RAWALPINDI: The Pakistan government plans to set up a market exclusively for women entrepreneurs in the federal capital where they will be able to promote and sell their products, a senior interior ministry official said on Friday.
The decision was made on Thursday after interior minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed met a delegation from the Islamabad Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IWCCI) and acknowledged the necessity of including women in economic activity in the country.
“Yes, a market exclusively for women is coming,” an interior ministry spokesperson told Arab News, declining to provide a formal launch date for the project.
Samina Fazil, the founding president of the IWCCI, said it was a “much needed” development which was likely to have a positive economic impact.
“There is no place in Islamabad for women to do business,” she said, adding that high rents at commercial plazas kept women home-bound and forced independent businesses owned by women out of the mainstream.
“These rents are so high that they are not affordable to women who work with their own hands within the confines of their homes,” Fazil added.
She said things had become even more difficult for businesswomen during the coronavirus pandemic since exhibitions and expo events had been cancelled across the country.
“This is why we want a place where women can comfortably run their businesses and sell their wares,” she said.
The IWCCI president said her organization had been communicating with various state institutions and had ultimately reached out to the interior minister to ask for a market area for women entrepreneurs.
“We have now spoken to the Capital Development Authority chairman and asked him if he can do something about this,” she said. “We are hopeful he will get us a place where we will be able to establish a women’s bazaar.”
Fazil added that a market that promoted women-owned businesses would also open new possibilities for young girls and inspire them to become economically independent.
“The market is just the beginning,” she said, adding the initiative was likely to have a positive socio economic impact.
Pakistan plans to set up exclusive market for women entrepreneurs in Islamabad
https://arab.news/zm2q8
Pakistan plans to set up exclusive market for women entrepreneurs in Islamabad
- President Islamabad Women Chamber of Commerce says most businesswomen cannot afford high rents at commercial plazas
- Women-owned businesses have suffered during pandemic as exhibitions and expo events were cancelled across Pakistan
Pakistan opposition ends protests, PTI forms ‘Imran Khan Release Force’ for jailed ex-PM
- Opposition alliance ends week-long protests over Khan’s health concerns
- Party announces nationwide membership drive for “peaceful” mobilization
ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani opposition alliance on Wednesday called off nationwide sit-ins held over jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s health, while his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party announced a new mobilization campaign, including the formation of an “Imran Khan Release Force.”
Pakistan has faced months of political confrontation between Khan’s party and the government since his arrest in 2023, with repeated protests, court battles and accusations by PTI that authorities are attempting to sideline its leader from politics, allegations the government denies.
Tensions have intensified in recent weeks after concerns emerged about Khan’s health in prison. Khan’s lawyer told Pakistan’s Supreme Court last week that the ex-cricketer had lost significant vision in his right eye while in custody, while a medical board said the swelling had reduced after treatment and his vision had improved. Since last week, the Tehreek-i-Tahafuz-i-Ayin-i-Pakistan (TTAP) opposition alliance has been holding a days-long sit-in at Parliament House over Khan’s health concerns.
“All sit-ins including the one at parliament have been called off,” Hussain Ahmad Yousafzai, a spokesperson for the alliance, told Arab News.
Separately, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi told reporters the party was preparing for an organized political movement to demand their leader’s release.
“After continuous violations of court orders, an organized public struggle has now become inevitable,” Afridi said, announcing the creation of an “Imran Khan Release Force,” with membership open to youth across the country.
Afridi said the organization would include PTI’s student, youth, women, minority and professional wings and would conduct a “completely peaceful struggle,” adding that Khan himself would dissolve the body after his release.
He said membership cards would be issued within days and supporters would take oath in Peshawar after Eid, with a formal chain of command operating under leadership designated by Khan.
“This struggle is for real freedom, supremacy of the constitution and law, democracy and free media,” Afridi said.
Imran Khan, 73, a former cricket star who served as prime minister from 2018 to 2022, was removed from office in a parliamentary vote of no confidence that he says was orchestrated by political rivals with backing from the military. Both the government and armed forces deny the allegation.
Khan has been jailed since August 2023 after convictions he and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party call politically motivated.
Broadcast outlets have been restricted from airing Khan’s name and speeches or even showing his image. Only a single court photograph has been publicly available since his imprisonment.
PTI swept to power in 2018 and retains a large support base across key provinces.
