Dawn

Found 5467 news

  • Bomb blast kills 10-year-old boy in Balochistan’s Jaffarabad
    Dawn - 03:50 Oct 11, 2025
    DERA MURAD JAMALI: A 10-year-old boy was killed and his younger brother seriously injured on Friday when a bomb exploded in the bypass area of Jaffarabad district, police said. Police said unknown miscreants had planted an explosive device at the zero point of the Dera Allahyar bypass. The device detonated as the brothers were passing, killing 10-year-old Zakir Ali Domki. His brother, identified as Siraj Ahmed Domki, was seriously injured in the blast. Authorities rushed to the site and transported the body and the injured boy to a district hospital. “Both brothers were passing through the area when a blast took place, which smashed the windowpanes of many shops and buildings,” SHO Javed Ahmed of Dera Allahyar police said. SHO Ahmed said it was not known who the intended target of the attack was, adding that a further investigation was in progress. Published in Dawn, October 11th, 2025
  • Move to privatise lab diagnostic services at Karachi’s JPMC, Larkana’s CMCH
    Dawn - 03:33 Oct 11, 2025
    • Public-Private Partnership Policy Board approves transaction advisory services to outsource radiology and diagnostic lab services at two major public sector hospitals in Sindh • Okays elevated freight corridor to improve port connectivity • Accepts proposal of private firm to bring and operate 500 e-buses in Karachi and Hyderabad KARACHI: In what appears to be a decision that may adversely impact thousands of patients belonging to the lower strata of life, the Sindh government is planning to outsource radiology and diagnostic lab services at two major hospitals in the province, including the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre and approved funds to hire “transaction advisers” for the purpose. A decision to this effect was taken at the 48th meeting of the Public-Private Partnership Policy (PPP) Board, chaired by Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, at the CM House on Friday. According to a press release, the policy board approved “funding to hire transaction advisors for the feasibility study and transaction a...
    Tags: Karachi
  • Supreme Court acquits man on death row for ‘blasphemy’
    Dawn - 03:29 Oct 11, 2025
    ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has acquitted a 74-year-old Christian man, who was diagnosed with a mental illness, of blasphemy charges after overturning the June 30, 2014 Lahore High Court’s (LHC) order confirming his death sentence. Authored by Justice Athar Minallah, a three-judge Supreme Court bench, while extending the benefit of doubt, ordered the acquittal of all charges against petitioner Anwar Keneth after accepting his jail plea but with a direction to release him if not required in any other case. In a nine-page judgement, the bench consisting of Justices Athar Minallah, Irfan Saadat Khan and Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan also expressed the expectation that the Pakistan Institute of Mental Health (PIMH) executive director, where the petitioner was being treated, will ensure continuation of his medical treatment. The blasphemy case against Mr Keneth was registered on Sept 25, 2001, by the Gawalmandi police for alleged offences under Section 295C of the Pakistan Penal Code. Bench says elderly suspect diagno...
  • Gandapur leaves CM House amid uncertainty over resignation
    Dawn - 03:25 Oct 11, 2025
    PESHAWAR: The political situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa remained in limbo on Friday after Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur departed the provincial capital for his hometown, with the fate of a resignation he tendered 48 hours earlier still unconfirmed. Mr Gandapur left for Dera Ismail Khan after saying farewell to his staff at the chief minister’s house, despite his resignation not yet being formally accepted by the province’s governor. In his first media interaction after resi­g­ning, Mr Gandapur had pressed for the swift acceptance of his resignation on Thu­rsday night. He said any delay in the process would be detrimental to the province. However, the resignation cannot be processed until the governor reviews it. An official on Governor Faisal Karim Kundi’s staff told Dawn the governor was in Islamabad and not expected to return to Peshawar until Saturday (today). Withdrawal is pending as governor is out of town “The resignation letter may have arri­ved in mail but I could not say anything in this rega...
    Tags: Gandapur
  • Shooter killed after Ahmadis’ worship place attacked in Chiniot
    Dawn - 02:45 Oct 11, 2025
    LAHORE: Six security guards were injured when an attacker opened fire outside an Ahmadi community’s worship place in Chenab Nagar, Chiniot district, on Friday. Shortly after the shooting, two policemen depl­oyed on the opposite side of the road retaliated and killed him. CCTV footage showed a suspect carrying a pistol approached the worship place, Baitul Mehdi, in Rab­wah and opened fire on the security guards, who were volunteers from the community. Six gu­a­­­rds were injured, but they managed to close the main gate of the worship place. The injured guards were shifted to a nearby hospital where four were reported to be stable while two remained critical. Police shifted the body of the attacker to the morgue. Attack condemned Ahmadi community spo­k­e­sperson Aamir Mahm­ood condemned the attack, saying that continuous hate speeches were being made against the community. He urged the state to take notice of such hateful rhetoric and take strict action against those responsible. He demanded effective measures ...
