Pakistani artists who made it big beyond borders in 2022

(L-R) The collage of images show singers Ali Sethi and Shae Gill, actor Sajal Aly, singer Arooj Aftab, actor Fawad Khan, Humayun Saeed and Mehwish Hayat. (AFP/Social media)
Short Url
Updated 23 December 2022
Follow

Pakistani artists who made it big beyond borders in 2022

  • Acting powerhouses Humayun Saeed, Fawad Khan and Mehwish Hayat starred in globally acclaimed TV series
  • Shae Gill’s ‘Pasoori’ with Ali Sethi won her fans across South Asia, most notably in the neighboring state of India

KARACHI: Pakistani actors and musicians know how to produce art that manages to impress audiences worldwide. In this regard, 2022 proved to be a special year for the likes of acting powerhouses Humayun Saeed, Fawad Khan, Sajal Aly and Mehwish Hayat while singers Arooj Aftab, Shae Gill and Ali Sethi also received nods from around the world for their stellar musical numbers.

Here are some Pakistani celebrities whose work was widely admired beyond borders in the outgoing year.

Sajal Aly




Sajal Aly attends the "What's Love Got To Do With It?" Premiere during the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival at Roy Thomson Hall on September 10, 2022 in Toronto, Ontario. (AFP)

Aly made her debut this year at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in September 2022 after her film “What’s Love got to do with it” had its world premiere there. Speaking to Arab News, Aly said she was “humbled” for getting the opportunity to “represent Pakistan on the world stage.”

The film was penned by Jemima Goldsmith and directed by Shekhar Kapur.

“I feel honored to share the screen with such great actors,” she said. “Jemima [Goldsmith] is one of the coolest producers I’ve worked with. She’s a sweetheart! I feel extremely lucky and grateful at the same time.”

Aly also attended the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, last month. Her co-stars from the film were also present at the event.

In November this year, Aly won big at the Filmfare Middle East Achievers Night when she bagged the “Most Popular Face of Pakistani Cinema” award.

Humayun Saeed




Humayun Saeed poses for the shutterbugs at the premiere of Season 5 of "The Crown"  in London, UK, on November 8, 2022. (Photo courtesy: @saeedhumayun/instagram)


Humayun Saeed has won praise from around the world since international viewers got to see his stellar acting talent in Netflix’s “The Crown” series on November 9, 2022. The series follows the lives of the British Royal Family and its newest season is set in the 1990s and focuses on Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s failing marriage.

Saeed played the role of Dr. Hasnat Ahmed Khan, a British-Pakistani lung and heart surgeon, who got romantically involved with the princess between 1995 and 1997.

Saeed attended the premiere of the newest season of the series in London on November 8, 2022, with his co-stars and the show’s crew.

“Feel privileged and honored to be a part of The Crown’s team,” the Pakistani actor said in an Instagram post.

Saeed also picked up the “Trendsetter of Pakistani Cinema” award at the Filmfare Middle East Achievers Night last month.

Arooj Aftab




Arooj Aftab raises the winning trophy for Best Global Music Performance for her track "Mohabbat" at the 64th Grammy Awards in Las Vegas, US, on April 4, 2022. (Photo courtesy: @aroojaftab/instagram)

Pakistani singer Arooj Aftab earned an impressive second nomination for Best Global Music Performance for the Grammy Awards 2023 after winning the title for her critically acclaimed track “Mohabbat” from her third album Vulture Prince in 2022.

Born in Saudi Arabia, Aftab is the first Pakistani artist to win a Grammy Award and be a three-time Grammy nominee.

“I think I’m [going to] faint. Wow, thank you so much. I feel like this category in itself has been so insane like Burna Boy, Wizkid, Femi Kuti, Angélique Kidjo... should this be called the yacht party category,” Aftab said onstage after receiving the award at the 64th Grammy Awards earlier this year.

“Mohabbat” – or “Love” in English – has been a game-changer for Aftab for which she also got a nomination for the Best New Artist award at the 64th Grammy Awards. The eight-minute-long song made it to former US President Barack Obama’s 2021 summer playlist that he shared on Twitter.

