ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s capital of Islamabad has reported 14 cases of dengue fever, while authorities have found dengue mosquito larvae at 604 locations across the city, Pakistani state media reported on Monday, amid efforts to contain further spread of the virus.
Dengue is an illness that spreads through vectors, carried by the bite of an infected mosquito. There is currently no cure or vaccine for dengue fever and in its most severe form, it can lead to fatalities.
People affected by dengue go through intense flu-like symptoms including high fever, intense headache, muscle and joint pain, and nausea and vomiting, typically persisting for approximately a week.
In June, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi had ordered strict implementation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) to combat the virus after Islamabad reported nine cases ahead of the monsoon season.
“The Islamabad Capital Territory administration is ramping up efforts to control the spread of dengue after 14 cases were reported,” the state-run APP news agency reported on Monday.
Out of the 604 locations in Islamabad, dengue mosquito larvae were detected in 174 rural areas and 430 urban centers, according to the report.
Action was also taken against business centers and under-construction sites where the larvae were found, leading to arrest of several individuals for not complying with the dengue SOPs.
Dengue fever is endemic to Pakistan, which experiences year-round transmission with seasonal peaks. This year’s first dengue-related death was reported in the country’s southern Sindh province on June 3.
An advisory published by Pakistan’s National Institute of Health in 2023 said a total of 52,929 cases and 224 deaths from dengue were reported in the country in 2021, while there were approximately 79,007 confirmed cases of dengue with 149 deaths in 2022, with the surge in cases following unprecedented flooding that began in mid-June 2022. In 2023, Pakistan reported 3,019 suspected cases and 8 deaths from dengue.
The virus has been surging worldwide, aided by climate change. In barely six months, countries in the Americas have already broken calendar-year records for dengue cases. Last December, the World Health Organization declared an emergency in December, and Puerto Rico declared a public health emergency in March.
Authorities spring into action after Pakistan’s Islamabad reports 14 dengue cases
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Authorities spring into action after Pakistan’s Islamabad reports 14 dengue cases
- Mosquito larvae have been detected in 430 urban centers and 174 rural areas
- On June 3, Pakistan reported its first dengue-related death of this year in Sindh
Earthquake hits upper parts of Pakistan, no losses reported
- Tremors were felt in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Muzaffarabad, Peshawar and other cities at around 2am
- The earthquake had its epicenter in Farkhār, Afghanistan at a depth of 122.6 kilometers, the USGS reported
ISLAMABAD: A 5-magnitude earthquake jolted parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan early Saturday, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported, with no loss of life or property reported in its wake.
Tremors were felt in several cities in the northern parts of Punjab province and the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province as well as the federal capital of Islamabad.
The quake hit at 2:03am on Saturday, with its epicenter located in Farkhār, Afghanistan at a depth of 122.6 kilometers, the USGS reported.
“We were asleep when a sudden jolt woke us up around 2 in the morning,” Kanwal Khan, a resident of Islamabad, told Arab News on Saturday.
Tremors were felt in Rawalpindi, Lahore, Muzaffarabad, Peshawar, Mardan, Swabi and several other Pakistani cities.
“Reports of earthquake in different cities of Pakistan, including Lahore and capital Islamabad,” Dr. Ahmad Rehan Khan, a Pakistan X user, wrote in a post. “May God protect everyone.”
Several other people posted about the quake on X.
There was no immediate confirmation of any losses of life or property by authorities in the wake of the earthquake.
Minister urges swift launch of Pakistan’s first ferry service, licensing reforms
- Pakistan has been mulling routes for a ferry service connecting its southwestern Gwadar port with the Gulf region
- The country also plans to cut container dwell time at seaports by up to 70 percent to improve trade competitiveness
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Maritime Affairs Minister Junaid Anwar Chaudhry on Friday called for a swift launch of the country’s first service, immediate reforms in licensing procedures and financial facilitation for operators to ensure affordable sea travel and boost maritime connectivity.
Pakistan has been mulling routes for a ferry service it plans to launch to connect its southwestern Gwadar port with the Gulf region, according to the country’s maritime affairs ministry.
Five privately-owned firms submitted their proposals, showing growing interest of the private sector, as officials reviewed technical and financial aspects of ferry operations last month.
Highlighting broader benefits of sea travel, Chaudhry pointed out that ferry services could provide an affordable and reliable travel solution for pilgrims aspiring to visit Iran and Iraq.
“Beyond tourism and business, this service can greatly facilitate religious travel. We can offer pilgrims a new, secure, and cost-efficient option for their journeys,” he was quoted as saying by his ministry.
“Every year, 700,000 to 1,000,000 Pakistani zaireen (pilgrims) travel to Iran and Iraq. If even 20 percent opt for ferries in the first three years, that’s 140,000 to 200,000 passengers annually, representing significant economic potential.”
The development comes amid Pakistan’s efforts to capitalize on its geostrategic location to boost transit trade as it slowly recovers from a macroeconomic crisis under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) program.
The country also plans to cut container dwell time at its seaports by up to 70 percent to improve trade competitiveness and ease congestion, while it last month reduced port charges for exporters by 50 percent at the second largest Port Qasim.
During a briefing by Ports and Shipping Director-General Alia Shahid on Friday, Chaudhry directed digitization of the ferry licensing process and its integration into the Pakistan Single Window platform, similar to existing ship registrations, to remove bureaucratic bottlenecks.
He specifically ordered the reduction of the current six-month license issuance period to just one month.
“There’s no justification for a half-year delay. We must eliminate red tape and act decisively,” the minister said.
He called for exploring flexible financial models for ferry operators to attract private sector participation.
