Dawn
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Dawn - 16:45 Jan 26, 2026
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Monday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif over what he dubbed the Centre’s “persistent failure” to release “constitutionally guaranteed” funds, demanding the “full and unconditional” release of all outstanding federal dues. Since becoming the provincial chief executive in October last year, Afridi has repeatedly accused the federal government of stalling the release of funds allocated for KP, particularly those committed for the merged districts under the National Finance Commission (NFC). In a fresh call for the release of funds, the KP CM said: “I am compelled to place on record the deep and mounting concern of the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa regarding the persistent failure to release constitutionally guaranteed federal transfers.” This failure, he added, “has now translated into an acute fiscal and governance crisis for the province”. Afridi underscored that KP’s budget for fiscal year 2025-26 was framed and approved “strictly on the bas... -
Dawn - 16:35 Jan 26, 2026
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Monday said that he briefed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the “International Cricket Council (ICC) matter”, saying that a “final decision will be taken either on Friday or next Monday”. According to a handout by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Naqvi had called on the premier in Islamabad earlier today. “During the meeting, he briefed the prime minister on the recent situation regarding ICC T20 World Cup and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB),” the handout said. Subsequently, Naqvi, who is also the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), stated that he had a “productive” meeting with PM Shehbaz. “[I] briefed him on the ICC matter, and he directed that we resolve it while keeping all options on the table. It was agreed that the final decision will be taken either on Friday or next Monday,” the post read. The development comes as questions have been raised about Pakistan’s participation in the tournament following the ICC’s decision to replace Bangladesh with Scotlan... -
Dawn - 15:34 Jan 26, 2026
Saudi Arabia said it hoped to have “strong, positive” ties with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the kingdom’s foreign minister said on Monday, but stressed that future relations were contingent on Abu Dhabi’s complete withdrawal from Yemen. During a press conference in Warsaw, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan said Riyadh was “always keen” to have a “strong, positive relationship with the UAE”. “The UAE has now decided to leave Yemen, and I think if that indeed is the case and the UAE has completely left the issue of Yemen, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia will take responsibility,” he added. “I think that will be the building block for making sure that the relationship with the UAE continues strong and continues to serve the interests not just of both countries but the region,” he said. A public row had erupted between the two countries over Yemen after UAE-backed separatists seized swathes of land late last year, including areas along the Saudi border, infuriating Riyadh. Last month, the UAE had ... -
Dawn - 15:13 Jan 26, 2026
The Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) on Monday condemned the prison sentences of lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her spouse Hadi Ali Chatta, lamenting that “dictatorship has been imposed in Pakistan”. The remarks came as a TTAP delegation called on Imaan’s mother Shireen Mazari to “express solidarity” with the jailed couple, according to post by the party on X. The video accompanying the post showed TTAP chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai, Vice Chairman Mustafa Nawaz Khokar and the PTI’s Barrister Gohar Ali Khan included in the delegation. Speaking to the media after the meeting, PTI’s Gohar condemned the couple’s arrest, their trial and how “due process was violated”. “We have always been and will always remain opponents of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca). Voices cannot be suppressed. Nations cannot be suppressed by suppressing voices,” he said, “We condemn this judgment. We met her family and mother. They said that they have no contact with her (Imaan),” Gohar said, drawing a parallel b... -
Dawn - 15:10 Jan 26, 2026
ISLAMABAD: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) MNA Noor Alam Khan on Monday called for barring bureaucrats from holding dual nationality. Presently, Article 63 (1)(c) of the Constitution states: “A person shall be disqualified from being elected or chosen as, and from being, a member of the Majlis-i-Shoora (Parliament), if he ceases to be a citizen of Pakistan, or acquires the citizenship of a foreign state.” On the other hand, bureaucrats can be dual nationals. But, amendments have been proposed to the Civil Servants Act for a restriction on bureaucrats’ dual nationality. The matter came under discussion on Monday during a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat, where the Civil Servants (Amendment) Bill, 2024 — which was moved by Khan — was taken up. The bill, seen by Dawn, says: “This private bill seeks amendment in Section 5 of the Civil Servants Act, 1973 with a view to lay down an enabling provision so that a civil servant holding dual nationality or citizenship of any f... -
