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Found 7393 news

  • PM Shehbaz approves halal meat export policy, orders preparation of strategy to enhance exports
    Dawn - 11:39 Dec 18, 2025
    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday approved the halal meat export policy and directed relevant authorities to present a comprehensive, three-year strategy within two weeks, comprising measures to increase exports. Pakistan barely has a 0.25 per cent share in the global halal food trade of more than $3 trillion, which reflects the need for the government and private sector to take proactive initiatives to explore the true potential of ‘Made in Pakistan’ products and establish a niche for itself. The decision was made during a meeting of a committee established to enhance Pakistan’s halal meat export market, focusing on the export policy and sector reforms. PM Shehbaz was presiding over the meeting. “A comprehensive strategy, formulated through coordination among all relevant federal ministries and provincial governments, is essential and significant to make Pakistan’s share in the halal meat market of Muslim countries as well as the global market,” PM Shehbaz said. He asked officials to present proposal...
    Tags: Shehbaz
  • Passengers offloaded, restrained from travelling must be provided with written reasons, LHC reminds authorities
    Dawn - 10:04 Dec 18, 2025
    The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday issued a stern reminder to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and other authorities concerned, saying that any person offloaded or restrained from travelling must be provided with written reasons at the time of the action being taken. LHC’s Justice Ali Zia Bajwa made the observations in an order issued after a hearing held at the Multan Bench. On Wednesday, the judge had heard a petition filed by a citizen, Shaheryar Qandeel, against the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other authorities following his offloading from a flight despite being in possession of valid travel documents. In the order, a copy of which is available with Dawn, Justice Bajwa said, “Let this court take a moment to remind the FIA and all concerned authorities that every exercise of power that infringes upon the fundamental rights of an individual must find its firm and unambiguous foundation in law.” He said that no administrative discretion, however broad, could justify curbing the liberty of cit...
  • Complaint filed against Bihar CM for pulling down woman’s niqab: Indian media
    Dawn - 09:44 Dec 18, 2025
    A complaint has been filed with police against the chief minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar, and Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister Sanjay Nishad in relation to an incident involving the former pulling a woman’s face veil (niqab), according to Indian media. Kumar has been facing criticism after he pulled off a woman doctor’s niqab at a graduation ceremony. A clip of the incident was widely shared on social media, showing the 74-year-old politician handing a certificate to a woman doctor during the event on Monday and motioning to her to remove her niqab. Before the woman could react, Kumar reached out and pulled down the niqab, exposing her mouth and chin. While the clip has sparked widespread outrage across India and Pakistan, with social media users, activists and commentators demanding an apology and resignation of the chief minister, Nishad made remarks belittling the gravity of the incident, questioning the outrage over “mere removal of a burqa”. Indian news agency ANI reported on Wednesday that Samajwadi Party...
    Tags: Bihar Indian
  • CDF Field Marshal Munir reaffirms commitment to strengthening defence ties with Libya
    Dawn - 09:06 Dec 18, 2025
    Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir has reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to strengthening defence ties with Libya, the military’s media wing said on Thursday. In a statement, Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that the field marshal was currently on an official visit to Libya, where he called on the Libyan Armed Forces’ commander in chief, Field Marshal Khalifa Belqasim Haftar, and deputy commander in chief, Lieutenant General Saddam Khalifa Haftar. “On arrival, the field marshal was accorded a guard of honour by a smartly turned-out contingent of the Libyan Armed Forces,” the ISPR said. In a meeting with the Libyan Armed Forces’ commander in chief, CDF Field Marshal Munir reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to strengthening defence ties with Libya, “based on shared interests”, it said. It added that during the meeting, the two discussed matters of mutual interest, regional security dynamics, and avenues for enhancing bilateral defence and military-to-military ...
