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Dawn - 09:46 Dec 15, 2025
Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri appeared before the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday, presenting arguments in his defence against challenges to the legitimacy of his law degree and appointment as a judge while also raising objections over the division bench hearing the case. The controversy surrounding the IHC judge’s law degree originated from a letter that began circulating last year on social media, purportedly from the University of Karachi’s (KU) controller of examinations. Subsequently, a complaint pertaining to his allegedly fake degree was submitted to the Supreme Judicial Council — the top forum for judicial accountability that probes allegations of misconduct against judges — last year in July and a petition challenging his appointment was also filed in the IHC earlier this year by lawyer Mian Dawood. A two-member IHC bench, led by Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and also comprising Justice Muhammad Azam Khan, took up the matter on Monday in a packed courtroom. The same bench had dec... -
Dawn - 09:38 Dec 15, 2025
Dear Auntie, I am a 19-year-old girl who just cleared her Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) and, luckily, secured a seat in a government medical college in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. I consider myself extremely lucky to have gotten into a government college, considering the tough competition in our province. However, now that I am in my post-MDCAT phase, strangely, I am questioning my career choice. Do I really want to do this? What about the saturation in this field? What if I am jobless after all the hard work and extensive studies? Is pursuing this field in a country with a faltering economy the right career choice? These questions are popping up in my head every now and then. My dream was to clear the MDCAT and I really put in all my efforts to achieve it. Now, after I am done with it, I am actually clueless. I am wondering if I really wanted to become a doctor or was it just the craze of clearing the MDCAT and proving myself to people. Or is it just the poor situation of doctors these days in ou... -
Dawn - 09:22 Dec 15, 2025
The night the last full Heer was sung in a village in Jaranwala, the moon was so bright that old men swore Ranjha himself had returned to listen. Three brothers — Ghulam Haider, Allah Ditta and Mohammad Bakhsh — all past 90, sat on a cracked mud platform beneath a single bulb. They began after maghrib [sunset] and finished only at the fajr azaan [call to prayer at dawn]. That night, they moved through the old qissay [tales] — Heer Ranjha, Mirza Sahiban and others — without missing a single couplet. Twelve unbroken hours, thousands of couplets, not one repeated. When Sahiban begged Mirza to shoot her first, even the village dogs fell silent. The youngest listener was 63. No child was present. That was 2003. Today, the platform sells motorcycle parts, the bulb is gone and the brothers rest in the village graveyard. A THOUSAND YEARS IN MEMORY For a thousand years, the memory of Punjab lived in breath and melody rather than ink. From the salt hills of Soon Valley to the barley fields of Sargodha, every village on... -
Dawn - 09:20 Dec 15, 2025
A Pakistan-origin man living in Sydney has said he had received death threats and was “terrified” to leave his home after his photo was widely shared online as the gunman responsible for the Bondi Beach shooting, it emerged on Monday. Two gunmen on Sunday had opened fire at a Hanukkah gathering in Sydney’s Bondi Beach, killing 15 in Australia’s worst incident of gun violence since 1996. Police have not yet disclosed the names of the suspects, who happen to be father and son, or their motives. However, various news outlets identified them as Sajid Akram and Naveed Akram, respectively. The father first came to Australia in 1998 on a student visa, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke told reporters on Monday. He was killed at the scene. His son — an Australian-born citizen according to the home affairs minister — is critically injured and being treated in a Sydney hospital bed under police guard. Photos of a beaming man in a green Pakistan cricket jersey had subsequently pinged across social media. Some of the posts... -
Dawn - 09:02 Dec 15, 2025
“From Plato to Nato, the history of command in war consists of an endless quest for certainty…historical commanders have always faced the choice between two basic ways of coping with uncertainty…to construct an army of automatons following the orders of a single man, allowed to do only that which could be controlled; the other, to design organisations and operations in such a way as to enable the former to carry out the latter without the need for continuous control. …the second of these methods has, by and large, proved more successful than the first…” — Martin van Creveld quoted by William Lind in Manoeuvre Warfare Handbook “He plunged past with his bayonet towards the green hedge, King, honour, human dignity, etcetera Dropped like luxuries in a yelling alarm To get out of that blue crackling air His terror’s touchy dynamite.” — The Bayonet Charge by Ted Hughes SITUATING THE ISSUE Among other changes brought in by the 27th Constitutional Amendment, one relates to the creation of the office of Chief of D... -
