Pakistan tells UN it has evidence ‘external adversaries’ behind deadly train hijacking last month

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Updated 29 April 2025
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Pakistan tells UN it has evidence ‘external adversaries’ behind deadly train hijacking last month

Pakistan tells UN it has evidence ‘external adversaries’ behind deadly train hijacking last month
  • A Pakistani diplomat at the UN extends condolences to the families of the victims of the Pahalgam attack
  • He says the international community must support survivors of militant attacks without political selectivity

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan told the United Nations on Monday it had “credible evidence” that a deadly attack on a passenger train in its southwestern region last month was externally sponsored, as it called for stronger global efforts to hold perpetrators behind such incidents accountable.
The statement referred to the March hostage-taking on the Jaffer Express passenger train in Balochistan province, which lasted about 36 hours before security forces launched an operation that killed more than 30 militants from the separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA).
Pakistan’s decision to highlight the passenger train incident at the world body came at a time when tensions remain high in the region following the killing of 26 tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir last week, an attack India blamed on Pakistan, despite Islamabad’s categorical denial.
“Just last month, Pakistan suffered a heinous terrorist attack by the BLA on Jaffar Express passenger train, which included the taking of hostages in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, which resulted in the loss of at least 30 innocent Pakistani nationals,” Jawad Ajmal, Counsellor at Pakistan’s UN Mission, said at the launch of the Victims of Terrorism Association Network at the UN. “Pakistan has credible evidence that this attack had external sponsorship from our adversaries in the region.”
Ajmal stressed the international community must do more to support survivors of such militant attacks and the families of victims whose lives are permanently altered after such developments.
He urged a collective approach to prevent future attacks, emphasizing the need to hold militants and their backers accountable without political selectivity.
“If we are to chart a way forward for victims, we must look beyond narrow political interests and geopolitical agendas,” he said. “We must examine why, despite global strategies, terrorism threats continue to proliferate and give rise to an ever-increasing number of victims.”
Commenting on the recent attack in Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir, Ajmal said Pakistan extended condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to the injured.
He noted that Pakistan joined other UN Security Council members in condemning the attack.
The Pakistani diplomat added that his country was one of the worst victims of militant violence over the past two decades and had lost more than 80,000 lives to it.
He paid tribute to the families of his country’s law enforcement and armed forces personnel who had made “countless sacrifices” to defend the nation.


Pakistan army launches teachers’ awareness program on online ‘anti-state’ propaganda

Pakistan army launches teachers’ awareness program on online ‘anti-state’ propaganda
Updated 32 sec ago
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Pakistan army launches teachers’ awareness program on online ‘anti-state’ propaganda

Pakistan army launches teachers’ awareness program on online ‘anti-state’ propaganda
  • 1,950 teachers from various regions of the country participate in Hilal Talks 2025 program run by army’s media wing
  • After latest military combat, social media citizens on both sides are vying to control narrative by peddling disinformation

ISLAMABAD: In a first, the Pakistan army’s media wing has launched the Hilal Talks 2025 program to raise awareness among Pakistani teachers about the “tactics and nefarious agendas of anti-state elements” on social media, Radio Pakistan reported on Thursday. 

While India and Pakistan announced a ceasefire after coming close to an all-out conflict earlier this month, social media citizens on both sides are vying to control public perceptions by peddling disinformation.

Platforms such as Facebook and X are still awash with misrepresented footage of the attacks that killed at least 70 people and sent thousands fleeing from their shared de facto Line of Control (LoC) border.

“Hilal Talks 2025 program has been launched under the auspices of ISPR,” Radio Pakistan reported, saying 1,950 teachers from various regions of the country were participating in the program run by the army’s media wing. 

“It is aimed at raising awareness about the tactics and nefarious agendas of anti-state elements on social media.”

The report said teachers “got the opportunity to understand the structure, role and working mechanism of Pakistan Army more closely.”

Indian and Pakistani media outlets have both amplified misinformation, including false or unverifiable claims of military victories that experts say have exacerbated tensions and contributed to a flood of hate speech.

Disinformation peaked when India launched deadly air strikes on May 7 targeting “terrorist camps” in Pakistan, two weeks after a deadly attack on the Indian-administered side of disputed Kashmir.

New Delhi blames Islamabad for backing the April 22 attack near the tourist town of Pahalgam, which killed 26 people — almost all of them Hindu men. Pakistan denies the claim.

After the first round of Indian air strikes, the Pakistani military shared footage that had previously circulated in reports about a 2023 Israeli air strike in Gaza. The clip quickly appeared on television and social media but was later retracted by numerous media outlets, including AFP.

