China has pledged to work with Pakistan to advance “high-level security cooperation” and ensure the security of the two countries’ joint infrastructure project, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), according to the South China Morning Post. The messages were conveyed by Liu Haixing, head of the International Department of the Chinese Communist Party, in separate meetings with Pakistan’s top military leader Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday, on his first official visit to the country since taking office just over a year ago. In his meeting with Munir, Liu said Beijing stands ready to deepen exchanges with Islamabad and pursue the “2.0” version of the corridor, according to a statement from the department released on Monday.
Theme: Pakistan
Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said on Saturday, during a session on regional security at the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain, that Damascus is considering joining the Mecca alliance, a mutual defense pact between Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan. Under the agreement, signed on August 7 in Mecca, an attack on one signatory is treated as an attack on all three, an arrangement similar in principle to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which has 32 member states. Samy Akil, an analyst at Syria Report, told Middle East Eye the talks are at an early stage and that Syria is unlikely to become the pact's fourth member in the near term.
The liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier Al Mayeda, carrying cargo from Qatar to Pakistan, was struck by unidentified objects near the Strait of Hormuz, despite reports that Pakistani authorities had prior Iranian clearance for safe passage. Qatari carrier Nakilat confirmed in a statement that the attack happened on the evening of October 30, with no crew injuries and no reported environmental damage, and shipping data indicates the vessel changed course and headed back toward the Gulf.
Pakistan warned Afghanistan that it reserves the right to take all necessary measures to eliminate cross-border terror threats and said terrorism is a “red line”. Pakistan’s information ministry accused the Afghan Taliban of a “persistent refusal to address terrorism” and warned Kabul that it reserves the right to take “all necessary measures” to eliminate threats to its security “wherever they originate”, according to The Hindu and Independent Pakistan.
Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said on Saturday at the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain that discussions are under way to evaluate Syria’s entry into the Mecca alliance, according to Al Jazeera. The Mecca Joint Defense Agreement was signed by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan in the Saudi city of Mecca in August and states that an attack on one country is to be considered an attack on all three. Arab News also heard from the Syrian foreign minister that Damascus was considering whether to join the defense alliance binding Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
More than 150 Afghan immigrants are expected to be deported from the United States, in what would be one of the largest single expulsions of Afghans ever organized by the country, the Jerusalem Post reported. Dozens are already detained in Louisiana and the first deportation flight could depart as early as Monday, according to The New York Times, cited by the Jerusalem Post. The removals will take place through Pakistan because Washington lacks diplomatic relations with the Taliban, a US official told Reuters.
Pakistan’s army said it is cautiously optimistic about mediation between Iran and the United States, according to Al Jazeera. Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir has been to Tehran twice this month, most recently on Monday, alongside Saudi and Turkish officials, Al Jazeera reported.
A Pakistani anti-terrorism court sentenced the human rights lawyers Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha, a married couple, to 10 years in prison on Thursday in a security breach case, her family said, according to the Hindustan Times. The couple was accused of endangering an international cricket team's security plans by staging a protest and blocking a road in a 2024 case.
Egypt’s foreign minister, Badr Abdelatty, held separate phone calls on Tuesday with his Saudi counterpart, Faisal bin Farhan, and with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) foreign minister, Abdullah bin Zayed, the Egyptian ministry said on Wednesday. The Egyptian and Saudi ministers agreed to continue coordination through the four-way mechanism, which includes Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan, according to the ministry.
Senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan met with Iran in Tehran on Monday in an attempt to stop the Middle East war from reigniting, France 24 reported. It was the first joint visit to Tehran by the three countries since they formed a defense alliance in Mecca in August. Iran’s security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, told state television the talks were “very good”.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian called for “regional unity” at a meeting in Tehran on Monday with representatives of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, which recently signed the Makkah defence pact, Dawn reported. Iran’s state broadcaster said the quadrilateral meeting discussed regional cooperation, the US-Israeli aggression against Iran and its consequences, among other topics. The talks also included Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman and Turkiye’s intelligence chief, Ibrahim Kalin.
