Pakistan in July 2026: the most important developments in politics
In July 2026 Pakistan's politics centred on its role as mediator between the United States and Iran. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and General Munir attended the funeral of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei in Tehran on July 3, and Islamabad was named as the likely host of US-Iran talks. Through the month Pakistan urged both sides to show restraint, after overnight strikes on July 8 and renewed exchanges of fire, and pointed to the Islamabad Memorandum as the basis for dialogue. Iran said the US had breached the memorandum, and on July 18 Iran's deputy foreign minister announced that Iran was suspending its commitments under it. Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni visited Islamabad on July 20 and 21, met Sharif and agreed to strengthen cooperation on regional security. The foreign ministers of the two countries met at an SCO conference on July 24. On July 30 Pakistan said US-Iran talks on de-escalation and the Strait of Hormuz were continuing and that it had secured safe passage through an agreement with Iran for an LNG shipment.
Relations with India remained tense. On July 1 Pakistan rejected as preposterous an Indian statement on strikes on terrorist infrastructure along the Afghan border, calling it a violation of its sovereignty. India condemned the demolition of a 125-year-old gurdwara in Pakistan. At the ASEAN meeting on July 23, India declared the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance and accused Pakistan of state-sponsored misinformation, and Pakistan called the move simply illegal. Pakistan also asked Canada for help in reviving the treaty.
Pakistan-administered Kashmir held a violence-marked election on July 27, after a high number of deaths in the run-up.
Elsewhere, Pakistan and the United States reported significant progress in trade talks on July 10 and 11. Pakistan and Kuwait discussed an expanded defence pact, and Dar and China's Wang Yi pledged deeper cooperation. Pakistan resisted British attempts to deport a convicted Rochdale grooming gang leader, whom it says it will only take back on conditions.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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