Pakistan has moved on two fronts over the Houthi assault on Saudi Arabia this week: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif warning the Makkah Defence Pact could become operational, and Pakistan separately delivering a direct diplomatic warning to Iran, Reuters reports, urging Tehran to rein in the Houthis.
US President Donald Trump did not push back on British plans to sanction Israeli settlements when briefed by Prime Minister Andy Burnham, a Western official told The Times of Israel.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced a package of measures targeting Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including a trade ban, a formal declaration that the occupation is unlawful, and sanctions on individuals and companies profiting from settlement expansion, calling it a decisive break from years of British hesitancy.
Pakistan's federal capital is moving closer to genuine self-governance, with a high-level committee submitting a framework to PM Shehbaz Sharif that would give Islamabad its own elected assembly, its own chief executive, and administrative and financial autonomy on the pattern of a province.
Pakistan joined Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and the UAE in condemning remarks by Israeli ministers Ben-Gvir and Katz on displacing Palestinians from Gaza, calling the proposals a violation of international law and a threat to Trump's plan to end the Gaza conflict.
The US Mint put a $1 coin bearing President Trump's image into circulation on September 2, making him only the second sitting US president in history to appear on American currency. The coins reportedly sold out within hours of going on sale.
Pakistan has raised $3 billion through a dual-tranche Eurobond sale, its largest-ever single international bond transaction, drawing nearly $6 billion in orders from global investors. The offering marks the first issuance under Pakistan's renewed Global Medium Term Note programme.
Lahore has become a sister city with Osh, Kyrgyzstan's second-largest city, under an agreement signed as PM Shehbaz Sharif met Kyrgyz President Zhaparov in Bishkek.
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.