High-level delegations from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey were in Tehran on Monday for meetings with Iranian authorities, in an attempt to avert renewed fighting between Iran, Israel and the United States, according to the Associated Press (AP), in a text republished by the Times Herald. Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman, Pakistani army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and the head of Turkey’s intelligence service, Ibrahim Kalin, were to meet Iran’s top security officials and negotiators to push for a deal between Tehran and Washington. The war in Yemen and strikes by Iran-backed Houthi rebels against Saudi Arabia were also topics of the talks, according to AP, in a text republished by Bay News 9.
Field Marshal Asim Munir, Pakistan's army chief, and Turkey's intelligence chief arrived in Tehran for talks with Iranian officials, according to Mehr News. Ali Bagheri Kani, deputy secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said officials from the countries that signed the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement will hold regional security talks in Tehran on Monday, according to Sputnik. In an interview with state broadcaster IRIB, he said Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman, Munir and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin will take part in the joint meeting.
Senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan are set to meet their Iranian counterparts in Tehran on Monday to discuss regional coordination, the Jerusalem Post reported. Saudi Arabia will be represented by Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, and Pakistan by army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, according to Reuters. It will be the first high-level contact between Iran and all members of the three-nation bloc since Saudi Arabia came under escalating attacks, the Middle East Eye reported.
Pakistan reopened the Gabd-Rimdan crossing in Balochistan, and trucks resumed crossing the border with Iran after a week-long halt to cargo traffic, according to the Times of India. The reopening took place on Saturday, when trucks carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and essential food supplies resumed movement, Mehr News reported, placing the start of the suspension on October 17. Mir Naveed Jan Kalmati, president of the Gwadar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, confirmed the reopening and said trucks and other vehicles were allowed to move in both directions with import and export goods, according to Mehr News. The Times of India reported a seven-day shutdown; Mehr News places the start of the suspension on October 17.
Pakistan urged Afghanistan’s Taliban government to stop militants from carrying out cross-border attacks, according to the Associated Press (AP).
Pakistan has completed the ratification processes for the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan told a news conference, according to TRT World. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have already completed their ratification processes, while Türkiye is undertaking the requisite procedures “in accordance with its domestic legal framework,” he said.
Middle Eastern media outlets published this week the text of the Mecca Defense Pact signed by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan on August 7, 2026, according to The Jerusalem Post. The agreement establishes a trilateral defense concept under which an armed attack against one member is considered an attack against all three. It provides for a permanent secretariat, rotating leadership, regular ministerial meetings and the admission of new members, which, in the newspaper’s assessment, suggests something more ambitious than a typical defense-cooperation memorandum.
Qatar, Türkiye, Pakistan and Indonesia signed in Doha on Wednesday a memorandum to deepen defence industry cooperation, with joint production, technology transfers and more closely integrated supply chains — and the Qatari Defence Ministry says the “Badr” memorandum targets defence manufacturing, capabilities, technical training and research and development, according to Al Jazeera.
Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu called in Pakistan for an early convening of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit, according to The Times of India. The Maldives and Pakistan signed 20 memoranda in areas including health, education, defence and maritime cooperation, according to the Presidency of the Maldives.
Turkey, Qatar, Pakistan and Indonesia signed in Doha on Wednesday a memorandum of understanding for the joint production of military hardware and expanded cooperation in military training, research and development, according to Middle East Eye. Turkey’s defence ministry said the agreement will be known as the “Badr deal”, a reference to the Battle of Badr in 624, and that it holds significant military and economic importance. Reuters, citing the Turkish ministry, described an agreement to boost defence cooperation and strengthen the four countries’ defensive capabilities.
Turkey will submit to parliament a mandate allowing military personnel to be deployed to Saudi Arabia under its joint defense pact with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, an agreement signed in August in Mecca and submitted to parliament for ratification on Tuesday, according to the Jerusalem Post. According to the newspaper, no Turkish troops deployed to other countries under the pact would take part in offensive operations, and technical personnel and experts would be sent initially to help with air defenses.
Iran’s security chief Mohsen Rezaei told Pakistani army chief Asim Munir that no enriched nuclear material will leave the country, as it is national wealth for domestic use, according to state TV cited by The Hindu. Tehran maintains that it will not hand over to any country material enriched to 60%, close to the 90% bomb threshold, but has hinted at diluting it inside Iranian borders, according to the Korea Herald.
