Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir has said that Pakistan Army, with the unwavering support of the nation and the brave Baloch people, would confront and crush every enemy, foreign or domestic, that dares to challenge our sovereignty.
Addressing a grand jirga in Quetta on Saturday, organised to interact with tribal leadership and discuss the evolving security situation in Balochistan, the field marshal said this Indian-sponsored proxy war is n/o longer hidden, Radio Pakistan reported.
“It is an open malicious act of terrorism waged on our people, our progress, and our peace,”
He said Pakistan has concrete proof of India’s involvement behind terrorist networks operating in Balochistan, adding that these nefarious attempts of the enemy would fail.
The army chief emphasised that the Pakistan Army remains fully alert and prepared to respond decisively to any threat. He reiterated that peace in Balochistan is non-negotiable and that the future of Pakistan is directly linked to a stable, prosperous Balochistan.
Addressing the Jirga, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif highlighted that Indian-sponsored proxies operating in Balochistan have intensified their efforts to undermine peace, destabilise the province, and disrupt development initiatives led by the government and the armed forces.
He underscored that terrorists groups like “Fitna Al-Hindustan” seek support of the locals which must be denied to them.
Praising the leadership and constructive role of the elders, PM Shehbaz reiterated the persistent need for engaging at the grassroots level and ensuring that terrorists find no social space.
The premier said enemies of peace will find no space to operate within Pakistan. In a clear message to foes of the country, he said the government, armed forces, law enforcement agencies and administrative apparatus, with complete support of the Pakistan, will take the nation’s fight against terrorism to its logical conclusion, defeating terrorism in a decisive manner.
Highlighting series of monumental developmental packages for prosperity in Balochistan, PM Shehbaz emphasised the need for ensuring trickledown effect of government initiatives to the populace.
He commended the people of Balochistan for their historic role in safeguarding national unity and urged them to remain vigilant against foreign-backed subversion and sabotage orchestrated and sponsored by India.
A “mass casualty influx” of people, many with gunshot or shrapnel wounds, was received at a Red Cross field hospital in southern Gaza, the organisation said, following disputed reports about an incident near an aid distribution centre in Rafah.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said 21 people were “declared dead upon arrival” while women and children were among 179 cases.
The organisation’s statement came after the Hamas-run civil defence agency in Gaza said at least 31 people were killed and many more wounded in the incident, which it blamed on “Israeli gunfire” targeting civilians.
But the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said findings from an initial inquiry showed its forces had not fired at people while they were near or within the aid centre.
The IDF also released drone footage it said showed armed and masked men throwing stones and shooting at civilians while they were collecting aid in the nearby city of Khan Younis. The BBC could not immediately verify the footage.
Israel does not allow international news organisations, including the BBC, into Gaza, making verifying what is happening in the territory difficult.
The group that runs the aid distribution centre, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), also denied the claims of injuries and casualties at its site and said they had been spread by Hamas.
As of Sunday evening, the situation on the ground remained unclear.
In its statement, the ICRC said the “Red Cross Field Hospital in Rafah received a mass casualty influx of 179 cases, including women and children” early in the morning on Sunday.
It said “the majority suffered gunshot or shrapnel wounds”, and “twenty-one patients were declared dead upon arrival”. It is unclear if the number of people killed reported by the ICRC is separate to the Hamas health ministry’s reports.
“All patients said they had been trying to reach an aid distribution site,” the ICRC said.
The ICRC said it was the “highest number of weapon-wounded in a single incident since the establishment of the field hospital over a year ago”, and that it “far surpassed” the capacity of the 60-bed facility.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said in a statement that it had also responded to the “mass casualty” incident, and that the blood bank at Nasser hospital, where the injured were treated, was almost empty, with medical staff donating blood themselves to help the injured.
Claire Manera, the organisation’s emergency co-ordinator, said that the incident had “shown once again that this new system of aid delivery is dehumanising, dangerous and severely ineffective”.
The IDF said in a statement: “In recent hours, false reports have been spread, including serious allegations against the IDF regarding fire toward Gazan residents in the area of the humanitarian aid distribution site in the Gaza Strip.
“Findings from an initial inquiry indicate that the IDF did not fire at civilians while they were near or within the humanitarian aid distribution site and that reports to this effect are false,” it added.