    Tags: CDF Field Marshal Munir Libya
  • Trump administration intends to ramp up efforts to revoke citizenship of some naturalised Americans: report
    Dawn - 09:02 Dec 18, 2025
    The Trump administration intends to increase its efforts to strip some naturalised Americans of their US citizenship, according to internal guidance obtained by The New York Times. The move comes as US President Donald Trump, in a prime-time address, pledged to further intensify his hard-line immigration policies, signalling a broader crackdown on migrants and stricter enforcement measures across the country. Internal instructions issued this week to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) field offices direct them to “supply Office of Immigration Litigation with 100–200 denaturalisation cases per month” in the 2026 fiscal year, the Times reported. That would mark a dramatic increase in denaturalisation cases, which, according to the Immigrant Legal Resource Centre, stood at about 11 per year between 1990 and 2017. A USCIS spokesperson told Reuters that the agency’s focus was on individuals who “unlawfully obtained US citizenship”, asserting that the expanded denaturalisation push forms part of effort...
    Tags: Americans
  • ‘We need to do more’: Australian PM vows crackdown on hate speech after Bondi shooting
    Dawn - 08:36 Dec 18, 2025
    Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday promised a crackdown on hate speech in the wake of an attack on a Jewish holiday event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, as the youngest of 15 victims was laid to rest. The alleged father-and-son gunmen opened fire as hundreds of people celebrated Hanukkah on Sydney’s famous Bondi Beach on Sunday. The attack, which shocked the nation and led to fears over rising anti-Semitism, appears to have been inspired by the Islamic State, authorities say. Criticised by many in the Jewish community for not doing enough to combat a rise in anti-Semitism since the start of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, Albanese said the government will seek to introduce legislation that makes it easier to charge people promoting hate speech and violence. Penalties would be increased, cancelling or refusing visas would be made easier, and a regime for targeting organisations whose leaders engage in hate speech would be developed, he said. “Australians are shocked and angry. I am angry. It ...
  • England Ashes dreams on life-support as Australia rip through batting
    Dawn - 07:35 Dec 18, 2025
    A pumped-up Australia ripped through England’s fragile batting Thursday to leave the tourists staring down the barrel of a third Test defeat with their Ashes campaign on the brink, barring a miracle. At stumps on a sweltering day two, the visitors had ground to 213-8, trailing by 158 after Australia added 45 to their overnight 326-8 as temperatures soared to 40 Celsius. A gutsy Ben Stokes was not out 45 after facing 151 balls with Jofra Archer on 30 in a Test England must win and on a pitch ideal for batting. View this post on Instagram They were not helped by another suspect decision by the Snicko technology, but at least avoided the follow-on. Australia lead the five-match series 2-0 and will retain the urn if they win or draw after back-to-back eight-wicket thumpings in Perth and Brisbane. Opening pair Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley saw off the early overs from Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins. But it was a mirage with England losing three wickets for five runs in a 15-ball blitz, the latest chapter in a famili...
    Tags: Australia
  • Over 37m children vaccinated during first 3 days of ongoing nationwide polio campaign
    Dawn - 07:07 Dec 18, 2025
    Over 37 million children have been vaccinated during the first three days of the ongoing national campaign to eradicate polio in Pakistan, the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) said on Thursday. Pakistan is one of the last two countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan, where polio remains endemic. So far, the country has recorded 30 polio cases this year, with the highest number of cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at 19. The year’s last vaccination campaign against the crippling disease was launched by Health Minister Mustafa Kamal on December 11. The week-long campaign, which began on December 15, is aimed at vaccinating over 45m children under the age of five. According to NEOC, polio drops have been administered to 20.8m children in Punjab, over 7.4m in Sindh, 6.1m in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 2.1m in Balochistan, 417,000 in Islamabad, 256,000 in Gilgit-Baltistan and 689,000 children in Azad Jammu and Kashmir during the first three days of the campaign. NEOC said in a statement that over 400,000 polio w...
