ISLAMABAD: The British High Commission said on Tuesday it was in contact with local authorities regarding the death of a British boy who was reportedly ‘murdered’ while on holiday in Pakistan with his mother, adding that the mission was providing consular services to the family.
Adil Khan, 14, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, was reportedly shot dead while traveling with his mother to visit relatives in Pakistan.
“We are in contact with the local authorities in Pakistan following the death of a British child and are providing consular support to his family,” a media representative at the British High Commission told Arab News via email.
British media reported over the weekend that though the exact nature of Khan’s death had not yet been confirmed, police were said to have made two arrests.
“The 14-year-old, from the predominantly Asian Manningham area of Bradford, was previously at the center of a missing persons inquiry in Pakistan in 2019 but was found safe and well,” the Daily Mail reported.
Suspects provided food, shelter, logistical support to “terrorists” who killed tourists in Pahalgam, says Indian agency
Pahalgam attack led to armed military confrontation between India and Pakistan in May in which over 70 were killed
Updated 22 June 2025
AFP
SRINAGAR, India: New Delhi’s counter-terrorism agency said Sunday it has arrested two men in India-administered Kashmir for allegedly harboring Pakistani gunmen behind a deadly attack on civilians that sparked a days-long conflict between the two countries.
India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) said the two suspects were from the Pahalgam area, where gunmen killed 26 people two months ago.
“The two men had provided food, shelter and logistical support to the terrorists, who had... selectively killed the tourists on the basis of their religious identity,” a statement by NIA said. The majority of those killed were Hindu men.
The agency identified the two men as Parvaiz Ahmad Jothar and Bashir Ahmad Jothar, claiming the duo “have disclosed the identities of the three armed terrorists involved in the attack,” and have confirmed they were Pakistani nationals affiliated to the proscribed Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) group.
New Delhi has accused Pakistan of backing the attack without making public any evidence, and Islamabad has denied the charge.
The April 22 killings triggered a series of tit-for-tat diplomatic measures by the nuclear-armed countries and led to intense exchanges of missile, drone and artillery fire.
The four-day conflict left more than 70 people dead on both sides.
Muslim-majority Kashmir has been divided between the South Asian rivals — claimed by both in full — since their independence from British rule in 1947, and the neighbors have fought two wars over its control.
Rebel groups, demanding the divided region’s independence or merger with Pakistan, have waged an insurgency since 1989.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday condemned US airstrikes targeting Iran’s key nuclear facilities, as experts warned that further escalation could push the Middle East toward a wider war with dangerous economic and security consequences for countries like Pakistan.
The strikes, carried out by the US military early Sunday, hit three Iranian nuclear sites at Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz. The attacks came amid Israel’s ongoing campaign against Iran’s nuclear program, which Israeli officials claim is nearing weaponization, an allegation Iran denies, insisting its activities remain peaceful and under international safeguards.
US President Donald Trump warned Tehran against retaliation, saying Washington could target more sites “with precision, speed and skill.” Iran has said it “reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interest, and people.”
The map outlines main the facilities of Iran's nuclear programme which were targetted by US strikes on June 22, 2025. (Reuters)
In a statement released on Sunday afternoon, Pakistan’s foreign office said it was “gravely concerned at the possible further escalation of tensions in the region” and described the US strikes as a violation of international law.
“Pakistan condemns the US attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities which follow the series of attacks by Israel,” the statement read. “Any further escalation of tensions will have severely damaging implications for the region and beyond.”
Pakistan said Iran had the legitimate right to defend itself under the UN Charter and urged all parties to respect international humanitarian law, protect civilian lives and “immediately bring the conflict to an end.”
“Recourse to dialogue, diplomacy, in line with the principles and purposes of the UN Charter remain the only viable pathway to resolve the crises in the region,” the statement added.
Tensions flared on June 13 when Israel launched airstrikes against what it described as Iran’s military leadership and nuclear infrastructure. Iran, a signatory to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), has since retaliated with missile attacks on Israeli targets. The United States, Israel’s closest ally, has now directly joined the campaign.
Experts warn the latest US strikes undermine global arms control norms and would have both economic and security implications for Pakistan.
Dr. Rabia Akhtar, an expert on nuclear security, said attacking a safeguarded nuclear program “destroyed the very space diplomacy depends on.”
“If the response to nuclear restraint is pre-emptive force, you normalize the idea that only the bomb ensures sovereignty,” she said.
Syed Ali Zia Jaffery, deputy director at the Center for Security, Strategy and Policy Research at the University of Lahore, said the latest US strikes had dealt a “severe blow” to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).
“Iran, which is a party to the NPT, might decide to leave that treaty which will be a massive loss for the non-proliferation regime,” Jaffery told Arab News.
He said Tehran now had the right under international law to target US installations in the Middle East and could step up attacks on Israel in response. Jaffery also warned that if Iran were to block the Strait of Hormuz, it would have “serious consequences” for the global economy.
Indeed, a wider Middle East conflict could disrupt oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, through which about one-fifth of global oil passes, adding to price pressures for Pakistan, which relies heavily on imported fuel.
“More than 30 percent of the energy transits through the strait and one should expect an astronomical rise in oil prices and other tradables passing through the Strait of Hormuz,” said Pakistan’s former ambassador to Iran, Asif Durrani.
Instability could also spill over Pakistan’s 900-kilometer border with Iran in Balochistan, an area prone to separatist militancy and cross-border attacks by armed groups.
