Syed Muhammad Zaid

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&#39;s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif early on Thursday announced that the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding had been signed by US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, bringing to an end a conflict between Washington and Tehran that began on Feb. 28 and threatened to engulf the wider Middle East. The electronic signing marked the culmination of a diplomatic effort that stretched across regional and global capitals, transforming Islamabad from an observer of the crisis into a principal mediator between the two adversaries. While military exchanges, maritime disruptions and regional instability dominated headlines throughout the conflict, Pakistan maintained continuous engagement with Washington, Tehran and key international stakeholders in an effort to preserve dialogue and prevent a broader war. How did it start?The crisis erupted on Feb. 28 when the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, triggering a rapid escalation across the region. The violence immediately threatened key trade routes, particularly the Strait of Hormuz, which was closed within the first 48 hours of the conflict, sending shockwaves through global energy markets and raising fears of wider instability. As the conflict dragged on, a parallel front emerged in Lebanon, where fighting between Israel and Hezbollah intensified from April 8, further complicating efforts to secure a diplomatic resolution. Pakistan&#39;s early diplomatic outreachPakistan moved quickly to launch a diplomatic campaign to contain the conflict, with both Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar reaching out to regional and international partners. Within the first 10 days of the conflict, Dar engaged with 14 countries, including Iran, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Iraq, Bahrain, China, Azerbaijan, Egypt, T&uuml;rkiye, Canada and Malaysia.&nbsp; He also held consultations with the Gulf Cooperation Council, the European Union and the Commonwealth. At the same time, Sharif contacted more than 10 world leaders within the first week of the conflict, urging restraint and calling for diplomacy between the warring parties. As the crisis deepened, Pakistan expanded its diplomatic outreach. Before a ceasefire was secured on April 8, PM Sharif had held 37 bilateral conversations with world leaders and senior officials, while Dar engaged with 81 regional and international counterparts, including seven direct contacts with the Iranian leadership. The Islamabad TalksFollowing the ceasefire, the United States and Iran met for the first time since the outbreak of hostilities in what became known as the &quot;Islamabad Talks,&quot; a breakthrough made possible by Pakistan&#39;s diplomatic efforts. The talks, however, did not immediately produce a peace agreement. After 21 hours of discussions in Islamabad, negotiators left without a final settlement. Although the meeting ended without an immediate breakthrough, Pakistani officials viewed it as an important first step toward sustained engagement. The ceasefire itself remained fragile, having initially been agreed for only two weeks. On April 22, as concerns mounted that the ceasefire could collapse, PM Sharif reached out to Trump after the US president had earlier warned of potentially catastrophic consequences if hostilities resumed. During that two-week period alone, Sharif and Dar held more than 45 conversations with regional and international partners aimed at preserving the ceasefire and maintaining diplomatic momentum. The effort helped secure an extension of the truce, while Pakistan continued to advocate for a broader agreement between Washington and Tehran. Continued diplomacyWith both sides engaged in dialogue, attention shifted toward finding common ground on a lasting settlement. That process proved difficult. From April 22 until the announcement of the agreement early on Thursday, Dar engaged with more than 45 leaders and senior officials on developments in the region, consistently advocating for durable peace and long-term stability. During the same period, PM Sharif discussed the conflict with more than 10 counterparts as Islamabad worked to keep negotiations on track. The diplomatic effort extended beyond telephone diplomacy. PM Sharif, FM Dar, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Chief of Defense Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir undertook multiple engagements across the region, meeting key stakeholders and reinforcing support for the peace process. Those efforts culminated on June 18 with the electronic signing of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, an agreement that Pakistan says reflects the success of sustained diplomacy, dialogue and regional cooperation. The accord concluded 110 days of conflict that tested regional stability, disrupted global trade routes and raised fears of a wider Middle East war. The agreement has now entered its implementation phase, with Washington and Tehran expected to hold separate technical-level negotiations on a range of issues covered under the memorandum. While the agreement was ultimately negotiated by the United States and Iran, Pakistan&#39;s role in maintaining channels of communication throughout the crisis helped create the conditions that made the deal possible. -This article has been updated following the postponement of the planned Switzerland ceremony after the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding entered into force through electronic signing.

Foreign Affairs

From emergency calls and shuttle diplomacy to hosting breakthrough negotiations, Pakistani officials spent months engaging dozens of world leaders, preserving ceasefires and keeping communication channels open as efforts gradually evolved into a formal peace framework.


