Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur held an important meeting with Afghan Ambassador Sardar Ahmed Shakib in Islamabad, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Saturday.
In the meeting, bilateral relations, mutual cooperation and regional stability were discussed in detail.
Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur offered to provide support in establishing a cancer hospital in Afghanistan, while also assuring full support in the agriculture sector.
He expressed his determination that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government is ready to play every possible role in the welfare of the people of Afghanistan.
In the meeting, both leaders agreed that Pakistan and Afghanistan have a long border, common language, ethnic, tribal and religious ties, which should be further strengthened with peace, brotherhood and mutual respect.
Both sides stressed that they must work together against the nefarious intentions of external powers to provide a secure, stable and peaceful future for the coming generations.
Afghan Ambassador Sardar Ahmad Shakib thanked the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government for taking special care of Afghan refugees and reiterated his commitment to further promote relations between the two countries.
On this occasion, CM Gandapur announced that he wanted to send a special delegation to Afghanistan, which would play a role of a bridge in promoting trust and harmony between the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The meeting was also attended by Chief Minister’s Advisor on Information Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif. He was entrusted by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government with the responsibility of liaising with the relevant authorities in Afghanistan to make practical contacts between the two countries more effective and fruitful.
CM Gandapur, met with Afghan Ambassador Sardar Ahmad Shakeeb in Islamabad. The meeting focused bilateral relations, mutual cooperation & regional stability. CM Gandapur offered cancer hospital & support in agriculture. However, delegation will sent to Afghanistan to build trust. pic.twitter.com/2PokqYiGJ2
LAHORE: Provincial Disaster Management Authority has issued flood alert for hill torrents (Rod-Kohi) of Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur districts apprehending medium flood.
PDMA spokesman has said that the flood alert to continue until 3:00am tonight.
“There is flooding situation at hill torrents owing to rainfall at Koh-e-Suleman”, PDMA has stated.
“Last night medium to high flood flows passed through ‘Rod Kohis’ of Rajanpur,” spokesperson said.
“A high flood flow of 37,200 cusecs passed through Chhachhar hill torrent,” PDMA said. “Another high flood flow of 11,309 cusecs passed through Patok Rod-Kohi.”
“A high flood flow of 10,739 cusecs passed through Zangi Rod-Kohi while a medium flood stream of 8,350 cusecs passed Suri-Shimali hill torrent,” PDMA shared.
Spokesman said that no losses of life or property reported in flooding of hill torrents.
“The third spell of monsoon rains in the provinces will continue until July 17,” PDMA added.
Rod Kohi is a system of irrigation in which water from flash floods from the mountains passes through hill torrents is used for irrigating the foothill plains. It is an ancient form of water management that is unique to semi-arid environments.
Now that we have had a considerable cooling period, it is imperative to ask whether a war was the only response possible to the terrorists’ outrage in Pahalgam.
All wars inevitably produce unpredictable changes in the institutional equation between soldier, politician and citizen. The (supposedly ‘paused’) Operation Sindoor is no exception. Undesirable calculations have already seeped in to our civil-military equations. This cannot be welcome news for the polity. An unhealthy militarism has strengthened its stranglehold on our national imagination.
Inexplicably, while our otherwise voluble political demagogues are being coy about the outcome of the four-day war with Pakistan, it is the military men who are adding to our understanding of what we did right and perhaps what we could do differently.
First, it was the Chief of Defence Staff who chose to travel all the way to Singapore to reveal some nuggets about Operation Sindoor. Speaking to two foreign correspondents, General Anil Chauhan had the soldier’s self-confidence to admit the loss – without specifying the number – of our aircraft in the shoot-out with Pakistan’s air defences. Strong and vibrant nations do not flinch from taking a bit on the chin. However, our new rulers – who habitually wrap themselves up in national security colours – could not bring themselves up to tell the nation about the lost fighter jet(s) even as military observers around the world were wildly speculating over the extent of our losses.
Then, a few weeks later, thanks to a naval attache with our mission in Jakarta, we learnt how our air force performance was handicapped by a very narrow mandate given to it by the political bosses. This becomes critically significant because the nation had been told, with considerable fanfare, that our armed forces have been given a free hand to find the best way to take revenge for the Pahalgam outrage.
Indeed, there was no mystery about the mandate. The limit of that mandate itself was detailed, rather self-importantly, in the press note issued within hours of the launch of the Operation Sindoor; the very tone of that public posturing was that Pakistan should be grateful the Modi regime had spared it bigger pain and had confined its punishment to the “terror infrastructure.” The in-house darbaris, who double up as strategic wizards, were probably working on the assumption that “Rawalpindi” would understand Prime Minister Modi’s compulsion to live up to his (self-manufactured) image as the leader who had to be seen as inflicting pain and punishment on “terrorists.”
