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Dawn - 18:19 Jun 16, 2026
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday signalled his willingness to submit the recently negotiated Iran agreement to Congress for review, as lawmakers from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers demanded access to a deal whose full terms remain closely guarded. Speaking during a meeting with United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in France, Trump suggested he had no objection to congressional scrutiny of the accord, which was announced over the weekend and is expected to formally be signed in Geneva on Friday by Vice President JD Vance. “What I would like to do is send it to Congress and say, ‘You shouldn’t approve it.’ And they will approve it,” Trump said, appearing to joke about the review process. The agreement, signed electronically on Sunday by Trump and Vice President JD Vance, is designed to end four months of military confrontation between Washington and Tehran and reopen the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz. But the administration has yet to release the tex... -
Dawn - 18:03 Jun 16, 2026
GILGIT: Four independent candidates, who recently won in their constituencies, joined the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) after a meeting with party president Abdul Aleem Khan. The members include Anwar Ali, elected from GBA-23 Ghanche-II; Dr Asad Shafiq, elected from GBA-24 Ghanche-III; Muhammad Dilpazeer, elected from GBA-15 Diamer-I; and Aman Ali Amir, elected from GBA-21 Ghizer. Khan, who is also a federal minister, announced the development on his social media account and congratulated the members. “Representation of Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party in the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly for the first time will be a welcoming development. With hard work and honesty, the party will fully participate in the development of Gilgit-Baltistan,” he said. During the recent general elections held on June 7, the IPP fielded 16 candidates from 16 constituencies in GB; however, none succeeded in winning. These four independent members of the GB Assembly could play a significant role in the formation of the GB government. Last we... -
Dawn - 17:56 Jun 16, 2026
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Tuesday termed the launch of the Tax Asaan Scheme for traders a “paradigm shift”, adding that the government had to start somewhere in its efforts to widen the tax net. In an interview on Geo News programme ‘Capital Talk’, Aurangzeb said: “We kept the tax rate at 1pc for traders because we have to start somewhere. However, it is part of a broader framework to expand the tax net, and we are moving in the right direction.” The finance minister elaborated that he was working on a “new operating model” for tax collection with “no human intervention”. He said that under the new scheme for traders, the discretionary powers of income tax officers would be limited. “There will be a Central Processing Unit that will monitor everything. We have comprehensive data. We have compiled data from third-party sources and tax records, on the basis of which we are examining the issues,” the finance minister said. He said the public had welcomed the budget and that the government’s goal was... -
Dawn - 16:18 Jun 16, 2026
ISLAMABAD: Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry on Tuesday chaired a special meeting of the Paigham-i-Aman Committee to discuss arrangements for Muharram and measures to curb sectarian incitement. Muharram is a month of mourning, observed in particular by Shia Muslims worldwide. It commemorates the Battle of Karbala in 680AD, where, amongst many, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), Imam Husain (RA), was martyred. The first of Muharram will fall on Wednesday, June 17 while Ashura will be observed on June 26. The committee discussed in detail steps to promote inter-sect harmony and religious tolerance during Muharram. It decided that action would be taken against those spreading incitement and sectarianism on social media. Naqvi said maintaining strong and sustained contact with the ulema was among the ministry’s priorities. “The Paigham-i-Pakistan Committee will be made active and effective down to the district level,” he said. He said publ... -
Dawn - 15:46 Jun 16, 2026
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said on Tuesday that Pakistan’s economy had left the “intensive care unit”. He made the remarks while speaking in the National Assembly, during which he also talked about insecurity in Balochistan and Pakistan’s role in brokering the agreement with the United States and Iran. “When we [presented] the first budget, we were insolvent. There was always the danger that we would default today or tomorrow. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailed us out with strict conditions, which we are now bearing but we have become solvent. Our economy is breathing; it has left the ICU,” he said. “I will not say that we are reaching the stars but our trajectory bears witness that in one or two years … we will reach a place where Pakistan achieves a growth rate of 6-7 per cent,” he said. He said that there were multiple “inbuilt taxes” in the country, adding that “we have to get rid of all these things to become solvent”. He said that the tax rate should be brought to a level where the entire c... -
