KARACHI: The Jackson Police Station, founded in 1924, is the oldest surviving police station in the Pakistani megacity of Karachi. Once known as a temporary lockup for petty criminals, it has evolved over the decades into a key facility to hold suspects involved in serious crimes like murder, armed robbery and drug trafficking in a bustling port area of the country’s commercial hub.
As the population of Karachi, Pakistan’s largest and most populous city, has surged from 244,000 to over 20 million in the last century, so too has the nature of crimes. The Jackson Police Station — which is used to house suspects before they are produced in courts or convicted and sentenced to prison — has kept up pace.
“While the lockup has been in existence for the past 100 years, its guests have changed over time,” Station House Master Muhammad Ishaq told Arab News.
Fifty years ago, the criminals brought to the lockup may have pick-pocketed a few hundred rupees or nicked schoolbooks from a nearby shop, but now, people accused of violent murders are brought in and a drug dealer was recently holed up there after being caught with nearly 58 kilograms of narcotics.
“Similarly, we’ve apprehended robbers and those involved in oil theft from the [nearby] refinery,” Ishaq said.
The area where Jackson Police Station is located on Napier Mole Road near Karachi’s Keamari Port is one of the city’s most dynamic and densely populated regions, a dizzying mishmash of residential, commercial, and industrial zones.
Due to its proximity to the port, offenses such as smuggling, illegal fishing and other maritime-related crimes are common in the area. Issues of street crime, narcotics, and public order are also standard-fare in the Keamari region, home to a diverse population of dock workers, traders and various ethnic communities.
Peerzada Salman, the author of ‘Legacies of Empires’ about colonial-era buildings in Karachi, said most of the buildings in Keamari were built before the partition of the Indian Subcontinent and the end of British colonial rule in 1947.
The police station and a nearby market were named after either of two prominent Jacksons of Karachi, Salman said: one, the principal of DJ College and the other a prominent pharmacy owner.
“PRISON CONDITIONS”
According to documents seen by Arab News, the police station existed before 1933.
“In 1924, the first police post or police station [of Karachi] was established here, and its building is still there in front of you, and it also has a plaque from that time,” SHO Ishaq said. “We also have records of the SHOs from after 1935 onwards.
“From the very beginning, it has a lockup and an arms depot where weapons are stored securely. It has a bunker [as well]. All of this indicates that the building was originally constructed precisely to be used as a police station.”
But the condition of the lockup has long been a point of concern.
Pakistan has one of the world’s most overcrowded prison systems, according to Human Rights Watch, which said in a report released last year that the South Asian nation’s more than 100 jails had at least 88,000 inmates, against the officially approved capacity of 65,168. Some jail cells, the report said, were holding as many as 15 prisoners when they were designed for just three.
Prisoners are forced to live under unsanitary conditions and “lice, fleas, scabies and skin diseases are common in prison,” it said.
Other than the lack of health care facilities in prisons, the report also highlighted rights abuses faced by the prisoners, including torture, discrimination and lack of access to legal aid.
Prisons are also under-resourced, experts say, and efforts at reform are stymied by ingrained attitudes of discrimination, among other reasons.
Jibran Nasir, a lawyer and human rights activist, criticized the state of lockups across Pakistan, describing them as “overcrowded, poorly ventilated, smelly, and lacking basic amenities like washrooms and bedding.”
“Suspects are held temporarily, but their detention can be extended during physical remands. Often, they have no contact with family members who could provide essentials like pillows or clean clothes,” Nasir said.
But SHO Ishaq said “standard operating procedures” at Jackson were “of the same level and methods in the whole of Pakistan.”
“Safety, security, cleanliness and the facilities that should be provided to the accused, they are all there, because we hate the crime, not the suspect,” the police officer said, adding that greater attention was now being paid to the cleanliness and hygiene of the police station.
Salman, whose book has a dedicated chapter on Jackson, also said there was room for improvement.
Apart from playing a “vital role” in policing, the station was also part of the city’s cultural heritage and along with other buildings in the vicinity needed upkeep, the historian said.
“The Jackson Police Station, I think, is in pretty good shape. Still, it needs a bit of restoration, a bit of refurbishment … The facade looks good, but obviously the inner area needs a bit of touch-up.”
