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ISLAMABAD: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday spoke with his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar, appreciating Islamabad&rsquo;s constructive role in regional diplomacy while requesting it to continue using its &ldquo;good offices&rdquo; to help &ldquo;facilitate de-escalation&rdquo; in the current situation, the country&rsquo;s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported. In an official statement, the Foreign Office stated that Iranian foreign minister &ldquo;expressed serious concern&rdquo; over &ldquo;recent developments in the region,&rdquo; including ceasefire violations in Lebanon by Israel and &ldquo;the orders by the Israeli government regarding potential attack in parts of Beirut.&rdquo; Araghchi appreciated Pakistan&rsquo;s &ldquo;constructive role&rdquo; in regional diplomacy. He also requested Pakistan to &ldquo;continue using its good offices&rdquo; to help &ldquo;facilitate de-escalation in the current situation&rdquo; and support &ldquo;efforts to maintain the ceasefire.&rdquo; Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar &ldquo;conveyed Pakistan&rsquo;s serious concern and emphasized the importance of ensuring that the ceasefire is sustained in order to prevent any breakdown of existing understandings,&rdquo; the Foreign Office stated. Both leaders agreed to remain in close contact.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar welcomes Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on arrival at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (MOFA)

Foreign Affairs

The Iranian foreign minister also “expressed serious concern” over “recent developments in the region,” including ceasefire violations in Lebanon by Israel.

Iran requests Pakistan to help facilitate de-escalation, maintain ceasefire in the region

PARIS: Several non-profit organisations announced Monday they are ramping up efforts to rapidly develop a vaccine for the rare strain of Ebola driving a deadly outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.&nbsp;Nearly 250 people are suspected to have died and more than 1,100 infected with the strain in the DRC and neighbouring Uganda, though the true spread of the virus is feared to be much wider.&nbsp;While it marks the 17th Ebola outbreak in the DRC, it is just the third caused by the Bundibugyo strain, for which there are no approved vaccines or treatments.&nbsp;The escalating nature of the outbreak has sparked a race to find a vaccine that can be quickly developed, manufactured then tested in humans during clinical trials in the affected region. <figure id="isPasted"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/f895bb40-57a9-4559-8e87-ef031581f56a-AFP__20260531__B4JA6ZR__v1__MidRes__DrcongoHealthEbola.jpg" alt="AFP__20260531__B4JA6ZR__v1__MidRes__DrcongoHealthEbola.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dii"><figcaption>A health worker stands in a new Ebola treatment center during a visit of Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), in Bunia, in the northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, on May 31, 2026. (AFP)</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;The World Health Organization said on Saturday that its experts had determined &quot;the most promising candidate vaccine&quot; was a single-dose shot using the rVSV platform.&nbsp;The only licensed Ebola vaccine, which targets the more common Zaire strain, uses the same platform.&nbsp;The non-profit International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) announced Monday it had reached a deal with the University of Texas Medical Branch to develop the rVSV candidate.&nbsp;The university&#39;s Thomas Geisbert led work on both the Bundibugyo candidate and the licensed Zaire jab. <figure id="isPasted"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/c4d6c304-5240-49ae-8963-4e07567100f8-AFP__20260526__B43N3DN__v3__MidRes__TopshotUgandaHealthEbola.jpg" alt="AFP__20260526__B43N3DN__v3__MidRes__TopshotUgandaHealthEbola.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dii"><figcaption>A Uganda Red Cross Society worker in protective gear are sprayed with disinfectant during the evacuation of the body of a suspected Ebola victim in Kampala on May 26, 2026. (AFP)</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;Geisbert told AFP last month that 2013 research demonstrated his jab provided very strong protection against Bundibugyo in monkeys.&nbsp;However the vaccine &quot;just sat there&quot; for more than a decade because of a lack of interest, in particular from pharmaceutical firms, the virologist added.&nbsp;The WHO estimated it would take seven to nine months before the rVSV vaccine is ready to be tested in humans.&nbsp;&#39;Fast-track&#39;Also on Monday, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) announced funding to &quot;fast-track&quot; development of three Bundibugyo vaccine candidates, including $3.2 million towards the rVSV jab.&nbsp;WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who visited the epicentre of the outbreak in the DRC on the weekend, said in a statement the funding was &quot;an important step forward&quot;.&nbsp;Another vaccine candidate receiving CEPI funding was developed on the University of Oxford&#39;s ChAdOx1 platform, which also underpinned AstraZeneca&#39;s Covid vaccine.&nbsp;This viral vector jab -- which will be manufactured by the huge Serum Institute of India -- could become available for clinical trials within two to three months, the WHO said.&nbsp;CEPI also said it had committed $50 million to a vaccine candidate being developed by US pharma giant Moderna which uses the mRNA technology pioneered in its Covid vaccine. <figure id="isPasted"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/f5fd6e58-55c4-4057-b939-5582c849e0c5-AFP__20260526__B4478GQ__v7__MidRes__DrcongoHealthEbola.jpg" alt="AFP__20260526__B4478GQ__v7__MidRes__DrcongoHealthEbola.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dii"><figcaption>A healthcare worker takes a visitor&#39;s temperature at Rwampara Hospital in Ituri, in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, on May 26, 2026. (AFP)</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;In a preprint paper published online last week, researchers at France&#39;s INSERM institute called for trials to see if the licenced Zaire vaccine could also help fight Bundibugyo.&nbsp;$50 million pledgeAlso on Monday, the Gavi vaccine alliance announced it would make up to $50 million available for Bundibugyo vaccine efforts.&nbsp;&quot;We need to act now to ensure that, once one or more vaccine candidates are ready, manufacturers are in a position to start producing doses at scale,&quot; Gavi CEO Sania Nishtar said in a statement.&nbsp;IAVI president Mark Feinberg told a press conference on Monday that Gavi&#39;s new commitment could fund the production of roughly 500,000 doses.&nbsp;It also provided a &quot;signal to manufacturers they can make this investment and not carry excessive risk,&quot; he added.&nbsp;Even once doses for a trial are ready, there will be challenges in deploying them in a vast, remote area of the DRC that is already suffering crises including hunger, malaria and conflict.&nbsp;Gaining the trust of communities where vaccines will be trialled will be crucial, the WHO emphasised.&nbsp;And once a trial is finally carried out, there is no guarantee it will demonstrate the vaccine works.&nbsp;&quot;We have reasons to believe that we can generate effective vaccines, but we don&#39;t want to downplay at all that we have to treat them as investigational products,&quot; CEPI CEO Richard Hatchett said last week.&nbsp;There are also several efforts to quickly trial several Bundibugyo treatments, including antivirals called remdesivir and obeldesivir, and the monoclonal antibody MBP134.

