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Dawn - 03:03 Jun 12, 2025
ISLAMABAD: Nadia Baloch, the sister of Dr Mahrang Baloch, urged the Supreme Court on Wednesday to set aside the April 15 order of the Balochistan High Court that rejected the plea against her detention under the Maintenance of Public Order. Dr Mahrang Baloch, a leader of Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), is held at the Hudda District Prison, Quetta, pursuant to a March 22 detention order by the deputy commissioner under the Maintenance of Public Order. Moved through senior counsel Faisal Siddiqi, the appeal pleaded that Mahrang Baloch had challenged her detention before the BHC, but the high court rejected her plea. Now the appeal before the apex court contended that the high court order was contrary to the Constitution, law and facts. The federal government through interior ministry, home and tribal affairs department of Balochistan, prosecutor general, inspector general of police, Federal Investigation Agency director general, Quetta deputy commissioner and the state have been named as resp... -
Dawn - 02:50 Jun 12, 2025
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is undertaking an official visit to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday (June 12) to express gratitude to their rulers for supporting Pakistan’s stance during the recent conflict with India. The visit reflects the deep-rooted fraternal ties between Pakistan and the UAE, which are marked by mutual trust, shared values, and close cooperation across multiple sectors, said an official press release issued here on Wednesday. The prime minister will be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar, federal ministers, and other senior officers. PM Shehbaz will hold high-level meetings with the UAE leadership, including a bilateral meeting with the President of the UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. A wide range of bilateral, regional, and global issues of mutual interest and concern will be discussed during the high-level interactions. The PM’s visit will serve to further streng... -
Dawn - 19:11 Jun 11, 2025
A Manhattan jury found Harvey Weinstein guilty on a sex crimes charge on Wednesday, though the jury has not yet reached a verdict on all counts the former movie mogul faces in deliberations that have been marred by infighting and threats. Weinstein, once one of the most powerful figures in Hollywood, is facing a retrial after a state appeals court last year overturned his 2020 conviction. He was accused by prosecutors in the case of raping an aspiring actress and assaulting two other women. Weinstein, 73, pleaded not guilty and has denied assaulting anyone or having non-consensual sex. The jury found Weinstein guilty on one of the three counts he faced, which stemmed from his alleged assault of former production assistant Miriam Haley in 2006. The jury found Weinstein not guilty of a charge stemming from his alleged assault of Kaja Sokola in 2002 when she was a 16-year-old aspiring actress. The jury has not yet reached a verdict on a third count, which charges him with raping aspiring actress Jessica Mann in ... -
Dawn - 18:49 Jun 11, 2025
Punjab Prosecutor General Syed Farhad Ali Shah on Wednesday took notice of the Hafizabad gang-rape incident and declared it a “high-profile” case for the police to pursue. Last week, Hafizabad police launched raids to arrest eight suspects who allegedly abducted a couple in Hafizabad and subjected them to physical and sexual assault. A first information report (FIR) filed by the husband at the Kasoki Police Station said that the incident occurred on April 25 when the complainant and his wife were on a motorcycle and they stopped for a bit. As the wife got off the motorcycle, a man came towards them who verbally abused and hit her, it stated. A group of armed men later arrived and took the couple to a secluded place near a graveyard, the FIR said, detailing how the couple were subjected to physical violence, sexual assault, and robbery. According to a press release issued by the prosecutor general’s office today, the prosecutor general declared the case as “high-profile”, summoning the investigating officer (I... -
Dawn - 18:27 Jun 11, 2025
Civil society members gathered at Karachi’s Teen Talwar monument on Wednesday to protest the detention of activists on board the Gaza-bound aid ship Madleen and Israel’s ongoing offensive in Gaza, urging people “not to rest until the entire world stands in support of Palestine.” Earlier this week, Israeli forces detained the members of the aid ship, operating under the Freedom Flotilla Foundation, going to Gaza to break Israel’s siege. The activists, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, were carrying baby powder and aid for the besieged enclave. Israel has ramped up its offensive in Gaza, after it ended a ceasefire in March. So far, 55,014 Palestinians have been killed as a result of Israeli airstrikes. Chanting “Free Palestine” echoing through the city’s intersection, civil society members gathered to decry the Palestinian suffering in the face of Israeli occupation. The crowd sang, rejecting Israel’s actions: “Aisay dastoor ko mai nahi maanta” (I do not accept this system). Speaking to Dawn.co... -
Dawn - 18:22 Jun 11, 2025