    Tags: Chiniot
  • TLP protesters clash with police as march heads to Islamabad
    Dawn - 02:37 Oct 11, 2025
    • Law enforcers use tear gas, barricades to contain procession • Dozens of personnel hurt; TLP alleges casualties from police firing • Trenches dug up to block marchers on G.T. Road; Chenab, Jhelum bridges sealed • Talal warns against violence or ‘mob blackmail’ • ATC grants 12-day remand for 110 TLP activists LAHORE: The Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) began marching towards Islamabad after Friday prayers, with a large number of supporters reaching Shahdara and staging a sit-in after clashes with police, partially paralysing the provincial capital. The law enforcers repeatedly tried to contain the procession near the group’s headquarters by erecting barricades and containers and using tear gas and other crowd-control measures. In the Gujrat district, local authorities on Friday night dug up trenches at least three locations along the G.T. Road to block the march headed towards Islamabad. However, the TLP, led by its chief Saad Rizvi, not only managed to take out the main procession in Lahore as part of its ...
  • Counter-terror measures legitimate self-defence: FO
    Dawn - 02:25 Oct 11, 2025
    ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Friday avoided directly acknowledging strikes in Kabul, instead framing Pakistan’s counter-terrorism actions as legitimate self-defence against militants operating from Afghan soil. The FO, moreover, also emphasised the need for continued dialogue and cooperation with Kabul to address cross-border terrorism. At the weekly FO briefing, spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said, “Pakistan reaffirms its unwavering commitment to the security and well-being of its people.” Pakistan “respects the sovereignty of Afghanistan, and remains steadfast in its commitment to fostering dialogue and cooperation with our neighbour to address the shared challenges of terrorism”, the spokesperson said, adding that the security operations were intelligence-driven and aimed at protecting its citizens from terrorist groups, including the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The statement came after twin explosions shook Kabul on Thursday night. Local Afghan media, quoting witnesses, reported fighter jet overf...
  • When — and if — Gandapur’s resignation is accepted, what will it take for Sohail Afridi to get elected as the KP CM?
    Dawn - 22:47 Oct 10, 2025
    For now, there is no clarity on where Ali Amin Gandapur’s resignation really is. A day after he stepped down as the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister — on the directive of PTI founder Imran Khan — it seemed that his resignation got lost in red tape, with the Governor House denying having ever received it. Officials at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat told Dawn that Gandapur’s resignation had been delivered to the Governor House on Wednesday night — the same day he was asked to vacate the post. A copy of the letter seen by Dawn showed it was received by the governor’s staff at 10:57pm. However, KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, who was in Islamabad on Thursday, and other officials at the Governor’s Secre­tariat remained tight-lipped about the issue. An official on Kundi’s staff told Dawn that they were yet to receive the resignation letter. “As far as I know, the resignation has not yet reached the Governor’s Office,” the official said, adding that the governor would sign it whenever he received it. Meanwhile, s...
    Tags: Gandapur
  • Security forces repulse attack on DI Khan police training centre; at least 3 terrorists killed
    Dawn - 19:11 Oct 10, 2025
    At least three terrorists, including a suicide bomber, were killed in retaliatory fire by police forces after an attack on a police training centre in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Dera Ismail Khan was repulsed on Friday night. DI Khan District Police Officer (DPO) Sajjad Ahmed Sahibzada confirmed that three terrorists were killed by police forces and added that a large contingent of security forces reached the incident site and cordoned off the area. Police confirmed that the training centre premises were cleared and all terrorists involved in the attack were killed. A search operation, led by DPO Sahibzada, was also conducted in the surrounding areas to ensure no other terrorists were present. A large contingent of security forces reached the incident site soon after the attack commenced and cordoned off the area. Earlier, there were reports of a loud explosion in the vicinity of the police facility. DI Khan Police Public Relations Officer (PRO) Yaqoob Khan earlier told Dawn.com that a “suicide bomber and two terror...
  • TLP protesters reach Shahdara bridge in Lahore; halt march overnight
    Dawn - 19:06 Oct 10, 2025
    Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) supporters reached Lahore’s Shahdara bridge late on Friday night as the religious party attempted to march towards Islamabad and hold an anti-Israeli demonstration outside the US embassy. A spokesperson for the party told Dawn.com that they have stopped the march for the night. A Dawn.com correspondent in Lahore reported earlier on Friday evening that the protesters were trying to remove obstacles at the city’s Chauburji Chowk and march ahead. A statement by Edhi spokesperson Younis Bhatti said several policemen had been injured in clashes with TLP protesters. The statement added that Edhi volunteers moved the injured personnel to various hospitals in the city. Meanwhile, TLP spokesperson Usman Naushahi told Dawn.com that one of the protesters had died and 22 were injured. Ahead of the march, without naming the TLP, the US embassy in Islamabad posted on social media platform X that “the US consulates general in Lahore, Karachi, and Peshawar are monitoring planned protest activ...
