Dawn
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Dawn - 03:36 Jun 24, 2025
LAHORE: Despite India’s heavy subsidies on exports, Pakistan’s rice shipments remained largely unaffected due to a strategy adopted by local exporters that prioritised agility and quality. India recently re-entered the international rice market after a two-year hiatus imposed to ensure domestic food security. The lifting of export bans by New Delhi generated considerable excitement in Indian media, which predicted a significant economic blow to Pakistan’s rice exports, which had been performing robustly in the interim. For the three months preceding India’s return (July to September 2024), Pakistan’s rice exports averaged a strong 550,000 tonnes per month. Indian officials, trade bodies, and think tanks anticipated that a surge in cheaper Indian rice would undercut Pakistan’s global market share. However, Pakistani exporters countered with a swift, quality-centric strategy, avoiding a direct price war and instead focusing on premium offerings. According to sector expert Hamid Malik, this approach paid off as ... -
Dawn - 03:26 Jun 24, 2025
• Tax on income derived from dividends raised to 29pc • 20pc tax proposed on profits from investments in government securities • FED of Rs10 imposed on one day-old chicks • No changes to voluntary pension regime; tax on pensions won’t apply to commutation & gratuity amounts ISLAMABAD: As the government announced a modest tax relief for the lower income slabs, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Monday introduced three new tax measures in the National Assembly to offset its revenue impact — part of the country’s ongoing commitment to remain within the fiscal parameters agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In his winding-up speech, Mr Aurangzeb informed the National Assembly that the proposed measures aim to offset the revenue shortfall resulting from the tax relief, while ensuring that the industrial and commercial sectors are not subjected to additional burden. As part of three new revenue measures, the government has proposed raising the tax rate on income derived from the debt portion of di... -
Dawn - 18:51 Jun 23, 2025
Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Senator Kamran Murtaza on Monday submitted a resolution in the Senate against the government’s decision to nominate US President Donald Trump for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, as Washington joined Israel’s war with Iran. The government had decided to nominate Trump for the prestigious award to hail his “decisive diplomatic intervention and pivotal leadership” during last month’s Pak-India conflict, when both neighbours stepped back from the brink of war with US mediation. In a statement, it had highlighted that Trump “demonstrated great strategic foresight and stellar statesmanship through robust diplomatic engagement with both Islamabad and New Delhi”, which ultimately secured a ceasefire. However, after the US bombed Iran’s Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites, with Trump saying they were “totally obliterated”, leaders across the political spectrum joined citizens in voicing their reservations. In the resolution dated today, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, Sen... -
Dawn - 17:40 Jun 23, 2025
Iran on Monday struck a retaliatory missile attack targeting the American Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, while launching a missile operation called “Annunciation of victory” against US bases in Iraq and Qatar, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency. A day earlier, President Donald Trump said US air strikes “totally obliterated” Iran’s main nuclear sites, as Washington joined Israel’s war with Tehran in a flashpoint moment for the Middle East. The strikes drew threats from Tehran to retaliate, with US military installations in the region a potential target. The following are significant US facilities in the Middle East: Bahrain Home to the headquarters of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, whose area of responsibility includes the Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean. Qatar The 24-hectare Al Udeid Air Base, in the desert outside the capital Doha, is the forward headquarters for US Central Command, which directs US military operations in a huge swathe of territory stretching from Egypt in the west to K... -
Dawn - 17:37 Jun 23, 2025
The Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) on Monday announced that the airspace ban on Indian airlines was extended until July 23. New Delhi had accused Islamabad, without evidence, of orchestrating last month’s deadly attack in occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam. Pakistan had strongly denied the allegations and called for a neutral probe. As the situation turned into a military confrontation between the nuclear powers, it took American intervention for both sides to agree to a ceasefire. On April 24, Pakistan’s top brass had announced a series of measures, including the closure of its airspace to all India-owned or Indian-operated airlines with immediate effect, as it retaliated against New Delhi’s slew of aggressive measures against the country. A revised notice to airmen (NOTAM) issued by the PAA today said, “[The] airspace closure for India has been extended for one month.” The statement said that the airspace will remain closed until July 23. “PAA maintains [the] ban on Indian airlines’ passenger and military aircr... -