“We must assess whether a bank guarantee, insurance guarantee, or a hybrid model is most viable,” Chaudhry said. “Our aim is to support not hinder entrepreneurs who wish to invest in this sector.”
Pakistan is currently holding consultations with stakeholders, including private operators and regional maritime authorities, regarding the ferry service, according to the maritime affairs ministry.
A pilot launch is expected in the coming weeks after the finalization of feasibility studies and regulatory frameworks.
“If implemented effectively, this service could become a vital new transport link across the region,” Chaudhry added.
Three cars of a passenger train derail in Pakistan, injuring 27 people
- Emergency responders, paramedics were quickly dispatched to site, all injured were listed in stable condition
- An investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the accident, railways spokesperson Babar Raza says
LAHORE: Three cars of a passenger train derailed near Lahore in eastern Pakistan on Friday, injuring at least 27 people, including women and children, officials said.
The Islamabad Express was en route to Lahore when three of its cars went off the tracks in the town of Kala Shah Kaku, railways spokesperson Babar Raza told reporters.
He said emergency responders and paramedics were quickly dispatched to the site, and all the injured were listed in stable condition.
Raza did not provide further details but said an investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the accident.
Train accidents are relatively common in Pakistan, where the railway system has suffered from decades of underinvestment, outdated tracks, and aging signal infrastructure.
In 2023, at least 30 people were killed when a passenger train derailed in the southern city of Nawabshah in Sindh province.
Pakistan says decision to roll back digital tax on foreign retailers to boost e-commerce sector
- Government introduced a five percent levy on foreign digital platforms in the federal budget
- Local retailers link the tax reversal to US trade deal, say the decision favors global tech giants
KARACHI: A senior Pakistani finance official said on Friday the government had decided to roll back a recently imposed digital tax on foreign retailers in an effort to promote e-commerce in the country.
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), the government’s tax collection body, reversed this week a set of measures introduced in the federal budget that were aimed at regulating cross-border online purchases and affected international firms like China’s Temu, Shein and AliExpress.
These included a five percent fixed tax on digital platforms and a sharp reduction in the duty-free threshold for imported parcels, slashing it from Rs5,000 ($18) to Rs500 ($1.8).
“The government plans to continue expanding the e-commerce sector by keeping the market open to international players,” Finance Adviser Khurram Schehzad told Arab News.
The move has sparked backlash from local retailers, who argue that the policy puts them at a disadvantage.
“The removal of the five percent levy on foreign goods is likely to negatively affect domestic sellers, including small businesses and established retailers,” Asfandyar Farrukh, Chairman of the Chainstore Association of Pakistan (CAP), said.
According to CAP, foreign platforms, primarily those belonging to China, are sending as many as 30,000 parcels daily to Pakistani consumers, up from just 1,000 two years ago. Internal courier company data shared by CAP shows this as a nearly 2,900 percent surge in parcel volumes.
Farrukh also questioned the timing and motivation behind the policy reversal, linking it to Pakistan’s recent trade negotiations with the United States.
“The government’s decision to withdraw the digital proceeds levy appears to have been heavily influenced by the US trade deal,” he said, pointing out that American tech giants such as Google and Meta were also affected by the tax and are now exempt.
“The five percent levy should have been maintained on foreign goods, even if removed for services, where it arguably didn’t apply.”
Still, Farrukh acknowledged parallel budgetary measures, such as the reduction in the duty-free threshold and stricter customs enforcement, may temper some of the impact.
“Authorities are now more vigilant in ensuring that foreign e-commerce goods aren’t under-invoiced to evade taxes at import,” he added.
Economist Shankar Talreja echoed some of these concerns.
“This tax withdrawal encourages the use of imported products at the cost of domestic manufacturing,” he said. “It promotes a trading culture rather than production.”
Talreja, who heads research at Karachi-based Topline Securities, added the domestic industry is losing competitiveness as local products are taxed through sales and income levies, while foreign goods bypass the same regulatory burden.
He agreed with the CAP chairman about the circumstances of the tax withdrawal.
“The government, according to reports, reversed the tax under pressure from trade talks with the US,” he said.
Pakistan’s retail sector includes about five million shops generating an estimated Rs20 trillion ($71 billion) annually, but only 10 percent of this comes from the tax-compliant formal sector that CAP represents.
Temu did not respond to Arab News’s request for comment. Shein and AliExpress could not immediately be reached.
Pakistan PM orders damage review in GB, AJK as monsoon deaths reach 299
- Torrential downpours in both regions triggered landslides, left hundreds of tourists stranded
- Authorities warned of glacial lake outburst floods as water levels surged in glacier-fed areas
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday directed authorities to carry out immediate assessments of the loss of life and property caused by recent monsoon rains in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) regions that have been hit hard by flash floods and landslides.
Sharif issued the instructions while chairing a meeting amid rising concerns over the severity of the monsoon season that started in the country on June 26.
While casualties in GB and AJK have so far been reported to be comparatively lower than in Punjab or Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, torrential downpours triggered devastating landslides and stranded hundreds of tourists.
Authorities also issued glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) warnings as water levels rose rapidly in glacier-fed catchments.
“The federal government stands shoulder to shoulder with the people, administration and governments of AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan,” the prime minister was quoted as saying by his office said in a statement.
“All relevant federal agencies should coordinate with local authorities to estimate the damages incurred in the affected areas,” he added.
Sharif said he will also visit Gilgit-Baltistan soon and roll out a relief package.
Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has reported 299 fatalities in its latest situation report on August 1, with maximum casualties in Punjab (162) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (69).
The NDMA data show 10 fatalities in GB and two in AJK, though several tourists were said to be missing in these area since the beginning of the monsoon season.
