Muhammad Usman Amin

PESHAWAR: Peshawar is preparing to launch the Electronic Traffic Challan (ticketing) system along with the long-awaited Safe City Project, which will officially go live in March. The project will implement a modern e-ticketing system to automate law enforcement and reduce human interference.&nbsp;Speaking to Pakistan TV Digital about the upcoming transition, Peshawar City Traffic Officer Zahid Ullah confirmed that infrastructure is being finalized to monitor the city&rsquo;s roads. The backbone of the initiative is a network of high-definition cameras that can identify vehicles using government-issued, machine-readable license plates.&nbsp;The move is being praised as a major win for transparency. Unlike manual policing, the digital system is built to be immune to the &quot;VIP culture&quot; and petty corruption that often hinder manual enforcement. Since the software automatically detects violations and issues fines, it cannot be coerced, pressured, or bribed.&nbsp;&quot;It removes the human element,&quot; said Muhammad Luqman, a local driver who spoke to Pakistan TV Digital. &quot;Everyone will be treated the same way. This will go a long way in stopping people from driving the wrong way or trying to talk their way out of a ticket.&quot;&nbsp;The scope of the e-challan system goes beyond penalizing offenders. The system is designed to serve as the brain for the city&#39;s infrastructure. For example, if cameras detect heavy congestion on a specific road, the system can automatically adjust traffic light intervals to ease the traffic or notify relevant authorities.&nbsp;&nbsp;Special focus is being placed on motorcyclists, with AI-driven cameras set to monitor and fine those who fail to wear safety helmets. By strictly enforcing lane discipline and &quot;wrong-way&quot; violations, officials expect a significant drop in urban road accidents.&nbsp;The government has intensified its requirement that all car owners use official, machine-readable plates. Without these plates, integration with the Safe City database remains incomplete, and vehicles could be flagged for non-compliance even before a traffic violation happens.&nbsp;According to Zahid Ullah, the relevant departments are currently deliberating to finalize the exact legal scope and the &quot;extent of implementation&quot; for the e-challan system.&nbsp;&nbsp;As the March launch date approaches and a network of cameras and sensors is being installed throughout the provincial capital, it seems that the era of manual traffic stops is coming to an end, and the era of digital accountability is about to begin.

Peshawar is preparing to launch the Electronic Traffic Challan (ticketing) system along with the long-awaited Safe City Project, which will officially go live in March. The project will implement a modern e-ticketing system to automate law enforcement and

Security

Peshawar is preparing to launch the Electronic Traffic Challan (ticketing) system along with the long-awaited Safe City Project, which will officially go live in March. The project will implement a modern e-ticketing system to automate law enforcement and reduce human interference

Peshawar’s traffic violators to start receiving e-tickets from March

NEW DELHI: India tightened rules regulating artificial intelligence on Tuesday, requiring social media platforms to clearly label AI content and comply with takedown requests by authorities within three hours. The updated rules, issued by the Ministry of Information Technology, will come into effect on February 20 and shrink the window for removing content that violates local laws from the previous 36-hour window. India has more than a billion internet users, and AI generated misinformation is becoming widespread in the world&#39;s most populous country. The announcement comes as New Delhi is preparing to host a major global AI summit next week, which will be attended by French President Emmanuel Macron and a host of other world leaders. The latest rules apply to content &quot;created, generated, modified or altered through any computer resource&quot; unless the information is generated in &quot;routine or good-faith editing.&quot; The rules, first issued in 2021, were amended to require online platforms like X, Instagram and Facebook to clearly label synthetic data or media manipulated by AI with permanent markings that cannot be suppressed or removed. The updated regulations define synthetic data as information &quot;that appears to be real [...] or is likely to be perceived as indistinguishable from a natural person or real-world event.&quot; They also require online platforms to deploy automated tools to prevent the dissemination of illegal content, including false documents and sexually abusive material. Last year, the government launched an online portal called Sahyog &mdash; meaning &quot;cooperate&quot; in Hindi &mdash; aimed at automating the process of sending government notices to social media platforms such as X and Facebook.

India

Updated regulations define synthetic data as information "that appears to be real [...] or is likely to be perceived as indistinguishable from a natural person or real-world event"; also require online platforms to deploy automated tools to prevent the dissemination of illegal content, including false documents and sexually abusive material.

