The US-Israeli invasion of Iran has been dominating headlines for several months now, but its impact is directly felt by those whose household budgets have been thrown out of whack by inordinate hikes in fuel prices.

When the Prime Minister’s Special Relief Scheme was announced last week, I was one of the multitudes who breathed a sigh of relief at the prospect of some respite from rising fuel costs.

But just how easy is it to avail the facility? To answer this question, I decided to enrol myself for the Rs100 per litre discount available to motorcyclists, and visited several fuel pumps across the city to see whether it is actually benefitting ordinary people.

Despite some teething issues, govt has been learning from the hiccups witnessed during the first week of PM’s fuel relief scheme

On Sunday, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar announced that over 2.2 million people from across the country had signed up for the fuel price relief, with more than 90pc of them owning motorcycles, rickshaws or Qingqis.

I must confess I was not one of those who signed up for the scheme immediately after it was announced. This is because I had heard about the press conference held by the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association, where they complained about a lack of clarity on how they would be compensated for the discounted fuel.

The next day, after my colleagues assured me that the dealers’ payment issues had been resolved, I visited a few petrol pumps to see what the process was like.

I made a bee-line for the cashier at the first pump and asked him directly, “Are people really getting Rs100 per litre relief?”

He told me that if one has the required SMS, one can get discounted petrol after verification.

Hearing this, I went to the kiosk he indicated. There, pump staff took my mobile phone and checked my details. After verification, I received five litres of petrol at the discounted rate. So far, so good.

Others weren’t so lucky, though. One of my colleagues told me they had witnessed an early morning altercation at a North Karachi fuel pump.

The reason was that the person who operated the subsidy kiosk would show up at 9am, meaning that most office-going commuters weren’t able to avail the facility during their morning commute.

So, after filling up my own bike, I went to other pumps to observe the process. There, I observed Eastern ingenuity (read Jugaar) at work.

At the time, the relief scheme only allowed you to get five litres, not less. In case someone doesn’t need five litres, there wasn’t any provision for ‘saving’ some of the fuel quota for later, as the token generated was valid for a single transaction only.

However, some industrious bikers had come up with a harmonious solution; to share the tokens. There were a couple of occasions when two motorcyclists would arrive at the pump together.

If one needed let’s say, two litres and the other needed three, they would just use one token and get both bikes filled up. Such cooperation may or may not be fully kosher as far as the scheme was concerned, but it did make life easier for the common motorcyclist.

While I was watching people get fuel, another thought struck me: not everyone has Rs2,000 to spare for fuel. What about the daily wager, or the student, who only has a limited amount of money and wish to avail the fuel subsidy? If they cannot pay for the full five litres, they are effectively left out.

This is exactly what happened as I witnessed a number of people leaving without taking discounted petrol, even though they were registered for the scheme.

Admittedly, the government has been learning from the hiccups experienced by beneficiaries of the relief scheme over the first week of its rollout.

Later the same day, I heard that the government had revised their rules, and the five-litre compulsion had been dropped, and SMS charges waived for those registering for the scheme.

This seems like a logical step, and one hopes that in the days to come, the scheme will become more user-friendly, so more and more people can benefit from it.

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2026

Addressing a workshop in Islamabad recently, adviser to the National Command Authority and former head of the Strategic Plans Division retired Lt-Gen Mazhar Jamil highlighted the shrinking space for diplomacy in South Asia. He added that the erosion of arms control frameworks and reliance on hard power were creating “new challenges to strategic stability in South Asia”. While criticising India’s “military adventurism and hegemonic approaches”, the official made a crucial observation: there was no space for war between two nuclear states.

This should be clear to any level-headed individual. However, high-level officials in the Indian military, as well as the political elite, have — particularly since last year’s hostilities — been making increasingly jingoistic statements directed at Pakistan. In May, the Indian army chief — who has since retired — hurled unacceptable threats at this country, which were described by ISPR as “hubristic”. Indian political leaders have been making similarly unhinged comments. While such language may attract a few votes and please extremist lobbies within India, it does lasting damage to the cause of peace in South Asia, especially at a time when both nations have only recently emerged from a dangerous encounter that could have spiralled into all-out war.

War in a nuclear neighbourhood is not an option. Pakistani officials have reiterated this, and there is a need for similar rational behaviour from responsible military and civilian actors in India. There is huge bilateral mistrust at the moment. Yet to prevent a catastrophe in the subcontinent, both sides, particularly India, need to restart the dialogue process. This can begin with small steps, such as regular contact between military officials from both sides to ensure misunderstandings do not escalate into something larger. In parallel, diplomatic contacts and Track II efforts need to be resumed. While it is difficult to foresee peace in the immediate future, such steps can at least help in conflict management, while ensuring that the channels of communication are kept open. But perhaps the biggest need is for Indian officials to stop their inflammatory rhetoric against Pakistan, which is even more irresponsible at a time when the flames of war are burning not too far from South Asia. Hopefully, restraint and sustained dialogue can lead to bilateral trust and peace between Pakistan and India.

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2026

According to the FIA Islamabad Zone, the Anti-Corruption Circle carried out raids on multiple consultancy and courier offices in the basement of F&F Plaza, Aabpara, on the basis of credible information and unearthed a network allegedly involved in the preparation, delivery and use of fake apostille stickers, official seals and documents.

A case has been registered against 22 accused under Sections 420, 468, 471 and 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code, read with Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947.

