RAWALPINDI: The popularity of the shared workplace as a cost effective, no-fuss model has recently risen in Pakistan-- considered one of the world’s largest freelancing economies-- with savvy young enthusiasts in the South Asian country’s urban centers jumping in on the bandwagon to build spaces that break the traditional office mold.
In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, the owners of shared work spaces say they have witnessed demand “through the roof” for flexible office sites-- despite a lull during lockdowns earlier in the year.
“By August and September, most large offices realized the need [for flexible spaces] and demand went through the roof,” said Omar Shah, 31, co-founder and CEO of COLABS, Pakistan’s largest collaborative workspace, which Shah launched with twin brother Ali, in Lahore last year.
“The requirement for large, fancy offices slowly subsided and that is what has driven the demand up,” he added.
“Our contracts range from monthly to daily to yearly with no fixed capital costs or investment. You just walk in with your laptop and we manage the SOP’s.”
There are currently over 100 small co-working spaces in Pakistan, according to global online marketplace ‘coworker.’ Only a handful of these spaces however, have the capacity to seat more than 100 people.
The swanky charcoal COLABS site, launched by the Shah twins in partnership with a Swedish company, accommodates 300. The building, with its cool, millennial aesthetic is complete with sun soaked work rooms, no-fuss oak tables, art on the walls, dine-in cafes, even a neon sign that reads in a scrawl: “There’s no place like work.”
It is home to freelancers, Pakistani startups like popular media site ProperGaanda, as well as mature international businesses looking to set up shop in Pakistan.
“Some of our small to medium businesses are companies based in the US or Europe that have operations in Pakistan, but do not necessarily want to deal with the headache of setting up an office here,” Shah said.
Rent for shared office spaces in Pakistan, a country of 220 million people, ranges from as low as Rs.6000 to upwards of Rs.100,000.
But for Karachi-based freelancer Mishayl Naek, 39, the incentive to set up a co-working space went beyond just business.
Naek decided to set up a community space inspired by her freelance work that often found her without a comfortable- and safe- place to work in the bustling seaside metropolis.
“I looked at existing co-working space but they were very male oriented. This inspired me to open a women-centric co-working space in 2019,” Naek said, which eventually became ‘Pinky Gul.’
In the aftermath of the pandemic, Naek said, demand for partnerships at Pinky Gul have increased as more and more women-run, home-based businesses opened and flourished during COVID-19 lockdowns.
“A lot of home-based businesses opened in Corona times so we have more partnerships than before,” she said.
“Women needed spaces that were multi-faceted, which supported their businesses and created networks.”
Currently, at least 20 women use the informal working zone at Pinky Gul every day.
“Setting up our own office would’ve cost us a lot initially and we didn’t even know if we could manage to sustain the overheads of an office space,” Syed Ahmed Khalid Bukhari, 27, who co-founded a college counselling company in Lahore in 2017, told Arab News.
Bukhari works out of co-working space ‘Daftarkhwan,’ which has office sites in Lahore and Islamabad.
By taking up shop in a co-working space, Bukhari said, the specifics of handling an office-- from generators to general maintenance-- was not his responsibility.
“Our idea was that we’d start off with Daftarkhwan but would get our own office in a year,” Bukhari said.
Now, in their fourth year running and in the middle of a pandemic, Bukhari said his business isn’t even “considering getting our own place.”
But expenses aside, for Shah the best perk of a shared office space is the business community being created within its walls.
“It goes beyond networking here because we don’t just have people meeting one another... we have companies sitting side by side,” he said.
“Let’s say you open a new company. You need a website designed, you need a logo designed. And somebody who can do all that for you... works just down the hall.”
During pandemic, the rise of Pakistan’s shared workplaces
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During pandemic, the rise of Pakistan’s shared workplaces
- Demand ‘through the roof’ for flexible office spaces as requirements for big offices subside
- Women-run, home-based businesses that flourished in lockdowns have driven demand up in all-women’s co-working space/
Pakistan Navy ships visit UAE to participate in Nasl Al Bahr exercise
- The ships were received by UAE Navy officials and Pakistan’s defense attaché upon arrival at Mina Zayed Port in Abu Dhabi
- The exercise aims to enhance interoperability, operational readiness and consolidate existing relations between both navies
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Navy Ships (PNS) Shamsheer and Haibat arrived at Mina Zayed Port in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to participate in the Nasl Al Bahr naval exercise, Pakistan Navy said on Saturday.
Upon arrival at the port in Abu Dhabi, Pakistan Navy ships were received by senior officials of the UAE Navy and Pakistan’s defense attaché, according to the Directorate General Public Relations (DGPR) of Pakistan Navy.
Mission commander of Pakistan Navy, Commodore Shahid Wasif, along with commanding officers of PNS Shamsheer and Haibat called on Brig. Abdullah Faraj Al Muhairi, deputy commander of the UAE Navy.
During the interactions, matters of mutual interests were discussed and enhancement of bilateral ties in all spheres was reaffirmed. In addition, modalities for the conduct of the exercise were also deliberated upon with the host navy.
