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  • Police book 2 suspects for gang-rape of social media influencer in KP’s Haripur
    Dawn - 18:18 Jun 20, 2025
    The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police have filed a case against two suspects for allegedly gang-raping a 26-year-old social media influencer in Haripur district by luring her on the pretext of a job, it emerged on Friday. The first information report (FIR) of the incident, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, was filed on the woman’s complaint at Haripur district’s Khanpur Police Station a day ago under Sections 34 (common intention), 376 (punishment for rape), 392 (punishment for robbery) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation; If threat be to cause death or grievous hurt, etc) of the Pakistan Penal Code. The FIR said the incident occurred in Khanpur tehsil on Wednesday at 8pm. The victim, who hails from Taxila, said she was “contacted by the suspect through her TikTok account and offered a job at a hotel in Khanpur”. She added, “The suspect called me for an interview. When I reached the bus stop, they picked me up in their car and drove a few miles away, where they forced me to strip at gunpoint.” The...
    Tags: Haripur
  • 12th polio case of this year reported in KP’s Bannu
    Dawn - 17:18 Jun 20, 2025
    A new case of wild poliovirus was reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district, taking the national tally to 12, the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at Islamabad’s National Institutes of Health (NIH) said in a press release on Friday. Pakistan is one of the last two countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan, where polio remains endemic. Despite global efforts to eradicate the virus, challenges such as security issues, vaccine hesitancy, and misinformation have slowed progress. Federal Minister for Health, Mustafa Kamal, on Thursday claimed that Pakistan has witnessed a decline of over 99 per cent in polio cases, saying that polio eradication remains a top priority of the government. According to the press release, the 33-month-old boy from Bannu’s Shamsikhel Union Council is the sixth case of polio reported from KP this year. “To date in 2025, Pakistan has reported a total of 12 cases of polio, including six from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, four from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Gilg...
    Tags: Bannu
  • BYC members continue hunger strike against leaders’ detention in Balochistan’s Kech
    Dawn - 16:11 Jun 20, 2025
    Members of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee’s (BYC) Kech chapter continued their hunger strike for a second consecutive day on Friday, protesting the alleged “illegal detention” of their leaders and the “extrajudicial arrests of Baloch citizens”. BYC chief Dr Mahrang Baloch and other activists were arrested on March 22 for “attacking” Quetta Civil Hospital and “inciting people to violence”, a day after their members faced a police crackdown in Quetta while protesting against alleged enforced disappearances. The BYC is a Baloch advocacy group working against enforced disappearances since 2018. They were sent to jail under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order Ordnance, which empowers authorities to “arrest and detain suspected persons”. Mahrang and the other activists remain incarcerated. The Kech chapter launched a three-day hunger strike in front of the Turbat Press Club on Thursday, according to the group’s X account. “Despite the blistering 50°C heat, members of the Baloch nation are courageously parti...
    Tags: Kech
  • Three tourists die after glacial slide in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Naran: Rescue 1122
    Dawn - 14:26 Jun 20, 2025
    Three tourists lost their lives on Friday after they were buried under a glacial slide in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Mansehra district, according to officials. Mansehra Rescue 1122 spokesperson Amir Khadam Khan told Dawn.com that the incident occurred near Sohni Waterfall in the Naran area. “[The] tourists, hailing from Lahore, were taking selfies near the glacier when it slid down, burying them underneath.” He added that the bodies of the tourists were recovered from the glacier and moved to a nearby hospital, where they were identified as 35-year-old Mohammad Tahir, 22-year-old Mohammad Tayyab, and 13-year-old Abubakar. Adviser to Chief Minister KP on Tourism, Zahid Chanze,b extended his condolences to the bereaved families and said, “Arrangements were being made to dispatch the bodies to Lahore.” In a statement, he urged tourists to avoid taking selfies near dangerous spots and glaciers, saying glaciers were rapidly melting due to the hot weather. He also said that they would launch a campaign across the provinc...