Dawn - 14:21 Jan 26, 2026
E-commerce giant Daraz on Monday announced an initiative to help sellers affected by the Gul Plaza inferno, saying it would launch a dedicated section on its website to sell their products and goods. The deadly inferno, which erupted on the night of January 17 at the mall and took nearly two days to be fully extinguished, claimed at least 73 lives and left over 1,100 shops in ruins. Efforts to scour through the debris for the remains of the dead are still underway. In a press release, Daraz said it was mobilising platform and ecosystem support for the affected traders by providing “onboarding, storage solutions, marketing enablement, and dedicated incubation over the next three months”. “Daraz Pakistan, under its Daraz Cares arm, has announced a dedicated support initiative for sellers impacted by the recent fire at Gul Plaza in Karachi, aimed at helping affected businesses regain stability and continue serving customers across Pakistan,” the press release said. “Through this initiative, Daraz Pakistan will l... -
Dawn - 14:10 Jan 26, 2026
Indonesia has received three Rafale fighter jets from France in the first deliveries from a multi-billion dollar defence deal between the two countries, a defence ministry official told Reuters on Monday, marking a major upgrade to the country’s ageing military hardware. Jakarta, France’s main arms client in Southeast Asia, has placed orders for as many as 42 Rafales, built by Dassault Aviation, as well as French frigates and submarines, as the archipelago steps up defence spending under President Prabowo Subianto, a former special forces commander. “The aircraft have been handed over and are ready for use by the Indonesian Air Force, Defence Ministry spokesperson Rico Ricardo Sirait said in a message in response to a Reuters query — the first confirmation that Indonesia has possession of the advanced military aircraft after striking an $8 billion deal with France in 2022 and expanding it last year. Sirait said the three aircraft arrived on Friday and were stationed at Roesmin Nurjadin Air Base in Pekanbaru, ... -
Dawn - 13:58 Jan 26, 2026
In many South Asian households, the instruction comes early and often. A boy falls, scrapes his knee, and starts to cry. Before the pain is addressed, the correction arrives: “Boys don’t cry.” Sometimes it’s said gently, sometimes sharply, often jokingly. Rarely is it questioned. Yet, according to child and adolescent psychiatrists, this single sentence can quietly shape a child’s emotional, cognitive, and social development in ways that last a lifetime. Dr Helal Uddin Ahmed, Professor of Child, Adolescent and Family Psychiatry at Faridpur Medical College, explains that childhood development is never just physical. “We usually give importance to physical growth,” he says, “But emotional, cognitive, and social development are equally important.” When one is disrupted, the others do not remain untouched. Emotional suppression starts early From a psychiatric perspective, emotional development depends on one simple but crucial skill: recognising emotions and responding to them appropriately. “A child needs to und... -
Dawn - 13:32 Jan 26, 2026
Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and his Burmese counterpart Than Swe held “very productive and comprehensive” discussions in Islamabad on Monday, as both Pakistan and Myanmar seek to revitalise ties. FM Than Swe arrived in Islamabad on a four-day official visit on the night of January 24. The Foreign Office (FO) had said the visit “aims to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries”. Addressing a joint press conference alongside Than Swe, Dar said, “Our discussions were very productive and comprehensive.” He highlighted that the Burmese FM’s visit reflected the “importance that both countries attach to revitalising and strengthening Pakistan-Myanmar relationship”. Noting that their meeting went for over an hour, Dar said the discussions covered the “full spectrum of bilateral relations”. “We also exchanged views on regional peace and security and agreed that all […] issues should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy,” the deputy prime minister added. He stressed that both countries had historic... -
Dawn - 12:43 Jan 26, 2026
Pakistan’s benchmark index, the KSe-100, closed in red at 188,587.66, down 579.16 points (-0.31 per cent) from the previous close. The total volume was 449.8 million shares at a value of Rs43.56 billion. The market fell to its lowest point at 3:28pm PKT, hitting an intraday low of 188,268.38 points. This rally was on account of investors positioning for a further cut in the policy rate based on easing inflation, rising foreign exchange reserves, and a stable rupee. After the markets closed, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) maintained its key policy rate at 10.5 per cent on Monday during its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. Brokerage house Topline Securities noted that this “came as a surprise” as a majority of their participants were expecting a rate cut. -
Dawn - 11:54 Jan 26, 2026
