Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday unveiled the schedule for the 11th edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), with the 44-match tournament set to run from March 26 to May 3 across six cities.&nbsp;For the first time in the league&rsquo;s history, eight teams will participate in the 39-day event, marking a new phase for Pakistan&rsquo;s premier T20 competition. Two new franchises &mdash; Hyderabad Kingsmen and Rawalpindi Pindiz &mdash; have joined the league following the recent PSL auction.&nbsp;Matches will be held in Faisalabad, Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar and Rawalpindi, with Faisalabad and Peshawar hosting PSL fixtures for the first time. According to the schedule, each team will play 10 matches in the group stage. The top four teams will advance to the playoffs, comprising Qualifier 1, Eliminator, Qualifier 2 and the final, scheduled from April 28 to May 3.&nbsp;The final will be played at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on May 3, with May 4 reserved as a backup day.&nbsp;The opening match will take place on March 26 at Gaddafi Stadium between Lahore Qalandars and Hyderabad Kingsmen. The venue will host a total of 15 matches, including three double-headers.&nbsp;Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium will stage 11 matches, including a qualifier, while Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad will host seven games in its PSL debut season.&nbsp;Karachi&rsquo;s National Bank Stadium will host six matches, while Multan Cricket Stadium will stage four evening fixtures featuring home side Multan Sultans.&nbsp;Meanwhile, Imran Khan Cricket Stadium in Peshawar &mdash; formerly known as Arbab Niaz Stadium &mdash; will host its first-ever PSL match on March 28 between Peshawar Zalmi and Rawalpindi Pindiz.&nbsp;The tournament will feature 12 double-headers in total.&nbsp;Following their inclusion in the league, Hyderabad Kingsmen were acquired for Rs1.75 billion, while Rawalpindi Pindiz were purchased for Rs2.45 billion.&nbsp;The PCB has also opened the media accreditation process for PSL 11, with applications to be submitted through the board&rsquo;s online portal by&nbsp;7 p.m. on March 13. PSL 11 schedule<figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/0f7ff10c-2d9a-4b3a-9af8-3799717a166c-WhatsApp Image 2026-03-10 at 7.38.37 PM.jpeg" alt="WhatsApp Image 2026-03-10 at 7.38.37 PM.jpeg" class="fr-fil fr-dib"></figure>

