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Dawn - 02:24 Jul 07, 2026
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has quietly begun mediating between Libya’s rival eastern and western power centres, a previously-unreported effort that would further raise Islamabad’s diplomatic profile if it succeeds. The Pakistani involvement comes after observers monitored for months a US-led push to find a diplomatic solution in Libya, which has been split between rival eastern and western administrations since a civil war that broke out in the years after the 2011 Nato-backed uprising toppled Muammar Qadhafi. The move comes on the heels of a separate mediation between the US and Iran this year, where Pakistan has played a central role, and has been repeatedly praised by the Trump administration for its involvement. Reuters cited Pakistani sources as saying that the US was “fully aware and involved” in Islamabad’s Libya role. Insiders claim US is ‘fully aware and involved’ in Islamabad’s role The effort was also being supported by Saudi Arabia, sources said. Last year, Islamabad struck a mutual defence pact with Sa... -
Dawn - 02:15 Jul 07, 2026
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday described the Baldia Town factory fire as one of the most tragic, painful and heart-rending disasters in Pakistan’s history, in which 260 workers lost their lives and around 60 others suffered burn injuries. “The victims were ordinary workers who had entered the factory to earn their livelihood, but many of them never came out alive,” Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan observed in the detailed 39-page judgement. The verdict explained why a three-member SC bench had overturned the convictions of two Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) workers, Abdul Rehman alias Bhola and Zubair alias Chariya, on June 10 in connection with the 2012 fire at the garment factory in Karachi’s Baldia area. The bench, also comprising Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi and Justice Shakeel Ahmad, set aside the death sentences awarded by an anti-terrorism court on charges of murder, extortion, arson and terrorism. Detailed verdict in Baldia factory fire case states prosecution failed to prove charges agains... -
Dawn - 02:14 Jul 07, 2026
FOR more than sixty-five years, the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) has stood as one of the world’s renowned, most enduring and successful transboundary water-course division arrangements between two nation states. Beyond its legal and international significance, it has also been the cornerstone of Pakistan’s water resources development. The certainty and predictability of flows provided by the treaty enabled Pakistan to develop the Indus Basin Irrigation System (IBIS); the world’s largest contiguous irrigation system, comprising three major reservoirs, six barrages, twelve inter-river link canals and an extensive distribution network that irrigates nearly 35 million acres and supports more than 90 per cent of the country’s food production. Pakistan’s hydropower system, irrigated agriculture and much of its economic development have evolved on the foundation of uninterrupted and predictable flows from the western rivers. The treaty has also contributed significantly in the overall strategic stability of South Asia.... -
Dawn - 02:03 Jul 07, 2026
Substitute Mikel Merino scored a late winner to put Spain in the quarter-finals with a 1-0 victory over Portugal and end Cristiano Ronaldo’s World Cup career on Monday. The European champions will face Belgium on Friday in Los Angeles. In front of an expectant crowd of 70,649 at the air-conditioned home of the Dallas Cowboys, a match that on paper promised so much failed to really deliver. Extra time looked certain, before fellow substitute Ferran Torres slipped in Merino to settle the contest in the first minute of injury time. It meant a sour final World Cup match for the 41-year-old Ronaldo, now playing in Saudi Arabia, having confirmed on the eve of the encounter that this would be his last dance on football’s biggest stage. The neighbours came into the contest both unbeaten, but while Portugal had not been entirely convincing, Spain had not even conceded a goal in the tournament. One of the pre-tournament favourites, they still haven’t. For all their pedigree, talent and history, Spain have only lifted t... -
Dawn - 01:59 Jul 07, 2026
LAHORE: The population of the rare Punjab urial is experiencing a steady resurgence across the rugged Salt Range, with recent sightings of large herds signalling improving stability for the vulnerable wild sheep, officials said. Recent footage captured near the Chakwal motorway shows herds of the wild sheep roaming freely across the mountain ranges without fear or disturbance, an encouraging indicator of improved habitat safety. The Punjab urial (Ovis vignei punjabiensis) is known locally as ‘wild sheep’, and has reddish-brown fur that fades in colour during winters. While six types of urial are found in the broader region — including Bukhara, Balochi, Afghani, Capsini, and Ladakhi — the Punjab urial is exclusively restricted to the Jhelum and Chakwal districts. This globally unique species relies heavily on the Salt Range, a 300-square-kilometer expanse of rugged mountains and dense scrub forests which encompasses the Jhelum, Chakwal, Khushab and Mianwali districts. Despite recovering numbers, the animal rem... -
