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.
After 13 lives were lost in a flash flood, officials and experts weigh what could — and should — have been done to prevent the disaster.
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
Header image: Army officials participate in rescue operations, Swat, June 27. — Rescue 1122/File
Pakistan and China are working on a proposal to establish a new regional organisation that could potentially replace the now-defunct South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
Discussions between Islamabad and Beijing are now at an advanced stage as both sides are convinced that a new organisation is need of the hour for regional integration and connectivity, according to diplomatic sources familiar with the development.
The recent trilateral meeting of Pakistan, China and Bangladesh held in Kunming, China, was part of those diplomatic maneuvers.
The meeting attended by senior diplomats from three countries was first of its kind that raised eyebrows in India.
The ultimate goal of the meeting in Kunming on June 19 was to invite other South Asian countries, which were part of SAARC, to join the new grouping.
India, according to sources, would be invited to the new proposed forum but given its divergent interests, it is unlikely to respond positively.
Nevertheless, other countries including Sri Lanka, Maldives, Afghanistan to name a few are expected to be part of the grouping.
The main purpose of the new organisation is to seek greater regional engagement through enhanced trade and connectivity.
If the proposal is materialised, SAARC, which was once dubbed European Union (EU) of South Asia, would be dead as ever.
SAARC could not achieve its stated objectives as it remained hostage to adversarial ties between Pakistan and India.
The regional grouping last held its summit a decade ago. Pakistan was to host the summit in 2016 but India boycotted the meeting in Islamabad. Bangladesh, which was at the time ruled by pro-India Sheikh Hasina Wajid, also joined New Delhi in staying away from the summit.
Since then no serious efforts were made to revive the organisation, though Pakistan was keen to host the summit.
Recently, SAARC was dealt with another fatal blow when India withdrew from offering special visas under the organization to Pakistani businessmen following the Pahalgam attack.
Pakistan and China were discussing the proposal of new organization for months and came to the conclusion that like-minded countries should join hands for better future.
India, observers believe, because of its divergent interests finds itself misfit in other regional groupings such as Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Prime Minister Narendra Modi skipped the last two SCO summits. The 10-member security alliance comprises China, Russia, Iran, Pakistan and some central Asian States.
The presence of China and Russia often refers the SCO as regional bloc to challenge West. However, India in recent years seems to be at odds with the SCO agenda.
The Chang’e-6 probe was launched from China on May 3, 2024. On June 25, 2024, its returner landed in North China, bringing back 1,935.3 grams of samples from the far side of the moon. [Xinhua]
Once upon a time, the tale of Chang’e flying to the moon existed only in Chinese folklore. But today, that ancient myth has been given a new, modern twist with actual moon samples making their way not to the palace of the moon goddess, but to the headquarters of the United Nations in Vienna.
On June 25, during the 68th session of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, China organized an exhibition featuring lunar samples collected from both the near and far sides of the moon to celebrate 20 years of its lunar exploration program. The exhibition not only showcases China’s remarkable technical achievements, but also offers a window into the country’s vision of inclusive, peaceful and cooperative outer space exploration.
The lunar samples, collected by the Chang’e-5 and Chang’e-6 missions respectively, represent landmarks in space science. Chang’e-5’s successful mission in 2020 made China the third country to retrieve materials from the moon after the United States and the Soviet Union. Chang’e-6 went even further, bringing back the first samples from the moon’s far side in 2024, marking another remarkable achievement for China.
But China’s space program is not just about national pride or technical triumphs. The underlying message of the exhibition is a clear one: China’s space exploration is open to the world.
The journey of Chang’e lunar exploration projects is no longer a solitary leap but a shared path. Over the past two decades, whether through bilateral agreements, joint missions, data-sharing or talent exchanges, China has made cooperation an important part of its space ambitions. The Chang’e-6 mission, for example, carried scientific payloads from France, Italy, Pakistan and the European Space Agency.
