DAr meetS rUbio iN WAShiNgtoN AS PAkiStAN PUSheS irAN-US PeAce effortS
anthems of Pakistan and China followed by a tribute song jointly performed by Pakistani and Chinese singers to honour bilateral friendship A cake-cutting ceremony was also held to commemorate the 75th anniversary celebrations Guests later attended the screening of The Shadow Chaser featuring renowned Chinese actor Jackie Chan
Modi ’s bid to isolate Pakistan backfires as Islamabad gains global diplomatic influence: Al Jazeera
Narendra Modi s long-standing campaign to diplomatically isolate Pakistan has largely produced the opposite outcome, with Islamabad increasingly emerging as a more influential geopolitical and diplomatic actor on the global stage according to a report published by Al Jazeera The report recalled that in September 2016 following the Uri attack in Indian-occupied Kashmir, Modi had publicly pledged to isolate Pakistan internationally
Addressing a public rally in the southwestern Indian state of Kerala he declared that India would intensify efforts to ensure Pakistan remained diplomatically isolated across the world
Nearly a decade later, however, Al Jazeera observed that Pakistan has instead expanded and strengthened its strategic and diplomatic engagement with major global powers including China and the United States while steadily enhancing its role in regional and international affairs
The report highlighted Pakistan s growing engagement with the administration of US President Donald Trump noting
that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir both visited the White House during the past year According to Al Jazeera Pakistan has also emerged as an increasingly important diplomatic interlocutor between Washington and Tehran amid continuing regional tensions, further elevating Islamabad s international relevance The report identified the May 2025 military confrontation between Pakistan and India as another key moment that significantly boosted Pakistan s diplomatic profile During the conflict US President Donald Trump publicly announced a ceasefire between the two nuclear-armed neighbors Pakistan promptly acknowledged Washington’s role in securing the truce with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanking Trump for his leadership and proactive role Islamabad later nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize a move which, according to the report, further strengthened ties between Pakistan and the United States In contrast Al Jazeera noted that New Delhi resisted acknowledging any thirdparty mediation and maintained that the ceasefire resulted solely from bilateral military communication Trump, however, repeatedly asserted
that the United States had brokered the truce and claimed his administration had helped avert a potentially wider conflict in South Asia The report further stated that Pakistan gained a significant advantage in shaping international perceptions during the crisis Analysts cited by Al Jazeera argued that India failed to provide convincing evidence linking Pakistan to the Pahalgam attack that triggered the escalation Michael Kugelman of the Atlantic Council told Al Jazeera that Pakistan appeared to have won the global battle of narratives The report also noted that Pakistan s military performance during the confrontation attracted considerable international attention, particularly Islamabad’s claims regarding the downing of multiple Indian fighter aircraft including Rafale jets
According to Al Jazeera India s delayed acknowledgment of aircraft losses reinforced international perceptions that Pakistan had effectively held its ground militarily against a far larger adversary
On the diplomatic front the report highlighted Pakistan s deepening strategic partnership with China
During Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif s recent visit to Beijing, Chinese
President Xi Jinping described relations between the two countries as “unbreakable ” underscoring what the report characterized as the enduring strength of bilateral ties
Al Jazeera also pointed to Pakistan s expanding engagement with regional countries, including Bangladesh following political developments in Dhaka, while noting that India’s regional diplomacy has faced mounting challenges amid the continued paralysis of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
Analysts quoted in the report argued that New Delhi s approach toward Pakistan had undermined prospects for broader regional integration in South Asia
Former Pakistani Ambassador Masood Khan told Al Jazeera that Pakistan’s recent diplomatic gains in Washington were the result of astute diplomacy particularly in the aftermath of the May 2025 conflict
The report concluded that despite years of Indian efforts to isolate Pakistan through international forums and counterterrorism narratives shifting geopolitical realities have instead repositioned Islamabad as an increasingly important regional actor with growing influence in Washington, Beijing and wider international diplomacy
Iran’s president praises Pakistan’s role in reaching Iran-US agreement