The image of the United States has deteriorated sharply in much of the world since President Donald Trump’s return, with low marks both on his character and policies, a global survey said on Wednesday. The Pew Research Centre found that favorability of the US has dropped in 15 of the 24 countries surveyed. Trump received his lowest marks in neighbouring Mexico, which he has long disparaged and pressed on migration, with 91 per cent of Mexicans saying they did not have confidence that Trump would do the right thing on world affairs. Trump led to a downward shift in perceptions of the US as a whole. In both Mexico and fellow neighbour Canada, which Trump has provocatively said should be the 51st US state, majorities now see the US unfavourably after seeing the country favourably last year when Joe Biden was president. Views of the US also darkened in most of Europe, with an especially sharp drop in Poland, a frontline ally of Ukraine, as Trump reduces US support for Kyiv and seeks a negotiated solution with Rus... -
Dawn - 18:17 Jun 11, 2025
The board overseeing the Fulbright programme, the prestigious exchanges between US and foreign scholars, quit on Wednesday, accusing President Donald Trump’s administration of political interference. Members of the board, nominated by successive presidents, voiced alarm about “injecting politics and ideological mandates” into a long non-partisan programme. “The current administration has usurped the authority of the board and denied Fulbright awards to a substantial number of individuals who were selected for the 2025-2026 academic year,” the board members said in a resignation statement posted online. “The administration is also currently subjecting an additional 1,200 foreign Fulbright recipients to an unauthorised review process and could reject more,” it said. “We believe these actions not only contradict the statute but are antithetical to the Fulbright mission and the values, including free speech and academic freedom, that Congress specified in the statute.” The board members chose to resign rather tha... -
Dawn - 17:53 Jun 11, 2025
The Punjab police on Wednesday said they arrested a suspect in Okara for the alleged murder of his wife last month. The first information report (FIR) of the incident was registered at Okara’s Renala Khurd Saddar Police Station at the complaint of the woman’s father under Section 302 (murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code on May 19. The FIR, a copy of which is available with Dawm.com, said the complainant came to know that his daughter was injured at her house, adding that he “found her murdered with her throat slit when he reached his son-in-law’s home with the latter lying unconscious on the ground in an injured state as well.” The FIR said the police were subsequently called to the spot. It requested a case and action against the son-in-law, accusing him of the murder with a blade. A statement from the Okara police spokesperson today said the suspect was arrested and the murder weapon recovered as well, adding that the husband had managed to injure himself as well. It called the murder the “result of a domest... -
Dawn - 17:15 Jun 11, 2025
Reckless and negligent driving claimed the lives of five people on Wednesday in separate road accidents across Karachi, according to police and rescue officials. The city has lately witnessed a rise in traffic accidents, especially involving heavy vehicles, including dumpers and water tankers, which killed nearly 500 people and injured 4,879 in 2024, according to hospital data. Paposh Nagar Station House Officer (SHO) Shaukat Awan said that two boys were killed after a water tanker hit them near Abdullah College. “The victims were riding a motorcycle and were on their way towards Banaras Chowk when the tanker descending from the North Nazimabad bridge hit them,” Awan said. The accident resulted in the death of a 20-year-old and an 18-year-old, he said, adding that the bodies were taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for legal formalities. He added that the incident enraged passersby, who caught the driver and beat him. “They attempted to torch the heavy vehicle, but police prevented them,” he said, adding tha... -
Dawn - 16:59 Jun 11, 2025
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is pushing to investigate whether Harvard University violated federal sanctions, The New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter and documents reviewed by the newspaper. Rubio is pushing to investigate if Harvard violated sanctions by collaborating on a health insurance conference in China that may have included officials blacklisted by the United States, the paper said. The university has been conducting an internal review into the involvement of the Chinese state-run group Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps at the conference, the paper added. Rubio signed off on a recommendation to the Treasury Department last month to open an investigation, the report said. Reuters could not immediately confirm the report. A treasury department spokesman said the agency takes “any allegations of sanctions violations extremely seriously” but declined to comment on possible or pending investigations. A State Department spokesperson also declined to co... -
Dawn - 16:49 Jun 11, 2025
