I run @dawnnewsenglish, sometimes executive produce for @dawn_news. Previously @etribune @trtworld @Diplomat_APAC @geonews_english @foreignpolicy
Pakistan
Joined April 2011
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Niha Dagia retweeted
An engaging interaction with leading journalists, including @AzharAbbas3, @FariehaAziz , Bahzad Alam Khan, and @nhd00, rounded off the visit, bringing perspectives on journalism, media freedom and the role the EU can play in supporting democratic norms in Pakistan.
The Centre claims Governor’s Rule in KP is about terrorism and law and order. Then why is the same logic not applied to Balochistan? Security cannot be a constitutional justification selectively deployed against political opponents.
Niha Dagia retweeted
#OPINION: Pakistan’s newsrooms didn’t go silent overnight. Criminal complaints, lost advertising and stories never assigned have shifted the question from “Is this true?” to “Can we survive reporting it?”
Read Nida Dagia’s (@nhd00) full column here: arab.news/zd9f6
So... I've started cooking. Wrote about that and the newsroom. For @arabnewspk
arab.news/zd9f6
Niha Dagia retweeted
On January 23rd, Imaan & Hadi were “arrested” & taken to Adiala jail before getting sentenced.
On September 17th, they have been “arrested” from Adiala jail before being released on bail as ordered by the Supreme Court.
Welcome to Pakistan where law of the jungle is supreme.
🚨🚨#BREAKING: In a worrying development to defy #SupremeCourt orders, reportedly @ImaanZHazir and @AdvHadiali were rearrested from Adiala Jail just before their release. Prior to Imaan Mazari's release, a heavy contingent of @ICT_Police was present outside Adiala Jail. The #Islamabad Police arrested Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chatha and departed for Islamabad.
Niha Dagia retweeted
In a difficult and dangerous world, a decade on from Brexit, there is a risk that Britain loses the confidence to lead and stand up for its values.
I’m not prepared to let that happen. It is more important than ever that Britain stands for something.
We have called for years for a two-state solution in the Middle East, but we must recognise that those words are meaningless unless we back them up with action.
For too long, we have been hesitant to act, fearful of being accused of being anti-Israel.
Today we are announcing carefully judged, targeted steps that are not aimed at the Israeli people, but at the unacceptable policies of the current Israeli government.
The suffering of the Palestinian people is a scar on the conscience of the world. Innocent Palestinians, including children, continue to be killed in Gaza. And there is still a humanitarian crisis, with far too little aid getting in.
The scale of destruction is hard to comprehend. More than 70,000 people lie dead - at least 20,000 of them children. Families and communities have been torn apart. Millions displaced. And the population of Gaza is now penned into just one third of the territory.
I know that people across the UK feel very deeply about this issue - and so do I.
Before I became Prime Minister, I said our country’s response had been too slow and simply not good enough. That’s why I committed to changing the government’s approach.
I will not stand by as the horrific suffering continues to grow and the prospect of a two-state solution - the best hope for peace and stability in the region - comes under attack.
More settlements have been approved under the four years of this Israeli government than in the previous 20 years. The UN has reported more than 1,500 incidents of settler violence so far this year, aimed at driving out Palestinians. And the situation is growing worse, fast.
The Israeli government has now approved 104 new settlements since it took office in December 2022, and ahead of the October elections in Israel, it is allowing tenders for the construction of the E1 mega settlement to go ahead. This would cut a swathe through the heart of the West Bank - snuffing out the hope of realising a two-state solution. It cannot be allowed to happen.
That’s why we are announcing a new package of tough measures to put pressure on the Israeli government:
First, we will ban the trade in goods with illegal settlements in Palestine.
Second, we have formally changed the view of the British government to say for the first time that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory is unlawful - independent of, but in line with, the conclusion of the international court of justice.
And third, we will sanction individuals and companies that support, facilitate or profit from illegal settlements. That includes any businesses or investors that take part in the construction of the E1 settlement.
In addition, we are announcing a new package of desperately needed humanitarian aid to Gaza.
We are taking these steps because it is the right thing to do.
I have condemned the monstrous terrorist attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 in the strongest possible terms - and continue to condemn Hamas. However, it does not justify the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza or the West Bank.
