ISLAMABAD: The 14th round of the Pakistan-Russia Consultative Group on Strategic Stability was held on Thursday, the foreign office in Islamabad said, with the two sides discussing a range of issues related to security and the military use of artificial intelligence.
The meeting took place under the chairmanship of Additional Foreign Secretary (Arms Control and Disarmament) Mohammad Kamran Akhtar and Deputy Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs S.A. Ryabkov.
“The parties had an in-depth exchange of views on international security and regional stability challenges, as well as on various aspects of arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation,” the foreign ministry said.
“The two sides discussed issues related to the agenda of the First Committee of the UN General Assembly, the Conference on Disarmament, the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. The issues concerning biological, space and international information security, as well as new and emerging technologies, including the military use of artificial intelligence, came under discussion at length.”
The two sides expressed satisfaction on shared views on issues of global strategic stability and regional security including matters related to arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation. It was agreed that the 15th meeting of the group would be held next year in Islamabad.
Pakistan and Russia have been moving to improve ties since last year, with Pakistan importing gas on reduced prices from Moscow as well as crude oil cargos.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s military spokesperson, Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry, slammed the Indian media on Friday for “glorifying” a separatist militant attack on a passenger train in Balochistan earlier this week, in which more than 200 people were held hostage, as he shared details of the rescue operation with the media.
The separatist Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) bombed part of a railway track and stormed the train on Tuesday afternoon in Mushkaaf, a rugged area in the mountainous Bolan range of Balochistan. The hostage crisis was resolved a day later when the armed forces conducted a successful operation to rescue the hostages, killing 33 militants in the process.
The military spokesperson noted during a news conference that while militants were holding hostages and the armed forces were evaluating the situation to prepare an appropriate response, an information warfare campaign began, led by the Indian media.
“The Indian media was using videos shared by the internationally recognized terrorist group,” he said, referring to the visuals shared by the BLA, while showing clips from news reports by Indian outlets.
“They used images generated by artificial intelligence and old videos as well to glorify and promote the attack internationally,” he added.
Chaudhry maintained the Indian coverage of the event highlighted the nexus between New Delhi’s ambition to destabilize Balochistan and the activities carried out by the armed separatist outfit.
He noted this was also revealed by an Indian national, Kulbhushan Yadav, whom Pakistan said it captured from the same province in 2016 and accused of working as a spy for India’s leading intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing. However, the Indian foreign ministry says he was kidnapped from Iran and illegally rendered to Pakistan.
The military spokesperson played portions of Yadav’s “confessional video” recorded soon after his arrest, in which he said he was tasked by the Indian authorities with facilitating militant violence in Balochistan.
Chaudhry also described the action against BLA militants as “one of the most successful” rescue operations carried out in a hostage situation.
“Not even a single casualty of hostages took place during this process,” he continued. “The whole operation was done with extreme expertise.”
Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest province by land area and has long been the site of a low-level insurgency, with separatist groups accusing the government of exploiting the province’s natural resources while leaving its people in poverty.
Government officials deny the allegation and say they are developing the province through multibillion-dollar projects, including those backed by China.
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has met with Pakistani footballer Muhammad Riaz and handed him Rs2.5 million ($8,916) cheque and promised a government job for him in a federal department of his choice, Sharif’s office said on Friday.
Riaz, who represented Pakistan in the 2018 Asian Games, made headlines after a video of him selling jalebis, a popular street snack, went viral online, with netizens criticizing the government and sports bodies for ignoring the footballer.
Sports athletes in the subcontinent, including Pakistan, usually come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds before becoming household names overnight and attaining financial success.
In his meeting with the footballer, PM Sharif praised his courage and determination, and urged to continue playing football and an active role in promoting the game in the South Asian country.
“Pakistani youth are a valuable asset of the country,” Sharif’s office quoted him as saying. “Providing all kinds of facilities to Pakistani athletes and resources for them to compete at the international level is among the top priorities of the government.”
The prime minister instructed officials to provide Riaz with job in federal department of his choice.
