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ARMY, NDMA LEADING RESCUE, RELIEF DRIVE AS KP FLOOD TOLL CLIMBS TO 323 Monday, 18 August, 2025 | 23 Safar, 1447
Rs 50.00 | Vol XVI No 41 | 44 Pages | Karachi Edition
BUNER WORST HIT WITH 217 DEAD; DOZENS STILL MISSING FEARED DEAD g TROOPS AIRLIFT RATIONS, SET UP FIELD HOSPITALS, START RESTORATION OF ROADS AND BRIDGES g
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Staff RepoRt
HE Pakistan Army, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and provincial agencies on Sunday ramped up large-scale rescue and relief operations in flood-hit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), as the death toll rose to 323 — including 217 in Buner alone, the worst-affected district. Troops, helicopters and emergency
teams are evacuating stranded families, distributing rations, pitching tents, setting up medical camps and working to restore washed-out roads and bridges. Army engineers have begun installing a replacement bridge linking Bajaur and Dir after the previous one was swept away, while helicopters continue to ferry food, medicines and stranded survivors from cut-off valleys. HUMAN TOLL AND WIDESPREAD DESTRUCTION According to the KP Provincial Dis-
PM Shehbaz directs Federal Ministers to supervise flood relief operations ISLAMABAD
Staff RepoRt
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday ordered federal ministers to supervise relief operations in the flood-affected areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while additional relief goods are being dispatched for the flood-affected people. According to state-run Radio Pakistan, additional relief goods are being dispatched to the flood-affected areas on the directives of PM Shehbaz, who is personally monitoring the relief operations of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in all flood-affected districts of KP. “Teams of federal ministers, on the
instructions of the prime minister will participate in the relief operations in the flood-affected areas,” Radio Pakistan reported. Federal Minister for Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir Affairs and States and Frontier Regions Amir Muqam will supervise the distribution of relief goods in the Shangla and Buner districts. Minister for Power Division Awais Leghari will look after activities in Buner, and Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Yousaf will oversee operations in Mansehra. Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Mubarak Zeb will supervise relief distribution activities in Bajaur.
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Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Sunday said that Pakistan has video footage of the six Indian aircraft shot down during the military confrontation between both nations in May, revealing that “when Indian planes were downed, it was decided not to announce this without evidence.” Addressing a seminar in Lahore on Sunday, the interior minister said he was involved in several matters surrounding the war with India and was privy to several key pieces on information. “The army, air force, navy and government have all been acknowledged during the past month-and-a-half, but our intelligence agencies were doing important work behind the scenes,” Naqvi said. “Our institutions had information on India’s (plans) well ahead of time. We knew whatever they (India) planned, what aircraft they would use. Our intelligence agencies’ role was so important, but they do not come forward. We need to acknowledge them,” he emphasized. “We had radar data, but we needed field evidence,” he explained, adding, “Within minutes, we received video footage of all six planes which were shot down. We have this footage.” In May, a brief military confrontation between India and Pakistan took place when the former, without evidence, linked the Pahalgam attack to Islamabad, which the latter strongly denied. Pakistan said it downed six Indian planes during the conflict, including advanced French-made Dassult Rafale jets. India’s highest-ranking general has also acknowledged that its forces suffered losses in the air, but denied losing six aircraft. Naqvi then outlined two incidents where seven Indian missiles struck a Pakistani base, adding that once they were launched, it became clear they were heading across the border.
Two dead, 33 injured as 6 bogies of Karachi-bound train derails in Lodhran LODHRAN
Staff RepoRt
aster Management Authority (PDMA), the dead include 273 men, 29 women and 21 children, while another 156 people are injured. The torrential rains, which began on August 15, destroyed or damaged 336 homes, 57 schools, 23 public structures and 320 cattle heads, devastating both shelter and livelihoods. Swat saw 219 homes damaged, while in Bajaur, Shangla, Mansehra and Battagram, scores of houses and roads were reduced to rubble. PDMA figures show 209 families displaced in Buner, where entire villages have been cut off by landslides. Rescue 1122 reported that more than 850 people have been evacuated to safety in Buner alone, while 181 bodies have been recovered from debris in multiple localities. With mobile networks and power lines down in many areas, rescuers warned that dozens remain trapped under rubble and “chances of survival are slim”. ARMY, NDMA AND RELIEF AGENCIES IN ACTION The Pakistan Army has dispatched fresh contingents to Buner, Swat and Shangla, where helicopters continue to airlift rations — including flour, rice, pulses, milk powder, and cooking oil — to isolated settlements such as Khwar Banda. Army doctors have set up field
ISLAMABAD
Staff RepoRt
The multiparty conference (MPC) convened by the Awami National Party (ANP) here on Sunday demanded an immediate end to ongoing military operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan, warning that sustainable peace and development in Pakistan are impossible without democracy, constitutional supremacy, and provincial rights. Representatives from the PPP, JUI-F, JI, MQM, Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) and other political parties attended the MPC held in Islamabad and endorsed a joint declaration that blamed “flawed domestic and foreign policies” for the rise of unrest, terrorism, and rights violations in the two provinces. The resolution called for the formation of a truth commission under judicial supervision to investigate human and financial losses from past operations. It also demanded the elimination of “death squads” and illegal armed groups, full implementation of the 18th Amendment, and protection of provincial autonomy. The declaration further opposed the conversion of the Frontier Constabulary into the Federal Constabulary and the proposed merger of the Levies with the Balochistan police. Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, addressing the conference, questioned the government’s writ in KP’s tribal areas, warning that armed groups continued to extort money and even skim 10 per cent from development funds. He also criticised renewed efforts to restore the jirga system seven years after the tribal areas’ merger with KP.
