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Dawn - 13:13 Dec 30, 2025
A day after an eight-year-old boy drowned in an uncovered manhole in Karachi’s Mehran town, Mayor Murtaza Wahab urged people not to politicise the issue, saying that the child fell because the manhole cover “had been removed and put on the side”. According to the Edhi Foundation, the number of people who died after falling into open manholes and drains across the metropolis rose to 27 in the outgoing year of 2025. Eight of them are children, the data says. The child, identified as Dilbar, was playing outside his residence with other area children when the tragedy occurred, Korangi Senior Superintendent Police (SSP) Fida Husain Janwari told Dawn. Speaking to the media today, Mayor Wahab, in response to a fiery question about the issue of missing manhole covers, particularly the death of a child a day earlier and reports of missing covers on II Chundrigar Road, said: “The reports I have so far received from locals, I am in touch with the child’s family, indicate that it was not that there was no cover at all, b... -
Dawn - 12:49 Dec 30, 2025
A Saudi airstrike on what it said was a weapons shipment in Yemen on Tuesday marked the most significant escalation between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi to date. Once the twin pillars of regional security, the two Gulf heavyweights have seen their interests diverge on everything from oil quotas to geopolitical influence. Here is a timeline of how the relationship has evolved: 2011: As the Arab Spring spreads, the two form a unified front against extremist movements, deploying joint forces to Bahrain to quell an uprising and coordinating support for Egypts 2013 military overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood government. March, 2015: They launch a military intervention in Yemen to restore the government ousted by the Houthis rebels. UAE troops lead ground operations, while Saudi air power controls the skies. June, 2017: The allies lead a boycott of Qatar, accusing Doha of supporting terrorism, charges it denies. The move cements the alignment between Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) and UAE leader Sheikh Mohammed bi... -
Dawn - 12:31 Dec 30, 2025
Pakistan fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi has been forced to cut short his maiden Big Bash League stint after sustaining a knee injury while representing Brisbane Heat. The left-armer suffered a cartilage injury while fielding during Heat’s last-over victory against Adelaide Strikers at the Gabba on Saturday night. Following consultations between Brisbane Heat and the Pakistan Cricket Board’s medical staff, it was decided that Shaheen would return home for further treatment ahead of the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup, the club said in a statement on Tuesday. A PCB spokesperson confirmed to Dawn that Shaheen will return to Pakistan on Wednesday, adding that the seriousness of the injury and the potential recovery timeline will be determined after meetings with the board’s doctors upon his return. Shaheen expressed disappointment at leaving the tournament prematurely but thanked the franchise and its supporters for their hospitality. “I have enjoyed myself a lot playing for Brisbane and I am sad that I will not be a... -
Dawn - 12:20 Dec 30, 2025
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar exchanged views on “the current regional situation and recent developments” with his Saudi counterpart in a telephone call on Tuesday, according to the Foreign Office (FO). Both nations have a multifaceted relationship rooted in strategic military cooperation, mutual economic interests, and shared Islamic heritage. These ties have encompassed economic assistance and energy supplies, with Riyadh being a significant source of financial aid and oil for Islamabad. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia also signed a landmark mutual defence agreement in September this year, which outlined that an attack on one party would be treated as an attack on both. In a post on social media, the FO said that Dar expressed satisfaction with the positive trajectory of bilateral relations between Islamabad and Riyadh during the exchange, while Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan “reaffirmed his commitment to further strengthening and enhancing bilateral ties”. Dar also conveye... -
Dawn - 11:54 Dec 30, 2025
Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari on Tuesday staged a walkout during a Punjab Assembly session in solidarity with journalists who have been boycotting the provincial legislature over alleged “ill-treatment” during Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi’s visit to the assembly. During his three-day visit to Lahore over the weekend, the KP chief minister had given an address at the Punjab Assembly to opposition MPAs last week. However, the visit was marred by altercations between members of his entourage and security officials, while heated exchanges between PTI leaders and journalists were also witnessed. Speaking during the session today, Bokhari staged a walkout to show solidarity with journalists from the Punjab Assembly’s press gallery, who she said were “beaten and pushed around” by people accompanying the KP CM. During yesterday’s assembly session, a statement by opposition member Col. (retd) Shoaib Amir about the press gallery, calling them “sellouts”, also sparked outrage. “The whole wo... -
