Dawn
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Dawn - 12:17 Apr 25, 2026
ISLAMABAD: The path for the launch of 5G in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) has been cleared as policy directives for trials have been approved, with four telecommunication operations expected to begin testing soon. The GB Council, chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, has approved the summary to launch 5G test trials in the region; the approval is expected to be received by the telecom sector regulator in the coming week. GB Caretaker Information Technology Minister Ghulam Abbas said the council’s secretariat had prepared a summary seeking the approval of policy directives for 5G trials. He said that the summary had been endorsed by the ministries of Law and IT. He said that after the prime minister’s approval, the summary will now be sent back to the IT ministry. “The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) is the telecom sector regulator. The IT ministry will authorise the PTA to initiate the 5G test trials,” Abbas said. The 5G spectrum auction was held in the country last month on March 10, but GB and Azad J... -
Dawn - 11:32 Apr 25, 2026
ISLAMABAD: Four members of a family, including a woman and a teenager, were gunned down in the capital’s suburbs, a police official said on Saturday. According to the police official, the incident occurred in a house located in the Jhangi Syedan area, adjacent to Sectors I-15 and I-18 of Islamabad. The police official said people in the neighbourhood heard gunshots in the morning and informed police about the incident. Upon reaching the spot, a police team found four bodies on the first floor of the house, with two victims on separate beds and one on the floor. All victims sustained bullet injuries on their heads, the police official said. The victims were identified as Mula Khalil; his wife, Shamim Bibi; their 14-year-old son, Musa Khan; and Habib Majid, believed to be Shamim Bibi’s brother. Police shifted the bodies to a hospital for medical-legal procedures. The reason behind the killing was yet to be ascertained, but police suspected it could be an incident of so-called honour killing. Preliminary investi... -
Dawn - 11:00 Apr 25, 2026
Jury selection is to begin on Monday in a high-profile legal battle between billionaire Elon Musk and artificial intelligence (AI) startup OpenAI, which he accuses of betraying its non-profit mission. The clash in a courtroom across the bay from San Francisco pits the world’s richest man against a startup that Musk once backed and now competes against in the booming AI sector. OpenAI’s ChatGPT is a formidable rival to the Grok chatbot made by Musk’s xAI lab. While the lawsuit filed by Musk is part of a feud between him and OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman, it spotlights a debate over whether AI should ultimately benefit the privileged few or society as a whole. Court filings lay out how Altman tried to convince Musk to back OpenAI in 2015, acting as a co-founder for a non-profit lab whose technology “would belong to the world”. Musk pumped some $38 million into the lab before he left. OpenAI is now valued at $852 billion, with Microsoft among its backers, and is preparing to go public on the stock market. Th... -
Dawn - 10:53 Apr 25, 2026
Tight security arrangements were in place in Islamabad’s Red Zone on Saturday as a high-level Iranian delegation was in town amid intensifying diplomatic activity around the US-Iran conflict. Araghchi arrived in Islamabad late on Friday, carrying Tehran’s formal response to proposals conveyed earlier by the US through Pakistan. The Islamabad police have said that the Red Zone and Extended Red Zone will be “completely closed to all types of traffic” and issued an alternative traffic plan for the public. Dawn takes a look at some of the scenes from key roads in Islamabad, where security personnel stand guard and barricades are placed as part of stringent security. Police personnel keeps watch in the Red Zone area of Islamabad on April 25, 2026. — AFP A security personnel diverts traffic at a closed road in the Red Zone area of Islamabad on April 25, 2026. — AFP An army trooper keeps watch in the Red Zone area of Islamabad on April 25, 2026. — AFP An army trooper stands guard at a closed road in the Red Zone are... -
Dawn - 10:06 Apr 25, 2026
Gul Plaza’s three facades were clearly damaged in the stage II and III January 18 fire which killed 70 people, but when a building inspector came afterwards, he held back. “It was impossible to go inside,” he said, “the heat was too intense even after two days.” That same month, one after another, three other market fires erupted in Karachi, intensifying the feeling of anger and helplessness that the city had turned into a tinderbox because of years of neglect. The bodies just keep piling up. The preventable deaths from urban negligence — fires, open manholes, building collapses, electrocution, rains, bad road design — all speak to the systemic weakening of Karachi. At least 300 have been reported in newspapers so far in 2026 by rough count. Many of these deaths are evidence of the failure of vertical expansion of informality. You cannot allow floor upon floor, shop upon shop, to be slowly added to urban spaces and infrastructure that was never designed to support such density in the first place. Neither the ... -
