Pakistani adventurist reaches UAE after exploring 45 countries on a bicycle

Kamran Ali, a Pakistani adventurer who travels internationally on his bicycle, upon reaching his destination in Alaska in 2019. Ali began the journey from Argentina four years ago. (Photo courtesy: Kamran Ali)
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Updated 16 January 2023

Pakistani adventurist reaches UAE after exploring 45 countries on a bicycle

  • Kamran Ali has covered about 50,000 kilometers on his trusted two-wheeler, is currently on his way to South Africa
  • Ali left his job as a software developer in Germany and decided to follow his passion to travel around the world on his bike

DUBAI: A Pakistani traveler and adventurer, Kamran Ali, entered the United Arab Emirates from Oman last week after exploring 45 countries across four continents on a bicycle in the last five years.

Born in Layyah, which is located in Punjab province, Ali has covered about 50,000 kilometers on his trusted two-wheeler and is currently on his way to South Africa.

Speaking to Arab News on Sunday, he said that his dream being up close with nature, people and diverse cultures took 13 years to come true.

“I used to bike my way to neighboring cities and my parents used to get furious,” he laughed while recalling his passion for cycling at an early age.




Kamran Ali, a Pakistani adventurer who travels internationally on his bicycle, is passing through Monument Valley in the United States in 2016 during his trip from Argentina to Alaska (Photo courtesy: Kamran Ali)

Ali finished his postgraduate studies in 2002 before deciding to go to Germany for higher education.

“I was on a plane from Islamabad to Frankfurt, and we must be flying over Eastern Turkiye, when the beauty of the landscape struck,” he recalled. “That’s when I made a secret pledge to myself to see all such places in the world from close by.”




Kamran Ali, a Pakistani adventurer who travels internationally on his bicycle, while taking a breather in the initial days of his four-year-long journey from Argentina to Alaska. (Photo courtesy: Kamran Ali)

Years later, in 2011, he left his job in Germany as a software developer after doctorate and started the international bike tour to Pakistan from Rostock. However, he had to abandon the adventure trip within six months due to the tragic death of his mother.

In March 2015, Ali resumed his tour from where he had left off in Sivas, Turkiye, and covered 10,000 kilometers to reached Layyah in August that year.

“I still wanted to go on,” he said. “So I planned the longest trip ever from the tip of South America to the North Pole.”




Kamran Ali, a Pakistani adventurer who travels internationally on his bicycle, at the start of his four-year-long trip from Argentina in South America to Alaska in 2016 (Photo courtesy: Kamran Ali)

He added he was the only Pakistani who had traveled the entire length of Americas on a bicycle. Ali said it took him four years to cover 33,100 kilometers from Ushuaia, Argentina, to Alaska in 2016.

A couple of weeks ago, the Pakistani adventurer started another tour – this time from the Middle East to South Africa. He started his journey from Muscat, Oman, in the beginning of January and reached Dubai in two weeks.

He now plans to go to Saudi Arabia, take a ferry to Sudan, and begin his journey through Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania to reach South Africa.

“Cycling for me is no longer a hobby or sport or even an adventure,” Ali said. “It’s a way of life. My bicycle travels have taught me that the world could be a better place if people knew about each other a little more. Realizing that we are one can help us become more compassionate.”




Kamran Ali, a Pakistani adventurer who travels internationally on his bicycle, can his seen in Muscat, Oman, earlier this year while beginning his tour to South Africa via Dubai (Photo courtesy: Kamran Ali)

Imbued with the spirit to travel to every corner of the world, he initially embarked on his international tours by using his savings. Things changed since then and now Ali tries to secure sponsorships by telling stories from around the world with colorful pictures, videos and writings.

As an avid photographer, he also displayed his photos at some local exhibitions.

“I’m pursuing my dream for a deeper satisfaction by connecting with places, listening to stories, and learning lessons while being on the road,” he said. “I have no intention of stopping until I’m forced to.”




