Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif confirmed on Sunday that Pakistan had received Iran’s response to a US proposal to end the war in the Middle East.

Speaking at a ceremony held in Islamabad to commemorate Marka-i-Haq, the premier mentioned Pakistan’s efforts for de-escalation between the US and Iran, stating that Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir had informed him “a while ago” that Pakistan had received Iran’s response.

“I cannot go into more detail. But, I commend the efforts of Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and congratulate Field Marshal Asim Munir, who has dedicated himself [to this cause],” he said.

Earlier, Iranian media reported that Iran had sent its response to the US proposal via Pakistan.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran sent today through Pakistani mediators its response to the latest text proposed by the United States to end the war,” the official IRNA news agency said.

Iranian news agency ISNA reported that Tehran’s response to the latest US peace proposal focuses on “ending the war and maritime security”.

“It should be noted that the main focus of Iran’s response to the US proposal is on ‘ending the war and maritime security’ in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz,” the ISNA news agency said, without offering further details.

Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported that Tehran’s response to the US plan focused on ending the war “on all fronts, especially Lebanon”, as well as on “ensuring shipping security”.

Later, Reuters reported, citing a Pakistani government official involved in the negotiations, that Pakistan had received Iran’s response and sent it to the US.

Iran had been reviewing the 14-point proposal from the US for formally ending hostilities and opening a 30-day negotiating window for detailed discussions on Iran’s nuclear programme, sanctions relief and secure transit through the Strait of Hormuz.

Tehran has largely blocked non-Iranian shipping through the narrow Strait of Hormuz, which before the ​war carried one-fifth of the world’s oil supply and has emerged as one of the central pressure points in the war.

Diplomatic sources earlier confirmed that the proposal had been conveyed to Tehran through Pakistani mediators.

With US President Donald Trump due to visit China this week, there has been mounting pressure to draw a line under the war, which ​has ignited a global energy crisis and poses a growing threat to the world economy.

Trump had said on Friday that he was expecting Iran’s response to Washington’s proposal for a deal to extend a fragile truce and launch peace talks — “supposedly tonight”.

Earlier, he had also announced the suspension of ‘Project Freedom’, the US naval plan to escort commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, citing progress in talks and requests from Pakistan and others, while maintaining the broader naval blockade of Iranian ports.

Meanwhile, Pakistan had also expressed optimism that the United States and Iran could soon move towards a peace agreement.

At the weekly media briefing on Thursday, Foreign Office spokesman Tahir Andrabi said Isla­mabad expected an agreement “soo­­ner rather than later”.

“We remain optimistic. A simple answer would be that we expect an agreement sooner rather than later,” he said. “We hope that the parties will come to a peaceful, sustainable solution and bring peace, not just to our region but internationally as well.”

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar also spoke with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi earlier this week amid indications that Washington and Tehran were edging closer to a preliminary understanding on ending hostilities.

But the optimism dimmed on Friday when a US fighter jet fired on and disabled two Iranian-flagged tankers that Washington accused of challenging its naval blockade of Iran’s ports. An Iranian military official told local media the country’s navy had responded “to American terrorism with strikes” and that “the clashes have now ceased”.

The latest incident came after a previous flare-up overnight Thursday to Friday in the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran is seeking to control to extract tolls from foreign vessels and wield economic leverage over the US and its allies.

On Sunday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened to target US sites in the Middle East and “enemy ships” if its tankers come under fire, Iranian media reported.

“Any attack on Iranian tankers and commercial vessels will result in a heavy attack on one of the American centres in the region and enemy ships,” it said, a day after US attacks against two Iranian tankers in the Gulf of Oman.

Meanwhile, Iranian state television reported that the head of the military central command, Ali Abdollahi, had met with the country’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen in public since his appointment in March.

Khamenei issued “new directives and guidance for the continuation of operations to confront the enemy”, state TV said, without specifying when the meeting took place.

The conflict between the US and Iran began more than two months ago when the US and Israel launched strikes in Iran on February 28.

While a deal for a complete end to the war is yet to happen, the hostilities have largely ceased since the two sides agreed on a Pakistan-brokered ceasefire on April 8.

Following the truce, a first round of historic direct US-Iran talks was held in Islamabad on April 11 and 12, with Pakistan playing the role of a mediator. The talks had ended without an agreement, but also without a breakdown.

With challenges in convening a second round, Islamabad has shifted back to its role as a facilitator and go-between.

Among the main issues that remain a sticking point between the two sides are unrestricted navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and Washington’s demand for long-term commitments on Iran’s nuclear programme, including constraints on enrichment and safeguards against weaponisation.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged the people of to cut down on petrol and diesel consumption amid supply disruptions due to the Middle East war.

India is one of the few countries in the region that has not increased the prices of petrol and diesel for domestic consumers or rationed supplies.

