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Dawn - 03:28 Dec 02, 2025
ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has said the IMF’s Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment (GCDA) report was a step towards much-needed institutional reforms, adding that the government had itself initiated and facilitated the process. Winding up the debate on a motion moved by JUI-F’s Kamran Murtaza in the Senate on Monday, the finance minister said the report covered seven areas, including judicial oversight and corruption, and identifies structural deficiencies — which he termed a positive development. He said it provided 15 recommendations for institutional reforms. He assured the Senate that work on these recommendations was underway, citing the recent law passed by parliament requiring public servants to declare their assets. “We will share our action plan on institutional reforms with the public and parliament,” he said, adding that such diagnostic reports had been released for many countries and represented best practices to assess governance in other jurisdictions. He dismissed... -
Dawn - 02:55 Dec 02, 2025
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Afghanistan held a brief but high-stakes round of unannounced talks in Riyadh, but the engagement ended swiftly and without progress as both sides stuck rigidly to their positions, multiple diplomatic sources told Dawn. The meeting, mediated by Saudi Arabia late on Sunday evening, was aimed at addressing tensions between the two countries following border clashes in October and Pakistan’s demand for action against terrorist groups operating from Afghan soil. According to officials, the Afghan Taliban delegation was led by Anas Haqqani and Rahmatullah Najib. The Pakistani side included officials who had participated in earlier rounds in Istanbul under the Turkiye-Qatar track. A diplomat from the Foreign Office (FO) was added to the Pakistani delegation. However, unlike the lengthier sessions held in Doha and Qatar, the Riyadh conversation wrapped up quickly, with one source describing it as “a short exchange rather than extended negotiations”. Saudi authorities facilitate talks quietly;... -
Dawn - 02:42 Dec 02, 2025
• Speaker slams ‘irresponsible’ remarks by opposition lawmaker, warns against attempts to disrupt proceedings • Blocks voting on resolution seeking Achakzai’s disqualification • PTI links talks to meetings with Imran, but minister says categorical ‘no’ to such demands ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq on Monday took a strong exception to reported anti-parliament statements made by Pakhtunkhwa Mili Awami Party (PkMAP) chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai — nominated as opposition leader by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) but not notified by the custodian of the house so far — declaring that he would firmly defend it. Without naming Mr Achakzai or giving specifics, Mr Sadiq said the MNA entered the Parliament House and announced in the opposition lobby that he planned to approach the [speaker’s] chair in order to disrupt the proceedings when Deputy Speaker Ghulam Mustafa Shah was presiding. He added that the same member later issued another “irresponsible and provocative statement”, declaring he would u... -
Dawn - 18:48 Dec 01, 2025
The government stressed on Monday that the imposition of governor’s rule in a province is an option provided by the Constitution, even as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi dared the Centre to impose the measure. The federal government is seriously considering imposing governor’s rule in KP, citing “security and governance issues” in the province as the reason for this potential move. “Governor’s rule is not the face of any martial law. It is provided for in the Constitution by its creators,” said Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar while speaking at the National Assembly today. He argued that if the conditions merit it, then it was within the Constitution to implement it. Similarly, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar also told reporters, “It is a constitutional option that is available to every government, so such discussions arise when governance is weak. Let’s see how matters proceed.” Meanwhile, Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhary advised CM Afridi not to exacerbate friction between t... -
Dawn - 18:40 Dec 01, 2025
A notification from the Islamabad district magistrate ordered that Section 144 be imposed in the Islamabad Capital Territory for two months, while another notification from the Rawalpindi deputy commissioner ordered that the ban be imposed on Monday until December 3. Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code is a legal provision that empowers district administrations to prohibit an assembly of four or more people in an area for a limited period. According to the Islamabad magistrate’s notification — dated November 18 and available with Dawn — the order was imposed due to “certain segments of society … planning to organise unlawful assemblies … within the jurisdiction of Islamabad Capital Territory”. It did not elaborate on what unlawful assemblies were expected to take place. The order prohibits “all kinds of gatherings of five or more persons, processions/rallies and demonstrations at any public place within the Revenue Limits of District Islamabad, including the Red Zone”, the notification read. The notifi... -
