Dawn
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Dawn - 02:50 Feb 08, 2026
RAWALPINDI: An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Rawalpindi on Saturday dismissed an application filed by PTI founder and former prime minister Imran Khan, seeking permission for a medical check-up by his personal doctors at Adiala jail. After hearing arguments from both sides, the court declined to grant access to Mr Khan’s private physicians inside the jail. Appearing for the PTI founder, counsel Faisal Malik argued that as a former prime minister, his client deserved the same medical facilities previously extended to other ex-premiers, citing Nawaz Sharif as precedent. He contended that Mr Khan was an undertrial prisoner and had the legal right to be examined by doctors of his choice. The lawyer also claimed that Adiala jail lacked adequate facilities for specialised eye treatment. Referring to Pakistan Prison Rules, Mr Malik said Rule 795 required that a prisoner’s family be informed before any medical treatment. He questioned why Mr Khan had been taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) lat... -
Dawn - 02:39 Feb 08, 2026
Ramesh Chandra, 44, from Gopalganj district in Bangladesh’s southwest, 127 kilometres from the capital Dhaka, has been making sculptures for over two decades. He is a voter in the Gopalganj-3 constituency, from where former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was elected for eight consecutive terms. Chandra has long supported Hasina’s Awami League. But this time, the situation is different. Following the mass student-led uprising on August 5, 2024, Sheikh Hasina fled to India. On May 10, 2025, the interim government, headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, banned the political activities of the Awami League and all its affiliates, under the Anti-Terrorism Act. The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, a domestic judicial body founded by Hasina in 2010, is currently prosecuting Awami League leaders for “genocide” and “crimes against humanity”, related to the 2024 movement. Ironically, the same tribunal sentenced Hasina to death for ordering a crackdown on the 2024 protesters. Previously, the... -
Dawn - 02:39 Feb 08, 2026
“This bargain no longer works. Let me be direct. We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition… You cannot live within the lie of mutual benefit through integration, when integration becomes the source of your subordination.” — Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada, at Davos 2026 “After the war, we gave Greenland back to Denmark. How stupid were we to do that? But we did it, but we gave it back. But how ungrateful are they now? And then after the war, which we won, we won it big — without us, right now, you’d all be speaking German and a little Japanese, perhaps.” — Donald Trump, US President, at Davos 2026 “If anyone thinks that the European Union, or Europe as a whole, can defend itself without the US, keep on dreaming. You can’t. We can’t.” — Mark Rutte, Secretary-General Nato, speaking at EU Parliament Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney went to the World Economic Forum at Davos and told the world that his country — by extrapolation, all US allies — had lived a “pleasant fiction” that is now over. Th... -
Dawn - 02:38 Feb 08, 2026
• Law minister sees fourfold drop in cases of enforced disappearances • Says recent reforms must to ‘end judicial overreach’ • Claims military courts hand down ‘lenient sentences’, compared to civil courts • Legal experts warn against 28th Amendment; question govt’s legitimacy LAHORE: Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar on Saturday announced that the government is forming a new high-level committee to investigate the issue of ‘missing persons’ with greater scrutiny, reaffirming the government’s commitment to reaching a target of zero missing person. Addressing the 6th Asma Jahangir Conference in Lahore, Mr Tarar admitted that while the reported number of enforced disappearances dropped significantly in recent years from nearly 10,000 to around 2,600, even the current figure was “unacceptable” from a human rights standpoint. He detailed an interim relief package designed to support the families of missing persons. This policy mechanism, developed over 18 months, provides not only financial assistance but al... -
Dawn - 02:32 Feb 08, 2026
GILGIT: A renowned young mountaineer from Shimshal lost his life after falling from a mountain during ice climbing in the Khyber area of Gojal, Hunza, on Saturday. According to officials, Shah Daulat, 31, a resident of Shimshal, was climbing an ice wall in Khyber village along with a foreign tourist. The two were practising ice climbing, as the mountain develops a steep ice wall during winter. During the climb on Friday evening, Shah Daulat suddenly slipped on the ice and fell nearly 400 metres, sustaining fatal injuries. He died on the spot. Local volunteers later recovered his body and shifted it to a government hospital in Sost, near the Pakistan–China border at Khunjerab Pass. On Saturday, his body was dispatched to Shimshal for burial. Shah Daulat was a young and highly respected climber from Shimshal. He had successfully summited four eight-thousand-meter peaks, including the world’s second-highest peak K2 (8,611m), Nanga Parbat (8,126m), Gasherbrum-II (8,035m), and Gasherbrum-I (8,080m). In 2025, he a... -
