Author: Sajjad Ali

GENEVA: Nearly two-thirds of the buildings in the Gaza Strip have been damaged or destroyed since the Israel\s war on Gaza began in October last year, according to the UN report. “UNOSAT’s latest building damage assessment, based on satellite imagery, reveals that 151,265 structures have been affected in the Gaza Strip,” stated the UN Satellite Center. Of these, 30 percent were destroyed, 12 percent severely damaged, 36 percent moderately damaged, and 20 percent possibly damaged, accounting for approximately 63 percent of the total structures in the region. The assessment compared imagery from May 2023 onward with images from July 6…

MARDAN: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) personnel killed three terrorists in a shootout in Mardan district on Saturday. According to the police, a joint operation of the police and CTD was carried out in limits of the Jabar police station in Sawaldher area in Katlang tehsil of Mardan. The terrorists opened fire when security forces arrived in the area. In the exchange of fire between the security personnel and the terrorists, three terrorists were killed. Unfortunately, a passer-by also died in the gun battle, which lasted for several hours. The police shifted the four bodies to Hospital. They further…

QUETTA: The Balochistan Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) reported on Saturday that recent rains in the province have killed at least 12 people. According to the PDMA report, five of the 12 deceased were children, killed in various monsoon-related incidents such as lightning strikes and roof and wall collapses since June 9. The report detailed the loss of lives and property damage across different districts of the province, noting that 32 people, including 10 children and three women, were injured in these incidents. Dera Bugti was particularly hard-hit, with two deaths and 25 injuries reported. The PDMA report also stated that…

ISLAMABAD: Former National Assembly member and Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) leader Ali Wazir has been taken into custody by Islamabad police late on Friday night ahead of the Pashtun grand gathering scheduled for October 11. Wazir was taken into custody outside the PIMS Hospital, where he had brought an injured youth who had collided his vehicle with Wazir’s car, sustaining serious wounds. The reason for Wazir’s arrest remains unknown. A video surfaced on social media at the time of his arrest, showing Wazir attempting to explain the situation. However, the police stopped the video recording as he was explaining the…

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is exploring the possibility of importing coal from Kyrgyzstan to use for power generation until it can fully shift to coal from the Thar region. The Pakistani ambassador to Kyrgyzstan met with the Kyrgyz Deputy Minister of Energy to discuss energy cooperation between the two countries. The Kyrgyz official expressed satisfaction that the stalled CASA-1000 project has resumed and is optimistic that it will be completed by the end of 2026. The CASA-1000 project aims to transmit electricity from hydropower plants in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Kyrgyz Deputy Minister of Energy conveyed that the Kyrgyz…

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has terminated the basic membership of party leader and Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Sher Afzal Marwat. In a statement signed by PTI Additional Secretary General Firdous Shamim Naqvi, it was announced that Sher Afzal Marwat was previously on a notice period. The Disciplinary Committee, during this period, determined that Marwat had shown disregard for party rules, considering himself above them. PTI’s declaration asserted that if Sher Afzal Marwat is an honorable person, he should also resign from his National Assembly membership. The party had issued a show-cause notice to Marwat in July after…

ANKARA: Turkiye’s Communications Director Fahrettin Altun has criticized Instagram for blocking posts related to the death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, accusing the platform of censorship. Altun alleged that Instagram was “actively preventing people from posting condolences” without citing specific policy violations. In response to the platform’s actions, the Turkish Information and Communication Technologies Authority (TKM) has blocked access to Instagram, attributing the decision to the removal of content related to Haniyeh on a national day of mourning. Turkiye has declared a one-day national mourning period to honor Haniyeh, who was assassinated by Israel in Tehran on Wednesday. President Recep…

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan government approved a financial package of Rs5 million ($17,925) for each family of a “missing person,” following nearly a decade of work by a dedicated commission. The issue of missing persons in Pakistan, particularly in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces, has been a long-standing concern. Many political activists, rights advocates, and professionals have vanished, often with no official explanation. These disappearances are frequently attributed to security forces, although the agencies have consistently denied any involvement. Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar announced the aid package to the media in Islamabad after a cabinet meeting chaired by…

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has announced plans to block the use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) nationwide, according to local media reports on Friday. PTA Chairman Hafeezur Rehman revealed during a meeting of the Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat that only government-approved VPNs will be permitted once the new policy takes effect. This decision follows a dramatic increase in VPN usage in 2024, particularly to access the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), which was blocked earlier this year. According to a report by Top10VPN, demand for VPNs surged by 131 percent on February 19, two days after…

WEST BANK: Israeli occupation forces arrested Sheikh Ekrema Sabri, the Imam of Al-Aqsa Mosque and head of the Higher Islamic Council in Jerusalem, on Friday afternoon. The arrest followed his Friday sermon at Al-Aqsa Mosque, where he delivered a eulogy for Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated by Israel in Tehran on Wednesday. Israeli police reportedly raided Sheikh Sabri’s home in the Al-Suwwana neighborhood, east of Jerusalem’s Old City, and took him to the Moscobiyeh detention center. Sheikh Sabri has denied accusations of incitement, asserting that his sermon was a religious tribute rather than a call to…