Dawn
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Dawn - 18:47 Oct 12, 2025
The latest hearing of cases against Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) chief Dr Mahrang Baloch and other group leaders was held in Quetta District Jail instead of an anti-terrorism court (ATC), it emerged on Sunday, with the advocacy group terming the development a “disturbing display of institutionalised repression”. The BYC, a Baloch advocacy group working against enforced disappearances since 2018, posted in a statement on X that the judicial remand of the detained BYC leaders was further extended for ten days. Mahrang and other BYC leaders, including Sibghatullah Baloch, Beebow Baloch, Beebarg Baloch and Gulzadi Baloch, were arrested under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance (MPO) in March and have remained in custody since then, being remanded multiple times. Israr Baloch, the counsel for Mahrang, confirmed Saturday’s developments to Dawn.com. The case was heard by Judge Muhammad Ali Mobin of ATC-1, he said. “Instead of presenting the BYC leaders in ATC-1, the BYC legal team was summoned to District J... -
Dawn - 17:41 Oct 12, 2025
A Frontier Corps (FC) hawaldar was martyred and an FC soldier was injured when a police and security forces convoy was “attacked by terrorists” on the Miranshah Road in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district on Sunday, according to police. Kashif Nawaz Khan, the spokesperson for Bannu police, confirmed these details to Dawn.com. He said an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated in the area while a police team and security personnel were conducting a search operation, following which “terrorists attacked the security personnel with weapons”. “The IED was planted near the Baran Shah bridge on the Miranshah road,” the spokesperson said, adding that “Hawaldar Dost Muhammad Khan was martyred and soldier Shamim Khan injured in the incident.” The spokesperson said police and security personnel repulsed the attack and “forced the terrorists to flee toward the mountains”. He further stated that another search operation was launched in the area after the incident. Four children injured The police spokesperson also sh... -
Dawn - 17:01 Oct 12, 2025
Authorities on Sunday opened multiple roads across Punjab as Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) protesters continued their sit-ins in Muridke and Sadhoke for the third consecutive day, continuing attempts to reach Islamabad to stage a protest in ‘solidarity with Palestinians’. The M1 motorway connects Peshawar to Islamabad, while the M2 motorway connects Lahore to Islamabad and the M3 motorway links Lahore to Abdul Hakeem in Khanewal district, where it joins the M4 leading to Faisalabad and Multan. A day ago, the main TLP procession reached Muridke after breaking through police security, hours after violent clashes in Lahore left over four dozen police personnel injured. The marchers then staged a sit-in at Muridke, blocked by trenches dug along the GT Road. In an update on Sunday evening, motorway police issued an alert stating that the Sialkot Motorway was now open, but that the roads going from Chowk Yateem to Scheme Morr and Babu Sabu remained closed. Earlier, authorities reopened the M1, M2 and M3 motorway... -
Dawn - 16:13 Oct 12, 2025
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb reached Washington on Sunday, where he will attend plenary meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) from Oct 13 to 18. The meetings bring together global finance ministers, central bankers and development leaders, offering Pakistan a crucial platform to secure the next IMF tranche, advance economic reforms, and engage international partners on growth, investment, and resilience. Aurangzeb’s 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). Before leaving for the US, the finance minister had expressed optimism that the SLA with the IMF would be finalised next week during his visit to Washington. Separately, Pakistani officials in Washington told media representatives that during the 2025 annual meetings, the delegation from Islamabad would focus on securing the third IMF tranche, meeting the remaining programme be... -
Dawn - 16:08 Oct 12, 2025
Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah on Sunday urged the PTI and other political parties to unite in backing the “charter for a stable Pakistan”, saying the initiative had become more crucial than ever following last night’s border escalation with Afghanistan. According to a statement from the military’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), overnight skirmishes between Kabul and Islamabad erupted on the night of Oct 11-12, after “Afghan Taliban and India-backed militants launched an unprovoked attack along the Pak-Afghan border”. Pakistan said its forces responded decisively, killing over 200 Taliban and affiliated terrorists, while 23 Pakistani soldiers were martyred. Islamabad has repeatedly urged Afghanistan to rein in the Fitna-al-Khawarij — a term the state uses for militants linked to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) — saying the group operates from Afghan soil. Kabul, however, has denied any involvement. Speaking during a media briefing in Fais... -
Dawn - 15:47 Oct 12, 2025
