JACOBABAD/LARKANA: Raheem Bakhsh, a brick kiln worker in Pakistan’s Jacobabad district, used to work eight hours previously. This year, however, Bakhsh is forced to take a pay cut and reduce his working hours to five or six, as the temperature in Jacobabad district crossed 50° Celsius last week while Pakistan remains in the throes of a severe heat wave.
Throughout May 2024, the temperatures in the northern districts of Pakistan’s southern Sindh province remained 6-8°C higher than their monthly average. Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) last week warned the heat waves would persist across parts of Sindh and Punjab in June, with temperatures likely to remain above 48 degrees Celsius.
Increased exposure to heat, and more heat waves, have been identified as one of the key impacts of climate change in Pakistan, with people experiencing extreme heat and seeing some of the highest temperatures in the world in recent years. The South Asian country of more than 241 million, one of the ten most vulnerable nations to climate change impacts, has also witnessed untimely downpours, flash floods and droughts in recent years.
Jacobabad and other northern districts of Sindh are known for their sweltering temperatures every summer. This year around, as the weather gets warmer and harsher, residents of the district are making some necessary changes to their daily routine.
Bakhsh, who has been laboring as a brick kiln worker for the past 40-45 years, told Arab News last year was very hot but this year “is even hotter.”
“The extreme heat has slowed down our work,” he lamented. “Previously we worked for eight hours, but now we work for only five to six hours. The hot weather is causing us losses every day. Our health is also deteriorating as we become weaker with each passing day. We are laborers, where will we go?“
The same is the case for Mahjabeen Shabbir Abro, a social worker for a non-governmental organization (NGO) in Jacobabad. As the mercury soars in the district, Abro has increased her water intake and rescheduled her job timings to avoid the peak sun hours.
Previously, she used to work from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The intense heat has forced her to change her timings from 07:00 a.m. To 11:00 p.m.
“Previously as a field-based worker, we didn’t feel the need for water that much nor did we feel unconscious,” Abro told Arab News. “However, this heat is making us feel unconscious and we have to use ORS [Oral Rehydration Solution] as much as possible. If we used to have just one sachet of ORS, we now take two to three ORS sachets per day.”
Abdul Riaz, a 20-year-old laborer, said he would spend the upcoming Eid-Al-Adha festival in Balochistan’s cooler pastures searching for work without his family, and away from his one-year-old son.
“Here in Jacobabad, it is too hot, and there is too much joblessness,” Riaz said. “I am going to Balochistan for work in grape farming. I will spend four to five months there so that I can earn and send money back home to my children,” he added.
According to him, Ibrahimzai area in Balochistan is a cooler place where he can find work at grape gardens.
“I often go there in different seasons to work in grape gardens,” Riaz said.
Dr. Ram Chand, the Sindh government’s focal person for heat stroke response centers in Jacobabad, noted that while the temperature had soared past 50 degrees Celsius in May, no deaths from heat stroke had taken place. While the district headquarters civil hospital has increased its heat stroke response centers from one last year to four this year, people were taking more precautions against the heat wave, he said.
“Due to mass awareness, people are taking necessary precautions, such as drinking more liquids, juices, ORS, and water,” Chand told Arab News. “And we’ve seen no heat stroke deaths this year or last year.”
But while that may be a silver lining for Chand, it isn’t necessarily for others. Khadim Hussain, a farmer at Mohenjo Daro in the neighboring Larkana district in Dhandh village, says the harsh climate won’t let him plant seeds.
“In the past, we used to sow rice seeds in June,” Hussain told Arab News. “Now it is so hot, with hot winds blowing, that if we start sowing seeds now, they will burn out, and we would face a huge loss.”
