Dawn
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Dawn - 11:51 Jan 13, 2026
Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry on Tuesday informed irked lawmakers in the National Assembly that 29,115 trees had been removed from the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), but that more than this number would be planted in the coming months. In the past few days, there has been widespread criticism over the cutting of thousands of mature trees in various locations of the federal capital, including the levelling of acres of tree cover around Shakarparian. PTI MNA Riaz Fatyana moved a calling attention notice on the tree-cutting in the federal capital and the public concern it was causing. Responding to him, Chaudhry said 29,115 trees have been removed, while “40,000 trees of more than 8-10 feet have been planted”. He added that another 60,000 trees will be planted in the same areas on March 30, when the weather will be more suitable for planting. The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has maintained that only paper mulberry trees were removed, as they had been causing pollen allergy. However, s... -
Dawn - 11:03 Jan 13, 2026
Armed assailants killed four members of a peace committee in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district on Tuesday, confirmed police. The incident took place in the Gulbadin Landi Dak area of Bannu district. According to a senior official of the district police, the victims were all travelling in the same vehicle when armed men opened “indiscriminate fire” on them. Of the four victims, two were identified as a father and son. They all died on the spot, the official added. Local sources said that the peace committee in the area has taken up arms in self-defense to resist militants, leading to an extremely tense situation in the area. The police official further said that an investigation into the attack has been initiated, but added that it was too early to declare it an act of terrorism. Attacks on peace committee members in KP have been on the rise in recent months. In November 2025, seven people were killed when a peace committee office was attacked in Bannu. Meanwhile, in October, a member of a tribal peace commi... -
Dawn - 09:08 Jan 13, 2026
A bipartisan group of United States lawmakers will visit Denmark this week as President Donald Trump threatens a takeover of Greenland, an autonomous part of the kingdom of Denmark that houses a US airbase. The delegation will be led by Democratic US Senator Chris Coons and will include Republican US Senator Thom Tillis and Democratic Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Dick Durbin along with some members of the House of Representatives, Coons’ office said in a statement on Monday. Why it’s important Democratic and Republican US lawmakers said last week they expected the US Senate would eventually vote on legislation seeking to rein in Trump’s ability to attempt to seize Greenland from Denmark, a long-time US ally. Trump has repeatedly said Washington must own Greenland to prevent Russia or China from occupying the strategically located and minerals-rich Arctic territory. He says a US military presence there is not enough. “One way or the other we are going to take Greenland,” Trump has said while adding he would pre... -
Dawn - 08:29 Jan 13, 2026
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Pakistan on Tuesday agreed to sign a formal agreement on “pre-immigration clearance” for Pakistani nationals visiting the Gulf country, said a statement by the Ministry of Interior. The agreement, when signed, will enable Pakistani nationals to bypass lengthy immigration processes upon arrival in the UAE. The decision was made in a meeting between Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and a delegation from the UAE, led by Director General of Customs and Port Security Ahmed Bin Lahij Al Falasi, the press release said. “The immigration process for the passengers will be completed in Pakistan before travel,” Naqvi was quoted as saying. He added that with the implementation of the system, Pakistani nationals will be able to bypass lengthy immigration processes upon arrival in the UAE. “They will be able to exit the airport directly like domestic passengers,” said Naqvi. The interior minister detailed that the system will be launched as a pilot project, with the first phase set to begin... -
Dawn - 07:29 Jan 13, 2026
The work on the Main Line-1 (ML-1) railway project is expected to begin in July 2026 from the Karachi Port, said Minister of Railways Hanif Abbasi on Tuesday. The ML-1 project aims to upgrade and modernise key infrastructure to enhance freight and passenger connectivity from Karachi to Peshawar. Last month, a review meeting on the key Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) projects was also informed that the project will begin in July this year. According to a press release issued today, Abbasi, in a meeting with the Chairman Karachi Port Trust (KPT) Rear Admiral (retd) Shahid Ahmed, on January 9, said that the construction of the project will begin from the Karachi Port, starting in July. During the meeting, he informed chairman KPT that under the project, a 54-kilometre railway section from “KPT to Pipri will be upgraded to ensure seamless cargo movement”. The two also discussed “measures for strengthening the railway system for efficient cargo transportation from Karachi Port”. Reduction of congestion ... -