Karachi’s oldest lockup, Jackson Police Station, evolves as city sprawls
https://arab.news/4yqvm
Karachi’s oldest lockup, Jackson Police Station, evolves as city sprawls
- Founded in 1924, Jackson is used to hold petty criminals and suspects in serious crimes before they are presented in court, sentenced
- Proximity to Keamari Port means lockup sees all manner of suspects in cases of smuggling, illegal fishing, murder and drug trafficking
Authorities issue thunderstorm alert for Pakistan’s Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces
- Last week, a child was killed and 11 people were injured as a thunderstorm hit upper parts of the country
- Pakistan has seen erratic changes in weather leading to frequent heatwaves, untimely rains in recent years
ISLAMABAD: The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has issued an impact-based weather alert predicting isolated showers, thunderstorms, windstorms and dust storms over the next 24 hours in various parts of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces and the federal capital of Islamabad.
In Punjab, the areas that may be affected include Rawalpindi, Attock, Jhelum, Chakwal, Mianwali, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Sargodha, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Lahore, Narowal and adjoining regions, according to the NDMA.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, isolated rainfall, windstorm, thunderstorm and dust storm are expected in Chitral, Battagram, Kohistan, Kohat, Kurram, Bannu, Mardan, Peshawar, Swabi, Charsadda, Nowshera, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Dera Ismail Khan, Bajaur, Mohmand and surrounding areas.
“These weather conditions are likely to bring temporary relief from the prevailing heatwave,” the NDMA said in a statement.
“However, strong winds and thunderstorms may uproot weak trees and cause temporary power outages. Dust storms may damage fragile structures, rooftops, vehicles, and electrical infrastructure. Reduced visibility during storms may increase the risk of road accidents.”
The authority advised the public to not go near trees, billboards and other unstable structures during storms.
“Park vehicles in secure, covered locations and minimize outdoor movement,” it said. “NDMA is closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with relevant departments to ensure timely response and public safety.”
Last week, a child was killed and 11 people were injured as a thunderstorm hit upper parts of Pakistan, rescue officials said. In April, an intense hailstorm battered Pakistan’s capital and its surrounding areas. Several vehicles were damaged and house windows smashed as hailstones rained down from the sky on April 16.
Pakistan has seen erratic changes in its weather patterns which have led to frequent heat waves, untimely rains, storms, cyclones and droughts in recent years. Scientists have blamed the events on human-driven climate change.
In 2022, devastating floods, blamed on human-driven climate change, killed more than 1,700 Pakistanis, affected another 33 million and caused the country over $30 billion in economic losses.
IMF team concludes Pakistan visit after talks on budget proposals, economic policy and reforms
- The visit concluded hours after the Pakistani government announced it will now present Budget 2025-26 on June 10
- Discussions in Islamabad focused on actions to enhance revenue and prioritize expenditure, the global lender says
ISLAMABAD: An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team has concluded its visit to Pakistan after discussions with authorities regarding the upcoming budget, broader economic policy and reforms under its ongoing $7 billion loan program, the lender said on Saturday.
The visit concluded hours after the Pakistani government announced it would now present the Budget 2025-26 on June 10, a delay from the earlier announced date of June 2, seen by many as a result of authorities’ struggle to finalize fiscal targets.
The Economic Survey 2024-25, which details performance of various sectors of the economy in the outgoing fiscal year, will be unveiled on June 9, a day before the budget presentation, according to the Pakistani finance ministry.
The discussions between Islamabad and the IMF team, led by Mission Chief Nathan Porter, began on May 19 and focused on recent economic developments, IMF program implementation, and the budget strategy for the next fiscal year.
“The authorities reaffirmed their commitment to fiscal consolidation while safeguarding social and priority expenditures, aiming for a primary surplus of 1.6 percent of GDP in FY2026,” Porter was quoted as saying by the IMF.
“Discussions focused on actions to enhance revenue — including by bolstering compliance and expanding the tax base — and prioritize expenditure. We will continue discussions toward agreeing over the authorities’ FY26 budget over the coming days.”
The IMF this month approved first review of Pakistan’s loan program, unlocking a $1 billion payment. A fresh $1.4 billion loan was also approved under the IMF’s climate resilience fund.
The IMF loan is vital for Pakistan which is trying to revive its debt-ridden economy that is expected to expand 2.68 percent by June, about one percent lower than the government’s earlier projection.
The IMF’s latest country report, issued last week, mentioned certain structural benchmarks for Pakistan’s economic reform program that officials said represented the natural progression of the measures already agreed upon, when Pakistan signed the Memorandum for Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP) in September.
