The United States and Iran traded strikes on Thursday for the second day running as Washington and Tehran battled over the strategic Strait of Hormuz. The latest round of attacks, which the US said was carried out in response to Tuesdays assault on...

<p>KARACHI: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Tuesday that human intervention between the tax administration and taxpayers would be reduced to a minimum under a new AI-led engagement model.</p> <p>Addressing a banking summit in Karachi, the minister said parliament had introduced a new tax administration operating model and approved a new structure in which notices would be issued through AI-led systems.</p> <p>The minister discussed several segments of the economy and expressed opti

<p>LAHORE: A judicial magistrate on Wednesday granted police custody of four suspects, including the relative of a senior political figure, for another five days in the alleged abduction and rape case involving two foreign women.</p> <p>The suspects were produced before the magistrate at the Cantonment Courts following the expiry of the five-day physical <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/2012674/lahore-police-get-custody-of-4-suspects-arrested-for-alleged-abduction-sexual-assault-of-two-foreign

RAWALPINDI: A K2 Airways Boeing 737-400 cargo aircraft en route from Sharjah to Karachi disappeared from radar over the Arabian Sea, about 300 kilometres west of Karachi, on Tuesday. According to r...

<p>PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Tuesday enacted a law expanding provincial assembly members’ powers and immunities, including the issuance of lifetime official passports to them and their spouses.</p> <p>The KP Assembly <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/1996445">passed</a> the KP Provincial Assembly (Powers, Immunities and Privileges) Act, 2026, on April 30. On the same day, it also passed two other laws: the KP Province Speaker and Deputy Speaker (Powers, Immunities and Pri

<p>The federal cabinet on Monday approved a comprehensive Haj Policy for 2027–2030, aimed at providing more facilities to pilgrims and improving operational efficiency.</p> <p>The cabinet commended Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Muhammad Yousaf and his ministry’s team for the excellent Haj arrangements made this year.</p> <p>A detailed briefing on the new Haj policy was presented to the cabinet. The meeting was informed that, unlike previous one-year policies, the new framewor

<p>ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday directed that a comprehensive strategy be formulated to improve small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) access to financing.</p> <p>He made these remarks while chairing a review meeting of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (Smeda) in Islamabad.</p> <p>According to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the premier directed the authority to formulate a comprehensive strategy, in coordination with the State Bank of Paki

<p>• Delay breaches July 1 structural benchmark under IMF $7bn EFF<br>• Officials blame legal issues over Ogra chief’s appointment and unresolved UFG targets</p> <p>ISLAMABAD: Amid over Rs3.44 trillion circular debt in the gas sector, the government has missed its July 1, 2026 deadline for notifying the biannual gas tariff as required under structural benchmark of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the $7bn Extended Fund Facility (EFF).</p> <p>Under two new gas sector structural b

<p>Azad Jammu and Kashmir Information Department Secretary Muhammad Rashid Hanif claimed on Monday that state institutions had evidence of Indian funding behind the <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/2005462">banned</a> Joint Awami Action Committee’s (JAAC) “agenda” in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.</p> <p>Addressing a press conference in Muzaffarabad, the information secretary said that state institutions had credible information about foreign funding behind ongoing activities in AJK.</p> <p>“

<p>KARACHI: An additional district and sessions judge on Monday granted interim bail to five of the six accused in the deadly <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/1967683">Gul Plaza blaze</a>, including the building union president and an 11-year-old boy.</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/1967505/search-operation-begins-to-locate-over-50-missing-people-at-karachis-gul-plaza-as-fire-doused-after-24-hours"><u>deadly inferno</u></a>, which <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/1967582/three-