Dawn
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Dawn - 02:22 Jan 03, 2026
• Becomes available free of charge for nine-year-old girls at EPI centres • Other provinces expected to follow suit KARACHI: In an effort to protect young girls from cervical cancer, the Sindh Health Department, in line with a decision by the Federal Directorate of Immunisation, has included the HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine in the province’s routine immunisation programme. Other provinces are also expected to roll out similar initiatives in the coming months. According to a notification issued by the Sindh Health Department, the decision has become effective from Jan 1 this year. “The vaccination shall target girls aged nine years with an intended minimum coverage of 70 per cent,” the notification stated. The department has directed all district health officers to adopt a mixed delivery approach, including facility-based vaccination, community outreach, and school-based vaccination activities, to ensure optimal coverage, equitable access, and sustainability. “To ensure accurate monitoring, accountabili... -
Dawn - 02:16 Jan 03, 2026
With the political impasse continuing among the country’s main stakeholders, Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah said on Friday that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had not imposed any “minus Imran” condition on political engagement. A day earlier, the premier’s adviser had proposed “confidence-building measures” between the leadership of the PML-N, the PTI, and the PPP could bring down political temperatures. “Prime Minister Shehbaz has not set any condition of minus Imran Khan [from politics]. We neither seek to minus anyone nor consider it politically viable. Similar efforts were made to sideline us in the past,” Sanaullah said while speaking on Geo News programme Naya Pakistan. As the leader of the House, PM Shehbaz has offered negotiations to the opposition, saying they [PTI] should sit with him as dialogue is key to parliamentary democracy, Sanaullah added. Maintaining that the opposition PTI had to take a step forward, the senior PML-N leader said that dialogue on behalf of the p... -
Dawn - 02:16 Jan 03, 2026
ISLAMABAD: Local government elections in Islamabad are likely to be postponed once again, for the fifth time in a row, as the federal cabinet on Friday approved several amendments to the Local Government Act, 2015. The elections are scheduled to be held on February 15. However, the cabinet’s approval of fresh amendments to the Act has made it almost impossible to hold the polls next month. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), however, has yet to officially announce the postponement. The federal cabinet approved 14 amendments to the Act, including a change in the name of the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad, replacing it with “Town Corporations”. According to the new proposal, there will be three town corporations in Islamabad and each town corporation will comprise, as far as practicable, the territorial limits of a National Assembly (NA) constituency within the capital. Islamabad has three NA seats. Cabinet approves changes to ICT Local Government Act 2015 “The cabinet endorsed the decisions made in ... -
Dawn - 00:50 Jan 03, 2026
LONDON: A Pakistan-born cardiothoracic surgeon working in the United Kingdom has been named in the New Year Honours List, receiving the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his distinguished professional achievements and humanitarian work. Professor Syed Saeed Ashraf, a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon at Morriston Hospital in Swansea, Wales, was awarded for services to cardiac surgery, the training of overseas surgeons and his academic contributions. Swansea Bay University Health Board announced the honour on New Year’s Eve, describing Dr Ashraf as an outstanding clinician who extends life-saving expertise to developing countries. Dr Ashraf regularly uses his annual leave to perform voluntary, complex heart operations at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases in Karachi, Pakistan. He primarily treats young patients suffering from rheumatic valvular heart disease — a condition now rare in Western countries but prevalent in South Asia — and Afghan refugees receiving free care in Pakistan. During o... -
Dawn - 19:00 Jan 02, 2026
LAHORE: Gunmen on Friday attacked the convoy of Jhang Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Sheikh Fawad Akram — the brother of PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram — leaving one of his guards dead and three others injured near Jhang’s General Bus Stand (GBS), said police. Reports said the incident took place near a petrol pump near GBS, as Fawad was headed to his office. The four security guards who were injured in the attack were rushed to DHQ Hospital. However, hospital authorities referred a critically injured guard to Faisalabad, but he succumbed to his injuries. Jhang police, meanwhile, arrested four suspects, including two alleged gunmen and Fawad’s stepbrother, a statement from a police spokesperson read. Police said that Fawad and his stepbrother were travelling in separate convoys when their vehicles collided with each other. The collision triggered a scuffle between guards from both groups. The gunmen of another suspect, who was travelling with the stepbrother, allegedly opened fire on... -
