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Islamabad’s Lok Mela brings artisans from across Pakistan to showcase indigenous crafts

A vendor speaks to a customer at his blue pottery and tile stall at Lok Mela at the Lok Virsa Cultural Center and Heritage Museum in Islamabad, Pakistan, on November 6, 2021. (AN Photo)
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Updated 07 November 2021
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Islamabad’s Lok Mela brings artisans from across Pakistan to showcase indigenous crafts

  • Week-long fair includes pavilions representing each of Pakistan’s four provinces and other regions
  • Craftspeople, sculptors, artistes woo visitors with their unique work and performances
Updated 07 November 2021
Sabah Bano Malik

ISLAMABAD: As autumn brings crisp sunny days to Pakistan’s capital, artisans from all over the country gather in Islamabad to showcase their indigenous crafts at the Lok Mela, organized each year by the Lok Virsa Cultural Center and Heritage Museum. 
The fair, which has been held every year for the past four decades, brings together craftspeople, jewelry makers, painters, sculptors, wood workers, potters, dancers and musicians from al provinces and regions of Pakistan country. This year’s Lok Mela 2021 will run from November 1-7. 
Kalu Abro, 33, from rural Sindh who attends the fair every year, told Arab News the fair was a family affair for him and the culmination of a year of hard work. 
“For us it’s a family business, we have our stall here and at the bigger stalls, you will see our handmade carpets, which my brother oversees,” Abro said, as he sold eye-catching hand-beaded, embroidered bags of various sizes, from children’s backpacks to weekend travel bags. “We come every year with the support of the government, which encourages us to make our craft, and though this year is a little slow, it was still worth coming.” 
Abro said the Sindh government helped his family travel to Islamabad for the fair every year. 




Visitors stop by a fabric stall operated by artisans from Multan in Punjab province at Lok Mela at the Lok Virsa Cultural Center and Heritage Museum in Islamabad, Pakistan, on November 6, 2021. (AN Photo)

Further down in the Punjab pavilion, Sadaf Nisar worked live on a piece of beaded Qur’anic verse wall hangings, an art form she says is unique to her hometown of Rawalpindi in Pakistan’s Punjab province. Nisar took up the craft after her father, who practiced it for 40 years. The father and daughter first attended the Lok Mela in 1991. 
“I keep coming because I am proud of this craft and it is not known enough,” Nisar said, “and it is a source of pride that I am following in my father’s footsteps and sharing our craft here.” 




Artisan Sadaf Nisar works on a unique beaded Quranic verse art piece, an art that originated in Rawalpindi in Punjab province, at Lok Mela at the Lok Virsa Cultural Center and Heritage Museum in Islamabad, Pakistan, on November 6, 2021. (AN Photo)

From Hunza in Gilgit-Baltistan, Dil Shawar has returned to the fair after a year’s gap due to the coronavirus pandemic, and was selling traditional beaded hats and textiles worn in her region. 
“This is a chance for us to make up for a year of loss thanks to corona, the mela has slowed down, but people didn’t know this was happening this year — that being said whoever came bought quite a lot, thankfully,” Shawar said as she laughed. 
She also described the fair as a networking opportunity. 
“You see people here you know; you can make business connections, it’s like a chain where we support one another and build business together,” Shawar said. “It’s always hard work to come out here but you have to be positive and be positive as a community, and a chain of business.” 




Dil Shawar from Hunza in Gilgit-Baltistan province stands in front of her stall where she sells handmade hats and embroidered items at Lok Mela at the Lok Virsa Cultural Center and Heritage Museum in Islamabad, Pakistan, on November 6, 2021. (AN Photo)

For 21-year-old Jehanarra Aziz, who hails from Pakistan’s cultural heart of Lahore, the fair is an event she looks forward to attending each year. 
“I do not get to come every year since I live in Lahore, but anytime I get to be here around the same time, usually in winter, fall time, I make sure to stop by,” said Aziz, who was at the fair with her family members. “You get to learn so much while of course shopping a lot.” 




