Dawn
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Dawn - 02:44 Jul 21, 2026
THE preparation of the Strategic Trade Policy (STP) for 2026-31 is an opportunity not merely to set fresh export targets but also rethink our export strategy in the light of lessons of the past decade. Any new policy’s credibility depends on fixing structural weaknesses that have repeatedly undermined implementation. First, policies alone don’t produce results. Pakistan has prepared numerous strategies over the past three decade, but most have fallen short because governance has been weak and institutions ineffective. Good governance is the foundation on which sound economic policies rest. It improves resource allocation, boosts competitiveness, raises productivity, reduces transaction costs and enables efficient functioning of markets. Unless accompanied by governance reforms, the new STP is unlikely to deliver outcomes different from its predecessors. The new policy should begin with an honest assessment of the previous two STPs. STP 2015-20 envisaged exports of $35 billion by 2020, but actual exports amoun... -
Dawn - 02:38 Jul 21, 2026
• Iranian foreign minister meets Pakistan’s new envoy, discusses ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation • Interior Minister Eskander Momeni lands in Islamabad, will hold talks on US conflict with Pakistani leaders today ISLAMABAD: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday identified peace and security as the two key objectives for strengthening relations with Pakistan. He made the remarks while speaking to Pakistan’s newly appointed ambassador, Imran Ahmed Siddiqui, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tehran after receiving copies of his credentials. The meeting came as fresh diplomatic efforts were underway to halt the latest round of hostilities between the United States and Iran after an earlier Islamabad-mediated understanding collapsed because of differing interpretations of the memorandum agreed by the two sides, particularly regarding arrangements linked to the Strait of Hormuz. Following the presentation of his letters of credence, Siddiqui and Araghchi discussed bilateral relations, regio... -
Dawn - 02:32 Jul 21, 2026
• Adiala admin given three weeks to furnish data • Salman Akram Raja claims PTI founder kept in solitary confinement, suffering from eye ailment ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Adiala jail administration to submit within three weeks a report detailing the meetings between incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan and his family members, lawyers, and friends. The order was passed by a three-member bench headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar while hearing a set of contempt of court petitions filed by PTI’s Secretary General Salman Akram Raja and others challenging the Oct 23, 2025 Islamabad High Court (IHC) order. The IHC had rejected a contempt petition to seek enforcement of the high court’s directives on visitation rights enjoyed by the PTI founder. During the hearing, the bench ordered the Adiala administration to furnish the report containing complete details of meetings between the PTI founder and the visitors during his almost three-year-long stay in jail. At the outset of the hearing, Islam... -
Dawn - 02:21 Jul 21, 2026
• Will prevent use of virtual currency for money laundering, terror financing • Director calls for squads to curb crypto use in cybercrime, drug trade • Over 300 human trafficking cases registered in two years ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has established a cryptocurrency investigation unit housed in its newly operational National Command and Control Centre (NC3) to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing through virtual currency transactions. FIA Counter-Terrorism Wing Director Dr Muhammad Athar Waheed told Dawn that while the newly established Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) was the dedicated authority responsible for regulating digital assets, the cryptocurrency investigation unit would probe the possible use of digital assets in crimes. The official suggested that the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) and Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) should also establish similar units to tackle the use of cryptocurrency for cybercrimes and drug-related b... -
Dawn - 01:30 Jul 21, 2026
GILGIT: Eight members of a Pakistani expedition team successfully summited Broad Peak (8,051m), while eight women climbers reached the summit of Khosar Gang, a 6,040-metre peak in the Shigar Valley, in separate achievements announced on Monday. According to a statement issued by Karakoram Expeditions, the Broad Peak team included Argentina’s Juan Pablo Toro and Pakistan’s Ahmad Baig, Rizwan Dad, Waqar Ali, Mansoor Karim, Nawaz Ali Khan, Mirza Ali and Zaman Karim. The statement said the lead rope-fixing team reached the summit via a new direct variation, bypassing Section V and the long ridge above Camp IV. After analysing the route, expedition leader Mirza Ali led the team from Camp III at 2am on Sunday and they reached the summit at 10pm. Meanwhile, the Alpine Club of Pakistan said its Second Women’s Khosar Gang Expedition successfully summited Khosar Gang. The climbers were Zeba Batool and Bibi Afzoon from Gilgit-Baltistan, Haiqa Ghazi and Ammara Sharif from Islamabad, Maria Khan from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Bi... -
