Islamabad’s defence diplomacy is driving new interest in the JF-17 fighter jet following Pakistan-India clashes.

Islamabad’s defence diplomacy is driving new interest in the JF-17 fighter jet following Pakistan-India clashes.

An unexpected handshake in Dhaka has prompted debate on whether India and Pakistan might restart talks in 2026.

The army chief, analysts say, has driven Pakistan’s geopolitical reemergence over the past year as a soldier-diplomat.
![Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir Chief of Army Staff met President of the United States, Donald Trump in White House in Washington DC in September. [Handout/Courtesy Government of Pakistan]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/G1ueAGIXEAAOD7u-1767142127.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
PIA has been sold for $482m to a consortium led by finance mogul Arif Habib. But the military gets a piece, too.
![The state-run Pakistan International Airlines plane preparing to take-off for Paris after the airline resumes direct flights to Europe after the EU lifted a four-year ban in January this year. [AP Photo]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/AP25010373470108-1766709906.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
New IMF report prompts calls for corruption reforms. But experts say that needs political will, not technical tinkering.
![Pakistan has sought 25 programmes from the International Monetary Fund since 1958 [File: Andrew Harnik/AP Photo]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/AP23181233722483-1763683048.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
Islamabad balances alliances, economic needs and public sentiment as it weighs potential troop deployment to Gaza.
![US President Donald Trump looks on as Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif speaks after the signing of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, during a summit on ending the Gaza war in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, on October 13, 2025 [Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/2025-10-13T171935Z_1836735484_RC25BHAIHBI6_RTRMADP_3_ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-EGYPT-SUMMIT-1763515976.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
Amendment reshapes military command, raising fears of weakened civilian control and diminished autonomy for services.
![Field Marshal Asim Munir (centre) is flanked by Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Baber Sidhu (left) and Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf (right) on May 19, a day before he was awarded the five-star rank by the government [Handout/Inter-Services Public Relations]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/14329-1763072724.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
Islamabad and Kabul’s uneasy truce faces new strain after deadly blasts and escalating regional accusations.
![Pakistani investigators examine a damaged car at the site of a suicide bombing outside the gates of a district court, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Tuesday, November 11, 2025 [Ahsan Shahzad/AP Photo]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/AP25315371926802-1762948830.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
At least 12 people died in the blast at a district court complex, whose impact is now reverberating across South Asia.
![Security officials examine damaged vehicles at the site following a suicide bombing outside the gates of a district court in Islamabad, Pakistan, on November 11, 2025 [Mohammad Yousuf/AP Photo]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/AP25315382540239-1762892126.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
Suicide attack at court complex kills 12, injures more than 30, a day after a deadly explosion in the Indian capital.
![Authorities placed barbed wire and dividers to stop access to the site of the attack [Abid Hussain/Al Jazeera]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Court-Isb-1762870850.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)