Cricket

PSL 11 schedule announced; eight teams to compete across six venues

Muhammad Usman Amin

PESHAWAR: Police in Pakistan&rsquo;s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province launched the country&#39;s first dedicated drone surveillance division, marking a shift in how law enforcement operates across the nation&#39;s most challenging terrain.&nbsp;&nbsp;The newly established Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Division formally brings drone technology into the provincial policing system, a milestone that security officials say will transform the fight against terrorism and crime in the region.&nbsp;Speaking to Pakistan TV Digital, Head of Operations KP Police AIG Muhammad Ali Babakhel confirmed that the unit was formed to address longstanding gaps in surveillance coverage across KP&#39;s vast and often inaccessible mountainous districts.&nbsp;&nbsp;Ground-based monitoring has historically struggled to keep pace with terrorists&#39; movements and criminal activity in remote areas, a gap that aerial drones are now designed to fill.&nbsp;The division will also play a key role in monitoring sensitive locations, public gatherings, religious processions, political rallies, protests and demonstrations, and situations where ground-level visibility can be limited.&nbsp;In such settings, drone visual coverage is expected to give security forces a clearer picture of ground conditions and help maintain law and order more effectively.&nbsp;Effective in counterterrorismThe UAV Division will be particularly significant for counterterrorism operations.&nbsp;&nbsp;The province, which borders Afghanistan and has for decades faced persistent security challenges from terrorist groups, has long required more sophisticated surveillance capabilities.&nbsp;&nbsp;The banned terror group, Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, has increasingly turned to commercially available drones to carry out surveillance and attacks against security personnel and installations.&nbsp;The militant group&#39;s use of commercial drone technology has posed a serious challenge to conventional defenses.&nbsp;&nbsp;The new division is designed to close that gap through dedicated anti-drone technology that forms a core component of the unit.&nbsp;&nbsp;Multi-use dronesMultiple districts in the province will be supplied with these anti-drone guns to neutralize terrorists&#39; UAVs in the sky. This counter-UAV capability will allow law enforcement to detect, track, and neutralize hostile drones while also extracting information from them.&nbsp;&nbsp;Among the unit&#39;s arsenal are the DJI Mavic 3, a powerful reconnaissance drone offering a 15-kilometer transmission range.&nbsp;Alongside it sits the DJI Matrice 350, an industrial-grade UAV built for demanding environments, offering a 55-minute flight time and the ability to carry multiple sensor payloads simultaneously, including thermal and zoom cameras.&nbsp;&nbsp;But the most significant addition to the fleet is a custom-designed hexacopter.&nbsp;Built to meet the specific operational demands of the province&#39;s rugged terrain and security environment, the six-rotor aircraft is engineered to carry and deploy mortars, explosives, and smoke and tear grenades, giving KP Police an offensive and crowd-control aerial capability that is entirely unprecedented in Pakistani law enforcement.&nbsp;According to AIG Muhammad Ali Babakhel, a key component of the initiative is its emphasis on building human capacity and capabilities.&nbsp;&nbsp;A dedicated corps of officers has undergone formal training in drone operation, aerial data analysis, and equipment maintenance. These specialists will be distributed across KP&#39;s districts.&nbsp;&nbsp;Also in focus is an Innovation Center planned at the Police Training Center to build custom-designed drones and anti-drone weaponry.&nbsp;&nbsp;Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has become Pakistan&#39;s&nbsp;first province to formally integrate drone surveillance into its police structure.&nbsp;&nbsp;Security analysts say the move is likely to set a precedent; if the unit proves effective, other provinces are expected to follow suit, triggering a nationwide modernization of law enforcement that could reshape public safety across Pakistan.&nbsp;For a province long facing terrorism and having a difficult geography, the launch of Pakistan&#39;s first police drone unit represents a commitment to staying ahead of the threats that continue to challenge peace and stability in one of the country&#39;s most consequential regions.

Security

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police launch Pakistan’s first drone surveillance unit to improve counterterrorism, monitor public gatherings, counter militant drones, and strengthen policing across remote mountainous districts bordering Afghanistan.

Pakistan's first police drone unit takes flight in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

JERUSALEM:&nbsp;Israel&#39;s cybersecurity directorate said it had identified &quot;dozens of Iranian breaches into security cameras for espionage purposes&quot; since the start of the war in the Middle East, urging the public to be vigilant. &quot;The directorate is working to alert hundreds of camera owners and calls on the public to change their passwords and update their software to prevent any security risk, whether national or personal,&quot; Cyber Israel wrote on X Monday. Cyberattacks between Iran and Israel have been a frequent occurrence in recent years, as the two foes conducted a shadow war that culminated in open conflict last June and again on February 28. In December 2025, former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett&mdash;who is set to run against incumbent premier Benjamin Netanyahu in a general election this year&mdash;said he had been the victim of a cyberattack targeting his Telegram account after hackers claimed to have broken into his phone. Private messages, videos, and photographs said to be taken from Bennett&#39;s phone were published on a hacker site named after &quot;Handala,&quot; a character symbolizing the Palestinian cause, and on an associated X account. Iran‑linked hackers have stepped up their operations in the region since strikes began on the country, an expert told AFP. Israeli cybersecurity firm Check Point said in a report that since the launch of the US-Israeli offensive on February 28, it has seen hackers accessing surveillance cameras, which are widely used but often poorly secured. The images were likely used to assess damage caused by the attacks or &quot;to gather the necessary information&quot; on &quot;the habits (of targeted individuals) or locations to hit,&quot; Gil Messing, head of cyberintelligence at Check Point, told AFP. The hackers &quot;are part of (Iran&#39;s) army&quot; and &quot;are largely supported by the state,&quot; notably by the Revolutionary Guards and the ministry of intelligence and security, he added. Last week, the Financial Times reported that Israel had hacked nearly all of Tehran&#39;s traffic cameras for years in preparation for the operation that killed Iran&#39;s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, on the first day of the offensive.&nbsp;

