Dawn
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Dawn - 12:55 Aug 01, 2026
The PPP and the PML-N continued lambasting each other on Saturday, extending their rhetoric from the ongoing elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) to the other party’s previous tenures in power. The PPP and the PML-N — coalition partners in the Centre — have been engaged in a war of words since the PML-N emerged as the winner in the elections in AJK’s Mirpur division. The PPP has accused the PML-N of rigging in Mirpur and demanded re-polling. The political temperatures remain heated as the second phase of AJK elections is set to be held tomorrow in nine constituencies of Muzaffarabad division. The third phase is scheduled for August 10 in all 12 refugee constituencies, and 11 constituencies of Poonch division. In the latest exchange, PML-N senior leader Rana Sanaullah remarked on President Asif Ali Zardari’s role as he responded to PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s allegations of rigging in the 2024 general elections. “If you call the votes secured by the prime minister votes of Forms-47, then on what... -
Dawn - 11:05 Aug 01, 2026
The first time I stood beneath the ceiling of the Sadequain Gallery at Frere Hall, I could not look away. Arz-o-Samawat [The Earth and the Heavens] was Sadequain’s most ambitious mural and possibly his largest. His demise in 1986 left the mural permanently unfinished, and the empty blue space that remains gives the work a strange, mystic appeal, holding in itself the same intrigue that one might feel for the promised idea of heaven. Sadequain is said to have called it his own Sistine Chapel. I came across the same mural again recently, in miniature, on a postage stamp. On June 30, 2026, Sadequain’s 96th birthday, Pakistan Post unveiled three record-length stamps in the artist’s honour at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA), Islamabad. Each stamp measures 280mm by 40mm, and a set of three stamps — billed as the longest in the world — are available on one perforated sheet. The stamp sheet itself features two panels from the Frere hall ceiling, alongside the entire length of another Sadequain mural,... -
Dawn - 11:00 Aug 01, 2026
LOWER SOUTH WAZIRISTAN: A cleric affiliated with the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Maulana Muhammad Ismail, was shot dead by unidentified armed men in the Azam Warsak area of Birmal tehsil in Lower South Waziristan, it emerged on Saturday. District Police Officer (DPO) Muhammad Tahir said that the incident occurred after Friday prayers when unidentified assailants on a motorcycle opened fire on Ismail, killing him on the spot. The official said the assailants managed to escape from the scene. The DPO said that an initial report of the incident had been registered and an investigation into the killing had been launched. He added that police were examining the incident from all angles. According to police officials and local tribal elders, the deceased was a resident of Kazha Panga and was serving as a teacher at a religious seminary in the area. In May, renowned cleric and former JUI-F MPA Maulana Muhammad Idrees was killed in Charsadda after unidentified assailants opened fire on him. In January, JUI-F l... -
Dawn - 10:23 Aug 01, 2026
CDF Munir says Pak-China friendship has remained steadfast amid evolving regional, global challenges
Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir said on Saturday that the friendship between Pakistan and China is “unique, time-tested and has remained steadfast in the face of evolving regional and global challenges”. He made the remarks while addressing a gathering at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi, held to commemorate the 99th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said. It said that China’s Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong was the guest of honour on the occasion. China’s Defence Attaché Major General Wang Zhong, officials from the Chinese Embassy and senior military officers from Pakistan’s tri-services also attended the ceremony. According to ISPR, Field Marshal Munir extended a warm welcome to the distinguished guests and congratulated the PLA on the occasion of its 99th founding anniversary. “He paid tribute to the PLA’s remarkable contributions to China’s defence, national developme... -
Dawn - 10:19 Aug 01, 2026
MANSEHRA: The district administration on Friday barred tourists from travelling to Lake Saiful Muluk after the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) forecast more monsoon rain and possible cloudbursts in Naran, the commercial hub of Kaghan Valley. “The district administration has imposed the ban at the request of the NDMA and the PDMA to ensure the safety of tourists, as heavy rains and possible cloudbursts are expected in the coming days,” Balakot Assistant Commissioner Hasrat Khan told reporters. An order issued by the district administration stated that, in light of the PMD’s forecast of heavy rainfall and possible cloudbursts, all travel to Lake Saiful Muluk would remain banned until further orders. Meanwhile, the business community in Kaghan Valley urged the district administration to reconsider its decision to suspend travel to the popular tourist destination. “The district administration has already placed all its departments and Rescue 1122 on high alert in Kaghan Valley. In such a situa... -
Dawn - 10:01 Aug 01, 2026
PPP leader Saeed Ghani on Saturday alleged that the PML-N had never won a general election without rigging. Addressing a press conference in Karachi, Ghani said, “The PPP did not secure power through rigging in any of the elections held till today. “On the other hand, however many times the PML-N has secured power, it has not been without rigging.” Ghani, also the Sindh labour minister, made the allegation as he responded to a PML-N member calling on the PPP to not “give lectures on democracy”. “If you do not want to give the PPP the right to speak on democracy, then will you give it to Gen Musharraf or Gen Zia, or the leaders created by them?” he quipped, referring to the two former military dictators. The PPP leader said he “did count the 1985 election”, alleging that PML-N supremo and ex-premier Nawaz Sharif “conspired” against ex-prime minister Mohammad Khan Junejo. He further claimed that his party “became a target of rigging” in the 1988 and 1990 elections, which resulted in the PML-N winning. He went o...
