Young Pakistani activist in Swat uses education, awareness campaigns to fight child marriages

Pakistani activist Hadiqa Bashir is seen talking to women at her office in Pakistan’s northwestern Swat Valley on July 9, 2024. (AN photo)
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Updated 01 August 2024
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Young Pakistani activist in Swat uses education, awareness campaigns to fight child marriages

  • Hadiqa Bashir’s ‘Girls United for Human Rights’ has reached 90,000 girls in Swat to prevent early marriages
  • There are 19 million girls in Pakistan who are married before they turn the age of 18, UNICEF official says 

MINGORA, Pakistan: Eleven-year-old schoolgirl Hadiqa Bashir’s life changed a decade ago when her parents, influenced by relatives, told her she was to be married off to an elderly taxi driver. 

Though child marriages are a norm in Bashir’s conservative Pashtun family in Pakistan’s northwestern Swat Valley, she sought the help of an uncle to defy her parent’s plans and even threatened her family that she would go to the police against them. 

Now 22, Bashir has dedicated her life to fighting child marriages in a country where there are 19 million girls who are married off before they turn 18, the sixth highest number in the world, according to UNICEF.

“When you experience something yourself, then you understand it, you know the pain,” Bashir told Arab News at her office in Swat District’s Mingora city. “An incident happened in my life as well due to which I started a campaign against child marriages in Swat.”




The picture taken on July 9, 2024, shows an aerial view of Pakistan’s northwestern Swat Valley. (AN photo)

The legal age of marriage for females in Pakistan is 16, except for Sindh province where the minimum age is 18.

Many poor families are pushed by financial strains to marry their daughters young in order to reduce costs at home, or see marriage as the best option for girls who have limited options to study in remote regions. A largely patriarchal society, conservative social norms and pervasive gender inequality also push trends like child marriage. 

Experts say the practice impedes the rights of girls to access education and health services, specifically in rural areas. It also affects their physical health, emotional well-being, education, and future prospects, exposing them to risks such as early pregnancy, domestic violence, and limited opportunities for personal and economic development and stripping away the right of decision-making, exacerbating power imbalances and restricting their autonomy in shaping their lives.

“The situation is very grave ... and you can see that child marriage often leads to early pregnancy before girls’ bodies are fully ready,” Susan Andrew, a child protection specialist at UNICEF Pakistan, told Arab News. “We are witnessing very high rates of infant and maternal mortality as well.”

Andrew added:

“The target should ultimately be that no girl is married before eighteen in Pakistan.”

And that is Bashir’s mission, which is why she set up the non-governmental organization, Girls United for Human Rights, in 2021 to campaign against child marriages. Bashir says she has since reached 90,000 of 1.4 million women and girls in Swat Valley to create awareness against the pervasive practice. 




The picture taken on July 9, 2024, shows a woman holding a booklet on women's right in Pakistan’s northwestern Swat Valley. (AN photo)

“I WAS LUCKY”

With a population of 2.6 million, Bashir’s NGO estimates there are currently around 20,000 adolescent girls who could become victims of forced marriages in Swat, known around the world as the hometown of Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl who was shot by the Taliban in 2012 for demanding education for girls and went on to become the youngest person ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize. 

“In my own family, my aunt was married at 11-12 years of age, and my grandmother was insisting that we should marry me at 11 and get me out of the school and teach me how to do household chores,” Bashir recalled.

“I was lucky that my uncle told me about human rights, about the Child Marriages Restraint Act, and then bravely I stood up to my grandmother, the first girl in my family to do so, and told her that I don’t want to marry, I want to continue my studies.”




Pakistani activist Hadiqa Bashir speaks to Arab News Pakistan in Pakistan’s northwestern Swat Valley on July 9, 2024. (AN photo)

Bashir is aided in her campaign against early and forces marriages by international bodies like UNICEF and community leaders and religious clerics.

“[We] are getting very positive results [through awareness campaigns] with whoever we inform and educate about medical side effects [of child marriages],” Dr. Saeed Akbar, a community elder engaged with Bashir in Swat, told Arab News.

Akbar said he showed families photos of young brides who had died during pregnancy or childbirth. 

“We show them the available records and photo that ‘See, this is the issue, if you keep marrying your daughters at younger age, you may face these problems’,” he said. 

“Now some 70 percent people understand this while 20-30 percent don’t want to understand or need more time to understand but our efforts are ongoing and this segment will also be covered soon.”

Fazal Rabbi, a prayer leader in Swat, said there was “no place for child marriages in Islam,” which he also propagated in his sermons. 

“If a child is given better education and training, and married after reaching the legal age, this will be beneficial for them,” Rabbi told Arab News. “She will be able to take care of her children’s education and training better as well as of her home.”


