ISLAMABAD: Human rights lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, have submitted additional documents to the Supreme Court of Pakistan, bringing these on record before the hearing on Tuesday, May 12, on their plea, which seeks to set aside the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) order denying interim relief in the controversial social media posts case.

In December 2025, Imaan Mazari and her husband moved the Supreme Court to set aside the IHC’s decision that denied the interim relief in the controversial social media post case against the couple. The petition argued that the high court had “erroneously and illegally refused” to exercise the discretion to grant ad-interim relief to the petitioners to stay the criminal trial, as recording of evidence before the trial court in their absence was not only a violation of Section 353 CrPC, but also their due process and fair trial rights under Article 10A of the Constitution.

The additional documents, submitted by their counsel, Faisal Siddiqi, on Monday, consist of the charge sheets of different dates against the petitioners, their statements before the trial court and the orders issued by the court.

The petitioners pleaded before the Supreme Court to allow bringing these documents on record in the interest of justice since they were “essential and relevant for adjudication of the present case”.

They explained in the application that the said documents were not available at the time of filing of the appeals, since the paper books were not prepared by the office of the IHC; the trial record was obtained after filing the appeals.

A three-judge Supreme Court bench, comprising Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan, Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui, and headed by Justice Shahid Waheed, will commence hearing on the appeals on Tuesday (May 12).

Earlier on April 30, Imaan Mazari and her husband had also moved appeals in the Supreme Court under Article 185(3) of the Constitution against the IHC’s February 19, 2026, order, through which the high court had admitted the appeal against the trial court’s January 24 decision of handing down a 17-year sentence.

While admitting the appeals against the trial court’s order, the IHC had issued notices to the respondents on the application for the suspension of sentence; however, it had not suspended the sentence.

The petition contended that the appeals be accepted and the sentence awarded to the petitioners through the impugned trial court’s judgement be suspended till the disposal of the criminal appeal pending before the IHC.

On January 24, a trial court had sentenced Imaan and Hadi to a total of 17 years in prison on multiple charges in the case.

The lawyer duo were sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment under Section 10 (cyber terrorism), five years’ imprisonment under Section 9 (glorification of an offence) and two years’ imprisonment under Section 26-A (false and fake information) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA).

The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday dismissed a set of appeals instituted by Greentree Holdings Limited (GTH) against a June order by the Sindh High Court (SHC), which had held that GTH shares were the property of private equity firm The Resource Group Pakistan (TRGP).

The dispute revolves around a challenge to a June 20, 2025 SHC judgement, in which the SHC had allowed an application of former TRG CEO Muhammad Ziaullah Khan Chishti to be filed under company laws.

In its order on June 20, 2025, the SHC had ruled that shares held by GTH in TRGP (the respondent) were the property of TRGP, and would be deemed to have been purchased by the latter from its shareholders.

The court had also ordered TGRP’s Board of Directors to issue notice for an extraordinary general meeting of the company immediately to elect directors, adding that the new board of directors would decide whether to retain or cancel these treasury shares after the elections.

A three-judge SC bench, headed by Justice Naeem Akhter Afghan alongside Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, rejected three appeals against the SHC’s order on Monday, and directed that the appellants would jointly bear the legal costs of respondent No. 1 (Chishti).

“We intend to pursue a defamation case against the group, which was moved against the social media campaign against the respondent,” Advocate Muhammad Shehzad Shaukat told Dawn while appearing on behalf of Chishti, adding that in this case, the cost ran into the millions.

The SC, in its short order, granted leave to appeal in “C.P.L.A. No.2543/2025 titled ‘Greentree Holdings Limited, Hamilton HM11, Bermuda v. Muhammad Ziaullah Khan Chishti, etc.’; C.P.L.A. No.871-K/2025 titled ‘The Resource Group International Limited (TRGI) v. Muhammad Ziaullah Khan Chishti, etc.’; and C.P.L.A. No.872-K/2025 titled ‘The Resource Group Pakistan Limited (TRGP) v. Muhammad Ziaullah Khan Chishti, etc.’”.

