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Dawn - 00:06 Dec 28, 2025
Humour me for a second: despite its big, flashy, expensive exterior, I believe Avatar: Fire and Ash to be the perfect Christmas family movie — kind of like the first Die Hard, another fun Christmas family movie. Strip away the action, and Avatar is about overcoming odds, keeping the family together, forgiveness and redemption, with a little bit of unexpected magic near the climax. Isn’t that exactly what a Christmas movie is all about? In Fire and Ash, the magic comes courtesy of Eywa, the spirit of the alien planet Pandora that resides in everything and commands the wildlife. One connects to Eywa through tendril-like organic connections called “queues” at the end of Na’vi hair, which provide neural links to control animals and access the spirit realm, where souls of every dead person on Pandora reside (after their bodies are absorbed into Eywa’s soil). A happy family reunion of glowing auras, warmth and forgiveness with those who’ve passed away occurs early and late in the movie — but a good three hours befo... -
Dawn - 00:06 Dec 28, 2025
Mian Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo, a former chief minister of Punjab and one of Pakistan’s most durable political survivors, passed away on December 16, 2025, at the age of 86. His death marks the passing of a particular species of politician — less ideological than instinctive, less rhetorical than tactical — who thrived in the interstices of power rather than at its commanding heights. Wattoo was never the face of a movement, nor the author of a grand political vision. Yet, for decades, he remained relevant in Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous and politically decisive province, precisely because he understood how power there actually worked. He belonged to a generation shaped by instability. Born in Okara district, in the fertile plains of central Punjab, Wattoo came of age in a Pakistan where democracy was episodic and political loyalty was often provisional. Coups, dissolutions of assemblies and abrupt changes of regime were not aberrations but recurring features of national life. In such a setting, political surv... -
Dawn - 00:06 Dec 28, 2025
Want to be on the ball and go into 2026 knowing exactly what's cool, what's trending and what to avoid? Eos off ers its annual cheat sheet... Published in Dawn, EOS, December 28th, 2025 -
Dawn - 00:06 Dec 28, 2025
Mirabai and Ghalib stamps, mentioned in Adeeb’s 1952 letter, that are part of the ‘Indian Saints and Poets’ series | Photos from the writer's collection In a letter dated November 22, 1952, Professor Syed Masood Hasan Rizvi Adeeb of Lucknow writes to Allama Syed Murtaza Hussain Fazil Lakhnawi, “Yesterday, I sent you a registered letter in your name. It bears two postage stamps, one with Ghalib’s portrait and the other with Mirabai’s. The postmark has been placed in such a way that Ghalib’s picture has not been marred. Since you collect everything related to Ghalib, you should keep this stamp safe as well.” This very stamp and the letter are still preserved in good condition. A faded Lahore post office mark on this stamp reads as “…53, Lahore”, indicating its arrival in Lahore in January 1953. Fazil Lakhnawi, the editor of centenary editions of Ghalib’s collected works in Persian, Urdu-i-Mu’alla and Oud-i-Hindi, was an avid admirer of Ghalib and had a large collection centred around the poet, consisting of the... -
Dawn - 00:06 Dec 28, 2025
Respected Auntie, I am a gazetted officer in a well-reputed public sector organisation, where the source of income is limited to the salary. A few months ago, I started a part-time business venture, which was unsuccessful and I suffered losses. Because of that, I have been facing a hard time economically for the past few weeks. My father-in-law (also my elder paternal uncle) left behind a hefty agricultural land and a commercial property to his spouse and children. Following his death in 2017, I was married to his only daughter in 2019. Despite the passage of almost seven years, not even a single penny was transferred to my wife. I have four brothers-in-law, and my father-in-law considered his daughter equal to his son and declared that they would equally share the inheritance. But after his death, things have changed altogether. Two of my brothers-in-law have shifted abroad, using the resources of their father, while one has been given a separate home from the family one. The fourth one is living and enjoyin... -
Dawn - 00:04 Dec 28, 2025
ISLAMABAD: Italy has offered more than 10,000 jobs to Pakistani workers over the next three years. According to an agreement reached between the two countries, Italy has allocated a labour quota for Pakistan. As many as 10,500 Pakistani workers will be provided employment in various sectors, including ship breaking, hospitality, healthcare and agriculture, as well as welding, technician roles, chefs, waiters, housekeeping, nursing, medical technicians and farming. Skilled and semi-skilled job aspirants will travel to Italy for employment in these sectors. Each year, 3,500 Pakistani workers will secure overseas jobs under seasonal and non-seasonal quotas. This includes 1,500 Pakistanis under the seasonal quota and 2,000 under the non-seasonal quota annually. Italy is the first European country to allocate job quotas specifically for Pakistan. The second meeting of the Pakistan-Italy Joint Working Group will be held in Islamabad in February 2026. Published in Dawn, December 28th, 2025 -