“Steps should be taken to promote sports in the country,” he said. “A strategy should be formulated to provide sustainable employment opportunities to the athletes representing Pakistan at the international level and for their welfare.”
Riaz thanked the prime minister for the financial support and for taking steps for the welfare of players and the promotion of sports, according to Sharif’s office.
The plight of football in Pakistan is a tale of unfulfilled potential, administrative chaos and lack of investment. Despite a passionate fan base and a pool of talented players, the sport has suffered due to mismanagement by governing bodies, political interference and inadequate infrastructure.
The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) has been marred by internal disputes and FIFA suspensions which have hindered the development of the game at all levels.
On Wednesday, the Pakistan Football League (PFL) also announced a cash prize of Rs1 million ($3,573) and a “prominent position” in the league for Riaz.
The PFL is a franchise league that says it is driven by a UK-based company with foreign investment solely committed to uplifting football from the grassroots to a professional level in Pakistan.
Blast in northwestern Pakistan mosque injures religious party leader, three others
Attacks have been escalating in Pakistan’s border regions with Afghanistan in recent months
Last month, a suicide bomber killed six worshippers during Friday prayers at an Islamic seminary
Updated 14 March 2025
Reuters
PESHAWAR: A blast tore through a mosque on Friday in northwestern Pakistan, police said, injuring a religious party leader and three others, including children.
Abdullah Nadeem, a local leader of the Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) political party, was believed to be the target of the blast and had been hospitalized with serious injures, said Asif Bahadar, a district police chief in South Waziristan. He said two children were among the injured.
It was not immediately clear who was behind the explosion.
Attacks have been escalating in Pakistan’s border regions with Afghanistan in recent months.
Last month, a suicide bomber killed six worshippers during Friday prayers at an Islamic seminary in northwestern Pakistan, known as a historic training ground for the Afghan Taliban.
This week in southwestern Balochistan, separatist militants hijacked a train and held passengers hostage in a day-long standoff with security forces.
Pakistan has vowed to crack down on growing militancy and has said the militants are finding safe haven in neighboring Afghanistan, a charge the ruling Afghan Taliban deny.
ISLAMABAD: The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) has distributed 50,000 winter relief kits in all four provinces of Pakistan as well as the Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir regions, the Saudi charity said on Friday.
These kits were distributed as part of a large-scale humanitarian initiative, launched in January and aimed at assisting communities affected by severe winter conditions and natural disasters across Pakistan.
The Saudi charitable organization distributed the kits in collaboration with Pakistan’s national and provincial disaster management authorities, covering some of the coldest and most vulnerable regions in the country.
“The aid reached 17 districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 10 in Gilgit-Baltistan, 11 in Balochistan, six in Azad Kashmir, six in Sindh and two in Punjab,” KSrelief said in a statement.
“Each comprehensive winter package included two high-quality polyester quilts, warm shawl kits for men and women, and winter clothing for children and adults, ensuring that families had the necessary protection against extreme temperatures.”
The distribution was carried out in close coordination with the government and it benefitted over 337,079 people, according to the statement.
Saudi Arabia’s KSrelief has implemented more than 200 projects, including emergency relief for natural disasters and initiatives to address food security, health care and education, to improve the lives of vulnerable communities in Pakistan.
In a Pakistan desert town, Holi and Ramadan come together
Discrimination against minorities runs deep in Muslim-majority Pakistan, but those tensions are not to be found in Mithi, an affluent city of rolling sand dunes and mud-brick homes
Ramadan is a month of prayer and reflection in Islam, and Hindus respected their Muslim neighbors would not join Holi celebrations with the usual fervor due to religious observance
Updated 14 March 2025
AFP
MITHI: In a desert town in Pakistan, Hindus prepare meals for fasting Muslims, who in turn gather to welcome a Holi procession, a rare moment of religious solidarity in the Islamic nation.
Discrimination against minorities runs deep in Muslim-majority Pakistan, but those tensions are not to be found in Mithi, an affluent city of rolling sand dunes and mud-brick homes in southern Sindh province.
“All the traditions and rituals here are celebrated together,” Raj Kumar, a 30-year-old Hindu businessman told AFP.