MSF said at least two patients told them they and others had been shot while trying to get aid. MSF communications officer Nour Alsaqa said in a statement that as MSF staff were treating patients, they also “received confirmation that a colleague’s brother had been killed while attempting to collect aid from the centre”.
Another incident was said to have happened near a separate aid centre in the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza, with the Palestinian Red Crescent reporting 14 injured.
The BBC was contacted by doctors at the Nasser hospital who said they had received about 200 people with injuries caused by bullets or shrapnel.
Local journalists and activists shared footage of bodies and wounded people being transported on donkey carts to the Red Cross field hospital in the al-Mawasi area.
The BBC has examined footage of bodies being carried on carts and in the back of lorries to Nasser Hospital.
Gaza’s health ministry said more than 200 cases had arrived at hospitals, including 31 dead.
Seventy-nine of the injured were brought to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, according to the emergency department, medical staff from British charity Medical Aid for Palestinians reported.
Those killed and injured “were primarily struck by live gunfire, with many victims sustaining direct shots to the head or chest”, the charity’s staff said.
Injured Palestinians were being brought to the Nasser Hospital after the incident
Victoria Rose, a British surgeon who has been working at Nasser Hospital, recorded a video mid-morning in which she motions to the beds with patients behind her and says “all the bays are full and they’re all gunshot wounds”.
The GHF, which distributes aid at these sites, denied any incident occurred near its distribution centres.
An IDF soldier in Rafah contacted the BBC to say that Israeli soldiers did fire near the crowd, but not at them, and that no-one was hit.
Mohammed Ghareeb, a journalist in Rafah, told the BBC that Palestinians had gathered near the aid centre run by the GHF when Israeli tanks approached and opened fire on the crowd.
Mr Ghareeb said the crowd of Palestinians were near Al-Alam roundabout around 04:30 local time (02:30 BST), close to the aid centre run by GHF, shortly before Israeli tanks appeared and opened fire.
“The dead and wounded lay on the ground for a long time,” he said.
“Rescue crews could not access the area, which is under Israeli control. This forced residents to use donkey carts to transport victims to the field hospital.”
Mahmud Bassal, a spokesman for Gaza’s main emergency service the Civil Defence, told AFP news agency that more than 100 people were wounded “due to gunfire from Israeli vehicles towards thousands of citizens”.
The incidents underscore the dire humanitarian conditions in Rafah, where recent Israeli military operations have severely limited access to aid and emergency services.
On Saturday, crowds of civilians rushed aid trucks into Gaza, the World Food Programme said, as hunger and desperation created chaotic scenes.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is a new US and Israeli-backed organisation that has been distributing food at designated sites across Gaza. Israel set up the plan after accusing Hamas of stealing aid, which the group denies.
The GHF said it had distributed 4.7 million meals this week, which the BBC has not been able to independently verify.
A military campaign was launched by Israel in Gaza in response to Hamas’s cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
At least 54,418 people have been killed in Gaza during the war, according to the territory’s health ministry.
With all votes counted, right-wing historian Karol Nawrocki has been elected Poland’s new president, the state electoral commission (PKW) said.
PKW said Nawrocki won 50.9% percent of the votes – ahead of Warsaw’s liberal mayor Rafal Trzaskowski on 49.1% percent.
It’s a sensational turnaround from the result of the first exit poll – published immediately after voting ended at 21:00 local time (19:00 GMT) on Sunday – that showed Trzaskowski winning on 50.3% to Nawrocki’s 49.7%.
Trzaskowski had claimed victory after the first exit poll, while Nawrocki cautioned that the results were too close to call.
“We won, although the phrase ‘razor’s edge’ will forever enter the Polish language and politics,” Trzaskowski told his supporters.
His wife, Malgorzata, jokingly told the crowd, “I’m close to having a heart attack”.
Nawrocki, had said after the result of the first exit poll, “Let’s not lose hope for this night. We will win during the night, the difference is minimal. I believe that we will wake up tomorrow with President Karol Nawrocki.”
As Poland’s new president, Nawrocki is likely to continue to use his presidential power of veto to block Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s pro-EU programme.
The result is also likely to re-energise Nawrocki’s supporters, the national conservative Law and Justice (PiS) opposition, which lost power eighteen months ago, giving them renewed belief they will be able to defeat Tusk’s coalition in 2027 parliamentary elections.
