Dawn
Source:
https://www.dawn.com
Found 9144 news
-
Dawn - 07:03 Dec 15, 2025
The Foreign Office (FO) on Monday condemned the “heinous” attack which claimed the lives of six United Nations (UN) peacekeepers from Bangladesh in Sudan’s Kadugli, calling for holding those responsible accountable. At least six Bangladeshi peacekeepers were killed and eight wounded in a drone attack on a UN base on Saturday in the disputed Abyei region between Sudan and South Sudan, according to Bangladesh’s armed forces. In a statement released on Monday, the FO said, “Pakistan condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the heinous attack against UN peacekeepers in Kadugli, Sudan, which has resulted in the tragic deaths of six peacekeepers from Bangladesh serving with the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (Unisfa), and injuries to several others.” It expressed Pakistan’s deepest condolences to the government and people of Bangladesh on the lives lost, adding that Pakistan stood in solidarity with the bereaved families. “UN peacekeepers remain at the forefront of international efforts to preven... -
Dawn - 06:49 Dec 15, 2025
Two alleged gunmen who killed 15 people at a Jewish celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach were a father and son, police said on Monday, as Australia began mourning victims of its worst gun violence in almost 30 years. The father, a 50-year-old, was killed at the scene, taking the number of dead to 16, while his 24-year-old son was in a critical condition in hospital, police said at a press conference on Monday. The father and son were identified as Sajid Akram and Naveed Akram, respectively, by state broadcaster ABC and other local media outlets. Officials have described Sunday’s shooting as a targeted anti-Semitic attack. Forty people remain in hospital following the attack, including two police officers who are in a serious but stable condition, police said. The victims were aged between 10 and 87. Witnesses said the attack at the famed beach, which was packed on a hot evening, lasted about 10 minutes, sending hundreds of people scattering along the sand and into nearby streets. Police said around 1,000 peopl... -
Dawn - 06:05 Dec 15, 2025
Hong Kong’s High Court on Monday found tycoon and pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai guilty of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces in the city’s highest-profile trial under a China-imposed national security law that could see him jailed for life. The landmark case has drawn international scrutiny of Hong Kong’s judicial independence amid a years-long crackdown on rights and freedoms in the global financial hub after 2019 pro-democracy protests that Beijing saw as a challenge to its rule. While 78-year-old Lai’s supporters see him as a freedom fighter, Beijing sees him as a mastermind of the protests and a conspirator advocating for US sanctions against Hong Kong and the mainland. Chinese authorities have rejected accusations of eroding the city’s rule of law. “There is no doubt” that Lai “had harboured his resentment and hatred of” China for many of his adult years, Judge Esther Toh told a packed courtroom as the tycoon, wearing a pale green jumper and a grey jacket, sat with his arms folded. The two ot... -
Dawn - 05:58 Dec 15, 2025
The man held as a “person of interest” in the Brown University shooting that left two students dead and nine injured will be released from custody, authorities said on Sunday night. Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez said earlier at a midday news conference that a man in his 20s had been taken into custody in connection with Saturday’s gun violence but gave no further details. But at a late-night news conference hours later, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley and other state and local officials told reporters the man detained would be released from custody, saying the investigation was going into a “different direction”. “We have not yet solved this case, but I am confident we are going to do that in the near future,” Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said. Officials declined to elaborate on why the man who was taken into custody was detained in the first place. “There was a quantum of evidence which justified detaining this person as a person of interest,” Neronha said, adding that investigators later ... -
Dawn - 03:03 Dec 15, 2025
WASHINGTON: The United States and India have jointly called on the United Nations to impose fresh sanctions under the UN Security Council 1267 regime on affiliates of the militant Islamic State (IS) group and Al Qaeda, as well as on Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and their alleged proxy networks. Both LeT and JeM were declared proscribed organisations by Pakistan in 2002. The proposed sanctions — a global asset freeze, travel ban, and arms embargo — signal closer US-India counterterrorism cooperation. Yet, strikingly, the joint statement does not mention Pakistan. That omission has not gone unnoticed, especially given India’s frequent charge that such groups operate from Pakistani soil — a claim Islamabad denies. Joint call makes no mention of Islamabad, despite India’s wishes Observers interpret the omission as deliberate and revealing of Washington’s strategic balancing act in South Asia. As Washington-based analyst Shuja Nawaz noted: “The US may have avoided naming Pakistan. It has named Ind... -