Middle East

Israel's cybersecurity directorate said it had identified "dozens of Iranian breaches into security cameras for espionage purposes" since the start of the war in the Middle East, urging the public to be vigilant

Israel says Iran hacked security cameras

ISLAMABAD: China, at the UN Security Council Briefing on Monday, said that the local and transnational terrorist groups that remain &ldquo;active in Afghanistan&quot; pose serious threats not only to Afghanistan but also to neighboring countries. Speaking about the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), Permanent Representative of the People&#39;s Republic of China to the United Nations, Fu Cong, highlighted a recent terrorist&ensp;attack in January this year on a Chinese restaurant in Kabul that caused multiple casualties,&ensp;including Chinese nationals. The attack was claimed by the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (IS-KP), which, as per the UN monitoring reports, is largely situated across Afghanistan.&nbsp;According to the statement, China strongly condemns and firmly&ensp;opposes terrorism in all its forms and urged the Afghan government to&ensp;conduct a &ldquo;thorough investigation&rdquo; to establish the facts as soon as possible to bring the perpetrators to justice.&nbsp;Referencing the UN report, the representative highlighted terrorist groups such as Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant-Khorasan, Al-Qaida, the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan,&ensp;and Balochistan Liberation Army remain active in Afghanistan, posing serious threats to&ensp;Afghanistan and its neighbouring countries. &ldquo;We call on the Afghan side to&ensp;recognize the grave harm posed by terrorism, strengthen counterterrorism cooperation with regional countries, and resolutely eliminate all&ensp;terrorist forces operating in Afghan territory in order to maintain regional&ensp;stability and security,&quot; it added. Afghan girls not been able to receive modern educationTalking about women&#39;s education in Afghanistan, the Chinese representative stated that safeguarding the basic rights and interests of the people is a&ensp;&rdquo;necessity.&rdquo; &ldquo;In recent years, Afghan girls have not been able to receive&ensp;modern education beyond the sixth grade, and women&#39;s basic rights and&ensp;interests, such as employment and access to health care, public services,&ensp;and participation in social life, have become increasingly restricted,&quot; he added. The envoy stated that this&ensp;not only harms the physical and mental well-being of Afghan women but&ensp;also undermines social stability and economic development.&nbsp; &ldquo;We hope that&ensp;the Afghan authorities will demonstrate openness, inclusiveness, and a&ensp;sense of responsibility by listening to the legitimate aspirations of their&ensp;people and the reasonable concerns of the international community,&ensp;promptly adjusting relevant policies, and effectively safeguarding the&ensp;basic rights of all people, including women, so as to gain greater trust and&ensp;support from the international community,&quot; it added

China

China highlights the local and transnational terrorist groups that remain 'active in Afghanistan,' posing serious threats to neighboring countries.

China highlights terrorist groups in Afghanistan at UN

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday strongly condemned Israel&rsquo;s ongoing military aggression against Lebanon, which has resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths and the displacement of nearly half a million people, according to a statement from the Foreign Office. According to the statement, the Israeli actions, which are in &ldquo;contravention of international law,&quot; are undermining the efforts of the Government of Lebanon to ensure peace and stability in the country. It added that this could further exacerbate the ongoing security and humanitarian crises in the region. Earlier, two Israeli air attacks hit Lebanon&rsquo;s southern city of Tyre on Tuesday, known as Sour in Arabic, reported Al-Jazeera. This came shortly after the Israeli army issued a statement threatening attacks on Tyre and Sidon, known as Saida, urging residents to &ldquo;evacuate immediately and move at least 300 meters (about 1,000 ft) away.&quot;&nbsp;According to media reports, more than half a million people in Lebanon have been registered as displaced after fighting restarted between Israel and Hezbollah following the United States and Israel&rsquo;s war on Iran. &ldquo;We urge the international community to take urgent action to end the Israeli military aggression, the indiscriminate targeting of civilians, and the continued violations of Lebanon&rsquo;s sovereignty and territorial integrity,&quot; said the statement by the Foreign Office.&nbsp; The statement called for Israel&#39;s withdrawal from all &ldquo;occupied Lebanese territories&rdquo; immediately, fully, and unconditionally.&nbsp;It stated that Pakistan fully supports the brotherly people of Lebanon during this &ldquo;aggression&rdquo; and will continue to back all efforts to ensure lasting peace in Lebanon and the wider region.