Dawn - 06:57 Jan 13, 2026
Beijing has rejected New Delhi’s claim over the Shaksgam valley in Kashmir and said that the territory “belongs to China”. At a press conference on Monday, when asked by the Press Trust of India (PTI) for comment on the Indian criticism of China’s infrastructure development projects in the Shaksgam valley, China‘s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said that it was “fully justified” for China to conduct infrastructure construction “on its own territory”. “The territory you mentioned belongs to China,” she said. India’s foreign ministry spokesperson had on Friday said that it reserved the right to take necessary measures to safeguard its interests as the Shaksgam valley was “an Indian territory”. “We have never recognised the so-called China-Pakistan boundary agreement that happened in 1963. We have consistently maintained that the agreement is illegal and invalid,” he said at a press conference in response to a question from India’s state-owned public television broadcaster Doordashan. The Indian spokespe... -
Dawn - 05:29 Jan 13, 2026
Afghanistan’s Taliban government has appointed its first senior official in India since the group returned to power in 2021, charged with leading their embassy in Delhi. India has not officially recognised the Taliban government, but the move signals a deepening engagement, with New Delhi seeking to exploit divisions between Islamabad and Kabul. Noor Ahmad Noor, a Taliban foreign ministry official, assumed responsibility as charge d’affaires, and has already held meetings with Indian officials, the embassy said in a statement. “Both sides emphasised the importance of strengthening Afghanistan-India relations,” the Afghan Embassy said, in a post on X late Monday. India has not commented, but the Afghan embassy posted a photograph of Noor with senior Indian foreign ministry official Anand Prakash. The Taliban’s strict interpretation of Islamic law may appear an unlikely match for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government, but India has sought to seize the opening. Nuclear-armed rivals India an... -
Dawn - 04:54 Jan 13, 2026
• Several neighbourhoods have to make do without gas for four days straight as temperatures drop to single digits • Households turn to costly LPG cylinders • PPP senator seeks PM’s intervention • SSGC says shortfall from two fields reaches 45MMcf/d KARACHI: The gas crisis that Karachiites have been facing for the past four days further intensified on Monday, as several neighbourhoods remained completely without gas, while other areas struggled with critically low gas pressure. While office-goers, schoolchildren and other people continue to endure the cold-induced agony of a crippled gas supply, the gas utility concedes the problem, saying it experienced a reduction in gas supply from one more field. City’s minimum average temperature remained in the single digit as the Met Office said it was 8.1 degrees Celsius on Monday. Residents across the city said that the winter freeze had once again exposed the complete failure of the gas utility’s distribution infrastructure and system, turning everyday life into a co... -
Dawn - 03:19 Jan 13, 2026
LAHORE: Despite the passage of about three months, law enforcement agencies (LEAs) remain in the dark about the whereabouts of Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) chief Saad Hussain Rizvi and his brother Anas Rizvi. The issue resurfaced a couple of days ago, after an alleged statement attributed to the proscribed religious outfit surfaced, claiming that both were “in the custody of agencies”. However, senior law enforcement officials are sticking to their earlier stance, maintaining that the two are hiding somewhere in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). They said the Rizvi brothers had fled on the day the Punjab police launched a pre-dawn operation in Muridke to dismantle the TLP protest camp along G.T. Road. “I give you my word that they are not in the custody of any security agency and are still in AJK. They are most likely sheltered by a loyal worker of the banned organisation somewhere in the hilly areas,” said a senior officer. Talking to Dawn, he rejected the alleged TLP statement, terming it a “false, funny an... -
Dawn - 02:46 Jan 13, 2026
ISLAMABAD: The government has planned to announce an ‘export emergency’ in the country and create a special cell at PM Office to address problems and complaints of the business community on an urgent basis for increasing exports by 40pc in four years and by around 200pc by 2035 for sustainable economic growth and job creation. “We will have to transform the entire system and become an export nation on an emergency basis, otherwise, the dependence on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and friendly countries for financial support would continue,” said Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal at a news conference on Monday. He conceded the country’s export performance in first four months (July-October) was not satisfactory even though exports grew by around 1pc. He also said there were genuine questions and impatience why GDP was not growing fast quickly but it was a pragmatism decision of the government not to rush for growth through consumerism as was done by the previous government in 2022. To ga... -
