ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Fashion Couture exhibition will be held on Nov. 16 in Riyadh to showcase Pakistani fashion in the Saudi market, featuring a variety of designers and their collections, a media handout said on Wednesday.
The fashion practiced in the South Asian country is an eclectic blend of traditional and modern styles, reflecting Pakistan’s cultural heritage. From the intricate embroidery and ornate patterns of traditional clothing to the bold and edgy designs of contemporary fashion, Pakistani fashion is a reflection of the country’s diversity and creativity.
Fashion designers from Saudi Arabia and other countries will also participate in the event, fostering “cultural harmony” between the two sides, in addition to promoting Pakistani fashion globally.
“For the first time, a fashion exhibition will take place on November 16 in Riyadh,” the media handout by Pakistan Fashion Couture said, quoting its top official, Adnan Bashir Khan. “This event will showcase Pakistani apparel, jewelry, and other fashion items, with participation from renowned Pakistani designers.”
Addressing a news conference in Riyadh, Khan highlighted how Pakistani fashion was “admired” by Saudi, Indian and Bangladeshi communities, among other nationalities, saying the aim was to “further establish Pakistani fashion’s presence” in the Saudi market.
He said a “special designer zone” was being set up at the exhibition for “established and emerging” designers to showcase their skills.
“This event marks an important step in strengthening fashion ties between the two countries,” Khan added. “We want to introduce Saudi audiences to the vibrant colors of Pakistani fashion and promote our designers’ creations on a global platform.”
The Pakistan Fashion Couture founder hopes the exhibition, featuring “traditional attire, contemporary fashion, and exclusive bridal designs,” will be a milestone for the Pakistani fashion industry in Saudi Arabia.
“Our goal is to increase the popularity of Pakistani fashion here and create new opportunities for our industry in Saudi Arabia,” Khan said.
Pakistan Fashion Couture exhibition to be held in Saudi Arabia on Nov. 16
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Pakistan Fashion Couture exhibition to be held in Saudi Arabia on Nov. 16
- Event featuring various designers will showcase Pakistani fashion collections in the Middle Eastern market
- Pakistani fashion blends traditional and modern styles, reflecting the country’s rich cultural heritage
Electric vehicles, air quality sensors proposed to curb severe winter pollution in Lahore
- The eastern Pakistani city has witnessed unprecedented rise in Air Quality Index during this week
- WWF-Pakistan calls for removal of industrial zones from urban centers, reliance on renewables
KARACHI: A leading environmental conservation organization in Pakistan on Wednesday recommended adopting electric vehicles and installing air quality sensors to combat rising pollution in Lahore, one of the world’s most polluted cities during the winter smog season, according to a statement it circulated.
WWF-Pakistan pointed to several key contributors identified by policymakers, including emissions from vehicles, industrial processes, crop residue burning and coal combustion as the city’s Air Quality Index (AQI) reached unprecedented levels this week.
The call for reform came on the same day when Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif advocated for diplomatic efforts with neighboring India to address cross-border pollution, as both nations contend with extreme air quality issues.
“Worsening air quality and persistent smog is a serious issue not only for the people but also for biodiversity, especially birds and other animals,” said Hammad Naqi Khan, Director General WWF-Pakistan.
“The adoption of electric vehicles can help reduce vehicular emissions that lead to poor air quality,” he added. “However, financial subsidies and establishing EV charging infrastructure are essential for the transition to electric vehicles.”
WWF-Pakistan’s policy recommendations, drawn from air quality data collected between 2013 and 2024, lay out a comprehensive strategy to improve Lahore’s air quality. Key proposals also include establishing industrial zones away from urban centers, expanding the mass transit network and transitioning industries to renewable energy sources.
Additionally, the report advocates for integrated traffic management, which, when combined with the installation of sensor-based monitoring systems, could help reduce localized pollution in heavily trafficked areas.
“These low-cost air quality monitoring systems can be used to identify air pollution hotspots and can also be synchronized with traffic management,” Khan noted, explaining that measures such as designating alternate routes or restricting heavy transport in certain areas can help reduce emissions in high-risk zones.
The report also recommended building the capacity of farmers to manage crop residue through sustainable practices and alternative uses.
Additionally, it called for mandatory vehicular emission testing, dust control in the construction sector, and promoting solar energy to replace diesel- and coal-based power in industrial sectors like leather, textile and steel.
“Industries emitting high levels of pollutants must install relevant pollution control devices,” said Nazifa Butt, Director Climate and Energy at WWF-Pakistan, highlighting the role of industrial compliance in achieving cleaner air.
Pakistani authorities have enforced new measures to combat hazardous smog, including making mask-wearing mandatory across the city of Lahore.
