In Pakistan, social media gives women a space to speak up — at their own risk

In this picture taken on July 12, 2018, students use their mobile phones at a campus in Islamabad. (AFP/File)
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Updated 03 August 2021
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In Pakistan, social media gives women a space to speak up — at their own risk

  • Since July 20 murder of Noor Mukadam, Pakistani women are turning to the Internet to grieve, express solidarity and share stories of abuse
  • But using social media comes with its own risks, as trolling, abuse and threats have become an “expected reality” of being vocal online, activists say

RAWALPINDI: As last month’s murder of Noor Mukadam, the 27-year-old daughter of a former diplomat, shattered the semblance of freedom and safety many Pakistani women living in secure urban centers like Islamabad feel, activists and social media users say social media is providing women a space to share, grieve and express solidarity, but also opening them up to additional abuse. 
Mukadam was found beheaded in a posh neighborhood of the capital on July 20 in a case that has sparked a public outcry unlike any other in recent memory.
In conservative Pakistani society, with limits on women’s mobility and choices, the Internet can become a “shared meeting space” in the aftermath of grisly events like the Mukadam murder, Nigat Dad, a prominent Pakistani lawyer and digital and women rights activist, told Arab News this week.“For so many women, finding a community online is built around needing to be heard,” Dad said. “Women are able to find community online in Pakistan because they are unable to find community offline in most cases and it’s very hard for women to find such a sisterhood and solidarity as that which exists in digital spaces.”
“Online you have space to talk about things that usually you cannot [in real-life],” Dad added. 

The lack of “inclusive” gathering spaces for women in Pakistan is precisely why Kanwal Ahmed said she founded the Facebook Group Soul Sisters Pakistan in 2013. The private group has nearly 300,000 members now. 
“There are no inclusive spaces for women to meet others, interact or even just catch a breather in Pakistan. It can be isolating to be a woman in this country,” Ahmed told Arab News over the phone. “With rampant gender-based violence, complete lack of resources and a culture that thrives on silencing women, it was and is imperative that we create spaces where we shatter that culture of silence and let women encourage each other to speak up.”
The community Ahmed has helped build gives women a space “to share their stories, their problems and help each other out,” she said.




In this picture taken on August 31, 2020, women discuss as they check out the social online group 'The Soul Sisters Pakistan' on their Facebook page, in Lahore. (AFP/File)

In the wake of Mukadam’s murder, many women are also using social media platforms to speak about their own experiences of abuse and call out alleged harassers.
One such woman is Toronto-based writer Zahra Haider, who was born and raised in Islamabad and personally knew both Mukadam and the man charged with her murder, Zahir Jaffer. Since her friend’s killing, she has used her social media account to post updates about the case as well as share stories of other women.
“I am in a privileged position, and I will use it to combat this ... violence and abuse that is rampant in Pakistan,” Haider said. “Posting on social media can lead to accountability, to some change.”
But using the Internet to speak up comes with its own risks. 
Haider said in the past two weeks, she has faced numerous hacking attempts on her social media accounts, and threats of defamation suits.
Dad also spoke of attacks and harassment, saying it sometimes affected her mental health to the degree that she felt like quitting social media “just for a breather.” 
Dad is not alone. 




In this photograph taken on December 17, 2016, Pakistani lawyer and founder of the Digital Rights Foundation Nighat Dad speaks during an interview with AFP in Lahore. (AFP/File)

