UAE-based Carrefour partners with Pakistani NGO to help the needy in Ramadan
UAE-based Carrefour partners with Pakistani NGO to help the needy in Ramadan/node/2273606/pakistan
UAE-based Carrefour partners with Pakistani NGO to help the needy in Ramadan
In this photo taken on March 21, 2023, representatives of Carrefour Pakistan and Pakistani non-profit organization (NGO) Alkhidmat Foundation sign an agreement to help the needy during Ramadan. (Photo courtesy: Carrefour Pakistan)
ISLAMABAD: Retail company Carrefour Pakistan, owned and operated by UAE-based holding firm Majid Al Futtaim, announced on Wednesday its decision to join hands with Pakistani non-profit organization (NGO) Alkhidmat Foundation to provide relief to earthquake victims in Syria and Turkiye, and provide free meals to the less privileged in Pakistan during Ramadan.
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting, prayer, reflection, and charity. The first fast in Pakistan is likely to be observed on Thursday, March 23.
Through the collaboration, Carrefour said the two would provide meals to the less privileged Pakistanis in Ramadan and also send relief items to victims of the recent devastating earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria.
“We believe in the power of collective action and community support. We are greatly pleased to join hands with Alkhidmat Foundation to play our part in eliminating food hunger in the country, whilst providing relief to those affected by the earthquakes in Turkiye and Syria,” Umer Lodhi, Carrefour Pakistan’s country manager, said.
“We hope our combined efforts will make a positive impact on those who need it the most.”
The statement added that customers would also have the opportunity to give back to the community this Ramadan by purchasing special, pre-packed boxes filled with essential food items such as rice, flour, oil, dates & pulses.
The pre-packed boxes, it said, will then be distributed among needy families to help provide them some relief during Ramadan as the South Asian country grapples with decades-high inflation.
“Earthquake relief boxes comprising shelter supplies, clothing, and non-perishable food items are available for customers to buy and donate at all Carrefour stores,” the statement said.
KARACHI: The name Amir Adnan has been synonymous with menswear in Pakistan for over 35 years.
Adnan launched the eponymous men’s fashion wear brand in 1990 and several sub-brands since, and is widely credited for glamorizing the long-sleeved sherwani outer coat in modern times.
Now, it’s time for his daughter Parishae Adnan to take the helm of Adnan’s fashion empire as CEO and transition the company, Shapar Private Limited, into a future rooted in climate sustainability and cultural integrity.
Last week, Parishae, a 30-year-old managerial economics graduate, launched the company’s summer collection, Nakhlistan, which means oasis, a show she has conceptualized and that she exhibited as a formal celebration of her appointment as CEO in May 2024.
“It absolutely feels incredible, I feel a lot of gratitude, taking the legacy forward,” Parishae told Arab News in an interview last week.
Adnan said it was always clear that his children would take over the business.
“My children were raised while we were working in the workshops, and they’ve been seeing this all along. My eldest daughter, Parishae, she worked with me for three years and now she’s become the CEO of the company,” he told Arab News.
“It’s not common, especially in this industry that we are working in, the fashion industry, to see legacy go on from one generation to another.”
The picture shared by Parishae Adnan on September 28, 2018, shows Parishae Adnan (left) posting for a picture with her father, Amir Adnan, at Fashion Pakistan Week 2018. (Parishae Adnan)
And Parishae has plans for her father’s company, with her major aim being to introduce and integrate environmentally conscious practices into its operations.
“We need to do anything, even if it’s a little small step,” said Parishae, who explored fields like acting, hospitality, IT, and supply chain before finally embracing fashion designing.
“One of the first things I did was I changed our packaging material, making it recyclable.”
In 2021, she launched the ‘House of Parishae,’ a collection grounded in sustainable couture, with her debut show featuring 35 pieces created entirely from upcycled clothing, extending the life cycle of garments and promoting conscious consumption.
