In Pakistan’s Sindh, women farmers grow vegetables against all odds, including weather

A farmer plucks vegetables from her farm in Thari Mirwah village in Pakistan's southern Khairpur district on June 17, 2025. (AN photo)
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Updated 21 June 2025
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In Pakistan’s Sindh, women farmers grow vegetables against all odds, including weather

  • Women farmers in Khairpur protect crops from adverse weather by growing them in artificial environment
  • Project targets members of vulnerable communities who suffered immense losses during 2022 floods

KHAIRPUR: Sukhai intently moved about the tunnel farm, plucking out bitter gourds under the harsh, relentless sun. The vegetable is grown usually during the summer months but in the fields of Sindh’s Thari Mirwah village, that isn’t necessarily so.

Sukhai, a 23-year-old intermediate student, is one of several women in her village in district Khairpur battling the effects of climate change through tunnel farming. The agricultural technique extends the growing season of crops by using plastic-covered, greenhouse-like structures to create a controlled environment. These tunnels protect crops from adverse weather conditions, allowing for earlier or later harvests of vegetables.

At Thari Mirwah, these tunnels are formed by fixing rods into the ground in an arch shape, forming a row of hoops. During the winter months, these rods are covered with polythene sheets to protect the crops from rain and cold weather, extending their growing season.

“In these tunnels, we grow off-season and seasonal vegetables,” Sukhai, who only uses her first name, told Arab News. “We now have cultivated bitter gourd, sponge gourd and cucumber,” she said, carrying the vegetable in a basket.

Pakistan is consistently ranked among the world’s worst-affected countries due to climate change. Irregular weather patterns, which include excessive rains and droughts, have hit the country’s agriculture sector. For example, cotton has been the worst-hit crop, with its produce decreasing to five million bales a year this financial year from a record 15 million.

Cataclysmic floods, triggered by the melting of glaciers and unusually heavy rains, killed over 1,700 people and inflicted damages worth $33 billion in June 2022. To help locals recover from the economic losses of the floods, international relief organization Malteser International BMZ and the Sindh government-funded Sindh Rural Support Organization (SRSO) joined hands to build 10 tunnel farms in Kharirah, Pir Budhro, Sabar Rind, Mehar Veesar, and Hindyari areas in the southern Sindh province.

Sukhai said the floods of 2022 destroyed all of her crops and agricultural lands, dealing a massive economic blow to her family. Now her and several other women of the village are trying to make ends meet through tunnel farming.

Kanwal Hussain, a district project officer at SRSO, said the women farmers are producing 10-15 kilograms of vegetables daily on their 50 by 50 tunnel farms. Malteser International has provided 570,000 euros in funds for the tunnel farming project.

“For tunnel farming, we have selected vulnerable communities which have very little land available for farming,” Hussain explained, adding that all they required to make a tunnel farm was land 100 feet in length and width.

In its recent assessment, the World Bank said 45% of Pakistanis live below the poverty line, up from the previous rate of 39.8%.

Rukhsana is one such 50-year-old mother of five, who is fighting off poverty in Thari Mirwah by growing climate-resistant vegetables.

“I have five kids and my husband is jobless so we grow these vegetables,” Rukhsana told Arab News. “We eat these vegetables as well as sell them when the villagers come to buy some.”

The women farmers say they earn as much as Rs50,000 ($176) profit every month, which is then shared between a three-member Business Development Group that cultivates each of the 10 tunnel farms.

“We are three members who work and grow these vegetables together and share the profits,” Sukhai, who is using her earnings to support her family and complete her education, said.

And the going is getting tough for her as she has a widowed mother and nine siblings to look after.

Hussain, on the other hand, is a bit concerned about the surging temperature in Pakistan. She hoped to convince her foreign donors to extend the tunnel farming project to other areas prone to floods and climate disasters.

“The temperature here stays between 45 to 50 degrees [Celsius] during the daytime and surges to as much as 51 degrees Celsius,” Hussain said.

Tunnel farming is not only a means of sustenance but is also helping people like Sukhai dream big. She wants to complete her studies and help her family out with the money she earns.

