Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Navy and the Chinese People&#39;s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy concluded &#39;Sea Guardian IV&#39; exercise, held from March 25 to April 1, 2026, to enhance interoperability and maritime cooperation, the military&rsquo;s media wing said on Wednesday.&nbsp;&ldquo;The exercise concluded with a coordinated patrol in the Arabian Sea, reaffirming both navies&rsquo; commitment to regional maritime security and stability,&rdquo; according to the ISPR.&nbsp;The exercise included air defense drills against multi-domain swarm threats, submarine operations with the Pakistan Navy, conventional war-at-sea exercises, and live gunnery firing to enhance operational and tactical coordination.&nbsp;During the port visit, PLA Navy Ship &#39;DAQING&#39; was welcomed by PNS TAIMUR, with activities including exchange visits, naval orientations, professional discussions, and a maiden Young Officers Seminar.&nbsp;&ldquo;The exercise included a five-day port phase in Karachi and a two-day sea phase in the North Arabian Sea,&rdquo; it concluded.

Security

Pakistan and China concluded the seven-day Sea Guardian IV exercise, featuring coordinated Arabian Sea patrols, air defense drills, submarine operations, gunnery firing, and a port visit, enhancing interoperability, maritime cooperation, and regional security.

Pakistan, China conclude ‘Sea Guardian IV’ exercise enhancing maritime cooperation

Web Desk/AFP

This live blog follows updates for Day 34 of the US-Israeli war on Iran. For a recap of Day 33, go <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/usisrael-war-on-iran-day-33" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a><hr><ul style="list-style-type: square;"><li id="isPasted">Iran says US making &#39;maximalist and irrational&#39; demands: Iranian media</li><li>Trump claim that Iran asked for ceasefire &#39;false&#39;: state TV</li><li>Former Iran foreign minister badly wounded in strike: reports</li><li>Iranians vow to &#39;resist until the end&#39; at Guards naval chief&#39;s funeral</li><li>US-Israeli strikes hit steel complexes in central, southwest Iran: media &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</li></ul><hr>&nbsp;Trump says US objectives in Iran &#39;nearing completion&#39;Published April 2, 2026 | 01:18 GMT&nbsp;President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the United States is &quot;nearing completion&quot; of its objectives in the war against Iran and hailed American forces for scoring &quot;overwhelming victories&quot; in the conflict.&nbsp;&quot;Tonight, I&#39;m pleased to say that these core strategic objectives are nearing completion,&quot; Trump said in his first prime-time address since the start of the conflict in late February.&nbsp;&quot;In these past four weeks, our armed forces have delivered swift, decisive, overwhelming victories on the battlefield -- victories like few people have ever seen before,&quot; he said.&nbsp;UAE says air defenses responding to missiles, dronesPublished April 2, 2026 | 00:55 GMT Emirati air defenses were responding to missile and drone &quot;threats&quot; on Thursday, the United Arab Emirates&#39; defense ministry said.&nbsp;&quot;UAE air defenses... are actively engaging with missiles and UAV threats,&quot; the ministry said in a post on X, providing no details about where the projectiles had originated.&nbsp;Iranians vow to &#39;resist until the end&#39; at Guards naval chief&#39;s funeralPublished April 1, 2026 | 19:10 GMT&nbsp;Thousands of Iranians gathered Wednesday in Tehran for the funeral of the Revolutionary Guards&#39; naval commander, killed in an Israeli strike, with mourners vowing to fight to the end despite tough talk from Washington.&nbsp;The procession took place on the 47th anniversary of the Islamic republic, proclaimed on April 1, 1979, after the revolution that overthrew the last shah and ended more than 2,500 years of monarchy.&nbsp;&quot;This war has lasted a month. However long it takes, we will continue,&quot; said Moussa Nowruzi, a 57-year-old pensioner.&nbsp;&quot;We will resist until the end.&quot;

Americas

Middle East

US President Donald Trump says the US is “nearing completion” of its objectives in the conflict with Iran, praising American forces for delivering swift, decisive, and overwhelming victories.

