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Dawn - 05:22 Sep 17, 2025
• Despite official denials, checkpoints set up at province’s exit points to curtail movement • Flour prices in KP jump 68pc; 20kg bag hits Rs2,800 • KP Assembly passes unanimous resolution against Punjab’s move LAHORE: Punjab’s unannounced ban on the interprovincial movement of wheat has ignited a new crisis, causing a severe flour shortage and soaring prices in other provinces. The move has drawn sharp criticism from politicians and flour millers who argue it violates constitutional rights and a recent deregulation agreement. While Punjab officials denied a formal ban, they acknowledged establishing checkpoints to curb what they termed “unusual” wheat movement. Critics, however, argued that these measures are against the spirit of a deregulated market. The ban has been met with strong condemnation from other provinces, particularly Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh, which heavily depend on Punjab’s wheat supply. The All-Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA) has labelled the policy unconstitutional, citing... -
Dawn - 04:54 Sep 17, 2025
TOBA TEK SINGH: The Faisalabad Sahianwala police booked three persons on Tuesday for allegedly gang-raping a six-month pregnant woman. In her complaint, the victim’s mother said that her son-in-law had to live in another village for work. She alleged that during his absence, his younger brother and his two accomplices gave her daughter a sedative mixed in tea on Sept 1. She further alleged when the victim became unconscious, the trio not only gang-raped her but also committed sodomy. Furthermore, the complainant alleged that the accused and his family locked the victim in a room and refused to let her contact her mother or husband. She claimed that neighbours informed her about the incident on phone. The victim was recovered by the police on the orders of the additional district and sessions judge. Police spokesperson claimed that raids were being conducted to arrest the accused persons. DROWNS: A 17-year-old boy drowned in the river Ravi when he fell in the water while stepping off a boat near the shrine of ... -
Dawn - 04:51 Sep 17, 2025
GUJRAT: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Gujranwala Zone claims to have arrested a human trafficking agent involved in sending illegal immigrants to Japan as football players using fake credentials and certificates. A senior FIA official said that suspect Waqas Ali, a resident of Pasroor, Sialkot, was arrested in a case on Sept 15. The official said the suspect, with the connivance of 17 immigrants, managed to get 15-day visit visas of Japan on the invitation of Boavista Football Club. The official claimed that he used forged Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) registration letter and a fake NOC from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The official claimed that the suspect extorted Rs4 to 4.5 millions from each of the 17 person. He said that they travelled to Japan on January 1, 2024 and never returned. FIA Gujranwala Director Muhammad Bin Ashraf told Dawn that a case had been registered against the suspect and further investigation was ongoing. The suspect was also nominated in another similar case at FIA ... -
Dawn - 04:02 Sep 17, 2025
GURDASPUR: The fields are full but the paddy brown and wilted, and the air thick with the stench of rotting crops and livestock — the aftermath of record monsoon rains that have devastated India’s breadbasket. In Punjab, often dubbed the country’s granary, the damage is unprecedented: floods have swallowed farmlands almost the size of London and New York City combined. India’s agriculture minister said in a recent visit to the state that “the crops have been destroyed and ruined”, and Indian Punjab chief minister called the deluge “one of the worst flood disasters in decades”. Old-timers agree. “The last time we saw such an all-consuming flood was in 1988,” said 70-year-old Balkar Singh in the village of Shehzada, 30km north of Amritsar. The gushing waters have reduced Singh’s paddy field to marshland and opened ominous cracks in the walls of his house. Floods and landslides are common during the June-September monsoon season on the subcontinent, but experts say climate change, coupled with poorly planned dev... -
Dawn - 02:30 Sep 17, 2025
ISLAMABAD: Days after Pakistan asked the Afghan Taliban to choose whether they want to stand with their neighbour, or the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant group, a key US official has called on Islamabad to seek a political settlement with Kabul. Zalmay Khalilzad, who was named US special representative to Afghanistan during the previous Trump administration, also called on Afghanistan to “help Pakistan with such negotiations”. The former diplomat recently undertook a visit to Kabul alongside US hostage envoy Adam Boehler, where he met with key members of the Afghan Taliban regime. In a tweet posted after he wrapped up his visit, Khalilzad noted that violence between Pakistan’s security forces and the TTP had resulted in the deaths of a significant number of security personnel and citizens. Imran echoes Khalilzad’s views, terms dialogue with Kabul only way to achieve lasting peace Saying that he believed pursuing a military solution to this challenge was a mistake, he called on Islamabad... -
