Five killed in Pakistan elections, mobile services suspended

People stand in queue as they wait for their turn to cast vote outside a polling station during the country's parliamentary elections in Jamrud, in the Khyber district, Pakistan on February 8, 2024. (AP)
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Updated 08 February 2024
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Five killed in Pakistan elections, mobile services suspended

  • Four policemen killed in bomb blast and firing targeting police patrol in Kulachi area in northwest Pakistan
  • One person killed when gunmen opened fire on security forces vehicle in Tank in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province

ISLAMABAD: At least five people were killed in militant attacks as Pakistan held a general election on Thursday after temporarily suspending mobile phone services across the country and closing some land borders to maintain law and order.
The interior ministry said it took the steps after at least 26 people were killed in two explosions near electoral candidates’ offices in the southwestern province of Balochistan on Wednesday. Islamic State later claimed responsibility for those attacks.
“As a result of the recent incidents of terrorism in the country precious lives have been lost, security measures are essential to maintain the law and order situation and deal with possible threats,” the ministry said in a post on messaging platform X.
Thousands of troops were deployed on the streets and at polling stations across the country and borders with Iran and Afghanistan were temporarily closed.
Four policemen were killed in a bomb blast and firing targeting a police patrol in the Kulachi area of Dera Ismail Khan district in the northwest, local police chief Rauf Qaisrani said.
One person was killed when gunmen opened fire on a security forces vehicle in Tank, about 40 km (25 miles) to the north.
Grenade attacks were also reported in different parts of Balochistan, but polling remained unaffected since there were no casualties, Saeed Ahmed Umrani, commissioner of the Makran division, told Reuters.
In spite of the security worries and bitter winter cold, long queues began forming at polling stations hours before voting was due to start. “The country is at stake, why should I come late?” said 86-year-old Mumtaz, a housewife a decade older than Pakistan itself as she queued up in Islamabad.
Besides militant violence, the election is also being held in the midst of a deep economic crisis and in a highly polarized political environment, and many analysts believe no clear winner may emerge.
The move to suspend mobile networks sparked criticism from leaders of opposition parties, with the Pakistan Peoples Party’s Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the 35-year-old son of former premier Benazir Bhutto, calling for its “immediate restoration.”
“(I) have asked my party to approach both ECP (Election Commission of Pakistan) and the courts for this purpose,” he posted on X.
Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja said the decision on mobile networks was made by “law and order agencies” following Wednesday’s violence and the commission would not interfere in the matter.
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Jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, in a post on X, called on people to remove passwords from their personal Wifi accounts “so anyone in the vicinity can have access to Internet on this extremely important day.”
Some voters also expressed anger at the move to suspend mobile services.
“Due to this, the communication with voters and others are very difficult ... we are facing so many problems due to the Internet closure,” said 50-year-old Mehmood Chaudry, a school teacher who cast his vote in the city of Rawalpindi.
The network suspension also follows Imran Khan’s call to his supporters, who had clashed with security forces while protesting his arrest last year, to wait outside polling booths until results are announced.
Khan cast his vote via postal ballot from a prison in Rawalpindi on Thursday morning, his party’s media team told Reuters.
Unofficial first results in the election are expected a few hours after voting closes at 5 p.m. (1200 GMT) and a clearer picture is likely to emerge early on Friday.
The main contests are expected to be between candidates backed by Khan, whose party won the last national election, and the Pakistan Muslim League of three-time premier Nawaz Sharif, who is considered the front-runner.
Analysts say there may be no clear winner and the powerful military could play a role but Sharif emphasized the need for a “clear majority.”
“Don’t talk about a coalition government. It is very important for a government to get a clear majority...it should not be relying on others,” Sharif told reporters after casting his vote in the eastern city of Lahore.
The military has dominated the nuclear-armed country either directly or indirectly in its 76 years of independence but for several years it has maintained it does not interfere in politics.
“The deciding factor is which side the powerful military and its security agencies are on,” said Abbas Nasir, a columnist. “Only a huge turnout in favor of (Khan’s) PTI can change its fortunes.”
He added: “Economic challenges are so serious, grave, and the solutions so very painful that I am unsure how anyone who comes to power will steady the ship.”
If the election does not result in a clear majority for anyone, as analysts are predicting, tackling multiple challenges will be tricky — foremost being seeking a new bailout program from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after the current one expires in March.


