision to impose emergency and governor&rsquo;s rule in the province as a difficult one, taken in the best interest of its people. He said the government had made every effort to avoid the step and had engaged in negotiations in good faith, but had not received a positive response from the other side.

He said terrorist attacks in K-P were increasing, targeting civilians and security personnel, while the provincial government had failed to openly raise its voice against terrorist groups.]]>
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			<title>Hundreds queue in Hong Kong to glimpse Van Gogh painting unseen in public for 60 years</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634655/hundreds-queue-in-hong-kong-to-glimpse-van-gogh-painting-unseen-in-public-for-60-years</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634655/hundreds-queue-in-hong-kong-to-glimpse-van-gogh-painting-unseen-in-public-for-60-years#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 15:16:51 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Reuters]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Life &amp; Style]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[Van Gogh’s long-unseen painting draws Hong Kong crowds ahead of a record-breaking $180 million Sotheby’s auction]]>
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				<![CDATA[Hundreds of people queued in Hong Kong on Tuesday to view a Vincent van Gogh painting never publicly exhibited in more than six decades, ahead of a Sotheby&#39;s ​auction in New York where it is expected to fetch about $180 million.

The November 18 &zwnj;auction will test the strength of the high-end art market, in which collectors have continued to compete for scarce trophy works, undeterred by broader economic uncertainty.

Painted in May 1890, &quot;Ch&acirc;taigniers en fleurs&quot;, or &quot;Chestnut Trees in Blossom&quot;, is one ​of the most important works from the Dutch artist&#39;s final days in the French ​village of Auvers-sur-Oise, where he died about two months later, aged 37.

The painting ⁠is poised to set a new auction record for a Van Gogh work, said Scott Niichel, ​of Sotheby&#39;s modern and contemporary art department in New York.

&quot;This is a moment of extraordinary optimism, ​frenetic energy, enthusiasm, passion, and colour in the artist&#39;s body of work,&quot; he said.

Paintings from Van Gogh&#39;s final Auvers-sur-Oise period, just after his release from a psychiatric asylum in Saint-Remy-de-Provence, rarely come to market and the auction will ​draw the attention of collectors, museums and investors.

&quot;I&#39;d never heard of this painting before, so I ​wanted to see it with my own eyes,&quot; said Li Shanshan, a 50-year-old art lover who travelled about &zwnj;2-1/2 hours ⁠from the southern city of Shenzhen to view the artwork.

The painting, which depicts a massive blossoming chestnut tree with a flowering canopy that dominates the composition, will be sold among part of a collection of 12 long-unseen works, including items by Paul Cezanne and Claude Monet.

Five unveiled at Sotheby&#39;s ​in London in late ​September included Cezanne&#39;s &quot;Arlequin&quot; and ⁠Monet&rsquo;s &quot;Le Jardin des Tuileries&quot;.

After Van Gogh&#39;s death in July 1890, &quot;Ch&acirc;taigniers en fleurs&quot; was passed to his brother Theo, and then to the latter&#39;s widow ​Johanna van Gogh-Bonger and their son Vincent Willem.

Subsequently it was owned by ​German publisher ⁠Samuel Fischer, founder of S. Fischer Verlag, before entering the collection of George &quot;Buddy&quot; DeSylva, the American songwriter, film producer and co-founder of Capitol Records.

In 1953, the painting was acquired by collector Harriet Harris-Jonas, whose holdings ⁠were ​considered significant enough that New York&#39;s Metropolitan Museum of Art ​organised visits for patrons to view works in her Fifth Avenue apartment.

The painting was acquired by the Blaquier family from ​art dealer Wildenstein in 1975.]]>
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			<title>Greta Thunberg joins French teens on new day of school protests</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634653/greta-thunberg-joins-french-teens-on-new-day-of-school-protests</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634653/greta-thunberg-joins-french-teens-on-new-day-of-school-protests#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 15:10:54 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Reuters]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2634653</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Protest movement over teacher shortages, classroom overcrowding, crumbling school buildings enters its fourth week]]>
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				<![CDATA[Swedish activist Greta Thunberg joined protesters outside a high school in a working-class &zwnj;suburb of Paris on Tuesday as French pupils took to the streets for another day of demonstrations over poor learning conditions.

Now in its fourth week, the nationwide protest movement over teacher shortages, classroom overcrowding and crumbling school buildings has involved marches, blockades of hundreds of schools and, in some cases, clashes with police.

Pupils clustered outside several schools in Paris and other cities on Tuesday morning, ​brandishing placards and megaphones.

Read: France&#39;s high school students plan fresh protests

&quot;We are inspired by the young people who are demanding their basic rights,&quot; Greta told reporters outside Lycee Paul Eluard in ​Saint-Denis, north of Paris, one of the schools where the protest movement first gained traction.



Climate and social justice activist Greta Thunberg joined students at a high school in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, as France faced a new day of nationwide marches and strikes on top of the blockades at schools. pic.twitter.com/gC3Zx4x3Cn
&mdash; The Associated Press (@AP) October 13, 2026


&quot;Whether it&#39;s not funding schools enough, or ⁠the climate crisis, or social injustice crises ... it&#39;s about time that young people are stepping up and reclaiming that future,&quot; she said.

Mostly peaceful protests, with outbreaks of ​violence

Large crowds marched peacefully through Nantes in the west, Strasbourg in the east and Marseille in the south, holding hand-made signs with slogans such as &quot;Tear gas doesn&#39;t make ​us cry as much as the state of the national education system&quot;. Marchers were also mustering in Paris.

Footage from BFM TV showed clashes between people dressed in black and riot police in Strasbourg and Nantes, with clouds of tear gas in some streets.

In Lyon, the local authorities asked organisers to call off a march after a group of &quot;hostile individuals&quot; preceding the main procession ​vandalised shops and a petrol station and clashed with police.

While there was no immediate information on who was involved, it is not uncommon in France for street ​protests to attract so-called &quot;casseurs&quot;, a fringe of rioters who seek to confront police and destroy property.

Read More: French policing under scrutiny as student protest injuries mount

The scene was calmer in front of Paris city hall, where a youth orchestra played Antonin &zwnj;Dvorak&#39;s &quot;New World ⁠Symphony&quot;. Some musicians had protest stickers on their cellos and violins.

The education ministry said 214 schools were closed, down from 800 on a similar protest day a week ago. It said 94.2% of high schools were open.

The cash-strapped government has promised to act to address the pupils&#39; concerns, but has little room for manoeuvre at a time when concerns over the national debt and the budget deficit are pushing up borrowing costs to the highest level in years.

It has expressed sympathy with the students&#39; grievances, but has ​deployed riot police to quell the protests, ​leading to confrontations in which hundreds ⁠of people have been injured and thousands arrested.

Political polarisation ahead of election

The government suspended the use of stun grenades last week after one teenager lost a hand.

Six months ahead of a presidential election, the protest movement and the police response have elicited polarised ​responses from leading contenders to replace Emmanuel Macron.

&quot;The police are losing their breath running after young people to beat ​them up and injure ⁠them,&quot; said hard-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon, who has a chance of making the runoff according to opinion polls, in a post on X on Tuesday.



La hargne m&eacute;diatique s&#39;essouffle dans son invisibilisation des violences polici&egrave;res. Le ministre s&#39;essouffle &agrave; fermer les lyc&eacute;es. Les policiers s&#39;essoufflent &agrave; courir derri&egrave;re les jeunes pour les tabasser et les blesser. Seuls les jeunes ne s&#39;essoufflent pas &agrave; protester&hellip;
&mdash; Jean-Luc M&eacute;lenchon (@JLMelenchon) October 13, 2026


&quot;The only ones not losing their breath are the young people bravely protesting,&quot; he added, accusing the media of failing to show the extent of police brutality and renewing his call for adults to stand ⁠with the ​students to protect them.

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, the frontrunner in the presidential race according to polls, ​has denounced violence by protesters and called for those who have damaged schools &mdash;&nbsp;or their parents if they are minors &mdash;&nbsp;to pay for repairs.

The government has already introduced a bill that would allow precisely ​that. It is going through parliament.]]>
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			<title>What is fuelling India's protests over changes to voter lists?</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634652/what-is-fuelling-indias-protests-over-changes-to-voter-lists</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634652/what-is-fuelling-indias-protests-over-changes-to-voter-lists#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 15:06:17 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Reuters]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2634652</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Critics say the centralised system leaves errors uncorrected, removing millions from voter rolls]]>
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				<![CDATA[Major protests have convulsed the Indian capital for more than a week as the opposition Congress party and young people, spearheaded by the &quot;Cockroach&quot; movement, demand the resignation of the top election official.

The dispute centres on the removal of 130 million voters from electoral rolls, a move that critics say benefited Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s party in recent state ​elections, claims denied by the poll body and his Bharatiya Janata Party.

What is the revision and why it being done?

The exercise, or Special Intensive Revision (SIR), &zwnj;is a house-to-house revision of the voter rolls, launched in the eastern state of Bihar in June 2025 by the Election Commission, to update voter lists and remove duplicate and ineligible voters, before being expanded nationwide. The commission is an independent constitutional body, though its chief was appointed by a government-majority panel, drawing allegations of political bias, which it denies.

In contrast to the past system of voluntary updates to electoral rolls by voters, the ​SIR &mdash;&nbsp;the largest such exercise in nearly two decades &mdash;&nbsp;&nbsp;has drawn criticism for using centralised software, with limited powers given to local election officials who check if voters ​have died, moved or are ineligible.

Critics say the centralised system denies local officials the chance to correct errors, resulting in discrepancies that have struck ⁠millions from voter rolls or sent many scrambling to locate ancestral documents or launch legal challenges.

Why is it contentious?

The strict paperwork rules, short deadlines and large-scale deletions that characterise the exercise ​have provoked criticism that they could disproportionately exclude poor, migrant, elderly, homeless and nomadic people.

Read More: Indian police detain &#39;cockroach&#39; movement founder Abhijeet Dipke

Those dropped are hunting for decades-old documents regarding themselves, their parents and even grandparents in some cases, while ​others seek to correct names altered by translation, spelling or data-entry errors.

Many have been asked to show that they or their parents figured on electoral rolls.

Protesters say more than 130 million voters, or a number larger than the population of Japan, have been dropped from draft rolls across 30 states and territories, an assertion disputed by the Election Commission.

Led by its chief, Gyanesh Kumar, the commission panel says its deletions largely cover the dead, ​or those who moved, registered more than once or are otherwise ineligible.

Critics say the effort shifts to citizens the burden of proving they belong on the rolls, and warn that mismatched ​records could complicate efforts to establish citizenship or receive state welfare benefits.

Why is pressure mounting on the election commission?

Pressure grew after the Indian Express newspaper reported that two of Kumar&#39;s panel colleagues had raised at &zwnj;least 14 formal ⁠objections over 10 months concerning voter rolls, registration procedures and digital systems.

Differing views are a part of normal deliberations, the panel says. But opposition parties led by Congress and youth groups have protested, calling for Kumar to step down.

Were Eastern state elections a flashpoint?

This year&#39;s elections in the state of West Bengal, swept by Modi&#39;s BJP in its first such victory there, became a major political issue after millions of voters were excluded or subjected to review, excluding them from voting.

Opposition parties said eligible voters were disenfranchised, which disproportionately affected Muslim voters, benefiting the BJP. The party ​and the poll body denied the accusations.

What did the Supreme Court say?

In May, the ⁠Supreme Court upheld the Election Commission&#39;s SIR exercise, saying accurate electoral rolls were essential for free and fair elections, but ruled that the poll panel could not make a final determination on citizenship.

Opposition parties returned to court this week, citing arbitrary voter deletions and other irregularities, while the ​Election Commission on October 1 directed officials to identify omitted voters and ease the path to re-enrolment.

What are the implications for future state elections?

The revision comes ahead ⁠of a series of important state elections beginning in early 2027, including in India&#39;s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, ruled by the BJP. It is unclear if people left off the electoral rolls will be put back in time to vote.

In Bihar, several people are still appealing for their names to be put back on the electoral roll more than one year later.

What is the political risk for Modi?

The &quot;cockroach&quot; youth ​movement, which has mobilised protests in recent months against a range of issues from government school infrastructure to ​jobs for young people, is one of the biggest political challenges to Modi and the BJP in his 12 years in power.

The movement forced the resignation of Modi&#39;s education minister in July over an exam leak scandal. The group continues to ​put pressure on Modi&#39;s government for economic and social reforms. The group&#39;s success has also inspired opposition parties to join forces.]]>
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			<title>Police claim situation in Khyber under control after reported clashes</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634651/police-claim-situation-in-khyber-under-control-after-reported-clashes</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634651/police-claim-situation-in-khyber-under-control-after-reported-clashes#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 14:55:23 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Our Correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[Deny cops abduction reports; urge people to not pay heed to ‘rumours’]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The Capital City Police Peshawar on Tuesday urged the public not to pay heed to what it described as &quot;baseless rumours&quot;, saying the situation in Bara had been &quot;brought under control&quot; amid reports of clashes between protesters and security personnel.

The police also denied reports that any personnel had been abducted and said around 50 people had been arrested for allegedly &quot;attempting to create unrest&quot;.

The statement said cases would be registered against those involved in damaging public property and disrupting law and order under relevant provisions relating to terrorism and sabotage, with strict legal action to follow.

Read: Govt was left with &#39;no option&#39; but emergency, governor rule: PM Shehbaz

The statement came after clashes reportedly erupted in Bara Bazaar on Tuesday during a protest by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers against the imposition of governor&rsquo;s rule in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Protesters set fire to a National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) office and allegedly took 15 police personnel hostage, according to police.

A protest by the PTI turned violent in Bara Bazaar in Khyber district, with protesters setting fire to a NADRA office, damaging government property and pelting stones at a Rescue 1122 office.

Several people, including two children, were reportedly injured in firing during the protest.

PTI lawmaker Iqbal Afridi said 11 party workers had been injured and one killed. The casualties could not be independently verified.



ضلع خیبر، جمرود میں گورنر راج کے خلاف پُرامن احتجاج.
عوامی حقوق پر کوئی سمجھوتہ نہیں، گورنر راج نامنظور pic.twitter.com/4cBa4VAwLa
&mdash; Iqbal Afridi PTI (@IqbalAfridiPTI) October 13, 2026


Khyber District Police Officer Waqar Ahmed said hundreds of PTI workers gathered in Bara Bazaar on Tuesday afternoon to protest against governor&rsquo;s rule. Police used tear gas and fired into the air to disperse the crowd, which temporarily broke up.

About 90 minutes later, hundreds of protesters led by provincial assembly member Abdul Ghani marched from Minar Chowk towards Bara Chowk, chanting slogans against the government. They set fire to traffic signals upon reaching the intersection, according to the account provided by the district police chief.

As tensions escalated, protesters allegedly detained 15 police personnel inside the tehsil municipal office and took away their weapons and uniforms. Ahmed said the personnel remained in captivity at the time of reporting.

Protesters also set fire to the NADRA office and pelted the Rescue office with stones. Police again used tear gas and fired into the air to disperse the crowd. Two PTI workers were injured by tear gas shells during the demonstrations, Ahmed said.

Separately, reports from Bara Bazaar indicated that several people, including two children, had received gunshot wounds. Further details about the casualties were not immediately available.

Protest in Jamrud

Protests were also held at Bab-e-Khyber in Jamrud, where demonstrators chanted slogans against the government&rsquo;s measures. Further details about the demonstration were not immediately available.

Tensions remained high at several locations in Khyber district following the protests and violence. The status of the police personnel allegedly detained by protesters, the number of injured, and the extent of damage to public property remained unclear.]]>
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			<title>‘Negotiations were a sham’: Raja Nasir Abbas lambasts government for pre-planning governor’s rule</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634649/negotiations-were-a-sham-raja-nasir-abbas-lambasts-government-for-pre-planning-governors-rule</link>
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			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 14:41:29 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Naeem Asghar]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2634649</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Senate deliberates on K-P's governor rule and emergency]]>
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				<![CDATA[Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Allama Raja Nasir Abbas on Tuesday alleged that negotiations with the government were a sham, claiming that the decision on governor&rsquo;s rule in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa had already been made before the talks concluded.

The federal government imposed an emergency and governor&rsquo;s rule in K-P on Sunday under Articles 232 and 234 of the Constitution. The government cited the deteriorating law and order situation and what it called a lack of support from the provincial administration in the fight against terrorism.

The upper house opened the floor for debate on the move.



خیبر پختونخوا میں ایمرجنسی کے نفاذ کے خلاف سینیٹ میں قرارداد پیش

اسلام آباد: جمعیت وکلاء فورم پاکستان کے مرکزی صدر سینیٹر کامران مرتضیٰ سینیٹر مولانا عبدالواسع سینیٹر مولانا عطاء الحق درویش نے خیبر پختونخوا میں ایمرجنسی کے نفاذ کے خلاف سینیٹ میں قرارداد پیش کردی۔ pic.twitter.com/GKPvQxCv5Q
&mdash; Kamran Murtaza (@KamranM69045926) October 13, 2026



&ldquo;The negotiations were a sham. You had already made up your mind,&rdquo; Abbas said, arguing that the opposition had shown flexibility by stepping back from its demand for a meeting with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder Imran Khan, while the government had refused to reconsider its position.