Dawn - 18:46 Jul 20, 2026
LAHORE: The water level in the Chenab River is likely to surge significantly over the next couple of days following ongoing rains in catchment areas of Indian-occupied Kashmir and fresh spells of heavy rain in parts of Punjab. “At the moment, the Chenab River is flowing in medium flood. Its flow may surge and enter the high-flood category following forecasts of heavy rain over the next three to four days in both held Kashmir and Punjab,” a senior official of the Punjab Irrigation Department told Dawn on Monday. “The situation may turn critical if there are heavy rains, as predicted, in the catchment areas of held Kashmir and Punjab,” he added. Meanwhile, the Pakistan Meteorological Department’s Flood Forecasting Division (FFD) issued a forecast of high flood levels in major rivers, including the Chenab, and nullahs due to heavy rains expected until July 24. According to the FFD’s Monday flood bulletin, the flows of all major rivers were likely to increase significantly by July 24 due to a prevailing westerly ... -
Dawn - 18:28 Jul 20, 2026
The government on Monday decreased the petrol price by Rs0.35 and increased the price of high-speed diesel by Rs5.71 per litre, to pass on the impact of fluctuating global prices following renewed regional hostilities in the Persian Gulf. Following the changes, the price of petrol stands at Rs315.80 per litre and that of HSD at Rs360.06. The Petroleum Division’s press release notifying the increase said the new prices would be effective from July 21 (Tuesday). The diesel price has come down from a peak of Rs520.35 recorded on April 3. Its price had started rising from Rs281 per litre after the US-Iran war broke out on February 28. The petrol price had peaked at Rs458.41 on April 3 after beginning its upward trajectory from Rs266 in the first week of March. Earlier, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik announced that fuel prices would now be fixed on a daily basis due to fluctuations in international market prices following renewed hostilities between Iran and the US. The government had been announcing weekly ... -
Dawn - 18:10 Jul 20, 2026
Yemen’s Houthi rebels announced a maritime embargo of Saudi Arabia on Monday, stepping up the US-Iran war as the rebels threatened the top oil exporter’s ability to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. The group did not say how it planned to impose the embargo, whose declaration came as Iran said it was back to a “full-scale war” with the United States, and as Washington and Tehran battled to control the strait. Saudi Arabia and the Houthis traded fire last week for the first time in years, threatening a 2022 truce that has held despite expiring. The exchange of strikes was set off when an Iranian plane attempted to land in Sanaa, challenging Saudi Arabia’s hegemony over Yemeni skies. The Houthis’ naval blockade, if enforced, could further strain Saudi Arabia’s economy by cutting off access to its Red Sea ports, which have been vital for oil exports as renewed fighting limits passage through the Strait of Hormuz. The blockade is also expected to hurt global markets that rely on Saudi Arabia — which produces over 10 m... -
Dawn - 18:05 Jul 20, 2026
US President Donald Trump on Monday vowed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would not face arrest at a UN summit in New York, after the city’s new mayor said he was investigating the move. Mayor Zohran Mamdani admitted he was unsure if he had the power to order police to detain a foreign leader but said he was discussing the matter with his legal team ahead of the UN General Assembly in September. “Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America,” Trump said on social media. “He is fighting against the Islamic Republic of Iran.” The Hague-based International Criminal Court said in 2024 that it had reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu was responsible for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity related to Israel’s offensive in Gaza following the brutal October 7, 2023 cross-border attack by Hamas. “I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague,” Mamdani told the New York Times on Saturday, referring to the United Na... -
Dawn - 17:54 Jul 20, 2026
Hundreds of people led by the chief minister of India-occupied Kashmir (IoK) shouted slogans and staged a protest in the capital Delhi on Monday, demanding statehood for the region, seven years after it revoked the disputed region’s autonomy by abrogating Article 370. Protesters were stopped by police from staging their demonstration, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said in a post on X, which had videos and pictures of people holding posters and shouting slogans. “This is only the beginning of our struggle for statehood, our rights, our dignity and everything that was taken away from us,” Abdullah said in the post. In August 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi revoked the partial autonomy of the occupied Kashmir state, removed its statehood and divided it into two federally controlled territories: held Kashmir with Jammu, and Ladakh. The government has since said statehood to the Himalayan region will be restored at the “appropriate time” but has not given a deadline. Abdullah and his party, the Jammu and Kashmir... -