Dawn - 09:20 Apr 25, 2026
WASHINGTON: The US Department of Justice has filed a civil case seeking to revoke the citizenship of a Pakistani-born physician convicted of sexually exploiting a minor and later concealing the offences during his naturalisation process. The doctor, Hassan Sherjil Khan, allegedly began contacting an 11-year-old girl online in 2007 or 2008 and continued communicating with her for several years, according to a statement issued by the department. Prosecutors say the doctor coerced the minor into sending sexually explicit images and engaging in live video sexual activity. The conduct continued until around 2013. The Justice Department further alleges that the accused travelled abroad to engage in sexual acts with the victim when she was 15. Despite this, he applied for US citizenship in August 2012 without disclosing his involvement in the offences and was granted naturalisation in May 2013. The victim later disclosed the abuse, after which the doctor was arrested in September 2015. He was charged with coercion a... -
Dawn - 09:04 Apr 25, 2026
The US Senate will vote as soon as next week on a Democratic-led effort to prevent US President Donald Trump from launching an attack on Cuba, Senate aides said on Friday, responding to the Republican’s threats to take military action against the island. Democratic Senators Tim Kaine, Adam Schiff and Ruben Gallego introduced the Cuba War Powers Resolution last month. Under Senate rules, the Senate’s Republican leaders must allow it to come up for a vote. “The president’s saber rattling toward Cuba makes clear where his sights are next,” Schiff said in a statement when the resolution was introduced. Exact timing of the vote has not yet been announced, but aides said they expected it before May 1. Under Trump, US forces have launched strikes on boats off Venezuela and gone into Caracas to seize President Nicolas Maduro, and, with Israel, waged war on Iran since February 28, all without authorisation from Congress. Trump has since said “Cuba is next,” while touting US military action in Venezuela and Iran. He di... -
Dawn - 09:03 Apr 25, 2026
Gun battles between rival ethnic groups in India’s troubled northeastern Manipur state killed three men, police said, the latest unrest in the far-flung region. Manipur has seen periodic clashes for nearly three years between the predominantly Hindu Meitei majority and the mainly Christian Kuki community in which more than 250 people have been killed. “In a heavy exchange of fire… three individuals sustained fatal bullet injuries,” Manipur police said in a statement late on Friday. The clashes took place at Mullam village in Ukhrul district, and police did not specify which community the men came from. “Security measures have been enhanced in the area to prevent further escalation of violence,” police said. “Operations are still underway.” Longstanding enmity between the Meitei and Kuki communities revolves around competition for land and public jobs. Rights activists have accused local leaders of exacerbating ethnic divisions for political gain. Unrest erupted in 2023, when around 60,000 people were forced t... -
Dawn - 08:38 Apr 25, 2026
Palestinians in the West Bank and a central area of Gaza began voting on Saturday in municipal elections in the first vote since Israel’s deadly invasion of Gaza, marked by a narrow political field and widespread disillusionment. Nearly 1.5 million people are registered to vote in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, as well as 70,000 people in Gaza’s Deir el-Balah area, according to the Ramallah-based Central Elections Commission. Polling stations opened at 7am (9am PKT). AFP footage from Al-Bireh in the West Bank and Deir el-Balah in Gaza showed election officials in polling stations as Palestinians came to cast ballots. Most electoral lists are aligned with President Mahmoud Abbas’s secular-nationalist Fatah party or feature candidates running as independents. There are no lists affiliated with Fatah’s archrival Hamas, which controls nearly half of the Gaza Strip. In most cities, Fatah-backed tickets will run against independent lists headed by candidates from factions such as the Popular Front for the Liberati... -
Dawn - 07:21 Apr 25, 2026
PESHAWAR: Five policemen were among eight people injured after unidentified assailants attacked a police vehicle and a Rescue 1122 ambulance in two separate areas of Khar tehsil in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur district on Friday night. Police and Rescue 1122 officials said on Saturday that the first incident occurred in the Lowi Sam area when assailants opened fire on a police mobile carrying policemen to the nearby Miagano post. They said five policemen in the vehicle were injured in the attack, adding that the attackers managed to flee. “The overnight attack on the police vehicle in the Lowi Sam area, considered among the peaceful areas of Khar tehsil, has left five policemen non-fatally wounded,” a spokesperson for the district police said. The official said that after the incident, a team from the Lowi Sam police station immediately rushed to the scene and launched search efforts for the attackers. The police spokesperson added that a Rescue 1122 ambulance was attacked by unknown assailants in Khar’s Rasha... -
