From scenic valleys to cityscapes: How Gilgit App is reshaping Pakistan’s online marketplace

Team of Gilgit App poses for a group photograph in Pakistan’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) region on September 9, 2022. (Photo courtesy: Gilgit App)
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Updated 04 October 2023
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From scenic valleys to cityscapes: How Gilgit App is reshaping Pakistan’s online marketplace

  • The app was originally designed to serve the local residents of Gilgit-Baltistan but was later launched in other cities
  • Unlike mainstream applications, Gilgit App is not ‘seller-centric’ and provides equally comfortable buying experience

GILGIT: A group of young programmers developed an online consumer app three years ago to serve the local community members in Pakistan’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) region, more famous for its stunning landscapes than technological prowess.

Yet, the app garnered surprising attention and business from major urban centers across Pakistan after a successful test run in Karachi last year in January, challenging the norm of tech start-ups typically emerging from big cities. Gilgit App, having expanded its reach in recent months, now finds more of its business originating outside its native region than within it.

Originally a part of uConnect Technologies, a local firm offering software solutions since 2016, the app emerged from a pre-marketing strategy on Facebook where it assisted locals in buying and selling vehicles.

Its debut not only shook the local market but also made ripples in cities far removed from GB, a beautiful but resource-limited area not commonly associated with Pakistan’s burgeoning tech sector.

“We started a service on Facebook under the name of Gilgit App where we used to technologically assist people with the buying and selling of bikes and other vehicles,” Ejaz Karim, one of the founders and CEO of Gilgit App, told Arab News in a recent conversation.




Team of Gilgit App poses for a photograph in Pakistan’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) region on September 9, 2022. (Photo courtesy: Gilgit App)

He informed the digital service was trending among the top app soon after its launch, adding that it was downloaded between 10,000 and 20,000 times within a brief span of 24 hours.

With an easy-to-use interface, the users of the online tool can buy and sell products, including cars, motorbikes, cellphones, laptops, home appliances, furniture, fashion products, property and pets, to meet their basic consumer needs.

“This app was initially designed and launched for the people of Gilgit,” Karim said. “But then our test run in Karachi got us a positive response. That’s when we released it in Lahore, Karachi, Rawalpindi and across Pakistan.”

“It now has more users in other cities compared to Gilgit,” he added.

Asked how his app was different from other mainstream platforms like OLX, he said that most online marketplace programs were “sellers-centric,” adding that his application also provided a comfortable experience to buyers since there were safety features in the app that protected them from fraudsters.

The Gilgit App CEO described frequent power breakdowns in his native region as one of the biggest problems faced by his company.

“This is especially true for the winter season when there is little to no electricity,” he said.

Additionally, he flagged the paucity of technical prowess around him as yet another issue while also mentioning the challenge of Internet connectivity.

“Nowadays, the Internet [issue] has almost resolved after the offices started to get fiber optics,” he said. “But many of our users [in GB] complain about the connectivity at their end. When the app runs slowly, the pace of downloading reduces as well.”

Discussing the expansion plans, Karim said the app was performing quite well, though his company wanted to strengthen itself further in the local market before making a move to the Middle East.

Shazia, who only goes by a single name, told Arab News she was the frontend developer.

“At Gilgit App, as a female, we get a favorable work environment to learn and hone our skills,” she said. “Our team leads deal with us respectfully and provide timely assistance to enhance our programming abilities.”

With the online consumer tool beginning to gain traction in local market, many of its users have started recommending it to others.

“I have been using Gilgit App for a year now, and my experience has been excellent,” Adnan Ali, whose job requires him to buy and sell sophisticated gadgets, told Arab News. “I’ve sold more than 10 products in the last year using this platform. Recently, I even sold a drone worth Rs120k.”

Ali called the app “user-friendly,” saying whenever he encountered an issue, the support team responded promptly and effectively.

“I highly recommend this app to anyone who’s looking to sell their products,” he continued. “I find it very reliable for finding the required items as well.”

Karamat Ali, another user, told Arab News he had been using the app for nearly three years.

“It has many good features to sell products,” he said. “But I would recommend the company to introduce inbox chatting and activate comments under photographs and images.”