China has agreed to share samples with other countries, because they belong not only to China, but also to the world, representing a shared treasure for all humanity. This approach reflects China’s principle of enhancing international cooperation in space on the basis of equality and mutual benefit, peaceful utilization and inclusive development. In a world where geopolitical tensions sometimes spill into the space domain, China’s emphasis on multilateralism and peaceful cooperation sends a timely and constructive signal.
China’s space exploration achievements extend far beyond lunar missions. It made history with its Tianwen-1 mission to Mars, launched in July 2020 as China’s inaugural independent interplanetary endeavor. This groundbreaking mission, for the first time ever, successfully deployed an orbiter, lander and rover on the Red Planet in a single launch.
China also operates two cutting-edge solar observation satellites in orbit. These sophisticated spacecraft have delivered significant breakthroughs, providing scientists with unprecedented insights into the behavior and characteristics of the sun.
In fact, China has gone a step further by proposing the establishment of an open and inclusive platform for deep-space exploration, inviting countries, developed and developing alike, to participate in upcoming missions. For example, China has signed cooperation agreements with 17 countries and international organizations on the International Lunar Research Station construction, offering various levels and forms of collaboration opportunities. The first batch of experimental projects selected through China’s collaboration with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs are being conducted aboard the Chinese space station.
And just like the legend of Chang’e, what once felt distant and mythical is becoming part of a shared human story.
ABUJA, June 30 — The first strikes in Dambe are thrown before the boxers even leave their house.
Fighters don charms and amulets, dye their fist or even score their arm with a razor, inserting traditional medicine before it scars over — all guaranteed to protect them in the ring or deliver a knock-out punch.
Combined with prayers from “mallams”, or spiritual guides, they are unstoppable — not just in Nigeria, but increasingly around the world.
The Dambe World Series kicked off in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, on Saturday in the latest evolution of a sport that traces its roots back centuries among west Africa’s Hausa speakers.
“Instead of trying to Westernise it, or instead of trying to make it something else, for us the goal is to professionalise it,” said Maxwell Kalu, founder of the West African Fighting Championship, the group organising the tournament.
At the same time, a key goal is also “opening the door in terms of inviting people to compete in Nigeria”.
Held on the ground of the national stadium and broadcast by DAZN, a British sports streaming service, the tournament is a far cry from the social tradition said to have been organised by 10th-century Hausa butchers.
“This one is big, I’m very happy,” said Abdullahi “Coronavirus” Ali, a 20-year-old who has been fighting since he was a child. “The audience is growing every day.”
As Coronavirus — nicknamed for his ferocious punches — spoke to AFP, two amateur fighters worked the ring behind him, in a pre-tournament exhibition match in Dei Dei, a working-class Abuja exurb.
Chickens pecked under the rickety wooden stands while cigarette smoke wafted above the crowd.
In Dambe, in lieu of a glove, the fighters each have one fist tightly bound in rope — their striking arm. The other hand reaches out, feeling the space between the opponents and looking for something to grab or parry before the fighting arm whips forward as if from a loaded spring.
Amid the blows, one fighter lost his balance and fell — a “kill”. The round was over.
In Dambe, in lieu of a glove, the fighters each have one fist tightly bound in rope — their striking arm. — AFP pic
Domestic, international expansion
Dambe might have once seemed destined to be confined to the margins in places like Dei Dei as Abuja’s elite paved over anything standing in the way of modern skyscrapers and highways.
But slowly, the government has taken more interest in preserving and promoting the sport, as have private groups like the WAFC.
With the advent of YouTube and Instagram, Dambe now attracts fans across the world, with one promoter telling BBC in 2017 that 60 percent of his viewers were outside Nigeria.
The sport has also grown at home.
In 2018, a Dambe match in the southern city of Lagos drew spectators curious about their northern countrymen’s pastime — and excited to see it in a proper stadium.
Earlier this month, athletes from across the continent descended on the megacity for the African Knockout Championship, a Western-style mixed martial arts tournament.
But Kalu envisions the opposite: foreigners making their way to witness a distinctively Nigerian way of fighting.
