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Six more killed as destructive rains intensify Balochistan’s woes

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  • Death toll reaches 182 in Balochistan.
  • Several villages submerged in water.
  • Floods wash away three dams.

QUETTA: The ongoing monsoon rains continued to wreak havoc in Balochistan, with flash-floods in Qila Abdullah and several other areas killing as many as six people and inundating a number of villages overnight.

According to Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), Balochistan, the number of rain-related deaths has reached 182 in the province and several villages have been submerged in floodwaters.

Three dams have washed away and many link roads have been destroyed in Qila Abdullah.

The train service between Chaman and Quetta has also been affected due to floodwater in the area, while scores of cattle head have perished and crops and orchards ruined.

Children wade across at a flood-affected town called Gandawah in Jhal Magsi district, southwestern province of Balochistan, Pakistan on August 2, 2022. — AFP
Children wade across at a flood-affected town called Gandawah in Jhal Magsi district, southwestern province of Balochistan, Pakistan on August 2, 2022. — AFP

The traffic between Quetta and Karachi was also suspended as the linking highway had been damaged in different areas of the Lasbela district.

CM’s concern

According to Commissioner Kalat Division Dawood Khilji, the recently established alternate route at the Landa area of Uthal on the National Highway was washed away by flood on Friday.

He appealed to the public to avoid travelling on the Quetta-Karachi highway.

The PDMA rescue teams are present in the area and are providing rescue services to people stranded in flood-hit areas, the official said.

A local resident takes belongings from his damaged mud house at a flood-affected town called Gandawah in Jhal Magsi district, southwestern province of Balochistan, Pakistan on August 2, 2022. — AFP
A local resident takes belongings from his damaged mud house at a flood-affected town called Gandawah in Jhal Magsi district, southwestern province of Balochistan, Pakistan on August 2, 2022. — AFP 

Chief Minister Balochistan Abdul Qadoos Bizenjo expressed his grave concern over massive damage to Qila Abdullah, Chaman, Lasbela, and Muslim Bagh due to heavy rains.

He contacted the public representatives and district administration officials of the flood-ravaged areas directing them to visit the affected areas and provide all possible help to the affectees.

Affectees seek help

Despite the passage of more than a month, the government has not yet been able to provide relief to the people affected by floods as bureaucratic hurdles come in the way.

Flood affectees have accused the administration of treating them in a derogatory fashion during the distribution of rations by asking for original computerised national identity cards (CNICs).

The officials are reportedly seeking the CNICs for verification purposes, but the affectees have stated that they lost everything when their homes were flooded.

Local residents receive relief supplies near their damaged houses at a flood-affected town called Gandawah in Jhal Magsi district, southwestern province of Balochistan, Pakistan on August 2, 2022. — AFP
Local residents receive relief supplies near their damaged houses at a flood-affected town called Gandawah in Jhal Magsi district, southwestern province of Balochistan, Pakistan on August 2, 2022. — AFP

“Ration comes for us but they ask for CNICs. We did have some cards but not for everyone. How can a family of 10 survive on one card’s ration?” one of the victims from Lasbela told Geo News.

The victim appealed to the administration to resolve this issue, adding that if they feel they are lying, they can survey their homes to determine the number of people in a household.

“We are standing here for ration. We have not received anything [but] they are pushing us out. We can talk to the tehsildar when we go inside,” another victim told Geo News.

Vigorous monsoon activity in coming days

The woes of Balochistan are far from ending as the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecast more rains not only in the province, but also in Sindh and South Punjab.

The Met Office, in a statement, said that depression has developed in Arabian Sea which is likely to move towards the west along the Makran coast. 

Due to this weather system, monsoon currents are continuously penetrating in southern parts of the country. Another low pressure (LPA) is likely to approach Sindh on 16th August. 

Under the influence of this weather system, widespread rain-wind/thundershowers — with scattered heavy to very heavy falls — are expected in Sindh and Balochistan from August 16-18 with occasional gaps.

