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Dawn - 10:34 Oct 10, 2025
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for promoting democratic rights in her country and her struggle to achieve a transition to democracy, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said. The following are some facts about the democracy campaigner: Upper-class background Maria Corina Machado, 58, was born in Caracas, Venezuela, on October 7, 1967. She is an industrial engineer by training, and her father was a prominent businessman in Venezuela’s steel industry. Her upper-class roots have made her a target of criticism from Venezuela’s governing socialist party. In hiding Machado won a resounding victory in the opposition’s primary election in 2023, and her rallies attracted large crowds, but a ban from holding public office prevented her from running for president against Nicolas Maduro in an election in 2024, and she went into hiding. The country’s electoral authority and top court say Maduro, whose time in office has been marked by a deep economic and social crisis, won ... -
Dawn - 10:22 Oct 10, 2025
I had never set foot in a zoo before; I now wish I hadn’t. As a mom of two feline monarchs who rule my home and a self-appointed custodian of strays that stumble into my orbit, my lessons in love have come padded in fur and whiskers. Cats, after all, love without surrendering their sovereignty. They teach you that affection can be fierce yet uncompromising of selfhood. That dignity breathes in freedom. And if dignity breathes in freedom, naturally, captivity is its slow suffocation. Few places advertise that suffocation as boldly as cages built in the name of leisure and ‘education’. So when my editor assigned me a story on the Karachi Zoo, I knew it wouldn’t be one of those breezy reporting days, neatly filed away before lunch. This one would sit heavy. But journalism, inconveniently faithful to reality, does not make exceptions for personal aversions. Zoos exist whether I approve or not, and my job was to bear witness. So, I went (a naïve corner of my heart clung to the hope of encountering some grace). I d... -
Dawn - 08:35 Oct 10, 2025
Human remains found in Japan have been identified as those of a six-year-old girl missing since the massive earthquake and tsunami of 2011, police said on Friday. The disaster killed 15,900 people, with 2,520 people still listed as missing as of the end of February, according to the National Police Agency. Teeth and fragments of jaw were discovered in February 2023 in the northern region of Miyagi, a spokesman for the local police told AFP. “After dental and DNA identification analyses, it was confirmed the remains belong to Natsuse Yamane, female, who was six years old at the time,” he said. The girl had been at her home in Yamada, a town around 100 kilometres away in Iwate Prefecture, when the tsunami swept her away, the spokesman added. She had been listed as missing ever since. The remains were found by construction workers sifting through material amassed in a clean-up of coastal areas, the Asahi Shimbun daily reported. The child’s family issued a statement of thanks. “We are very happy to have been cont... -
Dawn - 08:00 Oct 10, 2025
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Friday said that Pakistan’s recent engagement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was “constructive”, adding that there appeared to be no “showstoppers” so far. An IMF mission led by Iva Petrova met with Pakistan’s economic team in Karachi and Islamabad from September 24 to October 8 to review the implementation of the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and $1.1bn Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). A day earlier, the Fund said that “significant progress” had been made towards finalising a staff-level agreement on the second review under the 37-month EFF and the first review of the 28-month RSF. “Programme implementation remains strong, and broadly aligned with the authorities’ commitments,” the IMF had said. Today, the minister virtually addressed a high-level business delegation from Saudi Arabia, which arrived in Pakistan on October 7, and said, “We have had very constructive engagement with the [IMF] mission here. “We have a few outstanding issu... -
Dawn - 07:49 Oct 10, 2025
India will reopen its embassy in the Afghan capital Kabul that was shut four years ago, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Friday. India had closed its embassy in Kabul after the Taliban seized power following the withdrawal of US-led Nato forces in 2021, but opened a small mission a year later to facilitate trade, medical support, and humanitarian aid. About a dozen countries including China, Russia, Iran, Pakistan and Turkiye have embassies operating in Kabul, although Russia is the only country to have formally recognised the Taliban administration. New Delhi’s announcement came as Afghan Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi began talks with Jaishankar on what is the first visit to India by a Taliban leader since 2021. “India is fully committed to the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Afghanistan,” Jaishankar told Muttaqi in his opening remarks. “Closer cooperation between us contributes to your national development, as well as regional stability and resilien... -
