Dawn
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Dawn - 09:54 Sep 22, 2025
An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Islamabad on Monday issued a bailable arrest warrant for PTI senior leader Asad Qaiser in a case related to the March 2023 clashes outside the Federal Judicial Complex (FJC). Hours-long clashes took place between PTI workers and the Islamabad police on March 18, 2023, when former prime minister Imran Khan arrived at the FJC to attend a hearing in the first Toshakhana case, in which he was later arrested in August that year and has been behind bars since then. The same day, the Punjab police personnel had entered Imran’s Zaman Park residence in Lahore, which had also been the venue of a chaotic stalemate between the cops and the PTI just days before. ATC Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra presided over today’s hearing. Advocate Sardar Masroof Khan, Amna Ali and others appeared as the legal team for the PTI leaders, while Advocate Sardar Muhammad Razzaq was present as former Punjab chief minister Parvez Elahi’s counsel. The judge issued a bailable arrest warrant for Qaiser, ordering that h... -
Dawn - 09:17 Sep 22, 2025
Venture capital is starting to trickle back into Pakistan. In the latest round, mobility startup BusCaro raised $2 million last week, bringing its total funding to $3.5m. The round was led by UAE-based Daman Investments, with participation from US/Saudi Cartography Capital, New York’s Epic Angest, UK’s Wahed Ventures, the Aga Khan Development Network’s Accelerate Prosperity, and a mix of angel investors. BusCaro, which offers shared commute services, was born in late 2022 — a time that could not have been less propitious for mobility startups. The world was emerging from the pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war had triggered a global crisis, Pakistan was reeling from floods, and the local mobility sector was collapsing. Airlift and Swvl had folded, and Uber had exited Pakistan. What was once the hottest space had suddenly become a no-go zone. That’s when Maha Shahzad, former general manager of Swvl, launched BusCaro — putting its first bus on the road just a day after Swvl shut down. The journey since then has be... -
Dawn - 08:24 Sep 22, 2025
The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) has arrested 89 terrorists in 940 intelligence-based operations (IBOs) launched across Punjab over the past three months, the department said in a statement on Monday. There has been a recent uptick in terror attacks in Pakistan over the past year. The CTD regularly carries out operations to prevent and investigate terrorism-related activities and gather intelligence. During the three months, 14 terrorists were arrested in Lahore, 14 in Rawalpindi, seven each in Faisalabad and Bahawalpur, six each in Jhang and Sargodha, five in Sahiwal, four from Gujranwala and three each from Bahawalnagar and Gujrat, the statement read. “Of the arrested terrorists, 55 belong to Fitna al Khawarij, five are from ISIS (Islamic State), and two each are from Al-Qaeda, Hizb-ut-Tahrir and Jeay Sindh,” the statement added. The state uses the term Fitna al Khawarij to refer to terrorists of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). According to the CTD, items seized during the raids include 2... -
Dawn - 07:51 Sep 22, 2025
• Reservoirs hold more than 13.1MAF water, 99pc of peak capacity • Tarbela reaches full conservation level of 1,550 feet; Mangla nearly filled to brim • Chashma Barrage also attains record storage level of 649 feet; officials expect minimal water shortage in Rabi season; wheat to benefit most ISLAMABAD: After many years, Pakistan will begin the upcoming Rabi season with healthy carryover water storage of more than 13 million acre feet (MAF) in reservoirs, which may partially offset agriculture output losses caused by floods in the outgoing Kharif season. “We expect water situation in Rabi season to be normal after many years”, said an official, adding that any shortage “will be minimal, bearable and manageable”. He noted that, after many years, we are also hopeful of having a reasonable carryover into the next Kharif season. While Tarbela Dam reached its peak conservation level of 1,550 feet last month and has remained there, Mangla Dam is struggling at 1,239.6 feet as of Sunday night against its maximum cons... -
Dawn - 05:35 Sep 22, 2025
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is exploring proposals to abolish some visa fees for top global talent at a time when the US has taken a tougher stance on immigration, the Financial Times reported on Monday. Starmer’s “global talent task force” is working on ideas to attract the world’s best scientists, academics and digital experts to the UK in a bid to drive economic growth, the report said, citing people briefed on the discussions inside Number 10 and the Treasury. The idea of cutting visa costs to zero is for people who have attended the world’s top five universities or have won prestigious prizes, an official told the newspaper. According to the report, the reforms were being discussed in Number 10 and the Treasury before the Trump administration announced its decision to impose a $100,000 fee for new H-1B visas, which are widely used by US tech companies, from Sunday. The US decision, however, has put “wind in the sails” to those pushing for changes to Britain’s high-end visa system, aiming to spur ... -
