Karachi | Pakistan

The Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) has launched a project to build a new air traffic control (ATC) tower and a modern rescue and firefighting station (RFFS) at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport, a PAA press release said on Friday. According to the press release, the design phase of the project is expected to be completed within six months, with a two-year construction period for the tower and the station. “The facilities will be designed and constructed by MM Pakistan in [a] joint venture with CEMOSA and Fairbanks Architects from Spain, bringing international expertise in airport planning and communication and navigation/air traffic management (CNS/ATM) systems integration,” the press release read. A photo of Jinnah International Airport in Karachi from December 26, 2024. — Abyan Amir It added that senior architect Bruce Fairbanks and CNS/ATM specialist Juan Cruz Canabate participated in a four-day workshop at Jinnah International, where they interacted with local aviation professionals to establish d...

Water supply to multiple areas of Karachi will remain disrupted today (Thursday) as the Dhabeji substation undergoes scheduled annual maintenance, raising the possibility of a shortfall of nearly 100 million gallons.

Karachi is among the nine densely built megacities in Asia and the Pacific which are particularly vulnerable to heat and are projected to become substantially hotter in the years ahead, a report released by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP) on Wednesday said. The report, titled Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2025: Rising Heat, Rising Risk, stated that urban areas are already at high risk for extreme heat due to the urban heat island (UHI) effect. Densely built surfaces trap heat and raise city temperatures above those of surrounding rural areas. It added that this challenge is being exacerbated by rapid and often unplanned urbanisation and insufficient green spaces, further warning that UHI would raise temperatures by 2 to 7°C, on top of global warming. As access to cooling, water and healthcare comes under increased strain, children, the elderly and outdoor workers in densely populated urban areas are disproportionately affected. Higher-income areas usually lie in cooler...

Lawyers held a protest march in Karachi on Wednesday, demanding “immediate” steps for the protection and preservation of the Karoonjhar Mountain range. They also called for the withdrawal of an appeal by the Sindh government, challenging a two-judge Sindh High Court bench judgement on the preservation of Karoonjhar hills in Tharparkar. The appeal was filed in the Supreme Court, but it has now landed in the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), which was established under the 27th Amendment. The Sindh High Court Bar Association had announced a protest today, calling for the preservation of the Karoonjhar Mountain range, and planned to march from the Sindh High Court to the Chief Minister House. View this post on Instagram However, the protesters were barred from reaching the CM House due to the placement of containers to block the routes leading to the building. The measure also created inconvenience for the commuters who were asked by the traffic police in multiple advisories to travel on alternative routes. Po...

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Monday approved Rs25 billion for the reconstruction of 315 internal streets and 60 major roads across Karachi while ordering the proper installation of streetlights throughout the metropolis. Karachi’s road networks have been in shambles with thoroughfares riddled with potholes, posing serious dangers to commuters across the city, particularly after the latest spell of rains. According to a statement by CM Sindh’s spokesperson, Abdul Rashid Channa, a meeting on the reconstruction of Karachi’s roads and streets was chaired by CM Murad today. Minister for Local Government Nasir Shah, Mayor Karachi Murtaza Wahab, Chief Secretary Asif Haider Shah, Principal Secretary Agha Wasif, Senior Member Board of Revenue Khalid Haider Shah, among others, also participated. “After heavy rains, Karachi’s roads are in a state of disrepair,” CM Murad was quoted as saying. “Mega projects are underway, causing traffic problems. I want development work to be accelerated in the city so that peo...

The Adab Festival saw a gathering of big names from art, literature, media and politics for a series of talks, music performances and mushairas. The festival, now in its tenth edition, was held at Habbitt City in Karachi from November 22-23. A panel discussion is held at the Adab Festival in Karachi on November 22. — Fahim Siddiqui Visitors attend an event at the Adab Festival in Karachi on November 22. — Fahim Siddiqui A panel discussion is held at the Adab Festival in Karachi on November 22. — Fahim Siddiqui A visitor looks at fabric being sold at the Adab Festival on November 22. — Fahim Siddiqui Ex-FBR chairman Shabbar Zaidi delivers a talk at the Adab Festival in Karachi on November 22. — Fahim Siddiqui A panel discussion is held at the Adab Festival in Karachi on November 22. — Fahim Siddiqui A panel discussion is held at the Adab Festival in Karachi on November 22. — Fahim Siddiqui An audience attends a panel discussion with Khurram Karaishy at the Adab Festival in Karachi on November 22. — Fahim Siddi...

The Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) said in a statement on Sunday that power outages at water pumping stations had been resolved and that citywide water services were normal. Karachi faced a severe water crisis in November as prolonged power outages across the city disrupted pumping operations. In a statement released today, the KWSC said they maintained close coordination with K-Electric throughout the crisis to restore the water supply, and officials confirmed that “citywide water services have now returned to normal.” “All possible steps are being taken to further strengthen the water supply system in the future,” the KWSC said. Per the KWSC, the city experienced a total shortfall of 884 million gallons of water due to electricity disruptions. “The Dhabeji Pumping Station was hit hardest, with 132 hours and 20 minutes of power outages leading to a shortage of 424 million gallons, while the Dumlottee Wells recorded 146 hours of outages, resulting in 111 million gallons of lost water,” the stat...

If ‘post-truth’ was Oxford Dictionaries’ 2016 Word of the Year, then ‘post-reality’ reflects the even murkier information climate unfolding today, one where audiences and journalists alike struggle to navigate competing narratives and contested facts. This shifting landscape framed the session ‘Truth, Trust, and Tenacity: The New Media Paradigm,’ held on Saturday, which brought together journalists Fazil Jamili, Azhar Abbas, Amber Rahim Shamsi and Azaz Syed under the moderation of Nadia Naqi. The discussion was part of the Adab Festival, which returned to Karachi for its 10th edition at Habitt City from November 22 to 23. Opening the discussion, Naqi noted the challenges journalists face in working and surviving in the current media environment. “Speaking the truth comes with challenges; often we’ve seen journalists being intimidated, and the controlled environment makes it difficult to speak the truth,” she said. “With truth, of course, comes trust. Is there public trust in the media? That’s the big question...

Karachi’s residents continued to face a worsening water crisis on Friday due to repeated electricity outages by K-Electric (KE), which have disrupted the city’s water pumping operations According to the spokesperson for the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC), the city’s crucial K-3 pumping station experienced a major electric breakdown late last night, and the fault had yet to be resolved. The spokesperson said the station had also faced a significant breakdown on Tuesday, with electricity restored only a day ago after a 41-hour delay. Just hours later, the electric cable fault reappeared, forcing the station to shut down again. The station had been temporarily shut down on Monday to fix technical issues, but problems persisted. The breakdowns have caused an estimated total loss of 335 million gallons of water, severely affecting the supply across Karachi. Areas such as North Nazimabad, Gulberg Town, Gulistan-i-Johar, Scheme 33, various blocks of Gulshan-e-Iqbal, New Karachi, Saddar and Clifton are...

Two trains traveling from Karachi and Peshawar to Quetta were unexpectedly halted at Jacobabad railway station.

Customs staff on Thursday seized around Rs110 million in gold jewellery and foreign currency from a pair of alleged smugglers at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport, a statement from the Collectorate of Customs read. According to the statement, two female passengers were stopped for inspection at the international departure hall, where customs staff unearthed $6,143 and two kilogrammes of gold from one passenger and $5,746 and 1.05kg of gold from the other. “The total recovered gold jewellery and foreign currency is valued at approximately Rs110 million,” the statement read. “The recovered items were taken into custody by Customs preventive staff [and] formal detention receipts were issued, and after completing initial legal proceedings, an FIR (first information report) has been lodged against the accused passengers for attempting to smuggle gold and foreign currency in violation of customs laws.” Earlier this week, a man was stopped at Sialkot International Airport after he arrived from the United Arab E...

Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab on Wednesday met with industrialists in the metropolis’s SITE Area and Haroonabad and briefed them on ongoing sewage treatment and water recycling projects aimed at industrial use. The mayor, accompanied by a delegation of industrialists, conducted a detailed visit to the SITE Limited Sewerage Treatment Plant. On the occasion, Chief Executive Officer of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC), Ahmed Ali Siddiqui, briefed the mayor and the industrialists on the technical aspects and the current status of the treatment plants. “For the first time in Karachi’s history, a formal process of treating wastewater and recycling it for industrial purposes is being initiated to provide industries with a reliable, sustainable and uninterrupted water supply,” Wahab said. He added that the TP-III treatment facility in Mauripur has become operational again after a long time, and after 25 years, complete cleaning and rehabilitation work has been carried out at the TP-I treatment plant in...