Dawn - 11:35 Dec 30, 2025
LAHORE: An election tribunal dismissed on Tuesday incarcerated PTI leader Yasmin Rashid’s petition that challenged PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif’s victory from Lahore’s NA-130 in the 2024 general elections. The tribunal, comprising retired Justice Rana Zahid Mahmood, dismissed Rashid’s plea on technical grounds. It said in its decision that the petitioner had failed to comply with the requirements under the Election Act, 2017 for filing an election petition. A written order of the tribunal is yet to be issued. Rashid had filed the petition challenging Nawaz’s victory notification on April 16, 2024. The petition argued that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had issued Sharif’s victory notification in violation of the law. Rashid requested in her plea to set aside the victory of the former prime minister and to declare her a returned candidate. She alleged that the ECP manipulated the election results to ensure her defeat. The ECP had issued the notification of Nawaz’s victory from NA-130 on February 13 la... -
Dawn - 09:33 Dec 30, 2025
In a meeting with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Tuesday, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi said that the Centre’s cooperation was vital for eliminating terrorism in the province. In a statement released on the social media platform X, the interior ministry said that Kundi called on the interior minister in Islamabad. It added that the two discussed security measures in KP’s border areas and ongoing operations against khawarij. Fitna al Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). According to the statement, the interior minister gave assurances of the government’s full cooperation for peace and security in KP. “Establishing peace in KP is the top priority,” he was quoted as saying. He said that the federal government was “prepared to provide support in this regard in every possible way”. “We appreciate the sacrifices made by the people of KP in the war against terrorism,” Naqvi said. “Fitna al Khawarij and their facilitators are be... -
Dawn - 09:32 Dec 30, 2025
The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) announced on Tuesday that it was resuming direct flights to London in March 2026 after a six-year hiatus. In a statement, the PIA spokesperson said the national flag carrier was increasing its flights to the United Kingdom. He said the airline would operate four weekly flights from Islamabad to London from March 29, 2026. He said that the flights would be operated from Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 4. “The flights are being resumed after a long gap of six years,“ he added. The spokesperson further said that London was the airline’s “first-ever” international destination and remained one of its most important routes. He maintained that the national carrier was already operating three weekly flights to Manchester. In June 2020, the European Union Air Safety Agency had barred PIA from operating in EU countries over safety concerns after a flight from Lahore to Karachi crashed near Jinnah International Airport, killing around 100 passengers. The ban on flights followed the ... -
Dawn - 09:01 Dec 30, 2025
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday condemned reports regarding the targeting of the residence of Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling it a “heinous act”. In a post on X, the prime minister said,“Pakistan condemns the reported targeting of the residence of His Excellency Vladimir Putin, president of the Russian Federation.” He said that such a “heinous act constitutes a grave threat to peace, security and stability, particularly at a time when efforts aimed at peace are underway”. “We reiterate our firm rejection of all forms of violence and acts intended to undermine security and threaten peace,” he said. While the premier did not mention any names, Russian has accused Ukraine of trying to attack Putin’s residence and vowed retaliation, a claim Kyiv dismissed as baseless and aimed at derailing arduous peace talks. The angry exchanges between the warring neighbours on Monday, including a statement by Russia that it was reviewing its stance in negotiations in response to the attack, dealt a new blow ... -
Dawn - 08:47 Dec 30, 2025
A dozen girls whizzed around an English karting track, part of a pioneering drive to draw women into motorsports and maybe even race to the top in male-dominated Formula 1. A special test day in October in Nottingham aimed to address a major gender gap in F1, one of the flashiest of sports. Italian Lella Lombardi was the last woman to compete in an F1 Grand Prix in 1976, and the absence of women on the circuit is linked to young girls’ limited exposure to motorsports, according to gender parity organisations. More Than Equal, a non-profit that supports women drivers, said girls start karting two years later than boys on average. Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton, for example, got into the format aged just eight. “These are the first steps that a girl could take,” Cameron Biggs, coaching and academy pathway manager at Motorsport UK, told AFP. “We’re really trying to join the dots between grassroots and elite.” Formula 1 is one of the world’s few non-segregated sports but is one of the most male-domninated.... -
