PESHAWAR: Speakers at a seminar on “Women’s Role in Democracy” in Peshawar said on Monday that education and hard work can produce good female leaders, although it requires a great deal of effort and time for them to emerge in a male-dominated society.
The seminar was jointly organized by the National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) and Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University (SBBWU) in connection with Tuesday’s National Women’s Day.
Talking to Arab News, Neelum Toru, chairperson of NCSW’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) chapter, explained that while International Women’s Day is observed on March 8 each year, Pakistan’s National Women’s Day is observed on Feb. 12 because on that day in 1983, the Punjab Women Lawyers Association staged a rally in Lahore against the late Gen. Ziaul Haq’s Law of Evidence — which stated that, in certain civil matters, a woman’s testimony was worth just half that of a man’s.
“The protesters were beaten, tear-gassed and arrested,” Toru said.
The speakers at the seminar included Toru; Anoosh Khan, chairperson of the Center for Gender Studies at the University of Peshawar; Gulalai, programs director of NGO Khwendo Kor; Zubaida Khatoon, human rights activist; Samina Afridi, professor at Peshawar University; Mossarat Qadeem, CEO of Paiman Trust; Maryam Bibi, CEO of Khwendo Kor; and Dr. Huma Qureshi of NCSW.
The speakers lauded prominent Pakistani women who have excelled in their respective fields and presented them as role models for young women. They urged female university students to register to vote and to take informed decisions during the next election, later this year.
The participants also paid tribute to the recently deceased human rights activist Asma Jahangir and her struggle for women’s rights in Pakistan.
Dr. Razia Sultana, vice-chancellor of SBBWU, said in her opening address that awareness of the need to educate girls and allow young women to join the workforce is increasing.
“One should not give up in the face of challenges and threats,” she said. “Challenges can also be opportunities, and threats can make one strong.”
Speaking to Arab News after the event, Dr. Sultana said: “Women are largely restricted to the role of mother in our society and such stereotypes are the main hindrances faced by women here. However, change is taking place and women are also assuming leadership roles now.”
She said universities play an important role in creating an educated culture that can produce good female leaders, adding that she hopes women will be given more opportunities to take up roles in politics and other areas of power.
Asked if modern society can produce leaders like Benazir Bhutto and Asma Jehangir, she said: “BB was a product of her era. And in this modern era, the education rate of women is increasing, which means women have a more conducive environment to play their role.”
The seminar was intended to raise awareness about women’s rights, and to pay tribute to women who were tortured and arrested during Gen. Zia’s era, Toru told Arab News.
“I think a woman could also become a political leader like Benazir Bhutto today, with hard work and dedication,” she said, acknowledging Bhutto’s political struggle for democracy.
Discussing female leadership at the seminar, Zakia Shah, a student of Law at SBBWU, said Asma Jehangir was her role model among female leaders in Pakistan.
“Women leaders are not promoted in Pakistan,” she added.
Syeda Maleeha Zainab Hashmi, an English student, lauded the contribution of her university’s vice-chancellor and other women who advocated the right to education. She said Bhutto was a role model for her and an exemplary Pakistani leader, adding that persistence and hard work were the only way forward for women.
Rights activists urge greater role for women on Pakistan’s National Women’s Day
Rights activists urge greater role for women on Pakistan’s National Women’s Day
Three-year-old girl sues Punjab government as smog crisis worsens in Lahore
- Record air pollution has triggered hundreds of hospitalizations, school closures, stay-at-home orders in Lahore
- On Friday, Lahore, home to 13 million people, had the worst air quality of any city in the world, according to IQAir
ISLAMABAD: A three-year-old girl in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore has sued the government of the Punjab province as record-high air pollution levels have triggered hundreds of hospitalizations, school closures and stay-at-home orders in the city, which has been enveloped in a thick, toxic smog since last month.
On Friday, Lahore, home to 13 million people, had the worst air quality of any city in the world, according to IQAir, a Swiss air quality monitoring company.
Research shows children exposed to high levels of smog may suffer from reduced lung capacity, pneumonia, bronchitis and other lung infections and more asthma attacks and worse symptoms than adults.
“Under Article 9-A of the Constitution, the government is obligated to provide citizens with a clean and healthy environment,” said the petition filed by three-year-old Amal Sekhera, who appeared in court with her mother Mehek Zafar on Thursday.
Sekhera said she was seeking justice for herself, her friends and the future generations as children and the elderly were the most badly hit by air pollution and smog. She also criticized the Punjab government for failing to protect fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution of Pakistan.
The Lahore High Court issued notices in response to the petition to the Punjab government, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the City Traffic Police. The hearing has been adjourned till Nov. 12, with the court instructing the government to ensure the presence of the provincial secretary of the Environment Protection Department and the director general of the EPA in court at the next hearing.
Authorities earlier this week shut down schools in Lahore and said 50 percent of government employees in the city were told to work from home until next week. On Wednesday schools in 18 surrounding districts were also shut. Marriyum Aurangzeb, a senior minister in the Punjab province, has urged residents to voluntarily wear face masks and avoid unnecessary travel, and said that “otherwise, the government will be forced into a complete lockdown.”