Dawn - 08:52 Dec 15, 2025
A Lahore district and sessions court on Monday granted interim pre-arrest bail to YouTuber Rajab Butt and TikToker Nadeem Mubarak in a case related to the alleged promotion of gambling apps. The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has registered cases against several YouTubers on charges of promoting and encouraging a gambling application, including Butt and Mubarak. Both social media influencers appeared in front of Additional District and Sessions Judge Mansoor Ahmed Qureshi on Monday. Their lawyers contended that the two wanted to join the investigation against them to prove their innocence. The judge granted pre-arrest bail to Butt and Mubarak, restraining the NCCIA from arresting them till January 6. The judge also directed both suspects to join the investigation before the next date of hearing. The development comes days after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) granted 10-day protective bail to the social media influencers in response to a petition filed by Butt and Mubarak’s relatives, who ha... -
Dawn - 08:24 Dec 15, 2025
The last nationwide polio campaign of 2025 began on Monday, with the aim of vaccinating 45.5 million children across the country, state-run Radio Pakistan reported. The week-long polio drive is set to run until December 21. Pakistan is one of the last two countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan, where polio remains endemic. So far, the country has recorded 30 polio cases, with the highest number of cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at 19. According to the National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC), more than 400,000 frontline polio workers will take part in the campaign. More than 23m children will be immunised in Punjab, over 16m in Sindh, more than 7.2m in KP and over 2.6m in Balochistan. In Islamabad, the campaign aims to vaccinate over 400,000 children. In Sindh, Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah inaugurated the polio campaign in Karachi by administering polio drops to children. “Over 10.6m children will be vaccinated across 30 districts and 1,345 union councils, with 80,000+ frontline workers & 21,000 cops d... -
Dawn - 07:03 Dec 15, 2025
The Foreign Office (FO) on Monday condemned the “heinous” attack which claimed the lives of six United Nations (UN) peacekeepers from Bangladesh in Sudan’s Kadugli, calling for holding those responsible accountable. At least six Bangladeshi peacekeepers were killed and eight wounded in a drone attack on a UN base on Saturday in the disputed Abyei region between Sudan and South Sudan, according to Bangladesh’s armed forces. In a statement released on Monday, the FO said, “Pakistan condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the heinous attack against UN peacekeepers in Kadugli, Sudan, which has resulted in the tragic deaths of six peacekeepers from Bangladesh serving with the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (Unisfa), and injuries to several others.” It expressed Pakistan’s deepest condolences to the government and people of Bangladesh on the lives lost, adding that Pakistan stood in solidarity with the bereaved families. “UN peacekeepers remain at the forefront of international efforts to preven... -
Dawn - 06:49 Dec 15, 2025
Two alleged gunmen who killed 15 people at a Jewish celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach were a father and son, police said on Monday, as Australia began mourning victims of its worst gun violence in almost 30 years. The father, a 50-year-old, was killed at the scene, taking the number of dead to 16, while his 24-year-old son was in a critical condition in hospital, police said at a press conference on Monday. The father and son were identified as Sajid Akram and Naveed Akram, respectively, by state broadcaster ABC and other local media outlets. Officials have described Sunday’s shooting as a targeted anti-Semitic attack. Forty people remain in hospital following the attack, including two police officers who are in a serious but stable condition, police said. The victims were aged between 10 and 87. Witnesses said the attack at the famed beach, which was packed on a hot evening, lasted about 10 minutes, sending hundreds of people scattering along the sand and into nearby streets. Police said around 1,000 peopl... -
Dawn - 06:05 Dec 15, 2025
Hong Kong’s High Court on Monday found tycoon and pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai guilty of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces in the city’s highest-profile trial under a China-imposed national security law that could see him jailed for life. The landmark case has drawn international scrutiny of Hong Kong’s judicial independence amid a years-long crackdown on rights and freedoms in the global financial hub after 2019 pro-democracy protests that Beijing saw as a challenge to its rule. While 78-year-old Lai’s supporters see him as a freedom fighter, Beijing sees him as a mastermind of the protests and a conspirator advocating for US sanctions against Hong Kong and the mainland. Chinese authorities have rejected accusations of eroding the city’s rule of law. “There is no doubt” that Lai “had harboured his resentment and hatred of” China for many of his adult years, Judge Esther Toh told a packed courtroom as the tycoon, wearing a pale green jumper and a grey jacket, sat with his arms folded. The two ot... -
