Pakistan

Criticism grows over high-fatality encounters, no police hurt

Wrapped in bloodied bandages, Aline Saeed, seven, barely survived the Israeli strike on her home in south Lebanon last week. She was there to bury her father as hopes of a truce spread across the region, but a new strike killed her infant sister and other relatives. The strike on the Saeed family home in the village of Srifa took place on Wednesday, the first day of a two-week US-Iran ceasefire that many in Lebanon hoped would apply to their country, too. Instead, Israeli strikes killed more than 350 across Lebanon and left the Saeed family with four more relatives to bury. “They said it was a ceasefire. Like all these people, we went up to the village. We went to the casket to read the prayers and walk home … suddenly we felt like a storm was landing right on us,” said Nasser Saeed, Aline’s 64-year-old grandfather, who also survived. Relatives mourn over the bodies of four members of the Saeed family, Taleen (1.5 years old), Qassem (26), Khalil (60) and Fatima (39), killed in an Israeli strike in the village...

China on Sunday unveiled 10 new incentive measures for Taiwan, including easing tourist curbs, allowing in “healthy” television ​dramas and facilitating food sales, following a visit by the island’s opposition ‌leader. The move comes at the end of a trip to China by Cheng Li-wun, chairwoman of the Kuomintang (KMT), Taiwan’s largest opposition party. She met Chinese President Xi Jinping and talked about ​the need for peace and reconciliation. The 10 measures, unveiled by the official ​Xinhua news agency, “explore” the establishment of a regular communication mechanism between ⁠the KMT and China’s Communist Party, the full resumption of flights between the ​two sides and permission for individuals from Shanghai and Fujian province to visit Taiwan. A ​mechanism will be established to ease inspection standards for food and fishery products, but that has to be on the political foundation of “opposing Taiwan independence,” Xinhua said. Taiwanese TV dramas, documentaries and ​animation will be allowed to be shown as...

Direct talks between the United States and Iran were continuing into the early hours of Sunday in Islamabad, but within hours, delegations from both sides were heading home. In the morning, US Vice President JD Vance addressed a press conference, noting there had been “a number of substantive discussions”. However, he said the two sides did not reach an agreement. Dawn takes a look at scenes from the day of the noteworthy US-Iran talks concluding. Freshly printed newspapers featuring a headline about the US and Iran peace talks in Islamabad, are kept on a table at a printing press in Karachi on April 12, 2026. — Reuters Vice President JD Vance arrives for a news conference after meeting with representatives from Pakistan and Iran in Islamabad on April 12, 2026. — AFP US Vice President JD Vance and Jared Kushner arrive for a news conference after meeting with representatives from Pakistan and Iran, on April 12, 2026, in Islamabad. — Pool via Reuters Vice President JD Vance (R) speaks during a news conference a...

After a marathon 21 hours of high-level talks, delegations from the United States and Iran departed from Islamabad on Sunday morning without reaching an agreement. The Islamabad Talks had the world, especially the Middle East, hoping that the 40-day US-Iran war would come to a permanent end. Both countries had agreed to a two-week ceasefire earlier this week, with Pakistan playing a key diplomatic role. However, speaking to the media earlier today, US Vice President JD Vance said: “The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement, and I think that’s bad news for Iran much more than it’s bad news for the United States of America.” “So we go back to the United States, having not come to an agreement. We’ve made very clear what our red lines are.” He also cited shortcomings in the talks, saying that Tehran had chosen not to accept American terms, including the building of nuclear weapons. On the other hand, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said that “excessive” US demands had hindered an agreement. “...

QUETTA: At least two people from the provincial capital’s Hazara community were killed and another three injured after unknown assailants opened fire on them on Sunday. Senior police officer Muhammad Khair Sumalani told Dawn that the men came under attack while they were travelling back to Hazara Town from the Hazarganji vegetable market. “Unidentified armed men riding motorcycles opened fire at their vehicle, killing two people on the spot and injuring three,” he said. The senior police official said that the incident appeared to be a “targeted killing”, adding that the police and Frontier Corps personnel rushed to the site soon after the incident. Civil Hospital Spokesperson Wasim Bag told Dawn that the hospital had received two bodies and three injured persons. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, and police have launched a search operation. The Hazara community blocked the Western Bypass to protest the incident, disrupting traffic. Administration and police were negotiating with the pro...

