Pakistan

The body of a three-year-old boy who fell into an open manhole in Karachi’s Gulshan-i-Iqbal on Sunday night was recovered on Monday, more than 12 hours after the incident was first reported. The development was confirmed by both Rescue 1122 and Edhi, with the latter adding that the body was being taken to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre. Images shared on social media last night had showed a large number of citizens gathered in the area as rescue work was underway. Other videos also showed the child’s distraught mother calling on someone to save her child. Earlier, Rescue 1122 spokesperson Hassaanul Haseeb Khan told Dawn that the service’s central command received information about the incident at 10pm on Sunday night. He said the boy was with his parents, who were shopping at a private departmental store near Nipa. He said the boy fell into the manhole after the family left the store. Khan added that Rescue 1122 did not usually initiate search operations at night due to a lack of visibility. But, since a “...

Day 1 of the ‘Pakistan Population Summit’ concluded on Monday with leaders and experts calling on the government to take urgent action to tackle the issue of the rapidly growing populace, which adversely impacts the country’s economy and other sectors. Organised by DawnMedia, the two-day summit brings toge­ther politicians, economists, development specialists, private sector leaders, and experts to develop a shared vision as the rising population continues to place pressure on health systems, food and water security, and employment. The second and final day of the summit, taking place in Islamabad, is set to begin at 9:30am tomorrow. Federal and provincial leaders, alongside urban and policy experts, will share their perspectives as they contribute to the national conversation. View the full agenda here. Pakistan, with a population of over 241 million, is the fifth most populous country in the world, adding four to five million people every year. Its population growth rate of 2.40 per cent is the highest in S...

The toll in deadly flooding and landslides across parts of Asia climbed past 1,100 on Monday as hardest-hit Sri Lanka and Indonesia deployed military personnel to help survivors. Separate weather systems brought torrential, extended rainfall to the entire island of Sri Lanka and large parts of Indonesia’s Sumatra, southern Thailand and northern Malaysia last week. Much of the region is currently in its monsoon season but climate change is producing more extreme rain events and turbocharging storms. The relentless rains left residents clinging to rooftops awaiting rescue by boat or helicopter, and cut entire villages off from assistance. People salvage their belongings from a flooded house along the banks of Kelani River, following Cyclone Ditwah in Peliyagoda, Sri Lanka on December 1. - Reuters Arriving in North Sumatra on Monday, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said, “the worst has passed, hopefully”. The government’s “priority now is how to immediately send the necessary aid”, with particular focus on...

Saudi Arabia quietly facilitated a round of direct talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan aimed at easing tensions over cross-border terrorism, but the discussions wrapped up late on Sunday without any breakthrough, according to two sources familiar with the meeting. The closed-door session in Riyadh ended with both sides holding firm to their longstanding positions and showing little willingness to compromise, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the talks were not publicly acknowledged. The sources added that another Saudi-hosted round remains possible in the near future. The Riyadh engagement, which took place as a separate track co-mediated by Turkiye and Qatar remains stalled. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had earlier announced plans to dispatch a delegation to Pakistan, but the visit has yet to materialise. The Turkiye-Qatar initiative produced a fragile ceasefire after clashes in early October, though Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said at a weekly briefing o...

At least one police official was martyred and six others injured on Monday when a suicide bomber targeted a police mobile in Lakki Marwat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Inflation edged lower in November to 6.1 per cent, official data showed on Monday, easing slightly after a jump last month and staying within the finance ministry’s projected range. Food items and energy spiked the inflation, measured by Consumer Price Index (CPI), to 6.24 per cent in October against 5.6pc in September, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported in early November. According to a report published by PBS today, general inflation was just a touch lower than October’s figures, increasing by 6.1pc on a year-on-year (YoY) basis. On a month-on-month (MoM) basis, inflation stood at 0.4pc after a 1.8pc jump in October. “SPI inflation on [a] YoY basis increased by 4.2pc in November 2025, as compared to an increase of 4.8pc a month earlier and an increase of 7.3pc in November 2024,” the report read. “On [a] MoM basis, it increased by 0.4pc in November 2025 as compared to 0.9pc a month earlier and an increase of 1pc in November 2024.” Inflation has come down from nearly 30pc a year ago, though temp...

Jailed PTI founder Imran Khan’s son, Kasim Khan, fears that authorities are concealing “something irreversible” about his father’s condition. The remarks come as the PTI and Imran’s sisters have protested and staged sit-ins outside Adiala jail, where he is imprisoned, after being barred from meeting him for over three weeks. As court-ordered prison visits stay blocked and rumours swirl about possible prison transfers, Kasim told Reuters the family has had no direct or verifiable contact with the ex-prime minister, despite a judicial order for weekly meetings. “Not knowing whether your father is safe, injured or even alive is a form of psychological torture,” he said in written remarks, adding that there had been no independently confirmed communication for a couple of months. “Today we have no verifiable information at all about his condition,” he added. “Our greatest fear is that something irreversible is being hidden from us.” The family has repeatedly sought access for Imran’s personal physician, who has n...

