Women ride Pakistan’s economic crisis into the workplace

In this photograph taken on August 19, 2024, Amina Sohail, a motorbike rider with a local ride-hailing service provider Bykea, leaves to deliver parcels in Karachi. (AFP)
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Updated 08 September 2024
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Women ride Pakistan’s economic crisis into the workplace

  • Pakistan was first Muslim nation to be led by a woman PM in 1980s, women CEOs grace power lists in Forbes magazine, make up ranks of police and military
  • But much of Pakistani society operates under a traditional code which requires women to have permission from their family to work outside of the home

KARACHI: Amina Sohail veers through heavy traffic to pick up her next passenger — the sight of a woman riding a motorcycle drawing stares in Pakistan’s megacity of Karachi.
The 28-year-old is the first woman in her family to enter the workforce, a pattern emerging in urban households coming under increasing financial pressure in Pakistan.
“I don’t focus on people, I don’t speak to anyone or respond to the hooting, I do my work,” said Sohail, who joined a local ride-hailing service at the start of the year, transporting women through the dusty back streets of the city.
“Before, we would be hungry, now we get to eat at least two to three meals a day,” she added.
The South Asian nation is locked in a cycle of political and economic crises, dependent on IMF bailouts and loans from friendly countries to service its debt.
Prolonged inflation has forced up the price of basic groceries such as tomatoes by 100 percent. Electricity and gas bills have risen by 300 percent compared to July last year, according to official data.
Sohail used to help her mother with cooking, cleaning and looking after her younger siblings, until her father, the family’s sole earner, fell sick.
“The atmosphere in the house was stressful,” she said, with the family dependent on other relatives for money. “That’s when I thought I must work.”
“My vision has changed. I will work openly like any man, no matter what anyone thinks.”




In this photograph taken on August 19, 2024, Amina Sohail, a motorbike rider with a local ride-hailing service provider Bykea, speaks during an interview with AFP in Karachi. (AFP)

Pakistan was the first Muslim nation to be led by a woman prime minister in the 1980s, women CEOs grace power lists in Forbes magazine, and they now make up the ranks of the police and military.
However, much of Pakistani society operates under a traditional code which requires women to have permission from their family to work outside of the home.
According to the United Nations, just 21 percent of women participate in Pakistan’s work force, most of them in the informal sector and almost half in rural areas working in the fields.




In this photograph taken on August 17, 2024, receptionist Hina Saleem talks on a telephone at a leather factory in Karachi. (AFP)

“I am the first girl in the family to work, from both my paternal and maternal side,” said Hina Saleem, a 24-year-old telephone operator at a leather factory in Qur’angi, Karachi’s largest industrial area.
The move, supported by her mother after her father died, was met with resistance from her extended family.
Her younger brother was warned that working could lead to socially unacceptable behavior, such as finding a husband of her choice.
“My uncles said ‘get her married’,” she told AFP. “There was lots of pressure on my mother.”
At the changeover of shifts outside the leather factory, workers arrive in painted buses decorated with chinking bells, with a handful of women stepping out amid the crowd of men.




In this photograph taken on August 17, 2024, employee Anum Shahzadi sorts jackets at a leather factory in Karachi. (AFP)

Nineteen-year-old Anum Shahzadi, who works in the same factory inputting data, was encouraged by her parents to enter the workforce after completing high school, unlike generations before her.
“What is the point of education if a girl can’t be independent,” said Shahzadi, who now contributes to the household alongside her brother.
Bushra Khaliq, executive director for Women In Struggle for Empowerment (WISE) which advocates for political and economic rights for women, said that Pakistan was “witnessing a shift” among urban middle class women.
“Up until this point, they had been told by society that taking care of their homes and marriage were the ultimate objective,” she told AFP.
“But an economic crunch and any social and economic crises bring with them a lot of opportunities.”




In this photograph taken on August 18, 2024, a homemaker Farzana Augustine prepares lunch for her son at their house in Karachi. (AFP)

Farzana Augustine, from Pakistan’s minority Christian community, earned her first salary last year at the age of 43, after her husband lost his job during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“My wife had to take over,” Augustine Saddique explained to AFP.
“But it is nothing to be sad about, we are companions and are running our house together.”
The sprawling port metropolis of Karachi, officially home to 20 million people but likely many millions more, is the business center of Pakistan.
It pulls in migrants and entrepreneurs from across the country with the promise of employment and often acts as a bellwether for social change.




