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Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) on Wednesday completed the acquisition of 100 percent of the issued share capital of Telenor Pakistan and Orion Towers, said a press release.

The Pakistan Tele­communication Authority (PTA) approved the merger of Telenor Pak­i­stan with PTCL earlier in December.

The regulator, however, imposed strict conditions to prevent abuse of market power and to bind the new entity to invest in upcoming spectrum auctions.

“Telenor Pakistan and Orion Towers will operate as 100% owned subsidiaries of PTCL, alongside Pak Telecom Mobile Limited (PTML) commonly known as Ufone 4G, and U Microfinance Bank.”

However, Telenor Pakistan will continue to operate as a separate entity during the transition period, said the statement, adding that PTML and Telenor will then be merged as a single entity in “due course of time”, subject to regulatory approvals.

Acknowledging the contribution of Telenor to Pakistan’s telecom landscape, PTCL said the telco “played a defining role in elevating service quality and expanding connectivity over nearly two decades”.

“This milestone brings together complementary strengths to create a platform with a stronger focus on customer centricity, broader reach, and accelerated innovation,” added the press release.

“This is a proud moment for PTCL and a significant milestone for Pakistan’s telecom sector. Our focus remains on delivering a customer-centric, seamless, and high-quality services for improvement in user experience as we bring combined strengths at scale upon completion of regulatory approvals,“ said the press release, quoting President & Chief Executive Officer PTCL and Ufone Hatem Bamatraf.

“Together, we will build a stronger, future-ready organisation that serves customers better, empowers its people, and advances Pakistan’s digital future,” he added.

In October, the policy board of PTCL accepted the terms and conditions set by the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) for the merger with Telenor Pakistan.

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Machu Picchu tourist trains collide head-on

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Flu cases continue to surge across the country

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Patriots receiver charged with strangulation, assault

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A winter weather mess of snow, ice and fierce winds is putting a major freeze on post-holiday travel plans as a massive bomb cyclone moves from the Midwest to the Northeast. Flight delays and cancelations are already mounting and the wide range of winter weather is expected to cause even more chaos as travelers prepare to take on the latest round of holiday hazards. NBC’s Shaquille Brewster reports and TODAY’s Dylan Dreyer tracks the latest forecast.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at US President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence on Monday to hold crucial talks on Gaza and Iran.

The US president will push the Israeli leader to move to the next stage of his fragile Gaza truce plan.

Netanyahu is also expected to try to shift some focus onto Iran, amid reports he will call for more US strikes on the Islamic republic’s nuclear program.

The meeting, the fifth between the two leaders to be held in the United States this year, comes as some White House officials fear both Israel and Hamas are slow-walking the second phase of their ceasefire.

Trump, who said Netanyahu had asked for the talks, is reportedly keen to announce as soon as January a Palestinian technocratic government for Gaza, and the deployment of an international stabilisation force.

Netanyahu’s office said he met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Florida ahead of his talks with Trump, which are scheduled for 1pm (1800 GMT).

Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian said Netanyahu would discuss ensuring that “Hamas is disarmed, Gaza is demilitarized” in the second phase of the agreement.

He will also bring up the “danger Iran poses not only to the region of the Middle East, but the United States as well,” Bedrosian said.

Hamas’s armed wing, however, reiterated on Monday that it would not surrender its weapons - one of the key sticking points in the talks.

“Our people are defending themselves and will not give up their weapons as long as the occupation remains,” the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades said in a video message.

It also confirmed the death of their longtime spokesperson, Abu Obeida, months after Israel announced he had been killed in an air strike in Gaza on August 30.

‘Phase two has to begin’

Netanyahu’s visit caps a frantic few days of international diplomacy in Palm Beach, where Trump hosted Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday for talks on ending Russia’s invasion.

The Gaza ceasefire in October is one of the major achievements of Trump’s first year back in power, but his administration and regional mediators want to keep up the momentum.

The first phase of the truce deal stipulated that Hamas release the remaining hostages, both dead and alive, taken during its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. The group has so far returned all the living captives and the remains of all but one.

Under the second stage, Israel is supposed to withdraw from its positions in Gaza, while Hamas is supposed to lay down its weapons.

An interim authority is meanwhile meant to govern the Palestinian territory, and the international stabilization force (ISF) is to be deployed.

Both sides, however, have alleged frequent ceasefire violations.

‘Frustrated with Netanyahu’

The Axios news outlet reported on Friday that Trump wanted to convene the first meeting of a new Gaza “Board of Peace” that he will chair at the Davos forum in Switzerland in January.

But it said that senior White House officials were growing exasperated with what they viewed as efforts by Netanyahu to stall the peace process.

“There are more and more signs that the American administration is getting frustrated with Netanyahu,” said Yossi Mekelberg, a Middle East expert at London-based think tank Chatham House.

The Israeli and US administrations are increasingly at odds on many key issues, including Israel’s continued strikes on Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and in Syria.

On Iran, Israeli officials and media have expressed concern in recent months that Iran is rebuilding its ballistic missile arsenal after it came under attack during the 12-day war with Israel in June.

But Sina Toossi, a researcher at the Center for International Policy (CIP) in Washington, said Trump’s insistence that US strikes in June destroyed Tehran’s nuclear program had “removed Israel’s most powerful historical justification for US support for war with Iran.”

Netanyahu’s new focus on Iran’s missiles is “an effort to manufacture a replacement casus belli,” Toossi told AFP.

Iran on Monday denounced the reports as a “psychological operation” against Tehran, emphasizing it was fully prepared to defend itself, and warning renewed aggression would “result in harsher consequences” for Israel.

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Beyoncé is now a billionaire, Forbes reports

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A reporter at Mar-a-Lago asks President Zelenskyy if Ukraine could be willing to concede territory as part of a peace deal, an issue that has been a sticking point in ongoing peace talks. Russia wants to keep the Ukrainian land it has seized in the war, while Ukraine has thus far refused to give up the contested territories.

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The interim Afghan Taliban regime’s interior minister, Sirajuddin Haqqani, on Sunday extended his gratitude to all organisations and actors extending goodwill and good intentions to Afghanistan, including the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Fazl (JUI-F).

The comments, delivered during an event in Kabul, come after JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, on December 23, criticised Islamabad for striking terrorist targets in Afghanistan and Iran and for deporting Afghan refugees.

“There comes a point when refugees become a problem, but you come together to resolve it; you don’t expel people who have been living in your country for 40 years,” he said, calling on Pakistan and Afghanistan to maintain friendly relations.

A declaration from Dec 23 stated that tension “is not in the interest of either country and will only benefit anti-Islamic forces”, urging Kabul and Islamabad to resolve their issues through dialogue.

Haqqani referred to the conference on Dec 23, noting that Fazl and religious scholar Mufti Taqi Usmani “expressed their goodwill towards Afghanistan, for which we are deeply grateful to all these personalities”.

He added that “positive and goodwill statements” were also delivered by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar regarding Afghanistan.

“If goodwill, good interaction and positive relations are established between countries, and nations are brought closer to each other, then we welcome it,” Haqqani was quoted as saying.

The interior minister clarified that Afghanistan was committed to peace, stability and security in the region and assured all parties that the Afghan people did not intend any harm or ill will against any country or nation.

Haqqani concluded his statement by saying: “We have made a firm decision to build and develop our homeland; now others should also stand by us in this process. No one should have any concerns about us.

“Afghanistan has now entered the reconstruction phase and we want other countries to be our partners on this path, and to abandon wrong attitudes and negative intentions about Afghanistan.”