said
s constructive and responsible role in supporting diplomatic initiatives and efforts aimed at reducing tensions and ending the ongoing conflicts and crises in the region
Pezeshkian also emphasized the importance of continuing cooperation and coordination among Islamic countries in order to protect the stability security and common interests of the Islamic world
TH E R E is the hoary old joke about the man who is butting the wall Another man asks why he is doing so The first man says It feels good when I stop That is the kind of relief that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on Thursday when he announced a cut of Rs 22 per litre ib the price of petrol and diesel to follow on the previous cut of Rs 6 the previous Thursday, bringing the price to Rs 380 per litre for high-speed diesel and Rs 381 per litre for petrol, from Rs 410 per litre for both HSD and petrol The cuts have been made possible not because of any solid developments, but because of expectations that the crisis which has driven oil prices from a pre-war $70-$71 per barrel to a peak over $120 per barrel Brent Futures are about $90 a barrel presently, which reflects an expectation that a deal might be imminent It also reflects the earlier decision by US President Donald Trump not to resume the conflict with Iran
The two sides seem to be approaching an agreement in which the Straits of Hormuz are reopened immediately while the Iranian nuclear programme would be deferred to the future It would thus turn out that the USA had gone to war merely to get the Hormuz Strait reopened, when it had been open before its attack It would be difficult to work out why the USA had put the world through so much suffering, when all it obtained was Iran to engage in negotiations it was already carrying out in Geneva when the war started Pakistan is one of the many Third World oil importing countries adversely affected by this crisis However, it plays an important role as a mediator in this crisis, and its efforts have generally won admiration A settlement has not yet been achieved, but now the pressure being built on Pakistan and other countries like it, by the closure of the Hormuz Strait, is now being felt by the USA Mr Trump faces particular pressure because of the midterm elections he is facing It is perhaps awkward for him that no one else is particularly close to polling in their respective election cycles The USA will only be following its best interests by agreeing to a deal
Dedicated to the legac y of late Hameed Nizami Arif Nizami (Late)
Founding Editor
M A Niazi
Editor Pakistan Today Babar Nizami Editor Profit
TH E killing of Arshad Sharif was not just the death of a journalist It was the loss of a fearless voice The loss of questions that many people were afraid to ask openly It reminded the country that truth often comes with sacrifice and that those who speak boldly sometimes carry the heaviest burdens
A chair remains unoccupied A conversation remains unfinished A family continues living with a silence that the outside world can never fully understand But beyond those walls life moves on Television debates continue Political slogans change Public attention shifts elsewhere The noise of daily life slowly buries even the deepest grief This is how societies lose sensitivity toward pain Not only through political conflict Not only through economic hardship But when public tragedies no longer leave lasting marks on collective conscience The tragedy of Arshad Sharif should have remained a lasting moral reflection for all of us Instead, it slowly became another chapter in a long cycle of outrage, debate, and eventual silence Those demanding answers grew tired Those making promises moved on And ordinary people convinced themselves that forgetting is easier than carrying permanent sorrow But silence always carries consequences Every time society becomes quiet after such a tragedy, another voice somewhere becomes fearful Another young journalist begins doubting
Pakistan has endured immense trials throughout its histor y and has always produced individuals who carried resilience , courag e , and faith through difficult times The strength of this countr y has never rested merely in institutions or politics alone Its real strength has always lived within ordinar y people who continue believing in decency, justice , and hope even during moments of sorrow
Climate funds overdue
