Dawn
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Dawn - 04:26 Dec 27, 2025
LAHORE: The Punjab government has announced helmet exemption for Sikh community in respect of turban, an important practice of their religion. The Sikhs were finding it hard to follow the traffic regulation of wearing helmets and a Sikh man had approached Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz with a request for exemption. The CM made the announcement the other day while addressing the minority community. A clip of her speech was shared on the PML-N’s X account. “The Sikh community’s turban is their identity and their religious belief. With this respect in mind, the traffic department has, for the first time, been instructed to grant Sikh citizens an exemption from wearing helmets,” said the CM in her speech to the minority communities. She said Punjab had made minorities a crown of its head. Published in Dawn, December 27th, 2025 -
Dawn - 02:50 Dec 27, 2025
• US judge grants order barring any action without hearing • Ahmed sues Rubio, Bondi A FEDERAL judge on Thursday temporarily barred the US government from detaining or deporting a British social media campaigner Imran Ahmed, blocking the Trump administration’s attempt to revoke the residency of a critic accused of pressuring social media platforms to censor Americans. According to BBC, US District Judge Vernon S Broderick granted a temporary restraining order sought by Center for Countering Digital Hate’s Founder Mr Ahmed. The ruling prohibits federal officials from detaining Ahmed, a US permanent resident, without a hearing while his legal challenge proceeds. A complaint was filed by Mr Ahmed on Wednesday against Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Attorney General Pamela Bondi regarding the decision to sanction him. The lawsuit challenges a State Department move to block the visas of Ahmed and four others over accusations that they sought to “coerce” technology companies into restricting free speech. “I will... -
Dawn - 02:33 Dec 27, 2025
ISLAMABAD: Former Islamabad High Court (IHC) judge Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri is set to challenge his removal from office before the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) next week, sources close to the development told Dawn on Friday. His legal team has finalised a constitutional petition to contest the IHC’s December 18 verdict that declared his appointment unlawful on the basis of an allegedly invalid LL.B. degree, the sources said. A division bench comprising IHC Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Azam Khan had issued a short order directing the law ministry to de-notify Justice Jahangiri. President Asif Ali Zardari subsequently approved the de-notification on the advice of the prime minister, and Justice Jahangiri’s name was removed from the IHC website. Sources indicate the upcoming petition will argue that the IHC verdict was premature and violated principles of judicial propriety. A key contention will be that the Sindh High Court (SHC) had already suspended the Karachi Unive... -
Dawn - 02:25 Dec 27, 2025
• Sohail Afridi’s entourage arrived in city around 4:30pm; PTI workers complain of harassment, arrests en route • Engagements at Punjab Assembly marred by altercations, confrontations with journalists • Govt provides ‘foolproof security’; Azma ‘welcomes’ chief minister to Punjab LAHORE: Although Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi managed to reach Liberty Roundabout on Friday night, he was unable to deliver a planned speech at the venue as a heavy contingent of police had blocked all roads leading to area by setting up pickets. Videos posted by PTI on social media showed a large number of party supporters, including Imran Khan’s sisters, Aleema Khan and Noreen Khan Niazi, present near Liberty Chowk. The chief minister, who was due to launch the PTI’s street movement from Lahore, had earlier spent the day greeting and addressing PTI supporters, who met him at different points en route to Lahore. His convoy eventually entered Lahore around 4:30pm, from where he made a bee-line for the Punjab Assemb... -
Dawn - 22:36 Dec 26, 2025
The Foreign Office (FO) on Friday summoned the United Kingdom’s acting high commissioner in connection with a protest outside the Pakistani consulate in Bradford, where “provocative” statements were made against Pakistan’s civil and military leadership. FO spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said that the acting UK high commissioner was summoned and issued a démarche. “The demarche was issued after provocative statements were made against Pakistan’s civil and military leadership from British soil,” the FO spokesperson said. The FO urged the UK to “hold responsible elements accountable in accordance with the law”. Earlier, two ministers of state from the PML-N said that the Pakistan government had written a letter to the UK authorities, seeking action over “inciteful” statements, particularly in reference to a video that was circulating on social media. Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry and Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani confirmed that development to Geo News, with the latter particularly... -
Dawn - 19:00 Dec 26, 2025
