Trump | Pakistan

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that it “looks like” Hamas would give up its weapons, a step the group has not confirmed, in what would be a major step forward in the fragile Gaza ceasefire with Israel. “A lot of people said they’ll never disarm. It looks like they’re going to disarm,” Trump told a cabinet meeting. Trump hailed cooperation with Hamas after Israeli forces brought back the remains of the last captive held in Gaza, Ran Gvili. “They did help us with those bodies, getting them back, and that family is so grateful,” Trump said. Trump had asked for an update on the Middle East from his roving special envoy Steve Witkoff, sitting in the side of the room as cabinet members and media listened. An upbeat Witkoff voiced high confidence in Hamas following through. “We’ve got the terrorists out of there and they’re going to demilitarise. They will because they have no choice,” Witkoff said. “They’re going to give it up. They’re going to give up the AK-47s,” he told Trump. Hamas has said that the...

US President Donald Trump is weighing options against Iran that include targeted strikes on security forces and leaders to inspire protesters, multiple sources said, even as Israeli and Arab officials said air power alone would not topple the government. Two US sources familiar with the discussions said Trump wanted to create conditions for “regime change” after a crackdown crushed a nationwide protest movement earlier this month. To do so, he was looking at options to hit commanders and institutions that Washington holds responsible for the violence, to give protesters the confidence that they could overrun government and security buildings, they said. One of the US sources said the options being discussed by Trump’s aides also included a much larger strike intended to have a lasting impact, possibly against the ballistic missiles that can reach US allies in the Middle East or its nuclear enrichment programmes. The other US source said Trump has not yet made a final decision on a course of action, including ...

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday renewed threats to attack Iran, saying “time is running out” to make a deal on nuclear weapons, after Tehran rejected talks. “Hopefully Iran will quickly ‘Come to the Table’ and negotiate a fair and equitable deal — NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS — one that is good for all parties. Time is running out,” the US leader said in a social media post, noting that “a massive armada is heading to Iran.” “As I told Iran once before, MAKE A DEAL! They didn’t, and there was ‘Operation Midnight Hammer,’ a major destruction of Iran. The next attack will be far worse!” The dialling up of threats came after Iran’s top diplomat said the country would not come to the table under the shadow of military action. “Conducting diplomacy through military threat cannot be effective or useful,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in televised comments on Wednesday. “If they want negotiations to take shape, they must certainly set aside threats, excessive demands and raising illogical issues.” Trump has repe...

A US naval strike force led by an aircraft carrier was in Middle Eastern waters on Tuesday as Iran vowed to hit back against any strike and President Donald Trump said he believed the Islamic republic still wanted talks. Washington has not ruled out new military intervention against Tehran over its crackdown on protests, which saw over 3,000 killed within days, according to Iranian media. A strike group led by the USS Abraham Lincoln has now arrived in Middle Eastern waters, US Central Command said, without revealing its precise location. Since Iran earlier this month launched the crackdown on protests accompanied by a blanket internet blackout, Trump has given mixed signals on intervention. “We have a big armada next to Iran. Bigger than Venezuela,” Trump told the Axios news site, weeks after US military action resulted in the capture of the Latin American nation’s president Nicolas Maduro. But he added: “They want to make a deal. I know so. They called on numerous occasions. They want to talk.” Axios said T...

US President Donald Trump on Saturday said he would impose a 100 per cent tariff on Canada if it makes a trade deal with China and warned Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney that a deal would endanger his country. “China will eat Canada alive, completely devour it, including the destruction of their businesses, social fabric, and general way of life,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “If Canada makes a deal with China, it will immediately be hit with a 100pc Tariff against all Canadian goods and products coming into the USA.” Carney during a recent visit to China called the Asian superpower a “reliable and predictable partner” and in Davos encouraged European leaders to seek investment from the world’s second-largest economy. Trump suggested that China would try to use Canada to evade US tariffs. “If Governor Carney thinks he is going to make Canada a ‘Drop Off Port’ for China to send goods and products into the United States, he is sorely mistaken.” Tensions between the U.S. and its northern neighbour have grown...

Britain said United States President Donald Trump was “wrong to diminish” the role of Nato troops in Afghanistan, as his claims that they did not fight on the front line sparked outrage. In an interview with Fox News aired on Thursday, Trump appeared unaware that 457 British soldiers died during the conflict, following the September 11 attacks on the United States. “They’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan,” Trump told the US outlet, referring to Nato allies. “And they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines,” he added. Trump also repeated his suggestion that Nato would not come to the aid of the United States if asked to do so. In fact, following the 9/11 attacks, the UK and several other allies joined the US in Afghanistan from 2001 after it invoked Nato’s collective security clause, Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which treats an act of aggression against one or more members as an attack on all. As well as British forces, troops from other Nato ally countries, including...