Meanwhile, Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi had expressed similar views while addressing a ceremony yesterday, stating: “Recently, scholars from famous madrasas and universities and religious movements and parties from across Pakistan gathered in Karachi and gave the best advice to their government.

“They made the best decisions. We respect them. We always expect that just as scholars have tried to reform systems and personalities throughout history. They tried for peace and goodness. They played a role in brotherhood and closeness; they should play a similar role in the future as well.”

Pak-Afghan tensions

Pakistan’s bilateral relations with Afghanistan have come under strain in recent times as the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) remains the main point of contention between the two countries.

Pakistan has demanded that the rulers in Kabul take action to stop cross-border terrorism.

After border clashes on October 11, a temporary ceasefire was called on Oct 15, after the two sides came together to engage in dialogue in Doha.

Following the Doha talks, a temporary ceasefire continued to prevent border hostilities while the two sides committed to reconvene in Istanbul to work on mechanisms for lasting peace and stability between the two countries.

On Oct 25, the second round of talks between the two sides began in the Turkish capital. But, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar announced in a post on X on Oct 29 that the talks “failed to bring about any workable solution”.

However, mediators Turkiye and Qatar intervened and managed to salvage the dialogue process with an Oct 31 joint statement released by Turkiye stating that “further modalities of the implementation will be discussed and decided” during a principal-level meeting in Istanbul on November 6.

But on November 7, after the third round of talks, Defence Minister Khawaja said that talks addressing cross-border terrorism were “over” and “entered an indefinite phase” as negotiators failed to bridge deep differences between the two sides.

Following the failure of the talks, the Afghan Taliban suspended trade ties with Pakistan. Pakistan had already closed its border for trade soon after the clashes.

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Russia attacked Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine with hundreds of missiles and drones on Saturday, ahead of what President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said would be a crucial meeting with US President Donald Trump to work out a plan to end nearly four years of war.

Zelenskiy cast the vast overnight attack, which he said involved about 500 drones and 40 missiles and which knocked out power and heat in parts of the capital, as Russia’s response to the ongoing peace efforts brokered by Washington.

The Ukrainian leader has said Sunday’s talks in Florida would focus on security guarantees and territorial control once fighting ends in Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two, started by Russia’s 2022 invasion of its smaller neighbour.

The attack continued throughout the morning, with a nearly 10-hour air raid alert for the capital. Authorities said two people were killed in Kyiv and the surrounding region, while at least 46 people were wounded, including two children.

“Today, Russia demonstrated how it responds to peaceful negotiations between Ukraine and the United States to end Russia’s war against Ukraine,” Zelenskiy told reporters.

In Russia, air defence forces shot down eight drones headed for Moscow, the city’s mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Saturday.

Explosions echoed across Kyiv from the early hours on Saturday as Ukraine’s air defence units went into action. The air force said Russian drones were targeting the capital and regions in the northeast and south.
State grid operator Ukrenergo said energy facilities across Ukraine were struck, and emergency power cuts had been implemented across the capital.

DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy company, said the attack had left more than a million households in and around Kyiv without power, 750,000 of which remained disconnected by the afternoon.

Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said over 40% of residential buildings in Kyiv were left without heat as temperatures hovered around 0 degrees Celsius on Saturday.

Territorial control: A diplomatic stumbling block

On the way to meeting Trump in Florida, Zelenskiy stopped in Canada’s Halifax to meet Prime Minister Mark Carney, after which they planned to hold a call with European leaders.

In a brief statement with Zelenskiy by his side, Carney noted that peace “requires a willing Russia.”

“The barbarism that we saw overnight the attack on Kyiv shows just how important it is that we stand with Ukraine in this difficult time,” he said, announcing 2.5 billion Canadian dollars ($1.83 billion) in additional economic aid to Ukraine.

Territory and the future of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant remain the main diplomatic stumbling blocks, though Zelenskiy told journalists in Kyiv on Friday that a 20-point draft document - the cornerstone of a US push to clinch a peace deal - is 90% complete.

He said the shape of US security guarantees was crucial, and these would depend on Trump, and “what he is ready to give, when he is ready to give it, and for how long.”

Zelenskiy told Axios earlier this week that the US had offered a 15-year deal on security guarantees, subject to renewal, but Kyiv wanted a longer agreement with legally binding provisions to guard against further Russian aggression.

Trump said the United States was the driving force behind the process.
“He doesn’t have anything until I approve it,” Trump told Politico. “So we’ll see what he’s got.” Trump said he believed Sunday’s meeting would go well. He also said he expected to speak with Putin “soon, as much as I want.”

Fate of Donetsk is key

Moscow is demanding that Ukraine withdraw from a large, densely-urbanised chunk of the eastern region of Donetsk that Russian troops have failed to occupy in nearly four years of war. Kyiv wants the fighting halted at the current lines.

Russia has been grinding slowly forwards throughout 2025 at the cost of significant casualties on the drone-infested battlefield.

On Saturday, both sides issued conflicting claims about two frontline towns: Myrnohrad in the east and Huliaipole in the south. Moscow claimed to have captured both, while Kyiv said it had beaten back Russian assaults there.

Under a US compromise, a free economic zone would be set up if Ukrainian troops pull back from parts of the Donetsk region, though details have yet to be worked out.

Axios quoted Zelenskiy as saying that if he is not able to push the US to back Ukraine’s position on the land issue, he was willing to put the 20-point plan to a referendum - as long as Russia agrees to a 60-day ceasefire allowing Ukraine to prepare for and hold the vote.

On Saturday, Zelenskiy said it was not possible to have such a referendum while Russia was bombarding Ukrainian cities.

He also suggested that he would be ready for “dialogue” with the people of Ukraine if they disagreed with points of the plan.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Kyiv’s version of the 20-point plan differed from what Russia had been discussing with the US, according to the Interfax-Russia news agency.

But he expressed optimism that matters had reached a “turning point” in the search for a settlement.

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Palestinian hit with vehicle while praying in West Bank

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Nigeria on Friday signaled that more strikes against terrorist groups were expected after a Christmas Day bombardment by US forces against militants in the north of the country, which it said was a joint operation with its military.

The west African country faces multiple interlinked security crises, with terrorists waging an insurgency in the northeast since 2009 and armed “bandit” gangs raiding villages and staging kidnappings in the northwest.

The strikes came after Abuja and Washington were locked in a diplomatic dispute over what US President Donald Trump has characterised as the mass killing of Christians amid Nigeria’s myriad armed conflicts.

A Pentagon official told AFP that “the Department of War worked with the government of Nigeria to carry out these strikes” and that they “were approved by the government of Nigeria”, without saying whether Nigeria’s military had been involved.

US defence officials later posted a video of what appeared to be a nighttime missile launch from the deck of a battleship flying the US flag.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s military said in a statement that its forces, “in conjunction with the United States”, had conducted “precision strike operations”.

Both countries said the strikes targeted militants linked to the Islamic State group, without providing details.

Washington’s framing of the violence in Nigeria as amounting to Christian “persecution” is rejected by the Nigerian government and independent analysts, but has nonetheless resulted in increased security coordination.

“It’s Nigeria that provided the intelligence,” the country’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, told broadcaster Channels TV, saying he was on the phone with US State Secretary Marco Rubio ahead of the bombardment.

Asked if there would be more strikes, Tuggar said: “It is an ongoing thing, and we are working with the US. We are working with other countries as well.”

Targets unclear

The Department of War’s US Africa Command said “multiple ISIS terrorists” were killed in an attack in the northwestern state of Sokoto.

Residents in the far-flung villages of that state told AFP they were shocked by the blasts. The strikes hit multiple locations, including a town that residents said was not a militant stronghold.

