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Dawn - 08:27 Mar 22, 2026
President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday called on India to immediately restore full implementation of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in accordance with international obligations. In a message on World Water Day, President Zardari reiterated Pakistan’s strong condemnation of the unilateral suspension of the treaty by India. “This deliberate weaponisation of shared water resources is a matter of deep concern. India’s decision to place the treaty in abeyance, disrupt hydrological data-sharing, impede agreed mechanisms and undermines both the letter and spirit of a long-standing international agreement that has governed equitable sharing of the Indus river system for over six decades,” he said. “Such conduct threatens food and economic security, jeopardises the livelihoods of millions who depend on these waters and sets a dangerous precedent for the management of transboundary resources under international law,” he said. The IWT, brokered by the World Bank in 1960, allocates the three western rivers — Indus, Jhelum a... -
Dawn - 07:29 Mar 22, 2026
US President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if Tehran does not fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, a significant escalation barely a day after he talked about “winding down” the war. “If Iran doesn’t fully open, without threat, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 hours from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various power plants, starting with the biggest one first!” Trump said on social media. Trump’s ultimatum would expand the scope of US strikes to infrastructure that affects daily civilian life in Iran. The threat of Iranian attacks has kept most ships from getting through the strait, a narrow waterway that serves as the conduit for around a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies, threatening a global energy shock. Its near-closure sent European gas prices surging as much as 35 per cent last week. Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya military command headquarters said on Sunday that if the US attacks I... -
Dawn - 07:15 Mar 22, 2026
An American-operated Patriot air defence battery likely fired the interceptor missile involved in a pre-dawn explosion that injured dozens of civilians and tore through homes in US-ally Bahrain 10 days into the war on Iran, according to an analysis by academic researchers examined by Reuters. Both Bahrain and Washington have blamed an Iranian drone attack for the March 9 blast, which the Gulf kingdom said injured 32 people including children, some seriously. Commenting on the day of the attack, US Central Command said on X that an Iranian drone struck a residential neighbourhood in Bahrain. In response to questions from Reuters, Bahrain on Saturday acknowledged for the first time that a Patriot missile was involved in the explosion over the Mahazza neighbourhood on Sitra island, offshore from the capital Manama and also home to an oil refinery. In a statement, a Bahraini government spokesperson said the missile successfully intercepted an Iranian drone mid-air, saving lives. The damage and injuries sustained ... -
Dawn - 06:52 Mar 22, 2026
Mavra Bari had intended to take part in a march for International Women’s Day in Islamabad, but spent it in a cramped prison cell. What was meant to be a celebration was instead a terrifying 12-hour ordeal in a suffocating space, with a broken toilet and the smell of damp concrete and sweat. Over 30 others — women, men and children — were also held. “We were in a horrible prison,” said Bari, a 36-year-old sociologist and activist. “We were beaten.” An AFP journalist saw detainees when they were released. All looked shaken from the experience, and some had signs of ill-treatment, such as bruises and swelling. Outside the police station, one man said tearfully: “My daughter came here just to observe the march… She did nothing wrong.” On the face of it, the Women’s Day march, like those elsewhere in the world, should have posed little concern for the authorities in Islamabad. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif himself posted on X on March 8 that women’s empowerment was “central to our government’s vision for Pakistan... -
Dawn - 06:40 Mar 22, 2026
Two Iranian missiles struck southern Israel on Saturday, injuring more than 100 people in the most destructive attack of the three-week war, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing to retaliate “on all fronts”. The strikes tore open the facades of residential buildings and carved craters into the ground. First responders said 75 people were injured in the town of Arad, 10 of them seriously. Hours earlier, 33 were wounded in nearby Dimona, where AFPTV footage showed a large hole gouged into the ground next to piles of rubble and twisted metal. Dimona hosts a facility widely believed to be the site of the Middle East’s only nuclear arsenal, although Israel has never admitted to possessing nuclear weapons. The Israeli army told AFP there had been a “direct missile hit on a building” in Dimona, with casualties reported at multiple sites, including a 10-year-old boy in serious condition with shrapnel wounds. In Arad, emergency workers combed through the rubble of heavily damaged buildings. Netanyahu vowed to... -
