Iranian FM on Islamabad visit, says Tehran reserves right to ‘legitimate defense’ against Israel

ISLAMABAD: The United States Department of State issued a travel advisory to Pakistan on Friday, urging its citizens to reconsider travel to the South Asian country “due to terrorism and the potential for armed conflict.”
The advisory comes days after President Donald Trump told the US Congress Pakistan had apprehended an Daesh militant involved in the 2021 Kabul airport suicide bombing, which killed 13 US service members and nearly 170 Afghans. 
Pakistan has also been ranked as the world’s second-most affected country by “terrorism” in a global index published by the Australian-based Institute for Economics and Peace, which surveyed 163 countries covering 99.7 percent of the world’s population.
Pakistan has experienced a significant surge in militant violence, particularly in its western provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, where groups like the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) have targeted civilians and security forces.
The Level 3 travel advisory urges American nationals to reconsider travel to Pakistan while designating a Level 4 threat for the two volatile provinces and areas near the de facto border separating the Pakistani and Indian sides of Kashmir.
“Violent extremist groups continue to plot attacks in Pakistan,” the advisory noted.
“Do not travel to Balochistan Province and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Province, which include the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), due to terrorism,” it continued, also advising against travel to “the immediate vicinity of the India-Pakistan border and the Line of Control due to terrorism and the potential for armed conflict.”
The advisory noted that militant groups may attack with little or no warning, targeting transportation hubs, markets, shopping malls, military installations, airports, universities, tourist attractions, schools, hospitals, places of worship and government facilities.
It also highlighted that proscribed armed groups have targeted US diplomats and diplomatic facilities in the past.
“Pakistan’s security environment remains fluid, sometimes changing with little or no notice,” the advisory said. “There are greater security resources and infrastructure in the major cities, particularly Islamabad, and security forces in these areas may be more readily able to respond to an emergency compared to other areas of the country.”
It warned the US government has limited ability to provide services to US citizens in KP, Balochistan, Azad Kashmir and most areas outside the major cities.
“Due to the risks, US government personnel working in Pakistan must obtain special authorization to travel to most areas outside of Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi,” it added.

KARACHI: A new artificial intelligence (AI) system jointly developed by researchers at New York University (NYU) and The Aga Khan University (AKU) in Karachi has exposed a stark disparity in urban green spaces across Pakistan’s largest city, highlighting critical vulnerabilities to climate change.
The study was led by Dr. Rumi Chunara, who serves as director of the NYU Center for Health Data Science and is a member of NYU Tandon’s Visualization Imaging and Data Analysis Center (VIDA), and included NYU’s Miao Zhang, Hajjra Arshad, Manzar Abbas, Hamzah Jahanzeb, Izza Tahir, Javerya Hassan and Dr. Zainab Samad from AKU. The researchers used advanced AI techniques to analyze satellite imagery and assess urban greenery in Karachi.
The research, published in the ACM Journal on Computing and Sustainable Societies, found that Karachi averages just 4.17 square meters of per capita green space, which is even less than one half of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommended nine square meters per person.
“It is the fifth most populous city in the world and in recent years has faced both deadly heat waves and urban flooding,” said Dr. Zainab Samad of The Aga Khan University.
“The greenspace availability varies significantly across union councils. Three union councils — Darsanno Channo, Murad Memon, and Gulshan-e-Hadeed — have the highest greenspace values of over 80 m² per capita, while five union councils — Darya Abad, Behar Colony, Chishti Nagar, Banaras Colony, and Gulshan Said — have the lowest values of less than 0.1 m² per capita.”
Dr. Samad said areas exceeding WHO’s green space recommendations were situated on Karachi’s periphery, particularly in the east.
The AI system, which achieved 89.4 percent accuracy and 90.6 percent reliability in identifying vegetation, represents a significant improvement over traditional satellite analysis, which typically achieves around 63 percent accuracy.
“To train the AI model, we create new images by shifting the hue of original satellite images,” Dr. Chunara told Arab News. “This technique helps the model better recognize diverse vegetation types.”
This “green augmentation” process enhances the model’s ability to distinguish trees from grass, even in complex urban environments, according to the expert.
The study also revealed a correlation between paved roads and increased green spaces, reflecting broader urban development patterns.
“The correlation reflects broader urban development patterns, where more developed areas with paved roads often have higher socioeconomic status, leading to better access to green spaces and urban infrastructure,” Dr. Chunara said.
The disparity in green space distribution has significant implications for public health and environmental sustainability, according to Dr. Samad. These benefits may be unequally distributed, with low-income areas often lacking vegetation that makes them hotter and more polluted.
“A combination of AI techniques could be used to not only identify deficiencies in green space but also be prescriptive about where greening could be most helpful and how this could be achieved,” she said.
The researchers emphasized the importance of making the AI system and its findings accessible to local authorities.
“Ensuring that the AI system and its findings are accessible and usable for local authorities in Pakistan is a crucial aspect of this research,” Dr. Chunara said. “We will also facilitate direct communication with local authorities to provide ongoing support and ensure that the data is effectively integrated into their planning processes.”
Policy recommendations derived from the research include prioritizing green spaces in urban planning, assessing areas where green space is most needed, and exploring potential locations for repurposing underutilized spaces for greenery.
“City planning can prioritize green spaces through master plans and zoning,” Dr. Samad said, adding that addressing the disparity in green space distribution requires interventions at various levels.
“Infrastructure initiatives like public parks and tree planting programs can enhance greenery, while community-based actions such as volunteer maintenance and tree adoption foster local involvement.”
Interestingly, the researchers compared Karachi to Singapore which, despite similar population density, provides 9.9 square meters of green space per person, exceeding the WHO target.
“In addition to Singapore, cities like Katmandu and Perth have implemented greening initiatives, such as the Green Katmandu Project and the Perth Urban Greening Strategy,” Dr. Chunara noted.
“Other cities, like Dubai, have integrated green space initiatives into their master plans to promote sustainable urban development.”
In Pakistan, however, a major challenge remains ensuring that local authorities can effectively use AI-driven research despite limited technical resources.
Dr. Chunara’s said her team was addressing this by creating accessible visualizations, data summaries and tailored reports.
“We are committed to making the findings actionable by creating clear visualizations, data summaries, and tailored reports that are easy to understand,” she said. “By engaging with authorities in a collaborative and user-friendly way, we aim to bridge the technical gap and empower them to make informed decisions for the city’s future.”