Dawn - 17:27 Jul 20, 2026
Iran’s Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni on Monday night arrived in Islamabad on an official visit. Upon his arrival in Pakistan, the senior Iranian official was received by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi. The visiting dignitary is accompanied by a high-level delegation. During his visit, Momeni will meet Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, reported state-run Pakistan TV. Earlier reports had suggested that Momeni was likely to engage with Pakistani officials who previously mediated a now-collapsed interim ceasefire between the US and Iran. Momeni’s visit comes as mediator Pakistan continues its diplomatic efforts to rescue the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed last month between the US and Iran. In the ninth consecutive night of attacks on Monday, Washington expanded its strikes across Iran, including a city hosting a nuclear power plant. Iran kept up its own attacks across the region in response, with its Islami... -
Dawn - 16:07 Jul 20, 2026
LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) has ruled that a wife’s right to her dower (Haq Mehr) remains protected if a marriage is dissolved due to the husband’s cruelty or misconduct, even if the family court formally terms the decree as “Khula”. Dismissing a petition filed by a husband challenging a family court decision that awarded 50 per cent of the deferred dower to his former wife, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani issued directives to end the automatic forfeiture of dower in marital dissolution cases. According to details, the couple married on March 18, 2022, with a deferred dower of Rs100,000. Shortly afterwards, the wife filed a suit for dissolution of marriage, alleging that her husband subjected her to physical and verbal abuse when she demanded payment of the dower. She alleged that her husband remained unemployed, was involved in theft and intoxication, and forcibly turned her out of the house. A senior civil judge (family division) in Toba Tek Singh dissolved the marriage and awarded 50 per cent of the d... -
Dawn - 15:48 Jul 20, 2026
Opposition to Iran’s government has long simmered in the country’s impoverished south. But after bearing the brunt of US strikes this month, many residents are directing their anger at President Donald Trump and an air campaign they say has upended their lives. Southern Iran, which borders the Strait of Hormuz, has been a major target of US attacks on ports, energy facilities and transport infrastructure. Washington claims the strikes are aimed at curbing Iran’s ability to threaten shipping through the strategic waterway. Tehran says they have gone far beyond legitimate military targets. Most of the more than two dozen southern residents Reuters interviewed by phone or messaging apps agreed that the strikes had gone beyond targets with a clear military purpose. “Trump has ruined our lives,” said Amin, who runs a small boarding house for tourists in the south, blaming the US strikes for worsening economic hardship. None of those Reuters spoke to said the conflict had generated support for renewed anti-gove... -
Dawn - 15:17 Jul 20, 2026
LAHORE: A resolution has been submitted to the Punjab Assembly seeking a ban on the appointment of dual nationals to government service, arguing that holding citizenship of another country raises concerns over allegiance and access to sensitive state information. The resolution, moved by ruling PML-N MPA Amjad Ali Javed, calls on the federal and Punjab governments to enact legislation barring dual nationals from obtaining government jobs. According to the text of the resolution, an investigative report claimed that around 24,000 serving employees in various government departments held dual nationality. It stated that many of their family members also possessed foreign citizenship, while others were in the process of acquiring it. The resolution argued that acquiring citizenship of another country requires an oath of allegiance to that state, which may raise questions about an individual’s loyalty to Pakistan. It noted that, on similar grounds, dual nationals are already barred from contesting elections. It fu... -
Dawn - 15:06 Jul 20, 2026
Britain’s King Charles III on Monday appointed Andy Burnham as prime minister after outgoing Keir Starmer officially tendered his resignation, the palace said. “Andrew Burnham MP accepted The King’s offer and kissed hands upon his appointment as Prime Minister,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement, adding the king had asked him to form the next government. Burnham became Britain’s sixth prime minister to move into Downing Street in 10 years, with an in-tray overflowing with challenges and little time to make his mark. BBC reported that a large crowd of supporters erupted into applause as Burnham stepped onto Downing Street for his first speech. Delivering his address, Burnham promised to set out new measures to help with the cost of living this week before setting out a new 10-year plan for the country later this year. “Britain needs to show the world that we can regain our stability once again,” Burnham said. “We have not been good enough, and we need to be better.” Promising Britons “some breathing space ... -
