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Dawn - 03:04 Nov 22, 2025
ISLAMABAD: Amid media reports regarding his potential removal from office, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday to discuss matters concerning the province, including the imposition of governor’s rule, the PM Office said in a statement. A source in the PM Office said the prime minister expressed full confidence in Mr Kundi and gave signals that the government has no intention of removing him. The discussion covered key administrative issues concerning KP and the country’s overall political situation. Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs Engineer Amir Muqam and Federal Minister for Public Affairs Unit Rana Mubashir Iqbal also attended. A few days ago, the governor denied reports about his removal but said he would “accept whatever the decision will be by the leadership of Pakistan Peoples Party”. The issue of imposing governor’s rule was also discussed, reportedly due to a rigid stance by KP’s newly elected Chief Minister Sohail Afridi towards the Centre, ar... -
Dawn - 02:37 Nov 22, 2025
• Buyers deposit dollars in FCY accounts, then withdraw to invest in cryptos • Dollar sales to banks drop to $3bn in 10 months KARACHI: The country has lost an estimated $600 million to illegal crypto transactions, a development that has sharply reduced the flow of dollars into the banking system as people buy dollars from exchange companies and route them into cryptocurrencies through unlawful channels. “Last year, during the first 10 months of the calendar year, we sold banks about $4 billion, which fell to $3 billion during the same period this year. These disappeared dollars were mostly invested in crypto currencies,” said Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan Chairman Malik Bostan. He said people buying dollars from exchange companies are depositing them in their foreign currency (FCY) accounts, from where they withdraw the dollars and purchase cryptocurrencies through illegal means. During Jan-October this year, Pakistanis retained about $400m in their FCY accounts, while $600m left the country wit... -
Dawn - 02:36 Nov 22, 2025
• FO says Islamabad understands ‘economic pain’ caused by closures but security threat ‘existential’ • Can’t let ‘our people be killed indiscriminately’ • Scheduling of planned Turkish delegation’s visit in connection with Pak-Afghan conflict still awaited ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office (FO) on Friday said that the resumption of trade with Afghanistan depended on the Taliban regime ending cross-border terrorism, and also linked the fate of key regional energy projects to Kabul halting its support for terrorist groups. “The onus of delay in the reopening of the border crossings rests with the Afghan Taliban regime,” Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Tahir Hussain Andrabi said at a weekly media briefing. Pakistan and Afghanistan’s bilateral trade, estimated at $1.6 billion to $1.8bn in 2023-24, with key border gateways like Torkham and Chaman handling most of the traffic, has been suspended since mid-October, following deadly clashes between Pakistani forces and Taliban fighters. This suspension is estimated to b... -
Dawn - 02:25 Nov 22, 2025
• Aurangzeb-led commission to chart strategy, form sub-groups for new award • Provinces, Centre to give 10-minute briefings on fiscal positions • Terms of reference cover distribution of five key federal tax categories • Commission to debate cost-sharing for provincial, national, transnational projects • PM expected to engage with leadership of key allies before formal sitting ISLAMABAD: After yet another rescheduling, the federal government has convened the inaugural meeting of the 11th National Finance Commission (NFC) on Dec 4 to set the housekeeping framework for subsequent technical, financial and legal discussions on horizontal and vertical resource sharing among the federating units. According to notices sent to the provinces, the first NFC meeting, to be presided over by Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, will take up three agenda items. It will begin with general discussions on “strategy for deliberations on the 11th NFC award, including proposed formation of sub-groups for deliberations on... -
Dawn - 02:24 Nov 22, 2025
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court of Pakistan (FCCP) on Friday received the first-ever appeal against a Sindh High Court (SHC) decision after a dedicated Filing and Information Desk was formally opened. FCCP Registrar Muhammad Hafeezullah Khan inaugurated the desk on the premises of the Islamabad High Court (IHC). “The establishment of this desk marks a significant step toward enhancing public facilitation and improving access to judicial services,” says a handout issued by FCCP. At the inauguration, the desk received two fresh cases, marking the commencement of its operational functions. The desk has been established to serve multiple purposes, including filing of new cases for FCCP, providing information and assistance to litigants, lawyers and the general public and receiving applications for attested copies of judicial records. Before the setting up of the information desk, the lawyers were facing difficulty since they had no idea where to file petitions or appeals. Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, wh... -