In northern Sindh, residents struggle to adapt as Pakistan sizzles under heat wave
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In northern Sindh, residents struggle to adapt as Pakistan sizzles under heat wave
- Some laborers migrate to cooler areas, other reduce working hours as temperature in Jacobabad district in Sindh soars to over 50 degrees Celsius
- Health experts and doctors advise people to stay indoors, drink plenty of juices and water as South Asia experiences severe heat wave
Pakistan appreciates EU for GSP Plus status after passing controversial cybercrime law
- Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar meets EU Special Representative for Human Rights Ambassador Olaf Skoog in Islamabad
- Pakistani rights activists say government’s new cybercrime law is aimed at cracking on dissent on social media
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday met a senior European Union official to thank the inter-governmental body for its support for Pakistan’s GSP Plus status, hours after it passed a controversial cybercrime law that rights bodies and journalists allege is aimed at suppressing freedom of expression online.
The GSP Plus status gives developing countries such as Pakistan a special incentive to pursue sustainable development and good governance. Countries have to implement 27 international conventions on human rights, labor rights, the environment and good governance in return for the EU to cut its import duties to zero on more than two-thirds of the tariff lines of their exports. In October 2023, the EU rolled over the current GSP Plus status for developing countries, including Pakistan, till 2027.
Pakistan’s digital rights experts, however, have raised concern that the government’s action of adopting the controversial Prevention of Electronic Crimes Amendment Bill, 2025, which opposition and journalists say is aimed at taking action against dissent on social media platforms, can put Pakistan’s GSP Plus status in danger.
Dar, who also serves as Pakistan’s foreign minister, met EU Special Representative for Human Rights Ambassador Olaf Skoog at the foreign ministry’s office on Wednesday.
“The DPM/FM highlighted Pakistan-EU’s growing cooperation in the political and economic spheres and appreciated EU’s continued support for Pakistan’s GSP plus status,” the ministry said.
Dar underscored the importance of Pakistan-EU dialogue on human rights, emphasizing that Islamabad was a firm believer in the protection of fundamental rights. He said the Pakistani government continued to enact and strengthen human rights legislation.
The ministry said Skoog “positively” assessed the potential of Pakistan-EU relations and appreciated the continued growth of collaborative partnership across all sectors.
“The EU SR is on a four-day visit to Pakistan,” the ministry said. “The visit is part of Pakistan-EU joint efforts to enhance dialogue on Human Rights.”
Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday signed the bill into law after it was approved by both houses of Pakistan’s parliament following noisy protests by journalists and lawmakers.
The new amendment bill now proposes the establishment of the Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority to perform a range of functions related to social media, including awareness, training, regulation, enlistment and blocking.
SMPRA would be able to order the immediate blocking of unlawful content targeting judges, the armed forces, parliament or provincial assemblies or material which promotes and encourages terrorism and other forms of violence against the state or its institutions.
The law also makes spreading disinformation a criminal offense punishable by three years in prison and a fine of two million rupees ($7,150).
A copy of the bill seen by Arab News has set imprisonment of up to three years and a fine of Rs2 million or both for “whoever intentionally disseminates, publicly exhibits, or transmits any information through any information system, that he knows or has reason to believe to be false or fake and likely to cause or create a sense of fear, panic or disorder or unrest in general public or society.”
Information Minister Ataullah Tarar told reporters last week that the bill will protect journalists and not harm them.
“This is the first time the government has defined what social media is,” Tarar said. “There is already a system in place for print and electronic media and complaints can be registered against them.”
He said “working journalists” should not feel threatened by the bill, which had to be passed because the Federal Investigation Agency, previously responsible for handling cybercrime, “does not have the capacity to handle child pornography or AI deep fake cases.”
Saudi Fund for Development reviews agriculture, medical projects in northwest Pakistan
- Projects include agricultural institute, veterinary and thalassemia centers and children’s hospital in Malakand
- Visiting delegation expresses satisfaction with ongoing progress, directs timely completion of all projects
PESHAWAR: A Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) delegation visited Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Wednesday to review their ongoing agriculture, medical and educational projects in the area, the KP government’s disaster management authority said.
