Author: i2wtc

PUBLISHED October 19, 2025 A nation’s cinema is supposed to question, to disturb, to inspire but ours has forgotten how. What we call “Pakistani film” today is neither from an industry nor an art form; it is a patchwork of overused faces, the same jokes, predictable stories, and borrowed glamour. In a country of 240 million voices, the screen still echoes with the same five faces and the same tired plots. The problem isn’t that Pakistanis don’t love cinema — it’s that cinema gives them nothing worth loving anymore. While other nations use film to expose injustices, inspire debate, and…

PUBLISHED October 19, 2025 KARACHI: Where most people go to the mountains for peace, they go there to fight. High in the raw, unforgiving beauty of Hunza, where the air thins and the slopes cut like glass, twin sisters Manisha and Maliha Ali train with nothing but grit and gravity. Their boots crush frost into dust, their punches echo off the rocks, and the cold bites hard enough to test their resolve. “We train in the raw beauty of Hunza,” says Manisha. “We don’t have luxurious resources, but our eyes burn with passion. It’s brutal. The altitude, the sickness, the…

This picture taken from a position on the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip, shows an Israeli armoured personnel carriers driving along the separation barrier on August 20, 2025. Ahmad Gharabli | AFP | Getty ImagesThe Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will remain closed until further notice, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday, adding its reopening will depend on Hamas handing over the bodies of deceased hostages as the two sides continued to trade blame over ceasefire violations.Netanyahu’s statement came shortly after the Palestinian embassy in Egypt announced that the Rafah crossing, the main gateway for…

The Lijian-1 Y8 carrier rocket with three satellites blasts off from a commercial aerospace innovation pilot zone in northwest China, Oct. 19, 2025. China on Sunday launched the Lijian-1 Y8 carrier rocket with three satellites onboard. The rocket blasted off at 11:33 a.m. (Beijing Time) from a commercial aerospace innovation pilot zone in northwest China and successfully sent the satellites into the planned orbit. The three satellites are Pakistan remote-sensing satellite (PRSS-2), AIRSAT 03 and 04 satellites. (Photo by Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua)JIUQUAN, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) — China on Sunday launched the Lijian-1 Y8 carrier rocket with three satellites onboard.The rocket blasted…

Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to an immediate ceasefire during talks in Doha, both sides said on Sunday, after a week of fierce border clashes, the worst violence between the South Asian neighbours since the Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021. The ceasefire “has been finalised”, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif posted on X on Sunday, saying both sides would meet again on October 25 in Istanbul to discuss “detailed matters”. Pakistani delegation, led by Khawaja Asif, including other senior officials. On the Afghan side, the talks were headed by Acting Defence Minister Mullah Yaqoob, accompanied by other representatives. Pakistani…

On govt formation and 26th Amendment, especially in Punjab, promises remain unfulfilled, says Sherry Rehman Meeting of PPP Central Executive Committee chaired by Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. Photo: Express The Pakistan Peoples Party has given one-month deadline to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz led federal government to fulfill the commitments made during the formation of the coalition. The PPP has warned that the party will reassess its position and determine its future course of action if the promises remain unmet. Addressing a press conference after a meeting of the PPP Central Executive Committee (CEC), senior party leader Senator…

More companies are announcing AI-driven layoffs from Salesforce to Accenture.Mathisworks | Digitalvision Vectors | Getty ImagesFrom tech to airlines, large global companies have been slashing staff as the real-world impact of artificial intelligence plays out, spooking employees. But critics say AI has become an easy excuse for firms looking to downsize.Last month, tech consultancy firm Accenture announced a restructuring plan that includes quick exits for workers that aren’t first able to reskill on AI. Days later, Lufthansa said it was going to eliminate 4,000 jobs by 2030 as it leans on AI to increase efficiency.Salesforce also laid off 4,000 customer…

NSO, for years, has been accused of facilitating human rights abuses through its flagship hacking tool, PegasusUS judge issues permanent injunction blocking NSO Group from hacking WhatsApp messaging platform. PHOTO: PIXABAY A US court has ordered Israel’s NSO Group to stop targeting Meta Platforms’ WhatsApp messaging service, a development the spyware company warned could put it out of business. In a 25-page ruling, handed down Friday, US District Court Judge Phyllis Hamilton imposed a permanent injunction on NSO Group’s efforts to break into WhatsApp, one of the world’s most widely used communications platforms. Hamilton also handed NSO a significant break…

Order also enforces complete ban on exhibition of weapons, limits use of loudspeakers except for Azaan, Friday sermons The Punjab Home Department has announced a seven-day extension in the enforcement of Section 144 across the province a day after provincial cabinet forwarded a summary to the federal government seeking a formal ban on the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan. The decision taken during the 38th meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Law and Order extending the restrictions that were first imposed on October 8. The government cited growing security threats and terrorism concerns as the main reasons for the extension, warning that large…

Tarar says the cricket governing body must remain impartial and avoid political entanglementsInformation Minister Attaullah Tarar. PHOTO: FILE Information Minister Atta Tarar has categorically rejected the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) ‘selective, biased, and premature’ statement regarding the deaths of three Afghan cricketers, which claimed they were killed in an ‘airstrike in Paktika’. The Afghanistan Cricket Board, in a statement, had said that three local cricketers were killed in a military strike in Paktika province and announced its withdrawal from next month’s tri-nation series with Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Later, in a statement, the ICC condemned the attack, saying it stands…