Dawn - 19:57 Nov 21, 2025
An Indian fighter aircraft, the indigenously developed Tejas, crashed during a demonstration flight at the Dubai Air Show on Friday, a witness and officials told AFP. The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited-built Tejas jet crashed at about 2:10pm local time. View this post on Instagram Videos circulating on social media showed the aircraft failing to recover from an aerial maneuver and bursting into a ball of flames after impacting the ground as onlookers watched in shock. A plume of smoke billowed from the crash site as emergency vehicles sped towards it. The incident happened on the last day of the Middle East’s biggest airshow, which features a flying display each afternoon. Hundreds of people were watching from a grandstand, while the apron was packed with planes, helicopters and other hardware on static display. In September, India signed a $7 billion order for 97 upgraded Tejas Mk1A fighter jets to replace its Russian MiG-21 fleet after decades of use. In a post on X, the Indian Air Force (IAF) confirmed the ... -
Dawn - 18:54 Nov 21, 2025
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s top security official denied on Friday that he had agreed to a Trump administration peace plan, and European leaders hastily sought a response to a draft that endorses most of Russia’s key wartime demands. Washington has presented Kyiv with a 28-point plan that would require Kyiv to give up additional territory, scale back the size of its military and forever abandon hope of joining the Nato alliance. Ukraine’s European allies said they had not been consulted over the plan and scheduled an urgent phone call to discuss the situation. Britain and Germany said their leaders would take part. Zelensky’s office did not say whether he would join in. US officials said the plan was drafted after consultations with Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, a close Zelensky ally who served as defence minister until July. “This plan was drawn up immediately following discussions with one of the most senior members of President Zelensky’s administ... -
Dawn - 18:04 Nov 21, 2025
The PTI and the Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) on Friday staged demonstrations across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab in protest of the 27th Constitutional Amendment and the mistreatment of PTI founder Imran Khan’s sisters outside Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail. Concurrently, the PTI and TTAP staged a protest in Karachi, where police detained about half a dozen people to prevent them from moving towards the demonstration’s scheduled venue. In KP, the demonstrations were staged on the directives of the PTI’s KP President Junaid Akbar, after the TTAP made the decision to march. They were held at the district level, where charged PTI workers chanted slogans against institutions while holding portraits of the party founder. In Peshawar, dozens of PTI workers held a protest outside the Peshawar Press Club, which was addressed by Provincial Minister for Local Government Meena Khan Afridi, Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Sher Ali Arbab and the PTI’s Peshawar district president Irfan Saleem. In his speech, Afr... -
Dawn - 17:39 Nov 21, 2025
The federal government on Friday authorised the deployment of the army and the civil armed forces for the upcoming by-elections on November 23. By-polls are due in NA-18 (Haripur), NA-96 (Faisalabad-II), NA-104 (Faisalabad-X), NA-143 (Sahiwal-III), NA-185 (Dera Ghazi Khan-II), NA-129 (Lahore-XIII), PP-73 (Sargodha-III), PP-98 (Faisalabad-I), PP-115 (Faisalabad-XVIII), PP-116 (Faisalabad-XIX), PP-203 (Sahiwal-VI), PP-269 (Muzaffargarh-II) and PP-87 (Mianwali-III) on Sunday. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had sent letters to the federal secretaries of defence and interior on Thursday, requesting them to deploy civil armed forces/army to allow peaceful conduct of polling and also to take other appropriate measures to protect the lives of election officials, voters and the public at large. An order, available with Dawn, issued today from the interior ministry said the government authorised the deployment of “sufficient strength” of civil armed forces as second-tier responders on standby in quick reacti... -
Dawn - 17:24 Nov 21, 2025
Pakistan on Friday said that the recent death sentence for former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina was an “internal matter” for the country and that its people were fully capable of solving their own issues. A Bangladesh court had sentenced Hasina to death on Monday, concluding a months-long trial that found her guilty of ordering a deadly crackdown on a student-led uprising last year. The ruling came months ahead of parliamentary elections expected to be held in early February. Addressing his weekly press briefing today, Foreign Office (FO) Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said several queries were received regarding the development, on which he said: “This is an internal matter of Bangladesh. The people of Bangladesh are fully capable of addressing their issues in accordance with their own democratic and constitutional processes.” Hasina was found guilty of ordering lethal force by a tribunal in the capital Dhaka, 15 months after resigning and fleeing to India in the face of a student-led uprising that kil... -
