Category: 1. Pakistan

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Authorities in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province have evacuated more than 100,000 people from low-lying areas along the Indus river, a government spokesman said on Friday, after neighboring India warned of cross-border flooding from dam release.

The evacuations come as rescuers mounted a major rescue and relief operation in the country’s eastern Punjab province, where flooding from weeks of monsoon rains and overflowing dams in India has displaced about 1.8 million people since August.

Since late June, monsoon flooding has killed more than 900 people across Pakistan, according to disaster officials. India notified Islamabad through diplomatic channels on Friday of the potential cross-border flooding, according to the National Disaster Management Authority or NDMA and local authorities.

Weeks of heavier-than-normal monsoon rains, compounded by water releases from dams in India, have swelled rivers in Punjab to dangerous levels.

Deluges are now moving downstream toward Sindh, where they could swell the Indus river, officials said.

Currently, thousands of rescuers backed by the military are delivering food and other displaced people in Muzaffargarh and Multan districts in Punjab, where floods have inundated 3,900 villages since the Ravi, Sutlej, and Chenab rivers burst their banks two weeks ago.

Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon said in a statement that evacuations were underway in vulnerable districts, with 109,320 people already moved to safer ground as water levels in the Indus rise.

Sindh was among the worst-hit regions in the catastrophic 2022 floods, which killed 1,739 people nationwide.

Pakistan on Friday pushed back against a United Nations appeal to stop the expulsion of Afghan nationals in the wake of devastating earthquakes that have killed over 2,200 people in Afghanistan. Islamabad said it was within its sovereign rights to decide who remains on its soil.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, had urged Pakistan to pause the implementation of its mass deportation plan given the humanitarian crisis triggered by the quakes. “Given the circumstances, I appeal to the (government of Pakistan) to pause the implementation of the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan,” Grandi said.

However, Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan dismissed the call, asserting: “Any people with no documentation should leave. This is what Pakistan is doing and what any other country will be doing, including in Europe and other countries… it is our territory, we decide who stays in.”

Pakistan has hosted Afghans fleeing violence and humanitarian crises for more than four decades, from the Soviet invasion to the 2021 Taliban takeover. “Any people with no documentation should leave.

This is what Pakistan is doing and what any other country will be doing, including in Europe and other countries… it is our territory, we decide who stays in,” Shafqat Ali Khan, the foreign ministry spokesperson told a press briefing.

The World Health Organisation estimated 270,000 returnees have recently settled in the earthquake affected districts which border Pakistan. Afghans awaiting relocation to Germany have reported several police raids on guest houses where German authorities have asked them to stay for months on end while their cases are processed.

Many of those living in the quake-hit villages in eastern Afghanistan were among the more than four million Afghans forced back to the country from Iran and Pakistan in recent years. Various cohorts of Afghans have found differing degrees of stability, including access to work and education, in Pakistan.

Some were born and raised there, while others transited en route to resettlement in the West. However, Pakistan’s government, citing an uptick in violent attacks and insurgent campaigns, launched a crackdown in 2023 to evict them, painting the population as “terrorists and criminals”.

More than 1.2 million Afghans have since been forced to return from Pakistan, including more than 443,000 this year alone, according to the United Nations. The crackdown has most recently targeted an estimated 1.3 million refugees with Proof of Registration (PoR) cards issued by the UN refugee agency UNHCR.

Islamabad has set a deadline of September 1 for them to leave or face arrest and deportation.

With inputs from agencies

KASUR, Pakistan: Sitting on the edge of her bed at a school playground-turned-relief camp, Rubina Bibi’s voice trembled as she contemplated what would come next. 

Floodwaters that swept through her village in Punjab’s Kasur district destroyed her home. Now, she wonders where her family will go once the waters recede and the camp closes.

The 40-year-old’s family is among dozens sheltering in a government-run school in Kasur, some 15 kilometers from the flooded villages along the Sutlej river near Pakistan’s border with India. They live under makeshift tents and plastic sheets, alongside neighbors who, like them, have lost everything.

“We have lost everything, our home and belongings. The greatest worry is what will happen after the water recedes and we have to leave this camp? Where will we go,” she said.

“Nowadays the world feels so cruel, and we cannot bear the thought of our daughters living outside in the open.”

Punjab, which produces much of Pakistan’s wheat and rice and is home to half of the country’s 240 million people, has suffered the worst damage in this year’s monsoon season. Officials in the province reported that 49 people have died in the ongoing Ravi–Sutlej–Chenab flood wave, bringing Punjab’s monsoon death toll since mid-June to 183.

