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Dawn - 14:50 Jan 21, 2026
The name and logo of the new Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise, acquired by OZ Developers earlier this month and allocated to Sialkot, were finally unveiled on Wednesday. Sialkot team owner Kamil Khan unveiled ‘Sialkot Stallionz’ as his franchise’s name today in a social media post. “Excited to be part of the Pakistan Super League journey,” he wrote on X. Khan had announced on Tuesday that the name of his franchise would be unveiled at 2 pm today. In a separate social media post today, the team announced, “The wait is over. A new force rises — Sialkot Stallionz.” In a letter to its fans, the team said that the name “carries legacy and pride”. “This journey is not ours alone; it belongs to every fan who stands with us, cheers for us, and believes in the spirit of Sialkot,” it said on X. Earlier this month, a historic Rs1.85 billion bid from OZ Developers at the PSL franchise auction secured Sialkot as one of the two new teams. OZ Developers had been in a bidding war with software company i2c before outbidd... -
Dawn - 14:20 Jan 21, 2026
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday granted activist and lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband Hadi Ali Chattha pre-arrest bail in a case pertaining to a protest by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) that dates back to July 2025 and resurfaced a day earlier. The two had filed pre-arrest bail applications in the case. However, their bail pleas could not be taken up on an urgent basis on Tuesday while the couple struggled to avoid arrest. The couple took refuge in the IHCBA president’s office, where they spent the whole night, while a large number of police officials remained outside the premises. During the hearing on Wednesday, Justice Muhammad Azam Khan of the IHC took up the pre-arrest application and approved Mazari and Chattha’s bail against surety bonds of Rs10,000 each. Advocate Kamran Murtaza appeared on behalf of the petitioners, and a large number of lawyers and officials from the IHCBA were present in the courtroom in solidarity with the applicants. Addressing the cour... -
Dawn - 13:35 Jan 21, 2026
US President Donald Trump has invited countries to pay $1 billion in exchange for a permanent seat on a newly proposed initiative known as the “Board of Peace”. The body was initially envisioned as a mechanism to address Israel’s war on Gaza, though its charter does not restrict its mandate solely to the occupied Palestinian territory. Several states have been approached by the US to join the initiative. Pakistan also received an invitation on Sunday. Today, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif accepted the proposal to participate in the initiative with the aim of “achieving lasting peace in Gaza”, according to a statement issued by the Foreign Office (FO). What is the board meant to do? According to AFP, the Board of Peace will be led by Trump under the terms outlined in its founding charter. The document describes it as “an international organisation that seeks to promote stability, restore dependable and lawful governance, and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict”. It further states t... -
Dawn - 13:27 Jan 21, 2026
SWAT: Unidentified assailants hurled a hand grenade on the residence of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Housing Dr Amjad Ali in Swat district on Wednesday morning, police said. According to Swat District Police Officer (DPO) Muhammad Omar Khan, the incident occurred in the Shamozai area of Barikot tehsil, where unidentified suspects hurled a hand grenade at the minister’s house. “At the time of the attack, the provincial minister was not present at his residence,” the DPO told Dawn. “The explosion caused minor damage to the house’s boundary wall,” he said, adding that the minister’s family members remained safe. Following the attack, police cordoned off the area and launched an investigation to identify and arrest those responsible, DPO Khan added. He further said that security around the residence and nearby areas had been tightened as a precautionary measure and that all possible angles were being examined. Last month, at least one person was injured after unknown assailants opened fire on PTI Senator Khurr... -
Dawn - 13:11 Jan 21, 2026
Police in India-occupied Kashmir asked at least three journalists working in the region to sign a pledge vowing not to “disturb peace” in the region, two of them told Reuters on Wednesday. A third journalist, an assistant editor with the Indian Express newspaper, was summoned to a police station in Srinagar, the capital of the federal territory, but did not sign the pledge, the newspaper said in a report published on Wednesday. India has imposed several restrictions in the region after revoking its constitutional autonomy in 2019, laying out rules for how the region is covered and reported. A spokesperson for Srinagar police did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters. The Indian Express, one of India’s most respected dailies, said its journalist was summoned four times between January 15 and 19 and asked to sign the pledge on January 16. “He has not signed the bond as asked by the police. The Indian Express is committed to doing what is necessary to uphold and protect the rights and dig... -
