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Dawn - 12:18 Nov 19, 2025
Iran must “cooperate fully” with the UN’s nuclear watchdog, according to a draft resolution submitted to the agency’s board by Britain, France, Germany and the United States, and seen by AFP on Wednesday. Tensions between Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog have repeatedly flared in recent years, with relations being further strained in the wake of a 12-day war in June that saw Israeli and US strikes on key Iranian nuclear facilities. Since the war, agency inspectors have not been granted access to key nuclear sites such as Fordo and Natanz, which were hit in the strikes in June, but they have been able to visit other sites. The draft, which is expected to be voted on by the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) during its meeting this week, stresses that it is “imperative” for Iran to comply with its obligations under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. It also urges Iran to provide “access that the agency requests”. Last week, the IAEA called on Iran to allow it to verify its enriched uraniu... -
Dawn - 12:02 Nov 19, 2025
A report submitted to the US Congress has mentioned Pakistan’s “military success” over India during the four-day conflict in May this year. “Pakistan’s military success over India in its four-day clash showcased Chinese weaponry,” said a report submitted to the US Congress on Tuesday by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, formed to report on the national security implications of the bilateral trade and economic relationship between the US and China. Pakistan initially said it downed five Indian planes in air-to-air combat during the conflict, but later raised the tally to seven. Islamabad has denied any losses of its planes and says it hit 26 Indian targets after three air bases were targeted. US President Donald Trump, who continues to comment on the conflict, most recently said that eight planes were “essentially” shot down. In its annual report, the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission referred to the May conflict and said that China used it to “test and promote its own defenc... -
Dawn - 11:59 Nov 19, 2025
An additional district and sessions judge in Multan has sentenced to death the husband of the 20-year-old pregnant woman who was killed last year in Multan, it emerged on Wednesday. Sania Zehra — a mother of two — was found dead in her room on July 9 2024, hanging from a ceiling fan. Her father, Syed Asad Abbas, had claimed that her sudden death was not a suicide but an alleged murder. He said his daughter’s in-laws were disguising the murder as a suicide. A first information report (FIR) was registered at the New Multan police station on his complaint under Sections 148 (rioting armed with a deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly) and 302 (intentional murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). In a one-page court order, dated November 18 — a copy of which is available with Dawn — Additional Sessions judge Mohsin Ali Khan ruled that Syed Muhammad Ali Raza has been “duly convicted of the Qatal-i-Amd of Sania Zehra deceased,” and sentenced the convict to “death as Ta’zir under Section 302 (b) of the Pakistan Pen... -
Dawn - 11:34 Nov 19, 2025
A day after newly-elected Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore’s oath-taking, 18 legislators from the PPP were sworn in as ministers for his cabinet on Wednesday. The oath to the 18 ministers was administered at Aiwan-i-Sadr in Muzaffarabad by AJK Legislative Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar, who was substituting as the acting president due to the illness of AJK President Barrister Sultan Mahmood. Mahmood reportedly could not travel to the regional capital due to health issues. PM Rathore, as well as former AJK premiers Sardar Tanveer Ilyas and Haji Yaqoob Khan, were also present on the occasion. A large number of PPP workers and supporters, as well as several senior civil servants, also attended the ceremony. The newly-appointed ministers are Mian Abdul Waheed, Sardar Javed Ayoub, Javed Iqbal Budhanvi, Chaudhry Qasim Majeed, Amar Yasin, Sardar Ziaul Qamar, Syed Bazil Ali Naqvi, Nabila Ayub Khan, Deevan Ali Chughtai, Malik Zafar Iqbal, Chaudhry Arshad, Chaudhry Muhammad ... -
Dawn - 11:30 Nov 19, 2025
PTI says Imran’s sisters manhandled, ‘violently detained’ by police while camped outside Adiala jail
The PTI said late on Tuesday that police manhandled and “violently detained” the sisters of ex-premier Imran Khan from outside Adiala jail in Rawalpindi, where they were camped out after being denied a weekly meeting with the party founder. The PTI had held a protest outside the jail on Tuesday, where Imran is currently incarcerated, but the jail administration did not allow party leaders and the PTI founder’s family to meet him. Subsequently, the party held a sit-in outside the jail and criticised the prison administration for violating the court order in this regard. In a post on social media platform X after midnight, the party said Aleema Khan, Noreen Niazi and Dr Uzma Khan were “sitting peacefully” outside the jail when the police action happened. It added that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Government Minister Meena Khan Afridi, MNA Shahid Khattak and other party workers, including several women, were “subjected to violence and picked up by police”. “What should be routine weekly court-mandated family visits,... -