India ramps up AI rules for social media platforms

COLOMBO: Opener Sahibzada Farhan hit a solid half-century while spinner Usman Tariq grabbed three wickets as Pakistan downed the United States by 32 runs in a T20 World Cup Group A game in Colombo on Tuesday. The 29-year-old hit five sixes and six fours in his 41-ball 73 and was aided by a brilliant 32-ball 46 by Babar Azam (four fours, one six) to guide Pakistan to 190-9 at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground. Their spinners then checked the inexperienced USA batting with Tariq taking 3-27 and Shadab Khan 2-26 to restrict their opponents to 158-8 in 20 overs. The win avenged Pakistan&#39;s shock defeat at the hands of USA in the T20 World Cup two years ago and handed them a second win in as many games following their close three-wicket win over the Netherlands on Saturday. For the USA, Shubham Ranjane top scored with a valiant 30-ball 51 including three sixes and as many fours before he fell to pace bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi, who was playing his 100th T20 international. Opener Shayan Jahangir muscled his way to an attractive 34-ball 49 studded with two sixes and five fours while Milind Kumar scored 29 before United States were derailed from 123-3. &quot;It was a clinical performance as we batted really well to post 190, and we knew we could defend that,&quot; said Pakistan captain Salman Agha. &quot;There is always room for improvement; we&#39;d like to bowl better in the powerplay before the next game.&quot; Pakistan&#39;s next game is against arch-rivals India in Colombo on Sunday, a game only cleared by Pakistan government on Monday after initially announcing a boycott of it. &quot;We were in the game in the powerplay but again in the middle overs we couldn&#39;t show intent and lost wickets,&quot; said USA captain Monank Patel. Earlier, Farhan and fellow opener Saim Ayub, who scored a 17-ball 19 with two sixes, put on 54 in five overs. Pakistan then lost two wickets in the sixth over of their innings, bowled by Shadley van Schalkwyk. Ayub was caught off a slower one while Agha holed out on the deep square-leg boundary for one. Farhan and Azam took control with an 81-run third-wicket stand as Pakistan cut loose in the middle overs. Farhan passed 1,000 T20 international runs in his 41st match before he was caught in the covers off spinner Harmeet Singh in the 16th over. Shadab Khan launched an assault to score 30 off 12 balls before Pakistan lost five wickets for just 13 runs in the last two overs. Schalkwyk was the best USA bowler with 4-25, following his four-wicket haul against India in the 29-run defeat on Saturday.&nbsp;

Cricket

Opener Sahibzada Farhan hit a solid half-century while spinner Usman Tariq grabbed three wickets as Pakistan downed the United States by 32 runs in a T20 World Cup Group A game in Colombo on Tuesday

Farhan, spinners lead Pakistan to easy USA win in T20 World Cup

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday extended condolences to the Syrian government over the loss of lives and property caused by flash floods in the northwestern parts of the country, according to a statement issued by the Foreign Office. The statement conveyed Pakistan&rsquo;s &ldquo;deepest condolences&rdquo; after severe rainfall and flooding, particularly in the Idlib and Latakia regions. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), rainfall since last week has caused widespread flooding across parts of Idlib and northern Latakia, damaging around 1,800 tents and destroying at least 150 in camps housing displaced families. The flooding comes as displacement continues in other parts of the country due to the civil war between various factions fighting against the incumbent interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa. Following the US-led brokered truce between the Syrian government and the Syrian Defense Forces, relative calm has been restored across parts of the country, reducing active fighting. However, the governorates of Aleppo, Al-Hasakeh, and Ar-Raqqa, following a Jan. 30 accord, show that nearly 160,000 people remain displaced according to a recent UN report, compounded by recent floods. &ldquo;Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families, and we wish a speedy recovery to those injured as a result of this natural disaster. We stand in solidarity with the government and people of Syria at this moment of grief,&rdquo; the Pakistan Foreign Office statement said.

