In this regard, the interior minister was in Tehran on Monday to meet his Iranian counterpart, as well as President Masoud Pezeshkian. The Iranians appreciated Pakistan’s efforts to find a peaceful solution, and importantly, reiterated their desire to return to dialogue. In a parallel development, Qatar has communicated Iran’s conditions to the US for restarting talks. Reportedly, these include a comprehensive end to fighting on all fronts, an end to the US blockade of Iran and release of Tehran’s funds. Most of these seem to be reasonable demands, and if the US agrees to meet them, the process of reopening the Strait of Hormuz and negotiating a long-term peace can begin. However, if Washington replies with more bluster, or worse still, aggression, a volatile situation in the Gulf and its environs can explode into a larger conflagration.

The Iranian president has said he hopes the UNGA meeting can “work towards ending war and bloodshed”. While mostly rhetorical flourishes can be expected when world leaders take the rostrum inside the General Assembly hall, diplomatic efforts on the sidelines, away from the cameras, could produce a fresh attempt to halt the violence in the Gulf, as well as Lebanon and Yemen. The Iranians will be there; the Americans will be there; the Saudis and other Arab states will be there; Pakistan and other mediators will be there. While no miracles should be expected in New York, the UNGA does present a genuine opportunity for all sides — present within the same vicinity — to take small steps towards peace. For one, the US must realise that it blundered by attacking Iran and that all its military efforts have failed to defeat it. Now, it must devote itself to finding a diplomatic solution. The Iranians, on their part, should pledge to allow free movement of vessels through Hormuz, and work to rebuild trust with their Arab neighbours. The brutal Israeli war on Lebanon, as well as the fresh fighting in Yemen, should also be part of a comprehensive peace package for the region. Once this window of opportunity closes, there is no saying when the next will open.

Published in Dawn, September 23rd, 2026

However, exports of raw food items rose 7.68 per cent in July-August FY27, reversing the negative trend seen in the preceding fiscal year, mainly due to higher exports of rice, according to data compiled by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.

In absolute terms, food imports reached $1.503 billion in 2MFY27, up from $1.470bn over the last year.

The government has already approved a plan to import wheat to plug shortfalls in local production. In FY26, Pakistan’s food import bill rose 11.66pc to $9.150bn from $8.195bn in FY25. In contrast, exports of raw food products plunged 29.49pc to $5.017bn in FY26 from $7.116bn in FY25.

Rice drives 24.68pc growth in July-August

Other products contributing to the rise in exports include fish products, tobacco, oilseeds, and meat products. The government has also allowed the export of 200,000 metric tonnes of sugar in the current fiscal year.

The product-wise data showed that rice exports surged 24.68pc in 2MFY27 from a year earlier. Exports of basmati rice, however, edged up 53.03pc and non-basmati by 9.99pc in value on a YoY basis. The increase was also noted in the quantity of both basmati (42.91pc) and non-basmati (14.74pc), respectively.

The Ministry of Commerce has extended the rice export subsidy scheme until Sept 30, and raised the Duty Drawback of Local Taxes and Levies (DLTL) rate for non-basmati rice to support exporters facing weaker international demand.

Similarly, meat exports surged 22.53pc in 2MFY27. Fish products recorded a 3.23pc rise. Most other food products recorded negative growth. Vegetables registered a significant fall, plunging by 27.28pc and fruits by 36.42pc.

Tobacco exports surged 121pc, and spices by 8.29pc in 2MFY27.

Palm oil accounted for the largest share of imported food items, followed by pulses, tea, and soyabean oil. However, the value of palm oil imports dipped 1.41pc. In terms of quantity, palm oil imports also recorded negative growth of 13.40pc during the months under review.

Imports of pulses shrank 23.84pc in July-August FY27. Soyabean oil arrivals in value plunged 99pc year-on-year in 2MFY27.

All other food items rose 19.71pc, tea 28.74pc and milk products 20.41pc during the period under review.

Published in Dawn, September 23rd, 2026

ISLAMABAD: The Pa­­kistan Single Window (PSW) has integrated its platform with the National Database and Registra­tion Authority’s (Nadra) PakID Mobile App, allowing users to complete mandatory biometric verification remotely through their smartphones.

The new facility enables PSW users to complete biometric verification for subscription, subscription renewal and profile updates without having to physically visit Nadra’s e-Sahulat Centre.