Professionalisation also brings the opportunity to bring in safety protocols and stable salaries to the otherwise unregulated sport.
“If I get married, I won’t allow my children to do it,” said Usman Abubakar, 20, his fist dyed a dark henna colour and arm replete with charmed scars, recalling an injury to the chest that saw him sit out for two years.
Dambe fighters prepare for a match in the Dei-Dei neighbourhood in Abuja, on June 27, 2025. — AFP pic
Foreigners welcome
Saturday’s fighters were competing to represent Nigeria in what is envisioned as a multi-stage, international series.
Boxers took to a sand-filled ring under stadium lights, with matches interspersed with musical acts and commercial breaks.
“Coronavirus” and his opponent danced around each other, sweat glistening, looking for an opening. He landed a blow, sending a tensed crowd into cheers as spectators overcame their urge to wince in shared pain.
“It’s somehow scary, but I do enjoy it,” said Joy Beatrice, a 30-year-old forestry officer in the stands.
Last year, supported by the WAFC, British national Luke Leyland travelled from Liverpool to compete in a Dambe match — reportedly the first white fighter to ever do so.
He was “destroyed”, according to one local media report, though he wrote positively of the experience.
Nigerian fighters remain cool on the idea of sharing the spoils of victory.
Asked what would happen if non-Nigerians started competing, “Coronavirus”, Abubakar and a third fighter, Anas Hamisu, were all excited at the prospect of more people embracing their sport.
Spectators sit on wooden bleaches during a Dambe event in the Dei-Dei neighbourhood in Abuja, on June 27, 2025. — AFP pic
But they also all shared the same prediction: the Nigerians would win. — AFP
Seven workers were injured in the collapse, which occurred in an area controlled by the Sudanese Armed Forces.
The partial collapse of a traditional gold mine in Sudan’s northeast has killed 11 miners and wounded seven others, according to the state mining company, as a brutal civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is in its third year.
Since the war erupted in April 2023, both sides’ war chests have been largely funded by Sudan’s gold industry.
In a statement released on Sunday, the Sudanese Mineral Resources Company (SMRC) said that the collapse occurred in an “artisanal shaft in the Kirsh al-Fil mine” over the weekend in the remote desert area of Howeid, located between the SAF-controlled cities of Atbara and Haiya in Sudan’s northeastern Red Sea state.
Another seven workers were injured and transferred to a hospital, the SMRC said.
The company added that it had previously suspended work in the mine and “warned against its continuing activity due to its posing great risk to life”.
According to official and NGO sources, nearly all of the gold trade is funnelled through the United Arab Emirates, which has been accused of arming the RSF. The UAE denies it does so.
The war has shattered Sudan’s already fragile economy. The army-backed government, nevertheless, announced record gold production of 64 tonnes in 2024.
Africa’s third-largest country is one of the continent’s top gold producers, but artisanal and small-scale gold mining accounts for the majority of gold extracted.
In contrast to larger industrial facilities, these mines lack safety measures and use hazardous chemicals that often cause widespread diseases in nearby areas.
Mining collapses are also common. Similar incidents in recent years include a 2023 collapse that killed 14 miners and another in 2021 that claimed 38 lives.
Before the war, which has pushed 25 million people into dire food insecurity, artisanal mining employed more than two million people, according to mining industry sources and experts.
Today, according to those sources, much of the gold produced by both sides is smuggled to Chad, South Sudan and Egypt, before reaching the UAE, the world’s second-largest gold exporter.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed in Sudan, where more than 13 million people are currently displaced in the world’s largest displacement crisis.
More than four million have fled across borders.
Currently, the SAF dominates the north and east of the country – including the smallest state by area, but most populous, Khartoum – along with some central areas. The RSF, meanwhile, holds most of western Sudan, including most of Darfur.
Amir-Saeid Iravani, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, said on Sunday that the Islamic republic’s nuclear enrichment “will never stop” because it is permitted for “peaceful energy” purposes under the treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
“The enrichment is our right, an inalienable right, and we want to implement this right,” Iravani told CBS News, adding that Iran was ready for negotiations but “unconditional surrender is not negotiation. It is dictating the policy toward us.”
