🌍 Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction
Naseer Memon
Encroachment risks
July 2, 2026
REGIONAL weather forecasts indicate that El Niño conditions may influence the coming monsoons. International meteorological forums anticipate excessive heat spells and below-normal rainfall, especially in Pakistan’s plains. However, this forecast does not rule out the possibility of occasional cloudbursts that generate torrential spates in the highlands and urban flooding in the plains. Similarly, excessive heat can melt snow at a ........
Looming danger
May 21, 2026
EL NIÑO is set to grip South Asia this year. This weather phenomenon is characterised by warming of the ocean surface in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific. The ocean’s temperature influences South Asia’s climate, particularly the intensity of the summer monsoon. As the Pacific’s water gets warmer, atmospheric convection moves eastward, drifting away from the Indian Ocean. Hence, the region experiences a weak monsoon due to suppressed rainfall ............
Food for thought
May 5, 2026
A PROTRACTED blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has imperilled global food security. UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that if the disruption continues “through mid-year”, 32 million individuals will be “pushed into poverty”. Another 45m, he said, would face extreme hunger as fertiliser stocks run low and crop yields fall. More ominously, if severe disruptions persist to the end of the year, “we confront the spectre of a ...................
Manmade disaster
September 2, 2025
INTENSE rainfall is not uncommon in our plains and mountains. Rainfall exceeding 200mm has occurred several times in every province of Pakistan. ‘Climate change’, ‘cloudburst’ and ‘urban flooding’ are only recent additions to our media lexicon. Flood disasters, landslides, furious hill torrent flows and terrible droughts have been causing loss of life and damage to property, crops and infrastructure for decades. However, a hysterical media and a clumsy social media have sparked paranoia. The cacophony they have raised has kept us from discussing the underlying ........................
Dissecting disaster
August 11, 2025
THE first phase of the monsoon cycle has left death and destruction in the country. According to data from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), 289 people lost their lives and 698 were injured in five weeks. Punjab was the worst-hit province with 158 deaths, followed by KP where 64 people died.
Additionally, the rains and floods damaged 1,580 houses, with Gilgit-Baltistan registering a third of the total. GB endured ferocious flash .................
Living with floods
July 21, 2025
THERE is an ongoing shift in the concept of ‘flood management’: from ‘fighting the floods’ we are now ‘living with the floods’. Nature observers say that the floods are not our adversary, and it is human interference that has converted their benevolence into malevolence. For millennia, human beings and floods led a harmonious coexistence. But as population numbers swelled, rivers were chained and tamed to grow more food and fibre. The construction of dams, barrages and canal networks required regulated rivers. Conversely, attempts were made to trammel rivers by .......................
Anatomy of disaster
The drought alert
April 6, 2025
The country is threatened by an excruciating drought. The Advisory Committee of Indus River System Authority has estimated water shortage for April at 43 percent. The IRSA will monitor the situation on monthly basis. These shortfalls restrict canal flows and leave the croplands parched.
In the third week of March, the Pakistan Meteorological Department issued a drought alert. The projection revealed a precipitation scenario.
The country had received 40 percent less rainfall than normal in the preceding months. Sindh was.............................
Resilient abodes
September 6, 2024
The Development Statistics of Sindh-2022 report issued by the Sindh Bureau of Statistics reveals that approximately 70 per cent of houses in rural areas are katcha. Housing data of five worst flood-hit districts in 2022 depicts abject poverty in these areas. Percentage of katcha houses in rural areas of some of the districts are: Dadu (56pc), Jamshoro (65pc), Qambar-Shahdadkot (65pc), Khairpur Mirs (51pc) and Mirpurkhas (71pc). Moreover, the report also reveals that 72pc of rural houses are just one-room structures. The recent census data of 2023 also confirms that 71.35pc of rural houses in Sindh are................................
Disastrous spells
August 18, 2024
After a dry and scorching July, Pakistan is in the grip of monsoon rains. Northern areas of Gilgit and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have had several spells of destructive rains. Sindh, Balochistan and southern Punjab have been lashed by torrential rains. Hill torrents of Koh-i-Suleman and Khirthar ranges have generated raging flows isolating dozens of villages. Based on the prognosis by Meteorological Department, the National Disaster Management Authority has been churning out weather alerts and advisories..................................................
