Concrete jungle threatens mangroves on Pakistan island 

In this picture taken on October 18, 2020, roam around on the Bundle Island, which is at risk with Prime Minister Imran Khan determined to turn it into an enormous real-estate project to ease pressure on the expanding megacity home to 20 million people. (AFP)
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Updated 23 November 2020
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Concrete jungle threatens mangroves on Pakistan island 

  • Coastal mangroves act as a natural barrier, soaking up wave energy and limiting the extent of flooding 
  • Critics say the plan runs counter to green pledges by PM Khan 

KARACHI: A short boat ride from the shores of Karachi, mangrove trees sprout along the quiet inlets of an uninhabited island that environmentalists say provides vital coastal protection to Pakistan’s largest city.
But the calm of Bundle Island, home to a few camels, is at risk, with Prime Minister Imran Khan determined to turn it into an enormous real-estate project to ease pressure on the expanding megacity home to 20 million people.
The $50-billion housing development has pitted regional leaders against the central government, with local activists and lawmakers accusing the prime minister of reneging on pro-environment promises.
“Let nature restore itself and (do) not dream of these big, grand cities,” said Mahera Omar, an environmental film-maker from Karachi who enjoys kayaking around Bundle and meandering through the island’s mangroves.
“We are all very tired of our concrete jungle. We all want to get away, out into the open,” she added.
Coastal mangroves act as a natural barrier, soaking up wave energy and limiting the extent of flooding.
“These islands form a barrier against storm surges and tsunamis. Their preservation is vital for the preservation of Karachi,” Arif Belgaumi, an architect and town planner, told AFP.


The city is already prone to inundation and suffered catastrophic flooding during this year’s record monsoon when filthy, chest-deep water filled the streets.
Bundle Island floods during particularly high tides, so any construction would also require environmentally damaging reclamation work that could have knock-on effects for Karachi, Belgaumi added.
But Khan’s administration says the project would create thousands of local jobs and bring much-needed relief to chaotically expanding Karachi — not to mention new tax revenue for Pakistan’s cash-strapped coffers.
A draft law — immediately challenged by the provincial government of Sindh, where Karachi is the capital city — would turn Bundle and neighboring Buddo Island into federal territories.
Critics say the plan runs counter to green pledges by Khan, who has spoken out about the perils of climate change and frozen construction of several coal-fired power stations in favor of renewable-energy projects, mainly hydroelectric dams.
The government has also unveiled a nationwide effort to plant 10 billion new trees by 2023.
“He takes pride in recognizing that global warming is the reality... (But) when it comes to the province of Sindh, the people of Sindh, his point of view changes,” Sindh government spokesman Murtaza Wahab said.
Khan’s top adviser on climate change, Malik Amin Aslam, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Bundle Island, located in the Arabian Sea, is uninhabited except for a few camels and other creatures.
It nonetheless has been whacked by urbanization — the sandy beach facing Karachi is strewn with plastic rubbish and medical waste that washes ashore from the megalopolis.
The mangroves are considered an important component of Karachi’s environment, which has suffered decades of high pollution and neglect, with the trees acting as natural filters that clean water and protect baby fish.
“The people of Karachi actually relate to mangroves as... a natural part of their lives,” Wahab said.
“That is why we are so territorial about it. That is why we feel so passionate about these mangroves.”
The redevelopment proposal has faced years of opposition from critics who say it would be too costly and complicated to redevelop Bundle Island.
A group of Karachi fishermen, who cast nets from the island’s comparatively cleaner waters, have also filed a lawsuit against the project.
“We will become jobless,” said Kamal Shah, a spokesman for the fishermen.
“They are saying the construction of a city will bring development. It will bring devastation.”
The waters here are already suffering, he said, with Karachi’s dilapidated drains spewing untreated wastewater into the sea.
Rab Nawaz, a senior program director at the World Wildlife Fund, said the development of Bundle Island would trigger an “environmental disaster.”
“Bundle is a nesting ground for turtles, dolphins. There (are) mangroves which are protected forests in Pakistan,” he said.
“Building a huge infrastructure on it is going to destroy all that.”


