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Dawn - 03:16 Jun 17, 2025
• New Delhi possessed 172 warheads in 2024, 180 in 2025 • SIPRI data says Pakistan continues development of new delivery systems, accumulation of fissile material ISLAMABAD: India is adding to its nuclear stockpile, while Pakistan continues the development of new delivery systems, according to an annual report by a Swedish armament watchdog. The arms race in South Asia is a microcosm of the “dangerous new nuclear arms race” that is emerging across the globe, as nearly all nuclear-armed states continued to modernise their arsenals in 2024, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said. In its annual yearbook, SIPRI warned that the nine nuclear powers — the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel — are not only upgrading existing stockpiles, but also developing new nuclear weapons, amid the steady erosion of international arms control agreements. The report highlights the continuing deterioration of global security, exacerbated by war... -
Dawn - 03:11 Jun 17, 2025
ISLAMABAD: The government is reevaluating the powers granted to Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) officers to arrest suspected tax evaders and adding guardrails to prevent arbitrary detentions after concerns expressed by businesspeople and lawmakers over the blanket authority and its potential misuse. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday formed a committee to reexamine the matter and recommend stringent safeguards to prevent the misuse of powers by tax officers. FBR Chairman Mahmood Langrial told Dawn that the provisions could be revised to mandate the permission of multiple senior officers before any arrest. In the Finance Bill introduced last week, the government proposed amendments to the Sales Tax Act, 1990, to allow FBR officers to investigate tax fraud and make arrests. As per the proposed amendments, assistant or deputy commissioners could arrest tax defaulters after seeking approval from the commissioner. The proposed Section 37AA reads: “The officer of Inland Revenue, during the investigation, ha... -
Dawn - 00:24 Jun 17, 2025
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday dismissed an alleged video circulating online of an Iranian official saying Pakistan will attack Israel with nuclear weapons, amid the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel. Nearly 80 people, including top army officers, were killed while civilians were among over 300 wounded in Iran as a result of Israeli strikes on military sites and private residences on June 13. Iran subsequently launched its own retaliation with ballistic missiles fired at Israel and the two countries continued to exchange a volley over the weekend. Posts from multiple Indian and others users on social media platforms and Indian media outlets since Sunday shared a video of Iranian National Security Council member Mohsen Rezaei, claiming that he said Pakistan told Iran that if Israel drops a nuclear bomb on Tehran, Pakistan would retaliate in kind amid current tensions. However, fact-checking platform iVerify Pakistan concluded that the video was doctored, and the Iranian o... -
Dawn - 19:07 Jun 16, 2025
Israel and Iran have been trading missile strikes since the former launched an air offensive on Friday, killing commanders and scientists and bombing nuclear sites in a stated bid to stop Tehran from building an atomic weapon. The ongoing conflict has caused widespread destruction in both nations. Smoke billows from an explosion in southwest Tehran on June 16. — AFP Smoke billows from an explosion at the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) building in Tehran after being attacked on June 16. — AFP Mourners carry the coffins of people killed in Israeli attacks during their funeral in Hamedan, western Iran on June 16. — AFP Smoke billows for the second day from the Shahran oil depot, northwest of Tehran, Iran on June 16. — AFP A man carrying a wounded girl following the Israeli strikes on Tehran, Iran on June 15. — Reuters Smoke billows from a site in the city of Haifa, Israel on June 16, following a barrage of Iranian missiles. — AFP Firefighters work at an impact site following an Iranian missile atta... -
Dawn - 19:04 Jun 16, 2025
Iran state TV resumed live coverage after Israel’s attack on the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) building on Monday. “The Zionist regime, the enemy of the Iranian nation, minutes ago conducted a military operation against the Islamic Republic of Iran news network”, part of IRIB, said Hassan Abedini, a senior official at the broadcasting service. “The regime (Israel) was unaware of the fact that the voice of the Islamic revolution and the great Iran will not be silenced with a military operation.” The blast occurred as the presenter was live on TV, lambasting Israel before she was seen leaving the live broadcast, Iranian media reported, sharing a video of the incident. The attack was confirmed by the Israeli defence minister as well. Iran’s Mehr news agency posted visuals from the attack on the IRIB building on X. Iran’s Press TV also shared a video showing the aftermath of the attack. IRNA reported that “live programmes were briefly halted at the IRIB News Network but returned to normal a few min... -
Dawn - 18:38 Jun 16, 2025