Dawn - 13:04 Jan 21, 2026
Gul Plaza only announced its importance after it was gone. As I’m writing this, I realise that the lamp on my bedside table is from there. So is the wall clock ticking opposite me, the plant sitting just within my line of sight, the bedsheet folded at the foot of my bed, and the ceramic tray holding loose change on my desk. I hadn’t noticed how much of my living space traces back to that same address in Karachi’s historic centre — until it burned. Each object carries its own small origin story: a practical purchase the first time we moved houses, an impulsive buy after a long walk through crowded aisles, or something my mother spotted on her trips there, sent to me on WhatsApp, and I approved from afar. At the time, none of it felt consequential. These were low-stakes decisions made between bargaining and staircases, between “let’s check one more shop” and “we’ll just take this one.” Everything we ever bought from Gul Plaza (and there is a lot) will eventually break, fade, or quietly disappear into storage. O... -
Dawn - 12:22 Jan 21, 2026
ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly (NA) passed on Wednesday the Elections Amendment Bill, 2026, seeking secrecy of parliamentarians’ assets, amid opposition by the PTI. Under Section 137 of the Elections Act, all members of the NA, Senate, and provincial assemblies are required to submit to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), on or before Dec 31 each year, a statement of their assets and liabilities, including those of their spouses and dependent children. Section 138 of the Elections Act requires the ECP to publish these declarations in the official gazette. The bill passed by the NA today proposes an amendment to Section 138 of the Elections Act, seeking to insert a proviso stating: “Provided that the speaker of the assembly concerned or, as the case may be, the chairman of the Senate may, on an application made by a member for reasons to be recorded in writing, by a ruling delivered in the chamber, determine that the statement of assets and liabilities of that member shall not be published publicly by... -
Dawn - 11:46 Jan 21, 2026
The world’s biggest nuclear power plant was restarted on Wednesday for the first time since the 2011 Fukushima disaster, its Japanese operator said, despite persistent safety concerns among residents. The plant was “started at 19:02”, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) spokesman Tatsuya Matoba told AFP of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata prefecture. The regional governor approved the resumption last month, although public opinion remains sharply divided. On Tuesday, a few dozen protesters — mostly elderly — braved freezing temperatures to demonstrate in the snow near the plant’s entrance, whose buildings line the Sea of Japan coast. “It’s Tokyo’s electricity that is produced in Kashiwazaki, so why should the people here be put at risk? That makes no sense,” Yumiko Abe, a 73-year-old resident, told AFP. Around 60 per cent of residents oppose the restart, while 37pc support it, according to a survey conducted in September. TEPCO said on Wednesday it would “proceed with careful verification of each plan... -
Dawn - 11:41 Jan 21, 2026
An Indian Air Force (IAF) training aircraft crashed in India’s northern Uttar Pradesh state, with both pilots emerging unharmed, police said. On a routine sortie from Bamrauli air force station near Prayagraj, a Microlight aircraft faced a technical malfunction and was “safely force landed in an uninhabited area, ensuring no damage to civil life or property”, the Indian Air Force said on social media platform X. “Both the pilots on board are safe,” it said, adding that a probe into the cause of the accident is underway. Manish Shandilya, a local police officer, said the training aircraft “crashed after its engine developed a sudden technical snag,” reported The Press Trust of India. “In Prayagraj, Deputy Commissioner of Police (City) Manish Shandilya said the aircraft was on a sortie towards Phaphamau and the Sangam area when its engine developed a technical snag,” The Hindu reported. The report quoted him as saying that the pilots had executed a “controlled and safe landing in a pond”. In November last year,... -
Dawn - 09:38 Jan 21, 2026
WASHINGTON: A Pakistani parliamentary delegation, led by Senator Babar Siraj Khan Nasir, arrived in Washington on Tuesday evening for a series of high-level engagements with US lawmakers and officials as part of a renewed push to strengthen bilateral ties. The delegation, which includes members of both the Senate and the National Assembly of Pakistan, will also engage with the members of the Pakistani diaspora to emphasise the significance of their participation in promoting national causes in the United States. The delegation will participate in multiple forums, beginning with an Inter-Parliamentary Group (IPG) session at the Rayburn House Office Building on Wednesday, followed by a press conference at the National Press Club (NPC) and a diplomatic reception in New Jersey. According to Dr Gholam Mujtaba, chairman of the Pakistan Policy Institute USA (PPI-USA), who has been instrumental in organising the visit, the engagements are designed to promote legislative-to-legislative dialogue, deepen institutional c... -
Dawn - 09:13 Jan 21, 2026
