ISLAMABAD: There's a good reason to double-tap on this copy.
We scoured Instagram for this year's top accounts that offer the best advice in fashion and style from Pakistan. Here's what we came away with:
Rehmat Ajmal (@rehmatajmal)
With more than 80,000 followers, Rehmat Ajmal, model and owner of bespoke fashion line Rehstore, tops our lists and rightly so. Her Instagram account offers users an incredible experience with curated content, a behind-the-scenes look at fittings and fashion shows, and a window into her source of inspiration, such as the quotes she frequently posts. Ajmal’s ‘gram presence' is also heavily punctuated with non stylized shots showcasing her keen fashion sense.
Anaa Nadim Saber (@oursecondskin)
Anaa Nadim Sabir is steadily growing as one of the “it” girls of NYC’s fashion scene with a heavy-duty portfolio of modeling and brand consultations, which includes those for Man Repeller and And Other Stories. With style that is a perfect mix of feminine, modest fashion and street wear, Pakistani-American Saber, who has more than 25,000 followers is on her way to becoming a main stay at fashion weeks around the globe. Her Instagram handle has well-thought out editorials, and lots and lots of outfits for inspiration.
Maryam Raja (@merlettebymaryam)
Editor and fashion stylist Maryam Raja launched her fashion blog in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. After moving to Pakistan and working in different capacities in the world of fashion, her chic style sense is being picked up by brands looking to update their aesthetic. Raja, whose insta handle boasts nearly 8,000 followers, frequently shares pictures of outfits that are both western and eastern-inspired.
Sarah Cheema (@sarahkcheema)
Another style queen, Sarah Cheema – who is the CEO and designer of Atelier De Frower –shares photos that showcase desi formals against the backdrop of beautifully sun-drenched nature shots. With 20,000 followers and growing, the designer is slowly and steadily inching her way to the top of the fashion ladder.
Marya Javed (@no.fomo)
Filmmaker and writer Marya Javed’s Instagram feed is a beautiful source of fashion inspiration, especially on days when you are running on empty. Her outfits celebrate the best of traditional wear as well as give ample space to ensembles that could inspire you to break out of a style rut. Javed currently has more than 15,000 followers.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities kicked off a week-long campaign to vaccinate 24 million children against poliovirus in 91 selected districts on Monday, the state-run Radio Pakistan reported, as Islamabad tries to eliminate the potentially fatal disease from the country.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where the poliovirus, which causes paralysis and can be a life-threatening disease, is endemic.
“The campaign is being held in ten districts of Punjab, 24 districts of Sindh, 26 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 30 districts of Balochistan, and the federal capital Islamabad,” Radio Pakistan said, adding that 24 million children under the age of five would be administered the vaccine in these districts.
Dr. Malik Mukhtar Ahmed Bharath, coordinator to the prime minister on National Health Services, said the government is committed to ensuring that all children are protected from poliovirus.
“Poliovirus has been detected in multiple sewage samples in the country in recent months which means this virus remains a serious threat to children’s wellbeing,” Dr. Bharat was quoted as saying by the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) on Sunday.
He said the only way to protect children from the disease is to vaccinate them against it. “We are sending polio teams to your homes, so make sure to open your door to vaccinators and get your child vaccinated,” he added.
Dr. Shahzad Baig, coordinator of the National Emergency Operations Center for Polio Eradication described it as a “critical campaign” being held in districts with a high risk of poliovirus spread.
“We have detected the virus in over 31 districts this year, which is why we are continuing to implement regular vaccination campaigns in all high-risk districts to ensure that children have the immunity to fight off polio infection,” he said.
Pakistan’s efforts to contain polio have often been met with opposition, especially in the country’s northwestern KP province, where militants have carried out attacks against vaccinators and the security teams guarding them.
Many believe in the conspiracy theory that polio vaccines are part of a plot by Western outsiders to sterilize Pakistan’s population.
Pakistani masses’ doubts regarding polio campaigns were exacerbated in 2011 when the US Central Intelligence Agency set up a fake hepatitis vaccination program to gather intelligence on former Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
Afghans who made Pakistan home to escape war now hide from deportation
Pakistan has forcibly deported some 600,000 undocumented Afghans since October 2023
Afghans in hiding find it difficult to earn money, rent accommodation or get medical help
Updated 35 min 18 sec ago
AP
KARACHI, Pakistan: Born and raised in Pakistan to parents who fled neighboring Afghanistan half a century ago, an 18-year-old found himself at the mercy of police in Karachi who took his cash, phone and motorbike, and sent him to a deportation center.
Scared and bewildered, he spent three days there before he was sent back to Afghanistan, a place he has never been to, with nothing but clothes on his back.
