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Dawn - 04:06 Mar 08, 2026
There was a moment — brief but powerful — where we began to believe we had finally slain an old giant. It came with the rise of platforms that promised to “democratise” media, to give voice to every individual, to let every athlete, thinker, activist, executive or celebrity broadcast their own story, without the filters of legacy institutions. Elon Musk said as much when he spoke about decentralising media, opening it up to everyone with a phone and an internet connection. No more gatekeepers. No more old hierarchies. Just pure, unmediated truth. And, at first, it felt liberating. Every podcast became a direct line to the person who actually lived the narrative. Every social media platform turned into a newsroom and every public figure into their own anchor. We were told to reject “mainstream media” — that it was biased, outdated, elitist — and embrace instead the beautiful chaos of direct testimony. Fake news, they said, wasn’t the problem; controlled narratives were. And now those narratives could be topple... -
Dawn - 03:35 Mar 08, 2026
ISLAMABAD: As the conflict in the Middle East escalates, Pakistan’s Planning Commission has cautioned about possible economic impacts on the country, including increased energy costs, strain on remittance inflows, and potential interruptions to exports and financial stability. The ministry warned that instability in the region, especially around the strategic Strait of Hormuz, could drive up global oil prices and sharply increase Pakistan’s import costs, given the country’s heavy dependence on petroleum imports from the Middle East, according to the Ministry of Planning’s Monthly Development Update for March. Such developments could also fuel domestic inflation, raise production and freight costs for exporters, and place additional pressure on the exchange rate and fiscal position, according to the report released here on Saturday. At the same time, prolonged conflict could affect remittance inflows from Gulf countries, where millions of Pakistani workers are employed, and create uncertainty for Pakistan’s ex... -
Dawn - 02:56 Mar 08, 2026
TOKYO: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Saturday that former prince Andrew should be removed from the line of royal succession over his “deplorable” behaviour. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is being investigated for alleged misconduct in public office following revelations about his dealings with the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He was arrested and released in February on suspicion of having passed confidential information to Epstein during his 2001-2011 role as a UK trade envoy. “There is a process in order to do it….but I certainly think his actions which are deplorable and have caused him to be stripped of his royal titles, certainly… necessitate his removal from the line of succession,” Carney told reporters in Tokyo. The Canadian PM was visiting Japan to hold talks with his counterpart Sanae Takaichi. The former prince — who was stripped of his royal titles last year over his alleged connections to Epstein — has denied all wrongdoing. Virginia Giuffre, who died by suicide last year, clai... -
Dawn - 02:43 Mar 08, 2026
• Stages rare helicopter raid deep into Bekaa Valley, killing 41 • UN, Ghana condemn ‘war crime’ attack that wounded three peacekeepers BEIRUT: Israel warned Lebanon it would pay a “very heavy price” if it failed to control the Hezbollah group on Saturday, as Israeli forces pounded the Beirut with airstrikes and mounted a deadly airborne raid in the country’s east. The warning came as the cross-border conflict, which dragged Lebanon into a wider Middle East war on Monday following Hezbollah’s retaliation after Israel killed Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, escalated sharply. On Saturday morning, more buildings in the southern suburbs of Beirut lay as mounds of smoking rubble and twisted metal, Reuters video showed, after heavy Israeli bombardment that followed an evacuation order for civilians. ‘A night of hell’ Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz, addressing Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun in a statement, said that if the Lebanese government failed to enforce a 2024 agreement to disarm Hezb... -
Dawn - 02:37 Mar 08, 2026
Tankers are seen off the coast of Fujairah, as Iran vows to close the Strait of Hormuz.—Reuters KARACHI: Though Pakistan is not part of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, it is the first victim in the region as the government raised oil prices while the high-cost oil is still at sea; the 28-day stocks are being sold at prices yet to reach consumers. India kept petrol and diesel prices stable despite global price spikes, but LPG prices were increased. The Indian government has so far managed high import costs for crude. Trade and business people were disappointed with the sudden jump in oil and diesel prices by Rs55 per litre, while ordinary citizens were highly concerned about the ripple effects of this oil price hike. “The easiest way to extract money is to bomb the common citizens and destroy the already ailing economy,” said Syed Shakil, a textile industry worker. He said the textile industry was facing tough times and could face the most difficult times in the wake of the Middle East war. Industry p... -