Trump says US objectives in Iran 'nearing completion'

UNITED STATES:&nbsp;&nbsp;Four astronauts blasted off aboard a massive NASA rocket Wednesday on a long-anticipated journey around the Moon, the first crewed lunar flyby in more than 50 years.&nbsp;With an intense roar that reverberated far beyond the launchpad, the enormous orange-and-white rocket carried three Americans and one Canadian away from Florida&#39;s Kennedy Space Center at approximately 6:35 pm local time.&nbsp;During final checks before Artemis 2 was deemed a go for launch, astronauts gave brief words: &quot;We are going for all humanity,&quot; said the Canadian aboard, Jeremy Hansen.&nbsp;Artemis launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson then addressed the astronauts directly.&nbsp;&quot;Reid, Victor, Christina and Jeremy: On this historic mission, you take with you the heart of this Artemis team, the daring spirit of the American people and our partners across the globe, and the hopes and dreams of a new generation. Good luck. God speed Artemis 2. Let&#39;s go,&quot; she said.&nbsp;The team, who donned bright orange suits with blue trim as they blasted off, includes Americans Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch along with Canadian Hansen.&nbsp;&quot;We have a beautiful moonrise. We&#39;re headed right at it,&quot; said Wiseman, the mission commander.&nbsp;Shortly after launch they successfully entered Earth&#39;s orbit, where they will remain while performing various checks to ensure the reliability and safety of a spacecraft that has never carried humans before.&nbsp;They will also test its manual piloting capabilities during docking simulations.&nbsp;If all goes well, they are expected to venture forth on Thursday on a loop around the Moon, which is expected to take about three days.&nbsp;The voyage should last approximately 10 days in total.&nbsp;&quot;This was amazing,&quot; said Sian Proctor, an American scientist who participated in a 2021 space mission and ventured to Florida&#39;s Space Coast, where local authorities said around 400,000 people were watching.&nbsp;&quot;I&#39;m just so happy that we&#39;re going back to the Moon, and everybody should be excited and be following the next 10 days, because this is a big step for humanity,&quot; Proctor said.&nbsp;The flight is to pave the way for a Moon landing in 2028.

Artificial Intelligence

NASA's Artemis 2 mission launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, carrying three Americans and one Canadian on the first crewed lunar flyby in over 50 years.

NASA's Artemis 2 crewed lunar mission takes off

WASHINGTON: The fourth and final phase of ticket sales for the 2026 World Cup in North America began on Wednesday, FIFA announced.&nbsp;The phase for the June 11&ndash;July 19 event in the United States, Mexico and Canada involves more than three million tickets.&nbsp;This &quot;last-minute&quot; sales phase opened at 1500 GMT on the official website, FIFA.com/tickets, the global governing body stated in a press release.&nbsp;Tickets are being sold on a &quot;first-come, first-served&quot; basis and will remain available until the end of the competition on July 19, it added.&nbsp;Tickets will be released for sale on a rolling basis -- including, on occasion, for matches taking place on the very same day, according to FIFA.&nbsp;At the scheduled time, prospective buyers were directed to a &quot;waiting&quot; page to &quot;queue&quot; while awaiting access to the site, a wait that could last several hours.&nbsp;&quot;A countdown will appear before you can enter the ticket sales phase. Once the countdown is over, an &#39;Enter&#39; button will be available for 5 minutes. Click it to access,&quot; instructions specify.&nbsp;In total, nearly seven million tickets are being offered for the competition, taking into account the capacities of the 16 stadiums hosting the global tournament.&nbsp;More than three million of these tickets have already been sold during the first three sales phases -- including over one million during the random selection draw phase alone (held in January and February), which received 500 million requests, according to FIFA.&nbsp;The global governing body is likely to break the all-time record of 3.5 million tickets sold for a World Cup -- a mark set during the 1994 edition.

Football

FIFA launched the final ticket sales phase for the 2026 World Cup, offering over three million tickets on a first-come, first-served basis. Controversy surrounds high prices, resale practices, and complaints filed with the European Commission.