Dawn - 18:42 Jul 06, 2026
Using NASA’s Perseverance rover, scientists are getting a greater understanding of the nature of some of the organic carbon — the molecular backbone for all known living organisms — detected on Mars as they explore the question of whether Earth’s planetary neighbour ever harboured life. New research describes the structure of the organic carbon found last year by the rover in sedimentary rock that contained a potential biosignature — a possible sign of past microbial life. This mudstone formed perhaps between 3.2 and 3.8 billion years ago beneath a now-vanished body of water in Jezero Crater in the Martian northern hemisphere. Organic carbon can be a clue as to whether Mars ever harboured life because it serves as the chemical underpinning for the molecules that build DNA, cells and proteins. But its presence is not proof of life because it also can arise in nonbiological processes such as chemical interaction between rock and water. The detection of organic carbon in two rocks in Jezero Crater — given th... -
Dawn - 18:30 Jul 06, 2026
Cuba on Monday suffered its third nationwide power outage since the start of the year, the state electricity company said. The impoverished island was already struggling to keep the lights on before US President Donald Trump imposed an oil blockade in January, which has depleted the already dwindling supply of fuel for Cuba’s power plants. “There has been a total disconnection from the national electricity generation system,” the UNE power utility wrote on X, adding that it was “investigating the causes.” The blackout is the eighth on the island of 9.6 million people since late 2024. It comes as the state imposes increasingly draconian power cuts across the country — over 24 hours at a stretch in parts of Havana and over 70 hours in some rural areas – in an increasingly desperate attempt to conserve fuel. Power outages have been a feature of life for years on the communist-run island, where the electricity generation system, composed mainly of ageing Soviet-era plants, is in shambles. The pace of blackouts ha... -
Dawn - 17:59 Jul 06, 2026
ISLAMABAD: The new management of Ufone and Telenor Pakistan has decided to rebrand the merged telecom company and has filed an application with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) in this regard, it emerged on Monday. Earlier this month, the Telenor Pakistan was formally amalgamated into Pak Telecom Mobile Limited (PTML) — the legal name for Ufone — after final approval by the Islamabad High Court (IHC). Sources in Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (PTCL) confirmed that the name of the new merged company would be “e&”, signifying that the merged telecom entity is under UAE-based state-owned company Etisalat. PTCL had already written a letter to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) seeking a new brand name for the merged company, while the telecom regulator responded that a notification from the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) was required regarding the names of the directors of the merged entity. Similarly, the PTA had also responded to a letter written by PTML ... -
Dawn - 17:41 Jul 06, 2026
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he asked FIFA President Gianni Infantino to review a red-card foul against USA striker Folarin Balogun and that he did not think the foul, called by the “horrible” referee, was fair. “All I did, I asked for a review, because I didn’t think it was a foul,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. The unprecedented move has thrust FIFA’s disciplinary process into the global spotlight and prompted an angry response from Belgium, who play the US on Monday for a place in the quarter-finals of the World Cup. Trump said the incident that got Balogun the red card was simply a case of two athletes colliding and he raised questions about the fairness of the referee who called the foul. “I saw the play,” Trump said. “That wasn’t a foul. That wasn’t even an infraction. That was two guys running whole speed that happened to crash into each other. “These were two great athletes that got tangled up, and this referee, who, is a little bit suspect if you check his past … very susp... -
Dawn - 17:35 Jul 06, 2026
LAHORE: A sessions court on Monday acquitted a man accused of desecrating the Holy Quran, ruling that the prosecution had completely failed to establish any direct connection between the accused and the alleged act of blasphemy. Police had registered First Information Report (FIR) No. 701 on April 27, 2024, under Sections 295-A and 295-B of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). The complainant claimed that he was standing near Shadman Chowk when he saw a man near an auto-rickshaw who had removed his shoes and placed papers containing sacred verses beneath his feet. He further alleged that more sacred pages were scattered across the road. Police arrived at the scene and nominated the accused in the case. The trial formally commenced on Jan 16, 2025, during which the accused pleaded not guilty, maintained his innocence and denied being present at the scene. The additional district and sessions judge announced the verdict after concluding that the prosecution’s case was severely compromised by “unreliable witness testi... -
