BERLIN: A group of European leaders on Tuesday underlined their support for Denmark after US President Donald Trump again voiced designs on its autonomous Arctic territory of Greenland. The leaders of France, Britain, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain as well as Denmark said that sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders were &quot;universal principles, and we will not stop defending them&quot;. Washington&#39;s military intervention in Venezuela has reignited fears about Trump&#39;s designs on Greenland, which has untapped rare earth deposits and could be a vital player as polar ice melts, opening up new shipping routes. Greenland is on the shortest route for missiles between Russia and the United States, and Washington already has a military base there. With the situation in Venezuela more pressing, Trump quipped on Sunday that &quot;we&#39;ll worry about Greenland in about two months.&quot; The European leaders&#39; joint statement said: &quot;Arctic security remains a key priority for Europe and it is critical for international and transatlantic security. &quot;NATO has made clear that the Arctic region is a priority and European allies are stepping up. &quot;We and many other allies have increased our presence, activities, and investments to keep the Arctic safe and to deter adversaries.&quot; They stressed that Denmark&mdash;including Greenland&mdash;was part of NATO. &quot;Security in the Arctic must therefore be achieved collectively, in conjunction with NATO allies including the United States, by upholding the principles of the UN Charter, including sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders,&quot; the leaders said. &quot;These are universal principles, and we will not stop defending them.&quot; The statement was signed by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. They added that the US was &quot;an essential partner in this endeavor.&quot; &quot;Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland,&quot; they said. Canadian PM reaffirms supportCanadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also met with the Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, according to a Canadian government statement. The leaders met on the margins of the Coalition of the Willing meeting in Paris, France. They affirmed their enduring support for Ukraine against Russian aggression and agreed on the imperative of achieving a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, backed by robust security guarantees. Prime Minister Carney emphasized Canada&rsquo;s support for Denmark&#39;s sovereignty and territorial integrity, including Greenland. He affirmed Canada&rsquo;s support for the joint statement on Greenland by Denmark and European leaders.&nbsp; According to the statement, the future of Greenland is for Greenland and Denmark to determine. Canada will continue to work with Denmark, Greenland, and other partners in our shared responsibility for the security and resilience of the Arctic, it added.

Americas

A group of European leaders underlined their support for Denmark after US President Donald Trump again voiced designs on its autonomous Arctic territory of Greenland

European leaders rally behind Denmark after Trump claims on Greenland

GAZA CITY: Gaza&#39;s civil defense agency said Israeli attacks in the Palestinian territory on Thursday killed at least 13 people, including five children, despite a ceasefire that has largely halted the fighting. Four people, including three children, were killed when a drone struck a tent sheltering displaced people in southern Gaza, agency spokesperson Mahmud Bassal told AFP. In the north of the Gaza Strip, an 11-year-old girl was killed near the Jabalia refugee camp, and a strike on a school killed one person, while a drone near Khan Yunis in the south killed a man, the agency added. Two more Gazans, including a child, were killed in other attacks, reported the agency, which operates under Hamas authority. When asked by AFP, the Israeli military said it was checking the reports. Later on, Thursday evening, four more people were killed in an Israeli air strike that targeted a house in an eastern area of Gaza City, Bassal said, adding that rescue work to search for several people who were missing had begun. &quot;The death toll has risen to 13 as a result of Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip since this morning in a clear violation of the ceasefire agreement,&quot; Bassal said. Earlier on Thursday, the Israeli military said a projectile was launched &quot;from the area of Gaza City toward the State of Israel&quot; but that it fell within the Gaza Strip. &quot;Shortly after, the (military) precisely struck the launch point,&quot; it said in a statement. Since October 10, a fragile US-sponsored truce in Gaza has largely halted the fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas, but both sides have alleged frequent ceasefire violations. Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem told AFP that the strikes in Gaza on Thursday &quot;confirm the Israeli occupation&#39;s renunciation of its commitment to the ceasefire.&quot; Israeli forces have killed at least 425 Palestinians in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect, according to Gaza&#39;s health ministry. At least 21 people were killed on November 22 in Israeli strikes, making it one of the deadliest days in Gaza since the ceasefire came into effect. The Israeli military said Palestinian fighters have killed three of its soldiers during the same period.

