Pakistan’s Chief of General Staff, Lt Gen Syed Asim Munir, and NATO’s Director of International Military Staff, Major General Rob Bauer, co-chaired the 12th session of the Pakistan-NATO Military Cooperation Committee at NATO Headquarters in Brussels. The talks focused on enhancing military ties, regional security, military education and training, and interoperability between Pakistani and NATO forces. In a separate development, the Pakistani delegation visited the NATO Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF) headquarters in Mons, Belgium.
Meanwhile, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) announced the resumption of Hajj flights from Karachi, with the first flight scheduled to depart at 3 am on Friday. Sindh Governor Nihal Hashwani will bid farewell to the pilgrims. The Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF) has appointed Asad Nawaz Khan, a prominent Pakistani community leader in Japan, as the Advisor to the Board of Governors. Sindh Interior Minister Zia-ur-Rehman Lango said the incidents of lawlessness in the province were unacceptable.
In a diplomatic development, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised the US role in brokering a ceasefire in Lebanon and expressed good wishes for President Donald Trump. However, Iranian officials expressed concerns that Israel might target them. A Pakistani ship, the Khairpur, has set sail from Kuwait for Hormuz Strait, with the shipping source confirming it will cross the strait on Tuesday. The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the legal fraternity, directing them to refrain from unnecessary adjournments. Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial has ordered an investigation into a lawyer’s request to postpone the case.
In a significant development, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman, Barrister Faisal Chaudhry, has started meeting with the families of the arrested PTI leaders to assuage their concerns. PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, is also under arrest, and the party has started efforts to secure her release. The Ministry of Climate Change has announced the formation of a committee to address environmental concerns. In a separate incident, a 10-year-old girl died due to electrocution in Karachi, with the police investigation team confirming that the body showed no signs of torture. The Sindh government has asked the police to arrest the culprit within eight hours.