Dawn - 06:22 Mar 22, 2026
Diplomats from 13 European countries and Canada on Saturday slammed growing “terror” by settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, after a surge in deadly attacks. Since the start of March, six Palestinians have been shot dead in settler attacks in the West Bank, according to a tally of data from the health ministry. “We strongly condemn increasing settler terror and violence by the Israeli security forces inflicted upon Palestinian communities,” said a joint statement from the diplomatic missions of countries including France, Spain and Britain. “We are especially appalled by the killings of Palestinians over these past weeks. This violence by settler militias, aimed at taking over land and creating a coercive environment, forcing Palestinians to leave their homes, must end.” The statement called on the Israeli authorities to “prevent and prosecute the lethal violence, raids and attacks”. Israel’s military chief, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, on Wednesday criticised the increase in settler att... -
Dawn - 05:32 Mar 22, 2026
WASHINGTON: Iranian missile strikes on southern Israel and toward a key US-UK military base in the Indian Ocean have escalated the conflict into its fourth week, prompting US Democrats to call for transparency and oversight. The developments are bound to intensify their push in Congress for public hearings on US President Donald Trump’s war on Iran — even as their efforts have so far failed to gain traction. Iran fired long-range ballistic missiles at southern Israeli towns, including Dimona and Arad, near Israel’s sensitive nuclear research facilities. Israeli authorities said dozens were wounded and some missiles penetrated air defence systems. In a significant widening of the conflict, Iran also launched missiles toward the US-UK base on Diego Garcia. US officials said the missiles did not strike the base, with one failing mid-flight and another intercepted by a US naval vessel. President Trump has not sought congressional authorisation for the military campaign. On Friday, he suggested operations could be... -
Dawn - 05:13 Mar 22, 2026
THE LAST CONVERSATION It was December 2007. A chill had begun to descend over Islamabad, and over Pakistan’s democracy. The country was just weeks away from general elections that had been agreed to between Gen Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto, after torturous negotiations laid down in the ‘Memorandum of Understanding.’ Having returned from exile, Benazir Bhutto was navigating a minefield of threats, both political and personal. But that cold evening, she made time for a quiet dinner with the former prime minister, Mian Nawaz Sharif, at Zardari House in Islamabad. It was in a highly friendly setting. The dinner meeting was consequential, as the Charter of Democracy signed between the two just a year ago had buried the hatchet from the 1990s, when the two parties were at each other’s throats while taking turns forming governments. It was also consequential as it was their last conversation — the one in which both poured out their hearts as never before. But it was most consequential for the subject matter they dis... -
Dawn - 04:45 Mar 22, 2026
Sri Lanka raised fuel prices by 25 per cent on Sunday, the second increase in two weeks, as the country prepared for more impact from the war in the Middle East. Regular petrol was increased to 398 rupees ($1.30) per litre, up from 317 rupees, while diesel, the fuel commonly used for public transport, rose by 79 rupees to 382. Last week, the government ordered an eight per cent increase in retail fuel prices and introduced rationing to limit consumption. “We hope to achieve a 15 to 20pc reduction in fuel consumption with the latest increase,” an official at the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation said. He said President Anura Kumara Dissanayake told them last week that the country must prepare for a prolonged conflict in the Middle East that could affect the island’s energy supplies. The president ordered a four-day working week from last Wednesday and asked employers to reintroduce work-from-home arrangements where possible. The Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway through which some 20pc of global oil exports pass in ... -
Dawn - 04:29 Mar 22, 2026
Pakistan has ranked number one on the Global Terrorism Index for the first time, recording a six per cent increase in terrorism-related deaths, 1,139, in 2025, it emerged on Sunday. The Global Terrorism Index 2026 published by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) provides a comprehensive summary of the key trends and patterns in terrorism over the last two decades. The report ranks 163 countries (99.7pc of the world’s population) according to the impact of terrorism. The indicators include the number of terrorist incidents, fatalities, injuries and hostages. The Global Terrorism Index. — Screengrab via report According to the report, Pakistan’s “strained” relationship with neighbouring countries, particularly Afghanistan, and rising violence from the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) have created “significant security” risks for the country. “Deaths from terrorism in Pakistan are now at their highest level since 2013, with the country recording 1,1... -