Dawn - 07:45 Oct 10, 2025
In a major intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district on Thursday, two terrorists were killed including one reported to be the mastermind behind the killing of four officials in April, the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) in a statement A press release by the CTD issued yesterday said that it had “killed two most-wanted terrorists during a successful intelligence-based operation in Bannu district”. “The mastermind of the martyrdom of four CTD officials is also among those killed,” it added. According to the press release, the CTD had received confidential information that terrorists belonging to the banned organisation Fitna-al-Khawarij were planning a “major terrorist operation” on Company Road within the limits of Domail police station. Fitnah-al Khawarij is the term the state uses to refer to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Per the statement, the CTD’s Special (SWAT) team surrounded the area immediately along with the district police. “Upon seeing the operation... -
Dawn - 03:33 Oct 10, 2025
ISLAMABAD: After Starlink, a European giant and a Chinese company, Amazon’s satellite broadband initiative — Project Kuiper — has expressed interest in rolling out its services in Pakistan. In a meeting with Minister for IT and Telecom Shaza Fatima Khawaja, a delegation from Amazon outlined plans to launch Project Kuiper in Pakistan by the end of 2026. The delegation, led by Mostafa Mousa — Project Kuiper’s lead for Licensing and Regulatory Affairs in Europe, the Middle East and Africa — also included Jeff Kietzemen and Hisham Alshaer. The IT minister welcomed the delegation, stressing that this development signals growing confidence among global tech giants in Pakistan’s expanding digital economy. She noted that the entry of Project Kuiper would create new opportunities for affordable, high-speed internet, particularly in remote and underserved communities where traditional connectivity options remain limited. Project Kuiper is Amazon’s Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite network, which plans to deploy 3,236 sat... -
Dawn - 03:12 Oct 10, 2025
• Governor House claims it has not received resignation letter, CM Sectt insists it was delivered • Gandapur denies being offered his job back, says he won’t accept it • Atta Tarar accuses PTI of ‘enabling terrorists’, sees effort to ‘promote militancy’ behind Sohail Afridi’s nomination PESHAWAR: Despite Imran Khan’s instructions, Ali Amin Gandapur technically remains the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa until his resignation is accepted by the provincial governor. His resignation letter, which was shared with the media the previous night, has apparently gotten lost in red tape, with Governor House denying having ever received it. Officials at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat told Dawn that Mr Gandapur’s resignation had been delivered to the Governor House on Wednesday night. A copy of the letter seen by Dawn showed that 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 rema... -
Dawn - 02:42 Oct 10, 2025
POLITICAL uncertainty in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) has been deepening with each passing day, as both major coalition partners in the Chaudhry Anwarul Haq-led government have urged their leaders to allow them to withdraw from the coalition, ahead of the upcoming elections. Following recent shifts in political affiliations in the 53-member AJK Legislative Assembly, the PPP has raised its strength to 17 and the PML-N to nine, while the PTI forward bloc stands at 20. The PTI, which holds the office of the leader of the opposition, is left with only five lawmakers — one of whom has tendered his resignation, although it hasn’t been accepted yet — while two seats are held by members of other parties. The PPP’s parliamentary party and some key ticket holders, who met in Islamabad on Wednesday with its regional president Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin in the chair, unanimously resolved that the party should quit the government “sooner rather than later” to protect its political goodwill among the masses. Amid suspicions t... -
Dawn - 02:35 Oct 10, 2025
• Insiders say truce appears to be more like a ‘pact of silence’ than complete ceasefire • Observers see ‘calculated political strategy’ behind PML-N’s use of ‘Punjab card’ KARACHI: After high-level engagement between the PML-N and PPP, an emerging thaw has temporarily paused the political firestorm between the two parties. A phone call between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Thursday further sparked hopes of reconciliation, although sources suggest the truce appeared to be temporary — more like a ‘pact of silence’ rather than a complete ceasefire. According to insiders, the tensions that ignited the dispute are still simmering beneath the surface. A brief statement issued by Bilawal House confirmed that PM Shehbaz called Mr Bhutto-Zardari. The two discussed the “current political situation, floods, and foreign policy”, it added. However, there was no official readout from the PM Office regarding the conversation. A day earlier, a PML-N delegation including Deputy... -
Dawn - 02:27 Oct 10, 2025
