Dawn
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Dawn - 12:44 Nov 18, 2025
In a recent video report, German state broadcaster Deutsche Welle News observed that “more than two decades after 9/11, Al Qaeda hasn’t vanished, it’s adapted.” This assessment is reinforced by recent reports from the world’s leading news outlets, including the Wall Street Journal and Al Jazeera, which indicate that one of Al Qaeda’s regional affiliates, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), is on the verge of capturing the Malian capital, Bamako. Operating across the Sahel region of West Africa, primarily in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, JNIM is imposing an economic siege on the capital by blocking routes used by fuel tankers, effectively bringing the country to a standstill. Despite the elimination or arrest of its top to mid-ranking leadership in the Afghanistan-Pakistan (Af-Pak) region over the last two decades — through extensive US-led counter-terrorism operations across Af-Pak, the Middle East and Africa — Al Qaeda has persisted by adopting a key strategy: evolving from a hierarchical, centralis... -
Dawn - 11:20 Nov 18, 2025
Pakistan’s star batter Babar Azam was fined for a minor ICC Code of Conduct breach during the third One-Day International (ODI) against Sri Lanka on Sunday, according to the International Cricket Council. A brilliant bowling show from Pakistan and a laboured chase later saw the hosts beat Sri Lanka by six wickets to complete a 3-0 series sweep over the visitors in the third and final ODI at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Sunday. Babar was fined 10 per cent of his match fee for a Level 1 ICC Code of Conduct breach, which carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand, a maximum penalty of 50pc of a player’s match fee, and one or two demerit points. View this post on Instagram “The 31-year-old has been found to have breached Article 2.2 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to ‘abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings during an international match’,” ICC said in a press release. One demerit point has been added to his dis... -
Dawn - 11:16 Nov 18, 2025
The opposition alliance Tehreek-i-Tahafuz-i-Ayin-i-Pakistan (TTAP) on Tuesday staged a march from Parliament House to Supreme Court as part of its nationwide protest movement against the newly enacted 27th Amendment. The 27th Amendment was signed into law on November 13 after passage from the parliament amid strong criticism by the opposition parties. The legislation, which has brought major structural changes to the judiciary and the military, has been assailed by the legal fraternity, even former and sitting judges, as an “attack” on judicial independence. In a meeting on Friday, the TTAP had vowed to vigorously protest to “restore the Constitution to its original form”. Under a plan announced then, members of parties under the TTAP umbrella gathered outside Parliament House today to hold a protest. They then marched to the Supreme Court on Constitution Avenue. TTAP Vice Chairman Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja and PTI Senator Faisa... -
Dawn - 10:29 Nov 18, 2025
Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad stressed on Monday the need for ending the occupation of Palestinian territories and paving the way for Palestinian statehood through a credible political process. “We believe that in order to break the cycle of violence, it is absolutely necessary to end the occupation, and to have a political horizon, open the pathway to the Palestinian State through a credible, time-bound political process firmly anchored in the relevant UN resolutions,” he said while speaking at the UN Security Council (UNSC) after it adopt a US-drafted resolution endorsing President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza. The plan also authorises an International Stabilisation Force (ISF) for the Palestinian enclave. Thirteen UNSC members, including Pakistan, voted in favour of the resolution, while Russia and China abstained — notable given earlier signals that Moscow might veto the text. Israel and Hamas agreed last month to the first phase of Trump’s 20-p... -
Dawn - 09:39 Nov 18, 2025
As the dust settles after the passage of the 27th Amendment Constitutional Amendment, changes have been made to key constitutional and statutory judicial bodies. Following these changes, Supreme Court’s Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail has been included in the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) and the Practice and Procedure Committee while Federal Constitutional Court’s (FCC) Justice Aamer Farooq has been made a member of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP). Among the three statutory bodies, the SJC is the the top forum for judicial accountability that probes allegations of misconduct against judges, the Practice and Procedure Committee forms benches and fixes cases, and the JCP is responsible for appointing judges to the superior judiciary. Changes in their composition were required to synchronise them with the latest constitutional amendment. A Supreme Court (SC) press release issued on Tuesday said: “Pursuant to the 27th Constitutional Amendment, [these] key constitutional and statutory judicial bodies […]... -
Dawn - 09:21 Nov 18, 2025