Pakistan says focusing on agriculture, health care investments on World Rural Development Day

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Pakistan says focusing on agriculture, health care investments on World Rural Development Day

  • About 64% of Pakistan’s population resides in rural areas, as per 2023 census 
  • These rural areas often lack education, health, Internet, water and sanitation facilities

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Sunday his government is focusing on improving the lives of citizens in rural areas through “targeted investments” in agriculture, health and education initiatives, as the international community marks World Rural Development Day today. 

According to Pakistan’s latest population census, about 64 percent of the country’s population resides in rural areas. These areas often lack health, education, clean drinking water, sanitation, Internet and other facilities.

Governments, civil society, international organizations and academic institutions are invited on July 6 every year to conduct concrete policy dialogues and grassroots initiatives to elevate rural voices and galvanize development efforts for people in the most remote places worldwide.

“Our government continues to prioritize inclusive rural development as a key pillar of national progress,” Sharif said in a message released by his office.

“In line with the Sustainable Development Goals, we are focusing on transforming rural livelihoods through targeted investments in agriculture, education, health care, infrastructure, skills training, and environmental sustainability,” he added.

Sharif noted Pakistan’s villages and farmlands uphold the region’s centuries-old values of resilience, cooperation and tradition, hailing their “invaluable contributions” to various sectors.

“Significant strides have been made from expanding rural road networks and improving water and sanitation access, to empowering women and promoting climate-smart farming practices,” the Pakistani premier said.

He added that such efforts by the government reflect its resolve to ensure “no part of Pakistan is left behind.”

“On this day, we renew our pledge to uplift our rural citizenry; supporting them as equal partners in shaping a stronger, more equitable, and prosperous Pakistan,” Sharif concluded. 


As monsoons arrive, livestock shelters stand between survival and ruin for Pakistani farmers

Updated 12 min 52 sec ago
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As monsoons arrive, livestock shelters stand between survival and ruin for Pakistani farmers

  • Farmers still recovering from 2022 floods say livestock losses pushed entire communities into deeper poverty
  • Local groups are building climate-resilient animal shelters, experts call for larger policy shifts to protect rural livelihoods

KHAIRPUR: Pakistan: Three years after floods drowned Rasool Bux’s village in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province, he still fears every drop of rain. 

The 52-year-old farmer from Gul Muhammad Sanjrani village in Khairpur worries another deluge could wipe out what little he has rebuilt. His animals are the main source of income for his family of seven. He sells about five kilograms of milk daily to keep the household running.

The 2022 floods were among the worst climate disasters in Pakistan’s history, pushing millions into poverty and devastating agricultural regions in the Sindh province. As new monsoon rains lash the province, farmers and experts say protecting livestock, often the only safety net for rural households, must be a national priority.

“We are afraid because of what we saw during the 2022 floods,” Bux told Arab News while feeding his two buffaloes and three cows at one of around 200 new climate-resilient shelters built by German relief organization Malteser International in collaboration with the Sindh government. 

“Most villagers decided to leave their houses. We are poor people, so we stayed here on the road. Some of our animals perished.

“Then, there were also so many mosquitoes here. The nights were spent in sadness. We didn’t have the money to keep our remaining animals under mosquito nets.”

​Today, the shelters are helping local farmers like Bux recover what the disaster swept away.

“These [shelters] are very beneficial to us since we used to have a lot of trouble while gathering our livestock,” he said. 

“Our animals are at peace now.”

Livestock is the backbone of rural Pakistan’s economy, especially for families who may own no land. According to the Economic Survey of Pakistan issued in June, the sector supports over 8 million rural households, providing about 40 percent of their incomes and around 15 percent of the country’s GDP.

In a year when agriculture overall grew by just 0.6 percent, partly due to extreme weather, livestock still contributed 4.7 percent to the sector, the largest share.

Sindh, Pakistan’s second-largest crop-producing province, is especially vulnerable to floods. Around 930 kilometers of the Indus River snake through the region, making it one of the most flood-prone areas in the country, according to the International Growth Center.

In May, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved around $1.4 billion in climate financing for Pakistan under its Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), designed to strengthen the country’s defenses against future climate shocks and promote sustainable growth.

​Local groups working on the ground hope the government will channel some of that money toward projects like climate-resilient animal shelters in flood-affected areas like his village.

“The need for animal shelters here is huge,” said Muhammad Junaid Soomro, a project engineer at the Sindh Rural Support Organization (SRSO), which is partnering with Malteser. “Even 300 to 400 such units will fall short of the need we have here on a union council basis.”

