Dawn
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Dawn - 21:37 Jun 20, 2026
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir departed early on Sunday morning for Switzerland to attend technical-level talks between Iran and the United States in Burgenstock on June 21. The development comes after the long-awaited peace deal was signed on Thursday, heralding an end to months of bitter animosity that had gripped the Middle East and plunged the world into an economic crisis. Under the agreement, the US and Iran have agreed on a framework to end the war, lift the US blockade of Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. “Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and COAS & CDF Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir will participate in these talks,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a post on X, adding that the two are accompanied by a “high-level delegation”. FO announces talks in Switzerland Earlier on Saturday, the Foreign Office (FO) announced that technical-level talks will be held in Buergenstock, Switzerland, on Sunday. “Representatives of the United States and Ira... -
Dawn - 19:29 Jun 20, 2026
GILGIT: The PPP on Saturday announced that it would form a government in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) with the support of the PML-N, mirroring the arrangement at the federal level. After elections on June 7, the PPP emerged as the largest party, with 12 seats in the 24-member GB assembly. The decision was announced by PML-N GB president Hafeez Hafeezur Rehman and PPP GB president Amjad Hussain at a press conference following a consultation meeting between the parties’ leaders. According to a press release issued on Saturday night, the parties decided to form a coalition government in Gilgit-Baltistan based on “mutual trust, consensus and consultation”. The statement added that both parties had expressed their determination to move forward together, prioritising political stability, public welfare and the promotion of democratic values. According to a statement, local PPP and PML-N leaders agreed on a proposed power-sharing formula following a consultation meeting, under which the region’s chief minister will be from... -
Dawn - 18:40 Jun 20, 2026
A punishing heatwave sweeping across much of Europe prompted a partial alcohol ban in France, nationwide warnings in Germany and the closure of a soccer fan zone in Spain, as temperatures climbed towards record levels. France was expecting 35 of its 96 departments or regions to declare red heatwave alerts on Sunday, with temperatures of 39 to 40 degrees Celsius expected from the southwest through the Paris region into Burgundy, with some areas possibly reaching 41°C. After a crisis meeting, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu pre-emptively banned alcohol consumption on Sunday at the annual Fete de la Musique festivals and other public events to be held in those 35 regions on Sunday. Authorities in Paris ordered parks to remain open around the clock, however. A woman protects herself from the sun under an umbrella on the Trocadero square near the Eiffel Tower as temperatures rise in Paris during a second heatwave affecting a large part of France, June 20, 2026. — Reuters Heat alerts were declared in most of Germa... -
Dawn - 17:59 Jun 20, 2026
Abed Hachem rebuilt his home when it was damaged in a conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in 2024, but is at a loss now that most of his village has been destroyed in Israel’s latest round of strikes. Where his house once stood in Qlaileh is now rubble; where his garden bloomed, dust, with more dust covering the toys and furniture strewn around the remains of his living room. “Oh dear… Oh God. There was a building here… here… there was a building here,” the 46-year-old father of three said as he pointed to the husks of buildings that once housed his neighbors. The spire of the local mosque is one of few structures still standing. A woman returning to her village after displacement by the war smiles as she holds a box salvaged from her neighbour’s house, which was destroyed by an Israeli strike, in Qlaileh, Tyre district, southern Lebanon. — Reuters The latest round of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel erupted on March 2. Israel carried out air strikes and a ground invasion that occupied parts of ... -
Dawn - 17:53 Jun 20, 2026
The IT ministry on Saturday clarified that a bill seeking amendments to telecommunication laws does not propose compulsory acquisition of private land. The Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organisation) (Amendment) Bill 2026, which seeks changes to a 1996 act and was tabled by IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja, was approved by the National Assembly on June 11 by a majority vote. It is currently pending before the Senate Standing Committee on IT and Telecommunication, where it was referred on June 15. The proposed changes have been the subject of discussion on social media, with some users voicing concerns over provisions relating to the use of private property for infrastructure such as telecom towers. In a detailed statement issued on Saturday, the ministry said the Right of Way (ROW) provisions in the bill “do not permit telecom operators to enter individual private property without the owner’s permission or due legal process, and do not authorise compulsory acquisition of private land”. It stressed that the R... -