Middle East

Flash floods have caused widespread displacement in Idlib and Latakia. The UN reported widespread damage to camps, while conflict-related displacement continues despite a US-brokered truce

Pakistan expresses condolences to Syria after devastating flash floods

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Tuesday the commercial license granted to Raqami Islamic Digital Bank advances Pakistan&#39;s financial sector and strengthens economic ties with Kuwait, according to an official statement. Speaking at the final session of the authorization ceremony, PM Sharif said that political relationships need economic partnerships to remain sustainable. Trade, investment and financial collaboration form the foundation of lasting alliances between nations, he said. Pakistan and Kuwait share decades-long bonds through cultural connections, political cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, the premier said. He said that the time has come to expand commercial and investment relations so that the partnership continues growing. PM Sharif congratulated Raqami Islamic Digital Bank on becoming Pakistan&#39;s third licensed digital retail bank. He said that the institution will contribute to financial inclusion, innovation and Shariah-compliant banking in the country.&nbsp; &quot;Digital Islamic banking will modernize Pakistan&#39;s financial system while maintaining Islamic principles,&quot; he said. Kuwait&#39;s Ambassador Nassar Abdul Rahman Jasser congratulated the Raqami team and called the bank&#39;s licensing a demonstration of the deep-rooted relations between both countries. Kuwaiti leadership has consistently supported Pakistan and wants to expand cooperation in trade, investment and financial services, the ambassador said. The chairman of Raqami Islamic Digital Bank&#39;s board, Abdullah Al-Mutari, thanked the Pakistan government and State Bank for their support. The bank will offer fully Shariah-compliant digital banking services to improve accessibility, efficiency and customer experience while supporting Pakistan&#39;s financial inclusion agenda, said Raqami Islamic Digital Bank CEO Omer Ajaz. The State Bank&#39;s acting governor, senior government officials and banking sector executives also attended the ceremony.

Raqami Islamic Digital Bank became Pakistan's third licensed digital retail bank.

Economy

Raqami Islamic Digital Bank will offer fully Shariah-compliant digital banking services to improve accessibility, efficiency and customer experience while supporting Pakistan's financial inclusion agenda.

Pakistan grants commercial license to Kuwait-backed digital bank

&nbsp;DHAKA: Bangladesh&#39;s leading prime ministerial hopeful Tarique Rahman said on Tuesday he faces &quot;huge&quot; challenges if he wins elections this week, vowing to repair a country he said was looted under the previous ousted government. If victorious on Thursday, the leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) said his first priority would be restoring security to end the political turmoil that has gripped the country since the overthrow of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina&#39;s autocratic rule by a 2024 youth-led uprising. &quot;We need to ensure a normal situation in the country so that people are safe,&quot; Rahman told AFP. But he warned the task ahead in the South Asian nation of 170 million people would be daunting. &quot;The economy has been destroyed,&quot; he said, accusing the ousted government of neglecting ordinary citizens. &quot;The health system has been destroyed in the last regime, the energy sector has been destroyed.&quot; Rahman&#39;s BNP is a frontrunner in the polls, but faces a stiff challenge from a coalition led by Jamaat-e-Islami, the country&#39;s largest Islamist party. Soft-spoken Rahman, sitting in his office underneath gold-framed portraits of his late parents&mdash;former Bangladesh leaders Ziaur Rahman and Khaleda Zia&mdash;said he was confident of a decisive victory. &quot;We expect that we will have a clear mandate from the people&mdash;a big mandate,&quot; he said, adding he did not foresee the need for a coalition beyond his current party alliance. &quot;We&#39;ll have enough seats to form our own government.&quot; &#39;Try to do better&#39;Rahman, 60, returned to Bangladesh in December after 17 years in exile in Britain during Hasina&#39;s rule. He assumed the leadership of the BNP from his mother, three-time prime minister Khaleda Zia, who died in December aged 80, just days after he returned. &quot;They were they, I am me,&quot; he said, referring to his famous parents, but stressing that he, too, had spent a lifetime in politics. &quot;I will try to do better than them.&quot; At the top of the list of tasks he will face if elected will be tackling the economic woes of the world&#39;s second-largest garment producer. &quot;There are serious challenges ahead of us &mdash; we need to tackle the economic situation,&quot; he added. &quot;There are a huge number of unemployed. We need to create businesses for these young people to have jobs,&quot; he said, adding he was particularly worried about the economic situation faced by women. &#39;Neighborly relationship&#39;&nbsp;With relations between Bangladesh and neighboring India strained, Rahman struck a careful note on foreign ties. &quot;The interest of my people, and the interest of my country, comes first,&quot; he said, but added that Bangladesh nevertheless wanted &quot;at least a neighbourly relationship&quot; with the countries surrounding it. Hasina, 78, is currently in hiding in India and was sentenced to death in absentia for crimes against humanity in November. She was once praised for overseeing Bangladesh&#39;s rapid economic rise, but she also presided over a government that crushed dissent and is accused of rampant theft, especially from large-scale public infrastructure projects. &quot;What we see is that in the name of mega projects, mega corruption has taken place,&quot; said Rahman. &quot;A few people were made very rich. But the rest of the country, the whole population, they were left with nothing.&quot; But Rahman said he opposed banning political parties by law. Bangladesh&#39;s interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, has barred Hasina&#39;s Awami League from contesting the vote. &quot;Of course, if someone is involved in some kind of crime, they need to be punished as per the law,&quot; he said.