Which of Nigeria’s myriad, and well-documented, armed groups were targeted remains unclear.

Nigeria’s terrorist groups are mostly concentrated in the northeast, but have made inroads into the northwest.

Researchers have recently linked some members of an armed group known as Lakurawa — the main terrorist group located in Sokoto State — to Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP), which is mostly active in neighbouring Niger and Mali.

Other analysts have disputed those links, and research on Lakurawa is complicated as the term has been used to describe various armed fighters in the northwest.

“We initially thought it was (an) attack by Lakurawa,” said Haruna Kallah, a resident of Jabo town.

That the explosions were in fact the result of a US strike “surprised us because this area has never been a Lakurawa enclave, and we have never had any attacks in the last two years.” Tukur Shehu, a resident of Tangaza, a neighbouring district, said two strikes targeted Warriya and Alkassim villages — known to house Lakurawa camps, from where they launch attacks and keep hostages.

Public opinion divided

Public opinion on the surprise strikes was split.

“America has made its way by force in our country, to kill our people,” said Sulaiman Ibrahim, an imam in Lagos.

Emmanuel Udoh, a member of the clergy at Living Faith Church, told AFP: “We are grateful with what the US has done. We are grateful with what the Nigerian government is trying to do.”

While the Nigerian government has welcomed the strikes, “I think Trump would not have accepted a ‘No,’” said Malik Samuel, an Abuja-based researcher for Good Governance Africa, an NGO.

Security analyst Brant Philip called the timing, on Christmas Day, “a symbolic start to official US operations in Nigeria”, adding: “The operational results of the strikes are not significant, but much is expected soon.” Tuggar said that Nigerian President Bola Tinubu “gave the go-ahead” for the strikes.

The foreign minister added: “It must be made clear that it is a joint operation, and it is not targeting any religion nor simply in the name of one religion or the other.“

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Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has said that President Trump has agreed to meet with him in Mar-a-Lago. NBC News' Julie Tsirkin reports on the meeting and what the two leaders could discuss.

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For two years, Christmas has gone without celebration for the tiny Christian community in the war-torn Gaza Strip, where more than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s war against Hamas, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The war began with Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, in which more than 1,200 people were killed and 251 people were taken hostage.

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Torrential rains unleashed flash floods and warnings of debris flow across southern California, particularly in fire-scarred areas, with further downpours forecast for Thursday as authorities declared a state of emergency in several counties.

Driven by an atmospheric river known as “the Pineapple Express,” which moves heavy moisture from the tropical climes of Hawaii to the United States’ west coast, the storm was expected to deliver months’ worth of rain over a few days.

Early on Thursday, the National Weather Service (NWS) warned about the risk of excessive rainfall over parts of southern California, including in Los Angeles, the second-most populous city in the US.

The NWS warned of a “broad plume of moisture” producing heavy rain in California on Christmas Day, adding there was a “moderate risk” of excessive rainfall over the southern parts of the state.

“Numerous flash flooding events are possible. In addition, many streams may flood, potentially affecting larger rivers. The flooding may include debris flows in or near recently burned areas,” the bulletin added, referring to areas affected by wildfires.

The rain was forecast to continue on Friday, the service said.

State authorities declared a state of emergency in several counties, including Los Angeles.

Rescue work

Heavy rain lashed southern California on Wednesday, spawning floods and debris flows. Some communities had already received 25.4 centimetres of rain in the first storm, forecasters said.

The Los Angeles Times reported that at least three people had died in storm-related incidents, including a San Diego man who was killed by a falling tree.

On Wednesday, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works warned Angelenos to stay well away from waterways such as flood control channels, rivers, and streams — even after the rain stopped.

“Water from upstream communities can move quickly through channels with little warning. What may look shallow or calm can suddenly become fast-moving and dangerous,” the agency warned in a post on X.

In San Bernardino County, adjacent to Los Angeles, authorities told AFP they were working to divert the flow of floodwater on Thursday.

Muddy water streamed through the town of Wrightwood a day earlier, trapping people in their homes, said Christopher Prater, spokesperson for the county fire department.

“Fire department personnel were out there rescuing people, assisting them from their houses, getting them to safety, also while effecting rescues from people that were stranded in their vehicles,” he said, with work going on into the night.

Fire-affected communities

Fire-burn scar zones, which are less able to absorb water due to vegetation being stripped from them, were under special alert – including the coastal areas of Pacific Palisades and Malibu, both still recovering from devastating wildfires in January.

In northern California, a dangerous storm was tracked developing early Thursday morning in the San Francisco Bay Area, with an emergency alert for flash flooding issued in the area, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

The National Weather Service was also predicting that a winter storm could bring heavy snowfall to the Sierra Madre Mountains.

Ariel Cohen, an NWS meteorologist, had warned that from Wednesday afternoon through Friday, “many areas will likely experience significant flooding, along with rockslides and mudslides, especially in the higher elevations”.

“If you were planning to travel on the roads during Christmas, please reconsider your plans,” he added.

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The Justice Department said the FBI and the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York have uncovered more documents potentially related to Jeffrey Epstein's case.

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WASHINGTON: The Pakistani Consulate in Los Angeles issued a stern warning against a message circulating online and on messaging platforms that claims to be an “important notice” regarding Pakistan visas.

Officials have confirmed that the message is false and is part of a pattern of phishing scams designed to collect sensitive personal and financial information from unsuspecting applicants.

Upon accessing the consulate’s website, the following notice was prominently displayed.

A statement issued by the Pakistan Embassy in Washington stated: “The Consulate General disassociates itself from all such unauthorised individuals, agents, or entities and shall not be responsible for any loss, delay, misrepresentation, or other adverse consequences arising from engagement with them.”

The fraudulent message falsely purports to come from the consulate and directs visa applicants to submit information through links that are not authorised by the government of Pakistan.

Such scams are designed to harvest passport details, social security numbers, bank account information, and credit card data, which can later be used for identity theft, unauthorised transactions, financial fraud and other criminal activities.

The consulate strongly reiterated that Pakistani visa applications must be submitted only through the official government online portal: https://visa.nadra.gov.pk.

Visa applicants were urged to avoid intermediaries, agents, or unauthorised websites, regardless of claims of faster processing or special access.

They were also advised to be cautious when sharing personal or financial information online, with the consulate adding that requests for social security numbers, bank details, or other identity-related data in relation to visa applications should be treated as red flags.

The public was urged by the consulate to verify all information directly through official channels and to report any suspicious messages or websites to the relevant authorities.

“This advisory is being issued in the public interest to protect applicants from scams that can have devastating financial and personal consequences,” officials said.

Applicants looking for updated guidance and official visa information were instructed to visit the consulate’s website at https://pakconsulatela.org/visa-services.

The warning comes amid a sharp rise in online fraud globally. According to the US Federal Trade Commission, consumers in the United States reported losing more than $12.5 billion to fraud in 2024, a sharp increase over previous years, as scammers increasingly exploit phishing, identity theft, and impersonation tactics online.

Data also show a significant rise in credit card fraud and identity theft, with hundreds of thousands of cases reported in 2025 alone, highlighting how criminals misuse personal and financial information once it is obtained.

Cybersecurity researchers have documented an 18 per cent increase in phishing attacks in Pakistan during 2024, as criminals increasingly target individuals with deceptive links and spoofed communication.

Courts in the United States and other countries have sentenced individuals involved in multi-million-dollar phishing and fraud schemes, where victims — often targeted through impersonation and phishing — were defrauded of large sums.

Officials noted that victims of similar scams have, in some cases, lost their entire life savings, as stolen data is used to gain access to bank accounts, obtain fraudulent loans, or conduct unauthorised transfers.