Dawn - 18:31 Dec 01, 2025
Several people on social media platform X shared a video on November 28 that allegedly showed Imran Khan’s sister Noreen Niazi requesting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to launch Operation Sindoor 2.0 for her brother’s release. However, the video is doctored through AI. Last week, Imran’s sisters had camped outside Adiala Jail, where the PTI founder is currently incarcerated, along with other party members after being denied a meeting. According to the PTI, Aleema Khan, Dr Uzma Khan and Noreen were “sitting peacefully” outside the jail when they were manhandled and “violently detained” by police. After repeatedly being barred from meeting their brother, Noreen and Aleema gave separate interviews to the Indian media on the matter. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar had slammed the sisters for giving interviews to the Indian media. ‘Operation Sindoor’ is the term New Delhi used for its May 7, 2025, strikes on Pakistan amid the conflict between the two countries. On Nov 28, a user, who appeared to be a PM... -
Dawn - 18:04 Dec 01, 2025
The Senate on Monday passed a landmark bill aimed at protecting the rights of arrested, detained, or under custodial investigation individuals in the country. The ‘Rights of Persons Arrested, Detained or under Custodial Investigation Bill’ was moved in the upper house by former Senate Chairman and PPP leader Farooq Naek. Speaking in the House, Naek said Article 14 provided that the dignity of man was inviolable and that the bill outlines various rights and protections, including the right to be informed of the grounds of arrest in writing, legal counsel, access to family, food and medicines and a medical examination by an independent doctor. The PPP leader stated that these rights were available to under-trial prisoners worldwide and that, for now, they have to move the courts to get these rights. Naek added that a man is innocent until proven guilty and his rights must not be usurped. “They are under trial prisoners before conviction,” he remarked, adding that convicts lose some of their rights. He said the ... -
Dawn - 17:08 Dec 01, 2025
The Foreign Office (FO) received permission from India to use its airspace for humanitarian aid flights to Sri Lanka to provide flood relief, diplomatic sources confirmed to Dawn on Monday. The Sri Lankan government called for international aid and used military helicopters to reach people stranded by flooding and landslides triggered by Cyclone Ditwah. At least 355 people have been killed, Sri Lankan officials said on Monday, with another 366 still missing. An official in the foreign ministry told Dawn that earlier this evening, the Indian high commission sent written confirmation allowing humanitarian overflights through Indian airspace. The flights have been cleared to start tomorrow. The toll in deadly flooding and landslides across parts of Asia climbed past 1,100 on Monday as Sri Lanka and Indonesia deployed military personnel to help survivors. Separate weather systems brought torrential, extended rainfall to the entire island of Sri Lanka and large parts of Indonesia’s Sumatra, southern Thailand and n... -
Dawn - 16:57 Dec 01, 2025
Karachi is often portrayed in headlines as chaotic and overwhelmed by modern sprawl. But scattered among the skyscrapers, traffic-choked roads, and dense informal settlements stand reminders of a different city — a port once celebrated for its order, elegance, and architecture. The clocktower at Eduljee Dinshaw Charitable Dispensary in Karachi. — Anadolu Agency Among the most striking relics are Karachi’s historic clock towers — orange and rose-pink structures from the late 19th and early 20th centuries — that once guided the city’s rhythms. Today, many are crumbling, forgotten or overtaken by encroachments, leaving historians and conservationists worried that a rare chapter of the city’s past may soon disappear. In the heart of downtown Saddar, squeezed between Chinese dental clinics and corner grocery shops, stands the 19th-century clock tower of the Eduljee Dinshaw Charitable Dispensary — now a Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) facility. The clocktower at Eduljee Dinshaw Charitable Dispensary in Karac... -
Dawn - 15:25 Dec 01, 2025
Five Chinese nationals have been killed and five more injured in Tajikistan in attacks launched from neighbouring Afghanistan over the past week, Tajik authorities and China’s embassy in the Central Asian country said on Monday. China’s embassy in Dushanbe, the capital, advised Chinese companies and personnel to urgently evacuate the border area. It said that Chinese citizens had been targeted in an armed attack close to the Afghan border on Sunday. On Friday, it said that another border attack — which Tajik authorities said had involved drones dropping grenades — had killed three Chinese citizens. Tajikistan, a mountainous former Soviet republic of around 11 million people with a secular government, has tense relations with the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan. It has previously warned of drug smugglers and illicit gold miners working along the remote frontier. China, which also has a remote, mountainous border with Tajikistan, is a major investor in the country. There was no immediate response on Monday f... -