AI-generated imagery has also muddied the waters, including a video that purportedly shows a Pakistan Army general saying the country lost two of its aircraft. AFP fact-checkers found the clip was altered from a 2024 press conference.

Both India and Pakistan have taken advantage of the information vacuum to raise alarm bells and promote their own claims and counter-claims.

Pakistan appears to have lifted a more than one-year-old ban on X the same day of the Indian strikes.

Pakistan’s National Cyber Emergency Response Team (NCERT) on May 8 issued an alert about “increased cyberattacks and misinformation via emails, social media, QR codes, and messaging apps.”

Both Pakistan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Karachi Port Trust later said their X accounts had been hacked.

A post from the latter account said the port — one of South Asia’s busiest — was attacked by the Indian military. The page was later restored and the port authority said no attack had taken place.

India, meanwhile, has executed a sweeping crackdown targeting the social media accounts of Pakistani politicians, celebrities and media organizations.

The government ordered X to block more than 8,000 accounts and banned more than a dozen Pakistani YouTube channels for allegedly spreading “provocative” content, including news outlets.

Press Information Bureau (PIB) Fact Check, a government-run website, has also refuted more than 60 claims about the ongoing crisis, many having to do with supposed Pakistani military victories.

The avalanche of disinformation online has also been accompanied by a spike in hate speech offline.

With inputs from AFP


PM says Azerbaijan has reaffirmed commitment to invest $2 billion in Pakistan

PM says Azerbaijan has reaffirmed commitment to invest $2 billion in Pakistan
Updated 35 min 45 sec ago
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PM says Azerbaijan has reaffirmed commitment to invest $2 billion in Pakistan

PM says Azerbaijan has reaffirmed commitment to invest $2 billion in Pakistan
  • Sharif made the remarks as he left the city of Lachin in Azerbaijan and flew onwards to Tajikistan
  • Tajikistan is the last stop in a five-day regional diplomacy tour that also took Sharif to Turkiye and Iran

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said this week Azerbaijan had reaffirmed its commitment to invest $2 billion in Pakistan and would increase cooperation in spheres such as commerce, defense, education and health. 

Sharif made the remarks as he left the city of Lachin in Azerbaijan on Wednesday evening and flew onwards to Tajikistan, the last stop in a five-day regional diplomacy tour that also took him to Turkiye and Iran. 

“We have discussed joint cooperation in the fields of trade, commerce, investments,” Sharif said after meeting President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan. 

“He again reiterated his commitment to invest $2 billion in Pakistan and … have more coordination in commerce, defense production, education and health and many other areas.”

On Wednesday, Sharif, Aliyev and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan had met for a trilateral summit in Lachin and pledged to work together for the goal of economic development and regional prosperity and to turn their brotherhood into a “strategic partnership.”

Turkiye is a longtime ally of Pakistan, while Baku and Islamabad have moved closer in recent years with a flurry of visits and bilateral agreements.

Erdogan and Aliyev had also openly pledged support for Pakistan and expressed solidarity during its latest military confrontation with archrival India earlier this month.

“Political, valid economic, energy, mutual investment, transportation, defense, agriculture, information, technology, and other spheres are the ones where there are ample opportunities to advance cooperation through joint projects,” Aliyev said as he addressed Wednesday’s summit, adding that Azerbaijan had invested over $20 billion in the Turkish economy and was prepared to invest $2 billion into Pakistan’s.

He also said Azerbaijan envisaged closer cooperation with Pakistan’s defense industry. 

“We do believe there is great potential and it’s of great importance. Joint military exercises and projects in the defense industry amplify the potential of our armed forces or defense cooperation ensures peace and stability across a vast geography,” Aliyev said. 

There have been widespread reports in recent weeks that Azerbaijan may have dramatically increased its procurement from Pakistan of JF-17 “Thunder” light multirole fighter aircraft from an initial 16 units to a staggering 40, in a deal reportedly valued at $4.2 billion. 

The aircraft in question are said to be the latest and most advanced iteration of the JF-17 family— Block III— a 4.5-generation fighter co-developed by Pakistan and China and hailed as one of the most cost-effective combat aircraft in the current global market.


International UN Peacekeepers Day: Pakistan remembers 181 of its own lost in line of duty

International UN Peacekeepers Day: Pakistan remembers 181 of its own lost in line of duty
Updated 29 May 2025
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International UN Peacekeepers Day: Pakistan remembers 181 of its own lost in line of duty

International UN Peacekeepers Day: Pakistan remembers 181 of its own lost in line of duty
  • Over 235,000 Pakistani peacekeepers have served in 48 UN missions worldwide in seven-decade history of UN peacekeeping 
  • May 29 marks creation of UN Truce Supervision Organization in 1948 to monitor ceasefire after 1948 Arab-Israeli War

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan joined the international community in celebrating the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers today, Thursday, the prime minister’s office said in a message, paying tribute to 181 Pakistanis who had been killed in the line of duty.

