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  • Pakistan urges US, Iran to 'end violence', resume technical-level talks
    Dawn - 08:17 Jul 16, 2026
    The Foreign Office (FO) on Thursday urged the United States and Iran to “end violence” and resume technical-level talks, while noting that the Pakistan-mediated interim peace deal was “facing challenges”. Addressing a weekly press briefing, FO spokesperson Tahir Andrabi noted that the implementation of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding signed between the US and Iran last month was “facing challenges”. He affirmed that “Pakistan will continue to encourage all sides to end violence and resume technical-level talks in accordance” with the MoU and the joint statement issued by mediators Pakistan and Qatar on June 20 following the direct talks in Switzerland. “We hope all parties will remain committed to the path of dialogue and diplomacy in resolving their outstanding issues,” Andrabi added. The remarks come as the warring parties continued to trade attacks on Thursday, with the US hitting Iran’s coastal defences and missile sites and Iran retaliating by targeting American military sites in neighbouring G...
    Tags: Pakistan Iran
  • US approves nearly $2bn in weapons sales to Saudi Arabia
    Dawn - 07:09 Jul 16, 2026
    The US State Department said on Wednesday it has approved the sale of an estimated $1.96 billion in weapons to bolster Saudi Arabia’s air defences, as the war ramps up in the Middle East. “This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a major non-Nato ally that is a force for political stability and economic progress in the Gulf Region,” the State Department said in a release. Among the weapons the Gulf kingdom seeks are up to 20,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon Systems and its warheads, which the US Navy’s website describes as “an inexpensive way to destroy targets while limiting collateral damage in close combat”. The principal contractor will be BAE Systems in Nashua, New Jersey, the department said. “The proposed sale will improve Saudi Arabia’s capability to deter current and future threats by strengthening its homeland defence, and improving interoperability with US forces, and other regional and Nato forces,” the ...
    Tags: Saudi Arabia
  • PSX continues recovery as KSE-100 index gains 2,600 points in early trade
    Dawn - 06:23 Jul 16, 2026
    The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark index continued to recover on Thursday as it surged by around 2,600 points during early trade. The KSE-100 index gained 2,604.49 points (1.49 per cent) by 11:04am to stand at 177,890.27 points from the previous close of 175,285.78. Awais Ashraf, director of research at AKD Securities, noted that the market continued Wednesday’s rebound after US President Donald Trump’s recent remarks. Trump said on Wednesday that Tehran was eager to reach a deal with Washington. “They want to settle so badly. They don’t like what we’re doing, and they do want to settle. We’ll find out whether or not we settle with them, or we just finish it off.” According to Ashraf, the US president’s remarks indicated that he wanted “to bring Iran back to the negotiation table to end the conflict”. “Stability in oil prices for the past two days is also adding to investor confidence,” he observed as oil prices turned lower on Thursday. After initially rising for a fourth straight session, Brent c...
  • US strikes Iran's coastal defences in fresh salvo; Tehran again targets American assets in Gulf states
    Dawn - 06:20 Jul 16, 2026
    The US, early on Thursday, launched a second wave of attacks on Iran’s coastal defences and missile sites within a span of 24 hours after reimposing a naval blockade of Iranian ports, and Tehran responded by again targeting US military sites in neighboring Gulf countries. The latest escalation comes days after a fragile truce collapsed, raising the specter of a return to full-scale war, with Iran once again threatening to shut off more regional energy exports after blocking the vital Strait of Hormuz. Hostilities have intensified since Iran said late on Saturday it had closed the Strait of Hormuz. Military operations are also keeping ships from transiting the vital artery, which carried about a fifth of global oil and gas shipments before the US-Israeli war on Iran. Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, closed at a one-month high of $84.95 a barrel on Wednesday. US Central Command said the military had attacked coastal defence systems and cruise missile storage and launch sites on Iran’s Greater Tunb ...
    Tags: Gulf Tehran
  • US House defeats bid to cut off Israel aid in vote dividing Democrats
    Dawn - 06:14 Jul 16, 2026
    The US House of Representatives defeated an amendment to cut off aid to Israel on Wednesday, despite nearly half of Democrats ​supporting it, reflecting a growing rupture between US progressives and Israel over its attacks in Gaza. The House voted 314 to ‌104 to defeat the measure, offered as an amendment to a State Department spending bill by Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky. However, 103 Democrats and one Republican backed it, a sharp departure from years in which bills supporting Israel passed almost unanimously. Left-wing Democrats are pushing to end US aid to Israel as they campaign in ​midterm election primaries, while moderate Democrats promote sending money that would be used for defensive weapons only. Massie is a fiscal hawk who ​opposes all foreign aid, but he said he was also responding to the heavy toll on civilians of ⁠Israel’s attacks in Gaza. “There have been 70,000 casualties in Gaza, and I don’t think we should be part of that,” he said during the House ​debate. His amendm...