Speaking during a Senate session chaired by Senate Chairman Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, Abbas said the opposition wanted to meet Imran to seek his guidance in light of the prevailing global situation, adding that denying access to a detained political leader raised questions about the government&rsquo;s commitment to political dialogue.

&ldquo;We are not being allowed to meet Imran Khan, who is a prisoner and the head of a political party,&rdquo; he said.

Abbas maintained that the opposition had demonstrated a willingness to compromise during negotiations but alleged that the government had already decided on its course of action.

He also criticised the reported move towards imposing governor&rsquo;s rule in K-P, warning that such measures could deepen political tensions and undermine efforts to restore peace in the province.

Questioning the message being conveyed to young people in K-P, the opposition leader said the authorities&rsquo; actions suggested that political struggle and recourse to the judiciary carried little weight. He warned that pushing people away from democratic and political processes could increase frustration and potentially contribute to further instability and militancy.

Referring to the governor&rsquo;s reported remarks urging people to leave their homes, Abbas argued that such statements could have the opposite of their intended effect by encouraging more people to take up arms.

He cautioned that policies pursued in the name of &quot;restoring order&quot; could aggravate terrorism and unrest, rather than address their underlying causes.

Drawing a comparison with former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, Abbas said that even Musharraf had tolerated dissent to some extent, questioning why a government operating under a democratic system could not accommodate political disagreement. He also alleged that PTI lawmakers, including members of the National Assembly and provincial assemblies, were being abducted.

Abbas said the political crisis could still be resolved through dialogue and corrective action.

He urged the government to end governor&rsquo;s rule, warning that the move would not deliver lasting peace and could instead inflict further damage on the country.

&ldquo;Peace cannot be established through such measures. Pakistan will suffer the consequences,&rdquo; he said.

Earlier, the Senate session began with prayers for those who lost their lives in the Multan railway incident, with Abbas leading the prayers. The house also approved a motion to defer the question hour.

The panel of presiding officers was announced, with Senators Shahadat Ahsan, Manzoor Ahmed and Abdul Qadir nominated to the panel. Then the upper house moved to the discussion on emergency and governor&#39;s rule.

Interior minister says negotiations with PTI collapsed over intra-party differences

Later in the session, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said that the government had approached the opposition for negotiations with sincerity. He claimed that the options of imposing an emergency or governor&rsquo;s rule had been available as early as November 24, but insisted that the government had not wanted to take either step.

He urged opposition leaders to confirm that he had continued contacting them until the night before the possibility of an emergency was discussed.

Recounting the negotiations with the opposition, Naqvi said the initial discussions had focused primarily on terrorism, with the first seven or eight points concerning the security situation. He said PTI leader Asad Qaiser had assured the government of cooperation on the issue and indicated that he would consult the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government before proceeding further.

&ldquo;After that, we discussed political issues,&rdquo; Naqvi highlighted.

Naqvi said he had also approached Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and asked him to identify the changes the opposition wanted in &ldquo;paragraph four&rdquo; of the draft proposal.

During the negotiations, the interior minister said Asad Qaiser had subsequently indicated that the opposition was willing to support measures concerning terrorism, including an emergency.

According to the minister, six proposals were sent in the final draft.

He claimed that after the draft was finalised, it was forwarded to the K-P chief minister, who then shared it with Murad Saeed. Naqvi alleged that the process broke down following these consultations.

Naqvi also questioned whether Murad Saeed alone was responsible for the collapse of the negotiations, suggesting that other factors and people within the party may also have played a role.

&ldquo;Imposing an emergency or governor&rsquo;s rule was not easy. None of us wanted it,&rdquo; he said.

At the same time, he said, &ldquo;We did not want our security personnel to be martyred in Peshawar while no provincial assembly representative was present,&rdquo; referring to the security situation in K-P.

He added that government representatives had attended the funerals of security personnel in the province, accusing the provincial government of failing to provide similar support.

The interior minister also alleged that around 80% of terrorism-related activity was emanating from Afghanistan. He said the government had never singled out any tribe in its statements on militancy.

Naqvi said the government had raised concerns about alleged contacts between certain individuals associated with the PTI-led provincial administration and the Taliban.

&ldquo;We told them that several of their people were linked to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and we have evidence,&rdquo; he said, adding that the government also had information about financial transactions involving individuals connected to the matter.

The minister also recalled previous negotiations with PTI leaders over a planned protest on November 25.

&ldquo;The government had offered the opposition a venue to hold its protest, but the opposition had instead demanded that a telephone conversation be arranged [with the PTI founder].&rdquo;

According to Naqvi, the call was facilitated, and the conversation took place, but differences emerged within the opposition, with some party members refusing to accept the outcome. The minister said the government was subsequently asked to arrange a video message from the PTI founder, Imran Khan.

Naqvi claimed that he asked Barrister Gohar to go and record the message, but Imran Khan declined to avail the offer. The minister maintained that the government had reminded the PTI founder that his party was preparing to stage a sit-in and that the message needed to be recorded immediately, but he ignored the call.

Naqvi concluded this part of his remarks by praying for the success of security forces in the fight against terrorism and saying the federal government would work alongside the people of K-P.

PTI refutes govt&#39;s claim

Addressing Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, PTI-backed Senator Ali Zafar accused the government of violating the Constitution by arresting the chief minister, speaker and other ministers in K-P, warning that the move would weaken state institutions and undermine democracy.

Speaking during a Senate session, Zafar said the government had inflicted an &ldquo;indescribable wound&rdquo; on the state by taking actions that, he argued, were contrary to the Constitution.

The senator questioned, &ldquo;Which constitutional provision allows the federal government to take control of a province in the guise of combating terrorism?&rdquo;

&ldquo;We are all united in our resolve to defeat terrorism. However, while fighting this war, we must not throw the Constitution into the dustbin,&rdquo; he took the interior minister to task.

Zafar maintained that counterterrorism measures could not be used as a justification for dismissing a provincial government or imposing governor&#39;s rule and emergency provisions at the government&#39;s discretion. He said an emergency could be declared in circumstances such as a foreign attack, while internal disturbances required adherence to the constitutional process, including the relevant role of the provincial assembly.

He urged the government to bring the relevant summary for imposing governor&#39;s rule and an emergency before the Senate for consideration, as well as present the evidence before the upper house for its claims that a provincial government consists of terrorists or their facilitators.

Disputing the government&#39;s account of negotiations, Zafar said it contradicted &ldquo;facts&rdquo;.

Warning against attempts to suppress political dissent through administrative measures, Zafar said the government could remove an elected administration but could not eliminate a political movement or control public opinion.

&ldquo;You can remove a government, but you cannot end a movement. You cannot restrict the thinking of the people,&rdquo; he asserted before the upper house.

He added that the government&#39;s actions were not only harming its political opponents but were also damaging the country and weakening the state.

Concluding his address, the PTI senator appealed to the government to reverse its actions and engage the opposition in dialogue.

Dar defends emergency and governor&#39;s rule, says suspended K-P govt failed to curb terrorism

Leader of the House in the Senate&nbsp;Ishaq Dar&nbsp;also defended the government&#39;s position on the imposition of an emergency and governor&rsquo;s rule, saying the Constitution allows such a measure in the event of a threat of external aggression.

Towards the end of today&rsquo;s session, Dar said the government was not taking any step outside the Constitution and maintained that the president could also proclaim an emergency and summon a session of parliament within 10 days.

&ldquo;Whatever has happened has been done entirely in accordance with the Constitution and the law,&rdquo; he reiterated the government&rsquo;s stance.

He assailed the suspended K-P government over the province&#39;s security situation, claiming that terrorist attacks had tripled since Sohail Afridi assumed the charge of chief minister.

&ldquo;The KP chief minister has failed to discharge his responsibilities in his own province.&rdquo;

The deputy prime minister also questioned the provincial government&#39;s performance in combatting militancy, saying it had failed to establish an effective Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) despite the PTI remaining in power in the province for 13 years.

&ldquo;How many times has the PTI government condemned terrorism?&rdquo; Dar demanded answers, urging the party to publicly denounce terrorist attacks. The minister urged the K-P government to reconsider its leadership and take a clear stand against terrorism.

Speaking on the current ground reality of the province, Dar said the government had attempted to ensure that the advisory council established for K-P did not have a political background, adding that professionals had been appointed to the body, citing the importance of involving qualified professionals in public administration.

&ldquo;We will make every effort to extend our full support to the K-P advisory council,&rdquo; he stressed during the speech.

Dar also referred to the previous imprisonment of President Asif Ali Zardari, saying he had spent over a decade in prison, while reiterating his preference for reconciliation over confrontation. Adding that he hoped that PTI founder Imran Khan would eventually be released from prison, as he also stands for &ldquo;political reconciliation&rdquo;.

&ldquo;May Allah facilitate the release of the PTI founder from prison,&rdquo; he emphasised, while cautioning against placing political interests above national stability.

&ldquo;The country should not be pushed towards uncertainty simply because a political leader or party failed to get its way.&rdquo;

Outlining the lapses of the PTI-backed suspended K-P government, Dar said that around Rs800 billion had been transferred to the provincial government through the National Finance Commission (NFC)&nbsp;award and asked Zafar to seek an explanation from his party about how the money had been spent.

&ldquo;One per cent of the NFC share continued to be allocated to K-P for counterterrorism efforts,&rdquo; he detailed during the session of the upper house.

He lamented that the provincial government had failed to establish an effective CTD despite receiving substantial financial resources from the centre.

&ldquo;The K-P chief minister has failed to discharge his responsibilities in his own province,&rdquo; DPM Dar remarked.

He concluded his speech while expressing confidence that the provincial assembly would be called into session after six months.

The Senate was then adjourned till 4pm tomorrow.]]>
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			<title>Masood Alam to unveil debut album ‘Mohabbat-Naama’ on October 16</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634648/masood-alam-to-unveil-debut-album-mohabbat-naama-on-october-16</link>
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			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 14:41:02 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Our Correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Life &amp; Style]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[The nine-track collection explores love, longing, heartbreak and reconciliation]]>
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				<![CDATA[Music producer, composer, songwriter and vocalist Masood Alam is set to unveil his debut album, Mohabbat-Naama, at a pre-release event at the Pakistan American Cultural Centre (PACC) on October 16.

After more than 15 years of producing music for Pakistan&rsquo;s advertising and commercial industry, Alam is stepping into the spotlight with a nine-song collection that traces different stages of love, from attraction and longing to heartbreak, reconciliation and the possibility of finding love again.

According to the correspondent&rsquo;s report, the event will feature screenings of all nine songs and their accompanying music videos, alongside a presentation on the album&rsquo;s creative journey and behind-the-scenes material.

Featured vocalists Neha Khan and Zoya Raza will join Alam for interviews and a question-and-answer session with members of the media.

Alam has spent over a decade and a half working behind the scenes in Pakistan&rsquo;s commercial music industry, collaborating with directors Ahsan Rahim, Mukhtar Zaidi, Nabeel Qureshi, Sibtain Shabbir, Raheel Faridi and Jibran Baig. His work has also involved advertising agencies including Adcom, Ogilvy, Synergy and Stimulus.

His artist collaborations include Atif Aslam, Hadiqa Kiani and Natasha Baig.

With Mohabbat-Naama, Alam is moving from producing music for commercial projects to presenting a collection under his own artistic identity. The album&rsquo;s nine songs bring together themes of romance, emotional upheaval and reconciliation, charting the different turns a relationship can take.

The October 16 event will offer media an opportunity to experience the album in its entirety ahead of its release and learn more about the creative process behind Alam&rsquo;s debut project.]]>
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			<title>Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s 78th birth anniversary: Remembering the king of qawwali</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634647/ustad-nusrat-fateh-ali-khans-78th-birth-anniversary-remembering-the-king-of-qawwali</link>
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			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 14:30:32 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Life And Style Desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Life &amp; Style]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2634647</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Pakistan remembers Ustad Khan on his 78th birth anniversary, celebrating his voice and global musical legacy]]>
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				<![CDATA[The 78th birth anniversary of legendary Pakistani singer and qawwali maestro Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan is being marked on Tuesday, October 13, as fans around the world pay tribute to the artist who transformed traditional Sufi music into an international phenomenon.

Born on October 13, 1948, in Faisalabad, Khan became one of Pakistan&rsquo;s most influential musical figures. His extraordinary vocal range, emotionally charged performances and distinctive singing style earned him recognition far beyond his homeland, making him a celebrated ambassador of Pakistani music.

Khan played a significant role in introducing qawwali, a traditional form of Sufi devotional music, to international audiences. Through his powerful voice and captivating stage performances, he brought a centuries-old musical tradition to listeners from different cultures and backgrounds. He was widely called Shahenshah-e-Qawwali, reflecting his enormous influence on the genre.





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His popularity extended across generations, with celebrated performances and songs such as Dam Mast Qalandar, Tumhe Dillagi Bhool Jani Paray Gi and Afreen Afreen continuing to attract music lovers. His ability to combine spiritual expression with emotional intensity helped make his music appealing even to audiences unfamiliar with the languages in which he sang.

Beyond traditional qawwali, Khan demonstrated a willingness to explore new musical styles. His collaborations with internationally renowned artists helped introduce his voice to listeners who might otherwise never have encountered the genre.

He worked with British musician Peter Gabriel on the soundtrack album Passion and collaborated with Canadian musician Michael Brook on the albums Mustt Mustt and Night Song. His vocals also featured in international film soundtracks, including The Last Temptation of Christ, Natural Born Killers and Dead Man Walking.

These projects demonstrated how traditional South Asian devotional music could connect with contemporary musical arrangements without losing its distinctive character. His international collaborations also helped establish qawwali as an important part of the global world-music scene and he was credited with a record-setting output of 125 albums as a qawwali artist

Khan&rsquo;s achievements brought international attention to Pakistan&rsquo;s musical heritage. In 1987, he received the Pride of Performance award from the Government of Pakistan in recognition of his contribution to the arts. His album Intoxicated Spirit also received a Grammy nomination in 1997 in the traditional folk category.

His influence continues through musicians who draw inspiration from his vocal techniques, improvisational skills and experimental approach. His nephew, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, has also helped carry the family&rsquo;s musical tradition to newer audiences.

Although Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan died in London on August 16, 1997, at the age of 48, his music remains widely celebrated. His recordings continue to introduce new listeners to the emotional depth of qawwali and the spiritual themes at its heart.

As admirers mark his 78th birth anniversary, Khan&rsquo;s legacy stands as a reminder of music&rsquo;s ability to transcend borders, languages and generations. Decades after his death, his voice continues to represent an enduring chapter in Pakistan&rsquo;s cultural history.]]>
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			<title>IMF flags risks to global economy from AI market correction, war and debt</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634646/imf-flags-risks-to-global-economy-from-ai-market-correction-war-and-debt</link>
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			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 14:30:27 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[AFP/REUTERS]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[IMF warned poorer nations hit by the Iran war energy shock may have to cut spending or restructure debt]]>
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				<![CDATA[The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday flagged significant growth and financial stability risks from a potential end to the AI investment boom, growing debt levels &zwnj;and a prolonged Middle East conflict.

The IMF forecast global growth at 3.1% for 2026, a slight uptick from a 3.0% forecast in July as still-strong AI infrastructure investment offset higher oil prices caused by the war in the Middle East.

The latest World Economic Outlook report, released in Bangkok during the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank, also predicts 3.4% growth in 2027, but that is based on assumptions that the Strait of Hormuz reopens by March and shipping conditions ​return to the pre-war situation by October 2027.

A more protracted war that kept oil prices above $130 through the first quarter of 2027 would cut growth next year by half a ​percentage point, the IMF said.

AI correction

In another downside scenario, the IMF said that a steep drop in AI investment could lead to a sharp fall ⁠in asset prices, ultimately cutting global GDP by 1.1% by 2028, including a 1.8% drop in US output.

Also Read: Finance Minister Aurangzeb vows to strengthen collective influence of G-24

&quot;We now have an economy that is standing on one leg, the AI leg,&quot; IMF Managing ​Director Kristalina Georgieva told a Bretton Woods Committee event. &quot;What if it wobbles? What if there is disappointment and that leads to potentially a more difficult environment?&quot;

The IMF emphasised similar risks in its separate Global Financial ​Stability Report, warning policymakers needed to avoid &quot;complacency&quot; in guarding against a potential pullback in AI investment and stock valuations.

&quot;If there are questions about the monetisation of AI, the equity investments will deplete in value, the debt may be difficult to service, and the revenue commitments in the future may not materialise,&quot; Jason Wu, assistant director of the IMF&#39;s Global Markets Analysis Division, told a press conference at the Bangkok meetings.

