Dawn

Source: https://www.dawn.com

Found 5493 news

  • Govt approves four potential bidders for struggling PIA
    Dawn - 16:32 Jul 08, 2025
    The government said on Tuesday it had approved four parties, including business groups and a military-backed firm, to potentially bid for a stake in debt-ridden Pakistan International Airlines. The government has been seeking to sell a 51-100 per cent stake in the struggling national airline to raise funds and reform cash-draining, state-owned enterprises as envisaged under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund programme. It would be the country’s first major privatisation in nearly two decades. Among the bidding groups, one is a consortium of major industrial firms Lucky Cement, Hub Power Holdings, Kohat Cement and Metro Ventures. Another is led by investment firm Arif Habib Corp and includes fertiliser producer Fatima Fertiliser, private education operator The City School, and real estate firm Lake City Holdings. Additionally, Fauji Fertiliser Company, a military-backed conglomerate, and Pakistani airline Airblue have been approved to bid for PIA. “The pre-qualified parties will now proceed to the buy-si...
  • German court rules at-risk Afghan family must be given visas
    Dawn - 15:54 Jul 08, 2025
    A German court ruled on Tuesday that the government must issue visas to an Afghan family previously accepted under a programme for those at risk after the Taliban seized power in 2021. The new government under conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz has frozen the programme, but Berlin’s administrative court said the family had been given a “legally binding” commitment and must be allowed to travel to Germany. About 2,500 Afghans with similar approvals are estimated to be in Pakistan waiting to be able to travel to Germany. The programme was set up for those who worked with Germany’s army or other institutions in Afghanistan, as well as journalists and activists judged to be threatened by the Taliban. However, the new government under Merz — who made a crackdown on immigration one of his key election pledges — has said in its coalition agreement it wants to end the programme “as far as possible”. The family concerned by Tuesday’s decision is currently in Pakistan and had lodged an urgent appeal, telling the co...
    Tags: German Afghan
  • Govt approves sugar import of upto 500,000 tonnes to maintain ‘affordable prices’
    Dawn - 15:27 Jul 08, 2025
    The federal government on Tuesday approved the import of half a million tonnes of sugar in a bid to maintain affordable prices of the commodity. A day earlier, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar had emphasised the need for a coordinated policy approach to ensure market stability for essential commodities and food items. He chaired a committee meeting today to assess the sugar situation in the country and evaluate import requirements. “The committee approved the import of up to 500,000 metric tonnes of sugar to ensure a stable supply and maintain affordable prices nationwide,” said a statement posted on X. Dar stressed the government’s commitment towards “price stability and safeguarding consumer interests”, the statement said. The meeting was attended by the food minister, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Tariq Bajwa, the secretary of the food ministry, senior officials from the Ministry of Industries and Production, and industry representatives. The Ministry of National Food Security...
  • Justice Dogar, 3 others take oath as regular high court CJs
    Dawn - 14:54 Jul 08, 2025
    Justice Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and the three acting chief justices of the high courts took their oaths on Tuesday as the regular top judges. The oath-taking ceremonies were held a day after President Asif Ali Zardari appointed them, based on the nominations by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP). President Zardari administered the oath of office to Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Sarfraz Dogar, who has been serving in an acting capacity since February, during a ceremony held at Aiwan-i-Sadr in Islamabad. The ceremony was attended by IHC judges, Senate Chairman Yousuf Raza Gilani, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, ministers, parliamentarians and the legal fraternity, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported. View this post on Instagram The development comes less than a month after the Supreme Court’s Constitutional Bench, by a majority of 3-2, upheld the constitutionality of transferring three judges from other provincial high courts to the IHC and referred the matter of seniority determinati...
  • 29 schoolchildren, driver injured after van skids off road in AJK
    Dawn - 14:31 Jul 08, 2025
    At least 29 schoolchildren and their driver were injured after a van plunged off a treacherous hilly road in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Tuesday, police said. Fatal accidents are common on roads in the mountainous regions of the country due to traffic rule violations, treacherous terrain and poor infrastructure. The van, carrying boys and girls from the private Islamia Public School in Chikar, was returning students to their homes when it met with the accident near a spot known as Tambrial Mor, Jhelum Superintendent of Police (SP) Mirza Zahid Hussain told Dawn.com. Chikar, a town and hill station in AJK’s Jhelum Valley district, is situated at an altitude of 5,272 feet above sea level and lies about 46 kilometres from Muzaffarabad, the state capital. As a winter resort, Chikar’s educational institutions do not observe extended summer vacations, unlike other areas. “It is assumed that after negotiating a bend, the vehicle went out of the driver’s control and fell down the road, causing injuries to almost e...
