Dawn
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Dawn - 18:17 Jul 23, 2025
The tribes of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lower Kurram and Sadda regions signed a peace agreement on Wednesday for a year in a jirga held at the Sadda Frontier Corps Fort that was attended by many local notables. In March, tribal leaders in Kurram district came to terms on an eight-month peace agreement ahead of Eidul Fitr. Violence stemming from decades-old land disputes had claimed at least 130 lives in the fragile district, with multiple efforts to establish peace between tribes. A ceasefire agreement was reached following months of conflict in January. Kurram Deputy Commissioner (DC) Ashfaq Khan, who chaired the jirga, told Dawn.com that after a long law and order situation in the district, the efforts of the administration, security forces, police and tribal leaders brought positive results and “a peace agreement was signed between the local tribes of Lower Kurram and Sadda for a year.” The jirga was held at Sadda FC Fort between prominent tribal chiefs of the Ahle Sunnat and Tori Bangash tribes, including the ... -
Dawn - 18:08 Jul 23, 2025
Incarcerated PTI Founder Imran Khan’s sons met with United States President Donald Trump’s key aide Richard Grenell on Tuesday as they kicked off a campaign calling for their father’s release from prison. Imran’s sons — Sulaiman Khan, 28, and Kasim Khan, 26 — called attention to their father’s incarceration for the first time publicly in May. Earlier this month, Imran’s sister Aleema Khan said Sulaiman and Kasim will go to the US before coming to Pakistan as part of a movement calling for the ex-premier’s release. Imran, imprisoned since August 2023, is serving a sentence at the Adiala Jail in a £190 million corruption case and also faces pending trials under the Anti-Terrorism Act related to the protests of May 9, 2023. Grenell, US special presidential envoy for special missions — known for publicly calling for Imran’s release — posted on X that he had met with Sulaiman and Kasim in California, urging them to “stay strong”. “There are millions of people around the world who are sick of political prosecutions... -
Dawn - 17:57 Jul 23, 2025
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday reiterated Pakistan’s willingness for a “meaningful dialogue” with India on all outstanding issues, state media Radio Pakistan reported. The April 22 attack in occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam killed 26 people, sparking a military confrontation between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan as New Delhi blamed it on Islamabad, which strongly denied the allegations while calling for a neutral investigation. A US-brokered ceasefire ended the war. Pakistan previously invited India to a comprehensive dialogue to address all contentious issues, including the Kashmir dispute and the water distribution. During a meeting with British High Commissioner Jane Marriott today, PM Shehbaz appreciated the UK’s role in de-escalating tensions during the Pakistan-India standoff and reiterated that Pakistan was ready for a meaningful dialogue with India on all outstanding issues. He welcomed the British government’s decision to resume PIA flights to the UK. He said, “This [decision] would go a lo... -
Dawn - 17:22 Jul 23, 2025
Families in the United Kingdom have received the “wrong remains” of victims of an Air India plane crash last month, which left 260 people dead, according to a media report on Wednesday. The families are suffering “fresh heartache because the remains of their loved ones were wrongly identified before being flown home”, British publication The Daily Mail reported. It said relatives of one of the victims had to abandon “funeral plans after being informed that their coffin contained the body of an unknown passenger rather than their family member”. In another case, the “commingled” remains of more than one person killed in the crash were mistakenly placed in the same casket, it added. A lawyer representing several families and UK media said relatives of a British victim received a casket that contained mixed remains. The family of a separate victim received the remains of another person, according to James Healy-Pratt, who is representing 20 British families who lost loved ones in the disaster. Healy-Pratt told t... -
Dawn - 14:51 Jul 23, 2025
Pakistan and Bangladesh agree on visa-free entry for diplomats, pledge stronger security cooperation
Pakistan and Bangladesh on Wednesday agreed in principle to grant visa-free entry to holders of diplomatic and official passports, along with a pledge to stronger security cooperation. The two countries were once one nation but split following a bloody civil war, which saw the territory previously referred to as ‘East Pakistan’ seceding to form the independent nation of Bangladesh. In the years since the split between Pakistan and Bangladesh, Dhaka’s leaders — especially the ousted regime of Sheikh Hasina — stayed firmly in the Indian camp, preferring to maintain close ties with New Delhi and keeping Islamabad at arm’s length. However, ever since a popular uprising that saw Hasina’s government toppled in August of last year, with the deposed premier fleeing to her old ally India, there has been a thaw in ties between the two capitals, with trade and bilateral relations seeing a marked improvement. In May, Bangladesh High Commissioner to Pakistan Iqbal Hussain Khan said that the visa regime between Pakistan an... -
