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Woman posts video after being refused entry into government building

This undated file photo shows Dr. Yasmin Rashid campaigning for 2018 general elections in Pakistan. (Photo courtesy: Dr. Yasmin Rashid/Twitter)
Updated 20 October 2018
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Woman posts video after being refused entry into government building

  • Clip shows guard stopping her for being “inappropriately dressed“
  • Government rubbishes allegations that order was issued by Punjab provincial minister
Updated 20 October 2018
Sabah Bano Malik

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s government on Friday denied it had issued orders for women not to be allowed to enter government buildings unless they wore a dupatta, or traditional shawl, after a woman posted on social media that she was denied entry into the Punjab Civil Secretariat because of the way she was dressed.
Reacting to twitter user Sidra Butt’s post, the government urged people “not to hurl allegations without concrete evidence”.
Butt posted a video on Friday morning which shows her having a conversation with a guard at the Punjab Civil Secretariat, in Lahore, after he stopped her from entering the building. He reasoned it was because she was not wearing a dupatta and that he was acting on the orders of the Provincial Minister For Primary and Secondary Healthcare, Dr. Yasmin Rashid. He added that Dr. Rashid issued the order after an “inappropriately dressed” woman came to meet her.
“The Minister [Dr. Rashid] has not issued any discriminatory orders like this. One should not hurl any blame/allegation without concrete evidence,” the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) posted on its officiTwitterter account, urging Butt to “report the incident to concerned authorities”.
They also tagged @FakeNews_Buster in the post which takes users to the official handle of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for exposing fake news.

In the video – which garnered more than 400 retweets and 600 likes on last count – the guard can be seen telling a woman that she will not be allowed inside the building if she doesn’t wear the dupatta first, on the orders of Dr. Rashid. When asked if he had any written communication to this effect, he says he had none as the orders were issued verbally.

In another twitter comment posted by Dr. Rashid on her own handle a while later, she termed the claims as absurd, adding that a ‘show cause’ notice has been filed against the guard in the video.
“This is quite absurd indeed!” she wrote. “Neither has such an instruction been given nor is it possible to discriminate against anyone on this pretext. Have taken notice of this. The guard has been investigated and a show cause notice is being issued to him.”

Questioning how the guard could morally police the woman, political analyst Sehar Tariq wrote: “Entry for women into the Punjab civil secretariat depends on if they are wearing a dupatta or not. Orders for this dress code enforcement allegedly came from a woman minister — Yasmeen Rashid. You cannot and should not police women’s bodies like this.”
Dr. Rashid was appointed to her post earlier this summer by the new government.

Topics: Pakistan hijab headscarf yasmin rashid

Pakistan partially rolls back solar policy, keeps old net-metering terms for pending applicants

Updated 13 sec ago
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Pakistan partially rolls back solar policy, keeps old net-metering terms for pending applicants

  • Decision applies to applications submitted before Feb. 8, which will be processed under previous net-metering regulations
  • Move follows public backlash after Pakistan cut buyback rates for rooftop solar power under new billing framework
Updated 13 sec ago
Waseem Abbasi

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s power minister has ordered electricity distribution companies to process all rooftop solar net-metering applications submitted before Feb. 8 under the previous, more favorable rules, according to a government statement released Thursday.

The decision comes after days of public criticism over new regulations that lowered the rate paid to solar users for surplus electricity, part of broader reforms aimed at easing financial pressure on loss-making power utilities.

The directive by Power Minister Sardar Awais Leghari applies nationwide, including the private utility K-Electric, and affects thousands of households and businesses awaiting approval to connect solar systems to the national grid.

“All electricity distribution companies, including K-Electric, will provide the net-metering facility for applications submitted up to February 8,” the ministry said in the statement, adding immediate implementation orders had been issued.

Authorities said 5,165 pending applications fall under the decision, adding about 250.822 megawatts of capacity to the national grid. The ministry said the move would remove uncertainty for consumers and directed companies to maintain transparency in processing requests.

Pakistan introduced grid-connected rooftop solar and net-metering in 2015 during a worsening power shortage, allowing consumers to sell excess electricity to the grid at the same tariff they paid utilities, a policy designed to encourage renewable adoption and reduce outages.

Over the past three years, soaring electricity prices and frequent blackouts triggered a rapid solar boom, with households and businesses installing panels to cut costs. Solar’s share of the energy mix rose sharply and tens of thousands of new connections were added annually.

Earlier this month, however, regulators replaced the net-metering regime with a net-billing framework separating purchase and sale prices, meaning consumers would receive a lower, market-linked rate for exported electricity while paying full tariffs for grid power.

Officials argued the change was necessary because widespread rooftop generation was reducing utility revenues and worsening the country’s circular debt crisis. Consumers and industry groups criticized the move, saying it undermined investment certainty.

The government has since moved to protect existing users and now pending applicants from the revised pricing mechanism, while new connections after the cutoff date will fall under the updated billing system.

Topics: solar panels solar power

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