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| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner | Dawn Media Group |
| Founder | Muhammad Ali Jinnah[1] |
| Editor | Zaffar Abbas |
| Founded | 26 October 1941; 84 years ago (1941-10-26) |
| Political alignment | Centre-left |
| Language | English |
| Headquarters | Karachi,Sindh,Pakistan |
| ISSN | 1563-9444 |
| Website | dawn.com |
Dawn is a PakistaniEnglish-language newspaper that was launched inBritish India byMuhammad Ali Jinnah in 1941. It is the largest English newspaper inPakistan, and is widely considered the country'snewspaper of record.[2][3][4]Dawn is the flagship publication of theDawn Media Group, which also owns local radio stationCityFM89 as well as the marketing and media magazineAurora.[5]
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan's founding father, launched the newspaper inDelhi on 26 October 1941, with the goal of establishing it as a mouthpiece for theAll-India Muslim League. The first issue was printed atLatifi Press on 12 October 1942.[6] Based inKarachi, it also maintains offices inLahore,Peshawar,Quetta and the capital city ofIslamabad, in addition to having correspondents abroad.[7] As of 2010[update], it has a weekday circulation of over 109,000.[8] The newspaper's current chief editor isZaffar Abbas.
Dawn began as a weekly publication, based inNew Delhi.[1] Under the instruction of Jinnah, it became the official organ of theAll India Muslim League in Delhi, and the sole voice of the Muslims League in the English language, reflecting and espousing the cause of Pakistan's creation. Jinnah summed up the paper's purpose in these words:
"TheDawn will mirror faithfully the views of Hindustan's Muslims and theAll Hindustan Muslim League in all its activities: economic, educational and social and more particularly political, throughout the country fearlessly and independently and while its policy will be, no doubt, mainly to advocate and champion the cause of the Muslims and the policy and programme of the All Hindustan Muslim League, it will not neglect the cause and welfare of the peoples of this sub-continent generally".[9]
Dawn became a daily newspaper in October 1944 under the leadership of its editor,Pothan Joseph, who later resigned in 1944 to take up the position of the government's principal information officer in part because of differences with Jinnah over thePakistan Movement. He was succeeded byAltaf Husain who galvanized the Muslims of India for independence by his editorials, which earned him the ire of theCongress Party and ofLord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy and Governor-General of theBritish Raj both of whom wanted a united India.[10]
In 1947, due to thePartition of India, seniorDawn staff led byAltaf Husain moved to Karachi, which led to that city becoming the head office of the newspaper.[10]
In 1950, for a brief period, the owners discontinuedDawn over ownership issues and restarted it asHerald.[11][10]
On 12 November 2025,Dawn mistakenly printed a business report that still contained a ChatGPT prompt, violating the paper's own AI-use policy, and later retracted the text with a public apology.[12]
Dawn regularly carries syndicated articles from western newspapers such asThe Independent,The Guardian, theLos Angeles Times andThe Washington Post.[citation needed]
On Sundays, the weekend advertiser carries three sections namely "Ad Buzz", "Career", and "Real Estate".[13]
On 19 May 2011, Dawn Media Group signed a memorandum of understanding withJulian Assange, founder ofWikiLeaks, for the exclusive first use in Pakistan of all thesecret US diplomatic cables related to political and other developments in the country.[14]
An announcement printed in the newspaper and posted on the website read:
The Dawn Media Group and Julian Assange, Chief Executive of Sunshine Press Productions, the publishing arm of WikiLeaks, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the exclusive first use in Pakistan of all the secret US diplomatic cables related to political and other developments in the country.[14]
In 2016, a story, "Act against militants or face international isolation, civilians tell military" byCyril Almeida, assistant editor and columnist forDawn, triggered the resignation ofInformation MinisterPervaiz Rashid, after a preliminary investigation established a "lapse" on his part vis-à-vis the publication of the "planted" story.[15]
Dawn'seditorial stance has varied according to its editors and the political context.[11]Altaf Husain, the second editor, was known for confrontational editorials that challenged government policies and supported thePakistan Muslim League. His foreign policy view favored a US military alliance before shifting to support ties with China.[11]
Following Husain, a succession of editors implemented different policies. Jamil Ansari aligned with theAyub Khan administration, whileYusuf Haroon adopted a conservative approach to maintain independence.Altaf Gauhar, who had previously been involved in creating press laws, transitioned to advocating forfree speech. His successor,Mazhar Ali Khan, introduced a progressive stance focused on professional journalism and reasoned critique.[11]
Ahmad Ali Khan, the longest serving editor, stabilized the newspaper's direction. He balanced a progressive outlook with cautious navigation of the restrictive environment under Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, allowing for subtle critiques of the regime.[11]
Later editors includedSaleem Asmi, who expanded arts coverage and launched new editions, andAbbas Nasir, who adapted the newspaper to the digital age by increasing its online presence.[11]
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