TT Staff Reporter

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.

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.