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In a night of stark contrasts that laid bare the brutal beauty of mixed martial arts, Pakistan’s fighting corps experienced both a poignant end and a violent new beginning at Brave CF 103 on Tuesday.

The nation witnessed its undefeated king, Rizwan ’The Haider’ Ali, dethroned, only to see another warrior, Ismail ‘The Volcano’ Khan, announce his arrival as a genuine global force with a breathtaking finish.

The main event carried the hopes of a nation on the shoulders of its brightest star, Rizwan.

Entering the Bukhara arena with an unblemished 11-0 record and seven first-round finishes, the PAKMMA superstar faced a daunting task: defeating the local hero, Nozim ‘The Bukhara Warrior’ Kalandarov, in his own fortress.

Trouble appeared before the fight even began, with the 28-year-old Rizwan missing the lightweight limit, forcing the bout to a 72kg catchweight.

In the cage, a more critical problem emerged. Kalandarov executed a flawless grappler’s game plan, securing takedowns with ease in every round.

Despite a valiant defensive effort, Rizwan, a feared striker, had no answer for the relentless control and top pressure.

After three rounds of one-sided dominance, the judges’ unanimous decision was a mere formality, ending Rizwan’s historic unbeaten run.

In a display of true sportsmanship and resilience, Rizwan addressed the setback directly.

“I was the only undefeated fighter of Pakistan fighting on the highest stage — I took a fight against a hero in Central Asia,” Rizwan stated while talking to Dawn.

“I carried an injury throughout the camp but still decided to go ahead. My loss will go a long way in teaching me lessons that will help me rise. Big thanks to the people who supported me and I will come back stronger.”

The eruption of the volcano

Earlier in the evening, the Pakistani flag was flown with ruthless authority by Ismail.

Facing Kyrgyz submission specialist Rayimbek Tazhibaev in a 60.5kg catchweight bout, ‘The Volcano’ delivered a performance that was anything but catchweight in its significance.

Displaying terrifying fight IQ, Ismail masterfully neutralised his opponent’s strengths. He battered Tazhibaev with heavy leg kicks and crisp boxing, even out-grappling the grappler by securing takedowns and maintaining crushing top control.

In the second round, after rocking his foe with a clean combination, Ismail smelled blood. He secured a takedown, advanced to full mount, and seamlessly locked in his signature move — a vicious head-arm triangle choke.

The submission was so tight it rendered Tazhibaev unconscious, forcing the referee to stop the fight.

Pumping his fists and roaring in triumph, Ismail climbed the cage, embodying the explosive promise of his moniker.

“The arm triangle is my favourite submission,” stated a confident Ismail in his post-fight interview. “I train it constantly. When it’s on, I know I can put any fighter to sleep.”

The victory extends Ismail’s undefeated streak and marks his fourth consecutive win under the Brave CF banner, solidifying his position as one of the promotion’s most dangerous rising talents.

While the loss of Rizwan’s ‘0’ marks the closing of a legendary chapter for Pakistani MMA, his gracious response and determined vow to return set the stage for a compelling comeback saga.

Simultaneously, the emphatic victory of Ismail forcefully turns the page to a new one. The night proved that the nation’s fighting spirit is not housed in one man, but is a resilient flame carried by many.

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Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said on Monday that meetings with incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan would remain suspended till February 8.

“Meetings with Khan will remain suspended till Feb 8,” the minister said while speaking on Geo News’ show Capital Talk, in reply to a question by the show’s host about whether meetings with Imran would remain suspended.

As court-ordered prison visits stay blocked, Imran’s family and party have expressed concerns about the conditions in which he is being kept inside the prison. A United Nations’ special rapporteur has also warned that Imran is being held in conditions that could amount to inhuman or degrading treatment.

Chaudhry maintained that the prison is “not the headquarters of a political party”, and criticised the PTI for “spreading venom against institutions and leaders of the institutions“.

The PML-N leader said that regular meetings were held between PTI leaders and its founder in Adiala jail in the past, and the government had no issues. However, he stated that the meetings then turned into political press conferences outside the prison, and the opposition party started to create narratives, which were then “run by Indian media”.

Responding to the minister, PTI‘s Barrister Ali Zafar said the the Constitution of the country considers solitary confinement akin to torture, adding the Chaudhry’s statement is against human rights, international and local laws.

“PTI asks party leaders and parliamentarians to gather outside Adiala prison to express solidarity with Khan, but the government uses water canons and violence against peaceful protesters.”

Last week, water cannons were used to disperse Imran‘s sisters, party leaders and PTI workers after they staged sit-ins outside the Adiala prison against the officials’ refusal to let them meet with the ex-premiere.

Zafar maintained that the PTI “will not back down till we meet with Khan”.

He elaborated that if the government considered the possibility of dialogue to break the current political impasse and was sincere about moving forward, then meetings with Imran would be part of the process.

Prison meetings with Imran used to plan PTI protests: Sanaullah

Prime Minister‘s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah said prison meetings with Imran had been suspended because they were being used to plan and coordinate a large protest in Islamabad to mark the anniversary of the PTI’s November 26, 2024, march to the capital.

On November 26, 2024, Islamabad witnessed pitched battles between security forces and PTI supporters as the latter inched towards the heavily barricaded D-Chowk for the party’s ‘final call’ powershow, with intense teargas shelling used to disperse the protesters.

A late-night crackdown by the government ended in a hasty retreat of the PTI’s top leadership and supporters, following which the party abruptly suspended its protest movement.

Speaking on Geo News programme ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada ke Saath’, Sanaullah said that the party founder and his sister were discussing preparations for a large protest on November 26 this year before the meetings were suspended.

“Before the meetings were stopped four or five weeks ago, they discussed that on November 26, 2025, they would arrange a programme of this sort to mark what happened on that day in 2024,” he stated.

“The preparations, messaging and strategic planning were discussed in these meetings, which is why we stopped them,”

The PM’s aide added that stopping the meetings had led to rumours about Imran’s condition while incarcerated, including reports of poor health, and clarified that the PTI founder had “every facility available to him.”

Sanaullah said that statements by Imran’s sister Aleema Khan were “not her own words” and claimed that the party founder had outlined what she should say during a meeting with another sister, Uzma Khan, several weeks earlier.

Responding to a question about the TTAP’s nationwide strike call on February 8 next year, the PM’s aide said there would be no wheel-jam strike in “any street or neighbourhood” anywhere in Pakistan.

“The PM has tried negotiations four times. I do not know whether he has presented the option again,” he added. “From the other side, based on the response we are getting, do you think they want to resolve this through talks?”

Referring to KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi’s call for a march to Islamabad, Sanaullah asked, “Why would they be permitted to protest in Islamabad? Does he have a legal basis? He says he is coming to Islamabad armed and that he will either conquer the city or return in a coffin. Is this in the national interest?”

“We’ll see what kind of protests they stage and how different they are,” he added. “Sohail Afridi cannot come down from Peshawar and take over the country.”

Imran, imprisoned since August 2023, is serving a sentence at the Adiala Jail in a £190 million corruption case and also faces pending trials under the Anti-Terrorism Act related to the protests of May 9, 2023.

The PTI has regularly raised concerns about his health and that of his wife. Imran’s son, Kasim Khan, expressed fear during a December 1 interview that authorities are concealing “something irreversible” about his father’s condition.

However, Uzma Khanum, Imran’s sister, said on December 2 that her incarcerated brother was “perfectly fine” after she was allowed to meet him, putting to rest rumours surrounding the former premier’s health.

In a short talk with the media after the meeting, she said, “Imran Khan’s health is perfectly fine. However, he was very angry and said that they are subjecting him to mental torture.”