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Wednesday said lower government expenditures in the outgoing fiscal year were a “response” to previous “right pushback” from tax-paying individuals. He made the remarks during a post-budget press conference where he expanded upon the federal budget proposed yesterday for the upcoming FY25-26. Maintaining an aggressive stance on fiscal consolidation, as required by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Aurangzeb yesterday still managed to offer some notional relief to the salaried class in the federal budget for FY2025-26, along with incentives for the real estate and construction sectors to revive the struggling industrial sector and stimulate economic growth. Highlights: Finance minister links no hike in minimum wage with slower inflation Aurangzeb defends salary hike ‘after 9 years’ for NA speaker, Senate chairman FBR chief notes levy on solar panels due to ‘disadvantaged’ local assemblers FBR member explains rationale behind taxing high-value goods at different rate... -
Dawn - 16:31 Jun 11, 2025
US cities hosting next year’s FIFA World Cup faced questions on Wednesday about how to reassure international fans concerned by President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and travel ban as the year-to-go countdown began. The United States, along with Canada and Mexico, is set to co-host the finals, which will feature 48 teams and a record 104 matches in a tournament that FIFA boss Gianni Infantino said would usher in a new generation of football fans. Celebrities and football stars were due to walk the red carpet at the Fox Studio Lot in Los Angeles — one of the host cities — for the year-to-go event there, a day after President Trump deployed Marines and the National Guard to quell protests. California Governor Gavin Newsom described the deployment as an “unmistakable step toward authoritarianism”, while Trump officials defended it and branded the protests as lawless, blaming local and state Democrats for permitting upheaval. Los Angeles is one of several host cities that will mark the year-to-go occasio... -
Dawn - 16:14 Jun 11, 2025
The Foreign Office (FO) on Wednesday slammed remarks by India’s Minister for External Affairs Subhramanyam Jaishankar regarding how India had the “right to strike Pakistan”, stating that New Delhi’s “bellicose punchlines” showed its “sheer frustration following an unsuccessful military adventure”. The Indian minister’s comments come in the wake of a four-day military conflict between the nuclear powers last month. Speaking in Brussels on Tuesday, Jaishankar said when India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi maintained that ‘Operation Sindoor’ was not over, it was a clear message that “we reserve the right to go after terrorists anytime, anywhere if they have done harm to us”. According to the FO statement, Pakistan rejected Jaishankar’s comments, stating that top diplomats should aim to promote peace and harmony rather than producing “bellicose punchlines”. Criticising his conduct, the FO said the tone and tenor of a foreign minister “should be commensurate with his dignified status”. The FO further said: “For th... -
Dawn - 14:45 Jun 11, 2025
Pakistan has long been struggling with the gradual disappearance of its rare wildlife species due to a lethal mix of environmental and human-induced factors, including habitat destruction, dwindling water resources, pollution and poaching. Among these vanishing species is the endangered Indus fishing cat, found mostly in the Indus River Delta and surrounding buffer areas, where its numbers have dropped dramatically over recent decades. Habitat loss, food scarcity, hunting and growing human populations have significantly impacted this rare feline, which plays a vital role in maintaining the balance of aquatic ecosystems, according to experts. “The past two decades have appeared to be disastrous for this environment-friendly animal, mainly because of the destruction of wetlands and killings by local people,” Saeedul Islam, a senior wildlife expert, told Anadolu. Although official surveys have yet to determine precise figures, Islam explained that conservative estimates suggest the cat’s population in the countr... -
Dawn - 14:00 Jun 11, 2025
Syria’s government has decreed that women should wear burkinis or other swimwear that covers the body at public beaches and swimming pools, while permitting Western-style beachwear at private clubs and luxury hotels. The tourism ministry decision issued this week marks the first time the Damascus authorities have issued guidelines related to what women can wear since Bashar al-Assad was toppled in December. During the Assad family’s iron-fisted rule of Syria, which was shaped by a secular Arab nationalist ideology, the state imposed no such restrictions, though people often dressed modestly at public beaches, reflecting conservative norms. The new requirements were set out in a wider decree dated June 9, which included public safety guidelines for beaches and swimming pools ahead of the summer, such as not spending too long in the sun and avoiding jellyfish. It said that beachgoers and visitors to public pools should wear “appropriate swimwear that respects public decency and the feelings of different segment... -
Dawn - 13:51 Jun 11, 2025