“The idea that couture, high end couture luxury can come out of upcycling or recycling, it’s not an idea that was digestible to the public in Pakistan,” the designer said, pointing to inspirations like Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen.
“People here usually don’t go for that concept for their event wear. They don’t want to spend so much money if it’s going to be recycled or upcycled.”
But Parishae is resolved to take her vision forward — all the while staying true to what she has in common with her father: a deep connection to Pakistan’s cultural identity.
The designs of Adnan, who was born in Lahore to a bureaucratic father and a mother from the royal family of Dhaka, often draw inspiration from the sartorial heritage and timeless attire of South Asian nobles.
“If I go back in time and I look at my forefathers, photographs or paintings, they actually wore what I’m making right now, literally,” Adnan said.
Parishae too sees cultural identity as central to her vision, especially in an increasingly globalized and digitally connected world.
“As globalization is on a rise, it is even more important in this day and age to understand where your roots are coming from and it’s even more important to keep an identity, a cultural identity, in order for you to realize who you are and where you belong to,” she said.
“I wanted to be a pioneer for change, not in the West because they already have that. It’s actually trying to help us here because you never know, there might be a next generation that looks at this story and gets inspired by it and says, ‘Let’s go, it’s been done before, we can do it better’.”
And her father is proud.
“For every parent, whether you’re a father or a mother, it’s always your dream to see your children outdo you,” Adnan said.
“For me to see my daughter excel in my lifetime ... is one of the best gifts I could have asked from Allah.”
ISLAMABAD: President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he had used US trade ties to persuade nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan to back off from their worst military confrontation in decades earlier this month, a claim New Delhi has previously rejected.
Following a May 10 understanding reached between India and Pakistan in what was a US-mediated ceasefire to stop military action on land, in the air and at sea, Trump has repeatedly said he had offered to help both the nations with trade if they agreed to de-escalate.
Pakistan has not commented specifically on the trade-related claim though it has repeatedly thanked Trump for his role in the de-escalation efforts. The Indian government has, however, said trade concessions did not come up in discussions to secure the ceasefire.
“If you take a look at what we just did with Pakistan and India, we settled that whole thing, and I think I settled it through trade,” Trump said in televised comments during a meeting at the White House with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
“We’re doing a big deal with India. We’re doing a big deal with Pakistan,” the US president added, without giving details of what agreements he was referring to.
Before the ceasefire, the militaries of India and Pakistan were engaged in one of their most serious confrontations in decades since May 7, when India struck targets inside Pakistan it said were affiliated with militants responsible for the killing of 26 tourists last month in Indian-administered Kashmir.
After India’s strikes in Pakistan, both sides exchanged heavy fire along their de facto border, followed by missile and drone strikes into each other’s territories, mainly targeting military installations and air bases.
The escalating hostilities threatened regional peace, leading to calls by world leaders to cool down tempers.
Trump has said he not only helped mediate the ceasefire but also offered mediation over the simmering dispute in Kashmir, a Himalayan region that both India and Pakistan claim in entirety but govern in part. The two nations have fought two wars over Kashmir, which has long been described as the regional nuclear flashpoint.
New Delhi has rejected Trump’s offer for mediation, saying Kashmir was a bilateral issue, while Pakistan has welcomed the offer.
Pakistan recalls fast bowler Hasan Ali for T20 series against Bangladesh
Hasan played just one T20 international in nearly three years when he returned against Ireland in Dublin in 2024
Fast bowler has forced his way back into the squad with a rich haul of 15 wickets in the Pakistan Super League
Updated 22 May 2025
AP
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has recalled fast bowler Hasan Ali for this month’s Twenty20 home matches against Bangladesh but overlooked senior batters Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam for the third successive series.
Hasan played just one T20 international in nearly three years when he returned with expensive figures of 0-42 in three overs against Ireland in Dublin in 2024.
