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Dawn - 18:24 Oct 07, 2025
Pakistan on Tuesday sought regional countries’ cooperation to counter threats emerging from Afghanistan during the Moscow Format Consultations held in the Russian capital on Tuesday. Pakistan’s Special Representative to Afghanistan Mohammad Sadiq addressed the moot, which was also attended by Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. The consultations, held at the level of special representatives and senior officials of Afghanistan, were attended by India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. For the first time, the Afghan delegation participated in the meeting as a member. Russia became the first country to recognise the Taliban government in July this year. A delegation from Belarus also attended the meeting as guests. “I spoke about the urgent need for collective regional efforts to effectively counter terrorism and dismantle all terrorist groups operating from Afghan soil,” Ambassador Sadiq told the 7th meeting of the Moscow Format. Sadiq said he also highligh... -
Dawn - 18:02 Oct 07, 2025
In flood-prone regions of Bangladesh, solar-powered “floating schools” ensure children do not miss class when rising waters cut off roads and villages. One of them is 10-year-old Safikul Islam. Each morning, he waits on the edge of his flooded village in Bhangura, western Bangladesh, for the solar-powered classroom that sails right to his doorstep. His home lies deep in Chalan Beel, a sprawling 26-square-kilometre (10 sq miles) wetland where seasonal floods often cut off roads and submerge entire villages. Students get off the boat-school, built by an NGO named Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha, after the class, in Bhangura area of Pabna, Bangladesh, on September 25. — Reuters But for Islam and hundreds of other children, education floats. The initiative, launched in 2002 by architect Mohammed Rezwan using $500 of his scholarship money, has grown into a nationwide model run by the non-profit Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha (SSS). Now, more than 100 boats serve as schools, libraries, and clinics. The project has educa... -
Dawn - 17:05 Oct 07, 2025
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Tuesday that former Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) senator Mushtaq Ahmad, who was detained by Israel last week after it intercepted a flotilla of boats carrying aid for Gaza, had arrived at the Pakistan embassy in Amman, Jordan and was in “good health and high spirits”, adding that he would return on October 9. Ahmad led the Pakistani delegation on the 45-vessel Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), which left Spain last month to break Israel’s blockade of aid to Gaza with activists and politicians, including Greta Thunberg, on board. However, as it approached Gaza, Israeli forces intercepted it, detaining the activists on board before deporting them. In a post on social media platform X, Dar said, “I am pleased to confirm that former senator Mushtaq has been released and is now safely with [the] Pakistan embassy in Amman. He is in good health and high spirits.” He said that the embassy stood ready to facilitate his return to Pakistan at his wish. “[I] am pleased to e... -
Dawn - 16:58 Oct 07, 2025
Four government officials, including two high school teachers and two workers from the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP), were allegedly abducted from different localities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district, officials said on Tuesday. Per the police, the teachers were “abducted” from GHS Zindi Musa Khan in Bannu’s Mandati Naika Zyarat area, which falls within the limits of Hoid police station. “The first incident occurred within the limits of Hoid police station, which is under threat of militants,” District Police Officer (DPO) of Bannu Saleem Abbas Kulachi told Dawn.com. “In the past few months, the police station in Hoid has been attacked several times by militants.” DPO Kulachi added that unknown armed men had taken the school teachers to unidentified locations. Among the abductees were the headmaster of the school, who was a resident of Nekam Kaki, as well as a senior school teacher, who was a resident of Bannu, Bannu police spokesperson Kashif Nawaz told Dawn.com. Nawaz added that both teachers ... -
Dawn - 16:16 Oct 07, 2025
The continuing row between the PPP and PML-N escalated on Tuesday as PPP’s Vice President Senator Sherry Rehman warned the coalition ally of difficulties in the Senate without the former’s “clear support”. The PPP and the PML-N’s Punjab leadership have been engaged in a war of words for the past many days over issues ranging from flood compensation to water rights in the context of the Cholistan canals project. The PPP, which is in power in Sindh, has been particularly incensed by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s remarks, whose party is also leading the federal government. Talking about the matter in an interview on DawnNewsTV show ‘Doosra Rukh’, the PPP senior vice president said: “If you want to tear apart the whole coalition then I’ve already said in the National Assembly that don’t take our inclusion on the treasury benches for granted and don’t think that we will keep you stable no matter what you do.” “If you don’t need [us] then that’s your choice, but let me remind you we are the biggest party in ... -