KP’s Malakand Division is known for its picturesque Swat Valley and popular tourist destinations. It has navigated a turbulent path due to militancy and conflict in recent years, coupled with the devastating effects of natural disasters like floods.
The SFD has provided financial assistance to Pakistan and funded development projects in various parts of the country. It has already done significant work to rehabilitate infrastructure in Malakand to improve people’s access to socioeconomic services and civic amenities.
“Today a Saudi delegation led by Director of Central Asia Operations Muhammed Almasoud visited Swat and reviewed three key ongoing projects,” the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) KP said in a statement.
“The Saudi delegation expressed deep satisfaction with the construction work and instructed the timely completion of the projects.”
These projects include an Agriculture Research Institute, a Veterinary Research Center, a Category D Hospital, a Thalassemia Center in Battagram, and a Special Children’s School in Swat with a total cost of approximately $4.6 million, the statement said.
“Additionally, the construction of the 82-kilometer road from Chakdara to Fatehpur has been completed at a cost of Rs3.4 billion [$12.2 million] which is a significant development milestone for the area,” the KP PDMA said.
Pakistan has sought closer economic cooperation with Saudi Arabia in recent months, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif publicly stating his desire to collaborate with the Kingdom in trade, defense, economy, agriculture, tourism, energy, mining and minerals.
In October last year, businesses in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed several agreements to the tune of $2.8 billion to promote bilateral trade and investment with each other.
Last year in April, the Kingdom also pledged to expedite a $5 billion investment portfolio for Islamabad, further boosting foreign investment prospects in the country.
Police in Pakistan’s Quetta book man for killing daughter over alleged blasphemy, posting TikTok videos
- Anwaar-ul-Haq, a resident of New York, brought his family to Quetta this month to meet relatives, say police
- Merely accusations of blasphemy and opposition to its laws can incite violent mob attacks and reprisals
QUETTA: Police in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province said on Wednesday they had booked a man for killing his 14-year-old daughter, an American citizen, on allegations she had committed blasphemy and posted objectionable videos of herself on TikTok.
Anwaar-ul-Haq, who was living in New York for the past 28 years, returned with his family to the southwestern Quetta city on Jan. 22 to meet relatives in the city, Station House Officer (SHO) Babar Shahwani of the Gawalmandi Police Station said.
Shahwani said Haq filed a complaint with police on Jan. 27 that unidentified men shot his daughter dead outside their home in Quetta at around 11:00 pm.
“The police commenced initial investigations from the family and we booked her father and uncle who during interrogations confessed to killing Hira,” Shahwani told Arab News.
Zohaib Mohsin, senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) for Serious Crimes Investigation Wing Balochistan, told Arab News that Haq brought his daughter outside their home when his brother-in-law, Muhammad Tayyab, shot her multiple times.
“We have confiscated Hira’s mobile phone and sent for forensic which would unfold more aspects of the murder,” Mohsin said.
Shahwani said Haq confessed during interrogation that he killed his daughter and alleged that she stopped believing in Islam and used to make blasphemous remarks, and posted objectionable videos of herself on TikTok.
Under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, anyone found guilty of insulting Islam or its religious figures can be sentenced to death. Authorities have yet to carry out such a penalty, although the accusation of blasphemy and opposition to the law can incite mob violence or reprisals.
Mohsin said the investigation so far has revealed that the family objected to Hira’s dressing, lifestyle, social gatherings and relations.
Arab News attempted to contact Hira’s family but they refused to speak to the media.
Every year, hundreds of women in conservative Pakistan are victims of “honor killings,” carried out by relatives professing to be acting in defense of a family’s honor, rights group say, most often in deeply conservative rural areas.
According to an annual report on women’s honor killings in Balochistan issued by the Aurat Foundation (AF), a private group advocating for women’s rights and voicing against the honor killings of women in the impoverished province, 33 women were killed in Balochistan on the name of honor from January to December 2024.
The report also said 212 women were killed in Balochistan in the name of honor during the last five years.