In this photograph taken on August 16, 2024, childminder Zahra Afzal heads to work, in Karachi. (AFP)

Nineteen-year-old Zahra Afzal moved to Karachi to live with her uncle four years ago, after the death of her parents, leaving her small village in central-eastern Pakistan to work as a childminder.
“If Zahra was taken by other relatives, she would have been married off by now,” her uncle Kamran Aziz told AFP, from their typical one room home where bedding is folded away in the morning and cooking is done on the balcony.
“My wife and I decided we would go against the grain and raise our girls to survive in the world before settling them down.”
Afzal beams that she is now an example for her sister and cousin: “My mind has become fresh.”


Jemima Goldsmith says concerned about welfare of ex-husband Imran Khan

Updated 15 October 2024
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Jemima Goldsmith says concerned about welfare of ex-husband Imran Khan

  • Khan has been embroiled in more than 200 legal cases since he was ousted in a no-trust vote in 2022
  • The former prime minister has been detained since August last year and barred from standing for office

LONDON: The ex-wife of Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan on Tuesday called for his immediate release, citing “serious and concerning” reports about his treatment in prison.
Jemima Goldsmith said the Pakistani authorities had stopped all visits to him by his family and lawyers, postponed court hearings, and prevented him from calling his two sons since early September.
Electricity had been cut to his cell and he was no longer allowed out at any time, while the jail cook had been sent on leave, she wrote in a lengthy post on social media platform X.
“He is now completely isolated, in solitary confinement, literally in the dark, with no contact with the outside world,” said Goldsmith, who was married to the former Pakistan cricket team captain from 1995 to 2004.
The couple have two sons, Sulaiman and Kasim, who live in London.
A panel of UN experts in July criticized Pakistan for arbitrarily detaining Khan in breach of international law to apparently prevent him for running for political office.
Khan, 72, was prime minister of Pakistan from 2018 to 2022, and has been embroiled in more than 200 legal cases since he was ousted in a parliamentary no-confidence vote he claims was orchestrated by the country’s powerful generals.
He has been detained since August last year and barred from standing for office. He has since applied to become the next chancellor of Britain’s Oxford University.
Goldsmith said Khan’s family had also been targeted, and his sisters and nephew arrested and jailed unlawfully, while she had faced rape and death threats from her ex-husband’s political opponents.
The release of Khan, his nephew and sisters, plus the re-establishment of contact with his sons will provide “assurance first-hand that he is well and not being mistreated,” she added.
“I disagree with IK on many political issues,” she wrote. “But this is not about politics — it’s about my children’s father, his human rights & international law.”
 


Pakistan PM discusses trade, investment and connectivity with Central Asian leaders on SCO summit margins

Updated 15 October 2024
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Pakistan PM discusses trade, investment and connectivity with Central Asian leaders on SCO summit margins

  • Top officials from China, Russia, India, Iran and several Central Asian states are attending the two-day summit in Islamabad
  • On Tuesday, PM Shehbaz Sharif warmly greeted the visiting dignitaries, including Indian FM, at a dinner he hosted in their honor

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday met with Central Asian leaders and discussed trade, investment and regional connectivity on the sidelines of a two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Islamabad, Sharif’s office said.
The prime ministers of China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan as well as Iran’s first vice president and the Indian external affairs minister are in Islamabad to attend the summit on October 15-16.
The Pakistani government has declared a three-day holiday in the federal capital of Islamabad since Monday, with schools and businesses closed to ensure security of foreign leaders attending the high-profile regional summit.
In a meeting with Kazakhstan PM Olzhas Bektenov on Tuesday, Sharif reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to work with all member states in advancing the SCO’s principles and purposes, according to the Pakistan PM’s office.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif meets with Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov on the sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Head of Government Meeting on October 15, 2024. (Government of Pakistan)

“Noting the warm and excellent bilateral relations between the two countries, Prime Minister Sharif emphasized the need to enhance trade and investment, while also focusing on regional connectivity and security,” Sharif’s office said in a statement.
To achieve this shared objective, he stressed the need to maintain regular and high-level contacts, including through institutional mechanisms of bilateral engagement.
In his meeting with Tajikistan PM Qohir Rasulzoda, the Pakistan premier said both countries should further cement cooperation across all spheres of shared interest, according to Sharif’s office.
He conveyed Pakistan’s strong desire to strengthen ties with Kyrgyzstan in trade and investment during a meeting with Akylbek Japarov, chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic. In his meeting with Turkmen Foreign Affairs Minister Rashid Meredov, Sharif welcomed the participation of Turkmenistan in the summit as a “special guest.”