    Tags: Democrats House Israel
  • Sindh govt body seeks legal action against SBCA officials over Gul Plaza fire
    Dawn - 05:14 Jul 16, 2026
    • Committee headed by CS also recommends action against Civil Defence, fire department officers and building management committee • Suggests amendments to building control law to allow post-construction inspections KARACHI: The Implementation Committee constituted by the Sindh government has recommended disciplinary and legal action against officials of the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) who served between 2020 and the date of the incident in January 2026 when the deadly Gul Plaza fire broke out. The committee held them responsible for alleged failures in inspection, enforcement and regulatory oversight, including the approval of a revised building plan and its subsequent regularisation. It also proposed amendments to the Sindh Building Control Ordinance, 1979, to empower the SBCA to carry out mandatory post-construction inspections and enforce compliance after completion of buildings. The recommendations were made at a recent meeting of the committee held under the chairmanship of Sindh chief secret...
    Tags: Gul Plaza SBCA Sindh
  • Dar heads to Shanghai to sign Pakistan's founding membership of China-led AI body
    Dawn - 05:08 Jul 16, 2026
    Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar left for a two-day visit to China’s Shanghai on Thursday to sign an agreement for Pakistan to join the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation (WAICO) as a founding member, the Foreign Office (FO) said. China proposed the creation of WAICO last year for AI governance. According to FO, Dar would also participate in the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) 2026 during the visit and engage with other leaders to advance international AI cooperation and promote inclusive, equitable AI governance. An earlier statement by the FO said that Dar would also hold a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart, as well as meetings with other officials to discuss matters of mutual interest during the China trip. “During his engagements, the Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister will share Pakistan’s perspective on strengthening international cooperation in artificial intelligence, with particular emphasis on the priorities and development nee...
    Tags: Shanghai
  • Security forces foil suicide attack on military post in South Waziristan's Wana, kill 4 terrorists: sources
    Dawn - 04:11 Jul 16, 2026
    Security forces foiled on Thursday an attempted suicide attack targeting a military post in the Kari Kot area of Lower South Waziristan’s Wana, killing four terrorists, sources said. According to security sources, the terrorists tried to attack the security forces’ post using an explosives-laden vehicle. But the attempt was foiled as the threat was detected, and the suicide attacker was killed, they said. The sources said that three other terrorists were also killed in the action taken by security forces. They said the targeted post was being used to protect the local population and to prevent the movement of Fitna-al-Khawarij — a term that the state uses for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban — towards Wana Bazaar. The sources said that the terrorists wanted to destroy the post after their persistent failure in achieving their objectives. A search and clearance operation was launched in the area after their unsuccessful attempt to attack the post, they added. Last month, the district administrations of Upper South...
    Tags: Wana Security
  • Caution: danger ahead
    Dawn - 04:03 Jul 16, 2026
    THERE are many reasons to be bullish about Pakistan these days, not least the hard-fought stability in the external sector following a few years of near-catastrophic depletion of reserves. But there are now a growing number of reasons to be concerned about the underlying fragility of it all. The stability is real. There is no doubt about that. A wall of high repayment obligations that first loomed into view back in February 2021 and remained persistently high since then has finally started to come down. They not only met all these obligations and paid down their debt, but also bui­lt reserves through it all — organically — and not borrowed reserves. The return of stability to Pak­istan’s external sector after the near catastr­ophic volatility of 2021-2023 is one for the history books. The most ferocious inflationary fire in our history was doused. The most precarious foreign exchange reserves position was rebuilt. The most runaway fiscal train wreck was returned to surpl­uses on its primary balance. The state...
  • Pakistan’s Ground Zero
    Dawn - 03:50 Jul 16, 2026
    GILGIT-BALTISTAN has emerged as Pakistan’s climate ground zero. For decades, the country’s climate emergency was narrated from its floodplains: Sindh’s submerged villages, Punjab’s swollen tributaries, the 2010 and 2022 disasters. These were the consequences of a deeper story. The origin has abruptly moved upstream. GB is no longer the water tower that occasionally leaks. It is where the Indus system’s first disasters now begin, not where they arrive. Heatwaves once confined to Sindh’s cities and Punjab’s plains now reach the Upper Indus Basin (UIB). In June 2026 alone, the Met Office issued its second Glof (glacial lake outburst flood) alert of the month, warning that sustained high temperatures across GB and KP were accelerating glacier and snowfield melt to the point that existing lakes were expanding and new ones forming in real time. This follows a pattern of near-annual escalation: in August 2025, a Glof from the Shishper glacier tore through Hassanabad Nullah in Hunza, severing the Karakoram Highway, i...