    Tags: Over
  • ‘Hottest country anywhere’: In rapid-fire speech, Trump highlights victories amid sinking approval ratings
    Dawn - 06:35 Dec 18, 2025
    In a rare evening address from the White House, US President Donald Trump boasted on Wednesday of his accomplishments and blamed his Democratic predecessor for soaring consumer prices as his party braces for a tough midterm election next year. “Eleven months ago, I inherited a mess, and I’m fixing it,” Trump said in a speech that lasted less than 20 minutes and was delivered at rapid-fire pace. The Republican president, who regularly complains that he does not get credit for his accomplishments, offered few new policy initiatives to address high costs. Instead, he placed blame at the feet of former president Joe Biden, previous trade deals, immigrants and what he described as a corrupt system. The Republican president, who regularly complains that he does not get credit for his accomplishments, touted his administration’s work this year on a range of issues from reducing border crossings to bringing down prices of some goods. Trump announced his administration would send a “warrior dividend” of $1,776 to 1.45...
    Tags: Trump
  • Pakistan seeks massive ADB loan to tackle remaining Rs1.7tr circular debt
    Dawn - 03:13 Dec 18, 2025
    ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday sought substantive additional debt from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to payoff remaining Rs1.7 trillion circular debt and refinance part of recently acquired Rs1.25tr commercial financing in one-go at longer terms for bringing down expensive power tariffs and improving grid stability through demand growth. The request was formally made by Power Minister Sardar Awais Leghari to a visiting ADB delegation led by Ms Leah Gutierrez, Director General, Central and West Asia Department though he did not pitch size of the proposed loan to be discussed subsequently. ADB’s total debt stock currently stands at $17bn, the third largest after China and the World Bank. Informed sources told Dawn that the minister proposed that the Manila-based lending agency should come up with financing instruments and arrangements that could directly make power sector debt more affordable through longer payback period and cheaper interest rates than commercial financing from the market. The ADB’s finan...
    Tags: Pakistan
  • Kabul’s claim of denying militants safe haven called into question
    Dawn - 02:54 Dec 18, 2025
    • UNSC assessment reveals some senior Taliban members increasingly view TTP as a liability, others remain supportive • Report says border closures estimated to cost Afghan economy around $1 million per day • Monitoring body says Al Qaeda has ‘blended itself with TTP’, with or without Taliban acquiescence ISLAMABAD: A United Nations Security Council report has rejected the Taliban’s claim that terrorist groups are not using Afghan territory for cross-border violence, calling the assertion “not credible” and warning that neighbouring states increasingly view Afghanistan as a source of regional insecurity. The assessment is contained in the sixteenth report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, submitted to the UN Security Council, as international concern grows over Afghanistan’s security landscape more than four years after the Taliban returned to power in August 2021. “The de facto authorities continue to deny that any terrorist groups have a footprint in or operate from its territory. That...
  • Goods transporters call off nationwide strike after successful negotiations with govt
    Dawn - 18:32 Dec 17, 2025
    Good transporters called off their days-long nationwide strike following successful negotiations with the government, after most of their demands had been met. “We have called off our strike, which continued for 10 days. We have done this after the federal and provincial governments of Punjab and Sindh accepted our demands and signed the settlement document,” President of the Pakistan Goods Transport Alliance (PGTA) Malik Shehzad Awan said on Wednesday. The PGTA is an organisation representing 20 major goods transport associations across the country. According to Awan, during the dialogues, the government’s representatives agreed to reduce fines to a considerable level. Similarly, demands related to axle load, problems with issuing heavy transport driving licenses, issues with customs authorities, motorway police, and disputed clauses of the Punjab Motor Vehicle Ordinance, among others, were also accepted. Talking to Dawn, All Pakistan Truck Trailer Owners Association Chairman Lala Yasir Naseer said that good...
