Trump suspends attacks as Iran agrees to two-week ceasefire
Washington/Tehran: A temporary pause in the ongoing conflict appears to be underway after the United States and Iran signalled a two-week ceasefire.
According to updates reported by Al Jazeera, Iran has agreed to a two-week ceasefire after US President Donald Trump said he would suspend attacks, subject to conditions including the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
The development came after Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appealed to Trump to extend the deadline for a deal and urged Iran to fully reopen the key waterway.
In a related statement, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran would halt its defensive operations if attacks against the country are stopped.
Sharing a message on behalf of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Araghchi said, “if attacks against Iran are halted, our Powerful Armed Forces will cease their defensive operations.”
He also said that for a period of two weeks, safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz would be ensured through coordination with Iran’s armed forces, while noting there could be technical limitations.
The ceasefire announcement marks a significant pause in the conflict, though its continuation depends on both sides adhering to the conditions set out.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