Iran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei told visiting Pakistani army chief Asim Munir on Tuesday that Tehran will not allow nuclear material to leave the country, according to Iranian state TV, as cited by the Times of Israel. “Not even a tiny bit of enriched nuclear material will leave Iran. Such materials constitute a major asset and national wealth for the Iranian people, intended for use within the country,” Rezaei said. Iran International also reported the statement at the meeting with Munir.
The Turkish government submitted the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement to parliament on October 20, binding Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan to mutual defense indefinitely, according to The Cradle. The text treats aggression from abroad against one member as aggression against all and obliges the others to immediately assist the attacked party, with the scale of support still to be defined, including military means.
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian discussed mediation efforts and regional developments with Pakistan's army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, in Tehran, according to Nournews, cited by The Jerusalem Post. The secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, told Munir that “not even a particle of enriched uranium will leave Iran”, according to Mehr News. Rezaei also said Tehran will not negotiate until its conditions are met, according to The Jerusalem Post.
Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, arrived in Tehran on Tuesday with a delegation of Pakistani officials to meet senior Iranian officials, according to Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency, cited by The Jerusalem Post.
Saudi Arabia’s newly appointed envoy to Pakistan, Rajeh Tami Albugamy, met Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir on Monday in Rawalpindi to discuss matters of mutual interest and regional security dynamics, the army said. Both sides expressed satisfaction over progress under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement and underscored the importance of strengthening defense collaboration. Munir will travel to Tehran on Tuesday for consultations with Iranian officials, according to Mehr News.
A Pakistan Army general said the country is providing “whatever support is needed” to protect Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and holy sites, amid escalating attacks by Yemen’s Houthis on the Gulf country. Lieutenant General Chaudhry told the digital newspaper Independent Arabia in an interview published on Sunday (18) that such support “is being provided and will be provided”, without disclosing the nature or extent of the assistance.
Pakistani security forces on Saturday (October 17, 2026) killed several Afghan Taliban personnel in retaliatory action after alleged unprovoked firing along the border in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to Pakistani security officials cited by The Hindu. The same outlet reported that in the Upper Kurram sector Pakistani forces targeted the Afghan Taliban’s Topsar post and Shipola base camp, and that the Shipola base camp was completely destroyed in the retaliatory action.
Muhammad Sarwar, designated as a global terrorist by the US Treasury Department, died in Lahore, Pakistan, according to The Hindu.
Pakistan’s federal government imposed temporary federal rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, after an emergency cabinet meeting, citing the “provincial government’s deliberate disengagement from the fight against terrorism”, according to the South China Morning Post. The provincial administration, led by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, had refused to support intensified military operations against Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants.
Pakistani forces and Afghan Taliban personnel exchanged fire at several locations along Pakistan’s northwestern border on Saturday, with Pakistani security officials and state-run media saying troops backed by artillery destroyed Taliban posts, according to the Associated Press (AP). TASS said Pakistan’s armed forces gave an efficient response with heavy weaponry to an unprovoked fire opened by Afghan Taliban members in the Kurram sector, and that Afghan broadcaster TOLO News had earlier reported clashes on the border with at least seven Pakistani servicemen killed and six wounded, citing a security source.
Pakistan has detained hundreds of members of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the party of former prime minister Imran Khan, after the central government imposed emergency rule on October 11 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to The Hindu. The province is the party’s stronghold, and the move came after major protests demanding the former premier’s release.
Pakistan’s finance minister, Muhammad Aurangzeb, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the country has withstood the initial shock from the war against Iran but said continued attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure would delay a return to economic normalcy. In an interview on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)–World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok, he said Pakistan had procured enough energy supplies to last through November 2026.
Pakistan was named chair of the Boards of Governors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank for 2027, returning to the position for the first time since 1953, according to the country’s Ministry of Economic Affairs. Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema, who is also Pakistan’s governor to the World Bank, was formally announced as the incoming chair during the plenary session of the 2026 World Bank Group (WBG)-IMF Annual Meetings in Bangkok.
