Pakistan

Slams mayor for urban flooding, mismanaging infrastructure developed by MQM

.

Admits shortcomings on first day of rain, tenders apology to citizens

.

.

Partner's relief order set aside; broker spared by court

.

Home dept directs real-time surveillance, traffic plans, round-the-clock control rooms

132 FIRs registered so far; confiscation of weapons, vehicles part of new penalties

.

.

Suspect wounded in gunfire exchange with police, dies of injuries

.

President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday constituted the 11th National Finance Commission (NFC) to announce a new award for the sharing of federal divisible resources between the Centre and the provinces. According to a notification from the Finance Division, the president constituted the commission with Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb as the chairman and the four provincial finance ministers as its members. The commission also includes former bureaucrat Nasir Mahmood Khosa as a member representing the Punjab government, economist and researcher Asad Sayeed as a member representing the Sindh government, former bureaucrat Dr Musharraf Rasool Cyan as a member representing the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and Farmanullah as a member representing the Balochistan government. The commission will make recommendations to the president on the distribution between the federation and the provinces of the ““net proceeds of the taxes mentioned in clause (3) of Article 160 of the Constitution”, it read. The taxes are taxe...

At least 200 people were rescued after a glacier burst in Gilgit-Baltistan blocked the Ghizer River, threatening the downstream areas, Rescue 1122 said on Friday. A glacial burst, or glacial lake outburst flood (Glof), refers to an outburst of water from a glacial lake which could lead to severe flooding downstream, effectively blocking or overwhelming rivers in its path. Pakistan is home to over 13,032 glaciers, the largest reservoir of glaciers outside of the polar regions. However, experts have warned that about 10,000 glaciers in Chitral and GB have been reported to be receding due to climate change–induced temperature rise. A statement from Rescue 1122 said, “200 people have been rescued from flood-affected areas and have been shifted to Ghizer’s Yangal and Samal areas.” “Several people have been traumatised after [their] houses were destroyed. Medical assistance is being provided to the affected people,” it added. In another statement issued earlier today, Rescue 1122 said, “A terrible incident of glaci...

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Friday directed all relevant departments to stay on high alert ahead of a possible eighth spell of monsoon rains.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has issued a report outlining the devastating impact of monsoon rains and floods across Pakistan.

Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister (DPM/FM), Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, on Friday underlined the government’s commitment to ensuring price stability, maintaining adequate supplies of essential goods, and protecting the interests of consumers across the country.

Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) has formally called for the creation of new provinces in the country, aimed at improving governance, public service delivery and overall administrative structure.

Four more people were confirmed on Friday to have died in a fire that broke out in a warehouse in Karachi the previous day, bringing the total death toll to six, according to rescue officials. A massive explosion took place inside a warehouse in a densely populated area near Karachi’s Taj Medical Complex on MA Jinnah Road yesterday afternoon, in which 33 people were injured and two were confirmed to have lost their lives. Rescue 1122 said today that the number of deaths from the incident had risen to six after a fourth body was retrieved. South Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Syed Asad Raza said earlier today that two people had died during treatment, while three bodies were recovered from the site. Police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed told Dawn.com that the deaths occurred because of “multiple crush injuries and suffocation”. She said one died owing to suffocation, and two other deaths occurred from multiple crush injuries, while the autopsy of two other bodies could not be conducted. Meanwhile, Rescue-1...