Sindh | Pakistan

Public entry to Sindh’s museums and heritage sites will be free from August 1 to 14 this year as part of Independence Day celebrations, the province’s Culture, Tourism, Antiquities and Archives Department announced on Tuesday. According to a notification issued in this regard, this year’s celebration theme will be “Marka-i-Haq”, referring to Pakistan’s military response to Indian aggression during May, including Operation Bunyanum Marsoos. The two countries entered a brief but intense military escalation after India, without evidence, blamed Pakistan for the April 22 Pahalgam attack. On May 6–7, New Delhi launched air strikes that killed civilians, followed by a week-long missile exchange. A US-brokered ceasefire ended the war. The list of museums includes several government-owned sites, including Quaid-i-Azam House Museum in Karachi, Sindh Provincial Museum in Hyderabad, Folk and Craft Museum in Sehwan Sharif, Banbhore Museum near Thatta, Kotdiji Museum in Khairpur, and Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Museum...

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Islamabad on Saturday confirmed three new polio cases in the country, taking the total number of cases detected this year to 17. Pakistan is one of the last two countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan, where polio remains endemic. Despite global efforts to eradicate the virus, challenges such as security issues, vaccine hesitancy, and misinformation have slowed progress. The latest cases include one each from the Lakki Marwat and North Waziristan districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one from Sindh’s Umerkot district, a statement by the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme (PPEP) said. A 15-month-old girl from Takhtikhel in Lakki Marwat, a six-month-old girl from North Waziristan’s Mir Ali tehsil and a five-year-old boy from Umerkot’s Chajro were the latest polio cases confirmed by the NIH’s Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication. With these new detections, the total number of polio cases in Pakistan in 2025 has risen to 17 — including 10 from KP, f...

KARACHI: The Sindh government on Friday officially abolished all roadside charged parking across Karachi — a practice that had long been seen by Karachiites as a gross exploitation of taxpayers, carried out on city roads for the past 25 years. The decision comes into effect at once. The Sindh local government department, acting on the directives of the chief minister of Sindh, issued a notification announcing the end of parking fees on public roads throughout the city’s 25 Town Municipal Corporations (TMCs). As per the new policy, no municipal body or private entity is allowed to collect any parking fee from vehicles parked on roads anywhere in Karachi. However, the move also granted the councils of the TMCs the authority to designate any ‘specified area’ within their remit as a charged parking space. According to the notification, the Sindh chief minister “imposed a ban on charged parking fees from roads. The charged parking fees can be collected only on plots / plazas / areas specifically maintained by the ...

The Pakistan Meteorological Department has forecast rainfall in southeastern Sindh and several other districts on July 30 and 31, with occasional gaps, while widespread monsoon activity is expected across the country starting July 27.

• Leaders say millions of farmers are ready to court arrest, but will not pay the tax • Sindh Chamber of Agriculture vows to move court or go for some other crops HYDERABAD: Sindh Chamber of Agriculture (SCA) has announced that it will challenge the 45pc agricultural income tax in court. It described the tax as ‘unconstitutional, illegal and unethical’, and asked its members and farmers across Sindh to boycott wheat cultivation this year. The decision was taken at meeting of the chamber held here on Tuesday under the chairmanship of its patron-in-chief, Dr Syed Nadeem Qamar. The meeting rejected the tax and claimed that it was imposed under directives of the Inter­national Monetary Fund (IMF). The farmers who attended the meeting argued that they were not receiving fair prices for their produce and, as such, there was no justification for the imposition of such a tax. The meeting asked farmers across Sindh not to pay the tax, and warned that if government resorted to arrest them for on this disobedience, mill...

At least six people were killed and 12 others were injured when a bus overturned and fell into a ditch near Makli in Sindh’s Thatta district on Sunday morning, rescue officials said. According to the Edhi rescue service, the bus overturned near the Thatta Bypass, following which a rescue team reached the site of the incident and transported the injured to a hospital. “The bodies of the six victims were initially taken to a mortuary in Orangi Town,” the service said in a statement, adding that they were later transported to Edhi’s morgue in Karachi’s Sohrab Goth. The bus was carrying a group of picnickers from Karachi to Keenjhar Lake when it overturned while taking a sharp turn, killing six passengers and injuring dozens others, state-owned Associated Press of Pakistan reported. “Local authorities and rescue teams were quick to respond, reaching the crash site within minutes. The injured were rushed to Karachi hospitals, with several reported to be in critical condition,” it said. In another incident, at leas...