Dawn - 16:49 Nov 21, 2025
Security forces killed 13 terrorists during two separate operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the military’s media wing said in a statement on Friday. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in the statement that a joint intelligence-based operation (IBO) was carried out in the Pahar Khel area of Lakki Marwat district, conducted by security forces and the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD). “During the conduct of [the] operation, own troops effectively engaged the khawarij location and after an intense fire exchange, ten khawarij were sent to hell,” the statement read. Fitna-al-Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) The CTD said in their statement earlier today that two key commanders were among the terrorists killed in the IBO, which was launched at 7:30am. “During the operation, 10 terrorists were killed, including two key commanders of the Teepo Gul group: Commander Niaz Ali, known as Akasha and Commander Abdullah, known as Shipunkoi,”... -
Dawn - 16:24 Nov 21, 2025
The Karachi police on Friday detained about half a dozen people to prevent them from moving towards the venue of a scheduled protest by the opposition alliance Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP), held as part of countrywide demonstrations against the recently passed 27th Constitutional Amendment. All roads leading to the Karachi Press Club (KPC) were closed by the police after buses and other heavy vehicles were parked to block access. Contingents of female police personnel were also deployed. Some protesters were detained as they attempted to reach KPC. PTI Sindh spokesperson Mohammed Ali Bozdar told Dawn that “more than two dozen protesters” were detained near the KPC. Also detained was civil society activist Alifya Sohail, not part of the TTAP protest, who was initially taken to the Artillery Maidan Police Station, where her phone was taken from her and she was not permitted to contact anyone. She was subsequently moved to the Women Police Station situated on Sharae Faisal. No case was registered agai... -
Dawn - 16:15 Nov 21, 2025
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday reiterated that the “illegal and unilateral” step to hold the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) in abeyance is a “real threat” to regional stability while addressing the Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum Roundtable in Brussels. India in April held the IWT in abeyance following the attack in occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26 — an incident New Delhi blamed on Islamabad without evidence. Pakistan termed any attempt to suspend its water share an “act of war”, noting the IWT had no provision for unilateral suspension. It later said it was considering court action, citing a violation of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. Speaking at the EU forum in Belgium’s capital today, Dar emphasised that water must be a source of cooperation “and not weaponised for politics”. “We believe that durable peace in South Asia cannot be achieved without a peaceful resolution of decades-old Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with relevant United Nations S... -
Dawn - 15:43 Nov 21, 2025
At least 19 people were killed and several others injured on Friday as a result of a gas explosion at a factory near Faisalabad’s Malikpur area, with the owner arrested later in the day as well. An initial statement by Rescue 1122 said the incident took place early in the morning after the boiler of the factory exploded, causing the collapse of the building and nearby structures. However, the rescue service later attributed the explosion to a gas leak, which was also confirmed in the statement issued by Faisalabad Commissioner Raja Jahangir Anwar’s office. The first information report (FIR) of the incident was registered on the state’s behalf by the police and mentioned 20 dead, with 19 named victims, and seven injured. City police spokesperson Muhammad Tariq confirmed to Dawn that the Mansoorabad police had arrested the factory owner. The statement by the commissioner’s office said no boiler was present in the factory, adding that four factories were operating in the Malikpur area. “A fire erupted in one of ... -
Dawn - 15:25 Nov 21, 2025
New Delhi, with its sprawling metropolitan region of 30 million residents, is regularly ranked among the world’s most polluted capitals. Acrid smog blankets the skyline each winter, when cooler air traps pollutants close to the ground, creating a deadly mix of emissions from crop burning, factories and heavy traffic. Here are some pictures from the Indian capital today. A man moves his boat through foam on the polluted Yamuna river, on a smoggy morning amid ongoing air pollution in New Delhi, India, on November 21. — Reuters A fisherman uses a string to catch fish through foam on the polluted Yamuna river, on a smoggy morning amid ongoing air pollution in New Delhi, India, on November 21. — Reuters Boats move through foam on the polluted Yamuna river, on a smoggy morning amid ongoing air pollution in New Delhi, India, on November 21. — Reuters A fisherman on a boat stands next to a fishing net covered with foam, on the polluted Yamuna river, on a smoggy morning amid ongoing air pollution in New Delhi, India, ... -
