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QUETTA / ISLAMABAD: A 5.9- ma­gnitude earthquake originating in Afg­hanistan’s Hindu Kush region sent light to moderate tremors across Paki­stan on Saturday, while a series of quakes in Balo­chistan damaged homes and injured several people over two days.

The Hindu Kush earthq­uake struck at 6:35pm, sha­king Abbottabad, Har­ipur, Mansehra, Shangla, Swat in Khyber Pakhtu­nkhwa, Rawalpindi, Chakwal and the Pothohar region in Punjab as well as Islamabad and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

“It was very huge here in Swat and it lasted for quite a long time,” Daniyal Ahmad, a resident of Swat district, said. “People came out of their houses and women and children were seen crying in panic.”

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) reported no immediate casualties or major infrastructure damage.

The NDMA said the earthquake originated at a considerable depth of 178 kilometres, allowing tremors to spread over a wide area while limiting the intensity of ground shaking at the surface. Experts said the event was caused by the continued northward movement of the Indian Plate beneath the Eurasian Plate.

In Afghanistan, the country’s authorities said checks for casualties and damage were ongoing.

Meanwhile, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority in Balochistan reported that the two earthquakes had struck Tehsil Kingri in Musakhail district on Friday and Saturday.

According to the district administration, the first tremor on Friday affected the village of Chaap, partially damaging 80 to 90 houses and leaving six people with minor injuries. On Saturday, another earthquake hit Tehsil Kingri, damaging 25 to 35 houses and injuring 10 to 13 individuals.

Preliminary joint assessments indicate around 110 to 125 houses were partially damaged, while 18 to 19 people suffered minor injuries over the two days.

No fatalities have been reported till Saturday evening.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed deep grief Saturday over the losses in Musakhail, extending his heartfelt sympathies to the affected families.

PM Shehbaz directed the NDMA and the Balochistan provincial government to accelerate rescue and relief ope­rations immediately. He ordered authorities to provide immediate assistance to residents of damaged houses and ensure the best medical care for the injured.

With input from agencies

Published in Dawn, June 28th, 2026

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MUZAFFARABAD: Traders and transporters in Muzaffarabad division announced on Saturday that markets and public transport would resume normal operations from Sunday after the administration assured them of security and uninterrupted fuel supplies, signalling the first major break in the shutdown observed during the ongoing agitation in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

At a joint press conference at Central Press Club, representatives of traders’ bodies and the transporters’ union also distanced themselves from the recently proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC).

They alleged that the movement, which they had initially backed over public issues such as subsidised electricity and flour, had deviated from its original objectives after June 9 and was now pursuing a political and constitutional agenda beyond the mandate of traders and transporters.

The regional administration and the JAAC have been at odds over the past month over various issues, most notably the committee’s demand to abolish the 12 seats in the region’s Legislative Assembly that are reserved for refugees from Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir who settled in mainland Pakistan after 1947. The resulting situation from the JAAC sit-ins had brought various parts of the region to a standstill earlier this month.

Saturday’s press conference was addressed by Gohar Kashmiri, senior vice chairman of the Markazi Anjuman-i-Tajiran Muzaffarabad; Raja Abrar Mustafa, president of the Madina Market Traders Association; and Khawaja Azam Rasool, president of the Divisional Transport Operators Union.

They were joined by office-bearers of several other trade bodies, including Banaras Zaman Bhatti of the Barbers and Beauticians Association and Raja Asif of the Poultry Dealers Association.

They urged protesters to resolve outstanding issues through dialogue, appealed to traders to reopen their businesses and called for the restoration of internet services to facilitate commercial activity.

As news of the announcement spread by word of mouth, shops in several neighbourhoods of Muzaffarabad began reopening on Saturday afternoon, although business activity remained thin in many areas.

Meanwhile, in Poonch division, more than 100 residents staged a demonstration in Hajira, demanding that JAAC activists remove blockades from the two main roads linking the town with Rawalakot and Abbaspur.