ASuch asymmetry is not stagnant; it is gaining momentum The Indian stock is over 100-130 satellites (compared to 7-8 in Pakistan) and is paired with AI-based analytics in predictive warfare In principle, multipolarity disperses power, but in this case, it increases India’s bargaining power as alliances are torn down along spatial lines The space capabilities of the Chinese (nearly 628 satellites) give Pakistan a certain weight through China s strategic partnership The collaborative CPEC space technologies, such as the launch of a new Remote Sensing Satellite PRSS-01, from China’s Xichang Satellite Launch Center, which enhances 24/7 high-resolution imaging for precision agriculture urban planning disaster management and mainly for geospatial mapping of CPEC projects However, the US-India nexus, cemented by iCET (Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology) and mutual satellite data protocols further creates hurdles for Pakistan even with collaboration with China as it doesn t dismiss India s aggressive posture in the region This is not innovation; provocatively it is imperialism reloaded The space story of India resonates with colonial cartography: explorations and conquest of the heavens to create control over the earth The parallels are not new in history; the British were also drawing arbitrary lines on maps and now India is drawing orbital limits According to the satellite database released by the Union of Concerned Scientists, military spending on space increased by 40 per cent after 2022 compared to civilian expenditures India can avoid scrutiny of its arms control through its hybrid strategy in the multipolar world where the USA China and Russia compete to influence the cosmos by positioning themselves as Western, technologically aligned, and projecting themselves as independent An example of this was the 2021 UN resolution on space debris which criticized the Russian tests but failed to mention the Indian ASAT that created debris in 2019 showing a Western double standard Orbital encirclement of Pakistan can lead to more dangerous doctrines, such as reduced nuclear levels, preemptive cyberattacks,
or unconventional alliances This is not paranoia; models of game-theoretic strategies in simulations by the RAND Corporation have predicted greater instability when one party gains a space advantage Pakistan stands to be at the mercy of foreign space services economically because India can indirectly sabotage telecom or even weather forecasting services, which will paralyze the response to floods or famines Pakistan requires disruptive innovation to break this siege It needs to develop mobile ASAT missiles as China did in 2007 and invest in quantum-encrypted communications to avoid surveillance Diplomatically mobilize the Global South in such forums as the NonAligned Movement, and tag the Indian programme as being stellar neo-hegemony, which erodes multipolarity
The United Nations should come forward and offer South Asian states demilitarization agreements supported by inspections Finally diversify partnerships– and build Pakistan s participation in Europe (through ESA partnerships) and the Middle East (through the UAE s space agency) to develop resilient, multisource capability
The provocative point is that India’s space boom is not making the region rise to a higher plane it is destabilizing the multipolarity in the grip of unilateral dominance Pakistan cannot survive by compromising; it needs bold countermeasures Balance in the shadow of stars is kept by a piece of thread, a cut off, and South Asia is reduced to heavenly anarchy The writer ia a Research Fellow at the Balochistan Think Tank Network (BTTN) Quetta
The provocative point is that IndiaÊs space boom is not making the region rise to a higher plane, it is destabilizing the multipolarity in the grip of unilateral dominance. Pakistan cannot survive by compromising; it needs bold countermeasures. Balance in the shadow of stars is kept by a piece of thread, a cut off, and South Asia is reduced to heavenly anarchy.
Unit y over venom
SummRa
Rizwan ahmad
venting Soviet expansion across Eurasia
MORE than a century ago British geographer and political thinker Halford Mackinder presented a theory that continues to shape debates on global power politics Writing in 1904, Mackinder argued that geography was not merely a backdrop to international affairs; it was one of the decisive forces determining the rise and decline of great powers His famous Heartland Theory proposed that the vast landmass of Eurasia stretching from Eastern Europe to Central Asia and Siberia constituted the strategic pivot of world politics At the time, the theory appeared to many as an abstract geopolitical formulation rooted in imperial competition Yet in the 21st century the renewed contest over Eurasia has once again brought Mackinder s ideas into sharp focus Mackinder famously wrote: Who rules East Europe commands the Heartland; who rules the Heartland commands the World Island; who rules the World Island commands the world By World Island he referred to the combined continents of Europe Asia and Africa as the largest concentration of population, resources and economic activity on earth The “Heartland,” meanwhile, was the interior of Eurasia particularly the territories dominated by the Russian Empire and Central Asia His central argument was simple: a power capable of controlling Eurasia s core would possess immense strategic advantages over maritime rivals For much of the 20th century, Mackinder’s theory influenced strategic thinking in both Europe and the USA During the Cold War the USSR s domination of Eastern Europe appeared to validate his assumptions Western policymakers feared that Moscow s control over the Eurasian interior could translate into overwhelming geopolitical influence Consequently, the policy of containment pursued by the USA and its allies was partly rooted in pre-