The missing link
June 22, 2024
COMMUNITIES and the nearest administrative tier are considered the linchpin of any disaster management system. Pakistan’s National Disaster Management (NDM) Act, 2010, focuses on the disaster management architecture and delineates the functions and powers of disaster management authorities at the national, provincial and district level. National and provincial authorities have been assigned a macro- and meso-level role, such as policy formulation, coordination, communication, providing technical assistance, and monitoring. The ...................
Monsoon menace
June 4, 2024
WITH the approach of the monsoons, timely precaution is needed. The South Asian Climate Outlook Forum has anticipated above-normal rains in the region during the season. Rainfall and temperature outlook maps from the SACOF-28 report forecast heavy rains in all the provinces and excessive temperatures in Pakistan’s snow-capped mountainous belt. This suggests looming flood conditions.
Sindh is the most vulnerable province as it is the final destination of glacial melt in................................
April enigma
May 17, 2024
THE country is in the grip of an enigmatic weather cycle. Snowfall drifted its way from December-January to February-April. A startlingly wet April baffled weather oracles. Upcountry mountains were enveloped in snowfall, and westerly systems brought frequent and heavy rain spells. Torrential rains in southern Balochistan during February-April avoided the previous trajectory. Gwadar, located on the shore, experienced nightmarish urban flooding. Standing and harvested wheat in the fields of Potohar was battered by untimely downpours...................
Dicey weather
April 21, 2024
An uncanny weather pattern continues to dominate the skies. A dry winter has been followed by a wet spring. April has brought unusual snowfall and intense rains. Rain data from December 2023 to March 2024 shows less than normal rain in the country except for Balochistan and Sindh. Rainfall during the same period last year was even less. From December 2023 to March 2024 Balochistan received 24 percent more than the normal rainfall...................................
Resilient Sindh
March 23, 2024
THE newly elected Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and the ruling PPP chairperson Mr Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari have reiterated their commitment to making the rehabilitation of flood-affected communities a priority.
More than a year and a half after the deluge, hundreds of thousands of families are still waiting to be rehabilitated. Rebuilding two million houses, repairing and reconstructing 20,000 schools, dozens of roads, culverts, health facilities and water supply schemes is a herculean task. .........................
Continuing crisis
January 29, 2024
HUMAN development is the inevitable casualty of natural disasters. The devastating blow to the health, education, drinking water, sanitation and housing infrastructure deprives people of services which constitute the pillars of human development. Pakistan, already on the lower rungs of human development, suffered a massive setback on account of the 2022 floods. The Planning Commission’s Post Disaster Need Assessment report paints a bleak picture: its preliminary estimates show that between 8.4 and 9.1 million.......................
Climate resilience
December 21, 2023
THE screening of development projects through the lens of climate resilience requires a paradigm shift in development planning and budgeting. The International Monetary Fund wants Pakistan to introduce this shift through the FY2024-25 budget. Prodding the ministries of finance and planning, the IMF has prescribed making budget documents more explicit on the nexus between the budget and climate-related action. It has put emphasis on advancing green ..............................
Poll challenges after the deluge
December 1, 2023
THE newly elected Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and the ruling PPP chairperson Mr Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari have reiterated their commitment to making the rehabilitation of flood-affected communities a priority.
More than a year and a half after the deluge, hundreds of thousands of families are still waiting to be rehabilitated. Rebuilding two million houses, repairing and reconstructing 20,000 schools, dozens of roads, culverts, health facilities and water supply schemes is a................................
Long road ahead
November 11, 2023
THE fate of those affected by last year’s floods has faded from memory but the miseries of the people persist. Catastrophic events leave deep bruises. Complete healing is a complex and protracted process, while certain impacts of the disaster remain irreversible. Poverty resulting from or aggravated by such disasters is one such element that transcends generations.
The World Bank’s recent Macro Poverty Outlook estimates that .......................
Lessons from Libya
October 23, 2023
ONE of the most catastrophic floods in Libya not just killed thousands and left behind tossed-up cars and heaps of rubble but also bequeathed lessons for the world. Climate change, protracted violence, lack of governance, ramshackle infrastructure and corruption coalesced to unleash a nightmare.