United States and Chinese officials said on Tuesday they had agreed on a framework to put their trade truce back on track and remove Beijing’s export restrictions on rare earths while offering little sign of a durable resolution to longstanding trade differences. At the end of two days of intense negotiations in London, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters the framework deal puts “meat on the bones” of an agreement reached last month in Geneva to ease bilateral retaliatory tariffs that had reached crushing triple-digit levels. But the Geneva deal had faltered over China’s continued curbs on critical minerals exports, prompting the Trump administration to respond with export controls of its own preventing shipments of semiconductor design software, aircraft and other goods to China. Lutnick said the agreement reached in London would remove some of the recent US export restrictions, but did not provide details after the talks concluded around midnight London time (4am PKT). “We have reached a fra... -
Dawn - 13:42 Jun 11, 2025
United States Central Command (Centcom) commander Army General Michael Kurilla on Wednesday praised Pakistan as a “phenomenal partner in the world of counter-terrorism”, citing the nation’s struggle against terrorism in Balochistan and against terrorist groups like the Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K). Pakistan and the US reaffirmed the continuation of counter-terrorism cooperation during a dialogue in Washington on May 10. The dialogue underscored the cooperation between the two countries in addressing the most pressing challenges to regional and global security, including the threats posed by terrorist outfits such as the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and IS-K. The two nations are slated to have another counter-terrorism dialogue this month. During a House Armed Services Committee hearing in Washington on Tuesday, the general was asked about the situation on the Afghan border with Pakistan, where he outlined that Pakistan has apprehended several “high-value” IS-K operatives. View this post on Instagram Hail... -
Dawn - 12:56 Jun 11, 2025
Shares at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) hit an all-time high of 124,000 points on Wednesday as the proposed federal budget for the upcoming fiscal year was well-received by investors for being “neutral-to-positive”. Maintaining an aggressive stance on fiscal consolidation, as required by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the government yesterday still managed to offer some notional relief to the salaried class in the budget for FY2025-26, along with incentives for the real estate and construction sectors to revive the struggling industrial sector and stimulate economic growth. While there had been uncertainties surrounding the taxation measures ahead of the budget announcement, the PSX remained bullish yesterday and gained nearly 400 points to cross the 122,000 point-mark, just before the budget was presented in the National Assembly. The benchmark KSE-100 index crossed the 124,000-point barrier at around 11am. It then witnessed a slight decline before resurging to 124,588.17 points at 3:30pm — 2,5... -
Dawn - 12:54 Jun 11, 2025
Former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Wednesday lambasted India for attempting to “sabotage President Donald Trump’s peace efforts” in South Asia, stressing that Pakistan was willing to solve all issues through dialogue. His statement came against the backdrop of Pakistan’s recent conflict with India triggered by a deadly April 22 attack on tourists in Occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam. New Delhi, without evidence, accused Islamabad of backing the attackers — an allegation that led to a four-day military escalation between the two nuclear-armed countries before the United States brokered a ceasefire on May 10. To present Pakistan’s stance on the escalation and dismiss Indian propaganda, the government constituted a high-level delegation, chaired by Bilawal, to visit major world powers. After holding meetings in the US, the delegation is now in the United Kingdom, after which it will head to the Belgian capital of Brussels to hold talks with the members of the European Commission. Addressing a press conf... -
Dawn - 12:52 Jun 11, 2025
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will undertake an official visit to the United Arab Emirates tomorrow (Thursday) to discuss bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest during some high-level meetings. Over the last few months, UAE expressed the country’s commitment to strengthening its long-standing partnership with Pakistan and announced a $2 billion debt rollover soon after. In April, the two nations signed and exchanged multiple memoranda of understanding (MoU) to further strengthen the bonds between the people of both nations. A press release issued by the Foreign Office today said that the visit reflected the “deep-rooted fraternal ties” between Pakistan and the UAE, marked by mutual trust, shared values, and close cooperation across multiple sectors. “The PM will be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, federal ministers, and other senior officers,” the press release said. “PM Shehbaz will hold high-level meetings with the ...
5467 items