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Dawn - 12:22 Feb 09, 2026
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday announced the government’s plan to invest $1 billion in artificial intelligence (AI) by 2030. The Indus AI Week 2026 is being held from February 9 to 15 (Sunday). The event’s website describes it as “Pakistan’s official national platform for artificial intelligence — where policy, innovation, talent and investment converge”. “The government of Pakistan is committed to investing $1 billion in AI by 2030, which will go a long way in building an AI ecosystem in our country,” the premier said while addressing the event’s inauguration ceremony in Islamabad. Announcing further steps the country aims to take to keep up with modern technologies, PM Shehbaz said an AI curriculum would be introduced “not only in all federally-controlled or -run schools but all schools” of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB). He emphasised that the plan would be implemented in remote parts of Balochistan as well to “pair our youth for leadership and digital economy”. The prime m... -
Dawn - 11:42 Feb 09, 2026
Eight Muslim countries, including Pakistan, in a joint statement on Monday, warned against the “continued expansionist Israeli policies” in the occupied West Bank. In the statement, the foreign minister of Pakistan — along with those of Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Indonesia, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Qatar — “condemned in the strongest terms the illegal Israeli decisions and measures aimed at imposing unlawful Israeli sovereignty, entrenching settlement activity, and enforcing a new legal and administrative reality in the occupied West Bank, thereby accelerating attempts at its illegal annexation and the displacement of the Palestinian people”. The statement comes a day after Israel’s security cabinet approved a series of steps that would make it easier for settlers in the occupied West Bank to buy land while granting Israeli authorities more enforcement powers over Palestinians, according to Israeli media. Citing statements by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defence Minister Israel K... -
Dawn - 11:18 Feb 09, 2026
ISLAMABAD: Justice Raja Inaam Ameen Minhas of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday questioned the mechanism for determining what constitutes “fake news” in the amended Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca). The IHC judge made the remarks while hearing petitions filed by journalists’ bodies and senior journalists challenging the controversial amendments to Peca, which they argue curtail freedom of expression and vest excessive powers in the executive. The petitions have been filed by senior journalist Hamid Mir, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), the Islamabad High Court Journalists Association (IHCJA), and others. During the hearing, the counsel for the petitioner read out the added provisions of the amended law and contended that powers traditionally exercised by the judiciary had been transferred to the executive through the amendments. The counsel argued that matters relating to the determination of false or fake information should be adjudicated by an independent judicial tribunal ... -
Dawn - 10:40 Feb 09, 2026
Around a million children were missed and 53,000 refusals were reported during the year’s first nationwide polio campaign. The largest share of refusals, i.e. 58 per cent, was reported from Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi. The campaign concluded on February 5 in most cities, while the campaign ran till February 8 in Sindh. During the campaign, polio drops were administered to more than 44.3 million children, marking a significant milestone in Pakistan’s continued efforts to eradicate polio. While the data shows that the polio programme achieved overall household coverage of 98pc, with 2pc children missed, the number of missed children is still huge and worrisome given Pakistan’s population. Overall, 0.95m children were reported as missed during the campaign. A large proportion of these (0.67m) were missed because children were not available at home at the time of vaccination. During the campaign, 2.5 million guest children were vaccinated, likely covering a substantial share of children recorded as not being... -
Dawn - 09:45 Feb 09, 2026
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday rejected the request for an “immediate” meeting with PTI founder Imran Khan, and issued a notice to the government for tomorrow. The SC had fixed for hearing 13 petitions related to Imran and his spouse Bushra Bibi, and said PTI’s memorandum seeking jail visitation rights for the party founder has been forwarded to the relevant executive authorities for consideration under the law. Imran has been in jail since August 2023, convicted in a string of cases he says were politically driven following his ouster in a 2022 no-confidence vote. The request for the meeting, submitted by senior PTI leader Latif Khosa, was rejected by a two-member bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi and Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan. The bench observed that such an order could not be passed without hearing the other side. Hence, a notice was then issued to the government for tomorrow (Tuesday). Addressing Khosa during the hearing, CJP Afridi said that “we have to overcome the ... -
