Trump seeks tougher terms on Iran’s uranium stockpile, sending negotiators back to table

ISLAMABAD: US President Donald Trump has sent his negotiators back to the table with Iran after rejecting the draft terms of a potential ceasefire deal, demanding stronger language on the disposal of Tehran’s enriched uranium stockpile and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz — in a move that risks prolonging one of the most dangerous standoffs the Middle East has seen in years.

Read more

FBR heads for Rs1 trillion shortfall as Iran war, Eid holiday squeeze collections

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue is careening toward a revenue shortfall of close to Rs1 trillion by fiscal year-end, with the tax authority needing to collect an extraordinary Rs2.75 trillion in June alone to meet its downward-revised annual target — a sum that officials privately concede is out of reach.

Read more

Hegseth hails Pakistan as a ‘true friend,’ crediting Islamabad’s hand in Iran talks

ISLAMABAD: US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Saturday that an unlikely and deepening partnership has taken hold between the United States and Pakistan, crediting Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir with helping steer Washington and Tehran toward a fragile but still-tenuous peace.

Read more

The Isolation That Backfired: Narendra Modi’s Most Consequential Foreign Policy Failure

It was September 2016, dusk settling over Kerala, when Narendra Modi made the kind of promise that sounds powerful from a lectern and haunts a legacy for years. Thumping his fist, addressing thousands of supporters, India’s prime minister turned directly toward Pakistan and issued a declaration that would come to define not just his foreign policy but its ultimate verdict. “India has been successful in isolating you,” he said, “and we will intensify those efforts. We will make sure that you are isolated around the world.”

Read more

Pakistan rules out Israel ties without Palestinian state, defying Trump’s Abraham Accords push

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will not normalise relations with Israel unless an independent Palestinian state is established, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Friday, rebuffing pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to expand the Abraham Accords as part of a broader Middle East peace settlement.

Read more

Trump convenes Situation Room meeting on Iran as Tehran disputes terms of any agreement

ISLAMABAD: US President Trump convened an emergency meeting in the White House Situation Room on Friday to weigh what he described as a sweeping agreement with Iran — one that would demand Tehran permanently renounce nuclear weapons, reopen the Strait of Hormuz to unrestricted shipping, and allow American forces to unearth and destroy the Islamic Republic’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

Read more

Pakistan sets June 5 budget session with IMF targets and regional risks in focus

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday summoned both houses of Parliament to convene next week for the annual federal budget session, launching what is expected to be one of the most closely watched fiscal exercises in years as Pakistan balances International Monetary Fund demands, lingering economic fragility, and fresh uncertainty from the US-Iran conflict.

Read more