Pakistan

The Trump administration plans to deport more than 150 Afghan immigrants to Afghanistan, a US official and a coalition of veterans and advocacy groups say. Dozens have been detained in Louisiana, and the first deportation flight could leave as early as Monday, 2 Nov, according to The New York Times. Because Washington has no diplomatic ties with the Taliban, the flights would be routed through Pakistan, which would oversee the expulsions. Pakistan has already expelled more than two million Afghan nationals since 2023, according to Reuters. The Department of Homeland Security declined to confirm operational details.

Pakistan's military spokesperson says the army is cautiously optimistic about its role in mediating between Iran and the United States, after Field Marshal Asim Munir's second visit to Tehran this month with Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin. The visit follows the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement signed on 7 Aug by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, which pledges collective defence and allows new members, potentially Iran. Iran's Supreme National Security Council secretary Mohsen Rezaei stresses that regional security should be handled by regional states without external interference, while Pakistan notes any troop deployment to Saudi Arabia would require political approval.

Qatari mediators have handed Iran a new draft to end the war with the United States and Israel, a plan with a seven-day timeline of daily confidence-building steps and several guarantor countries that could begin early next week. Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran is in close contact with intermediaries and could implement the plan in under a week, while a senior Iranian official called Doha's ideas unacceptable and not an offer. Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman travelled to Tehran for talks with Iran's security chief Mohsin Razaee, accompanied by military and intelligence chiefs from Pakistan and Turkey. The conflict has been ongoing since February 2026. US President Donald Trump said on 28 Oct he was in a very good position with Iran.