Several Afghan Taliban posts destroyed as Pakistan responds to Kurram border firing: state media

The Pakistan Army responded to unprovoked firing by the Afghan Taliban in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's Upper Kurram and Ghozgarhi, with several Taliban personnel reportedly killed in the retaliatory action, state media reported on Saturday. The army targeted the Afghan Taliban’s Topsar post and Shipola base camp in the Upper Kurram sector with artillery fire, according to security sources. The Shipola base camp was reportedly destroyed. Several Afghan Taliban personnel were reported killed during the retaliatory action along the Ghozgarhi border. In contrast, Taliban personnel abandoned a border post following the Pakistani response, the sources said, adding that an exchange of fire was continuing in the area. Read: Info ministry calls out Afghan Taliban for deflecting attention from terrorist sanctuaries Later, following another incident of unprovoked firing by the Afghan Taliban in the Kurram sector along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, the Pakistan Army responded with heavy weapons. The sources said that the Afghan Taliban regime was assisting militants. Several Taliban posts were destroyed in the subsequent retaliatory action, while personnel fled their positions, they added. The Pakistan Army remained alert and committed to defending the country’s borders and safeguarding national security, the security sources said. Pakistan has repeatedly accused terrorist groups based in Afghanistan of carrying out attacks inside the country and demanded that Kabul take action against them. The Afghan Taliban government has rejected accusations that it allows its territory to be used for attacks against Pakistan. Islamabad maintains that the terrorist nexus extended beyond the movement of terrorists across the border to their training, arming and operational support. In 2026 alone, terrorism emanating from Afghan soil claimed the lives of 1,327 Pakistanis and injured another 2,484, according to figures cited by Pakistani authorities. Officials said that whenever Pakistani forces targeted terrorist hideouts, the Taliban regime instead moved to defend the militants and their sanctuaries rather than dismantling the infrastructure. The issue, Pakistan has argued, was not confined to TTP. UN assessments have continued to document the presence of several other militant organisations in Afghanistan, including al Qaeda, the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) and Islamic State-Khorasan, reinforcing concerns about the broader militant ecosystem operating from Afghan territory. Also Read: One soldier martyred, 12 terrorists killed as security forces foil infiltration attempt in Kurram: ISPR Pakistani officials say the continued presence of these groups, combined with training facilities, cross-border infiltration and access to sophisticated weapons, demonstrates that Afghanistan remains an important base for terrorist activity affecting Pakistan. Pakistan's position, according to officials, remains that Kabul must take concrete steps to dismantle terrorist sanctuaries, eliminate training infrastructure, prevent cross-border infiltration and ensure that Afghan territory is not used for attacks against Pakistan. The government has maintained that the issue was fundamentally one of Pakistan's national security and that continued attacks from Afghan soil cannot be addressed through denials alone. Pakistan says it expected the Taliban regime to fulfil its commitments by taking verifiable action against terrorist groups operating from its territory rather than defending or denying their presence.

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NADRA sets up 43 citizen centres in K-P

NADRA has established 43 citizen facilitation centres in 11 districts of K-P under a $46 million World Bank funded project to improve citizen centred service delivery, with implementation reaching 72 percent and completion scheduled for December 31, 2026. According to an official document available with Wealth Pakistan, NADRA is implementing the K-P Citizen-Centred Service Delivery Project, which falls under the social policy sector. The project has total financing of $46 million from the World Bank to support improvements in citizen-centred service delivery in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

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Khawaja Asif claps back at critics over Marilyn Monroe AI riddle

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Friday brushed aside online criticism after being mocked for responding to an AI-generated image of Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe, saying he personally operated his social media account and saw nothing unusual about his response. Speaking on private television channel programme Naya Pakistan, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz stalwart was asked about the post and whether he managed his account on X himself. “200% I operate it myself,” Asif said, adding that he led an ordinary life despite holding a prominent government position. “I have a personal life and a normal life. I am a normal human being; there is nothing special about me,” he said, stressing he had no airs about him. Read: Khawaja Asif trolled over Marilyn Monroe AI puzzle on X The controversy began on Tuesday when Asif responded to an AI-generated image depicting Monroe, which challenged social media users to identify an object that would have been out of place in the 1950s. Resharing the image on X, the defence minister identified the smartwatch worn by Monroe as the anachronism. The original post shared by Asif has since been deleted. Addressing the criticism, Asif defended his response, arguing that he had simply answered the question posed in the post. “They presented a riddle asking about what was amiss with the photo [of Monroe], asking what should not have been present in 1956, and that was a smartwatch, so I wrote ‘watch’. What is non-serious about this?” he said. Asif maintained that being the defence minister did not mean he had to give up his personality or refrain from engaging with light-hearted content on social media. He said he operated his account himself and used it “for fun”, questioning why his position should prevent him from expressing himself like any other individual. “Am I not Khawaja Asif? If I am the defence minister, should I let go of my identity? Whether it be good or bad?” he asked.