Mehwish Hayat




Mehwish Hayat as Kamala Khan's great-grandmother Aisha in a still from episode 5 of the Disney series, "Ms Marvel." (Photo courtesy: @msmarvelofficial/Instagram)

One of Pakistan’s most bankable film actors, Mehwish Hayat, made her Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) debut with the Disney series “Ms. Marvel” this year. Hayat, who depicted the fictional character of Aisha, won a legion of fans worldwide after her appearance in the show’s fifth episode.

In the six-episode series, she stars as the great-grandmother of the titular character, Kamala Khan, the first Pakistani to essay a Marvel superhero in the MCU.
“I still cannot believe that I was a part of ‘Ms. Marvel’ and the love people all around the world have given to Aisha,” Hayat told Arab News.

“More important for me though was being part of a mainstream project that finally represented Pakistan and Pakistani culture as we truly are,” she added.
“It means a lot to my niece to finally have a superhero who looks like her and she can relate to,” Hayat added. “Oh yes, I am the first Pakistani actress to have a Funko-Pop action figure which is so cool.”

Ms. Marvel had a special screening in cinemas across Pakistan, with a combination of two episodes that released every two weeks.

Fawad Khan




Fawad Khan as Kamala Khan's great grandfather Hasan in a still from episode 5 of the Disney Series "Ms Marvel." (Photo courtesy: @msmarvelofficial/instagram)

Fawad Khan fans, both in Pakistan and India, were overjoyed with the actor’s appearance in episode five of Ms. Marvel earlier this year. He played the central character Kamala Khan’s great-grandfather, Hasan, and appears in the flashback montage in the Disney series.

Khan has had a huge fan following beyond Pakistan, especially in India, since he made his Bollywood debut with the Sonam Kapoor-starrer “Khoobsurat” in 2014. With his recently released reboot of the 1979 cult classic at home, “The Legend of Maula Jatt,” Khan has penetrated screens all over the world.
The film was released in cinemas across the globe on October 13, 2022, and has crossed the record-breaking figure of Rs200 crores ($8.8 million) worldwide.

Shae Gill




Shae Gill performs ‘Pasoori’ at the first Coke Studio Live Concert at the Coca Cola Arena in Dubai, UAE, on October 14, 2022. (Photo courtesy: Coke Studio)

Shae Gill’s Coke Studio Season 14 hit “Pasoori” became the most streamed Pakistani song of 2022 on Spotify. The song tops the Google 2022 search trend, ranking at number one in the Hum-To-Search category. It has reached up to 470 million views on YouTube to date.

“When ‘Pasoori’ was in the works, I knew I was a part of something exceptional, but watching the end product had me staring in disbelief,” Gill posted on her Instagram after the song was released in February 2022.

Gill performed “Pasoori” at the first Coke Studio Live Concert on October 14, 2022, at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai where it received a massive response and attracted a lot of engagement from attendees. Earlier in 2022, Gill also performed the song at the FIFA Trophy Tour in June.

Ali Sethi




Ali Sethi attends TIME100 Next Gala at SECOND Floor in New York City, US, on October 25, 2022. (AFP)

Making waves with “Pasoori” all over the world, Ali Sethi made it to TIME’s 2022 TIME100 Next, which recognizes 100 rising stars from around the world.
“Proud to be included in the 2022 TIME100 Next list — that too with a write-up from guru Amitav Ghosh,” Sethi posted on his Instagram on September 28, 2022.

“Though written in Punjabi by a Pakistani artist, Ali Sethi’s song ‘Pasoori’ has become a global sensation with close to 400 million views on YouTube (by September 28, 2022),” award-winning writer Ghosh said.

“Even more remarkable, the song has found a huge following in neighboring India despite the escalating tensions between the two countries,” he added.
Sethi took Dubai by storm performing ‘Pasoori’ at the first Coke Studio Live Concert on October 14, 2022. The internationally acclaimed artist is all set for a North American Music Tour in 2023.


