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Dawn - 11:35 Apr 07, 2026
ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Tuesday said the ongoing conflict sparked by the US-Israeli war on Iran has not adversely impacted Pakistan’s remittances from the Middle East. “Some members spoke of remittances, which is true. [However,] thankfully, there has been no impact on remittances as of yet,” Aurangzeb said while speaking on the National Assembly floor. “However, the reality is, roughly between 40 to 50 per cent of our remittances are coming from the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries,” the minister said, pointing out the region’s large contribution. “So we are also reviewing its elasticity, that what difference it can make on the balance of payments and the current account,” he added. Noting that other lawmakers had “rightfully” wondered what impacts the conflict would have on Pakistan’s economy, Aurangzeb said the government was regularly monitoring several aspects. “Not only is the oil and gas bill increasing, but trade and insurance cost has gone up and the vessels availabl... -
Dawn - 10:26 Apr 07, 2026
LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday granted post-arrest bail to a Canadian national, also a Pakistani PhD scholar, in a cybercrime case. In late February, the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) had registered the case against Hamza Ahmad Khan under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca) 2016 for allegedly making anti-state posts on social media platforms X and Instagram. After being denied post-arrest bail by a judicial magistrate and a sessions court, Hamza had approached the LHC for the same. Taking up the case today, Justice Muhammad Waheed Khan allowed the bail petition, subject to furnishing surety bonds of Rs200,000. Earlier, Advocate Asad Jamal appeared before the court on behalf of the petitioner and completed his arguments. The bail petition contended that the sequence of events raised doubts about the legality and transparency of the investigation against the petitioner. The lawyer argued that the case against the petitioner was false and manufactured with the malic... -
Dawn - 09:41 Apr 07, 2026
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday directed authorities to facilitate a meeting between jailed PTI founder Imran Khan and his lawyer regarding the £190 million corruption case. The instructions came as the court heard petitions filed by Imran and his spouse, Bushra Bibi, seeking suspension of their sentences in the case. The bench also hinted at an early disposal of the couple’s main appeals against their conviction. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Asif conducted the hearing. National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Special Prosecutor Javed Ashraf and Senior Prosecutor Rafay Maqsood appeared before the court, while the PTI founder was represented by Barrister Salman Safdar. During the proceedings, the chief justice inquired about a hearing on the main appeals as miscellaneous applications seeking suspension of sentence were also pending. Barrister Safdar informed the court about the need to consult his client, to which the bench direct... -
Dawn - 08:45 Apr 07, 2026
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday dismissed the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan’s request seeking two months for party chairman Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui to appear in a case regarding the holding of intra-party elections. According to a statement issued by the ECP, a three-member commission — headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja — presided over the hearing on Tuesday. Director General Political Finance ECP Masood Sherwani and an MQM-P representative appeared before the commission. Sherwani stated that MQM-P last held intra-party elections on October 16, 2021, and as per MQM-P’s legal framework, the next election should have been held on Oct 16, 2025. He further stated that the ECP directed MQM-P to hold the election by January 16, 2026; however, the party passed a resolution enabling extension of the current tenure by one year. In its resolution, the party had written that the elections would be held before March 16, 2026, Sherwani informed the commission. The MQM-P... -
Dawn - 07:49 Apr 07, 2026
Days after Iran effectively blocked shipping through the Strait of Hormuz following the start of US and Israeli attacks in late February, two Pakistani electric motorbike (EV) outlets 1,400 km away found themselves overwhelmed with enquiries. Haseeb Bhatti, who retrofits petrol-fuelled bikes with battery-powered motors in the northern city of Rawalpindi, said his March sales surged 70 per cent. For Ali Gohar Khan, who owns a 7-year-old electric motorbike retail franchise with branches across Pakistan, the recent surge in sales is the steepest ever. “People have this fear that maybe in the near future, they might not get petrol at all,” Khan said. The Middle East crisis has sent global fuel prices soaring, compounding pain for Pakistanis already hit by inflation and a post-pandemic economic downturn. As the nation imports nearly all its oil through the Strait of Hormuz, shortage rumours took hold despite the government’s supply assurances. Workers assemble an electric motorcycle at D.S. Motors Pvt. Ltd, in Hyd... -
