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Dawn - 05:36 May 25, 2025
ISLAMABAD: A World Bank study says the General Sales Tax (GST) has the largest marginal contribution to the national poverty increase, while GST payments account for over 7 per cent of households’ pretax expenditure, which leads to further impoverishment among poor and vulnerable households. The Effects of Taxes and Transfers on Inequality and Poverty in Pakistan says the GST has the largest negative impact on the poverty headcount; the Benazir Income Support Programme has the largest positive impact on inequality reduction. Estimations of the marginal contributions of individual fiscal instruments — or the additional impact that individual fiscal instruments have on poverty or inequality when all other fiscal instruments are included — demonstrate that GST has the largest marginal contribution to the national poverty increase. GST is allocated roughly in proportion to consumption expenditure and, therefore, is neither strongly regressive nor strongly progressive. The BISP cash transfer meanwhile dem... -
Dawn - 05:18 May 25, 2025
• Pakistan terms IWT suspension ‘dangerous escalation’ • Officials spar over India’s targeting of civilian areas UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan has warned the United Nations that India’s unilateral decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) represents a dangerous escalation that violates international law and threatens the survival of more than 240 million people. Speaking at a UN meeting on protecting water in armed conflict on Friday evening, Pakistan urged the world community to act before such actions triggered a humanitarian catastrophe or destabilised the region. “This is a grave violation of international law, including human rights law, the treaty law and customary international law,” said Ambassador Usman Jadoon, Pakistan’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, at the Arria Formula meeting convened by Slovenia. “We strongly condemn India’s unlawful announcement to hold the Treaty in abeyance and call upon India to strictly abide by its legal obligations and refrain from stopping, diverting or r... -
Dawn - 05:11 May 25, 2025
• 19 dead, over 90 injured in Punjab • Road, air travel disrupted; walls and roofs collapse, infrastructure damaged • Widespread outages reported from parts of country • Crops, power lines damaged in KP; 113 feeders trip across province ISLAMABAD / LAHORE /PESHAWAR: At least 19 people were killed and over 90 others injured as powerful windstorms and heavy rains battered several parts of the country on Saturday, paralysing road and air traffic, damaging infrastructure and triggering widespread power outages. Heavy rainfall accompanied by gusty winds and hail also struck Islamabad, leading to water accumulation in several low-lying areas and trees falling at multiple spots. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, strong winds and hailstorms caused extensive damage to crops and power lines but no fatalities were reported. Over 113 power feeders tripped across the province, with areas like Peshawar, Mardan, Khyber, Swabi, Swat and Abbottabad worst affected. Meanwhile, a private airline from Karachi to Lahore narrowly avo... -
Dawn - 05:04 May 25, 2025
LAHORE: The formal packaged juice industry has urged the government to take immediate action in the upcoming federal budget, requesting a significant cut in the Federal Excise Duty (FED). The juice industry is calling for a substantial reduction in the Federal Excise Duty (FED), which was introduced in 2023 at a rate of 20 per cent, compounded by an existing 18pc General Sales Tax (GST). According to a spokesperson for the Fruit Juice Council, this combined burden is severely impacting the documented sector and leading to serious economic repercussions. The sector, which was expecting sales exceeding Rs72 billion in FY23, witnessed a 45pc plunge to Rs42bn. This has stalled industry growth and resulted in a considerable shortfall in the government’s revenue projections for the current fiscal year. The exorbitant tax burden, effectively pushing the tax component on a pack of juice to around 42pc of its price, has fundamentally impacted consumer affordability. This has inadvertently fuelled an alarming surge in ... -
Dawn - 04:38 May 25, 2025
LAHORE: A sessions court on Saturday adjourned a Rs10 billion defamation suit of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif against incarcerated PTI founding chairman Imran Khan as the counsel for the defendant continued the cross-examination of the plaintiff. Additional District & Sessions Judge (AD&SJ) Yalmaz Ghani conducted the hearing on the suit, while PM Shehbaz and his counsel Mustafa Ramday joined via a video link. At the outset of the hearing, the prime minister congratulated all attendees on winning the battle against India. In response, the judge also said, “Congratulations to you as well.” Advocate Muhammad Hussain Chotia, the counsel for the PTI founder, said this was indeed a matter of joy and it was a victory for the whole nation. During cross-examination, the defendant’s counsel asked the plaintiff whether the alleged defamatory statement had been made in writing. The prime minister said the allegations had been repeatedly made on television. The lawyer then asked PM Shehbaz whether he himself ever made su... -
