Pakistani News Digest – May 10, 2026
Stay informed with today’s most important news from Pakistan. Here are the top stories making headlines:
1. Ceremony marking one year since Marka-i-Haq victory underway at GHQ
A ceremony to mark one year since Pakistan’s victory in last year’s conflict with India is underway at General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi.
The conflict with India — starting from the April 22 Pahalgam attack to the end of Operation Bunyanum Marsoos with a ceasefire between the two countries on May 10 — has been called “Marka-i-Haq” (Battle of Truth) by the state.
Chief of Defence Staff and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir is the chief guest at the event, with Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal (ACM) Zaheer Ahmed Babar Sidhu and Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf also in attendance.
Field Marshal Munir will address the gathering and deliver an important speech highlighting the significance of Marka-i-Haq.
ACM Sidhu and Admiral Ashraf took turns to lay floral wreaths at the Yadgar-i-Shuhada (Martyrs’ Monument) and a salute is being presented by smartly turned-out contingents of the three armed forces.
More to follow
2. Iran keeps US waiting for a response
• Questions seriousness of American diplomacy amid naval flare-ups
• CIA report claims Tehran can withstand blockade for months
• Bahrain arrests over 40 ‘pro-IRGC’ individuals
• UK deploys warship to Mideast with eye on potential Hormuz mission
• Israel continues strikes in Lebanon, targets highway south of Beirut
TEHRAN / WASHINGTON / BEIRUT: Iran questioned the seriousness of American diplomacy on Saturday in the wake of renewed naval clashes in the Gulf, while keeping Washington waiting for a response to its latest negotiating position.
A state of relative calm prevailed around the Strait of Hormuz, after days of sporadic flare-ups, as the United States waited for Iran’s response to its latest proposals to end more than two months of fighting and begin peace talks.
US President Donald Trump had said on Friday that he was expecting Iran’s response to Washington’s latest proposal for a deal to extend a fragile truce and launch peace talks — “supposedly tonight”.
But if Iran did send Pakistani mediators a response, there was no public sign of it, and Tehran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called into question the reliability of the US leadership in a call with his Turkish counterpart.
“The recent escalation of tensions by American forces in the Persian Gulf and their numerous actions in violating the ceasefire have added to suspicions about the motivation and seriousness of the American side in the path of diplomacy,” he said, according to an Iranian account of the call published by the ISNA news agency.
In an incident on Friday, a US fighter jet fired on and disabled two Iranian-flagged tankers that Washington accused of challenging its naval blockade of Iran’s ports.
An Iranian military official told local media the country’s navy had responded “to American terrorism with strikes” and that “the clashes have now ceased”.
The latest incident came after a previous flare-up overnight Thursday to Friday in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital international sea lane that Iran is seeking to control to extract tolls from foreign vessels and wield economic leverage over the US and its allies.
CIA assessment
In a related development, a CIA assessment indicated that Iran would not suffer severe economic pressure from a US blockade of Iranian ports for about another four months, according to a US official familiar with the matter, suggesting that US leverage over Tehran remains limited as the two sides seek to end a conflict that has been unpopular with US voters.
A senior intelligence official characterised as false the “claims” about the CIA analysis, which was first reported by the Washington Post.
The official added that the blockade “is inflicting real, compounding damage — severing trade, crushing revenue, and accelerating systemic economic collapse”.
‘Pro-IRGC’ individuals held
Bahrain’s interior ministry said on Saturday that the country’s security services had dismantled an organisation accused of links to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and arrested 41 of its suspected members.
Bahrain, which houses a major US military base, was hard-hit by Iranian attacks on the Gulf, launched in response to US and Israeli strikes on Iran. “In accordance with previous investigations carried out by the prosecutor’s office in cases of espionage on behalf of foreign entities and sympathy for Iranian aggression, the security services dismantled an organisation linked to the Revolutionary Guards,” the ministry said in a statement.
UK deploys warship
Britain said on Saturday it was deploying its warship HMS Dragon to the Middle East in preparation for a potential multinational effort to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz once conditions allow.
HMS Dragon, an air defence destroyer, was sent to the Eastern Mediterranean in March, shortly after the start of the Iran war, to help defend Cyprus. “The pre-positioning of HMS Dragon is part of prudent planning that will ensure that the UK is ready, as part of a multinational coalition jointly led by the UK and France, to secure the Strait, when conditions allow,” a spokesperson for Britain’s Ministry of Defence said.
Strikes in Lebanon
The Israeli onslaught in Lebanon continued as the authorities reported eight people killed in Israeli air strikes in southern Lebanon on Saturday, with more raids targeting a highway south of Beirut outside Hezbollah’s traditional strongholds and far from the centre of ongoing fighting.
The fresh attacks came in spite of a three-week-old ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported a series of Israeli strikes across the south, including one on the town of Saksakiyeh.
The health ministry said that raid “resulted in an initial toll of seven martyrs, including a girl, and 15 wounded, including three children”.
The ministry reported that another Israeli strike on a motorbike in the city of Nabatieh hit “a Syrian national and his 12-year-old daughter”.
