ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has urged Pakistanis to take steps to preserve water resources, including glaciers, for a water-secure future of the country, his office said on Saturday, on the World Water Day.
The World Water Day is an annual United Nations (UN) observance held on March 22 each year that highlights the importance of freshwater. The day is used to advocate for sustainable management of freshwater resources across the globe.
In his message, Sharif said the day, being observed under the theme of “Glacier Preservation” this year, reminds them of the critical role glaciers play in sustaining the planet’s freshwater supplies and of the grave challenges in protecting this essential resource.
“Nearly half of the global population experiences water scarcity for at least part of the year. Billions remain without access to clean drinking water, while water pollution continues to rise at alarming levels. Our wetlands are disappearing three times faster than our forests. This is no longer a distant threat. It is a global crisis that demands immediate and collective action,” Sharif was quoted as saying by his office.
“On this World Water Day, let us reaffirm our resolve to preserve our glaciers, protect our water resources, and work together for a resilient, water-secure future— for our people, our region, and our planet.”
There are a total of 13,000 glaciers in Pakistan and nearly 10,000 of them are receding and expected to cause significant water disruptions, according to Pakistani authorities.
The melting of these glaciers at a fast pace and heavy untimely rains due to climate change put the South Asian country at risk of frequent floods, while at the same time, droughts pose an equally serious threat, with nearly 80 percent of Pakistan’s land categorized as arid or semi-arid and 30 percent of population directly affected by drought-like conditions.
Melting glaciers contribute to rising sea levels, another cause of coastal erosion. The sea level at Karachi rose almost 8 inches (almost 20 centimeters) between 1916 and 2016, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It’s projected to rise another half-inch (about 1.3 centimeters) by 2040.
In areas near the southwestern coastal city of Gwadar, like Pishukan and Ganz, waves have swallowed up mosques, schools, and settlements. There are gashes in the cliffs at the popular picnic spot of Sunset Park and rocks have cascaded onto the shore, while beaches run flat for dozens of kilometers because no structures remain on it.
“Pakistan is among the ten countries most vulnerable to climate change. Our average temperatures are projected to rise faster than the global average,” Sharif said.
“Over three-quarters of our water resources originate outside our borders. That is why Pakistan attaches great importance to transboundary water cooperation.”
He said his government was working to mitigate climate-induced flood risks and reduce drought impacts through ecosystem-based adaptation, and implementing 25 priority interventions from promoting nature-based agriculture and restoring the Indus delta to curbing industrial pollution and investing in green infrastructure.
On World Water Day, PM calls for steps to preserve glaciers for Pakistan’s secure future
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On World Water Day, PM calls for steps to preserve glaciers for Pakistan’s secure future
- Pakistan has around 13,000 glaciers, of which nearly 10,000 are receding and expected to cause significant water disruptions
- PM Shehbaz Sharif says Pakistan’s wetlands are disappearing three times faster than its forests and demand immediate action
In glasses adorned with dried fruits, Peshawar shop serves ‘most unique’ shakes in town
- Amir Sab’s Special Dry Fruits Juice shop serves fresh shakes in glasses entirely covered with gooey, sweet paste and whole dried fruits
- Shakes retail for between $2-6, steep for Peshawar but which many people are still willing to pay due to drinks' unique look and taste
PESHAWAR: Muhammad Ibrahim stood at his shop, Amir Sab’s Special Dry Fruits Juice, earlier this month and stuck whole pistachios, cashew nuts, almonds, walnuts and raisins to a large milkshake glass covered in a gooey paste.
He was preparing the glass for what many in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar describe as the “most unique,” and “most beautifully presented” shakes in town. Ibrahim and his brother, Ismail, co-owners of the shop they set up in 2005, grind dates, honey and chocolate to prepare a soft and sticky paste that they carefully apply on the outside of each glass, on which the dried fruits are then glued. The end product is a glass that looks like it is entirely made of dried fruit.
Into the glass are poured thick shakes made from a variety of seasonal fruits, with more edible decorations added on top to finish the offering. The drinks have become as much of a social media hit as they are loved by customers who throng the shop in Ramadan and throughout the rest of the year.
"At takes at least 15-20 minutes to prepare the glass," Ibrahim told Arab News at Peshawar’s famed Namak Mandi where his store is located. "We make it in the morning and serve it at iftar time.”