An ensuing AI market correction would feed back through ​the real economy, dragging down broader asset prices and overall demand through a wealth effect reduction, said Athanasios Vamvakidis, deputy director of the IMF&#39;s Monetary and Capital Markets Department.

It would also lead to ​reduced trade, IMF chief economist Silvana Tenreyro said. Trade in AI goods grew 29% between 2023 and 2025, more than triple the 8.3% growth rate of global trade over the same period. Without the AI trade, overall &zwnj;growth in ⁠trade would have been only 4.6%, she said.

The concerns highlighted in Bangkok also include AI-driven cybersecurity risks. They come as banking regulators step up efforts to contain AI-related risks, with Reuters reporting that major US regulators are quizzing banks on their use of advanced AI models and European regulators are pressing banks to boost recovery plans.

Recession unlikely 

But even the steep drop in output seen under the worst-case AI risk scenario was not likely to reduce growth to levels consistent with a global recession, IMF deputy research director Petya Koeva Brooks told Reuters in an interview.

Fiscal, bond woes

The IMF reports and meeting participants also highlighted ​risks from elevated public debt levels and rising ​bond yields that may be driven higher still ⁠by war-driven inflation pressures, eating up budgets to service debts and sapping growth.

Georgieva warned against complacency in &quot;systemically important&quot; advanced economies that are &quot;negligent about their fiscal position&quot; and failing to rein in debts like developing economies have been forced to do.

Developing countries must cut spending despite war shock

The IMF also warned that while low-income developing countries were dealing with the disproportionate impacts of the Iran war-fuelled energy shock, many had &quot;no choice&quot; but to cut spending or potentially face debt restructuring.

Speaking to AFP on the sidelines of the organisation&#39;s Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Brooks said heavily indebted, oil-importing countries were facing the worst of the energy shock, and had difficult choices in helping their citizens through the crisis.

&quot;Unfortunately, after years of the global economy being hit (by) shock after shock, debt levels have increased quite a lot, and at the same time, inflation has become a problem,&quot; she said.

&quot;For those countries that are most vulnerable, this is where the consumption basket is heavily weighted towards energy and food, and so indeed it is much much more difficult,&quot; she added.

Read More: IMF raises inflation forecast to 9.9%

The debt vulnerabilities of many developing economies are a &quot;major barrier&quot; to ​inclusive growth, said Nigerian Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele, who chairs the Group of 24 developing nations, warning that member governments were increasingly contending with mounting ​debt burdens.

Oyedele said estimates showed ⁠that developing countries were paying $500 billion more for their debt than developed countries, even as they contend with growing deficits.

The IMF this week is urging countries to begin politically painful steps to bring budgets under control. It singled out Britain for praise as the only major advanced economy to have set out clear plans to reduce government borrowing over the coming years, but urged it to stay the course just weeks before the ⁠new UK ​government unveils budget plans.

Few governments are listening to the IMF&#39;s calls to shrink borrowing, said Josh Lipsky, vice president of ​international economics at the Atlantic Council, who is attending the Bangkok meetings.

&quot;France, Germany, the US all need to do fiscal consolidation, but they&#39;re moving in the opposite direction,&quot; Lipsky said. &quot;I&#39;m afraid that it&#39;s going to take some kind of crisis to wake ​up and realise that this is what has to be done.&quot;]]>
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			<title>Iqra Aziz and Imran Ashraf revive Bhola and Noori nostalgia with heartwarming instagram post</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634643/iqra-aziz-and-imran-ashraf-revive-bhola-and-noori-nostalgia-with-heartwarming-instagram-post</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634643/iqra-aziz-and-imran-ashraf-revive-bhola-and-noori-nostalgia-with-heartwarming-instagram-post#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 14:13:56 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[Life And Style Desk]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Life &amp; Style]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[Both actors shared nostalgic pictures from their hit drama, exciting fans]]>
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				<![CDATA[Pakistani actors Iqra Aziz and Imran Ashraf sparked nostalgia among drama fans after a recent Instagram Story brought back memories of their much-loved characters, Bhola and Noori, from the acclaimed drama serial Ranjha Ranjha Kardi.

Aziz shared a photograph of herself with Ashraf on her Instagram Story, adding the words &ldquo;Bhola aur Noori&rdquo; alongside a star emoji. The picture shows the two actors sitting closely together in a warmly lit indoor setting, dressed in casual black outfits and smiling at the camera. Imran is seated beside Iqra, who leans towards him, creating a relaxed and affectionate moment that instantly recalls their on-screen pairing.



PHOTO: iqraaziz/Instagram

The actress also added Muqaddraan, sung by Rahma Ali and Saania, as the background soundtrack. The emotional music further strengthened the nostalgic feel of the post, reminding fans of the drama&#39;s memorable moments and the journey of its central characters.

The post quickly drew attention from viewers who continue to remember Bhola and Noori as one of Pakistani television&#39;s most distinctive on-screen duos.





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Ashraf followed by posting the same image to his Instagram to write, &quot;Great Iqra Aziz. Bhola and Noori&quot;.

Fans expressed their love, with some questioning if there was a new project. Others wrote, &quot;My Bhola and Noori&quot; followed by &quot;My Ranjha Ranjha Kardi heart omg&quot;.

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First aired in 2018, Ranjha Ranjha Kardi earned widespread appreciation for its compelling storytelling, layered characters and exploration of difficult social realities.

Imran&#39;s portrayal of Bhola, a young man with an intellectual disability, stood out for its emotional intensity and unconventional characterisation. Meanwhile, Iqra played Noori, a determined young woman from a disadvantaged background whose ambitions and life circumstances shape her complicated journey.

Their performances helped the drama move beyond a conventional romantic narrative, addressing themes of social class, identity, vulnerability and relationships. The series also encouraged conversations around disability, consent and society&#39;s treatment of marginalised individuals.

In 2019, Ashraf highlighted his gratitude towards viewers who embraced Bhola, with the actor acknowledging the affection audiences had shown the character.

Aziz has established herself as one of Pakistan&#39;s popular television actresses through performances across comedy, romance and emotionally demanding dramas.

She became particularly well known for playing Jiya in the hit Ramadan serial Suno Chanda, where her comic timing and lively screen presence won over audiences. Her role as Noori in Ranjha Ranjha Kardi showcased another side of her acting, allowing her to portray a more complex character navigating ambition, hardship and difficult personal choices.

Her other notable projects include Choti Si Zindagi, Khamoshi, Qurban and Ranjha Ranjha Kardi, demonstrating her range across different genres.

In an interview with The Express Tribune, Iqra also discussed the sensitive issues raised by Ranjha Ranjha Kardi, including a storyline involving marital rape

Ashraf, on the other hand, has earned recognition for taking on challenging roles that move beyond conventional television heroes. His performance as Bhola remains one of his most talked-about portrayals, earning praise for the emotional depth and individuality he brought to the character.

Before and after the drama, Imran appeared in several notable productions, including Alif Allah Aur Insaan. His willingness to explore unconventional characters has helped establish his reputation as a versatile performer in the Pakistani entertainment industry.

The latest Instagram moment serves as a reminder of the impact the two actors made together. While there is no confirmed announcement of another collaboration, Iqra and Imran&#39;s reunion in a photograph has given fans a reason to revisit the story of Bhola and Noori and celebrate a drama that remains memorable in Pakistan&#39;s television landscape.]]>
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			<title>President reaffirms commitment to regional peace under Makkah pact in meeting with MDA chief</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634641/president-reaffirms-commitment-to-regional-peace-under-makkah-pact-in-meeting-with-mda-chief</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634641/president-reaffirms-commitment-to-regional-peace-under-makkah-pact-in-meeting-with-mda-chief#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 14:10:11 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[APP]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[Says Makkah pact is purely defensive in nature, not directed against any country]]>
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				<![CDATA[President Asif Ali Zardari reaffirmed Pakistan&rsquo;s commitment to regional peace and stability under the Makkah Defence Alliance (MDA) in a meeting with Lieutenant General (Rtd) Nauman Mahmood on Tuesday in Islamabad.

On August 7, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye formalised their longstanding strategic relationship through the newly signed Makkah pact, a trilateral security framework that its proponents describe as a defensive arrangement aimed at strengthening collective deterrence, enhancing military cooperation and promoting regional stability.

In a post on X, the office of the president stated that Lieutenant General (Rtd) Nauman Mahmood, the first secretary general of the MDA, formerly called&nbsp;the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement (MJDA), called on President Zardari at Aiwan-e-Sadr.

Read: Lt Gen (retd) Nauman Mahmood appointed first secretary general of Makkah pact

&quot;The president expressed confidence that the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, signed by Pakistan, T&uuml;rkiye and Saudi Arabia on August 7, 2026, would strengthen regional peace and stability through defensive cooperation guided by the principles of the UN Charter and international law,&quot; it added.



President Reaffirms Pakistan&rsquo;s Commitment to Regional Peace and Defensive Cooperation Under Makkah Accord

Lieutenant General (Rtd.) Nauman Mahmood, the first Secretary General pursuant to Makkah Joint Defence Agreement called on President Asif Ali Zardari at Aiwan-e-Sadr today.&hellip; pic.twitter.com/9anJjovXdc
&mdash; The President of Pakistan (@PresOfPakistan) October 13, 2026


The president further underscored that the accord was&nbsp;&quot;purely defensive in nature and not directed against any country, nor it constituted the formation of a new bloc&quot;.

The statement emphasised that Pakistan remained committed to the peaceful resolution of conflicts and enhanced regional and multilateral cooperation to address emerging challenges.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi was also present during the meeting.

Who is Lt Gen Nauman Mahmood?

Lt Gen (retd) Mahmood is a former senior Pakistan Army commander with experience in military operations, intelligence, professional military education and strategic affairs.

He was in the race for the army chief when the government was looking for the successor of General (retired) Qamar Javed Bajwa in November 2022. He was known as one of the most non-controversial army generals with an impeccable career and apolitical approach.

Read More: Ex-army officer to head Makkah pact secretariat

A member of the Baloch Regiment, he was commissioned into the army on September 11, 1987.

During his military career, he served in command and instructional appointments, including assignments with an infantry formation and at the Command and Staff College. As a major general, he commanded an infantry division in North Waziristan.

He also served in the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), including as director general of its Analysis Directorate, where his responsibilities involved assessment of regional and international developments.

After his promotion to lieutenant general, Naumam served at General Headquarters as inspector general for Communications and Information Technology.

He was promoted to lieutenant general in April 2019 and subsequently appointed commander of XI Corps, commonly known as Peshawar Corps, in December that year.

He remained in command of the corps until November 2021, during a period when Afghanistan was undergoing a major political and security transition following the US military withdrawal.

Nauman was then appointed president of the National Defence University (NDU), Islamabad, becoming the institution&#39;s 35th president. He served in that position until April 2023, when he retired from the army.

He has attended professional military courses in Pakistan and abroad, including at the Command and Staff College in Egypt, and is a graduate of the NDU.

On September 23, the government appointed Lt Gen Mahmood as the first secretary general of the MJDA.

The appointment was the first major institutional development since Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye signed the pact, and his appointment gives Pakistan the responsibility of establishing and leading the alliance&#39;s first secretariat during its formative three-year period.

The decision was taken at the inaugural meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee, held under the MJDA, which brought together the foreign and defence ministers and military chiefs of the three countries in Istanbul on August 31.

Under the arrangement agreed in Istanbul, the secretary general would head the alliance&#39;s General Secretariat, based in the Saudi capital and tasked with overseeing implementation of the agreement, coordinating joint activities among the three militaries and supporting expanded defence-industrial cooperation.

For Islamabad, the role also provides an opportunity to shape the working structure of the new defence arrangement as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye move from the political commitment announced in Makkah towards a more organised mechanism for defence coordination.

Significance of the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement

The Makkah pact was the latest step in longstanding military and strategic cooperation between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye. Signed in Makkah, the pact established a framework for collective deterrence and stipulated that an armed attack on any one of the three countries would be considered an attack on all three, while providing for wider cooperation across defence.

Also Read: Makkah defence alliance agrees to &#39;rapid force deployment&#39; in Saudi Arabia: FO

The agreement followed nearly a year of negotiations and came amid heightened instability across the Middle East. Turkiye and Pakistan had sought closer regional security cooperation, while Saudi Arabia had faced growing security concerns as conflicts spread across the region, threatening its territory, energy infrastructure and ambitious economic development plans.

For Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, the trilateral pact is built on their Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement signed in September 2025. That agreement stated that &ldquo;any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both&rdquo; and committed the two sides to strengthening defence cooperation and joint deterrence.

The three countries already had extensive military links. Pakistan had provided training and technical assistance to Saudi forces for decades, while Islamabad and Ankara had maintained close defence ties through military training, naval cooperation and defence equipment. In 2023, Saudi Arabia agreed to purchase Turkish drones in what Ankara described as its largest defence export contract.

The signing in Makkah, Islam&rsquo;s holiest city, added symbolic weight to an agreement that brought together three countries with significant military and strategic capabilities. It also came as Pakistan sought to avoid becoming directly involved in the Iran conflict, instead pursuing diplomatic efforts to mediate, while strengthening its broader regional security partnerships.]]>
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			<title>Influential Hindu group urges India to block Starlink amid Musk-Ambani feud</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634638/influential-hindu-group-urges-india-to-block-starlink-amid-musk-ambani-feud</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634638/influential-hindu-group-urges-india-to-block-starlink-amid-musk-ambani-feud#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 13:39:43 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Reuters]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category><category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[The call for ​Starlink's ban came from Swadeshi Jagran Manch, the economic wing of the RSS]]>
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				<![CDATA[An influential Hindu nationalist group close to India&#39;s ruling party urged the government on Tuesday to block Elon Musk&#39;s Starlink from launching satellite ​internet services in the country, citing national security concerns.

Starlink&#39;s four-year wait &zwnj;to launch in India has come under renewed scrutiny after Musk last week accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s government and billionaire Mukesh Ambani of stalling its entry to favour Ambani&#39;s Reliance Jio.

India&#39;s communications ministry ​said last week that security assessments were under way for Starlink and ​rival satellite ventures backed by Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel. It ⁠described suggestions that the approval process was unfair or discriminatory as &quot;baseless and misconceived&quot;.

Read: Satellite internet plan in final stage

The call for ​Starlink&#39;s ban came from Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), the economic wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak ​Sangh (RSS), the Hindu nationalist organisation that is the ideological parent of Modi&#39;s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

SJM also linked its demand to trade tensions with the US. If Washington imposes high tariffs on ​Indian imports &quot;in the name of national security, then India is certainly within its ​rights to block Starlink based on its genuine national security concerns&quot;, national co-convenor Ashwani Mahajan said &zwnj;in a ⁠statement.

Mahajan added that Starlink&#39;s technology could make it difficult for authorities to restrict internet services during security emergencies and ensure Indian internet traffic passes through domestic infrastructure.

SJM has influenced Indian policy in recent years, notably pushing for rules to protect small traders ​from US-owned e-commerce firms ​Amazon and Walmart&#39;s ⁠Flipkart.

SpaceX, Starlink&#39;s parent company, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Market with more than a billion internet users

Starlink is ​seeking to launch in a country with more than a ​billion internet ⁠subscribers. Alongside Starlink, satellite ventures backed by Reliance Jio and Bharti are awaiting final clearances to begin services.

Musk has repeatedly taunted Ambani on X, questioning why Starlink still lacked ⁠a licence ​despite what he said were years of compliance ​with Indian requirements.

&quot;Is Ambani the real boss of India?&quot; he posted last week, as he accused the rival ​billionaire of stalling Starlink&#39;s entry.



Dear Prime Minister Ambani,

Please accept my humble apologies for not realizing that you are the real boss of India.

Naturally, you would prefer to maintain your monopolistic exploitation of the great people of India, but would you nonetheless consider allowing Starlink to&hellip;
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 9, 2026


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			<title>Hazlewood’s six-for secure dominant Australia win</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634637/hazlewoods-six-for-secure-dominant-australia-win</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634637/hazlewoods-six-for-secure-dominant-australia-win#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 13:37:50 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[AFP]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[South Africa crumble for 206 chasing 421 as Australia take 1-0 series lead]]>
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				<![CDATA[Josh Hazlewood took six wickets as Australia completed a 214-run win over South Africa on the fifth day of the first Test at Kingsmead on Tuesday.

Fast bowler Hazlewood twice broke promising stands and finished with six for 49.

The hosts, set 421 runs to win, were bowled out for 206, in the first Test series between the teams in South Africa since the 2018 sandpaper scandal.

Opening batsman Aiden Markram defied the bowlers for a minute short of six hours, scoring 75 before he was ninth out, caught behind from an inside edge off Mitchell Starc.

The last four wickets fell for five runs in the space of 16 deliveries against the second new ball.

Markram and Wiaan Mulder (29) were largely untroubled as they batted through the first 110 minutes of the day.

But a double bowling change brought two wickets.

Mulder was caught down the legside by wicketkeeper Alex Carey off Hazlewood for 29 after a 139-minute innings during which he faced 110 balls.