Libya, the resource-rich North African country flanked by the Mediterranean Sea, sits in a sprawling desert that constitutes 90 per cent of its land mass. The country has been reeling politically ever since Nato..............................
A yawning aid gap
July 16, 2023
A year after the catastrophic floods of 2022 international aid continues to arrive. In view of the estimated losses and damage of $30 billion, the inflow of international aid has been remarkably is sluggish. Despite the big gap between the need and the aid, every single dollar is valuable.
Last week, Pakistan received an assistance of CHF3 million ($3.38 million) from the government of Switzerland. The governments of Pakistan and Switzerland have signed a memorandum of understanding to improve natural disaster prevention ....................................
Building back, brick by brick
July 2, 2023
The wounds from the devastating flood are still fresh a year after the catastrophe. Sindh, the worst-hit province, is still struggling to recover from the shock of unprecedented disaster. The province received a baffling monsoon rainfall in excess of 400 percent over the 30-year average. Rainfall in August was in excess of 726 percent compared to the average rainfall during the month. Not prepared for such rain and flood, Sindh government’s rescue and relief efforts fell short of the needs on the ground. The chief minister acknowledged the ..................................
A close call
June 20, 2023
AFTER keeping millions of people on tenterhooks for almost a week, Cyclone Biparjoy petered out without inflicting much damage. Sindh’s coastal districts from Karachi to Badin narrowly survived a climatic catastrophe as the cyclone swerved in the nick of time, avoiding landfall on Sindh’s coast.
Having the same trajectory and climatic features, Biparjoy brought to mind Cyclone 2A that battered Pakistan’s coastal communities in 1999. The UN estimated that the cyclone killed 189 people while 150 were missing.................................
Debris, dreams and development
June 18, 2023
The Economic Survey of Pakistan and the federal as well as Sindh’s provincial annual budgets are loaded with references to the 2022 floods. A large part of the budget speech of the Sindh chief minister revolved around the devastating floods of 2022 that perished lives, crops and livestock and destroyed more than two million houses and vital public infrastructure.
A day before the federal budget 2023-24, the Economic Survey of Pakistan was released. The 467-page document mentioned the floods 188 times. Last year’s sluggish economic ..................................
The next monsoon
June 6, 2023
WITH the monsoons approaching, there is reason to feel concerned. Preoccupied with the political melodrama, few of us recall the plight of the millions of flood-affected. Their tribulations after last year’s calamitous deluge, especially in Sindh, have not ended and the rainy season is once again looming. Although weather pundits expect a drier monsoon in southern Pakistan this year, climate change is all about extreme and unpredictable weather events............................
Managing the next monsoon
April 30, 2023
The 2023 monsoon season is less than three months away. Wounds of last year’s devastation have yet to heal. The scale of the disaster was so enormous that it might take several years to fully rehabilitate the flood-affected communities. Sindh, where the floods did the most damage, is crawling back to normalcy at a snail’s pace.
Reconstruction and repair of more than two million houses, 8,500 kilometres of roads, 165 bridges, 1,750 culverts and 20,000 schools are a herculean task. Estimates suggest that more than five million people have ..............................
A flood battered farming sector
April 16, 2023
Food inflation has beaten all past records. March 2023 witnessed a huge rise in food inflation. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics reported that year-on-year food inflation touched a new peak of 47 percent. This explains why people are swarming to free of cost flour distribution centres and risking their lives to grab a bag or two of the flour before the trucks are emptied by a jostling mob.
Although free food distribution has always tended to cause such behaviour, the situation has worsened following the massive losses to crops in the floods of 2022. Sindh endured a.....................................
Floods and the status of SDGs
April 2, 2023
The Asia and the Pacific SDG Progress Report, 2023, launched recently, has revealed that the Asia-Pacific region is set to miss the 2030 target year by several decades to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. According to the report of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) as the midpoint of delivering the SDGs approaches, the targets are still off track.
From the analysis of the available data and progress achieved so far, it appears that the Asia-Pacific region will miss 90 percent of the 118 targets by 2030......................................
Lessons from Turkiye
Struggling back to normalcy
January 1, 2023
Scars from the apocalyptic floods of 2022 are still fresh; the healing is painfully slow. A report issued by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the first week of December portrays a grim picture of the flood affected communities. According to the report, flood waters continue to stagnate in large swathes of ten districts in Sindh. The United Nations Satellite Centre (UNOSAT) imagery indicates an estimated 8 million people are potentially exposed to floodwaters or living close to ......................................
