Dawn
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Dawn - 12:00 Jul 24, 2026
The government on Friday took another step towards completing the higher military command’s restructuring initiated last year under the 27th Constitutional Amendment by appointing Gen Syed Aamer Raza as the country’s first commander of the National Strategic Command (NSC). The four-star post was created under last year’s constitutional tweak to oversee the operational integration of Pakistan’s strategic forces — a role previously exercised by the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, which was abolished under the 27th Amendment. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, therefore, promoted Gen Raza from the rank of lieutenant general to the rank of a general and simultaneously appointed him as the CNSC. Apart from the CNSC, the 27th Amendment also resulted in the creation of the post of the chief of defence forces (CDF), which is concurrently held by the army chief. Subsequently, Field Marshal Munir became the country’s first CDF after changes to the Army Act. Under the Army Act, the CNSC is appointed by the prime ... -
Dawn - 10:38 Jul 24, 2026
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Friday that durable peace and stability in the region can only be achieved by eliminating the threat of terrorism emanating from neighbouring Afghanistan. “Durable peace, stability and economic development can only be achieved with the eradication of the menace of terrorism emanating from Afghan soil,” he said while speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers’ meeting. He said that Pakistan desired to see a “peaceful, stable, regionally integrated and prosperous Afghanistan which is at peace with itself and its neighbours”, adding that this would be in the best interest of all SCO member states and beyond. He said that currently, the threat of terrorism emanating from Afghanistan was one of the most serious security challenges for Pakistan. He said that terrorist organisations continued to recruit, train and operate from Afghan soil “under the watch and facilitation of the Afghan Taliban regime”. He said that... -
Dawn - 10:29 Jul 24, 2026
Security forces have killed four more terrorists during an operation in the Khad Kocha area of Balochistan’s Mastung district, the interior ministry and state broadcaster said on Friday. State broadcaster Radio Pakistan initially reported operation, saying that the terrorists belonged to Fitna-al-Hindustan — a term that the state uses for Balochistan-based groups to highlight India’s alleged role in terrorism and destabilisation across Pakistan. It quoted security sources as saying that large quantities of weapons and ammunition were recovered from the slain terrorists while several others, suspected of involvement in facilitating terrorism, were apprehended. The sources further said that search and clearance operations are ongoing in the area while security forces continue to maintain comprehensive surveillance, according to Radio Pakistan. Later, the operation and the fatalities among the terrorists were confirmed in an X post by the interior ministry, which said that Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi had laud... -
Dawn - 08:59 Jul 24, 2026
India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka secured direct entry into the men’s cricket knockout stage at the 2026 Asian Games after the draw was announced on Thursday. The 10-team men’s competition, starting from September 24 in Nagoya, will begin with a preliminary round featuring Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal and Oman competing for the remaining quarter-final berths. Afghanistan, Japan and Nepal were drawn in Group A, while Hong Kong, Malaysia and Oman were placed in Group B. The top two teams from each group will advance to the knockout stage to join the four seeded sides. The women’s tournament, scheduled from September 17-22, features eight teams and will begin at the quarter-final stage. Defending champions India will face hosts Japan, Bangladesh will take on China, Sri Lanka will meet Malaysia, and Pakistan will play Thailand. All matches in both competitions will be played in the Twenty20 format. India swept the cricket gold medals at the 2022 Asian Games, held in 2023 in Hangzhou, cla... -
Dawn - 08:16 Jul 24, 2026
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Friday settled a jurisdictional dispute by declaring that it could not hear bail applications in pending National Accountability Bureau (NAB) appeals, and all such pending criminal appeals stood transferred to the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC). “This court has no jurisdiction to take cognisance in the NAB cases in terms of Article 175F (a) of the Constitution, read with Section 32 and 32-A of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999 (NAO),” stated a 30-page judgement authored by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, who headed a three-member bench that took up the matter. The ruling also referred to arguments that the Supreme Court should not surrender its jurisdiction come what may, with the judges observing that courts could “not play to the gallery” for admiration, popularity and media commendations or for public perception, instead of adhering to the law and Constitution. The duty of the court was to follow the law and not make decisions or assume a jurisdiction motivated by... -
