Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&#39;s Minister for Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb in a meeting with US Congressman French Hill discussed strengthening economic and financial cooperation between the two countries. &nbsp;&nbsp; Aurangzeb held &quot;a productive meeting&quot; with Congressman Hill, chairman of the US House Financial Services Committee, in Washington DC, said a statement issued by Pakistan&rsquo;s Finance Division on Thursday. The discussion focused on strengthening Pakistan-US economic and financial cooperation, with particular emphasis on the digitization of financial services, development of the new economy, mineral sector collaboration, and broader partnerships in information technology. Both sides expressed interest in enhancing bilateral engagement to promote sustainable economic growth and innovation-driven collaboration between Pakistan and the United States. Meeting with Chinese deputy finance minister&nbsp;Aurangzeb also had a meeting with Liao Min, deputy finance minister of the People&rsquo;s Republic of China, in Washington DC, said another statement issued by the Finance Division on Thursday. The minister briefed Min on the recently concluded Staff Level Agreement (SLA) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), terming it an external validation of the government&rsquo;s ongoing economic reform agenda. He also apprised him of the latest developments regarding the issuance of the Panda Bond in the Chinese market. Aurangzeb sought China&rsquo;s support for Pakistan&rsquo;s membership in the New Development Bank and welcomed enhanced investment from Chinese enterprises in key sectors including information and communication technology, agriculture, industry, and minerals. The Pakistani finance minister expressed gratitude to the Office of the Executive Director, IMF, for extending full support to Pakistan during recent board meetings. He also extended an invitation to Deputy Finance Minister Min to visit Pakistan at a mutually convenient time. Meeting with Bangladeshi special envoy&nbsp;Aurangzeb also had a meeting with Lutfey Y Siddiqi, special envoy to the Chief Adviser of Bangladesh, in Washington DC, said another statement released by the Finance Division on Thursday. The minister recalled the visit of Pakistan&rsquo;s Deputy Prime Minister to Dhaka in August 2025 and reaffirmed Pakistan&rsquo;s commitment to fostering closer regional economic cooperation. He reiterated that sustainable economic growth must be led by the private sector, with the public sector creating a conducive ecosystem for investment and innovation. Both sides agreed that the information technology sector is a key driver of economic transformation, with strong potential to generate quality employment opportunities for young graduates. The minister emphasized the importance of continued knowledge-sharing and capacity-building between the two countries to strengthen regional development efforts.

Economy

Pakistan’s Finance Minister Aurangzeb meets chairman US House Financial Services Committee; the minister also holds meetings with Chinese deputy finance minister and the special envoy to the Chief Adviser of Bangladesh.

Pakistan minister, US Congressman discuss strengthening economic, financial cooperation  

VIENNA: A landmark 10-year deal world powers signed with Iran to rein in its nuclear programme officially ends Saturday. But the deal began to fall apart years ago, and wide-ranging UN sanctions were reimposed last month on the Islamic republic, effectively burying the agreement but creating space for something new, according to experts. What does &#39;Termination Day&#39; mean?&nbsp;The deal&#39;s &quot;termination day&quot; was set for October 18, 2025, exactly 10 years after the adoption of resolution 2231, with which the UN Security Council enshrined it. Officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the agreement between Iran and China, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and the United States saw the lifting of international sanctions against Iran in exchange for restrictions on Tehran&#39;s nuclear programme. But Washington left the deal in 2018 during President Donald Trump&#39;s first term in office and reinstated sanctions. Tehran then began stepping up its nuclear programme. Talks to revive the agreement have failed so far, and in August, Britain, Germany and France triggered the so-called &quot;snapback&quot; process, leading to the re-imposition of the UN sanctions. &quot;Termination day is relatively meaningless due to snapback,&quot; Arms Control Association expert Kelsey Davenport told AFP. A diplomat close to Iran&#39;s nuclear issues told AFP that Iran would mark termination day with a statement Saturday at the UN in New York. Where are we now?&nbsp;Though &quot;lifeless&quot; for years, snapback &quot;officially buried&quot; the nuclear deal, with &quot;its sorry fate continuing to cast a shadow over the future&quot;, said Ali Vaez, the International Crisis Group&#39;s Iran project director. Western powers and Israel have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, a claim Tehran denies. Nuclear talks between Iran and world powers are currently deadlocked. &quot;Iran remains sceptical of the utility of engaging with the US given its history with President Trump, while Washington still seeks a maximalist deal,&quot; Vaez told AFP. On Monday, Trump said that he wanted a peace deal with Iran, but stressed the ball was in Tehran&#39;s court. Tehran has repeatedly said it remains open to diplomacy with the United States, provided Washington offers guarantees against military action during any potential talks. The US joined Israel in striking the Islamic republic&#39;s nuclear sites during a 12-day war in June. The three European powers also last week announced they will seek to restart talks to find a &quot;comprehensive, durable and verifiable agreement&quot;. Iranian top diplomat Abbas Araghchi said during an interview last week that Tehran does &quot;not see any reason to negotiate&quot; with the Europeans given they triggered the snapback mechanism. What&#39;s next?&nbsp;Despite the challenges, the death of the 2015 deal &quot;creates space to explore creative solutions to the Iranian nuclear crisis&quot;, analyst Davenport said. &quot;Diplomacy remains the only viable option to reduce Iran&#39;s proliferation risk in the long-term,&quot; she added. But she warned the more time elapsed, &quot;the more challenging it will be to negotiate a deal down the road and the greater the risk of conflict re-erupting&quot;.