Armed men killed one person and injured five others on Monday after they opened fire over non-payment of extortion in Karachi’s Surjani Town, according to the police. West Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Tariq Illahi Mastoi told Dawn.com that “two suspects on a motorcycle resorted to an indiscriminate firing on a restaurant,” killing a rickshaw driver and injuring five others. He added that the police registered a first information report (FIR) under Sections 34 (common intention), 302 (intentional murder), 324 (attempted murder), 384 (punishment for extortion) and 385 (putting person in fear of injury in order to commit extortion) of the Pakistan Penal Code against unknown suspects and launched an investigation. According to the FIR, the complainant, the restaurant operator, said that he had received a phone call on the restaurant’s cell number on May 30 during which the caller demanded extortion, adding that he had informed the police but did not lodge an FIR. He said that two armed suspects on a bike... -
Dawn - 18:36 Jun 16, 2025
A federal judge said on Monday that she would issue a brief extension of an order temporarily blocking United States President Donald Trump’s plan to bar foreign nationals from entering the US to study at Harvard University while she decides whether to issue a longer-term injunction. US District Judge Allison Burroughs, at the end of a hearing in Boston in Harvard’s legal challenge to the restrictions, extended to June 23 a temporary restraining order that had been set to expire on Thursday. She said she wanted to give herself more time to prepare a ruling. “We’ll kick out an opinion as soon as we can,” she said. Ian Gershengorn, a lawyer for Harvard, told her that an injunction was necessary to ensure Trump’s administration could not implement his latest bid to curtail the school’s ability to host international students. The judge scheduled the hearing after issuing a temporary restraining order on June 6, preventing the administration from implementing a proclamation that Trump had signed a day earlier. A p... -
Dawn - 18:06 Jun 16, 2025
Pakistan on Monday repatriated another 618 nationals from both Iran and Iraq amid Tehran’s ongoing conflict with Israel, according to the Foreign Office (FO) and a district official in Balochistan. A day ago, the government was able to repatriate 450 zaireen (pilgrims) from Iran, with more to follow from the neighbouring country as well as from Iraq. Arrangements were made for the safe evacuation of Pakistani students currently residing in Iran, including 154 in the first batch. The move came after Israel launched an air offensive against Iran on Friday, killing commanders and scientists and bombing nuclear sites in a stated bid to stop Tehran from building an atomic weapon, which the latter has consistently denied, saying its uranium enrichment programme is for civilian purposes. Around 350 Pakistani pilgrims stranded in Iran returned to their homeland on Monday after crossing the border at Taftan, according to a district official in Balochistan. Chagai Deputy Commissioner Attaul Muneem told Dawn.com that 35... -
Dawn - 18:03 Jun 16, 2025
A Peshawar child protection court on Monday sentenced a suspect to death and life imprisonment over charges of rape and serial killing carried out in July 2022. In 2022, police had arrested a man in Peshawar on charges of sexually assaulting three minor girls and killing two of them. Former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa inspector general of police (IG) Moazzam Jah Ansari had told reporters that the 20-year-old embroiderer had confessed to sexual assaults and murders. The suspect was declared a serial killer by the police, who also said that he sexually assaulted the girls before killing them and dumping the bodies. In a press release today, KP police said that the province’s “first serial killer and rapist was sentenced to death and life imprisonment through an excellent police investigation”. “The suspect — involved in the July 2022 rape and serial killing cases — was sentenced to death five times by the child protection court,” the statement added. KP IG Zulfiqar Hameed congratulated the joint investigation and operat... -
Dawn - 17:06 Jun 16, 2025
The United Nations said on Monday that it was drastically scaling back its global humanitarian aid plans due to the “deepest funding cuts ever” — leaving tens of millions of people facing dire straits. The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said it was seeking $29 billion in funding for 2025 compared to the $44bn originally requested in December, in a “hyper-prioritised” appeal. UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, said later on Monday that it would have to terminate 3,500 jobs, cutting 30 per cent of its workforce costs, as aid funding evaporates. Since US President Donald Trump returned to office in January, the United States — the world’s top donor — has heavily slashed foreign aid, causing havoc in the humanitarian sector across the globe. Drastic US funding cuts have had dramatic consequences for emergency aid, vaccination campaigns and the distribution of drugs to fight AIDS. Other major donor countries have also cut back their contributions in the face of an uncertain economic out... -
Dawn - 16:49 Jun 16, 2025
