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  • PTI felicitates Gen Munir on field marshal title, says he has ‘more responsibility’ now
    Dawn - 09:59 May 22, 2025
    PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan has felicitated Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir for his elevation to the rank of field marshal, saying that he now had more responsibility to “make the situation better”. Earlier this week, the government promoted Gen Munir to the rank of field marshal in recognition of his “strategic leadership and decisive role” in defeating India during the military confrontation between the two countries that ended with a US-mediated ceasefire. Field marshal is the highest rank in armies modelled after the British Army. In Pakistan, it was awarded only once before, to General Mohammad Ayub Khan in 1959. Speaking to reporters outside Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail yesterday after meeting with incarcerated ex-premier Imran Khan, Gohar said: “A long time has passed. The PTI is a major party, Khan sahib is the most popular leader. We want these difficulties to end now. “This is why I am saying that the [army chief] has gotten this new honour of field marshal. [We] have congratulated but after this...
    Tags: Gen Munir
  • Japan taxi driver suspected of raping 50 women: reports
    Dawn - 09:47 May 22, 2025
    Japanese police said on Thursday they arrested a former taxi driver on suspicion of drugging and raping a female passenger, with media reports saying there could be dozens more victims. The Yomiuri Shimbun daily and Jiji Press reported that police found about 3,000 videos and images of him sexually assaulting around 50 women in his taxi or his home. Last year, the man “got a woman, then in her 20s, to take sleeping pills which caused her to lose consciousness, took her to his home and committed an indecent act, which he filmed,” a Tokyo police spokesman told AFP. Police arrested the 54-year-old on Wednesday on “suspicion of non-consensual sexual intercourse and violation of the law on punishment of filming of sexual parts,” he added without elaborating further. Traces of sleeping pills were detected in her hair, according to media reports. The footage recovered on the man’s phone and other devices dated back to 2008, the reports said. Media also said that he was arrested last October on suspicion of drugging ...
  • Trade deficit with nine regional countries widens 35pc
    Dawn - 08:45 May 22, 2025
    ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s trade deficit with nine neighbouring countries widened by 34.64 per cent, reaching $9.787 billion in the first ten months of the current fiscal year (FY25), compared to $7.269 billion during the same period last year. Exports witnessed significant growth to Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, spurred by recent changes in the regional political landscape. However, trade with these countries continues to face considerable challenges, largely due to unfavourable government policies. Despite this positive development in exports, the overall trade gap with regional countries widened, primarily due to increased imports from China, India and Bangladesh during the period under review. In FY24, the trade deficit with these countries stood at $9.506bn, up 49pc from $6.382bn in the preceding year. Export gains to Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka offset by soaring imports Pakistan’s exports to Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka saw a hefty growth in July-April FY25. Still, exports to othe...
  • Six injured in ‘sewer line’ explosion in Satellite Town
    Dawn - 08:36 May 22, 2025
    RAWALPINDI: Six people were injured after a sewer pipeline exploded due to gas accumulation on Wednesday morning, leaving behind a big crater on the road that connects the Holy Family Hospital Road with Phagwari Road. Due to the incident, a traffic jam was witnessed on the slip roads, which created problems for the residents, while the site was cordoned off by the authorities. According to the district administration officials, gas accumulated in the pipeline caused the explosion. They said that the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa), the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) and the Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation (RMC) officials were informed about the incident and asked to check the reason behind it. District Emergency Officer Sibghatullah told Dawn that Rescue 1122 received a call about the explosion in the sewer line and rushed to the site. He said that two people were injured in the first gas explosion and four people were injured in the second explosion. He said the injured were moved to Holy Fam...
  • Eidul Azha likely to fall on June 7: Suparco
    Dawn - 08:24 May 22, 2025
    The festive occasion of Eidul Azha is likely to be celebrated across Pakistan on June 7, 2025, according to the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco). In a statement, the commission issued a prediction regarding the sighting of the crescent moon for the month of Zilhaj 1446 AH, “based on scientific analysis, astronomical data, and modern observational techniques.” It said according to astronomical models, the birth of the new moon for Zilhaj will occur on May 27, 2025, at 8:02pm PST. The scientific analysis for May 27, 2025 (29 Ziqa’ad) in Pakistan indicates the age of the moon at sunset will be approximately 11 hours and 34 minutes, it mentioned. “Even under the most optimal weather conditions, the possibility of the moon being sighted across the country is extremely low, as there will only be a 37-minute interval between sunset and moonset,” it added. The commission said 1st Zilhaj is expected to fall on May 29. Therefore, Eidul Azha will be celebrated across Pakistan on June 7. It added ...
