Dawn
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Dawn - 19:23 Jan 25, 2026
Shafi Jan, the special aide to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister for information, on Sunday doubled down on the stance that the federal government had ordered a military operation in Tirah. The PTI-led KP government has repeatedly opposed military operations in the province, an issue that has created friction between the party, the centre and the establishment, with the latter accusing PTI of providing sanctuary to militants. Speaking on Geo News programme Naya Pakistan with Shehzad Iqbal, Jan said the 24-member Jirga, which agreed on the displacement from Tirah before the operation, was “forced” to sign. Referring to the federal government’s statement that it had not issued any orders for the “depopulation” of Tirah, Jan said a large-scale military operation was being “imposed” rather than routine intelligence-based operations. When asked about the Khyber deputy commissioner’s (DC) signatures, he said the DC signed the deal just to facilitate the people, because the government “knew that the people would be ... -
Dawn - 19:05 Jan 25, 2026
HAYDERABAD: Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader Haider Abbas Rizvi has reiterated the party’s demand for the formation of an inquiry commission by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, including members from Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and others, to probe the Gul Plaza inferno. Addressing a press conference on Sunday in Hyderabad, Rizvi said that MQM chairman Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui had also written a letter to the prime minister to seek the formation of an inquiry commission under the Pakistan Commission of Inquiry Act 2017. “This commission must comprise representatives from FIA, IB, ISI, MI, NDMA and other federal bodies to find whether it is an act of subversion or an incident of fire”. He lambasted the Sindh government and Karachi administration for throwing debris of the fire, which also included remains of the deceased, at the Meva Shah ground, saying it would “compromise forensic investigation of the tragedy”. “It looks like evidence is being stolen,... -
Dawn - 18:56 Jan 25, 2026
KARACHI: The number of lives lost in the tragic Gul Plaza fire rose yet again on Sunday as two more bodies were recovered from the rubble, taking the death toll to 73. Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed confirmed to Dawn that the death toll has increased to 73. She added that so far, 23 deceased individuals have been identified, including 16 through DNA matching, six through facial identification and one because of their CNIC. Dr Syed stated that all DNA tests were being conducted at the Sindh Forensic DNA and Serology Lab at the University of Karachi. She shared a list of those identified so far: Kashif, son of Younus Aamir, son of Sulaiman Faraz, son of Anas Farooq, son of Anwar Furqan, son of Shoukat Mohammad Ali, son of Haji Habib Tanveer, son of Abdul Kaleem Mohammad Sharoz, son of Muhammad Iqbal Mohammad Athar, son of Shoukat Ali Sarfaraz, son of Noor Muhammad Mohammad Hanif, son of Abdul Ghani Misbah, daughter of Irfan Kausar Parveen, wife of Irfan Mohammad Saad, son of Muhammad Irfan Mohammad Ramzan, son... -
Dawn - 18:54 Jan 25, 2026
A peace committee member in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district was shot dead in a targeted killing near an Afghan refugee camp, while his cousin sustained serious injuries, the police said on Sunday. “The incident took place at the Afghan Refugees Camp in Domel tehsil, and the victims have been identified as Khwajatullah and Naseemullah,” the police said. “Both belonged to Gangi Khel.” The statement added that the incident occurred when Khwajatullah and Naseemullah were at a shop in Tehsil Colony to purchase groceries. “At that moment, two unidentified armed men arrived and opened indiscriminate fire on them,” it read. “As a result of the firing, Khwajatullah died on the spot, while Naseemullah was injured. The injured person was immediately taken to a nearby hospital, where he is currently under medical treatment.” In his statement to Domel Police, Naseemullah stated that the attack was sudden and that they had no personal enmity or dispute with anyone. District Police Officer Yasir Afridi said, “Investigat... -
Dawn - 18:53 Jan 25, 2026
Indonesian authorities resumed search-and-rescue efforts for 80 people missing after a landslide killed 10 in a residential area of West Java province. The landslide early on Saturday was triggered by heavy rains starting the day before, which the weather agency warned could continue for a week in the province and several other regions. Resident Dedi Kurniawan, 36, said it was the first big landslide he had witnessed in Pasir Langu village in a hilly area of the province about 100 km (60 miles) southeast of Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta. “Sometimes we have only small floods from the nearest river, but this time (the landslide) came from the forest,” he told Reuters. Rescuers were hampered on Saturday as unstable terrain and rain hindered them from deploying heavy machinery, Kompas TV reported, citing authorities. There were multiple reports of floods in West Java, including Jakarta. The floods have caused residents in heavily impacted areas to evacuate to higher ground or unaffected places. The landslide occur... -