Islamabad says has evidence Kabul ‘complicit’ in cross-border attacks by Pakistani Taliban

Updated 1 min 57 sec ago
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Islamabad says has evidence Kabul ‘complicit’ in cross-border attacks by Pakistani Taliban

  • Pakistan has struggled to contain militancy in its western provinces bordering Afghanistan since November 2022
  • Ambassador Munir Akram says Pakistani Taliban emerging as umbrella for “regional terrorist groups” in Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s United Nations Ambassador Munir Akram has said that Islamabad has evidence of Kabul being “complicit” in cross-border militant attacks in Pakistan, the country’s mission to the UN announced on Tuesday, warning that surging militancy in Afghanistan poses security dangers for its immediate neighbors. 

Akram’s statement at the UN comes amid Pakistan’s struggles to contain rising militancy in its northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province since November 2022, when a fragile truce between the state and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) or the Pakistani Taliban, collapsed. Pakistan says the takeover of Kabul by the Afghan Taliban in 2021 has emboldened the group as it is able to operate out of and launch attacks from safe havens in neighboring Afghanistan, whose government denies the charges.

At a meeting of the UN Security Council on Afghanistan’s security, Akram said the TTP is the “largest designated terrorist organization operating from Afghanistan” with an estimated 6,000 fighters. Akram said that through safe havens close to the border with Pakistan, the TTP has conducted numerous attacks against Pakistani soldiers, civilians and institutions resulting in “hundreds of casualties.”

“We have evidence that the Kabul authorities have not only tolerated but are complicit in the conduct of the TTP’s terrorist cross-border attacks,” Akram said according to a statement by Pakistan’s Permanent Mission to the UN on Mar. 10. 

He said the TTP is collaborating with other “terrorist groups” present in Afghanistan, such as the separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and its Majeed Brigade unit, reiterating that they seek to destabilize Pakistan and disrupt its economic cooperation with China. 

The BLA is the most prominent separatist militant outfit in Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by land but its poorest by almost all economic indicators. The outfit has launched attacks against Pakistan’s security forces and targeted Chinese interests in Balochistan and Karachi frequently in the past. The BLA accuses Pakistan’s federal government and China— which has invested in Balochistan through an infrastructure network— of denying the locals a share in the province’s natural resources. Both governments deny the allegations and say they are working for Balochistan’s development.

Without naming India, Akram said the TTP also receives support from Pakistan’s “principal adversary.”

“TTP, perceived as enjoying Kabul’s patronage, is fast emerging an umbrella organization for regional terrorist groups whose objectives are to undermine the security and stability of all of Afghanistan’s neighbors,” he said. “Given its long association with Al-Qaeda, the TTP could pose not only a regional but a global terrorist threat.”

He pointed out the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of American forces from the country, adding that aid for the 20 million people in Afghanistan should be “unconditional and generous.”

“Pakistan supports the call to unfreeze the assets of Afghanistan’s Central Bank,” he said. “This will revive the banking sector and end the cash transfers which are partially responsible for money flowing into the hands of terrorists.”

Akram concluded his statement by saying that the destinies of Pakistan and Afghanistan are intertwined via shared bonds of history, geography, ethnicity, language, faith and culture. 

“We are steadfast in our commitment to support all possible efforts at the bilateral, regional and global level to achieve peace, stability and development in Afghanistan,” he said. “After 40 years of conflict, the people of Afghanistan deserve no less.”
 


Pakistan, India among countries suffering from world’s most polluted air— report

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Pakistan, India among countries suffering from world’s most polluted air— report

  • Only 17 percent of global cities met WHO air quality standard, says Swiss monitoring firm IQAir
  • Pakistan has been ranked third in air pollution rankings behind Bangladesh and Chad

SINGAPORE: Only seven countries met World Health Organization (WHO) air quality standards last year, data showed on Tuesday, as researchers warned that the war on smog would only get harder after the United States shut down its global monitoring efforts.

Chad and Bangladesh were the world’s most polluted countries in 2024, with average smog levels more than 15 times higher than WHO guidelines, according to figures compiled by Swiss air quality monitoring firm IQAir.

Only Australia, New Zealand, the Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, Estonia and Iceland made the grade, IQAir said.

Significant data gaps, especially in Asia and Africa, cloud the worldwide picture, and many developing countries have relied on air quality sensors mounted on US embassy and consulate buildings to track their smog levels.

However, the State Department has recently ended the scheme, citing budget constraints, with more than 17 years of data removed last week from the US government’s official air quality monitoring site, airnow.gov, including readings collected in Chad.

“Most countries have a few other data sources, but it’s going to impact Africa significantly, because oftentimes these are the only sources of publicly available real-time air quality monitoring data,” said Christi Chester-Schroeder, IQAir’s air quality science manager.

