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Dawn - 02:35 Nov 18, 2025
• Two more judges sworn in • Seven courtrooms arranged on IHC floors • Three benches hear several cases on first working day ISLAMABAD: After the swearing-in of two more judges, the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) finally commenced operations on Monday, hearing a number of cases within the Islamabad High Court (IHC) premises. The day began with the oath-taking ceremony of Justice Rozi Khan Barrech and Justice Arshad Hussain Shah inside the conference room on the ground floor of the IHC building on Constitution Avenue. The oath was administered by FCC Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan, bringing the court’s existing strength to seven judges. View this post on Instagram Earlier, the FCC chief justice had told the media that the total sanctioned strength of the court would be 13 judges. Seven courtrooms have been arranged for FCC judges on different floors of the IHC building. After the ceremony, the formal proceedings commenced with the recitation of the Holy Quran at the main FCC courtroom situated on the first f... -
Dawn - 02:22 Nov 18, 2025
KARACHI: Pakistan’s current account deficit (CAD) widened by over 255 per cent year-on-year during the first four months of FY26, primarily driven by rising imports and falling exports. The latest data issued by the State Bank on Monday showed that the country posted a CAD of $733 million in July-October compared with $206m in the same period last year. Another vital change was that October posted a $112m deficit, compared with a $83m surplus in September. The pressure on the current account is directly related to higher imports, while the exports remained stagnant during the current fiscal year. Under pressure from the International Monetary Fund, the government had relaxed import curbs. The government is under severe criticism for failing to boost economic growth over the last three years, and financial circles believe it was a deliberate attempt to cut GDP growth to keep the current account under control. The government achieved a surplus of $1.9bn in FY25, but economic growth remained at 2.6pc, which was ... -
Dawn - 23:01 Nov 17, 2025
The United Nations Security Council on Monday voted to adopt a US-drafted resolution endorsing President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza and authorising an international stabilisation force for the Palestinian enclave. Israel and Hamas agreed last month to the first phase of Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza — a ceasefire in their two-year war and a hostage-release deal — but the UN resolution is seen as vital to legitimising a transitional governance body and reassuring countries that are considering sending troops to Gaza. The text of the resolution says member states can take part in the Board of Peace, envisioned as a transitional authority that would oversee the reconstruction and economic recovery of Gaza. It also authorises the International Stabilisation Force (ISF), which would ensure a process of demilitarising Gaza, including by decommissioning weapons and destroying military infrastructure. Trump’s 20-point plan is included as an annexe to the resolution. Russia, which holds a veto on the ... -
Dawn - 18:57 Nov 17, 2025
Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah on Monday said that a 28th Constitutional Amendment, dealing with “public issues”, could be introduced if there is political consensus. Last week, President Asif Ali Zardari gave his assent to the contentious 27th Constitutional Amendment, enacting it into law. Speaking to reporters in Chiniot, the PM’s aide said that the amendment would deal with “public issues, such as local bodies, population, the National Finance Commission … health-related issues”. “There is a need to review how we can better serve the people according to the present needs of the provinces and the Centre,” Sanaullah stated. “This is being debated and if there is any consensus, then we can bring the 28th Amendment forward,” said the PML-N leader. Referring to the recent resignations by judges of the Supreme Court and LHC, the PM’s aide said that “those who stepped down did so due to their personal motives”. He maintained that the parliament has the constitutional right to p... -
Dawn - 17:55 Nov 17, 2025
Lahore, once celebrated as the City of Gardens, now chokes each winter under a grey shroud of smog — its skies thick with toxic haze that has become the city’s defining feature. Every November, as the monsoon fades, a suffocating layer of smoke and dust engulfs Lahore, India’s capital New Delhi and much of northern South Asia. The mix of crop burning, vehicle exhaust and industrial emissions drives air pollution to deadly levels, forcing authorities to shut schools, businesses and highways. This winter, as air quality plummets again, the Punjab government is betting on an unconventional ally to fight back: artificial intelligence (AI). Authorities say they are deploying one of the region’s most technologically advanced clean-air programmes, with AI systems at the centre of forecasting, enforcement and public response. Some 100 AI-powered air-quality monitoring stations have been established across Punjab, home to nearly 130 million people, according to Punjab Environment Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb. These sma... -
