Dawn
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Dawn - 11:01 Oct 20, 2025
AWARENESS, action, the required funding for the said action, implementation, and, finally, the results of the said action — these are all very different things. A case in point is the air pollution in Pakistan. The air we breathe has been foul for decades. Among the earliest measurements of air pollution in Pakistan was a study conducted in Lahore in 1978, cited in the International Journal of Advances in Sustainable Development. The metric used was Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM), a broader measure that predates today’s more precise focus on particulate matter. The study recorded an average SPM concentration of 332μg/m³ in Lahore’s commercial core — an extremely high level of particle pollution by any standard. And, yet, it is only in recent years that the idea of combatting the noxious air we all breathe has come into focus. For many of us, growing up, the extent of our knowledge was limited to ‘plant more trees’. So, what exactly is wrong with the air we breathe? Before financing questions can be addres... -
Dawn - 09:25 Oct 20, 2025
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday gave police a three-day ultimatum to recover the deputy director of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), who was allegedly abducted earlier this month. The court issued the directives while presiding over the hearing of a plea filed by Rozina Usman for the recovery of her husband Muhammad Usman, who she has alleged was taken away by four armed individuals on October 14. IHC Justice Muhammad Azam Khan heard the petition while Advocate Raja Rizwan Abbasi appeared in court on behalf of the wife. During the hearing, the court directed that if police failed to recover the official within three days, the NCCIA central director and the Islamabad inspector general should appear in court in person. Meanwhile, Abbasi told the court that he was unaware of the whereabouts of his client. “I don’t know where the petitioner is; I fear she may have also been abducted,” Abbasi told the court. He added that the petitioner had called him saying she was being pressured t... -
Dawn - 08:35 Oct 20, 2025
This article was originally published on January 12, 2025. The present Pakistan’s targeted strikes on December 4, 2024 on the training camps of the self-styled Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in the Birmal area of eastern Paktika province of Afghanistan have brought Afghanistan’s irredentist policy out in the open. The strikes came after a string of terrorist attacks by the TTP on Pakistan’s security forces. The TTP, an internationally designated terrorist group, is hosted by the self-declared Afghan Interim Government on Afghanistan’s soil. The AIG — described herein as the Tehreek-i-Taliban Afghanistan (TTA) — has, despite multiple requests and démarches by Pakistan, refused to rein in the TTP. The TTA’s strategy has been to alternately dismiss (a) Pakistan’s position that the TTP is using Afghanistan’s soil to mount attacks inside Pakistan, (b) claim that this is Pakistan’s internal affair and (c) ask Pakistan to talk to the TTP bilaterally. TTA’s position is bogus on all counts but it is well thought-out... -
Dawn - 08:15 Oct 20, 2025
President, PM extend greetings to Hindu community on Diwali, reiterate commitment to minority rights
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif both extended greetings to the Hindu community in Pakistan to mark Diwali on Monday and reiterated their commitment to minority rights. Diwali is a colourful festival involving lighting candles, worship, celebrations and prayers. It is celebrated to mark the day when Lord Rama returned home after his 14-year exile. It is a five-day festival and during this time, houses are cleaned and windows are opened to welcome Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. According to Radio Pakistan, the president said that the festival of Diwali “reminds us of the triumph of light over darkness and good over evil”. He noted that the Constitution guaranteed equal rights and complete freedom of religion to all citizens. “Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah envisioned a Pakistan where minorities would enjoy equal rights and opportunities,” he added. Zardari also lauded the services of Hindu community in education, commerce, and public service. In his message, Prime Minister Shehba... -
Dawn - 08:02 Oct 20, 2025
There was anger on Monday in Israel after police banned the Israeli Premier League’s Tel Aviv derby amid chaotic scenes, triggering complaints from the clubs and political opposition. The crowd trouble at Sunday’s abandoned match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv comes amid tensions over a ban preventing Israeli fans from attending an upcoming Europa League away game against English side Aston Villa. The match in Tel Aviv was called off after what a police spokesman described as “disorderly conduct, riots, the hurling of objects, smoke grenades, fireworks, injured officers and damage to the stadium infrastructure”. Speaking to public broadcaster KAN, he said: “This is not a soccer game: this is severe disorder and violence.” After the police order, the Bloomfield Stadium, the home ground for both teams, was evacuated, with police on horseback intervening to control the 30,000 fans. Hapoel’s management was infuriated by the police decision and tactics. “From the preliminary discussions before the ga... -