Middle East

Israeli forces have killed at least 425 Palestinians in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect; Hamas spokesperson says strikes in Gaza "confirm the Israeli occupation's renunciation of its commitment to the ceasefire."

Gaza civil defense says Israeli attacks kill 13 including 5 children

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said in an interview published Thursday that his &quot;own morality&quot; was the only constraint on his power to order military actions around the world. Trump&#39;s comments to The New York Times came days after he launched a lightning operation to topple Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, and threatened a host of other countries, plus the autonomous territory of Greenland. &quot;Yeah, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. It&#39;s the only thing that can stop me,&quot; Trump told the newspaper when asked if there were any limits on his global powers. &quot;I don&#39;t need international law,&quot; he added. &quot;I&#39;m not looking to hurt people.&quot; The Republican president then added that &quot;I do&quot; need to abide by international law, but said &quot;it depends what your definition of international law is.&quot; The United States is not a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which tries war criminals, and it has repeatedly rejected decisions by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the UN&#39;s top court. Trump himself has had his own run-ins with domestic law, having been impeached twice, faced a slew of federal charges, including conspiring to overturn the 2020 election &mdash; which were eventually dropped after his re-election &mdash; and convicted for covering up a hush money payment to an adult movie star. While proclaiming himself as &quot;peace president&quot; and seeking the Nobel Prize, Trump has launched a series of military operations in his second presidential term. Trump ordered attacks on Iran&#39;s nuclear program in June and in the past year has also overseen strikes on Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, and, most recently, on Venezuela. Since Maduro&#39;s capture, an emboldened Trump has threatened a string of other countries, including Colombia, as well as Greenland, which is administered by fellow NATO member Denmark. Asked whether his priority was preserving the NATO military alliance or acquiring Greenland, Trump told the Times: &quot;it may be a choice.&quot; Some members of Congress, including a handful of Republicans, are trying to check Trump&#39;s power. On Thursday, the Senate advanced a measure to rein in presidential military action in Venezuela. But even if it reaches his desk, Trump would likely veto it. Billionaire Trump, who made his fortune as a property developer, added that US ownership of Greenland is &quot;what I feel is psychologically needed for success.&quot; Trump said separately that he had no problem with his family conducting foreign business deals since his return to office. &quot;I prohibited them from doing business in my first term, and I got absolutely no credit for it,&quot; Trump told the Daily. &quot;I found out that nobody cared, and I&#39;m allowed to.&quot;

Republican president says "I do" need to abide by international law, but adds "it depends what your definition of international law is"; US is not a member of the ICC, which tries war criminals, and has repeatedly rejected decisions by the UN's top court.

Trump says 'my own morality' is only restraint on global power

LOS ANGELES: US federal agents shot and wounded two people in the western city of Portland, Oregon on Thursday, local police said. &quot;Two people are in the hospital following a shooting involving federal agents,&quot; a statement from Portland Police said, one day after an American woman was shot dead by an immigration officer in Minneapolis, sparking widespread anger. The local police force -- which stressed its officers were not involved in the shooting &mdash; said they had received calls for help mid-afternoon. &quot;Officers responded and found a male and female with apparent gunshot wounds. Officers applied a tourniquet and summoned emergency medical personnel,&quot; the statement said. &quot;The patients were transported to the hospital. Their conditions are unknown. Officers have determined the two people were injured in the shooting involving federal agents.&quot; The local FBI office initially put out a tweet that confirmed the shooting, but later deleted it. &quot;FBI Portland is investigating an agent-involved shooting that happened at approximately 2:15 pm near the 10000 block of Main St. in Portland involving Customs and Border Patrol Agents in which two individuals were wounded,&quot; the post said. &quot;This remains an active and ongoing investigation led by the FBI.&quot; The local ABC affiliate, KATU2, said the injured people had driven away from the scene of the shooting to an apartment complex, where they had called for help. The incident came just 24 hours after a masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot dead a 37-year-old mother in Minneapolis, in what the White House claimed was self-defense against &quot;domestic terrorism.&quot; Portland&#39;s mayor, Keith Wilson, said the shooting in his city was the result of the flood of heavily armed federal agents as part of what President Donald Trump says is a crackdown on illegal immigration. &quot;Just one day after the horrific violence in Minnesota at the hands of federal agents, our community here in Portland is now grappling with another deeply troubling incident. &quot;We cannot sit by while constitutional protections erode and bloodshed mounts. Portland is not a &#39;training ground&#39; for militarized agents, and the &#39;full force&#39; threatened by the administration has deadly consequences. &quot;As mayor, I call on ICE to end all operations in Portland until a full investigation can be completed.&quot; Wilson said he wanted locals to make their voices heard peacefully. &quot;I call on every Portlander to represent our values and to show up with calm and purpose during this difficult time. Portland does not respond to violence with violence.&quot;

Portland's mayor says shooting result of flood of heavily armed federal agents as part of what President Donald Trump says is a crackdown on illegal immigration.