Dawn - 02:26 Jan 13, 2026
• CJ Aminuddin inaugurates building, resumes hearing on super tax petitions • Lawyers complain about lack of facilities • CJP Afridi opens advocates’ room, Litigant Facilitation Centre at SC ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court finally settled into its newly renovated building on Constitution Avenue on Monday, where FCC Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan presided over a bench to resume hearing challenges to the imposition of the super tax inside the refurbished Courtroom No. 1. Before the hearing, Justice Aminuddin Khan inaugurated the new court building in a simple ceremony attended by Justices Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Aamir Farooq, Ali Baqar Najafi and K.K. Agha, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan, Supreme Court Bar Association President Haroonur Rashid, FCC Registrar Hafeez Khan, along with lawyers and staff of the new establishment. The FCC has a total sanctioned strength of 13 judges. Soon after its establishment, the FCC was shifted to the Islamabad High Co... -
Dawn - 18:51 Jan 12, 2026
The government on Monday withdrew an ordinance which the PPP alleged was promulgated without the approval of President Asif Ali Zardari, hours after the latter staged a walkout from the National Assembly to express its displeasure. Sources told Dawn that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had forwarded a summary advising President Zardari to withdraw the Special Economic Zones (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026. In his remarks during the year’s first NA session, PPP’s Naveed Qamar had not specified which ordinance was promulgated without the president’s approval when he led a walkout by the party, saying it would not participate in proceedings until the situation was addressed. Sources in the PPP, however, had confirmed to Dawn he was referring to an ordinance related to special economic zones. Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, meanwhile, said that nowadays there was an e-office through which files were approved online. “This ordinance was also approved. Staff to staff, it was considered approved,” he said in a statement. ... -
Dawn - 18:34 Jan 12, 2026
Tech giants Apple and Google on Monday announced a multi-year partnership that will see Apple’s next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) features, including its Siri assistant, be powered by Google’s Gemini technology. The collaboration marks a significant shift for Apple, which has traditionally developed its core technologies in-house. A joint statement said Apple selected Google’s AI technology after a “careful evaluation” determined it provided “the most capable foundation” for the iPhone-maker’s AI ambitions. The announcement represents a rare alliance between two companies that have long competed in the smartphone market, where Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android operating systems dominate globally. However, the two rivals have maintained a lucrative partnership for years, with Google paying Apple billions of dollars annually to remain the default search engine on iPhones and other Apple devices. That arrangement has faced scrutiny from regulators, with the US Justice Department arguing in an antitrust... -
Dawn - 17:58 Jan 12, 2026
Indonesia has expressed its desire to further expand defence ties with Pakistan across multiple domains, the military’s media affairs wing said on Monday. The development came as Indonesian Defence Minister Lieutenant General (retd) Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin called on Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said. “The meeting focused on matters of mutual interest, evolving regional and global security dynamics, and exploration of avenues for enhancing bilateral defence cooperation,” it said. “Both sides underscored the importance of strengthening institutional linkages, training collaboration and defence industrial cooperation between Pakistan and Indonesia,” it added. “The visiting dignitary lauded the professionalism of Pakistan’s armed forces and acknowledged their sacrifices in the fight against terrorism. He also expressed Indonesia’s desire to further expand defence ties with Pakistan ... -
Dawn - 17:49 Jan 12, 2026
An Indian rocket carrying 16 loads of equipment and experiments, including an earth surveillance satellite, went off track after lift-off on Monday in a fresh setback to the workhorse launch vehicle of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It was a second disappointment for the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle in about eight months, denting its reputation for reliability, with a more than 90 per cent success rate over about 60 past missions. The PSLV-C62 lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on the island of Sriharikota at 10:18am local time, carrying the EOS-N1 observation satellite and 15 other payloads developed by startups and academic institutions in India and abroad. The ISRO’s mission control said the rocket performed normally for most of the flight before an unexpected disturbance and deviation from its path. “The PSLV-C62 mission encountered an anomaly during the end of the PS3 stage. A detailed analysis has been initiated,” ISRO said in a statement, without giving further details on ... -