Foreign Affairs

According to a Foreign Office statement, Israeli actions are in 'contravention of international law,' and are undermining the efforts of the Government of Lebanon to ensure peace and stability in the country.

Pakistan condemns Israeli military aggression against Lebanon

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday congratulated Mojtaba Khamenei on assuming the responsibilities of the Supreme Leader of Iran. The prime minister also expressed condolences over the martyrdom of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the former supreme leader, who was assassinated in coordinated US-Israeli airstrikes on March 1.<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; line-height: 2;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 345px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" 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=2031356250420605075&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=63a883850c3d45083e0cfbfde25c53d82326a42a&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>In a message, Sharif conveyed his heartfelt congratulations to Mojtaba Khamenei and extended deepest condolences and prayers on behalf of the people of Pakistan over the martyrdom of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other members of the family. He expressed confidence that the new supreme leader would guide Iran toward peace, stability and prosperity in the years ahead. The prime minister reaffirmed Pakistan&rsquo;s solidarity with the people of Iran during this difficult time and expressed hope for stronger cooperation between the two neighboring countries. In a separate message, the president extended his congratulations to Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei following his assumption of the leadership role. Zardari noted that the region is currently facing serious tensions and conflict, and expressed hope that the situation will stabilise and conditions will improve for the people of the region. Who is Mojtaba Khamenei?&nbsp;Born on September 8, 1969, in the holy city of Mashhad in eastern Iran,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/mojtaba-khamenei-son-and-successor-to-irans-supreme-leader" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mojtaba Khamenei</a>&nbsp;is one of six children of the late supreme leader. He was named supreme leader by the top clerical body, the Assembly of Experts, in a statement published shortly after midnight on Monday in Iran. Other contenders for the top position had included Alireza Arafi, one of the three members of the interim council running the country, hardliner Mohsen Araki, and even Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of the founder of the Islamic republic in 1979. But ultimately, the assembly settled on Mojtaba Khamenei, 56. The Islamic revolution had put an end to a multi-century royal dynasty headed by the shah.

Express confidence that the new supreme leader would guide Iran toward peace, stability and prosperity in the years ahead.

Pakistan President, PM congratulate Iran’s new supreme leader

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Tuesday urged journalists and online content creators to avoid &ldquo;sensationalizing&rdquo; Pakistan&rsquo;s foreign policy, warning that irresponsible commentary could create misunderstandings with friendly countries during a sensitive regional situation.&nbsp;He made these remarks while addressing a press conference alongside Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar and Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudry.&nbsp;Tarar said Pakistan maintains a balanced foreign policy and strong relations with Muslim countries, and cautioned commentators against presenting personal interpretations that could be perceived as the country&rsquo;s official stance.&nbsp;&ldquo;Pakistan has its foreign policy, and it maintains a balance in terms of the relations we share with our respective Muslim countries,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Discrediting it for views and providing our own interpretations instead should be avoided.&rdquo;&nbsp;The minister noted that the issue should not be treated with the same dynamics as domestic political debates, stressing that commentary on international affairs requires greater caution.&nbsp;&ldquo;Pakistan is a responsible state and a nuclear state,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Pakistan has a role to play in this region and has its own identity and independent foreign policy.&rdquo;&nbsp;He warned that unverified or speculative commentary on social media, vlogs or television talk shows could lead other countries to question whether such views represent Pakistan&rsquo;s official policy.&nbsp;&ldquo;When such things reach the rest of the world through social media, electronic media or print media, it can create uneasiness among friendly countries,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;They may wonder whether it reflects Pakistan&rsquo;s position or an individual&rsquo;s opinion.&rdquo;&nbsp;Meanwhile, Azam Nazeer Tarar emphasized that freedom of expression in Pakistan was guaranteed under the constitution but subject to certain legal limitations.&nbsp;Reading out portions of Article 19 of the Constitution of Pakistan, the law minister said every citizen had the right to freedom of speech and press, but reasonable restrictions existed to protect national interests.&nbsp;&ldquo;These restrictions relate to the glory of Islam, the integrity, security and defense of Pakistan, public order, decency and morality, contempt of court, and friendly relations with foreign states,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;He warned that commentary that could harm Pakistan&rsquo;s relations with other countries or incite conflict did not fall under protected freedom of expression.&nbsp;The law minister said discussions about whether Pakistan should side with one country over another in regional disputes could undermine long-standing diplomatic relationships.&nbsp;&ldquo;We should leave matters of foreign policy to the state and trust our institutions,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;He added that while reporting facts was the media&rsquo;s right and responsibility, speculative commentary on sensitive geopolitical issues could be harmful during a tense regional environment.&nbsp;Both ministers stressed that Pakistan was pursuing diplomacy to ease tensions in the region and urged journalists, commentators and social media users to act responsibly while discussing foreign policy matters.