    Tags: Pakistan
  • AJK violence
    Dawn - 03:34 Jul 16, 2026
    SINCE early June, Azad Kashmir has been on tenterhooks, with routine life severely disturbed, as the regional administration seeks to quell the protests of the now proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee, a coalition of political and civil society groups. Violent confrontations have claimed some 30 lives of both security personnel and protesters since last month. Rawalakot, the focal point of the protest movement, has been under curfew for about six weeks. The JAAC’s demands have focused on governance issues and economic concerns, with most being accepted by the authorities. But its call for the abolition of seats in the AJK legislature for refugees from India-held Kashmir has created a deadlock. Violent clashes on Tuesday resulted in at least nine deaths. Yesterday, the JAAC launched its ‘long march’ on Muzaffarabad. The primary concern of all stakeholders should be the restoration of calm in AJK. Too many valuable lives — of both LEAs and civilians — have been lost, and while violent elements must be prosec...
  • Notices issued on plea against higher motorway toll
    Dawn - 03:21 Jul 16, 2026
    ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court on Wednesday issued notices to the Ministry of Communications and other respondents on a petition challenging the notification imposing a 50 per cent higher motorway toll on vehicles with insufficient M-Tag balance. Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfaraz Dogar issued the notices while hearing a petition filed by the Judicial Activism Panel against the June 3, 2025, notification. Counsel for the petitioner, Mahfouz Bukhari, argued that the decision to impose a higher toll on low-balance vehicles was arbitrary, excessive and without lawful justification. The chief justice observed that the impugned decision appeared to be a policy measure of the government and questioned how the court could interfere in such matters. In response, the petitioner’s counsel said that even policy decisions were subject to judicial review if they were unreasonable, discriminatory or violated the law. He contended that the enhanced toll imposed on motorists with low M-Tag balances was disproportion...
  • Balochistan High Court admits Dr Mahrang’s plea against life sentence
    Dawn - 03:17 Jul 16, 2026
    QUETTA: A division bench of the Balochistan High Court (BHC) on Wednesday admitted for regular hearing a petition filed by Dr Mahrang Baloch, the chief organiser of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), challenging the life imprisonment sentence awarded to her by an anti-terrorism court (ATC), and issued notices to the respondents. A BHC bench comprising Justices Gul Hassan Tareen and Najmuddin Mengal heard the matter and ordered notices to be issued to the relevant authorities, seeking their response. During the proceedings, Addi­tional Advocate General Akbar Shah appeared on behalf of the provincial government, while advocates Jadain Dashti and Nadia Baloch represented the petitioner. Dr Mahrang has challenged the judgement of the Quetta anti-terrorism court, which sentenced her to life imprisonment in a case related to the killing of a security personnel member. SC issues notices to respondents in BYC leader’s bail plea By admitting the appeal, the high court has agreed to hear the case on its merits. The l...
    Tags: Mahrang Balochistan High Court
  • Starmer says ‘political journey ends’ as UK gets ready for Burnham
    Dawn - 03:07 Jul 16, 2026
    LONDON: Declaring “this is the end of my political journey”, outgoing UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer bowed out at his final Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, pledging his wholehearted support to his successor as he prepares to hand over to premier-in-waiting Andy Burnham. Mr Starmer announced his resignation last month, bowing to months of pressure to step down after a series of scandals, missteps and policy U-turns. They blighted his two-year tenure after he led his centre-left Labour Party to victory in the 2024 elections following 14 years in opposition. Burnham is expected to be crowned Labour’s leader on Friday after securing overwhelming support from the party’s 403 MPs and the backing of major trade unions. Labour leader exits after scandals, U-turns and mounting pressure The party’s comfortable majority in the 650-seat House of Commons means he will automatically become Britain’s seventh prime minister in a decade. Facing his last weekly grilling from MPs in parliament, Mr Starmer said he wante...
    Tags: Burnham Starmer
  • PMA issues red alert over 651,000 zero-dose children
    Dawn - 02:59 Jul 16, 2026
    • Declares immunisation gap a national public health emergency • Blames governance failures, corruption, weak immunisation system • Calls for an immediate audit of provincial health funds KARACHI: The Pakistan Medical Association has issued an urgent national red alert after clinical and epidemiological data revealed that Pakistan holds a catastrophically high volume of “zero-dose” children in the World Health Organisation’s Eastern Mediterranean Region. Zero-dose children are those who have not received the first dose of the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis-containing vaccine (DTP1). With 651,000 infants completely bypassed by routine immunisation systems, the representative body of the medical fraternity warns that the country is sitting on an epidemiological powder keg, facing an imminent, large-scale resurgence of preventable childhood mortality. The association formally declared the milestone a National Public Health Emergency, warning that the immunity gap has breached the threshold required to maintain her...
