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Pakistan government, religious political party to hold second round of talks amid anti-inflation protests

Activists and supporters of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) shout slogans and wave their party flag to protest against rising inflation in Islamabad on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 29 July 2024
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Pakistan government, religious political party to hold second round of talks amid anti-inflation protests

  • Thousands of Jamaat-e-Islami party supporters remain camped at Rawalpindi’s Liaqat Bagh against inflation, additional taxes 
  • Pakistan’s government formed three-member technical committee to hold talks, resolve deadlock with government 
Updated 29 July 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: A government committee will hold a second round of talks today, Monday, to discuss demands laid down by the leaders of a Pakistani religious political party protesting in the garrison city of Rawalpindi against inflation and the imposition of new taxes, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan said. 

Thousands of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) party supporters have camped at Rawalpindi’s historic Liaqat Bagh ground since Friday to demand the government revoke additional taxes introduced in the federal budget presented last month, among other demands.

JI chief Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman has demanded a reduction in power tariffs recommended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and a review of Pakistan’s loss-making agreements with independent power producers (IPPs). Pakistan’s Information Minister Ataullah Tarar announced on Sunday that the government has formed a technical committee to hold talks with protesters and resolve their demands. 

“Second session of dialogue between the government and Jamat-e-Islami will be held today to sort out issues regarding electricity and other matters,” Radio Pakistan said. 

The government’s technical committee would comprise the minister of water and energy, the secretary of energy, and representatives from the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and the finance ministry, Tarar had said. 

The government established a separate three-member committee on Friday to negotiate with JI leaders after the party reported that hundreds of its members had been arrested by law enforcement agencies. The JI presented its list of demands to the government during a round of talks on Saturday night.

While opposition parties and traders have criticized the government’s move to introduce a tax-heavy budget last month, authorities have said they are taking steps to reduce expenses by state-owned enterprises and create fiscal space by digitizing the FBR. 

Liaqat Baloch, head of the JI negotiation team, said on Sunday that the first round of talks was held in a “positive environment” and expressed the resolve to continue the sit-in until the party’s demands were met.

“The government committee has promised to discuss our demands in a technical committee and will get back to us tomorrow,” he said. “Our protest and sit-in will continue until we achieve positive results for the people.”

Baloch hoped the government would show seriousness in addressing the public’s demands.

“Otherwise, this force of people will compel them to take our demands seriously,” he added.

Speaking about the arrested JI workers, Baloch said the government committee had assured them of their release.

“Thirty-five of our members are still detained, but the government committee assured us they will be released soon as we have provided the list,” he said.

Topics: Pakistan JI taxes in Pakistan Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman Hafiz Naeem Jamaat-e-Islami Arab News Pakistan

Pakistan battles deadly monsoon floods as poor planning worsens toll

Updated 6 sec ago
AFP
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Pakistan battles deadly monsoon floods as poor planning worsens toll

  • Authorities say Pakistan has already received 50 percent more rainfall than this time last year
  • Experts blame weak infrastructure, illegal construction and deforestation for the devastation
Updated 6 sec ago
AFP

ISLAMABAD: Floodwaters gushing through mountain villages, cities rendered swamps, mourners gathered at fresh graves — as Pakistan’s monsoon season once again delivers scenes of calamity, it also lays bare woeful preparedness.

Without better regulation of construction and sewer maintenance, the annual downpours that have left hundreds dead in recent months will continue to kill, experts say.

Even Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appeared to agree as he toured flood-stricken northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province last week, where landslides killed more than 450 people.

“Natural disasters are acts of God, but we cannot ignore the human blunders,” he said.

“If we keep letting influence-peddling and corruption control building permits, neither the people nor the governments will be forgiven.”

Pakistan is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change, with limited resources for adaptation.

In the devastated mountain villages the prime minister visited, and beyond, residential areas are erected near riverbeds, blocking “natural storm drains,” former climate change minister Sherry Rehman told AFP.

Entrepreneur Fazal Khan now recognizes the “mistake” of building too close to the river.

His home in the Swat Valley was destroyed first by 2010 floods and then again in the 2022 inundation that affected nearly four million Pakistanis.