Man of the match Matt Renshaw came on to bowl his off-spinners in the next over and with his first ball dismissed Kyle Verreynne for a single when the South African wicketkeeper played a forcing shot against a wide ball and edged a catch to Steve Smith at slip.

It was the continuation of a dream match for Renshaw, who top-scored in both innings with 190 and 82, then took his first Test wicket when he dismissed South African captain Temba Bavuma on Monday.

It was Smith&#39;s fifth catch of a match in which he became the world record-holder for most catches by a fielder in Tests.

Smith was back in action after being off the field at the start of South Africa&#39;s innings on Monday following a blow on the head while batting.

Marco Jansen made 35 and added 45 with Markram before Hazlewood bowled him in the fourth over with the second new ball. Three balls later Simon Harmer gloved a sharply lifting ball to Carey.

Australia were in trouble at 124 for six on the first day but dominated the rest of the match after Renshaw steered them to a first innings total of 390.

Former Australia captain Smith, who did not field in Monday&#39;s late session after ⁠a blow to the head while batting, returned to action on Tuesday.

&quot;Steve Smith has undergone a series of clinical assessments over the past 24 hours in accordance with Cricket Australia&#39;s concussion protocols and has been cleared to take the field this morning,&quot; a statement said.

Score in Brief

Brief scores from the first Test between South Africa and Australia in Durban after the fifth and final day on Tuesday:

Australia 390 and 314-6 declared v South Africa 284 and 206 (A. Markram 75; J. Hazlewood 6-49)

Result: Australia won by 214 runs

Series: Australia lead the three-match series 1-0

Toss: Australia

Remaining matches:

October 18-22, Gqeberha

October 27-31, Cape Town]]>
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			<title>Atal (111), Qais (49*) rescue Afghanistan</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634636/atal-111-qais-49-rescue-afghanistan</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634636/atal-111-qais-49-rescue-afghanistan#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 13:35:37 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correpondent]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[Resolute batting denies Bangladesh victory in one-off Abu Dhabi Test]]>
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				<![CDATA[Sediqullah Atal&rsquo;s resolute 111 and Qais Ahmad&rsquo;s valuable 49 not out saved Afghanistan from a certain defeat against Bangladesh as the one-off Test between the two nations ended in a draw at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abdu Dhabi on Tuesday.

Chasing a stiff target of 479 Bangladesh&rsquo;s batsmen demonstrated great patience and reached 346-8 till stumps on the fifth and final day.

Atal, playing his third Test, showed top resistance against Bangladeshi bowlers and completed his well-deserved century. He also became the first Afghanistan&rsquo;s batsman to score a century in the fourth innings.

Atal struck nine fours and three sixes in his solid knock during which he stayed for 514 minutes at the crease before spinner Taijul Islam removing him in the third session to leave Afghans struggling.at 281-7.

However at this stage Qais shouldered the responsibility and went deep until the end to avert a looming defeat. He hit six fours and three sixes in his 80-ball 49 not out.

He was ably backed by Yamin Ahmadzai (19) as the duo added precious 45 runs for the eighth wicket stand.

Ebadot Hossain and Mehidy Hasan Miraz got three wickets each.

Afghanistan started the fifth and final day&rsquo;s play with 132-3 with Sediqullah Atal batting on 35 and Shahidullah Shahidi on 19.

However just in the third over Shahidi got retired hurt as he walked off the pitch after the ball thudded into his pads after a throw from the fielder. He was seen in deep pain despite administering first aid by the physiotherapist.

Ikram Alikhil then joined Atal and the duo tried their best to consolidate their position. However Bangladesh&rsquo;s bowlers were bowling extremely well. Ebadot Hossain provided breakthrough to Bangladesh when he had Ikram, held excellently by Litton Das behind the stumps.

The dismissal also helped Das create world Test record. He became the first player in Test cricket to record nine dismissals behind the stumps while scoring a half-century and a century in the same match. He surpassed the previous record held by South Africa&rsquo;s Denis Lindsay.

In the Johannesburg Test against Australia in 1966, Lindsay scored 50-plus runs in both innings and recorded eight dismissals. By catching Ikram Alikhil, Litton surpassed Lindsay to set a new record.

Ikram struck five fours in his 36 which came off 69 balls. He added 66 runs with Atal in a well-needed stand.

At lunch Afghanistan were 203-4.

After the break Bangladesh&rsquo;s spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz bowled well, taking two quick wickets of Ismat Aslam (4) and Shahidullah Shahidi (36) to leave Afghanistan reeling at 264-6.

Shahidi, who returned to bat after injury, hammered four fours and two sixes in his 36 for which he faced 69 balls.

Qais and Yamin then did well to end Bangladesh&rsquo;s winning chances.

Bangladesh had scored 346 and 372-7 declared while Afghans were bowled out for 240 in their first innings]]>
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			<title>PM Shehbaz emphasises need for 'safe, orderly migration' in meeting with EU commissioner</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634635/pm-shehbaz-emphasises-need-for-safe-orderly-migration-in-meeting-with-eu-commissioner</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634635/pm-shehbaz-emphasises-need-for-safe-orderly-migration-in-meeting-with-eu-commissioner#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 13:30:38 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[APP]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[Brunner praises FIA's professionalism, says decline in illegal migration will help open pathways for legal migration]]>
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				<![CDATA[Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday emphasised the need to complement efforts to curb irregular migration with practical opportunities for &quot;safe, orderly and regular migration&quot; during a meeting with European Union (EU) Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner.

The meeting focused on strengthening Pakistan-EU cooperation in the areas of migration and mobility, one of the eight pillars of the Pakistan-EU Strategic Engagement Plan 2019, the Prime Minister&#39;s Office (PMO) said in a press release.

Welcoming Commissioner Brunner on his first visit to Pakistan, the prime minister highlighted Pakistan&rsquo;s sustained efforts to curb irregular migration and combat migrant smuggling and human trafficking through legislative reforms, institutional strengthening, effective enforcement, and international cooperation.

Read: Talal Chaudhry says Pakistan&#39;s illegal migration strategy model for world



Mr. Magnus Brunner, European Union Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, called on Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad today.

The meeting focused on strengthening Pakistan-EU cooperation in the areas of migration and mobility, one of the eight pillars&hellip; pic.twitter.com/YLrWKJifqP
&mdash; Prime Minister&#39;s Office (@PakPMO) October 13, 2026


The premier underscored the importance Pakistan attached to its partnership with the EU and reaffirmed its commitment to further strengthening cooperation across all pillars of the Pak-EU Strategic Engagement Plan.

He noted that expanding legal pathways for Pakistani skilled workers and professionals would help meet the labour-market needs of European countries while reducing the vulnerability of prospective migrants to smuggling networks.

Brunner appreciated the measures taken and the cooperation extended by the government of Pakistan.



Honoured to meet Prime Minister @CMShehbaz today. The EU remains committed to a forward-looking partnership with Pakistan, grounded in mutual benefit.

We discussed migration, security and trade, and how to deepen cooperation. pic.twitter.com/hOeByhdXnz
&mdash; Magnus Brunner (@magnusbrunner) October 13, 2026


He expressed confidence that these efforts would contribute positively to the expansion of legal migration pathways and the promotion of mutually beneficial labour mobility between Pakistan and the EU.

President Zardari calls for structured EU cooperation, legal mobility for Pakistani professionals

Meanwhile, President Asif Ali Zardari called for greater opportunities for legal migration of Pakistani workers and professionals in Europe in his meeting with Brunner at Aiwan-e-Sadr.

The president stressed that Pakistan&rsquo;s sustained efforts to curb irregular migration should be matched by expanded legal pathways, skills-based mobility and structured cooperation with the EU, the Presidency said in a post on X.



1/2

President calls for greater opportunities for legal migration for Pakistani workers and professionals in Europe

President Asif Ali Zardari has called for greater opportunities for legal migration for Pakistani workers and professionals in Europe, stressing that Pakistan&rsquo;s&hellip; pic.twitter.com/N04dsDZfTK
&mdash; The President of Pakistan (@PresOfPakistan) October 13, 2026


The president said Pakistan attached great importance to its broad-based cooperation with the European Union and remains committed to implementing the Pakistan-EU Strategic Engagement Plan.

President Zardari highlighted Pakistan&rsquo;s cooperation with the EU in curbing irregular migration, noting that Pakistan continued to implement the EU Readmission Agreement and had readmitted more than 30,000 individuals over the years.

He noted that Pakistan remained committed to combating human trafficking and irregular migration through stronger legislation, institutional capacity, border controls and international cooperation.

Referring to the progress made in reducing irregular migration, the president underlined that, according to EU figures, irregular migration from Pakistan reduced by 64% in the last eighteen months, making Pakistan the only country in the region to achieve such a reduction.

He said this progress reflected Pakistan&rsquo;s sustained efforts and underlined the importance of expanding safe and legal avenues for migration.

The president emphasised that legal migration pathways were essential to providing safe opportunities for workers and reducing reliance on smuggling networks.

He highlighted the Pakistan-EU Migration and Mobility Dialogue as a useful framework for matching Pakistan&rsquo;s human-resource potential with European labour-market needs and expressed the hope that the next round of dialogue, expected to take place in Brussels early next year, would advance this cooperation.

President Zardari also welcomed the expansion of the EU Talent Partnerships framework and called for greater opportunities for skilled workers and professionals, including through circular migration.



2/2

President Zardari also welcomed the expansion of the EU Talent Partnerships framework and called for greater opportunities for skilled workers and professionals, including through circular migration. He said Pakistan is ready to work with the EU on a structured mechanism to&hellip;
&mdash; The President of Pakistan (@PresOfPakistan) October 13, 2026


He said Pakistan was ready to work with the EU on a structured mechanism to match its workforce with European labour-market requirements and expressed the hope that the EU would consider establishing a European Legal Gateway Office in Pakistan, given the existing Talent Partnership and the country&rsquo;s efforts to curb irregular migration.

The president said Pakistan and the EU had a broad-based relationship spanning political dialogue, trade, development cooperation and other areas of mutual interest. He expressed confidence that continued engagement would strengthen mutual understanding and help advance practical cooperation on migration and mobility.

Brunner appreciated Pakistan&rsquo;s role in maintaining the regional balance and said Pakistan had done an amazing job in this regard.

He also commended Pakistan&rsquo;s efforts to prevent irregular migrants from undertaking dangerous journeys that cost many of them their lives.

Dar, EU Commissioner discuss expanding legal migration opportunities for Pakistanis

Meanwhile, Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar discussed ways to strengthen Pakistan-European Union cooperation on migration and mobility with&nbsp;Brunner.

The deputy prime minister expressed satisfaction over the positive momentum in Pakistan-EU relations, recalling recent engagements between the two sides, whereas the discussions focused on enhancing cooperation on migration and mobility, a key pillar of the Pakistan-EU Strategic Engagement Plan (2019).

He highlighted Pakistan&rsquo;s efforts to curb irregular migration and combat migrant smuggling and human trafficking. He stressed that these measures should be complemented by increased opportunities for legal migration for Pakistani skilled workers and professionals.

Commissioner Brunner appreciated Pakistan&rsquo;s progress in curbing irregular migration and acknowledged the scope for expanding legal migration pathways.

The deputy prime minister reaffirmed Pakistan&rsquo;s commitment to further strengthening its partnership with the European Union and expressed hope that the commissioner&rsquo;s visit would lead to practical outcomes beneficial to both sides.



Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar @MIshaqDar50 met European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Mr. Magnus Brunner in Islamabad today.

Recalling recent engagements between Pakistan and the European Union, the DPM/FM expressed&hellip; pic.twitter.com/Q6MNGDyLQH
&mdash; Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) October 13, 2026



Naqvi, EU commissioner agree to strengthen cooperation 

Separately, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also met Brunner to discuss cooperation on migration, border management and legal employment opportunities, following a 64% decline in illegal migration from Pakistan to Europe.

The two leaders also held delegation-level talks during the meeting, where Brunner appreciated Pakistan&rsquo;s measures against illegal migration and acknowledged the performance of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).



وفاقی وزیرداخلہ محسن نقوی سے یورپین کمشنر برائے داخلی امور و مائیگریشن @magnusbrunner کی ملاقات
دونوں رہنماؤں کے درمیان وفود کی سطح پربھی مذاکرات ہوئے
یورپین کمشنر برائے داخلہ امور و مائیگریشن نے غیر قانونی مائیگریشن کے خلاف پاکستان کے اقدامات کو سراہا pic.twitter.com/lHaDXUtR6O
&mdash; Ministry of Interior GoP (@MOIofficialGoP) October 13, 2026


Brunner said the 64% reduction in illegal migration to Europe, achieved through Pakistan&rsquo;s effective measures, was commendable. He also praised the FIA for demonstrating professional capabilities despite limited resources.

Read More: Illegal migration to Europe drops by 64%



پاکستان کے مؤثر اقدامات کے باعث یورپ کی جانب غیر قانونی مائیگریشن میں 64 فیصد کمی قابل ستائش ہے ،
ایف آئی اے نے کم وسائل کے باوجود پیشہ وارانہ صلاحیت کا مظاہرہ کیا جو قابل تحسین ہے
&mdash; Ministry of Interior GoP (@MOIofficialGoP) October 13, 2026


He said the decline in illegal migration would help open pathways for legal migration.

Naqvi further stated Pakistan had adopted a zero-tolerance policy against illegal migration, adding that after reducing illegal migration by 64 per cent, Pakistan&rsquo;s next target was to eliminate it completely.

Naqvi said Pakistan and the EU needed to work together to end illegal migration while describing the issue as a highly serious global challenge.

During the meeting, both sides discussed promoting legal migration between Pakistan and the EU, strengthening border security and expanding opportunities for skilled workers.



Excellent meeting with Interior Minister @MohsinnaqviC42 in Islamabad today.

Thank you for the kind invitation and your warm hospitality.

We discussed joint action to tackle illegal migration, strengthen border management and enhance our efforts against terrorism. pic.twitter.com/hWZWjTRKgy
&mdash; Magnus Brunner (@magnusbrunner) October 13, 2026


The two sides also agreed to work together on the EU&rsquo;s Eastern Corridor Initiative to eliminate illegal migration.

The meeting further discussed expanding cooperation to enhance the operational capacity of the Pakistan Coast Guard.

Brunner assured Pakistan of all possible cooperation in this regard.]]>
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			<title>Pope Leo admitted to Rome hospital for lung surgery</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634634/pope-leo-admitted-to-rome-hospital-for-lung-surgery</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634634/pope-leo-admitted-to-rome-hospital-for-lung-surgery#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 13:12:04 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Reuters]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2634634</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Vatican says recovery is expected to take about a week, all public events of Pope Leo cancelled until October 20]]>
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				<![CDATA[Pope Leo will &zwnj;have surgery at Rome&#39;s Gemelli Hospital on Tuesday afternoon to remove a small growth on one of his lungs, in the first major health issue of his 17-month tenure.

Leo, 71, said on Sunday that the growth, a small nodule, was found during a recent check-up and was &quot;well-contained&quot; and spotted early.

The Vatican confirmed the timing of the surgery after Leo was seen heading into ​Rome in a convoy of vehicles driving toward Gemelli Hospital, about nine&nbsp;kilometres&nbsp;⁠north of the Vatican.

Read: Pope Leo to be operated in &#39;coming days&#39;

The pope waved from a black SUV as he left the Vatican.



NOW: Pope Leo XIV arrives at Gemelli Hospital ahead of his lung operation, as a cheering crowd greets him outside.

The pope smiled and gave a brief wave as he stepped out of his car before greeting doctors.

Pope Leo is set to undergo surgery later in the day to remove a lung&hellip; pic.twitter.com/mnwNcGEJhe
&mdash; Fox News (@FoxNews) October 13, 2026


Upon arrival at the hospital, ​Leo shook hands with several officials, walked in front of a waiting crowd of well-wishers, some of whom shouted &#39;Auguri&#39; (best ​wishes), and headed in via the main entrance.

The Vatican has said his recovery is expected to take about a week. All his public events have been cancelled until October 20.

Relatively young Pope

Leo, elected by the world&#39;s cardinals in May 2025, is relatively ​young for a Church leader. He enjoys sports, including tennis, and is not known to be a smoker ​or to have had health issues previously.

A nodule on the lung is a small, localised lesion that can be benign. The American &zwnj;Thoracic ⁠Society says fewer than 5% of lung nodules overall prove cancerous, although risk rises with age, size, and other factors such as smoking.

Dr Federico Venuto, chief of thoracic surgery at Rome&#39;s Policlinico Umberto I Hospital, said procedures to remove lung nodules are usually minimally invasive, and can sometimes involve use of a thin camera tube called a thoracoscope.

&quot;The complication ​rate is extremely low,&quot; he ​told Reuters.

South American trip

The ⁠late Pope Francis, Leo&#39;s predecessor, was hospitalised several times as he grew frail in his later years. He died aged 88 in April 2025.

Leo, who spoke in a firm, clear voice ​at his only public event on Monday, keeps a very busy schedule. He is ​due to make ⁠an 11-day tour of Uruguay, Argentina and Peru from November 6 to 17.