Dawn - 15:56 Oct 07, 2025
The National Press Club on Tuesday submitted its charter of demands to the interior ministry following the recent police operation in which uniformed personnel forcibly entered the club premises. The incident occurred during a protest by journalists and demonstrators from Azad Jammu and Kashmir, some of whom were reportedly fleeing from police action when officers stormed into the club. A joint action committee (JAC) was subsequently formed with all key media associations and various factions of the NPC. A press release issued today from the NPC said the JAC held a meeting a day earlier in which the charter was finalised and the same was submitted today in a meeting with Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudry, who was also briefed on the demands. “Strict legal action should be taken against those responsible for the attack on the NPC and they should be punished accordingly. A high-level inquiry committee should be immediately established to determine those responsible for the attack, consisting of journ... -
Dawn - 15:38 Oct 07, 2025
The World Bank said on Tuesday that higher tariffs on Indian goods exported to the US would be a drag on South Asia’s economic growth rate in 2026, even as it remains shielded in the current year by government spending. The World Bank said growth in South Asia was expected to slow sharply to 5.8 per cent in 2026 from its projection of 6.6pc for 2025. Its forecast for the region comprises India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and the Maldives. “For 2026, the forecast has been downgraded, as some of these effects unwind and India continues to face higher-than-expected tariffs on goods exports to the United States,” the World Bank said in its report. The World Bank has raised its forecast for India’s growth in the current fiscal year ending March 2026 to 6.5pc from 6.3pc, while trimming its projection for the next fiscal year to 6.3pc from 6.5pc due to tariffs imposed by the United States. US President Donald Trump has imposed a 50pc tariff on most exports from India, among the highest for any US trading ... -
Dawn - 15:27 Oct 07, 2025
Pakistan is no stranger to man-made and natural disasters and ranks among the countries most affected by climate change worldwide. Since DawnRelief’s inception in 2005, we have provided support and rehabilitation to communities impacted the most by such crises. For two decades, this has remained our unwavering manifesto. 2005 - 2021 — Earthquake in Azad Kashmir DawnRelief was established by DawnMedia in October 2005 as a direct response to the devastating earthquake that struck Azad Kashmir and other parts of northern Pakistan. We established four tent villages in Hattian Bala Tehsil, District Muzaffarabad, where we supported over 8,500 men, women and children for nearly a year. After that, we constructed 166 homes and eight schools. In 2021, we constructed the Haji Sir Abdullah Haroon Government High School Auditorium, which can accommodate over 200 people and also serves as a community hall. 2008 — Earthquake in Balochistan Provided tents, bedding, blankets, food and jackets to affected people in Ziarat Dis... -
Dawn - 15:25 Oct 07, 2025
A high-level business delegation from Saudi Arabia, led by the Chairman of the Saudi-Pakistan Joint Business Council Prince Mansour bin Mohammad Al Saud, has arrived in Islamabad to discuss trade, investment, and collaboration, the Foreign Office (FO) said today. The development follows Pakistan forming an 18-member committee to oversee bilateral economic engagements and negotiations with the Kingdom. Last month, the two countries also signed a mutual defence agreement, pledging a joint response to any act of aggression. According to an FO statement, Prince Mansour and his accompanying delegation will “hold meetings with the Pakistani leadership and engage with senior government officials, chambers of commerce and leading business groups to explore avenues for enhanced bilateral trade and investment cooperation.” It added that the visit underscored the deep-rooted and brotherly ties between Pakistan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, reflecting their shared commitment to expanding economic and investment partne... -
Dawn - 14:17 Oct 07, 2025
Spotify has integrated with ChatGPT, allowing users to receive personalised music recommendations directly within their chats, the company announced on Tuesday. This fresh integration is now live in English across 145 countries on ChatGPT Free, Plus, and Pro accounts, on both web and mobile (iOS and Android), allowing free and premium Spotify users to discover and enjoy music through conversation, a press release from the company said. “Spotify users can now connect their accounts to ChatGPT and get tailored recommendations, request playlists by mood, genre, or artist, and tap to listen directly in the Spotify app,” the release added. “Already available across more than 2,000 devices, including cars, TVs, and smart home systems, Spotify has always aimed to be everywhere you listen and watch.” The company said the integration will make music discovery part of everyday conversations, helping users find new songs or revisit old favourites through simple prompts. It added that the feature also offers artists anot... -
Dawn - 13:17 Oct 07, 2025