“On August 15, once again, the floodwater surged through the channel and entered our home,” the 43-year-old father said.

Since it began in June, this year’s monsoon has killed around 800 people and damaged more than 7,000 homes, with further downpours expected through September.

While South Asia’s seasonal monsoon brings rainfall that farmers depend on, climate change is making the phenomenon more erratic, unpredictable and deadly across the region.

By the middle of this month, Pakistan had already received 50% more rainfall than this time last year, according to disaster authorities, while in neighboring India, flash floods and sudden storms have killed hundreds.

Extractive practices have also compounded the climate-related disasters, with cash-strapped but mineral-rich Pakistan eager to meet growing American and Chinese demand.

Rehman, the former minister, said mining and logging have altered the natural watershed.

“When a flood comes down, especially in mountainous terrain, a dense forest is very often able to check the speed, scale and ferocity of the water, but Pakistan now only has five percent forest coverage, the lowest in South Asia,” she said.

Urban infrastructure, too, has faltered.

Days after villages were swept away in the north, a spell of rain in the south brought Pakistan’s financial capital, Karachi, to a standstill.

The coastal megacity — home to more than 20 million people — recorded 10 deaths last week, with victims electrocuted or crushed by collapsing roofs.

A Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) report said brown water inundating streets is not only the result of rain but “clogged drains, inadequate solid waste disposal, poor infrastructure, encroachments, elitist housing societies... and so on.”

Published in the wake of 2020’s deadly floods, the report still rings true today.

According to the commission, the problems are “inherently political” as various parties use building permits to fuel their patronage networks — often disregarding the risks of constructing on top of drainage canals.

In some areas, “the drain has become so narrow that when high tide occurs and it rains simultaneously, instead of the water flowing into the sea, it flows back into the river,” urban planning expert Arif Hasan said in an interview after the 2022 floods.

In the sprawling, rapidly swelling city, the various authorities, both civil and military, have failed to coordinate urban planning, according to the rights commission.

As a result, what infrastructure does get built can solve one problem while creating others.

“Karachi isn’t being destroyed by rain, but by years of negligence,” said Taha Ahmed Khan, an opposition lawmaker in the Sindh provincial assembly.

“Illegal construction and encroachments on stormwater drains, along with substandard roads... have only worsened the crisis,” he added.

Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab says he has been asking Islamabad every year for help financing the revamping of drainage canals, to no avail.

“It’s easy to suggest that drainage capacity should be enhanced, but the cost is so high that it might require spending almost the entire national budget,” he told AFP.

Yet during June’s budget vote, the opposition accused the city of having spent only 10% of funds earmarked for a massive development project.

The five-year plan, designed with international donors, was supposed to end the city’s monsoon suffering by the end of 2024.

But nearly a year later, there is no respite.

Topics: Monsoon 2025 floods

Pakistan’s Punjab requisitions army as monsoon-swollen rivers trigger flood emergency alert

Updated 21 min 56 sec ago
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Pakistan’s Punjab requisitions army as monsoon-swollen rivers trigger flood emergency alert

  • Punjab administration seeks military deployment in Lahore, Kasur, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Narowal, Okara and Sargodha
  • Floodwaters in Sutlej, Chenab and Ravi rivers have forced authorities to evacuate residents from all vulnerable areas
Updated 21 min 56 sec ago
SAIMA SHABBIR & Shahjahan Khurram

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s eastern province of Punjab said Wednesday it has requisitioned the army for rescue and relief operations in seven districts after major rivers flowing from India swelled with heavy monsoon rains, prompting flood warnings and heightened monitoring for emergencies.

Heavy rains have lashed several parts of Pakistan since August 15, killing 489 people and injuring 348, with the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province recording the highest casualties at 408. Sindh has reported 29 deaths, northern Gilgit Baltistan 26, Azad Jammu and Kashmir 21, Balochistan four and Punjab one, according to official figures.

Since June 26, seasonal rains have killed 802 people and injured 1,088 nationwide, including 479 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 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.

