Dawn
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Dawn - 02:59 Nov 23, 2025
LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Saturday granted post-arrest bail to incarcerated PTI Punjab President Dr Yasmin Rashid in a case of burning police vehicles near Mughalpura during the May 9, 2023 riots. ATC-I Judge Manzer Ali Gill heard the bail petition during a hearing held at Kot Lakhpat jail. Barrister Taimur Malik argued on behalf of the petitioner and referred to the rule of consistency applied to other accused people, including PTI founder Imran Khan, former senator Ejaz Chaudhry and former governor Umar Sarfraz Cheema by the courts granting bail to them in similar cases. The judge approved the bail for Dr Rashid in the case, subject to furnishing surety bonds worth Rs100,000. However, he adjourned the hearing of the PTI leader’s bail petitions in three other cases till Nov 25. In a statement, Barrister Malik said his client should be granted bail in the remaining cases as well on the same legal principle. He added that later if the high court accepted her suspension applications, she could... -
Dawn - 02:45 Nov 23, 2025
• Bombardment in Central Gaza, Rimal claims 21 lives • Drone attack on Lebanon leaves one dead, five hurt • Canadian PM, UAE president back comprehensive Palestinian peace plan • Hamas says ‘escalating violations’ place a responsibility on mediators and US CAIRO: Israel continued its deadly assault blatantly violating ceasefire agreements on two fronts with airstrikes on Saturday that killed at least 21 people in Gaza and one in southern Lebanon, despite assurances from Palestinian resistance groups that they remain fully committed to the accord. Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip killed at least 21 people and wounded several others, local health authorities said, posing a further test to the six-week-old ceasefire. Witnesses and medics said the initial attack struck a car in the densely populated Rimal neighbourhood, setting it ablaze. It was not immediately clear whether the five dead were passengers in the vehicle or included passersby. Dozens of people rushed to extinguish the fire and rescue the victim... -
Dawn - 02:40 Nov 23, 2025
RECENTLY, I attended the press conference for the Adab Festival, an event that features prominently on the nation’s cultural and literary calendar. I’m always glad to see regional and provincial languages promoted at our literary festivals, and this year at Adab, one of the languages of Gilgit-Baltistan — Burushaski to be precise — was included in a mushaira in which poets Ahmed Ali Jan and Qamar Kazmi participated. This inclusion resonated with me this year because I’ve been teaching expository writing at the AKU’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences this semester, and many of my students come from Gilgit-Baltistan, Chitral, Hunza, Kohistan. They’ve left their homes up in the mountains to seek knowledge in the big bad city of Karachi, but they’re also educating everyone here about themselves, their land, culture, norms and values, and their dreams and hopes for the future. At first I had no idea of Gilgit-Baltistan’s Buddhist history, or how Sufi preachers brought Islam to Baltistan from Persia and Central Asia. No... -
Dawn - 02:37 Nov 23, 2025
PRIVATE schools realise that due to the subpar quality of state schools, families will do all they can to ensure their wards attend private institutions. This has resulted in the total commercialisation of education, with private schools burdening parents with unreasonable costs. Taking note of parents’ complaints, the Competition Commission of Pakistan has issued notices to 17 private school systems to inquire into alleged non-transparent selling practices, such as forcing parents to purchase mandatory branded school books, stationery and uniforms. Parents had also complained of arbitrary price hikes. Many schools disallow the purchase of cheaper generic notebooks. In August, the Senate Standing Committee on Education had also taken note of complaints that many private schools were hiking annual fees beyond the legal limit. As per the law, schools can only increase fees by 5pc every year. When asked about the CCP’s concerns, a representative of a private schools’ association observed that the “topic needs so... -
Dawn - 02:28 Nov 23, 2025
• Farmers face financial strain amid limited storage, low prices • Firms cut purchases by 23m kg in four years SWABI: Tobacco purchasing companies have slashed their demand for the 2026 crop by 13.183 million kg, marking the fourth consecutive year of reduced requirements. This cutback is expected to result in significant financial losses for local tobacco farmers, sources told Dawn on Saturday. Tobacco experts noted that while multinational and national firms have the capacity to store large quantities of tobacco, growers face major challenges due to limited financial resources and storage options. The inability to store crops like Virginia and White Patta tobacco means any surplus must be sold quickly, leaving growers at the mercy of fluctuating market demand. For 2026, the total demand from tobacco companies is set at 61.627m kg, with 58.184m kg of flue-cured Virginia (FCV) tobacco, 0.360m kg of dark air-cured tobacco, 1.342m kg of White Patta, 1.381m kg of burley, and 0.360m kg of sun-cured tobacco. This ... -
