Dawn
Source:
https://www.dawn.com
Found 5467 news
-
Dawn - 17:27 May 16, 2025
Ukraine rallied support from its Western allies on Friday after Kyiv and Moscow failed to agree to a ceasefire at their first direct talks in more than three years, with Russia presenting conditions that a Ukrainian source described as “non-starters”. Under pressure from US President Donald Trump to end the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War Two, delegates from the warring countries met for the first time since March 2022, the month after Russia invaded its neighbour. The talks in an Istanbul palace lasted well under two hours. Russia expressed satisfaction with the meeting and said it was ready to continue contacts. Both countries said they had agreed to trade 1,000 prisoners of war each in what would be the biggest such exchange yet. But Kyiv, which wants the West to impose tighter sanctions unless Moscow accepts a proposal from Trump for a 30-day ceasefire, immediately began rallying its allies for tougher action. As soon as the talks ended, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy held a phone ca... -
Dawn - 17:02 May 16, 2025
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said Pakistan won the war but sought peace and invited India to live as a “peaceful neighbour”, as the country celebrated Operation Bunyanum Marsoos’s success with a ceremony. The military confrontation between India and Pakistan began after New Delhi blamed Islamabad for the Pahalgam attack. On the night of May 6-7, India launched air strikes on Pakistan, causing civilian casualties. Both sides exchanged missiles over the following week, which stretched tensions. An American intervention led to a ceasefire. On Monday, the directors general of military operations held the first round of talks after the ceasefire. Today’s ceremony, marking the Youm-i-Tashakur (Thanksgiving Day), was held at the Pakistan Monument in Islamabad and attended by PM Shehbaz, armed forces chiefs, and other civil and military leaders. It began with the recitation of the Holy Quran, opening speeches, a flypast, and national songs. View this post on Instagram Beginning his speech, PM Shehbaz prais... -
Dawn - 16:28 May 16, 2025
Pakistan is expected to experience “moderate growth, stabilising after a period of economic contraction”, with its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) projected to expand by 2.3 per cent in 2025, according to a major United Nations report. The report, titled ‘The UN World Economic Situation and Prospects 2025’ and released a day ago, noted that declining inflation has allowed most of the South Asian region’s central banks to commence or continue monetary easing in 2025. Meanwhile, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are expected to continue fiscal consolidation and economic reforms under International Monetary Fund programmes. Dr Aneel Salman, chair of Economic Security at Islamabad Policy Research Institute, told Dawn.com that the UN’s revised growth forecast for Pakistan reflected a “fragile yet stabilising recovery” after a prolonged period of economic distress. “Inflation has come down sharply, reaching 0.3pc in April 2025, offering some relief to households and opening the door for improved consumer and business... -
Dawn - 15:58 May 16, 2025
A sessions court in Rawalpindi sentenced a man to death on Friday for raping a woman. Additional Sessions Judge Afshan Ijaz Sufi announced the verdict today, sentencing the convict to be hanged to death under Section 17 of the Anti-Rape (Investigation & Trial) Act, 2021. The judge also imposed a fine of Rs200,000 and ordered him to pay Rs500,000 in compensatory damages to the victim. In case of failing to pay, the convict will be sentenced to six months’ additional imprisonment. The first information report of the case was lodged at the Saddar Beroni police station on July 20, 2024, under Pakistan Penal Code Section 376iii (punishment for rape of a minor) on the complaint of the victim’s mother. The mother said she worked as a housemaid and had left her 21/22-year-old daughter and nine-year-old son at home when the culprit had entered around noon and raped the former. The woman said her children had raised a hue and cry with her son alerting someone who called her up and informed her about the incident. The w... -
Dawn - 12:46 May 16, 2025
Foreign Office Spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan on Friday urged India to maintain the ceasefire agreed with Pakistan, warning that the country would respond if the neighbour resumed aggression. The military confrontation between India and Pakistan came as the former blamed Islamabad for the Pahalgam attack. On the night of May 6-7, New Delhi launched a series of air strikes on Pakistan, resulting in civilian casualties. Both sides then exchanged missiles, which stretched over the week. It took American intervention for both sides to finally drop their guns. The nation observed Youm-i-Tashakur across the country today to honour the armed forces and the people for the victory in Operation Bunyanum Marsoos — a part of Marka-i-Haq — against India. During his weekly press conference today, the spokesperson said: “The recent announcement of a Pakistan-India ceasefire is a positive development. We urge India to faithfully adhere to its implementation.” He said Pakistan appreciated the role of friendly countries in faci... -
Dawn - 11:53 May 16, 2025