Dawn - 02:07 Mar 08, 2026
NEW YORK: A court in the United States held on Friday that a Pakistani man with alleged “ties to Iran was guilty of plotting to assassinate President Donald Trump” or other US officials in retaliation for the American military killing of Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani, prosecutors said. Asif Raza Merchant allegedly sought to hire a hitman to assassinate a politician or a government official in the US, prosecutors said during the trial in a federal court in Brooklyn. Soleimani, the head of Iran’s foreign military operations, was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad in Jan 2020. Iran has repeatedly vowed to avenge his killing. Merchant testified that he was forced into the plot to protect his family in the Iranian capital Tehran from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, adding that he thought he would get caught before anyone was killed, multiple media outlets reported. He said he was never ordered to kill a specific person, but added that his Iranian contact had mentioned three people in connection ... -
Dawn - 20:40 Mar 07, 2026
LOWER SOUTH WAZIRISTAN: Two cops were martyred while 31 people, including five policemen and 26 civilians, were injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in Wana’s Rustam Bazaar area on Saturday. According to police officials, the explosion occurred when policemen on routine patrol were present in the area around 5pm. They said that explosive material was planted near the main gate of a supermarket, which caused casualties among policemen and civilians present at the scene. Wana Circle Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Asghar Ali Shah said that the explosive material had been planted at the main entrance of the supermarket and was detonated through a remote control or a timed device. Immediately after the blast, local residents, police personnel and rescue teams initiated relief operations and moved the injured to the district headquarters hospital. The medical superintendent of the hospital, Dr Jan Mohammad, said that the bodies of two policemen were brought to the facility. He said that the ... -
Dawn - 18:30 Mar 07, 2026
US President Donald Trump on Saturday urged Latin American nations to use military power against the “cancer” of drug cartels and offered to support them with US missile strikes targeting narco kingpins. Trump, currently waging a war with Iran, laid out a muscular position for advancing Washington’s interests in the Western hemisphere, pronouncing that communist-led Cuba was “in its last moments of life” and advocating tough action by allies against organised crime blighting the region. He formally launched a 17-nation “counter cartel” coalition, which the White House described as a pledge from governments in the region to use “hard power” against security threats. “We’re working with you to do whatever we have to do. You want us to use a missile? We’ll use missiles. They’re extremely accurate,” Trump told a dozen right-wing leaders from Latin America and the Caribbean at his Doral golf club near Miami. “‘Piu,’ right into the living room,” he said, suggesting the sound of a missile in flight. “That’s the end ... -
Dawn - 18:03 Mar 07, 2026
ISLAMABAD: After announcing a whopping Rs55 per litre increase in petrol and high-speed diesel prices, the government also silently increased the price of kerosene by almost 70 per cent, it emerged on Saturday. A notification to this effect was issued by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority. According to the notification, the price of kerosene has been increased by Rs130.08 to Rs318.81 per litre. The notification said that the increase would come into effect on March 7 (Saturday). The previous price of kerosene, which went into effect on March 1, was Rs 188.73 per litre. Kerosene is commonly used by households in remote areas where access to liquefied petroleum gas cylinders is difficult. Petrol and high-speed diesel are the major revenue spinners with their monthly sales of about 700,000 to 800,000 tonnes compared to just 10,000 tonnes of monthly demand for kerosene. The development comes a day after the government increased petrol and diesel prices, mere hours after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Finance... -
Dawn - 16:23 Mar 07, 2026
Kuwait has implemented a precautionary reduction in crude oil production and refining throughput after the ongoing attacks by Iran against the country and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) said on Saturday. The cuts are another disruption for the global energy industry because of the US-Israeli war on Iran, as oil and gas storage at facilities in the Middle East Gulf rapidly fill. Oil fields in Iraq have already cut production and Qatar declared force majeure on its huge volumes of gas exports, while the United Arab Emirates is most likely to cut next. “In light of the ongoing aggression by the Islamic Republic of Iran against the State of Kuwait, including Iranian threats against safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, KPC has implemented a precautionary reduction in crude oil production and refining throughput as part of its risk management and business continuity strategy,” it said, adding that it would be “reviewed as the situation develops”. The... -
Dawn - 15:51 Mar 07, 2026