Dawn - 00:53 Nov 23, 2025
Dear Auntie, I am writing to seek advice as I am quite frustrated. I have always been close to my mother as, growing up, I was very lonely. I was shy and got bullied at school. Let’s just say my childhood ended early. We’ve always tried our best to be open and keep a healthy relationship, but communication started getting harder for me the more I grew up. Now, I am 16 and we fight a lot. I know this is mostly because our opinions differ greatly. My family has always been religious and stubborn with certain rules. My brother and I share different values and beliefs from our families, which is hard for them to grasp. Despite the differences, I want to get along with my mother and to compromise on things peacefully. I feel my relationship with her is only getting worse and one major reason for my chronic stress and anxiety is my declining relationship with my mother. I see myself becoming more and more like my father every day, unable to control my irritability and temper. I am scared of turning into him. I want... -
Dawn - 18:29 Nov 22, 2025
Gaza’s civil defence agency said 21 people were killed and dozens more wounded in multiple Israeli air strikes on Saturday, as Hamas and Israel again traded allegations of violating the fragile ceasefire. Saturday was one of the deadliest days since the US-brokered truce between Israel and Hamas came into effect on October 10, after two years of war. The Israeli military claimed an “armed terrorist” had crossed the so-called Yellow Line within the Gaza Strip, behind which Israeli forces have withdrawn, and fired at Israeli soldiers. In response to the incident in southern Gaza, which it said was on a route used for humanitarian aid deliveries in the territory, the Israeli military said it “began striking terror targets in the Gaza Strip”. Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for the civil defence agency which operates under Hamas authority, told AFP there were “21 martyrs this evening in five separate Israeli air strikes, in a clear violation of the ceasefire in Gaza”. They included seven killed and more than 16 injured ... -
Dawn - 18:24 Nov 22, 2025
Internet connectivity is set to get a boost after the launch of the South-East Asia-Middle East-Western Europe (SEA-ME-WE) 6 cable, the information technology ministry said on Saturday. “Pakistan has strengthened its global digital connectivity with the deployment of the SEA-ME-WE 6 submarine cable system, a 19,200-km high-capacity fibre network linking Pakistan to countries between Singapore and France,” said the statement from the ministry. The cable has a total capacity of over 100 terabit per second and it will provide “one of the lowest-latency routes between Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Western Europe”. It added that Pakistan has been allocated a total of 13.2tbps, with 4tbps being activated immediately — expanding the country’s international bandwidth capacity and enhancing support for cloud services, data centres, fintech, e-commerce, streaming, and the broader digital economy. The press release added that SEA-ME-WE 6 features “more fibre pairs and more than double the capacity” of previous SE... -
Dawn - 17:54 Nov 22, 2025
The Karachi police launched a preliminary investigation on Saturday after reports surfaced of two individuals allegedly threatening a journalist at his residence. A statement from the Crime Reporters Association (CRA) condemned what it said were “threatening activities of two suspicious persons” at the house of senior journalist Faraz Khan, associated with The News International, in Federal B Industrial Area. Referring to a video of the alleged incident making the rounds on social media, the CRA said: “The two persons can be clearly seen in the CCTV footage, who knocked on the door of the house and threatened the family of serious consequences, which caused panic and fear among the family.” It said the incident had caused “serious concern” among the affected family and wider journalist community, adding that it had immediately informed the police and high-ranking officials. “Taking immediate action, Federal B Industrial Area station house officer has reached the house … where the police authorities have taken... -
Dawn - 17:13 Nov 22, 2025
World governments agreed on Saturday to a compromise climate deal at the COP30 conference in Brazil that would boost finance for poor nations coping with global warming but omit any mention of the fossil fuels driving it. In securing the accord, countries attempted to demonstrate global unity in addressing climate change impacts even after the world’s biggest historic emitter, the United States, declined to send an official delegation. “We should support it because at least it is going in the right direction,” the European Union’s climate commissioner, Wopke Hoekstra, told reporters before the deal was gaveled through. The Belem deal launches a voluntary initiative to speed up climate action to help nations meet their existing pledges to reduce emissions, and calls for rich nations to at least triple the amount of money they provide to help developing countries adapt to a warming world by 2035. Scientists have said existing national commitments to cut emissions have cut projected warming significantly, but ar... -
