Pakistan

US Vice President JD Vance has departed for Islamabad to lead the American delegation in the upcoming Iran–US negotiations being hosted under the mediation of Pakistan.

Sikh pilgrims from India have entered Pakistan through the Wagah Border to take part in the annual Vaisakhi celebrations.

President Asif Ali Zardari has congratulated To Lam on his election as President of Vietnam, stating that the unanimous support of the National Assembly reflects strong confidence in his leadership.

THE WEEKEND is just around the corner, and all eyes are on Islamabad. By the time the sun dips behind the lush green Margalla Hills, the federal capital’s skies will be buzzing with the landing of jets, bringing in delegations from Iran and the United States. After brokering a ceasefire, Pakistan is now set to host crucial talks between Iran and Washington on Saturday, April 11 — a dialogue that will very much decide the fate of the Middle East and the rest of the world. The teams that will likely arrive comprise political heavyweights, including US Vice President JD Vance and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Consequently, preparations in Islamabad are underway in full swing: a red alert has been issued, over 10,000 security personnel deployed, and all entry points closed. For Pakistan, this is a significant moment in its diplomatic history. Particularly with respect to the US, it has been a decade since a high-level American delegation, including the country’s vice president, visited Pakistan. Here, ...

The US-Israel war with Iran has shifted conflict from battlefields to data centres, software engineers and civilian technologies — turning them into both enablers of military power and its most vulnerable targets. As the line between military and civilian infrastructures blurs, urgent questions emerge about the laws and ethics of war. Meanwhile, rapid technological development draws an ever larger number of civilians into the expanding footprint of the war machine. The joint US-Israel strikes in February 2026 on Iran demonstrates how artificial intelligence has transformed modern warfare. Digital warrior to the fore Relying on AI systems that can rapidly analyse vast quantities of diverse data, the US Central Command conducted an initial wave of 900 strikes within a remarkably narrow 12-hour window in a feat that would have been logistically impossible under traditional human-centric planning. This unprecedented speed of kinetic operations arises from integrating commercial AI systems, such as Claude AI, prod...

China’s President Xi Jinping met Taiwan’s opposition party leader Cheng Li-wun in Beijing on Friday, telling the visiting delegation he had “full confidence” that Taiwanese and Chinese people would be united. Kuomintang (KMT) chairwoman Cheng is the party’s first leader to visit China in a decade, but her trip has sparked debate in Taiwan with critics accusing her of being too pro-Beijing. China severed high-level contact with Taiwan in 2016 after Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won the presidency and rejected Beijing’s claims that the self-ruled island is part of its territory. Xi told Cheng as the two met on Friday that “the general trend of compatriots on both sides of the Strait getting closer, edging nearer and becoming united will not change”. “This is an inevitable part of history. We have full confidence in this,” Xi said during the talks carried by Taiwanese media. He also said China was willing to strengthen dialogue with groups in Taiwan, including the KMT, on the “common pol...

Nawaz Sharif has said that Pakistan has carved out a distinct place on the global stage as a voice for peace and stability.

On the occasion of Constitution Day, Syed Murad Ali Shah highlighted the importance of the 1973 Constitution as the cornerstone of Pakistan’s federal strength and citizens’ rights.

The federal capital is on ‘red alert’ ahead of crucial peace talks between the US and Iran, with more than 10,000 police and security personnel deployed to ensure the safety of visiting delegates. Sources say the multi-tiered security arrangement is being supervised by the military, assisted by paramilitary forces such as the Rangers, along with Islamabad Police and Punjab Police. The Islamabad Traffic Police and the National Highways and Motorways Police are deployed on roads to ensure smooth traffic flow. Below are some glimpses of the heavy security arrangements in Islamabad during the US-Iran talks. Pakistani army soldiers arrive for deployment at the Red Zone area of Islamabad on April 10, 2026. —AFP A US Air Force transport aircraft with “Charleston” written on its tail approaches PAF Base Nur Khan as Pakistan prepares to host the US and Iran for peace talks, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, April 10, 2026. —AFP An army soldier disperses locals who arrive to visit Faisal Masjid, for security reasons, as Pakista...

All eyes are on Islamabad this weekend as the city braces to mediate one of the most consequential, high-stakes peace negotiations since the culmination of the Second World War. Starting today, American emissaries, led by Vice President JD Vance, will sit across the table from Iranian diplomats to negotiate a lasting settlement to a war that has rattled global power structures and stock markets alike. On the face of it, it is a welcome development from where the world found itself on Tuesday. As daylight drew to a close, the world watched in anticipation as Washington backed itself into an impossible corner, promising to annihilate “a whole civilisation” if Tehran did not give a safe passageway to traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. But a last-ditch diplomatic breakthrough by Pakistan managed to pull both sides from the brink of a potentially catastrophic escalation of unknowable consequences. For now, Islamabad seems to have bought both sides some time to turn a fragile truce into something akin to a durab...

