ISLAMABAD: Monsoon rains are expected to hit parts of Pakistan from June 26 till the beginning of July, the meteorological department said on Tuesday, offering much-needed relief during an ongoing heat wave.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has issued a comprehensive monsoon forecast for July, highlighting the potential impact of rainfall across various regions of the country, which has been facing a severe heat wave since last month, with temperatures in some regions rising to above 50 degrees Celsius.
“Rains predicted in the country from June 26 to July 1,” the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said in a statement on Tuesday. “Monsoon currents from the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal likely to penetrate eastern parts of the country from June 26.”
The statement warned that heavy rains could cause flash floods in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Sialkot, Gujranwala and Narowal hilly areas of Kashmir from June 28-30.
Dust storms, windstorms and lightning can also affect daily routines and potentially cause damage to lose structures like electric poles, vehicles and solar panels during the period, the PMD said, advising all the concerned authorities to remain on alert and take precautionary measures.
In Pakistan’s southeastern province of Sindh, the PMD said rain and thundershowers with isolated heavy rainfall were expected in Mithi, Umarkot, Mirpur Khas, Sanghar, Tando Allahyar, Badin, Thatta, Karachi, Hyderabad, Jamshoro, Shaheed Benazirabad, Nausheroferoze, Khairpur, Dadu, Sukkur, Jacobabad, Kashmore and Larkana districts.
For the country’s Punjab province, the statement said Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Murree, Galliyat, Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, Mandi Bahauddin, Gujrat, Gujranwala, Hafizabad, Wazirabad, Lahore, Sheikhupura, Sialkot, Narowal, Sahiwal, Jhang, Toba Tek Singh, Nankana Sahib, Chiniot, Faisalabad, Okara, Kasur, Khushab, Sargodha, Bhakkar and Mianwali would receive rainfall from June 27 onwards.
“Rain and thundershowers are expected in Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, D.G. Khan, Multan, Khanewal, Lodhran, Muzaffargarh, Rajanpur, Rahimyar Khan and Layyah from June 26-30,” it added.
The statement said heavy rainfall was also expected in the Dir, Chitral, Swat, Kohistan, Malakand, Bajaur, Shangla, Battagram, Buner, Kohat, Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Haripur, Peshawar, Mardan, Hangu and Kurram districts of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province from June 28.
With regards to the country’s largest province Balochistan, the PMD said thundershowers were predicted in Lasbella, Khuzdar, Awaran, Jhal Magsi, Kalat, Naseerabad, Jaffarabad, Dera Bugti, Kohlu, Zhob and Barkhan districts from June 26-28.
In Gilgit-Baltistan, rain and thunderstorms were expected in Diamir, Astore, Ghizer, Skardu, Hunza, Gilgit, Ghanche and Shigar whereas Kashmir’s Neelum valley, Muzaffarabad, Rawalakot, Poonch, Hattian, Bagh, Haveli, Sudhanoti, Kotli, Bhimber, and Mirpur can also receive rainfall from June 28.
Pakistan is consistently ranked among the world’s worst-affected countries due to climate change. Unprecedented rainfall and the melting of glaciers triggered massive floods across the country in 2022, killing nearly 1,700 people and inflicting damages worth $3 billion. Scientists and experts attributed the floods to the adverse effects of climate change. Heat waves and droughts have also become common in Pakistan.
Monsoon rains expected in Pakistan from June 26, bringing relief amid heat wave
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Monsoon rains expected in Pakistan from June 26, bringing relief amid heat wave
- Meteorological department warns of flash floods in some parts of the country
- Pakistan has been in the grips of severe heat wave since last month
Pakistan reports two new poliovirus cases, taking this year’s tally to 8
QUETTA: Pakistan reported two new cases of the poliovirus on Friday, the National Institute of Health (NIH) confirmed, taking this year’s tally of polio cases to eight.
Pakistan reported its sixth polio case on Tuesday. The disease has been eliminated in developed nations but persists in parts of India, Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The two new cases of the disease were reported from the country’s southwestern Balochistan province and Karachi city, the NIH said in a report.
“The National Institute of Health Islamabad has confirmed the detection of Type-1 Wild Poliovirus (WPV1) in stool specimens from two children, one from Killa Abdullah district and the other from Karachi Keamari district,” the institute said.
In Killah Abdullah, a 24-month-old boy contracted polio and suffered paralysis on May 22, the NIH said. It added that this was the third polio case from Killah Abdullah and the sixth overall this year from Balochistan.
Meanwhile, in Karachi, a 36-month-old girl contracted the disease and suffered paralysis on June 3.
“This is the first polio case from District Karachi Keamari and the second from Sindh province,” the NIH said.