Dawn - 08:50 Feb 09, 2026
Pakistan has dispatched another 100-tonne consignment of humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said on Monday. Since the latest conflict between Israel and Hamas broke out on Oct 7, 2023, Pakistan has sent numerous aid items intended for the Gaza Strip, which was besieged at least until a ceasefire was secured in October 2025. According to NDMA, the consignment comprised 100 tonnes of tents and was sent with the support of Alkhidmat Foundation. This was the 28th relief consignment sent by Pakistan, bringing the total volume of humanitarian assistance sent to 2,727 tonnes. The relief goods were dispatched through a special flight from Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore to Egypt’s El Arish International Airport “for onward delivery to Gaza”, state-run Radio Pakistan reported. Punjab housing minister Bilal Yasin was a special guest at the dispatch, which was attended by officials of the NDMA and the foreign ministry, NDMA stated. Pakistan had first... -
Dawn - 08:47 Feb 09, 2026
• PM aide’s contention that ‘innocents may get caught up’ in the wake of action following terror attacks prompts heckling, walkout • Dr Malik, Akhtar Mengal stress need for political, not military-based solutions LAHORE: At a charged discussion about the situation in Balochistan, PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah ignited controversy when he implied that innocent civilians were bound to get caught up in the fallout of attacks such as the ones witnessed across the province on Jan 31. The PM’s aide was speaking during a session, titled ‘Is There a Political Will to Solve the Crisis in Balochistan’, at the Asma Jahangir Conference on Sunday. The minister was part of a distinguished panel, which also included BNP-Mengal chief Akhtar Mengal and National Party leader Dr Abdul Malik Baloch, and was moderated by Mujahid Barelvi. PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah at the Asma Jahangir Conference on Sunday. The controversy reared its head when Mr Sanaullah was responding to points raised by the other speaker regarding the treatment... -
Dawn - 08:46 Feb 09, 2026
Injury-hit Australia limp into the T20 World Cup without leading fast bowlers Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, but Nathan Ellis says the team’s depleted attack can still carry the nation to glory. Cummins pulled out with a back injury and Hazlewood lost a race to be fit after sustaining Achilles and hamstring injuries. With Mitchell Starc having quit the format, Australia will be without all three of their top quicks for the first World Cup in over a decade. Ellis, the default leader of a pace attack featuring Xavier Bartlett and Ben Dwarshuis, said the new trio would be able to cover for the loss of their more experienced teammates. “We’ve had 18-24 months of cricket together where the big three haven’t been playing and have had big workloads in the test arena,” he told reporters on Monday. “I actually think we work together really, really well. “We’ve all got different skill-sets and can gel together on the night in different phases of the game. “A squad without ‘Hoff’ (Hazlewood) and Cummo (Cummins) is a st... -
Dawn - 08:41 Feb 09, 2026
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Monday chaired a high-level inter-ministerial meeting to review measures aimed at strengthening Pakistan’s economic and trade cooperation with the European Union (EU). According to a post shared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on X, the deputy prime minister underscored the importance of expanding trade and economic ties with the EU, noting that the bloc remains a key economic partner for Pakistan, particularly under the Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP-Plus) framework. Dar highlighted that Pakistan has completed four biennial GSP-Plus reviews and reaffirmed the country’s commitment to fully meeting its obligations under the scheme in order to expand mutually beneficial trade opportunities with the EU. GSP-Plus is a trade initiative by the EU that allows developing countries to export goods to the region with reduced or zero tariffs, making their products more competitive in European markets. Under the enhanced GSP-Plus sch... -
Dawn - 07:36 Feb 09, 2026
A Hong Kong court sentenced pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison on Monday for national security crimes, a punishment rights groups condemned as “effectively a death sentence” and a symbol of the city’s shrivelling press freedoms. The 78-year-old founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper was found guilty in December on two counts of foreign collusion under a sweeping national security law imposed by Beijing, as well as one count of seditious publication. His sentence is by far the harshest handed out under the national security law, surpassing the previous record of 10 years given to legal scholar Benny Tai in 2024. A summary document from the judges said they had settled on 20 years’ imprisonment “after considering the serious and grave criminal conduct of Lai”. Two of those years will overlap with Lai’s existing prison term, meaning that he will serve an additional 18 years, the judges wrote. Lai, who has been behind bars since 2020, sat impassively in the dock as his sentence wa... -
