“Egypt is already our natural partner on all issues. I believe that at the next stage, Egypt will also be among us in the alliance. We already act toward one another as if we were alliance members. There are a few technical issues. Once these are implemented, there is no reason for Egypt not to be part of it,” he told Turkiye’s state-run Anadolu news agency.

The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, signed in the Saudi city on Friday, aims to strengthen collective deterrence and empowers the three states to treat an attack against one of them as an attack against all of them.

Fidan said other countries had expressed interest in joining the agreement, but the founding members had debated how the expansion should be handled.

Some countries that wanted to join asked not to be named, he said, adding that the preferred model was for Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan to remain the three core founding countries, responsible for establishing the principles, standards and long-term structure of the alliance, while other countries could join with the approval of the core members.

“Under our president’s vision, we should not remain limited to three countries. We should grow,” Fidan said.

Fidan also said the initiative was broader than the traditional definition of the Middle East because of Pakistan’s participation.

Pakistan’s geographical position meant the initiative went beyond the conventional definition of the Middle East and represented a broader regional perspective.

‘Same as Nato’s Article 5’

Fidan further elaborated on this, saying the pact was technically the same as Nato’s Article 5 mutual defence agreement.

Article 5 of the North Atlantic alliance specifies that an attack on one ​of its members is an attack on all of them. It obliges allies to take action they deem necessary to assist the country under attack, including potentially the use of military force.

While the Makkah defence pact stipulates the same, Fidan explained that its text contained general commitments whose practical implementation would depend on discussions and decisions by relevant bodies.

A country would need to make a request for assistance and would determine the type of support it needs, he said, adding that the requests could be of different kinds, ranging from intelligence and logistics to ammunition or, if necessary, military units, depending on the scale of the threat.

The signatories, he said, would decide through consultations what degree, form, and format of ​support they would ask for in the event of an attack, but that no country would be considered a ​threat as long as a member state is not attacked.

Fidan also said that the new alliance was not directed against Iran or any other country, but rather served as a general pledge to support the three signatories’ security.

He further told Anadolu that discussions on the initiative began before the current war environment, when there was no US-Israel war on Iran and other regional countries had also been involved in the talks leading to the agreement.

Fidan said its signatories were countries that did not have expansionist policies. “They are countries concerned with their own borders, their own problems and their development, and, if possible, they want to contribute positively to their environment through good relations and good neighborliness.“

The three countries, he said, had different styles and capacities, but when brought together, they naturally formed a defence-oriented organisation rather than an offensive one.

“It is not an approach of going on the offensive and saying, ‘Let’s do this or that together.’ Therefore, unless it is attacked by a country, whether from inside or outside the region, this alliance cannot have any dispute with any country. But, of course, the power composition we have put forward will make a constructive contribution to regional stability,” he said.

He termed the pact the “most important step” toward bringing lasting stability to this region.

How will the alliance function?

According to Fidan, the pact would be operational under a political and military committee comprising foreign and defence ministers and chiefs of general staff, similar to Nato structures.

The committee would translate the vision set by the leaders into decisions and carry out related work, while a secretariat would be established to implement those decisions, he explained.

“At the first committee meeting, ministers would likely present proposals to the leaders on the establishment, structure and functioning of the secretariat, as well as its initial tasks,” he said, adding that the pact would cover a broad range of military issues, including interoperability, or the ability of countries with different military structures to operate together. Other areas would include joint training, mutual support, logistics, threat assessments, intelligence sharing and, most importantly, defence industry cooperation.

He said the committee would meet at certain intervals during the year and that a permanent secretariat would be established in Saudi Arabia. The structure, functioning and additional units of the secretariat would be determined in discussions among the members.

Fidan added that joint exercises and training would be necessary to establish the ability of the countries to operate together.

“Because after a while you will see that when you find yourselves in a common combat scenario, how your weapons systems and communications systems will communicate with one another and how they will be compatible are important issues. These are the things that will be done after the secretariat is established,” he said.

He said standards would need to be developed and that analyses and assessments would also be carried out.

‘Support in the Muslim world and the West’

Fidan said the defence agreement had received strong support from countries in the Muslim world, including those that were not members but were nevertheless very pleased with the agreement.

He said there were also supporters in the West who understood the substance of the initiative.

“Especially in the Islamic world, there are many who strongly support this issue. There are also supporters in the West, among those who understand the essence of the matter. The way for the Middle East to cease being a place that produces problems for humanity and the international community and instead become a place that creates added value with everything it possesses is through implementing constructive alliances of this kind,” Fidan said.

Fidan said the leadership of Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan had created significant regional and global expectations and that officials now had the responsibility to fill those expectations professionally.

“Our responsibility, in the positions we hold, is to recognise that the political will put forward by the leadership of the three countries has created a very significant regional and global expectation. We need to fill that expectation very professionally, move forward step by step and make it work. We have begun doing this, and God willing, we will continue,” he said.

Ali’s body was found in bushes in Karachi’s Gulistan-i-Jauhar last month, a day after he went missing on July 28. While his family is convinced that he was kidnapped, tortured and murdered, police had previously been building the case around the possibility that he died by suicide.

However, an order released by the Sindh inspector general of police’s (IG) office on Sunday, notifying the reconstitution of the investigating team, showed that the murder charge had been added to the first information report.

The order, seen by Dawn, said the new investigating team was formed in light of Ali’s second postmortem report, which contradicted the one released after his first postmortem, to “supervise the investigation of FIR no. 795/2026 u/s 365/ 302/ 201 of the PPC”.

Initially, the first information report (FIR) was registered only under Section 365 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), which pertains to kidnapping.

Of the newly added sections, 302 pertains to murder and 201 to hiding the evidence of an offence or giving false information to screen the offender.

The case would now be probed by a five-member team led by Sindh Deputy IG (Crime and Investigation) Amir Farooqui and comprising Alfalah SSP Syed Muhammad Ali Raza, Korangi SP (Investigation) Qais Khan, Central SP (Investigation) Anam Tajjamul and Zaman Town SIO Ch. Ghazanfar, the police order said.

It added: “The team shall undertake a comprehensive and impartial investigation into the case from all relevant angles. The team shall identify, collect, preserve and examine any new or additional evidence and shall thoroughly examine and analyse all physical, technical, circumstantial and forensic evidence collected during the investigation.

“The team shall make all out efforts to work out the case and submit a report to the court concerned within the stipulated period. The team may co-opt any officer to assist in the investigation. Progress shall be reported on a day-to-day basis.”

On Saturday, the lawyer for Ali’s family, Jibran Nasir, had demanded that the first investigation probing the case be replaced, after a fresh post-mortem examination conducted following the exhumation of Ali’s body found that he had been shot in the back — evidence that ruled out the possibility of suicide.

Speaking to the media, he reiterated the allegation that Ali had been tortured before being murdered.

“This was murder following torture — the murder of a happy, ambitious and educated young man from Karachi,” he alleged.

The family’s lawyer also criticised senior police officials, alleging that they “do not want to investigate, but rather humiliate, harass and exhaust the family”.

Advocate Nasir added that he and the family had “no faith” in the investigation team and that they wanted the entire team changed.

More to follow

State-run Pakistan TV reported citing sources that the IBOs were carried out in Mastung, Bolan, Washuk, Awaran, Sibi, Khuzdar, Harnai, and Nushki under Operation Raddul Fitna 3.

Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the slain terrorists, it reported.

“The operations severely damaged the khawarij network and restricted their movement,” Pakistan TV said.

Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists.

The latest operations by the security forces in Balochistan take place as the province continues to face security challenges.

According to the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies’ (PICSS) monthly security assessment released on July 31, the security situation deteriorated most significantly in Balochistan in the country last month.

The overall death toll increased by 241pc in Balochistan, from 109 in June to 372 in July, the report said.

Security personnel deaths in Balochistan increased from six in June to 62 in July, representing a rise of 933pc. Terrorist deaths rose from 75 to 238, while civilian deaths increased by 93pc, from 28 to 54. Eighteen members of peace committees were also killed in the province.

Last month, security forces and law enforcement personnel jointly launched Operation Shaban in Balochistan in retaliation for a deadly attack on a police post at the Mangi Dam pumping station in Ziarat on July 6. During that assault, armed attackers kidnapped and killed 27 police officers.

On July 9, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that the country’s civil and military leadership had taken a “mutual and singular decision” to end terrorism after multiple major terrorist incidents in Balochistan.

He made the remarks at a meeting in Quetta of the Provincial Apex Committee on the National Action Plan, with Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir also present.

District police officer’s spokesperson Qudratullah Khan told Dawn that the cops were attacked near the Saeedkhel graveyard, in the limits of the City Police Station.

“The terrorists opened fire on the rider squad personnel while they were patrolling the area,” he said, adding that Constable Sajidullah lost his life in the attack while Constable Muhammad Waqas was seriously wounded.

The body of the deceased constable and the injured policeman were taken to the Government City Hospital, he said.

Meanwhile, a large police contingent reached the site of the attack, surrounded the area and launched a search for the assailants, he said.

Security personnel and law enforcers have been coming under attack in KP, which continues to face terrorism.

According to the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies’ (PICSS) monthly security assessment released on July 31, security personnel deaths in terrorism incidents in KP, excluding merged districts, increased from 12 in June to 38 in July and terrorist deaths from 37 to 108, reflecting a rise by 192pc. But civilian deaths fell from 26 to seven, a decline by 73pc. One peace committee member was also killed.

Security personnel deaths in merged districts rose from six to 11 and terrorist deaths fell from 72 to 55. Civilian deaths, meanwhile, rose by 86pc, increasing from seven to 13.

Zubair achieved a clean victory over South Korea’s LowHigh in the grand final of the tournament held from Aug 5-8, after having just scraped through during the early stages.

“He came out of nowhere and took the crown!” EWC posted on social media following the player’s triumph.

In Friday’s second group stage, Zubair decisively defeated another Pakistani eSpo­rts icon and Tekken star — Lahore-born Arslan “Ash” Siddique — before once again beating the eight-time Evolution Championship Series (Evo) winner in a thrilling 5-4 semifinal on Saturday. Arslan is one of Pakistan’s most prominent esports figures and one of the leading names in the global fighting game community.

