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Dawn - 04:34 May 17, 2025
NEW DELHI: With India finding itself friendless in the conflict with Pakistan, it has started taking revenge on countries who helped Islamabad in the recent military flare-up, reports said on Friday. The bizarre spectacle of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s supporters resorting to criticism and trolling of US President Donald Trump after he re-hyphenated the India-Pakistan saga as a bilateral issue he could help resolve, the anger turned on Turkiye and Azerbaijan. Regarding Turkiye, the Adani group-operated Mumbai and Ahmedabad airports have ended the ground handling concession agreements with Çelebi, an Istanbul-headquartered airport ground handling major. Air India is lobbying with the government to cancel the wet lease arrangement the Indigo Airlines has with its Turkish counterpart. While the move against Turkish Airlines is being considered, the two airports have ordered Çelebi to immediately hand over all its ground handling facilities in order to ensure uninterrupted operations at the airports, The India... -
Dawn - 03:08 May 17, 2025
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has offered India to sit for a comprehensive dialogue to settle contentious issues including Kashmir and jointly fight terrorism, reminding New Delhi that the neighbouring countries fought three wars in the past and gained nothing but miseries of the people. “After settling disputes like Kashmir and water distribution, we can talk on trade and counter-terrorism as Pakistan is the worst affected country by terrorism which lost 90,000 lives and over $150 billion economic losses,” PM Shehbaz said while addressing a ceremony here on Friday. The ceremony, marking the Youm-i-Tashakur (Thanksgiving Day), was held at Pakistan Monument and attended by PM Shehbaz, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC) Gen Sahir Mirza, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Syed Asif Munir, Air Chief Marshal Air Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babar, Naval Chief Admiral Naveed Ashraf, federal cabinet members, diplomats, the families of martyrs, sports personalities and showbiz celebrities, as the natio... -
Dawn - 02:56 May 17, 2025
• FO says Islamabad’s restrained response reinforces deterrence, warns Pakistan will have no choice but to respond if India resumes hostilities • Insists govt remains committed to ceasefire • Indian defence minister signals aggressive stance, calls strikes a ‘trailer’ • Jaishankar reiterates any talks will be strictly bilateral ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday rejected India’s claim that recent military strikes had established a “new norm” in their tense bilateral relations, insisting that respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity remains the only acceptable standard in inter-state ties. The remarks by Foreign Office spokesman Shafqat Ali Khan came amid a fragile ceasefire agreed upon on May 10, following India’s Operation Sindoor (vermilion, a traditional symbol of marriage worn by Hindu women) and Pakistani response codenamed Operation Bunyanum Marsoos (Iron Wall). Pakistan condemned the strikes as a violation of its sovereignty. “While India propagates the notion of establishing a ‘new normal’ in bila... -
Dawn - 02:25 May 17, 2025
• Citizenship amendment bill deferred, two others introduced • MNA flags delay in ADB-funded bridges on Kalam Road ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Friday passed nine bills, including a money bill that had been blocked by the opposition a day earlier. Only one bill — aimed at amending the Pakistan Citizenship Act, 1951 [The Pakistan Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2024] (Section 4) — was deferred. Meanwhile, two new bills were introduced by suspending the rules and were also passed. These were related to child marriages and trade organisations. Later, the proceedings of the lower house of parliament were adjourned until Monday. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb moved a bill to amend the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 [The Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2024], commonly referred to as the ‘money bill’, which had been blocked by the opposition on Thursday. The treasury benches later managed to get the bill passed by a majority vote. The Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2024 is already in effect, having originally been... -
Dawn - 19:20 May 16, 2025
The police launched an investigation into the murder of locally renowned Ahmadi doctor, Sheikh Muhammad Mahmood, 58, who was shot dead in Punjab’s Sargodha on Friday. “We cannot comment on whether the doctor was targeted on a religious basis or for some other reason as it would be premature to say,” Sargodha District Police Officer Sohaib Ashraf told Dawn.com. He said one person was involved in the murder and the police were already gathering information after launching an investigation. The first information report of the incident was filed at Shahid Shaheed Police Station by a relative of Dr Mahmood under Pakistan Penal Code Section 302 (murder). It said the deceased was a practitioner at Sargodha’s Fatima Hospital and a renowned individual of the city. The complainant said he reached the hospital with the deceased around 2:35pm. The FIR stated that an individual wearing a uniform of the ‘Saaf Suthra Punjab’ initiative approached the deceased and took out a pistol while saying: “I won’t spare you today Mahm... -