Dawn - 16:17 Jun 23, 2025
Following new visa rules by the Trump administration, the United States Embassy in India on Monday asked all applicants for F, M, or J nonimmigrant visas to make their social public accounts public for vetting. US President Donald Trump’s administration on Wednesday ordered the resumption of student visa appointments but significantly tightened its social media vetting in a bid to identify any applicants who may be hostile towards the country, according to an internal State Department cable reviewed by Reuters. US consular officers are now required to conduct a “comprehensive and thorough vetting” of all student and exchange visitor applicants to identify those who “bear hostile attitudes toward our citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles”, said the cable, which was dated June 18 and sent to US missions on Wednesday. In a post on X today, the US Embassy in India said: “Effective immediately, all individuals applying for an F, M, or J nonimmigrant visa are requested to adjust the pr... -
Dawn - 16:06 Jun 23, 2025
The Foreign Office (FO) on Monday strongly condemned a suicide bombing in Damascus the day prior, as the death toll from the attack rose to 25. At least 20 people were killed and dozens injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the Mar Elias Church in the Dweila neighbourhood of the Syrian capital Damascus on Sunday, health authorities and security sources said. In a statement issued today, the FO said: “Pakistan strongly condemns the heinous suicide bombing at the Mar Elias Church in the Dweila neighbourhood of Damascus, Syria, on June 22, 2025, which resulted in the loss of precious lives and left many injured. “Pakistan stands in full solidarity with the brotherly people of Syria in this hour of grief, and reaffirms its strong support for efforts aimed at achieving lasting peace and stability in the country.” Meanwhile, Syria’s state news agency SANA reported that the death toll rose to 25. The agency cited the country’s health ministry. Syria’s interior ministry on Sunday said the suicide bomber wa... -
Dawn - 15:19 Jun 23, 2025
A Bangladesh government-appointed commission investigating hundreds of disappearances by the security forces under ousted premier Sheikh Hasina on Monday warned that the same “culture of impunity” continues. The Commission of Inquiry into Enforced Disappearances is probing abuses during the rule of Hasina, whose government was accused of widespread human rights abuses. That includes the extrajudicial killing of hundreds of political opponents and the unlawful abduction and disappearance of hundreds more. The commission was established by interim leader, Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, 84, who is facing intense political pressure as parties jostle for power ahead of elections expected early next year. Bangladesh has a long history of military coups and the army retains a powerful role. “Enforced disappearances in Bangladesh were not isolated acts of wrongdoing, but the result of a politicised institutional machinery that condoned, normalised, and often rewarded such crimes,” the commission said, in a ... -
Dawn - 14:51 Jun 23, 2025
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday arrived in the UAE for the upcoming 12th session of the Pakistan-UAE Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) to be held in Abu Dhabi. The 12th session of Pak-UAE JMC is being held following a hiatus of 13 years after it was scheduled in October 2024. The last session was held in Islamabad from 6-7 November 2013. According to a statement by the Foreign Office (FO), Dar will lead the Pakistan delegation to the meeting scheduled on June 24. “The JMC serves as the highest institutionalised platform for bilateral cooperation between Pakistan and the UAE. The upcoming session will take forward the agenda of deepening strategic, economic and development cooperation between the two brotherly countries,” the statement said. It said that the delegation “will comprise secretaries and senior officials from key ministries including Economic Affairs, Commerce, Energy, Maritime Affairs and Interior”. “The UAE side will be led by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, D... -
Dawn - 14:33 Jun 23, 2025
Oman issued a royal decree to become the first country in the Gulf to impose a personal income tax, its tax authority said on Sunday, as the small oil producer works to diversify its revenue stream. Oman, among the smaller Gulf economies, launched a medium-term fiscal programme in 2020 to reduce public debt, diversify revenue sources and spur economic growth, which has improved public finances. The sultanate, which still remains largely reliant on oil revenue, will impose a five per cent tax on taxable income for individuals earning over 42,000 Omani rials ($109,091) per year starting from 2028, according to the decree. “The law also includes deductions and exemptions that take into account the social situation in the Sultanate of Oman, such as education, healthcare, inheritance, zakat, donations, primary housing,” the country’s tax authority said in a statement. According to the state-run Oman News Agency (ONA), the plan also contributes to the objectives of Oman Vision 2040 by diversifying income sources an... -
Dawn - 13:40 Jun 23, 2025
