Voting began on August 10 in four constituencies of Bagh and Haveli in Pakistan-administered Azad Jammu and Kashmir, the third phase of the 2026 AJK assembly elections; polling was postponed in seven of the eleven Poonch division seats after boycott calls and violence disrupted preparations, leaving 82 candidates contesting in an election that could determine which party, PML-N or PPP, forms the next AJK government

The UN Security Council on August 7 condemned a suicide bombing outside a police station in Kabal, Swat District, Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, calling it a 'heinous and cowardly' act of terrorism; the Aug 2 attack killed at least 16 people, most of them civilians, and wounded dozens more; Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility; Pakistan briefed the council that multiple militant groups continue to operate from sanctuaries inside Afghanistan

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement in Makkah on August 7, capping nearly a year of trilateral talks; the pact's mutual-defence clause means an armed attack on any signatory is treated as an attack on all three; Indian outlets frame it as a potential 'Islamic NATO'; Middle East Eye called it 'first in kind' among the three states; The National (UAE) reported the agreement aims to 'strengthen collective security and promote peace'

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf rallied across Pakistan on August 5, 2026, the third anniversary of former prime minister Imran Khan's imprisonment; police in Karachi baton-charged protesters, fired tear gas, and arrested several party leaders including Dr Masroor Sial; Amnesty International called on Pakistan's government to release Khan and restore his access to family, lawyers, and medical care

Pakistan and Iran held trade talks in Islamabad on August 4, reaffirming a target of US$10 billion in bilateral trade and saying the Pakistan-Iran Free Trade Agreement is progressing toward conclusion; Iran proposed expanding logistics through Pakistan's Karachi and Gwadar ports; Pakistan's National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq invited Iran's parliament speaker Bagher Ghalibaf to visit Islamabad

Azad Jammu and Kashmir held the second phase of its 2026 general election on August 2, with PML-N emerging as front-runner in provisional results across Muzaffarabad and Jammu divisions; PPP won at least one Muzaffarabad seat; PML-N had won the Phase 1 count in Mirpur division on July 27

The 15th South Asian Football Federation Championship placed defending champions India alongside Pakistan and Maldives in Group B; the draw was held in Thimphu, Bhutan on August 1; the tournament runs in Bangladesh in November

Torrential rains triggered flash floods across Khyber district on August 1, damaging roads, homes and public infrastructure; Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority issued a three-day flood alert covering wider areas

Pakistan's federal government revised petroleum product prices effective July 31, 2026, raising petrol to Rs336.15 per litre, a rise of Rs1.09 per litre; high-speed diesel was also revised; Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation confirmed the government announcement, with private media reporting the retail price alongside the context of consecutive recent hikes

All 10 members of a mountaineering expedition on Pakistan's Broad Peak were confirmed dead by August 2, including British-Nepali climber Nirmal 'Nims' Purja and Oman's Nadhira Al Harthy; Purja's company Elite Exped confirmed the deaths following a July 30 avalanche at 8,047 metres, and Nepal's prime minister paid condolences as search operations concluded

A methane gas explosion at the Surrange coal field near Quetta on July 30 killed 34 miners, Pakistan's ARY News and the Manila Times confirmed on July 31 as rescue teams completed recovery; initial reports put the toll at six before rising through the night, with wire services citing 32 by late July 30; Balochistan's coal mines have a chronic safety record, lacking basic ventilation and methane monitoring

Pakistan's Foreign Office said on July 30 it is making its 'utmost' effort to return the US and Iran to negotiations under the Islamabad MoU ceasefire framework; the FO urged both sides to exercise maximum restraint and resume technical-level talks; the statement came as fresh US and Saudi strikes in the region added to pressure on the June 2026 ceasefire agreement

Saudi Arabia hosted a founding meeting in Riyadh on July 30 and announced a multinational maritime defence coalition to protect the Bab al-Mandab strait and Red Sea shipping; 14 nations signed up at the first meeting, while Saudi Arabia has proposed expanding the alliance to 43 members; the coalition aims to protect shipping lanes under renewed Houthi attacks that have pushed oil prices higher