President Donald Trump said a US “armada” was heading toward the Gulf and that Washington was watching Iran closely, even after downplaying the prospect of imminent military action and saying Tehran appeared interested in talks. Trump has repeatedly left open the option of new military action against Iran after Washington backed and joined Israel’s 12-day war in June aimed at degrading Iranian nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. The prospect of immediate American action seemed to recede in recent days, with both sides insisting on giving diplomacy a chance. On his way back from the World Economic Forum in Davos, the president told reporters on Air Force One the United States was sending a “massive fleet” toward Iran “just in case.” “We’re watching Iran,” he said. “I’d rather not see anything happen but we’re watching them very closely.” Addressing the WEF on Thursday, Trump said the United States attacked Iranian uranium enrichment sites last year to prevent Tehran from making a nuclear weapon. Iran den...

United States President Donald Trump withdrew on Thursday an invitation for Canada to join his Board of Peace initiative aimed at resolving global conflicts. Trump’s about-face follows Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he openly decried powerful nations using economic integration as weapons and tariffs as leverage. “Please let this Letter serve to represent that the Board of Peace is withdrawing its invitation to you regarding Canada’s joining, what will be, the most prestigious Board of Leaders ever assembled, at any time,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post directed at Carney. Neither Carney’s office nor the White House immediately responded to Reuters’ requests for comment on Thursday evening. Last week, Carney’s office said he had been invited to serve on the board and planned to accept. Carney received a rare standing ovation in Davos after the speech, in which he urged nations to accept the end of a rules-based global order. Canada, which recently s...

Fazl says pinning hopes on peace in Palestine under Trump’s board amounts to deceit Gohar says move given approval by ignoring parliamentary committee Pakistan’s decision to join Board of Peace taken purely in interest of Palestinians: Tariq Fazal.

US President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he will sue The New York Times over an unfavourable opinion poll and suggested that what he called “fake” surveys should be criminalised. Trump lashed out after publication of a New York Times/Siena University poll finding only 40 per cent approval for the 79-year-old Republican — in line with multiple other polls showing declining support a year into his second term. “The Times Siena Poll will be added to my lawsuit against The Failing New York Times,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform. “They will be held fully responsible for all of their Radical Left lies and wrongdoing!” Expanding on the threat, Trump posted that “Fake and Fraudulent Polling should be, virtually, a criminal offence”. Trump has fired off multiple defamation lawsuits against media companies, including the BBC, CNN, Wall Street Journal, CBS and ABC. Some have ended in multi-million-dollar settlements. He first filed a $15 billion defamation suit against the Times in September 2025, c...

Amid an outcry by the opposition in the National Assembly, the government on Thursday defended its decision to join the Board of Peace led by US President Donald Trump, saying it was taken in the interest of the Palestinian people. Originally meant to oversee peace in Gaza after Israel’s two-year war on the Palestinian enclave, the Board of Peace’s charter envisions a wider role in resolving international conflicts. A group of leaders and senior officials from 19 countries — including Pakistan — gathered on stage on Thursday with Trump at a signing ceremony in Davos, Switzerland, to put their names to the founding charter of the body. Speaking in the National Assembly, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said Pakistan had a principled position on the Palestine issue and always raised it at international forums. He said Pakistan’s decision to join the board was guided by national interest and the collective priorities of the Muslim Ummah, not political considerations. He noted that UN Securi...

US President Donald Trump repeatedly made an apparent gaffe in a speech Wednesday to world leaders assembled in Switzerland by referring to “Iceland” several times instead of his much coveted “Greenland”, with the White House furiously denying any confusion on his part. The 79-year-old Republican has been clamoring for the United States to acquire Greenland, a large island territory of Denmark, citing what he called security threats from Russia and China in the Arctic Circle. On Wednesday he announced a “framework” for a future deal on Greenland and the cancellation of planned tariffs on European countries that had opposed his moves to control the island — but not before ruffling Nato allies and straining transatlantic relations. “I’m helping Nato, and until the last few days, when I told them about Iceland, they loved me,” Trump said during his remarks to the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos. “They’re not there for us on Iceland — that I can tell you. I mean, our stock market took the first dip yesterda...

Pakistan and seven other Muslim-majority countries on Wednesday released a statement announcing their decision to join US President Donald Trump’s so-called ‘Board of Peace’. In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Qatar welcomed the invitation “extended to their leaders” by Trump. “The ministers announce their countries’ shared decision to join the Board of Peace. Each country will sign the joining documents according to its respective relevant legal and other necessary procedures, including Egypt, Pakistan, and the UAE, that have already announced to join,” the joint statement said. It should be noted that all eight countries had worked with Trump in October last year on a plan to end Israel’s genocide and invasion in Gaza. The UAE had announced its decision to join the board on Tuesday while Pakistan and Egypt had separately announced it on Wednesday. “The ministers reiterate their countries’ support for the peace efforts l...