Dawn - 05:14 Sep 22, 2025
BAJAUR: A worker of Awami National Party was killed in an attack by unknown assailants in Khar tehsil here on Sunday. Residents and Rescue 1122 officials said the incident occurred on the main Khar-Nawagai Road in the Khazana area within the jurisdiction of Lowi Sam police station. They told Dawn that Mir Azam Khan, 45, was heading to his home in Khazana Dag area when unknown assailants opened fire on him, leaving him critically injured. Amjad Khan, district emergency officer of Rescue 1122, said the injured was shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital, Khar, where the doctors pronounced him dead upon arrival at the hospital’s emergency. No one claimed responsibility for the incident. Soon after the murder, several ANP leaders and workers also took to the social media to condemn the killing. ANP local chapter president Gul Afzal Khan, deputy general secretary Sadiq Akbar Jan, provincial joint secretary Shah Naseer Khan, Sheikh Jan Zada, and party’s local MPA Mohammad Nisar Khan condemned the killing of A... -
Dawn - 05:02 Sep 22, 2025
Police in the Philippine capital arrested more than 200 people during clashes with masked protesters that erupted on a day of largely peaceful anti-corruption demonstrations, a spokeswoman said on Monday. At least 88 minors were among the initial count of 216 taken into custody on Sunday as police deployed water cannons and deafening sirens against crowds of mostly young, rock-throwing protesters. Manila City Mayor Isko Morena said a 12-year-old boy was the youngest detained. Thousands of Filipinos rallied in Manila on Sunday to vent their anger over a ballooning scandal involving bogus flood-control projects believed to have cost taxpayers billions of dollars. The scandal has seen numerous lawmakers implicated and the leaders of both houses of Congress step down from their positions during an investigation. But Sunday’s street battles, which saw multiple police vehicles set ablaze and the windows of a precinct headquarters shattered, threatened to overshadow demonstrations that had been filled with families,... -
Dawn - 04:52 Sep 22, 2025
• Halts Rs6bn federally funded project, citing PIDCL’s failure to get No Objection Certificate from KMC • Says any project in Karachi should be executed through local agencies KARACHI: The municipal leadership of Karachi has challenged the authority of the federal government by questioning the role of its Pakistan Infrastructure Development Company Ltd (PIDCL) in the urban development projects, insisting that all such initiatives in Karachi should fall under the city’s municipal jurisdiction. The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), backed by the PPP-led Sindh government, has halted the federally funded Rs6 billion project of the Green Line Bus extension, citing the PIDCL’s failure to obtain a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from municipal authorities before restarting the work. After the abolition of the Pakistan Works Department, the federal government assigns uplift works to the PIDCL, established under the Companies Act, 2017, in different parts of the country. The work on the Green Line extension was r... -
Dawn - 02:19 Sep 22, 2025
• Floodwaters pass through breaches at Noraja Bhutta, rising around motorway • NHA says four of six lanes damaged but denies complete washout • NDMA reports 1,006 deaths; over 3m rescued in flood-hit areas • Millions displaced, infrastructure in ruins LAHORE: The Sutlej River continued to maintain a medium-level flood at Ganda Singh Wala and Sulemanki headworks on Sunday, with authorities monitoring its steady rise as waters inundated areas across Lodhran, Multan and Bahawalpur districts. According to a Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) report, the river flowed at 95,000 cusecs at Ganda Singh Wala and 82,000 cusecs at Sulemanki, with the latter volume expected to reach Jalalpur Pirwala within the next day or two, potentially raising water levels further in already affected regions. Meanwhile, flood levels in the Chenab and Ravi rivers were reported as normal, with key readings showing 43,000 cusecs at Marala, 38,000 cusecs at Khanki Headworks, and 37,000 cusecs at Qadirabad on the Chenab, whil... -
Dawn - 00:21 Sep 22, 2025
India romped home in style with a six-wicket win, chasing down the 172-run target with ease in their second high-intensity encounter against Pakistan in the men’s Asia Cup in Dubai on Sunday. Abhishek Sharma was adjudicated player-of-the-match — scoring 74 runs of 39 balls as he led the Indian effort from the front after getting a reprieve in Shaheen’s second over. The bitterness between the players, which started with India’s refusal of customary handshakes in the first encounter, continued as Sharma at the post-match ceremony said: “Today it was very simple, the way they were coming (at) us for no reason, I didn’t like it at all, and this is the only way I could give [an answer] with my bat.” Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha, speaking after the match, said, “We are yet to play the perfect game. We batted really well — but I think when it came to the bowling, they took the game away in the powerplay.” He said they could have got 15 more runs after being 91 in the first 10 overs, but added that 171 was still ... -