She added that Imran was confined to his cell throughout the day and was allowed only a short time outside. Uzma further said that he was not in communication with anyone, and the meeting between them lasted around 30 minutes.

Last Friday, a United Nations special rapporteur warned that Imran is being held in conditions that could amount to inhuman or degrading treatment and called on Pakistani authorities to comply with international norms and standards.

Expressing grave concern over the report, the party said it exposed the “degrading treatment” of party founder and former prime minister Imran Khan during his incarceration at Adiala Jail and amounted to a “blatant violation of international law and fundamental human rights.”

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Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on Sunday told “Meet the Press” that the Justice Department’s decision to remove over a dozen photographs on Saturday that had been released as part of the files on Jeffrey Epstein on Friday, “has nothing to do with President [Donald] Trump” and came at the request of victim advocacy groups. Instead, Blanche said that the photographs removed included unredacted pictures of women and “the photo will go back up” after Justice Department officials

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The Republican-led House and Senate adjourned Thursday until the new year with no solution on expiring health care subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, meaning insurance premiums for about 22 million Americans will rise next month.

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When director James Cameron landed in China earlier this month for the Hainan Island International Film Festival in Sanya, it was a homecoming of sorts.

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A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight, enroute to Lahore from Jeddah, diverted and made an emergency landing at Dammam airport after signalling an onboard emergency.

Flight PK860 was scheduled to land at Lahore airport at 8pm, however, it diverted to Dammam’s King Fahd International Airport due to a technical issue, said the PIA spokesperson.

The Boeing 777 aircraft had 437 passengers on board, excluding the crew. While still in Saudi airspace, the aircraft switched its transponder frequency to 7700 — signifying a general emergency.

The ‘7700 squawk’ is an aviation term for when a pilot sets an aircraft’s transponder code to 7700, alerting air traffic control to an emergency on board.

It signifies a serious issue, such as engine trouble or a medical emergency, and makes the plane a high-priority for immediate attention and assistance.

The plane landed safely at Dammam airport and is undergoing checks by engineering staff on the ground, confirmed the PIA spokesperson. The airline did not elaborate on the nature of the emergency.

The airline also did not comment further on passenger facilitation or the time needed before the flight resumes its journey to its destination.

In September 2019, a PIA flight from Lahore to Jeddah was delayed due to a “technical fault” in the aircraft, a spokesperson said.

The spokesperson denied media reports that the plane had caught fire and said that the plane made an emergency landing soon after a technical fault was detected.

About 200 passengers were onboard PK759 when it took off at 9:30am. The flight was scheduled to take off at 12pm in a different aircraft.

“PIA’s staff is taking care of the passengers in the airport lounge,” the spokesperson said.

On November 3 this year, aircraft engineers represented by the Society of Aircraft Engineers of Pakistan (SAEP) refused to issue clearance certificates to aircraft, because of which hundreds of passengers were stranded at different airports due to long delays in the flights, especially those scheduled for Saudi Arabia.

According to SAEP representatives, the protest was carried out over two primary issues: salary disparities, safety and the unavailability of spare parts.

The next day, PIA said it restored flight operations with some alternate arrangements after delays due to what it called a “strike”, but the SAEP stated there was no strike from their side and the engineers were only adhering to mandatory safety and certification protocols.

However, on November 6, SAEP President Abdullah Jadoon and Secretary General Awais Jadoon were dismissed from service.

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President Donald Trump’s political base has offered little resistance to his escalating pressure campaign on Venezuela.

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LOS ANGELES — A former California doctor was sentenced to 8 months of home detention and 3 years of supervised release Tuesday after pleading guilty to ketamine distribution in connection with the fatal overdose of “Friends” star Matthew Perry

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Donald Trump’s top national security officials faced a grilling from lawmakers Tuesday on US strikes against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific — operations that have raised alarms about escalating military force near Venezuela.

The House and Senate briefings, led by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, came amid mounting unease in Congress over the president’s widening campaign in waters off Latin America, and as lawmakers weigh measures to curb Trump’s authority to act without their approval.

US officials say the operations target narcotics bound for American shores.

Critics counter that the campaign — which has destroyed at least 26 boats and killed at least 95 people, according to US military figures — is legally ambiguous and strategically unclear.

The classified sessions preceded a possible Senate vote on resolutions aimed at restricting Trump from launching military action against Venezuela without congressional consent.

But Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters as he left the room that the officials had offered nothing new.

“The administration came to this briefing empty handed… and if they can’t be transparent on this, how can you trust their transparency on all the other issues swirling about in the Caribbean?” Schumer said.

The boat strikes have drawn particular scrutiny over a September 2 operation in which US forces carried out a follow-up attack on a disabled boat, killing two survivors of the initial strike.

Lawmakers from both parties have demanded answers on the legal basis for that attack and why Congress has been denied full access to video footage, which so far has been shown only to a handful of senior lawmakers.

Schumer has warned that secrecy – combined with the presence of US troops and a carrier group in the region — risked dragging the country into another open-ended conflict.

He told reporters he reiterated the demand for every senator to be given access to the complete, unedited tape of the September 2 strike but was rebuffed.

‘Highly successful mission’

Rubio and Hegseth defended the “highly successful mission” as they left the briefing, and said the Pentagon would allow the House and Senate Armed Services Committees to view the video alongside the commander who ordered them, Admiral Frank Bradley.

“But, in keeping with longstanding… Department of Defense policy, we’re not going to release a top secret, full, unedited video of that to the general public,” Hegseth added.

Beyond the boat strikes, the administration has ratcheted up pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro — deepening sanctions, deploying warships and aircraft near his coastline and seizing an oil tanker linked to Caracas.

Trump has declared that Maduro’s “days are numbered” and pointedly refused to rule out a US ground invasion.

Legal experts say the case highlights a central tension in Trump’s approach — that treating drug trafficking as an act of war may violate international law.

This week, Trump signed an executive order classifying fentanyl — which is stocked and administered by hospitals — as a “weapon of mass destruction,” an escalation supporters say reflects the gravity of the opioid crisis.

Specialists note, however, that most of the intercepted boats were believed to be carrying cocaine, not fentanyl.

Despite mounting scrutiny, the campaign shows no sign of slowing.

On Monday, the Pentagon said it had carried out fresh strikes against alleged drug boats in the Pacific, killing eight people described as “narco-terrorists.” The Senate briefing also follows last week’s dramatic US seizure of an oil tanker accused of transporting sanctioned Venezuelan fuel in a network linked to Iran.

Republican senator and staunch Trump ally Lindsey Graham said as he emerged from his briefing that the video was the least of his concerns, asserting that the September 2 strike was lawful.

“Most Americans want to know what’s going to happen next. I want to know what’s going to happen next. Is it the policy to take Maduro down? It should be, if it’s not. And if he goes, what’s going to happen next?”

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Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Mohammad Sadiq on Monday shared “concerns over the large number of terrorists in the neighbourhood, hindering regional economic integration and posing serious security challenges.”

In a post on X, Sadiq, who also holds the special assistant to the prime minister portfolio, said he had held separate meetings with his counterparts from China and Uzbekistan on the sidelines of the Afghanistan Neighbours Conference in Tehran.

“We agreed that collective efforts needed to address this threat,” he said.

Separately, senior diplomats of Afghanistan’s six neighbouring countries and Russia, who met in Tehran on Sunday, supported all efforts to reduce tension between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

They expressed their readiness to help strengthen these efforts, an Iranian government statement said on Monday.

Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported that the participants also called on Islamabad and Kabul to return to the negotiating table and resolve their problems through diplomatic channels.