Pakistan parliament on Thursday endorsed the federal government decision to impose emergency and governor rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to The Hindu. The measure had been imposed on October 11 by the Shehbaz Sharif government, which cited the provincial government alleged disengagement from counterterrorism efforts, and was promulgated by the president, on the advice of the prime minister, under Articles 232 and 234 of the Constitution, according to Radio Pakistan.
Representatives from Iran, Turkey, Kuwait, Pakistan and the Palestinian Authority walked out of Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s speech on Thursday at the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Baku, according to The Jerusalem Post.
The roof of a school in Peshawar collapsed on Thursday, killing 27 pupils and a teacher and leaving more than 30 injured, six in critical condition, according to Lady Reading Hospital, cited by France 24. The Jerusalem Post reported at least 17 students and a teacher killed, citing a local hospital spokesperson.
A passenger train running from Karachi to Peshawar derailed in Sher Shah, in Punjab, on Tuesday morning, killing four people and injuring 30, according to The Hindu, which cites police and a Pakistan Railways spokesman. Rescue teams recovered all four bodies and evacuated the injured from the train's 14 cars to hospital, according to The Hindu, which cites the railway spokesman.
Pakistani authorities imposed on Sunday a state of emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, under two constitutional security articles, effectively suspending the provincial government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), a move the prime minister's cabinet justified by the provincial government's “deliberate disengagement from the fight against terrorism”, according to Al Jazeera. The measures were approved under Articles 232 and 234 of the Constitution, with an 11-member technocratic council and Fakhr Alam named chief secretary of the province, according to Dawn.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif pledged to support Saudi Arabia “in every possible way” after Houthi attacks on the airports in Riyadh and Abha; the Riyadh attack killed at least 12 people and injured 309, according to Media Line, in a text republished by the Jerusalem Post. Sharif invoked the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, signed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, under which an attack against one country is considered an attack against all, and said Pakistan “will not tolerate any kind of aggression.”
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Pakistan and Qatar continue to serve as intermediaries between Iran and the United States and that Tehran and Washington continue to exchange communications, according to TASS. He said Iran is reviewing US proposals for a seven-day plan to restore security in the Strait of Hormuz.
Pakistan’s president, Asif Ali Zardari, announced on Sunday emergency rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, on a proposal by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, effectively removing Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party from regional power, as thousands of Khan supporters continue anti-government protests and demand the former leader be released from jail. The province was run by the PTI, whose provincial government was suspended after the state of emergency was declared.
Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari declared an emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on October 11, 2026, bringing the provincial government led by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s party to an end, according to The Hindu.
Pakistan says it has a substantial contingent of forces and resources in Saudi Arabia in a defensive capacity, amid Houthi attacks. The Pakistani foreign ministry spokesperson said those troops would not cross the border to attack the Houthis and would act in defence of Saudi territory. The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, signed on August 7, 2026 by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, commits the three countries to treat an armed attack against one member as an attack against all.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the Houthi attacks targeting Saudi Arabia, including the strikes on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, which resulted in casualties, saying Pakistan stands in unwavering solidarity with the kingdom on sovereignty, territorial integrity and security, under the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, according to the Middle East Eye.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reached a staff-level agreement with Pakistan on reviews of some of its lending programs, potentially unlocking about $1.21 billion in financing pending board approval.
Turkey plans to step up its military support for Saudi Arabia in the coming weeks by deploying additional personnel and defence equipment amid escalating Houthi attacks on the kingdom, several Turkish officials told Middle East Eye on Tuesday, October 6. In a joint statement on Monday, Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia said they had decided to immediately implement their collective defence commitments under the Makkah Alliance for Defence. Two Turkish officials said the country had maintained technical teams, air defence systems and electronic warfare equipment in the kingdom since last year to protect critical infrastructure, including energy facilities.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif invited the PTI, Imran Khan's party, for talks on Tuesday and urged it to call off its long march to Islamabad. The PTI launched the march two days earlier from Lakki Marwat in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to demand Khan's release; he has been in jail since August 2023. A second round of talks had collapsed on October 4 over the impasse on access to Khan.