LAHORE: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, who arrived in Lahore earlier today with PTI leaders and workers, led a rally at Liberty Chowk in the provincial capital. Afridi arrived in Lahore to spearhead PTI‘s plans to launch a street movement and to meet the party’s local leadership. As of 11:43pm, PTI workers and supporters were participating in the rally, with the KP CM joining them in sloganeering. The PTI posted a video showing CM Afridi amid a crowd of supporters raising his fist and chanting slogans. At 10:18pm, the PTI’s Lahore chapter posted a video on X showing CM Afridi leaning out of a car and sloganeering, while supporters showered his vehicle with flowers. KP Minister for Higher Education and Local Government Meena Khan Afridi could also be seen chanting slogans. Another video posted at 10:37 showed the KP CM mingling with crowds of supporters chanting slogans. PTI founder Imran Khan’s sisters, Aleema Khan and Noreen Khan Niazi are also present at Liberty Chowk. PTI Secretary Genera... -
Dawn - 18:50 Dec 26, 2025
Pakistan, UAE hold ‘substantive talks’ during President Al Nahyan’s first official visit to Pakistan
Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Friday held “substantive talks” focused on further strengthening the longstanding fraternal relations between the two countries, said a statement after the conclusion of President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s first official visit to the country. This is the second time the Emirati president is visiting Pakistan this year, having met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Rahim Yar Khan in January. However, Friday’s trip is his first official visit as president, according to the Foreign Office. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif meets the UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan in Islamabad on 26 December 2025. — Mohammed bin Zayed X The two sides also reaffirmed their shared commitment to continue close coordination on matters of mutual interest and exchanged views on important regional and international developments. The statement added that while expressing satisfaction with the positive trajectory of bilateral relations, the “two leaders reiterated their deter... -
Dawn - 18:41 Dec 26, 2025
In an apparent attempt to offer an olive branch to Pakistan, the interim Afghan Taliban regime’s interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani on Friday said that his country was not a threat to any state and that it was ready to address misunderstandings. Speaking at the graduation ceremony at the Kabul Police Academy, Haqqani announced that the doors for negotiations were open. He said that his government continues to adhere to the commitments made under the Doha Agreement, not allowing Afghanistan’s soil to be used against any country, the Afghan Taliban’s official media reported. However, despite earlier promises and the commitments made in the Doha Agreement, cross-border infiltration and attacks by militants continue in Pakistan. Haqqani said that Afghanistan posed no threat to any country or region and that the Taliban leadership continued to strive to find ways for reasonable and durable solutions to end mistrust and misunderstanding of the international community. “The doors for negotiations to resolve curren... -
Dawn - 18:20 Dec 26, 2025
Nigeria on Friday signaled that more strikes against terrorist groups were expected after a Christmas Day bombardment by US forces against militants in the north of the country, which it said was a joint operation with its military. The west African country faces multiple interlinked security crises, with terrorists waging an insurgency in the northeast since 2009 and armed “bandit” gangs raiding villages and staging kidnappings in the northwest. The strikes came after Abuja and Washington were locked in a diplomatic dispute over what US President Donald Trump has characterised as the mass killing of Christians amid Nigeria’s myriad armed conflicts. A Pentagon official told AFP that “the Department of War worked with the government of Nigeria to carry out these strikes” and that they “were approved by the government of Nigeria”, without saying whether Nigeria’s military had been involved. US defence officials later posted a video of what appeared to be a nighttime missile launch from the deck of a battleship ... -
Dawn - 17:06 Dec 26, 2025
An explosion killed at least eight worshippers at a mosque in a predominantly Alawite area of Syria’s Homs on Friday, state media said. The attack during Friday prayers is the latest on the Alawite community, and the second blast in a place of worship since extremist authorities took power a year ago, after a suicide bombing in a Damascus church killed 25 people in June. In a statement on Telegram, terrorist group Saraya Ansar al-Sunna said its fighters “detonated a number of explosive devices” in the Imam Ali Bin Abi Talib Mosque in the central Syrian city. The group formed after the ouster last year of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, himself a member of the Alawite community, and had claimed responsibility for the June church bombing, though authorities blamed the militant Islamic State group. State news agency SANA reported an explosion in the mosque in Homs’s Wadi al-Dahab neighbourhood and gave a preliminary toll of at least eight dead and 18 wounded, citing a health ministry official. An AFP photographe... -
