FARUKH SHEHZAD

ISLAMABAD, OCT 3: The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) on Sunday unveiled “Pandora Papers” — a major international research into the financial secrets held by high-profile individuals around the world.

From Pakistan, investigative journalists Umar Cheema and Fakhar Durrani of The News International were part of the investigation.

Geo News reported that more than 700 Pakistanis have been named in the exposé.

The publication also named Senator Faisal Vawda, Ishaq Dar’s son, PPP’s Sharjeel Memon, the family of Minister for Industries and Production Khusro Bakhtiar, PTI leader Abdul Aleem Khan, among others, among those with alleged links to offshore companies.

The ICIJ released a report on the Pandora Papers titled "Prime Minister Imran Khan promised ‘new Pakistan’ but members of his inner circle secretly moved millions offshore."

According to the report, leaked documents revealed that "key members" of Prime Minister Imran's inner circle, including cabinet ministers, their families and major financial backers "have secretly owned an array of companies and trusts holding millions of dollars of hidden wealth".

"Military leaders have been implicated as well," it said, clarifying that the documents contained "no suggestion" that Imran himself owned offshore companies.

Among those named as holding foreign assets are Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, his family, and the son of Prime Minister Imran's former adviser for finance and revenue, Waqar Masood Khan.

"The records also reveal the offshore dealings of a top PTI donor, Arif Naqvi, who is facing fraud charges in the United States," the ICIJ said.

Allegations against Moonis Elahi

The files show how PML-Q leader Chaudhry Moonis Elahi, "a key political ally of Imran Khan’s, planned to put the proceeds from an allegedly corrupt business deal into a secret trust, concealing them from Pakistan’s tax authorities", according to the consortium.

A family spokesman for the Elahi family told ICIJ’s media partners that, “due to political victimisation misleading interpretations and data have been circulated in files for nefarious reasons.” He maintained that the family’s assets “are declared as per applicable law”.

The investigation also revealed that "a luxury London apartment was transferred from the son of a famous Indian movie director to the wife of a three-star general". This was "one of several offshore holdings involving military leaders and their families", the ICIJ said.

The general told ICIJ the property purchase was disclosed and proper; his wife did not reply.

Over 600 reporters, 117 countries

According to the consortium, the Pandora Papers is its most expansive exposé of financial secrecy yet, even larger than its predecessor, the explosive Panama Papers, which had set off alarm bells across the world.

More than 600 reporters from around the world, belonging to 150 media organisations spanning 117 countries, participated in the research for two years for the Pandora Papers, which contain 11.9 million files.

According to a Geo report, Pandora Papers are larger than the Panama Papers in terms of data collection and collaboration, made possible by the largest research team in the history of journalism in the world.

Earlier today, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said details revealed in the Pandora Papers would "further strengthen" Prime Minister Imran Khan's stance.

"Panama Papers revealed offshore assets of very corrupt people. Now another research of ICIJ is coming. PM Imran stressed upon rich countries that hiding of poor countries' money in rich countries should be discouraged," he said in a tweet.

When details of money being moved from poor countries to rich countries are shared through Pandora Papers, like the Panama Papers previously, it would "further strengthen" PM Imran's stance, he added.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Political Communication Dr Shahbaz Gill, meanwhile, said: "Prime Minister Imran Khan has no offshore company."

Addressing a gathering in Faisalabad, Gill stressed that if any other member of the government was found to have hidden offshore assets, they would have to answer for themselves. "Everyone has to go into their own grave," he said.

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ISLAMABAD, OCT 3: With tensions mounting between the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and Tajikistan, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday stepped in to defuse tensions, according to a diplomatic source.

“Prime Minister Imran Khan held telephonic conversation with President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan today,” the Prime Minister Office said in a statement.

The call took place as Taliban officials and Tajik government exchanged barbs and reports emerged that Tajik forces held parades in regions bordering Afghanistan earlier in the week in a show of power and Taliban sent thousands of fighters to the border with Afghanistan’s northeastern neighbour.

Tajikistan has taken a tough line on Taliban regime and has been critical of human rights violations committed by it, particularly in Panjshir province.

PM Khan had on his return from Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s summit in Tajikistan on Sept 18 announced that he was persuading Taliban to form an inclusive government by including people from other ethnicities. He had on this occasion specially referred to his conversation with President Emomali on this issue.

“After mtgs in Dushanbe with leaders of Afghanistan’s neighbours & especially a lengthy discussion with Tajik­istan’s President Emomali Rahmon, I have initiated a dialogue with the Taliban for an inclusive Afghan govt to include Tajiks, Hazaras & Uzbeks,” Mr Khan had then tweeted.

