The decision was taken at a meeting of a special committee constituted by the prime minister on Inefficiencies and Electricity Theft in Discos to review measures to curb electricity theft, reduce distribution losses and improve the performance of power distribution companies.

Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Cheema and Minister for Power Division Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari co-chaired the meeting.

The committee was given detailed briefings by the Power Division, National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra), Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, Pakistan Digital Authority (PDA) and other relevant institutions on power theft, distribution losses, recoveries and technology-based interventions in the power sector.

The IT ministry was assigned the responsibility of providing technological assistance and facilitating the technical audit through a transparent and credible mechanism.

An expression of interest (EoI) will be issued shortly to engage suitably qualified technical experts for the exercise. The meeting decided that the terms of reference for the technical audit would be finalised by next week.

The meeting also discussed the impact of the Advance Metering Infrastructure (AMI) initiative and decided to continue and expedite the installation of AMI meters, even in Discos earmarked for privatisation, to ensure that new private buyers did not resort to overbilling to the disadvantage of consumers.

Cheema stressed that the audit must include a comprehensive diagnostic analysis of the underlying causes of power theft and losses and produce credible and actionable findings.

“The government is fully focused on reducing electricity theft. Under no circumstances will the burden of power theft or inefficiencies within the distribution system be shifted to the people. Overbilling is completely unacceptable,” he was quoted as saying.

He said the findings of the technical audit would enable the government to take targeted and evidence-based measures to reduce power theft and distribution losses. He reiterated that every possible step would be taken to prevent any further increase in circular debt.

Leghari said the Power Division was fully aligned with the objectives of the committee and was actively working to control theft and losses, particularly in Discos where the incidence of electricity theft remained high.

The committee was also briefed on incentive-based solarisation pilot projects in areas served by Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) and Quetta Electric Supply Company (Qesco), where power theft and distribution losses are particularly high. The initiative aims to provide solar energy solutions to reduce pressure on the electricity network and help address persistent theft and line-loss issues.

The committee reviewed technology-based measures being undertaken and emphasised the effective use of digital tools and reliable data to detect irregularities, improve monitoring and strengthen accountability across the distribution network.

Both ministers noted the progress made in addressing overbilling but made it clear that any attempt by a Disco to conceal theft, losses or operational inefficiencies through excessive billing would not be tolerated. Consumers must not be made to pay for weaknesses within the distribution system.

The committee also reviewed the recovery performance of the Discos and expressed satisfaction over the improvement recorded during the current year. They agreed that this momentum must be sustained through better governance, stronger monitoring, technology-driven reforms and targeted action in high-loss areas.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had in June ordered a comprehensive technical audit of the billing systems of Discos, stressing that reforms in the power sector remained among the government’s foremost priorities.

He instructed the power division to devise clear performance indicators to gauge the working of distribution companies and to set integrated targets backed by defined timelines.

Nearly 1,800 cases related to power theft were reported in several service areas of the Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco) in Lahore metropolitan and the districts of Kasur, Okara, Sheikhupura and Nankana Sahib during the month of February.

According to a Lesco spokesperson, of the total cases detected between July 1 and July 31, as many as 1,542 involved domestic consumers and three were related to agricultural connections. The company submitted requests for the registration of 1,531 first information reports (FIRs), of which 593 had been registered, while 38 suspects were arrested.

“The government of Pakistan is pleased to announce the appointment of Lt Gen Nauman Mahmood, Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Military), (retired), as the first secretary general pursuant to the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement,” the FO said in a handout, referring to the alliance’s initial name.

“The secretary general will lead the general secretariat of the alliance being established at Riyadh,” the FO said.

The agreement — signed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye on August 7 — empowers member states to treat an attack against one of them as an attack against all.

More to follow

The company will kick off its annual Connect conference from its Menlo Park headquarters at 4pm PT on Wednesday (4am Pakistan time on Thursday), and Zuckerberg will deliver a keynote address to the developer-focused event.

Earlier this month, the social media giant launched Muse, its first agentic app for consumers which is designed to perform tasks on behalf of humans, like a digital personal assistant.

After a user connects various personal accounts — whether financial, health-related or shopping — they can ask Meta to perform tasks like signing up for services, booking appointments and making calls.

Amazon blocked Meta this week from using AI bots to shop for users automatically, while other businesses including Instacart, Shopify and Expedia have announced partnerships to integrate their services into Muse.

The Muse agent is built on Meta’s own AI models and is designed to compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude.

The company had its first pair of interactive smart glasses in 2021, about a year before OpenAI sparked a global AI frenzy with its release of ChatGPT, and since then the devices have become more and more advanced.

‘Pervert glasses’

Last year, Meta unveiled a pair of augmented reality “display” glasses which project images on the lenses.