Inside Pakistan's 110-day diplomatic push to end the US-Iran war

ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistani senator Mushtaq Ahmad, who was recently detained by Israeli forces while participating in the Global Sumud Flotilla, will return to Pakistan on October 9, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said. Dar confirmed the release of Mushtaq, expressing his admiration for the senator&rsquo;s courage, and said he was in &ldquo;high spirits&rdquo; after enduring severe treatment during his captivity. He praised Mushtaq&rsquo;s determination and steadfast support for Palestinian humanitarian efforts through the Sumud Flotilla. The foreign minister revealed that Mushtaq, who had been held in Israeli custody, was currently with the Pakistan Embassy in Amman, Jordan, and would return to Pakistan on October 9. &quot;Senator Mushtaq is fine and in high spirits,&quot; Dar said in a statement posted on social media platform X.&nbsp;<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; line-height: 2;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 369px; 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=1975601673876762825&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=8712a1c1ac00454a2bed83e5c2d7c98382c90e6c&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div> Mushtaq had been among hundreds of activists detained when Israeli forces intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla, a mission designed to deliver aid to Gaza amidst its ongoing humanitarian crisis. The flotilla, which included notable figures such as climate activist Greta Thunberg, was targeted by Israeli forces on the high seas. According to Reuters, Israel expelled 171 activists on Monday, bringing the total number of deported individuals to 341. In a personal account posted on social media, Mushtaq described the harrowing conditions he and other detainees endured. &ldquo;Our hands were handcuffed behind our backs, our feet shackled and chained,&rdquo; he said, recalling the brutal treatment. &ldquo;Our eyes were blindfolded as dogs were set upon us and guns aimed at our bodies. We were subjected to severe and relentless torture.&rdquo; The former senator further revealed that the detained activists launched a hunger strike to protest their treatment and demand better conditions. &quot;In protest, we launched a three-day hunger strike to press for our demands,&rdquo; Mushtaq added. Despite the mistreatment, Mushtaq and other activists stood firm in their cause. He expressed gratitude to the Pakistan Foreign Office for coordinating through a friendly European country&#39;s mission in Tel Aviv, &nbsp;given that Islamabad does not recognize Israel, and appreciated the embassy in Amman for ensuring his safety and support during his stay. Meanwhile, Greta Thunberg, also detained during the flotilla&rsquo;s interception, arrived in Athens on Monday, expressing solidarity with those still imprisoned. In a video posted on Instagram, she emphasized that while some detainees had been released, others remain in custody, stressing the need for their immediate freedom. As Mushtaq prepares to return to Pakistan, his experience serves as a powerful reminder of the sacrifices made by those who stand in solidarity with Palestine, despite the risks and hardships they face.

Former Senator Mushtaq Ahmad was detained by Israeli forces while aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla, a humanitarian mission attempting to break the Gaza blockade and deliver aid in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

Former Pakistani senator to return on Oct. 9 after Israeli detention

Ayesha Mir

ISLAMABAD: For centuries, the five rivers of Punjab weren&#39;t resources to be managed, they were forces to be known, stories to be reckoned with. The Chenab, land of lovers. The Jhelum, land of warriors. The Ravi, land of people of honor. These weren&#39;t categories on a map. They were identities. Nobody who read Heer Ranjha in 1766 imagined that three hundred years later, two nuclear-armed states would be threatening each other with the same water. In April 2025, after the Pahalgam attack, India placed the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), the sixty-five-year-old agreement governing how these rivers are shared, in &ldquo;abeyance.&rdquo;&nbsp; The word sounds technical, but it isn&#39;t.&nbsp; &quot;Abeyance&quot; doesn&#39;t appear anywhere in the treaty. There is no pause button. Even the World Bank&#39;s own president said so: There is no provision in this treaty for one country to suspend it unilaterally. The IWT, signed in 1960 and brokered by the World Bank, took an unusual approach to sharing water. It didn&#39;t divide the volume; it divided the rivers themselves.&nbsp; Three eastern rivers, the Ravi, Sutlej, and Beas, went entirely to India.&nbsp;Three western rivers, the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab, were allocated almost entirely to Pakistan.&nbsp; Together, Pakistan&#39;s three rivers carry roughly 80% of the entire system&#39;s water.&nbsp;This is what grows Punjab&#39;s wheat, Sindh&#39;s cotton, and fills the taps in Lahore and Karachi. The need for this treaty arose as early as 1948, just months after partition, when India suspended flows through two canals into Pakistani Punjab.&nbsp; For five weeks, nearly 80% of cultivable land went dry. That wound is what created the treaty.&nbsp; For 65 years, through three wars, it held.&nbsp;Then came Pahalgam, and everything changed. The immediate question everyone asked was the obvious one: Can India actually cut off Pakistan&#39;s water?&nbsp; The short answer is no. But the full answer is: not yet.&nbsp; Around 147.6 million acre-feet flows into Pakistan from these rivers every year.&nbsp;India&#39;s entire permitted storage under the treaty is 3.6 million acre-feet: 2% of annual flow.&nbsp; According to experts like Danish Mustafa, the terrain where these rivers cross into Pakistan is steep, volatile, and largely unsuitable for the kind of massive diversion infrastructure the threat implies.&nbsp; India&#39;s existing dams were built to generate electricity, not to withhold water, and you can&#39;t do both simultaneously without sabotaging your own power grid. But that&#39;s the present. The future is more complicated. In May 2026, India approved a tunnel to move water from the upper Chenab into the Beas, a river that belongs to India.&nbsp;The volume is small, but the precedent is big.&nbsp; Moving water between basins is one of the treaty&#39;s clearest red lines, and India has explicitly linked this project to the suspension.&nbsp;Cross one red line and the next gets easier.&nbsp; The Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled against India in May 2026, reaffirming real limits on its hydropower projects.&nbsp; India said it doesn&#39;t recognize the court&#39;s authority, meaning it doesn&rsquo;t accept the verdict either.&nbsp; More importantly, what was lost as a result of the treaty&rsquo;s suspension wasn&rsquo;t water, it was the coordination that made the system work.&nbsp; Hydrological data sharing has stopped.&nbsp;Flood warnings that used to come commissioner-to-commissioner now arrive late. Pakistan&#39;s farmers aren&#39;t exactly shut off from water, but they&rsquo;re exposed to unpredictability &mdash; which, across a growing season, can be just as devastating. India is already fast-tracking four major hydropower projects on the Chenab &mdash; Pakal Dul, Kiru, Kwar, Ratle, and Sawalkote.&nbsp; Tenders have been issued. But in a move that may have backfired legally, according to former caretaker law minister Ahmer Bilal Soofi, by placing the IWT in abeyance India has withdrawn the very protection international law gives to dams in conflict &mdash; because a civilian structure loses that protection the moment it serves a military objective.&nbsp; India&#39;s own water minister declared on record that not a single drop of water will go to Pakistan.&nbsp; And under international law, it is evidence of belligerent intent, which means India may have just handed Pakistan the legal justification to strike its own dams.&nbsp;

