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Afghan officials say 15 civilians killed in fresh Pakistan border clashes

Afghan officials say 15 civilians killed in fresh Pakistan border clashes
A man walks across a bus stand at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border town of Torkham on October 13, 2025, amid cross-border clashes between the two countries. (AFP)
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Updated 1 min 18 sec ago

Afghan officials say 15 civilians killed in fresh Pakistan border clashes

Afghan officials say 15 civilians killed in fresh Pakistan border clashes
  • Clashes broke out overnight in the southern Afghan district of Spin Boldak, according to local information department
  • Pakistan did not immediately comment, but security sources said they had targeted Afghan positions from Kurram district

SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan: Fifteen civilians were killed and dozens wounded in fresh clashes on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, Afghan officials told AFP on Wednesday.

Clashes broke out overnight in the southern Afghan district of Spin Boldak, according to Ali Mohammad Haqmal, spokesman for the local information department, who said 15 civilians had been killed.

The toll was confirmed to AFP by Abdul Jan Barak, an official at the Spin Boldak district hospital, who said more than 80 women and children had been wounded.

Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid accused Pakistani forces of “once again” carrying out attacks “with light and heavy weapons” in Spin Boldak district.

Mujahid said in a statement that 12 civilians were killed and 100 others injured. The statement did not mention any casualties among security forces.

But it did say calm had returned to the area after Pakistani soldiers were killed and posts and weapons seized.

All businesses in the area are closed and many residents have fled, an AFP correspondent reported.

Pakistan did not immediately comment, but security sources said they had targeted Afghan positions from Kurram district, further north than Spin Boldak.

The renewed violence comes as tensions, fueled by security issues, flare between the two neighboring countries, with Islamabad accusing Afghanistan of harboring militant groups led by the Pakistani Taliban (TTP). Kabul denies this. 

Clashes first erupted on Saturday evening when Kabul launched an operation in at least five provinces along the border.

The Taliban government said it attacked Pakistani security forces in “retaliation for air strikes carried out by the Pakistani army on Kabul,” following unclaimed blasts in the Afghan capital on Thursday.

Islamabad vowed a forceful response on Sunday, and dozens of casualties were reported on both sides.


Pakistan military warns India against ‘provocative propaganda’ ahead of state polls

Pakistan military warns India against ‘provocative propaganda’ ahead of state polls
Updated 4 sec ago

Pakistan military warns India against ‘provocative propaganda’ ahead of state polls

Pakistan military warns India against ‘provocative propaganda’ ahead of state polls
  • ISPR says Indian commanders issuing ‘irresponsible’ pre-election statements
  • Five months after May war, Pakistan cautions against jingoism escalating tensions

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s military on Wednesday accused India’s armed forces of reviving “delusional, fabricated and provocative propaganda” ahead of state elections, warning that chest-thumping by a nuclear-armed military could stoke a cycle of jingoism and destabilize South Asia.

The statement comes five months after the May 2025 India-Pakistan conflict, termed “Marka-e-Haq” (“Battle of Truth”) by Pakistan’s military, which saw the two nations exchange artillery, missile and drone strikes before a US-brokered ceasefire was announced on May 10. The calm has largely held since the truce.

On Wednesday the military’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), alleged Indian military leaders have resumed pre-election rhetoric in the run-up to Bihar assembly polls scheduled for Nov. 6 and 11, 2025, and West Bengal’s assembly elections due in 2026. ISPR said such statements were being issued “under immense political pressure.”

Indian political and security rhetoric in recent months has included public statements blaming Pakistan for supporting terrorism in Kashmir, claims that Pakistani forces plan incursions ahead of India’s elections and assertions of “bloodshed” narratives designed to rally domestic political support. 

“Any professional soldier would know that unnecessary chest-thumping and unwarranted statements might initiate a cycle of jingoism and lead to serious consequences for peace and stability in South Asia,” ISPR said.

“Every act of aggression will be dealt with a swift, resolute and intense response that will be remembered by posterity.”

