US President Donald Trump on Thursday tied approval of a newly-signed civilian nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia to the kingdom joining the Abraham Accords, reviving a political condition absent from his administration’s announcement just a day earlier. “The Civil Nuclear Deal (There will be no enrichment of material!) being made between the United States Department […]
The Indus Red Line
The most dangerous consequence of India placing the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance will probably not be a dry riverbed appearing across Pakistan tomorrow morning. New Delhi lacks the reservoirs, canals and diversion works required to stop the western rivers at will. The nearer danger is the disappearance of predictability: water passing through the territory […]
US troop deaths may push Iran conflict towards a wider war
The deaths of two American service members in an Iranian missile-and-drone assault in Jordan on Friday have altered the grammar of a conflict Washington and Tehran still describe as limited. A third remains missing, while the US toll has risen to 16 dead and more than 420 wounded. Washington answered with an eighth consecutive night […]
Toxic wildfire smoke clouds World Cup final
Smoke from Canadian wildfires blanketed the northeastern US in a dystopian haze on Saturday, turning the air acrid, the sky yellowish-grey and prompting health warnings on the eve of the FIFA World Cup final. The marquee match, pitting Argentina against Spain, will be played on Sunday at the open-air MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New […]
What’s in a Name? Rivers, Nations and the Indus Civilisation (Part II)
RECAP: Part I discussed how unstable modern claims become when ancient geographical terms are treated as national property. More shatteringly for hardliners sitting in New Delhi, the names India, Hindu and Hindustan all trace, through Persian and Greek transformations, to Sindhu, the ancient name of the Indus–a river that flows mostly through Pakistan. It goes […]
US Congressman gives Islamabad’s diplomacy ‘A-plus’ at Mango Festival
Republican Congressman Ryan Zinke has described Pakistan-US relations as being at their strongest point, using the much-anticipated annual Mango Festival hosted by Pakistan’s Embassy in Washington DC to offer an unusually emphatic endorsement of the expanding diplomatic engagement between Islamabad and Washington. “The relationship between the United States government and Pakistan, in my opinion, has […]
What’s in a Name? Rivers, Nations and the Indus Civilisation (Part I)
A country does not usually discover a new name on social media. Yet for the last few days, a suggestion by Pakistani history communicator Faisal Warraich turned into something larger than a branding exercise. Warraich proposed that Pakistan consider “Indus” as an alternative civilisational name – not necessarily a replacement for Pakistan, but a way […]
UN chief praises Pakistan’s peace efforts
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres appreciated Pakistan’s efforts for promoting peace during a meeting with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, officials said on Thursday. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the fifth UN Chiefs of Police Summit, known as UNCOPS 2026, which brought together ministers, police chiefs and senior law-enforcement officials to discuss international […]
US charges Indian gangster Bishnoi over Nijjar murder
The United States has charged imprisoned Indian gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his North American deputy with ordering the murder of Canadian Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in a sweeping crackdown on India-based organised crime networks operating across the US, Canada and Europe. A federal indictment unsealed in Los Angeles alleges that Bishnoi and Satinderjeet […]
Islamabad in focus for next US-Iran round
Pakistan is preparing to receive a high-level Iranian delegation in the coming days in a visit that diplomats say could pave the way for Islamabad to host the next round of indirect talks between Tehran and Washington as both sides try to keep a fragile diplomatic track alive after weeks of tension. Iran’s interior minister, […]