Entertainment
Over 73,000 passengers offloaded in 2025: interior ministry
- 35,270 passengers were offloaded in 2023: interior ministry.
- Number of those offloaded increased to 39,214 in 2024, it adds.
- 45,356 passengers offloaded in 2025 on technical grounds.
In the wake of tightened screening measures at airports and growing reports of passengers being offloaded, the Ministry of Interior has revealed that more than 73,000 passengers were offloaded during 2025.
“A total of 35,270 passengers were offloaded in 2023, 39,214 in 2024 and 73,358 in 2025,” read the Ministry of Interior’s reply to a question in the Senate, adding that 147,842 passengers were offloaded during the three-year period.
The ministry’s submission comes against the backdrop of thousands of Pakistanis being deported from various countries for begging, while tens of thousands were also offloaded at airports over suspected illegal travel attempts, a National Assembly committee was informed in December 2025.
Last month, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi directed the relevant authorities to enforce strict screening of passengers’ travel documents at all airports across the country to curb illegal immigration.
Directing the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to continue strict and impartial action against the mafia involved in illegal immigration, he ordered the agency to ensure the effective implementation of immigration laws and strengthen airport immigration systems.
He also called for rigorous scrutiny of travellers’ documents at all airports to prevent illegal activities.
Meanwhile, explaining the reasons for passengers being offloaded, the interior ministry informed the Senate that only those passengers are offloaded whose behaviour indicates possible illegal intentions.
Out of the total 73,358 passengers offloaded in 2025, 45,356 were offloaded for technical reasons, including flight cancellations, passengers’ refusal to travel, technical faults in aircraft, bad weather, flight delays and offloading by airlines.
Providing data on illegal immigration attempts, the ministry said that 861 suspects carrying fake documents were identified at airports over the past three years.
It said that 303 suspects were deported on fake documents, 417 cases were registered, 557 people were arrested and 206 were convicted.
The ministry further stated that 153 additional cases were registered in connection with fake documents and deportations, 181 suspects were arrested and 93 were convicted.
It also noted that 23 departmental inquiries are under way against FIA employees over fake document cases, of which 17 have been concluded.
Beggars issue
The ministry also shared details of beggars who were offloaded and deported over the past two years.
It said that 507 beggars were offloaded in 2024 and 90 in 2025, while 49 inquiries and 32 first information reports (FIRs) were registered in connection with beggars offloaded in 2024.
Of those offloaded in 2024, 59 beggars and 17 agents were arrested and 19 were convicted.
Meanwhile, in 2025, 43 inquiries were initiated into beggars who were offloaded, 37 FIRs were registered and 36 beggars were arrested, while one was convicted.
The ministry further said that 4,850 beggars were deported in 2024, whereas the number declined to 1,187 in 2025.
It added that 105 inquiries and 48 FIRs were registered against beggars deported in 2024.
During the same year, 91 deported beggars and two agents were arrested, while 12 were convicted.
In 2025, the ministry said, 354 inquiries were initiated and 201 FIRs were registered, leading to the arrest of 589 beggars and one agent, of whom 27 were convicted.
Entertainment
Keith Urban gets new gig to ‘pay the bills’ after divorce
Keith Urban has reportedly taken on a cruise ship performance to help cover costs following his high-profile divorce from Nicole Kidman, the kind of booking, sources say, he would never have considered during their 19-year marriage.
The country star performed at the Top Shelf Country Cruise, sailing from Florida to the Bahamas between 27 February and 6 March.
An insider told New Idea that the gig was very much a practical decision.
“Cruise ships are not exactly the dream gig, but they pay the bills — and it gives Keith something to focus on,” the source said.
“It’s the kind of gig that Keith would have turned his nose up at during his marriage to Nicole Kidman. He’s trying to stay busy now that his divorce is finalised.”
Urban, 58, has a reported net worth of $75 million, but those close to him have suggested that divorce lawyer fees may have put a dent in his cash flow.
With Kidman’s reported net worth sitting at $250 million, the financial stakes of the split were considerable.
“When there’s that much money involved in a split, the lawyers don’t come cheap, regardless of the outcome,” the source explained, adding that smaller bookings help keep things ticking over in the meantime.
Longer term, though, the picture is said to be more positive.
Urban is reportedly working on “exciting plans” for the second half of 2026, with the source saying he “has every intention of ending 2026 the exact opposite of how it started, on a total high.”
Page Six confirmed in September that Urban and Kidman had separated after nearly two decades together.
Kidman filed for divorce the day after the news broke, citing irreconcilable differences.
The divorce was finalised in January, with both parties waiving rights to child and spousal support.
Kidman was approved as the primary residential parent for their two daughters, Sunday Rose, 17, and Faith Margaret, 14.
Kidman has spoken briefly about the situation, telling Variety earlier this month: “We are a family, and that’s what we’ll continue to be.”
Entertainment
Space company plans bold landing on fast-moving asteroid passing near Earth
Scientists from a private space company are planning a controversial yet daring move to land on a dangerous asteroid as it leaps past Earth in three years’ time.
The space rock, dubbed Apophis, was first discovered in 2004 and is expected to make a close pass by Earth in 2029.
Previous calculations suggested a 2.7 percent chance of the asteroid colliding with Earth and potentially destroying an area nearly the size of a city.
However, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) scientists ruled out the potential risk of any impact for the foreseeable future.
The United States (U.S.)-based company ExLabs announced ambitious plans to send two landers to attempt a touchdown on the space rock as it passes nearly 32,000km from Earth.
Co-founder and Chief Science Officer Miguel Pascual said: “The main goal is to gain images from the surface of the asteroid,” adding, “There’s some really exciting science that can happen.”
ExLabs said that its mothership spacecraft, scheduled for launch in 2028, will carry 10 spacecraft, including two landers.
The space company plans to deploy a lander the size of a shoe box, which will continue taking pictures as it descends at a speed of 10 centimeters per second. The lander is expected to attempt a touchdown within an hour of deployment.
For context, a lander is a type of spacecraft designed to descend from orbit, pass through an atmosphere (if present), and make a soft, controlled landing on the surface of a celestial body.
To ensure Earth’s safety and no change in the asteroid’s orbit, ExLabs plans to execute the mission a week after Apophis’s flyby of Earth.
Entertainment
Kensington Palace shares Prince William’s latest video with major update
Prince William and Princess Kate’s office released a heartwarming video of the future monarch as he honoured loved ones on Tuesday during the investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle.
On Tuesday, March 24, the Palace issued update on the event hours after the Prince and Princess of Wales’ trusted nanny received a special royal honour from William.
The video, shared on the Prince and Princess of Wales’ official Instagram account, shows William honouring the loyal companions.
The video was captioned: “Loved ones receiving honours at Windsor Castle.”
Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis’ lifelong nanny, Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo, was rewarded with the silver Royal Victorian Medal for her loyalty and service to the Waleses.
TV writer Sir Roy Clarke and tennis umpire James Keothavong were also among the honourees of Tuesday’s investiture ceremony at the castle.
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