The military said it viewed with “grave concern” what it called repeat pre-poll narratives from India and described them as attempts to “mold history” with “Bollywood-style scripts.”

The heaviest fighting in decades between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan was sparked by an April 22 attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 people, most of them tourists. New Delhi blamed the incident on “terrorists” backed by Pakistan, a charge denied by Islamabad.

On May 7, Indian jets bombed what New Delhi called “terrorist infrastructure” sites across the border. Pakistan has said it downed six Indian planes, including at least three Rafale fighters, in the initial clashes. Islamabad has denied it suffered any losses of planes but has acknowledged its air bases suffered some hits although losses were minimal.

Pakistan and India have been at loggerheads since their independence from British colonial rule in 1947 and both claim the disputed Kashmir region in full but rule it in part. 


Pakistan, Saudi Fund for Development reaffirm strategic economic partnership

Pakistan, Saudi Fund for Development reaffirm strategic economic partnership
Updated 4 min 57 sec ago

Pakistan, Saudi Fund for Development reaffirm strategic economic partnership

Pakistan, Saudi Fund for Development reaffirm strategic economic partnership
  • SFD has financed about $1.2 billion in Pakistan projects and over $533 million in grants since 1976
  • ֱ remains Pakistan’s top remittance source with about 2.64 million Pakistani workers

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb this week met the CEO of the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) to reaffirm Pakistan’s strategic partnership with the Kingdom as Islamabad seeks to deepen ties with one of its most important development and financing partners amid a renewed push to attract investment and support reforms.

ֱ has long been a pillar of Pakistan’s external financing and household income mix. SFD says it has financed more than 18 development projects and programs worth about $1.2 billion, alongside over $533 million in grants since 1976. 

“Senator Aurangzeb also met H.E. Sultan Abdulrahman Al-Marshad ... where he reaffirmed the strategic partnership between Pakistan and the Kingdom of ֱ,” the finance division said in a statement after the meeting between the Pakistani finance minister and SFD CEO.

The meeting formed part of the finance minister’s broader Washington schedule on the sidelines of the IMF–World Bank Annual Meetings, where Pakistan has pressed its case for investment, climate-resilient development, and support for a reform program aimed at stabilizing growth and strengthening the external account.

Aurangzeb’s discussion with Al-Marshad also covered infrastructure priorities, notably the M-6 highway and the ML-1 railway line upgrade, as well as skills development and digital infrastructure, areas aligned with Pakistan’s broader push to improve logistics, productivity and public service delivery. SFD, for its part, has highlighted ongoing health, hydropower and transport initiatives in Pakistan and notes that in 2024 it signed 17 loan agreements worth SR3.7 billion (approximately $985 million) across 13 countries, signaling continued capacity to support partner economies.

The meeting underscores a decades-long relationship that blends development lending with short-term balance-of-payments support. SFD notes cumulative Pakistan operations spanning social infrastructure, transport, energy, water and sanitation. The Kingdom has also supported Pakistan with a $3 billion State Bank deposit, repeatedly rolled over, most recently in December 2024, and deferred oil payments of about $1.2 billion under a facility agreed in February 2025 to ease near-term pressures.

Meanwhile, about 2.64 million Pakistanis live and work in ֱ, and the Kingdom is the largest single source of workers’ remittances to Pakistan. 

According to the State Bank of Pakistan, remittances from ֱ totaled around $737 million in August 2025 and $751 million in September 2025, the highest among all source countries. 


China rejects link between new rare earth export curbs and US-Pakistan cooperation

China rejects link between new rare earth export curbs and US-Pakistan cooperation
Updated 42 min 48 sec ago

China rejects link between new rare earth export curbs and US-Pakistan cooperation

China rejects link between new rare earth export curbs and US-Pakistan cooperation
  • Beijing says export control changes are lawful and “have nothing to do with Pakistan”
  • Claims that Pakistan shipped rare earth minerals to US described as “misinformed or invented”

ISLAMABAD: China this week denied that its new export control moves on rare earth technologies are a retaliation for alleged Pakistani-US cooperation in the sector, calling recent media claims “baseless.”