But it has increased prices of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) — a primary cooking fuel in this country — after disruptions following the US-Israeli strikes on Iran, which led to Iran’s near-total blockade of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

“We have to reduce our use of petrol and diesel. In cities with metro lines, we should try to travel by metro … If we must use a car, then we should try to car pool,” he said, addressing a gathering in southern Telangana state.

He added that restrictions on use were also necessary to save foreign currency spent on fuel imports.

“We must also place a strong emphasis on saving foreign exchange, as petrol and diesel have become so expensive globally.”

Modi also urged people to resume energy-saving schemes that were in place during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We should prioritise work from home, online conferences, and virtual meetings again,” he said.

Hardeep Singh Puri, India’s minister for petroleum and natural gas, said oil marketing companies (OMCs) had taken a hit on their revenues while ensuring “uninterrupted energy imports and supply”.

“OMCs are buying crude, gas and LPG at higher cost, but in order to protect consumers, they are selling final products at lower cost leading to massive mounting losses of upto 1,000 crore rupees per day,” Puri said Sunday on X.

He added that losses for the government, after reducing taxes on diesel and petrol for domestic consumption, “saw revenue losses of 14,000 crore rupees in a month”.

He urged citizens to turn Modi’s “empathetic appeal” into a mass movement “to save and conserve energy. “

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif recalled the “historic” response of Pakistan to India during Marka-i-Haq on Sunday as he addressed a ceremony held at the Pakistan Monument in Islamabad to commemorate the conflict’s first anniversary.

The conflict with India — starting from the April 22 Pahalgam attack to the end of Operation Bunyanum Marsoos with a ceasefire between the two countries on May 10 — has been called “Marka-i-Haq” (Battle of Truth) by the state.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir were among those attending the ceremony in Islamabad, where Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf and Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Baber Sidhu were also present.

PM Shehbaz began his address by observing one minute of silence for those martyred during the period of conflict.

Recalling the conflict, PM Shehbaz said that India “using Pahalgam as an excuse, made baseless accusations against us”. And despite Pakistan offering a transparent investigation into the incident, the “enemy, in the dark of the night, attacked our mosques and children, imposing an unprovoked war on us”.

“Our brave armed forces gave a historic response to the attack that the enemy carried out in the darkness of the night,” he said, adding that “our Shaheens dominated the conflict”.

Consequently, he continued, India was compelled to request a ceasefire after four hours.

He also noted that even one year after the Pahalgam attack, India had not been able to present any evidence of Pakistan’s alleged involvement in the incident.

“There is no doubt that Operation Bunyanum Marsoos is not just a historic win but also a glowing victory of our national honour, principles and self-respect,” he added.

The premier announced that ‘Youm-i-Bunyanum Marsoos’ would be celebrated on May 10 every year from now onwards.

He paid tributes to the armed forces, particularly mentioning CDF Munir, who he said had set new examples of “bravery and courage” during Marka-i-Haq.

“Field Marshal’s wise and brave leadership will be written in golden words in history. Field Marshal Asim Munir, the entire nation and I salute you,” PM Shehbaz said.

He added that this “tale of bravery will remain incomplete without the mention of ACM Sidhu and his Shaheens … who laid bare the reality behind the claims of the adversary’s aerial power. ACM Sidhu, I also pay tribute to you and congratulate your Shaheens from the bottom of my heart.”

PM Shehbaz also lauded the country’s navy and its chief, saying that the adversaries could not “muster the courage to enter our waters” during Marka-i-Haq.

He then acknowledged the support of the people extended to the armed forces during the conflict, as well as that of the “brotherly and friendly countries” for Pakistan on the diplomatic front.

The prime minister particularly thanked US President Donald Trump, who he said played a “historic role for peace in the region and to save millions of lives”.

He said had the situation worsened and things escalated further between two nuclear-armed nations, “it is not difficult to assess how disastrous the outcome would have been”.

PM Shehbaz also specifically expressed gratitude to the leadership of Saudi Arabia, China and Turkiye.

The premier also mentioned Pakistan’s efforts for de-escalation between the US and Iran.

“Our sincere efforts continue, and Field Marshal was telling me a while ago that we have received Iran’s response.

“I cannot go into more detail. But, I commend the efforts of Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and congratulate Field Marshal Asim Munir, who has dedicated himself [to this cause],” he said.

He then lauded the armed forces for their fight against terrorism and concluded his address by promising the youth more opportunities for education and employment, and to learn skills.

‘Calibrated and shocking response’

Speaking after him, President Zardari dubbed Marka-i-Haq “one of the most important chapters” in Pakistan’s national history.

He added: “India chose unprovoked aggression on the basis of false flag Pahalgam incident, and launched an airstrike on Pakistan’s civilian and worship places without any justification. And India’s media misled the nation by presenting fabricated stories”.

