Malik Waqar Ahmed

ISLAMABAD: Pakistanis have welcomed the &ldquo;Islamabad Talks&rdquo; as a significant diplomatic achievement, expressing pride in the country&rsquo;s role in bringing the United States and Iran to the negotiating table. Citizens from different walks of life described the mediation effort as a moment of national accomplishment and a positive step toward regional stability. &ldquo;I think it is a big achievement for us&hellip; a moment of pride for Pakistan as a nation,&rdquo; said Imran Akram, a corporate employee, referring to Islamabad&rsquo;s role in facilitating dialogue. Others highlighted the difficulty of engaging two adversaries amid escalating conflict. &ldquo;Convincing Iran and America&hellip; at this time the initiative Pakistan took was very important,&rdquo; said Faiza Ali, a homemaker, calling it &ldquo;a very good initiative.&rdquo; Several respondents framed the development as a validation of Pakistan&rsquo;s diplomatic strategy. &ldquo;As a Pakistani, it is a big win for us&hellip; it&rsquo;s a win of foreign policy,&rdquo; said IT professional Qazi Nauman. Banker Zartar Fatima said the talks reflected Pakistan&rsquo;s growing relevance on the global stage, while entrepreneur Sufyan Ali described the effort as &ldquo;timely and necessary&rdquo; to prevent further escalation. Students and professionals alike echoed hopes that the talks would lead to lasting peace. &ldquo;I am very happy about this&hellip; it shows Pakistan can play a constructive role,&rdquo; said Eman Ahmed, a student.

Foreign Affairs

Citizens from different walks of life describe mediation effort as a moment of national accomplishment and a positive step toward regional stability; several respondents frame the development as a validation of Pakistan’s diplomatic strategy.





Pakistanis hail Islamabad Talks as major diplomatic breakthrough for peace

ISLAMABAD: More than 30 presidents of women&#39;s chambers of commerce gathered in the capital for a two-day conference aimed at expanding opportunities for women&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-offers-major-investment-opportunities-for-us-entrepreneurs-ambassador-says" target="_blank" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" rel="noopener noreferrer">entrepreneurs</a>&nbsp;across Pakistan. The 4th All Pakistan Women Chambers Presidents International Conference centered on capacity building, financial inclusion, and market access for women-led enterprises. It was organized by the Islamabad Women&#39;s Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar Khan inaugurated the event, stating that women are <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistans-powerhouses-the-women-who-owned-2025" target="_blank" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" rel="noopener noreferrer">reshaping Pakistan</a>&#39;s economy by entering new sectors, creating jobs, and strengthening household incomes. &quot;Women-led enterprises are no longer confined to micro or informal activities,&quot; the special assistant said. &ldquo;They are increasingly visible in manufacturing, services, information technology, agribusiness, and exports.&rdquo; Haroon Khan mentioned that this shift is altering market dynamics and how families cope with inflation, rising energy costs, and slow growth. He observed a clear move from survival-based businesses to growth-oriented firms led by educated women utilizing digital platforms and formal banking channels. The special assistant highlighted that official data indicate increased women&#39;s participation in small and medium enterprises over the past decade. However, policy gaps and limited access to finance still restrict scaling and productivity. He emphasized unlocking women&#39;s potential as essential for maintaining economic growth under fiscal pressure. Women entrepreneurs are helping diversify exports through value-added products in textiles, food processing, and digital services, reducing dependency on a few commodities and bolstering foreign exchange earnings. Haroon Khan pointed to recent initiatives aimed at easing business registration, expanding credit guarantees, and connecting women-owned firms to public procurement. He noted that firms led by women tend to be more resilient during economic shocks. He also acknowledged that despite policy announcements, access to affordable credit remains limited. Chamber representatives reported that high interest rates, collateral requirements, and delays in bank approvals continue to exclude many capable businesses. The Vice President of the Islamabad Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Rabia Farhan, mentioned that the country&rsquo;s central bank&#39;s loan programs are currently paused. Previously, a special women&#39;s grant with only a 5% markup was available. <img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/565084e1-6c1e-4bfd-86ab-7f2912791d7e-80463ddd-6664-419d-a8c0-8e715ce96a4d.jpg" alt="80463ddd-6664-419d-a8c0-8e715ce96a4d.jpg" class="fr-fil fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">A participant speaking at the 4th All Pakistan Women Chambers Presidents International Conference held in Islamabad, January 19, 2026.</figcaption> Meanwhile, Naima Ansari, Senior Vice President of the Pakistan-Azerbaijan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the Islamabad location offers direct access to government agencies and regulatory bodies, facilitating networking opportunities. Shabista Bakhtiyar, President of the Women&rsquo;s Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Karachi, discussed the importance of safe workplaces and increased participation in policy-making. &quot;Women need comfortable, safe, and healthy environments,&quot; Bakhtiyar said. &quot;They require spaces where they can work freely and be more deeply involved in policy-making.&quot; Other speakers included Islamabad Women Chamber of Commerce &amp; Industry Founder President Samina Fazil, Azerbaijan Ambassador Khazar Farhadov, Securities and Exchange Commission Commissioner Muzaffar Mirza, Deputy Director DGTO Pir Shah Gul, and Secretary General of UBG Zafar Bakhtawri.

Economy

More than 30 women chambers presidents met in Islamabad to discuss capacity building, financial inclusion and market access, highlighting women-led enterprises’ growing role in Pakistan’s economy amid economic challenges nationwide.

