Lahore facility is currently home to 29 lions, six resident tigers and two jaguars
The auction planned for Thursday had drawn condemnation from the WWF
Updated 10 August 2022
AFP
LAHORE: A Pakistan zoo has called off plans to auction 12 lions from its ever-growing pride to private buyers, saying it would instead create new enclosures for the big cats.
The auction planned for Thursday had drawn condemnation from the WWF, which urged authorities at Lahore Safari Zoo to instead rehome them with other government wildlife facilities.
“The main reason behind the auction was the lack of space,” deputy director Tanvir Ahmed Janjua told AFP, adding officials had decided to speed up work building two new enclosures.
“Now that this issue is to be resolved soon, there is no need for the auction to take place.”
Set over 200 acres, Lahore Safari Zoo is considered one of the best in the country — where zoos are known for disregarding animal welfare.
The Lahore facility is currently home to 29 lions, six resident tigers and two jaguars.
Zoo officials had set a reserve of 150,000 Pakistan rupees ($700) per cat — about the same price as a cow — but hoped each would fetch around two million rupees at auction.
Keeping lions, tigers and other exotic wildlife as pets is not uncommon in Pakistan, and is seen as a status symbol.
Wealthy owners post images and video clips of their big cats on social media, and rent them out as props for movies and photoshoots.
Janjua denied opposition from animal rights activists had led to the decision to cancel the auction.
“Should the lions breed more, and we see we are running out of space once again, then we can easily hold another auction,” he said.
Pakistan’s economy grows 0.92 percent in Q1 of ongoing fiscal year
The country is navigating a challenging economic recovery path and has been buttressed by a $7 billion facility from the IMF
The growth was driven by positive performances in agriculture and services sectors, which grew by 1.15 percent and 1.43 percent, respectively
Updated 5 sec ago
Reuters
KARACHI: Pakistan’s economy grew by 0.92 percent in the first quarter of the fiscal year 2024-25, despite a contraction in the industrial sector, according to data approved by the National Accounts Committee, and released by its Statistics Bureau on Monday.
The South Asian country is navigating a challenging economic recovery path and has been buttressed by a $7 billion facility from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in September.
The growth was driven by positive performances in the agriculture and services sectors, which grew by 1.15 percent and 1.43 percent, respectively, in the first quarter of the fiscal year which ends in June 2025.
Pakistan’s economy grew by 2.69 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of the previous 2023-24 fiscal year.
However, the industrial sector contracted by 1.03 percent, mainly due to a decline in mining and quarrying activities during July-September, read the report.
The committee compiling the national accounts approved the introduction of quarterly estimates of expenditure of the economy.
On the basis of latest figures of the national accounts aggregates for the last fiscal year, the overall size of the economy stood at 105.6 trillion Pakistani rupees ($379.31 billion).
Annual per capita income in rupees was recorded at 472,263 Pakistani rupees ($1,696.35).
The committee also approved an updated annual growth rate for the last fiscal year 2023-24, which stood at 2.50 percent, slightly lower than the previously estimated 2.52 percent.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s new Gwadar International Airport is set to begin flights to Muscat from January 10, the Pakistan prime minister’s office announced on Monday, following a months-long delay in the opening of the airport.
A security review prompted by deadly attacks by separatist militants in Balochistan in August delayed the airport’s opening to the end of this year. The $200-million Chinese-funded airport, which will handle both domestic and international flights, is expected to become one of Pakistan’s largest, according to the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority.
China has pledged over $65 billion in infrastructure, energy and other projects in Pakistan under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Part of President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative, the program in Pakistan is also developing a deep-water port close to the new airport in Gwadar, a joint venture between Pakistan, Oman and China that is close to completion.
On Monday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif presided over a meeting to discuss the airport’s operations and directed authorities to develop a strategy to establish it as a major transit hub, emphasizing the need to improve road connections between the airport and other parts of the country, particularly Balochistan.
“Flights from Gwadar to Muscat will start from Jan.10 next year,” the PM’s office said in a statement. “The Gwadar airport can handle A-380 aircraft and will be capable of accommodating 4 million passengers annually.”
The statement noted that the Gwadar International Airport has obtained necessary certifications from the Pakistan Airports Authority. Additionally, personnel from the Airports Security Force, Pakistan Customs, Anti-Narcotics Force, Federal Investigation Agency, and Border Health Services have been deployed at the airport.