At trilateral summit, Pakistan, Turkiye and Azerbaijan pledge to work for ‘strategic partnership’

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At trilateral summit, Pakistan, Turkiye and Azerbaijan pledge to work for ‘strategic partnership’

  • Pakistani PM is on regional diplomacy tour to Iran, Turkiye, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan 
  • Turkiye and Azerbaijan openly pledged support for Pakistan during latest India conflict 

ISLAMABAD: The leaders of Pakistan, Turkiye and Azerbaijan met on Wednesday at a trilateral summit in Lachin and pledged to work together for the goal of economic development and regional prosperity and to turn their brotherhood into a “strategic partnership.”

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Azerbaijan on Tuesday on the third stopover of a five-day regional diplomacy tour that also saw him visit Iran and Turkiye. Turkiye is a longtime ally of Pakistan, while Baku and Islamabad have moved closer in recent years with a flurry of visits and bilateral agreements.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev had openly pledged support for Pakistan during its latest military confrontation with archrival India earlier this month.

“I am confident that our time-tested relationship would not only be beneficial for the wellbeing of our own people but also contribute to peace and prosperity in the region and beyond,” Sharif said during his address at the summit. 

“This trilateral format is both very timely and of great importance and … gives us the necessary political ownership and the impetus to move forward collectively and in unison in all spheres of our common interest.”

Addressing the summit, the president of Azerbaijan said the three leaders had come together for the “strategic development” of their countries and to work on “shared goals.”

“Political, valid economic, energy, mutual investment, transportation, defense, agriculture, information, technology, and other spheres are the ones where there are ample opportunities to advance cooperation through joint projects,” Aliyev said, adding that Azerbaijan had invested over $20 billion in the Turkish economy and was prepared to invest $2 billion into Pakistan’s.

He also said Azerbaijan envisaged closer cooperation with Pakistan’s defense industry. 

“We do believe there is great potential and it’s of great importance. Joint military exercises and projects in the defense industry amplify the potential of our armed forces or defense cooperation ensures peace and stability across a vast geography,” Aliyev said. 

There have been widespread reports in recent weeks that Azerbaijan may have dramatically increased its procurement from Pakistan of JF-17 “Thunder” light multirole fighter aircraft from an initial 16 units to a staggering 40, in a deal reportedly valued at $4.2 billion. 

The aircraft in question are said to be the latest and most advanced iteration of the JF-17 family— Block III— a 4.5-generation fighter co-developed by Pakistan and China and hailed as one of the most cost-effective combat aircraft in the current global market.

“STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP”

Speaking at the summit, Erdogan said the three countries had a combined population of approximately 350 million and an economic size of $1.5 trillion. 

“I would like to particularly emphasize that we stand behind each and every step toward transforming our relations into a strategic partnership,” he said. 

“Our foreign ministers will carry out the required work to institutionalize our trilateral cooperation, and they will prepare a strong framework that reflects the common vision of our countries, particularly in the fields that shape our common agenda such as trade, investments, transportation, energy, defense, industry, and the fight against terrorism.”

He said Turkiye, Azerbaijan and Pakistan would institutionalize their cooperation by holding regular trilateral summits and ministerial meetings.

“We will deepen our cooperation in the field of defense and maintain our common commitment to fight against terrorism and against transnational threats,” the Turkish president said. 

“We will aim to take joint steps in the fields of trade facilitation, investment promotion and digital transformation. In the field of transportation, which constitutes a quite strategic dimension of our cooperation, we will jointly contribute to projects such as the development of roads, the Middle Corridor and the North South Transport Corridor.”

The Middle Corridor, also known as the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, is a major trade route connecting China to Europe. It passes through several countries, including Türkiye, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan, offering an alternative to the Northern Corridor and the Suez Canal. Türkiye plays a significant role in the Middle Corridor, particularly at the European end, and has invested in infrastructure to improve its connectivity to Central Asia and Europe.

The International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is a 7,200-kilometer multi-modal transportation network that connects India, Iran, Azerbaijan, and Russia, with routes also extending to Central Asia and Europe. It utilizes ship, rail, and road routes to facilitate the movement of freight between these countries.


