KARACHI, Pakistan: Two more US military planes loaded with tons of aid for Pakistanis affected by flooding from deadly monsoon rains landed Sunday in southern Sindh province, one of the worst-affected regions in the impoverished country.
Saif Ullah, spokesman for the country’s Civil Aviation Authority, said each plane was loaded with about 35 tons of relief aid that would be distributed in the province by the World Food Program. The aircraft landed at Sukkur Airport in Sindh and Ullah said the US operation that began Thursday would continue until Sept. 16.
Pakistan has suffered under extremely heavy monsoon rains that started early this year — in mid-June. Multiple officials and experts have blamed the rains and resulting floodwaters on climate change. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last week called on the world to stop “sleepwalking” through the dangerous environmental crisis. He has called repeatedly on the international community to send massive amounts of aid to Pakistan.
Saif Ullah said Sunday that two more flights bringing relief goods from the United Arab Emirates landed at Karachi airport. So far, UN agencies and several countries have sent multiple planeloads of aid, and authorities say the UAE has been one of the most generous contributors.
Near 1,400 people have been killed, 13,000 injured and millions left homeless by the heavy flooding since mid-June. The waters also destroyed road and communications infrastructure.
Miles of cotton and sugarcane crops, banana orchards and vegetable fields could be seen submerged in floodwaters. Thousands of mud and brick homes caved in under the deluge leaving people homeless and sheltering in tents alongside damaged roads.
Pakistan’s military chief Gen. Qamar Jawed Bajwa toured the badly affected district of Dadu in Sindh and its surroundings on Saturday. Dadu could suffer further flooding from the rising waters of the Indus River.
“People will continue to suffer if we don’t have a drainage system and dams,” Bajwa told reporters.
He said constructing dams would help produce electricity, curb pollution and decrease global warming and that army engineers have been asked to conduct an initial study.
Bajwa said working on alternate energy sources is essential and called for the gradual reduction of oil and coal as energy sources to minimal levels.
Since June, heavy rains and flooding have added a new level of grief to cash-strapped Pakistan and highlighted the disproportionate effect of climate change on impoverished populations.
Experts say Pakistan is responsible for only 0.4 percent of the world’s historic emissions that are blamed for climate change. The US is responsible for 21.5 percent, China for 16.5 percent and the European Union for 15 percent.
More US aid for flood victims arrives in hard-hit Pakistani province of Sindh
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More US aid for flood victims arrives in hard-hit Pakistani province of Sindh
- About 35 tons of relief aid sent by the US will be distributed in the province by the World Food Program
- Pakistan has been responsible for only 0.4 percent of the world’s historic emissions blamed for climate change
Oxford vice chancellor bid, popularized in Pakistan by Imran Khan, ends with election of Lord Hague
- Former British foreign secretary and ex-Conservative party leader William Hague elected chancellor
- Pakistan’s Khan, in jail since August 2023, had applied for chancellor election but was not shortlisted
ISLAMABAD: Oxford University announced on Wednesday it had elected Lord William Hague, a former Conservative party leader and ex-British foreign secretary as its chancellor, months after rejecting former Pakistan premier Imran Khan’s bid for the post.
Khan, who ruled Pakistan from 2018-2022, has been in prison since August 2023 on charges he says are politically motivated. His aide Sayed Zulfikar Bukhari said Khan filed his application for the chancellor’s role in September.
Oxford later released a shortlist of 38 candidates for the first round of the voting among its alumni. Khan’s name was not featured in the list.
“Lord Hague will be formally inaugurated as Chancellor early in the New Year and serve for a term of 10 years,” Oxford University said in a report. “He becomes the 160th recorded Chancellor in the University’s history, a role that dates back at least 800 years.”
Hague was a leader of the Conservative Party from 1997-2001 and later served as Britain’s foreign secretary from 2010-2014. He also served as Secretary of State for Wales, Leader of the House of Commons and Minister for Disabled People, in which role he was the author of the Disability Discrimination Act.
He spent 26 years as a member of parliament for Richmond, Yorkshire.
Hague graduated from Magdalen College, Oxford, in 1982, where he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics. He was president of the Oxford Union as well.