Dawn - 17:42 Nov 17, 2025
The government on Monday revised the compensation package for martyred and injured Civil Armed Forces (CAF) personnel, according to a notification issued by the interior ministry. CAFs are defined as a federal paramilitary force working under the interior ministry, according to Section 18, sub-section 21 of Schedule II of the Rules of Business, 1973, such as the Federal Constabulary, Frontier Corps, Gilgit-Baltistan Scouts and Pakistan Coast Guards. The decision to revise compensation to be on par with the Islamabad police was made by the interior ministry in August this year and approved by the cabinet on August 25. According to today’s notification, the minimum compensation will be Rs10 million (Grade 1-9), while the maximum is now Rs20m (Grade 20 and above). “If a member of the CAFs is shaheed (martyred), permanently disabled, injured with serious injury or minor injury, as the case may be, while on bona fide government duty, an award under these rules may be granted to him or his family, as the case may b... -
Dawn - 16:47 Nov 17, 2025
A no-confidence motion against Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq succeeded on Monday, with 36 members in the Legislative Assembly voting in favour of it and two against it. Of the 29 PPP members, the speaker could not cast his vote and of the 9 PML-N members, one female member abstained. Two PTI legislators — regional president Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi and leader of the opposition Khawaja Farooq Ahmed — voted against the move. Haq, who had arrived in the hall along with four loyalists, left along with them soon after delivering his speech. Three PTI members did not attend. One member each of the Muslim Conference and the Jammu Kashmir Peoples Party (JKPP) also abstained. Apart from them, three PTI forward bloc members — Ansar Abdali, Mazhar Saeed and deputy speaker Chaudhry Riaz — also abstained. After the votes were counted, AJK Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar, who was chairing the session, announced PPP’s Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore as the new premier. Under the AJK Constituti... -
Dawn - 16:21 Nov 17, 2025
A Bangladesh court sentenced ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death on Monday, concluding a months-long trial that found her guilty of ordering a deadly crackdown on a student-led uprising last year. The ruling comes months ahead of parliamentary elections expected to be held in early February. Hasina’s Awami League party has been barred from contesting and it is feared that Monday’s verdict could stoke fresh unrest ahead of the vote. The International Crimes Tribunal, Bangladesh’s domestic war crimes court located in the capital Dhaka, delivered the guilty verdict amid tight security and in Hasina’s absence after she fled to India in August 2024. View this post on Instagram Hasina, 78, defied court orders that she return from India to attend her trial about whether she ordered a deadly crackdown against the student-led uprising that ousted her. She called the guilty verdict and death sentence in her crimes against humanity trial “biased and politically motivated”. “The verdicts announced against me hav... -
Dawn - 16:16 Nov 17, 2025
Another victim from the fireworks factory explosion in Hyderabad earlier this week succumbed to his wounds at Liaquat University Hospital (LUH) on Monday, taking the toll to 10, officials said. At least six people were killed and seven were injured after a powerful explosion ripped through a fireworks factory in Hyderabad on Saturday. Police registered a case against multiple suspects, including the owner of an allegedly illegal firecracker factory. Nine people were reported to have died till yesterday. LUH’s Additional Medical Superintendent (MS) Dr Mujeeb Kalwar told Dawn, “[The victim] was admitted with around 100 per cent burn wounds.” In view of his critical condition, MS Kalwar added, the victim was taken to the surgical ward’s intensive care unit, where he breathed his last today. Separately, Hyderabad Senior Superintendent of Police Adeel Chandio said three unidentified bodies, which were lying in LUH, also included the fireworks factory’s owner. He told Dawn that these findings were confirmed based o... -
Dawn - 16:06 Nov 17, 2025
The PTI on Monday condemned the alleged political victimisation and “inhumane” jail conditions faced by incarcerated former MNA and Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) chief Sahibzada Hamid Raza. The party claimed that essential medical care and basic rights were not being provided to the incarcerated leader, which was a grave erosion of justice, due process and constitutional protections. The Islamabad police arrested Raza and presented him before a Faisalabad anti-terrorism court, which sent him to jail to serve his 10-year jail term in the May 9 case. The SIC chief was convicted in the case along with several PTI leaders on July 31. In a statement issued by the PTI Central Media Department, the party vehemently condemned Raza’s treatment during his detention. “His arrest — carried out while he was on his way to voluntarily surrender before the court — and the subsequent denial of his basic rights in jail reflect a disturbing pattern of political persecution and a blatant disregard for human dignity,” it stated. Th... -
Dawn - 16:06 Nov 17, 2025
