By Iftikhar A. Khan in the Dawn, Mar 13 ISLAMABAD, March 12: Chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Lt Gen (retired) Farooq Ahmad Khan on Friday said the possible outburst of the artificial lake created by landsliding in Atabad village of Hunza was still a threat. Speaking at a press conference, he said a monitoring system and effective alarm mechanism was in place to inform the natives in case of emergency, besides arrangements for their…
Posts published in March 2010
by Ahmad Rafay Alam The writer is an advocate of the high court and a member of the adjunct faculty at LUMS The word “riparian” has been appearing in the media far too frequently for my liking. It’s usually preceded by the adjective “lower” and usually followed by an irrational rant about how the “upper riparian” is taking advantage. This is unsettling because, as one knows, when the word “riparian” becomes part of one’s day-to-day…
ISLAMABAD, March 11: With Pakistan reaching the threshold of water-scarce countries, the government has finalised a Rs40 billion out-of-court agreement with 30,000 families to be affected by the proposed Bhasha-Diamer dam. “Pakistan’s per capita water availability, which was more than 5,000 cusecs in 1950, has come down to 1,000 cusecs per day because the nation has not been able to build a dam in almost four decades,” the Minister for Water and Power, Raja Pervaiz…
The author is an MPhil in Social and Cultural Anthropology; and currently works as a development consultant cum researcher at national and international level. The year 2010 witnessed a natural disaster, which did not indicate a good omen to the people of Pakistan, particularly to the dwellers of the Indus River and Gilgit-Baltistan, resulting in result of a dangerous battle between the nature and the humans. January 4, 2010 caused disaster at considerable scale when…
MUZAFFARABAD, March 11: AJK chapter of the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has threatened to go on complete strike across the region from March 16 if its demands were not met. Mir Mohammad Naeem, senior-vice president of PMA-AJK, however told Dawn here on Thursday that emergency medical cover would be provided at all healthcare facilities even during the strike. He said the strike would end only after the issuance of notification regarding the acceptance of their…
NEW DELHI: Dismissing demands by some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that Delhi provide more water to Pakistan, Indian Home Secretary GK Pillai on Wednesday said Pakistan was getting more water than it was entitled to under the Indus Water Treaty (IWT). Calling the charges of water terrorism against Islamabad “absurd”, the home secretary said, “There have been 200 joint inspections since Independence, to which Pakistan too has signed and has had no complaints. They are getting…
By Jamal Shahid ISLAMABAD, March 9: Breaches in the 15km-long and 60 metre-deep lake that was formed after a landslide in Hunza could wreak havoc all the way down to Tarbela dam. Fearing a disaster, the environment ministry has called for preparation of an emergency plan to cope with a possible flood which may affect the population and infrastructure along the Hunza/Indus river valley from Attabad to Tarbela. “Preparations must start immediately,” the ministry said.…
THE perennial jostling at the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) is an indication of the country’s constrained water resources. Although termed ‘renewable’, in reality water replenishment comes with severe limits. Barring Karachi and Hyderabad, the last monsoon rains in the country were 30 per cent below the average amount. No doubt, the vagaries of nature complicate water management. However, the progressively declining availability of water in Pakistan and our inaction over the years should be…
By Tariq Naqash in The Dawn, Mar 9 MUZAFFARABAD, March 8: Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider constituted on Monday a committee to sort out the contentious issue of the mode of payments in the Local Government and Rural Development (LG&RD) department, within a month. The direction came in a meeting of Local Government Coordination Council, which was attended by LG&RD Minister Raja Naseer Ahmed Khan, Additional Chief Secretary (Development) Tariq Mahmood,…
LAHORE, March 7: Banned outfit Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) chief Prof Muhammad Saeed on Sunday led a protest rally against India which urged the government to “use force if New Delhi does not come to terms on water issue.” Prof Saeed had been put under house arrest after Mumbai attacks in 2008 which, India alleged, were conducted by militants linked with his group. Though he was released on court orders after some time as the government…
KARACHI (APP) – Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Raja Mohammed Farooq Hyder Khan has said that Kashmir cause was damaged during the reign of former President Pervez Musharraf. Pakistan should reframe its national policy envisaging ideological and natural outlook about Kashmir, he said while talking to journalists after a visit to the Mazar of Quaid-i-Azam where he laid a wreath and offered fateha. PML-N leader Saleem Zia and leaders of Muslim Conference were also…