News stories by Zofeen Ebrahim, page 3
Mahrang BalochFeted Worldwide, Persecuted at Home
- Inter Press Service

KARACHI, Dec 13 2024 (IPS) - “This recognition by a media outlet highlights the painful stories of abductions, torture, and the genocide of the Baloch people,” said 31-year-old political activist Mahrang Baloch, speaking with IPS over the phone from Quetta, Balochistan, in reference to her inclusion on the BBC’s annual list of 100 most inspiring and influential women from around the world for 2024.
Lahore's Smog: With the Sun Out, the Government Lifts Restrictions
- Inter Press Service

KARACHI, Nov 28 (IPS) - Atif Manzoor, 45, the owner of the renowned blue pottery business in Multan, had every reason to feel cheerful last week when the sun finally came out. For a good three weeks, the city of Sufi shrines had been shrouded in an envelope of thick smog.
Lahore's Dangerous Smog: Where Disease and Death Stalk
- Inter Press Service

KARACHI, Pakistan, Nov 12 (IPS) - "It's been horrible; I've been sick on and off for the last 10 days," said 29-year-old asthmatic Natasha Sohail, who teaches A-Level students at three private schools in Lahore. Last week, her condition worsened with a vertigo attack and fever.
Climate Change Poses Yet Another Stumbling Block for Pakistani Sportswomen
- Inter Press Service

KARACHI, Pakistan, Aug 21 (IPS) - Sportswomen in Pakistan face numerous obstacles—they lack proper grounds, equipment and coaches. Now, as the country faces record temperature highs, they face intense heat, escalated by their modest uniforms.
Small Farmers Feeling Climate Change Heat Find Little Support From the State
- Inter Press Service

KARACHI, Pakistan, Aug 09 (IPS) - The over 20 million residents of Pakistan's port city of Karachi, in Sindh province in particular, have been experiencing brutal heat since May. But they are not the only ones bearing the brunt of high temperatures and humidity.
Pakistan’s Dirty, Open Secret—Manual Scavenging
- Inter Press Service

KARACHI, Jun 12 (IPS) - A dark head emerges, followed by the torso. The balding man heaves himself up, hands on the sides of the manhole, as he is helped by two men. Gasping for breath, the man, who seems to be in his late 40s, sits on the edge, wearing just a pair of dark pants, the same color as the putrid swirling water he comes out from.
Fine, Sanctions, or Waiver: Iranian Gas Will Come at a Price for Pakistan
- Inter Press Service

KARACHI, Apr 21 (IPS) - When Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi visits Pakistan this week (April 22, 2024), experts say the two issues topmost on his mind that he will want to discuss with his Pakistani counterpart, President Asif Ali Zardari, will be border security and the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline.
Why Farmers in India and Pakistan Are Shifting to Natural or Regenerative Farming
- Inter Press Service

KARACHI, Pakistan & GUWAHATI, India, Mar 29 (IPS) - Regenerative farming is seen as a climate solution, with advocates saying that it is the most straightforward way to benefit the planet's health and ensure food security. It is growing in popularity in both India and Pakistan, as this cross-border feature highlights.Nine years ago, farmer Sultan Ahmed Bhatti gave up tilling the soil and using most fertilizers and pesticides on his farm in Doober Bhattian, Pakistan.
In Pakistan, Death Can Be Just a WhatsApp Share Away
- Inter Press Service

KARACHI, Mar 20 (IPS) - Justice Zafar Yab Chadhar's March 6 order sentencing 22-year-old Junaid Munir to ‘be hanged by his neck till he is dead’ on charges of sharing blasphemous material over WhatsApp was devastating for his family.
International Women’s Day, 2024 - In a Fearless Gesture, Woman Police Officer Averts Mob Lynching
- Inter Press Service

KARACHI, Mar 06 (IPS) - Since the start of the year, there has been very little to celebrate for Pakistanis. Disrupted social media, escalating electricity, fuel, and food prices, and newly-held elections mired in controversy. But then, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Syeda Shehrbano Naqvi, did something that brightened the days of despair.

