India, Pakistan brace for winds, flash flooding as Cyclone Biparjoy heads for evening landfall

Stray dogs roam along the Arabian Sea's coast, at the Zero Point in Badin district, Sindh province on June 15, 2023. (AFP)
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Updated 15 June 2023
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India, Pakistan brace for winds, flash flooding as Cyclone Biparjoy heads for evening landfall

  • Cyclone expected to make landfall near Jakhau port in India’s Kutch district and inundate the area
  • In Pakistan, Keti Bandar in country’s flood-ravaged southern Sindh province, also lies in Biparjoy’s path

MANDVI, India: A vast swath of western India and neighboring southern Pakistan that suffered deadly floods last year are bracing for a new deluge as fast-approaching Cyclone Biparjoy whirls toward landfall Thursday.

Rain was falling and skies were darkening in western India and southern Pakistan along the Arabian Sea, where dusty storms were hampering the evacuation and rescue work. Authorities expect conditions to worsen for two or three days after the cyclone makes landfall, imminently, at India’s Gujarat.

“The landfall process will commence at 6 p.m. local time and continue till midnight,” Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, chief of the India Meteorological Department told The Associated Press. In Pakistan, officials say the cyclone will hit in the south Thursday evening.

Officials from the two South Asian countries stood on high alert as the cyclone approached. It’s expected to make landfall near Jakhau port in India’s Kutch district and inundate the area. In Pakistan, Keti Bandar in the country’s flood-ravaged southern Sindh province, also lies in Biparjoy’s path.

The bazaars and beaches in Mandvi, India, usually a bustling coastal town known for its wooden boat-makers, were deserted Thursday under shutdown orders from the government. Heavy winds and rains uprooted some trees in the area. Local media reported that a pregnant woman was brought from Shiyalbet island in the Amreli district to shore and admitted to a hospital.

Amid dust storms and rain, visibly shocked displaced families were seen at relief camps in southern Pakistan. Among them was 82-year-old Bachai Bibi, who was evacuated from the Badin district in Sindh province. She said she has become homeless due to the cyclone.

Mohammad Ashraf, 35, said local officials helped him, his wife and three children escape from the Pakistani village of Sheikh in the storm zone to the relief center.

The World Health Organization says it is supporting Pakistan’s efforts to prepare and respond to the public health impact of the cyclone, which was expected to hit parts of southern Pakistan Thursday.

Pakistan and local aid groups are delivering free food and clean drinking water to displaced people.

Thousands of people in India were evacuated, bringing the total number of people shifted to relief camps to 75,000. In Pakistan, National Disaster Management Authority chief, Lt. Gen. Inam Haider Malik, said 73,000 people have been evacuated to safer places so far, and authorities are providing them shelter and food.

The disaster management agency said Thursday that the cyclone was packing sustained winds of up to 120 kph (about 75 mph) and was projected to hit Pakistan’s Sindh province, the site of one of historic deadly floods last summer. At least 1,739 people were killed and 33 million were displaced in 2022 when climate-induced floods swept the country, causing $30 billion in damage.

Thursday morning, authorities said that the storm had lost some of its intensity and was expected to have a maximum sustained wind speed of between 115 kph and 125 kph (71 mph to 78 mph), gusting up to 140 kph (87 mph), a slight decrease in predictions a day earlier.

The Indian Meteorological Department said the cyclone was bearing down on Jakhau port, where it is likely to make landfall on Thursday evening.

Like southern Pakistan, large parts of coastal Gujarat have also been experiencing heavy rainfall and strong winds. Indian authorities warned that the cyclone, classified as a “very severe cyclonic storm,” has the potential to inflict heavy damage once it makes landfall.

A storm surge of two-to-three meters (two-to-three yards) above the astronomical tide is likely to inundate low-lying areas in the storm’s path. The tides could rise as high as six meters (more than six yards) in some places, the IMD has said.

“Elaborate arrangements have been made by us for post-cyclone work like restoration of electricity infrastructure, mobile networks and other infrastructure,” Gujarat Health Minister Rushikesh Patel told the Press Trust of India news agency.

