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ISLAMABAD:

Amid relentless rainfall in the upper regions and the water level in Tarbela Dam surging, prompting authorities to open the dam’s spillways to manage the inflow.

The operation was scheduled for 12pm on Friday, according to officials, who have issued an alert for citizens residing along the spillway routes to remain cautious.

The spillway release is likely to result in flood-like conditions in the Indus River, they added.

According to a spokesperson for the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the opening of the spillways may cause the flow of water to increase significantly, ranging between 260,000 to 270,000 cusecs.

In light of the projected surge, the NDMA has strongly advised residents in adjacent regions to stay clear of riverbanks and water channels.

Meanwhile, five individuals who became trapped in the River Indus near Hund were safely rescued on Friday evening after a sudden rise in water levels caused by the opening of Tarbela Dam’s spillways.

According to officials, the incident occurred while the individuals were swimming in the river when the water level rapidly surged, leaving them stranded.

The rise in water was triggered by continuous rains in the upper regions, prompting authorities to release water from the dam earlier in the day.

Upon receiving the distress call, a Rescue 1122 team from Swabi swiftly reached the scene. Equipped with a rescue boat, life jackets and other safety gear, the team launched an immediate operation and successfully brought all five individuals to safety.

Local residents have been advised to adopt preventive measures and to avoid venturing near rivers or any high-risk water passages during this period of intensified flow.

Meanwhile, the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) on Friday released 275,954 cusecs of water from various rim stations with an inflow of 408,931 cusecs.

According to the data released by IRSA, the water level in the River Indus at Tarbela Dam was 1,520.00 feet, which was 118.00 feet higher than the dead level of 1402.00 feet. Water inflow and outflow in the dam was recorded as 272,900 cusecs and 151,500 cusecs, respectively.

The water level in the River Jhelum at Mangla Dam was 1,178.50 feet, which was 128.50 feet higher than its dead level of 1,050 feet. The inflow and outflow of water was recorded as 21,577 cusecs and 10,000 cusecs, respectively.

The release of water at Kalabagh, Taunsa, Guddu and Sukkur was recorded as 203,798, 178,886, 122,717 and 54,770 cusecs, respectively.

ISLAMABAD:

As a fresh political storm brews in Punjab, PTI on Friday announced that it will challenge the suspension of 26 of its MPAs from the Punjab Assembly through legal channels and public mobilisation.

The opposition party decried the speaker’s “unconstitutional and partisan” conduct, asserting it was left with no choice but to escalate both inside and outside the assembly.

At a joint press conference in Islamabad, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, Opposition Leader in the Punjab Assembly Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar and senior lawyer Sardar Latif Khosa condemned the Punjab government’s actions.

The party leaders denounced the “theft of mandate” on February 8 as Bhachar accused the political elite of installing a “fake chief minister” while dragging PTI workers out of their homes. “A worthless government that couldn’t even use its past budget… If we have offended the dignity of a so-called ‘second queen’, then so be it, we’ll keep doing so.”

Bhachar vowed that if the party was thrown out of the assembly, it would simply set up a “real assembly” on the streets. “We don’t care about seats, but history will remember you.”

Speaking at the occasion, Sardar Latif Khosa slammed the government for repeatedly violating the constitution, particularly with the 26th amendment followed by the suspension of 26 MPAs. He lamented the erosion of human rights: “They want to bring fascism to K-P; this hurts democracy.”

“The Constitutional Bench’s verdict on reserved seats was shameful, the election commission’s even more so.” He defended the rights of jailed leaders and workers to meet Imran Khan, criticising inaction on reports of corruption at Adiala Jail.

Similarly, Salman Akram Raja slammed the administration for writing a “history of cruelty and oppression”. “No member can be forced out over protest,” he said, adding the party would turn to courts, but doubted the rule of law still existed.

KARACHI: Phrases and idioms in any language are coined primarily to relay a message that contains wisdom.

In the English language, the phrase ‘a rainy day’ means a probable time when money will be needed, unexpectedly. This may also suggest that while rain, in a certain way, has romantic and feel-good connotations, it can also bring with it a number of difficulties. The latter seems to be apt for Karachiites.

Every time — and it’s been happening for years now — it rains heavily in the city, citizens are found complaining about at least a few things: nerve-jangling traffic jams, damaged roads, sudden appearance of potholes and puddles, stagnant rainwater on roads and streets, and power failure.

Power failure, surely, in turn makes the availability of water supply a huge problem because in most localities in the city, water is pumped into pipes through machines run by electricity. Don’t the authorities concerned know that?

By authorities concerned one means the bodies responsible for managing Karachi: the provincial government, the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, the cantonment board, etc.

Every year, during monsoons, a blame game starts which ends without a positive or permanent resolution to the issue. On June 27 and 28, heavy rains disrupted life in Karachi in a painful way. Despite the fact that June 28 was a Saturday, when a majority of the offices were closed, the snarl-up at thoroughfares such as Sharea Faisal was agonising. If one was in District South heading towards the airport, it took at least two hours to move from the Hotel Metropole roundabout to Drigh Road Railway Station.