Middle East

The Iran nuclear deal ended on October 18, 2025, after UN sanctions were reimposed. The agreement’s collapse deepens tensions but may open space for new diplomatic efforts to address Iran’s nuclear programme.

Iran nuclear deal officially ends as UN sanctions return

SAN CRISTOBAL: US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro had offered major concessions to ease tensions with Washington and confirmed a new strike on a drug-smuggling vessel, which reportedly left survivors. Washington accuses Maduro of heading a drug cartel and has deployed significant military assets &mdash; including stealth warplanes and seven US Navy ships &mdash; as part of what it says are counter-narcotics efforts in the region. Maduro, an authoritarian socialist who is widely accused of stealing elections last year, claims Washington is plotting regime change. Asked at the White House about reports that Caracas had floated de-escalation plans, Trump was scathing. &quot;He has offered everything, you&#39;re right,&quot; he said. Venezuela&#39;s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, on Thursday denied a Miami Herald report that she had negotiated with Washington on a plan to oust Maduro. Venezuela is the alleged origin of some of the vessels, at least six of which have been targeted and mostly involving speedboats, in an unprecedented campaign of US strikes in the Caribbean since September. The latest attack left survivors on board, media outlets including CBS and NBC reported, citing unidentified US officials. US media later reported on Friday the two survivors were in the custody of the US Navy, with no further details available on their conditions or circumstances. Trump said the target was a &quot;drug-carrying submarine built specifically for the transportation of massive amounts of drugs.&quot; Semi-submersibles built in clandestine jungle shipyards have for years been used to ferry cocaine from South America, particularly Colombia, to Central America or Mexico, usually via the Pacific Ocean. Washington says its Caribbean campaign is dealing a decisive blow to drug trafficking, but it has provided no evidence that the people killed &mdash; at least 27 so far &mdash; were drug smugglers. Experts say such summary killings are illegal even if they target confirmed narcotics traffickers. The US campaign has drawn in some of Venezuela&#39;s neighbors. Police in Trinidad and Tobago, located off the coast of Venezuela, is investigating whether two of its citizens were killed in a strike on Wednesday. And Colombian President Gustavo Petro says he believes Colombians have also died in the attacks. A defiant Trump this week announced plans to ramp up operations against Venezuela, fueling speculation that his administration aims to topple Maduro. Trump indicated he had authorized covert CIA operations against Venezuela and was considering strikes on land targets. Earlier this week, in a show of force, US-based B-52 bombers circled over the Caribbean off Venezuela&#39;s coast for several hours, data from tracking website Flightradar24 showed. Venezuela has deployed 17,000 troops to Tachira state, which borders Colombia, in response to the US threats. Venezuelan forces are also stationed in southern Amazonas state, which borders both Colombia and Brazil, and multiple coastal areas. While Trump weighs whether to expand US military action from the sea onto land, the admiral overseeing the naval strikes in the Caribbean announced he will step down. The head of US Southern Command gave no reason for retiring just a year into his tenure, which follows multiple top US military officers being dismissed in recent months.