Dawn - 15:45 Jun 16, 2026
Punjab Finance Minister Mian Mujtabaur Rehman presented the provincial budget on Tuesday after the cabinet approved a people-friendly Rs5.9 trillion budget for fiscal year 2026-27. Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, provincial ministers and MPAs attended the session. The proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year is 10.7 per cent higher than the current year’s, according to the budget speech. The Punjab government has projected total revenue for the upcoming fiscal year at Rs1.2tr. Total current and capital expenditures are projected at Rs679 billion. The government plans to spend Rs752 billion on development, Rs750bn on education and Rs500bn on health. The proposed allocation for education is 15pc higher than the amount allocated in FY2025-26, while the proposed allocation for health is 10pc higher than that of the current fiscal year. The Punjab government has proposed a 7pc increase in the salaries of government employees, taking total salary expenditure to Rs639bn. According to the proposed budg... -
Dawn - 15:30 Jun 16, 2026
India blocked access to the Telegram messenger app on Tuesday ahead of a retest of a nationwide medical college entrance examination, following a scandal last month over a question paper leak. The failure of the hugely competitive exam, along with a separate marking fiasco in high school tests, sparked outrage and fuelled youth protests demanding the education minister’s resignation. The electronics ministry issued the order restricting access to Telegram until Monday, the day of the retest. Message-editing features, which allow users to alter existing posts, will remain restricted until June 30. “Both measures have been taken in the interest of public order, in response to the organised use of the platform by cheating rackets to defraud candidates,” India’s National Testing Agency (NTA) said in a statement. The National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) is one of the country’s most competitive exams, attracting more than two million aspiring doctors. The NEET exam was scrapped in May following allegations tha... -
Dawn - 15:30 Jun 16, 2026
ISLAMABAD: PTI’s parliamentary leader in the Senate, Barrister Syed Ali Zafar, rejected the budget for 2026-27 as a document that achieves neither public welfare nor long-term growth, calling it a “budget of broken promises” built on “eleven deadly sins”. Speaking during the Senate debate on Tuesday, Zafar said every budget must have two objectives: trickle-down benefits for the poor and a credible strategy for economic growth and job creation. “Unfortunately, this budget fails to achieve either objective. It neither provides meaningful relief to the common citizen nor sets out a credible long-term plan for economic development and job creation,” he said. The senator listed 11 areas he said the government had ignored: long-term growth strategy; industrialisation policy; a plan for agriculture despite rising imports of cotton, wheat and sugar; a roadmap to boost exports; job creation strategy for youth; a plan to expand the IT sector; a solution to circular debt or a coherent energy policy; provision for dams ... -
Dawn - 13:50 Jun 16, 2026
Prominent lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha, currently serving jail sentences, have been awarded the prestigious Ludovic Trarieux International Human Rights Prize for their advocacy work, it emerged on Tuesday. According to the official website, the prize is the world’s oldest and most prestigious human rights honour awarded to lawyers, established in honour of French lawyer Ludovic Trarieux who founded the League for the Defence of Human and Citizen Rights in 1898. The first recipient of the award was Nelson Mandela in 1985, while he was imprisoned under South Africa’s apartheid regime. An official press release issued by the Forensic Union for the Protection of Human Rights (UFDU) on Saturday said the award “is presented annually to a lawyer who, through his or her professional commitment, has made an extraordinary contribution to the defence of human rights, the rule of law, and the fight against racism and all forms of intolerance.” The award ceremony took place in Rome, at the Parlam... -
Dawn - 11:19 Jun 16, 2026
ATTOCK: The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) on Tuesday said that it had killed five alleged terrorists during an intelligence-based operation in the border area of Mankor, a remote locality in Attock district’s Jand tehsil. According to a CTD spokesperson, security personnel launched the operation after receiving credible intelligence regarding the presence and activities of terrorists allegedly involved in planning terrorist attacks in Punjab. As the CTD team moved in, the suspected terrorists reportedly opened fire, triggering an intense exchange of gunfire with law enforcement personnel. The spokesperson said CTD officers responded effectively, resulting in the killing of all five individuals. A cache of weapons, explosive material and hand grenades was recovered from the site following the operation. Preliminary investigations suggest that the slain individuals were allegedly linked to plans for carrying out terrorist activities in Punjab, the spokesperson said. The operation was conducted on the basis... -