“Thank you to my fellow Oxonians for placing such confidence in me,” Hague said. “I regard being elected as the Chancellor of our university as the greatest honor of my life.”
The chancellor is the titular head of Oxford University and presides over several key ceremonies. The chancellor also undertakes advocacy, advisory, and fundraising work, acting as an ambassador for the university at a range of local, national, and international events.
Hague succeeds Lord Patten of Barnes, who announced his retirement from the post in February.
Pakistan’s KP to deploy law enforcers in Kurram as sectarian clashes kill 63
- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government says negotiations underway between warring Kurram tribes
- Kurram, tribal district bordering Afghanistan, has a long history of violent, sectarian clashes
PESHAWAR: Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government announced on Wednesday that law enforcement personnel will be deployed in the restive Kurram district to maintain law and order, where sectarian clashes over the past three days have killed at least 63 and injured over 150.
Kurram, a former semi-autonomous tribal area bordering Afghanistan, has a long history of violent conflicts that have claimed hundreds of lives over the years. A major conflict in the district, triggered in 2007, lasted for years before being resolved by a jirga, or a council of tribal elders, in 2011.
The recent violence in the restive district erupted earlier this month when gunmen attacked a convoy carrying members of the minority Shiite community in the Uchat area of Lower Kurram, killing 41 people. A 10-day ceasefire announced by the KP government failed to hold as clashes between warring tribes continue.
“The process of negotiations are underway to resolve the issue peacefully,” an official handout by the chief minister’s office said about a meeting held by the CM Ali Amin Gandapur on the issue on Wednesday.
“To maintain peace, contingents of law enforcement personnel will be deployed at important places,” the statement added.
Participants of the meeting, which also featured the KP chief secretary and other senior officials, were briefed that a damages assessment was being conducted to compensate victims of the clashes.
KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur said the government’s top priority was ensuring lasting peace in the district.
“The provincial government will utilize all available resources for this purpose,” he said.
Participants were also told that standard operating procedures were being finalized to ensure the safe travel of people in the district.
The recent clashes in Kurram mark one of the deadliest incidents in the region in recent years, following outbreaks of sectarian violence in July and September that killed dozens.
Several hundred people demonstrated against the Kurram violence last week in Pakistan’s two largest cities, Lahore and Karachi, reflecting nationwide concern over the situation.
Pakistan reports fresh polio case from country’s northwest, taking 2024 tally to 56
- Male child contracts polio in northwestern Dera Ismail Khan district, confirm authorities
- Pakistan is one of only two countries worldwide where poliovirus still remains endemic
PESHAWAR: Pakistan reported another polio case from the country’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province on Wednesday, taking this year’s tally of the disease to 56 cases as Islamabad struggles in its efforts to contain the infection.
Pakistan, along with neighboring Afghanistan, remains the last polio-endemic country in the world. The nation’s polio eradication campaign has faced serious problems with a spike in reported cases this year that have prompted officials to review their approach to stopping the crippling disease.
The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH) confirmed the detection of the 56th wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) case of the year, saying that a male child in the northwestern district of Dera Ismail Khan had contracted the disease.
“This is the seventh polio case of the year from D.I. Khan, one of the seven polio-endemic districts of southern KP,” the polio program said.
Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province and KP have reported the highest number of polio cases this year, 26 and 15, respectively, while 13 have been reported from Sindh and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
Poliovirus, which can cause crippling paralysis particularly in young children, is incurable and remains a threat to human health as long as it has not been eradicated. Immunization campaigns have succeeded in most countries and have come close in Pakistan, but persistent problems remain.
In the early 1990s, Pakistan reported around 20,000 cases annually but in 2018 the number dropped to eight cases. Six cases were reported in 2023 and only one in 2021.
Pakistan’s polio program began in 1994 but efforts to eradicate the virus have since been undermined by vaccine misinformation and opposition from some religious hard-liners, who say immunization is a foreign ploy to sterilize Muslim children or a cover for Western spies. Militant groups also frequently attack and kill members of polio vaccine teams.