Previously, biometric ver­­ification for PSW services required users to ap­­pear in person at Nadra’s e-Sahulat Centre. Follow­ing the integration with the PakID Mobile App, eligible users can now complete the verification process remo­tely, subject to applicable Nadra requirements.

The facility is expected to be particularly convenient for overseas Pakis­tanis involved in trade-related activities in the country. Eligible overseas users will be able to complete their PSW biometric verification remotely through the PakID app, reducing the need for physical visits to Pakistan for this purpose.

To facilitate a smooth transition, both verification channels will remain available during an interim period. Users will therefore have the option of completing their biometric verification digitally through the PakID Mobile App or continuing to visit Nadra e-Sahulat Centres.

“The integration with Nadra’s PakID Mobile App reflects our commitment to listening to the PSW community both in Pakistan and overseas and responding to their needs,” said Syed Aftab Haider, CEO of PSW.

“By enabling remote biometric verification, we are removing another phy­­sical trip in the on­boarding process and making the PSW user journey more convenient, accessible, and user driven,” he added.

According to PSW, the integration removes the only physical visit previously required during the subscription process, enabling the entire process to be completed digitally.

The initiative is part of PSW’s broader efforts to expand the use of digital solutions, improve accessibility and simplify procedures for businesses.

Published in Dawn, September 23rd, 2026

SANAA: The king of Saudi Arabia denounced Yemen’s Houthis as a “terrorist militia” in a rare statement on Tue­sday reacting to an attack that authorities said targeted the holy city of Makkah last week.

King Salman, 90, praised the armed forces and security services for defending the country, and condemned the recent Houthi attempt “to target Makkah”, calling it “a provocation to Muslims aro­u­nd the world”, according to the official Saudi news agency.

Houthis also accused Saudi Arabia on Tuesday of launching a wave of deadly strikes that killed civilians and prison inmates, as Riyadh seeks to repel an offensive that has seen the Iran-backed group seize strategic territory.

The recent Houthi takeover of Yemen’s Red Sea coast has left hundreds dead and heightened fears over global trade and shipping through the vital Bab al-Mandab strait.

It has also forced thousands to flee, with the United Nations on Tuesday forecasting the number of displaced could swell from over 130,000 today to more than 230,000 in the coming months.

The gains made by the Houthis have cemented the hold of Iran and its regional allies over two key waterways in the Middle East — and the straits of Bab al-Mandab and Hormuz — which are major shipping arteries for global flows of energy.

Saudi Arabia, which backs Yemen’s internationally recognised government, has sought to contain the Houthi advance with air strikes.

The Houthis have retaliated with attacks on Saudi territory, including a strike targeting the capital Riyadh for the first time in years.

The strike came days after Saudi Arabia accused the Houthis of targeting the holy city of Makkah, though the fighters denied the claim.

In Yemen, the Houthis said a strike on a prison killed nine detainees, while they also accused the Saudis of killing six civilians including two children in the port city of Mocha.

Two more civilians were killed by strikes in Yemen’s Al-Jawf province, the Houthis added.

“A mother and child were killed, while her husband and two of her other children were wounded in strikes carried out by the Saudi enemy” in the Al-Batin area, Houthi media said, citing the Houthi health ministry.

‘Humiliation’

As violence has escalated, thousands of families have been forced from their homes, many for a second or third time.

“I hope I can find a house to live in with my children. We are exhausted by the heat, the dust and the humiliation,” Arwa, a mother of four children, told AFP at a camp for displaced people near Aden.

Fighting between the Houthis and Saudi-backed Yemeni forces has in the past two days killed 154 people, military sources from both sides told AFP.

“The death toll from Saudi air strikes, clashes and artillery fire in the governorates of Taiz, Al-Jawf, Marib and Saada stands at 118,” Houthi military sources said, while government sources reported 36 killed in their ranks.

Saudi Arabia’s civil defence age­n­­cy on Tuesday issued a warning of potential danger in the country’s sou­th near the Yemen border, the first alert since the Houthis launched their attack on Riyadh over the weekend.

The alert, which asked people to remain indoors and avoid open areas, was lifted a short while later.

UK, French support

G7 leaders representing Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States called on the Houthis to “immediately cease all military actions”.

They also demanded the Houthis end “all threats and attacks against civilian shipping, and to return to the political process in good faith”, while urging Tehran “to end its arming of and support for the Houthis”.

