ISLAMABAD: A former Pakistani beauty queen lost her life in a tragic road accident earlier this month after her car hit a curb and flipped over into oncoming traffic in Maryland.
Zanib Naveed, 32, was born in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore but lived in Pomona, New York. She was crowned Miss Pakistan World in 2012 in Toronto, Canada.
According to The Washington Post, the accident took place on December 2 at “11:40 p.m. on the ICC, also known as Route 200, near Route 1 in the College Park area.”
Naveed, who was driving a 2018 Mercedes-Benz CL2, was the only person in the vehicle. She was “ejected in the crash” and “pronounced dead at the scene.”
She attended Pace University in New York City.
Her friends created a GoFundMe page after her tragic death to help the bereaved family.
“She had a smile that could light up a room, a powerful personality, captivating eyes, a voice that demanded attention and beauty like no other,” read the inscription on the page.
Former Pakistan beauty queen dies in Maryland car crash
Former Pakistan beauty queen dies in Maryland car crash
- Zanib Naveed was born in Lahore but lived in Pomona, New York
- She was pronounced dead at the scene after her car hit a curb and flipped over
Government says Pakistan’s IT exports hit record monthly high in December
- Finance adviser says IT exports crossed $400 million for first time in a month
- Pakistan aims to double exports to $60 billion in four years, with IT a key driver
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s information technology exports climbed to a record $437 million in December, crossing the $400 million mark for the first time on a monthly basis, the government’s finance adviser Khurram Schehzad said in a social media post on Monday.
The surge underscores the growing role of the tech sector as Pakistan seeks to boost exports while emerging from a prolonged economic crisis that drained foreign exchange reserves, widened balance-of-payments pressures and weakened the currency.
The government is now aiming for export-led growth as part of broader structural reforms under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan program.
“December 2025 exports reached $437 million — crossing $400 million in a month for the first time ever,” Schehzad said in a post on X, adding that this represented 23 percent month-on-month growth from November and 26 percent year-on-year growth compared with December 2024.
For the first half of the current fiscal year, IT exports reached $2.24 billion, up 20 percent from a year earlier, making the sector the largest and most consistent contributor within services exports, he said.
Pakistan has been under pressure to sharply lift exports as it works to stabilize its economy.
Earlier this month, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said the country must double its exports to $60 billion within four years or risk returning to the IMF.
Pakistan’s IT exports have been on a steady upward trajectory in recent years. They reached a record $3.8 billion in the 2024–25 financial year, according to official data.
The momentum has carried into the current fiscal year, with IT exports posting 19 percent year-on-year growth during the first five months from July to November.
Exports during the period stood at $1.8 billion, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan.
The government has said it sees the technology sector as a key driver of foreign exchange earnings and job creation as Pakistan seeks to lock in recent macroeconomic gains and attract new investment.