“The petitions are converted into appeals, which are all dismissed. The appellants shall jointly and severally bear the respondent No.1’s costs in the said appeals,” said the short order, authored by Justice Aurangzeb and announced in the open court on Monday.

In the same case, case files had been reported stolen in 2025. GTH, which had filed the petition before the SC last June, was informed by the court office on July 14 to immediately file its petition again, along with three paper books in each case, to avoid any inconvenience to the court after the case files were stolen.

The reason cited by the court office suggested that while transferring the case to the Principal Seat of the SC in Islamabad through a courier service, the vehicle carrying the case files had been robbed and the subject petitions stolen.

This incident was also mentioned by Justice Afghan during a hearing on August 26, where the court was told that the files of the case were not stolen, but rather a robbery was committed.

On June 25, 2025, a two-judge SC bench consisting of Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan and Justice Aamer Farooq, while granting status quo, had ordered the issuance of notices, with a direction to the parties to file concise statements.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday extended the countrywide austerity drive till June 13.

The Middle East war, which began with US-Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28, has given rise to a global oil crisis. In order to deal with the situation, the government had announced unprecedented austerity measures on March 9.

A notification of the Cabinet Division, available with Dawn, said: “The prime minister, on consideration of the recommendations of the committee for monitoring and implementation of fuel conservation and additional austerity measures, has been pleased to extend the applicability of the following additional austerity measures up till 13th June, 2026 with immediate effect.”

The measures extended included 50 per cent reduction in fuel allowance for official vehicles, with the exemption of operational vehicles such as ambulances and public buses.

Other steps included the move to ground 60pc of official vehicles and a complete ban on foreign visits by ministers and government officials, excluding those as specified the last time, which were deemed essential for the country’s interests.

“Other additional austerity and fuel conservation measures, as notified from time to time vide this Division’s notifications of even number, shall continue to remain in force over the periods specified in the respective notifications,” the notification read.

“Measures in the case of which no period or end date has been specified, shall remain applicable till further orders,” it added.

Among previously announced austerity measures, the working week for all government offices was reduced to four days — Monday to Thursday.

However, the additional holiday was not availed by banks. It did not apply to the agriculture and industrial sectors, or essential services such as hospitals and ambulance services.

Under the measures, the salary of parliamentarians was to be cut by 25pc, while employees of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and government-supervised institutions were to see their salaries cut by 5pc-30pc.

Expenses of government departments were reduced by 20pc, along with a ban on purchasing vehicles, furniture, air conditioners and other items for government departments.

PM Shehbaz had tasked the premier had tasked the Intelligence Bureau (IB) to carry out a third-party audit of the implementation of the austerity measures.

On April 30, the premier had also decided to extend fuel subsidies for motorcyclists, and public and goods transport by one month.

The subsidies were part of the targeted relief measures announced for bikers, farmers and transporters to cushion the impact of global oil price shocks amid the US-Israel war on Iran.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Monday decried decisions taken behind closed doors, saying that the provincial government would oppose those decisions that went against peace in the province and the people’s interests.

He made the remarks during a visit to Bannu, after 15 police personnel were martyred and three sustained injuries after a suicide attack on the Fateh Khel police post.

According to a statement issued by the CM House, Afridi met the families of the martyred police personnel and also offered Fateha.

The statement said that he also visited the hospital to inquire about the health of the injured personnel and directed officials to provide them with the best possible healthcare facilities.

The statement quoted Afridi as saying that the KP police had shown bravery and courage against terrorism. He said that the people of the province had to stand up for their rights, otherwise the “imposed circumstances” would continue to prevail.

“We have been continuously saying that terrorists are again rearing their heads, but decisions behind closed doors have been imposed on us for the last 78 years,” he lamented, adding that the imposed policies had “pushed the province into a quagmire of unrest”.

