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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in a phone call with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on Wednesday, said that Pakistan is ready to provide all possible relief and humanitarian assistance in response to the &quot;unprecedented challenge&quot; posed by the widespread destruction from recent floods across the Southeast Asian country. Monsoon rains, paired with two tropical storm systems, dumped record deluges across Sri Lanka and parts of Indonesia&#39;s Sumatra, southern Thailand, and northern Malaysia last week. In Indonesia, 770 were confirmed dead, the country&#39;s disaster management agency said earlier today, revising the toll down from 812 it announced earlier in the day. Another 463 people are missing. According to a press release issued by the Press Information Department, PM &nbsp;Sharif extended &quot;heartfelt condolences and profound sympathy&quot; to President Prabowo Subianto&nbsp;over the tragic loss of precious lives and widespread devastation. While expressing full solidarity with Indonesia, the premier assured the Indonesian president that Pakistan is ready to extend all possible relief and humanitarian assistance, including sharing its own experience in managing large-scale flood emergencies, rehabilitation, and reconstruction efforts. During the call, the prime minister highlighted the &quot;shared vulnerability of both countries before the impacts of climate-induced disasters,&quot; stressing the importance of &quot;enhanced cooperation in disaster preparedness, response and climate resilience.&quot; The Indonesian president shared with PM Sharif the efforts underway by the country&#39;s authorities, which responded &quot;swiftly and effectively to deal with this catastrophe.&quot; He also thanked the premier for his expression of condolences and solidarity. PM Sharif said he looked forward to welcoming the Indonesian president to Pakistan for the scheduled official visit next week, adding that the visit would offer both countries &quot;a valuable opportunity to further strengthen bilateral diplomatic ties and cooperation across all areas of mutual interest.&quot;

Foreign Affairs

In a call with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, the prime minister extended heartfelt condolences and expressed profound sympathy to the people and the government of Indonesia over the tragic loss of precious lives and the widespread devastation caused by the recent floods and landslides.

Pakistan offers Indonesia aid after deadly floods and landslides crisis

WASHINGTON:&nbsp;The Pentagon&#39;s independent watchdog said US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth&#39;s use of the commercial messaging app Signal to discuss strikes on Yemen could have put American troops at risk, US media reported Wednesday. The probe by the inspector general&rsquo;s office concluded that Hegseth did not violate rules on classification, however, because he has the authority to declassify information, the reports said, citing sources familiar with the results of the investigation. &lsquo;Extrajudicial killings&rsquo;The watchdog&rsquo;s conclusion -- which has been transmitted to Congress -- is nonetheless likely to reignite debate over conduct by Hegseth, who is already under fire over <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/white-house-confirms-admiral-ordered-2nd-strike-on-alleged-drug-boat" style="color:#0073e6;">US strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats</a> that experts say amount to extrajudicial killings. The probe was sparked by The Atlantic magazine&#39;s revelation in late March that its editor-in-chief was inadvertently included in a Signal chat in which US officials, including Hegseth and then-national security advisor Mike Waltz, discussed strikes on Yemen&#39;s Iran-backed Houthi rebels. Editor labelled &lsquo;liar&rsquo;The magazine initially withheld the details the officials discussed, but later published them after the White House insisted that no classified information was shared and attacked the editor, Jeffrey Goldberg, as a liar. The chat included messages in which Hegseth revealed the timing of strikes hours before they happened and information on aircraft and missiles involved, while Waltz sent real-time intelligence on the aftermath of the military action. &lsquo;TOTAL exoneration&rsquo;In a post to X late on Wednesday, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell called the review &quot;a TOTAL exoneration of Secretary Hegseth.&quot;<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1996367776089571829&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fsections%2F&sessionId=92a695e3547cf2463211d3633b6c821060f9ae9c&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 320px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>The Atlantic said that Waltz had set some Signal messages to disappear after one week and others after four, raising questions about whether federal records law was violated. Waltz fired, Hegseth survivesTrump rejected calls to fire Hegseth and largely pinned the blame on Waltz, whom he ultimately replaced as national security advisor, appointing him as US ambassador to the United Nations instead. US media then reported in April that Hegseth had created a second Signal chat in which the March Yemen strikes were discussed with people, including his wife and brother, but the Pentagon chief likewise weathered that storm and remained in office. US forces launched a renewed air campaign against the Houthis on March 15. Trump&#39;s strikes against the Houthis lasted until early May, when a ceasefire agreement was reached with the help of Omani mediation.

