Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has launched an “Imran Khan Release Force” to campaign for the release of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, citing legal and medical concerns.

US ChatGPT maker OpenAI and Indian IT giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) announced Thursday a plan to build data centre infrastructure in the South Asian country currently hosting a major artificial intelligence summit.

Pakistan is paying compensation totalling more than $700,000 to the families of 40 people killed in a suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque in Islamabad this month, the prime minister's office said on Thursday.

Palestinian journalists held in Israeli prisons from October 2023 to January 2026 have suffered "systematic abuse," according to a Committee to Protect Journalists report published Thursday.

A building collapse caused by an explosion in Pakistan's southern megacity of Karachi killed at least 16 people on Thursday, including children, officials said.

The United States has renewed threats of military action against Iran following inconclusive nuclear talks in Geneva. While diplomacy continues, Washington is reinforcing its military assets in the region as Tehran refuses to halt uranium enrichment or limit its missile program.

The Government of Punjab is under intense social media scrutiny after reports surfaced of its alleged acquisition of a 2019 Gulfstream G500 business jet worth up to $42 million.

U.S. President Donald Trump convenes representatives from more than 40 countries for the inaugural meeting of his newly formed Board of Peace, aimed at rebuilding war-torn Gaza and establishing an international stabilization force.

A critique of media influence and authoritarian tendencies that discourage critical thinking, suppress dissent, and keep citizens distracted rather than informed.

In Iran, subsidy reform is economically necessary but politically perilous because cheap essentials underpin daily survival amid inflation and low trust.

India is highly vulnerable to Gulf instability due to its heavy energy reliance on the Strait of Hormuz, exposing it to inflation, trade disruptions, and risks to its diaspora.

Abu Mohammad al-Julani’s shift from global jihadist to pragmatic power broker in Syria highlights how image management and governance shape political survival. The Taliban’s refusal to reform, by contrast, has deepened Afghanistan’s isolation and weakened its legitimacy.

The author argues that Pakistan’s military privilege is not merely institutional but civilizational—reshaping infrastructure, politics, faith, and daily life to normalize inequality, suppress dissent, and extract wealth at the expense of civilian society.

Despite renewed diplomatic activity, Iran’s influence in Central Asia remains limited, with cultural ties failing to translate into strategic power. Decades of sanctions, policy inconsistency, and competition from stronger actors have left Tehran a secondary regional player.

India’s growing use of Oman’s Duqm port provides a politically safer, sanctions-insulated hub for its western Indian Ocean operations, reducing reliance on Iran’s Chabahar without replacing its unique overland access to Central Asia.

Iran’s BRICS membership has given Tehran symbolic legitimacy but little practical economic relief, as sanctions, dependency on China, and limited access to BRICS financial mechanisms continue to constrain its leverage.