KARACHI: Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Friday expressed concern over federal policies that were “creating major hurdles” in the development of Sindh’s energy sector and said that despite the province’s vast potential to serve as a key contributor to the nation’s energy needs, current federal approaches were obstructing progress on multiple fronts. Speaking as the chief guest at the Sindh Energy Diversity Conference, Mr Shah described the province as the country’s “energy basket,” endowed with rich reserves of coal, natural gas, wind and solar energy. However, Mr Shah pointed out that federal policies had created ongoing challenges that hindered energy sector development in the province. He also recounted historical setbacks, including investor reluctance after the 1996 government change and federal opposition to wind power projects in Sindh. Mr Shah urged the gathering of stakeholders, experts and policymakers to discuss the province’s vast energy resources and the urgent need for sustainable energy s...

Shah pushes for Sindh as Pakistan's energy hub

Sindh’s Minister for Culture and Tourism, Syed Zulfiqar Shah, announced on Thursday that the provincial government is prepared to take responsibility for the burial of actress Humaira Asghar if her family continues to refuse to claim her body.

KARACHI: Over 1.6 million children, between five and 17 years of age, in Sindh have been found to be trapped in child labour, revealed the Sindh Child Labour Survey 2022–2024. Conducted by the provincial labour department with technical support from Unicef and the Bureau of Statistics Sindh, the survey also revealed that over half (50.4pc) of child labour victims aged 10-17 worked in hazardous conditions, exposing them to excessive hours, extreme weather and unsafe tools. Labour Director General Muhammad Ali Shah, who is also the project director of the survey, told Dawn that the survey had been submitted to the provincial government. He said that the incidence of child labour has seen a significant decline, reduced by nearly 50pc compared to the 1996 baseline. According to Pakistan’s first and only National Child Labour Survey, conducted in 1996, the prevalence of child labour in Sindh was recorded at 20.6pc of the total child population at that time. The latest survey also revealed that school attendance am...

KARACHI: The Sindh government’s decision to impose Sindh number plates for all licensed vehicles has caused anarchy and frustration among Karachi residents, ARY News reported. Intended to control theft of vehicles and improve tax collection, the initiative has instead caused lengthy waits, delayed issuance, and strict traffic enforcement. According to official stats, Karachi has 3.5 […]

KARACHI: The provincial health department on Saturday reported fourth death from Naegleria fowleri in Sindh. According to officials, a 17-year-old student reportedly suddenly developed fever, body aches and vomiting on June 25. A day later, he was admitted to the Aga Khan University Hospital where he tested positive for the deadly infection. On June 27, his condition deteriorated and he was shifted to ventilator support. The patient had no history of swimming, the officials said and added that apparently he contracted the infection through the contaminated, or non-chlorinated, tap water. According to experts, lack of filtration and chlorination of potable water is a major source of Naegleria’s infection. Besides, city’s water distribution system is faulty, allowing seepage of sewage in the domestic water supply lines, which in turn gets contaminated and causes harmful diseases. Karachi recorded this year’s first death from Naegleria fowleri in March. The woman victim was a resident of Gulshan-i-Iqbal and died...

The Pakistan Meteorological Department has forecast another spell of rain in Karachi, Hyderabad and other parts of Sindh on Friday. Several parts of Sindh received moderate to heavy rainfall on Thursday, ending the prolonged dry spell across the province and bringing relief from the scorching summer heat. The authorities had earlier released an urban flooding warning for several cities. In its latest weather advisory issued today, the Met Office said “strong monsoon currents are penetrating over the province.” Under its influence, rain thunderstorm/rain with few moderate to isolated heavy falls is likely in Karachi, Hyderabad, Umerkot, Mirpurkhas, Badin, Thatta, Sujawal, Dadu, Sukkur, Larkana, Qamber Shahdadkot, Shikarpur, Khairpur, Naushahro Feroze, Shaheed Benazirabad, Mitiari, Sanghar, Jamshoro, Tando Allahyar, Tando Muhammad Khan, Jacobabad, Ghotki, Kashmore and Tharparker districts till June 29. In its weather forecast for Karachi, the Met Office said intermittent thunderstorm and rain with moderate to i...