Dawn - 06:10 Apr 25, 2026
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has decided to allow spectators into the stadium for the final of the 11th edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), Interior Minister and PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi said on Saturday. In a post on X, the PCB chairman said he had requested PM Shehbaz to allow spectators in the stadiums during the PSL 11 final. “While he was also inclined to permit fans, he emphasised that austerity measures are currently in place across Pakistan, with efforts underway to minimise fuel consumption,” Naqvi said. “However, on the request of franchise owners, he has graciously approved the presence of fans for the PSL 11 final.” The PCB chairman thanked the premier for the decision to facilitate the fans. This year’s PSL had initially been scheduled to be held across six venues — Lahore, Karachi, Rawalpindi, Multan, Peshawar, and Faisalabad. However, last month, it was announced that the tournament would go ahead sans spectators while matches would be held only in Karachi and Lahore in line with the ... -
Dawn - 05:19 Apr 25, 2026
UNITED NATIONS: Terrorist groups are increasingly exploiting artificial intelligence, encrypted platforms and digital currencies, transforming the global threat into a more decentralized and harder-to-detect phenomenon. These trends were discussed at a panel organised by the Permanent Mission of Pakistan in collaboration with the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) at the UN headquarters in New York, where diplomats, security experts and academics examined emerging patterns in global terrorism. According to the panelists, the shift has expanded the reach of extremist networks beyond traditional conflict zones, enabling remote recruitment, propaganda and financing through online ecosystems that operate across borders and often outside regulatory control. The convergence of these tools with rising ideological extremism — including far-right movements in Western societies — has further complicated efforts to define and counter terrorism, as loosely organised groups operate without clear leadership... -
Dawn - 03:33 Apr 25, 2026
• Seminaries declared a ‘red line’, with warning of protest movement after May 2 deadline • Govt moves to strengthen madressah registration process, says around 300 unregistered seminaries identified QUETTA: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) Balochistan Emir Senator Maulana Abdul Wasay has announced a boycott of the Bugti-led coalition government’s functions, official meetings, and visits to the Chief Minister’s House, alleging that the provincial government has launched operations against madressas (seminaries) across the province and sealed many of them. Speaking at a press conference on Friday, along with Senator Kamran Murtaza and other party leaders, he said that the decision to socially boycott the government was taken in response to actions against seminaries. He said the law under which these actions are being carried out has neither been approved by parliament nor by the provincial assembly. He declared that seminaries are the party’s “red line” and warned that those taking action against them have “dug ... -
Dawn - 02:49 Apr 25, 2026
Source: The 2026 Global Report on Food Crises • Multi-agency report says over 9m Pakistanis face ‘crisis’ conditions; another 1.7 million in the more severe ‘emergency’ category • Notes devastating monsoon rains, severe flooding wiped out crucial cropland, livelihoods • Warns global hunger remains at critical levels amid conflict, drought, aid cuts; outlook for 2026 remains ‘bleak’ ISLAMABAD: Pakistan remains one of the 10 fragile countries where global acute food insecurity is most concentrated, according to a UN-backed report released on Friday, as intensifying climate extremes and persistent economic challenges continue to strain the nation. The 2026 Global Report on Food Crises names Pakistan alongside Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Nigeria, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen as the primary centres of acute hunger. According to the report, Pakistan was among the world’s 10 largest food crises in 2025, with about 11 million people facing acute food insecurity. Of t... -
Dawn - 02:24 Apr 25, 2026
ISLAMABAD: In a surprise move, the Shehbaz Sharif government on Friday increased the prices of both petrol and diesel by Rs26.77 per litre with immediate effect for the week ending May 1, passing on the impact of global prices during the last fortnight while also seeking to raise revenues in the final months of the fiscal year under commitments with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF’s executive board is expected to approve in the first half of May the disbursement of more than $1.2 billion under two ongoing programmes. As of April 23, diesel prices were estimated to go down by around Rs25 per litre and petrol by Rs6 per litre. However, the government partially restored the petroleum levy on diesel and increased petrol prices to meet overall fiscal targets. Unlike the prime minister’s announcements of price cuts, the increase this time was quietly announced by the petroleum division on the day Iran and the United States dispatched their negotiators to Islamabad for the second round of talks. Petr... -
