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  • PSX hits 120,000 barrier to reach record high in intraday trade before losing gains
    Dawn - 12:07 May 19, 2025
    The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued last week’s renewed momentum and crossed the 120,000-point barrier to reach a record high during intraday trade on Monday before losing its gains to settle a little below. The benchmark KSE-100 index climbed 636.4 points, or 0.53 per cent, to stand at 120,285.54 points from the previous close of 119,649.14 points at 9:33am. However, it witnessed fluctuation, dropping to 119,426.44 points at 11:44am, 222.70 points lower than the last close. The market subsequently closed at 119,689.63 points, 40.49 points higher, or 0.03pc. After the Pakistan-India ceasefire relieved investors’ worries, the PSX recorded a historic rebound last week as the KSE-100 Index gained 12,474 points to settle at 119,649 on Friday. The bullish momentum in recent days has been further supported by the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) approval of the first review of Pakistan’s loan programme and a climate fund, as well as the disbursement of a $1 billion tranche. Yousuf M. Farooq, director of ...
  • The agriculture sector’s hidden crisis
    Dawn - 12:03 May 19, 2025
    Pakistan’s agriculture sector is grappling with a deepening crisis, which is likely to worsen in the coming years. The prices of agricultural commodities have been on a consistent downward slide in international markets, and so have they in local markets. Meanwhile, agricultural input prices in Pakistan continue to rise. This growing imbalance — rising production costs amid government claims of easing inflation, coupled with shrinking farm incomes — raises serious concerns about the long-term viability of farming in the country. Global food inflation, triggered during the Covid-19 pandemic, is gradually subsiding. A review of the World Bank’s commodities price data over the past three years highlights this downward trend. Maize price, which stood at $319 per metric tonne (MT) in 2022 (annual average), has now dropped to $214 per MT in 2025 (Jan-March average). Similarly, the price of wheat has declined significantly, falling from $430 per MT in 2022 to $258 per MT in 2025. The coarse variety of rice, which wa...
  • Dar arrives in China on 3-day official visit to discuss regional situation
    Dawn - 11:44 May 19, 2025
    Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday arrived in China’s capital of Beijing on a three-day official visit at the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi amid regional tensions, state-owned Radio Pakistan reported. The visit comes as tensions remain high in the region following last week’s ceasefire between Pakistan and India after a tense military standoff over the Pahalgam attack in Occupied Kashmir — which India blamed on Pakistan without evidence. On May 6–7, Indian air strikes in Punjab and Azad Kashmir killed civilians, prompting Islamabad to shoot down five Indian jets. After drone interceptions and airbase strikes, US intervention on May 10 led to a ceasefire. India has maintained its aggressive stance, while Pakistan has warned against further escalation and offered dialogue. “Today, Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar arrived in Beijing on a three-day official visit from 19-21 May 2025. He was received at the airport by senior Chinese off...
    Tags: China
  • BCCI denies reports of withdrawal from Asia Cup amid tensions with Pakistan: Indian media
    Dawn - 10:39 May 19, 2025
    The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has denied reports of withdrawal from all Asian Cricket Council (ACC) events amid recent tensions with Pakistan, according to Indian media. Earlier, The Indian Express, citing sources, reported that the BCCI had informed the ACC about its decision to pull out from the Women’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup in Sri Lanka next month and from the biennial Men’s Asia Cup in September in a bid to “isolate Pakistan cricket.” “The Indian team can’t play in a tournament that is organised by the ACC whose chief is a Pakistan minister”, the source said, referring to Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who was appointed as the new president of the ACC last month. The outlet further quoted the source as saying that the BCCI was aware that an Asia Cup without India was not a feasible option as many of the sponsors of international cricket events were from India. The International Cricket Council (ICC), the global governing body for cricket, did no...
