QUETTA: The Taliban on Friday closed a key border crossing with Pakistan while seeking visa-free travel for fellow Afghan nationals to the neighboring country, officials confirmed while talking to Arab News.
The insurgent group captured the strategic border town of Spin Boldak in southern Kandahar province on July 14 after clashes with Afghan border forces, prompting Pakistani authorities to temporarily suspend all trade and travel between the two countries through the Pak-Afghan Friendship Gate.
However, there was a resumption of border activities toward the end of July after the business community in both countries complained they were facing huge losses after dozens of trucks carrying Afghan transit trade goods from Pakistani port cities of Karachi and Gwadar got stuck in the country’s Chaman border town.
“Afghan citizens with Afghan refugee cards or Afghan national identity cards should be allowed to cross into Afghanistan without any restriction,” Haji Wafa, the Taliban shadow governor for Kandahar, said in a statement.
“The crossing will remain closed for pedestrians and transit trade until Pakistani border officials allow border movement from morning to evening and restore trade at the same level where it was before the Taliban took control of the Spin Boldak border crossing,” he added.
A Pakistani paramilitary official Ajab Khan told Arab News on Friday the abrupt closure of the Pak-Afghan border had left a large number of people stranded on both sides of the frontier.
He added the Taliban had blocked the border crossing by placing huge concrete blocks on their side.
“Dozens of people who want to travel to Afghanistan are now stranded in [Pakistani border town of] Chaman due to the Taliban decision,” he said.
The Afghan insurgent faction launched a major military offensive across the country, mounting a serious challenge to the administration in Kabul by capturing several towns and key districts, after the United States announced a complete withdrawal of its forces earlier this year.
According to a Reuters report, the group captured the capital of Nimroz province on Friday where it seized the governor's office, police headquarters and an encampment near the Iranian border.
“The cross-border movements, including the Pak-Afghan transit trade, was resumed by Pakistan in the last week of July after the Taliban took over the Afghan side of the frontier, but the insurgent faction recently voiced its reservations over the border crossing procedures before refusing to allow any movement,” a local official in Chaman, who requested anonymity, confirmed while talking to Arab News.
President Chaman Chamber of Commerce Haji Jalat Khan Achakzai said the border closure had once again created significant problems for the business community in the two countries since trucks loaded with goods were piling up on both sides of the border.
“We have spoken with the business community in Afghanistan, and they are trying to convince the Taliban to reconsider the decision since fruit consignments from Pakistan, particularly grapes, are likely to perish on their way to Afghan markets,” he told Arab News over the phone.
Taliban close Spin Boldak border crossing with Pakistan, seek visa-free travel for Afghans
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Taliban close Spin Boldak border crossing with Pakistan, seek visa-free travel for Afghans
- A Pakistani business leader says Afghan traders are trying to convince the insurgent faction to reconsider its decision
- The Taliban captured the strategic border town of Spin Boldak in southern Kandahar province on July 14 after clashes with Afghan border forces
Pakistan ranks last among 148 nations in WEF global gender gap index
- Pakistan has closed just 56.7 percent of its overall gender gap, down from 57 percent in the previous year
- While Pakistan recorded improvements in education, broader gender equality remained elusive
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has ranked last among 148 countries in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2025, underscoring persistent gender disparities in political and economic representation despite modest gains in female literacy.
The annual report, released this week, assesses gender parity across four key dimensions: economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment.
“Occupying the bottom rank of the index (148), Pakistan sees its overall parity score decline from last year’s edition from 57 percent to 56.7 percent,” the report said, marking the second consecutive annual decline in parity.
While Pakistan recorded improvements in education, the report noted that broader gender equality remained elusive.
The country showed a 1.5 percentage point gain in educational attainment, raising its parity in this area to 85.1 percent, driven partly by a rise in female literacy from 46.5 percent to 48.5 percent, according to WEF.
“Part of the shift is driven by an increase in female literacy rates from 46.5 percent to 48.5 percent,” the report said.
However, it cautioned that the improvement at the university level was partially due to a decline in male enrollment, rather than a significant surge in female participation.
In contrast, the country’s economic participation and opportunity index fell by 1.3 percentage points, amid a widening income and wage gap. The report noted a marginal increase in income disparity and a four-percentage-point rise in perceived wage inequality.
Women continue to make up a small share of Pakistan’s labor force — just 22.8 percent, according to a 2024 World Bank report — and few hold leadership or managerial positions.