As if it was an understandable consequence of Nature’s interference in Karachiites’ daily lives, there were reports of a prolonged power breakdown on June 28.

De-silting of major drains is yet to be completed by KMC

In DHA Phase V, for example, electricity went kaput in the afternoon and was restored at 4am. Similarly, quite a few blocks in Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Federal B Area, North Nazimabad, suffered power shutdowns for up to 10 hours.

The worrisome thing is that the monsoon season has arrived early (as it usually begins in July). Have the authorities pre-empted the situation? One can’t be sure.

What adds to the worry is that at some places — for example, from Jail Road to Nipa — construction work has been going on for many a month. If rains come down heavily in July, these projects might get affected. No one knows how much money has so far been invested in the making of these yet-to-be-completed underpasses, overhead bridges and new roads. Whatever the amount may be, they need to be protected from uncalled-for interventions. Also, one hopes that construction work completes as soon as possible because it’s already a massive traffic issue.

It has to be said, though, that the one step that the KMC has taken, in terms of preparing in advance for the rains, is that a few days back the corporation had begun the process of cleaning the stormwater drains in the city.

Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab himself witnessed the process during which he had said: “In addition to the 46 major drains, smaller drains are also being cleaned. A joint strategy will be employed to ensure the drainage of rainwater across all towns. As soon as the rains begin, staff, machinery and pumps will be dispatched to major roads. We believe in working indiscriminately across all districts of Karachi and will respond to critics through our work.”

It all sounds good. But, thus far, not all drains have been cleaned.

The clouds, as the month of July sets in, look ominous. There’s likelihood that citizens will soon be faced with a wet season. And if preventive measures are not taken in totality, Karachiites are in for a toilsome time.

Published in Dawn, July 5th, 2025

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Friday unveiled the “KP Good Governance Roadmap” with a two-year-implementation plan to improve public service delivery and institutional efficiency through an in-built reward and accountability system.

“There is always room for improvement and learning,” Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur said during the launching ceremony at his official residence here.

The event was attended by international donors, bureaucrats and cabinet members.

Chief secretary Shahab Ali Shah presented the roadmap and said it was anchored around three priority pillars, good governance, robust security and smart development encompassing interventions in twelve governance, one security and three development domains.

CM says new system of governance will be introduced if current doesn’t deliver

He said the high impact domain included health, education, social protection, economic uplift, infrastructure development, agriculture, energy, tourism and digitisation.

“In the health sector, the roadmap will seek to upgrade 250 basic health units and rural health centres into 24/7 maternal care facilities with provision of essential medicines at hospitals, while 54 Category-D hospitals will be outsourced through public-private partnership to enhance management and improve services,” he said.

Mr Shah said the education reform featured the reduction of out-of-school children by 50 per cent and upgradation of learning outcomes in public schools.

He said 1,500 schools would be outsourced to improve quality of education, while higher education would be re-aligned with market needs via launch of industry-relevant degree programs and internships.

“Appointments and postings will be performance-based subject to monthly reviews,” he said.

The chief secretary said that mega development projects would be completed on priority basis for quick public impact including Peshawar-Dera Ismail Khan Motorway, Peshawar New General Bus Stand and Northern Bypass, while in the tourism sector, 50 new tourist destinations and 25 sites would be developed.

“We are committed to delivery. With defined Key Performance Indicators, continuous oversight and an inclusive feedback mechanism, we are determined to ensure that every rupee spent translates into meaningful outcomes for the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he said.

Additional chief secretary (planning and development) Ikramullah Khan gave a quick overview of the reform roadmap to ensure immediate and quick public impact projects.

Chief Minister Gandapur said the government would have to come up with a new system of governance if the current system didn’t deliver.

He said he had ensured that all schools in his constituency had furniture, and yet, when prodded to submit demand for new furniture, the schools sought Rs400 million.

“This means that the furniture was either stolen or never delivered,” he said.

The chief minister said that reforms were necessary to bring transparency and accountability.

He said that it was important to fix responsibility and punish those responsible. He said that he would personally review the performance of officers and would reward the best performers with better posting and punish those who failed to deliver.

“Bureaucrats and politicians are equally responsible for bad governance and corruption,”he said.

The roadmap seeks to ensure timely implementation and accountability, a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation system.

Its working paper says that the roadmap is based on detailed action plans prepared by the department themselves which will be reviewed on the weekly and monthly basis by the office of the chief secretary and quarterly at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat.

The chief secretary will directly oversee administrative and institutional reform, while the Performance Management and Reform Unit will utilize dashboard and geo-tagging evidence to track and verify progress.

“We are offering ourselves for scrutiny,” he said.

The chief secretary said that an effective communication strategy had also been prepared to augment the reform roadmap through a mix of traditional and digital media and social media platforms integrated with the CM’s Complaint Cell.

He responded to questions from participants and urged them to study the “living document” to study improvements.

Published in Dawn, July 5th, 2025