Dawn - 18:39 Jan 02, 2026
With the political impasse continuing among the country’s main stakeholders, Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah said on Friday that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had not imposed any “minus Imran” condition on political engagement. A day earlier, the premier’s adviser had proposed “confidence-building measures” between the leadership of the PML-N, the PTI, and the PPP could bring down political temperatures. “Prime Minister Shehbaz has not set any condition of minus Imran Khan [from politics]. We neither seek to minus anyone nor consider it politically viable. Similar efforts were made to sideline us in the past,” Sanaullah said while speaking on Geo News programme Naya Pakistan. As the leader of the House, PM Shehbaz has offered negotiations to the opposition, saying they [PTI] should sit with him as dialogue is key to parliamentary democracy, Sanaullah added. Maintaining that the opposition PTI had to take a step forward, the senior PML-N leader said that dialogue on behalf of the p... -
Dawn - 18:30 Jan 02, 2026
Police and rescue services recovered four decomposed bodies from a ditch on Karachi’s Mai Kolachi Road on Friday night. South Deputy Inspector General Syed Asad Raza said four bodies were found in a deep ditch covered with bushes on the “jungle side” of the road in the limits of Docks police station. Police rushed to the scene after receiving information from a scavenger about the presence of the bodies. Upon recovery, it was found that they were 10-15 days old and had decomposed. Two of the bodies were male and the other two female. An Edhi Foundation spokesperson in a statement said one of the deceased appeared to be a boy. “The bodies have been sent to a hospital for legal formalities and the police are investigating the case from all aspects,” DIG Raza added. Earlier this week, the body of an employee of the University of Karachi, stuffed in a gunny bag, was found at a desolate place in Safoora Town. The police said that it appeared that the victim was bludgeoned to death. A police officer elaborated that... -
Dawn - 16:24 Jan 02, 2026
KARACHI: Police on Friday launched an inquiry into the death of a teenage girl in Karachi’s Landhi area, who was struck and killed by a stray bullet while travelling in a rickshaw. Her relatives alleged that she was killed in the crossfire of a gunfight between police and suspected robbers. Landhi Station House Officer (SHO) Salahuddin Qazi told Dawn that a 17-year-old resident of the Lines Area had accompanied her mother to visit a relative in Landhi. She was returning home in a rickshaw when a bullet passed through the vehicle and struck her in the chest. She sustained critical wounds and was transported to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), where doctors pronounced her dead. The victim’s uncle told media persons at the hospital that his niece was gunned down during crossfire between police and suspects in the area. Police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed told Dawn that the girl was dead on arrival at the hospital and added that her family did not permit any medico-legal procedures and took the body. Inquir... -
Dawn - 15:58 Jan 02, 2026
As unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, become ubiquitous in modern battlefields, their use by militants in the southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has given them an apparent edge over the police, who are currently using anti-drone technology to intercept ‘swarms’ of quadcopters. For decades, Pakistan has been fighting against militants, particularly in KP, utilising all available resources to defeat an invisible enemy, which relies on guerrilla tactics for deadly and unpredictable strikes. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police used anti-drone jamming technology during Sunday’s Ashura procession in Peshawar. — DawnNews TV After years of reliance on suicide bombers, gun-and-bomb attacks, and improvised explosive devices, the militants have now increasingly turned towards ‘drone warfare’ to evade authorities and to inflict maximum damage. Experts believe the impetus for this shift in strategy stems from the Russia-Ukraine war, where drones have played an effective role, particularly in targeting installations deep ins... -
Dawn - 15:42 Jan 02, 2026
Last year was Britain’s hottest and sunniest on record, the national weather service confirmed on Friday, calling it a “clear demonstration” of the impacts of climate change. “2025 now joins 2022 and 2023 in the top three warmest years since 1884,” the Met Office said in a statement, noting the United Kingdom’s mean temperature through last year was 10.09C. “This is an increasingly clear demonstration of the impacts of climate change on UK temperatures,” it added. “It is also only the second year in this series where the UK’s annual mean temperature has exceeded 10.0C.” The previous record of 10.03C was set in 2022. It means four of the UK’s last five years now appear in the top five warmest years since 1884, and all of the top ten hottest years will now have occurred in the last two decades. The Met Office had already announced last month that 2025 was the country’s sunniest year since that record series began in 1910. The UK — which comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — saw 1648.5 hours ... -