A newlywed 18-year-old girl was found dead in Karachi’s Defence Housing Authority (DHA) area while the police detained her relatives for their suspected involvement for interrogation, officials said on Tuesday. “The girl was married to a government employee deputed at Malir Cantonment; she was found dead at the rooftop of a building in Badar Commercial in Phase 5,” South Deputy Inspector General Syed Asad Raza told Dawn. The senior officer added that a dupatta was knotted around her neck twice. She was immediately taken to a private clinic in DHA and later to a hospital in Clifton, where doctors pronounced her dead. Subsequently, DIG Raza detailed, her body was taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for legal proceedings. The couple had arrived in Karachi from Sialkot two weeks ago and was residing at an aunt’s house in the Badar Commercial area. According to details shared by the DIG, the girl reportedly went to the rooftop on Monday evening and did not return. When her aunt went upstairs, she found... -
Dawn - 08:40 Nov 18, 2025
The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday barred the police from harassing an Indian woman who had filed a petition against them. The woman, formerly Sikh, had come to Pakistan for religious purposes but had converted to Islam to marry the second petitioner, her now-husband. She complained that the police had conducted an “illegal raid on their house in Farooqabad, Sheikhupura district, and pressured her to end the marriage.” The petition was heard by Justice Farooq Haider, who ordered the police to stop harassing the petitioners. The petition, a copy of which is available with Dawn, was filed on November 12 under Article 199 (jurisdiction of High Court) of the Constitution. It named both the woman and her husband as the petitioners and Punjab’s inspector general of police (IGP), the regional police officer of Sheikhupura, the district police officers (DPOs) of Sheikhupura and Nankana Sahib, the station house officers (SHOs) of the same, and another resident of Farooq Abad as respondents. The petition alleged th... -
Dawn - 07:48 Nov 18, 2025
The United States is the biggest recipient of China’s lending activities globally, according to a study that tracked Beijing’s credit activities and found it is increasingly lending to higher-income countries over developing countries. The report, published on Tuesday by AidData, a research lab at US university William & Mary, said China’s lending and grant giving totalled $2.2 trillion across 200 countries in every region of the world from 2000 to 2023. During this period, Pakistan received $74 billion, the report shows, ranking it as the fifth largest recipient. China has long been seen as a creditor to developing countries through its Belt and Road initiative, but is shifting toward lending to advanced economies — backing strategic infrastructure and high‑tech supply chains in areas such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence and clean energy. Beijing’s portfolio size is two-to-four times larger than previous estimates suggest, AidData said, adding that China remains the world’s largest official credit... -
Dawn - 06:57 Nov 18, 2025
Terrorists’ bid to blow up a bridge in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district failed on Tuesday when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated prematurely while it was being installed, police said. Amir Khan, the spokesperson for the District Police Office in Bannu, told Dawn that two terrorists intended to blow up Doghoda Bridge. He said that one of them died on the spot when the IED detonated prematurely while it was being installed. The other terrorist was injured and escaped the scene, he added. The spokesperson said police had reached the spot and were collecting evidence. Meanwhile, the process for the identification of the dead terrorist had also been initiated, he said. A search operation was also under way to track down the other terrorist, he added. Today’s incident comes around a month after law enforcers foiled an attack by terrorists at a police station in Bannu. According to police, terrorists belonging to Fitna-al-Khawarij — a term the state uses for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP... -
Dawn - 06:08 Nov 18, 2025
Vitol and Cnergyico, Pakistan’s largest oil refiner, have delivered the country’s biggest single shipment of very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) for ship refuelling, the global trading firm said in a statement late Monday. The move will enable large vessels refuelling in Pakistan to now sail longer routes from east to west without needing to stop elsewhere, while also giving the country a stronger local supply of environmentally compliant marine fuel. This shipment came from Cnergyico’s first large-scale batch of fuel that meets International Maritime Organisation (IMO) low-sulphur rules. The company began producing it after importing its first US crude oil cargoes earlier this year. Vitol delivered the VLSFO to a vessel owned and operated by shipping major MSC at Port Qasim, using a Singapore-flagged bunker barge Marine Ista that has the capacity to supply 6,800 metric tons of marine fuel in a single delivery. It was also the first barge to load fuel directly from the Karachi Port Trust’s Oil Pier rather than ... -
Dawn - 02:35 Nov 18, 2025