In 2020, the helpline at the Digital Rights Foundation advocacy group, which Dad founded in 2012 with a focus on protecting women online, recorded a total of 3,298 cases of cybercrime, 66 percent of them against women. In 2021, it recorded 2,082 cases between January to June, a majority by women.
Women face online threats globally, but the risk is enhanced in countries like Pakistan where there is a tradition of men killing women over perceived injury to a family’s honor. In 2012, in one of the first cases of honor killing linked to digital technology, a video of a private gathering was leaked showing four women dancing in the presence of three men in Kohistan. All the individuals shown in the video were murdered by their families in the name of honor. 
In 2016, social media star Qandeel Baloch was strangled by her own brother for posting so-called risque videos on the Internet. 
The same year, Pakistan’s parliament passed the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca), which officials say aims to restrict online extremist content, prosecute hate speech, and curb harassment of women on the Internet. Rights groups say it has not made the Internet safer for women.
The Federal Investigation Agency’s cybercrime wing registered 8,500 complaints of women facing online harassment in 2018 and 2019. Agency officials told a parliamentary committee that blackmailing and harassment over social media were the most common complaints and that only 19.5 percent of the complaints were investigated, according to Human Rights Watch.
The FIA and the ministries of information and IT did not respond to phone calls seeking comment for this piece.
Meanwhile, trolling, abuse and threats have become an “expected reality” of being a vocal Pakistani woman on the Internet, Rabeeya Latif, an advocate for more inclusive, “non-judgmental” online spaces for women, said. 
“I’ve gotten all sorts of threats,” she said, listing murder and sexual violence among them. 
“It’s so sad that that’s what I had to deal with for doing the work that I do, but I deal with the trauma and abuse,” Latif said. “I just realized how much this country needs us and how I need to move forward to help other women because if I were to back down — well there is no way I am letting them win.”
“Yes, as women find community online,” Dad said, “they also face a myriad of unfair troubles.”


Pakistan proposes anti-terror law changes, drawing criticism from lawyers, rights activists

Updated 02 November 2024
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Pakistan proposes anti-terror law changes, drawing criticism from lawyers, rights activists

  • Draft law seeks to empower state agencies to detain suspects for three months for involvement in militancy
  • Experts say the law can be used against dissidents and activists as it provides blanket detention powers

ISLAMABAD: The government has proposed amendments to Pakistan’s anti-terrorism law to empower military and civilian armed forces by granting them the authority to detain suspects for up to three months, with lawyers and rights activists on Saturday calling the changes a violation of basic constitutional and human rights.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi introduced the bill in the National Assembly a day earlier, saying it would bolster national security and prevent potential militant attacks. The draft law requires separate approval by both houses of parliament with a simple majority to become law.
The Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997 was last amended in 2014, allowing the government and authorized civilian armed forces to conduct preventive detention of individuals suspected of involvement in militant activities.
The provision gave the law enforcement agencies the power to deal with security threats by detaining suspects for up to three months, enabling thorough investigations to prevent potential terrorist acts. However, the amendment included a sunset clause, limiting its validity to two years, which expired in 2016.
“The current security situation requires a robust response that goes beyond the existing legal framework,” the draft law said, adding that erstwhile amendments of the anti-terrorism act were required to be “reinserted to empower the government, armed forces, and civil armed forces with the necessary authority to detain individuals who pose a significant threat to national security.”
“This provision would allow for the preventive detention of suspects based on credible information or reasonable suspicion, thereby disrupting terrorist plots before they can be executed,” the bill added.
The draft law said it would provide law enforcement agencies with the legal backing to conduct “more effective operations against terrorism.”
“It would facilitate the use of Joint Interrogation Teams (JITS), composed of members from various law enforcement and intelligence agencies to conduct comprehensive inquiries and gather actionable intelligence,” the draft law said.
Legal experts and human rights activists said the proposed law would likely be used against human rights activists and dissidents, as it grants blanket powers to the armed forces and intelligence agencies.
“If this bill is passed, then it will be obviously in clear violation of the basic human rights provided in the constitution,” Barrister Ahmad Pansota told Arab News. “The security forces cannot keep any suspect in an inordinate detention just on the pretext of the national security.”
Pansota noted that the Pakistani constitution offers protection against prolonged detention by law enforcement agencies.
“This law could be struck down by the courts if challenged,” he said.
Ammar Ali Jan, a human rights activist, agreed with him, saying the draft law was designed to bypass objections raised about enforced disappearances of activists and dissidents.
“This law is aimed to provide legal cover to all illegal activities of the law enforcement agencies,” he said.
However, former attorney-general of Pakistan, Ashtar Ausaf, argued that the country faces a “unique kind of terrorism threat,” with militants targeting civilians, polio workers, and law enforcement agencies, and said the law would help combat militancy.
“It is the right of parliament to legislate on any matter of public importance, including protecting the life and property of citizens,” he told Arab News. “The draft law will be thoroughly debated in parliament before a vote, and parliamentarians will naturally consider all constitutional rights of citizens.”


