Farhan Muhammad Khan, head of Dawn Urdu Digital and the website’s editor, confirmed to Independent Urdu that the site will be shut down in December 2025. Twelve employees are expected to be affected, each given a one-month notice. The management informed staff three days ago and offered them the option to either resign or serve their notice period.
According to Farhan Muhammad Khan, the move was necessary due to a decline in the media group’s revenue. He added that he would remain with the organization as he oversees the overall operations of Dawn Digital, of which the Urdu website is a part.
Dawn’s Urdu website has long been a key platform for news and analysis in Urdu and was considered one of the important players in the country’s digital journalism landscape.
This is the second major development in Pakistan’s digital media sector in recent days. Earlier, the private digital platform Nukta had announced layoffs affecting 37 employees. However, Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar later intervened, announcing that all 37 employees would be reinstated.
The closure reflects the financial pressures facing Pakistani digital media and raises concerns about the future of Urdu-language online journalism in the country.