“We have made immense sacrifices [in the fight] against terrorism. Further unrest is unacceptable,” he asserted.

“The provincial government and police will fight against terrorism together,” Afridi said, noting that the government would oppose every decision against peace in the province and the people’s interests.

He further noted that the sacrifices of the martyred officials would not be in vain, as establishing peace in the province was the government’s top priority.

The Foreign Office (FO) said on Monday that the Afghan chargé d’affaires was summoned and handed a “strong demarche” over the suicide attack in Bannu, which claimed the lives of 15 police personnel.

In a statement, the FO said, “The Afghan chargé d’affaires was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today to deliver a strong demarche regarding the cowardly vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (IED) attack carried out by terrorists of Fitna al Khawarij on the Fateh Khel police post in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu District on May 9.”

Fitna al Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, while Fitna al Hindustan is a term designated by the state for terrorist organisations in Balo­chistan.

“The ministry conveyed that a detailed investigation into the incident, along with evidence collected and technical intelligence, indicates that the attack was masterminded by terrorists residing in Afghanistan,” the FO said.

“Reiterating Pakistan’s grave concern over the continued use of Afghan soil for terrorist attacks against Pakistan, it was impressed upon the Afghan side that Pakistan reserves the right to respond decisively against the perpetrators of this barbaric act,” the statement added.

It was also highlighted that the continued presence of various terrorist organisations on Afghan soil, and the permissive environment enabling their operations, were documented in reports by the United Nations Monitoring Team and other international organisations.

“The fight against terrorism is a common cause, and the Afghan Taliban must honour their commitment not to allow their territory to be used for terrorism against other countries,” the FO said.

It stated that Pakistan had repeatedly urged the Afghan Taliban regime to take concrete and verifiable action against Fitna al Khawarij, Fitna al Hindustan, and ISKP/Daesh elements operating from Afghan soil.

“Pakistan has also constructively engaged with the Afghan Taliban regime through several rounds of talks mediated by brotherly and friendly countries. However, the Afghan Taliban have consistently failed to commit to, or deliver, meaningful and verifiable action against these terrorist outfits,” the statement said.

“The Afghan Taliban regime has also been categorically informed that, if it continues to harbour these terrorist organisations, Pakistan will not compromise on its national security or on the safety and protection of its citizens,” the FO concluded.

At least 15 police officers were martyred and three others wounded late on Saturday night after terrorists rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into Fateh Khel police post in Bannu, followed by attacks from multiple directions with heavy weaponry and drones.

Bannu Regional Police Officer (RPO) Sajjad Khan confirmed that a total of 18 police personnel were on duty at the post when it was attacked. The initial assault began when terrorists drove a vehicle filled with explosives into the post.

Following the massive blast, militants opened heavy fire and launched a multi-pronged ground attack, according to authorities. “Fifteen were martyred and three sustained injuries,” the RPO said.

A senior administration official in Bannu told AFP the assailants also used quadcopters during the assault.

Recent Pak-Afghan ties

There has been a resurgence in terrorism in Pakistan since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021.

Islamabad has repeatedly urged the Taliban administration to dismantle terrorist sanctuaries on Afghan soil, particularly those linked to the banned TTP. Officials say those appeals have gone unheeded.

Operation Ghazab lil-Haq was launched on the night of February 26, following unprovoked firing by the Afghan Taliban from across the border.

From March 18 to 23, Pakistan observed a five-day temporary pause in the operation on the occasion of Eidul Fitr, with the FO later saying it would continue “until its objectives are achieved”.

De-escalation requests from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkiye were part of the reasons behind the pauses announced by both sides, according to their respective statements.

In early March, Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir had said that peace between Pakistan and Afghanistan could only prevail if the Taliban regime “renounced their support for terrorism and terrorist organisations”.

In April, the two countries held talks in China’s Urumqi and agreed to avoid any escalation in their armed conflict.

