KARACHI: As shopkeeper Ali Akbar went to open his store last week along the main street of Thatta, in Pakistan’s Sindh province, he found himself wading through a sea of people who had blocked the road, causing an enormous traffic jam.
It wasn’t a political rally – the normal cause of such crowds. It was people without water.
“They were demanding the government declare a water emergency and resolve their woes on a war footing,” Akbar told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a telephone call. “It was extremely hot, but they remained resolute.”
Over a week, the people had walked 140 km (85 miles) from the Indus delta region, desperate to find an answer to worsening water shortages and land losses to erosion in their home villages.
Zuhaib Ahmed Pirzada, a young environmental activist from Thatta, said an original 50 or so marchers from the area around Kharo Chan – where the delta meets the Arabian Sea — were joined by others as they marched north.
By the time the crowd reached Thatta, there were 1,500 marchers.
Tanzeela Qambrani, a legislator from Badin district, in southern Sindh province, said the region has seen the “slow death” of the delta for many years.
Water expert Simi Kamal, who works at the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund and started a foundation focused on water and food security, said the spread of large-scale irrigation along the Indus River is partially to blame for less water reaching the delta.
But she said “mismanagement” of water, including wasteful flood irrigation and failure to leave enough water in systems to support nature, played a far bigger role.
“Together these have been catastrophic for the environment as well as the local population,” she said, predicting that a shifting climate would only make the problem worse.
LOWER FLOW
The Indus is a water lifeline for over 200 million Pakistanis, about 50 million of them near the river’s end in Sindh, according to the US-Pakistan Center for Advanced Studies in Water and other agencies.
A report by environmental and development group Lead Pakistan said that as demands on the Indus’ water grow, the delta is receiving less than a third of the water it needs.
The flow is also less than what it is due under a 1991 water sharing accord among Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, the report said.
Khalid Hyder Memon, a former irrigation department official in the Sindh provincial government, said he felt Punjab province, upstream, was “stealing” water that should be Sindh’s share.
He said repeated protests and requests over the last two years for a water audit by an independent body had not yet been acted on by the Indus River System Authority, which monitors water distribution and sharing.
“An audit would establish how much water there is in the system and how much is released to each province,” said Memon, who worked on irrigation issues for 37 years.
But Usman Tanveer, deputy commissioner of Thatta, said recent shortages of water in Sindh were in part the result of cool June temperatures in Gilgit-Baltistan’s Skardu district, with less snowmelt coming from the foothills of the Karakoram mountains.
“It takes between 17 to 25 days for the water from Skardu to reach us. The unprecedented and persistent low temperatures delayed snow melt and created havoc for us,” he explained.
Qambrani said the Sindh government needs to show “seriousness” in dealing with growing water threats as climate pressures become the new normal, and as sea level rise and less water and sediment flowing down the Indus erodes delta land.
“Here in the delta, the sea is fast swallowing up our land. The government must come up with a sound plan now or we will have a huge population of climate refugees to deal with,” the legislator said.
On Sunday, the international Green Climate Fund announced it was providing $35 million in funding, supported by $12.7 million in funds from Pakistan, to improve water management and farming practices in eight climate-hit districts in Pakistan, including in Sindh and Punjab provinces.
The six-year project, which the UN Food and Agriculture Organization will begin running this year, aims in part to help small-scale farmers learn how to farm with less water.
It will also give them access better weather information to plan more effectively for droughts and other climate-related risks.
MORE DESALINATION, FEWER FISH
On the orders of Sindh province’s chief minister, a government team met with those leading the march to Thatta, and listened to their demands.
Those included remodeling of waterways, installation of many more desalination plants, repair of non-working plants, and closure of illegal fish farms.
“If they install at least 100 other reverse osmosis plants for the nearly 400 big and small villages in the coastal belt of Sindh, our drinking water problem would be resolved,” said 27-year old Ayaz Lashari, one of the organizers of the march.
Tanveer, the Thatta district commissioner, said the irrigation department had already begun visiting illegal fish farms, which had been “slapped with notices of closure,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
The farms use water allocated for irrigation and do not pay the required water tax, he said.
“We would like people to come up and tell us exactly who is stealing the water and from where and we will take immediate action,” he promised.
Lashari, one of the marchers, and his large extended family once owned 600 acres of farmland, where they had 300 cows, 250 buffalos and a Jeep, “which was unheard of” then, he said.