Dawn - 11:16 Nov 19, 2025
Minister for Climate Change Dr Musadik Malik on Wednesday said climate-induced disasters must be treated as a “political” priority as he detailed the long- and short-term strategies to mitigate losses and plan for the next year’s monsoon season. Monsoon rains fall across the region from June to September, offering respite from the summer heat and are crucial to replenish water supplies. However, heavy downpours also trigger deadly floods, landslides and displacement, particularly in vulnerable, poorly drained, or densely populated areas. Data from Punjab’s disaster management authority shows this year’s floods affected at least 4.7 million people across 4,700 villages. Speaking at a press conference with National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Lieutenant General Inam Haider Malik in Islamabad today, the climate change minister stated that “climate-induced disasters must be treated as a political priority,” noting that the 2022 floods alone caused losses exceeding 9 per cent of the GDP. “Since 2... -
Dawn - 08:15 Nov 19, 2025
Air India is lobbying the Indian government to convince China to let it use a sensitive military airspace zone in Xinjiang to shorten routes as the financial toll from a ban on Indian carriers flying over Pakistan mounts, a company document shows. The unusual request comes just weeks after direct India-China flights resumed after a five-year hiatus following a Himalayan border clash between the nations. Air India has been seeking to rebuild its reputation and international network after a London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed in Gujarat in June, killing 260 people and forcing it to briefly cut flights for safety checks. But that effort is being complicated by the closure of Pakistan airspace to Indian carriers since diplomatic tensions erupted in late April. For Air India, the country’s only carrier with a major international network, fuel costs have risen by as much as 29 per cent and journey times by up to three hours on some long-haul routes, according to the previously unreported document submitted t... -
Dawn - 08:00 Nov 19, 2025
A dramatic night of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup across the globe ended with joy and heartbreak in equal measure, and with 42 of the 48 teams at next year’s showpiece in the United States, Canada and Mexico now known. Scotland, in hair-raising fashion, and Austria, after snatching a late equaliser, ensured they will be appearing at the World Cup for the first time since 1998, joining Spain, Belgium and Switzerland as the final five of the 12 automatic qualifiers from Europe. Across the Atlantic, Curacao became the smallest country to ever win a berth at the finals, joining Haiti and Panama in locking up the three automatic berths from the North and Central American region. In Asia, Iraq kept their World Cup qualification dream alive with a penalty in the 17th minute of injury time to secure a place in the six-team inter-confederation play-off tournament in March. Bolivia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, New Caledonia, Suriname and Jamaica are the other teams in the playoff with two spots up for grabs. ... -
Dawn - 07:56 Nov 19, 2025
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said Saudi Arabia was being designated as a “major, non-Nato ally”. “Tonight, I’m pleased to announce that we’re taking our military cooperation to even greater heights by formally designating Saudi Arabia as a major non-Nato ally, which is something that is very important to them,” Trump said during a formal black-tie dinner at the White House. “And I’m just telling you now for the first time, because they wanted to keep a little secret for tonight,” Trump said of the designation, which only 19 other countries have previously received. View this post on Instagram According to Politico, the other countries in that category include Israel, Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar. The status provides a US partner with military and economic privileges but does not entail security commitments. US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June had made Saudi Arabia safer, Trump added. Meanwhile, bin Salman had earlier promised to increase his country’s US investment to $1 trillion from a $600 ... -
Dawn - 07:48 Nov 19, 2025
The Punjab prosecutor general has sought a mechanism to check existing and future faculty and staff for any sex offender records in an effort to combat sexual violence at educational institutions, it emerged on Wednesday. The proposal was made in a letter written on Tuesday by Punjab Prosecutor General Syed Farhad Ali Shah to the provincial Public Prosecution Department’s secretary, who will then forward the request to the federal law ministry. The letter noted that the Sex Offenders Register, a countrywide database maintained by the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra), was a “powerful tool in the fight against sexual violence and for the protection of the most vulnerable in our society”. However, Shah highlighted, there was a “critical gap in the safeguarding of educational institutions”. He contended that the full potential of the database for preventative measures remained “largely untapped, particularly in environments where children and young adults are most susceptible”. Therefore, the ... -