 A man walks past a sign that reads "Drive carefully save life" in Peshawar, Pakistan, Jan. 23, 2024. (AP/File)

Data concerns meant Chad was excluded from IQAir’s 2023 list, but it was also ranked the most polluted country in 2022, plagued by Sahara dust as well as uncontrolled crop burning.

Average concentrations of small, hazardous airborne particles known as PM2.5 hit 91.8 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/cu m) last year in the country, slightly higher than 2022.
The WHO recommends levels of no more than 5 mg/cu m, a standard met by only 17 percent of cities last year.

India, fifth in the smog rankings behind Chad, Bangladesh, Pakistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, saw average PM2.5 fall 7 percent on the year to 50.6 mg/cu m.

But it accounted for 12 of the top 20 most polluted cities, with Byrnihat, in a heavily industrialized part of the country’s northeast, in first place, registering an average PM2.5 level of 128 mg/cu m.

Climate change is playing an increasing role in driving up pollution, Chester-Schroeder warned, with higher temperatures causing fiercer and lengthier forest fires that swept through parts of South East Asia and South America.

Christa Hasenkopf, director of the Clean Air Program at the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute (EPIC), said at least 34 countries will lose access to reliable pollution data after the US program was closed.

The State Department scheme improved air quality in the cities where the monitors were placed, boosting life expectancy and even reducing hazard allowances for US diplomats, meaning that it paid for itself, Hasenkopf said.

“(It) is a giant blow to air quality efforts worldwide,” she said


13 women-led startups graduate from program by Pakistan’s largest digital bank

Updated 50 min 9 sec ago
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13 women-led startups graduate from program by Pakistan’s largest digital bank

  • Incubator program equipped women with skills, financial literacy and tools to upscale startups, says Mobilink Bank 
  • Pakistani startup Ecobricks bags “Best Startup Award” while Recycle Bin, EcoGrow each won Innovation Challenge 

ISLAMABAD: Thirteen women-led startups recently graduated from an incubator program offered by Pakistan’s largest digital microfinance bank, equipping them with skills, financial literacy and the tools to upscale their enterprises, Mobilink Bank said in a statement this week. 

International and local rights groups have spoken out against women being marginalized in conservative Pakistan, where they are often subjected to gender inequality, suffer from lack of work opportunities, face violence and sexual abuse. 

A graduation ceremony of Mobilink Bank’s ‘Women Inspirational Network (WIN) Incubator Program’ was held in Islamabad on Saturday, Mar. 8, on the occasion of International Women’s Day. The event was attended by key stakeholders, industry leaders, businesswomen, partner organizations and media representatives, Mobilink Bank said in a statement on Monday. 

“As a future-ready bank, we’re not just providing tools and opportunities but paving the way for lasting change,” Haaris Mahmood Chaudhary, chief executive officer and president of Mobilink Bank, said in a statement. “When a woman rises, she lifts her family and community with her.”

Graduates of ‘Women Inspirational Network (WIN) Incubator Program’ pose for a picture in Islamabad March 8, 2025. (Mobilink Microfinance Bank)

Pakistani startup Ecobricks received the “Best Startup Award” and a prize of Rs1 million ($3,573), while Recycle Bin and EcoGrow were each awarded Rs500,000 ($1,786) as winners of the Innovation Challenge. 

“The awards recognized promising ideas and provided crucial financial support to fuel these businesses’ continued growth and success,” the bank said. “The bank also announced the launch of the program’s second cohort to continue nurturing a thriving ecosystem for women-led businesses.”

Pakistan’s foreign secretary Amna Baloch was the chief guest at the event. She described the incubator program as a “resounding success.”

“The stories of these women inspire hope and motivate others to take the reins of their lives into their own hands,” Baloch said in a statement.


Pakistan oil regulator in crosshairs of refineries, marketing firms over ‘take or pay’ clause

Updated 11 March 2025
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Pakistan oil regulator in crosshairs of refineries, marketing firms over ‘take or pay’ clause

  • OMCs strongly oppose proposal due to fear of liquidity crises, supply disruptions and potential market exits
  • Refineries say oil marketing firms failing to lift product disrupts operations, threatens supply chain stability

ISLAMABAD: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) said this week it would mediate between refineries and Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) to reach a “mutually agreeable” resolution on differences over the authority’s proposal to impose a “take or pay” clause in purchase agreements with refineries, which OMCs argue would unfairly burden them.

Pakistan has five oil refineries that process crude oil to produce refined petroleum products. Around 30 OMCs are licensed by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) to ensure the availability of petroleum products in the country.

A conflict emerged between local oil refineries and OMCs over OGRA’s proposal to include a take or pay clause in Sales Purchase Agreements (SPAs), with OMCs strongly opposing the move fearing liquidity crises, supply disruptions and potential market exits. Under the new contracts, oil marketing companies would have to pay at least cost to refineries if they are unable to pick up their allocated quantities of product.