Final ticket sales phase begins for FIFA World Cup

TEHRAN: Iran&#39;s president asked the people of the United States if the Middle East conflict was truly putting &quot;America First&quot;, saying the US committed war crimes and being influenced by Israel ahead of a much-anticipated address by Donald Trump.&nbsp;Sparked by a US-Israeli offensive launched against Iran on February 28, the war has rippled across the Middle East, creating global economic turmoil.&nbsp;More than a month in, US President Trump claimed Wednesday that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was seeking a ceasefire, a claim Tehran has denied.&nbsp;&quot;Attacking Iran&#39;s vital infrastructure -- including energy and industrial facilities -- directly targets the Iranian people,&quot; Pezeshkian said in an open letter, published to his website Wednesday.&nbsp;&quot;Beyond constituting a war crime, such actions carry consequences that extend far beyond Iran&#39;s borders.&quot;&nbsp;They sow &quot;instability, increase human and economic costs&quot;, and plant &quot;seeds of resentment that will endure for years&quot;, he continued.&nbsp;&quot;Exactly which of the American people&#39;s interests are truly being served by this war?&quot;&nbsp;Casting the conflict as costly for both sides, Pezeshkian asked if there had been &quot;any objective threat from Iran to justify such behavior&quot;.&nbsp;He also questioned whether Washington entered the war &quot;as a proxy for Israel, influenced and manipulated by that regime&quot;.&nbsp;&quot;Is &#39;America First&#39; truly among the priorities of the U.S. government today?&quot; Pezeshkian asked.&nbsp;He also said ordinary Americans were not Iran&#39;s enemy, &quot;even in the face of repeated foreign interventions and pressures&quot;.&nbsp;His letter came ahead of US President Donald Trump&#39;s prime-time address to Americans on the Iran war in the face of plunging approval rates, economic jitters and spiraling diplomatic fallout.&nbsp;Trump on Wednesday said he would consider a ceasefire only when the Strait of Hormuz was reopened, with Tehran&#39;s effective closure of the vital oil corridor sending shockwaves through the global economy.

Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian said the US is committing war crimes and claimed Washington is influenced by Israel. Tehran denied seeking a ceasefire, and warned attacks on Iran’s infrastructure harm civilians and global stability.

Iran president asks US people if Mideast war puts 'America First'

Tehran: Former Iranian foreign minister Kamal Kharazi was seriously wounded in a strike that also claimed the life of his wife, Iranian media reported.&nbsp;Still an adviser to the government, Kharazi had given an interview to CNN a few weeks ago.&nbsp;According to the newspapers Shargh, Etemad and Ham Mihan, his home in Tehran was targeted on Wednesday in a US-Israeli strike.&nbsp;He was badly injured and hospitalized following the attack, the outlets said.&nbsp;Kharazi had served as foreign minister from 1997 to 2005 under reformist ex-president Mohammad Khatami.&nbsp;

Former Iranian foreign minister Kamal Kharazi was seriously wounded in a strike on his Tehran home that killed his wife, Iranian media reported. He is hospitalized and previously served under ex-president Mohammad Khatami.