Americas

The watchdog’s conclusion -- which has been transmitted to Congress -- is likely to reignite debate over conduct by Hegseth, who is already under fire over US strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats.

Probe found Hegseth’s Signal use could have put US troops at risk: reports

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he believes Russia&#39;s President Vladimir Putin wants to end the Ukraine war despite inconclusive talks in Moscow, as US officials prepared for a follow-up meeting with Kyiv&#39;s top negotiator. Trump&#39;s envoy, Steve Witkoff, and son-in-law Jared Kushner huddled with Putin in the early hours at the Kremlin but reached no breakthrough on halting Europe&#39;s worst conflict since World War II. The Kremlin said afterward it found parts of the US plan to end the war unacceptable, even though the proposal includes Ukraine ceding parts of the eastern Donbas region it still holds nearly four years after Russia&#39;s invasion. &quot;I can tell you that they had a reasonably good meeting with President Putin,&quot; Trump said when an AFP reporter asked him about the talks, adding afterwards that the talks were &quot;very good.&quot; Trump said it was too soon to say what would happen &quot;because it does take two to tango.&quot; Pressed on whether Witkoff and Kushner got any sense that Putin genuinely wanted to halt Russia&#39;s nearly four-year-old invasion, Trump replied: &quot;He would like to end the war. That was their impression.&quot; Trump added that Ukraine &quot;pretty well&quot; backed the US proposal. However, he said Kyiv should have done so earlier, during his notoriously heated meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office in February. Witkoff and Kushner were now due to meet top Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov in Florida on Thursday, two US officials told AFP, to follow up on the Kremlin talks. &#39;Successes of the Russian army&#39;&nbsp;But while the White House had voiced optimism ahead of the Kremlin talks, Moscow said that the two sides had failed to reach a compromise and that more work was needed. The Kremlin added on Wednesday that its army&#39;s recent battlefield successes in Ukraine had bolstered its position and that Kyiv&#39;s ties to NATO remained a key question. Russia&#39;s advance in eastern Ukraine gathered pace last month, and Putin has said in recent days that Moscow is ready to fight on to seize the rest of the land it claims if Kyiv does not surrender it. &quot;The progress and nature of the negotiations were influenced by the successes of the Russian army on the battlefield in recent weeks,&quot; Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, who took part in the US-Russia talks, told reporters, including AFP. Moscow insisted it was incorrect to say Putin rejected the plan in its entirety. It also said Russia was still committed to diplomacy, despite Putin&#39;s stark warning earlier this week that Moscow was prepared to fight Europe if it wanted war. &quot;We are still ready to meet as many times as is needed to reach a peace settlement,&quot; Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. &#39;Opportunity to end the war&#39;In Kyiv, Zelensky said that though a window of opportunity for peace has opened, it must be accompanied by pressure on Moscow. &quot;The world now clearly feels that there is an opportunity to end the war, and the current activity in negotiations must be supported by pressure on Russia,&quot; he said in a regular evening address. The fresh talks come as NATO pledges to buy hundreds of millions of dollars worth of US arms for Kyiv. NATO chief Mark Rutte said it was positive that peace talks were ongoing, but that the alliance should make sure that &quot;Ukraine is in the strongest possible position to keep the fight going.&quot; Russian troops have been grinding forward across the front line against outgunned and outnumbered Ukrainian forces. Earlier this week, Moscow claimed to have captured the important stronghold of Pokrovsk, but a Ukrainian army unit fighting in the city said urban combat was still ongoing. European countries have expressed fears that Washington and Moscow will reach agreements without them and have spent the last weeks trying to amend the US plan so that it does not force Kyiv to capitulate.

Europe

Kremlin says it found parts of the US plan to end the war unacceptable, even though the proposal includes Ukraine ceding parts of the eastern Donbas region it still holds nearly four years after Russia's invasion.