Advancing into the grand final, Zubair faced off against LowHigh in a decisively less close game, sweeping his opponent with a 5-0 victory.

The newly-crowned World Champion was awarded a cash prize of $250,000.

Ash, meanwhile, settled for fourth place after losing the decider to Australia’s Yagami.

In June, he had won the 2026 Evo series in Las Vegas, considered the world’s largest fighting game tournament, with his fourth consecutive title.

Tekken is a world-renowned video game with a massive following. Other ongoing and completed tournaments at the EWC include Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, Counter Strike 2, Dota 2, League of Legends, Street Fighter, and Valorant.

Supported by the Inter­national Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the competition brought together around 120 students and experts from 19 countries, including China, Japan, Russia, Turkiye, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia.

The team was selected and trained by the Pakis­tan Institute of Engi­neer­ing and Applied Sciences (PIEAS), under the auspi­ces of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC).

Muhammad Ali from Govt College University, Lahore, won a gold medal, while Muhammad Usman from F.G. Sir Syed College, The Mall, Rawalpindi, and Seerat Fatima from Nixor College, Karachi, secured silver medals. Syed Shuja Haider from Sundar STEM School, Lahore, also represented Pakistan at the Olympiad.

The students were selec­­ted through the Pakis­tan Nuclear Science Olymp­ia­­­d, an initiative of PAEC ai­­m­ed at identifying and nurturing young scientific talent for participation in the International Nuclear Science Olympiad.

In another developme­­nt, Pakistan was annou­n­ced as the host of the 4th In­­ternational Nuclear Sci­ence Olympiad in 2027.

On the occasion, Dr Mu­­hammad Maqsood from the PAEC Directorate of Edu­cation and Dr Sajjad Tahir from PIEAS received a commemorative memento.

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2026

• Movement of over 400,000 goods-carrying vehicles suspended
• Transporters refuse to end strike before talks with govt

KARACHI: A countrywide strike by goods transporters and oil tankers started affecting industrial and export supply chains on Saturday, with operators vowing to continue the protest until the outcome of talks with the government on Monday, while manufacturers warned that prolonged disruption could halt production and jeopardise export commitments.

Pakistan Goods Transporters Alliance Chairman Nisar Hussain Jafry told Dawn that “our countrywide strike will continue as our leadership intends to meet the ministers concerned with petroleum, transport and ports on Monday”.

He said the movement of more than 400,000 goods-carrying vehicles, ranging from small to large, had been suspended from Saturday until the outcome of Monday’s meeting. “We have already unloaded our containers at the ports,” he said.

Mr Jafry said goods transporters were striking over multiple issues, including the government’s recently introduced daily fuel price mechanism.

“We are dissatisfied with the daily fuel price fixation introduced by the government, which is only creating problems,” he said.

Since intercity movement of vehicles takes between one and three days, transporters and industries cannot make firm commitments on transportation charges because of daily changes in fuel prices, he said.

Mr Jafry urged the government to restore the monthly fuel price mechanism and reduce withholding tax on transporters to 2pc from 7pc, noting that oil carriers were paying 2pc withholding tax on services.

He said the government and goods transporters had signed a charter of demands in December 2025, but the commitments made under it had yet to be fulfilled.

Mr Jafry also complained about the number of toll plazas, saying they had been established at intervals of around 30km and that transporters were perturbed over high toll rates.

Transporters were also facing issues related to parking of heavy vehicles in areas surrounding the ports and driving licences, he added.

Supply-chain disruption

Already struggling with high production costs, industrialists warned that the nationwide strike by goods transporters could further disrupt industrial activity if supplies of raw materials remained suspended.

They cautioned that prolonged disruption in cargo movement could paralyse factories, derail production schedules and jeopardise export commitments, ultimately affecting employment and the overall economy.

SITE Association of Industry President Abdul Rehman Fudda said the strike had created an alarming situation for manufacturers.

“The entire production system depends on timely supply of raw materials and delivery of finished goods. If factories fail to receive essential inputs, production will stall, while delays in dispatching finished products will worsen financial stress for industries,” he said.

The export sector was already grappling with multiple challenges, Mr Fudda said, warning that if export consignments failed to reach buyers on time because of the transporters’ strike, industries could face penalties, price cuts or claims for damages.

He urged the government to intervene urgently and resolve the dispute through negotiations with goods transporters.

“Authorities must act before the situation escalates to the point where the country’s industry and supply chain collapse entirely. If the strike prolongs, the damage will extend beyond manufacturers — affecting exports, jobs and overall economic activity,” he said.

Mr Fudda also called for immediate relief measures for the industrial sector, warning that rising production costs, expensive energy and policy uncertainty were putting the survival of industries at serious risk.

He said escalating electricity and gas tariffs, rising production costs, high financing expenses and the absence of consistent economic policies had significantly undermined industrial activity.

Despite these challenges, he said, the business community continued to keep the wheels of the economy moving, adding that further neglect of the industrial sector would be against the country’s economic interests.

He called on the government to ensure energy supplies at competitive tariffs, simplify the tax regime, expedite payment of pending refunds, improve the ease of doing business and introduce investor-friendly policies.

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2026

LAHORE: A private firm operating the Lahore Metro Bus on the 27km Gajjumata-Shahdra route has decided to suspend its operations from Aug 11 after talks with the Punjab Mass Transit Authority (PMA) over rising fuel costs and other issues failed to yield a solution.

As the company has served a final notice on the PMA, the authority has termed the move an attempt to blackmail and pressure the government into accepting its demands. It said it would challenge the court verdict against it and invoke a clause in the contract that provides for the appointment of arbitrators by both parties to settle any dispute.

According to the final notice, the company referred to its letters of July 31 and Aug 4, which had yet to be responded to by the PMA, and a meeting held on Aug 6 between company representatives and authority officials regarding implementation of the court’s July 29 orders directing the PMA to provide fuel from its own sources.

The company further said that during the meeting, it reiterated that it had exhausted its financial resources and was no longer in a position to continue operations.

On the occasion, the PMA stated that it was unable to take any decision without directions from the government.

The meeting concluded with an understanding that the PMA would propose a solution. However, the company said no solution or arrangement was communicated by the PMA.

It said that unless the PMA immediately commenced the uninterrupted supply of fuel from its own sources in compliance with the court orders, the metro bus operation could not be continued and would stand suspended from Aug 11.

“Any such suspension shall solely arise from PMA’s failure to implement the court order and shall not constitute any fault, default or unwillingness on the part of the company. All resulting operational, financial and legal consequences shall rest entirely with PMA,” the letter warned.

Talking to Dawn, a senior official of the company said the situation had worsened following frequent increases in fuel prices.

“When we took over, the diesel price was around Rs105 per litre or so. Later, the prices continued to rise from time to time, making it difficult for the company to meet its fuel costs,” the official added.

“In fact, the formula regarding calculation of fuel cost never reimbursed the company’s full fuel bill, as it covered only a fixed portion of the cost and the gap widened as soon as prices rose. When diesel prices increased sharply, the PMA’s payment increased slightly, but the company’s actual fuel expense increased much more,” the official, requesting anonymity, explained.

“A new formula was devised that reduced this gap but did not eliminate it, forcing the company to pay the remaining fuel costs from its own funds and borrowings, resulting in continuous losses and additional costs.”

To a question, he said the court in its orders of June 8, 2023 had directed the PMA to provide from its own sources. However, the PMA claimed the orders were already set aside by the respective court.

“For this, we sought clarification from the court as to whether or not the June 8, 2023 order had been cancelled. To this, the court issued a clarification on July 29, stating that the order had not been set aside and, therefore, the PMA should implement it, failing which action may be taken,” he maintained.

When contacted, a senior PMA official confirmed the court verdict against the authority.

“But we have already challenged this order in the relevant court. We are also invoking the contractual provision for appointing an arbitrator to decide the case,” he said, claiming that under the contract the company was being paid on a per-kilometre basis.

“We also raised the price. But the company is insisting on a further increase, which we cannot make without getting the government’s nod,” he added.

To a query, the official admitted that the PMA was not in a position to implement the court orders until it received approval from the government.

“We admit that fuel prices have increased. But we are unable to provide fuel to the company from our own sources as directed by the court. For this, the government [transport department] is the authority to do something,” the official added.

He said the PMA had some options to continue the metro bus service even if the company walked out of the system. “Though there could be some issues from Aug 11 onwards, we have managed to arrange some buses from outside in a bid to continue the service,” he added.

It is pertinent to mention that the Lahore Metro Bus Service, the country’s first modern mass transit project, was officially inaugurated and opened to the public on Feb 10-11, 2013, running on a 27-km route from Gajjumata to Shahdara.

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2026

According to the Sensitive Price Index data as at Aug 6, the prices of 20 kg wheat flour, 10 kg wheat bag and one kg fine flour have further increased in Karachi to Rs2,700-3,000, Rs1,200 and Rs158.56, up from Rs2,600-2,900, Rs1,160 and Rs149.46, respectively, prevailing at the week ending July 30.

The national average prices of a 20 kg flour bag, 10 kg wheat, and 1 kg fine flour for the week ending Aug 6 were Rs2,200-3,133, Rs1,235, and Rs153, as compared to Rs2,200-3,133, Rs1,223, and Rs152.14 for the week ending July 30. In the above period, wheat flour price has risen by 0.52pc.

Traders said that the government is not paying any attention to the rising prices of wheat and wheat flour ahead of one million wheat imports. If the government does not bother to control prices before the arrival of imported wheat, consumers will not derive any substantial benefit from this decision.

As per SPI data, in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, 10 kg wheat bag prices are the highest at Rs1,339.31, forcing consumers to pay Rs3,040-3,133 for a 20 kg wheat flour bag, followed by Rs173.68 per kg of fine flour, compared to other cities.

As provinces are outlining their plans and requirements for wheat, the Sindh Cabinet on Wednesday approved the import of 500,000 tonnes of wheat through the Trading Corporation of Pakistan under the framework being coordinated by the federal government.

Punjab plans to import one million tonnes followed by 200,000 tonnes by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 57,500 tonnes by Balochistan.