Former Iran foreign minister badly wounded in strike: reports

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has dismissed claims circulating on social media about the removal of barbed wire along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, calling them &ldquo;fabricated&rdquo; and part of a wider misinformation campaign amid ongoing cross-border tensions. In a statement, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting&rsquo;s fact-checking unit said videos shared by Taliban-linked outlets showing individuals cutting border fencing were staged and misleading. <div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: left; line-height: 2;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2039357175139815579&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fmedia-library%2F&sessionId=f02c18f8d4b3e600f453b7a7597dc682e3e72516&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 626px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" data-tweet-id="2039357175139815579"></iframe></div></div> &ldquo;The multiple claims&hellip; regarding the removal of barbed wire along the Pak-Afghan border are fabricated and devoid of facts,&rdquo; the ministry said. According to the statement, the clips, circulating over the past week, depict individuals briefly cutting sections of fencing before leaving, describing the content as &ldquo;staged&rdquo; and part of a propaganda effort. &ldquo;All clips&hellip; are staged content, outdated, and part of propaganda tactics,&rdquo; the ministry added. Operation Ghazab lil HaqThe claims emerge as Pakistan&rsquo;s cross-border military campaign, Operation Ghazab lil Haq, continues following weeks of escalation triggered by &ldquo;cross-border terrorist attacks.&rdquo; Pakistani officials say the operation has targeted terrorist infrastructure, including camps, logistics hubs and support networks used to launch attacks inside Pakistan. Authorities have also reported drone incidents, artillery exchanges and strikes on what they describe as terrorist-linked installations in Afghanistan, underscoring heightened tensions along the border. &#39;Fence remains intact&rsquo;Pakistan began fencing the more than 2,600-kilometre border with Afghanistan in 2017 to curb illegal crossings and infiltration by terrorist groups. Officials say the fence remains operational and secure. &ldquo;Pak-Afghan border fence is fully intact, and all such attempts are met with an immediate and strong response,&rdquo; the ministry said. The statement added that the Afghan side does not maintain the border in the same way, alleging that gaps are exploited by terrorist groups and criminal networks. The ministry said the circulation of such content follows recent military developments, including the destruction of hundreds of posts during the ongoing operation. It described the videos as part of a broader pattern of misinformation. &ldquo;Afghan Taliban regime&hellip; are internationally known for frivolous claims,&rdquo; the statement said, referencing previous unverified claims including alleged drone strikes and aircraft incidents. Officials say the information environment has become an increasingly important dimension of the conflict, with competing narratives emerging alongside military developments. Pakistan maintains that its operations are based on verified intelligence and aimed at countering terrorism, while urging caution against unverified claims circulating online.

Officials say viral videos showing fence removal are staged and outdated, emphasizing the border barrier remains intact and monitored, while warning of coordinated misinformation efforts amid ongoing military operations and heightened tensions along the border.

Pakistan rejects Afghan border fence claims as propaganda amid tensions

KENNEDY: Four astronauts are set to embark Wednesday on the first crewed journey around the Moon since 1972, an odyssey that aims to launch the US into a new era of space exploration. The NASA mission dubbed Artemis 2 has been years in the making after facing repeated setbacks and massive cost overruns, but is finally scheduled to take off from Florida as early as 6:24 p.m. (2224 GMT). Under bright Florida sunshine, the rocket&rsquo;s giant tanks started filling with liquid hydrogen and oxygen at 8:35 am. The team featuring Americans Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch along with Canadian Jeremy Hansen will set forth on the approximately 10-day mission and hurtle around Earth&rsquo;s nearest celestial neighbor without landing &mdash; much like Apollo 8 did in 1968. The journey marks a series of historic accomplishments: it will send the first person of color, the first woman and the first non-American on a lunar mission. It is also the inaugural crewed flight of NASA&rsquo;s new lunar rocket, dubbed SLS. The mammoth orange-and-white rocket is designed to allow the United States to repeatedly return to the Moon, with the goal of establishing a permanent base that will offer a platform for further exploration. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a stepping stone to Mars, where we might have the most likelihood of finding evidence of past life, but it&rsquo;s also a Rosetta Stone for how other solar systems form,&rdquo; Koch told reporters on the weekend. Repeated setbacksThe mission was originally due to take off as early as February. But repeated setbacks stalled the mission and even necessitated rolling the rocket back to its hangar for analysis and repairs. As of Tuesday afternoon, NASA officials voiced confidence that engineering operations and final preparations were proceeding smoothly. If Wednesday&rsquo;s launch is canceled or delayed, there are more liftoff opportunities through Monday, although weather later in the week was looking slightly less favorable. Melinda Schuerfranz, a retiree from Ohio, traveled to Florida for the launch. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re looking forward to it, we&rsquo;ve never seen anything like this,&rdquo; the 76-year-old swimsuit-clad beachgoer told AFP. But Schuerfranz remembers the Apollo era, and thinks some of the magic might be lost in today&rsquo;s more fragmented media environment.&ldquo;I think it was way more exciting then,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Everybody tuned into it.&rdquo; &lsquo;Astronauts for Halloween&rsquo; Artemis is facing pressure from President Donald Trump, who has pushed the pace of the ambitious program that&rsquo;s aiming to see boots hit the lunar surface before his second term ends in early 2029. Artemis 2&rsquo;s objectives include verifying that both the rocket and the spacecraft are in working order in the hopes of paving the way for a Moon landing in 2028. That deadline has raised eyebrows among experts, in part because Washington is relying on the private sector&rsquo;s technological headway. The astronauts will require a second vehicle to descend to the moon&rsquo;s surface, a lunar lander that remains under development by rival space companies owned by billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. This contemporary era of American lunar investment has frequently been portrayed as an effort in competition with China, which is currently aiming to land humans on the Moon by 2030. For NASA head Jared Isaacman, it&rsquo;s a multi-pronged pursuit related to scientific discovery, national security and economic opportunity &mdash; as well as some less tangible goals. &ldquo;I guarantee after these astronauts fly around the moon, you&rsquo;re going to have more kids dressing up as astronauts for Halloween,&rdquo; Isaacman said during a recent television interview. &ldquo;And that&rsquo;s going to inspire the next generation to take us further.&rdquo;