The collapse of the USSR in 1991 led many observers to believe that geopolitics itself had lost relevance Economic globalisation, technological interdependence and liberal internationalism were expected to replace territorial competition Borders seemed less important in an increasingly connected world
Yet the events of the past two decades have demonstrated that geography remains central to international politics In many respects, Eurasia has once again become the arena where major powers seek influence, security and strategic advantage The resurgence of Russia under Vladimir Putin reflects this reality Since coming to power Putin has consistently sought to restore Russian influence in the former Soviet space Moscow views Eastern Europe and Central Asia not merely as neighbouring regions but as essential buffers for its national security The conflict in Ukraine, therefore, is not only a territorial dispute; it is also a geopolitical struggle over the balance of power in Eurasia From the Russian perspective the eastward expansion of NATO represents an encroachment into a region historically considered vital to Russian security interests
Mackinder ’s theory gains renewed relevance in this context Eastern Europe, particularly Ukraine remains strategically significant because it connects European power centres with the Eurasian interior Control over this corridor has historically shaped the security calculations of both Russia and Western powers The ongoing war has therefore revived classical geopolitical concerns that many assumed belonged to the past At the same time China has emerged as another major actor reshaping Eurasian politics Beijing s Belt and Road Initiative is perhaps the clearest contemporary example of a
Eurasian strategy grounded in geography Through roads railways ports and energy corridors China seeks to connect East Asia with Central Asia the Middle East Africa and Europe Although presented primarily as an economic initiative, the project also carries significant geopolitical implications By strengthening continental trade routes, China reduces its dependence on maritime pathways vulnerable to US naval power In strategic terms Beijing is attempting to integrate large parts of Eurasia through infrastructure and economic connectivity Central Asia, once viewed as a remote periphery, has become a crucial crossroads linking Chinese industry to European and Middle Eastern markets This transformation echoes Mackinder s emphasis on the strategic importance of the Eurasian interior The growing significance of Central Asia further underlines the return of geopolitics Countries such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan possess vast energy re-
More than 100 years after Mackinder formulated his Hear tland Theor
sources and occupy key transit corridors As competition intensifies between Russia China the USA and regional powers such as Turkey Central Asia has become a zone of overlapping strategic interests The region s political orientation and economic partnerships increasingly carry implications beyond its immediate geography For the USA the challenge remains preventing the emergence of a single dominant Eurasian power US foreign policy since World War II has consistently sought to maintain a balance of power across Europe and Asia Washington s alliances in Europe, the Indo-Pacific and the Middle East are partly designed
r t o m o r r o w
Tehran interprets the US’s seemingly generous concessions as too good to be true
if
missed this saying “short-term
will soon end the war with Iran and open the Strait of Hormuz But a growing chorus of US politicians and pundits have denounced any agreement that gives Iran billions while leaving it in control of the strait and a nuclear programme Iran, meanwhile, is in no hurry to jump at the offer American officials blame Tehran’s obduracy on its fractured leadership But if there is division in Tehran it is over the wisdom of trusting the US government After all Iran has had a sordid experience of dealmaking with Trump who scuttled the 2015 nuclear deal and has twice launched strikes against Iran during negotiations Iran is driving a hard bargain because this is an existential fight What it seeks above all else is the guarantee that war will not return That assurance will have to be embedded in the structure of any deal The agreement currently on the table a short-term ceasefire to set the stage for negotiating a larger deal does not provide it The dominant view shared across the political spectrum in Tehran is that, given Trump’s record, the promise of diplomacy could actually raise the threat of war Washington’s seemingly generous concessions are interpreted as too good to be true Their aim is to lull Iran into lowering its guard as America prepares to finish the job Talk of US strategic defeat in Washington which is widely discussed in Tehran has not helped Analysts in Iran have interpreted such commentary as a clarion call for more war In their view, the US will not tolerate defeat and the more that prominent Amer-