Karachi Wholesalers Grocers Association (KWGA) Chairman Rauf Ibrahim said the government needs to expedite its efforts to curb wheat hoarding by vested interests and speculators who have already plunged into the commodity business.

He said the government is taking too long to issue a tender for wheat imports, as it will take a few months for imported wheat to reach Pakistan, while the new wheat crops will arrive in March-May 2027.

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2026

KARACHI: A fresh post-mortem examination conducted following the exhumation of the body of young business owner Mir Ali Raza on Saturday found that he had been shot in the back, evidence that ruled out the possibility of suicide.

Sources told Dawn that an eight-member medical board that exhumed the body in the presence of a judicial magistrate at the Tariq Road graveyard also found “multiple injuries on the head and face” and “fractures on the nasal bone and skull” that indicated he might have been subjected to torture before being fatally shot.

Raza, owner of eatery Wafflix, had gone missing on July 28. The 25-year-old’s body was found a day later with a gunshot wound in bushes near Shahi Qila Ground in Gulistan-i-Jauhar.

While his family is convinced that he was kidnapped, tortured and murdered, investigators probing the incident said they found evidence that strengthened the possibility that he died by suicide.

A controversy over flawed autopsy report and investigations compelled Raza’s family to file an application before a judicial magistrate for exhumation of the body for a fresh post-mortem examination.

On Saturday, the eight-member board, headed by Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed, in the presence of a magistrate, victim’s family and lawyer and the investigating officer of the case performed the exhumation.

The post-mortem examination continued for one hour and fifteen minutes and the body was buried again at around 1:33pm

“We have collected samples for positive identification, chemical analysis and gunshot residue. The cause of death is kept reserved for laboratory reports,” Dr Syed told Dawn.

Regarding autopsy, she said that multiple injuries were found on the head and face. “Fractured rib on the back which is the entry wound of the gunshot [that] exit from front,” she said.

She said the body bore “injuries in right flank and feet [and] congealed black substance present in mouth and throat”.

Lawyer demands new investigation team

Later in the evening, lawyer for Raza’s family Advocate Jibran Nasir alleged that the 25-year-old had been tortured before being murdered and demanded that the entire investigation team be replaced.

Speaking to the media, he said the medical report of the second post-mortem detailed some of the alleged injuries Raza had sustained before his death. “This was murder following torture — the murder of a happy, ambitious and educated young man from Karachi,” he alleged.

The lawyer said that Raza had wounds to his forehead and a fractured nose, as well as swelling and congealed blood around his lower jaw, consistent with having been punched. “There is a fracture to his temple above his ear, indicating he was struck,” he alleged.

“In the tongue area, a congealed black substance was discovered, which is not naturally found in the body. This substance has been taken and sent to a lab to see what he was forced to ingest,” he said.

“Now we come to the firearm injury, where it was earlier said that he was shot in the chest and the bullet exited through his back. We have now proven 110 per cent that the bullet entered his back and exited after breaking and fracturing his ribs,” he said, referring to the fresh autopsy.

The family’s lawyer also criticised senior police officials, alleging that they “do not want to investigate, but rather humiliate, harass and exhaust the family”.

“They are finding months-old recordings and frustrating, emotionally exhausting and humiliating Mir Hussain and Maryam Hussain. Are you investigating or harassing them? They sat them in their offices and told them repeatedly, ‘It’s a suicide, accept it’,” the advocate claimed further.

Advocate Nasir added that he and the family had “no faith” in the investigation team and that they wanted the entire team changed.

Raza’s father, Mir Hussain, told reporters that he had maintained since July 30 that his son’s death was a brutal murder. “We saw the body and told them [that it was murder], but they kept saying, ‘Suicide, suicide, suicide,’” he said.

Mir Hussain said it “brought us peace” to learn that their claims that Raza had been attacked before his death were true. “We have said it was murder from the start,” he added. “Why are they hiding the killers?”

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2026

The police said that the angry mob attacked the police and district administration, causing injuries to them, blocked main roads, resorted to firing and attacked vehicles with stones.

According to a police statement, on Friday night, the district administration carried out an anti-encroachment drive on Shah Waliullah Road at Haji Agha Hotel in the limits of Samanabad.

During the drive, the owner of the hotel, namely Mohammed Hashim, and his employees put up resistance and attacked both police and district administration officials, resulting in injuries to SHO Hyderi Market Adeel Ahmed, constable Asif and one administration official.

The police took immediate action and arrested hotel owner Hashim along with three other suspects, who were shifted to the police station for further legal action.

Later, one suspect, namely Jaffer Shah, along with four-five armed guards travelling in a double cabin, arrived at the spot. He also called other people, resulting in around 100 persons gathering there.

The police statement said that the mob blocked Shah Waliullah Road and F.B. Industrial Area Road illegally, attacked the police with stones and resorted to firing at the police. Additional force and anti-riot police were called, who managed to disperse the mob and get both roads cleared.

During the action, 30 more suspects, including Jaffer Shah, were arrested.

The police have registered two FIRs against the held suspects on the complaint of the Mukhtiarakar of Samanabad and on behalf of the State through a police officer under terrorism, rioting and other charges.

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2026

• Authorities warn of risks to Diamer-Bhasha Dam, roads, bridges and settlements
• Untreated wash water, debris and oil from machinery areas of concern

GILGIT: Increasing placer gold mining activities in stre­ams and rivers are threatening the fragile ecosystem of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), with au­­thorities describing them as a serious risk to dams, including the Diamer-Bhasha Dam, as well as roads, bridges, important infrastructure and human settlements along riverbanks.

Currently, a large number of local companies, in joint ventures with national and multinational companies, are enga­ged in extracting gold from rivers and streams across GB.

Sources said placer gold mining activities in rivers and streams had increased across the region in violation of environmental laws, causing environmental degradation and putting roads, bridges, government and private infrastructure, human settlements and agricultural land at risk of river erosion. The activities were also causing water, air and land pollution.

Speaking to Dawn, Gilgit-Baltistan Environmental Protection Agency (GBEPA) Director Khadim Hussain said the issue had become more serious in recent years as placer gold mining companies were not complying with environmental laws.

According to the GBEPA, it had been observed that heavy machinery was being used for gold extraction from riverbeds and streams, mostly near brid­ges, roads, government and pri­­vate infrastructure, human settlements and agricultural land.

Oil and other materials lea­king from generators and other machinery used in the extraction process were also mixing with river and stream water.

It had also been observed that untreated wash water generated from gold-washing activities, along with debris, was being discharged into rivers without any sedimentation or settling mechanism.

The polluted river water was being used by people in many areas for drinking and other daily needs.

The GBEPA said the construction of protection walls along riverbanks for gold extraction and the use of excavated material altered the natural flow of rivers and streams, diverting water towards roads, bridges, human settlements, infrastructure and agricultural land.

The diversion of natural watercourses posed a serious risk of erosion and destabilisation of steep slopes adjoining roads, bridges, infrastructure, human settlements and agricultural land situated near riverbanks and streams. Such damage could be particularly severe during periods of high river discharge.

Furthermore, the dumping of excavated material could cause serious and irreversible damage to sensitive infrastructure.

No proper campsites had been established at the project sites, while no appropriate mechanisms had been provided for the safe collection and disposal of solid waste. Adequate sanitation and restroom facilities had also not been provided for workers at the sites, resulting in improper waste management.

“These actions constitute a breach of the environmental conditions of approval and endanger public health and safety,” the GBEPA said, adding that they had also caused environmental degradation.

Operations suspended

According to a notification issued after a visit by GBEPA officials, a fine of Rs1 million had been imposed on a placer gold mining company and its operations suspended for allegedly violating environmental protection laws in Nasirabad, Hunza.

The notification ordered that all project operations cease with immediate effect. The project premises had already been sealed by the competent authority. The notification also direc­ted the company to immediate­­ly comply with environmental laws.

Mr Hussain said the GBEPA and the minerals department lacked sufficient human resources to monitor mining activities and enforce environmental protection laws at gold extraction sites across GB.

In a recent letter to the Dire­ctor General of the GBEPA, the general manager of the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) Diamer-Bhasha Dam Project requested measures to control sediment erosion caused by mining activities in the dam project area.

The letter said extensive gold extraction from the Indus River bed was being carried out inside the proposed Diamer-Bhasha Dam project reservoir area, from Basri to Raikot near Chilas in Diamer.

In another letter sent to the Astore deputy commissioner, the executive engineer of the Communication and Works De­­partment in Astore reques­ted a ban on excavation activities near bridges over the Indus River.

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2026

According to The Telegraph, the Italian-Swiss lawyer, who served as secretary general of European football’s governing body from 2009 to 2016, also previously used his influence to secure a promotion for the same UEFA employee with whom he was in an intimate relationship.

Infantino has categorically denied the allegations, according to the article which was published late on Friday.

When contacted by AFP on Saturday, a FIFA spokesperson had not responded.

According to The Telegraph, which did not cite its sources, this employee received a “a six-figure sum” upon her departure — at an unspecified time — in addition to the payment of tuition fees for a business school amounting to around 45,000 ($60,700).

When contacted by AFP, UEFA acknowledged that “a departure payment was made to the individual in question” at that time, “coupled with the payment of fees for an MBA course at a local business school”.

However, it insisted “the payment was in line with the regulations that existed for departing staff at the time”, before adding that “such regulations have been tightened since 2016”.

Quoted by The Telegraph, a FIFA spokesperson stated that Infantino, who has been married since 2001, “strongly denies these allegations”, which were “categorically untrue”.

“Any insinuation of inappropriate conduct or violation of statutes or regulations is defamatory,” FIFA added.

“No employee at UEFA and FIFA has ever raised a complaint regarding Infantino’s behaviour because there never was an incident where he was involved.”

Infantino, who is standing for re-election next March, has been embroiled in a crisis since the announcement late last month of his controversial — and ultimately abandoned — plan to open up the World Cup to private investors.

He faces opposition in particular from UEFA, which on Thursday stood by its threat to boycott the World Cups, deeming the mere withdrawal of the controversial plan to be insufficient.