Dawn - 17:12 Jan 12, 2026
Greenland’s government on Monday said it could not accept a US takeover of the Arctic island under “any circumstance”, after US President Donald Trump said that the United States would take the territory “one way or the other”. Trump has repeatedly threatened to bring the island under US control, arguing that the Danish autonomous territory is crucial for national security. He reiterated that the United States must own Greenland, an autonomous part of the Kingdom of Denmark, to prevent Russia or China from occupying the strategically located and minerals-rich territory in the future. “The United States has once again reiterated its desire to take over Greenland. This is something that the governing coalition in Greenland cannot accept under any circumstances,” the Greenlandic government said in a statement. On Sunday, Trump warned that if the United States didn’t take Greenland, “Russia or China will, and I’m not letting that happen”. The US leader said he would be open to making a deal with the Danish self-g... -
Dawn - 16:32 Jan 12, 2026
Iran, which has accused the US and Israel of fomenting the ongoing unrest in the Middle Eastern country, said on Monday it strongly condemned “interventionist statements” by US President Donald Trump and other officials regarding its internal affairs. Trump has warned Tehran of strikes over the crackdown on the protests and also said on Sunday that he was weighing a range of strong responses, including military options, to action against protesters. Iran’s latest condemnation of his statements came in a press release titled “Fact Sheet on Recent Protests in Iran”, which was shared by the Iranian embassy in Islamabad on the social media platform X. In the statement, Tehran expressed “deep concern regarding overt and increasing foreign interference in the country’s internal affairs and recent protests”. “The Islamic Republic of Iran strongly condemns the interventionist statements made by the president of the United States of America and other American officials,” it said. “Such coercive and unlawful positions ... -
Dawn - 16:07 Jan 12, 2026
DERA ISMAIL KHAN/LAKKI MARWAT: Six cops were martyred on Monday as police vehicles were targeted in two separate incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Tank and Lakki Marwat districts. “Six policemen were martyred in the IED blast,” said a statement from the Tank police spokesperson, adding that their armoured personnel carrier (APC) was targeted within the jurisdiction of the Gomal police station. “The blast occurred while the APC was on its way to Tank from the Gomal police station,” the statement added. The martyred included an additional station house officer (SHO), the police spokesperson said. The bodies were taken to the Tank District Headquarters Hospital by Rescue 1122. Police have sealed off the area and a “massive” security operation was underway, state-run APP reported. Separately, another IED blast took place near Darra Tang road in Lakki Marwat, which injured three police personnel, according to APP. According to a police statement, which did not specify the number of the wounded, a SHO and “police p... -
Dawn - 16:05 Jan 12, 2026
ISLAMABAD: The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) recommended on Monday that three ad hoc judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and one of the Balochistan High Court (BHC) be made permanent. The decision was taken during a meeting of the JCP — the key judicial body responsible for appointing judges to the superior judiciary — chaired by Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi. A press release issued by the Supreme Court of Pakistan after the meeting said: “The commission also recommended, by majority, the confirmation of the following additional judges as judges of the Islamabad High Court … after due consideration of the relevant data form, antecedents and evaluation of material placed before it.” The commission has recommended the confirmation of Additional Judges Muhammad Azam Khan, Muhammad Asif and Inaam Ameen Minhas of the IHC. “Similarly, the commission also recommended, by consensus of the present members, the confirmation of Justice Najamuddin Mengal, additional judge, as judge of the High Court... -
Dawn - 16:04 Jan 12, 2026
PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati has requested the Peshawar Corps Commander to give an in-camera briefing on military operations being carried out in the province’s merged districts, it emerged on Monday. In a letter dated January 8, a copy of which is available with Dawn, the speaker said that the KP Assembly had constituted a 40-member special house committee on September 8, 2025 to examine the overall security situation in KP. Swati said that the committee comprised more than 40 members, including the leader of the house, the leader of the opposition, provincial ministers, parliamentary leaders of respective political parties and members of the KP Assembly, reflecting a “broad-based and representative forum of the house”. The speaker said that in pursuance of the committee’s mandate, it had received detailed briefings from key stakeholders — including from the chief secretary, the additional chief secretary of the Home and Tribal Affairs Department and the provincial police ...
8064 items