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PM DECLARES CLIMATE, AGRICULTURE EMERGENCY, VOWS DECISIVE REFORMS Thursday, 11 September, 2025 | 17 Rabiul Awal, 1447
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PM SHEHBAZ CALLS FOR A NATIONAL ROADMAP ON CLIMATE RESILIENCE, WARNING AGAINST COMPLACENCY OR DELAYS IN REFORMS
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Rs 20.00 | Vol XVI No 64 | 8 Pages | Karachi Edition
REGRETS FLOODS AND TORRENTIAL RAINS CAUSED WIDESPREAD DEVASTATION, CLAIMING ABOUT 1,000 LIVES, DISPLACING MILLIONS AND DESTROYING MAJOR CROPS
LAUDS SUCCESSFUL CHINA VISIT, CALLS B2B CONFERENCE ‘GAME-CHANGER,’ SAYING BEIJING PLEDGED $8.5B INVESTMENT UNDER CPEC PHASE-II WHILE US FIRMS EYE MINERAL SECTOR
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PREMIER ALSO CONDEMNS ISRAELI ‘NAKED AGGRESSION’ IN DOHA, REAFFIRMS SOLIDARITY WITH QATAR
Eight die as Malir, Lyari rivers overflow amid more rain forecast in Karachi KARACHI
Staff RepoRt
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ISLAMABAD
Staff RepoRt
RIME MINISTER Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday called for the formulation of a comprehensive roadmap and national strategy to confront the challenges of climate change, warning that Pakistan was facing recurring bouts of devastating natural disasters. Chairing a cabinet meeting, the prime minister said the recent floods and torrential rains had caused widespread devastation, claiming about 1,000 lives,
displacing thousands, and inundating vast swathes of cultivable land. Losses to major crops, including wheat and cotton, were still being assessed, he added. The premier announced that the government would declare a climate and agriculture emergency to address the crisis, cautioning that the danger was not yet over as floodwaters continued to move towards Sindh province. “The federal and provincial governments will jointly contribute to compensate the losses,” he said.
The death toll from rain-related incidents in Karachi rose to eight on Wednesday, while more than 300 people were relocated to safety after heavy monsoon showers caused the Malir and Lyari rivers to overflow. The Lyari and Malir rivers, once natural seasonal streams, now serve as Karachi’s main storm drains, channeling rainwater through a network of nullahs into the Arabian Sea. Years of urban sprawl, encroachments, and unchecked dumping of solid waste have reduced their capacity, turning many into open sewers and making urban flooding a recurring threat during monsoon downpours. According to rescue services, four more people lost their lives today, raising the death toll since Tuesday to eight,
Imran’s nephew Hassaan Niazi moves LHC against military trial, sentencing LAHORE
Staff RepoRt
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder’s nephew Hassaan Khan Niazi on Wednesday filed a petition in the Lahore High Court (LHC) against his military custody, the court martial conducted against him, and the operation of the military court in his case. On December 26, 2024, a military court sentenced 60 civilians, including Niazi, to prison terms ranging from two to 10 years for their alleged involvement in attacks on military installations during the May 9, 2023 nationwide riots, according to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). Advocate Hassaan Khan Niazi, who was handed into military custody in August last year, was among two individuals sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment, the ISPR list noted. Niazi filed a petition with the LHC through his counsel Faisal Siddiqui, contending that after his arrest in the May 9 case, he was never produced before a civilian court. “The transfer of the petitioner’s custody directly to the military authorities without any judicial oversight is patently and wholly without jurisdiction,” the petition, available with Dawn.com, argued. It further stated that no application under Section 549(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), 1898 was filed before any court, including the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Lahore, to authorize his handover for
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trial by court martial. The petition alleged that Niazi was illegally handed over to the 54th Electrical and Mechanical Engineers Battalion by Sarwar Road police station authorities “on a mere letter by a military functionary under the Federation of Pakistan, without any judicial oversight or process whatsoever.” It argued that neither Section 549(3) of the CrPC, nor Sections 94 (concurrent jurisdiction of court martial and criminal court) and 59(4) (civil offences) of the Pakistan Army Act, 1952, nor any other provision of law, empowered the transfer of custody directly from police to military authorities without a court order. The petition also claimed that Niazi had been “singled out” from hundreds nominated in the 2023 FIR and thousands implicated in the May 9 cases. Accordingly, Niazi requested the court to declare his custody transfer from Sarwar Road police to the Commanding Officer of the 54th Electrical and Mechanical Engineers Battalion “without jurisdiction, without lawful authority, and of no legal effect.” He further sought to have the letter ordering his transfer and all subsequent proceedings—including his court martial—declared unlawful. The petition also urged the court to direct his release or order that he be produced before the Anti-Terrorism Court, Lahore, in connection with FIR No. 96 of 2023 (dated May 10), for further proceedings in accordance with law.
