Dawn
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Dawn - 06:43 Jul 25, 2026
The deceptive veneer of a monolithic and unyielding Taliban regime is rapidly giving way to profound structural decay, demonstrating that authoritarian societal suppression should not be conflated with institutional permanence or state capacity. Nearly five years after the fall of Kabul, the Taliban administration has reached a strategic impasse, balancing precariously on the precipice of a localised, multi-factional civil conflict. This impending instability is not merely a function of diplomatic isolation or international sanctions. Instead, it is being accelerated by an unsustainable internal economy of power, a volatile relationship with regional neighbours, and the emergence of decentralised, non-state resistance movements. Fissures within Domestically, the regime is fracturing along factional lines as the illusion of a unified command is replaced by a zero-sum power struggle between two competing power centres. On one side stands the radical Kandahar faction, a hyper-conservative clerical elite gathered... -
Dawn - 06:28 Jul 25, 2026
WASHINGTON: The US has announced a new global visa restriction policy trageting foreign nationals involved in cybercrime and cyber-enabled crimes. Under the new policy, individuals engaged in online investment scams, sextortion and related offences — and their immediate family members — could be barred from entering the country. Announcing the policy, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the move was part of the Trump administration’s broader campaign to combat cybercrime, fraud and predatory online schemes targeting American citizens. Rubia said in a statement that Trump had made clear in an executive order that “his administration is taking action to counter an unprecedented threat from online investment scams”. The secretary said online investment scams, many allegedly “orchestrated by Chinese transnational criminal organisations, defrauded US citizens of at least $10 billion in 2024 while also fueling corruption, money laundering and human trafficking”. He added that American children had also been specif... -
Dawn - 05:59 Jul 25, 2026
“I am the captain of the MT Honour 25, requesting immediate assistance for our vessel. Our condition is extremely critical. Several members of my crew have fallen seriously ill, suffering from diabetes and infections. They are no longer able to hold on,” said Indonesian Captain Ashari Samadikun through a recorded video message dated June 16, 2026. “We are surviving solely on plain white rice and contaminated water. The company has not sent any form of assistance to us. The hijackers refuse to negotiate with any third parties; they only want to negotiate directly with the company listed on our ship’s documents.” The Honour 25 — a Palau-flagged oil tanker carrying 17 to 19 crew members, including 10 Pakistanis — was hijacked by armed pirates off the coast of Puntland, Somalia on April 21, 2026. Three months have gone by and there has been no progress either in negotiations or the payment of the ransom, said to be around $3 million, for the recovery of the hostages. Since its hijack, the crew has made several em... -
Dawn - 05:30 Jul 25, 2026
Houthi rebels claimed a missile strike on Saudi Arabia on Saturday, hours after vowing to retaliate against the kingdom for attacks as the Middle East conflict expanded. Riyadh struck Houthi military targets in Hodeida on Friday, with rebel media reporting two wounded after the Yemeni group announced a maritime blockade of the top oil producer and hit its ships. The flare-up marks a new front of the war that has engulfed the region following US-Israeli strikes on Tehran in February, and comes on top of Iran’s parallel blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Riyadh’s only other maritime route. The rebels had accused Saudi Arabia of a “dangerous escalation” and said its actions “will not go unanswered”. The Houthis’ Ansarollah media said on Telegram early on Saturday that a “Yemeni missile strike” had sparked fires in the southern Saudi city of Jizan on the Red Sea. Saudi Arabia did not immediately comment on the claim. But Riyadh’s civil defence agency had issued brief warnings to residents in Jizan and Yanbu early ... -
Dawn - 03:55 Jul 25, 2026
THE HAGUE: Member states of the International Criminal Court voted on Friday to dismiss Karim Khan as prosecutor following allegations of sexual misconduct. Eighty-two of the court’s 125 member states voted in favour of the prosecutor’s removal. Khan, 56, denies any wrongdoing and his lawyer said he will challenge his dismissal. “Mr Khan will challenge the lawfulness and fairness of the decision through all available legal mechanisms,” lawyer Tayab Ali wrote on X. Khan’s dismissal follows an announcement by the United States that it will launch a renewed diplomatic campaign to dismantle the ICC, which it says is a threat to its sovereignty. Diplomats running the court’s oversight body decided last month that the British barrister had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a junior ICC lawyer and should be fired. Member states largely followed that conclusion in a vote at the United Nations in New York on Friday. During a visit to the Philippines on Thursday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there wer... -
