ISLAMABAD: US President Donald Trump has called Pakistan’s prime minister Imran Khan and Afghan president Ashraf Ghani to thank them for facilitating the release of an American and an Australian who were held hostage by the Taliban since 2016.
Trump made separate calls Thursday to Khan and Ghani days after the Taliban — in exchange for three top Taliban figures — freed American Kevin King and Australian Timothy Weeks in southern Afghanistan.
According to a government statement, Khan “reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to the advancement of Afghan peace and reconciliation process for a peaceful and stable Afghanistan.”
In Kabul, Ghani’s office said the Afghan leader briefed Trump on the government’s peace plan and Trump emphasized the need for a peace process owned and inclusive of the Afghan government.
Trump thanks Khan, Ghani for helping with hostages’ release
Trump thanks Khan, Ghani for helping with hostages’ release
- PM Khan reaffirms Pakistan’s commitment to the Afghan peace and reconciliation process
- President Trump emphasizes the need for a peace process owned and inclusive of the Afghan government
Pakistan expresses condolences as Bangladesh’s first female PM passes away
- Khaleda Zia passed away in Dhaka after prolonged illness at the age of 80, says her party
- PM Shehbaz Sharif describes Zia as a “committed friend of Pakistan” in condolence message
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday expressed condolences over the passing of Bangladesh’s first female prime minister, Khaleda Zia, describing her as a committed friend of Islamabad.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) announced its leader Zia had passed away at the age of 80 after prolonged illness. She died at the Evercare Hospital in Dhaka, where the former prime minister was admitted on Nov. 23 with symptoms of a lung infection, according to The Daily Star, a Bangladesh news website.
“Deeply saddened by the passing of Begum Khaleda Zia, Chairperson of the BNP and former Prime Minister of Bangladesh,” Sharif wrote on social media platform X.
“Her lifelong service to Bangladesh and its growth and development leaves a lasting legacy.”
Sharif said his government and people stand with the people of Bangladesh during this difficult time.
“Begum Zia was a committed friend of Pakistan,” he added.
Pakistan and Bangladesh used to be part of the same country before the latter seceded into the separate nation of Bangladesh after a bloody civil war in 1971.
Ties between the two countries have remained mostly strained since then. However, Islamabad enjoyed better relations with Dhaka under Zia’s government compared to when Bangladesh was led by her arch-rival, Sheikh Hasina.
Hasina was ousted after a violent uprising last year, leading to improved relations between Islamabad and Dhaka.
Despite years of ill health and imprisonment, Zia vowed in November to campaign in elections set for February 2026.
The BNP is widely seen as a frontrunner, and Zia’s son Tarique Rahman, who returned only on Thursday after 17 years in exile, is seen as a potential prime minister if they win a majority.
-With additional input from AFP