To that, Pakistan gave a “calibrated and shocking response to the Indian aggression” under the “dynamic” leadership of CDF Munir, he said.

President Zardari maintained that despite its military capabilities, Pakistan chose to exercise restraint. “Our response was mature and measured, being a responsible and peace-preferring state”.

He said the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) proved during Marka-i-Haq that they were second to none.

“Our pilots faced a larger adversary, but with its extraordinary skills and confidence, it defended our skies,” President Zardari said, recalling that Pakistan downed eight Indian aircraft, “delivering a response that became a defining moment of the resolve and national pride”.

He also commended the Pakistan Navy, which he said, “through their operational preparation and combat capabilities, defended our seas”.

The president said Pakistan’s victory reflected the nation’s unity and harmony and gave a message to the world: “that we remain united, vigilant and resolute like a wall.”

The president said India’s unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty after the Pahalgam incident amounted to “hydro-terrorism”.

He also reiterated Pakistan’s diplomatic support for the people of the India-occupied Kashmir and their cause, stating that the issue “needs to be resolved in accordance with UN resolution”.

Moreover, he also called for an end to the “India-sponsored terrorism in Pakistan through Afghanistan” and the use of Afghan soil for terrorism in its neighbouring countries.

Concluding his address, the president remarked that the diplomatic efforts of CDF Munir and PM Shehbaz had earned Pakistan the reputation of a “regional stabiliser”, particularly concerning its mediatory role in the US-Iran conflict.

“I want to conclude by underlining that Pakistan’s armed forces are capable and always ready to defend our sovereignty and national interest in the face of any challenge,” he said.

The ceremony began with a march past and the recitation of the Holy Quran.

A fly past was also planned but had to be aborted due to bad weather.

Patriotic songs were also performed during the ceremony.

Rallies and events in Azad Kashmir

In Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), rallies, seminars, exhibitions and cake-cutting ceremonies were held on the occasion.

The day’s first major event was a rally organised by the Working Committee of post-1989 migrants from India-occupied Jammu and Kashmir in Muzaffarabad. Participants carried Pakistani and AJK flags and banners bearing slogans such as “We are Pakistanis and Pakistan is ours”.

“Kashmiris have pinned their hopes on a strong and stable Pakistan, and the current military leadership has made them happy by inflicting a humiliating defeat on their tormentor, India,” said rally leader Uzair Ghazali.

Separately, acting AJK president Chaudhry Latif Akbar and Chinar Division General Officer Commanding (GOC) Maj Gen Zarrar Mahmood inaugurated a Pakistan Army exhibition of defence equipment as part of the Victory Day celebrations commemorating the success in Marka-i-Haq.

The exhibition showcased modern weaponry, communication systems, combat vehicles and other military hardware, attracting large crowds, particularly young visitors.

Akbar and the GOC also hoisted the national flag and laid a floral wreath at the martyrs’ memorial at Chhatar Chowk, where a Pakistan Army contingent presented a salute. A special message from Field Marshal Munir was also read out on the occasion.

In Kotli district, a large rally and public gathering were held in Fatehpur Thakyala, attended by Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Amir Muqam as the chief guest.

“The battle of truth crushed India’s arrogance and, by the grace of Allah Almighty, elevated Pakistan to new heights of dignity, honour and prestige,” he said.

He described residents living along the Line of Control as “unpaid soldiers of Pakistan” who had always stood shoulder to shoulder with the armed forces during difficult times.

“I do not have enough words to repay your love and affection. I am indebted to your passion and devotion. Our brothers living on the LoC deserve the highest tribute,” he added.

Rallies were also held at district headquarters across AJK, while educational institutions and government offices organised special events, including cake-cutting ceremonies and prayers for Pakistan’s strength and the early freedom of Kashmiris from Indian occupation.

In Kabul, Pakistan’s ambassador Ubaidur Rehman Nizamani reaffirmed the nation’s resolve to defend itself against any aggression, stating that the “enemy attacked the nation and the armed forces of Pakistan responded valiantly on behalf of every Pakistani”. Paying glowing tribute to the armed forces, Ambassador Nizamani affirmed that the nation stands eternally indebted to their sacrifices.

A statement issued by the embassy further quoted him as saying: “Pakistan’s desire for peace must never be mistaken for weakness.”

Additional reporting by Tariq Naqash

Mehidy Hasan Miraz claimed five wickets to give Bangladesh a slender lead after Pakistan debutant Azan Awais hit 103 on a rain-hit third day of the first Test on Sunday.

Pakistan made 386 all out in response to Bangladesh’s first innings total of 413 in Dhaka.

Bangladesh closed the day on 7-0 in their second innings to increase their lead to 34 runs, after bad light ended play with Mahmudul Hasan Joy unbeaten on two and Shadman Islam yet to score.

left-handed Azan, who resumed on 85, completed his hundred off 153 balls to become the 14th Pakistani and sixth player overall to score a century on debut against Bangladesh.