Pakistan has decided to expand its petroleum storage capacity as a major foreign investment from Saudi Arabia is expected for the establishment of a large-scale oil refinery in Gwadar, according to sources in the Ministry of Petroleum.

The Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has announced the launch of the Ehsaas Fuel Support Scheme for commercial transport operators to provide relief amid rising petroleum prices following recent regional tensions affecting fuel markets.

After their face-to-face talks yielded no agreement, Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Sunday said it was now time for the United States to decide whether it can “earn” Tehran’s trust. In a post on X, written in Persian, Ghalibaf said: “America has understood our logic and principles, and now it’s time for it to decide whether it can earn our trust or not?” Ghalibaf, who led the Iranian delegation, recalled that before the negotiations, he “emphasised that we have the necessary good faith and will, but due to the experiences of the two previous wars, we have no trust in the opposing side”. “My colleagues on the Iranian delegation Minaab168 raised forward-looking initiatives, but the opposing side ultimately failed to gain the trust of the Iranian delegation in this round of negotiations,” he added. The Iranian parliament speaker went on to state: “We certainly consider diplomacy of authority to be another method, alongside military struggle, for achieving the rights of the Iranian people, ...

Minister for Railways Muhammad Hanif Abbasi will inaugurate the upgraded Tourist Safari Train today at Rawalpindi Railway Station, according to official sources.

The demand for the Iranian rial has witnessed a sharp increase in Pakistan, with the currency reportedly gaining nearly fourfold against the Pakistani rupee in recent weeks, according to exchange market sources.

DHAKA: A self-proclaimed spiritual leader was beaten to death by a mob in Bangladesh on Saturday, officials said, in the latest violence fuelled by religious tensions in the country. Muslim-majority Bangladesh has seen a sharp rise in religious intolerance and mob violence since the 2024 uprising that toppled the government of former premier Sheikh Hasina. Shamim Reza Jahangir, believed to be in his 60s, died from his injuries after hundreds of people stormed his residence in Kushtia district and thrashed him with sticks, chief administrative official Touhid bin Hasan said. The mob was angered after an old video of the man resurfaced online on Fri­day. He had uttered remarks against the Holy Quran. “Sensing that something might happen, police went to the spot, and the administration tried their best. But an angry mob of more than 200 people attacked his residence,” bin Hasan said. Jahangir was taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared him dead. Police sources said that Jahangir had been briefly arres...

ISLAMABAD: The Jinnah Convention Centre (JCC) on Saturday became a hub of foreign and local media as journalists gathered to cover the historic US-Iran talks. Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, who also holds the portfolio of foreign minister, said in a statement that more than 50 foreign journalists had come to Pakistan to cover the event. He said Pakistan had offered the facility of visa-on-arrival to foreign journalists. Earlier, foreign and local media persons were assembled at a local hotel, from where they were taken to the JCC in special buses arranged by the Information Ministry. The convention centre was turned into a large media centre where special booths were set up for private TV channels from which they conducted their talk shows. However, they had no direct access to the venue where the historic talks between the US and Iran were under way. Local media appeared to be more constrained in obtaining information about the talks and relied on updates received by American and Iranian journalists from t...

ISLAMABAD: Ministers of finance and central bank governors of developing countries will launch the ‘Borrowers’ Platform’ to improve their debt management capacity in Washington on April 15, during the IMF-World Bank Spring meetings. Finance Minister Muhammad Aura­ngzeb and Egyptian Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouck will jointly preside over the launching of the platform, to be held at the United Nations Foundation. The launch comes amid rising debt pressures across developing countries. To mark this historic occasion, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will attend the platform’s launch. The initiative is member-state-led, with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) serving as the secretariat. The platform addresses a gap in the international financial system, where developing countries remain under-represented while creditor coordination has expanded, UNCTAD says. Pakistan and Egypt lead Borrowers’ Platform launch The platform will open a new space for cooperation on debt. A key, lo...