After repeated setbacks, NASA prepares Artemis 2 launch sending four astronauts around Moon, first crewed mission since 1972, testing SLS rocket, advancing lunar base plans, inspiring exploration, despite delays, costs, and global competition with China.

NASA’s Moon flyby mission primed for launch

ISLAMABAD: &nbsp;Pakistan and Norway on Wednesday signed the first landmark bilateral agreement under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement, opening the door to international carbon trading, climate finance and major investment in clean energy and climate-smart agriculture, according to a statement by Ministry of Climate Change and Enviromental Coordination.&nbsp;As per it, the memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed in Islamabad under the auspices of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, marking Pakistan formal entry into the global carbon market. This is seen as a breakthrough in the country&rsquo;s climate diplomacy, said the statement.&nbsp;Federal Minister for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination Musadik Malik termed the agreement a &ldquo;historic milestone&rdquo;, saying it would shift Pakistan from carbon market preparedness to practical implementation, said the statement.&nbsp;&ldquo;This is Pakistan&rsquo;s first bilateral agreement under Article 6.2 and an important step towards implementation,&rdquo; Malik said. &ldquo;It creates a credible pathway for international cooperation and investment in Pakistan&rsquo;s climate priorities.&rdquo;&nbsp;Under the agreement, Pakistan will be able to develop &ldquo;carbon-credit generating projects&rdquo; in sectors such as clean energy, agriculture, transport and waste management and potentially sell the resulting emission reductions to Norway, as per the statement.&nbsp;Officials said the deal would help channel international finance into Pakistan at a time when the country is grappling with recurring floods, heatwaves and other climate shocks.&nbsp;Malik said the agreement would strengthen Pakistan&rsquo;s position in international carbon markets and create new opportunities for the country&rsquo;s emerging green economy, added the statement.&nbsp;&ldquo;Carbon markets cannot be treated as an end in themselves,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;&ldquo;They must help countries like Pakistan finance transition pathways, create jobs, attract technology and deliver real benefits to communities.&rdquo;&nbsp;The minister said Pakistan had already put in place the country&rsquo;s first national policy guidelines for carbon trading, approved by the federal cabinet in January 2025, and was now moving to establish rules, reporting systems and bilateral arrangements needed to operationalize the market.&nbsp;He said Pakistan had &ldquo;strong mitigation potential&rdquo; in sectors such as renewable energy, agriculture, transport and waste management, and that the agreement would encourage project developers and investors to move forward, said the statement.&nbsp;Addressing at the signing ceremony, Norway&rsquo;s Ambassador to Pakistan Per Albert Ilsaas said the accord marked the beginning of a new era in bilateral environmental cooperation.&nbsp;&ldquo;Pakistan is among the countries most affected by climate change, and we believe this partnership can deliver both measurable emission reductions and real development benefits,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;The ambassador said Norway, which aims to become climate neutral by 2030, was seeking to purchase Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs) under Article 6, not to meet its formal climate targets but to go beyond them.&nbsp;&ldquo;Norway is not purchasing ITMOs to meet its nationally determined contribution targets. We are purchasing them to achieve climate neutrality beyond those commitments,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;Mr Ilsaas said Norway&rsquo;s Global Emission Reduction Initiative, launched in 2024 with a budget of $1.5 billion approved by the Norwegian parliament, would provide carbon finance to countries such as Pakistan.&nbsp;&ldquo;Through NOGER, we want to channel carbon finance into countries such as Pakistan and help bridge the gap in climate mitigation finance,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;He added that Norway was looking beyond individual carbon-credit projects and was interested in large-scale programmes in renewable energy, industry and agriculture.&nbsp;&ldquo;We are looking beyond individual projects,&rdquo; the ambassador said. &ldquo;We are interested in cooperation across entire sectors where climate policies can generate emission reductions at scale.&rdquo;&nbsp;The ambassador said Norway had already signed similar agreements with Benin, Indonesia, Zambia, Jordan and Senegal and was working to buy 15 million carbon credits by 2030.&nbsp;He also invited Pakistan to present a broader pipeline of projects, specifically pointing to renewable energy ventures such as the Zhenfa 100-megawatt solar project and the Indus wind energy project as possible candidates for future cooperation.&nbsp;Both sides also agreed that the new ambitious pact could significantly boost Pakistan&rsquo;s access to climate finance and private-sector investment, while helping the country pursue low-carbon growth and meet its climate commitments under the Paris Agreement.

