ISLAMABAD, Sep 19 (APP): The speakers at the Indus Delta Community Dialogue on Tuesday warned that the Indus River’s per capita water availability decline below 1000 cubic meters was alarming for the country’s future and water security.
The Indus Delta Community Dialogue was held at Sindh University Thatta Campus in partnership with Water Environment Forum Pakistan (WEForum) with a mission to “Save the Indus Delta with UN Support”. It was presided over by Pro-Vice Chancellor Prof. Rafique Memon with former Senator Nisar Memon as chief guest, a news release said.
Welcoming the participants, Prof. Mukhtar Mahar, DG Coastal & Deltaic Studies said, “Today’s objectives are to unite all delta stakeholders to identify issues, challenges and opportunities towards evolving local, provincial, national, regional and global programs under a proposed new United Nations Convention for the Conservation of River Delta (UN-CCRD).”
Dr Engr. Syed Raghib Abbas Shah, former WAPDA chairman and founding senior executive committee member of WEForum shared detailed status of Indus River water in Pakistan with its per capita water availability going dangerously below 1000 cubic meters. Thus, the need to conserve and develop water for drinking, industrial and agricultural use. In addition, “Pakistan must improve its water governance to ensure timely water distribution to all, release needed water flow from upstream to downstream Indus and discharge fresh water to sea for preserving ecology of delta for livelihood of deltaic people.”
Pro Altaf Siyal, dean of Sindh Agriculture University Tandojam explained at length the historic perspective of depleting Indus delta with all scientific studies carried on so far.
He alerted the participants of the climate change phenomenon severely affecting communities with seawater intrusion, shoreline changes and degradation of Indus delta. He called upon all, specially governments, to resolve issues on urgent basis for protecting the delta community facing agricultural and food challenges.
Khuda Bukhsh, Yasmin Shah, Ahmed Khan, Ghulab Shah, and Engr. Obhayo Khushk representing welfare department, fisherfolk, rural support organization, old port of Ketibandar, irrigation and research shared their concerns about Indus and its delta which now pose existentialist threats to people of Sindh specifically Indus deltaic people.
They called upon governments, parliament and experts at responsible positions to intervene “to save the dying delta”.
The Community Expert Mir Mohammad Baloch said, “The government should also invite the community in their planning process for proper resource allocation towards addressing their issues and challenges.”
WEForum chairman Nisar Memon in his ‘Way Forward’ remarks thanked all participants for joining this dialogue and coming forward unitedly to save Indus deltaic life.
He was pleased that individuals as well as institutions like Sindh University Thatta, Sindh Agriculture University Tandojam, Mehran TV and others have partnered with WEForum. “We are glad Yasmin Shah daughter of Fisher Folk leader Mohammed Ali Shah is amongst us and committed to carry on her late father’s mission,” he added.
Memon said that the views expressed today will be part of a report and we shall meet next with Sindh government, federal government as well as with UN. In future deliberations, adding, “we plan to include other three deltaic districts i.e. Sujawal, Badin, Karachi as well as island communities besides all other stakeholders from business, commerce, industry; fishing, horticulture, agriculture, livestock; educational & research institutions; marine, maritime, security institutions; local, regional and global NGOs; youth and women.”
He was of the view that the Indus Water Treaty of 1960 and Water Apportionment Accord of 1992 need to be revisited to include climate change and environmental aspects affecting the Indus, Delta and its community.
“I thank you for your confidence in sharing existentialist threats, proposed solutions and action plans needed at a local, provincial, national, regional and global level to protect deltaic life,” said Nisar Memon and assured, “with the awareness of issues and determination expressed in today’s meeting we shall unitedly move forward to combat the challenges from any further harm to Indus Delta and bring global solutions to deltaic people.”
In conclusion, Nisar Memon said, “This dialogue with the community will help provide solutions and link up our efforts under the upcoming UN Convention for the Conservation of River Deltas planned to be discussed at UN Climate Conference COP28 at UAE at the end of this year.”
In his presidential address, Pro-VC Prof. Rafique Memon shared various programs and projects implemented for the last four years at the campus to strengthen the knowledge of students and researchers for improving the deltaic community life in agriculture, fisheries and livestock.
He expressed his pleasure in further serving the deltaic community by partnering with WEForum and said, “The issues of Indus delta as highlighted by experts and community today shall be documented and shared with government and as indicated by senator Memon taken up globally with UN.”
ISLAMABAD, Sep 19 (APP): Austrian mountaineer Wilhelm Steindl, who came to Pakistan to climb K2 but ended his summit midway due to the death of his local porter Muhammad Hassan, raised funds of 1,70,000 US $ for the deceased’s children and their mother.
Muhammad Hassan, the porter fell off a ledge and reportedly died a few hours later at a narrow path known as the bottleneck at K2, some 8,200 meters high.
After his death, one of the mountaineer Wilhelm Steindl ended his summit midway and returned to his home country where he started a campaign “Give me Fund for them” to financially help Hassan’s family and collected 1,70,000 US $ for them.
