As Alibaba team visits Pakistan, PM orders strategy to expand e-commerce

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan this week launched a New Energy Vehicle (NEV) Policy 2025–2030, an ambitious plan to cut emissions, lower oil imports and use surplus power by pushing a shift from petrol to electric mobility.

Pakistan introduced its first EV policy in 2019 but fell short of targets due to weak implementation and COVID-19 disruptions. The new policy notes that electric vehicles have risen from just 567 in 2021 to more than 80,000 by June 2025, driven mainly by two- and three-wheelers. By July 2025, 65 manufacturers had secured certificates for local assembly of electric bikes and rickshaws, while two companies had approvals for electric cars and SUVs

Still, uptake has been slow compared to other countries. Analysts and officials cite high upfront costs, limited charging stations, and tight financing rules as barriers. The government says NEVs are vital for reducing transport emissions, which make up about 10% of Pakistan’s carbon output, and for cutting a $16 billion annual oil import bill.

“The New Energy Vehicles (NEV) Policy 2025-30 aims at reduction of vehicular emissions, improvement of air quality, enhancing the productive use of excess electricity generation capacity in the system and lowering oil import,” according to a copy of the policy available with Arab News. 

SUBSIDIES AND DEMAND PUSH

The policy introduces a cost-sharing scheme to reduce the price gap with conventional vehicles. 

Subsidies will initially cover Rs65,000 ($230) for two-wheelers and Rs400,000 ($1,420) for three-wheelers, while four-wheelers and commercial vehicles will be supported up to Rs15,000 ($53) per kilowatt-hour of battery capacity or five percent of invoice value, whichever is lower.

“In line with global practices, Pakistan will incentivize demand for NEV with a thrust on faster adoption of intra-city two- and three-wheelers as these mainly serve low-income groups and constitute around 87% of the vehicle population,” the policy says.

CHARGING NETWORK

The plan envisions 3,000 charging stations by 2030, with 40 fast chargers on motorways and highways within six months. Oil marketing companies must convert 10% of their filling stations into EV charging sites, while a new national tariff of Rs39.7 ($0.14) per kWh has been fixed for commercial charging.

PAYING FOR THE TRANSITION

To fund subsidies and infrastructure, the government will impose a levy on petrol and diesel vehicles. 

“A levy on the first sale and import of internal combustion engine vehicles will be imposed through an Act of Parliament,” the policy states, adding that revenues will be ring-fenced to finance the NEV program.

The levy is projected to raise about Rs122 billion ($430 million) during the policy period.

BROADER TARGETS

The policy sets a goal of 30% of all new vehicle sales as NEVs by 2030, rising to 50% by 2040 and a net-zero transport fleet by 2060. 

Islamabad will be designated a model “electric mobility city,” with provinces encouraged to replicate it. 

From 2027, all federal government purchases of two- and three-wheelers must be electric, with only NEVs to be bought for official use thereafter.

Officials say the measures could avoid 4.5 million tones of carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and open opportunities for new industries, from battery assembly to software and Internet-of-things applications in transport.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s largest province of Punjab said on Wednesday it had requisitioned the army for rescue and relief operations in seven districts and evacuated 150,000 people to safe places after major rivers swelled with heavy monsoon rains, prompting flood warnings.

Since June 26, monsoon rains have killed 802 people across Pakistan, including 479 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, 165 in Punjab, 57 in Sindh, 45 in Gilgit Baltistan, 24 in Balochistan and Azad Kashmir, and eight in Islamabad.

Floodwaters in the Sutlej, Chenab and Ravi rivers have now forced authorities to evacuate residents from vulnerable areas of Punjab, the country’s most populous province bordering India.

“Yesterday, the main challenge for us was that there was an abrupt increase in Ravi and Chenab rivers within hours,” the top Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) official in Punjab, Irfan Ali Katia, told reporters during a flood briefing.

“The water not only went to low, but also to medium and exceptionally high within hours. Because of this, we did the evacuations overnight.”

Katia said authorities had brought 150,000 people to safety, adding all the evacuations were done in a timely manner. He described the flood levels as “historical peaks” not seen in decades, saying the last time comparable flows were recorded was in 2014.

“There was no breach anywhere,” he said. “Water remained within the flood plain everywhere. And I am very thankful to the Pakistan Army for their efforts at night.”

The PDMA chief said around 100 to 110 relief camps had been established along the Chenab and Ravi floodplains, providing food, medical and livestock cover to evacuees. He added that the Punjab government had also released emergency funds to districts: 

“We have given 900 million rupees ($3.2 million) to all the vulnerable districts, to their deputy commissioners, for those arrangements.” 

Katia urged those in floodplains to leave promptly, warning that “for the next 48 hours, this is critical for the Rawi River and downstream Khan in Chenab.”

Earlier, the Punjab home ministry said it had written to the federal interior ministry for the deployment of army units in seven districts – Lahore, Kasur, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Narowal, Okara and Sargodha – for rescue and relief activities.

It added that the number of troops would be determined in consultation with district administrations.

The provincial ministry said the army was called in “to assist civil administration and protect human lives,” with Army Aviation and other resources also on standby for use in flood-affected areas.

Provincial disaster and rescue agencies, police and civil defense units were already working on the frontlines, it said.

‘EXTRAORDINARY’ RIVER FLOWS

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) issued multiple flood alerts in the early hours of the day, warning of “extraordinary” flows in rivers. 

At Marala on the Chenab River, discharge crossed 900,000 cusecs at 2 a.m., well above the dangerous threshold.

At Khanki, the flow reached 450,000 cusecs, while the Ravi River at Jassar exceeded 200,000 cusecs, with Kot Naina recording 250,000 cusecs.

Authorities warned that low-lying areas around Shahdara, Park View and Motorway-2 near Lahore were at risk of inundation.

“The situation in the Chenab and Ravi rivers is extremely dangerous,” the NDMA said. “Residents along riverbanks and waterways must immediately move to safer locations.”

“Avoid unnecessary travel in flood-hit areas, keep emergency kits (water, food, medicines) ready and safeguard important documents,” it added.

The NDMA said it was working in coordination with civil and military authorities nationwide, with the National Emergencies Operation Center on round-the-clock alert.

The United Nations said it had released $600,000 over the weekend to support Pakistan’s flood relief activities.

The NDMA has warned that Punjab and Azad Kashmir are expected to receive more heavy rains over the next two to three days, raising fears of worsening floods.

Officials say the current monsoon spell is likely to last until at least Sept. 10 and could rival the catastrophic floods of 2022, which killed more than 1,700 people and caused damage exceeding $30 billion.

Annual monsoon rains are vital for Pakistan’s agriculture and water supply but in recent years have also brought devastation, a trend experts link to climate change. 

Despite contributing less than 1 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, Pakistan is among the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations, suffering increasingly erratic weather, from droughts and heatwaves to record-breaking rains.