  • Implementation of CM’s orders: Punjab to set up health vigilance squad
    Dawn - 13:16 Jul 08, 2025
    LAHORE: The Punjab government has decided to set up ‘Chief Minister Health Vigilance Squad’ in the province, besides banning the use of mobile phones by nurses and paramedics. Presiding over a meeting here on Monday, Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz also directed implementation of ‘Red & Blue Code Emergency System’ in the hospitals across the province. She ordered that doctors at the public hospitals should be trained in the use of the code system. “The CM Health Vigilance Squad will visit the hospitals and review implementation of the directives of Ms Nawaz,” the meeting was told. The chief minister also directed provision of ventilators for children and adults in every teaching and district headquarters hospital. She reviewed the plan to deploy trained doctors in the districts in a phased manner, besides setting up catheterisation laboratories in the hospitals. Nurses, paramedics barred from using mobile phones She underscored the presence of consultants and heart surgeons in the district headquarters hospitals ...
  • Islamabad court orders blocking of 27 YouTube channels on NCCIA’s request
    Dawn - 13:01 Jul 08, 2025
    An Islamabad court ordered the blocking of 27 YouTube channels for allegedly airing anti-state content and spreading “false, misleading and fake” information, it emerged on Tuesday. The federal government established the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) to probe illegal activities on social med­ia. The NCCIA, operating under the Interior Divi­sion, has a key role in combatting cybercrime in Pakistan. Sub-Inspector (SI) Waseem Khan of the NCCIA’s Cyber Crime Circle informed the Islamabad judicial magistrate on June 24 that under Section 37 (unlawful online content) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016, the department was conducting an inquiry regarding 27 “Youtube channels who are involved in disseminating and propagating fake and misleading information against the state Institutions which is likely to cause fear, panic, disorder or unrest in the general public or society along with defamatory and fake remarks/information, which violates the privacy and harms the dignity of the off...
    Tags: NCCIA Islamabad YouTube
  • Heavy rain expected countrywide over next two days: PMD
    Dawn - 12:11 Jul 08, 2025
    The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Tuesday issued an alert for heavy rainfall in several parts of the country, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, northeast Punjab, Azad Kashmir and parts of Balochistan, for the next two days. Monsoon rains fall across the region from June to September, offering respite from the summer heat. They are crucial to replenishing water supplies and agriculture, and therefore the livelihoods of millions of farmers and food security. However, they also wreak havoc by triggering deadly floods, landslides and displacement, particularly in vulnerable, poorly drained, or densely populated areas. At least 19 people lost their lives in Balochistan, KP, and the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi due to rain-related incidents in the past two days. An alert by the National Emergencies Operation Centre (NEOC) about a possible flood-like situation in various parts of the country has prompted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to order the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to ...
  • PM appoints Qatari princess as brand ambassador after she scales Nanga Parbat
    Dawn - 11:59 Jul 08, 2025
    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday appointed Qatari mountaineer and royal family member Sheikha Asma Al Thani as the brand ambassador for Pakistan’s mountains and tourism after she recently successfully summited Nanga Parbat, the ninth-highest mountain on Earth located in Gilgit-Baltistan region. Known as the “Killer Mountain,” the 8,126-metre-high peak is considered one of the world’s most dangerous climbs due to its severe weather conditions and rough terrain. In a post on X, the premier felicitated Sheikha Asma on the achievement. “I am pleased to appoint Her Highness Sheikha Asma Al Thani as the Brand Ambassador for Pakistan’s mountains and tourism. “My heartfelt felicitations to Her Highness on her recent feat of scaling Nanga Parbat. It is truly inspiring,” he wrote. “Her achievement sends a powerful message of courage and determination, and stands as a testament to the enduring friendship between Pakistan and Qatar,” he added. In a post on Instagram, Sheikha Asma described the relentless challeng...
    Tags: Qatari Nanga Parbat
  • Woman arrested for allegedly killing stepson in KP’s Haripur: police
    Dawn - 11:52 Jul 08, 2025
    A woman was arrested in the Kata Kot area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Haripur district on Monday for allegedly beating her stepson to death, police said. In the first information report (FIR), seen by Dawn.com and registered at the Kot Najibullah Police Station, the seven-year-old victim’s father stated he was at work in Taxila when his wife called him after 3pm, informing him that his son “had been struck in the head by some people in the street.” “When I reached home, I found my son in a bed with his body bearing marks of brutal torture, and he was dead,” the victim’s father stated in the FIR. He added in the report that when he grilled his wife, she said the boy was making a noise inside the house, so she beat him with a stick. The complainant further requested the police to take legal action against his wife as she had allegedly tortured his child to death, the FIR said. According to Haripur District Police Officer Farhan Khan, the suspect was arrested within an hour of the FIR being registered. He added that...
