Pakistan’s Army chief Asim Munir will visit Tehran on ​Monday (August 24, 2026) to continue efforts to bring peace and ‌security to the region, Iran’s Foreign Ministry ​spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Sunday (August 23, 2026), ⁠according to a statement by the ministry.

Pakistan has taken on a mediator role in negotiations between Iran and the ‌U.S. aimed at ending the war which began with U.S. and Israeli strikes ‌on Iran in February.

Two Pakistani government ‌sources ⁠confirmed Mr. Munir’s visit to Reuters. The first ⁠source said that Iran and Pakistan were in direct contact.

A second source said the talks would also address ​recent developments in the conflict, ‌including U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat of tougher sanctions on Iran.

“He (Munir) will discuss peace under Islamabad’s MoU, Trump’s warning and the situation ‌after the Pakistan-Turkey-Saudi Arab Agreement and Houthi issues ​with Iranian leaders,” the source said.

The visit comes amid heightened tensions as ⁠Iran threatens a military response to U.S. plans for sanctions that could further put a strain on ‌the Islamic Republic’s ailing economy.

It will coincide with a Monday announcement on details related to the planned sanctions which U.S. officials have said would be “the toughest sanctions in history” on Iran.

Mr. Trump had warned of economic consequences against ‌any country that provided “any type of lifeline to Iran” ​as he seeks to isolate the Islamic Republic.

Oil shipments are at a virtual ⁠standstill in the Strait of Hormuz, with Tehran threatening ⁠to strike any unauthorised oil tankers that try to transit the vital waterway, and ‌Iran’s economy is already under immense pressure from sanctions.

Lawyers in Pakistan’s Lahore city on Sunday (November 16, 2025) announced a strike against the controversial 27th Constitutional Amendment that curtailed the powers of the Supreme Court, and also urged the judges to resign to lodge their protest. 

President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday (November 13, 2025) signed into law the 27th Constitutional Amendment, which provides for the creation of a new position of the Chief of Defence Forces and a constitutional court.

Three senior judges — two of the Supreme Court Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, and Justice Athar Minallah and one of Lahore High Court Justice Shams Mehmood Mirza — have resigned so far against the contentious amendment. The judges termed it as an “assault on the Constitution and judiciary”. 

The Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA), on Sunday (November 16, 2025), paid tribute to the resigning judges for their “principled stance” and announced a strike of court proceedings in Lahore on Monday (November 17, 2025), saying they will completely boycott court proceedings to lodge a protest against the assault on the judiciary and democracy. 

The amended legislation mandates the establishment of the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) to deal with matters related to the Constitution, while the existing Supreme Court would deal only with traditional civil and criminal cases.

One of the Supreme Court’s key powers, taking suo motu notices, has also been transferred to the FCC, which has been empowered to take suo motu notice upon petitions.

The resigning judges are of the view that the FCC has dethroned the Supreme Court as the country’s highest judicial forum. The LHCBA urged other judges who had taken an oath under the Constitution to also resign. “The legal community will respect them for such a move,” the LHCBA said.

On Saturday (November 15, 2025), a petition was also filed in the LHC challenging the 27th Amendment, pleading with the court to set it aside by declaring it unconstitutional.

Petitioners — lawyers Munir Ahmad and Mian Shabbir Ismail — argued that the amendment conflicts with the basic structure and spirit of the 1973 Constitution.

“There is a fear that the status of the Supreme Court will be weakened and judicial independence compromised following the amendment,” the petition says, adding that the amendment has distorted the country’s 60-year judicial history and tradition, as the FCC was never part of the original constitutional scheme. “The current Parliament is not a true constituent assembly and therefore lacks the authority to introduce such major constitutional changes,” it argues.

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) has termed the passage of the 27th Amendment as a “flagrant attack” on judicial independence.

The Amendment will also allow Army Chief Asim Munir to stay in office till 2030 as Chief of Defence Forces (CDF).