Dawn - 21:55 Sep 21, 2025
Most of us Pakistan fans may not admit it, but we hope. We hope against hope when our team takes on India. Before the first ball is bowled, we tend to somehow forgo a few harsh realities and the reality that underlines all of them; India are way better. “Farq hai yaar (there’s a difference),” as my colleague put it right after Tilak Varma clattered Shaheen Afridi past deep square-leg for a four to wrap things up. “It’s a gulf in fact, a huge gulf of quality,” he concluded. His short analysis summed up Sunday’s Super Four fixture, which India comfortably won by six wickets with seven balls to spare. Pakistan genuinely came back stronger, impressing with the bat early on, but the “gulf” glared the brightest when Indian openers Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill were at the crease. Indispensable Abhishek, Gill With their opening partnership of 105 off 59, Gill and Abhishek — the two friends from the Indian Punjab — set the match aside for India, neutralising Faheem Ashraf and Haris Rauf’s decent show with the ball... -
Dawn - 18:21 Sep 21, 2025
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has departed for the United States, state media reported on Sunday, on a landmark trip that will see him address the United Nations General Assembly. State television said Sharaa was en route “to the United States of America to participate in the affairs of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York”, citing a presidency statement. Sharaa seized power in December after his rebel group led a lightning offensive that toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad after nearly 14 years of civil war and more than half a century of brutal family rule. He is set to speak at the UN General Assembly in New York, the first Syrian leader to do so since Nureddin al-Atassi in 1967. Sharaa has undergone a dramatic transformation since taking power, meeting foreign leaders such as US President Donald Trump in Riyadh and French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on his first trip to the West. In a pre-recorded interview broadcast on Sunday, Sharaa told US broadcaster CBS tha... -
Dawn - 17:29 Sep 21, 2025
Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti on Sunday strongly condemned the murder of kidnapped Ziarat Assistant Commissioner Muhammad Afzal Baqi and his son. In a statement from his office, CM Bugti said that the killing could not be condemned enough and hailed Baqi as a “dutiful, hardworking and capable officer who discharged his responsibilities with honesty and integrity”. “The martyred Assistant Commissioner Muhammad Afzal sacrificed his life while fulfilling his responsibilities and will live on in the hearts of the people,” the statement read. While paying tribute to the martyred AC and his son, he said that their deaths would not be in vain. “[The CM] made it clear that the killers of innocent people and enemies of peace will never be able to escape their fate,” the statement read. “The sacrifices of the martyrs are a beacon [of] light in the journey of establishing peace and stability in Balochistan.” The AC and his son were kidnapped in August by armed suspects while on a picnic in the Zezri area,... -
Dawn - 16:00 Sep 21, 2025
United States President Donald Trump on Sunday said he would defend Poland and the Baltic states in case of an escalation from Russia, following Moscow’s incursion into Estonia’s airspace. Asked whether he would help defend the EU members if Russia intensifies hostilities, Trump told reporters: “Yeah, I would. I would.” Estonia has requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Monday following Friday’s incursion. Three Russian MiG-31 fighters violated Estonian airspace over the Gulf of Finland, triggering complaints of a dangerous new provocation from the European Union and Nato, but a denial from Moscow. Italian F-35 fighters attached to Nato’s air defence support mission in the Baltic states, along with Swedish and Finnish aircraft, were scrambled to intercept the Russian jets and warn them off. Asked whether he had been briefed on the situation in Estonia, Trump answered in the affirmative and added: “We don’t like it.” His statement came about two weeks after some 17 Russian drones violated... -
Dawn - 15:36 Sep 21, 2025
Britain, Australia and Canada on Sunday recognised a Palestinian state in a seismic shift in decades of Western foreign policy, triggering swift Israeli anger. Portugal was also to recognise Palestinian statehood later on Sunday, as Israel came under huge international pressure over the conflict in Gaza triggered almost two years ago by the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack. “Today, to revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis, and a two-state solution, the United Kingdom formally recognises the State of Palestine,” UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a message on X. Britain and Canada became the first G7 countries to take the step, with France and other nations expected to follow at the annual UN General Assembly, which opens Monday in New York. “Canada recognises the State of Palestine and offers our partnership in building the promise of a peaceful future for both the State of Palestine and the State of Israel,” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney wrote on X. Meanwhile, Australia announced ... -
