DOHA: Qatar and Ukraine signed a defense agreement on Saturday including cooperation on countering threats from missiles and drones, the Gulf state&#39;s defense ministry said while Iran pressed an aerial campaign against its neighbors. &quot;The agreement includes collaboration in technological fields, development of joint investments and the exchange of expertise in countering missiles and unmanned aerial systems,&quot; the ministry said in a statement during a visit to Qatar by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Europe

Middle East

Qatar, Ukraine sign deal on countering missiles, drones: Qatari defense ministry

PARIS: French police stopped an apparent bomb attack outside a US bank in Paris early Saturday when they arrested a man about to set off a homemade explosive device, officials and sources close to the case told AFP. The incident occurred around 3:30 am (0130 GMT) in front of a Bank of America building in the chic 8th arrondissement, a couple of streets from the Champs-Elysees. Police grabbed the man just after he placed a device made of five liters of liquid (1.3 gallons), believed to be fuel, and an ignition system, one of the sources said. The suspect, who allegedly said he was recruited for the operation on social media, was accompanied by a second man, who took flight as officers came to arrest them. The ignition component had 650 grams (23 ounces) of explosive powder in it, according to an initial assessment. The whole device was taken to the Paris police&#39;s forensics lab for full analysis. France&#39;s counter-terrorism prosecutor&#39;s office told AFP it had immediately taken over the investigation and confirmed the suspect caught was in police custody. It said the probe it has launched was into &quot;attempted damage by fire or other dangerous means in connection with a terrorist undertaking&quot; and a &quot;terrorist criminal conspiracy.&quot; Both the Paris judicial police and France&#39;s domestic intelligence service, the General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI), were involved in the probe, the office told AFP. Allegedly recruited for 600 eurosAccording to a police source, the suspect said he had been recruited via the Snapchat app to carry out the bombing in exchange for the sum of 600 euros ($692). A man had dropped him off at the scene in&nbsp;a car, the same source said. When the patrolling officers arrested him, he was about to ignite the device with a lighter, the source said. A spokesperson for Bank of America, whose US headquarters is in Charlotte, North Carolina, told AFP that they were aware of the situation and were in communication with the French authorities. France&#39;s interior minister, Laurent Nunez, on X hailed the speedy action by the police officers, given &quot;the current international situation.&quot; Since the outbreak of the war of the Middle East, European countries have been on high alert for potential attacks on Iranian dissidents, Jewish places of worship, and US-Israeli interests.Nunez said that, in France, &quot;vigilance remains more than ever at a high level.&quot;

French police stops an apparent bomb attack outside a US bank in Paris early Saturday when they arrested a man about to set off a homemade explosive device

French police foil Paris bomb attack outside US bank

BEIRUT: Lebanese Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine said Saturday that 46 rescuers and five medical staff had been killed by Israel since the start of the war with Hezbollah on March 2. Nassereddine said in a press conference that &quot;the number of martyrs in the health sector... is 51 martyrs... including 46 paramedics and 5 health workers, including nine new paramedic martyrs today.&quot; The minister said the nine medics killed in south Lebanon on Saturday included four from Hezbollah&#39;s Islamic Health Committee who were targeted by Israeli strikes while carrying out rescue missions, and five from the Hezbollah-allied Amal movement&#39;s Risala Scouts, who were also on duty.

Lebanese Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine said Saturday that 46 rescuers and five medical staff had been killed by Israel since the start of the war with Hezbollah on March 2

