• The federal government has announced a public holiday on November 9, 2026, nationwide in connection with Iqbal Day.

The Cabinet Division has issued a notification announcing Monday, November 9, as a public holiday across the country to mark the birth anniversary of Allama Muhammad Iqbal.

The holiday has been declared through the annual holiday circular released by the Cabinet Division on January 19, 2026.

The ministries and government departments have been asked to guarantee execution of the notification.

Schools and public and commercial offices throughout the country will be closed on November 9.

Employees of offices and educational institutions observing a two-day weekend will have three straight days off from November 7 to 9. Normal activities will resume on Tuesday, November 10.

Pakistan has expressed its concerns over the presence of terrorist outfits in Afghanistan, warning that the Taliban leadership is allowing them to operate from its soil.

“More than 4,700 Pakistanis have lost their lives to terrorist attacks emanating from Afghanistan during the last three years,” Pakistan’s envoy Muhammad Jawad Ajmal said during the UN Human Rights Council’s interactive conversation on Afghanistan on Thursday.

Separately, UN Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett told the General Assembly that five years after coming to power, the Taliban had demonstrated no intention to ending systematic human rights atrocities. Instead, he added, limits on fundamental freedoms — especially for women and girls — have continued to tighten.

Ajmal said the degrading human rights situation was a sign of the Taliban’s “utter disregard” for their international duties. He pointed to the limits imposed on women and girls who, according to him, were denied of fundamental freedoms and dignity in a manner which was contrary to Islamic beliefs and values.

He also mentioned the ninth Ministerial Conference on Women, which was held in Islamabad in July and during which the Organization of Islamic Cooperation adopted the Islamabad Declaration. The declaration voiced worry over the Taliban’s limitations on women and girls, saying they are incongruous with Islamic beliefs.

Bennett urged UN member states not to normalise relations with the Taliban until the leadership rolls back its restrictive policies.

He said the Taliban’s new directives have further eroded women’s rights, enabled violence against them and severely curtailed their ability to exit abusive relationships. He also expressed alarm over the regime’s tolerance of child marriages.

Pakistan’s engagement also brought to the fore security issues relating to Afghanistan. Ajmal accused the Taliban of having strong links with terrorist outfits and said these groups were operating freely on Afghan soil with the patronage of external actors who wanted to target Pakistan and other surrounding nations.

He added the Taliban’s refusal to openly renounce the groups was evidence that they were involved and supported their activities.

Meanwhile, Bennett’s study chronicled major human rights abuses in Afghanistan, including arbitrary arrests and detention, torture, sexual violence, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.

The report also expressed concern at restrictions on freedom of expression, exclusion of persons with disabilities, and discrimination and persecution of ethnic, religious, linguistic and other marginalised communities.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif met with recently appointed French Ambassador to Pakistan Jean-Noel Poirier and discussed methods and means to strengthen commercial, economic, industrial and investment ties between Pakistan and France.

During the discussion both sides decided to seek new potential for the expansion of trade, investment and industrial partnership between Punjab and France.

Maryam Nawaz warmly received the French ambassador and congratulated him on assuming the charge of his diplomatic duties and thanked him for visiting Lahore.

She appreciated the invitation from the French envoy to visit France to promote bilateral trade cooperation.

Chief minister encouraged French investors to investigate the investment prospects in agriculture, industrial and livestock sectors of the Punjab under the PIVOT program. She noted that closer working relationships at the provincial level could open up new avenues for industry collaboration and development partnerships.

Detailed discussions were also held on the Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) and on the possibility of growing Pakistani exports to European markets.

“GSP+ is a lifeline for exports of Pakistan and industrial economy of Punjab,” said Maryam Nawaz, claiming the European Union was Pakistan’s biggest trade partner. “The preferential access to European markets is important for the growth of the country’s exports,” she said.

Preferential access was particularly vital for the textile, garments, sports goods and leather sectors of Punjab, she said.Alignment with the requirements of the new GSP+ framework was critical for Pakistan’s export potential, she added.

The chief minister said that to protect Pakistan’s GSP+ status, ongoing diplomatic engagement and effective discussion with France were needed. France had earlier backed Pakistan’s position at the cabinet level, and its collaboration was crucial for defending the country’s trade interests in the European Union, she said.

Maryam Nawaz added that Pakistan’s exports to the European Union amounted to over $8.96 billion during the fiscal year 2025-26 and expressed her desire to further enhance trade and industrial cooperation with France.

She also praised France for extending a loan of 180 million euros for NTDC transmission lines and grid stations in Punjab and asked French investors to participate in the Urban Wastewater Governance Project planned for major cities of the province.

The two sides reiterated their commitment to further enhance the long standing friendly relations between Pakistan and France and placing the bilateral cooperation on a firmer and long term institutional foundation.

Both the countries have decades of friendship and stronger economic collaboration might give a new direction to their bilateral relations, the chief minister added.

She also lauded France’s Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, signed in 1789, for its timeless principles of freedom, equality and human dignity. She hailed France’s recognition of Palestine and its principled attitude on justice and equal rights.

“French dairy, food processing and cold chain companies can help adding value to Punjab’s agriculture sector, Maryam Nawaz said.

She said French utility companies may cooperate with the province government under the public-private partnership (PPP) model to improve urban water, wastewater and solid waste management services.

French energy businesses might also join in solar power, grid development and energy-efficiency projects in industrial estates, while French universities could help train Punjab’s workers for industrial clusters under PIVOT initiative.