Two people were killed and 11 others injured on Monday when a bomb planted in a motorcycle exploded in Balochistan’s Barkhan district, officials said. Barkhan Deputy Commissioner Abdullah Khosa told Dawn.com, “The explosive material was planted in a motorcycle parked in the main market of Rakhni, Barkhan district. It resulted in the death of two people and injured 11 others.” Four of the injured were in critical condition and were immediately taken to a hospital Dera Ghazi Khan for treatment, Khosa said. He added that nearby shops, buildings, and one car were also damaged by the blast. “An emergency has been imposed in all hospitals across Barkhan following the blast, while police, Levies and Frontier Corps (FC) personnel reached the site of the incident and began collecting evidence,” he said, adding that law enforcement agencies have also cordoned off the area and begun a search for the suspects A similar incident occurred in March when four people were killed and five others were injured when an improvised... -
Dawn - 16:30 Jun 16, 2025
After the unveiling of Sindh’s budget last week was met with protests by opposition lawmakers, PPP Senator Quratulain Marri on Monday lamented that Sindh was “being treated like a colony of the federation”. Last week, Sindh Chief Minister Shah Murad had also warned that the PPP — a coalition partner of the PML-N-led federal government — would not support the passage of the federal budget in parliament if Islamabad continued to manage development schemes in Sindh instead of transferring them to the provincial government. “The federal government has wronged us. They have dissolved the Public Works Department (PWD), which was responsible for overseeing development projects across provinces,” Murad had said, adding that while the other three provinces received funding for development projects accompanied by their budgets, Sindh was completely overlooked. Senator Marri, chairing a meeting of the Senate Planning and Development Committee today, questioned why Sindh was “being treated like a colony of the federation... -
Dawn - 16:00 Jun 16, 2025
Pakistan beat Japan 3-2 in their second match of the FIH Hockey Nations Cup at Kuala Lumpur’s National Stadium on Monday. Ghazanfar Ali gave Pakistan the lead when he scored in the first quarter. Less than a minute later, Japan’s Kazumasa Matsumoto scored to level the field 1-1. Koji Yamasaki scored Japan’s second goal of the match within two minutes, bringing the score to 2-1. The second quarter saw the score remain steady, but vice-captain Waheed Ashraf Rana scored for Pakistan in the third quarter to tie the score at 2-2 once more. Sufyan Khan scored a decisive goal in the final quarter to take the score to 3-2 and give the Green Shirts their first win of the eight-team tournament. A day earlier, Pakistan and Malaysia played out a pulsating 3-3 draw in their opening fixture of the Nations Cup, with the Green Shirts relinquishing a lead late in the match. Pakistan will now face New Zealand on Wednesday, June 18 at 3pm PKT. The 20-member national squad was announced earlier this month, with Imad Butt being a... -
Dawn - 14:51 Jun 16, 2025
Bangladesh’s war crimes court ordered fugitive ex-leader Sheikh Hasina on Monday to return to face trial on charges amounting to crimes against humanity. Hasina, 77, fled Dhaka by helicopter to India in August 2024 at the culmination of a student-led mass uprising. She has defied an extradition order to return to Bangladesh. Up to 1,400 people were killed between July and August 2024 when Hasina’s government launched a crackdown in a failed bid to cling to power, according to the United Nations. Hasina and former senior figures connected to her ousted government and her now-banned party, the Awami League, are being prosecuted in Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT). Prosecutors have filed five charges against Hasina, including abetment, incitement, complicity, facilitation, conspiracy and failure to prevent mass murder — charges that amount to crimes against humanity under Bangladeshi law. “The court directed the prosecution team to issue a notice as soon as possible summoning them to appear befor... -
Dawn - 13:38 Jun 16, 2025
The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday announced the schedule for the Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 set to be held in India and Sri Lanka in September. Pakistan will play all their matches of the 50-over World Cup in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo when India hosts this year’s tournament. Following India’s refusal to travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy earlier this year, a “hybrid model” was decided upon whereby India would play all its matches in Dubai, chosen as a neutral venue. Hosts India will get the tournament underway against Sri Lanka in Bengaluru on September 30 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, with action starting at 3pm local time, according to the schedule. Defending champions Australia then get their campaign up and running against neighbours New Zealand at Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore on October 1, while Pakistan will face Bangladesh a day later in Colombo. The highly anticipated India-Pakistan clash is set for October 5, after which Pakistan will play Australia on the 8th, Engl... -
Dawn - 13:26 Jun 16, 2025