He was warmly received by Interim Minister for Tourism Wasi Shah in his office on Tuesday.
At this, the minister talking to the media said that the government of Pakistan has also assured to cover all expenses of Muhammad Hassan’s family, widow, children, and mother.
Additionally, the government would fully support the education of Muhammad Hassan’s three children and secure a job for his widow besides comprehensive medical treatment for his asthmatic elderly mother.
However, despite these efforts, my heart remains heavy because my organization couldn’t do everything that should have been done for Muhammad Hassan and his family, said Wasi Shah.
He said there was no formal arrangement for porters however after he assumed charge of the Ministry of Tourism, PTDC made significant progress in establishing a mountain training center in collaboration with Gilgit-Baltistan University, with Wiley’s full support.
He said, previously, there was no provision for insurance of porters in case of accidents, leaving families like Muhammad Hassan’s without any financial support however after extensive meetings with stakeholders in Islamabad and Skardu, the government agreed on a minimum insurance coverage of 30 lakhs for porters, but he is still working towards increasing it to 50 lakhs.
The minister said that all these efforts were born out of the tragic loss of Muhammad Hassan, however, what truly amazed and inspired him was Wiley’s selfless dedication to Muhammad Hassan and his family, despite not being Pakistani.
He appreciated Wiley, on behalf of every Pakistani and humanity, and said “Your actions exemplify the best of what humans can achieve when they come together for a common cause”.
KARACHI, Sep 19 (APP): Caretaker Sindh Chief Minister Justice (retd) Maqbool Baqar has directed the Planning & Development Department to work in close coordination with WAPDA so that the K-IV project can be completed.
He said that he wanted to improve the overall security through the Safe City project and the lining of KB Feeder and supply of an additional 65 water would quench the thirst of this water-starved city of Karachi to some extent.
This he said while presiding over a meeting of the P&D department here at CM House.
The meeting was attended by Chief Secretary Dr. Fakhre Alam, Chairman P&D Shakeel Mangnijo, PSCM Hassan Naqvi, Secretary Finance Kazim Jatoi, Secretary Rehabilitation Parvez Sihar, DG PDMA Salman Shah, and others.
Chairman P&D told the CM that the K-IV Phase-I for 260 MGD to cost around Rs126 billion and the WAPDA authorities were executing it. He added that the federal government has allocated Rs15 billion in its PSDP.
The CM said that the P&D must play its role so that the amount allocated in the PSDP could not only be released but utilized by carrying out quality work, otherwise, the project would linger on further. The Chairman of P&D Shakeel Mangnijo said that he would remain in close coordination with the K-IV project team of WAPDA to keep work on the project could be sped up by removing its bottleneck, if any.
The CM said that the K-IV was the most important project for the city and it must be completed as soon as possible.
Another federal PSDP project that came under discussion was the Improvement of the KB Feeder System and the extension of Keenjhar Lake. The CM was told that it was being executed by WPDA at a cost of Rs75.56 billion for which Rs3 billion have been allocated by the federal government in the current financial year.
Maqbool Baqar directed the P&D dept to monitor the execution of important projects such as Safe City, the Lining of KB Feeder, the supply of 65 MGD additional water to the city, and the reconstruction of school buildings damaged by the floods of 2022.
Chairman P&D told the CM that the Safe City Project has been launched with a cost of Rs10,000 million for which this year Rs4500 million have been allocated. At this, the CM said that the Safe City project would be most important in the resolution of criminal cases and in maintaining law and order in the city. He directed the P&D dept to monitor its executive and sped it up so that it could be completed.
Another project that came under discussion was the provision of 65 MGD additional water supply (Phase-I) to Karachi for Rs9146.4 million. The CM said that the allocation of Rs50 million for the current financial year was not enough. He added that more funds could be managed if the work was accelerated.
The CM directed P&D to coordinate with the water board to expedite the work on the 65 MGD additional water supply scheme.
The lining of the KB Feeder is again an important project that would reduce line losses of the water being provided to the city through the feeder. The CM was told that the project has been launched for Rs23007 million and the government has allocated Rs3000 million this year. The CM said that the allocation for the project was good but there was a need to accelerate the work for which he assigned the task to P&D.
The CM directed P&D to get some schemes for the beautification of the city so that the look of the megalopolis city of Karachi could be uplifted
ISLAMABAD, Sep 19 (APP): DeafTawk, a pioneering Pakistani startup committed to improving the lives of the deaf community, and Sightsavers, an international organization dedicated to preventing avoidable blindness and promoting disability inclusion welcomed the second cohort for the Innovation Challenge Futuremakers (ICF) program.
As part of this welcome session, an orientation session was held where the startups were introduced to the ICF program through various icebreaker activities, according to a press release.
After a rigorous evaluation process involving a review of more than 173 applications and interviews conducted by industry specialists and mentors, a total of 8 exceptional startups have been chosen as part of the second cohort.
These startups, hailing from diverse regions of Pakistan, showcase a wide range of innovative solutions poised to make a significant impact in various domains.