In Pakistan, Afghan refugees face uncertain future amid resettlement rejections

Updated 27 min 48 sec ago
Follow

In Pakistan, Afghan refugees face uncertain future amid resettlement rejections

  • More than 40,000 Afghans in Pakistan are currently awaiting their resettlement to Western countries, Pakistani foreign office says
  • The United States has already provided a list of 25,000 Afghan refugees for resettlement, but the pace of progress remains slow

ISLAMABAD: In a cramped guesthouse in Islamabad, Sadiqullah Azizi, a pseudonym for a 59-year-old Afghan refugee, last week hurriedly packed what remained of his family’s belongings. His wife and children, with little choice, helped as they prepared to vacate the premises as a result of a final, devastating blow: rejection of their case for resettlement in Canada.
Azizi’s family, comprising more than a dozen members, did not come to Islamabad by choice. In August 2021, they received an email from the Canadian authorities, instructing them to travel to Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport for evacuation to Canada. That email, reviewed by Arab News, represented a lifeline that has since reduced to three years of uncertainty, fear and disappointment.
Now exhausted, Azizi recounts how he started working with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in 2002, shortly after the US-led coalition toppled the first Taliban regime. Although Azizi and his family are not paying for their accommodation or meals, he says it’s far from sufficient.
“Our children are our top priority and none of them have attended school due to the uncertainty of our future,” Azizi told Arab News, with his voice cracking.
He was involved in construction and logistics, and provided critical support to the US, Canadian, Dutch and Australian forces in Kandahar, Uruzgan and Nangarhar from 2002 till 2013. He still has dozens of certificates and photos of himself alongside Western forces during their deployment in Afghanistan, but his accomplishments feel distant and hollow.
Fearing deportation, the 59-year-old doesn’t even allow his family to visit a nearby public park since the Pakistani authorities launched a crackdown on undocumented foreign nationals last November and has since deported nearly 700,000 people, the majority of whom were Afghans.
“Our [Pakistani] visas have also expired and it feels as though the ground is slipping from beneath my feet,” he shared.
More than 40,000 Afghans are still in Pakistan and awaiting their resettlement abroad, according to the Pakistani foreign office. Pakistan has been in talks with various Western nations to help facilitate the relocation process and the United States has already provided a list of 25,000 Afghans for resettlement. However, the pace of progress remains slow.
For families like Azizi’s, life in Islamabad is one of isolation. The guesthouse where they stay offers no sense of security or future.
Engineer Ahmed, another pseudonym for a 38-year-old father of six who worked as an interpreter for the US and allied forces in Afghanistan from 2009 to 2018, said they were only provided accommodation and meals at the guesthouse and no other essentials.
“In fact, the meals aren’t enough to fill our stomachs,” he said, adding that they had to buy essentials like baby diapers, milk and medicines from their own pockets.
Ahmed shared his family had sold nearly all of their belongings in Kabul as they had burned all bridges in the hope of resettling in Canada.
“We have nothing left, no house, car or motorcycle. Everything was sold at a very cheap rate,” he said.
Another 35-year-old Afghan refugee, who assumed the name Amin Nasiri, awaits his family’s relocation to the US.
“It’s been three years since we arrived in Islamabad. We have no freedom here. We can’t access government hospitals or even buy a SIM card because our visas have expired,” Nasiri, who worked as a warehouse employee at the ISAF headquarters in Kabul from 2009 to 2012, told Arab News.
The 35-year-old lives with another Afghan family along with his wife, three sons and a daughter as he could not secure an accommodation in his own name due to his lack of documentation.
“I don’t know how much longer it will take,” said Nasiri, whose case remains unresolved. “I’ve borrowed a lot of money from friends and my eyes are constantly on my phone, hoping for an email about my case, but that moment hasn’t come yet.”
As Azizi continued packing at his guesthouse in Islamabad, he wrestled with the thought of how to break the news to his grandchildren.
He shared that over the past three years, whenever a bus headed to the airport stopped at the guesthouse’s gate, he would hide it from his grandchildren to avoid their inevitable question: “When will it be our turn to leave?”
Arab News tried to speak with others awaiting resettlement, but most were unable to summon the strength to recount their three years in Islamabad.
Now, with an eviction notice looming, Azizi feels trapped.
“My only question is why did Canadian immigration take so long? If they had rejected my case in the early months, I would have returned to my country. I would have told the Taliban that I had gone for medical treatment and had now come back. But after three long years, I no longer know what excuse I can offer,” he said as his voice tinged with despair.
The Canadian High Commission in Islamabad refused to discuss specific immigration cases but sent an email in response to Arab News queries.
“Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) sympathizes with the people in this extremely difficult situation as we continue to process applications as quickly as possible under the circumstances,” it said.
“Security screening is a complex process involving the decision of IRCC’s Migration Officer and various security partner experts,” it added. “Individuals are normally provided with a procedural fairness letter before negative decisions are made to provide them with an opportunity to provide additional information.”
The letter pointed out that how quickly an Afghan client was processed and subsequently approved depended on a variety of factors, many of which were beyond the control of the Canadian authorities, and were often directly related to where Afghans were located.
It noted that it was difficult to finalize the applications of Afghan nationals still residing in their country, urging them to move to a third country.
Meanwhile, Azizi, who complied with a similar request and arrived in Pakistan, says the fear of returning to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan weighs heavily on him.
“I wonder how Western countries can speak about human rights, yet when I look at my own case, I’m left questioning what world they live in,” he said.
“I can’t return to Afghanistan because the Taliban will think I’ve been sent on another spy mission,” he added. “Pakistan isn’t offering us refuge, and with no options left, I truly wonder where on earth we can find a place to call home.”