Pakistan’s largest independent power producer expands into lithium mining, battery manufacturing

Updated 02 November 2024
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Pakistan’s largest independent power producer expands into lithium mining, battery manufacturing

  • Hub Power Company’s subsidiary signed a collaboration agreement with Chinese EV giant BYD this year
  • Its lithium exploration is expected to further boost the manufacturing potential of Pakistan’s auto industry

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s largest independent power producer is set to enter lithium mining, battery manufacturing and electric vehicle (EV) production under Pakistan’s Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), according to state media on Saturday.
Established in 1991, Hub Power Company (Hubco) has an installed generation capacity exceeding 3,500 megawatts and plans to diversify in other areas.
The planned initiatives, facilitated by the SIFC, a hybrid civil-military body established last year to assist foreign investors, aim to meet the country’s growing demand for batteries and electric vehicles.
A lithium exploration and battery production project is expected to reach completion in 12 to 18 months, meeting the rising demand for rechargeable batteries used in mobile phones, laptops and automobiles.
“Hub Power Company Limited’s exploration of lithium in Pakistan will further increase the manufacturing potential in the country’s auto industry,” Radio Pakistan reported.
“Work on establishing a manufacturing plant to produce electric vehicles in Pakistan is already underway, which will manufacture fifty thousand electric vehicles annually,” it added.
Earlier this year in June, Hubco’s subsidiary Mega Motor Company signed a collaboration agreement with Chinese EV giant BYD Auto Industry to assemble EVs in Pakistan.
Plans for the EV plant, with a projected annual production of 50,000 vehicles, include 30 to 40 percent allocated for export to markets in Australia and Africa.
HUBCO operates a diverse portfolio of power plants, including oil-fired, coal-based and hydropower facilities, and is also involved in coal mining.
Its new initiatives are expected to strengthen its market position, create employment opportunities and boost domestic capacity for battery production for electronic devices.


Pakistan’s northwestern province offers over Rs10 billion to keep national airline under state control

Updated 02 November 2024
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Pakistan’s northwestern province offers over Rs10 billion to keep national airline under state control

  • Khyber Pakhtunkhwa says PIA is a critical state asset that should remain ‘within the national fold’
  • Offer comes after PIA’s privatization process led to a low bid that fell far short of the minimum price

KARACHI: Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province has formally offered to exceed the highest bid in the sale of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), saying the national flag carrier should remain under government control to preserve its status, according to a letter from provincial authorities to federal officials that emerged on Saturday.
KP made the offer just a day after the government held the privatization process, receiving the sole bid of Rs10 billion ($36 million) from Blue World City, a real estate development firm, which fell far short of the minimum price of Rs85 billion ($305 million).
Critics, including PIA union representatives and independent analysts, called the low bid an “embarrassment” for the government, with airline employees suggesting Pakistani authorities should expand PIA’s fleet to restore its operational viability.
“On behalf of the Chief Minister ... and the people of KP, we would like to express our earnest interest in participating in the bidding process for the sale of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA),” read the letter from the provincial Board of Investment and Trade. “This letter serves as our formal intent to position the Government of KP as a competitive bidder in this strategic acquisition.”
The letter, which was addressed to Pakistan’s Privatization Minister Abdul Aleem Khan on Friday, emphasized PIA’s importance as “a critical asset that symbolizes our national identity and pride,” adding that the province wished to keep it “within the national fold.”
“The Chief Minister [Ali Amin Gandapur] has directed us to actively pursue this acquisition to ensure the airline remains under the control of the Government of Pakistan rather than transferring to any private or foreign-backed entity,” it continued.
“In line with this commitment, we are prepared to offer a bid that will surpass the current highest offer of PKR 10 Billion by Blue World Consortium, ensuring a strong and competitive position within this process,” it added.
Pakistan decided to move ahead with PIA’s privatization under terms agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a 37-month, $7 billion bailout approved in September, aiming to divest over 51 percent of its stake in the financially struggling national carrier.
The KP administration requested a prompt meeting with federal officials to present its detailed proposal and outline its vision for PIA, affirming its readiness to proceed quickly to secure the acquisition.
Despite KP’s proposed plan, provincial ownership of PIA may not align with the privatization’s intended purpose under the IMF agreement, which is to reduce financial burdens associated with state-owned enterprises.