The chairman of the Oil Marketing Association of Pakistan (OMAP), a body representing two dozen small and medium-sized Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs), wrote a letter to OGRA Chairman Masroor Khan this week to formally oppose the proposed clause, saying it would serve the interests of refineries and large OMCs at the expense of smaller players, further consolidating the monopolistic control of big fish in the oil sector. 

OGRA spokesperson Imran Ghaznavi told Arab News refineries and OMCs had been asked to enter into written sale and purchase contracts. 

“The take or pay clause means if an OMC does not buy the contracted quantity, it will still have to pay the purchase price or a penalty and vice versa,” he said. 

OMAP chairman Tariq Wazir Ali told Arab News on Monday the body had “expressed our grave concerns regarding the proposed imposition of the take or pay clause in the SPAs between refineries and OMCs as it poses significant risks to the financial sustainability of OMCs.” 

He said imposing a take or pay clause would hamper competition, discourage new entrants, and ultimately harm the overall efficiency of the petroleum supply chain. He also said the proposed clause overlooked refineries’ opportunistic behavior as they often withheld supply when prices were expected to rise, forcing OMCs into costly imports, and offloaded maximum stock when prices fell, causing financial losses to OMCs.

Given these circumstances, it was unreasonable to expect OMCs to bear inventory losses while refineries remained insulated from the market’s volatility, Ali said. 

“The proposed mechanism must be accompanied by a robust enforcement framework ensuring that refineries adhere to the same rules of fair play and supply commitments, regardless of market price trends,” he added, urging OGRA to convene an inclusive consultative meeting with equal representation of all stakeholders, including small and medium OMCs, before finalizing a decision. 

“MUTUALLY AGREEABLE CONTRACTS“

The conflict has emerged after five leading oil refineries wrote a letter to the OGRA chairman, arguing that OMCs had frequently failed to pick up agreed quantities of High-Speed Diesel (HSD) and Motor Gasoline (MOGAS), which had disrupted refinery operations and threatened supply chain stability. The refineries said while they maintained commercial agreements with OMCs, it was OGRA’s responsibility to enforce compliance with these contracts.

The refineries pointed to Rule 35(g) of the Pakistan Oil (Refining, Blending, Transportation, Storage, and Marketing) Rules 2016, which mandates that local production must be prioritized before allowing imports. Keeping this in mind, they have supported OGRA’s suggestion of introducing a take or pay clause to ensure product uplift but say it should be implemented through mutual agreement and strict regulatory oversight. 

“The engagement sessions with the OMCs will start soon,” OGRA spokesperson Ghaznavi said, “and OGRA will, in the best national interest and for achieving efficiency in the oil supply chain, mediate between refineries and OMCs for a mutually agreeable sale and purchase contracts.”


Pakistan launches first dematerialized ID card on silver jubilee of database authority 

Updated 10 March 2025
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Pakistan launches first dematerialized ID card on silver jubilee of database authority 

  • Digital Pakistan initiative aims to expand knowledge-based economy, spur socio-economic growth using digital technologies
  • Pakistan has made considerable progress in its digital transformation journey with rapid expansion of mobile broadband networks 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) marked its silver jubilee on Monday, launching the country’s first dematerialized ID card to commemorate 25 years in legal identity management and national database integration.

The launch of the new card is part of the government’s vision of a Digital Pakistan, where citizens will have digital certificates instead of material ID or, at least, in addition to material ones.

“Federal Minister for Interior and Narcotics Control Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi commended the launch of the dematerialized ID as a step toward digital identity,” NADRA said in a statement. 

“With the launch of this feature in the Pak ID Mobile Application, citizens will no longer need to carry physical ID cards. Moreover, digital verification systems will soon be implemented to facilitate authentication for various services under the World Bank-funded Digital Economy Enhancement Project.”

A pilot project for the fully digital identity will be launched on Aug. 14, 2025 to coincide with Pakistan’s Independence Day.

Pakistan has made considerable progress in its digital transformation journey with the rapid expansion of mobile broadband networks over the last decade. Today, nearly 80 percent of the adult population lives in areas served by mobile broadband (3G or 4G) networks, compared to 15 percent in 2010. But experts say more work must be done to ensure that connectivity reaches everyone, as only 22 percent of the population is subscribed to mobile Internet. 

To this end, Digital Pakistan is a flagship initiative of the government to expand the knowledge-based economy and spur socio-economic growth using digital technologies. 

“The vision with regards to Digital Pakistan Policy is to become a strategic enabler for an accelerated digitization ecosystem to expand the knowledge based economy and spur socio- economic growth,” according to a government policy document outlining the strategy.