Dawn
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Dawn - 06:16 May 07, 2025
RAHIM YAR KHAN: Police on Tuesday arrested a schoolteacher for allegedly raping a number of schoolchildren in Nawankot town of Khanpur tehsil, some 65km from here. Reports said a resident of Mauza Syedpur of Liaqatpur tehsil approached the Khanpur Saddar police, alleging that his 14-year-old cousin (A) was raped by his teacher (Z) five to six months back who made a video of the act. The complainant said he along with his cousin and his two friends visited the suspect (Z) at Chak 195-NP, who confessed to committing the crime. He alleged that they found a number of explicit videos of other boys in the cell phone of the suspect. Police have registered a case under sections 376iii and 292 of Pakistan Penal Code and arrested the suspect. A cousin of the victim told this correspondent through cell phone that the private school had employed 23 female teachers and two male teachers, including the principal. He said due to the good strength of students, Punjab Education Foundation (PEF) took over the school under its ... -
Dawn - 05:57 May 07, 2025
• Inflows at Marala rise to 28,300 cusecs • Ex-Indus water commissioner says Delhi’s actions violate IWT, independent expert’s decision on Baglihar LAHORE: Flows in the River Chenab increased substantially on Tuesday — a day after they slowed to a trickle — after India ostensibly caved to international pressure over its illegal act of stopping river water from flowing to Pakistan. Following its unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, New Delhi had severely cut flows in the Chenab, which slowed from 34,000 cusecs on Sunday to around 3,000 cusecs on Monday. The very next day, however, the situation improved, with inflows at Marala recorded at 28,300 cusecs on Tuesday. “The situation started improving on Tuesday with discharge of water by India from up to downstream. Hope it will improve more in coming days if there is no halt on part of India,” a senior official told Dawn. According to a report shared by the Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority, the inflows and outflows in Chenab at Marala w... -
Dawn - 05:49 May 07, 2025
ISLAMABAD: The National Judicial Policy Making Committee (NJPMC) will meet on May 26 to develop a policy aimed at creating an institutional response to the emotive and chronic issue of enforced disappearances in the country, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi said on Tuesday. “I have engaged the government on the subject, the response of which is still awaited but when received will be placed before the chief justices of the high courts during the NJPMC meeting along with suggestions from the lawyers community as well as the response of the intelligence agencies,” CJP Afridi said during an interaction with members of the Press Association of the Supreme Court (PAS) at the Supreme Court Building. The CJP said the purpose is “to resolve the missing persons issue and to deal with the future cases by the high courts,” adding “there should be a closure of this issue for all times to come.” He assured the media he was open to suggestions from journalists and said the missing persons issue will always be t... -
Dawn - 05:38 May 07, 2025
• Official says livestream stopped due to prevailing India-Pakistan tensions • Omar Ayub complains to speaker about his speeches being censored • Ayaz Sadiq asserts his right to expunge remarks ‘in the House and in chambers’ ISLAMABAD: National Assembly proceedings were not broadcast live on its official social media platforms for a second consecutive day, on Tuesday, as the House continued a discussion on tensions with India following the Pahalgam attack. But when Leader of the Opposition Omar Ayub Khan raised the issue of his speech being censored, Speaker Ayaz Sadiq asserted his authority, saying he had the right to expunge anything deemed “against national interest”. The proceedings were not live-streamed on the NA’s official YouTube and Facebook channels, while PTV aired speeches from the treasury benches only. When contacted for comment, a senior National Assembly Secretariat official said that live-streaming of parliamentary proceedings had been stopped on social media in view of the sensitivity of ... -
Dawn - 05:29 May 07, 2025
• Revised cause list excludes Justices Ayesha Malik, Aqeel Abbasi, strength of bench reduced to 11 members • Both judges question ECP’s legal grounds for seeking review • Counsel argues July 12 verdict granted relief to a ‘non-party’ • Constitutional Bench issues notices to respondents, seeks commission’s reply to PTI’s contempt petition ISLAMABAD: In a move that left at least two judges visibly bewildered, the 13-judge Constitutional Bench (CB) of the Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notices to the respondents on petitions seeking to revisit the July 12, 2024, verdict that allocated reserved seats to the PTI. However, Justice Ayesha A. Malik and Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi insisted that the presiding judge, Justice Aminuddin Khan, formally record their opposition to issuance of notices to the respondents, as they had dismissed the review petitions outright — which had been filed by the PML-N, PPP and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), The two judges indicated that they would later provide separate reas... -