    Tags: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Naran Three
  • Govt signs $4.5bn loans with local banks to ease power sector debt
    Dawn - 14:11 Jun 20, 2025
    The government has signed term sheets with 18 commercial banks for a Rs1.275 trillion Islamic finance facility to help pay off the mounting debt in its power sector, Power Minister Awais Leghari said on Friday. The government, which owns or controls much of the power infrastructure, is grappling with ballooning circular debt, unpaid bills and subsidies that have choked the sector and weighed on the economy. The liquidity crunch has disrupted supply, discouraged investment and added to fiscal pressure, making it a key focus under the $7 billion IMF programme. “Finding funds to plug the gap has been a persistent challenge, with limited fiscal space and high-cost legacy debt making resolution efforts more difficult. Eighteen commercial banks will provide these loans through Islamic financing,” Power Minister Awais Leghari told Reuters. “It will be repaid in 24 quarterly instalments over six years.” The facility, structured under Islamic principles, is secured at a concessional rate of three-month KIBOR minus 0.9...
  • COAS Munir stresses potential for ‘broader, multidimensional’ ties with US built on mutual respect
    Dawn - 14:07 Jun 20, 2025
    Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir has stressed the “immense potential for a broader, multidimensional relationship built upon mutual respect” with the United States, the military’s media wing said on Friday. COAS Munir is on a five-day official visit to the US, where he met with President Donald Trump over luncheon, becoming the first serving army chief to have a face-to-face meeting with a sitting US president. National Security Advisor Lt Gen Muhammad Asim Malik — also the intelligence chief — has accompanied Field Marshal Munir. COAS Munir held an interaction in Washington DC with prominent US think tanks and representatives of the strategic affairs institutions, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a press release. Senior scholars, analysts, policy experts and representatives of leading international media outlets were also part of the “comprehensive and candid exchange”, ISPR added. The army chief “underscored the immense potential for a broader, multidimensional relations...
    Tags: COAS Munir
  • Pakistan down France 3-2 in penalty shoot-out to reach FIH Hockey Nations Cup final
    Dawn - 13:29 Jun 20, 2025
    Pakistan qualified for the finals of the FIH Hockey Nations Cup after defeating France on Friday in the first semi-final match in Kuala Lumpur. “Excellent goals in the second half, followed by amazing goalkeeping in the shootout,” said the International Hockey Federation while praising the team. The national hockey team defeated France 3-2 in a penalty shootout after the match tied at 3-3 till regulation time. View this post on Instagram Rana Waheed Ashraf was declared the man of the match. View this post on Instagram Afraz Hakeem, Sufyan Khan and Muhammad Hammaduddin also scored goals for the national team. The final match will be played tomorrow (Saturday). View this post on Instagram Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) President Mir Tariq Hussain Bugti and Secretary General Olympian Rana Mujahid Ali Khan congratulated the national team on winning the game and expressed their best wishes for the final, according to a PHF statement. In the second semi-final, New Zealand will take on South Korea at 6pm PKT. The ...
    Tags: Pakistan FIH Hockey Nations Cup France
  • Punjab govt suspends 5 officials for alleged torture of prisoners at Attock Jail
    Dawn - 12:17 Jun 20, 2025
    The Punjab Home Department said on Friday that five prison officers were suspended for allegedly being involved in the physical torture of inmates at Attock Jail. An under-trial prisoner was found dead under mysterious circumstances in the lavatory of the Attock District Jail in April. Prison officials had claimed that the prisoner had taken his own life by hanging himself with a drawstring. The inmate’s body was found by his fellow prisoners hanging from the window of the jail washroom. An order from the home department, issued a day ago, said Deputy Superintendent Executive Sarmad Hassan, Assistant Superintendent Mushtaq Ahmed, Chief Warden Muhammad Rafiq, Head Warden Zulfiqar and Warden Muhammad Ayub were placed under suspension for 90 days with immediate effect on charges of “inefficiency, negligence and misconduct” under Section 6 of Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability Act, 2006. A statement from the home department spokesperson said the five were suspended for “abuse of authority,...
