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Dawn - 09:06 Jun 20, 2025
A suspect was arrested in yet another case of child pornography in Punjab’s Muzaffargarh, Police said on Friday. Earlier in the month, the government claimed to have dismantled an international child exploitation network operating out of a so-called gaming club in Muzaffargarh, where children aged six to 10 were lured, abused and filmed for the sake of selling their videos on the dark web. “Several children were sexually abused and filmed in Sardarabad village,” a police statement said today. The matter came to light when one of the victims contacted the police. According to the statement, the suspect had been blackmailing the children using compromised videos. A first information report (FIR) of the incident was lodged at Saddar police station in Muzaffargarh district under section 292 (sale, distribution, and public exhibition of obscene material) and section 355 (assault or criminal force with intent to dishonour a person) of the Pakistan Penal Code. According to the FIR, a boy was sexually abused and film... -
Dawn - 08:51 Jun 20, 2025
LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly descended into pandemonium as the general debate on the provincial budget commenced, leading to a nearly two-hour suspension of the proceedings amidst intense sloganeering by the government and opposition benches on Thursday. The members reportedly damaged microphones. A Treasury MPA accused an opposition member of stealing his watch, fueling the chaos. The session, presided over by Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan, began three hours and 35 minutes behind schedule and immediately plunged into disarray. The uproar began when treasury MPA Bilal Yamin accused opposition member Ejaz Shafi of stealing his watch. This ignited a furious reaction from the opposition that countered with slogans of ‘Nawaz Sharif is a thief!’. As opposition members streamed into the House in protest, the accusation of the stolen watch echoed through the chamber, with government members waving their watches and chanting ‘watch thief’. Speaker Khan struggled to restore order. Bilal Yamin insisted that the oppo... -
Dawn - 07:36 Jun 20, 2025
KARACHI: The Supreme Court (SC) has restrained the authorities concerned from raising any structure apart from a jogging track on the premises of an amenity plot / park located in the Defence Housing Authority (DHA). The apex court also said that the people must not be deprived of the park’s utility, subject to a nominal entrance fee meant for its maintenance. A two-judge bench comprising Justice Mohammad Shafi Siddiqui and Justice Salahuddin Panhwar was hearing a civil petition filed against an order of the Sindh High Court (SHC) at the SC’s Karachi Registry. It also allowed a request by the counsel for the respondents to transfer the matter to the principal seat at Islamabad after seeking the approval of the chief justice of Pakistan, as the lawyer submitted that, since the injunctive order had been passed, the interests of the respondents were at stake. Bench rules ordinary people should not be deprived of park’s utility Citing DHA, Cantonment Board Clifton (CBC), M/s Optimum Sports (Private) Limited and o... -
Dawn - 06:09 Jun 20, 2025
CHITRAL: Shandur Polo Festival will start from Friday (today) in the highest polo ground of the world and it will continue for three days with matches between the teams of Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) being the major event. The tourists will also enjoy cultural and musical evenings while fireworks and enthralling musical concerts will be arranged at night time. Arranged by the district administrations of Lower and Upper Chitral districts with the financial assistance of KP Culture and Tourism Authority, the event has been included in the calendar of events of the province. Tourists have started arriving here to proceed to the venue which is 156 kilometres from the city with travel time of five to six hours while a great number of vehicles is seen on Chitral-Booni Road leading to Shandur. The polo ground has been renovated and arrangements made for water and power supply, power generators, telephone, transport, media coverage,security and provision of other facilities. The players of both Chitral and GB h... -
Dawn - 05:43 Jun 20, 2025
WASHINGTON: The prospect of a US strike against Iran has exposed divisions in the coalition of supporters that brought President Donald Trump to power, with some of his base urging him not to get the country involved in a new Middle East war. Some of Trump’s most prominent Republican allies, including top lieutenant Steve Bannon, have found themselves in the unusual position of being at odds with a president who largely shares their isolationist tendencies. Bannon, one of many influential voices from Trump’s “America First” coalition, on Wednesday urged caution about the US military joining Israel in trying to destroy Iran’s nuclear programme in the absence of a diplomatic deal. “We can’t do this again,” Bannon told reporters at an event sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor in Washington. “We’ll tear the country apart. We can’t have another Iraq.” Bannon continued to preach patience on his popular “War Room” podcast on Thursday, contending that Trump was being set up to be responsible for toppling the I... -
