Dawn
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Dawn - 04:56 Sep 12, 2025
KARACHI: In an explosive revelation, police on Thursday claimed to have apprehended one of the suspected members of a ring of child abusers, who have allegedly perpetrated heinous acts against minor girls and boys for at least a decade. One suspect is currently in custody, while another of his alleged accomplices have been identified and efforts are underway to arrest him, DIG South Syed Asad Raza told Dawn. The suspect, a fruit vendor, was apprehended by Defence police from Qayyumabad with the help of locals, the officer said. Investigations are underway, and police are said to have obtained video evidence of multiple incidents of sexual assault against minor boys and girls. Although it is too early to say just how many victims the suspects have assaulted, investigators think they could number over a hundred. “Police have recovered a mobile phone from his custody containing hundreds of videos filmed in his room that show graphic scenes involving children,” DIG Raza said, adding that he was being interrogated... -
Dawn - 03:27 Sep 12, 2025
• Security forces repel assault on police post in Lajbook; Section 144 imposed • 19 militants killed in separate operations across KP • President, PM laud successful operations • Tribal elders vow to expel militants from South Waziristan, announce strict penalties LOWER DIR / PESHAWAR: At least seven Frontier Corps (FC) personnel were martyred and 13 others injured during a search and strike operation against militants in the Sar Banda area of Maidan in Lower Dir on Thursday. According to official sources, one FC soldier was also reported missing after a fierce gun battle with militants in the mountainous terrain within the jurisdiction of Lal Qila police station. The militants had taken positions and opened fire on a security convoy. The wounded were shifted to Lal Qila Hospital, and later referred to District Headquarters Hospital Timergara. Police officials said a heavy contingent of police, Elite Force and Dir Scouts remained in the area as the operation continued. Security forces also claimed to have i... -
Dawn - 03:18 Sep 12, 2025
SUKKUR: A fisherman navigates one of the meanders of the Indus, near the Lansdowne Bridge. While Panjnad is recording flows over 0.6m cusecs, Guddu and Sukkur are steady at around 0.4m.—Umair Ali • Panjnad crosses 668,000 cusecs; mass evacuations underway in Alipur • Guddu, Sukkur barrages record over 400,000 cusecs, remain in ‘medium flood’ • Children among the missing after boats capsize in Jalalpur Pirwala • NDMA chairman says Pakistan facing ‘last monsoon spell’ • Preparations in place at Nasirabad as Balochistan braces for floodwaters LAHORE: Punjab is facing a relentless flood emergency as the Sutlej, Ravi and Chenab rivers continue to swell, inundating thousands of villages and displacing millions across the province. The situation intensified after Indian authorities issued alerts regarding rising water levels at Ganda Singh Wala and Ferozepur two days ago, prompting renewed evacuations along the Sutlej River. Despite some areas witnessing a slight recession in water levels, the overall flood threat r... -
Dawn - 02:53 Sep 12, 2025
ISLAMABAD: In a landmark judgement with far-reaching implications for women’s rights under Islamic family laws, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that a woman’s right to maintenance (Nafaqa) was neither contingent upon consummation or ‘Rukhsati’ (bridal departure) nor is it subject to her husband’s discretion. “It flows unconditionally from the solemnisation of a valid marriage and constitutes a binding legal duty,” observed Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah in his decision on an appeal by Ambreen Akram. She had challenged the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) verdict of April 28, 2015, which turned down her plea for maintenance because the marriage was not consummated. “In essence, the only legitimate ground for suspending this obligation (maintenance) arises where the husband discharges a high burden of proof to establish that his wife has wholly and without justification withdrawn from marital relationship, not merely as physical access but encompassing the full spectrum of emotional, residential and relational life... -
Dawn - 02:38 Sep 12, 2025
ISLAMABAD: PTI founder Imran Khan has demanded an immediate end to the ongoing military operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and called on his party’s lawmakers to “resist operations and drone strikes against our own people”. A series of posts shared on his personal X (formerly Twitter) account on Thursday, which were supposedly based on his conversation with his sisters in Adiala Jail, recalled that the former ruling ANP had become unpopular in the province due to its support for such military action. Although Mr Khan does not have access to his X account while in prison, it is not clear who operates it in his stead. “Killing one’s own always leads to an increase in terrorism,” the post on the ex-PM’s official account said. The message instructed all members of provincial and national assemblies and the Senate who are from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa “to come together and resist these operations and drone strikes against our own people, and to work for peace so that issues can be resolved through dialogue”. Continuing ... -
