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QUETTA: Balochistan Gov­ernor Jaffar Khan Mandokhail said on Thursday that brain drain is seriously affecting higher education in public universities of the province as senior professors are migrating to other provinces due to lack of facilities and job insecurity in public sector universities of Balochistan. “The lack of necessary facilities and opportunities is forcing the province’s bright minds to migrate to other provinces,” Mr Mandokhail said during a meeting with vice-chancellors of various public sector universities of the province. He stressed the need for formulating a comprehensive policy to reverse this trend and to pave the way for “brain gain” instead of brain drain. “Universities and their campuses in the province’s remote districts are currently facing a severe shortage of facilities,” the governor said. He said the government will provide professors, associate professors, and assistant professors with both job security and benefits to enable them to work wholeheart...

On the twenty-first day of the US-Israeli war on Iran, a sombre Nowruz and Eidul Fitr eve set the domestic mood in Iran, as fresh military developments and a shifting coalition posture pointed to an imminent widening of the war. Across Iran, the Persian New Year arrived without usual festivities associated with it. Celebrations were scaled down, with war, blackouts and economic strain shaping public sentiment. Markets remained open but subdued, and even among diaspora communities, observances lacked the usual fervour. ‘Rare moral boost’ Against this backdrop, a reported Iranian air defence success provided a rare morale boost. Iranian systems are said to have damaged a US F-35 during a combat mission, forcing it to make an emergency landing at Al-Dhafra Airbase in the United Arab Emirates. While the operational impact appears limited, the symbolic value of hitting a stealth fifth-generation aircraft would be considerable. The Iranian media is projecting it as evidence that adv...

SMOKE rises after an Iranian retaliatory salvo damaged an Israeli oil refinery in Haifa.—Reuters • Tehran strikes Qatari LNG plant, Saudi and Kuwaiti refineries • Trump warns of ‘furious response’ if attacks on Qatar continue • Rules out troop deployment, but officials say reinforcements under review • Hegseth sets no timeline for war; White House to seek $200bn more from Congress • Global energy markets shaken; Brent jumps to $119, gas prices up 35pc • Riyadh asserts it reserves right to retaliate after refinery drone strike • Netanyahu says Israel ‘acted alone’ in striking Iran gas field • Claims Tehran no longer able to enrich uranium or build missiles DOHA: As Washington rushed to arm its Gulf allies with a $16.46 billion military package, Iran issued its starkest warning yet, vowing “zero restraint” if its energy infrastructure is targeted again, pushing the Middle East closer to a regional war. The developments came after Iranian attacks on the world’s largest LNG p...

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Thursday that it had struck and “seriously damaged” a US F-35 fighter jet over central Iran. In a statement, the IRGC said the aircraft was hit by its air defence systems at around 2:50am (local time) on Thursday (2320GMT Wednesday night), adding that “a US F-35 fighter jet was struck and seriously damaged” over central Iran. It added that “the fate of the aircraft remains unknown and is under investigation,” noting there is a “high possibility” that the jet may have crashed. The IRGC also said the operation came “following the successful interception of more than 125 US-Israeli drones,” adding that the incident “reflects significant and targeted improvements in the country’s integrated air defence systems.” The US military, meanwhile, said in a statement that a US F-35 aircraft conducted an emergency landing after flying a combat mission over Iran. The military said the pilot was in stable condition. A US official, speaking ...

Leaders from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Japan have signalled their readiness to support efforts to ensure the safe passage of commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz. “We express our readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the strait. We welcome the commitment of nations that are engaging in preparatory planning,” the leaders said in a joint statement. The Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping route, has been virtually paralysed by the Middle East war. The war erupted on February 28 when the US and Israel began bombing Iran, prompting it to retaliate with strikes targeting US assets and bases in the Gulf and restricting access to the strait. Since March 1, 2026, at least 21 commercial vessels, including 10 tankers, have been attacked or reported incidents in the Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz or the Gulf of Oman, according to the British naval maritime security agency UKMTO. Across all types of vesse...

