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In the febrile atmosphere of international crisis, where the lexicon is usually confined to ultimatums and the clatter of saber-rattling, it is a rare and disorienting thing to hear the word “mediator” uttered with a straight face. Yet, according to reports from Bloomberg, that is precisely the role that has found its way into Islamabad’s inbox. In the current standoff—a familiar yet no less terrifying dance between the United States and Iran—Pakistan has emerged not merely as a concerned neighbor, but as a credible interlocutor. It is an unlikely plot twist in a region more accustomed to assigning Pakistan the…

By Dr. Zafar Iqbal There is a moment in every escalating crisis when the accumulation of events ceases to be a chain of cause and effect and instead becomes a single, ungovernable mass. We have, I suspect, just passed that moment in the Middle East. For weeks, the discourse has been dominated by the familiar lexicon of retaliation: strikes, counter-strikes, red lines, and the inevitable, almost ritualistic, warnings. But beneath the surface of these military exchanges, a more profound and arguably more dangerous shift has occurred. It is a shift that moves the theatre of conflict away from the bombed-out…

By Muhammad Mohsin Iqbal Power in the modern age seldom speaks in whispers; it announces itself with assertions, repetitions, and claims designed to shape perception as much as reality. In recent months, one such assertion has echoed persistently from Washington, where President Donald Trump has, on numerous occasions, declared that he prevented a full-scale war between Pakistan and India following the tense military exchange of May 2025. Repeated with striking frequency, this claim seeks not merely to inform but to construct a narrative in which the United States appears as the indispensable arbiter of peace in a volatile region. Yet…

By Atiq Raja There is a particular kind of exhaustion that comes not from doing too much, but from doing too much that does not matter. It is a weariness that settles deep in the bones, born from the quiet, gnawing sense that our days are being filled with activity that bears little relation to our purpose. We rush from obligation to obligation, ticking items from lists that seem to grow rather than shrink, and yet at the end of the week, when we pause to reflect, a peculiar emptiness often remains. It is in this space that the question…

By Israr Ahmad Orakzai KOHAT: The Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) has announced the discovery of a substantial gas reserve in the Kohat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Officials said the newly found reserve, located in the Belting-1 exploratory well in the Thal Block, is estimated to produce around 26.5 million standard cubic feet of natural gas per day. This significant find is expected to contribute to Pakistan’s domestic energy production, reducing reliance on imported fuels and supporting the country’s growing energy needs. OGDCL spokespersons highlighted that the Thal Block has shown considerable potential for further exploration, indicating promising…

By S.M. Inam KARACHI: Tensions in the Middle East, fueled by US and Israeli actions against Iran and the potential closure of the Strait of Hormuz, are keeping pressure on the global oil market. As a result, Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil prices, surged 2.5% to reach $110 per barrel. The market remains sensitive to geopolitical developments in the region, with analysts warning that any escalation could push prices even higher. #OilPrices #BrentCrude #MiddleEastTensions #Iran #USIsrael #EnergyCrisis #GlobalMarkets #BreakingNews

By S.M. Inam There are moments when political dissent crosses a line, shedding the garb of legitimate opposition and revealing itself as something far more damaging: a wilful assault on the national interest. The recent intervention by Qasim Khan, son of the imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan, belongs squarely in that category. By demanding that the European Union revoke Pakistan’s GSP Plus status, and by choosing to do so alongside a representative of a Baloch separatist group, Khan has not only ventured into profoundly irresponsible territory but has also laid bare a troubling willingness to weaponise Pakistan’s economic vulnerabilities…

By Atiq Raja There is a quiet restlessness that visits most of us at some point, usually in the small hours or during the lull of a Sunday afternoon. It is the sense that we are moving, but not necessarily towards anything. That we are busy, but not always meaningfully so. In these moments, we tend to reach for grand diagnoses: a new job, a different city, a sharper routine. However, the more elusive, and perhaps more honest, answer lies closer to home. It lies in the relationship between two forces that dwell within every human heart: passion and purpose.…

By Amir Muhammad Khan There is a particular sorrow in watching a nation forget the terms of its own birth. Not the forgetting of dates or names—those are safely preserved in textbooks and the occasional newspaper column—but the deeper forgetting, the one that allows a people to celebrate a monument while ignoring the blueprint it represents. Every March 23, Pakistan pauses to mark the anniversary of the Lahore Resolution of 1940. Banners are raised, speeches are delivered, a holiday is declared. And then, with the rituals complete, the nation returns to its familiar occupations: its divisions, its distractions, its comfortable…