A flood-affected future
December 11, 2022
Damage and loss to the education system is perhaps the least reckoned impact of the recent disastrous floods in Pakistan. While damage to roads, dykes, houses and the loss to the economy has been emphatically highlighted by the higher ups, not as much concern has been voiced for the loss education 3.5 million children have suffered.
Only last month, the UNICEF reported that floods have damaged or destroyed more than 26,600 schools nationwide and that at least 7,060 others are being used as temporary relief camps and shelters for the displaced................................
Running on empty
November 20, 2022
Having suffered an unprecedented climate catastrophe, Pakistan is emptying its coffers and gathering every coin to help those affected by the disaster. Since the beginning of this century, Pakistan has faced two major natural disasters i.e. the earthquake of 2005 and riverine floods of 2010. On both occasions, the humanitarian response from the international community was generous. This helped Pakistan recover from the egregious impact of these natural disasters. Although the loss of life and property was ............................
Homeless and helpless
November 6, 2022
In the last week of October 2022, a ten year old young girl was abducted in broad day light and subjected to sexual assault in the upper class Clifton locality of southern Karachi. Her family has been displaced after floods destroyed their village. They were living on a footpath near a shrine where they could get langar food. The girl was lured into a car with the promise of rations for her family and subjected to sexual violence. The horrifying incident shocked the humanitarian workers and prompted the chief minister to order immediate arrest of the perpetrators.............................
Building back behtar
October 23, 2022
The term Build Back Better was first coined in Indonesia by the World Bank after the devastating tsunami of 2004 that wreaked havoc on several South-East Asian countries. It is especially relevant to Pakistan today. Later on, during the reconstruction after the earthquake of Central Java in 2006, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JAICA) put the same concept to work while rebuilding homes. They used earthquake resistant construction techniques and erected more than 100,000 strengthened houses in two years.
The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 recorded the term and mentioned the approach under their list of priority of actions......................................
Rethinking rehabilitation
October 9, 2022
Several towns and villages in Sindh are still submerged under floodwater. Life is finally returning to its pre-flood routine but at a snail’s pace. The flood has caused colossal damage to public as well as private properties. Millions of lives have been shattered in the affected districts. According to a situation report issued by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority on October 1, 12 million have been affected by the flood. 7.3 million people have had to leave their homes. According to the report, more than 1.8 million houses have been destroyed or partially damaged. Over 8,000 kilometres of roads, 1,749 culverts and 165 bridges have also been destroyed. .........................................
The road to recovery
September 25, 2022
The flood water is gradually receding from all areas of Sindh. Due to its flat topography, gravity flows are sluggish in Sindh. According to a report of the UN Satellite Centre (UNOSAT), floodwaters had receded from 32,800 square-miles to 23,200 square-miles in the first week of September. However, in Sindh where 14.6 million flood-affected individuals reside, water had drained from 815 square-miles.
Nonetheless, it is expected that within two to three weeks, the flood affected will return to their abodes. After taking a lot of flak on performance during ...................................
What went wrong?
September 11, 2022
The flood water is gradually receding from all areas of Sindh. Due to its flat topography, gravity flows are sluggish in Sindh. According to a report of the UN Satellite Centre (UNOSAT), floodwaters had receded from 32,800 square-miles to 23,200 square-miles in the first week of September. However, in Sindh where 14.6 million flood-affected individuals reside, water had drained from 815 square-miles.
Nonetheless, it is expected that within two to three weeks, the flood affected will return to their abodes. After taking a lot of flak on performance during rescue and relief, the Sindh government ought to work hard in the .....................................
In the climate crosshairs
August 6, 2017
A report issued by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) entitled, A Region at Risk: the human dimensions of climate change in Asia and Pacific, paints a bleak scenario for the countries in the Asia and Pacific region if climate change is not contained.
The report underlines a range of risks posed to the countries located in the region. A peculiar feature of the region is Himalayas that separates the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The mountain range contains nine of the ten highest peaks in the world. The highest peak on earth and the third-..................................