Collectively, we had righteously convinced ourselves that we had a legitimate right to punish Pakistan for atrocities committed by a handful of terrorists in an area under our control. Even that great military genius, Mohan Bhagwat of Nagpur, had publicly reminded the rulers of their sacred duty to protect the citizens.
This was strategic hocus-pocus. The fatal assumption was that Pakistan did not have any kind of effective air defence system and that the Pakistanis would just allow our air force to do what it wanted to do. Such a “mistake” – to use the expression preferred by Gen. Chauhan in his conversations in Singapore – could only be made when professional military minds allow themselves to the bamboozled by politicians, strutting around as battle-field commanders.
On the other hand, General Asim Munir, now Field Marshal, had all his ducks in a row. He had resolved that 2025 was not going to be 2019. They were ready for us. Not only that, as another Indian officer, Lt Gen. Rahul Singh, deputy chief of the army was to reveal, the Pakistani response was being quarter-backed by the Chinese. Not with just weapons but with real time intelligence inputs, affording the Pakistani brass with a peek into our deployments.
What a colossal misreading of the enemy and his state of preparedness, worse even than Jawaharlal Nehru’s misjudgment about the Chinese intentions in 1962.
But such is the high esteem the country has for the armed forces that no one wants to ask the obvious question about the (in)adequacy of our military intelligence on the Pakistan-China jugalbandi. The noisy war-drummers have maintained a strategic silence over this grave lapse. No less puzzling is the silence of the ultra-deshbhakts over our defence minister, Rajnath Singh, having a pow-wow with his Chinese counter-part even after the deeply sobering revelations made by Gen. Rahul Singh of China’s involvement in the four-day war.
The four-day war was a mismatch of the leading personalities and their skills and habits.
On one side was a mean and lean general – mocked in our media as a jihadi – whose decision-making was guided by unsentimental, cold analysis, and unburdened with any “image.” On our side was an ageing leadership, frozen in its own self-exaltation and in thrall of violence irrespective of military wisdom. The “Rawalpindi” brass had sized up Modi correctly – that he would not be able to resist the clamour for “revenge” from his own constituency – and so the Pakistan Air Force was ready with a robust response.
A month is too long a time in Indian politics. Other distractions – an air crash in Ahmedabad and a rogue president in the White House – have allowed the political crowd to get away from the blunders committed since Pahalgam; and, make no mistake, these blunders arose out of intellectual flabbiness and political arrogance. But now that we have had a considerable cooling period, it is imperative to ask whether a war was the only response possible to the terrorists’ outrage in Pahalgam. Since the four-day war, Field Marshal Munir has repeated his “Kashmir being Pakistan’s jugular vein” theme and has even argued that “terrorists” are some kind of freedom fighters. Have we trapped ourselves in the stunted imagination of our rulers and their infatuation with kinetic options?
Harish Khare is a former editor-in-chief ofThe Tribune.
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BAJAUR – The funeral prayer of Maulana Khan Zeb, senior leader of the Awami National Party (ANP) and Secretary for Religious Affairs, was held in his native town of Nawagai, a day after he was shot and killed.
A large crowd of mourners, including thousands of locals, political workers, and tribal elders, attended the funeral. Prominent attendees included ANP’s provincial president Mian Iftikhar Hussain, senior leader Sardar Hussain Babak, MNAs from Bajaur Nisar Baz, Dr. Hameed, and Anwar Zeb Khan. Maulana Khan Zeb was laid to rest in his hometown, and emotional scenes with tearful attendees marked the funeral. Earlier in the day, the funeral of police constable Sherzada, who was also killed in the same incident, was held with a large public turnout paying respects to the fallen officer.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) issued a statement condemning the killing, hailing Khan Zeb as “a leading peace campaigner and political leader of the ANP”. “We demand a swift and impartial inquiry into this tragic incident,” the rights body wrote in a statement on X. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday expressed his grief over the assassination of Awami National Party leader Maulana Khan Zeb in a targeted attack in Bajaur that took place on Thursday. Remembering the slain ANP leader as a “very fine soul, and a staunch advocate for peace,” the prime minister wrote on X that he was “grieved to learn about the assassination of Maulana Khan Zeb in a cowardly targeted attack in Bajaur.” He extended his heartfelt condolences to the grieved family, colleagues, and the people of Bajaur and prayed for peace for the departed soul.
ISLAMABAD – Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Faisal Karim Kundi on Friday met Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman at his residence. The meeting was also attended by former Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani, senior PPP leader and former federal minister Khursheed Shah, Syed Tahir Ali Shah, former federal minister Maulana Asad Mehmood, former Deputy Speaker Zahid Akram Durrani, JUI-F provincial leader Maulana Lutfur Rehman, and Asjad Mehmood. During the meeting, the leaders discussed the prevailing political situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, formulating a joint strategy for the upcoming Senate elections, and the deteriorating law and order situation in the province. Matters related to corruption, provincial rights, and the growing sense of deprivation among the residents of the merged districts were also deliberated upon.