United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres arrived in Pakistan on Tuesday for a three-day official visit, from October 6 to 8, according to Arab News Pakistan. The agenda includes Pakistan’s role in mediation between Washington and Tehran in the conflict between the United States and Iran, and Guterres is due to meet President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Field Marshal Asim Munir.
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye decided on Monday, October 5, to move immediately to implement their collective defence commitments and ensure the rapid deployment of the agreed forces to Saudi territory, according to Reuters in a text republished by The Hindu, a move Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry describes as providing the agreed military forces and capabilities and ensuring their rapid deployment to the kingdom, according to Al Jazeera. Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman said the activation responds to the attacks and all those responsible for them, according to Al Jazeera.
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey agreed to immediately implement their collective defence commitments, with the rapid deployment of agreed military forces and capabilities into Saudi Arabia, according to the Times of India. Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman said the alliance committee agreed to activate collective deterrence measures in response to attacks by the Houthi group. Pakistan and Turkey announced military support for Saudi Arabia after the emergency meeting of the alliance committee, in a joint statement by the three foreign ministers, according to the Middle East Eye.
According to The Guardian, Imran Khan's supporters have begun a march to Islamabad to demand his release from jail after the government's efforts to halt the protest failed. The government shut down Islamabad and barricaded the capital's entrances with shipping containers and sandbags.
Participants in the Moscow Format called on Kabul and Islamabad to refrain from military action, according to TASS, and said they were ready to help find political and diplomatic solutions. The October 5 meeting is expected to bring together Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and Pakistan's special representative for Afghanistan, with Russia ready to mediate, according to Ariana News.
The eighth meeting of the Moscow format of consultations on Afghanistan takes place on Monday in the Russian capital, and attendees will discuss the situation in Afghanistan and around it, including the conflict between Kabul and Islamabad, according to TASS.
More than 5,000 people began the march of Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party on Sunday. The march was originally scheduled for September 27 but was postponed until October 4 to allow talks between the government and the PTI leadership to take place, according to Al Jazeera.
Turkey said the Strategic Political and Defense Committee of the Mecca defence pact, which includes Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, will meet in Riyadh on Monday, according to Middle East Eye. The meeting will address recent developments in the region and the stage reached in the Alliance's institutionalisation efforts, the Turkish ministry statement said. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will travel to Riyadh with the defence minister and the chief of staff for the committee meeting of the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, an alliance founded in August with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, according to the Anadolu Agency.
The government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) failed to reach an agreement in the talks, according to the Hindustan Times. PTI decided to keep the march to Islamabad on Sunday, according to The Hindu. The government insisted that PTI first announce the cancellation of the protest, and the meeting with the jailed leader would be decided later, according to India Today.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of Imran Khan begins on Sunday a multi-day march from Lakki Marwat to Islamabad against the federal government and the military establishment, according to the Hindustan Times, in a text by ANI. The march is led by the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sohail Afridi, and demands the release of Imran Khan and other jailed PTI leaders.
India summoned Pakistan’s chargé d’affaires to protest the “continued facilitation of illegal cross-border infiltration” and rejected as unfounded Pakistan’s accusations over the October 2 incident in the Ferozepur sector, according to NDTV, citing a statement from India’s Ministry of External Affairs. Pakistan summoned India’s chargé d’affaires to protest the killing of two Pakistani civilians by Indian Border Security Force (BSF) personnel in the Bedian sector along the international border, according to Dawn. The two countries summoned each other’s diplomats over Friday’s incident, in which New Delhi rejects Islamabad’s account of the killing of two unarmed Pakistani civilians, according to Al Jazeera.
Pakistan’s security forces killed five Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants in an intelligence-based operation on Saturday, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to an official cited by the Times of India. The operation took place in South Waziristan district, based on intelligence about hideouts, with weapons and ammunition seized. On Friday, seven militants from the same group were killed in North Waziristan district.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry summoned India’s chargé d’affaires to protest the killing of two Pakistani civilians by Indian border troops, according to Al Jazeera. Islamabad urged India to conduct an “immediate, transparent and credible” investigation, with disciplinary and legal action against those responsible. The Indian side says the Border Security Force (BSF) shot dead two suspected Pakistani infiltrators in Tarn Taran, in Punjab, on Friday, according to officials cited by ETV Bharat.