    Tags: Haripur
  • Fact check: Viral video does not show woman Punjab assistant commissioner slapping man over an illegal stall
    Dawn - 11:23 Jul 08, 2025
    Posts from multiple users on social media platforms X and TikTok on July 4 shared a video allegedly showing a woman Punjab assistant commissioner slapping a local man for setting up an illegal roadside stall. However, the video actually shows a woman confronting a scammer and was shared as far back as October 2024. On July 4, an X user, who appeared to be anti-government based on his past posts, posted a video showing a woman hitting a man while a small crowd of people could be seen gathered around her. The post was captioned: “Government of Punjab, Pakistan, The assistant commissioner got angry over allegedly setting up a roadside stall illegally. Is an assistant commissioner authorised to slap a citizen like this? Does any law allow such humiliation of a citizen?” The post was viewed by 674,000 people. The video with the same claim was also shared here, here, here, here, here, here and here on X, and on TikTok here, here, here, here and here. A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim...
    Tags: Punjab
  • Injured Shadab and Rauf out as Pakistan announces squad for Bangladesh T20Is
    Dawn - 11:21 Jul 08, 2025
    The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday announced the 15-member squad for the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh set to be held later this month. Pakistan’s tour will be a reciprocal one after they hosted Bangladesh for three T20Is over the last two months, all won by the home team and played in Lahore. According to a press release by the cricket board, Salman Ali Agha will continue to lead the side in the T20Is. “The three-match T20Is series between Pakistan and Bangladesh will be played from July 20-24 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka,” the statement said. The matches will be held on July 20, 22 and 24. The squad for the white-ball series against West Indies will be announced in due course, the statement added. Pakistan squad Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Hassan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Haris (wicket keeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Sahibzada Farhan (wicket keeper), Saim Ayub, Salman M...
    Tags: Pakistan
  • Netanyahu nominates Trump for Nobel Peace Prize as Gazans await ceasefire
    Dawn - 11:11 Jul 08, 2025
    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday he has nominated Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, presenting the US president with a letter he sent to the prize committee. The move comes as Israel continues its onslaught on Gaza, which has so far killed 57,523 Palestinians. Last year, the UN-backed International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu, citing allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The court said he, along with ex-defence minister Yoav Gallant, “intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival”, including food, water, medicine, fuel, and electricity. “He’s forging peace as we speak, in one country, in one region after the other,” Netanyahu said at a dinner with Trump at the White House. View this post on Instagram Trump has received multiple Nobel Peace Prize nominations from supporters and loyal lawmakers over the years and has made no secret of his irritation at missing out on the...
    Tags: Nobel Peace Prize Netanyahu Trump
  • K-Electric reappoints Moonis Alvi as CEO
    Dawn - 11:11 Jul 08, 2025
    The board of directors of K-Electric (KE) on Tuesday re-appointed Moonis Alvi as the chief executive officer (CEO), read a statement issued by the power company. “The board of directors, in its meeting held on July 7, 2025, has re-appointed Syed Moonis Abdullah Alvi as Chief Executive Officer of K-Electric with effect from July 30, 2025,” read a press release by KE. Alvi joined KE in 2008 and has held key roles in the organisation as the chief financial officer, company secretary and head of treasury prior to his appointment as CEO in 2018, KE said. “He brings to the helm 30 years of diversified financial experience and has led the creation of a future-ready entity by emphasising digitisation, customer centricity and investments across the energy value chain,” the electricity distribution company said. In 2020, Alvi and other senior officials of KE were booked after yet another unsuspecting citizen lost their life due to electrocution in Karachi. The government also constituted a special committee to act as o...
    Tags: K-Electric Moonis Alvi
  • Quetta ATC sends Mahrang, other BYC activists on 10-day physical remand
    Dawn - 11:07 Jul 08, 2025
    An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Quetta on Tuesday handed Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) chief Dr Mahrang Baloch and other organisers of the group into police custody for 10 days, extending their three-month detention. In March, Mahrang and other BYC members were arrested for “attacking” the Quetta Civil Hospital and “inciting people to violence”, a day after the group faced a police crackdown while protesting against alleged enforced disappearances. The BYC is a Baloch advocacy group working against enforced disappearances since 2018. Mahrang has been held at the Hudda District Prison in Quetta under Section 3 of the Mainte­nance of Public Order (MPO) — a law that empowers authorities to arrest and detain individuals suspected of posing a threat to public order. Mahrang’s counsel, Advocate Israr Baloch, told Dawn.com that the BYC organiser and five other activists were presented before Judge Saadat Bazai, who approved the state prosecutor’s request for their 10-day physical remand. The other activists were ...