Americas

Washington accuses Maduro of heading a drug cartel; Maduro claims Washington is plotting regime change.





Trump says Venezuela's Maduro offered 'everything' to ease tensions

Muhammad Usman Amin

PESHAWAR: Trade disruptions at key border crossings are causing daily losses of several million dollars, a top business leader warned, noting that while Pakistani traders are affected, the impact on Afghanistan&rsquo;s fragile economy is far more devastating. Bilateral trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan has come to a near standstill following the suspension of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) and the continued closure of key border crossings, triggering a deepening economic and humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan as winter approaches. For landlocked Afghanistan, the APTTA serves as a crucial economic lifeline, providing access to Pakistan&rsquo;s seaports at Karachi and Port Qasim, essential gateways for international trade. It also facilitates regional connectivity through land routes such as the Wagah border with India and the Sost crossing for trade with China. The current shutdown has effectively disrupted these corridors, cutting Afghan businesses off from global markets and halting the flow of vital imports and exports. At major border points, the situation has turned dire. Hundreds of trucks remain stranded at Torkham, while others are stuck at the Kharlachi and Ghulam Khan crossings. Many of these vehicles are loaded with perishable items, rice, flour, and fresh produce from Pakistan, now at risk of spoilage. On the Afghan side, over a thousand containers carrying coal, dried fruits, and other export goods are unable to cross into Pakistan, strangling one of Afghanistan&rsquo;s few remaining sources of revenue. &ldquo;This blockade is causing a daily loss of more than Rs1 billion [$3.54 million],&rdquo; said Junaid Altaf, president of the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), in an interview with Pakistan TV Digital. &ldquo;From a sewing needle to aeronautical components, everything flows through Pakistan into Afghanistan. There is some loss to Pakistani businesses, but the blow to the Afghan economy is huge,&rdquo; he added. The disruption comes at a critical time. The World Food Program (WFP) recently warned that nearly 9.5 million Afghans are facing acute food insecurity, with international funding shortfalls already hampering aid efforts. The ongoing border closure threatens to worsen food shortages and fuel humanitarian distress in the coming weeks. Within Pakistan&rsquo;s business community, there is a growing consensus that the onus lies with Kabul to ensure the security and stability necessary for trade to resume. &ldquo;The Sarhad Chamber will ask the Afghan business community to pressure their government to establish peace so trade can be restored,&rdquo; Altaf said. Until stability returns, the crucial trade arteries linking Afghanistan to regional markets remain blocked. And with them, a vital economic and humanitarian lifeline for millions of Afghans.

Asia

Daily losses worth several million dollars mount as Pakistan-Afghanistan border closures cripple trade, with business leaders warning Afghanistan’s fragile economy faces worsening strain amid deepening humanitarian and food insecurity challenges.