Dawn - 17:04 Nov 22, 2025
PTI leader Hammad Azhar on Saturday claimed that Form 45s are missing from the election material provided to presiding officers by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) ahead of tomorrow’s by-election in Lahore’s NA-129 constituency. The by-election is being held after the seat fell vacant in July following the death of Azhar’s father, Mian Azhar. In a post on X, Hammad said: “We are receiving reports that multiple presiding officers are missing Form 45s in the election materials they have received from ECP (Election Commission of Pakistan) for the by-elections of tomorrow. This is a serious violation of the electoral process.” The alarm came after he had earlier issued “important instructions” for his party’s polling agents about the forms. “When the bags containing election materials are opened in the morning, make sure that the Forms 45 and Forms 46 in them are blank and shown to you. This is most important.” The PTI leader stressed the importance of the polling agents’ presence during the polling and ... -
Dawn - 16:12 Nov 22, 2025
Spinner Mohammad Nawaz set it up for Pakistan before opener Sahibzada Farhan finished it off to the joy of a packed crowd at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. With Nawaz (3-16) weaving his magic with the ball, including two wickets in two balls, in the Twenty20 tri-nation clash, Pakistan restricted Sri Lanka to 128-7 before romping to their target with 4.3 overs to spare in their Twenty20 tri-nation series clash on Saturday. Sahibzada led the batting effort with his sixth T20 half-century, hitting five sixes and six fours in an explosive 80 not out off 45 balls, as Pakistan eased to a six-wicket victory that made in two in two for the hosts, who beat Zimbabwe by five wickets in the series opener. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, have no wins in two with the defeat following a humbling at the hands on Zimbabwe on Thursday. But it had seemed all so different at the start when skipper Dasun Shunaka won the toss and elected to bat with openers Kamil Mishara and Pathum Nissanka tearing into Pakistan’s bowling with the latter c... -
Dawn - 16:10 Nov 22, 2025
PTI leader Taimur Saleem Jhagra said judicial corruption and institutional distrust were barriers to capital investment in the country, while he assailed the government on Saturday following the release of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment (GCDA) report. The report, published earlier this week, highlighted persistent corruption challenges in Pakistan driven by systemic weaknesses across state institutions and demanded immediate initiation of a 15-point reform agenda to improve transparency, fairness and integrity. Speaking at a press conference today about the report in Islamabad with former Sindh governor Mohammad Zubair, Jhagra highlighted a portion of the report that said: “The judicial sector that is organisationally complex is not able to [reliably] enforce contracts [or protect property rights] due to problems with efficiency, antiquated laws and the integrity of judges and judicial personnel.” “[The report] also points out how capital investments in... -
Dawn - 15:37 Nov 22, 2025
Lawyers of the Karachi Bar Association (KBA) staged a protest on Saturday at the Sindh High Court (SHC) against the recently enacted 27th Constitutional Amendment. The contentious amendment, which resulted in the establishment of the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), was passed by Parliament amid the opposition’s outcry. It has also been criticised by some legal experts as a means to dethrone the Supreme Court (SC) as the country’s highest judicial forum, ceding that position to the FCC. Former and sitting judges, as well as lawyers, voiced opposition to the amendment, particularly citing its impact on the SC. Hours after the amendment was enacted on November 13, two judges of the SC resigned, citing their reservations against it. The two judges were Athar Minallah and Mansoor Ali Shah, who was the senior puisne judge of the SC at the time. Today, lawyers began their protest outside the SHC’s premises by chanting slogans against the amendment and later entered the high court’s premises. Visuals showed some ... -
Dawn - 15:25 Nov 22, 2025
Pakistan and the European Union (EU) have underlined the importance of further deepening trade and investment ties, including through the EU’s GSP+ scheme, as a driver for sustainable growth, export diversification, job creation and mutually beneficial economic opportunity, the Foreign Office (FO) said on Saturday. The development came as 7th Strategic Dialogue between Pakistan and the EU was convened in Brussels. The meeting was co-chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and EU’s chief diplomat Kaja Kallas. The GSP+ status allows Pakistan to enjoy duty-free or minimum duty on European exports. According to the FO, the meeting provided a “comprehensive review” of the full spectrum of Pakistan-EU relations, “building on the positive momentum of recent high-level engagements and sustained institutional interactions”. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to a “broad-based, multidimensional and forward-looking partnership anchored in shared values, the UN Charter, multilateralism, and th... -
