ISLAMABAD: The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on Tuesday named two Pakistanis, Mahrang Baloch and Hadiqa Kiani, among a list of 100 most inspiring and influential women in 2024.

Women have had to dig deep and find new levels of resilience from facing deadly conflicts and humanitarian crises in Gaza, Lebanon, Ukraine and Sudan, to witnessing the polarisation in societies that followed a record number of elections around the world, according to the broadcaster.

'BBC 100 Women' acknowledged the toll this year took on women by celebrating those who pushed for change as the world changed around them. The list also remained committed to exploring the impact of the climate emergency, highlighting climate pioneers who worked to help their communities tackle its impacts.

Baloch, a Pakistani medical doctor and political activist, was among hundreds of women across Pakistan taking part in demonstrations against alleged enforced disappearances in the southwestern Balochistan province. In late 2023, she led a 1,600-kilometer march to Islamabad to demand information on whereabouts of their family members, and was twice arrested during the journey.

"The medical doctor has since then become a prominent activist, under the banner of her own human rights group Baloch Yakjehti (Unity) Committee," the BBC wrote. "Her work in the field of human rights was recognised in the TIME100 Next 2024 list of emerging leaders."

Protesters from Pakistan's most impoverished Balochistan province, which has been the scene of a long-running insurgency, say their loved ones have been taken and killed by Pakistani security forces, amid a counterinsurgency operation. The authorities deny the accusations.

Pakistani singer and songwriter Kiani, known for her contributions to humanitarian causes, was the other Pakistani on the list. Rising to fame in the 1990s, she became a celebrated force in South Asian female pop music as well as a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) goodwill ambassador.

"In response to the devastating 2022 floods in Pakistan, Kiani launched her Vaseela-e-Raah project, dedicated to aiding victims in the regions of Balochistan and South Punjab," the broadcaster said.

"She urged the public to assist displaced families and last year, the project announced it had built 370 homes and other facilities in the affected areas."

The BBC's list of 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world also included stranded astronaut Sunita Williams, rape survivor Gisèle Pelicot, actress Sharon Stone, Olympic athletes Rebeca Andrade and Allyson Felix, singer Raye, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nadia Murad, visual artist Tracey Emin, climate campaigner Adenike Oladosu and writer Cristina Rivera Garza.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, on Tuesday called for greater collaboration among Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) member states as he addressed a summit of the ECO Council of Foreign Ministers in Iran.
The ECO is a political and economic intergovernmental organization that promotes economic, technical, and cultural cooperation among member states. Founded in 1985 by Iran, Pakistan and Turkiye, the ECO aimed to succeed the Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD), which existed from 1964 to 1979.
The ECO’s objectives include contributing to the development of member states, removing trade barriers within the ECO region, developing intra-regional trade, promoting the ECO region’s integration with global markets and strengthening cultural and historical ties among member states.
Addressing the ECO summit in Mashhad, Dar said this year’s theme, “Enhanced and Resilient ECO Region Through Expansion of Intra-Regional Trade,” was a guiding principle for all that the progress and prosperity of the ECO region “hinges upon expansion of intra-regional trade.”
“It is a matter of great concern that the ECO region, comprising an area of 8 million square kilometers and half a billion population, roughly 15 percent of the world population, has intra-regional trade of unfortunately less than 8 percent of region’s aggregate and only 2 percent of the global trade,” he said.
“[This] is in stark contrast to other regional groupings such as EU [European Union], wherein the intra-regional trade stands about 70 percent and ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations], which is around 23 percent.”
During the summit, Dar signed the ECO charter on clean energy to enhance regional cooperation for transition to sustainable energy, according to the Pakistani foreign ministry.
“The charter is a flagship initiative of ECO in the energy sector which will focus on research & development for innovative renewable clean energy sources to combat climate change [and] play a bridging role in enhancing regional cooperation for smooth transition to sustainable energy,” it said in a statement.
The ECO clean energy charter would contribute to the global network of regional sustainable energy centers under the framework of the UN’s Sustainable Energy for All Initiative.
Dar also held a bilateral meeting with Iranian foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi.
“During the meeting, they exchanged views on areas of mutual interest and the latest regional and global developments,” Pakistan’s state-run APP news agency reported. “Both countries agreed to deepen bilateral cooperation in all spheres.”
The meeting came weeks after Araghchi’s visit to Islamabad to hold consultations with Pakistani leaders on the Middle East situation following Israel’s invasion of Gaza and Lebanon, and to discuss bilateral ties.
Separately, the Pakistani deputy PM held meetings with ECO Secretary General Dr. Asad Majeed and Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu to discuss the latest regional and global developments, and to boost inter-regional connectivity and trade cooperation among ECO members.