KARACHI: Authorities in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province have barred entry of dumper trucks in the commercial hub of Karachi from 6am till 11pm, a senior official said late Saturday, amid a rise in fatal road accidents that involved heavy vehicles.
The announcement came hours after a dumper truck crushed three people to death in the city’s Ibrahim Hyderi area. It followed a similar incident in Gulistan-e-Jauhar, which claimed three lives a day ago.
Fatal road accidents are common in Pakistan where traffic rules are rarely followed and roads as well as a majority of vehicles are in poor condition. Road crashes have killed at least 96 people, including 71 men, 12 women and 13 children, and injured nearly 1,300 others in Karachi in the last two months, local media reports, citing police.
On Saturday, Sindh Chief Secretary Asif Haider Shah presided over a meeting of senior provincial officials and decided to introduce a Vehicle Inspection and Certification System (VICS) in the province among other measures to contain the rising number of road accidents.
“All vehicles in the city should have a certificate with a QR code from the Transport Department,” said a statement issued from the chief secretary’s office after the meeting, adding that authorities will conduct physical verification of all heavy vehicles and their drivers in the city.
The chief secretary directed inspection of all water tankers of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board within a month, while the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board, which collects garbage with the help of dumper trucks, was ordered to shift operations to nighttime within 3 months.
“The main reason for accidents is the lack of implementation of the heavy traffic laws,” the chief secretary was quoted as saying.
“FIRs [police complaints] should be registered against those who drive recklessly along with a challan.”
The official urged motorcyclists to wear helmets and instructed traffic police to increase enforcement of traffic laws in the city.
Pakistan’s commercial capital bars entry of dumper trucks in daytime amid rising accidents
https://arab.news/bs5xj
Pakistan’s commercial capital bars entry of dumper trucks in daytime amid rising accidents
- The announcement came hours after a dumper truck crushed three people to death in Ibrahim Hyderi area of Karachi
- Accidents are common in Pakistan where traffic rules are rarely followed, roads and vehicles are in poor condition
Pakistan’s Mahnoor Omer named among TIME’s ‘Women of the Year’ for 2026
- Omer moved a Pakistani court against the so-called ‘period tax’ in Sept. 2025 which has since sparked a national debate
- Taxes on sanitary pads in Pakistan can add up to 40 percent to retail price, UNICEF says only around 12 percent women use such products
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani women’s rights activist Mahnoor Omer, who fought against taxes on menstrual products, has been named among the TIME magazine’s ‘Women of the Year’ for 2026.
Omer’s efforts have been recognized alongside 16 activists, artists, athletes and businesswomen in the TIME’s Women of the Year 2026 list, including Olympic gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Chloe Zhao.
Dissatisfied with the efforts to educate Pakistani girls about sexual violence, Omer founded the Noor Foundation at the age of 14 and held her own workshops with village girls about everything from climate change to menstruation, according to the TIME magazine.
Two years later, a conversation with a domestic worker about the price of pads made her realize that not everyone could afford these essentials. She moved a court against the so-called “period tax” in Sept. 2025 and the case has sparked a national debate on the subject, considered a taboo by many in Pakistan, since its first hearing late last year.
“A decade and one law degree after her interest in activism was sparked, Omer, now 25, is putting her passion and expertise to work in the name of gender equity,” TIME wrote about Omer on its website.
Taxes imposed on sanitary products in Pakistan can add up to 40 percent to the retail price. UNICEF estimates just 12 percent of women in the country use commercially produced pads or tampons. The alternative, using cloth, risks health impacts including rashes and infections, and can make it impossible for girls to attend school while menstruating.
Omer’s suit, which awaits the government response, has sparked a national discussion. She says she spoke about menstruation to her father and male cousins, who thanked her for standing up for their daughters.
The 25-year-old, who is currently enrolled in a master’s degree in gender, peace, and security at the London School of Economics, sees this case as just the first of many.
“I’m not free until every woman is free,” she was quoted as saying by TIME. “I want to leave no stones unturned in terms of what I can do with the next few decades, as a lawyer for the women in my country and gender minorities in general.”
