A video clip of veteran politician Mushahid Hussain Syed has surfaced in which he claimed that “Pakistan trained Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri at the behest of the CIA.” The claim collapses several distinct actors, networks and phases of the Afghan jihad into a single narrative that the historical record does not substantiate.

Pakistan’s debate over new provinces has entered a new phase in 2026. Calls for administrative restructuring have once again moved to the center of national political discussion, reflecting a growing recognition that Pakistan’s governance structure must evolve with its expanding population, rapidly growing cities and increasingly complex development needs. The case for new provinces rests on a fundamental administrative principle: governance becomes more effective when power, resources and decision-making move closer to the people.

Pakistan carried out targeted airstrikes against identified hideouts of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and affiliated terrorist elements in Afghanistan during the night of September 20–21, striking locations in Kunar and Paktika near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. According to Pakistani security sources, the intelligence-based strikes killed 28 terrorists and injured more than 100 others.