Soldiers of Pakistan army rescue people from the flood-affected Rajanpur district, in the Punjab province of Pakistan, on August 2, 2022. — AFP
Soldiers of Pakistan army rescue people from the flood-affected Rajanpur district, in the Punjab province of Pakistan, on August 2, 2022. — AFP

It warned that flash flooding is expected in Qilla Saifullah, Loralai, Barkhan, Kohlu, Mosa Khel, Sherani, Sibbi, Bolan, Kalat, Khuzdar, and Lasbella, Awaran, Turbat, Panjgur, Pasni, Jiwani, Ormara, Gwadar from August 14-18.

The Met asked fishermen to remain more cautious from August 16-18. It also asked travellers and tourists to remain more cautious during the forecast period.

“All concerned authorities are advised to remain alert and to take necessary precautionary measures during the forecast period,” the meteorological department said.

Business

Finance Minister: A “big” IMF program is coming for Pakistan.

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Speaking at the Karachi Stock Exchange ceremony, the Finance Minister announced that meetings with IMF representatives would take place in Washington on April 14 and 15.

He applauded the caretaker government’s effort to bring about economic stability and predicted that the nation’s economy would stabilize with improved economic policies.

Muhammad Aurangzeb emphasized that in order to move the country’s economy toward stabilization, structural reforms must be implemented.

He restated that the nation’s recovery from the economic crisis depends heavily on the stock market. The stock market is, nevertheless, trending upward.

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Business

Pakistan is still classified as a secondary emerging market by the FTSE.

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The nation could perhaps be demoted, according to the worldwide index provider, since its index weight has decreased over the previous few years.

Pakistan’s market capitalization peaked in 2017 at $100 billion, but it fell to $21 billion by 2024, according to a Bloomberg research.

It did, however, state that Pakistan’s standing as a secondary emerging market will remain unchanged due to favorable political changes brought about by the establishment of a stable government.

Bloomberg saw Shehbaz Sharif’s election as prime minister, who is open to reform, as a step in the right direction for the nation struggling financially.

Shehbaz Sharif, the president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, was chosen on March 4 to serve as the country’s 24th prime minister.

With 201 votes, PM Shehbaz defeated Omar Ayub Khan of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) by 92 votes.

over the economy, earlier this month, Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) came to an agreement at the staff level over the second and last review conducted under Pakistan’s Stand-By Arrangement.

The IMF secured a staff-level agreement with Pakistan on the second and final review of the nation’s stabilization program, which is backed by the IMF’s US$3 billion (SDR2,250 million) SBA authorized, according to the official statement released by an IMF team led by Nathan Porter.

The remaining US$1.1 billion (SDR 828 million) of SBA access will be made available following the IMF Executive Board’s approval of the deal.

It was reported shortly after the February 8 election that the newly elected PML-N-led government intended to apply for a new IMF credit package.

Pakistan is anticipated to pursue a $6–8 billion loan program from the global lender, and the IMF will be contacted right once to begin negotiations for this. The sources went on to say that the IMF would have tighter requirements this time.

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Latest News

CM Gandapur and Mohsin Naqvi pledge to cooperate in the fight against terrorism.

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To put an end to terrorism in the province, it was resolved during the conference to step up intelligence-based initiatives.

The deaths of the Chinese nationals in the suicide assault in Shangla were regretted by both leaders. Effective counterterrorism measures were directed by the federal interior minister.

He asserted that the enemies’ and miscreants’ despicable acts could not break the resolve of the Pakistani people.

According to Gandapur, the province’s government is committed to doing everything within its power to combat terrorism and safeguard the lives and property of its citizens.

It is important to note that a suicide bomber in KP’s Bisham crashed his car packed with explosives into a caravan of Chinese nationals, killing at least five of them along with their local driver.

A suicide bomber struck one of the coaches in the convoy of twelve cars en route from Islamabad to Dasu Dam in Kohistan with a vehicle carrying explosives.

Six individuals were killed when the targeted vehicle crashed into a deep ditch due to the fire produced by the explosion.

There is a sizable dam at Dasu, and there have been previous attacks there. Thirteen people were murdered in a bus explosion in 2013, and nine of them were Chinese nationals.

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