“The Punjab Home Ministry has written to the federal interior ministry for the deployment of army units in seven districts – Lahore, Kasur, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Narowal, Okara and Sargodha – to support rescue and relief activities,” the provincial administration said in a statement.

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

The 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) has 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 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.

MINISTERS TO OVERSEE RELIEF

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed federal ministers to personally oversee relief efforts in Punjab, according to a statement from his office on Tuesday.

The ministers were told to visit their constituencies, supervise evacuations and coordinate directly with the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA).

“The prime minister also stressed that the process of relocating residents living along riverbanks to safer places must be made more efficient and swifter,” the statement said.

Focusing on the situation in the rest of the country, the government approved Rs3 billion rupees ($10.8 million) in emergency funds for flood-affected families in Gilgit Baltistan.

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.

Topics: Monsoon 2025 Pakistan rains Ravi floods

UN releases $600,000 for flood-hit Pakistan as monsoon deaths cross 800

Updated 26 August 2025
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UN releases $600,000 for flood-hit Pakistan as monsoon deaths cross 800

  • Around 174,074 people evacuated from flood-prone areas near Sutlej River, says PM’s Office
  • Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has reported 408 deaths, 258 injuries since Aug. 15
Updated 26 August 2025
Waseem Abbasi

ISLAMABAD: The United Nations has released $600,000 in emergency relief funds for Pakistan, the UN secretary-general’s spokesperson confirmed this week, as the death toll from deadly monsoon rains and floods across the country crossed 800. 

Monsoon rains have wreaked havoc across Pakistan, damaging crops, killing livestock and destroying thousands of houses in the country. Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has reported 802 deaths from monsoon rains and floods since Jun. 26 and 1,088 injuries. 

Rain continues to batter several parts of the country, especially its eastern, most populous Punjab province, where rising water levels in the Sutlej and Ravi rivers have prompted authorities to evacuate over 170,000 people from vulnerable areas. 

“The [Pakistani] authorities are leading the response, with support from the United Nations and local partners,” Stéphane Dujarric, the UN secretary-general’s spokesperson, told reporters during a media briefing on Monday. 

“Over the weekend, Tom Fletcher, our Emergency Relief Coordinator, released $600,000 from the regional pooled fund to support the ongoing efforts.”

Unusually heavy rains since Aug. 15 have killed 489 people and left 348 injured. Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province has reported the highest deaths since mid-August, 408 and 258 injuries according to figures shared by the NDMA. 

Dujarric said that according to the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Pakistanis affected by the flooding need shelter supplies, medical assistance, cash, hygiene kits, clean drinking water and education. 

Pakistan’s top economic decision-making body earlier on Tuesday approved the release of Rs3 billion ($10.8 million) in emergency funds for flood-affected families in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region. 

EVACUATIONS, RISING WATER LEVELS

Separately, the NDMA issued an advance alert to the provincial disaster agency in Punjab, the PDMA, regarding rising water levels in the Sutlej River and potential floods. The alert prompted large-scale evacuation operations in areas near the Sutlej River.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a meeting to review the flood situation and relief operations across the country, his office said. 

Sharif directed that rescue operations in the flood-hit districts of Punjab, affected by the overflowing Sutlej river, be further accelerated, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said. 

Officials informed Sharif that residents of vulnerable areas near the Sutlej River have been relocated, and that no loss of life has been reported so far.

“Rescue operations are continuing in flood-affected districts near Sutlej River and so far, 174,074 people have been safely evacuated,” the PMO said. 

The prime minister was informed that work to restore power in KP’s flood-affected areas was underway, while in Gilgit-Baltistan, a two-kilometer stretch of the National Highway remains submerged. 

“The meeting was informed that in the next 12 to 24 hours that heavy rainfall is expected in Lahore, Gujranwala, Gujrat and Rawalpindi divisions as well as in the districts of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and parts of Gilgit Baltistan,” Sharif’s office said. 

Officials say the ongoing monsoon spell is expected to last until at least Sept. 10, while the NDMA has warned the rains could rival the scale of the catastrophic floods of 2022, which killed more than 1,700 people and caused over $30 billion in damage.