India is considering plans to dramatically increase the water it draws from a major river that feeds Pakistani farms downstream, as part of what it claims to be retaliatory action for a deadly April attack on tourists that New Delhi blames on Islamabad, according to four people familiar with the matter. Delhi suspended its participation in the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) of 1960, which governs the usage of the Indus river system, shortly after 26 civilians in India-held Kashmir were killed in what India called an act of terror. Pakistan has denied involvement in the incident, but accord remains “in abeyance” by India despite the two nuclear-armed neighbours agreeing a ceasefire last week following the worst fighting between them in decades. After the April 22 attack, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered officials to expedite planning and execution of projects on the Chenab, Jhelum and Indus rivers, three bodies of water in the Indus system that are designated primarily for Pakistan’s use, six people told... -
Dawn - 10:06 May 16, 2025
UAE-based low-cost airline flydubai has started flights to Peshawar’s Bacha Khan International Airport, the Pakistan Aviation Authority (PAA) said in a statement today. Peshawar’s airport is a major passenger hub with 75 per cent flights internationally bound, according to the PAA’s website. The inaugural flight of flydubai, FZ 375, “arrived in Peshawar last night with 164 passengers”, the PAA said in a statement. It added that the flight was given a water cannon salute at Bacha Khan Airport, which is a traditional aviation gesture to honour inaugural flights. A cake-cutting ceremony was also held on the arrival of flydubai, the statement added. The UAE-based airline will operate daily flights to Peshawar from Dubai, flydubai had said in a statement. Passengers at the check-in counters at Peshawar’s Bacha Khan International Airport. — PAA The PAA noted that air connections from Peshawar to Gulf and European countries will be expanded. FZ 375 departed back to Dubai at 2:20am PKT with 184 passengers, the statem... -
Dawn - 08:15 May 16, 2025
A polio outbreak has been declared in Papua New Guinea, sparking concern about the disease’s spread in a country with low vaccination rates, health officials said. Papua New Guinea was certified as polio-free in 2000, but immunisation rates among children are low — less than 50 per cent, according to the World Health Organisation. The virus was detected in wastewater and environmental samples in the Pacific nation’s capital, Port Moresby, and second largest city Lae, the WHO said. In subsequent testing, two children in Lae were found to have the poliovirus type 2 strain, according to the WHO representative in Papua New Guinea, Sevil Huseynova. The confirmation of community transmission in the children “constitutes a polio outbreak”, Huseynova said in briefing notes provided to AFP on Friday. The health agency “expresses deep concern over the confirmed outbreak”, she said. Genetic testing showed the polio strain detected in Papua New Guinea was linked to one circulating in Indonesia. “Polio is a highly infecti... -
Dawn - 06:49 May 16, 2025
An Indian climber and another from the Philippines became the first mountaineers to die on Mount Everest in the current March-May climbing season of the world’s highest peak, hiking officials said on Friday. Subrata Ghosh, 45, from India, died on Thursday below the Hillary Step while returning after reaching the 8,849-metre (29,032 feet) peak. “He refused to descend from below the Hillary Step,” said Bodhraj Bhandari of Nepal’s Snowy Horizon Treks and Expedition organising company. No other details were available. The Hillary Step is located in the ‘death zone’, an area between 8,000-metre (26,250 ft) high South Col and the summit where the level of natural oxygen is inadequate for survival. “Efforts are underway to bring his body down to the base camp. The cause of his death will be known only after post mortem,” Bhandari said. Philipp II Santiago, 45, from the Philippines, died late on Wednesday at the South Col while he was on his way up, said Himal Gautam, a tourism department official. Santiago was tired... -
Dawn - 06:47 May 16, 2025
LAHORE: Former Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan and Sri Lankan batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa have signed up for Lahore Qalandars for the remainder of the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) season, the franchise announced on Thursday. Meanwhile, Karachi Kings have secured the services of Scotland opener George Munsey. The tenth edition of the PSL is set to resume from Saturday — with Kings taking on Peshawar Zalmi at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium — after the league was postponed as a result of cross-border tensions between Pakistan and India, which started May 7 before culminating in a ceasefire three days later. View this post on Instagram The disruption had seen the franchises release their respective players, with the overseas contingent flying out of Pakistan as military action escalated between the neighbours. Although the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) later released a revised schedule for the PSL, not all overseas players originally signed by the franchises were ready to return to the country as teams scramble... -
Dawn - 04:51 May 16, 2025
