National

Islamabad: Senator Sherry Rehman strongly criticised the weak enforcement of the plastic ban in Islamabad, saying Parliament could not be treated as a joke while prohibited plastic products continued to be widely used. At the same meeting, serious concerns were raised over melting glaciers, Glacial Lake Outburst Flood risks and whether government institutions were doing enough to protect vulnerable communities. The Senate Standing Committee on Climate Change expressed dissatisfaction over the continued widespread use of plastic in the federal capital despite legislation aimed at restricting plastic book covers and harmful plastic products. Sherry Rehman said plastic waste was still collecting across Islamabad and contributing to blocked drains. She questioned why prohibited plastic products continued to be used even after Parliament had passed legislation. She said compliance with the law must be mandatory. The committee also raised questions about products being sold or promoted as biodegradable or recyclable. Sherry Rehman said such claims should not simply be accepted without proper standards and verification. She noted that only around 9 percent of plastic is recycled globally, while large amounts eventually reach landfills, drains and the wider environment. The committee also discussed how a plastic ban could affect ordinary families. Sherry Rehman said many lower income households depend on plastic packaging for daily products including milk and yoghurt. She said the government could not simply impose restrictions without making affordable alternatives available to the public. She stressed that after banning harmful plastic products, authorities also needed to provide practical and affordable alternatives for poorer consumers. The committee was told that alternatives to traditional plastic already exist through some businesses and startups. However, members noted that these alternatives were still not available at the scale or price required for widespread public use. Sherry Rehman also questioned the availability of plastic collection and recycling centres. She asked where people could take plastic waste so it could be properly collected instead of being dumped in landfills, drains or waterways. The committee stated that successful environmental regulation requires both strict enforcement and practical support for businesses and consumers trying to move away from harmful materials. Another major concern was Pakistan’s growing glacier crisis. The committee received a briefing on Glacial Lake Outburst Floods and the dangers facing people living near glaciers and mountainous areas. A United Nations Development Programme official told the committee that Pakistan has more than 30,000 glaciers and that climate change is speeding up glacier melt. The committee was informed that 108 disaster events had been handled through early warning systems, including two Glacial Lake Outburst Flood events. Sherry Rehman expressed dissatisfaction with the briefing. She said the committee had received largely similar information before and questioned what had actually changed on the ground. She asked officials to explain what new steps had been taken to protect people living in vulnerable areas. She also questioned why the briefing failed to properly show the speed and scale of glacier melting. The committee discussed reports suggesting that around 16 percent of glaciers had melted. Sherry Rehman said officials needed to explain what Pakistan planned to do as the threat to glaciers continued to increase. She also said the glacier crisis could not be handled as a separate climate issue. She called for stronger coordination with the National Disaster Management Authority and the Pakistan Meteorological Department. Sherry Rehman said the Pakistan Meteorological Department is the main technical institution responsible for important information about weather, climate and glacier conditions. She said the National Disaster Management Authority also needed to be fully involved in disaster preparation, emergency response and risk management. The discussion showed that Pakistan faces two very different but connected environmental challenges. In the cities, plastic waste continues to pollute streets, block drains and create enforcement problems. In the mountains, rising temperatures and glacier melting are increasing the danger of floods and other disasters for vulnerable communities. The committee made clear that simply passing laws or presenting reports was not enough. Authorities were asked to show real enforcement, better planning, stronger coordination and practical solutions that ordinary people could actually use. The central question raised by the meeting was whether Pakistan’s environmental laws and climate plans are producing visible results on the ground.

