Washington | Pakistan

The Foreign Office (FO) on Friday strongly condemned the shooting of two soldiers of the United States’ National Guard in Washington, DC, saying that the incident “heralds a troubling resurgence of terrorism on a global scale”. Two National Guard soldiers were critically wounded on Wednesday after being shot a few blocks from the White House, with US President Donald Trump terming the incident an “act of terror”. Trump has since announced that one of the soldiers had died. In a press release, the FO said, “Pakistan strongly condemns the shooting incident in Washington DC, reportedly involving an Afghan national. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the departed soldier, and (we) wish the injured a swift and complete recovery,” it said. It also extended sympathies to the families affected, as well as to the government and people of the US. The FO said the attack was “undoubtedly an act of terrorism and a heinous assault on US soil”. “For the past two decades, Pakistan has endured countless similar terrorist inci...

Washington and Kyiv said that any eventual deal to halt the war with Russia must fully uphold Ukraine’s sovereignty, after “constructive” talks between US, Ukrainian and European officials in Geneva. After a day of meetings that kicked off based on a United States’ proposal that was criticised as being in Russia’s favour, negotiators have drafted “an updated and refined peace framework”, a US-Ukraine joint statement said on Sunday. US President Donald Trump had given Ukraine until November 27 to approve his plan to end the nearly four-year conflict, which began after Russia launched a full-scale invasion. But Kyiv was seeking changes to the draft that accepted a range of Russia’s hardline demands, with the 28-point plan requiring the invaded country to cede territory, cut its army and pledge never to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato). “The talks were constructive, focused, and respectful, underscoring the shared commitment to achieving a just and lasting peace,” the joint statement said. “The...

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb reached Washington on Sunday, where he will attend plenary meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) from Oct 13 to 18. The meetings bring together global finance ministers, central bankers and development leaders, offering Pakistan a crucial platform to secure the next IMF tranche, advance economic reforms, and engage international partners on growth, investment, and resilience. Aurangzeb’s visit comes after a IMF mission concluded talks with Pakistani authorities on reviews of two lending programmes totalling $8.4 billion without announcing a staff-level agreement (SLA). Before leaving for the US, the finance minister had expressed optimism that the SLA with the IMF would be finalised next week during his visit to Washington. Separately, Pakistani officials in Washington told media representatives that during the 2025 annual meetings, the delegation from Islamabad would focus on securing the third IMF tranche, meeting the remaining programme be...

United States President Donald Trump said on Monday he would call a national emergency and federalise Washington DC after Mayor Muriel Bowser said its police would not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). At issue is the provision of information on individuals living in, or entering, the United States illegally. Trump’s threat adds to a move critics have seen as federal overreach, with more than 2,000 troops patrolling the city. The comments come after several thousand protesters hit the streets this month over Trump’s August deployment of National Guard troops to “re-establish law, order, and public safety“, after calling crime a blight on the capital. “In just a few weeks. The ‘place’ is absolutely booming … for the first time in decades, virtually no crime,” Trump said on Truth Social. Bowser’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s post. Earlier, he had put the metropolitan police department under direct federal control and sent federal law enforcement,...

Republican President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the United States ambassador to India said on Thursday that Washington and New Delhi were “not that far apart” on tariffs. “We’re not that far apart on a deal on these tariffs,” Sergio Gor, a close Trump aide who is currently director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, said at his Senate confirmation hearing. “I do think it will get resolved in the next few weeks,” Gor said. US-India ties have been strained by Trump’s trade war, with talks on lower tariff rates collapsing after India, the world’s fifth-largest economy, resisted opening its vast agricultural and dairy sectors. Bilateral trade between the two countries is worth more than $190 billion each year. Trump first imposed additional tariffs of 25 per cent on imports from India, then said they would double to 50pc from August 27 as punishment for New Delhi’s increased purchases of Russian oil, as Washington works to end the war in Ukraine. Trump said on Tuesday his administration is contin...

US President Donald Trump announced Friday that the draw for the 2026 World Cup will be held in Washington on December 5 — and then jokingly asked if he could keep the golden trophy for himself. The draw for the 48-team football championship will be held at the Kennedy Center in the US capital, where Trump recently installed himself as chairman in what he called a war on “woke” culture. “It’s the biggest, probably the biggest event in sports,” Trump, flanked by FIFA chief Gianni Infantino, said as he made the announcement in the Oval Office of the White House. The 2026 World Cup is being hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico next year, and Trump has made a big deal about it happening during his presidency. Infantino, who has fostered close ties with the billionaire US president, brought the World Cup with him for the announcement and even let Trump get his hands on it. “Only the FIFA president, presidents of countries, and then those who win can touch it, because it’s for winners only. And since you ...