GILGIT: Protests broke out across Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) on Thursday after police arrested five leaders of the Gilgit-Baltistan Awami Action Committee (ACC), including its chairman, Ehsan Ali Advocate, ahead of a planned Grand Jirga on May 26. Demonstrations were held in Hunza, Gilgit and Skardu, where protesters condemned the arrests and demanded the immediate release of the detained leaders. The ACC said the arrests were aimed at sabotaging the jirga, which was to address issues surrounding the ownership of natural resources in the region. According to officials, police arrested the activists — Ehsan Ali Advocate, Engineer Mahboob Wali, Masoodul Rehman, Asghar Shah and Waheed Hassan — from various places in Gilgit on Wednesday evening. A GB anti-terrorism court on Thursday granted police 14-day physical remand of the accused, who were taken to the Airport Police Station. Authorities have refused to share the First Information Report (FIR), but a police source told Dawn that the arrests were made under anti-... -
Dawn - 04:33 May 16, 2025
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said that Pakistan’s armed forces had shattered the ‘false hegemony’ of India and made the whole world realise that all states in the region are equal. The premier again asked India to sit at the table to resolve contentious issues, including Kashmir, through dialogue, without which there will be no guarantee of permanent peace. Meanwhile, according to a decision announced by the PM, the nation will be observing Youm-i-Tashakur on Friday (today) on the victory of Pakistan in the recent conflict with India. “You have not only changed the mindset of the world but also the equation in the region and in the world,” the prime minister said while addressing a gathering of Pakistan Air Force officers during a visit to PAF airbase Kamra. He paid the visit to meet the Pakistani pilots who had successfully defended the nation during one of the longest aerial engagements of the 21st century between May 6 and 10. Shehbaz showers praise on pilots during visit to PAF bas... -
Dawn - 04:28 May 16, 2025
ISLAMABAD: Justice Shahid Bilal Hasan, a member of the five-judge Constitutional Bench seized with a seniority dispute among the Islamabad High Court judges, on Thursday decried the tendency in the legal community to intertwine national politics with the bar politics. The Supreme Court’s Constitutional Bench had taken up petitions filed by five judges of the IHC concerning the seniority dispute and the transfer of three judges to the IHC. Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar headed the bench. “This is unfortunate that the national politics has seeped into the bar politics,” regretted Justice Hasan, adding that this tendency was started by a political party now opposed to the present opposition. The judge bemoaned that this malaise had never been the practice in the past. While pointing towards senior counsel Hamid Khan, who was representing the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) and the Lahore Bar Association (LBA), Justice Hasan observed that it was to his knowledge that the presidents of both associations wer... -
Dawn - 04:04 May 16, 2025
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has dismissed media reports claiming that its incarcerated founding chairman, Imran Khan, has agreed to initiate negotiations following an offer from the prime minister. “It is true that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spoke to PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, and the chairman later informed Imran Khan about it. However, the call was solely related to the current tensions with India and had nothing to do with political negotiations,” PTI Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram told Dawn. Mr Akram added, “I spoke to Mr Gohar, and he confirmed that no offer for negotiations was made during the call, nor did he convey any such message to Imran Khan.” Media reports have suggested that PM Shehbaz had extended an invitation for talks to PTI and that Imran Khan had not only accepted the offer but also instructed Mr Gohar to proceed, albeit with a condition to keep the process out of the media spotlight. Gohar says former premier ‘will never strike a deal’ Ac... -
Dawn - 03:51 May 16, 2025
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court on Thursday issued notices to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and others in response to applications seeking suspension of sentences awarded to PTI founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in the £190 million corruption case. An IHC division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Sardar Mohammad Sarfaraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Asif directed the case be fixed for hearing next week following a request by senior lawyer Sardar Latif Khosa. The courtroom witnessed the presence of a high-profile legal team of the PTI, including Salman Akram Raja, Barrister Syed Ali Zafar, Niazullah Khan Niazi and Shoaib Shaheen, as well as PTI leaders Aleema Khan, Asad Qaiser, Shandana Gulzar, Khalid Yousaf Chaudhry and Nadia Khattak. An accountability court in Islamabad had sentenced the former prime minister and Bushra Bibi to 14 and seven years in prison, respectively, on Jan 17 this year. Directs case be fixed for hearing next week In their appeal against the conviction, the fo... -