• Most cases linked to Korangi and Malir; study stresses immediate wound care and timely post-exposure treatment to prevent deaths • Findings point to substantial virus burden in stray dogs; experts call for scaling up vaccination and improved dog population management KARACHI: A study published in an international journal has found that the rabies virus — one of the deadliest infectious diseases in the world — is widely circulating among the city’s dog population, highlighting a high risk of exposure to the virus and an urgent need for prevention, surveillance, and prompt treatment. In a first, researchers at the Indus Hospital detected rabies virus RNA in samples taken directly from fresh bite wounds, offering a breakthrough for surveillance. The study, titled Detection of rabies virus RNA in dog-bite wounds in a rabies-endemic area: evidence from an observational cohort study, is published in eBioMedicine, part of The Lancet Discovery Science. Under the study, a total of 100 patients with World Health Orga...

GILGIT: The caretaker cabinet of Gilgit-Baltistan on Friday approved the renaming of the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) as the Counter-Terrorism Unit (CTU), and police recruitment for 600 newly created posts. It also decided to hand over as many as nine roads in GB, with a total length of 461km, to the National Highway Auth­ority (NHA). The caretaker cabinet meeting was held under the chairmanship of Caretaker Chief Minister Justice (retd) Yar Muha­mmad at CM Secretariat in Gilgit. Addressing a press conference at the CM Secretariat, GB Care­taker Information Mini­ster Ghulam Abbas, accompanied by Car­etaker Home Minister Sajid Ali Baig, Caretaker Finance and Planning and Development Min­ister Abrar Ismail, Car­etaker Forest Minister Hafiz Sharafuddin, and spokesperson for the CM Shabbir Mir, briefed the media. He said the GB cabinet appreciated the efforts of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir for their role in bringing about a ceasefire between the US and Iran through sincer...

SAHIWAL: City Police claimed to have recovered an 11-year-old girl 48 hours after she had gone missing from the E-Green Bus Stop at Jogi Chowk while standing with her maternal aunt on April 8. Station House Officer (SHO) Rai Nasir said the girl had allegedly been kidnapped by a woman and was later recovered. She was handed over to her parents. According to police, the missing child, Faizain Bibi, a resident of Chak Thatha Anayat in Okara district, had come to Sahiwal with her aunt, Shaheen Bibi, for shopping. They were waiting at the Jogi Chowk bus stop for the E-Green bus when the girl suddenly disappeared. Despite an extensive search by passengers and bystanders, no trace of her was found. The family initially tried to locate her on their own before registering a case (No. 282/26) under Section 363 of the Pakistan Penal Code at the City Police Station on the complaint of her father, Muhammad Nawaz. Sahiwal District Police Officer (DPO) Usman Tipu constituted a special team led by SP Investigation Shafqat Ra...

SARGODHA: Marriage halls have been fined Rs200,000 for violating the one-dish policy and directed to strictly comply with the regulation. According to sources, the assistant commissioner took action against several marriage halls in Sargodha for serving more than one dish at wedding events, imposing fines totalling Rs200,000. During surprise inspections, officials found that government orders were being flouted at multiple venues. The assistant commissioner said violators had been penalised and warned that strict implementation of the one-dish policy would be ensured. “Violation of government rules will not be tolerated under any circumstances, and action against such elements will continue,” the official said. However, a marriage hall owner, speaking on condition of anonymity, alleged selective enforcement of the policy. He claimed the restriction was being applied to ordinary citizens, while influential individuals, particularly ruling elites, were exempt. He further alleged that at two wedding ceremonies a...

Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has welcomed the successful conclusion of talks between the United States and Iran, reaffirming Pakistan’s commitment to supporting peace through active diplomatic engagement.

• Move comes after President Trump slams deal as ‘big mistake’ • Legislation underpinning the deal shelved; standoff leaves indigenous Chagossians in limbo LONDON: Britain’s government said Saturday it has put on hold its deal to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, following criticism from US President Donald Trump over the future of a crucial joint military base on the archipelago. The planned legislation to underpin the deal, which requires Washington’s backing, will not be included in the government’s upcoming parliamentary agenda, The Times newspaper reported. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office said London would continue to seek Washington’s formal approval for the agreement. The deal has become a point of contention in what analysts describe as a period of strained relations between the two historical allies. Under the agreement, Britain would hand the islands back to Mauritius while retaining control of the strategically vital US-British military base on the atoll of Diego Garcia thro...