US federal agents shoot, wound two people: report 

WASHINGTON: Renee Nicole Good, who was shot and killed by a US immigration agent on Wednesday in the midwestern city of Minneapolis, was an &quot;extremely compassionate&quot; person, her mother told the Minnesota Star-Tribune newspaper. &quot;She was extremely compassionate. She&#39;s taken care of people all her life. She was loving, forgiving and affectionate. She was an amazing human being,&quot; Donna Ganger told the newspaper. The 37-year-old &mdash; a poet and a mother to three children &mdash; was shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer while she was behind the wheel of her car. The Trump administration was quick to claim her death was an act of self-defense, but local authorities and witnesses dispute that account &mdash; and widely shared video evidence has called into question the officer&#39;s use of deadly force. In 2020, Good earned her bachelor&#39;s degree in English literature from Old Dominion University in Virginia, the school said in a statement honoring her Wednesday. &quot;May Renee&#39;s life be a reminder of what unites us: freedom, love, and peace. My hope is for compassion, healing, and reflection at a time that is becoming one of the darkest and most uncertain periods in our nation&#39;s history,&quot; university president Brian O. Hemphill said. Good was a published poet who was awarded the Academy of American Poets 2020 poetry prize while at her university. In a biography for the award, she was described as loving movie marathons and making &quot;messy art with her daughter and two sons.&quot; US media report that her private Instagram account bio described her as a &quot;Poet and writer and wife and mom [...] experiencing Minneapolis, MN&quot; and had an emoji of a rainbow flag. Her children were from her first two marriages, and at the time of her death, she was married to her partner, whom she lived with in Minneapolis, where they were raising her youngest child, a six-year-old boy. More than $800,000 has been raised to support her surviving family. Despite accusations from the Trump administration that she was endangering the lives of federal immigration agents, Good&#39;s mother told the Minnesota Star-Tribune that she was not taking part in any action against ICE. Her first husband, who declined to be identified, told US media that Good was a devoted Christian and was not an activist.&nbsp;

Despite accusations from the Trump administration that she was endangering the lives of federal immigration agents, Good's mother told the Minnesota Star-Tribune that she was not taking part in any action against ICE; ex-husband, who declined to be identified, told US media that Good was a devoted Christian and was not an activist. 

Who was Renee Nicole Good, the woman killed by US immigration police?

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer who shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis this week has been identified as Jonathan Ross, a federal agent with a prior on-duty incident that had raised questions about his return to active service, according to multiple media reports. The shooting occurred close to the memorial for George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who died in Minneapolis in 2020 after a police officer knelt on his neck during an arrest, an incident that ignited the global Black Lives Matter movement and renewed scrutiny of police use of force. The New York Times (NYT), citing law enforcement officials, reported that Ross fired the fatal shot on Wednesday as officers approached a vehicle they said was blocking their way. The victim was later identified as 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, who was shot in the head as she attempted to drive away. US Vice President JD Vance publicly defended the officer&rsquo;s actions, describing the shooting as an act of &ldquo;self-defense.&rdquo; Without providing evidence, Vance also alleged that Good was part of what he called a &ldquo;broader left-wing network&rdquo; opposed to ICE. Ross&rsquo;s past record has since come under scrutiny. According to the NYT, he was involved in a separate incident in June last year in Minnesota, when he was dragged by a different driver for approximately 100 yards during an enforcement encounter. The report said it remains unclear when or under what conditions Ross returned to duty after that incident, which occurred in Bloomington, a suburb of Minneapolis. The Guardian, citing court records matching the earlier case, identified the officer as Jonathan David Ross and reported that he is a Minneapolis resident and a 10-year veteran of ICE&rsquo;s Enforcement and Removal Operations, including service on its special response team. The publication noted that the earlier incident involved an unarmed civilian, a detail that has renewed public debate following Wednesday&rsquo;s shooting. Separately, Reuters quoted the US vice president as confirming Ross had previously been injured after being dragged by a vehicle in June, an episode he said &ldquo;nearly had his life ended.&rdquo; Authorities have not announced whether Ross has been placed on administrative leave, and no independent findings on the shooting have yet been released.

