ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party criticized the state on Friday for “abducting” a senior member of its media team ahead of a planned public rally on the outskirts of Islamabad, accusing it of focusing more on quelling dissenting voices than on dealing with the problem of militant violence in the country.
PTI leaders have frequently complained of being targeted by intelligence agencies since the fall of its administration in a parliamentary no-confidence vote against Khan.
However, it began to face a major crackdown last year in May after violent protests followed the former premier’s brief detention on corruption charges, with people carrying PTI flags vandalizing government buildings and military properties in different parts of the country.
In the most recent development, the party said one of the members of its media department, Rizwan Ahmad, had been illegally taken away by the state agencies.
“Rizwan Ahmad, Senior member PTI Media Department has been abducted by agencies a short while ago,” Omar Ayub, a top PTI leader, said in social media post. “This action by the agencies is just to silence his voice.”
“The agencies are not doing their job of countering terrorism and the latest assassination of Senator Hidayat Ullah Khan is an example, but they are busy silencing the voices of PTI that dare to speak the truth,” he added, referring to killing of a Pakistani lawmaker in the northwestern Bajaur district in a blast that killed four others.
PTI has complained of Ahmad’s disappearance only a few days after its announcement to hold a protest demonstration in Islamabad on June 6 against new taxes imposed in the recent federal budget amid rising cost of living in Pakistan.
Only a day earlier, Amnesty International condemned such incidents against PTI workers and their family members, pointing out that they had been “forcibly disappeared since June 2024.”
“Two brothers of PTI member Azhar Mashwani, Professors Mazhar-ul-Hassan and Zahoor-ul-Hassan, and Shahbaz Gill’s brother, Ghulam Shabbir, were disappeared on 6 June and 9 June respectively,” it said. “The whereabouts of all three individuals remain unknown.”

ISLAMABAD: DealCart, a Pakistani e-commerce startup focused on transforming the way consumers access essential goods, has successfully raised $3 million in a funding round led by leading Middle East investment fund, Shorooq Partners, the startup said on Friday.
DealCart aims to provide affordable daily essential products to underserved communities in Pakistan through a gamified and interactive platform. The startup helps unlock more value by enabling users to “buy together and save together,” sourcing products directly from manufacturers and collaborating with locally manufactured brands.
Founded in 2017, Shorooq Partners is a leading alternative investment manager across the Middle East and North Africa region, with its venture capital and private credit funds investing in innovative technology companies. The firm has built deep sectoral expertise in fintech, platforms, software, gaming, and Web3.0, and has backed market-leading disruptors.
The funding round also saw participation from Sturgeon Capital, 500 Global, Evolution VC, Rayn Capital and Khyber Venture Partners, and the capital infusion will help DealCart expand its reach and provide affordable essential goods to low- and middle-income consumers across Pakistan, according to the e-commerce startup.
“This investment from Shorooq Partners is a testament to the potential of DealCart to revolutionize the way Pakistani consumers shop for essentials,” DealCart founders Haider Raza and Ammar Naveed said in a statement. “Our goal is to make everyday necessities more affordable and accessible, and this funding will help us get closer to that vision.”
Pakistan’s has for months been facing high inflation, which soared past 30 percent in 2023, putting significant financial strain on a majority of households.
DealCart aims to ease this financial burden by sourcing products directly from manufacturers and targets consumers who spend about 50 to 60 percent of their income on groceries and essentials, helping them save more and invest in a better future. The company also targets a digitally sophisticated younger population that prefers online retail spaces, according to the statement.
Despite rapid e-commerce growth in neighboring India, Pakistan’s e-commerce sector has lagged and to boost digital transactions and stimulate e-commerce, the State Bank of Pakistan introduced RAAST, an online instant payment platform, that has positioned DealCart to address market gaps.
“DealCart has identified a market gap and is developing a distinctive approach to social commerce and providing affordable essentials to most consumers, an approach that aligns with our mission to support market-leading disruptors,” said Omer Zabit, principal at Shorooq Partners.
“We believe this investment will enable DealCart to scale rapidly and significantly impact the lives of millions in Pakistan.”