Taliban, however, see Tajikistan’s criticism of them and the composition of their government as meddling in Afghanistan’s internal affairs.

Afghan deputy prime minister Abdul Salaam Hanafi had in a TV interview earlier in the week said: “We will not allow any neighbouring nation to interfere in the internal matters of Afghanistan.”

Ethnic Tajiks make up the second biggest ethnicity in Afghanistan. They are nearly 27 per cent of Afghanistan’s population. Most of the groups opposing Taliban have, meanwhile, taken up refuge in Tajikistan.

The PMO statement did not publicly state that Mr Khan had called for lowering of tensions between the two sides. It instead said that Mr Khan had during the conversation “underscored the urg­ent imperative to address the humanitarian needs of the Afghan people,” and importance of the role the international community can play in providing necessary humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan.

The PMO said the prime minister had also highlighted the immediate importance of economic engagement with Afghanistan to prevent an economic meltdown and to alleviate the suffering of common people.

“The two leaders agreed to remain in close contact with a view to further coordinating their efforts in support of peace and stability in Afghanistan,” it further said.

PM Khan has emerged as the top advocate for the international community’s engagement with the Taliban.

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ISLAMABAD, OCT 3: The Special Technology Zones Authority has invited Pakistan’s largest EdTech Start-up, Extreme Commerce to be part of the technology revolution in the country. STZA Chairman, Amer Hashmi in a recent meeting with Sunny Ali, the Founder of Extreme Commerce.

A delegation of Extreme Commerce led by Sunny Ali met the Chairman and the team of Special Technology Zones Authority in the STZA Secretariat situated at the Prime Minister Secretariat, Islamabad.

Amer Hashmi, Chairman, Special Technology Zones Authority has said that the Government of Pakistan has established the STZ Authority to position Pakistan as Asia’s Next Big Technology Hub. He further said, we are on a mission to establish the knowledge economy by introducing high-tech infrastructure and regulatory framework that enables lightning paced growth in the technology sector.

He also briefed the delegation that Pakistan has made unprecedented improvements in ease of doing business according to the World Bank report 2020 due to the introduction and integration of e-services at the national and provincial levels. This is a great opportunity and time for setting up new tech-based businesses in Pakistan.

He further said that Pakistan has improved in accelerated business climate reforms, whereas, over the last few years, Pakistan has restructured the business climate enabling efficient coordination among institutions and reducing red-tapism which has led to significant improvements.

He briefed the Extreme Commerce delegation that, In recognition of the crucial need to harness the opportunities of the digital age, the Prime Minister has issued a mandate to establish the Special Technology Zones Authority (STZA), which is ready to provide legislative and institutional support for the development of the national technology sector.

This body, under the Cabinet Division of Government of Pakistan, will work to develop a technology-driven knowledge ecosystem and encourage modern innovative solutions and futuristic entrepreneurship.

Sunny Ali, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Extreme Commerce informed the STZA Chairman and his team that, Extreme Commerce is Pakistan’s largest EdTech company and has surpassed one million community membership, whereas more than 150,000 students are enrolled and benefiting from the Video Boot Camp, which hosts the largest number of online training resources in the region.

The founder Extreme Commerce said that with the launch of Extreme Commerce Incubators across Pakistan’s eight (08) cities, Extreme Commerce has the facility to host more than 2000 students at a time in 12 cities of the country.

Sunny Ali also informed the STZA that Extreme Commerce has plans to launch its own Freelancers University in Pakistan and this has been initiated with the establishment of the Extreme Commerce College (EC College). The EC College is being set up in partnership with the leading higher education institutes in the United Kingdom, the Magna Carta College, Oxford and Pearson.

Commerce is Pakistan’s first EdTech start up with a sole focus on skills development and capacity building within the ecommerce and digital arena. Founded in 2017, it is the largest community of its kind in Pakistan, with well over 1,000,000 members to date and with over 150+ courses and income streams to choose from.

Extreme Commerce (EC) estimates that by 2025, the EC community will be 1.5 million strong, generating well over $1 billion in inward remittance for Pakistan.

The STZA is developing Special Technology Zones (STZs) across Pakistan, providing special incentives to attract investors, builders, and technology companies to partner with the government, and, also provide a one-window facilitation to local and international companies in the STZs.

