Dawn

Source: https://www.dawn.com

Found 10732 news

  • Pakistan, Turkiye sign MoU in bid to enhance judicial cooperation
    Dawn - 09:48 Apr 06, 2026
    The Supreme Court on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on judicial cooperation with Turkiye’s Constitutional Court. On Sunday, the SC said it will be hosting a high-level delegation from Turkiye’s Constitutional Court from April 6 to 9, led by its president Kadir Özkaya, for the signing of an MoU. The agreement was signed at a ceremony held at the Supreme Court in Islamabad attended by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi and Özkaya. Addressing the ceremony before the signing, CJP Afridi expressed hope that the agreement will “provide a forward-looking framework for collaboration between the two judiciaries”. “One that emphasises the exchange of judicial knowledge and best practices, the promotion of comparative constitutional jurisprudence, strengthening of institutional linkages and the advancement of capacity building through joint programmes, research, and judicial exchanges,” CJP Afridi said. He noted that under the MoU, a joint working group comprising judges from the Federal Con...
    Tags: Turkiye Pakistan
  • IHC seeks report from CDA over alleged violation of tree-felling restraining order
    Dawn - 09:26 Apr 06, 2026
    ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday sought a report from the Capital Development Authority (CDA) chairman and other respondents on a contempt of court petition alleging violation of its restraining order against tree felling in the federal capital. Justice Raja Inaam Ameen Minhas heard the petition filed by Muhammad Naveed Ahmed, sought a detailed report from the civic authority, and adjourned the hearing indefinitely. During the proceedings, the petitioner’s counsel argued that technically, the matter should have been listed before Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro, who had previously been hearing the main case. However, Justice Minhas observed that the court would take notice of the matter and called for a report. Advocate Mudassar Latif Abbasi and Umair Asad appeared on behalf of the petitioner, contending that despite a clear order issued on January 15, 2026, restraining the CDA from cutting trees, the authority had initiated work on the expansion of Ataturk Avenue from D-Chowk to Ayub Chowk. ...
  • South Korea says ‘credible intelligence’ indicates Kim Jong Un’s daughter is his successor
    Dawn - 07:54 Apr 06, 2026
    South Korea’s spy agency now believes North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s teenage daughter has been positioned as his successor, lawmakers said on Monday, citing a recent public display of her driving a tank that was likely intended to dispel any doubts. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) told lawmakers its assessment was not based on circumstantial inference but on what it described as “credible intelligence” collected by the agency, according to briefings by ruling and opposition party members after a closed-door parliamentary meeting. The NIS said the imagery of the daughter driving a tank was intended to highlight her supposed military aptitude and dispel doubts over a female heir, lawmakers said. North Korea’s state-run media KCNA last month published photos of Kim and his daughter driving a new tank, following earlier images showing her firing a rifle at a shooting range and using a handgun. Such scenes are intended to pay “homage” to Kim’s own public military appearances during the early 2010s when ...
    Tags: South Korea Kim Jong
  • IMF asks Pakistan to remove fuel price distortions amid subsidy pressures
    Dawn - 07:32 Apr 06, 2026
    ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has asked Pakistan to eliminate distortions in petroleum pricing at the earliest, even though it had tacitly accepted the Rs152 billion subsidy cap extended by the federal government to consumers amid a historic global price surge following the US-Israel attacks on Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Senior officials told Dawn that the staff-level agreement (SLA) announced by the IMF on March 29 remains intact, and that the Rs152 billion federal petroleum subsidy had been introduced with the Fund’s prior knowledge. Sources said Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and his team will update IMF management on provincial contributions to the petroleum subsidy during the upcoming spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank next week. However, the IMF continues to oppose across-the-board subsidies on major petroleum products. Initially, the government attempted to balance finances by adjusting the petroleum development levy (PDL) between petrol and diesel....