Bundled up in a yellow hat and black puffer jacket, Taylor was one of hundreds of protesters marching after the killing of a second US citizen this month by federal agents carrying out an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis. The violence has put new pressure and scrutiny on US President Donald Trump’s aggressive deportation campaign, which has drawn demonstrators onto the streets of the Midwestern city. “I think it was completely senseless, it was murder,” said the young woman, who did not want to give her last name. Federal agents shot to death 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti, claiming he intended to harm them during a confrontation on Saturday. However, a video shared widely on social media and verified by US media showed Pretti never drawing a weapon, with agents firing at him seconds after he was sprayed in the face with a chemical irritant and thrown to the ground. “I think the way that the government is bringing ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) in to take away our neighbours and to pull fami... -
Dawn - 11:45 Jan 26, 2026
The European Union (EU) on Monday hit Elon Musk’s social media platform X with an investigation over AI chatbot Grok’s generation of sexualised deepfake images of women and minors, in the latest step of an international backlash against the tool. Grok faces an outcry after it emerged that users could sexualise images of women and children using simple text prompts such as “put her in a bikini” or “remove her clothes”. “In Europe, we will not tolerate unthinkable behaviour, such as digital undressing of women and children,” said European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen. “It is simple — we will not hand over consent and child protection to tech companies to violate and monetise. The harm caused by illegal images is very real,” she said in a statement to AFP. EU tech commissioner Henna Virkkunen said the probe would “determine whether X has met its legal obligations” under the bloc’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which is designed to police internet giants. She said the rights of women and children in the EU... -
Dawn - 11:19 Jan 26, 2026
• Diplomats, press divided over New Delhi’s perceived reluctance to join Trump-led body • Given his propensity to paint himself as a global peacemaker, The Hindu warns US president may offer to mediate Kashmir dispute DESPITE being invited to join the ‘Board of Peace’ by President Donald Trump, India has yet to formally get involved in the process. Conspicuous by its absence from the Davos ceremony where 20 world leaders — including Trump and Pakistan’s PM Shehbaz Sharif — signed the board’s charter, some in India are viewing New Delhi’s reluctance through the lens of the Kashmir dispute. President Trump says the board’s goal is to make the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza permanent and oversee an interim government in the Palestinian territory. “This is not just for America, but for the whole world. I think we can spread it to other places. Like we did successfully in Gaza,” he had said at the time. But there seems to be concern among some circles that if India signs up for the board — which Trump ... -
Dawn - 10:43 Jan 26, 2026
A Bangladesh court on Monday sentenced Dhaka’s fugitive former police chief and two senior colleagues to be hanged for crimes against humanity committed during the rule of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina. All three, including the capital’s former police chief, Habibur Rahman, were tried in absentia, and their whereabouts are not known. The verdict comes ahead of elections on February 12, the first in the South Asian country of 170 million people since Hasina’s overthrow in August 2024. Five other ex-police officers were sentenced to varying terms. The case concerned the killing of six protesters in Dhaka on August 5, 2024, the day Hasina fled to India as protesters stormed her palace. Up to 1,400 people were killed between July and August 2024 when Hasina’s government launched a brutal campaign to silence the protesters, according to the United Nations. “The police forces… opened fire with lethal weapons… causing death to the aforesaid six persons,” judge Golam Mortuza Mozumder read to the court in Dhaka.... -
Dawn - 10:39 Jan 26, 2026
Gold surged to a record high above $5,100 an ounce on Monday, extending a historic rally as investors piled into the safe-haven asset amid rising geopolitical uncertainties. Spot gold was up 2.2 per cent at $5,089.78 per ounce by 6:56am GMT, after earlier touching an all-time high of $5,110.50. US gold futures for February delivery also gained the same amount to $5,086.30 per ounce. The metal soared 64pc in 2025, its biggest annual gain since 1979, driven by safe-haven demand, US monetary policy easing, robust central bank purchases including China’s fourteenth straight month of buying in December, and record inflows into exchange-traded funds. Prices have set consecutive record peaks over the past week and have already risen more than 18pc this year. The latest catalyst “is effectively this crisis of confidence in the US administration and US assets, that was set off by some of the erratic decision-making from the Trump administration last week”, said Kyle Rodda, a senior market analyst at Capital.com. US Pr... -
Dawn - 10:26 Jan 26, 2026