Dawn - 02:33 Dec 15, 2025
• Host Iran taps regional players as reliable actors; warns against prescriptions ‘imported’ from foreign powers • Kabul regime declines invitation to attend; ex-Pakistani diplomat terms it ‘head-in-the-sand attitude’ • Any tension between Afghanistan and Pakistan also affects Tehran, says Iranian foreign ministry spox ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday urged the Afghan Taliban to rid their country of all militant groups, while Iran stressed the need for regional cooperation, rather than foreign intervention, at a multinational Afghanistan-focused meeting in Tehran. The calls for action came during a meeting of Special Representatives for Afghanistan from neighbouring countries, plus Russia. The Taliban were invited to participate, but declined to attend, according to statements from both Iranian and Taliban officials. The high-level gathering in the Iranian capital brought together special representatives from Pakistan, China, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan to discuss shared security conc... -
Dawn - 19:00 Dec 14, 2025
The Pakistan Super League’s 11th edition is planned to be held from March 26 to May 3, 2026, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi said on Saturday, while also announcing that the auction for two proposed new franchises would take place on January 8. The announcements were made during a PCB investor roadshow in New York, part of an overseas promotional campaign aimed at attracting commercial interest ahead of a potential expansion of the league from six to eight teams. The PCB has previously indicated that expansion is under consideration, though the addition of new franchises has not yet been formally ratified. Addressing attendees at the event, Mohsin said the PCB had taken administrative control of the Muzaffarabad Cricket Stadium and intended to begin renovation work. He added that efforts were under way to have the venue ready in time for the PSL, though he acknowledged that completion before the tournament was not guaranteed. “We are starting Muzaffarabad’s stadium, which we have taken over... -
Dawn - 18:58 Dec 14, 2025
Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Mohammad Sadiq on Sunday pressed the ruling Taliban in Afghanistan to clean their country of all terrorist groups. He was speaking at the meeting of Special Representatives for Afghanistan in Iran’s capital of Tehran. Iran had invited the Taliban government, but it did not attend, according to a Taliban spokesman. Special representatives for Afghan affairs from Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, China, and Russia attended the meeting. “In my remarks, I agreed with the assessment of all participating countries that the continued threat of terrorism emanating from Afghan soil is a big challenge for the region,” the Pakistani special envoy told the meeting. Ambassador Sadiq wrote on X that he also stressed that the people of Afghanistan have already suffered enough and they deserved better. “It is, therefore, imperative that the current de facto rulers take steps to ameliorate their suffering. And the foremost step in this regard would be to rid thei... -
Dawn - 18:17 Dec 14, 2025
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on Sunday issued a statement denying that the entire crew of a PIA flight disappeared in Toronto, Canada, adding that it was “fake news” circulated by “anti-Pakistan quarters”. “A tweet, circulated by certain anti-Pakistan quarters, claiming that [the] whole crew of a particular PIA flight is missing, is entirely baseless,” the flag carrier said in a post on X, adding that the purpose was to “malign PIA and Pakistan”. “There has been no such incident, and the news is fake,” it added. Meanwhile, a PIA spokesperson issued a separate statement denying the news, claiming that the information had been circulated by an “Afghan and anti-Pakistan account”. “The misleading tweet is part of a well-conceived plan based on hostility towards Pakistan and is aimed at damaging the reputation of the national airline and the country,” the spokesperson said, clarifying that the news held no truth. Missing PIA crew members, particularly in Canada, have been reported in the past, too. On Nov... -
Dawn - 18:03 Dec 14, 2025
Ukraine has relinquished its aim to join the Nato military alliance in exchange for Western security guarantees as a compromise to end the war with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday as peace talks got underway in Berlin. Zelensky aired the concession as he flew to the German capital, where he began meetings with US President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner in efforts to end Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War Two. The move marks a major shift for Ukraine, which has fought to join Nato as a safeguard against Russian attacks and has such an aspiration included in its constitution. It also meets one of Russia’s war aims, although Kyiv has so far held firm against ceding territory to Moscow. Zelensky met the US envoys at talks hosted by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who, a source said, had made brief remarks before leaving the two sides to negotiate. Other European leaders are also due in Germany for talks on Monday. Security guarantees from the United... -
