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Found 1797 news

  • HBL PSL 2025: All-round Shadab stars as United rout Kings to end league stage on a high
    Dawn - 06:14 May 20, 2025
    RAWALPINDI: Having lost four matches in a row following five wins on the trot to open their HBL Pakistan Super League campaign, Islamabad United arrived here at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Monday night with the intent to stamp their authority as the defending champions. To Karachi Kings’ horror, the holders went on to post a mammoth total before bundling Kings out cheaply as Shadab Khan led from the front, contributing both with the bat and the ball. The all-rounder’s batting effort — 42 off 19 with the help of three fours and as many sixes — was a cameo in the bigger scheme of things, which saw Sahibzada Farhan and Alex Hales smash blistering half centuries to help United to 251-5. But Shadab’s leg-spin accounted for four wickets at the expense of 45 runs, and that performance eventually defined the match, choking Kings batters through the middle of their chase as United won by 79 runs eventually. The result saw United replace Kings in the second spot in the PSL standings as the tournament’s league sta...
  • Banned outfit man jailed in Lahore for learning bomb-making on Facebook
    Dawn - 06:07 May 20, 2025
    LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court on Monday awarded a jail term to a member of a banned outfit on charges of learning to make bombs on Facebook. ATC-I Judge Manzer Ali Gill convicted the accused, Hannan Abdullah, after finding him guilty and sentenced him to two years and six months in prison. He also imposed a fine of Rs50,000 on the convict. The convict, who was on bail, was taken into custody from the court after the announcement of the guilty verdict. The judge handed over the custody of the convict to Kot Lakhpat Jail officials. The FIA had registered a case against the convict in 2022. The prosecution said the convict was learning how to make bombs on Facebook. It said the convict also established contacts with terrorists and a banned outfit through Facebook. A prosecutor asked the court to convict the accused in light of the cogent evidence available on record. Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2025
    Tags: Facebook
  • Indian foreign secretary says no US mediation in ceasefire with Pakistan
    Dawn - 05:39 May 20, 2025
    India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri has said that the United States had no role in mediating the ceasefire between New Delhi and Islamabad, according to Indian media reports on Tuesday. Misri’s statement comes despite US President Donald Trump taking credit multiple times for his administration’s role in the truce, which Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also thanked him for. New Delhi had accused Islamabad, without evidence, of orchestrating last month’s deadly attack in occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam. Pakistan had strongly denied the allegations and called for a neutral probe. As the situation turned into a military confrontation between the nuclear powers, it took American intervention for both sides to agree to a ceasefire. During a meeting yesterday of the parliamentary committee on external affairs, led by Congress lawmaker Shashi Tharoor, Misri claimed that the offer for a ceasefire came from Pakistan and that no other country was involved in the negotiations, Hindustan Times reported, citing a “senior law...
  • Study casts doubt on water flows as cause of streaks on Martian slopes
    Dawn - 05:23 May 20, 2025
    Dark finger-like slope streaks extending across the dusty Martian surface in a region called Arabia Terra are seen in this NASA satellite photograph released on May 19, 2025. — NASA/Handout via ReutersDark finger-like slope streaks extending across the dusty Martian surface in a region called Arabia Terra are seen in this NASA satellite photograph released on May 19, 2025. — NASA/Handout via Reuters WASHINGTON: Images taken of Mars from orbit dating back as far as the 1970s have captured curious dark streaks running down the sides of cliffs and crater walls that some scientists have construed as possible evidence of flows of liquid water, suggesting that the planet harbors environments suitable for living organisms. A new study casts doubt on that interpretation. Examining about 500,000 of these sinewy features spotted in satellite images, the researchers concluded they were created probably through dry processes that left the superficial appearance of liquid flows, underscoring the view of Mars as a desert planet currently inhospitable to life — at least on its surface. The data indicated that formation of these streaks is driven by the accumulation of fine-grain dust from the Martian atmosphere on sloped...
    Tags: Martian
  • Indian opposition slams arrest of Mahmudabad scion
    Dawn - 04:33 May 20, 2025
     ALI Khan Mahmudabad ALI Khan Mahmudabad NEW DELHI: The arrest of Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad on Sunday under charges that point to sedition and for hurting religious sentiments for his comments on operation Sindoor has been criticised by opposition parties who said the move shows how “fearful” the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is of critique, The Wire said on Monday. Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra said that if an eminent scholar like Mahmudabad can be arrested “on Mickey Mouse charges & jailed then it is only because of his name.” Ms Moitra also re-shared Mahuma­dabad’s post and said that nothing in it “is remotely offensive, let alone seditious”. Prof Ali Khan Mahmudabad has noted in his social media post that while rightwing Indians rejoiced at Col Sofiya Qureshi’s briefings about operation Sindoor, they were insensitive to the lynchings and bulldosing of homes of Muslims in India. Says move shows how ‘fearful’ BJP is of criticism The opposition also said that in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s India, “hate mongers” ...
