The leader of the transnational gang Tren de Aragua has been killed in southern Venezuela as part of a joint operation with the United States, in what a top Pentagon official on Saturday described as a warning to “narco-terrorists” in Latin America. Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, alias Nino Guerrero, was “neutralised” in southeastern Bolivar state, Venezuela’s Ministry of Communications said in a statement on Friday. US President Donald Trump said Guerrero was killed in “a swift and leth...

Larkana police’s Women and Child Protection Cell (WCPC), along with other officials, conducted a raid and stopped a forced child marriage involving two teenagers in Khero Dero village of the district on Friday. A 13-year-old girl was being forced into marriage with her 16-year-old cousin when WCPC officials, the SHO of Women Police Station Larkana and the SHO of Lashari Police Station reached the spot, according to a statement by Child Protection Officer Larkana Gada Hussain Abbasi. Naween Ma...

In the charged political landscape of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC)’s core demand to abolish the 12 reserved seats for Kashmiri refugees in the legislative assembly strikes at the heart of constitutional governance, historical justice, and the enduring Kashmir cause. These seats, constitutionally entrenched under Article 22 of the AJK Interim Constitution 1974, are not mere administrative privileges or tools for “electoral engineering,” as JAAC alleges....

Anthropic said on Friday it will “abruptly disable” its most advanced AI models for all users after the US government ordered it to suspend access to the models for foreign nationals, citing national security concerns. The company received the export control directive to suspend access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 for all foreign nationals, without being given specific details of its national security concern, Anthropic said in a statement. It is Anthropic’s understanding that the government belie...

BANNU: An alleged militant commander and two people were killed in separate incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district, while militants also attempted to blow up a key link bridge, local sources said on Saturday. The Police Peace Committee said that Shahid, son of Mir Khatam and a resident of Wali Noor in Jani Khel, was killed near Kangar Bridge during an operation on Friday night. The deceased was said to be a close associate and facilitator of militant commander Akhtar Muhammad and wa...

• Underprivileged segments hit hardest • Bike riders, office workers, labourers struggle to cope with extreme heat • Outdoor workers face hardship, household chores become tall order KARACHI: By midday, Karachi, a city usually bustling with activity, begins to lose much of its vibrancy as intense heat and persistently high “feels-like” temperatures keep people indoors and restrict movement across the metropolis. The scorching June sun, coupled with high humidity and feels-like temperatures ex...

PAKISTAN’S ongoing role in helping bridge differences between the US and Iran has attracted considerable attention. Given the depth of hostility between Washington and Tehran, even keeping channels of communication open is nothing short of an achievement. That said, an important aspect of this episode has received surprisingly little attention: it’s the significance — albeit limited — of both Pakistan’s role in shaping the development of international law and its implications for Pakistan’s p...

THE FY27 budget is the first clear signal that the government is ready to transition from stabilisation to growth — without breaching the IMF’s macroeconomic targets. After three years of painful austerity and demand compression, the decision to reduce the super tax, introduce a real estate stimulus and offer a scattering of export incentives indicates that the government believes the worst is behind it as it cautiously proceeds to pump moderate growth of 4pc. The desperation is understandabl...

MUZAFFARABAD: Activists and supporters of the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), who had dispersed from sit-in sites on the outskirts of Rawalakot after midnight, regrouped at two locations on Friday afternoon, drawing thousands of participants des­pite official claims that the protest campaign had collapsed. Senior officials had claimed early on Friday that all three protest camps on the fringes of Rawalakot had been vacated after 12:30am amid expectations of a major operation b...

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minis­ter Mu­ham­mad Aurangzeb on Fri­day laid a copy of the Finance Bill 2026 containing the Annual Bud­get Statement before the Se­­nate amid a noisy protest by opposition members who cha­nted slogans rejecting the proposed budget. Moving that the Senate make recommendations, if any, to the National Assembly on the bill as required under Article 73 of the Constitution, Mr Aurangzeb faced full-throated slogans from the opposition benches. Senate Chairman Syed Yousaf Raza G...

