KARACHI: Pakistan has ordered four million vaccine doses from Turkey and is likely to receive the first tranche by the end of the week to fight lumpy skin disease (LSD) that has affected thousands of animals in Sindh province and killed 285 of them, said a government official on Tuesday.
First observed in 1929 in Zambia, LSD is a viral infection that causes fever and multiple nodules on the skin and mucous membranes of animals. The disease is transmitted by bloodsucking insects like ticks and mosquitoes and can also prove fatal. Doctors say the disease does not affect people.
LSD was first reported in Pakistan’s Jamshoro district in Sindh last November. Since then, 31,124 animals have been infected in the province of which 285 have died.
In Karachi, the country’s largest metropolis, which is also the capital of Sindh province, 17,423 cows have been affected and 37 of them have died. The virus has not affected any buffaloes, the official said.
“After getting approval from DRAP [Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan] we have placed an order of four million doses of vaccine from Turkey through an approved company and the first tranche of one million is scheduled to arrive on Saturday,” Dr. Nazeer Hussain Kalhoro, director general of livestock in the Sindh administration, told Arab News.
He added the remaining three million doses would arrive in three installments with a gap of one week each.
“All vaccines will arrive within a four-week time and administered to cows within this period to treat the disease,” he informed.
Kalhoro said DRAP had approved four companies and the order was placed with the one offering lowest rates, adding the vaccine was purchased at Rs250 while its price in the local market was between Rs1,000 and Rs2,000.
He maintained a comprehensive plan had been made to inoculate the livestock in the province, and arrangements had been made to store vaccines at the required temperature.
Earlier this month, DRAP said it had allowed two companies in Sindh and Punjab to import vaccines to deal with lumpy skin disease.
Dairy farmers in Karachi told Arab News earlier this month they were suffering huge losses due to a decline in the sale of milk.
The accompanying symptoms of the disease include much lower milk production.
“The disease has frightened milk consumers and our sales have sharply declined by about two million liters from 4.5 million liters that we previously supplied to the city,” said Shakir Umar Gujjar, president Dairy and Cattle Farmers Association.
Meat merchants also said they had witnessed a decrease in their revenue since scared buyers had been abstaining from making purchases.
“Around 75 percent of meat shops in Karachi have not been operating,” Sikandar Iqbal Qureshi, general secretary of Meat Merchants Welfare Association, told Arab News. “The rest of the 25 percent have remained open only to sell about five to 10 kilograms per day.”
Pakistan to import four million vaccines after lumpy skin disease kills 285 cows in Sindh
https://arab.news/64fgs
Pakistan to import four million vaccines after lumpy skin disease kills 285 cows in Sindh
- The first tranche of one million vaccine doses will arrive from Turkey on Saturday
- The lumpy skin disease has affected 31,124 animals since its outbreak in Sindh last November
Pakistan’s Air Sial launches inaugural flight to UAE
- Flight took off from Islamabad around 11:34am with 137 passengers aboard
- The Pakistani airline already operates flights to cities in Saudi Arabia and Oman
ISLAMABAD: Air Sial, a Pakistani private airline, has launched its first flight to the United Arab Emirates, it said on Monday, in a significant development for the Pakistani aviation industry.
Inaugurated in 2020 by the Sialkot Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the airline initially aimed to improve air travel to and from Pakistan’s Sialkot city, a major industrial hub in the eastern Punjab province.
Over the years, Air Sial has expanded its operations not just countrywide, but to countries in the Gulf region and uses a fleet of modern Airbus A320 aircraft.
“Pakistan Airports Authority successfully facilitated and supervised the launch of Air Sial’s inaugural international flight (PF784) from Islamabad International Airport to Dubai,” Air Sial said on Monday, adding the flight departed around 11:34am with 137 passengers aboard.
Air Sial’s domestic network includes major cities like Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Sialkot, Quetta and Multan.
The airline entered the international market in March 2023 with the launch of its inaugural flight to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It also flies to Riyadh, Madinah and Dammam.
Air Sial extended its international reach the same year in June by launching direct flights from Pakistan to Oman.
Late last month, the state-run Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) also resumed direct flights between Dubai and Pakistan’s mountainous Skardu district in a bid to boost tourism.
