World news from The Thursday Times' foreign desk.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met FBI Director Kash Patel at bureau headquarters in Washington, part of Islamabad's push to deepen US security cooperation. Patel called the partnership "critical." The visit comes amid Pakistan's continuing mediation between Washington and Tehran.
US Senator Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally and leading foreign-policy hawk on Iran, has died aged 71 after a brief and sudden illness, his office says.
Afghan Taliban Agriculture Minister Mawlawi Ataullah Omari has said Indians and Afghans "share the same DNA", describing India as feeling "like our own country" during a visit to New Delhi aimed at strengthening trade and economic cooperation.
The US has charged Lawrence Bishnoi, imprisoned in India, and Goldy Brar with directing the 2023 murder of Canadian Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar. 37 defendants charged, 24 arrested. The charges renew scrutiny of India-linked transnational repression.
Pakistan has quietly begun mediating between Libya's rival factions, Reuters reports, with the US fully aware and involved. A proposed 36-month Libya Reunification Plan is being discussed. Pakistan's Libya role follows its central role in the US-Iran Islamabad MOU.
India's opposition has intensified pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, accusing it of concealing military casualties from the 2025 war with Pakistan and demanding Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's resignation.
Shehbaz Sharif says the Islamabad MoU between the United States and Iran has taken immediate effect, with Iran set to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and Washington to lift its naval blockade.
Donald Trump says he will publish and publicly explain the Iran MOU, as the Pakistan-brokered US-Iran framework heads towards formal signing in Switzerland.
JD Vance has said Pakistan and Qatar were involved in the diplomatic sequencing behind the US-Iran peace agreement, with the memorandum of understanding expected to be released around Friday’s formal ceremony.
Oil prices dropped after Shehbaz Sharif announced a US-Iran peace deal, as markets priced in lower risk around the Strait of Hormuz and wider regional supply disruption.
