Author: Kainat Rajput

Kohat Mosque Blast: At Least 7 Dead, Over 30 Injured in Police Lines Explosion

Kainat Rajput
Rescue workers searching through rubble after the Kohat mosque blast in Police Lines

Summary At least seven people were killed and more than 30 injured when an explosion ripped through a mosque inside the Police Lines in Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Kohat mosque blast struck during Friday prayers, bringing down part of a wall and trapping some worshippers under the debris. Rescue teams and police reached the site within minutes. Television footage showed volunteers and security personnel digging through broken concrete by hand, pulling out the injured as ambulances lined up outside the compound. Background Kohat’s Police Lines complex sits along the Kohat-Hangu…

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Journalists, Lawyers Condemn Rearrest of Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha

Kainat Rajput
Journalists and lawyers gather in solidarity following the rearrest of Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha

The renewed detention of lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha has triggered a fresh wave of condemnation from Pakistan’s legal and media community. The couple was arrested again on Thursday night, mere hours after the Supreme Court had suspended the sentences imposed on them in a case tied to their social media activity, and reaction from journalists and rights advocates followed almost immediately. Background Mazari-Hazir and Chattha have been fighting a PECA-related prosecution since August 2025, when a case was registered accusing Mazari-Hazir of posting content critical of…

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Pakistan Army Drone Deal With Powerus Signals a Bigger Shift in Procurement

Kainat Rajput
Pakistan Army officers reviewing drone technology during defense procurement talks with a US company delegation

Reading Between the Lines of a Deal Nobody Saw Coming News that the Pakistan Army has struck a drone deal with US company Powerus dropped without much warning. Co-founder Brett Velicovich confirmed the arrangement to Reuters on Wednesday from Islamabad, describing a memorandum of understanding that already carries an initial order attached to it. That combination, an MoU plus a live order, is worth paying attention to, since MoUs alone often go nowhere. Velicovich kept the technical details close to the chest, saying only that the order sits within the…

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Afghan Migrants Return to Taliban Rule as Iran’s War and Economic Collapse Leave Them With Nowhere Else to Go

Kainat Rajput
Afghan migrants carrying belongings cross the Islam Qala border from Iran into Afghanistan

A Border Crossing Overwhelmed by Returnees Thousands of Afghan migrants are walking back across the Islam Qala border into Afghanistan every day, driven out of Iran not by choice but by necessity. Local officials say voluntary returns have surged sharply in recent weeks. Most of these families are arriving with almost nothing. For years, Iran offered Afghans an escape from poverty and from Taliban rule at home. That equation has now flipped. A collapsing economy, a fractured currency, and the fallout of the recent conflict with the United States and…

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Australia Tightens Student Visa Rules as Political Pressure Over Migration Grows

Kainat Rajput
Australia student visa documents and passport on a desk symbolizing new immigration crackdown

Summary The Australian government has unveiled a fresh set of Australia student visa changes, cutting back on family visas, backpacker extensions, and visitor visa flexibility. The announcement was made on Thursday by Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke and comes as political parties across the spectrum push for sharper cuts to migration numbers ahead of the next few years. Background Migration has become one of the most heated debates in Australian politics over the last two years. Net overseas migration hit a record high of 556,000 in 2023 after the country…

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Why the Fed’s Credibility Is Being Tested Again

Kainat Rajput
Wall Street traders watching a screen showing the US Federal Reserve interest rate decision

A hold that didn’t calm anyone down Investors expected a quiet Fed meeting. They didn’t get one. Interest rates stayed unchanged, yet the aftermath produced one of the sharper reactions in bond markets this year. To understand why, it helps to separate what the Fed said from what the Fed meant. This explainer breaks down the decision, the dissent, and what it signals about US interest rates heading into the rest of the year. Background: how we got here Federal Reserve policy has spent the past several years trying to…

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Explainer: India’s Economic Measures to Counter the US Russia Sanctions Bill

Kainat Rajput
India economic measures against Russia sanctions — cargo ship carrying oil barrels with Indian and Russian trade route map

Summary Washington’s newest sanctions bill against Russia puts India in an uncomfortable spot: keep buying discounted Russian crude and risk steep US tariffs, or scale back purchases and pay more for oil elsewhere. New Delhi’s answer, at least publicly, is neither. It’s planning to keep diversifying where its oil comes from while leaning on diplomacy to soften whatever comes next from Washington. Background For most of the last decade, India barely touched Russian oil — it made up a tiny sliver of total imports. That changed fast after 2022, when…

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PIMS Reforms Pakistan: What the Inquiry Report Found and What Comes Next

Kainat Rajput
Firefighters and hospital staff outside PIMS Mother and Child Health ward after the nursery fire

More than three weeks after a fire killed 14 newborns at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Pakistan now has a full picture of what went wrong. A 43-page inquiry report has laid out the causes, the failures and a long list of PIMS reforms the government has been ordered to carry out, starting with a strict three-month deadline for the most urgent fixes. This piece walks through what the PIMS inquiry actually found, why the government is treating this as a wider health-sector problem rather than a one-hospital issue,…

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India Pakistan Airspace Ban: What It Means for Flights Today

Kainat Rajput
India Pakistan airspace ban explainer showing an airliner rerouted away from restricted Pakistani skies

Understanding the Ongoing Ban on Indian Aircraft The India Pakistan airspace ban has become one of the longest-running aviation disputes in the region, and it continues to affect how millions of passengers travel between South Asia and the rest of the world. Indian aircraft Pakistan airspace access has been cut off since early 2025, and despite periodic hopes of a thaw, the restriction keeps getting renewed. Here is a clear look at how the ban started, how it works today, and what it means for anyone flying in or out…

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Karachi Foul Smell Today: Residents Report Fishy Odour Across the City

Kainat Rajput
Karachi skyline shrouded in haze amid reports of foul smell and air pollution

Karachi woke up once again to an unpleasant, fishy smell hanging over several neighbourhoods, with many residents, especially those living close to the coast, complaining about the stench on social media and in local community groups. The odour has left people asking the same question that comes up almost every year: what exactly is causing Karachi’s bad smell this time. Background: A Recurring Problem for the Port City This is not the first time Karachi has dealt with a mystery stink. The city has reported similar episodes of foul smell…

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