KARACHI: As shopkeeper Ali Akbar went to open his store last week along the main street of Thatta, in Pakistan’s Sindh province, he found himself wading through a sea of people who had blocked the road, causing an enormous traffic jam.
It wasn’t a political rally – the normal cause of such crowds. It was people without water.
“They were demanding the government declare a water emergency and resolve their woes on a war footing,” Akbar told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a telephone call. “It was extremely hot, but they remained resolute.”
Over a week, the people had walked 140 km (85 miles) from the Indus delta region, desperate to find an answer to worsening water shortages and land losses to erosion in their home villages.
Zuhaib Ahmed Pirzada, a young environmental activist from Thatta, said an original 50 or so marchers from the area around Kharo Chan – where the delta meets the Arabian Sea — were joined by others as they marched north.
By the time the crowd reached Thatta, there were 1,500 marchers.
Tanzeela Qambrani, a legislator from Badin district, in southern Sindh province, said the region has seen the “slow death” of the delta for many years.
Water expert Simi Kamal, who works at the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund and started a foundation focused on water and food security, said the spread of large-scale irrigation along the Indus River is partially to blame for less water reaching the delta.
But she said “mismanagement” of water, including wasteful flood irrigation and failure to leave enough water in systems to support nature, played a far bigger role.
“Together these have been catastrophic for the environment as well as the local population,” she said, predicting that a shifting climate would only make the problem worse.
LOWER FLOW
The Indus is a water lifeline for over 200 million Pakistanis, about 50 million of them near the river’s end in Sindh, according to the US-Pakistan Center for Advanced Studies in Water and other agencies.
A report by environmental and development group Lead Pakistan said that as demands on the Indus’ water grow, the delta is receiving less than a third of the water it needs.
The flow is also less than what it is due under a 1991 water sharing accord among Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, the report said.
Khalid Hyder Memon, a former irrigation department official in the Sindh provincial government, said he felt Punjab province, upstream, was “stealing” water that should be Sindh’s share.
He said repeated protests and requests over the last two years for a water audit by an independent body had not yet been acted on by the Indus River System Authority, which monitors water distribution and sharing.
“An audit would establish how much water there is in the system and how much is released to each province,” said Memon, who worked on irrigation issues for 37 years.
But Usman Tanveer, deputy commissioner of Thatta, said recent shortages of water in Sindh were in part the result of cool June temperatures in Gilgit-Baltistan’s Skardu district, with less snowmelt coming from the foothills of the Karakoram mountains.
“It takes between 17 to 25 days for the water from Skardu to reach us. The unprecedented and persistent low temperatures delayed snow melt and created havoc for us,” he explained.
Qambrani said the Sindh government needs to show “seriousness” in dealing with growing water threats as climate pressures become the new normal, and as sea level rise and less water and sediment flowing down the Indus erodes delta land.
“Here in the delta, the sea is fast swallowing up our land. The government must come up with a sound plan now or we will have a huge population of climate refugees to deal with,” the legislator said.
On Sunday, the international Green Climate Fund announced it was providing $35 million in funding, supported by $12.7 million in funds from Pakistan, to improve water management and farming practices in eight climate-hit districts in Pakistan, including in Sindh and Punjab provinces.
The six-year project, which the UN Food and Agriculture Organization will begin running this year, aims in part to help small-scale farmers learn how to farm with less water.
It will also give them access better weather information to plan more effectively for droughts and other climate-related risks.
MORE DESALINATION, FEWER FISH
On the orders of Sindh province’s chief minister, a government team met with those leading the march to Thatta, and listened to their demands.
Those included remodeling of waterways, installation of many more desalination plants, repair of non-working plants, and closure of illegal fish farms.
“If they install at least 100 other reverse osmosis plants for the nearly 400 big and small villages in the coastal belt of Sindh, our drinking water problem would be resolved,” said 27-year old Ayaz Lashari, one of the organizers of the march.
Tanveer, the Thatta district commissioner, said the irrigation department had already begun visiting illegal fish farms, which had been “slapped with notices of closure,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
The farms use water allocated for irrigation and do not pay the required water tax, he said.
“We would like people to come up and tell us exactly who is stealing the water and from where and we will take immediate action,” he promised.
Lashari, one of the marchers, and his large extended family once owned 600 acres of farmland, where they had 300 cows, 250 buffalos and a Jeep, “which was unheard of” then, he said.
They grew sugarcane, cotton, wheat, rice, vegetables and “the finest, most sweet bananas”, he said.
Now, however, 267 acres of their land have now been lost to the sea, he said, and another 275 acres have become saline and infertile.
“My brothers and uncles just cultivate 27 acres of the remaining 58 acres, as we do not have the financial resource to buy inputs for the entire 58 acres,” he said.
He and his family live in a rented house on rented land, with his father supplementing the farm income by working in a government department, Lashari said.
Lashari has his own ambition: To become a lawyer.
