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Pakistan and the US have started joint anti-terrorism military exercises at the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) in Pabbi town of Punjab's Kharian district, the military's media wing said on Saturday. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in a statement said that the 13th Pakistan-United States bilateral joint exercise, Inspired Gambit2026', commenced on Friday. The NCTC serves as a key facility for joint anti-terrorism exercises by Pakistan with international partners like China and the US. The two-week-long exercise is being conducted in the Counter Terrorism (CT) domain, involving contingents from the armies of Pakistan and the United States, the ISPR said. According to the ISPR, the exercise is aimed at enhancing mutual understanding and interoperability through the sharing of counter-terrorism experiences, while further refining tactics, techniques and procedures essential for effective CT operations. The ISPR said such joint training exercises are of vital ...
Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir on Thursday said that the Army was following a policy of zero tolerance towards any threat to national security. Munir visited Lahore Garrison, where he was given a comprehensive briefing on the formation's operational preparedness, training standards and key initiatives to enhance combat efficiency, according to a statement by the Army. During his address with the officers, the Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field (CDF and COAS) emphasised upon Pakistan Army's zero-tolerance policy towards any threat to national security, reaffirming the institution's unwavering resolve to confront multifaceted challenges with focus, professionalism and determination, the Army said. Reiterating the Army's core mission, he noted that the Pakistan Armed Forces remain steadfast in safeguarding the country's sovereignty, territorial integrity and internal stability, while fostering a culture of excellence, ...
Pakistan and Bangladesh air chiefs held talks on "potential procurement" of JF-Thunder fighter jets by Dhaka as a mark of deepening defence ties between the two countries, the Pakistani military has said. However, Bangladesh has not yet confirmed whether such a plan exists. The JF-17 Thunder is a single-engine lightweight combat jet developed jointly by the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC) of China and the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC). Though Pakistan claims that the jet has proved its capabilities during the conflict with India, its effectiveness is not clearly known. Pakistan had extensively used Chinese-origin Chengdu J-10 fighter jets during the May 7-10 conflict with India, according to experts and military officials. A high-level defence delegation led by Chief of the Air Staff, Bangladesh Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan, called on Chief of Air Staff, Pakistan Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu, at Air Headquarters, Islamabad, on .
A 15-year-old boy has been apprehended in Punjab's Pathankot for allegedly sharing information about sensitive locations with Pakistani handlers, police said on Tuesday According to police, the boy was radicalised on a social media platform. Police had received information that the boy was in contact with and was providing information concerning the country's security to Pakistan military officers, ISI and frontal organisations running terror modules in that country, Pathankot Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Daljinder Singh Dhillon said. On the basis of this information, the boy was apprehended on Monday and questioned, the SSP told reporters in Pathankot. The SSP said the boy had lost his father, who resided in J-K, over an year back and suspected that he was murdered. Police investigations did not find that the boy's father was murdered but the boy suspected so and it affected his psyche, the SSP said. The boy visited many social media platforms and during this he fell in
Pakistan and Afghanistan on Monday agreed to establish a 13-member joint committee of business leaders to hold formal negotiations for the opening of the border for trade. The border has been shut since October last year after the two sides clashed over the issue of militancy emanating from Afghanistan. The Express Tribune newspaper reported that the joint committee comprises six members from Pakistan and seven from Afghanistan. The Pakistani delegation will be led by Syed Jawad Hussain Kazmi, Adviser to the President of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), while the Afghan side will be headed by Mohammad Wali Amini. Speaking to the media, Kazmi said the primary objective of the talks is the immediate reopening of Pak-Afghan trade routes, the removal of obstacles in border management, and ensuring the continuity of bilateral trade. He added that a comprehensive and practical roadmap would be formulated to provide a lasting solution to the issues fa
Since closing down its border with Afghanistan, Pakistan has recorded a significant drop in cross-border terrorist attacks and deaths related to violence. Pakistan shut its border on October 11 last year after clashes with Afghanistan, which were prompted by the allegations that Kabul was not doing enough to stop the use of its soil by terrorists. Dawn reported from the data collected by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), a local think-tank, that terrorist attacks went down by almost 17 per cent in December, preceded by 9 per cent decline in November, while terrorism-linked fatalities among civilians and security officials also fell in the last quarter of 2025, by nearly 4 per cent and 19 per cent each in November and December. However, the data of CRSS showed that with an almost 34 per cent surge in overall violence, the year 2025 went by as the most violent year for Pakistan in a decade. The comparative data for 2024 and 2025 reveals a sharp escalation in terror
AIMIM president and Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi has said Chinese claim of mediation between India and Pakistan is an affront to the country and that it must be strongly rebutted by the Union Government. Normalcy in ties with China cannot be at the cost of India's honour or its sovereignty, he said. "After US President (Donald Trump) announced a ceasefire before us and claims to have used trade sanctions to secure peace, we now have the Chinese foreign minister making similar claims officially. This is an affront to India and must be strongly rebutted by the government," Owaisi said in a social media post late on Wednesday. China wants to place India and Pakistan at the same level and is trying to project itself as superior in South Asia. "Is this what the Modi government agreed to when the PM visited China," he said. The Chinese Foreign Minister's claim of mediation is surprising and the Centre must rebut it officially and assure the country that no third party intervention is .
Jammu and Kashmir's quest for restoration of statehood suffered twin blows during the year in the form of the Pahalgam terror attack and the Delhi car blast. The elected government led by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah made all the right noises in the first six months in office for the restoration of statehood, but the deadly strike by terrorists on tourists on Baisaran meadows of Pahalgam on April 22 put a halt to any immediate talk of Jammu and Kashmir's returning as a state. The terrorists shot dead 26 men -- 25 tourists and a local ponywalla. Survivors alleged that the assailants chose their targets after confirming that they were not Muslims a revelation that sent communal shockwaves to the rest of the country. The attack was denounced widely across the valley. For the first time in 35 years, spontaneous protests were held across the length and breadth of the valley in condemnation. The protestors unequivocally declared: "Not in my name." On May 7, the Indian forces launched
India on Monday said Pakistan's "horrific and systemic victimisation" of minorities of various faiths is a well established fact and no amount of "finger pointing" will "obfuscate" it. New Delhi said this while strongly trashing Pakistan's comments on the condition of minorities in India. "We reject the reported remarks from a country whose abysmal record on this front speaks for itself," external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. "Pakistan's horrific and systemic victimisation of minorities of various faiths is a well established fact. No amount of finger pointing will obfuscate it," he said. In Islamabad, Pakistan foreign office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi, responding to media queries on alleged vandalism during Christmas celebrations in some places in India, said "persecution of minorities in India is a matter of deep concern". Andrabi referred to what he called "recent condemnable incidents" of vandalism during Christmas, as well as campaigns allegedly targeti