By placing the IWT in abeyance India has withdrawn the very protection international law gives to dams in conflict — because a civilian structure loses that protection the moment it serves a military objective. 

'Not a single drop of water': Could India’s threat trigger a war with Pakistan?

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to slap a 100 percent tariff on European countries that impose a digital services tax, adding that existing trade deals would be scrapped. &quot;Any Country that imposes such a Tax will immediately be met with a 100% TARIFF on any and all Goods sent to the United States of America,&quot; Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform, adding that &quot;this TARIFF will supersede Trade Deals made with the Country, whether implemented, signed, or not.&quot; The move comes just a day after EU countries gave the green light to a trade agreement negotiated last year with the United States, which caps taxes on European imports at 15 percent. But Trump has repeatedly made it clear he wants to tackle so-called non-tariff barriers to trade -- and strict European regulations on technology and environment are in his crosshairs. For the US leader, those rules hinder US exports. Earlier this month, Trump threatened to impose a 100 percent tariff on French wine and champagne unless Paris removed its digital services tax on technology firms. France imposed in 2019 a three-percent levy on the revenues earned by technology firms, including US giants Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Google&#39;s parent Alphabet, within the country&#39;s borders.

Taxation

President Donald Trump threatens 100 percent tariffs on countries imposing digital services taxes, warning the measures would override existing trade deals as he targets European technology regulations and taxes on US tech companies.

Trump threatens 100% tariff on EU countries over digital services tax

GENEVA: More than 50,000 people are missing after powerful twin earthquakes rocked Venezuela, the United Nations&#39; aid chief said Friday, warning that the death toll was likely to &quot;rise significantly&quot;. &quot;It&#39;s a very, very complex emergency response,&quot; Tom Fletcher, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, told AFP in an interview. &quot;We&#39;ve got over 50,000 people missing, over 500 people dead, so a massive job to go through the rubble&quot;. His comments came after Venezuela&#39;s interim president Delcy Rodriguez said the official death toll from the earthquakes more than doubled Friday to 589, as rescuers raced to find survivors beneath collapsed buildings. The 7.5- and 7.2-magnitude earthquakes struck north of the capital Caracas on Wednesday. Earthquakes of similar magnitude claimed more than 200,000 lives in Haiti in January 2010 and 73,000 lives in Kashmir in October 2005. Fletcher said the UN humanitarian agency OCHA, which he runs, did not yet have an estimate for how high the death toll was likely to go. But, he said, &quot;50,000 people are missing&quot;. &quot;It&#39;s our job to find as many of them as possible, and to keep that death toll as low as we can get it, but it&#39;s clearly going to rise significantly.&quot;

Americas

UN aid officials say more than 50,000 people remain missing after twin earthquakes strike Venezuela, warning the death toll, already at 589, will rise significantly as rescuers continue searching through collapsed buildings.