• Two more judges sworn in • Seven courtrooms arranged on IHC floors • Three benches hear several cases on first working day ISLAMABAD: After the swearing-in of two more judges, the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) finally commenced operations on Monday, hearing a number of cases within the Islamabad High Court (IHC) premises. The day began with the oath-taking ceremony of Justice Rozi Khan Barrech and Justice Arshad Hussain Shah inside the conference room on the ground floor of the IHC building on Constitution Avenue. The oath was administered by FCC Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan, bringing the court’s existing strength to seven judges. View this post on Instagram Earlier, the FCC chief justice had told the media that the total sanctioned strength of the court would be 13 judges. Seven courtrooms have been arranged for FCC judges on different floors of the IHC building. After the ceremony, the formal proceedings commenced with the recitation of the Holy Quran at the main FCC courtroom situated on the first f... -
Dawn - 02:22 Nov 18, 2025
KARACHI: Pakistan’s current account deficit (CAD) widened by over 255 per cent year-on-year during the first four months of FY26, primarily driven by rising imports and falling exports. The latest data issued by the State Bank on Monday showed that the country posted a CAD of $733 million in July-October compared with $206m in the same period last year. Another vital change was that October posted a $112m deficit, compared with a $83m surplus in September. The pressure on the current account is directly related to higher imports, while the exports remained stagnant during the current fiscal year. Under pressure from the International Monetary Fund, the government had relaxed import curbs. The government is under severe criticism for failing to boost economic growth over the last three years, and financial circles believe it was a deliberate attempt to cut GDP growth to keep the current account under control. The government achieved a surplus of $1.9bn in FY25, but economic growth remained at 2.6pc, which was ... -
Dawn - 23:01 Nov 17, 2025
The United Nations Security Council on Monday voted to adopt a US-drafted resolution endorsing President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza and authorising an international stabilisation force for the Palestinian enclave. Israel and Hamas agreed last month to the first phase of Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza — a ceasefire in their two-year war and a hostage-release deal — but the UN resolution is seen as vital to legitimising a transitional governance body and reassuring countries that are considering sending troops to Gaza. The text of the resolution says member states can take part in the Board of Peace, envisioned as a transitional authority that would oversee the reconstruction and economic recovery of Gaza. It also authorises the International Stabilisation Force (ISF), which would ensure a process of demilitarising Gaza, including by decommissioning weapons and destroying military infrastructure. Trump’s 20-point plan is included as an annexe to the resolution. Russia, which holds a veto on the ... -
Dawn - 18:57 Nov 17, 2025
Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah on Monday said that a 28th Constitutional Amendment, dealing with “public issues”, could be introduced if there is political consensus. Last week, President Asif Ali Zardari gave his assent to the contentious 27th Constitutional Amendment, enacting it into law. Speaking to reporters in Chiniot, the PM’s aide said that the amendment would deal with “public issues, such as local bodies, population, the National Finance Commission … health-related issues”. “There is a need to review how we can better serve the people according to the present needs of the provinces and the Centre,” Sanaullah stated. “This is being debated and if there is any consensus, then we can bring the 28th Amendment forward,” said the PML-N leader. Referring to the recent resignations by judges of the Supreme Court and LHC, the PM’s aide said that “those who stepped down did so due to their personal motives”. He maintained that the parliament has the constitutional right to p... -
Dawn - 17:55 Nov 17, 2025
Lahore, once celebrated as the City of Gardens, now chokes each winter under a grey shroud of smog — its skies thick with toxic haze that has become the city’s defining feature. Every November, as the monsoon fades, a suffocating layer of smoke and dust engulfs Lahore, India’s capital New Delhi and much of northern South Asia. The mix of crop burning, vehicle exhaust and industrial emissions drives air pollution to deadly levels, forcing authorities to shut schools, businesses and highways. This winter, as air quality plummets again, the Punjab government is betting on an unconventional ally to fight back: artificial intelligence (AI). Authorities say they are deploying one of the region’s most technologically advanced clean-air programmes, with AI systems at the centre of forecasting, enforcement and public response. Some 100 AI-powered air-quality monitoring stations have been established across Punjab, home to nearly 130 million people, according to Punjab Environment Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb. These sma... -
Dawn - 17:42 Nov 17, 2025