They warned that if the activists did not reopen the roads, they would clear them themselves on Sunday and also reopen businesses in the town.

During the Muzaffarabad presser, Kashmiri said traders had played a key role in the JAAC movement while it focused on securing relief for ordinary citizens, winning reduced electricity tariffs and subsidised flour. However, he said traders had not been consulted when the movement changed course and could not associate themselves with developments after June 9 — when the JAAC had called for a strike.

He said the inclusion of the issue of the 12 reserved seats for refugees from occupied Jammu and Kashmir in the charter of demands had shifted the movement’s focus, even though it was a constitutional matter that should be settled through legal and democratic means.

“We do not understand why there was such insistence on this issue. Negotiations require flexibility from both sides if disputes are to be resolved,” he said.

Maintaining that their movement had always remained peaceful, Kashmiri said challenging the writ of the state was unacceptable and urged traders to pursue their outstanding issues through negotiations with the government rather than confrontation.

Meanwhile, Mustafa said traders had backed the campaign for nearly three years while it remained focused on basic public issues, including affordable flour, electricity and healthcare.

“The issue of the 12 reserved seats is a constitutional matter that can only be resolved by the elected assembly. It is not for traders to decide,” he said.

“We stood with the [JAAC] as long as it remained on the right course. But after it was declared proscribed and matters began moving in another direction, we collectively decided that we would neither remain part of it nor continue supporting it,” he added.

Stressing that Pakistan was their country, Mustafa said traders respected its institutions and armed forces and appealed to young people not to allow themselves to be drawn into unrest.

He also urged the authorities to restore internet services and ensure uninterrupted diesel and petrol supplies, saying businesses were suffering because of the disruptions.

‘Public transport across Muzaffarabad division to resume from Sunday’

Rasool, who also served as administrator of Muzaffarabad Municipal Corporation, said transporters had joined the movement in its early stages and that he himself had been a member of its core committee. However, they parted ways after JAAC’s demands continued to expand despite the acceptance of key economic demands.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry has maintained that 35 out of 38 demands of the JAAC, agreed between it and the government last October, had been fulfilled.

Rasool explained that transport services had remained suspended not because transporters supported the strike, but because road blockades and fuel shortages had exposed valuable public transport vehicles to the risk of damage.

“Now that the administration has assured us of fuel supplies and security, public transport across Muzaffarabad division will resume from Sunday,” the president of the Divisional Transport Operators Union said.

Rasool added that transporters could never support any movement directed against Pakistan or its armed forces, adding that constitutional questions such as the 12 reserved seats had nothing to do with the concerns of traders and transporters, which centred on taxation, municipal services and business-related issues.

He urged participants in the Rawalakot sit-in to disassociate themselves from those whom he accused of hijacking the movement to pursue a separate agenda, and called for preserving AJK’s tradition of peace and social harmony.

Ahead of the July 27 elections in AJK, the JAAC had called for widespread protests demanding the abolition of 12 seats in the region’s Legislative Assembly reserved for refugees from occupied Kashmir who settled in mainland Pakistan after 1947.

On June 5, the JAAC was declared a proscribed organisation by the regional government and placed under the First Schedule of the region’s anti-terrorism act (ATA).

A day later, AJK authorities launched a crackdown on the JAAC, arresting scores of its leaders and later placing 147 of its activists on the Fourth Schedule of the ATA.

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PAKISTAN’S commitment to the SDGs is routinely reaffirmed, but the gap between promises and progress continues to widen. A meeting between First Lady Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari and the UN country team highlighted priorities such as public health, nutrition, education, climate resilience and women’s empowerment — areas where progress is urgently needed.

Yet, with fewer than four years remaining until the 2030 deadline, Pakistan is off-track on many of the goals it pledged to achieve. Cooperation with the UN is valuable, but Pakistan cannot rely on international partners to compensate for weak governance and inconsistent implementation at home. The SDGs are benchmarks for improving lives, not just global commitments.