Dawn - 17:34 Jul 06, 2026
As India continues to violate the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), the army’s top brass on Monday affirmed its “resolute commitment” to undertake “all measures necessary” to ensure the availability of Pakistan’s rightful share of water. The development came as Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir presided over the 276th Corps Commanders’ Conference (CCC) at General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi, according to a statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). “The forum, taking note of Indian rhetoric surrounding the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), reaffirmed the guidance given in the National Security Committee (NSC) directive” of April 24, 2025, which followed India’s unilateral move to put the treaty in abeyance. “The forum expressed resolute commitment to undertake all measures necessary to ensure availability of Pakistan’s rightful share of water as per the directives of the government and inspirations of the people of Pakistan,” the statement read. The atte... -
Dawn - 15:12 Jul 06, 2026
ISLAMABAD:In a significant development in an ongoing anti-money laundering investigation against real estate tycoon Malik Riaz, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) took possession of Karachi’s Bahria Icon Tower on Monday after a Rawalpindi accountability court confirmed its provisional attachment. The Bahria Icon Tower is one of Pakistan’s most prominent high-rise developments, and is regarded as the country’s tallest building. According to NAB sources, the bureau’s investigation — conducted against M/s Galaxy Construction Private Limited among others — established that the construction of the property and the acquisition of the underlying land were sourced through the proceeds of crime, and constituted a property involved in money laundering. On the basis of evidence collected during the investigation, NAB provisionally attached the Bahria Icon Tower under section 8 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010 (Attachment of property involved in money laundering). Following the collection of further corrobora... -
Dawn - 15:02 Jul 06, 2026
President Asif Ali Zardari arrived in Kyrgyzstan on Monday for a four-day official visit at the invitation of Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov. According to a statement by the president’s office, he was welcomed by the Kyrgyz president upon his arrival at Issyk-Kul International Airport, and was presented with a guard of honour. The Foreign Office (FO) said in an earlier statement that the president would be accompanied by a high-level delegation. “This is the first visit by a president of Pakistan to the Kyrgyz Republic in 21 years, marking a historic milestone in the bilateral relationship,” the FO highlighted. It noted that the trip followed Zhaparov’s “successful visit” to Pakistan in December 2025 and reflected the “sustained upward trajectory of high-level engagement between the two brotherly countries”. During the visit, President Zardari will hold a one-on-one meeting and delegation-level talks with Zhaparov. “The two leaders will review the entire spectrum of Pakistan-Kyrgyzstan relations and exchange ... -
Dawn - 14:55 Jul 06, 2026
Microsoft said Monday it was eliminating about 4,800 jobs — roughly 2 per cent of its global workforce — in a cost-cutting move that will deliver a sweeping restructuring of its struggling Xbox gaming division. The cuts include the deepest overhaul in Xbox’s history, with approximately 3,200 gaming jobs to be shed over the coming fiscal year, four game studios being spun off or sold, and a fifth entering a review process that could lead to closure, the company said. The announcement is the latest in a string of mass layoffs by the technology giant as it spends massive amounts of money to stay in the artificial intelligence race, with companies investing tens of billions of dollars in AI-ready data centres and computing power. “Our business is changing because the world around it is changing,” Amy Coleman, Microsoft’s executive vice president, wrote in a memo to all employees. “Companies don’t get to choose whether their industry changes; they only get to choose whether they change with it.” Coleman said the l... -
Dawn - 14:51 Jul 06, 2026
The funeral of late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was more than a national farewell. The sea of mourners in Tehran sent a message to the United States and Israel that their attempt to break the country had failed. Rather than looking weakened by the war that began with US and Israeli strikes on February 28, Iran presented itself as defiant, unified and determined to shape what comes next. That defiance and ability to survive now underpins Iran’s negotiating strategy, regional officials, diplomats and analysts say, depicting the funeral as the moment Tehran sought to transform endurance into leverage. Not ‘a diamond for a lollipop’ The war, they say, has underlined Iran’s leverage over the Strait of Hormuz and enabled it to demand that any deal on its nuclear programme begins with recognition that its control over the vital oil chokepoint is a reality that must be accepted. A 60-day ceasefire was intended by Washington to revive diplomacy on stopping Iran developing a nuclear arsenal, but has i... -
