Blaze News - Pakistan

A disturbing video circulating widely on social media has sparked public outrage in the Domel area of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's Bannu district, showing a 15-year old girl allegedly being subjected to physical violence by unidentified terrorists. The girl reportedly adopted a masculine appearance, dressing in boys’ clothing and adopting a male demeanour, while moving around various locations in Domel and the nearby Township area. She also made tiktok videos. According to local sources, she continued this behavior despite repeated warnings from her family. The incident escalated when the armed men abducted her and took her to an unknown location, where she was physically assaulted. In the viral footage, the girl is coerced into making a statement promising not to venture out in such attire again or associate with boys. After extracting this forced assurance, she was reportedly released. Domel police officials confirmed that no formal complaint was lodged by the victim or her family so far...

I am a big critic of how the polio programme is being executed at the global level and locally in Pakistan. From the top medical journals like Lancet to the editorial pages of this newspaper, I have highlighted critical flaws in the polio eradication strategy and management, and it has cost me many friendships. However, as a public health professional our loyalty lies with the population we serve and not with a person or a specific agency or a donor. A recently surfaced interview of a convicted child sex offender where he is claiming to support polio eradication programme in both India and Pakistan has ignited once again conspiracy theories about vaccination programmes specifically against polio. The situation is so bad that one of my students told me that his daughter who is a medical student has asked him about the money he has received as he still works in polio. Talking with different colleagues working in polio, I realised that many kids are asking the same questions. A few days b...

Qatar's prime minister condemned Iran's attacks on Gulf states in a call with Tehran's foreign minister on Wednesday, the first high-level contact since the Islamic republic launched its missile and drone campaign. Qatari premier Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani accused Iran of seeking to "harm its neighbours and drag them into a war that is not theirs", on the call with Iran's Abbas Araghchi, according to a statement by Qatar's foreign ministry. Gulf countries have borne much of Tehran's response since the United States and Israel launched a massive air campaign against Iran over the weekend with an 11-year-old girl killed in Kuwait on Wednesday by falling shrapnel. Read: Iran intelligence operatives signalled openness to talks with CIA to end war: report Thirteen people, seven of them civilians, have been killed in countries around the Gulf since the war began. The Pentagon has announced the deaths of six US servicemen since Saturday, four of...

It is possible — and necessary — to hold three positions at once on Iran: to oppose the regime's egregious repression of its people; to reject foreign military intervention; and to refuse nostalgia for an authoritarian past. The Islamic Republic of Iran governs through fear. It jails journalists and lawyers, executes dissidents, and brutalises women who defy compulsory dress rules. Since the Women, Life, Freedom protests erupted in 2022, hundreds — possibly thousands — have been killed, and tens of thousands more detained. International investigators have documented rights abuses that may amount to crimes against humanity. None of this should be minimised. The Iranian people deserve dignity, freedom and self-determination. But condemning repression does not require endorsing war. History teaches a clear lesson: foreign military intervention does not liberate societies under authoritarian rule. It strengthens the very forces that crush dissent. From Iraq to Libya, US ...

Senior Indian Congress leader and former party president Sonia Gandhi has lambasted the Narendra Modi-led Indian government for what she described as a complete surrender of India’s foreign policy, prioritising subservience to Israel while betraying long-standing strategic ties with Iran. In an opinion piece published in an Indian daily, Gandhi condemned New Delhi’s “disturbing silence” and “muted responses” following the recent targeted assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in joint US-Israeli strikes. She termed this reticence not as neutrality but as “abdication” and a “grave betrayal” of India’s traditional balanced approach in West Asia, signalling a cowardly retreat from principled diplomacy. Gandhi highlighted that India’s historical foreign policy had carefully maintained parity between Israel and Iran, rooted in civilisational links and mutual strategic interests with Tehran. She pointed out that Iran facilitated India in key projects such as t...

Qatar on Monday said that its air defences shot down two SU-24 aircraft and intercepted seven ballistic missiles and five drones launched toward the Gulf state. “The Qatar Emiri Air Force successfully shot down two [SU-24] aircraft coming from the Islamic Republic of Iran,” a Qatari Defence Ministry statement said. The ministry said air defence systems also intercepted seven ballistic missiles, while Qatar Emiri Air Force and Qatar Emiri Navy Forces intercepted five drones that targeted several areas across the country.   pic.twitter.com/BMQysv6o8C — وزارة الدفاع - دولة قطر (@MOD_Qatar) March 2, 2026   “The threat was addressed immediately upon detection in accordance with the operational plan,” the statement said, stressing that all missiles were shot down before reaching their targets. Read More: Iran claims it destroyed US missile tracking radar in Qatar The ministry emphasised that Qatar’s armed forces possess “full capabilities and resources to safeguard the state’s ...