Pakistan also saw a notable regression in political empowerment, with parity dropping from 12.2 percent in 2024 to 11 percent in 2025. While women’s representation in parliament rose slightly by 1.2 percentage points, the share of women in ministerial positions dropped from 5.9 percent to zero, according to the WEF.
“Overall Pakistan has closed +2.3 of its gender gap since 2006,” the report noted. “However, this year’s results are a second consecutive drop from the economy’s best score of 57.7 percent achieved in 2023.”
Pakistan has consistently ranked near the bottom in past editions of the Global Gender Gap Index and the 2025 report underscores the country’s ongoing struggle to create equitable opportunities for women, particularly in the political and economic spheres. Progress in education, while encouraging, remains insufficient to offset broader systemic inequalities.
Pakistan mulls linking provincial funding to population control under revised revenue-sharing scheme
Pakistan mulls linking provincial funding to population control under revised revenue-sharing scheme
- NFC Award is constitutional formula that governs how tax revenues are shared between federal government and provinces
- Proposed reform in formula would shift financial incentives away from population size alone and toward demographic efficiency
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s planning ministry will propose changes to the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award — a constitutional formula that governs how tax revenues are shared between the federal government and provinces — in an effort to reward regions that manage to control population growth, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said on Thursday.
The proposed reform would shift financial incentives away from population size alone and toward demographic efficiency. Pakistan, a country of over 240 million people, has its population growing at around 2 percent annually. This rate is significantly above the global average, placing Pakistan among the world’s faster-growing nations.
Under the existing NFC Award, 57.5 percent of the divisible tax pool is allocated to Pakistan’s four provinces of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Of this, 82 percent is distributed based on population size, effectively rewarding provinces like Punjab and Sindh that have higher population growth.
“In the next NFC Award, the Planning Ministry will propose a revision of the resource distribution formula,” Iqbal told reporters during a briefing on Pakistan’s development budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
“This creates a negative incentive. If a province manages to control its population, it is effectively penalized with a reduced share of resources.”
The NFC Award remains a politically sensitive subject in Pakistan, with provinces often reluctant to surrender financial shares. However, Iqbal said reform was essential for sustainable development.
The current NFC Award was agreed in 2010 under Article 160 of the Constitution, which requires periodic review and consensus among the federal and provincial governments. The 2010 award introduced a more balanced distribution formula than previous iterations, which were based solely on population. It included additional criteria such as poverty and backwardness (10.3 percent), revenue collection and generation (5 percent), and inverse population density (2.7 percent).
Despite these adjustments, Iqbal argued that population remained an overwhelming factor in determining provincial allocations and discouraged provinces from investing in family planning or demographic control measures.
“We must shift toward incentivizing demographic efficiency, rewarding provinces that control population growth effectively,” he said.
“This change is only possible through a revised NFC formula, as in my view, the current formula is regressive and needs to be restructured on a progressive basis, linking resource allocation not just to population but also to factors like industrial performance, educational outcomes, and governance efficiency.”
Iqbal described Pakistan’s current 2.5 percent annual population growth rate as “the biggest challenge” facing the country and said that without effective population control, economic development efforts would be undermined.
To address the issue at the national level, Iqbal said the government would establish a Pakistan Population Council chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, with participation from provincial and regional governments.
“WATER SECURITY”
Iqbal also highlighted the growing threat of water scarcity, particularly after neighboring India’s unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), a 1960 World Bank-brokered agreement that allocated the use of the Indus River system’s waters between India and Pakistan.
India announced it was holding the treaty in abeyance after a conflict with Pakistan last month over the disputed Kashmir region, which both countries rule in part but claim in full.
“Our focus in the development budget is Pakistan’s water sector, as we must treat water as a fundamental element of our national strength, especially as neighboring countries have begun to weaponize water, a deeply concerning development,” the planning minister said.
He added that while India could not legally block Pakistan’s share of water under the treaty, it could still affect the flow of rivers that irrigate nearly 80 percent of the country’s agricultural land.
In response, Pakistan has prioritized the completion of two major dam projects, Diamer Bhasha Dam and Mohmand Dam, aiming to finish both by 2030. Originally, Diamer Bhasha Dam was scheduled for completion in 2032.
“We have resolved to complete the Diamer Bhasha Dam and Mohmand Dam on an emergency basis and our goal is to complete the Diamer Bhasha Dam by 2030,” Iqbal said, adding that the two dams would together add 7 million acre-feet of water storage capacity, 6 million from Diamer Bhasha and 1 million from Mohmand.