Dawn - 04:36 May 25, 2025
ISLAMABAD: Access to the social media platform X was gradually restored in Pakistan on Saturday after a global outage, which affected services in several countries. Downdetector, which monitors internet outages in real time, showed a spike in users’ complaints after 5pm. The tally peaked with 372 complaints at 5:36pm, with more than 600 complaints in total reported by late evening. Users said they were unable to log in to their accounts and send tweets. However, the number of complaints reduced by 8pm, indicating the restoration of services. The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) noted that social media platform X was facing a mass global outage, including in Pakistan, but stated that the country’s internet services “remain fully functional”. “PTA’s investigation into the matter has confirmed that there are no technical issues at Pakistan’s internet gateways.” “All other internet services across the country remain fully functional,” PTA said. X was blocked in Pakistan on Feb 17, 2024, after allega... -
Dawn - 04:22 May 25, 2025
LAHORE: Federal Minister for Water Resources Muhammad Moeen Wattoo has warned India that holding the Indus Water Treaty (IWC) in abeyance unilaterally is “absolutely unlawful and an act of war”. He further said that the treaty still exists despite New Delhi holding it in abeyance “unilaterally and illegally”. “The words ‘holding in abeyance’ used by India doesn’t exist anywhere in the law. Therefore, the Indus Water Treaty exist as it is, as these words cannot abolish it,” Mr Wattoo said while speaking at a seminar on Saturday. “Holding the treaty in abeyance is absolutely illegal immoral. It is a violation of all international agreements,” the minister added. Ex-Indus water commissioner warns China and other upstream countries may block flow of water to India Talking about the background of the issue, the federal minister said the correspondence between the two countries were underway since 2024. India wrote a letter to Pakistan, seeking some modification in the treaty under the Article 12 (3) of the treaty.... -
Dawn - 04:11 May 25, 2025
• Both sides to continue discussions on revenue, defence, development, tariff reforms • Next review likely in second half of 2025 • Mission thanks federal, provincial authorities for constructive engagement ISLAMABAD: In a significant development, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Pakistani authorities have reached a preliminary agreement on a comprehensive financial framework, paving the way for continued negotiations on the budget for fiscal year 2025-26. Officials in the finance ministry indicate that discussions are set to advance in the coming days, with the goal of finalising crucial fiscal policies, including the revenue collection target for FY26, development outlay, defence expenditure, and the highly debated tariff rationalisation plan for the industry. The areas where agreements remain pending include tax concessions for the salaried class, an increase in defence budget and policies related to real estate. The discussions will also focus on reducing expenditures, as well as continuing refor... -
Dawn - 04:01 May 25, 2025
LAHORE: The country has unveiled its first Power Equipment Manufacturing Dashboard, a real-time digital tool to monitor localisation progress, assess vendor capacity and identify strategic investment opportunities under the Power Sector Indigenisation Plan (PSIP). The launch took place during the National Consultative Workshop on the Power Sector Indigenisation Roadmap, organised by the National Grid Company of Pakistan (NGC) — formerly known as the National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) — in collaboration with the LUMS Energy Institute. Speaking via video link, Energy Minister Awais Leghari said the government was finalising a plan to supply 7,000-megawatt electricity to Pakistan’s export industry at the most competitive tariff in the region. “We are working on providing electricity at a marginal cost to boost exports,” the minister said. He added that power sector indigenisation was vital to shifting the country from an import-dependent to an export-led economy. The event brought ... -
Dawn - 03:33 May 25, 2025
THE government of Bangladesh has cancelled a $21 million contract awarded to Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd (GRSE), an Indian public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Defence, for the construction of an advanced ocean-going tug, The Hindu reported. According to the Indian publication, the cancellation closely follows India’s recent move to withdraw the transhipment facility previously extended to Bangladesh to export its cargo to third countries — a development that analysts interpret as signalling strain in bilateral relations. In a regulatory disclosure submitted to the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd and BSE Ltd under the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, GRSE confirmed that the government of Bangladesh had cancelled the order, originally placed in July 2024. The cancellation adds to a series of geopolitical developments since the change in political leadership in Bangladesh following the fall of prime minis... -
Dawn - 18:13 May 24, 2025