Dawn - 15:39 Jan 02, 2026
Yemen’s Saudi-backed government launched an operation to take back military positions from southern separatists on Friday and said it had reclaimed one of the largest military camps in Hadramout province. The operation in Hadramout marks the latest escalation in Yemen. Hadramout’s governor, Salem Ahmed Saeed al-Khunbashi, said in a statement on Friday that his forces had taken control of a military camp in al-Khasha’a, the largest and most important base in the province. The governor had earlier said his forces were launching what he called a “peaceful” operation. A senior official of the Southern Transitional Council told Reuters the operation had not been peaceful. Yemen’s government said it had appointed Hadramout’s governor to take overall command of the “Homeland Shield” forces in the eastern province, granting him full military, security and administrative authority in what it said was a move to restore security and order. This is not a declaration of war, the governor said in a speech on Yemen TV, addi... -
Dawn - 15:29 Jan 02, 2026
PESHAWAR: The Utmanzai tribe of North Waziristan staged a peace rally in Mir Ali on Friday and warned of launching a civil disobedience movement if its demands, including restoring peace, lifting the curfew, and reopening the Ghulam Khan border crossing, were not fulfilled by Jan 20. Thousands of people from the tribe, along with other political and local leaders, gathered at Noor Islam Shaheed Chowk in Mir Ali, where Friday prayers were also offered, led by Member of the National Assembly Mufti Misbahuddin. Speakers stressed that peace was a fundamental right of citizens and demanded that residents of North Waziristan be allowed to live peacefully like people in other parts of the country. Misbahuddin told the rally that Waziristan could no longer withstand further military operations. “Peace is the greatest blessing, and tribal elders have always cooperated with the state, but the authorities never appear serious about restoring lasting stability,” he lamented. Chief of Waziristan Jirga Malik Nasrullah said... -
Dawn - 15:27 Jan 02, 2026
Heart disease remains one of the leading causes of death among men globally, and South Asian countries are no exception. As men continue to balance careers, family, and daily pressures, their hearts often bear the silent strain. Experts remind us that understanding and protecting men’s cardiac health is not just a medical need but a matter of self-care and longevity. Dr Ashraf Ur Rahman is a Medicine Specialist and a Cardiologist at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD). He notes that the majority of cardiac cases he encounters involve men above the age of forty. Image showing a person holding a cardboard heart. — Ryan’O Niel / Unsplash Dr Rahman explains that the difference between men’s and women’s heart health begins with hormones. Women benefit from the protective effects of oestrogen, which usually helps maintain healthy blood vessels and cholesterol levels. Men, however, lack this hormonal shield. As a result, they are naturally more susceptible to ischemic heart disease (IHD) from a... -
Dawn - 15:07 Jan 02, 2026
ISLAMABAD: An Islamabad anti-terrorism court (ATC) handed out two life sentences each to YouTuber Adil Raja, journalists Wajahat Saeed Khan, Sabir Shakir and Shaheen Sehbai, anchorperson Haider Raza Mehdi, analyst Moeed Pirzada and former army official Akbar Hussain in cases related to riots in the country on May 9, 2023. The riots — during which government and military installations were also vandalised — had erupted following the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan. The prosecution had accused the convicted individuals of “digital terrorism against state institutions” in relation to the events of May 9, 2023. The cases stemmed from allegations that the accused used digital platforms to incite, facilitate and amplify attacks against state institutions during the May 9 unrest. Reserved verdicts in the cases were announced by ATC Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra on Friday after the completion of trials in absentia. The trials were conducted in absentia at the prosecution’s request and by means of invoking the re... -
Dawn - 14:58 Jan 02, 2026
Ambreen Jan, former information secretary, was selected on Friday as the new chairperson of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra), which will make her the first female head of the electronic media regulator once her appointment is confirmed. The previous head of the regulator, Mohammad Saleem Baig, was appointed in 2018 and retired last year, leaving the post vacant. A meeting of a parliamentary committee, chaired by Shehbaz Babar, selected Jan after it was convened to appoint the next head of the influential media regulatory authority. Following the committee’s unanimous approval, Jan’s name was forwarded to President Asif Ali Zardari for final confirmation. A former Grade 22 officer, Jan has also previously served as the managing director of the state broadcaster PTV, the director general of Radio Pakistan and press counsellor to Bangladesh while relations were strained from 2011 to 2018. She was among five shortlisted candidates considered for the post, including Brigadier (retd.) Anwa... -
