ZEESHAN AFZAL

  Pakistan sets modest goal for US-Iran summit: A deal to keep talks going US-Iran talks open in Islamabad with mediators focused on keeping dialogue alive amid deep divisions. By Abid Hussain | 10 Apr 2026 Islamabad, Pakistan – With key differences in the Iranian and American positions seemingly intact, Pakistan is aiming for what officials describe as a realistic – if modest – outcome from the negotiations between the two warring nations set to commence in Islamabad on Saturday. The aim: to get the United States and Iranian negotiators to find enough common ground to continue talks. On Friday, US Vice President JD Vance left Washington for Islamabad, where he will lead the American team, which will also consist of President Donald Trump’s chief negotiator Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner. While Iran has not formally confirmed its representatives at the talks, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf are expected to lead Tehran’s t...

Pakistan's diplomatic influence US-Iran truce seen as example of sustained diplomacy shaping geopolitical outcomes By Muhammad Omar Iftikhar | Published April 10, 2026 In an increasingly polarised global order, middle powers often find themselves overshadowed in high-stakes conflicts. Yet recent developments surrounding the US-Iran ceasefire bring to the fore Pakistan's role as a mediator. Among major powers in both the East and the West, it was Islamabad that rose to the occasion and exercised its strategic influence. This was achieved through calibrated diplomacy and effective adaptation to the evolving situation. The truce between Washington and Tehran, once considered an impossibility, also serves as a case study in how geopolitical positioning and sustained engagement can shape outcomes. Pakistan’s involvement may seem surprising. It does not hold the status of a global superpower, nor was it a direct party to the conflict. However, this assumption overlooks an important ...

Pakistan vows all-out support to US and Iran for peacefully resolving Mideast conflict PM Shehbaz, CDF Munir stress the need for maintaining peace and ceasefire by all parties, says PMO statement By Ayaz Akbar Yousafzai | Published April 09, 2026 Field Marshal Asim Munir calls on PM Shehbaz at PMO. PM, COAS express satisfaction over de-escalation in ME conflict. Lebanon seeks Pakistan's support to stop Israeli attacks. Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to facilitate and provide all-out support to the US and Iran to arrive at a peacefully negotiated settlement. The resolve came after Field Marshal Munir called on PM Shehbaz at the Prime Minister's Office in Islamabad, according to an official statement issued on Thursday. The dignitaries reviewed the progress of Pakistan’s mediation efforts to achieve sustainable peace in the region, the statement said, adding th...

  زرخیز زمین کے زرخیز ذہن دو اقتصادی ماہر ٫ دو کامیاب وزیر خارجہ محمد منیرالدین یہ پہلا موقع نہیں ہے کہ مسلم لیگ ( ن ) کی حکومت نے اپنے ایک معاشی ماہر کو امور خارجہ کے شعبہ میں آزمایا ہو وہ اسحاق ڈار سے قبل ایسا ہی تجربہ سرتاج عزیز کی شکل میں بھی کرچکی ہے اور دونوں مرتبہ اس کے اکنامک مینجر خارجہ امور کے شعبہ میں ناکام ثابت نہیں ہوئے بلکہ انہوں نے توقع سے بڑھ کر اچھی کارکردگی کامظاہرہ کیا- ۔ اسحاق ڈار ایک بڑے عالمی تنازع کے موقع پر پاکستانی وزرات خارجہ کی باگ ڈور سنبھالے ہوئے ہیں ۔ ان کی بنیادی وجہ شہرت اگرچہ ایک اقتصادی ماہر کی رہی ہے لیکن عالمی سفارت کاری کے حوالے سے ان کی کارکردگی کو ملکی اور بین الاقوامی سطح پرکافی سراہا جارہا ہے ۔ کئی مواقع پر وزرات خارجہ بہت سے لوگوں کے لئے عالمی رہنماوٴں سے تعارف اور ان کی انفرادی ترقی کا موثر ذریعہ ثابت ہوتی رہی ہے ۔ پیپلز پارٹی کے بانی چیئرمین شہید ذوالفقار علی بھٹو بھی عملی سیاست میں قدم رکھنے سے قبل ملک کے وزیر خارجہ تھے ۔ شہید بھٹو کے بعد ان کے نواسے بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے بھی پی ڈی ای...

  Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb today held a virtual meeting with a group of representatives from the electric fan industry, led by members of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) and Pakistan Electric Fan Manufacturers Association (PEFMA), to discuss sectoral challenges, export potential, and avenues for policy support. Welcoming the participants, the Finance Minister recalled his recent engagement with the business community at FPCCI Lahore and reiterated the Government’s commitment to undertaking focused consultations with individual sectors to better understand their operational landscape and support their growth. The group provided an overview of the structure and economic significance of the fan industry, highlighting that it is a fully indigenous manufacturing sector with around 300 manufacturers concentrated in Gujrat and Gujranwala. The industry contributes significantly to employment, with approximately...

  Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan , their borders as merely historical lines on a map. In summary Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan can no longer afford to treat their borders as merely historical lines on a map. In 2026, these borders are pressure points for war spillover, militancy, migration, trade disruption, and climate stress. The future of the region depends on whether these states continue reacting to crises separately, or begin managing them together. Stability will not come from slogans or old grievances. It will come from structured security cooperation, protected trade, humane migration management, and serious regional diplomacy. Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan sit in one of the world’s most sensitive strategic corridors, linking the Middle East, Central Asia, and South Asia. Geography has always tied them together, but the regional environment has changed sharply. What was once a difficult neighbourhood has now become a high-risk geopolitical zone shaped by war spillove...

NASA Answers Your Most Pressing Artemis II Questions , Editor’s Note: This article was updated at 1:40 p.m. EDT on Sunday, April 5, 2026, to correct the time for the distance record, and adjust other times for lunar flyby activities. The first crewed test flight under NASA’s Artemis program is underway. Four Artemis II astronauts are flying aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft around the Moon and back, as they test how the spacecraft’s systems operate in a deep space environment. NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen lifted off at 6:35 p.m. EDT on April 1 from launch pad 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Real-time coverage continues throughout the mission on NASA’s YouTube channel. The agency also provides a separate live stream of views from the Orion spacecraft as bandwidth allows, as well as inside the capsule. In addition NASA is providing the latest mission imagery online. Daily mission...

Donald Trump’s Case for War Fails to Mention How to Win It . The President poses an existential question: Can everything be going according to the plan with Iran if there is no plan? | Susan B. Glasser | A month ago, when Donald Trump pitched the United States into a war against Iran, he announced the decision to the American people in a brief eight-minute video, which was sent out over social media, in the dead of night, on a weekend. On Wednesday evening, with the conflict he unleashed having upended the global economy and having failed to dislodge the Iranian government that he initially vowed to topple, Trump finally made his case to the public in a prime-time address to the nation. He might as well not have bothered. In the end, the best thing that can be said about the speech was that Trump did not follow through on his threat, made earlier that day, to withdraw the United States from nato. But there was little news about a conflict that now seems likely to continue for at l...

  The head of Türkiye's National Intelligence Organization warned Saturday that the ongoing war involving Israel, the US, and Iran risks escalating into a wider global crisis if it continues, Anadolu reports. Speaking at the Stratcom Summit 2026 in Istanbul, Ibrahim Kalin said: "Since the pandemic, our world has been going through many critical thresholds, crises, and ruptures.” The Russia-Ukraine war that began in 2022 recently entered its fifth year and there is still no clear picture of how it will end, he said. Kalin also said the consequences of the war that began on Oct. 7, 2023 between Israel and Palestinian resistance group Hamas continue to be felt. "While efforts to realize peace in Gaza continue, Israel’s violations and its policies of occupation and annexation continue without interruption," he said. On developments in the region, Kalin said the 12-day Israel-Iran war last June tested the conditions of the current Iran conflict. "We are currently in ...

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, held a meeting today at the Finance Division with a high-level delegation from VEON led by Mr. Kaan Terzioğlu, Group CEO of VEON. The delegation also included Mr. Aamir Ibrahim, CEO of Jazz, and Mr. Syed Zaheer Mehdi, Chief Corporate & Regulatory Officer, Jazz. At the outset, the Finance Minister warmly welcomed Mr. Terzioğlu and appreciated his visit to Pakistan. Mr. Terzioğlu congratulated the Finance Minister and the Government of Pakistan on the successful completion of the recent multiband spectrum auction and acknowledged the country’s improving macroeconomic stability. During the meeting, the Finance Minister highlighted that the spectrum auction was conducted through a transparent and consultative process, balancing pricing considerations with the need to foster a sustainable telecom ecosystem. He emphasized that the outcome represents a “win-win-win” for all stakeholders, particularly benefiting the citi...