    Tags: Pakistan Asia BCCI Indian
  • Six killed in exchange of fire over family feud in Peshawar
    Dawn - 09:36 May 19, 2025
    Six people, including three women, lost their lives in an exchange of fire over a family feud on Monday in the Khatko Pul area of Peshawar in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, according to a Rescue 1122 spokesperson. Seven people were reported to have been shot in the exchange of fire between two families, six of whom died on the spot. The deceased have been identified as Fazl Amin, Hazrat Amin, Ahmed, along with three women. Another woman was reported to be critically injured and has been shifted to Lady Reading Hospital. “The incident took place when a dispute over family issues escalated and members of both families opened indiscriminate fire at each other,” said Rescue 1122 KP spokesperson Bilal Faizi. According to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Peshawar Noor Jamal who oversees investigations, a first information report (FIR) has been registered, and three have been named as accused. Raids are currently underway to arrest them. “The sister of one of the accused had died three days ago,” as per the SSP. The accus...
    Tags: Peshawar
  • Three children die in Nowshera after having sweets believed to be contaminated
    Dawn - 09:10 May 19, 2025
    A family suffered from health problems after consuming food believed to be contaminated, resulting in the death of three siblings in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Nowshera district, police said on Monday. Nowshera police spokesperson Turk Ali Shah told Dawn.com, “The family had consumed Mithai [sweets] with tea at night, after which their condition deteriorated.” “Three siblings have died after consuming poisonous food. Their mother was in critical condition,” he added. He said that the family were shifted to the Qazi Hussain Ahmad Medical Complex, where the siblings — 8-year-old Maryam, 6-year-old Hareem and 4-year-old Muhammad Yaman — were pronounced dead. “The mother is undergoing treatment at the hospital,” Shah continued. The police lodged an inquiry report on the complaint of Bakht Sher, the children’s father, the spokesperson said, adding that an investigation was underway to ascertain the cause of the deaths. In April, three children lost their lives while five others were in critical condition after having “p...
    Tags: Nowshera Three
  • The harsh truth of India’s ambitions
    Dawn - 08:37 May 19, 2025
    India’s meteoric rise over the past decade has imbued its leadership with a confidence that, at times, borders on hubris. An average GDP growth rate of 6.7 per cent from 2014 to 2024 has propelled India’s nominal GDP to a projected $4.2 trillion by 2025, outpacing many global economies, including China’s 6pc growth over the same period. Strategic partnerships like the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), a burgeoning tech sector, and a youthful population of 1.36 billion have fuelled ambitions of great-power status. Yet, this self-assurance has led to diplomatic bristling, notably India’s irritation with US mediation in its recent ceasefire with Pakistan, which The Economist reported as a perceived slight to New Delhi’s sovereignty. More sobering was a recent aerial skirmish, detailed by the Financial Times, where China’s J-10 ‘Dragon’ fighters outmatched India’s Western-supplied aircraft, exposing technological disparities. A realistic comparison of India and China reveals a stark truth: despite rapid pro...
    Tags: India
  • The latent price for patriotism
    Dawn - 08:26 May 19, 2025
    The current tense regional environment likely underpins the government’s proposal, endorsed by its largest coalition partner, the Pakistan Peoples’ Party, to raise the defence budget by 18 per cent for the next fiscal year. The critical question for a resource-constrained country, however, remains: who will pay for it? Driven by patriotism and deep respect for a military establishment that successfully repelled the strategic ambitions of a hostile neighbour five times its size, most Pakistanis would readily pledge to defend the nation’s sovereignty and support the security apparatus in any way they can. However, is it fair, or economically prudent, to place a greater burden on those already living below poverty line, or to further tax businesses that are essential to job creation and unlocking the country’s vast human potential? Younus Dagha, former Sindh minister and federal secretary, and current Chairman of the Policy Research and Advisory Council at Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, advocated for ...