Dawn - 16:52 Dec 26, 2025
Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah on Friday said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would decide on talks with PTI once the opposition party clarifies its stance on negotiations. PM Shehbaz on Tuesday extended an offer for talks with the opposition, but emphasised that dialogue between the two sides could only proceed on “legitimate matters”. The PTI outright rejected talks with the government on the directions of party founder Imran Khan, but Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP), of which the PTI is a part, stated its openness to negotiate with the government. Speaking on Geo News programme ‘Naya Pakistan’, the PM’s aide stated that 85 per cent of the TTAP is made up of PTI members, who have said they will not participate in negotiations at all. “The remaining opposition includes [TTAP chief] Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s JUI-F,” Sanaullah said. “We are hopeful that either the opposition as a whole will come to the table, or at least the 15pc who are open to ... -
Dawn - 16:23 Dec 26, 2025
LAHORE: Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Aalia Neelum on Friday overturned the decisions of deputy commissioner-led committees that granted the possession of properties to people in 10 districts of Punjab, deciding cases of land disputes. Justice Neelum reversed the decisions after hearing petitions against the Punjab Protection of Ownership of Immovable Property Act 2025, which empowers deputy commissioner-led committees to decide property disputes. During the hearing, the chief justice remarked that had the “patwaris” (revenue officials) performed their duties promptly, such issues would not have arisen. Rejecting a notion of prolonged pendency of civil litigation, the chief justice observed, “I am well aware of how many old cases are pending before courts.” She asserted that commissioners and deputy commissioners had no authority to remove or restore possessions of properties on their own, and questioned how many laws the government would throw aside. The chief justice regretted that deputy commission... -
Dawn - 16:16 Dec 26, 2025
Security forces killed five terrorists in an intelligence based operation (IBO) in Balochistan’s Kohlu district, the military’s media affairs wing said on Friday. According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the operation was conducted on December 25 on the “reported presence of terrorists belonging to Indian proxy, Fitna-al-Hindustan”. The state has designated Balochistan-based terrorist groups as Fitna-al-Hindustan to highlight India’s alleged role in terrorism and destabilisation across Pakistan. The ISPR statement added that during the conduct of the operation, “own forces effectively engaged the terrorists’ location, and after an intense fire exchange, five Indian sponsored terrorists were sent to hell”. The military’s media wing elaborated that weapons, ammunition and explosives were also recovered from the terrorists, “who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area”. “Sanitization operations are being conducted to eliminate any other Indian... -
Dawn - 16:04 Dec 26, 2025
PESHAWAR: At least six terrorists were killed and several others injured on Friday in a clash between police forces, Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) commandos and armed locals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lakki Marwat. “The terrorists armed with sniper rifles and quadcopters attacked the police in the rural area bordering Bannu district and located within the limits of Shaheed Asmatullah Khan Khattak police station of Serai Naurang town,“ said a police statement. “The attack triggered a fierce gun battle as the law enforcers returned the fire effectively,” it said. As per the release, the terrorists also targeted the “houses of villagers with quadcopter strikes”, resulting in “civilian casualties”. Although the official press release did not provide any details about police casualties, it stated that “during the armed clash, the law enforcers eliminated six terrorists and several of their accomplices were injured”. “The casualties occurred as a result of explosive payload released by the quadcopters.” Meanwhile... -
Dawn - 14:41 Dec 26, 2025
Buying gifts for men should be easy, right? You walk into a store, grab something in leather or metal — a wallet, a watch, maybe a bottle of perfume that smells “fresh and manly”, and you’re done. Safe, predictable, problem solved. Except, it’s not. Because when it comes to gifting men, there’s this generic paradox. Everyone thinks it’s simple, yet most men end up with things they neither want nor use. Well, we all know the holy trinity of male gifts — watches, perfumes, and shoes, but perhaps it’s time to retire them. So, we decided to ask a few men what they actually want as gifts. The answers were funny, practical, a little bitter, and somewhat relatable. image showing a fancy watch in a box. — Ashutosh Pradhan/ Pixabay Zareef, a part-time cartoonist, began his confession with dry honesty: “I often don’t get gifts. But not getting gifts doesn’t bother me much. What bothers me is getting gifts I can’t use, like fancy mugs or flashy ties. I already have seven fancy mugs gathering dust, and a yellow tie that ... -