The Foreign Office said on Sunday that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would visit Egypt tomorrow (Monday) to participate in the Sharm el-Sheikh Peace Summit and attend the signing ceremony of the peace agreement aimed at ending the “prevailing grave situation in Gaza”. “At the invitation of the president of Egypt, HE Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, and the president of the United States, HE Donald Trump, the prime minister of Pakistan, Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, will visit Egypt on October 13, 2025 to participate in the Sharm el-Sheikh Peace Summit and attend the signing ceremony of the peace agreement aimed at ending the prevailing grave situation in Gaza,” the FO statement said. The prime minister would be accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, as well as other senior ministers during the visit, it added. The summit is taking place amid positive signs of Palestinians getting respite from the two-year-long Israeli onslaught. During this period, more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed ... -
Dawn - 13:58 Oct 12, 2025
The Sindh home department has imposed Section 144 across the province for a period of one month to maintain law and order in the interest of “public and peace”, a notification issued on Sunday said. Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code is a legal provision that empowers district administrations to prohibit an assembly of four or more people in an area for a limited period. According to the notification, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, “Section 144 is imposed to prevent all kinds of protests, demonstrations, sit-ins, and rallies and assemblies of more than five persons throughout the Sindh Province, for a period of one month. “The Government of Sindh is satisfied that in order to maintain law & order situation and to prevent miscreants from assembly in a manner prejudicial to public safety in the province of Sindh, it is necessary to take immediate measures.” It added that the concerned police stations were given the authority to register complaints under Section 188 of the PPC (Disobedience ... -
Dawn - 12:58 Oct 12, 2025
Pakistan rode on a brilliant 93 from Imam-ul-Haq to reach 313-5 after a brief fightback from South Africa on the opening day of the first Test in Lahore on Sunday. Shan Masood hit 76, but Haq missed out on his hundred as Pakistan slumped to 199-5 as four wickets fell quickly. Mohammad Rizwan, 62 not out, and Salman Agha, unbeaten 52 at the close, rebuilt the innings during an unbroken sixth-wicket stand of 114 in the final session on a spin-friendly Gaddafi Stadium pitch. Rizwan hit two fours and two sixes in his 12th Test half-century while Agha had two fours and a six in reaching his 10th fifty. Pakistan dominated most of the first two sessions, but then had a mini- collapse from 163-1 to 199-5 as they lost four wickets for 36 runs, the last three without adding a run either side of the tea interval. Spinner Prenelan Subrayen trapped Masood lbw for 76, including nine fours and a six, to end a 161-run stand with Haq. Left-arm spinner Senuran Muthusamy then had Haq caught at short-leg by Tony de Zorzi, after ... -
Dawn - 12:51 Oct 12, 2025
The Athletics Federation of Pakistan (AFP) on Sunday imposed a lifetime ban on Salman Butt, coach of Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem “for gross violations of the AFP Constitution” in an attempt to “uphold transparency, constitutional compliance, and organizational integrity within the federation”. The decision against Butt comes against the backdrop of AFP seeking reasons behind a sharp decline in Arshad’s performance where he finished 10th in the men’s javelin final at the World Athletics Championship held in Tokyo last month. In his reply to AFP, Butt said that it was due to the heat and humidity in the Japanese capital as well as a calf pain that Arshad couldn’t perform up to his usual standards. According to a press release issued by AFP, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, the federation in its executive committee meeting held on October 10 under the chairmanship of AFP president Wajahat Hussain Sahi, “has taken significant disciplinary and administrative decisions to uphold transparency, constit... -
Dawn - 11:06 Oct 12, 2025
Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick to pass 50 international goals in record time as Norway cruised to a 5-0 thrashing of Israel on Saturday, edging closer to qualifying for a first World Cup finals since 1998. Before the match in Oslo, hundreds of people attended a pro-Palestinian demonstration, chanting “Free Palestine” to protest against Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza, AFP journalists reported. Norwegian police dispersed a gathering of pro-Palestinian activists with tear gas and made several arrests. Inside the Ullevaal Stadium, several dozen Israeli fans waved their country’s flag and a banner reading “Let the Ball Talk!”. Norway now lead Group I with 18 points, six more than second-placed Italy, who beat Estonia 3-1 in Tallinn to stay on track for qualification. The comfortable win in Oslo leaves Norway firmly in control of the group as they seek a place at next year’s finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico. After a meek performance, Israel take on Italy in Udine on Tuesday knowing they must win to ke... -
Dawn - 09:52 Oct 12, 2025
