ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s envoy to Iran, Ambassador Muhammad Mudassir Tipu, mentioned on Saturday enhanced trade and immigration facilities on the border crossing point between the two countries to facilitate increased movement of entrepreneurs and pilgrims, expressing optimism that their bilateral ties were on a positive trajectory.
Last month, the Pakistani diplomat announced that the two countries had decided to operate the Taftan-Gabd border between them 24/7 to improve the bilateral flow of goods and expand economic opportunities.
Pakistani people, including Zaireen or pilgrims and traders, frequently travel overland between the two countries, with religious devotees mostly visiting holy sites like Mashhad and Qom.
The movement of people and goods contributes to the cultural, economic and social ties between the neighboring states.
“Absolutely delighted to share that to facilitate Zaireen, business [community] & promote bilateral trade immigration facilities at Taftan-Gabd border terminals have been substantially beefed up,” the Pakistani envoy announced in a social media post. “Now 4-6,000 passengers can cross both points everyday. [Pakistan-Iran] ties to see promising future.”
https://x.com/AmbMudassir/status/1806987097867161837
Pakistan and Iran have intensified efforts to expand bilateral trade through initiatives like establishing border markets and implementing barter trade mechanisms.
These developments aim to facilitate smoother economic activities and are part of broader attempts to increase bilateral trade to $10 billion over the next five years.
Pakistan and Iran have also been working to develop closer political ties, the late Iranian President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi visiting Pakistan earlier this year in April.
Pakistan’s envoy to Tehran announces enhanced border facilities to bolster ties with Iran
https://arab.news/2v8k4
Pakistan’s envoy to Tehran announces enhanced border facilities to bolster ties with Iran
- Last month, the two countries decided to operate the Taftan-Gabd border between them 24/7 for improved flow of goods
- Pakistan and Iran have also intensified efforts to expand trade by establishing border markets, implementing barter mechanism
In flood-hit Sindh, women revive barter trade to weather climate shocks
- With farming no longer reliable, rural women turn to cashless business models to survive inflation, displacement, environmental collapse
- Backed by a German NGO, women entrepreneurs are exchanging scrap for household essentials to build low-cost livelihoods
JHUDDO, Pakistan: On any given morning in this flood-ravaged town in southern Sindh, Shamim Akhtar’s team of three men fans out on motorbikes, collecting scrap metal and plastic from doorsteps.
In return, they hand over household essentials: pots, mugs, jugs — items many families need but can no longer afford.
It’s a barter economy, resurrected not by nostalgia but by necessity.
Once a farmer scraping by on unstable harvests, Akhtar, now 48, has become a self-made entrepreneur, running what she calls a modern twist on a traditional system. The shift has brought her stability and income — nearly Rs50,000 ($175) in monthly profit — in a region where formal employment is rare and inflation relentless.
“What we do [in this business] is that we take scrap from people’s houses and in return give them new things,” Akhtar told Arab News.
“In old times, our mothers used to give some junk or grain from home and take edible items or some vegetables … We now have revived the same system that we give house utensils [in exchange for their scrap].”
RETHINKING LIVELIHOODS AFTER FLOODS
The transformation began in the aftermath of Pakistan’s devastating 2022 floods, which killed over 1,700 people and displaced millions. In Jhuddo, where vast stretches of farmland were inundated, Akhtar lost her crops and her confidence in agriculture.
“All our crops would get destroyed whenever the flood would hit us,” she said. “In the initial days of flooding, the NGOs or government would help us but later we used to face very tough financial conditions.”
Farming, once her only means of survival, was no longer viable. So she pivoted, choosing to barter in utensils, essential items that every household needs. With capital provided by Germany’s Malteser International relief agency, she set up shop with wholesale goods from Hyderabad, sold scrap to local junkyards, and launched a low-cost business model tailored to village economics.
“We don’t have a cost-intensive system of giving expensive stuff to the villagers which they can’t even afford,” Akhtar explained. “We are doing this trade at the village level and are giving stuff that the villagers can afford.”
The NGO-backed program, a €600,000, 36-month initiative implemented by the Sindh Rural Support Organization (SRSO), has helped more than 150 women launch nano-enterprises in climate-affected areas of Mirpurkhas district.
“Earlier, the people here mostly used to do farming and rear livestock, but now they have diversified [their sources of income] to business,” said Komal Jameel, a livelihood officer at SRSO.
“She [Akhtar] keeps giving us her data entry through digitalization on a daily basis. She tells our team how much loss and earnings she is making out of her business. This scrap exchange is a very good business.”
WOMEN LEAD NEW ECONOMIC MODELS
Across the region, other women are following suit. In Niaz Kapri village, 48-year-old Hameeda Tariq began a similar scrap-for-goods exchange after floods wiped out her family’s farmland and livestock.
Working with her husband, who sources utensils from nearby cities, she now earns around Rs40,000 ($140) a month.
