Dawn
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Dawn - 01:55 Oct 12, 2025
Nearly 300 Afghan refugee families are living under the open sky in Islamabad’s Argentina Park, just miles from Islamabad’s ‘Red Zone’, the heavily secured government and diplomatic district in the federal capital. They sleep on the wet ground under plastic tarps, with no access to sanitation, medical care or legal protection — caught between Pakistan’s intensifying deportation campaign and the Taliban regime they fled. The day after rain showers swept through parts of Islamabad on September 18, teenager Uswa Kohistani sits alone under a tree, writing poetry in Dari about the crisis unfolding around her. Families spread soaked clothing across the grass to dry. Passports and school certificates lie damp inside a mosquito net. “We can neither go to work nor buy food from the markets,” says Kohistani, 19. “The police arrest us and forcibly take us to the border for deportation to Afghanistan.” Caught between Pakistan’s intensifying campaign to expel Afghans and the Taliban regime many of them fled, nearly 300 fa... -
Dawn - 22:22 Oct 11, 2025
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Saturday night lauded the security forces after the Pakistan Army responded to unprovoked attacks by Afghan Taliban forces on border posts. Clashes between the two sides were reported in multiple areas along the Pak-Afghan border. “Firing by Afghan forces on civilian population is a blatant violation of international laws. Pakistan’s brave forces have given a prompt and effective response that no provocation will be tolerated,” said the interior minister in a post on X. “Pakistan’s forces are alert and Afghanistan is being answered with stones for bricks. The people of Pakistan stand with the brave armed forces like a lead wall. Afghanistan will also be given a befitting reply like India.” Earlier, security sources confirmed that Pakistani forces deployed at the international border “targeted several Afghan border posts”. There are reports of significant damage inflicted on multiple Afghan posts and militant formations, security officials added. Artillery, tanks, light and he... -
Dawn - 19:10 Oct 11, 2025
Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) supporters have camped at Muridke for the night as they continued attempts to reach Islamabad to stage a protest in ‘solidarity with Palestinians’. Punjab Police, in an attempt to stop the march towards the federal capital, have reportedly dug a trench on the road. Earlier in the day, clashes between supporters of the religious party and police were reported in the Shahdara area of Lahore earlier today. At least 40 police personnel have been injured today, while the TLP claims that more than 10 of its workers have been killed in clashes with law enforcers. TLP began its protests in Lahore on Thursday and announced plans to march to the US embassy in Islamabad to voice its opposition to the US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas after two years of conflict in Gaza. The demonstrations turned violent on Friday, with police launching baton charges and firing tear gas at protesters who had pelted them with rocks, AFP journalists saw. Arrests in Karachi Police in Karachi arr... -
Dawn - 18:47 Oct 11, 2025
Former US president Joe Biden is undergoing radiation and hormone therapy to fight prostate cancer that was revealed in May, a spokesperson said Saturday. “As part of a treatment plan for prostate cancer, President Biden is currently undergoing radiation therapy and hormone treatment,” the spokesperson said. In May, the 82-year-old ex-president’s office announced that Biden had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that spread to his bones after he experienced urinary symptoms and a prostate nodule was found. “Cancer touches us all. Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places,” Biden, whose son Beau Biden died of cancer in 2015, said at the time in a post on X. “Thank you for lifting us up with love and support.“ Biden’s health had been in the spotlight due to a new book detailing his declining health as he campaigned last year for a second presidential term against Donald Trump. In July 2024, Biden announced he was dropping out of the race after... -
Dawn - 18:37 Oct 11, 2025
The Foreign Office (FO) on Saturday night censured Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi for remarks during his visit to India and said “deflecting” the responsibility of controlling terrorism could not absolve the Afghan authorities of their responsibilities towards regional peace. Muttaqi visited India earlier this week, marking India’s first high-level engagement with the Taliban government since it took power in 2021. Speaking about a Thursday night explosion in Kabul during a press conference in New Delhi a day ago, Muttaqi had condemned the incident and Pakistan for its alleged role in it, saying: “Whatever the problems are in each country should be solved by themselves.” He said there was no terrorist organisation or group left in Afghanistan. “If other countries achieve peace themselves as we did in Afghanistan, then there will be peace in the entire region. Since the last eight months, there has not been even a small incident in Afghanistan. In four years, no one has been harmed from Afghanistan’... -
Dawn - 17:44 Oct 11, 2025