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar arrived in Russian capital Moscow on Monday to attend the Council of Heads of Government (CHG) meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). FM Dar was received by the Russian Deputy FM Mikhail Galuzin, Deputy Director of State Protocol Aleksander Prusov, Deputy Director of Second Asia Department of Russian Foreign Ministry Alexei Surovtsev and Pakistan Embassy officers. The Foreign Office (FO) said he would lead the Pakistani delegation at the summit, being held on November 17-18, at the invitation of Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Vladmirovich Mishustin. “The CHG will be attended by the heads of government of Belarus, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, the vice president of Iran, and the foreign ministers of Pakistan and India,” the statement said. Further, in addition to SCO member states, the heads of the governments of Mongolia, Bahrain, Egypt, Qatar, Kuwait and Turkmenistan will also be attending the meeting al... -
Dawn - 15:52 Nov 17, 2025
National carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and Bangladeshi carrier Biman Airlines on Monday signed a “landmark” deal to streamline the movement of air cargo between the two countries. According to a statement from a PIA spokesperson, the deal will be effective from December 1 this year. Under the agreement, the major Saudi cities of Jeddah, Medina and Riyadh would be used as transit gateways. “This partnership will establish a strategic corridor for regional trade,” the statement read. “The agreement will reduce the logistical complexities in the transportation of valuable commodities such as textiles, pharmaceuticals and agricultural products. “Through the extensive networks of the national airlines of both countries, quality and cost-effective cargo solutions will be provided,” the statement added. On October 4, PIA announced that it would resume flights to the United Kingdom from October 25, with nonstop flights from Manchester to Islamabad. The day prior, the Pakistan High Commission in Lond... -
Dawn - 15:51 Nov 17, 2025
Air India said on Monday it will resume New Delhi-China flights beginning from February 2026, nearly six years after suspension, as recent diplomatic steps are seen as cautiously reopening bilateral links. The carrier was also planning to launch a Mumbai-Shanghai route later next year, subject to regulatory approvals, it said. “The reinstatement of Air India’s services to Shanghai follows recent India-China diplomatic agreements that restored the air links paused in early 2020,” Air India said in a statement. China’s Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport last month announced flights between the two nations were set to resume. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited China earlier this year, for the first time in seven years, to attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation regional security bloc. Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed that India and China were development partners, not rivals, and discussed ways to strengthen trade ties amid global tariff uncertainty. Last month, budget ... -
Dawn - 15:33 Nov 17, 2025
Pakistan will stick to their strategy of relying on all-rounders rather than specialists in T20 cricket going into the tri-series — also involving Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe — which starts in Rawalpindi on Tuesday. The opener at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium — which will host the entirety of the tournament — will be played between the hosts and Zimbabwe, and Pakistan will look up to their all-rounders to make a difference again. The strategy, which has emerged as a blueprint of Pakistan’s white-ball head coach Mike Hesson since was appointed in May this year, has come under heavy criticism due to its nature of ignoring the importance of specialist batters and bowlers. But for Pakistan T20 captain Salman Ali Agha, it is the go-to approach given what he believes is a “luxury” to have good enough all-rounders to deliver with both bat and ball. “As you may have seen, we try to go for all-rounders mostly, and thankfully we have some who bowl and bat equally well,” he said in the pre-series press conference at the ven... -
Dawn - 14:50 Nov 17, 2025
A visit by Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler to the White House for talks on Tuesday with United States President Donald Trump aims to deepen decades-old cooperation on oil and security while broadening ties in commerce, technology and potentially even nuclear energy. It will be the first trip by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the US since the 2018 killing of Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in Istanbul, which caused a global uproar. US intelligence concluded that MBS approved the capture or killing of Khashoggi, a prominent critic. The crown prince, widely known by his initials MBS, denied ordering the operation but acknowledged responsibility as the kingdom’s de facto ruler. More than seven years later, the world’s largest economy and the world’s top oil producer want to move forward. Trump is seeking to cash in on a $600 billion Saudi investment pledge made during Trump’s visit to the kingdom in May. He steered clear of mentioning human rights concerns during that trip and is expected to do so... -
Dawn - 14:46 Nov 17, 2025