Dawn - 17:02 Dec 14, 2025
One of the suspected shooters in a gun attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Sunday has been identified by police, a senior law enforcement official told the public broadcaster Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Ten people were killed and around a dozen were wounded when gunmen opened fire during a Jewish holiday event at the beach, Australian officials said. New South Wales police said two people had been taken into custody, and the ABC said one of at least two gunmen was among those killed. According to the law enforcement official, the suspect was identified as Naveed Akram, who lives in the Sydney suburb of Bonnyrigg. ABC gave no information on his nationality. “The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Mr Akram’s home … was being raided by police on Sunday evening,” ABC reported. Australian police said an “improvised explosive device” had been found in a car linked to a suspect in the deadly shooting. “We have found an improvised explosive device in a car which is linked to the deceased ... -
Dawn - 16:58 Dec 14, 2025
The Federal Investigation Agency’s immigration wing has arrested a passenger arriving from Cambodia at Jinnah International Airport, exposing a migrant smuggling and international fraud network with links to Southeast Asia. According to a statement issued by the FIA on Saturday, the suspect was taken into custody during a major operation at the airport. Initial investigations revealed that the suspect was involved in organised migrant smuggling and online fraud activities operating out of Cambodia. The FIA said the suspect had travelled from Pakistan to Cambodia in September 2024, where he worked for an online fraud company. “He later began recruiting individuals from Pakistan as agents, allegedly facilitating their movement to Cambodia under false pretences,” the statement said. During forensic analysis of the suspect’s mobile phone, investigators recovered passport photographs of several individuals, payment receipts and records of financial transactions. The agency said the suspect received money through p... -
Dawn - 16:45 Dec 14, 2025
Security forces have killed 13 terrorists during two separate intelligence-based operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the military’s media wing said in a statement on Sunday. “On 12-13 December 2025, thirteen 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 a statement. Fitna-al-Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). It said that the first intelligence-based operation (IBO) was carried out on the reported presence of the terrorists in KP’s Mohmand district. “During the conduct of [the] operation, own troops effectively engaged the khwarij’s location, and after an intense fire exchange, seven khwarij were sent to hell.” It added that the second IBO was conducted in the province’s Bannu district, where security forces neutralised six more terrorists. “Sanitisation operations are being conducted to eliminate any other Indian... -
Dawn - 16:12 Dec 14, 2025
The hall at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington glowed in Christmas colours on Saturday evening. Red and gold decorations framed the space, while green — the unmistakable green of Pakistan — appeared everywhere: in flags, ribbons and lapel pins. White lights shimmered softly, echoing both the season and the crescent-and-star that defines the country these guests continue to call their own. The pre-Christmas gathering, hosted for Pakistani Christians and their neighbours, began and ended with a chant that left little doubt about that bond: “Pakistan Zindabad.” It was not a slogan offered for form’s sake. It was spoken with warmth, conviction, and an insistence born of long experience. For more than a decade, speakers noted, such gatherings have brought together Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs and Jews — a quiet tradition of interfaith fellowship that has survived politics, violence and neglect. A message from the Virginia governor praised the organisers’ work over the past twelve years and encouraged the emb... -
Dawn - 15:36 Dec 14, 2025
The PTI on Saturday expressed grave concern over a report issued by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, Alice Jill Edwards, saying it exposed the “degrading treatment” of party founder and former prime minister Imran Khan during his incarceration at Adiala Jail and amounted to a “blatant violation of international law and fundamental human rights.” The report, released on Friday, claimed the PTI founder is being held in conditions that could “amount to inhuman or degrading treatment and called on authorities to comply with international norms and standards.” In a statement issued by PTI’s Central Media Department, the party said the UN report unequivocally confirmed what it has consistently maintained for a long time: that Imran Khan was being subjected to “inhuman, unlawful, and degrading treatment motivated entirely by political vendetta.” The PTI asserted that the report reaffirmed Imran’s 23 hours of solitary confinement, constant CCTV surveillance, isolation from the outside world, obstruct... -
Dawn - 14:46 Dec 14, 2025
Aseefa Bhutto appeals for public support ahead of polio vaccination campaign’s commencement tomorrow