The crisis also raises questions about how Islamabad will navigate its delicate balancing act between Iran, other Gulf partners, and the United States, which remains one of Pakistan’s largest trading partners and a critical source of military and economic assistance. How Pakistan manages these competing ties amid an escalating regional conflict could test its diplomacy in the coming weeks.
QUETTA: Five militants were killed while two Balochistan Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) personnel were injured during a counterterror operation in southwestern Pakistan this week, CTD said.
The CTD said its personnel conducted an intelligence-based operation in Jungle Pir Alizai area of Balochistan’s volatile Killah Abdullah district on Saturday when the exchange between the Pakistani Taliban or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants and law enforcers took place.
“In an exchange of fire, five suspected terrorists were killed,” the CTD spokesperson said in a statement released Saturday night. “Weapons and explosives were recovered from the terrorists during the operation,” it added.
CTD said maps of “sensitive locations” and other items were also recovered from the slain militants, adding that they were involved in militant activities in Pishin and Killa Abdullah districts.
The TTP has launched some of the deadliest attacks in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and southwestern Balochistan provinces targeting civilians and law enforcers since 2007.
Pakistan has suffered a surge in militant attacks in KP and Balochistan since November 2022 when peace talks between the state and the TTP broke down.
Pakistan blames the Afghan government in Kabul for sheltering TTP militants that carry out attacks against Islamabad. The Afghan Taliban deny the allegations and have urged Islamabad to resolve its security challenges internally.
The TTP has mainly carried out its operations in KP though it has also targeted Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by land mass yet its most backward by almost all social and economic indicators.
Balochistan has been rocked by a low-level insurgency for decades, where ethnic Baloch separatists accuse Islamabad of denying locals a share in the province’s natural and mineral resources.
Pakistan denies the allegations and says it is carrying out several health, educational and development projects in the province.
ISLAMABAD: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) confirmed on Sunday it has advised oil marketing companies to maintain their mandatory 20-day stock levels, clarifying the country holds “sufficient stocks” of petroleum products as the Iran-Israel conflict intensifies.
Local media outlets reported this week that Pakistani authorities have accelerated oil imports as the Iran-Israel conflict rages on. The conflict took a turn for the worse early Sunday after the US military struck three sites in Iran, inserting itself into Israel’s war aimed at destroying the country’s nuclear program in a risky gambit that could spark a wider regional conflict.
Experts have warned of spiraling inflation and global oil supply constraints due to the ongoing Middle East conflict. Concern is focused on potential disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one‑fifth of global oil transits, and weak supply growth from Iran, which produces about 3.3 million barrels per day. Analysts caution any sustained spike could drive up global freight rates, insurance premiums and inflation, particularly in energy‑importing countries like Pakistan.
“The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has confirmed that the country currently holds sufficient stocks of petroleum products to meet existing demand,” OGRA spokesperson Imran Ghaznavi said in a statement.
“However, in view of anticipated future requirements and the prevailing market situation, OGRA has formally advised all Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) to ensure the maintenance of their mandatory 20-day stock levels, in line with the conditions stipulated in their respective licenses.”
The spokesperson said OGRA remains committed to monitoring the ongoing situation in the Middle East closely and will continue to take “proactive steps” to ensure national energy security.
Pakistan relies heavily on imported oil, meaning that any sustained spike in prices could widen its current account deficit and push inflation higher at a time when the country is struggling with low foreign reserves and slow growth.
The Israel-Iran conflict started on June 13 when Israel launched a massive wave of attacks targeting Iranian nuclear and military facilities but also hitting residential areas, sparking retaliation and fears of a broader regional conflict.
Over 400, mostly civilians have been killed in Iran so far, while Israel has reported 24 civilian deaths in retaliatory strikes by Tehran and over 1,200 injured.
Pakistan has condemned Israel’s strikes against Iran and has called on world powers to intervene for an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East through dialogue and diplomacy.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has been re-elected to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) human rights commission from 2025-2028, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar said this week, thanking member states for their support.
The Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) is an expert body with advisory capacity established by the OIC as one of the principal organs working independently in human rights.
Since it was launched in 2011, the commission has deliberated on important issues such as the rights of women and children, the right to development, combating Islamophobia, extremism and intolerance as well as human rights situations in different countries.
“Pakistan has been re-elected today to the OIC-Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) for the period 2025-2028 on the sidelines of ongoing meetings of the Council of Foreign Ministers in Istanbul,” Dar, who also serves as Pakistan’s foreign minister, wrote on X on Saturday.
#Pakistan has been re-elected today to OIC-Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) for the period 2025-2028 on the sidelines of ongoing meetings of the Council of Foreign Ministers in Istanbul. Ambassador(R) Ms Riffat Masood will represent at the Commission. We…
Dar said former Pakistani ambassador Riffat Masood will represent Pakistan at the Commission.
“We thank the Member States for their support & commend IPHRC’s vital role in promoting respect for Human Rights globally,” the Pakistani minister concluded.
At the 51st session of the OIC’s CFM in Istanbul, Dar voiced alarm over escalating tensions in the Middle East, blaming Israel’s military actions in Gaza and recent strikes in Iran for deepening instability and humanitarian crisis in the region.
The high-level conference was held at a moment of crisis for several OIC member states. Two of the bloc’s key countries — Pakistan and Iran — have recently experienced military escalations with regional rivals.
“Israeli aggression against Iran is not an isolated event,” Dar said in his address to the forum on Saturday night. “It is part of a dangerous and consistent pattern of militarism that Israel has demonstrated across the Middle East.”