• Planned protests abandoned amid fears of clash as armed patrols, checkpoints blanket city HERAT: Heavily armed security forces deployed across Herat on Friday, prompting residents to scrap planned protests following a crackdown where morality police arrested at least 30 women for alleged dress code violations and violently dispersed a subsequent rally, killing at least two people. Independent experts noted that Taliban forces allegedly fired on men, women, and children on Tuesday, administe...

FOR the first time in years, Pakistan’s budget reads less like a crisis management document and more like a cautious growth agenda. The budget for FY27 comes at a moment when IMF-mandated stabilisation has helped significantly improve the fiscal position, slash inflation, and contain the current account deficit. For a government that spent its first two years ‘firefighting’, this is the first budget that makes political choices. How it has used that opportunity represents both the government...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday confirmed that a “final agreed-upon” text of the peace deal between Iran and the United States had been reached. A day prior, US President Donald Trump said the United States and Iran could sign a peace deal as soon as this weekend, which, if finalised, would be the most significant diplomatic breakthrough yet to end the months-old war. “We just made a great settlement of the war with Iran,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “The strait will offi...

ISLAMABAD: PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Friday welcomed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s statement regarding the formation of a government in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and expressed his gratitude. The PPP is all set to form a government in the region after it gained 11 out of 24 seats in the GB Legi­slative Assembly, according to the unofficial results (Form-47) of the June 7 elections. According to Radio Pakistan, the prime minister assured full support from the PML-N to the PPP on gove...

Facebook-parent Meta said on Friday that users were having trouble accessing the social media company’s services. “We’re aware people are currently having trouble accessing our services. We’re working on it,” the company’s spokesperson Andy Stone said in a post on X. There were more than 62,000 reports of issues with Facebook and more than 8,000 reports of issues with Instagram as of 7:11 pm, according to Downdetector.com, which tracks outages by collating status re...

The federal budget for 2026–27 has brought the salaried class something it has rarely seen in recent years: a tax cut. In his budget speech, the finance minister has announced reduced income tax rates for salaried individuals earning between Rs2.2 million and Rs7 million a year, restructured the slabs from six to eight, and abolished the surcharge that currently applies to annual incomes above Rs10m. But what those changes mean for you depends entirely on where your salary falls. Most relief ...

A delegation of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad on Friday and discussed the budget for FY2026-27 and development projects for Sindh were discussed, according to the PM’s Office and MQM-P leader Aminul Haque. Haque told Dawn that the matter of a “special development package” for Sindh’s urban areas was raised during the meeting and that his party sought an allocation of Rs20 billion for projects for Karachi and another Rs5bn a...

The federal budget for the upcoming fiscal year (FY26-27) is set to be presented in the upper and lower houses of the Parliament today. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb is expected to present the financial plan in the National Assembly at 3pm, and later in the Senate, according to Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry. The coalition government is set to unveil fresh tax measures worth Rs660 billion to Rs700bn in the budget, according to a Dawn repor...

The Pakistan Army team has clinched first position at an international military drill competition held in Britain, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Friday. “In a remarkable display of excellence, the Pakistan Army team, represented by the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA), has clinched 1st Position at the prestigious International Pace Sticking Competition 2026 held at the Royal Military Academy (RMA) Sandhurst, United Kingdom,” the ISPR said in a statement. It added that the ...

ISLAMABAD: The literacy rate for individuals aged 10 and above in Pakistan rose from 61 to 63 per cent, while spending on education faced a decline, according to Economic Survey 2025-26. It stated that male literacy was 73pc and female at 54pc, reflecting a gradual progress and narrowing gender gap. Urban areas continued to have higher literacy rates with a total of 74 per cent (81 per cent for males and 68 per cent for females), while rural areas had a lower rate of 55 per cent (67 per cent ...