Dawn - 14:33 Dec 26, 2025
ISLAMABAD: Players of POPO FC attend a training session on Dec 6, 2025.—Mohammad Asim/White Star ISLAMABAD: At the F-11 Multipurpose Ground the day’s rhythm is set not by a whistle, but by the soft thud of a football. Here, in the heart of the capital, an unassuming patch of grass has become the most fertile ground for Pakistani football. This is the home of POPO Football Club — not a corporate academy, but a volunteer-run sanctuary that has, against the odds, become a national talent pipeline. Two years ago, the nation celebrated a historic 1-0 victory against Cambodia in the World Cup Qualifiers, Pakistan’s maiden win on the global stage. What it didn’t see was the quiet genesis of that triumph. Five of the players on that pitch were products of this single, modest club in Sector F-11. Their work is not only limited to the senior team but the efforts on the players start from the grassroots level. In the last 24 months alone, POPO FC — who works under the patronage of Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) — ha... -
Dawn - 14:28 Dec 26, 2025
Fresh from a widely-celebrated U-19 Asia Cup triumph, skipper of the Pakistan youth team Farhan Yousaf wants his side to show humility as they take on Zimbabwe and Afghanistan in the tri-series that starts in Harare on Saturday. The series will act as a warm-up for the teams ahead of the U-19 World Cup, which is set to be held from January 15 in Zimbabwe and Namibia. Pakistan won the U-19 Asia Cup title after beating an unbeaten India side by 191 runs in the final last week — the achievement sparking raucous celebrations back home with the national youth squad welcomed by a huge crowd at the Islamabad International Airport. The decider saw Pakistan opener Sameer Minhas smash a scintillating 172 and pacer Ali Raza routing the Indian batting line-up with a four-wicket show under the mentorship of former national skipper Sarfraz Ahmed. The achievement added star value to the Pakistan U-19 team, raising expectations ahead of the tri-series and the World Cup, but for Farhan, it is about focusing on what he believe... -
Dawn - 13:24 Dec 26, 2025
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday extended the deadline for submission of nomination papers for local government elections in Islamabad by three days at the request of PTI. The new date for submission of nomination papers is December 30. In an application submitted to the ECP, Secretary Baldiat Committee Anjum Shahzad Tanoli requested the chief election commissioner to extend the deadline for the submission of nomination papers. “With due respect, this is to draw your kind attention towards the schedule of Local Body elections in Islamabad, wherein the last date for submission of nomination papers has been fixed as 27th December. It is humbly submitted that the Government has announced a local holiday on 26th December, which will significantly affect the smooth process of nomination paper submission,” he stated. “Islamabad comprises 125 Union Councils, and in each Union Council at least 9 councillors are required to submit their nomination papers. The announced holiday will create serious ad... -
Dawn - 13:21 Dec 26, 2025
President Donald Trump said US forces conducted “powerful and deadly” strikes on Thursday against Islamic State (IS) militants in northwestern Nigeria, weeks after he warned against any systemic assault on Christians in the country. The Nigerian foreign ministry early on Friday confirmed the air strikes, describing them as “precision hits on terrorist targets” in the country. The Department of Defence’s US Africa Command said “multiple ISIS terrorists” were killed in an attack in Sokoto state conducted at the request of Nigerian authorities, but few details were provided and it was not clear how many people died. The strikes hit IS targets on Christmas Day, according to Trump. View this post on Instagram “I have previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was,” he said in a post on his Truth Social platform. “May God Bless our Military,” he said, adding provocatively, “MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, including the dead Ter... -
Dawn - 11:19 Dec 26, 2025
Fourteen people were injured in a stabbing attack in a factory in central Japan during which an unspecified liquid was also sprayed, an emergency services official said on Friday. “Fourteen people are subject to transportation by emergency services,” Tomoharu Sugiyama, a firefighting department official in the city of Mishima in the Shizuoka region, told AFP. He said a call was received at about 4.30pm (12:30pm PKT) from a nearby rubber factory saying “five or six people were stabbed by someone” and that a “spray-like liquid” had also been used. Japanese media, including public broadcaster NHK, reported that police had arrested a man on suspicion of attempted murder. The seriousness of the injuries was unknown, although NHK said all victims remained conscious. Sugiyama said at least six of the 14 victims had been sent to a hospital in a fleet of ambulances. The exact nature of the injuries was also unclear. The factory in Mishima is run by Yokohama Rubber Co., whose business includes manufacturing tyres for t...
8064 items