The opposition on Saturday slammed the government’s move to hike petrol and diesel prices by Rs55 per litre, terming it an “inflation bomb” for the public and demanding its reversal. The decision to raise the prices came as the country felt the economic impacts of the US-Israel war on Iran, which has paralysed trade via the Strait of Hormuz — a route Pakistan relies heavily on for its oil supplies. Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas termed the decision the “worst form of governance and a grave anti-people move”. “When people are already struggling to make ends meet, such decisions are tantamount to rubbing salt into the people’s wounds,” he said on X. Highlighting that the government was already collecting more than Rs100 in petroleum levy, Abbas wondered whether the public or the ruling class would bear the additional burden. The government has increased the petroleum development levy (PDL) on petrol by Rs20 to about Rs105 per litre to offset what would otherwise have been a higher increase in ... -
Dawn - 14:55 Mar 07, 2026
The best way to deal with pressure is to embrace it, India captain Suryakumar Yadav reminded his teammates ahead of Sunday’s final of the T20 World Cup at the Narendra Modi Stadium. India are bidding to become the first team to retain the T20 World Cup title and to achieve that, they will have to deal with not just a strong New Zealand XI but also the weight of expectation from a cricket-mad nation of about 1.4 billion people. Leading the team in the final of a home World Cup was a “special feeling”, and Suryakumar said they were looking forward to the challenge. “There are nerves, butterflies in the stomach, but as I always say — if there’s no pressure, there’s no fun,” Suryakumar told reporters on Saturday. “I’m very excited. All the boys and support staff, and I’m sure all of India is excited for tomorrow.” More than 100,000 predominantly home fans are expected to fill the world’s largest cricket stadium where Australia famously beat India in the final of the 50-overs World Cup three years ago. Expectation... -
Dawn - 14:30 Mar 07, 2026
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa finance department on Saturday directed all offices working under it to adopt conservation measures in view of the Middle East crisis and “anticipated disruptions” to the supply chain of petroleum products. While the government has assured the nation that petroleum reserves were sufficient and the situation remained under control, fuel prices were hiked by Rs55 on Friday, citing the rising global oil prices as shipping in the Strait of Hormuz remains paralysed. A notification issued by KP’s finance department on Saturday, a copy of which is available with Dawn, noted that a “critical situation is expected to arise at local level” due to the anticipated disruptions. “Given the possible implications, it has become necessary to adopt precautionary and conservative measures to ensure the smooth functioning of government operations in the province,” it added. According to the notification, all departments, formations and subordinate offices working under the finance department were directed ... -
Dawn - 14:24 Mar 07, 2026
Five senior PTI leaders currently incarcerated at Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail said on Saturday that “internal divisions and external pressures” were threatening the country’s sovereignty, economy and democracy, and called for putting aside personal ambitions and political grudges for the sake of Pakistan. The PTI leaders — Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Dr Yasmin Rashid, Ejaz Chaudhry, Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed, and Omar Sarfraz Cheema — made the remarks in a statement issued through their counsel, which was also shared by the party on X. Earlier this week, the senior leaders had called on the government to revisit its approach toward the PTI and its founder, Imran Khan. In the fresh statement, the five leaders said that the evolving regional and national situation should be discussed among the leadership of the opposition alliance Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) and within the PTI’s political committee for “formulating a way forward in a joint session of Parliament”. They said that currently, the last thing that P... -
Dawn - 13:25 Mar 07, 2026
Eight days into the war between the United States–Israel coalition and Iran, the conflict has settled more firmly into a pattern that began to emerge over the previous 48 hours; a high-intensity confrontation fought largely through missiles, drones and proxy forces and widening steadily across multiple theatres. At the same time, quiet diplomatic activity gathered momentum to contain the widening fallout for the region. The past 24 hours demonstrated that despite the scale of coalition air power deployed against Iran and its allies, Tehran’s asymmetric military capabilities remained largely intact and continued to shape the tempo of the war, along the area stretching from the Strait of Hormuz through Iraq to Lebanon, where attacks on American facilities, shipping lanes, and Israeli military positions have continued in a calibrated but persistent manner. One demonstration of this capability was seen in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, when the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps confirmed that one of its drones... -