Dawn - 19:22 Sep 16, 2025
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday cancelled the pre-match press conference of the Pakistan-United Arab Emirates (UAE) men’s Asia Cup match as the crisis from the fallout of the Pakistan-India match worsened. The PCB had lodged a complaint with the International Cricket Council (ICC) against match referee Andy Pycroft over his alleged violations of rules pertaining to the “Spirit of Cricket“, with the board claiming that the referee had asked the Pakistan and India captains “not to shake hands at the time of the toss” for last Sunday’s match. “Pakistan will not be holding their pre-match press conference today,” the Asian Cricket Council confirmed in a statement on Tuesday ahead of Pakistan’s match against the UAE tomorrow. The PCB confirmed in a statement later in the day that the board had still not taken a final decision on continuing participation in the Asia Cup. “The Pakistan Cricket Board has not yet taken any final decision regarding the Asia Cup, “PCB spokesperson Amir Mir said in a statemen... -
Dawn - 19:00 Sep 16, 2025
South Africa sailed their way to an easy victory over Pakistan after chasing down a target of 256 to win by eight wickets in the first one-day international (ODI) of their series in Lahore on Tuesday, in the lead-up to the Women’s World Cup. The World Cup, to be hosted later this month under a hybrid model across India and Sri Lanka, will see all of Pakistan’s fixtures staged in Colombo, with political tensions ruling out travel between the two neighbours. Earlier in the day, veteran batter Sidra Amin smashed a century as The Women in Green set the Proteas a target of 256 to win in the first ODI of the three-match series. South Africa’s reply was led by batters Tazmin Brits and Marizanne Kapp after Sadia Iqbal struck early for the Green Shirts. They remained unbeaten on 101 and 121 respectively as the Proteas chased down a decent total with 10 balls to spare. Pakistan skipper Fatima Sana had won the toss and elected to bat first at the Gaddafi Stadium. Sidra was ably supported by Muneeba Ali as the duo put Pa... -
Dawn - 18:10 Sep 16, 2025
The Islamabad High Court on Tuesday ordered the removal of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority Chairman retired Major General Hafeezur Rehman due to his “illegal” appointment to the position. The decision came in a verdict by IHC’s Justice Babar Sattar in a case pertaining to the appointment of the PTA’s member (administration) filed by digital rights activist Usama Khilji in 2023. Rehman later filed an urgent intra-court appeal against the verdict. The order said the court had admitted the petition for hearing and directed the government not to proceed with the hiring, following which the government had filed an appeal for a stay of the court injunction, which was partially accepted, as the court had subsequently allowed the recruitment process to continue while warning that any appointment would be subject to the final determination in the case. It added that the court was subsequently informed in later hearings that Hafeezur Rehman, a retired major general, was appointed as the member (administration)... -
Dawn - 18:07 Sep 16, 2025
Pakistan warned of “dangerous escalation” as the United Nations and a long line of countries on Tuesday denounced Israel’s attack on Qatar last week, demanding “accountability”. Israel’s strikes on the Qatari capital on September 9 targeted Hamas leaders gathered to discuss a new US ceasefire proposal for Gaza. Five Hamas members and a Qatari security officer were killed. That strike “was a shocking breach of international law”, UN rights chief Volker Turk said during an urgent debate at the UN Human Rights Council about the strike. Denouncing the attack as “an assault on regional peace and stability”, he urged “accountability for unlawful killings”. His words were echoed by Qatar and dozens of country representatives who took the floor during the three-hour debate. Qatari International Cooperation Minister Maryam bint Ali bin Nasser Al-Misnad slammed Israel’s “treacherous attack” and demanded that the international community “take practical steps to hold the aggressors accountable and prevent their impunity”... -
Dawn - 17:25 Sep 16, 2025
Nestle said on Tuesday Chairman Paul Bulcke has decided to step down, days after the Swiss food giant abruptly dismissed its CEO Laurent Freixe for failing to disclose a romantic relationship with a subordinate. Bulcke will be succeeded by Vice Chairman Pablo Isla, effective October 1. Bulcke was earlier supposed to hand over the reins to Isla in April 2026. According to media report, Nestle investors had since been pushing for Bulcke — a Belgian national who served as Nestle CEO for nearly a decade before becoming chairman in 2017, to step down. The Financial Times reported that investors blamed him for a chaotic period at the company that culminated with Freixe’s ouster. Bulcke, who has been scheduled to remain in his position until next April, said in Tuesday’s statement that he had “full trust in Nestle’s new leadership and firmly believe this great company is well positioned for the future”. “This is the right moment for me to step aside and accelerate the planned transition, allowing Pablo and Philipp t... -
Dawn - 15:57 Sep 16, 2025