The country remained in the grip of a cold wave on Monday, with the National Weather Forecasting Centre (NWFC) saying that a new western disturbance is likely to persist in upper Pakistan until Tuesday. The NWFC, in its daily forecast, warned of traffic disruption due to heavy snowfall, causing road closures and slippery conditions in Naran, Kaghan, Dir, Swat, Kalam, Chitral, Kohistan, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Shangla, Astore, Hunza, Skardu, Murree, Galiyat, Neelum Valley, Bagh, Poonch, Haveli, Quetta, Ziarat, Chaman, Pishin, Qila Abdullah, Qila Saifullah, Noshki, Harnai and Zhob. It added that there was a risk of landslides and avalanches in the mountainous areas of upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. “Tourists are advised to remain extra cautious and avoid unnecessary travelling during the forecast period,” it said. The NWFC forecast rain, wind, thunderstorms and snowfall in Balochistan, KP, Kashmir and GB on Monday. According to the forecast, heavy rain and moderate-to-heavy snowfall is al... -
Dawn - 09:39 Jan 26, 2026
Israel said on Monday it would only allow pedestrians to travel through the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt as part of its “limited reopening” once it has recovered the remains of the last captive in the Palestinian territory. Reopening Rafah, a vital entry point for aid into Gaza, forms part of a truce framework announced by US President Donald Trump in October, but the crossing has remained closed since Israeli forces took control of it during the conflict in the besieged Palestinian territory. Visiting US envoys had reportedly pressed Israeli officials to reopen the crossing during talks in Jerusalem over the weekend. World leaders and aid agencies have repeatedly pushed for more humanitarian convoys to be able to access Gaza, which has been left devastated by more than two years of bombardment and depends on the inflow of essential medical equipment, food and other supplies. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Monday that Israel had agreed to a reopening “for pedestrian passage only, ... -
Dawn - 08:55 Jan 26, 2026
ISLAMABAD: Lawyers staged a protest on Monday at the main gate of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against the arrest and sentencing of lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, in the controversial social media posts case. The protest was led by IHC Bar President Syed Wajid Ali Gilani. Senior lawyer Babar Awan and a large number of advocates from the Islamabad Bar Council (IBC), High Court Bar and District Bar also participated in the protest. They carried banners reading “Justice for Lawyers” and raised slogans against the police. Addressing the gathering, Awan said that “state and police terrorism” was being carried out against lawyers, adding that such actions were harmful for society. Meanwhile, the Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA), IBC and Islamabad District Bar jointly announced a strike. However, lawyers appeared in the high court only in urgent matters. Due to the protest, strict security arrangements were made in and around the IHC, with a heavy police contingent... -
Dawn - 07:44 Jan 26, 2026
China’s President Xi Jinping said Beijing and New Delhi were “good neighbours, friends and partners” as he wished Indian President Droupadi Murmu congratulations on the South Asian nation’s Republic Day, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Monday. Xi said that over the past year, China-India relations have continued to improve and develop and are of “great significance for maintaining and promoting world peace and prosperity,” according to Xinhua. Xi said China has always believed that being “good neighbours, friends and partners” is the right choice for both China and India. He referred to China and India as the “dragon and the elephant dancing together,” Xinhua said. Xi said he hoped that both sides would expand exchanges and cooperation and address each other’s concerns to promote healthy and stable relations. The nuclear-armed Asian neighbours share a 3,800 km border that is poorly demarcated and has been disputed since the 1950s. Ties between the countries were shaken by a 2020 clash in which 20 ... -
Dawn - 05:52 Jan 26, 2026
A powerful winter storm spread a paralyzing mix of heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain from the Ohio Valley and mid-South to New England on Sunday, compounded by bitter, Arctic cold gripping much of the US east of the Rockies. Winter storm warnings were posted for most of the eastern third of the United States covering 118 million people, as the deep freeze strained energy supplies in some areas, and the National Weather Service predicted widespread, prolonged travel disruptions. An estimated 157 million Americans were warned to bundle up against cold ranging from sub-zero temperatures along the Canadian border to below-freezing as far south as the Gulf of Mexico. The Arctic blast was accompanied by gusty conditions that sent wind-chill conditions a measure of how cold it feels based on the rate of heat loss from the body plunging as low as minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit in the northern Plains. Deep snow, thick ice Some of the heaviest snowfall, up to one foot or more since the storm developed on Friday, was mea...
10444 items