New, shorter school timings have also been announced in the city while student assemblies will be conducted in classrooms rather than outdoor spaces.
All outdoor activities at schools have also been temporarily suspended, and a ban has also been imposed on fireworks in Lahore until Jan. 31, 2025.
Pakistan urges US to end Cuba restrictions as UN condemns longstanding embargo
- UN voted 187-2 in favor of lifting the embargo, with only the US and Israel opposing the resolution
- Pakistani diplomat says during the debate an end to embargo will improve quality of life in Cuba
ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani diplomat at the United Nations called for an end to the longstanding American economic restrictions on Cuba, emphasizing that the step would enhance quality of life in the Caribbean nation as the global body condemned the embargo for the 32nd consecutive year.
The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly voted 187-2 in favor of lifting the sanctions, with only the US and Israel opposing the resolution, alongside one abstention in the 193-member body.
Tensions between the US and Cuba escalated in the 1960s, following Fidel Castro’s revolutionary government’s decision to nationalize American-owned assets without compensation.
This led to US embargo as Washington aimed to isolate Cuba economically and politically, pressuring its government to carry out democratic reforms and curtail alignment with the former Soviet Union.
“Pakistan maintains that the imposition of unilateral economic measures is counterproductive and inconsistent with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and international law,” an official statement quoted the deputy permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, Ambassador Usman Jadoon, as saying during the debate.
The statement said the Pakistani diplomat highlighted the rights of the people of Cuba to their own means of subsistence, especially food and medicine, adding that “ending the embargo would be a significant step toward improving the quality of life for the Cuban people, and will help Cuba advance on the path toward sustainable development.”
Ambassador Jadoon also expressed a deep concern on the impact that the economic, financial and commercial embargo has had on Cuba and its people.
He reiterated Pakistan’s “unwavering commitment to multilateralism,” saying his country believed in the fundamental principles of sovereign equality, non-interference and non-intervention, as enshrined in the UN Charter.
On Pakistan’s southern coast, a group of surfers chases waves and their dreams
- Access to surfing equipment is limited in Pakistan, with the group sharing about 25 surfboards
- Many group member learned surfing by watching videos available on social media platforms
KARACHI: Attiq Ur Rehman is determined to follow his dream to become Pakistan’s first professional surfer despite his father’s concern for his future, a lack of equipment and the messy waves near Karachi.
“I don’t care about the money right now. I just want to compete,” the 21-year-old says, shrugging off his father’s plea to take up fishing so he can get married and support his family. “It’s my surfer attitude.”
Rehman’s family are part of a poor coastal community in southern Pakistan that usually make a living from fishing or as lifeguards watching over more affluent residents of Karachi when they come for a day at the beach.
His father makes the equivalent of $100 a month to feed a family of 10 through fishing.
“I told him a thousand times (to stop surfing) but he still doesn’t listen,” said Rehman’s father, Muhammad Rafiq.
Rehman was a lifeguard but gave it up to concentrate on his surfing, which he started aged nine, and founded a new community that calls itself “Surfers of Bulleji.”
The group has grown to around 50 and have gone viral on social media in a country where cricket and hockey are the main sports.
The group consists of surfing enthusiasts from surrounding coastal villages, some aged as young as eight.
On a sunny day, their passion for surfing is on display with the right window for waves to surf along a near-empty beach close to the metropolis of 20 million.
One of cohort, Mujahid Baloch, a 24-year-old fisherman, first saw surfing on social media and instantly took a shine to it.
“Slowly, through watching, we learned. No one taught us,” he said.
Though Sri Lanka and the Maldives to the south are on global surfers’ hit lists, Pakistan’s arid 1,000km (620 miles) of coastline is usually poorly suited for surfing, relying on local winds to generate waves that are often small and messy, or rare cyclone swells.
“When all of Karachi was being given an advisory to stay away from the sea, and a cyclone was approaching, me and the boys were getting ready to go to the beach,” said Rehman. “The waves were ideal for us.”
While an occasional visiting surfer might join them for a paddle and some other villages along the coast have small surfing groups, competition with global peers is a challenge. The International Surfing Association has 116 member countries, including places such as Ukraine and land-locked Switzerland, but Pakistan is not on the list.
Still, members of “Surfers of Bulleji” idolize American professional surfer Kelly Slater, whose videos they often watch awe-struck, and wish to emulate his skill.
But access to surfing equipment is limited in Pakistan, with the group sharing about 25 surfboards and pitching in for repairs when they are needed.
They sometimes find discarded boards in large containers of junk brought to Pakistan from around the world. They buy these junked boards for as little as $35 and repair them using basic materials like glue and resin.