Women entrepreneurs target exports and tech at Islamabad summit

ISLAMABAD: The aroma of freshly cooked chicken and rice drifts through a parking lot as a brightly colored van pulls up near PIMS Hospital. Within minutes, a line forms, delivery riders still wearing helmets, security guards on lunch breaks, day laborers with dust clinging to their clothes.&nbsp;They are not waiting for charity. They are customers at Islamabad&rsquo;s most unusual restaurant: The Food ATM.&nbsp;For just Rs100 [$0.36], barely enough to buy a cup of tea elsewhere, they receive steaming plates of home-cooked meals that would cost three times as much at a street vendor. But this mobile kitchen serves something more valuable than food: self-respect.&nbsp;&ldquo;We charge a minimum price so no one&rsquo;s dignity is compromised,&rdquo; Tehreem Zakia, the young woman who founded Food ATM, told Pakistan TV Digital. &ldquo;We want to eradicate the dependency culture in Pakistan.&rdquo;&nbsp;In a country where many families face economic challenges, the model offers a positive alternative, providing affordable meals while encouraging self-reliance and preserving dignity by turning beneficiaries into valued patrons.&nbsp;Saddam Hussain, a delivery rider who stops by regularly, still marvels at the value.&nbsp;&ldquo;You get nothing for Rs100 these days,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;A normal meal costs Rs330 to Rs350 now. But this, excellent food for Rs100.&rdquo;&nbsp;The menu rotates daily, pushing back against the monotony of poverty. Fridays bring chicken rice with dessert, while Mondays feature bread and curry. Each day offers a small surprise, a modest luxury for people accustomed to skipping meals.&nbsp;Behind the counter, young women work swiftly, serving portions with easy smiles. University student Hoorain Mariam joined as a volunteer on her first day, inspired by watching senior students lead the effort.&nbsp;&ldquo;I&rsquo;m very passionate about working with them and serving humanity,&rdquo; she said, her eyes bright with purpose.&nbsp;The van follows a daily route through Islamabad, PIMS Hospital, the Blue Area, and neighborhoods where working people gather. Since its launch, Food ATM has served more than 49,000 meals, powered entirely by student volunteers and small donations.&nbsp;Operating in memory of Rakhshanda Memorial, these young women are doing more than feeding the hungry. They are quietly rewriting the rules of charity, proving that dignity matters as much as sustenance.&nbsp;As Hussain finishes his meal and returns to his motorcycle, he waves. Tomorrow, he will be back, not as a beggar, but as a customer.

Culture

Young women in Islamabad combat poverty with dignity, serving affordable Rs100 meals that transform charity into empowerment, restoring self-respect for thousands of working people daily.

Meals on wheels: Mobile kitchen feeds thousands for Rs100 a meal   

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s senior policymakers and business leaders underscored macroeconomic stability, reform momentum, and investment-focused governance at the Pakistan Policy Dialogue in Islamabad, positioning the forum as a signal of renewed economic confidence for international investors.&nbsp;Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said Pakistan had achieved macroeconomic stabilization and now needed growth led by the private sector.&nbsp;&ldquo;We are not talking about any other country,&rdquo; Dar said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re talking about Pakistan.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Macroeconomic stability in the country,&rdquo; the deputy PM said, citing lower interest rates, improved export financing and rising foreign exchange reserves.&nbsp;He added that while the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program are &ldquo;generally anti-growth,&rdquo; the government&rsquo;s focus is now on sustaining stability and unlocking growth potential.&nbsp;The dialogue brought together federal ministers, economic advisers, corporate leaders and development experts to discuss reforms spanning exports, digital infrastructure, climate resilience and institutional strengthening.&nbsp;Khurram Schehzad, adviser to the finance minister, said the dominant sentiment at the forum was confidence tempered with realism.&nbsp;&ldquo;Everyone is confident, everyone is positive, and of course, at the same time, critical as well,&rdquo; Schehzad said, pointing to recent macroeconomic gains and reforms as key takeaways, talking to Pakistan TV Digital.&nbsp;Digital infrastructure and investor accessibility featured prominently in the discussions.&nbsp;Mujeeb Zahoor, managing director at S&amp;P Global, said sustained investment in connectivity and enabling policy frameworks was critical to attract global capital.&nbsp;He emphasized the need for regulations that allow institutional investors and private markets to participate more effectively in Pakistan&rsquo;s economy.&nbsp;Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said inclusive growth required a sharper focus on human capital, particularly youth and women.&nbsp;&ldquo;We have to empower our youth and women, the drivers of economic growth,&rdquo; Iqbal said, noting Pakistan&rsquo;s young demographic profile and low female workforce participation, talking to Pakistan TV Digital.&nbsp;Participants said the Dialogue reflected a broader effort to project policy continuity and reform discipline at a time when Pakistan is seeking long-term investment, export-led growth and resilience against economic and climate shocks.

Pakistan’s policymakers and business leaders highlighted macroeconomic stability, ongoing reforms and investment-led growth at the Islamabad Policy Dialogue, projecting renewed confidence, policy continuity and reform discipline to international investors

Pakistan leaders highlight stability, reforms at Islamabad policy dialogue

RAWALPINDI: For months, she told her family she was visiting a friend. Instead, she was slipping into a classroom, learning how to design logos for strangers thousands of miles away. The secret held until the day she earned her first $80.&nbsp;She showed the payment to her father.&nbsp;&ldquo;He didn&rsquo;t say anything at first,&rdquo; recalls the academy&rsquo;s founder, who watched the moment unfold. &ldquo;Then his expression changed. He gave permission. After that, he started telling the neighbors himself.&rdquo;&nbsp;That single transaction did what months of arguments could not.&nbsp;She isn&rsquo;t alone.&nbsp;When 28-year-old Haal-e-Noor arrives at the small skills center in densely populated Rawalpindi, after sunset, she is already exhausted. Tucked inside a crowded neighborhood of narrow streets and concrete homes, her day has been split between an eight-hour job and household responsibilities. Her feet ache. Her hands are sore. Still, she sits down in front of a computer, eyes locked onto the screen, carefully adjusting the colors of a logo.&nbsp;&ldquo;This course of mine is almost three months long. I&rsquo;ve completed half of it and there&rsquo;s a little time left,&rdquo; she tells Pakistan TV Digital, barely looking away. &ldquo;I chose graphic designing because I want to earn from home in the future. In my opinion, the international freelancing market is a huge source of income.&rdquo;<figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/665e4240-bc44-46ae-a013-34a778fbd8fa-1228f304-e2c9-4801-916e-0ca5cfff7f12.jpg" alt="1228f304-e2c9-4801-916e-0ca5cfff7f12.jpg" class="fr-fil fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">Haal-e-Noor works on a design project during her evening class in Rawalpindi.</figcaption></figure> For Noor, this is not simply about mastering software. It is about autonomy. About earning her own money, making her own choices, and proving, to herself as much as to others, that her life does not have to be limited by expectation.&nbsp;She is one of hundreds of women enrolled at this tuition-free academy, where quiet transformations take place every evening. Some students arrive straight from college. Others rush in after work.A few are young mothers who study while their children sleep in the next room.&nbsp;In just two years, more than 600 women have passed through these classrooms. 60% are now earning on international freelancing platforms, designing logos for clients in New York, managing social media pages for businesses in London, and building websites for startups in Dubai.&nbsp;Yet the hardest lessons have little to do with design.&nbsp;&ldquo;Encouraging girls toward freelancing is the most difficult part,&rdquo; says Areeba Sajjad, the instructor who founded the academy. &ldquo;Sometimes husbands don&rsquo;t allow it. Sometimes parents say, &lsquo;Why does she need this? She&rsquo;ll get married anyway.&rsquo; We face these barriers every day.&rdquo;&nbsp;She pauses, then adds quietly, &ldquo;But we keep trying. We keep explaining.&rdquo;&nbsp;The story of the girl who studied in secret is one Areeba knows well. Months of hidden classes. One completed logo. Eighty dollars. And a father who suddenly saw possibility where he once saw risk.&nbsp;&ldquo;Our institute&rsquo;s goal is to make women self-reliant,&rdquo; Areeba says. &ldquo;Our entire staff is female. Many girls who learn here are earning well now. Most come from middle-class families. They are educated but have no opportunities. We want them to earn, to stand on their own feet, and to play a role in Pakistan&rsquo;s progress.&rdquo;&nbsp;The impact reaches far beyond individual lives. In the last fiscal year, Pakistani freelancers generated $400 million in foreign exchange earnings. Women are claiming an increasingly visible share of that digital economy, often from bedrooms, kitchens, and borrowed desks.&nbsp;From this modest classroom on the outskirts of Pakistani capital, Noor and women like her are quietly challenging deeply held assumptions about women&rsquo;s roles and worth. They are connecting to a global marketplace that does not ask permission, only skill.&nbsp;As Noor saves her work and shuts down the computer for the night, she is already thinking about the next class. The obstacles remain real, and the journey is far from over. But for the first time, the future feels like something she is building herself, pixel by pixel, decision by decision.