by inflicting more pain on the US and the world economy is the only way to ensure the US president is ready for serious talks Not everyone in Tehran subscribes to this aggressive approach Iran itself is paying a considerable price Other Iranian leaders talk of control of the Strait of Hormuz and maintaining Iran s stockpile of highly enriched uranium as the key to deterrence instead They believe any durable deal that includes economic compensation for war damage and lasting sanctions relief would hinge on these two issues; the US is demanding that Iran concede on both This makes striking a lasting deal highly unlikely Tehran might agree to open the strait but it will not relinquish control of it Iran is now convinced that its ability to shut down this chokepoint is a major deterrent, especially if Yemen s Houthis join Iran in a future conflict and also squeeze trade through the Red Sea In addition, control of the strait would let Iran collect fees on commercial maritime traffic The revenue will be welcome economic relief but also compel countries around the world to challenge US secondary sanctions by paying Iran tolls If that happens often enough it will weaken the sanctions regime Iran no longer sees a nuclear deal with the US as a solution to its economic and security problems It thinks America is unlikely to lift sanctions and that, once Iran has done its part Trump could again abandon it Nor would a nuclear deal reduce the likelihood of war In fact the emerging consensus in Tehran is that a new nuclear deal aims to give Washington a freer hand to isolate Iran and attack it militarily Giving the US what it could not get through two wars will not make Iran safer, but more vulnerable A narrative promoted by the Guards holds that the US only agreed to a ceasefire and talks after it failed to snatch Iran s highly enriched uranium under cover of rescuing a missing pilot The more the US insists on Iran giving up enrichment and handing over its stockpile, the more Tehran becomes convinced that America s aim is to remove Iran’s deterrence through diplomacy so it can go back to war against a weaker adversary Iran might agree to suspend enrichment for a period
The US and Iran may agree to end this round of fighting That would be welcome news for the world economy but we should not be distracted by any short-term gains or Trump s inevitable claims of victory and the dawn of a new era in the
WH Y are millions of young Indians suddenly calling themselves cockroaches? The chief justice of the Supreme Court of India probably did not anticipate that an off-the-cuff courtroom remark would trigger one of the most popular political satire movements his country has seen At a May 15 hearing on judicial appointments Justice Surya Kant made a comment about youngsters like cockroaches, who, unable to find employment or establish themselves professionally, drift into media, social media and political activism
But in this country of 1 4 billion, where social media increasingly shapes political conversation the comment spread rapidly on WhatsApp Instagram and X Within hours it had been translated into multiple Indian languages and circulated widely among a generation struggling with unemployment, rising costs and growing frustration with public institutions
Many viewed the remark as dehumanizing Lawyers debated proper judicial conduct while young Indians flooded social media with angry responses and memes
Then a 30-year-old Boston University graduate named Abhijeet Dipke launched a satirical Instagram page called the Cockroach Janta Party a play on Prime
Minister Narendra Modi s Bharatiya Janata Party
At first, it appeared to be little more than internet satire But within days, the account began attracting hundreds of thousands of followers and then surged into the millions Young Indians started posting memes identifying themselves as useless cockroaches reclaiming a term traditionally associated with filth contamination and disposability For many, the movement became an outlet for grievances they felt mainstream politics had failed to address Soon the Cockroach Janta Party began evolving from meme page into political expression Its slogan Secular Socialist Democratic Lazy mocks the seriousness
DR MuhaMMaD akRaM ZaheeR
fend every part of allied territory Romania a Nato member said a Russian drone had crashed into a residential block on its soil during the overnight assault Medvedev said it still had to be determined which country the drone belonged to but argued that European leaders should stop expressing indignation over the episode because, in his view, they were directly involved in a war against Russia In a statement, he said: Let them get ready: this will continue to happen He added:
