Iran-US Ceasefire Jeopardised By Israel's Brutal Bombing of Lebanon; Mass Voter Deletions in Bengal Threaten the Foundations of Democracy; Sabarimala Hearings Start
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April 8, 2026
Siddharth Varadarajan
Less than 24 hours after the United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire – during which Iran’s 10-point peace plan is to serve as a ‘workable’ basis for negotiations towards a lasting agreement – Israel’s frenzied, brutal bombing of Lebanon has placed the entire process in jeopardy. The ceasefire announced by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif this morning with the concurrence of US President Donald Trump and the Iranian authorities is meant to cover hostilities in Lebanon too but Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu immediately announced he was not bound by it. Al Jazeera reports that the Israeli military has killed over 250 people in Lebanon today alone.
Both Iranian foreign minister Syed Arraghchi and the speaker of Iran’s parliament, MB Ghalbaf, have accused the US of reneging on the ceasefire deal and warned that Iran too will not be bound by it.
Israel’s continuing attacks on Lebanon and Trump’s refusal to abide by his earlier commitment have led to Iran declaring it will no longer allow ‘enemy’ ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Though the US today announced that Vice President JD Vance, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will fly to Islamabad on Saturday for negotiations with Iran, the Israeli bombardment of Lebanon may well make theirs a wasted trip.
India today welcomed the ceasefire announcement but avoided making any mention of Pakistan’s role as a mediator. Retired Indian diplomats have been more generous. Former Indian ambassador to Washington Navtej Sarna has described the ceasefire as a defeat for the US and noted the very obvious feather that now adorns Islamabad’s cap. “Pakistan’s role has unfolded not as architect, but as conduit and catalyst,” says former foreign secretary Nirupama Rao. “It has provided the channel through which messages travelled, deadlines were softened, and a narrow diplomatic opening created. That is not mediation in the classic sense, but it cannot be dismissed with stray witticisms either,” she added, in a reference to External Affairs minister S Jaishankar’s churlish reference last month to Pakistan as a ‘dalaal nation’.
In other news, a nine-judge Supreme Court constitution bench has begun hearing the question of the exclusion of women devotees from Sabarimala afresh. Justice BV Nagarathana, the only woman judge on the bench,