Pakistan’s efforts to eradicate the disease have met a stiff challenge in the form of attacks by militant outfits on polio workers.
Many Pakistanis, particularly those residing in the conservative tribal areas, consider the polio vaccination a Western campaign aimed at sterilizing the country’s population.
In 2012, the local Taliban had ordered a ban on immunization against polio in some tribal districts. Dozens of polio workers have been killed in the country in the line of duty.
Pakistan’s key stock index records highest year-end close amid budget, IMF optimism
- Benchmark index witnessed an increase of 36,992 points or 89.2% on an annual basis during FY24 to close at 78,445 points
- Pakistan is eyeing another loan program from the International Monetary Fund as it grapples with a macroeconomic crisis
KARACHI: Pakistan’s stock market ended fiscal year 2024 on a high, with its key stock index recording 78,444 points on Friday, the highest level reached on the last day of a fiscal year amid renewed optimism among investors that Islamabad would secure a fresh loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Pakistan’s National Assembly on Friday passed the government’s tax-laden finance bill for the next fiscal year starting July 1, 2024. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb presented the budget on June 12 which featured a challenging tax revenue target of Rs13 trillion ($46.55 billion), up by about 40 percent from the target set in the current fiscal year.
The new budget has further burdened Pakistan’s salary class by imposing more direct tax on their income. Meanwhile, tax has also been increased to 18 percent on textile and leather products and mobile phones. However, analysts noted that the tax-heavy budget is in line with the IMF’s conditions for Pakistan to secure another financial bailout package.
Pakistan’s stock market rebounded last year after the South Asian country secured a last-gasp $3 billion short-term loan from the global lender that proved instrumental in the country avoiding a sovereign default.
“The KSE-100 index witnessed an increase of 36,992 points or 89.2 percent on an annual basis during FY24 to close at 78,445 points,” Tahir Abbas, head of research at Arif Habib Limited, told Arab News. He noted that this was the highest increase in percentage terms since FY03.
However, the market closed the last trading day of the outgoing fiscal year on a bearish note, with the index losing 83 points.
“Stocks closed lower amid pressure at the fiscal year-end close and on concerns of an expected higher CPI inflation for June 2024, and $918 million profit repatriations causing massive foreign outflows in May 2024,” Ahsan Mehanti, a senior stock analyst, explained.
Pakistan’s currency also stabilized during the outgoing fiscal year, as the Pakistani rupee appreciated by 2.8 percent on an annual basis against the US dollar. The local currency’s performance was a welcome sight, considering it had underperformed over the past three years.
The currency appreciated primarily due to the decrease in the current account deficit, an improvement in Pakistan’s foreign inflows, a reduction in the gap between the open and interbank rates, and other administrative measures by the government.
Inflation, which surged to a record high of 38 percent in May 2023, has also declined considerably to 11.8 percent in May 2024 as per official data.
However, the inflation outlook for June 2024 has increased slightly compared to the previous month but remains well below the June 2023 level. This rise can be attributed primarily to higher prices of perishable items, driven by the Eid Al-Adha event, according to a monthly report issued by the finance ministry.
“FY2024 is going to end with an economic stabilization path accompanied by improved macroeconomic indicators,” the finance ministry’s report for June 2024 said.
The report added that subsiding inflationary pressures, stability in external accounts and exchange rate, fiscal consolidation and gradual recovery in industrial activities are restoring confidence among economic agents.
Pakistan appoints diplomat Rizwan Saeed Sheikh as new US ambassador
- Rizwan Saeed Sheikh is currently serving as Pakistan’s additional foreign secretary of Middle East and SIFC
- Pakistan appoints Asim Iftikhar, current ambassador to France, as additional permanent envoy to UN
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has decided to appoint Rizwan Saeed Sheikh, who is currently serving as the additional foreign secretary of the Middle East and Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), as the country’s new ambassador to the United States, the foreign office said in a statement on Friday.
Sheikh’s appointment to the post takes place at a time when relations between Islamabad and Washington remain strained after the US House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted for a resolution demanding a probe into Pakistan’s national election held earlier this year.
Washington approved the appointment of Pakistan’s current ambassador to the US, Masood Khan, in February 2022 after he was nominated to the post in November 2021. Khan served as president of the semi-autonomous Azad Kashmir area until August 2021.
“The Government of Pakistan has decided to appoint Additional Foreign Secretary (Middle East and SIFC) Ambassador Rizwan Saeed Sheikh as Pakistan’s new Ambassador to Washington DC,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said in a statement.
She also announced Pakistan’s decision to appoint Ambassador Asim Iftikhar as Pakistan’s additional permanent representative to the United Nations, New York.
“Ambassador Asim Iftikhar is currently serving as Pakistan’s ambassador to France,” she said.