Dawn - 03:41 Jul 25, 2026
ISLAMABAD: In a first, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Friday awarded DHA City, located on M-9 motorway, two parallel licences for electricity distribution and supplier of last resort (SoLR) for a period of 21 years. This is the first of its kind move under which a privately owned entity — DHA Energy Supply Company (Desco) — got licences to have both responsibilities of distribution of electricity and the supplier of last resort under the revised Nepra regime for competitive trading bilateral contract market (CTBCM) other than legacy utility distributors and SoLRs like ex-Wapda distribution companies and K-Electric. Initially, Desco’s jurisdiction for the distribution licence would be in DHA City Karachi (DHACK), located about 56 kilometres from Karachi city in district Malir. In its application, Desco reported that there was no infrastructure that may connect it to the national grid or KE network and the only source of supply available nearby was that of the Lucky Cement Limited w... -
Dawn - 03:33 Jul 25, 2026
RAWALPINDI: A nurse was booked by police for mistakenly chopping off the thumb of a newborn baby girl in the nursery ward of Rawalpindi Holy Family Hospital. Police investigating the incident said efforts were underway to trace and investigate the accused nurse, who had not been available so far. They said the exact circumstances in which the child’s thumb was cut off would be known after the investigation. Qasir Mehmood, the father of the child and a resident of Hassan Abdal, lodged an FIR with New Town police, stating that his 23-day-old daughter had been admitted to the Holy Family Hospital’s nursery ward for treatment after being born at the hospital. He said that when he visited his daughter on Thursday evening, he found that her right thumb had been cut off. After he inquired from the doctor, he was told that a nurse had mistakenly cut off the child’s thumb during treatment in the nursery ward. The doctor informed him that the hospital would conduct an inquiry and let him know what had happened, he stat... -
Dawn - 03:30 Jul 25, 2026
PAKISTAN’S economic debate is trapped in outdated vocabulary. Each time the rupee weakens, headlines scream ‘devaluation’. Anchors ask whether one is imminent, while policymakers debate whether the exchange rate should be defended or strengthened. as if it was simply another policy tool. It’s not. The language belongs to another era. Today, most countries let their currencies move more freely. When an economy gets dangerously out of balance, the currency has to adjust to avoid a more disruptive crisis, as our own history has shown. The exchange rate is not an administrative decision. It is the market price of one country’s currency in terms of another. This price is shaped by domestic inflation relative to that of the country’ trading partners and the accompanying interest-rate differentials, productivity, government spending more than it earns, external balances, capital flows, adequacy of foreign currency reserves and, above all, expectations of what businesses think will happen to the economy in the future... -
Dawn - 03:22 Jul 25, 2026
SINCE early this month, Balochistan has been reeling from a series of dastardly terror attacks. The nexus of ideologically different banned terrorist groups — the religiously motivated extremists of the TTP and BLA terrorists — poses a grave challenge. The current spate of violence started on July 5, when terrorists managed to reach the fertile Shaban area next to Hanna-Urak in the suburbs of Quetta cantonment, and then launched another attack the next day on the Mangi Dam Ziarat police post at the pumping station. Despite a valiant fight put up by a DSP and 40 policemen, the terrorists, who had attacked in a large numbers, kidnapped and killed 27 ammunition-deficient law-enforcement personnel. Timely reinforcements by the police and FC could have prevented this tragedy. Meanwhile, an FC convoy was attacked near Khad Kucha, district Mastung, resulting in casualties. In addition, a military contingent in unmarked vehicles was attacked at Bela-Vinder by the BLA’s Majeed Brigade, resulting in casualties in doubl... -
Dawn - 03:14 Jul 25, 2026
THE brutal slaying of a judge and his guard in Mastung is the latest in a series of blood-drenched events that have rocked Balochistan since the start of this month. Both state functionaries and ordinary citizens have been killed in these acts of terrorism. Judge Abdul Hakeem Kakar was travelling from Quetta to Mastung with another judge and security personnel when their vehicle came under attack. The judge and his guard Muhammad Zaman did not survive. Some unverified reports indicate the IS-K claimed responsibility for the assault. IS-K has been active in the province for some years, and if its role is confirmed, it would mean it is expanding its targets. Before the judge’s martyrdom there was the Mangi Dam attack, claimed by the banned TTP, as well as a deadly assault on a Karachi-bound bus in the Khud Kocha area, and the killing of workers originally hailing from Punjab in Mashkhel. The recent wave of violence indicates the complexity of the threat in Balochistan, where terrorists belonging to different id... -