United States President Donald Trump on Monday deployed military and federal law enforcement to curb violent crime in Washington, as he seeks to make good on his campaign pledge to be a “law and order” president. The Republican leader said he would place the city’s Metropolitan Police under federal government control while also sending the National Guard onto the streets of the US capital. The overwhelmingly Democratic city faces allegations from Republican politicians that it is overrun by crime, plagued by homelessness and financially mismanaged — although violent offences are down. “This is Liberation Day in DC, and we’re going to take our capital back,” Trump said. Trump — a convicted felon who granted blanket clemency to nearly 1,600 people involved in the 2021 US Capitol riot in Washington — has complained that local police and prosecutors aren’t tough enough. He said 800 DC National Guardsmen — “and much more if necessary” — would be deployed to the city of 700,000. As Trump was speaking at the White H...

Air India said on Monday that it would stop services between the capital cities of India and the United States from September 1, citing aircraft shortage due to the planned upgrades to its ageing Boeing planes and the closure of Pakistan’s airspace. The suspension of services between New Delhi and Washington, DC, marks the latest setback for Air India, which is facing heightened regulatory scrutiny after a June crash in Ahmedabad killed 260 people. The planned shortfall in Air India’s fleet and continued closure of airspace over Pakistan have impacted the airline’s long-haul operations, leading to longer flight routings and increased operational complexity, the carrier said. The airline has undertaken a $400 million retrofit programme to upgrade its fleet. It, however, sees the Pakistan airspace ban costing it $600m over 12 months, Reuters had earlier reported. India and Pakistan closed their respective airspaces to each other days after relations between the arch-rivals nosedived following a fatal attack on ...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar has arrived in Washington, D.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will visit the United States next week to attend high-level events of the UN Security Council (UNSC) and “certain” other engagements in Washington, the Foreign Office (FO) said on Saturday. Earlier this month, Pakistan assumed presidency of the UNSC, marking the country’s eighth term on the 15-member body and its first presidency since 2013. Islamabad began its current two-year term as a non-permanent member in January 2025 and will serve through the end of 2026. Dar will visit the US to “attend the high-level signature events of Pakistan’s UN Security Council (UNSC) Presidency in New York, as well as for certain engagements in Washington”, the FO said in a statement. The statement, which did not specify the dates of Dar’s visit, mentioned at least four UNSC-affiliated events that he will attend. His expected engagements in Washington, the hub of the White House, come amid ongoing trade talks between the countries. To express Pakistan’s “strong commitment a...

Trade relations between Pakistan and the United States have gained positive momentum following the recent visit of Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir to Washington, according to a Bloomberg report.

WASHINGTON: The United States said on Thursday that it opposed Israel’s strikes in Syria, a day after Washington helped broker a deal to end violence. “The United States did not support recent Israeli strikes,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters. “We are engaging diplomatically with Israel and Syria at the highest levels, both to address the present crisis and reach a lasting agreement between the two sovereign states,” she said. She declined to say if the United States had expressed its displeasure with Israel or whether it would oppose future strikes on Syria. Secretary of State Marco Rubio voiced concern when asked about the Israeli strikes, which included attacking the defence ministry in Damascus. Fresh clashes rock Druze heartland He later issued a statement that did not directly address the Israeli strikes, but voiced broader concern about the violence. Israel said it was intervening on behalf of the Druze community after communal clashes. Fresh clashes Meanwhile, Bedouin tribes an...

Qatar’s prime minister said on Tuesday that the country had brokered a ceasefire with Iran amid the ongoing war with Israel at the request of the United States to play a role as a liaison. He also said that relations with Iran were scarred by an Iranian missile volley at a United States airbase in the Gulf Arab state, but added that he hoped ties would eventually “come back to normal”. Iran responded to US participation in Israel’s air war against Iran by firing missiles on Monday at the Al Ubeid air base, but no one was hurt after Tehran gave warning, and a ceasefire was announced hours later by Washington. Qatar, situated just across the Gulf from Iran, has often acted as a mediator in regional conflicts, including between Iran and the US and between Israel and Hamas in the continuing Gaza conflict. “What happened will definitely have its scar on the relationship [with Iran], but I hope by the time everyone learns the lesson that this kind of neighbourhood relationship should not be violated and should not ...