He became pace bowler Taskin Ahmed’s 50th Test wicket after captain Najmul Hossain Shanto caught the opener at slip.

“It’s a very blessed feeling for me because I know it’s my debut match and I performed really well for my country,” a visibly moved Azan said.

“When I was going in to bat, I was a little nervous, but I performed very well for my team.” Pakistan lost wickets at regular intervals but kept coming back as Abdullah Fazal, another debutant, scored 60, Salman Agha made 58 and Mohammad Rizwan chipped in with 59.

Rizwan and Agha made 119 for the sixth wicket, one of three century partnerships for the visitors, before rain wiped out a large portion of the afternoon session.

The pitch offered more assistance to the spinners when play resumed and Mehidy exploited the conditions to perfection, with Pakistan bowled out in 100.3 overs.

Mehidy, who bowled 38 overs of his off-spin, was rewarded for his patience.

“On a true wicket like this, as a spinner, my mindset is that I will not get help from the pitch in the first three days,” Miraz said.

“If I bowl in good areas and the batter makes a mistake, then I have a chance of taking wickets. My job was to make sure I did not concede runs from one end.”

“In the second innings, I will come as an attacking bowler when the ball is turning,” he said.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi in a meeting with PTI leaders on Sunday at Governor House KP discussed the province’s constitutional and economic rights, stressing on the need to present a firm case before the federal government to ensure “justice and fair treatment”.

In a social media post on X, Governor Kundi said that PTI leaders, including former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser, MNA Junaid Akber, and other parliamentarians, called on him for a “constructive exchange on the pressing issues of KP”.

“We discussed the province’s constitutional and economic rights, including Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) closures, wheat concerns, National Finance Commission (NFC) matters, and the challenges faced by the merged districts and the business community,” he stated.

The meeting comes less than a week after KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi had announced observing a province-wide pen-down strike over the federal government’s alleged “discrimination” against KP in the NFC Award, electricity and gas.

Since taking charge as the province’s chief executive in October 2025, Afridi has repeatedly accused the Centre of stalling the release of funds allocated to KP, particularly those committed to the merged districts under the NFC Award. He had also condemned the Punjab government’s tighter controls on inter-provincial movement of wheat and flour through a permit regime to curb price hikes within the province.

The KP government in March requested the federal government to revise the NFC resource distribution formula on the basis of the region’s population, which would increase the province’s share from the existing 14.62 per cent to 18.96pc. Subsequently, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb had assured his “full support” to Afridi for the “resolution of all legitimate issues” as the two met in Islamabad.

The province has been further affected by a deepening CNG crisis in April that brought economic activity to a near standstill, with hundreds of filling stations shut and millions of citizens struggling for affordable fuel.

KP Governor Kundi in today’s meeting called for the province’s case to be “presented firmly and collectively before the federal government to ensure justice and fair treatment.”

Groups of passengers and crew disembarked from a cruise ship hit by ​a deadly hantavirus outbreak on Sunday to be evacuated to their home countries where they will isolate according to national protocols to prevent further spread of ‌the disease.

Government planes carrying Spanish and French nationals landed in Madrid and Paris, where the passengers were transported to hospitals, according to the two countries’ governments.

One of the five French passengers showed symptoms during the repatriation flight, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on X.

Planes to Canada, the Netherlands, Turkey, the UK, Ireland, and the United States were due to depart by 8:30 local time on ​Sunday, with the final flights departing on Monday.

The passengers will be tested upon arrival and then either taken to local hospitals or quarantine ​facilities or transported home for isolation.

The World Health Organisation has recommended a 42-day quarantine for all passengers from the boat from Sunday, its ⁠director of epidemic and pandemic management Maria Van Kerkhove said in a briefing.

The Spanish passengers will be kept in hospital for the full 42 days, while French passengers will ​be hospitalised for 72 hours, then allowed home to self-isolate for a further 45 days, according to the respective governments.

“Our recommendation is daily health checks, at home or in a ​specialised facility. It’s up to countries to develop their policies, but our recommendations are very clear,” Van Kerkhove said, highlighting that the incubation period for the virus was up to six weeks.

‘This is not Covid’

The virus, usually spread by rodents but also transmittable person-to-person in rare cases of close contact, was first detected by health officials in Johannesburg on May 2 while treating a British man who fell ill and ​was taken into intensive care, 21 days after another passenger had died.

The man’s health has since improved, a WHO official said on Sunday.

The WHO said the first passenger who ​died on the ship may have been infected before boarding, possibly during travel in Argentina and Chile.

Eight people no longer on the ship have fallen ill, according to a WHO tally from Friday, ‌of whom six ⁠are confirmed to have contracted the virus. Three have died — a Dutch couple and a German national.

