South Korean acting President Han Duck-soo. File
| Photo Credit: AP

South Korea’s acting President Han Duck-soo said on Thursday (May 1, 2025) he was resigning amid reports he will run in next month’s Presidential election.

Mr. Han said in a televised briefing that he had determined he would quit to take “a bigger responsibility” for the country. South Korean media reported Mr. Han will officially launch his Presidential campaign on Friday (May 2).

Mr. Han was appointed Prime Minister, the country’s No. 2 post, by then-President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was removed from office, triggering the by-election.

Also Read | South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol removed from office over ill-fated declaration of martial law

Han has been emerging as a potential conservative standard bearer, as the main conservative People Power Party remains in disarray over Yoon’s December 3 imposition of martial law.

Observers say Mr. Han is expected to align with the People Power Party to launch a unified conservative campaign against liberal front-runner Lee Jae-myung.

Pakistan’s Gold medallist Arshad Nadeem.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Pakistan’s Olympic gold-winning javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem’s Instagram account has been blocked in India owing to a “legal request” in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack.

Users attempting to access Nadeem’s Instagram page from India are met with the message: “Account not available in India. This is because we complied with a legal request to restrict this content.”

Twenty-six people, mostly tourists, were killed and several were injured when terrorists opened fire at a meadow near the popular tourist town of Pahalgam in south Kashmir on April 22. The government has since cracked down on Pakistani social media accounts that have large following in India.

Earlier this week, several Pakistani YouTube channels were also restricted in India for “disseminating provocative and communally sensitive content, false and misleading narratives and misinformation against India, its Army and security agencies”.

Also Read | Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem declines Neeraj Chopra’s invite to compete in NC Classic javelin event

Former cricketers Shoaib Akhtar, Basit Ali, and Shahid Afridi were among those whose YouTube accounts were withheld. Interestingly, while their YouTube content is no longer accessible, their Instagram accounts remain available, unlike Nadeem’s.

The Instagram accounts of current Pakistan cricketers, including Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheed Afridi are also accessible.

Other prominent Pakistani celebrities, including actors Mahira Khan and Ali Zafar, have also seen their Instagram accounts blocked in India.

Nadeem, who won gold at the Paris Olympics after upstaging Indian superstar Neeraj Chopra, had been invited by the latter to participate in the inaugural NC Classic javelin event scheduled for May 24 in Bengaluru.

However, he declined the invitation, citing prior commitments.

As India and Pakistan grapple with renewed tensions after the deadly Pahalgam terror attack, a video of Pakistani Senator Palwasha Mohammad Zai Khan making provocative remarks in Pakistan parliament has gone viral, fuelling diplomatic ire and social media outrage.
In a fiery speech delivered in Pakistan’s Upper House on April 29, the senator declared, “The first brick of the new Babri mosque in Ayodhya will be laid by Pakistan Army soldiers, and the first azaan will be given by Army Chief Asim Munir himself.”
The comments, invoking the Babri mosque demolished in 1992, came as part of a broader tirade laced with religious and militaristic rhetoric. Palwasha Khan, a member of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and deputy information secretary, suggested that the path was being laid for a “Muslim government, specifically a Pakistani Muslim government, in the Indian subcontinent.”
“There is no doubt, this enmity is not with Pakistan or Pakistanis; this is enmity against Muslims and against Islam,” she said.
Watch video-

Issuing a direct threat to India, she warned, “The Senate of Pakistan must send a message, if any hand reaches toward us, then the symbol of their power, the Red Fort of Delhi, will witness a bloodshed that its walls have never seen, and its ramparts will testify to it for centuries to come.”
Khan, who represents Sindh in the Senate and previously served in the National Assembly from 2008 to 2013, emphasized that Pakistanis were not weak. “We are not wearing bangles,” she said.
Quoting late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, she added, “We have guns, we have arms, we have trees—and if the enemy tries anything, we will hang their corpses from our trees.”
Despite the hostile language, she claimed to have no quarrel with Indian citizens. “But let me be clear: we have no enmity with the people of India.”
Khan also attempted to draw religious divides within the Indian armed forces, asserting, “The Sikh army will not attack Pakistan because it’s the land of Guru Nanak for them.”
She went on to praise Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, who is a designated terrorist under Indian law. “I want to salute Sikh leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, who courageously declared that no Indian soldier will be allowed to cross into Pakistan from Indian Punjab.”
Ending her speech with a call to arms, the senator proclaimed, “Our army is not just six or seven lakh soldiers, we have 250 million people who, when the time comes, will stand shoulder to shoulder with our armed forces and become soldiers themselves, God willing.”
The speech has since circulated widely on social media platforms, drawing sharp reactions amid the already strained ties between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.