Dawn
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Dawn - 13:03 Aug 18, 2025
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro on Monday said India’s purchases of Russian crude were funding Moscow’s war in Ukraine and had to stop. New Delhi was “now cosying up to both Russia and China”, Navarro wrote in an opinion piece published in the Financial Times today. “If India wants to be treated as a strategic partner of the United States, it needs to start acting like one.” India’s Foreign Ministry has previously said the country is being unfairly singled out for buying Russian oil while the US and European Union continue to purchase goods from Russia. US President Donald Trump announced an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods earlier this month, citing New Delhi’s continued purchases of Russian oil. The move will take total tariffs on imports from India to 50pc. “India acts as a global clearinghouse for Russian oil, converting embargoed crude into high-value exports while giving Moscow the dollars it needs,” Navarro wrote. The adviser also said India’s close ties with Russia and China made ... -
Dawn - 13:00 Aug 18, 2025
The rumour mill had been churning for some time now. And yet, the notion of going into the T20I Asia Cup next month without the most experienced batters in the line-up was considered too big of a gamble even for this administration that continues to be crushed under the weight of abysmal results. Moreover, the hamstring injury to Fakhar Zaman during Pakistan’s last T20I assignment in the Caribbean further fuelled the speculation. But the administration has been crystal clear in its ambitions for the T20I side. And so Aaqib Javed, one of the four selectors, flanked by head coach Mike Hesson confirmed on Sunday that for the first time in a decade, Pakistan did not intend to take Babar Azam, their highest run-scorer across all international cricket in the last 10 years, to the Asia Cup, as he announced the squad. Mohammad Rizwan was the other notable omission from the squad. Pakistan have played 14 T20Is this year and both former captains have not featured in any of them. The implosion To understand how we got t... -
Dawn - 12:11 Aug 18, 2025
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Monday ordered the adoption of modern Japanese technology and methodology in managing sewage and waste treatment in the province. Pakistan generates millions of tonnes of solid waste annually, but only a small fraction of sewage is treated. Inadequate sanitation in urban areas leads to recurring floods, waterborne illnesses and the resurgence of preventable diseases such as cholera, dengue and polio. The chief minister is currently on a five-day visit to Japan. A statement from her office said CM Maryam issued the order during a visit to Japan’s largest wastewater treatment plant in Yokohama today. “Japan’s modern technology and methods will be used for sewage and waste management in Punjab,” the statement quoted her as saying. The statement added that she inspected the waste treatment systems of Asahi, Yokohama City, Kanagawa, Washimaku and Yodogawa. According to the statement, the chief minister was given a detailed briefing on methods of collecting garbage and wastewat... -
Dawn - 11:30 Aug 18, 2025
An Islamabad research institute is set to host Afghan leaders and women activists this week to discuss the regional peace and stability, organisers said on Monday. Pakistan and Afghanistan have witnessed an improvement in bilateral relations after taking steps to improve ties, such as the revival of the Joint Coordination Committee and upgrading diplomatic ranks. The South Asian Strategic Stability Institute (Sassi) University will organise the dialogue on August 25 and 26, according to Dr Maria Sultan, the think tank’s chairperson and director general. While both neighbouring countries have held bilateral engagements at the government level, this will be the first such Pak-Afghan dialogue since the 2021 Taliban takeover of Kabul. Some Afghan TV channels and media run by Afghan journalists in exile contended that Pakistan has invited anti-Taliban leaders. However, the Sassi University chairperson denied that the dialogue was against the Taliban or other Afghan political parties. Sultan said, “The main purpose... -
Dawn - 09:47 Aug 18, 2025
As Pakistan engages with the US on the details of a trade deal, one that includes partial tariff relief — reducing rates from 29 per cent to 19pc — and explores deeper commercial ties, including potential higher US imports and investment in key sectors, the private sector has responded with cautious optimism. The rate reduction signifies a significant reversal of the tariff hike imposed on April 2, 2025, when Washington, under its ‘reciprocal tariffs’ policy, introduced additional duties on over 60 trading partners to address trade imbalances. These tariffs ranged from 10–50pc, with Pakistan initially placed in the higher bracket, alongside other developing states. Beyond public statements by US President Trump and Pakistani leadership, detailed information about the trade deal remains scarce in the public domain. Key official sources, such as the US Department of Commerce, have yet to release details of the agreement. The existing Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, signed in 2003, probably continues t... -
Dawn - 06:15 Aug 18, 2025