  • Blast at Tennessee explosives plant leaves multiple dead, others missing
    Dawn - 18:32 Oct 10, 2025
    Multiple people were dead or missing after a massive blast rocked a US explosives factory on Friday, sending emergency responders rushing to the site and prompting official warnings for the public to avoid the area, authorities said. “We can confirm there has been an explosion at Accurate Energetic Systems in the Bucksnort area,” located in Hickman County, Tennessee, the local sheriff’s office wrote on Facebook. “Emergency services are currently on the scene working to address the situation,” it added. The mayor’s office in Hickman County told AFP that it could not immediately confirm any fatalities or the cause of the explosion. Hickman County Mayor Jim Bates told CNN the plant did not have a history of safety problems, although there was a small ammunition explosion there in 2014. That incident killed one person and injured three, according to the Tennessean newspaper. However, Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis reported “some” fatalities and added that several people were missing in the “very devastating...
  • Kabul condemns violation of its ‘sovereign territory’
    Dawn - 17:38 Oct 10, 2025
    Amid rising speculations over an explosion reported in the Afghan capital a day earlier, the interim Taliban government on Friday accused Pakistan of “violating Kabul’s sovereign territory”. “Pakistan violated Afghanistan’s airspace, bombing a civilian market in the Marghi area of Paktika near the Durand Line and also violating Kabul’s sovereign territory,” the Afghan Defence Ministry said in a post on social media. For its part, Pakistan remained tight-lipped on the issue, with the the military spokesperson neither confirming nor denying the strikes when questioned about them at a press conference earlier in the day. The Foreign Office, meanwhile, did not respond to a request for comment till the publication of this report. On Thursday evening, residents in the border town of Marghi reported that a market selling second-hand weapons had been bombed. Around the same time, Afghan government spokesman Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabeehullah Mujahid confirmed on X that an explosion “was heard in the city of Kabu...
    Tags: Kabul
  • Karachi University student dies after being run over by campus bus
    Dawn - 17:35 Oct 10, 2025
    A Karachi University student died on Friday after being run over by a campus bus, police said. The victim was identified as a second-year student of the social work department by traffic police inspector Akmal Rai. According to police reports, the student had gotten off at a point near the Mehmood-ul-Hassan Library and was attempting to cross the road when another bus passed by her. Meanwhile, a campus bus, bearing registration number EB-0333, attempted to overtake the first bus and hit the student from the driver’s side. The student, knocked down by the initial impact, was then run over by the bus, killing her on the spot. The accident angered students, resulting in protests inside the campus. A notification issued by the university dated October 10, and available with Dawn.com, said an inquiry committee has been constituted to “investigate the tragic incident”. “Vice Chancellor is pleased to constitute an inquiry committee forthwith to investigate the tragic incident in which a female student succumbed to d...
  • Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado wins Nobel Peace Prize, dedicates award to Trump
    Dawn - 16:57 Oct 10, 2025
    Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado received the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday. The committee chose to focus on Venezuela at this time, in a year dominated by US President Donald Trump’s repeated public statements that he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. Machado was on this year’s TIME Magazine “100 most influential People” list, where current US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said she was the “personification of resilience, tenacity, and patriotism”. “She is receiving the prize for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy,” said Jorgen Watne Frydnes, the chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo. “As the leader of the democratic forces in the Venezuela, she is one of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage in Latin America in recent times,” he said. He said that Machado had been a “key unifying figure in a political opposition that was once deeply divided; ...
  • Weight of trauma: Mental health in humanitarian emergencies
    Dawn - 16:41 Oct 10, 2025
    Farmer Syed Jafar Raza inspects a damaged cotton plant, following monsoon rains and flooding, in Kabirwala on September 18, 2025. — ReutersThe recent floods across Punjab have upended lives once again, displacing nearly 2.8 million people and affecting more than 4.2m, according to a Rapid Needs Assessment report from the United Nations. Amid the devastation, survivors are struggling not only with loss and uncertainty but with deep psychological distress that shows no sign of easing. A mother’s silent struggle Nazeera Bano, 39, a mother of four from Bait Nabi Shah village in Muzaffargarh’s Tehsil Alipur, has been having sleepless nights since this year’s floodwaters swallowed her home and forced her family to seek shelter in a government-donated tent. Now living with relatives in a nearby village, she said, the flashbacks of the ordeal still play out vividly in her mind, leaving her anxious and on edge. “My daughter is getting married next year, so we had all the dowry kept in the house. When the water entered, we barely had time to save anything. We brought the jewellery with us and some essential items, but not everything could be carried. I am...