The government on Monday revised the compensation package for martyred and injured Civil Armed Forces (CAF) personnel, according to a notification issued by the interior ministry. CAFs are defined as a federal paramilitary force working under the interior ministry, according to Section 18, sub-section 21 of Schedule II of the Rules of Business, 1973, such as the Federal Constabulary, Frontier Corps, Gilgit-Baltistan Scouts and Pakistan Coast Guards. The decision to revise compensation to be on par with the Islamabad police was made by the interior ministry in August this year and approved by the cabinet on August 25. According to today’s notification, the minimum compensation will be Rs10 million (Grade 1-9), while the maximum is now Rs20m (Grade 20 and above). “If a member of the CAFs is shaheed (martyred), permanently disabled, injured with serious injury or minor injury, as the case may be, while on bona fide government duty, an award under these rules may be granted to him or his family, as the case may b... -
Dawn - 16:47 Nov 17, 2025
A no-confidence motion against Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq succeeded on Monday, with 36 members in the Legislative Assembly voting in favour of it and two against it. Of the 29 PPP members, the speaker could not cast his vote and of the 9 PML-N members, one female member abstained. Two PTI legislators — regional president Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi and leader of the opposition Khawaja Farooq Ahmed — voted against the move. Haq, who had arrived in the hall along with four loyalists, left along with them soon after delivering his speech. Three PTI members did not attend. One member each of the Muslim Conference and the Jammu Kashmir Peoples Party (JKPP) also abstained. Apart from them, three PTI forward bloc members — Ansar Abdali, Mazhar Saeed and deputy speaker Chaudhry Riaz — also abstained. After the votes were counted, AJK Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar, who was chairing the session, announced PPP’s Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore as the new premier. Under the AJK Constituti... -
Dawn - 16:21 Nov 17, 2025
A Bangladesh court sentenced ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death on Monday, concluding a months-long trial that found her guilty of ordering a deadly crackdown on a student-led uprising last year. The ruling comes months ahead of parliamentary elections expected to be held in early February. Hasina’s Awami League party has been barred from contesting and it is feared that Monday’s verdict could stoke fresh unrest ahead of the vote. The International Crimes Tribunal, Bangladesh’s domestic war crimes court located in the capital Dhaka, delivered the guilty verdict amid tight security and in Hasina’s absence after she fled to India in August 2024. View this post on Instagram Hasina, 78, defied court orders that she return from India to attend her trial about whether she ordered a deadly crackdown against the student-led uprising that ousted her. She called the guilty verdict and death sentence in her crimes against humanity trial “biased and politically motivated”. “The verdicts announced against me hav... -
Dawn - 16:16 Nov 17, 2025
Another victim from the fireworks factory explosion in Hyderabad earlier this week succumbed to his wounds at Liaquat University Hospital (LUH) on Monday, taking the toll to 10, officials said. At least six people were killed and seven were injured after a powerful explosion ripped through a fireworks factory in Hyderabad on Saturday. Police registered a case against multiple suspects, including the owner of an allegedly illegal firecracker factory. Nine people were reported to have died till yesterday. LUH’s Additional Medical Superintendent (MS) Dr Mujeeb Kalwar told Dawn, “[The victim] was admitted with around 100 per cent burn wounds.” In view of his critical condition, MS Kalwar added, the victim was taken to the surgical ward’s intensive care unit, where he breathed his last today. Separately, Hyderabad Senior Superintendent of Police Adeel Chandio said three unidentified bodies, which were lying in LUH, also included the fireworks factory’s owner. He told Dawn that these findings were confirmed based o... -
Dawn - 16:06 Nov 17, 2025
The PTI on Monday condemned the alleged political victimisation and “inhumane” jail conditions faced by incarcerated former MNA and Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) chief Sahibzada Hamid Raza. The party claimed that essential medical care and basic rights were not being provided to the incarcerated leader, which was a grave erosion of justice, due process and constitutional protections. The Islamabad police arrested Raza and presented him before a Faisalabad anti-terrorism court, which sent him to jail to serve his 10-year jail term in the May 9 case. The SIC chief was convicted in the case along with several PTI leaders on July 31. In a statement issued by the PTI Central Media Department, the party vehemently condemned Raza’s treatment during his detention. “His arrest — carried out while he was on his way to voluntarily surrender before the court — and the subsequent denial of his basic rights in jail reflect a disturbing pattern of political persecution and a blatant disregard for human dignity,” it stated. Th...
5737 items