ISLAMABAD: At least 17 people have been injured in an explosion in the northwestern Pakistani town of Parachinar on Thursday, local Pakistani news channels reported.
Speaking to Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper, Parachinar deputy superintendent of police Najab Ali said the explosion was caused by an improvised explosive device fitted in a vegetable cart in a vegetable and fruit market called Turi Bazaar.
District Headquarter Hospital Deputy Medical Superintendent Dr. Qaiser Abbas Bangash told media at least 17 people had been brought to the hospital with injuries, of whom two were in critical condition.
Local television news networks broadcast images of a narrow street filled with smoke as people carried the wounded and ambulances blared in the background.
The crowded Turi Bazaar has been a frequent target of militant attacks in the past. Parachinar is the main town of the remote tribal region of Kurram, which borders Afghanistan.
Parachinar has a long history of sectarian violence. The Shia population of the town, mostly belonging to the Turi tribe, has repeatedly been attacked by Taliban militants.
At least 17 wounded in bomb explosion at market in Pakistan’s Parachinar city
https://arab.news/rvgcx
At least 17 wounded in bomb explosion at market in Pakistan’s Parachinar city
- Police tell media explosion caused by improvised explosive device
- Bomb was fitted on a vegetable cart in a vegetable and fruit market
EU, Pakistan sign €60 million loan agreement for clean drinking water in Karachi
- Project will finance rehabilitation, construction of water treatment facilities in Karachi city, says European Investment Bank
- As per a report in 2023, 90 percent of water samples collected from various places in city was deemed unfit for drinking
ISLAMABAD: The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Pakistan’s government on Wednesday signed a €60 million loan agreement, the first between the two sides in a decade, to support the delivery of clean drinking water in Karachi, the EU said in a statement.
The Karachi Water Infrastructure Framework, approved in August this year by the EIB, will finance the rehabilitation and construction of water treatment facilities in Pakistan’s most populous city of Karachi to increase safe water supply and improve water security.
The agreement was signed between the two sides at the sidelines of the 15th Pak-EU Joint Commission in Brussels, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.
“Today, the @EIB signed its first loan agreement with Pakistan in a decade: a €60 million loan supporting the delivery of clean drinking water for #Karachi,” the EU said on social media platform X.
Radio Pakistan said the agreement reflects Pakistan’s commitment to modernize essential urban services and promote climate-resilient infrastructure.
“The declaration demonstrates the continued momentum in Pakistan-EU cooperation and highlights shared priorities in sustainable development, public service delivery, and climate and environmental resilience,” it said.
Karachi has a chronic clean drinking water problem. As per a Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) study conducted in 2023, 90 percent of water from samples collected from various places in the city was deemed unsafe for drinking purposes, contaminated with E. coli, coliform bacteria, and other harmful pathogens.
The problem has forced most residents of the city to get their water through drilled motor-operated wells (known as ‘bores’), even as groundwater in the coastal city tends to be salty and unfit for human consumption.
Other options for residents include either buying unfiltered water from private water tanker operators, who fill up at a network of legal and illegal water hydrants across the city, or buying it from reverse osmosis plants that they visit to fill up bottles or have delivered to their homes.
The EU provides Pakistan about €100 million annually in grants for development and cooperation. This includes efforts to achieve green inclusive growth, increase education and employment skills, promote good governance, human rights, rule of law and ensure sustainable management of natural resources.
