ISLAMABAD: Thousands of Pakistanis gathered across the country on Friday to join the worldwide protest demanding action against climate change ahead of a United Nations summit on the subject next week.
Students, civil society activists, officials and people belonging to other walks of life enthusiastically participated in the event.
“Unlike the protesters abroad, we are calling our intervention a march, not a strike, since we are victims of climate change despite our negligible emissions,” Saleem Sheikh, deputy media director at the climate change ministry, told Arab News while referring to the internationally used phrase, global climate strike, for the day of protest.
Tens of thousands of people in other parts of the world poured into the streets of their countries to express concern about the global climate change challenge.
Sheikh said that more than 2,500 events had been planned in 117 countries, including Pakistan, on September 20.
According to officials, Pakistan emits less than one percent of the total annual global greenhouse gases, though it still remains in the top ten countries most vulnerable to climate change.
“Global warming is already causing more droughts, floods, severe storms, wildfires and melting ice across the planet,” Sheikh said, adding that the Earth’s average temperature had gone up by one degree and could continue to go beyond that point unless carbon emissions were drastically reduced.
Pakistan’s Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul said in a video message that the country was facing the adverse impact of climate change.
Humayun Khan, who works with the Climate Change Center of the University of Agriculture Peshawar, participated in the march in his city. He told Arab News it was imperative to plant saplings on an emergency basis throughout Pakistan to protect the environment and avoid negative impact of changing weather patterns.
“Various species of saplings need to be planted in order to minimize the worst effects of climate change,” he noted.
Thousands join global climate strike in Pakistan
Thousands join global climate strike in Pakistan
- The South Asian nation is among the top ten countries most vulnerable to climate change
- Pakistan only emits one percent of global greenhouse gases every year
Pakistan Air Force conducts ‘Exercise Golden Eagle’ to test combat readiness, agility
- The exercise follows an intense, four-day Pakistan-India military conflict in May 2025
- It focused on AI-enabled operations integrating disruptive technologies, military says
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has conducted “Exercise Golden Eagle” that successfully validated its combat readiness and operational agility through synchronized employment of the PAF’s complete combat potential, the Pakistani military said on Tuesday.
It comes months after Pakistan’s four-day military conflict with India in May, with Islamabad claiming victory in the standoff after the PAF claimed to have shot down at least six Indian fighter aircraft, including the French-made Rafale. New Delhi acknowledged some losses but did not specify a number.
The exercise was conducted on a Two-Force construct, focusing on AI-enabled, net-centric operations while integrating indigenous niche, disruptive and smart technologies in line with evolving regional security dynamics, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military’s media wing.
Operating within a robust Integrated Air Defense System, friendly forces shaped the battlespace through seamless fusion of kinetic operations with cyber, space and electro-magnetic spectrum operations.
“The kinetic phase featured First-Shoot, First-Kill swing-role combat aircraft equipped with long-range BVR air-to-air missiles, extended-range stand-off weapons and precision strike capabilities, supported by Airborne Early Warning & Control platforms and Air-to-Air Refuelers,” the ISPR said in a statement.
“A key highlight of the exercise was Manned–Unmanned Teaming, with deep-reach killer drones and loitering munitions operating in a highly contested, congested and degraded environment, validating PAF’s capability to conduct high-tempo operations in modern warfare.”
In recent months, many countries have stepped up defense engagement with Pakistan, while delegations from multiple nations have proposed learning from the PAF’s multi-domain air warfare capabilities that officials say were successfully employed during the May conflict.
“The successful conduct of Exercise Golden Eagle reaffirms Pakistan Air Force’s unwavering commitment to maintaining a high state of operational preparedness, leveraging indigenous innovation and effectively countering emerging and future security challenges,” the ISPR added.