Jonathan Ross faces scrutiny as authorities investigate the fatal Minneapolis shooting, while officials defend his actions and questions grow over ICE oversight, accountability, and use-of-force practices.

ICE officer with prior use-of-force incident identified in Minneapolis shooting

ISLAMABAD: Protests in Iran continued on Thursday as security forces clashed with demonstrators protesting against the ongoing economic crisis in the country.&nbsp; Twelve days of protests have troubled the clerical authorities under Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, battling an economic crisis after years of sanctions and recovering from the June war against Israel. The movement, which originated with a shutdown on the Tehran bazaar on December 28 after the rial plunged to record lows, has spread nationwide and is now being marked by larger-scale demonstrations. Videos on social media showed that protests were again taking place on Thursday. A large crowd was seen gathering on the vast Ayatollah Kashani Boulevard in the northwest of the capital, Tehran, according to social media images verified by AFP, while other images showed a crowd demonstrating in the western city of Abadan.&nbsp; Local media and official statements have reported at least 21 people, including security forces, killed since the unrest began, according to an AFP tally. On Wednesday, an Iranian police officer was stabbed to death west of Tehran &quot;during efforts to control unrest,&quot; the Iranian Fars news agency said. Online watchdog Netblocks also said on Thursday that &quot;live metrics show Iran is now in the midst of a nationwide internet blackout.&quot; &#39;Utmost restraint&#39;Iran&#39;s President Masoud Pezeshkian called for &quot;utmost restraint&quot; in handling demonstrations, saying &quot;any violent or coercive behavior should be avoided.&quot; German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, meanwhile, condemned the &quot;excessive use of force&quot; against protesters. With the protests now spreading across Iran, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said rallies had taken place in 348 locations in all of Iran&#39;s 31 provinces. Reza Pahlavi, the son of the shah, ousted by the 1979 Islamic revolution and a key exiled opposition figure, urged major new protests on Thursday. Before the blackout, he warned that the &quot;frightened&quot; authorities could cut internet access to prevent information from filtering out. Iraq-based Iranian Kurdish opposition parties called for a general strike on Thursday in Kurdish-populated areas in western Iran. The Hengaw rights group said the call had been widely followed in some 30 towns and cities, posting footage of shuttered shops in the western provinces of Ilam, Kermanshah and Lorestan. It accused authorities of firing on demonstrators in Kermanshah and the nearby town of Kamyaran to the north, injuring several protesters, as well as cutting the internet in the region. HRANA also posted footage it said showed security forces firing on protesters with handguns in Kermanshah. IHR said a woman protester was shot directly in the eye during a protest late Wednesday in Abadan. Protesters in Kuhchenar in the southern Fars province cheered overnight as they pulled down a statue of the former foreign operations commander of the Revolutionary Guards, Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US strike in January 2020, in a video verified by AFP. &#39;Unlawful force&#39;Demonstrators are repeating slogans against the clerical leadership, including &quot;Pahlavi will return&quot; and &quot;Seyyed Ali will be toppled,&quot; in reference to Khamenei. The movement has also spread to universities, and final exams at a major university in Tehran, the Amir Kabir University, have been postponed for a week, according to the ISNA news agency. The protests are the biggest in Iran since the last major protest wave in 2022-2023, which was sparked by the custody death of Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested for allegedly violating the strict dress code for women. Rights groups have also accused authorities of resorting to tactics, including raiding hospitals to detain wounded protesters. &quot;Iran&#39;s security forces have injured and killed both protesters and bystanders,&quot; said Amnesty International, accusing authorities of using &quot;unlawful force.&quot;

Asia

Local media, official statements have reported at least 21 people, including security forces, killed since the unrest began; a police officer has also been stabbed to death west of Tehran "during efforts to control unrest"; Netblocks say ="live metrics show Iran is now in the midst of a nationwide internet blackout."