Africa

A deadly Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in the DRC and Uganda has infected over 1,100 people and killed nearly 250. Global health organizations are accelerating development of vaccines and treatments, with several candidates expected to enter clinical trials within months.

'We need to act now': Race to develop Ebola vaccine heats up

MOSCOW: Russia on Monday banned the export of aviation fuel until the end of November as Ukraine escalates its strikes on Russian refineries, depots and pipelines.&nbsp;Kyiv has increased attacks on Russian energy facilities in recent weeks, hitting targets as far as the Urals.&nbsp;The attacks often cause major fires but their impact has been difficult to assess.&nbsp;But in a sign of tension in the sector, the Russian government announced a &quot;temporary ban on the export of jet fuel from Russia.&quot;&nbsp;&quot;The purpose of this decision is to ensure stability in the domestic fuel market,&quot; it said.&nbsp;It clarified that the ban does not apply to shipments made under intergovernmental agreements.&nbsp;Russia, one of the world&#39;s oil and gas giants, had already restricted the export of car fuel, as pressures on the market mount during the Ukraine war.&nbsp;Ukraine -- facing daily Russian barrages of missiles and drones -- has increased its campaign on Russian energy infrastructure in recent weeks.

Europe

Russia banned aviation fuel exports until the end of November to stabilize domestic supplies amid escalating Ukrainian attacks on refineries, depots, and pipelines. The move follows earlier restrictions on car fuel exports as wartime pressures Russia’s energy sector.

