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Pakistan's Foreign Office has clarified that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's recent remarks to Deputy PM Ishaq Dar regarding mediation efforts between the US and Iran were misrepresented in media reports. The clarification comes after Xinhua reported Wang urged Pakistan to 'step up' its mediation role, while Islamabad insists the call was held with 'traditional warmth and cordiality.'
Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, following US-Israeli strikes on Iran, are driving up food and fertiliser costs and could push tens of millions more people into hunger, according to UN warnings and expert analysis. Asia is particularly exposed, with heavy reliance on Gulf fertiliser exports and energy supplies.
At Shanghai Cooperation Organization meetings, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu said Russian forces are advancing along the entire engagement line in Ukraine and that the Kiev regime lacks political will for peace. He also called for preventing renewed conflict around Iran, welcomed a Pakistan-brokered ceasefire, and condemned Western freezes of nearly $590 billion in assets belonging to Russia and other states.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called for transforming Pakistan into an economic power, speaking at a federal cabinet meeting on the anniversary of the country's 1998 nuclear tests. He paid tribute to key figures behind the nuclear program and highlighted the challenges posed by the Middle East conflict.
Pakistan's Ministry of Finance has dismissed as 'misleading' and 'factually incorrect' a report suggesting Deputy PM Ishaq Dar was given control of the budget process. The ministry clarified that a high-level committee led by Dar is only reviewing tax proposals, with Finance Minister Aurangzeb still central to the process.
Pakistan's 27th Constitutional Amendment created the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), which claims exclusive constitutional jurisdiction. The Supreme Court, in a recent ruling by Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, declared the two courts as coordinate, not hierarchical. Meanwhile, the FCC has granted its employees salaries and benefits exceeding those of the Supreme Court, fueling debate over judicial precedence and resource allocation.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has called for urgent action over the captivity of Pakistani crew members aboard the MT Honour 25, seized by Somali pirates in April. Families protested in Karachi, reporting deteriorating conditions onboard. Pakistan's Foreign Office says it is in contact with Somali authorities.
A major was among five soldiers killed during an operation in Balochistan's Barkhan district, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations. At least seven terrorists were also killed. Dawn and The Hindu report on the operation and its context.
Iran has expanded its declared control zone in the Strait of Hormuz to a 'vast operational area' stretching up to 300 miles, according to a senior IRGC Navy officer. The move follows a US naval blockade imposed in April and a short-lived US effort to assist shipping. The expansion could affect global oil and LNG transit through one of the world's most critical chokepoints.
President Asif Ali Zardari has approved the posthumous award of Sitara-i-Shujaat to Muhammad Liaqat Ali, a railway employee who died while intercepting a suspected suicide attacker in Attock. The incident, which occurred near a security post on the Punjab-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa border, was hailed by officials as an act of extraordinary bravery that prevented loss of life. The award was conferred upon Liaqat's mother at a ceremony in Islamabad.
A UN Security Council draft resolution, co-drafted by Gulf states and the US, has gained 112 co-sponsors, demanding Iran halt attacks and ensure freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. The move underscores global concern, though China and Russia have reservations.
Pakistan's interior ministry has directed the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency to investigate the alleged leak of Cambridge exam papers, following confirmed leaks of an AS-level Mathematics paper and reports of another leak. Officials and parents express concern over exam integrity, while Cambridge says it is investigating.
US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping held two hours of talks in Beijing, with Taiwan, tariffs, rare earths, and the Middle East on the agenda. Xi emphasized Taiwan as the most important issue in bilateral relations, while analysts note the US enters from a vulnerable position. The visit is the first by a US president since 2017, with expectations of a state banquet but reduced pomp.
Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui said in an interview with TASS that recent developments, including US-Iran talks, present real opportunities for peace in the Middle East. He also detailed China and Russia's cooperation at the UN Security Council on regional matters.
Pakistan rejected reports that it sheltered Iranian military aircraft from US strikes, while President Trump praised Islamabad's mediation role. The denials come as a US-brokered ceasefire appears fragile, and a US senator calls for reconsidering Pakistan's mediator status.
US President Donald Trump has publicly backed Pakistan’s continued role mediating between Washington and Tehran, praising Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Asim Munir. The endorsement came hours after Senator Lindsey Graham voiced distrust of Islamabad over a CBS News report alleging Iranian military aircraft may be parked on Pakistani airfields.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders and the sisters of incarcerated founder Imran Khan were again denied meetings with him at Adiala jail, prompting threats of sit-ins and a broader movement. The party also criticized the government over human rights and the secret hospital transfer of Bushra Bibi, while a human rights commission report highlighted deteriorating conditions.
Pakistan's Foreign Ministry has denied CBS News reports that it allowed Iranian military aircraft to use its bases for protection against potential US strikes, calling them 'misleading and sensationalised.' The ministry says the aircraft arrived after the ceasefire to facilitate diplomatic talks, not for military contingencies.
The Islamabad High Court has issued notices to the Capital Development Authority and restrained it from dispossessing residents of the One Constitution Avenue project while hearing intra-court appeals filed by apartment owners and the Bank of Punjab against a single-bench verdict that upheld the lease cancellation. The court sought responses from CDA and will continue hearings, with residents' counsel arguing that bona fide purchasers should not suffer due to the builder's default.
A bomb hidden on a rickshaw exploded in a crowded bazaar in Lakki Marwat, northwest Pakistan, killing at least nine people and wounding more than two dozen. The Pakistani Taliban denied involvement, though the attack comes amid a wave of recent militant violence and heightened tensions with Afghanistan.