Lebanon says 46 rescuers, 5 medical staff killed in Israel-Hezbollah war

Maham Khan

ISLAMABAD: For decades, political leaders, generals, and commentators have leaned on a familiar phrase to explain repeated foreign failures in Afghanistan: &ldquo;the graveyard of empires.&rdquo; The expression suggests inevitability, that geography and culture doom any outside power to defeat, turning policy missteps into acts of fate. But scholars and analysts argue the phrase is less historical truth than convenient narrative. Abdul Basit, Senior Associate Fellow at the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research at Nanyang Technological University, calls it &ldquo;a very narrow framing which deprives the country of its diversity and the vitality it offers.&rdquo; He warns the implications extend beyond semantics: &ldquo;If Afghanistan is in trouble, because it is the heart of Asia, the entire Asia will be in trouble.&rdquo; A modern phrase, not an ancient truth The historical record does not support the idea that Afghanistan has consistently defeated foreign powers. The phrase itself only entered widespread use in November 2001, when former CIA station chief Milton Bearden wrote in Foreign Affairs that empires from Alexander the Great to the Soviet Union had been undone by &ldquo;unruly Afghan tribals.&rdquo; Historians R. Gerald Hughes and James Fergusson reject that thesis, arguing it is &ldquo;historically illiterate and empirically flawed.&rdquo; They contend the narrative distorts two millennia of regional history, though its resurgence in 2001 aligned closely with the United States preparing to invade Afghanistan. Research drawing on imperial records and studies by Thomas Barfield indicates the territory was under foreign rule for at least 75.95% of the past 2,000 years, rising to 87.85% under stricter definitions. Barfield describes an &ldquo;Afghan Paradox&rdquo;: stability historically depended on strong centralized authority, not resistance to it. Empires including the Mongols, Kushans, Mughals, and Safavids ruled successfully for extended periods. In this framing, Afghanistan was less a graveyard than a strategic corridor. A &ldquo;highway of conquest&rdquo; linking major regions. Origins in imperial failureThe roots of the myth trace back to the First Anglo-Afghan War (1839&ndash;1842). While the British invasion initially succeeded, it ended in catastrophe during a retreat in which thousands of soldiers and civilians were killed near Gandamak. According to Martin J. Bayly, colonial records framed the defeat in ways that shifted blame from military leadership to the environment and local population. Nivi Manchanda argues this narrative was deliberately constructed to shield decision-makers from scrutiny. Sahar Khan of the Stimson Center describes the pattern clearly: &ldquo;The term shifts the blame away from decision-makers and onto things like the terrain, decentralized power structures, and cultural norms.&rdquo; The British themselves undermined the myth during the Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878&ndash;1881), adapting their strategy and ultimately imposing a protectorate over Afghanistan for decades. Repeating the narrativeThe Soviet experience followed a similar trajectory. Journalist Arshad Yousafzai notes: &ldquo;the Soviets didn&#39;t collapse solely because of Afghanistan, they fell apart because of deep economic rot and political shifts back in Moscow.&rdquo; Despite this, the &ldquo;graveyard&rdquo; framing persists, often simplifying complex geopolitical failures into cultural inevitabilities. Human consequencesAnalysts say the narrative carries real-world costs. By recasting policy failures as destiny, it obscures accountability and sidelines the lived realities of Afghans. Recent reporting by Amnesty International and the US State Department documents severe restrictions on women&rsquo;s rights, along with arbitrary arrests, forced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings. As Khan puts it, &ldquo;The phrase &lsquo;graveyard of empires&rsquo; transforms a policy failure into a destiny.&rdquo; The historical record suggests otherwise. What ended foreign campaigns in Afghanistan was not an immutable landscape or culture, but decisions made by those who led them.

Afghan men armed with guns and rifles march in the Zazai Maidan district of Khost province on March 27, 2026. (AFP)

Afghanistan

The phrase "graveyard of empires" is less a historical truth about Afghanistan than a piece of political cover; invented, sustained, and deployed by the very powers it flatters.

Graveyard myth shields empires from accountability in Afghanistan’s history

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Nepal Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal on Saturday said he looked forward to &ldquo;enhancing bilateral ties&rdquo; and &ldquo;exploring further avenues for cooperation&rdquo; between Pakistan and Nepal, according to a post on X.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-2" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-2&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2037706888197046511&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=fd25b5b85ace2f874ce6272131a6b0e4c68e6067&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 552px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" data-tweet-id="2037706888197046511">&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>&ldquo;Nepal deeply values its friendship with Pakistan. I look forward to working closely with you,&rdquo; Khanal posted on X, while replying to Pakistan&rsquo;s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who had congratulated him earlier on taking office. The minister also emphasized cooperation between both countries to &ldquo;achieve shared goals of peace and prosperity.&rdquo; Khanal, who assumed office on Friday along with members of his Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) after taking oath, said both countries should work together to &ldquo;achieve shared goals of peace and prosperity.&rdquo;

Foreign Affairs

Nepal Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal says he looks forward to “enhancing bilateral ties” and “exploring further avenues for cooperation” between Pakistan and Nepal, on a post on his X account.