At least 22 wounded in drone strike in northwestern Pakistani district — officials

Updated 28 May 2025
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At least 22 wounded in drone strike in northwestern Pakistani district — officials

  • Suspected drone strike killed four children in North Waziristan earlier in May, prompting province-wide protests
  • In latest incident, unidentified quadcopter detonated explosive device in Azam Warsak town in South Waziristan

PESHAWAR: At least 22 people, including children, were wounded in a suspected quadcopter attack near a volleyball ground in Pakistan’s northwestern South Waziristan district, police said on Wednesday, adding that it was unclear who was behind the assault. 

Earlier this month, a suspected drone strike killed four children and wounded five others in North Waziristan district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, prompting thousands of residents to stage a protest by placing the children’s bodies on a main road to demand justice. It wasn’t immediately clear who was behind the May 5 attack in the town of Mir Ali, which has been a stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban in the past. 

In the latest incident, Lower South Waziristan police spokesperson Habib Islam told Arab News an unidentified quadcopter drone detonated an explosive device on Tuesday evening in the town of Azam Warsak.

The blast occurred just before sunset as residents, including children, were playing a volleyball game nearby, leaving approximately two dozen civilians wounded.

“The origin and operators of the drone remain undetermined at this stage,” Islam said. 

“A comprehensive joint investigation involving security forces and civilian authorities is currently underway to establish the chain of command behind this attack. We will pursue all evidentiary leads to conclusively identify and bring the perpetrators to justice.”

Dr. Jan Muhammad Shinwari, the Medical Superintendent at Wana’s District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) in South Waziristan, said 22 injured had been admitted to the facility.

“Most of the injured have now been discharged after being provided medical treatment,” Shinwari told Arab News. “Two of the children were referred to the adjacent Dera Ismail Khan hospital who were now said to be in stable condition.”

Zubair Wazir, a Member of the National Assembly (MNA) from the South Waziristan district, called the drone strike “a tragic development.”

“It was brutal, inhumane and senseless,” he told Arab News, condemning the killing of civilians on Pakistani soil.

“We hold the government responsible for the deaths of innocent people attacked while playing volleyball. This time, we will launch a forceful protest to prevent such incidents from recurring.”

Wazir said he had held a series of meetings with top security and civil officials, who assured him a thorough investigation would be conducted and those responsible held accountable.

Local elder Saleh Jan called the attack a “flagrant human rights violation.”

“This attack has poured fuel on the fire of local anger. We are trapped in a nightmare, helpless, with no clear path to stop these atrocities,” he said. “Who will answer for our safety? Who will shield us from the next strike?”

There have been civilian casualties in military strikes in some parts of the country in recent years. In March, 11 people, including women and children, were killed when a drone attack targeted a house in the northwestern city of Mardan.

A statement by the provincial government at the time had only said that there was “collateral damage” in an operation that was conducted to target militants in a remote village. Residents in March also rallied until the government agreed to compensate the victims’ families.

Officials say militants have also been using quadcopters to target troops, but it was still unclear who was responsible for the drone attacks in Mir Ali and Azam Warsak.

The latest civilian casualties came amid ongoing military operations against the Pakistani Taliban, which have a strong presence in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan. The Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, are a separate insurgent group from the Afghan Taliban, and they often target troops in the region.

Several districts in KP, especially North and South Waziristan, were long a base for the Pakistani Taliban and other militant groups. The TTP have stepped up attacks in the region in recent months.

With inputs from AP


Pakistan says Modi’s ‘weaponizing’ of water against international norms, its own global ambitions

Updated 28 May 2025
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Pakistan says Modi’s ‘weaponizing’ of water against international norms, its own global ambitions

  • Modi has upped rhetoric in standoff over water access triggered by militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir 
  • Pakistan has said any attempt by India to stop or block the flow of its waters would be seen as an “act of war“

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Office said on Thursday Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s most recent remarks “weaponizing” the waters of the Indus river were against international norms and exposed the “stark contrast” between India’s conduct in the region and its declared global ambitions.

Modi on Tuesday upped the rhetoric in a standoff over water access triggered by a deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir in April in which 26 tourists were killed. New Delhi said Islamabad was behind the attack — a charge it denies — and announced a raft of punitive measures including unilaterally suspending the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty. 

Any move to stop Pakistan accessing the water would have a devastating impact. The Indus treaty, negotiated by the World Bank in 1960, guarantees water for 80 percent of Pakistan’s farms from three rivers that flow from India.

