Pakistani gaming startup for special-needs children bags prestigious UNICEF grant
Pakistani gaming startup for special-needs children bags prestigious UNICEF grant/node/1717861/pakistan
Pakistani gaming startup for special-needs children bags prestigious UNICEF grant
In this undated photo, a woman helps a child play a game designed by WonderTree, a startup that makes augmented reality games for the therapy and education of children with special needs. (Photo courtesy: WonderTree website)
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Tech startup WonderTree has been selected for the UNICEF Innovative Fund 2020 along with 11 other start-ups around the globe, the company said in a statement this week, the only start-up from Pakistan selected for the prestigious grant.
Wonder Tree makes augmented reality games for the therapy and education of children with special needs.
UNICEF’s Innovation (Venture) Fund is a newly established, non-thematic, pooled fund which has been specifically designed to finance early stage, open-source technology that can benefit children. The Fund has raised $20 million so far.
“The core motivation of the Innovation Fund is to identify ‘clusters’ or portfolios of initiatives around emerging technology — so that UNICEF can both share markets and learn about and guide these technologies to benefit children,” WonderTree said in a statement, saying the company had been chosen from among over 350 submissions from more than 60 countries.
The tech-start-up said it would use the UNICEF grant to enhance its technological infrastructure and scale solutions to populations with limited access to quality learning.
“Our ultimate aim is to use this opportunity with UNICEF as a stepping stone to go global and impact millions of children worldwide,” it said.
In April, WonderTree was nominated by Google for its accelerator program on Sustainable Development Goals.
KARACHI: A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight from Karachi to Lahore landed with a missing wheel at its destination, authorities said on Friday, adding that an investigation into the matter was underway.
PIA has faced a history of challenges, particularly regarding the safety and reliability of its flights. In May 2020, one of its planes crashed into a residential area near Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport, killing 97 of the 99 people on board.
The crash led to deep scrutiny of PIA’s safety protocols, with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) suspending its authorization to operate in Europe, citing serious safety deficiencies. The ban severely impacted PIA’s international operations, tarnished the airline’s reputation and led to massive financial losses.
According to a PIA statement, PK-306 departed from Karachi to Lahore on Thursday and made a “smooth, uneventful” landing despite a wheel missing from the main landing gear.
“On the walk-around inspection by the captain, it was revealed that one out of the six-wheel assemblies on the main landing gear at the back side was missing,” the airline’s spokesperson, Abdullah Khan, said in the statement.
He added that PIA flight safety teams would submit a report in this regard once the investigation was complete.
“It is worth mentioning that the aircraft is designed to handle these contingencies and that at no point was there any risk posed to the equipment or to the passengers,” Khan said.
The incident comes after EASA lifted the four-year ban on PIA on November 29, 2024, citing significant improvements in safety and regulatory compliance by Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority.
PIA welcomed the decision and promptly scheduled flights to European destinations. The first direct flight from Islamabad to Paris took off on January 10, 2025, marking the official resumption of PIA’s European operations.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s military on Friday provided details of its hostage rescue operation after separatist militants hijacked a passenger train in Balochistan earlier this week, holding more than 200 people captive before security forces intervened to secure their release.
The separatist Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) bombed part of a railway track and stormed the Jaffar Express on Tuesday afternoon in Mushkaaf, a rugged area in the mountainous Bolan range. The hostage crisis was resolved a day later when the armed forces conducted an operation to rescue the captives, killing 33 militants in the process.
Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry, the military’s spokesperson, described the operation as “one of the most successful” conducted in a hostage situation.
“Not even a single casualty of hostages took place during this process,” he said at a press conference in Islamabad. “The whole operation was done with extreme expertise.”
Chaudhry said the armed forces executed the mission after a careful assessment of the situation, ensuring the safety of the hostages while eliminating the militants who had positioned suicide bombers near civilians to prolong the standoff.
He informed the militants had killed 26 hostages soon after seizing control of the train, but there were no further casualties among the passengers during the rescue operation. The security forces also lost four soldiers in the whole episode.
During his briefing, the military spokesperson also criticized Indian media for “glorifying” the attack, accusing it of using fabricated content to amplify the BLA’s narrative.
This screengrab, taken from state run Pakistan Television’s live broadcast, shows Pakistan’s military spokesperson, Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry, speaking during a press briefing on Balochistan train hijack, in Islamabad on March 14, 2025. (PTV World/Screengrab)
“The Indian media was using videos shared by the internationally recognized terrorist group,” he said, referring to visuals released by the BLA. “They used images generated by artificial intelligence and old videos as well to glorify and promote the attack internationally.”
Chaudhry maintained that the coverage by Indian outlets underscored a broader agenda to destabilize Balochistan and pointed to the case of Indian national Kulbhushan Yadav, whom Pakistan arrested in 2016, accusing him of spying for India’s Research and Analysis Wing.