    Tags: June Eidul Azha Suparco
  • Wasa clears Iesco, CDA dues after aid from Punjab government
    Dawn - 08:21 May 22, 2025
    RAWALPINDI: The Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) has settled its liabilities after paying Rs1.9 billion to the Islamabad Electric Supply Company and Rs1.5 billion to the Capital Development Authority with the aid provided by the provincial government. Talking to Dawn, Wasa Managing Director Saleem Ashraf said that the provincial government had been requested to provide financial aid to the agency to clear its liabilities. He said Rs1.980 billion owed to Iesco had been pending for the last two years for the electricity supply to 480 tube wells in the garrison city and the Rawal Dam filtration plant. He said that it was difficult for the agency to pay the electricity supply bills because of its meagre income over the last two years. Regarding the CDA, there was Rs1.59 billion outstanding amount pending for the last 16 years against Wasa’s share for the operation and maintenance of the Khanpur Dam Filtration Plant in Sangjani. He said that a year ago, Wasa did not have additional money available to pay its sha...
    Tags: Wasa Iesco
  • HBL Pakistan Super League: Clinical Gladiators down United to make final
    Dawn - 07:27 May 22, 2025
    LAHORE: Quetta Gla­dia­tors sealed a spot in the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) with a clinical 30-run victory over Islamabad United in the Qualifier here at the Gadd­afi Stadium on Wednesday, thanks to brilliant contributions by Dinesh Chandi­mal, Faheem Ashraf and Usman Tariq. It was a statement win for Gladiators, who came into the match against the defending champions as the league stage’s table toppers and the Saud Shakeel-led side hardly felt the heat of the big occasion. After having posted 209-5, thanks to what proved to be a match-winning partnership between Chandimal and Faheem, Gladiators never really let United get away with the game as Usman took three wickets. Chasing the big total, United — who will now face the winners of the first Eliminator between Karachi Kings and Lahore Qalandars — scampered on their way to 45-1 in the powerplay, with opener Alex Hales playing Faheem’s pace onto his stumps early in the innings. The incoming Rassie van der Dussen responded to the slow start when he lifted...
    Tags: HBL Pakistan Super League United
  • SC Constitutional Bench member decries ‘embarrassing’ plea targeting IHC judges
    Dawn - 06:09 May 22, 2025
    • Regrets how CJP could mark cases to a judge mentioned in petition • Observes it is embarrassing for judges to bracket them for deciding in favour of a political party ISLAMABAD: Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan on Wednesday took exception to uncharitable pleadings on behalf of PTI chairman Imran Khan in which disparaging remarks were made against certain judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC). “This is embarrassing even for judges to bracket them for deciding in favour of a political party,” Justice Hassan regretted, adding how the Chief Justice of Pakistan could mark cases to the judge mentioned in the petition after reading such remarks in the plea. Justice Hassan was a member of the five-judge Constitutional Bench that had taken up a joint petition filed by five IHC judges — Justices Mohsin Akhtar Kaya­­ni, Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Babar Sat­tar, Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan and Saman Rafat Imtiaz — pleading that three transferred judges should not be treated as IHC judges until they take a fresh oath under Artic...
    Tags: Constitutional Bench
  • Charity hospital in Karachi comes under mob attack
    Dawn - 05:30 May 22, 2025
    KARACHI: A mob stormed a charity hospital in Landhi, beat the staff, damaged ambulances and machinery on Wednesday, the hospital administration said. Prof Dr Tipu Sultan, who heads the 250-bed hospital in Kohi Goth, told Dawn that around three weeks ago, a woman from a nearby village had given birth at the health facility. She suffered complications and was referred to the Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi, where she remained under treatment for a week and died on Tuesday. He said on Wednesday scores of people from nearby villages attacked the hospital, beat the staff with sticks and stones, damaged ambulances parked there and the health facility. Dr Sultan said he and his colleagues had established the hospital several years ago, where quality treatment was being provided free of cost. He said that the incident extremely saddened him. He said it was the second hospital in the world where treatment of fistula was being provided to women free of cost. Dr Sultan, who was a former principal of the Dow Medical ...
  • For talks with India, PM Shehbaz sees Saudi Arabia as neutral venue
    Dawn - 04:31 May 22, 2025
    • Observes things are calming down following contacts between DGMOs; NSA to lead Pakistan side during dialogue • Says Nawaz was consulted before army chief’s elevation to field marshal ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday said Saudi Arabia could be the “neutral” venue for much-needed talks between Pakistan and India on critical issues. The premier also said that he had consulted PML-N President Nawaz Sharif on his decision to elevate Chief of Army Staff Gen Syed Asim Munir to field marshal. Talking to a group of TV anchors at the PM House, he said that Kashmir, water, trade and terrorism will be the key points during the dialogue with India. In response to a question if there was a possibility of a third venue for talks in light of the mediation offered by US President Donald Trump, the premier ruled out the possibility of China as a neutral venue, saying India would never agree to that. However, a participant told Dawn, the PM expressed the hope that Saudi Arabia could be the third country w...
