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Dawn - 08:44 Dec 12, 2025
India has cut red tape to speed business visas for Chinese professionals, two officials said, a major step to boost ties between the Asian giants and end chronic delays that cost output worth billions of dollars because of scarce technicians. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi cautiously rekindles ties with Beijing in the face of punishing US tariffs, the officials said New Delhi dropped a layer of bureaucratic scrutiny and shortened visa approval times to less than a month. Both officials who confirmed the development to Reuters spoke on condition of anonymity. India had blocked virtually all Chinese visits after the nuclear-armed neighbours clashed on their Himalayan frontier in mid-2020, widening its vetting of business visas beyond the home and foreign ministries. The issues around securing visas have now been completely resolved, said one of the officials with knowledge of the matter. “We have removed the layer of administrative vetting and are processing the business visas within four weeks,” the official ... -
Dawn - 07:42 Dec 12, 2025
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is expected to retain interest rates at 11 per cent on Monday, a Reuters poll showed, as analysts push back rate-cut forecasts to late 2026 after the International Monetary Fund warned inflation risks persist and policy must stay “appropriately tight”. All 12 analysts surveyed expect no cut in the policy meeting scheduled for Monday. A majority of them see inflation hovering at 6pc–8pc in the coming months before rising again towards the end of fiscal 2026 as base effects fade and food and transport prices stay volatile after flood-related supply disruptions. Most respondents now believe the SBP will not begin easing until the closing months of FY26, which ends in June 2026, with some analysts pushing forecasts for the first cut into fiscal year 2027, beginning July 2026. IMF warns against premature easing The IMF, in a second review released on Thursday, said monetary policy needs to remain “appropriately tight and data-dependent” to keep expectations anchored and noted that ... -
Dawn - 07:41 Dec 12, 2025
Five cops were injured after terrorists launched a late-night attack on a police checkpost in Shaikh Landak area located within the Havaid police jurisdiction in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu, it emerged on Friday. A statement released by the spokesperson for the regional police officer, Kashif Nawaz, said Fitna al Khawarij terrorists attacked the post late on Thursday night. Fitna al Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The statement said that police personnel showed courage, bravery and acted in a timely manner, managing to repel the attack. “As a result of the effective and vigorous retaliatory fire by the police, the terrorists suffered heavy casualties,” the statement said. It said that the exchange of fire continued for three hours, adding that reports suggested that several terrorists had been killed and injured. It added that armed tribesmen and members of the peace committee backed police personnel in the gunfight with the terrorists.... -
Dawn - 07:35 Dec 12, 2025
A powerful earthquake struck off the coast of northern Japan on Friday, the weather office said, days after an even larger tremor shook the region and injured at least 50. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) upgraded Friday’s quake to magnitude 6.7 and warned that tsunami waves of up to one metre (three feet) could hit the northern Pacific coastline. In the end, waves of up to 20 centimetres were recorded on the main northern island of Hokkaido and in the Aomori region, the JMA said, before the tsunami advisory was lifted. Broadcaster NHK said there was no obvious change at either of the ports where the waves hit. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) also said that the quake measured 6.7 and was 130 kilometres (81 miles) off the city of Kuji in Iwate prefecture on the main island of Honshu. NHK said that the level of shaking was less than the bigger 7.5 tremor late on Monday, which knocked items off shelves, tore apart roads, smashed windows and triggered tsunami waves of up to 70 centimetres. In the ... -
Dawn - 07:26 Dec 12, 2025
A US congressional hearing this week noted that President Donald Trump has repeatedly described Pakistan as a “key regional partner” even as his administration seeks to further strengthen ties with India. The hearing — held by the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on South and Central Asia — also exposed sharp disagreements among lawmakers and analysts over the direction of Washington’s India policy. Witnesses warned during the hearing that tariff battles, visa restrictions and political mistrust had pushed the relationship into what several described as a “political standstill”. Jeff Smith of conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, long considered sympathetic to New Delhi, acknowledged that the partnership had entered “choppy waters”, attributing the downturn to Trump’s sweeping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods and India’s discomfort over US engagement with Pakistan after the May conflict between India and Pakistan. The conflict, the worst between the old foes in decades, was sparked by an attac... -