Dawn - 07:18 Apr 07, 2026
WASHINGTON: The United Nations Security Council is set to vote on a Bahrain-drafted resolution on the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, just hours before US President Donald Trump’s self-imposed deadline for Iran to reopen the strategic waterway. The resolution, drafted by Bahrain in coordination with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Jordan, strongly encourages states using commercial routes in the Strait to coordinate defensive measures to ensure safe navigation, including escorting merchant vessels. It demands that Iran immediately cease attacks on commercial ships and civilian infrastructure, including oil, gas, and water installations. The Strait of Hormuz, a vital corridor for roughly 20 per cent of global oil consumption and a quarter of maritime-traded oil, has seen rising tensions since US-Israeli strikes on Iranian targets on February 28. Iran retaliated against Israel and Gulf states hosting US military bases, including reported attacks on commercial vessels and the deployment of naval mines. While... -
Dawn - 07:01 Apr 07, 2026
LAKKI MARWAT: At least five policemen including an officer were injured in an explosion in the Shahbazkhel town of Lakki Marwat district, police said on Tuesday. A spokesperson for the district’s police, Qudratullah, confirmed that the attack was carried out by Fitna-al-Khawarij on the Bannu-DI Khan section of the Peshawar-Karachi Indus Highway. Fitna al Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). He said that terrorists had fitted an improvised explosive device (IED) to a motorcycle parked along the roadside, which later exploded with a loud bang. The official added that a police patrol from Shahbazkhel police station was the target of the blast. A police van seen after being damaged in an attack in Lakki Marwat. —Photo provided by author The police spokesperson said that “the explosion was heard throughout the area and left one assistant sub-inspector (ASI) and four constables injured”, adding that the police van they were patrolling in was also... -
Dawn - 06:41 Apr 07, 2026
The four astronauts of Nasa’s Artemis II mission flew deeper into space on Monday than any humans before them, as they cruised through a rare flyby of the shadowed far side of the moon that revealed a lunar surface under cosmic bombardment. The six-hour survey of the normally hidden hemisphere of Earth’s only natural satellite was highlighted by the astronauts’ direct visual observations of “impact flashes” from meteors pelting the darkened and heavily cratered lunar surface. About two dozen scientists packed a conference room adjacent to mission control at Nasa’s Johnson Space Centre in Houston to record the lunar phenomena witnessed by the Artemis crew in real time as their Orion spacecraft, about the size of an SUV, sailed around the moon roughly a quarter million miles (402,000km) from Earth. The six-hour flyby, which swooped to within 4,070 miles of the lunar surface, came six days into a spaceflight marking the world’s first voyage of astronauts to the vicinity of the moon since Nasa’s Cold War-era Apol... -
Dawn - 05:43 Apr 07, 2026
India has moved closer to producing its own nuclear fuel after a domestic-designed reactor began a controlled nuclear reaction, an important step before it can start generating power. Energy-hungry India, the world’s most populous country and third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has ambitious plans to expand nuclear power capacity from its current eight to 100 gigawatts by 2047. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam attained “criticality”, the stage at which a self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction starts. “Today, India takes a defining step in its civil nuclear journey, advancing the second stage of its nuclear programme,” Modi said in a statement late Monday. “This advanced reactor, capable of producing more fuel than it consumes, reflects the depth of our scientific capability and the strength of our engineering enterprise.” Modi called it a “decisive step towards harnessing our vast thorium reserves”, a potential fuel for nuclear reactors. The react... -
Dawn - 20:47 Apr 06, 2026
US President Donald Trump asserted on Monday that Iran could be taken out in one night, “and that night might be tomorrow night”, even as he said shortly afterwards that US officials, including Vice President JD Vance, were talking to intermediaries in Pakistan. His statements from two different events came ahead of a looming Tuesday night deadline he gave to Tehran to agree to a ceasefire deal with Washington, warning of wider bombing on power plants and other critical infrastructure. Trump is demanding that Iran forswear nuclear weapons and reopen the Strait of Hormuz oil transit waterway. Iranian media reported on Monday that Tehran had rejected the US ceasefire proposal through intermediary Pakistan, and had instead shared a 10-point proposal, demanding an end to conflicts in the region, a protocol for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, lifting of sanctions and reconstruction. Addressing a White House press conference on Monday, Trump told reporters that Iran could be taken out in one night, warni... -
Dawn - 20:08 Apr 06, 2026