Workers in the US capital removed President Donald Trump’s name from the facade of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday, the venue said, after a federal judge ruled that its renaming was unlawful. In a legal filing, the center’s Executive Director Matt Floca said it had “removed all physical signage on the Kennedy Center building and grounds” containing Trump’s name. Around noon Washington time, the sign on the building’s exterior was still covered by a white tarp pu...

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), which approved amendments to the Code of Conduct for judges in its June 11 meeting, decided to allow judges of the superior courts to attend or preside over political or diplomatic functions after obtaining prior permission from the relevant chief justices. Presided over by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi, the June 11 SJC meeting decided to make certain amendments to the Code of Conduct for judges while considering the draft Rules Re...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday said that the peace deal between Iran and the United States is expected to be finalised in the next 24 hours. A day prior, PM Shehbaz said that a “final, agreed-upon” text of the peace deal between Tehran and Washington had been reached, adding that Islamabad was working “closely” with both sides to finalise the next steps of the process. “We are closer to a peace deal than ever before,” the premier said on X, adding that Pakistan is preparing for the...

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb is currently addressing a press conference to provide further details about the proposed budget for FY26-27. “In this budget, we have made significant progress in that direction of travel [towards economic growth] that we spoke earlier about,” he said at the outset of his media briefing in Islamabad. The minister affirmed that the government has “made comprehensive efforts to create an enabling environment” for an export-led growth, recalling the abolishmen...

Continuing their intelligence-based operations (IBOs) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s North Waziristan, the security forces have killed 21 terrorists in the last 72 hours, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Saturday. In a statement, the military’s media affairs wing said multiple terrorist locations were engaged in the “general area Miran Shah and surroundings in North Waziristan”. “Following fierce fire exchanges, in [the] last 72 hours, 21 more khwarij belonging to Indian-sponsored ...

QUETTA: The Young Doctors Asso­ciation (YDA) announced on Wednesday its intention to continue a strike against recent incidents at the Civil Hospital, refusing negotiations with health authorities until their demands are met. YDA leader Dr Palwasha Raheem Kakar spoke at a press conference held at the protest camp, urging the government to allocate resources towards enhancing doctor safety and strengthening hospital security. Ms Kakar highlighted the case of Dr Mahnoor Nasir, who was a victim ...

IF Pakistan undertakes air strikes inside Afghanistan to decrease, degrade and destroy the capability of terrorist groups who carry out attacks on its soil, does it justify India’s stance of conducting strikes — similar to the ones it resorted to last year — on Pakistani territory? In my view, it does not. This is because, from a legal perspective, the two cases are entirely different. However, it is still important to underscore the importance of a long-term solution to unpleasant bilateral ...

WASHINGTON: The United States plans to significantly reduce the aircraft and warships it makes available for Nato operations in Europe, the New York Times reported on Friday, citing two senior European officials. The decision would limit Nato’s ability to launch long-range strikes and conduct surveillance, the report said. The US plan includes cutting the number of F-16 and F-15E fighter jets from roughly 150 to 100, reducing maritime reconnaissance aircraft from 26 to 15, and removing all ei...

QUETTA: The Balochistan cabinet has approved the dissolution of all local bodies institutions in the province on Feb 8 next year upon completion of their constitutional term, with fresh local government elections, including in Quetta where the administrative division has been split into two districts, to be held thereafter. Chief minister’s aide Shahid Rind while briefing the media after a cabinet meeting on Friday said proposed amendments to the Balochistan Right to Information Commission Ac...

• Spill poses a serious threat to marine life and local fishing economy • Source of spill remains unconfirmed, though it may be linked to regional tanker incidents and sea conditions in the Strait of Hormuz GWADAR: Gwadar’s western coast has been covered with a thick layer of crude oil across a 20-kilometre stretch, posing a severe threat to marine life and the local fishing industry, officials said on Friday. “Thick crude oil has washed ashore, covering a vast area of the coastline and penet...