Police personnel face off against TLP activists outside their headquarters on Multan Road.—Murtaza Ali/White Star • Containers placed at key points to prevent march on Islamabad • Over a dozen cops injured in clashes; outfit claims casualties due to violence • Minister says TLP using ‘Gaza March’ as pretext to spread unrest LAHORE: The city remained on edge throughout Thursday after late-night clashes between the police and the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) left several people injured, including around a dozen policemen. The standoff came following a call by the religious outfit to march on the federal capital, where it planned to stage a protest outside the US embassy in solidarity with Palestinians. In a bid to prevent the group from following through on its plans, authorities cracked down, cordoning off the Multan Road headquarters of the TLP with shipping containers and sealing the city’s entry/exit points. Meanwhile, in Islamabad, the administration also placed containers at entry points to keep p... -
Dawn - 02:18 Oct 10, 2025
ISLAMABAD: The authorities are hopeful for the finalisation of a staff-level agreement (SLA) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) during Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb’s upcoming visit to the United States, subject to the consensus on the external account and verified flood-related losses, as well as their fiscal adjustment across central and provincial accounts. Official sources confirmed that the IMF had shared the draft Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP) with the authorities before a visiting mission left Pakistan after two weeks of engagements. “We were at the cusp of finalising the SLA, but two crucial tables that form part of the MEFP required further adjustments,” an official said, hoping that the latest data on foreign remittances had strengthened Pakistan’s stance about the external account. He said the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) would hold its cautious monetary policy stance for now in light of the rebounding inflation. Moreover, the flood-related losses still n... -
Dawn - 19:42 Oct 09, 2025
Afghan authorities reported an explosion in the Afghan capital of Kabul late on Thursday night. Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabeehullah Mujahid said in a post on X: “The sound of an explosion was heard in the city of Kabul. However, no one should worry, it is all well and good, the investigation of the incident is underway, no report of any damage has been given so far.” Sources reported a Land Cruiser vehicle was apparently hit in the area of Abdul Haq Square in Kabul. Afghan media outlet Tolo News reported that, according to locals, the Abdul Haq intersection was closed, resulting in widespread traffic congestion in the area. AFP journalists reported that two explosions were heard in the capital. The two blasts occurred around 9:50pm local time (10:20 PKT). In the streets of the Afghan capital, numerous security forces were alerted and were searching cars, an AFP journalist saw. Mobile telephone service was down in several neighborhoods. -
Dawn - 19:03 Oct 09, 2025
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said the nation was united in its resolve to eradicate terrorism from the country, and the government would take all measures to crush violence perpetrated from across the border. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif issued a similar warning in the National Assembly about going after terrorist facilitators “wherever they are”. The government’s warning came a day after a lieutenant colonel and a major, among 11 security personnel, were martyred in an exchange of fire with the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan terrorist group in the Orakzai district. In his opening remarks during today’s federal cabinet meeting, PM Shehbaz paid tribute to army officers and soldiers involved in conducting operations against terrorists. He said facilitators were protecting terrorists who were coming from across the border. The premier stressed that the situation had reached a critical point and terrorists would not be spared. PM Shehbaz added that the government’s achievements on the economic an... -
Dawn - 18:30 Oct 09, 2025
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he spoke to United States President Donald Trump on Thursday, adding that they “reviewed good progress achieved in trade negotiations” and agreed to stay in close touch over the coming weeks. Indian commerce ministry officials have said that after the latest meetings of trade officials in Washington, another round of trade negotiations is expected soon in either country. Trump imposed a 50 per cent tariff on most exports from India, among the highest for any US trading partner. The move impacts about $50 billion of Indian exports to the US, mainly hurting labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, gems and jewellery and the shrimp industry. The tariffs were doubled on Indian goods from 25pc due to New Delhi’s continued imports of Russian oil. Washington earlier said India’s purchase of Russian oil helped fund Moscow’s war in Ukraine and that New Delhi also profits from it. India had rejected the accusation as a double standard, pointing to US and European trade links w... -
Dawn - 17:30 Oct 09, 2025
