KARACHI: While many young Pakistanis are attempting to leave the country, some even risking their lives, in search of greener pastures amid the country’s deteriorating economic situation, Afaq Ahmed, a 71-year-old mechanical engineer, has landed a specialized job of a gas turbine operator in Australia, demonstrating that age is merely a number and that skills are what truly matters.
Finding a job abroad while applying from Pakistan is often an uphill task and people rarely get it if they are older in age. Most developed nations across the world hire foreigners to fill up the shortage of skills in certain occupations, with medicine, nursing, engineering, information and technology (IT) and architecture being the most prominent ones, according to a report by the US-based Society of Human Resource Management.
But Ahmed defied the age barrier and successfully secured the job as a gas turbine specialist in Australia.
“One of my friends, who was working in Australia, said that there were no gas turbine specialists there, so [I was invited to Australia by my friend] to help disassemble a turbine,” Ahmed told Arab News last week.
Ahmed, who has more than 45 years of experience in the field, said he disassembled the unit seamlessly, making his friend and the company “very happy” with the results.
The septuagenarian returned to Pakistan after completing the task, but the firm, Siemens Energy, once again invited him to Australia to reassemble the unit after a successful run of the gas turbine this year.
Impressed with his skills, the firm decided to offer Ahmed a permanent job and sent him an employment visa.
“They offered me a job related to the gas turbine and steam turbine and sent me the visa for the operation of a Mitsubishi steam turbine through Siemens Energy,” he said.
Adnan Paracha, a Pakistani overseas employment promotor, called it an “extraordinary case” as there were no overseas employment opportunities for people this age.
The maximum age limit for overseas workers in the Gulf and Europe is 40 years, while it is up to 47 years in Japan, according to Paracha.
“This is an extraordinary case and, in such cases, the companies offer employment mainly for consultancy only when they need highly skilled and specialized professionals,” he told Arab News.
“In this case the company has ignored age factor to meet its requirement otherwise this is the age at which people get retired in other countries.”
Arab News met Ahmed, who has previously worked with Siemens Westinghouse and spent 25 years working in Saudi Arabia, at the Protectorate of Emigrant Office in Karachi last week, where he had arrived to collect his protector, which the Pakistani government issues to citizens who have been offered employment abroad.
A protector helps a Pakistani open a bank account and ensures compensation by the government in case of death or disability while working abroad.
As many young Pakistanis have been desperate to leave the country and looking for employment abroad, Ahmed said there was no shortcut to success and Pakistanis should work hard and take their jobs “very seriously.”
“Pakistani people are very intelligent, but they don’t take interest [in their work],” he said. “The young generation, if they work hard and take their job very seriously, they can definitely get a job [abroad].”
To a question about employment opportunities in Pakistan, Ahmed said a lot of jobs existed in the power sector that could be availed by young Pakistanis.
“The power companies, the turbine companies, they always have jobs, and they always have problems to be solved. They need the [manpower] as they hardly get employees from Europe, Japan, America, or other countries,” he said.
“So, I think there is always a job. Even though I am very old, they [the Australian company] are calling me for the job.”
Ahmed is going to Australia at a time when Pakistan mourns the loss of hundreds of lives in a shipwreck near the Peloponnese peninsula off the coast of Greece on June 14. According to the government, about 350 Pakistanis were among more than 700 migrants aboard the ship, while only 12 citizens have been identified among the survivors.
These Pakistanis reportedly attempted to flee the adverse economic conditions at home, dreaming of a better life in Europe.
In rare stroke of luck, Pakistani septuagenarian lands specialized job in Australia
https://arab.news/6umcf
In rare stroke of luck, Pakistani septuagenarian lands specialized job in Australia
- Afaq Ahmed, an engineer who specializes in gas and steam turbine operations, was recently hired by a multinational firm
- The 71-year old says job opportunities exist both in Pakistan and abroad, but only condition for young Pakistanis is hard work
Body of 15-year-old boy, who went missing while hiking, found on Islamabad’s Margalla Hills — police
Body of 15-year-old boy, who went missing while hiking, found on Islamabad’s Margalla Hills — police
- The boy had gone for a hike on Trail-5 along with six of his classmates at around 7am on Saturday but did not return
- Police say his body was found in a ditch on Margalla Hills, further investigation is underway to ascertain the cause
ISLAMABAD: The body of a 15-year-old boy, who had gone missing while hiking with friends last week, was found near a Margalla Hills hiking trail on Monday, the Islamabad police said.