Dawn - 17:44 Jun 20, 2026
Police in Scotland said on Saturday that counter-terrorism officers were investigating several “violent attacks” the previous evening in Edinburgh that injured five men in suspected anti-Muslim incidents. Police Scotland said a 36-year-old white Scottish man had been arrested and that there was no further threat to the public. Footage posted online showed a bare-chested man — purportedly the suspect — roaming streets of the Scottish capital with a large weapon. “Counter Terrorism Policing Scotland is investigating, supported by other specialist colleagues and local policing officers,” police said in a statement. It added officers had received multiple emergency calls late Friday from people reporting “violent attacks including threats, robbery and vandalism across Edinburgh, with five men injured”. The victims — two aged 22, and others aged 24, 27, and 39 — sustained various injuries and three required hospital treatment, but none of the injuries were life-threatening, according to police. Scotland’s First Mi... -
Dawn - 16:54 Jun 20, 2026
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni fired back at US President Donald Trump on Saturday, saying his “constant, unprovoked attacks are senseless” after he escalated a diplomatic row by accusing her of repeatedly seeking a photograph with him. The clash has opened an unusually personal rift between Trump and one of Europe’s most prominent right-wing leaders, who had sought to cast herself as a bridge between Washington and the continent during Trump’s return to power. Trump had initially told Italian broadcaster La7 that Meloni “begged” him for a picture at this week’s G7 summit in France, saying he agreed only because he “felt sorry for her.” Meloni angrily denied the claim, calling it “made up,” but Trump doubled down in a post on Truth Social, saying Meloni had asked “over and over” for a photograph during the summit. He also accused her of trying to repair relations with Washington for domestic political reasons after Italy failed to support US action against Iran. “Now, after the United States defeated I... -
Dawn - 16:17 Jun 20, 2026
ISLAMABAD: The Senate Secretariat has terminated all “Fuel Conservation and Additional Austerity Measures” with immediate effect and will return to a regular five-day work week with full staff strength from June 22 (Monday). The rollback comes following a US-Iran deal and a subsequent reduction in fuel prices. According to a notification issued on Saturday, and signed by Deputy Secretary HRM-I Qasim Omer, the measures introduced since March 12, 2026, have been withdrawn. The notification, issued with the approval of the chairman Senate, says that the secretariat will work Monday to Friday with full staff strength. The office hours will be 9am to 5pm on non-session days and until the conclusion of a session when it is underway. The notification has been marked for “immediate publication in the Gazette of Pakistan (Extraordinary)”. Copies have been sent to all senators, Senate office-bearers, the Cabinet Division, and senior officials. The government imposed fuel conservation and austerity measures in mid-March... -
Dawn - 15:46 Jun 20, 2026
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Saturday arrived in Cairo to participate in a meeting bringing together the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye. The Foreign Office (FO) said he would also hold bilateral meetings with the participating foreign ministers and call on Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on the sidelines of the meeting. In a statement on X, the FO announced Dar’s arrival and that he was received by Nazih El Naggary, Assistant Foreign Minister for Policy Planning, Research, Crisis Management and Assessments, and Pakistan’s Ambassador to Egypt, Ambassador Aamir Shouket. In a statement issued on Friday, the FO said the meeting — which is scheduled to be held on June 21 (Sunday) and the fourth of its kind — will bring together the foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, and Pakistan to “discuss regional developments and exchange views on issues related to peace, security, and stability”. “Building on the outcomes of previous R-4 meetings... -
Dawn - 15:32 Jun 20, 2026
GILGIT: PPP supporters blocked the Karakoram Highway (KKH) in Diamer in protest after the Election Commission notified independent candidate Imam Malik on Friday night, allegedly without preparing Form 49 or counting postal votes in the constituency. Supporters of PPP candidate Attaullah Khan, who contested the GBA-16 Diamer-II election, blocked the KKH at multiple locations in Chilas. The blockade began around 10am on Saturday and remained ongoing as of Saturday evening. PPP Secretary General Nayyar Bukhari claimed that the party had a clear majority of 17–19 seats, including reserved and technocratic seats. “An attempt is being made to block the path of the PPP,” Bukhari alleged, adding that the GB electoral process is not being carried out in accordance with the Constitution and law. Due to the road blockade, traffic between Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and other parts of Pakistan was disrupted, stranding thousands of passengers. Long queues of vehicles were seen on both sides of the highway. The protesters alleg... -