Trump says Putin wants to end war, US to hold new talks with Ukraine

CARACAS: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro confirmed on Wednesday that he had a &quot;cordial&quot; phone call with his US counterpart Donald Trump 10 days ago amid a US military buildup in Latin America. &quot;I spoke with the President of the United States, Donald Trump. I can say that the conversation was respectful, and I can even say that it was cordial,&quot; Maduro told state television. &quot;If this call means that steps are being taken toward a respectful dialogue &mdash; state to state, country to country &mdash; then we welcome dialogue, welcome diplomacy, because we will always seek peace,&quot; the leftist leader added. Since August, the United States has deployed a fleet of warships and the world&#39;s largest aircraft carrier to the Caribbean while carrying out deadly strikes on at least 22 vessels, killing at least 83, under the pretext of combating drug trafficking. However, Maduro has said the operation is a move to overthrow his leftist government and ultimately seize the country&#39;s vast oil reserves. Trump confirmed the telephone conversation with Maduro on Sunday without providing any details. When asked to elaborate, after reports that the call included discussions about a possible meeting or amnesty conditions if Maduro were to step down, Trump would only say: &quot;I wouldn&#39;t say it went well or badly. It was a phone call.&quot; Washington has accused Maduro of leading the alleged Cartel of the Suns, which it declared a terrorist organization on November 24. There is also a $50 million reward for information leading to Maduro&#39;s capture.

Washington has accused Maduro of leading the alleged Cartel of the Suns, which it declared a terrorist organization on November 24; there is also a $50 million reward for information leading to Maduro's capture.


Maduro says phone call with Trump was 'cordial'

ISLAMABAD: The United States and India have entered a fresh phase of tension over control, access, and security protocols surrounding the investigation into the June crash of Air India Flight 171, as their respective aviation agencies sharply diverge on where and how to analyze the aircraft&rsquo;s flight recorders, according to The Wall Street Journal. The dispute pits the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) against India&rsquo;s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), with both sides contesting the location for black-box analysis and the procedures for examining and sharing evidence. Air India Flight 171, a scheduled service from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, crashed 32 seconds after take-off, killing all but one of the 241 people on board. Indian authorities launched the official probe immediately, but disagreements over access to the aircraft&rsquo;s recorded data have since stalled progress. The Journal reported that the friction escalated in late June when Indian officials directed American specialists to travel on a late-night military flight to a remote laboratory in Korwa. NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy blocked the plan, citing security concerns tied to terrorism and regional military conflict, and threatened to withdraw US cooperation unless the examination took place in either New Delhi or Washington. India ultimately selected New Delhi. American investigators also expressed frustration at the slow pace of data recovery, while Indian officials resisted what they viewed as excessive external control of the probe. According to the Journal, AAIB chief G.V.G. Yugandhar told US counterparts that India was fully capable of managing the investigation. A preliminary Indian report issued in July found that the Boeing 787&rsquo;s fuel-control switches had been moved from &ldquo;RUN&rdquo; to &ldquo;CUTOFF,&rdquo; starving both engines of thrust. The findings did not explain why the switches were moved. US government and aerospace officials privately believe the evidence points to deliberate pilot action, though no official conclusion has been reached. Differences also emerged over methodology. Indian investigators reportedly conducted parts of the probe sequentially, while the NTSB pushed for a broader, faster review to determine whether any systemic issue with the 787 could threaten global flight safety. With the investigation continuing amid strained cooperation, the divergent approaches of Washington and New Delhi have raised fresh uncertainty about the eventual conclusions and the credibility of the final crash findings.

Asia

The Air India Flight 171 probe stalls as US and Indian investigators dispute black-box access, security conditions and control of the inquiry, deepening uncertainty around the crash’s final conclusions.