• Govt announces Rs1tr for PSDP, Rs2.2tr for provincial programmes, and Rs450bn for SOEs ISLAMABAD: The government on Friday announced a Rs3.675 trillion development budget for the next fiscal year, with hardly any new uplift projects. However, the Public Sector Develop­ment Programme (PSDP) contains a list of long-overdue mega-projects, which provinces had been insisting should be financed by the Centre. The second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC-II) is perhaps the only ...

Co-hosts Canada grabbed a second-half equaliser to draw 1-1 with Bosnia and Herzegovina on Friday in the first World Cup finals game ever played on Canadian soil. Cyle Larin got Canada’s goal after Jovo Lukic put Bosnia ahead with a header in the 21st minute in Toronto. The result gave Canada its first point in World Cup history. Canadian sides had a perfect record of futility at two previous tournament appearances in 1986 and 2022, with six losses. Lukic’s goal from a corner sent the small b...

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Friday said that the government was committed to reducing the disproportionate tax burden on certain classes by widening the tax net. Speaking on the Geo News programme ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath’ following the unveiling of a Rs18.8 trillion budget for the next fiscal year, Aurangzeb said: “Exporters, manufacturers, the IT sector, construction and the salaried class — we tried to give them relief. Now the direction of travel is identified, and we wi...

ISLAMABAD: PTI, the main opposition party in the National Assembly, on Friday rejected the federal budget for FY2026-27, terming it a “refined exercise in elite self-preservation”. In an NA session earlier today, the federal government unveiled a Rs18.8 trillion budget for the upcoming fiscal year. In a statement, PTI Secretary Information Sheikh Waqas Akram said that even the Pakistan Economic Survey released on Thursday showed that the country had been facing a continued decline across sect...

The Pakistan Economic Survey arrives each June in two registers. The first is the press conference: growth is back, inflation has been beaten. The second is the statistical annex, which records, without adjectives, what actually happened—and this year it describes a stabilisation, real, hard-won, and worth defending. Except that it has so far fixed none of the things that made stabilisation necessary in the first place. We have been here before—in 2000, in 2016, in 2019; the difference this t...

Former senator Taj Muhammad Afridi passed away on Friday after his vehicle was involved in a fatal accident near Colonel Sher Khan Interchange on the M-1 motorway, police said in a statement. According to a statement by the Motorway Police, the former senator was travelling from Islamabad to Peshawar. “Former senator Afridi died in the accident, while his driver sustained minor injuries,” the statement said. It further said that upon receiving reports of the accident, the Motorway Police imme...

KARACHI: Several individuals have been arrested for participating in a rally in support of MQM founder Altaf Hussain on Karachi’s Arif Jiyeja Street, it emerged on Friday. The first information report (FIR), a copy of which is available with Dawn, was registered on Thursday and under Sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). It nominated 11 people and said that police co...

Families of those killed in last year’s Air India plane crash gathered at the site on Friday to mark the anniversary of the disaster, still awaiting answers about its cause. On June 12, 2025, a Boeing 787 crashed into a medical college shortly after take-off in India’s western city of Ahmedabad, killing 260 people in the deadliest air disaster for a decade. Indian authorities are expected to issue an interim report in the coming days, a source of frustration to the victims’ relatives, who had...

Bangladesh and India have agreed to deepen ​cooperation along their shared border with improved intelligence sharing and coordinated patrols, according ‌to a joint statement released on Friday, amid strained relations over alleged undocumented migration. Dhaka has accused Indian authorities of attempting to force migrants across the border without due process, complicating efforts to stabilise ties following the 2024 ousting of Sheikh ​Hasina and India’s broader effort to identify and deport ...

Twenty years ago, I asked whether Pakistan’s swelling working-age population would prove a demographic dividend or a demographic threat. The answer, I argued then, depended entirely on what governments chose to do, in education, health, and labour market policy, while the window remained open. That window ran from 1990 to roughly 2045 at that time. We are now 35 years into it. The Economic Survey 2025-26, released on Thursday, offers the most current evidence on how the choice has been made. ...