Dawn - 14:51 Jul 23, 2025
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar called for an inclusive dialogue and cooperative diplomacy over confrontation amid growing turbulence across the world during his United States visit on Wednesday. Dar arrived in New York on Monday to attend “high-level signature events” of Pakistan’s United Nations Security Council (UNSC) presidency, including a conference on Palestine. Addressing a reception today hosted by Pakistan’s Mission in New York on the occasion of Pakistan’s UNSC presidency, Dar stressed: “We believe that global peace and security can only be achieved through multilateralism, peaceful settlement of disputes, inclusive dialogue, and respect for international law.” The deputy PM pointed out: “At the core of Pakistan’s foreign policy is our firm commitment to multilateralism and the United Nations. “The purposes and principles enshrined in the UN Charter, especially peaceful settlement of disputes and non-use or threat of force are foundational to the UN. They are indispensable for ... -
Dawn - 14:22 Jul 23, 2025
A Quetta anti-terrorism court on Wednesday extended the physical remand of tribal leader Sardar Sherbaz Satakzai, one of the main suspects in the ‘honour’ killing of a man and a woman, for 10 more days. The viral video of the murder showed a group of men leading a couple out of vehicles and into a desert before gunning them down with pistols and shooting the bodies. Political figures and activists said it was an ‘honour’ killing incident. Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti said on Sunday that he had directed the provincial police to take immediate action, following which one suspect was apprehended. Sardar Satakzai is one of the main suspects in the case and was presented before the Quetta ATC on Monday before being handed over to the Serious Crimes Investigation Wing (SCIW) on a two-day physical remand on the judge’s order upon the police’s request. He was presented in the ATC today before Judge Muhammad Mubeen, who accepted the police request and granted Satakzai’s physical remand for another 10 days,... -
Dawn - 14:19 Jul 23, 2025
A 19-year-old girl in Karachi’s Lyari succumbed to her injuries after an alleged marital rape at the hands of her husband, police said on Wednesday. Earlier this month, the newlywed girl was admitted to Civil Hospital Karachi in critical condition after allegedly enduring “brutal sexual violence” from her husband, who was arrested by the police. The victim was in a coma and her physical examination findings were “consistent with sexual violence”, police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed had stated. “The rape victim, 19, passed away at the trauma centre of the Civil Hospital Karachi at 10:45am today,” Syed said today. She was admitted to the trauma centre in a “critical condition”, having undergone a surgical procedure at another hospital, she added. “Her initial findings were positive for sexual violence,” she said. The police surgeon told Dawn.com that the hospital informed police and family to conduct a post-mortem examination of the body and was waiting for their response. Baghdadi police Station House Officer Maji... -
Dawn - 14:02 Jul 23, 2025
Swat District Police Officer (DPO) Muhammad Omar on Wednesday said that authorities sealed the madressah in Swat, where a student was killed earlier this week, and returned its other students to their parents. A young student was allegedly beaten to death by his madressah teachers on Monday evening in Swat’s Chaliyar village, according to the police. He was rushed to the nearest hospital by students and teachers, but doctors declared him dead upon arrival. Addressing a press conference in his office accompanied by Superintendent of Police (Investigation) Badshah Hazrat Khan, DPO Omar said: “When we came to know of this incident, we also thought to check with the other students studying in the madressah if there was any other case such as this or not. We sent our team to this madressah and when statements were taken from the children, it was found out that some others had been subjected to violence as well.” Omar said police detained all madressah staff upon receiving this information with nine more taken into... -
Dawn - 13:07 Jul 23, 2025
Six Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel were injured in a “terrorist attack” at a checkpoint in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district on Wednesday, a police spokesperson said. Bannu Police spokesperson Aamir Khan told Dawn.com: “Terrorists attacked a Frontier Constabulary checkpoint situated in the border area of Takhti Khel Wazir in Bannu. “As a result of the attack, six personnel of the FC were injured, but the immediate response of the constabulary forced the terrorists to flee.” Over a week ago, President Asif Ali Zardari promulgated an ordinance empowering the federal government to transform the FC, a border security force, into the Federal Constabulary. Aamir added that the injured constables have been taken to the Combined Military Hospital in Bannu for treatment. “Police teams have been sent to the area and have begun a search operation to track down the terrorists,” he said. Pakistan has witnessed a surge in terrorist attacks, especially in KP and Balochistan, predominantly targeting the police, law e... -