Dawn - 14:28 Nov 22, 2025
Ukraine and the US will soon meet in Switzerland to discuss Washington’s plan for ending the war with Russia, Kyiv said Saturday, as it seeks to fix the draft that heeds to some of Moscow’s hardline demands. US President Donald Trump gave Ukraine less than a week to approve the 28-point plan to end the nearly four-year conflict, which would see the invaded country ceding territory, cutting its army, and pledging to never join NATO. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s European allies, who were not included in drafting the agreement, said the plan requires “additional work” as they scrambled at the G20 summit in South Africa to come up with a counter-offer to Trump’s plan to beef up Kyiv’s positions. “In the coming days, consultations will take place with partners regarding the steps needed to end the war,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said, after he issued a decree stating Ukraine’s team for the talks, which will be led by his top aide, Andriy Yermak. “Our representatives know how to defend Ukraine’s national interests and w... -
Dawn - 13:49 Nov 22, 2025
Former Pakistan Test captain Rashid Latif ended the saga he began after apologising on Saturday for fiery comments made against the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) policies, which he termed “an error of judgement”. Latif’s comments on surrogate advertising and removal of Mohammad Rizwan from ODI captaincy had prompted PCB to lodge a complaint against the former captain with the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), which summoned Latif to appear before an investigation officer at its Lahore office on Nov 17. Later, Rashid had also moved the Islamabad High Court against the inquiry, terming it illegal and saying it was issued without lawful authority and was liable to be quashed. In a lengthy post on X today, Latif clarified that his “principal contention” was related to potential violations of the advisories issued by the Pakistani government. “At no point, whether inadvertently or deliberately, have I ever sought or intended to implicate any individual including players, board members, or other ... -
Dawn - 11:21 Nov 22, 2025
Security forces killed eight terrorists during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district, said a statement by the military’s media wing on Saturday. The IBO was conducted on November 21, according to a statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on the reported presence of khawarij belonging to Indian-proxy Fitna-al-Khawarij. Fitna-al-Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the “Indian-sponsored *khawarij”*, as per ISPR, “who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities against the security forces, LEAs and target-killing of innocent civilians.” “The operation underscores the strengthened collaborative efforts between [LEAs] and security forces, who have significantly intensified intelligence-driven operations in the region,” said ISPR. “These meticulously coordinated and synchronised security measures are designed to constrict the ope... -
Dawn - 09:50 Nov 22, 2025
Significant progress was reported on Saturday in the ongoing litigation over the transfer of judges, as five judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) filed a miscellaneous petition before the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) challenging the transfer of their intra-court appeal from the Supreme Court to the former. The application was filed by IHC’s Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri. The case pertains to the transfer of three judges from other high courts to the federal capital. In June, the SC’s Constitutional Bench had declared that their transfers were not unconstitutional. Subsequently, the five IHC judges had challenged the decision and filed an intra-court appeal. However, the intra-court appeal in the case has now been fixed before the FCC, which was established under the 27th Amendment, on November 24. In the miscellaneous petition, the IHC judges asked the FCC to return the intra-court ap... -
Dawn - 09:29 Nov 22, 2025
On a lush cricket ground outside Colombo, the sharp jingling of a ball cuts through the afternoon air. Every rattle is a pushback against the stigma of disability. Sri Lanka and India are co-hosting the first T20 World Cup for visually impaired women. The semi-finals are on Saturday between India and Australia and Pakistan and Nepal, followed by the final on Sunday. India manager Shika Shetty told AFP that the sport has transformed lives and helped change attitudes. “I think this (world cup) is one of the biggest opportunities for our visually impaired girls,” said Shetty, who is not blind. India captain T.C. Deepika recalled the disbelief she faced when she first picked up the bat. “People were saying, ‘How do they do it? They must be lying,’” she said in a video posted by the Cricket Association for the Blind in India. “(Later) they realised I can do something. People began to see that I have ability,” Deepika added. Playing by the ear While able-bodied cricket requires players to keep an eye on the ball at...
5467 items