Dawn
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Dawn - 10:35 Jul 21, 2026
One claim that resurfaces periodically in public debate over Balochistan’s accession to Pakistan is that the Instrument of Accession of the Khanate of Kalat is evidence of Balochistan’s accession as a whole. This conflates a single princely state with the entire province, and it is worth examining why that conflation matters. The central claim advanced is that Khan Ahmed Yar Khan’s signature on March 27, 1948 proves Balochistan existed as a fully sovereign, independent state from Partition in August 1947 until that date — a span of nearly seven months. This narrative forms a foundational pillar of separatist ideology and, for that reason alone, demands careful scholarly and constitutional scrutiny. The mosaic structure Few historical accounts have suffered greater distortion than the assertion that Balochistan constituted a single, indivisible political entity that acceded to Pakistan as a unified province in 1948. Propagated by adversarial foreign elements and terrorist outfits such as the Balochistan Libera... -
Dawn - 10:31 Jul 21, 2026
The ongoing torrential rainfall in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has killed 12 people in three days, while 18 people have been injured, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said on Tuesday. Power supply has been disrupted in several regions of the province due to the weather conditions, Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) said. Furthermore, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) issued a nationwide alert warning of flash floods, urban flooding and landslides from July 21 to 24. The PDMA report, detailing losses and damages for the Sunday to Tuesday period, showed that five men, two women and five children had been killed by the heavy rains. Half of the deaths were reported from Khyber district, where a vehicle carrying Afghan families was swept away in a flash flood on Monday. Two children lost their lives in Mardan and a man died in Peshawar over the past three days. Furthermore, 10 men, four women and as many children were injured during the same period. Khyber accounted for half of thos... -
Dawn - 09:40 Jul 21, 2026
Rescuers were struggling to reach residents trapped under mud and boulders in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, after a major flood smashed through one province, killing at least 23 people. Around 100 people are unaccounted for, the national disaster agency and the provincial governor’s office said, also updating the death toll from Monday’s deluge. An AFP journalist saw dozens of people gathered in remote Parun, the capital of Nuristan province, using wooden poles and their bare hands to search for the missing. Afghan men stand amidst destroyed shops after flash floods hit Parun town in Afghanistan’s Nuristan province on July 21, 2026. — AFP Farid Gul Zaheer, a 34-year-old pharmacist, said he had “never witnessed such a dangerous flood”. “It felt like there was an earthquake, and I heard children and people screaming,” he told AFP, after getting injured while trying to flee up the mountain. On Tuesday, a bulldozer was of limited use in clearing some debris in Parun, where the flood had buried multiple shops an... -
Dawn - 09:26 Jul 21, 2026
SINCE Brexit, political instability in the UK appears to be unending. Over the past decade, the country has had six prime ministers, yet the majority of the public remains despondent and views Britain as fractured. Now, Andy Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester, has been appointed as the prime minister to help steer the country out of its current political turmoil with a complete reset of policies and governance. His pitch for the premiership is “good growth in every postcode and hope in every heart”. Andy Burnham humorously earned the nickname the ‘King of the North’, inspired by Game of Thrones, for his efforts to defend Manchester communities during the Covid pandemic. He took steps to bring the city’s transport under local control and championed the devolution of power from Westminster and Whitehall to regional authorities. This strategy is often referred to as ‘Manchesterism’, and ‘Burnhamism’. While Manchester’s economy has been the UK’s fastest growing in recent years, some argue that this s... -
Dawn - 09:13 Jul 21, 2026
QUETTA: Three excise officials have been abducted at gunpoint following an attack on their department’s checkpost on the Dalbandin–Taftan Highway in Balochistan’s Chagai district, police sources told Dawn on Tuesday. According to the sources, the attack was carried out by unidentified men on Monday evening. They said around 30 armed men surrounded the checkpost that was set up temporarily for routine checking, held the officials on duty at gunpoint and later abducted them. The sources added that the attackers also took away two official vehicles and weapons. Police and other law enforcement personnel rushed to the site after being informed of the incident and cordoned off the area, the sources said, adding that a search operation has been launched to trace the attackers and ensure the safe recovery of the abducted officials. They said an investigation was under way to ascertain the identity of the assailants and determine the route they used to flee. The incident takes place as Balochistan continues to face s... -