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (R) meets Akylbek Japarov, Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic, on the sidelines of SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) Meeting in Islamabad on October 15, 2024. (Government of Pakistan)

During the meetings, Central Asian leaders congratulated the Pakistani premier on the successful organization of the SCO summit and lauded Pakistan’s positive role as the SCO chair, Sharif’s office said.
Pakistan wants to position itself as a regional trade hub and to leverage its strategic geopolitical position and enhance its role as a pivotal trade and transit hub connecting China and Central Asia with the rest of the world. In recent months, there has been a flurry of visits, investment talks and economic activity between Pakistan, China and Central Asian states, including Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
In a bilateral meeting with Belarusian PM Roman Golovchenko, Sharif noted that regular high-level exchanges had added positive momentum to the cordial ties between the two countries.
“This momentum needed to be sustained so as to realize the full potential of bilateral cooperation, particularly in the areas of trade, investment, agricultural machinery and joint production of tractors and connectivity,” he was quoted as saying.
On Tuesday, Sharif also hosted a dinner in honor of the visiting foreign dignitaries, wherein he was seen greeting and shaking hands with the attendees, including Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.


Sharif is due to preside over a meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of Government and deliver the opening remarks on Wednesday, followed by statements from leaders of participating countries during the session, according to the Pakistani foreign office. The documents reflecting outcomes of the meeting will also be signed during the session, which will conclude with Sharif’s closing remarks.
Foreign office said Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and SCO Secretary General Zhang Ming will interact with media to share a communiqué after the concluding session on Wednesday.
Pakistani authorities have locked down the capital to ensure security of foreign leaders attending the SCO summit. The government has deployed troops and blocked key roads, announcing alternate routes for the residents.


Ghulam says ‘wait is over’ after century on Pakistan debut

Updated 15 October 2024
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Ghulam says ‘wait is over’ after century on Pakistan debut

  • The 29-year-old made 118 on the opening day of the second Test, anchoring Pakistan to 259-5
  • Since his first-class debut in 2013, Ghulam has piled on runs in all three formats of the game

MULTAN: One of a dozen brothers, Kamran Ghulam got used to waiting his turn for a bat as a child.
He then had to wait for his Pakistan debut, but it all seemed worth it on Tuesday when he scored a century against England in Multan.
The 29-year-old debutant made a terrific 118 on the opening day of the second Test, anchoring the hosts to 259-5.
Dawood, one of the 10 older brothers, said Ghulam had learnt to be patient from very early on.
“We used to play cricket at our village and would not allow Kamran to bat on the pretext that ‘you are very small’,” Dawood told AFP from Peshawar, in Pakistan’s northwest, on the phone.
“He was a good fielder so we used to order him to field only and like a very obedient boy he would follow, and that patience has seen him through difficult times.”
Six of the brothers played for the same club in their village in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and would often be at loggerheads over who should bat first.
“It was normal to have a fight, but at the end of the day we always returned home happy and today we are at the height of our happiness,” said Dawood, 40.
“Our late father always wanted Ghulam to become a good player but he died 22 years ago.
“He would have been the happiest in the family.”
Since his first-class debut in 2013, Ghulam has piled on runs in all three formats of the game with his best coming in 2020-21 when he amassed 1,249 runs in 11 domestic matches.
That broke a 36-year record.
Ghulam was included in Pakistan’s preliminary squad for a home series against South Africa in 2021 but was not given a chance.
He said he knew his opportunity would come some day — as long as he was patient.
“They say the fruit of patience is always sweet and it is proved today,” said Ghulam after his opening-day heroics in Multan.
“I was eager for my chance and had always thought whenever it will come I will make it worthwhile.”
Last year Ghulam was in Pakistan’s squad against New Zealand in a one-day international in Karachi but he only got a chance as a substitute for Haris Sohail, who suffered concussion.
Ghulam’s full Test debut finally came as he replaced out-of-form Babar Azam following Pakistan’s innings defeat last week.
“There was pressure of replacing Azam so I had to do something special,” said Ghulam.
“So I am delighted that I am successful in achieving a feat and my wait is over.”