Dawn - 19:06 Sep 11, 2025
Pakistan’s first-ever all-woman mountaineering expedition has summited Gilgit-Baltistan’s 5,400-metre Bari La peak, it emerged on Thursday. The 10-member expedition comprised Bibi Afzon and Zeeba Batool from GB, Bismah Hasan and Iqra Jillani from Punjab, Madeeha Syed from Sindh, Mona Khan from Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Marya Bangash from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Shahreen Khan and Amina Shabbir from Islamabad and Laraib Batool from Balochistan. According to a statement issued today by Alpine Club of Pakistan Vice President Karrar Haidri, history was “written in the high mountains of Pakistan”. He said the first-ever all-woman expedition, organised and sponsored by the Alpine Club, successfully summited Bari La Peak on Wednesday. “With equal representation from all four provinces, GB and AJK, these courageous women came together not just to climb, but to break barriers and prove that Pakistan’s daughters can rise to any peak,” Haidri said. He added that before embarking on their journey, the expedition received traini... -
Dawn - 18:44 Sep 11, 2025
Skipper Litton Das top-scored with 59 as Bangladesh beat a spirited Hong Kong by seven wickets in their first match of the Asia Cup on Thursday. Hong Kong posted 143-7 after Nizakat Khan made 42 in the T20 meeting in Abu Dhabi, where the minnows were invited to bat first. Bangladesh lost two early wickets in their chase to raise Hong Kong’s hopes of an upset, but Litton put on a stand of 95 with Towhid Hridoy, who made an unbeaten 35, to reach 144-3 in 17.4 overs. Litton reached his 50 in 33 balls but fell to medium-pace bowler Ateeq Iqbal before Towhid hit the winning run. It was Hong Kong’s second straight defeat in Group B, which includes Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. Afghanistan beat Hong Kong by 94 runs in the tournament opener. Hong Kong lost two early wickets before Nizakat paired up with Zeeshan Ali, who made 30, in a third-wicket stand of 41. Nizakat then got into another partnership of 46 with skipper Yasim Murtaza, who hit 28 off 19 balls, as the two counter-attacked. Bangladesh’s Mustafizur Rahman bo... -
Dawn - 18:07 Sep 11, 2025
Hamas accused the United States on Thursday of complicity in Israel’s deadly attack on its negotiators in Qatar, lambasting Israel for seeking to kill off Gaza truce talks as Doha buried the dead. Tuesday’s unprecedented Israeli strikes on a Gulf state sent shockwaves through a region long shielded from conflicts and halted already floundering Gaza talks. “This crime was … an assassination of the entire negotiation process and a deliberate targeting of the role of our mediating brothers in Qatar and Egypt,” Hamas official Fawzi Barhoum said in a televised statement. In Doha, tight security surrounded the mosque where prayers were held as the Gulf state’s ruler joined mourners. One coffin bearing a Qatari flag and five others bearing Palestinian flags were brought into the mosque, live footage from Qatar television showed. Facing the coffins, Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, prayed alongside dozens of mourners, some wearing traditional white robes, others wearing military uniforms. The interior m... -
Dawn - 17:56 Sep 11, 2025
Republican President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the United States ambassador to India said on Thursday that Washington and New Delhi were “not that far apart” on tariffs. “We’re not that far apart on a deal on these tariffs,” Sergio Gor, a close Trump aide who is currently director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, said at his Senate confirmation hearing. “I do think it will get resolved in the next few weeks,” Gor said. US-India ties have been strained by Trump’s trade war, with talks on lower tariff rates collapsing after India, the world’s fifth-largest economy, resisted opening its vast agricultural and dairy sectors. Bilateral trade between the two countries is worth more than $190 billion each year. Trump first imposed additional tariffs of 25 per cent on imports from India, then said they would double to 50pc from August 27 as punishment for New Delhi’s increased purchases of Russian oil, as Washington works to end the war in Ukraine. Trump said on Tuesday his administration is contin... -
Dawn - 17:12 Sep 11, 2025
Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar on Thursday warned renowned rights activist and lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir of a contempt of court case for allegedly calling him a “dictator”. A heated exchange between the two took place during the hearing of a plea filed on behalf of rights activist Dr Mahrang Baloch, who has been in custody since March. The petitioner had sought the removal of Mahrang’s name from the Exit Control List (ECL), which restricts a person’s travel abroad. Mazari was representing her in the court, when, at one point, the IHC chief justice remarked, “If I issue any order in this case, then Miss Mazari would go downstairs and hold a programme, [saying] that a dictator is sitting [here].” At this, Mazari maintained she had said “no such thing that could be considered outside the boundaries of the law”. “You should also remain within the boundaries of respect,” Justice Dogar then told Mazari. At that, Mazari clarified that “whatever I have said was in a pers... -