There is a war going on! And the citizens of EU states as the population of the belligerent countries will not be able to sleep peacefully Medvedev also said such incidents were especially likely in places where drones were being produced for Ukraine Referring to military support provided to Kyiv he said European-made drones their spare parts and other weapons, along with intelligence, were being used in attacks on Russia every day He said those attacks were causing damage to residential buildings in Russia and leading to civilian deaths In the same state-
ment Medvedev said: After all European drones spare parts for them and other weapons not to mention intelligence, are used in attacks on our country every day As a result of their actions, residential buildings are being damaged in which our civilians are dying Earlier on Friday Russia s state news agency Tass reported that President Vladimir Putin had been informed about the drone incident in Romania Separately, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Moscow would respond quickly after Romania decided to shut the Russian consulate in Constanta in retaliation
bans drones over World Cup matches and events
CORPORATE CORNER
Dr. Nauman Niaz’s Book ‘My th & Realit y: T ype II Diabetes & Disease Impact
Getz
in Pakistan’
ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT
CM MARYAM NAWA Z EXTENDS EIDUL A ZHA GREETINGS TO NATION, MUSLIM
together economists industrialists policymakers, diplomats, parliamentarians, academia, business leaders, and financial experts to deliberate on Pakistan’s economic challenges and present recommendations for the upcoming Federal Budget 2026–27 The Chief Guest of the event was Mr Herman Hardynata Ahmad Consulate General of Malaysia in Karachi while the
I N P Justice continues to elude families of Shopian double rape and murder victims of two Kashmiri women despite the passage of seventeen years
A report released by Kashmir Media Service on the 17th anniversary of Shopian rape and double murder incident today said justice continues to elude victim families despite the passage of more than one decade The victims, Aasiya and Nelofar, were abducted, raped and subsequently killed by the men in uniform in Shopian Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir and their bodies were found on 30th May 2009
The incident is a chilling example of Indian troops brutalities in Kashmir and is witness to institutionalized and structured violence that India is using in the territory
It said the Shopian double rape and murder is a chilling example of Indian troops’ brutalities in IIOJK and the incident is witness to institutionalized and structured violence that India is using in the territory
The report deplored harassment, torture and rape of Kashmiri women by Indian troops to
IGP Islamabad celebrates Eidul A zha with families of mar t yrs
Rehab area, the delegation visited slaughterhouses established near the Gaza border in strategic Egyptian cities, including Ras Gharib and Nobaria Dr Hafeez Ur Rehman formally inaugurated the Qurbani project by sacrificing a ram for the people of Gaza During the visit the delegation reviewed arrangements related to slaughtering meat processing, packaging and transportation to ensure the safe delivery of meat to affected families in Gaza The Alkhidmat president also met orphaned children widows and displaced Palestinian families currently residing in Egypt under the organisation’s support programme
ISLAMABAD S TA F F R E P O R T According to details Inspector General of Police (IGP) Islamabad Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi offered Eidul-Adha prayers along with officers at the Police Lines Headquarters After the prayers, special prayers were made for the security of the country, the nation the Muslim Ummah and the elevation of the ranks of the martyrs IGP Islamabad embraced police officers and extended Eid greetings to them He also visited the Martyrs Monument laid flowers and prayed for the high ranks of the martyrs He stated that living nations never forget the sacrifices
FIeLD MArShAL ceLeBrATeS eID AL-A zhA WITh FrOnTLIne TrOOPS In zhOB, BALOchISTAn: ISPr
Aid c uts deepen strain on Pakistan’s fragile health system
Shrinking international assistance is disrupting key parts of Pakistan’s already overstretched health system with family planning immunisation HIV tuberculosis and other preventive programmes facing mounting pressure as donorbacked support contracts A report by think tank Tabadlab, cited by Dawn, said the global pullback in development assistance since 2025 has hit several health programmes in Pakistan The country spends 0 9 per cent of its GDP on public health well below the World Health Organisation s 5pc benchmark for universal health coverage Pakistan’s life expectancy stands at 67 3 years while infant and maternal mortality remain high at 50 1 deaths per 1 000 live births and 155 deaths per 100,000 live births, respectively Overseas development assistance has historically covered functions that domestic budgets
did not adequately fund, including supply chains, cold storage, procurement monitoring and technical support across maternal and child health family planning immunisation HIV-AIDS malaria and TB programmes Although such aid accounted for around 1pc of public health spending, it supported critical system functions Family planning and frontline services