‘He never found peace’: Former Guantanamo detainee from Pakistan dies after years of suffering

Updated 02 November 2024
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‘He never found peace’: Former Guantanamo detainee from Pakistan dies after years of suffering

  • Abdul Rahim Ghulam Rabban died after prolonged illness due to a lack of proper medical care
  • Arrested in Karachi in 2002, he spent about two decades at the US prison without ever being charged

KARACHI: A former Guantanamo Bay prisoner from Karachi, who spent about two decades at the detention center without being charged before his return home in February last year, died in his native city on Friday, his brother and a fellow former detainee confirmed on Saturday.
Abdul Rahim Ghulam Rabbani’s death was attributed by his brother, Muhammad Ahmed Ghulam Rabbani, to inadequate medical care during a prolonged illness, which he said extended their suffering even after their transfer to Pakistan.
According to Reprieve, a global legal action non-profit, the brothers endured 545 days of torture in CIA custody following their arrest in Karachi on September 10, 2002, before being transferred to Guantanamo in 2004.
“We spent over twenty arduous years together in Guantanamo,” said the late former Guantanamo detainee’s brother. “On Friday at 2 AM, he passed away in my arms.”
Guantanamo Bay, a US military detention facility established in Cuba to detain suspects in the “War on Terror” after the September 11, 2001, attacks, became notorious for holding prisoners without trials, drawing widespread condemnation.
International human rights groups criticized the facility for violating detainees’ rights to due process, with allegations of extreme interrogation techniques amounting to torture, including waterboarding and prolonged isolation.
Rabbani recalled that both brothers briefly felt relief when they learned they would be handed over to Pakistani authorities, believing their ordeal would end.
“But our suffering continued,” he said. “Over 19 months, we still lack identity cards. My brother had been ill for a long time, but we couldn’t access proper medical care without an ID.”
He added that his brother fell “seriously ill” more than 20 times, attributing it to injections administered upon their arrival at Guantanamo and the extensive torture they endured.
“He suffered such violence that his hand was broken, his leg was broken and his private parts were damaged, ruining his family life,” Rabbani said. “When he passed away, we even faced difficulties in burying him because an ID card was required.”
Overwhelmed by their circumstances, he questioned why they were returned to Pakistan when their own government was unwilling to issue identity documents.
“My dearest brother has left me behind,” he added. “He did not have peace for even a single day after the arrest. What was our crime? What is our crime?”
In the early 2000s, Pakistan apprehended and transferred hundreds of individuals to US custody, claiming they were linked to Al Qaeda. In his 2006 memoir, In the Line of Fire, then-President Pervez Musharraf said his government had received substantial CIA payments for these handovers.
Subsequent analyzes revealed that many of these detainees, mistakenly identified as militants, were likely innocent.
Lahore-based analyst Majid Nizami called the Rabbani brothers’ arrest “a case of illegal abduction by state agencies of Pakistan,” later justified as “mistaken identity.”
“It’s unclear whether this was intentional by Pakistani agencies or a severe negligence,” he told Arab News. “It has not yet been determined who was responsible, and no one seems interested in addressing the issue.”
According to some estimates, Pakistani authorities handed over nearly 370 people to the US after 9/11. The two brothers were among those transferred to American custody for $5,000 each.


Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to establish power transmission line costing $28 million

Updated 02 November 2024
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Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to establish power transmission line costing $28 million

  • Official says this will be the first time ever that a province will lay a transmission line on its own
  • In the first phase, a 40-kilometer section of the line will be built from Matiltan to Madyan in Swat

ISLAMABAD: The government in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has signed an agreement with a private firm to establish a power transmission line in the province, an official said on Saturday.
The power transmission line will be established in one and a half year with a cost of Rs8 billion ($28.8 million), according to Muhammad Ali Saif, KP chief minister’s adviser on information.
In the first phase, a 40-kilometer section of the line will be built from Matiltan to Madyan in Swat to supply power to local industries and national grid.
“Industries will be provided very cheap electricity through the transmission line,” Saif said in a statement. “The completion of its first phase generate Rs7 billion for the province.”
Pakistan has enough installed capacity to meet its demand for electricity, but the South Asian country lacks adequate resources and cannot afford to invest in new infrastructure and power lines, which often result in transmission losses. 
In January 2023, the country suffered a nationwide blackout due to a frequency failure in the national grid, which happened because of a major mismatch between demand and supply. It was the second nationwide shutdown in three months. 
In November last year, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved $250 million loan for Pakistan to help the South Asian country deliver reliable electricity by expanding and improving its power transmission network in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces.