Pakistan

Investigation finds suspect receives funds from India through payment gateway

PESHAWAR: Prof. Gul Rahim Khan has been awarded the prestigious Oriental Numismatic Society (ONS) Ashoka Prize 2025 in London for the best paper published in the journal of the Oriental Numismatic Society (JONS) during 2025. This distinguished international recognition celebrates his outstanding scholarly contribution through the research paper titled “Attribution of Coins to the Queens of the Utpala Dynasty of Medieval Kashmir (JONS 260).” Speaking to Dawn regarding the international recognition, Mr. Rahim Khan emphasised the broader historical weight of ancient coinage in understanding the region’s past. “Numismatics is not merely about studying old coins or rare metals; coins are metallic documents that offer authentic evidence where written chronicles fall silent,” Dr. Gul Rahim said. “Attributing these specific coins to the queens of the Utpala Dynasty helps us re-examine the socio-political status, governance and powerful agency of female rulers in medieval Kashmir, which has often been overlooked in co...

BAJAUR: Two people were killed in a remote-controlled bomb explosion near Tali small dam in Salarzai tehsil of Bajaur tribal district on Saturday evening. According to police, unidentified persons had planted an improvised explosive device (IED) near the dam, falling in the limits of Salarzai police station. Local youth had gathered near the dam for refreshment when the IED exploded before sunset. Mansoor Khan, a spokesperson for district police, told Dawn that the victims were identified as Suleman Khan and Ghulam Khan, residents of Tali area, who were killed on the spot. He said that police rushed to the scene and cordoned off the area to collect evidence. “An investigation has been launched to determine the motive behind the blast and identify perpetrators,” he said. Another police official Israr Khan told Dawn that search operation was under way in the area to hunt down the perpetrators of the explosion. Locals told this correspondent that Suleman Khan was a teacher at Government High School Pashat, the m...

WASHINGTON: Cong­ress­man Ro Khanna has endorsed New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s call for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu under an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant, saying the United States should cooperate with the international tribunal. “The American president should arrest Netanyahu or [Russian President Vladimir] Putin in accordance with international law,” Khanna, a Democratic lawmaker from California, told the MeidasTouch news network in a hallway interview on Capitol Hill. “America needs to cooperate with the ICC,” he said, adding that the issue was “a matter of human rights” as well as “a matter of a rules-based international order.” “If someone comes to our jurisdiction, [the president] should order the marshals to arrest them,” Khanna said. The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in 2024, accusing him of alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity linked to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza following the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023. Israe...

ISLAMABAD - Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi visited Quetta on Saturday and met with Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti, where the two leaders co-chaired a high-level meeting to review the province’s law and order situation and reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening security and ensuring lasting peace across.

• Small exporters, manufacturers hit as inflows through hundi, hawala shrink sharply • Crypto investments divert billions of dollars from local market KARACHI: The country’s unaccounted foreign exchange inflows through the hundi and hawala network have declined sharply as the prolonged Gulf war disrupted Dubai’s informal trading business, hurting small exporters and domestic manufacturers. Sources in the financial sector said that hundreds of flights every year carried people with goods not registered in the official export lists to Dubai. These people are commonly known as “khapiya”. The Gulf war, which lasted about five months, crippled this business and also dealt a blow to the domestic manufacturing sector. “We have been preparing embroidery products for years, which were exported to the Dubai market. Now the market is closed and no buyers are available across the Gulf sta­tes,” said a manufacturer. He added that his factory is now producing only for the domestic market, which accounts for just 10 per cen...

Pause in strikes from both sides raises hopes for resumption of stalled talks

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has appointed seasoned career diplomat Ali Asad Gilani as its new Ambassador to China, replacing Ambassador Khalil Hashmi, who has completed his three-year tenure in Beijing, in a move aimed at sustaining the momentum in the strategic partnership between Islamabad and Beijing amid deepening political, economic and.

ISLAMABAD - The rumor mill never stops turning.

IT seems that the upcoming general election for the legislative assembly of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and its aftermath will be critical both for the AJK, Pakistan and the broader region, unlike any other of the past 11 elections since 1970. First, the general election 2026 is taking place under the overhang of violent protests organised by the now defunct Joint Awami Action Committee. Although the ongoing agitation is the fourth wave of such protests, it seems to be the most violent and severe. A number of fatalities among both civilians and law-enforcement personnel is just one aspect of the crisis. Although the JAAC has now been declared unlawful under the anti-terrorism law and some of its leaders have been taken into police custody, and despite the fact that at least a part of the leadership adopted a very irresponsible and extremist posture, it is difficult to deny that the JAAC and its 38-point people-centric and anti-elite charter of demands attracted a large segment of the Kashmiri population including ...

LAHORE - Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has directed authorities to maintain strict monitoring across Murree following a landslide near Jhika Gali, where relief operations are continuing under the supervision of the district administration.

ISLAMABAD - The government kept the prices of petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) unchanged for July 26 and 27, maintaining them at Rs335.

