QUETTA: Plodding his way through the desert in remote southwest Pakistan, Roshan the camel carries priceless cargo: books for children who can no longer go to school because of coronavirus lockdowns.
The school children, who live in remote villages where the streets are too narrow for vehicles, put on their best clothes and rush out to meet Roshan. They crowd around the animal shouting "the camel is here!"
Pakistan's schools first closed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, and have only opened sporadically since then, with around 50 million school-age children and university students told to continue their education from home. It's been especially difficult in places like Balochistan, where in many villages internet access is almost non-existent.
Raheema Jalal, a high school principal who founded the Camel Library project with her sister, a federal minister, says she started the library last August because she wanted children around her remote hometown to continue learning despite schools being closed.
The project is a collaboration with the Female Education Trust and Alif Laila Book Bus Society, two NGOs that have been running children's library projects in the country for 36 years.
Roshan carries the books to four different villages in the district of Kech, visiting each village three times a week and staying for about two hours each time. Children borrow books and return them the next time Roshan visits.
"I like picture books, because when I look at the pictures and the photographs, I can understand the story better," nine-year-old Ambareen Imran told Reuters.
Jalal hopes to continue and expand the project to cover more villages, but needs funding: around $118 a month is needed now each month for Roshan.
Murad Ali, Roshan's owner, says he was taken aback when he was first contacted about the project, but thought camels were the sensible mode of transport. He enjoys the trips and seeing the happy children and still earns as much as he used to when he transported firewood.
Balochistan makes up nearly half of Pakistan by area, but the sparsely populated province is also the country's most impoverished.
Roshan the camel brings books to homeschooling children in rural Pakistan
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Roshan the camel brings books to homeschooling children in rural Pakistan
- Raheema Jalal started the library last August because she wanted children around her remote hometown to continue learning
- The school children put on their best clothes and rush out to meet Roshan
Pakistan extends ban on Indian-registered aircraft through January, aviation authority says
- Move marks the seventh extension of the ban after a gun attack in Indian-administered Kashmir
- It has forced Indian airlines to reroute flights, raising fuel use, travel times and operating costs
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan extended a ban on Indian-registered aircraft from using its airspace until late January, it said on Wednesday, prolonging restrictions that have disrupted flight routes for Indian airlines.
Pakistan first imposed the restriction on April 24 as part of a series of tit-for-tat measures announced by both countries days after an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Pakistan. Islamabad denied any involvement and called for a credible, international investigation into the attack, which killed 26 tourists.
Tensions escalated after India targeted several sites in Pakistan and Azad Kashmir, triggering intense missile, drone and artillery exchanges before a ceasefire brokered by the United States took effect on May 10.
“Pakistan’s airspace will continue to remain closed for Indian-registered aircraft,” the Pakistan Airports Authority said in a statement.
“The restriction will remain in effect from December 25, 2025, to January 27, 2026,” it continued. “The restriction will apply to aircraft owned, operated or leased by Indian airlines, including military flights.”
This marks the seventh extension of the ban, which has forced Indian airlines to reroute international flights, increasing fuel consumption, travel times and operating costs.
Earlier this month, Pakistan accused India of blocking humanitarian assistance destined for Sri Lanka after Cyclone Ditwah, saying a special Pakistani aircraft carrying aid was forced to wait more than 60 hours for overflight clearance.
Pakistan later sent relief supplies and rescue teams to the island nation by sea, officials said.
