Saudi king, crown prince congratulate Pakistan on Independence Day 

Students wave Pakistan's national flag outside the mausoleum of the country's founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah, after Pakistan's 75th Independence Day ceremony in Karachi on August 14, 2022. (AFP)
Short Url
Updated 14 August 2022
Follow

Saudi king, crown prince congratulate Pakistan on Independence Day 

  • Saudi leadership wishes “steady progress and prosperity” for Pakistanis 
  • Islamabad, Riyadh enjoy deep-rooted, cordial ties with one another 

ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman congratulated President Arif Alvi on Saturday on the occasion of Pakistan’s 76th Independence Day, the Saudi State News Agency (SPA) said. 
On August 14, 1947, British India was divided into two countries, India and Pakistan. Every year, Pakistanis celebrate their independence from British rule with fanfare and festivities throughout the day. 
Islamabad and Riyadh have always cherished close diplomatic relations and are collaborating in various sectors. 
In their messages, the Saudi leadership wished President Alvi health and happiness and hoped Pakistan’s masses enjoy steady progress and prosperity. 
“The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has sent a cable of congratulation to President Dr. Arif Alvi, President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, on the anniversary of his country’s Independence Day,” the SPA said. 
In his message, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman “wished the President constant good health and happiness and the government and friendly people of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan steady progress and prosperity.” 
Saudi Arabia is home to more than two million Pakistanis and has been the top source of workers’ remittances to the South Asian nation. 


‘Pakistan Cyber Force’ group hacks India’s ABP News day after Pakistani channels targeted

Updated 5 sec ago
Follow

‘Pakistan Cyber Force’ group hacks India’s ABP News day after Pakistani channels targeted

  • ‘Pakistan Cyber Force’ group hacks India’s ABP News day after Pakistani channels targeted
  • Multiple Pakistani news channels were hacked on Sunday, during which broadcasts were interrupted with anti-army messages, local media reported

ISLAMABAD: A group by the name of ‘Pakistan Cyber Force’ on Monday hacked an Indian news channel ABP News to ran pro-Pakistan Army content, state media reported on Monday, a day after multiple Pakistani news channels were also hacked. 

Pakistan Cyber Force launched a “retaliatory attack” by hacking Hindi-language news channel ABP News, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan said. It added that excerpts of speeches by Pakistan’s Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir ran on the Indian news channel as well as other content related to the Pakistan Army. 

“Pakistan Cyber Force launched a retaliatory attack on India with slogans of Pakistan Zindabad started echoing on an Indian channel,” Radio Pakistan said. 

 

 

The development takes place a day after prominent Pakistani news channel, Geo News, was hacked just as its 9 p.m. bulletin was about to begin. 

Geo Managing Director Azhar Abbas confirmed the breach on Sunday, saying that the news channel was facing repeated hacking attempts since 24 hours by “unknown elements” trying to disrupt its transmission.

“For some time now, Geo News’ broadcast has been continuously disrupted,” he wrote on X. “The channel’s screen was hacked and an inappropriate message was aired.”

He distanced Geo News from the messages that were displayed on the channel, urging authorities to launch an investigation and hold elements responsible for the breach to account. 

Pakistani English news website Express Tribune reported that other than Geo News, other local channels such as ARY News and SAMAA were also hacked. It said messages critical of the Pakistani military and its leadership were displayed during the broadcasts.

“In addition to hijacking broadcasts, several Pakistani news channels’ websites were allegedly used to run Google advertisement campaigns in support of Mossad,” Express Tribune said.

The development takes place as tensions in the Middle East surged on Saturday after the US and Israel launched joint attacks against Iran, killing its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. 

A wave of cyber-enabled operations took place early Saturday morning alongside the coordinated US-Israel strikes on targets across Iran, international news agency Reuters reported, citing cybersecurity experts and observers.

It said multiple Irani news websites were hacked to display various messages. BadeSaba, an Iranian religious calendar app with more than 5 million downloads, was also hacked and used to display messages telling users, “It’s time for reckoning” and urging armed forces to give up their weapons.