Dawn - 05:43 Dec 12, 2025
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he spoke with US President Donald Trump by phone on Thursday, as New Delhi seeks relief from 50 per cent US tariffs on some of the country’s key exports to punish India for its Russian oil purchases. “We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments,” Modi said in a post on X. A White House official confirmed the call took place, but gave no details about what was discussed. Modi and Trump have spoken three times since Trump doubled tariffs on imports from India to as much as 50pc, hitting exports of textiles, chemicals and food items such as shrimp. Modi described his conversation with Trump as “warm and engaging” and said their countries would continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity. Trade negotiations between the two sides collapsed in late July, after India resisted opening its market for US farm products and declined to acknowledge Trump’s role in mediating during a conflict betw... -
Dawn - 03:06 Dec 12, 2025
• Additional taxes, spending cuts planned to offset revenue shortfalls • Govt commits to raising federal excise duty on fertilisers, pesticides • FED to be introduced on sugary items; goods to be shifted to 18pc GST • Expenditure cuts pledged if National Tariff Policy leads to revenue losses ISLAMABAD: Having missed a total of 11 performance indicators under its IMF programme, the government has agreed to 11 new targets, including additional tax measures and expenditure cuts from early next month, to make up for rising revenue shortfalls and keep the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) on track. Commitment to the new or revised structural benchmarks, together with completion of two “prior actions”, enabled the conclusion of a staff-level agreement on the second review of the EFF and its approval by the IMF Executive Board for the disbursement of about $1.2bn, reveal fresh documents released by the Fund on Thursday. The government confirmed at the outset that it estimated a shortfall from the underperforma... -
Dawn - 02:55 Dec 12, 2025
• Pakistan ‘hopeful but realistic’ as over 1,000 scholars seek ‘necessary measures’ to discourage cross-border movement of fighters • FO says Afghan Taliban have failed to comply with past commitments, reiterates demand for written assurances ISLAMABAD: Amid concerns by Pakistan regarding the use of Afghan soil by militants to launch attacks inside the country, over 1,000 Afghan clerics recently passed a resolution apparently aimed at discouraging the flow of militancy from its territory to neighbouring states. The resolution, adopted by leading Afghan clerics, pledges that their country’s soil will not be used against other countries. In case of violations, the “Islamic Emirate has the right to take necessary measures against them”, it said, noting that Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada had not permitted any Afghan national “to travel abroad for military activity, so if anyone violates this… The Islamic Emirate must take necessary measures to prevent such people”. The resolution, though welcomed b... -
Dawn - 22:02 Dec 11, 2025
The government may consider banning social media platforms if they do not cooperate with authorities, Minister of State for Law and Justice Barrister Aqeel Malik said on Thursday. The social media platform X, which around 4.5 million people in Pakistan use, was blocked in February 2024, around 10 days after the general elections. Speaking on Dawn News programme “Doosra Rukh,” Barrister Malik, responding to a question about a possible ban on incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan’s X account, said “investigations are ongoing.” He added that while the government has contacted X, the platform has shown the least cooperation compared to other social media networks. Criticising X, the minister said the platform should not operate with double standards. “Posts related to Palestine are removed, and accounts blocked, within 24 hours. Here, we are talking about a matter of terrorism,” he said. He further noted that the government has issued reminders to social media platforms and warned that those that fail to cooperate ... -
Dawn - 18:55 Dec 11, 2025
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said on Thursday that although there had been no discussion with the PML-N about imposing governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the PTI-led government in the province was heading in a direction that could create conditions for such an option. The federal government is seriously considering imposing governor’s rule in KP, citing “security and governance issues” in the province as the reason for this potential move. Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar earlier said “governor’s rule is not the face of any martial law” and added that if the conditions merit it, then it was within the Constitution to implement it. Bilawal was speaking to the media during a visit to the Rajoa House residence of Syed Hassan Murtaza, the PPP’s central Punjab general secretary, in Chiniot to offer condolences on the death of his father. He said the PTI’s politics was creating conditions for governor’s rule in KP. “The PTI is forcing the federal government to take strict action against it … and it’s an op... -
Dawn - 18:16 Dec 11, 2025