Over 50,000 people missing after Venezuela quakes: UN aid chief

BEIJING: An eyewitness reported seeing plane debris and fire at the base of Beijing&#39;s tallest building on Friday, as AFP journalists saw a hole in the skyscraper&#39;s side. Video footage taken by the witness from a nearby building showed fire trucks blasting water at the flames on the ground in front of the 528-metre (1,732-foot) CITIC Tower, while what appeared to be part of a small plane lay on the ground beside the building. AFP journalists at the scene saw a hole in the windows on one of the upper floors of the skyscraper. Police and ambulances swarmed the area. Police declined to comment on the incident. &quot;I don&#39;t know why the plane would fly in here. It really is quite strange,&quot; the witness, a finance worker, told AFP on the condition on anonymity. A man who worked inside the CITIC building told AFP: &quot;I saw debris on my way out. It looked like part of a plane&quot;. Dozens of uniformed cleaners gathered near the police cordon Friday evening. One woman told AFP she had been told to evacuate via the stairs and not to use the lifts. &quot;I ran down dozens of floors in a hurry,&quot; she said. Two men who appeared to be from the building&#39;s property management team told the cleaners to go home. &quot;No one can get in now,&quot; one of the men said. A middle-aged woman who was staring at the building from the street said she was shocked by the incident. &quot;This kind of thing wouldn&#39;t happen in Beijing. This is Beijing... It&#39;s pretty common abroad, but in China, it shouldn&#39;t happen,&quot; she told AFP. &quot;I was very shocked.&quot; Another onlooker, a student, told AFP he rushed to the scene as soon as information about the crash was shared in an aviation enthusiast social media group. Images and posts online were being rapidly deleted, he added. The CITIC Tower, which has 108 floors above ground and seven below, is able to accommodate 12,000 office workers. China imposes strict restrictions over its airspace, particularly around Beijing&#39;s urban area. In April, China announced it was banning the sale of drones in Beijing and would require users to apply for permission for all flights in the capital.

China

An eyewitness reported seeing plane debris and fire at the base of Beijing's tallest building on Friday, as AFP journalists saw a hole in the skyscraper's side.

Plane debris seen at Beijing's tallest building: witness

Faraz Saeed

LAHORE: Indian farmers under the banner of the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha are back on the streets against the proposed India-US trade deal, alleging that the deal would harm farmers, traders, laborers, and youth.&nbsp; The demonstrations were marked not only by slogans against the central government but also by the burning of effigies of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reflecting the intensity of opposition among participating groups. Under the banner of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), protesters also directed their anger toward the visiting US trade delegation, urging it to leave and warning that the proposed agreement could inflict lasting damage on Indian agriculture. From Amritsar to Bathinda, from Ferozepur to Gurdaspur, from Hoshiarpur to Jalandhar, from Kapurthala to Ludhiana, from Moga to Patiala, and from Rupnagar to Sangrur, the message remained remarkably consistent: cancel the proposed India-US trade agreement. These are not the hallmarks of a routine demonstration. They are the indicators of a growing confrontation between India&#39;s agrarian community and the state, a confrontation that many believed had subsided after the repeal of the controversial farm laws. At the heart of the agitation lies a simple but consequential question: how can India&#39;s predominantly small and marginal farmers compete with heavily subsidized and large-scale agricultural producers from advanced economies? Farmer leaders argue that American agriculture enjoys substantial government support, extensive mechanization, and economies of scale that are simply beyond the reach of most Indian cultivators. The average Indian farmer operates on a small landholding and is already grappling with rising production costs, mounting debt, fertilizer shortages and uncertain returns. In such circumstances, many fear that greater market access for foreign agricultural products could place additional pressure on already fragile farm incomes. Particular concern has been expressed regarding the potential influx of imported agricultural commodities, including pulses, fruits, vegetables, dairy products and other food items. Protest leaders warn that increased imports could undermine domestic producers and weaken local agricultural markets. They further allege that current trade policies prioritize multinational corporations and global commercial interests over the welfare of farmers and rural communities. Yet the trade agreement represents only one layer of a much broader set of concerns. Farmers have renewed longstanding demands for a legal guarantee of Minimum Support Price (MSP) for all crops, relief from agricultural debt, expanded crop insurance coverage and pension support for elderly farmers. They have also raised objections to fertilizer shortages and have demanded the withdrawal of the Electricity Amendment Bill 2025 and the Seed Bill 2025. Opposition to the installation of smart electricity meters has likewise emerged as a prominent issue within the movement. The protest leaders insist that the consequences of these policies extend beyond farmers alone. In their view, agricultural laborers, small traders, employees, and ordinary citizens whose livelihoods depend upon the rural economy also stand to be affected. The movement is therefore being framed not merely as a farmers&#39; agitation but as a broader defence of rural economic interests. Another significant dimension of the protests concerns the process through which agricultural decisions are made. Farmer organizations accuse the government of repeating a pattern that they believe characterized the now-repealed farm laws: pursuing major policy changes without meaningful consultation with stakeholders. Whether one agrees with this assessment or not, it has become a recurring theme throughout the demonstrations and reflects a deeper trust deficit between sections of the farming community and policymakers. Farmer leaders argue that years of unfulfilled commitments have deepened mistrust between the government and the agricultural community. That mistrust, they contend, is now spilling back onto the streets. The significance of the protests therefore lies not only in their scale but also in what they reveal. The coordinated demonstrations across 21 districts suggest that concerns over trade, agricultural reform and rural livelihoods continue to resonate deeply within Punjab&#39;s farming community. More importantly, they highlight what many participants describe as a widening rift between the state and the agrarian sector. The government, for its part, views international trade agreements as important instruments of economic growth and strategic engagement. Supporters of such agreements argue that they can unlock new opportunities, strengthen commercial ties and enhance India&#39;s global economic position. The challenge, however, lies in reconciling these objectives with the concerns of millions of small and marginal farmers who fear they may bear the costs of economic transformation without receiving adequate protection or support. That is the central question raised by the protests unfolding across Punjab today. Can India pursue ambitious global economic integration while ensuring that the interests of its agricultural communities are not compromised in the process? Until that question is convincingly answered, the voices emerging from Punjab&#39;s fields are unlikely to fade. If anything, the scale and intensity of the latest mobilization suggest that they are becoming harder to ignore.