Dawn - 07:43 Nov 19, 2025
The Punjab government has formed 12 joint investigation teams (JITs) to probe several cases registered against the proscribed Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) in Lahore and Sheikhupura districts, it emerged on Wednesday. The teams were notified by the provincial home department in similar notifications, of which 11 are dated November 6 and one was issued on October 31. According to the notifications, seen by Dawn, the provincial government ordered the formation of five JITs under the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 for as many cases registered against the TLP in Sheikhupura district. Of these, four cases have been registered in Muridke tehsil and one in Ferozewala tehsil. Another seven JITs have been formed to carry out the investigation in as many cases registered in Lahore. Of these cases, three have been registered in the Nawankot area, three in Shahdara Town and one in the Ravi Road area. For the cases registered in Sheikhupura, each JIT will comprise six members, including a superintendent of police (SP), sub-di... -
Dawn - 02:22 Nov 19, 2025
ISLAMABAD: In a new twist to the solar debate, the government on Tuesday conceded that increasing net-metering solarisation has so far not had the negative impact on the national grid that is often claimed. “Solar generation is increasing, but this does not have a significant impact on the grid,” Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) CEO Rehan Akhtar said while testifying before the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra). Working under the Power Division, the CPPA is the key player responsible for the procurement of electricity from various sources and delivering to all distribution companies and handling their commercial affairs. He said the energy costs had led to a shift to solar power. “They are now consuming more due to solar availability but their offtake from the national grid has not changed. Their withdrawal from the grid is almost stable. They are drawing the same quantities they were drawing earlier,” he said, adding, however, that the same could not be predicted about the future. Ne... -
Dawn - 02:18 Nov 19, 2025
ISLAMABAD: The country has launched its first standardised bunkering operations at the Karachi Port, aligning Pakistan’s largest port with global maritime safety and operational standards. Bunkering at a port is the process of supplying ships with fuel (such as marine gas oil, heavy fuel oil, or alternative fuels like LNG) for propulsion and onboard machinery. It is a critical, tightly regulated operation that involves transferring fuel from land-based facilities, tanker trucks, or bunker vessels to the receiving ship’s fuel tanks. Maritime Affairs Minister Junaid Anwar Chaudhry on Tuesday said the initiative was launched to accelerate the modernisation of port services and a broader upgrade of Pakistan’s maritime infrastructure. He said the introduction of regulated bunkering would fill a long-standing gap in Karachi Port’s service offering, enabling it to compete more effectively with established bunkering hubs in the region and beyond. Vitol begins refuelling ships with its barge at Karachi Port as Cnergy... -
Dawn - 01:11 Nov 19, 2025
PAKISTAN’s jails are bursting at the seams with undertrial prisoners who endure horrific living conditions on the premises. Many spend years behind bars — far longer than the maximum sentence for their crime. Some, convicted by lower courts, are later acquitted by the higher judiciary. In this context, last month the Supreme Court overturned the convictions of two brothers, who had earlier been found guilty of carrying out the 2005 PIDC bomb attack in Karachi. In its detailed judgement issued last week, the court advised the federal and provincial governments to enact laws for the compensation and rehabilitation of “victims of miscarriage of justice” and to hold public officials accountable for dereliction of duty. The ruling exposes a deeply flawed parole and probation process due to a legal system that functions for the privileged not the poor. Courts should focus on setting time limits for both police investigations and the conclusion of trials. A report by NCHR, National Academy for Prisons Administration... -
Dawn - 19:07 Nov 18, 2025
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said Tuesday his country wanted to normalise relations with Israel through US President Donald Trump’s Abraham Accords, but first needed a “clear path” to Palestinian statehood. “We want to be part of the Abraham Accords. But we want also to be sure that we secure a clear path to a two-state solution,” the prince said in the Oval Office alongside Trump. “We’re going to work on that, to be sure that we can prepare the right situation as soon as possible,” he added. Trump said that he received a “positive response” from the Saudi crown prince about joining the Abraham Accords. The US president made the remarks in response to a question during a joint press conference with the Saudi Crown Prince, also known as MBS, during his visit to Washington. View this post on Instagram When asked about selling F-35 stealth fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, Trump replied in the affirmative, adding that they would be “pretty similar” to those owned by Israel, the jet’s sole operator in the M... -