In the same address on Sunday, when the pope announced his need for surgery, he said he would go ahead with the trip.

The pope is the ultimate earthly authority for the ⁠world&#39;s 1.4 billion ​Catholics and does not have a deputy who steps in when ​he is sick. When a pope is incapacitated, the business of the Vatican&#39;s vast bureaucracy carries on as usual, holding off on any decisions ​that require papal approval.]]>
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			<title>AI models may soon self-replicate without access to data centers, Anthropic warns</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634633/ai-models-may-soon-self-replicate-without-access-to-data-centers-anthropic-warns</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634633/ai-models-may-soon-self-replicate-without-access-to-data-centers-anthropic-warns#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 13:09:26 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Reuters]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2634633</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[AI models with under 30 billion parameters could replicate, but struggled to complete the entire process]]>
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				<![CDATA[In its experiments, Anthropic looked at whether AI models could find vulnerable devices, copy themselves into those devices, ​and continue spreading without human help.

It found that small ​models under 30 billion parameters could complete the many ⁠steps needed for replication.

However, the firm found that such AI ​models also struggled to complete the entire sequence from start ​to finish.

In its simplified tests, where some security steps were removed, Anthropic found that GLM-5.2 and stronger models were capable of end-to-end replication.

Replicating models ​would be hard to shut down as there is no ​central switch-off point and, unlike non-AI malware, they could also figure out &zwnj;unfamiliar ⁠devices on their own, targeting data center processors, Anthropic warned.

Read More: Microsoft plans huge deployment of its own AI chips, with an eye on saving costs

The firm focused on IoT devices like Android TVs, smart appliances, and other internet-connected gadgets in its research as these are typically ​poorly secured.

The AI ​major also ⁠warned that if small models improved at their historical rate, they would be able to ​autonomously replicate by the end of this year, ​with small ⁠weight-based replicators following suit soon after.

Anthropic also said such autonomous AI systems were likely to replicate slowly and rely on widely ⁠available, ​relatively insecure computing resources. It added ​that systems should be strengthened to make it harder for such AI agents ​to spread.]]>
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			<title>NASA's Perseverance rover breaks record for off-planet driving on Mars</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634632/nasas-perseverance-rover-breaks-record-for-off-planet-driving-on-mars</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634632/nasas-perseverance-rover-breaks-record-for-off-planet-driving-on-mars#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 12:56:14 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Reuters]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2634632</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[NASA's Perseverance rover has travelled 45.2 km on Mars, surpassing the distance record set by Opportunity]]>
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				<![CDATA[While no person has ever set foot on Mars, humankind has managed to ​conduct extensive explorations of the surface of Earth&#39;s planetary neighbor using robotic rovers. One of them, NASA&#39;s six-wheeled Perseverance rover, has now set a record for the &zwnj;longest distance driven by any vehicle on a world beyond Earth.

The US space agency has announced that the car-sized Perseverance has trekked 28.1 miles (45.2 km) since arriving on Mars roughly 5-1/2 years ago, passing the distance mark previously established by another NASA rover, Opportunity, from 2004 to 2018. Perseverance and Opportunity both also beat the driving distances of any rover that operated on the moon.

Perseverance, carrying a suite of scientific instruments, has searched ​for evidence of ancient microbial life on Mars &mdash; a planet that long ago was wetter and warmer than the cold and desolate place it is today &mdash; and collected ​rock and soil samples for a potential future return to Earth.

Jezero crater 

Since landing on February 18, 2021, Perseverance has driven in and around ⁠Jezero Crater, an area in the Martian northern hemisphere believed to have been flooded with water and home to a lake basin billions of years ago.

NASA said the rover achieved its ​milestone on Sunday as it drove toward an area called Idubi, through the region off the crater&#39;s western rim nicknamed Lac de Charmes, where it is surveying some of the most ​ancient terrain ever encountered in the solar system.

It is one of two NASA rovers currently traversing the Martian surface, with the Curiosity rover operating in Gale Crater near the Martian equator. Curiosity has driven 23.71 miles (38.15 km) since landing on Mars in 2012.

Steven Lee, project manager of the two rovers at NASA&#39;s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, said Perseverance is showing no signs of slowing down.

Read More: Pakistan nears historic first astronaut mission

&quot;Perseverance&#39;s engineering hardware and instruments are in excellent shape ​with all redundant systems still available. A recent assessment of all systems concluded that they are capable of operating well into the 2030s, likely beyond,&quot; Lee told Reuters.

China&#39;s Zhurong rover ​also gathered important scientific data on Mars, operating in the northern lowlands in 2021 and 2022.

Self-driving capability 

Perseverance often has relied upon its self-driving capability, an autonomous navigation system called AutoNav. Lee said 90% of its &zwnj;drives are ⁠done autonomously, with no human intervention.

&quot;Perseverance takes stereo images of the terrain ahead, generates a 3D software map, and selects the safest path towards a drive goal,&quot; Lee said.

The rover also employs its Vision Compute Element, a co-processor computer that lets it process images and run its self-driving software quickly during drives, Lee said, while previous rovers needed to pause to &quot;think&quot; before each drive segment.

&quot;Perseverance builds on the 29-year legacy of our past Mars rovers &mdash; Sojourner, Spirit, Opportunity and Curiosity &mdash; each incorporating prior lessons and improving our ability to drive on another world,&quot; Lee said.

Perseverance&#39;s mobility ​system mechanisms are being tested to show it ​can drive 100 km (62 miles) or ⁠more, Lee said, with the hardware to be tested to the equivalent of 150 km to 300 km (93 miles to 186 miles) in the effort.

Potential biosignature

Lee said the rover&#39;s biggest achievement was almost certainly its discovery, disclosed last year, of a potential biosignature, or possible sign of ancient microbial ​life. This was found in reddish rock believed to have formed 3.2 billion to 3.8 billion years ago in a river channel ​feeding the lake that ⁠once filled Jezero Crater.

The Lac de Charmes terrain, Lee said, may yield clues to early planetary geological processes, such as the effects of large meteorite impacts. Jezero Crater was formed by such an impact early in Martian history.

&quot;The terrain we&#39;re currently exploring may contain rocks older than any found on Earth,&quot; Lee said.

The rover&#39;s original mission envisaged 12.4 miles (20 km) of driving. NASA recently approved an extension ⁠of the rover&#39;s ​mission to explore the crater rim until roughly the end of 2028.

&quot;There is evidence from orbital measurements that ​some areas of the rim were once hydrothermal systems with warm or hot groundwater. These areas may once have provided a warm, watery subsurface environment conducive to life. Indeed, some paleontologists hypothesise that life on Earth began in such ​environments,&quot; Lee said.

The rover&#39;s plutonium-based power system is performing as expected, Lee said, adding it has &quot;many years of useful energy still available.&quot;]]>
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			<title>Sri Lanka deny Pakistan whitewash</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634629/sri-lanka-opt-to-field-in-final-t20i</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634629/sri-lanka-opt-to-field-in-final-t20i#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 12:33:40 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Alam Zeb Safi]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[Kusal Mendis (87 not out) leads from the front as visitors roar back to down the hosts with an enviable ease]]>
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				<![CDATA[Skipper Kusal Mendis led from the front to enable Sri Lanka deny Pakistan whitewash when they crafted an eight-wicket win over the hosts in the third and final T20I on Tuesday.

Despite the loss Green-shirts sealed the series 2-1.

At the Pindi Stadium in Rawalpindi Mendis struck an unbeaten 87 off 48 balls as Sri Lanka chased the 169-run target in 17.1 overs after losing two wickets.

Earlier, Sahibzada Farhan hit a superb 76 to propel Pakistan to 168-8 in the allotted 20 overs.

After losing Lahiru Udara (1) cheaply Mendis took the centre stage and catapulted his side to a great win following two back-to-back losses. Mendis, who brought in his fifty off 33 balls, smashed

four sixes and nine fours in his excellent unbeaten knock. He added 59 runs off 41 balls for the second wicket stand with Sineth Jayawardena who fell for 26-ball 38, striking five fours and two sixes. Mendis then shared 98 runs for the third wicket unbroken partnership with Kamindu Mendis to make his side home safely.

Kamindu hit 40 not out off 27 balls with four fours. Mohammad Imran and Arafat Minhas got one wicket each.

After being put into bat first Farhan found himself in tough situation as wickets kept falling at regular intervals at the other end. However he stood like a rock and took his team to a fighting total in the end.

He brought in his 13th fifty of his career off 34 balls and hammered seven fours and three sixes in his 47-ball knock. He added 66 runs off 37 balls for the seventh-wicket stand with Arafat Minhas who chipped in with brilliant 20-ball 34 not out, hammering two sixes and two fours.

Dasun Shanaka was the pick of the Sri Lanka&rsquo;s bowlers who claimed 3-31 in his quota of four overs.

Eshan Malinga, who ripped through Pakistan&rsquo;s top order, captured 2-38 in his four overs. Nuwan Thushara got 2-38 in four.

After being invited to bat first Fakhar Zaman and Sahibzada Farhan provided a brisk start to Pakistan, scoring 34 off 19 balls. Medium-pacer Eshan Malinga provided breakthrough to Sri Lanka when he removed Fakhar Zaman (12) and inform Maaz Sadaqat (0) in a single over to put his team ahead.

Fakhar, who wanted to hit it hard, but only edged it to third man fiddler Lahiru Udara.

He struck one six and one four from seven balls. Maaz, who had hit fifties in his previous two games, was held at mid-off by Chamindu Wickramasinghe.

Sri Lanak kept Pakistan under check. Leg-spinner Vijayakanth Viyaskanth then got rid of Hasan Nawaz (16), held excellently at long-on boundary to leave the hosts at 67-3 in the ninth over.

Hasan smashed two fours from 17 balls. Dasun Shanaka then sent Khawaja Nafay (3) back, who handed an easy catch to the backward point fielder when he came down the wicket but failed to middle it.

Shanaka then had Mohammad Imran Randhawa (6) and Abdul Samad (15) in quick succession to leave Pakistan gasping at 107-6 in the 15th over. Samad smacked two fours and a six from ten balls.

However Farhan and Arafat then did well to boost the total.

Pakistan made four changes, bringing in Sufiyan Moqim, Abdul Samad, Razaullah and Arafat Minhas. Shadab Khan, Saim Ayub, Naseem Shah and Abrar Ahmed were rested.

On October 9 Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka by four wickets when they chased the 183-run target with seven balls to spare. In the second clash on October 9 Pakistan downed Sri Lanka by 82 runs to seal series. Now from October 18 Pakistan will host ODI tri-series, also involving England to kick-start their preparations for the next year&rsquo;s World Cup which will be hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.]]>
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			<title>Investigators hunt French supermarket fridge hackers, no claim of responsibility</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634627/investigators-hunt-french-supermarket-fridge-hackers-no-claim-of-responsibility</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634627/investigators-hunt-french-supermarket-fridge-hackers-no-claim-of-responsibility#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 12:22:10 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Reuters]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category><category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2634627</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Staff at some ⁠Paris supermarkets threw boxes full of perished meat and frozen goods into giant trash containers]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[French investigators on Tuesday were hunting the hackers ​who seized control of cooling units at hundreds of supermarkets in a cyberattack that underlined the vulnerabilities of connected systems, &zwnj;with no group publicly claiming responsibility.

The absence of a claim of responsibility by hacktivists or a ransom demand by cybercriminals has puzzled investigators, according to a source with knowledge of the probe. Typically, such groups tend to quickly seek to monetise their hacks or claim credit for them for ​political ends.

The cyberattack, which manually overrode the temperatures at fridges in supermarket groups including Carrefour, Monoprix, Intermarche and Cooperative ​U, appears to have been easy to pull off, three cyber experts told Reuters.

Staff at some ⁠Paris supermarkets threw boxes full of perished meat and frozen goods into giant trash containers on Tuesday. At least 350 ​supermarkets &mdash; a small fraction of the total number in France - were caught up in the strike.

Firm blames outdated software

The affected fridges relied ​on software by Danish firm Danfoss.

On Monday, Danfoss said many of the affected units had &quot;reached end of life and no longer receive software or security updates&quot; or were &quot;running outdated firmware&quot;. It said it had &quot;advised customers to keep supported systems updated with the latest firmware and to migrate legacy ​systems to current-generation solutions&quot;.

The company declined further comment on Tuesday.

Read: Thousands of cyberattacks blocked every month

The serious vulnerabilities present in older versions of Danfoss&#39; firmware have been ​known for months.

On August 9, cybersecurity firm Claroty detailed weaknesses &mdash;&nbsp;since patched &mdash;&nbsp;in the Danfoss AK-SM 800A controller that could have allowed intruders to &zwnj;bypass ⁠authentication and run code on compromised devices.

&#39;Basic cyber hygiene&#39;

Although the precise mechanism by which attackers compromised the refrigerators has not been publicly disclosed, cybersecurity experts said all signs pointed to a basic stunt enabled both by the failure to adopt Danfoss&#39; updates and by exposing device interfaces to the internet.

&quot;This is about basic cyber hygiene,&quot; said Ken Munro, a partner at the British cybersecurity firm ​Pen Test Partners. &quot;Get it wrong ​and you get a smelly ⁠mess of defrosted food.&quot;

He said the well-known vulnerabilities meant the attackers were essentially pushing at an open door, something that meant the hack could easily be &quot;kids messing around&quot;.

Read more: Hacked FBI data has sensitive information about employees&rsquo; intelligence roles

&quot;If this was a nation-state, why affect only a subset of French fridges? There are plenty of other nations ​with fridges on ⁠the internet,&quot; he said. &quot;No ransom or demand suggests a lack of appreciation of the potential commercial losses that the fridge owners may experience.&quot;

Problem still exists

Plenty of fridges remain reachable via the internet. Using the internet scanning service Shodan, Reuters found at least 4,500 Danfoss ⁠interfaces still ​viewable on Tuesday.

Reuters could not independently establish how many of them were running ​vulnerable software, but French internet scanning company Onyphe said only a small minority of the devices appeared to be running the latest version of the software.

Outdated ​and vulnerable versions were &quot;still widely represented among publicly accessible interfaces&quot;, Onyphe said.]]>
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			<title>Pakistan Army successfully test-fires extended-range Fatah-2 hypersonic ballistic missile</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634624/pakistan-successfully-test-fires-first-extended-range-fatah-2-hypersonic-ballistic-missile</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634624/pakistan-successfully-test-fires-first-extended-range-fatah-2-hypersonic-ballistic-missile#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 12:00:14 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Web Desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2634624</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[ISPR says weapon system with advanced navigation can engage targets with high precision, defeat enemy defences]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The Pakistan Army on Tuesday conducted a successful test launch of the hypersonic ballistic missile Fatah-2 extended range, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement, adding that the weapon system was equipped with advanced navigation and state-of-the-art avionics.

&quot;It is capable of engaging targets with high precision and defeating the enemy&#39;s missile defence systems due to its unique trajectory and manoeuvrability features. Fatah-2 ER, with its extended range, will further enhance the army&#39;s reach and capability of engaging deep targets,&quot; said the military&#39;s media wing.

The launch was witnessed by the commander of the Army Rocket Force Command (Comd ARFC), senior officers from the Pakistan Army and committed scientists and engineers, the ISPR said, adding that the ARFC commander &quot;appreciated the dedication and technical prowess of scientists and engineers.&quot;

The statement also noted that President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir, along with service chiefs, congratulated the scientists and engineers on the successful test launch.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi congratulated the nation on the successful test launch, stating that the scientists and engineers of the Pakistan Army had achieved a commendable feat. He added that the test was a significant development in the defence sector.



وفاقی وزیرداخلہ محسن نقوی کی ہائپر سانک بیلسٹک میزائل فتح 2 توسیعی رینج کے کامیاب تجربے پر قوم کو مبارکباد
پاک آرمی کے سائنسدانوں اور انجینئرز نے قابل فخر کارنامہ انجام دیا ہے۔
ہائپر سانک بیلسٹک میزائل فتح 2 توسیعی رینج کا
کامیاب تجربہ دفاعی شعبے میں اہم پیش رفت ہے۔
&mdash; Ministry of Interior GoP (@MOIofficialGoP) October 13, 2026



Read More: Pakistan committed to diplomacy, says DG ISPR

Last week, an indigenously developed extended version of the Fatah-4 ground-launched cruise missile was successfully test launched. The weapon system was equipped with advanced avionics and state-of-the-art navigational aids and could engage targets at extended ranges with &quot;high precision and lethality,&quot; the ISPR had said.

The test also validated additional &quot;technical parameters&quot; of various sub-systems incorporated for improved accuracy and enhanced survivability, it added.