“We are working in five union councils only, while there are 89 union councils in this district,” he added, urging the government to prioritize livestock and agriculture in flood-hit areas once the IMF funds become available.

“They [Malteser] have made these shelters with a small amount of available funds. These can be made more climate resilient with the IMF’s climate resilient funding,” Soomro said.

​In a written response to Arab News, the IMF said the RSF financing is meant to back broader policy reforms, not specific projects like livestock shelters.

“However, there are a number of ways in which the RSF will help to build climate resilience in Pakistan that will benefit Pakistanis living in flood-prone areas, such as farmers,” the IMF’s resident representative in Pakistan said. 

​He said the RSF supports reforms targeting water management and irrigation infrastructure, aiming to improve reliability and tackle issues like waterlogging, salinization, groundwater depletion and water insecurity.

“The RSF’s reforms take a whole-of-government approach, with some to be implemented at the provincial level,” the IMF representative added, noting that improved coordination between federal and provincial authorities will be key.

“LIVING BANK”

​While larger, policy-level shifts are awaited, groups like Malteser and SRSO are meanwhile focused on immediate fixes, building small, elevated shelters that offer some protection from future flooding.

“We felt the need for building these here as the disaster, the flood had devastated our animal shelters as well as our homes in the community,” said Kanwal Hussain, a project officer at SRSO.

The bamboo, plastic and mud shelters are raised about three feet above ground level, with canopy walls to stop rainwater from pooling and weakening the roof.

“We have built a canopy wall so rainwater does not stay there and damage the roof,” Soomro said.

Imdad Hussain Siddiqui, who served as a director of operations at the Provincial Disaster Management Authority of Sindh during the 2022 floods, described livestock as a “living bank” for rural families.

“Animals are the sole remaining resource where land and crops are swept away by flooding because they provide rescue, safety and the sole avenue through which families can recover and rebuild their lives,” Siddiqui told Arab News.

He said the loss of 1.1 million animals during the 2022 floods meant “direct destitution and long-term poverty” for many families.

“Strong infrastructure of livestock will enable such linkages to recover in the near future, permitting economic activity and income-generating opportunities for the affected people,” Siddiqui explained.

In 2022, the international NGO Germanwatch ranked Pakistan first on its Climate Risk Index due to extreme weather events including floods, landslides and storms during the intense monsoon season.

Pakistan is already in the grip of another punishing monsoon, with over 60 people killed in rain-related incidents in just one week, a reminder that the next flood is never far away.

For farmers like Rasool Bux, every storm brings up the memory of what was lost in 2022 — and what could be lost again.

“More such shelters should be built in our village where some people can afford to build them while others cannot,” he said.


Pakistan offers condolences as Texas floods death toll rises to 50

Updated 06 July 2025
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Pakistan offers condolences as Texas floods death toll rises to 50

  • Floods in Texas began on Friday as months’ worth of rain fell in a matter of hours
  • Shehbaz Sharif hopes ongoing rescue efforts help save more lives from calamity 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered condolences to US President Donald Trump this week as the death toll from flash floods in Texas rose to 50, with American rescuers continuing the search for missing persons. 

The flooding began in Texas on Friday — the start of the Fourth of July holiday weekend — as months’ worth of rain fell in a matter of hours.

The National Weather Service (NWS) has warned that more rain has been forecast, and that “excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams and other low-lying and flood-prone locations.”

“Deeply saddened by the loss of precious lives in the tragic flash floods in Texas, USA,” Sharif wrote on the social media platform X on Saturday night.

“Hope the ongoing rescue efforts will be successful in saving more people from this natural calamity.”

 

 

Monsoon rains have wreaked havoc in several parts of Pakistan since June 26, with the country reporting at least 66 deaths and 127 injuries due to rain-related incidents. 

A deadly flash flood in the scenic Swat Valley, caused by a sudden rise in water levels due to monsoon rains, killed 13 members of a single tourist family last week.

“Having suffered a similar incident in northwest Pakistan just a few days ago, we can fully understand the pain and suffering of the bereaved families,” Sharif said. 

“Our thoughts and prayers are with President Trump @realDonaldTrump and the American nation at this difficult time,” he added. 

Flash floods, which occur when the ground is unable to absorb torrential rainfall, are not unusual.

But scientists say that in recent years that human-driven climate change has made extreme weather events such as floods, droughts, and heatwaves more frequent and more intense.