“After they managed to move away from the site of the first strike, the drone attacked a second time,” killing the father, the ministry said, adding the drone then targeted the girl “directly for a third time”. The girl was undergoing life-saving surgery, it added.
The Israeli military said it had struck more than 85 Hezbollah infrastructure sites in the past 24 hours.
Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah on Saturday warned of “a new phase, in which the resistance [Hezbollah] will not accept a return to pre-March 2”.
Hezbollah said on Saturday that it had targeted troops in northern Israel with a drone in response to the continued strikes. In addition to its drone attack in northern Israel, the group also claimed attacks on Israeli military targets inside Lebanon using rockets and drones.
On the other hand, US Central Command said that 58 commercial vessels have been redirected and four others disabled since the naval blockade of Iranian ports began on April 13.
Additionally, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard has threatened to target US sites in the region and “enemy ships” if its tankers come under fire, Iranian media reported.
Published in Dawn, May 10th, 2026
3. JCP likely to finalise panel to interview candidates
ISLAMABAD: The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) is expected to decide in its upcoming meeting the composition of a proposed committee tasked with interviewing candidates for elevation to the high courts, sources familiar with the development told Dawn.
The move, however, has raised concerns among lawyers, particularly in Islamabad, who argue that candidates for constitutional courts should not be subjected to interviews by any committee operating outside the constitutional framework.
Sources said the JCP’s Rule-Making Committee met on May 6 to deliberate on the criteria and procedure for appointing judges to the superior judiciary in light of recent constitutional amendments.
The 27th Constitutional Amendment introduced a provision empowering the commission to frame rules regulating its procedures, including the “procedure and criteria for assessment, interview, evaluation and fitness for appointment of judges”.
The Rule-Making Committee comprises Justice Aamer Farooq of the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan, Senator Farooq H. Naek, Senator Syed Ali Zafar and Pakistan Bar Council representative in the JCP Ahsan Bhoon.
According to sources, the committee discussed various proposals regarding interviews of candidates for judicial appointments. Senator Ali Zafar proposed that the entire JCP interview each candidate when his or her nomination comes before the commission. Senator Farooq Naek, however, suggested that a seven-member committee conduct interviews prior to the JCP meeting and submit recommendations to the commission.
Sources said Mr Bhoon proposed a five-member committee comprising two judges from the FCC or the Supreme Court, one parliamentarian, the attorney general and a representative of the Pakistan Bar Council.
According to sources, the proposed committee may include FCC Justice Syed Hassan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Aamer Farooq, Barrister Syed Ali Zafar, Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan and Mr Bhoon.
The proposals are expected to be placed before the full commission at its next meeting, likely to be held next week. Sources said the JCP may also finalise the long-awaited rules governing appointments to the superior judiciary.
Judicial appointments in various high courts have remained stalled due to the absence of revised rules following recent constitutional amendments.
LHC vacancies and consultations
In Lahore, Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court Justice Aalia Neelum has already initiated consultations and interviews to fill long-pending vacancies amid a growing backlog of cases.
According to official figures, the sanctioned strength of the Lahore High Court is 60 judges, but only 41 judges, including the chief justice, are currently serving, leaving 19 positions vacant.
Sources said several senior lawyers and law officers have already appeared before the chief justice for consultation. They include Prosecutor General Islamabad Ghulam Sarwar Nihang, Advocate Asad Ali Bajwa, Advocate Kashif Rajwana, Barrister Zargham, Punjab Advocate General Amjad Pervaiz, Barrister Usman Ghani Rashid, Punjab Prosecutor General Syed Farhad Ali Shah, Barrister Umer Riaz, Advocate Asad Abbasi, Advocate Shireen Imran and Advocate Masroor Haider Awan, brother of Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan.
Former Bahawalpur Bar president Amir Ajam and Multan-based lawyer Khalid Ibne Aziz are also under consideration, sources added. The Punjab Bar Council is also expected to forward its own panel of nominees to the JCP. Likely nominees include Hafiz Ansarul Haq and Additional Attorney General Munawar Iqbal Duggal.
IHCBA raises objections
Meanwhile, the Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) has expressed reservations over reports regarding the constitution of any committee for conducting interviews or scrutinising lawyers for elevation to the high courts “outside the constitutional framework”.
In a statement issued after a meeting of its executive body on Friday, the IHCBA maintained that the constitutional mandate relating to assessment, consultation and recommendation of candidates for judicial appointments exclusively vested in the Judicial Commission of Pakistan. It also stressed that the constitutional role and consultative authority of the respective chief justices must remain fully protected.
The process of judicial appointments has witnessed delays following recent constitutional developments. During a JCP meeting held on April 28 regarding the transfer of judges from the Islamabad High Court, it was decided that fresh appointments would only be considered after finalisation of the new rules governing the commission’s functioning.
At that meeting, three IHC judges, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Babar Sattar and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz, were transferred to the Lahore, Peshawar and Sindh high courts, respectively, as part of a broader judicial reshuffle.
Sources said the government had proposed convening the next JCP meeting only after the revised rules were finalised in light of the 26th and 27th Amendments, which significantly altered the composition and functioning of the commission.
Published in Dawn, May 10th, 2026
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