Nepali foreign minister eyes stronger ties with Pakistan   

RAMALLAH: The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/hamas-to-surrender-arms-to-palestinian-authority-if-israeli-occupation-ends" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Palestinian Authority</a>&nbsp;has condemned the recent eviction of multiple families from their homes in east Jerusalem and urged the international community to take &quot;firm measures&quot; to halt the displacements. Several families were removed from their homes in the neighborhood of Silwan in Israeli-occupied&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/israel-begins-demolitions-at-unrwa-headquarters-in-east-jerusalem" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">east Jerusalem</a>&nbsp;on Wednesday, AFP journalists saw. Silwan has for decades been the target of a policy allowing Jews who lost property before the establishment of Israel in 1948 to claim it. Israeli rights group B&#39;Tselem said the evictions were the start of &quot;a large wave of displacement affecting around 2,200 people&quot; and were part of a policy aimed at &quot;Judaising the neighborhood.&quot; In a statement released late on Friday by official news agency WAFA, the PA&#39;s foreign ministry &quot;condemned the escalation by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/five-killed-in-occupied-east-jerusalem-attack" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Israeli occupation</a>&nbsp;authorities of forced eviction measures.&quot; It said 15 families had been evicted from the hilltop neighborhood south of Jerusalem&#39;s Old City. It also called on the international community to take &quot;firm and more decisive steps to prevent the continuation of forced displacement against the Palestinian people.&quot; Israeli authorities have evicted many Palestinian families from the area in recent years, while further families await the enforcement of eviction orders. Hundreds of settlers, whose presence is illegal under international law, live among around 50,000 Palestinians in Silwan. Their presence in the neighborhood dates back to the 1980s. Israel captured east Jerusalem in 1967, later annexing it and declaring it part of its undivided capital, a move not recognized by the UN or most of the international community. Palestinians aspire to make it the capital of a future Palestinian state.

Palestinians perform Friday prayer on the streets in East Jerusalem on March 27, 2026 as the Israeli forces continue to impose restriction to Palestinians from entering the Dome of the Rock of Masjid Al-Aqsa for Friday prayers, in Jerusalem. (AFP)

Several families were removed from their homes in the neighborhood of Silwan in Israeli-occupied east Jerusalem on Wednesday, AFP journalists saw.

Palestinian Authority condemns East Jerusalem evictions

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday held an extensive telephone conversation focused on ongoing hostilities in the region and peace efforts, the Prime Minister&rsquo;s Office said on Saturday. During the call, which lasted over an hour, the two leaders discussed the ongoing hostilities and the need for a coordinated push towards peace, the statement said. &ldquo;Held a detailed telephone conversation with my brother, President Masoud Pezeshkian of Iran, earlier today, lasting over one hour,&rdquo; the prime minister said on X.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 369px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2037821815998005316&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=95d3a9b5e4980d3b0ad915b19953dd547af56b2c&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px"></iframe></div></div>Sharif condemned continued Israeli attacks on Iran, including recent strikes on civilian infrastructure, saying Pakistan &ldquo;strongly condemns the continued Israeli attacks on Iran,&rdquo; and reaffirming solidarity with the Iranian people. He conveyed condolences over the reported loss of more than 1,900 lives and prayed for the recovery of the injured and displaced. &ldquo;I reiterated Pakistan&rsquo;s strong condemnation&hellip; and conveyed Pakistan&rsquo;s solidarity with the brave people of Iran.&rdquo; Sharif briefed the Iranian president on Pakistan&rsquo;s diplomatic outreach, including engagement with the United States and other Gulf and Islamic countries to help create conditions conducive to peace talks. &ldquo;I apprised him of Pakistan&rsquo;s ongoing diplomatic outreach &mdash; engaging the United States and brotherly Gulf and Islamic countries &mdash; to facilitate dialogue and de-escalation,&rdquo; he added. President Pezeshkian shared Iran&rsquo;s perspective on the situation and emphasized the importance of trust-building to enable negotiations, according to the statement. He praised Pakistan&rsquo;s supportive role, stressing the need to &ldquo;build trust in order to facilitate talks and mediation.&rdquo; The prime minister reiterated that Pakistan would continue to play a constructive role in promoting peace and stability in the region, the statement added.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of 79th session of the UNGA in September, 2024. (Photo credits: X/@CMShehbaz)

Apprises the Iranian president of Islamabad's ongoing diplomatic outreach—engaging the United States and brotherly Gulf and Islamic countries—to facilitate dialogue and de-escalation.