The boy had gone for a hike on Trail-5 along with six of his classmates at around 7am on Saturday, but never made it back, according to a police report.
The mother of the young student tried to search him after one of his friends called her to inquire about his return on Saturday evening.
After trying to locate him for hours, the mother lodged a missing complaint with the police.
“After a long search operation, the body of the youth who went missing on Margalla trail was found in a dangerous ditch,” the Islamabad police said in a statement on Monday. “It seems that the boy lost his way and fell into the ditch.”
The deceased’s family was present on the site along with police officials and the search team, according to the statement.
“Further investigation is underway and post-mortem of the body will be conducted to cover all aspects,” it read.
The Pakistani capital of Islamabad has seven hiking trails that stretch several kilometers on the Margalla Hills, which are part of the Himalayan foothills and have an area of 12,605 hectares.
These trails are frequented by hundreds of people on a daily basis and are famous with picnickers.
Pakistan Hajj Mission ensures provision of quality food to pilgrims through regular, periodic checks
Pakistan Hajj Mission ensures provision of quality food to pilgrims through regular, periodic checks
- Official says a robust mechanism for oversight during preparation of meals, monitoring of kitchens is in place
- The mission says it has received 115 food-related complaints so far, all of which have been promptly addressed
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Hajj Mission has been providing quality food to pilgrims under a government scheme with rigorous checks and oversight during the preparation and distribution processes, a senior official of the mission in Makkah said on Monday.
More than 38,000 Pakistani pilgrims have arrived in the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah under the government scheme ahead of this year’s annual Hajj pilgrimage, according to the Pakistani Ministry of Religious Affairs.
Around 179,210 Pakistanis will perform Hajj under both the government and private schemes, for which a month-long flight operation began on May 9. This year’s pilgrimage is expected to run from June 14 till June 19.
“There is a total of nine catering companies employed to fulfill food demands of around 69,000 pilgrims under the government scheme,” Asghar Ali, the Pakistan Hajj Mission’s director for food, accommodation and transportation, told Arab News.
He said the mission had implemented a highly effective mechanism to ensure the food quality, with continuous oversight during the preparation of food and round-the-clock monitoring of kitchens by Pakistani volunteers.
“To ensure the quality of food, a kitchen coordinator is deployed and regular as well as periodic checks are conducted,” Ali said.
Even after preparation, the quality and quantity of food are rechecked upon arrival at residential buildings and hotels where the mission has arranged for the accommodation of pilgrims, according to the official.
The daily menu includes Pakistani and continental cuisines and the mission has kept the food timings flexible to avoid rush.
“There are currently three types of feedback mechanisms in use, including a digital app that has received 115 food-related complaints, all of which have been addressed promptly,” he said, adding that the complaints registered manually had also been addressed by officials.
“It is through personal feedback in which our coordinators personally ensure a meeting with pilgrims and take their opinion and record it for modification and change.”
In the event of violations, he said, penalties were imposed on catering companies without discrimination.
“There are a total of eight penalties enforced so far on the catering companies, most of them were imposed to improve the quality of food,” Ali added.
Five soldiers, 17 militants killed in gunbattles in northwest Pakistan — military
- Monday’s deaths of five soldiers were in addition to two other troops, including an army captain, who were killed the previous day in Peshawar
- Islamabad says TTP leaders have taken refuge in neighboring Afghanistan where they run camps to train fighters to launch attacks inside Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Five Pakistan soldiers were killed in gunbattles with militants in the country’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan, the Pakistani military said on Monday.
The soldiers were killed during an operation against militants in the Khyber district, which also left seven militants dead, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing. Ten other militants were killed in an operation conducted in the Tank district.
“A large quantity of weapons, ammunition & explosives was also recovered from the killed terrorists, who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities against the security forces as well as the innocent civilians,” the ISPR said in a statement.
Sanitization operations were being conducted to eliminate any other threat in these areas, it added.
Monday’s deaths of five Pakistani soldiers were in addition to two other troops, including an army captain, who were killed the previous day in an operation against militants near Peshawar.
Pakistan’s northwestern tribal regions, which border Afghanistan, had long been plagued by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militant groups, until successive military operations since late 2000s drove the militants away.
Islamabad says TTP leaders have taken refuge in neighboring Afghanistan where they run camps to train fighters to launch attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul denies the allegation and says rising violence in Pakistan is a domestic issue for Islamabad.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have soured in recent months. Islamabad says Kabul is not doing enough to tackle militant groups targeting Pakistan.