ADB projects Pakistan’s growth at 2.8%, stresses need for robust economic reform implementation

Updated 25 September 2024
Follow

ADB projects Pakistan’s growth at 2.8%, stresses need for robust economic reform implementation

  • The bank says a well-regulated monetary policy may keep inflation to about 15% in current fiscal year
  • It believes implementation of economic adjustment program is likely to support private investment

ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Wednesday Pakistan’s economic growth witnessed a rebound in the last fiscal year to 2.4% and could surge up to 2.8% in the ongoing financial year, though any sustainable improvement was contingent on continued implementation of robust economic reforms.

According to the ADB’s Asian Development Outlook September 2024, an update to its flagship economic publication, Pakistan’s financial recovery was supported by higher domestic consumption from increased agriculture income and workers’ remittances.

It added that adhering to the country’s economic reform program would be critical to strengthening macroeconomic stability and the continued recovery of growth, though the downside risks remained.

“Pakistan’s economic prospects are closely tied to the steadfast and consistent implementation of policy reforms to stabilize the economy and rebuild fiscal and external buffers,” ADB Country Director for Pakistan Yong Ye said in a statement that also mentioned the projected improvement in the country’s gross domestic product.

“It is imperative that Pakistan continues to consolidate public finances, expand social spending and protection, reduce fiscal risks from state-owned enterprises, and improve the business environment to encourage growth led by the private sector,” he continued.

The ADB said the implementation of the economic adjustment program in the ongoing fiscal year was expected to support private investment that needed more favorable macroeconomic conditions, including easier access to foreign exchange, which would also benefit manufacturing and services.

However, it maintained agriculture was projected to remain slow.

The ADB also acknowledged the reduction in headline inflation that it attributed to a decline in food price inflation due to an increase in agricultural production.

It noted that a well-regulated monetary policy could keep inflation to about 15%.


Pakistan Railways expects restoration by Oct. 10 of key Balochistan bridge blown up by militants

Updated 25 September 2024
Follow

Pakistan Railways expects restoration by Oct. 10 of key Balochistan bridge blown up by militants

  • A senior railway official says the department has lost $143,000 in revenue due to the suspension of train service
  • Baloch separatists destroyed the bridge last month in a series of coordinated attacks that killed over 50 people

QUETTA: Nearly a month after a series of coordinated attacks in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province killed over 50 people, a senior Pakistan Railways official expressed optimism on Tuesday about completing the restoration work on a key bridge destroyed by militants by October 10.

