Dawn
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Dawn - 10:00 Jul 31, 2026
The Narendra Modi-led government has often declared proudly that its ministers do not resign under public pressure, unlike those from previous governments. However, that hubris was shattered on July 25 when Dharmendra Pradhan, India’s education minister, was forced to resign following widespread youth anger and resistance galvanised by the successful protest in New Delhi led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). The first such capitulation by a cabinet minister since Modi came into power in 2014 has prompted questions on the wider political impact of this youth-led movement on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of key state elections, including in India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, in 2027. While CJP maintains it has no immediate plans to transform itself into a political party, its unprecedented success and continuing pressure on the government has not only dented Modi’s invincibility but also revitalised the opposition, both on the streets and in Parliament. Modi biography author and pol... -
Dawn - 09:31 Jul 31, 2026
GILGIT: Four bodies were found on Friday as a search operation was underway to locate climbers who went missing on Broad Peak a day earlier after an avalanche struck around midday. The Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) said that the 10-member team included six Nepalese climbers, a Pakistani, an Omani, an American and a climber from China. The climbers from Nepal were identified as renowned mountaineer Nirmal Purja, Pur Bahadur Gurung, Kili Pemba Sherpa, Nima Sherpa, Nawang Thindu Sherpa and Gyalu Sherpa. It identified the remaining climbers as Nadhira Ahmed Abdullah Al Harthy from Oman, Pakistani climber Sohail Sakhi, Wang Zhong from China and Mallory Geis from the United States. ACP President Major General Irfan Arshad told Dawn on Friday that four bodies had been found. He identified two of the dead as Oman’s Nadhira Ahmed Abdullah Al Harthy and Nepal’s Pur Bahadur Gurung. Rescue operation In a statement issued earlier in the day, ACP Senior Vice President Karrar Haidri said two Pakistan Army Aviation rescue he... -
Dawn - 08:47 Jul 31, 2026
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has met a delegation of traders and industrialists from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan and assured them that the government would employ all available resources to resolve their issues and ensure their protection, the interior ministry said on Friday. In a statement on X, the ministry said representatives from all chambers of commerce spoke about the security situation in their respective provinces and the challenges they were facing. For his part, Naqvi briefed the delegation on the overall security situation in the country, particularly in KP and Balochistan, and the steps taken by the government in this regard, the statement added. “He assured the business community of complete cooperation,” it stated, further quoting Naqvi as saying: “The government will employ all available resources to resolve the issues of traders and industrialists and ensure their protection.” He further said that he would soon visit Peshawar and Quetta and hold detailed meetings with the busin... -
Dawn - 08:38 Jul 31, 2026
Police in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad have registered a case against the head of Meta India over multiple videos posted on the company’s Facebook platform that depicted Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an “abusive manner”, a senior police officer said on Friday. Police are preparing to send a notice to Meta Platforms regarding the case, which had not been issued as of Friday, said V Aravind Babu, deputy commissioner of police for cyber crimes in Hyderabad. Meta did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment on Friday. The case adds to a string of tensions between Meta and Modi’s government over content tied to the prime minister. India’s IT ministry summoned Meta executives this week after Facebook briefly restricted a Modi post last week, with a top official saying the government wanted Meta to explain the matter at the highest level. A Meta spokesperson said at the time that the post, which was Modi’s first where he addressed massive student protests that forced the resignation of the... -
Dawn - 08:28 Jul 31, 2026
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday directed the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) to provide vlogger and journalist Asad Toor with details of the allegations against him in connection with a summons issued by the agency. The agency had issued a notice to Toor on Wednesday for an inquiry into “alleged dissemination, transmission and/or public exhibition of false/fake information” by him. He was directed to appear before the NCCIA Cybercrime Reporting Centre in Islamabad at 11am on July 31. Toor challenged the summons in the IHC on Thursday, arguing that the NCCIA had failed to fulfil the legal requirements while issuing the notice and did not provide details of the allegations levelled against him. On Friday, Justice Mohammad Azam Khan took up Toor’s petition. Advocate Attaullah Kundi appeared before the court on behalf of the petitioner. During the hearing, the court asked the petitioner’s counsel, “Why don’t you appear before the NCCIA? Don’t you have a defence?” Kundi replie... -