‘Ghar Se Ghar Tak’: Pakistan Hajj pilgrims to be facilitated through designated administrators
- Pilgrims around the world travel to “Mashair,” sacred sites in Makkah, from 8 to 13 Dhul Hijjah to perform religious rituals
- “Nazims” will travel with Pakistani pilgrims from Mina to Arafat, Muzdalifah to Jamarah and back to Makkah, says state media
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s government has introduced an ambitious plan for the first time through which a designated “nazim” or administrator will assist a group of 188 Pakistani Hajj pilgrims during the peak days of the pilgrimage as they travel from Mina to Muzdalifah and back to Makkah, state-run media reported on Monday.
“Mashair days” is a term used to refer to the dates from 8 to 13 Dhul Hijjah, the last month of the Islamic lunar calendar. These are the peak Hajj days when pilgrims from all parts of the world move between Mina, Arafat, Muzdalifah, and then return to Mina, performing religious rituals at sacred sites in Makkah.
Pakistan’s Coordinator Facilitation Makkah Sajjad Haider Yaldram said that as per the government’s ‘Ghar Se Ghar Tak’ (Home to Home) plan, each nazim or Hajj administrator will assist a group of 188 Pakistani Hajj pilgrims throughout the Mashair days this year.
“The nazim will accompany the group from Mina to Arafat, Muzdalifah to Jamarah and back to Makkah,” Yaldram was quoted as saying by the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan.
Each nazim will be assisted by two assistants, along with three personnel from the Saudi Tawafa company Al-Rajhi during these days.
He said the Punjab Information Technology Board has also developed an online mobile application, “Pak Moavin,” which enables real-time monitoring of all Hajj support staff personnel from their place of deployment.
Speaking about the “Pak Hajj 2025” app, he said it provides essential information, including the personal details of pilgrims, group information, building locations and other services.
“We have received great feedback from pilgrims about the app,” Yaldram said. “It’s a source of satisfaction and motivation for us. All the information is centralized, notifications are integrated, and maps help locate missing pilgrims.”
This year, Hajj rituals will commence on June 4, with the Day of Arafah on June 5, and Eid Al-Adha to be observed on June 6 in Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan inflation inches up 3.5% year-on-year in May 2025
- Inflation has cooled significantly, easing from 37.97% in May 2023
- Federal budget for fiscal year 2025-26 will be released on June 10
KARACHI: Pakistan’s annual inflation rate rose to 3.5% in May, higher than the April 2025 reading of 0.3%, data from the statistics bureau showed on Monday.
On a month-on-month basis, inflation decreased by 0.2% in May 2025, as compared to a decrease of 0.8% in the previous month and a decrease of 3.2% in May 2024. The CPI inflation average during 11MFY25 stood at 4.61%, compared to 24.52% in 11MFY24.
Inflation has cooled significantly, easing from 37.97% in May 2023.
The CPI reading is higher than the government’s expectations. In its monthly economic report released last week, the finance ministry expected inflation to ease to between 1.5% and 2% year-on-year in May, before picking up to 3%-4% in June.
“CPI inflation General, increased to 3.5% on year-on-year basis in May 2025 as compared to 0.3% of the previous month and 11.8% in May 2024,” the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) said in its monthly report.
“On month-on-month basis, it decreased by 0.2% in May 2025 as compared to a decrease of 0.8% in the previous month and a decrease of 3.2% in May 2024.”
Food items, whose prices recorded an increase, included Eggs (24.38%), Chicken (8.63%), Condiments and Spices (5.50%), Sugar (4.07%), Gur (3.66%), Milk Powder (2.80%), Potatoes (1.64%), Butter (1.31%), Fresh Fruits (1.21%), Pulse Gram (1.09%), Beverages (0.87%), Meat (0.82%), Sweetmeat (0.79%) and Pulse Moong (0.53%).
Non-food items that witnessed an increase in rates were Cotton Cloth (3.20%), Motor Vehicles (1.86%), Postal Services (1.74%), Major Tools & Equipment (1.23%), Readymade Garments (1.02%), Tailoring (0.95%) and Cleaning & Laundry (0.65%).
The latest CPI reading was also higher than projections made by several brokerage houses.
JS Global projected Pakistan’s headline inflation to inch up to 2.7% in May.
“Pakistan’s CPI is expected to clock in at 2.7% for May. The base effect is now fading, signaling a return to normalized price trends. This is likely to take 11MFY25 average inflation to 4.7%, down from 11MFY24 average of 24.9%,” JS Global had said in a report.