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecast monsoon rain across the country from Wednesday, June 25, the weather agency said in a statement. Monsoon rains fall across the region from June to September, offering respite from the summer heat and are crucial to replenishing water supplies. They are also vital for agriculture, and therefore the livelihoods of millions of farmers and food security for South Asia’s nearly two billion people. According to the Met Office, “moist currents are penetrating upper and central parts of the country and likely to become intensified in next couple of days.” “A westerly wave is expected to approach upper parts on June 25 and likely to become significant on June 26,” it said. Under the influence of these meteorological conditions, Punjab is expected to receive rainfall and thundershowers with scattered heavy rains in Islamabad,Rawalpindi, Murree, Galliyat, Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, Mandi Bahauddin, Gujrat, Gujranwala, Hafizabad, Wazirabad, Lahore, Sheikhupura, Sial... -
Dawn - 13:08 Jun 23, 2025
The United States President Donald Trump launched direct airstrikes targeting Iran’s main nuclear sites on Saturday, joining Israel’s war with Tehran in a flashpoint moment for the Middle East. This marked the first time since the Iranian revolution in 1979 that the US has deployed assets to target major facilities in the country. Iran denounced the US attacks as “lawless and criminal”, warning of “everlasting consequences” for which it said the US would be held fully responsible. In retaliation, Iran’s parliament voted to close the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway through which approximately 20 per cent of the world’s oil and gas supply passes. Global attention has now turned to Iran, with observers questioning whether it will escalate the conflict by targeting US interests, or heed President Trump’s call to negotiate — an offer which in practice means giving up all nuclear enrichment plans in Iran. Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan Dr Reza Amiri Moghadam has warned that Tehran could retaliate by striking ... -
Dawn - 13:00 Jun 23, 2025
National Security Committee reaffirms Iran’s right to self-defence after US attacks on nuclear sites
An emergency meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) on Monday reaffirmed Iran’s right to self-defence following the airstrikes by the United States on three nuclear facilities. After months of attacking Gaza — flattening homes, targeting hospitals, and starving a besieged population — Israel expanded its assault by launching wide-scale air strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities, military sites and private residences on June 13, killing top commanders, scientists and civilians. A day earlier, President Donald Trump said US air strikes “totally obliterated” Iran’s main nuclear sites, as Washington joined Israel’s war with Tehran in a flashpoint moment for the Middle East. The strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, which came four days after Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir’s meeting with Trump and a day after the government said it decided to formally recommend Trump for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for his role during the recent conflict with India, were condemned by Pakistan. A meet... -
Dawn - 11:54 Jun 23, 2025
The Karachi Police ordered an investigation on Monday of alleged threats being made to boxer Aliya Soomro. Earlier this year, Soomro became the first Pakistani woman to win a world boxing title. She knocked out her opponent from Thailand in just 45 seconds in Bangkok to claim victory in the WBA Asia 105-pound category. A day ago, Soomro issued a video statement on her Instagram account, saying that she and her family were being harassed by an alleged facilitator of the Lyari gang war who was impersonating a media worker. “Don’t drag me into political and ethnic disputes and conflict between boxing institutions. Why is the entire machinery being used against me? My family and I are facing life threats,” she said. Soomro alleged that certain elements were “spreading unfounded information” against her, expressing fear that she could be physically harmed. She appealed to the Sindh police chief and other officials for protection and legal assistance. View this post on Instagram A statement issued today from the of... -
Dawn - 10:22 Jun 23, 2025
Iran said on Monday that the US attack on its nuclear sites expanded the range of legitimate targets for its armed forces and called US President Donald Trump a “gambler” for joining Israel’s military campaign against the Islamic Republic. Since Trump joined Israel’s campaign by dropping massive bunker-buster bombs on Iranian nuclear sites on Sunday morning, Tehran has repeatedly threatened to retaliate. But while it has continued to fire missiles at Israel, it has yet to take action against the United States itself, either by firing at US bases or by targeting the 20 per cent of global oil shipments that pass near its coast at the mouth of the Gulf. “Mr Trump, the gambler, you may start this war, but we will be the ones to end it,” Ebrahim Zolfaqari, spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya central military headquarters, said on Monday in English at the end of a recorded video statement. Iran and Israel traded another wave of air and missile strikes on Monday as the world braced for Tehran’s response. Trump’... -