The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plans to increase flights between Karachi and Gwadar to three times a week, while discussions are ongoing with private airlines and carriers from China, Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to launch both domestic and international services, according to the PM’s office. The airport will feature various facilities, including cold storage, cargo sheds, hotels and shopping malls, with banking services arranged through the State Bank of Pakistan.
Although no Chinese projects were targeted in militant attacks in August, they have been frequently attacked in the past by separatists who view China as a foreign invader trying to gain control of impoverished but mineral-rich Balochistan, the site of a decades-long insurgency.
Recent attacks, including one in which two Chinese workers were killed in a suicide bombing in Karachi, have forced Beijing to publicly criticize Pakistan over security lapses and there have been widespread media reports in recent weeks that China wants its own security forces on the ground to protest its nationals and projects, a demand Islamabad has long resisted.
In his remarks, Sharif highlighted that the Gwadar International Airport symbolized the strong China-Pakistan friendship, expressing gratitude to Beijing for constructing an airport with international standards and modern facilities. He also directed the implementation of comprehensive security measures at the airport.
The meeting was attended by Defense Minister Khawaja Asif, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, Economic Affairs Minister Ahsan Khan Cheema, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, and senior government officials. Deputy PM Ishaq Dar, along with Federal Minister for Privatization, Investment, and Communications Abdul Aleem Khan, also participated via video link.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Kenya on Monday agreed to promote free trade between their countries, state-run media reported on Monday, as Islamabad seeks to achieve sustainable growth and attract investment in its vital economic sectors.
After narrowly escaping a sovereign default last year before clinching a last-gasp International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout program, Pakistan has sought to enhance business and investment ties with regional allies and countries such as Russia, Central Asian states and Gulf nations to escape a prolonged macroeconomic crisis.
According to Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kenya is one of Pakistan’s largest African trading partners. Trade between the two countries is dominated by two commodities, rice and tea. Pakistan is the largest buyer of Kenyan tea in the world while Kenya is the largest destination for Pakistani basmati and non-basmati rice in the world.
“Pakistan and Kenya have agreed on a free trade agreement and mutual cooperation to enhance business and investment opportunities,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan said. “Under the agreement, Pakistan is expected to export pink salt, marble and cement to Kenya while bilateral trade in pharmaceuticals will also be increased.”
The fresh agreement between the two countries is expected to foster economic stability and growth, apart from enhancing their global market positions, Radio Pakistan said. It added that the agreement will also help lower prices, develop industries and increase business opportunities in both Pakistan and Kenya.
Islamabad and Nairobi established a Joint Ministerial Commission in 1992. Till date, three sessions of the commission have been held since then. The two sides have also established a Joint Trade and Investment Committee (JTIC), the first session of which was held in April 2021.
Pakistan’s total trade with Africa was recorded at $ 4.44 billion in 2022-23 of which $ 2.89 billion were imports and $ 1.55 billion were exports. The top three exports destinations for Pakistan in Africa are Kenya, South Africa, and Tanzania. Pakistan’s major exportable items to African countries include rice, textile and clothing, pharmaceuticals, cement, agriculture machinery and paper.
The South Asian country mainly imports coal, petroleum, diphosphorus, tea, cotton and copper from African countries in return.
WOW: How a driving school program empowers Pakistani women
Operational since 2017, WOW program teaches women how to operate two-wheelers in eastern city of Lahore
WOW program has trained at least 6,600 women since 2017 in Pakistan, where it is rare for women to drive two-wheelers
Updated 30 December 2024
Reuters
LAHORE, Pakistan: Pakistani student Laiba Rashid, 22, hopes her life will change once she learns how to drive a motorcycle after undergoing a training program that teaches women how to operate two-wheelers in the bustling eastern city of Lahore.
Although the program is 7 years old, it’s rare to see women driving motorcycles. Women driving cars or riding pillion on two-wheelers driven by a male relative is more socially acceptable in the conservative nation.
“I hope this will change my life because I am dependent on my brother to pick me up and drop me to college,” Rashid told Reuters on her first day at the Women on Wheels (WOW) driving program offered free by the Lahore traffic police.
Humaira Rafaqat, a senior traffic warden, teaches women how to ride a bike while wearing an abaya, during a training session as part of the "Women on Wheels" program organised by the traffic police department in Lahore, Pakistan, on October 1, 2024. (REUTERS)
She said she wants to buy a motorcycle to go to college, adding that, previously, there were no women drivers in her family. “Now everybody is convinced that women should be independent in their movement to schools, jobs and markets,” she said.
