ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Chief Meteorologist Sardar Sarfaraz said on Friday the country was experiencing the monsoon season’s last spell caused by a combination of the westerly and easterly waves lashing different areas with heavy rainfall.
Earlier this week, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) warned of heavy rains from September 26 to October 1, saying they were likely to trigger floods in Punjab’s urban areas apart from the Peshawar city of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The NDMA also warned the public and local authorities to take precautionary steps to save lives.
“This is the last spell of the monsoon spell,” Sarfaraz said while speaking to Pakistan’s Geo TV. “We can say it’s a combination. The westerly wave has approached from the north and Easterly waves deflected currents from the foot of Himalaya going through the Bay of Bengal.”
He said any kind of rain until September 30 will be counted as monsoon rains, adding that no further downpour would take place after that.
“You know October, November and December are dry months in Pakistan,” he said. “The trend of the next rains in the next three months is below average.”
Torrential monsoon rains from July 1 till about the first week of this month have killed 347 people, including 175 children and 54 women, across the country, as per the NDMA data.
Global organizations, such as the United Nations, see Pakistan as among the countries most vulnerable to extreme weather patterns and climate change, with floods wreaking havoc in 2022, killing more than 1,700 people and displacing millions.
Scientists also attribute the country’s erratic weather changes on climate change effects. This year, the South Asian state recorded its “wettest April since 1961,” with 59.3 millimeters of rainfall, while some areas of the country faced deadly heatwaves in May and June.
Pakistan experiencing final spell of monsoon this year – chief meteorologist
https://arab.news/w4ep3
Pakistan experiencing final spell of monsoon this year – chief meteorologist
- Sardar Sarfaraz says no new monsoon rains are likely to lash the country after October begins
- Torrential monsoon rains have killed 347 people from July 1 until the first week of September
Daesh media chief for ISKP in Pakistan’s custody — state media
- Sultan Aziz Azzam, a senior member of ISKP, used to head its Al Azzam media outlet, says state media
- Azzam was arrested in May while attempting to cross into Pakistan from Afghanistan, says state media
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities have taken into custody Sultan Aziz Azzam, the head of Daesh regional affiliate ISKP’s media outlet, state media reported on Thursday citing intelligence sources.
The state-run Pakistan TV Digital reported that Azzam was a senior member of ISKP and hailed from Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province. As per the state media report, he is also a graduate of the University of Nangarhar where he studied Islamic jurisprudence.
Pakistan TV Digital reported Azzam joined ISKP in 2016 and later became a prominent member of its leadership council.
“He was arrested in May 2025 while attempting to cross from Afghanistan into Pakistan,” Pakistan TV Digital reported, citing intelligence sources.
“He is believed to have overseen media operations and headed ISKP’s Al Azzam media outlet.”
In November 2021, Washington listed Azzam as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” (SDGT). The move bars American citizens from engaging in transactions with persons designated as SDGTs.
According to a report on the UN Security Council’s website, Azzam has played an “instrumental role” in spreading Daesh’s violent ideology, glorifying and justifying “terrorist acts.”
“Building on his former experience as an Afghan journalist, his activity as ISIL-K’s spokesperson has increased ISIL-K’s visibility and influence among its followers,” the report states.
The report further states Azzam claimed responsibility on behalf of Daesh for the suicide attack near Hamid Karzai International Airport on Aug. 26, 2021, which killed at least 170 Afghans and 13 US service members and injured 150 more.
The development takes place amid tense relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, with Islamabad alleging militants use Afghan soil to carry out attacks against Pakistan. Kabul denies the allegations.
Tensions surged in October when Pakistan and Afghanistan engaged in fierce border clashes, claiming to have killed dozens of soldiers of the other side.
Pakistan has urged the Afghan Taliban-led government to take “decisive action” against militants it says operate from its soil. Afghanistan says it cannot be held responsible for Pakistan’s security challenges.