“Before starting this business, we used to work in the fields and domesticate livestock,” said Tariq, a mother of three. “What brought us here is the recurring incidents of flooding in our village that would damage our crops and kill our animals.”
In neighboring villages, women are testing other models: a cosmetics stall in Roshanabad, a spice business in Khuda Bux II, a beauty parlor and tuck shop in Mir Allah Bachayo union council. All operate on small grants and are tracked digitally via mobile apps provided by SRSO.
“So far we have given grants to 320 individuals for starting nano businesses, of which 50 percent are females,” said SRSO district project officer Maqsood Alam.
“We are strengthening local stakeholders and communities so that they could head toward sustainable livelihood and we could protect them in terms of climate change.”
The return to barter, often dismissed as outdated, is gaining currency in places where cash flow is erratic, formal banking is inaccessible, and climate volatility threatens conventional trade.
“This is a miracle in the history of Jhuddo that a female shopkeeper is sitting there and five females are jointly running this business,” Alam said.
For Akhtar, the impact is not just economic, but personal.
“This [business] has had a huge impact on my family,” she said. “Now we are earning a very good income from this, Mashallah, and we are getting a lot of support because of this.”
Pakistan warns of more monsoon rains next week as death toll reaches 271
- Pakistan state media says westerly wave expected to approach country from Tuesday
- Punjab issues flood warning for Chenab, Jhelum rivers and their adjoining tributaries
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s state media on Sunday forecast more rain and likely flooding in several parts of the country from next week, as the death toll from monsoon downpours since late June reached 271.
Intense monsoon rains have battered Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Sindh, Balochistan, Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and Islamabad since June 26, causing urban floods and glacial lake outburst floods in several parts of the country.
Pakistan has received above-normal rainfall this monsoon season, raising concerns of a repeat of the devastating 2022 floods that submerged a third of the country and killed 1,737 people.
“More monsoon rains with wind-thundershower have been predicted across the country from tomorrow (Monday),” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.
According to the Met Office, a westerly wave is also expected to approach on Tuesday.
The state broadcaster warned heavy rains may generate flash floods in local nullahs and streams across the country, adding that torrential rains may cause urban flooding in low-lying areas of major cities.
“Landslides and mudslides may cause road closures in the vulnerable hilly areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, Murree, Galliyat, and Kashmir during the forecast period,” it added.
Keeping in mind the rain forecast, the Punjab Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) has issued a flood warning for the Chenab and Jhelum rivers and their adjoining tributaries.
The disaster management authority cautioned the public and authorities of possible low to medium-level flooding from Monday to July 31.
It warned of an “unusual rise” in water levels in both rivers, urging authorities to take preemptive measures.
Monsoon rains have wreaked havoc across Pakistan, killing 271 and injuring 655 since June 26. As per the NDMA’s latest situation report, Punjab has reported the highest number of deaths with 145 killed, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) with 63 casualties, Sindh with 25 deaths, Balochistan with 20, the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region with eight deaths, Islamabad with eight and Azad Kashmir region reporting two deaths.
In total, 1,191 houses have been damaged, and 367 livestock have perished due to rain-related incidents since June 26.
Pakistan confers award on CENTCOM chief for promoting Islamabad-Washington military ties
- President Asif Ali Zardari confers Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Military) award on General Michael E. Kurilla
- Pakistan credits General Kurilla for deepening counterterrorism cooperation between two countries
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari this week conferred the Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Military) award on United States Central Command (CENTCOM) chief General Michael E. Kurilla for promoting military cooperation between the two states, state-run media said.
Kurilla arrived in Pakistan to attend a rare regional defense conference on Saturday in which officials from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan also took part.
Zardari conferred the award on General Kurilla during a formal investiture ceremony in Islamabad on Saturday, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported, acknowledging his “outstanding contributions” to regional security and his dedicated efforts in strengthening strategic defense ties between the two countries.
“The award has been given in recognition of his exemplary service and pivotal role in advancing enduring military cooperation between Pakistan and the US,” Radio Pakistan said.
The state media credited Kurilla’s leadership for fostering mutual understanding, enhancing defense collaboration and deepening counterterrorism cooperation between Pakistan’s armed forces and CENTCOM.
Radio Pakistan said during his visit, Kurilla held detailed meetings with senior Pakistani civil and military leadership,which included Zardari and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir.
“Discussions encompassed regional security, military-to-military engagement, and joint efforts to combat terrorism and emerging transnational threats,” the statement said.
Pakistan has recently sought a diplomatic reset with Washington after years of estrangement between the two countries, particularly during the Afghan war, where diverging perspectives deepened mistrust.
High-level bilateral exchanges gradually faded as the US withdrew from Afghanistan. However, Islamabad has undertaken efforts in recent months to grow closer to the US administration, with Pakistan even nominating President Donald Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize for brokering a ceasefire between Islamabad and New Delhi on May 10.
