LAHORE – Swarms of yellow locusts that have since March been devastating crops in Pakistan’s southwestern and southern provinces of Balochistan and Sindh, have entered southern Punjab’s Cholistan desert as officials scramble to contain the risk to the country’s cotton cash crop.
Desert locusts, swarming short-horned grasshoppers who can eat twice their body weight in a day, have been destroying crops in Africa and Asia for centuries. Their ability to move in huge swarms with great speed has earned them notoriety as one of the most devastating agricultural plagues in the world.
From the Red Sea coast of Sudan and Eritrea, the locusts first emerged in January this year. By February, they had hit Saudi Arabia and Iran before entering Balochistan province in March.
“The locusts hit Bijnot and Mandi Yazman in Cholistan desert area but were controlled,” Dr. Riaz Hussain, head of Punjab’s Locusts Control Cell, told Arab News on Saturday.
For over a month, authorities have been involved in efforts to control the locust swarms, which includes the emergency deployment of aircraft and pesticide-mounted vehicles.
The emergency pesticide deployment is not unwarranted. If un-contained, the locusts will attack Pakistan’s prize cotton crop which runs the country’s textile industry- its largest job provider and foreign exchange earner. As the country struggles to stave off a balance of payments’ crisis following a bailout package from the International Monetary Fund, it cannot afford to lose its cotton, which is already forecast to fall to a 17 year low according to official data.
So far, more than 8,000 hectares of land in Pakistan has been treated with pesticides to battle the locusts, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Officials say the locusts have not yet bred, but with adequate rainfall in the monsoon season which kicks off in August, they could lay eggs and multiply to form even larger swarms before turning toward cultivated areas in search of food.
“The threat is continuing as the next three months from August to October provide the right weather for the hatching of locusts,” Hussain said.
Senior officials said a minor stray swarm of locusts entered Kandera Toba, a small place in the Cholistan from Indian Rajasthan, but was neutralized before emerging again in August.
According to the FAO, locust numbers will increase further from widespread hatching in India “and the second generation of breeding in Pakistan, giving rise to additional hopper bands in August and adult swarms in September.”
India has also issued warnings to its farmers and according to reports in Indian media, this is the first locust attack in Rajasthan in twenty-six years.
On Thursday, Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar held a meeting to review different preventative measures being taken to avoid locust attacks and ordered surveillance and aerial spraying.
“The agricultural department is in contact with the federal government in this regard and control rooms have been established at central and district levels to monitor the situation round-the-clock. The department officials have been directed to deal with the matter on a war footing,” Punjab Agriculture Minister, Nauman Iqbal Langarial, told Arab News.
According to Dr. Riaz Hussain, 158 teams have been formed and equipped with the necessary tools, and extra vehicles have been provided to mobile teams. A federal government air-craft is also ready for Punjab government’s disposal to use when needed, he said.
Though Punjab’s cotton-growing areas are still safe, the government and farmers are in a tight race against time before the monsoon rains cause the insects to start breeding.
“We are taking all-out measures to save the farmers. So far, the locusts have hit the desert area and green area is safe. We are vigilant as the next three months are very crucial,” Hussain said.
The last major locust infestations in Pakistan were back in 1993 and 1997, though the government lacks credible statistics to quantify the damage in both instances
Government ‘on a war footing,’ as locust swarms enter southern Punjab
Government ‘on a war footing,’ as locust swarms enter southern Punjab
- The next three months of rainfall are crucial in controlling locust swarms from spreading, experts say
- Pakistan’s prize cotton crop is still safe from locust swarms
Dozens arrested in southwest Pakistan as clashes between police, Imran Khan’s party injure 14
- PTI members tried to stage a rally near the Chief Minister House in Quetta, seeking Khan’s release
- Quetta’s deputy commission says two of the arrested people were carrying guns and hand grenades
QUETTA: Dozens of protesters were rounded up by police in southwestern Balochistan on Friday after clashes broke out between former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters and law enforcement personnel, leaving at least 14 people injured, including eight policemen.
The incident occurred in the provincial capital of Quetta after PTI protesters attempted to stage a rally near the Chief Minister House, demanding the release of the ex-premier from a high-security jail in Rawalpindi. Khan has faced prison trials on multiple charges since his arrest last year in August, which he claims are fabricated to keep him out of the country’s political landscape.
Police officials said the PTI organized the rally without securing official permission, violating Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure imposed in the city, which prohibits gatherings of four or more people to maintain order or address urgent threats to public safety.
