The most revealing votes at the United Nations are often the ones cast in silence. When the General Assembly convened on June 3 in New York to elect the next slate of non?permanent members to the Security Council, there was no dramatic denunciation of Berlin, no public reprimand, no veto and no visible rupture. However, […]
Bangladesh Takes the Gavel in a Divided UN
New York was in one of its kinder June moods on Tuesday, as delegates gathered under the high ceiling of the General Assembly hall and the familiar wooden gavel waited on a table to be claimed. When the vote was announced – 99 for Bangladesh’s Khalilur Rahman, 91 for Cyprus’s Andreas Kakouris- the General Assembly […]
Pakistan urges stronger UN mediation as ‘first line of defence’
Pakistan on Monday called on the international community to treat mediation as the first line of defence against war, saying delayed diplomacy and neglected disputes often turn political crises into conflicts that consume lives, regions and generations. Speaking during a UN General Assembly debate on strengthening mediation in the peaceful settlement of disputes, Pakistan’s Permanent […]
Iran asks Pakistan to keep mediation channel open as US talks stall
Iran has asked Pakistan to use diplomacy to reduce regional tensions after Tehran suspended exchanges with the United States in protest over Israel’s widening military operations in Lebanon, officials and Iranian media said on Monday. The request was conveyed during a telephone call between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign […]
Trump says Iran wants a deal, but Washington splits on war or peace
President Donald Trump insists that the Islamic Republic “really wants to make a deal” with the United States and that any agreement “will be a good one for the U.S.A. and those that are with us”. He urged critics to “sit back and relax” and complained that political “chirping” from Democrats and some Republicans made […]
US defence chief walks back Pakistan missile threat claim
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has publicly distanced himself from a previous intelligence assessment that named Pakistan’s long range ballistic missile programme as a potential threat to the American homeland, saying Washington is “not pointing a finger” at either India or Pakistan and is instead grateful for their recent roles in peace efforts. During a […]
The Afghan Faultline Returns
On May 27, 2025, Moscow and Kabul announced that they had signed a military?technical cooperation pact–the first formal step since Russia recognised the Taliban regime almost a year ago after removing it from the list of banned terrorist groups. Interestingly, around the same time, Pakistan’s deputy premier and foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, en route to […]
Dar draws Palestine red line after Rubio praises Pakistan’s Iran role
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar used his first Washington visit since Pakistan took up shuttle mediation between Washington and Tehran to restate what he called Islamabad’s “clear and consistent” policy on Palestine. Speaking to Pakistani journalists after meeting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, he reiterated that there would be no change […]
No new taxes, but tougher net for untaxed sectors
The federal government’s pre-budget signal that it will avoid imposing new taxes in 2026-27 is being read by officials, businesses and market analysts as an attempt to protect compliant taxpayers while shifting the revenue effort toward enforcement, documentation and sectors that have long remained outside the formal net. Federal Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb has […]
Dar urges diplomacy on Iran crisis at UNSC
Pakistan on Tuesday urged the UN Security Council to prevent another prolonged conflict in the Middle East, with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar warning that any confrontation around Iran would endanger regional peace, energy flows and the international order. Speaking at a debate convened by China on the UN Charter and the […]