Dawn
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Dawn - 11:30 Apr 01, 2026
A significant reduction of 35 per cent in combat-related fatalities was recorded across Pakistan during the month of March, coinciding with Operation Ghazab lil-Haq, according to monthly statistics released by a think tank. Data released by Islamabad-based Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) showed that a total of 331 people were killed in March compared to 506 in February, marking a 35pc decline in overall combat-related deaths. PICSS also observed a decline in high-profile militant attacks, even as the overall number of attacks increased during the month. It noted that the reduction in human losses coincided with Pakistan’s cross-border military strikes under Operation Ghazab lil-Haq, which began in the last week of February and targeted terrorist positions in Afghanistan. “The timing suggests these operations may have contributed to disrupting militant capacity and reducing the lethality of attacks,” the report noted. It added that in response to these strikes, groups including Teh... -
Dawn - 11:23 Apr 01, 2026
Security forces killed 13 terrorists in two separate engagements in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said a statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Wednesday. The military’s media wing said the engagement took place on March 30 and 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. During the first intelligence-based operation (IBO) conducted in the Bara area of Khyber district, security forces killed 10 terrorists. “During the conduct of operation, own troops effectively engaged khawarij location and after an intense fire exchange, 10 khawarij were sent to hell,” said the ISPR. In another IBO conducted in the Bannu district of the province, three terrorists were killed by security forces. “Sanitisation operations are being conducted to eliminate any other Indian-sponsored kharji found in the area, as the relentless Counter Terrorism campaign under vision ‘Azm-e-Istehkam’ (as approved ... -
Dawn - 10:56 Apr 01, 2026
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) on Wednesday directed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi to respond within 10 days to a petition seeking to prevent the mobilisation or activation of a “release force” for jailed PTI founder Imran Khan. Headed by FCC Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan, a three-judge bench also issued notices to respondents in the petition, namely the KP government, the PTI, the federal government and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). The proposed force was announced by CM Afridi in February after a days-long protest to secure a meeting with Imran failed to budge the government. It aims to continue the party’s struggle for the release of its founder, who has been imprisoned in Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail since Aug 5, 2023. In the petition filed before the FCC, Advocate Ali Nawaz Kharal has contended that he was filing the plea in the public interest and seeking the court’s intervention to prevent the formation or mobilisation of any private force or militia in viol... -
Dawn - 10:43 Apr 01, 2026
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has conveyed Beijing’s appreciation for Pakistan’s “active diplomatic role” and efforts towards ending the Middle East conflict, the Foreign Office (FO) said on Wednesday. Wang made the remarks during his meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar in Beijing on Tuesday, where the two sides had issued a five-point initiative for restoring peace in the Middle East. Referring to their discussions, the FO said in a statement, “The meeting was marked by traditional warmth and cordiality. Both dignitaries exchanged notes on the regional developments in West Asia as well as bilateral relations.” Dar briefed Wang in detail on Pakistan’s continued efforts towards the cessation of the Middle East conflict and resumption of dialogue, including its recent quadrilateral meeting in Islamabad with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Egypt. According to the FO, both sides “reviewed the regional security environment and expressed deep concern over its seri... -
Dawn - 10:05 Apr 01, 2026
Police in Spain said on Wednesday that they were investigating “Islamophobic and xenophobic” chants heard during the Spain-Egypt international football match in Barcelona. Egypt’s national anthem was jeered ahead of the 0-0 draw in Barcelona on Tuesday in a pre-World Cup friendly and authorities at the RCDE Stadium appealed to fans more than once over the public announcement system to refrain from making offensive comments. It was the latest in a string of similar incidents to overshadow Spanish football in recent years, with Real Madrid’s Brazilian attacker Vinicius Junior in particular repeatedly racially abused. “We are investigating yesterday’s Islamophobic and xenophobic chants at RCDE Stadium during the Spain-Egypt friendly match,” Catalonia’s regional police force, the Mossos d’Esquadra, wrote on X. The announcement came shortly after Spain’s Justice Minister Felix Bolanos condemned the incident, saying that “racist insults and chants embarrass us as a society”. “The far right will not leave any space ... -