Nawrocki supports traditional Catholic and family values and is a strong supporter of Polish sovereignty within the EU.
He backs continued support for Ukraine, but has said he does not want to see the country joining NATO and the EU during Russia’s ongoing aggression.
Poland’s president is a largely ceremonial role with limited influence on foreign policy and defence, but the president can veto legislation. Tusk’s pro-EU coalition government lacks a large enough parliamentary majority to overturn it.
The current conservative incumbent president, Andrzej Duda, has used his powers to prevent Prime Minister Tusk delivering key campaign promises, including removing political influence from the judiciary and liberalising the country’s strict abortion law.
Duda, who could not run for re-election having already served two consecutive terms, congratulated Nawrocki.
“It was a difficult, sometimes painful but incredibly courageous fight for Poland, for how the affairs of our homeland are to be conducted. Thank you for this heroic fight until the last minute of the campaign!” Duda said.
Both presidential candidates support continued assistance for neighbouring Ukraine, but they differ over their approach to the EU. Trzaskowski, a former Europe minister, supports Tusk’s vision of a Poland at the heart of the European mainstream, influencing decisions through strong relations with Germany and France.
Nawrocki, 42, supports a strong sovereign Poland and does not want the country to cede any more powers to Brussels. He opposes the EU’s climate and migration policies.
He was relatively unknown nationally before he was selected by opposition party PiS to be their “unofficial” candidate.
A keen amateur boxer and footballer, he often posts images of himself working out. PiS presented him as a strong candidate who would stand up for ordinary Poles and the country’s national interests.
A fan of President Donald Trump, he flew to Washington during the Polish election campaign for an extremely brief meeting – and to get a thumbs-up photo of himself with Trump in the Oval Office.
During the campaign, questions were raised over the number of apartments Nawrocki owned after he said in a presidential debate, that he, like most Poles, owned one.
However, it later emerged he owned a second apartment which he had acquired from a pensioner at a discount in exchange for promises of care.
This led to accusations that he had taken advantage of a vulnerable senior citizen and failed to fulfil his promises.
Following the scandal, Nawrocki said he would donate the council flat to charity and he denied he did not provide the care.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said “the sooner” his government provides clarity on changes to the winter fuel payment “the better”.
He reiterated that ministers were reviewing which pensioners should receive the payment but added he wanted to be “absolutely clear where the money is coming from” before setting out the details.
After coming to power in July last year, the Labour government announced it was withdrawing the annual payment – worth up to £300 – from more than 10 million pensioners.
However, last month Sir Keir said he would be partially reversing that decision, making changes to allow “more pensioners” to qualify again.
The government is yet to spell out which pensioners will regain their entitlement to the money, although Treasury Minister Darren Jones has said millionaires should not be getting “subsidy for their energy bills” and that payments would be “targeted to those that need it the most”.
Asked if he still believed his government had been right to restrict winter fuel payments last summer, Sir Keir said he had inherited an economy that was “completely broken”.
“It was our duty to stabilise the economy and to fill in that £22bn black hole. I’m not going to resile from that.”
His U-turn came after pressure from some Labour MPs, who are also expressing concern about the two-child benefit cap and proposed cuts to disability benefits.
Pressed on whether he would consider increasing taxes to raise more money, the prime minister said the UK’s underlying problem in recent years had been “flat or anaemic growth”.
“I don’t think you can tax yourself to growth – we have got high taxes as it is.”
Reform UK, the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party have called for the winter fuel payments to be restored to all pensioners.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said “millionaire” pensioners should not be eligible.
Previously, the winter fuel payment had been paid to all pensioners regardless of income or wealth. Households with a pensioner under 80 received an annual lump sum of £200, rising to £300 for pensioners over 80.
On taking office, Labour restricted the payment to those pensioners who qualify for pension credit and other income-related benefits – a move which saved an estimated £1.4bn.
The income threshold for pension credit, the main benefit to qualify to continue to receive winter fuel payments, is currently £11,800 a year for individuals and £18,023 for pensioner couples.
Designing a new way of increasing the number of eligible pensioners is likely to be tricky for the government.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said creating a new means-test would create “hassle” for pensioners and result in many not claiming the payment.