  • Pakistan to expose India’s false narrative built during recent conflict: PPP’s Sherry Rehman
    Dawn - 07:15 May 19, 2025
    PPP’s Senator Sherry Rehman said on Monday that India built a false narrative during the recent conflict with Pakistan, and now Islamabad will have stay active on the diplomatic front to expose the Indian propaganda. On the instructions of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan will high-level diplomatic delegation to important world capitals to expose Indian propaganda in the aftermath of the recent military escalation with India. PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has been entrusted to lead the delegation comprising Senator Sherry Rehman, Dr Musadik Malik, Engineer Khurram Dastgir, Hina Rabbani Khar, Faisal Subzwari, Tehmina Janjua, and Jalil Abbas Jilani. The delegation will visit London, Washington, Paris, and Brussels to highlight India’s disinformation campaign and its attempts to destabilise regional peace. Speaking to Geo News today, Sherry said apart from the military front, diplomacy during conflict is an important front, as India built a false narrative using “fake news”. She said Bilawal has eme...
    Tags: Pakistan India
  • Lahore General Hospital giving patients ‘unnecessary’ antibiotics against prescriptions
    Dawn - 06:32 May 19, 2025
    LAHORE: The Lahore General Hospital (LGH) is embroiled in a controversy as it has been found dispensing irregular and unnecessary medicines, mostly antibiotics, to the patients, putting the health and lives of many of them at stake. The new scam surfaced when the Punjab health department detected several ‘faulty entries’ of the dispensation of medicines to the patients in order to show to the chief minister that the hospital was following her order to provide free medicines/care to the poor patients. An official privy to the development said that the medicines were officially dispensed to the outpatient department (OPD) patients from the hospital’s pharmacy reportedly in violation of the standard healthcare protocols. He said the consultants at the hospital OPD used to update the prescribed slips on the official portal that was linked to the relevant departments, including the official pharmacy of the teaching institute, from where the free medicine was given to the poor/needy patients. Protocols violated to ...
  • Seven acquitted in Sahiwal murder case of three Ahmadiyya community people
    Dawn - 05:30 May 19, 2025
    SAHIWAL: Additional District and Sessions Judge Farrukh Hameed acquitted all seven accused in the murder cases of three members of the Ahmadiyya community, which occurred in 2019 and 2021. The accused included former Union Council chairman Husnain Ali and district office-bearers of the Khatm-i-Nabuwwat organization: Naseeb Ali, Naseer Ali, Muhammad Manasif, Shujaat Ali, and Amjad Asger. Another accused Muhammad Hasan Ramay died of natural causes during court proceedings. According to the report, on Dec 8, 2019, Basharat Ahmed, a village lumberdar, and his brother Mubarik Ahmed were shot dead in broad daylight by nine unidentified assailants on motorcycles in village 99A/6-R, Sahiwal. The incident was suspected to be a sectarian killing. The attackers, whose faces were covered, managed to flee the scene. Farid Town Police registered an FIR against Husnain Ali, Abdul Ghaffar, Naseeb Ali, Naseer Ali, Manasib Ali, Mukhtar Ali, Amjad Ali, Shujat Ali, and two unknown suspects based on a complaint filed by Mubarik’s...
    Tags: Sahiwal Ahmadiyya
  • Standoff clear setback for India: NYT
    Dawn - 04:57 May 19, 2025
    WASHINGTON: The recent battlefield standoff between India and Pakistan was “a clear setback for India”, underscoring the decades-long Kashmir conflict and exposing India’s inability to impose a resolution, according to The New York Times. “Strategically, the battlefield tossup was a clear setback for India. An aspiring diplomatic and economic power, it now finds itself equated with Pakistan, a smaller, weaker country,” the newspaper noted in a report on Sunday. “The four-day clash reminded the world of India’s powerlessness to resolve 78 years of conflict with the troubled nation next door. Any act of confrontation plays into the hands of Pakistan, where friction with India has long been a lifeblood. Outright military victory is nearly impossible, given the threat from both countries’ nuclear arsenals,” it added. Says Delhi now finds itself equated with Islamabad, claiming any act of confrontation plays into the hands of Pakistan Drawing on interviews with more than a dozen diplomats, analysts, and officials,...