US-India rift deepens over Air India crash investigation controls

ISLAMABAD: Russia and Pakistan have agreed to broaden economic, energy, and strategic cooperation following the conclusion of the 10th Russia-Pakistan Intergovernmental Commission (IGC) in Islamabad, where both sides committed to expanding trade, easing customs barriers, and advancing new joint projects, according to a Russian embassy statement. Co-chaired by Russian energy minister Sergei Tsivilev and Pakistan&rsquo;s power minister Awais Leghari, the three-day meeting focused on accelerating bilateral commerce. Around 65% of Russian exports to Pakistan currently comprise agricultural goods, while Pakistan mainly exports textiles, leather products, and food items to Russia. Both sides agreed to work toward reducing non-tariff barriers and simplifying customs procedures to boost overall trade. Energy cooperation featured prominently in the discussions. The two delegations reviewed prospects for LNG and LPG supplies, as well as opportunities in renewable energy and hydropower. Plans were also explored for joint mineral extraction, modernization of Pakistan Steel Mills, and the local production of Russian insulin. According to the statement, the two governments are also continuing work on test cargo shipments along the eastern route of the North-South International Transport Corridor to improve regional connectivity. Cooperation in science and education is set to expand as well. By the end of 2026, Russia and Pakistan aim to finalize agreements on mutual recognition of diplomas and enhanced collaboration in engineering, medicine, information technology, and space science. Following the meeting, both sides signed several documents, including the final IGC protocol and memorandums of understanding between Sputnik and the Associated Press of Pakistan, Rosstandart and Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority, and between Russia&rsquo;s Federal Antimonopoly Service and Pakistan&rsquo;s Competition Commission. Cultural exchanges accompanied the talks, with a concert of Russian and Pakistani folk music at the National Council of the Arts and the unveiling of a monument to Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin at Fatima Jinnah Park. Tsivilev and Leghari &ldquo;expressed their satisfaction with the constructive results of the 10th IGC&rdquo; and reaffirmed their commitment to moving forward with all agreed measures, the statement said.

 Moscow and Islamabad agree to expand trade, accelerate energy cooperation, and advance joint projects, including steel mill upgrades, insulin production, and new transport corridor tests, following the 10th Intergovernmental Commission meeting.

Russia, Pakistan reaffirm trade, energy cooperation at Islamabad talks

LONDON: German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier received a ceremonial welcome to Britain on Wednesday as his state visit got into full swing &mdash; the first by Germany&#39;s official head of state in 27 years. Steinmeier enjoyed a horse-drawn carriage ride with King Charles III and inspected a Guard of Honour at Windsor Castle, west of London, on day one of his three-day stay. He was feted with a 41-gun salute at the 1,000-year-old castle where he ate lunch and reviewed items related to Germany in the Royal Collection. Steinmeier then met UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Downing Street, where the British leader praised the work the two countries had done supporting Ukraine. Starmer said Britain and Germany were also working together on migration, trade, and economic growth, and that the two countries&#39; relationship was going from &quot;strength to strength.&quot; The German president said relations between Berlin and London were now in &quot;far better shape&quot; than in the &quot;difficult&quot; years after the UK voted to leave the European Union in 2016. &quot;We have to engage in improving the situation and coming closer in this changing world with new threats to all of us,&quot; he told Starmer. The trip, which includes a state banquet and a speech to parliament, takes place as a deepening security alliance has helped rebuild London-Berlin ties that frayed in the turbulent post-Brexit years. Charles visited Germany in 2023, in his first overseas trip as monarch. Steinmeier&#39;s plane landed amid tight security at London&#39;s Heathrow Airport, where he was greeted by heir to the throne Prince William and his wife, Catherine. Steinmeier was the foreign minister when the Brexit referendum occurred and had choice words back then for the &quot;irresponsible politicians&quot; who &quot;lured&quot; Britain into leaving the EU. However, ties across the Channel improved under Conservative prime minister Rishi Sunak, and the trend has continued under his center-left Labor successor Starmer. The visit comes as both the German and British governments face pressure from hard-right, anti-immigration parties &mdash; the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the Reform UK Party led by Brexit cheerleader Nigel Farage. &#39;Apprehension&#39; Russia&#39;s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and the political turmoil unleashed by the Trump administration have led key European powers to forge closer ties, including World War I and II-era foes Germany and Britain. In October 2024, Western Europe&#39;s two biggest military spenders signed a defense pact, followed by their first &quot;friendship treaty&quot; in July. &quot;The core of the relationship is in the security and foreign policy field,&quot; said Nicolai von Ondarza from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. But despite closer ties, Ondarza told AFP that &quot;the UK is still much less present in German political debate than it has been in the past.&quot; In Berlin, &quot;there is an apprehension that the current Labour government won&#39;t be courageous enough to move further on cooperation with the EU,&quot; he said, as Farage rises in the polls. The friendship treaty also included agreements on preventing irregular migration and promoting cultural and educational exchanges. Bombed cathedral History will feature prominently in Steinmeier&#39;s visit, which on Friday takes him to Coventry, a city devastated by German air raids in World War II and twinned with Dresden, which suffered a similar fate at the hands of the Allies. Steinmeier will lay a wreath at the bombed-out ruins of the city&#39;s old cathedral, joined by members of the Luftwaffe and British servicemen. He will then travel to the university city of Oxford to receive an honorary doctorate and visit a subsidiary of German industrial giant Siemens. Representatives from Siemens and several other heavyweight German companies such as BMW, Deutsche Bank, and RWE, will join Steinmeier&#39;s delegation. Mercedes is set to announce a &pound;20 million ($26.4 million) electric vehicle technology project expected to create 150 jobs in the UK. The countries&#39; shared passion for football will be reflected on Thursday when German stars Per Mertesacker and Kai Havertz join Steinmeier to visit a London school era.