The measures we are taking are about targeting illegal settlements and increasing the pressure on the Israeli government to change course. We are not imposing sanctions on Israel as a whole, which would punish the Israeli people, many of whom disagree with their government’s position.
The Israeli people are not responsible for the actions of their government. And nor is the Jewish community in the UK. Blaming British Jews for the actions of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is wrong, plain and simple. And it is antisemitism, plain and simple.
I met the representatives of the Jewish community just last week. I know the fear they live with day by day. My government will stop at nothing to ensure they are safe and to stamp out antisemitism in every part of our society.
The measures we are announcing today are about protecting the only solution that could see the Israeli and Palestinian people living side by side in peace and security - something that people up and down the UK desperately want to see.
The government I lead will keep working with our partners around the world to keep that hope alive.
Niha Dagia retweeted
Just so everyone knows, despite an ongoing war and enormous geopolitical tensions, thousands of Iranian students continue to study in the United States.
So expelling Afghan MBBS students from Pakistan, especially those in 4th and final year who are just months away from completing their degrees, is deeply troubling.
Stop new admissions if policy demands it. But destroying the careers of students who have already invested years of their lives?
Students should not be made casualties of politics.
Niha Dagia retweeted
More provinces might be already off the table by now.
Accelerator on NFC & 'effective-local-governments'
Niha Dagia retweeted
No one would be held responsible, no one would be held accountable whether its a case of Gul Plaza or PIMS Hospital. What happened in Baldia factory fire tragedy. In Gul Plaza even the Judicial Commission report was not made public. So, rest assure this file would also be close.
It makes no sense for a federal minister to be responsible for running a hospital. Their role should be limited to regulate, and fund. Management must sit closer to the communities hospitals serve, with local governments given the resources, and authority to run them.
Call it despair. No heads will roll. No resignations will come. Just a few months ago, more than 70 people were killed in the Gul Plaza fire. No one resigned. Zero accountability. Instead, an 11-year-old is on trial for the fire.
Niha Dagia retweeted
Fire at Islamabad’s biggest hospital, PIMS, claimed the lives of 14 babies. How did it start, and what happened during the rescue? What do we know about the incident so far?
My video report from ICU Maternal and Child Care unit, PIMS.
Niha Dagia retweeted
Every morning, I pour water from a jug I bought from a Gul Plaza vendor who did not survive January's deadly fire.
Months later, even I struggle with that thought. I cannot imagine what his family lives with. That fire brought calls for building safety, fire preparedness and accountability.
Months later, here we are again. More than a dozen newborn babies are dead in another fire.
At this point we just move on from one tragedy to the next.
Niha Dagia retweeted
PIMS has come to limelight for a human tragedy but it has become a national policy of "band Kar do" every emergency entry/exit doors, streets, roads and even chowks for security reasons. We are all sitting ducks made by design, anything can happen to you anywhere. It cost this poor nation billions to build emergency gates, roads etc, only to be closed for security. Look around & you see/experience it as part of life. Even all but one gate to Pakistan Secretariat remain permanently locked/closed and perhaps nobody knows where're their keys and fire safety cylinders are rarely checked.
Allah bless us all.
Niha Dagia retweeted
In the light of this report Executive Director of PIMS should be fired because this report clearly says that life-safety arrangements in PIMS were compromised not as per standard requirements.
Niha Dagia retweeted
Bahadur Khan, a vegetable vendor from KP, waited five years to welcome children. His newborn twins were among the 14 infants killed in the PIMS hospital fire. No words can soften the depth of grief these families are carrying today. Our story (Gift article). nytimes.com/2026/08/26/world…
Niha Dagia retweeted
وزیر اعظم شہباز شریف نے سیکرٹری صحت کو عہدے سے ہٹا دیا لیکن معلوم ہوا ہے کہ ایگزیکٹو ڈائریکٹر پمز کے خلاف کوئی کاروائی نہیں ہوسکتی کیونکہ وہ وزیروں سے بھی زیادہ تگڑی جگہ سے مقرر ہوئے تھے – at Islamabad, Pakistan
Health is mostly a provincial responsibility. But even with provincial spending included, Pakistan spends only around 0.9–1% of GDP on public healthcare. For almost two decades up to the mid‑2010s, public health spending stayed below 1% of GDP, only moving above 1% after 2017.