Dawn - 05:58 Dec 15, 2025
The man held as a “person of interest” in the Brown University shooting that left two students dead and nine injured will be released from custody, authorities said on Sunday night. Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez said earlier at a midday news conference that a man in his 20s had been taken into custody in connection with Saturday’s gun violence but gave no further details. But at a late-night news conference hours later, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley and other state and local officials told reporters the man detained would be released from custody, saying the investigation was going into a “different direction”. “We have not yet solved this case, but I am confident we are going to do that in the near future,” Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said. Officials declined to elaborate on why the man who was taken into custody was detained in the first place. “There was a quantum of evidence which justified detaining this person as a person of interest,” Neronha said, adding that investigators later ... -
Dawn - 03:03 Dec 15, 2025
WASHINGTON: The United States and India have jointly called on the United Nations to impose fresh sanctions under the UN Security Council 1267 regime on affiliates of the militant Islamic State (IS) group and Al Qaeda, as well as on Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and their alleged proxy networks. Both LeT and JeM were declared proscribed organisations by Pakistan in 2002. The proposed sanctions — a global asset freeze, travel ban, and arms embargo — signal closer US-India counterterrorism cooperation. Yet, strikingly, the joint statement does not mention Pakistan. That omission has not gone unnoticed, especially given India’s frequent charge that such groups operate from Pakistani soil — a claim Islamabad denies. Joint call makes no mention of Islamabad, despite India’s wishes Observers interpret the omission as deliberate and revealing of Washington’s strategic balancing act in South Asia. As Washington-based analyst Shuja Nawaz noted: “The US may have avoided naming Pakistan. It has named Ind... -
Dawn - 02:33 Dec 15, 2025
• Host Iran taps regional players as reliable actors; warns against prescriptions ‘imported’ from foreign powers • Kabul regime declines invitation to attend; ex-Pakistani diplomat terms it ‘head-in-the-sand attitude’ • Any tension between Afghanistan and Pakistan also affects Tehran, says Iranian foreign ministry spox ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday urged the Afghan Taliban to rid their country of all militant groups, while Iran stressed the need for regional cooperation, rather than foreign intervention, at a multinational Afghanistan-focused meeting in Tehran. The calls for action came during a meeting of Special Representatives for Afghanistan from neighbouring countries, plus Russia. The Taliban were invited to participate, but declined to attend, according to statements from both Iranian and Taliban officials. The high-level gathering in the Iranian capital brought together special representatives from Pakistan, China, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan to discuss shared security conc... -
Dawn - 19:00 Dec 14, 2025
The Pakistan Super League’s 11th edition is planned to be held from March 26 to May 3, 2026, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi said on Saturday, while also announcing that the auction for two proposed new franchises would take place on January 8. The announcements were made during a PCB investor roadshow in New York, part of an overseas promotional campaign aimed at attracting commercial interest ahead of a potential expansion of the league from six to eight teams. The PCB has previously indicated that expansion is under consideration, though the addition of new franchises has not yet been formally ratified. Addressing attendees at the event, Mohsin said the PCB had taken administrative control of the Muzaffarabad Cricket Stadium and intended to begin renovation work. He added that efforts were under way to have the venue ready in time for the PSL, though he acknowledged that completion before the tournament was not guaranteed. “We are starting Muzaffarabad’s stadium, which we have taken over... -
Dawn - 18:58 Dec 14, 2025
Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Mohammad Sadiq on Sunday pressed the ruling Taliban in Afghanistan to clean their country of all terrorist groups. He was speaking at the meeting of Special Representatives for Afghanistan in Iran’s capital of Tehran. Iran had invited the Taliban government, but it did not attend, according to a Taliban spokesman. Special representatives for Afghan affairs from Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, China, and Russia attended the meeting. “In my remarks, I agreed with the assessment of all participating countries that the continued threat of terrorism emanating from Afghan soil is a big challenge for the region,” the Pakistani special envoy told the meeting. Ambassador Sadiq wrote on X that he also stressed that the people of Afghanistan have already suffered enough and they deserved better. “It is, therefore, imperative that the current de facto rulers take steps to ameliorate their suffering. And the foremost step in this regard would be to rid thei... -
