Behind the scenes of spymaster Asim Munir's appointment as Pakistani army boss

• FRANCE/SYRIA - French company Smart Pegasus remains under sanctions for participating in Syrian chemical weapons program.
  

• UNITED KINGDOM - Opposition MP's push parliamentary Economic Crime Committee project.

• SWEDEN/LATVIA - Swedish anti-fake news agency shines at NATO's StratCom. 

• PAKISTAN/AFGHANISTAN - ISI investigates attempted assassination of Pakistani ambassador in Kabul. 

• NORTH MACEDONIA - Skopje intelligence chief learns the rope at NATO. 

• CHINA - People's Liberation Army tests modern urban warfare techniques to hone Taiwan strategy. 

Saudi spymaster Khaled bin Ali Al Humaidan mediates between Islamabad and Kabul 

Keen to resolve tensions with its Taliban neighbours, Pakistan has called on Saudi Arabia's help to mediate but those efforts have been unsuccessful for the moment.

Army chief Qamer Javed Bajwa wants more time to improve relations with Saudi Arabia 

A key figure in the Pakistani state hierarchy, chief of the army staff Qamer Javad Bajwa wants his tenure extended so that he can continue to work on improving Pakistan's relations with Saudi Arabia and deal with pressing security issues, like the growing influence of the Pakistani Taliban movement.

Tension rises between CIA and ISI, which is under pressure internally and externally 

Broadsided by the wave of demonstrations across the country, Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is going back to its regional policy roots, much to Washington's dismay.