Digital Debate

Own Your Perspective! Pakistan & regional geopolitics, current affairs, economy & history. Interviews, roundtables, research & opinion.

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BREAKING: Turkey's S-70 Military helicopter crashes in the Samanköy area of Yeşilyurt district, 4 soldiers died.

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BREAKING: U.S. attacks Iran’s Hormozgan Province in the South, claiming to target IRGC military base.

Iran’s official news agency, IRNA, confirms that Sirik, near the STRAIT OF HORMUZ, minutes ago.

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Debrief 'Margalla Dialogue' with DD:

https://t.co/fo88JAL5ir

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“There are now three great powers in the world: the US, China and Russia,” says John Mearsheimer at @MargallaDialog, bringing together ministers, diplomats and international scholars.

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How will US and Israeli elections reshape the Middle East? What lies ahead for US-Iran relations, and could the region face another escalation?

Join host Mahnoor Qureshi in conversation with Ali K. Chishti on The Debate, coming this Sunday.

@thewirepak @Mahnurqureshi

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What is reshaping the Middle East, and where are regional alliances headed?

Digital Debate, in collaboration with the Department of International Relations, University of Peshawar, presents a Campus Talk exploring emerging power dynamics and the region's evolving geopolitical landscape.

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Watch now:

https://t.co/O1iIDcauMu

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As the global balance of power shifts, what role does Russia see for Pakistan in the emerging geopolitical order?

Prof. Dr. Timofey Bordachev, Programme Director at the Valdai Discussion Club, shared insights on Moscow's strategic thinking regarding Kabul. 👇🏽

@ValdaiClubEng

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In 1969, Dir, Chitral, and Swat were fully merged into Pakistan, ending princely rule and placing all three under direct Pakistani administration. For centuries, heavy snow cut Chitral off from the rest of Pakistan for months each winter, until the Lowari Tunnel, opened in 2017, finally linked it to Dir all year round.

Their history is one of loyalty, sacrifice, and a strong regional identity that continues today.

5/5

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What made the Katoor dynasty, which had ruled Chitral for nearly four centuries, choose to accede to Pakistan in 1947?

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Chitral is also home to the Kalash people. They still celebrate ancient festivals and wear colourful traditional dress in the valleys of Bumburet, Rumbur, and Birir. Khowar, also called Chitrali, is the main language of Chitral. Dir is home to Pashto- and Gawri-speaking communities.

Chitral Fort, believed to date from 1774, was the setting of the Siege of Chitral in 1895. British and local forces held out inside for about seven weeks before help arrived.

4/5

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Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police say 18 attackers were killed in the exchange. TTP claimed the attack, according to AP.

https://t.co/jNrcPS1n9Z

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The operation was over. But TTP was there.

The police party and civil administration officials had finished their work in Kohat’s Darbukach area. They turned home. Then the fire began.

By the end of Wednesday, ten policemen were martyred, among them DSP Haidar Zaman. Twelve others were in hospital. +

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Lobbying against Pakistan’s GSP+ status is heating up, with India reportedly part of it. But Brussels will judge Pakistan’s own record on 27 conventions and its competitiveness against India’s new EU FTA. https://t.co/xyQky3AU2n

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According to Indian media reports, the bodies of two Special Police Officers (SPOs), Rashpal Kumar (40) and Babi Chand (54), who went missing while on patrol in the Dachhan-Marwah area of Indian-held Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district, have been recovered. Both were reportedly shot dead, and their weapons were taken from the scene.

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Pakistan-focused security watchers are highlighting a reported meeting in Paktika between Afghan Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani and Hayatullah, known as Ghalchakai Zadran. Ghalchakai is described as a recruiter for the Gul Bahadur Group, drawing fighters from Khost, Paktika, and Paktia.

Photographs circulating alongside the claim are said to connect him to the group in several ways:

- He is pictured with Zaitullah, a militant from Spira, Khost, who died in a Pakistani operation in North Waziristan’s Hassan Khel in April 2025
- He stands next to a poster honouring Abdullah Jan, another affiliated militant killed in North Waziristan in October 2026.

His record also raises questions. Afghan intelligence detained him in August 2025 as he tried to move the bodies of over 40 Afghan fighters killed near the border at Zhob, yet he was freed within days.

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The same briefing stressed that Pakistan maintains “excellent relations with all governments, irrespective of who is in power” in the United States.

https://t.co/RUoeoDwFvx

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The war began on 28 February 2026 with US–Israeli strikes on Iran. Pakistan condemned the attacks on Iran and the Iranian attacks on Gulf states, and offered Islamabad as a venue for talks. Those talks produced the Islamabad MoU.