Dawn - 05:17 May 07, 2025
TAXILA: A water crisis looms over the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad as the water level has decreased in Khanpur Dam and the available water may cater to the needs of its beneficiaries for only 35 days. Rocks and mounds have become visible in different parts of the reservoir, especially at the main storage site and the spillways, which speaks volume about the impacts of climatic changes and alarming water table reduction. If heavy rainfall does not occur within the next 10 to 15 days, the water level in the dam is expected to fall drastically to almost the dead level. The authorities said the catchment area of the dam, which included Margalla Hills and Galiyat, had not received enough rain, worsening the situation. The dam authorities feared that they would have to suspend water supply for irrigation purposes to the provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa besides curtailing drinking water supply to Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Officials say they would have to suspend supply for irrigation purposes be... -
Dawn - 02:16 May 07, 2025
US President Donald Trump has said said the escalation between India and Pakistan was a “shame”. He was the first world leader to react to the tense situation after India carried out strikes inside Pakistan which also retaliated and reportedly shot down Indian jets. “It’s a shame. We just heard about it as we were walking in the doors of the Oval [Office],” he said inside the White House after overseeing the swearing-in ceremony for his special envoy, Steve Witkoff. “I guess people knew something was going to happen based on a little bit of the past. They’ve been fighting for a long time,” the US president added. “I hope it ends very quickly.” In a statement, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called for restraint from both countries, Associated Press reported. “The Secretary-General is very concerned about the Indian military operations across the Line of Control and international border. He calls for maximum military restraint from both countries. The world cannot ... -
Dawn - 00:37 May 07, 2025
ISLAMABAD: A Senate panel on Tuesday expressed concern over gas loadshedding in many areas despite excess supplies. The meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Petroleum, presided over Senator Umar Farooq, was also told that Sindh was now the largest producer and consumer province in the country — producing about 1,609 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of gas and consuming about 1,115mmcfd. During the meeting, Senator Kamil Ali Agha raised the issue of unannounced gas loadshedding in Lahore. He reported that consumers had been forced to use LPG cylinders due to gas load shedding, which had become a “persistent hardship for citizens”. He noted that in recent years, the government’s policies seemed to have disproportionately favoured the industrial sector with subsidised gas but domestic users neither get the subsidy nor gas supply. He deplored that a major city like Lahore had gas supply issues and called for a policy shift that prioritised domestic users. Lawmaker says govt prioritising industries over d... -
Dawn - 19:06 May 06, 2025
The outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) continues to be a thorn in relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan despite a recent positive trip of Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar to Kabul, according to remarks by veteran diplomat Mohammad Sadiq on Tuesday. The increased activity of armed groups within Pakistan since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021 remains a common source of tensions between the two neighbours. Pakistan maintains that these armed groups operate from within Afghan soil, a claim that Afghan officials have denied, maintaining that no one can use Afghan soil against any country. Last month, FM Dar had said Pakistan and Afghanistan had assured each other that they would not allow nefarious elements to use their soil to conduct attacks or illicit activities against the other, adding that both countries would be responsible for taking appropriate action in such a case. Dar’s interactions with the Afghan Taliban leadership were quite cordial, with promises from both sides to improve ties and... -
Dawn - 16:55 May 06, 2025
The Israeli military carried out an airstrike on Yemen’s main airport in Sanaa on Tuesday, its second attack in two days on Houthi fighters after a surge in tensions between the group and Israel. Three people were killed in the strike, according to Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV. Israel warned people to leave the area around Sanaa International Airport before Tuesday’s attack, which it said targeted Houthi infrastructure and “fully disabled the airport”. Witnesses later reported four strikes in the capital. Tensions have been high since the Gaza conflict began, but have risen further since a Houthi missile landed near Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday, prompting Israeli airstrikes on Yemen’s Hodeidah port on Monday. “A short while ago, IDF (Israel Defence Forces) fighter jets struck and dismantled Houthi terrorist infrastructure at the main airport in Sanaa, fully disabling the airport,” the Israeli military said. “The strike was carried out in response to the attack launched by the Houthi terrorist regime agai... -