A shop features decor items, made up of sea shells, at Lok Mela at the Lok Virsa Cultural Center and Heritage Museum in Islamabad, Pakistan, on November 6, 2021. (AN Photo) 

For Sara Amjad, 30, who resides in Islamabad, the fair is a rare opportunity to see performances, in addition to the art and craft. 
“There are no other events like this one that I personally know of where you get the chance to hear folk music and see traditional folk dances,” Amjad said. “I buy a lot, I eat a lot, and I enjoy getting the chance to see people perform their cultural dances here.” 




Individuals from Pakistan's Balochistan province perform the traditional two-clap dance Dochaapi at Lok Mela at the Lok Virsa Cultural Center and Heritage Museum in Islamabad, Pakistan, on November 6, 2021. (AN Photo)

 

Topics: Lok Virsa

Pakistan Senate rejects Indian attempt to link it to Kashmir tourist attack

Updated 10 sec ago
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Pakistan Senate rejects Indian attempt to link it to Kashmir tourist attack

  • Deputy PM Ishaq Dar says India must be held accountable for its acts of ‘terrorism’ in Pakistan
  • He also reaffirms Pakistan’s ‘moral, political and diplomatic’ support to the people of Kashmir
Updated 10 sec ago
Usama Iqbal Khawaja

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Senate on Friday unanimously passed a resolution condemning what it called India’s “frivolous and baseless” attempts to link Islamabad to a deadly shooting in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, rejecting the allegation and accusing New Delhi of using “terrorism” as a political tool.
India has blamed Pakistan for the attack in the scenic town of Pahalgam in Kashmir’s Anantnag district, where gunmen killed 26 civilians on Tuesday in the deadliest assault on non-combatants in nearly two decades.
Pakistan has denied any involvement in the incident, with Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar reading out the resolution in the upper house of parliament that was later adopted by all the lawmakers.
“The Senate of Pakistan condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestation, emphasizes that killing of innocent civilians is contrary to the values upheld by Pakistan [and] rejects all frivolous and baseless attempts to link Pakistan with the Pahalgam attack of 22nd April 2025 in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
The resolution denounced India’s suspension of the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty and reaffirmed Pakistan’s support for the Kashmiri people’s right to self-determination.
It also accused India of waging a “mala fide campaign” to malign Pakistan.
“The country’s sovereignty, security and interests demand that India should be held accountable for its involvement in different acts of terrorism and targeted assassinations on the soil of other countries, including Pakistan,” Dar continued.
He also reaffirmed Pakistan’s “unwavering moral, political and diplomatic support for and commitment to the Kashmiri people’s just struggle for realization of their inalienable right to self determination.”

Topics: Senate of Pakistan Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar Pakistan India Ties

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Detained Pakistan rights activist Dr. Mahrang Baloch launches hunger strike

Updated 15 min 7 sec ago
AFP
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Detained Pakistan rights activist Dr. Mahrang Baloch launches hunger strike

  • Baloch, 32, was arrested last month on charges of terrorism, sedition and murder
  • Dozen UN experts called on Pakistan in March to immediately release Baloch rights defenders
Updated 15 min 7 sec ago
AFP

QUETTA: Detained activist Dr. Mahrang Baloch, one of the leading campaigners for Pakistan’s Baloch minority, has launched a hunger strike along with other detainees, her sister told AFP on Friday.
Mahrang Baloch, 32, was arrested last month on charges of terrorism, sedition and murder.
In her native Balochistan, an impoverished province that borders Afghanistan and Iran, security forces are battling a growing insurgency.
Rights groups say the violence has been countered with a severe crackdown that has swept up innocent people. Authorities deny heavyhandedness. 
Mahrang’s hunger strike “is aimed at denouncing the misconduct of the police and the failure of the justice system to protect... prisoners,” her younger sister, Nadia Baloch, said.
Nadia said the hunger strike was launched on Thursday after the attempted “abduction” of one of the Baloch detainees.
Mahrang’s organization, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), said the inmate was beaten by security officials and taken from the prison to an unknown location.
A security official said the detainee was moved to another prison and denied any mistreatment.
BYC said four other detained Baloch activists have joined the hunger strike.
“All of them are peaceful political workers, imprisoned for raising their voices... Their only ‘crime’ is organizing peacefully in an environment saturated with state terror and violence,” the group said.
Activists say in the crackdown against militancy in the region authorities have harassed and carried out extrajudicial killings of Baloch civilians.
Pakistani authorities reject the “baseless allegations.”
A dozen UN experts called on Pakistan in March to immediately release Baloch rights defenders, including Mahrang, and to end the repression of their peaceful protests.
UN special rapporteur for human rights defenders Mary Lawlor said she was “disturbed by reports of further mistreatment in prison.”
The judiciary has declined to rule on Mahrang’s detention, effectively halting any appeal and placing the matter solely in the hands of the provincial government.
Insurgents in Balochistan accuse outsiders of plundering the province’s rich natural resources and launched a dramatic train siege in March, during which officials said about 60 people were killed.