Pakistan sent four cargo planes of armaments to the Saudi-backed, internationally recognised government of Yemen in September, with delivery in Aden, according to Reuters, in a report published by Middle East Eye. The shipment included air defence systems, light artillery, drones and anti-drone systems, and Pakistani military advisers are on the ground with their Saudi counterparts.
Pakistan’s federal government and leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan held talks on October 2, 2026 to defuse tensions ahead of the march to Islamabad, according to The Hindu. The PTI march to Islamabad is set to start on October 4, after being postponed by a week. The negotiations are taking place in the chamber of National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, who is facilitating the dialogue between the two sides.
Pakistan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia will hold an emergency meeting of the strategic political defence committee under the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement in Riyadh next week, according to The Times of India. The agenda includes the Houthi attacks and pursuing political engagement with the Houthis instead of kinetic action, according to The Times of India. Under the pact, an armed attack on any one of the three countries is to be treated as an attack on all three. Pakistan’s foreign minister said that more than six other countries want to join the agreement, according to Middle East Eye.
Pakistan said it had killed an estimated 22 fighters in airstrikes on camps in Kunar and Helmand; Kabul says the strikes killed at least nine people and destroyed three houses, according to Al Jazeera.
The Pakistani military struck the Kunar and Helmand provinces in Afghanistan, killing civilians and destroying three buildings, according to TASS. At least nine people died and 11 others were injured in the strikes, according to Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.
Afghanistan's Defence Ministry said it had killed 41 fighters and captured 62 in Kamdesh district, in the northeastern province of Nuristan, between Sunday and Tuesday. In a statement issued late on Tuesday night, the ministry said the fighters included members of the Islamic State group and had crossed into Afghanistan “with the support” of Pakistan, according to the Associated Press, in a report published by Arab News.
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said Islamabad will use “whatever means are available” to defend Saudi Arabia against the Houthis, according to Arab News. Speaking in Rome, he declined to say whether Pakistani forces had already taken part in airstrikes, according to Arab News. The pledge is presented as an obligation under the new mutual defence pact, under which Islamabad would make “whatever means” available to Riyadh if it faces a Houthi threat, according to Al Jazeera.
The United States (US) Treasury sanctioned ten individuals and companies accused of procuring weapons and parts for Iran’s military, with representatives and technology firms based in China, Pakistan, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia among those accused. Three of the sanctioned entities were located in Iran. The Treasury said the action further degrades the Iranian regime’s ability to reconstitute its weapons programs and increases the costs for those who choose to aid Tehran’s military procurement efforts. The sanctions were undertaken as part of Operation Economic Outcast, a Treasury Department effort to further restrict Iran’s access to global markets.
The Afghan Defense Ministry said its forces had killed 28 fighters and wounded 32 in the eastern province of Nuristan, after a group it said included Islamic State militants crossed from Pakistan. Kabul alleges that Pakistani intelligence trained and sent former Afghan security personnel across the border, an allegation Islamabad has not responded to. Reuters said it could not independently verify the ministry’s account or its casualty figures, in text published by The Hindu.
On September 27, 2026, a vehicle laden with explosives rammed into a roadside checkpoint in Dera Ismail Khan, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing at least 12 people and wounding 30, according to Al Jazeera. Most of the victims are security personnel, Al Jazeera reported.
India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar told the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) that a “serial practitioner of terrorism” had misrepresented facts the previous day, in an apparent reference to Pakistan. Jaishankar said arguments invoked to normalise terrorism and claim immunity from its consequences would not stand. Turning to the conflict in the Gulf, he said attacks on commercial ships and seafarers in international waters were “simply unacceptable”.
A suicide bombing at a roadside police checkpoint in Dera Ismail Khan, in northwestern Pakistan, killed at least 11 people, according to police and rescue officials. At least seven security personnel were among the dead and 20 others were wounded in Saturday’s attack, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police told Al Jazeera. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Pakistan Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement. Local emergency services counted 30 wounded, a figure reported by Reuters.