Dawn - 07:00 Feb 09, 2026
LAHORE: A judicial magistrate on Monday indicted YouTuber Saadur Rehman, alias Ducky Bhai, his wife Aroob Jatoi, and others over the alleged promotion of gambling apps on social media. All the accused pleaded not guilty to the charges and decided to contest the trial. Magistrate Naeem Wattoo ordered the prosecution to present its witnesses at the next hearing. Further proceedings will be held on Feb 23. The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) had registered the cases of several YouTubers and Tiktokers on charges of promoting gambling apps on their social media accounts. The agency had arrested Rehman in August of last year. The Lahore High Court (LHC) had released him on bail on Nov 24. The case is related to an inquiry dated June 13, 2025, and registered on the “receipt of information from reliable source(s)” that some YouTubers and social media influencers were promoting gambling and betting applications to the general public via their social media accounts for their own monetary benefits. It ... -
Dawn - 04:29 Feb 09, 2026
A white supremacist who shot and killed 51 worshippers at two New Zealand mosques in 2019 launched an appeal Monday seeking to overturn his conviction. Brenton Tarrant, an Australian former gym instructor, admitted carrying out New Zealand’s deadliest modern-day mass shooting before being sentenced to life in jail in August 2020. Now, the convicted killer argues that his “torturous and inhumane” detention conditions during his trial made him incapable of making rational decisions when he pleaded guilty, according to a court synopsis of the case. Tarrant is being held in a specialist unit for prisoners of extreme risk at Auckland Prison, seldom interacting with inmates or other people. “I did not have the mind frame or mental health required to be making informed decisions at that time,” Tarrant told the court, according to the New Zealand Herald. Tarrant said his state of mind was such that he had considered trying to implicate President Donald Trump in the crime. Life without parole “What I said at the time ... -
Dawn - 03:21 Feb 09, 2026
• Punjab leads with Rs609bn cash surplus, followed by Sindh’s Rs354bn • KP transfers Rs175bn; Balochistan sends Rs41bn • Revenue-to-GDP ratio falls to 8.2pc in July-Dec despite reforms ISLAMABAD: Amid a decline in the revenue-to-GDP ratio despite purported reforms, the four provinces reached close to meeting their IMF-dictated annual target of delivering a cash surplus to the Centre within the first half of the current fiscal year. The official fiscal operations data released by the Ministry of Finance for July-December 2025 suggest the four provinces returned Rs1.18 trillion in cash to the Centre, just Rs285 billion short of the Rs1.464tr target set for the whole under the IMF’s $7bn Extended Fund Facility (EFF). During the same period last year, the provinces had jointly produced over 50 lower surpluses worth Rs775bn against the budgeted target of Rs1.2tr. With its larger fiscal muscle, Punjab led the provinces by providing Rs609bn budget surplus in six months, followed by Sindh’s Rs354bn. Khyber Pakhtunkhw... -
Dawn - 03:13 Feb 09, 2026
• Opposition claims Modi surrendered to Trump over Epstein files • Growers fears the disastrous impact of the agreement; nationwide protests set for Feb 12 NEW DELHI: Indian farmers on Monday slammed a new US trade deal as “a surrender to multinational agricultural giants”, calling for the commerce minister’s resignation as Congress accused Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi of capitulating to US President Donald Trump over the “Epstein files” release. Congress leaders claimed an Indian minister, a businessman and individuals close to the prime minister were mentioned in the files, along with Modi. According to a report in The Hindu, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) demanded Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal’s immediate resignation as soon as he explained the details of the bilateral pact. Leaders of the union representing apple and cotton growers said any relaxation on the import of cotton would be disastrous for the economies of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat. Talking to repo... -
Dawn - 21:54 Feb 08, 2026
A meeting between the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Pakistan and Bangladesh cricket boards was held at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium on Sunday to discuss Pakistan’s decision to boycott the T20 World Cup match with India on February 15. The meeting was still in progress until late Sunday night, while the ICC, as well as the two cricket boards, decided not to speak to the media regarding the discussion. After a four-hour meeting, no joint declaration was issued. Per sources, there was a break for a late-night dinner, and a second round of talks was scheduled after that. Sources in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) earlier told Dawn that the two sides will most likely announce the outcome of the meeting after receiving an endorsement from the Government of Pakistan. They added that the main concern of the PCB expressed during the meeting was related to the “politics rampant at a large-scale level across the ICC affairs and India’s excessive involvement in it.” The Board of Control for Cricket in India’s ... -
Dawn - 19:20 Feb 08, 2026
