A New York Times report, published on Friday, says “Iran has grown more confident in its ability to attack targets in the Middle East and appears determined to continue the conflict for months to frustrate the United States”.

The assessment comes as clashes resumed this week.

“The new exchanges have been limited so far. But the intelligence reports, according to people who have read them, suggest that Iran’s hardline government might be contemplating a significant escalation,” the newspaper reported.

The intelligence assessments also indicate that reaching an agreement to end the war could prove difficult. Current and former US officials told the NYT that there are few indications Tehran is ready to make a deal with Washington.

Mid-term elections

Some officials believe Tehran may seek to prolong the conflict until at least the US mid-term elections in November, calculating that continued warfare and high energy prices could create difficulties for President Trump and Republicans.

The report notes Donald Trump is currently not pursuing negotiations as he believes that economic pressure can force Tehran to make concessions concerning its control of the Strait of Hormuz and, eventually, its nuclear programme. But officials familiar with the intelligence told the NYT that sanctions could provoke further escalation.

Missile and drone capability

Iran’s military calculations appear shaped by its growing missile and drone capability and by its understanding of how to use the Strait of Hormuz as leverage. The strait carried roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil before the war.

Representative Jason Crow, a Colorado Democrat and member of the House Intelligence Committee, described the Iranian leadership as increasingly confident. “Iranians are feeling pretty bullish about their position,” he said.

But at the same time he acknowledged that Iran has suffered substantial damage.

Other officials briefed on the intelligence said Iran may also believe that the United States will be constrained in launching major new attacks as its ammunition stocks decline.

Representative Josh Gottheimer, a New Jersey Democrat and Intelligence Committee member, said: “The Iranians think they have maximum leverage.”

He suggested that, from Tehran’s perspective, continuing to pressure the Trump administration could serve its interests.

The conflict has also opened a cyber front. According to the Times, US officials believe Iran-linked hackers were probably responsible for attacks on more than 100 American water systems in late July. The attacks did not appear to make drinking water unsafe, although some caused disruptions requiring manual overrides and precautionary boil-water advisories.

Officials said Iranian hackers have also shown interest in US oil and gas infrastructure.

The New York Times reported that Iranian-linked cyber hackers may have regrouped after suffering losses early in the war. Former intelligence officials and cybersecurity experts said such attacks could remain attractive to Tehran because even limited disruptions might weaken American public support for a conflict with no clear end.

Alex Orleans, a former US government cybersecurity contractor who tracks Iranian hacking groups, said Iran’s cyberoperators probably feel emboldened. He warned that even unsuccessful attacks could serve a broader purpose by exhausting public patience with the conflict.

Influencing political scene

The report also describes Iranian efforts to influence US politics, including propaganda and social-media activity focused on mid-term elections. Meta recently identified a small network of Iran-based accounts on Facebook and Instagram that posted material concerning US politics.

Taken together, the intelligence assessments present a picture of an Iranian government that has been damaged but does not regard itself as defeated. Six months of warfare may have strengthened Tehran’s belief that it can absorb punishment, retain important military capabilities and continue imposing costs on the United States and its allies.

Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2026

The UN rights office described how a military operation launched in the north of the occupied territory in January 2025 had forcibly displaced over 33,000 people.

At the start of operation “Iron Wall”, Israeli military, police and other forces entered the camps and killed civilians, destroyed hundreds of homes and damaged infrastructure, it said.

They cut off water and electricity and barred humanitarian access to the camps before going door to door forcing residents to leave, it added.

Israel’s actions raise concerns of ethnic cleansing, says UN rights office; two Israeli ministers seek removal of Palestinians from Gaza

A few days into the operation, Israeli security forces “consolidated their control” over the camps and “forcibly displaced their population in their entirety”, the report said.

“The large-scale, long-term and systematic displacement of over 33,000 Palestinian refugees from refugee camps such as Jenin, Nur Shams and Tulkarm during Israel’s Operation Iron Wall … raises serious concerns of the crime against humanity of forcible transfer,” it warned.