Iran protests continue as forces clash with demonstrators against economic crisis

MINNEAPOLIS: The White House said Thursday that US law enforcement was under &quot;organized attack&quot; as protesters clashed with officers in Minneapolis following the fatal shooting of a woman by an immigration agent.&nbsp;The victim of Wednesday&#39;s shooting, identified as 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, was shot in the head as she apparently tried to drive away from agents approaching her car, which they said was blocking their way.&nbsp;Vice President JD Vance said, without providing evidence, that she was part of a &quot;broader left-wing network&quot; opposed to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, and he insisted the officer acted in &quot;self-defense.&quot;&nbsp;The day after the shooting, officers armed with pepperball guns and tear gas jostled with a large crowd of protesters beside a government facility in Fort Snelling just outside Minneapolis.&nbsp;A noisy crowd chanted slogans attacking ICE as officers pushed against protesters, detaining several, including one who struck an agent with a cardboard sign.&nbsp;Footage of Wednesday&#39;s incident shows a masked agent attempting to open the victim&#39;s car door before another masked agent, standing near the vehicle&#39;s front bumper, fired three times into the Honda SUV.&nbsp;The vehicle then hurtled out of control and smashed into stationary vehicles, as horrified onlookers hurled abuse at the federal officers.&nbsp;Her bloodied body is then seen slumped in the crashed vehicle.&nbsp;Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said she leaves behind a wife and a six-year-old child, for whom a fundraiser has received more than $600,000.&nbsp;President Donald Trump and senior officials quickly claimed Good was trying to kill the agents, an assertion Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey dismissed.&nbsp;&quot;I want to see nobody get shot. I want to see nobody screaming and trying to run over policemen either,&quot; Trump said in an interview with The New York Times.&nbsp;Department of Homeland Security (DHS) chief Kristi Noem called the incident &quot;domestic terrorism,&quot; later saying she was not opposed to deploying more officers to Minneapolis.&nbsp;Witness Tyrice told US media he heard &quot;three gunshots and then I hear a car crash.&quot;&nbsp;&quot;I see this lady hugging the victim,&quot; he said.&nbsp;&quot;There&#39;s blood all in the snow in front of our house. And I could see a lady in the car...You could see the wounds and everything, like a whole bunch of blood.&quot;&nbsp;Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O&#39;Hara told CNN that Good was not the target of immigration enforcement action and that she was only suspected of blocking traffic.&nbsp;Vance told a briefing on Thursday that Good was &quot;part of a broader left-wing network to attack, to doxx, to assault, and to make it impossible for our ICE officers to do their job.&quot;&nbsp;White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday&#39;s incident was &quot;a result of a larger, sinister left-wing movement&quot; and &quot;law enforcement are under organized attack.&quot;&nbsp;Immigrant deportationsProtests grew after Minnesota&#39;s Democratic Governor Walz called it a &quot;patriotic duty&quot; to demonstrate for justice.&nbsp;On Thursday, he said Minnesota must be part of the probe into the shooting alongside federal investigators &mdash; as otherwise Noem &quot;is judge, jury and basically executioner.&quot;&nbsp;But Vance seemed to suggest the officer would be cleared by a federal probe that would exclude state-level officials.&nbsp;&quot;The idea that this was not justified is absurd,&quot; he said.&nbsp;Minneapolis schools were closed Thursday and Friday as a precaution against unrest.&nbsp;ICE officers have been at the forefront of the Trump administration&#39;s immigrant deportation drive, with raids carried out over the objections of some local officials.&nbsp;Wednesday&#39;s incident came during protests over immigration enforcement in the southern part of Minneapolis.&nbsp;They are part of widespread anger over the Trump administration&#39;s high-profile crackdown on undocumented immigrants, with the Republican vowing to arrest and deport &quot;millions.&rdquo;&nbsp;The victim&#39;s mother, Donna Ganger, told the Minnesota Star Tribune that her daughter &quot;was probably terrified&quot; and &quot;not part&quot; of anti-ICE activity.&nbsp;Good was a mother and poet who studied creative writing at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, US media reported.&nbsp;On Thursday, religious leaders addressed hundreds of people attending a vigil at the scene of the shooting, with a growing memorial of flowers and candles erected to commemorate Good&#39;s life.

