Category: 1. Pakistan

LAHORE: As Pakistanis continue to face wide-ranging repercussions of worsening climate change, Punjab has introduced various initiatives and policies to mitigate the issue with provincial government’s Green Credit Programme being one such measure in this regard as well.

The programme is aimed at laying a foundation for an emission trading system in Punjab and mobilising youth, students, females, and the broader community to carry out positive environmental action.

As part of the initiative, the government has signed an agreement with a private company to recycle single-use plastic which will install locally manufactured machines with the help of Chinese technology in four major universities in Lahore next month. Such machines will further also be installed in the city’s markets as well.

This machine consists of two boxes and are easy to use where citizens can simply press button A, insert a plastic bottle, enter their phone number and press button B. Once they have done this, green credits will appear on the machine’s screen, which can also be viewed with the help of the mobile application

As per the private company’s Chairman Gulfam Abid, 500 tonnes of plastic bottle waste is generated daily and these machines will ensure that plastic bottles and single-use plastic utensils are recycled which will then be used to make sidewalks, bricks and patchwork of roads.

Abid further highlighted that by putting 20 one-and-a-half-litre bottles, and 40 half-litre bottles in the machine, people will be able to get as much as Rs 1,000 in cash.

Not only ordinary citizens but also 18,000 junkyards of Lahore will be able to benefit from the green credits, he added, noting that they could reach out via the mobile application and the company itself would collect bottles from them.

ISLAMABAD:

The government on Sunday notified an increase in the fixed charges on gas bills by 50% and also jacked up gas tariffs for non-residential consumers.

According to a notification issued by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) on Sunday, the fixed charges were increased by Rs200 to Rs600 for the protected category of domestic consumers.

In the non-protected category, the fixed charges were increased from Rs1,000 to Rs1,500 for monthly consumption of up to 1.5 hm3. Likewise, the fixed charges for consumption exceeding 1.5 hm3 were jacked up to Rs3,000.

The protected category includes a domestic consumer whose average consumption of last 4 winter months (November to February) shall be below or equal to 0.9 hm3. In contrast, the non-protected category includes a domestic category whose average consumption of last 4 months shall be above 0.9 hm3.

The revised tariff also applies to various institutional and commercial entities. Government institutions, semi-government bodies, hospitals, and educational institutions will now be charged Rs3,175 per MMBTU. For traditional tandoors (bread ovens), gas rates have been set between Rs110 and Rs700 per MMBTU, depending on usage levels.

Commercial consumers will now pay Rs3,900 per MMBTU, while general industrial users will be charged Rs2,300 per MMBTU. Captive power producers — industries generating their own electricity — will pay Rs3,500 per MMBTU, and CNG stations will be billed at Rs3,750 per MMBTU.

Cement factories will face the highest tariff among industrial users, with rates set at Rs4,400 per MMBTU. Fertilizer plants will be charged Rs1,597 per MMBTU. For K-Electric and other electricity generation companies, the new tariff has been fixed at Rs1,225 per MMBTU.

The Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority last month determined the Estimated Revenue Requirements (ERR) for FY 2025-26 for both SNGPL and SSGCL. According to the determinations, SNGPL requires revenues of Rs534.5 billion and SSGCL requires revenues of Rs354.2 billion to sail through the FY 2025-26 respectively. The cumulative revenue requirements of both the Sui companies are Rs888.6 billion for the FY 2025-26.

The law mandates the federal government to ensure that the consumer gas sale prices should not be less than the revenue requirement determined by the Authority. At the previous notified consumer gas sale prices effective February 01, 2025 the estimated revenues of both Sui companies by end FY 2025-26 were Rs847.714 billion.

Some of the members of the ECC criticized giving guaranteed 24% return on assets to Sui companies, which discourage efforts to improve efficiency by reducing line losses.

The prices were changed to meet a condition of the International Monetary Fund to biannually adjust the gas prices.

 

Drawing comfort from the Iran-Israel ceasefire and adhering to the two-week schedule for the budget debate, the National Assembly last week passed a relatively improved version of the proposed federal budget for 2025-26. While its core remained largely unchanged, subtle in form and far from ideal, it was nonetheless a step forward.