Heavily armed militants stormed the Khazina Banda police checkpost in Hangu district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on July 29; revised reports confirmed 11 police personnel killed including Deputy Superintendent Diyar Khan, with at least 28 wounded and 15 attackers killed; a clearance operation continued in the surrounding area on July 30

Police in Turbat recovered the bullet-riddled bodies of six laborers on July 30 in the Nasirabad area of Kech district, Balochistan; the men, four from Punjab and two from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, had been abducted before they were killed; no group immediately claimed responsibility, though Balochistan separatist factions regularly target non-local laborers

Pakistan's National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency summoned journalist Asad Ali Toor on July 29 under PECA Section 26A, requiring him to appear on July 31 to explain alleged dissemination of false information; Toor challenged the notice in the Islamabad High Court on July 30, arguing the agency failed to specify the allegations; the National Press Club demanded the notice be withdrawn

India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on July 26 that India would not hold talks with Pakistan except on Azad Kashmir and accused Pakistan's government of backing terrorism against India; Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif replied that India is deflecting from 'internal turmoil,' while Pakistan's Foreign Ministry condemned Singh's remarks as highly provocative and irresponsible and called on the UN to hold India accountable

Saudi Arabia announced July 30 in Riyadh that 14 countries have signed on to a new multinational maritime defence coalition to protect shipping in the Red Sea, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and the Gulf of Aden; the Riyadh-headquartered coalition is the first formal multilateral security structure Saudi Arabia has established to counter Houthi attacks on commercial vessels, and Riyadh is seeking to expand membership to 43 nations

The first phase of Azad Jammu and Kashmir's general election went ahead on July 27 in Mirpur division under heavy security, with voting extended by one hour; JKJAAC civil society activists clashed with police in Rawalakot after the coalition accused security forces of 'indiscriminate violence'; PML-N and PPP are the main contestants after PTI boycotted the election over a court ruling on refugee constituency seats

Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah arrived in Islamabad on July 28 for a two-day official visit to meet Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar; Pakistan's Foreign Office said the visit will cover bilateral cooperation and regional matters, with the backdrop of Iran's recent strikes on Kuwait and other Gulf states elevating the agenda

Pakistan's federal government announced another fuel price hike on the night of July 23, taking petrol to Rs331.52 per litre and high-speed diesel to Rs378.66 per litre effective July 24, bringing the cumulative increase for the month of July to more than Rs32 per litre as global crude prices rise on Hormuz tensions

At least 82 people died across northeastern India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan in heavy monsoon rains on July 23, with 43 of the deaths in India's Assam state alone, where more than 9 lakh (900,000) people are affected across multiple districts; rescue operations are ongoing as rivers including the Brahmaputra flow above danger levels

Kuwait's Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah Ali Al-Sabah arrived in Pakistan on July 28 for a two-day visit to hold talks with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar; the visit comes in the backdrop of resumed Iranian hostilities in which Iran struck Kuwait and other Gulf Cooperation Council states, and covers bilateral ties alongside regional developments

Pakistan's Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority raised petrol prices by Rs4.93 to Rs320.73 per litre and high-speed diesel by Rs7.15 to Rs367.21 per litre effective July 22, the latest fortnightly revision announced on July 21, coming a day after the country's petrol pump owners launched a nationwide strike over a separate dispute about the pricing adjustment mechanism

Pakistan's cumulative monsoon death toll since June 26 rose above 100 by July 27, with at least 107 people killed and 344 injured as heavy rains and flash floods hit Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; the toll was 72 as of July 22, when rising Indus and Chenab levels triggered evacuation orders; Punjab's monsoon season typically continues through September, and authorities warned further rainfall was expected through the week

Pakistan's petrol pump owners announced a nationwide shutdown on July 21 after negotiations with the government broke down; they rejected a proposed daily fuel price review system, and vowed to continue the strike until the government accepted their demands, a day after Islamabad adjusted petrol and diesel prices.

Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni arrived in Islamabad on July 20 at the head of a delegation, scheduled to meet Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces General Syed Asim Munir; Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said he hoped the visit would bring 'positive developments' on the regional situation

Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand will arrive in Islamabad on Monday, July 20, at the invitation of Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and FM Ishaq Dar; the visit is the first by a Canadian foreign minister to Pakistan in 20 years and will focus on trade, investment, education and Indo-Pacific partnerships.

Pakistan's military killed 24 militants in intelligence-based operations along the Afghanistan border on July 17, retaliating for militant attacks earlier in the week; operations were in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the main theatre of Pakistan's ongoing counterinsurgency campaign

Pakistani security forces opened fire on protesters in the Poonch division of Pakistan-administered Jammu and Kashmir on July 14, killing at least nine people according to Reuters, a day before a banned civil society coalition planned a mass march on Muzaffarabad.

A joint Pakistan Army, Frontier Corps, and police operation codenamed Operation Shaban entered its eighth day on July 13 in Balochistan, with security sources reporting a cumulative death toll of at least 117 militants killed across Operation Shaban and concurrent Balochistan operations since July 5; the operation was launched after a terrorist attack in Ziarat district and combines air and ground strikes across the province

Pakistan naval teams battled rough seas on July 10 searching for five crew members missing after a K2 Airways Boeing 737 cargo plane crashed into the Arabian Sea on July 8; authorities recovered aircraft debris but the crew remained unaccounted for as the search entered its second day

Pakistan's security forces reported killing at least 104 militants in Balochistan province since launching Operation Shaban on July 5, with the toll rising through joint Army, Frontier Corps, and police actions in air and ground operations against the banned Fitna al-Khawarij group; Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti described the wave of attacks as international conspiracies against Pakistan, and the government announced Rs 11 million in compensation for the family of each policeman killed

Pakistani security forces opened fire on a Rawalakot crowd on July 4 as the Joint Awami Action Committee called a territory-wide shutdown for July 5; the movement has shifted from economic demands to explicit independence assertions, with JAAC appealing to India and the UK Kashmiri diaspora

India's Ministry of Home Affairs gazette-notified 23 individuals linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba on July 4; 17 are Pakistani nationals, 6 are Indian nationals operating from Pakistan-controlled territory

Thousands of Kashmiris living in the UK joined the London Kashmir Million March on July 5, marching from Parliament Square to Pakistan's High Commission to protest alleged human rights violations in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir and demand the release of detained activists; Pakistan's AJK government responded by claiming state institutions have evidence of Indian funding behind the banned JAAC

India filed a NOTAM closing airspace up to 28,000 feet along the Rajasthan-Gujarat frontier for four days of Indian Air Force exercises starting July 7; Pakistan's aircraft remain banned from Indian airspace until August 23, more than 14 months after the two countries' brief war

Islamabad convened foreign governments and legal experts June 30-July 1; Bilawal Bhutto warned 'world order will collapse'; India dismissed back-channel talks as 'futile'

Pakistan handed over 250 Indian prisoners, India provided 439 Pakistani or believed-to-be-Pakistani detainees on July 1, fulfilling the biannual Consular Access Agreement obligation; the exchange is the first normal bilateral procedure since the four-day aerial conflict in May 2026

Bangladesh won the first ODI of the three-match series by 8 wickets with 34.5 overs to spare; Pakistan's batting collapsed in Dhaka in a result that deepens the national team's crisis heading into the ICC Tri-Series

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf announced on July 2 it will not contest the July 27 Azad Jammu and Kashmir legislative elections, citing a June 7 Supreme Court ruling that bars the AJK assembly from abolishing constitutionally protected seats for Pakistani-resident Kashmiri refugees; JKJAAC protests left 11 dead

Pakistan's PM will press Iran and Turkey on implementing the June 17 Islamabad MoU framework; Islamabad brokered the April talks where the first direct US-Iran engagement occurred and maintains a dedicated contact channel between Washington and Tehran

China's state-led infrastructure and investment programme, launched in 2013, spanning 140-plus countries across Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America.

India and Pakistan, the only nuclear-armed pair to have fought four wars, remain locked in a post-2025 standoff over Kashmir, water rights, and cross-border militancy.