In crowded Rawalpindi, women like Haal-e-Noor gain digital skills, earning global incomes while challenging social barriers, reshaping futures through freelancing, determination, and quiet resilience.

Pakistani women quietly reshape futures through screens, skills, and stubborn hope

ISLAMABAD: Volunteers drive through Islamabad after dark, their cars packed with blankets and quilts, searching for workers who will spend another night sleeping on the streets. At intersections in sectors G-9, G-10, G-11, and G-13, thousands of daily wage workers gather each day. Most travel from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southern Punjab to seek work in the capital. They wait. Sometimes contractors arrive with job offers. Sometimes they don&#39;t. When night falls, and no work has come, the workers have nowhere to go. They spread out across footpaths and open grounds as temperatures drop, settling in for another freezing winter night. That&#39;s when Act of Kindness arrives.<figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/3602a02f-c215-4e3d-b1a3-dc54c9ecdf20-pic 1.jpg" alt="winter warmth" class="fr-fil fr-dib"></figure> For a decade, the volunteer organization has worked to bring relief to Islamabad&#39;s most vulnerable workers. Founder Atiq Afridi built the group on a simple premise: crowdfunding through social media to purchase blankets, pillows, and comforters, then sending teams of students and young professionals into the streets to deliver them directly. &quot;We&#39;ve been doing this for 10 years now,&quot; Afridi said. &quot;Our friends on social media contribute, then their friends join in, our teachers support us, their relatives participate &mdash; everyone becomes part of this chain of giving.&quot;<figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/f37ce50a-26ad-4624-a50c-48d744f677d3-pic 2.jpg" alt="Act of Kindness" class="fr-fil fr-dib"></figure>The chain has grown. What started as winter relief has expanded into medical camps, blood donation drives, and meal distribution programs. The organization now helps people start small businesses and operates teams in multiple cities across Pakistan. &quot;We have teams in different cities now,&quot; Afridi said. &quot;This isn&#39;t charity &mdash; it&#39;s community. It&#39;s about recognizing that the people who build our cities deserve our support.&quot; Each night, the volunteers finish distributing supplies, and workers across Islamabad settle down with new blankets against the cold. And each morning, they return to the same intersections, waiting again for work.

Volunteers use social media crowdfunding to deliver blankets and supplies nightly to thousands of laborers sleeping rough across Islamabad.

Volunteers bring winter relief to Islamabad's daily wage workers

ISLAMABAD: As dusk settles over the outskirts of Pakistan&rsquo;s capital, the narrow lanes of a low-income settlement come alive with an unusual sight. Children, many still in the clothes they wore while sorting garbage or helping their parents at construction sites, file quietly into a small neighborhood mosque.&nbsp;They leave behind the clatter of donkey carts and the metallic rustle of scrap yards, stepping into a space where the scent of incense mingles with the soft murmur of lessons.&nbsp;Inside, the prayer hall doubles as a classroom. Woven mats become desks. Chalkboards lean against marble pillars. And the mosque, a place of devotion for generations, has become something else entirely: a refuge for children denied a place in Pakistan&rsquo;s formal education system.&nbsp;These students belong to the margins of Pakistani society, overage children, daily wage earners, and garbage collectors whose families cannot navigate the bureaucracy or costs of mainstream schooling. The national picture is stark: 26.2 million out-of-school children, according to government data, giving Pakistan one of the world&rsquo;s highest rates.&nbsp;Against that backdrop, the work of this community-run initiative stands out.&nbsp;&ldquo;We go door to door and tell parents about the importance of education,&rdquo; said Farzana Naveed, a volunteer teacher, speaking to Pakistan TV Digital on Friday. &ldquo;These kids are 8 to 12 years old. I complete their primary education in 2.5 years.&rdquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;Our organization provides everything. Books, notebooks, pens.&rdquo;&nbsp;Her voice carries across the hall as she guides children through beginner English sentences. Some grip their pencils as if they are tools more unfamiliar than the metal hooks or sorting baskets they use at work.&nbsp;While many mosques across Pakistan host traditional madrasas focused on religious learning, this initiative offers an entirely secular curriculum. Science, mathematics, social studies, and English are taught in an accelerated format designed to prepare students for placement in regular schools.&nbsp;Attendance is remarkably high: 75&ndash;80 children arrive each day, often after finishing morning shifts.&nbsp;The setting may be unconventional for international readers, but its logic is rooted in local realities. Mosques are familiar, trusted, and free, eliminating the barriers that keep impoverished families from sending their children to school buildings they cannot afford to reach.&nbsp;Among the students is Hamza Khan, who spends early mornings picking through waste to supplement his family&rsquo;s income.<figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/89764863-06e4-4c57-8c7b-e3f771b0d175-WhatsApp Image 2025-12-06 at 20.22.21.jpeg" alt="Hamza-Mosque-School-PTV-Digital" class="fr-fil fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">Hamza, 10, studies inside an improvised classroom in a local mosque in Islamabad on December 5, 2025. (Pakistan TV Digital)</figcaption></figure>&ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t afford school before,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Now I collect garbage with my father in the morning, then come to school. So I can study and become an officer one day.&rdquo;&nbsp;His aspiration encapsulates a broader struggle in Pakistan, where 3.3 million children between the ages of 5 and 16 are engaged in child labor, including waste picking, brickmaking, and domestic work.&nbsp;For many, education is not simply a dream; it is a distant luxury.The initiative is run by the Junior Jinnah Trust, whose director, Muhammad Al Khyaam, believes this model can chip away at structural poverty.&nbsp;&ldquo;We&rsquo;re breaking the generational poverty cycle by educating children doing child labor,&rdquo; Khyaam said. &ldquo;We open mosque schools within their communities to eliminate access barriers.&rdquo;&nbsp;By reimagining existing community spaces, the model sidesteps the costs and complexities of building formal schools. It also leverages the cultural role of the mosque as a trusted communal anchor, something particularly potent in under-resourced neighborhoods.&nbsp;Pakistan&rsquo;s literacy rate stands at about 60.6%, a statistic that reflects decades of inequality and underinvestment. Yet inside this small mosque classroom, the atmosphere feels almost defiant.&nbsp;Children sit cross-legged under ornate calligraphy inscriptions, sounding out multiplication tables and practicing handwriting. Between their morning labor and their evening lessons lies a fragile but profound shift: the realization that they are allowed to dream.&nbsp;They are not only learning to read or count. They are learning to imagine.&nbsp;In this transformed prayer hall, where devotion has expanded into inclusion, education is more than instruction, it is liberation. And for the working children who gather here each day, it is the first step toward futures once written off by circumstance.