Australian airline Qantas said on Sunday that data from 5.7 million customers stolen in a major cyberattack this year had been shared online, part of a leak affecting dozens of firms. Disney, Google, Ikea, Toyota, McDonald’s, and fellow airlines Air France and KLM are also reported to have had data stolen in a cyberattack targeting software firm Salesforce, with the information now being held to ransom. Salesforce said this month it was “aware of recent extortion attempts by threat actors”. Qantas confirmed in July that hackers had targeted one of its customer contact centres, breaching a computer system used by a third party now known to have been Salesforce. They secured access to sensitive information such as customer names, email addresses, phone numbers and birthdays, the blue-chip Australian company said. No further breaches have taken place since, and the company is cooperating with Australian security services. “Qantas is one of a number of companies globally that has had data released by cyber crimin... -
Dawn - 09:14 Oct 12, 2025
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon said Sunday that one of its members was wounded by an Israeli grenade dropped near a UN position in the country’s south, the third incident of its kind in just over a month. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has been working with the Lebanese army to support a November ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities between Israel and militant group Hezbollah that culminated in two months of open war. “Just before noon yesterday, an Israeli drone dropped a grenade that exploded near a UNIFIL position” in Kfar Kela, the force said in a statement published on Sunday. “One peacekeeper was lightly injured and received medical assistance.” Earlier this month, UNIFIL said Israeli drones had dropped multiple grenades near peacekeepers providing security for workers clearing rubble left over from the war. And in a similar episode in September, UNIFIL said Israeli drones had dropped four grenades near peacekeepers, with Israel insisting... -
Dawn - 09:11 Oct 12, 2025
New Delhi: India’s opposition Congress party criticised the Narendra Modi government on Saturday over the absence of women journalists from a press conference addressed by visiting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, with Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra asking the prime minister to clarify his position on the matter. “Mr Modi, when you allow the exclusion of women journalists from a public forum, you are telling every woman in India that you are too weak to stand up for them. In our country, women have the right to equal participation in every space. “Your silence in the face of such discrimination exposes the emptiness of your slogans on Nari Shakti,” Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said in a post on X. Mr Gandhi’s post followed Priyanka Vadra’s earlier message, in which she asked whether the prime minister’s recognition of women’s rights was “just convenient posturing from one election to another”, and questioned how such an “insult to some of India’s most co... -
Dawn - 08:29 Oct 12, 2025
China called President Donald Trump’s latest US tariffs on Chinese goods hypocritical on Sunday and defended its curbs on exports of rare earth elements and equipment, but stopped short of imposing new levies on US products. On Friday, Trump responded to Beijing’s most recent export controls by imposing additional tariffs of 100 per cent on China’s US-bound exports, along with new export controls on critical software by November 1. The revived trade tensions have rattled Wall Street, sending Big Tech shares tumbling, worried foreign companies dependent on China’s production of processed rare earths and rare earth magnets, and could derail a summit between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping tentatively scheduled for later this month. Responding to Trump The Chinese commerce ministry’s statement on Sunday was Beijing’s first direct response to Trump’s lengthy Truth Social post on Friday, where he accused Beijing of suddenly raising trade tensions after an uneasy truce was reached six months ago between the ... -
Dawn - 07:51 Oct 12, 2025
LAHORE: This year 48 universities from Pakistan have made it to the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings for 2026. The Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, is ranked between 401 and 500 category, followed by Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, which improved by 400 points to be in the 601-800 ranking. Other institutions ranked between 601 and 800 include Air University, COMSATS University, Islamabad, Government College University, Faisalabad, National University of Sciences and Technology, Sukkur IBA, University of Lahore, and University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore. Fifteen institutions ranked between 801–1000 include Abdul Wali Khan University of Mardan, Capital University of Science and Technology, Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology, Government College University Lahore, International Islamic University, Islamabad, Iqra University, Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering and Technology, RYK, Lahore University of Management and Sciences, The I... -
Dawn - 07:12 Oct 12, 2025