Dawn - 18:43 Dec 27, 2025
Russia attacked Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine with hundreds of missiles and drones on Saturday, ahead of what President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said would be a crucial meeting with US President Donald Trump to work out a plan to end nearly four years of war. Zelenskiy cast the vast overnight attack, which he said involved about 500 drones and 40 missiles and which knocked out power and heat in parts of the capital, as Russia’s response to the ongoing peace efforts brokered by Washington. The Ukrainian leader has said Sunday’s talks in Florida would focus on security guarantees and territorial control once fighting ends in Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two, started by Russia’s 2022 invasion of its smaller neighbour. The attack continued throughout the morning, with a nearly 10-hour air raid alert for the capital. Authorities said two people were killed in Kyiv and the surrounding region, while at least 46 people were wounded, including two children. “Today, Russia demonstrated how it responds to pe... -
Dawn - 18:11 Dec 27, 2025
Politicians and colleagues paid homage to Dr Shamshad Akhtar on Saturday as a trailblazer, noting that she was the first woman to serve as governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and achieved many other notable accomplishments. She passed away today due to cardiac arrest. At the time of her passing, Dr Akhtar was serving as chairperson of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSE), a rare position reflecting a career that spanned Pakistan’s monetary policy, fiscal management, and capital markets. Dr Akhtar, known for her leadership roles in both national and international financial institutions, took over as the 14th governor of the SBP on January 2, 2006, becoming the first woman to hold the position. She had also been the finance minister in the caretaker setups before the 2018 and 2024 general elections. Dr Akhtar served as the vice president of the World Bank for the Middle East and North Africa and the executive secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). ... -
Dawn - 17:58 Dec 27, 2025
LAHORE: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi cast doubt on the government’s sincerity in holding talks with the PTI and said he was actively making efforts to initiate the party’s street movement by reaching out to multiple stakeholders. Accompanied by PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja and other leaders on the second day of his three-day visit to Lahore, the KP chief minister spoke to the media on two occasions while visiting the residences of incarcerated party leaders Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Dr Yasmin Rashid, Ejaz Chaudhry, and Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed. Answering a question about the prospects of dialogue with the government in the wake of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s offer, the KP chief minister said: “Incumbent rulers are showing no sign of dialogue and instead are displaying their dictatorship mindset, which was inculcated in their minds since they began politics.” Asked whether he believed issues with the federal government could be resolved through talks, CM Afridi said Imran Khan had a... -
Dawn - 17:22 Dec 27, 2025
The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Saturday distanced itself from “provocative” remarks by a protester during a demonstration in the British city of Bradford, as the party continues to face backlash from the government and other quarters. In the video posted on PTI’s UK page and since deleted, a woman appears to be wishing ill on a person without taking any name, saying that they should be “blown up in a car”. The woman can be seen surrounded by people holding PTI flags. Pakistan also issued a demarche to the acting British high commissioner, demanding action against all those involved. “The demarche was issued after provocative statements were made against Pakistan’s civil and military leadership from British soil,” the FO spokesperson said. He urged the UK to “hold responsible elements accountable in accordance with the law”. In a strongly-worded statement on Saturday, PTI Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram stated that the speech delivered by the demonstrator in the UK has “no connection” w... -
Dawn - 17:21 Dec 27, 2025