Education

A local mosque in Pakistan’s capital has been transformed into a free school, giving working and out-of-school children access to education, breaking cycles of poverty, and fostering hope for their futures.

In Islamabad, mosque school gives working children hope through education

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: In a sharp political reaction, Indian Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of misusing an official national address for partisan attacks, calling it &ldquo;a travesty of Democracy and the Constitution of India.&rdquo; In a strongly worded statement shared on X on Saturday, Kharge alleged that the prime minister&rsquo;s speech&nbsp;disproportionately criticized the <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/rahul-gandhi-modi-compromised-by-epstein-files-sold-india-out" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Congress</a> while neglecting key issues such as women&rsquo;s representation,&nbsp;and claimed it violated the Model Code of Conduct already in force.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 2;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2045543427056836836&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fdashboard%2F&sessionId=322607743007a53857a0c77384a7dda48fb42d1e&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 345px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div> &ldquo;A desperate and frustrated PM&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/bjp-accused-of-reshaping-indias-political-system-to-retain-power" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer">@narendramodi</a>&nbsp;with nothing meaningful to show for the last 12 years, turned an official address to the nation, into a political speech, full of mudslinging, and outright LIES.&rdquo;&nbsp;&lsquo;Travesty of Democracy&rsquo;&nbsp;The Congress president, who is also the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, said, &ldquo;The Model Code of Conduct is already in place and it was very clear how PM Modi misused official machinery to attack his opponents. This is a travesty of Democracy and the Constitution of India.&rdquo; Criticizing the Indian prime minister, he said, &ldquo;Modi ji mentioned Congress 59 times and women barely few times. That tells the country everything about his priorities. Women are not the BJP&rsquo;s priority. Congress is, because Congress stands on the right side of history.&rdquo; Taking the prime minister to task for the ruling BJP&rsquo;s poor record on women&#39;s rights, the opposition leader said, &ldquo;Congress has always supported women&rsquo;s reservation. We were the party that passed the Women&rsquo;s Reservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha in 2010 so that it would not lapse. The BJP could not get that Bill passed in the Lok Sabha. They brought another Bill in 2023 and the Congress Party supported that too. That Bill still exists. In fact, it was notified on 16th April, while the Lok Sabha was discussing these delimitation Constitutional Amendment Bills. This was done by the same Prime Minister. The fact that it took the BJP 3 years to notify their own bill, shows their commitment to India&rsquo;s Naari Shakti!&rdquo;&nbsp;&lsquo;STOP lying to the nation&rsquo;He said, &ldquo;Modi ji should STOP lying to the nation.&rdquo; The opposition leader demanded that Modi &ldquo;implement 33% reservation for women in the existing 543 Lok Sabha seats under the 2023 law.&rdquo; &ldquo;Stop mixing up the delimitation bills, i.e, the 3 Constitution Amendment Bills &nbsp;with the Women&rsquo;s Reservation Bill. Stop lying to the nation that this was an amendment to the Women&rsquo;s Reservation Bill &mdash; the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam. It was NOT. This was purely a delimitation Bill, brought in to create further division and redraw the electoral map in a manner that can only benefit the BJP,&rdquo; Kharge demanded.&nbsp;&lsquo;Apologise to 140 Crore Indians&rsquo;&nbsp;Kharge&nbsp;demanded PM Modi to &ldquo;Apologise to 140 Crore Indians.&rdquo; &ldquo;Congress has always been pro-reform. Congress transformed Indian agriculture through the Green Revolution, strengthened dairy development through the White Revolution, created our Space sector, made India a Nuclear power, Liberalised the economy in 1991, 60 Crore ADHAAR cards were distributed before Modi ji took office. Congress passed RTI, RTE, Food Security Act, MGNREGA - which Modi ji repealed,&rdquo; he lamented.&nbsp;Garlanding rapists &nbsp;The Congress president said, &ldquo;The BJP has been anti-women in both action and attitude. They have no answers for Hathras. They have no answers for Unnao. They have no answers for the treatment of Haryana&rsquo;s women wrestlers. They have shielded rapists within their own party. They released the rapists in the Bilkis Bano case.&rdquo; &ldquo;They have garlanded criminals and rapists. The NCRB data itself shows that crimes against women are highest in BJP-ruled states,&rdquo; he added.&nbsp;&lsquo;Nothing to offer&rsquo;&nbsp;Kharge said, &ldquo;After 12 and a half years in power, in the middle of an international crisis, high inflation, a deteriorating economy, sliding Rupee, and deep public distress, the Prime Minister had nothing to offer the nation except a political speech.&rdquo; &ldquo;Even with the Model Code of Conduct in place, he chose to blame the Opposition, especially Congress, for his own failures, his own betrayal, and his own apathy.&rdquo; The opposition leader accused the Indian prime minister of dividing the nation. &ldquo;BJP-RSS divides the nation. RSS supported the British against Indians and wrote mercy petitions to them. Every Indian knows that Modi Jis political masters &mdash; RSS are against WOMEN. They believe in Manusmiti, which encourages DIVISION, and NOT the Constitution of India,&rdquo; he said in his social media post.