The investigation revealed that owners and employees of consultancy and courier firms, including Sophie Consultants, Excellent Courier Service, Leopard Courier Services at F&F Plaza, RAAK Consultancy, Noon Consultants (Pvt) Ltd, GM Consultants and Fair Line Service, were allegedly involved in the network.

Six ministry officials, 16 private individuals nominated

A total of 16 private individuals have been nominated in the case, along with six officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including officials dealing with attestation and apostille matters.

According to the FIA, the accused collected large sums from applicants on the pretext of expediting apostille and attestation services and allegedly bribed MoFA officials.

The agency said fake apostille stickers had been circulating at various locations across the country, potentially causing losses to the national exchequer.

A court has granted three-day physical remand of the arrested accused. The investigation is being conducted by Inspector Arsalan Masood Khan.

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2026

US Chargé d’Affaires Natalie Baker on Sunday met Minister of State and Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority chief Bilal Bin Saqib to discuss recent developments in the country’s digital asset regulatory environment.

Mr Saqib briefed the US envoy on developments in Pakistan’s digital assets sector and efforts to establish a modern, robust and transparent regulatory framework for the virtual asset market. The two sides also discussed the overall digital economy, with a focus on innovation and financial transparency.

The initiative is aimed at aligning Pakistan’s virtual asset market with international standards.

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2026

More than 22,000 security personnel led by eight DIGs will be deployed in the federal capital and over 30,000 in the Attock district, which connects Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with Punjab.

In Attock, additional personnel to assist the local police have started arriving and reporting to the District Police Officer (DPO).

The Rawalpindi police have requested for 9,000 personnel to assist the local police to ensure security during protests, a police official told Dawn.

Containers being seized in twin cities and placed on sides of highways and open spaces

On the other hand, a large number of containers are being seized to block the entry points to prevent possible protests and rallies to reach the twin cities as 30 entry points will be blocked, including 11 in Rawalpindi.

Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), Kissan Ittehad and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) have announced long marches and sit-in protests in Islamabad in the coming week.

Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) has called for a long march towards Islamabad against the levy on petroleum products, while PTI has announced a long march on September 27 for the release of its founder Imran Khan.

Kissan Ittehad is seeking relief for farmers and has also announced a protest march to Islamabad.

A large number of containers have already been seized in the twin cities and are being placed on the sides of highways and open spaces.

While additional police force has been called from the districts of Rawalpindi division, sources revealed that more than 22,000 forces have been called for Islamabad to deal with the marches. The personnel will be deployed under the supervision of eight DIGs, 10 SSPs and 40 SPs and 58 DSPs for whom separate accommodation arrangements have also been made.

According to sources, a total of 30,000 security personnel have been called to ensure security in Attock, the most important district connecting Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with Punjab. For this purpose, additional forces from various districts of Punjab, including Sheikhupura, DG Khan, Multan, Faisalabad, along with the Punjab Constabulary, Riot Management Police and other units have been called in Attock.

All kinds of leaves of police in Rawalpindi district have already been banned till October 1.

Hassan Mushtaq Sukhera, CPO Rawalpindi, issued an order to the police that all kinds of leaves, casual and earned, had been banned till October 1 except for cases of extreme emergency.

The Islamabad district administration and police have made accommodation arrangements for the out of district police officers called for law and order duty.

According to the plan, as many as 362 police officers and officials will be provided 132 rooms, allocated in 13 hotels and guest houses in the federal capital territory.

All the eight DIGs will be provided accommodation in Islamabad Hotel (Melody G-6), 10 SSPs will be accommodated in a hotel at Blue Area, while 40 superintendents of police will be accommodated in different hotels and guest houses.

Likewise, 58 DSPs and 246 inspectors will be provided accommodations in different guest houses having low rent compared to the accommodation provided to police high ups.

Moreover, arrangements for accommodation of the police and FC personnel called from other provinces to Islamabad are being made in government buildings, schools/colleges, Sports Complex, marriage halls and police stations.

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2026

“Our messages and the explanation of our conditions have been clearly conveyed to the other party through mediators,” said Iran’s chi­ef negotiator in talks to end the war.

“As long as the conditions are not met… and the US commitments are not honoured, it will be impossible to return to the situation from before the negotiations and to an open strait,” he added.

In a post on X, Mr Ghalibaf wrote, “It’s Schrödinger: the em­­pire is in the SOH [Strait of Hor­muz] cabinet with falling plates, projecting hegemony but fully exposed, trying to suffocate Iran without blowback (impossible).”

“This endgame cannot be modelled. It will be opened, and Iran’s hand is already on the lever,” he said, sharing a recent note by JPMorgan wherein analysts said they “simply don’t know how to model the endgame” to the oil market crisis.

Also, Mohsen Rezaei, the head of supreme national security council, earlier said Iran had conveyed its conditions to the US via mediator Qatar. “Our conditions are an end to the war on all fronts, the release of our frozen funds and an end to the naval blockade,” he said, in an interview with Al Jazeera.

He warned that the US would face an Iran that was better prepared than at the start of the war.

The Iranian security chief said Iran had increased the speed of its hypersonic missiles from Mach-6 to Mach-10, improved air defences and developed electronic warfare systems. “Therefore should war break out again, US ships, unless they withdraw from the Indian Ocean, will be subject to attack.”

Also, Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya central military command warned that if the US made a mistake in dealing with Iran, all of its bases and interests in the region would become the target of continuous, effective and painful attacks, without any limit or restraint.

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2026