Dawn - 02:57 Jul 25, 2026
ISLAMABAD: As efforts continue to prevent the conflict in the Gulf from widening, Iran on Friday called for expanding strategic cooperation with Pakistan, describing Islamabad’s diplomatic engagement as an important contribution to regional peace and stability. “Pakistan has played a constructive diplomatic role in facilitating negotiations and advancing efforts towards regional peace and stability,” Iran’s Ambassador to Pakistan Reza Amiri Moghadam said while delivering the keynote address at a roundtable discussion, organised by the Centre for International Strategic Studies. “Strengthening our bilateral cooperation is essential for addressing contemporary security challenges in West Asia,” he said. The discussion, titled Pakistan-Iran Relations and Strategic Stability in West Asia, brought together diplomats, academics, defence analysts and researchers to examine the future trajectory of Pakistan-Iran relations against the backdrop of an increasingly volatile regional security environment. Opening the di... -
Dawn - 02:47 Jul 25, 2026
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and CDF Field Marshal Asim Munir jointly inaugurate the Sky47 AI Cloud centre.—APP • Says interim Afghan govt has failed to prevent its territory from being used for attacks against Pakistan • Announces Rs300bn Karachi-Chaman dual carriageway, expansion of education, infrastructure and solar projects in Balochistan • Inaugurates Sky47 AI Cloud facility in federal capital ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday again urged Afghanistan to take action against terrorist organisations and ensure that Afghan soil was not used for terrorist activities against Pakistan. “Pakistan shares over 2,600-kilometre border with its neighbour and has repeatedly urged the Afghan authorities to act against terrorist organisations and prevent Afghan territory from being used against Pakistan. However, the Afghan interim government has failed to take effective action against these groups,” the prime minister said while addressing the National Workshop on Balochistan. The prime ministe... -
Dawn - 02:17 Jul 25, 2026
• Nawaz, Maryam make development pledges, ‘gift’ of 10 electric buses prompts rigging allegations • In apparent swipe at Bilawal, PML-N supremo says ‘Kashmir should not be mistaken for Kashmore, nor Mirpur for Mirpurkhas’ • PPP assails Nawaz’s remarks, urges Election Commission to take notice of ‘promises’ MUZAFFARABAD: PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif on Friday promised an international airport for Mirpur, the revival of Mansehra-Muzaffarabad-Mirpur motorway project, and a series of ‘gifts’ for Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), as he and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz made a final campaign push for party’s candidates hours before the electioneering ended for the Mirpur division polls. But the pre-poll promises, and an apparent jibe at PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, was not received well by the PML-N’s coalition partner, whose leaders hit back at the elder Sharif, terming his remarks ‘frivolous’ and ‘ridiculous’. Addressing a large public meeting in the lakeside city of Mirpur, the father-daughter duo repeated... -
Dawn - 02:05 Jul 25, 2026
TEHRAN: Iranian-made ‘Zulfiqar’ missiles are displayed at Azadi Square. As the US kept up its missile strikes on Iranian targets, the IRGC vowed to ‘kill a member of the US forces for every Iranian killed’.—AFP • Exploratory talks held during Iranian interior minister’s recent Islamabad visit • Dar meets Araghchi at SCO summit; Qatar calls for implementing Islamabad MoU • Beijing concerned as Red Sea closure would compound Hormuz woes • Trump says Iran getting serious about talks; warns China, Russia against ‘getting involved’ in conflict • Says US will punish Iran for attacks on ships by Houthi rebels • Four die as US continues strikes on Iran ISLAMABAD / DUBAI: Pakistan is said to be exploring a path towards a resumption of stalled US-Iran talks to end their nearly five-month-old war, following a push initiated by China. The development came as US missiles struck targets across Iran on Friday after President Donald Trump vowed “major military punishment” for Tehran and its Houthi allies in Yemen for extendi... -
Dawn - 18:34 Jul 24, 2026
ISLAMABAD: Following the cancellation of the official accommodation allotted to Peshawar High Court (PHC) Justice Babar Sattar in Islamabad, the IHC registrar on Friday issued him a notice directing him to vacate the residence within 30 days. On April 28, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan approved the transfer of Justice Sattar from the IHC to the PHC. Following his transfer, Justice Sattar had decided to continue residing in the federal capital during his tenure at the provincial high court instead of seeking a separate official residence in Peshawar. According to the notice issued by the IHC registrar, the Estate Office cancelled the allotment of the official residence on July 3. The notice stated that Justice Sattar had been transferred from the IHC to the PHC and, following the cancellation of the allotment, had been given one month to vacate the premises. It further clarified that the 30-day period would be calculated from July 3, the date on which the Estate Office cancelled the allotment. Accordingly... -
