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Dawn - 14:20 Oct 24, 2025
India will not accept limits on its trading choices or rush to sign agreements, Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday, even as a senior government official said a bilateral trade deal with Washington was “very near”. “India will not sign any trade deal in a hurry,” Goyal said during a speech at the Berlin Global Dialogue, referring to European Union and the US concerns over India’s continued purchases of Russian oil. Alongside ongoing EU free trade pact negotiations, India is in trade talks with the United States, which has imposed 50 per cent tariffs on Indian exports. US President Donald Trump said this week he spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi mainly about trade, and that Modi had assured him India would limit its oil purchases from Russia. Goyal said New Delhi would take a measured approach. An official aware of the ongoing trade talks with the US told reporters in New Delhi that the two countries are sorting out the language of their agreement. “We are very near as far as deal is concer... -
Dawn - 14:04 Oct 24, 2025
At least eight “Indian-sponsored” terrorists were killed during an Intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Tank district as part of operation “Azm e Istehkam”, the military’s media wing said on Friday. In today’s operation in Tank, “troops effectively engaged terrorist locations, and after an intense fire exchange, eight Indian sponsored khwarij were sent to hell,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement. “On 24 October 2025, on [the] reported presence of Khwarij belonging to Indian Proxy, Fitna al Khwarij, security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation in Tank District,” the statement read. In July, the government designated the banned terrorist outfit Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan as Fitna al Khawarij, mandating all institutions to use the term khariji (outcast) when referring to the perpetrators of terrorist attacks on Pakistan. Weapons and ammunition were recovered from the slain terrorists, the ISPR said. It added that the slain terrorists “remained activ... -
Dawn - 13:54 Oct 24, 2025
Posts from pro-Pakistani accounts on social media platform X on Thursday circulated a video claiming to show Indian Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Strategy) Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai publicly denouncing the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and warning against the politicisation of the Indian Armed Forces. However, the video is doctored. A day ago, an X account, that appears to be anti-Indian based upon its previous posts and is known for repeatedly sharing AI-altered videos, posted a clip with the following caption: “Breaking News: Indian Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai comes out openly against BJP politics of Narendra Modi. Any politicisation or saffronisation of the armed forces will lead to a defeat in the morale of Indian Armed Forces. We will resist against all attempts to make Indian army subservient to Hindutva.” The post gained over 45,000 views. The transcript of the video is provided below: “As a senior officer who has devoted decades to the service of this uniform, I say this with deep concern. The growing influence of ... -
Dawn - 13:36 Oct 24, 2025
Internet service provider Stormfiber on Friday said that its internet services will be fully restored by Monday following disruptions over the past week across the country. On October 20, internet users in Pakistan complained of service degradation and slow browsing speeds on certain ISPs, which was once again attributed to a fault in the submarine cable. There was no statement or acknowledgment from the ISPs in question, the IT ministry, or the regulator, Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA). When approached for comment, IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja attributed it to the global shutdown of Amazon cloud services. However, many internet users claimed they had been informed by their ISP that services were suffering due to cable damage. In a statement issued today, the company said, “We expect to fully recover the lost capacity within 72 hours (by 11:59pm on Monday, 27 October 2025),” adding that it had “immediately restored over 60 per cent of the affected capacity by procuring and activating addition... -
Dawn - 12:02 Oct 24, 2025
The Pakistan Super League (PSL) is set for its biggest expansion yet, with two new teams and two additional venues expected to feature in the next edition of the tournament, PSL Chief Executive Officer Salman Naseer revealed on Friday. Speaking during a podcast released by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Salman said the board was “very seriously considering moving on to six venues this time,” adding that “HBL PSL 11, God willing, will be played across six venues.” He said the long-forgotten Imran Khan Stadium, formerly Arbab Niaz Stadium, in Peshawar was “almost ready,” but required some final upgrades before it could host matches of international standard. “We are certainly trying to prepare it for PSL 11,” he said. “But what we need also is for the lease agreement to take place. For us to invest significantly as the PCB in this venue, we need to have a long-term lease in place.” Salman confirmed that Faisalabad was also being lined up as the other new host city. “The other venue, as people may have alread... -