One cop was martyred while five others were injured on Monday in a suicide blast targeting a police mobile in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lakki Marwat district. Lakki Marwat District Police Officer’s spokesman Asif Hassan told Dawn that a Tajori police mobile was targeted in a suicide attack. He identified the deceased as Head Constable Alauddin. He further said that the bomber’s accomplice had escaped, adding that a search operation was underway. The injured were identified as Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Haq Nawaz, Constable Yar Muhammad, Elite Force Constable Kamal Ahmad, Elite Force Constable Naeemullah and Duty Foot Constable Nasrullah. Later, a press release issued by Lakki Marwat police shared further details of the incident. It quoted District Police Officer (DPO) Nazir Khan as saying that police had received information about the movement of a “suspicious” motorcyclist by “credible sources”. According to the DPO, the sources said the motorcyclist was travelling from Bittani subdivision toward the Bakhmal A...

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said on Monday that the information ministry, along with the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), would be taking action “on a massive scale” against fake news. The minister said this during a press conference in Lahore, where he said he believed that “since the past few days, past few weeks, 90 per cent news on social media is fake”. Saying so, Naqvi also clarified that he believed in the freedom of expression and liberty to criticise. He also highlighted that in case false news was reported by a platform in the mainstream media, a complaint could be registered with the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority. Similarly, he continued, a reporter associated with a news outlet would be answerable to their director news or the bureau chief in such a scenario. “But, on social media one can post any photo, make news as per their wish and post it,” he said, adding that he had spoken to the information minister today morning, and “we will not allow this”. Naqvi ad...

Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Monday announced that Pakistan is intensifying efforts to deport illegal Afghan nationals from the country.

Pakistan and Egypt vowed to deepen defense and security cooperation, ARY News reported, quoting Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Rawalpindi on Monday directed authorities to unfreeze the bank accounts of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust (SKMT) and Namal University during the hearing of a case involving Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan’s sister, Aleema Khan.

The world’s largest sculpture of the Markhor, Pakistan’s national animal, has been installed at one of Kaghan Valley’s most picturesque locations, Bata Kundi.

The government of Pakistan has reduced the prices of light diesel, kerosene oil and other petroleum products, according to a notification issued by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA).

A Rawalpindi anti-terrorism court issued directives on Monday for unfreezing the bank accounts of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust (SKTM) and Namal University in Mianwali. Judge Amjad Hussain Shah issued the instructions in a case pertaining to November 26 protests last year, in which incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan’s sister, Aleema Khan, has been facing legal proceedings. SKTM, a charitable organisation established under the Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860 of Pakistan, and Namal University were both set up by Imran. The bank accounts of the two institutions were said to have been inadvertently frozen following the issuance of an arrest warrant against Aleema in the case. During today’s proceedings, Shah heard arguments on Aleema’s application for unfreezing her bank accounts. Representatives of the SKTM also attended the hearing and presented arguments in favour of restoring the bank accounts. For his part, prosecutor Zaheer Shah clarified that the prosecution had never sought, either verbally or in ...

The Federal Ministry of Interior on Monday dismissed 13 officers on charges of negligence, corruption and misconduct—many linked to the 2023 Greece boat tragedy—after rejecting their appeals against disciplinary action.

The provincial governments of Punjab and Balochistan have issued the official schedule for winter vacations in all public and private educational institutions.

India’s telecoms ministry has privately asked smartphone makers to preload all new devices with a state-owned cyber security app that cannot be deleted, a government order showed, a move likely to antagonise Apple and privacy advocates. India is one of the world’s largest telephone markets, with more than 1.2 billion subscribers, and government figures show the app, launched in January, has helped recover more than 700,000 lost phones, including 50,000 in October alone. Apple, which has previously locked horns with the telecoms regulator over development of a government anti-spam mobile app, is among the companies, such as Samsung, Vivo, Oppo and Xiaomi bound by the new order. The November 28 order, seen by Reuters, gives major smartphone companies 90 days to ensure that the government’s Sanchar Saathi app is pre-installed on new mobile phones, with a provision that users cannot disable it. For devices already in the supply chain, manufacturers should push the app to phones via software updates, the ministry ...

Pak-EPA enforcement team inspects a vehicle for smoke emission under the ongoing vehicular emission testing drive in Islamabad on Sunday. — White Star ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Environment Protection Agency on Sunday warned owners of smoke-emitting vehicles of stringent action across the federal capital. It said any vehicle found releasing excessive emissions will face strict punitive measures. In a statement, Pak-EPA Director General Nazia Zaib Ali said the agency had intensified its enforcement operations as part of ongoing efforts to curb vehicular pollution, which she described as a major contributor to deteriorating air quality and recurring smog episodes in Islamabad. She said enforcement teams were carrying out regular inspections on major roads, intersections and high-traffic corridors to identify vehicles emitting excessive smoke. Violators would face on-the-spot fines, confiscation of vehicles, or both, depending on the severity of the offence, she added. Ms Nazia reminded the public that driving a ve...

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday his administration intends to maintain a pause on asylum decisions for “a long time” after an Afghan national allegedly shot two National Guard members near the White House, killing one of them. When asked to specify how long it would last, Trump said he had “no time limit” in mind for the measure, which the Department of Homeland Security says is linked to a list of 19 countries already facing US travel restrictions. “We don’t want those people,” Trump continued. “You know why we don’t want them? Because many have been no good, and they shouldn’t be in our country.” The Trump administration issued the pause in the aftermath of the shooting in Washington on November 26, that left 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom dead and another guardsman critically wounded. A 29-year-old Afghan national, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, has been arrested and charged with first degree murder in connection with the incident. Lakanwal had been part of a CIA-backed “partner force” fighting the Taliban in...