Dawn - 02:25 Feb 08, 2026
RAWALPINDI: The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecast rain, snow and thunderstorms in the upper parts of the country as well as Balochistan over the next two days, as a westerly wave is likely to approach the western parts of the country on Feb 8 (today). The PMD said that due to the new weather system, landslides may occur in vulnerable areas of upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir, warning that snowfall may cause traffic disruptions and slippery conditions in the hilly areas on Feb 9 and Feb 10. Tourists have been urged to remain extra cautious and avoid unnecessary travel during the forecast period. Under the influence of this weather system, rain accompanied by wind and thunderstorms, with snowfall over the hills, is expected in Quetta, Ziarat, Chaman, Pishin, Qilla Abdullah, Qilla Saifullah, Chaghai, Nushki, Harnai, Zhob, Kalat, Mastung, Barkhan, Sibi, Loralai, Khuzdar, Kech, Gwadar, Panjgur and Awaran on Feb 8 and 9. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, rain-wind/thunderstorms with... -
Dawn - 18:21 Feb 07, 2026
KARACHI: A suspected robber was lynched by an angry mob in Korangi area on Saturday night, according to police. Zaman Town Station House Officer (SHO) Rao Aurangzeb told Dawn that three suspects had attempted to rob citizens near Mutkay Wali Pull in Korangi No. 2. People got hold of one suspect while his two suspected accomplices managed to escape, the official said. The mob beat him up, killing him on the spot, he said. “The suspect was killed with sticks and other weapons. His identity could not be ascertained immediately, as no CNIC [card] was found in his pocket,” he said. The SHO said that the suspect’s body was moved to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) for legal formalities. Last year in May, a suspected robber was lynched by an angry mob, which also set the body on fire, after he shot and wounded two brothers during a robbery in New Karachi. According to police, two suspects had attempted to loot a general store in Sector-11-G. Two shopkeepers, Mohammed Faisal and Mohammed Faizan, who were als... -
Dawn - 17:48 Feb 07, 2026
Denmark’s foreign minister said on Saturday that his country is now in a better position regarding United States President Donald Trump’s desire to acquire Greenland — an autonomous Danish territory — but stressed the crisis is not yet resolved. “We are not out of the crisis, and we do not have a solution yet,” Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told reporters in Greenland’s capital Nuuk, while adding: “We are in a much better position now, compared to a few weeks ago.” The minister added that there “are no threats on the table, there is no trade war with Europe” and that everyone agreed the situation should be worked out in a “normal diplomatic way”. Since returning to the White House last year, Trump has insisted that Washington needs to control the strategic Arctic island for security reasons. Last month, he backed off threats to seize Greenland after striking a “framework” deal with Nato chief Mark Rutte to ensure greater US influence. A US-Denmark-Greenland working group was established to discuss Was... -
Dawn - 16:57 Feb 07, 2026
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Saturday denied approaching the International Cricket Council (ICC) in connection with the team’s boycott of the match against India on February 15. In a post on the social media platform X, the PCB issued a statement attributed to its spokesperson, Amir Mir. “I categorically reject the claim by Indian sports journalist Vikrant Gupta that the PCB approached the ICC,” Mir was quoted as saying. Gupta, earlier in the day, had posted on X that the PCB had “reached out to the ICC for dialogue”. He had alleged that after the ICC wrote back to the PCB regarding the legal ramifications it could face, the board approached the cricket world body for talks to resolve the issue. “As usual, sections of the Indian media are busy circulating fiction. A little patience and time will clearly show who actually went knocking and who didn’t,” PCB spokesperson Mir said. It is worth mentioning that earlier on Saturday, AFP had reported a source close to the developments as saying that the PCB ha... -
Dawn - 16:40 Feb 07, 2026
ISLAMABAD: PTI stalwart Asad Qaiser said on Saturday that the party would go ahead with its countrywide protest on Feb 8 (Sunday) — the second anniversary of the 2024 general polls — but would also observe a day of mourning in the wake of the suicide bombing in Islamabad a day earlier. Talking to Dawn, Qaiser termed rumours regarding the party cancelling or postponing the protest incorrect. “The fact is that we have decided that the day will be observed as a national day of mourning. At the same time, protests will also be held across the country against rigging during the general elections,” he said. Replying to a question, he said that February 8 was not limited to PTI founder Imran Khan or the PTI. “It is a day on which the whole nation was deprived of democracy and the right to choose its representatives. We will hold the protest and a complete shutter-down strike against the injustice with the masses,” he added. Qaiser said that the PTI and Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) opposition alliance woul... -