As of July this year, 33,362 Palestinian refugees displaced from the three camps had not been permitted to return, the UN office said.

The rights office said “the use of airstrikes, armoured bulldozers and controlled detonations, to render entire camps uninhabitable, to force the displacement of their residents and to prevent their return… are not permissible under international law”.

Israel’s actions “appear to amount to collective punishment and raise concerns of ethnic cleansing”, it warned.

UN rights chief Volker Turk said Friday that the way the operation was conducted “suggests its aim was to expel as many Palestinians as possible and to make way for more illegal Israeli settlements, in further violation of international law”.

Israeli ministers seek removal of Palestinians from Gaza

Two Israeli ministers floated proposals this week for the mass removal of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, resurfacing an idea voiced repeatedly by right-wing politicians over the past three years as they seek to rally supporters ahead of an election.

The calls by two of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s political allies have revived Palestinian fears that Israel ultimately aims to forcibly expel them from Gaza.

Far-right security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir laid out a seven-year plan for removing Gaza’s population through “voluntary emigration” during a press conference on Thursday night. He said he would seek the creation of a “ministry in charge of emigration” in the next government.

“Instead of illusions of peace now, we need actions of emigration now,” he said. “Instead of (them) digging tunnels, it’s time to pack suitcases,” referring to tunnels dug under Gaza by Hamas before the war.

Ben-Gvir’s Jewish Power party said in a statement on Thursday that Turkiye, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo were being considered as potential destinations.

Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas government media office, said: “The Palestinian people are deeply rooted in their land and will not be intimidated by such threats.”

Ben-Gvir’s comments followed those of Defence Minister Israel Katz, from Netanyahu’s Likud party, who said on Wednesday there was “no real solution for Gaza in the end without this migration”.

Hamas’ plea to Islamic leaders

Hamas called on Arab and Muslim countries on Friday to oppose a proposal from two Israeli ministers to remove Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and send them abroad.

“Escalating statements by ministers in the Israeli government regarding the continued adoption of plans to displace the Palestinian people from the Gaza Strip represent an extremely dangerous development,” Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said in a statement.

He called on “Arab and Islamic countries to take serious and unified action to confront these plans and adopt effective positions and measures to thwart them”.

Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2026

GILGIT: Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Amjad Hussain informed a parliamentary committee on Friday the poor state of cellular connectivity in the region not only affected tourism but also severely hampered relief and rescue operations during emergencies.

Addressing a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat, presided over by its chairman Senator Mahmood-ul-Hassan, at the GB Assembly in Gilgit, CM Hussain said satellite connectivity was essential for monitoring the 7,000 glaciers in GB and ensuring effective disaster management to protect the region from any major catastrophe.

He said the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) should play a proactive role in ensuring stable internet connectivity in GB. He clarified that the Special Com­munications Organisation (SCO) was merely a service provider and, therefore, the PTA should fulfil its responsibilities as the regulator.

He said fibre-optic connectivity was feasible only in the urban areas, while it was a limited option for other mountainous and difficult-to-access areas.

CM Hussain said satellite connectivity was essential for monitoring glaciers and keeping track of natural disasters in the region, citing the recent natural disaster in Nepal as an example of the importance of such connectivity. He added that effective disaster response was possible only through coordination among all relevant institutions.

PTA Chairman retired Gen Hafeezur Rehman told the committee that, in accordance with the directives of PM Shehbaz, the authority was taking measures to improve internet services in GB. He said obstacles and challenges affecting internet connectivity in the region would be reviewed and necessary steps would be taken to address them.

The committee chairman said GB was amo­ng the most beautiful regions in the world and attracted thousands of tourists every year, but slow internet speeds remained a major issue and required immediate attention. He said no country or region could develop in the modern era without reliable internet connectivity.

Therefore, Senator Hassan said, it was essential to provide the GB people with modern, high-speed and quality internet services. He said another meeting would be held in Gilgit, inviting all relevant stakeholders and private network companies to discuss improvements in internet services.