India

Indian farmers stage coordinated protests across Punjab against the proposed India-US trade deal, demanding its cancellation and warning that it would undermine small farmers, rural livelihoods, and agricultural markets, while renewing calls for legal MSP guarantees and policy reforms.

Indian farmers are back on the streets protesting India-US trade deal

MANILA: A 6.5-magnitude earthquake struck off the southern Philippines on Friday, the United States Geological Survey said, less than three weeks after a major tremor in the same area left more than 80 people dead. The quake struck at 7:42 pm (1142 GMT) at a depth of 52.4 kilometres (33 miles) in the waters about 35 kilometres southwest of Mindanao island&#39;s Jose Abad Santos town, according to the USGS, which revised the magnitude from an initial 6.7. No tsunami alert was issued. Santa Maria town rescue official Jerson Talahig told AFP there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. &quot;It was kind of strong, but it was quick. We saw the table and some of the lights shaking,&quot; he said. The 7.8-magnitude tremor that hit Mindanao on June 8 brought down buildings, triggered landslides and displaced thousands on the southern island, while also setting off tsunami warnings across the region. The powerful quake forced the seabed upwards by two metres (6.6 feet) on a long stretch of the coast, pushing previously submerged coral above the water and extending the shoreline by as much as 200 metres in a geological phenomenon known as &quot;coastal uplift&quot;. A series of strong aftershocks rocked the area from about two hours after the first quake, including a 6.5 magnitude tremor. As of Friday, the June 8 quake had killed 81 people and injured more than 1,300. Earthquakes are a near-daily occurrence in the Philippines, which is situated on the Pacific &quot;Ring of Fire&quot;, an arc of intense seismic activity stretching from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin. The Cotabato Trench, which lies as close as 50 kilometres (31 miles) off the coast of southern Mindanao, is the site of frequent seismic activity, including a &quot;swarm&quot; of thousands of mostly small earthquakes recorded in January.

Natural Disaster

A 6.5-magnitude earthquake strikes off the southern Philippines, causing shaking but no immediate casualties or tsunami, less than three weeks after a devastating 7.8-magnitude quake killed 81 people and injured more than 1,300.