A federal task force led by the Deputy Prime Minister and comprising all four provincial chief ministers had been formed to oversee the implementation of water infrastructure projects, the planning minister said.
45 minutes to pack up a lifetime as Pakistan’s foreigner crackdown sends Afghans scrambling
- Local aid groups in Afghanistan say they are unable to cope with the large influx of returning Afghans
- Iran has also been deporting Afghan nationals, with hundreds of thousands returning home since April
TORKHAM, Afghanistan: The order was clear and indisputable, the timeline startling. You have 45 minutes to pack up and leave Pakistan forever.
Sher Khan, a 42-year-old Afghan, had returned home from his job in a brick factory. He stared at the plainclothes policeman on the doorstep, his mind reeling. How could he pack up his whole life and leave the country of his birth in under an hour?
In the blink of an eye, the life he had built was taken away from him. He and his wife grabbed a few kitchen items and whatever clothes they could for themselves and their nine children. They left everything else behind at their home in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Born in Pakistan to parents who fled the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the ensuing war, Khan is one of hundreds of thousands of Afghans who have now been expelled.
The nationwide crackdown, launched in October 2023, on foreigners Pakistan says are living in the country illegally has led to the departures of almost 1 million Afghans already.
Pakistan says millions more remain. It wants them gone.
Leaving with nothing to beat a deadline
“All our belongings were left behind,” Khan said as he stood in a dusty, windswept refugee camp just across the Afghan border in Torkham, the first stop for expelled refugees. “We tried so hard (over the years) to collect the things that we had with honor.”
Pakistan set several deadlines earlier this year for Afghans to leave or face deportation. Afghan Citizen Card holders had to leave the capital Islamabad and Rawalpindi city by March 31, while those with Proof of Registration could stay until June 30. No specific deadlines were set for Afghans living elsewhere in Pakistan.
Khan feared that delaying his departure beyond the deadline might have resulted in his wife and children being hauled off to a police station along with him a blow to his family’s dignity.
“We are happy that we came (to Afghanistan) with modesty and honor,” he said. As for his lost belongings, “God may provide for them here, as He did there.”
A refugee influx in a struggling country
At the Torkham camp, run by Afghanistan’s Taliban government, each family receives a SIM card and 10,000 Afghanis ($145) in aid. They can spend up to three days there before having to move on.
The camp’s director, Molvi Hashim Maiwandwal, said some 150 families were arriving daily from Pakistan — far fewer than the roughly 1,200 families who were arriving about two months ago. But he said another surge was expected after the three-day Islamic holiday of Eid Al-Adha.
Aid organizations inside the camp help with basic needs, including health care. Local charity Aseel provides hygiene kits and helps with food. It has also set up a food package delivery system for families once they arrive at their final destination elsewhere in Afghanistan.
Aseel’s Najibullah Ghiasi said they expected a surge in arrivals “by a significant number” after Eid. “We cannot handle all of them, because the number is so huge,” he said, adding the organization was trying to boost fundraising so it could support more people.
Pakistan blames Afghanistan for militancy
Pakistan accuses Afghans of staging militant attacks inside the country, saying assaults are planned from across the border — a charge Kabul’s Taliban government denies.
Pakistan denies targeting Afghans, and maintains that everyone leaving the country is treated humanely and with dignity. But for many, there is little that is humane about being forced to pack up and leave in minutes or hours.
Iran, too, has been expelling Afghans, with the UNHCR, the UN’s refugee agency, saying on June 5 that 500,000 Afghans had been forced to leave Iran and Pakistan in the two months since April 1.
Rights groups and aid agencies say authorities are pressuring Afghans into going sooner.
In April, Human Rights Watch said police had raided houses, beaten and arbitrarily detained people, and confiscated refugee documents, including residence permits. Officers demanded bribes to allow Afghans to remain in Pakistan, the group added.
Searching for hope while starting again
Fifty-year-old Yar Mohammad lived in Azad Kashmir for nearly 45 years. The father of 12 built a successful business polishing floors, hiring several workers. Plainclothes policemen knocked on his door too. They gave him six hours to leave.
“No way a person can wrap up so much business in six hours, especially if they spent 45 years in one place,” he said. Friends rushed to his aid to help pack up anything they could: the company’s floor-polishing machines, some tables, bed-frames and mattresses, and clothes.