Dawn - 14:54 Dec 01, 2025
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said on Monday that the government would issue the notification appointing Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir as the country’s first chief of defence forces (CDF) in the coming days, adding that he was already “holding the office in all respects”. The CDF position, created under the 27th Constitutional Amendment, replaced the now-abolished office of the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), which formally ended on November 27. It will be a dual-hatted position combined with the office of the army chief. A day prior, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said the notification would be issued “in the due course of time” and urged people to refrain from speculation. Speaking to reporters at the Pakistan National Arts Council, Tarar said, “The notification will happen; there’s nothing for you or me to worry about. He’s holding the office in all respects.” The minister elaborated that official processes are underway to issue the notification. “The PM is out of the... -
Dawn - 14:27 Dec 01, 2025
The body of a three-year-old boy who fell into an open manhole in Karachi’s Gulshan-i-Iqbal on Sunday night was recovered on Monday, more than 12 hours after the incident was first reported. The development was confirmed by both Rescue 1122 and Edhi, with the latter adding that the body was being taken to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre. Images shared on social media last night had showed a large number of citizens gathered in the area as rescue work was underway. Other videos also showed the child’s distraught mother calling on someone to save her child. Earlier, Rescue 1122 spokesperson Hassaanul Haseeb Khan told Dawn that the service’s central command received information about the incident at 10pm on Sunday night. He said the boy was with his parents, who were shopping at a private departmental store near Nipa. He said the boy fell into the manhole after the family left the store. Khan added that Rescue 1122 did not usually initiate search operations at night due to a lack of visibility. But, since a “... -
Dawn - 14:18 Dec 01, 2025
Day 1 of the ‘Pakistan Population Summit’ concluded on Monday with leaders and experts calling on the government to take urgent action to tackle the issue of the rapidly growing populace, which adversely impacts the country’s economy and other sectors. Organised by DawnMedia, the two-day summit brings together politicians, economists, development specialists, private sector leaders, and experts to develop a shared vision as the rising population continues to place pressure on health systems, food and water security, and employment. The second and final day of the summit, taking place in Islamabad, is set to begin at 9:30am tomorrow. Federal and provincial leaders, alongside urban and policy experts, will share their perspectives as they contribute to the national conversation. View the full agenda here. Pakistan, with a population of over 241 million, is the fifth most populous country in the world, adding four to five million people every year. Its population growth rate of 2.40 per cent is the highest in S... -
Dawn - 13:50 Dec 01, 2025
The toll in deadly flooding and landslides across parts of Asia climbed past 1,100 on Monday as hardest-hit Sri Lanka and Indonesia deployed military personnel to help survivors. Separate weather systems brought torrential, extended rainfall to the entire island of Sri Lanka and large parts of Indonesia’s Sumatra, southern Thailand and northern Malaysia last week. Much of the region is currently in its monsoon season but climate change is producing more extreme rain events and turbocharging storms. The relentless rains left residents clinging to rooftops awaiting rescue by boat or helicopter, and cut entire villages off from assistance. People salvage their belongings from a flooded house along the banks of Kelani River, following Cyclone Ditwah in Peliyagoda, Sri Lanka on December 1. - Reuters Arriving in North Sumatra on Monday, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said, “the worst has passed, hopefully”. The government’s “priority now is how to immediately send the necessary aid”, with particular focus on... -
Dawn - 13:33 Dec 01, 2025
Saudi Arabia quietly facilitated a round of direct talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan aimed at easing tensions over cross-border terrorism, but the discussions wrapped up late on Sunday without any breakthrough, according to two sources familiar with the meeting. The closed-door session in Riyadh ended with both sides holding firm to their longstanding positions and showing little willingness to compromise, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the talks were not publicly acknowledged. The sources added that another Saudi-hosted round remains possible in the near future. The Riyadh engagement, which took place as a separate track co-mediated by Turkiye and Qatar remains stalled. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had earlier announced plans to dispatch a delegation to Pakistan, but the visit has yet to materialise. The Turkiye-Qatar initiative produced a fragile ceasefire after clashes in early October, though Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said at a weekly briefing o... -
Dawn - 13:11 Dec 01, 2025