Ali Shabbar, the CEO of DeafTawk, expressed his heartfelt appreciation, and said, “Following the remarkable success of our inaugural cohort, we were eagerly anticipating the second one. I extend my sincere gratitude to all the startups that have applied for this acceleration program and to our invaluable partners for their unwavering support.
Through the ICF program, our aim is to equip these exceptionally talented startups with the essential skills they need to not only accelerate the growth of their ventures but also to harness their innovative ideas in ways that benefit individuals with disabilities.”
Munazza Gillani, the Country Director of Sightsavers Pakistan Office, enthusiastically shared her insights on the program, said, “The Innovation Challenge Futuremakers program is playing a pivotal role in supporting entrepreneurs with disabilities as they embark on their journey towards establishing successful startups. It’s particularly heartening to witness a significant number of women-led startups stepping up through this program. I extend my best wishes to each and every startup as they embark on this exciting acceleration phase, and I’m confident in their potential for remarkable success.”
The startups selected for the second cohort of the Innovation Challenge Futuremakers were Assistive Tour Companion for providing comprehensive support for visually impaired travellers, Inclusive Hill which was reshaping e-commerce by offering a comprehensive marketplace tailored to the unique needs of individuals with disabilities, Deaf Art Wala is a venture specializing in selling captivating calligraphy and digital frames, Hira’s Kitchen providing a welcoming place for quality food and socializing, addressing a significant need within the community, Aqua Orient Water Solutions serving to reduce health risks, save lives, and ensure clean drinking water, SK Studio and Training Centre addressing issues of lack of opportunities by offering digital courses and training centre, ATMIS providing app-based solution for the secure collection and distribution of assistive devices, and Speaker Better designed to assist children with speech disorders, focusing on articulation and phonological disorders.
These startups are poised to embark on a transformative journey of growth and development. With access to a customized curriculum, mentorship from industry experts, networking opportunities, grant opportunities, and a chance to attend international tech conferences, these startups will receive the support they need to scale their businesses and create a lasting social and economic impact.
KARACHI, Sep 19 (APP): The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Tuesday arrested an accused allegedly a hawala operator from the Saddar area and recovered hawala money, foreign currency, mobile phones, and laptops from his possession.
According to the spokesman for FIA Sindh, the Agency’s State Bank Circle in a raid at a mobile shop namely Global Mobile located in Star City Mall in Saddar arrested a hawala operator identified as Abdul Kareem.
The FIA recovered hawala money Pakistani currency rupees 352,500, Saudi Riyal 1500, Omani Riyal 5, 16 Apple iPhones, 3 OnePlus mobile phones, two Google mobile phones, 9 Samsung mobile phones, and two laptops from the possession of the arrested. The total value of the recovered laptops and mobile phones was Rs. 6.2 million.
Recovered mobile phones and laptops were smuggled from Dubai to Karachi with the help of traffickers to avoid Customs duty while the payments of the phones and laptops were sent to Dubai through hawala.
A case had been registered and further investigations were underway.
RAWALPINDI, Sep 19 (APP): Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) has seized 4166.009 kg of drugs and 480 liters of imported alcohol worth US$ 277.174 million internationally, arrested 32 accused, and impounded eight vehicles while conducting 35 counter-narcotics operations throughout the country last week, said its spokesman on Tuesday.
He informed that the seized drugs comprised 51.6 Kg Opium, 279.26 kg heroin, 3096.442 kg hashish, 541.68 kg methamphetamine (Ice),10 kg morphine, 187 Kg ketamine, 24 grams of weed, and 0.003 grams of ecstasy Tabs (5 Tablets).
ANF Balochistan recovered 2496.5 kg of drugs in seven operations arrested the accused involved in drug smuggling and impounded 2 vehicles. The seized drugs comprised 30 kg of Opium, 0.75 kg of Heroin, 2453 Kg of Hashish, 2.75 kg of Methamphetamine, and 10 kg of Morphine.
ANF Sindh recovered 1006.875 kg of drugs and 480 liters of Imported alcohol and arrested 12 accused besides impounding a vehicle. The seized drugs comprised 257.075 kg of Heroin, 550 kg of Hashish, 12.800 Kg of Methamphetamine (Ice), and 187 Kg of Ketamine.
ANF KPK recovered 616.927 kg of Drugs in eight operations. The seized drugs comprised 91.500 Kg Hashish, 525.424 Kg Methamphetamine (Ice), and 0.003 Grams of Ecstasy Tabs (5 Tabs).
ANF Punjab recovered 42.425 kg of Drugs in seven operations and arrested 11 accused besides impounding 3 vehicles. The seized drugs comprised 21.600 kg of Opium and 20.825 Kg of Heroin.
ANF North recovered 3.282 Kg of drugs in 6 operations and arrested 5 smugglers besides impounding vehicles.
The seized drugs comprised 61 Gram Heroin, 1.942 kg of Hashish, 706 Grams of Methamphetamine (Ice), and 24 Grams of Weed.
All cases have been registered at respective ANF Police Stations under CNS Act 1997 (Amended 2022) and further investigations are under process, he added.
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