Ultimately, the Authority aims to build knowledge ecosystems that will harness Pakistan’s IT potential and set the country on the trajectory of an entrepreneurial, innovative, and tech-driven future for shared prosperity & inclusive growth.

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LONDON, OCT 2: Gas prices have hit a five-year high today, a day after the UK’s gas crisis pushed three more suppliers to collapse.

UK contracts for next month rose above 238p per therm, while wider European natural gas and power prices also touched new records.

It comes as Rishi Sunak is set to announce £500m in grants to help the country’s poorest during the current cost of living crisis the UK is facing – which has been inflated by climbing energy prices.

Wholesale prices of gas have risen steadily since February this year, according to data from Ofgem, which has left a number of suppliers battling to keep their heads above water.

Suppliers Igloo, Symbio and ENSTROGA, which ceased trading yesterday, join a list of now 10 firms to go bust in the past two months – leaving nearly 2m households without a supplier.

However, industry regulator Ofgem will find and appoint a new company to supply customers.

Electricity prices have also been increasing, with wholesale prices nearly doubling since March, data from Ofgem found.

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Baku, OCT 2: The Turkish delegation that was led by Deputy Defence Chief, Muhsin Dere visited Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan Exclave.

At the meeting with the delegation, Chairman of the Nakhchivan Supreme Assembly, Vasif Talibov told his satisfaction with Azerbaijani-Turkish military cooperation. 

He said that Nakhchivan’s security has been assured by cooperative army-building operations. He expressed gratitude to Turkey for its political and spiritual assistance for Azerbaijan. Especially during the 44-day war in 2020 between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Muhsin Dere congratulated Azerbaijan on its historic win in the 44-day war. He also emphasized the importance of the work done in the sector of army building as part of the two nations’ relations. Along with the strategic and geographical significance of Nakhchivan.

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• We are fortunate to have several friends in the diplomatic enclave of Islamabad. They communicate and disseminate the message of love

I diligently follow the social media accounts of the foreign missions stationed in Pakistan as their tweets, Facebook and Instagram posts convey more than diplomacy, and mutual ties and interests.

Recently, when the England Cricket Board (ECB) announced the cancellation of their men’s and women’s cricket teams to Pakistan, citing unspecified security threats, this triggered a wave of rage, anger, and frustration among the cricket-crazy nation called Pakistan.

Everyone looked to the British government to explain their anti-sport stet. Within hours, British High Commissioner Christian Turner rose to the occasion and posted a video message on his official Twitter handle.

And he spoke to the Pakistanis, not the Pakistan Cricket Board or the Pakistani government.

On behalf of the British government, he conveyed the message that his government had no role in the fiasco.

He wore shalwar, kameez and waistcoat in the video. That is the finest art of diplomacy.

“I share the deep sadness of cricket fans that England will not tour Pakistan in October,” he started the message. He also looked visibly grim and concerns. “I’m sad. This was a decision made by the ECB, which is independent of the British government, based on concerns for player welfare. The British High Commission supported the tour, did not advise against it on security grounds and our travel advice for Pakistan has not changed,” Turner continued.

He turned out to be the ambassador of the game of cricket and Pakistan likewise.

“I have been a champion of international cricket’s return to Pakistan and will redouble my efforts in advance of England’s autumn 2022 tour,” he said.

He concluded the video message with a sentence in Urdu: Jeet akhir me cricket ke hu gi.

The video message has made Christian Turner a household name in Pakistan overnight.

Thank you, Christian Turner, for speaking about our concerns.

The fact is I started taking interest in foreign diplomats’ social life when, a few years back, German ambassador to Pakistan Martin Kobler took to his Twitter handle and became an ambassador of Pakistan more than his own country.

I hope the readers are familiar with Martin Kobler. He is not in Pakistan now, but his recent tweet caught my attention:

“Just seen an excellent interview of @ImranKhanPTI on @BBCWorld  on #Afganistan. we would be well advised to listen more to his advice when it comes to our future Afghanistan strategy.”

Thank you, Martin Kobler, for fighting Pakistan’s case in these testing times.

Martin Kobler remained in Pakistan for two years as an ambassador of Germany to Pakistan and left the country for his parent country in 2019. During his stay, Martin Kobler was seen collecting garbage to motivate the residents of Islamabad to value the beautiful capital city; on occasions, he would go on sightseeing and urge the world to tour Pakistan and explore the untapped beauty of the country. His pro-Pakistan works made him the most popular ambassador in Pakistan ever.