Russia bans aviation fuel exports

PARIS: Flavio Cobolli on Monday clawed into the&nbsp;<a href="https://pakistantv.com/article/defending-champion-gauff-eliminated-from-french-open-by-potapova" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">French Open</a>&nbsp;quarter-finals, beating Zachary Svajda 6-2, 6-3, 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (7/5). At number ten, the Italian goes into the last eight as the third-highest remaining men&#39;s seed. It will be the 24-year-old&#39;s second&nbsp;<a href="https://pakistantv.com/article/aryna-sabalenka-ready-to-boycott-grand-slams-over-prize-money" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Grand Slam</a>&nbsp;quarter-final. He reached the last eight at Wimbledon last season. Cobolli will face either fourth-seeded Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime or unseeded Chilean Alejandro Tabilo. Cobolli raced through the first two sets in a total of one hour 25 minutes, breaking twice in each. In the third, Svajda started to put up some resistance and Cobolli began to wobble. Twice the 23-year-old American held serve to save the match and then took the tiebreak as Cobolli&#39;s accuracy deserted him. In the fourth, Cobolli galloped to a 4-0 lead. From 5-1 up he could not finish Zvajda off, wasting a match point at 5-4. The Italian found just enough composure to win a tiebreak in which both players showed their nerves. Cobolli won in three hours, 21 minutes. &quot;The match is never done and today I almost shit in my pants,&quot; said Cobolli. &quot;I&#39;m happy but I&#39;m still nervous.&quot; American world number 85 Svajda had only won two Grand Slam matches before his surprising run to the fourth round at <a href="https://pakistantv.com/article/iga-swiatek-elena-rybakina-cruise-through-roland-garros-openers" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Roland Garros</a>.

US Zachary Svajda reacts after a point as he plays against Italy's Flavio Cobolli during their men's singles match on day 9 of the French Open tennis tournament on Court Philippe-Chatrier at the Roland-Garros Complex in Paris on June 1, 2026. (AFP)

Tennis

The 24-year-old Italian will go into the last eight as the third-highest remaining men's seed, as It will be his second Grand Slam quarter-final.

Flavio Cobolli fights into French Open last eight against dogged Zachary Svajda

ISLAMABAD: The United Nations reports that the escalating conflict in Lebanon has displaced more than one million people. This situation has forced Syrian and Palestinian refugees, who had already escaped the wars in their home countries, to flee once more. Humanitarian agencies are referring to this as a &quot;double displacement&quot; crisis. Over the weekend, an Israeli strike on Deir Zahrani killed eight people, including three women, according to Lebanon&#39;s health ministry, while Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Monday said his country was facing &quot;a vicious and reprehensible Israeli aggression.&quot;&nbsp; This comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to push deeper into the ground offensive in Lebanon despite growing international condemnation. The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR says Lebanon hosts the highest number of refugees per capita in the world, with roughly one in five people in the country a refugee. UNHCR data shows that the figure includes more than 1.4 million registered Syrians and approximately 200,000 Palestinian refugees. According to UNHCR, nearly 700,000 people were displaced within a week of intensified fighting, while Lebanese authorities estimate that approximately 14% of the country&#39;s territory is currently under evacuation threat. Geographic escalationThe Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) says southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley, and the southern suburbs of Beirut, the hardest-hit areas in the escalation, were also where the vast majority of Syrian and Palestinian refugees had been concentrated.&nbsp; According to data from UNHCR and the joint Lebanon Response Plan, Lebanon&#39;s strict &quot;no-camp policy&quot; for Syrians prohibited the creation of formal, UN-managed camps, forcing displaced communities into informal tented settlements heavily concentrated in the rural Bekaa Valley, southern Lebanon, and the outer suburbs of Beirut, the exact regions now under bombardment. The UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) says the breadth and circumstances of Israeli blanket evacuation orders, covering large swaths of Lebanese territory, may amount to unlawful forced displacement under international humanitarian law. In a shelter for the displaced in Sidon, southern Lebanon&#39;s largest city, Zeinab Fakih, from Nabatieh, told AFP, &quot;We are afraid.&quot; &quot;It is impossible for us to return to our home, because the city is in great destruction,&quot; she said. Syrians cross backUNHCR said more than 200,000 people crossed from Lebanon into Syria between March 2 and March 27 through official border crossings. The agency said nearly 180,000 were Syrians and more than 28,000 were Lebanese nationals. The crossings included Syrians who had previously fled their country&#39;s civil war and settled in Lebanon before being displaced again by the current conflict. &quot;The bombs don&#39;t ask who you are,&quot; one community volunteer told The New Humanitarian in March. &quot;But when people arrive at shelters, suddenly those questions matter again.&quot; Health conditions in sheltersAid agencies warn that conditions in shelters are deteriorating as displacement increases. Lebanese authorities say more than 620 collective shelters have been opened across the country. However, UNHCR reports that nearly 94% of those facilities are operating at full capacity. The World Health Organization has warned of acute public health risks inside those shelters, including rising rates of measles, hepatitis A, and diarrheal disease due to overcrowding. UNICEF says children make up roughly one-third of the displaced population. Syrian and Palestinian refugees, as well as undocumented migrants, reports The New Humanitarian,&nbsp;have in numerous cases been turned away from official shelters, with facilities prioritizing Lebanese nationals or registered refugee populations.&nbsp; The European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations says an estimated 160,000 migrant workers, from Ethiopia, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Kenya, and elsewhere, have been left with no choice but to sleep in public parks, on roadsides, or in informal tented settlements with no protection. The NRC warned in March that people were reliving &quot;the same cycle of bombing, loss and displacement&quot; experienced during previous rounds of conflict. UN agencies have appealed for additional international funding, saying the scale of displacement is overwhelming available resources.&nbsp;