In October, border clashes between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban resulted in the martyrdom of 23 troops and left over 200 Taliban fighters dead, including a number of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorists.

Without referring to any country, the participants opposed any attempt by foreign countries to have a military presence in Afghanistan.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for taking back Bagram Airbase, north of Kabul.

The Taliban rulers have rejected President Trump’s call.

Expressing security concerns, the special envoys announced and emphasised their readiness to assist Afghanistan in combating terrorism, drug trafficking and human trafficking.

They emphasised the responsibility of the international community to lift sanctions and release Afghan assets, according to the statement.

The US had frozen around $9 billion of Afghanistan’s state bank after the Taliban takeover in 2021.

The diplomats called on international organisations to support the return of Afghan citizens from neighboring countries to their country and to create conditions for their dignified return.

The call came at a time when the repatriation of Afghan refugees from Pakistan and Iran is underway.

They emphasised regional integration and the centrality of the region in resolving existing issues and challenges, including some issues related to Afghanistan. They emphasised strengthening stability in Afghanistan and expressed their readiness to help achieve it if the Afghan side declares a need.

Emphasising the importance of continuing economic and trade relations with Afghanistan with the aim of improving the livelihoods of the people of that country, they pointed out the need for the country’s integration into the political and economic processes of the region.

They also stressed the responsibility of countries that are responsible for Afghanistan’s current situation to help rebuild and improve its economic and welfare situation without turning it into a political lever.

The participants agreed to hold the fifth meeting of foreign ministers of Afghanistan’s neighboring countries in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, as soon as possible.

They welcomed Pakistan’s readiness to hold the second round of the meeting of special representatives of Afghanistan’s neighboring countries in Islamabad in March 2026.

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The Pakistan Super League’s 11th edition is planned to be held from March 26 to May 3, 2026, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi said on Saturday, while also announcing that the auction for two proposed new franchises would take place on January 8.

The announcements were made during a PCB investor roadshow in New York, part of an overseas promotional campaign aimed at attracting commercial interest ahead of a potential expansion of the league from six to eight teams.

The PCB has previously indicated that expansion is under consideration, though the addition of new franchises has not yet been formally ratified.

Addressing attendees at the event, Mohsin said the PCB had taken administrative control of the Muzaffarabad Cricket Stadium and intended to begin renovation work.

He added that efforts were under way to have the venue ready in time for the PSL, though he acknowledged that completion before the tournament was not guaranteed.

“We are starting Muzaffarabad’s stadium, which we have taken over, and our target is to get it ready before the PSL. If not, then work will be initiated within this year,” he said.

Mohsin also stated that the deadline for submission of bids for the new franchises had been extended to December 22, citing interest from prospective investors.

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On Sunday, the PSL trophy was displayed at Times Square, where members of Pakistan’s cricketing diaspora gathered for photographs and brief interactions with players and officials.

The PCB said the event was intended to raise the league’s profile among overseas audiences. Several Pakistan cricketers attended the engagement, including Shan Masood, as well as former players Wasim Akram and Ramiz Raja.

The PCB also said members of the current national setup were present, though no official matches or cricketing activities were scheduled as part of the programme. Singer Ali Zafar, who has previously been associated with PSL anthems, was also in attendance.

The New York event followed a similar promotional stop at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London earlier this year. The PCB has described these activities as part of a broader effort to enhance the league’s commercial value and visibility beyond traditional markets.

Launched in 2016, the PSL has grown into Pakistan’s flagship T20 competition, initially staged entirely overseas before returning to home venues in phases.

While the league has attracted international players and broadcasters, it has also faced scheduling challenges due to Pakistan’s crowded international calendar and competition from other T20 leagues.

The PCB has yet to release detailed information regarding venues, player drafts or confirmation of new teams for the 2026 season.

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Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said that a Brown University student he met at the hospital told him an active shooter drill from high school helped them during the shooting at the school on Saturday.

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Three United States military personnel, two soldiers and a civilian interpreter, were killed on Saturday by a suspected Islamic State (IS) attacker who targeted a convoy of American and Syrian forces, the US military said.

Three other US soldiers were wounded, the US military’s Central Command said.

In a statement, Central Command said the attack by a lone gunman occurred “as the soldiers were conducting a key leader engagement” in the central Syrian town of Palmyra.

“Partner forces” killed the attacker, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth wrote in a social media post.

IS did not immediately claim responsibility, but a senior US official said initial assessments indicate the militant group probably carried out the attack. It took place in an area not controlled by the Syrian government, the official said.

The soldiers’ names will be withheld until 24 hours after the next-of-kin notification, the US military said.

Syrian state news agency SANA quoted a security source as saying two Syrian service personnel were injured, without providing further details. The source told SANA that American helicopters evacuated the injured to a US base in Syria’s Al-Tanf region near the Iraqi border.

Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkiye and special envoy to Syria, condemned the attack.

“We mourn the loss of three brave US service members and civilian personnel and wish a speedy recovery to the Syrian troops wounded in the attack,” Barrack said in a statement.

“We remain committed to defeating terrorism with our Syrian partners.”

The attack came barely a month after Syria announced it had signed a political cooperation agreement with the US-led coalition against IS, which coincided with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s visit to the White House.

The coalition has carried out air strikes and ground operations in Syria targeting IS suspects in recent months, often with the involvement of Syria’s security forces. Syria last month also carried out a nationwide campaign arresting more than 70 people accused of links to the group.

The US has troops stationed in northeastern Syria as part of a decade-long effort to help a Kurdish-led force there.

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During a House hearing, Rep. Seth Magaziner, D-R.I., questioned Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem about U.S. military veterans being deported under the current administration. When Noem said none had been deported, Magaziner brought out a tablet with a combat veteran who had been deported from the country on a Zoom call. The secretary said she would "absolutely" look into the veteran's case.

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PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said on Thursday that although there had been no discussion with the PML-N about imposing governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the PTI-led government in the province was heading in a direction that could create conditions for such an option.

The federal government is seriously considering imposing governor’s rule in KP, citing “security and governance issues” in the province as the reason for this potential move.

Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar earlier said “governor’s rule is not the face of any martial law” and added that if the conditions merit it, then it was within the Constitution to implement it.

Bilawal was speaking to the media during a visit to the Rajoa House residence of Syed Hassan Murtaza, the PPP’s central Punjab general secretary, in Chiniot to offer condolences on the death of his father.

He said the PTI’s politics was creating conditions for governor’s rule in KP. “The PTI is forcing the federal government to take strict action against it … and it’s an option in the province,” he added.

“Constitutional options exist for imposing governor’s rule,” he noted.

The PPP chief also chided PTI founder Imran Khan. “He [Khan] is now being held accountable for his crimes. Intoxicated by power, he had threatened to send everyone to jail. Imran Khan is now facing the consequences of his own conduct.”

On Wednesday, the PPP chairman had urged his party’s coalition partner, the PML-N, to give political space to the PTI. “It is the responsibility of the government to give space to the opposition in politics, and all political forces must play a serious role for the betterment of the country,” he told reporters after visiting the house of late senior party worker Zubaida Jafri in Baghbanpura.

27th Amendment lauded

To a question about the 27th Amendment on Thursday, the PPP chairman said its passage paved the way for the establishment of a constitutional court, which had been a long-standing dream of his mother, former premier Benazir Bhutto.

“The constitutional court gives equal representation to all provinces, and its chief justice belongs to South Punjab,” he said.

“This is a victory for the PPP’s political manifesto and ideology.

“He added that another achievement in the amendment was the protection of the NFC award granted under the 18th Amendment, which ensured that the provincial share remained unchanged.