Dawn - 08:26 Dec 30, 2025
ISLAMABAD: Arif Habib — chairman of the investment firm that headed the consortium that won the auction for a controlling stake in Pakistan International Airlines Corporation Ltd (PIACL) — has said the privatisaton of the national flag carrier would lead to an increase in employment in the airline as the new owners were looking to expand its business. An Arif Habib group-led consortium had won the auction for the airline with a bid of Rs135 billion last week after a competitive process, marking the country’s first major privatisation in nearly two decades. The investment firm‘s chairman spoke about the development on DawnNewsTV programme ‘Doosra Rukh’ — televised on Monday night — where he was asked about PIA employees’ concerns, reservations and protests regarding their jobs against the backdrop of the airline’s privatisaion. In response, Habib said the “number of staff [in the airline] was reasonable”, adding that the privatisation would in fact increase employment on the whole as an expansion was planned a... -
Dawn - 07:40 Dec 30, 2025
KARACHI: A first information report (FIR) has been registered against more than a dozen lawyers after YouTuber Rajab Butt was physically assaulted during a court appearance in Karachi on Monday, it emerged on Tuesday. On Monday, Butt was physically assaulted, allegedly by some lawyers, at the Karachi City Court premises during the hearing of his bail plea in a case registered against him for allegedly hurting religious sentiments. Butt’s lawyer, Mian Ali Ashfaq, said on X that “a few lawyers launched a life-threatening attack on him within the court premises”. A video of the incident showed Butt, clad in a shirt torn from places, moving through a crowd surrounding him. The FIR of the incident, a copy of which is available with Dawn, was subsequently registered on the complaint of Butt’s lawyer, Ashfaq. It named Advocate Riaz Ali Solangi, Advocate Abdul Fatah and “another 15-20 lawyers”. It should be mentioned that Solangi is also the complainant in the case registered against Butt for allegedly hurting religi... -
Dawn - 07:00 Dec 30, 2025
Bangladesh’s first female prime minister, Khaleda Zia, died after a prolonged illness, her opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) said on Tuesday. Khaleda, aged 80, had advanced cirrhosis of the liver, arthritis, diabetes, chest and heart problems, her doctors said. “The BNP chairperson and former prime minister, the national leader Begum Khaleda Zia, passed away today at 6:00am (0000 GMT), just after the Fajr prayer,” the party said in a statement. “We pray for the forgiveness of her soul and request everyone to offer prayers for her departed soul,” it added. Interim leader Muhammad Yunus said Bangladesh “has lost a great guardian”. “Through her uncompromising leadership, the nation was repeatedly freed from undemocratic conditions and inspired to regain liberty,” the Nobel Peace Prize winner said in a statement. “I pray for the eternal peace and forgiveness of Begum Khaleda Zia’s soul,” ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina said, in a statement on social media by her now banned Awami League party. Desp... -
Dawn - 06:10 Dec 30, 2025
A father and son accused of a mass shooting at Australia’s Bondi Beach “acted alone” and were not part of a wider terrorist cell, police said on Tuesday. Sajid Akram and his son Naveed allegedly killed 15 people in an ISIS-inspired attack targeting a Jewish festival on December 14. The pair travelled to the southern Philippines in the weeks before shooting, fuelling suspicions they may be linked to extremists. Australian Federal Police commissioner Krissy Barrett said so far, this did not appear to be the case. “These individuals are alleged to have acted alone,” she told reporters. “There is no evidence to suggest these alleged offenders were part of a broader terrorist cell, or were directed by others to carry out the attack.” Barrett said police would continue to probe why the pair travelled to the city of Davao, where CCTV showed they barely left their budget hotel. “I want to be clear. I am not suggesting they were there for tourism,” she said. Police believe the duo “meticulously planned” the attack for... -
Dawn - 04:47 Dec 30, 2025
Several countries, including Pakistan, at the United Nations have questioned whether Israel’s move to recognise Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland is aimed at forcibly relocating Palestinians from Gaza or to establish military bases. Pakistan has stated that Israel’s “unlawful recognition” is “deeply troubling” against the backdrop of previous references to it being a “destination for the deportation of Palestinian people, especially from Gaza”. The remarks were made by Pakistan’s Deputy UN Ambassador Muhammad Usman Iqbal Jadoon during a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) briefing on Israel’s recognition of Somaliland. Israel became the first country to recognise Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state on Friday. In his remarks, Jadoon said, “Against the backdrop of Israel’s previous references to ‘Somaliland’ of the Federal Republic of Somalia as a destination for the deportation of Palestinian people, especially from Gaza, its unlawful recognition of ‘Somaliland’ region is deeply troublin... -