  • PTI to launch nationwide movement from Aug 5
    Dawn - 02:47 Jul 16, 2026
    ISLAMABAD: The PTI parliamentary party decided to launch a nationwide movement from August 5 for the release of party chief Imran Khan and acceptance of other demands. The day will mark the completion of the former prime minister’s third year in prison. The decision was made at a meeting — chaired by party’s interim chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan — held at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House in the federal capital. During the meeting, the PTI lawmakers discussed matters related to the party’s parliamentary affairs. PTI General Secretary Salman Akram Raja, while talking to Dawn, said that the meeting decided to pick August 5 to launch its movement, which will include public meetings, demonstrations, and a long march. “It was also decided that Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas’s opinions will be sought for finalising the protest plans and other activities,” he added. At a press conference, Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said that the meeting discussed the health of the ex-PM and his spouse Bushra Bibi. He sai...
  • JAAC defers march for a week after back-channel talks
    Dawn - 02:34 Jul 16, 2026
    • No untoward incident reported in Poonch, Sudhnoti • Thousands gather at Rawalakot’s Eidgah Ground ahead of march • JAAC says it wrote to army chief after concerns failed to reach him through official channels • AJK home secretary says coordinated campaigns carried out on social media to incite people MUZAFFARABAD: The proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) on Wednesday deferred for one week its planned long march on Muzaffarabad after back-channel contacts involving influential intermediaries raised hopes of a negotiated settlement to the ongoing standoff. Contrary to widespread fears of fresh violence, no untoward incident was reported from the troubled districts of Poonch and Sudhnoti during the day, while life remained normal across the rest of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). Official and political sources in Rawalakot told Dawn that several thousand people, including women and children, had gathered at Eidgah Ground in anticipation of the march, while a smaller crowd assembled at the Mutyalmera bu...
    Tags: JAAC
  • Generative AI’s power sparks fears of dumbing humans down
    Dawn - 02:28 Jul 16, 2026
    • Studies suggest memory, decision-making, critical thinking are most at risk • Experts say artificial intelligence removes ‘learning opportunities’ • Studies suggest AI boosts short-term gains, but weakens long-term learning • Long-term impact on human brain remains unclear PARIS: Generative AI chatbots capable of writing emails and computer code, translating, organising a trip or coming up with gift ideas are now readily available, prompting some to ask whether human brainpower could suffer for lack of use. A simple natural-language prompt is usually enough to draw a useable response from a service like ChatGPT or Claude, with the effects making themselves felt in schools and universities, workplaces from offices to courtrooms and our personal lives. Recent scientific studies suggest there could be harmful consequences to farming out cognitive tasks to AI. They highlight memory, decision-making and critical thinking as particularly at risk. One American-British study of 1,222 people, still under peer review...
    Tags: Generative
  • Frontline communities face longer wait for funds
    Dawn - 02:18 Jul 16, 2026
    • FRLD board defers funding decisions till December, receives 176 requests from 119 states • Pakistan submits three proposals on agriculture, health, flash flood losses • Civil society concerned over ‘lack of transparency’, red tape ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and other climate-vulnerable countries will have to wait longer for disbursements from the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) after its board decided to allow more time to assess an overwhelming number of funding proposals amid limited financial resources. The ninth meeting of the FRLD Board, held in Manila from July 8 to 10, ended without making any significant headway — a development that drew criticism from civil society groups, which said the Fund was failing vulnerable communities increasingly expo­sed to climate-related disasters. The Fund was established at COP27 in Egypt in 2022. A decision to operationalise it was taken at COP28 in Dubai, followed by its full operationalisation at COP29 in Azerb­aijan. With nearly $500m in its account, the F...
  • NFC share declined after aiding Centre, says Sindh chief minister
    Dawn - 01:57 Jul 16, 2026
    KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Wednesday said the amount allocated to provinces under the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award had declined this year because the provinces contributed a portion of their share to support the federal government. “Despite reduced financial resources, every effort had been made to ensure that provincial development projects and grants remained unaffected,” he said while addressing a ceremony organised by the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI) to present a gold medal to Indus Hospital CEO Dr Abdul Bari. The CM said that the concerns raised by KATI regarding the Yellow Line Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project would be resolved through consultations with all stakeholders. He said valuable lessons had been learned from the Red Line project and the government would strive to complete the Yellow Line project on time without creating unnecessary inconvenience to the public. The CM said that the grant had been increased every year in the past for Indus Hospi...

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