Dawn - 00:08 Apr 25, 2026
Every time exams come around, you are told to make a proper schedule, wake up early, drink water, be the responsible and disciplined child. And then somehow, many of you end up on your bed every night around 2 am with zero new information in your brain, but a detailed colour-coded schedule that you made instead of actually studying. Perhaps it’s not wrong. You have the motivation to start your studies accordingly. Whether you actually studied or the schedule became the whole project, at least you started. But there is a specific type of student with the most organised notes, the most colour-coded timetable, the neatest desk setup and, somehow, they actually do study. So that leaves the rest of us — the big lot — the students who also genuinely try, sacrifice sleep, panic-watch YouTube lectures and explanations. But the results still don’t match the effort they put in, leaving them confused and demoralised. What makes their efforts fail? Mostly, it’s study methods that don’t work. The pressure is on vigorous s... -
Dawn - 21:30 Apr 24, 2026
Foreign Office (FO) Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said on Friday that an Iranian delegation led by the Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had arrived in Islamabad. The development came as the White House said that envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would also be heading to Pakistan for talks with Iran. However, Iran asserted that it would not be meeting with the US. In a post on X, FO spokesperson Andrabi Araghchi was received by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir and other senior officials. “During the visit, the Iranian foreign minister will hold meetings with Pakistan’s senior leadership to discuss the latest regional developments as well as ongoing efforts for regional peace and stability,” he added. Subsequently, Dar posted on X that he was pleased to “receive and welcome my brother, Foreign Minister of Iran, Abbas Araghchi, to Islamabad”. “Look forward to our meaningful engagements aimed at promoting regional peace... -
Dawn - 20:52 Apr 24, 2026
The government raised the prices of petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs26.77 each on Friday. Following the increase, the price of petrol now stands at Rs393.35 and that of HSD at Rs380.19. The announcement was made in a press release issued by the Petroleum Division. It said the prices were revised for the week starting on April 25. Petrol is mostly used in private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws and two-wheelers and has a direct bearing on the budget of the middle and lower-middle class. High-speed diesel is mainly used in the heavy transport sector and for large generators. The government has been revising petroleum prices every week on Friday night following the now-paused US-Israeli war on Iran, which began on February 28. The war also led to a global fuel crunch caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world’s supply of oil and gas used to pass in peace time. After the US-Israeli war on Iran began, the government initially hiked petrol and diesel prices by R... -
Dawn - 19:57 Apr 24, 2026
KARACHI: An 11-year-old boy was feared to have drowned after he could not be recovered even hours after being swept away while swimming in an open water line in Karachi’s Scheme-33 area on Friday. East Deputy Commissioner (DC) Nasrullah Abbasi, who was supervising the rescue operation, told Dawn that the boy, Zahid Mohammed Khan, was swept away around 2pm while swimming in the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC)’s line. He was not recovered until late at night, when the last updates were received. Lifeguards from Rescue 1122 and Edhi Foundation carried out the search for him, the DC said, adding that the delay in finding the boy could have been due to the heavy flow of water. Rescue 1122 said in a statement that its two teams were searching for the boy at two spots. The DC said KWSC officials had also visited the spot and had estimated that the boy may end up as far away as in Gulistan-i-Jauhar’s Block-1 near Continental Bakery, where an iron grill had been installed in the line. But that might take... -
Dawn - 17:20 Apr 24, 2026
ISLAMABAD: Maritime Affairs Minister Junaid Anwar Chaudhry sought on Friday a detailed report on the purported hijacking of an oil tanker by pirates near Somalia, with Pakistanis said to be among the hostages. A statement issued by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs referred to the reported incident, mentioning that the crew of the hijacked vessel was said to comprise 11 Pakistanis. It added that the ministry was monitoring the situation and was in contact with relevant departments, including the Foreign Office. The statement said efforts were also being made to contact the Somali authorities regarding the matter. According to media reports, an oil tanker named “Owner 25” was hijacked by pirates near Somalia’s coast on April 21, and 11 Pakistani crew, as well as the Indonesian captain of the vessel, were taken hostage. The incident is said to have taken place in the Gulf of Aden, while the name and nationality of the tanker’s operator have not been reported. In 2024, Somali pirates had hijacked an Iranian fishi...
10418 items