Baqir Sajjad Syed is the Foreign Affairs and National Security Correspondent for Dawn. His career of over 25 years spans print and broadcast journalism. He is a former UN Reham al-Farah Fellow and held a Pakistan Fellowship at the Woodrow Wilson Centre in Washington, DC. He tweets @baqirsajjad
FO terms situation around the Red Sea chokepoint "exceptionally serious"; says Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement with Riyadh is operational, some forces already deployed.
The mechanism provides a framework for addressing border issues, including inspections, joint surveys, boundary markers, cross-border facilities and incidents.
"Progress in Pak-Afghan relations hinges on verifiable, written assurances from the Afghan side that their territory will not be used for terrorism against Pakistan," FO spokesperson says.
Diplomatic sources point to "softer than expected" sanctions, say Islamabad taking the lead in conveying messages from Tehran to Washington, and vice versa.