New Delhi denies the allegations, saying he was kidnapped from Iran and illegally rendered to Pakistan.
The military spokesperson played portions of Yadav’s “confessional video” recorded soon after his arrest, in which he said he was tasked by the Indian authorities with facilitating militant violence in Balochistan.
The military spokesperson also reiterated that BLA militants were in contact with individuals inside Afghanistan, echoing Islamabad’s allegation that Afghan authorities have been backing anti-Pakistan groups, a charge the administration in Kabul denies.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by land area, has long been the site of a low-level insurgency, with separatist groups accusing the government of exploiting the province’s natural resources while leaving its people in poverty.
Government officials deny the allegation and say they are developing the province through multibillion-dollar projects, including those backed by China.
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has met with Pakistani footballer Muhammad Riaz and handed him Rs2.5 million ($8,916) cheque and promised a government job for him in a federal department of his choice, Sharif’s office said on Friday.
Riaz, who represented Pakistan in the 2018 Asian Games, made headlines after a video of him selling jalebis, a popular street snack, went viral online, with netizens criticizing the government and sports bodies for ignoring the footballer.
Sports athletes in the subcontinent, including Pakistan, usually come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds before becoming household names overnight and attaining financial success.
In his meeting with the footballer, PM Sharif praised his courage and determination, and urged to continue playing football and an active role in promoting the game in the South Asian country.
“Pakistani youth are a valuable asset of the country,” Sharif’s office quoted him as saying. “Providing all kinds of facilities to Pakistani athletes and resources for them to compete at the international level is among the top priorities of the government.”
The prime minister instructed officials to provide Riaz with job in federal department of his choice.
“Steps should be taken to promote sports in the country,” he said. “A strategy should be formulated to provide sustainable employment opportunities to the athletes representing Pakistan at the international level and for their welfare.”
Riaz thanked the prime minister for the financial support and for taking steps for the welfare of players and the promotion of sports, according to Sharif’s office.
The plight of football in Pakistan is a tale of unfulfilled potential, administrative chaos and lack of investment. Despite a passionate fan base and a pool of talented players, the sport has suffered due to mismanagement by governing bodies, political interference and inadequate infrastructure.
The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) has been marred by internal disputes and FIFA suspensions which have hindered the development of the game at all levels.
On Wednesday, the Pakistan Football League (PFL) also announced a cash prize of Rs1 million ($3,573) and a “prominent position” in the league for Riaz.
The PFL is a franchise league that says it is driven by a UK-based company with foreign investment solely committed to uplifting football from the grassroots to a professional level in Pakistan.
Blast in northwestern Pakistan mosque injures religious party leader, three others
Attacks have been escalating in Pakistan’s border regions with Afghanistan in recent months
Last month, a suicide bomber killed six worshippers during Friday prayers at an Islamic seminary
Updated 14 March 2025
Reuters
PESHAWAR: A blast tore through a mosque on Friday in northwestern Pakistan, police said, injuring a religious party leader and three others, including children.
Abdullah Nadeem, a local leader of the Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) political party, was believed to be the target of the blast and had been hospitalized with serious injures, said Asif Bahadar, a district police chief in South Waziristan. He said two children were among the injured.
It was not immediately clear who was behind the explosion.
Attacks have been escalating in Pakistan’s border regions with Afghanistan in recent months.
Last month, a suicide bomber killed six worshippers during Friday prayers at an Islamic seminary in northwestern Pakistan, known as a historic training ground for the Afghan Taliban.
This week in southwestern Balochistan, separatist militants hijacked a train and held passengers hostage in a day-long standoff with security forces.
Pakistan has vowed to crack down on growing militancy and has said the militants are finding safe haven in neighboring Afghanistan, a charge the ruling Afghan Taliban deny.
ISLAMABAD: The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) has distributed 50,000 winter relief kits in all four provinces of Pakistan as well as the Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir regions, the Saudi charity said on Friday.
These kits were distributed as part of a large-scale humanitarian initiative, launched in January and aimed at assisting communities affected by severe winter conditions and natural disasters across Pakistan.
The Saudi charitable organization distributed the kits in collaboration with Pakistan’s national and provincial disaster management authorities, covering some of the coldest and most vulnerable regions in the country.
“The aid reached 17 districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 10 in Gilgit-Baltistan, 11 in Balochistan, six in Azad Kashmir, six in Sindh and two in Punjab,” KSrelief said in a statement.
“Each comprehensive winter package included two high-quality polyester quilts, warm shawl kits for men and women, and winter clothing for children and adults, ensuring that families had the necessary protection against extreme temperatures.”
The distribution was carried out in close coordination with the government and it benefitted over 337,079 people, according to the statement.
Saudi Arabia’s KSrelief has implemented more than 200 projects, including emergency relief for natural disasters and initiatives to address food security, health care and education, to improve the lives of vulnerable communities in Pakistan.
