Dawn
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Dawn - 02:25 Jul 20, 2026
• FFD warns of low- to medium-level flooding in Chenab and Ravi over next 24 hours • Woman, two children killed after landslide buries their house in AJK’s Kotli • At least 11 killed by flash floods in occupied J&K LAHORE/MUZAFFARABAD: The River Chenab swelled to nearly 180,000 cusecs after torrential rains triggered flash floods in India-occupied Kashmir, killing at least 11 people, with the Flood Forecasting Division (FFD) of the Pakistan Meteorological Department forecasting low to medium flooding in the river at Marala and the River Ravi at Jassar over the next 24 hours. Meanwhile, a woman and her two children were killed in the early hours of Sunday after a massive landslide triggered by heavy rainfall buried their house in a village in Kotli district of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). The influx pushed the River Chenab into the medium flood category, according to a senior official of the Punjab Irrigation Department. He said India had not provided Pakistan with prior information on upstream river flows. ... -
Dawn - 02:22 Jul 20, 2026
THREE reports last Friday — a widening food trade gap, return to a current account deficit, and the government’s shift to daily fuel pricing amid renewed Gulf tensions — reveal how fragile Pakistan’s external sector remains, despite the recent macroeconomic stabilisation. The headline current account deficit of just $139m in FY26 appears reassuring. But the composition of the external account tells an uncomfortable story: Pakistan avoided a large deficit not because it exported more, but because expats sent home $41.6bn. Without those remittances, the external account would have deteriorated sharply. Exports remained largely stagnant. Goods exports declined, while the modest increase in services exports merely offset part of the loss. Meanwhile, imports stayed elevated, producing a merchandise trade deficit exceeding $35bn. The deterioration in agricultural trade is particularly worrying. Pakistan, an agrarian economy, saw food imports rise nearly 12pc to over $9bn while raw food exports plunged almost 30pc. ... -
Dawn - 02:17 Jul 20, 2026
• Move aimed at preserving at least three months of import cover • Petrol, diesel prices to be revised only on working days • Ogra to now publish working details on its website • Govt to retain control over levy, climate levy, customs duty, deemed duty, margins ISLAMABAD: The government may shift back to fuel conservation and austerity measures as early as this week or next, as renewed hostilities in the Middle East raise pressure on oil prices and foreign exchange reserves. At the same time, prices of the two major petroleum products — petrol and high-speed diesel — will be revised only on working days, even though the move has been portrayed as a step towards deregulation and daily pricing. Retail petroleum prices will be announced every working day, from Monday to Friday, and not on Saturdays and Sundays. The announcement will be made by the Petroleum Division late in the evening, as usual, but not on a weekly basis. Effectively, rates announced on Friday will remain in place for the next three days — Satu... -
Dawn - 01:49 Jul 20, 2026
• Strikes reported near Iran’s Darkhovin nuclear facility • Iran targets American bases; Kuwait’s power, desalination plants hit again • Momeni may visit Islamabad today for high-stakes talks • Jordan, Qatar, Iraq press Washington and Tehran to resume dialogue • Arab League warns war could rattle energy & trade GULF nations have called for an urgent return to diplomacy as the United States and Iran continue a widening exchange of attacks, raising concerns that the confrontation could spiral into a broader regional war. Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani have held a phone call, stressing the need for joint efforts to end the dangerous regional escalation, Jordan’s state media reported. They called for an immediate ceasefire and a return to negotiations to secure a comprehensive resolution. They noted that a final agreement must address all root causes of tension and guarantee freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormu... -
Dawn - 23:02 Jul 19, 2026
The scoreline said Spain had beaten Argentina 1-0 after extra time. The match said something far more emphatic. For much of the World Cup final in New Jersey, Spain did not merely outplay the defending champions. They controlled the game so completely that Argentina, despite the presence of Lionel Messi in what was expected to be his final World Cup match, were reduced to chasing shadows. The victory gave Spain their second World Cup title, but it was the manner of the triumph that made it particularly significant. Against a team that had built its tournament on resilience, late comebacks and the individual brilliance of Messi, Spain offered something altogether different: control without panic, possession without sterility and pressure without recklessness. Spain’s Lamine Yamal takes a free kick during the 2026 FIFA World Cup final between Spain and Argentina at the New York/New Jersey Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, the US on July 19, 2026. — Reuters Luis de la Fuente’s team represented a modern evolu... -
Dawn - 18:48 Jul 19, 2026
Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand is set to visit Pakistan on Monday, marking the first such visit in 20 years, Global Affairs Canada (GAC) said on Sunday. Confirming the visit, the Foreign Office (FO) said it would be Anand’s first trip to Pakistan since assuming office. The FO said the visiting dignitary and Dar will hold bilateral talks “covering the entire spectrum of Pakistan-Canada relations”. “The discussions will focus on strengthening cooperation in trade and investment, education, and people-to-people exchanges. The two ministers will also exchange views on regional and global developments of mutual interest,” the FO said. It added that Anand will also call on the leadership of Pakistan. According to GAC, Anand is also expected to meet with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. “Canada-Pakistan relations are underpinned by extensive people-to-people ties, with more than 300,000 Canadians of Pakistani origin in Canada and approximately 20,000 Canadians in Pakistan,” GAC noted. Meanwhile, the FO stated t... -
Dawn - 17:30 Jul 19, 2026
LAHORE: Multan police have booked veteran politician Javed Hashmi and his three sons-in-law in four cases registered over alleged electricity theft, it emerged on Saturday. The four first information reports (FIRs) were lodged at Multan’s Makhdoom Rasheed Police Station on July 17 under Section 462J (interference, improper use or tampering with electric meter by domestic consumer, etc) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). One case each was filed against Hashmi and his sons-in-law Shahid Bahar, Zahid and Shahzeb, against whose names the electricity meters had been registered. According to the FIRs, copies of which are available with Dawn, they were lodged at the complaint of Multan Electric Power Company Limited’s (Mepco’s) Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) Mohammad Bilal. The complaints, phrased in a near-identical manner, claimed that Mepco’s team checked the consumer’s site and found that the consumer was “stealing electricity by inserting a loop in the terminal of the company’s power meter”. The four electricity m... -
Dawn - 17:27 Jul 19, 2026
KURRAM: Security forces launched an effective and full-scale retaliatory response to unprovoked firing by the Afghan Taliban at border posts in Kurram, security sources told Dawn on Sunday. The Afghan Taliban used heavy weapons, mortars and other arms to target border posts, after which Pakistani security forces responded immediately and forcefully, targeting Afghan Taliban border posts, mortar positions and defensive checkpoints with both light and heavy weapons, including artillery, security sources said. Pakistani security forces maintained complete control over border areas while delivering a strong response to the cross-border aggression, the security sources said, as a result of which the Afghan Taliban were forced to abandon multiple posts and flee. The border situation is being continuously monitored, and security forces are fully prepared and on alert to issue an immediate and decisive response to any act of provocation by the enemy, security sources said. On the night of February 26, following unpro... -
Dawn - 16:00 Jul 19, 2026
There was a time when Spain’s football was defined by fury. Today, it is defined by control. The old La Furia Roja (The Red Fury) was built on passion, aggression and flashes of individual brilliance. The Spain of today is something more complete: technically immaculate, tactically sophisticated and capable of turning possession into sudden, devastating attacks. As Spain prepare to face Argentina in the FIFA World Cup final at MetLife Stadium tonight, they do so unbeaten in 37 matches and as reigning European champions. Their remarkable resurgence is not the product of one golden generation or one exceptional manager — it is the result of a footballing system developed over decades, refined through success and failure, and constantly adapted to the demands of the modern game. For much of its history, Spain failed to translate the strength of its domestic football into international success. The 1964 European Championship remained its only major title for decades. The transformation began not in the national t... -
Dawn - 14:49 Jul 19, 2026
BANNU: An intelligence-based operation (IBO) continued for the third consecutive day across parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district on Sunday, where one terrorist was killed and eight individuals were taken into custody, according to police. The operation was led by Bannu District Police Officer (DPO) Captain (retd) Muhammad Furqan Bilal, and jointly conducted by the district police, Elite Force, Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) and the army in the village of Grera Shah Jahan. During the operation, the army cordoned off the area and established blocking positions at key locations. A statement from the DPO’s office said a terrorist was killed while he was attempting to plant an improvised explosive device (IED). Authorities also said they recovered an AK-47 rifle, several magazines and a bandolier from his possession. Police further stated that eight suspicious individuals were detained during the operation and have been handed over to the CTD and the district police for joint technical investigation. D... -