Indian army chief General Upendra Dwivedi on Monday issued a pointed warning to Pakistan, comparing the brief May conflict to a “trailer” rather than a full-length film. The Indian army chief’s remarks come a week after an explosion near the Red Fort in New Delhi on November 10, leaving 12 people dead in the first such explosion in the Indian capital since 2011. Delivering a speech at a defence conference in New Delhi, Gen Dwivedi said, “I’d like to say that the movie hasn’t even started — only a trailer was shown, and, after the trailer, it was over within 88 hours.“ “So, we’re fully prepared for the future, and if Pakistan gives us such an opportunity, we’d like to provide them with a thorough education on how a responsible nation should behave with its neighbours.“ The conflict between the two countries in May was sparked by an attack on tourists in India-occupied Kashmir, which New Delhi, without evidence, linked to Pakistan. Islamabad strongly denied responsibility while calling for a neutral investigati... -
Dawn - 14:23 Nov 17, 2025
One woman was killed and another was injured in a road accident on Karachi’s Super Highway on Monday, according to a statement from the Edhi Foundation. The statement read that a 22-year-old woman was killed in the accident on the Damba Goth bridge, while the injured 37-year-old was moved to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for treatment. Gadap City Station House Officer (SHO) Sarfraz Jatoi told Dawn that the victims were riding a scooter when a speeding car hit them. “They sustained critical injuries and were transported to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where doctors pronounced Sumaira Hakim, 32, as dead on arrival, while Rabia Naz Shahid Ali, 37, was admitted for treatment,” the SHO said. He added that both victims were schoolteachers on their way to work when the incident occurred at around 9am. The SHO further said that the suspected driver had been apprehended and his vehicle was impounded by police. Traffic accidents are very common in Karachi. In the early hours of Saturday, a trailer hit an unidentified pedestrian,... -
Dawn - 14:14 Nov 17, 2025
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Monday said that Pakistan had become “extremely relevant” on the global stage after its performance during the military conflict against India in May. The conflict between the two countries in May this year was sparked by an attack on tourists in India-occupied Kashmir, which New Delhi, without evidence, linked to Pakistan. Islamabad strongly denied responsibility while calling for a neutral investigation. New Delhi then launched deadly air strikes in Punjab and Azad Kashmir on May 7. After tit-for-tat strikes on each other’s airbases during the four-day escalation, it took American intervention on May 10 for both sides to finally reach a ceasefire. Both governments launched diplomatic blitzes after the conflict to take their stance on the ordeal to other countries. Elaborating on Pakistan’s image and standing in the world in the conflict’s aftermath while speaking at a function, the information minister said, “In a very short span of time, we have become extremely rele... -
Dawn - 14:07 Nov 17, 2025
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday that the digitisation of Pakistan Railways and the provision of modern facilities would play a key role in strengthening the national economy. He added that the federal government, in collaboration with the Sindh government, would modernise the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) and upgrade all railway stations across the province and the country. The premier expressed these views while addressing the inauguration ceremony of the new Shalimar Express and the newly upgraded waiting areas and lounges at Karachi Cantt Railway Station during his visit to Karachi. The prime minister visited the upgraded waiting area, CIP lounge, dining hall and computerised ticketing system, accompanied by federal ministers, senior railway officials and the railways police chief. The ceremony was also attended by foreign diplomats and Parliament members, senior officers from the federal as well as provincial governments. Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, Railways Minister Hanif Abbasi, I... -
Dawn - 13:52 Nov 17, 2025
A no-confidence motion against Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq succeeded on Monday with 36 votes in favour and two against. Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar announced PPP’s Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore as the new AJK premier. Rathore is the 16th prime minister elected in AJK since 1975, when the parliamentary form of government was introduced in the region. Rathore is currently the PPP AJK chapter’s general secretary and is considered a trusted confidant of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. A senior figure in PPP’s AJK chapter, Rathore has long been associated with the region’s politics. Born on April 11, 1978, in Rawalpindi, he is the son of the late Raja Mumtaz Hussain Rathore, a former AJK prime minister who also served as senior minister, leader of the opposition and speaker of the Legislative Assembly at various stages of his political career. His mother, Begum Farhat Rathore, belonged to a migrant family from Indian-occupied Kashmir; she was a member of the state legisla...
5467 items