• Ex-counterterrorism chief lost his wife — a naval officer — in Syria in 2019, completed 11 combat tours • Represents MAGA’s anti-war faction THE top US counterterrorism official, who resigned from his role to protest the war against Iran, is under the spotlight for his anti-war stance and anti-Semitic remarks in the past, while his letter saying Iran was not a threat did not gain much traction in the intelligence or political community. Joseph Kent, who headed the Nat­i­onal Counterterrorism Centre, was a Green Beret and a former CIA official who also ran for Congress in 2022 and 2024, endorsed by Donald Trump, but lost the election both times. As a soldier, he completed 11 combat deployments, including in the Iraq war, before joining the CIA. In 2019, he lost his first wife Shannon Kent, who was a US Navy cryptologic technician, in a suicide bombing in Syria, leaving two children behind. Mr Kent also mentioned the loss of his wife in his letter, saying that “as a Gold Star hus...

• Decision taken on requests from S. Arabia, Qatar, Turkiye • Tarar warns action to resume promptly if attacks occur • DG ISPR insists Afghan soil being used for attacks against Pakistan • FO rejects Indian statement ISLAMABAD: Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Wednesday announced that Pakistan had decided on a “temporary pause” in the ongoing Operation Ghazab lil-Haq against the Afghan Taliban in view of Eidul Fitr and “at the request of brotherly Islamic countries”. In his post on X, Mr Tarar said: “In view of the upcoming Islamic festival of Eidul Fitr, upon its own initiative as well as on the request from the brotherly Islamic countries of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the State of Qatar and the Republic of Turkiye, the government of Pakistan has decided to announce a temporary pause amidst ongoing Operation Ghazab lil-Haq against terrorists and their support infrastructure in Afghanistan.” Operation Ghazab lil-Haq was launched on the night of Feb 26 following cr...

GILGIT: The federal Ministry of Interior has constituted a high-level committee to investigate recent incidents in Gilgit-Baltistan, where deadly clashes erupted between protesters and security forces. Earlier, the Gilgit-Baltistan government had also formed a three-member judicial commission to conduct a fact-finding inquiry into the situation. At least 20 people, including two security officials, were killed in clashes following protests in Gilgit and Skardu after reports of the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during US and Israeli attacks on Iran. During the unrest, protesters torched several installations, inc­luding security offices, a school, the AKRSP building, an IT Park, the SP office, residences of police officers and UN offices in Skardu. A curfew was later imposed in Gilgit and Skardu for several days to restore law and order. According to a notification issued by the interior ministry, the committee has been tasked with probing the Marc...

DURING the Al Quds Day rally in Tehran on Friday, as bombs fell around them, a number of top Iranian leaders took to the streets. Shortly thereafter, CNN broadcast a Pentagon briefing by Pete Hegseth, who boasted that the US-Israeli onslaught had forced Iran’s leadership to cower underground, ‘like rats’. Any impact these words could have, however, evaporated when the broadcaster used a picture-in-picture overlay and showed visuals of President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and other senior officials mingling with people on the streets of Iran’s capital. Among the crowd, one man stood out from the rest. Clad in a zipped-up black jacket, he mingled freely with participants of the rally, exchanged greetings with senior citizens, and walked around with general nonchalance. This was Ali Larijani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and a close confidant of Iran’s former supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The political and military veteran wa...

Veteran Iranian politician Ali Larijani was one of the most powerful figures in the Islamic republic, an architect of its security policy, and a close adviser to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei until the supreme leader’s assassination in an airstrike last month. Larijani, 67, was assassinated by a US-Israeli air attack as he was visiting his daughter in the eastern outskirts of a Tehran suburb, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency said on Tuesday. The scion of a leading clerical family with brothers who ​rose to high positions after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Larijani was seen as canny and pragmatic but always fiercely determined to uphold Iran’s theocratic system of government. A Revolutionary Guard Corps commander during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, he became head of Iran’s ‌national broadcaster before stints running the Supreme National Security Council either side of his membership of parliament, where he was speaker for 12 years. His role as the ultimate insider in Ali Khamenei...

