World Headlines

Bushra Bibi, the wife of incarcerated ex-premier and PTI founder Imran Khan, has been taken to the hospital, according to party chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan. Bushra is serving a seven-year sentence in the £190 million corruption case. In December 2025, she was sen­tenced to 17 years’ imprisonment in the Toshakhana 2 case, which revolved around the purchase of an expensive jewelry set gifted to Imran by the Saudi crown prince during his May 2021 visit. The PTI has expressed concern over reports about her health, demanding that she be taken to a hospital for diagnosis and treatment. “I was informed [through] a message that Bushra [Bibi] had been shifted to the hospital last night and that I would be briefed about the treatment,” Gohar said on X. He added that he would request that her family members be allowed to meet her, as well as that Imran Khan’s family be allowed to meet with him and that he be moved to the hospital for treatment. “The earlier, the better. It is their basic right according to law,” he said. “Their health is too serious and every Pakistani is deeply concerned. Maryam Riaz Wattoo, Bushra Bibi’s sister, reported not long after that the family had reached Islamabad. “She will be going through a crucial surgery today. Please pray for her,” she said on X, without elaborating on the details. The PTI’s concern came after a document dated March 28 began circulating on social media, which stated that Bushra Bibi had been examined by a Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) doctor who had said the patient had a “history of blurring of vision and a black spot in the right eye for the past 11 days”. “She also complained of headache and flashes in the right eye,” the document said. Dawn has been unable to independently verify the authenticity and veracity of the document. Separately, a statement issued by the PTI said Bushra Bibi had been reportedly diagnosed with posterior vitreous detachment (PVD), along with myopia and astigmatism, terming the development “deeply concerning”. In January, it had also surfaced that Imran was suffering from an eye ailment, and he underwent a third eye procedure at Pims last month. In December of last year, a United Nations (UN) expert warned that Bushra Bibi was being “detained in circumstances that could pose a serious risk to her physical and mental integrity”. Earlier that month, the same special rapporteur had warned that Imran was being held in conditions that could amount to inhuman or degrading treatment, calling on Pakistani authorities to comply with international norms and standards.

An Australian court granted bail on Friday to former soldier Ben Roberts-Smith, charged with murdering unarmed prisoners captured in Afghanistan following a sweeping war crimes probe. The towering soldier became a household name across Australia when he was awarded the Victoria Cross in 2011, a medal reserved for only the most courageous wartime exploits. But a landmark military report in 2020 revealed grave allegations against Australian troops sent to fight Taliban forces, accusing elite units of torture, summary executions and “body count” competitions. This month Roberts-Smith was charged with five counts of “war crime — murder”, with police alleging he was complicit in a string of unlawful killings between 2009 and 2012. After ten days behind bars he was granted bail, with Judge Greg Grogin telling a Sydney court that the former soldier faced the prospect of “years and years” in jail before his case went to trial. In court via video link, Roberts-Smith appeared impassive as he was shown on screen in a green prison tracksuit. His lawyer Slade Howell argued it was unacceptable to keep the soldier behind bars as the case slowly wound through the courts. “It will take many, many years and will have many twists and turns,” he said. The prosecution, in turn, argued the grave nature of the alleged crimes warranted strict bail conditions. “The applicant is accused of either killing or directing his subordinates to kill unarmed detainees in the custody of Australian armed forces,” prosecution lawyer Simon Buchen said. Should Roberts-Smith be found guilty, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. From war hero to defendant The decorated soldier met Queen Elizabeth II, had his portrait hung at the Australian War Museum, and was even honoured as the nation’s “father of the year”. But the war hero’s reputation was called into question in 2018, when a series of news reports linked him to the alleged murder of unarmed Afghan prisoners by Australian troops. The soldier had allegedly kicked an unarmed Afghan civilian off a cliff and ordered subordinates to shoot him, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald reported. He was also said to have taken part in the machine-gunning of a man with a prosthetic limb which he later used as a drinking vessel with other soldiers. Roberts-Smith has staunchly maintained his innocence throughout, launching legal action against the newspapers who aired the allegations. But his efforts to sue The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald for slander would backfire, with a judge finding in 2023 many of the journalists’ claims were “substantially true”. Such civil trials carry a lower burden of proof than the criminal proceedings Roberts-Smith now faces. Australia deployed 39,000 troops to Afghanistan over two decades as part of US- and Nato-led operations against the Taliban and other militant groups.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and attend the Antalya Diplomacy Forum today on the third leg of a tri-nation tour, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said on Friday. In a statement on X, the PMO said that the prime minister will participate in the leaders’ panel on the theme “Mapping Tomorrow, Managing Uncertainties,” being held at the fifth forum in Antalya. The premier will present “Pakistan’s perspective” during the panel discussion and is also expected to meet other global leaders participating in the forum. The PMO further said that the prime minister will also attend the forum’s inaugural ceremony. After spending the afternoon in Qatar to discuss regional developments with its ruler, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reached Turkiye on Thursday to meet President Tayyip Erdogan to apprise him about the peace talks to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East, as well as attend the 5th Antalya Diplomacy Forum. For his tri-nation trip, PM Shehbaz left Pakistan on Wednesday for Saudi Arabia, where he met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, before his departure for Doha, where he met the Qatari ruler to discuss the US-Iran talks, brokered by Islamabad. In its earlier statement, the FO said the visits to Saudi Arabia and Qatar were “in the bilateral context”. It added that the premier would meet the leadership there to “discuss ongoing bilateral cooperation as well as regional peace and security”. Gulf countries — including Saudi Arabia — were facing Iranian attacks, which Tehran says were aimed at US and Israeli sites in response to the latter’s deadly large-scale strikes. Pakistan intensified efforts to act as a mediator between the United States and Iran to end the war that had engulfed the Middle East, leading to a fragile, temporary ceasefire and a first round of talks in Islamabad.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on Friday signed an agreement to extend a $3 billion deposit from the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD). Saudi Arabia, earlier this week, pledged an additional $3 billion in deposits for Pakistan and extended its existing $5bn facility for a further three years. “The agreement, signed between the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), provides for the extension in the maturity of a USD 3 billion deposit placed by SFD with the State Bank of Pakistan,” said a post on X by the Ministry of Finance. The ministry said that the agreement was signed between SBP Governor Jameel Ahmed and Chief Executive Officer of the SFD Sultan bin Abdulrahman Al-Marshad. Minister for Finance and Muhammad Aurangzeb witnessed the signing of an important financial agreement in Washington, DC, in the presence of Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States. The development took place on the sidelines of the World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings. The ministry added that the extension of the deposit reflects “strong and longstanding economic partnership between Pakistan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia” and will support the country’s external sector stability. On Thursday, the Saudi Press Agency also reported that Saudi Arabia had extended the $5bn deposit with the central bank and announced an “additional $3bn deposit”. “This assistance aims at supporting Pakistan’s economy and strengthening its resilience amidst evolving global economic challenges, and comes in accordance with the leadership’s directives to strengthen the bonds of brotherhood between the two countries, affirming the kingdom’s commitment to fostering the economic growth of Pakistan, which is expected to reflect positively on the living conditions of Pakistani citizens,” it said. Pakistan will reportedly return a $3.5bn loan to the UAE this month, putting pressure on its reserves and risking breaches of its International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme targets. The development comes at a sensitive time for the country’s external account position, which is already under strain from rising global oil prices and economic spillovers linked to tensions in the Middle East. According to official figures, Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves stood at $16.4bn as of March 27, sufficient to cover close to three months of imports. However, the repayment requirement from the UAE has added fresh pressure on the country’s external buffers. In March, Islamabad failed to secure an agreement with the UAE to roll over the $3.5bn facility, marking the first such failure in seven years, and raising concerns about near-term financing gaps. Pakistan’s foreign exchange position, though under pressure, remains part of a broader stabilisation effort under IMF-supported reforms. Analysts say external financing risks remain a key vulnerability, particularly amid volatile energy prices and constrained global capital markets.

