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Pakistan’s Trump outreach sparks India ire as US ties take unexpected turn: Financial Times

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Pakistan’s Trump outreach sparks India ire as US ties take unexpected turn: Financial Times



Pakistan’s recent charm offensive towards United States President Donald Trump has unsettled New Delhi, the Financial Times (FT) reported, detailing how Islamabad’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir’s warm reception in Washington contrasts sharply with India’s cooling ties with the White House.

According to the report, Munir travelled to Florida last weekend for the retirement ceremony of US Central Command chief General Michael Kurilla, marking his second cordial encounter with top American military officials this summer.

In June, Munir held a two-hour private lunch with Trump in Washington, just weeks after Pakistan and India engaged in their deadliest military confrontation in decades.

Such treatment is unusual for a foreign military leader, the newspaper noted, especially given Trump’s earlier criticism of Pakistan as offering “nothing but lies and deceit” to Washington. Yet the relationship appears to be enjoying what analysts described as an “unexpected resurgence” under the Republican president.

The FT said India was left “seething” by Munir’s White House welcome, as Trump’s administration offered Islamabad comparatively lighter trade tariffs — 19% compared to a punitive 50% on New Delhi — and promised a deal to develop Pakistan’s “massive oil reserves”.

The shift in tone is credited to a targeted Pakistani strategy involving counterterrorism cooperation, business outreach to Trump associates, and deals in energy, critical minerals and cryptocurrency.

Pakistani officials believe urgency was required to repair ties with the US president and his allies, some of whom had previously backed sanctions against Munir over the jailing of former prime minister Imran Khan.

An early breakthrough came in March when Pakistan’s intelligence services handed over an Islamic State Khorasan operative accused of orchestrating a 2021 Kabul bombing that killed 180 people, including 13 US soldiers.

Trump publicly praised the move in his State of the Union address, using the occasion to also criticise India over tariffs.

The report also highlighted Pakistan’s embrace of “crypto diplomacy”, including an agreement between a Trump-backed cryptocurrency venture and Pakistan’s crypto council in April. Since then, Minister for Crypto and Blockchain Bilal bin Saqib has engaged in trade talks with Washington while promoting Pakistan’s digital asset potential to figures close to the US president.

Munir’s conduct during the May conflict with India also bolstered Islamabad’s credibility with Trump, according to Pakistani officials. They said the army chief balanced “strength and restraint” by downing several Indian jets without escalating further, with the US and Gulf states mediating a ceasefire.

“Trump needs success stories to proclaim and Pakistan is happy to give them to him,” said Husain Haqqani, a former Pakistan ambassador to the US now at the Hudson Institute, a think-tank in Washington.

By contrast, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi publicly rejected any suggestion of US mediation, asserting that the agreement with Pakistan came through existing bilateral military channels.

The FT noted that Pakistan is presenting itself to Washington as a back channel to rivals Iran and China, reminiscent of its role in US diplomacy in the 1970s that facilitated Richard Nixon’s opening of US relations with China.

While Islamabad has criticised some American military actions, like strikes against Iran, it has also cast itself as a mediator between the US and its foes.

In late July, Munir flew to Beijing, where he toured the headquarters of the People’s Liberation Army and reassured China’s foreign minister Wang Yi over the safety of Chinese nationals in Pakistan.

“Pakistan is a rare country that is friends with China, Iran, the Gulf states, to a lesser extent, Russia, and now, again, the US,” said Marvin Weinbaum, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington. “The US sees Munir as someone who can play a useful strategic role, and the Pakistanis keep their lines open to everyone but know to pull back when one relationship is clashing with another.”

For India, the burgeoning Trump–Pakistan relationship has proved an irritant, particularly given its failure to avert steep tariffs despite its larger economy. Indian officials expressed frustration at what they see as Washington rewarding a military-ruled neighbour for striking quick business deals.

Analysts cautioned, however, that Trump’s goodwill could prove volatile. According to the FT, Pakistan’s natural resource wealth remains largely unproven, its economy depends on a $7 billion IMF bailout, and recognition of Israel — a possible US expectation — would be politically difficult in Islamabad.

Haqqani told the newspaper that Trump is “playing the Pakistan card” to gain leverage over India. Former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi warned that while the outreach has yielded short-term gains, Islamabad must protect “both its interests and its dignity” in the unpredictable relationship.



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Serial rail fare evader faces jail over 112 unpaid tickets

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Serial rail fare evader faces jail over 112 unpaid tickets


One of Britain’s most prolific rail fare dodgers could face jail after admitting dozens of travel offences.

Charles Brohiri, 29, pleaded guilty to travelling without buying a ticket a total of 112 times over a two-year period, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard.

He could be ordered to pay more than £18,000 in unpaid fares and legal costs, the court was told.

He will be sentenced next month.

District Judge Nina Tempia warned Brohiri “could face a custodial sentence because of the number of offences he has committed”.

He pleaded guilty to 76 offences on Thursday.

It came after he was convicted in his absence of 36 charges at a previous hearing.

During Thursday’s hearing, Judge Tempia dismissed a bid by Brohiri’s lawyers to have the 36 convictions overturned.

They had argued the prosecutions were unlawful because they had not been brought by a qualified legal professional.

But Judge Tempia rejected the argument, saying there had been “no abuse of this court’s process”.