The 1960 India-Pakistan river-sharing pact dividing six Indus basin rivers; placed in abeyance by India in April 2025, threatening Pakistan's agriculture and hydropower.

China's largest state-owned arms and ordnance conglomerate, under US sanctions since 2003, whose 31% revenue fall in 2024 exposed the limits of Beijing's weapons-export ambitions.

Pakistan's simultaneous Islamist TTP and Baloch BLA insurgencies killed 3,400-plus in 2025, threatening nuclear-state stability and Chinese CPEC infrastructure across Balochistan.

Pakistan's two-term Prime Minister since 2022, Sharif governs a nuclear-armed, IMF-dependent state while repositioning Islamabad as a US-Iran ceasefire mediator.

The seasonal wind reversal delivering 75-90% of annual rainfall to nine countries between June and September, driving food security, flood risk, and public health across South Asia.

NIA arrested a BKI module in Jalandhar on June 26 as India and Canada finally exchanged intelligence after Ottawa named the same network in the Air India bombing case; drone smuggling seizures crossed 400 in 2025-26 and the Bishnoi-Brar gang moved from extortion to political targets

Islamabad claims 29 militants killed in Paktia, Paktika and Kunar; Kabul calls it a cowardly act; the raids follow a Jamaat-ul-Ahrar attack on Karachi's Rangers headquarters

An Anti-Terrorism Court in Quetta convicted the Baloch Yakjehti Committee's chief organiser inside Quetta jail; a province-wide shutdown followed in seven or more districts

Doval and Wang Yi note 'gradual normalisation' and an 'early harvest' sectoral track even as the MEA calls CPEC infrastructure in the China-held Shaksgam Valley 'illegal and invalid'

New Delhi ties restoration to an end of cross-border terror as ministers vow to choke Pakistan's flows; Islamabad calls water security a casus belli

Modi inducts INS Dunagiri, Sanshodhak and Agray as a marker of self-reliant defence, and an answer to PLAN's Indian Ocean push

Pakistan recasts itself from war-adjacent bystander to lead mediator; Pezeshkian's thank-you visit and Nobel chatter follow a 14-point deal reopening Hormuz and extending the truce

With India's suspension still in force, Sindh says it is starved of Indus flows during peak kharif sowing while Punjab draws near its full share

Aurangzeb cuts salaried tax rates and scraps the surcharge while holding to the $7bn IMF programme's consolidation targets and a 17.6% higher revenue goal

A year after the 2025 ceasefire, troops still die at 20,000 feet on the world's highest battlefield, mostly to altitude, not to each other

June 28-29 strikes on Paktia, Paktika and Kunar killed a Taliban-claimed 36 civilians; Islamabad counts 29 militants; both sides summoned diplomats and the UN documented civilian deaths

BLA's 'Herof 2.0' hit nine Balochistan districts while the army battled the TTP in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; a May suicide truck bombing of a Quetta train killed 30+ as the internal insurgencies escalate

The JKJAAC, which led protests demanding cheaper electricity and flour, was proscribed on June 5 after 11 people were killed in Rawalakot; Amnesty called it criminalisation of dissent, and the crackdown has deepened the political grievance Pakistan needs to keep latent

Shenzhou 23 takes over with China's first yearlong stay; a Pakistani astronaut due on Shenzhou 24

A year after Operation Sindoor the ceasefire holds technically, but the active front has moved, militants now favour Rajouri, Poonch and the Chenab valley, where forest terrain blunts India's surveillance advantage

A decade after Modi vowed to quarantine Pakistan, Islamabad signs minerals and crypto deals with Trump's circle and an 'all-weather' upgrade with Xi, and India is left protesting from the sidelines

A US deal could permit Saudi enrichment while a new defence pact with Pakistan reopens old proliferation fears

Anti-corruption probes, contract delays and a Pakistan buying collapse drag Chinese sales to a 15-year low

China's overseas corridor programme posts record deal value as it pivots from megaports to energy, critical minerals and 'small but smart' projects