Analysis

Inside the Imran–Epstein Nexus

Disgraced American financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s connection to Imran Khan was not criminal, but social and ideological: he knew the Goldsmith world, watched Imran’s rise, and turned him into a private obsession.

A file photo is shown of incarcerated former PTI supremo Imran Khan (R) and incarcerated British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell (L) attending a party marking the Fall of Communism at the London Savoy on October 28, 1990. — FILE

Blackmail written in blood

Kabul’s protection of TTP commanders is not a glitch in the system; it is the system, a living covenant that weighs more than any clause signed in Doha. The Taliban in Afghanistan are no longer guests or leverage to be casually traded away; they have hardened into a parallel sovereignty that Kabul cannot fully control.

To continue offering space and indulgence, whether overtly or through deliberate laxity, is to accept deepened isolation, harsher economic suffocation, intensified Pakistani retaliation and the possibility that Afghanistan again becomes, in the eyes of others, a legitimate theatre of deniable or open intervention. — EXCLUSIVE PHOTO FOR THE THURSDAY TIMES

Hindu hate-preacher vows to erase Islam after Zohran’s win

When a priest with his record can promise the erasure of the Prophet’s name and still function within the margins of acceptability, it is the Indian state’s commitment to secular democracy that is under forensic examination, not just his words.

Narsinghanand is by now a central figure in India’s organised hate architecture. Head priest of the Dasna Devi temple in Ghaziabad, with a documented record of inflammatory speeches and multiple FIRs, he rose to national prominence around the Dasna temple incident and through a steady stream of anti-Muslim invective. — FILE

When chaos wears a crown

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s political unrest under Sohail Afridi reveals a province caught between noise and neglect, as Pakistan’s federal resolve is tested by a populist movement that confuses chaos for courage and defiance for governance.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s governance is collapsing under Sohail Afridi’s chaos-driven politics as Pakistan stands firm against the populist theatrics threatening its stability and institutional order. — MICHAEL MCCALL FOR THE THURSDAY TIMES
Pakistan eyes crypto trading legalisation to boost global investment push. — ORIGINAL/THE THURSDAY TIMES

Pakistan’s inflation hits 4.1%, lowest since 2018

Pakistan's inflation rate fell to 4.1% in December 2024, the lowest since April 2018, due to improved food supplies and stabilising energy costs. This decline may prompt the State Bank of Pakistan to further reduce interest rates to stimulate economic growth.

Pakistan's inflation hits 4.1%, lowest since 2018. — FILE/THE THURSDAY TIMES
A file photo is shown of Jinnah House at Lahore on May 9. — FILE/THE THURSDAY TIMES
An illustration is shown of a bull and the Pakistani flag. — FILE/THE THURSDAY TIMES
Netanyahu testifies in corruption trial amid Gaza conflict and ICC arrest warrant. — FILE/AFP
Published by Thursday Media International thursday.media