Dawn
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Found 7934 news
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Dawn - 07:21 Jun 03, 2025
Seven terrorists belonging to Indian proxy Fitna al Hindustan in two separate operations in Balochistan, the military’s media wing said on Tuesday. Despite heightened military tensions between Pakistan and India last month, militant groups were unable to significantly escalate their activities in the country, according to data released by an Islamabad-based independent think tank. The monthly security assessment issued by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) recorded 85 militant attacks in May as compared to 81 in April, resulting in 113 fatalities. These included 52 security forces personnel, 46 civilians, 11 militants, and four peace committee members. According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) today, “Seven terrorists belonging to Indian proxy, Fitna al Hindustan, were sent to hell in two separate operations in Balochistan.” An intelligence-based operation (IBO) was conducted in general area of Mach in Kachhi district on the reported presence o... -
Dawn - 07:19 Jun 03, 2025
PESHAWAR: The prices of sacrificial animals in the provincial capital and other neighbouring districts have surged despite presence of a huge number of animals in the cattle markets. Traders attribute the price spiral to tensions with India and trade ’restrictions’ with Afghanistan, besides most animals are brought here from Punjab and Sindh provinces, leading to increased costs. There’s no doubt the number of animals in all cattle markets has increased significantly but the business is still very slow. Along with traditional livestock markets, the number of sacrificial animals at the unofficial regional markets has also increased to the extent that alleys and streets resemble livestock markets. During a visit to weekly livestock markets in various areas of Peshawar, Charsadda, and Nowshera districts, including Ring Road, Kala Mandi, Saifan Mandi, Sarband Mandi, Palosai, Chehel Ghazi Baba, Sar Dheri, Naguman, Shabqadar, and Tangi, it was observed that a large number of customers were searching for animals of ... -
Dawn - 06:28 Jun 03, 2025
• Earthquake of magnitude 5 or 6 can cause widespread destruction, says former VC of NED University • City weatherman says tremors will stop in a day or two; maintains chances of major quake are slim KARACHI: Although the seismic experts have said that the recent earthquakes in the city are largely harmless and that the magnitude will reduce in a day or two when the “active” fault fully releases its energy, they expressed concern over the city’s vulnerability to earthquake damage. They warned that while the metropolis may not experience any major earthquake, its weak infrastructure cannot withstand a big jolt. During the past two days, multiple low-intensity earthquakes have occurred in the city’s Quaidabad area, Gadap Town, Malir and DHA with the highest being recorded at 3.6-magnitude. Karachi Chief Meteorologist Amir Hyder Laghari said that there is a historical fault which has become activated and is causing frequent earthquakes in the city. He said the fault is releasing its energy and when it’s spent, i... -
Dawn - 04:45 Jun 03, 2025
ISLAMABAD: With an improved 4.2 per cent economic growth forecast for next year, the Ministry of Planning and Development cautioned on Monday about the re-emergence of external sector pressure amid easing import control and debt repayments. “The external sector may face pressure, as easing import controls and debt repayments are likely to widen the current account deficit,” said the Ministry of Planning and Development in its Annual Plan 2025-26. However, it forecast strong remittances and export recovery and anticipated external financing to cushion these pressures and support external sustainability. Yet, the planning ministry did not forecast any major increase in industrial sector output compared to the current year, which missed most of the targets set for various sectors of the real economy. The Annual Plan Coordination Committee (APCC) projected Pakistan’s economy to grow by 4.2pc in 2025-26, signalling expectations of a broad-based recovery against 2.7pc GDP growth during the current fiscal year again... -
Dawn - 04:10 Jun 03, 2025
NEW DELHI: After claiming exaggerated prestige from hosting last year’s G20 summit in New Delhi and following continuous visits as special invitee to G7 summits, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not been asked to attend the upcoming G7 summit in Ottawa, reports said on Monday. The G7 is an informal grouping of the industrialised west and Japan — France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Japan, the United States, and Canada. It is also attended by the European Union (EU), the IMF, the World Bank and the United Nations. India Today noted that South Africa, Ukraine and Australia have reportedly accepted invitations from Canada, it said “uncertainty remains over PM Modi’s visit.” The report said “India is yet to receive any official invitation for the summit, which is being hosted by Canada from June 15-17,” but also added that the Indian side was not “inclined to attend”. It quoted sources as saying “relations must improve” before any such high-profile visit takes place. The report also cited security c... -