  • US deploys military to Ecuador for anti-drugs operation
    Dawn - 18:30 Dec 17, 2025
    The United States announced a temporary deployment of Air Force personnel to Ecuador on Wednesday as part of its regional anti-narcotics campaign. There was no indication of the scale of the deployment, which comes as tensions are rising over the standoff between Latin American oil producer Venezuela and the United States. The personnel will be deployed at Ecuador’s Manta air force base, which had served as a US base for a decade until 2009. Ecuadoran voters in November overwhelmingly rejected a bid by President Daniel Noboa to lift the country’s ban on foreign bases. But according to the US embassy in Quito, the deployment is a “temporary operation with the Ecuadorian Air Force in Manta”. The “short-term joint effort” will “enhance the capacity of the Ecuadorian military forces to combat narco-terrorists, including strengthening intelligence gathering and anti-drug trafficking capabilities, and is designed to protect the United States and Ecuador from the threats we share”. Ecuador’s defence ministry said th...
    Tags: Ecuador
  • Current account turns positive in November with $100m surplus
    Dawn - 18:08 Dec 17, 2025
    The current account posted a $100 million surplus in November, which may change the trend of deficits in previous months of the current fiscal year. However, data provided by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) shows that imports were curtailed to improve trade deficit figures during the month. The previous month, October, had posted a current account deficit of $291 million. The previous fiscal year, FY25, surprised many by posting a net current account surplus of $1.932 billion and was widely celebrated by the government as a major positive for the economy. The surplus was also the result of tight import restrictions, which ultimately kept the economic growth rate well below the desired level. Policymakers have yet to announce a strategy to move away from import-led economic growth. The data shows that the $100 million surplus in November was much lower than the $709 million surplus in the same month of the previous fiscal year. In November this year, both exports and imports declined, which helped the current...
    Tags: November
  • Ali Tareen among three bidders in race to get PFF’s nod for new league
    Dawn - 17:47 Dec 17, 2025
    Ali Tareen emerged as a surprise contender in the bidding war to hold a new football league in Pakistan, with the former owner of Pakistan Super League (PSL) cricket franchise Multan Sultans in a race against two franchise league merchants, who have long tried to get an event underway. Last month, the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) had invited expressions of interest from individuals and companies looking to hold a league in a bid to revive the domestic structure of the game in the country. Tareen confirmed on Wednesday, the deadline day for submission, that he had sent a proposal. “I have proposed a season (six-month) long league for Pakistan football, not a flashy, one-month cash-grab tournament,” Ali wrote on X, in a jibe at the proposed franchise leagues. Pakistan hasn’t had a functioning league since the last edition of the Pakistan Premier Football League — which had a mix of departments and a smattering of clubs — in 2019. Ali, who was denied renewal of Multan Sultans by the Pakistan Cricket Board ...
    Tags: Ali Tareen
  • Three accused NCCIA officials resign as FIA probe into bribery case drags on
    Dawn - 16:51 Dec 17, 2025
    With the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) moving slowly in the probe against nine arrested officials of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), who are allegedly involved in extracting money from a known YouTuber and call centres, three of them have resigned from their posts. According to an NCCIA notification, three officers — Deputy Director Sarfaraz Chaudhry, Assistant Director Muhammad Usman, and Assistant Director Shoaib Riaz — resigned from their posts, and their resignations were accepted by the Interior Ministry. “This is to inform that the following officers are relieved from the NCCIA from the date of approval of their resignations — Nov 20.” Another official, Assistant Director Asma Majeed, also resigned from her post. A mega scam involving the misuse of authority and acceptance of bribes from different suspects rocked the NCCIA in October. Not only were nine officials of the NCCIA booked in Lahore, but also 12 in Islamabad, for allegedly taking large sums of money from individuals...