Dawn - 18:17 May 16, 2025
Turkiye-based Celebi, which provides airport ground handling in India, has launched a legal challenge to New Delhi’s decision to overturn its security clearance, arguing that “vague” national security concerns were cited without reasoning. Amid growing public anger in India about Turkiye’s stance on Pakistan in the India-Pakistan conflict, the Indian government on Thursday revoked Celebi’s security clearance in the “interest of national security”. Celebi Airport Services India, in a May 16 filing seen by Reuters, asked the Delhi High Court to set aside that decision, arguing it would impact 3,791 jobs and investor confidence, and was issued without any warning to the company. “Mere rhetoric of national security without elaborating upon in what manner is an entity a threat to national security is unsustainable in law,” the company said in the filing, which is not public. The order “fails to disclose any specific or substantive reason except for a vague and general reference to ‘national security’… [it] provide... -
Dawn - 17:49 May 16, 2025
The man who stabbed and partially blinded novelist Salman Rushdie onstage at a Western New York arts institute in 2022 was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Friday for an attack that also wounded a second man, the district attorney said. Rushdie, 77, has faced death threats since the 1988 publication of his novel The Satanic Verses, which Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, then Iran’s supreme leader, denounced as blasphemous, leading to a call for Rushdie’s death. Hadi Matar, 27, a US citizen from Fairview, New Jersey, was found guilty of attacking the author in the Chautauqua County Court in Mayville, New York, in February. He faced a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison on the attempted murder charge. Video that captured the assault shows Matar rushing the Chautauqua Institution’s stage as Rushdie was being introduced to the audience for a talk about keeping writers safe from harm. Some of the video was shown to the jury during the seven days of testimony. “He’s traumatised. He has nightmares about what he exp... -
Dawn - 17:27 May 16, 2025
Ukraine rallied support from its Western allies on Friday after Kyiv and Moscow failed to agree to a ceasefire at their first direct talks in more than three years, with Russia presenting conditions that a Ukrainian source described as “non-starters”. Under pressure from US President Donald Trump to end the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War Two, delegates from the warring countries met for the first time since March 2022, the month after Russia invaded its neighbour. The talks in an Istanbul palace lasted well under two hours. Russia expressed satisfaction with the meeting and said it was ready to continue contacts. Both countries said they had agreed to trade 1,000 prisoners of war each in what would be the biggest such exchange yet. But Kyiv, which wants the West to impose tighter sanctions unless Moscow accepts a proposal from Trump for a 30-day ceasefire, immediately began rallying its allies for tougher action. As soon as the talks ended, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy held a phone ca... -
Dawn - 17:02 May 16, 2025
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said Pakistan won the war but sought peace and invited India to live as a “peaceful neighbour”, as the country celebrated Operation Bunyanum Marsoos’s success with a ceremony. The military confrontation between India and Pakistan began after New Delhi blamed Islamabad for the Pahalgam attack. On the night of May 6-7, India launched air strikes on Pakistan, causing civilian casualties. Both sides exchanged missiles over the following week, which stretched tensions. An American intervention led to a ceasefire. On Monday, the directors general of military operations held the first round of talks after the ceasefire. Today’s ceremony, marking the Youm-i-Tashakur (Thanksgiving Day), was held at the Pakistan Monument in Islamabad and attended by PM Shehbaz, armed forces chiefs, and other civil and military leaders. It began with the recitation of the Holy Quran, opening speeches, a flypast, and national songs. View this post on Instagram Beginning his speech, PM Shehbaz prais... -
Dawn - 16:28 May 16, 2025
Pakistan is expected to experience “moderate growth, stabilising after a period of economic contraction”, with its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) projected to expand by 2.3 per cent in 2025, according to a major United Nations report. The report, titled ‘The UN World Economic Situation and Prospects 2025’ and released a day ago, noted that declining inflation has allowed most of the South Asian region’s central banks to commence or continue monetary easing in 2025. Meanwhile, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are expected to continue fiscal consolidation and economic reforms under International Monetary Fund programmes. Dr Aneel Salman, chair of Economic Security at Islamabad Policy Research Institute, told Dawn.com that the UN’s revised growth forecast for Pakistan reflected a “fragile yet stabilising recovery” after a prolonged period of economic distress. “Inflation has come down sharply, reaching 0.3pc in April 2025, offering some relief to households and opening the door for improved consumer and business... -