Annual monsoon rains are crucial for Pakistan’s agriculture and water supply but in recent years have also unleashed devastation, intensified by shifting climate patterns.

Despite contributing less than 1 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, Pakistan ranks among the countries most vulnerable to climate change. In recent years it has endured increasingly erratic weather, including droughts, heatwaves and record-breaking rains that have caused widespread loss of life and damage to property.

Experts warn that without urgent adaptation and mitigation measures, the human and economic toll of climate change in Pakistan will only deepen in the years ahead.

Topics: Monsoon 2025

International association Andersen Global expands presence in Pakistan with ‘Bridge Factor’

Updated 26 August 2025
AP
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International association Andersen Global expands presence in Pakistan with ‘Bridge Factor’

  • Anderson Global is an international association of firms featuring tax, legal, and valuation professionals
  • Bridge Factor firm’s expertise spans power, sustainable energy, banking, finance and infrastructure sectors
Updated 26 August 2025
AP

SAN FRANCISCO: Andersen Global has added transaction advisory capabilities in Central Asia through a collaboration agreement with Bridge Factor, headquartered in Pakistan.

Bridge Factor is a financial advisory firm specializing in capital raising, mergers and acquisitions, project finance, restructuring, and valuation. Operating for more than two decades, the firm’s sector expertise spans power and sustainable energy, banking and finance, infrastructure, telecom, transportation, and manufacturing, serving a client base of investors, multinationals, and government entities across Pakistan, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia.

“We work with purpose and precision to deliver clear, actionable results in complex financial environments,” said Akbar Bilgrami, CEO of Bridge Factor. 

“Our team has built a reputation for excellence by guiding clients through some of the most challenging and transformative financial transactions. Our collaboration with Andersen Global marks a significant milestone in our journey, expanding our reach and enhancing our ability to support clients navigating high stakes.”

“Expanding our transactional capabilities is a priority as we continue to build a seamless, integrated platform that delivers best-in-class advisory services to clients worldwide,” said Mark L. Vorsatz, global chairman and CEO of Andersen.

 “Bridge Factor brings the deep experience, discipline, and market relationships essential to navigating the complex financial landscapes of the region. Their exceptional track record in executing high-value corporate finance engagements, combined with their sectoral expertise, enhances our ability to deliver strategic solutions to clients.”

Andersen Global is an international association of legally separate, independent member firms comprised of tax, legal, and valuation professionals around the world. 

Established in 2013 by US member firm Andersen Tax LLC, Andersen Global now has more than 20,000 professionals worldwide and a presence in over 500 locations through its member firms and collaborating firms.

Topics: Andersen Global

China gives $6 million grant to rebuild flood-hit homes in southwest Pakistan

Updated 26 August 2025
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China gives $6 million grant to rebuild flood-hit homes in southwest Pakistan

  • Thirty houses have been completely destroyed and 145 partially damaged in Balochistan
  • China and Pakistan have been working on multibillion-dollar CPEC projects in the province
Updated 26 August 2025
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has received a $6 million grant from China for the reconstruction of houses destroyed by floods in the southwestern province of Balochistan, state media said on Tuesday.

The ongoing spell of monsoon rains has killed 802 people and injured 1,088 across the country, with 24 fatalities in Balochistan since June 26.

Thirty houses have been completely destroyed and 145 partially damaged during the ongoing monsoon season in the province, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

“The monthly foreign economic assistance report released by the Economic Affairs Division for July 2025 reveals that the grant of $6 million from China has been disbursed,” the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) news agency reported.

The Chinese aid will help displaced families by providing them with durable housing solutions. It is part of China’s broader development assistance to Pakistan which also includes funding for infrastructure, energy and scientific research.

The APP also quoted Khurram Shehzad, the adviser to Pakistan’s finance minister, as saying China’s support underscored its commitment to strengthening infrastructure and housing in Pakistan’s most vulnerable areas.

China has previously aided Pakistan following floods with grants, relief supplies and reconstruction support.

The two countries are close allies and have been jointly working on multibillion-dollar energy and infrastructure development projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Topics: floods Monsoon 2025

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