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ISLAMABAD: The government has appointed Lt Gen Muhammad Asim Malik, the incumbent director general of the country’s premier intelligence agency, as the new National Security Adviser (NSA).
The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief becomes the country’s tenth NSA.
A notification issued by the Cabinet Division on Tuesday said that Gen Malik would retain his role as DG ISI, a position he has held since September 2024.
“Lt Gen Muhammad Asim Malik HI(M), DG (I), shall hold the additional charge of the National Security Adviser, with immediate effect,” the notification stated.
His appointment marks the first time a serving ISI chief will concurrently serve as the NSA.
The NSA position had remained vacant since April 2022, when the PTI government was ousted after former Prime Minister Imran Khan lost a vote of confidence. At the time, Moeed Yusuf was serving as the NSA.
The NSA holds the status of a federal minister and serves as the principal adviser to the Prime Minister on matters of national security, foreign policy, and strategic affairs.
The adviser also heads the National Security Division, based at the Prime Minister’s Secretariat in Islamabad.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Wednesday released its annual State of Human Rights in Pakistan report, which highlighted the country’s deteriorating security situation and democratic backsliding.
Amnesty International, in a statement last year, observed that human rights abuses remained “rampant” in Pakistan. Reports of extra-judicial killings, harassment of human rights defenders, mass arrests, military trials of civilians and violation of freedom of the press were some of the concerns listed by the rights group.
HRCP’s report was launched at an event held at a hotel in Islamabad, where the Commission’s Chairperson Asad Iqbal Butt, Co-chairperson Munizae Jahangir, General Secretary Haris Khalil and members Nasreen Azhar and Hina Jilani addressed the ceremony. The event was attended by journalists, human rights defenders, and transgender rights activists.
Butt highlighted the pressing human rights concerns in the country and called for “national reconciliation to steer Pakistan back on the right track under a democratic framework”.
“The country’s progress depends on upholding human rights, maintaining the rule of law, and improving the overall law and order situation,” he emphasised.
The report identified escalating violence, enforced disappearances, restrictions on freedoms and a breakdown in law and order among key issues Pakistan faced last year.
Butt highlighted the multifaceted crisis, stating, “Human rights have declined alarmingly, leading to widespread mental distress among the population due to inflation, joblessness, and blatant violations of the law.” He pointed out the poor state of law and order, with 1,166 terrorist attacks in 2024, resulting in 2,546 fatalities — a 66 per cent increase in fatalities compared to 2023.
“The state has failed” in its duty to protect its citizens, Butt asserted, citing the “Kurram battlefield” where 250 people were killed and a November incident that claimed 52 lives. Retaliatory violence further exacerbated the situation, leading to the deaths of 80 people, including 24 victims of mob lynchings, according to the report.
The report also shed light on the prevalence of alleged extrajudicial killings, with 108 police encounters reported. Sindh alone accounted for 3,856 encounters, resulting in the deaths of 341 suspects. The HRCP expressed grave concern over this alarming trend.
Another critical issue highlighted was the persistent problem of enforced disappearances. The report detailed instances of individuals being “kidnapped in the nights,” with families denied access and legal provisions to lawyers.
The HRCP emphasised the “profound mental anguish” inflicted upon the families of missing persons, describing it as an “unfortunate situation” with lasting consequences. The report unequivocally stated that “force disappearance perpetrators violate the constitution and international laws,” including the sanctity of private spaces.
The failure to produce arrested individuals in court within 24 hours, often followed by the discovery of their bodies, was strongly condemned by the Commission. The report acknowledged the treatment of growing movements in Balochistan and Sindh, such as the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC).
Political leaders in Gilgit-Baltistan have also faced similar restrictions, with eight reportedly on the Exit Control List.
The HRCP report also raised serious concerns about the shrinking space for freedom of speech and expression. Restrictions on internet connectivity, including the social media platform X, were noted.
The report noted that journalists became increasingly vulnerable, with 162 incidents of attacks and 6 journalists killed by unknown individuals in 2024. The HRCP reminded the state of its constitutional obligation to ensure freedom of expression and freedom of faith.
The “misuse of religious material for blackmail and subsequent arrests by the Federal Investigation Agency,” often stemming from WhatsApp activity, was highlighted as a worrying trend.
Additionally, the 35 incidents targeting the Ahmadiyya community and the desecration of their graves, were documented. Five individuals from the Ahmadiyya community were killed, the report stated citing the Jamaat-i-Ahmadiyya press section.
The report further condemned the rise in mob lynchings based on allegations, citing incidents in Swat, Sargodha, Umerkot and Quetta, where only the intervention of law enforcement prevented further fatalities.
In 2024 alone, Pakistan witnessed 405 ‘honour’ killings, with 24 allegedly involving police personnel. The increasing prevalence of cybercrimes, with 321 cases reported, mostly in Punjab, also drew the HRCP’s concern.
In conclusion, the HRCP report paints a stark picture of a deteriorating human rights situation in Pakistan, urging the state to take immediate and concrete steps to address these critical issues. The Commission expressed deep concern and called for accountability for perpetrators of human rights violations.
The National Commission on the Rights of the Child (NCRC) on Wednesday launched its inaugural State of Children in Pakistan Report 2024, the first report of its kind that highlights the situation children face in Pakistan.
In January, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said over 22 million children are out of school in Pakistan, emphasising that out of the total figure, a disproportionate number were girls.
The report was launched at a ceremony in Islamabad, attended by Federal Minister for Human Rights Azam Nazeer Tarar, as well as ambassadors, UN representatives, parliamentarians, civil society representatives and child rights advocates.
This first-of-its-kind national report offers a comprehensive, evidence-based overview of the situation of children in Pakistan, covering key areas such as health, education, child protection, participation, and overall welfare.
Developed to address the persistent gap in consolidated child-focused data, the report draws from a wide range of credible sources to present a clear picture of both progress and challenges.
Key findings from the report highlight persistent issues such as “high numbers of children out of school, malnutrition, child labour, child marriage and the vulnerability of children with disabilities and those from minority communities”. The report also documents progress in immunisation, legal reform and awareness campaigns.
“While there are initiatives to expand access to education and accelerate learning, over 26 million children aged 5 to 16 are still out of school, and less than half of fifth-grade students can read or perform basic arithmetic, the report read.
The report concludes with practical, actionable recommendations to improve outcomes for children, including “investing in early childhood development, strengthening child protection systems and ensuring inclusive education and healthcare services”.
In her welcome remarks at the launch ceremony, NCRC Chairperson Ayesha Raza Farooq stated, “While segregated and fragmented data has always existed, there has never been a comprehensive national report built exclusively on a child rights-based framework that integrates data across sectors — education, health, child protection, justice, inclusion, and participation.”