Dawn - 08:42 Jul 21, 2026
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday met newly appointed Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) Chief Minister Advocate Amjad Hussain and assured him that the federal government was committed to working closely with his government for the welfare of the region’s people. According to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the premier told Hussain that the Centre is committed to working with his government for “the welfare and well-being of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan”. The statement said that he also congratulated Hussain on assuming office. PM Shehbaz also said that the federal government was undertaking development initiatives in renewable energy, tourism, infrastructure, health, education and other sectors for the region’s progress. “Among the federal government’s projects, the top priorities include a 100-megawatt solar energy initiative and the establishment of knowledge schools,” the statement quoted the premier as saying. He added that the federal government was also planning to establish a Pakistan Asaan Khidmat Cen... -
Dawn - 08:25 Jul 21, 2026
Digitising a museum collection is often framed as a technical challenge. Procure high-resolution cameras and scanners, hire trained photographers and scanning technicians, build databases and upload images to the cloud. In Pakistan, however, museum, archive and heritage digitisation is as much about navigating governance structures, institutional histories and professional anxieties as it is about the technology being used. For more than two decades, the Lahore Museum has not been led by a museum professional. For the past 16 years, the Taxila Museum has lacked authority over the majority of its reserve collection. During those same periods, specialised expertise in collections management, conservation and museum documentation have steadily eroded across much of the country’s cultural sector. The result is that projects that should primarily be about technology have become exercises in navigating institutional uncertainty. The recent digitisation of the Lahore and Taxila Museums demonstrates how the success o... -
Dawn - 07:56 Jul 21, 2026
Dr Asif Mahmood, a physician of Pakistani origin, has been elected as the chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). The commission is a bipartisan body of the US federal government that monitors religious freedom around the world and makes policy recommendations to the president, the secretary of state and the US Congress. In a statement on Monday, USCIRF announced the unanimous election of Mahmood as the panel’s chair and of CeCe Heil as the vice chair for the 2026-27 term. Mahmood is a practising pulmonologist, human rights advocate, and philanthropist, according to USCIRF. “His global advocacy work and humanitarian interventions have helped save lives in crisis-stricken regions around the world, including Kashmir, Tigray, and other conflict zones,” the commission’s website states. “As a two-term member of the Medical Board of California, Dr Mahmood fiercely advocates for patients’ rights and works to secure greater access to medical coverage for all communities,” ... -
Dawn - 07:55 Jul 21, 2026
The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark index gained nearly 1,200 points during intraday trade on Tuesday. The KSE-100 index opened in the green, soaring by 2,442.72 points to reach an intraday high of 178,370.45 at 10:09am. However, it then dipped sharply after 12pm, declining to 177,120.04 points at 12:44pm, up by 1,192.31 (0.68 per cent) from the previous close. The development came as global oil prices softened on Tuesday, with markets weighing reports of mediation efforts between the US and Iran against an exchange of fresh attacks between the two and threats of a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia by Yemen’s Houthis. Brent crude futures eased 78 cents, or 0.9pc, to $88.44 per barrel by 0415 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude was down 73 cents, or 0.9pc, to $82.50 per barrel, while the more active contract for September delivery slipped 41 cents, or 0.5pc, to $82.07 a barrel. Awais Ashraf, director of research at AKD Securities, said the market extended the previous session’s late recovery as “oil p... -
Dawn - 07:26 Jul 21, 2026
The curtain has fallen on the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the grandest and most expansive edition yet, hosted across the United States, Canada and Mexico. Spain emerged triumphant in a tense final against Argentina, etching their name on the trophy in a display of technical brilliance. Yet as the echoes of the stadiums fade, the tournament departs with more than memories of footballing excellence. It leaves behind a trail of controversies and unanswered questions that may linger long after the final whistle. Sport, like politics, often mirrors the contradictions of its time. The 2026 World Cup was no different. Here are five questions that football must now confront. Did political interference undermine the integrity of the game? The most glaring shadow over the tournament was the alleged involvement of political figures in sporting matters, most notably US President Donald Trump’s intervention following the red card awarded to American forward Folarin Balogun. After receiving a red card that should have triggered a... -