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Dawn - 09:59 Aug 01, 2026
KARACHI: Parts of Karachi received light rain on Saturday, with the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) predicting more showers till Monday. Light rain was reported in Gulshan-i-Maymar, Gulshan-i-Hadeed, Super Highway and nearby areas, DawnNewsTV reported. Meanwhile, the PMD has predicted light to moderate rain with dust and thunderstorm in Karachi from today till August 3. According to the forecast, a westerly wave, affecting the northern areas, is likely to strengthen and affect upper and central parts of the country. Under the influence of the system, moderate rainfall with dust and thunderstorms is likely in Karachi from Saturday (today) till Monday with occasional gaps, it said. It also forecast moderate to heavy rainfall in Tharparkar, Umerkot, Mirpurkhas, Badin, Sanghar, Khairpur, Tando Muhammad Khan, Tando Allahyar, Hyderabad, Matiari and Shaheed Benazirabad districts. The department also forecast rainfall with dust and thunderstorm in Ghotki, Kashmore, Jacobabad, Shikarpur, Sukkur, Qambar Shahda... -
Dawn - 08:44 Aug 01, 2026
LAHORE: MNA Malik Muhammad Iqbal Channar, who had been unwell for several weeks, passed away in Bahawalpur on Saturday. He was 76. According to the family, his funeral prayers will be offered at 6pm on Saturday at Bahawalpur Stadium. He was father of Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Malik Zaheer Iqbal Channar. Channar, who had served as a provincial minister and remained an influential PML-N leader in south Punjab for decades, was elected to the National Assembly from NA-168 Bahawalpur. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed profound grief over Channar’s demise and paid tribute to his political, social and public services. The prime minister described him as a sincere public representative, a committed and ideological PML-N worker, and a loyal companion of former premier Nawaz Sharif. “I had the privilege of knowing him personally and had the opportunity to work with him on several occasions when he served in my Punjab cabinet,” PM Shehbaz said, adding that Iqbal’s loyalty, dedication, public service and commi... -
Dawn - 08:19 Aug 01, 2026
QUETTA: The bodies of the remaining two miners trapped following a methane gas explosion in a mine near Quetta were found on Saturday. The explosion occurred on Thursday at a private coal mine in the Sorange coalfield, about 30 kilometres northeast of Quetta. The methane gas explosion triggered a fire, caused the mine to collapse, and affected another nearby mine. Balochistan Chief Inspector of Mines Muhammad Atif confirmed to Dawn that “all 34 bodies of coal miners trapped” in the mines have been recovered. He added that the last two bodies were recovered after hectic search efforts. The bodies of 32 miners were recovered on Friday. Atif said both mines were sealed after the rescue operation was completed and a probe into the tragic incident has been ordered. “A team of mining experts has been formed, which has initiated a probe into the incident,” the official said. All of the miners hailed from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Shangla district, Atif said, adding that their bodies have been dispatched to their native v... -
Dawn - 08:13 Aug 01, 2026
GILGIT: A search and rescue operation to locate seven climbers part of a 10-member team that went missing after an avalanche at Broad Peak earlier this week resumed on Saturday morning. The operation was suspended late Friday due to adverse weather conditions in the region. The bodies of three climbers — Oman’s Nadhira Ahmed Abdullah Al Harthy, Nepal’s Pur Bahadur Gurung and American Mallory Geis — were found on Friday and airlifted to Skardu. The missing climbers include five from Nepal, including renowned mountaineer Nirmal Purja, Kili Pemba Sherpa, Nima Sherpa, Nawang Thindu Sherpa and Gyalu Sherpa. Pakistan’s climber Sohail Sakhi and China’s Wang Zhong are also among those missing. According to the local administration, a three-member civil rescue team, led by renowned mountaineer Sarbaz Khan, was taking part in the search and rescue operation. The team started their ground mission again on Saturday morning to locate the seven missing climbers. Additionally, Nepali climbers present at the basecamp with ot... -
Dawn - 05:55 Aug 01, 2026
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he wanted to “forgive” protesters who abused him during recent youth-led demonstrations that dealt a rare political setback to his government. The remarks came after the online Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) mobilised large protests in New Delhi and other cities over examination paper leaks, posing the biggest challenge to Modi’s government in recent years. Some protesters featured in widely circulated videos shouting insults at the prime minister have since faced online abuse from Modi supporters as well as police complaints, according to local media reports. Police have also asked social media platforms, including Meta and X, to take down what they described as abusive and manipulated content targeting the premier. “The country and the world witnessed what happened at Jantar Mantar. Some mischievous youngsters hurled vile abuses,” Modi, 75, said in a video posted on Instagram late on Friday. “Words were used that do not belong to civilised society — directed not just at... -