Dawn - 13:22 Mar 07, 2026
The United States and Israel’s war with Iran could leave consumers and businesses worldwide facing weeks or months of higher fuel prices even if the week-old conflict ends quickly, as suppliers grapple with damaged facilities, disrupted logistics, and elevated risks to shipping. The outlook poses a wider global economic threat, as well as a political vulnerability for US President Donald Trump leading into the midterm elections, with voters sensitive to energy bills and unfavourable to foreign entanglements. “The market is shifting from pricing pure geopolitical risk to grappling with tangible operational disruption, as refinery shutdowns and export constraints begin to impair crude processing and regional supply flows,” JP Morgan analysts said in a research note on Friday. The conflict has already led to the suspension of around a fifth of global crude and natural gas supply, as ships avoid the vital Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman amid Tehran’s retaliatory attacks. Global oil prices have surged 24 pe... -
Dawn - 13:00 Mar 07, 2026
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday directed the finance and petroleum ministers to visit the provinces and prepare a strategy in coordination with the provincial governments for the conservation of petroleum products and their uninterrupted supply to the people. The directives come a day after the government announced a Rs55 per litre increase in petrol and high-speed diesel prices, mere hours after PM Shehbaz and Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb assured the nation that petroleum reserves were sufficient and the situation remained under control. The fresh instructions by the premier came during a meeting chaired by him to review the country’s economic situation, according to a statement by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). During the meeting, a briefing was given on the current global situation and the economic impacts on the region. According to the PMO, the premier directed that a strategy emphasising austerity and savings be formulated in view of the current global economic pressure caused by th... -
Dawn - 12:55 Mar 07, 2026
ISLAMABAD: An additional sessions court on Saturday convicted a retired army officer in a high-profile money laundering case, sentencing him to 10 years in prison and imposing a fine of Rs25 million. Additional Sessions Judge (West) Nasruminallah Baloch found retired Col Khalilur Rehman, the vice chief executive of Bahria Town, guilty of laundering approximately Rs1.6 billion. The case was registered by the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) Anti-Money Laundering Circle last year. The court sentenced Rehman to 10 years rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs25m. It was further ordered that, in the event of default on the fine, the convict would undergo an additional one month of simple imprisonment. Crucially, the court also ordered the forfeiture of property and assets obtained through money laundering. According to the detailed judgment, the court held Rehman accountable under Sections 3 (offence of money laundering) and 4 (punishment for money laundering) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2010. The... -
Dawn - 11:59 Mar 07, 2026
RAWALPINDI: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Rawalpindi on Saturday sentenced 47 proclaimed offenders, including prominent PTI leaders Hammad Azhar, Omar Ayub and Zartaj Gul, to 10 years in prison in the May 9 GHQ attack case. District and Sessions Judge Amjad Ali Shah, who presided over ATC No. 1, penned a 16-page detailed judgment, which is available with Dawn. The convicts included Senator Shibli Faraz, Murad Saeed, Shahbaz Gill, Zulfi Bukhari, as well as ex-MNAs Kanwal Shauzab, Rai Hassan Nawaz, Muhammad Ahmed Chattha and Sheikh Rashid Shafique. The court imposed a fine of Rs500,000 each and ordered the confiscation of their property in favour of the state. Imran Khan’s arrest on May 9, 2023, triggered widespread riots across Pakistan, during which government buildings and military installations — including the GHQ in Rawalpindi — were stormed and vandalised. Following the unrest, a crackdown was launched against the PTI, with dozens of terrorism cases lodged against its leaders and supporters. Several of... -
Dawn - 11:20 Mar 07, 2026
Pakistan Railways on Saturday increased the fares of economy class and air-conditioned class tickets by five per cent and 10pc respectively, following the hike in petrol and diesel prices. According to a statement by the Pakistan Railways spokesperson, the fares of cargo trains have also increased by 20pc The new prices will take effect from Monday, March 9. However, the fare increase will not apply to bookings made in advance, the spokesperson said. He further said that Pakistan Railways will bear the additional burden of operational expenses of passenger trains. The development comes after the government increased the prices of petrol and high-speed diesel by Rs55 per litre, the highest-ever such hike as Pakistan felt the first direct economic impact of the US-Israel war on Iran. The ex-depot price of high-speed diesel was fixed at Rs335.86 per litre for the coming week, up by about 20pc from Rs280.86 per litre. Likewise, the ex-depot price of petrol was revised to Rs321.17 per litre from Rs266.17 per litre...
8986 items