Pakistan, Bahrain expand ties beyond defense with new nursing institute in Islamabad

A screengrab taken from a video shared by government of Pakistan on September 24, 2025, showing Pakistan's Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Sahir Shamshad Mirza (left) inaugurating the King Hamad Institute of Nursing and Associated Medical Sciences (KHINAMS) in Islamabad, Pakistan.
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Updated 24 September 2025
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Pakistan, Bahrain expand ties beyond defense with new nursing institute in Islamabad

  • CJCSC General Sahir Shamshad Mirza attended the inauguration ceremony as chief guest
  • Institute seeks to raise medical education standards, train more health care professionals

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Bahrain’s army generals have inaugurated the King Hamad Institute of Nursing and Associated Medical Sciences (KHINAMS) in Islamabad to uplift medical education and produce competent health care professionals, the Pakistani military said on Wednesday.

The opening of KHINAMS, a joint initiative reflecting deepening Pakistan-Bahrain ties, is expected to not only raise the bar for nursing and allied sciences in Pakistan but also underscore the commitment to expanding cooperation beyond defense and into education and health care.

The ceremony was attended by Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Sahir Shamshad Mirza as the chief guest, and Bahrain National Guard Commander General Shaikh Mohammed Bin Isa Bin Salman Al Khalifa, among others.

“CJCSC, while thanking His Majesty and His Royal Highness, underscored the strong bilateral relation between Pakistan and Bahrain,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.

More than 120,000 Pakistanis live in Bahrain and contribute to the Gulf state’s economy, serving as a bridge in bilateral relations.

Both countries established diplomatic ties in 1971 and have since maintained close political, trade and defense links through regular high-level visits and security collaboration.

Pakistan and Bahrain have stepped up cooperation this year, with Al Khalifa calling on Pakistan’s army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir in March to discuss bilateral cooperation.

This was followed by Pakistani firms signing $13 billion worth of contracts at the inaugural Pakistan and Bahrain investment summit in May.

Both countries also vowed in July to boost security cooperation and curb the illegal use of drugs and human smuggling.

Later in September, the Bahrain Air Force also expressed its interest in learning from the multi-domain operational expertise of the Pakistan Air Force.

The Pakistan Navy has also agreed with Bahrain to boost naval training and joint operations between the two countries.


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

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‘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.