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Dawn - 16:25 Oct 28, 2025
A body was found after a fire which erupted near the University of Karachi (KU) on Tuesday evening destroyed huts and damaged graves and flats, according to officials. A statement released by Rescue 1122 after the fire was brought under control said that the body of a 50-year-old man was recovered during a search operation. Earlier, Rescue-1122 spokesperson Hassaanul Haseeb Khan told Dawn.com that the fire erupted in the dry bushes outside KU. As a result, the fire spread rapidly due to heavy winds. “It [the fire] engulfed a nearby graveyard, damaging some graves, while around 10-20 huts (makeshift houses) were destroyed,” the spokesperson said. “The fire also reached a nearby housing complex, which prompted citizens to vacate their flats.” Khan said that 12 to 15 flats that were exposed to fire were vacated and residents were relocated to safe places. He added that 12 fire tenders were engaged to control the blaze. A later statement from Rescue-1122 said that the fire had been brought under control and that ... -
Dawn - 16:17 Oct 28, 2025
Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Sahir Shamshad Mirza and the Bangladeshi army chief on Tuesday expressed appreciation for the “positive trajectory” of growing defence cooperation between Pakistan and Bangladesh. Ever since a popular uprising in Bangladesh toppled Sheikh Hasina’s government in August last year, there has been a thaw in ties between Islamabad and Dhaka, with trade and bilateral relations seeing a marked improvement. CJCSC Mirza is currently on a visit to the country. A press release issued from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) today said the CJCSC called on Bangladesh’s Chief of Army Staff General Waker-Uz-Zaman at Army Headquarters, Dhaka. “During the meeting, both sides appreciated the positive trajectory of expanding defence cooperation between the two countries and agreed to maintain regular exchange visits at various tiers of military leadership,” the ISPR said. It added that the two dignitaries discussed the evolving global and regional security environm... -
Dawn - 16:08 Oct 28, 2025
More than 2,650 electronic challans have been issued by the Karachi Traffic Police following the inauguration of the new e-ticketing system in the city. In June, the Sindh government decided that e-challans for traffic violations would be delivered to vehicle owners’ registered home addresses. Vehicles with unpaid fines would not be allowed to be sold or transferred. The decision came amid the port city witnessing a surge in traffic accidents, particularly involving dumpers and water tankers, that killed nearly 500 people and injured 4,879 in 2024, according to hospital data. The spate of deadly incidents triggered protests over citizens’ deaths, prompting the provincial government to ban heavy vehicles during daytime hours and require them to obtain fitness certificates. According to a press release by the Sindh police dated October 28, 1,535 challans have been issued for not wearing a seat belt, 507 challans for riding a motorcycle without a helmet, 419 for over speeding, 166 for running a red light, and 32... -
Dawn - 15:46 Oct 28, 2025
American forces killed 14 people in strikes that destroyed four alleged drug-smuggling boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean, United States Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday, bringing the death toll from Washington’s anti-narcotics campaign to at least 57. The United States began carrying out the strikes — which experts say are illegal — in early September, and has now destroyed at least 14 vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific. “A total of 14 narco-terrorists were killed during the three strikes, with one survivor. All strikes were in international waters with no US forces harmed,” Hegseth said in a post on X about strikes carried out the day before. “The four vessels were known by our intelligence apparatus, transiting along known narco-trafficking routes, and carrying narcotics,” he said. The Pentagon chief’s post included video of the strikes, the first of which targeted two stationary boats that appeared to be moored together, and the other two on vessels that were speeding across open water. Heg... -
Dawn - 15:42 Oct 28, 2025
The information ministry on Tuesday rubbished what it said was a “completely fabricated” report about an alleged meeting of the Pakistani leadership with the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency and Israel’s Mossad that would see Pakistan sending troops to Gaza for a peace force. A cornerstone of the US-brokered Gaza Peace Agreement is the establishment of the International Stabilisation Force (ISF), composed mainly of troops from Muslim-majority countries. According to officials close to the discussions, an announcement is expected soon from the federal government regarding the decision. Officials familiar with the deliberations, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said discussions within the government and military establishment were at an “advanced stage”. According to them, the tone of internal consultations suggests that Islamabad is inclined to take part in the mission. Earlier today, Indian news outlet First Post reported that per CNN-News 18, top intelligence source... -