“The protesters were carrying weapons that they used against the police,” said Station House Officer (SHO) of Civil Line Police Naseebullah Khan while speaking to Arab News. “They pelted stones and even hit our officials with their vehicles. Fifty-five protesters have been arrested and a first information report has been lodged against the PTI workers.”
The SHO informed a senior police officer was among the injured, adding that both of his legs were fractured after a protester tried to run him down with a car.
Quetta’s Deputy Commissioner Saad bin Asad said the PTI was protesting without official permission, which had been denied despite the party’s decision to appeal to the court.
He added that authorities informed the judge they would not permit the gathering and provided reasons for the decision.
“But they deliberately came out for a rally,” Asad said, adding that among the arrested individuals, “two were carrying guns and hand grenades while participating in the protest.”
He confirmed that at least 14 people, including eight policemen, were injured in the clashes.
Asad said PTI supporters began pelting police with stones, prompting law enforcement to use tear gas to disperse them.
Dawood Shah, PTI’s provincial president in Balochistan, told Arab News the party was holding a peaceful rally near Quetta Railway Station because the government had “refused its workers permission to hold the rally at the designated venue.”
“Unknown people disguised as protesters started pelting stones and instigated PTI workers,” he said, adding that 67 PTI supporters were arrested and nine were injured in the clashes.
“Peaceful protest is our democratic right,” Shah continued. “We scheduled a peaceful rally at the Hockey Ground for the release of Imran Khan, but the administration did not give us permission.”
He accused the authorities of “attempting to repeat the 9th May episode,” referencing last year’s riots where people carrying PTI flags targeted government buildings and military installations after Khan’s brief arrest on corruption charges.
The incident triggered a crackdown on the party, whose leaders distanced themselves from the protests, alleging that they were intended to discredit the PTI.
Pakistan’s Punjab bans entry to parks, zoos and playgrounds amid pollution
- The province has set up a ‘smog war room,’ using satellite, drones and AI to monitor and address pollution
- Environmentalists want government to address fuel quality, renewable electricity and industrial emissions
LAHORE: Pakistan's eastern Punjab province banned entry to parks, zoos, playgrounds and other public spaces on Friday to protect the public from polluted air, and is considering closing down universities after shutting schools earlier this week.
The air quality in Lahore has deteriorated drastically, earning Punjab's regional capital the rank of world's most polluted city from Swiss air purification equipment maker IQAir.
"We are closely monitoring the situation. There's a possibility of closing universities and colleges on Monday to reduce vehicle emissions," said Jahangir Anwar, Secretary of the Environment Protection Department Punjab.
Friday's order from the regional government placed a "complete ban on public entry in all parks ... zoos, playgrounds, historical places, monuments, museums and joy/play lands" until Nov. 17 in areas including Lahore.
In addition to shutting schools, the province has already taken other steps such as suggesting half of employees work from home and banning rickshaws in certain areas.
South Asia annually faces severe pollution due to trapped dust, emissions and stubble burning - the practice of setting fire to fields after the harvest of grain.
Punjab has attributed this year's particularly high pollution levels to toxic air from neighbouring India, where air quality has also reached hazardous levels.
Punjab has set up a "smog war room," using satellite, drone technology and AI to monitor and address pollution. Nevertheless, Anwar says there is not enough equipment to effectively monitor the province, with only four air quality monitoring machines for the entire city of Lahore, "whereas we should have 50.”
Anwar said the department had imported and deployed five mobile monitoring units and plans to deploy eight more by year-end.
Ahmad Rafay Alam, an environment lawyer and member of the Pakistan Climate Change Council, stressed the need for robust data and policy changes.
"Right now, we just simply don't have those monitors, we simply don’t have as robust data as we should have to make decisions," Alam said.
He warned that without addressing fuel quality, renewable electricity and industrial emissions, the problem will continue to worsen.
Father accused of killing daughter tells UK jury wife told him to confess
- Urfan Sharif is accused of murdering Sara Sharif last year, alongside her stepmother and uncle
- Police found the girl’s body with multiple fractures, bruises, burns and bite marks at her home
LONDON: The father of a 10-year-old British-Pakistani girl on trial in London for her murder on Friday said his wife told him to confess to killing his daughter.
Urfan Sharif, 42, is accused of murdering Sara Sharif on August 8 last year, alongside her stepmother Beinash Batool, 30, and the girl’s uncle, Faisal Malik, 29.
All three deny the charge and of causing or allowing her death.
A jury at the Old Bailey court was told that all three left the family home in Woking, southwest of London, the day after Sara died and flew to Pakistan.
Sara’s body, which had multiple fractures, bruises, burns and bite marks, was found by police after a tip-off from Sharif in Islamabad.
