With all children in school, two tiny towns in Balochistan are Pakistan’s most literate

In this file photo taken on Oct. 25, 2012, Pakistani schoolgirls attend a class at a government school in Peshawar. According to UNICEF, Pakistan has the world’s second-highest number of out-of-school children, with an estimated 44 percent of kids aged between five and 16 excluded from education.(AFP)
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Updated 20 July 2020
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With all children in school, two tiny towns in Balochistan are Pakistan’s most literate

  • Literacy rate in Balozai and Khanozai is more than 98 percent, while in the whole of Pakistan it stands at 70 percent
  • Already in the 1930s, it became every Balozai and Khanozai parent’s priority to have their children complete at least secondary education

PESHAWAR: Two tiny towns in Pishin district, where Balochistan province borders Afghanistan, have long ago made it a point of honor to send their boys and girls to school. Today, they have the highest literacy rate in the whole of Pakistan.
With a population of about 20,500 people, the twin towns of Balozai and Khanozai together have 48 educational institutions — primary and secondary schools, two colleges and a government-run polytechnic institute.




A classroom is decorated in the primary education section of Government Girls Middle School (GGMS) in Khanozai. (Photo courtesy: GGMS)

“In 2015-16, I conducted a survey on children aged five to 10 years, and found that 100 percent of them were enrolled in schools,” Khair-un-Nisa Panezai, principal of the Government Girls Middle School (GGMS) Khanozai, told Arab News.
She said the enrollment rate for girls was equal to that of boys, which she attributed to the region’s long-standing efforts to educate all children, initiated by Alama Abdul Ali Akhunzda, widely known as Sir Sayed Ahmad Khan of the Panezai tribe, who established the first school in 1905 — for both girls and boys.
According to district education officer Habib Alam Panezai, the literacy rate in Balozai and Khanozai is 98 percent, which is more than double their province’s average. In Balochistan, according to UNESCO’s January 2020 data, only 44 percent of people are literate.
For the whole of Pakistan, the literacy rate is currently 70 percent.




Students of Government Girls Middle School (GGMS) in Khanozai smile as they browse books at their school on Oct 14, 2019. (Photo courtesy: GGMS)

Muhammad Saleem Panezai, principal at the Government Boys High School Balozai, believes — based on a survey he conducted two years ago — that literacy in Balozai and Khanozai is even higher than 98 percent.
“During that survey, we selected some households of different living standards as a sample and we had got astonishing data and I can claim that the literacy rate is more than 98 percent,” he said.
Educationists give credit for this success to elders and religious leaders who, as Pishin district-based pedagogue Razia Panezai told Arab News, have been encouraging parents to send their children to school and forced the government to develop proper education infrastructure in the region.
“Our two Khanozai and Balozai tribes have a sort of competition to excel in education,” she said, “And today, even our female students study abroad in Malaysia and China.”
While Pakistan is struggling not only to send children to school but also to keep them there, Khanozai and Balozai have the lowest drop-out rate in the country, which stands at about only 2-3 percent, according to the district’s education department.
Abdul Ahad Kakar, chairman of the Ulasi Committee Balozai, said that in the 1930s local leaders established the Balozai Social Organization (BSO) which motivated people to educate their children and made it become every parent’s priority to have their offspring complete at least secondary education.
“In Khanozai and Balozai, our criteria for a literate person is one who has obtained a secondary school certificate or matriculation,” Kakar said.
While the two tiny towns have excelled at fulfilling their children’s right to learn, for the rest of Pakistan the picture remains bleak. UNICEF lists it as a country with the world’s second-highest number of out-of-school children, with an estimated 44 percent of kids aged between five and 16 excluded from education.


Google expands creative AI tools in Pakistan with Veo 3 and Flow

Updated 7 sec ago
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Google expands creative AI tools in Pakistan with Veo 3 and Flow

  • Users can now transform their favorite photos into vivid eight-second video clips with sound
  • The photo-to-video feature on Veo 3 requires users to upload images and describe the scene

KARACHI: Google has expanded access to its advanced video generation model, Veo 3, allowing users in Pakistan and over 150 other countries to create eight-second videos from photos with sound, the company said in a statement released Friday.

The move comes amid a global surge in interest in creative AI tools, with content creators using different platforms to generate video stories and bring still images to life. With Pakistan’s growing pool of digital creators, the rollout is expected to spur local innovation in short-form content.