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Saturday urged giving the provinces a greater role in areas such as tax collection to help address the federal government’s financial issues. The Bhutto scion was addressing the death anniversary programme for his mother, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh. Benazir was assassinated in a gun-and-bomb attack near Rawalpindi’s Liaquat Bagh on December 27, 2007, after a public gathering. The Sindh government announced a public holiday today to commemorate Benazir’s death anniversary. Foolproof security for the VVIPs, VIPs, and general public was ensured in Larkana, with over 8,500 police officers and personnel, alongside Rangers and other security agencies, deployed at and around Bhutto’s mausoleum in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh. Speaking at the event, Bilawal said the PPP was a federal party that conducted politics at both the national and provincial levels with sincerity, treating the Centre’s problems as its own. “If there is an issue of fiscal space for t... -
Dawn - 15:55 Dec 27, 2025
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will depart for the United States on Sunday and meet with President Donald Trump in Florida a day later, an Israeli official told AFP. It will be Netanyahu’s fifth visit to see Trump in the United States this year. His trip comes as the Trump administration and regional mediators push to proceed to the second stage of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Trump told reporters in mid-December that Netanyahu would probably visit him in Florida during the Christmas holidays. “He would like to see me. We haven’t set it up formally, but he’d like to see me,” Trump said before leaving for his Mar-a-Lago resort. Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported on Wednesday that a wide range of regional issues was expected to be discussed, including Iran, talks on an Israel-Syria security agreement, the ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon and the next stages of the Gaza deal. Progress in moving to the second phase of October’s Gaza ceasefire agreement, which w... -
Dawn - 15:52 Dec 27, 2025
Renowned economist and former State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) governor Dr Shamshad Akhtar, 71, passed away due to cardiac arrest on Saturday. She was serving as chairperson of the Pakistan Stock Exchange at the time of her death, giving her a rare role spanning Pakistan’s monetary policy, fiscal management and capital markets. Akhtar, known for her leadership roles in both national and international financial institutions, took over as the 14th governor of the SBP on January 2, 2006, becoming the first woman to hold the position. She had also been the finance minister in the caretaker setups before the 2018 and 2024 general elections. Akhtar also served as the vice president of the World Bank for the Middle East and North Africa and the executive secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). Prior to her appointment as SBP governor, Akhtar served as the director general of the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Southeast Asia Department since January 2004. She also ... -
Dawn - 15:19 Dec 27, 2025
LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board on Saturday announced that it has approved 10 bidders after completing the technical evaluation of the proposals for the sale of two new franchises of the Pakistan Super League. The auction for the two teams is slated for Jan 8 in Islamabad and comes after the PCB, which had received 12 proposals, had earlier said that investors from the United States, Australia, Canada, the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan expressed their interest in acquiring the franchises up for sale. “A total of 12 proposals were received from interested parties within the stipulated deadline from across the globe and were scrutinised by the PCB Bid Committee over the last three days,” PCB said in a statement. “Following a thorough and transparent evaluation process, the PCB Bid Committee has qualified 10 bidders who have successfully met the technical criteria and now enter the second stage. “These 10 technically qualified bidders will now proceed to participate in the auction scheduled on Thursday, 8... -
Dawn - 13:19 Dec 27, 2025
Pakistan rejects attempts to ‘undermine Somalia’s sovereignty’ after Israel’s Somaliland recognition
Pakistan on Saturday rejected Israel‘s recognition of the self-declared Republic of Somaliland, terming it an attempt to undermine Somalia’s sovereignty. Israel became the first country to formally recognise Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state on Friday, with Somaliland’s president, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, saying his state will join the Abraham Accords. The decision could reshape regional dynamics and test Somalia’s longstanding opposition to secession. “Pakistan strongly condemns any attempts to undermine the sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of Somalia, and rejects, in this regard, the announcement made by Israel recognising the independence of the so-called Somaliland region of the Federal Republic of Somalia,” the Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement. “Such illegal and provocative actions constitute a flagrant violation of international law and not only threaten the peace and stability of the brotherly country of Somalia, but also that of the entire region,” it added. Isl... -
Dawn - 13:05 Dec 27, 2025