Afghan trade faces collapse amid prolonged border shutdown with Pakistan

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Friday called on Kyiv and Moscow to &ldquo;stop where they are&rdquo; and end their brutal war following a lengthy White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump&#39;s frustration with the conflict has surfaced repeatedly in the nine months since he returned to office, but with his latest comments, he edged back in the direction of pressing Ukraine to give up on retaking land it has lost to Russia. &ldquo;Enough blood has been shed, with property lines being defined by War and Guts,&rdquo; Trump said in a Truth Social post not long after hosting Zelenskyy and his team for more than two hours of talks. &ldquo;They should stop where they are. Let both claim Victory, let History decide!&rdquo; Later, soon after arriving in Florida, where he&#39;s spending the weekend, Trump urged both sides to &ldquo;stop the war immediately&rdquo; and implied that Moscow keep territory it&rsquo;s taken from Kyiv. &ldquo;You go by the battle line wherever it is &mdash; otherwise it&#39;s too complicated,&rdquo; Trump told reporters. &quot;You stop at the battle line and both sides should go home, go to their families, stop the killing, and that should be it.&rdquo; The comments amounted to another shift in position on the war by Trump. In recent weeks, he had shown growing impatience with Russian President Vladimir Putin and expressed greater openness to helping Ukraine win the war. After meeting with Zelenskyy in New York on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly last month, Trump even said he believed the Ukrainians could win back all the territory they had lost to Russia since Putin launched the February 2022 invasion. That was a dramatic shift for Trump, who had previously insisted that Kyiv would have to concede land lost to Russia to end the war. Zelenskyy, after Friday&#39;s meeting said it was time for a ceasefire and negotiations. He sidestepped directly answering a question about Trump nudging Ukraine to give up land. &ldquo;The president is right, we have to stop where we are, and then to speak,&rdquo; Zelenskyy said when asked by reporters about Trump&rsquo;s social media post, which he hadn&#39;t seen. Trump&#39;s tone on the war shifted after he held a lengthy phone call with Putin on Thursday and announced that he planned to meet with the Russian leader in Budapest, Hungary, in the coming weeks. The president also signaled to Zelenskyy on Friday that he&#39;s leaning against selling him long-range Tomahawk missiles, weaponry that the Ukrainians believe could be a game changer in helping prod Putin to the negotiating table. Zelenskyy, at the start of the White House talks, said he had a &ldquo;proposition&rdquo; in which Ukraine could provide the United States with its advanced drones, while Washington would sell Kyiv the Tomahawk cruise missiles. But Trump said he was hesitant to tap into the US supply, a turnabout after days of suggesting he was seriously weighing sending the missiles to help Ukraine beat back Russia&#39;s invasion. &ldquo;I have an obligation also to make sure that we&rsquo;re completely stocked up as a country, because you never know what&rsquo;s going to happen in war and peace,&rdquo; Trump said. &ldquo;We&#39;d much rather have them not need Tomahawks. We&#39;d much rather have the war be over, to be honest.&rdquo; Trump&#39;s latest rhetoric on Tomahawks is certainly disappointing to the Ukrainians. In recent days, Trump had shown an openness to selling Ukraine the Tomahawks, even as Putin warned that such a move would further strain the US-Russian relationship. But following Thursday&rsquo;s call with Putin, Trump began downplaying the prospects of Ukraine getting the missiles, which have a range of about 995 miles (1,600 kilometers.) Zelenskyy had been seeking the Tomahawks, which would allow Ukrainian forces to strike deep into Russian territory and target key military sites, energy facilities, and critical infrastructure. Zelenskyy has argued that the potential for such strikes would help compel Putin to take Trump&rsquo;s calls for direct negotiations to end the war more seriously. Putin warned Trump during the call that supplying Kyiv with the Tomahawks &ldquo;won&rsquo;t change the situation on the battlefield, but would cause substantial damage to the relationship between our countries,&rdquo; according to Yuri Ushakov, Putin&rsquo;s foreign policy adviser. It was the fifth face-to-face meeting for Trump and Zelenskyy since the Republican returned to office in January, The president said on Friday it was &ldquo;to be determined&rdquo; if Zelenskyy would be involved in the upcoming talks in Hungary &mdash; suggesting a &ldquo;double meeting&rdquo; with the warring countries&#39; leaders was likely the most workable option for productive negotiations. &ldquo;These two leaders do not like each other, and we want to make it comfortable for everybody,&rdquo; Trump added. But Zelenskyy told reporters that the animus toward Putin &ldquo;is not about feelings.&rdquo; &ldquo;They attacked us, so they are an enemy for us. They don&rsquo;t intend to stop,&quot; Zelenskyy added. &quot;So they are an enemy. It is not about someone just hating someone else. Although undoubtedly, we hate the enemy. Undoubtedly.&rdquo; Trump, going back to his 2024 campaign, insisted he would quickly end the war, but his peace efforts appeared to stall following a diplomatic blitz in August, when he held a summit with Putin in Alaska and a White House meeting with Zelenskyy and European allies. Trump emerged from those meetings certain he was on track to arranging direct talks between Zelenskyy and Putin. But the Russian leader hasn&rsquo;t shown any interest in meeting with Zelenskyy and Moscow has only intensified its bombardment of Ukraine. Asked on Friday if he was concerned that Putin was stringing him along, Trump acknowledged it was a possibility but said he was confident he could handle the Russian leader. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been played all my life by the best of them, and I came out really well,&quot; Trump said. He added, &ldquo;I think I&rsquo;m pretty good at this stuff.&quot;

Europe

US president implies Moscow keep territory it’s taken from Kyiv; comments amount to another shift in position on war by Trump. 