Dawn - 14:37 Jun 20, 2026
At least 30 people have died since the start of May in one camp for displaced civilians in northeastern Congo, a death rate that camp officials said was unprecedented, with some confirmed to have died from Ebola in a sign the disease could be spreading fast there. It was not possible to confirm the causes of all the deaths because patients or their relatives in Kigonze camp in Bunia — the epicentre of the Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) — had until Thursday refused testing, a camp spokesperson and aid organisation Caritas said. However, all had symptoms including headaches, fever and vomiting, which are associated with Ebola, a camp spokesperson, a bereaved father, three aid sources and a civil society leader told Reuters. People didn’t just die like this before, camp spokesperson Desire Grodya Bapi told Reuters. The deaths in Kigonze, which has more than 15,000 residents, raise fears that Ebola may be circulating undetected among eastern Congo’s over five million displaced people, with r... -
Dawn - 13:21 Jun 20, 2026
A strike by public transport operators in Karachi will continue after talks with police broke down, the head of a transporters’ union said on Saturday. The wheel-jam strike has been observed in the metropolis since Thursday against electronic traffic challans, “heavy fines and other regulatory measures”. Haji Tawab Khan, president of the Karachi Transport Ittehad (KTI), told Dawn on Saturday that the strike would continue. “We held a meeting with the DIG Traffic, who said reversing the e-challans was not under his authority,” he said. “He, however, assured us that he would review the challans which transporters said were unjustified.” Tawab added that none of the transporters’ demands had been met and that, despite repeated requests to government officials, no meeting had been called. Earlier, Muhammad Ilyas, vice president of KTI, said that no breakthrough had been achieved on the transporters’ four key demands. “We have objected to heavy fines imposed under the e-challan system,” said Ilyas. “We believe tha... -
Dawn - 12:51 Jun 20, 2026
Nine people remain in a critical condition following a train crash on Friday near Bedford, about 100 kilometres north of London, in which the driver of one of the services was killed. Two passenger trains bound for London collided at around 5:15pm local time (9:15pm PKT) on Friday. The driver of one of the trains died at the scene. Peter Knapp, a doctor who said on a social media site he was on board one of the trains, described a “sudden crash” with one carriage off the rails and said he had sustained minor injuries. Sky News cited him as telling the Press Association that some passengers were unable to speak and had injuries, including broken legs. Providing an update on those injured in the crash on Saturday, British Transport Police Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi said more than 80 people had received hospital treatment on Friday night. A crime scene manager from the British Transport Police photographs the inside of an electrical box at the side of a train track near to where two East Midlands Railway (EMR) ... -
Dawn - 11:57 Jun 20, 2026
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Saturday asserted that the proposed budget for the next fiscal year (FY27) would set the foundation for “accelerating the sustainable growth” recorded in the past two years. He made the remarks on the floor of the National Assembly as he wound up the debate on the budget FY27, which was presented on June 12. The finance czar recalled that MNAs presented their opinions on the proposed budget during the debate, adding that reservations were also voiced in some proposals. “But, we have gotten very clear feedback from within and outside the House that this is overall a positive and pro-growth budget, which sets the foundation to accelerate the sustainable growth witnessed over the last two years,” he declared. Speaking on the budget proposals, Aurangzeb stated that a “sustainable and inclusive export-led growth that increases productivity” was the fundamental objective of the government and the budget. “We often hear and see that the documented corporate sector and salaried ... -
Dawn - 11:13 Jun 20, 2026
LAHORE: In another case of May 9 riots, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Saturday acquitted former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi while sentencing senior PTI leaders Dr Yasmin Rashid, Omar Sarfraz Cheema, Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed and former senator Ejaz Chaudhry to 10-year imprisonment each. ATC-I Judge Manzer Ali Gill announced the verdict, which was reserved on Thursday. In the case registered at Mughalpura Police Station, the leaders were accused of attacking and burning police vehicles in the Mughalpura area during the 2023 riots. The suspects were presented in the makeshift court established inside Kot Lakhpat Jail. Besides Qureshi, the court also acquitted 11 party workers. A total of 22 PTI leaders and workers were nominated in the case, while two accused had been declared proclaimed offenders after allegedly evading arrest. However, a few other workers were sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment each. The prosecution alleged that the PTI leaders and other accused persons had planned the May 9 incide... -
