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Dawn - 15:20 Jul 14, 2025
Gilgit-Baltistan has imposed a moratorium on all kinds of construction and expansion of hotels on three famous lakes in Hunza, as well as in ecologically-sensitive areas in the Baltistan division, it emerged on Monday. Earlier this month, the Gilgit-Baltistan Environmental Protection Agency (GB-EPA) recommended a five-year ban on the construction and expansion of hotels on three lakes in Hunza. Last month, the GB administration imposed a fine of Rs1.5 million on a hotel for allegedly dumping sewage waste into Attabad Lake. The development came a day after a foreign tourist and vlogger named George Buckley posted a video on his Instagram page, claiming that sewage water was being pumped out by the hotel into the Attabad Lake. A notification by the office of the Hunza Division Deputy Commissioner, dated July 11, available with Dawn.com, said, “Accordingly, issuance of any new no-objection certificates (NOCs) for construction or expansion of commercial or residential structures is hereby suspended with immediate... -
Dawn - 14:43 Jul 14, 2025
At least six people have died, including four children, while one person was injured over the last 24 hours in rain-related incidents as heavy downpours continue to lash parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said on Monday. Last week, PDMA alerted the district administrations across KP to the possibility of floods due to a new spell of torrential rains from July 11 to 17. Heavy rainfall and flash floods have wreaked havoc in the province in June and are set to continue. Pakistan experiences Monsoon rainfall from June to September every year. The heavy rains also trigger deadly floods, landslides and displacement, particularly in vulnerable, poorly drained, or densely populated areas. In Bajaur, a woman died after the boundary wall of her house collapsed due to heavy rain and gusty winds, according to the PDMA report, while in Khyber district, two children were swept away in a flash flood after heavy rains. Per the report, Rescue 1122 officials found the body of one o... -
Dawn - 14:41 Jul 14, 2025
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Monday announced that he and his counterparts in and Iran and Iraq will form a trilateral working group to prevent illegal migration under the guise of pilgrimage, Radio Pakistan reported. Earlier this month, the government, during a meeting, decided that under the new measures, the traditional Salar System for zaireen (pilgrims) will be abolished and replaced with a zaireen group organisers model. From 2026 onwards, pilgrims will only be allowed to travel under registered organisers. Speaking at a trilateral conference of the interior ministers of Pakistan, Iran, and Iraq in Tehran, Naqvi told journalists the conference agreed to take all possible measures to facilitate zaireen travelling to Iran and Iraq. View this post on Instagram “We had a great and good discussion,” Naqvi said. “We will have a joint working group between the three countries so we can have better coordination. “The most important thing to acknowledge is that there are several million people who go to Ira... -
Dawn - 14:40 Jul 14, 2025
PTI leader Sayed Zulfikar Bukhari, a former aide to ex-premier Imran Khan, is set to offer testimony on “political repression” in Pakistan before the United States Congress’ Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, it emerged on Monday. According to its website, the bipartisan commission was established in 2008 and is charged with promoting, defending and advocating for international human rights as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other relevant human rights instruments. The commission’s hearing notice states that the session will take place on Tuesday (tomorrow) at 3:30pm (12:30am PKT on Wednesday) and will “examine the government of Pakistan’s persecution of opposition political figures and journalists, and its actions to control media communications and prevent free and fair elections in Pakistan”. The session is open to the public and the media. “Many date the current phase of repression in Pakistan to 2022, when, with the involvement of the Pakistan military, popular Prime Minister ... -
Dawn - 13:59 Jul 14, 2025
India and China must resolve friction along their border, pull back troops and avoid “restrictive trade measures” to normalise their relationship, India’s foreign minister told his Chinese counterpart in Beijing on Monday. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met Wang Yi in Beijing during his first trip to the country since 2020, when a deadly border clash between their troops led to a four-year military standoff and damaged ties until a thaw began in October, when they agreed to step back. “Good progress” made by the countries in the past nine months for normalisation of relations is a result of the resolution of friction along their border, Jaishankar told Wang. India and China share a 3,800-kilometre border that is poorly demarcated and has been disputed since the 1950s. They fought a brief but brutal border war in 1962, and talks over the decades to settle the border dispute have made slow progress. Last month, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told his Chinese counterpart that the two countries should seek a “per... -