Senior officials of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) briefed the committee on disaster preparedness, early warning systems, rescue facilities and available funds in GB. They also briefed the committee on the damage caused by floods, landslides, avalanches and other natural disasters during the past five years, compensation paid to victims, and relief and rescue operations.

The committee chairman stressed the need to further strengthen the role of the NDMA in dealing with natural disasters in GB. He said floods and other natural disasters had caused extensive damage in various parts of the reg­ion, making it essential to ensure the timely provision of assistance to affected communities.

Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) Chairman Nabeel Awan briefed the committee on the availability, transportation and storage of petroleum products and LPG in GB. He said the region had sufficient storage capacity to maintain oil reserves capable of meeting its requirements for 20 to 30 days. He also briefed the committee on oil storage facilities in Baltistan division.

Senator Aamir Waliuddin Chishti directed that oil and LPG storage capacity in GB be increased. He asked Ogra officials to effectively raise issues related to oil and LPG storage in GB with the federal petroleum ministry and take necessary measures for their permanent resolution.

Special Technology Zones Authority (STZA) Chairman Azfar Manzoor briefed the committee via video link on various issues concerning GB. He said the authority had previously taken steps towards establishing a special technology zone in the region and was ready to continue playing its role in this regard.

The body chairman said GB was a tax-free region and, therefore, there should be no technical difficulty in establishing a special technology zone in the region.

Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2026

At a meeting of the National Assembly’s Stan­ding Committee on Petroleum, presided over by PPP’s Syed Mustafa Mehmood, lawmaker and former federal minister for petroleum and finance Syed Naveed Qamar asked the panel at the outset not to discuss the Natural Gas (Development Surcharge) Amendment Bill and the Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC) Amendment Bill.

NA body defers GIDC, gas development surcharge bills

The Petroleum Division had proposed the GIDC bill to expand the scope of GIDC funds’ utilisation for strategic oil and gas reserves from its existing specific mandate of developing Pakistan-Iran, Turkmenistan-Pakistan and cross-country gas pipelines. About Rs295 billion remains unutilised in the public kitty, while more than Rs400bn collected by fertiliser companies from consumers remains outside the national exchequer because of legal issues.

Outside the meeting, Mr Qamar told reporters that the PPP was not a coalition partner but had been supporting the government and that the relationship could not be carried forward unilaterally forever. He said his party had conveyed certain reservations to the government which, if it required PPP’s support, it had to resolve. These complaints related to AJK elections, appointment of judges and other matters.

He said the government had promised to look into those issues but had not shown any progress. Ther­efore, the PPP had decided that it would not support the government until tangible progress was seen.

He said the government had tried to bulldoze a bill through the interior panel a day earlier. He said the Islamabad Local Government Bill was unacceptable even otherwise and the PPP had filed a dissenting note. “The government needs to resolve these issues and take steps,” he said, adding that the law minister was abroad and it was unclear where he was active these days.

Committee Chairman Mustafa Mehmood said cheap gas should not be provided to fertiliser companies if the benefit did not reach the farmer. The committee then decided to defer both bills.

Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2026

ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Friday notified about Rs46bn additional burden to electricity consumers by allowing Rs2.06 per unit higher fuel costs in July and about 52 paise per unit additional quarterly adjustment for other charges for next three months.

Consumers will bear the additional burden of about Rs3 per unit higher tariffs in September and then 52 paisa per unit for subsequent two months of October and November.

The impact of Fuel Cost Adjustment (FCA) alone in July works out at about Rs33bn and has mainly emanated from expensive LNG purchases from the spot market. Another Rs12.7bn Quarterly Tariff Adjustments (QTA) would be charged to consumers in three months.

In a late night notification, the Nepra said it “has decided that positive FCA for July 2026 i.e. Rs2.0581/kWh…shall be applicable to all the consumer categories of KE [K-Electric] and XWDISCOs except lifeline consumers, Electric Vehicle Charging Stations (EVCS) and prepaid electricity consumers, of all categories who opted for pre-paid tariff”.