However, the right-arm fast bowler has forced his way back into the squad with a rich haul of 15 wickets in the Pakistan Super League while representing the Karachi Kings.
Rizwan and Babar were dropped for the last two series in Zimbabwe and New Zealand as Pakistan continued to reshape its top-order ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup.
Rizwan scored 367 runs at a strike rate of 139.54 in the PSL this season as his franchise, the Multan Sultans, suffered nine defeats in 10 games.
Babar’s Peshawar Zalmi also missed out on the playoffs for the first time in PSL history as he finished the season with 288 runs and a strike rate of 128.57.
Salman Ali Agha, who was appointed captain ahead of the T20 series in Australia last year, will continue to lead the side with Shadab Khan as his deputy.
The series will be the first assignment for Pakistan’s newly appointed white-ball coach Mike Hesson, who is currently in charge of Islamabad United in the PSL.
The selectors have made eight changes to the squad which lost the series in New Zealand 4-1.
Fast bowlers Shaheen Shah Afridi, Jahandad Khan and Abbas Afridi were replaced by Hasan, Naseem Shah and Mohammad Wasim while another pace bowler Mohammad Ali was also dropped.
Opening batter Sahibzada Farhan, who leads the PSL charts with 394 runs in 10 games, Saim Ayub and Fakhar Zaman were recalled, with all-rounders Faheem Ashraf and Hussain Talat also making their way back into the squad.
The three-match series will be played at the Qaddafi Stadium in Lahore on May 28, May 30 and June 1.
Pakistan squad: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Shadab Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hassan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Wasim, Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub.
KARACHI: A Pakistani investment firm on Wednesday announced the launch of what it described as the country’s first Shariah-compliant real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on the hospitality sector.
A REIT is a regulated investment vehicle that pools capital from investors to finance income-generating real estate, offering returns through rent or capital gains. It provides exposure to the property market without direct ownership of assets.
JS Investments Limited, one of Pakistan’s oldest private-sector asset and REIT managers, has partnered with real estate developer Gohar Group of Companies to establish the JS Hotel REIT in Hyderabad district, located in the southeastern Sindh province.
“As the manager of Pakistan’s first hotel REIT, we are pleased to offer investors a professionally managed and regulated investment vehicle backed by international hospitality standards,” the statement quoted Iffat Zehra Mankani, CEO of JS Investments Limited, as saying.
The REIT will finance the development of a 139-room hotel in Hyderabad under a franchise agreement with an international hospitality brand. The fund is currently open to accredited local and foreign investors through private placement.
The statement added the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) had granted regulatory approval for the fund, which is not being offered to the general public at this stage.
Pakistan’s REIT market remains small, though regulatory reforms in recent years have aimed to draw institutional investment into real estate through both conventional and Islamic finance structures.
The project will also feature environmentally responsible construction, according to the statement.
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday his administration is prioritizing the development of low-cost housing while directing a task force to present financing recommendations to include the facility in the upcoming budget.
Pakistan has been facing a housing crisis, with the World Bank suggesting two years ago it was short of an estimated 10 million housing units. The shortage is particularly acute in urban areas due to rapid population growth, unregulated expansion and high land and construction prices.
The federal budget, which will be presented to the National Assembly next month, is expected to outline measures to tackle the crisis as the new fiscal year begins in July.
“The government’s foremost priority is to facilitate access to housing through low-cost schemes,” Sharif said during a task force meeting to address the issue.
“Such projects will not only make residential units accessible to the common man but also stimulate economic growth and create employment opportunities,” he continued.
The prime minister instructed the task force to work with the finance ministry and banks to prepare detailed financing proposals for affordable housing, with the aim of making them part of the upcoming budget.
He also emphasized that developing the construction sector was key to sustainable economic growth.
Officials briefed the prime minister on ongoing reforms to the Condominium Act 2025 and Foreclosure Law, saying they were in their final stages and were expected to ease access to housing loans under the new schemes.