Dawn - 17:07 Sep 11, 2025
In a meeting with the Qatari emir on Thursday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urged unity in the Muslim world to confront Israeli provocations following Tel Aviv’s recent airstrikes targeting residential areas in Doha. PM Shehbaz reached Doha today on a one-day visit, where he met Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani to express solidarity and regional unity after the attacks, state media reported. “The prime minister emphasised that Israel’s ongoing aggression in the Middle East must be stopped and the Muslim world needs unity in its ranks to confront Israeli provocations,” according to a statement by state broadcaster PTV on X. The statement said the prime minister strongly condemned the Israeli attack as a “blatant violation” of Qatar’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. He stated that the leadership and people of Pakistan were deeply concerned about the attack, which was contrary to international laws. “Reaffirming the historical and brotherly relations between Pakistan and Qatar, the prime min... -
Dawn - 16:37 Sep 11, 2025
United States investigators said on Thursday they had found the bolt-action rifle they believed was used to kill influential conservative activist Charlie Kirk as he gave a talk at a university in Utah, but were still searching for the shooter. Kirk, an influential ally of President Donald Trump, was fatally shot on Wednesday while speaking at Utah University, sparking a manhunt for a lone sniper who the governor said had carried out a political assassination. Authorities said they still had no suspect in custody as of Wednesday night, some eight hours after the midday shooting at Utah Valley University campus in Orem, Utah, during an event attended by 3,000 people. Cellphone video clips of the killing posted online showed Kirk addressing a large outdoor crowd on the campus, about 64 kilometres south of Salt Lake City, around 12:20pm MT (18:20 GMT or 23:20 PKT), when a gunshot rang out. Kirk, a staunch defender of gun rights, was answering an audience question about mass shootings when the bullet struck his n... -
Dawn - 16:31 Sep 11, 2025
Peter Mandelson, Britain’s ambassador to the United States, was sacked by Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday after a trove of emails revealed the depth of his ties with the late convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Known for his behind-the-scenes manoeuvring during a career lasting over three decades, Mandelson was forced from Britain’s most desirable diplomatic post after some of his letters and emails to Epstein were revealed this week. Starmer, struggling in opinion polls after numerous setbacks, had strongly backed his ambassador on Wednesday as a state visit by US President Donald Trump, with whom Mandelson had developed strong ties, looms next week. Trump has also faced questions about his links with Epstein, with the White House denying that an alleged birthday letter from him to the late financier is authentic. Mandelson called Epstein ‘my best pal’ Mandelson, who was key to the Labour Party’s success when Tony Blair was prime minister, had come under scrutiny after US lawmakers released do... -
Dawn - 15:38 Sep 11, 2025
Pakistan’s white-ball head coach Mike Hesson dismissed concerns about the national squad’s batting performance on Thursday ahead of the upcoming Asia Clup clash with India. The arch-rivals will clash in a geopolitically-charged men’s Asia Cup contest in Dubai on Sunday. It will be the first cricket match between the sides since four days of military conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours in May. While reigning T20 world champions India are the firm favourites to retain their title, Pakistan are on a high, having convincingly beaten Afghanistan in the final of a tri-series, also involving hosts United Arab Emirates (UAE), on Sunday. Pakistan play against Oman tomorrow. Questioned during a pre-match press conference in Dubai about the team’s batting performance and judgement, Hesson said he was “not quite sure” where the concerns were arising from, saying the team had played against the “best wrist spin attack” in the world and won by over 70 runs against Afghanistan in the tri-series final. “It’s very m... -
Dawn - 15:35 Sep 11, 2025
An Islamabad district and sessions court on Thursday set aside a lower court’s order to block 27 YouTube channels, granting relief to 11 petitioners. In July, it emerged that an Islamabad court had ordered YouTube in June to block 27 channels for disseminating “fake, misleading, and defamatory” content against the government and armed forces. The sanctioned accounts were being run by journalists, political commentators and social media influencers in Pakistan and overseas. The ban order sparked criticism from various legal and digital rights groups. Among the 27 channels were those of the PTI, journalists Matiuallah Jan, Wajahat Khan, Ahmad Noorani and Asad Ali Toor; former anchors Imran Riaz, Orya Maqbool, Sabir Shakir, and Moeed Pirzada. Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Muhammad Afzal Majoka had later suspended the order for at least seven petitioners. A total of 11 of those impacted had appealed against the lower court’s order. ADSJ Majoka conducted a hearing over the matter today and expresse... -
Dawn - 13:12 Sep 11, 2025