Four remain hospitalised in South Africa, the Netherlands and Switzerland. On the remote island of Tristan da Cunha, a British overseas territory, a suspected case is being treated by a team of medical specialists parachuted in by the UK military.

Still, health officials urged calm, reminding a public scarred from the experience of the Covid-19 pandemic that this virus was far less contagious and posed little risk to the general population.

A woman in Spain who was tested for the ​virus after sharing a flight with one ​of the victims tested negative.

“This is not Covid, ⁠and we don’t want to treat it like Covid,” acting US CDC Director Jay Bhattacharya said in an interview with CNN on Sunday, adding the 17 US passengers from the ship would be given the choice of isolating at home or at a facility in ​Nebraska.

Spain’s health ministry also downplayed the risk to the broader population. It added that rodents had not been detected aboard the ship.

Crew, ship set to sail on to Netherlands

The luxury cruise ship left for Spain on Wednesday from the coast of Cape Verde after the WHO and European Union asked the country to manage the evacuation of passengers after the outbreak was detected.

Passengers were taken from the ship to shore in small boats and transported to Tenerife airport in military buses, without coming into contact with the public.

Thirty crew members will remain ⁠on board and ​sail to the Netherlands on Monday evening where the ship will be disinfected.

“Thank God we are all ​fine … I hope we’ll get through the quarantine process smoothly and be able to see family and friends again,” Turkish birdwatcher Emin Yogurtcuoglu, a passenger on the ship, wrote in a public post on Instagram.

All passengers considered high-risk contacts: EU agency

Europe’s public health agency said ‌ahead of the ship’s expected anchoring on Sunday off the Spanish island of Tenerife that all passengers on the cruise ship were considered high-risk contacts as ​a precautionary measure.

Passengers without symptoms will be repatriated for ​self-quarantine via specially arranged transport, not regular commercial ​flights, by their respective countries, the European Centre ⁠for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said on Saturday ​as part of its rapid scientific advice.

Although at disembarkation, passengers will be considered high-risk, not all will necessarily be considered high-risk upon return ​to their home ​countries, the ⁠ECDC said.

The agency urged symptomatic passengers to be prioritised for medical assessment and testing ​on arrival, adding they may isolate in ​Tenerife ⁠or be medically evacuated home, depending on their condition.

UK army in ‘daring’ parachute op to aid suspected Hantavirus patient

Earlier on Sunday, British military personnel carried out an airborne operation to deliver urgent medical support for a suspected Hantavirus patient on a South Atlantic island, ministers said.

An army specialist team parachuted onto the island of Tristan da Cunha, Britain’s most remote overseas territory, a defence ministry statement said.

One of three British nationals diagnosed with suspected hantavirus linked to the outbreak on the MV Hondius cruise ship is on the island.

The team of six paratroopers and two military clinicians, all from the 16 Air Assault Brigade, descended from a Royal Air Force (RAF) A400M transport aircraft “in a daring parachute drop”, the statement said.

Vital oxygen supplies and other medical aid were air-dropped almost simultaneously.

The urgent response came after confirmation by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on Friday of a suspected infection in a British national on the island.

Tristan da Cunha, a group of volcanic islands with a population of around 220 has no airstrip and is accessible only by boat.

With oxygen supplies at critically low levels, officials said an airdrop was the only viable option to deliver care in time and support the island’s two-person medical team.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper paid tribute to the armed forces for an “extraordinary operation”.

The drop involved a long-range flight of nearly 6,800 kilometres from RAF Brize Norton in central England to Ascension Island, followed by a further 3,000-kilometre flight to Tristan da Cunha, the statement said.

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi conveyed to Bangladeshi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaid Islam on Sunday that there were “vast opportunities for investment”, as the two sides agreed to increase cooperation in trade and business.

Naqvi, who is on an official visit to Bangladesh, called on Islam in Dhaka, where the two held “detailed discussions on bilateral relations, the regional situation, and Pakistan’s conciliatory role”, according to an official statement released by the Ministry of Interior.

The Bangladeshi state minister appreciated Pakistan’s efforts aimed at resolving the Iran-US conflict, it said.

Pakistan has been leading the efforts for the resolution of the conflict, which began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, and hosted the first round of face-to-face talks between Washington and Tehran in April.

The interior ministry’s statement said that during Nqavi’s meeting with Islam, both sides agreed to increase cooperation in the fields of trade, business, and culture and “on maximum mutual exchange of delegations to promote trade and cultural relations”.

“Discussion was also held regarding the visit of Bangladesh’s foreign minister to Pakistan,” it added.

Bangladesh Foreign Ministry Secretary Mohammad Nazrul Islam, Pakistani High Commissioner Imran Haider and other officials were also present at the meeting.

The meeting comes a day after Naqvi signed an anti-narcotics memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Bangladesh Interior Minister Salahuddin Ahmed and offered cooperation on the Safe City Project.