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday met Serdar Berdimuhamedov, President of Turkmenistan, in Ashgabat. According to the PM Office, the prime minister congratulated the Turkmen president on the 30th anniversary of Permanent Neutrality of Turkmenistan and on the UN designation of 2025 as the International Year of Peace and Trust. While underscoring the importance of the historic and fraternal relations between Pakistan and Turkmenistan, the PM expressed his resolve to further strengthen bilateral ties between the two countries, particularly through enhanced trade and economic engagement. He conveyed his deepest gratitude to the Turkmen leadership and government for the support extended to safely evacuate Pakistani nationals from Iran during the Iran-Israel war earlier this year. The PM reaffirmed Pakistan’s desire to enhance connectivity with Turkmenistan through land and sea routes and said that Karachi and Gwadar ports were ideally located to be utilised by the Turkmen side to enhance their outreach to ... -
Dawn - 17:47 Dec 11, 2025
Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Sohail Afridi was denied permission to meet incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan for the 10th time on Thursday by the Adiala jail administration, while party leaders remain divided over the continuation of prolonged sit-ins outside the jail, warning that they could adversely affect the incarcerated leader. Political temperatures rose further a day earlier, as Rawalpindi police sought a legal opinion on the question of registering an FIR against PTI leaders and supporters over a protest outside Adiala jail, even as the party moved a privilege motion in the National Assembly over alleged use of force against its workers, and voiced alarm at reports of Imran Khan’s possible transfer to another prison. The PTI also joined other opposition parties in warning that efforts to “minus” the incarcerated former premier and clamp down on peaceful protest would only deepen the stand-off with the government and push the country towards greater political turmoil. Some party leaders bel... -
Dawn - 17:15 Dec 11, 2025
Time magazine named the “Architects of AI” as its Person of the Year on Thursday, highlighting the US tech titans whose work on cutting-edge artificial intelligence is transforming humanity. Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, OpenAI’s Sam Altman and xAI’s Elon Musk are among the innovators who have “grabbed the wheel of history, developing technology and making decisions that are reshaping the information landscape, the climate, and our livelihoods,” Time wrote. One of two covers of the magazine is a homage to the famous 1932 photograph of ironworkers casually eating lunch on a steel beam above New York City. In the Time illustration, sitting astride the city are Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, AMD chief Lisa Su, Musk, Huang, Altman as well as Google’s AI boss Demis Hassabis, Anthropic’s Dario Amodei and Stanford professor Fei-Fei Li. “Racing both beside and against each other, they placed multibillion-dollar bets on one of the biggest physical infrastructure projects of all time,” the magazine said of the group. “They reoriente... -
Dawn - 16:26 Dec 11, 2025
The deportation of Afghan refugees from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is likely to pick up pace as authorities are moving to push out those staying in refugee camps across the province after the Centre criticised the KP government’s response to the issue. In October, the federal government denotified 28 refugee camps across the province during a drive to expel more than 1.3 million Afghan nationals with Proof of Registration (PoR) cards — the last category of refugees legally living in Pakistan without visas. The process was underway since September 1. A senior government official told Dawn that Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi had accused the KP government of “going soft on Afghan refugees.” “While all refugee camps across the province had been denotified, a soft drive was ongoing in KP to send them to Afghanistan,” he said. The official said the Pak-Afghan border was closed for new arrivals and trade, while it was only open for deportation and repatriation of Afghan refugees. In a presser last week, the interior ministe... -
Dawn - 16:23 Dec 11, 2025
Troops from Pakistan and China are conducting a two-week long counter-terrorism exercise to “enhance interoperability and strengthen military-to-military cooperation between the two countries”, said the military’s media wing on Thursday. “Pakistan Army and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China are conducting joint counterterrorism exercise Warrior-IX from 28 November to 14 December 2025,” said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). A ‘Distinguished Visitors Day’ was also held today during the drills at the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) Pabbi. In attendance were the Ambassador of China to Pakistan, Jiang Zaidong, as the chief guest and Pakistan Army’s chief of general staff as the guest of honour. Senior dignitaries from China accompanied Zaidong. “Honourable guests were briefed on the scope, objectives, and conduct of the joint exercise during the visit. They witnessed various counter-terrorism drills and appreciated the professionalism, operational competence, and high morale demonstrat... -