Authorities in the city have already banned barbecuing food without filters, as well as the use of motorized rickshaws, and wedding halls must close by 10pm. The government has also said it was looking into methods to induce artificial rainfall to combat the pollution, which has been sending patients to hospitals and private clinics complaining of coughs and burning eyes.
“Tens of thousands of patients suffering from respiratory diseases were treated at hospitals and clinics in a week,” Salman Kazmi, vice president of the Pakistan Medical Association, told media on Thursday.
Pakistan’s Muhammad Asif wins IBSF World Snooker Championship in Qatar
- Asif defeated Iran’s Ali Ghareghozlou 5-3 to clinch the title for 3rd time
- PM Shehbaz Sharif promises to set up world-class facilities for sportsmen
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has congratulated Pakistani cueist Muhammad Asif for winning the International Billiards and Snooker Federation (IBSF) World Snooker Championship in Qatar for the third time, Pakistani state-run media reported on Thursday.
Asif defeated Iran’s Ali Ghareghozlou 5-3 to clinch the title in a thrilling final on Nov. 6. He outclassed Ali 5-3: 70-25, 7-87(84), 82(56)-8, 106(106)-08, 82-12, 43-91(58), 0-118 and 93(80)-4.
“Asif made the entire nation proud by winning the international championship for the third time,” PM Sharif was quoted as saying by the Radio Pakistan broadcaster. “The talented youth of Pakistan are highlighting the country’s name in the fields of sports.”
The IBSF, founded in 1971, is the governing body for billiards and snooker worldwide. It represents 85 member countries and is recognized by the World Confederation of Billiard Sports and the International Olympic Committee.
Asif, 42, first won the IBSF World Snooker Championship in 2012 and went on to win it again in 2019. His victory ties him with India’s Pankaj Advani who has also won the World Snooker Championship thrice.
The Pakistan prime minister said Asif’s family and coach also deserved recognition, adding that providing quality facilities to Pakistani players was top priority of his government.
“The government is making all possible efforts to provide international standard facilities to the players,” he added.
China, Pakistan discuss advancement of rail, road and economic zone projects under CPEC
- The discussions included sections of Main Line-1 railway project, Karakoram Highway as well as Gwadar port and economic zone
- Beijing has invested over $65 billion in energy, infrastructure and other projects as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor
ISLAMABAD: China and Pakistan on Thursday discussed advancement of key infrastructure and economic projects under the multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the Pakistani government said, with the two sides also discussing security of Chinese nationals working in Pakistan.
CPEC, a part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, aims to connect China to the Arabian Sea through a network of roads, railways, pipelines and ports in Pakistan and help Islamabad expand and modernize its economy.
The discussions on key CPEC projects were held during Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong’s meeting with Pakistani Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, according to Pakistan’s Press Information Department (PID).
On the occasion, the Pakistani planning minister emphasized the need for concrete mechanisms to ensure smooth and effective implementation of bilateral projects.
“Both sides deliberated on advancing key projects, including the Karachi-Hyderabad section of Main Line-1 (ML-1) and Karakoram Highway (Thakot-Raikot Section) project, and agreed to accelerate the projects’ timely execution,” the PID said in a statement.
“Regarding the Gwadar Port and Free Zone, both sides expressed a mutual commitment to ensuring the continued development of Gwadar in a holistic manner.”
The meeting came two days after a security guard at a factory in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi shot and injured two Chinese nationals before fleeing, police said.
Last month, two Chinese nationals were killed in a suicide bombing near the international airport in Karachi. In March this year, a suicide bombing killed five Chinese engineers and a Pakistani driver in northwestern Pakistan as they headed to the Dasu Dam, the biggest hydropower project in the country. In 2022, three Chinese educators and their Pakistani driver were killed when an explosion ripped through a van at the University of Karachi. A blast on a bus killed 13 people in north Pakistan in 2021, including nine Chinese nationals.
China, breaking with tradition, publicly spoken out against security threats to its workers and nationals living in Pakistan, where hundreds of them work on Beijing-funded projects linked to CPEC.
Iqbal assured the Chinese ambassador the safety of Chinese citizens was a top priority of his government.
“Pakistan will continue working closely with China to ensure the security of Chinese citizens, projects, and institutions,” he was quoted as saying by the PID.
Ambassador Jiang expressed gratitude for Pakistan’s comprehensive engagement and said the Chinese side was ready for collaboration in areas of agriculture, mines and minerals, industrial cooperation, according to the PID.
Iqbal shared that his ministry was in coordination with the National Development and Reform Commission of China to arrange high-level workshops to bring together experts from both sides to outline the future direction of CPEC’s second phase.
China has lately shown willingness for the second phase of CPEC and has given assurances for the establishment of five new corridors, including that of growth, livelihood, innovation, green economy and open regional inclusive development.
Pakistan to press developed nations for unconditional climate funding at COP29
- Pakistan is ranked as the 5th most vulnerable country to climate change, according to the Global Climate Risk Index
- Pakistan PM’s aide Romina Khurshid Alam says vulnerable countries are suffering from their own economic challenges
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will urge developed countries attending the upcoming Conference of the Parties (COP29) in Baku to fulfill their pledges and provide easy access to climate funding without attaching conditions, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s coordinator on climate change said on Thursday.