France’s President Emmanuel Macron faced growing pressure on Tuesday to resign or hold a snap parliamentary election to end political chaos that has forced the resignation of five prime ministers in less than two years. The 47-year-old centrist president has repeatedly said he will see out his second term, which ends in 2027. But resignation calls, long confined to the fringes, have entered the mainstream during one of the worst political crises since the 1958 creation of the Fifth Republic, France’s current system of government. On Tuesday, as Macron’s outgoing Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu held last-ditch talks to form a new government, his first premier in 2017, Edouard Philippe, said it was time for a new president to break the deadlock. Speaking to RTL radio, Philippe said Macron should be “leaving in an orderly manner” to allow a way out of the crisis. ‘It’s a mess’ Political turmoil in the euro zone’s second largest economy was front page news across Europe at a time when US President Donald Trump i... -
Dawn - 13:11 Oct 07, 2025
Russia said on Tuesday it was waiting for clarity from the United States about the possible supply of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, saying such weapons could theoretically carry nuclear warheads. US President Donald Trump said on Monday he would want to know what Ukraine planned to do with Tomahawks before agreeing to provide them because he did not want to escalate the war between Russia and Ukraine. He said, however, that he had “sort of made a decision” on the matter. Asked about the comments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “We understand that we need to wait, probably, for clearer statements, if any come.” Peskov said that under Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden, US practice had been to announce supplies of new weapons only once they had been delivered to Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin said in comments published on Sunday that if Washington supplied Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine for long-range strikes deep into Russia, it would lead to the destruction of Moscow’s relationship with the US. Pes... -
Dawn - 13:09 Oct 07, 2025
Britain’s biggest carmaker, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), said on Tuesday some factories would restart manufacturing on Wednesday after an almost six-week shutdown following a cyberattack, one of the country’s most disruptive hacks. To try to help smaller parts suppliers who have been pushed to the brink after weeks without business, JLR also announced it would be providing some companies with up-front cash for parts during the production restart phase. The luxury carmaker, owned by India’s Tata Motors TAMO.NS, has three factories in Britain, which together produce about 1,000 cars per day, and economists had warned of the impact of a prolonged shutdown on the country’s manufacturing output. High-profile hacks JLR was the latest high-profile cyberattack target in Britain this year, and comes after one of the country’s major retailers, Marks & Spencer (MKS.L), lost about 300 million pounds (about $400 million) after a breach forced it to shut down its online shop for two months. The incidents highlight the vulnerab... -
Dawn - 13:06 Oct 07, 2025
Pakistan will be sold Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) by United States defence group Raytheon following a modification in the firm’s contract that included the country in the list of buyers, it emerged on Tuesday. The US missiles are equipped on F-16 Falcons flown by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). A September 30 press release on the contracts issued by the US Department of War for the US Air Force said Raytheon was awarded a $41.6 million firm-fixed-price modification to a previously awarded contract for the enhanced C8 and D3 AMRAAM variants and their production. It added that the modification brought the total cumulative face value of the contract to $2.5 billion from $2.47bn. “Work will be performed at Tucson, Arizona, and is expected to be completed by May 30, 2030. This contract involves foreign military sales to United Kingdom, Poland, Pakistan, Germany, Finland, Australia, Romania, Qatar, Oman, Korea, Greece, Switzerland, Portugal, Singapore, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Japan, Slovak... -
Dawn - 12:54 Oct 07, 2025
Jolts from an earthquake of magnitude 5.2 were felt in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Chitral and Swat districts on Tuesday, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said. Pakistan falls on three major tectonic plates — the Arabian, Euro-Asian and Indian — which create five seismic zones under the country. The intersection of multiple fault lines means that tectonic movements remain a frequent occurrence in the region. Today’s quake, measuring a depth of 138 kilometres, originated in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan at 4:36pm, the PMD said in a statement. According to the United States Geological Survey, the quake measured 5.1 and the epicentre was located 9km south-southeast of Afghanistan’s Yangi Qala district. The development comes just days after a 4.3-magnitude earthquake was recorded in the Pattan tehsil of KP’s Lower Kohistan district. Earlier this month, a 3.2-magnitude tremor was felt in parts of Karachi, with its centre 7km northwest of the Malir area. Residents of KP witnessed tremors multiple times ... -
Dawn - 12:06 Oct 07, 2025