Magnitude 6.5 quake hits off southern Philippines

From announcing a ceasefire, to initiating direct talks, to the Islamabad MoU - there is only one question on everyone&#39;s mind: how did a country still navigating its own politics and economy become the architect of one of the most important peace processes of the decade? Pakistan TV Digital sat down with Mosharraf Zaidi, spokesperson to the Prime Minister on Foreign Media, to find out. <hr style="box-sizing: border-box; border-width: 1px 0px 0px; border-style: solid; border-color: currentcolor; border-image: initial; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; height: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: Roboto, -apple-system, &quot;system-ui&quot;, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: oklch(0.985 0.002 247.839); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><p style='box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px solid; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: Roboto, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: oklch(0.985 0.002 247.839); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;'><br style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px solid; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: Roboto, -apple-system, &quot;system-ui&quot;, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Arial, sans-serif;">The short answer, according to Zaidi, is that Pakistan stopped thinking small. But the longer answer involves a room full of tension in Switzerland, a Field Marshal who has become one of the most important figures in American foreign policy, all tied together by an argument that Pakistanis have been so conditioned to expect failure that they no longer know how to sit with success. Start with B&uuml;rgenstock. When a photograph of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif circulated from the summit, his face visibly strained, international observers read it as a sign of a process unravelling. Zaidi reads it differently. &quot;I&#39;ve saved that photo. It&#39;s one of my rotating wallpapers,&quot; he said. &quot;That is the face of a man who feels intensely [about] making sure that not one more innocent person has to die.&quot;&nbsp; For Zaidi, the image cuts to the heart of something he is tired of seeing mischaracterised: the idea that Pakistan entered this process as a &ldquo;neutral&rdquo; party. &quot;Pakistan is not neutral,&quot; he said flatly. &quot;Pakistan is very partisan&hellip; toward peace.&quot; Another word he keeps returning to is sincerity. That sincerity, he argues, is what kept two hostile powers at the table when the process looked finished. &quot;Think of it like a hospital ICU. The doctors don&#39;t panic when the monitor beeps. The relatives in the waiting room do. Pakistan&#39;s role was to be the doctors.&quot; When international media reported that Iranian delegates had walked out and the talks were over, the Pakistani delegation did not flinch. &quot;Social media is supposed to almost deify chaos. Our job was not to be reactive.&quot; The principle extended to information itself &mdash; a near-blackout on proceedings, not for secrecy, but because real-time leaks distort negotiations. &quot;The negotiation at 6:41 p.m. is not going to be the negotiation at 7:02 p.m. If you start relaying what was said at 6:42, you are directly affecting what is possible at 7:02.&quot; There is perhaps no cleaner measure of how far Pakistan&#39;s standing has travelled than a single remark by the Vice President of the United States. JD Vance said there are two most important people in his life: the Indian is his wife and the Pakistani Field Marshal Asim Munir is one of them. Zaidi&#39;s explanation is simple. &quot;The relationship is with Pakistan. The Field Marshal is the channel, and it&#39;s a tribute to him that he has that ability.&quot; And it&rsquo;s not just Washington. Zaidi notes that Iranian President Pezeshkian walks with the Prime Minister from the plane to the guard of honour with the same ease that Vance greets the Field Marshal like an old friend. Two countries that cannot be in the same room without a mediator both trust the same mediator, and show it. What Zaidi keeps coming back to is the physical strain of it all - that these men are not at the age where they should be pulling all-nighters, and yet there they are, night after night, shuttling between countries. Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar travelled to China with a broken collarbone. &quot;He did not take ten minutes off,&quot; Zaidi said. &quot;Broken bones are supposed to mean something, but this man did not stop.&quot; And there is one country conspicuously absent from this coalition of trust. Zaidi makes sure to note it. When asked why Pakistan, and not India, is at the centre of this moment, he does not think twice. &quot;Countries that want peace will be engaged in peace processes. Countries that need war to survive will be engaged in provoking wars. And then, when they get beat, running around trying to secure a ceasefire, only to start a new war.&quot; He does not say the name, but waves off the comparison entirely: &quot;It&#39;s like apples and oranges &mdash; except that&#39;s at least two fruits. This is pencils, sharpeners, and socks.&quot; As for what ordinary Pakistanis stand to gain, the answer, he says, is not cheaper oil or trade concessions. &quot;The answer is peace. A war closes space. Peace opens it.&quot; But perhaps the most striking thing Zaidi says has nothing to do with diplomacy or battlefield outcomes. It is a quiet observation about the Pakistani psychological condition. &quot;We&#39;ve been trained over years and years that things can never be better,&quot; he said. &quot;Pakistanis need to learn to feel good about themselves.&quot; May 2025, Islamabad Talks, Islamabad MoU&hellip;none of it, he argues, should feel surprising. It should feel like a beginning. &quot;Think about six thousand days - not sixty. The only way to sustain this momentum is to be relentless.&quot;

Mosharraf Zaidi says Pakistan secures its mediation role through sustained diplomacy, trusted leadership and relentless engagement, keeping US-Iran talks alive, advancing the Islamabad Memorandum, and positioning peace as the country's foremost strategic objective.

How did Pakistan pull off the Islamabad MoU? PM's Spokesperson Mosharraf Zaidi explains

