Pakistan launches second phase of Hajj flight operations

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar held his first face-to-face meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on Friday, with the US official acknowledging Pakistan’s role in promoting international peace and his Pakistani interlocutor seeking broader ties between the two countries.

The meeting is widely viewed as yet another sign of a diplomatic reset after years of estrangement between Islamabad and Washington, particularly during the Afghan war, where diverging perspectives deepened mistrust. High-level bilateral exchanges gradually faded as the US withdrew from Afghanistan.

Earlier this week, however, US State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce hinted at a bilateral meeting between the two countries without disclosing details. According to Pakistan’s foreign office, Dar and Rubio held detailed discussions on bilateral relations and explored opportunities for cooperation in trade, investment, agriculture, technology and minerals.

Counterterrorism and regional peace efforts were also high on the agenda.

“Pakistan has consistently played a constructive role in advancing peace both regionally and internationally,” Rubio said, according to a statement issued after the meeting.

Dar responded by reaffirming Pakistan’s commitment to strengthening ties with Washington,.

“We wish to broaden and deepen our relationship with the United States across the political, economic and security domains,” he said. “Pakistan remains a credible partner for peace, progress and prosperity in the region and beyond.”

Last month, President Donald Trump hosted Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, for a rare one-on-one lunch at the White House in a visit that followed an intense, four-day India-Pakistan military standoff, which ended with a US-brokered ceasefire on May 10.

Dar also paid tribute to Trump for his role in de-escalating the tensions between the two South Asian nuclear-armed neighbors.

The revival of military and political dialogue between the two countries comes as Pakistan is also holding trade talks with Washington after the Trump administration imposed 29 percent “reciprocal tariffs” on Pakistani exports in April.

Pakistan’s finance chief, Muhammad Aurangzeb, who also visited Washington this month, said the two countries were working to shift their economic ties “from one focused on trade to one anchored in long-term investment.”

After meeting US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Aurangzeb said priority sectors had been identified, including minerals, mining, artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency regulation.

During Friday’s meeting, Dar also described Pakistan as an attractive destination for US investors and highlighted the role of the Pakistani-American diaspora in strengthening bilateral ties.

“We are optimistic about progress in the ongoing trade dialogue,” he said. “There is alignment between our regional peace objectives and strategic interests.”

Dar is currently on an eight-day visit to the United States, where he kept a busy schedule in New York and chaired several high-profile United Nations Security Council meetings under Pakistan’s rotating presidency this month.

He highlighted the need for multilateralism, peaceful dispute resolution and his country’s own strategic concerns during his engagements at the world body.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has requested cooperation from social media platforms to block and remove accounts linked to militant groups, State Minister for Interior Talal Chaudhry said on Friday, urging global action and the use of artificial intelligence to support these efforts.

Chaudhry’s statement comes amid growing concerns in Islamabad over the online presence and influence of militant networks, including the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and Daesh, which are increasingly using digital platforms to recruit, fundraise and spread propaganda.

Pakistan has intensified efforts to curb militancy on social media by strengthening digital surveillance, enforcing cybercrime laws and engaging with major tech platforms.

The country’s primary legislation in the area is the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), 2016, which explicitly criminalizes online recruitment, funding and planning by militant groups.

“I want to once again request for the social media operators and social media platforms to cooperate with us on the blockage and removal of accounts, taking AI measures to stop mirroring accounts and to share info of account holders who are operating these accounts,” the minister said while addressing a news conference.

He highlighted how Pakistan was fighting a war against militancy for two decades.

“And Pakistan is a wall between terrorists and the world,” he added. “If this wall becomes weak the fire will not stop on our borders.”

Chaudhry lamented that around 40 international militant groups were operating out of Afghanistan, adding they had access to weapons and ammunition worth millions of dollars left behind by US forces following their withdrawal in 2021.

He said all of these militant organizations had been sanctioned by the US, the United Kingdom and Pakistan.

“We want to block and remove the account,” Chaudhry added. “Second is to use AI measures to stop mirror accounts and thirdly and most importantly is to share information of these account holders because they are also part of terrorist organizations and are terrorists.”

The government has also urged platforms such as Facebook, X and YouTube to comply with local regulations and promptly remove flagged content promoting militancy.

In May 2024, Pakistan established the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) under the mandate of PECA, tasked with probing offenses such as terrorism-related cyber activities, misinformation, hacking and other forms of digital crime.