PM Sharif, Iranian president hold hour-long talks on regional peace

ISLAMABAD: Nine in ten Afghan men own a national identity card. Fewer than four in ten women do. That gap determines who can own land, see a doctor, send children to school, and claim what a father left behind. In Afghanistan, all of it comes down to a single document called a Tazkira. Without one, none of it is legally possible. The Statelessness Encyclopedia Asia Pacific, published by the organization Nationality For All in August 2025, put the disparity plainly: roughly 90% of men hold a Tazkira, compared to about 40% of women. The gap is worst in rural and conservative areas, where cultural norms and restricted mobility place the document further out of reach for women than almost anywhere else. Afghanistan&#39;s government has made measurable progress on issuance. Its National Statistics and Information Authority has distributed approximately 17.1 million electronic ID cards since the program launched in 2018, according to an official NSIA statement on Dec. 29, 2025. But the distribution tells its own story: 10.6 million of those cards went to men. 6.4 million went to women. Against a national population exceeding 40 million, the numbers leave a significant portion of the country unregistered. A December 2025 UNHCR protection monitoring report found that 50% of surveyed households had at least one member with no documentation at all. Women and children recorded the highest rates of exclusion. An earlier UNHCR household assessment from May 2024 put the share of affected households at 55% nationally. This rose to 77% in Uruzgan and Hilmand provinces. The barriers keeping women from the system are not incidental, they are structural. Afghanistan&#39;s 2024 Law on the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice reinforced the requirement for women to be accompanied by a male guardian to travel. That requirement directly obstructs visits to ID distribution centers, particularly for widows and female-headed households who have no male relative available. Government offices are predominantly staffed by men, adding another layer of practical difficulty for women seeking to apply. Then there is the cost. The fee for an electronic Tazkira was raised fivefold, from 100 Afghani to 500 Afghani. This follows a Taliban cabinet directive in April 2023, according to NRC&#39;s March 2026 briefing. Replacements and corrections now carry a fee of 1,000 Afghani. For families among Afghanistan&#39;s 22 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, those amounts force a calculation: which family members get documented, and which do not. UN Women reported in August 2025 that 76% of Afghan women face disparities in financial and social inclusion. The documentation gap sits at the root of much of that exclusion &mdash; blocking access to employment, banking, and legal services simultaneously. The consequences are not abstract. Without a tazkira, a woman returning home after years of displacement has no legal standing to reclaim property. Land taken by others cannot be contested. Inheritance cannot be asserted. NRC&#39;s March 2026 briefing describes families arriving back in Afghanistan to find their homes occupied and no legal avenue available to them. The 2025 return wave made all of this more acute. More than 2 million Afghans came back from neighboring countries during the year, many arriving without any paperwork. The agency described the situation as having reached a critical level. The women returning without documents are entering a country where the women who never left are already, on paper, largely invisible.

This photograph taken on February 17, 2026 shows an Afghan hospital medic, who studied public relations and journalism before universities were closed to women, standing next to a window inside a house in Afghanistan. (AFP)

A wide gender gap in Afghanistan’s ID system leaves many women without legal status, limiting access to healthcare, education, property, and jobs, while structural barriers and costs deepen exclusion.