And earlier this year, the company released self-branded AI glasses, apart from its partnership with eyewear manufacturer EssilorLuxottica, which produces multiple Ray-Ban-branded Meta glasses.

However, their novelty quickly became clouded by privacy concerns, with critics dubbing the eyewear as “pervert glasses”.

At last year’s Connect, Meta’s chief product officer Chris Cox brushed aside such concerns and told news outlets, including AFP, that “social norms” would form around the use of smart glasses.

More recently, Meta has said a recording indicator light would always be visible to people nearby, and that tampering with the indicator light would disable the camera.

The company is reportedly working on a new pair of audio-only glasses, and has also been rumoured to be developing a new generation of mixed reality glasses.

Meta has also been battling children’s safety and privacy issues around the world.

In August, the company settled a lawsuit with dozens of attorneys generals in the US who accused Meta of violating state and federal laws regarding consumer protections and children’s online privacy.

As part of the settlement, Meta agreed to pay up to $18 billion in fines and enact restrictions for teenagers.

Meta faces social media restrictions and bans for younger users around the world, as well as thousands of potential personal injury lawsuits in the US that are still making their way through state courts.

According to Radio Pakistan, security forces killed two terrorists affiliated with Fitna al Hindustan during an intelligence-based operation in the Jausak area of Turbat.

The state has designated Balochistan-based terrorist groups as Fitna al Hindustan to highlight India’s alleged role in terrorism and destabilisation across Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Television reported that security forces continued operations against terrorists in Balochistan under Raddul Fitna-3.

In Mastung, nine terrorists were killed after they attempted to attack a checkpost, according to the state broadcaster. Heavy weapons, ammunition and three motorcycles were also recovered, it added.

“Operations will continue until the threat is eliminated,” Pakistan TV said, quoting the security forces.

Meanwhile, Balochistan police killed five terrorists in a gun battle in Quetta’s Aghbarg area after terrorists attempted to attack a police station, officials said.

Officials said the terrorists targeted the Aghbarg police station, located on the outskirts of Quetta, in the early hours of Wednesday. Police personnel deployed at the station immediately returned fire.

“In a heavy exchange of fire, five terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan were killed by police,” Saddar Senior Superintendent of Police Shafqat Janjua said. He added that police had foiled the attack and seized weapons and ammunition.

According to Janjua, the attackers arrived in the area on motorcycles before targeting the police station.

Separately, the Edhi Foundation said one of its ambulances was allegedly hijacked by armed men in Balochistan on Wednesday.

In a statement, the foundation said the ambulance was returning to the Edhi Kalat Centre at around 7:15am after transporting the body of a woman from an area near Gidar, about 110 kilometres from Civil Hospital, Kalat.

The foundation said unidentified armed men assaulted the Edhi worker and took control of the ambulance.

On Tuesday, Radio Pakistan reported that six terrorists were killed and nine suspected individuals were arrested during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) by security forces in Balochistan’s Saran Tangi area.

On Monday, security forces killed four more terrorists belonging to a banned organisation in an intelligence-based operation carried out in two areas of Panjgur district.

Last week, security forces killed 11 terrorists in separate operations in Panjgur and Chagai districts.

The number of terrorist attacks in the province increased by seven per cent from 83 in July to 89 in August, according to a monthly assessment by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies.

India and Pakistan are on opposite sides of the men’s Asian Games draw and cannot face each other in the semi-finals. A meeting is possible in either the gold-medal match or the bronze-medal play-off on Oct 3, provided the two sides negotiate the earlier stages successfully.

“India are the benchmark in white-ball cricket at the moment, and our challenge is to catch up to that,” Hesson told reporters on the sidelines of Pakistan’s pre-departure training camp at the National Bank Stadium.

“If we get an opportunity to play them, we can certainly put them under pressure, like we were able to in the final of the Asia Cup.”

Hesson, however, said neither side could afford to look that far ahead.

“There’s a lot of cricket to be played between now and being able to play in a final for both sides. So we’re not getting too far ahead of ourselves,” he said.

The Asian Games squad is a combination of players from the Pakistan Shaheens and the national side, Hesson said, making the tournament an opportunity to assess some new players.

“They certainly won’t be the same squad from a selection point of view,” he said.

Hesson also played down suggestions that Sahibzada Farhan’s appointment as Pakistan captain for the Asian Games necessarily indicated a longer-term leadership role.

The tournament was a “good opportunity” for Farhan to gain experience, he said, but whether he continued in the role would be decided by the selection committee and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

“That’s a discussion for down the line. But at the moment, I’m really looking forward to working with Sahibzada Farhan. I’ve enjoyed the last three days,” he said.

‘Broader progress’

Asked about Pakistan’s performances across formats, Hesson urged against grouping the Test, ODI and T20 sides, saying the T20 team’s record over the past 15 months did not justify describing Pakistan cricket as being in decline across the board.