Dawn - 06:11 Jul 21, 2026
India’s Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) movement vowed on Tuesday to press ahead with their campaign until the education minister resigns, a day after at least 180 people were injured in protests in New Delhi. Thousands of protesters gathered in the heart of the Indian capital on Monday, demanding Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation and wider examination reforms, in a show of force by the CJP online movement. The CJP has won millions of followers on social media since its launch in May, fuelling one of the biggest challenges to Hindu-nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi since he won his third term in office in 2024. “We won’t stop. Pradhan has to be sacked,” CJP’s Ashutosh Ranka said in a social media post. Hundreds of protesters remained camped at the Jantar Mantar protest site on Tuesday, many of them calling for wider changes in the education system. On Monday, police fired tear gas and baton-charged protesters to stop them from marching on to parliament, in one of the biggest street rallies in Delhi in aroun... -
Dawn - 05:54 Jul 21, 2026
Iran targeted US radar and air defence installations in the Gulf on Tuesday, warning Washington of “more decisive and powerful” attacks to come as the US military completed a fresh round of strikes on the country. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had attacked and stopped two “non-compliant oil tankers” attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz, part of an effort to tighten its grip on the vital waterway while the war reignited. Following the deaths of at least three US soldiers in the past several days, the United States launched a new round of attacks against Iran late on Monday which it said were “designed to further degrade Iranian military capabilities used to attack commercial shipping” in the strait. It later said that it had completed the strikes during which US forces “struck Iranian military command centres, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and air defence systems to degrade Iran’s ability to continue attacking commercial vessels flowing through the Strait of Hormuz”. “Com... -
Dawn - 05:47 Jul 21, 2026
WASHINGTON: Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb on Monday met a delegation from Honeywell Technologies and discussed a proposed plan to modernise and expand Pakistan’s refinery sector. According to the finance ministry, Aurangzeb met with a delegation from the company comprising Vice President General Manager Barry Glickman. “During the meeting, the finance minister welcomed Honeywell’s proposed modernisation and expansion of Pakistan’s refinery sector, noting its potential to enhance the country’s domestic refining capacity and reduce reliance on imported petroleum products,” it said. “The meeting included discussions on Honeywell’s technology and equipment solutions, as well as potential financing through the US Exim Bank, the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), export credit agencies, and leading international banks,” it said. “The finance minister emphasised that the proposed initiative would support Pakistan’s energy security, industrial development, and sustainable economic g... -
Dawn - 04:51 Jul 21, 2026
US President Donald Trump unveiled 50 per cent tariffs on a wide range of imports from Canada on Monday in response to what the US administration called its discriminatory treatment of American-made cars, alcohol and dairy goods, threatening a new front in a global trade war. In slapping import taxes on goods ranging from wine to cement and ice hockey gear, Trump invoked Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, which permits a president to impose punitive tariffs of up to 50pc against trading partners deemed to have discriminated against US goods. That marked the law’s first known usage in nearly a century of existence. The new tariffs, set to take effect in 30 days, would also apply to dairy products, swimming pools, furniture, fishing rods, seeds, clothing and wigs, among other items. The US Trade Representative’s office said that the tariffs would apply to nearly $20 billion of imports from Canada. That’s about 5.2pc of the $382bn worth of goods that the US imported from Canada in 2025, according to US Censu... -
Dawn - 03:18 Jul 21, 2026
Chinese Consul General Sun Yan speaks at the forum.—Dawn LAHORE: Former foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri has said peaceful co-existence between Pakistan, India and China is essential to unlocking regional connectivity, stabilising trade routes and fighting poverty in one of the world’s poorest regions. He was addressing a gathering to mark the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and China and the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC) here on Monday. The event brought together diplomats, scholars and policymakers, including Chinese Consul General Sun Yan, Understanding China Forum (UCF) founding president Zafaruddin Mahmood, and former ambassador and Director of the Beaconhouse National University Centre for Policy Research (BCPR) Mansoor Ahmad Khan. Kasuri, who is also chairman of the UCF, said Pakistan’s recent diplomatic and defence successes had placed the country in a position of confidence to pursue constructive engagement across South and Ce... -
