Author: admin

BERLIN: A German court ruled on Tuesday that the government is obliged to issue visas to Afghan nationals and their family members who were accepted into a humanitarian admissions programme that the new centre-right coalition intends to shut down.

A foreign ministry official said the government was reviewing the decision, which is not yet legally binding. After the hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 by Western allies, Germany established several programmes to resettle local staff as well as particularly vulnerable Afghans.

Since May 2021, Germ­any has admitted about 36,500 vulnerable Afgh­a­­ns including former local staff by various pathways. Some 2,400 Afghans appr­oved for admission are waiting in Pakistan to travel to Germany without a clear idea of when, as the programme has been suspended pending a government review, the foreign ministry in Berlin said this month. The court decision, in response to an urgent appeal by an Afghan woman and her family, ruled that the government was legally bou­nd to honour its “irrevocable” commitment to them.

“The applicants assert that they are entitled to a visa and can no longer remain in Pakistan. They face deportation to Afgh­anistan, where they fear for their lives,” it said.

However, the government is within its rights to end the programme for Afghans and refrain from issuing any new admission commitments going forward, according to the court in Berlin.

NGOs have said that an additional 17,000 Afghans are in the early stages of selection and application under the now-dormant scheme.

Published in Dawn, July 9th, 2025

ISLAMABAD: The chair­per­son of the Senate Standing Com­mittee on Climate Change, Sena­tor Sherry Rehman, has urged collective climate action to address the cascading polycrisis.

Speaking at the conf­erence on ‘Pakistan’s Final Warning: Climate Calamity or Col­­lective Action’, the PPP senator said that despite unprecedented clim­a­­te shocks, there was a trou­­­bling silence in policy corridors.

“I see no alarm bells ringing anywhere in power corridors. No budgets are being recalibrated for coping better with the crisis,” she noted.

“If there is one priority for collective climate action in Pakistan it has to be water conservation. The water crisis means we have either too much water in the system and rivers at the wrong time, or too little when and where we need it, to sustain food security and livelihoods across the country.

Pakistan, she noted, is deeply underprepared for the scale of climate investment required: “To meet the climate crisis head on, everything will have to be scaled up. Finance is just one part of it. And let’s be clear — it’s not coming in anywhere close to the quantum needed by frontline ecosystems like ours.”

She also reminded the in­­t­ernational community of their responsibilities and str­­essed the importance of public-private partnerships.

Published in Dawn, July 9th, 2025

KARACHI: A sessions court on Tuesday sought a report from police on an application seeking registration of an FIR against the city mayor, director general of the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) and others over the collapse of a five-storey building in Lyari last week.

Advocate Muhammad Haroon has filed the application under Sections 22-A and 22-B of the criminal procedure code (CrPC) for registration of an FIR against Mayor Murtaza Wahab, the SBCA chief, heads of utility companies and officials of other public departments for their alleged wilful misconduct and “criminal negligence” in connection with the collapse of the Lyari building.

The applicant also requested the formation of a joint investigation team (JIT) under the supervision of the court to probe a “pattern of illegal constructions, building collapses, forged approvals and loss of life across Karachi”.

After a preliminary hearing, the additional district and sessions judge (South) issued notices to the SSP complaint cell (South) and the SHO of the Baghdadi police station to submit their respective reports.

Referring to the tragic incident in which at least 27 people lost their lives and several others sustained injuries, the applicant contended that an FIR should be registered under relevant sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) against officials of public departments responsible for enforcing building safety regulations, as well as those who approved utility connections from K-Electric, Sui Southern Gas Company, Sindh Environmental Protection Agency and others.

He also held the fire department responsible for failing to conduct inspections or ensure emergency access in high-density areas.

The applicant alleged that, despite repeated written complaints by residents, no action was taken by the SHO of the concerned police station or the SSP South, claiming that police officials had been “routinely providing protection to builders and land grabbers involved in illegal constructions.”

He also claimed that it was a matter of public knowledge that bribes were allegedly collected by police officials and SBCA personnel on a per-floor basis to permit unlawful vertical expansion.

“These systemic corrupt practices have directly contributed to repeated building collapses, including the tragic incidents in Lyari, Ranchor Line, and Usmanabad,” he submitted.

Citing a Supreme Court ruling in a suo motu case on illegal construction in Karachi, the applicant asked the court to direct the police to record his statement and register an FIR against the proposed accused.

Published in Dawn, July 9th, 2025