Polio is the clearest example. Despite decades of vaccination campaigns, billions of rupees in spending and sustained foreign aid, we remain one of only two countries where the disease is still endemic. The UN has warned that the coming year will be decisive, but technology alone will not suffice. AI may improve outreach, but it cannot replace routine immunisation, effective local administration, community trust or political resolve.

Similar shortcomings persist elsewhere. Around 41pc of Pakistani children suffer from stunting, maternal anaemia remains widespread, adolescent pregnancies continue to endanger mothers and infants, and millions still lack access to quality education and healthcare.

These failures reflect a broader inability to translate policy into results. Climate change is placing pressure on strained public services, while poverty, gender inequality and poor sanitation continue to undermine development. Pakistan should therefore treat the SDGs as the foundation of national policymaking rather than as commitments revisited during high-level meetings. Federal and provincial governments must coordinate more effectively, strengthen local institutions and ensure that development spending produces measurable outcomes instead of political dividends. Reliable data, monitoring and sustained investment in health, education and nutrition are essential.

International agencies can provide expertise and support, but they cannot substitute for domestic leadership. Missing the SDG targets would mean condemning another generation of Pakistanis to preventable disease, chronic malnutrition and persistent inequality. Can the state deliver the essentials? Pakistan still has time to answer that question in the affirmative, but only if urgency replaces complacency.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2026

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OpenAI on Friday launched a US-only preview of its latest powerful AI model series to a limited group of partners at the request of the United States government, the company said.

The release comes two weeks after the US government took Silicon Valley by surprise in ordering OpenAI’s rival Anthropic to ban all foreign nationals from accessing its Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models, citing national security concerns.

The release marks the debut of OpenAI’s GPT-5.6 series, which comprises three new models: Sol, OpenAI’s new flagship; Terra, a mid-range model for everyday work; and Luna, a fast, low-cost option.

The company said Terra would be priced at half the cost of its predecessor GPT-5.5, as it seeks to lock in customers amid fierce competition from Anthropic and Google.

OpenAI said it briefed the US government on its new models’ capabilities ahead of the launch and, at the government’s request, is beginning with a limited preview for a select group of trusted partners whose identities have been shared with authorities.

The partners are US-based, but OpenAI said overseas employees at those companies or entities would also have access to the new models.

Both Anthropic’s Mythos models and OpenAI’s GPT-5.6 have drawn major concerns over their reportedly unprecedented ability to identify software vulnerabilities — weaknesses in code that hackers can exploit.

The intervention against Anthropic was striking for a White House that has otherwise pushed to loosen AI oversight — even moving to block states from writing their own rules.

Under pressure over the novel capabilities of Mythos, Trump earlier month signed an executive order setting up a voluntary federal review of national security risks in advanced AI models before their release.

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ISLAMABAD: On the eve of International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reaffirmed Pakistan’s unwavering commitment to combating drug abuse and illicit trafficking, stressing that protecting the country’s youth from the menace of narcotics remains a national priority.

In his message on the occasion, President Zardari said Pakistan stood with the international community in renewing its collective resolve to address the grave social challenge posed by drug abuse and trafficking.

Referring to this year’s theme, World Drug Problem: Persisting Issues, New Challenges, Innovative Responses, the president said it highlighted the evolving and complex nature of the global drug problem and underscored the need for coordinated and innovative action.

He said Pakistan remained steadfast in addressing all threats associated with narcotic drugs, including the emergence of new substances, expanding illicit trafficking networks, and the growing accessibility of drugs, particularly among young people.

On eve of International Day Against Drug Abuse, PM calls for united action to build drug-free generation

Meanwhile, PM Shehbaz urged a comprehensive national response to combat the growing threat of drug abuse and illicit trafficking, stressing the need for prevention, awareness, rehabilitation and collective action to protect the youth from narcotics-related challenges.