She added that the report is designed to address the data gap and serve as a foundational resource for policymakers, researchers, development partners, and advocates.
“Importantly, this report is also timely in view of Pakistan’s upcoming review by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), scheduled for May 2025,” she noted. “We hope the Committee will view this report as a serious and constructive step towards accountability and transparency in fulfilling our obligations under the UNCRC.”
As part of the launch event, a panel discussion titled ‘Realising the Convention on the Rights of [the] Child in Pakistan’ was held, featuring prominent experts and practitioners.
Moderated by NCRC technical adviser Valerie Khan Yousafza, the panel included FIA Additional Director Amna Baig, Sahil executive director Dr Manizeh Bano, Unicef data and analytics manager Achraf Mohamed Mrabet, Justice Project Pakistan Executive Director Sarah Belal and Ministry of Human Rights Director General Muhammad Arshad.
The discussion highlighted critical intersections between policy, data, and action required to fulfil the rights of children in line with the UNCRC.
Baig emphasised the importance of forging strong partnerships with social media platforms to address cybercrime, noting, “Global policies often fail to reflect local realities, particularly in the context of transnational crimes, calling for greater contextualisation of international best practices.”
Belal, meanwhile, called for reworking the juvenile justice framework in the country, stressing that child victims “should not be criminalised and instead should be supported through diversion programs, rehabilitation centres, and an increased number of probation officers”.
Dr Bano spoke of the difficulties faced by civil society organisations in raising awareness around child rights and urged for stronger grassroots engagement, while Mrabet underscored the role of robust data in informing targeted interventions and understanding emerging trends in child welfare.
Meanwhile, Arshad reaffirmed the government’s commitment to using the study’s findings to “shape evidence-based policies and ensure the implementation of the UNCRC across all levels of governance”.
Jo Moir, Development Director at the British High Commission, said,“We are delighted to have supported Pakistan’s first Status of the Children Report supported by the UK’s ‘Aawaz II’ programme.
“The report provides robust evidence that will enable the Government of Pakistan to align its policies and services to respond to the needs of Pakistan’s children and youth more effectively,” she said, adding that the UK remains committed to building a better future for the children of Pakistan.
Speaking at the event, Tarar praised the NCRC’s initiative.
“With over 40% of our population under the age of 18, the wellbeing of our children is not just a moral imperative — it is a national priority,” he stated. “This report will serve as a critical tool in informing policy and guiding reforms.
“I want to reaffirm that the Government of Pakistan is actively working to strengthen child protection systems through enhanced coordination between federal and provincial departments,” Tarar added. “The Ministry of Human Rights is leading the efforts, from the policy level down to the grassroots.
“This report hopes to serve as an all-encompassing guide on the current situation and framework with regards to the future generations of Pakistan and how we can do better by them,” he said.
Last year, Sahil’s Six Months Cruel Numbers data revealed that a total of 1,630 cases of child abuse were reported from across the country.
In the first six months of 2024, 862 cases of child sexual abuse, 668 cases of abduction, 82 cases of missing children and 18 cases of child marriages were reported. Additionally, 48 cases of pornography after sexual abuse were also recorded.
• UN chief calls PM Shehbaz and India’s Jaishankar, underscores need to avoid confrontation
• Marco Rubio expected to speak to Indian, Pakistani counterparts today
• Airports operating as usual, authorities say
NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given his military “operational freedom” to respond to a deadly attack in India-held Kashmir last week, which New Delhi has tried to pin on Pakistan, without offering any evidence to support the claim.
A full week after the Pahalgam attack, which claimed the lives of over two dozen tourists, Modi held a closed-door meeting with the heads of the three armed services, as well as Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval.
During the meeting, he told the armed forces that they had the “complete operational freedom to decide on the mode, targets and timing of our response to the terror attack”, a senior government source told AFP.
No further details have been released from the meeting, which was held at the Indian PM’s resident on Tuesday.
It comes a day after Defence Minister Khawaja Asif warned of a possible Indian incursion, saying that the next few days were crucial and Pakistan was prepared for any eventuality.
Last week, Modi had vowed to pursue those who carried out the attack, as well as those who had supported it.
“I say to the whole world: India will identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backer,” he said on Thursday. “We will pursue them to the ends of the Earth”.
Following the high-level meeting, the Indian media began speculating about a “possible response”.
The bellicose statements have prompted worries of a rapid spiral into military action, with several nations, including neighbouring China, calling for restraint and dialogue.
Late on Tuesday night, US State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce announced that Secretary of State Marco Rubio was expected to speak to the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan “as early as today or tomorrow”.
She said the US was reaching out to both parties regarding the Kashmir issue, and is expected to tell both sides not to escalate things any further.
Ms Bruce said that Rubio was also encouraging leaders and foreign ministers from other nations to reach out over the issue.
Earlier, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres held calls Tuesday with Pakistan’s prime minister and India’s foreign minister to express “deep concern at rising tensions”, his spokesman said.
The United Nations chief “underscored the need to avoid a confrontation that could result in tragic consequences. He offered his good offices to support de-escalation efforts,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
According to the PM Office in Islamabad, during their telephone call, PM Shehbaz rejected the Indian accusations as baseless and categorically rejected any attempt to link Pakistan with the Pahalgam incident.
He reiterated his call for a transparent and neutral investigation into the incident, and expressed serious concerns over India’s attempts to delegitimise the Kashmiri freedom struggle by using the bogey of “terrorism”, as well as its widely documented state-sponsored terrorism in the occupied territory.
He also pointed to India’s weaponisation of the waters of the Indus Basin as being unacceptable as it was the lifeline of around 240 million people.
No airport closures
Amid fears of airspace closures due to rising tensions with India, rumours of a possible closure of airports began circulating on social media on Tuesday night.
However, authorities confirmed that this was not true, and both domestic and international flight operations continued as usual.
For example, a flight from Islamabad to Doha departed on Wednesday at around 12.40am.
According to flight information at Islamabad International Airport (IIAP), another flight arrived from Sharjah at 11:43pm on Tuesday night.
A senior official at IIAP told Dawn the airport was fully functional for both domestic and international flights, while an official from Lahore airport also confirmed that flight operations were running smoothly.
Mohammad Asghar in Rawalpindi and Anwar Iqbal in Washington also contributed to this report
Three people were killed in a shooting in the Swedish city of Uppsala on Tuesday, and a murder investigation has been launched, police said.
Police are searching for one suspected perpetrator, the news agency TT reported.
Police earlier said they had received calls from members of the public who heard gunshots in the city centre, and that emergency services had rushed to the scene.