India

Says, ‘a desperate and frustrated PM @narendramodi with nothing meaningful to show for the last 12 years, turned an official address to the nation, into a political speech, full of mudslinging, and outright LIES.’

Opposition leader terms Modi’s address 'travesty of democracy, Indian Constitution' 

WASHINGTON: Blue Origin, the US space company of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, on Sunday will reuse a booster for the first time to launch its massive New Glenn rocket. The novel approach comes amid fierce competition between Bezos&#39;s firm and fellow tech titan <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/after-artemis-ii-nasa-looks-to-spacex-blue-origin-for-moon-landings" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Elon Musk&#39;s SpaceX</a>, and a successful outing Sunday could up the pace and lower the cost of future Blue Origin launches. At nearly 100 meters (about 328 feet) tall, the New Glenn is slated for liftoff from Florida&#39;s Cape Canaveral sometime between 6:45 am (1045 GMT) and 8:45 am. It will carry a communications satellite for the company AST SpaceMobile. The company has launched the New Glenn twice before, but only with new rocket boosters. It has launched its far smaller New Shepard rocket, primarily used for suborbital space tourism, with reused components before in a less technically challenging operation. In November, Blue Origin recovered a New Glenn booster for the first time, succeeding in the complex technical challenge that culminated with a controlled vertical landing on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean. A previous attempt in January 2025 to recover the booster was unsuccessful after its engines failed to reignite during descent. The booster that will be used in Sunday&#39;s launch was refurbished after its previous flight. For this first reuse, the company replaced all of its engines and made a few other modifications. After liftoff, the rocket&#39;s two stages will separate at altitude. The upper stage will continue its journey carrying the satellite into space, while the booster will descend and attempt to land on a barge. The operation&#39;s performance will be closely watched, as the New Glenn is at the heart of Bezos&#39;s space ambitions. He is notably competing with Musk in NASA&#39;s Artemis lunar program, with their respective space companies both developing lunar landers for the US space agency. The United States is doubling down on efforts to return astronauts to the surface of the Moon in 2028, before the end of President Donald Trump&#39;s term and a deadline set by Chinese rivals.

This Blue Origin handout photo, obtained on April 17, 2026, shows Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket at Launch Complex 36 at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida, on April 12, 2026. (File photo: AFP)

Gadgets

The novel approach comes amid fierce competition between Bezos's firm and fellow tech titan Elon Musk's SpaceX, and a successful outing Sunday could up the pace and lower the cost of future Blue Origin launches.

Blue Origin set to launch rocket with reusable booster for first time

Web Desk/AFP

<em style='box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px solid; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; scroll-behavior: auto !important; font-family: Roboto, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; background-color: oklch(0.985 0.002 247.839);' id="isPasted">This live blog follows updates for Day 50 of the US-Israel war on Iran. For a recap of Day 50, go <span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px solid; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; scroll-behavior: auto !important; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; background-color: oklch(0.985 0.002 247.839);"><a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/live-usisrael-war-on-iran-day-50" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:#0073e6;"><em style='box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px solid; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; scroll-behavior: auto !important; font-family: Roboto, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif;'>here</a><em style='box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px solid; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; scroll-behavior: auto !important; font-family: Roboto, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif;'>.<hr><ul id="isPasted" style="list-style-type: circle;"><li style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 2;">Iranian official says US &lsquo;maximalist&rsquo; demands stall face-to-face talks</li><li style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 2;">Netanyahu is &lsquo;destroying our society from inside&rsquo;</li><li style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 2;">Top negotiator Ghalibaf touts Iran&rsquo;s military capabilities</li><li style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 2;">Israeli army says soldier killed in southern Lebanon</li><li style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 2;">Iran&#39;s speaker says negotiations with US have progressed but far from final agreement</li></ul><hr> Lebanese army restores road, bridge damaged by Israeli strikesPublished: April 19, 2026 | 07:23 GMT | by AFP Lebanon&#39;s military said Sunday it had reopened a road and bridge damaged by Israeli strikes in the country&#39;s south, as a 10-day truce holds between Hezbollah and Israel. In a statement, the military said it &quot;fully reopened&quot; a road linking the city of Nabatieh with the Khardali area, and had &quot;partially reopened the Burj Rahal-Tyre bridge&quot;. &quot;Work is also underway to rehabilitate the Tayr Falsay-Tyre bridge... following damage caused by the Israeli aggression,&quot; the army added. Israeli strikes on bridges that cross Lebanon&#39;s Litani river, which flows around 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of Israel, have largely cut off the area south of the waterway from the rest of Lebanon, according to the army. On Friday a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon took effect after the first direct talks between the two sides in decades, bringing a pause to weeks of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah that has killed nearly 2,300 people and displaced more than a million. Since the truce began, Lebanon&#39;s military and local authorities have been working to reopen roads that were blocked due to Israeli strikes.<hr> Iranian official says US &lsquo;maximalist&rsquo; demands stall face-to-face talksPublished: April 19, 2026 | 06:21 GMT | by Web Desk Iran is not yet ready to hold a new round of face-to-face talks with US officials, a senior Iranian official said Saturday, citing Washington&rsquo;s refusal to abandon &ldquo;maximalist&rdquo; demands on key issues. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh also said his country will not hand over its enriched uranium to the United States, rejecting claims made by US President Donald Trump, according to The Associated Press. &ldquo;I can tell you that no enriched material is going to be shipped to United States,&rdquo; Khatibzadeh said.&nbsp; &ldquo;This is non-starter and I can assure you that while we are ready to address any concerns that we do have, we&rsquo;re not going to accept things that are nonstarters.&rdquo;<hr> Netanyahu is &lsquo;destroying our society from inside&rsquo;Published: April 19, 2026 | 05:59 GMT | by Web Desk Protests against the Israeli PM and his government took place in central Tel Aviv on Sunday night, Al Jazeera reported. One of those protesters, Raphaelle Pneina, said she had been coming every week as she believed Netanyahu was &ldquo;destroying our society from inside&rdquo; as well as &ldquo;destroying&rdquo; Israel&rsquo;s relations with European nations and the US.<hr> Top negotiator Ghalibaf touts Iran&rsquo;s military capabilitiesPublished: April 19, 2026 | 05:55 GMT | by Web Desk Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Iranian forces had struck 180 drones and a F-35 fighter jet, Al Jazeera reported citing Iranian top negotiator&#39;s remarks made to state media. &ldquo;Hitting the F-35 is not a one-off event; it is an operation across various dimensions of technical and design capabilities,&rdquo; Ghalibaf said in remarks carried by the Mizan News Agency, the official news outlet of Iran&rsquo;s judiciary. &ldquo;The missile that exploded near the F-35 made the enemy realize what capabilities we possess and in what direction we are heading.&rdquo; US military officials said last month that a F-35 fighter jet involved in combat operations over Iran made an emergency landing at an airbase in the region.<hr> Israeli army says soldier killed in southern LebanonPublished: April 19, 2026 | 03:35 GMT | by AFP Israel&#39;s military said on Sunday that a soldier died during combat in southern Lebanon, where a temporary ceasefire had come into effect this week. &quot;Lidor Porat, aged 31, from Ashdod, a soldier in the 7106th Battalion, 769th Regional Brigade, fell during combat in southern Lebanon,&quot; the Israeli military said in a statement, without providing further details. The total Israeli army death toll in the six-week war between Israel and Hezbollah was now 15, according to an AFP tally based on military figures. It was the second death announced by Israel of a soldier in southern Lebanon since the start of a 10-day truce announced by the United States began on Friday -- part of wider efforts to bring a permanent end to the Middle East war.<hr> Iran&#39;s speaker says negotiations with US have progressed but far from final agreement<p style='box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px solid; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; scroll-behavior: auto !important; font-family: Roboto, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: oklch(0.985 0.002 247.839); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; line-height: 2;' id="isPasted"><span style='box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px solid; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; scroll-behavior: auto !important; font-family: Roboto, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);'><em style='box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px solid; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; scroll-behavior: auto !important; font-family: Roboto, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif;'>Published: April 19, 2026 | 00:15 GMT | by AFP Progress had been made in negotiations with the United States to end the war, Iran&#39;s parliamentary speaker said on Saturday night, but added the sides were still far from an agreement. &quot;We are still far from the final discussion,&quot; Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who is also one of Iran&#39;s negotiators, said in a national televised address, adding, &quot;We made progress in the negotiations, but there are many gaps and some fundamental points remain.&quot;