Different sizes of the shakes retail for between $2-6, steep for a city like Peshawar, but which many people are still willing to pay due to the uniqueness of the drinks' presentation and taste.
"People from different parts of the country come for this dried fruit juice,” Ibrahim said, saying he regularly served customers from cities across the KP province, of which Peshawar is the capital, as well as from the Punjab province and the federal capital, Islamabad.
Ayub Sher, a resident of KP's Bajaur district who works in Peshawar, visited Ibrahim's shop last week and was all praise for the shakes.
“We came here to try this juice and to see if it has taste or not. When we tried it, we found it that it is fantastic,” he told Arab News as he scooped some thick shake out of the glass with a long spoon.
“Forget about the taste, we haven’t seen any juice presented to us this beautifully.”
Azerbaijan president calls for joint ventures with Pakistan to expand strategic partnership
- PM Sharif visited Baku in February and announced the two nations would sign deals for $2 billion investment in April
- Multiple agreements for cooperation in trade, energy, tourism, education, other sectors were signed during Sharif’s visit
ISLAMABAD: Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev has called for joint ventures with Pakistan in the defense, energy, economy, logistics and transport sectors to expand Baku’s strategic partnership with Islamabad, state media reported on Sunday.
Aliyev wrote a letter to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday on the occasion of Pakistan’s 85th Republic Day.
The letter comes weeks after Sharif visited Baku and announced that the two nations would sign deals in April to boost bilateral investments to $2 billion. Multiple agreements for cooperation in the trade, energy, tourism, education and other sectors were signed during the visit.
In September last year, Azerbaijan bought JF-17 Block III fighter jets from Pakistan, reportedly in a $1.6bn deal.
During Aliyev’s Pakistan visit last year, a joint committee was set up to materialize projects in trade, commerce, information technology, tourism, telecommunication, mineral resources and other sectors. Sharif said at the time the current trade volume of $100 million did not reflect the “true” trade potential between the two countries.
“In a letter to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, he [Aliyev] expressed his determination to further expand the strategic partnership and mutual cooperation between Pakistan and Azerbaijan,” Radio Pakistan reported.
“Aliyev emphasized that successful joint efforts in areas such as the economy, transport, logistics, energy, investment, and the defense industry are crucial for strengthening bilateral relations.”
Cash-strapped Pakistan is currently under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund bailout program and navigating a tricky path to recovery. Pakistan is looking to generate revenue through investment deals with friendly nations and regional and international allies, and to focus on export-led growth.
In 2023, Pakistan set up the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), a civil-military hybrid body, to fast-track foreign investment deals.
The country has teetered on the brink of economic crisis for several years and economists and international financial institutions have called for major economic reforms.
Pakistani security forces kill 16 militants attempting to cross border from Afghanistan
- Military says Pakistani Taliban militants attempted to enter Pakistan from Ghulam Khan, border town in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province
- Pakistan often accuses Taliban government in Afghanistan of harboring militants who launch cross-border attacks, Kabul denies the charge
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's security forces said 16 militants were killed on Sunday in a remote northwestern border area as they tried to cross the border with neighboring Afghanistan.
A military statement said the “Khwarij,” a phrase the government uses for Pakistani Taliban, attempted to enter Pakistan from Ghulam Khan, a border town in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
It said Pakistan has long urged Afghanistan to ensure effective border management. Pakistan often accuses the Taliban government in Afghanistan of turning a blind eye to militants operating near the frontier. Kabul denies the charge.
The statement said the Afghan government “is expected to fulfil its obligations and deny the use of Afghan soil” by militants “for perpetuating acts of terrorism against Pakistan.”
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant attacks, most claimed by Pakistani Taliban who are known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, and are allies of the Afghan Taliban.
TTP is a separate group and has been emboldened since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021. Many TTP leaders and fighters have found sanctuary in Afghanistan since then
Pakistan charges Baloch activist with ‘terrorism’
- Mahrang Baloch staged sit-in in Quetta on Friday to demand release of members of her group allegedly detained by security forces
- Pakistan’s military strongly denies Baloch’s accusations of carrying out extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances of Baloch persons
QUETTA: Pakistan on Sunday charged a Baloch rights activist with terrorism, sedition and murder after she led a demonstration which ended in the death of three protesters, according to police documents.