Alongside traditional narcotics, a new range of highly dangerous synthetic and illicit drugs had emerged in recent years. He warned that criminal networks were increasingly exploiting modern communication technologies and digital platforms to expand their operations, connect buyers and sellers, and evade law enforcement agencies.

The prime minister also expressed concern over the growing use of cryptocurrencies and other digital payment channels to finance illicit drug activities beyond conventional financial systems.

Highlighting the influence of social media and mobile applications, he said harmful substances were often portrayed as fashionable, harmless or linked with success and social acceptance. Such narratives, he added, were deliberately designed to target young people during a critical stage of their personal and social development.

The prime minister observed that the consequences of drug abuse extended far beyond individuals, affecting families, communities and society at large.

Published in Dawn, June 26 , 2026

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Apple said on Thursday that it was raising prices for its MacBook computers, iPad tablets and other products, citing spiralling memory and storage costs sparked by the rise of artificial intelligence.

The price hikes — the first concrete change stemming from outgoing CEO Tim Cook’s repeated warnings about rising costs — sent Apple shares plummeting more than 4.7 per cent in morning trade.

On its US website, price increases ranged from $30 to $300. The 14-inch MacBook Pro, which once sold for $1,700, now retails for $2,000, while the iPad Air increased from $600 to $750.

The Apple TV streaming device rose from $130 to $200.

For now, the price of the iPhone — the company’s main source of revenue — remained unchanged.

“The rapid expansion of AI data centres has created an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage,” an Apple spokesperson said in a statement sent to multiple media outlets.

“We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly.”

Apple did not immediately respond to AFP requests for comment.

The Cupertino, California-based tech giant — which notched an all-time revenue record of $416 billion in the last fiscal year — insisted it had “shielded our customers from these increases so far” but could no longer do so.

Last week, Cook set the stage when he told The Wall Street Journal that price increases were “unavoidable”.

“There’s less supply at a time when consumers want devices and the memory guys are passing along huge price increases,” Cook said, deeming the spike in prices a “hundred-year flood”.

The rapid buildout of AI data centres has sent the cost of memory chips and RAM skyrocketing — as the components are found in nearly all electronic devices — with the chips undergoing quarterly price increases of at least 50pc since late 2025.

It will fall to John Ternus to handle the fallout at Apple — he will succeed Cook as CEO on September 1, just days before the new generation of iPhones is unveiled.

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ISLAMABAD: A recently released report by the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) has identified irregularities worth Rs3.41 billion in various ancillary departments of the Ministry of National Health Services (NHS), it emerged on Thursday.

The report, available with Dawn, found fraud, embezzlement and misappropriation amounting to Rs28.41 million, procurement-related irregularities worth Rs1.779bn, and irregularities in the management of accounts maintained with commercial banks involving about Rs1.484bn. However, Rs127.27m was recovered following the intervention of the audit department.

Pakistan Nursing Council

According to the report, the Pakistan Nursing and Midwifery Council (PNMC) refused to have its accounts audited, in violation of orders issued by the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) in its July 8, 2013 judgment.

In response to the audit intimations, the PNMC, referring to letters dated March 31, 2023, May 15, 2024, and May 21, 2025, stated that it was an autonomous body that generated its own revenue through various activities and services and did not receive financial grants from the government.

The matter was reported to the secretary of the Ministry of NHS, who directed the PNMC to provide all auditable records. However, according to the report, the records were not provided by the management

The audit took the view that “the stance taken by the management is in violation of the orders of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and attracts Section 14(3) of the AGP Ordinance, 2001”. It added that, as the PNMC was established and controlled by the federal government, it fell within the audit jurisdiction of the AGP.

The audit recommended that disciplinary action be taken against the officers involved in obstructing the AGP’s audit functions and defying the SC’s order, and that the auditable record be provided.

Federal Directorate of Immunisation

The audit also identified the procurement of vaccines at higher rates due to non-compliance with the federal cabinet’s decision, which had an impact of Rs1.109bn.