Pakistan urges emergency UNSC meet after Israeli airstrikes target Doha NEW YORK/ISLAMABAD agencieS
Pakistan on Wednesday formally requested an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) after Israeli strikes hit the Qatari capital, Doha, targeting senior Hamas leaders. The strikes marked a dramatic expansion of Israel’s military campaign across the Middle East into the Gulf region, where Hamas has long maintained its political base. Qatar—a key mediator alongside Egypt in ceasefire talks during the nearly two-year-old Gaza war—condemned the attack as “cowardly” and a blatant violation of international law. Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, in a post on X, confirmed that Pakistan, together with Somalia and Algeria, sought the UNSC session after what he termed “unprovoked, illegal Israeli aggression” in Qatar, adding that the Council must “seize itself of this grave matter.” “Pakistan expresses its complete solidarity and firm support with the government and brotherly people of Qatar,” Dar wrote. The deputy PM denounced the strikes as a “reckless provocation” that dangerously escalates tensions in an already volatile region, particularly amid Israel’s ongoing atrocities in Palestine. He said the aggression undermines regional peace and security while consti-
tuting “a serious affront to international law and established norms.” He further said that Pakistan, in coordination with GCC partners and on behalf of the OIC, has called on the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva to hold an urgent debate to ensure Israel is held accountable for the strikes, which he said were aimed at sabotaging ceasefire efforts. Dar also welcomed Qatar’s decision to host an Extraordinary Arab-Islamic Summit in Doha on September 15, adding that Pakistan had conveyed to the OIC Secretariat its readiness to cosponsor and co-convene the summit to ensure a united Arab-Islamic response to Israeli aggression. Reaffirming Pakistan’s “unwavering solidarity with the leadership, government, and brotherly people of Qatar,” Dar urged the international community to “collectively condemn Israel’s violation in the strongest terms.”
ISRAEL VOWS GLOBAL REACH: A day after the strikes, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warned that Israel’s enemies were “not safe anywhere,” declaring, “Israel’s long arm will act against its enemies anywhere. There is no place where they can hide.” He linked the Doha attack to Hamas’s October 7, 2023 assault on Israel, saying, “Everyone who took part in the October 7 massacre will be held fully accountable.”
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while three others remain missing. The Edhi Foundation confirmed that rescuers retrieved the bodies of three men and a woman after a van carrying four people was swept into the rain-swollen Konkar Nadi in Gadap Town. A search operation for the missing individuals was underway. Separately, police surgeon Dr. Summaiya Syed said the body of an 18year-old youth, Ahmed Qadir, was brought to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital after he died from electrocution in North Nazimabad’s Block-C. Rescue 1122 reported that two men had gone missing in the Malir River; one of them, Mustafa Ali Gul, was saved while the search continued for Farhan Akram. Deputy Mayor Salman Abdullah Murad and the Malir deputy commissioner were present at the site.
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Iraqi Air Force chief meets CJCSC, vows deeper defence ties with Pakistan Gen. Al-Asadi praises professionalism of Pakistan Armed Forces, role in regional peace, stability
RAWALPINDI
Staff RepoRt
Lieutenant General Muhannad Ghalib Muhammad Radi Al-Asadi, Commander of the Iraqi Air Force, called on General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, NI, NI (M), Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), at the Joint Staff Headquarters on Wednesday during his official visit to Pakistan, according to the military’s media wing. In a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), it said, “Both sides held detailed discussions on the evolving global and regional geostrategic environment. They emphasized the importance of bilateral collaboration for regional peace and stability and reaffirmed their commitment to further deepen defence and security cooperation between the two brotherly nations.” The Iraqi commander lauded the professionalism of the Pakistan Armed Forces, their sacrifices in the fight against terrorism, and their continued role in promoting regional peace and stability, the ISPR said. Earlier, upon arrival at the Joint Staff Headquarters, Lieutenant General Al-Asadi was presented with a Guard of Honour by a smartly turnedout tri-services contingent, the ISPR added.