US President Donald Trump ruled out the use of force in his bid to control Greenland on Wednesday, but said in a speech in Davos that no other country can secure the Danish territory. “People thought I would use force, but I don’t have to use force,” Trump said at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Switzerland. “I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force.” Trump took a hectoring tone, chastising the United States’ European allies for their insolence, disloyalty and policy missteps in areas ranging from wind power and the environment to immigration and geopolitics. Trump’s increasing threats to Europe over Greenland have frayed transatlantic ties and worried Europeans, overshadowing a speech that was intended to focus primarily on the US economy. Calling Denmark “ungrateful,” the Republican US president played down the issue as a “small ask” over a “piece of ice” and that an acquisition would be no threat to the Nato alliance, which includes Denmark and the United States. “No nation or group of natio...

US President Donald Trump has invited countries to pay $1 billion in exchange for a permanent seat on a newly proposed initiative known as the “Board of Peace”. The body was initially envisioned as a mechanism to address Israel’s war on Gaza, though its charter does not restrict its mandate solely to the occupied Palestinian territory. Several states have been approached by the US to join the initiative. Pakistan also received an invitation on Sunday. Today, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif accepted the proposal to participate in the initiative with the aim of “achieving lasting peace in Gaza”, according to a statement issued by the Foreign Office (FO). What is the board meant to do? According to AFP, the Board of Peace will be led by Trump under the terms outlined in its founding charter. The document describes it as “an international organisation that seeks to promote stability, restore dependable and lawful governance, and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict”. It further states t...

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepted an invitation to join US President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” aimed at resolving conflicts, Netanyahu’s office said Wednesday. “Prime Minister Netanyahu announced that he has accepted US President Donald Trump’s invitation and will join as a member of the Board of Peace, which will be composed of leaders of the world,” the office said in a statement. The board was originally conceived to oversee the rebuilding of post-war Gaza, but its charter seen by AFP does not appear to limit its role to the Palestinian territory, and members have to pay up to $1 billion for a permanent spot on it. The board “seeks to promote stability, restore dependable and lawful governance, and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict”, reads the preamble of the charter sent to countries invited to participate. It will be chaired by Trump himself, who will also “separately serve” as the representative of the United States. Dozens of countries and leaders...

US President Donald Trump’s plane was forced to return to an air base late Tuesday due to a “minor electrical issue” shortly after departing for Switzerland, the White House said. Air Force One returned to Joint Base Andrews out of an abundance of caution, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. It landed shortly after 0400 GMT. Journalists traveling with Trump reported that lights in the cabin went out briefly after takeoff. After returning to Andrews, Trump resumed his trip to the Davos forum early Wednesday. Trump and his entourage changed planes at Joint Base Andrews and took off again shortly after 0500 GMT, about two-and-a-half hours after his initial departure. With its classic blue and white livery, Air Force One is arguably the world’s most iconic plane and an instantly recognisable symbol of the US presidency. Trump has long been unhappy with the current Air Force One jets - two highly customized Boeing 747-200B series aircraft that entered service in 1990 under president George H.W Bush. Last year, ...

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump suggested on Tuesday that his proposed “Board of Peace” might one day replace the United Nati­o­ns, which he described as “not very helpful”, as he marked the first anniversary of his second term in office at the White House. Speaking for more than an hour before taking questions from reporters, Trump said the UN had potential but added that he had never considered turning to the organisation to help resolve conflicts. Asked whether his envisioned Board of Peace could supplant the UN, he replied that it “might”. Earlier in the day, Tru­mp released a list of what he described as major achi­e­vements from his first year back in office, highlighting what he portrayed as successes in both domestic and foreign policy. Public opinion polls released around the same time showed growing voter dissatisfaction with the administration’s immigration policies. Against that backdrop, the first 15 minutes of Trump’s appearance in the White House briefing room appeared aimed at reshaping ...

French President Emmanuel Macron told US President Donald Trump that he could set up a G7 meeting in Paris on Thursday afternoon and that he did not understand what Trump was “doing on Greenland,” in a screenshot of the messages that Trump posted on Truth Social and said was a note from Macron. According to the messages, Macron told the US president that he could invite the Ukrainians, the Danish, the Syrians and the Russians to participate on the margins of the meeting, and also invited Trump to have dinner with him in Paris on Thursday. Trump’s replies, if any, were not part of the screenshot that he posted. The White House and the Macron’s office did not respond to a request for comment. A source close to Macron said that the text message shared by Trump was authentic. EU leaders are set to convene in Brussels on Thursday evening for an emergency summit following Trump’s threats to impose new tariffs on several EU countries over his demand to acquire Greenland. Last week, in a post on Truth Social, Trump s...

United States President Donald Trump said he no longer felt an “obligation to think purely of peace” after not receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, and repeated his demand for control of Greenland. Trump made the remarks in a letter to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, which was published on Monday and whose authenticity was confirmed to AFP by Støre’s office. A copy of the text of the letter was posted by the foreign affairs and defence correspondent for PBS News, Nick Schifrin, on social media platform X, who said he had obtained it from multiple officials. Schifrin added that the letter had been forwarded to “multiple European ambassadors in Washington”. “Dear Jonas: Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped eight Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace,” Trump said in the letter. “Although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America.” As Bloomberg pointed out, ...