Dawn - 07:43 Jul 31, 2026
QUETTA: Rescue teams recovered 32 bodies overnight from two coal mines in the Sorange coalfield near Quetta after a methane gas explosion, while the search for two more miners was under way on Friday, an official told Dawn. The explosion occurred on Thursday at a private coal mine in the Sorange coalfield, about 30 kilometres northeast of Quetta. The methane gas explosion triggered a fire, caused the mine to collapse, and affected another nearby mine. Chief Inspector of Mines Balochistan Muhammad Atif told Dawn that 34 miners were inside the two mines when the explosion occurred. “So far, 32 bodies have been recovered from both mines,” he said. “The operation is continuing in the mine where the explosion took place to recover two miners.” Earlier, officials said the explosion occurred on Thursday afternoon when 24 miners were working about 4,000 feet underground in the first mine. Soon after the explosion, a fire broke out inside the mine, causing parts of the structure to collapse. The blast was heard over a... -
Dawn - 07:25 Jul 31, 2026
TL;DR Pros: You can assemble a team of Batman’s greatest allies Fully open Batcave to explore and customise The story mashes up an original narrative with plot points from the films Pretty stable experience overall Tone and style are consistent throughout Cons: A couple of minor bugs towards the end The camera can obscure your vision during combat, particularly in corners Final score: 5/7 — The Bat-fan in me was well and truly satisfied Reviewed on PlayStation 5; available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC (Windows) and Nintendo Switch 2 Price: Rs17,000 (physical copy); $69.99 (PlayStation Store); $59.99 (Steam) This is Part Two of a review of Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight. Read Part One here. When I started reviewing Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, I was greeted with a game that appeared to have been made by Bat-fans, for Bat-fans. A curated mishmash of what has endeared the Caped Crusader to us all, from Gotham City as a setting, to his growth as a hero, and the appearance of every memb... -
Dawn - 06:46 Jul 31, 2026
CHAKWAL: A prayer leader accused of raping a 10-year-old girl was arrested in an injured condition after “his pistol went off in his trousers”, Chakwal police said in a statement on Friday. A police official also confirmed the development to Dawn, saying that when a police team went to arrest the suspect on Thursday, he tried to flee. “In his attempt to run away, he fell, and a pistol tucked into his waistband went off. As a result, he was injured and subsequently arrested by police,” the official said. Wanhar police had registered a first information report (FIR) against the prayer leader on July 28 on the complaint of the 10-year-old girl’s father under Section 376 (punishment for rape) of the Pakistan Penal Code. According to the FIR, a copy of which is available with Dawn, the girl’s father told police that his daughters, aged 10 and five, used to go to a mosque in Munara village of tehsil Kallar Kahar for Quran lessons by the prayer leader. On July 28, he said, his younger daughter returned early after h... -
Dawn - 06:39 Jul 31, 2026
Thousands of migrants streamed into the Moroccan town of Fnideq near the border with Ceuta overnight, despite a reinforced deployment of security that foiled most attempts to cross into the Spanish enclave. Spanish state television TVE said between 2,000 and 3,000 people crossed into Ceuta on Thursday. Most of those who succeeded in crossing appeared to have done so before midday, according to residents of Fnideq. Ceuta, along with Melilla, another Spanish autonomous city in northern Morocco, represents the European Union’s only land border with Africa. Both cities periodically experience surges in attempted crossings by migrants seeking to reach Europe. Spain sent military and police reinforcements to Ceuta after the surge, while authorities in the enclave said nine bodies had been retrieved. Vehicles burn in Fnideq, Morocco, July 31, 2026, as migrants (not pictured) wait for a chance to cross to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. — Reuters Although the border crossing appeared blocked, groups of migrants moved a... -
Dawn - 06:07 Jul 31, 2026
Anthropic said on Thursday some of its Claude AI models had hacked into the systems of three companies during cybersecurity tests, a disclosure that comes days after rival OpenAI revealed that one of its AI agents went on a rogue attack. The new incidents were due to a mistake that inadvertently gave Anthropic’s models access to the open internet. That contrasts with OpenAI, whose AI agent independently exploited a novel vulnerability to reach the internet during cyber testing. Even so, the latest disclosure underscores how AI has increased threats to cybersecurity and how its developers can struggle to keep the capabilities of their models contained. It is likely to add fuel to an intensifying US government push to better manage AI security risks at a time when Anthropic and OpenAI are racing to release more capable systems ahead of their planned public listings. Prominent leaders at these labs have called for a slowdown to address risks first. San Francisco-based Anthropic said in a blog post it identifi... -