    Tags: Pakistan
  • Railways fares to remain unchanged for three months after govt subsidy in Punjab
    Dawn - 04:20 Apr 06, 2026
    LAHORE: In a bid to keep the current fares and freight charges unchanged for three months to facilitate passengers and goods transport customers, the federal government will pay around Rs6 billion to Pakistan Railways (PR) for the increase in operational costs due to the recent increase in diesel prices. “The increase due to the massive surge in diesel price amounts to around Rs1.9 billion per month and the total difference for three months, till June 30, jumps to about Rs6 billion as calculated by the finance ministry for PR operations,” PR Chief Executive Officer Amir Ali Baloch explained while talking to Dawn on Sunday. According to him, as soon as the petroleum prices increased, the PR administration was left with no option but to increase fares and freight charges by 30pc. However, he said the prime minister sought a report from the finance and railways ministries regarding the likely increase in passenger and freight charges. “On this, we worked out the total amount, around Rs6 billion, the PR will have...
  • Supr­eme Court to resume Imran’s review plea hearing in Rs10bn libel case tomorrow
    Dawn - 03:14 Apr 06, 2026
    ISLAMABAD, April 3: The Supr­eme Court will resume, on April 7, the hearing of a review petition filed by PTI founder Imran Khan against the closure of his right to defence in the Rs10 billion defamation case. Headed by Justice Ayesha A. Malik, a three-judge bench will take up the review petition, in which the court had earlier stayed proceedings pending before a trial court in Lahore in the Rs10 billion defamation suit filed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif against Imran Khan. Earlier, on March 31, a different Supreme Court bench, headed by Justice Muhammad Hashim Khan Kakar, had adjourned further proceedings in a set of appeals also filed by former prime minister Imran Khan against the April 23, 2025 Lahore High Court (LHC) rejection of his plea to implicate the Punjab government in the Rs10 billion defamation suit brought by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The case was then postponed until a final decision on the present review petition pending before the bench presided over by Justice Ayesha A. Malik. Just...
    Tags: Court
  • British MPs under fire for promoting Malik Riaz’s Dubai project: report
    Dawn - 02:55 Apr 06, 2026
    LONDON: Three Pakistani-origin British members of parliament attended promotional events for a Dubai property, scheme own­ed by Pakistani real estate tycoon Malik Riaz Hussain and his son Ali Riaz Malik, both of whom cannot enter the United Kingdom and are being investigated by authorities in Pakistan, according to an investigation by The Sunday Times. The MPs including Labour’s Naz Shah and Afzal Khan along with independent Ayoub Khan spoke at roadshow events in June 2024 promoting the Waada project, a proposed 14m-sq-foot development in south Dubai that will feature luxury apartments, mansions, a five-star hotel and a replica Eiffel Tower. At one event, the property tyc­oon and his son appeared via large screens, with Riaz Malik saying “The true measure of success is not what we build, but who we uplift.” Mr Riaz, 72, is the founder and chairman of Bahria Town, while his 48-year-old son serves as chief executive. In 2019, the pair agreed to forfeit £190m to Britain’s National Crime Agency following an unexp...
    Tags: Dubai
  • Sindh flags Tarbela delays, warns of Kharif water crisis
    Dawn - 02:47 Apr 06, 2026
    HYDERABAD: The Sindh government has expressed grave concern over ‘persistent delays’ in Tarbela Dam infrastructure works by Wapda, which have been causing severe operational constraints for Sindh and posing an imminent threat to the kharif crop season. Sindh Irrigation Minister Jam Khan Shoro wrote to federal Minister for Water Resources Mian Mohammad Mueen Wattoo that Wapda had failed to complete projects within the 33-month timeline approved by Irsa in 2022. The deadline expired in June 2025, but work remains unfinished. Indus River System Authority (Irsa), whose advisory committee is scheduled to discuss water availability and shortages for the upcoming kharif season under the Water Apportionment Accord, 1991, on April 7. The minister noted that outflows from Tarbela have already been restricted to 150,000 cusecs due to constraints in Tunnel-4 and Tunnel-5, curtailing Sindh’s irrigation supplies despite adequate reservoir levels. The situation may worsen as testing of Tunnel-4’s low-level outlet (LLO) has ...