Dawn - 10:05 Apr 01, 2026
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif discussed investment opportunities and the promotion of the digital economy with Kaan Terzioglu, chief executive officer of VEON Group — a telecommunications and digital services company, state-run PTV said on X. During a meeting with the VEON Group CEO at PM House, the prime minister “emphasised the promotion of digital investment in Pakistan”, the broadcaster said. In the meeting, the prime minister outlined the successful auction of the 5G spectrum that was held last month, with 480 megahertz (MHz) sold for $507 million. The three bidders — Zong, Jazz and Ufone — had competed for the 2,600MHz band, a key frequency range for 5G services. Zong acquired 110MHz, Ufone 180MHz and Jazz 190MHz during the auction. During the meeting, PM Shehbaz also shared details of the government’s initiatives to digitise the economy by ensuring transparency and increasing youth participation in the IT sector, PTV added. Terzioglu lauded the investment opportunities in Pakistan and the government’s ... -
Dawn - 08:59 Apr 01, 2026
Coach Graham Arnold challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico on Tuesday. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and will play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali Al-Hamadi and Aymen Hussein secured a famous win for Iraq, whose last appearance at the World Cup came at Mexico in 1986. “With everything going on in the Middle East at the moment it made it harder for the players,” said the Australian Arnold, who had initially sought to have the fixture postponed due to the disruption caused by the conflict. “Delighted for the players, very good boys, very happy for the 46 million Iraqis,” he added. “Hopefully, it will help change the perception of Iraq and the football in Iraq. Doing something in the World Cup nobody expects us to do. “Let’s shoc... -
Dawn - 08:43 Apr 01, 2026
PESHAWAR: Renowned urologist Dr Asif Malik was seriously injured after unidentified assailants opened fire at him in the city’s University Town area last night, hospital and police officials said on Wednesday. Asif, a pioneer of kidney transplants in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, was shifted to Peshawar General Hospital (PGH) and was under treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU). A statement issued by city police stated that an investigation team recovered three empty bullet shells of a pistol from the spot near Asif’s home, adding that a case had been registered on the urologist’s behalf. “CCTV footage is being obtained, and teams have been assigned the task to arrest those behind the attack,” City Police spokesperson Alam Khan told Dawn. “Dr Asif Malik is stable,” the PGH, where he offers his services, confirmed in a statement on Facebook. “The matter is being handled by the relevant authorities, and we are fully cooperating with them,” the hospital said. It requested the public to respect the privacy of Dr Asif a... -
Dawn - 06:59 Apr 01, 2026
A Russian An-26 military transport plane crashed into a cliff in Crimea, killing 29 people on board, due to a possible technical malfunction, Russia’s defence ministry said early on Wednesday, according to news agencies. TASS news agency, quoting the ministry, said communication with the aircraft was lost at about 6pm local time (8pm PKT) on Tuesday on a planned flight over Crimea. “The defence ministry reported that a search team found the site of the catastrophe,” TASS reported. “According to a report from the site, six crew members and 23 passengers on board were killed.” The ministry report made no mention of any survivors on the An-26, a light tactical military transport that has for decades been a mainstay that can carry cargo and up to 40 passengers over short and medium distances. “There was no impact on the aircraft,” TASS quoted the ministry as saying, implying that objects like missiles, drones and birds were not involved. “The preliminary cause of the crash is a technical malfunction. A commission... -
Dawn - 06:08 Apr 01, 2026
Anthropic accidentally released part of the internal source code for its AI-powered coding assistant Claude Code due to “human error”, the company said on Tuesday. An internal-use file mistakenly included in a software update pointed to an archive containing nearly 2,000 files and 500,000 lines of code, which were quickly copied to developer platform GitHub. “Earlier today, a Claude Code release included some internal source code. No sensitive customer data or credentials were involved or exposed,” an Anthropic spokesperson said. “This was a release packaging issue caused by human error, not a security breach.” A post on X sharing a link to the leaked code had more than 29 million views early on Wednesday. The exposed code related to the tool’s internal architecture but does not contain confidential data from Claude, the underlying AI model by Anthropic. Claude Code’s source code was partially known, as the tool had been reverse-engineered by independent developers. An earlier version of the assistant had its... -
Dawn - 19:17 Mar 31, 2026