As the nationwide polio campaign begins from Monday (tomorrow) to vaccinate over 45 million children, first lady Aseefa Bhutto Zardari has urged parents, caregivers, public representatives and community leaders to actively support the drive. Pakistan is one of the last two countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan, where polio remains endemic. So far, the country has recorded 30 polio cases, with the highest number of cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at 19. This will be the last polio campaign of the year, which will conclude on December 21. “The success of the campaign depends on our collective responsibility, so we must ensure that every child under five years of age receives polio drops,” she said in a statement. The campaign aims to vaccinate 45.4 million children nationwide, including 23.3 million in Punjab, 10.6 million in Sindh, 7.3 million in KP and 2.66 million in Balochistan, with the remaining children covered in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and Islamabad Capital Territory. The drive is ... -
Dawn - 14:22 Dec 14, 2025
The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) on Sunday issued a press release condemning a ban on government advertisements for various outlets operated by the Dawn Media Group, terming the ban an “attack on press freedom”. Over the past several days, multiple media bodies came together and condemned the 13-month ban, which initially affected the newspaper but extended to DawnNewsTV and the radio channel City FM 89. In its press release today, the PFUJ condemned the ad ban and called it “an attempt to control media and stifle free expression”. “In a joint statement, PFUJ President Afzal Butt and Secretary General Arshad Ansari expressed deep concern over the government’s decision, stating that it is an attack on freedom of expression and an attempt to financially cripple a respected media outlet,” the union said. “Dawn was founded by the father of the nation, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and the paper is respected globally for its unbiased reporting,” it added, quoting its president and secretary gen... -
Dawn - 14:08 Dec 14, 2025
You may feel worn out after a busy weekend of conversations and appointments, as though your social battery has run out. “The more we move around in large groups, engage in conversations or are exposed to conflicts, the more our energy levels drop, similar to a smartphone battery when used frequently,” says Dr Steffen Häfner, medical director of a hospital in Germany’s Bad Saulgau and specialist in psychosomatic medicine and psychotherapy. Everyone feels exhausted after a lot of socialising, says British author Amy Arthur, whose book Pace Yourself: How to Have Energy in an Exhausting World is dedicated to the issue. “The upper limit varies from one person to the next.” Experts agree that everyone, even extroverts who often draw energy from social interaction, needs time out to recover. “The key is to strike a balance between activity and relaxation,” says Dr Häfner. Only by retreating, resting or engaging in relaxing activities can you recharge your social battery. Good strategies for regeneration include: Re... -
Dawn - 14:06 Dec 14, 2025
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi asked PTI supporters on Sunday to “be ready” in case a call was made for a protest, adding that “we will together seize [our] Haqiqi Azadi (true freedom)” from the country’s current rulers. Afridi’s intimation came during a PTI rally in Kohat, where he reminded the crowd that incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan, had delivered the message from jail of “freedom or death”. “So if we go this time around, we will either return in shrouds or after getting freedom,” he said, adding that Imran had given the responsibility of making decisions — be it about talks with the government or protests — to Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) Chairman Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas.* The two leaders are part of the opposition alliance Tehreek-i-Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) along with the PTI, which has also nominated them as the opposition leaders in the National Assembly and Senate. “For my part,” Afridi said, “I met them and assured... -
Dawn - 11:28 Dec 14, 2025
Karachi police said on Sunday that eight suspects, “involved in running an extortion network” were arrested during a raid at the residence of Pakistan Sunni Tehreek (PST) chairman Muhammad Sarwat Ejaz Qadri in Karachi. Special Investigation Unit (SIU) Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Imran Khan confirmed Saturday night’s development during a press briefing in Karachi today. At the same time, he also clarified that Qadri was neither wanted by police nor had he been arrested. Moreover, the official said police had no evidence of the suspects’ association with any party. The SSP also clarified that police had found no evidence of the involvement of the PST chief or any other member in the extortion network. SSP Khan said multiple cases had been registered against the arrested suspects, who were associated with an extortion network run by two men, who he identified as Wasiullah Lakho and Abdul Samad Kathiawari. These two “most-wanted” suspects were reportedly “in hiding abroad”, the official said, adding tha...
9144 items