Middle East

The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR says Lebanon hosts the highest number of refugees per capita in the world, with roughly one in five people in the country a refugee, warning that escalating violence is leaving displaced communities with shrinking access to housing, medical care, and basic services across the country.


Israeli offensive in Lebanon forces Syrian, Palestinian refugees to flee again: UN

DELHI: The creator of India&#39;s satirical &quot;Cockroach People&#39;s Party&quot; vowed on Monday to lead a protest in New Delhi to take the viral social media campaign to the streets. The parody &quot;Cockroach Janta Party&quot; (CJP), echoing Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has won millions of online followers on social media sites since its launch last month. It was set up after Chief Justice Surya Kant reportedly called young people who criticized the government &quot;cockroaches&quot; and &quot;parasites&quot; during a hearing. Kant later said his comments were taken out of context and that he was referring to those who use fake degrees.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 849px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2061351455995416776&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2Fnew%2F&sessionId=46b7f21cc48789b1cb2b73aeaf0060348b8c69be&theme=light&widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&width=550px">&nbsp;</iframe></div></div> Abhijeet Dipke, the 30-year-old Boston University graduate behind the online movement, said on social media platform X that he would return to India to lead a &quot;peaceful protest&quot; on Saturday. He called for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who has faced criticism over alleged irregularities in several key examinations. &quot;Students have committed suicide, and the hard work of tens of thousands of students has been destroyed,&quot; Dipke said in a video message posted online. &#39;For the youth&#39; Social media handles of the CJP, which calls itself &quot;a political front for the youth, by the youth, for the youth&quot;, have been blocked repeatedly in India. Its Instagram handle has more than 22 million followers -- more than double the BJP&#39;s 9.5 million followers on the same site, as well as the main opposition Congress Party&#39;s 13.9 million followers. Dipke called on followers to meet him at Delhi airport before accompanying him to seek police permission for a demonstration. &quot;My friends and family are afraid that I will be arrested right at the airport and then sent to jail,&quot; he said. &quot;But I still hope that our country is still a democracy today and that we will be granted permission to protest peacefully.&quot; Critics have repeatedly accused Modi&#39;s government of using state institutions to stifle dissent, a charge it rejects.

India

Creator of India's satirical 'Cockroach People's Party,' Abhijeet Dipke, says on Monday that he will return to India to lead a protest in the capital, taking the viral social media campaign to the streets.