Britain has also agreed to provide some military support to Saudi Arabia, defence minister Luke Pollard said.

A British tanker plane will provide “defensive” air-to-air refuelling for Saudi warplanes to help the country defend against Houthi strikes, the UK government confirmed late Monday.

“We’re doing it for national security reasons in support of our own national security,” Pollard told Sky News.

“In dangerous times, good friends stand together,” he added, insisting the support would be in compliance with international humanitarian law.

France also pledged to help secure Saudi energy infrastructure, a diplomatic source said. But “this in no way involves taking part in the conflict with the Houthis”, the French source said.

The Houthis have carried out attacks against facilities belonging to Saudi oil giant Aramco in the Red Sea port city of Yanbu.

Yemen’s government and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Sal­man have reportedly requested help from US President Donald Trump in fighting the Houthis.

More displacement feared

Renewed fighting in Yemen could see the number of refugees fleeing across the Red Sea to Djibouti jump to 10,000, while displacement inside Yemen could swell to over 230,000, the UN warned on Tuesday.

More than 100,000 civilians have been uprooted inside Yemen while others have risked dangerous sea crossings to flee the violence.

“Intensifying fighting in Yemen could drive more mass displacement,” United Nations refugee agency spokesman Babar Baloch told reporters.

Published in Dawn, September 23rd, 2026

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday direc­ted the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) to examine the issue of excessive working hours for doctors and place its recommendations before the government, observing that requiring doctors to work up to 102 hours a week was inhuman.

Justice Raja Inaam Ameen Min­has heard at length a petition concerning the working hours of doctors and, with the consent of the parties, converted the writ petition into a representation before the PMDC.

The court directed the PMDC to decide the representation and place its recommendations before the federal and provincial governments for appropriate action.

The issue assumes significance as comments submitted by the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP) before the court have highlighted the serious consequences of prolonged duty hours for both doctors and patients.

According to the CPSP material placed before the court, after approximately 18 hours of work, doctors develop psychomotor dysfunction equivalent to a blood alcohol level of 0.05. At 24 hours of continuous duty, the impairment was stated to be equivalent to a blood alcohol level of 0.1. The document questioned the safety of expecting an exhausted doctor to make critical decisions or perform medical procedures after such prolonged duty.

The CPSP comments also state that tired doctors make more mistakes than doctors who are fresh, alert and properly supervised. The stated objective, according to the document, should therefore be to reduce working hours to a level that allows for a healthy work-life balance for staff and ensures safe care for patients.

The material submitted before the court refers to international practices governing doctors’ working hours. It says the European Working Time Directive provides for a maximum average working week of 48 hours, at least 11 consecutive hours of daily rest and minimum weekly rest periods.

In the US, the document notes a maximum of 80 duty hours per week, averaged over four weeks, along with a minimum of one day free of patient-care responsibilities in seven days and limits on continuous duty.

The CPSP document further states that in India, following directions from the Supreme Court, junior residents should ordinarily work 48 hours a week and not more than 12 hours at a stretch, while a total of 48 hours per week has been prescribed.

In Iran, the Iranian Council for Graduate Medical Education has determined a minimum of 50 hours per week, with restrictions on night duties.

The CPSP itself has recommended that residency programmes require a minimum of 48 duty hours per week for clinical specialties, excluding emergency duties and Sundays on call.

It also states that a trainee should not be required to undertake more than two night or emergency duties of 12 hours each in a week, while trainees assigned to emergency departments should not work shifts exceeding 12 hours.

Interestingly, the CPSP clarified in its para-wise comments that it does not employ doctors and, therefore, does not prescribe their working hours, which fall within the domain of the respective provincial governments or private organisations. It said its role relates to the training programmes conducted at accredited institutions.

The document also notes that there is considerable variation in the implementation of limits on doctors’ actual working hours, working conditions and the level of supervision available to young doctors. It points out that reducing the duty hours of resident doctors would require health facilities to arrange additional doctors to cover the workload.

It further observes that fatigue does not depend solely on the number of hours worked but also on environmental conditions. The CPSP material refers to hot weather, non-air-conditioned workplaces and other environmental factors that may aggravate physical and mental fatigue.

Published in Dawn, September 23rd, 2026

NEW YORK: Pakistan remained front and centre on Tuesday, amid a flurry of diplomatic activity at UN Headquarters, as world leaders came together to address the 81st General Assembly session.