They grew sugarcane, cotton, wheat, rice, vegetables and “the finest, most sweet bananas”, he said.
Now, however, 267 acres of their land have now been lost to the sea, he said, and another 275 acres have become saline and infertile.
“My brothers and uncles just cultivate 27 acres of the remaining 58 acres, as we do not have the financial resource to buy inputs for the entire 58 acres,” he said.
He and his family live in a rented house on rented land, with his father supplementing the farm income by working in a government department, Lashari said.
Lashari has his own ambition: To become a lawyer.
As water disappears, parched southern Pakistan farmers march north
As water disappears, parched southern Pakistan farmers march north
- Indus is a water lifeline for over 200 million Pakistanis
- The delta is receiving less than a third of the water it needs
Over 50 killed, dozens injured in accidents and shootings during Eid in northwest Pakistan
- Fatalities occurred in road accidents, drownings, fires and gun violence across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- Mardan and Peshawar districts reported the highest death tolls with 14 and 13 fatalities, respectively
PESHAWAR: At least 55 people were killed and 50 others injured in various incidents across Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province during the three days of Eid Al-Adha, rescue officials said on Monday.
The fatalities were reported in traffic accidents, drowning incidents, fires and gun violence across multiple districts, including the provincial capital, Peshawar. The injured were taken to local hospitals for medical treatment, according to a statement released by Rescue 1122.
“The total number of deaths across the province during the Eid holidays has reached 55,” Shah Fahad, Director General of Rescue 1122 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said. “Fifty others were injured in shooting incidents and provided emergency medical aid.”
According to the data, Rescue 1122 responded to about 2,000 emergencies and provided medical assistance to 1,897 individuals across the province during Eid.
These included 1,400 medical emergencies, 349 traffic accidents, 112 fire incidents, six drowning cases and 50 crime-related incidents.
In Peshawar alone, the agency handled 418 emergency calls, including 43 road accidents, 338 medical cases, 20 fire incidents and eight gun-related injuries. A total of 431 patients were transported to hospitals in the city.
District-wise, the highest number of fatalities was reported in Mardan (14) and Peshawar (13).
Fire incidents on festive occasions in the province are often caused by barbecues or fireworks, while traffic accidents typically stem from congestion, reckless driving by youth and occasional road rage.
Drowning incidents occur when people visit rivers or lakes for boating without adequate safety measures, and gun-related injuries often result from either criminal activity or celebratory gunfire.
New Karachi-based private airline receives license, plans launch with three aircraft
- Air Karachi is backed by prominent Pakistani business leaders and modeled on Air Sial
- It plans to expand its fleet to seven aircraft and begin international flights within a year
KARACHI: A new private airline based in Karachi received its Regular Public Transport (RPT) license from Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) last week, one of its key stakeholders confirmed on Monday, expressing hope the carrier would begin operations soon.
Air Karachi, spearheaded by prominent business leaders from Pakistan’s southern port city, is modeled after the success of Air Sial, another airline launched by industrialists in Sialkot.
The idea, conceived amid growing challenges faced by the country’s national carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), is to develop a business-backed airline that can operate with efficiency and financial autonomy.
“Yes, we got the license from CAA,” Hanif Gohar, one of the airline’s shareholders, told Arab News. “We are looking for aircraft and will start with three aircraft soon.”
Gohar said Air Karachi was issued the RPT license by the CAA on June 5.
According to a copy of the approval letter seen by Arab News, the airline has been directed to deposit a license issuance fee of Rs500,000 ($1,750) and a security deposit of Rs100 million ($350,000). It must also raise its paid-up capital to
Rs600 million ($2.1 million) before commencing operations, in line with the National Aviation Policy 2023.
Air Karachi has been registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan and plans to raise Rs5 billion ($17.5 million) by pooling Rs50 million ($175,000) from each of its 100 shareholders.
Last year, Gohar told Arab News the response from Karachi’s business community was so overwhelming that some families proposed contributing as multiple shareholders.
He informed that aviation veteran Air Vice Marshal (r) Imran Qadir had been appointed chief operating officer of the airline, supported by a team of retired Pakistan Air Force officials.
Once operational, Air Karachi will begin domestic flights with three aircraft and later expand its fleet to seven before launching international flights to the Middle East after the mandatory one-year domestic run.