The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) on Friday expressed “deep concern” at the suspected suicide of a third-year medical student in Mirpurkhas. The 21-year-old student died in a suspected suicide on the night between April 8 and 9. According to media reports, her family has accused a teacher and fellow students of harassing her prior to her death. In a statement issued today, the regulatory body’s president, Dr Rizwan Taj, condemned the circumstances surrounding her death, “particularly the serious allegations of harassment”. He termed the loss of life “deeply alarming under such distressing circumstances,” expressing support for an inquiry by the Sindh government. As per the statement, the PMDC president said that the “investigation must thoroughly examine (the incident) and details be provided to the PMDC for further action”. The regulatory body asserted that its attitude towards harassment was “intolerable”, recalling that it had directed medical and dental colleges across the country last year t...

The Sindh government on Friday announced revised business hours under a new fuel conservation policy aimed at curbing energy consumption.

The four Artemis II astronauts, returning from the world’s first crewed moon voyage in over half a century, hurtled back toward Earth on Friday aboard their gumdrop-shaped Orion spacecraft, headed for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off Southern California. The finale to NASA’s celebrated 10-day mission was expected to begin with separation of Orion’s crew capsule from its service module, followed by a fiery re-entry through Earth’s atmosphere and a six-minute radio blackout before the capsule parachutes into the sea. If all goes well, US astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, will end up bobbing safely in the ocean aboard their Orion capsule, dubbed Integrity, shortly after 8 pm ET (0000 GMT) off the coast of San Diego. The quartet blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on April 1, lofted into an initial Earth orbit by NASA’s giant Space Launch System rocket before sailing on around the far side of the moon, venturing deeper into space tha...

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and a former foreign minister, on Friday said that the lifting of sanctions on Iran would not only benefit Pakistan but also the wider global community.

KARACHI: The Sindh government on Friday notified that all shops, markets and shopping malls in Karachi and other divisional headquarters of the province will close at 9pm throughout the week, including Saturday and Sunday, as part of austerity measures and in line with the federal government’s decision. In a notification dated April 10, the provincial government further stated that markets, shops and shopping malls in districts other than divisional headquarters will close at 8pm. Tandoors (as standalone shops), milk and dairy shops, bakeries, medical stores and pharmacies, medical laboratories, clinics and hospitals, as well as fuel stations, will remain exempt from the order. It further stated that hotels, restaurants, and food outlets will be allowed to operate between 7pm and 11:30pm for dinner timings. However, there will be no restriction on home delivery and takeaway services. The notification further stated that all marriage/wedding halls and banquets in the province will operate between 8pm and midni...

ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Friday upgraded Pakistan’s economic growth rate to 3.5 per cent for the current fiscal year, but warned of downside risk from global economic uncertainty amid the Middle East crisis. “Pakistan is expected to sustain its economic performance in the medium term, with real gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast at 3.5pc in FY2026 and 4.5pc in FY2027, from 3.1pc in FY2025, as manufacturing recovers and investment increases“, the Manila-based lending agency said in its flagship Asian Development Outlook (ADO) April 2026. However, it warned that “despite recent stabilisation and recovery, Pakistan’s economic outlook faces significant downside risks from global economic uncertainty, leading to elevated inflationary, fiscal, and external account pressures”. The bank had earlier forecast 3pc growth for the current fiscal year. “Pakistan’s economy has stabilised and begun to show stronger momentum, supported by progress in implementing key economic reforms amid a cha...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday announced that delegates, journalists and other representatives travelling to the country for the Islamabad Talks would be granted visas on arrival.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecast largely dry weather across most parts of the country over the next 24 hours, with chances of rain accompanied by strong winds and thunderstorms at scattered locations in northeast Balochistan and lower Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the afternoon.

LAHORE: The Lahore-bound Shalimar Express derailed near Sheikhupura on Friday, leaving rail traffic on the Faisalabad–Lahore section suspended. According to official sources, one of the passenger coaches of the train derailed while it was heading towards Lahore. No injuries or casualties were reported. Rail traffic on the route has been suspended. “The relief train dispatched from Lahore is currently at the site working to put the derailed coach back on track, enabling the train to proceed to Lahore,” said a railways official while talking to Dawn. Shalimar express derailed near Sheikhupura on Friday, Apr 10. —Photo provided by author On Wednesday, the same train, Shalimar Express, derailed near Shahdadpur railway station. Railway officials said that coaches numbered 4, 5, 6 and 7 went off the track when the train was being diverted to a loop line due to a faulty Awami Express on the main track at the station. They added that the Shalimar Express was moving at a very slow speed while entering the loop line, w...

RAWALPINDI: Extraordinary security measures were in place in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad ahead of crucial talks between the United States and Iran in Islamabad. The local administration and police closed Old Airport Road and roads leading to Nur Khan Airbase on Thursday by placing containers and barbed wire. The security measures taken by law enforcement agencies turned the area into a prison for local residents, as their movement was restricted to their houses. Areas that have been blocked include Shah Khalid Colony, Gulzar-e-Quaid, Airport Housing Society, Mangtal Town, Faisal Colony and others. Traffic diversions and the blocking of roads with shipping containers caused inconvenience to the public, already facing difficulties moving within the city and cantonment areas due to the closure of Old Airport Road from Rahimabad to Koral Chowk. Strangely, the service road from Koral Chowk to Airport Chowk, along with link roads and streets, was also closed, forcing residents to remain confined to ...