‘Not on our watch’: Pakistan PM says won’t let Imran Khan supporters ‘destroy’ economy
- Thousands of Khan supporters protested in Pakistan’s capital on Tuesday, clashing with law enforcers
- Pakistan’s finance ministry says recent protests by Khan’s party cost country a whopping $684 million per day
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday vowed not to let former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party “destroy” the country’s economic progress, lamenting that the recent protests in Islamabad had cost the national exchequer a whopping Rs190 billion ($684 million) per day.
Thousands of supporters of Khan’s PTI entered Pakistan’s capital on Tuesday morning, braving teargas and arrests and crossing security barriers across the country. Pakistan’s government said clashes between Khan supporters, who were demanding the jailed former premier’s release from prison, left three Rangers personnel and one cop dead. The PTI says eight of its supporters were killed and “hundreds” were feared dead, a claim the government challenges.
Khan supporters fled the capital after security forces launched a sweeping midnight raid on Tuesday. The party, however, has said its sit-in protest against the government will continue, without specifying where it will take place.
“My heart cries tears of blood that after working so hard, we should let Pakistan be destroyed at the hands of such anarchists and enemies of the state?
“It is not possible, it will not happen. Not in our time, not on our watch. It will not happen, god willing,” Sharif said. “Together we will take Pakistan out of this.”
Sharif cited the finance ministry’s statement which had earlier this week said Pakistan suffered losses of $684 million per day due to the protests.
The prime minister urged the government to think about the future course of action regarding these protests, saying that it cannot be “business as usual.”
“We cannot let Pakistan be sacrificed under any circumstances,” Sharif said. “We will break the hand that wants to sacrifice Pakistan.”
The PTI’s protest took place during a three-day visit by the president of Belarus, who arrived in Islamabad with a 68-member delegation from his country, to take part in talks related to trade and investment.
Khan, who was ousted from power in a parliamentary no-trust vote in 2022, has been in prison since last year. He faces a slew of charges from terrorism to corruption that he says are politically motivated to keep him in jail and away from politics.
The charges kept Khan away from Feb. 8 general elections that his party says were rigged, an accusation denied by the election commission.
Qatari ambassador discusses bilateral investment and ties with Sindh governor
- Qatari envoy expressed interest in large-scale investments in Pakistan, particularly Karachi, says Sindh Governor
- PM Shehbaz Sharif last month visited Qatar to boost foreign trade, investment to stabilize $350 billion economy
KARACHI: Qatar’s Ambassador to Pakistan Ali Mubarak Ali Essa Al-Khater met Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori on Wednesday to discuss ways to increase bilateral investment and foster stronger ties between the two countries, the Governor House said.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif last month visited Qatar as he sought to bolster economic cooperation amid the country’s efforts to boost foreign investment and stabilize its frail $350 billion economy.
Islamabad and Doha have attempted to forge closer business ties over the past few months, with a Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) team also expected to visit Pakistan this month to set up an information technology (IT) park.
Al-Khater called on Tessori at the Governor House in Karachi where the two held a detailed meeting to discuss investment and other matters.
“The meeting focused on matters of mutual interest and fostering stronger bilateral ties,” the Governor House said. “During the visit, the Ambassador praised the Governor’s initiative and expressed Qatar’s desire to strengthen relations further with Pakistan, particularly in economic collaboration.”
Tessori spoke to reporters after the meeting, acknowledging that Qatar had always supported Pakistan. He added that Pakistanis harbored “immense affection for Qatar.”
“He shared that the Ambassador conveyed Qatar’s keen interest in large-scale investments in Pakistan, particularly in Karachi,” the statement said.
Tessori highlighted that Qatar was interested in government-to-government investments and joint ventures with Pakistani businesses.
The Sindh governor said Al-Khater assured him of local Qatari investors’ readiness to invest in Pakistan.
“I will provide detailed insights into sectors that can yield immediate results for investments, ensuring that this partnership benefits both nations significantly,” Tessori said.
He emphasized that Qatar’s interest is particularly crucial given Pakistan’s current economic challenges.
“We are committed to providing a conducive environment and guarantees for Qatari investors to achieve substantial returns,” Tessori said.
Pakistan’s desire to forge closer economic ties with allies come amid its attempts to increase trade and foreign investment after the country narrowly escaped a default last year by securing a last-gasp $3 billion financial assistance package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