Asia

Tarique Rahman says he faces 'huge' challenges if he wins elections this week; vows to repair a country he says was looted under the previous ousted government.

Bangladesh's PM-hopeful Rahman warns of 'huge' challenges ahead

TEHRAN:&nbsp;Iran&#39;s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei granted pardons or reduced sentences on Tuesday to more than 2,000 people, the judiciary said, adding that none of those involved in recent protests were on the list. The decision comes ahead of the anniversary of the Islamic revolution, which, along with other important occasions in Iran, has traditionally seen the supreme leader sign off on similar pardons over the years. &quot;The leader of the Islamic revolution agreed to the request by the head of the judiciary to pardon or reduce or commute the sentences of 2,108 convicts,&quot; the judiciary&#39;s Mizan Online website said. The list, however, does not include &quot;the defendants and convicts from the recent riots,&quot; it said, quoting the judiciary&#39;s Deputy Chief Ali Mozaffari. Protests against the rising cost of living broke out in Iran in late December before morphing into nationwide anti-government demonstrations that peaked on January 8 and 9. Tehran has acknowledged that more than 3,000 people died during the unrest, including members of the security forces and innocent bystanders, and attributed the violence to &quot;terrorist acts.&quot;Iranian authorities said the protests began as peaceful demonstrations before turning into &quot;foreign-instigated riots&quot; involving killings and vandalism. International organizations have put the toll far higher. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) says it has verified 6,964 deaths, mostly protesters.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei granted pardons or reduced sentences to more than 2,000 people

Iran offers clemency to over 2,000 convicts, excludes protest-related cases

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan improved its standing in international corruption perceptions, scoring 28 out of 100 in Transparency International&#39;s 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index released Tuesday. The gain reflects ongoing institutional reforms and enhanced oversight mechanisms aimed at strengthening governance, according to the Berlin-based watchdog organization. Pakistan ranked alongside Iraq, Liberia, Mali and Bolivia in the latest assessment. The country has pursued judicial reforms and increased transparency measures in recent years while working to strengthen accountability institutions. The improvement comes as Pakistan continues efforts to address governance challenges across multiple government sectors. Transparency International&#39;s index measures perceived levels of public-sector corruption across 182 countries and territories using 13 independent data sources that reflect assessments from business executives and country experts. Scores range from zero, indicating high corruption, to 100, representing very clean governance. The global picture showed concerning trends, with the worldwide average dropping to 42 out of 100, marking the first decline in more than a decade. Over two-thirds of countries scored below 50, indicating serious corruption problems in most parts of the world. The organization noted that sustained improvements require comprehensive legal reforms and protection of civic freedoms. Countries showing long-term gains have typically implemented broad institutional changes while safeguarding press independence and civil society organizations. The index draws on expert perceptions of corruption in the public sector rather than measuring specific corrupt activities directly. Denmark leads 2025 rankings Meanwhile, Denmark led the 2025 rankings with a score of 89, maintaining its position for the eighth consecutive year. Finland scored 88, Singapore 84, New Zealand 81 and Norway 81. Somalia and South Sudan tied for last place at nine points each.

Pakistan improved its standing in international corruption perceptions, scoring 28 out of 100 in Transparency International's 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index released February 9, 2026. (World Economic Forum)

Politics

Pakistan scored 28 out of 100 in Transparency International's latest corruption index, up from 27, reflecting institutional reforms though challenges remain in governance and accountability.