Mountaineer Saad Munawar on Saturday became the first Pakistani to summit the world’s tallest mountain, Mount Everest (8,848.86 metres), from its northern face. Earlier this month, two other Pakistani mountaineers achieved feats of their own, with renowned Pakistani climber Sajid Ali Sadpara summiting the world’s seventh highest peak, Dhaulagiri (8,167 m), without oxygen or porter support on May 11 and renowned Pakistani climber Sirbaz Khan successfully summiting Mt Kangchenjunga (8,586m), the third highest peak in the world, without supplemental oxygen on May 18. Munawar’s official Facebook account confirmed the feat, writing that he “raised the green flag at the summit of [the] highest peak in the world”. “This is the first time that a Pakistani has summited Mt Everest from the north side,” the post added. “Saad has safely descended back to Camp 3 for the night. Requesting prayers for safe descent back to the base camp during the next days.” According to climbers, the route to summit Everest’s northern face... -
Dawn - 18:11 May 24, 2025
At least 13 civilians died and 92 others were injured as heavy rains lashed several parts of Punjab on Saturday, according to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA). Earlier today, the PDMA urged citizens and provincial authorities to remain on high alert. PDMA Director General (DG) Irfan Ali Kathia directed deputy commissioners and rescue agencies across the province to remain alert amid reports of wind and rain in various districts of Punjab, a statement by the PDMA said. “Relevant departments to be on alert to deal with emergency situations,” the statement read, adding that the provincial control room and all district emergency operation centres have also been alerted. The situation was being monitored 24/7 in the PDMA control room, DG Kathia said. He added, “Citizens should be careful and stay away from electric poles and hanging wires. “Stay in safe places to avoid lightning. Never stay in open places during bad weather and lightning. Avoid unnecessary travel and drive slowly.” View this pos... -
Dawn - 17:05 May 24, 2025
President Donald Trump ripped into diversity and inclusion policies in the United States, knocked Nato and took credit for building up the military on Saturday in a campaign-style commencement speech at the prestigious West Point Military Academy in New York. Trump, wearing a suit and his signature red “Make America Great Again” cap, mixed advice to “work hard” with a list of his top grievances about cultural and political issues while speaking to a stadium filled with cadets, family members and a largely supportive crowd. “The job of the US Armed Forces is not to host drag shows, to transform foreign cultures,” Trump said. “The military’s job is to dominate any foe and annihilate any threat to America, anywhere, anytime, in any place.” Since coming into office for the second time in January, Trump has rolled back diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes in the military and throughout the government as part of a larger effort to rescind policies enacted by his predecessor, Joe Biden. “We’ve liberated ... -
Dawn - 16:44 May 24, 2025
Services on social media platform X were restored on Saturday evening as users in Pakistan were able to access the site. According to real-time monitor Downdetector, fewer problem reports were submitted on Saturday evening, with a low of 40 complaints reported by 8:36pm. A graph showing outages on X in Pakistan. — Screengrab via Downdetector Earlier, the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) noted that social media platform X was facing a mass global outage, including in Pakistan, but stated that the country’s internet services “remain fully functional”. According to a statement, the telecom body said that this disruption follows a similar one reported on Thursday, which was resolved by the platform itself. “PTA’s investigation into the matter has confirmed that there are no technical issues at Pakistan’s internet gateways,” the statement read. “All other internet services across the country remain fully functional.” The PTA added that global internet observatory NetBlocks also confirmed that the outage... -
Dawn - 15:38 May 24, 2025
The Sindh government on Saturday announced that it is launching a five-day polio vaccination campaign in the province from May 26 to inoculate over 10 million children in the province. Earlier this week, two new cases of polio were reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lakki Marwat and Bannu districts, taking the tally for the current year to 10. According to a press release, the campaign aims to immunise more than 10.6m children under the age of five across all 30 districts of Sindh. “The campaign is taking place from May 26 to June 1, 2025, and involves the efforts of over 80,000 trained polio workers going door-to-door with support from 25,539 law enforcement personnel to ensure that no child is missed,” the statement said. “Children between the ages of 6 and 59 months will also receive Vitamin A supplements to help boost their immunity.” View this post on Instagram According to the press release, this new campaign follows two previous drives in February and April. Earlier this week, Sindh Chief Minister Murad ... -
Dawn - 14:58 May 24, 2025