Over the past several weeks, Pakistan has reportedly dispatched its first batch of rare earth elements and critical minerals to the United States under a newly signed $500 million cooperation framework, sparking speculation that Beijing might respond. 

The rare earth sector has assumed strategic importance globally, with countries seeking to reduce dependence on China, which refines the majority of the world’s rare earth supplies and has recently tightened export rules affecting minerals and technologies used in semiconductors and defense. 

At a regular press briefing in Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian emphasized China’s “all-weather strategic cooperative” relationship with Pakistan, saying bilateral trust remains high and denying any impact on that bond.

“China’s recently released export control measures on related rare earth items have nothing to do with Pakistan,” Lin said.
“The samples that the Pakistani leaders showed and gave to the US leader are gem ores purchased by staff in Pakistan.”

China’s new rules expand licensing and export restrictions on certain rare earths, technologies and processing equipment, measures Beijing says are necessary to safeguard national security and fulfill international non-proliferation obligations. 

Lin termed the news reports that Pakistan used Chinese mining technology to send rare earth materials to the United States as “misinformed or invented, or even designed to drive a wedge between China and Pakistan.”

He added that Islamabad had assured Beijing that its US engagements would not undermine Chinese interests.

“Pakistan stressed that its interactions with the US will never harm China’s interests or its cooperation with China,” Lin said.


Pakistan reports a new clash with Afghan forces along border

Pakistan reports a new clash with Afghan forces along border
Updated 15 October 2025

Pakistan reports a new clash with Afghan forces along border

Pakistan reports a new clash with Afghan forces along border
  • This is the second time in one week that the two sides have traded fire along their long border 
  • Pakistan state media said Afghan forces, TTP militants jointly opened fire at Pakistani post “without provocation” 

PESHAWAR, Pakistan: Clashes erupted Tuesday between Pakistani and Afghan forces in a remote northwestern border region, with state-run media in Pakistan accusing Afghan troops of opening “unprovoked fire” that was repulsed.

Pakistani forces responded, damaging Afghan tanks and military posts, according to Pakistan TV and two security officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Tahir Ahrar, a deputy police spokesperson in Afghanistan’s Khost province, confirmed the clashes but provided no further details.

This is the second time this week that the two sides have traded fire along their long border.

According to Pakistan’s state-run media, Afghan forces and Pakistani Taliban jointly opened fire at a Pakistani post “without provocation,” prompting what the media described as a “strong response” from Pakistani troops in Kurram, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Security officials said Pakistan's military also destroyed a sprawling training facility of the Pakistani Taliban.

There was no immediate comment from Pakistan’s military, which has been on high alert since Saturday, when both sides traded fire across multiple border regions, resulting in dozens of casualties on each side.

Although the clashes halted on Sunday after appeals from ֱ and Qatar, all border crossings between Pakistan and Afghanistan have remained closed.

Over the weekend, Kabul said that it targeted several Pakistani military posts and killed 58 Pakistani soldiers in retaliation for what it called repeated violations of Afghan territory and airspace. Pakistan’s military reported lower figures, saying it lost 23 soldiers and killed more than 200 “Taliban and affiliated terrorists” in retaliatory fire along the frontier.

Tensions have remained high since last week, when the Taliban government accused Pakistan of carrying out airstrikes in Kabul and in an eastern market. Pakistan has not acknowledged those allegations.

But Pakistan has previously launched strikes inside Afghanistan, saying it targets hideouts of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, which is separate from but allied to the Afghan Taliban.

Pakistan accuses Kabul of harboring the group, which has carried out numerous deadly attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul denies the charge, saying it does not allow its territory to be used against other countries.