Climate & Environment

Islamabad secures landmark climate accord to unlock green investment, clean energy and international carbon finance

Pakistan, Norway sign landmark Paris Agreement carbon trading climate deal

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan witnessed a significant decline in violence-related casualties in March 2026, with overall deaths falling by 35% compared to the previous month, according to a report by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies. The report said 331 people were killed in March, down from 506 in February, even as the number of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/security-forces-kill-34-terrorists-in-kp-and-balochistan-operations-army" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">terrorist attacks</a>&nbsp;increased. The think tank attributed the drop in fatalities partly to Pakistan&rsquo;s cross-border strikes targeting terrorist&nbsp;hideouts in Afghanistan, carried out from late February until March 18, before a ceasefire was reached. Despite threats of escalation by banned outfits including Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, and Ittihad-ul-Mujahideen, the overall impact of violence remained limited, with attacks largely shifting towards low-intensity operations. Civilian casualties saw the sharpest decline, dropping by 70% from 132 in February to 39 in March. Fatalities among security forces fell by 26% to 59, while terrorist&nbsp;deaths decreased by 22% to 228. Injuries also declined by 37% overall, with 210 reported in March compared to 333 in February. Civilian injuries dropped significantly, while injuries among terrorists&nbsp;rose, indicating increased pressure during security operations. However, the frequency of terrorist&nbsp;attacks increased, rising to 146 in March from 83 in February. Suicide attacks fell to one in five in the previous month. Terrorists&nbsp;also kidnapped 19 individuals, while security forces arrested 41 suspects. Regionally, Balochistan recorded the highest number of fatalities, though deaths dropped by 34%. Civilian deaths in the province declined sharply, but injuries surged. The merged districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa also saw a 42% reduction in fatalities, despite a rise in injuries and continued terrorist&nbsp;activity. In mainland Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, fatalities remained largely unchanged, though security forces&rsquo; losses declined. The report noted an increase in attacks targeting pro-government peace committee members, signaling a shift by terrorists&nbsp;towards softer targets. Punjab and Sindh reported no terrorist&nbsp;attacks during the month, while isolated incidents were recorded in Gilgit-Baltistan, where a terrorist&nbsp;attempt near the Diamer-Bhasha Dam was foiled without casualties. The report concluded that while terrorist&nbsp;groups increased the frequency of attacks, their operational effectiveness appeared to have declined, reflecting the impact of sustained security measures.

Security personnel stand guard at the site of a bomb blast in Bajaur district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province on July 31, 2023. (AFP/File)

The report says 331 people were killed in March, down from 506 in February, even as the number of terrorist attacks increased.

Pakistan, China conclude ‘Sea Guardian IV’ exercise enhancing maritime cooperation

Latest News

Trump says US objectives in Iran 'nearing completion'

NASA's Artemis 2 crewed lunar mission takes off

Pakistan, China conclude ‘Sea Guardian IV’ exercise enhancing maritime cooperation

Final ticket sales phase begins for FIFA World Cup

Iran president asks US people if Mideast war puts 'America First'