“This new capability allows users to transform their favorite photos into vivid eight-second video clips with sound through a powerful photo-to-video feature built on Veo 3,” Google said.

To use the feature, users select “Videos” from the tool menu, upload a photo, and describe the scene and audio. The system then generates a video that can be downloaded or shared.

The tool is accessible through Gemini, Google’s AI-powered assistant that combines search, image generation and content creation features into a single interface.

These capabilities are also integrated into Flow, Google’s AI tool for filmmakers, which now supports speech, background audio, and sound effects.

Google also underscored its commitment to responsible AI development.

“All videos generated with Gemini include a visible watermark and an invisible SynthID digital marker to indicate they are AI-created,” it said.


Pakistan, UAE agree to ease visa process for Pakistani citizens

Updated 38 min 34 sec ago
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Pakistan, UAE agree to ease visa process for Pakistani citizens

  • Mohsin Naqvi discusses enhanced security, anti-narcotics, and tech cooperation during Abu Dhabi visit
  • Pakistani interior minister briefed on crime prevention and public safety at UAE police operations center

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) agreed to take “necessary steps” to facilitate visa issuance for Pakistani citizens during a high-level meeting between Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and his Emirati counterpart in Abu Dhabi, according to an official statement released on Friday.

The development comes amid growing concerns over visa delays and restrictions reportedly faced by Pakistani nationals seeking employment in the UAE. Last month, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar also raised the issue in a meeting with UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed.

The UAE is home to over 1.5 million Pakistanis and remains a major source of remittances.

“It was also mutually agreed to ensure necessary steps to facilitate visas for Pakistani citizens, especially work visas,” the interior ministry said in a statement issued after the meeting. “The UAE Minister of Interior assured full cooperation in this regard.”

Naqvi said the fraternal relations with the UAE were valued by all Pakistanis. He also highlighted that a large number of them were playing a key role in strengthening the UAE’s economy.

“We want Pakistani citizens to be able to come to the UAE easily and easing visa policies will greatly benefit them,” he added.

During his talks with UAE’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Lt. Gen. Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, both sides reaffirmed their commitment to deepening bilateral cooperation in multiple areas including security, anti-narcotics, anti-smuggling and preventing illegal immigration.

The discussion also included regional peace and the use of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence to tackle security challenges.

Later, the Pakistani minister visited Abu Dhabi’s state-of-the-art police operations room, where he was briefed on crime prevention and public safety systems.

He expressed particular interest in the UAE’s advanced police monitoring model and praised the country’s use of technology for law enforcement.


Pakistan court suspends order seeking YouTube ban on government critics

Updated 11 July 2025
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Pakistan court suspends order seeking YouTube ban on government critics

  • YouTube has warned 27 content creators their channels may be blocked if they fail to comply with a court order seeking to ban them
  • Digital rights groups warn the move could further erode free speech in Pakistan, where authorities face criticism for silencing dissent

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani court on Friday suspended an order seeking to ban the YouTube channels of more than two dozen critics of the government including former Prime Minister Imran Khan, a defense lawyer said.

Alphabet-owned YouTube this week told 27 content creators that it could block their channels — including those of journalists and Khan and his opposition party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf — if they failed to comply with a judicial magistrate court order seeking to ban them.

A regional communication manager for YouTube did not respond to a Reuters request for a comment.

The judicial magistrate court in Islamabad had said it was seeking the ban after the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency criticized the channels in a June 2 report for “sharing highly intimidating, provocative and derogatory contents against state institutions and officials of the state of Pakistan.”

The decision to suspend the order was taken by an additional sessions judge, said Imaan Mazari, the lawyer for two of the YouTube content creators.

In Pakistan, an additional sessions judge is a judicial officer who presides over a sessions court, handling both civil and criminal cases.

“Our submission is that the order has no legal basis. It was a one-sided decision without giving defense a chance to be heard,” Mazari said.

She also said the magistrate court had no jurisdiction over the matter.

The next hearing in the sessions court is on July 21.

In Pakistan’s judicial system, cases start at civil and judicial magistrate courts and appeals are heard in high courts and the Supreme Court.

Digital rights campaigners say that any ban would further undermine free speech in Pakistan, where the authorities are accused of stifling newspapers and television, and social media is seen as one of the few outlets for dissent.