Dawn - 14:12 Jan 02, 2026
The first supermoon of 2026, traditionally known as the Wolf moon, will be visible in Pakistan on January 3 and 4, according to a statement issued by Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) on Friday. A supermoon occurs when the moon reaches its closest point to Earth in its elliptical orbit, causing it to appear unusually large and bright — up to 14 per cent larger and nearly 30pc brighter than a typical full moon. “In Pakistan, the supermoon will rise at 5:51pm PKT on the evening of Jan 3, with an illumination of 99.8pc, and remains visible throughout the nights of Jan 3 and 4,” read the statement. During the current event, which marks the final supermoon of the cycle that began in October 2025, the Earth–Moon distance will be approximately 362,312 kilometers, making the moon appear about 6 to 7 per cent larger and up to 10 per cent brighter than a typical full moon, it stated. Supermoons typically occur in sequences of three to four consecutive events, with the current cycle concluding wit... -
Dawn - 14:08 Jan 02, 2026
Former special assistant to the prime minister (SAPM) Mirza Shahzad Akbar has said that his house in the United Kingdom (UK) — where he has been living in self-imposed exile — was subjected to a “deliberate and targeted criminal attack with the intent to cause serious harm”. The development comes a little over a week after Akbar said he suffered a fractured nose and other facial injuries after being attacked at his home. In a post on X on Thursday, Akbar said that his home in Cambridgeshire, England came under attack on December 31, 2025, in a “deliberate and targeted criminal attack with the intent to cause serious harm”. He said that the perpetrators “criminally damaged the property and attempted to set it on fire, placing lives at immediate risk”. Akbar maintained it was the second such attack “within one week against my home, myself, and my family, each carried out with clear malicious intent”. He held that the incidents were not isolated. “I was physically assaulted in a targeted attack on Dec 24, leavin... -
Dawn - 13:36 Jan 02, 2026
Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunications Shaza Fatima Khawaja announced on Friday that Pakistan would auction the 600 megahertz (MHz) spectrum next month to provide better internet speeds and roll out 5G in the country. In a meeting last week, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) approved the process of auctioning the 600 MHz spectrum within two months. “The spectrum available for our telecom industry is extremely limited,” said the minister while addressing the media in Islamabad, and added that telcos “provide services in the country using just the 274 MHz”. “We are a spectrum-starved country,” she said. “We are a country of 240 million people with only 274 MHz of spectrum,” she stated, adding that “Bangladesh, with about two-thirds of Pakistan’s population, provides 600 MHz.” View this post on Instagram The spectrum is the range of radio frequencies that carries wireless signals for mobile phones, the internet, TV, and radio. Mobile networks like 3G, 4G, and 5G operate by sending data over speci... -
Dawn - 13:13 Jan 02, 2026
After US President Donald Trump warned Iran on Friday of intervention if authorities in the Middle Eastern country “violently kill” peaceful protesters, a top official of the Islamic Republic said any interference by Washington would mean “destabilising the entire region and destroying America’s interests”. “If Iran shots [sic] and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. Reacting to his statement, Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, posted on X: “With the statements by Israeli officials and Donald Trump, what has been going on behind the scenes is now clear. “We distinguish between the stance of the protesting shopkeepers and the actions of disruptive actors, and Trump should know that US interference in this internal matter would mean destabilising the entire region and destroying America’s interests.” He added, “The Ame... -
Dawn - 12:22 Jan 02, 2026
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday sent a notice to the Adviser to the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Shafiullah Jan, seeking an explanation for his statement blaming the electoral body for irregularities during the Haripur by-elections last year, sources said. During a press conference on December 19, Jan blamed the ECP for electoral irregularities, and claimed Form 47 was issued from Islamabad instead of the returning officer’s office. “This was a singular yet bizarre event in the country’s history, when a Form-47 was issued from Islamabad,” adding that “ECP didn’t upload all Form-45s from 602 polling stations in the constituency, nor could the PML-N produce all Form-45s from 602 polling stations.” Sources said the ECP, in its notice, said “baseless” allegations were made against the commission concerning the conduct of the Haripur by-elections, including the issuance of Form-47 from Islamabad, the non-uploading of Form-45 on its website, and other claims of irregularities. They...
7393 items