Dawn - 13:54 Jul 14, 2025
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Monday said that the additional powers granted to the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) had nothing to do with income tax. The expanded enforcement powers for the FBR include the authority to block high-value financial transactions by non-filers — such as vehicle and property purchases, investment in securities and mutual funds, and opening certain prestigious bank accounts — along with powers to seal unregistered business premises, confiscate goods and recover taxes from firms, including those in the public sector. The move has generated criticism from many quarters. Addressing the matter in a press conference in Karachi today, Aurangzeb said, “I think there is something to understand about what the existing law was at the time. The first thing to understand is that it has no relation to income tax. This whole issue is a sales tax fraud issue.” The finance minister added that in the original law, Inland Revenue Service officers had the authority to arrest, and it was the ... -
Dawn - 12:55 Jul 14, 2025
A man accused of trying to kill a woman by shooting her as she refused to marry him was arrested in Karachi and was found in possession of illegal weapons, the Ittehad Town police said on Monday. However, the woman remained safe and a case under Sections 324 (attempt to commit intentional murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) was registered at the Ittehad Town police station. As soon as the case was registered, a police team led by Station House Officer Inspector Rao Shabbir Ahmed, acting on the information of a special informant, successfully arrested the accused. The police team also found him in possession of illegal weapons. A case under Section 23(1)-A of the Arms Act was also registered in this connection. In 2021, he had allegedly attempted to murder his ex-wife by throwing acid on her. A case was registered under Sections 336-A (hurt caused by corrosive substance) and 336-B (punishment for hurt by corrosive substance) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) at Saeedabad police st... -
Dawn - 12:07 Jul 14, 2025
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a positive trajectory on Monday, crossing the 136,000 barrier due to increased investor sentiment and improved economic outlook. The benchmark KSE 100 index surged by 2202.77 points, or up by 1.64 per cent, to close at 136,502.53 points. The stock market reached its highest intraday level of 136,841.49 points around 3:28pm. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed satisfaction as the stock market surged to cross the all-time high level. According to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, he said the “significant achievement by the PSX is a clear reflection of the business community’s growing confidence in Pakistan’s economy”. “The recent positive economic indicators are a testament to his government’s policies moving in the right direction,” he emphasised, reiterating that providing a business-friendly environment remains the government’s top priority.“ He said the country had moved from economic stability towards the path of economic growth, adding that the g... -
Dawn - 11:56 Jul 14, 2025
“When our boats are stranded onshore, our kitchens remain empty,” says Lateefa Nasir. “My children haven’t been to school for a month and we live on loans now.” Nasir is a member and beneficiary of the Ormara Cooperative Society, a local NGO advocating for the improvement of fishers’ livelihoods and welfare. She and her family live in Ormara, a town in Gwadar district, along the coast of Pakistan’s south-western Balochistan province. Her husband is a fisher and like many fishing households in the area they are in crisis due to the Iran-Israel conflict. The war has led Pakistan to close its border with Iran, disrupting both the inflow of fuel and the export of fish. This double blow has crippled fishing communities already suffering from the impacts of climate change and overfishing. Balochistan boasts an approximately 770-kilometre coastline along the Arabian Sea which plays a significant role in the country’s fisheries. Allaudin Kakkar, a senior official from the Balochistan Fisheries and Coastal Development... -
Dawn - 11:05 Jul 14, 2025
A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck on Monday off eastern Indonesia, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said, but a monitor said there was no tsunami threat. The quake struck at 12:49pm Western Indonesia time (10:49pm PKT) and its epicentre was at a depth of 66 kilometres, around 177 kilometres west of the city of Tual in the eastern Maluku province, the USGS said. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said there was no tsunami threat, and Indonesia’s geophysics agency said in a social media post the quake “did not have the potential to cause a tsunami”. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. The vast archipelago nation experiences frequent earthquakes due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, an arc of intense seismic activity where tectonic plates collide that stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin. A magnitude 6.2 quake that shook Sulawesi in January 2021 killed more than 100 people and left thousands homeless. In 2018, a magnitude-7.5 quake and subseque... -