Meanwhile, Sheikh is a career diplomat with almost two decades of experience, according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
He has served as lead negotiator on behalf of groups such as the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), G-77, and China in over 20 multilateral negotiations, particularly during his tenure as a member of Pakistan’s permanent mission to the UN in Geneva.
Sheikh has served at important positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Pakistan including the UN, the US, and the South Asia Divisions.
Pakistan calls for regional mechanisms to address ‘foreign occupation’ issues in Middle East, Asia
- Pakistan demands right of self-determination for people in disputed Kashmir, Gaza territories
- Foreign office spokesperson strongly condemns Israel for bombing Beit Lahya city in Gaza
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s additional foreign secretary for the Asia and Pacific region has urged world powers to strengthen cooperation mechanisms to address foreign occupation issues, particularly in the Middle East and South Asia regions, the country’s foreign office said on Friday.
Ambassador Imran Ahmed Siddiqui, Pakistan’s additional foreign secretary of the Asia and Pacific region, represented his country at the 19th Asian Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) meeting of foreign affairs ministers held in Tehran on June 24.
Siddiqui stressed the importance of promoting regional connectivity and leveraging complementarities among member states at the conference, Pakistan’s foreign office spokesperson said.
“He also underscored the importance of strengthening sub-regional dialogue and cooperation mechanisms within Asia to effectively address issues of foreign occupation and persecution, particularly in the Middle East and South Asia,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said in a statement.
Baloch also strongly condemned Israel for its “indiscriminate” bombing of the Beit Lahya city in northern Gaza, calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East.
On Wednesday, an Israeli air strike at the Abu Awad family home in Beit Lahiya killed 15 people, media reports said.
“Pakistan strongly condemns the indiscriminate bombing of Beit Lahiya city in northern Gaza by Israeli forces killing women and children,” Baloch said.
“The indiscriminate acts of collective punishments constitute war crimes and flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.”
Despite global protests and condemnation, Israel continues to pound Gaza with bombs and ground operations. The Jewish state accuses Hamas fighters of hiding among civilians and says it wants displaced people to get out of the way of its operations against the fighters in northern Gaza.
More than eight months into Israel’s war on Gaza, aid officials say the enclave remains at high risk of famine, with almost half a million people facing “catastrophic” food insecurity. Over 37,700 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since last year, Palestinian officials say.
Upcoming monsoon rains can cause ‘devastating’ floods in Pakistan— PM’s aide on climate change
- Pakistan’s disaster management authority says Sindh, Punjab could face “emergency” situation during monsoon season
- Punjab government says it has begun cleaning and de-silting nullahs to deal with any pre-monsoon eventualities
ISLAMABAD: The upcoming monsoon rains can cause “devastating” floods in Pakistan, the prime minister’s coordinator on climate change, Romina Khurshid Alam, said on Friday, urging authorities to ensure access to relief camps is provided to people in vulnerable areas.
The chief of Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Wednesday issued a similar warning, saying that the country’s Sindh and Punjab provinces could face an “emergency” situation during the upcoming monsoon season.
Monsoon season in Pakistan typically runs from July to September. Large swathes of the South Asian nation were submerged in 2022 due to extremely heavy monsoon rains and melting glaciers, a phenomenon linked to climate change that damaged crops and infrastructure and killed at least 1,700 people. The floods also displaced millions and inflicted billions of dollars in losses.
“Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, Romina Khurshid Alam on Friday stressed that the upcoming monsoon rains could lead to devastating floods,” the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said in a report.
Chairing a meeting of the government’s task force on global warming and heat waves, Alam called for relief camps in vulnerable areas to be heavily advertised so that people may get access to them.
Many parts of the country remained in the grip of a severe heat wave last month that experts attributed to climate change effects. Alam highlighted the “urgent need” for protective measures against severe threats of heat waves and floods to food, health, and the economy.
“Hazards cannot be stopped but can be handled,” she was quoted as saying by the state media.
Alam directed authorities to address the issue of deforestation and dumping of trees in nullahs, saying these could damage bridges during floods, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Azad Kashmir.
The prime minister’s aide was told that most of the measures against floods such as the establishment of relief camps, mapping of resources, desilting of nullahs, and public awareness campaigns had already been taken.
Separately, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Punjab said authorities in the province had been cleaning and de-silting nullahs immediately to deal with any pre-monsoon-related eventualities.
PDMA Punjab Director-General Irfan Ali Kathia said the authority had warned of potential urban flooding in Lahore, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Narowal and Rawalpindi cities, adding that administrations in these cities had been alerted accordingly.
“In case of rains, immediate drainage of water should be ensured in every city. Wherever there is a risk of flood, early measures should be taken,” he was quoted as saying by the APP.