Dawn - 15:41 Oct 28, 2025
Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro on Tuesday recused himself from hearing the case challenging the eligibility of Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri. A complaint pertaining to Justice Jahangiri’s allegedly fake law degree was submitted to the Supreme Judicial Council last year in July, while a petition challenging his appointment was filed in the IHC last year. The matter centres on a letter that began circulating last year on social media, purportedly from the University of Karachi’s (KU) controller of examinations, regarding the judge’s degree. Today, a two-member bench, comprising Chief Justice Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Soomro, took up a miscellaneous application filed by the Islamabad Bar Association (IBA) seeking to become a party in the matter. During the proceedings, Justice Soomro recused himself from hearing the case, following which the bench stood dissolved, and the hearing was adjourned without any further proceedings. His decision comes after a division bench hearing a wr... -
Dawn - 15:02 Oct 28, 2025
An Indian national was charged with an assault on a flight travelling from Chicago to Germany, according to a press release issued by the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) on Monday. The DoJ stated that Praneeth Kumar Usiripalli, 28, stabbed two teenagers with a metal fork and was arrested on October 25 after the flight was diverted to Boston. He was charged in the US District Court with one count of assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm. “According to the charging documents, on October 25, 2025, while on board Lufthansa flight 431 en route from Chicago to Frankfurt, Germany, Usiripalli allegedly stabbed a 17-year-old male passenger (Minor A) in the shoulder area with a metal fork,” the statement read. “Usiripalli then allegedly stabbed a second 17-year-old male passenger (Minor B) in the back of the head with the same metal fork.” The DoJ said that when flight crew members attempted to subdue Usiripalli, he reportedly raised his hand, formed a gun with his fingers, put it in h... -
Dawn - 14:58 Oct 28, 2025
A “rare lenticular cloud formation” observed over Quetta in the early hours of Tuesday left the public puzzled over the phenomenon and its origins. Citizens reported sighting the phenomenon around morning prayers from many parts of Balochistan and speculation was rife about the likely cause. Many social media accounts hinted that the cloud formation was the result of a missile test or a new technology tested by the military. In a post on X later in the day, the Pakistan Meteorological Department said the sight was a “lenticular cloud formation” which was observed early morning over Koh-i-Murdar region. “The cloud appeared before sunrise, persisted for approximately 20 minutes, and dissipated just prior to sunrise.” As per the United Kingdom’s Met Office, lenticular clouds are lens-shaped orographic wave clouds that are formed when the air is stable and winds blow across hills and mountains from the same or similar direction at different heights through the troposphere. “These strange, unnatural-looking clouds... -
Dawn - 14:56 Oct 28, 2025
Reports were mounting on Tuesday of ethnically motivated atrocities in the western Sudanese city of El-Fasher since its capture by paramilitaries, with allies of the army accusing fighters of executing “more than 2,000” civilians. El-Fasher fell to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) after more than 18 months of brutal siege warfare, giving the group control over every state capital in the vast Darfur region. Allies of the army, the Joint Forces, said on Tuesday that the RSF “committed heinous crimes against innocent civilians in the city of El-Fasher, where more than 2,000 unarmed citizens were executed and killed on October 26 and 27, most of them women, children and the elderly”. Local groups and international NGOs had warned that El-Fasher’s fall could trigger mass atrocities, fears that Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab said were coming true. The monitor, which relies on open source intelligence and satellite imagery, said the city “appears to be in a systematic and intentional process of ethnic cle... -
Dawn - 13:48 Oct 28, 2025
At least six suspects were killed in four separate encounters with the Crime Control Department (CCD) in different locations of Lahore late on Monday, the CCD said on Tuesday. Earlier this year, the Punjab government launched the CCD with a mandate to tackle organised crime, terrorism, and high-profile criminal gangs. Recently, the body has carried out a range of encounters. Officials have publicly praised the department for its successes, claiming it has “significantly reduced street crime and targeted major criminal figures.” As per a statement issued by the department’s spokesperson today, “CCD teams conducted four different encounters in Lahore’s Nishtar Colony, Green Town, Harbanspura, and Ring Road, where six suspects were killed.” In the first instance, in Nishtar Colony, the CCD team came under attack while they were out to arrest the suspects, the statement said. “An exchange of fire ensued, leaving two suspects dead by their associates’ fire,” the CCD said, adding that the “deceased had been involve... -