Dawn - 05:39 Aug 01, 2026
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said on Saturday he has scrapped a plan to allow private investment in the World Cup following fierce backlash from football officials worldwide. “Our purpose has always been — and will always be — to unite and improve,” Infantino said in a statement. “As a result, this proposal will not proceed.” FIFA, world football’s governing body, had floated the plan on Tuesday, saying it could raise up to $4.2 billion based on a valuation of $20bn for a new FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), a commercial subsidiary it proposed to run events such as the World Cup and Club World Cup. It said that, if approved, the project could provide each of FIFA’s 211 member associations with a one-off payment of $20 million in early 2027 and increase their funding allocation for the 2027-2030 cycle from $8 million to $20m. The Asian Football Confederation, which represents 47 member nations, welcomed the plan’s withdrawal on Saturday. Any initiative that may impact global football should be “presented and ... -
Dawn - 05:11 Aug 01, 2026
Austrian Markus Kronthaler’s remains being brought down from Broad Peak. Six Pakistani and two Austrian mountaineers collaborated in the 2007 recovery mission | Photo courtesy Georg Kronthaler This piece was originally published on July 5, 2026. In the past few decades, Pakistan’s mountains have become more and more accessible. A better-equipped airport at Skardu, improved road networks and social media exposure have transformed Pakistan’s adventure tourism industry from being engaged by a select few into one that is attracting hundreds of climbers and trekkers each season, to climb some of the world’s most difficult peaks and cross the highest passes. By any metric, Pakistan’s mountain tourism industry and its local mountaineering culture have seen remarkable success in recent years. But the rapid expansion has also led to some catastrophic consequences, and one that mountaineers know all too well: people do not always return. Fatal accidents claim climbers every season, including those with a lifetime of ex... -
Dawn - 04:10 Aug 01, 2026
LAHORE: Activists of the Haqooq-i-Khalq Party were arrested on Friday while holding a peaceful demonstration outside the press club to show solidarity with the Joint Action Committee of AJK. However, a party spokesperson says that all the detainees have been released on the condition that there will be no demonstration on Saturday (today). Activist Farooq Tariq was also among those arrested during the peaceful solidarity protest with the people of Kashmir. He was dragged, harassed and forcibly taken away in a police van. Along with him, Punjab Police arrested dozens of other protesters, including Muzammil Kakar and Hussain Jameel Faridi. The HKP expressed its deep concerns on the arrests as there was no information about the whereabouts of Farooq Tariq or other detainees. The party demanded their immediate release and called on the authorities to disclose their whereabouts without delay. The Pakistan Kissan Rabita Committee (PKRC) also strongly condemned the arbitrary arrest of its Federal Committee member, F... -
Dawn - 03:56 Aug 01, 2026
LAHORE: Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has begun meeting PML-N lawmakers on a regular basis to hear their concerns and address issues being faced by their constituents, apparently in an attempt to bridge a growing gap between the party’s legislators and the administrative machinery in the province. On Friday, PML-N MPAs from Bahawalnagar called on the CM and discussed the prevailing political situation, development projects in their constituencies and public issues. The meeting was part of a renewed effort by Ms Nawaz to engage with the party’s lawmakers more frequently. The PML-N legislators from Mandi Bahauddin had also met her over a week ago. CM’s ‘preference for bureaucracy’ has caused resentment among lawmakers The chief minister has been finding it difficult to regularly meet party lawmakers since assuming office in February 2024 because of her demanding schedule and extensive administrative engagements. However, the move to hold more frequent meetings comes against the backdrop of complaints among PML-N ... -
Dawn - 03:37 Aug 01, 2026