“These benchmarks are not surprises. They are deliberate follow-ons to earlier milestones,” Khurram Schehzad, an adviser to Pakistan’s finance minister, told Arab News this week, citing Pakistan’s parliamentary approval of the next budget in line with the IMF staff agreement as a second step toward the country’s goal of achieving a primary surplus of 2 percent of GDP by FY27.
“The first step was the FY25 budget [presented in June last year], which targeted a 1.0 percent surplus.”
Discussions between Pakistan and the visiting IMF team also covered ongoing energy sector reforms aimed at improving financial viability and reducing the high-cost structure of Pakistan’s power sector as well as other structural reforms which will help foster “sustainable growth and promote a more level playing field for business and investment,” according to the lender.
Pakistani authorities emphasized their commitment to ensuring sound macroeconomic policy-making and -building buffers.
“In this context, maintaining an appropriately tight and data-dependent monetary policy remains a priority to ensure inflation is anchored within the central bank’s medium-term target range of 5–7 percent,” the lender said.
“At the same time, rebuilding foreign exchange reserve buffers, preserving a fully functioning FX [foreign exchange] market, and allowing for greater exchange rate flexibility are critical to strengthening resilience to external shocks.”
The next IMF mission is expected to visit Pakistan in the second half of 2025 for next reviews its loan program and climate fund facility.
Beyond ceasefire, India and Pakistan battle on in digital trenches
- Both states continue to push competing narratives after the four-day military standoff, which ended on May 10 with a US-brokered truce
- Digital rights experts note how it is often laced with hate, targeting vulnerable communities like Muslims in India and Hindus in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: As Indian and Pakistani guns fell silent after trading fire for days this month, the war over facts and fiction is far from over and fierce battle rages on social media as to who won, who distorted the truth, and which version of events should be trusted.
As both states continue to push competing narratives, experts warn that misinformation, censorship and AI-generated propaganda have turned digital platforms into battlegrounds, with real-world consequences for peace, truth and regional stability.
The four-day military standoff, which ended on May 10 with a US-brokered ceasefire, resulted from an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 people last month. India accused Pakistan of backing the assault, a charge Islamabad has consistently denied.
While the truce between the nuclear-armed archfoes has since held, digital rights experts have sounded alarm over the parallel information war, which continues based on disinformation, censorship and propaganda on both sides, threatening the ceasefire between both nations.
Asad Baig, who heads the Media Matters for Democracy not-for-profit that works on media literacy and digital democracy, noted that broadcast media played a central role in spreading falsehoods during the India-Pakistan standoff to cater to an online audience hungry for “sensational content.”
“Disinformation was overwhelmingly spread from the Indian side,” Baig told Arab News. “Media was playing to a polarized, online audience. Conflict became content, and content became currency in the monetization game.”
Several mainstream media outlets, mostly in India, flooded the public with fake news, doctored visuals and sensationalist coverage, fueling mass anxiety and misinformation, according to fact-checkers and experts, who say the role of media at this critical geopolitical juncture undermined journalistic integrity and misled citizens.
“I think this is a perfect example of the media becoming a tool of propaganda in the hands of a state,” said prominent digital rights activist Usama Khilji, calling on those at the helm of television and digital media outlets to independently verify state claims using tools like satellite imagery or on-ground sources.
In Pakistan, X, previously known as Twitter, had been banned since February 2024, with digital rights groups and global organizations calling the blockade a “blatant violation” of civic liberties and a threat to democratic freedoms.
But on May 7, as Pakistan’s responded to India’s missile strikes on its territory that began the conflict, the platform was suddenly restored, allowing users to access it without a VPN that allows them to bypass such restrictions by masking their location. The platform has remained accessible since.
“We were [previously] told that X is banned because of national security threats,” Khilji told Arab News, praising the government’s “strategic move” to let the world hear Pakistan’s side of the story during this month’s conflict.
“But when we actually got a major national security threat in terms of literal war, X was unblocked.”
Indian authorities meanwhile blocked more than 8,000 X, YouTube and Instagram accounts belonging to news outlets as well as Pakistani celebrities, journalists and influencers.
“When only one narrative is allowed to dominate, it creates echo chambers that breed confusion, fuel conflict, and dangerously suppress the truth,” Khilji explained.
VIRTUAL WAR
Minutes after India attacked Pakistan with missiles on May 7, Pakistan released a video to journalists via WhatsApp that showed multiple blasts hitting an unknown location purportedly in Pakistan. However, the video later turned out to be of Israeli bombardment of Gaza and was retracted.