    Tags: India
  • Religious-cum-social worker shot dead in Badin’s Matli attack
    Dawn - 04:48 May 19, 2025
    BADIN: Unidentified assailants shot dead a well-known social worker, who was also vice president of the Markazi Muslim League (MML), in a suspected targeted attack in Matli on Sunday, police said. They said Razaullah Nizamani, 50, was going to work when three armed men, riding a motorbike, fired at him on Phalkara Road and rode away. He suffered bullet wounds and was rushed to the Matli Healthcare Centre, where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival. The body was handed over to his family after completion of medico-legal formalities. The police claimed to have launched an investigation into the murder. News of his killing spread like wildfire, causing shock and grief among his admirers and casting a sorrowful atmosphere across the Badin district. Later in the evening, a large number of people attended his funeral prayer held on Phalkara Road. Nizamani, also known by the alias Saifullah, had long been playing an active role in reformative and welfare activities and propagation of faith. Published in Dawn, May ...
    Tags: Badin Matli
  • Questions raised over Rs2.2bn vehicle spending in FBR reforms
    Dawn - 03:22 May 19, 2025
    • Planning Commission urges review of expenditure amid austerity measures • FBR defends procurement of 179 vehicles, says it’s essential to operational needs across terrains ISLAMABAD: The Planning Commission has raised concerns over the procurement of 179 vehicles, including 15 fully bulletproof units, under the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) Rs41 billion Revenue Raises Project, urging a review of the Rs2.237bn expenditure in light of the Finance Division’s austerity measures. Funded by a $150 million World Bank loan at an annual interest rate of 2.5 per cent over 30 years, the project is a cornerstone of the Prime Minister’s FBR transformation plan. Despite its strong economic indicators — boasting benefit-cost ratios of 42 to 70 and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 130pc to 195pc — the Planning Commission flagged lax scrutiny in its implementation, particularly regarding vehicle procurement. “An amount of Rs2,237.5m has been proposed for procurement of 179 vehicles of different makes at a unit cost of...
  • Ceasefire has no expiry date, officials say
    Dawn - 03:18 May 19, 2025
    • Diplomat says military dialogue aimed at making truce ‘sustainable’ • ISPR DG believes ceasefire can ‘hold easily’ • Confirms CBMs from both sides • Says Indian policy on Kashmir not working ISLAMABAD: A ceasefire reached between Pakistan and India following days of military confrontation does not have an expiry date, officials from both countries confirmed, putting to rest the speculations that the truce would lapse this weekend unless renewed. Rumours of a Sunday deadline gained traction after Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told Pakistan’s Senate last Thursday that the directors general of military operations (DGMOs) from both sides had agreed during a May 14 conversation to extend the ceasefire until May 18. Media outlets then widely reported that the ceasefire was set to expire. However, officials from both sides clarified on Sunday that no DGMO talks were scheduled for the day and that the ceasefire, originally brokered through intensive US diplomacy, remained in force without a s...
  • 1 child dead, 11 injured in different areas of KP due to strong winds, storms: official
    Dawn - 19:00 May 18, 2025
    A child lost his life, while 11 others were injured in different areas of Khyber Pakhtunkwa after trees and signboards fell due to strong winds and storms, officials said. Speaking to Dawn.com, Rescue 1122 spokesperson Bilal Ahmad Faizi said, “A storm hit several KP areas, including Charsadda, Nowshera, Peshawar and Mardan on Sunday evening.” The storm also hit parts of the capital Islamabad. Faizi said a 10-year-old boy, Mohammad Hamad, died when a wall of a house collapsed in the Najib Abad area of Charsadda, adding that the injured were moved to the respective areas’ hospitals. Due to the storm, the electricity supply was suspended in many areas of the city, due to which citizens had to face severe difficulties, he said. He said that the Disaster Response Team of Rescue 1122 was immediately dispatched to the affected areas and work was underway to remove fallen trees from the roads. At least three people were killed in Rawalpindi and Gujar Khan last month after an intense hailstorm, accompanied by heavy ra...