Dawn - 15:17 Nov 21, 2025
A Pakistan International Airlines flight attendant has reportedly gone missing in Canada, prompting the airline to launch an inquiry into his disappearance. According to PIA spokesperson Abdullah Hafeez Khan, the attendant did not report for flight PK-798 from Toronto to Lahore. “When contacted, he cited ill health as an excuse,” the spokesperson said, adding that the matter is being investigated. “In case of illegal disappearance, departmental action will be initiated against the flight attendant,” Khan said. Missing PIA crew members, particularly in Canada, have been reported in the past, too. Last year in October, a cabin crew member was reportedly gone missing while on duty. The missing crew member, based in Islamabad, had disappeared during a layover in Toronto. Similarly, a 47-year-old PIA steward was reportedly gone missing in Canada in March 2024. In February 2024, another member of the airline’s cabin crew was reported missing while on duty. The member had arrived in Toronto on PIA flight PK-782 fro... -
Dawn - 14:55 Nov 21, 2025
Four people in Denmark who developed serious eye conditions after using popular weight-loss and diabetes drugs Wegovy and Ozempic are entitled to compensation, an independent body ruled on Friday. More than 40 people had sought reimbursement after they said they had developed a serious eye condition as a result of using one of the drugs, both made by Novo Nordisk, according to the Danish Patient Compensation Association. The condition, NAION (non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy), is a lack of blood supply to the optic nerve, which can lead to a loss of vision. The association said that it had ruled on five cases so far, and found four people who merited compensation. “It’s unfortunate for the patients who have been affected by the side effect. NAION is a serious condition that causes permanent and incurable damage to vision,” the association’s director, Karen-Inger Bast, said in a statement. Bast added that the cases were difficult to assess, given that it was a new medicine and the patients were... -
Dawn - 14:45 Nov 21, 2025
An Indian fighter aircraft, the indigenously developed Tejas, crashed during a demonstration flight at the Dubai Air Show on Friday. A fireball was seen immediately after the aircraft impacted the ground, with thick black smoke rising from the site of the incident. In a post on X, the Indian Air Force (IAF) confirmed the death of the pilot in the incident. This is not the first time an IAF jet has been destroyed in an accident. Here’s a list of crashes reported over the past five years. 2020 February 23: MiG-29K An IAF MiG-29k crashed off the coast of Goa, The Times of India reported, quoting an Indian Navy spokesperson. The aircraft had been on a routine training sortie. An image of an Indian Air Force MiG-29K. — Photo courtesy The Times of India/File 2021 March 17: MiG-21 Bison An IAF pilot was killed when his MiG-21 Bison aircraft crashed in central India. Group Captain A Gupta had taken off for a combat training mission from an airbase before he experienced the fatal accident, an IAF statement said. It ad... -
Dawn - 14:40 Nov 21, 2025
South Africa said on Friday the rate of violence against women in the country was a national disaster, as thousands protested to highlight the problem ahead of this weekend’s G20 summit of world leaders. The country has one of the world’s highest rates of gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF), leading to deaths five times higher than the global average, according to the United Nations’s gender equality organisation UN Women. In one of dozens of “lie-in” protests countrywide, thousands of people dressed in black lay on the ground for 15 minutes at an event in Johannesburg’s city centre, just a few kilometres (miles) from the venue where G20 leaders will meet on Saturday and Sunday. Organisers said the action was to honour the 15 women murdered every day in South Africa. A 2022 government survey found that one in three South African women had experienced physical violence, and almost 10 per cent had faced sexual violence. More than 10,700 cases of rape were reported to police in the first three months of 20... -
Dawn - 14:33 Nov 21, 2025
Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore on Friday allocated portfolios to his 18 ministers and two advisers, two days after the formation of his cabinet. According to an official notification, the senior-most minister, Mian Abdul Waheed, retained the department of law, justice, parliamentary affairs and human rights, which he had also held in the previous coalition government. Sardar Javed Ayoub was assigned forests, wildlife, fisheries and the Muzaffarabad Development Authority; Syed Bazil Ali Naqvi was given health and population welfare; Javed Iqbal Budhanvi received food; and Nabila Ayoub was allocated the portfolio of the Kashmir cause, arts and languages. The portfolios of works and communications (C&W), local government and rural development and finance and inland revenue also went to the PPP loyalists, Sardar Ziaul Qamar, Chaudhry Amar Yasin and Chaudhry Qasim Majeed, respectively. Yasin is the son of PPP AJK President Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin, who was overlooked for the ...
8038 items