The capital police in Pakistan requested PKR 820 million for a week of security against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) march on Islamabad, an amount that would cover the rent of shipping containers, accommodation and meals for police personnel arriving from Punjab and Sindh. According to Dawn, citing police sources, postponing the march to October 4 would effectively double the amount and would likely cost more than PKR 1 billion.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) postponed to October 4 the march that would set out from Peshawar toward Islamabad, previously scheduled for September 27. The announcement was made by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, who said the party’s political committee “unanimously agreed” to the new date. The march presses for the release of Imran Khan, jailed since 2023, according to Reuters.
On the night of Friday, September 25, 2026, India exercised its Right of Reply at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), after Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif addressed the podium. Indian diplomat Petal Gahlot accused Islamabad of pursuing a policy of cross-border terrorism and warned that such acts will have consequences. According to India Today, Gahlot called Pakistan a “puppet” regime and accused it of spreading “falsehoods” and “deceit”.
The chiefs of the defence forces and general staffs of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye met in Riyadh on Friday, September 25, according to a statement by the army, and discussed expanding intelligence sharing, military coordination and capability integration within the Mecca defence pact. Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, said at the United Nations (UN) that further attacks on the holy city of Mecca would be a “red line” for Islamabad. The air defence of the Saudi-led coalition intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis toward Khamis Mushait, according to the coalition’s official spokesperson, Brigadier General Turki al-Maliki.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said at the 27th informal meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), chaired by Pakistan on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly, that the country fell victim, on 13 June 2025 and 28 February 2026, to unlawful and unjustified terrorist aggressions by the United States and Israel, according to the Mehr news agency.
Pakistani authorities closed the main highways into Islamabad and placed about 2,000 shipping containers around the capital and at Attock Bridge, a crossing from the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as supporters of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan plan to march into the capital, according to Al Jazeera. Tens of thousands of police were deployed and roads were barricaded, according to The Guardian.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told the United Nations General Assembly that any attempt to stop, impede or divert Pakistan’s share of the waters will be treated as an act of war, according to Dawn. Sharif credited Donald Trump with brokering the ceasefire between the two countries in May 2025 and praised his “resolute and visionary leadership”, saying it saved “hundreds of millions of lives”. Pakistan’s state radio reported that Sharif thanked Trump for his timely intervention, which he said came at a decisive juncture, when two nuclear-armed neighbours stood at the brink of an all-out war.
According to Al Jazeera, organizers of the protests in support of Imran Khan postponed the rallies to test the resolve of the Pakistani government. The march will be launched on October 4 instead of September 27, according to Reuters, in a text republished by the Economic Times. The government placed shipping containers along the main roads to close them on short notice.
Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, said any threat to the holy sites of Islam in Saudi Arabia is a “red line” and that the country stands “shoulder to shoulder” with Riyadh, according to Arab News Pakistan. Sharif condemned what he called a “dastardly and heinous” attempted drone attack on Mecca, and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said the defence agreement with Saudi Arabia and Turkey applies, according to The Statesman.
Pakistan’s government fortified more than 1,000 shipping containers with spikes, placed sandbags on bridges and closed the highway linking Peshawar to Islamabad, deploying 22,000 police and other security personnel across the capital, according to The Guardian. The leadership of Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) decided to postpone the march planned for September 27: it will now set out from Peshawar for the capital on October 4, according to Dawn. The PTI ties the march to concessions over the treatment of Khan, in jail since 2023, and says he is held in solitary confinement, denied adequate medical care and kept from his family and lawyers for months, according to The Guardian.
Turkey’s and Pakistan’s top military chiefs are travelling to Riyadh after Saudi Arabia called an urgent meeting on implementing their mutual defence pact, Al Jazeera reports. Turkey’s Defence Ministry confirmed that the chief of general staff, General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, will travel to Saudi Arabia, according to Al Jazeera. The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, signed on August 7, 2026, treats an armed attack on any of the three countries as an attack on all three — Al Jazeera frames the move as Ankara and Islamabad edging closer to Saudi Arabia’s war against the Houthis in Yemen, Al Jazeera reports.
Turkey’s parliament speaker said he expects the Pakistan-Saudi Arabia defence pact, extended to Turkey in August and renamed the Mecca joint defence agreement, to be submitted for parliamentary approval next month, according to Middle East Eye. The pact states that an armed attack on any one of the three countries is treated as an attack on all, but parliamentary ratification remains pending, The Guardian reports.