Dawn - 16:29 May 06, 2025
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Tuesday said that Pakistan’s resolve to fight was for freedom and not for conflict, amid the growing tensions with India in the wake of a militant attack in occupied Kashmir. An attack on April 22 in Pahalgam killed 26 people, mostly tourists, in one of the deadliest assaults since 2000. India has implied cross-border links without evidence. Pakistan has firmly rejected the claim and called for a neutral probe. Tensions have since spiked, with Pakistan reinforcing its forces as it expected an incursion and India’s premier granting “operational freedom” to his military. As temperatures remain high, with the military warning of a “swift” response to any misadventure by New Delhi, diplomatic channels have remained engaged to prevent conflict. Speaking during the National Assembly session today, Bilawal said, “Pakistan had no hand in that crime. We do not export terror, we are the victims of terrorism.” He refuted India’s claims on fighting against terrorism, saying, “How ca... -
Dawn - 15:59 May 06, 2025
German conservative leader Friedrich Merz was elected chancellor by parliament on Tuesday in a second round of voting after a humiliating and unprecedented defeat on the first attempt, getting his coalition government off to a weak start. Merz, 69, who led his conservatives to a federal election victory in February and has signed a coalition deal with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), won 325 votes, nine more than needed for an absolute majority, in the secret ballot. He had secured just 310 votes in the first round of voting, meaning at least 18 coalition lawmakers failed to back him. After the vote, he headed to the nearby Bellevue Palace to be formally nominated by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Later, he will return to the historic Reichstag building in the heart of Berlin to take the oath of office to become Germany’s 10th chancellor since the end of World War Two. Merz is under heavy pressure to show German leadership after the implosion last November of outgoing SPD Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s t... -
Dawn - 14:51 May 06, 2025
As the constitutional bench (CB) of the Supreme Court on Monday took up a set of review pleas against the top court’s ruling that had declared the PTI eligible for reserved seats, two judges declared the petitions as inadmissible. In its July 12, 2024 short order, eight out of 13 judges ruled that 39 out of a list of 80 MNAs were and are the returned candidates of the PTI, setting it to emerge as the single largest party in the National Assembly. However, the ruling had not been implemented by the National Assembly, while the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had raised some objections. The review petitions against the SC order had been filed by the PML-N, the PPP and the ECP. As the full-strength 13-member CB led by Justice Aminuddin Khan took up the review pleas today, Justices Ayesha A. Malik and Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi objected to them, declaring the applications as inadmissible. The other 10 members of the bench were Justices Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Musarrat Hil... -
Dawn - 14:38 May 06, 2025
Seven soldiers were martyred in a blast from an improvised explosive device planted by “Indian proxy” terrorists in Balochistan’s Kacchi district, the military’s media wing said on Tuesday. A press release from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said: “On May 6, 2025, terrorists belonging to Indian proxy, so-called ‘Baloch Liberation Army’, targeted security forces’ vehicle with an improvised explosive device in general area Mach.” It said the following seven soldiers were subsequently martyred in the attack: Subedar Umar Farooq, 42, resident of Karachi; Naik Asif Khan, 28, resident of Karak district; Naik Mashkoor Ali, 28, resident of Orakzai district; Sepoy Tariq Nawaz, 26, resident of Lakki Marwat district; Sepoy Wajid Ahmed Faiz, 28, resident of Bagh district; Sepoy Muhammad Asim, 22, resident of Karak district and Sepoy Muhammad Kashif Khan, 28, resident of Kohat district. “Nefarious designs of India and its proxies operating on Pakistani soil will be defeated by the valiant security forces, LEAs... -
Dawn - 14:16 May 06, 2025
PPP’s Syed Waqar Mehdi won the by-election held for the vacant general seat of the Senate from the province of Sindh in Karachi on Tuesday, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported. The ruling PPP and the opposition Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) had nominated Waqar Mehdi and Nighat Mirza, respectively. The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) did not field any candidate and on Monday it announced boycotting the polling process as well. In the by-election held at the Sindh Assembly, Mehdi secured 111 votes, while MQM-P’s Nighat Mirza received 36, and two were rejected, said the returning officer, Provincial Election Commissioner Sindh Ejaz Anwar Chauhan. The polling was conducted from 9am to 4pm without any break. A total of 149 votes were cast during the scheduled polling time. The general Senate seat from Sindh province fell vacant after the death of PPP’s Senator Taj Haider on April 8 in Karachi. He was elected a senator on a PPP ticket from a Senate general seat in Sindh in March 2021 for a period o... -