“Three people are confirmed dead after a shooting […] The police are investigating the incident as a homicide,” investigators said in a statement.
Witnesses told broadcaster SVT they had heard five shots and had seen people in the area running to take cover.
Ten people were killed in February in the Swedish city of Orebro in the country’s deadliest ever mass shooting, in which a 35-year-old unemployed loner opened fire on students and teachers at an adult education centre.
Sweden has suffered from a wave of gang-related violence for more than a decade that has included an epidemic of gun violence.
The Nordic country’s right-wing minority government came to power in 2022 on a promise to tackle gang-related violence.
It has tightened laws and given more powers to police, and after the Orebro shooting, said it would seek to tighten gun laws.
Two suspects allegedly involved in the recent killing of the PPP UC chairman in Karachi’s Orangi Town have been arrested, police said on Tuesday.
PPP Union Council Chairman, Amir Bhashani, was killed on April 17 by armed motorcyclists in a suspected targeted attack near Bismillah Chowk in Orangi Town. The case was registered under terror and murder charges by the Pakistan Bazaar police.
In response, the city council last week demanded that the provincial police and law enforcement agencies promptly arrest the killers of Bhashani and bring them to justice.
According to a statement issued by Karachi District West Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Tariq Illahi Mastoi, “A police team led by SP Manghopir initiated an investigation on different aspects and conducted technical and human intelligence-based action, apprehending two suspects, namely and recovering two pistols.”
During the initial probe, it was transpired that one of the suspects was directly involved in the killing, while another was an informer who had informed his accomplices about the presence of the UC chairman at his office, the statement said.
The planning to carry out the killing was done a week before the murder based on “land and financial matters”, the statement said.
Apart from the prime suspect, two other suspects were also found to be involved in the murder planning, it said.
So far, the investigation has revealed who the real mastermind of the murder is, it added.
According to the statement, the suspects told the interrogators that the prime suspect, along with two accomplices, went to the camp UC chairman’s office in a car on the day of the murder.
It said that the accomplices stepped out of the vehicle and stayed at a nearby restaurant, waiting for two hired assassins while the prime suspect remained seated in the car.
After the arrival of the assassins, the accomplices, with the help of the prime suspect, killed Bhashani, the statement said.
Later on, the suspects left in their car while hired assassins fled on their motorcycle, it added.
While the two suspects were under police custody, concerted efforts were underway to arrest the four remaining suspects in the case, SSP Mastoi said in the statement.
• Ali Zafar says such a gesture of political unity will strengthen Pakistan’s case globally
• Irfan Siddiqui calls Pahalgam attack ‘false-flag operation’
• Senators warn New Delhi against changes to Indus treaty
ISLAMABAD: The main opposition, PTI, has demanded the release of its incarcerated leader Imran Khan so he can participate in national deliberations on escalating tensions with India in the wake of the Pahalgam attack.
The party also called for an immediate multi-party conference (MPC), with Mr Khan in attendance.
The demands were made in the Senate on Monday, as lawmakers from both sides of the aisle slammed India for suspending the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) and fanning war hysteria following the April 22 attack.
Senator Ali Zafar, PTI’s parliamentary leader in the Senate, said political differences should be set aside for an issue of national importance.
He noted that a multi-party conference was the only “correct thing to do in the present circumstances”.
If Mr Khan is allowed to attend such a meeting, Mr Zafar said it would send a signal across the world that Pakistan is united and make the country’s case stronger.
He also criticised Indian PM Narendra Modi’s government and its “Nazi mentality” for falsely accusing Pakistan — which is itself a victim of terrorism.
“I want to tell the world that this is a blatant and baseless lie motivated by malice.”
He added New Delhi has a “habit of levelling such allegations” and also called the Indian government an “expert in carrying out false flag operations”.
PTI Senator Shibli Faraz said Mr Khan should be allowed to appear on TV to give a call to people for a public gathering at Minar-i-Pakistan and a march toward the Wagah border with India.
Mr Faraz, the opposition leader in Senate, expressed confidence that “over ten million people” will gather on Mr Khan’s call.
“Only a true representative of the people can give a strong message to India,” he said, warning the enemy “takes advantage of political instability”.
He demanded the release of all “political prisoners” and doing away with the practice of filing false cases against political opponents.
’False-flag operation ’
PML-N Senator Irfanul Haq Siddiqui said the Pahalgam incident was a “false flag operation carried out by the Indian authorities to defame Pakistan”.
He said India routinely accused Pakistan without any investigation or evidence. “India accused Pakistan within minutes of the Pahalgam incident, but the international community refused to accept their false narrative.”
Senator Siddiqui also raised critical questions about the security situation in India-held Kashmir.
He questioned how a major terrorist attack took place despite the “presence of army checkpoints at every corner and the deployment of one Indian soldier for every seven Kashmiris”.
Mr Siddiqui warned India against carrying out any attack in Pakistan, saying the people were “fully prepared and united to defend the motherland” despite internal political differences.
The PML-N senator also referred to growing internal dissent within India, noting that voices from within the country were now questioning PM Modi’s handling of the situation.
The BAP parliamentary leader in the Senate said the Pahalgam attack, which took place in an area with high military presence “clearly exposed that it was a false flag operation”.
He said India was involved in target killings in different countries and was responsible for various terrorist attacks inside Pakistan and there was “irrefutable evidence” of Indian funding to outlawed groups BLA and TTP.
Suspension of IWT
Talking about India’s move to suspend the IWT, Mr Siddiqui said New Delhi cannot unilaterally terminate the agreement.
“The Indus Waters Treaty involves the World Bank as an arbitrator along with several other international institutions. India cannot simply walk away from its obligations,” he stressed.
Senator Zafar of PTI also agreed with Mr Siddiqui saying that India has no right to unilaterally suspend, amend or cancel the treaty.
Mr Zafar, who is also a constitutional expert, said any such action by the Modi government will be “illegal and against the principles of international law”.
He said the announcement by India to suspend the treaty had no legal effect and Pakistan has rejected it.
Calling water a “basic human right”, he warned India that any disruption to the water flows of Pakistan would be “an act of war”.
“We will fight for each drop of water till the last drop of our blood.”
US President Donald Trump’s administration on Monday touted the early results of his immigration crackdown despite concerns over due process, displaying photos of alleged criminal offenders on the White House lawn and preparing to target cities and states that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
Trump plans to sign an executive order on Monday directing top officials to identify within a month the cities and states failing to sufficiently comply with federal immigration laws, a White House official said.
Trump launched an aggressive enforcement campaign after taking office, surging troops to the southern border and pledging to deport millions of immigrants in the US illegally.