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday questioned how proceedings in the case concerning PTI founder Imran Khan’s X account could continue if authorities were denying his counsel access to him. The remarks were made by Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir, who was presiding over a hearing on a petition against the incarcerated former premier regarding “inflammatory posts” made from an X account operated in Imran’s name. During today’s hearing, PTI leader Salman Akram Raja, who is representing Imran in the case, told the court that he had not been able to meet his client for consultation. “The court has received responses from Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and jail authorities,” Justice Tahir said. Addressing Raja, Justice Tahir said that “final arguments in the case will be presented on February 24 if you meet (Imran)”. The judge then directed Raja to submit a detailed response in court in connection with the contempt petition over the denial of meetings with the PTI founder. The court also issued i... -
Dawn - 07:48 Jan 21, 2026
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepted an invitation to join US President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” aimed at resolving conflicts, Netanyahu’s office said Wednesday. “Prime Minister Netanyahu announced that he has accepted US President Donald Trump’s invitation and will join as a member of the Board of Peace, which will be composed of leaders of the world,” the office said in a statement. The board was originally conceived to oversee the rebuilding of post-war Gaza, but its charter seen by AFP does not appear to limit its role to the Palestinian territory, and members have to pay up to $1 billion for a permanent spot on it. The board “seeks to promote stability, restore dependable and lawful governance, and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict”, reads the preamble of the charter sent to countries invited to participate. It will be chaired by Trump himself, who will also “separately serve” as the representative of the United States. Dozens of countries and leaders... -
Dawn - 07:15 Jan 21, 2026
Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell and former captain Steve Waugh are among the franchise owners in a new European Twenty20 league, which will begin in August after two false starts. Backed by the cricket boards of Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands, and approved by the governing International Cricket Council, the European T20 Premier League’s (ETPL) founders include Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan. “Mainland Europe is not known for cricket,” Bachchan told Reuters from Sydney, where they unveiled owners of the three teams, including the Amsterdam franchise owned by a group that includes Waugh and Jamie Dwyer, a five-time International Hockey Federation player of the year. “It’s an opportunity to create a huge cricket ecosystem in and around Europe. With ETPL, we hope we can bring the magic of cricket euphoria to mainland Europe.” View this post on Instagram Maxwell is a co-owner of the Belfast franchise, while former New Zealand internationals Nathan McCullum and Kyle Mills bought the Edinburgh side. The... -
Dawn - 06:46 Jan 21, 2026
India will withdraw its diplomats’ families and dependents from Bangladesh in the face of security threats as tension rises ahead of a February 12 general election, an Indian official said on Wednesday. Campaigning begins on Thursday for Bangladesh’s election, which has sparked protests and counter-protests. Ties between the South Asian neighbours soured after former prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled to India in 2024, following deadly protests. India’s past support for Hasina has frayed relations between the two neighbours since her overthrow. India’s withdrawal move was part of “internal readjustments”, the official said, without elaborating. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, pointed to Indian media reports of New Delhi’s decision. It was not immediately clear when the families would return. The foreign ministries of India and Bangladesh did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In December, India summoned Bangladesh’s high commissioner, or ambassador to voice its concern over wha... -
Dawn - 06:16 Jan 21, 2026
Pakistan has warned that India’s unilateral decision to hold the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in abeyance has created an unprecedented crisis for Pakistan’s water security and regional stability. Calling the move a deliberate “weaponisation of water,” Pakistan’s representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Usman Jadoon, said India’s actions amounted to material breaches of the landmark 1960 treaty. Speaking at the Global Water Bankruptcy Policy Roundtable hosted by Canada and the United Nations University on Tuesday, Ambassador Jadoon said that since April last year, India had committed several serious violations of the treaty, including unannounced disruptions of downstream water flows and the withholding of critical hydrological data. “Pakistan’s position is unequivocal; the treaty remains legally intact and permits no unilateral suspension or modification,” he said. He stressed that for more than six decades, the Indus Waters Treaty had provided a time-tested framework for the equitable and predictable ma... -
Dawn - 06:12 Jan 21, 2026