Saudi Arabia is meeting military chiefs from Pakistan and Türkiye to discuss options under the Mecca pact, as France confirmed it is sending soldiers, radars and defense systems to guard the Yanbu oil terminal, according to Al Jazeera. The Houthis launched an offensive along the Red Sea coast this month, amid the U.S.-led war against Iran, with fighting spreading across Yemen, according to The Washington Post.
Qasim Khan, son of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, urged the public not to march or protest near Adiala Jail on September 27, according to UrduPoint. He said the protest could serve as a pretext for a “counter-operation” inside the prison, putting his father’s life at risk, according to Republic World.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in New York and vowed to deepen bilateral cooperation with Dhaka and Tehran, according to the Hindustan Times, citing the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency. With Pezeshkian, Sharif said he had reaffirmed ties with Iran and urged restraint, de-escalation and sustained diplomacy in the face of the prolonged conflict, according to a post by the premier himself cited by the paper.
Pakistan’s security forces foiled an attempt by Afghan Taliban fighters to carry out an attack in the Gulistan sector, on the border between the two countries, and killed several of them in a retaliatory operation, according to The News, which cited security sources. An attempted Afghan incursion was repelled and several Afghan Taliban members were killed, Pakistani security sources told Reuters, which reported intermittent exchanges of fire and border forces on alert. Hours earlier, Pakistan had carried out precision air and drone strikes on 10 targets in Afghanistan in response to attempted drone attacks it attributed to the Taliban government, and shot down 8 drones entering from Afghan airspace, according to Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, as quoted by The News.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was confronted at United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York with questions about Hafiz Saeed and the alleged harbouring of terrorists and gave no answer; on his way in, a reporter asked when he would stop harbouring terrorists and, on his way out, when he would prosecute Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) chief Hafiz Saeed, receiving no reply.
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan will hold an urgent meeting of their chiefs of staff, announced by the Saudi foreign ministry, to discuss ways to back Riyadh in the escalation with Yemen’s Houthis. The barrage of ballistic missiles and drones against Saudi targets, which included the holy city of Mecca, is testing the mutual defence pact signed in August with Turkey and Pakistan. The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement states that an armed attack against one of the three countries is considered an attack against all of them.
The foreign ministers of Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan said in a joint statement on Tuesday, 22 September 2026 that they affirmed Saudi Arabia’s right to defend itself in line with international law and stressed the need to preserve the safety of navigation in the region, amid escalating attacks by Yemen’s Houthis, as reported by Reuters and published by Middle East Eye and the Times of India. The four ministers met on the sidelines of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in New York, voiced “deep concern” over the conflicts in the region, said dialogue and diplomacy were the only path to a sustainable solution and backed Yemen’s government in its efforts towards stability and peace. The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, signed on 7 August 2026 by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan, states that an armed attack against any one of the three countries will be treated as an attack against all, according to the BBC.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met in Tehran on Monday, September 21, 2026, with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and with his Iranian counterpart, Eskandar Momeni, in a visit during which Tehran thanked Pakistan for its regional mediation efforts. According to Pakistan’s interior ministry, the two discussed “Pakistan-Iran bilateral relations and the latest situation in the region,” and Momeni thanked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the chief of army staff, Field Marshal Asim Munir, for their efforts toward regional peace. Iranian state television Press TV reported that Pezeshkian said the two countries can meet much of their needs by tapping “domestic and regional capacities” and that US pressure has produced greater convergence among Muslim countries; in the account published by The Express Tribune and UrduPoint, Naqvi said bilateral relations “will become even stronger.” It is the minister’s sixth trip to Tehran since the United States and Israel went to war with Iran in February 2026, and it comes as Islamabad tries to keep alive the memorandum of understanding signed in July between the United States and Iran to end the conflict. Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said on September 19, 2026, that the visit would focus on bilateral relations and that there was no plan to exchange messages on mediation, according to Pakistan’s Dawn. Al Jazeera reported that the meeting takes place amid escalating tensions between Tehran and Washington, and Pakistani government sources told Anadolu that the agenda included Houthi attacks on Saudi oil facilities.