“You will see that on Holi, Hindu youth are joined by Muslim youth, celebrating together and applying colors on each other,” he added.
“Even at the end of the Muslim call for prayer, the imam says ‘peace to Hindus and Muslims’.”
Hindu residents buy colour powders to celebrate the Hindu festival of Holy in Tharparkar district of the desert town of Mithi, south-eastern Pakistan, on March 13, 2025. ( AFP)
This year, the Hindu festival of Holi and the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan fell together. Both events move each year according to the lunar calendar.
Holi, the festival of color, has for centuries marked the arrival of spring and raucous crowds playfully throw colored powder and water over each other.
On Thursday, hundreds of Hindus held a procession through the streets of Mithi, one of the few towns where they form the majority, to be warmly welcomed at the city square by their Muslim neighbors.
“We have learnt to live together since childhood. This has come to us through generations, and we are following it too,” said local Mohan Lal Mali, 53, after arranging a meal for Muslims to break their fast.
Cows, considered sacred in Hinduism, roam freely through the streets of Mithi, while women wear traditional embroidered sarees embellished with mirror work.
There is no beef shop in town, as its meat is prohibited in Hinduism, and Muslims only sacrifice goats during festivals.
Mithi, a city of around 60,000 people, is predominantly Hindu — in a country where 96 percent of its 240 million people are Muslim and two percent are Hindu.
Fozia Haseeb, a Christian woman, traveled from the port city of Karachi, around 320 kilometers (200 miles) away, to witness the blended occasions.
“People following three religions are here: Christians, Hindus and Muslims,” she said.
“We wanted to see for ourselves whether this was correct, and there is no doubt it is.”
People celebrate Hindu festival of Holy in Tharparkar district of the desert town of Mithi, south-eastern Pakistan, on March 13, 2025. (AFP)
Ramadan is a month of peaceful prayer and reflection in Islam, and Hindus respected their Muslim neighbors would not join Holi celebrations with the usual fervor due to religious observance.
“Today, you might not see colors on me, but in the past, they would drench me in colors,” said Muslim cleric Babu Aslam Qaimkhani while applying powder to the face of local Hindu MP Mahesh Kumar Malani.
“If a Hindu runs for office, Muslims also vote for them, and vice versa,” said Malani, the only elected minority MP in the country’s national assembly.
As Hindus celebrated with processions and visits to temples, there was no armed security — a stark contrast to other parts of Pakistan.
Freedom of religion or belief remains under constant threat in the country, with religiously motivated violence and discrimination increasing yearly, according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.
State authorities, often using religious unrest for political gain, have failed to address this crisis, the commission said.
But in Mithi, 19-year-old Muslim laborer Amaan Ullah told AFP: “There are no divisions among us. We all are humans, and we all are equal.”
Local police and administration officials said the city has a low crime rate, with “no major security challenges,” allowing them to easily make arrangements for the major religious festivals.
“Their businesses, their daily lives, and their interactions have been together for centuries and they are still standing strong,” said local official Abdul Haleem Jagirani.
Hindu women watch the procession as they celebrate Hindu festival of Holy in Tharparkar district of the desert town of Mithi, south-eastern Pakistan, on March 13, 2025. (AFP)
Locals say Mithi’s peaceful existence can be traced back to its remote location, emerging from the sand dunes of the Tharparkar desert, which borders the modern Indian state of Rajasthan.
With infertile soil and limited water access, it was spared from centuries of looting and wars, and the bloody Partition violence of 1947 when India and Pakistan were created, and many Hindus fled across the new border.
But several residents told AFP that in recent years the prosperous city has seen a rise in newcomers as a result of its growing infrastructure.
A major coal project nearby has brought laborers from other provinces to the city, and with it, supporters of a radical Islamist party.
On the city’s central square, a large banner hangs for Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), which put the explosive issue of blasphemy as its central concern.
“People coming from outside the city are causing some doubt and a slight sense of fear,” Padma Lodha, a 52-year-old Hindu headmistress at a local girls school, told AFP.
“But overall, things are still well-controlled and peaceful.”