US President Donald Trump’s plane was forced to return to an air base late Tuesday due to a “minor electrical issue” shortly after departing for Switzerland, the White House said. Air Force One returned to Joint Base Andrews out of an abundance of caution, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. It landed shortly after 0400 GMT. Journalists traveling with Trump reported that lights in the cabin went out briefly after takeoff. After returning to Andrews, Trump resumed his trip to the Davos forum early Wednesday. Trump and his entourage changed planes at Joint Base Andrews and took off again shortly after 0500 GMT, about two-and-a-half hours after his initial departure. With its classic blue and white livery, Air Force One is arguably the world’s most iconic plane and an instantly recognisable symbol of the US presidency. Trump has long been unhappy with the current Air Force One jets - two highly customized Boeing 747-200B series aircraft that entered service in 1990 under president George H.W Bush. Last year, ... -
Dawn - 05:57 Jan 21, 2026
Lahore has again emerged as the most polluted city in the world with its air quality being classed as “hazardous”, according to air quality monitoring platform IQAir. In past few years, air pollution has become one of the most pressing public health and environmental crises facing Pakistan. Various cities of the country, most notably Lahore, deal with smog, especially in the winter months. The phenomenon is attributed mainly to industrial emissions, vehicular pollution, stubble burning and air movement. Lahore was placed at the top of the list of most polluted cities globally on Wednesday morning, with an air quality index (AQI) of 452, while Karachi ranked ninth at 179, according to the IQAir live tracker. Lahore remains at the top of the list of most polluted cities in the world on January 21. — screengrab via IQAir On Tuesday, the platform issued an air quality alert for Pakistan as major cities experienced “unhealthy” to “hazardous” levels of air pollution, posing “serious health risks to residents, espec... -
Dawn - 02:34 Jan 21, 2026
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump suggested on Tuesday that his proposed “Board of Peace” might one day replace the United Nations, which he described as “not very helpful”, as he marked the first anniversary of his second term in office at the White House. Speaking for more than an hour before taking questions from reporters, Trump said the UN had potential but added that he had never considered turning to the organisation to help resolve conflicts. Asked whether his envisioned Board of Peace could supplant the UN, he replied that it “might”. Earlier in the day, Trump released a list of what he described as major achievements from his first year back in office, highlighting what he portrayed as successes in both domestic and foreign policy. Public opinion polls released around the same time showed growing voter dissatisfaction with the administration’s immigration policies. Against that backdrop, the first 15 minutes of Trump’s appearance in the White House briefing room appeared aimed at reshaping ... -
Dawn - 18:37 Jan 20, 2026
The sisters of incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan on Tuesday abandoned their sit-in near Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail and headed to Islamabad for a protest rally. Sit-ins a short distance away from the prison on Tuesdays and Thursdays by PTI workers and supporters, as well as Imran’s sisters, have become a usual occurrence as the former premier’s family continues to be restricted from meeting the ex-premier. A court order issued by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on March 24, 2025 mandated that meetings with Imran would be permitted twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Despite the IHC’s order, Imran’s sisters — Aleema Khan, Uzma Khan and Noreen Khan Niazi — along with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, have tried and failed to meet Imran. On Tuesday, the party and Imran’s sisters had staged a sit-in near Adiala jail after again being denied a meeting with the incarcerated prime minister. However, on Tuesday night, the party’s media coordinators told Dawn that the sisters suddenly ended the demon... -
Dawn - 18:31 Jan 20, 2026
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Belarus on Tuesday joined US President Donald Trump’s newly proposed Board of Peace. The UAE’s foreign ministry said it had accepted an invitation to join the board. It added that the country stood ready to contribute actively to the mission of the Board of Peace, supporting greater cooperation, stability, and prosperity for all, marking Abu Dhabi’s formal alignment with Washington’s new conflict-resolution effort. Bahrain’s foreign ministry said it had accepted Trump’s invitation to the Board of Peace as a founding member. Separately, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko signed an agreement to join the Board of Peace. A presidential Telegram channel published a video of Lukashenko signing the document, and quoted him as saying he hoped to contribute towards peace in Ukraine. Trump had originally proposed establishing the Board when he announced his plan last September to end the conflict in Gaza. But an invitation sent to world leaders last week outlines a bro...
10444 items