With additional input from AFP 


Death toll from Pakistan building collapse climbs to 27 

Updated 06 July 2025
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Death toll from Pakistan building collapse climbs to 27 

  • Final search operation underway, most of the debris cleared, says rescue official
  • Collapse exposes issue of unsafe housing in city, home to over 20 million people

KARACHI: The death toll from a five-story building collapse in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi has risen to 27, a police surgeon confirmed on Sunday after rescuers pulled more bodies from the rubble.

Pakistan’s leading rescue emergency services, including Rescue 1122, continued to recover bodies from the Fotan Mansion residential building. Several families were said to be living in the building, which crumbled around 10 am on Friday in the impoverished Lyari neighborhood of the city.

The building collapse has once again laid bare the issue of unsafe housing in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city by population. 

“With more bodies recovered from the debris this morning, the death toll has risen further,” Dr. Summaiya Syed, a police surgeon, told Arab News. “So far, we have received 27 bodies.”

Hasaan Khaan, a spokesperson for the Rescue 1122 services, said most of the debris has been cleared at the site.

“Clearance and the final search operation is now underway and will be completed in the next couple of hours,” Khan said.

‘DANGEROUS’ BUILDING

Many of the building occupants were members of the low-income Hindu minority community and residents estimated that around 40 people were inside when the building collapsed.

According to the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), Fotan Mansion had been declared unsafe three years ago.

“This building was declared dangerous by the SBCA in 2022 and had been served multiple notices over the years,” SBCA spokesperson Shakeel Dogar told Arab News on Saturday.

“Before the recent rains, public announcements were also made in the area, but unfortunately, no one was willing to vacate.”

Friday’s incident is the latest in a string of deadly building collapses in Karachi.

In February 2020, a five-story building collapsed in Rizvia Society, killing at least 27 people. The following month, another residential structure came down in Gulbahar, claiming 16 lives. In June 2021, a three-story building in Malir collapsed, killing four. And just last year, in August, a building collapse in Qur’angi led to at least three deaths.

Mayor Wahab said on Friday evening that rescue efforts remained the city government’s top priority, with accountability and investigation to follow.

“Once we’re done with the rescue aspect, we will focus on who was responsible for this negligence or omission,” he added.


Minister orders probe into killing of barking deer on Islamabad’s Margalla Hills

Updated 06 July 2025
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Minister orders probe into killing of barking deer on Islamabad’s Margalla Hills

  • The South Asian country has witnessed frequent incidents of violation of wildlife laws
  • This week, an escaped pet lion attacked a woman, two children in a busy street in Lahore

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Minister for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination Dr. Musadik Malik has taken notice of the killing of an endangered barking deer on Islamabad’s Margalla Hills and ordered a probe into the incident, the Press Information Department (PID) said on Saturday.

Barking deer, also known as Indian muntjac, are found in isolated populations within Margalla Hills National Park, Khanpur Range and Lathrar near the Pakistani capital of Islamabad. They are considered endangered in Pakistan due to their restricted range and declining population.

A disturbing video circulating on social media this week showed three men slaughtering the rare animal on the roadside and has sparked public anger and calls to investigate the incident.

Climate Change and Environmental Coordination Minister Malik condemned the hunting and killing of wildlife in protected areas, according to a PID statement.

“Such acts of cruelty and disregard for conservation laws are unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” the minister, who has sought a report from authorities on the incident, was quoted as saying.

Separately, the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) said it had filed a complaint with police, seeking action against the ones involved in the incident for violating the Islamabad Nature Conservation and Wildlife Management Act.

“Barking deer is a protected animal under Schedule 1 of the act,” the IWMB said on X. “A request has been made for action under sections 12.4(a) and 16.1(a) of the Nature Act 2024.”

The board said a violation of the relevant section of the law is punishable by a fine of Rs1 million ($3,523) and imprisonment for a term of up to one year.

Pakistan has witnessed frequent incidents of violation of wildlife laws.

An escaped pet lion chased a woman and two children down a busy street in Pakistan’s Lahore, police said Friday, with dramatic footage showing the big cat leaping a wall before pouncing on them. All three were taken to hospital but were not in a critical condition.

Keeping exotic animals, especially big cats, as pets has long been seen as a sign of privilege and power in Punjab, the most populous province of the country.
Police said they had arrested three men.

“The suspects fled from the spot, taking the lion with them. They were arrested within 12 hours of the incident,” the office of the Deputy Inspector General Operations in Lahore said.

The lion, an 11-month-old male, has been confiscated by police and sent to a wildlife park.