ARTIFICIAL intelligence has quickly become a country, economy and boardroom priority. Across different organisations and industries, leaders are asking the same questions: which model should we use? Should we deploy ChatGPT or Claude? Do we need an AI strategy? Where should we begin? How quickly can we implement it? These are important questions. But I believe they overlook a more fundamental one: is our organisation actually ready to benefit from AI? Over the last few months as I have been thinking about how AI is changing organisations, this question has become increasingly difficult to ignore. Many organisations are treating AI as a technology challenge when, in reality, it is exposing a much older management challenge. That challenge is how organisations manage information. Most discussions assume that AI itself is the limiting factor. I suspect the opposite is true. For many organisations, particularly in developing economies like Pakistan, the limiting factor is the organisation itself. Consider a man... -
Dawn - 03:31 Aug 01, 2026
BUDGET season is behind us — and with it the opportunity for productive conversations and comparisons centring on inter-governmental development priorities and structural reforms. In recent memory, the only time such conversations flooded the airwaves was after the KP chief minister’s visits to Lahore and Karachi some months ago. For a brief moment, comparisons between the progress achieved under the PTI’s 12-year rule in KP and the track record of parties in other provinces dominated the political discourse — from street discussions among residents to heated arguments between party leaders on national programmes. Given the divisive political slurs that normally eclipse serious political discussions, the debate on actual governance and performance was indeed a welcome change. However, that is where the positivity ended. While greater insight may elude the man on the street regarding service delivery and development, the questions and responses of policymakers, elected officials and senior anchorpersons leave... -
Dawn - 03:25 Aug 01, 2026
AS the US-Iran war drags on, new battle lines are being drawn. The pro-US Gulf Arab monarchies and Iran have enjoyed a chequered history, specifically after the latter’s Islamic Revolution of 1979. But now, in the midst of the current conflict, the Arabs and Iranians are moving dangerously close to direct confrontation. One manifestation of this is the new maritime defence coalition that Saudi Arabia has just announced. At least 14 countries, among them Pakistan, Egypt and Turkiye, have signed a joint statement supporting the coalition that seeks to “strengthen maritime security” in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and the Bab al-Mandeb strait. The development comes after the pro-Iran Yemeni Houthi militia announced a blockade of Saudi ports last month. Many saw the Houthi move as an Iranian pressure tactic to complement the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. While Tehran’s decision-makers may have sought to hurt the US and its allies with these closures, the truth is that they were affecting the entire international ... -
Dawn - 03:09 Aug 01, 2026
• Claims IHC failed to follow court’s May 12 directives • Insists delays have kept her behind bars for more than 140 days despite pending appeal ISLAMABAD: Rights activist Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir on Friday moved the Supreme Court with an application seeking an early hearing of her criminal appeal, in which she challenged the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) Feb 19, 2026, refusal to suspend her 17-year sentence in the controversial social media posts case. Earlier, on July 21, the Supreme Court had adjourned the hearing in the case on the ground that the IHC had already fixed her application for suspension of sentence in the main appeal for July 24. However, the apex court observed that if any urgency arose, the appellant could move an application for an early hearing. Subsequently, the high court declared the petitions filed by Ms Imaan Mazari and her husband, Hadi Ali Chatta, inadmissible. Moved through senior counsel Faisal Siddiqi, the fresh application requested the Supreme Court to suspend the Jan 24, 202... -
Dawn - 02:57 Aug 01, 2026
PAKISTAN’S request for a $10 billion Exchange Stabilisation Support Facility from the US Treasury involves one of Washington’s most powerful, but least understood financial tools. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb requested the facility, with a maturity period of up to five years, during a visit to Washington earlier this month. The request comes as Pakistan continues to face external financing pressures, including the need to maintain foreign exchange reserves, meet international debt obligations and support stability in the currency market. Unlike traditional assistance programmes from multilateral lenders, an arrangement through the US Treasury’s Exchange Stabilisation Fund (ESF) would represent a direct bilateral financial mechanism between Washington and Islamabad. From Mexico in 1995 to Argentina last year, the US has quietly deployed its Exchange Stabilisation Fund to rescue struggling economies If approved, an ESF-backed facility could provide Pakistan with additional liquidity at a critical junctur...
12385 items