Experts at a conference on tackling the issue of air pollution brought attention to its transnational threat and urged greater regional cooperation to tackle it. The moot was held at the Expo Centre in Lahore on Saturday as part of DawnMedia’s ‘Breathe Pakistan’ initiative. The conference was held with the aim of shedding light on actionable solutions, fostering high-level dialogue, and driving collective action for cleaner air in Pakistan. Sessions covered a broad range of themes, including governance and policy frameworks, financing clean air, smog and industrial responsibility, judicial activism, public health impacts, nationwide air quality standards, and regional cooperation on transboundary pollution. A press release issued said: “Concluding the event, participants agreed that Pakistan’s fight for clean air must now move from promise to policy and from data to delivery. DawnMedia reaffirmed its commitment to continue convening dialogue through Breathe Pakistan, keeping the spotlight on collective action... -
Dawn - 16:58 Oct 11, 2025
KP Assembly session summoned for Monday as Governor Kundi confirms receipt of Gandapur’s resignation
A session of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly was summoned for October 13 to elect the next chief minister, as Governor Faisal Karim Kundi confirmed the receipt of Ali Amin Gandapur’s resignation from the top provincial slot on Saturday. KPA Speaker Babar Saleem Swati posted the schedule for Monday’s session on his X account. It said the election for the next chief minister would be held on the date. On Wednesday, Gandapur said that he resigned from his role as the provincial chief executive, while the party’s general secretary, Salman Akram Raja, confirmed that party founder Imran Khan directed Sohail Afridi to assume the CM’s role. However, his resignation letter, which was shared with the media the previous night, had apparently gotten lost in red tape, with the Governor’s house denying having ever received it. “Today at 2:30 pm, the handwritten resignation advice of the CM Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was duly received and acknowledged by Governor House,” Kundi posted on X earlier today. “After thorough scrutiny and... -
Dawn - 16:24 Oct 11, 2025
A magnitude 5 earthquake struck close to Punjab’s Layyah on Saturday night, according to the Pakistan Meteoreological Department (PMD). The PMD said the quake occurred 50 kilometres east of Layyah at 7:54pm at a depth of 20km. Layyah Rescue 1122 Spokesperson Waseem Hayat told Dawn.com: “The earthquake was felt in the district but no emergency was reported.’’ Pakistan falls on three major tectonic plates — the Arabian, Euro-Asian and Indian — which create five seismic zones under the country. The intersection of multiple fault lines means that tectonic movements remain a frequent occurrence in the region. The development comes just days after jolts from an earthquake of magnitude 5.2 were felt in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Chitral and Swat districts on Tuesday. A 5.0-magnitude earthquake was recorded in Quetta on Sunday evening. A 4.3-magnitude earthquake was recorded in KP last Saturday as well. -
Dawn - 16:02 Oct 11, 2025
Notorious gangster Khawaja Tareef Butt, alias Teefi Butt, was killed in an alleged gun battle with police in the early hours of Saturday in Punjab’s Rahim Yar Khan district. Police sources earlier stated that Teefi Butt had initially fled to Glasgow (UK) soon after the murder of Ameer Balaj Tipu. During the course of the investigation, police arrested Ameer Balaj’s close friend, Ahsan Shah, for giving information to Butt and his gangsters about the movement of his friend. More recently, Teefi Butt travelled to Dubai for renewal of his London visa after it expired, which ultimately led to his capture. The CCD had also formally requested the Lahore capital city police officer (CCPO) to transfer the investigation of the Ameer Balaj murder case to them. The case was originally registered at Chuhng Police Station. Ameer Balaj was killed during a marriage ceremony in February 2024. Teefi Butt and Aqeel Butt alias Gogi Butt were nominated in the case. Gogi Butt is currently out on bail and Teefi Butt was declared an... -
Dawn - 14:10 Oct 11, 2025
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a large military parade displaying its new intercontinental ballistic missile in front of visiting international dignitaries, state media KCNA said on Saturday. The parade, which began late on Friday, marked the 80th anniversary of the foundation of its ruling Workers’ Party and followed celebrations on Thursday. Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Russia’s former President Dmitry Medvedev, as well as Vietnam’s Communist Party chief To Lam, were seen at Kim’s side at the parade, while other foreign dignitaries looked on. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watches a military parade celebrating the 80th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers Party, in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this picture released on October 11, by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency. —KCNA via Reuters In the military parade, nuclear-armed North Korea displayed its most advanced Hwasong-20 intercontinental ballistic missile, described by KCNA as the country’s “strongest nuclear strategic wea... -
