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Nov 24, 2024 | 
thefridaytimes.com | Asif Mohmand
At least one in five people worldwide are at risk of suffering from significant welfare losses due to extreme weather events from which recovery would be arduous. This has been stated by a new Poverty, Prosperity, and Planet Report 2024 (PPPR) recently published by the World Bank and brought highly startling findings.
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Oct 18, 2024 | 
thefridaytimes.com | Asif Mohmand
For the past few years, climate change has been ravaging the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), from heat waves to rain, hail and snow storms to landslides, flash floods, GLOFs (glacial lake outburst floods) and forest fires. While the state has mostly focused on the casualties (especially adults) and the 'losses' suffered in terms of houses and other infrastructure destroyed, the children caught in the devastation suffer a nightmare.
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Oct 9, 2024 | 
thefridaytimes.com | Asif Mohmand
For nearly three years, I worked as a producer with a local media outlet in Lakki Marwat. Charged with unearthing local stories, it afforded me the opportunity to work closely with the locals and observe their culture, traditions, and especially the environment of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's southern district. Lakki Marwat is often considered an underdeveloped region since it lacks basic services such as healthcare, education, and access to clean water.
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Jun 25, 2024 | 
thefridaytimes.com | Zalmay Azad |Sabih Ul Hussnain |Asif Mohmand |Raza Rumi
In recent months, the southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) have seen a dramatic and alarming rise in militant activity. The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a formidable insurgent group, has reasserted its presence, effectively undermining the state's control in these regions. This resurgence has coincided with the tenure of the Ali Amin Gandapur-led provincial government, raising critical questions about the government's ability and willingness to counter this growing threat.
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Jun 20, 2024 | 
thefridaytimes.com | Talal Faisal Ismaili |Lubna Jerar Naqvi |Sabih Ul Hussnain |Asif Mohmand
A remarkable decrease in snowfall in the Himalayas and Hindu Kush regions has set off alarm bells for water security in regions fed by glacial waters, including the Indus River Basin. This was disclosed in a report prepared by the latest Hindu Kush and Himalayas Snow Update 2024 by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) this week.
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Jun 8, 2024 | 
thefridaytimes.com | Kamran Khamiso Khowaja |Raza Rumi |Tahir Imran Mian |Asif Mohmand
President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday awarded Prince Rahim Aga Khan the Nishan-i-Pakistan award in recognition of his outstanding contributions to Pakistan's development, prosperity, and welfare. The award was conferred at an investiture ceremony at the Aiwan-e-Sadr in Islamabad on Friday. Senate Chairman Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, federal ministers, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, parliamentarians, diplomats, and other senior government officials attended the ceremony.
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Jun 7, 2024 | 
thefridaytimes.com | Sabih Ul Hussnain |Raza Rumi |Tahir Imran Mian |Asif Mohmand
The Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee on Friday announced that Eidul Adha in Pakistan will be celebrated on June 17 after the moon for the month of Zil Hajj was sighted. The central committee met in Karachi on Friday, with Maulana Abdul Khabeer Azad in the chair. Central and zonal committee members and representatives of the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO), the Meteorological Department (PMD), and the Religious Affairs Ministry attended the meeting.
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Jun 7, 2024 | 
thefridaytimes.com | Kamran Khamiso Khowaja |Raza Rumi |Tahir Imran Mian |Asif Mohmand
The Sindh Police has claimed to have made headway in the murder of journalist Nasrullah Gadhani after they allegedly nabbed a key suspect. Gadhani, a journalist from Mirpur Mathelo, was gunned down by armed assailants near his home town on May 21. Three days later, on May 24, he succumbed to his injuries during treatment in Karachi. The incident sent shockwaves through the journalist community and country, sparking widespread protests and demands for justice.
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Jun 6, 2024 | 
thefridaytimes.com | Sabih Ul Hussnain |Raza Rumi |Tahir Imran Mian |Asif Mohmand
Lawyers in Lahore have asked the government and the police to ensure that members of the Ahmadiyya community are prevented from performing the ritual sacrifice on Eidul Adha. In a letter addressed to the Punjab Home Secretary, the Lahore High Court Bar Association President Muhammad Asad Manzoor Butt argued that performing the ritual sacrifice of certain animals and performing the special prayers on Eidul Adha is reserved only for Muslims.
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May 6, 2024 | 
thefridaytimes.com | Asif Mohmand |Zalmay Azad |Yousuf Nazar |Shahzad Naveed
As winter wound up in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) this year, it had one last sting to deliver. Torrential rains and hailstorms in March and April, usually witnessed during peak winter, damaged crops, houses, and civil infrastructure and cost as many as 73 lives. For some, the damage from the rains and the hail reminded them of the rains and super floods of 2022, which wiped away large swathes of crops and infrastructure across KP.