Dawn - 07:56 Oct 20, 2025
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday removed the registrar’s objections on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi’s plea seeking a meeting with incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan and issued notices to the Adiala jail superintendent and others for October 23. Afridi had filed the plea on Oct 17, two days after he was sworn in as the provincial chief executive on Oct 15. He had gone to Adiala jail — where Imran has been imprisoned since September 2023 — after getting protective bail from the Peshawar High Court on Oct 16. However, he was denied the meeting; Afridi has stated that he would announce his cabinet after consulting Imran. He had then filed a plea with the IHC, however, the registrar’s office had objected to the maintainability of the plea. Today, Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir took up the matter and overruled the objections of the registrar office. Afridi’s lawyer Advocate Ali Bukhari said that the registrar’s office had raised the objection that the petition was filed “without the provin... -
Dawn - 06:03 Oct 20, 2025
US President Donald Trump reiterated on Sunday that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told him India will stop buying Russian oil, while warning that New Delhi would continue paying “massive” tariffs if it did not do so. “I spoke with Prime Minister Modi of India, and he said he’s not going to be doing the Russian oil thing,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. Asked about India’s assertion that it was not aware of any conversation between Modi and Trump, Trump replied: “But if they want to say that, then they’ll just continue to pay massive tariffs, and they don’t want to do that.” Russian oil has been one of the main irritants for Trump in prolonged trade talks with India — half of his 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods are in retaliation for those purchases. The US government has said that petroleum revenue funds Russia’s war in Ukraine. India has become the biggest buyer of seaborne Russian oil sold at a discount after Western nations shunned purchases and imposed sanctions on Moscow for its 202... -
Dawn - 05:18 Oct 20, 2025
The hunt was on Monday for the band of thieves who stole eight priceless royal pieces of jewellery from the Louvre Museum in the heart of Paris in broad daylight. Officials said a team of 60 investigators were working on the theory that the raid was planned and executed by an organised crime group. In France, it reignited a row over the lack of security in France’s museums, which the new Interior Minister Laurent Nunez acknowledged on Sunday was a “major weak spot”. The thieves arrived between 9:30 and 9:40am Sunday, shortly after the museum opened to the public at 9:00am, a source close to the investigation said. They used a furniture hoist to get access to the Apollo Gallery, home to the royal collection, and cutting equipment to get in through a window and open the display cases. A brief clip of the raid, apparently filmed on the phone of a visitor to the museum, was broadcast on French news channels. The masked thieves stole nine 19th-century items of jewellery, one of which — the crown of the Empress Eug... -
Dawn - 02:57 Oct 20, 2025
• Official claims Saad Rizvi, his brother ‘traced to AJK’ • 95 bank accounts identified; parleys continue over fate of seminaries administered by the group LAHORE: Authorities in Punjab claim to have traced the whereabouts of Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) chief Saad Rizvi and his brother Anas, saying the absconding leaders fled to Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) after the Muridke crackdown. A senior official told Dawn that law enforcers had shared this information with AJK authorities and sought their help to nab the TLP leaders. The development follows speculation — fuelled by TLP circles — that their party chief was in custody. The official said following the crackdown, several teams comprising senior officers from Punjab police and other law enforcement agencies had been tasked with tracking down the TLP chief and his brother. He said Saad Rizvi and his brother were first spotted walking away from the protest camp in Muridke, and then fleeing on a motorbike. At that time, an emergency message was circulated ... -
Dawn - 20:27 Oct 19, 2025
The National Party (NP) central leader and MPA Rehmat Saleh Baloch’s brother, Waleed Saleh Baloch, was killed in Balochistan’s Panjgur area on Sunday, according to statements by the party and the province’s chief minister. Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti condemned the incident in a statement and ordered the immediate arrest of the suspects. “All resources will be used to provide justice to the affected family,” the CM said, according to a statement issued by his office. According to the statement, the CM had sought a report from police regarding the incident. Dawn.com has reached out to the police for further details. Meanwhile, the NP also strongly condemned the incident in a statement, adding that the party would observe three days of mourning. It added that at the time of the incident, Waleed was celebrating his wedding. It said that the incident was not only “the murder of an ordinary citizen but also the murder of a person belonging to a dignified and political family who has always believed in ... -