On May 8, Indian news outlets played a video in which a Pakistani military spokesperson admitted to the downing of two of their Chinese-made JF-17 fighter jets. X users later pointed out that the video was AI-generated.
Throughout the standoff both mainstream and digital media outlets found themselves in the eye of the storm, with many official and verified accounts sharing and then retracting false information. The use of AI-generated videos and even video game simulations misrepresented battlefield scenarios in real time and amplified confusion at a critical moment.
Insights from experts paint a disturbing picture of how information warfare is becoming inseparable from conventional conflict. From deliberate state narratives to irresponsible media and rampant misinformation on social platforms, the truth itself is becoming a casualty of war.
AFP Digital Verification Correspondent Rimal Farrukh describes how false information was often laced with hate speech, targeting vulnerable communities like Muslims in India and Hindus in Pakistan.
“We saw dehumanizing language, misleading visuals, and recycled war footage, often from unrelated conflicts like Russia-Ukraine or Israel-Gaza, used to stoke fear and deepen biases,” she told Arab News.
Pakistan to export female beauticians to Saudi Arabia — state media
- Hairdressers, makeup and nail artists under the age of 40 are required, OEC says
- Pakistan has long maintained a strong labor export relationship with the Kingdom
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Overseas Employment Corporation (OEC) will send skilled female beauticians to Saudi Arabia in response to a demand from a private firm in the Kingdom, state media reported on Friday, outlining the qualifications required for applicants.
The initiative comes as part of Pakistan’s long-standing labor export relationship with Saudi Arabia, which remains the top destination for Pakistani workers and contributes over $700 million in monthly remittances to the South Asian country.
Pakistan regularly sends skilled labor to Gulf nations, including medical professionals, engineers and technicians. The latest move targets the beauty and personal care sector.
“Overseas Employment Corporation, an attached department of the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development, will export skilled workers (female beauticians) to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said.
It informed a Saudi firm is seeking beauticians for various roles, including senior hairdresser, nail technician (gel and acrylic), eyelash specialist, makeup artist, waxing and bleaching specialist and wig technician.
The required qualifications include a minimum of three years’ experience and an age limit of under 40 years.
APP said the firm will offer senior beauticians a monthly salary of 3,000 Saudi Riyals or approximately $800.
Employees will also receive free shared accommodation with furnishings and air conditioning, food allowance, and round-trip airfare, along with surface transport within Saudi Arabia if needed.
The news report said applications must be submitted via the OEC website by June 8.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy robust economic, defense and cultural ties.
The Kingdom hosts over 2.7 million Pakistani expatriates and remains the largest source of remittances to Pakistan, a crucial lifeline for the country’s cash-strapped economy.
PM Sharif calls for economic policies to revive Pakistan’s export competitiveness
- The PM outlines the goal during a meeting with Dr. Stefan Dercon, a prominent British economist
- He calls for deep-rooted reforms to steer Pakistan’s economy back toward export-led growth
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday stressed the need for balance across all economic policies to revive Pakistan’s export potential, saying his government wanted to take the country back to a place where its products were once again in global demand.
The remarks came during a meeting with Dr. Stefan Dercon, a prominent British economist and professor of economic policy at Oxford University.
Dercon, who previously served as the UK Department for International Development’s (DFID) chief economist, is widely recognized for his work on poverty, institutional reform and economic development in low- and middle-income countries.
“A sound balance across all policies is essential to promote business,” the prime minister was quoted as saying in an official statement circulated by his office. “For Pakistan’s economic development, alignment between fiscal policy, taxation policy and production policy is necessary.”
“In the past, Pakistani products were in high demand globally and the country was counted among the world’s major exporters,” he continued. “We want to bring Pakistan back to that place.”
Sharif’s meeting with the British economist took place at a time when Pakistan seeks to strengthen its economy through increased exports and foreign investment, following signs of stabilization under an IMF-supported economic program.
He maintained that deep-rooted reforms were required to transition the national economy back toward export-led growth.
Dercon praised the direction of Pakistan’s economic policy and reform agenda, noting improving investor sentiment toward the country.
He particularly lauded Pakistan’s tariff rationalization efforts, which aim to simplify and streamline import duties to support industrial competitiveness.
The meeting was also attended by top members of the government’s economic team, including Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal and senior officials from relevant departments.