Dawn - 16:32 Feb 07, 2026
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Saturday held the PTI responsible for the resurgence in terrorism in the country, while the party slammed the minister for choosing to do so with a “hateful rhyme”. The minister made the remarks while addressing a press conference alongside religious scholars in Lahore to show solidarity and unity after the suicide attack at an imambargah in Islamabad on Friday. Asked by a reporter whether the blast was a “failure of security agencies”, Tarar asserted, “No, not at all.” He went on to stress that Pakistan’s security institutions were hailed as examples internationally, recalling the recovery of abducted passengers “with minimal damages” during the deadly Jaffar Express attack. The minister also brought up the Pak-India conflict in May 2025, when “the enemy was brought to its knees, sought mediation and said ‘I’m sorry’”. He said that while a terrorist attack on the outskirts of Islamabad in the presence of the Safe City system and with “security agencies having entire ap... -
Dawn - 15:59 Feb 07, 2026
ISLAMABAD: Lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her spouse Hadi Ali Chattha on Saturday challenged their conviction in the controversial social media posts case by filing separate criminal appeals in the Islamabad High Court (IHC). The appeals sought to have the trial court’s January 24 verdict — which handed the couple a total of 17 years in jail on multiple charges — declared null and void. In their appeals, the appellants contended that the impugned judgment was passed in blatant violation of settled legal principles and mandatory procedural requirements. They argued that the trial court proceeded to pronounce the verdict despite the fact that an application seeking transfer of the case was pending adjudication before the IHC, rendering the decision unlawful and without jurisdiction. According to the appeals, once a transfer application was filed and pending before a superior court, the trial court was barred from proceeding further in the matter. The appellants maintained that any judgment delivered unde... -
Dawn - 15:43 Feb 07, 2026
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said on Saturday that four facilitators of the suicide attack on an imambargah in Islamabad, including the “main mastermind”, had been arrested during raids in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He made the remarks while speaking to the media in Islamabad. In his media talk, the interior minister said that operations were underway throughout last night to trace those behind the attack. Making special mention of the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) and the KP police for their joint efforts, he said, “All those people linked to this, and the mastermind, at around 3am, all of them were apprehended.” He lauded all “agencies”, saying that this incident was a “test case”. “After the blast, raids were carried out in Nowshera and Peshawar, in which four facilitators were caught. And their mastermind, who is an Afghan, was also caught,” he said. He said that an assistant sub-inspector of KP police was martyred during the raids, while others were injured. “But the main mastermind is linked to Daesh an... -
Dawn - 14:04 Feb 07, 2026
ISLAMABAD: The death toll from the Islamabad imambargah attack rose to 36 on Saturday, according to hospital officials. The attack occurred at Imambargah Qasr-i-Khadijatul Kubra in the Tarlai area on the city’s outskirts during Friday prayers. Over 160 others were injured, with the death toll expected to rise. “A 21-year-old man who was brought from the imambargah has died,” Dr Aneeza Jalil, a spokesperson at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), confirmed to Dawn. “The number of deaths has reached 33, and nine patients are in very serious condition,” she added. She recalled that 149 injured and 28 bodies were brought to Pims on Friday following the attack. Separately, HBS Hospital’s Dr Riaz Janjua confirmed to Dawn that three deaths from the attack were reported at his hospital. Great progress in probe: info minister Information Minister Attaullah Tarar held a press conference in Lahore with various religious scholars, including Allama Muhammad Hussain Akbar. “There has been progress to a great ... -
Dawn - 13:46 Feb 07, 2026
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Saturday said PTI’s memorandum — requesting immediate jail visitation rights for party founder Imran Khan with his family, doctors, lawyers and friends — had been conveyed to the “relevant executive authorities” for appropriate consideration in accordance with law. On Friday, the party members and parliamentarians, led by PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, had submitted the memorandum to the SC registrar. The party had regretted in the memorandum to Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi that Imran’s access to his family and lawyers was again denied on Tuesday, the day fixed by the court for meetings with his relatives and counsels. In a press release issued on Saturday, the SC said that on January 30, the KP chief minister and PTI lawmakers gathered in front of the SC to convey their concerns about access to Imran. “The registrar engaged with their representatives and assured that the concerns would be brought into the notice of the chief justice,” it said. It went on to s... -