The image shows meeting between a PPP delegation led by KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi meeting JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman at his residence in Islamabad on July 11, 2025. — Facebook@FaisalKarimKundi
Kundi highlights efforts to build consensus among opposition.
Governor says move aims at ensuring securing of more seats.
Senate elections to take place on July 21 at KP Assembly building.
ISLAMABAD: As political parties gear up for the upcoming Senate polls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) have held consultations for seat adjustments between the two parties ahead of the July 21 polls, The News reported on Saturday.
The talks came as PPP delegation led by KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi met JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman at his residence. The meeting was also attended by Syed Khursheed Shah and Zahir Shah from the PPP’s side, whereas JUI-F was represented by Akram Khan Durrani, Maulana Lutfur Rehman, Maulana Asad Mahmood, Zahid Durrani and Asjad Mahmood.
“The meeting held consultations with regard to the Senate elections in KP Assembly,” said a brief statement issued by the JUI-F spokesman
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Kundi said dialogue was a part of the ongoing efforts to build a consensus among the opposition parties to secure more seats in the Senate elections.
The governor emphasised that during the PPP government, steps were taken to curb horse-trading in the Senate elections, adding that political alliances form and dissolve frequently, citing past interactions between the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Maulana Fazl as an example of shifting loyalties.
The PPP-JUI-F meeting comes as Senate elections will be held for seven general seats, two seats reserved for women, and two seats for technocrats including Ulema on July 21.
The polling will take place at the provincial assembly building in Peshawar from 9am to 4pm.
In March 2024, the ECP declared in response to the applications of five women MPAs-elect of the opposition parties in the province that if the speaker of the provincial assembly fails to comply with the directions of the high court to administer oaths to the lawmakers elected to reserved seats, it would be compelled to postpone the Senate elections in the province.
As a result, on April 2, 2024 — when Senate polls were held in other provinces and Islamabad — the ECP officially postponed the Senate elections in KP until the oath-taking of the MPAs-elect on reserved seats.
Senate elections were held on April 2, 2024, wherein the ruling coalition clinched 19 seats in the upper house. The PPP took the lead with 11 seats, while Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) clinched six seats. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) and an independent candidate Faisal Vawda secured one seat each.
Key representatives from both treasury and opposition benches are likely to establish Terms of Reference (ToRs) in the coming days, aimed at regulating the future proceedings of the Punjab Assembly and discouraging humiliation, abusive exchanges and violent conduct between lawmakers.
The development follows an initial consultative meeting between Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan and 26 suspended MPAs of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) over disqualification references filed against them.
Both sides reportedly agreed to form a joint committee of senior members to make the consultation process more effective and to explore constitutional, legal and parliamentary solutions to the impasse.
It is worth mentioning that Speaker Khan had received disqualification references against these currently suspended MPAs under Article 63(2) read with Article 113 of the Constitution.
It is his constitutional obligation to decide on these references within 30 days, as stipulated in the said provisions.
Accordingly, the speaker had summoned the suspended MPAs for a hearing under Article 10-A of the Constitution by July 11 (yesterday) in his chamber at the Punjab Assembly.
A reliable source, speaking to The Express Tribune on the condition of anonymity, said that the speaker’s move to suspend 26 MPAs and subsequently refer the matter to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) served a dual purpose: first, it helped dispel perceptions within his party of him favouring the opposition; second, it brought the opposition to the negotiating table under the pretext of the disqualification reference, thereby creating space to frame mutually agreed-upon TORs.
The source added that the meeting atmosphere was cordial, and a second round of talks may be held on Sunday or the following day.
Both sides may nominate three or four members each to form the joint committee tasked with drafting TORs to ensure that members refrain from abusive, humiliating, or violent conduct.
A key point being considered is that every member should be heard respectfully in the House, without interruptions, before any responses are made.
If the opposition still feels compelled to protest, they may do so in line with democratic parliamentary norms and without resorting to derogatory language or physical disruption.
The treasury is still debating whether the TORs should specifically mention Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz by name, ensuring that her speeches, along with those of Leader of the Opposition Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar and others, proceed without disruption, or whether the document should adopt a broader principle stating that all members’ speeches are to be respected and disruptions will be dealt with strictly.
According to the source, the opposition may find it difficult to remain calm during Maryam Nawaz’s speeches.
However, they are expected to acknowledge that while protest is their democratic right, they do not support abusive or violent conduct.