Dawn - 20:06 Oct 19, 2025
Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to an immediate ceasefire following high-level negotiations in Doha, where both countries pledged to respect each other’s sovereignty and are expected to meet again on October 25 to further discuss matters, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said on Sunday. Amid heightened tensions along the Pak-Afghan border, a high-level Pakistani delegation led by Asif travelled to Doha on Saturday for talks with Afghan Taliban officials, aimed at ending cross-border hostilities and addressing Pakistan’s security concerns. Facilitated by Qatar, the talks followed days of clashes and Pakistani strikes on Gul Bahadur group camps in Afghanistan, after a 48-hour ceasefire was extended to allow negotiations. In a post on X, the minister announced, “A ceasefire agreement has been finalised. The terrorist attacks from Afghanistan on Pakistan’s soil will cease immediately. Both neighbouring countries will respect each other’s territory,” adding that delegations will meet again in Istanbul on October... -
Dawn - 19:46 Oct 19, 2025
Law enforcers foiled an attack by terrorists at a police station in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district on Sunday, police said. Police said in a statement that terrorists belonging to Fitna-al-Khawarij — a term the state uses for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) — tried to attack the Baka Khel police station from a distance. However, it added, police personnel opened fire on them after detecting their movement using the “latest technology”. As a result, the statement said, the terrorists couldn’t come near the police station and fled. According to police, “residents from nearby areas also fired at the attackers” and helped law enforcers. The statement did not mention any loss of lives or property in the incident, which was earlier confirmed by Bannu Regional Police Officer (RPO) Sajjad Khan. He told Dawn.com that the attackers had used a hand grenade to target the police station. “Unidentified attackers threw a hand grenade toward the police station, but it fell at a distance, causing no damage,” h... -
Dawn - 19:44 Oct 19, 2025
The government has approved the wheat policy for 2025-26, a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said on Sunday, adding there would be no restriction on the inter-provincial movement of wheat to ensure its availability across the country. The development comes against the backdrop of the Punjab government tightening controls on the inter-provincial movement of wheat and flour through a restrictive permit regime to curb price hikes within the province — a move that has particularly been denounced by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa amid soaring prices and wheat shortage there. According to the PMO statement, a high-level meeting was held yesterday (Saturday) to discuss the 2025-26 wheat policy. It was chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and attended by the chief ministers of Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan. The statement said a representative of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa CM was also present at the meeting while the Azad Jammu and Kashmir PM and relevant stakeholders also attended the meeti... -
Dawn - 19:32 Oct 19, 2025
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi briefed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the law and order situation in the country as the two met on Sunday, a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said. The statement added that PM Shehbaz was also briefed on the development projects under way in Islamabad. Today’s meeting between the premier and the interior minister comes a week after they had met ahead of a police operation to dismantle the protest camp of the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) in Muridke. The TLP planned to march on Islamabad and hold a demonstration outside the US embassy there in “solidarity with Gaza”. Naqvi had briefed PM Shehbaz on the overall law and order situation across the country during last week’s meeting as well and had told him that measures were being undertaken by the Ministry of Interior to strengthen internal security. For his part, the premier had appreciated the efforts of the interior minister and his team, directing that coordinated and effective actions must continue t... -
Dawn - 17:57 Oct 19, 2025
Four-time champions England booked their ticket to the semi-finals of the ICC Women’s World Cup after pulling off a nail-biting four-run win over hosts India in Indore on Sunday. England had posted a competitive 288-8 thanks to Heather Knight’s century and held their nerve in the field to defend it, despite their bowling, usually their strong suit, being a touch off colour. India looked to be cruising towards victory, needing just 62 runs off the last 10 overs with seven wickets in hand. But the dismissal of Smriti Mandhana turned the tide, as scoreboard pressure crept in and dot balls piled up. Soon after, Richa Ghosh and Deepti Sharma departed in quick succession, leaving the tail high and dry. Reckless batting cost India dear. Mandhana’s downfall opened the floodgates when she danced down the track to left-arm spinner Linsey Smith but failed to clear long-off. Then, after reaching her half-century, Deepti Sharma perished trying to take on Sophie Ecclestone, a slog sweep that found deep mid-wicket to perfec... -