  • Four kids killed in North Waziristan strike
    Dawn - 04:02 May 20, 2025
    NORTH WAZI­RIS­TAN: Four children were killed and five others, including a woman, injured in a suspected quadcopter munitions drop in Mir Ali tehsil of North Waziristan district on Monday. Sources told Dawn that the drone strike took place in Hurmuz village during day time, leaving four children of the same family dead and five others, including a woman, injured. The incident caused panic in the area. Locals shifted the injured to the Mir Ali hospital. Sources said some of the injured were in critical condition. Both security forces and outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan are known to have been using quadcopters. Area people, including tribal elders, youth and children later took to the streets after the incident and staged a sit-in at Mir Ali Chowk against the suspected quadcopter strikes. Some of them also carried placards inscribed with slogans against drone strikes. In a statement posted on social media, KP Minister for Relief Naik Muhammad Dawar condemned the attack and said the blood of innocent childre...
  • ‘India faked Shaheen missile attack to aid diplomatic blitz’
    Dawn - 03:15 May 20, 2025
    ISLAMABAD: Pakistani officials on Monday suspected that India triggered false alarm about the use of Shaheen missile during the military hostilities earlier this month as a deliberate fabrication, timed to support its post-conflict diplomatic surge and international lobbying effort. By exploiting fears of nuclear escalation, they suspect, India sought to redirect attention from its own aggressive actions during Operation Sindoor and reinforce its narrative of moral and strategic superiority. The Indian action, therefore, highlighted the dangerous intersection of disinformation and nuclear signalling in a volatile region. The baseless narrative, the officials, who spoke on background, argued is part of India’s broader strategy to frame Pakistan as a reckless nuclear actor amid mounting international concern over South Asia’s security volatility. “The claim that Pakistan employed Shaheen-class ballistic missiles during the recent crisis appears rooted in a broader Indian — and now Western — effort to frame Isla...
  • Navy thwarted Indian aircraft carrier threat, says Shehbaz
    Dawn - 03:02 May 20, 2025
    • PM praises Navy for ensuring maritime sovereignty • Reiterates Pakistan will give strong response to India if truce violated; lauds Trump for taking up Kashmir dispute ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday visited Karachi to pay tribute to the Pakistan Navy, which successfully safeguarded the sea lines of communication and ensured absolute maritime sovereignty through a layered seaward defence. During the visit to Pakistan Naval Dockyard, the PM was briefed by officials on the Pakistan Navy’s strategic orientation, operational undertakings, and contributions during the recent conflict. He praised the navy for its preparedness and said it would have given a robust response to India if the neighbouring country had tried to attack Pakistan using its fleet. In his address, the prime minister said India’s aircraft carrier Vikrant retreated after sensing the preparedness of the Pakistan Navy. “Indian Navy’s (aircraft carrier) Vikrant had reached close to Pakistan by 400 nautical miles, but after suff...
    Tags: Navy
  • Pakistan, IMF open talks on budget finalisation
    Dawn - 02:36 May 20, 2025
    WASHINGTON: Paki­stan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) opened high-level policy talks in Islamabad on Monday to discuss the upcoming federal budget for fiscal year 2025-26, officials said. The current round of discussions, which will continue till May 23, will help determine whether Pakistan’s proposed bud­get meets the fiscal and reform targets agreed with the IMF under the Exte­nded Fund Facility (EFF). An IMF delegation arrived earlier in Islamabad for the formal policy-level nego­t­­i­ations on budget final­isation, after last week technical discussions held via video link amid heig­htened tensions between India and Pakistan. The Islamabad talks focus on revenue targets, expenditure controls, and budgetary projections as Pakistan grapples with mounting fiscal and external financing pressures. An agreement between the IMF staff mission and the authorities on next year’s budgetary measures and macroeconomic framework would lead to the announcement of the federal budget on June 2. IMF staff have emp...
    Tags: Pakistan
  • Locals stage sit-in as KP minister denounces killing of 3 children in alleged North Waziristan drone strike
    Dawn - 18:47 May 19, 2025
    Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Relief Minister Haji Nek Muhammad Dawar on Monday strongly condemned the deaths of three children and injuries to women from an alleged drone strike in the North Waziristan district. A post on his Facebook account said the alleged incident occurred in the district’s Hormuz village in Mir Ali tehsil. “I have already clearly said on the floor of the KP Assembly that all types of operations and war operations should be kept away from civilian populations, so that the common people, especially innocent women and children, are not harmed,” the post read. He later told Dawn.com: “We will raise our voice at every forum and make every effort to bring those responsible to justice.” The minister added that he stood with the affected family and would provide them with all possible assistance. He also ordered an immediate investigation and sought a detailed report from the institutions concerned. No official statement has been issued at the federal level yet or from provincial authorities. Jamiat Ulema...