The nuclear-armed neighbors have already clashed in their worst military fighting in nearly three decades before agreeing to a ceasefire on May 10.

“His [Modi] references to weaponizing water, a shared, treaty-bound resource, reflect a troubling departure from international norms and a stark contrast between India’s conduct in the region and its declared global ambitions,” the foreign office said in a statement. 

“Pakistan urges India to return to the core principles of international order including respect for sovereign rights of others and its treaty obligations, as well as restraint in both language and action.”

The foreign office said such “jingoism” by Modi would undermine long-term peace and stability. 

“India’s youth, often the first casualty of chauvinistic nationalism, would do well to reject the politics of fear and instead work toward a future defined by dignity, reason, and regional cooperation.” 

Modi on Tuesday amplified the resolve to use water from the Indus river system for India, saying provisions of the “badly negotiated” Indus Waters Treaty were prejudicial to the interests of the country and did not even let it use the waters earmarked for it. 

Calling out “decades of silence” over the treaty, he said it had left Indian-administered Kashmir’s dams clogged and crippled. 

Pakistan’s Attorney General, Mansoor Usman Awan, said earlier this month India had written to Pakistan in recent weeks citing population growth and clean energy needs as reasons to modify the treaty. But he said any discussions would have to take place under the terms of the treaty.

Islamabad maintains the treaty is legally binding and no party can unilaterally suspend it, Awan said.

“As far as Pakistan is concerned, the treaty is very much operational, functional, and anything which India does, it does at its own cost and peril as far as the building of any hydroelectric power projects are concerned,” Awan told Reuters.

India and Pakistan have shared a troubled relationship since they were carved out of British India in 1947, and have fought three wars, two of them over the Himalayan region of Kashmir, which they both claim in full but rule in part.

India accuses Islamabad of backing separatists in Kashmir, a claim it denies, in turn accusing New Delhi of backing separatist and other insurgents in Pakistan. 


Pakistan Council of Islamic Ideology declares bill to criminalize child marriages ‘un-Islamic’

Updated 28 May 2025
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Pakistan Council of Islamic Ideology declares bill to criminalize child marriages ‘un-Islamic’

  • Under new law, minimum age for marriage is 18 for both men and women in the federal capital 
  • Prison terms of up to seven years introduced for people who facilitate or coerce children into early marriages

ISLAMABAD: A constitutional council that advises the Pakistani government on the compatibility of laws with Islam has this week declared a landmark bill to criminalize child marriages in the federal capital of Islamabad as being “un-Islamic.”

The National Assembly on Friday unanimously passed the Islamabad Capital Territory Child Marriage Restraint Bill to curb child marriages and protect girls from becoming mothers in their teens. The bill, tabled by MNA Sharmila Faruqui, will be signed into law by the president in the coming days and replace legislation introduced during British colonial rule.

Under the new law, the minimum age for marriage is 18 for both men and women in Islamabad where underage marriage will now be considered a criminal offense. Previously, the minimum age was 16 for girls and 18 for boys. Up to seven years in prison has been introduced among other punishments for people, including family members, clerics and registrars, who facilitate or coerce children into early marriage. Any sexual relations within a marriage involving a minor, with or without consent, will be deemed statutory rape, while an adult man found to have married a girl could face up to three years in prison.

“The bill introduced by Madam Sharmila Faruqi … has been declared un-Islamic,” the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) said in a statement issued by its media wing after the body held its 243rd session on May 27–28 at its headquarters in Islamabad.

Clauses of the bill, such as fixing the age limit for marriage and declaring marriage below the age of 18 as child abuse and punishable, do not conform with Islamic injunctions, the CII said.

In Pakistan, 29 percent of girls are married by 18 , according to a 2018 demographic survey, and 4 percent marry before the age of 15 compared with 5 percent for boys, according to Girls Not Brides, a global coalition aiming to end child marriage. The country is among the top 10 worldwide with the highest absolute number of women who were married or in a union before the age of 18.

Girls who marry are less likely to finish school and are more likely to face domestic violence, abuse and health problems. Pregnancies become higher risk for child brides, with a greater chance of fistulas, sexually transmitted infections or even death. Teenagers are more likely to die from complications during childbirth than women in their 20s.