Both PM Shehbaz Sharif and Deputy PM Ishaq Dar spent a busy day filled with whirlwind meetings, engaging with leaders from around the world, as they continued to push for a diplomatic solution to the US-Iran war, which has taken a toll on global trade and energy markets.

Although he is scheduled to address the UNGA tomorrow (Thursday), PM Shehbaz was mentioned by US President Donald Trump in his speech, who called him a “terrific man”.

“The prime minister of Pakistan — terrific man — said that Donald Trump was responsible for saving 30 million lives and probably many more than that,” he said as he rattled off a list of conflicts that he claimed to have helped settle: Pakistan-India, Thailand-Cambodia, Armenia-Azerbaijan, and the Gaza conflict, among others.

Pakistan has been vigorously pursuing diplomacy to help bring the United States and Iran back to the negotiating table, even as uncertainty clouded a possible meeting between Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the UNGA.

Those efforts seem to have borne fruit when, after sending mixed signals during his UNGA speech, President Trump said that his team had met an Iranian delegation on the sidelines of the General Assembly.

“It was a meeting that lasted for three hours; it ended an hour ago,” Trump told reporters after a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky. “It was a very good meeting. I can’t imagine why they wouldn’t want to do it; it’s greatness or obliteration.”

He added that the meeting was “productive” and that “They have another one scheduled in the very near future”.

According to diplomatic sources at the United Nations, Pakistan has been “quietly but persistently urging” both Washington and Tehran to maintain indirect contacts and “remain positively open” to direct talks.

A day earlier, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi had travelled to Tehran and met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni, with the mediation process among the issues discussed.

During the visit, Iranian officials expressed appreciation for Pakistan’s continuing efforts to promote regional peace and stability.

The diplomatic efforts were also appreciated by Secretary-General António Guterres, whose spokesperson said a day earlier that the outgoing UN chief was “very grateful and appreciative” of the efforts by Pakistan’s leadership to mediate between Washington and Tehran and help end the violence.

Guterres’ spokesman Stéphane Dujarric told a news briefing in New York that Pakistan’s role was “critical”, and described the understanding reached in Islamabad as “a great achievement.”

He said Guterres had remained in close touch with the Pakistani leadership as part of efforts to achieve the shared objective of ending the conflict.

Asked about the efforts of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan’s army chief to mediate between Iran and the United States, Dujarric said the UN chief appreciated the Pakistani leadership’s efforts to bring an end to the violence.

“Other countries have also been involved,” he said, “but I think Pakistan’s role has been critical.”

Dujarric also endorsed renewed direct engagement between Washington and Tehran, saying the UN “always” supports dialogue.

“Diplomacy is our middle name, so to speak,” he said, adding that any re-engagement between the United States and Iran, as they had previously pursued, could help bring an end to the conflict, which he said was “hurting a lot of people.”

Iranian President Pezeshkian is expected to address the UN General Assembly today (Wednesday) and hold bilateral meetings with world leaders.

Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that no meeting with Iranian representatives was currently scheduled, but that Washington was open to such talks if they had the prospect of producing a positive result.

Iran, meanwhile, has signalled that its delegation in New York has authority to pursue diplomacy. Tehran has also conveyed proposals to Washington through mediators, keeping open the possibility of a return to negotiations.

Sideline meetings

On Tuesday, Deputy PM Dar participated in a key ministerial meeting of the Regional-4 (R-4) group, where he was joined by the foreign ministers of Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.

The R-4 group has been focused on regional security and emerged in March amid efforts for mediation between the US and Iran.

As the group met in New York, DPM Dar reaffirmed “Pakistan’s strong commitment to the R-4 framework and expressed the need for continued engagement for enhancing regional peace and prosperity”, the Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement.

It added that the participants exchanged views on the latest situation in the region and expressed full support for efforts aimed at a peaceful resolution of the situation.

A statement issued by the Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the UN said that the ministers’ consultative meeting on Sept 21 on the sidelines of the session also discussed recent regional and international developments.

“The ministers underscored that dialogue and diplomacy remain the only path towards sustainable resolution, and in this context they underscored the need for upholding the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding for lasting peace and stability,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, PM Shehbaz met with several world leaders, including President of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker, Kenyan President William Ruto, and Kuwaiti crown prince Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.

Published in Dawn, September 23rd, 2026