Shehbaz Sharif

Force in Play

Jointly announced deal with Trump on June 14, completing Pakistan's 22-week mediation effort

Four oil tankers, including a supertanker carrying two million barrels, were on fire after hitting mines in the Strait of Hormuz on October 31, Iran's Revolutionary Guard said. The Guard said the ships used unauthorized routes and ignored warnings; a projectile also hit a vessel south of Lavan, and Oman evacuated 25 crew from a burning Panama-flagged tanker off Musandam.

Updated 5 days ago

Force in Play

Leading coalition government, which imposed emergency and governor's rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Oct 11, 2026, and won parliamentary endorsement for it on Oct 21

Pakistan's Supreme Court ordered the government on Aug 18 to move Imran Khan to Shifa International Hospital for a medical assessment, let his family visit weekly and let him call his two sons twice a week. The government says it complied by sending him to a state-run hospital instead, but the bench said in open court that the order had not been carried out. No court has held a hearing on it since mid-September, Sach Suno reported.

Updated 5 days ago

Rule Changes

In office; recommended the emergency

Police fired on PTI supporters during a protest call in Peshawar, killing a 13-year-old boy and injuring more than a dozen people, according to a Drop Site News report dated October 27. Dozens were detained. The party says the crackdown is meant to neutralize it.

Updated 7 days ago

Force in Play

Still brokering US-Iran talks while Pakistani forces remain in Saudi Arabia under the Makkah alliance

Britain is sending Royal Air Force Typhoon fighters to help Saudi Arabia defend cities and oil sites from Houthi missiles and drones. Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said the jets will fly defensive sorties only and will not strike Yemen. Pakistan's Foreign Office said on October 16 that Islamabad is 'fully on board' with the Makkah pact.

Updated Oct 27

Force in Play

As of October 2026: Backed airstrikes on September 21, 24 and October 1 after Urumqi talks failed to secure a lasting ceasefire

Pakistan and Afghanistan traded fire in the first days of October, and each government said it killed dozens of the other's troops. Islamabad calls the fight an "open war" and says airstrikes will continue until the Taliban reins in the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the militant group Pakistan blames for cross-border attacks.

Updated Oct 4

Force in Play

As of September 2026: Serving prime minister

A suicide bomber drove an explosives-laden tractor into the Aman Mela police checkpoint in Dera Ismail Khan on Saturday, killing 12 people and wounding about 35. The dead included a child, two women, and a customs official; all but one were civilians.

Updated Sep 28

Rule Changes

As of August 2026: Signed both the 2025 and 2026 pacts

In Mecca, the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed a pact stating that an armed attack on any one of them is an attack on all three. It binds oil-rich Saudi Arabia, Turkey's large army, and Pakistan's nuclear arsenal into one defense promise.

Updated Aug 7

Force in Play

As of July 2026: Pakistan's mediation produced the Islamabad Memorandum, signed June 17; Sharif's June 12 announcement of a final text proved accurate

The US, Israel, and Lebanon signed a 14-point Trilateral Framework Agreement in Washington on June 26. It ties Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon to Hezbollah disarmament — Lebanon's army must first deploy to pilot zones, clear Hezbollah out, and pass a US-led assessment. Washington pledged $100 million in aid.

Updated Jul 4

Force in Play

As of May 2026: Managing domestic unrest while balancing ties with Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United States

Pakistan has the second-largest Shia Muslim population on earth — roughly 30 million people. On February 28, joint United States-Israeli airstrikes killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Within hours, grief and fury erupted in every major Pakistani city.

Updated May 30

Force in Play

As of May 2026: Serving as Prime Minister; condemned attack as 'cowardly act of terrorism'

Pakistan had not seen a suicide bombing in its capital since 2016. That changed in November 2025, when an attacker killed 12 outside an Islamabad court. On February 6, 2026, a suicide bomber killed 31 at the Shia Khadija Tul Kubra mosque during Friday prayers, wounding 169 more — the deadliest since the 2008 Marriott Hotel bombing that killed 63.

Updated May 27

Force in Play

As of May 2026: In office

On May 24 and 25, 2026, the BLA struck Quetta on consecutive days, killing at least 53 people. A suicide car bomb detonated next to a passenger train; the following day, a car-park explosion hit the railway station.

Updated May 26

Rule Changes

As of May 2026: Approved high-level organizing committee for 2026 Games

Pakistan last hosted a major regional sporting event in 2004. Twenty-two years later, Lahore opened the 14th South Asian Games on January 23, 2026, welcoming over 3,500 athletes from eight nations to compete across 27 sports through February 6. The Games mark Pakistan's first hosting outside Islamabad and its third overall, following the 1989 and 2004 editions.

Updated May 23