This Week in Explainers: How suicide bomber killed 12 in Islamabad

Pakistan has delivered a blow to its democracy. The Shehbaz Sharif-led government has given sweeping powers to Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir. This comes months after he was promoted to Field Marshal in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor, India’s military action against terror bases in Pakistan.

A day after India’s capital, Pakistan was also rocked by a major blast. An explosion took place outside the judicial complex housing the Islamabad district and sessions courts, killing 12 people and injuring more than 20 others.

In the United States, the longest government shutdown has finally come to an end. After 43 days of chaos and public anger, the historic shutdown was over after a spending bill passed the US House of Representatives.

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Here’s all this and more in our weekly roundup from around the world.

1. Pakistan’s National Assembly has passed the 27th Constit­utional Amendment, which has elevated Asim Munir to the country’s Chief of Defence Forces. This post gives him control of the army, navy and air force.

It has also granted Munir the rank of Field Marshal for life. The “de facto ruler” of Pakistan will now have legal immunity. Critics have opposed the move, with some saying it creates “a parallel authority”. We explain the changes 27th Amendment will bring in Pakistan.

2. This week, Islamabad was rocked by its worst suicide attack since 2008. A blast was reported right outside Islamabad’s District Judicial Complex. The police said a lone bomber blew himself up at the main entrance to the complex after failing to enter the premises.

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A breakaway faction of the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA), claimed responsibility for the attack. Pakistan, without any proof, pointed fingers at India. New Delhi has strongly rejected the claims, calling the remarks “baseless and unfounded”. Read the story in detail here.

3. Bangladesh witnessed several incidents of violence this week. Arson attacks and crude bomb explosions were reported in Dhaka and other parts of the country ahead of a special tribunal’s announcement on Thursday of the verdict date in a case against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Leaders of Hasina’s party, the Awami League, also organised ‘Dhaka Lockdown’ on the day the International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT-1) set the verdict date in the “crimes against humanity” case against the former PM. Following student-led protests, Hasina was ousted from power in August last year and fled to India, where she has remained since. We take a look at the fresh onset of violence in Bangladesh.

4. The longest government shutdown in American history ended with President Donald Trump signing the spending bill passed by the US House of Representatives. The legislation provides funding to keep the US government open until January 30.

Despite this, no one is celebrating. Republicans are facing political backlash, while Democrats have failed to secure healthcare subsidies. Americans will also have to wait for the government services to resume fully. But why? Read here.

5. It is Donald Trump vs BBC. The US president has threatened Britain’s public broadcaster, the BBC, with a $1 billion lawsuit. Trump is miffed with the media company over its documentary that misleadingly edited the American leader’s January 6, 2021 speech which made it seem that he explicitly encouraged his supporters to attack the US Capitol.

The fallout of the controversy was that BBC’s Director General Tim Davie and Chief Executive of News Deborah Turness have resigned. It is not certain whether the US president’s lawsuit against the British broadcaster would hold up in court, though. We explain.

6. Trump’s relationship to the late Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender, is in the spotlight again. This comes after Democrats in the House of Representatives released new emails linking the duo.

The White House has dismissed the emails, calling them a “selective leak” and an attempt to “smear” the US president. Trump, who was once friends with Epstein, has long faced questions about his ties to the sex offender. We take a look at their complex relationship here.

7. In a world struggling to prioritise work-life balance, Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has courted controversy with her focus on just work. Takaichi’s stringent work schedule drew attention when she arrived at her office at 3 am to prepare for her first parliamentary budget session.

In a country notorious for its overwork culture, its PM’s “work, work, work, and work like workhorses” mantra has not sat well. She is now facing backlash. Find out more here.

8. It sounds like a dystopian show, but it has happened in real life. A woman in Japan has said ‘I do’ to an AI chatbot she built using ChatGPT.

The 32-year-old woman, identified as Kano, held a wedding ceremony earlier this summer with her AI partner, Lune Klaus. While it is not legally recognised, the woman calls it an “emotional union” between herself and the digital character. But how did their “love story” begin? How did they “meet”? Read here.

This is all we have for you this week. If you like how we analyse news, you can bookmark this page.