LAHORE: A Pakistani journalist under scrutiny for anti-government social media posts was beaten and seized outside his home on Saturday, his son said, in the latest sign of pressure on media.
Rizwan Razi, who worked for private Din TV in the city of Lahore, was being investigated for “defamatory and obnoxious” comments about the judiciary, government and intelligence services, according to Pakistan’s law enforcement agency.
However, there was no official confirmation he had been arrested.
“My father went out of home to see off friends,” his son Osama told Reuters of the incident on Saturday morning.
“When the friends left, unknown persons, riding a black Honda Civic car, thrashed and dragged him in the car and fled away ... I ran after the car but could not do anything.”
Pakistani journalists say they face an increasingly hostile climate since the vote last year that saw Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) take power.
A report from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), dated Saturday and seen by Reuters, said Razi had previously been questioned about his Twitter comments. It said authorization had been granted to register a case against him.
His account @RaziDada appeared to be offline on Saturday.
FIA officials in Lahore referred questions to the main office in Islamabad, where officials could not be reached.
Khan’s government replaced the party of ousted former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who was at odds with the powerful military and is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence for corruption.
The increased official pressure has come at a difficult time for the media in general as advertising revenues have plunged and newsroom budgets been slashed.
Government officials say Pakistan has an independent media and the military denies pressuring journalists.
In a separate case, Ammar Ali Jan, an academic also based in Lahore, was arrested over his involvement in a protest at the death of Arman Loni, a regional leader of the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement. He was later released on bail.
A message on Ammar’s Facebook page on Saturday said he was taken at 4 a.m. “I am a law-abiding citizen and will not be deterred in the fight for justice,” it said.
Police official Azhar Naveed confirmed the brief detention and bail, which followed other arrests over the protests earlier this week. He said Ammar was charged with taking part in a rally, blocking a road and making “anti-state” speeches.
Pakistani journalist critical of government seized outside home
Pakistani journalist critical of government seized outside home
- Pakistani journalists say they face an increasingly hostile climate since the vote last year that saw Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) take power
- Government officials say Pakistan has an independent media and the military denies pressuring journalists
WEF report spotlights real-world AI adoption across industries
DUBAI: A new report by the World Economic Forum, released Monday, highlights companies across more than 30 countries and 20 industries that are using artificial intelligence to deliver real-world impact.
Developed in partnership with Accenture, “Proof over Promise: Insights on Real-World AI Adoption from 2025 MINDS Organizations” draws on insights from two cohorts of MINDS (Meaningful, Intelligent, Novel, Deployable Solutions), a WEF initiative focused on AI solutions that have moved beyond pilot phases to deliver measurable performance gains.
As part of its AI Global Alliance, the WEF launched the MINDS program in 2025, announcing its first cohort that year and a second cohort this week. Cohorts are selected through an evaluation process led by the WEF’s Impact Council — an independent group of experts — with applications open to public- and private-sector organizations across industries.
The report found a widening gap between organizations that have successfully scaled AI and those still struggling, while underscoring how this divide can be bridged through real-world case studies.
Based on these case studies and interviews with selected MINDS organizations, the report identified five key insights distinguishing successful AI adopters from others.
It found that leading organizations are moving away from isolated, tactical uses of AI and instead embedding it as a strategic, enterprise-wide capability.
The second insight centers on people, with AI increasingly designed to complement human expertise through closer collaboration, rather than replace it.
The other insights focus on the systems needed to scale AI effectively, including strengthening data foundations and strategic data sources, as well as moving away from fragmented technologies toward unified AI platforms.
Lastly, the report underscores the need for responsible AI, with organizations strengthening governance, safeguards and human oversight as automated decision-making becomes more widespread.
Stephan Mergenthaler, managing director and chief technology officer at the WEF, said: “AI offers extraordinary potential, yet many organizations remain unsure about how to realize it.
“The selected use cases show what is possible when ambition is translated into operational transformation and our new report provides a practical guide to help others follow the path these leaders have set.”
Among the examples cited in the report is a pilot led by the Saudi Ministry of Health in partnership with AmplifAI, which used AI-enabled thermal imaging to support early detection of diabetic foot conditions.
The initiative reduced clinician time by up to 90 percent, cut treatment costs by as much as 80 percent, and delivered a 10 time increase in screening capacity. Following clinical trials, the solution has been approved by regulatory authorities in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain.
The report also points to work by Fujitsu, which deployed AI across its supply chain to improve inventory management. The rollout helped cut inventory-related costs by $15 million, reduce excess stock by $20 million and halve operational headcount.
In India, Tech Mahindra scaled multilingual large language models capable of handling 3.8 million monthly queries with 92 percent accuracy, enabling more inclusive access to digital services across markets in the Global South.
“Trusted, advanced AI can transform businesses, but it requires organizing data and processes to achieve the best of technology and — this is key — it also requires human ingenuity to maximize returns on AI investments,” said Manish Sharma, chief strategy and services officer at Accenture.
