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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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Pakistan, 7 other Muslim nations reject attempts to alter historic, legal status quo in Jerusalem, at its holy sites

The foreign ministers of Pakistan and seven other Muslim-majority countries issued a joint statement on Thursday, rejecting any attempts to alter the historic and legal status quo in Jerusalem and its Islamic and Christian holy sites. The foreign ministers condemned the “repeated violations of the historic and legal status quo at Jerusalem’s Islamic and Christian holy sites by Israeli occupation authorities”. They particularly deplored the continued incursions by Israeli settlers and “extremist ministers into Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif under Israeli police protection, as well as the raising of the Israeli flag within its courtyards”, the joint statement citing the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Turkiye, Indonesia, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates said. “The ministers reiterated that these provocative actions at Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif, constitute a flagrant violation of international law and international humanitarian law, and re...
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UK PM ‘won’t resign’ over Mandelson scandal

LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer insisted on Wednesday that he would not resign, claiming allegations of misleading MPs over his appointment of a party loyalist as UK envoy to Washington had been “put to bed”. Starmer, facing pressure to resign, addressed MPs after firing the Foreign Ministry’s most senior official, Olly Robbins, blaming him for failing to disclose Mandelson’s clearance problems. The premier spoke to lawmakers a day after the foreign ministry’s most senior official, Olly Rob­bins, gave evidence to a parliamentary committee, having been fired by Starmer over the affair last week. Starmer has accused Robbins of failing to tell him about problems that emerged during Mand­elson’s security clearance. He has repeatedly insisted that, despite previously stating that “all due process” had been followed, he would not have allowed the appointment to proceed if he had known that independent vetting officials had recommended security clearance be denied. Starmer tol...
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Man City go top and relegate Burnley with narrow Turf Moor win

Manchester City ended Arsenal’s six-month stay on the Premier League summit and condemned Burnley ​to relegation with a laboured 1-0 victory at Turf Moor on Wednesday. Erling Haaland’s clinical finish after five minutes could have ‌paved the way for a boost to City’s goal difference but they lacked a cutting edge as Burnley dug deep. Haaland hit the post and had other chances as City tried to give themselves a safety margin but Pep Guardiola’s side had to make do with a surprisingly narrow victory. After reeling Arsenal in they now lead the ​table on goals scored with both sides on 70 points from 33 games and with an identical goal difference of plus ​37. For Scott Parker’s Burnley the inevitable has now become a reality as they are stuck on 20 points, 13 ⁠points behind the safety zone with only four games remaining. “We played a really good game, unfortunately we missed a lot of chances. We defended ​better in the second half. Second half we had less problems,” Guardiola, whose s...
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