    Tags: Attock Jail
  • Australian trial says tech for social media teen ban can work
    Dawn - 11:10 Jun 20, 2025
    Australia’s world-leading ban on under 16s joining social media sites cleared a big hurdle on Friday as a trial found digital age checks can work “robustly and effectively”, according to AFP. Australian lawmakers passed landmark rules to ban under 16s from social media in November 2024, approving one of the world’s toughest crackdowns on popular sites like Facebook, Instagram and X. Sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok and X could face fines of up to Aus$50 million (US$32m) for failing to comply with the legislation. They have described the law — which is due to come into effect by the end of this year — as vague, rushed and “problematic”. There has been widespread concern over children’s use of online platforms as evidence shows that social media can have negative effects on children’s mental and physical health. Digital age verification systems — which would be critical to the ban — can work, said the interim findings of an independent Age Assurance Technology Trial, conducted for the government. “Thes...
    Tags: Australian
  • Mushahid terms Pakistani talent, Chinese tech ‘invincible wall’ for South Asia’s peace and stability
    Dawn - 11:07 Jun 20, 2025
    Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed on Friday termed “Pakistani talent and Chinese technology an invincible wall” for peace, security and stability in South Asia during a dialogue held in Islamabad. Pakistan has held strong bilateral relations with China which has supported it through many investments and development projects such as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), termed as a “lifeline” for the country’s economy. The senator’s comment came during a keynote address at the Pakistan-China Dialogue hosted by the Pakistan-China Institute (PCI) under the auspices of the “Friends of Silk Road”, according to a statement by the PCI. The event was attended by diplomats, parliamentarians, students and scholars. Mushahid, who serves as the PCI chairman, observed: “The global balance of economic and political power is shifting from West to East, heralding the Asian Century.” He lauded China’s “peaceful rise as a source of strength for developing nations across Asia, Africa and Latin America” and thanked Beijing fo...
    Tags: Mushahid Chinese Pakistani South Asia
  • Sana Yousaf murder case: Islamabad court extends suspect’s physical remand by 3 days
    Dawn - 10:44 Jun 20, 2025
    An Islamabad court on Friday extended the physical remand of the main suspect in the murder case of social media influencer Sana Yousaf for another three days. Islamabad Police had arrested Umar Hayat, the main suspect in the 17-year-old’s murder, on June 3, nearly a day after she was gunned down in her house in the federal capital. Police had claimed the man murdered Sana because she repeatedly refused his advances. Hayat was presented before the court of Judicial Magistrate Mohammad Hafeez upon the completion of his four-day physical remand. His 14-day judicial remand at the Adiala Jail for his identification parade had already been completed, with the victim’s mother and aunt identifying him. Deputy district public prosecutors (DDPPs) Adnan Ali and Raja Naveed Hussain, along with Investigation Officer (IO) Mazhar Bashir Khan, appeared on behalf of the state before Magistrate Hafeez. Hussain informed the judge that the vehicle used by the suspect had been recovered, while his phone was yet to be taken into ...
    Tags: Sana Yousaf Islamabad
  • What are the nuclear contamination risks from Israel’s attacks on Iran?
    Dawn - 09:55 Jun 20, 2025
    Israel’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear installations so far pose only limited risks of contamination, experts say. But they warn that any attack on the country’s nuclear power station at Bushehr could cause a nuclear disaster. Israel says it is determined to destroy Iran’s nuclear capabilities in its military campaign, but that it also wants to avoid any nuclear disaster in a region that is home to tens of millions of people and produces much of the world’s oil. Fears of catastrophe rippled through the Gulf on Thursday when the Israeli military said it had struck a site in Bushehr on the Gulf coast — home to Iran’s only nuclear power station — only to say later that the announcement was a mistake. What has Israel hit so far? Israel has announced attacks on nuclear sites in Natanz, Isfahan, Arak and Tehran itself. Israel says it aims to stop Iran from building an atomic bomb. Iran denies ever seeking one. The international nuclear watchdog, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has reported damage to the uran...
