Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi on Sunday launched five development projects worth more than Rs2 billion in Jamrud, District Khyber, saying the schemes would improve public services and accelerate development in the merged tribal districts. The projects include the construction of a Nursing College in Jamrud at a cost of Rs636 million, the establishment of artificial intelligence (AI) classrooms at the Institute of Applied Sciences for Rs32 million, the rehabilitation and solarisation of 21 drinking water supply schemes worth Rs502 million, the beautification of Jamrud Bazaar for Rs430 million, and the widening, rehabilitation and improvement of the 10-kilometre Takhta Beg Road in Bara at a cost of Rs424 million. Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, Afridi said the people of his constituency had given him overwhelming support in the elections, making him the first chief minister from the merged tribal districts. He said the trust placed in him by the public had increased his responsibility to ensure balanced and transparent development across the province. The chief minister described the newly launched projects as the rightful entitlement of the people and said his government was committed to improving healthcare, education, road infrastructure, clean drinking water and urban facilities in underdeveloped areas. Afridi also spoke about the political situation facing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), saying the party leadership was going through a difficult period. He reiterated the party’s stance that former prime minister Imran Khan had been denied adequate access despite pursuing legal and constitutional avenues. He claimed PTI had exhausted all efforts aimed at reconciliation and said the party would continue its political struggle through public mobilisation. The chief minister announced that PTI would hold a major public gathering in Peshawar on August 5, urging supporters to participate in large numbers. He described the event as a significant moment for the party and pledged to stand alongside its workers during the movement.

Police have intensified their investigation into the death of 25-year-old former Institute of Business Administration (IBA) student and aspiring entrepreneur Mir Raza Ali Khan, saying several pieces of evidence point toward the possibility of suicide. However, investigators have not ruled out other possibilities as key questions remain unanswered. The young businessman was found dead with a gunshot wound to his chest in bushes near Shahi Qila in Gulistan-i-Jauhar, opposite the University of Karachi. His body was recovered two days after he was reported missing from his residence in PECHS. According to investigators, Raza had returned home after closing his business in Bahadurabad before leaving again after collecting a pistol from his office. Before departing, he reportedly left the keys to his house and car, along with his wristwatch and some cash for his mother. Police also found that all data on his iPhone had been deleted before his disappearance. The investigation revealed that he booked an online ride to Gulistan-i-Jauhar. The cab driver told police that Raza requested his favourite song during the journey and paid more than the required fare. CCTV footage reviewed by investigators showed him walking alone after being dropped off, with no one seen accompanying him. Police later recovered his mobile phone after tracing it to a person who inserted a SIM card into the device. The individual was detained, and investigators recovered the phone for forensic examination. Authorities also found the holster of Raza’s pistol hanging from a tree near the location where his body was discovered. However, the firearm used in the incident has not yet been recovered. Investigators believe it may have been taken away by someone passing through the area after the incident. The investigation has further revealed that Raza had been facing significant financial difficulties. Police said he had suffered losses worth millions of rupees through business investments and was under pressure to repay investors. Investigators also learned that he had sought a loan of Rs30 million from one investor, but the request was declined. According to statements recorded by police, the investor claimed Raza had spoken about experiencing disturbing thoughts before his death. His fiancée also told investigators that he had become deeply focused on cryptocurrency investments, particularly Bitcoin. She said she sent him a message on the night of his disappearance, but it was never delivered because his phone had already gone offline. Despite the evidence gathered so far, investigators say three major questions remain unresolved. They are trying to determine why Raza chose the isolated location where his body was found, where the missing pistol is, and why forensic experts did not detect gunshot residue on his hands despite the bullet being fired from close range. Officials noted that the body’s partial decomposition may have affected forensic findings.

ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has stirred fresh political debate after claiming that Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi is the most powerful minister in the federal government and, in several matters, is not even answerable to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Speaking during a television interview on Monday, Asif delivered unusually candid remarks about Naqvi’s role in the current administration, suggesting that the interior minister operates outside the conventional framework of the federal cabinet. According to Asif, Naqvi has remained largely absent from the government’s routine decision-making process despite holding one of the country’s most influential portfolios. He said he had seen the interior minister attend only “two or three” cabinet meetings since the government took office. The defence minister also questioned Naqvi’s parliamentary presence, claiming the interior minister had appeared in Parliament only seven or eight times. He suggested that if a minister with such influence was publicly expressing dissatisfaction with the existing governance structure, it reflected poorly on the entire government. “If Mohsin Naqvi himself is complaining about the system, then perhaps we should simply go home,” Asif remarked, underscoring what he described as deep institutional weaknesses. His comments came in response to Naqvi’s recent statement warning that Pakistan’s current administrative structure had become too weak to effectively address the country’s long-standing challenges. The interior minister had argued that if the existing governance model continued unchanged, Pakistan could still be facing the same problems a decade from now. He maintained that creating new administrative units or provinces had become essential for improving governance, accelerating development and delivering public services more efficiently. Naqvi said the existing system had outlived its usefulness and was no longer capable of resolving the country’s growing administrative and governance issues. Asif’s remarks have added a new dimension to the ongoing debate over institutional reforms and the balance of power within the federal government. His observations also highlight differing perspectives within the ruling coalition on how Pakistan’s governance challenges should be addressed. The exchange between the two senior ministers is likely to fuel further political discussion, particularly over proposals to create new provinces and reform the country’s administrative framework—an issue that has periodically resurfaced in Pakistan’s political discourse but has remained politically contentious for years.