Says Pakistan maintains a balanced foreign policy and strong relations with Muslim countries, and cautioned commentators against presenting personal interpretations that could be perceived as the country’s official stance.

Pakistan urges responsible commentary on foreign policy amid regional tensions

BEIJING: Passenger train service between China and North Korea is set to resume on Thursday, six years after it was suspended in 2020 due to the <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/who-regrets-us-notification-of-withdrawal-rejects-accusations-over-covid19-response" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Covid-19 pandemic</a>, travel operators told AFP. The service will be open to Chinese people working and studying in <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/north-korea-says-willing-to-get-along-with-us-if-acknowledged-as-nuclear-power" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">North Korea</a>, as well as North Koreans working, studying and visiting family abroad, according travel agents for official ticketing booths in Beijing and Dandong. Tourists will not yet be eligible to buy tickets. &quot;It&#39;s great to see the international train service resuming,&quot; Rowan Beard, tours manager at Young Pioneer Tours, told AFP on Tuesday. He confirmed his company, one of several firms that specialize in travel to North Korea, would also be able to book tickets running from Thursday. &quot;While it isn&#39;t initially intended for tourists, it will provide another travel option once tourism to North Korea eventually returns, serving as an alternative to flying.&quot; Train journeys between the two countries were halted in 2020 as they imposed strict measures against the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. Last year, direct flights and train services resumed between North Korea and Russia, as the two have pulled closer since the outbreak of the <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/russia-ukraine-to-exchange-500-pows-on-march-56-negotiator" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">war in Ukraine</a>.

A cargo train crossing the DPRK-China Friendship bridge from Dandong to Sinuiju in July 2020. (NK News)

Asia

The service will target Chinese workers and students in North Korea, as well as North Koreans abroad for work, study or family visits.

China-North Korea trains to resume after six-year halt: travel agents

ISLAMABAD: United States (US) Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican lawmaker from South Carolina and chair of the Senate Budget Committee, questioned Saudi Arabia&rsquo;s perceived unwillingness to participate in the ongoing Middle East War on&nbsp;Monday. In a post on the social media platform X (Twitter), Graham shared a March 8 report by The New York Times. It said the US State Department issued mandatory departure orders for American employees and their families in Saudi Arabia, citing increased regional security risks and attacks on diplomatic facilities. The directive followed recent drone attacks on the US Embassy in Riyadh, according to The New York Times. <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" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 761px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" 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=2031031760679563310&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F4651%2F&sessionId=70271773dca0139699bac795892f06edf5608a52&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px"></iframe></div></div> In his post, Graham questioned why the United States should sign a defence agreement with Saudi Arabia if Riyadh was not prepared to participate in a war against Iran. &ldquo;Americans are dying and the US is spending billions&rdquo; to remove what the US Senator described as the &ldquo;terrorist Iranian regime.&rdquo; He wrote that Saudi Arabia was &ldquo;issuing statements and doing things in the background that are marginally helpful.&rdquo; Graham also called on Saudi Arabia and other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, a regional political and economic bloc of Arab states, to take a more active role. He said the conflict was unfolding &ldquo;in their backyard.&rdquo; &ldquo;If you are not willing to use your military now, when are you willing to use it?&rdquo; Graham wrote. He warned that if the situation does not change soon, &ldquo;consequences will follow.&rdquo;

US Senator Lindsey Graham speaks to members of the media as the Trump Cabinet briefs members of Congress on Iran at the US Capitol. (AFP)

Senator Lindsey Graham threatened Saudi Arabia over its refusal to join the US war on Iran, warning Riyadh and other Gulf countries could 'face consequences' if they continued avoiding direct military involvement.