The Finance Bill, set to become law upon presidential assent, is notably more people and business-friendly, and less autocratic in tone, than the original draft presented by Finance Minister Aurangzeb Khan on June 10.

It has significantly raised the taxable income threshold, moderately reduced income tax rates for salaried middle class, slightly lowered the super tax on businesses, adopted a more lenient stance on tax frauds and property and car transactions by non-filers, increased the minimum wage, and enhanced allocation for the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), among other measures.

The threshold of taxable income has been more than doubled — from Rs50,000 to Rs1,200,000 annually. Import duty on solar panels was reduced from 18pc to 10pc. The minimum wage was increased from Rs37,000 to 40,000 per month. The Super Tax was cut by 0.5 percentage points. Income tax rates were lowered across several brackets: from 2.5pc to 1pc for the lowest band, from 15pc to 11pc for the next, from 25pc to 23pc for the one above that. The allocation for the BISP was raised from Rs592bn to Rs716bn. The 2.5pc carbon tax was retained, though rebranded as Carbon Support Levy.

The PPP, a key coalition partner of PML-N and holder of the chairpersonship of both Senate and National Assembly Finance Committees, played a pivotal role in driving these improvements, alongside other parliamentarians who actively contributed to the budget debate.

While the changes introduced in the budget offer much-needed relief, they fall short of addressing more substantive concerns. Key critiques remain unaddressed, such as the continued overreliance on regressive indirect taxation, the absence of meaningful efforts to broaden the tax base, insufficient incentives for capital formation and job creation, and the neglect of the vast tax potential of large commercial enterprises operated by security establishment-affiliated trusts.

The Finance Bill that is set to become law is notably more people and business-friendly, and less autocratic in tone than the draft presented earlier

Critics also highlight the need to link the state’s right to impose additional taxes to its performance in delivering promised services, raise the minimum wage to a sustainable level, fully pass on the benefits of declining oil prices to the public, and realign expenditure priorities to align better with the needs of the economy and the people.

It is also worth noting that recent changes to the Parliament’s rules of business, allowing a member of National Assembly Finance Committee from outside the ruling party to critically review the Finance Bill, contributed to a more substantive and balanced debate, ultimately leading to improvements in the original draft.

Salahuddin Safdar, a parliamentary governance expert with the Free and Fair Election Network, noted that while verbatim records of the National Assembly budget sessions are not yet available (making a full assessment premature) the process showed signs of improvement.

“What stood out this time was the review of the Finance Bill by the Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance,” Mr Safdar observed. “A key shift was the removal of a rule in October last year that had previously barred the bill from committee scrutiny. Additionally, unlike in the past, the committee is now chaired by Syed Naveed Qamar of a coalition partner rather than a member of the ruling party. These procedural changes likely contributed to the amendments made to the original fiscal and taxation proposals.”

Senator Salim Mandviwala, Chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance, was candid in his remarks. He outlined the coordination between the Senate and the National Assembly during the budget debate.

“Despite the constraints imposed by International Monetary Fund conditions and the limited manoeuvrability within Pakistan’s power structure, I believe we succeeded in improving the proposed budget. While much more is needed, some progress is better than none. I appreciate the efforts of colleagues in the National Assembly who worked diligently to incorporate changes that addressed key concerns — such as easing the burden on the salaried middle class, improving allocations for pro-poor initiatives, and introducing checks on tax authorities to prevent harassment of businesses and high-net-worth individuals,” Mr Mandviwala said.

This scribe has obtained a copy of the recommendations from the Senate Standing Committee on Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives, which reviewed and proposed revisions to the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP). When contacted by phone, Senator Quratul Ain Mari, chairperson of the committee stated that the committee had thoroughly vetted all PSDP projects and put forward recommendations aimed at ensuring regionally equitable development spending, eliminating allocations for defunct or poorly conceived projects, and increasing support of initiatives considered critical to improving development outcomes. While these recommendations are not binding, they have been shared with the parliamentary finance committee and legislators for consideration and further action.

Among other issues highlighted in the note, the committee pointed out instances where Sindh has not been treated at par with the other provinces. Notably, schemes of the now defunct Public Works Department (PWD) have been transferred to provincial governments except for Sindh. The committee recommended that all 27 PWD schemes be immediately handed over to the Government of Sindh to ensure adoption of a uniform policy across the country.

