Dawn
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Dawn - 15:35 Sep 11, 2025
An Islamabad district and sessions court on Thursday set aside a lower court’s order to block 27 YouTube channels, granting relief to 11 petitioners. In July, it emerged that an Islamabad court had ordered YouTube in June to block 27 channels for disseminating “fake, misleading, and defamatory” content against the government and armed forces. The sanctioned accounts were being run by journalists, political commentators and social media influencers in Pakistan and overseas. The ban order sparked criticism from various legal and digital rights groups. Among the 27 channels were those of the PTI, journalists Matiuallah Jan, Wajahat Khan, Ahmad Noorani and Asad Ali Toor; former anchors Imran Riaz, Orya Maqbool, Sabir Shakir, and Moeed Pirzada. Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Muhammad Afzal Majoka had later suspended the order for at least seven petitioners. A total of 11 of those impacted had appealed against the lower court’s order. ADSJ Majoka conducted a hearing over the matter today and expresse... -
Dawn - 13:12 Sep 11, 2025
The week of September 8, 2025, was just another week for RC Gautam, an errand boy at Kantipur Television. During two decades of his employment at the station, he had seen several street protests, dire political situations, a civil war, shootouts, violence and even an attack on the channel’s headquarters. But September 9 panned out a bit differently for him. “I can’t even begin to tell you how many people stormed our station. It all happened so quickly,” he told me over the phone. An irate mob rushed into the Kantipur TV building on Tuesday, set fire to three buildings on its premises, torched two dozen bikes and over a dozen cars. The station was just one of the hundreds of buildings and homes that came under attack in the wake of what is being dubbed the ’Gen Z’ protests in Nepal, which quickly spiralled out of control on September 8. People look at the remains and ravages of the charred Supreme Court building in Kathmandu on September 10, 2025. — AFP Triggered by a recent social media ban, the demonstrators... -
Dawn - 12:21 Sep 11, 2025
Several PTI senators have resigned from their respective senate standing committees on Thursday, saying that they had made the move in line with the instructions of incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan. So far, seven senators have quit the Senate standing committees, including Dost Muhammad, Zeeshan Khanzada, Mirza Muhammad Afridi, Muhammad Azam Khan Swati, Mohammad Humayun Mohmand, Falak Naz and Aon Abbas Buppi. The development comes two weeks after the PTI claimed some 30 of its lawmakers resigned from the membership of parliamentary committees, although the National Assembly Secretariat only confirmed the receipt of 20 resignations. The resignation letters of all seven senators, seen by Dawn.com, stated that the decision was made “voluntarily” upon the orders of Imran. They resigned from all their respective standing committees, decrying Imran’s incarceration as well as the “disintegration of democratic norms” in the wake of the recent disqualification of PTI lawmakers. Imran, imprisoned since August 2023, ... -
Dawn - 12:00 Sep 11, 2025
An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Quetta on Thursday extended the physical remand of Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) chief Dr Mahrang Baloch and other organisers of the group on the police’s request, according to her lawyer. Advocate Israr Baloch told Dawn.com: “The arrested leaders of the BYC were presented before Judge Muhammad Ali Mubeen of Quetta ATC -1, who extended their physical remand in police custody for 15 more days on the police’s request,” adding that apart from Mahrang, Bebow Baloch, Sibghatullah Shahji, Gulzadi and Beberg Baloch were presented in the court as well. The BYC is a Baloch advocacy group working against enforced disappearances since 2018. Its chief Mahrang, along with other BYC members, was arrested on March 22 on allegations of “attacking” the Quetta Civil Hospital and “inciting people to violence”. The arrests were made a day after the group faced a police crackdown while protesting against alleged enforced disappearances. Mahrang was taken into custody under Section 3 of the Maint... -
Dawn - 11:40 Sep 11, 2025
Security forces have killed 19 terrorists in three separate operations across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the military’s media wing said on Thursday. According to a statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), “On 9-10 September, nineteen Khwarij belonging to the Indian proxy, Fitna al Khwarij were sent to hell in three separate engagements in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.” The state uses the term Fitna al Khwarij to refer to terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). It later designated Balochistan-based groups as Fitna-al-Hindustan to highlight India’s alleged role in terrorism and destabilisation across Pakistan. The ISPR said that an intelligence-based operation was conducted in KP’s Mohmand district upon the reported presence of terrorists there. “During the conduct of [the] operation, own troops effectively engaged the khwarij’s* location, and after an intense fire exchange, fourteen Indian-sponsored khwarij were sent to hell.” It added that another intelligence-based oper... -