Relations between Islamabad and Dhaka have improved since the ouster of former Bangladeshi premier Sheikh Hasina, during whose tenure ties between the two countries remained shaky.

As fears of renewed conflict hang over Iran, conservationists are shoring up battered historic sites and taking stock of the damage caused by the war with the United States and Israel, though experts warn some repairs could take years.

At Golestan Palace, a defining cultural landmark in central Tehran, shattered mirrors, broken doors and debris from ornate ceilings now lie scattered across parts of the site after shockwaves from strikes on the capital following the outbreak of war on February 28.

The former royal residence, known for its sprawling gardens, pools and royal halls, has been listed as a Unesco World Heritage site since 2013.

The fragile truce in place since April 8 has allowed experts to begin gauging the scale of the damage, though the complex remains closed to the public.

“The damage has been assessed at several levels, but a more detailed specialised evaluation is still underway,” Ali Omid Ali, a restoration specialist and head of the technical engineering department at Golestan Palace, told AFP.

For now, he said, teams are focused on stabilising damaged structures and preventing further collapse before broader repair work can begin.

“We need a more stable situation to start the restoration process,” he said.

Initial estimates suggest work at the site could cost around $1.7 million, though the figure could rise following a full assessment, he added, noting that repairs could take “two or more years”.

The palace, known for blending 19th-century Persian arts and architecture with European styles and motifs, is among at least five Unesco-listed sites damaged during the conflict.

“Fifty to 60 per cent of its doors and windows are broken,” Jabbar Avaj, director of the Golestan Palace museums, told the official IRNA news agency.

The palace’s famed Mirror Hall — known for shimmering mosaics covering its ceilings and walls — and the Marble Throne, a ceremonial platform supported by statues representing mythical and royal symbols, were “seriously damaged”, he said.

‘Shadow of war lingers’

Other affected Unesco-listed sites include Chehel Sotoun Palace and the Masjed-e Jame in Isfahan, as well as the prehistoric sites of the Khorramabad Valley.

Beyond the listed sites, the war affected at least 140 culturally and historically significant locations across Iran, according to Hassan Fartousi, head of Iran’s National Commission for Unesco.

Among them are Tehran’s Marble Palace, the Teymourtash house and the sprawling Saadabad Palace complex in northern Tehran, a former royal residence set within a vast park and home to several museums.

“The shadow of war still lingers over Iran’s sky, and in this situation, we cannot plan very well for restoration,” Fartousi said.

While the ceasefire since April 8 has largely halted fighting in major urban centres housing cultural sites, sporadic clashes have occurred in coastal areas and Gulf waters, and talks have so far failed to produce a lasting settlement.

Fartousi also worries that even after repairs, damaged heritage sites may never recover their original character, noting the entire idea of cultural heritage rests on “the concept of originality”.

“Even if we do the restoration with our great artists and specialists in restoration, where will the originality be?” he said.

Funding remains a major challenge, with the Iranian government yet to announce a restoration budget as it struggles to offset the impact of the war and a US blockade that has severely disrupted exports.

“Unfortunately, Unesco and other international organisations have limited budget,” he said, adding that negotiations were ongoing to secure support.

Asked about the overall cost of restoring the damaged sites, Fartousi simply said: “All of them are priceless.”

Header image: A visitor walks through the damaged interiors of the historic Golestan Palace in Tehran on April 4, 2026. — AFP/File

Sana stood outside the gates of the police station with her young son, clutching her hand as she trembled from fear of what people would say if she went inside.

The 26-year-old had been subjected to four years of physical, emotional and financial violence at home, and now her husband was threatening to leak their private videos. What held her back was not fear of her abuser but a sentence she had heard her whole life: Sharif larkiyaan thaney nahi jaati. Good girls don’t go to police stations.

At our gate, Sana was not just dealing with her husband’s violence but also battling a deeper, more systemic violence in the shape of a belief system that decided how far she was allowed to seek justice.

This story is not an isolated one. I often hear it as a Sub-Divisional Police Officer serving with the Sindh Police. Each complainant who happens to be a woman or her family apologises to me: “We come from a respectable family. We have never stepped inside a police station.” This disclaimer signals that the act of going to the police needs to be justified.

When women say it, the police station ceases to operate as an institutional space where you can report a crime, and it morphs into a dangerous site where you imperil your social identity. There is a striking pattern to this pre-emptive stigma neutralisation. The disclaimer is the same no matter what the crime. It is given when a woman’s husband breaks her arm at home in Larkana, she is raped by her employer in Landhi, threatened by her own uncles in Mirpurkhas, and even when she loses her life savings to some scammer bro sitting in Ratodero with a 5G connection.