Dawn - 03:34 Jun 03, 2025
ISLAMABAD: As the Centre and Punjab continue to drag their feet on local government polls, Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja on Monday warned that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister can be summoned in case the long overdue elections were not held. Heading a five-member bench of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) which started hearing of the case related to the delay in the conduct of local bodies elections in Islamabad and Punjab, he called for early completion of the local government laws in Islamabad and Punjab. Mr Raja said it would be embarrassing for the government if the ECP issues an order. He declared that the ECP will issue an order at the next hearing for local government elections in Punjab. He said the Commission cannot sit with its eyes closed as it wanted to see progress. The ECP will set the timeline itself without waiting for any input from Punjab, he said. Calls for early completion of local govt laws in Islamabad, Punjab He recalled that he personal... -
Dawn - 03:18 Jun 03, 2025
• Allocations for nearly all sectors slashed, except for road-building projects and parliamentarians’ schemes; funding for food, water, energy and social sectors curtailed • Govt allocates Rs880bn for the public sector development programme, down 20pc from current year • Provinces to pitch in Rs2.80tr under annual plan to boost uplift spending • Development plan prioritises Bhasha Dam, Rs120bn Balochistan highway • Ahsan Iqbal says more than 100 projects worth Rs1tr to face cuts ISLAMABAD: Under the tight control of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), next year’s federal development programme cuts allocations for almost all sectors, barring a rise in road building schemes and no changes to parliamentarians’ schemes. Despite this, the Annual Planning Coordination Committee (APCC) cleared the national development programme worth a record Rs4.083 trillion, aided by Punjab and Sindh, showing greater financial muscle than the Centre which is pauperised by greater financial devolution, debt servicing, and securi... -
Dawn - 03:17 Jun 03, 2025
RAWALPINDI: The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has issued a forecast of rain and windstorms in the upper parts of the country from tomorrow (Wednesday) until the Eid holidays. In light of the forecast, the disaster management authorities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab have issued an advisory to district authorities to prepare for potential emergencies. The Met Office has predicted that moist currents are penetrating the northeastern parts of the country and a westerly wave is also likely to approach northern areas on June 3. Under the influence of this weather system, rain, dust storms, and thunderstorms are expected in Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, Murree, Gilgit, Chitral, Dir, Swat, Malakand, Mansehra, Battagram, Shangla, Kohistan, and Abbottabad from June 2 to 5, with occasional gaps. Similar weather is expected in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, Mianwali, Sargodha, Hafizabad, Mandi Bahauddin, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Sialkot, Narowal, Lahore, Faisalabad, Jhang, Toba Tek Singh... -
Dawn - 19:09 Jun 02, 2025
Lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir won the World Expression Forum’s Young Inspiration Award 2025 on Monday for her efforts and work advocating for the rule of law and justice in the country. Based in Norway, the forum aims to act as a “driving force for global cooperation to ensure freedom of expression for all”, according to its website. The award was presented to her by Philippine Nobel Laureate Maria Ressa in the award ceremony of the forum’s annual conference in Lillehammer, Norway for her “extraordinary courage, integrity and impact in the struggle for the rule of law and justice”. The award jury said the lawyer’s work had “inspired the local community and earned global recognition-making”. “The recipient’s outspoken stance has made her a role model for a new generation of lawyers and students, especially women, and instilled hope and optimism in them. She’s shown that the legal profession can be a viable avenue for justice and systemic change, even in hybrid regimes,” Ressa said while presenting the award... -
Dawn - 18:24 Jun 02, 2025
A top Pakistani delegation briefed elected members of the United Nations Security Council on Monday about the “threat to regional peace” posed by India’s actions amid the recent spike in tensions between the two countries. The high-level team — consisting of three former foreign ministers, two former foreign secretaries, two former ambassadors to the US, and a serving federal minister — arrived in New York yesterday for consultations at the United Nations, the Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement today. The delegation will also visit Washington DC, London and Brussels, the FO said. Ex-FMs PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Hina Rabbani Khar and Khurram Dastgir; Senators Sherry Rehman, Musadik Malik, Faisal Sabzwari and Bushra Anjum Butt; and Jalil Abbas Jilani and Tehmina Janjua are members of the first delegation. The PPP said in a post on X that the delegation met elected UNSC members “to expose Indian propaganda” and present Pakistan’s position to representatives from Denmark, Greece, Panama, Somal... -