Dawn - 15:00 Jul 20, 2026
Canada’s Foreign Minister Anita Anand on Monday expressed her country’s interest in exploring new avenues for trade and bilateral cooperation with Pakistan as she met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad. Anand is on a one-day official visit to Pakistan, during which she held separate meetings with PM Shehbaz as well as Deputy PM and FM Ishaq Dar. According to a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) following their meeting, Anand expressed the “keen desire of her government to explore new opportunities for trade and cooperation, especially in the field of agriculture, mining, energy as well as in the auto and auto parts industry”. The Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPPA) would be “instrumental” in enhancing Canadian investors’ confidence to invest in Pakistan, the PMO quoted her as saying. The PMO statement, which described the meeting as “warm and cordial”, further quoted Anand as saying that her visit was on the instructions of PM Mark Carney to “expand ... -
Dawn - 14:59 Jul 20, 2026
ISLAMABAD: With a staggering Rs964 billion claim on the Federal Consolidated Fund (FCF), the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has filed a constitutional petition in the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), challenging the continued extension of the 7th National Finance Commission (NFC) Award despite the merger of the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas into the province in 2018, it emerged on Monday. In its petition, the KP government asked the FCC to determine whether its share under the NFC should be increased to reflect its expanded size and responsibilities following the 25th Constitutional Amendment, which merged the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) into the province. The petition argues that the merger significantly increased the province’s population, territorial expanse and development needs, warranting a corresponding increase in its share under the NFC Award. It argued that despite this major constitutional change, its share under the NFC formula had not been updated to account for t... -
Dawn - 14:59 Jul 20, 2026
Iran is fighting a “full-scale war” with the United States, its president said on Monday, as Washington expanded its strikes across the Islamic republic including a city hosting a nuclear power plant. Iran kept up its own attacks across the region in response, with its Revolutionary Guards announcing they had hit targets in Bahrain, Jordan and Syria, while Bahrain said Tehran had targeted its air navigation systems. “The reality is that today the Islamic Republic of Iran is engaged in a full-scale war,” said President Masoud Pezeshkian, according to a presidency statement. He added that “we must be realistic and accept the natural consequences of this resistance”. His comments came after state media and local authorities reported US strikes on Monday in the north and centre of the country, further than areas near the blockaded Strait of Hormuz waterway through which a fifth of world oil supplies transited prior to the war. The Middle East war resumed after a weeks-long lull prompted by an agreement signed in ... -
Dawn - 13:59 Jul 20, 2026
Spain’s newly crowned FIFA World Cup champions on Monday arrived back in Madrid, where a million fans are expected to greet them after a night of raucous celebrations across the country. Spain captain Rodri held the World Cup trophy aloft at the top of the stairs as he descended from the Iberia plane that flew the team home from the United States after clinching their second star. Spain’s 1-0 victory over Argentina in New Jersey on Sunday, secured by a Ferran Torres strike in extra-time, has sparked an outpouring of national pride in the football-mad country, whose only other World Cup triumph came in 2010. Many younger supporters were not yet born when Andres Iniesta’s extra-time goal against the Netherlands secured Spain’s first World Cup in South Africa 16 years ago. On Monday morning, the Castellana, Madrid’s main avenue, bore the marks of a boozy evening — the tarmac strewn with trash, beer cans and shards of glass. Among the last remaining supporters, some slept with grins on their faces on the pavement... -
Dawn - 12:19 Jul 20, 2026
Indian police fired tear gas and baton-charged protesters in New Delhi on Monday as they tried to march on parliament to demand the resignation of the education minister over irregularities in major examinations. The protesters, mostly young students, ran for cover as police charged at them and fired tear gas shells near Jantar Mantar in the Indian capital. They are seeking the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over exam irregularities, including question paper leaks and technical glitches. Thousands of protesters started gathering from early Monday, defying a steady monsoon drizzle and police barricades, marking one of the biggest demonstrations in the capital in five years. “Our country deserves a government that is bothered about what the young people have to say and is willing to correct its mistakes,” said Sumit Kumar, 18. “The future belongs to us and not these politicians.” The protest comes after prominent activist Sonam Wangchuk was forcibly taken to hospital on Saturday, bringing ...
12392 items