The youth is one of at least 1.7 million Afghans who made Pakistan their home as their country sank deeper into decades of war. But they’ve been living there without legal permission, and are now the target of a harsh crackdown on migrants who Pakistan says must leave.
Some 600,000 Afghans have returned home since last October, when the crackdown began, meaning at least a million remain in Pakistan in hiding. They’ve retreated from public view, abandoning their jobs and rarely leaving their neighborhoods out of fear they could be next for deportation.
It’s harder for them to earn money, rent accommodation, buy food or get medical help because they run the risk of getting caught by police or being reported to authorities by Pakistanis.
The youth, who had been working as a mechanic in an auto shop since he was 15, spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of arrest and deportation.
He has applied for the same documentation that his family has, but he won’t get it. Pakistan isn’t issuing paperwork for Afghan refugees or their children.
“My life is here. I have no friends or family in Afghanistan, nothing,” the young man told The Associated Press. “I wanted to come back (to Pakistan) sooner, but things had to calm down first,” he said, referring to the anti-migrant raids sweeping the country at the time.
A police officer checks the document of a resident during a search operation against illegal immigrants at a neighborhood of Karachi, Pakistan, on November 3, 2023. (AP)
Taliban authorities gave him 2,500 afghanis ($34) once he entered Afghanistan to start a new life. They dispatched him to northeastern Takhar province, where he slept in mosques and religious schools because he knew nobody to stay with. He passed his time playing cricket and football, and borrowed other people’s phones to call his family.
Six weeks later, he traveled from Takhar to the Afghan capital, Kabul, then to eastern Nangarhar province. He walked for hours in the dark before meeting up with human smugglers hired by his brother in Pakistan. Their job was to get him to Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan’s northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, for the price of $70.
He is relieved to be reunited with his family. But he is vulnerable.
Police have daubed numbers on homes in his neighborhood to show how many people live there and how many have documentation. Hundreds of Afghan families have fled the area since the operation began. There are fewer people to hide among.
Such neighborhoods in Karachi are easily home to tens of thousands of Afghans. But they have no drainage systems, health care or education facilities. There are few women on the streets, and those who venture out wear burqas, often the blue ones more commonly seen in Afghanistan.
Lawyer Moniza Kakar, who works extensively with the Afghan community in Karachi, said there are generations of families with no paperwork. Without it, they can’t access basic services like schools or hospitals.
Afghans were already under the radar before the crackdown, and rumors abound that Pakistan wants to expel all Afghans, even those with documentation. Pakistan says no such decision has been made.
In another Karachi neighborhood with a mostly Afghan population, people scatter when police arrive, disappearing into a maze of alleys. A network of informants spread news of the visits.
Kakar despairs at the plight of Afghans who remain in Pakistan. “Sometimes they don’t have food so we appeal to the UN to help them out,” she said. To earn money or get medical help, they would have previously traveled from such neighborhoods into the heart of Karachi, but they can’t afford these journeys anymore. They’re also likely to be arrested, she added.
Some show Kakar their ID cards from the time of Gen. Zia Ul-Haq, the military dictator whose rule of Pakistan coincided with the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. “They wonder why they don’t have citizenship after 40 years. They don’t share their location. They don’t go out. They live in property rented in someone else’s name.”
There are children who were born in Pakistan who have grown up and have children of their own. “The children don’t have any identity paperwork. All of them have an undecided future,” said Kakar.
Syed Habib Ur Rehman works as a media coordinator at the Afghanistan Consulate General in Karachi. He spends a lot of time in these communities.
“There are empty homes, empty shops,” Rehman said. “Markets are empty. The Pakistanis we know don’t agree with what is happening. They say they have spent a good life with us. Their business has gone down because so many Afghan families have left.”
The Afghans interviewed by the AP had different reasons for never securing their status. Some said they were overseas working. Others didn’t have time. Nobody thought Pakistan would ever throw them out.
Mohammad Khan Mughal, 32, was born in Karachi and has three children. Before the crackdown started, the Afghan ran a tandoor business. Police told him to close down.
“My customers started complaining because they couldn’t buy bread from me,” he said. He and his family went to the southwestern city of Quetta in Baluchistan province to escape the raids.
He returned to Karachi a few days later, and has no intention of leaving.
“This is my home,” he said, with pride and sadness. “This is my city.”
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Digital Cooperation Organization’s (DCO) Secretary-General Deemah AlYahya on Sunday resolved to continue their joint collaboration and cooperation for economic development, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
The DCO is an inter-governmental body established in 2020 which is dedicated to achieving social prosperity and growth of digital economic. The DCO aims to achieve this by unifying the efforts of its member states to advance digital transformation and promote common interests of member states. DCO member states include Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Rwanda, Kuwait, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, The Gambia, Ghana, Greece, Jordan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cyprus and Djibouti.