The COP29 climate conference, scheduled to take place in Baku between November 11 and 22, will layout new policies and bring together representatives from various nations to discuss the adverse impacts of climate change and evaluate available solutions for adaptation.
Pakistan is ranked as the 5th most vulnerable country to climate change, according to the Global Climate Risk Index. In 2022, devastating floods affected over 33 million people and caused economic losses exceeding $30 billion, highlighting the country’s high susceptibility to extreme weather events.
“Pakistan is very clear on our stance that we need all the developed countries when it comes to the pledges, one, they need to complete their pledges, they need to fulfil their pledges, and two, easy access toward the fundings,” Romina Khurshid Alam, PM Sharif’s coordinator on climate change, told Arab News in an exclusive interview.
Due to the rising temperatures, extreme climatic phenomena, including floods, droughts, cyclones, torrential rainstorms and heatwaves, have been occurring more frequently and with greater intensity across Pakistan.
The South Asian country is among the most severely threatened countries in terms of climate–induced challenges, especially in the context of its dependency on climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture, water, natural resources and the environment, and socio-economic issues such as poverty. The country’s adaptation to the adverse impacts of climate change is inevitable and likely to become critical in the future.
Alam said vulnerable countries were suffering from their own economic challenges and vulnerabilities, while at the same time, many countries faced additional restraints on climate funding.
“It’s not fair that we always get demands to ‘do more and to do this, to do that, these sanctions are coming,’ that is something which is on the human rights violation as well,” she said, adding that Pakistan wanted to raise its voice on what happened to the pledges, how many countries benefited from them and what straightforward mechanisms could be pursued to provide effective support.
Asked about the total amount pledged by developed nations, Alam said she would provide the exact figure after COP29, but noted that “the number is very low.”
“At COP29, we are talking about the data bank system like in a way that what countries are suffering and looking forward for the carbon credits policies,” she added.
Last month, Pakistan proposed the establishment of a regional climate data bank to help Vulnerable Twenty (V20) group of countries prepare an evidence-based response to climate disasters.
Alam said the South Asian country had planned “many things” to showcase at Pakistan Pavilion during COP29.
Speaking about the prevailing smog issue, she said Pakistan would take it up with the Indian team at COP29.
“We are open to dialogues and open to come up with the solution, we want to get the things done by dialogue,” she said, noting that the chief minister of Pakistan’s Punjab, Maryam Nawaz, had also urged India to sit together to resolve this issue.
“CM Punjab very clearly said that ‘let’s sit together to sort out this issue because this cannot be done in a way that we are not doing this or you are doing this’,” Alam said.
“This is not a game, the main thing is to think about the children and to think about the future.”
Winter smog has become an annual crisis in Pakistan’s Punjab, particularly the provincial capital of Lahore, with air quality deteriorating to hazardous levels each season. The city consistently ranks among the world’s worst for air pollution, leading to a significant rise in respiratory issues and hospital admissions, especially affecting children and the elderly.
Last year, severe pollution levels prompted a surge in cases of asthma, lung infections and other respiratory problems among residents, according to media reports.
The problem this week prompted Punjab CM Nawaz to propose cross-border cooperation with Indian authorities to tackle shared pollution sources, such as crop residue burning, which exacerbate the region’s smog problem.
Pakistan PM performs groundbreaking of first private sector university in Gilgit-Baltistan
- Ramday University is being built by a trust with construction set to complete by donations from overseas Pakistanis
- Home to some of the world’s tallest mountains, semi-autonomous GB region is among Pakistan’s least developed areas
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif this week laid the foundation stone of first private sector university in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), promising a bright future for the youth of the remote mountainous region.
Home to some of the tallest mountains in the world, the semi-autonomous GB region is counted among the least developed areas administered by Pakistan.
Ramday University is located in Thagos area of GB’s Ghanche district at an altitude of 11,000 feet. The university is being built on a 200-kanal area of land under a trust, with construction set to be completed through the donations of overseas Pakistanis, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan reported.
GB-based news portal Pamir Times said the university will offer specialized programs in environmental studies, climate change, hydrology and mineral studies subjects.
“The establishment of an institution of higher learning in a remote area like Ghanche in Gilgit-Baltistan is highly encouraging,” Sharif was quoted as saying on by the APP during the groundbreaking ceremony in Islamabad on Thursday.
The prime minister congratulated former Supreme Cour judge Khalil ur Rehman Ramday on establishing the university.
“He expressed his confidence that this university, located at an altitude of 11,000 feet in Thagos, will reach the peak of modern knowledge and research standards,” the APP said.
Sharif stressed that GB’s development and the welfare of its people were among the government’s top priorities.
The development takes place a day after Sharif visited the mountainous northern region, where he inaugurated a model village for flood-affected families during a day-long visit to Ghizer.
There, Sharif pledged to provide residents with ownership documents to help them acquire new houses that were destroyed by the 2022 floods.