Inflation edged lower in November to 6.1 per cent, official data showed on Monday, easing slightly after a jump last month and staying within the finance ministry’s projected range. Food items and energy spiked the inflation, measured by Consumer Price Index (CPI), to 6.24 per cent in October against 5.6pc in September, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported in early November. According to a report published by PBS today, general inflation was just a touch lower than October’s figures, increasing by 6.1pc on a year-on-year (YoY) basis. On a month-on-month (MoM) basis, inflation stood at 0.4pc after a 1.8pc jump in October. “SPI inflation on [a] YoY basis increased by 4.2pc in November 2025, as compared to an increase of 4.8pc a month earlier and an increase of 7.3pc in November 2024,” the report read. “On [a] MoM basis, it increased by 0.4pc in November 2025 as compared to 0.9pc a month earlier and an increase of 1pc in November 2024.” Inflation has come down from nearly 30pc a year ago, though temp... -
Dawn - 12:18 Dec 01, 2025
Jailed PTI founder Imran Khan’s son, Kasim Khan, fears that authorities are concealing “something irreversible” about his father’s condition. The remarks come as the PTI and Imran’s sisters have protested and staged sit-ins outside Adiala jail, where he is imprisoned, after being barred from meeting him for over three weeks. As court-ordered prison visits stay blocked and rumours swirl about possible prison transfers, Kasim told Reuters the family has had no direct or verifiable contact with the ex-prime minister, despite a judicial order for weekly meetings. “Not knowing whether your father is safe, injured or even alive is a form of psychological torture,” he said in written remarks, adding that there had been no independently confirmed communication for a couple of months. “Today we have no verifiable information at all about his condition,” he added. “Our greatest fear is that something irreversible is being hidden from us.” The family has repeatedly sought access for Imran’s personal physician, who has n... -
Dawn - 11:48 Dec 01, 2025
One cop was martyred while five others were injured on Monday in a suicide blast targeting a police mobile in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lakki Marwat district. Lakki Marwat District Police Officer’s spokesman Asif Hassan told Dawn that a Tajori police mobile was targeted in a suicide attack. He identified the deceased as Head Constable Alauddin. He further said that the bomber’s accomplice had escaped, adding that a search operation was underway. The injured were identified as Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Haq Nawaz, Constable Yar Muhammad, Elite Force Constable Kamal Ahmad, Elite Force Constable Naeemullah and Duty Foot Constable Nasrullah. Later, a press release issued by Lakki Marwat police shared further details of the incident. It quoted District Police Officer (DPO) Nazir Khan as saying that police had received information about the movement of a “suspicious” motorcyclist by “credible sources”. According to the DPO, the sources said the motorcyclist was travelling from Bittani subdivision toward the Bakhmal A... -
Dawn - 11:46 Dec 01, 2025
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said on Monday that the information ministry, along with the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), would be taking action “on a massive scale” against fake news. The minister said this during a press conference in Lahore, where he said he believed that “since the past few days, past few weeks, 90 per cent news on social media is fake”. Saying so, Naqvi also clarified that he believed in the freedom of expression and liberty to criticise. He also highlighted that in case false news was reported by a platform in the mainstream media, a complaint could be registered with the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority. Similarly, he continued, a reporter associated with a news outlet would be answerable to their director news or the bureau chief in such a scenario. “But, on social media one can post any photo, make news as per their wish and post it,” he said, adding that he had spoken to the information minister today morning, and “we will not allow this”. Naqvi ad... -
Dawn - 08:16 Dec 01, 2025
A Rawalpindi anti-terrorism court issued directives on Monday for unfreezing the bank accounts of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust (SKTM) and Namal University in Mianwali. Judge Amjad Hussain Shah issued the instructions in a case pertaining to November 26 protests last year, in which incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan’s sister, Aleema Khan, has been facing legal proceedings. SKTM, a charitable organisation established under the Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860 of Pakistan, and Namal University were both set up by Imran. The bank accounts of the two institutions were said to have been inadvertently frozen following the issuance of an arrest warrant against Aleema in the case. During today’s proceedings, Shah heard arguments on Aleema’s application for unfreezing her bank accounts. Representatives of the SKTM also attended the hearing and presented arguments in favour of restoring the bank accounts. For his part, prosecutor Zaheer Shah clarified that the prosecution had never sought, either verbally or in ...
7393 items