Security forces killed four terrorists during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Balochistan’s Panjgur district, the military’s media wing said on Saturday. According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the security forces conducted an operation on December 26 on the reported presence of “Khawarij belonging to Indian proxy, Fitna al Khawarij”. Fitna al Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The statement added during the conduct of operation, “own forces effectively engaged the Khawarij location, and after an intense fire exchange, four Indian sponsored Khawarij were sent to hell”. The statement further said that weapons, ammunition and explosives were recovered from the killed terrorists, “who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area”. Following the skirmish, a sanitization operation was initiated in the area to “eliminate any other Indian sponsored Khawarij present in the... -
Dawn - 12:47 Dec 27, 2025
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Saturday hailed Pakistan’s success over India during the military escalation between the two countries earlier this year. “A strong message was sent to the world,” he said while speaking to the media in Islamabad, where he gave an overview of Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts in 2025. “Our international standing has […] improved due to principled, proactive and result-oriented diplomacy,” Dar said, reflecting on the past year. He said Pakistan was “known to be a diplomatically isolated country” at the time PM Shehbaz Sharif took oath last year. Speaking on the May conflict, Dar said India’s claim of regional hegemony and being the net security provider was tested during the four-day escalation. “We did not ask anyone to mediate between us,” the deputy premier asserted. He recalled that Pakistan shot down seven jets of India during the May 7 air battle, which was followed by “incorrect” statements by New Delhi that Pakistan had attacked 15 Indian military ins... -
Dawn - 12:23 Dec 27, 2025
PML-N leaders on Saturday said PTI had been sending mixed signals regarding talks with the government, stressing that democracy could only be advanced through “dialogue and not deadlock”. On Friday, Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah said that PM Shehbaz would decide on talks with PTI once the opposition party clarifies its stance on negotiations. PM Shehbaz on Tuesday extended an offer for talks with the opposition. The PTI outright rejected talks with the government on the directions of party founder Imran Khan, but Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP), of which the PTI is a part, stated its openness to negotiate with the government. PML-N leaders, including Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah, National Assembly speaker Ayaz Sadiq and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, made the remarks while speaking to the media in Sukkur. The delegation is headed to Garhi Khuda Bakhsh for the 18th death anniversary of former prime minister Benazir Bhu... -
Dawn - 10:48 Dec 27, 2025
WASHINGTON: History does not always announce itself with thunder. Sometimes it arrives as a decision — taken calmly, consciously and against fear. “I am returning to Pakistan on October 18 to coalesce the forces of moderation against extremism,” Benazir Bhutto said in Washington in 2007. “Our goal, quite literally, is to save democracy in Pakistan.” She made that statement on September 25, 2007, at meetings hosted by the Middle East Institute and later at the Russell Senate Building. It was not a slogan, it was a commitment — one she fully intended to honour. I had met Benazir countless times over the years — in Pakistan, in London and in Washington — across different phases of her political life. She could be warm and disarming, cautious and guarded, sharply analytical and politically defiant, sometimes all of the above within the same conversation. But on that September day in Washington, there was a particular clarity about her. She had already decided. As she was leaving the Middle East Institute, I asked... -
Dawn - 09:24 Dec 27, 2025
United States President Donald Trump urged the Justice Department (DOJ) on Friday to “embarrass” any Democrats who worked with Jeffrey Epstein after it began poring over millions of documents linked to the late sex offender. The DOJ began releasing records last week from the investigation into Epstein, a wealthy financier who died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial for trafficking underage girls for sex. The latest disclosures on Tuesday contain numerous references to Trump, including documents detailing flights he took on Epstein’s private jet. Trump was once a friend of Epstein but distanced himself after his crimes came to light, and has appeared reluctant to discuss the case despite strong support in the Republican party for fuller transparency about the deceased man’s associates. “Now 1,000,000 more pages on Epstein are found. DOJ is being forced to spend all of its time on this Democrat inspired Hoax,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform on Friday. “The Dems are the ones who worked with...
7393 items