Without providing evidence, VP Vance says Renee Good was part of a "broader left-wing network" opposed to the ICE, insists officer acted in "self-defense"; White House spokeswoman says incident "result of a larger, sinister left-wing movement," law enforcement are under “organized attack."

Protesters, US law enforcement clash after immigration officer kills woman

Pakistan TV

ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Finance, Revenue and Railways Bilal Azhar Kayani said on Thursday that, following the successful privatisation of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), the next phase would focus on electricity distribution companies, including IESCO, GEPCO and FESCO, as the government remains firmly committed to sustainable and inclusive growth.&nbsp;Speaking in an exclusive interview with Pakistan TV, Kayani described the successful privatisation of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) as a landmark achievement after decades of failed attempts, saying it would reduce the burden of loss-making state-owned enterprises on the national exchequer and help transform PIA into a profitable, world-class airline.&nbsp;&ldquo;The momentum created by the PIA deal will help generate greater investor and advisory interest going forward for the privatization program,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;&ldquo;The next phase of privatisation is focused on electricity distribution companies, including IESCO, GEPCO and FESCO,&rdquo; Kayani added.&nbsp;The minister said Pakistan&rsquo;s economy has undergone a significant turnaround over the past two years, shifting from crisis management to macroeconomic stabilisation.&nbsp;He added that the government assumed office in February 2024, at a time when inflation was hovering between 20 and 25 percent and Pakistan had just entered a new IMF programme.&nbsp;&ldquo;Today, less than two years on, we have not only successfully completed IMF reviews but also restored economic confidence,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;The minister highlighted key achievements, including an increase in the tax-to-GDP ratio from 8.8 percent to 10.2 percent within a year, a notable rise in foreign exchange reserves, and a significant jump in workers&rsquo; remittances. &ldquo;Pakistan&rsquo;s improving outlook has been recognised globally, with all three major rating agencies, Standard &amp; Poor&rsquo;s, Moody&rsquo;s and Fitch, upgrading the country&rsquo;s ratings outlook,&rdquo; he added.&nbsp;Kayani credited Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif&rsquo;s direct oversight of reforms at the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for improved tax collection.&nbsp;&ldquo;Initiatives such as Faceless Customs, digitisation of tax systems, and enforcement measures have reduced leakages and enhanced efficiency, earning recognition from the IMF, which showcased Pakistan&rsquo;s reforms as a case study during its annual meetings.&rdquo;&nbsp;Looking ahead, Kayani said the government&rsquo;s priority is shifting from stabilisation to quality GDP growth driven by exports and private-sector investment. He stressed the importance of inclusive growth that benefits lower-income groups and expands employment opportunities.&nbsp;&ldquo;To this end, the government is engaging closely with the private sector through working groups and policy consultations,&rdquo; he added.&nbsp;He also pointed to record-breaking performance at the Pakistan Stock Exchange as a reflection of growing investor confidence, while acknowledging it as one of several indicators of economic health. Additionally, Kayani praised the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) for improving ease of doing business by providing a one-window platform for domestic and foreign investors.&nbsp;The minister said reduced inflation, lower policy rates and a focus on export diversification, including IT and value-added agriculture, would help ensure sustainable economic growth in the years ahead.

The Experts Corner

After PIA’s privatisation, Pakistan plans to privatise power DISCOs, citing economic stabilisation, IMF-backed reforms, improved ratings and rising revenues.

After PIA success, government to privatise electricity distribution companies: Bilal Kiyani   