LAHORE: The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has begun prioritising complaints against individuals involved in blackmail, harassment and harming the “dignity and reputation of women”, and arrested 10 alleged “harassers” on Saturday in different parts of Punjab. “The NCCIA is according the highest priority to complaints involving the harassment, exploitation, and blackmailing of women in the digital space,” NCCIA Punjab chief Muhammad Ali Waseem told Dawn. “While the NCCIA rem...

KARACHI: The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), in a joint operation with a federal civilian intelligence agency, arrested a suspect in Karachi for allegedly supplying drone technology and electronic equipment to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) for use in drone-based attacks, a CTD spokesperson said on Saturday. According to the CTD, the suspect is the brother of Talal alias Zaid Baloch, an alleged active member of the banned TTP currently based in Afghanistan and listed among th...

Five Indian air force personnel were killed when a Russian-made Indian military plane crashed while landing at a base in the country’s remote northeast on Saturday, the military said in a statement. “The Indian Air Force deeply regrets the loss of five personnel in the An-32 accident at Jorhat”, a city in Assam state, the air force said in a statement. However, an air force official, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to brief the media, told AFP the co-pilot had s...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is currently addressing the National Assembly, a day after the federal budget for FY27 was proposed. He began his speech by noting that he would not give a “detailed response” to the criticism voiced by Opposition Leader Mehmood Khan Achakzai at the moment, but at an “appropriate time”. After the NA proceedings began at 11am, Achakzai had spoken mostly on the country’s law and order situation. He had also criticised the government’s decision to freeze the develop...

The United States opened their World Cup campaign with a 4-1 win over Paraguay on Friday, powered by a first-half double from striker Folarin Balogun, but the victory was tempered by concern over the fitness of Christian Pulisic. The emphatic Group D win marked a dream start for the co-hosts, whose four goals were their most ever in a World Cup match. Balogun became the first US player to score twice in a World Cup game since the 1930 tournament. “Amazing result,” US captain Tim Ream said. “I...

• Budget keeps lender’s targets intact on revenue, deficit, primary surplus • Divisible pool frozen for three years at Rs13.35tr; govt eyes Rs1.9tr fiscal space • Revenue target up 17.6pc after record Rs1.15tr shortfall; defence up 17.7pc to Rs3tr • Salaries, pensions to rise 7pc; minimum wage proposed at Rs40,700 • Super tax scrapped for Rs150m-Rs500m incomes • Social media earnings, traders face new tax measures • Incentives for small EVs; curbs on luxury ones • Petroleum now top non-tax ea...

(CLOCKWISE) PM Shehbaz Sharif meets a delegation of MQM-P leaders ahead of the budget session; PTI leader Gohar Ali Khan holds a placard during the party’s demonstration in parliament; while PPP lawmaker Sehar Kamran protests Sindh’s water share cut.—APP • PPP slams ‘unreasonable attitude’ of ally PML-N; PTI protests for Imran, against taxes; MQM-P delegation meets Shehbaz, PML-N leaders before budget session • Govt workers’ demonstration outside Parliament House results in strict securi...

• Increase comes amid tensions with India, Afghan border concerns • Allocation crosses 2pc of GDP after 17.6pc hike • Military spending makes up nearly 16pc of federal outlay • Rs967.55bn earmarked for salaries, allowances • Military pensions budgeted separately at Rs822bn ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Friday proposed allocating Rs3 trillion for defence services in fiscal year 2026-27, marking a 17.65 per cent increase over the outgoing year’s original allocation of Rs2.55tr, as it sou...

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has allocated Rs5,290.49 million to train 120,000 youth in IT and digital skills under the Prime Minister’s Youth Skills Development Programme. Finance Minister Muhammad Aura­n­g­zeb, in his budget speech, highlighted the importance of the country’s youth population, describing it as Pakistan’s biggest asset. He said 67 per cent of the country’s population is below the age of 30. “Our youth possess a strong spirit for acquiring skills and utilising them for ...