In September 2025, the Pakistan Army had successfully conducted a training launch of its newly developed Fatah-4 at a range of 750 kilometres. The Fatah-4 is designed to evade enemy missile defence systems due to its terrain-hugging capabilities, ensuring high precision when engaging targets. The missile&rsquo;s features enhance its lethality and survivability, boosting the effectiveness of Pakistan&rsquo;s conventional missile systems.]]>
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			<title>Four killed as van collides with truck on Quetta-Karachi highway in Mastung</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634622/four-killed-as-van-collides-with-truck-on-quetta-karachi-highway-in-mastung</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634622/four-killed-as-van-collides-with-truck-on-quetta-karachi-highway-in-mastung#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 11:49:47 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Sardar Hameed Khan]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Balochistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2634622</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Four people were injured; police say all passengers belong to Kalat district]]>
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				<![CDATA[Four people, including a woman, were killed and five others, including three women, were injured when a van collided with a truck on the Quetta-Karachi National Highway near Badrang in the Khadkocha area of Mastung district on Tuesday, Khadkocha Station House Officer (SHO) Babu Owais Shahwani said.

The accident occurred when a van travelling from Quetta to Kalat collided with a truck on the highway, killing four people at the scene and injuring five others. SHO Shahwani said the deceased and injured were shifted to a nearby hospital following the accident.

The deceased were identified as the wife of Ghulam Haider Muhammad, Muhammad Anwar, Zaheer Ahmed and Muhammad Ayub. The injured were identified as Noor Ahmed, Mahmood Ahmed and three women.

All those involved in the accident belonged to Kalat district, police said. Police initiated further proceedings into the incident.

Read: At least five killed, over 30 injured as Rehman Baba Express derails near Multan

Recent fatal road accidents have raised concerns over passenger safety on Pakistan&rsquo;s highways. In July 2026, at least 40 people were killed and eight injured when a passenger coach travelling from Quetta to Peshawar plunged into a ravine in the Danasar area of the Sherani&ndash;Zhob Highway, near the Balochistan&ndash;Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa border. Rescue operations were complicated by the difficult mountainous terrain.

In another major accident in June 2026, at least 10 people were killed and 13 injured when a passenger van travelling from Multan to Murree plunged into a drainage channel and caught fire near Khajut on the Rawalpindi&ndash;Murree Expressway. The vehicle reportedly lost control while negotiating a bend, leaving passengers trapped inside.

Earlier, in January 2026, five people were killed and 27 injured when a bus travelling from Rawalpindi to Multan plunged into a ravine near Dhok Pathan in the Talagang area of Chakwal district. The crash was attributed to dense fog and poor visibility on a hilly stretch with sharp turns.]]>
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			<title>Sabeena Farooq denies lip filler rumours, says she is afraid of needles</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634620/sabeena-farooq-denies-lip-filler-rumours-says-she-is-afraid-of-needles</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634620/sabeena-farooq-denies-lip-filler-rumours-says-she-is-afraid-of-needles#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 11:28:55 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Life And Style Desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Life &amp; Style]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2634620</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The actor said she has not gotten lip fillers but even if she had, it shouldn't be a big deal]]>
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				<![CDATA[Pakistani actor Sabeena Farooq responded to speculation about her appearance, clarifying that she has not gotten lip fillers and explaining that her fear of needles and injections was the reason she had&nbsp;stayed away from the procedure.

Taking to her Instagram Story, the actor addressed messages from people suggesting that she had undergone the cosmetic treatment. While dismissing the rumours, Farooq made it clear that she did&nbsp;not consider cosmetic enhancements a bad thing and believed&nbsp;people should be free to make their own choices.





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&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been getting a lot of messages from people saying I got lip fillers, which first isn&rsquo;t a bad thing, but I didn&rsquo;t because I&rsquo;m scared of needles and injections. Otherwise, I would&rsquo;ve considered doing it, regardless of doing too much. But yeah, we shouldn&rsquo;t question what people do, right?&rdquo; she said, according to the remarks shared from her story.

Farooq&rsquo;s response struck a balance between addressing speculation about herself and pushing back against the tendency to scrutinise other people&rsquo;s appearances. Although she denied getting lip fillers, the actor indicated that she has no issue with those who choose to undergo cosmetic procedures.

Her remarks also highlighted a broader conversation around beauty standards and the scrutiny public figures face over their looks. Celebrities frequently find themselves at the centre of online speculation about cosmetic treatments, with changes in appearance often prompting assumptions about whether they have undergone procedures.

By acknowledging that cosmetic enhancements are a personal choice, Farooq appeared to question why such decisions should become a subject of public judgement in the first place.

Farooq has established herself as a familiar face in Pakistani television, earning recognition for her performances in several popular drama serials. A Media Studies graduate, she began her acting career in 2016 and has since taken on a range of roles.

She gained widespread attention for playing Haya in the hit drama Tere Bin. Although the character attracted considerable criticism from viewers, Farooq also faced online harassment and threats, prompting her to speak out about the distinction between an actor and the character they portray.

In 2023, the actor addressed the backlash in an Instagram post, urging viewers to stop directing hostility towards her over her on-screen role. She later discussed the different responses to her performance from audiences in Pakistan and India.

Farooq further strengthened her reputation with her portrayal of Barbeena in Kabuli Pulao and Aliya in Mann Jogi. Her performance in Kabuli Pulao earned her the Lux Style Award 2025 for Best TV Actress (Critics&rsquo; Choice).

In August 2026, she was also announced among the honourees of the CLC Global 100 Women Leaders Award 2026, recognising women from various fields, including entertainment.

Beyond her acting career, Farooq has used social media to address criticism, online behaviour and the pressures faced by celebrities. Her latest response to the lip filler rumours follows that pattern, with the actor clarifying her own position while reminding audiences that personal choices about appearance deserve respect.]]>
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			<title>Formula One to return to Africa</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634619/formula-one-to-return-to-africa</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634619/formula-one-to-return-to-africa#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 11:18:16 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[AFP]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2634619</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The East African nation has been chasing a Grand Prix race for years]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Rwanda will host Africa&#39;s first Formula One Grand Prix since 1993 in &quot;the early 2030s&quot; after the circuit announced a decade-long deal with the country on Tuesday.
The East African nation has been chasing a Grand Prix race for years, having already used football, basketball and other sports to enhance its image and attract investment.
President Paul Kagame formally announced the bid when Rwanda hosted a gathering of the FIA in December 2024.
The last time an F1 race was held in Africa was the 33rd South African Grand Prix, won by Alain Prost 33 years ago.
The first African Grand Prix in Rwanda will take place &quot;once a new purpose-built circuit in Bugesera, Rwanda, has been completed&quot;, F1 said in a statement.
&quot;Today is a landmark moment for Formula One,&quot; F1 president Stefano Domenicali added.
&quot;With Rwanda joining the calendar from the next decade, our sport will race in every inhabited continent, bringing the world championship closer than ever to fans around the globe.
&quot;Africa has always been part of Formula One&#39;s future, and from the beginning we were determined to return in the right way, with the right partner, a long-term commitment and a clear vision for creating meaningful impact.&quot;
A landlocked country still widely associated with a horrific genocide in 1994, Rwanda has used sports to revamp its image, attract tourists and impress investors with its organisational efficiency.
It has spent lavishly on football sponsorship deals with clubs including Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain, partnered with the NBA to be the main hub of its African basketball league, and hosted last year&#39;s cycling world championships.
Critics have called this &quot;sports-washing&quot; -- using glitzy events to distract from accusations of serious human rights abuses, including a brutal crackdown on any opposition or dissent.
Others see that as Western hypocrisy, arguing that no one described this year&#39;s World Cup in the United States as &quot;sports-washing&quot;, despite the country&#39;s rights abuses.&nbsp;]]>
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			<title>England rest Archer, Atkinson, Tongue for Australia T20Is</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634608/england-rest-archer-atkinson-tongue-for-australia-t20is</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634608/england-rest-archer-atkinson-tongue-for-australia-t20is#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 10:40:28 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Sports Desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2634608</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Thomas Rew and Eddie Jack earn maiden call-ups]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker and Josh Tongue will feature in the three-match ODI series before leaving the tour to prepare for December&rsquo;s Test series in South Africa.

Archer and Jacob Bethell, who is returning from a knee injury, have been included in the ODI squad as England step up their preparations for the World Cup, which will be hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

The T20I squad, meanwhile, includes four uncapped players, with Somerset wicketkeeper-batter Thomas Rew, 18, and Hampshire seamer Eddie Jack receiving their maiden England call-ups.

James Coles and Henry Crocombe could also make their T20I debuts, while Luke Wood returns despite recently losing his central contract.

&ldquo;We will be at close to full strength as we ramp up preparations for a World Cup in a year&rsquo;s time,&rdquo; national selector Marcus North said, referring to the ODI squad.

He added that the four fast bowlers would leave after the ODI series to manage their workloads ahead of the South Africa Tests.

England will play a three-day warm-up against a Cricket South Africa Invitational XI in Durban from December 9-11 before opening their three-Test series in Johannesburg on December 17. The early arrival of their quicks will give them time to acclimatise and work with new Test bowling coach Eric Simons.

Rehan Ahmed has been left out of both squads after a disappointing home summer, while seamer Saqib Mahmood will undergo knee surgery following another injury setback.

Brydon Carse has also been omitted as a Cricket Regulator investigation into his conduct during a night out in Derby continues. England managing director Rob Key said Carse needed to &ldquo;get his house in order&rdquo; before the team decided whether he could return to international cricket.

England will travel to Australia after an ODI tri-series in Pakistan involving the hosts and Sri Lanka. Their Australia campaign begins with a 50-over warm-up against Western Australia XI in Perth on November 7.

England tour to Australia

ODI squad: Harry Brook (capt), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jordan Cox, Henry Crocombe, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Josh Tongue.

T20I squad: Harry Brook (capt), Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, James Coles, Jordan Cox, Henry Crocombe, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Aneurin Donald, Eddie Jack, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Thomas Rew, Phil Salt, Luke Wood.

Fixtures: November 7 &ndash; 50-over warm-up vs Western Australia XI (Waca, Perth); November 13 &ndash; 1st ODI (Optus, Perth); November 15 &ndash; 2nd ODI (Adelaide); November 18 &ndash; 3rd ODI (Hobart); November 21 &ndash; 1st T20I (Melbourne); November 24 &ndash; 2nd T20I (Gold Coast); November 27 &ndash; 3rd T20I (Brisbane); November 29 &ndash; 4th T20I (Sydney); December 2 &ndash; 5th T20I (Canberra).]]>
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			<title>Mooney eyes 2029 World Cup and Brisbane Olympics</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634607/mooney-eyes-2029-world-cup-and-brisbane-olympics</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634607/mooney-eyes-2029-world-cup-and-brisbane-olympics#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 10:34:01 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Sports Desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2634607</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[She hopes to extend her international career as cricket prepares for a new era on the Olympic stage]]>
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				<![CDATA[Australia batter and wicketkeeper Beth Mooney is targeting the 2029 Women&rsquo;s Cricket World Cup and a possible appearance at the 2032 Brisbane Olympics as she prepares to reach 100 one-day internationals.

The 32-year-old is set to achieve the milestone in Wednesday&rsquo;s third and final ODI against Bangladesh at Allan Border Field, with Australia already holding an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.

Mooney has scored 3,288 runs at an average of 49.81 in the format, including six centuries, placing her seventh on Australia&rsquo;s all-time ODI run-scoring list.

Australia&rsquo;s semi-final defeat by India at the 2025 Women&rsquo;s Cricket World Cup remains a driving force for Mooney, who hopes to help the team reclaim the title in 2029.

&ldquo;There was a lot of bitter disappointment from that World Cup loss in India 12 months ago now,&rdquo; Mooney was quoted as saying by the Australian Associated Press.

Australia have since won the Women&rsquo;s T20 World Cup, with Mooney scoring 238 runs in seven innings, including an unbeaten 64 in the final against England.

But the left-hander is keen to add the 50-over crown to her collection.

&ldquo;The 50-over one is what you want to win as well,&rdquo; she said, adding that her immediate goal was to perform well enough to earn selection for the 2029 tournament.

Mooney also believes the prospect of competing at the Olympics could extend her international career, with cricket scheduled to feature at the Los Angeles 2028 Games and potentially at Brisbane 2032.

&ldquo;Certainly the Olympics is definitely an enticing one for players to hang around a bit longer,&rdquo; she said.

The Brisbane Games could offer Mooney the opportunity to compete on home soil at the age of 38.

&ldquo;Hopefully I&rsquo;m still around, but that&rsquo;s a long way away,&rdquo; she said, adding that her focus remained on contributing to Australia and helping younger players develop.

Mooney also welcomed the attacking approach of young openers Georgia Voll and Phoebe Litchfield, who shared a 162-run partnership in Australia&rsquo;s nine-wicket victory over Bangladesh in the second ODI.

&ldquo;The 50-over game is becoming a lot more modern, and we&rsquo;re seeing Phoebe and Georgia really take the game on,&rdquo; she said.

Australia will next face New Zealand in a three-match home T20 international series before turning their attention to the inaugural Women&rsquo;s Champions Trophy, scheduled for early next year.]]>
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			<title>Finance Minister Aurangzeb vows to strengthen collective influence of G-24</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634605/finance-minister-aurangzeb-vows-to-strengthen-collective-influence-of-g-24</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634605/finance-minister-aurangzeb-vows-to-strengthen-collective-influence-of-g-24#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 10:19:59 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Web Desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2634605</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Meets IFC Regional VP for the Middle East and Central Asia Imad Fakhoury to discuss matters of mutual interest]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Tuesday reaffirmed Pakistan&rsquo;s commitment to strengthening the collective influence of G-24 and advancing the interests of developing economies as the incoming chair, a statement issued by the ministry said.

He was speaking as the first Vice-Chair of the G-24 at the finance ministers&#39;&nbsp;and central bank governors&rsquo; meeting held on the sidelines of the World Bank Group&ndash; International Monetary Fund (IMF) Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Thailand.

Aurangzeb highlighted the challenges facing developing economies, including fragmentation disrupting trade and investment, climate shocks eroding development gains, restrictive financial conditions and widening financing gaps.



Finance Minister Calls for Reform of International Financial Architecture at G-24 Meeting, Reaffirms Pakistan&rsquo;s Commitment as Incoming Chair

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, speaking in his capacity as First Vice-Chair of the G-24 at the&hellip; pic.twitter.com/qhQrZ88oNr
&mdash; Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan (@Financegovpk) October 13, 2026


The minister stressed that reform of the international financial architecture must keep pace with the challenges and called for timely support for countries undertaking difficult reforms while confronting external shocks beyond their control.

He outlined three priorities for the G-24 focused on restoring development as the central objective of the international financial system, making the Bretton Woods institutions more representative and responsive, and building a development-oriented international financial architecture.

Read: Govt eyes raising $1b from privatisation

Aurangzeb also emphasised cooperation among members and institutional partners to advance a more representative, resilient and development-centred international economic order.

FinMin discusses trade, investment and development cooperation with SFD CEO

Aurangzeb also conducted a meeting with Sultan Abdulrahman Al-Marshad, Chief Executive Officer of the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), on the sidelines of the World Bank Group&ndash;IMF Annual Meetings in Thailand.

During the meeting, the finance minister expressed condolences over the loss of lives in recent incidents in Saudi Arabia and thanked the Kingdom for its longstanding support to Pakistan. He also highlighted Pakistan&rsquo;s improving macroeconomic position and renewed access to international capital markets.



Finance Minister Discusses Trade, Investment and Development Cooperation with Saudi Fund for Development CEO

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, met with H.E. Mr. Sultan Abdulrahman Al-Marshad, Chief Executive Officer of the Saudi Fund for&hellip; pic.twitter.com/FzfxiJYeh6
&mdash; Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan (@Financegovpk) October 13, 2026


The discussions focused on expanding trade and investment, strengthening private-sector engagement, following up on the bilateral investment protection agreement, and exploring opportunities for refinery upgrades.

Both sides noted satisfactory progress on SFD-supported projects and emphasised the importance of developing a fresh pipeline of projects.

According to a statement issued by the finance ministry, the SFD reaffirmed its continued support to Pakistan within its mandate.

Calls for coordinated action on population growth, job creation

The finance minister also called for coordinated national efforts to address Pakistan&rsquo;s rapid population growth, stressing the need to integrate population planning with health, education and employment policies while speaking at a World Bank roundtable titled &ldquo;Transforming Demographic Transition into Human Capital Gains and Job Creation&rdquo; in Thailand.

The minister announced plans to establish a National Population Council led by the prime minister.

He said the proposed council would help bring fragmented initiatives under a comprehensive framework through coordinated federal and provincial action, sustained political commitment and measurable outcomes.



Finance Minister Outlines Establishment of National Population Council, Calls for Integrated Action on Human Capital and Job Creation at World Bank Roundtable

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, speaking at the World Bank&rsquo;s roundtable on&hellip; pic.twitter.com/Oqubr9Ho5T
&mdash; Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan (@Financegovpk) October 13, 2026


Aurangzeb highlighted women&rsquo;s education and workforce participation as key priorities in managing the country&rsquo;s demographic transition. He also stressed the importance of engaging religious leaders to promote awareness about birth spacing.

