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Can diplomacy survive Trump’s shifting messaging?

US President Donald Trump’s decision to abruptly cancel a previously confirmed visit by his envoys to Islamabad underscores a defining feature of the current crisis: diplomacy that advances and retreats at the speed of presidential messaging. Until this latest move, Washington had been sending mixed but cautiously constructive signals. Backchannel contacts and Pakistan’s mediation had raised the possibility of direct engagement in Islamabad, potentially involving Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Mr Trump’s decision to cancel the trip does not formally end the diplomatic track, but it significantly alters its momentum. Instead of actively pursuing negotiations, the burden now shifts to Tehran, effectively placing the onus on Iran to initiate contact on US terms. US president’s decision to cancel envoys’ trip does not formally end diplomatic track, but it significantly alters its momentum For mediators like Pakistan, this is a notable setback. Diplomacy thrives on conti...
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Trump safe after being rushed from White House correspondents dinner, shooter in custody

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US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump were rushed out of the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner by Secret Service agents on Saturday night after a man armed with a shotgun tried to breach security, officials said. A man armed with a shotgun fired at a Secret Service agent, an FBI official told Reuters. The agent was hit in an area covered by protective gear and not harmed, the official said. All federal officials, including Trump, were safe. About an hour after Trump was rushed from the event, he posted on Truth Social that a “shooter had been apprehended.” “Quite an evening in DC, Secret Service and Law Enforcement did a fantastic job,” Trump added. — Screengrab via TruthSocial Shortly afterwards, he posted, “The First Lady, plus the Vice President, and all Cabinet members, are in perfect condition.” He said he would be holding a White House press conference on Saturday night. Anthony Guglielmi, a Secret Service spokesman, said the service was inv...
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In call with Iranian president, PM says Pakistan committed to serving as 'honest and sincere facilitator'

Hours after an Iranian delegation departed Islamabad, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday spoke with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and said that Pakistan was committed to serving as an “honest and sincere facilitator”. In a post on the social media platform X, PM Shehbaz said that he had a “warm and constructive” call with the Iranian president on the evolving regional situation. “I appreciated Iran’s continued engagement, including the high-level delegation to Islamabad led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, whom I had the pleasure of meeting earlier today,” he said. “I reaffirmed that, with the support of friends and partners, Pakistan remains committed to [serving] as an honest and sincere facilitator — working tirelessly to advance durable peace and lasting stability in the region,” he said. According to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the phone call lasted 50 minutes, with the two leaders exchanging views on the “current regional situation and ongoing eff...
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Lessons in mediation

OVER most of the past year, Pakistan’s role in US-Iran diplomacy rema­ined quiet, familiar and carefully limited; functioning as a channel passing messages and keeping lines of open when direct contact between two global adversaries was politically difficult. For the larger part, Islamabad was not setting the agenda, only facilitating communication. That changed at the end of February, when the outbreak of all-out war altered ground realities. What started as discreet facilitation quickly levelled up into something more ambitious, with Pakistan hosting delegations and publicly positioning itself as a bridge between Washington and Tehran. On March 24, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Pakistan would “facilitate” dialogue, a formulation that Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar echoed a week later at the end of a quadrilateral meeting, when he said Pakistan would “host and facilitate meaningful talks”. From the UN chief to the Kremlin, Islamabad’s efforts to medi...
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Surprise fuel hike adds to burden on consumers

ISLAMABAD: In a surprise move, the Shehbaz Sharif government on Friday increased the prices of both petrol and diesel by Rs26.77 per litre with immediate effect for the week ending May 1, passing on the impact of global prices during the last fortnight while also seeking to raise revenues in the final months of the fiscal year under commitments with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF’s executive board is expected to approve in the first half of May the disbursement of more than $1.2 billion under two ongoing programmes. As of April 23, diesel prices were estimated to go down by around Rs25 per litre and petrol by Rs6 per litre. However, the government partially restored the petroleum levy on diesel and increased petrol prices to meet overall fiscal targets. Unlike the prime minister’s anno­uncements of price cuts, the increase this time was quietly announced by the petroleum division on the day Iran and the United States dispatched their negotiators to Islamabad for the...
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CM Bugti opens research centre in Balochistan to curb extremism

QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti has inaugurated the province’s first research centre aimed at countering rising extremism in the province. The inauguration ceremony of Balochistan Centre of Excellence on Countering Violent Extremism was attended by Home Minister Mir Zia Langove, members of the provincial assembly, government officials and representatives of relevant institutions. During the event, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Muhammad Hamza Shafqaat briefed participants on the centre’s objectives, research scope and planned future initiatives. Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister said the centre would highlight challenges faced by the youth through research and provide a strong foundation for practical solutions. Bugti inaugurates digital dashboard to promote evidence-based policymaking He said steering young people towards positive activities is the top priority of the government, adding that concrete measures were essential to discourage violent m...
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CJP Afridi openly opposes Judicial Commission of Pakistan meeting for judges’ transfer

• In letter to commission, Justice Afridi warns move will set ‘undesirable and potentially far-reaching precedent’ • Fears it will ‘erode public confidence’ in judiciary’s independence and stability • Last year, he described transfer of three judges to IHC from different provinces under Article 200 as something to be ‘rejoiced’ ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi has opposed the scheduled meeting of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) being called to consider the transfer of five judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to different high courts of the country. Although the CJP had earlier declined to call the meeting of the JCP, he eventually scheduled the session after it was requisitioned by a two-thirds majority of the commission’s members, an informed source privy to the development confided. The commission is scheduled to meet at 1pm on April 28, during which it may consider the contents of the CJP’s letter to the JCP in which he expressed his reserv...
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