Sindh | Pakistan

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Friday met with World Bank Country Director Bolorma Amgaabazar to review progress on Karachi’s water supply, infrastructure development projects, and the K-IV augmentation scheme. According to a press release issued by the Chief Minister House, Murad said the Sindh government, with the World Bank’s support, aims to establish a “modern and sustainable water supply system for Karachi”. He added that the K-IV project is vital for meeting the city’s future water requirements. CM Murad directed the authorities concerned to “remove all technical and administrative hurdles in the K-IV project and ensure its timely completion”. He emphasised that effective water management and transparent governance were essential in view of Karachi’s rapidly growing population. During the meeting, the chief minister and the World Bank country director also discussed water metering, urban improvement works in informal settlements, and ongoing reforms in the Karachi Water & Sewerage Corporation (...

LARKANA: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Sindh President Nisar Ahmed Khuhro has lodged a strong protest with the federal government over the Indus River System Authority’s (Irsa) decision to impose a 27 per cent water shortage exclusively on Sindh during the Kharif season. Khuhro criticised the decision for maintaining zero cuts for Punjab, while continuing the release of 25,500 cusecs from the Indus River into the Chashma-Jhelum Link Canal and Tunsa-Panjnad Link Canal. In a statement issued here on Tuesday, Khuhro condemned Irsa ‘s actions as a direct violation of the Water Apportionment Accord of 1991 and demanded that the prime minister take immediate notice of what he described as the deliberate “economic destruction” of the lower riparian province. Mr Khuhro pointed out that under the 1991 water accord, Sindh requires over 80,000 cusecs of water at the Guddu Barrage during the Kharif season. However, as of Tuesday, only 65,304 cusecs had been released — a significant shortfall at a critical time for standin...

The Government of Sindh has decided to launch a province-wide anti-rabies campaign to strengthen prevention and public awareness efforts.

KARACHI: While the federal government had announced a three-day Eid holiday — from May 26 to 28 (Tuesday to Thursday) — the Sindh government has officially announced a four-day holiday, including Friday, the third day of Eidul Azha, in its holiday schedule. Sindh Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah issued a notification in this regard, stating that the Eidul Azha holidays would be observed from May 26 to May 29 in the province. “The government of Sindh hereby declares 26th, 27th, 28th and 29th May, 2026 as public holidays on the occasion of Eidul Azha throughout the province of Sindh, for all government offices, autonomous bodies, semi-autonomous bodies, corporations, and local councils, except essential services and departments/offices engaged in preparation of budget for financial year 2026-27,” reads the notification. Published in Dawn, May 23rd, 2026

The Meteorological Department has forecast a severe heatwave across Sindh during the Eidul Azha period, with temperatures expected to rise by 4 to 6 degrees Celsius from May 25 onward.

A severe heatwave is expected to affect several districts of Sindh from May 25 to 31, with temperatures likely to rise four to six degrees Celsius above normal levels, the Pakistan Meteorological Department said on Friday.

Sindh Inspector General Javed Alam Odho on Tuesday vowed transparency in investigations into drug queenpin Anmol alias Pinky, noting that the probes stretched across multiple “domains”. Anmol was arrested last week from her apartment in Karachi in connection with the possession of narcotics and an unlicenced weapon. She is in police custody till May 22 in two of the 15 cases active against her, while her judicial remand in other cases extends till May 30. Responding to media queries at an event held at the Karachi Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the Sindh police chief said multiple agencies were involved in probing Anmol’s alleged criminal activities. “There are now different institutions involved […] so there will be transparency, and secondly, each [authority] will work under its domain,” he affirmed. “You referred to one bank account with Rs30 million, indicating a huge quantum, so you are absolutely correct. We are working on this exact aspect,” IG Odho said in response to a question by a reporter. He ...

The government of Sindh has approved the purchase of 500 electric buses under a public-private partnership initiative aimed at improving transport facilities across the province, particularly in underserved urban and regional areas.

Only 15 neurosurgeons are working across 8 teaching hospitals in Karachi and Sindh

Sindh, K-P & Balochistan ease trade restrictions

Sindh Home Minister Zia-ul-Hassan Lanjar has said that investigations into alleged drug dealer “Pinky” have revealed links extending beyond Sindh, claiming she was also operating in Punjab and Islamabad, while investigators have reportedly identified names of her alleged clients.

LAHORE: After the arrest of drug dealer Anmol alias Pinky by Sindh Police, her appearance in a Karachi court whose video went viral on mainstream as well as social media and her revelations during the investigation, Punjab police have also woken up to three old cases allegedly registered against her and her brothers in Lahore several years ago and are reportedly planning to seek custody of the woman from Sindh. On the other hand, the arrest and investigation have put the Punjab Police under the scanner as it transpired that officers in the CIA (now the Crime Control Department) had taken bribes and avoided arresting Anmol, who was nominated in three cases. The FIRs were registered with Liaqatabad Police Station in 2019, Iqbal Town Police Station in 2020 and Kot Lakhpat Police in 2022, nominating Anmol and her two brothers, Nasir and Riaz Baloch. The 2022 FIR clearly stated that the police, during a raid on Jan 6, rounded up a black SUV at Shadab Colony, following the intelligence reports that it was smuggling...