Dawn - 12:16 Oct 11, 2025
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Saturday assailed the PTI-led KP government for “facilitating terrorists, sowing division, and undermining national security,” stressing that the sacrifices of Pakistanis in the fight against terrorism will not be in vain. The information minister’s remarks come a day after the spokesperson for the military’s media wing, Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, without naming anyone, said the “state and its people will not and cannot be left to the whims of a single person deemed most responsible for bringing terrorism back to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.” “In the past week alone, there have been several terrorist attacks which were bravely and courageously repelled by officers and soldiers of the Pakistan Army,” Tarar said. Referring to PTI, he said during this time, there remains only one party, “Tehreek-i-Inteshaar” (movement of chaos) which has no concern for the sacrifices of our martyrs, no concern for the integrity of the country, and whose only interest is in “further d... -
Dawn - 11:49 Oct 11, 2025
Two terrorists were killed and two injured during an operation in the Hasan Khel tehsil of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Peshawar district, police said on Saturday. Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Peshawar Dr Mian Saeed told Dawn.com that three more terrorists had been intercepted and additional reinforcements dispatched for the operation. “Hasan Khel police, displaying courage, bravery and professionalism, have repelled the terrorist attack after a 2-hour fight,” he said in a statement. “The police used modern weapons like sniper guns during the encounter.” “There are fears that the terrorists may be killed during the exchange of fire, as the police thwarted their nefarious intentions through timely action,” the statement said, adding that heavy police force had been called in. Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities over the past year, especially in KP and Balochistan, after the TTP ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022. A day ago, two terrorists, including one reported to be the ... -
Dawn - 11:24 Oct 11, 2025
Six policemen, including trainees, were martyred and 13 others — 12 policemen and a civilian — were injured in a terrorist attack on the Police Training School in Dera Ismail Khan district, which security forces and law enforcement personnel successfully repelled, the military’s media wing said on Saturday. According to a statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), on the night of October 10–11, assailants attempted to breach the perimeter of the Police Training School, but “their nefarious designs were swiftly foiled by the vigilant and resolute response of law enforcement personnel deployed on duty.” In their desperation, the attackers rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the gate of the complex, the statement added. “Displaying unwavering courage and professional excellence, police personnel engaged the intruders, eliminating three Khwarij belonging to Indian proxy Fitna al Khwarij, the ISPR said, using the state-designated term for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). “While corne... -
Dawn - 11:12 Oct 11, 2025
Pakistan captain Shan Masood believes taking 20 wickets, rather than piling up big scores, will be key to winning the upcoming two-match Test series against South Africa, as the hosts prepare spin-friendly conditions for the opener at the Gaddafi Stadium from Sunday. Speaking at the pre-series press conference at the venue on Saturday, Shan said Pakistan’s focus was on creating result-oriented pitches that suit their strengths. “We don’t want flat tracks where matches end in draws,” he remarked. “Sometimes you sacrifice runs to create situations where 20 wickets are possible.” The Pakistan skipper said the approach reflected lessons from the previous World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, where his side struggled to convert opportunities at home. “The idea is to use our home advantage wisely,” he added. The Gaddafi Stadium surface, hosting its first Test of the current WTC cycle from Sunday, is expected to offer assistance to spinners. Pakistan are likely to field up to three slow bowlers, with off-spinner Saji... -
Dawn - 11:11 Oct 11, 2025
The European Commission is scrutinising safeguards for minors on Snapchat, YouTube, the Apple App Store and Google Play under its Digital Services Act (DSA), it said on Friday. The Commission is asking the businesses to provide information on their age verification systems, as well as on how they prevent minors from accessing illegal products, including drugs and vapes, or harmful material, such as content promoting eating disorders. “Today, alongside national authorities in the member states, we are assessing whether the measures taken so far by the platforms are indeed protecting children,” EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said. Google, in response, said it had already put in place measures to ensure its platforms offered age-appropriate experiences and had “robust” controls for parents. “We keep expanding these efforts [and] continue to engage with the Commission on this critical area,” a Google spokesperson said. The DSA is an EU landmark law that requires online companies to do more to tackle illegal and ha... -