Senior World Bank official proposes key reforms for Pakistan’s development ahead of elections

Updated 28 November 2023
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Senior World Bank official proposes key reforms for Pakistan’s development ahead of elections

  • Martin Raiser says Pakistan needs to decide if it wants to pursue past policies or take difficult and crucial steps ahead
  • The World Bank official points out Pakistan’s low-growth economy is increasing poverty along with climate vulnerability

KARACHI: World Bank’s Regional Vice President for South Asia Martin Raiser on Tuesday unveiled a series of policy recommendations to outline key areas requiring the attention of Pakistani authorities to improve the quality of life for its people.
Raiser, who is currently visiting the South Asian state and plans to meet officials on federal and provincial levels, primarily focused on issues like child stunting, education, fiscal sustainability, private sector growth, energy, agriculture, poverty and climate change.
The policy recommendations presented by him intend to help inform the public policy dialogue in the country ahead the general elections scheduled in February.
“Pakistan’s economy is stuck in a low-growth trap with poor human development outcomes and increasing poverty,” the senior World Bank official said in Islamabad. “Economic conditions leave Pakistan highly vulnerable to climate shocks, with insufficient public resources to finance development and climate adaptation.”
“It is now time for Pakistan to decide whether to maintain the patterns of the past or take difficult but crucial steps toward a brighter future,” he added.
The policy recommendations include the necessity of addressing the “acute human capital crisis” in the country, according to a World Bank statement, including the high prevalence of stunting and learning poverty by adopting a coordinated and coherent cross-sectoral approach.
The also suggest improving the quality of public spending and taking serious measures to expand the revenue base, ensuring that the better off pay their share.
Additionally, the recommendations called for Pursuing business regulatory and trade reforms and reducing the presence of the state in the economy to increase productivity, competitiveness, and exports.
“Almost 40 percent of children in Pakistan suffer from stunted growth, more than 78 percent of Pakistan’s children cannot read and understand a simple text by the age of 10,” Raiser said. “These are stark indicators of a silent human capital crisis that needs priority attention.”
“With additional spending on water and sanitation of around 1 percent of GDP per year and better coordination at the local level, stunting could be halved over a decade with significant positive impacts on growth and incomes,” he noted. “This is just one example of the huge economic benefits a coherent and decisive reform strategy could have.”
The World Bank official plans to interact with representatives from the private sector and academia during his stay in the country.
He will also visit various hydropower projects in Pakistan along with project sites in Sindh and Punjab.


Pakistan court rules ex-PM Khan’s trial to continue in jail, allows media access

Updated 28 November 2023
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Pakistan court rules ex-PM Khan’s trial to continue in jail, allows media access

  • Khan and his close aide Shah Mahmood Qureshi are charged with leaking state secrets
  • Trial previously held behind closed doors in jail, now media, public, family to get access

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani judge ruled on Tuesday the trial of prime minister Imran Khan in a case in which he is accused of leaking state secrets would be held in jail but members of the public and media would have access.

Khan, who is the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, is being held at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail, serving a three-year sentence in a separate case in which he was convicted in August of failing to disclose assets earned from the sale of state gifts while he was PM from 2018-2022. Khan is also accused in a number of other cases, including what has come to be called the cipher case, in which he has been indicted for leaking official secrets and using them for political gains.

The government had announced in August that the trial in the cipher case would be held in jail for “security reasons,” and a special court had since been conducting the trial on the prison premises, with no members of the public or media allowed. Last week, however, the Islamabad High Court declared the confidential proceedings illegal, following appeals by Khan’s lawyers that their client would not be given a fair trial behind closed doors. 

Public hearings in the matter began last Thursday at the Judicial Complex in Islamabad, but Khan did not appear and the case was adjourned until Nov. 28, with the court directing the ex-premier, and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who has also been indicted in the case, to appear in person on that date.

Khan and Qureshi, who have both pleaded not guilty, were not brought to the court on Tuesday when the judge ruled that the trial would continue in jail but media and the public would be allowed access to the court proceedings. Five family members of each suspect would also be allowed to attend the hearing.

The next hearing has been set for Dec. 1 at Adiala Jail.

“The jail officials are saying that he [Khan] cannot be presented,” the judge remarked after reviewing a report submitted by Adiala jail authorities. 

Lawyers representing Khan and Qureshi objected to the report and urged the court to implement its previous order that the duo be presented in court.

“It was their [jail authorities] responsibility to present the suspect [Khan] in the court,” Salman Safdar, who is representing Khan, said.

Safdar also rubbished reports by intelligence agencies that there was a threat to Khan’s life, saying it was the state’s responsibility to provide him security.

“If there are security threats, then please adjourn this hearing for an indefinite period,” Safdar urged the court. “The accused should be granted bail if the jail authorities could not present him here for the trial.”

Qureshi’s lawyer also argued that it was “court’s responsibility to get its [production] orders implemented”:

“If the court orders are not implemented, you [the judge] have the authority to send the government officials to jail.”

Khan had been appearing in courts prior to his August arrest protected by his personal security guards. But he has also sought exemptions from personal appearances, often citing threats to his safety.