The Republican president — who made immigration a major campaign issue in 2024 — said the actions were needed after years of high illegal immigration under his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden.
At a press briefing, White House officials touted a steep decline in illegal crossings at the border during Trump’s first three months in office — even as concerns have emerged over the due process rights of immigrants and US citizens swept up in the dragnet.
US Border Patrol arrested 7,200 migrants illegally crossing the border in March, the lowest monthly total since 2000 and down from a peak of 250,000 in December 2023.
“We have the most secure border in the history of this nation and the numbers prove it,” Trump border czar Tom Homan said at the briefing.
Democrats and civil rights advocates have criticised Trump’s heightened enforcement tactics, including the cases of several US-citizen children recently deported with their parents, including one with a rare form of cancer, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
Homan blamed the parents for putting their children at risk of deportation by remaining in the US. “If you choose to have a US-citizen child, knowing you’re in this country illegally, you put yourself in that position,” he said.
US President Donald Trump’s ‘border czar’ Tom Homan speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington DC on April 28. — Reuters
In his first hundred days in office, Trump has moved to strip legal immigration status from hundreds of thousands of people, increasing the pool of those who can potentially be deported.
While arrests of immigrants in the US illegally have spiked, deportations remain below last year’s levels under Biden, when there were more people illegally crossing the border who could be quickly returned.
Deportations were down in Trump’s first three months in office from 195,000 last year to 130,000 this year, Reuters reported last week. Homan defended the figures and said it was not fair to compare them to Biden-era tallies.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities have been over capacity, with some 48,000 in custody as of early April, beyond the funded level of 41,500.
Homan said Texas military base Fort Bliss could be ready “in the very near future” to hold migrant detainees. The Trump administration has already been using the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Photos posted on the White House lawn featured 100 people charged or convicted of serious crimes, including murder, rape and fentanyl distribution.
Numerous studies show immigrants do not commit crimes at a higher rate than native-born Americans.
Sanctuary standoff
Trump has criticised cities and states that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, labelling them “sanctuaries” and blaming them for releasing criminal offenders instead of coordinating their transfer to ICE.
Last week, a federal judge blocked Trump’s administration from withholding federal funding from more than a dozen so-called sanctuary jurisdictions that have declined to cooperate with Trump’s hardline immigration crackdown.
The executive order planned for Monday, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, would build on Trump’s early efforts to pressure the jurisdictions to cooperate.
“President Trump plans to sign an executive order on Monday, escalating his battle against Democratic-led states and cities that don’t fully cooperate with federal immigration authorities,” a White House official said.
US officials arrested a Wisconsin judge on Friday and charged her with helping a man in her court briefly evade immigration authorities. The arrest triggered backlash from Democrats and immigrant rights advocates who raised concerns that immigrant victims may not feel safe in courthouses.
Homan defended the arrest, saying the administration would enforce laws prohibiting harbouring a person in the US illegally.
“You will be prosecuted, judge or not,” he said.
Trump’s schedule calls for him to sign executive orders at 5pm Eastern Standard Time (2100 GMT, 1am PKT). Americans are split on Trump’s immigration approach, but he has a 45 per cent approval rating on immigration, better than on other major issues, a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in mid-April found.
PAKISTAN is in the midst of an intense heatwave, with temperatures soaring 4°C to 7°C above normal across much of the country.
This extreme weather is expected to persist till the end of the month, with some regions already experiencing highs of 49°C. What was once considered rare has become alarmingly common, as climate change accelerates the frequency and severity of such events. Yet, despite repeated warnings from scientists and international bodies, Pakistan remains woefully unprepared for the escalating climate crisis.
The effects of the heatwave are rippling through every sector. Agriculture, the backbone of Pakistan’s economy, is under severe stress as excess heat kills crops and worsens water scarcity. Reports of early wheat crop failures are already emerging, threatening both food security and rural livelihoods.
At the same time, water resources are being strained to the limit. Faster-than-normal snowmelt in the northern mountains, spurred by high temperatures, raises the spectre of flash floods while jeopardising water availability during the critical summer months.
Public health infrastructure is also under immense pressure. Hospitals are seeing an increase in heat-related illnesses, particularly among vulnerable groups such as outdoor labourers, the elderly and children. The memory of the 2015 Karachi heatwave, which claimed over 1,200 lives, looms large and must not be ignored. Meanwhile, power outages in various areas highlight the fragility of the energy grid at a time when uninterrupted supply is a matter of life and death.
The government must roll out relief measures without delay. As highlighted by the NDMA, cooling centres should be established in urban and rural hotspots. Water resources must be managed and prioritised for essential needs and work hours for outdoor labour should be adjusted to minimise exposure. Public health services need to be fully equipped to manage heatstroke and related conditions, and power must be prioritised for hospitals and essential water infrastructure.
Beyond these short-term interventions, there is a pressing need for a long-term strategy to adapt to the warming climate. This includes investing in water storage and management, promoting climate-resilient crops and efficient irrigation techniques, and expanding urban greenery to reduce heat absorption. Early warning systems must be enhanced, and local disaster response mechanisms strengthened to ensure timely action.
The current heatwave is not merely a temporary discomfort; it is a dire warning of what lies ahead if Pakistan fails to confront the realities of climate change. Policymakers must treat this crisis as a national emergency. The most vulnerable citizens cannot afford the cost of inaction. As temperatures continue to rise, so too must our commitment to building climate resilience. Rather than half-measures, the situation demands bold, coordinated action to safeguard lives, livelihoods and the country’s future.
Top officials in United States President Donald Trump’s administration on Sunday pressed Russia and Ukraine to make headway on a peace deal following a one-on-one meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Vatican a day earlier.
“It needs to happen soon,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’. “We cannot continue to dedicate time and resources to this effort if it’s not going to come to fruition.”
Rubio said the US would consider in the coming week whether to continue mediating talks “or if it’s time to sort of focus on some other issues”.
Trump and Zelensky, in Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis, met in a Vatican basilica on Saturday to try to revive faltering efforts to end Russia’s war with Ukraine.
The meeting was the first between the two leaders since an angry encounter in the Oval Office in Washington in February and comes at a critical time in negotiations aimed at bringing an end to the conflict.
In a Truth Social post later on Saturday, Trump rebuked Russian President Vladimir Putin over recent attacks on Ukraine, saying “there was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days.”
In a pre-taped interview that aired on CBS News programme ‘Face the Nation’ on Sunday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia would continue to target sites used by Ukraine’s military.
When asked about a Russian strike on Kyiv last week that killed civilians, Lavrov said “the target attacked was not something absolutely civilian” and that Russia only targets “sites which are used by the military”.