“After the port call, PNS SHAMSHEER & PNS HAIBAT will participate in Ex NASL AL BAHR,” the DGPR said in a statement. “The exercise is aimed to enhance interoperability, display operational readiness and consolidate existing strong bilateral relations between the two navies.”
During the port stay, UAE’s Assistant Minister for Security and Maritime Affairs Salem Saeed Al-Jabri, Pakistan’s ambassador to the UAE Faisal Niaz Tirmizi, senior leadership of the UAE armed forces and notables from the Pakistani community also visited the ships.
Students and Pakistani community displayed excitement during their visit, while officers and men of both navies also conducted cross visit of naval units and participated in joint sports activities.
The UAE is Pakistan’s third-largest trading partner after China and the United States. It is also home to more than a million Pakistani expatriates and the second-largest source of remittances to Pakistan after Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan embassy in Riyadh hosts reception to mark Defense Day
- Pakistan celebrates annual Defense Day on Sept. 6 to honor soldiers who fought 1965 war against India
- The reception was attended by Saudi dignitaries as well as officials from Diplomatic, Military Corps
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’ embassy in Saudi Arabia has held a reception in Riyadh to mark the country’s Defense Day, the embassy said on Saturday.
The South Asian country celebrates its Defense Day each year on September 6 to honor the soldiers who fought against India in the 1965 war.
“Dignitaries from Saudi Arabia and friends from Diplomatic and Military Corps widely attended the event,” the Pakistani embassy in Riyadh said on X.
Pakistan on Friday inducted two new warships, Babur and Hunain, into its naval fleet, as the nation marked its Defense Day.
Hunain is a multipurpose medium-sized offshore patrol vessel, equipped with state-of-the-art electronic warfare, anti-ship and anti-air warfare weapons, sensors, and self-protection and terminal defense system. The Babur-class corvette is a subclass of the Turkish MILGEM project. The corvette class is heavier and larger than the Turkish Ada-class corvette and also equipped with vertical launch systems.
Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf termed the induction of these ships a “major milestone in capacity building of PN [Pakistan Navy] Fleet,” Pakistan Navy said in a statement.
On Thursday, Pakistan’s Embassy in Abu Dhabi hosted a reception to mark Defense Day aboard Pakistan Navy Ship Shamsheer at the Cruise Terminal, Mina Zayed Port, the mission said in a statement.
Pakistan’s envoy to the UAE, Ambassador Faisal Niaz Tirmizi, along with Commodore Shahid Wasif SI (M), Mission Commander of the Pakistan Navy, welcomed chief guest General Salem Saeed Al Jabri, UAE’s Assistant Foreign Minister for Military and Security Affairs, and Brig. Abdullah Al Mohairbi, Deputy Commander of the UAE Navy, at the reception, which was attended by members of the diplomatic corps and officials of the UAE government.
Pakistan monsoon death toll nears 350 as more rains lash parts of country
- The South Asian country has seen erratic weather changes blamed on climate change
- Pakistan this year recorded its ‘wettest April since 1961,’ with 59.3 millimeters of rainfall
ISLAMABAD: The death toll from rain-related incidents in Pakistan has jumped to 347 since the beginning of monsoon season in July, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said on Friday, adding another 648 people were wounded in disasters.
Monsoon rains are crucial for Pakistan’s agrarian economy, providing essential water for crops and replenishing water reservoirs.
However, the country has lately been experiencing increasingly erratic weather patterns, including harsh rains, heatwaves, droughts and floods.
“347 people including 54 females and 175 children lost their lives in monsoon rains [since July 1],” the NDMA said on Friday. “648 people including 153 females and 252 children were also injured.”
Monsoon downpours have completely destroyed 5,703 homes, while 31,803 houses were partially damaged since July 1, according to the authority.
More showers lashed Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore and several other cities in Pakistan late Friday.
Scientists have blamed the erratic weather changes in Pakistan on climate change. This year, the South Asian country recorded its “wettest April since 1961,” with 59.3 millimeters of rainfall, while some areas of the country faced deadly heatwaves in May and June.
In 2022, unusually heavy rains triggered floods in many parts of the country, killing over 1,700 people, inflicting economic losses of around $30 billion, and affecting at least 30 million people.
Pakistani father defies social norms, educates 13 daughters to master’s level in conservative northwest
- Fazal Haq, who could not attend college, secured three postgraduate degrees himself before educating children
- The 82-year-old academic braved resistance, threats of disownment by family to educate all 17 of his children
PESHAWAR: For Fazal Haq, a Pakistani octogenarian academic who grew up in the country’s conservative northwest, acquiring education was not merely a personal pursuit, but a gateway to empowerment and self-reliance for his children, especially daughters.
In an era when the idea of education was a rare privilege in Pakistan’s northwestern Karak district, Haq stood as a beacon of progressive thinking by sending his first-born daughter, Nighat Parveen, to school in the 1970s.
Although he never formally attended college, the 82-year-old pursued private studies, ultimately earning postgraduate degrees in Arabic, Urdu literature, and Islamic studies, before educating all of his 13 daughters and four sons.