Ten years on…
October 4, 2015
October 8, 2005 evokes poignant memories of a devastating earthquake that jolted northern parts of the country early morning. Ten years on, thoughts of that day continue to shake millions of hearts of those who lost their loved ones in the tragic incident.
The jolt measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale catapulted the Himalayan region of northern Pakistan and Kashmir. The area was also hit by more than 1000 aftershocks of varying intensity. Its epicenter was located approximately 19 km north-northeast of the city of Muzaffarabad. The heavily shaken ...............................
Let the floods flow
August 23, 2015
The media remained preoccupied with frantic news coverage and discussion programmes on floods during recent weeks. The government took flak for its inability to take appropriate measures to mitigate the impact of the 2015 flood.
Peak flow in the Indus was around 700,000 cusecs yet more than 3,500 villages were affected in Sindh and Punjab afflicting a population of more than 1.3 million. Considering the design discharges of various barrages, the quantum of flow was much less ...........................
Localising humanitarian actions
July 26, 2015
As disasters are becoming more frequent, capricious and devastating, humanitarian response is also becoming more complex and convoluted. Enormity of catastrophes entails funneling of multi-million dollars to reach out to largest possible segment of disaster afflicted communities. This necessitates greater efficiency and transparency to ensure that aid is received timely, effectively, judiciously and transparently.........................................
Ruins without relief
January 26, 2014
Two catastrophic temblors jolted Awaran and Kech districts of Balochistan in September last year. While the episode has been obscured by a series of new headlines in media, miseries continue to shake the affectees.
According to the data of the National Disaster Management Authority, 386 people were killed and 816 injured. Malar and Mashkai tehsils of Awaran were the worst hit. The NDMA confirms more than 32,000 houses were flattened out and more than 14,000 partially damaged. Unofficial sources claim that the digits are watered down. Numbers aside, death and devastation is certainly enormous...................................
The forgotten people
February 22, 2012
RECENTLY, a report titled Pakistan flood emergency: Lessons from a continuing crisis was prepared by a collaborative group of over a dozen leading international and national humanitarian aid agencies.
It is a deeply saddening reminder that some 2.5 million people affected by floods last year are still struggling to return to normal life. The miseries of these citizens are going unnoticed, having been overshadowed by the political turmoil in the country...................................
Shared waters & glacial melt
December 31, 2011
THIS month’s prospective meeting of the Abu Dhabi Dialogue Group comprising seven states sharing the rivers rising in the Greater Himalayas would be a watershed event as the group is expected to adopt a joint initiative to minimise the impact of glacial melt.
The group comprises Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India and Nepal. All these countries share river basins originating from the water roof of the region — the Himalayas. Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan.....................
The root cause of flood disasters
September 3, 2007
Heavy rains in Balochistan at the end of June not only brought disaster to this province but certain districts of Sindh on its eastern border also received devastating flash floods.
Torrents from Balochistan entered Sindh through Khirthar hills and inundated vast areas in districts of Dadu and Shahdad Kot/Qambar. Thousands lost abodes and were marooned in deep ponds of water for several days.....................................
Disaster unleashed by Mirani Dam
August 20, 2007
Cyclone Yemyin hit Balochistan coast on the night between June 26-27 and left deep scars of disaster on villages of Kech District. The unusual rainfall resulted in deluge in Nihing and Kech rivers, which caused backflow in several kilometers course. The worst hit areas included union councils of Nasirabad, Nodiz and Kosh Kalat........................
Featured Articles
Canal controversy
DAWN • August 7, 2026
RECENTLY put into trial operation, Jalalpur canal has stoked a new controversy between Punjab and Sindh. A summary of the Sindh government, raising objections against the project, was already pending with the Council of ..........
Manmade drought
June 16, 2026
ONCE again, barrages in Sindh and Balochistan are facing a crisis. In the second week of June, the Guddu and Kotri barrages received 30 per cent and 60pc less water, respectively, than their due share under the 1991 water apportionment accord. Kharif sowing is at its peak and, under a baking sun, Sindh’s growers are on the roads demanding water for their crops. At one point, in the first week of June, the flow at Guddu was only 74,500 cusecs, against an allocation of 108,340 cusecs for Sindh and Balochistan.......................