Dawn - 18:32 Jan 25, 2026
The Ministry of Information has said that neither the armed forces nor the federal government has issued any orders for the “depopulation” of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Tirah Valley, where residents have been vacating their houses amid concerns about a planned military operation against militants. “The government has taken notice of misleading claims in circulation regarding alleged ‘depopulation’ from Tirah Valley on the orders of the army. “These assertions are baseless, malicious, and driven by ulterior motives aimed at creating alarm among the public. No directive has been issued for the depopulation of Tirah by the federal government and the armed forces,” a post on the ministry’s X account said on Sunday. The ministry further maintained in its statement that law enforcement agencies had been routinely conducting “targeted, intelligence-based operations, strictly against terrorist elements, with full care to avoid disruption to civilian life, for which no migration is needed or being undertaken”. “It may be no... -
Dawn - 18:31 Jan 25, 2026
More than 850,000 customers in the US, as far west as New Mexico, were without electricity and over 10,000 flights were cancelled on Sunday during a monster winter storm that paralysed eastern and southern states with heavy snow and ice. As snow, freezing rain and dangerously frigid temperatures swept into the eastern two-thirds of the nation on Sunday, the number of power outages continued to rise. As of 10:47am EST (8:47pm PKT) on Sunday, more than 850,000 US customers were without electricity, according to PowerOutage.us, with at least 290,000 in Tennessee and over 100,000 each in Mississippi, Texas and Louisiana. Other states affected included Kentucky, Georgia, Virginia and Alabama. More than 10,200 US flights scheduled for Sunday were cancelled, according to flight tracking website FlightAware. Over 4,000 flights were cancelled on Saturday. Washington, DC’s Ronald Reagan National Airport said airlines had cancelled all flights at the airport on Sunday. Delta Air Lines on Sunday said that it intended to ... -
Dawn - 18:12 Jan 25, 2026
As the cold wave is likely to persist across the province, the Sindh Government has decided to extend the revised school-opening timings across the province for the next 10 days, said a notification on Sunday seen by Dawn. On January 11, as the cold wave gripped the province, the education minister announced to revise school opening timings for two weeks, ending today (Sunday). The schools were directed to open at 9am instead of the earlier timings. According to a notification, “The timings for all public and private educational institutions under the administrative control of the School Education and Literacy Department shall continue till February 4.” As per the directives, the schools across Sindh will continue to open at 9am till the 4th of next month. Last week, the Education Deparment had issued warning letters to several schools for “completely ignoring” the government’s directives regarding the new school timings. An Education Department official also warned that all private schools were obliged to fo... -
Dawn - 16:57 Jan 25, 2026
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has warned against road closures and landslides from January 26 to 27 in the country’s upper parts due to heavy snowfall, advising citizens to remain “extra cautious”. In a statement, the Met Office said that in the next couple of days, “heavy snowfall may cause road closure/slippery conditions in Naran, Kaghan, Dir, Swat, Kalam, Chitral, Kohistan, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Shangla, Astore, Hunza, Skardu, Murree, Galliyat, Neelum valley, Bagh, Poonch, Haveli, Quetta, Ziarat, Chaman, Pishin, Qila Abdullah, Qila Saifullah, Nushki, Harnai and Zhob.” It further cautioned that there was a “possibility of landslides/avalanches in hilly areas of upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir” during the period. The PMD advised tourists to “remain extra cautious and avoid unnecessary travel during the next two days.” Heavy snowfall, avalanches and landslides have brought life to a standstill across KP, Balochistan, GB and Azad Kashmir (AJK), blocking roads, stranding t... -
Dawn - 15:35 Jan 25, 2026
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Sunday announced that the player auction for the 11th edition of Pakistan Super League (PSL) will be held on February 11. Earlier this week, the PCB had announced that the upcoming season of the country’s premier cricket league would adopt an auction model, replacing the previous draft system. On Sunday, the cricket board conducted a detailed workshop for the upcoming PSL player auction at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, which was presided over by PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi and attended by representatives from all eight franchises, PSL officials, and members of the T20 World Cup squad. During the workshop, the management shared a detailed presentation on the mechanics of the retention and the auction process and consulted with all the participants, the PCB said in a press release. “It was agreed that the HBL PSL Player Auction will take place on Wednesday, 11 February.” The PCB further revealed the base prices of the players, saying that “auction price and minimum incremental bid... -