Dawn - 14:38 Jul 19, 2026
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Sunday expressed his hope of forming a government in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), seeking “better results” from the public in the upcoming elections than in the previous one. He made the remarks while addressing a public rally in AJK’s Kotli ahead of the regional elections set for July 27. The PPP chairperson said that his party had contested the last election in AJK even when the PTI was in power in the Centre. “During the last elections, the PPP had the majority seats and the party had won the elections, but now the conditions are different,” he said. “For the past six months, the PPP has been in government in AJK, and our friend, Shehbaz Sharif, has been in power at the Centre for some years,” he elaborated, referring to the ruling coalition led by PML-N. Contending that there will be “no difficulties like before”, he told the public: “You have to furnish better results in this election than before.” Bilawal also criticised the registration of a murder case against o... -
Dawn - 14:05 Jul 19, 2026
Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand is set to visit Pakistan on Monday, marking the first such visit in 20 years, Global Affairs Canada (GAC) said on Sunday. Confirming the visit, the Foreign Office (FO) said it would be Anand’s first trip to Pakistan since assuming office. The FO said the visiting dignitary and Dar will hold bilateral talks “covering the entire spectrum of Pakistan-Canada relations”. “The discussions will focus on strengthening cooperation in trade and investment, education, and people-to-people exchanges. The two ministers will also exchange views on regional and global developments of mutual interest,” the FO said. It added that Anand will also call on the leadership of Pakistan. According to GAC, Anand is also expected to meet with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. “Canada-Pakistan relations are underpinned by extensive people-to-people ties, with more than 300,000 Canadians of Pakistani origin in Canada and approximately 20,000 Canadians in Pakistan,” GAC noted. Meanwhile, the FO stated t... -
Dawn - 12:50 Jul 19, 2026
Tech firms are racing to roll out advanced smartphones that use artificial intelligence to do everything from ordering food to composing messages upon a simple voice command. Wide adoption of phones running on so-called AI agents would be a revolution, but would also take control away from major apps, which aren’t always happy about it. At least three firms were showcasing so-called agentic phones at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai this weekend — heralding what may be to come. Smartphone maker Nubia unveiled its NaviX Ultra, a phone powered by Doubao, China’s massively popular AI chatbot tool run by TikTok creator ByteDance. “A new era of AI agent smartphones begins,” Nubia said, sharing images of the handsets online. A limited run of a prototype dubbed the “Doubao Phone” sold out fast in December. Initially, the prototype could follow simple voice commands to execute tasks across apps, including ordering food and comparing shopping prices. However, days after it was released, tech gi... -
Dawn - 11:50 Jul 19, 2026
France striker Kylian Mbappe became the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer with 22 goals when he netted twice in Les Bleus’ 6-4 defeat by England in the third-place game on Saturday. The 27-year-old leapfrogged Argentina’s Lionel Messi (21), who is due to play in Sunday’s final against Spain, and although that will almost certainly be his rival’s last World Cup game, Mbappe will probably play in at least one more global tournament. Mbappe finished his third World Cup campaign with 10 goals to lead the Golden Boot standings, two ahead of Messi. France’s Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring a goal, Miami Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida, US on July 18, 2026. — Reuters The Real Madrid forward managed the feat in 22 appearances, scoring four goals in 2018 and eight in 2022 as France reached both finals, beating Croatia and losing to Argentina four years ago. “Messi is going to score (on Sunday), that’s for sure. I’m just trying to help my team win. When you score a lot of goals at the World Cup, it puts... -
Dawn - 11:20 Jul 19, 2026
The wife of an Indian hunger strike activist taken to hospital against his will accused the government on Sunday of “illegal detention” disguised as medical care. Police cited a court order and “deteriorating health condition” on Saturday when they picked up Sonam Wangchuk, who had refused to eat since June 28 in protest of alleged university exam fraud. The activist, 59, has demanded the education minister’s resignation after the leak of test materials that resulted in over two million students being forced to retake exams. Gitanjali J. Angmo, Wangchuk’s wife, said that she “lost faith” in the government hospital, which she said refused her desire to move her husband to a private facility. “With around 30 police personnel stationed on our floor and well over 100 across the hospital, our movement is severely restricted,” Angmo said. “It is not medical care. It is illegal detention,” she said, adding she asked the high court to allow her to move Wangchuk. The hospital, late on Saturday, said that Wangchuk hadn... -