Another think tank, the Resolution Foundation, has estimated that expanding the threshold pension credit by 10% could cost £2.5bn.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has warned of China posing an “imminent” threat to Taiwan, while urging Asian countries to boost defence spending and work with the US to deter war.
Hegseth also said that while the US does not “seek to dominate or strangle China”, the US would not be pushed out of Asia and would not allow intimidation of allies.
He was addressing top Asian military officials at the Shangri-la Dialogue, a high-level defence summit held annually in Singapore.
Many in Asia fear potential instability if China invades Taiwan, a self-governing island claimed by Beijing. China has not ruled out the use of force.
Beijing has yet to respond to Hegseth’s Taiwan remarks.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s declaration that Operation Sindoor is “not yet over” has reignited political tensions at home and intensified regional rhetoric,
Speaking at a rally in West Bengal on Thursday, the Indian prime minister addressed Pakistan and said the country “should understand that we have entered your house and killed you three times” — referring to past military operations widely interpreted as the 2016 Uri surgical strikes, the 2019 Balakot airstrikes, and the most recent Operation Sindoor launched on May 7.
Portraying Operation Sindoor as a national mission backed by “140 crore Indians”, he claimed Indian forces destroyed terror infrastructure across the Line of Control in an operation that “Pakistan never thought of.”
“Now that I am standing on the sacred land of ‘Sindoor Khela’, it is only right that we speak about a new resolve against terrorism Operation Sindoor…. Terrorists had dared to wipe out the sindoor of our sisters, but our forces made them realise the strength of sindoor. From this land of Bengal, I declare on behalf of 140 crore Indians that Operation Sindoor is not yet over”, Modi told the crowd, linking the military campaign with Bengal’s cultural traditions.
Critics within India, including West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, have condemned Modi for exploiting military operations for political gain.
In a sharp rebuttal, Banerjee accused the Indian PM of playing “political holi” with a military operation’s branding and using religious symbolism to stoke nationalist fervour.
“Operation Sindoor [as a] name was given with a political goal. But I won’t say anything about this. When all opposition leaders are shouting hoarse for the country abroad, at that time the prime minister has come to play political holi – this does not behove the prime minister”, Banerjee said at a press conference.
She also criticised Modi’s use of gendered religious imagery. “You are spreading garbage of lies… PM Modi is not the husband of anybody; why aren’t you giving sindoor to your Mrs first?” she said, attacking the symbolic invocation of sindoor as a tool of state propaganda. She added, “Sindoor cannot be sold like this. Sindoor is a matter of self-respect”.
Modi’s rally speech also targeted the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government in West Bengal, accusing it of “violence, corruption and lawlessness”, and citing recent communal clashes in Murshidabad and Malda, along with a multi-crore teacher recruitment scam.
Banerjee has defended her administration and accused Modi of divisive politics. “He wants to divide and rule. He does divisive politics”, she said, adding that while opposition leaders are representing India abroad and “defending the country like anything”, the prime minister is “criticising the government… and politicising things like the leader of the BJP Jumla Party.”
She further challenged Modi to an early election in the state, saying, “I challenge them. If they have guts, go into elections tomorrow, we are ready and Bengal is ready to accept your challenge.”
On the question of accountability for the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, which left 26 civilians dead, Banerjee asked: “Has anyone seen the terrorists who snatched the sindoor of the women who were victims in Pahalgam? Has he caught them?”
She also accused Modi of avoiding tough international questions, particularly referring to US President Donald Trump’s claims of mediating the May 10 ceasefire between India and Pakistan: “On hearing the word America, he becomes silent.”
Banerjee also challenged Modi to a face-to-face televised debate. “If you are so brave, then come for a press conference on television. We will have a direct fight on any subject you want. You can bring your teleprompters too if you want”, she said, taking a dig at Modi’s reluctance to engage in unscripted public exchanges.
US President Donald Trump hosts a grand Oval Office farewell for Elon Musk on Friday as the world’s richest man ends his turbulent reign as the government’s cost cutter-in-chief.
The pair will hold a joint press conference at 1.30pm local time, with Trump attempting to put a positive spin on Musk’s departure from the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after just four months.
Trump, 78, praised the “terrific” Musk on Thursday and insisted that his influence would continue despite the South African-born tech tycoon returning to his Space X and Tesla companies.