Dawn - 04:40 Dec 30, 2025
KARACHI: A major terror plot was thwarted by law enforcers in the city on Monday as they rescued a school-going teenage girl who had been radicalised through social media by an outlawed militant group and was being prepared for a suicide attack in Karachi. This was shared by Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hasan Lanjar during a press conference at the Central Police Office. The minister said that the girl was detained during routine checking by police on the outskirts of Karachi and during the investigation, she revealed the details of the potential terror attack. Mr Lanjar said that the girl belonged to an ordinary family in Balochistan and had been radicalised by anti-state elements through social media before being recruited by a banned group. She was shown fictitious heroic stories of past suicide bombers and was trained through WhatsApp groups to carry out a suicide attack in Karachi. However, law enforcers “foiled the terrorists’ nefarious designs by rescuing her in time,” he added. He also said that the girl... -
Dawn - 02:55 Dec 30, 2025
• Environment ministry okays ‘run-of-the-river’ Dulhasti Stage II, to be built in held Kashmir • Indian govt forging ahead with several hydel projects in Indus basin after unilaterally suspending treaty • Water weaponisation in climate change-prone region ‘neither sane nor acceptable’, warns Sherry Rehman NEW DELHI / ISLAMABAD: India’s Ministry of Environment has been pondering clearances for a slew of controversial hydroelectric projects on the Chenab River in the aftermath of the Pahalgam incident earlier this year. Yet, it does not seem to share serious apprehensions that leading environmentalists have expressed over their threat to a fragile Himalayan ecology. Last week, a panel under the ministry approved the 260-megawatt Dulhasti Stage-II hydropower project on the Chenab River in Kishtwar district of India-held Jammu and Kashmir, according to The Hindu. Earlier, in October, it was reported that environmental clearances were revived for the larger Sawalkote hydro-electric project on the same river. The c... -
Dawn - 02:48 Dec 30, 2025
PESHAWAR: After the conclusion of a tour of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi will visit Sindh and Balochistan as part of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s street movement, said his special assistant for information Shafi Jan on Monday. In a media briefing after a cabinet meeting here, Mr Jan said that the PTI delegation comprising provincial ministers and members of the assembly and led by CM Afridi, which just concluded a visit to Punjab province to launch a street movement, achieved its objectives as restrictions prevented people from freely moving with PTI flags on Lahore roads. He said the love of Punjab residents for the PTI was evident from the warm welcome accorded to the delegation on arrival in Lahore. The chief minister’s aide regretted that the chief minister was denied permission to visit the houses of some PTI workers in the cantonment area. CM tells cabinet that funding denial by Centre has badly hit uplift projects in tribal districts He wondered if a chief minister’s entry ... -
Dawn - 02:45 Dec 30, 2025
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has introduced a set of shocks covering climate-related risk measures to protect the financial institutions as the threat has been increasing with climate change. “In pursuance of its goal to further strengthen the risk management capacity of regulated financial institutions (banks, DFIs and MFBs), it has decided to introduce an additional set of shocks covering climate-related risks,” said a circular of the State Bank. Consequently, Guidelines on Climate Stress Testing are being rolled out. Climate change has emerged as a significant challenge for the domestic economy and the financial system, said the SBP. Another related circular issued by the SBP said Pakistan is among the most climate-vulnerable countries. “Consequently, its financial sector faces increasing exposure to physical and transition risks,” said the circular. New guidelines aim to strengthen risk management as climate threats intensify According to the SBP circular, the guidelines provide scenarios for... -
Dawn - 02:36 Dec 30, 2025
• Companies say it must reflect sector’s ‘economic realities’, urge federal cabinet to prioritise long-term benefits over short-term revenue • Call for pragmatic approach aligned with national objectives • Zong, Huawei test high-capacity backhaul ahead of 5G rollout ISLAMABAD: The telecom industry has demanded rational conditions in the spectrum auction policy expected to be announced by the federal cabinet in the coming days, suggesting that the government needs to prioritise long-term economic benefits over short-term revenue generation. Telecom companies say spectrum is an invisible infrastructure but a crucial one as it drives digital connectivity — the foundation of modern life. Financial technology adoption, freelancer platforms, and digital tools used by schools and hospitals all depend on mobile broadband capacity. However, the problem is that while the demand for connectivity has surged in the country, spectrum availability remains scarce. Currently, Pakistan has just 274 MHz of spectrum allocated na...
8064 items