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, June 30th, 2025

QUETTA: A moderate 5. 5 magnitude earthquake struck Musakhail, a remote district of Balochistan that borders Punjab, early on Sunday morning, injuring five people and damaging dozens of mud houses.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said that the first tremor struck Musakhail, Rarashram, Kingri, and surrounding areas at 3:24am with a magnitude of 5.5 and a depth of 28km, while the second tremor, measuring 4.8, was recorded at 7:30am.

“Aftershocks continued for a brief period in the affected areas,” officials in Musakhail told Dawn, adding that residents were reluctant to re-enter their homes due to the tremors.

The epicenter of the moderate earthquake was located approximately 60 kilometres north-northeast of Barkhan, a mountainous district headquarters in Balochistan province bordering Punjab. There were also reports that tremors were felt in some bordering areas of Punjab.

Tremors also felt in Rarashram, Kingri and surrounding areas; hundreds of homes partially affected

“The tremors continued to jolt Musakhail, Rarashram, Kingri, and surrounding areas for around 30 seconds, causing many houses to collapse,” local administration officials said, adding that two houses were completely destroyed.

According to initial reports, five people, including a woman, were brought to the rural health centre with injuries sustained from collapsing houses.

“A couple was injured when the roof of their house was badly damaged during the earthquake,” levies officials said, adding that the condition of two injured individuals was serious, and they were shifted to District Hospital Loralai.

The officials added that over a hundred mud houses were partially damaged, rendering many residents homeless, who were being moved to safe locations. The boundary wall of the Government High School in the area also collapsed.

Musakhail Deputy Commissioner Bilal Shabbir confirmed that five people were injured in the quake-related incidents. “The rescue and relief teams reached the affected areas soon after the earthquake,” he told Dawn.

The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) stated that the district control room was activated immediately after the tremors were felt, and damage assessments are ongoing. Preliminary data indicates that hundreds of homes have been partially affected, and a detailed survey has been initiated.

Meanwhile, Balochistan Government Spokesperson Shahid Rind said in a statement that initial relief operations have begun in Tehsil Kingri of Musakhail. He added that once the final report is compiled, complete details of the losses will be shared.

Tremors were also felt in nearby Barkhan district, adding to concerns in the region. Authorities continue to monitor the situation as aftershocks remain a possibility.

Published in Dawn, June 30th, 2025

SWAT/LOWER DIR: The district administrations on Sunday launched a comprehensive anti-encroachment operation along the Swat and Panjkora rivers on Sunday, following the tragic incident where floods claimed the lives of about 14 tourists, who were having breakfast by the Swat River.

The incident sparked nationwide outrage, with people across the country criticising both the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and the district administration for failing to rescue the tourists in time.

In response to the tragedy, the provincial government formed a committee to investigate the causes, and the provincial chief secretary Shahab Ali Shah visited Swat for a meeting with local officials and elected representatives.

During the meeting, the chief secretary ordered the immediate cessation of gravel mining activities in the Swat River and the removal of all illegal structures and encroachments along the river.

Campaign faces opposition from hotel, restaurant owners in Swat

However, the anti-encroachment campaign has faced opposition from hotel and restaurant owners whose properties are situated along the Swat River. They argue that they legally constructed their buildings after acquiring the necessary permits.

Social activists have criticised the government departments for allowing the illegal construction of buildings along the river. “Why did the tehsil municipal administration, the irrigation department, and the district administration permit the construction of illegal buildings?” asked Saad Khan, a social activist from Mingora. “Where were the relevant authorities when these buildings were being built?”

The owners of hotels and restaurants maintain that they followed the proper procedures. “When we constructed our buildings, we obtained permission from the TMA and other local authorities. We invested millions of rupees to establish our businesses, and now, after so many years, the government is demolishing our buildings,” said Ihsanullah, a restaurant owner.

Hotel and restaurant owners threw stones at officials and police, resulting in three government servants being injured. In response, the police arrested eight individuals and filed cases against them.