Under Section 21 of the PPRA Ordinance, 2002, the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) granted an exemption for the procurement of EPI vaccines from the applicability of the Public Procurement Rules, 2004, in line with a federal cabinet decision dated November 23, 2016, according to the report.

“Rule 38 B(2) of the Public Procurement Rules, 2004, states that the procuring agency shall make a decision with due diligence and in compliance with general principles of procurement such as economy, efficiency and value for money,” the audit said.

It noted that the management of Islamabad’s Federal Directorate of Immunisation (FDI) purchased Pentavalent and Tetanus Diphtheria (TD) vaccines through open competition and incurred expenditure of Rs3.233m during the financial years 2022-23 and 2023-24.

Human Organ Transplant Authority

The audit further revealed that Islamabad’s Human Organ Transplant Authority (HOTA) had kept Rs38.782m in public funds in a current bank account after the close of the financial year.

The report cited Clause 37 (1) of the Public Financial Management Act, 2019, stating that the “revenues collected by an autonomous entity, which arise from any Act or statutory instruments of the Federal Government, shall be deposited in the treasury single account (TSA)”.

It also highlighted Clause 4(3) of the Cash Management and Treasury Single Account (TSA) Rules, 2024 as saying that bank accounts opened before the rules took effect were to be jointly reviewed by the finance division and division concerned, with accounts found non-essential for functioning to be closed. The balance in those accounts was to be transferred to the Federal Consolidated Fund or the Public Account as prescribed in the Federal Treasury Rules, it stated.

The audit observed that the HOTA retained an amount of money in a current account at the National Bank of Pakistan as of June 30, 2024.

“The account has not been reviewed or closed in accordance with Clause 4(3) of the Cash Management and TSA Rules, 2024, nor has the balance been surrendered to the Federal Consolidated Fund,” it pointed out.

It stated that the unauthorised retention of public funds outside the TSA “undermines the principles of centralised cash management and fiscal transparency … and violates statutory requirements, and increases the risk of mismanagement or misuse of public money”.

According to the report, HOTA replied that the account had been maintained with the approval of the Finance Division since 2013. The audit, however, termed the reply “not tenable”, stating that with the promulgation of the Public Financial Management Act and the Cash Management and TSA Rules, earlier administrative practices had been superseded.

The audit recommended that HOTA immediately initiate a joint review of the current account with the Finance Division in line with the TSA Rules, and take prompt action to transfer the retained balance to the Federal Consolidated Fund or the Public Account.

Polyclinic Hospital

Irregularities worth Rs508.4m were also found in the procurement of drugs and medicines by Polyclinic Hospital.

“Para 11 of GFR, Vol-I states that each head of a department is responsible for enforcing financial order and strict economy at every step. He is responsible for observance of all the relevant financial rules and regulations both by his own office and by subordinate disbursing officers,” it stated.

The management of Polyclinic Hospital incurred expenditure on the procurement of drugs and medicines (including tablets, syrups, injections and surgical consumable items) on a “local purchase” basis from an Islamabad pharmacy during FY24–25. The audit observed that there was no government-approved policy for the procurement of drugs, medicines and surgical items on a local purchase basis.

The report said that records of requisition and demand slips from different hospital wards for the procurement of these items were not maintained by the FGPC, and that patient-wise records of receipt and issuance of drugs, medicines and surgical consumables procured on a local purchase basis were not available with the hospital management.

Other irregularities

The report also identified irregularities worth Rs15.174m and the unauthorised procurement of MRI software worth $0.35m at the National Institute of Rehabilitation Medicines.

At Lahore’s Sheikh Zayed Medical Complex, it identified “fraudulent” payment of the consultant’s share amounting to Rs28.41m and the irregular transfer of Rs1.445bn from the assignment account to commercial bank accounts.

Health Ministry spokesperson Sajid Shah, while talking to Dawn, said that it was routine for a number of objections to be raised during every audit.

“However, the ministry responds to them and most of the paras are settled. The ministry and its ancillary departments will submit replies at appropriate forums,” he said.

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