Trump calls on Ukraine, Russia to ‘stop where they are’ and end the war

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&#39;s Foreign Office on Friday strongly rejected Indian remarks about recent cross-border tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, calling them &ldquo;unfortunate&rdquo; and a &ldquo;deliberate mischaracterization of the situation on the ground.&rdquo; Responding to comments made a day earlier by India&rsquo;s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Pakistan&rsquo;s Foreign Office said New Delhi&rsquo;s statements were &ldquo;obviously aimed at sabotaging the efforts currently underway to restore peace and normalcy.&rdquo; In his weekly briefing on Thursday, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal made remarks accusing Pakistan of supporting insurgent groups and of blaming its neighbors for internal matters. He further claimed that Pakistan was &ldquo;not happy with Afghanistan exercising sovereignty over its own territories,&rdquo; while asserting India&rsquo;s &ldquo;commitment to Afghanistan&rsquo;s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence.&rdquo; Rejecting these assertions, Foreign Office Spokesperson Ambassador Shafqat Ali Khan said the Indian remarks &ldquo;reflect a deliberate attempt to distort facts and misrepresent the situation.&rdquo; &ldquo;India&#39;s baleful influence on South Asia and its negative role in destabilizing the entire region are well known,&rdquo; Khan said. &ldquo;Pakistan&rsquo;s actions are guided solely by considerations of its security and undertaken in self-defense against unprovoked and destabilizing activities along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.&rdquo; He emphasized that India was &ldquo;in no position to cast aspersions on others, given its own well-documented record of involvement in acts of terrorism and extraterritorial assassinations in Pakistan and beyond.&rdquo; &ldquo;Its claims of respecting Afghanistan&rsquo;s sovereignty and territorial integrity ring hollow in light of its persistent interference in the internal affairs of other countries,&rdquo; he added. Last week, Afghan Taliban and allied militants launched unprovoked attacks along the border to facilitate the infiltration of Khawarij formations, a term Islamabad uses for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Pakistan Army troops responded with artillery, tanks, and air assets, targeting Afghan military posts and militant hideouts. The military identified Fitna al-Khawarij, TTP, and Fitna al-Hindustan, a term referring to Indian-backed proxies, as the main instigators. The cross-border violence left over 200 attackers dead, while 23 Pakistani soldiers were martyred, according to the ISPR.

Foreign Affairs

Spokesperson Ambassador Shafqat Ali Khan says New Delhi’s statements distort facts, reflect hostility, and are “clearly intended to derail ongoing diplomatic efforts focused on restoring stability and preventing further escalation along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.”

Pakistan rejects India’s remarks on Afghan clashes as ‘deliberate mischaracterization’: Foreign office

