Year: 2025

World Bank Flags Slow Progress on $300m SWAT Project

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world-bank

ISLAMABAD: The World Bank has expressed concern over the slow pace of implementation of the \$300 million Sindh Water and Agriculture Transformation (SWAT) project, rating its overall progress as “moderately unsatisfactory” in its latest Implementation Status and Results Report (ISR). Approved in December 2022, the SWAT project aims to enhance agricultural water productivity in selected farmers’ organization (FO) command areas, strengthen integrated water resources management (IWRM), and help restore crop production for small and medium-sized farmers impacted by the devastating 2022 floods. While the Bank rated progress toward achieving the…

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Nationwide Solar Shift Crucial for Economic Stability, Says FPCCI Official

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FPCCI-Project

LAHORE: Pakistan can unlock significant environmental and economic gains by embracing solar energy on a national scale, said Shahid Imran, Convener of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Regional Committee on Food. Speaking to a delegation of industrialists led by Zia Ur Rehman, Imran stressed that with over 300 sunny days annually, Pakistan holds vast untapped potential for solar power generation. “A transition to solar energy will reduce dependence on costly imported fossil fuels, ease pressure on the national exchequer, and help shrink the trade deficit,”…

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EV Makers Urge Swift Development of Charging Infrastructure, Retrofitting Support

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Electric-Vehicle

ISLAMABAD: Electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers have voiced serious concerns over the lack of charging infrastructure and high upfront costs, warning that these obstacles could derail Pakistan’s clean energy ambitions. The concerns were raised during a consultative meeting held by the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination (MoCCEC) on Friday, chaired by Secretary Aisha Humera Moriani. The meeting focused on accelerating the transition to electric mobility, scaling up EV charging stations, retrofitting fuel-powered vehicles, and exploring financing options to make EVs more accessible. Industry representatives emphasized the urgent need for…

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Trump says US nears trade deals as tariff effective date delayed

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Donald-Trump

MORRISTOWN, New Jersey, July 6 (Reuters) – The United States is close to finalizing several trade agreements in the coming days and will notify other countries of higher tariff rates by July 9, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday, with the higher rates scheduled to take effect on August 1. Trump and other top officials had flagged the August 1 date earlier, but it was unclear if all tariffs would increase then.Asked to clarify, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters the higher tariffs would take effect on August 1,…

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Unfiltered water’ from Indus pumped directly to homes in Hyderabad

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indus-water

HYDERABAD: A major public health concern has surfaced across Hyderabad as large portions of the city’s densely populated neighbourhoods continue to receive untreated water drawn directly from the Indus River. The issue, long shrouded in administrative ambiguity and contradictory claims, came under sharp scrutiny when the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) conducted an unannounced inspection of the Jamshoro Filtration Plant, raising fresh alarms over water quality and civic negligence. SEPA officials accompanied by Deputy Director Technical Imran Ali Abbasi collected water samples from key operational chambers, including the lagoon site,…

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