Dawn - 18:21 Nov 18, 2025
Cloudflare, a content delivery network (CDN) and domain name server (DNS) service, said on Tuesday that it had implemented a fix and that the issue was now resolved following a global outage that affected access to web services worldwide “A fix has been implemented and we believe the incident is now resolved. We are continuing to monitor for errors to ensure all services are back to normal,” said an update from the CDN, whose network handles around a fifth of web traffic, posted at 7:42pm. It later said that some customers may be still experiencing issues logging into or using the Cloudflare dashboard. “We are working on a fix to resolve this, and continuing to monitor for any further issues,” it added. In a subsequent statement, Cloudfare said services were currently operating normally and it was no longer observing elevated errors or latency across the network. “Our engineering teams continue to closely monitor the platform and perform a deeper investigation into the earlier disruption, but no configuration... -
Dawn - 18:16 Nov 18, 2025
Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Tuesday said that Pakistan had moved past “bitter memories” and urged the forging of a new future with Bangladesh amid the recent warming of ties between the two countries. Ever since a popular uprising in Bangladesh toppled Sheikh Hasina’s government in August last year, there has been a thaw in ties between Islamabad and Dhaka, with trade and bilateral relations seeing a marked improvement. Fazl is currently on a visit to the country and called for stronger ties, telling a large religious gathering that a shared “unity of faith was a stronger bond between the two nations that cannot be abolished”. Addressing a gathering of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam members today at Dhaka’s Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre as the chief guest with several other Bengali political parties in attendance, Fazl said: “Pakistan wants Bangladesh’s prosperity and stability, has forgotten the bitter memories of the past.” He reiterated that the people of Pakista... -
Dawn - 17:43 Nov 18, 2025
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday met with senior Russian and Chinese leadership at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of Government summit, according to the Foreign Office (FO). The SCO is holding its Council of Heads of Government summit in Moscow from November 17 to 18. Taking place under Russia’s rotating presidency, the high-level meeting follows the landmark Tianjin summit three months earlier and comes at a pivotal moment for Eurasian economic connectivity in a shifting global order. At the heads of government gathering, Dar met Russian President Vladimir Putin, along with other SCO heads of state and senior officials. In a post on X, the FO said that Putin welcomed leaders to the summit in the Russian capital. He also “emphasised the importance of strengthening regional economic cooperation under the SCO, highlighting its role as a key platform for connectivity, stability, and mutually beneficial development across the region”. Dar also met Chine... -
Dawn - 16:54 Nov 18, 2025
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Tuesday that 38 terrorists were killed in four separate intelligence-based operations (IBOs) conducted over a period of three days in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In a statement, the military’s media affairs said that the operations were carried out between November 15 and 16, adding that the terrorists belonged to Indian proxy Fitna al Khawarij. Fitna al Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The first IBO was conducted by security forces in the Kulachi area of Dera Ismail Khan district, the ISPR said, adding that troops effectively engaged the terrorists’ location. As a result, ten terrorists, including kharji ringleader Alam Mehsud, were killed, it said. In another IBO conducted in Datta Khel in North Waziristan district, troops killed five more terrorists, the ISPR said. In a separate statement later in the day, the ISPR said two IBOs took place between November 16-17 in Bajaur district and Bannu ... -
Dawn - 16:08 Nov 18, 2025
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday called for Hamas to be expelled from the region, a day after the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) endorsed United States President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan that offers the Palestinian group amnesty. Netanyahu publicly endorsed the plan during a White House visit in late September. However, his latest remarks appear to show that there are differences with the US on the path forward. Hamas has also objected to parts of the plan. Diplomats say privately that entrenched positions on both the Israeli and Hamas sides have made it difficult to advance the plan, which lacks specific timelines or enforcement mechanisms. Still, it has received strong international backing, including from the Arab and Muslim countries that worked on it. Netanyahu on Tuesday published a series of posts on X in response to the UN vote. In one post, he applauded Trump and in another wrote the Israeli government believes the plan would lead to peace and prosperity because it calls f...
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