Dawn - 04:44 Jun 20, 2025
ISLAMABAD: The government spending on education in Pakistan has fallen to a new low in the past year despite being declared a national emergency with 26 million children — or more than one in three — out of school, one of the highest percentages globally, Save the Children said in a statement on Thursday. Since the start of the current fiscal year in July 2024 to March 2025, education expenditure fell by 29 per cent. The percentage of GDP spent on education has fallen consistently since 2018 when it was 2pc to 0.8pc, according to the latest Pakistan Economic Survey. The UN-backed Incheon Declaration recommends that governments allocate 4pc to 6pc of their GDP to education. The INGO says Pakistan needs urgent investment to get 26m children into school. In 2024, the government said it aimed to increase the education budget to 4pc of GDP by 2029. The government cannot break that promise to Pakistan’s children.“ Save the Children says more than one in three kids out of school “Children in the poorest areas of Pa... -
Dawn - 04:30 Jun 20, 2025
• Senate, National Assembly panels oppose carbon levy, term it undue burden on public • Approve new taxes on high-value pensions, athletes • Govt asked to reveal terms of IMF’s resilience facility ISLAMABAD: The parliamentary committees on Thursday rejected the government’s proposal to impose a carbon levy on petroleum products, terming it an undue burden on the public, whereas the finance minister stressed that “the era of tax exemptions and amnesty schemes is over”. However, they approved new taxes on high-value pensions and the income of international athletes. The carbon levy became a focal point as the Senate and National Assembly Standing Committees on Finance and Revenue held simultaneous sessions at Parliament House for a clause-by-clause review of the Finance Bill 2025-26. Chaired by Senator Saleem Mandviwalla and MNA Naveed Qamar, respectively, both panels proposed several amendments and struck down a number of measures. The Senate concluded its deliberations on the proposed tax provisions on Thursd... -
Dawn - 03:48 Jun 20, 2025
ISLAMABAD: The government on Thursday launched the National Electric Vehicle (NEV) Policy 2025-30, describing it as a transformative step in Pakistan’s journey towards industrial growth, environmental protection and energy efficiency. One of the key targets under the policy is to ensure that electric vehicles account for 30 per cent of all new vehicles sold in the country by 2030. This transition is projected to save 2.07 billion litres of fuel annually, resulting in nearly $1bn in foreign exchange savings. Additionally, the policy aims to reduce carbon emissions by 4.5 million tonnes and cut healthcare-related costs by $405m each year. Addressing a news conference, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar Khan said the new EV policy is in line with the premier’s vision of promoting clean, sustainable and affordable transport while boosting local industry and protecting the environment. He emphasised that the transport sector is a major source of carbon emissions in... -
Dawn - 18:58 Jun 19, 2025
Roughly one month ago, from the stage at an investment forum in Saudi Arabia, US President Donald Trump issued a warning to Iran that would prove prophetic. “We’ll never allow America and its allies to be threatened with terrorism or nuclear attack,” Trump told the crowd, sending a message to the leadership in Tehran. “The time is right now for them to choose. Right now. We don’t have a lot of time to wait. Things are happening at a very fast pace.” That May 13 ultimatum received little attention at the time. But behind the scenes, the president already knew an attack on Iran could be imminent — and that there might be little he could do to stop it, according to two US officials. By mid-May, the Pentagon had begun drawing up detailed contingency plans to aid Israel if it followed through on its long-held ambition to strike Iran’s nuclear programme, the officials said. And the US had already diverted thousands of defensive weapons away from war-torn Ukraine toward the Middle East in preparation for potential c... -
Dawn - 17:36 Jun 19, 2025
President Donald Trump announced Thursday he had given social media platform TikTok another 90 days to find a non-Chinese buyer or be banned in the United States. “I’ve just signed the Executive Order extending the Deadline for the TikTok closing for 90 days (September 17, 2025),” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, putting off the ban for the third time. A federal law requiring TikTok’s sale or ban on national security grounds was due to take effect the day before Trump’s January inauguration. The Republican, whose 2024 election campaign relied heavily on social media, has previously said he is fond of the video-sharing app. “I have a little warm spot in my heart for TikTok,” Trump said in an NBC News interview in early May. “If it needs an extension, I would be willing to give it an extension.” TikTok on Thursday welcomed Trump’s decision. “We are grateful for President Trump’s leadership and support in ensuring that TikTok continues to be available for more than 170 million American users,” said a s...
