ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Meteorological Department on Monday issued a flood warning for Karachi and Hyderabad during a spell of downpours expected from Thursday to Saturday this week.
Rains last month battered Pakistan’s port city and financial hub of Karachi, killing ten and turning even the poshest areas into rivers of trash and leading Prime Minister Imran Khan to call in the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the army to clean up the city in the aftermath of the downpours.
The Met department said a low pressure system from the Bay of Bengal would approach Sindh province on Thursday, causing “strong monsoon currents ... to penetrate Sindh, south Punjab and eastern Balochistan from Thursday (evening/night) to Saturday.”
“Heavy downpour may generate urban flooding in Karachi and Hyderabad and flash flooding in hill torrents of Khuzdar on Friday/Saturday,” the statement said. “All concerned authorities are advised to remain alert during the period.”
The department added that widespread rain and thundershowers were also expected in the cities of Thatta, Badin, Tharparkar, Umerkot, Mirpurkhas, Sanghar, Tando Allah Yar, Matiari, Tando Muhammad Khan, Jamshoro, Dadu and Shaheed Benazirabad during this period.
Scattered rain and thundershowers would hit Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Khairpur, Sukkur, Larkana, Kambarshahdad Kot, Jacobabad, Kashmore, Ghotki, Jaffarabad, Jhalmagsi, Khuzdar, Lasbela and Awaran on Friday and Saturday, the statement said.
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah visited many areas of Karachi on Monday to review work on the cleaning the the city’s storm-water drains and animal waste after the Eid Al-Adha festival.
On Sunday, NDMA Chairman Lt Gen Mohammad Afzal had said work on cleaning major storm-water drains in Karachi would begin from Monday.
Met department warns rains this week may flood Pakistan’s financial hub of Karachi
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Met department warns rains this week may flood Pakistan’s financial hub of Karachi
- Rains battered Karachi last month, killing ten and turning the city’s streets into rivers of trash
- PM Khan has called in the National Disaster Management Authority and army to clean up the city
IMF hails Pakistan privatization drive, calls PIA sale a ‘milestone’
- Fund backs sale of national airline as key step in divesting loss-making state firms
- IMF has long urged Islamabad to reduce fiscal burden posed by state-owned entities
KARACHI: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Saturday welcomed Pakistan’s privatization efforts, describing the sale of the country’s national airline to a private consortium last month as a milestone that could help advance the divestment of loss-making state-owned enterprises (SOEs).
The comments follow the government’s sale of a 75 percent stake in Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to a consortium led by the Arif Habib Group for Rs 135 billion ($486 million) after several rounds of bidding in a competitive process, marking Islamabad’s second attempt to privatize the carrier after a failed effort a year earlier.
Between the two privatization attempts, PIA resumed flight operations to several international destinations after aviation authorities in the European Union and Britain lifted restrictions nearly five years after the airline was grounded following a deadly Airbus A320 crash in Karachi in 2020 that killed 97 people.
“We welcome the authorities’ privatization efforts and the completion of the PIA privatization process, which was a commitment under the EFF,” Mahir Binici, the IMF’s resident representative in Pakistan, said in response to an Arab News query, referring to the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility.
“This privatization represents a milestone within the authorities’ reform agenda, aimed at decreasing governmental involvement in commercial sectors and attracting investments to promote economic growth in Pakistan,” he added.
The IMF has long urged Islamabad to reduce the fiscal burden posed by loss-making state firms, which have weighed public finances for years and required repeated government bailouts. Beyond PIA, the government has signaled plans to restructure or sell stakes in additional SOEs as part of broader reforms under the IMF program.
Privatization also remains politically sensitive in Pakistan, with critics warning of job losses and concerns over national assets, while supporters argue private sector management could improve efficiency and service delivery in chronically underperforming entities.
Pakistan’s Cabinet Committee on State-Owned Enterprises said on Friday that SOEs recorded a net loss of Rs 122.9 billion ($442 million) in the 2024–25 fiscal year, compared with a net loss of Rs 30.6 billion ($110 million) in the previous year.