    Tags: NCCIA
  • PTI decides to contest Islamabad local govt elections despite ‘rigging’ fears
    Dawn - 16:08 Dec 17, 2025
    Despite fear of rigging, the PTI decided on Wednesday to participate in the Islamabad local government elections, which will be held on February 15 across the federal capital. In line with party policy, workers who have remained loyal to the party and its ideology and have made sacrifices during the last three years will be given priority in nominations. The decision was made during a meeting chaired by PTI Islamabad Region President Aamir Mughal and attended by Regional Secretary and Chairman of the Local Government Committee Malik Aamir Ali Awan, ticket holder Advocate Shoaib Shaheen, Senator Fauzia Arshad, Senate ticket holder Syed Farzand Shah, ticket holder Ali Bukhari, and other senior office-bearers. After consultations, it was unanimously decided that PTI’s Islamabad wing would take part in the local government elections. However, participants feared that there could be “rigging,” as happened in the recent National Assembly elections in Haripur. Participants were also of the view that the government h...
    Tags: Islamabad
  • Imran’s sisters among 400 booked over PTI Adiala sit-in; at least 14 party supporters arrested
    Dawn - 16:06 Dec 17, 2025
    PTI founder Imran Khan’s sisters — Aleema Khan, Uzma Khan and Noreen Khan Niazi — are among 400 people booked on Wednesday after police dispersed a sit-in near Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail, where the party founder and former prime minister is currently incarcerated. Moreover, 14 PTI workers were arrested and produced before an anti-terrorism court (ATC) today, which approved three days of physical remand and returned the suspects to police custody. Imran’s sisters, party workers and supporters had staged a sit-in at Factory Naka a day prior, demanding their court-mandated Tuesday meeting with the PTI founder. Police used water cannons and baton charges to disperse the protesters, with police starting their operation at 2am. According to a copy of the first information report (FIR) — dated December 17 and available with Dawn — 400 suspects, including 35 nominated persons, were booked under various provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 (ATA) and Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), including the use of petrol bombs and ...
    Tags: Imran
  • ‘Fingerprints are piling up’: Sherry Rehman says FATF should investigate ‘growing support’ for terrorism from India
    Dawn - 15:36 Dec 17, 2025
    PPP Vice President Senator Sherry Rehman on Wednesday suggested that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) investigate “growing support” from India for terrorist groups, after an Indian national was identified as a suspect in a recent mass shooting at Australia’s Bondi Beach. Alleged father-and-son perpetrators, Sajid and Naveed Akram, opened fire on a Jewish holiday celebration at Sydney’s famed Bondi Beach on Sunday, killing 15 in an attack that shook the nation and intensified fears of rising anti-Semitism and violent extremism. Sajid, 50, was shot dead by police at the scene, while his 24-year-old son, Naveed, emerged from a coma on Tuesday afternoon after also being shot by police. On Tuesday, it emerged that Sajid was originally from the Indian city of Hyderabad, with police saying his family did not know about his “radical mindset”. In a post on X, Senator Rehman noted that the attack raised questions about links to New Delhi as Indian and Israeli allegations of Pakistani involvement “were backfiring ...
    Tags: FATF India
  • Amnesty condemns ‘repeated’ use of water cannons on PTI protesters outside Adiala Prison
    Dawn - 14:45 Dec 17, 2025
    Amnesty International on Wednesday condemned the “repeated” use of high-pressure water cannons by authorities to disperse a sit-in outside Adiala prison in Rawalpindi, after incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan’s family was denied a meeting with the former prime minister. “The repeated use of high-pressure water cannons by authorities against peaceful protesters outside Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi is a flagrant violation of their right to peaceful assembly.” Amnesty added that Pakistan authorities “must respect people’s right to peacefully protest and end the disproportionate and punitive use of force”. After authorities again barred Imran’s sisters from meeting the incarcerated former prime minister, a sit-in was staged outside the prison. A court order issued by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on March 24 this year mandated that meetings with Imran would be permitted twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. However, the PTI maintains that the order is not being honoured. Despite the IHC’s order, Imran’s sisters...
    Tags: Amnesty

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