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Dawn - 17:21 Jun 19, 2025
In its efforts to sell its struggling flag carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), the government has received expressions of interest from five parties, including business groups and a military-owned firm, the Privatisation Ministry said on Thursday. The bids were submitted ahead of a June 19 deadline to acquire up to 100 per cent of PIA, which has accumulated over $2.5 billion in losses in roughly a decade. Still, following major restructuring, it posted its first operating profit in 21 years in the 2024-25 fiscal year. The sale is seen as a test of Pakistan’s ability to shed loss-making state firms and meet conditions of a $7bn International Monetary Fund bailout. It would be the first major privatisation in nearly two decades. Eight parties submitted their expression of interest, but only five of them provided documents of qualification, the ministry said in a statement. Among the five groups is a consortium of major industrial firms: Lucky Cement Ltd, Hub Power Holdings Ltd, Kohat Cement Co Ltd an... -
Dawn - 17:06 Jun 19, 2025
One of tech billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starships exploded during a routine test in Texas late on Wednesday, law enforcement said according to AFP, adding that no one was injured. The Starship 36 suffered “catastrophic failure and exploded” at the Starbase launch facility shortly after 11pm (9am PKT Thursday), a Facebook post by the Cameron County authorities said. Musk’s SpaceX said the rocket was preparing for the tenth flight test when it “experienced a major anomaly while on a test stand at Starbase”. View this post on Instagram “A safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation and all personnel are safe and accounted for,” SpaceX added on social media. “There are no hazards to residents in surrounding communities, and we ask that individuals do not attempt to approach the area while safing operations continue.” Starbase, on the south Texas coast near the border with Mexico, is the headquarters for Musk’s space project. Standing 123 metres tall, Starship is the world’s larges... -
Dawn - 16:23 Jun 19, 2025
A police constable and his uncle were injured when terrorists attacked them in their village in the Martung area of Shangla on Thursday, according to a police official. Puran circle sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Usman Munir Khan told Dawn.com that the constable’s mother had died and was receiving visitors at his home at the time of the attack. “The policeman was shot twice in the right thigh and once each in the lower abdomen, arm and shoulder,” SDPO Khan said. “His uncle was shot in the chest. Both of them have been moved to the Martung Rural Health Centre for treatment”. The SDPO said that the injured cop was serving in the district security branch’s local intelligence service, adding that a first information report (FIR) had been filed against unidentified terrorists and that a search operation was being conducted in the area to trace the culprits. “The area where the incident occurred has been a site of militant activity in the past,” he said. Earlier today, two people, including a woman, were kill... -
Dawn - 15:12 Jun 19, 2025
A Chinese post-graduate student convicted of drugging and raping 10 women in the UK and China and suspected of having attacked more was on Thursday jailed for life by a London court. And London police say they have evidence to suggest he could have targeted more than 50 other women. Serial rapist Zhenhao Zou, 28 — described in court as “calculated and predatory” — targeted young Chinese women who he invited to his London flat for drinks or to study before drugging and attacking them. Zou filmed nine of the rapes with hidden or handheld cameras but only two of the 10 victims have ever been identified. Sentencing him at Inner London Crown Court, Judge Rosina Cottage said there was “no doubt that you planned and executed a campaign of rape” that had caused “devastating and long term effects”. To the world, he appeared “well to do, ambitious and charming”, but this was a mask hiding a “sexual predator”, she added. He treated his victims “callously” as “sex toys” for his own gratification and “desire to assert pow... -
Dawn - 14:08 Jun 19, 2025
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Thursday predicted that pre-monsoon rains will fall across the country between June 20 and 23. Monsoon rains fall across the region from June to September, offering respite from the summer heat and are crucial to replenishing water supplies. They are also vital for agriculture, and therefore the livelihoods of millions of farmers and food security for South Asia’s nearly two billion people. According to a statement, “currents from the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal are penetrating the central and northern areas of Pakistan, while a westerly wave is expected to approach the north. Both of these weather systems are expected to arrive on June 20 (tomorrow).” It added that duststorms, thunderstorms and heavy rain are expected in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit Baltistan, Murree, Galliyat, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, Mianwali, Sargodha, Hafizabad, Mandi Bahauddin, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Sialkot, Narowal, Lahore, Faisalabad, Jhang, Toba Tek Singh, H... -