Zelensky wrote on the messaging app Telegram that his top military commander had reported that Russia had already conducted nearly 70 attacks on Sunday.
“The situation at the front and the real activity of the Russian army prove that there is currently insufficient pressure on Russia from the world to end this war, he said.
Differing proposals
Ukrainian and European officials pushed back last week against some US proposals on how to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, making counterproposals on issues from territory to sanctions, Reuters reported on Friday.
The primary areas of difference in the two proposals were over the sequencing for resolving questions over territory, the lifting of sanctions on Russia, security guarantees and the size of Ukraine’s military.
American proposals called for US recognition of Russia’s control over Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula Moscow seized and annexed in 2014, as well as de facto recognition of Russia’s hold on other parts of Ukraine.
In contrast, the European and Ukrainian proposal defers detailed discussion about territory until after a ceasefire is concluded.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Sunday that Ukraine should not agree to the US proposal, saying it went too far in ceding swathes of territory in return for a ceasefire.
Despite the divergent views, Trump’s national security adviser on Sunday said the meeting with Zelensky showed his determination to reach a deal.
“That meeting is going to go down in the history books for President Trump, to be a president of peace,” National Security Adviser Mike Waltz told Fox News’ ‘Sunday Morning Futures’.
Waltz said Trump has “expressed his frustration” at the leaders of both nations but remained determined to help negotiate an agreement. He also said the US and Ukraine would eventually reach an agreement over rare earth minerals and that talks continued over the weekend.
Democrats in the US Congress have criticised Trump’s approach to the conflict and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Sunday that he was concerned Trump would “cave in to Putin”.
“To just abandon Ukraine, after all the sacrifice that they made, after so much loss of life, and with the rallying of the whole West against Putin, it would just be a moral tragedy,” Schumer said on CNN’s ‘State of the Union’.
Schumer said siding with Russia in the conflict would tear apart alliances with Europe and embolden dictators around the world.
QUETTA: Workers and supporters of the Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) took out a rally in support of Afghan refugees and urged the government of Pakistan to stop their ‘forced repatriation’.
The participants of the rally, led by PkMAP Secretary General Abdul Rahim Ziaratwal and Dr Hamid Achakzai, gathered in Quetta Metropolitan Corporation compound before the rally. They chanted slogans against the deportation of Afghan refugees and Peca Act.
They marched on various streets of the provincial capital carrying party flags, placards and banners inscribed with their demands.
The rally after reaching Manan Chowk converted into a public meeting which was addressed by Mr Ziaratwal, Dr Abdul Hamid Khan Achakzai, Abdul Haq Abdal, and others.
The speakers told the protesters that Afghan refugees came to Pakistan through UNHCR and spent over 40 years in the country. They made social relations with local people, established their business along with the people of Pakistan and now the government is sending them back to Afghanistan forcibly instead of giving them citizenship, the gathering was told.
They said that the West granted citizenship to those people who spend five years while the Pakistan government sent them after 40 long years. They demanded that Afghan “Kadwal” should not be repatriated rather be given Pakistani Citizenship and as Pakistani citizens will spend their lives peacefully according to the constitution and law of the land.
They condemned the treatment being done with the Afghan refugees while sending them to their country as said that their three generations during their stay as refugees obtained medical, engineering and other disciplines in Pakistani universities. They said that Afghan refugees should be recognized Pakistani citizen and issued citizenship certificate.
Two soldiers have been martyred and 15 terrorists killed in three separate engagements in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the military’s media wing said on Saturday.
A statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the intelligence-based operations (IBO) were conducted on Friday and Saturday.
The ISPR said eight terrorists were “sent to hell” after troops effectively engaged them at their location during an IBO in Karak district based on the reported militant presence.
It said that four more were killed by the security forces in another IBO in North Waziristan district.
“However, during the intense fire exchange, two brave sons of soil, Lance Naik Usman Mohmand (age: 28 years, resident of Charsadda district) and Sepoy Imran Khan (age: 26 years, resident of Kurram district) having fought gallantly, paid the ultimate sacrifice and embraced martyrdom,” the ISPR said.
It added that troops “successfully neutralised” three more terrorists in another encounter in South Waziristan district’s general area of Gomal Zam.
The ISPR said weapons and ammunition were recovered from the slain terrorists who were actively involved in numerous terror activities.
It added that sanitisation operations were being conducted to eliminate any other terrorists found in the areas. “Security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve,” the ISPR concluded.
Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities over the past year, especially in KP and Balochistan, after the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022.
Militant violence and security operations intensified in in March, with the number of militant attacks surpassing 100 for the first time since November 2014, according to a report by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies.
Pakistan ranked second in the Global Terrorism Index 2025, with the number of deaths in terrorist attacks rising by 45 per cent over the past year to 1,081.
YouTuber Saadur Rehman, known as “Ducky Bhai”, was booked for showing “extreme carelessness and recklessness” in a video where he was seen driving his vehicle using his feet, it emerged on Saturday.
According to a first information report (FIR) filed at the Chakri police station in Rawalpindi on April 19, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, at around 3:20pm, Rehman uploaded a video from his social media account in which he was seen driving a vehicle.
Rehman, in the video, could be seen “driving his vehicle with the help of his feet, showing extreme carelessness and recklessness”, the FIR read.
It added that the actions of the YouTuber not only endangered his own life and property, but also of the other people travelling on the motorway.
The FIR said that the suspect had committed vandalism against whom the prosecution has filed the case.
According to the FIR, the case against the YouTuber was registered under Article 67 (driving recklessly or dangerously) of the National Highway Safety Ordinance (NHSO) 2000, and Section 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
Nadia Baloch, sister of Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) chief organiser Dr Mahrang Baloch, on Saturday wrote a letter to Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi requesting “urgent intervention” against the alleged mistreatment of her sibling and other leaders of the group in prison.
On Friday, Mahrang and other BYC leaders launched a hunger strike to protest alleged “torture” by jail staff, as well as the transfer of activist Beebow Baloch to District Jail Pishin.
“Dr Mahrang Baloch has said that the hunger strike was launched to protest the torture by CTD (Counter-Terrorism Department) officials inside the district jail and the transfer of Beebow Baloch to District Jail Pishin,” Mahrang’s lawyer Imran Baloch told Dawn.com.
According to the letter, which has been seen by Dawn.com, Nadia alleged that Mahrang “is subjected daily to mental torture and coercion to abandon her peaceful movement”.
“Upon her refusal, an attempt was made to move her to an undisclosed location, and when she resisted, she was physically assaulted by officials on 23.04.2025,” she alleged.
She also informed the CJP about the transfer of Beebow to District Jail Pishin, alleging that the activist’s whereabouts were unknown for an entire day.