NEW DELHI: A crackdown on India’s performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) production — the biggest globally — is key to tackling the doping menace and protect the athletes, World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) chief Witold Banka told AFP on Thursday. Banka and his team have been in New Delhi as part of their push to build stronger ties with national law and order agencies including cyber crime cells to help uphold the credibility of professional sport. WADA has sought help from India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) — federal police — to curtail the initial supply chain of racketeers and agents who peddle drugs. “We see the problem of production of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), India is the biggest producer of those illegal substances,” said Banka. “That’s why we collaborate with the CBI, with law enforcement, to try to destroy this market and to really protect the lives of athletes and the health of society,” added the 41-year-old Pole. WADA has been aggressive in curbing the doping crisis with their Global Anti-Doping Intelligence and Investigations Network (GAIIN) initiative since 2022. An INTERPOL-backed “operation upstream” has been a success for WADA with 250 raids around the world, 88 illicit labs dismantled and almost 90 tons of PEDs seized. “We are here because India is the biggest population (1.4 billion) and we see how important it is for the Indian authorities, and we see the need to strengthen the system here — it’s a common interest,” Gunter Younger, head of investigations for WADA, told AFP. “For now I see the appetite and willingness from the public authority side (in India) to work with us closely to address this issue. We know it’s not only about the doping of the athletes.” Younger, a former head of the Bavarian Police’s Cybercrime Division, said to strike a blow against the doping menace the focus should be shifted from athletes to the supplier of the PEDs. “We always focus on testing, and the whole infrastructure in the last 25 years the anti-doping community was focusing on testing, and it was okay in the beginning. But the criminal networks, they adjust, and they adjust quite quickly. The fact that we have, let’s say, under 1 per cent hits with testing shows for me we can do better in this way. “Therefore what we want to do with them is to strengthen their intelligence and investigations, working with the CBI, adopt a top-down strategy. “Go for the criminal networks, and look for the clients, and target the coaches, the doctors that are responsible for providing the PEDs to the athletes, and not do a bottom-up strategy.” Not only is India the leader in manufacturing PEDs it also has the unwanted tag of topping the list of global sports drug cheats for three years in a row, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said in 2025. India’s National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) collected 7,113 urine and blood samples out of which 260 tested positive in 2024, according to a WADA report published in December 2025. Published in Dawn, April 17th, 2026