Dawn - 08:48 Jun 16, 2026
The US military is planning a permanent war-ready weapons stockpile for its Marine Corps on Australia’s southeast coast beyond the range of most Chinese missiles, tender documents show and officials confirmed to AFP. The development of the stockpile, a first for the Marine Corps in Australia, comes as the United States is keen to leverage the continent’s strategic location in the South Pacific to counter China’s rapid military build-up, analysts said. The US Marines Corps began global pre-positioning of military supplies during the Cold War — using floating stores on ships and caves in Norway where weapons, ammunition and vehicles to sustain thousands of troops are kept. The first land stockpile in the Asia-Pacific is expected to open this year in the Philippines, close to potential flashpoints in the South China Sea. Documents published by the US Navy this month show advanced planning for an even larger Australian stockpile, with $30 million allocated to build warehouses and offices in southeastern Victoria ... -
Dawn - 07:44 Jun 16, 2026
PTI founder Imran Khan’s sister, Aleema Khan, said on Tuesday that the government’s version of events was unacceptable after the former premier was taken to the hospital for the fifth time for the treatment of his eye ailment. In a post on X, Aleema said, “We have received reports that Imran Khan was again taken to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) in the early hours of 15 June. We found out through a tweet by Barrister Gohar on the morning of June 15.” “We reject any medical report generated by Pims regarding Imran’s condition. The same institution has previously made questionable claims, including the assertion that Imran had recovered 90 per cent of his eyesight. Imran himself rejected these claims when his lawyer later met him at Adiala jail,” she said. “A fundamental question remains unanswered: Why does Imran require a fifth injection?” she asked. “We do not accept the government’s version of events. We demand that Imran be examined and treated by independent, qualified specialists at Shifa ... -
Dawn - 07:16 Jun 16, 2026
Pakistan could improve economic projections for 2027 after the end of the Iran war, but it is still too early to revise the budget, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb told Reuters, hours after the US and Iran signed a deal to end the Middle East conflict. Damaged energy infrastructure meant supply chains would take time to return to normal, after the conflict pushed inflation back into double digits, Aurangzeb said. “We were looking at how we manage the second, third-order impact in case this conflict continues,” he said. “The energy infrastructure has been hit. And therefore, it will take time before we return to normalcy in terms of supply chains.” He added, “I do see upsides in what we have projected for next year,” but cautioned it would be “way too premature” to revise the budget. The budget for the upcoming financial year, presented in Parliament on Friday, targets growth of 4 per cent and inflation of 8.2pc. It raised defence spending by 18pc to Rs3 trillion, while relying on higher tax revenue to kee... -
Dawn - 07:12 Jun 16, 2026
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday directed that work on a 100 megawatt solar power project in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) be expedited and that it be completed at the earliest The directives came as the premier chaired a meeting in Islamabad reviewing the project, according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). The prime minister directed that the work on the project be accelerated and completed as soon as possible, adding that an independent third-party validation be conducted to ensure transparency at every stage of the project, the PMO said. According to the statement, the premier also said that the Centre would bear all the expenses for the project. During the meeting, the relevant authorities briefed participants on the federal government’s solar energy project in GB, the statement said. The meeting was told that an 18MW solarisation project for government buildings was being implemented across the region. The statement said that the 18MW solarisation project for government buildin... -
Dawn - 06:44 Jun 16, 2026
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Tuesday that the government’s economic planning and fiscal assumptions had remained mindful of possible external and geopolitical risks, including potential “second-order impacts” arising from prolonged regional uncertainty. The minister made these remarks during a meeting with UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan (MENAP), Hamish Falconer MP, held at the Finance Division in Islamabad. The meeting was also attended by British High Commissioner Jane Marriott and senior officials from both sides. According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance, the two sides held a “comprehensive exchange” on regional developments, Pakistan’s macroeconomic outlook, ongoing structural reforms, fiscal priorities, institutional modernisation, and opportunities to further strengthen Pakistan–United Kingdom economic cooperation. “The finance minister briefed the visiting delegation on the government’s economic refor... -
Dawn - 06:07 Jun 16, 2026
