Pakistani startup using AI for breast cancer detection eyes FDA approval, Middle East expansion

The image shows people working at Pakistani startup Xylexa office in Islamabad, Pakistan, on November 29, 2022. (AN Photo)
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Updated 05 December 2022
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Pakistani startup using AI for breast cancer detection eyes FDA approval, Middle East expansion

  • Xylexa’s technology has gone through clinical trials at several medical facilities in Pakistan and abroad
  • Startup recently got its first contract in Lebanon and is now looking into opportunities in UAE, Saudi Arabia

ISLAMABAD: An award-winning Pakistani startup that uses artificial intelligence and cloud-based tools for breast cancer detection is now working on getting approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and pursuing expansion into Arab countries, the founders of the firm said this week.

According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), Pakistan has the highest breast cancer rate in Asia, with one out of nine Pakistani women now facing a lifetime risk of the disease. The country also has one of the highest breast cancer mortality rates globally.

Known as Xylexa, the Islamabad-based startup was founded in 2018 by entrepreneurs Shahid Abbasi, Shahrukh Babar, and Neda Nehal who met each other by chance at an IT industry event in 2017.

The three individuals thus embarked on a mission to fight the disease by empowering radiologists — medical doctors that specialize in diagnosing and treating injuries and diseases using medical imaging procedures — with tools and technologies that would render improved clinical outcomes for the patients.

“We have developed a decision support program for interpretation of medical images which use cutting edge technologies like artificial intelligence, computer vision, and deep learning that would help radiologists attain better clinical insights,” Abbasi, the co-founder of the startup, told Arab News in an interview in Islamabad this week.




Xylexa team poses for a picture after receiving the Pasha Technology of the Year Award in Islamabad, Pakistan on September 7, 2018. (Photo courtesy: Xylexa)

The inspiration to do something for breast cancer patients came when a close relative was diagnosed with the disease at a very late stage, he said.

“We got together as a group and decided to do something about it and use technology as a medium to save more lives,” Abbasi added.

The first set of algorithms that Xylexa developed was for the detection of breast cancer using mammography, he said, and its clinical evaluation was successfully concluded after the hard work of three and half years.

“We are not just stopping at mammography but now we are focused on developing support for 14 different diseases that require chest x-rays and have also developed algorithms for protection of blockages within the arterial system,” Abbasi said.




 Lieutenant General Nigar Johar, Surgeon General Pakistan Army (2nd right) is visiting Xylexa office in Islamabad, Pakistan on September 13, 2021. (Photo courtesy: Xylexa)

The entrepreneur said his company’s product delivered results with an up to a 95 percent accuracy ratio, thus giving 24 percent better results than traditional radiology examination.

“If you look at the market data available for the accuracy of radiologists’ readings, it ranges anywhere between 71 percent to 82 percent. On the other hand, the accuracy rates of three algorithms that we have developed for mammography, chest x-ray, and peripheral artery disease detection ranges anywhere between 89 percent to 95 percent,” he added.

After developing an AI and cloud-based platform to provide support for breast cancer detection, Xylexa put it through clinical validation at various medical facilities in Pakistan and abroad.

According to StartUs Insights, an Austrian company that has evaluated almost 359 companies across the globe using artificial intelligence in health care, Xylexa was among the top five performers in this domain.

Babar, another co-founder of the startup, said the team was now applying for approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States after completing clinical trials.

“We ran a trial in Pakistan with Fouji Foundation Hospital, Islamabad Diagnostic Center, and Epiphany Labs,” he said, adding that the startup was also expanding to Arab countries.

“Recently, we got our first contract in Lebanon and we are looking at a few opportunities in Saudi Arabia too. We have already carried out trials with the King Fahad Hospital in the Kingdom and now are in talks with a few potential partners in Dubai as well.”

Babar said breast cancer could be successfully cured with early detection.

“If breast cancer is diagnosed at an early stage, chances of survival are 90 percent,” he said. “If it is diagnosed at a later stage, then chances of survival remain 25 percent or even less.”


Imran Khan’s party says 90-day ‘do or die’ anti-Pakistan government movement underway

Updated 13 July 2025
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Imran Khan’s party says 90-day ‘do or die’ anti-Pakistan government movement underway

  • Khan’s party earlier this month announced its plan to launch nationwide anti-government movement after Muharram
  • Ali Amin Gandapur, KP chief minister and a close Imran Khan aide, says movement to “reach its peak” on August 5

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party announced on Sunday that its 90-day “do or die” protest movement against the government is underway, saying that it would determine the future of the party. 

Earlier this month, the PTI announced it would launch a nationwide protest movement after the Islamic month of Muharram, following a ruling by Pakistan’s top court denying the party reserved parliamentary seats for minorities and women.

Tensions further escalated days earlier when 26 PTI provincial lawmakers were suspended by the speaker of the Punjab Assembly for 15 sessions, after they protested during Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif’s speech on June 27.

Gandapur arrived in the eastern city of Lahore from KP on Saturday to discuss the party’s political strategy and finalize its protest movement against the government.