Pakistan records improvement in 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index

Saima Ayub

As parents and guardians we think of lying as a moral crack in the wall. But when it comes to children, truth is usually softer, and sadder.&nbsp;Children lie because of fear.&nbsp;They are not afraid of prison or police rather our faces. They are afraid of our silence. Afraid of disappointing the people whose approval feels like everything.&nbsp;A child who breaks a glass does not first think about right or wrong. He thinks about what will happen next. Will there be shouting? Will love feel distant? In that quick, anxious moment, a lie becomes a small shield. &ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t me.&rdquo; It is not wickedness speaking. It is fear trying to survive.&nbsp;If we are honest with ourselves, we may remember doing the same.&nbsp;There is also imagination, a bright and restless force in childhood. A five-year-old may&nbsp;insist the cat opened the cupboard or the wind pushed the vase. To us it sounds like&nbsp;deliberate deception. But in a young mind, imagination and reality often sit side by side.&nbsp;The child is not carefully constructing fraud. He is escaping guilt the only way he knows how, through story.&nbsp;As children grow older, their lies change shape.&nbsp;An older child may hide poor marks. A teenager may lie about where she was. These lies&nbsp;are not about spilled milk anymore. They are about identity. About wanting to be seen as&nbsp;capable, responsible, mature.&nbsp;Children care deeply about how we see them. Sometimes more than we realize.&nbsp;When expectations are high and mistakes feel unbearable, truth begins to look dangerous. There is also another quiet reason: children are learningsome point. At some point a child discovers that thoughts are private. That adults cannot see inside&nbsp;their minds. It is a startling discovery. With it comes experimentation. &ldquo;If I say this, will they believe me?&rdquo; It is less a plan to deceive and more a test of the world.&nbsp;None of this means lying should be ignored. Trust, once damaged, is difficult to rebuild. But punishment alone rarely builds honesty. It often builds better liars.&nbsp;If every confession is met with anger, the child learns to hide more carefully next time.&nbsp;What then helps?Calmness helps.&nbsp;When a child admits, &ldquo;Yes, I broke it,&rdquo; and hears, &ldquo;Thank you for telling me,&rdquo; something important happens. The mistake still matters. The consequence may still follow. But the&nbsp;child learns that truth does not cancel love.&nbsp;That lesson stays.&nbsp;We must also look at ourselves. Children notice the small things. When we say on the&nbsp;phone, &ldquo;Tell them I&rsquo;m not home,&rdquo; they are listening. When we exaggerate stories or twist&nbsp;facts, they are watching. We cannot demand honesty in a language we do not speak.&nbsp;A lying child is not a lost child.More often, it is a worried child. Or an ashamed child. Or simply a growing child trying to&nbsp;manage feelings too large for his small hands.&nbsp;If we want honesty, we must make it safe. Safe to fail. Safe to confess. Safe to be imperfect.&nbsp;The real question is not, &ldquo;Why is my child lying?&rdquo;&nbsp;Perhaps it is, &ldquo;What is my child afraid of losing if they tell the truth?&rdquo;&nbsp;When we answer that gently &mdash; not with authority alone, but with understanding, we&nbsp;may find that the lies grow fewer, and the conversations grow deeper.&nbsp;And that is where trust truly begins.

Blogs

Children often lie from fear, imagination, or growing identity, not malice. Honesty grows when adults respond calmly, model truth, and make mistakes safe, showing that truth never cancels love, trust, or belonging for children everywhere.

The psychology behind kids lying

ISLAMABAD: Adani Enterprises Ltd., part of India&rsquo;s Adani Group, said it is cooperating with US authorities after receiving a request for information regarding alleged imports of Iranian oil products, US media reported.&nbsp;The company said the inquiry follows a media report by the Wall Street Journal last June, which claimed that Adani-controlled firms imported Iranian <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-evacuates-27member-ship-crew-amid-israeli-strikes-in-yemen" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">liquefied petroleum gas</a> (LPG) through the Mundra port, potentially raising sanctions concerns, according to Bloomberg.&nbsp;The report mentions that Adani received the request from the US Treasury Department&rsquo;s Office of Foreign Assets Control on February 4 and stressed that it is fully cooperating with officials.&nbsp;&nbsp;The company added that the matter has no financial impact, as LPG accounted for just 1.46% of its revenue and 0.5% of the group&rsquo;s total revenue for the fiscal year ending March 2025.&nbsp;The group said it stopped all LPG imports last June &ldquo;out of abundant caution.&rdquo; Shares of Adani Enterprises fell as much as 3.5% following the news.&nbsp;The development adds to ongoing <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/us-sec-asks-court-to-bypass-indian-government-to-serve-adani" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">scrutiny of the conglomerate</a>, which has faced previous US investigations and allegations of market manipulation, all of which the group has denied.

Stop Adani protest outside Josh Frydenberg's Camberwell office. (File photo: Wikimedia Commons/ Julian Meehan)

Mentions that Adani Enterprises received the request from the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on February 4 and stressed that it is fully cooperating with officials.