Monsoon floods hitting key crops, says farmers’ body, amid risk to Pakistan’s growth target
- Cotton arrivals fall 33 percent as rains hit production, according to the country’s ginners’ association
- Pakistan’s Met department forecasts more monsoon rains in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
KARACHI: Deadly monsoon floods are devastating Pakistan’s standing crops, with cotton the worst hit, a leading farmers’ representative warned on Saturday, raising concerns about a potential setback to the government’s ambitious 4.2 percent growth target this fiscal year.
Over 270 people, mostly children, have died and hundreds more have been injured since June 26 as intense monsoon rains battered Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Sindh, Balochistan, Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and Islamabad, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
Around 1,200 houses, 12 bridges and 18 kilometers of road have also been damaged, along with more than 360 livestock killed.
“Cotton is the worst-hit crop, besides rice, maize and mango orchards,” Khalid Mehmood Khokhar, president of the Kissan Ittehad Council (KIC), told Arab News. “While most of the rice has already been sown, floods have disrupted the remaining cultivation.”
Agriculture contributes nearly 23 percent to Pakistan’s GDP and underpins key export sectors. Cotton, in particular, is a vital raw material for Pakistan’s textiles, which fetched $18 billion in exports last fiscal year. Pakistan also exported $3.4 billion worth of rice and $308 million in fruits, including mangoes.
The government aims to produce 10.1 million bales of cotton across Punjab, Sindh, KP and Balochistan in the ongoing financial year. But progress has been uneven.
In Sindh, the biggest cotton-producing province, only 65 percent of the sowing target has been met. Punjab, the second-largest grower, has achieved 90 percent of its target.
Pakistan’s agriculture sector grew just 0.6 percent during the last fiscal year, dragging overall GDP growth down to 2.7 percent.
Economists warn the impact of the floods could again weigh heavily on national output.
“These floods will definitely impact Pakistan’s growth target this year,” Sana Tawfik, head of research at Arif Habib Limited, said. “This is a serious concern.”
She projects GDP growth to be closer to 3.4 percent this year.
“Agriculture may once again be a major drag,” she added.
Khalid Abdullah, Pakistan’s former cotton commissioner, said rainfall was already affecting crop quality.
“Rains and cloudy weather have been consistent in some areas,” he said. “This not only increases weeds but also flares up fungus attacks. If this weather continues, the cotton seed may start germinating inside the boll, which would mean the crop is gone.”
As of July 15, cotton arrivals were down 33 percent year-on-year, according to Pakistan Cotton Ginners’ Association data, with only 297,751 bales entering markets nationwide.
The government has still not shared estimated economic damages from the ongoing monsoon season, though they may run into billions of dollars once again.
Pakistan is one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries. According to the Economic Survey 2024–25, it has suffered 224 extreme natural disasters, 109 of them floods, since 1980, in which more than 100 million people were affected, causing $36.4 billion in economic losses.
Three years ago, Pakistan experienced heavy monsoon rains that killed about 1,700 people and caused widespread destruction of houses, farms and public infrastructure.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department has forecast further rainfall in parts of Punjab and KP over the coming days, as the monsoon season continues in the country.
Glacial floods alert issued for northwest Pakistan with more heavy rain forecast
- Pakistan is seeing above-normal monsoon rains, raising fears of a repeat of the 2022 floods
- Despite low emissions, the country remains among the most climate-vulnerable nations
PESHAWAR: Pakistan on Saturday warned of glacial flooding in the northwest with more rain forecast for the area in the coming week.
Downpours are heavier in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province than the same period last year, prompting weather adviseries and alerts for flooding from glacial lake outbursts, said Anwar Shahzad, a spokesperson for the local disaster management authority.
A letter from the authority sent out mid-July said “persistent high temperatures may accelerate snow and glacier melt and subsequent weather events” in vulnerable parts of the region.
Dr. Abdul Samad, from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tourism Department, said rescue teams evacuated more than 500 holidaymakers from Naran after a cloudburst overnight Friday caused a road closure. Authorities deployed heavy machinery to remove debris and restore access.
In the neighboring Gilgit-Baltistan region, the government said it had distributed hundreds of tents, thousands of food packets, and medicine to flood-affected communities.
Spokesperson Faizullah Firaq said Saturday there was “severe destruction” in some areas and damage to houses, infrastructure, crops, and businesses.
Search operations were underway to find missing people on the Babusar Highway, where flooding struck nine villages. Helicopters rescued tourists stuck in the popular spot of Fairy Meadows, he added.
Pakistan has received above-normal rainfall this monsoon season, raising concerns of a repeat of the devastating 2022 floods that submerged a third of the country and killed 1,737 people. Some 260 have died across Pakistan so far this season, which runs through to mid-September.
Pakistan is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, but one of the lowest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions.