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2026

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has sought responses from the federal government, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and other respondents on a petition challenging the increase in withholding tax (WHT) on goods transportation from 6pc to 7pc through the Finance Act, 2026.

A division bench comprising Justices Khadim Hussain Soomro and Muhammad Asif also issued a notice to the attorney general for Pakistan (AGP) after the petitioners challenged the vires of relevant provisions of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001.

The court fixed the matter for further hearing on Sept 17.

The petition was filed by Advocate Kashif Ali Malik on behalf of I.S. Enterprises and Shaheen Freight Services.

During the hearing, the counsel argued that the enhanced WHT was discriminatory, particularly in view of the concessional tax regime available to oil tanker contractors under the Second Schedule of the Income Tax Ordinance.

He contended that the same prime movers and transport infrastructure were being used for carrying petroleum products and other goods of similar capacity.

However, an oil tanker carrying petroleum products was subjected to withholding tax at 2pc, while the same vehicle, when used to transport other goods, attracted 7pc WHT.

According to the counsel, the distinction was based merely on the nature of goods being transported and had no rational basis. He argued that the differential treatment violated Articles 4 and 25 of the Constitution, which guaranteed protection of law and equality before law.

‘No justification’

The counsel further questioned the basis for increasing the withholding tax from 6pc to 7pc, submitting that no publicly available economic impact assessment or empirical study had been conducted to justify the additional tax burden on goods transporters.

He argued that oil tanker operators had historically been given concessional tax treatment because any strike by them could disrupt fuel supplies across the country.

On the other hand, goods transport operators, despite providing the same basic transportation service and not resorting to such measures, were subjected to a substantially higher withholding tax.

The petitioners maintained that the impugned amendment created an unreasonable and discriminatory classification betwe­­en transport operators performing essentially the same service.

After hearing the preliminary arguments, the IHC bench issued notices to the federal government, the FBR and other respondents.

As the petition also challenged the constitutional validity of statutory provisions, the court directed issuance of a notice to the AGP. The respondents have been asked to respond to the petition before the matter is taken up on Sept 17.

Through the Finance Act, 2026, the federal government revised the withholding tax regime on services, with rates increased from 6pc to 7pc for services such as courier, logistics, hotel, transport, air cargo, car rental, human resource outsourcing and oil drilling.

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2026

MUZAFFARABAD: A senior government official in the troubled Poonch district of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) has appealed to civil society, local elected representatives and other influential members of the community to help ensure the reopening of the area’s medical college before Aug 10, warning that continued closure could cost around 500 students an academic year and also jeopardise the registration of a proposed nursing college.

In a press release, Poonch Deputy Commissioner Syed Mumtaz Kazmi said that the Poonch Medical College, Rawalakot, located a few hundred yards from the outlawed Joint Awami Action Committee’s (JAAC) Eidgah sit-in, had been forced to suspend academic and administrative activities because the administration was unable to function amid the prevailing security situation.

The organisers of the sit-in had established checkpoints on roads leading to the college, while armed and stick-wielding individuals had been carrying out illegal checking of commuters and pelting stones, creating an atmosphere of fear that had disrupted academic activities at the institution for the past two months, he said, holding JAAC leaders responsible for the situation.

According to the deputy commissioner, around 500 students, enrolled in five academic classes, were studying at the college, including students from all 10 AJK districts, as well as Gilgit-Baltistan and different parts of Pakistan.

He said the college was affiliated with University of Health Sciences (UHS), Lahore, whose academic calendar and regulations were followed by all medical colleges in Pakistan and AJK. Failure to complete mandatory attendance and examinations in accordance with the prescribed timeline, he warned, could cause irreparable academic loss to students.

Quoting the college principal, Mr Kazmi said the institution would need to reopen immediately to enable students from far-flung areas to complete their biometric attendance, after which a three-day examination could be conducted before the Internal Assessment scheduled by UHS on Aug 15. Otherwise, he warned, the students would lose their entire academic session, resulting in further academic complications and mental distress for both students and the college administration.

The deputy commissioner pointed out that AJK’s two other public sector medical colleges — in Muzaffarabad and Mirpur — had resumed academic activities about three weeks ago.

He said the prolonged closure of Poonch Medical College would adversely affect its UHS rating and leave its students at least one academic year behind their counterparts studying at other medical colleges, besides reinforcing concerns about the institution’s future.

Mr Kazmi further said the registration process for the nursing college attached to Poonch Medical College had also suffered because of the protests and sit-ins.

According to him, the Pakistan Nursing Council was scheduled to conduct an inspection during the second week of August, and failure to hold the visit on time could deprive Poonch district of the proposed nursing college and its associated benefits.

The deputy commissioner said the district administration wanted to convene an urgent meeting with local elected representatives, notables and other influential persons to formulate a comprehensive security plan aimed at preventing academic losses to future doctors.

He also appealed to the Kashmiri diaspora, academics, civil society and all those concerned to play their role in ensuring that the college became operational before Aug 10. He said standard operating procedures and a security plan could be devised to secure the college premises and its approach roads, with implementation requiring the cooperation of all stakeholders.

The deputy commissioner warned that if the situation persisted, students might have to be transferred to other medical colleges, while the proposed nursing college could also fail to secure registration, resulting in what he described as an irreparable loss for Poonch district in particular and AJK in general.

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2026

Aramco’s industrial security teams had brought the fire under control and the relevant authorities were completing procedures to deal with the incident, the ministry said on X.

It did not say what caused the fire.

The Jazan refinery processes 400,000 barrels of crude oil per day and produces refined products including gasoline and ultra-light sulfur diesel.

Aramco shut down the refinery on July 27 following an attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels that damaged the plant’s Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) complex and tank farm area, according to a note from consultancy IIR seen by Reuters.

The Houthis said at the time they had struck Aramco sites in Jazan and Yanbu.

The attacks raised the prospect that threats to Red Sea shipping and Saudi oil infrastructure could widen global disruption stemming from the US-Israeli war on Iran and Iranian attacks on shipping around the Strait of Hormuz.

• Aramco chief Amin Nasser said last week that recent attacks on the company’s facilities had caused some production interruptions but that he was confident operations could be restored quickly. He said the attacks had no material operational or financial impact.

Raza, owner of eatery Wafflix, had gone missing on July 28. The 25-year-old’s body was found a day later with a gunshot wound in bushes near Shahi Qila Ground in Gulistan-i-Jauhar.

His body was exhumed earlier today after the Sindh government restored the original medical board.

Dr Summaiya told Dawn that Raza had multiple injuries to his head and face, including fractures to his nasal bone and skull. She said there were also injuries to his right flank and feet.

The police surgeon added that a congealed black substance was found in Raza’s mouth and throat.

Regarding the bullet wound, she said there was a fractured rib in the back, which was the entry point of the gunshot, while the bullet exited through the front.

She further said that DNA samples had been collected and sent to a laboratory, along with samples for chemical analysis and gunshot residue testing.

The cause of death, she added, would remain reserved until the laboratory reports were received.

‘Tortured and murdered’

Advocate Jibran Nasir, representing the family of the 25-year-old, alleged on Saturday evening that Raza had been tortured before being murdered, hours after his second post-mortem was conducted, and demanded that the entire investigation team be replaced.

Speaking to the media in the evening, Nasir said the initial report of the second post-mortem answered “14 questions” and detailed some of the alleged injuries Raza had sustained before his death.

“This was murder following torture — the murder of a happy, ambitious and educated young man from Karachi,” he alleged.

“He had an injury on his chin,” the advocate said, adding that Raza’s eye sockets were compressed and that traces of a foreign substance were found.

“Samples were taken and sent to a lab to see if there are any chemical traces,” he told reporters.

The lawyer also claimed that Raza had wounds to his forehead and a fractured nose, as well as swelling and congealed blood around his lower jaw, consistent with having been punched.

“There is a fracture to his temple above his ear, indicating he was struck,” he alleged.

“In the tongue area, a congealed black substance was discovered, which is not naturally found in the body. This substance has been taken and sent to a lab to see what he was forced to ingest.”

Continuing the description, he also claimed that internal muscles in Raza’s throat were covered in the same black substance, and that a broken hyoid bone and muscle damage suggested that he also was strangled.

“Now we come to the firearm injury, where it was earlier said that he was shot in the chest and the bullet exited through his back,” Nasir said.

“We have now proven 110 per cent that the bullet entered his back and exited after breaking and fracturing his ribs.”

The family’s lawyer also criticised senior police officials, alleging that they “do not want to investigate, but rather humiliate, harass and exhaust the family”.

“They are finding months-old recordings and frustrating, emotionally exhausting and humiliating Mir Hussain and Maryam Hussain. Are you investigating or harassing them? They sat them in their offices and told them repeatedly, ‘It’s a suicide, accept it’. Our city’s AIG was saying this,” the advocate claimed further.

Nasir added that he and the family had “no faith” in the AIG or the SSP’s investigation team and that they wanted the entire team changed, including senior officers.

“If they appoint the same kind of officers, such as those doctors from Jamshoro and Hyderabad, then we will approach the court,” he added.

“But have no doubts about it: senior officers spent 10 days with the parents and misguided them into believing it was a suicide,” Nasir alleged.

Raza’s father, Mir Hussain, told reporters that he had maintained since July 30 that his son’s death was a brutal murder.

“We saw the body and told them [that it was murder], but they kept saying, ‘Suicide, suicide, suicide,’” he said. “Sometimes the SSP would talk to us; the IG would say that the matter had been resolved but there was a problem in the report.

“If your entire police station investigates based on post-mortem reports, then how can someone in such a position of responsibility say something like this?”

Mir Hussain said it “brought us peace” to learn that their claims that Raza had been attacked before his death were true.

“We have said it was murder from the start,” he added. “Why are they hiding the killers?”

Speaking to the media earlier today, Nasir said the investigation officer was present when the body was exhumed and examined, while all eight members of the medical team were also present. The deceased’s parents were nearby and, “most importantly”, a judicial magistrate was present as well.

The lawyer also contended that “incomplete CCTV footage and out-of-context messages” had been used to fuel rumours and draw hasty conclusions since Raza’s death.