    Tags: Tarbela Sindh
  • Strait of Hormuz stays sticking point as ceasefire remains elusive
    Dawn - 02:18 Apr 06, 2026
    • Trump warns power plants, bridges to be attacked on Tuesday, hopeful for Hormuz deal; Iran wants world to ‘act now’ to prevent ‘war crime’ • Iranian official says Hormuz strait will be opened only after payment of war damages • China, Russia call for ceasefire; Lavrov tells Washington to abandon ‘language of ultimatums’ • IRGC bombs petrochemical facility in Israel as US strikes target Ahvaz airport WASHINGTON: The US-Israel war with Iran raged on Sunday amid no signs of a ceasefire despite threats by US President Donald Trump, who warned that the US would target power plants and bridges in the besieged country if the Strait of Hormuz was not opened up by Monday. Iran said the statement, which was also denounced in the US, made by the US president was a “clear evidence of intent to commit war crime” and asked the inte­rnational community to prevent this atrocious act from happening. For almost six weeks, the US and Israeli jets have bombed the length and breadth of Iran, targeting civilian and military infr...
    Tags: Strait Hormuz
  • Operation Ghazab lil-Haq: Security forces foil attack on border post in KP, kill 37 militants
    Dawn - 19:58 Apr 05, 2026
    Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Sunday said security forces had foiled an attempt by the Afghan Taliban and terrorists to attack a border post in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Ghulam Khan Sector, in which 37 of the attackers were killed and more than 80 were injured. According to the minister, the incident took place on the night between April 2 and April 3 during the ongoing Operation Ghazab lil-Haq. Operation Ghazab lil-Haq was launched on the night of Feb 26 following cross-border firing by the Afghan Taliban. After a temporary pause in the on March 18 at the request of “brotherly Islamic countries,” Pakistan had announced the operation’s resumption on March 26, saying it would continue “until its objectives are achieved”. In an X post, the information minister said, ”As part of these [Ghazab Lil Haq] operations on the night of April 2/3, an attempt to physically attack a border post in Ghulam Khan Sector by Afghan Taliban/ Fitna al Khawarij was comprehensively foiled, in which they suffered heavy casualtie...
    Tags: Operation Ghazab
  • Balochistan, KP set closure timings for markets, eateries, wedding halls to conserve energy
    Dawn - 19:48 Apr 05, 2026
    QUETTA/ PESHAWAR: Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments announced energy conservation measures on Sunday, setting timings for the closure of markets, eateries and wedding halls. According to a notification issued by the Balochistan Home Department, all markets and shopping centres are to be closed by 8pm. However, pharmacies, tandoors and bakeries have been exempted from the restriction. The notification also stated that all events being held in wedding halls, banquet halls and hotels must end by 10pm, and that restaurants should also close by 10pm. It said the provincial government had directed district administration and law enforcement agencies to ensure strict implementation of the orders and violators would face action under relevant laws. Divisional commissioners, deputy commissioners and police officials have also been instructed to ensure immediate enforcement of the new directives. Closure timings in KP Similarly, a public notice issued by the office of the KP chief secretary said all market...
    Tags: Balochistan
  • ‘This is all embarrassing and juvenile’: Trump draws criticism for fiery, expletive-laden message on Iran
    Dawn - 19:41 Apr 05, 2026
    US President Donald Trump did not take a break from his polarising rhetoric on Easter Sunday, delivering an expletive-laden attack on Iran that sparked criticism on Capitol Hill and beyond. In his message, he warned Iran that “you’ll be living in hell” if the Strait of Hormuz was not opened. He renewed his threat to unleash heavy bombing on Iranian power plants and bridges if Tehran refused to unblock the strategic Strait of Hormuz. While the Republican president is well known for his straight talk, the post on his Truth Social network raised eyebrows, especially on a Christian holiday. “Happy Easter, America. As you head off to church and celebrate with friends and family, the president of the United States is ranting like an unhinged madman on social media,” Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on X. “He’s threatening possible war crimes and alienating allies. This is who he is, but this is not who we are. Our country deserves so much better.” For Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connectic...