Dawn - 14:14 May 06, 2025
India and the United Kingdom concluded on Tuesday a long-coveted free trade pact, in a landmark deal that represents London’s most significant post-Brexit agreement that was finalised in the shadow of US President Donald Trump’s tariff increases. The deal, between the world’s fifth and sixth largest economies, has been concluded after three years of stop-start negotiations and aims to increase bilateral trade by a further 25.5 billion pounds ($34bn) by 2040 with liberal market access and eased trade restrictions. “These landmark agreements will further deepen our comprehensive strategic partnership, and catalyse trade, investment, growth, job creation, and innovation in both our economies,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on X. The deal lowers tariffs on goods such as whisky, advanced manufacturing parts and food products such as lamb, salmon, chocolates and biscuits. It also agrees to quotas on both sides for auto imports. Both countries are also seeking bilateral deals with the United States to rem... -
Dawn - 13:30 May 06, 2025
A policeman was shot dead by unidentified assailants in the limits of the Mandan police station in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district on Tuesday morning. Khanzala Quraishi, spokesperson for the Bannu regional police officer, told Dawn.com: “Police Constable Khanzeb was on his way to duty on a motorcycle when he was intercepted and targeted by unidentified assailants near the Asghar fuel station in the limits of Mandan police station.” He added that the policeman was killed on the spot by the intense firing and the body was moved to the District Headquarters Hospital Bannu after a heavy police contingent soon reached the spot. A statement from the police said that Bannu District Police Officer (DPO) Saleem Abbas Kulachi also visited the incident site later in the day, inspecting the scene in detail and issuing strict instructions for the arrest of the culprits. The statement said the DPO himself, along with other police personnel, was present in the area for the operation to arrest the suspects. “We will not ... -
Dawn - 20:31 May 04, 2025
Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry and Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Sunday briefed members of political parties on national security amid the growing tensions with India, during an in-camera session in Islamabad, state-run broadcaster PTV News reported, quoting sources. An attack on April 22 in occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam killed 26 people, mostly tourists, in one of the deadliest assaults since 2000. India has implied cross-border links without evidence, while Pakistan has rejected the claim and called for a neutral probe. Tensions have since spiked, with Pakistan reinforcing its forces as it expected an incursion and India’s premier granting “operational freedom” to his military. As temperatures remain high, with the military warning of a “swift” response to any misadventure by New Delhi, diplomatic channels have remained engaged to prevent conflict. According to PTV News, national security issues were discussed in the camera session to... -
Dawn - 20:10 May 04, 2025
A team of middle-school Pakistani students won the first prize in the Social Innovation category at the Teknofest aerospace festival held in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on Saturday. Teknofest is Türkiye’s first and only aerospace and technology festival organised in partnership with many organisations that play a critical part in the development of national technology in Türkiye, according to the information available on its website. Last year, the competition took place in Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir, hosting tech competitions spanning 41 categories, all aligned with the focal points of the future. These competitions attracted applications from over 333,000 teams and more than 1 million individuals from all 81 Turkish provinces and 96 countries. “Asma Fatima and Inaya Khan, along with their teacher Gohar Khursheed, met Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan to receive their first-place award at Teknofest 2025,” Pak-Turk Maarif International Schools and Colleges announced in a post on Instagram. View th... -
Dawn - 18:26 May 04, 2025
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Saturday that she had rejected an offer from United States President Donald Trump to send American troops to Mexico to help combat drug trafficking. “I told him, ‘No, President Trump, our territory is inviolable, our sovereignty is inviolable, our sovereignty is not for sale,’” she said at a public event, referring to a recent report in The Wall Street Journal that described a tense exchange between the leaders. During the recent call, Sheinbaum said, Trump had asked how he could help fight organised crime and suggested sending troops. She said she declined, telling him that “we will never accept the presence of the United States Army in our territory”. Sheinbaum said she offered to collaborate, including through greater information-sharing. Trump himself said in an interview last week with conservative outlet The Blaze that he had offered to help Mexico fight the drug cartels, but that he had been turned down. Without providing details, Trump told his interviewer: ...
5467 items