Topics: Dr. Mahrang Baloch Mahrang Baloch

Pakistan joins Muslim world in sending condolences ahead of Pope’s funeral on Saturday

Updated 25 April 2025
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Pakistan joins Muslim world in sending condolences ahead of Pope’s funeral on Saturday

  • Over 128,000 people have already paid last respects to Francis, whose coffin will be closed at 1800 GMT in ceremony attended by senior cardinals
  • Francis will be interred in the ground, his simple tomb marked with just one word: Franciscus, people will be able to visit the tomb from Sunday morning
Updated 25 April 2025
Falak Mahmood Khan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan joined the Muslim world in sending condolences as the Vatican made final preparations Friday for Pope Francis’s funeral and the last of the huge crowds of mourners filed through St. Peter’s Basilica to view his open coffin.
Over 128,000 people have already paid their last respects to Francis, whose coffin will be closed at 8:00pm (1800 GMT) in a ceremony attended by senior cardinals.
Many of the 50 heads of state and 10 monarchs attending Saturday’s ceremony in St. Peter’s Square, including US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, are expected to arrive later Friday in Rome.
“Pakistan conveys its heartfelt condolences on the passing of His Holiness, Pope Francis, a revered spiritual figure and a worldwide advocate for peace, interfaith dialogue and compassion,” the foreign office said. 
“His Holiness demonstrated unwavering commitment to fostering unity among world religions, advocating for the oppressed and promoting the inherent dignity of all humankind. Pakistan deeply values his tireless efforts to enhance mutual respect and understanding among diverse cultures and faiths.”
The foreign office said the pope’s legacy was marked by “profound humility, selfless service and a unifying vision for humanity,” which would serve as an inspiration for generations to come. 
“At this moment of profound sorrow, Pakistan stands in solidarity with our Catholic brothers and sisters worldwide and with all those touched by the extraordinary life of service.”
Italian and Vatican authorities have placed the area around St. Peter’s under tight security with drones blocked, snipers on roofs and fighter jets on standby. Further checkpoints will be activated on Friday night, police said.
Vast crowds of people on Friday morning packed Via della Conciliazione, the wide avenue leading to the Vatican, for the third and final day of the pope’s lying-in-state.
For a second night in a row, the Vatican kept St. Peter’s open past the scheduled hours to accommodate the queues, only closing the doors between 2:30am (0030 GMT) and 5:40am Friday.
Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, will preside at the Rite of Sealing of the Coffin of the late Pope Francis on Friday, April 25, at 8:00 PM, ahead of the papal funeral on Saturday morning.
The Catholic Church’s first Latin American pope died on Monday aged 88, less than a month after spending weeks in hospital with severe pneumonia.
The Argentine pontiff, who had long suffered failing health, defied doctors’ orders by appearing at Easter, the most important moment in the Catholic calendar.
It was his last public appearance.
Condolences have flooded in from around the world for the Jesuit, an energetic reformer who championed those on the fringes of society in his 12 years as head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.
He used his last speech to rail against those who stir up “contempt... toward the vulnerable, the marginalized, and migrants.”
After the funeral, Francis’s coffin will be driven at a walking pace to be buried at his favorite church, Rome’s papal basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
The hearse will pass down Rome’s Fori Imperiali – where the city’s ancient temples lie – and past the Colosseum, according to officials.
Big screens will be set up along the route on which to watch the ceremony, Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said.
Francis will be interred in the ground, his simple tomb marked with just one word: Franciscus.
People will be able to visit the tomb from Sunday morning, as all eyes turn to the process of choosing Francis’s successor.
With inputs from AP