Brushstrokes on a budget: How Islamabad Sunday Bazaar stall became thriving art academy
- Husband and wife Azhar and Shagufta Qureshi run Knowledge Art Academy from Itwar Bazaar stall
- Students at the school range from ages 5 to 81 and can get classes for nominal three-month fee of $12
ISLAMABAD: Several works of Islamic calligraphy, landscape art and whirling dervish paintings hung on the walls of the stall while around a dozen students sat bent over canvases while husband and wife duo Azhar Qureshi and Shagufta watched over them.
The scene is from the Knowledge Art Academy, located in a quiet corner between a long row of stalls at Islamabad’s Sunday, or Itwar, Bazaar, a popular spot for the capital city’s middle classes who come for the affordable shopping and to buy used and cheap items.
Here, nestled between toys, crockery and ceramics kiosks, the Knowledge Art Academy, a tin roof supported by wooden sticks, offers art classes at the affordable price of around $12 for three months of lessons.
The teachers are Shagufta and Qureshi, who has a fine arts diploma from Lahore, and has been running the academy for the past 14 years, offering an attractive alternative to pricey art schools in Islamabad.
“Our aim was to start this so that people who are interested in art can easily join our classes,” Shagufta told Arab News at the stall. “Our fee is also very reasonable. Art is a very expensive hobby which not everyone can afford. Since people from all backgrounds come here, that’s why we opted to arrange our setup here.”
The academy has students ranging from age five to those in their eighties.
“I was interested in learning how to paint,” Zamad Ahmed, a second year intermediate student who attends the academy with his 15-year-old sister Fatima, told Arab News. “But due to affordability I never learned it. But after my mother stumbled upon this place, I knew I had to attend it.”
Another student is Abdul Bari, an 81-year-old retired bank manager, who visits the academy weekly to pursue his passion for Islamic calligraphy.
“After retiring as a bank manager and marrying off my kids, I have been coming here for a year-and-a-half to learn from the maestro himself,” Bari said.
“It has been 1.5 to 2 years that I have come here to learn. I am retired so I come here to spend time, and by the grace of Allah, I have learned a lot from here also.”
“HEALTHY ACTIVITY”
Art schools in Pakistan, particularly those offering undergraduate programs, can be quite expensive, with some institutions charging upwards of $2,500 per year for tuition alone. The National College of Arts (NCA) is a notable example of a public university that offers art programs and has relatively high tuition fees. Other expenses, such as accommodation and transportation, can further contribute to the overall cost of attending art school in Pakistan.
This attracts many to the low-cost Knowledge Art Academy.
A middle-aged corporate professional who only identified himself by his first name Ijaz said he had admitted his three daughters to the academy so they could do something “productive” during their summer vacations at an affordable price.
“We have come to generate healthy activities for them,” he said. “Rather than sitting at home and wasting time on gadgets, on mobile or watching movies. I just want to generate some healthy activity so that they can learn something.”
While Qureshi said he had received various offers from prestigious art schools and institutions, he was committed to remain focused on his humble setup.
“I’ve even been told to move to a proper building or classroom and teach from there,” Qureshi said. “But that would increase the fees and affect my students who come here to follow their passion. I don’t want to disturb them.”
And his dedication has borne fruit, with several of his students pursuing fine arts formally while others have become art teachers and freelance artists.
Rabiya Noureen, 34, who learnt to paint at the Knowledge Art Academy, now runs her own classes.
“I learned painting from here and now have my own academy,” she said. “Now, my students even take commissioned painting work and earn money.”
Pakistan economy to grow 2.7 percent in FY25, economic survey shows
- The government initially targeted 3.6 percent GDP growth, but lowered it last month
- Pakistan’s finance chief says the national economy is on an upward trajectory
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s economy is likely to expand 2.7 percent in the fiscal year ending June 2025 after growing 2.5 percent during the previous year, the government’s economic survey showed on Monday, a day before the country’s federal budget is unveiled.
The government initially targeted 3.6 percent GDP growth, but lowered it to 2.7 percent last month. The IMF expects real GDP to grow by 2.6 percent in FY25 and for the economy to grow 3.6 percent in FY26.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government aims for 4.2 percent GDP growth next year, the country’s planning minister said last week, amid competing priorities, including stimulating investment, maintaining a primary surplus, and managing defense expenditure amid heightened tensions with India.