Meanwhile, the Lower Dir district administration on Sunday decided to launch a crackdown on encroachments and unauthorised constructions along the Panjkora River and other streams in the wake of the recent tragic incident in Swat.

A complete ban has also been imposed on the legal and illegal extraction of sand, soil, and gravel from riverbeds.

The decision was made during an urgently called meeting chaired by deputy commissioner Mohammad Arif.

It was decided that, as per the clear instructions chief secretary Shahab Ali Shah, all forms of construction and the extraction of materials, both legal and illegal, along the Panjkora River would be completely banned.

Furthermore, it was decided to establish a response centre at the office of the additional deputy commissioner (relief), where officials from all relevant departments will be deployed to ensure timely coordination and response.

In line with provincial government directives, rescue teams will be equipped with drones, lifesaving jackets, and other modern rescue equipment. The executive engineer of the irrigation department was directed to establish an early warning system to monitor water levels and potential flood threats.

To ensure effective monitoring of all rivers across Lower Dir, it was also decided to deploy personnel from Rescue 1122, police, Levies, and the district administration on regular patrols. These teams will also be responsible for keeping the public away from riverbanks to avoid any untoward incident.

Meanwhile, in the wake of the recent incident in Swat and amid warnings of potential heavy rainfall and flooding across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Dera district administration has intensified precautionary efforts to safeguard lives and property.

Dera division commissioner Zafarul Islam Khattak and regional police officer Syed Ashfaq Shah, accompanied by deputy commissioner Abdul Nasir Khan and district police officer Sajjad Ahmad Sahabzada on Sunday conducted a comprehensive visit to several critical points along the Indus River.

The officials inspected the water flow and assessed the rising levels, particularly at the Dera-Darya Khan Bridge.

They issued strict directives to immediately prohibit public access to the riverbanks, including recreational activities and bathing in the river.

The commissioner instructed all relevant departments to ensure full compliance with the restrictions and maintain strict monitoring along the river to prevent any untoward incident.

Citizens have been advised to remain vigilant and, in case of any emergency, promptly contact local authorities, Rescue 1122, or civil defence.

In Lakki Marwat, deputy commissioner Zeeshan Abdullah has banned swimming and bathing in all natural water bodies and use, sale and distribution of plastic bags in the district.

An official told Dawn on Sunday that the restrictions had been imposed for one month and the tehsil municipal officers of Lakki, Naurang, Ghaznikhel and Bettani subdivision had been directed to give a wide publicity to the order pertaining to imposition of restrictions.

He said the violators would be dealt with under the law.

Published in Dawn, June 30th, 2025

THEY came for breakfast and a few photographs, perhaps to capture a happy moment beside the River Swat. But within minutes, the calm waters turned violent, sweeping away an entire family in front of helpless onlookers.

As the surging brown torrents of the swollen river pounded the rocks beneath their feet, 14 tourists — men, women and children — stood huddled together, teetering between fading hope and overwhelming despair.

The family, belonging to Daska tehsil in Sialkot, had stopped for breakfast at Relax Hotel, located at the Fizagat picnic point on the outskirts of Mingora.

After their meal, they ventured onto the riverbed to take photographs. As they snapped selfies and recorded videos, the waters suddenly swelled, trapping them on a raised mound of stones and sand, left behind by quarrying work in the riverbed.

The river’s rapids quickly eroded the small, fragile piece of land beneath them. As bystanders captured the unfolding tragedy on their phones under a grey sky, members of the group began to fall into the torrent, one by one. Within minutes, all were swept away.

After 13 lives were lost in a flash flood, officials and experts weigh what could — and should — have been done to prevent the disaster

The short distance to safety — barely 100 metres — proved unreachable.

The incident has ignited public anger and raised serious questions about the provincial government’s emergency response, early warning systems and disaster preparedness.

Dawn spoke with officials and experts to piece together what really happened in Swat and evaluate the government’s role, the effectiveness of the emergency response, preparedness, and early warning systems.

What happened

Eyewitnesses said the group was stranded for over two hours and no one turned up to rescue them. But officials dispute this claim.

Shah Fahad, director general of Rescue 1122, told Dawn that CCTV footage from the hotel shows the tourists entering the riverbed around 9:37am. “The river was dry then, but within minutes, the water surged. By 9:45am, the river had risen dramatically,” he said.