Built in 1887, the five-span bridge was the second such link constructed by the British Army at the Bolan Pass after sealing a deal with the then Khan of Kalat, Meer Khuda-e-Dad Khan, to expand the railway network to Quetta and Chaman near the Afghan border.

Dozens of armed militants from the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) carried out multiple coordinated attacks, including suicide bombings, in Lasbela, Musakhail, Kachi, Kalat and Mastung districts on August 26. The attacks coincided with the 18th death anniversary of local chieftain Nawab Akbar Bugti, who was assassinated in an army operation in 2006.

During the militant violence, BLA fighters fatally shot commuters on passenger buses, attacked the paramilitary Frontier Corps’ camp and targeted the railway infrastructure.

“As per the engineering design, October 10 is the date [set for the completion of the restoration work],” Imran Hayat, divisional superintendent of Pakistan Railways in Quetta, told Arab News. “But the secretary-chairman [the top railway official] during his recent visit directed for earlier completion of the bridge, and we are working day and night to ensure that.”

This photo taken on September 23, 2024, shows a deserted view of Quetta Railway Station in Quetta, Balochistan, as the railway lines connecting the province to other parts of Pakistan destroyed in militant attacks on August 26. (AN Photo)

“The bridge has a very rich history,” he continued. “Many old citizens [of the province] have expressed their dismay over the incident, which has compromised the bridge.”

The railway official said the suspension of train services since last month had caused around Rs40 million ($144,000) in revenue losses.

This photo taken on September 23, 2024, shows a deserted view of Quetta Railway Station in Quetta, Balochistan, as the railway lines connecting the province to other parts of Pakistan destroyed in militant attacks on August 26. (AN Photo)

The bridge at Bolan Pass, a strategic mountain pass that historically served as a key trade and military route connecting the subcontinent with Afghanistan and Central Asia, primarily served two important train services: the Jaffar Khan Jamali Express, which runs up to Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and the Bolan Mail, which travels between Quetta and Karachi, the capital of Sindh province.

“More than the [revenue] loss, it is about the public service obligation,” Hayat said, adding the government had not lost its “resolve to connect the people of Balochistan” with the rest of the country, noting the railway was the “ultimate travel mode for poor people.”

Laborers carry out restoration work on a destroyed bridge in Kolpur Pakistan on September 22, 2024, as the railway lines connecting the province to other parts of Pakistan destroyed in militant attacks on August 26. (AN Photo)

Baloch separatist groups have previously attacked passenger trains and railway tracks in the Bolan Pass area.

Last year in January, several passengers were injured after a bomb attack on the Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express overturned various carriages near Aab-e-Gum Railway Station.

Later, on October 16, six people were killed and several others wounded after a Punjab-bound passenger train was targeted by double explosions following its departure from Mach Railway Station in Balochistan.

Laborers carry out restoration work on a destroyed bridge in Kolpur Pakistan on September 22, 2024, as the railway lines connecting the province to other parts of Pakistan destroyed in militant attacks on August 26. (AN Photo)

Asked about security arrangements for passenger trains and railway installations in the restive Balochistan region, Hayat said security forces had secured the area, allowing construction work on the bridge to proceed without hindrance.

“We are a service department,” he told Arab News. “Our responsibility is to ensure people have transportation whenever they wish to travel to any part of the country. We have faith in our security forces, who have secured the area up to Rohri and Quetta.”

Pakistan’s militancy-hit Balochistan province shares borders with Iran and Afghanistan, with Baloch separatists accusing the state of exploiting the province’s natural resources, a claim denied by the government.

The southwestern province has seen an uptick in violence by Baloch separatist groups over the last seven months, with militants blocking highways and attacking passengers, particularly those from Pakistan’s populous Punjab province.

Speaking to Arab News, Muhammad Nasrullah, a resident of Mach, a small town located about 50 kilometers from Quetta, said he had to travel with his family to Layyah, a district in Punjab, by passenger bus due to the suspension of train services from Quetta.