“It was subsequently discovered that she had been shifted to District Jail, Pishin, under constant surveillance, including the installation of cameras compromising her privacy even within washroom areas,” Nadia alleged.
Nadia also lamented the detention of Sibghatullah Shah, Beebarg Baloch and Gulzadi Baloch and stated that the treatment of the BYC leaders violates Articles 4 (guarantee to be treated in accordance with law), 9 (protection of life and liberty) and 14 (inviolability of dignity and protection against torture) of the Constitution.
She added that Rules 939, 940 and 1065 of the Pakistan Prison Rules, 1978 were also violated.
“[The provisions] mandate the humane and impartial treatment of all detainees. These provisions place a clear duty on the superintendent to take all necessary steps to ensure the safety, dignity, and protection of prisoners under their custody.”
Nadia added that under Sections 167(5) and 167(7) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (CrPC), female prisoners could not be transferred between detention facilities without court approval.
“Any attempt to remove the detainees from District Jail Quetta to another jail within the province, therefore, would constitute an arbitrary and unlawful exercise of authority,” she wrote.
“Regrettably, despite the above legal safeguards, government officials are actively pursuing such transfers. In fact, Ms Beebow Baloch has already been forcibly moved to District Jail Pishin while in custody, following the use of physical force,” Nadia alleged.
In the letter, Nadia urged the CJP to “take urgent notice of the physical and mental torture inflicted upon these detainees; prevent any further unlawful transfer or removal without due legal process; direct that their fundamental rights be fully protected in accordance with law and that their safety be ensured during their confinement”.
“This intervention is not only necessary but urgent, as the continued inaction threatens their fundamental rights, personal safety and well-being,” Nadia wrote.
“Such an intervention would be in line with the reform efforts Your Lordship has undertaken for the betterment of prisoners.”
Mahrang and other BYC activists were arrested on March 22 for allegedly “attacking” Quetta Civil Hospital and “inciting people to violence”, a day after their members faced a police crackdown in Quetta while protesting against alleged enforced disappearances.
Her arrest under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order Ordnance drew widespread condemnation from Baloch rights activists and international rights bodies.
The Balochistan National Party-Mengal started a “long march” from Wadh to Quetta on March 28 to protest the arrests of BYC leaders and activists, including Mahrang and Sammi Deen Baloch, who was released on April 1. The sit-in concluded on April 16, with the party announcing it would launch a public outreach movement instead.
NEW DELHI: With war drums reverberating on India’s corporate TV channels and pulsating in the BJP’s echo-chambers on Friday, calmer voices were also finding space with online portals.
A seasoned Indian defence analyst gave measured reasons on Friday why there could be no hot war between India and Pakistan over the Pahalgam tragedy, even though there would be the pretence of one for political gain.
The existing ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) could suffer and the firing from both sides could resume to disturb the peace of local farmers along the borders.
Among the reasoned and reassuring voices from the perspective of bilateral and regional peace was former Indian army officer and defence analyst Pravin Sawhney.
He gave several factors for assessing there could be no war, chief among them being the China factor.
Mr Sawhney said the Aug 2019 changes in the status of the disputed state of Indian-held Jammu and Kashmir had irked China more than Pakistan. The Galwan violence between the troops of India and China in April 2020 was an offshoot of that.
There were too many troops committed on the China border, Mr Sawhney pointed out, saying it would not be possible for India to move them immediately.
But that doesn’t mean the war drums would be silenced any time soon. PM Narendra Modi is a rare Indian leader to believe in keeping the pretence of war, as it suits his politics.
News portals noted that Modi was addressing an election rally in Bihar on Thursday, and did not attend the meeting with opposition parties, where the government for the first time admitted to an intelligence failure.
Six people were successfully rescued on Friday after the supporting cable of a chairlift broke midway over the Indus River between Shangla and Torghar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Cable cars and rickety rope bridges are commonly used in the mountainous regions of KP, offering the quickest means of travel between neighbouring villages separated by deep ravines and valleys.
The chairlift, locally known as zangoo, serves as the only means for residents of Martung tehsil in Shangla and the adjacent Torghar district to cross the river. People from the same tribe reside on both sides, making the lift a vital means of commuting and transporting goods.
Torghar Deputy Commissioner Safdar Azam, who personally supervised the rescue, told Dawn.com: “The administrations in Shangla and Torghar coordinated a successful rescue operation, and the stranded passengers were safely brought back to the riverbank.”
According to Rasool Khan Sharif, spokesperson for Rescue 1122 in Shangla, the six passengers had travelled from the Kamach and Dedal areas of Nusrat Khel to Torghar.
“They became stranded in midair when one of the lift’s pulling cables broke,” Sharif told Dawn.com.
Former local nazim Haji Sultan Nabi explained to Dawn.com that the chairlift was “essential for transporting food and supplies” from Thakot in Battagram and Torghar, as Shangla’s main markets are far from the Senkarai villages.
According to Nabi, the chairlift spans approximately 600 metres in length and hangs at a height of about 300 feet over the river.
In a similar incident in 2023, a chairlift in Battagram became stuck when its cables snapped, leaving eight passengers stranded over a river.
A 14-hour rescue operation was launched to save the people — mostly students — who were trying to cross a river in the Allai tehsil of Battagram. The operation concluded late at night when all eight passengers were brought to safety.
An eyewitness told Dawn.com that one of the passengers, who had a pre-existing medical condition, was moved to a hospital for examination.
The rest of those recovered were given initial first aid at a camp set up by Rescue 1122 personnel, however, all of those rescued were said to be in good health and spirits.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Friday said it regretted the damage caused to the property near Madhya Pradesh’s Shivpuri district by the “inadvertent drop of a non-explosive aerial store” from an aircraft.
According to Indian mediareports, “a heavy metal object fell from the sky from an air force jet on the house of Manoj Sagar […] due to which two outer rooms have been damaged”.
Quoting Shivpuri’s Superintendent of Police Aman Singh Rathor, Indian media reported that no one was harmed out of the four people who were in the house.
“Police and administration team is on the spot,” SP Rathor was quoted as saying.
In a post on X after the incident, IAF said that it had instituted an inquiry into the incident and regretted the damage caused to the property by the inadvertent drop of a non-explosive aerial store from the aircraft.
Separately, another police officer, Prashant Sharma, said that where the object came from could only be ascertained after a probe, adding that the aerial store appeared to be “extremely solid” and had burn marks
“The Gwalior airbase has been contacted. Only after an expert team arrives from there, it can be confirmed what this object is and where it fell from,” Sharma was quoted as saying.
The incident happened as India attempted to link Pakistan to the deadly attack in India-held Kashmir earlier this week.