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s Foreign Office on Thursday strongly rejected statements by Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar, calling them &ldquo;irresponsible and misleading&rdquo; and slamming India for attempting to divert attention from its own regional actions.&nbsp;Speaking at a media briefing in Islamabad, Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said India&rsquo;s recent claims about Pakistan&rsquo;s &ldquo;role in terrorism&rdquo; were part of a &ldquo;blatant attempt to deflect attention from its own deeply troubling record as a neighbour, marked by the promotion of terrorism and contributions to regional instability.&rdquo;&nbsp;Earlier this week in Luxembourg, Jaishankar described Pakistan as a state that has &ldquo;openly supported terrorism for decades&rdquo; and accused it of operating &ldquo;training camps in big cities&hellip;where the state and the military support terrorism.&rdquo;&nbsp;Responding to these assertions, Andrabi highlighted recently surfaced documentary evidence indicating that &ldquo;New Delhi sought a third country&rsquo;s intervention&rdquo; to secure a ceasefire with Pakistan following the May 2025 Pahalgam incident.&nbsp;&ldquo;No amount of bluster can obscure India&rsquo;s fabricated narrative surrounding counterterrorism, particularly regarding the Pahalgam incident, or its reckless misadventure against Pakistan in the aftermath,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;The spokesperson said India has consistently engaged in disruptive actions in the region, including extrajudicial killings abroad, interference in neighboring countries&rsquo; internal affairs, the export of terrorism into Pakistan, including through operatives such as Kulbhushan Jadhav, and providing safe havens to wanted criminals.&nbsp;He further criticized India&rsquo;s domestic record, saying minorities face escalating intimidation and repression, adding: &ldquo;Before presuming to lecture others, India would do well to confront its own conduct and the growing gap between its rhetoric and reality.&rdquo;&nbsp;Andrabi concluded that India&rsquo;s &ldquo;fixation on Pakistan&rdquo; cannot conceal its own role as a &ldquo;serial disrupter of peace&rdquo; in South Asia.

Foreign Affairs

Pakistan rejected Indian FM Jaishankar’s remarks as irresponsible and misleading, accusing New Delhi of deflecting blame, promoting instability, seeking third-party mediation after Pahalgam, and acting as a disrupter of peace

Pakistan rejects Indian foreign minister’s remarks as ‘irresponsible and misleading’

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan continues robust security operations along its western border as regional dynamics shift, following India&rsquo;s engagement with Afghanistan&rsquo;s Taliban government, according to a report by the International Crisis Group (ICG).&nbsp;The annual conflict assessment, titled &ldquo;Ten Conflicts to Watch in 2026&rdquo;, highlights Pakistan&rsquo;s strategic position in South Asia after two separate military confrontations in 2025, first with India in April, then with Afghanistan in October.&nbsp;The report underscores ongoing cross-border militancy, noting that over 600 Pakistani security personnel were killed last year, primarily in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces bordering Afghanistan.&nbsp;Islamabad attributes these attacks to militants operating from Afghan territory, including Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) elements.&nbsp;While the Taliban publicly deny the presence of Pakistani militants in Afghanistan, officials acknowledge that controlling all movement across the 2,570-kilometer border remains challenging, the ICG notes.&nbsp;In October, cross-border incidents prompted Pakistan to conduct limited operations against militant targets, and coordinated regional diplomacy through T&uuml;rkiye and Qatar helped establish a temporary ceasefire.&nbsp;The ICG report also observes that Taliban-India engagement has heightened Pakistan&rsquo;s strategic focus on the region. Pakistan&rsquo;s intelligence and military authorities continue to monitor developments closely, ensuring cross-border threats are contained while maintaining readiness for counterterrorism operations.&nbsp;Pakistan&rsquo;s history of supporting Afghan stability, including sheltering Taliban leaders during their insurgency against the US-backed government, underscores Islamabad&rsquo;s ongoing commitment to regional security.&nbsp;The ICG report stresses that Pakistan&rsquo;s proactive measures aim to prevent militant groups from exploiting porous borders and to maintain calm along its western frontier.&nbsp;In addition to western border challenges, Pakistan faced tensions with India following the April 2025 Pahalgam incident in Indian-occupied Kashmir, which led to retaliatory strikes by both sides.&nbsp;The report calls these confrontations the most serious escalation between the nuclear-armed neighbors in years. Pakistani authorities have since worked closely with international partners to stabilize the situation, while continuing to strengthen defense preparedness.&nbsp;&ldquo;Pakistan remains vigilant in safeguarding its borders and countering cross-border threats,&rdquo; the assessment notes, citing Islamabad&rsquo;s measured and strategic response. Officials emphasize that regional stability depends on continuous cooperation, intelligence coordination, and robust security measures along sensitive border areas.&nbsp;The ICG&rsquo;s annual watchlist identifies South Asia as a critical flashpoint in 2026, highlighting the importance of Pakistan&rsquo;s proactive counterterrorism and border security operations in maintaining regional peace.

India

Afghanistan

The ICG report highlights South Asia’s 2025 conflicts, cross-border militancy, Afghanistan-India engagement, and regional flashpoints, warning that instability could escalate if underlying tensions remain unaddressed in 2026.