Kamran Ali, a Pakistani adventurer who travels internationally on his bicycle, can be seen at the railway station of his hometown, Layyah, in Pakistan in 2016. (Photo courtesy: Kamran Ali)

 


Pakistan’s national airline says it will vigorously contest plane impoundment in Malaysia

Updated 11 sec ago

Pakistan’s national airline says it will vigorously contest plane impoundment in Malaysia

  • The incident happened after a leasing firm reached out to a court in Kuala Lumpur and said PIA owed it $4.5 million
  • The same plane was impounded by the Malaysian authorities in January 2021, though it was released after two weeks

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) said on Tuesday its legal team would forcefully present its case to a court in Kuala Lumpur after one of its passenger planes was impounded by the Malaysian authorities after a leasing company said PIA owed it $4.5 million.
The country’s national airline has been grappling with financial losses, mismanagement, and operational challenges in recent years. It has also been burdened by a high debt load, inefficiencies, and corruption allegations, resulting in an overall decline in its financial performance.
“A leasing company approached a local Malaysian court seeking impounding on claims that PIA owns $4.5 million to them,” said Abdullah H. Khan, a spokesperson for the airlines. “However, the actual payable amount was $1.8 million, and that too had already been paid to them. It is our stance that the claim submitted to seek impounding was incorrect and PIA has engaged its legal team in Kuala Lumpur to rigorously contest the matter in the court of law.”
It is pertinent to mention that the same PIA commercial plane, a Boeing 777, was also impounded in Malaysia in January 2021, though it was allowed to return to Pakistan after approximately two weeks.
Khan mentioned that PIA purchased the airliner last year, noting that the leasing company only owned one of the engines mounted on the plane.
He also stated that PIA had arranged for the repatriation of passengers who had booked themselves on the impounded plane, ensuring their travel on another aircraft.


Italy ends search after Feb 26 migrant shipwreck that killed Pakistanis among 94 people 

Updated 7 min 34 sec ago

Italy ends search after Feb 26 migrant shipwreck that killed Pakistanis among 94 people 

  • The wooden migrant boat had set off from Western Turkey with around 180 people aboard 
  • Italian authorities, however, say they would reactivate the search if any bodies were sighted 

ROME: Italian authorities on Tuesday said they were ending the search for bodies after a deadly shipwreck on Feb. 26 off the southern town of Cutro that claimed at least 94 lives. 

The wooden migrant boat had set off from Western Turkey with around 180 people aboard, but smashed apart in stormy weather off the shore of Calabria in Italy's southern toe. 

Eighty people survived the disaster, suggesting around six people might still be missing. 

The government provincial office in the nearby city of Crotone said it was shutting down a search coordination centre, but would reactivate the unit if any more bodies were sighted. 

It said 48 of the recovered bodies were flown to Afghanistan for burial. Other bodies were repatriated to Tunisia, Iran, Palestine and Pakistan, while some were buried in Finland, Germany and Italy. 


Top Punjab police official denies mistreatment of ex-PM Khan’s female party supporters in prison

Updated 54 min 14 sec ago

Top Punjab police official denies mistreatment of ex-PM Khan’s female party supporters in prison

  • Punjab Inspector General Police Usman Anwar criticizes individuals for ‘lying about their own state institutions’
  • Khan accused the government of mistreating female PTI supporters who were taken into custody after his arrest

ISLAMABAD: The top Punjab police official on Tuesday denied any mistreatment of female prisoners belonging to former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, stating that only women police employees were allowed to interrogate them.

The statement was issued after Khan accused the government of mistreating female PTI supporters who were taken into custody by law enforcement agencies in the wake of violent protests that followed his arrest on corruption charges on May 9.

Several social media users also raised similar concerns, attempting to depict police high-handedness by sharing graphic images.

In response to the allegations, Punjab Inspector General Police Usman Anwar criticized individuals for “lying about their own state institutions.”

He presented images that had been circulated on various social media platforms, maintaining that they had been doctored.

“The state is responsible, and the country knows what to do,” he said during a news conference in Lahore. “We are going to protect our institutions and installations, but we are not going to compromise on human rights, and we will adhere to whatever is written in the UN Declaration of Human Rights.”

Addressing the condition of the Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore, he added, “There are lady doctors, female gynecologists, and psychologists in the jail. There are 150 cameras installed [at the facility]. The portion for women is completely separate.”

The IG police stated that only female officials were allowed to interrogate women inmates.

The caretaker administration of the Punjab province recently formed a committee that included SSP Investigation Dr. Anoosh Masood and Lahore Deputy Commissioner Rafia Haider to visit the jail and assess the treatment of PTI prisoners.

The two officials interacted with PTI supporters at the prison and reported that they were being treated well.