Dawn - 14:33 Jul 06, 2026
US President Donald Trump’s phone call to FIFA chief Gianni Infantino to have the red card for the co-host’s star striker Folarin Balogun reviewed is the latest instance of political interference in the World Cup. Balogun is free to play later on Monday in the last-16 match with Belgium after the governing body said the ban will be suspended for a year. AFP Sport highlights other examples at previous World Cups: 1934 — Mussolini’s Cup Italy’s fascist dictator Benito Mussolini made the most of the country hosting the finals. Mussolini saw the possibility of not only providing the Italian people with ‘bread and circuses’ as Roman emperors had done with gladiatorial combats in the Colosseum but also to both promote his regime and football as epitomising ‘the new Italian’. There was not much sporting about his behaviour during the tournament, attending every match and paying unannounced visits to the referees’ changing rooms. He obtained what he wanted, an Italy win, though a cloud hung over it owing to suspicion... -
Dawn - 13:55 Jul 06, 2026
Clashes in a Sri Lankan jail killed 26 people, including seven guards, and wounded more than 100 in the country’s deadliest prison riot in years, officials said Monday. Victims with cuts and gunshot injuries were rushed to Negombo Hospital, north of the capital Colombo following overnight fighting between inmates from two drug gangs, police said. Hospital director Pushpa Gamlath said there were 23 bodies at the state-run facility, as well as more than 100 wounded inmates and guards from Negombo Prison. “There are some victims with gunshot injuries, some with cuts and severe bruises,” Gamlath told AFP by telephone. “We transfered 18 of the more seriously wounded to the Colombo National hospital.” Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara expressed “profound shock and grief”, and said authorities were working to separate the rival gangs in the prison. “Whether they were inmates, or associated with the underworld, is not relevant to us at this moment,” Nanayakkara told reporters in Colombo. “Human beings have died, ... -
Dawn - 13:42 Jul 06, 2026
Azad Jammu and Kashmir Information Department Secretary Muhammad Rashid Hanif claimed on Monday that state institutions had evidence of Indian funding behind the banned Joint Awami Action Committee’s (JAAC) “agenda” in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Addressing a press conference in Muzaffarabad, the information secretary said that state institutions had credible information about foreign funding behind ongoing activities in AJK. “The institutions have evidence of the use of Indian funding to mobilise overseas Kashmiris, such as UK-based Amjad Ayub Mirza, to advance an anti-Pakistan agenda,” Hanif said. He urged the people of AJK to dismiss the “baseless disinformation campaign on social media” and participate in the “due political process to restore peace and order in the region”. The information secretary elaborated that for the past month, members of the proscribed organisation had carried out multiple “illegal and violent” activities under the guise of human rights advocacy. “This apparent human rights movement h... -
Dawn - 13:07 Jul 06, 2026
KARACHI: An additional district and sessions judge on Monday granted interim bail to five of the six accused in the deadly Gul Plaza blaze, including the building union president and an 11-year-old boy. The deadly inferno, which erupted on the night of January 17 at the mall and took nearly two days to be fully extinguished, had claimed at least 73 lives and left over 1,100 shops in ruins. In the charge sheet, six persons had been named as accused persons: 11-year-old Huzaifa; his father, Naimatullah who owned an artificial flower shop; and Gul Plaza Traders Association President Tanveer Pasta along with its members Ammar Ismail, Muhammad Ramzan, and Muhammad Ameen. Naimatullah, Pasta, Ismail and Ramazan were granted bail against a surety bond of Rs500,000 each, their lawyer Shaikh Jawaid Mir said. The child was granted interim bail against a surety worth Rs10,000. A written order issued by Judge Muhammad Aslam Shaikh read: “The contention required consideration and at this stage without touching the merits o... -
Dawn - 11:58 Jul 06, 2026
PPP’s Amjad Hussain on Monday was sworn in as the chief minister of Gilgit-Baltistan in a ceremony attended by his party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. Advocate Hussain was elected for the role on June 22 following the June 7 elections, in which the PPP emerged as the largest party, with 12 seats in the 24-member GB assembly. Addressing the ceremony in Gilgit after taking the oath, Hussain said the PPP emerged as the “largest party” in the elections. He noted that the region’s youth and women “had a huge role” in the polls, in which his party candidates secured several seats. Hussain particularly thanked the people of Nagar who “gave the PPP 100 per cent results and two seats”, adding that the “heavy mandate” given to his party was an expression of the public confidence in the PPP. He highlighted that the Gilgit and Baltistan divisions were traditionally considered areas with a mandate for the PPP, thanking the residents there for maintaining that support. “This mandate is not a new thing,” the newly sworn-...
12400 items