Dawn - 18:29 Jul 24, 2026
The government on Friday increased the prices of petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs3.66 and Rs4.80 per litre, respectively, passing on the impact of fluctuating global oil prices following renewed hostilities in the Persian Gulf. Following the changes, the price of petrol stands at Rs335.18 per litre, while that of HSD stands at Rs383.46 per litre. The government is charging a total of Rs110 per litre in taxes and duties on petrol and Rs96 on diesel. The Petroleum Division’s notification said the new prices would be applicable for July 25 (Saturday). 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... -
Dawn - 17:59 Jul 24, 2026
Anthropic on Friday released Claude Opus 5, a new artificial intelligence model the company says approaches the performance of its most powerful system at half the price. The San Francisco-based startup, a chief rival to OpenAI, said the model tops industry benchmarks for coding and knowledge work while consuming fewer computing resources than earlier versions. The claim addressed the rising concerns of business customers who have baulked at the expense of running advanced AI systems. Claude competes with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, and customers pay based on the amount of work performed, measured in units called tokens. Opus 5 costs $5 per million input tokens and $25 per million output tokens, half the price of Fable 5, Anthropic’s most expensive publicly available offering. The company said the new model performs close to Fable 5 across many tasks despite the lower cost. Cost has become a major issue after Anthropic and its archrival OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, both filed for stock market listi... -
Dawn - 17:23 Jul 24, 2026
The metropolis received the first spell of monsoon showers on Friday after multiple localities reported light to moderate rain. According to Dawn News, Azizabad, Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Sharea Faisal, Sohrab Goth, Gulshan-i-Maymar, Ancholi, Manghopir, Surjani Town, North Karachi, North Nazimabad, Super Highway, Ahsanabad and Nazimabad experienced rain. It added that Site Area, Rizvia, Golimar, Liaquatabad, Orangi Town, Benaras, Ibrahim Hyderi, Clifton, DHA, Korangi, Landhi, Malir, Shah Faisal Colony, Model Town and other neighbourhoods also received rain. Meanwhile, the Karachi traffic police warned citizens to drive at a slow speed as the rain had made the roads “slippery”. “The public is requested to keep their vehicles at a slow speed. Motorcycle riders are requested to use the left side of the road, keep their vehicles at a slow speed while travelling, exercise caution, and avoid unnecessary travel,” it said in a statement. The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecast cloudy weath... -
Dawn - 16:48 Jul 24, 2026
ISLAMABAD: The Senate Functional Committee on Devolution on Friday expressed serious concerns over the re-establishment of federal ministries on subjects devolved to the provinces under the 18th Constitutional Amendment, and constituted a sub-committee to examine the alleged violations. The requisitioned meeting was held at Parliament House under the chairmanship of Senator Zamir Hussain Ghumro. Senators Poonjo Bheel and Jan Muhammad Buledi also attended. Addressing the meeting, Senator Ghumro said the first notification devolving ministries was issued on Dec 2, 2010, followed by notifications on April 15, 2011, and June 29, 2011, under which 17 ministries dealing with concurrent and provincial subjects were transferred to the provinces. “The re-creation of ministries after June 30, 2011, dealing with devolved subjects amounted to a violation of the Constitution,” he stated. He cited education, health, national food security, culture, climate change, social initiatives, housing, EOBI, the Evacuee Trust and th... -
Dawn - 16:21 Jul 24, 2026
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday inaugurated the country’s “largest” data centre and Sky47 AI cloud in Islamabad, terming the facility “awe-inspiring”. The project has a capacity of 8.5 megawatts. Sky47 is also developing a 5MW data centre at Karachi’s Port Qasim, slated for completion in September. Speaking on the occasion, PM Shehbaz said it was a privilege and an honour to be part of the ceremony. “The facility we have just visited is awe-inspiring,” he added. He further said the data centre was built in record time, showcasing the best minds from across Pakistan in both the military and civilian sectors. He commended the leadership of Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir, under whose supervision the data centre was built. PM Shehbaz said he was hopeful that “if we follow this model, there is no reason — and I am absolutely convinced, more than ever before — that not only will we be able to make up for the losses of the past, but we will also create a...
12682 items