The subtext is always the same: If you do go to a police station, you will no longer be considered respectable. This is classic patriarchal control over a woman’s mobility and voice. A sharif aurat is constructed around notions of modesty, obedience and invisibility in public spaces. At the same time, police stations in Pakistan have been historically associated with male domination and crime. But the result is that women are left to endure injustice rather than encouraged to seek a remedy.

This barrier flies in the face of guarantees enshrined in the Constitution of Pakistan that all citizens are equal under the law and deserve its protection. The message should be that a woman going to a police station is not compromising on her dignity but exercising a fundamental right.

The persistence of this stigma is dangerous given the magnitude of violence that is widespread and under-reported. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and Aurat Foundation provide some sense of what is out there, but so many cases are never reported or withdrawn because of the thana stigma.

Recently, a young woman walked into a police station with her brother, seeking help for repeated physical violence by her husband. She spoke in fragments at first, hesitant, almost apologetic, describing the abuse she had been enduring. There were signs of fear, but also urgency. Before she could explain her situation, her brother interrupted. He dismissed the severity of the situation with a practised calm. They did not want to pursue legal action and instead asked if they could do something else.

“Bas usse bula ke police wali zuban mein samjha den ke theek se rahen.” Just call the husband and tell him to straighten out in the language of the law. In that moment, the woman’s plea for safety was reframed into a demand for adjustment.

What stood out was not just the violence she had faced, but the boundary her family had already drawn around justice.

Legally, the option to proceed was clear. Under the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act and provisions of the Pakistan Penal Code, physical assault and abuse are crimes serious enough that police can arrest the person accused of them and investigate (cognisable offences). The State sees such violence as a crime, and not as a private matter, but in reality, the law often arrives second after family negotiations are held, social calculations are made, and reputational concerns weighed up.

Forty-two Women and Children Protection Cells (WCPCs) have been opened in all ranges and districts of Sindh to make reporting a crime easier (See list of officers, locations and contact numbers below). You can use the WCPC app, Zainab Alert, 1917 or IG Complaint Cell as well. But none of these diminish a physical police station as the most immediate point of access to justice.

The WCPCs have contributed to a noticeable increase in crime reporting, especially for domestic violence, harassment and child abuse, by providing a relatively more sensitive and less intimidating environment staffed by female officers. For instance, the call centre 1715 WCPC from January 1, 2025, to November 2025 received ~82,570 complaints online alone, mostly domestic violence and harassment, which were catered to accordingly. One woman was brought to a police station after making a call to 15. Her husband had thrown hot tea at her face because he claimed she had served him in old utensils. He was immediately arrested.

In that moment, the law was clear, and the institutional response was immediate, but what followed was more revealing than the crime itself. As proceedings began, the woman pleaded, “Please release my husband. He won’t do it again. Just make him understand.” The same system she had called on for help was now being asked to retreat. No wonder she was back again after a month, this time with a graver assault.

Discouraging women from going to police stations does not protect dignity. It protects the perpetrators. Cycles of violence grind on when victims or survivors are dissuaded from resorting to state institutions for support. For many women, fear of social judgement outweighs the promise of legal protection. I see women pleading for a settlement with their husbands and trying to convince them not to be violent towards them, without taking any legal action. Their only concern is to keep the family reputation intact.

They reveal that the barrier is not always access to the system; sometimes it is the conditioned belief that using it fully will cost more than enduring the violence. Families concerned about their social standing discourage the reporting of a crime even in serious abuse cases. But in doing so, they normalise a culture of silence. The media has not helped by loading with controversy a woman’s presence in a police station. This framing is being challenged, but much work remains to be done.

A notion that needs to spread to all parts of society is that a police station is not a place of dishonour. It is a public institution meant to serve citizens, and a woman who walks into a thana is not stepping outside her respectability but asserting her rights.

Meanwhile, change is being driven forward in the attitude of police officials toward female victims. Capacity-building sessions are held regularly on handling female complainants, victims of heinous crimes and other vulnerable groups. A front desk officer will pause and think before saying, ‘Aurat ne kuch to kiya hoga,’ as was the case before. (She must have done something). The rise in the number of women police officers is reshaping how women experience the system. It may not dismantle stigma overnight, but it does create an entry point, a space where hesitation softens.

I have often witnessed that shift the moment a woman steps into my office and takes a visible sigh of relief. A woman who had been defrauded by her husband at first was uncertain about proceeding, but as we walked her through the legal channels, something began to change.

With every interaction, she began to appear more assured. The last time she came to see me, her demeanour was entirely different. “Kya hum kabhi bhi aapke office aaskte hain baghair kisi rukawat ke?” she asked me. Can we come to your office without any problems? For many women, access to justice is not assumed; it is negotiated; it is uncertain and sometimes dependent on who sits on the other side of the table.

Police departments must continue to ensure professionalism, confidentiality and dignity in handling complaints. This will only be possible when the basic unit of the police station is made stronger. Women are taking up key positions and ranks. Encouraging women to report violence is not a threat to social values; it is a reinforcement of the rule of law.