Nearly 3.9 million people have been affected and 3,900 villages submerged while authorities have shifted over 1.8 million residents to safer areas.

Across Pakistan, rain and flood-related incidents have killed 884 people since the start of the monsoon on June 26, according to the National Disaster Management Authority.

In Kasur’s Ganda Singh Wala area, close to the Indian border, floodwaters alone submerged 148 villages and destroyed crops on 70,000 acres, according to the district administration.

Authorities said they had evacuated nearly 76,000 people from the district.

STRUGGLES IN RELIEF CAMPS

At the District Public School camp in Kasur, about 350 people from 80 families have lived in temporary shelters for more than two weeks. Aid has trickled in, but uncertainty weighs heavily on the families.

“Our children need clothes as they have only one suit to wear and are roaming around in tattered shoes,” Rubina said, appealing to Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif to provide them with a permanent roof.

Nearby, Aisha Bibi, a young flood survivor, voiced the same fears: 

“We are very worried that once this camp is closed after the floodwater recedes, where we will go. It has become a great anxiety and depression for us affecting our mental health.”

Local officials acknowledge the scale of the psychological and social trauma. 

“These people are scared that they have to go back so consoling them for now is the biggest challenge,” said Sherina Junejo, an additional deputy commissioner in Kasur. “We are very hopeful that things are going to get better and they are going to go back to their homes and get settled.”

Junejo said the administration was striving to meet the hygiene and health needs of women at the camp to help families retain some dignity. 

“Hygiene kits are in place, sanitary napkins are in place and [we are] providing them with a fresh set of clothes and other relevant female hygiene items,” she said.

Authorities have also provided antenatal care for pregnant women, with a hospital set up in the female wing of the camp staffed by women doctors and attendants round the clock. 

“So, if something like that (medical emergency) were to occur, God forbid, we are equipped to address it,” Junejo added.

Mehrish Arshad, a nurse at the makeshift hospital, said diarrhea, fever, sore throats and related ailments were the main illnesses among children. 

“We received about 100 hygiene kits and we have provided them to all the ladies,” she said, noting that the camp currently had sufficient medical supplies.

Kasur Deputy Commissioner Imran Ali said damage assessment teams had already been formed by Punjab’s Communications and Works Department. 

“As the water recedes, we will be able to understand which structures got damaged to which extent and will be compensated accordingly,” he said.

The Foreign Office (FO) has said that India failed to provide Pakistan with complete details regarding the recent floods through established diplomatic procedures.

FO spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan stated that while India conveyed some information once via diplomatic channels, it did not share the full details as required. He accused India of being involved in terrorism inside Pakistan, stressing that Islamabad has already presented evidence of New Delhi’s role to the international community and friendly nations.

On Afghanistan, the spokesperson urged Kabul to ensure its territory is not used against Pakistan. He also called on Germany to accelerate the evacuation of Afghan citizens waiting to relocate there.

The FO strongly condemned Israeli strikes in Khan Younis, noting that hospitals and journalists were targeted in clear human rights violations.

Commenting on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to China, the spokesperson termed it highly successful. He said the Prime Minister attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit on President Xi Jinping’s invitation, held meetings with several key leaders, and emphasized dialogue with Afghanistan while highlighting regional security concerns.

On Friday (September 5), two women were arrested in Pakistan’s Rawalpindi for hurling an egg at former PM Imran Khan’s sister Aleema Khanum. The incident took place when she was addressing a press conference outside the Adiala jail, where the Toshakhanacase hearing took place earlier in the day. According to the police, the women were supporters of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI). They reportedly aimed the egg at Aleema after she dodged a question addressed to her. The incident was condemned by Barrister Gohar Khan, also saying that the family should be given security to avert such incidents in the future. Khan urged the government to look into the matter.

At the media interaction outside the jail, journalists posed questions to Aleema on reporter Tayyab Baloch, who was targeted with online trolling. Baloch had earlier asked Aleema about purchasing a property using donation funds, which was raised by another journalist, Ammar Solangi, on social media, as mentioned in a report by Tribune Express.

Journalists asked, “You did not answer the question; instead, Tayyab Baloch was threatened. Is asking a question a crime? Do you only respond to questions of your choice?” Aleema further denied issuing any threats to anybody and exited the premises following the egg attack.

On Friday, the Toshakhanacase against Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi was adjourned. The next hearing has been scheduled for September 8. The court has recorded testimonies of witnesses during the trial.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan signed $8.5 billion in new investment agreements with China during a visit to Beijing by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan’s state media reported Friday.