Dawn - 11:48 Oct 24, 2025
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday gave police another seven days to locate a National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) deputy director, who was allegedly abducted earlier this month. The development came during the hearing of a petition filed by Rozina Usman for the recovery of her husband Muhammad Usman. She alleged that four armed individuals abducted her husband on October 14. At the previous hearing, the court had given the police three days to locate the missing official. Resuming the hearing of the case today, Justice Muhammad Azam Khan asked the police about the progress made in the case. “What is the progress? You were given three days,” said the justice. District Superintendent of Police (DSP) Legal Sajid Cheema informed the court that investigations were “underway” to trace the NCCIA official, adding that the senior superintendent of police investigation was looking into the matter. “The missing deputy director was investigating the Ducky Bhai case,” the DSP said, referring to a case ... -
Dawn - 09:25 Oct 24, 2025
The interior ministry on Friday notified the ban on the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), saying that the federal government had “reasonable grounds” to believe the religiopolitical party was connected to terrorism. The notification, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, said: “The federal government has reasonable grounds to believe that TLP is connected with and concerned in terrorism. “In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 11B(1)(a) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 (XXVII of 1997), the federal government hereby orders TLP to be a proscribed organisation for the purpose of the Act and list the aforesaid organisation in the first schedule to the said Act,” the notification said. The development comes a day after the federal cabinet approved a proposal to proscribe party under the Anti-Terrorism Act, days after nationwide protests over Gaza claimed the lives of several protesters and police officers and paralysed major highways and city roads from Karachi to Islamabad. The decision was taken at ... -
Dawn - 09:16 Oct 24, 2025
Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider said on Friday that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi should “definitely” be allowed to meet incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan. He expressed these views while answering a question during a press conference in Peshawar. His remarks come a day after Afridi was denied a meeting with Imran. It was the the second time that he had failed in his attempt to meet the former prime minister since assuming office on Oct 16, despite getting permission from the Islamabad High Court (IHC). When Haider, who was addressing the press conference alongside KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, was asked for his opinion on the matter, he said: “There is democracy [in the country], and in my view, political people should be dealt with in a political manner. The court has given [Afridi] the permission to meet [Imran], and if there is no legal hindrance, I see no reason why the meeting should not take place.” The Punjab governor further stated that “several visitors had been meeting sev... -
Dawn - 09:05 Oct 24, 2025
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Friday that cooperation in trade and economic spheres was a “win-win proposition” which offered “rich dividends” to all parties involved. He made the remarks while addressing the Regional Transport Ministers’ Conference in Islamabad. Transport ministers and senior officials from Türkiye, Sri Lanka, Iran, Maldives, Turkmenistan, Saudi Arabia, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Russia, and Kazakhstan are attending the two-day conference which kicked off on Thursday. Addressing the conference today, PM Shehbaz said: “It cannot be stressed enough that cooperation in trade and economic spheres is a win-win proposition, offering rich dividends to all. “This would strengthen our common stake in peace and reinforce efforts for development in the region,” he said. In his remarks, the premier also talked about Pakistan’s key geographic location, saying: “Our geography links the warm waters of the Arabian Sea and the Persian gulf to the majestic Karakoram and Himalayan range, flowing through the ... -
Dawn - 08:45 Oct 24, 2025
More than 1,000 people, mostly Chinese, have fled from Myanmar into Thailand this week, Thai authorities said on Friday, after the Myanmar military raided one of the country’s largest scam centres. Sprawling cyberscam hubs, where fraudsters swindle victims through online cons, have flourished along Myanmar’s loosely governed border during its years-long civil war. While some scammers are trafficked into the often-fortified compounds, experts say others work voluntarily, hoping to earn more in the multibillion-dollar illicit industry than they can at home. Thailand’s Tak provincial office said 1,049 people had crossed from Myanmar into Mae Sot district from Wednesday to Friday morning — up from the 677 who had fled the KK Park scam compound as of Thursday morning. Nationals from India, Pakistan, Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand and more than a dozen other countries were among them, the office said in a statement. Thailand’s Immigration Bureau said most of the arrivals were Chinese men. Myanmar’s junta said on Monday... -