ISLAMABAD - Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Yahya Afridi has said that the wellbeing of judges is fundamental to judicial independence, institutional integrity and public confidence in the rule of law, emphasizing that a strong justice system depends not only on sound laws and institutions but also on the welfare of those.

THE recent outcry by Maulana Fazlur Rehman regarding an unspecified state policy to raise private militias for local protection against terrorists has sparked controversy. Many have accused the maulana of disrespecting those who have sacrificed their lives to protect the homeland. However, the broader context of his remarks deserves scrutiny: why do states encourage local populations in conflict zones to stand up against violent actors? Take the example of Pakistan. Successive governments have used this tactic —from the then East Pakistan to Balochistan and KP. The core question, and perhaps the crux of the maulana’s argument, is why this policy has failed in most cases. Known for his sharp political timing, the maulana deliberately chose a platform near Lahore, the political heartland of Punjab, to ensure that his message reached key decision-makers. Yet, his objections to local state-backed civilian militias are far from isolated. Across KP and Balochistan, particularly in the southern districts, from Lakki...

MERE hours after the US signed a landmark civil nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia, American President Donald Trump sprang a surprise: the deal would only go through if the Saudis recognised Israel and signed the so-called Abraham Accords. While Riyadh has remained silent over the demand, media reports indicate that recognition of the Zionist state was not part of the negotiations, and is most likely a Trumpian addition to the deal. Saudi Arabia must join “the very respected and successful Abraham Accords”, Mr Trump said, championing his pet project dating back to his first term, when the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco officially recognised Israel. To ensure there was no ambiguity about Mr Trump’s announcement, the White House press secretary said “the deal is off” if the Saudis refused to join the Accords. The American leader has been pressing Saudi Arabia and other Muslim states, including Pakistan, for some time to recognise Israel. However, this remains a morally reprehensible proposition considering Tel Aviv’s gen...

KARACHI: The State Bank is widely expected to keep its policy interest rate unchanged at its monetary policy meeting on Monday (July 27), as policymakers are unlikely to alter the benchmark rate amid heightened uncertainty following the Gulf war. Economists, researchers and analysts are still assessing the war’s impact on Pakistan, but there is broad agreement that it pushed global oil prices above $100 per barrel, affecting economies worldwide, including Pakistan. Analysts closely tracking the economy say it would be difficult to maintain macroeconomic stability with sluggish growth. They believe the State Bank is unlikely to risk undermining that stability by changing the policy rate. Despite the surge in global oil prices, which has intensified inflationary pressures, the government and the State Bank hope to keep average CPI inflation within the 7-8pc range in FY27. While some analysts question this outlook, most believe it will depend on developments in the region. The US strikes on Iran continued, while...

QUETTA: Two people were injured after unidentified attackers opened fire on an ambulance carrying a body in the Darg tehsil of Balochistan’s Musakhel district, officials and local sources said on Saturday. According to sources, the two individuals sustained gunshot wounds in the attack and were shif­ted to a nearby hospital. Reports also suggested that the body being transported in the ambulance was hit by bullets during the firing. The incident triggered panic in the area, while local authorities launched an investigation into the attack. Preliminary information indicated that the shooting may have stemmed from a longstanding personal feud, although officials have not confirmed the motive. The Musakhel district administration is conducting further investigations to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident and identify those responsible. Published in Dawn, July 26th, 2026

ISLAMABAD: The PTI on Saturday criticised the government for continuously increasing fuel prices while simultaneously allowing a Rs1.8 billion special allowance package for top bureaucrats who already receive free fuel. PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram said ordinary Pakis­tanis were subjected to a six-day petroleum monsoon that drove petrol to Rs335.18 and diesel to Rs383.46 per litre. He observed that the rulers have perfected a dual system: free fuel and luxuries for the elite, and daily fuel bombs for the public. Agriculture, transport and industry are being systematically executed under the excuse of international markets. “PTI demands the immediate rollback of the six-day cumulative hike; a sharp cut in the Rs80 per litre petroleum levy and the overall Rs1.7 trillion levy target; and the complete scrap of the disastrous daily pricing mechanism,” Mr Akram said. He added that Rs1.8 billion bure­aucratic bonus should be cancelled. On the agricultural front, Mr Akram called the government’s sudde...

Severe drought, flooding could push countries toward mass migration

Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa receives UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres at presidential palace.—AFP • Guterres pledges support for Syria’s reconstruction; backs Syria’s request for EU support; calls situation in Golan Heights ‘totally unacceptable’ • Damascus demands Israeli withdrawal from ‘buffer zone’ DAMASCUS: UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres pledged help for Syrian reconstruction on Saturday during the first visit to Damascus by a serving United Nations chief since 2009, before the start of a civil war that killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa received Guterres at the presidential palace in Damascus, state news agency SANA said, without providing further details. “No country emerges from a very severe conflict and rebuilds itself on its own,” Guterres said after the talks with Sharaa at a joint press conference with Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani. “We must help Syria in its determination and resolve to do so,” Guterres added. Shaibani rei...