Dawn - 07:58 Jul 24, 2026
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced that Lieutenant General Aamer Raza, the chief of general staff of the Pakistan Army, has been promoted to the rank of a four-star general and appointed Commander National Strategic Command (CNSC), the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said on Friday. According to the PMO, the premier congratulated the newly promoted general and wished him the best for “undertaking this important responsibility”. General Raza has previously been awarded the Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Military) and Sitara-i-Basalat (Star of Valour). The CNSC post was created under last year’s 27th Constitutional Amendment, which made significant changes to the military’s chain of command, to assume the nuclear manager role previously exercised by the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), a post which was abolished. The appointment, reappointment and extension of the CNSC are tied solely to the recommendation of the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), a post that was also created under the amendment for a uni... -
Dawn - 07:19 Jul 24, 2026
Two people were stabbed in New York on Thursday, with police saying that they had arrested a suspect and were evaluating the incident as a possible hate crime. The two victims, who were targeted in separate attacks near Manhattan’s Central Park, were “an Asian male and a Jewish male,” New York City police commissioner Jessica Tisch said on X, adding that they were both hospitalised and “expected to survive”. The New York Police Department (NYPD) arrested the suspect, identified as 51-year-old Raul Morales. “Detectives are continuing to work the case and determine motive, but according to victim and witness statements, Morales yelled ‘Allahu Akbar’ during both attacks,” Tisch said. “The NYPD is currently evaluating whether this is a potential hate crime.” She further said that “at this time, there is no known link between Morales and either of the victims, nor between the victims and each other”. Tisch added that the suspect has no record of psychiatric illness in police records. But New York Mayor Zohran Mamd... -
Dawn - 06:00 Jul 24, 2026
US forces launched a fresh wave of strikes on Iran for the thirteenth consecutive day early on Friday after President Donald Trump vowed “major military punishment” for Tehran and its Houthi allies over attacks on two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea by the Yemeni rebels. The Houthi rebels, who control northern and western Yemen, said this week they were imposing a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, which has diverted millions of barrels of oil per day by pipeline to the Red Sea to get around Iran’s blockade of Gulf oil through the Strait of Hormuz. Now, attacks in the Red Sea have extended the Middle East war to a second major shipping chokepoint. Fears that the disruption could widen to block another sea route sent global oil prices surging in one of the steepest rises of the war, which began with US-Israeli attacks on Iran in late February. Brent crude rose more than six per cent on Thursday, piercing the level of $100 a barrel for the first time since May. Early on Friday, Brent futures eased 72 cents, or 0.... -
Dawn - 05:30 Jul 24, 2026
A day after Israeli far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir led hundreds of Israeli Jews into Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa mosque compound, Pakistan and seven other countries on Friday issued a joint statement condemning the “provocative actions”. The joint statement, shared by the Foreign Office, was issued by the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Turkiye, Indonesia, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The ministers condemned “in the strongest terms the Israeli escalation at Al Aqsa Mosque, particularly the continued mass settlers’ incursions led by extremist Israeli ministers, under the protection of the Israeli forces, the raising of the Israeli flag within its courtyards, the erection by Israeli police of two tents, and all other inflammatory acts”. Access to the site is governed by a decades-old “status quo” arrangement between Israel and Jordan, whose religious foundation administers the place. Under that arrangement, Jews may visit but are not permitted to pray there, whil... -
Dawn - 04:50 Jul 24, 2026
The United States said on Thursday that it would impose new tariffs on 60 trading partners, including Pakistan, India, China and the European Union, over forced labour concerns, replacing an expiring global duty rolled out by US President Donald Trump earlier this year. The levies, effective Friday, range from 10 per cent to 12.5pc. “The United States has had a forced labor import ban for nearly a century, and rigorously enforces it; it’s well past time for our trading partners to do the same,” said US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. He earlier added that targeted economies represent the majority of US trade. The Trump administration has moved swiftly to rebuild the president’s tariff wall after the Supreme Court struck down a host of his duties in February — dealing a blow to his ability to unleash steep levies at will. After the setback, Trump tapped different authorities to reimpose a 10pc tariff on imports. But this only lasts 150 days, expiring Friday. The volley of new duties, initially proposed in... -