WASHINGTON: A major US surveillance authority is set to expire on Friday midnight, deepening concerns over national security as the World Cup gets underway and Washington remains deadlocked over President Donald Trump’s intelligence leadership. Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act allows US spy agencies to collect communications of foreign targets overseas without a warrant, including when they contact people inside the United States. Officials describe the program­­me as ...

• Income tax rates reduced for salaried individuals earning between Rs2.2m and Rs7m annually; 35pc slab threshold raised to Rs7m ISLAMABAD: The gover­nment has unveiled a sweeping package of tax and tariff reforms, offering relief to higher-income salaried individuals and businesses by rationalising income tax, sales tax, and customs duties, while promoting documentation, digital compliance, and investment. The measures are designed to ease the burden on households and enterprises while targe...

If ever voice mattered, it was now. The budget unveiled today shows the government heard everything that was being said about it and has moved to rectify, albeit the moves are small. Salaried people have been extended some relief, but mostly for upper slabs. The infamous “deemed income” on capital assets (immoveable property) has been scrapped. The other bug bear of the elites, the so-called “Super Tax” has been abolished for firms with income up to Rs500 million and for those earning above t...

The government on Friday reduced the price of petrol by Rs4 per litre and diesel by Rs2 per litre with immediate effect. Following the decrease, the price of petrol stands at Rs373.78 per litre and high-speed diesel (HSD) at Rs378.78, down from Rs377.78 and Rs380.78 per litre, respectively. The Petroleum Division’s notification announcing the decrease said the new prices would be effective from June 13 (Saturday). This is the fifth consecutive weekly reduction in petrol prices...

As part of its budget proposals for the next fiscal year (FY26-27), the government has announced a range of measures to provide some measure of relief to the public, ranging from an expanded income support programme for the most vulnerable segment of the population, to lower taxes for individuals earning more than Rs183,000 a month. As part of its relief, subsidy and social safety plans, the government has announced a seven per cent increase in salaries for serving federal employees, a 7pc in...

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Friday lifted the austerity measures it had imposed on March 10, 2026, due to disruptions in petroleum supplies amid the ongoing Iran-US conflict. On March 10, the apex court announced that the country’s courts would observe four-day work weeks. It further stated that the monthly ceiling of Petroleum, Oil and Lubricants (POL) allocated to judges and entitled officers should be reduced by 50 per cent. A notification issued with the approval of the Chief Justice ...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is currently addressing a federal cabinet meeting. He began the meeting by saying that the meeting had a one-point agenda that pertained to budget. More to follow

Few business leaders have been as deeply embedded in popular culture as Elon Musk, the ambitious entrepreneur who has become a central figure in internet culture and amassed a fortune that has made him the world’s first trillionaire. At a time when concerns about inequality are high and public attitudes toward the ultra-wealthy have soured, Musk has managed to retain a loyal following despite his stratospheric net worth and without the folksy persona that endeared other tycoons such as Warren...

President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday gave his assent to the Pakistan International Airlines Corporation (Conversion) (Repeal) Bill, 2026, fulfilling all necessary legal requirements for the national carrier’s privatisation. The original bill, which now stands repealed, was passed in January 2016, and sought to convert the national flag carrier into a public limited company. Confirming the development in a statement, the presidency said that following the approval, “all the necessary legal for...

MUZAFFARABAD: All three gatherings of the activists and supporters of the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) at the fringes of Rawalakot dispersed and their participants returned to their respective areas shortly after midnight, officials said on Friday. The development reportedly came after indications that authorities had planned a major operation to uproot the protesters, who had converged from various districts on the eastern outskirts of Rawalakot in Poonch district. The regi...

BANNU: Two police constables lost their lives in separate incidents of targeted killings in Bannu district, officials said on Friday. Police authorities termed both incidents acts of terrorism and have launched search operations to trace and arrest the perpetrators. On Friday morning, Police Constable Mishqat Amir was returning home after attending a gathering at the Hamza Tablighi Centre when he came under attack on Bannu-Miranshah Road near Azad Mandi. According to initial reports, unidenti...