    Tags: Iran This
  • Karachi board postpones matric exams to April 10
    Dawn - 19:32 Apr 05, 2026
    The Board of Secondary Education Karachi (BSEK) on Sunday announced that Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exams in Karachi were being rescheduled and would now commence on April 10. The BSEK had earlier announced that SSC annual examinations would be held from April 7 to May 2 in the Karachi Division. A press release issued by the BSEK on Sunday said citing the board’s controller of examinations that the board was currently transitioning from a manual to a digital system. “Therefore, the software application was overloaded and faced temporary disruption. The IT team is working to resolve the issue,” the press release said. In view of the situation, the SSC examinations were being rescheduled to begin on April 10, 2026 to ensure that they were conducted in an “organised … and transparent manner,” the press release said. It further said that a revised examination schedule would be issued soon, while students were to sit their exams at centres already allotted to them.
    Tags: Karachi April
  • 23 PTI leaders, workers arrested as police scuttle protest near Karachi Press Club
    Dawn - 18:40 Apr 05, 2026
    KARACHI: Police on Sunday detained 23 PTI leaders and workers, including two former lawmakers, after they clashed with the police near Karachi Press Club (KPC), an official said. PTI workers and supporters had gathered at the spot to hold a demonstration against rising fuel prices. The PTI had announced a protest outside KPC at 4pm today against “rising inflation in the country and the increase in prices of petroleum products to record levels”. But the situation turned violent, with the PTI alleging that police subjected the protesters to violence. The PTI’s Sindh chapter shared a video on X showing policewomen dragging women. “Women participating in the protest against inflation were beaten and arrested,” the party alleged. But, in a video statement, South Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Mahzor Ali said “some miscreants” pelted stones at police personnel, who were deployed to “control law and order”. He added that the police responded to the pelting through “shelling and baton-charge”. Responding to a ...
    Tags: Karachi Press Club
  • 3-year-old girl raped, murdered in KP’s Lakki Marwat: FIR
    Dawn - 18:06 Apr 05, 2026
    LAKKI MARWAT: Police registered on Sunday a first information report (FIR) against unidentified suspects for the rape and murder of a three-year-old girl in the Langerkhel Hathi Khan area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lakki Marwat district. The FIR, registered on behalf of the girl’s father at the Lakki city police station, invokes Sections 302 (intentional murder), 364-A (kidnapping/abducting a minor) and 376 (punishment for rape) of the Pakistan Penal Code. According to the FIR, the girl had gone missing on April 3 (Friday), following which her family began searching for her. It said that the girl’s body was found in a reed forest located around two kilometres away from her village. It quoted the complainant as saying that the girl’s “half-naked body was found on Sunday”. Aliullah, 32, father of the victim, told police in his preliminary report that during a search, they found the half-naked body of his daughter in the nearby forest on Sunday. The body was taken to the Government City Hospital where a lady doctor...
    Tags: Lakki Marwat
  • Met Office forecasts widespread rain, thunderstorms in parts of Balochistan, KP, Punjab on Monday
    Dawn - 17:17 Apr 05, 2026
    Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Sunday predicted widespread rain and thunderstorms in northeast Balochistan, lower Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and south Punjab on April 6 (Monday). In a statement, the Met Office said, “Widespread rain-windstorm/thunderstorm (with isolated heavyfalls and hailstorm) is expected in northeast Balochistan, lower Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and south Punjab, while partly cloudy weather with rain windstorm/thunderstorm is likely at isolated places in Sindh, upper/central Punjab, south/central Balochistan, upper KP, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir during evening/night of Monday.” The Met Office also issued a warning, saying there were chances of flash floods in local nullahs or streams in northeast Balochistan, lower KP and hill torrents of Punjab’s Dera Ghazi Khan on April 6 due to heavy rainfall. It said that landslides and flash flooding could also occur in local nullahs or streams of Kashmir, upper KP, Murree and Galiyat on April 7 and 8. “Windstorm/ hailstorm and lightning may damage wea...