SAHIWAL / NAROWAL / OKARA / DERA GHAZI KHAN: Villages near the river banks of the Sutlej, Ravi and Indus are at risk of flooding due to the increasing water levels, whereas local administrations have started taking precautionary measures in adjoining areas. The Baein and Auj drains at the river Ravi have started overflowing, and hundreds of acres of land have been submerged. Land erosion is being reported near Chak Jamil, Fatehpur, Shahpur and Chanjhora villages due to the floodwater. Water level in Ravi has risen from 12,000 cusecs to 51,400 cusecs. Meanwhile, Rescue 1122 rescued 68 people trapped in the floodwater due to flooding in the rain drain flowing into the Shakargarh tehsil. Of these, eight citizens were trapped near village Dinpur and 60 were rescued near village Sikmal. The local administration has setup 15 flood relief camps on the banks of River and its rainwater drains. Narowal Deputy Commissioner Syed Hassan Raza said that the situation on the banks of Ravi and its rain drains was under contro... -
Dawn - 06:14 Aug 18, 2025
Words popularised by Gen Z and Gen Alpha, including “skibidi”, “delulu”, and “tradwife” are among 6,000 new entries to the online edition of the Cambridge Dictionary over the last year, its publisher said on Monday. Cambridge University Press said tradwife, a portmanteau of traditional wife, reflected “a growing, controversial Instagram and TikTok trend that embraces traditional gender roles”. The dictionary also took on the challenge of defining skibidi, a word popularised in online memes, as a term which had “different meanings, such as cool or bad, or can be used with no real meaning”. The gibberish word was spread by a YouTube channel called “Skibidi Toilet” and is associated with the mindless, “brain rot” content found on social media and consumed by Gen Alpha’s overwhelmingly digital lifestyle. The dictionary defined delulu, derived from the word delusional, as “believing things that are not real or true, usually because you choose to”. As an example, it cited a 2025 speech in parliament where Australia... -
Dawn - 06:02 Aug 18, 2025
NAROWAL: Pakistan Railway police have registered a case against 14 unidentified youths for harassing and torturing a woman and her children aboard the Lasani Express. A complaint registered with the Lahore Pakistan Railway police, Razia Sultan, resident of Fateh Ali Colony of Narowal, said that she boarded the Lasani Express passenger train with her daughters and son to travel to Narowal from Lahore. She alleged that two boys, aged between 20 and 22, started harassing her daughters. She said that when she and her son tried to stop them from molesting her daughters, they attacked her son. She said other passengers intervened and saved her son. However, she alleged that as soon as the train stopped at the Narang Mandi railway station, around 10 to 12 boys came and attacked her and her children. She said that they punched and kicked them and they were helpless because of the sudden attack. She said that on hearing their screams, passengers in the train rescued them from the youths. An FIR was registered against ... -
Dawn - 05:13 Aug 18, 2025
• At least 323 dead, 150 missing in the province; PM orders ministers to supervise KP relief efforts • 657 lives lost nationwide since June 26; NDMA warns of more rain spells next month • Food shortages, lack of utilities take hold as parts of GB remain cut off • Flows in Punjab rivers subside to ‘low flood’ levels PESHAWAR/ISLAMABAD: With more than 150 people feared missing, the recent catastrophic floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have claimed at least 323 lives, provincial authorities said on Sunday, as the nationwide toll from rain-related incidents since late-June rose to 657. As another two to three waves of heavy rain are expected in early September, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed members of his federal cabinet to personally supervise relief operations in the worst-hit KP province. Speaking at a news conference on Sunday, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Director General Asfandyar Khattak said that as per details collected by revenue staff in the Buner and Shan... -
Dawn - 04:53 Aug 18, 2025
Air Canada’s fleet of hundreds of planes remained grounded on Monday morning after striking flight attendants refused a government-backed order to get back to work and called on the airline to return to the bargaining table. The carrier, which normally carries 130,000 people daily and is part of the global Star Alliance of airlines, had planned to start ramping up operations on Sunday evening, after a labour relations board ordered the union to return to work and start binding arbitration. The union said no, setting up an almost unprecedented standoff with the Canadian government, which had requested the back-to-work order. The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents 10,000 Air Canada cabin crew, had pushed for a negotiated solution, saying binding arbitration would take pressure off the airline. The attendants are striking for better wages and to be paid for work on the ground, such as boarding passengers. They are currently only paid when planes are moving, sparking some vocal support from Cana... -
Dawn - 04:52 Aug 18, 2025