JERUSALEM: Hamas handed over to Israel the remains of one more hostage on Friday night, after insisting it was committed to returning all the dead captives still unaccounted for under Gaza&#39;s ruins after two years of war. &quot;Israel received, via the Red Cross, the coffin of a deceased hostage who was returned&quot; to its security forces in Gaza and would be identified at a medical analysis center in Israel, the prime minister&#39;s office said in a statement. Under a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas spearheaded by US President Donald Trump, the Palestinian fighter group returned all 20 surviving hostages and the remains of nine out of 28 known deceased ones, not counting the remains handed over on Friday night. In exchange, Israel freed nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners from its jails and halted the military campaign it launched in Gaza after Hamas&#39;s October 7, 2023, attack. Bodies under Gaza rubble&nbsp;Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday reaffirmed his determination to &quot;secure the return of all hostages,&quot; and his defense minister has warned that the military will restart the war if Hamas fails to do so. Senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad on Friday called those threats &quot;unacceptable pressure tactics.&quot; &quot;The issue of the bodies is complex and requires time, especially after the occupation changed the landscape of Gaza,&quot; Hamas said in a statement. &quot;We will return the bodies and adhere to the agreement as we promised.&quot; Turkey dispatched a team of specialists to help retrieve remains buried under the rubble, but the group was still waiting on Friday for Israeli permission to enter the territory. &quot;It remains unclear when Israel will allow the Turkish team to enter Gaza,&quot; a Turkish official told AFP, noting that the team&#39;s mission included locating both Palestinian and hostage remains. A Hamas source told AFP the Turkish delegation was expected to enter by Sunday. Gaza&#39;s civil defense agency said more than 280 bodies had been recovered from the rubble since the ceasefire went into effect. Aid enters Gaza&nbsp;The ceasefire deal has seen the war grind to a halt after two years of agony for the hostages&#39; families, and constant bombardment and hunger for Gazans. The UN&#39;s World Food Program said on Friday it had been able to move close to 3,000 tons of food supplies into Gaza since the ceasefire took hold. But it cautioned it would take time to reverse the famine in the Strip, saying all crossings needed to be opened to &quot;flood Gaza with food.&quot; Trump&#39;s 20-point plan for Gaza calls for renewed aid, with international organizations awaiting the reopening of southern Gaza&#39;s strategic Rafah crossing. UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said he entered Gaza on Friday, where he watched a convoy of aid head to Rafah from Israel&#39;s Kerem Shalom crossing and later visited a bakery making pita bread. &quot;We&#39;ve begged for this access for months, and finally we&#39;re seeing goods moving at scale: food, medicine, tents, fuel, a lot of fuel got in today,&quot; he said, in a video message posted to social media. Identifying the dead&nbsp;Families of surviving hostages rejoiced in their return, while others buried the returned remains of their loved ones. &quot;We&#39;ve been waiting for this for so long, two years that we&#39;ve been fighting for him every single day,&quot; said 30-year-old Gal Gilboa Dalal, the older brother of Guy Gilboa Dalal, who was released after two years in Hamas captivity. Gal told AFP that Hamas had intentionally starved his brother and another prisoner for three and a half months to use him as a prop in a propaganda video about hunger. &quot;Their bones hurt, their muscles hurt. Their recovery will be very long.&quot; At the Nasser Hospital in Gaza, meanwhile, families searched for their loved ones among the bodies of Palestinians returned by Israel. One, Akram Khalid al-Manasra, told AFP he identified his son &quot;thanks to the birthmark on his nose and his teeth.&quot; Others were clearing the rubble from their destroyed homes. &quot;I&#39;m right under the threat of death. It could collapse at any moment,&quot; said Ahmad Saleh Sbeih, a Gaza City resident. &quot;But there is no choice.&quot; The war has killed at least 67,967 people in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the territory &mdash; figures the United Nations considers credible. The data does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but indicates that more than half of the dead are women and children. Hamas&#39;s October 7 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Turkey dispatched a team of specialists to help retrieve remains buried under the rubble, but the group is still waiting for Israeli permission to enter the territory.



Hamas gives Israel another hostage body, vows to return rest

Adil Shahzeb

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and Intelligence Chief Lt General Asim Malik are scheduled to depart for Doha on Saturday (today) to engage in talks with representatives of the Afghan Taliban. Official sources confirmed exclusively to PakistanTV Head Adil Shahzeb that the Afghan Taliban delegation is expected to be of equivalent seniority. Meanwhile, security sources have dismissed recent news reports suggesting that a Pakistani delegation is already present in Doha as baseless.<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;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 619px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" 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=1979286075995816063&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=85e31fe9165fa38157c3cdc1014052f50716feb7&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px"></iframe></div></div>The Pakistani government has previously communicated its concerns to Kabul about the presence of &ldquo;fitna al-khwarij&rdquo;, also known as TTP, elements within Afghan territory, which have contributed to recent tensions. Pakistan has expressed deep concern over the provocative attacks by Taliban forces and Fitna Al-Khwarij along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border from October 11 to 15.&nbsp; Pakistan has successfully repelled these assaults in self-defence. Highlighting the impact of such actions, Pakistan&rsquo;s Foreign Office has stressed that these unprovoked attacks undermine the spirit of peaceful neighbourhood relations and mutual cooperation between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The upcoming talks in Doha are expected to address these security challenges and aim to foster stability along the shared border.