India's viral 'Cockroach' party founder plans street protest

LONDON: British ministers braced Monday for the release of potentially embarrassing documents relating to Prime Minister Keir Starmer&#39;s controversial appointment of Peter Mandelson as envoy to the US. Hundreds of files expected to run to more than 1,000 pages were to be published on Monday as the scandal over Mandelson&#39;s links to US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein returns to plague Starmer and his embattled Labour administration. It will be the second tranche of documents to be published covering Mandelson&#39;s brief stint in Washington last year, which ended after the extent of his friendship with Epstein was revealed. &quot;The volume of information that&#39;s going to be put out is unprecedented,&quot; government minister James Murray told Sky News. The documents are expected to include messages between Mandelson and ministers and government advisers, including Starmer&#39;s former chief of staff Morgan McSweeney who resigned for advising the prime minister to make the appointment. The government has said it is withholding some documents on the advice of police, who are investigating Mandelson over alleged misconduct in office more than a decade ago. Mandelson is accused of leaking sensitive information to billionaire financier Epstein during his time as a government minister. He denies wrongdoing. Epstein died in a US prison in 2019 while awaiting trial. Members of parliament voted in February to force the government to publish documents about Mandelson&#39;s appointment. &#39;General reputational risk&#39; Documents released in March revealed Starmer was warned that Mandelson, a Labour party veteran, posed a &quot;general reputational risk&quot; because of his connection to Epstein but appointed him anyway. Starmer&#39;s decision to give Mandelson the plum diplomatic post in December 2024, and then sack him nine months later, has dogged his flagging premiership in recent months. It contributed towards dire election results in Scotland, Wales and England last month, that triggered calls from dozens of Labour lawmakers for Starmer to resign. Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is contesting a special election to return to parliament later this month that is widely believed to be a precursor to challenging Starmer for the party leadership. Starmer has apologized for appointing Mandelson, as well as to the women trafficked by Epstein, but has refused to quit. The controversy has claimed the jobs of Starmer&#39;s former chief of communications and the most senior civil servant in the foreign office, who the prime minister fired for not telling him or other ministers that Mandelson had not passed security checks for the role.

Peter Mandelson - (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

United Kingdom

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces renewed pressure as the release of extensive documents over Peter Mandelson's appointment and ties to Jeffrey Epstein threatens further political fallout for his government.

UK govt to release second batch of files on ex-US envoy Mandelson

JERUSALEM: Israel&#39;s attorney general warned Monday of the country&#39;s democratic backsliding under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu&#39;s government, specifically regarding the judiciary&#39;s independence and the executive&#39;s disregard for court rulings. Gali Baharav-Miara, who also serves as the government&#39;s legal adviser, has clashed with Netanyahu&#39;s government since it took office in late 2022. &quot;Given the approach of the end of the current Knesset&#39;s term, a race has begun to eliminate democratic institutions,&quot; Baharav-Miara said at a conference of the Israeli Bar Association on Monday. She pointed specifically to two bills currently travelling through Israel&#39;s parliament. The first aims to split the attorney general&#39;s powers by creating a &quot;prosecutor general&quot; position appointed by the justice minister. The second bill aims to grant far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir more powers over the police. Speaking at the conference in the southern Israeli city of Eilat, Baharav-Miara also denounced what she said was the government&#39;s general disregard for court rulings, according to a statement from her office. &quot;In a situation where the government calls for court rulings not to be obeyed, the day is not far off when a court judgment will be perceived by the public as non-binding,&quot; she said. Baharav-Miara was referring in part to the government&#39;s inaction in implementing military conscription for Israel&#39;s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, who until recently were exempted from serving in the army. Israel&#39;s Supreme Court has repeatedly challenged the exemption in recent years, culminating in a 2024 ruling that the government must conscript ultra-Orthodox men. Netanyahu, however, relies on the support of ultra-Orthodox parties to sustain his government and so has fought efforts to end the exemption. &quot;It is not possible, from a legal standpoint, to cooperate with a situation in which, on the one hand, the government increases the burden on those who serve, while on the other hand it permits mass draft evasion, and some would even say encourages it,&quot; Baharav-Miara said.

FILE: Israel's Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara listens on as she attends a cabinet meeting at the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem on June 5, 2024. (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN / POOL / AFP)

Gali Baharav-Miara, who also serves as the government's legal adviser, has clashed with Netanyahu's government since it took office in late 2022 and has denounced what she describes as the government's general disregard for court rulings.

Israel attorney general warns of country's democratic backsliding

STOCKHOLM: Sweden&#39;s public health agency on Monday called on parents to put their phones away when spending time with their children. The Public Health Agency of Sweden said the new recommendations follow research into the impact of screen use. Since 2024, the agency has recommended that parents &quot;reflect&quot; on their use of smartphones around children, but in the new recommendations, it offered more concrete suggestions. &quot;Put your phone away when you&#39;re with your child. Use it only if you need to, or when you&#39;re using it together,&quot; the health authority said in a statement. It also encouraged parents to develop &quot;healthy screen habits for yourself,&quot; adding that this would influence the habits of children. The health agency said research showed that parents&#39; screen use could negatively affect their interactions with their children, and that children of parents who use screens a lot were more likely to develop similar habits. Screen-free zonesParents were also recommended to adopt &quot;screen-free zones&quot; that it recommended for children, such as in the bedroom or around the dinner table. &quot;Children are not only affected by what adults say, but also by what adults do. That&#39;s why small changes in everyday life can make a difference both for interactions in the present and for the child&#39;s own habits over time,&quot; Helena Frielingsdorf, a psychiatrist working at the agency, said in a statement. The Nordic country has in recent years sought to reduce the amount of time children spend on phones. In January, the government said it would ban smartphones in schools for children up to grade nine, meaning children up to the age of 15-16.