“We have announced a 90-day protest movement, which began yesterday [Saturday] and it will be a do-or-die movement for us, whether we remain there [in KP government] or not, ” Gandapur, flanked by the PTI’s leadership, told reporters at a news conference in Lahore.
 
The KP chief minister vowed that the party’s anti-government protest movement will “reach its peak” on August 5, marking two years since Khan was arrested after being convicted by a court for illegally selling state gifts. 

‘REAL DECISION-MAKERS’ 

Khan, who has remained in prison since then, says the charges against him are politically motivated and has denied wrongdoing. His party has held various protests demanding his release and an independent investigation into the elections of February 2024. In one of the PTI’s protests in November last year, the government said four troops were killed in clashes with Khan supporters. The PTI rejects this allegation. 

Gandapur alleged that the PTI was being denied its right to hold peaceful protests across the country, vowing that it would now mobilize people across the country.

“We will announce a plan accordingly, after taking all our local workers and leaders into confidence on how to proceed with this movement,” the chief minister said. 

On holding talks with the government, Gandapur said his government was ready to hold talks but with the “real decision-makers,” indirectly referring to the military. 

“They [military establishment] are the real decision-makers, so we will talk to them only as there is no point in talking to those [the government] who have no power to make any decisions,” Gandapur said. 

Arab News reached out to federal ministers and senior leaders of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party for a response, but did not receive one till the filing of this report.

Pakistan’s military says it does not interfere in political issues and rejects the PTI’s allegations that it conspired with Khan’s political opponents to oust his government in a parliamentary vote in April 2022. 

Pakistan’s government has denied the PTI’s allegations of stifling dissent and says the elections of February 2024 were transparent. It accuses the former prime minister and his party of attempting to disrupt the government’s efforts to achieve sustainable economic growth via violent protests.


Pakistan says atrocities in Palestine, Serbia must not go ‘unnoticed’

Updated 13 July 2025
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Pakistan says atrocities in Palestine, Serbia must not go ‘unnoticed’

  • State minister for overseas Pakistanis participates in memorial service for victims of 1995 Srebenica massacre
  • Aun Chaudhry expresses solidarity with oppressed communities in Palestine and Kashmir, reports state media

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s State Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Aun Chaudhry reaffirmed Islamabad’s commitment to protecting human rights globally, urging the world not to let atrocities in Palestine, Serbia and Kashmir go “unnoticed,” state-run media reported on Sunday.

Chaudhry was in Potočari, Bosnia, where he took part in a solemn memorial service in remembrance of the 30th anniversary of the 1995 killings in Srebenica. According to the UN, the Bosnian Serb army overran Srebrenica in July 1995, previously declared a safe area under a UN Security Council resolution, and brutally murdered thousands of men and teenagers there.

Chaudhry laid a floral wreath at the memorial site, paying tribute to those who were massacred in the event 30 years ago. He also spoke about the rights of the people of Gaza, where Israel has killed at least 57,882 Palestinians since the start of the war in 2023, according to the health ministry there. 

“Aun Chaudhary stressed that atrocities whether in Serbia, Palestine, Kashmir or anywhere else in the world must not go unnoticed,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported. 

He reaffirmed Pakistan’s unwavering commitment to the protection of human rights globally, expressing solidarity with oppressed communities in Palestine and Kashmir, the state broadcaster said.

Pakistan, which does not have diplomatic ties with Israel, has consistently criticized Tel Aviv and called on world powers to intervene for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Islamabad has repeatedly demanded an independent Palestinian state, with Al Quds Al Sharif as its capital and as per the pre-June 1967 border.


Pakistan’s Nadeem, India’s Chopra to reignite javelin rivalry in Poland in August

Updated 13 July 2025
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Pakistan’s Nadeem, India’s Chopra to reignite javelin rivalry in Poland in August

  • Arshad Nadeem and Neeraj Chopra to face off in Wanda Diamond League 2025 competition in Silesia in August
  • Two last faced each other in August 2024 at Paris Olympics where Nadeem won gold with 92.97-meter throw5

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s javelin star Arshad Nadeem and India’s Neeraj Chopra will reignite their rivalry in August when the two sportsmen compete at the Silesia Wanda Diamond League 2025 competition scheduled to be held in Poland, the official website of the Olympics said this week. 

This will be the first time Nadeem and Chopra will face each other since their charged encounter at the Paris 2024 Olympic final, where Nadeem clinched gold ahead of Neeraj with an Olympic record-shattering throw of 92.97 meters. 

The Wanda Diamond League is an annual sports competition featuring elite athletes across sprints, jumps, throws and distance events. The competition is set to take place next month in Silesia on August 16. 

“Neeraj Chopra will face Arshad Nadeem,” the Olympics website said, quoting the Diamond League organizers.

“The Indian-Pakistani battle awaiting the Polish fans will be the first opportunity for revenge after the Paris Olympics.”

Chopra has had an impressive year so far, kicking off his season with a win at the Potch Invitational in South Africa before finishing second at the Doha Diamond League, where he breached the coveted 90-meter barrier with a massive 90.23m throw — a new national record. 