Every now and then, social media produces a ‘hero’. He/she suddenly rises, lingers and then either fades away or falls off by the wayside. All this can happen within days, weeks, months or within a few years. The appeal of such ‘heroes’ can be universal or entirely local. But the fact remains, their heroic status is almost always short-lived. People move on to search for another hero. But it is not really about a search as such. It is mostly about construction. According to the University of Richmond (Virginia) Professor Emeritus of Psychology Scott T. Allison, heroism is a concept shaped by social, psychological and historical factors. It is a process that is influenced by our individual biases, and our collective needs and values. So, on most occasions, heroes are constructed by people to broadcast their own ideals, wishes, beliefs and aspirations. A society, or segments of it, take fragments of information available of an event or of a personality and turn them into a “meaningful whole.” That meaningful ... -
Dawn - 07:03 Oct 12, 2025
“One of the historic errors the US made — going back to the Carter administration — was the fiction of being an honest broker… I think what President Trump understood… was if the world knows nothing else, the world needs to know this: that America stands with Israel.” — Mike Pence, former US vice president speaking to David Friedman, orthodox Jew and former US ambassador to the Zionist entity on Trinity Broadcasting Network “In the last several decades, the Palestinian leadership has missed one opportunity after the other… It is about time the Palestinians take the proposals and agree to come to the negotiations table or shut up and stop complaining.” — Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, speaking to heads of Jewish organisations in New York on March 27, 2018 “There is intelligence cooperation between Bahrain and Israel. Mossad is in Bahrain and they are present in the region… intelligence cooperation is part of our ongoing partnership between Bahrain and Israel and will continue.” — Sheikh Abdullah bin Ahmed A... -
Dawn - 06:34 Oct 12, 2025
• Home minister says bandits must deposit all weapons, explosives with police • Says courts likely to consider laying down arms as a mitigating factor in deciding cases KARACHI: Surrendering dacoits in the Katcha region will face trial without pardon, though voluntary surrender may be considered a mitigating factor in sentencing by courts. As per the Surrender Policy for Dacoits in Katcha Area of Sukkur and Larkana Divisions, recently approved by the Sindh cabinet, surrender does not mean pardon or immunity and all surrendering individuals shall face the prevailing law of the land, officials told Dawn. The policy ensures surrendering dacoits would not face harm from law enforcement and their families would be shielded from any sort of harassment or retaliation, providing a safe passage for reintegration. Speaking to Dawn, Home Minister Zia Lanjhar said that the Sindh government proactively worked to resolve tribal feuds, removing a major factor behind dacoit formation in the area. He said that communities in ... -
Dawn - 06:15 Oct 12, 2025
KARACHI: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have signed two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) aimed at promoting collaboration in information technology and sports, marking a step forward in bilateral engagement focused on youth development and technological cooperation. The Letters of Intent (LoIs) were signed at a ceremony held at the Governor House late Friday night in the presence of Saudi-Pakistan Joint Business Council (SPJBC) Chairman Prince Mansour bin Mohammad bin Saad Al Saud and Sindh Governor Kamran Khan Tessori. Saudi Ambassador Nawaf Saeed Al-Malki, Consul General Mohammed Abdullah Al-Subaie and Pakistan’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Ahmed Farooq also attended the event. Under the MoUs, both countries agreed to collaborate on IT education, youth exchange programmes, joint training initiatives and sporting events to promote skills development and people-to-people connections. KCCI urges Saudi investment in petrochemicals and agriculture Speaking at the ceremony, Governor Tessori described Pak-Saudi relat... -
Dawn - 04:52 Oct 12, 2025
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court has expressed strong disapproval of the police inaction in a case about enforced disappearance, ordering departmental accountability as well as seeking a compliance report from the cabinet secretary about the initiation of proceedings against the police high-ups, including the IGP. In an order issued by Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, the court sought a compliance report from the secretary about an earlier order wherein the official was directed to place the matter before the prime minister for initiation of departmental proceedings against the responsible police officers. The incumbent IGP was also asked to submit a report on whether any action had been taken against the joint investigation team members and investigating officers involved. The case stemmed from an FIR registered in 2015 for the recovery of Abdullah Umar and the judge was hearing a contempt petition filed by the victim’s wife, Zainab Zaeem. Justice Kayani reminded the government functionaries about a 2019 ord...
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