Dawn - 10:44 Jul 19, 2026
Meta-owned social media platforms Facebook and Instagram briefly experienced outages on Sunday, according to reports from real-time outage monitor Downdetector. According to Downdetector.com, which tracks outages by collating status reports from several sources, Pakistani users began reporting problems with Facebook at around 12:30pm. Outage reports peaked at 196 at 1:40pm and the issue was resolved at around 2:40pm. Instagram, meanwhile, also saw a steep rise in outage reports at around 12:30pm, with reports peaking at 204 at around 1:29pm. There were 4,808 reports filed by Facebook users in the United States as of 12:45pm and another 2,829 reports were filed by Instagram users who faced issues with the app as of 1:18pm. Checks by Reuters also found that access to Facebook and Instagram was intermittent in Singapore. Last month, Meta’s social networks were reported to be down for thousands of users. There were more than 62,000 reports of issues with Facebook and more than 8,000 reports of issues with Instagr... -
Dawn - 10:01 Jul 19, 2026
ISLAMABAD: After criticism on a bill seeking to allow the issuance of blue passports to former parliamentarians’ children, Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry has assured that measures would be taken to ensure that the travel document is used for “only official duties” abroad and issued for a limited time in most cases. The bill, seeking the issuance of blue passports to dependent children under the age of 28 of ex-members of parliament, was approved by a Senate panel on July 10. If the Members of Parliament Salaries and Allowances (Amendment) Bill, 2026 becomes law, the legislation would place former members of parliament on par with retired Grade-22 government officers, whose dependent children already enjoy the same entitlement. An official press statement released by the Senate Secretariat earlier this month noted that Chaudhry had “also agreed on the passing of the bill”. However, he later claimed he had opposed the bill during the July 10 proceedings of the Senate committee. He said he had in... -
Dawn - 08:43 Jul 19, 2026
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar held a phone call with Venezuela’s newly appointed Foreign Minister Felix Plasencia on Sunday, with the two leaders emphasising the “considerable potential” for enhancing economic collaboration between their countries, the Foreign Office (FO) said. The two foreign ministers also exchanged views on the “longstanding friendly relations between Pakistan and Venezuela and reaffirmed their shared commitment to further strengthening bilateral ties”, the FO statement said. It added that they discussed opportunities to expand cooperation across a broad range of sectors, including trade, investment, business, agriculture, IT, and other areas of mutual interest. “Both sides underscored the considerable potential for enhancing economic collaboration and fostering stronger people-to-people contacts for the mutual benefit of the two countries,” the statement read. It said that Dar emphasised the importance of sustained high-level engagement to “reinvigorate bilateral re... -
Dawn - 07:38 Jul 19, 2026
There is a version of this tournament that exists only in press releases: 104 games, three countries, a halftime show with more headline acts than most music festivals manage in a weekend, a Peace Prize nobody quite understands, hydration breaks timed to the minute. FIFA built something enormous this summer, then spent five weeks discovering that a football tournament, however large you make it, still insists on being decided by 22 people and a ball. Tonight, at the MetLife Stadium, Madonna, Shakira and BTS will perform to a crowd that mostly just wants them to hurry up so Argentina and Spain can get on with it. That, in miniature, has been the story of the last month: spectacle straining against substance and mostly, gloriously, losing. Noise before a ball was kicked Start with the noise, because there was so much of it before a ball was even kicked. The draw itself happened under a cloud, staged at a Kennedy Centre now reshaped in Donald Trump’s image, with enough absent artists to make the guest list feel ... -
Dawn - 06:34 Jul 19, 2026
KARACHI: Highlighting critical clinical factors, the Pakistan Paediatric Association (PPA) in a letter has urged the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) to grant an exemption or targeted exclusion for 10cc conventional syringes to safeguard neonatal and paediatric operations. Following surge of HIV cases associated with unsafe medical practices particularly the alleged reuse of contaminated syringes, Drap has imposed a complete ban on conventional 1cc (non-insulin) disposable syringes with effect from Dec 31, 2026. It also imposed a ban on retail/ market sale of conventional 10cc disposal syringes from Jan 1, 2027. In the letter, PPA’s Dr Muhammad Khalid Shafi asked Drap’s chief executive officer that the healthcare system “confronts an unprecedented and alarming surge in paediatric HIV cases across Pakistan, it is paramount that all public health regulatory measures prioritise this crisis as a top-tier national emergency. However, to effectively curb transmission without compromising patient outcom...
12392 items