Dawn - 16:22 Dec 11, 2025
In a rare conviction, former spymaster Faiz Hameed was sentenced on Thursday to 14 years rigorous imprisonment under the Army Act. Hameed, who served as the chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency from 2019 to 2021, was under trial since August last year. The statement released by the military’s media affairs wing stated Hameed was found guilty of charges related to engaging in political activities, violation of the Official Secret Act detrimental to safety and interest of the state, misuse of authority and government resources and causing wrongful loss to persons. However, his troubles may not be over as the statement added that his “involvement of [the] convict in fomenting vested political agitation and instability in cohorts with political elements and in certain other matters is separately being dealt with”. Here is what analysts and politicians have to say. ‘Took political engineering to its peak’ Senior journalist Shahzeb Khanzada, while speaking to Geo News, was of the opinion that “Paki... -
Dawn - 16:20 Dec 11, 2025
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday summoned the Norwegian ambassador to Pakistan and urged him to “adhere to the established norms of diplomatic engagement” after his “unwarranted” attendance at a court hearing today. Norwegian Ambassador Per Albert Ilsaas attended the Supreme Court hearing of rights activist Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, in a case pertaining to controversial social media posts. The diplomat’s presence during the court proceedings generated a lot of chatter on social media. The ministry, in its statement, said the Scandinavian country’s top representative was summoned by the additional foreign secretary (Europe). He was informed that his presence breached “diplomatic protocol and relevant international law”. “Noting that his actions amount to interference in the internal affairs of the country, the Ambassador was urged to adhere to the established norms of diplomatic engagement, as outlined in the relevant articles of the Vienna Convention,” said the st... -
Dawn - 15:26 Dec 11, 2025
The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday stayed trial proceedings against rights activist Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband Hadi Ali Chattha in a case pertaining to controversial social media posts until their pending appeals were decided by the Islamabad High Court (IHC). The court issued the directives as a three-judge SC bench, headed by Justice Muhammad Hashim Khan Kakar and comprising Justice Salahuddin Panwhar and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim, heard Imaan’s appeal seeking to set aside the IHC’s Dec 1 order refusing to grant interim relief by staying the trial in the case. Imaan and her husband Abdul Hadi Mohammad Ali — who are facing a trial under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 (Peca) — had moved an application in the SC requesting the urgent hearing of their appeal against the IHC’s refusal to grant interim relief. The petitioners have already filed a criminal revision before the IHC challenging the trial proceedings on grounds of due process violations under the CrPC, particularly the recor... -
Dawn - 14:20 Dec 11, 2025
At least four bodies have been recovered after a Rawalpindi-bound hi-ace van plunged into River Jhelum on Thursday, with four others missing, Rescue 1122 said. The van, carrying 12 passengers, was coming from Hajera in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and plunged into the river while navigating a turn near Garari Bridge in the Kahuta area of Rawalpindi on Thursday morning, as per Rescue 1122 sources. According to Rescue 1122, four people have been confirmed among the drowned. District Emergency Officer 1122 Rawalpindi Sighbatullah said that four people have been rescued so far and were rushed to the Kahuta Tehsil Hospital in Rawalpindi. Superintendent THQ hospital, Dr Samina, also confirmed that the rescued persons had been shifted to the medical facility. The Rescue 1122 official also confirmed that “four bodies of the drowned victims, including a female, had been retrieved and shifted to hospitals, where their identity was being ascertained”. He added that the van had been pulled out of the water, and a search ... -
Dawn - 12:13 Dec 11, 2025
An attack on a school in North Waziristan’s Mir Ali subdivision earlier this week has jeopardised the future of more than 600 school-going children, it emerged on Thursday. On Monday night, unidentified militants blew up a government primary school in the Khushali area of Ayaz Kot. Unknown attackers had planted explosives in the school and detonated them late on Monday night. The powerful blast, which was heard miles away, destroyed a significant portion of the school building. Education department officials confirmed that more than 600 students were enrolled in the institution, which served as the only functional primary school in the area. Authorities said the remaining sections of the building have been cordoned off, while an emergency plan for alternate learning arrangements is under consideration. Local elders and parents expressed deep concern, calling attacks on educational institutions “a direct assault on the future of children”. “This school was the only beacon of hope for our children. Its destruct...
9144 items