On Sunday, Pakistan said it had arrested 11 militants who were involved in a suicide bombing that killed five Chinese engineers, alleging the attack was planned by the TTP in Afghanistan, a charge Kabul has previously denied.
Pakistan police book over 100 suspects for Sargodha mob attack on Christian family
- Suspects charged under anti-terror, attempt to murder sections of the law, say police
- A mob attacked Christian man, his son on Saturday over allegations he desecrated Qur’an
ISLAMABAD: Police in Pakistan’s eastern city of Sargodha said on Monday that they had registered criminal cases against over 100 people for their involvement in last week’s mob attack against a Christian man and his family over allegations he had desecrated the Qur’an.
A frenzied mob went on a rampage on Saturday in Sargodha after locals said they saw burnt pages of the Qur’an outside the house of a Christian man. Angry protesters set his house on fire and his shoemaking factory, beating up his son as well.
Police said they rescued the Christian father and men after successfully dispersing the crowd following violent clashes. Sargodha Police District Police Officer Assad Malhi said several police officers were injured in the clashes. He said Sargodha Police’s prompt and effective actions “saved the city from a potential disaster, maintaining peace and harmony in the region.”
“Later during the day, criminal cases have been registered against the culprits and police has arrested more than 100 accused charging them with anti-terrorist and attempt to murder sections of law,” Malhi said.
Police said they were also probing the incident and focusing on determining the extent of the damage done as well as identifying those responsible.
“Sargodha police are working tirelessly to ensure that all aspects of the case are thoroughly examined and that justice is served,” Malhi said.
He said police were engaging with the local community to address the root cause of the issue.
“The police are working closely with local community leaders and religious scholars to promote interfaith harmony and understanding,” Malhi said.
In a separate post on social media platform X, police said on Monday morning that security had been beefed outside all important churches in Sargodha district following the incident.
“Sargodha police have completed arrangements for the hyper security of churches across the district,” Sargodha Police wrote on social media platform X. It added that over 1,000 police officers and youths were performing duties at important churches in the district.
Blasphemy accusations are common in Pakistan and under the country’s blasphemy laws, anyone found guilty of insulting Islam or Islamic religious figures can be sentenced to death. While no one has been executed on such charges, often just an accusation can cause riots and incite mobs to violence, lynching and killings.
The latest violence, however, brought back memories of one of the worst attacks on Christians in Pakistan in August 2023, when thousands of people set churches and homes of Christians on fire in Jaranwala, a district in Punjab province, also on allegations of desecration of the Qur’an.
Saudi football team to arrive in Pakistan on June 5 for FIFA World Cup qualifier clash
- Saudi Arabia will face Pakistan at Jinnah Football Stadium in Islamabad on June 6
- Kingdom thrashed Pakistan 4-0 when two teams met at Al Ahsa last year for round 1 clash
ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia’s national men’s football team is scheduled to arrive in Islamabad on June 5, the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) announced on Monday, as the two teams gear up to lock horns for their FIFA World Cup qualifier round 2 clash.
Pakistan will face Saudi Arabia at the Jinnah Football Stadium in Islamabad on June 6. In the first leg of the FIFA World Cup qualifying fixtures, Saudi Arabia thrashed Pakistan 4-0 when the two Group G sides faced each other in Al Ahsa city last year.
“Saudi Arabia’s football team will arrive in Islamabad on June 5,” the PFF said in a statement, adding that the away team would travel from Riyadh to Islamabad on a chartered flight.
The June 6 fixture against Saudi Arabia will be Pakistan’s last home match for the FIFA World Cup qualifying round. The green shirts will face Tajikistan on June 11 in what will be their final away fixture of round 2. Pakistan are in Group G of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers with Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Tajikistan.
A total of 36 football squads have been split into nine groups with four teams each in the second round of qualifiers. The winners and runners-up from each group would go through to the third round.
Fans can buy tickets for Pakistan’s match against Saudi Arabia on Bookme.pk.
Preliminary Pakistan squad
Goalkeepers: Hassan Ali and Tanveer
Defenders: Haseeb Khan, Mamoon Moosa Khan, Huzaifa, Waqar Ihtisham, Abdul Rehman, Umar Hayat, Muhammad Adeel, Muhammad Saddam and Zain ul Abideen
Midfielders: Yasir Arafat, Alamgir Ghazi, Ali Uzair, Rajab Ali, Moin Ali, Junaid Ahmed and Fahim
Forwards: Adeel Younas, Shayak Dost, Ali Zafar and Fareedullah
The PFF said the names of diaspora players joining the national training camp later would be included in the final squad