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Lahore Fort, Shalimar Gardens to stay open late

The Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) has decided to keep the historic Lahore Fort and Shalimar Gardens open to visitors at night, with both sites set to remain open from 7pm to 11pm under a night tourism initiative. The authority has also fixed ticket prices for night visits to Lahore Fort. The entry fee for local visitors will be Rs1,000, while children aged three to 10 will be charged Rs500. Foreign tourists will have to pay Rs2,000. During night visits, tourists will be able to explore several historic sites within Lahore Fort, including Hazuri Bagh, Sheesh Mahal, Pechowala, Barood Khana and the selfie point. Diwan-e-Khas, Diwan-e-Aam and the Royal Kitchen will also be open to visitors. The initiative aims to make Lahore's historic heritage more accessible and provide residents and foreign tourists with an opportunity to explore the city's Mughal-era landmarks after sunset.

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Islamabad court grants interim bail to co-suspect in student suicide case

The Islamabad Additional District and Sessions Court on Thursday granted interim bail to the co-suspect in the Laiba Ijaz suicide case up to October 20. Laiba, who had aspired to study at a top US university, was found hanging from a tree near a road in Islamabad on October 9, after her family allegedly lost around Rs7 million to a consultant who had promised to secure her admission and a scholarship. The Federal Investigation Agency registered a case against suspects Muhammad Nauman and Fatima Sarwar under Sections 419 (cheating), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) and 109 (abetment) of the Pakistan Penal Code, read with Sections 18 and 22 of the Emigration Ordinance, 1979. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also took notice of the incident and directed the inspector general of Islamabad police and the chief commissioner to take immediate action against the suspect. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also vowed to look into the case personally. During the proceedings of the session court, co-suspect Nihar Muhammad pleaded not guilty. His legal counsel said he was innocent and had been wrongfully implicated in the case. Read: PM Shehbaz takes notice of gold medallist’s suicide in Islamabad following education funds scam He also urged Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka to grant his client interim bail, which was granted against surety bonds worth Rs20,000. The court also issued notices to the parties and directed them to present their arguments at the next hearing. It is worth noting that the prime suspect in the case, Nauman, was sent on 5-day physical remand on Monday, October 12. Police had registered the case against the suspects in the suicide case at Ramna Police Station.

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EU wants more legal migration from Pakistan