    Tags: Saudi Arabia India
  • ‘Brutal, unconscionable, evil’: Condemnations pour in over Khuzdar blast targeting students
    Dawn - 18:38 May 21, 2025
    At least five people, including three children, were killed in a blast targeting a bus carrying students in Balochistan’s Khuzdar district on Wednesday morning. A number of children also sustained injuries. According to local authorities, the bodies and the injured were moved to the Khuzdar Combined Military Hospital, from where those in critical condition would be referred to medical facilities in Quetta and Karachi. Preliminary findings indicated that the attack was a suicide blast. In a statement, the military, while calling the incident “cowardly and ghastly”, said that it was planned and orchestrated by India, and executed by its proxies in Balochistan. “After having miserably failed in the battlefield, through these most heinous and cowardly acts, Indian proxies have been unleashed to spread terror and unrest in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” the Inter Services Public Relations said. The attack drew widespread condemnation from all segments of society. In a post on X, the Human Rights Commission o...
    Tags: Khuzdar
  • Security forces to ‘relentlessly pursue’ culprits of Khuzdar attack on school van
    Dawn - 18:32 May 21, 2025
    Security forces on Wednesday vowed to “relentlessly pursue” the culprits of the attack on a school bus in Balochistan’s Khuzdar, leaving three children among five dead and several others injured. A statement by the Prime Minister’s Office, issued after PM Shehbaz Sharif’s one-day visit to Quetta following the incident, said, “Pakistan’s security forces and law enforcement agencies will relentlessly pursue all those involved in this barbaric act. “The architects, abettors, and enablers of this crime will be held accountable and brought to justice and the truth about India’s cunning role, a real perpetrator of terrorism but feigns as a victim, stands exposed before the world.” The statement detailed the incident, claiming the act was carried out by “state-sponsored proxies of India (Fitna al Hindustan)” and added that “dastardly terrorist incidents” were being orchestrated through proxies in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, “deliberately targeting civilians in a futile attempt to destabilise Pakistan”. Defen...
    Tags: Khuzdar Security
  • Trump ambushes South African president with ‘genocide’ accusation
    Dawn - 17:58 May 21, 2025
    President Donald Trump ambushed South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday by playing him a video that he claimed proved genocide is being committed against white people, driving farmers to flee to the United States. The unexpected stunt turned the usually staid diplomatic setting of the Oval Office into a stage for Trump’s contention that white South Africans are being persecuted. With the media standing by and Ramaphosa at times unable to get a word in, Trump had staff put the video on a large screen, saying it showed black South Africans discussing genocide. “They’re white farmers, and they’re fleeing South Africa, and it’s a very sad thing to see. But I hope we can have an explanation of that, because I know you don’t want that,” Trump said. Ramaphosa repeatedly tried to speak but was drowned out. At one point, he pleaded that they “talk about it very calmly”. “We were taught by Nelson Mandela that whenever there are problems, people need to sit down around the table and talk about them. And thi...
    Tags: Trump
  • Security forces ‘falsely implicated’ in North Waziristan incident: ISPR
    Dawn - 17:17 May 21, 2025
    The military’s media wing on Wednesday said that security forces were “falsely implicated” in an incident that took place in Mir Ali tehsil of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s North Waziristan district, killing four children. “Initial findings have established that this heinous act has been orchestrated and executed by Indian-sponsored Fitna Al Khwarij,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement, using the term the state uses to refer to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The statement comes after locals staged a protest in Mir Ali’s Hurmuz village on Monday against the killing of four children and a woman, allegedly by a drone strike. A day earlier, police said talks with local elders on the matter were underway. “Following a tragic incident on May 19, 2025, in the general area of Mir Ali, North Waziristan district, which regrettably resulted in civilian casualties, unfounded and misleading allegations have been circulated by certain quarters, falsely implicating Pakistan’s security forces...
    Tags: North Waziristan ISPR
  • Two cops slain in attack on Bannu police checkpoint: officials
    Dawn - 17:03 May 21, 2025
    Two cops lost their lives as a result of an attack on a police checkpoint in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district on Wednesday, officials said. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Zulfiqar Hameed told Dawn.com, “Two policemen were martyred and one was injured in the attack. “Terrorists launched the attack using hand grenades late at night, causing some damage to the checkpost,” he said, adding that the assailants were not able to cause significant destruction due to the prompt action of the police. Some attackers fled after the attack, he said, adding that a search operation was underway. Meanwhile, Regional Police Officer (RPO), Sajjad Khan, said in a statement that “several terrorists were killed and injured as the police retaliated against the attack.” The attack occurred at the New Sabzi Mandi police checkpoint, in which advanced weaponry was used, he detailed. “The timely response by the police prevented a potentially major loss,” it added. Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities ...