Dawn - 19:39 Mar 21, 2026
A US federal jury found Elon Musk liable on Friday for claims he defrauded Twitter shareholders by trying to drive down the social media company’s stock price so he could renegotiate or back out of a $44 billion takeover in 2022. The verdict from a jury in San Francisco federal court came in a closely watched civil trial where Musk, the world’s richest person, was accused of falsely claiming on social media that Twitter underreported how many fake and spam accounts, known as bots, were on its platform. Damages have yet to be calculated but Francis Bottini, a lawyer for the shareholders, estimated they could total about $2.5 billion. “Musk’s status as the world’s richest man is not a free pass,” Bottini said in a statement. “If you’re able to move markets with your tweets, you’re responsible for the harm you cause to investors.” In a joint statement, Musk’s lawyers at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan called the verdict “a bump in the road. And we look forward to vindication on appeal”. The civil trial began o... -
Dawn - 19:37 Mar 21, 2026
Dubai’s property market is beginning to show early signs of weakening nearly three weeks into the US-Israeli war on Iran, with data from analysts showing tanking transaction volumes and some real estate agents pointing to price reductions. The war, and Tehran’s strikes against Israel, US bases and Gulf states including the United Arab Emirates, have pierced Dubai’s image as a safe haven for the world’s wealthy. Real-estate transaction volumes in the UAE fell 37 per cent year-on-year in the first 12 days of March, and 49pc month-on-month, Goldman Sachs analysts estimated in a note published this week. Some properties are already being offered at big discounts, with price cuts of 12-15pc, according to some real estate agents and messages on social media that Reuters reviewed. For instance, a seller was looking for a “quick sale” for a property close to the Burj Khalifa — the world’s tallest building — a message shared by an agent read. The seller was looking for $650,000, down about 12pc from a previous pric... -
Dawn - 19:35 Mar 21, 2026
Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik said on Saturday that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has asked the nation and the government to display a responsible attitude in light of the current energy crisis. “There is scarcity of energy. If we avoid travelling, try to opt work from home, continue the usual work in universities with e-learning and avoid the unnecessary entertainment it is equal to saving a dollar that we have earned or managed it from somewhere to arrange for the fuel,” Malik said in a press briefing alongside Information Minister Attaullah Tarar. Malik further said the premier urged the people to play their role with responsibility and assist those in need around them. He vowed on behalf of the prime minister that the government would “leave no stone unturned for gathering further resources in consultation with the provincial governments to deal with the crisis […] by providing protection to the weakest section of the society”. The petroleum minister said the time had arrived to make a decision abo... -
Dawn - 18:17 Mar 21, 2026
Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir on Saturday asserted that terrorists operating from Afghanistan would not be allowed to undermine Pakistan’s security, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). He made the remarks while visiting Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kurram, where he offered Eid prayers with the troops and officers there, and prayed for the country’s enduring stability and prosperity. “He (Field Marshal Munir) emphasised that terrorists operating from sanctuaries across the border in Afghanistan will not be allowed to undermine Pakistan’s security,” the military’s media wing said in a statement. Reaffirming Pakistan’s commitment to regional peace and stability, COAS Munir reiterated that “Afghan soil must not be used by hostile elements for activities against Pakistan”. The ISPR statement said: “Appreciating the valour and spirit of the soldiers, the field marshal lauded their achievements during Operation Ghazab lil-Haq, aimed at dismantl... -
Dawn - 17:59 Mar 21, 2026
Fourteen people were killed in a fire in a car parts factory in South Korea that also injured 59 others, authorities told AFP on Saturday, updating a previous toll of 11 fatalities. Fire crews were initially unable to enter the factory in the central city of Daejeon to look for survivors due to the risk of the building collapsing. The response was also hampered by sodium stored at the site, which can explode if improperly handled, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency. Around 170 workers were at the plant when the fire broke out at about 9:00am PKT (0400 GMT) on Friday, according to Yonhap. “We can confirm the latest death toll has risen to 14, with no one reported missing,” an official from the interior ministry’s department that handles fires and other disasters told AFP. Officials have not said what may have caused the fire, which spread rapidly. A witness told Yonhap about hearing an explosion. Fire crews could be seen shooting water onto the site from cranes while a thick column of black smoke fi... -
Dawn - 12:23 Mar 21, 2026