Dawn - 13:42 Jan 25, 2026
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) left out express pacer Haris Rauf from the 15-man squad named on Sunday for next month’s ICC T20 World Cup jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka, although former captains Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi were named. The announcement was made in a press conference by PCB High Performance Director and member of the men’s national selection committee Aqib Javed, who was speaking alongside skipper Salman and white-ball head coach Michael James Hesson at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Rauf finished with 20 wickets in the Big Bash League (BBL) in Australia, but selector Javed said he doesn’t fit in the combination. “Rauf has played a lot of cricket for Pakistan, but we kept conditions in Sri Lanka in mind while selecting the squad,” Javed told a press conference in Lahore. Rauf is also the highest wicket-taker for Pakistan in T20I cricket with 133 in 94 matches. Among the players, Salman, Faheem Ashraf, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Sahibzada Farhan and Usman Tari... -
Dawn - 13:03 Jan 25, 2026
Security forces kill 3 terrorists in Balochistan’s Panjgur during intelligence-based operation: ISPR
Security forces killed three “Indian-sponsored terrorists” during an intelligence-based operation in Balochistan’s Panjgur district, the military’s media wing said in a statement on Sunday. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), “On January 25 (Sunday), security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation in Panjgur District of Balochistan, on [the] reported presence of terrorists belonging to Indian proxy, Fitna al Hindustan.” Fitna al Hindustan is a state-designated name for the Balochistan-based terror groups allegedly supported by India to target military personnel in Pakistan. The statement said that during the conduct of the operation, the security forces effectively engaged the terrorists’ location, and after an “intense fire exchange, three Indian sponsored terrorists were eliminated.” Among the killed was a local terrorist commander, Farooq alias Soro, the ISPR said. “Weapons, ammunition and explosives were also recovered from the terrorists, who remained actively involved in n... -
Dawn - 12:17 Jan 25, 2026
Video footage of the moment immigration agents shot dead a 37-year-old nurse in Minneapolis on Saturday appears to contradict Trump administration claims that the man was a violent aggressor who sought to “massacre” federal law enforcement officials. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after the shooting said Alex Pretti had “approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun” and “violently resisted” when they attempted to disarm him. Administration officials did not say whether Pretti had the gun in his hands at the time. Video shared widely by US media, which AFP has not verified, however, shows Pretti with a phone in his hands, filming agents in a snow-lined street and directing traffic. After an agent shoves a woman protester to the ground on the sidewalk, Pretti steps in between them and is sprayed in the face by a chemical irritant. The agent then pulls Pretti to the ground and several officers struggle to detain him on the icy roadway. Seconds later, as an officer in grey app... -
Dawn - 10:48 Jan 25, 2026
European Council president Antonio Costa arrived in India on Sunday, as the EU and New Delhi seek to seal a free trade pact, capping nearly two decades of negotiations between the economic behemoths. Costa and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen are chief guests for this year’s Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi on Monday before an EU-India summit on Tuesday, where they hope to shake hands on the accord, described as the “mother of all deals”. “President Costa is in New Delhi for the 16th EU-India summit taking place on Tuesday,” the EU Council said on X. “The summit will be an opportunity to build on the EU-India strategic partnership and further strengthen collaboration across key policy areas.” India, the world’s most populous nation, is on track to become the world’s fourth-largest economy this year, according to International Monetary Fund (IMF) projections. While the EU eyes India as an important market for the future, New Delhi sees the European bloc as an important source of much-ne... -
Dawn - 10:08 Jan 25, 2026
The absence of Bangladesh from next month’s T20 World Cup is a sad moment for the game and should serve as a call for stakeholders to work towards uniting the sport, not dividing it, the International Cricketers’ Association said on Sunday. Bangladesh were replaced by Scotland in the 20-team showpiece on Saturday following their refusal to tour India over safety concerns in the wake of soured political relations between the Asian neighbours. The governing International Cricket Council (ICC) rejected Bangladesh’s request to move their matches to tournament co-host Sri Lanka, saying it was not feasible to change the schedule so close to the February 7 start of the tournament. “The withdrawal of Bangladesh from the T20 World Cup, and resulting absence of a valued cricketing nation from cricket’s pinnacle international T20 event, is a sad moment for our sport, the Bangladesh players and fans, and one that requires deep reflection,” World Cricketers’ Association (WCA) Chief Executive Tom Moffat said in a statement... -