Dawn - 12:08 Feb 07, 2026
US President Donald Trump refused to apologise on Friday for a video posted on his social media account depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as monkeys, though he said he condemned the post as the White House shifted the blame to staff. The video shared on Trump’s Truth Social account late on Thursday night sparked censure across the US political spectrum, with the White House initially rejecting “fake outrage” only to then blame the post on an error by a staff member. “I didn’t make a mistake,” Trump said on Air Force One late on Friday when asked if he would apologise for the post. Asked if he condemns the racist imagery in the video, Trump replied: “Of course I do.” Democrats slammed Trump as “vile” over the clip of the Obamas — the first Black president and first lady in US history while a senior Republican senator said the video was blatantly racist. Near the end of the one-minute-long video promoting conspiracies about Republican Trump’s 2020 election loss to Joe Biden, the Obamas were shown with their f... -
Dawn - 12:00 Feb 07, 2026
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday he hoped talks with the United States would resume soon, while reiterating Tehran’s red lines and warning against any American attack. According to excerpts published on his official Telegram channel during an interview with the Al Jazeera network, Araghchi said that Iran’s missile programme was “never negotiable” in Friday’s talks in Oman. He warned that Tehran would target US bases in the region if the US attacked Iranian territory. However, Araghchi also said that despite the talks in Muscat being indirect, “an opportunity arose to shake hands with the American delegation”. He called the talks “a good start”, but added that building trust would take time. He said the talks would resume “soon”. US President Donald Trump on Friday called the talks “very good” and pledged another round of negotiations next week. Despite this, he signed an executive order effective from Saturday that called for the “imposition of tariffs” on countries still doing busines... -
Dawn - 11:33 Feb 07, 2026
US President Donald Trump said Friday that Washington held “very good talks” on Iran after the two sides held an indirect dialogue in Oman. Iran, for its part, said it expected to hold more negotiations with the United States, hailing a “positive atmosphere” during a day of talks in the Gulf sultanate. With an American naval group led by an aircraft carrier in Middle Eastern waters, US and Iranian delegations held talks in Muscat mediated by Oman without publicly meeting face-to-face. Shortly after the talks concluded, the US announced new sanctions against shipping entities and vessels, aimed at curbing Iran’s oil exports. But it was not clear if the move was linked to the talks. The talks were the first between the two foes since the United States joined Israel’s war with Iran in June with strikes on nuclear sites. “We likewise had very good talks on Iran,” Trump told reporters on board Air Force One en route to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, adding, “we’re going to meet again early next week.” However, ... -
Dawn - 11:33 Feb 07, 2026
A South Korean cryptocurrency exchange apologised on Saturday after mistakenly transferring more than $40 billion worth of bitcoin to users, which briefly prompted a selloff on the platform. Bithumb said it accidentally sent 620,000 bitcoins, currently worth more than $40bn, and blocked trading and withdrawals for the 695 affected users within 35 minutes after the error occurred on Friday. According to local reports, Bithumb was meant to send about 2,000 South Korean won ($1.37) to each customer as part of a promotion, but mistakenly transferred roughly 2,000 bitcoins per user. “We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused to our customers due to the confusion that occurred during the distribution process of this (promotional) event,” Bithumb said in a statement. The platform said it had recovered 99.7 per cent of the mistakenly sent bitcoins, and that it would use its own assets to fully cover the amount that was lost in the incident. It admitted the error briefly caused “sharp volatility” in bitcoin ... -
Dawn - 11:21 Feb 07, 2026
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar on Saturday said that a new committee was being formed to investigate the issue of missing persons in the country. Addressing the 6th Asma Jahangir Conference in Lahore, the law minister said that while the number of missing persons had reduced over the years, a lower number was still not satisfactory. He said that another committee was now being formed to look into the issue of missing persons in more detail. Speaking on past data on missing persons, Tarar said, “The recorded number … was nearly 10,000 citizens. A commission was formed on this, committees were made … parliament played a role; over the years, this number has reduced. It’s now reportedly 2600-something. But I understand that in terms of human rights, this number should be zero.” He added that in the past, as a stopgap arrangement, the federal government had introduced a relief package for the families affected. He clarified that “this package did not mean the case would be closed; that was to mitigate the miserie...
7368 items