Drawing on experiences from Indonesia, Bangladesh and Iran, the minister underscored the need to learn from approaches adopted by other countries to address population-related challenges and improve human development outcomes.

He said Pakistan&rsquo;s ability to benefit from its demographic dividend would depend on developing a skilled workforce and promoting private-sector-led growth capable of generating employment opportunities.

The finance minister identified freelancing, information technology-enabled services and digital skills as areas with potential to increase young people&rsquo;s earnings and boost the country&rsquo;s exports.

He stressed that population management could not be pursued in isolation, calling for an integrated approach linking population planning with investments in health and education and policies aimed at expanding employment.

Meeting with International Finance Corporation&#39;s Imad Fakhoury

Separately, the finance minister also met with International Finance Corporation (IFC) Regional Vice President for the Middle East and Central Asia Imad Fakhoury in Bangkok.

In a statement issued on social media, the finance ministry said that discussions focused on strengthening IFC support for private-sector-led growth and jobs, and translating macroeconomic stability into sustainable growth.

The meeting also reviewed IFC&rsquo;s expanding portfolio, small-business financing, entrepreneurship, capital markets, and green and digital bonds.

Read more: IMF raises inflation forecast to 9.9%

Discussions also covered mining infrastructure and value addition, affordable housing and developer financing, and agricultural development through improved storage, cold chains and electronic warehouse receipt financing. The statement further highlighted that both sides explored greater private-sector participation in livestock development and support for pharmaceutical exports through stronger regulatory standards and investment.

Furthermore, the meeting deliberated infrastructure cooperation focused on public-private partnerships in water services, advanced electricity metering and financing mechanisms for provincial projects.



Finance Minister Discusses Private-Sector Growth, Investment and Development Cooperation with IFC Regional Vice President

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, met with Mr. Imad Fakhoury, IFC Regional Vice President for the Middle East and Central&hellip; pic.twitter.com/P7U8gIAvFf
&mdash; Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan (@Financegovpk) October 13, 2026


During the meeting, Aurangzeb also reaffirmed commitment to Reko Diq copper and gold mining project and appreciated IFC&rsquo;s financing leadership.

According to the IFC portal, the Reko Diq project, put on hold on April 25, entails the development of a greenfield open-pit mining operation with processing facilities to produce copper-gold concentrate.

&ldquo;The mine includes two open pits, a processing plant, several low-grade ore stockpiles, two waste rock dumps, a tailings storage facility (TSF), a heavy fuel oil power plant and photovoltaic solar plant, and other auxiliary infrastructure. The project will produce 200-250 kt of copper per year,&rdquo; it stated, adding, &ldquo;Reko Diq is one of the world&#39;s largest undeveloped copper and gold deposits, with an expected mine life of 40+ years.&rdquo;

It further outlines that the sponsors contemplate a possible expansion of the project, which includes increasing copper production to 400kt per year and building the related infrastructure.

&ldquo;It will be one of the largest copper mines globally when fully developed,&rdquo; the IFC project description concludes.]]>
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			<title>Saudi Arabia strikes Yemen capital as Houthis vow to retaliate</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634604/yemeni-army-strikes-houthi-forces-in-taiz-amid-escalation</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634604/yemeni-army-strikes-houthi-forces-in-taiz-amid-escalation#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 10:13:28 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Reuters]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2634604</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Houthi-run Al-Masirah television reports Saudi-led coalition targeted a fuel ​depot on the outskirts of Sanaa]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Yemen&#39;s Houthis said Saudi Arabia was attacking the Yemeni capital Sanaa on ​Tuesday after a Saudi-led coalition warned civilians to stay away from an oil depot on the city outskirts, part of a rapidly &zwnj;escalating war between the sides.

The Houthis have for a week been targeting Saudi airports, including a strike on Riyadh on Saturday that killed 13 people, in retaliation for the kingdom&#39;s backing of government forces against the Houthis in Yemen&#39;s reignited civil war.

Read: Saudi warning system stayed silent before deadly airport attacks

Houthi-run Al-Masirah television reported that the Saudi-led coalition had targeted the Yemen Petroleum Company&#39;s (YPC)&nbsp;Sabah central station, a fuel ​depot on the outskirts of Sanaa.



BREAKING: Al Jazeera correspondent reports hearing explosions in Yemen&rsquo;s Houthi-controlled capital, Sanaa.

Media affiliated with the Houthi movement are reporting air strikes by Saudi-backed forces targeting an oil facility.

🔴 LIVE updates: https://t.co/Onv8Fs7Gyp pic.twitter.com/rppursdzji
&mdash; Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) October 13, 2026


YPC said the facility did not currently hold any stocks of petroleum products and that targeting it ​did not affect oil reserves or supply chains.

However, the Houthis had earlier threatened a &quot;harsh and painful&quot; response to any strikes ⁠on Sanaa, with spokesperson Yahya Saree saying targets could include the Saudi Aramco headquarters in Dhahran and an oil refinery in Riyadh.



تهيب القوات المسلحة اليمنية بجميع المواطنين بالإخلاء الفوري والابتعاد عن الأهداف التى ستقوم قواتنا المسلحة باستهدافها في حال أقدم العدو السعودي على استهداف ما أعلن عنه في العاصمة صنعاء
مقر شركة أرامكو في الدمام
مطار خالد في الرياض
مصفاة الرياض التابعة لشركة أرامكو
&mdash; العميد/ يحيى سريع (@Yah_Saree) October 13, 2026


The group renewed earlier ​warnings it had issued to oil workers in Saudi Arabia, telling them to stay away from sites that could be potential targets.

The Saudi cabinet, chaired ​by de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, issued a statement saying the Houthis would face consequences for their repeated attacks on the kingdom.

Saturday&#39;s ballistic missile strike on Riyadh airport was the deadliest in Saudi Arabia for a decade, with further attacks grounding flights across the country even as it hosts a major energy conference.

Reignited Yemen war

Saudi Arabia ​resumed its military campaign in Yemen in support of the internationally recognised government in a bid to reverse the Houthis&#39; sudden gains last month when ​they swept down the Red Sea coast to the critical Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

The strait, the southern gateway to the Red Sea, has become a more vital route for &zwnj;Saudi and ⁠other global energy supplies since the start of the Iran war in February, when Tehran closed the Hormuz Strait leading from the Gulf to the Indian Ocean.

He said he may ask Erdogan to intervene in support of Saudi interests.

Washington, Saudi Arabia&#39;s strongest ally and longtime security guarantor, has so far rebuffed Saudi efforts to bring it directly into the war against the Houthis.

The Yemen ⁠conflict has ​resumed as a spillover from the wider US-Iran war that began with the US-Israeli attack ​on the Islamic Republic starting on February 28.

Iran, Riyadh&#39;s longtime arch regional rival, has offered to mediate between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, its foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said on Sunday in ​statements reiterated by the ministry on Monday.

Yemeni army strikes Houthi forces in Taiz

Earlier today, Yemeni government forces carried out nine airstrikes&nbsp;targeting Houthi fighters and military equipment in the southwestern Taiz province as escalation continues to rage across the country, according to the army.

The Taiz Military Axis Media Centre said warplanes belonging to the Yemeni armed forces carried out five strikes in the Al-Dhabab area and four others in Al-Misrakh district.

The strikes targeted Houthi personnel and military equipment, the centre said.

It added that clashes were also ongoing between government forces and Houthi fighters on the Al-Shaqab front south of Taiz. The military did not provide details on casualties or damage.

Meanwhile, the Taiz office of Yemen&rsquo;s Human Rights Ministry said in a statement late on Monday that six civilians, including a girl, were killed and others were injured in Houthi shelling that struck densely populated villages in rural Taiz on Sunday.

Read: Saudi warning system stayed silent before deadly airport attacks

In Taiz city, the office said 17 civilians, including five women and six children, were injured and seven homes were damaged in Houthi shelling over the previous 24 hours.

The office did not specify the nature or severity of the injuries or the extent of the damage

The non-governmental Taiz Human Rights Centre accused the Houthis of shelling the area around Al-Safwa Hospital, a private facility in central Taiz city.

It said a shell landed near the hospital, causing material damage to patient rooms and frightening patients and medical staff.

Thousands displaced

Amid the continuing escalation, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Monday evening that 216,000 people have been displaced in Yemen since August, including more than 172,000 from Taiz province.

The UN and humanitarian partners have so far reached around 143,000 people with emergency assistance, including food, hygiene supplies and cash support, the agency said.

On Saturday, local authorities in Taiz warned that the Houthis have tightened their siege on the province, threatening the lives, security and livelihoods of more than 6 million residents.

The Yemeni army launched Operation &ldquo;Dawn of Yemen&rdquo; last week, aimed at restoring state institutions and ending Houthi control of the capital Sanaa.

The developments are part of a military escalation that began in July, the most extensive since the relative calm that followed a UN-brokered truce that began in April 2022.

Yemen has been engulfed in war since the Houthis seized Sanaa and several of the country&rsquo;s 22 provinces in September 2014, prompting an Arab coalition led by neighbouring Saudi Arabia to intervene in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognised government.

The Houthis fully control most northern and western provinces, including Sanaa, Saada, Amran, Dhamar, Al Hudaydah, Ibb, Al Mahwit and Raymah, while maintaining partial control over parts of Hajjah, Al-Bayda, Marib, Al-Jawf, Al-Dhalea and Taiz.

Read more: Saudi Arabia rejects Israeli bid to join fight against Houthis: Israeli media

Government forces and their allies control the interim capital Aden, the eastern provinces of Al-Mahra and Hadramout, the southern provinces of Shabwa and Abyan, most of Lahj and Al-Dhalea, and parts of Taiz, Marib, Al-Jawf, Hajjah and Saada.

Yemen military shoot down Saudi drone

The Yemeni military said its air defence units intercepted and shot down a Saudi unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in the airspace over the country&rsquo;s northwestern Sa&rsquo;ada province.

Spokesman for the Yemeni military, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, said in a statement in the morning that the Yemeni armed forces detected and targeted an armed Wing Loong II reconnaissance drone belonging to the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF), using an appropriate weapon.



Yemeni army shoots down Saudi armed reconnaissance drone in Sa&rsquo;adahttps://t.co/3TVtC2dP1K
&mdash; Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) October 13, 2026


The development came shortly after the Yemeni army successfully targeted King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, in a new ballistic missile strike.]]>
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			<title>Litton Das creates Test history</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634599/Litton-Das-creates-Test-history</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634599/Litton-Das-creates-Test-history#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 09:44:16 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Sports Desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2634599</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Bangladesh wicket-keeper sets world record with gloves and bat against Afghanistan]]>
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				<![CDATA[Bangladesh wicket-keeper batsman Litton Das created history on Tuesday by becoming the first player in Test cricket to record nine dismissals behind the stumps while scoring a half-century and a century in the same match.

He surpassed the previous record held by South Africa&rsquo;s Denis Lindsay.

In the Johannesburg Test against Australia in 1966, Lindsay scored 50-plus runs in both innings and recorded eight dismissals. By catching Ikram Alikhil, Litton surpassed Lindsay to set a new record.

The record for the most dismissals by a wicket-keeper in a single Test match is now within Litton&rsquo;s reach.

England&rsquo;s Jack Russell, South Africa&rsquo;s AB de Villiers and India&rsquo;s Rishabh Pant currently share the record, with 11 dismissals each in a match. Litton needs two more dismissals to equal their record and three to break it.

The veteran wicket-keeper batsman produced a diving, one-handed catch to dismiss Ikram Alikhil, who scored 33, off Ebadot Hossain just before lunch. The dismissal added to Litton&rsquo;s outstanding performance behind the stumps, where he had already taken several impressive catches and completed stumpings during the match.

&nbsp;He also shone with the bat, scoring 53 in the first innings and 102 in the second to help Bangladesh set Afghanistan a daunting target of 479 runs. Bangladesh declared their second innings at 372-7 after building a 478-run overall lead.

Afghanistan reached 208-4 in their second innings after 85.2 overs while chasing the target at the Zayed Cricket Stadium.

Sediqullah Atal remained unbeaten on 70 after facing 235 deliveries and hitting three fours and three sixes. Rahmat Shah contributed 51 before being dismissed by Ebadot, who claimed three wickets, while Shahidullah scored 19 and Ikram added 33.

Hashmatullah Shahidi retired hurt on 20, while Ismat Alam was unbeaten on nought at the other end. Afghanistan still faced a substantial challenge to reach the target, with Bangladesh pressing for the remaining wickets.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;]]>
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			<title>Non-functional Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa CM Sohail Afridi's brother moves PHC over alleged 'illegal' detention</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634598/non-functional-k-p-chief-minister-sohail-afridis-brother-moves-phc-against-alleged-illegal-detenti</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634598/non-functional-k-p-chief-minister-sohail-afridis-brother-moves-phc-against-alleged-illegal-detenti#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 09:43:35 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Yasir Ali]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2634598</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Seeks immediate recovery, argues that Afridi's alleged abduction violated his fundamental rights]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[The brother of non-functional Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) chief minister Sohail Afridi on Tuesday moved the Peshawar High Court seeking his immediate recovery, arguing that his alleged abduction and continued detention violated his fundamental rights and demanding an independent judicial inquiry into his disappearance.

The petition was filed amid uncertainty over Afridi&rsquo;s whereabouts following the imposition of emergency and governor&rsquo;s rule in K-P on October 11, which brought the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led provincial government to an end and transferred its powers to Governor Faisal Karim Kundi.

Muhammad Aamir, through his counsel Bashir Khan Wazir, alleged that Afridi had been taken away by armed and masked individuals and was being held illegally. The petition asked the court to establish where the former chief minister was being held, who had custody of him, and under what legal authority he was being detained.

&ldquo;The petitioner and the family members of the abductee are seriously concerned about his safety, physical integrity and continued liberty,&rdquo; the petition stated, seeking the court&rsquo;s intervention &ldquo;to prevent any further harm&rdquo;.

The federal government said Afridi and some members of his cabinet had been placed in preventive custody, while Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry clarified that Afridi was being held under protective custody and had not been arrested.

{{pdf}}

In its petition, Aamir&rsquo;s counsel argued that Afridi&rsquo;s public office did not diminish his fundamental rights, stating, &ldquo;His public office does not diminish his fundamental rights; rather, the circumstances of the present incident call for immediate and effective action by the competent authorities to ascertain his whereabouts and ensure his safety.&rdquo;

The petitioner asked the court to direct the police authorities to trace Afridi and, if he was found in custody within the court&rsquo;s territorial jurisdiction, produce him before the court so that the legality of his detention could be examined.

According to the petition, Afridi was detained at the Chief Minister&rsquo;s House in Peshawar at about 2pm on October 11 before being taken away by &ldquo;certain unknown armed and masked individuals&rdquo; in the presence of Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Peshawar.

&ldquo;The precise sequence of events, the identities of the persons involved and the circumstances in which the abductee was taken away require immediate verification through the relevant official record, eyewitness accounts and other available evidence,&rdquo; it stated.

&ldquo;The circumstances in which the abductee was taken away from such a sensitive public institution, despite the reported presence of a senior police officer, raise grave and legitimate concerns regarding the security arrangements, the response of the concerned authorities and the safety and liberty of the abductee,&rdquo; it said.

The petitioner also expressed concern that Afridi may have been taken to an &quot;undisclosed location&quot; and &quot;may be kept against his will&quot;, adding that his whereabouts and present condition needed to be &ldquo;immediately ascertained through lawful means&rdquo;.

It called for an investigation into the identities of those allegedly involved, the vehicles used to remove Afridi, if any, and the route taken after he was taken away.

The petition said police authorities could obtain relevant information from security personnel, access-control records, CCTV cameras, official duty rosters and other sources.

Read: &#39;Afridi, some of his cabinet members have been taken into preventive custody,&#39; confirms Talal

It also sought a detailed report from the CCPO on the circumstances of the alleged incident, the people present at the time, the security arrangements in place and the steps taken immediately afterwards.

An objective inquiry into these matters was necessary, the petitioner said, adding that he did not seek &ldquo;any finding of culpability against any respondent without due investigation and supporting evidence&rdquo;.

The petition further asked the court to order the preservation of CCTV footage from the relevant entrances and exits, adjoining roads and routes, along with security logs, entry and exit registers, vehicle access records, duty rosters and official communications.

&ldquo;Any delay in securing such material may prejudice the investigation and frustrate the process of identifying the persons involved,&rdquo; it said.

The petitioner also sought an independent judicial inquiry and asked the court to direct the police to register a first information report if one had not already been registered, and the facts legally warranted it.

The petition argued that the alleged detention raised questions about the constitutional protections afforded to Afridi, including the right to be dealt with in accordance with law, the right to life and liberty, safeguards against unlawful arrest and detention, and the protection of human dignity.

It cited Articles 4, 9, 10 and 14 of the Constitution and invoked Article 199, under which the High Court can order the production of a person in custody in circumstances covered by the provision. It also referred to Section 491 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, which provides for directions of the nature of habeas corpus within its scope.