“I want to complete my studies to do a job. I want to become a doctor,” Sukhai said.


Pakistan police detain eight Sindh building authority officials after Karachi building collapse

Updated 10 July 2025
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Pakistan police detain eight Sindh building authority officials after Karachi building collapse

  • Twenty-seven people died when dilapidated building in Lyari collapsed last Friday 
  • Incident exposes issue of unsafe housing in city home to over 20 million people

KARACHI: Eight officials of the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) and the owners of a building that collapsed in Karachi last week have been detained in connection with the incident, Pakistani police said on Thursday. 

A five-story residential building, Fotan Mansion, collapsed last Friday around 10 am in the impoverished Lyari neighborhood of Karachi, trapping dozens under the rubble and prompting a large-scale rescue operation. Rescue officials recovered 27 bodies from the rubble after three days. 

The collapse of the dilapidated building once again exposed the persistent issue of unsafe and poorly regulated housing in Karachi, Pakistan’s most populous city, which is home to over 20 million people. The rapid urbanization and weak enforcement of building codes have put countless residents at risk.

“We have detained eight officials of the SBCA and the owners of the building in connection with the first information report regarding the building collapse in Lyari,” Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) City Arif Aziz told Arab News. 

The complaint was registered under criminal sections covering public servant misconduct, negligence in building safety, unintentional death, intentional bodily harm and property damage. These offenses carry penalties ranging from fines and short-term imprisonment to financial compensation and long-term jail.

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah suspended Director General SBCA Ishaque Khuhro and ordered an inquiry over the incident on Monday. 

He also directed the SBCA to carry out safety inspections of all buildings in the city. The Sindh government announced Rs1 million ($3,513) in compensation for the families of the 27 victims.

Many of the building’s occupants were members of the low-income Hindu minority community, and residents estimated that around 40 people were inside when the structure collapsed.

Fotan Mansion had been declared unsafe three years ago, according to the SBCA. This incident is the latest in a series of deadly building collapses in Karachi.

In February 2020, a five-story building in Rizvia Society collapsed, killing at least 27 people. The following month, another residential structure in Gulbahar came down, claiming 16 lives.

In June 2021, a three-story building in Malir collapsed, resulting in four deaths. Just last year, in August, a building collapse in Qur’angi killed at least three people.


Pakistan delegation concludes UAE visit under governance exchange program

Updated 10 July 2025
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Pakistan delegation concludes UAE visit under governance exchange program

  • Meetings focused on digital governance, tax reform and service delivery
  • Delegation seeks to adopt UAE best practices in innovation, institutional performance

ISLAMABAD: A high-level Pakistani government delegation on Thursday concluded an official visit to the United Arab Emirates as part of a program aimed at sharing knowledge and best practices in governance and public sector modernization.

The delegation, led by Bilal Azhar Kayani, Pakistan’s Minister of State for Finance and Railways and Head of the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit, participated in the UAE Government’s Experience Exchange Programme (EEP). The initiative is aligned with Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif’s wider push for institutional reform and better service delivery across the country’s public sector.

During the visit, the eight-member team held detailed sessions with senior UAE officials to learn about digital governance, tax system modernization, leadership development, and innovation in public service.

“Kayani expressed gratitude to the UAE Government for facilitating valuable knowledge-sharing engagements in areas such as digital governance, public service delivery, and tax system modernization,” the Pakistan Embassy in Abu Dhabi said in an official statement.

On the final day of the program, the Pakistani delegation met senior Emirati officials including Mohammad Al Sharhan, Managing Director of the World Governments Summit, Khalid Ali Al Bustani, Director General of the UAE Federal Tax Authority, Saeed Al Eter, Chair of the UAE Government Media Office, Dr. Waleed Al Ali, Secretary General of The Digital School and Khalfan Belhoul, CEO of Dubai Future Foundation.

The sessions focused on the UAE’s approach to future foresight, media communication, and performance management in governance.

Kayani “underscored Pakistan’s commitment to adopting global best practices in digital governance, efficiency, and public sector competitiveness to enhance service delivery and institutional performance,” the statement added.