Sharif aurat thaney nahi jaati is not merely outdated, it is also exclusionary. While the feminisation of policing has begun to transform the thana, the greater challenge lies in transforming the mindset that keeps women away from it.

MIRANSHAH: A large-scale security operation against militants continued for the third consecutive day in the Shewa tehsil and adjoining areas of North Waziristan, with reports claiming that seven militants, including two key commanders, were killed during search and clearance operations.

According to sources, several militant hideouts were destroyed during the operation, while security forces intensified actions in multiple localities of the region.

In the Dorwazanda area of Shewa tehsil, the Alam Khel Market was reportedly almost completely demolished during the operation. Local residents claimed that militants had allegedly been using the market as hideouts and movement routes.

Meanwhile, in the Anarkhel area, an alleged militant hideout and a residential compound were also destroyed with explosive material. Sources added that security forces had taken control of several important buildings and installations during the operation, including the Governor Model School, which militants were allegedly using for their activities.

Residents and local sources said door-to-door search operations were continuing in Dorwazanda and nearby areas, while additional contingents of security personnel had been deployed. Security forces also conducted raids on several suspected locations and reportedly seized weapons and other materials.

According to reports, militants suffered heavy casualties during the ongoing operation. Sources claimed that the slain militants were allegedly involved in attacks on security forces and police personnel, as well as incidents of targeted killings.

Security operations were also launched in the Sarkhani area, where intermittent firing and explosions continued to be heard, sources said.

A curfew remained imposed across the affected areas, severely disrupting daily life and causing difficulties for residents. Several families were said to have shifted to safer locations, while business activities remained completely suspended.

Security officials said the purpose of the operation was to eliminate militant elements from the area and restore peace and stability.

Historically, Shewa was considered one of the relatively peaceful areas of North Waziristan. Residents primarily depend on agriculture, livestock and small-scale businesses, and the area is known for its simplicity and strong tribal cohesion.

Even during the military operations launched after 2014, locals say Shewa remained comparatively less affected, and normal life returned sooner than in other parts of the district.

However, over the past year, the situation has deteriorated sharply. Residents attribute the worsening conditions to a rise in targeted killings, quadcopter attacks and increased activity by outlawed militant groups.

In March, after the evacuation of Dorwazanda, Alamkhel, Malokhel and Anarkhel villages in Shewa, families from nearby localities were also fleeing their homes to relatively safer districts.

In January, unknown attackers blew up a bridge over the Kurram River, which served as a vital link between several villages, compounding difficulties faced by residents.

Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (PTCL) said on Sunday that consumers may face internet disruptions due to maintenance work on a submarine cable between May 11 and 18.

In a post on X, PTCL said: “A maintenance activity is planned on one of our submarine cables to repair a fault by the International Cable Consortium,” adding that the work will begin on May 11 and may continue until May 18.

“During this period, customers may face internet service degradation during evening hours,” PTCL said.

The state-owned telecom giant manages three undersea optical fibre cable networks that provide international internet connectivity to Pakistan.

Internet users in Pakistan often face disruptions due to persistent submarine cable faults.

According to a report by Top10VPN.com, Pakistan led the world in financial losses from outages and shutdowns of internet and social media apps in 2o23.

THE Sindh government’s 28-point list of restrictions imposed on Aurat March Karachi is a distressing example of familiar double standards: women are celebrated in speeches and choreographed photo opportunities, only for the state to recoil the moment they demand their rights.

The organisers sought permission to march peacefully for women’s rights. What they received, instead, was a document dripping with authoritarian anxiety. The message could not have been clearer: women may gather, but only if they remain politically harmless.

Rather than facilitating peaceful assembly, the administration chose to police slogans, speech and even clothing. The vague and sweeping conditions betray insecurity.

Why does a march calling attention to gender violence and economic inequality provoke such discomfort in official circles? Why are women demanding bodily autonomy and constitutional rights treated as a threat?

Secure governments do not fear placards, nor do they attempt to dictate what citizens may wear while exercising their rights.

Across Pakistan, as in the rest of the world, the overwhelming majority of perpetrators of violence against women are men. Women face harassment in streets, workplaces and homes. They are subjected to ‘honour’ killings, domestic abuse, forced marriages and institutional discrimination.

Yet instead of confronting the structures that enable such violence, the state’s instinct is to regulate women themselves. The state appears unable to tolerate women speaking in their own voice without bureaucratic approval.

There is an undertone of ‘women should be seen and not heard’ running through these directives — an outdated view masquerading as administrative procedure.

Just consider: in 2026, women in Pakistan must still seek permission to demand dignity while the state reserves the right to determine how loudly, how politically and even how appropriately dressed they may be while doing so. We have miles to go before we can claim to be a progressive society.

Published in Dawn, May 10th, 2026