  • At least 7 dead after Philippines hit by twin quakes, tsunami warning up
    Dawn - 15:36 Oct 10, 2025
     A shakemap of the contours of the earthquake that shows where the earthquake struck struck offshore in the southern Philippines, Oct 10.  — Reuters Two powerful offshore earthquakes struck off the southern Philippines on Friday, killing at least seven people, while towns near the epicentre suffered structural damage and authorities warned of strong aftershocks. The first quake of magnitude 7.4, in waters off the town of Manay in the province of Davao Oriental, triggered a tsunami alert for coasts within 300 kilometres of the epicentre, but the warnings for the Philippines and Indonesia were subsequently lifted. A second earthquake of magnitude 6.8 struck the same area seven hours later, triggering a new tsunami warning, with the country’s seismology agency Phivolcs warning of possible waves that could be more than a metre higher than normal tides. People living near coastal areas in the southern Philippines were “strongly advised to immediately evacuate” to higher ground, or move further inland, it said in an advisory. Phivolcs Director Teresito Bacolcol described the twin earthquakes as a “doublet”, two distinct earthquakes that occurred along a massive...
  • Karachi police developing web portal for businessmen to lodge extortion complaints
    Dawn - 15:16 Oct 10, 2025
    Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar announced on Friday that a web portal is being developed to facilitate traders by registering their complaints regarding extortion and other crimes in Karachi. Earlier this week, Sindh Inspector General of Police (IG) Ghulam Nabi Memon vowed to provide full protection to economic and commercial activities in collaboration with traders across the province. “All complaints submitted through this portal will be addressed promptly, and police action will be taken immediately to ensure redressal,” Lanjar said while addressing a press conference at the Karachi Police Office. Flanked by IG Memon and Karachi Additional IG Javed Alam Odho, Lanjar said any complaint related to extortion slips or threats submitted through the new web portal will lead to the immediate registration of a first information report (FIR), and all legal measures will be ensured against those involved. Additional IG Odho said that the initiative is being taken in light of traders reporting “inconveniences...
    Tags: Karachi
  • White House says Trump Nobel omission was ‘politics over peace’
    Dawn - 14:47 Oct 10, 2025
    The White House lashed out at the Norwegian Nobel Committee on Friday after it awarded the peace prize to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and overlooked US President Donald Trump. “The Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace,” White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung said on X. “President Trump will continue making peace deals, ending wars, and saving lives. He has the heart of a humanitarian, and there will never be anyone like him who can move mountains with the sheer force of his will.” Since returning to the White House for his second term in January, Trump had repeatedly insisted that he deserved the Nobel for his role in resolving numerous conflicts — a claim observers say is broadly exaggerated. Trump restated his claim on the eve of the peace prize announcement, saying that his brokering of the first phase of a ceasefire in Gaza this week was the eighth war he had ended. But he added on Thursday: “Whatever they do is fine. I know this: I didn’t do it for tha...
  • 30 terrorists involved in Orakzai attack on security personnel killed: ISPR
    Dawn - 14:07 Oct 10, 2025
    Thirty terrorists involved in the Orakzai incident earlier this week — during which 11 security personnel, including two officers, were martyred — were killed in a “retribution operation”, the military’s media affairs wing said on Friday. The incident in Orakzai took place on Tuesday night when security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Orakzai district on the reported presence of “Indian proxy Fitna Al Khawarij”. In July, the government designated the banned terrorist outfit Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan as Fitna al Khawarij, mandating all institutions to use the term khariji (outcast) when referring to the perpetrators of terrorist attacks on Pakistan. In the Tuesday operation, 19 “India-sponsored” terrorists were killed, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said, adding that 11 security personnel, including two officers, had also embraced martyrdom during the exchange of fire. In a statement issued today, the ISPR said, “Security forces have been conducting a serie...
  • KP govt must protect its people instead of begging Afghanistan for security: DG ISPR
    Dawn - 13:44 Oct 10, 2025
    Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said on Friday that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government should work on protecting the people of the province instead of “begging Afghanistan” for security. The DG ISPR made these remarks while addressing a press conference at Peshawar Corps Headquarters. He said governance gaps in KP were being paid for by the blood of security personnel. “Appeasement of terrorists and their facilitators is never and not a policy,” he asserted, adding that the state and its institutions would not be bothered by “any political distortions”. “The state and its people will not and cannot be left to the whims of any single person who is singularly the most responsible person for bringing terrorism back to KP.” He said that he hoped the government would focus on governance and the people it was duty-bound to protect. “We also hope that instead of begging Afghanistan for security, you will protect this province and its people.” The DG ISPR began...

5467 items