Dawn - 18:23 Jun 02, 2025
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Monday ordered a crackdown against the display of weaponry and use of Toyota Hilux pickup trucks in the province. The newly formed Crime Control Department (CCD), a specialised unit dedicated to tackling crime in the province, will take “indiscriminate action” against those who create “fear and panic” through such displays. According to a statement by Additional Inspector General of Police (AIG) Sohail Zafar Chatha, “Spreading fear and panic in the society and displaying weapons cannot be allowed at all.” “CCD officers have been ordered to take indiscriminate action against those displaying weapons,” he said. He added that over 21,000 Safe City cameras will be used to monitor those displaying weapons and modern artificial intelligence will also be used to identify weapons. Referring to luxurious pickup trucks, the Hilux has become a symbol of power, status, and intimidation in a society marked by significant class divisions. Hiluxes part the traffic — speeding up behind c... -
Dawn - 18:16 Jun 02, 2025
US President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping will likely hold a long-awaited call later this week, the White House said on Monday, as trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies ratchet back up. Trump reignited strains with China last week when he accused the world’s second-biggest economy of violating a deal that had led both countries to temporarily reduce huge tit-for-tat tariffs. “The two leaders will likely talk this week,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters outside the West Wing when asked whether Trump and Xi would speak. Trump and Xi have yet to have any confirmed contact more than five months since the Republican returned to power, despite frequent claims by the US president that a call is imminent. Trump even said in a Time magazine interview in April that Xi had called him — but Beijing insisted that there had been no call recently. Stock markets around the world mostly slid on Monday as the US-China tensions resurfaced. Trump in early April introduced sweepi... -
Dawn - 17:31 Jun 02, 2025
A man who desecrated a copy of the Holy Quran outside the Turkish consulate in London was found guilty on Monday of committing a religiously aggravated public order offence, in a verdict critics said effectively reinstated an abolished blasphemy law. Hamit Coskun, 50, was fined 240 pounds ($325) at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court after being convicted of being disorderly by shouting “F*** Islam” as he held aloft the burning book near the consulate in central London in February. The lawyer for Coskun, whose father was Kurdish and his mother Armenian and who lived in central England, had argued that the prosecution amounted to an attempt to bring back a blasphemy law that was abolished in England in 2008. Coskun had denied the charge and said on social media he was carrying out a protest against the Turkish government. While he was holding the book aloft, he was attacked by a man with a knife who kicked and spat at him. “Burning a religious book, although offensive, to some is not necessarily disorderly... -
Dawn - 17:29 Jun 02, 2025
India’s Adani Group on Monday denied “any deliberate engagement” in sanctions evasion or trade involving Iranian-origin liquefied petroleum gas, after The Wall Street Journal reported that US prosecutors were probing whether Adani entities had imported Iranian LPG into India through their Mundra port. An Adani spokesperson called the report “baseless and mischievous” in a statement, adding: “We are not aware of any investigation by US authorities on this subject.” The WSJ said it had found tankers travelling between the Gulf and billionaire Gautam Adani’s Mundra port in western India exhibiting traits that experts say are common for ships evading sanctions. It said the US Justice Department was reviewing the activities of several LPG tankers used to ship cargoes to Adani Enterprises, the group’s flagship entity, citing people familiar with the matter. Reuters could not immediately confirm the report and the US Department of Justice and the US Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn did not immediately respond to reques... -
Dawn - 17:26 Jun 02, 2025
Former star cricketer Shoaib Akhtar received a defamation notice of Rs1 billion from sports journalist and former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official Nauman Niaz on Monday, reigniting yet another feud between the two personalities. The legal notice dated May 29, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, claimed that the ex-pacer made “baseless” and “unethical” comments regarding Niaz. On May 25, Akhtar appeared on a show on a private news channel where he said that Niaz “used to carry our bags” and “he was kept for that purpose”, the notice stated. “Your [Akhtar’s] comment/remark was not only factually incorrect, it was an assault on memory and dignity,” it said. The notice read that Akhtar’s statement employed “foul and defamatory language” against Niaz, with the “sole intention of destroying the reputation acquired by him [Niaz] through hard work”. “That the false statements and the representations made by you [Akhtar] … have injured the reputation of our client [Niaz], lowered him in the estimation of ... -