“If it breaks, we repair it. Because we don’t have surfboards here,” Baloch said. Pointing to a piece of foam, he said it was found at sea and shaped into a make-shift board. “If we find more such foam, we can make our own boards here,” he said.
“Our community is getting bigger and stronger, so the shopkeepers know we will come and keep such finds safe for us,” Rehman says.
Diwali: Pakistan’s Punjab announces cash cards for minorities, doubles uplift fund
- Underprivileged members of minorities to receive $37.79 per quarter under Minority Card initiative, says Punjab CM
- Pakistani Hindus are celebrating one of Hinduism’s most popular festivals, Diwali or “Festival of Lights,” today
ISLAMABAD: The chief minister of Pakistan’s Punjab province, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, has announced cash cards for minorities and vowed to double the amount for uplifting their places of worship and graveyards, as the country’s Hindu community celebrates Diwali festival today, Thursday.
Known as the “Festival of Lights,” Diwali is one of the most popular festivals of Hinduism. It is usually observed between mid-October and mid-November and is believed to ward off evil spirits and bring prosperity to the community.
At a ceremony held in Lahore to mark Diwali with members of the Hindu community in attendance, Sharif announced a gift of Rs15,000 [$53.98] per family for 1,400 families in Punjab for the occasion.
“I am also about to announce that with so much interest and dedication, we have come up with the Minority Card,” Sharif said. “I have told them to launch this Minority Card by Dec. 20.”
Sharif said that as per the initiative, underprivileged people among the minorities will be given Rs10,500 [$37.79] per quarter.
“We are starting this with 50,000 people in Punjab but god willing, next year we will not only increase the number of the beneficiaries, cards and families but also this amount of Rs10,500,” she added.
Sharif said the provincial government was taking measures to ensure safety of minorities. She announced that a panic button had been installed for members of the minority community in police stations, adding that virtual police stations were also instructed to entertain complaints by minorities apart from women and children.
Sharif announced that she had also doubled the fund for minorities that would be used for the uplift of their graveyards and places of worship.
According to the latest digital census conducted last year, over 96 percent of Pakistan’s population is Muslim, with the remaining four percent comprising 5.2 million Hindus, 3.3 million Christians, 15,992 Sikhs and others.
Religiously motivated Pakistani ultra-conservative groups have conducted attacks on Pakistani minorities. There have been dozens of instances of mob violence against religious minorities in the South Asian nation in recent years, including an attack on Christians in Jaranwala, a town in Punjab province, where churches, homes and businesses were set ablaze in August 2023.
In the southern Sindh province, Hindus have frequently complained about forced conversions, particularly of young girls within their community, and attacks on temples.
Pakistan’s governments have repeatedly said guaranteeing the safety of minorities is a top concern and priority for them in the Muslim-majority nation.
Major among three soldiers killed in shootout with militants in northwest Pakistan
- Pakistan army says eight militants killed, seven injured during shootout in northwestern district Bannu
- Pakistan’s security forces often carry out such operations against the Pakistani Taliban in KP province
ISLAMABAD: An army major was among three soldiers killed during an intelligence-based operation in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, the military’s media wing said, in a shootout that also resulted in the killing of eight militants.
Security forces conducted the operation at the Bakka Khel area of KP’s volatile district Bannu on Oct. 30, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the army’s media wing, said in a statement. It said eight militants were killed while seven were injured during the exchange of fire between both sides.
“Major Atif Khalil (age: 31 years, resident of District Sudhanuti, Azad Kashmir), a brave officer, who was leading his troops from the front, fought gallantly and embraced Shahadat [martyrdom] along with his two men,” the ISPR said.
The other two soldiers killed alongside Major Khalil were Naik Azad Ullah, 36 and Lance Naik Ghazanfar Abbar, 35, the army’s media wing said.
“Sanitization operation is being carried out to eliminate any other khwarji found in the area, as security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve,” the military said.
Pakistan’s security forces often carry out such operations against the Pakistani Taliban, who are known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP. The banned outfit is an ally of the Afghan Taliban but are a separate group.
The TTP have stepped up its assaults in Pakistan’s KP province since August 2021 after the Afghan Taliban seized power in Kabul and a fragile truce between the state and the TTP broke down in November 2022.
Pakistan blames Afghanistan’s government for sheltering TTP militants, accusing Kabul of not doing enough to stamp out militants allegedly using Afghan soil to launch attacks against Pakistan. The Afghan government denies the allegations.
Pakistani forces have intensified their operations against the TTP and other insurgents, including separatist groups based in the restive southwestern Balochistan province.