Dawn - 10:45 Jul 14, 2025
Four children drowned while bathing in a pond in the Daulat Khel area of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Lakki Marwat district on Monday, according to a Rescue 1122 official. Speaking to Dawn.com, Spokesperson Rescue 1122 Bilal Ahmad Faizi said, “The bodies of the children were recovered after a search operation and transported to the city hospital in Lakki Marwat. All four children were residents of Daulat Khel and were related to each other.” The dead bodies have been handed over to the relatives, Faizi added. On July 13, two children were swept away by a flash flood triggered by rain in KP’s Khyber district. Last month, two teenagers drowned while bathing in the Nendhyar River of the province’s Battagram district. On June 27, at least 13 tourists drowned in the flooded River Swat after being caught in the gushing water while having breakfast on the riverbank, rescue officials confirmed. Also last month, two women and as many children drowned after a boat carrying tourists capsized in the Shahi Bagh lake in Kalam area... -
Dawn - 10:38 Jul 14, 2025
A man and a woman were killed on late Sunday evening in an ‘honour’-related incident in the Bashigram area of Madyan in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Swat district, police said on Monday. ‘Honour’ killings refer to the murder of individuals, predominantly women and girls, by family members who believe the victim has brought dishonour upon the family. In a first information report (FIR) filed by a close relative of the deceased woman, it was stated that she was killed by her husband. “The suspect thought his wife had an illicit relationship with the man, following which he killed both,” the police said. According to the FIR, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, the suspect first opened fire on the man, after which he went home and shot his wife, and then proceeded to strike her with an axe. The FIR has been filed under Sections 302 (punishment of premeditated murder) and 324 (attempt to commit murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). A search operation is underway to apprehend the suspect, who is currently on t... -
Dawn - 09:55 Jul 14, 2025
Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah on Monday criticised the PTI for seeking dialogue with the establishment instead of talking with politicians, suggesting the party only wanted to “destabilise the country with protests”. His statement came as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, a day prior, called on state institutions to engage in dialogue with the PTI but demanded that they hold themselves accountable. Gandapur and the PTI’s top leadership were on a visit to Lahore to formally launch a movement to seek the release of party founder Imran Khan and devise a strategy for its nationwide protest, which will reach its crescendo on August 5 — marking two years since the ex-premier was imprisoned. Since Imran’s incarceration in several cases, which he claims are politically motivated, his party’s relationship with the government and the establishment has turned sour. The PTI has held several protests over the last year, most of which escalated into violence after facing st... -
Dawn - 09:33 Jul 14, 2025
The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) conducted a successful raid last night on an illegal call centre in Islamabad and arrested five foreign nationals, according to a press release issued on Monday. The NCCIA press release stated that more than 60 people were working at the call centre, of which five foreign nationals were arrested during the raid. “In addition to these arrests, the NCCIA will take further legal action against those who provided facilities and security to these individuals,” the statement said. A spokesperson reiterated the agency’s resolve to continue its operations against all such illegal activities that amount to a violation of the country’s laws. A first information report (FIR) was registered on Sunday by complainant Aamir Azeem Abbasi regarding a “task-based scam resulting in financial loss”. According to the FIR, a reliable source informed that a criminal gang was operating a call centre located in Sardar Plaza, G-10 Markaz, Islamabad. An inquiry concluded that the ca... -
Dawn - 07:12 Jul 14, 2025
Gisele Pelicot, who became a feminist icon by publicly testifying over the mass rapes she endured, and rapper-turned-fashion designer Pharrell Williams were among 589 people awarded France’s top civic honour on Sunday. Pelicot, 72, and Williams were both named knights of the Legion of Honour on a list announced ahead of France’s July 14 national day. Pelicot earned international tributes for her courage in testifying at a trial in 2024 against her former husband, who drugged her and arranged for her to be raped by dozens of men over a decade. She has since been named on lists of the world’s most influential people by international media and the case helped force a change in France’s rape law. But Pelicot has remained silent since the trial. Her lawyer says she is concentrating on writing a book giving her side of the mass rape story which is to be released in 2026. Williams, 52, made his name as a rapper and singer but earned a second fortune as a music producer and after designing clothes and accessories for... -