Security

High-level discussions aimed at tackling cross-border terrorism and regional stability set to commence with Taliban representatives in Doha today 


Exclusive: Pakistan Defence Minister, Intelligence Chief to Visit Doha for Talks with Afghan Taliban

ISLAMABAD: US President Donald Trump on Friday said that the border tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan were an &ldquo;easy one&rdquo; for him to solve, noting, &ldquo;if I have to solve it.&rdquo;&nbsp; Earlier this week, Islamabad and Kabul agreed to a 48-hour ceasefire, following several days of intense cross-border fighting, the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) confirmed. Talks are scheduled in Doha between the two countries to mediate the situation, aiming to &ldquo;defuse tensions and establish a mechanism to prevent future border incidents.&rdquo; While speaking to reporters as the US president participated in a bilateral lunch with the Ukrainian president, Trump said that the cross-border conflict between the two neighbors was &ldquo;an easy one for me to solve.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;If I have to solve it,&rdquo; he said. The US president was responding to a question about being termed as the &ldquo;peacemaker&rdquo; if he were to end the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.&nbsp; &ldquo;I solved eight wars,&rdquo; the US president said, citing the ceasefire that was brokered between India and Pakistan earlier this year.&nbsp; &ldquo;Look at all of the wars that we solved, and every time I solved one, they say, &lsquo;If you solve the next one, you&#39;re gonna get the Nobel Prize&rsquo;,&rdquo; Trump said. &ldquo;I didn&#39;t get a Nobel Prize,&rdquo; he added.&nbsp; The US president said that he doesn&rsquo;t &ldquo;care about all that stuff.&rdquo; &ldquo;I just care about saving lives, but this will be number nine,&rdquo; he said, referring to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. &ldquo;Every time I solve one, they said Sir, if you solve one more, you&#39;re gonna be known as a peacekeeper,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp; Trump said that &ldquo;to the best&quot; of his knowledge, no US president had ever solved one war.&nbsp; &ldquo;Bush started a war. A lot of them start wars, but they don&#39;t solve the wars. They don&#39;t settle them, and especially when they have nothing to do with us,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp; While referring to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif&rsquo;s statement, Trump said, &ldquo;The Prime Minister of Pakistan said I saved millions of lives in interceding&rdquo; between Pakistan and India. &ldquo;You look at Pakistan and India as an example, that would have been a bad one. Two nuclear nations, right?&rdquo; Trump said.&nbsp; &ldquo;I love solving wars,&rdquo; he said, adding that he likes &quot;stopping people from being killed.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;I&#39;ve saved millions and millions of lives, and I think we&#39;re going to have success with this war (Ukraine-Russia),&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;

Talks are scheduled in Doha between the two countries to mediate the situation, aiming to “defuse tensions and establish a mechanism to prevent future border incidents.”

