Category: 1. Pakistan

A glacier burst in Gilgit-Baltistan’s Bagrot Valley caused the death of one person on Friday, while his father was injured, according to the regional government’s spokesperson.

A glacial burst, or glacial lake outburst flood (Glof), refers to an outburst of water from a glacial lake which could lead to severe flooding downstream. Pakistan is home to over 13,032 glaciers, the largest reservoir of glaciers outside of the polar regions. However, experts have warned that about 10,000 glaciers in Chitral and GB have been reported to be receding due to climate change–induced temperature rise.

GB’s government spokesperson, Faizullah Faraq, said that the father and son had fallen into a ravine and been buried under the debris of the Bagrot glacier as it burst, injuring both.

“Locals and Rescue 1122 saved the father while the son was killed,” he said.

Former member of the Bagrot Valley Assembly, Captain (retd) Muhammad Shafi, said that the father and son had been travelling on foot on the glacier in Barchi village when it collapsed.

“The father was rescued after several hours of efforts by the rescue team, but the son could not be rescued alive,” he said, adding that the father was transported to the hospital.

According to local journalist Imtiaz Gulab Bagoro, the father and son were from Balchi village. They were heading from Gargo village to Barchi village when the glacier collapsed.

He said that the father and son were rescued after 10 hours, while Gilgit Rescue 1122 reported that the rescue took eight hours.

The rescue team added that the son’s body had been moved to his native village of Balchi.

According to Faraq, new flash floods had “wreaked havoc in every direction” in the Khanbari area of Diamer district.

“Floods in Khanbari have destroyed people’s standing crops, lands and water channels,” he said, adding that floods were continuing across the province.

The Bagrot Valley has been a victim of climate change for the past several years, with many Glofs affecting the population.

According to non-governmental organisations (NGOs), several glacial lakes have formed in the valley.

To reduce the risks of these glacial lakes, NGOs have planted hundreds of trees in the Bagrot Valley and built protective walls with foreign aid. Early warning systems have been installed at several places in GB to inform the population about the flood situation due to climate change.

Safdar Ali, who is in charge of the information department of the Glof project, said that 200 early warning stations had been established in 16 valleys to protect the human population from flood waves due to climate change, of which 147 stations were active.

According to him, the early warning system had reported the danger in the Hassanabad nullah, but “since there was no major threat to the population, the practice of repeatedly sounding the siren did not continue”.

Ali said that the data of the early warning system was being transferred to the meteorological department, based on which weather alerts were being issued.

In June, the National Disaster Management Authority’s Nat­ional Emergencies Ope­ration Centre issued a Glof alert for northern areas, including GB, citing a dangerous combination of persistent high temperatures, intensified monsoon currents and a prevailing westerly wave.

The same month, three members of a family, including a man and his teenage son, were buried alive in a glacial slide while taking pictures at Sohni Waterfall near Naran.

Last year in August, a glacial lake outburst hit a village in Upper Chitral district, displacing 30 families.

• FM Araghchi, senior ministers to accompany Iranian president.
• This marks Pezeshkian’s first official visit to Pakistan as president.
• Iranian president visiting Pakistan at PM Shehbaz’s invitation.

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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is set to arrive in Islamabad on Saturday (tomorrow) for a two-day state visit to Pakistan, the Foreign Office said on Friday.

In a statement, the FO said the Iranian president is visiting the country at the invitation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

“Dr Pezeshkian will be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including Foreign Minister of Iran Seyyed Abbas Araghchi, senior ministers, and other high-ranking officials,” the statement added.

During his stay, Pezeshkian will meet President Asif Ali Zardari, and hold delegation-level talks with PM Shehbaz Sharif.

This marks Pezeshkian’s first official visit to Pakistan as the President of Iran.

PM Shehbaz last visited Iran on May 26, 2025. The visit is expected to further strengthen the brotherly relations between Pakistan and Iran.

According to the Political Adviser to the Iranian President, Mehdi Sanai, official meetings and discussions with “cultural and business elites” were planned during the president’s visit.

“The relations between the two countries encompass political, economic, religious, and cultural dimensions,” he had said in a X post on July 30.

The development of provincial and border cooperation, as well as increasing trade from the current $3 billion, are among the objectives of the visit, the adviser concluded.

Pezeshkian will be the second Iranian president to visit Pakistan within two years. The visit was originally scheduled for the final week of July.

In April 2024, Ebrahim Raisi paid a three-day official visit to Pakistan — just a month before his death in a helicopter crash.

Earlier in May, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif undertook a two-day bilateral visit to Iran as part of his regional tour to friendly countries aimed at expre¬ssing gratitude for their support during the conflict with India.

During the two-day visit, the premier met Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and the Iranian president.

The meetings focused on Pakistan-Iran relations, particularly the promotion of trade and regional connectivity, besides covering regional issues, with appreciation for Iran’s efforts to maintain peace in the region during the war imposed on Pakistan by India.

Both sides also discussed the strengthening of strategic ties between the two countries, as well as the immediate cessation of Zionist oppression in Gaza and achieving a sustainable and lasting ceasefire.

He had previously visited Iran in May 2024 to attend the memorial ceremony of former president Raisi. 

Five cops were martyred after bandits of the Katcha area attacked a police checkpoint in Rahim Yar Khan, a statement from the Punjab police said on Friday.

For decades, dozens of bandit gangs armed with sophisticated weaponry have operated with impunity in northern Sindh as well as southern Punjab. Kidnappings for ransom, extortion rackets that cripple local businesses, brutal killings and looting people on the major highways have become a daily reality.

According to a statement from the office of the Inspector General of Punjab, almost 40 bandits, using rocket launchers and grenades, attacked the Sheikhani police picket in the Katcha area, situated between Chowk Sewetra and Chowk Mahi near the Guddu-Kashmore Road on Thursday night.

“During the attack, policemen of Elite Force, including Muhammad Irfan, Muhammad Saleem and Nukhail of Bahawalnagar, together with Khalil and Ghazanfar of Rahim Yar Khan, were martyred,” the statement said, adding that a bandit was also killed when the police retaliated.

Following the sudden attack, police started a search operation against the bandits in the area, it added.

Inspector General (IG) Punjab Police Dr Usman Anwar took notice of the incident and sought a report from the regional police officer, Bahawalpur.

“IG Usman also instructed the Rahim Yar Khan District Police Officer, Irfan Ali Sammon, to immediately arrest the bandits involved in the attack,” the statement added.

The funeral prayers of martyred policemen will be offered at Rahim Yar Khan police lines at 2:30 pm today, it added.

Last month, different dacoit gangs of the Katcha area, through their social media posts and videos, had directly challenged the writ of the police and claimed that they would target them. As seen in the videos, the dacoits were equipped with the latest, sophisticated weapons, per the statement.

Per the statement, the bandits had recently attacked stone-carrying trucks near the Hajipur area to extort money from the owner of the trucks. Similarly, area locals complained that several bandit gangs still had complete control over different islands of the Indus River.

In March, three people were shot at and killed by dacoits in the Jamaldin Wali area of tehsil Sadiqabad near the Indus River to avenge the murder of a YouTuber dacoit.

In January, three members of the Hindu community from Chowk Sawetra area near Bhong were allegedly kidnapped by dacoits of Katcha area.