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Resurgent threat

THE message from Islamabad to Kabul seems to be clear: any act of terrorism inside Pakistan found to be linked to Afghanistan will invite a kinetic cross-border response. After the attack on a Rangers facility in Karachi on Saturday, the state said it had launched strikes at targets both inside Afghanistan and along the border, eliminating at least 29 terrorists, including a militant ‘commander’. The Karachi attack, in which three security men were martyred, has been linked to the Jamaatul Ahrar group, a banned outfit with ties to the proscribed TTP. This is the first major terrorist attack in Karachi this year, and marks a return to ‘action’ of the hitherto silent JuA. A detained suspect involved in the assault said he came from Jalalabad and prepared for the attack in South Waziristan. The government has reissued an order for the arrest of Afghans without valid visas from July 10, while the Foreign Office has issued a demarche to the Afghan chargé d’affaires over the Rangers attack...
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Martinelli scores in 95th minute to send Brazil into World Cup last 16

Substitute Gabriel Martinelli scored deep in injury time as Brazil beat a stubborn Japan 2-1 on Monday to roll into the World Cup last 16. Arsenal winger Martinelli struck in the 95th minute in Houston to break Japanese hearts in the most dramatic fashion. The five-time champions will face either the Ivory Coast or Norway in New Jersey on Sunday after edging a captivating knockout encounter. Japan midfielder Kaishu Sano scored a classy solo goal after 29 minutes following a Brazil mistake to stun the huge numbers of fans decked out in yellow. Carlo Ancelotti’s men hit back 11 minutes after half-time with a header from veteran Casemiro as Brazil dominated the second period. Then up popped Martinelli right at the death to settle it and send the Brazil fans wild. History was against Japan: they had never won a knockout game at the World Cup while Brazil were record five-time champions. But this is not a vintage Brazil side, even with Ancelotti at the helm, while Japan have been tal...
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Dialogue only solution to AJK crisis, govt should avoid use of force: JI chief

ISLAMABAD: Jamaat-i-Islami Pakistan (JI) Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Monday said that meaningful negotiations were the only solution to the ongoing situation in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), urging the government to avoid the use of force and immediately engage with the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC). On June 5, the JAAC was declared a proscribed organisation by the regional government and placed under the First Schedule of the region’s anti-terrorism act (ATA). Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Rehman said JI had accepted the responsibility of mediation and was playing its role in restoring trust between the government and the committee to prevent “bloodshed and unrest”. JI AJK Emir Dr Mushtaq Khan, former AJK emir Dr Khalid Mahmood, JI Deputy Secretary General Syed Farasat Shah and Islamabad Emir Nasrullah Randhawa were also present on the occasion. “JAAC has expressed complete confidence in Jamaat-i-Islami and postponed its long march, sending a posit...
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Interior ministry issues directive to arrest Afghan nationals without valid visas from July 10

The Ministry of Interior on Sunday issued a directive to immediately arrest any Afghan national “found residing in Pakistan without a valid visa” from July 10, 2026. In a notification addressing the chief secretaries of all provinces, as well as those of Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and the chief commissioner of Islamabad Capital Territory, the ministry said that the directive referred to the decisions taken during a review meeting on the Illegal Foreigners’ Repatriation Plan (IFRP) on June 1, 2026. It said that during the meeting, “all provincial governments, special area governments and the ICT Administration were directed to expedite the repatriation/deportation of Afghan nationals, including visa overstay cases, and to ensure strict implementation of the IFRP”. “With effect from July 10, 2026, any Afghan national found residing in Pakistan without a valid visa shall be arrested immediately,” the notification said. It added that the necessary directions might, th...
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Punjab Assembly speaker surprised by committee's approval of anti-social behaviour bill, says not aware it was laid

LAHORE: Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan was surprised on Sunday when an opposition member informed him that the Punjab Control of Habitual Offenders and Anti-Social Behaviour Bill, 2026 had been approved by the PA Standing Committee on Law. “It has been laid?” he questioned when PTI’s Rana Aftab Ahmad Khan clarified that the standing committee had given its nod to the legislation. The bill proposes a regime in which the executive can freeze a person’s bank account, seize their property, remove their online presence, confiscate their phone, and place them under electronic surveillance, all on the basis of an intelligence committee’s assessment of their conduct. MPA Rana initiated the conversation on the legislation in the House, which had met to discuss the province’s supplementary budget. He said the bill was against human rights and warned that if enacted, it would affect the coming generations. The ruling PML-N could also become ...
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Tremors felt across most parts of Pakistan

QUETTA / ISLAMABAD: A 5.9- ma­gnitude earthquake originating in Afg­hanistan’s Hindu Kush region sent light to moderate tremors across Paki­stan on Saturday, while a series of quakes in Balo­chistan damaged homes and injured several people over two days. The Hindu Kush earthq­uake struck at 6:35pm, sha­king Abbottabad, Har­ipur, Mansehra, Shangla, Swat in Khyber Pakhtu­nkhwa, Rawalpindi, Chakwal and the Pothohar region in Punjab as well as Islamabad and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. “It was very huge here in Swat and it lasted for quite a long time,” Daniyal Ahmad, a resident of Swat district, said. “People came out of their houses and women and children were seen crying in panic.” The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) reported no immediate casualties or major infrastructure damage. The NDMA said the earthquake originated at a considerable depth of 178 kilometres, allowing tremors to spread over a wide area while limiting the intensity of ground shaking at the surface. E...
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Missing the mark

PAKISTAN’S commitment to the SDGs is routinely reaffirmed, but the gap between promises and progress continues to widen. A meeting between First Lady Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari and the UN country team highlighted priorities such as public health, nutrition, education, climate resilience and women’s empowerment — areas where progress is urgently needed. Yet, with fewer than four years remaining until the 2030 deadline, Pakistan is off-track on many of the goals it pledged to achieve. Cooperation with the UN is valuable, but Pakistan cannot rely on international partners to compensate for weak governance and inconsistent implementation at home. The SDGs are benchmarks for improving lives, not just global commitments. Polio is the clearest example. Despite decades of vaccination campaigns, billions of rupees in spending and sustained foreign aid, we remain one of only two countries where the disease is still endemic. The UN has warned that the coming year will be decisive, but technology alo...
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