The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, May 29, is “an international day to pay tribute to all the men and women who have served and continue to serve in United Nations peacekeeping operations for their high level of professionalism, dedication, and courage and to honor the memory of those who have lost their lives in the cause of peace.”

“In the seven-decade history of UN peacekeeping missions, more than 235,000 Pakistani peacekeepers have rendered distinguished service in 48 UN missions around the world,” PM Shehbaz Sharif said in a message. 

“181 Pakistani peacekeepers have made the eternal sacrifice of their lives in achieving international peace and security.”

Sharif said the international day was an opportune occasion to review the many challenges facing UN peacekeeping, such as increasingly unilateral policies, financial sanctions, growing threats to the safety and security of UN peacekeepers, targeting of UN peacekeeping operations based on disinformation, and the destabilizing effects of new and emerging technologies.

In an effort to address these challenges, Pakistan, along with the Republic of Korea, co-hosted the UN Peacekeeping Ministerial Meeting in Islamabad last month with the theme, “Towards a Safer and More Effective Peace: Using Technology and an Integrated Approach”.

Pakistan also hosts the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), one of the oldest UN peacekeeping missions, tasked with monitoring the ceasefire along the Line of Control in the UN-recognized disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

The date, May 29, for the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, marks the anniversary of the creation of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization in 1948 to monitor the ceasefire after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, which was the first ever UN peacekeeping mission.


Pakistan’s crypto and blockchain chief unveils country’s first strategic bitcoin reserve

Pakistan’s crypto and blockchain chief unveils country’s first strategic bitcoin reserve
Updated 29 May 2025
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Pakistan’s crypto and blockchain chief unveils country’s first strategic bitcoin reserve

Pakistan’s crypto and blockchain chief unveils country’s first strategic bitcoin reserve
  • Bilal bin Saqib announced establishment of national Bitcoin wallet holding digital assets already in state custody 
  • Strategic bitcoin reserve is a reserve asset, funded by US Treasury’s forfeited bitcoin, announced by Trump in March 2025

ISLAMABAD: Bilal Bin Saqib, Pakistan’s minister for crypto and blockchain and the CEO of the Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC), unveiled the country’s first government-led strategic bitcoin reserve at Bitcoin Vegas 2025, his office said on Thursday.

The strategic bitcoin reserve is a reserve asset, funded by the United States Treasury’s forfeited bitcoin, announced by President Donald Trump in March 2025. The reserve will be capitalized with bitcoin already owned by the federal government. The United States is the largest known state holder of bitcoin in the world, estimated to hold about 200,000 BTC, as of March 2025.

At Bitcoin 2025, the biggest bitcoin conference in the United States which is underway in Las Vegas, Saqib unveiled “the country’s first government-led Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, and with it, a radically new vision of Pakistan on the global map,” his office said in a statement. 

“Bilal announced the establishment of a national Bitcoin wallet, holding digital assets already in state custody — not for sale or speculation, but as a sovereign reserve signaling long-term belief in decentralized finance.”

Pakistan set up the PCC in March, with Saqib, 34, as the CEO, to create a legal framework for cryptocurrency trading in a bid to lure international investment. Last month, Pakistan introduced its first-ever policy framework, created by a special government group under the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter Terrorism Financing (CTF) authority, to set rules for how digital money like cryptocurrencies and the companies that deal in it should operate in Pakistan. The policy has been formulated to align with compliance and financial integrity guidelines of the global Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

Earlier this month, the government also approved setting up the Pakistan Digital Assets Authority (PDAA), a specialized regulatory body to oversee blockchain-based financial infrastructure.

Speaking during his keynote at Bitcoin 2025, the PCC CEO highlighted that Pakistan had over 40 million crypto wallets, a median age of 23, and one of the largest and most active freelancer economies in the world.

“Saqib revealed that the government of Pakistan has allocated 2,000 megawatts of surplus electricity in Phase 1 for Bitcoin mining and AI data centers, opening doors to sovereign miners, tech firms, and clean energy partners around the world,” the statement said. 

Saqib is also leading the creation of the Pakistan Digital Assets Authority (PDAA) “to empower builders, protect investors, and formalize digital finance frameworks for the future.”

“This wasn’t just a policy moment, it was a rebranding of a nation,” Saqib said at Bitcoin 2025, which featured speakers including White House officials, US lawmakers and crypto industry executives. This year’s keynote speaker was US Vice President JD Vance.