Afghan women locked out as ID gap blocks rights nationwide

ISLAMABAD: India&#39;s federal government would gain the power to take control of Catholic and other minority institutions&#39; property, funds, and assets under a new bill that the country&#39;s Catholic bishops have condemned as unconstitutional and a threat to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/execution-video-exposes-how-manipur-became-indias-invisible-conflict-zone" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">religious freedom</a>. According to a press release issued by the Catholic Bishops&#39; Conference of India (the apex body representing the country&#39;s Roman Catholic clergy) on Friday, the Foreign Contribution Regulation Amendment Bill poses a direct threat to constitutionally <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/indian-gujarats-uniform-civil-code-sparks-minority-rights-concerns" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">protected minority</a> freedoms. The bill, tabled in the Lok Sabha, India&#39;s lower house of parliament, seeks to amend the existing law that governs how Indian organizations receive and use funding from abroad. As per the CBCI, the amendment would allow the federal government, acting as the licensing authority under the law, to deny or cancel an organization&#39;s registration and subsequently transfer control of its institutions, funds, properties, and assets to a newly proposed government authority. The Conference described such provisions as &quot;unacceptable&quot; and raised concerns over fairness, transparency, and accountability. The CBCI also objected to how the bill was introduced. According to the press release, it was tabled without broader debate and over the objections of opposition lawmakers. The Conference called for wider consultation on measures affecting fundamental rights. Provisions allowing the government to assume control of foreign funds and assets when an organization&#39;s registration lapses are &quot;undemocratic, unconstitutional, and contrary to the principles of natural justice,&quot; the statement noted. The Conference urged the Indian government to &ldquo;withdraw all contentious provisions&rdquo; and ensure &ldquo;the constitutional rights of all citizens,&rdquo; particularly religious minorities, remain intact. Rising violence against Christians Reports from the United Nations, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch show violence, legal restrictions, and discrimination against <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/antichristian-hate-speech-in-india-surges-41-in-2025-report" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Christians in Indi</a>a have increased over the past two decades. The United Christian Forum recorded more than 745 incidents of persecution in 2024, averaging over two per day. Vigilante mobs frequently attack prayer meetings and churches, often citing alleged &quot;illegal conversions.&quot; States including Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh report the highest numbers of violent incidents. In 2023, UN experts raised concerns over ethnic and religious violence in Manipur, where the predominantly&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/in-indias-smoldering-ethnic-war-fresh-arrests-deepen-manipurs-wounds" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Christian Kuki minority</a> faced killings, sexual assaults, and the burning of hundreds of churches. Legal restrictions target Christians Legal and administrative measures have also affected Christians. At least 12 states have passed anti-conversion laws, which Amnesty International and USCIRF say are often used to falsely accuse and imprison Christians, including for private worship. The Indian government has applied the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act to freeze bank accounts and revoke licenses of thousands of Christian-linked NGOs, limiting their social and charitable programs. Father Stan Swamy, an 83-year-old Jesuit priest, died in custody in 2021 after arrest on counter-terrorism charges, cited by Amnesty as an example of state action against minority advocates. Systemic discrimination persists Christians continue to face systemic discrimination. Dalit Christians are excluded from &quot;Scheduled Caste&quot; status, denying them government jobs and education quotas. UN and Human Rights Watch reports document police inaction or complicity in crimes against Christians, which critics say encourages attacks by extremist groups.

India

India’s new Foreign Contribution Regulation Amendment Bill, if passed, will let the government seize minority institutions’ funds, property, and assets, raising concerns over religious freedom, transparency, and the rights of Christians and other minorities.

India could seize Catholic Church assets under proposed law

WASHINGTON:&nbsp;US President Donald Trump said Friday &quot;Cuba is next&quot; in his latest threat against the Caribbean island, as he dismissed concerns that recent American military actions would cost him political support. Cuba&#39;s communist government has faced mounting pressure from Trump, who imposed a de facto oil blockade in January and mused about &quot;taking&quot; the country. Speaking at the Saudi-backed FII Priority investment forum in Miami, Trump said his Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement wanted &quot;strength&quot; and &quot;victory,&quot; citing the January raid where US forces seized Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. &quot;I built this great military. I said, &quot;You&#39;ll never have to use it,&quot; but sometimes you have to use it,&quot; Trump said. &quot;And Cuba is next, by the way. But pretend I didn&#39;t say that.&quot; Trump did not specify what he planned to do with Cuba, telling the media to &quot;disregard that statement&quot; before repeating &quot;Cuba&#39;s next&quot; to laughter from the audience. In his Friday speech, the Republican president also made a teasing comment dubbing the Strait of Hormuz the &quot;Strait of Trump.&quot; Cuba&#39;s leader Miguel Diaz-Canel said last week that any external aggressor would face &quot;unbreakable resistance,&quot; even as the country was hit with two nationwide blackouts in a week. Cuba has been under a US trade embargo since shortly after Fidel Castro&#39;s 1959 revolution. Relations thawed in recent years but have plunged again since Trump took office for his second term, with the US president seeking to tighten Washington&#39;s grip on Latin America. A top Cuban diplomat earlier said Havana was willing to continue talking with Washington, but discussing changes to its political system was out of the question. Two sailboats that were part of an international convoy delivering medical supplies, food, solar panels and other goods to Cuba were reported missing and remained unaccounted for on Friday.

Americas

Donald Trump says “Cuba is next” in fresh remarks, escalating pressure on the island while offering no details on potential US action amid rising geopolitical tensions.

Qatar, Ukraine sign deal on countering missiles, drones: Qatari defense ministry

Latest News

French police foil Paris bomb attack outside US bank

Lebanon says 46 rescuers, 5 medical staff killed in Israel-Hezbollah war

Qatar, Ukraine sign deal on countering missiles, drones: Qatari defense ministry

Graveyard myth shields empires from accountability in Afghanistan’s history

Nepali foreign minister eyes stronger ties with Pakistan