Dawn - 10:51 Sep 11, 2025
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi on Thursday condemned the Punjab government’s reported ban on wheat supply to his province. Kundi had last week expressed his regret over reports that wheat supply from Punjab had been suspended. However, Punjab officials tasked with maintaining supplies of commodities and regulating their prices denied there was any ban on the grain’s inter-provincial movement. “The arbitrary ban imposed on August 31, 2025, by the Government of Punjab on the supply of wheat and flour to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is a blatant violation of Article 151 of the Constitution and a serious breach of national unity,” Kundi said on X. The Constitution’s Article 151 states that “trade, commerce and intercourse throughout Pakistan shall be free”, but empowers the parliament to “impose such restrictions on the freedom of trade, commerce or intercourse between one province and another or within any part of Pakistan as may be required in the public interest”. The KP governor further noted: “As a res... -
Dawn - 10:13 Sep 11, 2025
The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday said the upcoming Women’s Cricket World Cup would feature an all-female panel of umpires and match referees for the first time in the 50-over tournament’s history. “While three recent events — the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and the two most recent ICC Women’s T20 World Cups — have featured all-female match official panels, this is the first time in the history of the Women’s World Cup the feat will be achieved,” the ICC said a statement. The 13th edition of the Women’s World Cup is set to be held in India and Sri Lanka from September 30. The tournament would be overseen by a group of 14 umpires, including Claire Polosak, Jacqueline Williams, Sue Redfern, Lauren Agenbag and Kim Cotton. The ICC statement mentioned that Polosak, Williams and Redfern “will be appearing at their third Women’s World Cup” this year while Agenbag and Cotton “will be at their second World Cup”. View this post on Instagram The all-female panel of match officials for the Wor... -
Dawn - 08:28 Sep 11, 2025
In the hot summer sun of southern Punjab, the roof of Lucky Cement’s factory glints with solar panels soaking up rays. Below, inside a quiet control room, sit rows of lithium-ion batteries made by Chinese company CATL. While the plant usually draws from the national grid when possible, these batteries can power it during the blackouts that have become an almost daily problem. Across Pakistan’s busy industrial zones – from Faisalabad’s textile mills to food processing units in Sindh – an increasing number of businesses are turning to solar panels paired with batteries. They, along with wealthier households, are trying to cope with soaring electricity prices and frequent load shedding, where power is shut off to parts of the grid to ease the strain on power stations. Helping drive this change is an unexpected factor: China producing more batteries than it can use. But rather than continuing to rely on Chinese battery and solar products, Pakistan needs policies that promote their manufacture domestically, that m... -
Dawn - 08:18 Sep 11, 2025
Press freedoms worldwide have declined significantly over the past five years to hit their lowest level in 50 years, a report by a democracy think tank showed on Thursday. Afghanistan, Burkina Faso and Myanmar — already among the poorest performers in press freedoms — posted the biggest falls, the report by the Stockholm-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) said. The fourth-biggest drop was in South Korea, it added, citing “a spike in defamation cases initiated by the government and its political allies against journalists, and raids on journalists’ residences”. “The current state of democracy in the world is concerning,” IDEA secretary general Kevin Casas-Zamora, secretary general told AFP. More than half of countries in the world (54 per cent), registered a drop in one of the five key democracy indicators between 2019 and 2024, the report said. “The most important finding in our report is the very acute deterioration in press freedom around the world,” Casas-Zamora sai... -
Dawn - 07:19 Sep 11, 2025
Two women were killed, while four people were injured after the jeep they were travelling in plunged into a ravine in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Mansehra district, police said on Thursday. Shenkiari Station House Officer Muhammad Saqib told Dawn.com that a jeep heading towards the Jabori area fell into a ravine due to landslide debris following heavy rains on the road. “The local people rushed to the scene after the accident and retrieved the victims from the ravine. Two of them were [found] dead,” he said, adding that four others were injured in the incident, including three children and a driver. He also said that the dead bodies and the injured were taken to the Shenkiari Rural Health Centre, while two of the injured were later taken to the King Abdullah Teaching Hospital for further treatment. Fatal accidents are common on roads in the mountainous regions of the country due to traffic rule violations, treacherous terrain, and poor infrastructure. Earlier this month, two people were killed and 24 others sustaine... -