Conflict between Pakistan, Afghanistan ‘easy one’ to solve: Trump

Muhammad Imad Abbas

ISLAMABAD: Interim Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi has dismissed claims that Afghanistan poses a security threat to its neighbors, even as multiple reports highlight that militant organizations continue to operate from Afghan territory, fueling instability across the region. During a recent visit to India, Muttaqi addressed concerns about militancy and regional security. Responding to questions from the Indian press, he said, &ldquo;Pakistan is not our only neighbor. China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan&mdash;why don&rsquo;t they have any complaints?&rdquo; However, a number of reports, including those by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), suggest that several armed groups maintain a presence in Afghanistan. These groups are said to threaten not only Pakistan but also other countries in the wider region. According to the UNSC&rsquo;s findings, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) remains the most prominent Pakistan-focused militant organization operating inside Afghanistan. The TTP, formed in 2007 and aligned with Al-Qaeda, is estimated to have around 6,000 fighters stationed across Afghanistan&rsquo;s Baghlan, Wardak, Nuristan, Kunar, Ghazni, Kabul, and Helmand provinces. The report further notes that the TTP &ldquo;continues to receive logistical and operational support&rdquo; from Afghanistan&rsquo;s de facto authorities and that its militants are &ldquo;trained in camps set up by Al-Qaeda.&rdquo; In April this year, Pakistan&rsquo;s military reported killing 54 TTP fighters attempting to infiltrate from Afghanistan. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) stated that the operation was part of ongoing counterterrorism efforts along the border. Militant groups based in Afghanistan are not limited to the TTP. The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which has waged an insurgency in Pakistan&rsquo;s southwestern Balochistan province, is also believed to maintain safe havens inside Afghanistan. BLA commander Aslam Baloch, also known as Achu, was killed in Kandahar in December 2018, according to Al-Jazeera.&nbsp; The UNSC report adds that the BLA has a &ldquo;non-aggression pact&rdquo; with the TTP, under which both groups refrain from targeting each other, and that TTP provides training support to Baloch militants. The Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), another major group, reportedly commands between 4,000 and 6,000 fighters in Afghanistan, including defectors from the Afghan Taliban, TTP, and Al-Qaeda. ISKP has expanded its reach across the region. Last year, Pakistan, in coordination with T&uuml;rkiye&rsquo;s National Intelligence Organization (MIT), arrested ISKP&rsquo;s media head, Abu Yasir al-Turki, during a joint intelligence operation near the Afghan border. Meanwhile, Al-Qaeda continues to maintain training facilities across Afghanistan, used by both its members and TTP operatives. The group&rsquo;s South Asian affiliate, Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), remains ideologically aligned with the Taliban. AQIS&rsquo;s second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, was killed in a US drone strike in Kabul in July 2022, according to the US Department of War. Other regional outfits, including the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP), which targets China, and Tehrik-e-Taliban Tajikistan, reportedly operate from Afghan soil. The TIP, led by Abdul Haq Turkistani, maintains ties with both the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, with Abdul Haq serving on Al-Qaeda&rsquo;s executive council, according to the UNSC. Similarly, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), with an estimated 500 to 800 fighters based in northern Afghanistan, continues to pose a threat to Central Asian states. Afghanistan-based outlet Amu TV has described the IMU as maintaining &ldquo;deep historical ties&rdquo; to Afghanistan&rsquo;s insurgency. Despite these documented presences, the Afghan Taliban government continues to deny harboring foreign militants. Muttaqi&rsquo;s remarks in India reflect Kabul&rsquo;s consistent position that Afghanistan is not a source of regional instability. Still, the contrast between official statements and international assessments underscores the region&rsquo;s lingering security dilemma, where assurances of peace coexist uneasily with the persistent activity of transnational militant networks.

Multiple UN and intelligence reports indicate that militant networks, including the TTP, BLA, ISKP, and Al-Qaeda affiliates, continue operating from Afghan soil despite Taliban denials, raising fresh concerns over regional stability and cross-border security threats

Militants expand footprint in Afghanistan as Taliban downplay regional threat

ISLAMABAD: South Africa continued their winning streak in the ICC Women&rsquo;s World Cup 2025, thrashing Sri Lanka by 10 wickets in a rain-hit match at R. Premadasa International on Friday.&nbsp;Due to rain, the match was reduced to 20 overs, with South Africa restricting Sri Lanka to 105-7 before comfortably chasing a revised target of 121 in 14.5 overs to consolidate their hold on second place in the points table.&nbsp;Sri Lanka, who chose to bat first, were 46-2 when rain stopped play. After the break, left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlba took 3-30 as the bowlers allowed only 59 runs in the last eight overs while taking five wickets.&nbsp;Vishmi Gunaratne&rsquo;s quick 34, which included six fours, was the only notable contribution for Sri Lanka.&nbsp;Chasing six an over, South Africa&rsquo;s openers made the task look easy. Captain Laura Wolvaardt struck an unbeaten 60 off 47 balls, while Tazmin Brits hit 55 not out off 42 balls with four fours and two sixes. Their 125-run stand came off just 89 deliveries to complete a commanding victory.&nbsp;For a team bowled out for just 69 by England in their opening game, South Africa&rsquo;s recovery has been impressive with four wins in a row.&nbsp;Sri Lanka remain winless after five matches in a campaign affected by rain and inconsistency.&nbsp;The victory took South Africa to eight points, one behind defending champions Australia on nine. England, the four-time winners, are third with seven points and a game in hand.

Cricket

Wins by 10 wickets in a rain-shortened Women’s World Cup match in Colombo, restricting them to 105-7 before chasing a revised 121-run target in 14.5 overs.


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