Punjab Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat on Monday announced a three-month-long summer vacation for schools in the province.

In a statement released by his spokesperson, he said that the summer break would begin on May 22 and would end on August 23.

He said that schools in the province would then open on August 24.

The minister also posted the same on his official Facebook account.

Last month, schools in the province were advised to alter working hours or declare early summer holidays due to excessive heat, which has prevailed over parts of the country over the past few weeks.

The Punjab Disaster Mana­­gement Authority had issued urgent directives to educational instit­utions and district admi­nistrations across the province in view of a heatwave.

The advisory had stated that schools should alter working hours or declare early summer holidays if excessive heat persisted; suspend all outdoor sports and activities immediately; ensure uninterrupted availability of clean, cold drinking water; maintain functional ventilation, fans, and cooling systems; and tell students to wear loose, light-coloured clothing.

Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti said on Monday that a plot to coerce a girl into carrying out a terrorist attack in Islamabad had been thwarted by intelligence agencies.

The girl, who was reportedly arrested before she could carry out a suicide bombing, will be released to her father under supervision instead of facing trial, he said.

The chief minister, in a press conference alongside the suspect, emphatically denounced the perpetrators of exploitation against Baloch women and girls. He stressed that their actions had no connection at all to Baloch tradition or history.

“We are faithful to our tradition,” he said, adding, “These people have no connection to Balochiyat, and the way they are using our women in this war is shameful. I am so ashamed that I cannot even tell the media the details.”

According to details shared by Bugti, the girl’s name had initially appeared on social media as a missing person, but an investigation by intelligence agencies ascertained that she was allegedly training at a terrorist camp.

Terming the investigation’s results as “very unfortunate”, Bugti noted that the method of exploitation by the terrorists involved “honeytrapping” women, then blackmailing them. In this case, by threatening to kill the girl’s father if she did not comply with their orders, the chief minister added.

“The plan was to perform a suicide attack in Islamabad,” the chief minister said.

He contended that the objective of the attack, which he alleged was orchestrated by agents of India’s intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), was to sabotage the improved reputation Pakistan was currently enjoying on the international stage.

The Balochistan CM said the girl perhaps did not know that Islamabad was the target and was to be told at the last minute, commending the intelligence agencies for foiling a major plan.

In addition, he stressed that the girl had been exploited in an egregious way and slammed those who were responsible for it, asking, “They would exploit their own Baloch girls? Their own daughters, their own sisters … and to please international masters? Can you conceive of it?”

“Then they say, ‘We are Baloch and these are Baloch traditions and a Baloch cause’ — there is no cause, no Balochiyat. It is a curse on this Balochiyat.”

Bugti said the girl’s story had caused him great pain and was a cause for shame, asserting that it showed the difference between the state and the terrorists: “I always say we should be opening doors to Oxford and Harvard for these girls, and they want to exploit them and put them in suicide jackets.”

He also denounced that the terrorists would proceed to upload video clips of such women and girls to social media as propaganda, calling it “heroism”, to recruit more women for their plans. He challenged the notion presented by the terrorists that women were “a part of this war”.

“Historically, Baloch women have never been a part of war. Historically, Baloch women have been a part of peace — when tribes fight, if a woman comes in between them, the fight ends. If a woman is there, her brother’s life is spared; if a woman is there, her father and son’s murders are called off … these were our traditions,” he noted.

“What kind of tradition has you exploiting girls for your vested interests like this? I do not have words to tell you the details,” the Balochistan CM remarked.

“We have decided that we are returning this girl to her father respectfully and with political and tribal guarantees,” Bugti said, adding that the father was a poor man.

“We have requested that he keep an eye on his daughter and, of course, our oversight will be present somewhere; we will watch them.”

He emphasised that they were releasing the girl because she was underage: “We could have tried her, but seeing the evidence of exploitation … I cannot sleep tonight.

“This is what they are doing to our Baloch daughters? To our Baloch sisters? They should be ashamed.”