Topics: Pope Francis

Families heartbroken as Pakistan closes airspace for Indian planes, land border shut

Updated 25 April 2025
Reuters
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Families heartbroken as Pakistan closes airspace for Indian planes, land border shut

  • Militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir has triggered diplomatic crisis between Islamabad and New Delhi
  • Diplomatic relations between Pakistan and India were weak even before the latest measures were announced
Updated 25 April 2025
Reuters

KARACHI: A 79-year-old Pakistani man, Ali Hasan Baqai, lamented about not being able to meet his siblings living in India as he sat with his wife and grandchildren at his house in Pakistan’s Karachi, hours after Pakistan closed its air space for Indian airlines on Thursday.
The move came in retaliation to a raft of actions by India after a deadly militant attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi says Pakistan is involved in. Pakistani officials have rejected the accusations.
The latest diplomatic crisis was triggered by the killing of 26 men at a popular tourist destination in Indian-administered Kashmir on Tuesday, in the worst attack on civilians since the 2008 Mumbai shootings. The tit-for-tat announcements took relations between the nuclear-armed neighbors, who have fought three wars, to the lowest level in years.
Whenever relations deteriorate between Pakistan and India, elderly Baqai is besieged with a feeling of longing for his siblings and his birthplace on the other side of the border with India.
“I was planning to visit India. My sisters there were also planning to travel to Pakistan. But all of a sudden this attack happened. We could not even think of it. The situation was absolutely normal but suddenly the situation turned bad,” Baqai told Reuters Television.
Ali was born in 1946 in Delhi, India, a year before the partition of the subcontinent in 1947. He was last able to visit Delhi in 2014. Two of his sisters, along with his mother, passed away in the subsequent years. His three brothers died in India last year.
“If we don’t get a chance and the borders are closed for a long time, the only way left is we go to Dubai and meet each other there,” he said.
“You can’t meet your relatives. We can neither go there, nor can they come. It has become a mockery now. There is no hope left.”

Topics: Pakistan India Ties Pakistan India

Roadside blast kills three paramilitary troops in Pakistan’s volatile southwest

Updated 25 April 2025
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Roadside blast kills three paramilitary troops in Pakistan’s volatile southwest

  • The blast appeared to target bomb disposal personnel of the Frontier Corps paramilitary force in the Marget coalfield
  • No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but suspicion is likely to fall on Baloch separatist militants
Updated 25 April 2025
Saadullah Akhtar

QUETTA: A roadside blast killed three paramilitary troops and injured four others in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province on Friday, a local administration official said.
The blast in Margat area, home to coal mines and located some 60 kilometers from the provincial capital of Quetta, appeared to target the Frontier Corps paramilitary force’s bomb disposal personnel when they were clearing the route.
Balochistan, which shares a porous border with Iran and Afghanistan, has been the site of a decades-long insurgency by Baloch separatists who have targeted security forces protecting mining fields, laborers and truckers transporting minerals.
“An improvised explosive device (IED) was planted along the route being used for the transportation of coal from the Marget coalfield which exploded when the bomb disposal wing of the Frontier Corps was busy in security clearance of the route,” Quetta Deputy Commissioner Saad bin Asad told Arab News.
“Three soldiers of the BD wing were killed and four wounded in the attack.”
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion is likely to fall on ethnic Baloch separatist militants, who frequently target security forces, Chinese nationals, ethnic Punjabi commuters and laborers in the restive province.
The separatists accuse Islamabad of exploiting the province’s natural resources, such as gold and copper. Successive Pakistani governments have denied the allegations and said they only worked for the uplift of the region and its people.
The latest attack comes a day after three people, including two women, were killed when a vehicle was hit by a powerful explosion in Balochistan’s Kalat district. Last month, the Baloch Liberation Army separatist group hijacked a train with hundreds of passengers aboard near Balochistan’s Bolan Pass, which resulted in the deaths of 23 soldiers, three railway employees and five passengers. At least 33 insurgents were also killed.
Pakistan accuses the neighboring Afghanistan and India of supporting separatist militants in Balochistan, an allegation denied by New Delhi and Kabul.

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