“This is not just a sea journey, it’s not an adventure, but rather it is a task that is extremely dangerous,” said former Jamaat-i-Islami senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan in an interview with Dawn.com just before he embarked on the Global Sumud Flotilla mission to Gaza. The Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), with around 500 participants from over 44 countries, including Pakistan, attempted to break Israel’s siege on Gaza and distribute humanitarian aid to the malnourished and injured civilians suffering from two years of genocide in the enclave at the hands of Israel. Former senator Khan’s words rang true from the very beginning of the mission, when two GSF aid boats were struck by incendiary devices in Tunisian waters. The ‘Family’ and ‘Alma’ boats, which held the steering committee of the aid convoy, were attacked on September 8 and 9. The aid boats were attacked once again on September 23 near Crete; this time, there was international condemnation, with Italy, Spain and Turkiye dispatching warships to aid the boats. T... -
Dawn - 12:03 Oct 07, 2025
An eight-judge Constitutional Bench (CB) of the Supreme Court (SC) approved on Tuesday a set of requests seeking the live streaming of proceedings on pleas challenging the 26th Amendment. The Amendment, which was approved by both houses of parliament in October last year, altered judicial authority and tenure, and has been a lightning rod for debate with both opposition parties and legal experts questioning its impact on the judiciary’s autonomy. It took away the SC’s suo motu powers, set the chief justice of Pakistan’s (CJP) term at three years and empowered the prime minister to appoint the next CJP from among the three most senior SC judges. It also paved the way for the formation of the CB, which is now hearing petitions against the very legislation that led to its establishment. It has been challenged by various high court bar associations, the PTI and others. A CB headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan and comprises Justices Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Ayesha Malik, Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Mus... -
Dawn - 11:48 Oct 07, 2025
United States-based scientists John Clarke, Michel Devoret and John Martinis won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics for “experiments that revealed quantum physics in action”, the award-giving body said on Tuesday. “This year’s Nobel Prize in Physics has provided opportunities for developing the next generation of quantum technology, including quantum cryptography, quantum computers, and quantum sensors,” the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said in a statement. The Nobel winners carried out experiments in the mid-1980s with an electronic circuit built of superconductors and demonstrated that quantum mechanical properties could be made concrete on a much larger, macroscopic scale. John Clarke, Michel H Devoret and John M. Martinis are announced this year’s Nobel Prize winners in Physics, by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences at a press conference in Stockhom, Sweden, Oct 7. — Reuters Discoveries underpin everyday technologies Quantum technology is already ubiquitous, with transistors in computer microchips an... -
Dawn - 11:20 Oct 07, 2025
“By God, I fulfilled my duty as a journalist. I risked everything to report the truth, and now, I am finally at rest — something I haven’t known in the past eighteen months.” Final message of Gaza journalist Hossam Shabbat, 23, killed in March by an Israeli airstrike A journalist is never supposed to be the story. In Gaza, however, the killing of at least 223 media personnel by Israel — from October 7, 2023, to Oct 1 this year — turned them into headlines. Social media shared their names and faces, and mourned the last messages they wrote in anticipation of imminent death, while mainstream media documented the numbers and converted them into bite-sized news for the ease of readers. In the newsroom, their deaths seemed personal; these were members of our fraternity whom we had never met but relied on their lens and words. Wafa Aludaini was one of them; she wrote for this publication in 2022, titled ‘Killing the truth: Shireen Abu Akleh’s murder is a reminder that Israel will go to any length to silence its cri... -
Dawn - 11:02 Oct 07, 2025
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has received an honorary degree of Doctor of Philosophy during his visit to Malaysia in recognition of his “outstanding leadership and contributions to nation-building”. The premier arrived in Malaysia on October 5 for a three-day official visit, during which he snapped up six accords and several trade and bilateral agreements. According to Malaysian state news agency Bernama, the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) conferred the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Leadership and Governance during a special ceremony held yesterday at its Kuala Lumpur campus. Dressed in a blue gown on the occasion, PM Shehbaz termed it a “great privilege and honour” to be part of the event and receive the degree from this “great institute of learning”. He appreciated Queen of Pahang Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah, who is also the IIUM Constitutional Head, for gracing the event. The premier said: “For over four decades, I devoted my humble services to serve the cause of [and] ...
12478 items