    Tags: Met Office Monday Balochistan Punjab
  • Bangladesh says suspected measles outbreak kills about 100 children
    Dawn - 13:27 Apr 05, 2026
    Bangladesh said it suspected measles killed at least 98 children in the past three weeks, official data showed on Sunday, with Dhaka ramping up vaccination efforts in the worst-affected areas. Last week, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman directed two senior ministers to travel across the South Asian nation of 170 million people in an effort to assess the scale of the crisis to help coordinate a response. Health ministry data released on Sunday showed that children aged between six months and five years old with suspected measles symptoms soared to 6,476. “Compared with past years, the number of affected children is higher, and the death toll is higher too,” Halimur Rashid, director at the Communicable Disease Control, told AFP, referring to the number in suspected cases. The largest number of suspected cases on record was in 2005 at 25,934, according to World Health Organisation (WHO) data, though that number had significantly declined until this year. Rashid attributed the potential outbreak to “multifactorial c...
    Tags: Bangladesh
  • PM Shehbaz urges provinces to release funds for fuel subsidies
    Dawn - 13:21 Apr 05, 2026
    ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Sunday urged provinces to release their funds for the fuel subsidies to facilitate motorcyslists, and public and goods transport amid the unprecedented energy crisis in the country. The federal government on Thursday announced the targeted relief measures to provide subsidised fuel, ending the blanket subsidy for all economic classes. The provinces are taking the lead in administering subsidised fuel quotas. Altogether, the provinces are pooling around Rs200bn for three months on the pattern of their National Finance Commission (NFC) shares – Rs100bn or so from Punjab, Rs51-52bn from Sindh, Rs15bn from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and about Rs8-9bn from Balochistan. Presiding over a meeting to review austerity measures, the PM Shehbaz lauded Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti for disbursing the provincial share in the PM’s austerity package. A press release issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), quoted the prime minister as saying: “Balochistan’s government has a...
    Tags: Shehbaz
  • Pakistan, Turkiye to sign MoU on judicial cooperation
    Dawn - 12:51 Apr 05, 2026
    The Supreme Court will host a high-level delegation of Turkiye’s Constitutional Court from April 6 to 9, during which a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on judicial cooperation will be signed. According to a press release issued by the apex court on Sunday, the Turkish delegation will be led by Kadir Özkaya, the president of the Constitutional Court, and will also comprise judges and other senior officials. “A key highlight of the visit will be the signing of a MoU on judicial cooperation at the Supreme Court of Pakistan on April 6 (Monday),” the press release said. It added that the signing would be witnessed by judges from the SC and Federal Constitutional Court, the chief justices of the high courts, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar and others officials. It added that the agreement was expected to establish a structured and forward-looking framework for collaboration, focusing on judicial exchange, capacity building and sharing of best practices in adjudication. “The initiative reflects the shared commitmen...
    Tags: Turkiye Pakistan
  • Sindh CM secures fare freeze after talks with transporters amid fuel price hike
    Dawn - 12:13 Apr 05, 2026
    Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Sunday announced that the government had secured a province-wide fare freeze after successful negotiations with transporters. Following increases in petroleum prices due to the ongoing global oil crisis, provinces have announced a host of relief measures for the public. In Sindh and Punjab, these steps include subsidies for motorcyclists, transporters and small-scale farmers. Addressing a high-level press conference at CM House, CM Murad said that following a series of consultations, transporters operating both inter-city and intra-city routes have agreed not to increase fares and to maintain rates as of Feb 28, 2026. The Sindh CM was flanked by provincial ministers, transporters’ representatives and top government officers. A press release issued by CM House quoted Murad as saying that the government had worked out a comprehensive strategy to protect citizens — particularly low-income commuters — from rising transportation costs triggered by global fuel price increases....
    Tags: Sindh

10732 items

Popular Tags