Asfandyar Yahya

ISLAMABAD: Israel sought to draw India more deeply into West Asia&#39;s strategic landscape, but the recent Iran-US conflict instead elevated Pakistan&#39;s regional role, former Israeli peace negotiator Daniel Levy said, arguing that months of diplomacy reshaped geopolitical alignments across the Middle East. His assessment comes as Pakistan and Qatar oversee implementation of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, signed after 110 days of conflict between the United States and Iran.&nbsp; The first round of high-level talks under the agreement concluded in B&uuml;rgenstock, Switzerland, with both sides agreeing on a 60-day roadmap toward a final deal while technical negotiations continue this week. Levy, president of the US/Middle East Project and a former adviser to Israeli prime ministers Yitzhak Rabin and Ehud Barak, made the remarks in an interview with Pakistan TV Digital, describing the diplomatic breakthrough as evidence of a broader shift in regional geopolitics. Watch the full interview here:<div class="fr-embed youtube-embed"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hs9bkxYymkU?si=C61TowTxdiRQrkVx" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen="" style="width: 100%; height: auto; aspect-ratio: 16 / 9; max-width: 100%; display: block;"></iframe>&nbsp;</div> He said the conflict had reordered diplomatic alignments across West Asia, elevating Pakistan&#39;s role while exposing the limits of military solutions. &quot;Israel tried to pull India deeply into the West Asia equation,&quot; Levy told Pakistan TV Digital. &quot;And the events of the last months have now pulled Pakistan more into that equation.&quot; &quot;I think the main takeaway is that the meeting occurred in the context of implementing the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding,&quot; he said. &quot;This happened after 110 days of an ill-conceived war that never should have occurred.&quot; While describing the agreement as fragile, Levy said Pakistan and Qatar had helped create conditions for diplomacy after months of fighting. &quot;This deal is fragile, but the mediation efforts by the state of Pakistan and Qatar have given a basis to try and make it permanent,&quot; he said. &quot;The meeting in Switzerland was primarily about &#39;thickening the thin ice&#39; to prevent the war from resuming.&quot; Pakistan&#39;s growing diplomatic roleLevy said Pakistan&#39;s importance during the crisis stemmed from its ability to maintain dialogue with actors that were often unwilling to engage directly with one another. According to Levy, the conflict demonstrated that influence in the region was no longer determined solely by military or economic strength, but also by the ability to sustain communication across competing political camps. &quot;Pakistan is now on the radar screen in West Asia and the Middle East in ways that it has previously probably not been,&quot; he said. Levy also suggested the conflict had altered regional diplomatic calculations involving India. He argued that Israeli leaders had begun to notice the emergence of new diplomatic channels beyond their traditional partners. &quot;I think Netanyahu began to worry that in the Gulf, in Islamabad, in Ankara, there were a set of relationships being built, which perhaps could have as much access to the ear of the American president as that which comes from Jerusalem and Tel Aviv,&quot; Levy said. Why Washington sought diplomacyLevy argued that the conflict exposed the limits of military pressure after the United States and Israel failed to achieve their objectives through force. &quot;After about 38 to 39 days of active military attack, it became clear that America was heading for a strategic defeat as their war plans weren&#39;t working,&quot; he said. He credited Iran&#39;s asymmetric military strategy with altering the course of the conflict. &quot;Iran conducted effective asymmetric warfare,&quot; Levy said, pointing to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the vulnerability of American military installations across the region. Reflecting on the diplomatic efforts that followed, Levy said Pakistan&#39;s communication channel with Washington proved critical. &quot;Trump was looking for a way out because the US was stuck,&quot; he said. &quot;The active channel between Islamabad and Washington DC was pivotal because it gave Trump a ladder to de-escalate.&quot; According to Levy, domestic political and economic pressures in the United States made a negotiated settlement increasingly attractive as the conflict dragged on. Critique of Israel&#39;s regional strategyLevy was also critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu&#39;s broader regional strategy, arguing that Israel sought to reinforce its position as the dominant security power in the Middle East. &quot;The current Israeli leadership is pursuing a &#39;Greater Israel&#39; project,&quot; he said. According to Levy, Israeli policymakers expected Iran&#39;s response to military action would ultimately strengthen Israel&#39;s strategic position by encouraging Gulf states to rely more heavily on Israeli security guarantees. &quot;They expected Iran to be summarily defeated, which would then force the Gulf states to see Israel as their primary security shield,&quot; Levy said. &quot;This hasn&#39;t worked out.&quot; Instead, he argued, the conflict encouraged greater coordination among regional powers. Levy pointed to meetings involving Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, T&uuml;rkiye and Egypt during the conflict, saying they reflected efforts to build broader regional cooperation outside traditional geopolitical alignments. A fragile path aheadDespite the progress made under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, Levy cautioned that the diplomatic process remained vulnerable. &quot;Every time a deal gets closer, Israel does something to undermine it,&quot; he said, referring to renewed violence in Lebanon during the negotiations. Levy said he believed the political challenges surrounding the agreement were far from over, warning that pro-Israel lobbying remained influential in Washington despite changing political currents. &quot;My fear is that when Americans try to make Israel &#39;happy,&#39; the Palestinians become the punching bag,&quot; he said. Still, Levy argued that the conflict had already altered Pakistan&#39;s place in regional diplomacy. Whether that influence proves lasting will depend on future developments, he said, but Islamabad had already assumed a more prominent place in discussions on the future of West Asia. &quot;Pakistan is now on the radar screen in West Asia and the Middle East in ways that it has previously probably not been.&quot;

Daniel Levy says Pakistan's mediation, alongside Qatar's, helped move the United States and Iran from conflict to negotiations, arguing that the crisis reordered regional diplomacy and elevated Islamabad's role in West Asia.

Ex-Israeli negotiator says Pakistan replaced India in West Asia equation during US-Iran war 