“Fewer men attended school during his time, and the notion of women pursuing education was virtually unheard of,” he told Arab News this week. “Yet, despite societal constraints, I made a pioneering decision to send my daughter [Parveen] to school against the societal norms.”
Haq said his groundbreaking choice initially seemed promising and his daughters’ early education proceeded smoothly but as they grew older, the murmurs of dissent within his family became louder.
Relatives questioned his wisdom for educating his girls and the resistance escalated to threats of disownment, but Haq said he remained resolute and his daughter achieved prominent positions in both her 8th and 10th grade exams, outshining many in their area. Her academic success reinforced Haq’s belief in his decision.
“That was a big relief, I would say one of my happiest moments,” Haq said, recalling how his extended family members had distanced themselves from him for sending his daughter to high school.
Parveen, who passed her matriculation exam in 1986, told Arab News that initially, she did not grasp the vitality of education and only saw herself fulfilling her father’s mission on a path fraught with obstacles.
“I would often find myself as the only girl in a classroom full of boys. Sitting in a corner, isolated from my peers, I faced the weight of societal scrutiny and the discomfort of being an ‘outsider’,” she said.
“The psychological toll of being the only girl in a boys’ class was immense, but I remained steadfast in the pursuit of education.”
Parveen today stands as a testament to the power of perseverance and the importance of education as she serves as the principal of Government Girls’ High School in Karak, shaping the minds of future generations.
She set the bar high for all 16 of her siblings — 12 sisters and four brothers — who now have master’s degrees in disciplines as varied as English Literature, Political Science, History, Botany, Zoology, and Physics. All of Haq’s daughters are currently serving as government teachers.
Haq sees education as a gateway to empowerment and self-reliance for women, contrary to the perception in rural communities that believe investing in daughters’ education would benefit the “other household” to which they are wedded off.
“Education equips women with knowledge and confidence to contribute actively to their family’s economic affairs, eliminating the need to depend on others for financial support,” he said.
Haq’s wife, Jahan Bano, did not have a formal education, but her journey alongside her husband reflects a profound transformation. Her ability to converse in English and engage in discussions about politics demonstrates her intellectual growth and confidence in expressing herself.
Both Haq and Bano feel proud that their perspective about women education, which was once widely disapproved by the society, has been embraced by those very critics.
“At this later stage of life, when I watch young girls in school uniforms going to school, college, and university from my balcony, I feel a strange sense of happiness,” Haq added.
Pakistani minister says government renegotiating power deals to cut electricity tariffs
- Energy sector viability has been the focus of a critical staff level pact with the IMF for a $7 billion bailout
- Awais Leghari says government wants to bring down tariffs from 28 cents to 9 cents for commercial users
KARACHI: Pakistan is renegotiating contracts with independent power producers to rein in “unsustainable” electricity tariffs, the head of the power ministry said, as households and businesses buckle under soaring energy costs.
Rising power tariffs have stirred social unrest and shuttered industries in the $350 billion economy, which has contracted twice in recent years as inflation hit record highs.
“The existing price structure of power in this country is not sustainable,” Awais Leghari, a federal minister heading Pakistan’s Power Division, told Reuters in an interview on Friday.
He said discussions were under way between power producers and the government because “there is a clear understanding on both sides that the status quo can’t be maintained.”
Leghari stressed that all stakeholders would have to “give in to a certain point” — though without compromising completely on business sustainability — and this would have to be done “as soon as possible.”
Faced with chronic shortages a decade ago, Pakistan approved dozens of private projects by independent power producers (IPPs), financed mostly by foreign lenders. The incentivized deals included high guaranteed returns and commitments to even pay for unused power.
However, a sustained economic crisis has slashed power consumption, leaving the country with excess capacity that it needs to pay for.
Short of funds, the government has built those fixed costs and capacity payments into consumer bills, sparking protests by domestic users and industrial associations.
Four sources in the power sector told Reuters changes to contracts demanded included slashing guaranteed returns, capping dollar rates and moving away from paying for unused power. The sources requested anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media.
On Saturday, local media outlet Business Recorder said in a report citing sources that 24 conditions have been proposed for the transition of capacity-based model to take-and-pay model.
However, Leghari told Reuters that no new draft agreements or specific demands had been officially sent to power companies and said the government would not force them to sign new watered down contracts.
“We would sit and talk to them in a civil and professional manner,” he said, adding that the government has always maintained contractual obligations to investors, both foreign and local. He said contract revisions would be by “mutual consent.”
Energy sector viability was the focus of a critical staff level pact in May with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $7 billion bailout. The IMF’s staff report stressed the need to revisit power deals.
Pakistan has already initiated talks on reprofiling power sector debt owed to China as well as negotiations on structural reforms, but progress has been slow. Pakistan has also committed to stop power sector subsidies.
Leghari said current rates were not affordable for domestic or commercial consumers and this was hurting growth because power prices were no longer regionally competitive, putting critical exports at a disadvantage.
He said the aim was to bring tariffs down to 9 US cents per unit for commercial users from about 28 cents currently.