While his family is convinced that he was kidnapped, tortured and murdered, investigators probing the incident continue to build their case around the possibility that he died by suicide.

Commenting on the medical board controversy, Nasir expressed concern that the government did not provide any reason for changing the medical board overnight on Friday.

The lawyer said the victim’s family did not need “character certificates” for the doctors on the medical board.

He expressed hope that the medical board’s report would be received by Saturday evening, which would help clarify the circumstances of the young businessman’s death.

The report would clearly indicate if the incident was a murder or suicide, Nasir said, adding that the “police will be under even more pressure” once that question was cleared up.

He reiterated that the report would answer the question of whether it was “self-inflicted or a murder”.

Nasir further said he was surprised to know that the police had shared audio evidence with the media before revealing it to the parents of the victim, who found out about it from TV reports.

Nasir expressed gratitude to the judiciary for intervening in the case, adding that “the work that police could not do in eight to nine days was done in two days after judicial intervention”.

Separately, a PPP delegation comprising MPAs Asif Moosa and Saima Agha visited Raza’s family to convey their condolences.

Moosa assured the bereaved family that Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar and Sindh Inspector General Javed Alam Odho were monitoring the case.

He affirmed that efforts were being made for a transparent inquiry so that justice can be served.

Saima said the probe will be taken forward once the post-mortem report is compiled, asserting that the culprits will be punished. She further said the PPP stood with the victim’s family.

Medical board controversy

The exhumation, which was scheduled for Friday morning, was postponed after the deceased’s family objected to the abrupt reconstitution of the medical board and inclusion of members from outside Karachi division.

On Thursday, a judicial magistrate had allowed the exhumation of the body on an application filed by Raza’s father, Mir Hussain Ali, directing the police surgeon and the Sindh health secretary to constitute a medical board for the exhumation.

The court ruling came after a controversy emerged between the Karachi police surgeon and investigators over alleged loopholes in the medico-legal report regarding the post-mortem examination.

Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed, whose assessment was based only on the post-mortem report and photographs as she had not examined the body herself, said some observations in the report did not appear to match the available photographs.

The Sindh health department then constituted an eight-member board, with Dr Syed as the convener. Prof Dr Naseem Ahmed of Dow University of Health Sciences, Dr Farah Waseem of Jinnah Sindh Medical University, Amir Hassan Khan of Citizens Police Liaison Committee, Additional Police Surgeon Dr Sirichand, Dr Kamran Khan and Dr Daniyal Mirza of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, and Dr Mohammed Yaseen, the admin in-charge of the police surgeon office, were the other members of the board.

However, in the early hours of Friday, the board was reconstituted through an order issued by the director general of the Sindh health department.

While Dr Syed remained the convener of the new five-member board, its members were changed to Prof Dr Zakiuddin from DUHS, Prof Dr Kazi Akbar and Prof Dr Abid Hussain Chang from Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, and Hyderabad Police Surgeon Dr Waseem Khan.

On Friday morning, Raza’s family was present at the Tariq Road graveyard for the exhumation, which was then deferred.

Standing alongside Raza’s father, Nasir had accused the authorities of trying to bury the facts and held the police, health department and the Sindh government responsible for the delay.

What I remember is how much everybody loved Islamabad. On camera and off it. The hills, the food, the hospitality. Testimonials. The state was delighted, and none of it required a form.

It is August now. Those same correspondents cannot travel to any city outside Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi to produce a story without a No Objection Certificate from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The fixers who drove them around must register on a government portal, as must freelancers, translators and camera operators. For a weekend in Murree, a journalist may apply. Permission may be granted within three working days. Feted in April. Registered in August. We do not even change the cast.

And Al Jazeera’s website has not opened from my desk in Karachi since last Sunday. Two browsers, a phone on mobile data. The page sits there and gives up. No order has been published. The PTA has confirmed nothing. What the ministry did say was that it had taken note of Al Jazeera’s “selective reporting”, that the channel had sought to “misrepresent” the elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and that such “yellow journalism” confirmed the agenda of external actors with vested interests.

A government may say that. It should contest any report it dislikes, and it has every means to do so. Restricting access to the report is the thing nobody has put in writing. That distinction matters more than it sounds. A rebuttal adds to the record. A block subtracts from it, and what it subtracts is not the story. It is the ability to check the story.

What exactly did the Al Jazeera ban achieve?

Because the appetite does not disappear when the reporting does. Nobody stops wanting to know. They simply take what is left, and what is left is whatever costs nothing to produce. Reporting from a difficult district costs money, time, risk and now paperwork. A monologue about that district, filmed in a bedroom in Lahore or London, costs nothing and is regulated by nobody. Every restriction we impose falls on the expensive, checkable kind of journalism and leaves the cheap, unverifiable kind entirely untouched.

Then, when a figure appears that the state does not like, it has no way to disprove it. It has spent years dismantling the means by which anything could be disproved. The number stands, uncheckable, and the denial is worth exactly as much as the claim.

So, what does a ban achieve?

YouTube was blocked in September 2012 for three years. The film that caused it was never removed from the internet. Anyone determined used a proxy. Parliament passed a unanimous resolution asking for it to end. It lifted only because Google agreed to launch a local version.

X was blocked in February 2024 after being used to raise allegations of election fraud. It returned 15 months later. VPN use is estimated to have risen 6,000 per cent, and Pakistan recorded the highest financial losses in the world from internet restrictions that year. Cabinet ministers used VPNs to reach the platform their own government had blocked. Al Jazeera was blocked once before, in 2013, after publishing the Abbottabad Commission report. The report was read worldwide.

None achieved what the ban was for. Each one ended, but not one because it ‘worked’. What survived each was the impression that the state had something to hide, the one outcome a ban cannot reverse.

We are told each time that this is an exception. A parti­cular provocation, a particular mom­ent. The Foreign Media Facilitation Guidelines, 2026, remove that alibi. They are not a response to anything. They are the permanent version.

On Wednesday, the BBC said it was “extremely concerned” and called for the restrictions to be reversed. Its statement noted that it reaches around 8.6 million people in Pakistan every week, and that its journalists, including local staff here, must be able to travel the country to hear the voices of ordinary citizens.

This is what the ban achieved. Not less scrutiny. A BBC statement, a joint appeal from local and international rights groups, and a week of coverage abroad about Pakistan restricting the press.

The ministry warned of external actors with vested interests. Then it went and produced them.

A confident state does not need to clear the room before it makes its case. It makes the case.

So, who will be left to say what happened. And when nobody is, whose account will we be arguing about next?

The writer is a journalist and conducts writing workshops in Karachi.

X: @ LedeingLady

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2026

A short video recently circulating on social media shows Adolf Hitler drinking from a can of Fanta while angrily proclaiming, “I hate juice.” Though millions mistook it for an authentic commercial, sparking fierce online debate, it is actually an AI-generated meme.

Its artificial nature is fairly obvious, given that the colour, fonts and logo on the can look nothing like actual Fanta packaging. So why did so many people fall for it? The answer lies in our current media topography, where “shockvertising” has been methodically normalised.

The term ‘shockvertising’ emerged in the early 1990s, though the practice dates back to public health campaigns in the late 1960s, and describes a marketing strategy that deliberately violates social, moral or aesthetic boundaries to startle, offend or disturb an audience. Unlike traditional advertisements that highlight product benefits, shockvertising relies on instinctive reactions like fear, disgust, horror or outrage to cut through commercial noise.

This is done to drive high brand recall and generate free publicity. Due to the fact that real brands have pushed boundaries in the recent past, a concept as absurd as a Hitler-themed Fanta advertisement suddenly felt plausible to an over-stimulated public.

In an online world where algorithms reward anger over accuracy, outrage has become one of the most valuable forms of currency in the digital age

The earliest examples of shockvertising emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s through Western government funded anti-smoking campaigns, which featured graphic images of diseased lungs. While these visuals shocked audiences, the public largely accepted them because they served the purpose of raising awareness about smoking-related illnesses. Eventually, governments made it a legal requirement for tobacco companies to print these graphic images directly on cigarette packets.

Seeing how receptive people were to shocking imagery when tied to a meaningful cause, and recognising its power to ignite widespread public debate, several consumer brands decided to adopt similar tactics to shatter the clutter of traditional advertising.

In the late 1980s, Italian clothing brand United Colours of Benetton transformed shockvertising into a corporate strategy. Instead of displaying clothes, Benetton ran controversial photographs of a dying AIDS activist, a priest kissing a nun and blood-soaked war uniforms, linking the brand directly to concentrated social debates. Luxury brands such as Gucci and Tom Ford later introduced hyper-sexualised, taboo imagery to build an ‘edgy’, exclusive identity, often actively courting media bans to secure free publicity.

Modern shock tactics have since migrated online, leaning heavily into ‘rage-baiting’ and controversial social stances engineered specifically to drive viral outrage, heated debate and clicks across digital platforms.

Shockvertising is an offshoot of what is often referred to as the “outrage economy.” American media theorists Tim Wu and Shoshana Zuboff describe the outrage economy as a digital marketplace where human attention is monetised through heightened conflict and anger. Rather than promoting a brand on its merits or presenting a topic through objective analysis, the outrage economy banks on manufactured outrage to bypass critical thinking, instantly capturing attention and high digital traffic through viral sharing and continuous debate.

Social media ‘influencers’ and vloggers frequently resort to making absurd claims and spreading outright falsehoods, purely to inflate their views and comment sections. Far from discouraging this behaviour, social media platforms reward it. Their underlying algorithms are engineered to prioritise high engagement above truth, effectively monetising outrageous content and turning controversy into a business model.

Pakistani comedian Tabish Hashmi recently sparked widespread online debate by announcing his departure from a Geo TV show that he hosts. Disappointed fans quickly flooded social media platforms, but their dismay rapidly morphed into outrage after a rumour surfaced claiming Hashmi had been fired over controversial remarks regarding political unrest in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). Remarkably, those expressing outrage rarely paused to verify the nature, or even the existence, of the supposed comments. In reality, no such statements were ever made.