Dawn - 05:47 Jul 31, 2026
A search operation was underway on Friday to locate 10 climbers, including renowned Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja and Pakistani climber Sohail Sakhi, who went missing on Broad Peak a day earlier after an avalanche struck around midday. The Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) said that the missing climbers included six Nepalese climbers, a Pakistani, an Omani, an American and a climber from China. The climbers from Nepal were identified as Purja, Pur Bahadur Gurung, Kili Pemba Sherpa, Nima Sherpa, Nawang Thindu Sherpa and Gyalu Sherpa. It identified the remaining climbers as Nadhira Ahmed Abdullah Al Harthy from Oman, Sakhi from Pakistan, Wang Zhong from China and Mallory Geis from the United States. In a statement issued on Friday, ACP Senior Vice President Karrar Haidri said two Pakistan Army Aviation rescue helicopters, carrying rescue personnel and additional specialised equipment, had been dispatched to support the ongoing search and rescue operation. The statement said ACP’s Major General Irfan Arshad, HI(M)... -
Dawn - 04:49 Jul 31, 2026
President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday gave his approved for conferring the Nishan-i-Imtiaz (Military) on Commander National Strategic Command General Syed Aamer Raza. In a post on the social media platform X, the President’s Secretariat said, “The president has approved conferring Nishan-i-Imtiaz (Military) on Gen Syed Aamer Raza, the commander of the National Strategic Command.” Gen Raza has previously been awarded the Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Military) and Sitara-i-Basalat (Star of Valour). Last week, the government had moved another step towards completing the restructuring of its higher military command, initiated under last year’s 27th Constitutional Amendment, by appointing Gen Raza as the country’s first Commander of the National Strategic Command, a newly created four-star office that will oversee the operational integration of Pakistan’s strategic forces. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif promoted Gen Raza from the rank of lieutenant general and simultaneously appointed him to the new position. The office of Comm... -
Dawn - 03:19 Jul 31, 2026
QUETTA: At least 15 coal miners were killed in a powerful methane gas explosion at a coal mine on Thursday, while more than two dozen others remained trapped inside the mine in the Sorange coalfield, located about 30 kilometres northeast of the provincial capital. Officials said the blast occurred at a private coal mine in the afternoon when 24 miners were working about 4,000 feet underground. Soon after the explosion, a fire broke out inside the mine, causing parts of the structure to collapse. The blast was heard over a wide area of Sorange. The explosion severely affected another mine located near the main site. Twelve miners working in the second mine were also trapped. “A total of 36 coal miners were present inside both mines when the blast occurred,” Chief Inspector of Mines Muhammad Atif told Dawn. He said teams from the Mines and Minerals Department and the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) launched a rescue operation after reaching Sorange. He added that 21 miners were missing until lat... -
Dawn - 03:12 Jul 31, 2026
US President Donald Trump said talks in Cairo between mediators and Hamas leaders on Thursday have led to a phased disarmament agreement in Gaza, but a Hamas official described the deal as a draft and US officials said Israel was sceptical the Palestinian group would surrender its weapons. “Today, the Board of Peace reached a HISTORIC agreement for the COMPLETE DISARMAMENT of Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza,” Trump said in a social media post, adding that the disarmament would come in phases. “This is a monumental step toward lasting PEACE and SECURITY.” The agreement was a critical step towards Gaza being governed by a new Palestinian government that will work closely with the so-called Board of Peace, Trump said. “At the same time, Israel will have the security it deserves, with Gaza no longer used as a base for terror attacks,” he added. The Israeli embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s announcement. A Hamas source told Reuters the “draft agreement” ... -
Dawn - 03:05 Jul 31, 2026
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday ordered comprehensive technical audit of billing systems of power distribution companies (Discos) and stressed that power sector reforms remained among the government’s foremost priorities. Presiding over a review meeting on power division issues here, the prime minister said as performance of the distribution companies had improved considerably, but more efforts were still required. He termed the countrywide installation of smart meters indispensable for the sector’s turnaround, a Prime Minister’s Office news release said. The prime minister said strict measures should be enforced at every level of the power sector, adding that electricity theft should be eliminated. He instructed the power division to devise clear performance indicators to gauge the working of distribution companies and to set integrated targets backed by defined timelines. Says best-performing Disco will be formally recognised, awarded PM Shehbaz announced that the best-performing Disc... -