From grease stains to gallery walls: Karachi mechanic’s journey into surrealism

From grease stains to gallery walls: Karachi mechanic’s journey into surrealism
Updated 15 October 2025

From grease stains to gallery walls: Karachi mechanic’s journey into surrealism

From grease stains to gallery walls: Karachi mechanic’s journey into surrealism
  • Chance encounter with painter Shahid Rassam turned young mechanic’s hidden sketches into beginning of professional art career
  • Once repairing engines, Behzad Ahmed Warsi now paints surreal visions of war and emotion displayed in galleries worldwide

KARACHI: The air inside a Liaquatabad mechanic’s shop on a January evening in 2016 was thick with the smell of oil and gasoline. Amid the clang of wrenches and the growl of engines, a young worker, Behzad Ahmed Warsi, wiped grease from his hands, slipped into a quiet corner, pulled out a scrap of paper and began to draw.

That day, fate rolled in on four wheels. A car broke down near the shop, and behind the wheel was Shahid Rassam, a prominent Pakistani Canadian painter, sculptor and principal of an art school in Karachi. 

While waiting for repairs, Rassam noticed the boy sketching.

“I saw a boy who wiped off oil and then went to sit in a corner, picked up a piece of paper, and started sketching on it,” Rassam recalled.

That fleeting scene, a moment of creativity in the midst of grease and noise, would alter the young mechanic’s life.

Rassam, who had long wanted to help artists from working-class backgrounds, called Warsi over.

“I asked, ‘Do you like drawing pictures?’ and he said, ‘Yes,’” Rassam said. 

“This thought always remained in my heart to do something for those boys and girls who come from this area and from the middle class, who have no opportunity, who can’t even afford to buy a piece of paper or a pencil.”

He invited Warsi to his studio, marking the beginning of a transformative mentorship.

“From the end of 2016 onwards, I started working with him [Rassam],” Warsi, now 32, said. “That was when I saw and understood what professional art is, how it’s developed and what the whole process looks like.”

The only child of his parents, Warsi had been taking odd jobs to support his family. Seeing his determination, Rassam spoke to his parents.

“I spoke to his parents and got him to stop working at the mechanic shop,” Rassam said. “I told them, ‘Whatever little I can do, I will do it, because he has a passion for art.’”

He asked just one thing in return.

“Can you work hard day and night? It’s okay if there are no resources, that’s not a problem, but God has given you talent, and if you work hard, you can achieve a lot,” Rassam told him.

Warsi kept his word. He earned a scholarship at the Arts Council of Pakistan, Karachi, and completed a four-year diploma in 2022 with distinction, becoming a professional artist.

Today, Warsi’s hands are “dirty with colors,” as he puts it, not with oil. His chosen medium is oil paint, and his passion is surrealism.

“In this style, the imagery is realistic, but the paintings are based on symbolic elements,” he said. “The overall effect is dreamlike, it carries the feel of a dream.”

Much of his work explores the psychological and human dimensions of conflict.

“My topic is related to war,” he said. “The [Gaza] war that is going on these days, so in that, I show the shemagh [scarf] in such a way as if it’s very powerful or I show some kind of scenario.”

Animals, often crows, horses, or doves, also appear frequently in his paintings, representing “emotions” or “nations,” alongside fragmented human forms.

“Through drawings as well I am saying something,” he said.

His canvases now hang in exhibitions across Pakistan and abroad.

“I’ve participated in exhibitions held here in Pakistan, in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, and other cities,” he said. “In fact, some of my paintings have also made their way abroad to countries like Qatar, UAE, Canada, and India.”

Rassam says his student’s rise has been remarkable.

“This shows that a boy who didn’t even have sandals or bus fare, now, by the grace of God, he drives a car, his paintings sell, exhibitions are being held in different cities of Pakistan, and among the rising artists, he is at the very top.”

Now teaching at the Arts Council, Warsi spends long nights in his studio, painting the dreams that once hid behind grease-stained hands.

“If that day I hadn’t met Sir, or if he hadn’t passed by, then at that time, the grease that used to make my hands dirty, today, they wouldn’t be dirty in colors,” he said, smiling.

“Even if my hands still get dirty, they get dirty with colors,” he laughed, “and with those, I am making a painting and working for exhibitions.”