LAHORE: A high-level committee of the Punjab Assembly has declared that a controversial colonial-era law effectively criminalises poverty and must be abolished, it emerged on Monday. The Committee on Law Reforms and Delegated Legislation met on Monday at the Punjab Assembly under the chairmanship of Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan, taking up critical issues ranging from outdated criminal laws to police accountability. A major highlight of the sitting was the review of Section 55(1)(b) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, which allows police to arrest individuals without warrant if they have “no ostensible means of subsistence.” The committee described the provision as an outdated colonial relic that criminalised poverty instead of criminal conduct, and conflicted with fundamental constitutional rights. A detailed reform proposal recommends complete omission of this clause, along with related provisions, to prevent misuse. The proposed reforms also suggest tightening another clause, Section 55(1)(c), tha... -
Dawn - 18:37 Apr 06, 2026
Iran has conveyed its response to the US proposal for ending the war to intermediary Pakistan, rejecting a ceasefire and emphasising the necessity of a permanent end to the war, the official IRNA news agency said on Monday. The Iranian response consisted of 10 clauses, including an end to conflicts in the region, a protocol for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, lifting of sanctions, and reconstruction, the agency added. US President Donald Trump, who has threatened to rain “hell” on Tehran if it did not make a deal by 8pm EDT Tuesday (midnight GMT) to open the vital route for global energy supplies, rejected the Iranian proposal on Monday and said his deadline was final. “They made a proposal, and it’s a significant proposal. It’s a significant step. It’s not good enough,” Trump told reporters at an annual White House Easter event, referring to Iran. Iran responded to US and Israeli attacks in February by effectively closing Hormuz, a conduit for about a fifth of the world’s oil and natural ... -
Dawn - 17:01 Apr 06, 2026
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday sacked his chief of staff following the publication of leaked comments in which he allegedly made racist remarks. “Ziv Agmon will leave his post in the coming days once his successor, Ido Norden, takes office,” Netanyahu said in a post on X late on Sunday. Agmon, who has been serving as Netanyahu’s acting chief of staff and spokesperson, provoked outrage last week after reportedly referring to Jews of Moroccan descent as “baboons” and disparaging members of Netanyahu’s Likud party, as well as the prime minister’s wife and son. Norden’s appointment represented a sudden reversal. Less than two hours earlier, the Likud party’s official Telegram channel had quoted Netanyahu as saying he wanted Agmon to remain in the post for the sake of “stability and continuity”. Norden, however, has drawn scrutiny of his own. Israeli journalists reported on Monday that he had created fake X accounts to promote his book on the “deep state,” in which he attributes Israel’s failu... -
Dawn - 16:00 Apr 06, 2026
ISLAMABAD: The government decided on Monday that markets and shopping malls in the country, barring those in Sindh, would close by 8pm as part of energy conservation measures. The decision was taken during a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad, a statement by the PM’s Office said. It added that markets in divisional headquarters in KP would be allowed to remain open till 9pm and consultations were under way regarding business hours for markets in Sindh. Meanwhile, the meeting decided that markets and shopping malls in the rest of KP, Punjab, Balochistan, Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir would close by 8pm, the statement said. Regarding the decision to allow markets in divisional headquarters in KP, the statement said it was taken in consultation with the provincial government. The statement added that shops selling daily-use items and departmental stores would also close by 8pm. It said it had also been decided that bakeries, restaurants, tandoors and shops sell... -
Dawn - 15:49 Apr 06, 2026
ISLAMABAD: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) and Pakistan State Oil (PSO) on Monday came under fire for insufficient and lethargic online integration and automation of stock and supply position of oil products for improved visibility and monitoring. Subsequently, the government decided to activate law enforcement and investigation agencies for improved monitoring of retail petroleum outlets and to check hoarding. The development came during a meeting of the cabinet committee, constituted by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to monitor petroleum prices in the wake of the emerging situation. During the meeting, chaired by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, members raised questions over certain loopholes in petroleum pricing, particularly in the diesel rate build-up. Informed sources said Climate Change Minister Dr Musadik Malik, who previously held the positions of energy and petroleum minister, suspected that the oil industry had apparently been allowed a windfall and proactive corrective measures were... -
Dawn - 15:24 Apr 06, 2026
