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Pakistan said late Tuesday that it is still awaiting formal confirmation from Iran on whether Tehran will attend the proposed Islamabad peace talks, as the ceasefire nears expiry and Islamabad intensifies last-minute diplomacy to keep negotiations alive.

Iranian's foreign ministry has said that Pakistan is now their only official intermediary with the United States, placing Islamabad at the centre of one of the the world's most sensitive diplomatic channels.

The Israeli military has said it confirmed the veracity of a viral photograph which appeared to show one of its soldiers smashing a statue of Jesus Christ to pieces with a sledgehammer in southern Lebanon.

Pakistan is moving to repay the last $1.5 billion of a UAE loan this week after already returning $2 billion, as officials look to an IMF board review expected next month to unlock fresh funding and steady market confidence.

Sohail Afridi, the Chief Minister for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has claimed that Imran Khan first proposed the peace talks now unfolding in Pakistan as far back as 2002, adding a new burst of controversy to the country’s already charged political landscape.