    Tags: Iran Israel What
  • EU bars Chinese firms from major state medical equipment contracts
    Dawn - 09:23 Jun 20, 2025
    The European Union on Friday banned Chinese firms from government medical device purchases worth more than five million euros ($5.8 million) in retaliation for limits Beijing places on access to its own market. The latest salvo in trade tensions between the 27-nation bloc and China covers a wide range of healthcare supplies, from surgical masks to X-ray machines, that represent a market worth 150 billion euros in the EU. “Our aim with these measures is to level the playing field for EU businesses,” the bloc’s trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic said. “We remain committed to dialogue with China to resolve these issues.” In response, China accused the EU of “double standards”. “The EU has always boasted that it is the most open market in the world, but in reality, it has gradually moved towards protectionism”, foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a regular press briefing. “Under the guise of fair competition (the EU) actually carries out unfair competition, which is a typical case of double standards.” T...
    Tags: Chinese
  • Suspect arrested as another case of child pornography comes to light in Punjab’s Muzaffargarh
    Dawn - 09:06 Jun 20, 2025
    A suspect was arrested in yet another case of child pornography in Punjab’s Muzaffargarh, Police said on Friday. Earlier in the month, the government claimed to have dismantled an international child exploitation network operating out of a so-called gaming club in Muzaffargarh, where children aged six to 10 were lured, abused and filmed for the sake of selling their videos on the dark web. “Several children were sexually abused and filmed in Sardarabad village,” a police statement said today. The matter came to light when one of the victims contacted the police. According to the statement, the suspect had been blackmailing the children using compromised videos. A first information report (FIR) of the incident was lodged at Saddar police station in Muzaffargarh district under section 292 (sale, distribution, and public exhibition of obscene material) and section 355 (assault or criminal force with intent to dishonour a person) of the Pakistan Penal Code. According to the FIR, a boy was sexually abused and film...
    Tags: Muzaffargarh Punjab
  • Punjab Assembly session marred by ‘watch theft’, long suspension and delay
    Dawn - 08:51 Jun 20, 2025
    LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly descended into pandemonium as the general debate on the provincial budget commenced, leading to a nearly two-hour suspension of the proceedings amidst intense sloganeering by the government and opposition benches on Thursday. The members reportedly damaged microphones. A Treasury MPA accused an opposition member of stealing his watch, fueling the chaos. The session, presided over by Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan, began three hours and 35 minutes behind schedule and immediately plunged into disarray. The uproar began when treasury MPA Bilal Yamin accused opposition member Ejaz Shafi of stealing his watch. This ignited a furious reaction from the opposition that countered with slogans of ‘Nawaz Sharif is a thief!’. As opposition members streamed into the House in protest, the accusation of the stolen watch echoed through the chamber, with government members waving their watches and chanting ‘watch thief’. Speaker Khan struggled to restore order. Bilal Yamin insisted that the oppo...
  • Supreme Court rules against construction in Karachi DHA park, except for jogging track
    Dawn - 07:36 Jun 20, 2025
    KARACHI: The Supreme Court (SC) has restrained the authorities concerned from raising any structure apart from a jogging track on the premises of an amenity plot / park located in the Defence Housing Authority (DHA). The apex court also said that the people must not be deprived of the park’s utility, subject to a nominal entrance fee meant for its maintenance. A two-judge bench comprising Justice Mohammad Shafi Siddiqui and Justice Salahuddin Panhwar was hearing a civil petition filed against an order of the Sindh High Court (SHC) at the SC’s Karachi Registry. It also allowed a request by the counsel for the respondents to transfer the matter to the principal seat at Islamabad after seeking the approval of the chief justice of Pakistan, as the lawyer submitted that, since the injunctive order had been passed, the interests of the respondents were at stake. Bench rules ordinary people should not be deprived of park’s utility Citing DHA, Cantonment Board Clifton (CBC), M/s Optimum Sports (Private) Limited and o...