The chief minister highlighted the “capacity and capability” of the intelligence agency that had saved Pakistan from losing face.

“So much destruction was going to happen; that was a given,” he noted. “But in Pakistan, if a woman carries out a suicide bombing … you can imagine its impact on Pakistan at this time, on an international level.”

Pakistan recorded a second consecutive month of improving security indicators in April 2026, with militant attacks and related casualties declining markedly, according to a report released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS).

According to the data, Balochistan also experienced a notable improvement, with militant attacks falling from 59 in March to 18 in April, a 69pc reduction.

In March, Bugti said security forces had arrested a “would-be” female suicide bomber in Khuzdar, with the help of “human intelligence”. At the time, he said the arrested woman would be interrogated in the “presence of female police personnel”, stressing that the state was cognisant of its responsibility to ensure that she suffered “no physical harm, moral harm or harassment”.

In December of last year, a major terror plot was thwarted in Karachi as law enforcers detained a teenage girl hailing from Balochistan, according to Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hasan Lanjar.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday ordered an inquiry into an attack in Toba Tek Singh that left PML-N MPA Col (retired) Sardar Ayub Gadhi injured and four of his aides dead.

The incident occurred on Sunday night, when Gadhi was sitting with his friends in his outhouse (Dera) in Chak 184-GB. Subsequently, unidentified gunmen opened indiscriminate fire.

In a statement on Monday, PM Shehbaz expressed deep concern and strongly condemned the incident. He also directed the relevant authorities to swiftly complete the inquiry so that those responsible could be identified and brought to justice.

Calling Gadhi one of the PML-N’s hardworking workers, the prime minister said that the attack on the MPA while he was listening to public grievances was extremely concerning.

He offered prayers for those who lost their lives in the incident and for the recovery of the injured.

Those killed in the incident on Sunday night were identified as Zaigham Abbas (41), Nadim Noor (45), Khaliqdad (49), and Haq Nawaz (55). Police said eight attackers, on four motorcycles, were involved in the assault.

A police spokesperson said the attackers had an old enmity with Gadhi, adding that raids were underway to arrest those involved.

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday allowed an application filed by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz seeking the return of Rs70 million deposited as surety for bail in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case.

The case by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) pertains to alleged money laundering and income beyond means via “dubious” business transactions of the Chaudhry Sugar Mills, of which Maryam was a major shareholder.

At the outset of the hearing, a NAB deputy prosecutor submitted an affidavit to an LHC full bench about the withdrawal of its plea before the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) challenging directives for the closure of the Chaudhry Sugar Mills investigation against Maryam.

At this, Chief Justice Aalia Neelum, who headed the bench, accepted Maryam’s application with instructions to the registrar’s office to return the surety amount.

Justice Muhammad Jawad Zafar and Justice Abher Gul Khan were the other members of the bench.

The chief minister, through her counsel Javed Arshad, had filed the application after an accountability court in March allowed a NAB request for the closure of the investigation against her.

The accountability court had declared that Maryam may withdraw her surety bond of Rs70 million furnished against the post-arrest bail granted to her in the case.

The NAB had filed the case termination application following a February 4 directive from the LHC to place a termination report before the accountability court for the closure of the investigation as required under the law.

A NAB team had arrested Maryam in connection with the case on Aug 8, 2019 when she was present at the Kot Lakhpat jail on her weekly visit to her incarcerated father, Nawaz Sharif.

On Nov 4, 2019, the LHC released Maryam in the case on bail, subject to surrendering her passport to the court. She was also ordered to deposit a surety amount of Rs70m with the judicial registrar of the court.

In October 2022, the LHC directed officials to return the passport to Maryam after the NAB said it did not require the travel document anymore.

Iran on Monday asserted that it made “legitimate” demands in its latest formal response to the United States’ peace proposal, after US President Donald Trump rejected the reply as “totally unacceptable”.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said Tehran had called for an end to the war across the region, the lifting of the US blockade of Iranian ports, and the release of frozen assets abroad in its response.