The attack took place in Pahalgam, a tourist hotspot in India-occupied Kashmir that draws thousands of visitors every summer. Gunmen opened fire on visitors, killing at least 26 people — all men from across India except one from Nepal — and injuring 17 others.
During a meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) in Islamabad a day earlier, the committee called on India to “refrain from its reflexive blame game and cynical, staged managed exploitation of incidents like Pahalgam to further its narrow political agenda”.
• Army issues fresh evacuation orders for enclave’s northern areas ahead of planned attack
• Six members of a family killed as air strike levels their home; nine die in attack on former police station
• Aid agencies estimate vast majority displaced at least once since war began
GAZA CITY: Gaza rescue teams and medics said Israeli air strikes killed at least 55 people on Thursday, as the military threatened an even larger offensive if prisoners were not freed soon.
Israel resumed its military assault in the Gaza Strip on March 18, after the collapse of a two-month ceasefire that had brought a temporary halt to fighting in the blockaded Palestinian territory.
Israel’s army chief, visiting troops in Gaza on Thursday, threatened to expand the offensive in Gaza if prisoners were not released by Hamas. “If we do not see progress in the return of the hostages in the near future, we will expand our activities to a larger and more significant operation,” Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said.
The warning came as the army issued fresh evacuation orders for northern areas of Gaza ahead of a planned attack.
Earlier in the day, six members of one family — a couple and their four children — were killed when an air strike levelled their home in northern Gaza City, the civil defence agency said in a statement.
Nidal al-Sarafiti, a relative, said the strike happened as the family was sleeping.
“What can I say? The destruction has spared no one,” he told AFP.
Nine people were killed and several wounded in another strike on a former police station in the Jabalia area of northern Gaza, according to a statement from the Indonesian hospital, where the casualties were taken.
“Everyone started running and screaming, not knowing what to do from the horror and severity of the bombing,” said Abdel Qader Sabah, 23, from Jabalia.
In another deadly attack, the bodies of 12 people were recovered after the Hajj Ali family home, also in Jabalia, was struck, the civil defence said.
Another 28 people were killed in strikes across the territory, medics and the civil defence agency reported.
They came as the Israeli military ordered Palestinians living in the northern areas of Beit Hanoun and Sheikh Zayed to evacuate ahead of an attack.
The United Nations has warned that Israel’s expanding evacuation orders across Gaza are resulting in the “forcible transfer” of people into ever-shrinking areas.
Aid agencies estimate that the vast majority of Gaza’s 2.4 million residents have been displaced at least once since the war began.
Killed ‘one by one’
In the aftermath of a strike in Khan Yunis, AFP footage showed bodies on the ground, including those of a young woman and a boy in body bags, surrounded by grieving relatives kissing and stroking their faces.
“One by one we are getting martyred, dying in pieces,” said Rania al-Jumla who lost her sister in another strike in Khan Yunis.
Since Israel resumed its military operations, at least 1,978 people have been killed in Gaza, raising the overall death toll to at least 51,355 since the war began, according to the health ministry in the territory.
The military acknowledged on Thursday that Israeli tank fire had killed a UN worker in the central Gaza city of Deir el-Balah last month, according to an investigation’s initial findings.
It had initially denied operating in the area where a Bulgarian employee of United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) was killed on March 19.
Bulgaria said it had received an “official apology” from Israel over the killing.
The findings came after the military on Sunday reported on a separate probe into the killing of 15 Palestinian emergency workers in Gaza.
It admitted that operational failures led to their deaths, and said a field commander would be dismissed.
A total of 3,171 complaints of tech-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) were received from across the country in 2024, the Digital Rights Foundation (DRF) said in a press release on Thursday.
A large number of women in the country across all age groups and classes continue to face violence and endure sexual, mental, and physical abuse despite improvements in education, according to a 2023 report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
The rising number of such cases shows that society is still falling short of actively safeguarding women.
According to the foundation’s eighth annual report, the helpline received a total of 3,171 complaints from across the country in 2024 alone.
The helpline addresses TFGBV and other online harms throughout the week, from 9am to 5pm, “with holistic support services that prioritise gender-sensitivity, confidentiality, accessibility and psychosocial wellbeing”, the press release said.
According to the report, the largest number of calls that were received by the foundation was in May, a total of 386 reports. March and July also had a higher number of cases reported, with 312 and 354, respectively.
Cyber harassment was the most reported type of case, with a total number of 2,741, the report said, of which only 36 per cent of the “cases originated from cities where a Federal Investigation Agency cybercrime wing is operational”.
Journalists and minorities were also targeted, with a total number of 121 and 124 cases, respectively, reported.
Adults between the ages of 18 and 30 were the most targeted group according to age, with a total of 1,774 cases reported.
According to the report, Punjab continued to report the highest number of cases, 2,277, reflecting both the province’s larger population and greater awareness of the helpline.
Sindh reported the second highest number of cases with a total of 301.
In terms of the breakdown of cases by gender, the report said, a total of 1,772 cases were reported by women, whereas 1,365 cases were reported by men.
According to the press release, the helpline received an average of 264 new cases every month.
It said, “Given that survivors face considerable logistical, financial and cultural barriers when seeking redressal, and women survivors even more so, this lack of accessibility must be addressed to ensure equitable access to justice.”
It highlighted the evolving nature of digital threats among the populace and the security regime that is ill-equipped to navigate them.
DRF Executive Director Nighat Dad noted that it was incumbent upon the state and platforms to responsibly tackle AI-related harms to create safer online spaces: “In a time where AI and automation are hailed as the future, it’s important to remember that trust, safety and digital security are deeply contextual.”
“Cultural nuance, emotional intelligence, and lived experience cannot be programmed. Tech companies and state actors must recognise the limits of automation–this is not a space for cost-cutting at the expense of human safety,” Dad was quoted as saying in the press release.
The data indicated that women were disproportionately targeted through non-consensual intimate images (NCII) and image-based abuse (IBA), “with 85pc of NCII cases and 81pc of IBA cases recorded targeting women to coerce, blackmail or inflict reputational damage”.
“The report further highlighted an alarming 51pc jump in cases involving children and youth under the age of 18 this year compared to cases in 2023,” the press release said.
According to the helpline’s manager Hyra Basit, “Certain communities and professions are disproportionately vulnerable to coordinated digital hate campaigns, doxxing, harassment and misogynistic abuse, but these groups often lack institutional protection, making the Digital Security Helpline’s role ever more critical.”
The report recommended policymakers to “adopt consistency and clarity when introducing changes to Peca legislation and enforcement; invest in digital literacy initiatives to address TFGBV; bridge the digital gender divide to enable women to access the Internet freely; integrate gender-sensitive training for LEAs; strengthen data protection laws to safeguard citizens’ digital security and privacy; and support digital rights advocacy by civil society groups.”