The accords finalized Thursday in the Chinese capital city include $7 billion in a memoranda of understanding and $1.5 billion in joint ventures covering agriculture, renewable energy, electric vehicles, health, steel and other sectors.

Sharif travelled to Beijing this week for the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and met with Chinese leaders on the sidelines.

Sharif unveiled the next phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor at the conference, vowing to cut bureaucratic hurdles to speed up projects. In televised remarks, he assured Chinese investors that his government would enhance security for their workers.

CPEC includes building and improving roads and rail systems to link western China’s Xinjiang region to Pakistan’s Gwadar port on the Arabian sea. It is part of Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative to increase trade by building infrastructure around the world.

Thousands of Chinese work in Pakistan on CPEC-linked projects. Some have been targeted in attacks by Baloch separatists and Pakistani Taliban militants, prompting repeated calls from Beijing for stronger protections.

Defence and Martyrs Day will be observed across the country on Saturday to honor the martyrs and Ghazis of the 1965 war and to reaffirm the nation’s resolve to defend Pakistan against all threats.

The day marks September 6, 1965, when Indian forces crossed the international border under the cover of night to attack Pakistan, but their plans were successfully foiled by the armed forces with the full support of the nation.

The observance will begin with a 31-gun salute in the federal capital and 21-gun salutes in provincial capitals. Special prayers will be offered in mosques for the country’s progress, prosperity, and for the independence of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

Fateha and Quran Khawani will also be held for the martyrs who laid down their lives in defense of the motherland.

State Minister for Interior Talal Chaudhry on Friday reaffirmed the government’s readiness to engage with Balochistan’s leadership and political representatives to find practical solutions to the province’s longstanding issues as the Opposition’s PTI staged a walkout from the House, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
Speaking in the National Assembly, the minister said that although a protest is ongoing on a major road in the Red Zone in front of National Press, authorities have been providing security and necessary facilitation for several days.
“The government, along with the district administration, has been in continuous contact with the protesters, trying to address their concerns through proper channels,” he added.
He said, that while the protest was initially meant to highlight specific issues, some individuals have at times misused it for personal or political point-scoring. “We remain in dialogue with the protestors and are ready to engage with them on a comprehensive plan to address their lawful demands,” he said.
He highlighted previous efforts by political parties, including discussions with Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) and other leadership, as well as the Prime Minister’s Committee on Balochistan, where these issues were addressed openly.
On the issue of missing persons, he clarified that nearly 2,000 registered cases exist under the law, and the relevant commission monitors these matters strictly according to rules. “The government does not allow any one to act beyond legal boundaries, and the issue of missing persons should not be politicized or used for ulterior purposes,” he added.
Responding to another point, he said, “Holding political gatherings without proper clearance creates soft targets, whether school buses, markets, mosques, or other public spaces. Terrorists exploit these vulnerabilities.”
He said that security assessments must be completed before any event proceeds to ensure public safety.
He said that National Action Plan, developed in coordination with all provincial governments and political parties, will significantly reduce terrorism.

All resources for rehabilitation of flood victims

Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar has said all available resources will be utilized with the cooperation of the provinces for the rehabilitation of flood affected people.

Winding up discussion on a motion regarding the situation arising out of the recent floods, in the National Assembly, Tarar said one point three billion rupees have been released to the NDMA for rescue and relief efforts.

The Law Minister said according to the latest data, eight hundred and 84 people have died and 1181 others injured in the floods. He said evacuation of 2.1 million people was carried out in the flood affected areas.

Giving details of the compensation package, he said that two million rupees each have been given to the families of the deceased, five hundred thousand rupees to severely injured and two hundred thousand rupees to other injured people.

Participating in the discussion on the motion, Minister for National Health Services Mustafa Kamal emphasized the need for empowering and strengthening local government system in order to effectively deal with disasters such as floods. He also called for construction of dams to enhance water storage capacity.

Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri emphasized the need for provision of timely relief to the flood affected people.

Jamal Shah Kakar said problems of Balochistan should be addressed on priority basis.

Usman Badini said a parliamentary committee should be constituted to address the problems of Balochistan.

Responding to the points regarding Balochistan situation, Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhary condemned the recent terror attack on a political rally in Quetta.  He emphasized the need for strict implementation of National Action Plan in cooperation with the provinces to wipe out terrorism.

The House has now been prorogued.

Reporter Rozina Ali