Pakistan’s central bank, in a bid to encourage growth, cut its policy rate by more than 1,000 basis points in the current fiscal year. Its latest cut last month brought the key rate to 11 percent, resuming an easing cycle that had brought rates down from 22 percent after a brief pause in March.
Pakistan had a current account surplus of $1.9 billion in the July to April period of the current fiscal year compared to a deficit of $200 million in the same period last year, the survey showed.
“Pakistan’s economy has been globally acknowledged for achieving macroeconomic stabilization in the outgoing fiscal year,” Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said in his foreword to the survey.
“Pakistan is consistently advancing on an upward trajectory, built upon investment friendly reforms, enhanced domestic savings, and increased foreign direct investment, with GDP growth projected at 5.7 percent over the medium term,” he said.
The economic survey, a key pre-budget document, comes at a time when Pakistan’s economy is stabilizing but remains fragile as the country navigates reforms under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund program.
Pakistan’s federal budget for the next fiscal year starting July will be released on Tuesday.
The government’s total revenue for the first three quarters of the current year stood at 13.37 trillion rupees, the survey showed.
Increasing revenue to trim the fiscal deficit, a key demand of the IMF program, is considered challenging for Islamabad.
Other key performance indicators mentioned in the economic survey include fiscal deficit at 2.6 percent of GDP during the first three quarters of the fiscal year.
Inflation was seen at 4.6 percent for the year.
India-Pakistan conflict threshold at historic low after military flare-up — Bhutto-Zardari
- Former Pakistani foreign minister emphasizes dialogue, diplomacy in interview with Sky News
- He says Pakistan acted against militant groups by working with the Financial Action Task Force
ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistani foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari warned on Monday the threshold for war between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan had significantly dropped following last month’s military standoff during an interview with an international news outlet.
India and Pakistan engaged in their most intense military exchange only a few weeks ago, prompting fears of a full-scale war under the nuclear overhang. Over four days, both countries traded missile strikes, drone attacks and air combat before US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire on May 10.
The crisis erupted after a militant assault killed 26 tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir. New Delhi blamed the attack on Pakistan-based elements, a charge Islamabad strongly denied, calling instead for an impartial international investigation.
As the situation escalated, the global community moved quickly to ease tensions and avert the risk of a nuclear confrontation.
“At the moment, the threshold for conflict between India and Pakistan is the lowest than it’s ever been in our history,” Bhutto-Zardari said in an interview with Sky News in London. “We’ve achieved the ceasefire, but we have not achieved peace as it stands today.”
“If there’s a terrorist attack anywhere in India or India-occupied Kashmir, proof or no proof, that means war,” he added. “That’s not a tenable situation. Pakistan believes there needs to be dialog and diplomacy, where we discuss all issues — terrorism, Kashmir, water — and start moving forward.”
Bhutto-Zardari said Pakistan had long advocated peace through dialogue, as he pointed to India’s refusal to engage diplomatically.
He also criticized New Delhi’s position on the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), a World Bank-brokered agreement signed in 1960 governing water rights over rivers shared by the two countries.
While India has not stopped water flows entirely, he said, it had delayed releases, a tactic, which he noted, could devastate Pakistan’s agricultural output.
“Even a week’s delay in water supply can destroy crops in a country like Pakistan, which depends heavily on agriculture,” he said, warning that any move by India to build new canals or dams on rivers allocated to Pakistan would cross a red line.
“That would be war,” he said.
Bhutto-Zardari further rejected the idea that Pakistan harbored militant groups involved in cross-border militancy, noting the country had taken significant action under the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) framework, a global watchdog that monitors money laundering and terrorism financing.
“When I was foreign minister, Pakistan was on the FATF grey list. By the end of my term, we had successfully moved off that list,” he said, calling the removal an endorsement by the international community of Pakistan’s counterterrorism efforts.
Responding to Indian claims over the recent Kashmir attack, he reiterated that Pakistan had no role in the incident and challenged New Delhi to present credible evidence if it had any.
“They went to war with a nuclear power and still cannot name a single terrorist involved,” he said. “If India was being honest, we’d know who they were, where they came from, which border crossing they used. These are basic questions that remain unanswered.”
Bhutto-Zardari is currently leading a nine-member Pakistani delegation to various world capitals to present Islamabad’s position on the recent conflict with India.
The delegation held meetings in recent days with representatives of the United Nations, its member states and US officials before arriving in London a day earlier to continue its mission.