Dawn - 07:21 Oct 24, 2025
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Friday reaffirmed Pakistan’s dedication to playing its part in building a “just and prosperous” world while marking United Nations (UN) Day. UN Day marks the anniversary of the entry into force in 1945 of the UN Charter. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the UN and its charter. In a statement issued by the Foreign Office (FO), Dar reaffirmed Pakistan’s steadfast commitment to multilateralism along with the international community. “We believe the UN, as the world’s most representative multilateral institution, remains uniquely placed to address shared global challenges, including grave threats to international peace and security, [the] worst humanitarian crises, persistent development gaps, and the existential climate crisis,” he said. Dar added that Pakistan’s foreign policy was firmly rooted in the UN Charter’s principles: the sovereign equality of states, non-interference, the right to self-determination, and the peaceful settle... -
Dawn - 06:40 Oct 24, 2025
United States President Donald Trump said on Thursday all trade talks with Canada were terminated following what he called a fraudulent advertisement in which former and late president Ronald Reagan spoke negatively about tariffs. Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum and autos earlier this year, prompting Ottawa to respond in kind. The two sides have been in talks for weeks on a potential deal for the steel and aluminum sectors. “Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said earlier this week the ad from his province with anti-tariff messaging had caught Trump’s attention. The ad showed Reagan, a Republican, criticising tariffs on foreign goods while saying they caused job losses and trade wars. “I heard that the president heard our ad. I’m sure he wasn’t too happy,” Ford said on Tuesday. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation issued a statement late on Thursday saying the ad by the gove... -
Dawn - 06:25 Oct 24, 2025
India trialled cloud seeding over its smog-filled capital for the first time, spraying a chemical from an aeroplane to encourage rain and wash deadly particles out of the air. Cloud seeding is the practice of using aeroplanes to fire salt or other chemicals into clouds to induce rain. New Delhi city authorities, working with the government’s Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, launched a test run on Thursday afternoon using a Cessna light aeroplane over the city’s northern Burari area. “A trial seeding flight was done … in which cloud seeding flares were fired”, Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said in a statement late on Thursday. “This flight was the proving flight for checking the capabilities for cloud seeding, the readiness and endurance of the aircraft, the capability assessment of the cloud seeding fitments and flares, and coordination among all involved agencies.” It comes ahead of a planned rollout of the scheme. Delhi’s Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said that “if conditions remain favourable, De... -
Dawn - 06:15 Oct 24, 2025
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has invited Qatari investors to “explore new avenues of collaboration” under the government’s Special Investment Facilitation Council framework, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported on Friday. The SIFC is body that was set up in 2023 with the objective to assist with foreign investments. PM Shehbaz invited Qatari investments under its framework during a meeting with Qatar’s Minister of Commerce and Industry Sheikh Faisal bin Thani bin Faisal Al Thani in Islamabad today. According to Radio Pakistan, PM Shehbaz underscored during the meeting the importance of enhancing bilateral trade and investment cooperation highlighted opportunities in this connection in energy, agriculture, food security, information technology, tourism and infrastructure development sectors. “The prime minister expressed satisfaction over the positive trajectory of Pakistan-Qatar relations, anchored in shared faith, values, and mutual respect,” the report said. It added that the premier also appreciated ... -
Dawn - 02:49 Oct 24, 2025
• Customs clearance suspended at border stations; tomatoes among items becoming dearer • Official sees no chance of opening border before Istanbul summit on 26th QUETTA / ISLAMABAD: Border closures between Pakistan and Afghanistan for over 12 days on Thursday have pushed up prices of essential goods in both nations, with tomatoes now costing five times more in Pakistan since fighting broke out between the two neighbours this month and transit trade coming to a halt. Border crossings between the two countries have remained closed since Oct 11, following ground fighting and Pakistani airstrikes across their 2,600km frontier that killed dozens on both sides in the worst fighting since the Taliban’s 2021 takeover of Kabul. “We have no information when the border with Afghanistan will be opened,” a senior official of the Chaman administration said. The official added that even though the traders and the people involved in import and export are demanding the reopening of the border, but no decision has been made ... -
