The new defense pact between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is less about troop deployments and more about geopolitics. By vowing to treat an attack on either as an attack on both, the two countries have signaled a shift in the balance of power across the Muslim heartland. For Riyadh, the agreement diversifies security beyond the […]
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have signed a mutual defense agreement that analysts say could reshape security in the Gulf, reflecting growing frustration with the United States. The Sept. 17 pact commits the two countries to treat any attack on one as an attack on both. The deal was announced days after an Israeli strike in […]
Pakistan’s security forces killed 17 “India-sponsored” militants during an intelligence-based operation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lakki Marwat district, the military said Saturday. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said troops launched the overnight raid after confirming the presence of fighters from Fitna al Khwarij, a term the state uses for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Weapons and […]
Pakistan has moved to shut down 16 Afghan refugee camps in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Punjab as the repatriation of more than 1.3 million Afghans continues. The Ministry of States and Frontier Regions issued notifications on Sept. 25 denotifying camps in Haripur, Chitral and Upper Dir in KP; Chaghai, Loralai, Killa Saifullah, Pishin and Quetta […]
At least 36 people, including eight children and 16 women, were killed Saturday when a stampede broke out at a political rally for actor-turned-politician Vijay in Karur, Tamil Nadu, officials said. More than 58 others were injured, with dozens hospitalized. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin announced 1 million rupees ($120,000) in compensation for each victim’s family […]
Floods and heavy monsoon rains have affected more than 4.2 million people in Punjab province, displacing nearly 2.8 million and leaving at least 1,000 dead, Pakistani officials and U.N. agencies said this week. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif doubled compensation for families of victims to 2 million rupees (about $7,140), raising the total cost of the […]
At the United Nations, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif extended what he called a “sincere serious offer” for dialogue with India on all outstanding issues, declaring: “Pakistan stands ready for a composite, comprehensive and result-oriented dialogue with India.” It is an appeal New Delhi should not ignore. For more than seventy years, the dispute over Kashmir […]
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif used his address to the U.N. General Assembly on Friday to signal a willingness to reset relations with India, offering dialogue after months of heightened tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors. Referring to May’s four-day confrontation that saw airstrikes, missile exchanges, and a U.S.-brokered ceasefire, Sharif said Pakistan had responded […]
President Donald Trump hosted Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the White House Thursday, underscoring improved ties between Washington and Islamabad. Relations have warmed as Trump’s once close partnership with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has cooled, largely over India’s discounted Russian oil purchases after Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Trump has responded by raising […]
Electric vehicles, once viewed as luxury novelties, are steadily making their way onto Dhaka’s crowded streets. More than 500 EVs have been registered with the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority since September 2022, when official registration began. Annual registrations have jumped from about 70 in 2023 to well over 300 this year, officials said. Global carmakers […]