As water disappears, parched southern Pakistan farmers march north
As water disappears, parched southern Pakistan farmers march north
- Indus is a water lifeline for over 200 million Pakistanis
- The delta is receiving less than a third of the water it needs
Pakistan, Iran agree to strengthen bilateral ties to tackle regional militancy
- Pakistan’s planning minister meets Iran’s Ambassador to Pakistan Dr. Raza Amiri Moghaddam
- Pakistan, Iran both blame each other for not doing enough to root out militancy in border areas
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal and Iran’s Ambassador to Pakistan Dr. Raza Amiri Moghaddam on Thursday agreed to strengthen bilateral relations between their countries to reduce militancy in the region, state-run media reported.
Pakistan and Iran are often at odds with each other over instability on their shared border. Both countries have routinely blamed each other for not rooting out militancy. Small separatist groups in Pakistan have been behind a long-running insurgency, calling for gas and oil-rich Balochistan’s independence from the central government in Islamabad.
Pakistani anti-Iran militants have also targeted the Iranian border in recent years, increasing friction between the countries.
“Pakistan and Iran have agreed to strengthen bilateral relations to reduce tendencies of terrorism and extremism in the region,” the state-run Radio Pakistan said.
Radio Pakistan said the agreement to bolster bilateral ties was reached between Moghaddam and Iqbal during a meeting in Islamabad.
“The Planning Minister emphasized the importance of enhancing connectivity through trade routes, considering the 900-kilometer shared land and maritime border,” he said.
Tensions reached a head in January between Pakistan and Iran after they exchanged airstrikes against alleged militant targets in each other’s territories. Both countries since then have made efforts to ease tensions and promote bilateral trade with each other.
Pakistan’s stock exchange closes at all-time high amid expectations of fresh IMF deal
- Pakistan Stock Exchange closes at all-time high of 67,142.12 points, registering an increase of 594.34 points from Wednesday
- Analysts link recent surge to possibility of Pakistan reaching another bailout agreement with IMF, privatizing national airline
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed its highest closing in history on Thursday as the benchmark KSE-100 index closed at 67,142.12 points, with analysts linking the recent surge to market expectations of the possibility of a successful deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for another bailout program.
The benchmark index settled at 67,142.12 points on Thursday at the close of trading, registering an increase of 594.34 points or 0.89 percent. This makes it the stock market’s highest closing in history, the previous highest being 66,547.78 points a day earlier.
Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reached a staff-level agreement last Wednesday which would pave the way for the release of $1.1 billion for the cash-strapped South Asian country. Pakistan has expressed its interest in securing a new loan under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program with the IMF.
Financial expert and journalist Faseeh Mangi said the Pakistan Stock Exchange is one of the best performers in the world “in a rally that started last year after Pakistan avoided a default.”
“The latest surge is on possible IMF deal, PIA sale,” Mangi wrote on X on Wednesday, referring to the government’s plans to privatize Pakistan International Airlines, its national airline.
Topline Securities’ Deputy Head of Sales Ali Najib said the index had finally breached the 66,000 barrier, saying it could be attributed to “positive vibes from the IMF, rejuvenated foreign interest at historically low valuations and progress on SOE privatization.”
Shehbaz Sharif, who was elected prime minister for a second term earlier this month, faces the daunting challenge of negotiating a long-term financial bailout program with the IMF. Pakistan’s fragile $350-billion economy is in desperate need of external financing to shore up its foreign exchange reserves and escape a looming macroeconomic crisis.
For Pakistan, committing to a new IMF program, however, will mean committing to steps needed to stay on a narrow path to recovery. This would limit policy options to provide relief to a deeply frustrated population and cater to industries that are looking for government support to spur growth.
Inflation touched a high of 38 percent with record depreciation of the rupee currency under Sharif’s last government from April 2022 to August 2023, mainly due to structural reforms necessitated by the IMF program. Pakistan continues to be enmeshed in economic crisis with inflation remaining high, hovering around 30 percent, and economic growth slowing to around 2 percent.
Tickets for Pakistan’s home series against New Zealand to go on sale from tomorrow
- Pakistan will play against New Zealand in Rawalpindi and Lahore venues from April 18-27
- Series will help prepare both sides for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 in USA and West Indies
ISLAMABAD: The tickets for Pakistan’s upcoming T20I home cricket series against New Zealand will go on sale from tomorrow, Friday, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said in a statement on Thursday.
The five-match series is scheduled to be played in Rawalpindi on April 18, 20 and 21 and in Lahore on April 25 and 27.
“In the first phase, the pre-booking of the online tickets will start on Friday at 5pm at pcb.tcs.com.pk,” the PCB said. “The sale of physical tickets along with outlet addresses will be announced in due course.”
The PCB said tickets for the Rawalpindi leg of the matches will be available at a minimum cost of Rs500 ($1.80) and the maximum will be available for Rs7,500 ($26.98) for the VVIP Gallery. Additionally, hospitality seats will be available at a maximum amount of PKR 15,000 ($53.97) except for the first T20I where the hospitality seats will be available for PKR 12,000 ($43.17).