Khan, arguably the most popular politician in the country, has not been seen since he was arrested in August. Before that, he would regularly address his millions of followers via social media and hold massive public rallies and protest marches.

The cipher case relates to an alleged diplomatic correspondence between Washington and Islamabad that Khan says was proof that his ouster as PM in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence in April 2022 was part of a US conspiracy to remove him. Washington has repeatedly denied Khan’s accusations.

A special court was formed on Aug. 21 under the Official Secrets Act, 1923, to adjudicate the case through in-camera proceedings. Khan and Qureshi were indicted in the case last month.

Last week, the Pakistan government also approved Khan’s jail trial in a separate case of a £190 million settlement with a property tycoon.

Khan is currently being held at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail where he is serving a three-year jail sentence.


Ex-PM Khan’s party says facing crackdown in stronghold province ahead of Pakistan elections

Updated 28 November 2023
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Ex-PM Khan’s party says facing crackdown in stronghold province ahead of Pakistan elections

  • Police confirm clashes with PTI ahead of political convention last week, cases filed against hundreds of supporters
  • Caretaker government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province says “no ban on any political party to hold rallies”

DIR LOWER: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of former Prime Minister Imran Khan has said it is facing a crackdown in its stronghold province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ahead of general elections scheduled in February, with police confirming clashes at a recent political convention and the subsequent arrests of dozens of PTI supporters.

The party says the crackdown in the northwestern province is part of a wider clampdown that began after May 9, when Khan supporters took to the streets in nationwide protests, ransacking military installations and government and private properties following the ex-PM’s brief arrest by an anti-corruption agency. Pakistan’s army and the then government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif responded fiercely, accusing Khan’s supporters of terrorism and vowing to punish the alleged perpetrators, including through trials in army courts. 

Thousands of PTI supporters, including top party leaders, were subsequently arrested and many remain in jail. A legion of senior PTI leaders also abruptly announced they were quitting the party or leaving politics, which they were widely believed to have done under pressure from the military establishment, which denies interfering in politics.

Khan himself has been embroiled in a tangle of political and legal battles since he was ousted as prime minister in April last year in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence. He has not been seen in public since he was jailed for three years in August for not declaring assets earned from the sale of state gifts during his tenure in office from 2018 to 2022.

Khan says the cases are politically motivated and part of a larger plan to keep him and the PTI out of elections. As things stands, Khan, as a convict, is barred from contesting any elections under Pakistani law.

But the PTI, like other political parties, has started election activities though it alleges it is being kept from holding corner meetings and political conventions, especially in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where the party ruled from 2013-23.

On November 25, a clash was reported between police and PTI supporters on their way to attend a workers convention in Wari, a union council in Upper Dir.

“PTI supporters were adamant to attend the workers convention and the police were not allowing them, which resulted in the clash,” General Secretary of the PTI in Upper Dir, Imran Saeed, told Arab News, adding that policemen were stationed at checkpoints across Dir Upper and Dir Lower to stop people from reaching the venue of the convention in the village of a former member of the national assembly, Sahibzada Sibghat Ullah.

Saeed said two PTI members were injured in the clash and dozens were arrested by the police.

Waqar Ahmed Khan, the district police office in Dir Upper, confirmed the arrests and clashes and said a police case had been filed against 188 people for violating a ban on public gatherings imposed this month under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure CrPC, which empowers district administrations to issue orders in the public interest that may place a ban on an activity for a specific period of time. Such a ban is enforced by the police who register cases under section 188 of the Pakistan Penal Code for violations of the ban.

The district police officer said 74 people had been arrested and nine police reports filed, while three civilians and three policemen were injured in the clashes. Among those charged in the police reports are former MPA Fazal Hakeem from Swat, former MPA Liaqat Ali Khan from Dir Lower, former MNA Gul Zafar Khan from Bajaur, Khan’s lawyer Muhammad Afzal Marwat and former MNA Junaid Akbar from Malakand.

In Swat, another district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, police said 36 people had been arrested and cases had been filed against more than 2,400 people for violating Section 144 on Nov. 26.

“NOT A GOOD THING FOR DEMOCRACY“

While the PTI says its political activities are being disrupted and its supporters intimidated through arrests, other political parties have been campaigning freely in the province.
 
The Pakistan Peoples Party held a workers’ convention and the party’s chairman, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, addressed a large public gathering in Dir Upper on Nov. 21. The Pakistan Tehreek Insaf Parliamentarian party organized a rally in Lower Dir on Nov. 24 while the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-F held a rally in Peshawar, the provincial capital, on Nov. 17.

Irfan Saleem, the Deputy Secretary of Information PTI-KP, said it was “unfair” that his party’s political activities were being blocked under the “pretext” of Section 144 while other political parties were free to carry on with their campaigns.