Dawn - 14:28 Sep 21, 2025
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will be among the attendees of a meeting of “select” Muslim leaders with US President Donald Trump in the coming week on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session in New York, the Foreign Office (FO) said on Sunday. “The prime minister will also participate in a meeting of select Islamic leaders with US President Trump to exchange views on issues pertaining to regional and international peace and security,” a statement issued by the FO said. The meeting of Muslim leaders with Trump could be the first instance of PM Shehbaz directly interacting with the US president since the latter assumed the top office in his country in January. Earlier, he met Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal General Syed Asim Munir in June, marking the first time a US president has hosted Pakistan’s army chief at the White House unaccompanied by senior civilian officials. On his visit to New York, the PM would be leading Pakistan’s delegation to the “high-level segment” ... -
Dawn - 14:00 Sep 21, 2025
Seven terrorists were killed, including three “Afghan nationals”, by security forces during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Dera Ismail Khan district, the military’s media wing said on Friday. In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that the operation was carried out in the Kulachi area upon the presence of “khawarij”. The state uses the term Fitna al Khwarij to refer to terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). It has also designated Balochistan-based groups as Fitna al Hindustan to highlight India’s alleged role in terrorism and destabilisation across Pakistan. “During the conduct of [the] operation, own troops effectively engaged the khwarij location and [as a result], seven Indian sponsored khwarij, including three Afghan National khwarij and two suicide bombers, were sent to hell,” the ISPR said. The statement added that Pakistan expects the interim Afghan government, run by the Afghan Taliban, to uphold its responsibilities... -
Dawn - 13:47 Sep 21, 2025
The spokesperson for the Taliban government in Afghanistan Zabiullah Mujahid has said that leaders should refrain from making “provocative” statements and that his country could not be held responsible for attacks taking place in Pakistan. Mujahid’s remarks come as Pakistan continues to raise alarm over terrorist outfits, particularly the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), using Afghan soil to carry out attacks across the border. Islamabad has repeatedly urged Kabul to choose between maintaining ties with its neighbour or harbouring terrorists, but Afghan authorities have consistently denied the allegations. He made these remarks during an interview with Imtiaz Gul, the executive director of Islamabad-based think tank Centre for Research and Security Studies. According to Gul, the interview — conducted in the Pushto language — was recorded during his recent visit to Afghanistan’s Kandahar province. During the interview, Gul sought proposals from Mujahid to address recurring problems, such as the issue o... -
Dawn - 13:34 Sep 21, 2025
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a public address on Sunday, asked citizens to stop using foreign-made products and instead use local ones, pushing for a self-reliant campaign when trade ties with the United States have soured. After US President Donald Trump imposed a 50 per cent tariff on imported Indian goods, Modi has been urging the use of “Swadeshi”, or made-in-India goods. His supporters have started campaigns to boycott American brands, including McDonald’s, Pepsi and Apple, which are hugely popular in India. “A lot of products we use daily are foreign-made, we just don’t know … we will have to get rid of them,” Modi said in an address to the nation ahead of Monday’s implementation of widespread consumer tax cuts. “We should buy products that are made in India,” he added, without naming any country. India’s population of 1.4 billion is a major market for American consumer goods, often purchased from US online retailer Amazon. Over the years, the reach of US brands has expanded deep into smaller... -
Dawn - 12:57 Sep 21, 2025
An Afghan Taliban government official said on Sunday that a deal over Bagram air base was “not possible”, after US President Donald Trump said he wanted the former US base back. Trump threatened the country on Saturday with unspecified punishment, just days after he raised the idea of the United States retaking control of the base while on a state visit to the United Kingdom. “If Afghanistan doesn’t give Bagram Airbase back to those that built it, the United States of America, BAD THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN!!!” the 79-year-old leader wrote on his Truth Social platform. Trump, who has previously said he wants the United States to acquire territories and sites ranging from the Panama Canal to Greenland, has appeared focused on Bagram for years. Asked on Saturday whether he would send in US troops to retake the base, Trump declined to give a direct answer, saying: “We won’t talk about that.” “We’re talking now to Afghanistan and we want it back and we want it back soon, right away. And if they don’t do it — if t...
7421 items