The entire episode was a staged publicity stunt. Hashmi was never asked to leave and Geo TV had merely paused production briefly to redesign the show’s set. For days, however, the host and the programme dominated digital discourse. The manufactured controversy allowed observers to project their own political narratives on to the event, with some reading complex state conspiracies into the hiatus and others extending outrage over perceived censorship.

The situation raises certain questions about this strategy. Did Geo need to engineer a hoax to boost lagging ratings? But more amusing was the swiftness with which Geo and Hashmi ultimately dismissed the incident as a harmless “prank”.

This may suggest a sudden loss of nerve once the audience transformed a routine promotional stunt into a tense conversation about free speech and anti-establishment rhetoric. After the hoax was revealed, many felt disappointed, and even embarrassed, at having been so easily duped. Yet, this vulnerability to manipulation is no longer an anomaly.

In an era dominated by swift digital communication and heightened emotional engagement, such impressionability has ceased to be an exception. It has become the standard condition of the modern audience. The media in general and brands are aware of this. It has become easy for manufactured outrage to profit from growing gullibility.

When digital platforms actively reward sensationalism over accuracy, critical thinking takes a back seat to knee-jerk reactions. As a result, audiences have grown increasingly susceptible to manufactured narratives, routinely accepting outrage at face value before taking the time to verify basic facts.

Politicians, corporate brands, influencers, vloggers, mainstream media outlets and even everyday users all feed this cycle. It is no wonder, then, that the concept of online “trending topics” has so seamlessly replaced genuine public discourse, turning meaningful dialogue into an algorithmic spectacle.

To paraphrase the American media theorist Neil Postman, the spectacle is designed for consumption rather than comprehension.

Published in Dawn, EOS, August 9th, 2026

July recorded the year’s highest number of attacks, underscoring the grim reality that the security situation is deteriorating, particularly in KP and Balochistan, despite mounting operational pressure on terrorist groups.

The return of violence to areas once declared cleared of terrorism is especially troubling. Last week, Swat suffered a devastating suicide bombing outside the Kabal police station. The attacker struck as participants were leaving the Swat People’s Peace Uprising, organised by residents and civil society groups alarmed by renewed terrorist activity in the valley. Seventeen people, including police personnel and civilians, were killed, while more than a dozen were wounded. Though there is confusion about whether the TTP had targeted the peace rally or the police station, whatever the group’s intentions, the attack raises a significant question about how and why the terrorists are increasing their operational base.

Balochistan, meanwhile, experienced one of its worst months of violence in recent years. July saw coordinated, high-impact attacks across Mastung, Lasbela, Ziarat, Kech and Khuzdar. These incidents demonstrated both the geographic reach of armed terrorist groups and their ability to challenge the state simultaneously in dispersed locations.

The security response was substantial. According to data maintained by the Pak Institute for Peace Studies, 26 anti-militant operations were recorded across Pakistan in July, compared with 24 in June. Conducted mainly by the army, Frontier Corps and police counterterrorism departments, these operations killed 205 terrorists. Eighteen operations took place in Balochistan and eight in KP. In Quetta and the adjoining Shaban and Hanna Urak areas alone, six operations reportedly killed 68 militants.

The country lacks a coordinated strategy that converts operational success into durable peace.

These figures reveal both capability and imbalance. Only five suspected terrorists were arrested during the month, all in Karachi. They were allegedly affiliated with the banned Balochistan Liberation Army, Jamaatul Ahrar and Lashkar-i-Jhangvi. The overwhelming ratio of deaths to arrests suggests an increasing reliance on lethal force and a weakness in the investigative, prosecutorial and intelligence-gathering dimensions of counterterrorism.

Arrests can expose facilitators, financiers, recruiters and communication networks; dead militants rarely do. Meanwhile, human rights groups continue to express concern over enforced disappearances, deepening mistrust in already alienated communities.

In KP, the threat remains centred on the banned TTP and allied factions, including the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group. Since violence resurged in 2021, attacks have been concentrated largely in the southern districts and former tribal areas.

Since early 2026, however, the operational map has widened. Militants are increasingly testing settled districts and extending networks towards Balo­chistan and potentially southern Punjab. Their continued mobility and logistical reach, despite sustained operations, show that they retain recruitment, facilitation and support structures.

Their tactics are also evolving. Suicide bombings, targeted killings and assaults on police and military installations remain central, but militants are increasingly experimenting with quadcopters and drones for explosive attacks. Government officials, civilians and public infrastructure are also being targeted. The objective is broader than producing casualties: it is to erode state authority, frighten communities and disrupt everyday governance.

Public anger over counterterrorism methods adds another layer of risk. The residents of Hassankhel recently protested outside the Peshawar Press Club against alleged drone strikes in their area. They claimed that civilians, including women and children, had been killed and that schools, mosques and roads had been damaged. Whether or not each allegation is established, such protests must be investigated transparently. Civilian harm, or even the perception that it is being ignored, provides militants with propaganda and weakens cooperation between communities and the state.

The regional dimension further complicates the challenge. Islamabad’s attempts to pursue Kabul on the TTP sanctuaries inside Afghanistan have not yielded results, and cross-border networks remain a major internal security concern. Still, escalating hostility with Afghanistan cannot substitute for a coherent domestic strategy. Border pressure may constrain the terrorists; it cannot repair governance deficits, police weaknesses or local alienation.

Recent counterterrorism operations in Bannu, Quetta and elsewhere confirm considerable operational capacity; however, whether these are translating into long-term success is not clear. The harder question is whether or not tactical successes are producing strategic stability. The evidence suggests they are not. Sanitising an area is not the same as securing it; killing militants is not the same as dismantling the ecosystem that sustains militancy.

In a similar context, Balochistan presents an even more complex landscape. Violent Baloch organisations operate alongside religiously inspi­red terrorist groups such as the TTP and IS-K. The province’s vast territory, difficult terrain and thin administrative presence allow militants to disrupt roads, movement and economic activity before security forces can respond. But geography explains only part of the problem. Political exclusion, socioeconomic deprivation, weak public services and a distrust of state institutions create openings that terrorists exploit, particularly among frustrated youth. Saner voices among politicians and intellectuals have long advised that a political solution must be given a full chance and should not be abandoned along the way.

Civilian governance must occupy the space rec­overed by security forces. Functional local ad­­min­istrations, reliable services, political engagement and employment opportunities can deny terroris­ts the grievances they weaponise. Commu­ni­ties shou­­ld be treated as partners, not merely as populations to be controlled; their knowledge can strengthen early warning and prevent infiltration.

Pakistan’s problem, therefore, is not a shortage of operations. It is the absence of a coordinated strategy that converts operational successes into durable peace. Without accountable governance, political inclusion, capable policing, regional diplomacy and community trust, the state will keep clearing the same ground, and terrorists will keep returning to it. The stakes are now dangerously high nationwide.

The writer is a security analyst.

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2026

A two-judge SC bench, headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, issued the verdict on an appeal filed by BISP Deputy Director Muhammad Ishaq against the Nov 6, 2025 order of the Peshawar High Court, Bannu bench, in a consumer protection appeal.

The Supreme Court, however, set aside the judgements of the Consumer Protection Court, Bannu, as well as the PHC, which had earlier directed the BISP and Bank Alfalah to restore the agent’s ID.

“We held that [the] complaint under Section 13 of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Consumer Protection Act of 1997 was not maintainable,” observed Mazhar in a 14-page order.

Rules Point-of-Sale agent cannot invoke consumer law

However, in the interest of justice, the Supreme Court also directed the BISP director general (cash transfer), Islamabad, to conduct an inquiry and afford ample opportunity of hearing to respondent Fardayaz Khan, the complainant, to explain the reasons for blocking his alleged PoS agent’s ID. The authority was also directed to confront him with any complaint received against him by the BISP Directorate and then pass an appropriate order within 45 days, so that he may have recourse to an appropriate remedy in accordance with law.

The case was initiated by the respondent, who claimed to be a PoS retailer operating under a franchise agreement for distributing BISP payments. His ID was deactivated by Bank Alfalah in May 2021. After his complaint to the Wafaqi Mohtasib was dismissed, he approached the Consumer Protection Court under the KP Consumer Prote­ction Act, nearly two years later.

The Consumer Court had on July 1, 2025 issued directives for the BISP and Bank Alfalah to restore Fardayaz Khan’s ID or provide written reasons for its blockage, even though there was no proof of any action taken by the BISP in this regard.

Justice Mazhar observed that the complainant was himself a service provider as a retailer and not a “service acquirer” entitled to claim the benefits of the BISP Act, 2010.

The judgement noted that no contract or consumer relationship existed between the complainant and the BISP. Since the substratum of the complaint was defective from its inception, the verdict said, the complaint was not maintainable and was liable to be dismissed.

The Supreme Court also highlighted that the complainant’s name did not app­ear in BISP’s list of PoS agents for Bannu district, which belied his contention.

Justice Mazhar explained that the universal aim of consumer protection laws was to safeguard consumers’ int­e­­rests from unscrupulous and deceptive business practices. In order to counterbalance the imbalance between corporations/manufacturers/service providers and consumers, the right to information, choice and a forum for redressal is also provided to ensure fair treatment on the trading floor, the judgement observed.

This special law ensures that products are safe for use and prevents the sale of defective goods, proscribes deceitful advertising, disingenuous pricing and unfair contracts, ensures clear and accurate information about products, and provides procedures for consumers to seek refunds, replacements or repairs and file complaints against fraudulent business activities, the judgement said.

The main focus of consumer protection laws globally is to keep sellers honest and protect purchasers of go­­­­ods from fraudulent or deceptive ma­­r­­­­keting or unfair marketing gimmicks.

“These laws are vigorous for modern society so that the consumers may be treated fairly and squarely and can seek justice against defective goods and services while maintaining equilibrium in the power dynamics between consumers and conglomerates ethically with the tools to address disputes or complaints,” the verdict said.

It added that such protection was necessary because advertisements for products sometimes mislead consumers with exaggerated claims about their products or services but fail to meet the expected quality or result. At other times, they carry hidden fees or confusing clauses that amount to unfair business practices.

In recent times, consumer protection laws have also covered e-commerce and digital transactions globally, with the same level of fairness, transparency and consumer rights as brick-and-mortar stores, the judgement said.

