Karachi Division

Karachi | ReNews Pakistan
Zong, one of Pakistan’s leading technology services companies, has partnered with WWF Pakistan and Integrated Waste Management Solution, ISPES, to organise a coastal clean-up drive at HawksBay, Karachi.
The activity was held at the conclusion of the global Plastic Free July campaign. The month long campaign encourages people and organisations to reduce unnecessary plastic use, protect natural environments and adopt responsible waste disposal practices.
Zong employees, volunteers and environmental advocates participated in the clean up drive. The participants collected plastic bottles, shopping bags, packaging materials and other waste from the HawksBay coastline.
According to Zong, the initiative was not limited to removing waste from the beach. It also aimed to raise public awareness about marine pollution and highlight the need for businesses, environmental organisations, government institutions and communities to work together.
Plastic waste left on beaches can harm marine animals, birds and coastal ecosystems. Plastic does not decompose easily and can break into smaller particles that may enter seawater and the natural food chain.
To ensure that the collected waste was handled responsibly, ISPES transported the materials to its waste management facility for systematic separation and processing.
Recyclable plastic waste was sent to the organisation’s upcycling facility. Upcycling is a process through which used or discarded materials are converted into new and useful products instead of being thrown away.
The process also supports the circular economy, an economic system in which materials and products are reused, repaired or converted into new resources rather than being sent directly to landfills.
Nabila Yazdani, Head of Strategy, Corporate Communications and Sustainability at Zong, said sustainable development requires innovation, strategic partnerships and meaningful community participation.
She said Zong’s partnership with WWF Pakistan and ISPES was promoting responsible waste management, supporting circular economy practices and encouraging collective action to protect Pakistan’s coastal and natural ecosystems.
The company said the complete waste management process ensured that the environmental impact of the campaign continued beyond the beach clean up itself. Recyclable waste was transformed into useful resources while the amount of waste sent to landfills was reduced.
Zong said it remains committed to reducing its environmental footprint, improving the efficient use of resources and introducing responsible environmental practices across its business operations.

Karachi | ReNews Pakistan
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has directed all banks participating in the Prime Minister’s Apna Ghar Scheme to stop charging processing fees from applicants and ensure that housing finance applications are decided within 15 days. The move is aimed at making affordable home financing more accessible, transparent and efficient for low and middle-income families seeking to purchase or build a home.
The announcement was made by Ghulam Muhammad Abbasi, Executive Director of SBP’s Islamic Finance Group, during a media briefing on housing finance. He said the central bank is taking a series of measures to simplify the application process and improve access to financing under the government-backed housing initiative.
To further facilitate applicants, the SBP has introduced an online application portal, enabling prospective borrowers to submit and track their applications digitally. Abbasi also announced that a dedicated housing finance helpline will be launched soon to assist applicants with inquiries, complaints and guidance throughout the financing process.
Under the Prime Minister’s Apna Ghar Scheme, eligible applicants can obtain financing of up to Rs10 million to purchase a constructed house or apartment, buy a residential plot, or construct a house on a plot they already own. The financing covers houses of up to 250 square yards and apartments measuring up to 1,500 square feet, making the scheme accessible to a broad segment of urban and semi-urban homebuyers.
Borrowers can repay the financing over a period of up to 20 years, while benefiting from a fixed markup rate of 5% for the first 10 years, providing greater certainty and affordability during the initial repayment period.
Abbasi highlighted that the scheme has been designed to accommodate both formally employed and informal sector workers. Salaried individuals may submit salary slips as proof of income, while shopkeepers, freelancers and other applicants without conventional income documentation can use alternative evidence such as bank statements, electricity bills and mobile top-up records to support their applications.
In another borrower-friendly feature, the scheme allows beneficiaries to repay their outstanding financing before the end of the loan tenure without facing any prepayment penalty, offering greater financial flexibility for households whose incomes improve over time.
The latest directives reflect the SBP’s broader strategy to expand housing finance in Pakistan by removing procedural barriers, improving customer service standards and encouraging banks to process applications more efficiently. Officials believe these reforms will help increase homeownership, promote formal financing and support sustainable growth in the country’s housing sector.

Karachi : ReNews Pakistan
The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) is set to open the Munawar Chowrangi Underpass for public traffic tomorrow (Sunday), marking a significant milestone in the city’s efforts to improve urban mobility and reduce chronic traffic congestion. Karachi Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab announced that the primary construction work has been completed and the underpass is ready to begin operations.
In a statement, the mayor said that while the underpass will be fully functional for motorists from Sunday, finishing work will continue over the coming weeks. Beautification activities, including decorative tiling of the side walls, will be carried out without disrupting traffic flow. Construction of the remaining slip roads and service lanes is also scheduled to commence after the underpass becomes operational.
The Munawar Chowrangi Underpass forms part of a Rs. 2.02 billion infrastructure project launched in 2023 to address severe traffic bottlenecks at one of Karachi’s busiest road junctions. The project is expected to improve traffic movement, reduce travel times, and provide smoother connectivity for thousands of daily commuters travelling through the area.
The opening comes after sustained pressure from the Sindh government to expedite delayed infrastructure schemes. In February this year, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah directed the Karachi mayor to complete both the Munawar Chowrangi and Karimabad underpasses within one month and make them operational for the public. The directive followed a review meeting in which the chief minister expressed concern over the slow pace of work on key urban development projects.
The Karimabad Underpass, another major traffic improvement initiative launched in May 2023, was originally scheduled for completion within 10 months and was expected to open in October 2024. However, technical and engineering challenges resulted in repeated delays, causing prolonged inconvenience to commuters, transport operators and businesses located along the affected routes.
City authorities believe the completion of the Munawar Chowrangi Underpass will provide immediate relief to motorists by improving traffic circulation in the area. Officials also expect the remaining works, including service lanes and associated road infrastructure, to further enhance accessibility and strengthen Karachi’s transport network once fully completed.