Dawn - 15:58 May 16, 2025
A sessions court in Rawalpindi sentenced a man to death on Friday for raping a woman. Additional Sessions Judge Afshan Ijaz Sufi announced the verdict today, sentencing the convict to be hanged to death under Section 17 of the Anti-Rape (Investigation & Trial) Act, 2021. The judge also imposed a fine of Rs200,000 and ordered him to pay Rs500,000 in compensatory damages to the victim. In case of failing to pay, the convict will be sentenced to six months’ additional imprisonment. The first information report of the case was lodged at the Saddar Beroni police station on July 20, 2024, under Pakistan Penal Code Section 376iii (punishment for rape of a minor) on the complaint of the victim’s mother. The mother said she worked as a housemaid and had left her 21/22-year-old daughter and nine-year-old son at home when the culprit had entered around noon and raped the former. The woman said her children had raised a hue and cry with her son alerting someone who called her up and informed her about the incident. The w... -
Dawn - 12:46 May 16, 2025
Foreign Office Spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan on Friday urged India to maintain the ceasefire agreed with Pakistan, warning that the country would respond if the neighbour resumed aggression. The military confrontation between India and Pakistan came as the former blamed Islamabad for the Pahalgam attack. On the night of May 6-7, New Delhi launched a series of air strikes on Pakistan, resulting in civilian casualties. Both sides then exchanged missiles, which stretched over the week. It took American intervention for both sides to finally drop their guns. The nation observed Youm-i-Tashakur across the country today to honour the armed forces and the people for the victory in Operation Bunyanum Marsoos — a part of Marka-i-Haq — against India. During his weekly press conference today, the spokesperson said: “The recent announcement of a Pakistan-India ceasefire is a positive development. We urge India to faithfully adhere to its implementation.” He said Pakistan appreciated the role of friendly countries in faci... -
Dawn - 11:53 May 16, 2025
India is considering plans to dramatically increase the water it draws from a major river that feeds Pakistani farms downstream, as part of what it claims to be retaliatory action for a deadly April attack on tourists that New Delhi blames on Islamabad, according to four people familiar with the matter. Delhi suspended its participation in the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) of 1960, which governs the usage of the Indus river system, shortly after 26 civilians in India-held Kashmir were killed in what India called an act of terror. Pakistan has denied involvement in the incident, but accord remains “in abeyance” by India despite the two nuclear-armed neighbours agreeing a ceasefire last week following the worst fighting between them in decades. After the April 22 attack, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered officials to expedite planning and execution of projects on the Chenab, Jhelum and Indus rivers, three bodies of water in the Indus system that are designated primarily for Pakistan’s use, six people told... -
Dawn - 10:06 May 16, 2025
UAE-based low-cost airline flydubai has started flights to Peshawar’s Bacha Khan International Airport, the Pakistan Aviation Authority (PAA) said in a statement today. Peshawar’s airport is a major passenger hub with 75 per cent flights internationally bound, according to the PAA’s website. The inaugural flight of flydubai, FZ 375, “arrived in Peshawar last night with 164 passengers”, the PAA said in a statement. It added that the flight was given a water cannon salute at Bacha Khan Airport, which is a traditional aviation gesture to honour inaugural flights. A cake-cutting ceremony was also held on the arrival of flydubai, the statement added. The UAE-based airline will operate daily flights to Peshawar from Dubai, flydubai had said in a statement. Passengers at the check-in counters at Peshawar’s Bacha Khan International Airport. — PAA The PAA noted that air connections from Peshawar to Gulf and European countries will be expanded. FZ 375 departed back to Dubai at 2:20am PKT with 184 passengers, the statem... -
Dawn - 08:15 May 16, 2025
A polio outbreak has been declared in Papua New Guinea, sparking concern about the disease’s spread in a country with low vaccination rates, health officials said. Papua New Guinea was certified as polio-free in 2000, but immunisation rates among children are low — less than 50 per cent, according to the World Health Organisation. The virus was detected in wastewater and environmental samples in the Pacific nation’s capital, Port Moresby, and second largest city Lae, the WHO said. In subsequent testing, two children in Lae were found to have the poliovirus type 2 strain, according to the WHO representative in Papua New Guinea, Sevil Huseynova. The confirmation of community transmission in the children “constitutes a polio outbreak”, Huseynova said in briefing notes provided to AFP on Friday. The health agency “expresses deep concern over the confirmed outbreak”, she said. Genetic testing showed the polio strain detected in Papua New Guinea was linked to one circulating in Indonesia. “Polio is a highly infecti... -
Dawn - 06:49 May 16, 2025