Middle East

Says progress had been made in negotiations with the United States to end the war, but the sides were still far from an agreement.

Iran's speaker says negotiations with US have progressed but far from final agreement

LAGOS: Nigeria and Turkiye have struck a defense agreement to help Africa&#39;s most populous nation fight its 17-year-long insurgency, the Nigerian defense minister said on Saturday. &quot;We have agreed to move into training, production, and improving on our defense industry cooperation,&quot; Christopher Musa told Turkish media while on a trip to Antalya, according to the Anadolu agency. Musa stated that 200 members of the Nigerian Army&#39;s Special Forces would be sent to Turkiye for training. Nigeria&#39;s longstanding security woes have drawn the ire of the United States in recent months, with President Donald Trump claiming that the country&#39;s Christians face &quot;persecution.&quot; Both the Nigerian government and experts have rejected that argument, pointing out that the multi-religious country&#39;s overlapping conflicts kill Christians and Muslims alike. Yet the West African country has still managed to find common ground with Washington on defense, with the US deploying around 200 soldiers to the country and launching Christmas Day airstrikes on the northern state of Sokoto last year. Besides radical Islamists from Boko Haram and its rival splinter group, the Islamic State West Africa Province, Nigeria is also plagued by gangs of armed criminals known as bandits who pillage, kill and kidnap in the northwest. The country also has to contend with the worsening security crisis across the Sahel -- the vast region bordering the southern Sahara desert -- which has allowed militants to expand across West Africa. In an attempt to reduce its reliance on the US, Nigeria has sought to diversify its security partners. Musa&#39;s Turkiye trip comes in the wake of President Bola Tinubu&#39;s visit in late January, the first by a Nigerian head of state in nine years. Turkiye is renowned for its inexpensive armed drones, which it exports in large numbers. &quot;Turkiye has improved dramatically regarding production of military hardware, and Nigeria is still developing,&quot; Musa said, adding that the two countries had agreed to produce some items together.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu witness the signing of nine agreements between Turkiye and Nigeria on January 27, 2026. (File photo: Anadolu Agency)

Africa

Nigerian defense minister says the two countries have agreed to work together to produce some defense items.

Nigeria strikes defense deal with Turkiye

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan joined 11 other countries in strongly condemning Israel&rsquo;s decision to appoint a diplomatic representative to Somalia&rsquo;s breakaway region of Somaliland, calling the move a violation of Somalia&rsquo;s sovereignty and territorial integrity.&nbsp;According to a joint statement shared by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-condemns-israeli-recognition-of-somaliland-presses-oic-on-kashmir" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pakistan&rsquo;s Foreign Office</a>&nbsp;on Saturday, the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, Bangladesh, Algeria, Palestine, Turkiye, Indonesia, Pakistan and Kuwait rejected Israel&rsquo;s announcement and termed it a &ldquo;flagrant violation&rdquo; of the unity and sovereignty of the Federal Republic of Somalia.<div><div style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 899px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2045568971655811491&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=102cf827e7dfc0f36b6c5c110a72d2bc7c0238e7&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px"></iframe></div></div>Israel had announced on Wednesday the appointment of Michael Lotem as its first non-resident ambassador to Somaliland, marking a further step in its engagement with the self-declared republic.&nbsp;The joint statement said the ministers firmly opposed all unilateral measures that undermine the unity of states or infringe upon their sovereignty, while reaffirming their full support for Somalia&rsquo;s unity, territorial integrity and legitimate state institutions as the sole representatives of the Somali people.&nbsp;They warned that such actions violated international law, the United Nations Charter and the Constitutive Act of the African Union, and could create a dangerous precedent threatening stability in the Horn of Africa and wider regional peace and security.&nbsp;The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) had also condemned Israel&rsquo;s move earlier this week, reiterating support for Somalia&rsquo;s internationally recognised government and its legitimate institutions.

Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tahir Andrabi, speaking at the weekly briefing on Thursday, January 15, 2026. (File photo: MOFA)

Joint statement says the countries oppose all unilateral measures that undermine the unity of states or infringe upon their sovereignty, while reaffirming their full support for Somalia’s unity and territorial integrity.

Pakistan among 12 countries condemning Israel’s envoy appointment to Somaliland

BEIRUT: After the ceasefire in Lebanon took hold, Samah Hajoul headed back to her apartment in south Beirut -- but only long enough to grab fresh clothes, feeling safer in her tent as she wonders whether the truce will last.&nbsp;&quot;I am afraid to return to my home because the situation is not stable yet,&quot; the displaced mother of four told AFP from her campsite on the capital&#39;s seafront.&nbsp;The ceasefire, which entered its second day Saturday, has granted many people the chance to check on their homes. Hajoul found her apartment lightly damaged, with broken windows, but was only there to &quot;bathe the children and get summer clothes&quot; as temperatures started to rise.&nbsp;&quot;We do not feel safe to return, for fear that something might happen at night and I would not be able to carry my children and flee with them,&quot; she added.&nbsp;Like many other displaced residents, Hajoul was waiting to &quot;see what happens&quot; at the end of the 10-day truce before deciding whether to go back.&nbsp;&quot;If the ceasefire is consolidated, we will return to our homes,&quot; she said.&nbsp;In the heavily bombed suburbs, neighborhoods were still largely empty on Saturday, aside from those making quick visits to their homes, according to an AFP correspondent.&nbsp;Among them was Hassan, 29, who only picked up a few things before returning to a school turned government shelter.&nbsp;Hassan, who only gave his first name, pointed to &quot;tension&quot; surrounding Israeli strikes in the south and Iran&#39;s announcement it was again closing the Strait of Hormuz, rattling the ongoing ceasefire in the broader war.&nbsp;With both Israel and Hezbollah accusing each other of breaching the truce in Lebanon, Hassan said &quot;there is no indication that there is a solution&quot;.&nbsp;&quot;We are afraid that if we return to the suburbs we will lose our place in the school to which we were displaced.&quot;

After the ceasefire in Lebanon, displaced residents briefly returned to damaged homes for essentials but still feel unsafe. Many are waiting through the 10-day truce, fearing instability and possible renewed conflict before deciding to return permanently.

Displaced Lebanese hesitant to return home as lasting truce uncertain

TEHRAN: Iran&#39;s top national security body said Saturday that the country was reviewing &quot;new proposals&quot; received from the United States.&nbsp;&quot;In recent days, with the presence of the commander of the Pakistani army in Tehran as an intermediary and mediator in the negotiations, new proposals have been put forward by the Americans, which the Islamic Republic of Iran is currently reviewing and has not yet responded to,&quot; the Supreme National Security Council said in a statement carried by state media.&nbsp;It went on to say that Iran&#39;s negotiating delegation &quot;will not make even the slightest compromise, retreat or leniency, and will defend with all its strength the interests of the Iranian nation&quot;.&nbsp;Pakistan has emerged as the main mediator between the two foes, and hosted an initial round of talks last week that ended without an agreement.&nbsp;The disclosure of the new proposals came hours after Iran declared that it was reimposing its closure of the Strait of Hormuz over an ongoing US blockade of its ports, prompting a warning from US President Donald Trump not to try to &quot;blackmail&quot; Washington.&nbsp;The Supreme National Security Council said &quot;Iran is determined to enforce supervision and control over traffic through the Strait of Hormuz until the definitive end of the war&quot;, insisting the US blockade would preclude even a &quot;conditional and limited reopening&quot;.&nbsp;The council said such a reopening would involve Tehran issuing transit certificates to vessels, &quot;as well as requiring payment of fees related to services for security, safety and environmental protection&quot;.

Iran said it is reviewing new US proposals delivered via Pakistan’s army chief as mediator. Tehran insists no compromise in negotiations while also reimposing control over the Strait of Hormuz amid US blockade tensions.

Iran says reviewing 'new proposals' from United States

MADRID: Venezuela&#39;s opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said on Saturday &quot;I have no regrets&quot; about symbolically handing over her Nobel Peace Prize to US President Donald Trump back in January. &quot;There is a leader in the world, a head of state in the world who risked the lives of his country&#39;s citizens for Venezuela&#39;s freedom,&quot; she told a news conference in Madrid. Machado presented her Nobel prize to Trump when she met him in the White House just two weeks after he ordered US forces to attack Caracas and snatch Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Trump, who has long coveted the Nobel Peace Prize, is currently embroiled in the Middle East war he started with his ally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with airstrikes on Iran at the end of February. The Norwegian Nobel Committee, which awards the peace prize, made clear after Machado handed her 2025 Nobel medal to Trump that the actual honor it represents &quot;cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred to others&quot;. Machado said that Trump&#39;s military operation to snatch Maduro, who is currently detained in New York facing US drug charges, &quot;is something we Venezuelans will never forget&quot;. &quot;Consequently,&quot; she said, &quot;no, I have no regrets&quot; about gifting her Nobel medal to Trump. Machado, who was in hiding before leaving Venezuela in December to collect her Nobel prize in Oslo, said she was organizing her return to the country in coordination with Washington. &quot;I am speaking with the US government, and we are working in coordination, with mutual respect and understanding,&quot; she said. She added that she believed that Washington was &quot;key to advancing a democratic transition&quot; in Venezuela. Venezuela&#39;s opposition last week called for presidential elections. Machado, who has not yet said if she would run in a future poll, was banned from running for president in the 2024 election that resulted with Maduro claiming a reelection victory.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado poses with Madrid Mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida after receiving the Golden Key to the City, in Madrid, on April 17, 2026. (AFP)

Americas

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado defended giving her Nobel medal to Donald Trump, praising his role in former Venezuelan President Maduro’s capture, and expressing no regrets in gifting him her Nobel Peace Prize. 