  • After Putin call, Trump says Russia and Ukraine to start ‘immediate’ talks on ceasefire
    Dawn - 18:45 May 19, 2025
    US President Donald Trump said on Monday that Russia and Ukraine “will immediately start negotiations” toward a ceasefire and an end to their three-year-old war, speaking after he held a call with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. “Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine will begin immediately,” Trump said in a Truth Social post following his call with Putin, which lasted two hours. After the call, Putin said efforts to end the war were “generally on the right track” and that Moscow was ready to work with Ukraine on a potential peace deal. “We have agreed with the president of the United States that Russia will propose and is ready to work with the Ukrainian side on a memorandum on a possible future peace accord,” Putin told reporters near the Black Sea resort of Sochi. There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on the statement that talks would begin immediately. A source familiar with the matter earlier said Zelenskiy spoke “for a few minutes” with Trump before the US leade...
  • Indian boycott of Turkish coffee, chocolates and fashion grows
    Dawn - 18:24 May 19, 2025
    Small Indian grocery shops and major online fashion retailers are boycotting Turkish products ranging from chocolates, coffee, jams and cosmetics to clothing amid growing anger at Turkiye’s support for Pakistan in a confrontation with India. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan expressed public solidarity with Pakistan after India conducted military strikes in response to an attack in occupied Kashmir. Cross-border fighting continued for four days before a ceasefire was declared. On Monday, the All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF), which supplies 13 million mom-and-pop grocery stores, said it was launching an “indefinite and total boycott” of all Turkish-origin goods, which would affect chocolates, wafers, jams, biscuits and skincare products. Indian fashion websites owned by Walmart-backed Flipkart and billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance have removed numerous Turkish apparel brands, according to three sources and a review of their websites. Flipkart’s fashion website Myntra removed listi...
  • Noor Mukadam case: Justice Kakar observes victim ‘mercilessly murdered’ as SC hears Zahir’s appeal
    Dawn - 18:12 May 19, 2025
     This photo combo shows (L to R) Justices Ishtiaq Ibrahim,  Hashim Kakar and Ali Baqar Najafi. — SC website Justice Hashim Kakar observed on Monday that Noor Mukadam was “mercilessly murdered” as the Supreme Court took up accused Zahir Jaffer’s appeal against his death sentence. Noor, aged 27 years, was found murdered at Zahir’s Islamabad residence in July 2021, with the probe revealing she was tortured before being beheaded. Zahir’s death sentence by the trial court was upheld by the Islamabad High Court (IHC), which had also turned his jail term over rape charges into a second death penalty. Justice Kakar was leading a three-member bench, which included Justices Ishtiaq Ibrahim and Ali Baqar Najafi. Barrister Salman Safdar appeared as Zahir’s counsel while Advocate Shah Khawar was present on behalf of Noor’s father, retired diplomat Shaukat Mukadam. The accused’s lawyer contended that no medical board was formed to assess his client’s mental state. The hearing was adjourned till tomorrow, with both sides’ counsels expected to present their arguments. During the previous hearing, Safdar had sought more time from t...
  • 12 terrorists of ‘Indian proxy’ outfits killed in KP, Balochistan engagements: ISPR
    Dawn - 16:59 May 19, 2025
    Twelve terrorists of “Indian proxy” outfits were killed by security forces while two personnel were martyred in separate engagements in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, the military’s media wing said on Monday. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the intelligence-based operations (IBOs) were conducted on Saturday and Sunday against the banned militant Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan group in KP and the proscribed Balochistan Liberation Front in Balochistan. It said an IBO was conducted in Lakki Marwat district during which troops engaged the enemy at its location and sent “five Indian sponsored” terrorists to “hell”. In a second IBO in Bannu district, two “Indian sponsored” terrorists were “successfully neutralised” by the security forces. It added that terrorists ambushed a security forces convoy in another incident in North Waziristan district’s general area of Mir Ali, adding that two “Indian sponsored” terrorists were “sent to hell” after the effective response of troops. “However, during the in...
  • Fire erupts again in Margalla Hills as over 70 firefighters battle blaze
    Dawn - 16:38 May 19, 2025
    A fire broke out once again in Islamabad’s Margalla Hills on Monday, prompting an emergency response from the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and district administration officials. According to the spokesman of Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration, firefighters from the CDA were called into action after a blaze erupted in the Margalla Hills. He said that more than 70 firefighters were taking part in the operation to control the fire. District administration officers also reached the site to support the efforts and confirmed that the fire had been brought under control earlier in the day, but it reignited due to dry conditions and wind. “Efforts are underway again. Our teams are working to bring the situation under control shortly,” the spokesman said. The fire was lit in a forested area, causing concern among authorities and residents due to the ecological importance of the hills. These hills are part of the Margalla Hills National Park, which hosts a wide range of plant and animal life. CDA’s...