But Iravani said Tehran was “ready for the negotiation, but after this aggression, it is not proper condition for a new round of the negotiation, and there is no request for negotiation and meeting with the president”.
The Iranian UN envoy also denied that there were any threats from his government to the safety of Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, or against the agency’s inspectors, who are accused by some Iranian officials of helping Israel justify its attacks. IAEA inspectors are currently in Iran but do not have access to Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Pressed by the CBS News anchor Margaret Brennan on whether he would condemn calls for the arrest and execution of the IAEA head, which Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state said a newspaper close to Iran’s leader had made, Iravani said that he would.
“There is not any threat,” Irvani said, but acknowledged that Iran’s parliament had suspended cooperation with IAEA. The inspectors, he said, “are in Iran, they are in safe conditions, but the activity has been suspended. They cannot have access to our site … our assessment is that they have not done their jobs.”
Iravani also responded to questions on why Tehran has not accepted proposals for a diplomatic solution. Referring to Trump’s “unconditional surrender” demand, Iravani said that the US “is dictating the policy towards us. If they are ready for negotiation, they will find us ready for that. But if they want to dictate us, it is impossible for any negotiation with them.”
Iravani said on Saturday that Iran could transfer its stocks of enriched uranium to another country in the event of an agreement with the United States on Tehran’s nuclear program, according to the news site Al-Monitor.
The transfer of 20% and 60% enriched uranium would not be a red line for Tehran, Iravani said, adding that the material could alternatively remain in Iran under IAEA supervision.
But as he said again on Sunday, Iravani stressed that Iran would not renounce its right to domestic uranium production, a condition the US rejects.
Iravani’s comments comes as western nations, including the US, are pushing for Iran to resume negotiations over its nuclear program a week after the US launched strikes on three facilities, setting off days of heated dispute over whether the facilities has been “totally obliterated”, as Donald Trump initially claimed, or if they had delayed but not destroyed the program.
Grossi told CBS that there was “agreement in describing this as a very serious level of damage” but went on to say that Iran will probably will be able to begin to produce enriched uranium within months.
“The capacities they have are there,” he said. “They can have, you know, in a matter of months, I would say, a few cascades of centrifuges spinning and producing enriched uranium, or less than that. But as I said, frankly speaking, one cannot claim that everything has disappeared and there is nothing there.”
On Sunday, Trump again dismissed reports that Iran had moved 400kg (880lb) on 60% enriched uranium ahead of the strikes on Fordow, regarded as the center of Iran’s enrichment program.
“It’s very hard to do, dangerous to do, it’s very heavy, plus we didn’t give them much notice because they didn’t know they we were coming,” Trump told the Fox News host Maria Bartiromo.
Trump speculated that vehicles seen near the entrances to Fordow before the strikes were probably masons brought in to seal up the facility. “There are thousands of tons of rock in that room right now,” Trump said. “The whole place was just destroyed.”
However, the Washington Post reported on Sunday that the US obtained intercepted Iranian communications in which senior Iran officials remarked that damage from the attack was not as destructive and extensive as they anticipated.
The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, scoffed at the Iranian claims in a comment to the Post in which she did not dispute that such communications had been intercepted.
“The notion that unnamed Iranian officials know what happened under hundreds of feet of rubble is nonsense,” Leavitt said.
Separately on Sunday, Abdolrahim Mousavi, Iran’s armed forces chief of staff, reportedly told the Saudi defense minister during a call that Tehran is not convinced Israel will honour the ceasefire that ended their 12-day war announced by Trump.
“Since we are completely doubtful about the enemy honoring its commitments, including the ceasefire, we are prepared to give it a tough response in case of recurrence of an act of aggression”, Mousavi said, according to Turkey’s state-run news agency Anadolu.
Israel and the US, “have shown that they do not adhere to any international rules and norms” the Iranian general added. “We did not initiate war, but we responded with all our power to the aggressor.”