The European Union needs to make legal travel easier for Pakistanis and address obstacles faced by genuine travelers, the bloc's migration chief has said, calling Pakistan's nearly 50% Schengen visa refusal rate "too much" and acknowledging difficulties in securing visa appointments. Magnus Brunner, the European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, told The Express Tribune in an exclusive interview during his first visit to Pakistan that the EU needed to improve legal migration pathways while Pakistan also had to improve the quality of documents submitted with visa applications. "We have to do a better job there as a European Union," Brunner said, referring to visa access. "The quality of the documents to get a visa [needs to] improve, to be diplomatic, because this has actually led to refusal rates of Schengen visas in Pakistan [of] almost 50%, which is too much. So we have to work on both sides, I think." During his visit, Brunner held talks with President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and other officials, with migration, legal mobility, border management and human smuggling high on the agenda. Brunner said cooperation between Pakistan and the EU had helped bring down irregular migration significantly. "The numbers are good, they are going down. We see a decrease of Pakistanis coming illegally to the European Union of more than 50%, which is great news," he said. Separately, Pakistani officials said during Brunner's visit that irregular migration from Pakistan to Europe had fallen by 64% over the past 18 months. Brunner said bringing irregular migration under control was important for creating greater political space within Europe for legal migration. "It is so important for the public perception to get the illegal part right in order to give also more room for a serious discussion on legal pathways," he said. Asked about difficulties faced by Pakistanis in even securing appointments to apply for Schengen visas, Brunner acknowledged the problem. "Sometimes it's a bit frustrating, I suppose, for Pakistanis who want to travel legally to the European Union," he said. He stressed that visas remained largely the competence of individual EU member states but said the European Commission was trying through its visa strategy to improve coordination and make the process quicker. Brunner said Europe also needed legal migration because of demographic changes and labour shortages. "The people get older each year, and that's why we need, of course, legal migration for our labour markets," he said. On the EU's Talent Partnership with Pakistan, Brunner acknowledged that its potential had yet to be fully realised. "We haven't achieved enough, I think," he said, adding that one of the reasons for his visit was to explore how the skills of young Pakistanis could be better matched with the needs of European economies. He cited Italy as an example of an EU member state offering opportunities to foreign workers but acknowledged that other countries could do more. "There is room for improvement for other member states," he said. Brunner said the challenge for Europe was to match skills available in countries such as Pakistan with jobs required by European economies. He also praised Pakistan's efforts to develop legal labour pathways with other countries, citing its arrangements with South Korea. "In general, I think Pakistan does a very good job in strategically looking into legal pathways all over the world, but also towards the European Union," he said. At the same time, the commissioner said Europe had tightened its approach towards irregular migration following years of political pressure over the issue. He said irregular migration into the EU overall had fallen by around 55% during the past two years following reforms. Brunner identified the routes from Pakistan and Bangladesh through Gulf countries, Egypt and Libya towards Italy and Greece as particularly dangerous. "What we see at the moment is that the most dangerous route, where a lot of people lose their lives, is from Pakistan, Bangladesh, through the Gulf countries, to Egypt, to Libya, and from Libya to Italy and Greece," he said. He said Pakistan was playing an important role in the EU's Eastern Corridor Initiative aimed at tackling irregular migration and human smuggling along the route. "A lot of Pakistanis have lost their lives actually, and that's what it's about... to save lives," Brunner said. The commissioner also said cooperation under the EU-Pakistan readmission agreement was progressing, although there was room for improvement. "We have a readmission agreement with Pakistan which is going well. The return numbers are at 30%, around about 30%, which is in general okay, but also there, of course, room for improvement," he said. He said Pakistani authorities had given him a clear commitment that the country would take back its nationals found to be staying illegally in the EU. Brunner had a direct warning for young Pakistanis considering dangerous irregular routes to Europe. "Don't put your life into the hands of the smugglers and the human traffickers because it's very dangerous. You can lose your life and the probability of getting asylum in the European Union is almost zero," he said. "Stick to the education, the right skills, and then find the legal ways to the European Union. We are very happy to have you legally, on a legal basis, on a legal pathway." Turning to security, Brunner said terrorism in Pakistan could have implications well beyond the country and called counterterrorism a shared objective. "We do everything to support Pakistan in the fight against terrorism and also radicalisation," he said. "This is our common goal." Asked about the safety of Muslim communities in Europe amid concerns over Islamophobia and racism, Brunner pointed to the EU's internal security strategy. "I think we have to do everything to keep the people safe altogether and to avoid a misuse of religion, which then leads to radicalisation and extremism," he said. Brunner also praised Pakistan's diplomatic efforts to defuse tensions between Iran and the United States, saying Islamabad had demonstrated its importance as an intermediary. "Pakistan has shown that the role of Pakistan is really important. And to be the middleman between those two, I think, is really important," he said. "I trust totally the Pakistani government. They're doing everything they can to bring peace and this is what we as Europeans, of course, support."

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Canada-returned elderly couple found dead at Karachi home

The bodies of an elderly couple, who had returned from Canada a few months ago, were found at their house in North Karachi, with the cause of death yet to be ascertained, police said. According to a statement issued by the District Central police spokesperson, the bodies were found at house R-93 in Sector 11-C of North Karachi, opposite B Amma Park, within the jurisdiction of the Sir Syed police station. The deceased were identified as 70-year-old Muhammad Yameen, son of Khuda Bakhsh, and his 65-year-old wife, Nafis Akhtar. The couple had returned from Canada some time ago and were living at the house, the police said. Read: Five members of a family found dead inside home in Karachi's Malir Their bodies were taken to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for medico-legal formalities. An initial examination found no marks of injuries caused by a sharp-edged weapon on either body, contrary to earlier reports that the couple had been found with their throats slit, the police spokesperson said. However, blood had flowed from their noses and ears and dried on the floor. Police suspected that excessive bleeding might have caused their deaths, while the possibility that they had been given a poisonous substance was also being investigated. Sir Syed Station House Officer (SHO) Irfan Asif said the cause of death could not be immediately established. He added that poisoning was one possibility, but it was too early to reach a conclusion and the post-mortem report would be needed to determine the cause of death. The incident came to light when a close relative of Yameen visited the couple but received no response from inside the house. The police were subsequently informed. Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Fareed Khan said the bodies appeared to be more than 18 hours old. Police were obtaining footage from closed-circuit television cameras installed in the area to gather further information about the incident. Also Read: Mother, three children brutally murdered Investigators were also told that workers had been visiting the house for repair work. The couple had last been seen outside the house on Tuesday evening, according to information gathered by the police. The house, a ground-plus-one structure with a shop, had reportedly been owned by the couple for several years. They planned to sell it and return to Canada to join their three children. The house had recently been vacated by a tenant, and repair work was under way. There was little furniture or other household material inside. Police recovered mobile phones from the house but found no evidence of robbery, the report said. Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar took notice of the incident and sought details from the senior superintendent of police for District Central.

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