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that religious harmony is deeply embedded in the culture of Sindh, flowing through the waters of the River Indus and rooted in the soil of the province, where people of all faiths have lived together with mutual respect for centuries. Addressing a conference held in connection with National Minorities Day at the Arts Council Karachi, the Chief Minister paid tribute to the vision of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, recalling his historic policy statement in which he had declared that Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims – not in the religious sense, but in the political sense – as equal citizens of the state. Murad Ali Shah said that while many parts of the world continue to struggle with ensuring equal rights and freedoms for religious minorities, Sindh takes pride in its long tradition of inclusivity, tolerance and respect for diversity. Highlighting the political empowerment of minorities in Sindh, he noted that prominent minority leaders, including MNA Dr Mahesh Kumar Malani, Gianchand Israni and Hari Ram Kishori Lal, had been directly elected to legislative bodies by the people, demonstrating public trust beyond religious identities. The Chief Minister observed that extremist and religiously fanatic elements had never found electoral acceptance in Sindh, reflecting the province’s moderate and pluralistic character. Sharing his personal experience, Murad Ali Shah said that members of minority communities had played a significant role in shaping his educational journey. He recalled receiving his early education at St. Bonaventure’s High School in Hyderabad, established by the Christian community, followed by St. Patrick’s High School in Karachi, also founded by Christians. He later studied at D.J. Science College, established by the Hindu community, and graduated from NED University, founded through the contributions of the Parsi community. “In this way, every minority community has contributed to my education and personal development,” he said, adding that the services rendered by minorities in the fields of education, healthcare, business and public service are an integral part of Pakistan’s progress. Referring to his government’s commitment to merit and equal opportunity, the Chief Minister recalled a recruitment process in the Sindh Police in Mirpurkhas where minority candidates selected on open merit were initially being counted against the minority quota. “I personally intervened and directed that those selected on merit be counted separately, ensuring that reserved quota seats remained available for other eligible minority candidates,” he said. Murad Ali Shah reiterated the Sindh government’s commitment to safeguarding the constitutional, social and economic rights of minorities and promoting an inclusive society where every citizen enjoys equal opportunities and protection under the law. At the conclusion of the event, a cake was cut to celebrate the birthday of Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, with participants extending their greetings and best wishes to him.

LAHORE: A covert gambit by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) to impose arbitrary regulations on the alternative medicine sector has been laid bare, sparking widespread outrage across the pharmaceutical industry. ​The regulatory body is accused of using an upcoming ‘Pak Health Expo’, organized by an association at a local hotel in Islamabad on August 12–13, as a smokescreen to push through controversial policies. Reliable sources revealed that the final draft of the highly contentious “Alternative Medicines Rules 2026” has already been finalized behind closed doors, completely bypassing key industry stakeholders. According to these sources, the draft has already been forwarded to the Law and Justice Division for formal vetting. Against this backdrop, the industry has termed DRAP’s sudden announcement of a “consultative session” at the expo issued on a mere 48-hour notice as a farcical exercise in paperwork, designed solely to create a false record of stakeholder consensus. Insiders further alleged that top DRAP officials had been cold-calling homeopathic and Unani pharmaceutical firms over the past several days, pressuring them to purchase expensive stalls worth hundreds of thousands of rupees at the private event. Following a widespread boycott of the expo by established manufacturers, DRAP reportedly engineered the controversial regulatory session within the event to corner the industry into participation. Reacting strongly to the development, Kashif Aslam Malik, Chairman of the Pakistan Association of Alternative Medicine (PAAM), categorically rejected DRAP’s maneuvers, stating that the leadership had anticipated the bureaucratic trap. ​”When the final draft has already been sent to the Law and Justice Division for vetting, this sudden drama of a consultative session at a private venue is nothing but an absolute mockery,” Malik questioned while speaking to journalists. The PAAM chairman emphasized that leaning on private event platforms to legitimize sensitive, sector-defining legislation is clear evidence of regulatory bad faith. He maintained that if DRAP were genuinely sincere about consultation, it would have convened an official, independent roundtable with all veteran associations where the actual draft could be scrutinized transparently. The PAAM leadership has announced that any back-door attempt to benefit a favored private group or to bulldoze industry-hostile clauses under the guise of an expo crowd will be resisted tooth and nail. Kashif Aslam ​Malik reiterated that this persistent bureaucratic high-handedness and regulatory blackmail are precisely why PAAM continues to spearhead the movement for a dedicated, independent federal ministry for alternative medicine. The association demands that policies governing traditional and alternative health sciences be framed by domain experts who understand the discipline, rather than traditional regulators.