Hamas and Israel signed an agreement on Thursday to cease fire and free Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, in the first phase of United States President Donald Trump’s initiative to end the conflict in Gaza. Officials on both sides confirmed they had signed the deal following indirect talks in the Egyptian beach resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. The deal’s announcement had been greeted with celebrations among Palestinians and Israelis alike. The deal includes the release of captives and prisoners as well as a surge of aid into Gaza after more than two years of genocide after Tel Aviv started bombing the Palestinian enclave following Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the ceasefire would take effect once the agreement is ratified by his government, which would convene after a security cabinet meeting today. An Israeli government spokeswoman, confirming the deal had been signed, said the ceasefire would go into force within 24 hours of th... -
Dawn - 17:09 Oct 09, 2025
Former Jamaat-i-Islami senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, who was aboard the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) and imprisoned by Israel, criticised Muslim governments across the globe for not putting enough pressure on Israel or taking any action to prevent the ongoing genocide. Khan led the Pakistani delegation on the 45-vessel GSF, which left Spain last month to break Israel’s blockade of aid to Gaza with activists and politicians, including Greta Thunberg, on board. However, as it approached Gaza, Israeli forces intercepted it, detaining the activists on board before deporting them. Khan was detained in Israel for five days before being deported to Jordan. Appearing on Geo News programme ‘Capital Talk’, the ex-senator slammed the federal government, as well as other Muslim governments, for failing to put pressure on Israel to stop its onslaught in the Gaza Strip. Khan also outlined his experience in Israeli captivity during the interview. “What I want to ask is that if Sweden’s Greta [Thunberg] can lead the ... -
Dawn - 16:44 Oct 09, 2025
Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry said on Thursday that the government always allowed peaceful marchers and demonstration, however, the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) did not seek permission for a protest in Islamabad. Violence broke out in Punjab late yesterday night, after police launched a crackdown on the headquarters of TLP in a bid to arrest its chief, Saad Rizvi. At least three police constables were reportedly injured in clashes with enraged TLP supporters, who attacked law enforcers with stones and iron rods. Police responded with tear-gas shelling, turning Multan Road into a battleground. The group had announced plans for a massive anti-Israel demonstration outside the US embassy in the federal capital on Friday. Addressing a press conference today in Islamabad, Chaudhry said the speeches by the leaders of the religious party were inflammatory and abusive in nature. “When did the TLP seek permission, when did it give assurances of following SOPs (standard operating procedures),” he ... -
Dawn - 16:22 Oct 09, 2025
Senior lawyer Munir A. Malik contended on Thursday that an order for the formation of a full court could be issued using “judicial powers” as an eight-member Constitutional Bench (CB) of the Supreme Court (SC) heard pleas against the contentious legislation. The Amendment was passed by the parliament during an overnight session in October last year, with the PTI claiming seven of its lawmakers were abducted to gain their favour as the party opposed the legislation. The Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) also alleged its two senators were being pressured, with both later defying party line to vote in the tweaks’ favour. The legislation, which altered judicial authority and tenure, has been a lightning rod for debate with both opposition parties and legal experts questioning its impact on the judiciary’s independence. The tweaks took away the SC’s suo motu powers, set the chief justice of Pakistan’s (CJP) term at three years and empowered a Special Parliamentary Committee for the appointment of the CJP f... -
Dawn - 16:21 Oct 09, 2025
United States President Donald Trump says the deal agreed between Israel and Hamas marks the first steps toward a “strong, durable, and everlasting peace” that will end the two-year-old Gaza conflict. Yet the agreement signed after indirect talks in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, a favoured location for Middle East peace conferences over the decades with a patchy record of success, is only an initial phase involving a ceasefire, a handover of captives held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners inside Israel and a partial withdrawal of Israel from the enclave. Plenty of pitfalls remain after negotiators left for later discussions about some of the thornier issues on which previous initiatives have foundered, such as the full extent of an Israeli withdrawal, the disarmament of Hamas, how to guarantee that fighting will not resume after this phase — and who could provide such a guarantee. Have the guns fallen silent? Not yet. Trump demanded Israel halt its bombing when Hamas first indicated part...
5467 items