Speaking about the proposed 28th Amendment, he said the federal government had held no discussions with the PPP on the matter. He said the 27th Amendment fulfilled a key promise in the Charter of Democracy and reflected the PPP’s political vision.

The protections given to the provinces under the 18th Amendment, he added, had been preserved.

He attributed the government’s financial difficulties to bureaucratic inefficiency, especially the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) failure to collect adequate revenue.

The PPP chairman criticised the FBR, questioning why the public should suffer for the institution’s weaknesses. “We [the PPP] will work together with government to remove their difficulties and I have suggested reforms in tax collection to overcome financial vows.”

Economy

The PPP chairman said the government had improved the country’s economy.

“When the PDM [Pakistan Democratic Movement] came to power, the country was on the verge of default, but the financial condition is much better now,” he noted.

However, he added that the government should focus on increasing productivity and exports as well as providing relief to the common man.

“The Sindh government is providing fertiliser to small farmers free of cost to increase the per acre productivity and increase their incomes,” he said.

“We can achieve the target of food security by providing incentives to the agriculture sector of the country.”

Bhutto-Zardari said his three-day organisational tour of Punjab had been very successful and gave him the chance to meet party workers.

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A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study released Thursday finds that Covid vaccines continue to protect healthy children from severe illness — a conclusion top federal health officials have questioned in recent months.

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The United States has approved the sale of advanced technology and support for Pakistan’s F-16 fighter jets, valued at $686 million, according to a letter the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) sent to Congress on December 8.

The package includes Link–16 systems, cryptographic equipment, avionics updates, training, and comprehensive logistical support.

The DSCA letter makes clear the rationale for the sale, stating that it “will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by allowing Pakistan to retain interoperability with US and partner forces in ongoing counterterrorism efforts and in preparation for future contingency operations.”

The proposed sale is also aimed at modernising Pakistan’s F-16 fleet and addressing operational safety concerns. The letter notes that it will “maintain Pakistan’s capability to meet current and future threats by updating and refurbishing its Block–52 and Mid Life Upgrade F–16 fleet.”

These updates will provide more “seamless integration and interoperability between the Pakistan Air Force and the US Air Force in combat operations, exercises, and training, and refurbishment will extend the aircraft life through 2040 while addressing critical flight safety concerns,” the letter adds.

The letter also emphasises Pakistan’s readiness to absorb the technology, stating that the country “has shown a commitment to maintaining its military forces and will have no difficulty absorbing these articles and services into its armed forces.” It also addresses regional concerns, asserting that “the proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.”

Lockheed Martin Company of Fort Worth, Texas, will serve as the principal contractor for the sale. The US defence agency pointed out that “implementation of this proposed sale will not require the assignment of any additional US Government or contractor representatives to Pakistan” and that there will be “no adverse impact on US defence readiness as a result of this proposed sale.”

The total estimated value of the sale is $686 million, with major defence equipment valued at $37 million and other items at $649 million. The major defence equipment (MDE) component includes 92 Link–16 data link systems and six inert Mk–82 500-lb general purpose bomb bodies; the latter will have no explosive payload and will be used for weapons integration testing.

Link-16 is an advanced command, control, communications and intelligence system. It is a secure, real-time communication network that shares tactical data among allied forces and is used by US and allied Nato forces. The system is also resistant to electronic jamming from enemy air and ground assets.

“It provides the warfighter key theatre functions such as surveillance, identification, air control, weapons engagement coordination, and direction for all services and allied forces,” the letter read.

The rest of the deal consists of $649m worth of non-MDE equipment, including the AN/APQ–10C Simple Key Loaders and AN/APX–126 Advanced Identification Friend or Foe system — used to identify hostile and allied aircraft.

It also includes hardware and software modifications to support the Operational Flight Program and mandated avionics updates, as well as KY–58M and KIV–78 cryptographic appliqués, which are National Security Agency (NSA)-certified modules used in military aircraft and other tactical systems for secure communications and identification.

The equipment also covers additional secure communications, precision navigation and cryptographic devices, Joint Mission Planning Systems and support, Common Munitions Built-in-test Reprogramming Equipment, and ADU–981 missile adaptor units.

Other weapons integration, test and support equipment, spare and repair parts, software delivery and support, publications and technical documentation, full motion simulators, personnel training, and training equipment are also included.

The package will also provide Pakistan with US government and contractor engineering, technical, and logistics support services, studies and surveys, and other related elements of logistical and program support.

Pakistan had requested upgrades to its F-16 fleet in 2021 amid strained relations, but Washington delayed its response. The country is now less dependent on the F-16s, having acquired and jointly developed other platforms, which proved their worth during the May 2025 air war by inflicting significant damage on the Indian fleet.

“Pakistan still welcomes the US offer, as it will enhance the shelf life of its F-16s until 2040,” a diplomatic source said.

The DSCA letter, sent to the Speaker of the House and the chairmen of the relevant congressional committees, concludes that the sale “will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States” while ensuring that Pakistan can continue to operate its F-16 fleet safely and effectively.

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A new national assessment by the Pakistan Air Quality Initiative (PAQI) has found that local emission sources are the primary contributors to the hazardous air quality levels in Pakistan’s major cities. This emerged on Tuesday.

The PAQI is an independent research and advocacy organisation committed to addressing air pollution in Pakistan.

The report, Unveiling Pakistan’s Air Pollution: A National Landscape Report on Health Risks, Sources and Solutions, provides the country’s first multi-sectoral emissions inventories and concludes that urban smog is overwhelmingly generated within Pakistan’s own airsheds.

“Toxic air pollution reduces the life expectancy of the average Pakistani by 3.9 years,” the report states.

The report draws on satellite-derived aerosol datasets, chemical transport modelling and PAQI’s nationwide real-time monitoring network, the largest open-data air-quality system in Pakistan, to map the sources, scale, and health impacts of PM2.5 across the country’s largest cities.

PM2.5 is a cancer-causing microparticle small enough to enter the bloodstream. The World Health Organisation (WHO) established an annual average limit at 5 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m³) and a 24-hour limit at 15 µg/m³.

The cities studied in the report include Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Peshawar, where the emission profiles identified for these cities are sharply different.

In Lahore, transport, industry and brick kilns are the dominant contributors to particulate pollution, while in Karachi, industry accounts for nearly half of PM2.5 emissions.

Emissions in the twin cities are primarily transport-driven, and Peshawar shows the highest per-capita exposure due to transit-trade activity and valley geography.

The report represents nearly a decade of work to build a transparent, evidence-based foundation for air quality governance in Pakistan.

The chapters situate the emissions inventory within a broader national conversation on constitutional rights, environmental justice, and institutional reform, with contributions from leading national voices such as former justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Senator Sherry Rehman, Abid Suleiri and others.

“This inventory ends the era of speculation,” said Abid Omar, Founder of PAQI. “For the first time, Pakistan has a rigorous, data-driven map of where its pollution comes from. The science is clear: our crisis is overwhelmingly local and structural. We now have the evidence. What Pakistan needs next is implementation.”

Punjab Environment Protection Agency (EPA) spokesperson Sajid Bashir rejected PAQI’s report about local factors causing the pollution and told Dawn that the organisation did not have adequate data to develop it.

He said that the government was spending billions of rupees to control emissions and more than 80 per cent of industry in Lahore had adopted technologies to reduce pollution.

Bashir also questioned the report and noted that it did not have accurate data about light and heavy transport vehicles, motorcycles, rickshaws and brick kilns operating in the country. He termed traffic and brick kilns as key contributors to pollution.