Dawn - 10:05 Jun 20, 2026
Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz declared a state of emergency across the Latin American country on Saturday after more than six weeks of road blockades and protests demanding his resignation, saying he had exhausted “all avenues of dialogue.” The decision came hours after Paz signed an agreement with the country’s main trade union federation, Bolivian Workers’ Central (COB), ending the protests sparked by Paz’s plans for the economy. But not all sectors were covered by the agreement, and some unions continued protesting. “After exhausting all avenues of dialogue, reaching agreements with those whose demands were legitimate, and identifying those who used violence in an attempt to destabilise Bolivia, we made the decision to declare a state of emergency across the entire national territory,” Paz said in a televised speech. COB launched the protest movement in early May to reject US-backed Paz’s ideas for ending the country’s worst economic crisis in 40 years. Demonstrators — mainly blue-collar workers, farmers,... -
Dawn - 09:32 Jun 20, 2026
Earlier this week, the US and Iran finally reached an agreement to stop the war. Pakistan, which played a central role in said agreement has been acknowledged and praised by the international community. But is this where it ends for the country? Or can the Shehbaz-led government convert the diplomatic visibility and influence into that rare opening that actually guarantees dividends? Before we answer that question, however, it is important to acknowledge that the agreement, brokered after weeks of intense diplomacy between the United States and Iran, is not a peace treaty. It is an interim framework that has merely paused a dangerous confrontation and created a 60-day negotiating window during which the most difficult questions, including sanctions relief, nuclear restrictions, and regional security arrangements, will have to be addressed. The fragility of the arrangement was evident even before its conclusion, with disagreements linked to Lebanon threatening to derail the process at a late stage, and Qatar e... -
Dawn - 09:20 Jun 20, 2026
Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is set to visit Malaysia and China on his first trip abroad since assuming office, the foreign ministry said on Saturday, bypassing neighbouring India as his inaugural destination. Rahman will visit Malaysia on Sunday before travelling to China the following day, Dhaka’s state-run BSS news agency reported, citing foreign ministry officials. In Beijing, trade and infrastructure projects will be on the agenda, according to the officials. Those could include Chinese support for the long-delayed Teesta project, a plan to restore and manage a key Bangladesh river through dredging, embankment construction and irrigation. “The visits are being viewed as a major diplomatic initiative aimed at strengthening Bangladesh’s economic partnerships,” BSS reported, citing the foreign ministry. Malaysia has an estimated 800,000 Bangladeshi workers, more than a third of its foreign workforce. Bangladeshi land is largely encircled by India, but relations have been strained since a 2024 ... -
Dawn - 08:19 Jun 20, 2026
United States President Donald Trump has said that Pakistan “really helped” Washington with the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Iran. He made the remarks during an interview with American news outlet Axios. During the interview, the US president was asked about which global leaders he “liked”. In addition to Chinese President Xi Jinping, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump talked about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, before mentioning Pakistan’s leadership. “In Pakistan, you have the field marshal, who is great. Munir, he’s great. And you have the prime minister, and they just get along great … He totally respects the prime minister. It’s a beautiful thing to see,” he said, talking about Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir. “But they really helped us with this deal. They knew the Iranians, they knew the people and they were good,” he said. During the interview, Trump was also asked about the lessons he had learned about the “li... -
Dawn - 07:21 Jun 20, 2026
BANNU: Seven people were killed and three others injured in two explosions in Marka Bera, a semi-tribal mountainous area of Bannu’s Wazir sub-division. Bannu District Police Officer (DPO) Yasir Afridi confirmed that a total of seven people were martyred and three others were injured in the two blasts. He said security forces and law enforcement agencies immediately reached the area, collected evidence, and launched an investigation into the incidents. In a statement, the police said the two vehicles were targeted in “remote-controlled blasts” in the Phang Musa Khel area, terming the incidents a “cowardly act of terrorism”. According to the statement, a private Datsun vehicle carrying passengers was targeted first. The wounded from that blast were being taken to a hospital for treatment when the second blast occurred. According to police and local sources, the Datsun vehicle was travelling towards Domel when it was hit. Five people were killed in the blast, while the vehicle was completely destroyed. Eyewitnes...
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