ISLAMABAD (Sabahuddin Qazi) Foreign Office Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi, during the weekly media briefing held on April 30, 2026, presented a detailed account of significant diplomatic, security, and geopolitical developments over the past two weeks. According to him, due to traffic restrictions in Islamabad’s Red Zone, the previous week’s briefing could not be held, prompting a…
In recent days, two important diplomatic moves in South Asia and the broader region have caught Pakistan’s attention. First, the neighbouring country of Iran has offered to act as a mediator between Pakistan and the government of Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. Second, Turkiye has announced a significant delegation to Pakistan in order to help break the deadlock…
Islamabad (PNP Monitoring Desk) – On the topic of recent Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) declaration, Pakistan Television’s flagship program Newsroom hosted an extensive discussion on pressing national and regional issues. The talk show, moderated with a focus on analytical depth, brought together seasoned experts including Dr. Muhammad Arif (Foreign Affairs Analyst), climate commentators, and political…
On Thursday, UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) spokesperson Liz Throssell revealed that in its latest act of disempowerment, de facto authorities have told women civil servants prohibited from working that despite qualifications or experience, their salaries will now be cut to the lowest level. The Taliban overtook Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, in August 2021,…
Key international actors, including the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Afghanistan, have used terms such as “gender apartheid” to describe the high levels of discrimination. “Gender apartheid is not merely a theoretical possibility or legal construct, but a real threat and lived reality for millions of women and girls around the…
Jeremy Laurence described how on 4 June, a group of 63 men and women were publicly subjected to mass flogging at a sports ground in the city of Sar-e-pul for a range of alleged crimes including “running away from home” and “moral crimes”. Close to 50 men and 15 women were reportedly lashed between 15…
Afghanistan’s most recent floods killed about 350 people, including dozens of children, and damaged more than 7,800 homes leaving over 5,000 families displaced. UNICEF has since provided safe water, hygiene kits with soap, toothbrushes and more to communities in Afghanistan. The children’s fund also organised hygiene sessions to teach civilians about handwashing and safe water storage…
Afghanistan is “not a hopeless crisis,” Edem Wosornu of the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, told journalists in New York, following a recent visit to the country, Pakistan and war-wracked Sudan. Ms. Wosornu was part of an all-woman delegation in Afghanistan, where the climate crisis has caused widespread water scarcity, generating new food, health, and…
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said that as erratic weather on the back of the worsening climate crisis “becomes the norm”, things will only get worse. This month’s unusually high rainfall followed a dry winter, rendering the ground too hard to absorb water, leading to massive flooding. Unseasonably warm temperatures further complicated the situation…
Flash floods in the area have reportedly killed at least 300 people, including 51 children, with many more injured, with these figures expected to increase as additional reports come in, according to UN agencies. UN chief António Guterres expressed his condolences to the families of the victims. “The United Nations and its partners in Afghanistan…