  • 2 dead, 11 injured as blast rips through market in Balochistan’s Qila Abdullah: officials
    Dawn - 18:23 May 18, 2025
    Two people were killed and at least 11 were injured after an explosion ripped through a market in Balochistan’s Qila Abdullah district on Sunday evening, officials said. Deputy Commissioner Qila Abdullah Riyaz Khan told Dawn.com, “Two people were killed while 11 were injured in the explosion.” According to the initial investigation, the explosives were planted in a vehicle, DC Khan said, adding that the bomb disposal squad and law enforcement officials were summoned and an investigation was launched. “An emergency was declared at the District Health Headquarters in Qila Abdullah, where medical assistance was being provided to the injured,” he said. In a separate statement given to Dawn.com, Qila Abdullah Levies Risaldar Gulab Khan said, “The blast took place near the Abdul Jabbar Market in the Gulistan area of Qila Abdullah district, resulting in the death of two people and injuries to 11 others. “After the explosion, Levies personnel and people present at the scene immediately rescued the injured, who were t...
    Tags: Balochistan Qila Abdullah
  • ‘We will never bow down to Indian hegemony,’ DG ISPR says
    Dawn - 18:05 May 18, 2025
    Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry has said Pakistan “will never bow down to Indian hegemony” as the recent ceasefire with India holds. “The truth is that India is not the US and Pakistan is not Afghanistan. India is not Israel and Pakistan is not Palestine. Pakistan will never be deterred. It can never be coerced. “We will never bow down to Indian hegemony. The sooner they realise this, the better it will be for regional peace and the world,” Lt Gen Chaudhry said to Anadolu Agency. He argued that terrorism, extremism and hatred were India’s internal problems and that the New Delhi government was cracking down on groups including Muslims and Sikhs in the country, which was fuelling more anger, extremism and terrorism. Earlier, the DG ISPR had said Pakistan is not a violent nation, reaffirming that the country’s top priority was peace as the recent ceasefire with India holds. New Delhi had accused Islamabad, without evidence, of orchestrating last month’s deadl...
    Tags: Indian ISPR
  • HRCP strongly condemns honour-related killing of three in KP’s Bajaur
    Dawn - 16:30 May 18, 2025
    The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Sunday strongly condemned the “murder of three individuals” in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur district in a “suspected honour-related attack” earlier this week. Last week, War Mamond Police Station House Officer Niaz Mohammad said that a suspect allegedly shot dead a 28-year-old married woman, and then killed a 33-year-old man. He added the suspect’s gunfire also hit a 70-year-old woman, who was pronounced dead at the District Headquarters Hospital, Khar, after suffering serious injuries. The police officer, who visited the site of the incident, said that the suspect fled after committing the crime, saying the 28-year-old was said to be the relative of the killer. However, he had said that efforts were underway to arrest the suspected killer after registering a case against him. According to a statement issued today by the HRCP, the organisation strongly condemned the murder of three individuals in the Bajaur district. “Such acts of violence are a gross violation...
    Tags: HRCP Bajaur
  • FM Dar to visit China tomorrow to discuss evolving regional situation
    Dawn - 15:52 May 18, 2025
    Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will undertake an official visit to Beijing from May 19 to 22 to hold in-depth discussions with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the evolving regional situation in South Asia and its implications for peace and stability, a statement from the Foreign Office said on Sunday. The visit comes as tensions remain high in the region following last week’s ceasefire between Pakistan and India after a tense military standoff over the Pahalgam attack in Occupied Kashmir — which India blamed on Pakistan without evidence. On May 6–7, Indian air strikes in Punjab and Azad Kashmir killed civilians, prompting Islamabad to shoot down five Indian jets. After drone interceptions and airbase strikes, US intervention on May 10 led to a ceasefire. India has maintained its aggressive stance, while Pakistan has warned against further escalation and offered dialogue. China had also reaffirmed its support for Pakistan amid escalation with India in a meeting with President Asif Ali...
    Tags: China

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