Dawn - 04:35 Jul 24, 2026
Ameerul Azeem LAHORE: Ameerul Azeem, the secretary general of Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) Pakistan and one of the party’s most influential leaders, was laid to rest here on Thursday, leaving behind a legacy shaped not only by the positions he held but also by the generations of activists and leaders he influenced during a political career spanning more than five decades. His funeral prayers at Mansoora were led by JI Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, who paid glowing tribute to the late leader’s services. The widely-attended funeral included senior JI leaders and workers, political and religious figures. Azeem remained a central figure in Jamaat-i-Islami’s leadership for decades. With his passing, the party has lost one of its senior leaders whose political journey extended from student activism to provincial leadership and finally to the national executive level. Born on Oct 3, 1958, in Islampura (Krishan Nagar), Lahore, Azeem’s family had migrated from East Punjab to Pakistan in 1947. He received his early education in l... -
Dawn - 04:28 Jul 24, 2026
ISLAMABAD: Drug dealers in the federal capital have shifted their illegal business online amid a crackdown by the police. Police officials told Dawn that drug dealers had also enlisted beggars as peddlers to sell drugs in public places, besides offering home delivery. During the current year from January 1 to July 22, the capital police arrested 1,002 drug peddlers and registered 966 cases. Besides, the police also recovered 168,337 grams charas, 102,183 grams heroin, 110,110 grams ice, 11 pills and 9,901 wine bottles. Out of the total, the police arrested 102 suspects from around educational institutes and registered 98 cases against drug peddlers around the institutes. The police recovered 20,240 grams charas, 12,164 grams heroin, 18,984 grams ice, four pills and 20 wine bottles from suspects operating around the educational institutes. Since January, over 1,000 peddlers arrested, 102 from outside educational institutions, say officials They said the drug dealers were using messaging apps to sell narcotics ... -
Dawn - 04:20 Jul 24, 2026
GENEVA: The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has appointed Lahore-born Saadia Zahidi as its director general in place of Willie Walsh, who will relinquish his duties on July 31. A press release said Saadia Zahidi will take over as the air transport body’s new chief on Nov 1 this year. Sandrine Le Borgne, IATA’s chief financial officer, will serve as acting director general during the intervening period. Ms Zahidi will be IATA’s ninth director general and the first woman to hold the position. She is currently working as managing director at the World Economic Forum (WEF). Ms Zahidi is the author of Fifty Million Rising, a book which traces the rise of working women in the Muslim world. She holds a BA in Economics from Smith College, an MPhil in International Economics from The Graduate Institute, and an MPA from Harvard University. “The board is very pleased to appoint Saadia Zahidi as director general of IATA. Saadia’s long and outstanding experience at the World Economic Forum will enhance and ... -
Dawn - 03:28 Jul 24, 2026
SOME people may have watched Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade starring Harrison Ford as the eponymous swashbuckling archaeologist on a mission to find the holy grail — the cup said to grant eternal life to whoever drinks from it. In common usage, ‘holy grail’ signifies a highly sought-after goal that is extremely difficult or seemingly impossible to achieve. In this sense, economic growth is undoubtedly the holy grail of economics as it remains the most-coveted prize for policymakers everywhere. Globally, countries have reduced poverty and improved living standards through strong and sustained economic growth, not least because economic growth creates more high-quality jobs. China’s breakneck economic growth in the 1990s lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty and built the very foundation for China’s emergence as a global manufacturing powerhouse by the 2000s. At the same time, China’s rapid economic growth generated the necessary fiscal space for Beijing to build infrastructure, expand social security ... -
Dawn - 03:22 Jul 24, 2026
“My job is making windows where there were once walls” — Michel Foucault HIV AIDS is a window to our health system. Instead of erecting mental walls of apathy and ignorance, the spread of HIV among children through our so-called healthcare system, helps us open a window through which the whole system can be revisited. Only if we are for windows and not walls. After the Taunsa outbreak and incriminating BBC Eye documentary, the Punjab government first tried to defend itself and unnecessarily blamed the BBC for being misrepresentative and hyperbolic but then as the pressure mounted in the media by concerned citizens, the prime minister took notice and advised the Federal Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination to set up a ‘Task Force on Reported HIV Mishandling’. This task force, ably chaired by the state minister of health, Dr Malik Mukhtar Ahmad Bharath, quickly convened experts and in three meetings (May 6, 8 and 14, 2026) produced a comprehensive report covering many governance, s... -