The Government of Sindh has officially declared summer vacations for all public and private schools across the province amid rising temperatures during the ongoing summer season.

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday directed the provincial government to make the University Road fully functional within two months. The SHC also ordered the Sindh government to complete the much-delayed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Red Line project within the given timeline after it was informed that the project was now scheduled to be completed by October next year. A constitutional bench of the SHC comprising Justice Muhammad Saleem Jessar and Justice Nasir Ahmed Bhanbhro made it clear that the construction of the Red Line must not in any manner affect the smooth flow of traffic on the University Road. The bench issued such directives while disposing of a petition filed by M/s AM Associates and CR 3, and submitted that the petitioner company was executing the project, but the respondents had sealed their project site and served a termination notice on April 21 without any lawful justification and contrary to the terms of the contract. The bench noted that the contract of the petitioner company had...

KARACHI: Caregivers of children up to five years of age in Sindh will receive Rs3,000 every quarter for growth monitoring, nutrition counselling and school readiness, as the provincial government rolls out a Rs14 billion Early Childhood Development (ECD) programme. The decision was taken on Wednesday at the third board meeting of the Sindh Social Protection Authority (SSPA), chaired by Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah. The board approved a package of initiatives to expand the province’s social safety net, strengthen maternal and child welfare, and provide seasonal income support to rural women. The ECD project, funded by KfW, a German state-owned investment and development bank, will target 885,000 children aged between one month and five years. Murad approves Rs14bn early childhood development initiative; quarterly payment of Rs3,000 each to benefit over 885,000 kids, meeting told According to a statement issued by the CM House, the meeting was attended, among others, by provincial ministers Dr Azra Fazal,...

A spell of hot and dry weather persisted across most parts of Pakistan on Wednesday, with several areas of Sindh and Balochistan experiencing extreme temperatures.

Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon on Sunday acknowledged that the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Red Line had proven to be a “very tough” project for the provincial government, but asserted that there had been no delay on its end. Speaking to reporters in Karachi, Memon said the Sindh government had to make some difficult decisions on the BRT Red Line after “all other options were exhausted”. The senior minister asserted that there had been “no mistake, mal-intent or delay” from the Sindh government on the BRT Red Line. He noted that work on the project’s Lot-1 was “underway with great speed”, while work on Lot-2 had been restarted. The Sindh government recently cancelled the construction contract for the BRT Red Line project. Subsequently, it chose the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) to resume construction on a section of the BRT Red Line along University Road, where commuters have been facing inconvenience. Designed to cover around 27 kilometres from Malir Halt to Numaish via University Road, work on BRT...

KARACHI: With more than 75 per cent of top-level technical posts vacant, the Sindh health department is facing a serious shortage of experts at a time when the province is experiencing multiple outbreaks of infectious diseases, it has emerged. According to sources, the health management cadre — a specialised administrative structure within the Sindh health department designed to manage hospitals and health services — has 70 sanctioned Grade-20 posts, but 53 of the positions are vacant, primarily due to the retirement of officials with no timely replacements. They said promotions have been pending for the past six years. Currently, only 17 officers are working at the top level, leaving the health system practically without operational oversight. Of 70 Grade-20 posts in health management cadre, 53 are yet to be filled “These officers specialising in health management were often assigned the responsibility to oversee the emerging public health challenges,” an official said. He recalled that the health department...

RAWALPINDI/LAHORE/KARACHI: Pakistan is confronting a stark weather dichotomy this week, as extreme heat scorches southern parts of the country while central and northern regions brace for widespread dust storms, rain, and potential landslides triggered by an incoming weather system. The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said that a fresh westerly wave is expected to approach the northwestern parts of the country on Saturday evening and would persist in the upper regions until May 5. In sharp contrast, extreme heat has gripped much of Sindh. In Karachi, the maximum temperature is expected to rise to 39 degrees Celsius over the weekend, according to Chief Meteorologist Ameer Hyder. Across the large swathes of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the fresh westerly weather system is forecast to bring dust-thunderstorms and rain, with isolated heavy falls and hailstorms. Chitral, Dir, Swat, Kalam, Shangla, Buner, Kohistan, Malakand, Battagram, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Balakot, Haripur, Mardan, Nowshera, Peshawar, Bajaur, Mohm...

KARACHI: The Sindh Education and Literacy Department is set to introduce religious textbooks for Hindu students to be taught in grades three to five across government schools in Sindh, it emerged on Thursday. In a letter dated April 29 to the chairman of the Sindh Textbook Board (STBB), the education department requested the distribution of “three religious books for grades III to V for the current academic year 2026–27”, referring to a decision taken at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Sindh Curriculum Council on April 20. Chief Executive Advisor Dr Fauzia Khan wrote in the letter that the cost of publication will be borne by a social welfare organisation, Prem Sagar Sanstha Karachi, for the current academic year. “The distribution of the books will be carried out through STBB,” the letter said. Khan also requested the board to “allocate/adjust budget for the publication of the religious books for the next academic year”. A similar move was made by the federal government in 2023, when the National...