In future sessions, they may restrict protests to their designated benches rather than assembling in front of the speaker’s dais.
First round of meeting
During the first round of talks chaired by Speaker Khan in his chamber, treasury representatives and the suspended PTI MPAs, led by Opposition Leader Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar, proposed initiating mutual dialogue.
The speaker welcomed this proposal warmly.
Speaker Khan began the meeting by referencing past political regimes and then stressed the importance of democratic conduct within the assembly.
“Dialogue and consultation are the essence of parliamentary democracy. Every disagreement can be resolved through a positive, dignified, and constitutional approach,” the speaker said.
Both sides demonstrated a willingness to set aside their differences and proceed in accordance with democratic norms.
Background
Speaker Khan has often been viewed as sympathetic to the opposition, regularly allowing their members sufficient time to speak during proceedings, including on points of order.
He has also been noted for at times taking a stern tone with treasury members.
Over time, this approach led to a growing perception among treasury lawmakers that the speaker was disproportionately favouring the opposition.
They argued that he should limit the opposition’s floor time and adopt a more stringent posture.
However, Speaker Khan maintained that it was necessary to carry both sides along and that taking punitive action on minor infractions was not appropriate.
While his conciliatory approach was appreciated by the opposition, it created unease within the treasury benches. Eventually, the treasury began ignoring the opposition’s protests and disruptions in the House, especially during speeches by CM Maryam Nawaz.
At times, opposition lawmakers were even seen confined to their seats rather than protesting in front of the speaker’s dais.
The speaker and the treasury had long urged the opposition to maintain peace and decorum during the chief minister’s addresses.
However, the opposition appeared to take advantage of the speaker’s leniency, praising his neutrality while continuing to disrupt proceedings during Maryam Nawaz’s speeches, despite assurances to the contrary.
This tension peaked during the recent budget session. On June 27, when CM Maryam Nawaz delivered her address, the opposition appeared especially aggressive, possibly emboldened by the Supreme Court’s decision on the reserved seats issue.
Speaker Khan was under pressure to maintain order, while the treasury expected the opposition to honour past understandings. However, the apex court’s ruling changed the atmosphere drastically.
The opposition left no stone unturned in disrupting the CM’s speech, prompting the speaker to move forward with disqualification references.
The speaker’s decision to initiate the references attracted public criticism, with many arguing that PTI had already been politically cornered.
Several PML-N lawmakers also advised the speaker to resolve the matter within the assembly, rather than escalating it to the ECP.
LAHORE: The treasury and opposition in the Punjab Assembly have agreed to resolve issues through talks after days of acrimony and recriminations, which began with a raucous protest in the house during the chief minister’s speech last month.
On June 27, PTI lawmakers protested in the house during CM Maryam Nawaz Sharif’s speech, where she highlighted her government’s achievements and budget priorities.
The proceedings broke into a disarray as lawmakers surrounded the speaker’s dais and raised slogans. In response, Speaker Malik Ahmed Khan suspended 26 opposition lawmakers for 15 sittings and fined 10 MPAs Rs200,000 each for “damaging public property”.
He then filed disqualification references with the Election Commission against the 26 PTI legislators over “unparliamentary conduct”.
The speaker’s move drew widespread condemnation for being “excessive”. Experts said the move was “disturbing” and set a “dangerous precedent”.
PA speaker meets penalised lawmakers; bipartisan committee to hold dialogue on deseating of members.
The speaker vehemently defended his neutrality and constitutional authority to move against the opposition lawmakers, saying such powers had been exercised in the past and were legally valid.
However, a hint of rapprochement between the government and the opposition appeared on Thursday when Speaker Khan invited the 26 PTI MPAs to present their point of view on the disqualification references filed by treasury members.
The suspended MPAs, led by Opposition Leader Ahmed Khan Bhachar, reached the speaker’s chamber by noon on Friday.
They were also joined by Finance Minister Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman, PML-N’s chief whip Rana Arshad and others.
While formal hearings were held on applications submitted by the government members, discussions between the two sides continued for over an hour.
The two sides agreed to form a 15-member committee, headed by the speaker and having equal representation from the treasury and opposition, to sort out the issue.
The committee will meet at the assembly on Sunday to further the dialogue.
The speaker welcomed the move to find a “constitutional, legal, and parliamentary” solution to the issue.
“Dialogue and consultation are the essence of parliamentary democracy. Every disagreement can be resolved through a positive, dignified, and constitutional approach,” he said.
He termed the entire process a “positive parliamentary tradition” and hoped all parties would move forward with “wisdom, patience, and a commitment to democratic values”.
Talking to the media after the meeting, Mr Rehman said the speaker should make a decision in accordance with the Constitution and law and ruled out any leniency in penalising those who created a commotion in the house.