  • Ex-US president Joe Biden diagnosed with ‘aggressive’ prostate cancer
    Dawn - 13:40 May 19, 2025
    Former US president Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an “aggressive form” of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones, his office said in a statement on Sunday. Biden, 82, was diagnosed on Friday after experiencing urinary symptoms, and he and his family are reviewing treatment options with doctors, according to the statement. “While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management,” his office said. Taking to his X account on Monday, Biden wrote: “Cancer touches us all. Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for lifting us up with love and support.” Cancers that have spread, or metastasised, are considered Stage 4, the most advanced. Most prostate cancers are detected at an earlier stage. According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, of the 236,659 cases of prostate cancer diagnosed in 2021, 70 per cent were diagnosed before the cancer had spre...
  • UK strikes EU trade and defence reset in ‘new era’ for relations
    Dawn - 13:15 May 19, 2025
    Britain agreed the most significant reset of defence and trade ties with the European Union since Brexit on Monday after US President Donald Trump’s upending of the global order pushed the two sides to move on from their acrimonious divorce. Nearly nine years after it voted to leave the bloc, Britain, the second largest defence spender in Europe, will take part in joint procurement projects. The sides also agreed to make it easier for UK food and visitors to reach the EU, and signed a contentious new fishing deal. Trump’s tariffs, alongside warnings that Europe should do more to protect itself, forced governments around the world to rethink trade, defence and security ties, bringing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer closer to France’s Emmanuel Macron and other European leaders. Starmer, who backed remaining in the EU in the Brexit referendum, also bet that offering benefits to Britons, such as the use of faster e-gates at EU airports, would drown out the cries of “betrayal” from Brexit campaigner Nigel Fara...
  • JCP nominates Justice Ejaz Swati for top judge of Balochistan High Court
    Dawn - 12:46 May 19, 2025
    The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) on Monday nominated Justice Ejaz Swati as the top judge of the Balochistan High Court (BHC). A press release issued today by the Supreme Court’s public relations officer said a “JCP meeting of the judicial commission was held to consider the nominations for the BHC chief justice’s appointment. “The Commission, by consensus, has nominated Mr Muhammad Ejaz Swati, Acting Chief Justice High Court of Balochistan, for his appointment as Chief Justice of the High Court of Balochistan,” the release said. A circular from the JCP secretary to the prime minister’s principal secretary requested that further action be taken in this regard. Justice Swati had taken his oath as the acting BHC chief justice on February 14. According to his profile, Justice Swati was born on June 6, 1963, in Quetta. He completed his primary and secondary education at the Tameer-i-Nau Public School, Quetta, in 1978. He pursued a graduate degree in English from the University of Balochistan and completed...
  • Pro-EU Warsaw mayor wins round one of Polish presidential vote
    Dawn - 12:32 May 19, 2025
    Pro-EU Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski scored a narrow win in round one of Poland’s presidential election but faces an uphill struggle after right-wing and far-right candidates won a majority of votes, analysts said on Monday. Trzaskowski, who is backed by the governing centrists, will face nationalist historian Karol Nawrocki in the June 1 run-off vote. An overall victory for Trzaskowski as head of state would be a boost for the centrist government led by former European Union leader Donald Tusk, which has been at loggerheads with the current nationalist president. A Nawrocki win would probably extend the political deadlock in the Central European country of 38 million people, which is a member of NATO and the EU. Analysts predict that fresh parliamentary elections may have to be called. With all ballots counted, the national election commission said Trzaskowski won 31.36 per cent against 29.54pc for Nawrocki in Sunday’s first round. The razor-thin margin between the two sets the stage for a fierce electoral ...
  • Operation Bunyanum Marsoos: FO rubbishes Indian claims of Pakistan using nuclear-capable missiles
    Dawn - 12:08 May 19, 2025
    The Foreign Office (FO) on Monday dismissed reports of the Indian media claiming that Pakistan used nuclear-capable Shaheen missiles during the recent tensions with India. New Delhi had accused Islamabad, without evidence, of orchestrating last month’s deadly attack in occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam. Pakistan had strongly denied the allegations and called for a neutral probe. As the situation turned into a military confrontation between the nuclear powers, it took American intervention for both sides to agree to a ceasefire. A day earlier, the Indian army claimed that Pakistan launched a nuclear-capable Shaheen missile at India during the intense shelling, News Arena India reported. A video released by the Indian army allegedly showed the use of the Shaheen missile during the recent crossfire, according to NDTV. In a statement today, FO spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said, “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has firmly rejected the unfounded allegations circulating in certain segments of the Indian media, which fals...

1797 items