He broke the conventional diplomatic barriers by frequenting public places without security and got himself photographed there and shared these photos on social media. As a result, his popularity spread in Pakistan like wildfire, and the ranks of his followers on Twitter swelled to thousands.

We are fortunate to have several friends in the diplomatic enclave of Islamabad. They communicate and disseminate the message of love. Our diplomats working abroad should set examples too. That would be great diplomacy for Pakistan.

Ali Sajjad is the editor-in-chief of Minute Mirror. He can be reached at chiefeditor@minutemirror.com.pk

ISLAMABAD, OCT 2: Legendary comedian Umer Sharif passed away in Germany on Saturday after battling serious health problems. He was 66.

Sharif's death was confirmed to Dawn.com by Arts Council of Pakistan's president Ahmed Shah, who said he had spoken to Sharif’s family members.

Later, Pakistan's ambassador to Germany, Dr Mohammad Faisal, also confirmed the news of Sharif's demise.

"With deep sorrow it is announced that Mr Umer Sharif has passed away in Germany," he tweeted. "Our deepest condolences to his family and friends. Our CG is present at the hospital to assist the family in every way."

Sharif had boarded an air ambulance for treatment at a hospital in the US on Sept 28. However, his condition deteriorated on the way and was admitted to a hospital during a stopover in Germany.

The veteran actor's medical condition became a subject of national concern after he made a video appeal to Prime Minister Imran Khan to help him secure a visa to travel abroad for medical treatment.

The federal government had assured him that it would help and the Sindh government also stepped in, sanctioning Rs40 million for his treatment.

Sharif had suffered a heart attack in August and according to his close friend, Pervaiz Kaifi, he had gone through two heart bypasses.

He was born on April 19, 1955. He started his career as a stage performer using the name Umer Zarif but later renamed that to Umer Sharif. Two of his popular comedy stage plays were Bakra Qistoon Pe and Buddha Ghar Pe Ha.

Sharif received national awards for best director and best actor in 1992 for Mr. 420. He received ten Nigar Awards and remains the only actor to receive four Nigar Awards in a single year.

He was also a recipient of the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz for his contributions as comedian, actor and producer in the entertainment industry.

He who made everyone smile, today leaves us grieving: Imran Ismail

Sindh Governor Imran Ismail paid tribute to the deceased, saying: "The one who used to spread smiles on people's faces has left everyone grieving today. Umer Sharif was big name in Pakistan's film, television and theatre [industry].

"I had met him numerous times and besides being a good artist, he was an excellent human being. I pray that Allah grants Umer Sharif the highest place in Jannah."

Sharif took comedy to new heights: Bilawal

PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari expressed "shock and grief" at Sharif's death.

“The late comedian gave a new dimension to the art of comedy in Pakistan and took it to new heights,” he said, adding that the services of the legendary star would be remembered for life.

Bilawal also conveyed his condolences to Sharif’s family and prayed to the Almighty Allah to grant "courage and fortitude" to the bereaved family.

Sharif's services for comedy will be remembered world over: Sindh CM

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah also expressed deep sorrow over Sharif's death, calling him "a great actor" and adding that his services for comedy will be remembered all over the world.

He also recalled that the Sindh government had played its part in trying to save his life [by making arrangements for an air ambulance to transport him to the US for treatment].

Tragic loss for entertainment industry: German ambassador

German ambassador to Pakistan, Bernhard Schlagheck, deemed Sharif's death "a tragic loss for the entertainment industry".

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ANKARA, OCT 1: A Turkish couple’s coffee collection is known to be one of the largest private collections related to Ottoman and Turkish coffee culture in the world, and Nihal and her husband Murat Sungur Bursa now aspire to establish a coffee museum.

Turkish coffee, considered a part of the Turkish cultural heritage, was placed in UNESCO’s ”Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” list in 2013.

Turkish coffee combines steps and stages of serving and brewing techniques with a rich communal tradition, while the tradition itself is a symbol of hospitality, friendship, refinement, and entertainment, the Bursa couple said.

Their collection contains thousands of rare items displaying the refined coffee culture that emerged in the Ottoman geography and spread to other parts of the world.

The couple started their collection with three exquisite porcelain coffee cups around three decades ago.

Their interest in coffee culture has grown into a collection, built piece by piece that they acquired during travels worldwide, auctions, street bazaars, and antique shops over the years.

The wide range of more than 5,000 items in the collection covers traditional equipment and vessels for preparing and serving coffee, roasters, coolers, mortar and pestles, grinders, boxes for storing, special coffee pots, cups, and censers, as well as printed matter and ephemera, the oldest pieces dating back to the 17th century.