Dawn - 18:17 Dec 14, 2025
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on Sunday issued a statement denying that the entire crew of a PIA flight disappeared in Toronto, Canada, adding that it was “fake news” circulated by “anti-Pakistan quarters”. “A tweet, circulated by certain anti-Pakistan quarters, claiming that [the] whole crew of a particular PIA flight is missing, is entirely baseless,” the flag carrier said in a post on X, adding that the purpose was to “malign PIA and Pakistan”. “There has been no such incident, and the news is fake,” it added. Meanwhile, a PIA spokesperson issued a separate statement denying the news, claiming that the information had been circulated by an “Afghan and anti-Pakistan account”. “The misleading tweet is part of a well-conceived plan based on hostility towards Pakistan and is aimed at damaging the reputation of the national airline and the country,” the spokesperson said, clarifying that the news held no truth. Missing PIA crew members, particularly in Canada, have been reported in the past, too. On Nov... -
Dawn - 18:03 Dec 14, 2025
Ukraine has relinquished its aim to join the Nato military alliance in exchange for Western security guarantees as a compromise to end the war with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday as peace talks got underway in Berlin. Zelensky aired the concession as he flew to the German capital, where he began meetings with US President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner in efforts to end Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War Two. The move marks a major shift for Ukraine, which has fought to join Nato as a safeguard against Russian attacks and has such an aspiration included in its constitution. It also meets one of Russia’s war aims, although Kyiv has so far held firm against ceding territory to Moscow. Zelensky met the US envoys at talks hosted by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who, a source said, had made brief remarks before leaving the two sides to negotiate. Other European leaders are also due in Germany for talks on Monday. Security guarantees from the United... -
Dawn - 17:02 Dec 14, 2025
One of the suspected shooters in a gun attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Sunday has been identified by police, a senior law enforcement official told the public broadcaster Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Ten people were killed and around a dozen were wounded when gunmen opened fire during a Jewish holiday event at the beach, Australian officials said. New South Wales police said two people had been taken into custody, and the ABC said one of at least two gunmen was among those killed. According to the law enforcement official, the suspect was identified as Naveed Akram, who lives in the Sydney suburb of Bonnyrigg. ABC gave no information on his nationality. “The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Mr Akram’s home … was being raided by police on Sunday evening,” ABC reported. Australian police said an “improvised explosive device” had been found in a car linked to a suspect in the deadly shooting. “We have found an improvised explosive device in a car which is linked to the deceased ... -
Dawn - 16:58 Dec 14, 2025
The Federal Investigation Agency’s immigration wing has arrested a passenger arriving from Cambodia at Jinnah International Airport, exposing a migrant smuggling and international fraud network with links to Southeast Asia. According to a statement issued by the FIA on Saturday, the suspect was taken into custody during a major operation at the airport. Initial investigations revealed that the suspect was involved in organised migrant smuggling and online fraud activities operating out of Cambodia. The FIA said the suspect had travelled from Pakistan to Cambodia in September 2024, where he worked for an online fraud company. “He later began recruiting individuals from Pakistan as agents, allegedly facilitating their movement to Cambodia under false pretences,” the statement said. During forensic analysis of the suspect’s mobile phone, investigators recovered passport photographs of several individuals, payment receipts and records of financial transactions. The agency said the suspect received money through p... -
Dawn - 16:45 Dec 14, 2025
Security forces have killed 13 terrorists during two separate intelligence-based operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the military’s media wing said in a statement on Sunday. “On 12-13 December 2025, thirteen khwarij belonging to Indian proxy Fitna Al Khwarij were killed in two separate engagements in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement. Fitna-al-Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). It said that the first intelligence-based operation (IBO) was carried out on the reported presence of the terrorists in KP’s Mohmand district. “During the conduct of [the] operation, own troops effectively engaged the khwarij’s location, and after an intense fire exchange, seven khwarij were sent to hell.” It added that the second IBO was conducted in the province’s Bannu district, where security forces neutralised six more terrorists. “Sanitisation operations are being conducted to eliminate any other Indian...
10471 items