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday called for greater unity and brotherhood among Muslims as the country marked Eidul Fitr in “testing times”. In his post on X, PM Shehbaz wrote: “Even as we celebrate Eid with gratitude and joy, our hearts remain heavy for the people of Gaza and Kashmir, as well as our brothers and sisters affected by the ongoing hostilities in the Middle East and the region. “Today, more than ever, we need greater unity within the Ummah so that we may collectively uphold justice, dignity, and lasting peace for all. At a moment of uncertainty and instability, our greatest strength lies in unity,” he said. The premier extended his heartfelt greetings to the people of Pakistan and Muslims around the world, noting that the day “reminds us of the enduring values of compassion, unity and generosity that lie at the heart of our faith”. “On this auspicious occasion, we are also reminded of the strength and responsibility of the Muslim Ummah — bound together by s... -
Dawn - 12:21 Mar 21, 2026
Muslims in several countries are celebrating Eidul Fitr for 1447 AH, marking the end of the month of Ramazan. One of Islam’s most significant holidays, Eidul Fitr is typically celebrated by feasting and gift-giving. Dawn takes a look at some of the scenes around the world as Muslims offered Eid prayers and indulged in festivities, while those in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran observed the occasion amid Israeli bombing. Muslims offer Eidul Fitr prayers, in Skardu, Gilgit-Baltistan, on March 21, 2026. — AFP Women react as they take a selfie after attending an Eidul Fitr prayer, at the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore on March 21, 2026. — Reuters A child looks on as Muslims offer Eidul Fitr prayers, in Rawalpindi on March 21, 2026. — AFP Muslim children hug each other after offering Eidul Fitr prayers, at a mosque in Karachi on March 21, 2026. — AFP Muslims offer Eidul Fitr prayers at Alamgir Mosque (R) along the banks of the river Ganges in Varanasi on March 21, 2026. — AFP Muslims gather to offer prayers during a foggy morni... -
Dawn - 11:40 Mar 21, 2026
KARACHI: Three children were among seven injured by “stray bullets” across the city last night on the eve of Eidul Fitr, police said on Saturday. According to the Karachi Police Media Cell (KPMC), which issued separate statements for each incident, the victims included three children, three men and a woman. Four of the injured were taken to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH), two to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), and one to Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK). An eight-year-old boy was “injured from [a] stray bullet near Dawood Chowrangi” and taken to JPMC for medical treatment, said the police. A nine-year-old girl was “injured by [a] stray bullet at Janjal Goth near Imran Bakery” and taken to ASH. At Lyari’s Shah Baig Lane, police said a stray bullet injured a 13-year-old boy, who was then taken to CHK. Another incident from a stray bullet occurred at Shah Latif Daud Chali near Radio Pakistan Ground, wounding an 18-year-old. In similar incidents, a 29-year-old was injured in Islamia Colony, while a 32-year-... -
Dawn - 10:41 Mar 21, 2026
President Donald Trump ends the third week of the Iran war, confronting a crisis that seems to be slipping out of his hands. Global energy prices are surging, the United States stands isolated from allies and more troops are preparing to deploy despite his promise that the war would be only a “short excursion.” A defensive Trump called other NATO countries “cowards” for refusing to help secure the Strait of Hormuz and insisted the campaign was unfolding according to plan. But his declaration on Friday that the battle “was Militarily WON” clashed with the reality of a defiant Iran that is choking off Gulf oil and gas supplies while launching missile strikes across the region. Trump, who took office promising to keep the US out of “stupid” military interventions, now appears to control neither the outcome nor the messaging of a conflict he helped to initiate. The lack of a clear exit strategy carries risks both for his presidential legacy and his party’s political prospects as Republicans scramble to defend nar... -
Dawn - 09:42 Mar 21, 2026
A new study in the field of space medicine marks a number of significant contributions from physicians working to advance space exploration, highlighting the unique strengths they bring to the field. Dr Farhan M Asrar, a Canadian physician and internationally known space medicine researcher, has worked with experts and astronauts from space agencies around the world. He looks at human health in space, including deep space missions, as well as how space technology can be used to innovate health, public health and the environment on Earth. One of his most recent pieces of research, ‘From bedside to orbit: the enduring impact of physician-astronauts over six decades of space exploration’, published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, looks at the role of medical doctor in advancing space exploration. According to Dr Asrar, the work addresses two historical milestones: it has been 61 years since the first physician-astronaut — a medical doctor who became an astronaut — went to space for Russia, as we...
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