ISLAMABAD: Government officials said during a public hearing on Tuesday that liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies were under force majeure and not available for power generation. Force majeure is a clause included in contracts that allows a party to be excused from its obligations due to circumstances that are beyond its control. The officials’ revelation during the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) hearing thus means that LNG supplies were unavailable due to circumstances that were beyond the relevant parties’ control. Responding to questions, Central Power Purchasing Agency (CCPA) Chief Executive Officer Rehan Akhtar said LNG supplies were currently under force majeure, but he assured that coal supplies — another source for power generation — through imports were not facing any problems as they mostly came from South Africa and Indonesia, and were unaffected by disruptions in the Middle East. LNG-based power plants have a generation capacity of more than 4,500 megawatts. An almost a month... -
Dawn - 16:52 Mar 31, 2026
Fear for her son’s fate kept Maisoun Shawamreh awake through the night in the occupied West Bank following the Israeli parliament’s approval of a law permitting the execution of Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks. “The mothers of prisoners — none of us slept last night,” Shawamreh told AFP as she joined a protest in Ramallah against the law on Tuesday. Her son has been in detention for three years, awaiting sentencing on charges of attempted murder. “He may or may not be subject to execution,” she said, uncertain of what lies ahead. Relatives of Palestinian prisoners hold placards and shout slogans during a rally in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Nablus on March 31, 2026, against a bill approved by Israel’s parliament that would allow the execution of Palestinians convicted on terror charges for deadly attacks. — AFP Under the new law, passed in parliament late Monday, Palestinians in the occupied West Bank convicted by military courts of carrying out deadly attacks classified as “terrorism” wil... -
Dawn - 16:11 Mar 31, 2026
Pakistan and China on Tuesday issued a five-point initiative for restoring peace and stability in the Gulf and the Middle East amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, in which they called on the immediate cessation of hostilities and starting peace talks as soon as possible. The development came as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar undertook a one-day visit to Beijing at the invitation of China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, for “in-depth discussions on regional developments”, according to the Foreign Office (FO). In a statement released after the meeting, the FO said the two reviewed the situation in the Gulf and Middle East region and put forward five points. Both countries called for the “immediate cessation of hostilities and utmost efforts to prevent the conflict from spreading”. Humanitarian assistance must be allowed to all war-affected areas, the statement said. The two countries also called for starting peace talks as soon as possible. “Sovereignty, territorial integrity, national independen... -
Dawn - 15:59 Mar 31, 2026
On the 32nd day of the US-Israel war against Iran, the evolving dynamics of the conflict reinforced the sense that it has become a deep war of attrition, where sustained allied military pressure on Iranian infrastructure has so far failed to deliver it a clear strategic advantage. Meanwhile, Tehran’s ability to impose asymmetric costs, particularly through maritime disruption and coordinated proxy action, has continued to shape the broader trajectory, leaving diplomatic efforts active but stalled amid maximalist positions on both sides. Over the past 24 hours, US and Israeli forces intensified precision and standoff strikes, with bunker buster munitions targeting Iran’s Isfahan region, including the Badr military airbase and an adjacent ammunition depot, which triggered large secondary explosions. Power outages were also reported in parts of Tehran, as Washington projected confidence that a significant portion of Iran’s air defence and missile infrastructure has been degraded. Members of the Iranian Red Cresc... -
Dawn - 15:47 Mar 31, 2026
ISLAMABAD: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) on Tuesday notified a whopping 35 per cent increase in Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) rates, jacking up the cost of an 11.8kg domestic cylinder by Rs924 for April as a consequence of a surge in the global market In a notification, the authority set the price of LPG at Rs304.15 per kg for April against Rs225.84 per kg in March. As such, the price of an 11.8kg domestic cylinder was set at Rs3,588.60 for April against Rs2,664.88 in March. As per the Ogra calculation, the producer price of LPG (which comprises 40pc propane and 60pc butane) was determined at Rs262,817.53 per tonne for April against Rs184,537 per tonne in March. The new price included an excise duty of Rs85 per tonne. Therefore, the producer price for an 11.8kg cylinder was worked out at Rs3,101.25 for April against Rs2,177.54 in March. This also included a petroleum levy of Rs4,669 per tonne and 18pc general sales tax (GST) at Rs40,091, which was Rs26,552.94 in March. For the consumer price, an... -
Dawn - 15:36 Mar 31, 2026