AlYahya is a Saudi digital economy expert and the founding secretary-general of the organization since her election to the post in April 2021. As DCO secretary-general, AlYahya is responsible for connecting heads of state, government ministers and private sector digital economy leaders to bridge the digital gap in member states.
She called on Foreign Minister Dar at the sidelines of the World Economic Forum’s Special Meeting in Riyadh on Sunday, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said.
“The Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Pakistan and the SG DCO affirmed their resolve to continue close collaboration and cooperation for the economic development and digital transformation of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and other DCO member states,” MoFA said.
AlYahya recounted her visit to Pakistan earlier this month and spoke of the country’s “great potential” for technological advancement and digital transformation of its economy, MoFA said. “She emphasized that as founding member of DCO, Pakistan brings great value to the organization and has a significant role to play in its rise and progress,” it added.
Dar stressed the need for DCO member states to achieve capabilities in emerging technologies in the fast-evolving tech landscape, MoFA said. “In this connection, he appreciated DCO for providing the suitable platform to its member states for their digital advancement,” the statement said.
AlYahya separately posted about her “great meeting” with Dar on the social media platform X.
“With 64 percent of the population below 30 years old, many of whom are actively involved in the freelance industry, it is critical to ensure we undertake all collaborative efforts that will enable an ecosystem which lets the youth thrive and prosper in the new digital landscape,” she wrote on X.
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on Sunday evening during which the two leaders discussed bilateral relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, the regional situation and Israel’s war on Gaza, Sharif’s office said in a statement.
Sharif, who arrived in Riyadh on Saturday to attend a two-day special meeting of the World Economic Forum, attended a Special Dialogue and Gala Dinner hosted by the Saudi crown prince in Riyadh. Sharif congratulated the Saudi crown prince for successfully organizing the WEF Special Meeting, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said.
“The Prime Minister conveyed his prayers and good wishes for the health, happiness and long life of The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques His Majesty King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud,” the PMO said. “In addition to bilateral ties, the regional situation, particularly with regards to the crisis in Gaza, was also discussed.”
Sharif thanked the Saudi crown prince for sending a high-powered delegation, headed by Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Minister Faisal bin Farhan, to Pakistan earlier this month. The delegation held key meetings with Pakistani ministers and businesspersons to enhance economic cooperation between the Kingdom and the South Asian country.
“To continue the discussion, the Prime Minister said that he has brought with him a high-powered delegation to Riyadh, including key Ministers responsible for investment, so that follow-up meetings could take place between relevant officials,” the PMO said.
Sharif reiterated his invitation to the Saudi crown prince to undertake an official visit to Pakistan at his earliest convenience, the PMO added.
Separately, Sharif met Saudi Arabia’s ministers of finance, investment and industry on Sunday at the sidelines of the WEF meeting. In his meeting with the Saudi finance minister, the two sides agreed that Saudi Arabia would explore more opportunities for investment in Pakistan.
Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan reiterated the Kingdom’s support for Pakistan’s economic development, Sharif’s office had said in a statement.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy strong trade, defense and cultural ties. The Kingdom is home to over 2.7 million Pakistani expatriates and serves as the top source of remittances to the cash-strapped South Asian country.
Both Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have been closely working to increase their bilateral trade and investment, and the Kingdom recently reaffirmed its commitment to expedite an investment package worth $5 billion discussed previously with Islamabad.
ISLAMABAD: Unidentified gunmen on Sunday shot dead two laborers, who hailed from the eastern Punjab province, in the country's restive Balochistan province, a local official said.
The two laborers were working inside a garage in Tump area of Balochistan's Kech district when they came under fire by gunmen riding motorbikes, according to Saeed Umrani, commissioner of Makran Division where Kech is located.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but Baloch separatists have previously targeted people from other provinces on suspicion of spying for state agencies.
"Both laborers, who were residents of the Punjab province, were killed on the spot," the official said.
Umrani said bodies of the deceased had been sent to their hometowns and the district administration was hunting for the perpetrators.
The attack came two weeks after armed men abducted nine passengers, who hailed from Punjab, from a bus and killed them near Balochistan's Noshki district.
The outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it had information that plain-clothed spies were on the bus. The group offered no evidence to support its claim.
Balochistan has been the scene of a long-running insurgency by separatist militants who seek independence from the central government in Islamabad.
Although the government says it has quelled the insurgency, violence has continued to persist in the province.