A German woman accused of a mass stabbing attack that wounded 18 people at a train station in Hamburg suffers from mental illness, police said on Saturday. The suspect, a 39-year-old woman, is accused of going on a stabbing spree on Friday at the main station in Hamburg, stunning the northern city in the middle of the evening rush hour. The woman has “very clear indications of a psychological illness”, police said in a statement, without giving further details on her condition. They added that there were no signs she was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the attack, which left four victims seriously wounded. The woman was subdued by two passersby and law enforcement officers before being taken into custody at the scene without resisting arrest, police said. She was due to appear before a judge later on Saturday. Police say they have ruled out a “political motive” for the attack and believe the suspect acted alone. The victims range in age from 19 to 85. The four in serious condition were ... -
Dawn - 14:13 May 24, 2025
Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir has lauded the strategic foresight of the country’s political leadership during Marka-i-Haq that ensured the country’s success in Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos against India, the military’s media wing said on Saturday. Earlier this week, the government promoted Gen Munir to the rank of field marshal in recognition of his “strategic leadership and decisive role” in defeating India during the military confrontation between the two countries that ended with a US-mediated ceasefire. Field marshal is the highest rank in armies modelled after the British Army. In Pakistan, it was awarded only once before, to General Mohammad Ayub Khan in 1959. President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif formally decorated the army chief with the rank of field marshal at a ceremony held at the Presidency earlier this week. According to a press release issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), while hosting a dinner, the army chief expressed profound gratitude to... -
Dawn - 13:32 May 24, 2025
A key Bangladeshi party leader at the forefront of the revolt that ousted premier Sheikh Hasina warned on Saturday that an army-backed leadership could replace the interim government. Nahid Islam, leader of the National Citizen Party (NCP), made up of many students who spearheaded the uprising that ended Hasina’s 15-year iron-fisted rule last year, said he worried about an “anti-democratic” future. Muhammad Yunus, the 84-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner leading the caretaker government until elections are held, has called for rival political parties jostling for power to give him their full support. Bangladesh has a long history of coups, and the army retains a powerful role. Islam, an ally of Yunus who previously served in his cabinet, told reporters on Saturday that he foresaw a situation similar to January 11, 2007, when a state of emergency was declared, resulting in a two-year-long military-backed government. “There are indications that a 1/11-style military-backed government could re-emerge — one that ... -
Dawn - 13:08 May 24, 2025
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Saturday held a meeting with a World Bank delegation to discuss the launch of the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) project and the ongoing flood relief housing efforts as well as other initiatives in the province. The meeting, which took place at the CM House in Karachi, included WB managing director Anna Bejarred, country director Naji Bin Hussein and other officials from the Bank, a statement by the CM House read. Both the Sindh government and WB sides agreed on the effective initiation of the WASH project aimed at improving access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene practices across the province, according to the statement. “The initiative targeted 3,200 flood-affected villages, providing essential facilities to enhance public health and living conditions,” it added. CM Murad highlighted that the WASH project was being launched with a total budget of $270 million, benefiting approximately 1.5m people, with breakdown includes $75m from the World Bank, $13... -
Dawn - 12:41 May 24, 2025
Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Saturday said that Pakistan will raise its defence budget for the upcoming fiscal year 2025-26 keeping in view the recent escalation with India and New Delhi suspending a key river water-sharing treaty with Islamabad. Earlier this month, the minister had announced that the federal budget would be presented on June 2, however, Adviser to the Finance Minister Khurram Schehzad said yesterday that the budget would be presented on June 10, while the Pakistan Economic Survey would be released a day earlier. Meeting a delegation at the Institution of Engineers Pakistan (IEP) in Lahore, led by IEP Secretary General Engr Ameer Zameer, the planning minister told reporters that the budget had not been delayed due to any pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but because of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s upcoming visit to friendly nations and the Eidul Azha holidays. “We had very good negotiations with the IMF,” Iqbal said. “As you’ve seen, they acknowledged our government’...
6698 items