Dawn - 12:36 Jul 23, 2025
Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry on Wednesday warned the public of a terrorist group using WhatsApp channels to “disseminate hateful content and harmful narratives”, urging the platform and the global community to help Pakistan combat terrorism. In a post on X, the state minister said the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) — designated as a terrorist organisation by the United Nations and the United States — was operating its WhatsApp channels and sending bulk messages to “proliferate its violent/hateful ideology, to spread its harmful narratives, and for glorification of its terror activities”. The state minister requested the international community and WhatsApp to “cooperate to help us fight this menace”. “These accounts must be blocked and necessary algorithms created to auto-detect and auto-suspend such handles/numbers,” he added. On Sept 1, 2010, the US designated the group as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation, while the UN imposed sanctions on the entity on July 29, 2011 due to it... -
Dawn - 12:30 Jul 23, 2025
US President Donald Trump has announced a “massive” trade deal with Japan, as China said it will send its vice premier to US trade talks next week to secure its own agreement ahead of a looming deadline. In an attempt to slash his country’s colossal trade deficit, the US president has vowed to hit dozens of countries with punitive “reciprocal” tariffs if they do not hammer out a pact with Washington by August 1. The Japan agreement, along with another pact with the Philippines also announced on Tuesday, means Trump has now secured five agreements since his administration promised in April “90 deals in 90 days”. The others are with Britain, Vietnam and Indonesia, which the White House said Tuesday would ease critical mineral export restrictions. Negotiations are still ongoing with much larger US trading partners China, Canada, Mexico and the European Union. Representatives from China and the United States will meet next week in the Swedish capital Stockholm to try and hammer out a deal before an August 12 dead... -
Dawn - 12:25 Jul 23, 2025
India will resume issuing tourist visas to Chinese citizens from July 24 this year, its embassy in China said on Wednesday, the first time in five years as both countries move to repair their rocky relationship. Tensions between the two countries escalated following a 2020 military clash along their disputed Himalayan border. In response, India imposed restrictions on Chinese investments, banned hundreds of popular Chinese apps and cut passenger routes. China suspended visas to Indian citizens and other foreigners around the same time due to the Covid-19 pandemic but lifted those restrictions in 2022, when it resumed issuing visas for students and business travellers. Tourist visas for Indian nationals remained restricted until March this year, when both countries agreed to resume direct air service. Relations have gradually improved, with several high-level meetings taking place last year, including talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Russia in October. China... -
Dawn - 09:27 Jul 23, 2025
Balochistan — Pakistan’s largest and most resource-rich province — rarely makes headlines, and when it does, it’s often for tragic reasons: bombings, attacks on passenger buses, targeted killings, enforced disappearances, arrest of activists, or political upheavals. In recent years, another deeply troubling issue has pushed its way into the spotlight — a rise in gender-based violence and ‘honour’ killings. While such violence has long haunted the province, the proliferation of smartphones, internet access, and social media have made it increasingly difficult to keep these crimes hidden. Over the weekend, one such incident sparked nationwide outrage: a harrowing video emerged online, showing a woman and a man being killed by a group of men in the outskirts of Quetta — reportedly in the name of honour. At a press conference on Monday evening, while sharing details of the so-called honour-based killing, Balochistan’s Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti disputed reports that the victims were a newly married couple. “Th... -
Dawn - 08:36 Jul 23, 2025
Zahir Zakir Jaffer on Tuesday sought a review of the Supreme Court verdict that upheld his death sentence for the gruesome 2021 murder of Noor Mukadam in Islamabad. Noor, aged 27 years, was found murdered at Zahir’s Islamabad residence in July 2021, with the probe revealing she was tortured by him before being beheaded. Zahir’s death sentence by the trial court had already been upheld by the Islamabad High Court (IHC). The 47-page review petition, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, was filed by Advocate Khawaja Haris on behalf of Zahir under Article 188 of the Constitution (review of judgments or orders by SC). The state and Noor’s father, Shaukat Ali Muqadam, were made the respondents. The petition contended that the issue of Zahir’s alleged “unsoundness of mind or mental capacity” that was raised before the SC in an application had not been addressed and was “given short shrift”. It further said that “hype created on social media […] constantly created hatred towards the petitioner throughout the i... -