PESHAWAR: The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) on Monday issued a flood advisory for several districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from April 7 to 8, stating that the Kabul River in Nowshera was likely to witness low to medium-level flood during this period The advisory, issued to the deputy commissioners of several districts, stated that according to met department’s latest analysis, the Kabul River at Nowshera was expected to attain low to medium flood levels and flash flooding was also expected in its associated tributaries along with Kohat Toi, Kurram and Gomal rivers. The advisory said that urban flooding was also expected in Peshawar, Mardan and Nowshera during the period. The authority asked the district administrations to take all precautionary measures to avoid any loss of life, damage to infrastructure/crops, and animals. Further, it said that all authorities concerned were requested to take the safety measures, including identification of vulnerable points and at-risk communities; devising... -
Dawn - 14:27 Apr 06, 2026
Multiple people were sharing a video on several social media platforms since April 4, claiming it showed Iranian forces capturing an American pilot after shooting down a US F-15 fighter jet. However, the video is old and shows a Libyan soldier performing a parachute jump. The Middle East war has entered its 35th day with no let-up in hostilities. The conflict began on February 28, when the US and Israel carried out coordinated airstrikes targeting Iran’s military infrastructure, including missile systems and nuclear-related facilities. The strikes marked a significant escalation in tensions between the countries, following a period of heightened regional instability and previous confrontations. On April 3, Iranian state media said the country’s forces shot down a US jet over its southern region. The US later said that it rescued two of its pilots from Iran. On April 4, a parody account named after former Iranian interim supreme leader Ayatullah Alireza Aarfi shared a video on X allegedly showing Iranian force... -
Dawn - 14:16 Apr 06, 2026
ON March 20, 2026, Pakistan’s prime minister delivered a somewhat unwarranted and empty address to the nation — merely to announce that he had declined one among a dozen or so summaries placed before him each day. The announcement of not consenting to an additional hike in oil prices at the time, came in the wake of previously announced, lukewarm austerity measures. While burdening the poor, such ‘plasters on a bullet wound’ measures provide neither long-term financial reforms nor alter the fundamental societal inequality. The outrageous purchases of a Rs11 billion Gulfstream jet, a Rs90 million luxury vehicle for the Senate chairman and seven luxury cars for judges not simply betray but completely shatter the government’s much-trumpeted commitment to austerity. On the same day, March 20, 2026, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez also unveiled a set of austerity measures. Called a “social shield”, he approved a €5bn economic support package of 80 specific reforms focused on tax relief and direct aid to preve... -
Dawn - 14:00 Apr 06, 2026
Judicial magistrate grants bail to PTI protesters arrested for demonstrating near Karachi Press Club
KARACHI: A judicial magistrate on Monday granted bail to 24 PTI workers and leaders who were arrested a day earlier for staging a protest near Karachi Press Club (KPC) against the increase in fuel prices due to the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran. PTI workers and leaders were arrested after they clashed with police near the press club on Sunday. Judicial Magistrate Abdul Ahad Memon issued the order, a copy of which is available with Dawn, and granted bail to the 24 workers and leaders against surety bonds of Rs5,000 each. However, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) sent four PTI leaders, who were arrested on Sunday, to prison on judicial remand in a case pertaining to rioting during a rally at Banaras Chowk on Aug 24, 2025. PTI counsel Advocate Shujaat Ali Khan told Dawn that after arresting the four leaders — Alamgir Khan, Meeraj, Khalid Mehmood and Daawa Khan — a day ago, police had also implicated them in the old case pertaining to rioting during a rally at Banaras Chowk registered at Peerabad police station. He... -
Dawn - 13:41 Apr 06, 2026
ISLAMABAD: A Senate panel on Monday rejected a PTI lawmaker’s bill seeking amendments to the Elections Act for enhancing the participation of women in the political process after opposition by almost all the other parties. The development came as the Senate Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs, under the chairmanship of Senator Tahir Khalil, considered the Elections (Amendment) Bill. One of the provisions sought that all political parties ensure that at least 33 per cent of total office‑bearers at federal, provincial and district levels are women, and that allocation of poll symbol should be denied to those parties which failed to comply. The bill, moved by PTI Senator Dr Zarqa Suharwardy Taimur, also proposed conducting intra-party elections by secret ballot under an accredited independent election authority. “At least 33 pc of positions filled through internal elections must be reserved for women, with proportional allocation for non‑Muslims and persons with disabilities,” the proposed bill said. “Th...
8959 items