Fifteen-year-old cricket sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi blew his fuse in an India A game in Sri Lanka and pushed an opposition player after a heated on-field exchange. The spotlight has been on Sooryavanshi since his batting heroics in the recent Indian Premier League (IPL) won him a place in India’s senior men’s team for their T20 tour of Ireland and England. But he made headlines for all the wrong reasons after he and a Sri Lanka A player confronted each other, following India’s narrow defeat in a Super Over in Dambulla on Monday. Sri Lanka’s Vishen Halambage exchanged words with departing Indian batters before Sooryavanshi responded and shoved him, according to Indian media and broadcast footage. Sri Lanka A wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella stepped in to calm tempers and separated the two players. The teams exchanged handshakes, but TV images showed Sooryavanshi visibly upset. The left-handed opener capped off a stunning IPL 2026 season for Rajasthan Royals, where he amassed 776 runs to finish as the tourna... -
Dawn - 05:14 Jun 16, 2026
A US Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bomber crashed on takeoff on Monday at Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California’s Mojave Desert, bursting into flames and killing all eight crew members aboard, Air Force officials said. The eight-engine, jet-powered aircraft, built to carry a wide array of nuclear and conventional bombs, was on a routine test mission when it crashed on the runway at Edwards just after leaving the ground, Air Force Colonel James Hayes said at a press conference hours later. A towering pall of black smoke billowing from the crash site was visible for miles immediately after the accident. He said the “mixed crew” aboard the aircraft consisted of government civilians, government contractors and uniformed military personnel. Aerospace giant Boeing, which designed and built the plane, said two of its employees were among the dead. The flight was intended to support a radar modernisation programme, Hayes told reporters. The cause of the crash was unknown and under investigation, he added. Air... -
Dawn - 04:31 Jun 16, 2026
Iran twice battled back for a 2-2 draw with New Zealand on Monday in their frenetic opening match of a World Cup campaign that has been overshadowed by war, politics and protests. The Iranian team’s very presence at the Los Angeles Stadium had long felt uncertain, after months of military conflict between their nation and the United States. At last able to focus on the football, the Iran players twice found themselves trailing to the tournament’s lowest-ranked team, thanks to goals from New Zealand striker Elijah Just. But with a vocally pro-Iran crowd drowning out planned protests by anti-government demonstrators, equalisers from Ramin Rezaeian and Mohammad Mohebi spared Team Melli any further blushes. The Iran team have dealt with a gamut of obstacles before even arriving at this World Cup, from delayed and refused US visas, to moving their training camp to Mexico at the last minute. Hundreds of protesters against Iran’s ruling regime demonstrated outside the venue on Monday, saying the team does not repres... -
Dawn - 04:19 Jun 16, 2026
LAHORE: A BS-18 police officer, Kamran Hamid, was ‘removed’ from the post of Hafizabad district police officer (DPO), allegedly following an altercation with a local MPA of the ruling party, who is also close to the politically influential Tarar family, after he was held guilty in an inquiry conducted by Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Abdul Kareem on the orders of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz. The CM had directed the Punjab police chief to hear both parties and find out who was responsible for the “dispute over the use of the DPO office’s toilet by the PML-N MPA’s son”. Giving details, a senior police officer told Dawn on the condition of anonymity that the dispute erupted when PML-N MPA Shahid Bhatti visited the Hafizabad DPO’s office, along with his young son and some complainants from his constituency. He says that the MPA had visited the office of (now former) DPO Kamran Hamid as the CM had issued instructions to ruling party parliamentarians to get locals’ police-related matters resolved in the ... -
Dawn - 03:39 Jun 16, 2026
KARACHI: The investigating officer (IO) of a case against alleged cocaine dealer Anmol Pinky on Monday filed an interim charge sheet, stating that the accused had been involved in drug trafficking for the last 16 years and she used to supply narcotic substances in posh areas, as well as among university and school students. The charge sheet was submitted before the judicial magistrate (South). The IO also sought time to submit the final report, stating that he was awaiting forensic reports and responses from the concerned departments regarding the suspects’ travel history and assistance in the investigation. However, due to the absence of defence counsel, the court adjourned the matter till June 20. In the interim charge sheet, the IO has placed three suspects — Humaira, Sabra and Aina — in Column-II with red ink, while three suspects, Humza, Aqib and Aizaz, have been placed in Column-II with blue ink as their whereabouts are not known. Meanwhile, four others, including Anmol, are in jail on judicial remand. ...
12400 items