Dawn - 13:47 Oct 28, 2025
Pakistan has tested multiple missile types over the last few years to increase its defence capabilities and also to ensure credible deterrence. The missiles range from ground-launched cruise missiles to medium-range ballistic missiles. Fatah 4 cruise missile On September 30, the Pakistan Army successfully conducted a training launch of a newly inducted, indigenously-produced Fatah-4 cruise missile at a range of 750 kilometres, the military’s media wing said. “Equipped with advanced avionics and state-of-the-art navigational aids, this weapon system is capable of evading [the] enemy’s missile defence system due to terrain-hugging features and engaging targets with high precision,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement. An image of the newly inducted cruise missile Fatah-4. — Screengrab via X/@PTVNewsOfficial Fatah surface-to-surface missile On May 5, Pakistan conducted a successful training launch of a Fatah series surface-to-surface guided missile with a range of 120 kilometres, as pa... -
Dawn - 13:46 Oct 28, 2025
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on Tuesday launched the Economic Cooperation Framework, which is based on their shared economic interests and reaffirms their desire to strengthen trade and investment relations. The decision to launch the framework was taken during a Monday meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the sidelines of the Ninth Edition of the Future Investment Initiative (FII9) in Riyadh, according to a statement from the Foreign Office (FO). The FII9 convened global leaders, investors, policymakers, and innovators to explore the theme, ‘The Key to Prosperity: Unlocking New Frontiers of Growth’ and discuss key topics such as innovation, sustainability, economic inclusion, and geopolitical shifts. “As part of the framework, several strategic and high-impact projects will be discussed in the economic, trade, investment and development fields that will contribute to strengthening cooperation between the two governments, enhancing the pivotal role of the pr... -
Dawn - 13:31 Oct 28, 2025
United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday again stated that seven aircraft were shot down during the brief military escalation between Pakistan and India in May. Addressing a dinner with business leaders during his trip to Japan, Trump claimed that a lot of the wars he stopped were because of his tariffs imposed on multiple countries, stating that he did “a great service to the world”. “If you look at India and Pakistan, they were going at it,” he said. “Seven brand-new, beautiful planes were shot down. “I said to [Indian] Prime Minister Modi and I said to the Prime Minister [Shehbaz Sharif], very nice man, a very good man and the Field Marshal [Asim Munir] over in Pakistan … I said, ‘look we’re not going to do any trade if you’re going to be fighting’,” Trump said. “We said ‘no, we’re not doing any deals if you’re going to fight’ and within 24 hours that was the end of that. It was amazing, actually,” he added. “I think trade is responsible for 70 per cent of the fact that we didn’t have wars.” The May... -
Dawn - 13:21 Oct 28, 2025
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Tuesday said that the Peshawar corps commander visited the CM Secretariat earlier to “congratulate” him. The CM shared this information while speaking to the media outside the Supreme Court, where he was also asked what the two had discussed during the meeting. “He came to congratulate me, and it was not an official [exchange]. The conversation was unofficial. And our stance is the same [everywhere], what we say inside is what we say outside,” Afridi replied. Responding to a follow-up question, he further explained that he was the chief executive of a province and even the inspector general of police and the chief secretary had visited his office. Similarly, he continued, “the corps commander will also come there, and the officers of all of our security institutions will also come. We will discuss matters pertaining to the province with them.” Apparently referring to security officials, he said they should visit the chief ministers and the prime minister’s of... -
Dawn - 13:03 Oct 28, 2025
Amid recent tensions between Multan Sultans and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the PSL franchise on Tuesday submitted a proposal to the PCB aimed at strengthening the Pakistan Super League “through better governance, transparency, and partnership”, according to a statement. The letter to PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi “acknowledges recent tensions but frames this as an opportunity to rebuild trust and put professional systems in place so the PSL can reach its full potential.” According to the statement, Multan Sultans owner Ali Khan Tareen reaffirmed the franchise’s long-standing commitment to the league. The letter notes concerns about ad hoc decision-making and limited management experience, and calls for institutional processes and accountability, the statement read. Four key reforms were proposed by Multan Sultans, beginning with franchise representation on PSL committees and working groups. “Formal inclusion of every franchise so policies reflect the league’s collective experience across scheduling, recrui... -
Dawn - 11:11 Oct 28, 2025
Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said on Tuesday that the joint decision of his party, PML-N and the PPP, to support a vote of no confidence (VONC) against the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) premier was a sign of “democratic maturity” to solve the region’s issues. The PML-N and PPP — coalition partners in the federal government — announced yesterday that they will jointly bring about a no-trust motion against AJK Prime Minister Haq. The PML-N has said it would support the no-trust motion against the AJK premier but would not become part of the government, and instead would be in the opposition. PPP’s Qamar Zaman Kaira said his party accepted that decision. Today, Iqbal chaired a meeting of the PML-N’s “political coordination committee” at his planning ministry in Islamabad on the directives of PM Shehbaz Sharif. Kashmir affairs minister Amir Muqam and Adviser to PM on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah were among the meeting’s participants, while PML-N’s AJK President Shah Ghulam Qadir was leading his parliamentary ... -
Dawn - 10:02 Oct 28, 2025
Pakistan’s economy has expanded by three per cent in fiscal year 2025 (FY25), the World Bank said in a report on Tuesday, but cautioned that growth is likely to remain the same in the next fiscal year due to the impacts of the recent floods. Earlier this month, the WB had cut its growth forecast for Pakistan by half a per cent to 2.6pc for the current fiscal year due to the recent floods, which are also expected to push up inflation to 7.2pc. It had said that for FY 2025/26, real gross domestic product (GDP) growth was projected to remain around 2.6pc, as ongoing catastrophic floods had damped the forecast. It projected a 3.1pc growth rate for the country in its previous biannual outlook in April 2025. Pakistan has set 4.2pc growth target and has since been looking at 3.5pc as part of its engagements with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In the report released today, titled — Staying the Course for Growth and Jobs — WB predicted that the economy’s “growth is projected to remain at three per cent for the... -
Dawn - 07:07 Oct 28, 2025
ISLAMABAD: Adviser to the Nuclear Command Authority Lt Gen (retd) Mazhar Jamil said Pakistan would continue to pursue its policy of ‘Quid Pro Quo Plus’ to reinforce strategic stability in South Asia, which has been undermined by great power politics and a technology bias in favour of India. Quid Pro Quo Plus is a military doctrine that entails a retaliatory response to Indian aggression exceeding the initial provocation in scale or severity. “Pakistan would continue to uphold its policy of ‘Quid Pro Quo Plus,’ thereby reinforcing strategic stability in South Asia,” Gen Jamil said while addressing the concluding session of a three-day workshop hosted by the Centre for International Strategic Studies (CISS) in Islamabad. “Pakistan,” he added, “stands fully prepared to respond to any act of aggression, strategic, operational, or tactical, with resolve and capability, ensuring the preservation of deterrence equilibrium in the region.” The statement follows an ongoing tense period this month, which revived brinkma... -
Dawn - 06:08 Oct 28, 2025
United States President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi signed a framework agreement on Tuesday for securing the supply of rare earths, as both countries aim to reduce China’s dominance of some of the key electronic components. The leaders signed the documents, which included critical minerals, at the neo-Baroque-style Akasaka Palace in Tokyo, beneath three chandeliers decorated from top to bottom with gold ornamentation, as aides applauded. View this post on Instagram No direct mention was made publicly by the leaders about China, which processes over 90 per cent of the world’s rare earths, making it the source of each country’s concern about its mineral supply chain. Beijing has recently expanded export curbs. Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to meet on Thursday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in South Korea to discuss a deal that would pause steeper US tariffs and Chinese rare earths export controls. Japan and the US would use economic policy ... -
Dawn - 03:42 Oct 28, 2025
• Former ISI chief claims it was his own countrymen, not Pakistan, that handed Afghan envoy Mullah Zaeef over to the Americans • Retired Gen Ehsanul Haq says Zaeef insisted on remaining in Islamabad, despite warnings from Pakistani officials ISLAMABAD: Over 20 years after his now-infamous handover to American forces following their invasion of Afghanistan, a former Pakistani spymaster has claimed that it was his own countrymen, and not Pakistan, that handed over former Taliban ambassador Abdus Salam Zaeef to the US. The claim, which comes in the midst of an escalating fracas with a resurgent Taliban in Kabul, was made by retired Gen Ehsanul Haq, who took over the reins of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) following the September 11, 2001 attacks. For years, it was believed that Zaeef — who was the Afghan Taliban regime’s envoy to Islamabad at the time of the 9/11 attacks — was handed over to the Americans in violation of international law. In his book, My Life With The Taliban, the former envoy had asserte...
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