Sweden’s public health agency is urging parents to limit their own phone use around children, citing research that parental screen habits can negatively influence child development and behavior.

Sweden's health agency tells parents to put down phones

ISLAMABAD: More than 82 Afghan and international human rights organizations have urged the European Union and its member states to refrain from engaging with Taliban representatives amid reports that a Taliban delegation could visit Brussels in June 2026, as reported by the International Federation for Human Rights. &nbsp; In an open letter published by the rights group, the signatories, including the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), expressed &quot;grave concerns&quot; over the possibility of an official Taliban visit to the Belgian capital, warning that such engagement could be viewed as a form of normalization or implicit recognition of the Taliban authorities.&nbsp; The European Commission has invited a delegation of Taliban officials, expected to be led by Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi, to Brussels in June 2026 for high-level technical talks concerning the repatriation and deportation of Afghan migrants.&nbsp; Democratic legitimacy The groups stressed that the Taliban &quot;do not represent the people of Afghanistan&quot; because they lack democratic legitimacy and have not gained authority through any participatory, inclusive, representative, or constitutional process. The letter noted that two senior Taliban leaders are currently subject to arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the alleged crime against humanity of persecution on gender grounds. It also pointed out that multiple individuals associated with the Taliban remain subject to international sanctions, including those imposed by the European Union. &quot;Any official engagement with Taliban representatives, particularly on European soil, carries significant legal, political, and symbolic implications,&quot; the organizations wrote. &quot;It risks being perceived as a form of normalisation or implicit recognition.&quot; The groups said that since the Taliban&#39;s return to power in August 2021, authorities have implemented policies and decrees that have systematically dismantled fundamental rights and freedoms. Women and girls, they said, have been largely excluded from public life through bans on secondary and higher education and severe restrictions on employment, freedom of movement, and participation in civic and political life. &quot;There has been no accountability for the victims and survivors&quot; of serious human rights violations and potential international crimes, the letter stated. The signatories further expressed concern over current and proposed policies involving the forced return of Afghan asylum seekers from EU member states.&nbsp; Principle of non-refoulementThey argued that such returns would raise serious concerns under international law, particularly the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits returning individuals to places where they face persecution or serious harm. The concern is especially acute for women and girls, the groups said, describing Afghanistan as &quot;one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a woman.&quot; Forced returns, they warned, could expose many to persecution, violence, and severe deprivation of rights. The organizations called on the EU and its member states to avoid political or diplomatic engagement with Taliban representatives under current conditions, arguing that the minimum standards often cited by the bloc for engagement, including respect for fundamental rights and women&#39;s rights, are not being met. They also urged European governments to support international justice efforts, including cooperation with the ICC&#39;s Afghanistan investigation, and to back strategic litigation initiatives aimed at holding alleged perpetrators accountable for serious international crimes. Among their demands, the groups called for an immediate halt to forced return of Afghan asylum seekers, public affirmation that the rights of Afghan women and girls are non-negotiable, and meaningful consultation with Afghan civil society, victims, and women human rights defenders in shaping EU policy. The signatories warned that failing to uphold these principles would risk entrenching impunity, undermining the EU&#39;s credibility on human rights and gender justice, and abandoning Afghan victims and survivors &quot;at a critical moment.&quot; The organizations said they remain ready to engage with European and international partners to ensure that responses to Afghanistan&#39;s ongoing crisis are grounded in accountability, justice, and the protection of fundamental rights.

Taliban fighters in Afghanistan - (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Afghanistan

Over 80 Afghan and international rights groups have urged the EU to avoid engaging with Taliban representatives, warning it could legitimize their rule and undermine human rights, especially for women and girls in Afghanistan.

Iran requests Pakistan to help facilitate de-escalation, maintain ceasefire in the region

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Pakistan FM, EU foreign policy chief discuss regional, global developments

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