    Tags: Bannu
  • US Army to change transgender soldiers’ records to birth sex
    Dawn - 15:33 May 21, 2025
    The US Army will alter the records of transgender soldiers to show only their sex at birth, according to internal guidance seen by Reuters that details a series of steps it will take as it pushes them out of the service. “Commanders will take immediate measures to update personnel records and administrative systems to reflect biological sex for all individuals,” the 14-page memo stated. The Army considered a person’s sex to be “unchanging during a person’s life,” it said, echoing a February 26 Pentagon memo. The Army document illustrates how President Donald Trump’s administration intends to treat thousands of transgender troops after the Supreme Court’s ruling this month cleared the way for the Pentagon to implement a ban on their service. Reuters first reported on May 8 the Pentagon’s plans to start kicking out transgender troops who do not elect to leave on their own by June 6 On May 12, it detailed plans to halt gender-affirming healthcare for transgender troops. The Army could not immediately be reached ...
    Tags: Army
  • Iran parliament approves 20-year strategic pact with Russia
    Dawn - 14:17 May 21, 2025
    Iran’s parliament approved a 20-year strategic partnership on Wednesday between Moscow and Tehran, state media reported. The agreement represents a deepening of bilateral ties, including closer defence cooperation. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian signed the strategic partnership document on January 17. The Russian legislative branch approved the pact in April. While the agreement does not include a mutual defence clause, it says both countries will work together against common military threats, develop their military-technical cooperation, and take part in joint exercises. Since the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022, Iran and Russia have deepened military ties, with Western countries accusing Iran of providing missiles and drones for Russian attacks on Ukraine. Tehran denies providing weapons for Russian use in Ukraine. The strategic pact also includes several clauses aimed at boosting economic partnership, notably by strengthening direct interbank cooperation ...
    Tags: Iran Russia
  • Indian top court bails Muslim academic arrested for peace posts following conflict with Pakistan
    Dawn - 14:09 May 21, 2025
    India’s top court granted bail on Wednesday to a professor arrested for commentating online about the military conflict with Pakistan but did not stop the investigation against him. Ali Khan Mahmudabad, a political science professor at the private, liberal-arts Ashoka University, was arrested on Sunday over a Facebook post criticising those “mindlessly advocating” for war. He also wrote that the “optics” of two women army officers who had held press briefings “must translate to reality on the ground otherwise it’s just hypocrisy”. Mahmudabad since said his comments had been “misunderstood” and that he had exercised his “fundamental right to freedom of thought and speech”. He is charged under multiple sections of India’s criminal code, including endangering the country’s sovereignty and using words or gestures with the intention of insulting the modesty of a woman. While granting Mahmudabad bail, India’s Supreme Court said he should have avoided the “use of complicated words” which could “hurt individuals” and...
    Tags: Pakistan
  • Ukraine pitches tougher Russia sanctions plan to EU as US wavers
    Dawn - 12:20 May 21, 2025
    Ukraine will ask the European Union next week to consider big new steps to isolate Moscow, including seizing Russian assets and bringing in sanctions for some buyers of Russian oil, as United States President Donald Trump has backed off from tightening sanctions. A previously unreported Ukrainian white paper to be presented to the EU calls for the 27-member bloc to take a more aggressive and independent position on sanctions as uncertainty hangs over Washington’s future role. Among 40 pages of recommendations were calls to adopt legislation that would speed up the EU’s seizure of assets from sanctioned individuals and send them to Ukraine. Those under sanctions could then seek compensation from Russia. The EU should consider a range of steps to make its sanctions apply more forcefully beyond its own territory, including targeting foreign companies that use its technology to help Russia, and “the introduction of secondary sanctions on purchasers of Russian oil”. Such secondary sanctions, which could hit big bu...
    Tags: Ukraine Russia
  • Dar meets Chinese, Afghan FMs as they agree to thwart terrorism in region
    Dawn - 11:34 May 21, 2025
    Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Afghanistan’s interim Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and agreed to extend the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to Afghanistan. On Monday, Deputy PM Dar arrived in China’s capital of Beijing on a three-day official visit at the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Yi amid regional tensions. The trilateral forum was established in 2017, with earlier meetings held in Beijing and the Afghan capital. China said on Tuesday that it supports Pakistan in defending “national sovereignty and territorial integrity”, after a ceasefire ended four days of fighting with India over a deadly attack in occupied Kashmir. “Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar Member of the Communist Party of China Political Bureau & Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China Wang Yi, and Acting Foreign Minister of Afghanistan Amir Khan Muttaqi, held an informal trilateral meeting in...
    Tags: Afghan

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