UK PM says Britain, Germany working together on migration, trade, and economic growth, two countries' relationship is going from "strength to strength."


German president enjoys royal treatment on UK state visit

ISLAMABAD: The Indian government on Wednesday withdrew its mandate requiring mobile phone makers to pre-install its state-owned, contentious cybersecurity application Sanchar Saathi, according to a statement issued by the Press Information Bureau of India.&nbsp;&ldquo;Government has decided not to make the pre-installation mandatory for mobile manufacturers,&rdquo; the statement said.&nbsp;The move marked the third policy change on Sanchar Saathi within days.&nbsp;On Monday, the communications ministry had instructed manufacturers to pre-install the app on every device, according to local media reports. The directive also required the app to be undeletable, triggering criticism from opposition parties and digital rights advocates.&nbsp;By Tuesday, Union Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia told reporters the app remained optional.&nbsp;&ldquo;If you don&rsquo;t want the Sanchar Saathi app, you can delete it. It is optional ... It is our duty to introduce this app to everyone. Keeping it in their devices or not is up to the user,&rdquo; Scindia said.&nbsp;The app, already available on major app stores with millions of downloads, is &ldquo;designed to help users combat fraud and recover stolen phones,&rdquo; according to government officials.&nbsp;&ldquo;Sanchar Saathi allows users to report suspected fraud directly from call logs, enabling informed citizens to actively protect less-aware users,&rdquo; the Press Information Bureau stated.&nbsp;Cybersecurity researchers, however, have raised concerns over the app&rsquo;s access to user data once installed.&nbsp;Digital rights expert Haroon Baloch told Pakistan TV that the application&rsquo;s permissions allow the state to access sensitive information.&nbsp;&ldquo;The state can access information stored inside your mobile phone, including access to the gallery, phone book, and messages,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;The Indian government did not dispute the level of access, saying the data would be used only by law enforcement agencies for addressing serious security crimes.&nbsp;Experts also questioned its national-security effectiveness.&nbsp;&ldquo;Terror groups and other non-state actors use more sophisticated communications and phones,&rdquo; Baloch noted, adding that such measures may only assist in addressing low-level crimes rather than major threats.

India

After a severe backlash from digital rights experts, India withdraws its order requiring mobile manufacturers to pre-install the Sanchar Saathi app, reverting to optional user installation.

India reverses mandate on contentious ‘cybersecurity’ app

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir on Wednesday met senior military leaders from Saudi Arabia and Bahrain at General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi, according to statements issued by the Pakistan military&rsquo;s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).&nbsp;Saudi Land Forces Chief Lt. Gen. Fahad bin Saud Al-Johani and Bahrain National Guard Commander Shaikh Mohammad bin Isa Bin Salman Al Khalifa called on Pakistan&rsquo;s army chief during separate meetings.&nbsp;The Saudi chief was received with a Guard of Honour upon arrival, the ISPR stated.&nbsp;During the meeting, both sides discussed regional security, defense cooperation, and opportunities to expand bilateral military collaboration.&nbsp;&ldquo;Both sides reiterated their commitment to further strengthening the longstanding and brotherly relations between the Armed Forces of Pakistan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,&rdquo; the statement said.&nbsp;Later, Field Marshal Munir met Bahrain National Guard Commander Shaikh Mohammad bin Isa Bin Salman Al Khalifa. The meeting focused on enhancing military-to-military ties and reaffirming Pakistan&rsquo;s support for Bahrain across all domains.&nbsp;&ldquo;The Bahrain and Saudi military leaders appreciated the professionalism of the Pakistan Armed Forces and their role in maintaining regional peace and stability,&rdquo; the ISPR added.