Venezuela's Machado doesn't regret gifting Nobel Peace Prize to Trump

KARACHI: Pakistan included four uncapped players in their squad announced Saturday for next month&#39;s two Test matches against Bangladesh, and also appointed Sarfaraz Ahmed as head coach.&nbsp;The matches, part of the World Test Championship (WTC) will be played in Dhaka (May 8-12) and Sylhet (12-16).&nbsp;Top-order batter Shan Masood will lead the Test side, which has promising new players in Azan Awais, Abdullah Fazal, Amad Butt and Muhammad Ghazi Ghori, selected on their good performances in domestic cricket.&nbsp;Spinners Noman Ali and Sajid Khan remain Pakistan&#39;s main strength with the pace attack including Shaheen Shah Afridi and Hasan Ali.&nbsp;The players will undergo a camp in Karachi and are scheduled to fly to Bangladesh on May 2.&nbsp;Pakistan Cricket Board also appointed Sarfaraz as head coach to the post that was vacant after Azhar Mahmood resigned last year.&nbsp;&quot;PCB also confirms the appointment of red-ball coaches for the Bangladesh tour, with former Test captain Ahmed appointed as head coach with Asad Shafiq and Umar Gul working as batting and bowling coaches, respectively, on the tour,&quot; the PCB said in a statement naming the 16-member squad.&nbsp;Shafiq and Gul are both former Pakistan players.&nbsp;Pakistan are fifth on the Test Championship table after drawing their two-match series 1-1 at home against South Africa last year.&nbsp;Squad: Shan Masood (captain), Abdullah Fazal, Amad Butt, Azan Awais, Babar Azam, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Cricket

Pakistan included four uncapped players in their squad announced Saturday for next month's two Test matches against Bangladesh, and also appointed Sarfaraz Ahmed as head coach.

Pakistan include four uncapped players for Bangladesh Tests

ISLAMABAD: India&#39;s Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi said the country&rsquo;s Prime Minister Narendra Modi was compromised through the Epstein files on Saturday, accusing him of signing deals that surrendered India&#39;s energy security, farming sector and data to foreign interests. The Indian Opposition Leader delivered his sharpest attack on the Indian prime minister yet as he campaigned across Tamil Nadu ahead of the state&#39;s April 23 assembly election, with his speeches shared on Indian National Congress&#39;s official YouTube channel.&nbsp; &quot;He controls him through the Epstein files,&quot; Rahul Gandhi told a rally in Ranipet, referring to US President Donald Trump&#39;s alleged&nbsp;leverage over Modi. &quot;He controls him because he knows Narendra Modi&#39;s financial system.&quot; &quot;He [Modi] signed a deal between India and the United States that sold our country out,&quot; Rahul&nbsp;Gandhi told the crowd. &quot;He handed out our energy security. He gave away our data. He sold our farmers. He sold our small and medium industry.&quot; The 55-year-old, who is the&nbsp;parliamentary face of the opposition Congress party, addressed rallies in Ponneri, Ranipet and Thuraiyur across Tamil Nadu on Saturday. He framed the Epstein claim within a broader argument: that Modi, having been compromised at the national level, now seeks to impose the same model of externally controlled, proxy governance on Tamil Nadu through his alliance with the regional AIADMK party. &quot;The same way Modi has been compromised, they want a compromised chief minister to run Tamil Nadu,&quot; he said at Ponneri. Rahul also pointed to Modi&#39;s demeanor in Parliament on Friday as evidence of a leader operating under pressure. &quot;Yesterday you saw the face of Prime Minister Modi &mdash; completely lacking confidence,&quot; he said at Ranipet. &quot;He could not even face the opposition. He was sitting sideways.&quot; The parliamentary session Rahul referenced saw the opposition defeat a government bill it said disguised a redrawing of India&#39;s electoral map (a process known as delimitation) behind the cover of women&#39;s political representation. &quot;Hidden behind that bill was a diabolical idea,&quot; he said at Ranipet. &quot;They wanted to change the number of seats that each state gets. They wanted to weaken the South Indian states, the North Eastern states and the smaller states.&quot; He called the attempt &quot;an anti-national act&quot; and said the Opposition &quot;stood like a rock&quot; to defeat it. Tamil Nadu, a state of roughly 70 million people on India&#39;s southeastern tip, votes on April 23 in a single-phase election across all 234 assembly constituencies, according to the Election Commission of India. Votes will be counted on May 4. There are 56.7 million registered voters, including 28.9 million women and 27.7 million men, as per the Chief Electoral Officer of Tamil Nadu. The BJP, which dominates India&#39;s national politics under Modi, has historically failed to win significant ground in Tamil Nadu. It has allied this cycle with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), a Dravidian regional party rooted in Tamil identity, socialism and secularism. Gandhi&#39;s Congress is allied with the rival Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), which governs the state under Chief Minister M.K. Stalin. Rahul Gandhi was unsparing on the AIADMK alliance. &quot;The BJP has hollowed out and destroyed the AIADMK,&quot; he said at Ponneri. &quot;There is nothing known as the AIADMK. It has been eaten up from the inside by Narendra Modi and Amit Shah [Indian Home Affairs Minister]. It is a hollow shell.&quot; He told AIADMK workers directly that their party&#39;s leadership had been &quot;fully captured&quot; and was now functioning as an instrument for BJP to enter Tamil Nadu. He said the BJP&#39;s agenda was an assault on Tamil language and identity. &quot;They want to attack Tamil language, they want to distort Tamil history, they want to twist Tamil culture,&quot; he said. &quot;The BJP and RSS are ignorant people. They do not understand who the Tamil people are.&quot; He accused the central government of withholding $216 million in education funds owed to Tamil Nadu and of blocking construction of a federal medical institute in Madurai. The Indian Opposition Leader closed with a cultural pledge that drew the loudest response of the rally. &quot;There is no force on this planet that can touch Tamil Nadu or its language,&quot; he told the Ponneri crowd, according to the Indian National Congress&#39;s official Facebook post. The DMK-Congress alliance outlined six economic guarantees: ₹2,000 ($21.6) per month to every woman in the state; equal amounts for senior citizens and people with disabilities; ₹2,000 ($21.6) monthly college scholarships; ₹2,500 ($27) per month in food security transfers; free property registration for first-time women buyers; and a commitment to fill all government vacancies within 300 days. Modi held his own rally in Coimbatore on Saturday, as reported by The Hindu.

Indian Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi addressing the public at a rally in Ranipet on April 18, 2026, ahead of the Tamil Nadu assembly election. (Indian National Congress/YouTube)

Rahul Gandhi stated Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was compromised via Epstein files and accused him of selling national assets, as he campaigned in the southern state of Tamil Nadu ahead of a closely contested state election.

Articles by Malik Waqar Ahmed