The United States has issued a fresh round Iran-related sanctions targeting individuals and entities that Washington says finance Tehran’s military, including some in Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates, the US Treasury Department said on Tuesday. Those targeted have helped coordinate funds transfers, including from the sale of Iranian oil, that benefit Iran’s military force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC)- Quds Force and its Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL), the Treasury said. “Iranian ‘shadow banking’ networks like these — run by trusted illicit financial facilitators — abuse the international financial system, and evade sanctions by laundering money through overseas front companies and cryptocurrency,” it said in a statement. US sanctions generally prohibit American individuals and companies from engaging in any business transactions with those targeted. The US had issued Iran-related sanctions in June this year as well, taking aim at the procurement of machinery for ... -
Dawn - 15:21 Sep 16, 2025
THE recent floods have resulted in misery, displacement, death, loss of property and livestock, crop destruction and damage to infrastructure. While the total losses are yet to be calculated, it is critical to understand their economic repercussions and the urgent need to initiate damage limitation measures. The 2022 floods, which affected only Sindh and Balochistan, had displaced 33 million people, submerged their homes, destroyed livestock and crops and damaged infrastructure including the irrigation network. That deluge killed over 1,100 people and caused economic losses to the tune of $30 billion, or 10 per cent of GDP. Clearly, global warming has taken firm root in the form of droughts, glacier melt, floods, torrential rains, heatwaves and rising sea levels. Our response capacity must match the challenge. No other economic sector has such strong backward and forward linkages for national well-being as agriculture. The situation, therefore, requires a holistic rather than a narrow sectoral approach. In th... -
Dawn - 14:25 Sep 16, 2025
An Islamabad High Court (IHC) bench, led by Chief Justice (CJ) Sardar Mohammad Sarfraz Dogar and comprising Justice Mohammad Azam Khan, barred Justice Tariq Mahmood Jahangiri from carrying out judicial work until the Supreme Judicial Council’s (SJC) decision on the matter of his allegedly fake degree. A complaint pertaining to Justice Jahangiri’s allegedly fake degree was submitted to the SJC last year in July while a petition challenging his appointment was filed in the IHC earlier this year. The matter centres on a letter that began circulating last year on social media, purportedly from the University of Karachi’s controller of examinations, regarding the judge’s law degree. During the hearing today, apart from barring Justice Jahangiri from carrying out judicial work, the bench also appointed lawyers Barrister Zafarullah Khan and Ashtar Ausaf as amici curiae. Moreover, the bench also sought the attorney general’s assistance over the matter of the maintainability of the plea. It ruled that the case would... -
Dawn - 14:22 Sep 16, 2025
In 1817, Chief Justice John Marshall, one of America’s founding fathers, delivered what is often called the shortest judgment in judicial history: “The United States never pays costs.” This was the entirety of a unanimous majority decision in the Supreme Court case of United States v. Barker. Six words settled a complex question of law that had gone unanswered for twenty years, and solidified jurisprudence on sovereign immunity with clarity and precision. Exactly 208 years later, the unthinkable happened. In a judgment authored by Chief Justice Sarfraz Dogar, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) ruled on the case of a journalist restricted from leaving the country with the following: “Office objection is sustained”. Move over Justice Marshall, that looks like four words and a newly broken world record to me. Pakistan: 1, USA: 0. A stunning upset like this must be exactly the kind of judicial achievement the framers of the 26th Amendment dreamed of. So where are the balloons, the mass media coverage, the celebration... -
Dawn - 14:14 Sep 16, 2025
Advocate Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir approached the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) on Tuesday against Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Sarfaraz Dogar after the court administration stripped Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz of her powers to entertain harassment complaints when she took cognisance of a complaint against him. Last week, Justice Dogar had warned Mazari of a contempt of court case and was reported to have gone as far as passing warning remarks along the lines of “getting a hold of her”. Multiple lawyers’ bodies had issued condemnatory statements and called for the judge’s dismissal from the post of the IHC top judge. Mazari then filed a complaint a day ago against the judge before the IHC’s workplace harassment committee and a reference for misconduct before the SJC. After Justice Imtiaz took cognisance of her complaint, the IHC administration de-notified her as the “competent authority” and replaced her with Justice Inaam Ameen Minhas, stripping Justice Imtiaz of her powers to entertain harassment ... -
Dawn - 11:58 Sep 16, 2025