Dawn - 08:35 Jan 25, 2026
More than 4,000 flights were cancelled in the US on Saturday ahead of a monster winter storm that had already cut power to more than 230,000 customers as far west as Texas and threatened to paralyse eastern states with heavy snowfall. Forecasters said snow, sleet, freezing rain and dangerously frigid temperatures would sweep the eastern two-thirds of the nation on Sunday and into the week. Calling the storms “historic,” President Donald Trump on Saturday approved federal emergency disaster declarations in South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana, and West Virginia. “We will continue to monitor, and stay in touch with all States in the path of this storm. Stay Safe, and Stay Warm,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. ‘Crippling to locally catastrophic impacts’ Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have declared weather emergencies, the Department of Homeland Security said. “We do have tens of thousands of people in af... -
Dawn - 08:15 Jan 25, 2026
LONDON: British counter-terrorism police have charged three men in connection with a series of “highly targeted” attacks against Pakistani dissidents living in the United Kingdom, including a former adviser in the Imran Khan government. The alleged assaults took place in Cambridgeshire and Buckinghamshire between Dec 24 and 31 and were directed at two prominent supporters of the jailed former Pakistani prime minister. Counter-terrorism police took over the investigation from local forces, citing the deliberate and targeted nature of the incidents. One of the victims, Mirza Shahzad Akbar, a former accountability adviser in Mr Khan’s cabinet, said he was brutally assaulted at his home after an attacker confirmed his identity. He told British media that he had been punched repeatedly and is now in hiding, fearing for his and his family’s safety. On Friday, police confirmed that three British nationals had been charged. Karl Blackbird, 40, and Clark McAulay, 39, face charges of conspiracy to cause actual bodily h... -
Dawn - 05:47 Jan 25, 2026
RAWALPINDI: Federal Minister for Railways Hanif Abbasi on Saturday announced the formation of a cricket team named Rawalpindi Tigers, comprising youth from Rawalpindi, with trials scheduled to be held on February 14 and 15. “Players with Rawalpindi domicile will be included in the team purely on the basis of merit, and this team will not only participate in the PSL but will also be developed as a world-class team,” he said while addressing a press conference at his residence. Accompanied by Lahore Qalandars Chief Executive Officer Atif Rana, the railways minister said the trials would be held on February 14 and 15. “Any youngster appearing in the trials will be selected on merit,” he added. He said the Lahore Qalandars CEO would guide the initiative. He further stated that only youth with Rawalpindi domicile would be included in the Rawalpindi Tigers and that the team would participate in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). Thanking the Lahore Qalandars CEO for visiting Rawalpindi, Mr Abbasi said the franchise h... -
Dawn - 05:20 Jan 25, 2026
LAHORE: The Punjab Wildlife and Parks Department has seized 59 big cats from different parts of the province and arrested eight suspects for not following the department’s SOPs for housing the animals. As per details, the department seized 20 lions from a breeding farm in the Lahore division and arrested Fayaz alias Faizi and three others for violating the instructions that every lion pair should have at least 22 marlas of space for captivity. While another 23 big cats, including 14 tigers, four lions and five ligers were seized from a facility in CITI housing, Jhelum and one Muhammad Aamir was arrested. In Multan, a private wildlife breeding farm near the Askari Bypass in Cantonment area was also sealed for non-compliance of SOPs. As many as nine lions and a monkey were seized from the facility and an FIR was registered against one Waqas Ayub. Similarly in Gujranwala division, one person was arrested for possessing three lions in violation of the department’s guidelines at the Canal View Housing Society. Two... -
Dawn - 04:46 Jan 25, 2026
PAKISTAN’S underprivileged are perennially left out in the cold. As mercury dives to single digits, the government’s refusal to treat the biting cold as a climate emergency is claiming lives. In Chitral, at least nine members of a family were killed when an avalanche consumed their house. Intense snowfall and landslides have crippled routine life in KP, Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Azad Kashmir. Households grapple with unannounced power and gas cuts; commuters contend with blocked roads and highways. Power outages, suspended water supply, and extremely low gas pressure turned homes into dark freezers in Balochistan where temperatures were as low as minus 13°C. This month, nearly 50 people have reportedly died of the cold in Karachi alone — a city that usually experiences mild winters witnessed temperatures below 7°C. This weather system is expected to bring more rain and snowfall to the country but only Punjab seems prepared for it. Cold snaps often take an unsparing toll on the human body. Medical expe...
9064 items