Dawn - 17:08 Jun 02, 2025
Supreme Court (SC) Senior Puisne Judge Mansoor Ali Shah has said that SC justices have a responsibility to “speak truth to power, guided by the Constitution as their unwavering normative anchor”, in an interview seen by Dawn.com on Monday. Shah has previously expressed that the judiciary needs to stand against influence or pressure from the executive. In November 2024, he said, “The independence of the judiciary is the cornerstone of justice, and its true test lies in a judge’s ability to stand firm under authoritarian regimes.” Speaking exclusively to law magazine The Legal, Shah said that the role of SC justices must be understood as that of protectors of the Constitution and fundamental rights rather than as policymakers. “Judges must balance respect for legislative intent with a commitment to constitutional principles, ensuring that the judiciary acts as an impartial arbiter rather than a policymaker,” he said in response to a question about the role of SC judges amid a shifting legal landscape. “Their ro... -
Dawn - 17:04 Jun 02, 2025
A madressah teacher who allegedly molested a student in Muzaffargarh’s Bet Mir Hazar Khan area has been arrested, police said on Monday. According to Muzaffargarh District Police Officer Dr Rizwan Ahmed Khan, the teacher in Jatoi tehsil allegedly raped the student and locked him in the madressah for five days to prevent him from reporting the assault. “The teacher had invited his young student to his room under the pretext of a massage and raped him,” DPO Khan alleged. “A case was registered against the teacher and he was taken into custody.” The Bet Mir Hazar Khan Station House Officer (SHO) said, “Such a brutal person will be punished severely according to the law and such people do not deserve any concession.” In a separate incident, police have said that they will arrest a tailor’s son who allegedly raped an 11-year-old girl and blackmailed her with video footage of the assault six months ago. The incident took place in the Riazabad area of Kot Sultan, where a girl had gone to learn sewing at a tailor’s h... -
Dawn - 16:02 Jun 02, 2025
More than a million pilgrims poured into the holy city of Makkah ahead of the annual Haj, with authorities vowing to hold a safer pilgrimage amid searing desert heat and a massive crackdown on illegal visitors. Officials have beefed up heat mitigation measures, hoping to avoid a repeat of last year’s Haj, which saw 1,301 pilgrims die as temperatures reached 51.8 degrees Celsius. Temperatures were forecast to exceed 40 degrees Celsius this week as one of the world’s largest annual religious gatherings starts on Wednesday. The Haj, one of the five pillars of Islam, must be performed at least once by all Muslims with the means to do so. As of Friday, more than 1.3 million pilgrims had arrived in Saudi Arabia for the multi-day pilgrimage, according to officials. This year, authorities have mobilised more than 40 government agencies and 250,000 officials, doubling their efforts against heat-related illness following the lethal heatwave of 2024. Shaded areas have been expanded by 50,000 square metres (12 acres), th... -
Dawn - 15:11 Jun 02, 2025
As millions of Muslim pilgrims gather in Saudi Arabia to perform Haj every year, thousands of volunteers help the pilgrims navigate their journey with ease and comfort. According to the Saudi Ministry of Haj and Umrah, over 7,000 volunteers work across Makkah and other holy places to facilitate the pilgrims. They are the “unseen anchors” whose efforts, often behind the scenes, ensure that the pilgrims do not face hardships. “You may not know their names. You may not remember their faces. But if you have ever performed Haj, you have felt their kindness — a bottle of cold water pressed into your hand, a voice gently guiding you when you felt lost,” the ministry said. Haj, one of the fundamental pillars of Islam, is performed each year by millions of Muslims worldwide. Pakistan receives one of the highest Haj quotas from Saudi Arabia. The statement said that the volunteers sacrifice their own Eid celebrations, sleep and comfort so that they can help out the pilgrims in many ways, narrating the stories of multipl... -
Dawn - 15:03 Jun 02, 2025
The Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC) has agreed to form a technical committee to draft a framework for digital and virtual assets, the Ministry of Finance said on Monday. The PCC was officially launched in March to “regulate and integrate blockchain technology and digital assets” into the country’s financial landscape. According to a press release by the finance ministry, the meeting was chaired by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and attended by PCC Chief Executive Officer Bilal Bin Saqib, governor of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), chairman of Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), and government officials. “The meeting focused on the draft regulatory framework for digital and virtual assets in Pakistan, aiming to align with international standards and evolving technological trends,” the press release said. It added that the participants discussed options for establishing “an autonomous regulatory authority to oversee and regulate the digital finance and crypto ecosystem in the country”. “It w...
7934 items