Mr Fahad said the first call for help was received at 9:49am. However, a fatal miscommunication occurred. The operator misunderstood the nature of the emergency, treating it as a medical issue instead of a rescue operation.

An ambulance was dispatched and arrived at 9:56am. When responders realised they were faced with a river rescue, they requested a different vehicle. A disaster rescue vehicle, carrying generators, inflatable boats and other paraphernalia, was dispatched to the scene, but arrived too late.

He said an investigation was underway to find out whether the delay could have been due to operator error, or the caller’s failure to properly convey the nature of the emergency.

But there are slight variations, even in official records. According to information seen by Dawn, the Swat district administration received its first alert at 9:55am, and a Rescue 1122 ambulance arrived at the scene around 10:07am. Rescue efforts began in earnest at 10:15am with a locally made raft using inflated tubes.

By 10:36am, the eroding riverbed gave way and the stranded tourists were swept into the rapids. Video footage shows a raft, locally called a jaalai, approaching four people clinging to each other in knee-deep water. Official accounts claim three of them were rescued.

Several officials and rescue experts told Dawn the River Swat’s rocky, shallow, fast-flowing nature makes it unsuitable for divers or motorboats. Rescue 1122 has a rope gun capable of launching lines up to 100 metres, but it couldn’t be used as there was no anchor point across the river.

Why no helicopter?

A KP government official said a helicopter rescue was considered, but ultimately ruled out due to bad weather.

An emergency response expert told Dawn that 95 per cent of crisis management is preparedness, and only 5pc is the response. “You don’t send divers unless there’s a high chance of survival — and in this case, there wasn’t.”

He regretted that Swat has seen multiple floods since the 2010 floods, but little has been done in terms of community-based disaster risk management (CBDRM). In contrast, the Kalash valleys in Chitral have such systems in place.

“In 2015, the Bumburet valley faced severe flooding, but no lives were lost because villagers upstream warned those downstream. That’s what CBDRM looks like,” he said.

Early warning systems

Swat district spans over 5,000 square kilometres and has a population of 2.6 million. The Meteorological Department maintains three weather observatories here — in Saidu Sharif, Malam Jabba and Kalam.

On June 23, the KP Provincial Disaster Management Authority issued a weather advisory warning of a westerly wave approaching by June 25. It said the wave was likely to intensify on June 25 and directed authorities to take precautionary measures.

Data from the Met Department shows rainfall on June 27 measured 46mm in Saidu Sharif, 42mm in Malam Jabba and 4mm in Kalam. River gauges installed by the Irrigation Department in Khwazakhela recorded a morning discharge of 6,738 cusecs.

A senior Irrigation Department official told Dawn that Kalam valley was outside of the monsoon zone, which extends across Bahrain, Khwazakhela and Matta tehsils.

Another Irrigation Department official said the flash flood likely originated in Khwazakhela and Matta tehsils, fed by tributaries like Chaprial, Ningolay, Baryam and Shawar. Streams from Manglawar and Malam Jabba also contributed.

A telemetry system at Charbagh was reportedly non-functional, though Swat Executive Engineer Inamullah Khan denied its existence there, stressing that only Khwazakhela has such a system.

Former Swat deputy commissioner Shahzad Mehboob, who was transferred on Saturday, said the flood came too quickly for officials to respond. “Small tributaries of the River Swat swelled, and it reached the site within a very short span of time,” he said.

Yet questions remain: did officials in upstream tehsils — Khwazakhela, Matta, Charbagh and Babuzai — warn Mingora authorities in time? Could such a warning have triggered preventative action, avoiding the loss of lives?

On the evening of the tragedy, the KP government suspended the assistant commissioners of Babuzai and Khwazakhela for a delayed response and failure to issue an early warning. The Additional Deputy Commissioner (Relief) was also suspended for failing to make arrangements.

Some officials questioned why life jackets were not dropped near the stranded tourists. Others criticised the lack of on-ground enforcement, stressing that while alerts were issued, field action was lacking.

Published in Dawn, June 30th, 2025

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Header image: Army officials participate in rescue operations, Swat, June 27. — Rescue 1122/File