Dawn - 17:53 Oct 19, 2025
Liverpool slumped to a fourth consecutive defeat for the first time in 11 years as Manchester United won 2-1 on Sunday to end their near decade-long wait for victory at Anfield. Harry Maguire’s 84th-minute header secured back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time in Ruben Amorim’s tenure as United boss. Twelve minutes from time, Cody Gakpo had cancelled out Bryan Mbeumo’s opener after just 61 seconds. Defeat leaves Liverpool four points adrift of Arsenal at the top of the table and Arne Slot still searching for answers in how to get the right blend after splashing out nearly £450 million ($604 million) on new players in the transfer market. United close to within two points of their historic rivals and up to ninth in the table to ease the pressure on Amorim after his biggest win in nearly a year in charge. Liverpool had only lost one of the previous 14 Premier League meetings between the sides and United had not tasted victory at Anfield since the early days of Jurgen Klopp’s reign in January 2016. H... -
Dawn - 16:14 Oct 19, 2025
Pakistan is relying on its spin strength to seal the Test series against South Africa after defeating the Proteas men in the first Test match in Lahore on Wednesday, interim red-ball head coach Azhar Mahmood said at a press conference ahead of the second match on Monday. Left-arm spinner Noman Ali was South Africa’s chief tormentor as Pakistan won the first Test by 93 runs. Set a daunting 277-run target for victory, the visitors and World Test champions were bowled out for 183 on day four. “The pre-series camp was aimed at adapting spin on these types of pitches; different shots, scoring options,” Azhar said at the presser. “We’re trying that if we play this method at home, then we’ll know how to play spin.” Azhar noted that the playing XI will be decided the morning of the match after seeing pitch conditions, saying there is a possibility of some changes, “but not too many”. “With regards to the toss, we don’t want that the whole match is decided by the toss. “I said this before the series as well, that thes... -
Dawn - 15:46 Oct 19, 2025
Lahore was ranked the second most polluted city in the world in terms of air quality on Sunday, according to air quality monitoring platform IQAir. The Air Quality Index (AQI) is a measure of the concentration of various pollutants in the air, such as fine particulate matter (PM2.5), coarse particulate matter (PM10) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and ozone (O3). Any IQAir AQI ranking above 150 is considered “unhealthy” and above 200 is considered “very unhealthy”. The AQI reading for Lahore stood at a very unhealthy 189; it was just beaten by Delhi, which registered a reading of 212 around 7:30pm. Additionally, levels of the pollutant PM2.5 were measured at 109 microgrammes per cubic metre of air (μg/m³), 21.8 times higher than the World Health Organisation’s annual PM2.5 guidelines. PM2.5 particles are floating particulate matter in the air measuring 2.5 micrometres in diameter or less, according to IQAir. PM2.5 is so small that it can be absorbed into the bloodstream upon inhalation. IQAir recommended on its w... -
Dawn - 15:22 Oct 19, 2025
Pakistan on Sunday launched its first Hyperspectral Satellite (HS-1) from a Chinese launch centre, the country’s space agency said, describing it as “a breakthrough achievement”. Hyperspectral imaging is a type of advanced camera technology used in satellites to study the Earth and space, according to a study published in the Journal of Computational Intelligence and Neuroscience. Unlike regular satellite cameras that capture only a few colours (like red, green, and blue), hyperspectral cameras capture hundreds of very narrow colour bands. This means they can detect tiny differences in light that the human eye, or even normal satellites, can’t see. In a statement issued today, Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) said, “The nation’s space agency today announced a breakthrough achievement with the successful launch of Pakistan’s first Hyperspectral Satellite (HS-1) from China.” View this post on Instagram Detailing the function of the satellite, the statement said, “HS-1 satellite ... -
Dawn - 14:19 Oct 19, 2025
Two women were killed and 30 others were injured on Sunday when a coaster carrying a wedding party collided with the mountainside on Jab road in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Haripur, according to Rescue 1122. A Rescue 1122 statement said the accident took place due to brake failure. Subsequently, four Rescue 1122 ambulances and a rescue vehicle were sent to the site, it said, adding that the bodies and most of the injured were taken to Trauma Centre Haripur. Two of the injured whose condition was critical were sent to Abbottabad. In a similar incident in late September, 11 deaths were reported after a truck crashed in KP’s Dera Ismail Khan. Three people were also injured in the accident, which a Rescue 1122 spokesperson attributed to brake failure. In another accident the same month on September 9, two women had died while four people were injured after a jeep they were travelling in plunged into a ravine in KP’s Mansehra. This was two day after five members of a family were killed in a road accident on the Hazara Mo...
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