Strenuous efforts being made to digitize, make economy cashless: PM CONTINUED ON PAGE 03
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PM SHEHBAZ EXPRESSES SATISFACTION OVER PROGRESS MADE TOWARD CASHLESS ECONOMY, DIGITAL FINANCIAL SYSTEMS ISLAMABAD
Staff RepoRt
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday said the government is prioritising efforts to digitise the national economy and shift all financial transactions to a cashless system. Chairing a review meeting on the cashless economy in Islamabad, he directed provincial chief secretaries to cooperate fully with the federal government in expanding the Raast digital payment system to the district level. Premier Shehbaz expressed satisfaction over the progress made toward a cashless economy and digital financial systems. riefing added that provincial governments had made progress in linking government-to-public and public-togovernment payments with the Raast system. Authorities further informed the meeting that federal development agencies have granted right of way for fibre connectivity, while discussions with Pakistan Rail-
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Pakistan possesses MPC demands end to video evidence of Indian military operations, aircrafts’ downing: Naqvi warns peace impossible without democracy LAHORE Staff RepoRt
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NDMA FORECASTS MORE MONSOON SPELLS WITH HIGH-RISK ZONES AHEAD PESHAWAR/ISLAMABAD
IN TODAY’S ISSUE
ways and the National Highway Authority are under way to expand digital infrastructure. Last month, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed the formation of three specialized committees—the Digital Payments Innovation and Adoption Committee, the Digital Public Infrastructure Committee, and the Government Payments Committee—to promote cashless economy across the country. During the briefing, the premier was updated on progress made toward implementing a nationwide cashless system. It was shared that currently, over 40 million users are benefiting from the RAAST system, and various initiatives are underway to increase this number. All financial transactions of the federal government are now conducted through the RAAST system, and steps are being taken to expand it to the provincial level. The briefing also highlighted that Fintech is a key component of this ecosystem.
hospitals offering free treatment, while soldiers have donated their own rations to affected families. The NDMA and KP PDMA have released Rs800 million for relief, including Rs500m for Buner. Convoys of aid trucks have delivered tents, blankets, mosquito nets, hygiene kits, kitchen sets and solar lamps to the hardest-hit districts. The NDMA said it is working closely with welfare organisations including Alkhidmat Foundation, PRCS, Edhi Foundation, Islamic Relief, Penny Appeal and KS Relief to provide food, water and medical support. In Gilgit-Baltistan, the Karakoram Highway’s Gilgit–Rawalpindi section was reopened after being blocked for four days by floods in Kohistan, restoring a key route for stranded passengers and tourists. VOICES FROM THE GROUND AFP reporters in Buner described vehicles buried in mud, collapsed homes and villagers cutting through fallen trees to clear flooded roads. “There is still concern that dozens of people may be trapped under rubble,” KP Rescue 1122 spokesman Bilal Ahmed Faizi said. “We have 2,000 workers in the field, but the weather is slowing operations.”
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At least two passengers were killed, and 33 others were injured on Sunday when six coaches of the Awami Express derailed near Lodhran Railway Station in Punjab. The train, traveling from Lahore to Karachi, went off the tracks at approximately 2:10am due to a suspected brake failure, according to officials. The incident occurred when the train was approaching Lodhran, causing significant damage to the coaches and leaving several passengers trapped. Rescue teams from Rescue 1122 arrived promptly at the scene. While some of the injured were treated at the site, 22 passengers with serious injuries were transported to the District Hospital Lodhran for emergency care. Two critically injured passengers were transferred to Bahawalpur for further treatment. Initial reports indicated that the derailment caused the deaths of two passengers, one of whom died at the scene, and the other later succumbed to injuries at the hospital. The 33 other victims suffered varying degrees of injury, with several of them being treated on-site. Authorities confirmed that the remaining passengers were later transferred to another train heading toward Karachi. A spokesperson for Rescue 1122 explained that the train’s derailment was caused by a brake failure, though an official investigation is still underway to determine the full extent of the cause. Efforts to restore the affected railway track are ongoing, and a team of railway engineers has been dispatched to the site for repairs. Minister for Railways, Hanif Abbasi, expressed his condolences to the families of the deceased and vowed swift action in investigating the cause of the accident. He also stated that Pakistan Railways had already begun implementing safety reforms, and the government was committed to improving railway infrastructure to prevent future mishaps.
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