“Leaders and workers from the PTI were arrested in Dir Upper, Lower Dir and in Swat on the pretext of violating Section 144,” he told Arab News. “We want free and fair elections and that the voice of the public is heard.”

“We will use the rights given to us by the constitution and we will conduct peaceful rallies,” he added.

Feroz Jamal Kakakhel, the caretaker Information Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, denied that the PTI was being blocked from campaigning, saying Section 144 had been imposed in view of rising militant attacks in the province in recent months.

“There is no ban on any political party to hold political rallies,” he said. “There is a law-and-order situation in the province and the district administration has imposed section 144 in the larger public interest.”

But independent political analysts warned about the legitimacy of an election in which the PTI was not allowed a “level playing field” and fair competition.

 “To stop only one political party from conducting political rallies is not a good thing for democracy,” analyst and journalist Tariq Waheen said, “and will have bad consequences for the upcoming polls.”


Pakistan’s Imran Khan denied court-ordered public trial — lawyer

Updated 28 November 2023
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Pakistan’s Imran Khan denied court-ordered public trial — lawyer

  • Open trial denied despite high court orders, government submits reports on threats to Khan’s life
  • Court rules retrial in jail open to public and media, Khan in the past cited life threats to seek exemptions

ISLAMABAD: Jailed former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was denied an open court trial on Monday as ordered by a high court after the government submitted reports citing threats to his life, his lawyer said.
The court hearing the case later said Khan’s trial on the charge of leaking state secrets will be held in jail premises but will be open to media and the public, the lawyer said.
The Islamabad High Court had ruled last week that holding Khan’s trial inside jail premises on security concerns was illegal, and ordered it restarted in an open court.
Khan has denied the charges against him.
The 71-year-old former cricket star has been embroiled in a tangle of political and legal battles since he was ousted as prime minister. He has not been seen in public since he was jailed for three years in August for unlawfully selling state gifts while in office from 2018 to 2022.
Khan had been appearing in courts prior to his August arrest protected by his personal security guards. But he has also sought exemptions from personal appearances, often citing threats to his safety.
“Jail reports have been submitted citing that Imran Khan has life threats according to various intelligence and police reports,” said the lawyer, Naeem Panjutha, in a post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
A special court has been conducting the trial in prison since Khan was indicted on the charges last month.
The charges against Khan relate to a classified cable sent to Islamabad by Pakistan’s ambassador in the United States last year, which Khan is accused of making public.
The graft conviction has put a five-year bar on Khan to contest elections. He denies any wrongdoing and has said all the charges against him, including the graft case and the leak of the cable, were cooked up at the behest of the military to block him from the Feb. 8 general election.
The military has dismissed Khan’s allegations.
The election is shaping as a fight between Khan’s party and that of another ousted former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif.
Both leaders had fallen out with the military, which has ruled directly or overseen civilian governments since Pakistan’s creation in 1947.


Indian rescuers say very close to reaching 41 men trapped in tunnel

Updated 28 November 2023
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Indian rescuers say very close to reaching 41 men trapped in tunnel

  • Rescuers just six or seven meters away from workers trapped in a collapsed highway tunnel in the Himalayas for over two weeks
  • vMen have been getting food, water, light, oxygen and medicines through pipe but efforts to dig tunnel to reach them frustrated by snags

SILKYARA: Rescuers in India are just six or seven meters (20-23 feet) away from 41 men trapped in a collapsed highway tunnel in the Himalayas for more than two weeks, and are confident of drilling through to reach them on Tuesday, officials said.
The men, low-wage workers from India’s poorest states, have been stuck in the 4.5 km (3 miles) tunnel in Uttarakhand state since it collapsed on Nov. 12.
So-called rat miners, brought in on Monday to drill through the rocks and gravel by hand after machinery failed, made good progress overnight, officials said.
“About 6 or 7 meters are left,” said Deepak Patil, a senior officer leading the rescue, adding that more than 50 meters of an estimated 60 meters of debris had been bored through.
“Sure, 100 percent,” he said when asked if the men could be reached on Tuesday.
The men have been getting food, water, light, oxygen and medicines through a pipe but efforts to dig a tunnel to reach and rescue them with drilling machines have been frustrated by a series of snags.
Rescuers on Monday brought in the “rat miners,” experts at a primitive, hazardous and controversial method used mostly to get at coal deposits through narrow passages. Their name comes from their resemblance to burrowing rats.
The tunnel is part of the $1.5 billion Char Dham highway, one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s most ambitious projects, aimed at connecting four Hindu pilgrimage sites through an 890- km network of roads.
Authorities have not said what caused the cave-in but the region is prone to landslides, earthquakes and floods.