A woman in the Texas town of Frisco has been sentenced to eight years in prison for making false statements about alleged terrorist acts in Karachi, it emerged on Tuesday. In a statement released by the US Justice Department last Friday, Acting US Attorney in the Eastern District of Texas Jay R Combs identified the woman as 34-year-old Kahkashan Haider Khan. The Justice Department stated that Haider pleaded guilty to making false statements in relation to international terrorism and was sentenced to 96 months in federal prison by US District Judge Amos L Mazzant III on October 7, 2025. “We will not allow the United States to be a launching point for terrorist attacks abroad,” said Acting US Attorney Jay R Combs. “Vigilantly protecting the United States and its interests is inherent in everything we do. This includes aggressively prosecuting those who wrongly believe that they can find safe harbour in the United States while plotting crimes elsewhere.” FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge R Joseph Rothrock said,...

One woman was killed and another was injured in a road accident on Karachi’s Super Highway on Monday, according to a statement from the Edhi Foundation. The statement read that a 22-year-old woman was killed in the accident on the Damba Goth bridge, while the injured 37-year-old was moved to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for treatment. Gadap City Station House Officer (SHO) Sarfraz Jatoi told Dawn that the victims were riding a scooter when a speeding car hit them. “They sustained critical injuries and were transported to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where doctors pronounced Sumaira Hakim, 32, as dead on arrival, while Rabia Naz Shahid Ali, 37, was admitted for treatment,” the SHO said. He added that both victims were schoolteachers on their way to work when the incident occurred at around 9am. The SHO further said that the suspected driver had been apprehended and his vehicle was impounded by police. Traffic accidents are very common in Karachi. In the early hours of Saturday, a trailer hit an unidentified pedestrian,...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday that the digitisation of Pakistan Railways and the provision of modern facilities would play a key role in strengthening the national economy. He added that the federal government, in collaboration with the Sindh government, would modernise the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) and upgrade all railway stations across the province and the country. The premier expressed these views while addressing the inauguration ceremony of the new Shalimar Express and the newly upgraded waiting areas and lounges at Karachi Cantt Railway Station during his visit to Karachi. The prime minister visited the upgraded waiting area, CIP lounge, dining hall and computerised ticketing system, accompanied by federal ministers, senior railway officials and the railways police chief. The ceremony was also attended by foreign diplomats and Parliament members, senior officers from the federal as well as provincial governments. Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, Railways Minister Hanif Abbasi, I...

Prime Minister Mohammad Shehbaz Sharif has arrived in Karachi on a one-day visit.

Karachi could face a shortfall of 100 million gallons of water per day (MGD) due to a power breakdown at the Dhabeji Pumping Station, which is expected to be fully repaired by tomorrow, the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) said on Sunday. The Dhabeji Pumping Station is a key pumping station operated by KWSC, Karachi’s sole water utility, that serves the city’s major areas. Past breakdowns at the facility have impacted supply to the East and Central districts, including areas like Nazimabad, New Karachi, Landhi and Korangi. In a statement today, a KWSC spokesperson said the “major” power breakdown in the second phase of the Dhabeji station was reported at 6:35am. “Due to the sudden power suspension, 72-inch line No. 5 has been affected, while four pumps of the phase shut down,” a later statement by the KWSC said, adding that the issue “severely damaged” the water supply system. “According to initial estimates, the city could face a shortage of 100 million gallons of water due to the pumps’ shutdow...

ISLAMABAD - The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday acquitted two brothers, Abdul Aziz Khan and Mangla Khan, who had been imprisoned for 20 years in connection with the deadly 2005 bombing outside the PIDC House in Karachi, ruling that the prosecution failed to present reliable evidence.

New speed-limit signboards have been installed along Karachi’s Shahra-e-Faisal following the rollout of the city’s e-challan system.

Three final year students from Karachi’s Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) drowned during a picnic at Manora, while three others who survived were moved to a medical facility for treatment, a statement by the university said on Wednesday. According to the statement, a batch of 150 university students was on a picnic at Hawkesbay beach, while 15 students from the same batch had planned a separate picnic at Manora. The beach trip is part of a “long-standing tradition” where final-year students spend a week celebrating. “It has been reported that the venue (a hut) was booked by the father of one of the students, where the group went to enjoy their outing,” said the statement. It added that the college administration had arranged for 150 students to travel to Hawkesbay with security guards and all necessary safety measures. “However, the college administration and the principal of Dow Medical College were not informed about the separate Manora picnic organised by the 15 students,” the statement clarified. ...