ISLAMABAD: Two Pakistanis have been killed and the building of Habib Bank … in Beirut has been destroyed during communal fighting in Lebanon, according to official information received here today [Oct 11]. A message received here by the Foreign Office from the Pakistan Embassy in Beirut said that the Pakistani bank’s building was destroyed by the fire. However, there was nobody inside the building … and all officers and other employees … are safe… . The two Pakistanis killed in other incidents were buried in the Palestinian cemetery in Beirut. They were identified as Mir Ahmad Khan … and Samad Mohammad Ali… . — News agencies

[Meanwhile, as reported by news agencies from Islamabad,] a renowned Urdu poet and a former UN official, Mr. N.M. Rashid, died in London on October 10 due to heart attack… . He was 65. Mr. Rashid, who originally belonged to Radio Pakistan, has served the [UN] in various capacities. … …[M]r. Niaz Mohammad Rashid known to the world of literature as “Noon Meem Rashid”, who introduced the free and blank verse in Urdu poetry in late thirties, was born on August 1, 1910 at Akal Garh in Gujranwala. … His publications include “Mawara” [and] “Iran mein ajnabi”.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2025