Dawn - 07:10 Sep 11, 2025
ISLAMABAD: As part of efforts to deepen ties, enhance economic diplomacy and boost tourism cooperation, Uzbekistan Airways is increasing the number of regular flights between the two countries. The Uzbek embassy in Islamabad said on Wednesday that Uzbekistan and Pakistan continued to strengthen their friendly relations and expand cooperation across multiple sectors. In this process, transport and logistics, particularly air connectivity, played a crucial role. Starting October 28, the frequency of flights on ‘Tashkent-Islamabad-Tashkent’ route will be doubled, from once a week to two flights per week. Currently, Uzbekistan Airways operated flights twice a week — on Wednesdays and Fridays — on the ‘Tashkent-Lahore-Tashkent’ route, and once a week (on Saturdays) on the ‘Tashkent-Islamabad-Tashkent’ route. Due to consistently high demand, with flights running at full passenger capacity and tickets selling out several days in advance, the airline had decided to expand its flight schedule. The Embassy of Uzbekista... -
Dawn - 06:57 Sep 11, 2025
New York prepared to mark the devastating attacks of Sept 11, 2001 on Thursday, 24 years after the deadly plane hijackings that claimed almost 3,000 lives and forever changed the United States. Vice President JD Vance was expected to attend memorial events at Ground Zero in Manhattan, where the World Trade Centre’s twin towers were destroyed in coordinated attacks that also saw a jetliner crash into the nerve centre of American military power, the Pentagon in Washington. Another jet, Flight 93, crashed into the Pennsylvania countryside when passengers overran the hijacker and took control of the aircraft. This year’s gathering takes place against a backdrop of sharp political division both in the city and nationally. New York is in the grip of an unprecedented mayoral election campaign in which socialist Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani is facing off against former governor Andrew Cuomo and sitting mayor Eric Adams. New Yorkers go to the polls on November 4. It was unclear which of the mayoral candidates w... -
Dawn - 06:50 Sep 11, 2025
India’s Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan will battle for javelin gold in Tokyo next week, the latest chapter in a brotherly rivalry which has soured since a deadly military conflict between their countries. The Tokyo Olympic champion, Chopra, and his successor in Paris, Nadeem, will line up at the athletics world championships for their first encounter since the nuclear-armed neighbours engaged in a four-day conflict in May, their worst since 1999. Chopra, who took Olympic silver behind his great rival a year ago, had often spoken about his friendly relations with Nadeem despite the tensions between their countries. After Nadeem won gold and Chopra stood alongside him on the podium in Paris, Nadeem’s mother Raziah Parveen said: “Winning and losing is part of sport, but they are like brothers.” Chopra’s mother Saroj said she took some solace in Nadeem beating her son because the Pakistani “is also our boy”. But publicly at least that changed after the conflict. The 27-year-old Chopra, who will defen... -
Dawn - 04:30 Sep 11, 2025
KARACHI: The industrial sector in Karachi was significantly impacted on Wednesday as heavy rains and flooding paralysed key industrial areas. According to industry leaders, industrial output remained subdued as workers failed to report for duty due to safety concerns and transportation issues. Faisal Moiz Khan, President of the North Karachi Association of Trade and Industry (NKATI), stated that nearly half of the 4,500 industrial units in the area remained closed. Workers were reluctant to return after the torrential rains in the third week of August left several people stranded in factories late into the night. Additionally, around 100-125 factories in sectors A to D in F.B. Area, including export-oriented units, suffered damage as the swollen Lyari River inundated production facilities, destroying raw materials and finished goods worth millions of rupees. Moiz pointed out that the overflow from Thado Dam had submerged roads leading to the Super Highway, exacerbating the city’s already struggling infrastruc... -
Dawn - 04:21 Sep 11, 2025
National Paigham-i-Aman body is a subcommittee of National Committee on Narrative Building Senate committee alarmed by misuse of Peca by provinces ISLAMABAD: The government has notified a special panel — comprising clerics, religious leaders of non-Muslim communities and senior officials — to counter extremism, hate speech, terrorism and sectarianism in the country. The Ministry of Information has set up the National Paigham-i-Aman Committee (NPAC), which will draft a unified national stance against extremism and terrorism. The NPAC, a subcommittee of the National Committee on Narrative Building (NCNB), has been tasked with devising a unified national narrative that promotes peace, harmony and religious moderation. The NCNB, which was notified earlier this month, is a 20-member body that includes the information ministers of all four provinces, GB and AJK, as well as federal minister. It also includes representatives of the military, intelligence agencies, the foreign and IT ministries, as well as the PTA ch... -