Builders say without tax cuts in budget, capital flight to Gulf, Western real estate to continue 

Updated 28 May 2025
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Builders say without tax cuts in budget, capital flight to Gulf, Western real estate to continue 

  • Association of Builders says capital flight to reach $30 billion by 2028 unless taxes on construction industry rationalized 
  • Capital flight driven by high transaction taxes, economic uncertainty, more favorable taxes, higher returns in foreign markets

KARACHI: The flight of capital from Pakistan to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, the UK and other investor-friendly nations could rise to $30 billion in the next five years if the government failed to rationalize taxes on the construction industry in the FY26 budget next month, builders and developers said this week.

The outflow of capital from Pakistan is driven by factors like high transaction taxes, economic uncertainty, and the perception of a more favorable tax environment and higher returns in international markets. This trend is particularly pronounced in the UAE, where Pakistani investors have made significant investments in real estate. 

Pakistan’s tax policy on real estate has been criticized for being high compared to regional and international benchmarks while countries like the UAE offer lower tax rates and more attractive returns on real estate investments. Political and economic instability in Pakistan have also discouraged investment and led to capital flight as investors seek safer, more stable markets. 

Pakistan’s construction industry, with its 10 million skilled and unskilled employees, is the second biggest employer after agriculture but its contribution to the gross domestic product has declined more than six percent to 2.6 percent in the last four years.

“Unfortunately, due to the prevailing economic conditions in Pakistan, a lot of builders and developers have already transferred their money out of Pakistan and are constructing projects in UAE, Saudi Arabia and other countries,” Mohammad Hassan Bakhshi, chairman Association of Builders and Developers of Pakistan (ABAD), told Arab News in an interview in Karachi.

In Pakistan, housing is a heavily-taxed industry, with taxes ranging from as much as 40 percent property transfer tax to 60 percent levy on builders and developers earning more than Rs 150 billion ($532 million).

These taxes are “too high,” the ABAD chairman said, suggesting that the property transfer tax be reduced to five or six percent.

By 2022, Pakistanis had invested $12 billion in the UAE, which was expected to increase to $25 billion this year and $30 billion by 2030, said Bakhshi, citing data from the Federal Board of Revenue, the state tax collector.

“Big builders and developers of Pakistan have already shifted or are in process of shifting their capital, their investment,” and entrepreneurship skills to Saudi Arabia, Dubai, the US and UK, the ABAD chief added. 

Pakistan’s construction industry has Rs 90 trillion ($319 billion) cash capitalization, 10 times bigger than Pakistan Stock Exchange’s Rs 10 trillion ($35 billion). The size of Pakistan’s total budget for FY26 is expected to be Rs 17 trillion, according to local media reports.

“OPTIMISTIC”

Pakistan, the world’s fifth most populous nation, is facing a 12 million housing shortage that industry stakeholders say can be turned into an opportunity by the government to create economic activity and spur growth.

Arshad Mehmood Awan, an Islamabad-based real estate professional and CEO of Homy Properties, said the government could reduce the shortage of residential units by launching affordable housing projects and making bank loans accessible online in the new budget.

“Regarding housing finance, we are expecting the government to devise a strategy, a plan that would enable the common man to easily avail housing finance from banks,” Awan told Arab News.

Arif Habib, the chairman of Arif Habib Group, said he was “optimistic” about the new budget, saying premier Shehbaz Sharif had formed a task force to develop proposals for the housing market.

The government, he said, had decided to withdraw excise duty and was considering reducing some advanced taxes as well.

“Then the most important aspect of this real estate market is the mortgage financing availability,” Habib told Arab News in an interview, saying the government’s task force was recommending proposals to encourage mortgage financing given that inflation had eased to a record low.

“In the past, because of the high inflation, people didn’t have enough disposable income to buy real estate,” Habib said. 

“But now I believe, with the positive sentiment in the country, the Pakistani diaspora would also be attracted to the Pakistani market because they prefer to buy houses here for their families and for their future. So I believe after the budget, this [real estate] sector will also be active.”

More than half of the 10 million overseas Pakistanis who are expected to remit a record $38 billion this year wanted to invest in the country’s real estate sector, ABAD’s Bakhshi added.