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A government release said major religious sites in coastal Gujarat such as the Dwarkadhish temple in Devbhoomi Dwarka and Somnath temple in Gir Somnath district will remain closed on Thursday.

A statement from the Indian railways said 76 trains have been canceled on account of the cyclone.

Realizing that mobile networks are among the first to be affected once a cyclone makes landfall, the Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority has engaged six ham radio teams across the coastal districts.

“Ham radios don’t require any mobile towers, electricity or Internet to make calls and we can communicate emergency requirements using the radios. They are really useful during disaster such as this,” Kausal Jani, a ham radio operator told PTI news agency. During 2021’s Cyclone Tauktae, ham radios proved invaluable as large sections of coastal Gujarat was without electricity for six days.

On Thursday, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif was in Azerbaijan on an official visit.

In a tweet the previous day, Sharif said the government had taken all possible measures to ensure the safety of those at risk in the country’s southern Sindh province.

“Preparations have been made to handle any kind of emergency as a result of rains and strong winds in Karachi, while the evacuation of fishermen from the sea and the population on the coastal areas is going on rapidly,” he said.

Pakistani Climate Minister Sherry Rehman advised against panic and said Karachi, the country’s largest city with 20 million people, was safe as the cyclone will not make landfall there, as was feared earlier.

A reporter for The Associated Press saw people moving to safer places in vehicles, indicating they initially ignored government warnings.

Pakistan so far has not issued any appeal for assistance from the United Nations, which said the previous day it was monitoring the situation. Local charities and aid agencies on both sides were helping the displaced people.

Experts say climate change is leading to an increase in cyclones in the Arabian Sea region, making preparations for natural disasters all the more urgent. Pakistan is among the top 10 countries most affected by climate change, although the country’s contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions is less than 1 percent.

A 2021 study found that the frequency, duration and intensity of cyclones in the Arabian Sea had increased significantly between 1982 and 2019.

In 1998, a cyclone that hit Gujarat state claimed more than 1,000 lives and caused excessive damage. A cyclone that hit Sindh province and the city of Karachi in 1965 killed more than 10,000 people.


Pakistan’s KP to deploy law enforcers in Kurram as sectarian clashes kill 63

Updated 27 November 2024
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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

Updated 27 November 2024
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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

Updated 27 November 2024
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‘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

Updated 27 November 2024
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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).


Pakistan dispatches 21st aid consignment for Gaza, Lebanon and Syria

Updated 27 November 2024
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Pakistan dispatches 21st aid consignment for Gaza, Lebanon and Syria

  • Islamabad dispatches 17 tons of blankets, food, medicines to Damascus in Syria from Rawalpindi 
  • Israel’s military campaigns have killed over 44,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October last year

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Wednesday dispatched its 21st relief consignment for the war-affected people of Syria, Lebanon and Gaza who have suffered from Israeli military aggression in the Middle East. 

Israel has been attacking what it calls Iran-linked targets in Syria for years but has ramped up such raids since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel, leading Israel to launch a military campaign in which more than 44,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and more than 3,500 people in Lebanon.

On Tuesday, Israel approved a ceasefire agreement with Lebanon’s Hezbollah group that ended nearly 14 months of fighting linked to the war in Gaza. International aid agencies and the World Health Organization (WHO) have warned Israel’s military operations in Gaza have caused starvation and diseases for thousands of people in the area.

“On the directives of the Prime Minister of Pakistan, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) continues to provide humanitarian aid to the war-affected people of Gaza, Lebanon and Syria,” the NDMA said in a statement. 

The 21st consignment was dispatched from Pakistan’s eastern city of Rawalpindi to Syria. The relief items were sent with the help of the Pakistan Air Force, the NDMA said, adding that they comprised 17 tons of supplies which included blankets, food and medicines. 

The NDMA said Pakistan has dispatched a total of 1,273 tons of relief items to the war-affected people of Gaza, 372 tons to the people of Lebanon, and 111 tons to Syria. 
 “The Government of Pakistan continues to send relief supplies based on the needs of the war-affected populations of Lebanon and Palestine,” the authority said. 

Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza, Pakistan has repeatedly raised the issue at the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and other multilateral platforms and demanded international powers and bodies stop Israeli military actions in Gaza.