The week of September 8, 2025, was just another week for RC Gautam, an errand boy at Kantipur Television. During two decades of his employment at the station, he had seen several street protests, dire political situations, a civil war, shootouts, violence and even an attack on the channel’s headquarters. But September 9 panned out a bit differently for him. “I can’t even begin to tell you how many people stormed our station. It all happened so quickly,” he told me over the phone. An irate mob rushed into the Kantipur TV building on Tuesday, set fire to three buildings on its premises, torched two dozen bikes and over a dozen cars. The station was just one of the hundreds of buildings and homes that came under attack in the wake of what is being dubbed the ’Gen Z’ protests in Nepal, which quickly spiralled out of control on September 8. People look at the remains and ravages of the charred Supreme Court building in Kathmandu on September 10, 2025. — AFP Triggered by a recent social media ban, the demonstrators... -
Dawn - 12:21 Sep 11, 2025
Several PTI senators have resigned from their respective senate standing committees on Thursday, saying that they had made the move in line with the instructions of incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan. So far, seven senators have quit the Senate standing committees, including Dost Muhammad, Zeeshan Khanzada, Mirza Muhammad Afridi, Muhammad Azam Khan Swati, Mohammad Humayun Mohmand, Falak Naz and Aon Abbas Buppi. The development comes two weeks after the PTI claimed some 30 of its lawmakers resigned from the membership of parliamentary committees, although the National Assembly Secretariat only confirmed the receipt of 20 resignations. The resignation letters of all seven senators, seen by Dawn.com, stated that the decision was made “voluntarily” upon the orders of Imran. They resigned from all their respective standing committees, decrying Imran’s incarceration as well as the “disintegration of democratic norms” in the wake of the recent disqualification of PTI lawmakers. Imran, imprisoned since August 2023, ... -
Dawn - 12:00 Sep 11, 2025
An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Quetta on Thursday extended the physical remand of Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) chief Dr Mahrang Baloch and other organisers of the group on the police’s request, according to her lawyer. Advocate Israr Baloch told Dawn.com: “The arrested leaders of the BYC were presented before Judge Muhammad Ali Mubeen of Quetta ATC -1, who extended their physical remand in police custody for 15 more days on the police’s request,” adding that apart from Mahrang, Bebow Baloch, Sibghatullah Shahji, Gulzadi and Beberg Baloch were presented in the court as well. The BYC is a Baloch advocacy group working against enforced disappearances since 2018. Its chief Mahrang, along with other BYC members, was arrested on March 22 on allegations of “attacking” the Quetta Civil Hospital and “inciting people to violence”. The arrests were made a day after the group faced a police crackdown while protesting against alleged enforced disappearances. Mahrang was taken into custody under Section 3 of the Maint... -
Dawn - 11:40 Sep 11, 2025
Security forces have killed 19 terrorists in three separate operations across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the military’s media wing said on Thursday. According to a statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), “On 9-10 September, nineteen Khwarij belonging to the Indian proxy, Fitna al Khwarij were sent to hell in three separate engagements in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.” The state uses the term Fitna al Khwarij to refer to terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). It later designated Balochistan-based groups as Fitna-al-Hindustan to highlight India’s alleged role in terrorism and destabilisation across Pakistan. The ISPR said that an intelligence-based operation was conducted in KP’s Mohmand district upon the reported presence of terrorists there. “During the conduct of [the] operation, own troops effectively engaged the khwarij’s* location, and after an intense fire exchange, fourteen Indian-sponsored khwarij were sent to hell.” It added that another intelligence-based oper... -
Dawn - 10:51 Sep 11, 2025
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi on Thursday condemned the Punjab government’s reported ban on wheat supply to his province. Kundi had last week expressed his regret over reports that wheat supply from Punjab had been suspended. However, Punjab officials tasked with maintaining supplies of commodities and regulating their prices denied there was any ban on the grain’s inter-provincial movement. “The arbitrary ban imposed on August 31, 2025, by the Government of Punjab on the supply of wheat and flour to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is a blatant violation of Article 151 of the Constitution and a serious breach of national unity,” Kundi said on X. The Constitution’s Article 151 states that “trade, commerce and intercourse throughout Pakistan shall be free”, but empowers the parliament to “impose such restrictions on the freedom of trade, commerce or intercourse between one province and another or within any part of Pakistan as may be required in the public interest”. The KP governor further noted: “As a res...
5467 items