PESHAWAR: Police repulsed an attack by unidentified militants, who targeted a police checkpoint in the Passani village located on the outskirts of Peshawar, officials said. Peshawar Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Dr Mian Saeed Ahmed told Dawn that “the militants attacked a police post and an exchange of fire also took place, but the policemen, deployed at the facility, retaliated, forcing the militants to escape.” The CCPO added that the situation was “under control”. No casualties or injuries were reported as a result of the attack; however, the nature of the attack and physical losses are yet to be ascertained. On November 26, unidentified persons blew up a gas pipeline in Hameed Khan Machine area, some five miles south of the police post in Passani. Residents said that an explosion had triggered a fire from the pipeline. A police official said that the pipeline was blown up for the second time. “The same pipeline was blown up two years ago by terrorists,” he added. On August 15 last year, police and se... -
Dawn - 18:52 Feb 08, 2026
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Sunday lauded the people of Lahore for abiding by the standard operating procedures (SOPs) set by the provincial government, as the three-day Basant festival approached its culmination. “Lahore is happy today, I am happy, too. The residents of Lahore played a vital role in making this Basant successful by following all the rules and regulations,” she said in a statement, posted on PML-N’s official X account. Maryam continued: “The idea of safe Basant will also be adopted in other cities.” Brightly coloured kites soared through the skies over Lahore this weekend, marking the return of a festival after a 19-year ban that had been imposed over safety concerns. Families and groups of friends gathered on rooftops, in parks and on streets for the three-day kite-flying festival. “Everyone is excited — all of Punjab, all of Pakistan. It has become hard to find kites and strings because they sold out,” Shahzaib, a kite flyer, told AFP. Punjab authorities banned the festival in 200... -
Dawn - 18:03 Feb 08, 2026
Sri Lanka’s 11th-hour call to draft in Kamindu Mendis proved a masterstroke as the all-rounder produced a match-turning cameo to set up a 20-run win over Ireland in their T20 World Cup opener at Colombo’s R. Premadasa Stadium on Sunday. Kamindu’s blistering 44 off 19 balls with four fours and two sixes gave Sri Lanka the late thrust they badly needed to post 163. The spin trio of Maheesh Theekshana, Wanindu Hasaranga and Dunith Wellalage then ran through the Irish middle order, sharing seven wickets to seal a comfortable victory. “I just wanted to score a few boundaries and put a partnership with Kusal Mendis,” said Kamindu. “Kusal was outstanding today. He deserves a lot of credit. We wanted someone to bat through the innings. “They played well during the run chase until the 15th over. We had to keep our calm and we knew they had to take risks and we bowled well towards the end.” Hasaranga claimed three wickets to take his World Cup tally to 40, second only to Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan, who has 50. There ... -
Dawn - 17:57 Feb 08, 2026
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s coalition swept to a historic election win on Sunday, paving the way for promised tax cuts that have spooked financial markets and military spending aimed at countering China. The conservative Takaichi, Japan’s first female leader who says she is inspired by Britain’s “Iron Lady” Margaret Thatcher, was projected to deliver as many as 328 of the 465 seats in parliament’s lower house for her Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). The LDP alone sailed past the 233 seats needed for a majority less than two hours after polls closed, on track for one of its best-ever election results. With her coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, known as Ishin, Takaichi now has a supermajority of two-thirds of seats, easing her legislative agenda as she can override the upper chamber, which she does not control. Winter election brings blizzard of votes “This election involved major policy shifts — particularly a major shift in economic and fiscal policy, as well as strengthening security... -
Dawn - 17:55 Feb 08, 2026
SOUTH WAZIRISTAN: A policeman was shot dead, while two of his family members were injured on Sunday after unidentified armed men opened fire on them in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s South Waziristan district, officials said. According to the police, the incident took place in the Boya area of Upper South Waziristan. The policeman, identified as Constable Zahidullah Wazir, was martyred on the spot, while his father, Ghulam Nabi, and brother, Waheed, sustained serious injuries. All three belonged to the Shakai tehsil of Upper South Waziristan District. “The martyred police constable was the brother of Muhammad Jan Wazir, a political moharrir of the district administration, Lower South Wazirista,” Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Wana Circle, Asghar Ali Shah, told Dawn. “The condition of the injured persons is critical; however, they are being provided immediate medical treatment.” Following the incident, the unidentified assailants managed to flee the scene. Police rushed to the area soon after receiving informatio...
7368 items