Islamabad, Moscow sign protocol to restore and modernize Pakistan Steel Mills

Updated 11 July 2025
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Islamabad, Moscow sign protocol to restore and modernize Pakistan Steel Mills

  • The Pakistan Steel Mills has been non-operational since 2015 due to years of financial mismanagement, political interference and mounting losses
  • Both sides discussed plans to modernize the major steel complex on the sidelines of the recent INNOPROM Annual Industrial Forum in Yekaterinburg

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Russia have signed a protocol to restore and modernize the Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) in Karachi, Pakistani state media reported on Friday.

The development comes days after the two sides discussed plans to modernize the major steel complex and expand industrial cooperation on the sidelines of the INNOPROM Annual Industrial Forum in Yekaterinburg.

INNOPROM, Russia’s largest annual industrial trade fair, brings together government delegations, business leaders and technology firms from over 30 countries to explore partnerships in manufacturing, engineering and high-tech industries.

The protocol was signed at the Pakistan Embassy in Moscow by Pakistan’s Secretary of Industries and Production Saif Anjum and Russian General Director of Industrial Engineering LLC Vadim Velichko, reaffirming the long-standing industrial partnership.

“The project aims to restart and expand steel production [in Pakistan], marking a new chapter in bilateral cooperation,” read a report on Radio Pakistan broadcaster.

The PSM, once Pakistan’s flagship industrial complex, was built in the 1970s with Soviet assistance. While it symbolized national self-sufficiency, the mill has been non-operational since 2015 due to years of financial mismanagement, political interference and mounting losses.

Moscow is also expected to finalize an agreement with Islamabad this summer to construct a new steel mill in Karachi, Russian Consul-General Andrey B. Fedorov told Arab News this month.

Technical experts from Russia have already inspected the proposed site for the new facility, and another delegation is expected soon to draft a detailed roadmap.

Russia has a long history of industrial cooperation with Pakistan, having previously built key infrastructure projects such as the Guddu Power Station in Sindh in the 1980s, one of the country’s major electricity producers.
Moscow and Islamabad have expanded cooperation in recent years despite global tensions over the war in Ukraine.


Pakistan rain death toll rises to 90 as authorities issue fresh flood warning

Updated 11 July 2025
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Pakistan rain death toll rises to 90 as authorities issue fresh flood warning

  • Heavy rains have also damaged at least 343 houses nationwide
  • Relief operations underway in affected areas, authority says

KARACHI: The death toll from monsoon downpours in Pakistan rose to 90 after three children died in rain-related incidents in the eastern Punjab province, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said on Friday, amid fresh alert about possible flooding between July 13 and July 17.

Punjab has reported 32 deaths, including 18 children, while the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has recorded 30 deaths, 14 of them children, since the start of monsoon in late June.

The southern province of Sindh has reported 16 deaths and the southwestern Balochistan province has logged 11 fatalities. One man lost his life in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

“The total number of 90 deceased include 45 children, 29 men and 16 women,” the NDMA said in a report on Friday, adding that another 158 people were injured in incidents across the country.

“Minor flooding is ongoing at Tarbela, Taunsa and Guddu Barrages, while moderate flooding continues at Kalabagh and Chashma.”

Heavy rains have also damaged at least 343 houses nationwide. Of them, 109 were destroyed and 234 incurred partial damages, according to the NDMA.

Flood relief operations have been underway in affected areas, with authorities distributing tents, ration bags, blankets, sandbags, quilts, gas cylinders, mattresses, kitchen sets, mosquito nets, plastic mats, hygiene kits and food packets to affected families.

A total of 24 relief camps have been set up in Punjab and two in Sindh, providing shelter to 176 people, whereas around 245 people have been rescued in 21 operations carried out across the country.

FLOOD ALERT

Taunsa Barrage located on Indus River in Punjab’s Dera Ismail Khan district “may experience moderate flooding,” the NDMA said in a fresh alert on Friday.

There is a risk of minor flooding at Marala and Khanki along the Chenab River and at Nowshera along the Kabul River. Flooding is also expected in the Swat and Panjkora Rivers as well as their adjoining streams.

The NDMA has advised people to exercise caution and avoid crossing streams, bridges and floodwaters.

Pakistan has also rolled out a location-based SMS alert system to warn citizens living in flood-prone areas about imminent weather threats.

Pakistan, home to over 240 million people, is consistently ranked among the countries most vulnerable to climate change. In 2022, record-breaking monsoon rains and glacier melt triggered catastrophic floods that affected 33 million people and killed more than 1,700.