US Senator threatens Saudi Arabia over not joining war on Iran

ATHENS: The <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/usisrael-war-on-iran-day-11" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Middle East war</a> has unleashed a torrent of AI-driven disinformation. Beyond entirely fabricated visuals, another kind of content is spreading: authentic images &quot;enhanced&quot; in ways that experts say are subtly distorting perceptions of what&#39;s happening on the ground. In one striking photo, a kneeling US pilot is confronted by a Kuwaiti local, moments after parachuting from his jet. The high-quality image was widely shared online and even published by media outlets. Yet the pilot appears to have only four fingers on each hand. AFP fact-checkers ran the photo through AI detection tools and found it contained a SynthID, an invisible watermark meant to identify images made with Google AI. But that&#39;s not the whole story. The situation itself appears to be genuine. A video showing the same scene began circulating on social media on March 2, and satellite imagery verified the location. It also corresponded with reports that day that Kuwait had mistakenly shot down three US warplanes. AFP was also able to locate an earlier version of the photo on Telegram that matched the high-resolution photo exactly, except that it was blurry. AI verification tools determined this image, which had none of the same detail in the pilot&#39;s face, was real. This suggests it may have served as the starting point for the image that returned the Google AI result. &quot;AI-enhancement may subtly alter textures, faces, lighting, or background details, creating an image that looks more &#39;real&#39; than the original,&quot; said Evangelos Kanoulas, a professor in AI at the University of Amsterdam. This can &quot;strengthen a particular narrative about an event &ndash; for example, making a protest appear more violent, making a crowd appear larger, making facial expressions more intense.&quot; In another case, social media users shared a dramatic image of a huge blaze near Erbil airport in Iraq, after the area was targeted by Iranian strikes on March 1. Although SynthID detection recognized the use of Google AI in the picture, it was not a total fabrication. The original version of the image shows the same scene but with a far smaller fire and smoke column, and less vivid colors. &nbsp;&#39;Very different story&#39; Experts warned that the line between enhancement and content generation, accidentally or intentionally, was a thin one. &quot;Even little changes can end up telling a very different story,&quot; said James O&#39;Brien, a professor of computer science at the University of California, Berkeley, and &quot;could change the perception of events&quot;. <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/vatican-warns-ai-could-lead-to-social-control" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Generative artificial intelligence</a> is also still prone to error and may &quot;hallucinate&quot; elements that were not in the original image, Kanoulas added. This happened following the shooting of Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents in the US state of Minneapolis in January, when an AI-enhanced image of the incident went viral. The image was based on a frame taken from a genuine video of the shooting, showing Pretti falling to his knees with officers beside him, one of them holding a gun to his head. In the grainy, low-quality frame, Pretti holds an object that in reality was a phone. In the AI-treated image, some social media users wrongly saw a weapon in his hand. As the war triggered by the US-Israeli attacks on Iran rages on, experts said that without proper labeling, <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/ai-agent-invasion-has-people-trying-to-pick-winners" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">AI-enhanced images</a> further eroded the public&#39;s trust. This kind of content was already having &quot;a huge impact on people and their ability to trust the truth,&quot; said O&#39;Brien. &quot;People start doubting authentic images as well,&quot; Kanoulas agreed.

The shadow of a fighter falls on the shrapnel scarred wall of a damaged building, following an Iranian drone attack near Erbil, in Iraq's northern autonomous Kurdish region on March 9, 2026. (AFP)

Artificial Intelligence

AI-enhanced but real images from Middle East conflicts are spreading online, subtly altering perceptions of events. Experts warn such manipulations blur truth, fueling misinformation and public distrust in genuine visuals.

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