The EPA spokesperson also said that PAQI should disclose its sources, the origin of its satellite data and images, and the laboratory where all the data were analysed.

“They should reveal their sources about the credibility of the report and question why authorities should comment on their report,” he stated.

“The government had taken measures and the smog crisis was addressed to a large extent. Continuous efforts are being carried out to improve the situation further.

Bashir added that the government had not closed educational institutions due to smog this year and said that the report was criticising their efforts.

According to a PAQI analysis released last week, Lahore experienced a significant reprieve from extreme smog conditions this November compared to the hazardous emergency of 2024.

Data for November 2025 confirms a dramatic 56 per cent reduction in daily peak pollution intensity. The maximum daily PM2.5 concentration plummeted to 237 µg/m³, a stark contrast to the severe peak of 539 µg/m³ recorded on November 14, 2024.

In October, Lahore was ranked the second most polluted city in the world in terms of air quality, according to global monitor IQAir.

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On a scorching day of fainting veterans and rifle-shot starts, a girl named Kainat Khalil from Sindh rewrote the meaning of endurance at the 35th National Games.

Athletics at the Games began not with a traditional pistol’s pop, but with the sharp, unexpected report of a rifle cutting through the cool Monday morning at the NPT&SC.

It was an omen. This would be a day of raw, unvarnished struggle, where the starting command itself felt like a call to battle.

The dust from the inaugural men’s 5,000m had barely settled before the December sun perched mercilessly over the open field. It transformed the arena into a kiln, making the very air an opponent.

In the women’s 10,000 metres, the drama was medical: Athletes wilted, fainted and were stretchered away — vanquished not by rivals, but by the searing haze.

Wapda’s Maria Bibi, who would emerge the quickest in 44 minutes and 21 seconds ahead of Navy’s Mumtaz (47:10.11), later stated the obvious with exhausted clarity.

“The heat felt extreme during the race and that’s why the athletes fainted,” Maria told Dawn. It was a race of survival, where the medal was, as Maria put it, “a cherry on the top” of simply finishing.

Amidst this brutal theatre of attrition, a sight unfolded that turned struggle into spectacle, and pain into pure wonder: Nine-year-old Kainat from Sindh running with a rhythm that seemed borrowed from a breeze.

While finishing was a task for veterans, she moved as if she had been training for precisely nine years.

On the final lap, she found a sprint that would have contended in a much shorter race, crossed the line third, and laid down on the track. The stadium’s cheer wasn’t just for a medal; it was a roar of sheer, unadulterated fascination.

After the medal ceremony, the media scrum proved more daunting than 25 laps.

“What do I say? I don’t get it,” the bronze medalist sighed, shrugging, turning her palms upward in helplessness. Coaxed by her coach, she found her voice, slow and sure the second time.

“My name is Kainat Khalil and I compete in long distance running. This is my first time competing at nationals,” the shy nine-year old told Dawn.

Then, the truth she made her own. “This was not possible but I made it possible,” she parroted what her coach had gently said to her just seconds before.

What goes through a child’s mind during such an ordeal? “Just that I need to run. However much there is to run, I will.”

Asked if she enjoyed this masochistic craft, the doll-sized athlete nodded a vigorous “yes!” Her advice to her peers was timeless. “Work really, really hard to get what you want.”

Before the sweat had dried, her eyes were already set on the Karachi marathon and then an international stage, where she dreams of gold for Pakistan.

ARSHAD’S SOARING JAVELIN

In her staggering feat, one could see the raw, uncut diamond of a potential that follows in the wake of the nation’s established stars — a lineage that leads directly to the global podium where Pakistan’s javelin star, Arshad Nadeem, has already shown what such belief, paired with supreme talent, can achieve.

The Paris 2024 winner Arshad, according to everyone’s expectations, clinched the gold medal with a 81.81m throw on his third and final attempt.

“This is one of the biggest events for the youth of our country, and it’s where I began participating” Arshad told Dawn, “That’s how I began my journey. There’s plenty of athletes coming out of these games that will compete for Pakistan next year at the Commonwealth Games or Asian Games, for example. The way I make Pakistan proud when I compete abroad, so will they.”

Around Kainat, who had a whole future ahead of her, and Arshad who reached the pinnacle, there were other champions who painted a chorus of adult burdens.

The women’s 100m saw Olympian Faiqa Riaz reclaim her title as Pakistan’s fastest woman, screaming in delight after battling back the self-doubt that followed her Olympic debut.

Self-doubt had overtaken her confidence after she lost two major local championships following her Paris 2024 debut, she told Dawn after the race.

“I’ve just reclaimed my national games title and I’m immensely proud,” she vowed, a veteran rewriting her own narrative.

She bagged gold for Wapda in 11:70 while Khoula Umer Khan of HEC won silver in 12:03 and Army’s Tameen Khan settled for bronze in 12:10.In the men’s 100m, Samiullah of Wapda won gold with a hamstring pulled a month prior, his triumph laced with private struggle. “I had to pay for all of my medical expenses on my own,” Samiullah, who finished in a modest time of 10:30, revealed to Dawn.

Army’s Usman Ali (10.40) and Rashid Riaz (10.45) bagged silver and bronze medals, respectively.

In the 3000m steeplechase, Talha Saleem spoke of a year’s singular focus. “I took no day off for six months,” he told Dawn, his gold medal a product of monastic sacrifice.

Their stories — of injury, doubt, isolation and financial strain — formed the hard ground of elite sport.

From the shot put circle, Nabeela Riaz, dominating the national circuit for four years, threw a personal best of 12.48m to claim another gold for Army.

But she lamented, while talking to Dawn, competing only “once or twice a year” — a champion from a small town of Sarai Alamgir in Gujrat district pleading for more stages to prove her might.

The day’s action ended with the pole vault in fading light as US-based Noreen Hussain, leaping for Army and for the image of a Pakistan she loves, took gold with a leap of 2.90 metres.

“Just the opportunity to compete in Pakistan when you are from here is quite fascinating,” she told Dawn.

ARMY ON TOP

Medals were clinched across the city on Monday with Pakistan Army strengthening their position at the top of the table with 46 golds to Wapda’s 14.

Army swept all golds on offer in the taekwondo poomsae event.

The men’s gold medals were secured by Aqdasullah Qadeer and Mohammad Sarmad Waheed (Under 30 Pair), Shahbaz Gul and Ibrar-ul-Haq (Over 30 Pair), and Aqdas, Haris Deedar, and Ahmad Shahzad (Under 30 Team). Ameer Hamza added an Over 17 freestyle gold.

On the women’s side, Naila and Zeena Sheraz won the Under 30 Pair, while Mehrun Nisa and Urooj Bashir dominated the Over 30 Pair. Other winners included Zymal Naqvi (Over 17 Freestyle), and the army’s mixed pairs also took home gold medals across different categories.

In the shooting competition, Pakistan Olympian Gulfam Joseph won gold along with Kaleemullah and Azhar Abbas in the 50m Pistol team event for Army. Pakistan Navy’s Shahrukh Khan took gold in the category’s individual event.

Army’s Mehr Khaliq, Zikra Shoukat and Captain Aqsa Shabbir won the gold medal in the 10m Air Rifle team category while Mehr took the individual honours.

In rugby, Wapda claimed both the men’s and women’s gold medals defeating Army 19-0 and Punjab 15-0 respectively.

The fencing competition at NED University saw Naeem from Punjab clinch the gold medal in the men’s Sabre event. Ali Ahmed from the Higher Education Commission (HEC) took home the silver, while Shoaib of Sindh and Baryal from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa shared the bronze.

Wapda and Army booked a final clash in the men’s tennis team event.

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