Dawn - 02:25 Oct 24, 2025
• KP says ‘ban’ on inter-provincial movement of commodity violates Article 151(1) • Warns of shortages, risks to food security • Sindh accuses Punjab of halting supply of wheat seed; seeks PM’s intervention PESHAWAR / KARACHI: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Thursday asked Punjab to withdraw restrictions on the inter-provincial movement of wheat and flour, warning that the curbs are disrupting supply chains, increasing prices and threatening food security in the province. Meanwhile, the PPP leadership in Sindh also lashed out at the Punjab government, accusing it of restricting the supply of wheat seed. In a letter to his Punjab counterpart, KP’s food secretary said that lifting the ban was critical to restoring a smooth supply chain, stabilising market prices, and safeguarding his province’s food security. The letter said KP, a wheat-deficient province, depends on inter-provincial supplies from Punjab to meet its requirements — roughly 14,500 tonnes per day. “The prevailing restrictions have severely ... -
Dawn - 20:04 Oct 23, 2025
Multan Sultans owner Ali Tareen hit out at the Pakistan Super League (PSL) management late on Thursday, stating he is “unhappy at their mediocre mindset”, after his franchise was issued a legal notice threatening suspension over breach of contractual obligations. Earlier in the day, the PSL management had acted following repeated public statements by Tareen criticising the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and PSL, and had sought a public apology if the latter wished to avoid legal proceedings. The move marked a significant escalation in the simmering tensions between the board and the Multan franchise. Tareen then posted a video on social media platform X on Thursday night, in which he could be seen holding what seemed to be the legal notice sent by the PSL management, saying he wanted to apologise but demanded better of the league organisers. Making sharp remarks targeted the PSL management, he ended the video by tearing up what seemed to be the legal notice he had received. Tareen had stoked the fire in April w... -
Dawn - 19:31 Oct 23, 2025
The record remains unblemished, the streak grows more formidable. MMA fighter Rizwan “The Haider” Ali, reinforced his status as kryptonite for Indian adversaries, systematically dismantling Rana Rudra Pratap Singh “The Rajput” to secure a first-round technical knockout at the Absolute Championship Akhmat in Dubai’s Agenda Arena on Thursday. The victory marks his fourth win over an Indian opponent in two years — a perfect finishing rate he has maintained against all of them, keeping his pristine professional record intact at 11-0. The tension was palpable from the start, a fuse lit long before the first punch was thrown. It manifested in a telling moment during the fighter introductions: Rizwan and Rudra Pratap (12-3) refused a glove touch, a silent acknowledgment that this was more than sport. This was conflict. From the opening bell, the clash was charged with the weight of the cross-border rivalry. Rudra Pratap, a 28-year-old force from Lucknow, shot for an immediate takedown, aiming to ground the aerial as... -
Dawn - 18:59 Oct 23, 2025
Pakistan, in a joint statement with 14 other nations, condemned Tel Aviv’s attempt to impose “Israeli sovereignty” over the occupied West Bank, after the Israeli parliament passed bills on annexing the West Bank, the Foreign Office (FO) said on Thursday. On Wednesday, Israeli lawmakers voted to advance two bills on annexing the occupied West Bank, barely a week after US President Donald Trump pushed through a deal aimed at ending Israel’s two-year military offensive in the Gaza Strip. Trump has warned that Israel would lose its crucial backing from the United States if it annexes the occupied West Bank. In a statement issued today, the FO condemned “in strongest terms the approval of the Israeli Knesset of two draft laws aiming to impose a so-called ‘Israeli sovereignty’ over the occupied West Bank”, calling it a “blatant” violation of international law. The joint statement was signed by 14 countries, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, and Turkiye. The FO noted that the move violated the “United Nations Se... -
Dawn - 18:30 Oct 23, 2025
A superintendent of police (SP) posted in Islamabad passed away on Thursday after sustaining critical injuries from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot near Serena Chowk. He was rushed to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), where he succumbed to his injuries. A police official told APP that police teams reached the site immediately after the incident, cordoned off the area, and collected forensic evidence. Senior police officials launched a detailed investigation into the circumstances surrounding the event. According to police sources, the SP was a respected officer of the Police Service of Pakistan (PSP) and had recently assumed charge as SP Industrial Area, Islamabad. A day earlier, the police official visited a doctor of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), at his private clinic, and informed the medical practitioner that he was having suicidal ideation. Psychiatrist Dr Sultan Muhammad, who checked the SP, suggested he take leave and get admitted to Pims, but the deceased infor...
5467 items