All these equipment and vessels show the ceremonial character of Turkish coffee and its decorum.

In 2015, Bursa Family loaned some items of their collection to the exhibition “A Drop of Pleasure: 500 Years of Turkish Coffee” at the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul. Nihal Bursa contributed to the exhibition book by authoring one of the chapters titled A Decorum of Pleasure: Material culture of Turkish coffee from seed to cup. In the same year, the exhibition, Turkish Coffee: Energizing the body+Feeding the soul, was organized in the Turkish Pavilion in Milan EXPO 2015.

MAYER MUSEUM FOR ISLAMIC ART IN JERUSALEM

Recently, some items from the Bursa Collection have been hosted in the exhibition Coffee: East&West organized by the Mayer Museum for Islamic Art in Jerusalem, comprising one of the three major sections of the exhibition that display the Ottoman and Turkish coffee culture.

In the historical and holy city of Jerusalem, the exhibition opened its doors to visitors in July.

Objects on display represent the rich coffee culture of the Ottoman-Turkish period, the Bedouins, and coffee-making equipment from more than 30 countries.

It is very common to have temporary exhibitions in private and public museums in all parts of the world. One may ask, ”what makes this coffee exhibition so exemplary and different from others?”

Director of the Museum Nadim Sheiban, who closed down the weapons gallery at the entrance soon after his appointment, has approved the preparation of the coffee exhibition. Sheiban said rather than rifles, bows, arrows and swords, Islam is a religion that supports peace just like coffee has historically done.

Historical objects from among the Bursa family coffee collection were selected and moved to Jerusalem with exactly the same idea Murat Sungur and Nihal Bursa had. They were thrilled when they received an invitation from the museum curator Yahel Shafer to contribute to the coffee exhibition.

During the following months, pieces related to Turkish coffee culture had been carefully selected from the private collection of the Bursa family living in Istanbul and made their journey to Jerusalem.

The exhibition was organized at the Jerusalem Islamic Arts Museum.

Murat Bursa said Turkish coffee ceremonies can be organized during receptions held for foreign country representatives, adding: ”The Turkish Republic is only a century old, but we enjoy heritage from thousands of years by pointing out the same tradition at the Ottoman Court had.

”Tea ceremony in Japan is so admirable and exemplary, just as the Turkish Coffee Ceremony in our culture.”

Collecting and contributing to the Turkish coffee culture is a lifetime endeavor for the Bursa couple. Murat Sungur Bursa is a mechanical engineer, a retired senior bureaucrat, manager in the private sector, and once the CEO of an energy company. He is currently the chairman of the Sustainability Academy in Istanbul. Nihal Bursa is an architect with her degree from the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, where she also served as a professor. She is currently the head of the Department of Industrial Design at Beykent University in Istanbul.

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KARACHI, OCT 1: Locally assembled Volkswagen, Skoda Crossovers and SUVs are expected to hit the road by the mid of next 2023, a business group announced on Thursday.

The announcement was made in a statement of Premier Motors Limited (PML), a licence assembly partner of the German auto giant, Volkswagen Group – which recently has appointed its financial adviser for achieving the financial close.

“Volkswagen Group, known for its attention to detail and emphasis on product safety and quality, plans to enter CKD assembly with Premier Motors Limited in a cutting-edge, fully integrated production plant,” said the PML in a statement.

“This plant will mark the entry of locally assembled Skoda and Volkswagen premium cars for the first time in the country. The plant is situated in Hub, Balochistan, with a capacity of 30,000 vehicles per annum. The construction of the plant began in July 2021 and it is going on with full swing,” the PML said.

Meanwhile, the company also announced to have appointed AKD Securities Limited as its financial adviser for achieving financial close of its CKD Assembly Plant Project in Pakistan. Senior officials from both sides — AKD Securities Limited and PML — attended the ceremony which was recently held.

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CHAGUARAMAS, OCT 1: West Indies cricket star Chris Gayle has pulled out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) with “bubble fatigue” and will instead focus on this month's T20 World Cup.

The big-hitting 42-year-old batsman played two out of three matches for Punjab Kings since the big-bucks tournament resumed in the United Arab Emirates last month.

Gayle left the team hotel because of “bubble fatigue” accumulated over the months playing franchise and international cricket during the coronavirus pandemic, Kings said in a statement.

Gayle said he wished to “mentally recharge and refresh myself”.

“I want to refocus on helping the West Indies in the T20 World Cup and would like to take a break in Dubai,” he was quoted as saying in the statement.