Security forces killed five terrorists belonging to “Indian proxies” during operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Peshawar and North Waziristan districts, the military’s media wing said in a statement on Monday. “On 15-16 June 2025, five Khwarij belonging to Indian Proxy, Fitna-al-Khwarij, were killed in two separate engagements in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in the statement. In July last year, the government designated the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as Fitna-al-Khawarij, while mandating all institutions to use the term khariji (outcast) when referring to the perpetrators of terrorist attacks on Pakistan “An intelligence-based operation was conducted by the security forces in Peshawar district on the reported presence of Indian-sponsored khwarij”, it said. “During the conduct of the operation, own troops skillfully surrounded and effectively engaged the Indian-sponsored khwarij’s location, and after an intense fire exchange, four Indian-sponsored kh... -
Dawn - 13:17 Jun 16, 2025
Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem was named in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Asia list following his historic Olympic performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics, it emerged on Monday. The entertainment and sports list, which was originally published last month, aims to “[spotlight] the next generation of talent — on court and the screen.” Nadeem, 28, changed Pakistan’s sporting trajectory when he won gold and broke the Olympic record with a massive 92.97m throw in Paris — which Forbes called a “stunning show” — winning Pakistan’s first individual gold medal and the first of any colour in more than 30 years. His Olympic feat got him more than Rs153 million in cash prize from Punjab and Sindh, in addition to several other rewards handed out by various government entities and companies. The government also named a road in Islamabad in Nadeem’s honour, while Pakistan Post issued a commemorative stamp on Independence Day to pay tribute. Nadeem retained his javelin supremacy when he took home gold at last month’s Asian Athletic Cha... -
Dawn - 12:32 Jun 16, 2025
Air India Chairman N Chandrasekaran on Monday told staff that last week’s plane crash that killed at least 271 people should be a catalyst to build a safer airline, urging employees to stay resolute amid any criticism. In a town hall held at the headquarters of the Tata Group-owned airline near New Delhi and attended by 700 staff, Chandrasekaran said the crash was the “most heartbreaking” crisis of his career, a spokesperson told Reuters. “I’ve seen a reasonable number of crises in my career, but this is the most heartbreaking one,” he said, according to a transcript provided by a Tata Group spokesperson. “We need to use this incident as an act of force to build a safer airline,” Chandrasekaran said. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with 242 people on board bound for Gatwick Airport south of London began losing height seconds after take-off in Ahmedabad on Thursday, and erupted in a huge fireball as it hit buildings below. All but one on board were declared dead in the world’s worst aviation disaster in a decade, ... -
Dawn - 12:20 Jun 16, 2025
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) maintained its policy rate on Monday at 11 per cent, after many analysts cited inflation risks from rising global commodity prices amid Iran-Israel tensions. The central bank’s policy rate, after being slashed by 1,000bps from 22pc since June 2024 in seven intervals, was cut to 11pc last month. “The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to keep the policy rate unchanged at 11 per cent,” the SBP said in a statement. Several brokerages had initially expected a cut but revised their forecasts after the Israeli strikes sparked fears of a broader conflict. The MPC observed that global oil prices had “rebounded sharply, reflecting the evolving geopolitical situation in the Middle East and some ease in US-China trade tensions”. “Taking stock of these developments and potential risks, the committee assessed that the real interest rate remains adequately positive to stabilise inflation within the target range of 5–7pc,” the MPC stressed. The escalating hostilities after Israel’s atta... -
Dawn - 11:34 Jun 16, 2025
China’s nuclear arsenal has grown faster than that of any other country, reaching an estimated 600 warheads by early 2025, adding momentum to the global arms race and raising strategic concerns, an international security think tank said on Monday. The country’s nuclear stockpile has been expanding by roughly 100 warheads per year since 2023, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) said in its Sipri Yearbook 2025, warning that a new and dangerous nuclear arms race is taking shape amid a widespread weakening of arms control frameworks. According to the report, by January this year, China built or nearly completed around 350 new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) silos and could have at least as many ICBMs as either Russia or the United States by the turn of the decade. The report, however, said that even if China reaches 1,500 warheads by 2035, this would still represent only about a third of each of the current Russian and US stockpiles. Beijing said it follows a nuclear strategy th...
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