“We did not demand any concessions. The only thing we demanded was Iran’s legitimate rights,” said Baqaei in a weekly press briefing.

He said Iran’s demands included “an end to the war in the region”, lifting the US blockade and “piracy”, and the “release of assets belonging to the Iranian people, which have for years been unjustly trapped in foreign banks”.

“Safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz and establishing security in the region and Lebanon were other demands of Iran, which are considered a generous and responsible offer for regional security.”

Baqaei said Washington continued to uphold “unreasonable” and one-sided demands.

According to remarks reported by Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency, the Iranian official cautioned that any intervention in the affairs of the Strait of Hormuz will further “complicate” the matter, stressing that the issue was the “aggressive actions” of the US and Israel.

“We have conveyed this very clearly to European countries that they should not allow the temptations of the United States and the Zionist regime in regional issues to cause them to be unintentionally drawn into a crisis that will not benefit them,” Iran’s semi-official outlet ISNA quoted Baqaei as saying.

The Iranian official, according to ISNA, affirmed that Pakistan remained the mediator in US-Iran negotiations.

“The mediator in the negotiations is still Pakistan, and Islamabad will continue its activities in this regard as an official mediator. Other countries, including Qatar, also have relations with both sides and have ideas and opinions that they will present whenever they deem necessary,” he said.

Baqaei further said, “The very presence of the US in the region is an example of creating a cycle of violence and bullying in the region.”

He emphasised that “regional security must be ensured by the countries of the region by strengthening collective trust” between them.

“Recent events have shown that security that relies on the presence of foreign forces in the region will only exacerbate insecurity and will not bring stability to our region,” he highlighted.

‘Totally unacceptable’

Iran’s defence of its response, conveyed through Pakistan on Sunday, came hours after Trump rejected it.

“I have just read the response from Iran’s so-called ‘Representatives.’ I don’t like it TOTALLY UNACCEP­TABLE,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, without providing details of the response.

Trump’s swift rejection of Iran’s response sent oil prices surging on Monday amid concerns the 10-week-old conflict will drag on, keeping shipping through the Strait of Hormuz paralysed.

Days after the US floated an offer in the hopes of reopening negotiations, Iran on Sunday released a response focused on ending the war on all fronts, especially Lebanon, where Israel continues its bombardment despite a ceasefire.

Tehran also included a demand for compensation for war damage and emphasised Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state TV said.

According to Iranian officials, Tehran proposed that the current phase of negotiations may focus primarily on ending hostilities in the region, while more contentious matters, including sanctions relief and the nuclear issue, could be addressed at later stages.

Another Iranian source said that Tehran’s response was positive and the ball was now in Washington’s court. He hoped that the reply could pave the way for the resumption of dialogue in the coming days.

The official said that the response is backed by political consensus within Iran.

An American national and a French woman evacuated from the cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak have tested positive, officials said on Monday, as the complex operation to repatriate those on board continued.

The French woman, one of five passengers from France flown back from the MV Hondius and placed in isolation in Paris, started to feel unwell on Sunday night, and “tests came back positive”, said Health Minister Stephanie Rist.

Late on Sunday, the US health department said one American national evacuated from the ship had “mild symptoms” and that another had tested positive for the Andes virus, the only hantavirus strain that is transmissible between humans.

Three passengers from the ship, a Dutch couple and a German woman, have died, while others have fallen sick with the rare disease, which usually spreads among rodents.

No vaccines or specific treatments exist for hantavirus, which is endemic in Argentina, where the ship set sail in April.

But health officials have insisted that the risk for global public health is low and downplayed comparisons to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Rist said 22 more contact cases had been identified among French nationals, including eight people who had travelled on an April 25 flight between Saint Helena and Johannesburg, and 14 more on a flight between Johannesburg and Amsterdam.