Dawn - 03:05 Jul 24, 2026
• Targets halving growth rate by 2035 • PM calls rising population one of country’s biggest national challenges • Welcomes Chinese firm’s investment to modernise Pakistan’s grain storage infrastructure ISLAMABAD: The federal government will soon convene a meeting with the provinces, the administrations of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), and other stakeholders to formulate a comprehensive strategy to reduce the country’s population growth rate from the current 2.55 per cent to 1.25pc by 2035. The decision was shared during a meeting on population welfare chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday. Describing the rapidly growing population as one of the country’s biggest challenges, the prime minister said measures for population control and welfare must be treated as a national responsibility. He stressed the need to align population planning with national development, economic stability and human resource development, and called for enhanced coordination among the provinces a... -
Dawn - 03:00 Jul 24, 2026
WITH free transit of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz blocked due to the US-Iran conflict, a new chokepoint has emerged in the region: Bab al-Mandeb on the Red Sea. If free flow of marine traffic is also blocked through this passage, the impact on global commerce would be catastrophic, while the hostilities in and around the Gulf would surely spread to the Red Sea and its environs. Yemen’s pro-Iran Houthi militia had announced a blockade of Saudi ships after Sanaa airport was bombed on July 13, and an aircraft flying in from Iran was diverted to Hodeida. The Houthis have blockaded the Red Sea before, stopping all traffic to and from Israel after the Gaza massacre started, in solidarity with the Palestinians. But the latest closure may have a much wider global impact, considering the situation in Hormuz. It is keeping this in mind, as well as its own dependence on Bab al-Mandeb for energy supplies, that Pakistan on Wednesday condemned the closure, and warned against any attempts to target its vessels. Prim... -
Dawn - 02:57 Jul 24, 2026
• Flood Forecasting Division warns flows may rise further by July 25 amid new monsoon spell • Urban flooding likely in parts of Punjab, KP and Balochistan LAHORE: The Chenab River continued to remain in a high-flood state on Thursday as torrential rains lashed held Kashmir and several parts of Punjab. “The water level in the Chenab River at Marala and Khanki has subsided to medium flood. However, the river is flowing in high flood at Qadirabad and Chiniot Bridge. It is expected to subside by the time it reaches Trimmu Headworks after passing Chiniot Bridge,” a senior irrigation department official told Dawn. “This is according to a fresh report issued on Thursday evening,” he added. However, he warned of a possible rise in the river’s water level again at Marala if rains continued in held Kashmir. “Rains are still continuing in parts of held Kashmir. We will receive Thursday’s report from held Kashmir on Friday (today). Let’s see what happens,” he added. According to the Flood Forecasting Division (FFD) of t... -
Dawn - 02:51 Jul 24, 2026
RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Field Marshal Asim Munir on Thursday said the consistent efforts of the security forces and law enforcement agencies, backed by the steadfast support of the people, would bring lasting peace to Balochistan. Addressing participants of the 20th National Workshop Balochistan at the General Headquarters, he underscored that foreign-sponsored proxies had persistently sought to fuel violence, undermine stability and disrupt peace in Balochistan, according to a press release issued by Inter-Services Public Relations. “Their nefarious designs, however, will be defeated through the firm and decisive response of the armed forces, supported by the resilience and unity of the people of Pakistan,” he said. He reiterated Pakistan’s unwavering resolve to dismantle terrorist infrastructure wherever it posed a threat to the country and its people. He reaffirmed that targeted operations against Fitna al Khawarij and Fitna al Hindustan would continue with ... -
Dawn - 02:32 Jul 24, 2026
• Justice Minhas rules against enforcement of Dubai decree • Judgement notes criminal findings do not bind civil courts, calls for balance between global and local principles ISLAMABAD: Dismissing a petition filed by the Gulf-based arm of a major technology company, the Islamabad High Court stresses the need to strike a balance between the principle of international comity and the protections afforded by domestic law when enforcing foreign courts’ decrees. The ruling came in a case filed by two Pakistani businessmen, Latif Hakeem and another, through their counsel Kashif Ali Malik, against the execution of a money decree obtained by a technology company from Dubai Court of First Instance in October 2021. The decree was subsequently upheld by the Dubai Court of Appeal in June 2022, and affirmed by the Dubai Court of Cassation in October 2022. The high court set aside the July 2025 order of a local executing court, which had allowed the enforcement of the Dubai decree, while dismissing the execution petition fi...
12392 items