WASHINGTON: As Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir concluded his four-day visit to the United States on Friday, the diplomatic choreography surrounding the trip offered fresh clues to a quiet realignment in US-Pakistan relations — and signaled Washington’s interest in assigning Islamabad a new regional role. The Trump administration, which welcomed Field Marshal Munir with uncharacteristic warmth, appears to want Pakistan to act as a potential peacemaker in the ongoing Iran-Israel conflict. President Trump hinted at this during a White House luncheon, saying Pakistanis “know Iran better than most” and noting they were “not bad with Israel” either. The COAS’ next stop — Turkiye — added weight to this emerging role. He flew directly from Washington to attend an Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) conference on the Iran-Israel crisis, underscoring Pakistan’s willingness to be seen as a regional stabiliser. Diplomatic sources in Washington say that while Pakistan is expected to engage Iran, ...

WASHINGTON: Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir arrived in Washington on Sunday for a five-day official visit aimed at reinforcing military and strategic ties between Pakistan and the United States, diplomatic sources confirmed. The visit, which sources described as “primarily bilateral in nature”, is not officially linked to the US Army’s 250th anniversary celebrations on June 14, despite its timing. Field Marshal Munir did not attend the military parade, but some sources speculated that he spent the last two days at the US Central Command’s headquarters in Tampa, Florida. The Pakistani embassy in Washington, however, refused to confirm or deny this claim. The sources said the army chief’s visit aims to reinforce military and strategic ties between Pakistan and the US, with meetings expected with senior US officials, including the Secretaries of Defence and State and senior US military commanders. PTI supporters protest outside embassy ahead of army chief’s arrival Meanwhile, several PTI ...

Posts from PTI supporters on multiple social media platforms on Tuesday shared a clip of PTI’s interim Chairman Barrister Ali Gohar allegedly urging overseas Pakistanis to participate in a protest on June 14 against the army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir. However, the video is a deepfake and he has not issued any such message. A senior trade delegation from Pakistan is due in Washington this week for talks with United States officials on the recently imposed American tariffs and related economic issues, diplomatic sources told Dawn. The PTI claims that Field Marshal Asim Munir would visit Washington around the same time, something that neither the US nor Pakistani officials have confirmed. While official dates for these visits are being withheld due to political sensitivities, the PTI, which has long opposed the current Pakistani establishment, has announced plans to stage large-scale demonstrations during the visit. In a tweet posted over the weekend, PTI’s Secretary for Overseas Affairs, Sajjad Burki, cal...

The high-powered delegation, led by former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, has reached Washington after concluding its two-day visit to the United Nations Headquarters in New York on Wednesday. Pakis­tan had launched a broad-based engagement campaign in the United States to present its perspective on the recent spike in tensions with India, and counter New Delhi’s growing lobbying presence here. The delegation comprises Senator Rehman, former foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar, Dr Musadik Malik, Engineer Khurram Dastgir, Faisal Subzwari, Tehmina Janjua, Senator Bushra Anjum Butt and Jalil Abbas Jilani. In New York, the delegation “drew attention to India’s illegal use of force and violations of international law, including the UN Charter and International Humanitarian Law, particularly targeting of civilian areas and killing of innocent civilians, including women and children”, according to a statement issued by the Foreign Office. It added that the delegation rejected India’s allegations regarding t...

Two Israeli embassy staffers were shot dead late on Wednesday outside a Jewish museum in Washington by a gunman who shouted “free Palestine”. authorities said, with US and Israeli leaders expressing shock and outrage over the killings. US President Donald Trump quickly condemned the attack, saying, “These horrible DC killings, based obviously on anti-Semitism, must end, now!” “Hatred and radicalism have no place in the USA,” he added on social media. Gunfire broke out on the sidewalk outside the Capital Jewish Museum in the centre of Washington as the venue held a social event for young professionals and diplomatic staff. The victims were a young couple who planned to get married, the Israeli ambassador said. A video clip circulating on social media showed a young bearded man in a jacket and white shirt shouting “free, free Palestine” as he was led away by police. Police confirmed the suspected shooter walked into the museum after the shooting and had been detained. “We believe the shooting was committed by a...