“This will be his last day, but not really, because he will, always, be with us, helping all the way,” Trump said on his Truth Social network.
Vice President JD Musk praised Musk’s “incredible” job in an interview with Newsmax and vowed that “the DOGE effort will continue.”
But the news conference will be a far cry from Musk’s first dramatic appearance in the Oval Office in February, when he brought his young son with him and outshone even the attention-seeking president himself.
At the time the 53-year-old was almost inseparable from Trump, glued to his side on Air Force One, Marine One, in the White House and at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
Yet Musk is now leaving Trump’s administration under a cloud, after openly admitting disillusionment with his role, and criticizing the Republican president’s spending plans.
DOGE rampage
The right-wing magnate’s DOGE has led an ideologically-driven rampage through the federal government, with its young “tech bros” slashing tens of thousands of jobs.
It has also shuttered whole departments including the US Agency for International Development (USAID), leading to huge cuts in foreign aid that critics say will hit some of the world´s poorest people and boost US rivals.
But DOGE’s achievements fell far short of Musk’s boasts when he blazed into Washington brandishing a chainsaw at a conservative event and bragged that it would be easy to cut two trillion dollars.
Trump also loudly proclaimed that DOGE was cutting “waste” and would regularly reel off long lists of alleged fraud that Musk´s team was discovering, including social security claimants older than the world´s oldest person.
In reality, the independent “Doge Tracker” site has counted just $12 billion in savings so far while the Atlantic magazine put it far lower, at $2 billion.
Musk’s Silicon Valley-style “move fast and break things” mantra was also at odds with some of his Washington colleagues.
He clashed with other cabinet members and said in an interview earlier this week that he was “disappointed” in Trump’s recent mega tax and spending bill as it undermined DOGE’s cuts.
Musk’s companies, meanwhile, were suffering.
Tesla shareholders called for him to return to work as sales slumped and protests targeted the electric vehicle maker, while Space X had a series of fiery rocket failures.
At Friday’s press conference Musk may also face questions over a New York Times report alleging intensive drug use by the tycoon while on the campaign trail for Trump last year.
The Times said the 53-year-old told friends he was taking so much of the anesthetic ketamine “that it was affecting his bladder, a known effect of chronic use.”
Musk has previously admitted to taking ketamine, saying he was prescribed it to treat a “negative frame of mind” and suggesting his use of drugs benefited Tesla investors.
India’s military has admitted, for the first time, that it lost an unspecified number of fighter jets in its clashes with Pakistan earlier this month.
Anil Chauhan, chief of the defence staff of the Indian Armed Forces, confirmed this during an interview with Bloomberg TV at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday.
Chauhan said: “What is important is not the jets being down, but why they were being downed.” He added: “The good part is that we are able to understand the tactical mistake which we made, remedy it, rectify it, and then implement it again after two days and fly all our jets again, targeting at long range.”
Chauhan’s remarks represent the first direct confirmation from an Indian official regarding the fate of its fighter jets during the conflict with Pakistan, which erupted on May 7.
Earlier this month, in response to India’s unprovoked attacks on innocent civilians in Pakistan, the Pakistan Air Force downed six Indian jets, including three French-made Rafale fighter jets.
India’s government had previously declined to comment on whether it lost aircraft in the fighting.
A day earlier, senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy also acknowledged that Pakistan shot down five IAF jets during the recent conflict.
Speaking in an interview, Swamy said that the Indian planes were defeated in air combat as Pakistan deployed Chinese fighter jets, which outperformed the French-made aircraft used by New Delhi.
“Pakistan downed five of our planes. They used Chinese planes to down our planes, which were French,” Swamy revealed. “The Chinese planes were good, but the French were not. Rafale is not up to the mark as per India’s needs,” he added, criticising the performance of the highly-touted Rafale jets.
He went on to make a startling claim regarding the controversial Rafale deal, alleging corruption in the procurement process. “Corruption happened in Rafale which won’t be investigated till Modi is the PM,” he stated firmly.
Furthermore, Chauhan also confirmed that the four-day conflict, the worst between the nuclear-armed neighbours in half a century, never escalated to the point of nuclear war. The clashes involved both sides trading air, drone, and missile strikes, as well as artillery and small arms fire along their shared border.