Security

Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir met senior military leaders from Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in Rawalpindi, discussing regional security, military cooperation, training, and enhancing longstanding bilateral relations

Pakistan, Saudi, Bahrain military chiefs meet to strengthen defense cooperation

Faraz Saeed

LAHORE: Pakistan&rsquo;s technology and telecom sector unveiled the country&rsquo;s first AI-ready sovereign cloud, a move industry leaders said would fundamentally reshape national access to advanced artificial intelligence and end dependence on foreign cloud providers.&nbsp;The platform, jointly launched by major Pakistani tech and telecom firms, marked &ldquo;the moment Pakistan moved from consuming AI to producing it at scale,&rdquo; according to executives involved in the rollout.&nbsp;For years, enterprises seeking to develop high-performance AI models were forced to rely on overseas cloud services, constrained by global GPU shortages and the high cost of importing hardware. Local capacity was further limited by international export restrictions on advanced chips. Data Vault Pakistan, the country&rsquo;s AI-optimized and enterprise-secured data center, said it had overcome those barriers. The company secured special approval from NVIDIA for the import of its GPUs despite US restrictions targeting certain markets, enabling the deployment of thousands of high-performance processors inside Pakistan. Data Vault CEO Mehwish Salman Ali told Pakistan TV Digital that the company had expanded to &ldquo;over 3,000 GPUs,&rdquo; making it &ldquo;the only fully AI-enabled data center in the country.&rdquo; She called the milestone &ldquo;one of the hardest to achieve&rdquo; but said it now allowed banks, telecom operators, hospitals, and startups to train and deploy frontier-scale AI models domestically, with lower latency and full data sovereignty. &ldquo;The era of exporting Pakistan&rsquo;s most valuable data to foreign servers was over,&rdquo; Ali said. Ali added that control of GPU compute was as strategically important as national physical infrastructure. &ldquo;Whoever controls high-performance GPUs controls the speed of AI innovation,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Every rupee spent on foreign compute is a rupee that never comes back. Data Vault keeps that value and that power right here at home.&rdquo; She stressed that a sovereign AI cloud was &ldquo;not a buzzword, it&rsquo;s a red line,&rdquo; saying Pakistani data had to remain under domestic jurisdiction, something she argued global cloud providers &ldquo;cannot guarantee.&rdquo; The development coincided with a broader national technology push. In May, the Pakistani government allocated 2,000 megawatts of electricity in the first phase of a program to support Bitcoin mining and AI data centers. Officials said Pakistan&rsquo;s relatively low energy costs and available land gave it an advantage over regional competitors such as India and Singapore, where rising power prices and land scarcity constrained expansion. Demand for AI data centers surged globally, with consumption exceeding 100 gigawatts, while current supply was estimated around 15 GW. Pakistani industry leaders said that gap created an opening for countries with surplus energy and emerging regulatory frameworks.&nbsp;The new Telenor&ndash;Data Vault platform enabled organizations to run GPU-accelerated AI training, inference, and data processing. Supported uses included machine-learning pipelines, video analytics, generative AI systems, industrial automation, and the creation of large language models for Urdu and regional languages. Operators said sensitive datasets, including financial transactions, medical imagery, telecom records, and government information, would remain inside Pakistan, meeting compliance requirements set by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), health-sector regulations, and emerging national AI governance standards. The system was designed to support national priorities across multiple sectors. Financial institutions could strengthen fraud detection and anti-money laundering systems; hospitals could deploy AI diagnostics; manufacturers and logistics companies could use automation and predictive analytics; and government agencies could run secure, locally hosted AI models for public services and digital governance. The initiative also came as the telecommunications landscape underwent restructuring. Telenor Pakistan, with roughly 42.4 million mobile subscribers, was preparing to merge with PTCL, whose Ufone unit held 27.2 million subscribers. The combined entity was expected to form Pakistan&rsquo;s second-largest mobile operator, creating a broader network backbone for nationwide AI-driven services. Industry leaders said the convergence of domestic compute capacity, energy availability, strategic land allocation, and regulatory support positioned Pakistan to produce AI at scale rather than rely on international providers. The Telenor&ndash;Data Vault sovereign cloud, they argued, was both a technological breakthrough and a statement of national capability, signaling Pakistan&rsquo;s intent to build, control, and deploy advanced AI on its own terms.

Artificial Intelligence

The AI cloud ensures Pakistani data remains under local jurisdiction, enabling secure AI deployment for government, finance, and healthcare while safeguarding sensitive national information

Pakistan offers Indonesia aid after deadly floods and landslides crisis

Latest News

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