Digital assets have enjoyed a resurgence under President Trump, who courted cash from the crypto industry on the campaign trail by pledging to be a “crypto president.” In his first week in office, Trump ordered the creation of a cryptocurrency working group to propose digital asset regulations. In March, he hosted a group of crypto executives at the White House.

Congress is considering legislation to create a regulatory framework for stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency pegged to the US dollar. The crypto industry has lobbied lawmakers to pass legislation creating new rules for digital assets and spent more than $119 million backing pro-crypto congressional candidates in last year’s elections.


Pakistanis among foreign students wary as Trump expands crackdown on elite universities

Pakistanis among foreign students wary as Trump expands crackdown on elite universities
Updated 29 May 2025
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Pakistanis among foreign students wary as Trump expands crackdown on elite universities

Pakistanis among foreign students wary as Trump expands crackdown on elite universities
  • Trump’s crackdown is prompting some international students to abandon applications to campuses in the United States
  • Sial, Harvard student from Pakistan, says foreign students like him were “made to fight this battle which no one signed up for”

Cambridge, United States: Donald Trump’s expanding crackdown on elite universities is prompting some international students to abandon applications to campuses in the United States and spreading stress and anxiety among those already enrolled.

The president has upended the country’s reputation among foreign students, who number around one million, as he presses a campaign against US universities he sees as obstructing his “Make America Great Again” populist agenda.

He has blocked Harvard hosting international scholars in a maneuver being challenged legally, targeted non-citizen campus activists for deportation, and most recently suspended student visa processing across the board.

Harvard applied mathematics and economic student Abdullah Shahid Sial, 20, said the Trump administration’s campaign against US universities that the president accused of being hotbeds of liberal bias and anti-Semitism had been “dehumanizing.”

“It’s really unfortunate that this is the case for 18, 19, and 20-year-olds who came here without any family, and in most cases, haven’t been to the US before,” said Sial, who is from Pakistan and hopes to be able to return to Harvard next academic year.

Sial said he advised acquaintances to have backup plans if US colleges became inaccessible, and that a friend applied to Harvard’s law school, as well as Columbia’s, and two less reputable British institutions — ultimately opting to go to the UK.

“He definitely liked Harvard way more (but) he doesn’t want this amount of uncertainty surrounding his education,” Sial said.

Karl Molden, a Harvard government and classics student from Austria, said Trump’s move to block the university from hosting and enrolling foreign students meant he was unsure if he would be able to return after summer vacation.

While that decision — affecting some 27 percent of the overall Harvard population — was paused by a judge pending a hearing Thursday, the move still threw student plans into chaos.

“I kind of figured I would be in the target group of Trump. I’m personally right in the middle of it, so an option for me would be to study abroad... I have applied to study at Oxford because of all the action” taken by Trump, said Molden, 21.

“It’s just really hard”

Harvard academics say they have already started to feel the impact of Trump’s vendetta against the school, in feedback from colleagues based outside the United States.

“I’ve already heard this from professors in other countries who say ‘we encourage our best students to go to the United States’,” Harvard professor Ryan Enos told AFP at a noisy rally against Trump’s policies Tuesday, adding “we wonder if we can tell them that anymore.”

The halt to visa processing revealed this week is reportedly to allow for more stringent screening of applicants’ social media — and protest activity.

“International students already represent the most tracked and vetted category of nonimmigrants in the United States. It is a poor use of taxpayer dollars,” said the NAFSA Association of International Educators non-profit.

Trump, meanwhile, continued his assault on Harvard, saying university leaders have “got to behave themselves.

“Harvard is treating our country with great disrespect, and all they’re doing is getting in deeper and deeper,” he said Wednesday in the White House.

One Spanish student of politics and statistics, who declined to be named for fear of retaliation, told AFP she would not be deterred from pursuing her planned year abroad at Columbia University.

“It’s scary, because we think to ourselves that all our activity on social networks could be monitored, for example, if we like pro-Palestinian posts or anti-Trump posts. All of that could see us denied a visa,” she said.

Students due to return to Harvard after the summer break are in limbo pending a ruling on Harvard’s exclusion from the foreign student system.

“I’m completely in the dark,” said 20-year-old Alfred Williamson, a Welsh-Danish physics and government student in his second year at Harvard.

“As for my other options, and like all other international students, I’m just clinging on to the hope that Harvard will win this battle against the White House.”

Sial, the Harvard student from Pakistan, said foreign students like him were “made to fight this battle which no one signed up for.”

“It’s really unfortunate that it’s come down to that.”