The regulator, which has off late started issuing its decisions and notifications late in the night said the higher FCA would also be applicable to incremental consumption package consumers. Discos and KE are required to reflect the fuel charges adjustment in respect of July 2026 in the billing month of September 2026.

Concurrently, Nepra allowed a 52-paisa per unit higher quarterly tariff adjustment to be recovered over a period of three months.

“The positive quarterly adjustment of Rs0.5194/kWh shall also be billed to all the consumers (of Discos as well as KE) except lifeline, incremental consumption package billed units and prepaid consumers, to be passed in a period of 03 months i.e. September, October and November 2026”, the Nepra order said. This will be applicable at the uniform rate to all.

The decision to approve 52 paise will result in an overall positive adjustment of Rs12.67bn on account of variation in capacity charges, variable O&M, use of system charges, market operator fee, FCA impact on T&D losses and recovery of PPP on incremental units for year’s 2nd quarter.

The FCA is reviewed every month as per the tariff regime applicable across the country and is usually applicable to the consumer’s bills for one month only.

Under the tariff mechanism, changes in fuel cost are passed on to consumers only on monthly basis through automatic mechanism while quarterly tariff adjustments on account of variation in power purchase price, capacity cha­rges, variable operation and maintenance costs, use of system charges and including impact of transmission and distribution losses are built in the base tariff by the federal government.

Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2026

ISLAMABAD: The PPP, a key ally of the PML-N-led ruling coalition, has questioned Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s silence over the debate on creating new provinces and sought his stance on the matter.

The PPP had earlier maintained that any move to create additional federating units must follow the procedure laid down in the Constitution. However, the PPP-led Sindh government on Wednesday got a resolution passed by the provincial assembly opposing any further division of the country’s existing four provinces.

Meanwhile, PML-N leader and Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah on Friday reiterated that no preparations were currently under way for the creation of new provinces.

During parliamentary proceedings last month, PPP lawmaker Agha Rafi­ullah had called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to come to the National Assembly and give a policy statement on the issue of new provinces.

Talking to Dawn on Friday, PPP Parliamentarians Secretary General Nayyar Hussain Bokhari sought the prime minister’s position on the issue.

A debate over the creation of new federating units has continued for the past couple of months in different circles, although there has been no official confirmation about the origin or contours of any proposal. However, some ruling-party leaders and federal cabinet members have publicly expressed support for the idea at different forums, including parliament.

Media reports have suggested proposals ranging from eight to as many as 30 provinces, though no official plan has been announced.

“We want to know what the stance of the prime minister on new provinces is, as no statement is coming from him, whereas a number of federal cabinet members are apparently supporting the plan,” Mr Bokhari said.

“It is a very serious issue which has jolted the existing federating units, but the PM is silent on such an important issue,” he added.

Mr Bokhari said that if the government was serious about increasing the number of provinces, it should first bring the matter before the federal cabinet, after which the prime minister should take all stakeholders and political parties on board.

He recalled that consultations between the government and political parties had continued for months during the framing of the 1973 Cons­titution, while deliberations preceding the 18th Constitutional Amendment had lasted for more than a year.

Mr Bokhari, who also raised the issue during a talk show on DawnNewsTV on Friday, said the consent of the provinces was essential for carving out new federating units. He said any such move would also require the necessary constitutional amendment to be passed by both the National Assembly and Senate with a two-thirds majority.

The PML-N-led government enjoys a two-thirds majority in the National Asse­mbly with the PPP’s support. Therefore, if the PPP pulled back its support, it would become impossible for the government to implement the idea.

Responding to a question about the local government system in the country, Mr Bokhari said any move in that regard must also follow the Constitution, particularly Article 140-A, which provides for the establishment of local governments by the provinces.

Meanwhile, Mr Sanaullah told a private television channel that no bill or resolution regarding the creation of new provinces had been presented in parliament.

He said consultation and consensus among political parties would be essential before any such bill or resolution could be brought before parliament.

Responding to a question, he said there was currently no discussion under way regarding the division of the existing provinces.

Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2026