Lahore has been designated the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's Tourism and Cultural Capital for 2026-2027, under a resolution signed at the same Bishkek summit where Pakistan assumed the SCO chairmanship, with four flagship cultural events planned in the city.
Pakistan formally assumed the chairmanship of the SCO Council of Heads of State on September 1, taking over from Kyrgyzstan at the conclusion of the Bishkek summit. It's Pakistan's first time holding the role since joining as a full member in 2017, and Islamabad will host the organisation's 2027 summit.
The defence pact signed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye three weeks ago will be known as the Makkah Defence Alliance, its secretariat has been established in Riyadh, and its first secretary general will be appointed from among Pakistanis, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced in Istanbul on Monday.
The Court of Arbitration in The Hague has issued its Award on the Status of the Indus Waters Treaty and its Decision on Interim Measures, finding that India's decision to place the treaty in abeyance is not permissible and that the accord remains fully in force, according to Pakistan's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Neither text has been published yet, with publication expected within about a week.
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye convene the first session of the committee created under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement in Istanbul on Monday, each sending their foreign minister, defence minister and military chief. It is the first institutional step since the pact was signed three weeks ago, and the agenda covers defence capabilities, interoperability and, according to Pakistani reporting, joint production.
Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan are holding the first committee meeting under the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement in Istanbul, with foreign ministers, defence ministers, and chiefs of staff in attendance, even as a separate Regional Four meeting including Egypt converges on the same city.
Executive Director Imran Sikandar and 7 other officials suspended after an interim inquiry found no evacuation plan existed for the nursery, exits were locked, and 16 minutes passed before emergency services were called. Criminal proceedings ordered. Full report now public.
PM Shehbaz Sharif ordered eight PIMS officials suspended and criminal proceedings launched after an investigation found no fire safety systems in the ward where newborns died.
Bangladesh has confirmed a draft agreement to buy Chinese J-10CE jets, becoming only the second country after Pakistan to move toward operating the aircraft, and citing Pakistan's combat performance against India as the direct basis for the decision.
Kuwait just signed its second defence agreement with Pakistan in two months, part of a Gulf and Middle Eastern network that now spans four countries in under two years: Saudi Arabia, Libya, Türkiye, and now Kuwait twice over. Syria could make it five.