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JSW Likely To Launch Jetour T2 SUV In India This Year: Reports

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JSW Likely To Launch Jetour T2 SUV In India This Year: Reports


JSW Jetour T2 Launch: JSW Motors Limited, the passenger vehicle arm of the JSW Group, is reportedly preparing to enter the Indian car market this year. It has partnered with Jetour, a China-based automotive brand owned by Chery Automobile, and the Jetour T2 SUV could be the company’s first product, according to the reports.

Media reports suggest that the launch will happen independently and not under the JSW MG Motor India joint venture. The SUV will wear a JSW badge and name, instead of the Jetour branding. The upcoming SUV will be assembled at JSW’s upcoming greenfield manufacturing facility in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Maharashtra. 

According to the reports, the company plans to have the vehicle on sale by the third quarter of this year. With this move, JSW aims to establish itself as a standalone carmaker in India.

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Expected Powertrain

The SUV is likely to arrive with a 1.5-litre plug-in hybrid setup. Internationally, this hybrid powertrain is offered with both front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive options. It is still unclear which version will be introduced in India.

Design

In terms of design, the T2 is a large and rugged-looking SUV. It has a boxy and upright stance, similar to vehicles like the Land Rover Defender. Despite its tough appearance, it uses a monocoque chassis instead of a ladder-frame construction. 

Size

The SUV measures around 4.7 metres in length and nearly 2 metres in width. This makes it larger than the Tata Safari, even though it is a five-seater. A longer 7-seat version is also sold in some markets.

Price

Pricing details for India are yet to be announced. For reference, the front-wheel-drive five-seat T2 i-DM is priced at AED 1,44,000 (around Rs 35 lakh) in the UAE.

Jetour

Jetour is a brand owned by Chinese automaker Chery. Launched in 2018, it focuses mainly on SUVs and is present in markets across China, the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America.



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John Swinney under fire over ‘smallest tax cut in history’ after Scottish Budget

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John Swinney under fire over ‘smallest tax cut in history’ after Scottish Budget



John Swinney has been pressed over whether this week’s Scottish Budget gives some workers the “smallest tax cut in history” – with Tory leader Russell Findlay branding the reduction “miserly” and “insulting”.

The Scottish Conservative leader challenged the First Minister after Tuesday’s Holyrood Budget effectively cut taxes for lower earners, by increasing the threshold for the basic and intermediate bands of income tax.

But Mr Findlay said that would leave workers at most £31.75 a year better off – saying this amounts to a saving of just £61p a week

“That wouldn’t even buy you a bag of peanuts,” the Scottish Tory leader said.

“John Swinney’s Budget might even have broken a world record, because a Scottish Government tax adviser says it ‘maybe the smallest tax cut in history’.”

Raising the “miserly cut” at First Minister’s Questions in the Scottish Parliament, Mr Findlay demanded to know if the SNP leader believed his “insulting tax cut will actually help Scotland’s struggling households”.

The attack came as the Tory accused the SNP government of increasing taxes on higher earners, with its freeze on higher income tax thresholds, which will pull more Scots into these brackets.

This is needed to pay for the “SNP’s out of control, unaffordable benefits bill”, the Conservative added.

Mr Findlay said: “The Scottish Conservatives will not back and cannot back a Budget that does nothing to help Scotland’s workers and businesses.

“It hammers people with higher taxes to fund a bloated benefits system.”

Hitting out at Labour – whose leader Anas Sarwar has already declared they will not block the government’s Budget – Mr Findlay said: “It is absolutely mind-blowing that Labour and other so-called opposition parties will let this SNP boorach of a budget pass.

“Don’t the people of Scotland deserve lower taxes, fairer benefits and a government focused on economic growth?”

Mr Swinney said the Budget “delivers on the priorities of the people of Scotland” by “strengthening our National Health Service and supporting people and businesses with the challenges of the cost of living”.

He insisted income tax decisions in the Budget would mean that in 2026-27 “55% of Scottish taxpayers are now expected to pay less income tax than if they lived in England”.

The First Minister went on to say that showed “the people of Scotland have a Government that is on their side”.

Referring to polls putting his party on course to win the Holyrood elections in May, the SNP leader added that “all the current indications show the people of Scotland want to have this Government here for the long term”.

Benefits funding is “keeping children out of poverty”, he told MSPs, adding the Budget contained a “range of measures” that would build on existing support.

The First Minister said: “What that is a demonstration of is a Government that is on the side of the people of Scotland and I am proud of the measures we set out in the Budget on Tuesday.”

Meanwhile he said the Tories wanted to make tax cuts that would cost £1 billion, with “not a scrap of detail about how that would be delivered”.

With the weekly leaders’ question time clash coming less than 48 hours after the draft 2026-27 Budget was unveiled, the First Minister also faced questions from Scottish Labour’s Anas Sarwar, who insisted that the proposals “lacks ambition for Scotland”.

Pressing his SNP rival, the Scottish Labour leader said: “While he brags about his £6 a year tax cut for the lowest paid, one million Scots including nurses, teachers and police officers face being forced to pay more.

“Even his own tax adviser says this is a political stunt. So why does John Swinney believe that someone earning £33,500 has the broadest shoulders and therefore should pay more tax in Scotland?”

Mr Swinney, however, said that many public sector workers would be better off in Scotland.

He told the Scottish Labour leader: “A band six nurse at the bottom of the scale will take home an additional £1,994 after tax compared to the same band in England.

“A qualified teacher at the bottom of the band will take home £6,365 more after tax in Scotland than the equivalent in England. There are the facts for Mr Sarwar.”



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