Dawn - 08:02 Oct 11, 2025
The Norwegian Nobel Institute will investigate whether leaks preceded Friday’s award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado because of suspicious betting. The odds of Machado winning the prize jumped from 3.75 per cent to nearly 73pc overnight Thursday to Friday on the predictive betting platform Polymarket. But no expert or media outlet had mentioned her being among the favourites for the prize, which was announced just a few hours later in Oslo. “You don’t normally see this in the betting market. It’s very suspicious,” Robert Naess, a data specialist, was quoted as saying by Norwegian broadcaster NRK. “I don’t think there have ever been any leaks in the entire history of the prize. I can’t imagine that’s the case,” Norwegian Nobel Committee Chairman Jorgen Watne Frydnes told the NTB news agency. The institute will nevertheless investigate whether there could have been any leaks, its director, Kristian Berg Harpviken, said. “It’s too early to be categorical about the ex... -
Dawn - 07:53 Oct 11, 2025
Dazed survivors of a pair of major earthquakes in the southern Philippines awoke on Saturday to scenes of devastation, after hundreds of aftershocks rocked the region overnight. Many coastal residents of Mindanao island had slept outdoors, fearful of being crushed to death by aftershocks of the 7.4 and 6.7 magnitude quakes that struck off the coast within hours of each other on Friday. Philippine authorities said at least eight people were killed. Office of Civil Defence Information Officer Ezzra James Fernandez said there were no reported missing. “As to the initial assessment yesterday, the (infrastructure) damage is minimal,” Fernandez said, adding that road-clearing operations are ongoing and most roads are already passable. In Manay, a Mindanao municipality of 40,000 residents, people were removing debris and sweeping up broken glass from homes and other buildings Saturday morning. “Our small house and our small store were destroyed,” resident Ven Lupogan told AFP. “We have nowhere to sleep. There’s no e... -
Dawn - 07:33 Oct 11, 2025
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has left for the United States to participate in the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB), state-run Radio Pakistan reported on Saturday. The visit comes after a IMF mission concluded talks with Pakistani authorities on reviews of two lending programmes totalling $8.4 billion without announcing a staff-level agreement (SLA). A day earlier, the finance minister had expressed optimism that the SLA with the IMF would be finalised next week during his visit to Washington. According to the Radio Pakistan report, the minister will participate in more than 65 events, forums, ceremonies, and meetings during his six-day visit to the US. “During his visit, the finance minister will represent Pakistan at the plenary meetings of the IMF and the WB,” the report added. It further said that Aurangzeb would meet with senior officials from the IMF, the WB, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency... -
Dawn - 07:31 Oct 11, 2025
The fear of smog has already started lingering upon us. We are once again bracing ourselves to choke in our own neglect. Are we doomed to suffer every year, through climate change, mismanagement, broken promises, or is it just bad luck? In truth, it seems less a matter of fate and more the outcome of willful ignorance — an ignorance far from blissful, especially given that under Article 9 of Pakistan’s Constitution, the right to life inherently includes the right to a clean and healthy environment. Numbers tell the story This contradiction defines our new normal. For the past several winters, Pakistan has ranked as the third most polluted country in the world. Nowhere is this crisis more visible than in Lahore, the country’s second-largest city, where nearly 14 million residents are forced to breathe poison. It’s the most polluted city in the world and in the last five years, its air has met the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) minimum safety standards on only seven days. The World Bank (WB) and the Air Qual... -
Dawn - 07:24 Oct 11, 2025
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Friday that Qatar will be allowed to build an air force facility at Mountain Home Air Base in Idaho that will house F-15 fighter jets and pilots. The announcement comes soon after President Donald Trump signed an executive order vowing to defend the Gulf Arab state against attacks, following Israeli air strikes targeting Hamas leaders in the Qatari capital Doha. “We’re signing a letter of acceptance to build a Qatari Emiri Air Force facility at the Mountain Home Air Base in Idaho,” Hegseth said at the Pentagon, with Qatari Defence Minister Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani at his side. “The location will host a contingent of Qatari F-15s and pilots to enhance our combined training” as well as “increase lethality, interoperability,” he said. “It’s just another example of our partnership. And I hope you know, your excellency, that you can count on us.” The Idaho base currently also hosts a fighter jet squadron from Singapore, according to its website. Hegseth a...
5467 items