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2026

It comes at a time when the American defence umbrella has proved of little help in protecting Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf Arab states. Rather, the presence of US military assets in these states has pulled them into the war, as the Iranians and their regional armed allies target these facilities.

Seen in this context, many questions swirl around the new defence agreement, specifically the fact that it considers an attack against one signatory to be an attack against all.

The prime minister, the Saudi crown prince and the Turkish president were all upbeat about the new pact. PM Shehbaz Sharif termed it “historic”, while President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said it is open to “friendly nations”.

This is not an ‘Islamic Nato’. Moreover, similar alliances have been attempted before, such as the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition founded in 2015 and headed by former army chief Gen Raheel Sharif. The latter alliance is not linked to any major operations.

Pakistani-Saudi defence collaboration goes back decades, and the current pact only solidifies the arrangement, while also bringing Turkiye on board. But the question in many minds is what role the pact will play vis-à-vis Iran.

A Saudi deputy minister has said the agreement “does not represent an effort to establish a military axis or a sectarian bloc”. This clarification is welcome. On the other hand, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader has said that more cooperation among regional states “can secure its security”.

If the US-Iran war remains unresolved and major hostilities erupt again, the new alliance will be put to the test, especially if Tehran resumes attacks on the pro-America GCC states.

Suffice it to say, such alliances should work to reduce tensions between Muslims states, and not be used against any Muslim country.

The US has shown it is uninterested in protecting its Gulf allies, even though the latter have purchased billions of dollars’ worth of weaponry from it. Instead of depending on the US or other foreign powers for security, regional states — indeed all OIC members — should pledge to refrain from aggression against each other.

Iran should stop attacking the GCC states, while the Gulf sheikhdoms should stop foreign forces from using their soil against Iran. The Arabs and the Iranians cannot change their geography; they have to live side by side; hence it would be best if they worked out a modus vivendi for mutual security.

Hopefully, the new defence agreement can promote unity within the Muslim world, instead of adding to the existing fissures.

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2026

Talking to a group of journalists at his office, he said the commission would be in a position to announce the election date for Poonch and Sudhnoti within the next seven days, adding that voters in the two districts would have to be given time to campaign.

Poonch division, comprising 11 constituencies — three in Bagh, one in Haveli, five in Poonch and two in Sudhnoti districts — has a total of 1,154,626 registered voters.

Monday’s polling, however, will be held in four constituencies in Bagh and Haveli, where 460,371 voters — 238,664 men and 221,707 women — are eligible to cast their ballots at 803 polling stations with 1,254 polling booths.

A total of 82 candidates are in the fray, with the highest number of 30 contesting LA-14 (Central Bagh) and the lowest, nine, in LA-17 (Haveli). The contestants include one sitting prime minister, two former prime ministers, one sitting minister, three former ministers and one sitting member of the AJK Council.

“I appeal to the people of Bagh and Haveli to complete the process of change through their votes,” Justice Mughal said, adding that voting was “not only their democratic right but also a religious obligation, as it is their responsibility to ensure that the trust reaches its rightful recipient”.

He said security personnel had already reached Bagh and Haveli, while transportation of polling material was under way under the supervision of the army.

Asked about the oath-taking of successful candidates, the chief election commissioner said there was no constitutional impediment to them taking the oath.

“However, there are moral grounds for withholding the oath until the House becomes complete following the completion of the electoral process in Poonch and Sudhnoti districts.”

“Once the House is complete, elections will be held for the reserved seats, followed by elections for the speaker, deputy speaker and leader of the House,” he added.

Justice Mughal said eight security personnel would be deployed at each polling station identified as highly sensitive from a security perspective.

“The security personnel who had been deployed in Muzaffarabad have now been moved to Bagh and Haveli,” he said.

He added that the Election Commission would try to have internet services restored in Bagh and Haveli on Aug 9 and 10 to facilitate the compilation and transmission of election results.

On allegations of rigging levelled by political leaders, the CEC said the Election Commission had limitations in responding to such claims.

“The Election Commission has its own limitations. Political leaders’ allegations cannot be answered through statements or political rhetoric,” he said.

“Once the elections are completed, we will bring the facts before the public — whether rigging took place and, if so, who was responsible for it,” he added.

Explaining the procedure for compiling results, Justice Mughal said: “The Returning Officer compiles the result, while counting is conducted beforehand in the presence of the polling agents of the candidates.”

Earlier today, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah said that the PML-N would form the government in AJK with a two-thirds majority.

He made the remarks while addressing a rally in Bagh ahead of the third phase of elections in the region. The third phase was originally slated to be held in the 11 constituencies of Poonch division, but will now only be held in its Bagh and Haveli districts due to law and order concerns.

The decision was taken after extensive deliberations at a special meeting of JI’s central and provincial office-bearers, chaired by party chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman at Mansoora on Saturday.

Rehman said the sit-ins would be staged outside the Punjab chief minister’s house in Lahore and the governor houses in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Balochistan.

Under the plan, the JI and its youth and women’s wings will participate in Independence Day activities on August 14, using the occasion to mobilise people around the party’s vision of a just system.

The JI chief added that the previous day’s nationwide protest had given the party’s campaign against the petroleum levy and inflation a new direction and fresh momentum; and that over 510 organised and peaceful protests were held across the country, with people from across Pakistan participating.

He said the protests had demonstrated that the JI was “becoming a symbol of national unity”, as people from Chitral, Malakand, Hazara and central Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, among others, had raised their voices against the petroleum levy.

The JI chief added that the public had rejected the levy and wanted petrol prices reduced to Rs225 per litre. Rehman accused the ruling elite of pushing ordinary citizens into an unbearable inflationary crisis while refusing to cut their own privileges and expenditures.

The party chief also claimed the rulers were “unwilling to give up official aircraft, reduce government vehicle expenses or end perks such as free fuel and electricity”, while students, motorcyclists, workers and farmers were being burdened with indirect taxes on petroleum products.

“Even people whose incomes were below the taxable threshold were effectively being taxed through fuel prices,” he added.

Rehman said the JI had previously taken to the streets to force the government to negotiate with independent power producers (IPP), after initially refusing to engage with them.

He added that negotiations had been held with 17 to 18 IPPs, resulting in some reduction in electricity prices, but the process was subsequently halted.

“The unresolved energy crisis and rising prices have fuelled an inflationary storm that is affecting every segment of society, particularly salaried people, the middle class and poor families,” Rehman said.

He warned that the public could no longer be left to suffer the consequences of government policies and said the rulers would have to deliver their rights.

Rehman also welcomed the recently signed defence agreement between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, describing it as “a positive development for the Muslim world”.

He said closer cooperation among Islamic countries could lead to a strong bloc and reduce Pakistan’s and the wider Muslim world’s dependence on external powers.

Additionally, he proposed expanding the defence cooperation to include Iran, Qatar, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Indonesia, saying efforts should gradually be made to bring all Muslim countries into such a framework.

“Muslim countries should overcome their differences, strengthen mutual cooperation and build collective capacity to face regional and global challenges,” Rehman emphasised.

A day prior, several major thoroughfares in Karachi were blocked or affected by traffic disruptions as the JI held sit-ins as part of the nationwide demonstration against the petroleum levy.

Responding to the protest, Sindh government spokesperson Sadia Javed said the petroleum levy was a federal matter and questioned why Karachi’s citizens were being “punished” through road closures.

“Jamaat-i-Islami is using the protest to score political points instead of serving the public,” she alleged, adding that the party should focus on the performance of its local government representatives to improve conditions for Karachi’s residents.

The third Pakistan-New Zealand JTC meeting and the fifth round of Pakistan-New Zealand Political Consultations were held in Wellington on Thursday, “marking a significant step in deepening bilateral engagement between the two countries”, the FO said.

A key outcome of the meetings was the signing of the Education Cooperation Arrangement between Pakistan and New Zealand, which is “expected to significantly deepen collaboration in the education sector”.

At the JTC meeting, both sides “deliberated on improving market access and enhancing cooperation in sustainable agriculture, including exploring technical collaboration in wool production and plant protection”, the FO said.

The discussions focused on bolstering bilateral trade and investment, with particular emphasis on technology, education and services.

Institutional mechanisms to further economic cooperation were also discussed, the statement added.

Commerce Secretary Jawad Paul Khawaja represented Pakistan during the JTC meeting, while Grahame Morton, deputy secretary of the Americas and Asia Group at New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, headed the other delegation.

Meanwhile, during the political consultations, both sides conducted a comprehensive review of bilateral relations. They also exchanged views on regional and international developments, and agreed to enhance coordination within multilateral forums.

Additional Foreign Secretary (Asia Pacific) Ambassador Dr Syed Ali Asad Gillani co-chaired the Pakistani side at the political consultations, while Morton headed the New Zealand delegation.

Islamabad and Wellington “explored avenues to strengthen cooperation across a wide spectrum of areas of mutual interest, including high-level exchanges, economic development, science and technology, education, counterterrorism, transnational crime, and people-to-people ties”, the FO said.

Ambassador Gillani briefed the New Zealand side on Pakistan’s efforts to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East, as Islamabad remains actively engaged in efforts to defuse the Strait of Hormuz stand-off.

Morton “acknowledged Pakistan’s constructive role in the Middle East peace process”, the FO statement said.

Gillani also discussed the situation in South Asia, including in India-occupied Kashmir (IoK) and India’s “continued violations” of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).

India had unilaterally decided to put the IWT in abeyance in late April 2025 after hostilities flared up between the two neighbours last year. The issue of water has remained a bitter point of contention between the nuclear-armed nations since then, with Islamabad repeatedly raising the issue on international platforms.

The overall discussions between Pakistan and New Zealand “provided an opportunity to assess progress in bilateral ties, identify new areas for partnership, and reaffirm the shared commitment to a forward-looking and mutually beneficial relationship”, the FO noted.

Pakistan and New Zealand enjoy cordial and friendly relations, with both countries being members of the Commonwealth.

Bilateral trade stands at $12 million, with Pakistan’s major exports being textile products, apparel, rice, leather articles and sports goods, according to the FO’s website.