For the Lahore leg, ticket prices start at Rs300 ($1.08) for the general seats while the maximum ticket prices will be Rs6,000 ($21.59) for the fourth T20I while Rs7,000 ($25.19) for the fifth T20I (VVIP Gallery).
The series will be important for both sides as they gear up for this year’s ICC T20 World Cup 2024 which is scheduled to be held in June in the USA and West Indies.
Pakistan will lock horns with arch-rivals India on June 9 for a big-ticket clash at New York.
Pakistani interior minister, KP CM vow to improve coordination amid surge in attacks
- Five Chinese nationals were killed in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday in a bombing
- Interior minister, KP chief minister vow to bring perpetrators of attack to justice
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s interior minister and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur on Thursday vowed to strengthen coordination between the center and the province to improve the law-and-order situation, the KP CM’s office said, amid a surge in terror attacks in the province.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvy arrived in Peshawar to meet Gandapur on Thursday to review the province’s law and order situation two days after five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver were killed in the country’s volatile northwest.
The incident took place in KP’s Shangla where a bomber rammed his explosive-laden car into the vehicle of Chinese engineers and construction workers on Tuesday.
The attack occurred in an area vital to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which encompasses various mega projects crucial for Pakistan’s economy. The victims were en route to Dasu Dam, Pakistan’s largest hydropower project, when they were targeted.
“To improve the law-and-order situation in the province, both agreed to improve the coordination between law enforcement institutions on the federal and provincial levels,” a statement from the KP chief minister’s office said.
The two condemned the attack on the Chinese nationals and expressed their condolences to Beijing and the families of those who had been killed in the attack.
“The two expressed their resolve to bring all those involved in the incident to justice and put an end to terrorism,” the statement said.
Gandapur said it was his government’s top priority to ensure law and order in the province and to safeguard people’s lives.
Pakistan’s foreign office said on Thursday that Islamabad had enhanced the security of Chinese nationals after the attack.
Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said both Pakistani and Chinese governments were in contact after the tragic incident on March 26, adding they were fully committed to bringing the terrorists, along with their facilitators and abettors, to justice.
No group had claimed responsibility for the attack but suspicion was likely to fall on separatists and the breakaway Gul Bahadur faction of the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP.
The TTP is a separate group, but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban.
The TTP denied being behind the suicide bombing in a statement Wednesday, saying: “We are in no way related to the attack on the Chinese engineers.”
Tuesday’s attack came less than a week after Pakistani security forces killed eight Balochistan Liberation Army separatists who opened fire on a convoy carrying Chinese citizens outside the Chinese-funded Gwadar port in the volatile southwestern Balochistan province.
Pakistan says security of Chinese nationals enhanced after deadly attack
- Pakistan’s foreign office says the government fully understands Chinese security concerns after the attack
- It points out Pakistan has built a fence, introduced one document regime to secure its border with Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office said on Thursday the government has further enhanced the security of Chinese nationals only days after a deadly suicide bombing killed five of them along with their Pakistani driver in the country’s volatile northwest.
The incident took place in Shangla, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where the bomber rammed his explosive-laden car into the vehicle of Chinese engineers and construction workers on Tuesday.
The attack occurred in an area vital to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which encompasses various mega projects crucial for Pakistan’s economy. The victims were en route to Dasu Dam, Pakistan’s largest hydropower project, when they were targeted.
“I can reassure you that Pakistan has further enhanced the security of Chinese nationals,” foreign office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch told reporters in a weekly media briefing in Islamabad.
She said both Pakistani and Chinese governments were in contact after the tragic incident on March 26, adding they were fully committed to bringing the terrorists, along with their facilitators and abettors, to justice.
“At this point, we are focusing on investigating the terror attack and ensuring that the dead bodies of the deceased are transported to their home country,” she added. “This is the first priority at this stage.”
Asked about the security concerns raised by the Chinese officials following the attack, Baloch said the Pakistani government fully understood their concerns.
“We are engaged with the Chinese officials at very senior level to discuss the arrangements for the safety of Chinese nationals and for the investigation of this particular terror incident,” she informed.
The foreign office spokesperson said Pakistan would continue to work with the Chinese authorities to ensure the safety and security of Chinese nationals, projects and institutions in Pakistan.
“We have no doubt that the … terror attack [in Shangla] was orchestrated by the enemies of Pakistan-China friendship and together, we will resolutely act against all such forces and defeat them,” she emphasized.
In response to a question regarding Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif’s statement regarding the necessity for stronger border controls between Pakistan and Afghanistan, she clarified he was elaborating measures already taken by Pakistan to regulate travel between the two neighboring countries.
“Pakistan-Afghanistan border is an important border, and Pakistan has, over time, taken several measures to secure the border, including erecting a fence along the border,” she continued.
“Pakistan has also introduced one document regime under which individuals can travel to Pakistan on the basis of valid visas on their passports,” Baloch added.