Dawn - 03:04 Jul 21, 2026
ISLAMABAD: The government has imposed a complete ban on importing high-speed diesel (HSD) by private oil marketing companies (OMCs). Instead, only the state-owned Pakistan State Oil (PSO) will handle imports for the current fiscal year. This is part of the federal cabinet’s decisions, which also capped petrol import quantities by private OMCs based on their past sales. The decisions are premised on the Petroleum Division’s request in the wake of ‘prevailing market conditions and in order to minimise the impact of rising petroleum prices on consumers’. Under the decision, PSO would also enter a long-term supply contract with OQ Trading of Oman for petrol imports, in view of security of supplies needed in view of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The decisions have been conveyed to the Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) as fresh policy guidelines for fuel arrangements and a revised pricing mechanism for petroleum products. “HSD import to be allowed only through PSO for FY27,” the guidelines said. Govt cap... -
Dawn - 02:59 Jul 21, 2026
THE newly elected Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly last week adopted a unanimous resolution asking the centre to grant the region provisional provincial status. This demand is not new and the House has previously issued a similar call. In fact, the demand cuts across party, regional and ethnic lines in GB. The resolution also calls for granting GB “constitutional and political rights”, while adding that until provisional provincial status is achieved, the region should be included in the NFC Award. Crucially, GB’s lawmakers have said the provisional status will be “without prejudice” to Pakistan’s position regarding the Kashmir dispute with India. This is an important caveat as some within the country are concerned that granting such status to GB could imperil Pakistan’s principled stand on Kashmir. This clarification should put such fears to rest. Equally important is the endorsement given to the GB Assembly’s demand by the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, AJK chapter, considering the historic link between Kashmir ... -
Dawn - 02:59 Jul 21, 2026
Scholars from different schools of thought pray together at Jamiatur Rasheed in Karachi.—Dawn ISLAMABAD: In a significant move to eradicate inter-sect strife in the country, clerics belonging to all four mainstream schools of thought offered prayers together at what was once considered one of the country’s most hardline seminaries. Briefing the media here on Monday, Pakistan Ulema Council chairman Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Ashrafi said, “Offering prayers together symbolises growing tolerance in society, especially among religious circles”. Ashrafi also serves as Prime Minister’s Coordinator for the National Paigham-i-Aman Committee (NPAC), a group of senior clerics representing the country’s four mainstream schools of thought Shia, Barelvi, Deobandi and Ahle Hadith. The group members, led by Ashrafi, recently visited Jamiatur Rasheed in Karachi and offered collective prayers there. The move is being seen as a significant milestone in the national campaign against extremism, terrorism and sectarian violence, as cle... -
Dawn - 02:51 Jul 21, 2026
SPAIN have won the FIFA World Cup for a second time but their Sunday victory over Argentina became more rewarding by bringing a much-needed smile to the harrowed Palestinian people in their undeterred fight against the genocidal occupation of their homeland. It might seem a curious alignment of obviously distant spaces between Europe’s Spain and Asia’s occupied Palestine. But then, everyone knows that sports have always been intertwined with their strange political connections. Sunday’s World Cup final represented a contemporary intertwining of sports and politics. What happened on the field was a stymied Argentina succumbing to a team that moved like a symphony. Off the field, we saw the politically motivated mistreatment of the Iranian team by the host country under President Donald Trump’s watch. Even here, though, the Iranians made their point with quiet grace. The perennially sanctioned country, facing daily bombardments from the US-led military, didn’t shirk from sending a team to the enemy country to s... -
Dawn - 02:48 Jul 21, 2026
ISLAMABAD: The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) on Monday considered the confirmation of additional judges, the extension in tenure of constitutional benches of the Sindh High Court (SHC), and nominations to fill five vacant positions of additional judges in the provincial high courts as well as vacancies in the Islamabad High Court (IHC). The JCP, by a majority of its total membership, recommended a six-month extension in the term of Justice Khalid Hussain Shahani as an additional judge of the SHC. However, the commission did not confirm another additional judge of the high court, Justice Syed Fiaz ul Hassan Shah. The commission, which met under the chairmanship of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi in the Conference Room of the Supreme Court, made the decisions after due consideration of the relevant data forms, antecedents, and evaluation of the material placed before it. The commission held three separate meetings from 2pm to 5:30pm to consider different agenda items. Both Barrister Gohar A...
12392 items