&ldquo;The impugned detention and disappearance of the abductee is wholly illegal, unlawful, without lawful authority and of no legal effect,&rdquo; the petition stated, arguing that the authorities had not disclosed any lawful basis for holding him.

Read more: PTI rejects emergency, governor&#39;s rule in K-P as unconstitutional, vows to continue struggle

&ldquo;Its immediate purpose is to ascertain the whereabouts and safety of the abductee, secure his production before this Hon&rsquo;ble Court if he is found in custody, examine the legality of such custody and ensure that his fundamental rights are protected in accordance with law,&rdquo; it stated.

The petitioner warned that the matter &quot;cannot safely be left to indefinite delay or uncertainty&quot; and that directions for his production and a prompt report were necessary in the interests of justice.

The court was also asked to direct the authorities to submit periodic progress reports until Afridi&rsquo;s whereabouts and safety had been established.

In its request for interim relief, the petition sought a preliminary report within a time fixed by the court, the production of Afridi if he was found in the custody or control of any person or authority, and immediate steps for his safe recovery if he was being unlawfully detained.

The petition asked the High Court to direct the authorities to identify those involved and take action against anyone found responsible in accordance with the law, while ensuring due process. It also sought any other relief the court considered appropriate in the circumstances.

The petition followed the federal government&rsquo;s decision to impose emergency and governor&rsquo;s rule in K-P on October 11 under Articles 232 and 234 of the Constitution. The government cited the deteriorating law and order situation and what it called a lack of support from the provincial administration in the fight against terrorism.

Reports of Afridi&rsquo;s detention emerged shortly after the announcement, with provincial Information Minister Shafi Jan saying the non-functional chief minister had been arrested and urging people to gather in Peshawar. However, there was initially no confirmation from the federal government.

On October 12, the minister of state for Interior confirmed that Afridi and some members of his cabinet had been taken into preventive custody. &ldquo;Yes, I can confirm that the chief minister and some of his cabinet members have been taken into preventive custody,&rdquo; he told Reuters, adding that those facing cases would be charged and tried, while the others would be released.

A senior police official also confirmed that eight people, including Afridi, PTI MNA Junaid Akbar, and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati, had been detained]]>
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			<title>World Cup ticket demand soars past 15 million</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634593/world-cup-ticket-demand-soars-past-15-million</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634593/world-cup-ticket-demand-soars-past-15-million#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 09:14:35 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Sports Desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2634593</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Fans from 142 countries fuel unprecedented global interest]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The ICC Men&rsquo;s Cricket World Cup 2027 ticket applications have seen a surge of demand across the globe since the ballot went live 12 days ago.

The ICC said on Tuesday that a total of 15,083,752 ticket applications have been received since with 4,423,417 ballot registrations generated by fans from across 142 countries, highlighting the immense global interest in the 14th edition of the Men&rsquo;s Cricket World Cup.

The latest numbers show a dramatic acceleration in demand since the ballot opened, with ticket applications soaring from one million last week to over 15 million in less than two weeks.

The global interest in the tournament, which has been introduced with a new format, will see cricket fans become part of the biggest and most ambitious edition in the tournament&rsquo;s history, hosted in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.

&quot;The overwhelming demand for tickets is testament to the stature and appeal of the Cricket World Cup, the allure of Africa as a destination and the anticipation for the event generated by the ICC and its partners&#39; promotional activities leading up to the event launch,&rdquo; ICC Chief Executive Officer Sanjog Gupta said.

&ldquo;With a year to go, the ICC has planned an exciting runway of 360 degree activations, multi-platform campaigns and content line-ups, which will elevate the fandom associated with the ICC Cricket World Cup 2027.&quot;&nbsp;

The ticket ballot will be open for registration until November 21, 2026, exactly a year before the Cricket World Cup final is scheduled to be played in Wanderers, Johannesburg.

The ODI World Cup will be held across three countries including South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia from October 2 to November 21, 2027.]]>
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			<title>Five members of a family found dead inside home in Karachi's Malir</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634592/five-members-of-a-family-found-dead-inside-home-in-karachis-malir</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634592/five-members-of-a-family-found-dead-inside-home-in-karachis-malir#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 09:01:28 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Abbas Naqvi]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2634592</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Police recover handwritten note citing financial distress, alleged harassment by close relatives as cause]]>
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				<![CDATA[The bodies of five members of a family, including two children, were found inside a house in Falak Naz Society in Karachi&#39;s Malir on Tuesday, with a handwritten note recovered from one of the deceased pointing to financial hardship and alleged harassment by relatives.

The dead were identified as 30-year-old Shehryar, his 28-year-old wife, Saba, their children, five-year-old Aizal and three-year-old Arya, and Shehryar&#39;s 20-year-old younger sister Shumaila, who lived with her brother.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Malir Dr Abdul Khaliq Pirzada told The Express Tribune that the house was locked from the inside. When police broke open the door, they found Shehryar and Saba seated on chairs, both with gunshot wounds to the head. A pistol was found nearby.

&quot;The bodies of Shumaila and the two children were found on bedding on the floor in the same room. The three appeared to be asleep, but foam was coming from their mouths,&quot; SSP Pirzada said.

A handwritten note was recovered from Shehryar&rsquo;s pocket in which he purportedly admitted to taking his own life and those of his family members. The note, which was stained red with what appeared to be blood, attributed the family&rsquo;s circumstances to financial hardship and alleged indifference and harassment by close relatives.

According to the initial investigation, police suspected that Shehryar and his wife had administered poison to the children and Shumaila before shooting themselves. The exact cause of death of all five would be established through post-mortem examinations, Pirzada said.

In the note, Shehryar alleged that relatives had harassed the family and accused them of killing his father, who had died in a traffic accident some time earlier.

Read: Mother, three children brutally murdered

&ldquo;The reason we are taking this step is that our relatives started harassing us. They say that we killed our father,&rdquo; the note read.

Shehryar also wrote of their financial distress; &ldquo;We would ask our relatives to give us money, but they humiliated us. Our maternal aunts and paternal uncles blocked us so that we would not ask them for money,&rdquo; the note said.

He said they had sought help to buy groceries, milk for the children, and refill their gas cylinder, but had been left without assistance.

&ldquo;If we went to visit them, they would throw us out of their homes. They had promised our elders that they would look after us, but they abandoned us. The situation has become unbearable,&rdquo; the note read.

Shehryar also called for those he blamed for the family&rsquo;s circumstances to be held accountable. &ldquo;My last wish is that those who treated us this way should be made an example of. But we have no hope in the law,&rdquo; the note said. &ldquo;They are all shameless people who only come to funerals to eat biryani. Nobody helps anyone.&rdquo;

Police forensic teams collected evidence and fingerprints from the scene. SSP Pirzada said investigators were looking for samples of Shehryar&rsquo;s previous handwriting to compare with the note and establish its authenticity.

Police also recovered a white powder from the house. Investigators suspected it could be a form of poison that had allegedly been administered to Shumaila and the children. The substance was taken into custody for laboratory testing.

Read more: Karachi police arrests 3 suspects over young doctor&#39;s murder during Teen Talwar robbery

Malir Investigation Police said a relative had arranged for groceries to be delivered to Shehryar&rsquo;s house a day before the incident. Police also said Shehryar had reportedly been suffering from severe depression because of financial difficulties, a claim they said was supported by some neighbourhood residents.

The bodies were taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for post-mortem examinations. Police were investigating both the murder and suicide angles to establish the circumstances surrounding the five deaths.

Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar took notice of the recovery of five bodies and directed the SSP Malir to provide complete details of the incident. He ordered a thorough investigation into all aspects of the case, calling for every possible measure to establish the facts and determine the motives behind the incident.

Lanjar also directed police to use all available resources in the investigation, identify those responsible, and ensure action in accordance with the law. He also asked to be kept informed of the investigation and its progress.]]>
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			<title>Oil falls as Russian diesel supply prospects counter Gulf supply risks</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634591/oil-falls-as-russian-diesel-supply-prospects-counter-gulf-supply-risks</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634591/oil-falls-as-russian-diesel-supply-prospects-counter-gulf-supply-risks#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 08:41:52 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Reuters]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2634591</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Brent dropped $1.18, or 1.1%, to $105.47 a barrel by 1125 PKT; US WTI down $1.17, or 1.3%, at $92.57 a barrel]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Oil prices fell on Tuesday and were on track for their first &zwnj;decline in nearly a week, as traders assessed supply risks from attacks on Saudi Arabia while weighing the prospect of additional diesel supplies from Russia.

Brent crude futures dropped $1.18, or 1.1%, to $105.47 a barrel by 0625 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude ​futures were down $1.17, or 1.3%, at $92.57 a barrel.

Both benchmarks climbed nearly $2 a barrel in the previous ​session, with Brent settling at its highest since September 15.

US President Donald Trump said Russia ⁠had agreed to supply diesel to global markets, and his administration temporarily lifted US sanctions on Russian fuel ​designed to deprive Moscow of revenue for its war on Ukraine.

Additional supplies could help alleviate tightness in global fuel markets, ​tempering some of the supply concerns that have supported crude prices recently.

However, &quot;there is considerable scepticism over the Russia-Ukraine energy ceasefire, particularly with reports that Russia has hit Ukrainian energy targets since Trump announced it,&quot; ING analysts said in a note.

Read: LNG imports to cost over $1b in winter

Lawmakers from both ​parties in the US complained that Trump&#39;s agreement with Putin appears to violate US law barring imports of Russian energy ​until Moscow ends its aggression against Ukraine.

Concerns over the vulnerability of Gulf energy infrastructure and shipping lanes remained in focus &zwnj;after Iran-aligned ⁠Houthis struck Riyadh&#39;s international airport over the weekend, while tanker attacks were reported near the Strait of Hormuz.

The incidents threatened to derail a recovery in Middle East supplies seen in September, and have reinforced fears of further disruptions along one of the world&#39;s most important energy transit routes.

&quot;Fresh diesel supply from Russia and steadier Saudi flows are offering ​some relief, yet the market ​still looks more worried ⁠about the risk of further hits to ships or pipelines in the Gulf than it is reassured by extra barrels,&quot; said Tim Waterer, chief analyst at KCM ​Trade.

&quot;Until we see clearer signs of de-escalation, the path of least resistance still leans ​higher,&quot; he ⁠said.

Read more: Iran says reviewing US proposals for talks as indirect messages continue

Ministers of OPEC and non-OPEC Participating Countries in the Declaration of Cooperation said shipping and insurance costs have surged to unprecedented levels of over one-third of the commodity value, impeding efficient movement of crude oil and products.

OPEC has revised down its ⁠oil ​demand growth forecast for this year to 400,000 barrels per day ​from 1.4 million bpd at the start of the year, in line with developments throughout the year, Haitham Al Ghais, Secretary General of ​the organisation, said on Monday.]]>
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			<title>47 Palestinian families face forced displacement amid Israeli blockade</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634590/47-palestinian-families-face-forced-displacement-amid-israeli-blockade</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634590/47-palestinian-families-face-forced-displacement-amid-israeli-blockade#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 08:39:17 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Anadolu Agency]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2634590</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Four families flee as armed Israeli occupiers storm their homes, threaten them with death, says Palestinian commission]]>
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				<![CDATA[47 Palestinian families face forced displacement from a village in the northern occupied West Bank, where four families have already fled following threats by armed Israeli occupiers, a Palestinian body said Monday.

The Palestinian Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission said armed occupiers stormed homes in Khirbet Ras al-Ahmar, southeast of Tubas, and threatened residents with death, forcing four families to leave.

The village has been under an Israeli blockade for nearly a month, with access roads closed and restrictions on water and livestock feed supplies, threatening residents&#39; livelihoods, the commission said.

Read:&nbsp;Israeli army fire kills 5 more Palestinians in Gaza, death toll nears 74,400

Restrictions intensified in mid-September when Israeli forces dug a trench across the village&#39;s last remaining access road, forcing residents to collect water at night and travel before dawn to avoid detention. The commission also reported that Israeli authorities demolished six water wells, confiscated pumps and repeatedly cut water lines serving the village.

On October 10, Israeli occupiers gave the 47 families until the following evening to leave their homes.

Read More:&nbsp;US Senate blocks measure demanding report on rights violations in West Bank

The commission warned that continued restrictions could force more families to flee and pave the way for the seizure of their land. It cited similar incidents elsewhere in the occupied West Bank, including Jalud near Nablus, where a Palestinian family was forced from its home after months of attacks, and Wadi al-Rakhim near Hebron, where a family of 10 was confined to its home by Israeli restrictions.

The commission called for the reopening of access roads, the restoration of essential supplies and the protection of residents from further attacks.

Since October 2023, the commission has documented 14,742 attacks across 376 Palestinian villages and communities in the occupied West Bank, saying Israeli occupiers have killed 67 Palestinians during that period.]]>
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			<title>PSX slips 348 points on profit-taking</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634588/psx-gains-over-400-points-as-buying-returns</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634588/psx-gains-over-400-points-as-buying-returns#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 08:28:47 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Our Correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2634588</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Early rally fades despite Brent crude trading below $105 a barrel]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[An early buying rally failed to hold at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday as cautious investors shifted to profit-taking, pulling the benchmark KSE-100 Index into the red after it traded higher in the morning amid buying across key sectors.

The index touched an intraday high of 166,070.48 before falling to a low of 164,773.67, eventually settling at 164,776.44, down 347.97 points, or 0.21%.

The market had opened on a positive note, with the KSE-100 Index rising 558.25 points, or 0.34%, to 165,682.66 in early trading. By midday, it was up 470.14 points, or 0.28%, at 165,594.55.

Buying interest during the session was observed in automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, and oil marketing companies. However, the initial momentum faded as investors turned cautious and booked profits, wiping out the index&#39;s early gains.

According to KTrade Securities, the KSE-100 opened on a positive note as Brent crude traded below $105 a barrel, lifting early sentiment and pushing the index over 700 points into the green. However, as the session progressed, profit-taking across the board erased gains despite oil prices hovering near $105 a barrel. Consequently, the index closed at 164,776, down 348 points (-0.21%) day-on-day.

Selling pressure was concentrated in commercial banks, technology, and oil and gas stocks, with United Bank Limited (UBL), Habib Bank Limited (HBL), Lucky Cement and Mari Energies weighing on the index. Fertilisers were the only sector to offer some support.

Going forward, KTrade noted that cautious trading was&nbsp;likely to persist as buyers remained selective, accumulating on dips rather than aggressively chasing prices. A sustained recovery would&nbsp;depend on improved participation and developments on the geopolitical front, particularly their implications for global oil prices and domestic investor sentiment, it added.

Overall, trading volume increased to 383.7 million shares versus Monday&#39;s total of 362.9 million. The value of traded shares stood at Rs13.1 billion.

LSE Financial Services was the volume leader with trading in 32.3 million shares, losing Rs0.16 to close at Rs1.03.]]>
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			<title>Meta challenges UK media regulator over fees, fines</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634586/meta-challenges-uk-media-regulator-over-fees-fines</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2634586/meta-challenges-uk-media-regulator-over-fees-fines#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 26 08:04:52 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Anadolu Agency]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2634586</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Companies that breach safety rules can face fines of up to 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue or $23.7 million]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[A UK High Court will hold a hearing Tuesday on a challenge brought by Meta, the tech giant that owns Facebook and Instagram, over fees and potential fines introduced under the country&#39;s Online Safety Act.

Meta is challenging Ofcom in the High Court, claiming that the UK media regulator acted unlawfully, specifically regarding their definition of &quot;qualifying worldwide revenue,&quot; which is introduced under the act.

The law, which came into force last year, introduced protections against harmful online content, with Ofcom&#39;s operating costs for carrying out its online safety work funded by tech firms.

Under regulations introduced in September 2025, the fees are based on a company&#39;s qualifying worldwide revenue and apply to firms earning more than &pound;250 million a year.

Meta explicitly argues that Ofcom&#39;s calculation methods are disproportionate and unlawful, while Ofcom said it would &quot;robustly defend&quot; its position.

Read:&nbsp;Microsoft president says milk faces more regulation than AI

The BBC reported in May that lawyers acting for Meta argued that the regulations should be reconsidered by the regulator.

Monica Carss-Frisk KC, for the tech giant, has said in court documents that Ofcom&#39;s approach is &quot;troubling&quot; and leads to &quot;a handful of companies such as Meta bearing the vast majority of Ofcom&#39;s costs, despite the act making clear that it is concerned with a wide range of internet services offered in the UK.&rdquo;

Under the Online Safety Act, firms found to have breached safety rules can face fines of up to 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue or &pound;18 million ($23.7 million), whichever is greater.

Meanwhile, a senior director at the regulator told a committee in the House of Lords earlier this year that Ofcom was &quot;operating in a highly litigious environment,&quot; including facing two actions by Meta and others from &quot;a raft of services&quot; bringing judicial reviews against the body for trying to collect data.

&quot;We absolutely are looking to drive change in the best way we can,&quot; Oliver Griffiths, the Ofcom group director for online safety, told peers hearing evidence about the Online Safety Act.]]>
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