Hydro war crime
March 24, 2026
WATER is as precious a commodity as oil for countries of the Middle East. In the absence of freshwater resources, the region relies heavily on expensive, desalinated water. During the current war in the Gulf, the protagonists have not only aimed projectiles at oil depots, they have also decimated two water purification plants. If more water plants are targeted, the fallout could be worse than the consequences of blasting oil stocks. Iran has claimed that the US attacked a freshwater desalination plant on Qeshm Island, disconnecting water supply to 30 villages...........................
Global freshwater bankruptcy
Two recent reports have revealed alarming data on rapidly worsening water balance of the world. United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health has just released a startling report: Living Beyond our Hydrological Means in the Post-Crisis Era. Prior to this, World Bank had released a report: Continental Drying: A Threat to Our Common Future. Both these reports paint a grim picture of global freshwater inventories...........................
The corporate farming dream
February 23, 2025
The Punjab government has launched a project to develop agriculture in Cholistan.
However, the Sindh government has expressed reservations over the initiative. The latter has submitted a summary to the Council of Common Interests, a constitutional forum mandated with addressing concerns of provinces, including those related to sharing and use of water resources. However, a CCI meeting has not been convened for one year although the constitution mandates a quarterly meeting...........................
Water deficit
December 1, 2024
RATHER than augmenting water productivity, our planners are obsessed with building new reservoirs and expanding irrigated areas. The reason? More structures mean more money. Barring the wet monsoon years, the Indus basin frequently endures water scarcity. For the last 25 years, the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) has declared water shortages every year and has not allocated water shares as enshrined in the 1991 Water Apportionment Accord.
Sindh has thus questioned the water availability certificate for the Cholistan irrigation scheme issued by Irsa early this year...........................
Parched Sindh
January 11, 2025
SINDH comprises 18 per cent of Pakistan’s land mass and 16pc of its total cultivable area.
While the agricultural sector is the lynchpin of the provincial economy, Sindh also contributes about 23pc to the country’s national agricultural value added: 41pc to the national output of rice, 31pc to sugarcane and 21pc to wheat. The rural communities and urban markets rely heavily on the performance of this integral sector...........................
Geographic Shield
July 18, 2026
PAKISTAN’S stance on India’s unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty is rooted in its legal rights concerning the Indus basin’s western rivers under the treaty. Walking away from the treaty is a breach of obligation by India. Moreover, the threat to stop flows to the lower riparian is a human............
Conserving land for future
April 19, 2026
Land is a primary resource for growing grains. Rapid degradation of land mass worldwide is a looming threat to food security. According to United Nations Environment Programme about 70 percent of dry land used for agriculture worldwide has been degraded. Desertification and land degradation have afflicted almost 30 percent of land area of the world and one-sixth of the world’s population. The impact is more severe in Asia—home to ........................
Decaying delta
December 21, 2024
THE Indus Delta, once a pristine ecosystem, has lost its glory. Listed amongst the 40 most biologically rich ecoregions in the world, it is also a Ramsar site. Unfortunately, its mangrove forests and fish stock in its estuaries are dwindling and communities are abandoning their abodes due to scarce livelihood resources. Abject poverty, food insecurity and morbidity are rampant. The prosperous past of the area has given way to deprivation over the decades........................
A dying lake
August 26, 2023
ONCE glorified as Pakistan’s largest freshwater lake and a pristine wetland ecosystem, Manchar Lake has degenerated into a polluted pond. In fact, Manchar is a case study in how nature’s endowment can be annihilated by poor planning; in this case, by the ill-conceived Right Bank Outfall Drain (RBOD) project.
Historically a natural depression fed by hill torrents of the Kirthar range on its western boundary, the pond......................
The shrinking pie
August 2, 2026
Distribution of financial resources between federal and provincial governments is in the spotlight again. At the time of the 2026 budget approval, this debate was at the centre of political talk shows. In the end, the federal government convinced the provinces to contribute Rs 1,200 billion to meet “strategic needs.” The provinces slashed their annual development plans significantly to create cushion for their...........
Conserving land for future
April 19, 2026
Land is a primary resource for growing grains. Rapid degradation of land mass worldwide is a looming threat to food security. According to United Nations Environment Programme about 70 percent of dry land used for agriculture worldwide has been degraded. Desertification and land degradation have afflicted almost 30 percent of land area of the world and one-sixth of the world’s population. The impact is more severe in Asia..............