Dawn - 06:56 Jul 14, 2025
KARACHI: A Special Court (Control of Narcotic Substances) has sentenced a Ugandan woman to seven-year imprisonment for smuggling cocaine after she pleaded guilty of the crime. Special Court (CNS) Judge Rajesh Chander Rajput convicted accused Nakawa Edihi of the offence punishable under Section 9 (1) 7 (b) of the CNS Act, 1997 (as Amended in 2022). According to state prosecutor Abdul Hannan, the accused arrived in Pakistan in January after allegedly concealing 11 capsules containing 144 gram of cocaine in her stomach. She was apprehended by an Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) team at the Jinnah International Airport. However, when she appeared before the court for framing of formal charges, she voluntarily pleaded guilty and prayed for mercy. On her admission, the court recorded her statement under Section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), in which she confessed to the offence. Court takes a lenient view in handing down jail term after accused pleads guilty “I have heard the accused have thoroughly gone thr... -
Dawn - 06:55 Jul 14, 2025
• JI stages rally to criticise govt for ignoring civic woes, focusing on number plates with Arjak design • Traffic police using new number plates campaign as a ‘trap for bribery’, alleges Monem Zafar • Muttahida urges review of fees, seeks mobile camps to ease process KARACHI: The criticism by the opposition parties against a government move to replace vehicle number plates with new Ajrak-themed designs and allow traffic police to issue hefty fines against ordinary people gained momentum as they demanded that the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) stop law enforcers from taking extreme action and waive the fees for the new number plates. On Sunday, the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) organised a “bike rally” and hundreds of motorcyclists took to the streets, protesting against the PPP government and accusing it of “enabling corruption and creating new opportunities for law enforcement officials to demand bribes”. The protesters also questioned the priorities and policies of the provincial government, accusing it of “fa... -
Dawn - 06:12 Jul 14, 2025
Bitcoin crossed the $120,000 level for the first time on Monday, marking a milestone for the world’s largest cryptocurrency as investors bet on long-sought policy wins for the industry this week. Bitcoin scaled a record high of $121,207.55 in the Asian session on Monday, before pulling back slightly to last trade 1.6 per cent higher at $121,015.42. Starting today, the US House of Representatives will debate a series of bills to provide the digital asset industry with the nation’s regulatory framework it has long demanded. Those demands have resonated with US President Donald Trump, who has called himself the “crypto president” and urged policymakers to revamp rules in favour of the industry. “It’s riding a number of tailwinds at the moment,” said IG market analyst Tony Sycamore, citing strong institutional demand, expectations of further gains and support from Trump as reasons for the bullishness. “It’s been a very, very, strong move over the past six or seven days, and it’s hard to see where it stops now; it... -
Dawn - 06:06 Jul 14, 2025
CHAKWAL: Six people, including four women, lost their lives while 27 others sustained injuries as a bus carrying them crashed on Islamabad-Lahore Motorway (M2) near Chakri Interchange on Sunday noon. According to officials of the National Highways and Motorway Police (NHMP) and Rescue 1122, the bus belonging to Haji Abdul Sattar Company was on way to Multan from Rawalpindi with 41 passengers aboard. “The bus hardly crossed the Chakri Interchange when it overturned and fell into a gorge,” an official of NHMP told Dawn. The accident occurred around 12:30pm. Resultantly, five passengers died on the spot while one lost his life at the District Headquarters Hospital Chakwal. As many as 27 other passengers, including women and children, received injuries. Personnel of Rescue 1122 from Rawalpindi and Chakwal, NHMP and Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) reached the scene and shifted the injured to hospitals in Chakwal, Rawalpindi and Islamabad. NHMP officer says driver’s negligence led to accident as road was slippery... -
Dawn - 05:24 Jul 14, 2025
Carlos Alcaraz said he could hold his head high despite being unseated from his Wimbledon throne by Jannik Sinner on Sunday and the Spaniard praised their hot rivalry for being several notches higher than the others on the men’s tour. Alcaraz’s bid for a third straight title at the All England Club ended with a 4-6 6-4 6-4 6-4 loss on Centre Court, leaving him to digest his first Grand Slam final defeat. “It’s always a bad feeling losing matches. It’s a little bit worse when you lose in a final,” said Alcaraz, who narrowly beat Sinner in a five-set humdinger at the French Open last month. “I’m just proud about everything I’ve done in the last four weeks on grass at London. I leave Wimbledon, the court, with my head held really high because I did everything that I could. “I played against someone who played an unbelievable game. So I’m just a little bit sad about losing, but with my head held really high.” Alcaraz said his rivalry with Sinner was great for the pair and also for tennis, which has had to endure ...
10811 items