On Wednesday, Gayle released the music video of his new single “Punjabi Daddy” with the self-styled “Universe Boss” sporting traditional Indian dress and shaking a leg to the catchy tune.

Players in world cricket have often needed to restrict themselves to strict bio-bubbles because of the coronavirus.

They frequently have to stay within the confines of their team hotel and often cannot mingle with anyone outside, even on non-match days.

Some players have opted out, including Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell and David Warner pulling out of The Hundred tournament earlier this year.

The IPL has also been hit by withdrawals, with Josh Hazlewood and Liam Livingstone staying away over similar reasons.

Kings head coach Anil Kumble said the team respected Gayle's decision and “desire to prepare himself for the T20 World Cup” starting on October 17 in the UAE and Oman.

Punjab, who were due to play Kolkata Knight Riders later on Friday, are sixth in the table in the eight-team IPL.

Gayle scored 193 runs from 10 matches this season at an average of 21.44.

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KARACHI, OCT 1: A public holiday has been announced in Karachi for today (October 1) as the threat of a tropical cyclone and torrential still looms.

The decision was shared by Karachi Administrator Murtaza Wahab late on Thursday night.

"Keeping in view the situation resulting from the expected tropical cyclone and the rainfall, it has been decided that Friday will be a public holiday," he said.

Keeping in view the situation resulting from expected tropical cyclone & the rainfall, it has been decided that Friday the 1st of October will be a public holiday. All offices, educational institutions & businesses except essential services shall remain remain closed in Karachi

— Murtaza Wahab Siddiqui (@murtazawahab1) September 30, 2021

He added that all offices, educational institutions and businesses, apart from essential services, will remain closed in the metropolitan city. An official notification was also issued by the Karachi commissioner.

'System likely to strengthen during next 6 hours'

In an update shared on Friday morning, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said that the depression over the northeast Arabian Sea had moved west-northwestward during the last 12 hours and had concentrated into a "deep depression".

It said that the system was at a distance of 160km from Karachi, 140km from Thatta and 270km from Ormara.

"Estimated maximum sustained surface wind is 30-40Kts and the sea condition is rough/very rough around the system centre. The system is likely to strengthen further into a cyclonic storm during next six hours and move west-northwestwards towards the Makran coast," the PMD said.

It also predicted widespread rain, wind-thunderstorms with scattered heavy/very heavy rainfall and squally winds in Karachi, Hyderabad, Thatta, Badin, Dadu and Jamshoro districts from Friday (today) till the night of Oct 2 (Saturday).

Widespread rain, wind-thunderstorms with scattered heavy/very heavy falls likely in Gwadar, Lasbela, Awaran, Kech, Khuzdar, Kalat and Panjgur districts of Balochistan till the night of October 3 (Sunday), the PMD said.

It added that scattered rain-wind/thunderstorm was also expected in Thaparkar, Umerkot, Mirpurkhas, Sanghar, Tando Muhammad Khan, Tando Allayar, Shaheed Benazirabad, Naushero Feroz, Sukkur, Larkana, Jacobabad, Shikarpur and Ghotki districts till Saturday.

The PMD said that sea conditions would remain rough till Sunday and advised fishermen to refrain from venturing into the sea until then.

"Torrential rains may generate urban flooding in Karachi, Badin, Thatta, Hyderabad, Dadu, Mirpurkhas, Shaheed Benazirabad, Lasbela, Somiani, Ormara, Pasni, Gwadar, Turbat and Jiwani," the department reiterated, adding that the windstorm may damage vulnerable structures.

On Thursday, the Met department had made it clear that if the deep depression in the Arabian Sea turned into a cyclone it would be called ‘Shaheen’ as suggested by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and the United Nations’ Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Panel on Tropical Cyclone.

City life on edge

On Thursday, city life remained on the edge due to scattered rainfall and strong winds that uprooted several structures, including poles.

The Karachi Port Trust (KPT) also issued a red alert ahead of the tropical cyclone, while all the civic bodies and Sindh government declared a rain emergency in their respective departments.

Sardar Sarfaraz of the Met office described Thursday’s weather as mostly normal. He termed “the situation still serious if the system doesn’t turn into a cyclone.”

“It’s expected to induce widespread rains and high winds as it moves closer to our coast. The weather system would likely to turn into deep depression by night and then into a cyclone by 11am to 12pm on Friday,” he said.

Most parts of the city received downpour in different hours of the day, but none of them could get countable rain and only traces were found in the city areas.

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