ISLAMABAD: A multiparty conference (MPC) on Sunday declared that past internal and foreign policies are responsible for the current instability and terrorism plaguing Pakistan, particularly in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces. The conference, organised by the Awami National Party (ANP), asserted that peace and development are not possible without democracy, the supremacy of the constitution, and granting rights to the provinces. Although 20 political parties attended the conference, the PTI was absent. According to ANP sources, the PTI was invited to the conference, but no prominent leader from the party attended it on Sunday. Attendees included Senator Aimal Wali Khan, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, PML-N’s Irfan Siddiqui and PPP’s Nayyer Bukhari, among others. Calls for an end to military operations in KP, Balochistan In a joint declaration, the participants condemned all forms of terrorism and extremism, which they alleged were a result of past policies, and stressed the need for new... -
Dawn - 03:35 Aug 18, 2025
• 120,000 connections for LNG-based piped supply planned in first year • Move comes amid push to address continuing glut in gas network ISLAMABAD: The government is almost set to allow new gas connections at the price of imported LNG — around Rs3,900 per million British thermal unit (mmBtu) at the current rate — and almost four times the current connection fee. Sources told Dawn that a summary has been moved by the petroleum division to the federal cabinet for lifting the ban on new connections, with a first-year target of 120,000. Priority would be given to applicants who had previously been issued demand notices or had paid the urgent fee but could not get connections because of a subsequent ban. The number of new connections would be enhanced for next year. Around 250,000 applicants fall in this category, who would have to file affidavits not to approach the courts for their past claims and the connection fee increase. Before the ban, consumers were allowed to pay an upfront fee of Rs25,000 to secure a con... -
Dawn - 02:39 Aug 18, 2025
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said the government is working on a priority basis to digitalise the economy and shift financial transactions to a cashless and digital system. Chairing a review meeting on cashless economy in Islamabad on Sunday, he directed all the provincial chief secretaries to fully cooperate with the federal government in expanding the Raast digital payment system to the district level. The prime minister expressed satisfaction over the progress made towards a cashless economy and digital financial systems. The meeting was briefed that Pakistan will develop digital public infrastructure to create digital IDs for every citizen, integrating national identity cards, biometrics and mobile numbers. These digital IDs will enable secure and efficient payments. It was further said that the provincial governments have shown significant progress in linking government-to-public and public-to-government payments with the Raast system. The meeting was informed that the federal developme... -
Dawn - 01:30 Aug 18, 2025
A Lahore magistrate on Sunday dismissed the case against transgender persons for allegedly organising an “objectionable” private party after police had arrested them earlier. According to the court order, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, the case was dismissed after “no incriminating material is available on record which connects the accused persons with the commission of alleged offences. “Hence, the request of 10 days for physical remand of the accused persons is hereby turned down, and the accused persons present in the court are hereby discharged in this case.” The order added that no private witness of the occurrence was associated during the raid, nor were any statements taken. “Moreover, no permission for making a raid is attached with the file on a private place. Prima facie, it seems that the accused persons were included in the case on the basis of forged and concocted facts,” the order said. Lawyer Haider Butt represented the accused in the case. He confirmed to Dawn.com that all the acc... -
Dawn - 18:48 Aug 17, 2025
The police on Sunday said that they were investigating the death of senior DawnNews TV reporter “from all possible angles,” hours after his body was found in Sindh’s Sanghar district. The senior journalist was found dead in his car, parked on Hyderabad Road in Sanghar, on Saturday night under what police termed “mysterious circumstances”. The body was found in the driving seat, with a gunshot wound to the head. Sanghar Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Abid Baloch told Dawn.com that police were investigating the death of DawnNewsTV reporter Khawar Husain Bajwa from “all possible angles”. “The postmortem of the journalist was conducted in Sanghar’s Civil Hospital, and police are awaiting the provisional findings of the process,” he said. “Apparently, there is a single bullet wound from a 9mm pistol with an exit wound on the left side of the temple”, SSP Baloch said, adding that only one bullet casing was found. “We are not drawing any conclusion at this point and are looking at this case from all possible ... -
Dawn - 18:20 Aug 17, 2025
Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Sunday questioned the government’s writ in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s tribal areas as various political parties set their demands in a declaration at the Awami National Party-organised multiparty conference (MPC) in Islamabad. The ANP organised the conference, which was attended by representatives from the PPP, JI, MQM, JUI-F and Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M), among other parties Speaking at the conference, Fazl said: “No doubt there is a question mark on the government’s writ [in KP’s tribal areas].” He added that the tribal areas of the province are in the grip of armed groups, as people have to pay extortion money to them. “Armed groups take 10 per cent of the officially approved funds,” he claimed. He also questioned why there was a need to restore the jirga system after seven years of the merger of tribal areas with KP. The multiparty conference also saw speeches by ANP central president Senator Aimal Wali Khan, National Democratic Mo... -
Dawn - 17:54 Aug 17, 2025
Principal Saeed Ahmad’s swift order on Friday saved nearly 900 students in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Swat minutes before surging waters demolished the school. “It was exactly 9am when I had a last glance at the stream and sensed it was going to burst its banks due to continuing rains,” Ahmad, 59, the school’s principal, told Anadolu. Ahmad ordered an immediate evacuation of nearly 950 enrolled students. Within 15 minutes, the children and teachers had left. Minutes later, torrents of water smashed into the school, washing away half the building, its boundary walls and the playground. “Around 900 students were present on August 15 when the flood struck our village and other adjoining areas,” said Sarwar Khan, a local councillor. “This timely action by the principal saved 900 lives.” The school was one of dozens of educational institutions destroyed in floods that have wreaked havoc across several districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, killing more than 350 people in the past three days, officials said. Ahmad, who has ser... -
Dawn - 17:52 Aug 17, 2025
Rescue operations continued on Sunday after severe flash floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with the toll rising to 323 people dead and 156 injured, with 217 deaths recorded in Buner alone. The KP government declared an emergency on Saturday as torrential rains ravaged homes, displaced families, and left a trail of destruction across Buner, Swat, Shangla, Mansehra, and beyond, with authorities warning that dozens of victims may still be trapped under debris. On Sunday evening, the PDMA released an updated damage report outlining casualties and property damage from August 15 until 6:30pm. “The dead include 273 men, 29 women and 21 children, while the injured include 123 men, 23 women and 10 children,” the PDMA stated. An updated damage report from the PDMA outlining damage from flooding in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from August 15 till August 17. — Screenshot via PDMA The PDMA’s figures also show that 320 cattle heads were killed in the flooding, while 336 homes, 57 schools and 23 other structures were damaged or destroyed... -
Dawn - 17:03 Aug 17, 2025
Terence Stamp, who made his name as an actor in 1960s London and went on to play the arch-villain General Zod in the Hollywood hits Superman and Superman II, has died aged 87, his family said on Sunday. The Oscar-nominated actor starred in films ranging from Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Theorem in 1968 and A Season in Hell in 1971 to The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert in 1994 in which he played a transgender woman. The family said in a statement to Reuters that Stamp died on Sunday morning. “He leaves behind an extraordinary body of work, both as an actor and as a writer, that will continue to touch and inspire people for years to come,” the family said. “We ask for privacy at this sad time.” Born in London’s East End in 1938, the son of a tugboat stoker, he endured the bombing of the city during World War II before leaving school to work initially in advertising, eventually winning a scholarship to go to drama school. Famous for his good looks and impeccable dress sense, he formed one of Britain’s mos... -
Dawn - 15:50 Aug 17, 2025
European leaders will join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on a Monday visit to Washington to see United States President Donald Trump in a collective bid to find a way to end Moscow’s invasion, with the US offering security guarantees for Kyiv. The meeting follows a summit in Alaska between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin that failed to yield any breakthrough on an immediate ceasefire that the US leader had been pushing for. Trump, who pivoted afterwards to say he was now seeking a peace deal, on Sunday posted, “Big progress on Russia, stay tuned!” on his Truth Social platform, without elaborating. Trump’s Russia envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday that Trump and Putin had agreed in their summit on “robust security guarantees” for Ukraine. But Zelensky, on a Brussels visit hosted by European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen today, rejected the idea of Russia offering his country security guarantees. “What President Trump said about security guarantees is much more important to me than P...
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