Dawn - 02:59 May 16, 2025
• Overhaul aims to cut customs, regulatory duties • Reforms expected to boost exports by $5bn in five years • Simple average tariff to fall from 19pc to 9.5pc ISLAMABAD: In a major policy shift, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has approved a comprehensive five-year tariff reform plan to be announced in the federal budget 2025-26, aiming to drastically reduce customs duties, additional customs duties, regulatory duties on raw materials and semi-finished goods, and a phased reduction in overall tariff protections for select industries. The first phase of the reform, set to be launched with the next budget, introduces a simplified customs duty structure with slabs of 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 per cent. The existing 16pc slab will be reduced to 15pc, while the 11pc rate will drop to 10pc. The 3pc slab will be abolished, with products either moved to a zero-duty category or the new 5pc slab. The proposed tariff overhaul, seen by Dawn, is set to eliminate the additional customs duty of 2pc on 4,294 tariff lines in the upc... -
Dawn - 02:49 May 16, 2025
• In a house of 336, treasury had only 67 members against the required 84 • PTI facing blackout in coverage by official media ISLAMABAD: The government faced an embarrassing situation in the National Assembly on Thursday when the opposition cleverly blocked the passage of an important money bill in the middle of the process. It was after facing a 67-32 vote defeat on the motion tabled by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb to present the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill 2024 for its passage that opposition members belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) realised that their absence could prevent the government from maintaining quorum for which the presence of 84 members is required in the 336-member house. As soon as Deputy Speaker Ghulam Mustafa Shah declared the result of the headcount on the motion, the PTI members strategically walked out, leaving behind their colleague Aamir Dogar to point out lack of quorum at a time when the chair had already got approval of two clauses of the three-clause bill throu... -
Dawn - 02:44 May 16, 2025
ISLAMABAD: For the third time in two months, the government on Thursday did not pass on the full impact of lower international oil prices to consumers and kept the price of petrol unchanged and reduced that of high-speed diesel by Rs2 per litre for the current fortnight ending May 31. The government increased the Inland Freight Equalisation Margin (IFEM) on both petrol and diesel to clear about Rs34 billion loss to the oil industry owing to a tax loophole in the Finance Bill 2024-25. In a late-night announcement, the Ministry of Finance said the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) had reviewed and adjusted prices for petroleum products in view of the fluctuations in the international market. The ex-depot price of high-speed diesel was reduced by Rs2 per litre to Rs254.64 per litre for the current fortnight from Rs256.64. Most of the transport sector runs on high-speed diesel. Its price is considered inflationary as it is mostly used in heavy transport vehicles, trains and agricultural engines like truc... -
Dawn - 02:35 May 16, 2025
• Rejects New Delhi’s call for agency’s oversight of Islamabad’s nuclear arsenal • India says water treaty to remain suspended until end to ‘cross-border terrorism’ ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday urged the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to investigate the ‘nuclear black market’ in India and repeated incidents of theft and illicit trafficking of radioactive material, as it rejected a call by India’s defence minister for the nuclear watchdog to monitor Islamabad’s nuclear programme. Pointing to multiple incidents of radioactive material theft in India and other security lapses, the Foreign Office said, “Pakistan urges a thorough investigation of these incidents and calls upon India to ensure the safety and security of its nuclear facilities and arsenal.” “If anything, the IAEA and the international community should be worried about the repeated theft and illicit trafficking incidents involving nuclear and radioactive material in India,” the statement added. The Foreign Office was responding to comme... -
Dawn - 02:33 May 16, 2025
• Military contacts lead to extension of ceasefire till 18th; US wants both nations to uphold truce • Dar says ultimately ‘political dialogue’ will take place to address all issues; reiterates opposition to Indian move to end Kashmir’s autonomy • Senate resolution condemns India for unprovoked strikes against Pakistan • Trump claims hostilities between nuclear neighbours ‘settled’, asks both to focus on trade ISLAMABAD: As Pakistan and India extended the nascent ceasefire till May 18, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday informed the Senate that Pakistan sought a “composite dialogue” with New Delhi to put all contentious matters to rest. According to the foreign minister, the ceasefire was extended through military-to-military communication, but a political dialogue will ultimately have to take place to resolve the problems between the two neighbours. “We have told the world that we will hold a composite dialogue,” he informed the Senate. The FM said Pakistan had never accepted the unilateral revocation of ...
5467 items