Imran Khan’s party seeks permission for Feb. 8 rally at Lahore’s Minar-e-Pakistan
- Party says will mark Feb. 8 Pakistan election anniversary as “Black Day” with nationwide protests
- Says supporters are “peaceful” citizens ready to help Punjab ensure hassle-free political gathering
ISLAMABAD: Jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party on Wednesday sought permission to hold a political rally at the city’s Minar-e-Pakistan monument on Feb. 8, as it gears up for protests on the day to mark the anniversary of Pakistan’s controversial 2024 general election.
Khan last week called on his party’s leadership and supporters from all walks of life to mark Feb. 8 as a “Black Day” and hold protests across the country to protest alleged rigging in Pakistan’s general election last year.
The national polls on Feb. 8, 2024 were marred by a countrywide shutdown of cellphone networks and delayed results, leading to widespread allegations of election manipulation by the PTI and other opposition parties.
The caretaker government and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) deny the charges, saying mobile networks were shut down to maintain law and order across the country. The US House of Representatives, as well as European countries, have called on Islamabad to open a probe into the allegations — a move that Pakistan has thus far rejected.
“The PTI has decided to hold a political gathering on Feb. 8, 2025, in Lahore at Minar-e-Pakistan ground,” the party stated in its application to the Lahore deputy commissioner.
“For the purpose of same, the undersigned seeks a grant of no objection certificate/approval from your worthy office.”
The party said in its application that its supporters were “peaceful, law-abiding citizens” ready to cooperate with the Punjab government to ensure a “smooth and hassle-free” political gathering.
It further said the PTI had the right to assemble under Pakistan’s constitution, asserting that denying this right would violate a fundamental constitutional principle.
The party has held multiple rallies at the huge park surrounding the 70-meter tall monument in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore since 2011.
Political parties, including Khan’s PTI, have used the Minar-e-Pakistan ground to flex their political muscles by holding power shows at the venue.
The latest call for protests comes amid renewed tensions between Khan’s party and the government. following the PTI’s boycott of the latest round of reconciliatory talks with the government on Jan. 28. Khan’s party blames the government for talks breaking down, saying it did not release political prisoners and establish judicial commissions to investigate violent protests of May 9, 2023, and Nov. 26, 2024.
The government blames Khan’s party for walking away from the talks “unilaterally” before they had a chance to respond to the PTI’s demands.
Pakistan fires 13 federal agency officials for involvement in 2024 Greek boat tragedy
- Five Pakistanis were killed when migrant boat sank near Greek island Gavdos in December
- Investigation agency says fired 37 members earlier for involvement in migrant boat tragedies
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) announced on Wednesday it has sacked 13 members for being involved in the 2024 Greek boat tragedy that resulted in the deaths of five citizens, saying that its crackdown against human traffickers in the country was continuing.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered strict action against human trafficking rings that lure Pakistani migrants with the fake promise of a better life in return for money, and help them undertake perilous illegal journeys via sea to Europe.
Five Pakistanis were killed when a migrant boat sank near the Greek island of Gavdos in December 2024. Another migrant boat sank capsized near the coast of Morocco on Jan. 15 carrying 86 migrants on board. Sixty-six Pakistanis were on the ship, according to migrant rights group Walking Borders.
“An inspector, two sub-inspectors, two head constables and eight constables were dismissed from service for their involvement in the 2024 Greek boat accident,” an FIA spokesperson said in a statement.
The FIA said promotions of three constables had been halted, adding that all dismissed officials were stationed at the airport in Pakistan’s eastern city of Faisalabad.
It said 37 FIA officials had been removed from service earlier for their involvement in various boat accidents.
“Actions continue against officials involved in a boat accident on the prime minister’s instructions,” the agency said.
In 2023, hundreds of migrants, including 262 Pakistanis, drowned when an overcrowded vessel capsized and sank in international waters off the southwestern Greek coastal town of Pylos. It was one of the deadliest boat disasters ever recorded in the Mediterranean Sea.