Women driving two-wheelers has been a cultural and religious taboo, said Bushra Iqbal Hussain, a social activist and director of Safe Childhood, an organization advocating the safety of female children.
But more women are now changing the culture, she said, like they did in the 1980s with regular cars, in a bid to reduce their reliance on men to commute.
The WOW program has been in operation since 2017, but has become increasingly popular in recent months as car prices have soared and motorcycles offer a cheaper alternative.
“Stagnant wage growth and high inflation have eroded the purchasing power of the middle class, leaving motorcycles as the only viable option for many households,” said auto sector analyst Muhammad Abrar Polani of investment house Arif Habib Limited.
Ishrat Khan practices riding a motorbike while Humaira Rafaqat, a senior traffic warden, observes her during a training session as part of the 'Women on Wheels" program organised by the traffic police department in Lahore, Pakistan, on October 1, 2024. (REUTERS)
The cheapest four-wheeler in Pakistan, where the annual GDP per capita is $1,590, costs about 2.3 million rupees($8,265) compared to about 115,000 rupees for the most affordable China-made two-wheeler.
Sohail Mudassar, a traffic warden, said the WOW program has trained at least 6,600 women, and Rashid’s batch was the 86th since it started.
“Women of different ages and segments of society join our camp,” said female trainer Humaira Rafaqat, a senior traffic warden who has trained about 1,000 women. “Young women are quick learners because they are enthusiastic and take risks.”
Shumaila Shafiq, 36, a teacher at a private school, rides a motorbike during a motorbike training session as part of the "Women on Wheels" program organised by the traffic police department in Lahore, Pakistan, on October 1, 2024. (REUTERS)
One of them, Ghania Raza, 23, who is pursuing a doctorate in criminology, said learning to drive a two-wheeler gave her a deep sense of achievement and empowerment: “It was like breaking a glass ceiling,” she said.
Shumaila Shafiq, 36, a mother of three and a part-time fashion designer, said she has been driving her husband’s motorcycle to the market and other places after graduating from the program.
She has designed a special short length abaya, a dress used by Muslim women, to wear while operating the motorcycle.
“Wearing a long abaya with loose fitting poses risks as it may get entangled in the wheels,” she said, adding that she intends to market the design to fellow women riders.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal has said Islamabad will launch its five-year National Economic Transformation Plan on Tuesday, state-run media reported, reiterating that it would be based on economic factors that Islamabad needs to address and achieve to ensure long-term progress and stability.
Iqbal said in July that Pakistan’s National Economic Transformation Plan will be based on the 5Es framework (exports, energy, economic growth, education and equality), adding that it would aim to foster stability and lay the foundation for future growth in Pakistan.
“Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal says National Economic Transformation Plan for next five years will launch tomorrow [Tuesday],” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported on Monday. “He said that the transformation plan is based upon several factors which need to be addressed and achieved if Pakistan wants to develop and progress in future.”
Speaking at the passing out ceremony of the officers of the 47th Specialized Training Program of Pakistan Administration Service in Lahore, the minister urged Pakistan to focus its resources on promoting an export-based economy.
He urged authorities to pay attention on automation, nanotechnology and artificial technology, stressing that these sectors will “reshape future economics.”
“He urged the civil servants to utilize all their capabilities to better manage public issues, as civil service is a huge responsibility rather than just a job,” the state broadcaster said.
Islamabad has been struggling to recover from a macroeconomic crisis that has plagued the country for the past two years. Inflation in the South Asian country surged to a record high of 38 percent in May 2023 fueled by rising prices of food and fuel, as the country’s national currency weakened against the US dollar while its foreign exchange reserves plummeted to historic lows.
Pakistan almost suffered a sovereign default before Islamabad clinched a last-gasp $3 billion bailout program from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2023 that helped its economy stay afloat. Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has repeatedly said Islamabad needs to adopt an export-led economy to achieve long-term and sustainable economic growth.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has also urged the government to seek greater collaboration in trade, defense, agriculture and other key sectors of the economy to attract foreign investment and brighten Pakistan’s economic prospects.
In its move to attract foreign investment in key sectors, Pakistan has enhanced its bilateral trade and investment ties with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Central Asian states and other Gulf countries.