It was a sultry summer morning. Mir Shah Mohammad Talpur was visiting his sprawling mango orchards, located on the outskirts of Hyderabad, to inspect the year’s produce. However, the ruthless sun glaring on his back and mercury rising to 43.2 degrees Celsius were making things difficult for Mir. For the mangoes, though, these climatic conditions were in tandem with their harvest. Mir’s orchard is spread across 450 acres of land. “I have been looking after the bagh for six years … many trees here are around 50 years old,” he told Dawn.com. The 49-year-old wore a black sun cap along with a neck flap to avoid exposure to the intense heat. Like many in the area, Mir too sublets his mango orchard — a practice in vogue, by and large, in Sindh. Only a few growers, including those who believe in progressive farming, manage their own orchards. The province is known for its Sindhri mangoes, harvested in the first week of June. Two workers moving from one part of the orchard to other for picking of fruit. Despite other ...

Sindh reported its first death of the year from the Congo fever as a 42-year-old man in Karachi passed away after being diagnosed a day earlier, as per a statement from the provincial health ministry’s media coordinator on Wednesday. According to the WHO, the Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF), commonly known as Congo Virus, causes severe viral hemorrhagic fever outbreaks with a case fatality rate of 10-40 per cent. There is no vaccine available for the disease. According to experts, the CCHF virus is primarily transmitted to people either by tick bites or through contact with infected animal blood or tissues during and immediately after slaughter. In April, the National Institute of Health (NIH) issued an advisory urging prevention of Congo fever ahead of Eidul Azha. The 42-year-old man, a resident of District Malir, was admitted to Indus Hospital in Korangi, where he tested positive for CCHF on June 16, Media coordinator for the Sindh health ministry, Meeran Yousuf told Dawn.com. The patient passed away...

After the unveiling of Sindh’s budget last week was met with protests by opposition lawmakers, PPP Senator Quratulain Marri on Monday lamented that Sindh was “being treated like a colony of the federation”. Last week, Sindh Chief Minister Shah Murad had also warned that the PPP — a coalition partner of the PML-N-led federal government — would not support the passage of the federal budget in parliament if Islamabad continued to manage development schemes in Sindh instead of transferring them to the provincial government. “The federal government has wronged us. They have dissolved the Public Works Department (PWD), which was responsible for overseeing development projects across provinces,” Murad had said, adding that while the other three provinces received funding for development projects accompanied by their budgets, Sindh was completely overlooked. Senator Marri, chairing a meeting of the Senate Planning and Development Committee today, questioned why Sindh was “being treated like a colony of the federation...

• CM says plan to manage Sindh’s projects from Islamabad will not work • Inaugurates second phase of first segment of Shahrah-i-Bhutto KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has warned the PML-N government that the PPP will not support the passage of the federal budget in parliament if Islamabad continues to manage development schemes in Sindh instead of transferring them to the provincial government. Although the PPP is not part of the federal cabinet, it is a major coalition partner of the PML-N government and without its support the passage of the federal budget in the National Assembly is not possible. Speaking at a programme held to inaugurate the second phase of the first complete segment of the Malir Expressway, renamed as Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Expressway / Shahrah-i-Bhutto, on Saturday, the CM strongly criticised the federal government, accusing it of discriminating against Sindh and treating the province like a colony. “The federal government has wronged us. They have dissolved the P...

PTI, MQM can’t blackmail PPP govt: Sindh CM.

• For third year, no new mega project announced for the country’s economic hub • Meagre allocations for Sukkur motorway and K-IV projects deplored KARACHI: Trade and industry leaders on Saturday strongly criticised the federal and Sindh budgets for the upcoming fiscal year, calling them deeply disappointing and discriminatory towards Karachi, the country’s economic nerve centre. Businessmen Group (BMG) Chairman Zubair Motiwala and Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) President Jawed Bilwani expressed serious concerns over the sheer neglect and denial of essential development funds to Karachi and the province of Sindh as a whole. In a joint statement, they also demanded that before the approval of budgets, necessary amendments be made by significantly enhancing allocations for Karachi-centric development projects. Highlighting the gross underfunding of the Sukkur-Hyderabad Motorway, a strategic infrastructure project vital for the economic connectivity of Sindh and Karachi, they said despite the pro...

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecast the arrival of a pre-monsoon weather system in eastern Sindh starting Saturday evening, while extreme heat continues to scorch large parts of the country.