Punjab CNF launches crackdown on drugs near schools and seminaries

Pakistan has been excluded from the United States’ newly permanent visa bond programme, meaning Pakistani applicants will not be required to deposit a refundable financial guarantee of up to $20,000 when applying for certain US visitor visas. The United States has officially made its 2025 Visa Bond Pilot Program a permanent policy. Under the programme, nationals of selected countries applying for business or tourist visas must provide a refundable financial bond ranging from $10,000 to $20,000 as part of the visa application process. According to international reports, the revised policy increases the maximum refundable bond amount from $15,000 to $20,000 for eligible applicants from countries included in the programme. The list reportedly includes around 50 countries, including Bangladesh, Nepal, and several African nations. Pakistan is not included in the list of countries subject to the visa bond requirement. Afghanistan, India, and Iran are also excluded from the programme. As a result, Pakistani citizens applying for US visitor visas will continue to follow the standard visa application process without the additional refundable financial guarantee required under the permanent visa bond policy.

ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has criticised Pakistan’s bureaucracy. He described it as the country’s “real and permanent rulers.” Asif said bureaucrats had remained largely beyond effective accountability during Pakistan’s 78-year history. He said politicians had faced accountability on numerous occasions. Other powerful groups had also been held accountable at different times. However, he said it was difficult to find similar examples involving senior bureaucrats. The defence minister made the remarks while sharing a social media post about alleged financial corruption involving a senior bureaucrat. Asif said the bureaucracy had gradually become a powerful and largely untouchable class. He questioned why bureaucrats had not been subjected to the same level of scrutiny as politicians. According to Asif, politicians themselves were partly responsible for the situation. He said political leaders had failed to establish an effective system to hold the bureaucracy accountable. The minister also referred to a former bureaucratic ruler while discussing the influence of senior officials in Pakistan. He said the former official used highly inappropriate and insulting language against politicians. Despite this behaviour, politicians continued to tolerate him, according to Asif. Asif’s comments highlight his criticism of the imbalance in accountability among powerful sections of Pakistani society. His remarks also raise questions about the role of the bureaucracy in governance and decision-making. The minister maintained that stronger accountability was needed for all powerful groups. He suggested that politicians could not blame bureaucrats alone for the existing system because political leaders had also contributed to its continuation.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders detained at Kot Lakhpat Jail have expressed support for Jamaat-e-Islami’s ongoing sit-in. A letter from the imprisoned PTI leaders was read out during the Jamaat-e-Islami protest. The letter was signed by senior PTI leaders Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Sarfraz Cheema, Dr Yasmin Rashid, Ijaz Chaudhry and Mahmood-ur-Rasheed. In their letter, the detained leaders appealed to the public to participate in the Jamaat-e-Islami sit-in. They urged citizens to support the protest and raise their voices on political and public issues. The support from the imprisoned PTI leaders comes as Jamaat-e-Islami continues its protest and demands action on issues highlighted by the party. The letter was presented to participants at the sit-in, conveying the PTI leaders’ position despite their detention at Kot Lakhpat Jail. Meanwhile, Jamaat-e-Islami Lahore has called for the release of all political prisoners. The party has also specifically demanded the release of PTI founder Imran Khan. Jamaat-e-Islami Lahore maintained that political prisoners should be released and called for political issues to be addressed through democratic and legal means.