The Dutch woman who died was on the flight to Johannesburg and later briefly boarded a flight to Amsterdam but was removed prior to takeoff.

Health authorities in several countries have been tracking passengers who had already disembarked from the ship, plus anyone who may have come into contact with them.

The repatriation operation evacuated 94 people of 19 different nationalities on Sunday, Spanish Health Minister Monica Garcia announced on Tenerife, in Spain’s Canary Islands.

Spanish officials said the evacuation of most of the ship’s nearly 150 passengers and crew, which includes 23 nationalities, would continue until the final repatriation flights to Australia and the Netherlands on Monday afternoon.

The Dutch-flagged ship will refuel in the morning and is expected to depart for the Netherlands with about 30 crew members at 7pm (11pm PKT) on Monday.

Passengers in blue medical suits began disembarking the vessel on Sunday to reach the small industrial port of Granadilla on Tenerife, AFP journalists saw.

Race against time

Canary Islands authorities have warned that the operation must be completed by Monday, when adverse weather conditions will force the ship to leave.

The Atlantic archipelago’s regional government has consistently resisted taking in the ship, which was only authorised to anchor offshore.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends a 42-day quarantine and “active follow-up”, including daily checks for symptoms such as fever, the UN body’s epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention director, Maria Van Kerkhove, said in Geneva.

Greece’s health ministry said a Greek male evacuee would spend 45 days in mandatory hospital quarantine in Athens, while 14 Spanish citizens will also isolate at a military hospital in Madrid.

Australia said it would place its six evacuees in a purpose-built quarantine facility north of Perth for at least three weeks.

British officials said 20 UK citizens who were aboard the ship would be taken to a hospital near Liverpool for tests and about 72 hours of quarantine.

But a top US health official said the 17 American passengers would not necessarily be quarantined.

Depending on the estimated risk, passengers can choose to go home “without exposing other people on the way”, said Jay Bhattacharya, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who was on Tenerife to help supervise the evacuations, said that policy “may have risks”.

The group was expected to land in Omaha early on Monday morning, said a spokesperson for the University of Nebraska Medical Centre.

The Hondius left Ushuaia, Argentina on April 1 for a cruise across the Atlantic Ocean to Cape Verde.

The WHO believes the first infection occurred before the start of the expedition, followed by transmission between humans on board the vessel.

But Argentine health officials have questioned whether the outbreak originated in Ushuaia, based on the virus’s weeks-long incubation period and other factors.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was told on Monday that Pakistan’s information technology exports were expected to reach $4.5 billion to $4.6bn, according to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

The development came as the premier chaired meeting to review the affairs of the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication.

During the meeting, the premier was told that the number of domestic internet connections had increased from 1.9 million in 2024 to 5.1m in 2026. He was also told that IT exports were expected to reach between $4.5bn-$4.6bn during the current fiscal year, the PMO said.

Further, the premier was told that the recent 5G spectrum auction had generated $509m dollars in revenue.

The meeting was also told that, under efforts to promote artificial intelligence, “Indus AI Week” was organised in February 2025 across 30 cities, attracting over 100 international delegates and featuring 88 pavilions.

The meeting was told that fibre connectivity had been provided to government schools and health units in Islamabad, and the provision of free internet hotspots in the capital was in its final stages. It was also informed that e-learning pods were being installed in Saidpur Model Village and Fatima Jinnah Park, the PMO statement said.

In his remarks, PM Shehbaz said that promoting the IT sector and increasing IT-related exports remained among the government’s top priorities.

He directed that work on establishing Asaan Khidmat Centres in Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir be expedited. He said that efforts should also be made in coordination with provincial governments to introduce the same facilities.

The prime minister said that cooperation from provincial and district-level governments should be sought to reduce the digital gap between urban and rural areas in the IT sector.

Pakistan’s youth possess immense potential in the IT sector, which must be “fully utilised”, he said.