“There is a sense of insecurity due to the current situation in Balochistan, but we are compelled to commute on public transport,” he told Arab News. “People are traveling to Punjab by passenger buses because the train service is suspended due to the attack on the bridge.”

“I urge the government to increase the number of trains from Balochistan and provide secure train service to passengers,” he added.


Two cops among ten injured as bomb hits police van in southwest Pakistan

Updated 25 September 2024
Follow

Two cops among ten injured as bomb hits police van in southwest Pakistan

  • This was third attack on police in past 10 days, previously two policemen were killed in roadside bombing on Sept. 14
  • Separatists militants have been fighting decades-long insurgency to win secession of resource-rich Balochistan province

QUETTA: Ten people, including two policemen, were wounded on Wednesday in an IED attack on a police van in Quetta, the capital of Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, officials said. 
Separatist militants have been fighting a decades-long insurgency to win secession of the resource-rich southwestern province, home to major China-led projects such as a port and a gold and copper mine. Last month, over 50 people including soldiers were killed in a string of coordinated attacks on police stations, railway lines and highways in the most widespread assault in years.
Quetta Superintendent of Police Muhammad Baloch said a police vehicle was targeted with an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) fitted in a motorbike near Bhosa Mandi in the eastern bypass area of the city on Wednesday.
“The police van was on routine morning patrol duty in the Bhosa Mandi area when it came under attack,” Baloch said. 
Dr. Ishaq Panezai, medical superintendent of the Civil Hospital Quetta, said 10 injured people were brought to the hospital. Two were in critical condition and had been shifted to the Trauma Center.
This was the third attack on police in the past 10 days. In the last attack, two policemen were killed in a roadside bomb blast on the Kuchlak-Bostan highway on Sept. 14. The assault was claimed by Daesh. 
The attack also comes three days after three officials of Pakistan’s Anti-Terrorist Force (ATF) were killed in an ambush near Zhob, a district in Balochistan close to Pakistan’s restive northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.


Bailout: Pakistan thanks Saudi Arabia, UAE, China for support ahead of IMF meeting today

Updated 25 September 2024
Follow

Bailout: Pakistan thanks Saudi Arabia, UAE, China for support ahead of IMF meeting today

  • IMF executive board scheduled to meet today to discuss approval of $7 billion loan for Pakistan
  • External financing gaps prompted Pakistan to seek commitments, debt reprofiling from key allies

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday Pakistan had met the “tough conditions” set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) with the help of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and China, as the global lending agency’s board meets today to discuss the $7 billion loan program for the country.
Pakistan reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF in July for a fresh loan to keep its fragile economy afloat. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb had earlier expressed hope of sealing the deal by the end of August. However, delays were caused by an external financing gap, which prompted Pakistan to seek commitments from key allies and request debt reprofiling.
Just a day earlier, the finance minister again expressed optimism about securing the loan program after the IMF board meeting, while emphasizing the government’s commitment to structural reforms.
“[Today] is the IMF board meeting, and we have fulfilled all of their conditions, very tough conditions, but praise be to God, we have completed them,” he told the media in New York on the sidelines of the 79th United Nations General Assembly Session. “I want to express my heartfelt gratitude once again, to our trusted brother nations, Saudi Arabia, China and the UAE. Without their immense support, this would not have been possible.”
“At the final stage, the conditions were related to China, and just like in the past, the Chinese government once again held Pakistan’s hand and offered immense support,” he added. “I am deeply grateful to the Chinese leadership.”
Pakistan’s last $3 billion IMF program helped avert a sovereign default in 2023 amid a sharp decline in foreign exchange reserves, currency depreciation and record inflation.
The government has already maintained that the country’s macroeconomic indicators have improved, though it needs the 37-month-long IMF program to solidify those gains.
“You have to grow and build from a stable base,” Pakistan’s finance minister said on Tuesday while addressing a high-level private sector dialogue, ‘CPEC-II and the Region.’ “We have reached that level now. Now, we can say that we have a good foundation on which we can build from here.”
“Now we need to move forward and stay with the reform agenda whether it’s on the taxation or energy side [or] on the state-owned enterprises or privatization side,” he added.