Dawn - 06:29 Jul 23, 2025
LAHORE: An important meeting of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) is being held on Thursday in Dhaka where Pakistan’s participation in this year’s Asia Cup in India will come under discussion. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi as the head of the ACC was expected to leave for Dhaka on Tuesday night to head the said meeting. The ACC meeting is considered important, particularly in the backdrop of the the Asia Cup, scheduled to be held in India in the month of September. According to reports, no official of the BCCI will visit Bangladesh to attend the ACC meeting. There are also media reports that Sri Lanka, Oman and Afghanistan may also not attend. Though the Asia Cup is an important continental event, due to strained political relations between India and Pakistan, particularly after the military encounter between the nuclear-armed neighbours in May this year, the fate of the said competition is hanging in the balance. On its part, the BCCI has said that the political relations between India an... -
Dawn - 06:19 Jul 23, 2025
LAHORE: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Monday raised alarm over political dysfunction and rising injustices in Punjab. The HRCP held a press conference to highlight the human rights situation in Punjab as recorded in its report, State of Human Rights in 2024, launched earlier. While voter registration and total votes cast was reportedly increased in the 2024 general elections, the turnout declined. Women’s representation in the assemblies more than doubled, but the Punjab Assembly remained plagued by disruptions, a tendency to ignore input from the opposition, and hurried legislation. Assembly proceedings in 2024 were dominated by chaos. Women MPAs staged a walkout over inappropriate gestures in the House and the allocation of reserved seats for women and minorities faced legal setbacks. The Punjab Defamation Act 2024, hurriedly approved in June, was widely criticised by human rights networks for stifling free speech. The law was subsequently challenged in the Lahore High Court as unconstit... -
Dawn - 06:10 Jul 23, 2025
• Leaders say millions of farmers are ready to court arrest, but will not pay the tax • Sindh Chamber of Agriculture vows to move court or go for some other crops HYDERABAD: Sindh Chamber of Agriculture (SCA) has announced that it will challenge the 45pc agricultural income tax in court. It described the tax as ‘unconstitutional, illegal and unethical’, and asked its members and farmers across Sindh to boycott wheat cultivation this year. The decision was taken at meeting of the chamber held here on Tuesday under the chairmanship of its patron-in-chief, Dr Syed Nadeem Qamar. The meeting rejected the tax and claimed that it was imposed under directives of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The farmers who attended the meeting argued that they were not receiving fair prices for their produce and, as such, there was no justification for the imposition of such a tax. The meeting asked farmers across Sindh not to pay the tax, and warned that if government resorted to arrest them for on this disobedience, mill... -
Dawn - 05:55 Jul 23, 2025
LAHORE: Punjab has launched its first Counter Narcotics Force (CNF) to combat the menace of drugs. A passing-out ceremony was held here on Tuesday in which Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz handed over the flag to the CNF. She also met the CNF personnel and inspected vehicles and equipment. CNF DG Brig Mazhar Iqbal gave briefing about the formation and work of the force to the CM. Some 866 personnel have been recruited in the first phase in the CNF. It has been made functional in all divisions. In the first phase, CNF stations and regional directorates have been established in each division of Punjab. In the second phase, the scope of CNF will be expanded to the district level. The CM was informed that the CNF officers and personnel were given 12 weeks of professional training at the Anti Narcotics Force (ANF) Academy, Rawalpindi. Speaking on the occasion, CM Maryam said the future of Punjab was bright with the formation of the CNF. With the establishment of the CNF, she said the menace of drugs would soon be eradi... -
Dawn - 05:13 Jul 23, 2025
KARACHI: Police on Tuesday claimed to have arrested a couple and their son-in-law for their alleged involvement in kidnapping a school-age child, who was found begging outside a mosque in Shah Latif Town on Monday, several months after his disappearance. Area SHO Sadaruddin Mirani told Dawn that three-year-old Husain Ali had been kidnapped from Sector A-17 and the family had lodged an FIR (731/25) under Section 363 (punishment for kidnapping) of the Pakistan Penal Code against unknown persons around two and a half months ago. The officer said, on Monday an uncle of the child had gone to offer prayer at a mosque in Sector A-16 of Shah Latif Town where he found his missing nephew begging outside the mosque along with a man. The uncle and area residents caught the man, who was beaten and handed over to police. He was identified as Shaharyar. During grilling, the held suspect told the police that his in-laws had given him the child. On the information extracted from the suspect, the police also arrested the coupl...
7960 items