LUCKNOW: Indian police have arrested eight people over allegations of theft and misappropriation of offerings at a temple that has been at the centre of Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s Hindu-first politics, authorities said. The Ram Mandir temple in northern Uttar Pradesh state, built on grounds where the Babri mosque stood for centuries before being torn down by Hindu zealots, was inaugurated in 2024 with great fanfare by Modi himself. Allegations regarding irregularities in the handling of donations led to a criminal case being registered on Thursday, with police arresting eight people, including temple employees, according to a government statement issued late Thursday. Most of them were involved in counting or handling cash and valuables donated by devotees, including gold and silver, media reports said. The government has not disclosed the scale of the alleged embezzlement. Opposition parties and media reports say it could amount to more than $20 million. &quot;It is so shameful that a shrine of such supreme importance is being discussed for all the wrong reasons,&quot; said Viti Saxena, a 44-year-old homemaker who had donated to the temple. &quot;I now wonder if that actually went into the temple coffers or not. It is a matter of global shame now,&quot; Saxena told AFP. &quot;The faith of countless Hindu believers is shaken.&quot; The eight arrested face charges of criminal breach of trust, theft, criminal conspiracy, and corruption, the government statement said. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, whose state government had established the Special Investigation Team looking into the case, was quoted in the statement as having vowed that &quot;no guilty person will be spared&quot;. The construction of the temple cost an estimated $240 million, all of which was sourced entirely from public donations, according to the trust managing the site. Devout Hindus believe that the god Ram was born in the town of Ayodhya -- home to the temple -- more than 7,000 years ago, but that the Babri mosque was built over his birthplace by a 16th-century Muslim emperor. India&#39;s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) -- then in the opposition -- played an instrumental role in public campaigning that eventually led to the mosque&#39;s demolition in 1992. It helped propel Modi&#39;s BJP as an unstoppable electoral juggernaut, eventually displacing the secularist Congress party that had governed India almost without interruption since independence from Britain.

Ram Mandir in India. (File Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Allegations regarding irregularities in the handling of donations led to a criminal case being registered on Thursday, with police arresting eight people, including temple employees; The Ram Mandir temple in northern Uttar Pradesh state, built on grounds where the Babri mosque stood for centuries before being torn down by Hindu zealots, was inaugurated in 2024 with great fanfare by Modi himself.

India arrests staff accused of theft from temple built on Babri mosque

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is enhancing the capacities of all institutions engaged in counter-narcotics efforts, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Friday, as Pakistan marked the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. In a message on X, the prime minister said the government was strengthening relevant institutions and expanding cooperation with provincial governments and international partners to combat narcotics. <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" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2070360954785923080&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=df17462f41081cc10918c7d5255008e33ba30141&theme=light&widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 369px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div> &quot;In collaboration with provincial governments, awareness and prevention programmes in educational institutions are being expanded, while treatment and rehabilitation facilities are being further strengthened,&rdquo; he said. Describing drug abuse and trafficking as a major global challenge, the PM put an emphasis on their &quot;multidimensional human, economic, and social costs&quot; and the &quot;devastating consequences for societies worldwide.&quot; He added that Pakistan was also deepening international cooperation through intelligence sharing, joint operations and regional coordination to counter illicit trafficking networks. Referring to this year&#39;s theme, &quot;World drug problem: Persisting Issues, New Challenges, Innovative responses,&quot; &nbsp;he said it reflected the &quot;grave and evolving nature of the global drug problem.&quot; Pakistan remained &quot;steadfast and fully committed&quot; to tackling threats linked to narcotic drugs, including emerging substances, illicit trafficking networks and the growing availability of drugs, particularly among young people. The statement also stressed the need to strengthen national capacities, improve institutional coordination and expand international cooperation, adding that &quot;only through the complete dismantling of illicit networks can we ensure a safer and more secure society.&quot; Calling the protection of young people a national priority, the prime minister said ensuring drug-free educational institutions was &quot;among the most important steps toward safeguarding future generations.&quot; According to the statement, the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) is continuing efforts to prevent drug trafficking, reduce drug demand, raise public awareness and facilitate treatment and rehabilitation, reflecting what it described as &quot;a balanced and comprehensive strategy to address the drug menace.&quot; The prime minister also paid tribute to ANF personnel who lost their lives in the line of duty. &quot;I pay a special tribute to the brave martyrs of the Anti-Narcotics Force who laid down their lives in service of the nation. Their courage, sacrifice, and unwavering sense of duty remain a source of immense pride for all of us.&quot; He also called on parents, teachers, educational institutions, community leaders, the media and young people to help raise awareness and promote prevention, saying building &quot;a healthy and resilient society&quot; was a shared national responsibility. President pays tribute to front-line workers&nbsp;Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari also marked the day by paying tribute to those involved in efforts to combat drug abuse and trafficking. In his message, the president acknowledged the contributions of law enforcement agencies, healthcare workers, educators, counsellors, and civil society organizations working to address the challenge. &quot;On this day, I pay tribute to all those serving on the front lines of this effort, including law enforcement personnel, healthcare professionals, educators, counsellors, and members of civil society,&quot; he said. &quot;Their dedication contributes significantly to protecting our communities and strengthening our collective response to this challenge.&quot;

FILE: Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) initiates its National Counter Narcotics Campaign in Educational Institutes by launching a holistic Sanitization Campaign in a university of Quetta in 2024 (Photo: X/@anfpak)

Security

Marking the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif pledges stronger international cooperation, expanded awareness programs in educational institutions, improved rehabilitation services, and sustained efforts to dismantle illicit drug trafficking networks.

Articles by Syed Muhammad Zaid