The Indian athlete then had to settle for a second-place finish again at the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial in Poland but returned to winning ways at the Paris Diamond League. Since then, he has logged back-to-back wins at the Ostrova Golden Spike in Czechia and the NC Classic in India.

Nadeem, meanwhile, recently marked a triumphant return to action by winning gold at the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, Korea. He hadn’t competed since his Paris 2024 exploits.

Rivalries, particularly between athletes or teams from bitter rivals India and Pakistan, have always been one of the most intriguing aspects of sports. 

However, next month’s competition will have added flair to it, considering the militaries of the two countries engaged in the worst fighting between them in decades in May.

An attack in Indian-administered Kashmir triggered a conflict between the two states that saw them target each other with missiles, drones, fighter jets and artillery fire before agreeing to a ceasefire on May 10.


Pakistan’s death toll from heavy rains since June 26 surges past 100

Updated 13 July 2025
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Pakistan’s death toll from heavy rains since June 26 surges past 100

  • Punjab reports highest number of rain-related deaths, 39, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 31
  • Pakistan has warned of flash flood risks in Punjab, KP and Balochistan provinces from July 12-17

ISLAMABAD: The death toll from heavy rains and flash floods in Pakistan since June 26 has climbed to 104, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said in its latest report this week, as the country braces for more monsoon downpours and possible floods. 

As per the NDMA’s latest situation report, Punjab has reported the highest number of deaths from rain-related incidents, 39, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) with 31, Sindh with 17, Balochistan with 16, while Azad Kashmir also reported one death since June 26. 

“The total number of 104 deceased include 49 children, 37 men and 18 women,” the NDMA report said, adding that 200 people were injured, among them 76 children, 78 men and 46 women.

The report further said 413 houses have been damaged since June 26 due to rain-related incidents across the country, with the most houses damaged in KP, 146, Sindh 86, Punjab 54, Balochistan 52, Azad Kashmir 45 and 30 in Gilgit-Baltistan. 

Sindh reported the highest number of livestock that perished due to rains, 58, followed by KP with 43, Punjab with seven and Azad Kashmir with three. 

The NDMA, meanwhile, issued a fresh alert for heavy rains on Saturday. It warned of potential flood and flash flood risks in various regions of Punjab, KP and Balochistan provinces from July 12 to July 17 in its latest advisory. 

The authority advised administrations to ensure the readiness of emergency teams, the availability of machinery and ensure clearance of drainage systems.

It also called on tourists to avoid high-altitude areas, saying that residents in vulnerable zones must secure valuables, vehicles and livestock, and keep essential supplies. 

Pakistan, home to over 240 million people, is consistently ranked among the countries most vulnerable to climate change. In 2022, record-breaking monsoon rains and glacier melt triggered catastrophic floods that affected 33 million people and killed more than 1,700.


Pakistan vows political, diplomatic support for Kashmiris on Kashmir Martyrs’ Day

Updated 13 July 2025
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Pakistan vows political, diplomatic support for Kashmiris on Kashmir Martyrs’ Day

  • Pakistan observes Kashmir Martyrs’ Day on July 13 to honor 22 Kashmiris killed in 1931 by then ruler of disputed territory
  • Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan have both fought three wars since 1947, with two of them over disputed Kashmir

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday vowed to extend Pakistan’s diplomatic and political support to the people of Kashmir on Kashmir Martyrs’ Day, calling for the resolution of the dispute as per the United Nations Security Council resolutions, state-run media reported. 

Pakistan marks Kashmir Martyrs’ Day on July 13 every year to pay tribute to 22 Kashmiri protesters who were shot dead in Srinagar, the capital of Indian-administered Kashmir, in 1931 by soldiers of Maharaja Hari Singh, the Hindu ruler of the then princely state.

Pakistan sees the day as a symbol of Kashmiris’ struggle against what it says is illegal Indian occupation in the disputed Himalayan valley. Both India and Pakistan have fought three wars since 1947, with two of them over Kashmir. Both claim territory in full but administer only parts of it.

“The Kashmiri people have been and are sacrificing their lives in their legitimate struggle for the right to self-determination,” Sharif was quoted as saying by the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP).

“The government of Pakistan expresses its political, diplomatic and moral support in solidarity with the Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir, which is illegally occupied by India.”

Every year on the occasion, special rallies, seminars, and conferences are held across Pakistan and Azad Kashmir to express solidarity with the people of Kashmir. 

India accuses Pakistan of backing separatist militants in the part of Kashmir it administers. Islamabad denies the allegations and says it only extends political and diplomatic support to Kashmiris. 

The two countries engaged in the worst fighting between them in decades in May when gunmen shot dead 26 people, mostly tourists, in Indian-administered Kashmir. India blamed Pakistan for supporting the attack, which Pakistan strongly denied and called for an international probe into the incident. 

The two countries engaged in a military conflict for four days that killed over 70 people on both sides of the border before US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Delhi and Islamabad on May 10.