Dawn - 09:51 Jun 23, 2025
Asia is currently warming nearly twice as fast as the global average, fueling more extreme weather and wreaking a heavy toll on the region’s economies, ecosystems and societies, according to a report published by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on the ‘State of the Climate in Asia 2024’ published on Monday. The State of the Climate reports, which provide policy-relevant information for national and regional decision-making, have previously reported in 2024 that the impact of heatwaves in Asia was becoming more severe, with melting glaciers threatening the region’s future water security. The new report says that 2024 was the warmest or second-warmest year on record depending on the dataset, with widespread and prolonged heatwaves. The warming trend between 1991–2024 was almost double that of the 1961–1990 period. Asia is the continent with the largest land mass extending to the Arctic, and is warming more than twice as fast as the global average because the temperature increase over land is larger ... -
Dawn - 09:25 Jun 23, 2025
Former foreign minister and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Monday said India has the option to either share water fairly or “we will deliver water to us from all six (Indus river system) rivers”. Delhi unilaterally suspended its participation in the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), which governs the usage of the Indus river system, on April 23, shortly after 26 civilians were killed in India-held Kashmir. Delhi, without evidence, blamed Islamabad for the attack. The latter has denied the allegations and called for a neutral probe. The accord remains dormant despite a ceasefire agreed upon by the two nuclear-armed neighbours last month following their worst fighting in decades. The Foreign Office (FO) on Saturday had slammed Indian Home Minister Amit Shah’s “brazen disregard” for international agreements after the latter said New Delhi would never restore the IWT with Pakistan. View this post on Instagram Speaking in the National Assembly during a session on the federal budget, Bilawal said, “India has ... -
Dawn - 06:11 Jun 23, 2025
QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti on Saturday chaired a high-level meeting to review the current situation in districts bordering Iran which were facing food and fuel shortages due to the Iran -Israel war. The meeting focused on the availability of food supplies, fuel provision and safe return of pilgrims and students from Iran, and the overall security and administrative conditions in these areas. The meeting was briefed by authorities concerned on the current management strategies and future plans. “At present there is no food shortage in the border areas,” officials concerned claimed at the meeting. However, reports reaching here say that the situation is not normal and the people are facing food and fuel shortages in these areas. The chief minister ordered authorities concerned to ensure uninterrupted food and fuel supplies in these regions to prevent any public inconvenience. He also instructed the departments concerned to maintain electricity and LPG supply by implementing alternative sol... -
Dawn - 06:07 Jun 23, 2025
ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said on Sunday that Pakistan stands in complete solidarity with neighboring Iran in the face of Israels unprovoked and unjustified aggression. Talking to a private news channel, he said that Pakistan condemned the attacks carried out by Israel and is gravely concerned about the potential for further escalation in the region. The threat of a wider war in the Middle East is real, he warned, calling for an immediate end to the hostilities. He said the recent crisis has revitalized Pakistan-Iran relations, with brotherly ties growing stronger. Offering his analysis on the situation, he said, Israels existence poses a continuous threat to regional peace. The concept of peace with Israel is inherently contradictory. He asserted that Israels so-called invincibility has been badly exposed. The spirits of the people of Gaza remains unshaken like rock solid. He emphasized that Israel must abandon the illusion that bombing Muslim populations will crush their willpower. T... -
Dawn - 06:02 Jun 23, 2025
KARACHI: Citizens, particularly university students, have been facing immense trouble in crossing the main University Road now when all pedestrian bridges along it have been removed by the authorities working on the Red Line project. The bridges had to be removed to construct the infrastructure for the BRT (bus rapid transit) system. The situation has been causing a lot of trouble especially to female students of higher education institutions, located along the University Road since the footbridges were dismantled about three months ago. In the absence of the bridges, the people attempting to cross the road have to put their lives at risk as the road remains packed with speeding vehicles. Many accidents have taken place along the road. The victims included female students of the University of Karachi and the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology. The issue has also led to increased travel cost for many students as they now have to take a cab or some other public transport means to get to the...
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