Dawn - 14:05 Jun 19, 2025
Cambridge International Education (CIE) on Thursday confirmed that question papers of three AS and A Level examinations were partially leaked across Pakistan. CIE, part of Cambridge University Press and Assessment, offers internationally recognised exams to over 10,000 schools in 160-plus countries. In Pakistan, O Levels (grades 9–10) cover a broad subject range, while A and AS Levels (grades 11–12) are more specialised and advanced, providing pathways to higher education in Pakistan and abroad. CIE exams are typically held twice a year, in June and November, with results released in August and January, respectively. “We have written to our schools in Pakistan to tell them that, against our regulations, some content from three question papers was available before the timetabled exam dates in Pakistan,” the CIE said in a statement. The examinations that were affected include: Cambridge International AS/A Level Mathematics Paper 12, where one question was shared before the exam was taken. Cambridge Internationa... -
Dawn - 13:02 Jun 19, 2025
Amazon will invest more than $233 million in India in 2025 to expand and update its operations infrastructure, develop new technology for its fulfilment network and improve delivery safety, it said on Thursday. The investment builds on top of Amazon’s prior investments for the creation of an operations network to deliver to all serviceable PIN-codes in the country, it added. In June 2023, the e-commerce major — which competes with Walmart’s Flipkart and billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail in India — had said it will take its investments in the country to $26 billion by 2030, without providing a breakdown. The new investment will be used to launch new sites and upgrade existing facilities across its fulfilment and delivery network, improving speed and processing capacity, it said. Additionally, Amazon plans to use technology to alert delivery associates about unsafe speeds and ensure equitable distribution of delivery routes. Some of the funds will also be used to expand initiatives to improve the heal... -
Dawn - 12:32 Jun 19, 2025
The Supreme Court’s Constitutional Bench on Thursday announced its verdict in a case pertaining to the seniority and transfer of Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges, declaring that their transfers were not unconstitutional. The bench — headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and comprising Justices Naeem Akhtar Afghan, Shahid Bilal Hassan, Salahuddin Panhwar and Shakeel Ahmed — took up petitions filed by five IHC judges, the Karachi Bar Association (KBA) and the IHC Bar Association, among others. In February, Justice Sardar Mohammad Sarfraz Dogar from the Lahore High Court (LHC), Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro from the Sindh High Court (SHC) and Justice Muhammad Asif from the Balochistan High Court (BHC) were transferred to the IHC. The controversy centres around the alteration of the judges’ seniority list after these transfers as Justice Dogar was made the senior puisne judge, which paved the way for his appointment as the acting IHC chief justice after Justice Aamer Farooq’s elevation to the SC. Today’s judge... -
Dawn - 12:27 Jun 19, 2025
India will send the black box recovered from the recent fatally crashed Air India plane to the US for analysis, local newspaper Economic Times reported on Thursday, citing people aware of the development. “The recorder sustained heavy external damage from post-crash fire making it impossible to extract data in India,” the ET report said, citing people aware of the development. India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment. Indian authorities are investigating the crash of an Air India Boeing Dreamliner, which last week killed 241 people on board and at least 30 on ground, marking the world’s worst aviation disaster in a decade. The black box consists of two components — the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder (CVR). It provides crucial insights for crash investigators, including altitude and airspeed data and pilot conversation records that help determine probable causes of crashes. Data from the flight data recorder will be extra... -
Dawn - 11:38 Jun 19, 2025
Mohammad Hassan anxiously returned to Pakistan from Iran this week after witnessing drones, missiles and explosions tear through Tehran’s sky during what he called long, “horrifying nights”. The 35-year-old University of Tehran student is one of about 3,000 Pakistanis who, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, have returned home since Israel launched its aerial war against its long-time enemy last week. Governments around the world are scrambling to evacuate their nationals caught up in the rapidly spiralling conflict as Israel and Iran trade missile and drone strikes. “I was in the city centre where most of the strikes took place and even one of the student dormitories was attacked and luckily no one was dead, but students were injured,” Hassan said. Pakistani students walk across the Pakistan-Iran border after returning from Iran in Taftan, Balochistan, on June 19. — AFP There are more than 500 Pakistani students at his university alone, he said, all of them on their way “back home”. “Those days and...
7934 items