    Tags: Quetta Mahrang
  • Imran, Bushra move IHC for early hearing of plea seeking suspension of sentence in £190m graft case
    Dawn - 10:05 Jul 08, 2025
    Former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi on Tuesday filed an application in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) for an early hearing of the plea for the suspension of their conviction in the £190m Al-Qadir Trust case, in which both of them face a 14-year and a seven-year prison term, respectively. Imran and Bushra were convicted on January 17 in the case which alleges that the couple obtained billions of rupees and land worth hundreds of kanals from Bahria Town Ltd to legalise Rs50 billion identified and returned to the country by the United Kingdom during the previous PTI government. On January 27, the couple moved IHC against the decision, asking the court to set aside their conviction, emphasising that the ruling lacked credible evidence and suffered from procedural lapses. In an application filed on behalf of Imran, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, it was requested that an early hearing be fixed without any further delay, as it is a question of “liberty and freedom”. It was stated t...
    Tags: Bushra Imran
  • 4 dead, two injured in Peshawar house fire: rescue officials
    Dawn - 09:07 Jul 08, 2025
    Four people were killed and two others were injured after a fire broke out in a house located in Peshawar’s Kochi Bazar on Tuesday morning, rescue officials said. Spokesperson for Rescue 1122 Bilal Ahmed Faizi said in a statement, “Six people were rescued from the fire in critical condition and taken to the hospital. “However, four of them succumbed to their injuries. They have been identified as Rafiq, Shehnaz, Riaz and his wife.” Faizi added that the firefighters and ambulances reached the site of the incident soon after receiving information and started rescue operations. “The firefighters initially rescued three people trapped in a house adjacent to a market and transported them to the hospital for medical assistance,” Faizi detailed in the statement. During the rescue efforts, two firefighters fainted due to the blazing flames. They were taken to the Lady Reading Hospital for treatment, where their condition became stable, he said. Six fire vehicles and 40 personnel participated in the firefighting effor...
    Tags: Peshawar
  • Not possible for govt to provide housing for all residents of dilapidated buildings: Sharjeel Memon
    Dawn - 07:37 Jul 08, 2025
    As people continue to be evacuated from nearby structures following a deadly building collapse in Karachi’s congested Lyari neighbourhood that left 27 people dead, Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Memon said on Wednesday it would not be possible for the government to provide housing to all residents living in dilapidated buildings. The five-storey building on Fida Husain Shaikha Road in Lea Market collapsed on Friday morning, with the rescue operations concluding on Sunday. The building had already been declared uninhabitable by authorities due to its dilapidated structure, with the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) saying it had issued multiple prior notices to residents to vacate the structure since 2023. Speaking to GeoNews, Memon said that there were 740 dilapidated buildings across Sindh, out of which 51 were in “extremely dangerous” condition, out of which 11 buildings had been vacated. “Orders have been issued to vacate the others in the next 48 hours for residents’ safety,” Memon said. “However, i...
  • Analysts say Musk’s party may be threat to Trump even without wins
    Dawn - 05:32 Jul 08, 2025
    US President Donald Trump has shrugged off Elon Musk’s plans for a new political party as “ridiculous” — but the announcement underscored the threat the disaffected former ally poses to US Republicans defending paper-thin congressional majorities. Musk’s weekend launch of the “America Party” came in the wake of Trump signing into law a sprawling domestic policy bill that the tech mogul has slammed overestimates that it will balloon the deficit. Musk has been light on policy detail but is expected to target a handful of House and Senate seats in next year’s midterm elections, where the sitting Republican voted for Trump’s bill after preaching fiscal responsibility. “Elon Musk’s America Party is a wild card that could upend the midterms in 2026, particularly for Republicans,” said political analyst Matt Shoemaker, a former Republican congressional candidate and an ex-intelligence officer. “With bare majorities in Congress, the Republicans should be worried.” Musk, the world’s richest person, had teased the idea...
    Tags: Musk Trump
  • Trump dispatches letters outlining new tariffs on foreign nations
    Dawn - 18:47 Jul 07, 2025
    United States President Donald Trump said on Monday that he was slapping 25 per cent tariffs on Japan and South Korea, in his first letters to trading partners ahead of a deadline to reach a deal with Washington. Trump had said on the weekend that starting from today, he would send a first batch of up to 15 letters to countries informing them that he would reimpose harsh levies that he had postponed in April. In near-identically worded letters to the Japanese and South Korean leaders, Trump said the tariffs would apply from August 1 because their trading relationships with Washington were “unfortunately, far from reciprocal”. Trump warned the countries, both key US allies in East Asia, of an escalation if they responded to the new US tariffs. But he also said he was ready to modify levies “downwards” if Japan and South Korea changed their trade policies. Later, Trump also announced the US will impose 25pc tariffs on Malaysia and Kazakhstan, 30pc on South Africa and 40pc on Laos and Myanmar in letters posted o...
    Tags: Trump

5493 items

Popular Tags