The conflict was triggered by New Delhi after an attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22, where gunmen killed 26 civilians. India labelled it an act of terrorism orchestrated by Pakistan, a claim denied by leaders in Islamabad.
KARACHI: Citizens protesting prolonged power outages ended their 16-hour sit-in near Quaidabad after successful negotiations with SSP Malir, reopening the National Highway for traffic on Saturday.
The protest began late Friday night as residents blocked the highway in response to unannounced and extended electricity loadshedding, which had paralysed daily life during peak summer — as tempratures cross 39°C.
The demonstration caused massive traffic disruption, including gridlock stretching from Quaidabad to Malir Halt, leaving commuters and vehicles — including those transporting sacrificial animals — stranded for hours.
In response, Sindh Interior Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar took immediate notice and directed law enforcement and administrative officials to manage the situation.
He contacted SSP Malir and DC Malir, instructing them to coordinate with K-Electric and ensure immediate power restoration in the affected areas.
Lanjar also ordered that protestors be provided with cold water and beverages due to the extreme heat and that medical access to hospitals be ensured for anyone affected by the weather.
SSP Malir was directed to personally visit the site, engage the demonstrators, and help conclude the protest peacefully.
After negotiations led by SSP Malir, the protestors dispersed and the National Highway was reopened after 16 hours.
K-Electric, in a statement, claimed that 70% of its network is exempt from loadshedding, with outages limited to high-loss areas due to theft or non-payment. It claimed that areas with 100% bill recovery continue receiving uninterrupted power.
However, widespread loadshedding has been reported in Malir, Landhi, Korangi, Orangi Town, New Karachi, Model Colony, Surjani, Lyari, and parts of old city areas such as Lines Area and Kharadar. Commercial hubs such as Jama Cloth Market and Liaquatabad have also experienced prolonged outages.
The utility confirmed that 496 feeders are currently undergoing up to 10 hours of daily loadshedding, with another 155 experiencing slightly shorter interruptions.
ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday announced that Pakistan would upgrade its Chargé d’Affaires in Afghanistan to the level of an ambassador amid improving ties with the neighbouring country.
Taking to X, Dar said that Pakistan-Afghanistan relations were on positive trajectory after his “very productive” visit to Kabul on April 19.
“I am confident this step would further contribute towards enhanced engagement, deepen Pak-Afghan cooperation in economic, security, CT & trade areas and promote further exchanges between two fraternal countries,” he stated.
Pakistan and Afghanistan have embassies in each other’s capitals but they are led by charge d’affaires, not ambassadors.
China was the first country to accept an ambassador from the Taliban-run administration in Kabul though it does not formally recognise its government. Several other states, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), followed.
The two nations share a porous border spanning around 2,500 kilometres with several crossing points which hold significance as a key element of regional trade and relations between the people across both sides of the fence.
The issue of terrorism remains a key issue for Pakistan which has urged Afghanistan to prevent its soil from being used by groups such as the TTP to carry out attacks inside the former’s territory.
However, days earlier, a commander of the Afghan Taliban, Saeedullah Saeed, warned terrorists of Fitna al-Khwarij against fighting the Pakistan forces, conducting attacks in the name of Jihad.
Earlier this month, China hosted an informal meeting between Islamabad and the Afghan Taliban administration, wherein Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi says it was decided between the two nations to upgrade their diplomatic ties.
The neighbours agreed in principle to send ambassadors to each other’s country as soon as possible, Yi said after his talks with Afghanistan’s acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and FM Dar.
Meanwhile, Islamabad and Beijing also agreed to extend the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to Afghanistan, reaffirming their commitment to enhancing regional connectivity and economic cooperation.
The key outcomes from the Beijing meeting also included commitments to enhance cooperation in security and counter-terrorism, including joint action against militant groups and external interference and an understanding to formally resume the trilateral process by convening the sixth China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue in Kabul.
Tensions appeared to ease after a rare meeting between Muttaqi and Dar in Kabul last month where the Taliban’s acting foreign minister expressed concern over the deportation of tens of thousands of Afghans from Pakistan.
During the meeting, both sides agreed to continuing dialogue in a constructive and positive atmosphere to address bilateral concerns, including security, trade, transit cooperation, and broader ties.