Dawn - 03:03 Jul 31, 2026
IN recent years, Pakistan has taken many steps to combat organised crime (OC); resultantly, it was taken off the FATF grey list in 2022. However, it remains on the FATF’s ‘enhanced follow-up’ list in order to assess the sustained, on-the-ground implementation of its anti-money laundering/counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) steps. Thus, our current status with the FATF requires us continuously to assess the implementation and effectiveness of our ongoing efforts against OC. Tackling OC can be divided into two broad areas, ie, targeting criminality (criminal markets and actors) and strengthening society’s resilience against OC. While the first area focuses on intelligence, law enforcement and punitive measures, the second centres on addressing the contextual factors that provide an environment conducive to OC. This is the model followed by the Global Initiative against Transnational Organised Crime in its successive Global Organised Crime Indices (GOCI). While not infallible, these global indices serve at lea... -
Dawn - 02:58 Jul 31, 2026
PUNJAB has outsourced some 18,000 primary schools to the private sector, with plans to outsource more schools. The government is also thinking about outsourcing middle and high schools as well as colleges. Will this momentum encompass universities? Let us wait and see. The outsourcing ‘movement’ is not restricted to educational institutions. Punjab has been doing this in the health sector as well. And the federal government has been talking of airports and ports in this context. Other provinces are not far behind. Sindh has significant public-private partnerships in health. Moving forward, it seems the scope and intensity of outsourcing are likely to increase. But what is the benefit of outsourcing? It should be remembered that educational institutions are run by governments across the world. We have excellent government-run schools in developed and rich countries as well as in developing and not-so-rich countries. Education is a public good and is usually provided, funded and managed by governments across th... -
Dawn - 02:52 Jul 31, 2026
WITH neither of the belligerents willing to back down, and the theatre of conflict expanding geographically, the US-Iran war is in an extremely dangerous phase. There was some hope that last week’s lull in violence could lead to a resumption of the diplomatic process, but these expectations were short-lived. In the latest round, fighting has spread to Iraq and Egypt, further complicating efforts to douse the flames of war in the region. On Monday, Saudi Arabia witnessed drone attacks on oil facilities in its east. The attacks are believed to have been carried out by pro-Iran militias in Iraq — Tehran has denied the charge. In response, together with the Americans, the Saudis hit several targets in Iraq, causing a number of casualties. This is the first major public Saudi involvement in combat during this war. Meanwhile, the Egyptian port of Damietta came under a drone attack on Wednesday. No party claimed responsibility. In the latest developments, the US has hit the Iranian island of Qeshm, causing civilian ... -
Dawn - 02:47 Jul 31, 2026
KABUL: A regional branch of the militant Islamic State group has claimed a rare deadly attack on a Taliban official in northeastern Afghanistan, a monitoring group said. The head of the information and culture department in Badakhshan, Zabihullah Amiri, was shot dead on Tuesday while en route to the provincial capital Faizabad. The Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) group claimed on Wednesday that it had carried out the attack. “The soldiers of the Caliphate targeted a commander from the apostate Taliban militia… with machine guns, killing him along with one of his guards,” it said in a statement quoted by monitoring organisation SITE Intelligence Group. Amiri was a nephew of Amanuddin Mansur, the governor of southern Helmand. Afghanistan’s information and culture ministry said one of the assailants was killed and a second arrested after the “cowardly attack”. The ministry “reminds the enemies of the Islamic government that such cowardly acts will never weaken our firm resolve and steadfast determina... -
Dawn - 02:41 Jul 31, 2026
• Earth barriers now seal off 85pc of boundary • Satellite images show land cleared, olive groves razed, buildings demolished beyond Yellow Line • Troops forcing families from tent camps into ever-shrinking safe zone ISRAEL’s military is systematically expanding an extensive network of earth barriers and shifting demarcation markers deeper into the Gaza Strip, displacing Palestinian families and raising concerns of a prolonged occupation, according to a BBC News report. Under a US-brokered ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas last October, Israeli forces agreed to withdraw to a designated demarcation known as the Yellow Line, leaving Israel in temporary control of 53pc of Gaza’s territory. However, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu recently stated the military controlled over 60pc of the teritory, and in May said his directive was to increase that area to 70pc, the report said. Hamas maintains that Israel is violating the agreement by pushing the Yellow Line westward. The IDF, meanwhile, described its pos...
12682 items