In Lyari Karachi community health worker Amna Sualeh told Dawn that the cost of reproductive health services has risen sharply after donor support receded She said women who once relied on low-cost services are now struggling to access them Before with donor support we could perform IUD insertions for just Rs500 Now it costs up to Rs10,000 in private clinics Many simply can’t afford it anymore," she added Many of her clients most of them working-class mothers have started missing visits or turning to
unsafe alternatives as household incomes come under pressure during Pakistan’s prolonged macroeconomic crisis Closures layoffs and programme reductions According to the Tabadlab report cited by Dawn, USAID s suspension led to the closure of more than 60 UNFPA-run health facilities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa affecting care for 1 7 million people It also halted HIV-AIDS programmes in Sindh that had been providing medication to patients Reductions in commitments by multilateral donors, including Gavi and the Global Fund compounded the pressure Gavi-related drawdowns affected vaccination efforts and led to the layoff of more than 200 vaccinators in Lahore alone A $27 2 million reduction from the Global Fund cut TB support by half in several provinces, reduced financing for diagnostic kits by 75pc and put treatment for more than 42 000 HIV-positive patients at risk
Pakistan, C hina reaffirm push to expand militar y cooperation
ISLAMABAD N E W S D E S K
Pakistan and China have reiterated their commitment to strengthening defence ties and strategic coordination according to remarks by Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman Colonel Jiang Bin during a monthly press briefing on Thursday
Commenting on recent highlevel contacts during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ’s official visit to China Jiang said the relationship between the two countries remained marked by what he described as an enduring iron-clad friendship He said China and Pakistan were close neighbours, trusted friends, supportive partners, and brothers who stand by each other in difficult times
and said the party s provincial lawmakers remained aligned behind the chief minister He also dismissed claims that any such split could affect passage of the upcoming provincial budget According to Jan Afridi’s recent meeting with Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl
Defence ties and joint exercises Jiang said military cooperation between the two countries had produced what he called fruitful outcomes in strategic communication, joint drills and training, personnel exchanges and collaboration in defence equipment and technology
He said a series of joint exercises involving the armies, navies, and air forces of both countries had become signature elements of bilateral defence cooperation He specifically named the Warriors Ocean Guards and Eagles exercises among the established projects in this area
According to the spokesman, Beijing is prepared to work with Pakistan under the strategic direction of the two countries’ leader-
chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman was related to the death of cleric Maulana Muhammad Idrees and the broader law and order situation not an attempt to seek political support for the budget He said propaganda had been directed at the chief minister since he assumed office and maintained that Afridi continued to enjoy the confidence of PTI founder Imran Khan, whose decision within the party remained final Jan said KP was the only province in the country where democratic values
ships to carry forward their traditional friendship, improve strategic communication, and deepen practical cooperation He added that both sides would continue supporting each other on issues concerning their core interests
Reference to broader ties Jiang said the two countries would keep advancing military-tomilitary relations and contribute to building what he called a closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era while also promoting regional and global peace development and security
He said that over the 75 years since diplomatic relations were established, ties between the two countries had endured shifts in the international environment and had continued to deepen among their peoples
were being promoted and added that the chief minister had brought opposition parties together in the public interest He also said Afridi was regularly holding meetings on major development schemes and that, despite limited resources, the provincial government had made significant progress in development law and order and matters of public welfare
He urged those spreading what he called fake news to wait for the budget, saying it would pass smoothly and support development in the province "false, fabricated, and baseless," Jan used those words for the reports about a group being formed against the chief minister He also said those seeking to create divisions among PTI lawmakers had failed