ISLAMABAD: Showing cautious optimism over Pakistan’s short-term economic outlook, the finance ministry on Tuesday warned that rising global oil prices due to the US-Israel war on Iran posed risks to the country’s import bill and macroeconomic conditions in the long-term. “Rising global oil prices and potential supply chain disruptions may exert pressure on industrial input costs”, said the Ministry of Finance in its Monthly Economic Update and Outlook, with the estimated rate of inflation growing by up to 8.5 per cent for the month. It said the near-term outlook for the country’s economy remained cautiously optimistic despite emerging geopolitical risks. Recent data indicated improving momentum in the industrial sector, with higher imports of textile machinery, transport and construction-related inputs, likely to translate into higher domestic industrial activity. The finance ministry said the government was actively pursuing prudent measures, including maintaining adequate petroleum reserves, managing energy... -
Dawn - 15:20 Mar 31, 2026
LAHORE: A sessions court on Tuesday ordered singer Meesha Shafi to pay singer-cum-actor Ali Zafar Rs5 million in damages. The court issued a short order in a defamation case filed against Shafi by Zafar for levelling allegations of sexual harassment. According to a copy of the short order — available with Dawn — the court found that that a social media post and an interview in Instep Today “contain false, defamatory and injurious imputations against the plaintiff (Zafar), whereby allegations of sexual harassment of a physical nature were levelled, which have not been proved to be true or made for public good, and thus constitute actionable defamation”. It noted that Zafar was entitled to compensatory damages on account of damage to reputation, dignity and mental anguish. However, it noted that the claim of special damages “has not been proved through cogent and reliable evidence”. “Accordingly, a sum of Rs5,000,000 … is awarded to the plaintiff as general damages only, recoverable from the defendant,” the ord... -
Dawn - 15:15 Mar 31, 2026
KHYBER: The Torkham border in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was reopened on Tuesday for the repatriation of undocumented Afghans. The frontier, which connects KP with Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province, was last opened on Thursday for the repatriation of Afghans after a month-long closure following the launch of Operation Ghazab lil-Haq. However, the repatriation process was suspended only 12 hours after it was permitted when a security official was injured in a firing incident from the Afghan side. Officials at Torkham earlier said that, upon a strong protest from Pakistan and a matching response by the border security forces, the Afghan authorities regretted the earlier incident and requested officials in Pakistan to resume the repatriation process. They said that after assessing the security situation along the Torkham, relevant departments had been directed to resume the implementation of the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan (IFRP) from March 31 (today). On Tuesday, the border was reopened after security o... -
Dawn - 14:56 Mar 31, 2026
King Charles will make a state visit to the United States in late April, Buckingham Palace said on Tuesday, a high-profile trip that the British government hopes will help to repair relations with President Donald Trump, damaged by the war on Iran. Charles and his wife Queen Camilla will visit the US in a long-planned trip to mark the 250th anniversary of that country’s independence from British rule, before the couple visits Bermuda. “Their majesties’ programme will celebrate the historic connections and the modern bilateral relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States,” Buckingham Palace said, adding the trip was being made on the advice of the British government. It will be the first state visit by a British monarch since 2007, when Charles’ mother Queen Elizabeth made what was the fourth such US trip of her reign. Trump said the king and queen’s visit would begin on April 27 with a banquet dinner at the White House the next day. “I look forward to spending time with the King, whom I great... -
Dawn - 14:54 Mar 31, 2026
LAHORE: A legislative bill seeking five years in prison for the perpetrators of forced conversions was formally submitted to the Punjab Assembly on Tuesday. Chairman of the Standing Committee on Minority Affairs, Falbous Christopher, submitted the Punjab Protection of the Rights of Religious Minorities Bill 2026. The bill will now be referred to the Standing Committee on Minority Affairs, where it will be discussed and reviewed. After this process, the bill can be tabled in the provincial assembly. Under the proposed bill, a copy of which is available with Dawn, perpetrators of forced conversion could face up to five years in prison as it formally defines forced conversion as a criminal offence. According to the bill, whoever “compels or attempts to compel” a person belonging to a religious minority with threats, undue influence and coercion to change their religion “shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to five years and with fine”. Voluntary conversions without such pressure were excluded. ...
10418 items