They also affirmed that no male staff member at the jail was allowed to enter the section designated for female inmates.


Global Islamic finance company AAOIFI to work with Pakistan to develop Shariah-compliant capital market

Updated 30 May 2023

Global Islamic finance company AAOIFI to work with Pakistan to develop Shariah-compliant capital market

  • Development comes day after Pakistan organized an inaugural Islamic Capital Markets Conference
  • The country has second-largest Muslim population in the world with very low banking penetration

ISLAMABAD: A leading Bahrain-based international non-profit, aimed at developing the global Islamic finance industry, has showed interest in enhancing collaboration with Pakistan on promoting the Islamic capital market in the South Asian country, the Pakistani finance ministry said on Tuesday, a day after the inaugural Islamic Capital Markets (ICM) Conference in Islamabad.

The conference was jointly organized by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and the Accounting & Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI), the Bahraini firm responsible for the development and issuance of standards in the areas of Shariah, accounting, auditing, ethics and governance for international Islamic finance globally.

On Tuesday, Sheikh Ebrahim Bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa, who is the chairman of the AAOIFI Board of Trustees, held a meeting with Pakistan's Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in the Pakistani capital and exchanged views with him on mutual collaboration in the field of Islamic finance.

The two figures discussed "enhancing mutual collaboration with Pakistan in social welfare, business & financial sectors," the Pakistani finance ministry said in a statement.

"And promoting Islamic finance industry and capital market in Pakistan."

Pakistan has the second-largest Muslim population in the world with very low banking penetration. The government seeks to increase financial inclusion through promoting Islamic finance, as part of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy. Only 21 percent of the adult population had a bank account in 2017, with 13 percent of adults citing religious reasons for not having them, according to the World Bank.

The SECP and AAOIFI also signed an agreement at the conference for joint cooperation in areas of “common interest” that would support the development of the Islamic banking and finance industry.

In 2021, the government set a target of increasing the share of Shariah-compliant instruments in government securities to at least 10 percent by the end of 2022-2023. There are 22 Islamic banking institutions currently operating across the country.

The assets of Pakistan’s Islamic banking industry had posted a year-on-year growth of 29 percent in fiscal year 2022, Dar said as he addressed the ICM Conference on Monday.


Ex-PM Khan sends defamation notice to health minister after being accused of substance use

Updated 30 May 2023

Ex-PM Khan sends defamation notice to health minister after being accused of substance use

  • The former prime minister demands unconditional apology in 15 days while serving a Rs10 billion legal notice
  • The health minister recently shared Khan’s medical report with journalists while questioning his mental stability

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan on Tuesday sent a Rs10 billion ($35.05 million) legal notice to Pakistan’s health minister Abdul Qadir Patel for making “false, disparaging and malicious” allegations in a recent news conference wherein he accused the ex-premier of substance use.

Last week, the health minister publicized Khan’s confidential medical report, allegedly prepared while he was taken into custody earlier this month, saying traces of alcohol and illegal drugs were found in the former PM’s urine sample. He also rebutted that Khan had endured a fracture to his leg after an apparent assassination attempt on him last November when he received gunshot wounds while leading an anti-government rally.

The minister shared Khan’s medical report while calling it a “public document” and maintained it also raised questions about the ex-premier’s mental stability.

“We act for and on behalf of Mr. Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi … who has instructed us to serve upon you the following legal notice under Section 8 of the Defamation Ordinance, 2002 … on account of dissemination and circulation of wrongful, baseless, false, misleading, erroneous, malicious and defamatory information/facts made against Our Client by you vide your Press Conference, dated 26.05.2023,” said the notice Khan’s legal team sent Patel.

The presser, as per the notice, was watched in Pakistan as well as all over the world through electronic media channels, YouTube, and various other social media platforms, while its details were also published in national and international newspapers.

The notice asked the health minister to retract his statements, tender unconditional apology, accept that he had misstated information, and pay Rs10 billion for defaming the former prime minister. It asked the minister to take these actions within 15 days, warning him that Khan would otherwise initiate legal proceedings against Patel.

It may be recalled that Khan was arrested by paramilitary Rangers on the instructions of Pakistan’s anti-graft body on May 9 in a corruption reference amounting to £190 million. He remained in the custody of authorities until his arrest and detention were declared “illegal” by the country’s judiciary that ordered his release.