Pakistan Navy cadets win silver medal in international sailing competition in Brazil

Updated 15 October 2024
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Pakistan Navy cadets win silver medal in international sailing competition in Brazil

  • A total of nine teams from around the world competed in the J24 boat category
  • Pakistan Navy team captain dedicates the victory to quality training by instructors

ISLAMABAD: Cadets of Pakistan Navy’s sailing team won the silver medal by securing second position in the 79th International Naval Academy Sailing Competition held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Pakistan Navy said on Tuesday.
A total of nine teams from around the world competed in the J24 boat category, according to the Directorate General Public Relations (DGPR) of Pakistan Navy.
J24 is the world’s most popular keelboat class used in almost all major international championships, including the PanAm Games, World Sailing Games and Nations Cup.
“The PNA [Pakistan Naval Academy] team captain dedicated the victory to the quality training,” the DGPR said in a statement.
The participating teams included cadets from naval academies of Pakistan, Brazil, China, Italy, Portugal, Argentina, Colombia, Peru and India, according to the DGPR.
“After securing first position during International Sailing Championship in Sri Lanka earlier in August this year, this is consecutive second extraordinary performance at international level during last three months by cadets of PNA,” it said.
Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Naveed Ashraf, congratulated the victorious Pakistan Navy team and lauded the efforts of PNA faculty and instructors for the brilliant performances internationally.


India-Canada relations reach historic lows as top diplomats expelled

Updated 15 October 2024
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India-Canada relations reach historic lows as top diplomats expelled

  • Relations fraught since the murder of a Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia last year
  • Canadian PM says Indian officials identified as ‘persons of interest’ in the assassination plot

NEW DELHI: Relations between India and Canada have reached a historic low as the countries expelled each other’s diplomats in an ongoing row over the killing of a Sikh separatist activist on Canadian soil.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India’s government on Monday of “supporting criminal activity against Canadians here on Canadian soil,” and the country’s Foreign Ministry announced the expulsion of six Indian diplomats, including the high commissioner.

The ministry said Canadian police had gathered evidence, which identified them as “persons of interest” in last year’s killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was gunned down in Surrey, British Columbia.

India immediately rejected the accusations as absurd, and its Ministry of External Affairs said it was expelling Canada’s acting high commissioner, his deputy, and the embassy’s four first secretaries.

Before the announcement, it also summoned the Canadian charge d’affaires and said it was withdrawing its high commissioner and “other targeted diplomats,” contradicting Canada’s statement of expulsion.

“Prime Minister Trudeau has been making these public statements repeatedly, but the evidence that he claims to possess is not available to us so we cannot make any kind of a judgment,” Dr. Ajai Sahni, executive director of the Institute for Conflict Management in New Delhi, told Arab News.

“This is the first time the relationship is so low … It has created a lot of problems and it has done damage to relationships between the two countries for the time being.”

This is not the first time India-Canada relations have been strained. In 1974, after India conducted its first nuclear weapon test, it drew outrage from Canada, which accused it of extracting plutonium from a Canadian reactor, a gift intended for peaceful use.

Ottawa subsequently suspended its support for New Delhi’s nuclear energy program.

“The relationship was also low in the 1980s with the hijacking of an Indian Airlines plane and the bombing of the plane, in which many people died,” said Prof. Ronki Ram, political science lecturer at the Punjab University.

The explosion from a bomb planted by Canada-based militants killed 329 people — the worst terrorist attack in Canadian history. India had warned the Canadian government about the possibility of attacks and accused the Canadian Security Intelligence Service of not acting on it.

But the current strain in relations is the first in which diplomats have been withdrawn.

“This is the first time that the relationship has gone down so low,” Ram said.

“Allegations and counter-allegations will have serious implications both internationally and domestically. The Indian government should look into the allegations and try to address them.”

Nijjar, a Sikh Canadian citizen, was gunned down in June 2023 outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, which has a significant number of Sikh residents. He was an outspoken supporter of the Khalistan movement, which calls for a separate Sikh homeland in parts of India’s Punjab state.

The movement is outlawed in India, considered a national security threat by the government, and Nijjar’s name appears on the Indian Home Ministry’s list of terrorists.

Canada has the largest population of Sikhs outside their native state of Punjab — about 770,000 or 2 percent of its entire population.

“Many Panjabi diaspora are in Canada, and a mini-Punjab has been established there,” Ram said.

“The government is taking an electoral interest in the landscape of Canada also. Those things are becoming very critical.”