US President Donald Trump lashed out Tuesday at “foolish” Nato over Iran, saying the United States needs no help after allies rebuffed his calls to join efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Trump said most US allies had rejected his push to escort ships through the crucial waterway, with French President Emmanuel Macron saying his country would “never” do so until the situation was calmer. “I think Nato is making a very foolish mistake,” Trump told reporters as he hosted Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin in the Oval Office. “I’ve long said that I wonder whether or not Nato would ever be there for us. So this was a great test.” But Trump insisted that Washington was ready to go it alone against Iran, saying that even Nato allies had agreed that Tehran needed to be confronted over its nuclear programme. “We don’t need too much help. We don’t need any help,” Trump said. Minutes before the meeting, Trump made a lengthy post on his Truth Social platform saying US forces “no longe...

ISLAMABAD: An investigation by Amnesty International into an airstrike on an Iranian school – which claimed the lives of about 168 people, mostly children – has blamed the US for the deliberate, deadly attack and urged the authorities to ensure a transparent and thorough investigation to ensure accountability. In an in-depth report, the rights watchdog revealed that the US violated international humanitarian law by failing to take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian harm and sought accountability for the perpetrators. It said the school building was directly struck, alongside 12 other structures in an adjacent Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) compound, with guided weapons, adding that this showed that US forces did not take precautions to avoid civilian harm. “The fact that the school building was directly targeted and was previously part of the IRGC compound raises concerns that US forces may have relied on outdated intelligence and failed in their obligation t...

A rebuttal by the Senate Secretariat on reports of the purchase of a luxury vehicle for Senate Chairperson Yousaf Raza Gilani further confused the matter on Monday, essentially confirming the purchase and reiterating the details reported in this connection. The rebuttal was issued after it was reported that a vehicle worth Rs90 million was bought for Gilani from the Senate’s budget. The reports also quoted Gilani as explaining that the car was ordered in May last year, “using savings from the Senate’s budget of the previous year”. These details were also confirmed in the Senate’s rebuttal, which, however, did not mention the cost of the car. The rebuttal said: “The attention of the Senate Secretariat has been drawn to certain media reports regarding the purchase of a vehicle (Land Cruiser) for the honourable Senate chairman.” “These reports are misleading, factually incorrect, and appear to be based on incomplete information and mala fide intentions,” it said, without specifying w...

As gravediggers prepared new burial plots for those killed in the US-Israeli attack on Iran , Marzia Razaei wept for her son Arfan Shamei, who died in a blast at a military training camp days before he was due home on leave. The war that began on February 28 with a blitz of air strikes on Tehran and other cities has killed more than 1,300 Iranians so far, according to Iranian officials, and plunged the Middle East into crisis. Marzia Rezaei reacts while standing near the grave of her son, Erfan, who was killed in strikes, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, at Behesht-e Zahra cemetery, in Tehran, Iran, March 16, 2026. — Reuters Tears streamed down Razaei’s face and she stared vacantly, hugging a large portrait of Shamei, 23, her voice breaking with grief as she recalled her last conversation with him when they discussed his coming trip back home to his family. “I hadn’t seen him for two months,” she said, adding that his last day before heading home was meant to have been...

IN sacking Kamran Tessori as Sindh governor, it is not just that the ruling PML-N has bowed to pressure from its coalition partner, the PPP. Rather, it appears that Mr Tessori had outlived his usefulness to those who brought him into office, as his “sacrifice” is being viewed as part of a larger gambit aimed at reshaping the Constitution and the resource distribution fram­ework between the provinces and the federation, rather than merely antagonising the MQM-Pakistan. For context, the Muttahida-nominated Mr Tessori was rem­oved from his office last week, and the PML-N replaced him with its senior leader, Nehal Hashmi, who took oath as governor on Friday. Mr Tessori was not a senior member of the MQM-P when on the advice of the Shehbaz Sharif-led Pakistan Democratic Move­ment (PDM) government in October 2022, then-president Arif Alvi app­ointed him the governor of Sindh. Insiders say Kamran Tessori was already on ‘borrowed time’, as PML-N had informed MQM-P of its decision to re...

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has decl­ared March 20 and March 21 as public holidays for offices on the occasion of Eidul Fitr, according to a cabinet division notification issued on Sunday. “The prime minister has been pleased to dec­lare March 20 and 21, 2026 (Friday and Sat­urday) as public holidays on the occasion of Eidul Fitr, both for offices obse­rving five- and six-day workweeks,” the notification stated. Meanwhile, Pakistan Railways has decided to operate four special trains ahead of Eid from major stations to various destinations. The first will depart from Lahore for Karachi on Monday (today), the second will set off from Quetta for Rawalpindi on Tuesday, the third will depart from Karachi for Peshawar on March 17, and the fourth train will head from Karachi for Lahore on March 18. The Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Rese­arch Commission (Supa­rco) has forecast that Eidul Fitr is expected to fall on March 21 as the chances of sighting the Shawwal moon on March ...