The visit builds on a Memorandum of Understanding signed on June 16, 2025, between the UAE Ministry of Cabinet Affairs and Pakistan’s Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives. The agreement aims to strengthen cooperation in governance excellence and institutional capacity-building.

The UAE is one of Pakistan’s largest trading partners and an important source of foreign remittances, with more than 1.7 million Pakistani expatriates living and working in the Emirates. According to Pakistan’s Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment, the UAE is the second-largest destination for Pakistani migrant workers after Saudi Arabia.

In recent years, bilateral trade has grown steadily, reaching nearly $10 billion in 2024, driven by energy imports, textiles, and other goods. Pakistani workers in the UAE sent home over $5 billion in remittances last fiscal year, providing vital foreign exchange for the country’s economy.

The two countries maintain close ties in investment, defense cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges, underpinned by shared commitments to economic development and regional stability.


Pakistan army chief calls visits to US, Gulf, Central Asia ‘successful diplomatic maneuver’

Updated 10 July 2025
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Pakistan army chief calls visits to US, Gulf, Central Asia ‘successful diplomatic maneuver’

  • Munir’s remarks preset rare public statement by military on the country’s high-level diplomatic outreach
  • Says meetings with Trump, other US leaders allowed Pakistan to present views on bilateral, regional issues

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, on Thursday described his recent visits to the United States, Gulf nations and Central Asia as a “successful diplomatic maneuver,” in a rare public statement by the military on the country’s high-level foreign policy engagements.

Munir made the remarks during a closed-door briefing to senior commanders at the 271st Corps Commanders’ Conference, held at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi, according to a statement issued by the military’s media wing.

In May and June, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, accompanied by senior ministers and Munir, visited Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Turkiye, Iran, and Azerbaijan as part of Islamabad’s broader diplomatic outreach in the wake of its four-day confrontation with India in May and as tensions escalated in the Middle East.

Last month, Munir was also hosted to a unprecedented two-hour-long lunch by US President Donald Trump at the White House, with no civilian leaders present. The two leaders discussed regional conflicts including India-Pakistan and Iran-Israel tensions, as well as economic development, trade, cryptocurrency, critical minerals and IT.

“The COAS shared details of Pakistan’s proactive and successful diplomatic maneuver, including recent visits to Iran, Turkiye, Azerbaijan, KSA and UAE, where the COAS accompanied the honorable prime minister,” the army’s media wing said in a statement.

In this combination of handout photographs, taken and released by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir speaks during the 271st Corps Commanders’ Conference at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi on July 10, 2025. (Handout/ISPR)

“Forum was also briefed on the historic and unique visit of the COAS to US, where meetings with top-tier leadership, afforded an opportunity to share firsthand, Pakistan’s objective perspective on bilateral, regional and extra-regional developments.”

According to the ISPR, the commanders’ forum also conducted a “holistic review” of internal and external security dynamics, with particular focus on developments in the Middle East and Iran. It said the growing global trend toward the use of force as a preferred policy tool highlighted the need for “persistent development of self-reliant capabilities, national unity and resolve.”

Pakistan has long accused India of supporting militant groups that carry out attacks inside its Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces, an allegation New Delhi denies. The military’s statement said Indian intelligence agencies were continuing to back anti-Pakistan proxies.

“Forum strongly asserted that it is imperative to take decisive and holistic actions at all levels against the Indian-backed and sponsored proxies,” the ISPR said.

Pakistan’s powerful military has ruled the country directly for nearly half of its history and retains significant influence over foreign and security policy, even under civilian governments. In recent weeks, top officials have increasingly described the current governance model as a “hybrid system” in which the military and civilian leaders co-share power.


As Alibaba team visits Pakistan, PM orders strategy to expand e-commerce

Updated 55 min 37 sec ago
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As Alibaba team visits Pakistan, PM orders strategy to expand e-commerce

  • Chinese firm says 300,000 Pakistanis already sell on platform, mostly textile products
  • PM calls e-commerce key to boosting exports and building digital entrepreneurship

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met a delegation of the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group on Thursday, directing authorities to form a committee to further promote e-commerce in Pakistan.