An Indian climber and another from the Philippines became the first mountaineers to die on Mount Everest in the current March-May climbing season of the world’s highest peak, hiking officials said on Friday. Subrata Ghosh, 45, from India, died on Thursday below the Hillary Step while returning after reaching the 8,849-metre (29,032 feet) peak. “He refused to descend from below the Hillary Step,” said Bodhraj Bhandari of Nepal’s Snowy Horizon Treks and Expedition organising company. No other details were available. The Hillary Step is located in the ‘death zone’, an area between 8,000-metre (26,250 ft) high South Col and the summit where the level of natural oxygen is inadequate for survival. “Efforts are underway to bring his body down to the base camp. The cause of his death will be known only after post mortem,” Bhandari said. Philipp II Santiago, 45, from the Philippines, died late on Wednesday at the South Col while he was on his way up, said Himal Gautam, a tourism department official. Santiago was tired... -
Dawn - 06:47 May 16, 2025
LAHORE: Former Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan and Sri Lankan batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa have signed up for Lahore Qalandars for the remainder of the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) season, the franchise announced on Thursday. Meanwhile, Karachi Kings have secured the services of Scotland opener George Munsey. The tenth edition of the PSL is set to resume from Saturday — with Kings taking on Peshawar Zalmi at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium — after the league was postponed as a result of cross-border tensions between Pakistan and India, which started May 7 before culminating in a ceasefire three days later. View this post on Instagram The disruption had seen the franchises release their respective players, with the overseas contingent flying out of Pakistan as military action escalated between the neighbours. Although the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) later released a revised schedule for the PSL, not all overseas players originally signed by the franchises were ready to return to the country as teams scramble... -
Dawn - 04:51 May 16, 2025
GILGIT: Protests broke out across Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) on Thursday after police arrested five leaders of the Gilgit-Baltistan Awami Action Committee (ACC), including its chairman, Ehsan Ali Advocate, ahead of a planned Grand Jirga on May 26. Demonstrations were held in Hunza, Gilgit and Skardu, where protesters condemned the arrests and demanded the immediate release of the detained leaders. The ACC said the arrests were aimed at sabotaging the jirga, which was to address issues surrounding the ownership of natural resources in the region. According to officials, police arrested the activists — Ehsan Ali Advocate, Engineer Mahboob Wali, Masoodul Rehman, Asghar Shah and Waheed Hassan — from various places in Gilgit on Wednesday evening. A GB anti-terrorism court on Thursday granted police 14-day physical remand of the accused, who were taken to the Airport Police Station. Authorities have refused to share the First Information Report (FIR), but a police source told Dawn that the arrests were made under anti-... -
Dawn - 04:33 May 16, 2025
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said that Pakistan’s armed forces had shattered the ‘false hegemony’ of India and made the whole world realise that all states in the region are equal. The premier again asked India to sit at the table to resolve contentious issues, including Kashmir, through dialogue, without which there will be no guarantee of permanent peace. Meanwhile, according to a decision announced by the PM, the nation will be observing Youm-i-Tashakur on Friday (today) on the victory of Pakistan in the recent conflict with India. “You have not only changed the mindset of the world but also the equation in the region and in the world,” the prime minister said while addressing a gathering of Pakistan Air Force officers during a visit to PAF airbase Kamra. He paid the visit to meet the Pakistani pilots who had successfully defended the nation during one of the longest aerial engagements of the 21st century between May 6 and 10. Shehbaz showers praise on pilots during visit to PAF bas... -
Dawn - 04:28 May 16, 2025
ISLAMABAD: Justice Shahid Bilal Hasan, a member of the five-judge Constitutional Bench seized with a seniority dispute among the Islamabad High Court judges, on Thursday decried the tendency in the legal community to intertwine national politics with the bar politics. The Supreme Court’s Constitutional Bench had taken up petitions filed by five judges of the IHC concerning the seniority dispute and the transfer of three judges to the IHC. Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar headed the bench. “This is unfortunate that the national politics has seeped into the bar politics,” regretted Justice Hasan, adding that this tendency was started by a political party now opposed to the present opposition. The judge bemoaned that this malaise had never been the practice in the past. While pointing towards senior counsel Hamid Khan, who was representing the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) and the Lahore Bar Association (LBA), Justice Hasan observed that it was to his knowledge that the presidents of both associations wer...
7934 items