• Pete Hegseth calls reporting ‘patently ridiculous’ • Thompson says network will keep reporting ‘the truth’ WASHINGTON: The Pentagon and White House slammed CNN over its Iran war coverage on Friday — with Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth saying he looked forward to an ally of President Donald Trump taking over the news network. Hegseth spent part of a news conference on US military operations against Tehran criticising the media and CNN in particular, urging for what he called an “actual patriotic press”. The former Fox News host was particularly incensed by a story the channel ran suggesting Washington had underestimated Iran’s ability to disrupt global oil traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. “Patently ridiculous,” Hegseth told reporters, before adding: “The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better.” David Ellison is the head of Paramount Skydance, which is set to complete a landmark takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, the current owner of CNN , after beating Netfl...

ISLAMABAD: Expressing serious concern over a disquieting state of affairs in public appointments in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) on Friday ordered a departmental inquiry against delinquent officials of the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital in Karak to discourage such irregularities in the future. Headed by Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, a two-judge FCC bench also set aside the appointments of several Class-IV employees at DHQ Hospital Karak and ordered a fresh recruitment process to be completed within two months. The FCC had taken up a set of appeals filed by Muhammad Bilal and others against the May 22, 2025, restraining order issued by the Bannu Bench of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) against these appointments. “It becomes evident that the case in hand exposes a deeply disquieting state of affairs in the realm of public appointments, giving rise to competing claims over the same public posts and leaving the fate of two distinct groups of individ...

PESHAWAR: The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) killed six terrorists during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lakki Marwat on Friday, according to a press release issued by the CTD. The press release said the operation was carried out in the Shagai area within the limits of the Gambila police station on the reported presence of terrorists there. It added that the terrorists opened fire on the CTD team as they approached their location, following which the law enforcers fired in retaliation. The firing continued for around 40 minutes, the press release said, adding that six terrorists were found dead in the ensuing search operation. The press release said the process of identifying the slain terrorists was under way, following which action would be taken against their facilitators and associates. Four Kalashnikovs with magazines and ammunition, two 9mm pistols, eight hand grenades and an improvised explosive device was found in the possession of the ter...

An unidentified shooter was killed on Thursday after exchanging gunfire with security in an attack on a synagogue on the outskirts of Detroit, Michigan, police said. Police said the gunman was dead following the attack on the Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield. Law enforcement officers flooded the area soon after the incident, amid heightened tension nationwide over the US-Israeli war on Iran. “At least one individual came to the temple,” Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard told reporters. “Security saw him, engaged him in gunfire. “Nobody at the moment has been confirmed to be hurt except potentially the shooter,” Bouchard added. “We’re looking to see if it was more than one person.” Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer condemned the attack on the Temple Israel synagogue. “This is heartbreaking,” she said. “Michigan’s Jewish community should be able to live and practice their faith in peace. Antisemitism and violence have no place in Michigan,” she said. The she...

• Iranian president acknowledges proposals by Pakistan, Russia to de-escalate • PM’s aide says Islamabad continues to stand by Riyadh ‘no matter what’ ISLAMABAD: Iran’s president has demanded “reparations” and “firm international guarantees against future aggression”, calling this the only way to end the war “ignited by the Zionist regime [of Israel] & US”. The demand was articulated by Masoud Pezeshkian in a late-night tweet on Wednesday, where he referred to his conversations with the leaders of Pakistan and Russia. The missive came after PM Shehbaz Sharif spoke to President Pezeshkian to quietly explore prospects for a ceasefire aimed at ending the conflict, which is now entering its second week. In his tweet, the Iranian president said he had “reaffirmed Iran’s commitment to peace in the region”, adding that the only way to end the was “recognising Iran’s legitimate rights, payment of reparations, and firm int’l guarantees against future aggression”. Diplomatic sour...