Now all his household belongings are crammed into orange tents in the Torkham refugee camp, his hard-earned floor-polishing machines outside and exposed to the elements. After three days of searching, he managed to find a place to rent in Kabul.
“I have no idea what we will do,” he said, adding that he would try to recreate his floor-polishing business in Afghanistan. “If this works here, it is the best thing to do.”
Pakistan offers ‘profound condolences’ after crash of Indian plane with 242 on board
- Head of the Pakistani delegation Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari says he is ‘saddened’ to hear about the tragic incident
- India, Pakistan dispatched officials to world capitals to press their cases following a military confrontation in May
KARACHI: The head of Pakistan’s delegation visiting world capitals to present Islamabad’s position on a recent military standoff with New Delhi on Thursday expressed condolences over an Indian plane crash involving 242 people after his team arrived in Brussels to hold meetings.
The Air India flight bound for London crashed minutes after takeoff from the western Indian city of Ahmedabad earlier in the day, according to the airline and local police.
Authorities have not yet confirmed whether there were any fatalities in the flight that was en route to Gatwick Airport before it crashed in a civilian area near the airport.
“Saddened to hear a tragic incident occurred earlier today,” Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, a former Pakistani foreign minister, said in a social media post on X. “Where an Air India flight with approximately 240 passengers crashed shortly after takeoff near Ahmedabad, India. I express my profound condolences to the people of India.”
Pakistan and India have launched parallel diplomatic offensives around the world following their worst military confrontation in decades that saw an exchange of missile, drone and artillery strikes between the nuclear-armed neighbors before the US and other allies brokered a ceasefire on May 10.
The Pakistani delegation has already visited the United States and the United Kingdom before arriving in Belgium.
“Pakistan’s diplomatic mission led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has reached Brussels, the European Union headquarters, after successful visits to Washington, New York and London,” Radio Pakistan said in its report on Thursday. “The parliamentary delegation will inform the European authorities about India’s anti-Pakistan intentions and aggressive actions.”
It added the Pakistani delegation will also meet leading European think tanks and international media representatives.
Presenting Pakistan’s position on the recent tensions with India and highlighting the importance of resolving the Kashmir dispute in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions are key items on the agenda.
Pakistan criticized Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar a day earlier for delivering “bellicose punchlines” during his Brussels visit that took place shortly before the arrival of Islamabad’s delegation in the city.
The Indian minister had asserted New Delhi reserved the right to target Pakistan following a militant attack.
Mixed weather conditions forecast as Pakistan issues advisory for June 13-18
- Hot weather will persist in much of the country, particularly in the two southern provinces
- Scattered rainfall and gusty winds are also forecast in the northern regions amid rising heat
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s disaster management agency on Thursday issued an impact-based weather advisory warning of hot and dry conditions in most parts of the country, with scattered rain and windstorms expected in northern and upper regions between June 13 and 18.
The National Emergencies Operation Center (NEOC), part of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), said a weak western weather system was expected to affect upper areas of the country and could influence weather patterns across multiple provinces.
“In Punjab, hot weather is expected to persist throughout the week,” the officials statement said.
“However, the Potohar region and upper Punjab, including Islamabad and Rawalpindi, may experience cloudy conditions, scattered rainfall, and windstorms.”
Similar conditions are expected in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where mostly hot weather will prevail, but districts such as Chitral, Dir, Haripur, Kohat, Mansehra, Swat, Peshawar and surrounding areas may see scattered rain and gusty winds.
In Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu & Kashmir, hot weather is forecast, although areas like Astore, Skardu, Hunza, Shighar, Bagh and Neelum Valley could experience isolated rainfall during the same period.
By contrast, Sindh and Balochistan are expected to remain predominantly hot and dry, with no significant rainfall anticipated during the advisory window.
The NDMA said it was closely monitoring the evolving weather situation and coordinating with provincial and district authorities to ensure timely preparedness and response.
It advised residents in heat-prone regions to take precautions, including staying hydrated, avoiding outdoor exposure during peak heat hours (11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.), and checking on vulnerable individuals such as children, the elderly and people with pre-existing health conditions.
“It is also crucial never to leave children or pets unattended in parked vehicles,” the statement said.
The authority urged travelers and tourists visiting northern or hilly regions to stay updated on local weather conditions and to follow safety adviseries.
The NDMA also encouraged the public to use its Pak NDMA Disaster Alert mobile application for real-time updates and emergency alerts.