Giving evidence for a fourth day, he said he was devastated by her death but agreed to leave because Batool had told him Sara had been beaten by another of his children, and he feared the consequences for them.
Before leaving, he wrote a note taking the blame. “Whoever sees this note, it’s me Urfan Sharif who killed my daughter by beating,” it read.
But Sharif told the jury that the confession was dictated by his wife.
“I was merely writing, the wording was not mine,” he said, insisting he took the blame to protect his other children.
Before leaving on August 9, 2023, Sharif left the house keys under the doormat, so the police would not have to break through the door, and had resolved to tell the authorities about Sara when he was out of the country.
A recording was played in court of Sharif’s garbled phone call to police in the UK after arriving in Islamabad.
“I killed my daughter, I killed my daughter,” he said.
Instructing police to the house, he said he “left in a panic” and added: “I promise I’ll come back.”
One month later, Sharif, Batool and Malik returned to the UK and were arrested.
Pakistan PM unveils winter power relief package to cut electricity costs for consumers
- PM Shehbaz Sharif says the initiative will alleviate financial pressure on consumers, stimulate economic activity
- Relief package will reduce tariffs for domestic, industrial and commercial users for three months starting December
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on Friday a three-month electricity relief package starting in December, aimed at reducing tariffs for domestic, industrial and commercial consumers.
The announcement comes after the government faced widespread protests earlier this year over rising inflation and high electricity costs following the presentation of its first budget in June. Political parties urged the Sharif administration to renegotiate agreements with independent power producers to lower tariffs.
Pakistan’s manufacturing sector has also expressed concerns over the years due to the rising cost of electricity, saying the elevated power tariffs render national exports uncompetitive in the global market.
“The government has decided to offer an electricity relief package for the three winter months of December, January and February, providing substantial reductions in electricity prices for additional usage,” the prime minister said during a ceremony in Islamabad.
“Under this package, domestic consumers will pay a flat rate of Rs26.07 per unit for incremental electricity usage, resulting in savings of Rs11.42 to Rs26 per unit for household users,” he continued. “The package will apply across Pakistan.”
Electricity consumers in the country pay their bills according to the number of units that fall into various slabs, each with its own tariff rates.
Under the new winter package, industrial consumers will benefit from savings ranging between Rs5.72 and Rs15 per unit, according to Sharif, translating to an 18 percent to 37 percent reduction in electricity costs.
Commercial consumers are set to save between Rs13.46 and Rs22 per unit, equating to overall savings of 34 percent to 47 percent.
Sharif also emphasized the broader economic benefits of the initiative, saying it would alleviate financial pressures on consumers and stimulate economic activity in the country.
“With reduced electricity costs, industries will grow across Pakistan, agriculture will flourish, business and exports will expand, production will increase and Pakistan’s economy will strengthen further,” he said.
No official word from India it will participate in Champions Trophy in Pakistan — PCB
- Mohsin Naqvi’s statement comes amid Indian media reports their team may not play the tournament
- PCB chief maintains sports should be free from politics, says Pakistan’s preparations are continuing
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi said on Friday there has been no official communication from Indian cricket authorities regarding their national team’s participation in the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Champions Trophy scheduled to take place in Pakistan next year, despite recent reports in the Indian media suggesting otherwise.
Political tensions between India and Pakistan mean the two South Asian rivals only face each other at international tournaments. The Indian team last visited Pakistan in 2008 for the 50-over Asia Cup.
India’s refusal to play on Pakistani soil since then forced the PCB to settle for a “hybrid model” during last year’s Asia Cup, in which only four of the 13 matches were held in Pakistan, with the remaining nine played in Sri Lanka.
“For the past two months, there have been reports in Indian media that the Indian team is not coming [to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy],” Naqvi said during a news conference in Lahore.
“As far as what Indian media is reporting, if the Indian media is reporting this, then with that there must also be a letter that the ICC will give us [Pakistan] or the Indian [cricket] board must have announced [this decision] somewhere,” he continued. “So far, no such letter has reached me or the PCB.”
The ICC Champions Trophy, set to take place from February 19 to March 9, 2025, marks Pakistan’s first time hosting this prestigious tournament. The PCB has been preparing extensively, investing in stadium upgrades and infrastructure improvements to meet international standards.
Naqvi emphasized the need to keep sports free from political influence, adding the preparations for the Champions Trophy would continue as planned with hopes for a successful event.
The ICC has previously expressed satisfaction with Pakistan’s preparations, signaling that the tournament remains on track.
The PCB chief said during his media talk he was in contact with the cricket authorities in other countries, saying they were all excited about the upcoming event and wanted to play the tournament in Pakistan.