Last month, the State Bank of Pakistan cut the key interest rate by 100 basis points (bps) to 11%, the lowest policy rate since March 2022 (9.75%). The central bank has cut the rate by 1,100 bps since June from an all-time high of 22%.
CASA-1000 power line project with Pakistan to be completed next year — Tajikistan minister
- $1.2 billion project aimed to allow export of Central Asian electricity to Afghanistan, Pakistan by 2020
- Project was launched in 2016 but has been stalled for years by turmoil and violence in Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD: Tajikistan’s Deputy Minister for Energy Jamshed Shoimzoda has said a $1.2 billion Western-backed project to build a power line between Central Asia and South Asia would be completed by December next year, state news agency APP reported on Monday.
The CASA-1000 project, launched in 2016, aims to allow Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, former Soviet republics with an extensive network of hydroelectric power plants, to sell excess energy to Pakistan and Afghanistan in the summer months. The project, initially meant to allow the export of electricity to Afghanistan and Pakistan by 2020, has been stalled for years by turmoil in Afghanistan.
Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan generate most of their energy from hydropower plants built on the rivers that flow into Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan limit water release during summer due to lower power demand, angering their neighbors who need water for irrigation. The five countries have failed to reach an agreement after decades of negotiations.
The new power line could smooth flows as power demand in Pakistan peaks during the summer months.
“Major energy project, CASA-1000 between Pakistan and Tajikistan, will be completed by December 2026, which will start providing 1000 MW of electricity to Pakistan,” Shoimzoda said in an interview to APP.
“This grand project will take time to be operational by January 2027, after which bilateral cooperation in the energy sector between the two countries will be further promoted and there will be a new beginning of clean and green energy projects in both countries.”
Tajikistan aims to completely switch to green energy and zero emission by 2027.
“The transmission capacity of the CASA-1000 energy project will be 1,300 megawatts, which will be an energy link between Tajikistan, Pakistan, and Afghanistan to provide clean energy not only to regional countries but also fill the need of Pakistan’s industrial sector,” Shoimzoda said.
“Massive infrastructural projects will be beneficial for all of its stakeholders by fulfilling energy needs and strengthening regional connectivity.”
Shoimzoda said Tajikistan has the capacity to export 10 billion kilowatt of energy annually, which would benefit all countries in the region, including Pakistan. Tajikistan also currently has the capacity to generate 500 billion KW of electricity, the highest among regional countries in hydel power.
The minister said Tajikistan was already providing electricity to other regional countries, including Afghanistan, and in the future would create a regional energy hub, to “usher in a new era of sustainable energy production and economic prosperity in the region.”
The United States was initially involved in financing the 1,200-km-long line as part of its New Silk Road initiative to integrate Afghanistan with Central Asia. Other project sponsors have included the World Bank, Islamic Development Bank, the UK Department for International Development, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Pakistan reports first-ever polio case in northern Gilgit-Baltistan, bringing 2025 tally to 11
- Pakistan concluded a nationwide polio vaccination campaign on June 1
- Pakistan, Afghanistan are only countries where polio remains endemic
KARACHI: Pakistan has detected the first-ever polio virus case in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, bringing this year’s tally to 11 cases, the polio eradication program said on Monday.
Polio is a paralyzing disease that has no cure. Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of 5 are essential to provide children high immunity against the disease.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the last two countries in the world where polio remains endemic. The country reported 74 polio cases in 2024.
“The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed a new case of wild poliovirus in District Diamer, Gilgit-Baltistan,” the polio eradication program said in a statement.
“This is the first case of wild poliovirus reported from Gilgit-Baltistan and the eleventh confirmed case in Pakistan this year.”
Pakistan concluded a nationwide polio vaccination campaign on June 1. The drive had aimed to inoculate 45 million children under the age of five across 159 districts of the country.
In the early 1990s, Pakistan reported around 20,000 polio cases annually. By 2018, that number had dropped to just eight. In 2021, only one case was reported, and six cases were recorded in 2023.
Pakistan’s polio eradication program began in 1994, but efforts have been repeatedly undermined by misinformation and resistance from some religious hard-liners. These groups claim that immunization is a foreign plot to sterilize Muslim children or a cover for Western espionage.
Militant groups have also frequently attacked polio vaccination teams and the security personnel assigned to protect them.
Last week, a Pakistani police officer was killed when gunmen opened fire on a team of health workers conducting a door-to-door polio vaccination campaign in the southwestern Balochistan province.
