ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif touched down in Jeddah on Thursday evening at the start of a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia, arriving alongside Chief of Defence Forces and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir for talks expected to centre on the kingdom’s deepening security partnership with Islamabad.
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US and Iran edge towards Hormuz deal despite deep mistrust
ISLAMABAD: President Donald Trump said the United States and Iran had held “very good discussions” during all-day negotiations on Tuesday, as diplomats inched towards a deal that could finally reopen the Strait of Hormuz after five months of war have throttled a fifth of the world’s oil and gas trade.
US and Iran ‘close to deal’ on Hormuz — but strait still burns
ISLAMABAD: Oil prices tumbled on hopes of a breakthrough in the stand-off over the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, even as the vital waterway remained shut to shipping and a Greek-operated bulk carrier was hit by an unidentified projectile, forcing its crew to abandon ship with one seafarer missing.
Iran insists Pakistan remains lead mediator with US, as Trump threatens Tehran with ‘total surrender’
ISLAMABAD: Iran on Monday moved to quash speculation that China had stepped in as a mediator with the United States, insisting that Pakistan remains the principal channel for indirect contacts between Tehran and Washington, even as President Donald Trump accused the Islamic Republic of “duplicity” for denying that talks were taking place.
At least 14 killed as suicide bomber strikes Swat police station during anti-terror protest
SWAT: At least 14 people were killed and dozens more wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the gate of a police station in Swat Valley on Sunday, in an attack that struck as hundreds gathered nearby to protest against a resurgence of militant violence in the district.
July marks decade-high in Pakistan militant deaths as security forces suffer heaviest losses since 2023
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan suffered its bloodiest month of the year in July, with 112 security personnel and 401 militants killed in fighting that has engulfed the country’s restive north-west and south-west, according to new figures from an Islamabad-based security think tank.
Minister Naqvi’s call to redraw Pakistan’s provincial map splits coalition and sparks constitutional row
ISLAMABAD: A proposal by Pakistan’s interior minister to tear up the country’s administrative map has plunged the governing coalition into open disagreement, drawn a blunt rebuff from the chief minister of Sindh, and prompted lawyers in Lahore to accuse the minister of proposing something the constitution does not allow.
US and Saudi Arabia strike Iran-backed militias in Iraq as Tehran fires on American bases
ISLAMABAD: The United States and Saudi Arabia carried out joint air strikes against Iran-backed militias in Iraq on Wednesday, hours after Iran fired missiles at American forces in the region, shattering a fragile lull in a conflict that has unsettled the Middle East and rattled global oil markets for months.
Trump says Iran talks ‘going well’ but warns bridges and power plants remain targets
ISLAMABAD: US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that talks between Washington and Tehran were “going well”, even as he repeated a threat to destroy Iran’s power stations and bridges within hours if the two sides fail to reach a lasting agreement, hours before sitting down with Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House for the first time since the war between Israel, the US and Iran began.
US holds fire on Iran as Trump dangles diplomacy – and a warning
ISLAMABAD: Donald Trump said on Monday that the United States was engaged in “good talks” with Iran and believed there was a genuine chance of a deal to end their five-month conflict, even as he warned that American air strikes would resume within days if negotiations collapsed.