  • Shandur polo festival begins today
    Dawn - 06:09 Jun 20, 2025
    CHITRAL: Shandur Polo Festival will start from Friday (today) in the highest polo ground of the world and it will continue for three days with matches between the teams of Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) being the major event. The tourists will also enjoy cultural and musical evenings while fireworks and enthralling musical concerts will be arranged at night time. Arranged by the district administrations of Lower and Upper Chitral districts with the financial assistance of KP Culture and Tourism Authority, the event has been included in the calendar of events of the province. Tourists have started arriving here to proceed to the venue which is 156 kilometres from the city with travel time of five to six hours while a great number of vehicles is seen on Chitral-Booni Road leading to Shandur. The polo ground has been renovated and arrangements made for water and power supply, power generators, telephone, transport, media coverage,security and provision of other facilities. The players of both Chitral and GB h...
    Tags: Shandur
  • Prospect of Iran strike exposes divisions in Trump’s Maga base
    Dawn - 05:43 Jun 20, 2025
    WASHINGTON: The prospect of a US strike against Iran has exposed divisions in the coalition of supporters that brought President Donald Trump to power, with some of his base urging him not to get the country involved in a new Middle East war. Some of Trump’s most prominent Republican allies, including top lieutenant Steve Bannon, have found themselves in the unusual position of being at odds with a president who largely shares their isolationist tendencies. Bannon, one of many influential voices from Trump’s “America First” coalition, on Wednesday urged caution about the US military joining Israel in trying to destroy Iran’s nuclear programme in the absence of a diplomatic deal. “We can’t do this again,” Bannon told reporters at an event sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor in Washington. “We’ll tear the country apart. We can’t have another Iraq.” Bannon continued to preach patience on his popular “War Room” podcast on Thursday, contending that Trump was being set up to be responsible for toppling the I...
    Tags: Iran Trump
  • Govt spending on education ‘hits new low’
    Dawn - 04:44 Jun 20, 2025
    ISLAMABAD: The government spending on education in Pakistan has fallen to a new low in the past year despite being declared a national emergency with 26 million children — or more than one in three — out of school, one of the highest percentages globally, Save the Children said in a statement on Thursday. Since the start of the current fiscal year in July 2024 to March 2025, education expenditure fell by 29 per cent. The percentage of GDP spent on education has fallen consisten­tly since 2018 when it was 2pc to 0.8pc, according to the latest Pakistan Economic Survey. The UN-backed Incheon Declaration recommends that governments allocate 4pc to 6pc of their GDP to education. The INGO says Pakistan needs urgent investment to get 26m children into school. In 2024, the government said it aimed to increase the education budget to 4pc of GDP by 2029. The government cannot break that promise to Pakistan’s children.“ Save the Children says more than one in three kids out of school “Children in the poorest areas of Pa...
  • Budget 2025-26: Era of amnesty schemes is over, says Aurangzeb
    Dawn - 04:30 Jun 20, 2025
    • Senate, National Assembly panels oppose carbon levy, term it undue burden on public • Approve new taxes on high-value pensions, athletes • Govt asked to reveal terms of IMF’s resilience facility ISLAMABAD: The parliamentary committees on Thursday rejected the government’s proposal to impose a carbon levy on petroleum products, terming it an undue burden on the public, whereas the finance minister stressed that “the era of tax exemptions and amnesty schemes is over”. However, they approved new taxes on high-value pensions and the income of international athletes. The carbon levy became a focal point as the Senate and National Assembly Standing Committees on Finance and Revenue held simultaneous sessions at Parliament House for a clause-by-clause review of the Finance Bill 2025-26. Chaired by Senator Saleem Mandviwalla and MNA Naveed Qamar, respectively, both panels proposed several amendments and struck down a number of measures. The Senate concluded its deliberations on the proposed tax provisions on Thursd...

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