“From a T20 perspective, the performance of the T20 side over the last 15 months has been around about the third- or fourth-best team in the world, in terms of win percentage,” he said.

Pakistan, he pointed out, had risen from eighth to fifth in the T20 rankings since he took charge and had gained 30 ranking points over the past 15 months.

“We’ve only done that by winning series, not just in Pakistan but series in Dubai, etc., series in America, whatever. So we’ve won a lot of series over the last 15 months in T20 cricket,” he said.

Hesson acknowledged that Pakistan’s repeated defeats against India remained significant for supporters, calling India the “benchmark for all Pakistani cricket fans”, but said those results should not obscure the T20 side’s broader progress.

He said the Test side was currently struggling, while the ODI team was still developing ahead of next year’s World Cup.

“One-day cricket, we’re developing heading up to a World Cup, and we’ve certainly improved our performance in the last 12 months, but we’re by no means a finished product,” he said.

Hesson also pointed to Pakistan’s progress in recent major tournaments, saying the team had reached the Asia Cup final after a period of failing to progress beyond the early stages.

“Up until the Asia Cup, a year and a half ago, Pakistan had not made it past the first round for three major events, had not even made it to the quarter-finals,” he said.

“In the Asia Cup we won every game except India. We made the final. We lost to India. They were better than us.”

At the T20 World Cup, Pakistan reached the Super Eight stage before losing to England, who subsequently reached the final.

“We lost to England by about two balls,” Hesson said.

Pakistan also had a washed-out match against New Zealand, he pointed out.

“We can’t do anything about the rain. Outside of that, we won every game.”

Hesson said expectations from Pakistan cricket should remain high, but cautioned that rebuilding would take time.

“Our expectations for Pakistan should be very high. But we also can’t go from not even making the top eight to expecting to win every game. There is a bit of a process that we need to take to do that,” he said.

Pakistan will enter the Asian Games men’s cricket competition at the quarter-final stage, with their first match scheduled for Monday, Sept 28. The preliminary round begins on Thursday, with Afghanistan taking on Japan in the opening match.

The new Royal Air Force (RAF) squadron will protect critical satellites used in communications and to warn of incoming missile attacks, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.

It described the unit — to be known as No III Space Effects Squadron — as the country’s first dedicated to “disrupting, degrading, and denying enemy activity targeting British interests in space”.

The MoD noted the UK launched two squadrons in 2023 that “watch and warn” of space threats while the new unit will “act against those threats, using advanced technology, including electronic warfare”.

Air Chief Marshal Harv Smyth will formally unveil the squadron on Wednesday at a two-day UK Space Power Conference starting in London, where Defence Secretary Wes Streeting will also warn Britain must “keep pace in the new space race”.

The announcement comes just over a week after the United States confirmed for the first time that it has arms deployed in orbit above the Earth.

That prompted China to warn against turning outer space into a “battlefield” and Russia to caution it must be “free from any weapon”, amid fears of an arms race in space.

The developments are being driven by rapid technological advancements but lack a comprehensive legal framework.

Last year, the head of UK Space Command Major General Paul Tedman warned he was “really worried” by Russia attempting to jam British military satellites on a regular basis.

He noted at the time that the UK was operating six dedicated military satellites for communications and surveillance, which were equipped with counter-jamming technology.

The chief justice was hearing a petition filed by citizen Mian Muhammad Jamil, with Superintendent of Police (SP) Abdullah appearing before the court on behalf of the Chung police.

The petitioner’s counsel, Advocate Shahbaz Bhatti, informed the judge that an LHC single bench had suspended a 2021 order by a sessions court of registering a first information report (FIR) against his client.

Despite the single bench ruling, the counsel alleged, the police registered a case against the petitioner unlawfully.

When Justice Neelum asked SP Abdullah to read the FIR aloud, he was unable to properly read or narrate its contents.

“Why is the FIR not readable? I cannot understand what has been written in it,” the chief justice remarked.

Expressing her displeasure over the manner in which the complaint had been written, Justice Neelum observed that such FIRs were not even readable.

“The entire Punjab is suffering; this is the situation everywhere,” she remarked.

The chief justice also sarcastically observed that the writing in the FIR looked like “flies”. “Even the size of the flies is bigger [than this],” she quipped.

Justice Neelum then summoned IG Kareem in person along with the relevant record for Thursday.

The IG was also summoned for Thursday in a separate case, where the chief justice rejected an inquiry report submitted in a contempt of court matter against the Lahore capital city police officer (CCPO).

Justice Neelum was hearing a petition filed by citizen Momin Khan, who alleged that police officials were harassing him despite court orders.

The petitioner’s counsel contended that an earlier petition against police harassment had been referred to the CCPO for redressal, but the police continued to subject him to harassment.

Asserting that the police failed to comply with the court’s directions, the counsel sought contempt proceedings against the CCPO.