The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) posted a pre-tax profit in the first half of 2025, which a company source said is its first such for the period in about two decades, ahead of a planned sale of the national carrier later this year. The PIA, part of the PIA Holding Company, recorded a pre-tax profit of Rs11.5 billion ($40.64 million) in the six months to June, compared with the same period in 2024 when it remained in a loss before taxes and only managed a rare annual profit through deferred tax adjustments. Net profit for the current half year stood at Rs6.8bn. The disclosure comes as Islamabad presses ahead with a fresh attempt to privatise the airline, a key condition under Pakistan’s $7bn IMF bailout. A company source said it was the state-run airline’s first such profit since 2004. Financial records before 2014 are no longer publicly available on the airline’s and the stock exchange’s websites. The planned sale of the PIA would mark the country’s first major privatisation in about two decades, wit... -
Dawn - 11:53 Sep 16, 2025
The country’s debt trajectory “is more sustainable today than suggested by headline rupee figures”, the finance ministry said in a statement on Tuesday, citing its continued focus on debt-to-GDP reduction, early repayments, lower interest costs and a stronger external account. It asserted that it continued to centre its debt management strategy on aligning public debt-to-GDP ratio to the Debt Limitation Act, which provides for the reduction of federal fiscal deficit and debt-to-GDP ratio to a prudent level by effective public debt management. Moreover, the strategy considered “minimising refinancing and rollover risks while generating interest savings to support sustainable public finances”, the ministry said. According to latest data from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the country’s total government debt has increased by Rs9 trillion in just one year up to June 2025, with domestic debt representing the majority of this increase. As per SBP, the total government debt increased from Rs68.91 trillion in ... -
Dawn - 11:50 Sep 16, 2025
Posts from multiple Indian users on social media platform X on Monday were sharing the post of an account allegedly belonging to Zimbabwean cricket referee and former player Andy Pycroft, saying he stood by his decision that raised controversy in the Asia Cup 2025 match between India and Pakistan and criticised the latter’s players. However, the account is fake. Pakistan lodged a complaint a day ago with the International Cricket Council (ICC) over Pycroft’s conduct during the Asia Cup clash with India, as political tensions between the neighbours spilt onto the field. India beat Pakistan by seven wickets in Dubai on Sunday in the first meeting between the two sides since a four-day military conflict in May. The match, overseen by Pycroft, passed without incident but ended without the customary handshakes, intensifying the rancour between the two camps. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) alleged that Pycroft told captain Salman Ali Agha not to shake hands with Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav before the toss. No... -
Dawn - 10:02 Sep 16, 2025
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has dismissed the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) complaint seeking the removal of match referee Andy Pycroft from the ongoing Asia Cup over a dispute during the recent Pakistan-India match, Indian media outlets claimed on Tuesday. The PCB had yesterday lodged a complaint with the ICC against Pycroft over his alleged violations of rules pertaining to the “Spirit of Cricket“, with the board claiming that the referee had asked the Pakistan and India captains “not to shake hands at the time of the toss” for Sunday’s match. “Late last night, ICC had sent a reply to PCB stating that Pycroft won’t be removed and their plea has been rejected,” an unnamed ICC source told the Press Trust of India. However, Cricbuzz reported, “When contacted, the PCB has denied receiving any communication from the ICC.” The PCB has yet to issue an official statement on the development. The Times of India (TOI) reported it was “actually the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) officials on the ground who in... -
Dawn - 08:33 Sep 16, 2025
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani in Doha on Tuesday and reaffirmed Pakistan’s “all-out support and solidarity” for the Gulf state after last week’s Israeli attack on its capital. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the emergency Arab-Islamic Summit in Doha, where leaders from the Arab League and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) yesterday called for a review of ties with Israel following its deadly strike on Hamas members in the Qatari capital as they discussed a Gaza ceasefire proposal. “While reaffirming Pakistan’s all-out support and solidarity with Qatar at this critical time, the prime minister termed Israel’s attack of September 9, a flagrant violation of Qatar’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as a serious breach of international law,” read a press release issued today by the government-run Press Information Department (PID). Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Syed A...
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