Dawn - 02:56 Sep 11, 2025
ISLAMABAD: Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar issued a word of caution on Wednesday, urging Supreme Court judges to raise internal grievances within private forums — such as tea rooms, the Chief Justice’s chambers, or committee rooms — instead of expressing them publicly through letters. “In view of the sensitivities attached to the highest institution like the judiciary, it is my humble request to all honourable judges that the best forums for expressing grievances are their tea rooms, the chambers of the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi, or the committee rooms,” he said. This marked the minister’s first response to a recent series of letters written by several Supreme Court judges — a development he termed “unfortunate” and part of a troubling trend that has emerged in recent months. Speaking informally to the media after attending a ceremony outside the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Islamabad, the law minister recalled that even during the New Judicial Year ceremony ea... -
Dawn - 19:19 Sep 10, 2025
The death toll from rain-related incidents in Karachi rose to eight on Wednesday, while over 300 people were relocated to safety after heavy monsoon showers swelled the Malir and Lyari rivers. Lyari and Malir rivers serve as Karachi’s main storm drains, channelling rainwater through a network of nullahs into the Arabian Sea. Once natural seasonal streams, they are now heavily constricted by urban sprawl, encroachments, and solid waste, turning many drains into open sewers. This blockage reduces their capacity to carry stormwater, causing frequent urban flooding during monsoon downpours. Four more people died in rain-related incidents in the metropolis today, raising the death toll since yesterday to eight, while three were missing, according to rescue services. Edhi rescuers recovered the bodies of three men and a woman after a van carrying four people fell into the rain-filled Konkar Nadi in Gadap Town, a statement issued by the Edhi Foundation said. The rescue operation to find the other missing people was ... -
Dawn - 19:15 Sep 10, 2025
Pakistan on Wednesday requested an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) following Israeli strikes in Qatari capital Doha, which targeted Hamas leadership. With Tuesday’s strikes, Israel is expanding military actions that have ranged across the Middle East to include the Gulf Arab state, where the Palestinian group has long had its political base. Qatar, which has acted as a mediator alongside Egypt in talks on a ceasefire in the almost two-year-old conflict in Gaza, condemned the attack as “cowardly” and called it a flagrant violation of international law. In a post on X, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar wrote that Pakistan requested the meeting along with Somalia and Algeria, after “unprovoked illegal Israeli aggression” in Qatar to “discuss the situation and seize itself of this grave matter”. “Pakistan expresses its complete solidarity and firm support with the government and brotherly people of Qatar,” Dar wrote. ‘Our enemies are not safe anywhere’: Israel Meanwhile, Israel warned its... -
Dawn - 18:08 Sep 10, 2025
Police on Wednesday arrested 226 individuals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Swabi for allegedly resisting a raid and participating in a ‘musical show’. Swabi Deputy Superintendent of Police Ijaz Khan Abazai told Dawn.com: “The number of arrested individuals was 226, and a number of them belonged to various areas outside the district, and the larger issue was that they tore the uniforms of three police personnel when they were resisting the police order to close the show.” He added that the arrested included two members of the transgender community as well. The first information report (FIR) of the incident was registered at the Swabi City Police Station on the complaint of Station House Officer (SHO) Saidul Amin under Sections 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 186 (obstructing a public servant in discharge of public functions), 294 (obscene acts in public) and 506 (criminal intimidation of the Pakistan Penal C... -
Dawn - 17:09 Sep 10, 2025
Kuldeep Yadav returned figures of 4-7 to lead holders India to a crushing nine-wicket win over hosts United Arab Emirates in their opening match of the men’s Asia Cup 2025 on Wednesday. Kuldeep struck three times in one over with his left-arm wrist spin as tournament favourites India skittled UAE for a paltry 57 in 13.1 overs after they elected to field first in the T20 in Dubai. India romped home to victory in 4.3 overs after left-handed opener Abhishek Sharma hit 30 off 16 balls and vice-captain Shubman Gill stood unbeaten on 20. But it was the bowlers who set up victory for the reigning T20 World Cup champions as medium-pacer Shivam Dube claimed three before Kuldeep wrapped up the innings. Put in to bat, UAE opener Alishan Sharafu started briskly with boundaries before falling to pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah for 22 off 17 balls. Skipper Muhammad Waseem struck 19 to be the only other batsman to make double figures in an otherwise shambolic show by the rest of the team. Kuldeep’s three wickets, including Wasee...
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