In its recommendation to LEAs, the press release called on it to include “enhancing accessibility, increasing financial and technical capacity, ensuring survivors’ confidentiality, implementing a case tracking system, and providing much-needed psychological support services”.
According to a ‘Mapping Gender-Based Violence (GBV) 2024’ report released by the Sustainable Social Development Organisation, conviction rates for gender-based violence in Pakistan were extremely low.
In Punjab, domestic violence cases stood at 1,167, with just three convictions, whereas Khyber Pakhtunkhwa totalled 446 cases of domestic violence, but no convictions were recorded.
Sindh registered 375 cases of domestic violence, but no justice was served in terms of convictions.
Balochistan had the highest conviction count among all provinces for the category, with 25 convictions out of 160 cases.
A Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI) leader was among three people killed on Thursday when their vehicle drove over a landmine in Balochistan’s Kalat district, according to provincial government spokesperson Shahid Rind.
Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have faced increasing attacks by militants and terrorists.
In a statement, Rind said that three people were killed and five people were injured in the incident.
“A private vehicle hit a landmine in the Chori Bur Kaputo area of Kalat,” Rind was quoted as saying. “Levies personnel reached the scene and carried out rescue operations.
“JUI leader and ward councillor Abdullah is among the deceased,” the government spokesperson added.
According to Rind, the government condemned the “terrorist incident” and added that the injured have been transported to the District Headquarters Hospital in Kalat.
“The incident is being investigated. The law and order situation will be ensured at all costs,” the spokesperson added.
Three policemen were martyred and at least 16 others were injured on April 15 as a blast targeted a vehicle of the Balochistan Constabulary on Mastung district’s Dasht Road.
Militant violence and security operations intensified in the country in March, with the number of militant attacks surpassing 100 for the first time since November 2014, according to a report by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies.
Pakistan ranked second in the Global Terrorism Index 2025, with the number of deaths in terrorist attacks rising by 45 per cent over the past year to 1,081.
LAHORE: As the canals controversy continued to rile Sindh, the Punjab government on Wednesday said that though not a single canal had been constructed on the Indus River so far, the project was still under consideration.
“Punjab does not need any external dictation regarding the use of river floodwater. Punjab is fully sovereign in utilising its own resources and that Sindh has no right to object to Punjab’s development projects,” Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari told a presser here on Wednesday.
Flanked by Punjab Agriculture Minister Ashiq Hussain Kermani, Azma Bokhari said that the proposed canal project was still under consideration and only excess floodwater would be utilised for the purpose.
“This initiative aims to benefit farmers and promote agricultural development,” she claimed. Earlier this week, the Sindh chief minister also claimed that work on the six canals project had been halted since July 2024.
According to the minister, canals had not been constructed yet and serious efforts were underway to build consensus. “Differences cannot be resolved through threats — dialogue is the way forward,” she said.
Ms Bokhari further said the PPP had ruled Sindh for the past 16 years, and farmers there still faced fundamental issues. “If PPP resorts to misleading statements, we will not remain silent. Every allegation will receive a befitting response,” she warned.
On the other hand, PML-N Senator Irfan Siddiqui said the alliance between PML-N and PPP, particularly on key national issues of water resources, would remain unaffected.
“Differences on national matters are natural and can only be resolved through dialogue and mutual understanding. Negotiation and constructive conversation are the only ways forward,” he added.
United States President Donald Trump lashed out at Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday, blaming the failure to end the war on the Ukrainian president’s refusal to accept Russian occupation of Crimea.
Trump said in a Truth Social post that a deal was “very close” but that Zelensky’s refusal to accept US terms for ending the conflict — which began with Russia’s invasion — “will do nothing but prolong the ‘killing field’”.
The comments came as lower-level envoys from Washington, Kyiv and European nations wrapped up talks in Britain.
Ahead of Trump’s broadside, Vice President JD Vance laid out the US vision for a peace deal where Russia would get to keep already occupied swaths of Ukraine, which include Crimea.
Zelensky rejected this as a violation of Ukraine’s constitution.
That in turn prompted Trump’s outburst, in which he accused Zelensky of “boasting” and taking a position “very harmful to the peace negotiations with Russia”.
Trump wrote that the “inflammatory” Zelensky has “no cards” and “can have peace or he can fight for another three years before losing the whole country”.
Trump said Crimea — a lush Black Sea peninsula with longtime major Soviet and Russian naval facilities — “was lost years ago” and “is not even a point of discussion”.
The intense US pressure on Ukraine to accept the terms comes as Trump is scrambling to live up to his election campaign promises, which included vowing to resolve the conflict in 24 hours.
He has put no equivalent visible pressure on Russia, while dangling a lifting of massive US economic sanctions against Moscow if the fighting stops.
‘Freeze’ Russia’s gains
Vance earlier gave the fullest public explanation of the US plan so far, saying that the deal would “freeze the territorial lines at some level close to where they are today”.
“The Ukrainians and the Russians are both going to have to give up some of the territory they currently own,” Vance said while on a trip to India.
Freezing the frontlines would mean Ukraine losing huge areas to Russian occupation.
The vice president did not explain what territory Russia — which seized Crimea in 2014 and launched a full-scale invasion targeting the rest of the country in 2022 — would have to give up.
Washington has “issued a very explicit proposal to both the Russians and the Ukrainians” and “it’s time for them to either say ‘yes’ or for the United States to walk away from this process”, Vance said.
Growing speculation over Washington being ready to recognise Russian rule over Crimea as a sweetener to get Moscow to stop its invasion has alarmed European capitals.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s office told AFP on Wednesday that “Ukraine’s territorial integrity and European aspirations are very strong requirements for Europeans.”
A spokesperson for UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters, “It has to be up to Ukraine to decide its future” and “we will never walk away from Ukraine.”
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy had been due to lead a meeting of foreign ministers in London on Wednesday. The talks were then downgraded to “official level” — a sign of the difficulties surrounding the negotiations.
US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff is to visit Moscow this week.
Russian bombing
The latest diplomatic wrangling comes after a fresh wave of Russian air strikes that shattered a brief Easter truce.
A Russian drone strike on a bus transporting workers in the southeastern city of Marganets killed nine people and wounded at least 30 more, the Dnipropetrovsk regional governor said Wednesday.
Ukrainian authorities also reported strikes in the regions of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Poltava and Odesa.
In light of the attacks, Zelensky called for an “immediate, full, and unconditional ceasefire”.
In Russia, one person was reported wounded by shelling in the Belgorod region.
