
Why Pakistan is on the boil again | 10 points
India Today
The clashes between Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan workers and the police in Pakistan have their roots in caricatures published in France last year.
Pakistan is witnessing violent clashes again between Islamists and the government. In the latest development, members of banned Islamist party Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) clashed with the police and several people are feared dead in Lahore. The clashes erupted in Lahore on Sunday when the TLP workers took a number of police personnel hostage. Pakistan minister Sheikh Rashid later issued a video statement, saying the hostages had been freed. The government used force against the TLP workers, irking other Islamist groups, who responded with a call for intensifying the agitation.
Oil and gas refineries and hubs are up in flames not just in the Middle East, but also in Russia and the US. Crude oil prices have surged over $100 a barrel. With the energy infrastructure in the Middle East likely to take years to be rebuilt, the world could be set for the biggest oil disruption in history.

Speaking at the White House, Trump said the United States was in contact with "the right people" in Iran and suggested that Tehran was eager to reach an agreement to halt hostilities. "We're in negotiations right now," he told reporters, without offering further details on the scope or format of the talks.