Pakistani financial analysts say the country’s growing Internet penetration — with over 80% teledensity — was already fueling e-commerce, despite the fact that it still accounts for less than 1% of the overall retail market. This has also forced several retailers to shift to digital platforms.

A six-member Alibaba Group delegation, led by the group’s president of international markets James Dong, called on PM Sharif to discuss promoting e-commerce in the South Asian country. During the meeting, Sharif noted that 300,000 Pakistanis are currently selling locally produced products on e-commerce platforms such as Alibaba Group.

“The prime minister directed the formation of a committee to develop a roadmap for further promoting e-commerce in the country,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif gestures during a meeting with six-member delegation of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group at the Prime Minister’s Office in Islamabad on July 10, 2025. (Handout/PMO)

Sharif also instructed authorities to take steps to increase the number of Pakistani businesses selling their products on e-commerce platforms, noting that e-commerce is a major means of increasing exports significantly.

“E-commerce is a vital element in realizing the government’s vision of an export-led economy,” the prime minister said.

Dong praised the key role of the Pakistani business community in promoting international trade via e-commerce, the PMO said. He noted that around 300,000 locally made Pakistani products are currently being sold on Alibaba’s website.

“He also noted that Pakistani textile products are the most in-demand and best-selling items on the Alibaba platform,” the PMO said.

Dong expressed “strong interest” in providing technical training to entrepreneurs in e-commerce to increase the number of Pakistani traders on Alibaba’s platform.

Realizing the growth and importance of e-commerce platforms in the country, Pakistan’s government imposed fresh taxes on international e-commerce giants in its recent federal budget.

The new measures, introduced through the budget passed on June 26, include an 18% sales tax on goods delivered by courier companies on behalf of foreign platforms, a 5% fixed income tax on digital retailers and a reduction in the duty-free threshold for imported parcels from Rs5,000 to Rs500 ($18 to $1.80).


Pakistan, Egypt agree to enhance agriculture, food security and farming cooperation 

Updated 10 July 2025
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Pakistan, Egypt agree to enhance agriculture, food security and farming cooperation 

  • Agriculture constitutes largest sector of Pakistan’s economy. Contributing 24 percent to country’s GDP
  • Pakistan, Egypt to sign MoU “soon” to strengthen research exchange, training and innovation in agriculture

ISLAMABAD: Senior officials of Pakistan and Egypt discussed enhancing bilateral cooperation in agriculture, food security and farming on Thursday, Pakistan’s food security ministry said, with Islamabad expressing interest in learning from Cairo’s successful experiences in these areas. 

Agriculture constitutes the largest sector of Pakistan’s economy, contributing about 24 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). As per official figures, it accounts for half of Pakistan’s employed labor force and is the largest source of foreign exchange earnings for the South Asian country.

Pakistan’s National Food Security Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain met Dr. Ihab Mohamed Abdelhamid Hassan, Egypt’s ambassador to Pakistan, at the ministry in Islamabad on Thursday. 

“The meeting focused on strengthening bilateral cooperation in agriculture, food security, and climate-resilient farming systems,” the food security ministry’s statement said. 

Hussain praised Egypt’s “remarkable progress” in the agricultural sector, especially in water resource management, arid-zone farming and the adoption of modern technologies, the statement said.

He emphasized Pakistan’s keen interest in learning from Egypt’s successful experiences, calling for enhanced collaboration in seed development, agricultural science, drip irrigation, capacity building and climate-smart technologies.

“One of the major outcomes of the meeting was the mutual agreement to formalize cooperation between Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) and Egypt’s Agricultural Research Center (ARC), as well as the Egyptian International Center for Agriculture (EICA),” the statement said. 

It added that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two research institutions is expected to be signed “soon” to strengthen research exchange, training and innovation in agriculture.

Hussain also highlighted Pakistan’s challenges in post-harvest losses, especially in wheat storage. He appreciated Egypt’s successful efforts in improving wheat storage through better silo systems and logistics. 

Both countries agreed to share experiences and technical solutions to reduce such losses in Pakistan, which currently range between 20–30 percent, the food security ministry said.