<p><strong>• Says Oman, other ‘brotherly states’ leading different aspects of diplomacy<br>• Insists Islamabad is focused on settlement rather than ‘individual symptoms of crisis’<br>• Pakistan examining TORs, operational modalities of Saudi-led maritime coalition<br>• Govt will decide on Gaza stabilisation force after formal proposal</strong></p> <p>ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Thursday insisted that Pakistan remained actively engaged in efforts to defuse the Strait of Hormu

<p>EVERY discussion about data protection in Pakistan reaches the same conclusion: we still don’t have a comprehensive data privacy law.</p> <p>Technically, that’s true. The Personal Data Protection Bill has sat in draft form since 2018, and after years of delay it’s easy to assume Pakistan’s approach to data governance is on hold.</p> <p>That assumption can now be challenged.</p> <figure class='media w-full sm:w-1/2 media--right media--embed media--uneven' data-original-src='htt

<p>UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Thursday strongly condemned the <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/2020154">suicide bombing </a>in Swat last week, calling it a “heinous and cowardly” terrorist attack after Pakistan warned the body that multiple terrorist groups continue to operate from safe havens inside Afghanistan.</p> <p>In a press statement issued by the Office of the UN secretary general’s spokesperson, the council said it condemned “in the strongest

<p><strong>• Petitioners cite fear of Taliban persecution if sent back to Afghanistan<br>• Peshawar High Court notes fears of detention and removal don’t constitute valid cause of action<br>• Rules immigration, visa and residency matters fall within executive’s domain</strong></p> <p>PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has rejected petitions filed by a former general of the erstwhile Afghan National Army and a special agent of the former Afghan Presidential Protective Service (PPS)

<p>Israeli settlers attacked a small Palestinian community in the occupied West Bank, injuring people, destroying homes and smashing their power source, the military and residents said on Thursday, in the latest in a spate of violent confrontations.</p> <p><em>AFP</em> journalists in remote Khirbet al-Tuba saw buildings blackened by fire and smoke, the interiors of three homes completely burned and graffiti in Hebrew spray-painted on remaining structures.</p> <p>The dozen solar panels the isolat

<p>LAHORE: Jamaat-i-Islami Pakistan (JI) Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Thursday announced peaceful sit-ins against the petroleum levy at 510 locations across the country on Friday, warning that the protests would transform into a movement to overthrow the government if authorities attempted to stop them.</p> <p>Addressing a protest rally by the JI Women’s Wing on Wahdat Road in Lahore against rising petroleum prices and inflation, Rehman said major roads linking districts across Pakistan would

<p>Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, accompanied by the Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, arrived in Saudi Arabia on Thursday evening for a three-day visit.</p> <p>Apart from CDF Munir, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and Special Assistant Tariq Fatemi will also accompany the premier on the visit.</p> <p>Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar, who is currently in Saudi Arabia after concluding a visit

<p>England have recalled Dan Lawrence from two years of Test exile to face Pakistan, with the batsman pencilled in to fill the middle-order vacancy created by the retirement of captain Ben Stokes.</p> <p>National selector Marcus North, announcing a 16-man squad for the first two matches of the <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/1926314">three-Test series</a> on Thursday, confirmed Lawrence would bat at number six. Jordan Cox, who replaces the injured Jacob Bethell, will bat at number three.</p>

<p>The sons of ex-prime minister Imran Khan, Kasim and Sulaiman, have reiterated concerns about their incarcerated father’s health in a fresh interview with <em>CNN</em> published on Thursday.</p> <p>Their interview comes as the PTI <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/2020790">marked</a> three years since Imran was <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/1768623"><u>imprisoned</u></a> on Aug 5, 2023 for <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/1716149/imran-khan-disqualified-in-toshakhana-reference"><u>co

<p>“And worse I may be yet. The worst is not<br>So long as we can say, ‘This is the worst.’”</p> <pre><code> — William Shakespeare, *King Lear* </code></pre> <p><strong>PROLOGUE</strong></p> <p>The United States’ on-again, off-again war against Iran continues. While we are witnessing another lull at the time of writing, after a brief escalation following the signing of the <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/2008730/pm-says-us-iran-have-signed-deal-electroni