Main imports from New Zealand include dairy products, wood pulp, paper, edible oil, wood, iron steel and electrical machinery.

Agriculture and education were also among areas of cooperation discussed between the two sides when former military dictator Gen Pervez Musharraf visited Auckland in June 2005.

Last month, India and New Zealand signed a free trade deal as they sought to boost exports amid global economic uncertainty made worse by the war in the Middle East.

He made the remarks while addressing a rally in Bagh ahead of the third phase of elections in the region. The third phase was originally slated to be held in the 11 constituencies of Poonch division, but will now only be held in its Bagh and Haveli districts due to law and order concerns.

Addressing the rally, Sanaullah said that in the first two phases, the PML-N had secured 24 seats. He said that six more seats were required for a two-thirds majority government.

Expressing confidence that the public will vote for his PML-N, the minister asserted that four more seats would be added following the August 10 polls, while five more would be added when polls would be held in the rest of Poonch Division.

“The PML-N will form a government with a two-thirds majority. The people of Kashmir have trusted PML-N. They have trusted Mian Nawaz Sharif. They have trusted the development in Punjab,” he said.

He urged supporters to show up and cast their votes on Monday to help PML-N secure a victory, promising that a PML-N government would prioritise development projects.

He also said that once in power, the PML-N government would meet with members of the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC). The JAAC, which has been demanding the abolishment of 12 seats in the local legislature reserved for refugees from Indian-held Kashmir, has been holding protests in the region for several weeks now.

“When this government will be set up, with a two-thirds majority, they will sit with [JAAC] representatives. Their first task will be to resolve this issue.”

He said that 99 per cent of JAAC protesters were “our brothers”, adding that they were patriotic Kashmiris and Pakistanis.

He added that the remainder were focused on creating divisions within the nation.

Sanaullah said India was trying to create misunderstandings between Pakistan and Kashmiris after failing to achieve its objectives through direct confrontation, adding that such attempts would never succeed.

He urged cooperation between a future PML-N government and the people of AJK in “exposing and defeating” those divisive elements.

“We will defeat them and we will make Kashmir prosperous,” Sanaullah said.

He further added that in the past, all large-scale development projects in AJK were only completed when the PML-N was in power in the Centre and in the region.

He urged the people of Bagh to go out and vote on Monday, stressing that “all of Bagh should be involved in the government”.

He added that PML-N founder Nawaz Sharif would fulfil his promises to the people of AJK by nominating one of the three PML-N candidates in Bagh as the future prime minister of AJK.

Sanaullah added that Nawaz has already mentioned that he would sit down with the future AJK prime minister to discuss development projects in the region.

Highlighting federal support, Sanaullah said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government had approved a Rs23 billion special package for AJK in 2024 and provided wheat subsidy to facilitate the people.

He said the prime minister had also approved five Daanish Schools for AJK, while PML-N intended to take forward the public welfare and development model being pursued in Punjab.

Hamas informed US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace that it stood by the latest stage of the plan, under which the group would hand over weapons to a nascent Palestinian governing committee in the war-battered territory.

“Hamas and other factions have confirmed to mediators their readiness to begin implementing the agreement and move to the second phase, provided it receives Israeli approval and that Israel begins implementing the agreement,” a Hamas official told AFP.

“Hamas is urging the US administration to exert pressure on Israel to compel it to abide by the agreement and move to the second phase,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces a tough reelection fight in October and wide opposition from his right-wing base to the Gaza deal, said on Tuesday that Israel had not agreed to the “draft” presented by the Board of Peace.

Trump last week hailed as a breakthrough that Hamas had agreed to disarmament under the plan, with the Board of Peace saying Israel would in tandem carry out a phased withdrawal from much of Gaza.

Netanyahu met Monday with the Board of Peace’s high representative for Gaza, Nickolay Mladenov, who backtracked and said Israel would withdraw only after a full disarmament by Hamas.

Israel’s military also vowed to keep hitting the Palestinian group.

But Israeli attacks in Gaza, while ongoing, appear to have decreased in intensity in recent days. On Saturday, the Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis reported three people injured by Israeli army gunfire.

Israel has killed 1,257 Palestinians since October last year, when the two sides agreed to a ceasefire backed by Trump, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

The Israeli army has reported five deaths in its ranks during the same period.

The downpour disrupted normal traffic as rainwater accumulated on roads and in low-lying localities, leaving motorists struggling to navigate waterlogged stretches.

Pedestrians also struggled to move through streets and roads where water had accumulated.

According to rainfall data from the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa), the city received an average of 24.6mm of rain.

The highest rainfall of 104mm was recorded at the airport, followed by 75.6mm at Kahna, 62.6mm at Hadiara Defence Road and 58.6mm at Manawan.

Tajpura sub-divisional officer’s (SDO) office recorded 40.2mm of rain, while 32.8mm was recorded at the Mughalpura SDO office.

Shadipura received 28.4mm, Nishter Town 28mm, Chowk Nakhuda 11mm, Johar Town SDO Office 11mm, while 10.8mm was recorded at the Wasa head office in Gulberg.

Upper Mall received 9mm, Samanabad SDO Office 4.4mm, Iqbal Town SDO Office 3.8mm, Saggian 3.8mm, Lakshmi Chowk 3.2mm, Jail Road 2mm, Gulshan-e-Ravi 1.8mm and Farrukhabad 1.4mm, while only trace rainfall was recorded at Pani Wala Talab.

Rain was also reported in Farrukhabad, Tajpura, Defence Phase-VI, Shadipura, Saggian, Lakshmi Chowk, Chowk Nakhuda and surrounding areas. Harbanspura and several other localities received heavy showers.

The rain brought relief from the heat and made the weather pleasant, but waterlogging in several areas caused inconvenience to residents and exposed the vulnerability of low-lying localities to heavy rainfall.

Meanwhile, Wasa Lahore said it had deployed field staff and machinery at various locations to drain accumulated rainwater.

Wasa Managing Director Ghufran Ahmed inspected drainage operations at Mubeen Shaheed Underpass, Noor Jehan Road, MM Alam Road, Main Boulevard Gulberg, Qaddafi Stadium and Liberty Chowk.

He also visited Kalma Chowk Underpass, Garden Town Water Tank, Usman Block Emergency Relief Camp and Usman Block Disposal Station.

Officials said drainage operations were continuing at waterlogged locations, with heavy machinery deployed in low-lying areas. Disposal stations in areas experiencing power outages were being operated on generators.

Wasa Vice Chairman Chaudhry Shehbaz Ahmed also inspected drainage operations at Shalimar Link Road, Bhagwanpura, Baghichi Sethan, UET, Ek Moriya, Do Moriya and Chowk Na Khuda.

Earlier, Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Abdul Rahim Shirazi directed supervisory officers to remain in the field and monitor low-lying points and traffic conditions during the rainfall.

Traffic officials were directed to coordinate with Wasa for the timely drainage of rainwater from waterlogged locations.

Traffic police advised motorists to drive at moderate speeds, maintain a safe distance from other vehicles and avoid sudden braking on slippery roads. Motorcyclists were advised to wear helmets and avoid unnecessary overtaking.

Citizens were also advised to assess the depth of accumulated water before entering flooded roads and avoid crossing stretches where water levels were unsafe.

The traffic police warned citizens against standing near electric poles, transformers, fallen power lines, trees, weak walls and under-construction structures during rainfall.

Five elderly people, three of whom fell due to strong winds, suffered non-life-threatening injuries in Okinawa while another person was injured in Kagoshima prefecture, authorities said.

Nearly 39,000 buildings were without power in Kagoshima while just over 12,000 were affected in Okinawa. Domestic airlines, ANA and Japan Airlines, cancelled flights to and from Okinawa.

The typhoon had maximum sustained winds of 162 kilometres per hour with gusts reaching 216 kph. Okinawa and Amami Island in Kagoshima prefecture are the main areas expected to be affected in Japan.

Typhoon expected to make landfall in China

In China, where the typhoon is expected to make landfall between late on Sunday and early on Monday, authorities have designated Dolphin as an orange-category typhoon, the second-highest level.

Worried about the risk of flooding and landslides, authorities also raised the emergency response level for Dolphin by one notch to level III, the second-lowest level.

The typhoon is most likely to make landfall between Zhoushan city in Zhejiang province and Fuding city in Fujian province and is expected to have winds of 38-45 metres per second near its centre, according to China’s National Meteorological Centre.

China’s National Marine Forecasting Centre on Saturday maintained its highest, red-level warning for waves, forecasting 5-to-8-metre (16-to-26-foot) waves in coastal waters off Zhejiang through Sunday afternoon.

Under an orange-level warning, waves in coastal waters off Shanghai and northern Fujian could be 3 to 5.5 metres.

On Saturday evening, Chinese authorities issued five weather and disaster warnings, including orange alerts for typhoon, heavy rain, and geological-disaster risks, along with a red alert for mountain torrents.

Ports and airports halt operations

Rain and strong winds are expected to affect eastern China through August 12, including parts of Shanghai and neighbouring provinces. Some areas could see short bursts of rainfall exceeding 80mm an hour, accompanied by thunderstorms and strong winds.

Zhejiang, one of China’s biggest provincial economies and a manufacturing and export hub, raised its coastal typhoon alert to its highest level and halted port operations. Authorities in eastern and southern China also suspended ferries, halted some construction work and ordered fishing boats back to port.

Ningbo Lishe International Airport in Zhejiang said it will suspend all flights on Sunday. Shanghai’s Yangshan port had been cleared of vessels by late on Friday, while some rail services in the Yangtze River Delta will be suspended from Sunday.

Beijing authorities have said they are monitoring the typhoon’s path and are preparing flood-control and evacuation plans for the capital.

In Taiwan, 78 flights, mostly international, were cancelled because of the typhoon, the government said. Heavy rain was expected in northern parts of the island over the weekend, though authorities had not ordered evacuations as of Saturday.

China has ordered that, due to the typhoon, ships passing through the Taiwan Strait must heed its traffic control instruction measures that Taipei denounced as “ridiculous”, saying that Beijing has no right to restrict access to international waters.

China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and claims the strategic strait. Both Taipei and Washington reject that claim.