Mahrang Baloch, one of Pakistan’s most prominent human rights advocates, has long campaigned for the Baloch ethnic group, which claims it has been targeted by Islamabad with harassment and extrajudicial killings.
Pakistan’s military and the central government in Islamabad strongly refute her allegations.
Pakistan has been battling a separatist insurgency in Balochistan for decades, where militants target state forces and foreign nationals in the mineral-rich southwestern province bordering Afghanistan and Iran.
On Friday, she and other activists took part in a sit-in protest outside the University of Balochistan in the provincial capital of Quetta.
They demanded the release of members of their support group, whom they allege had been detained by security agencies.
Police launched a pre-dawn raid on Saturday, arresting Baloch and other activists, during which at least three protesters died. Both sides blamed each other for the deaths.
Mary Lawlor, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights defenders, said she was “very concerned” at Baloch’s arrest.
Baloch and other protesters have been charged with terrorism, sedition and murder, according to the police charge sheet seen by AFP.
Hamza Shafqaat, a senior administrative official in Quetta, said that Baloch and other activists were held under public order laws.
Her lawyer, Imran Baloch, confirmed she was detained in a jail in Quetta.
Baloch was barred from traveling to the United States last year to attend a TIME magazine awards gala of “rising leaders.”
Protests among the Baloch are often led by women. Baloch, now in her 30s, began her activist career aged 16 when her father went missing in what his supporters said was an alleged “enforced disappearance.” His body was found two years later.
Earlier in March, the separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) — which accuses outsiders of plundering the province’s natural resources — launched a dramatic train siege that officials said ended in around 60 deaths, half of whom were separatists behind the assault.
President Zardari confers civil awards on 69 Pakistani and foreign nationals
- Asif Zardari confers awards during investiture ceremony on Pakistan’s Republic Day
- Former PM Zulfikar Ali Bhutto posthumously awarded Nishan-e-Pakistan award
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday conferred the country’s top civil awards on 69 Pakistani and foreign nationals in recognition of their services in their respective fields, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said.
The awards were conferred at an investiture ceremony held to mark Pakistan’s Republic Day celebrated every year on Mar. 23 in the capital city of Islamabad.
The ceremony was held at the Aiwan e Sadr or the official residence of the president, in which different personalities were decorated with civil awards in recognition of their services in health, education, literature, journalism, public, research, diplomatic matters and economy.
“President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday conferred Pakistan’s civil awards upon 69 personalities including Pakistani nationals and foreigners in recognition of their outstanding services in various fields,” APP said.
Late former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was also the founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) led by Zardari, was posthumously awarded the Nishan-e-Pakistan award. His daughter Sanam Bhutto, Zardari’s sister-in-law, received the award on her father’s behalf.
Bhutto was hanged on April 4, 1979, in Rawalpindi District Jail, where he had been confined since his conviction on charges of conspiring to murder a political opponent. The charismatic, Western-educated leader served as the fourth president of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973, and later as the country’s ninth prime minister from 1973 to 1977.
He was ousted in a military coup by General Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq on July 5, 1977, following an election in which Bhutto is widely charged with having rigged the vote.
Legal experts have for years questioned Bhutto’s trial both in the Lahore High Court and the Supreme Court, and raised questions on the conduct and procedure of the hearings, as well as on the fact that they took place while Pakistan was under military rule. Analysts argue this is the reason Bhutto’s death penalty judgment has never been cited as a precedent in any subsequent case in Pakistan’s judicial history.
Pakistan’s top court, in a landmark verdict in March last year, admitted Bhutto did not get a fair trial.
The foreign nationals who were awarded by the president include Hyder Qurbanov and Dr. Christine Brunhilde, who received the Sitara-e-Quaid-e-Azam award, while Agostino Da Polenza and Professor Valeria Picacentini were issued the Tamgha-e-Pakistan, and Dr. Xinmin Liu was awarded the Tamgha-e-Quaid-e-Azam.
Separately, Zardari granted military awards to Military awards to the officers and soldiers of the Pakistan Army, Navy and Air Force.
These awards included two Sitara-i-Basalat, 227 Tamgha-i-Basalat, 82 Imtiazi Asnad, 185 Chief of Army Staff Commendation Cards, 23 Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Military), 112 Sitara-i-Imtiaz (Military) and 133 Tamgha-i-Imtiaz (Military) awards.
