ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s High Commission in New Delhi announced on Friday the issuance of 94 visas to Indian pilgrims to attend the birth anniversary of a revered 18th-century Hindu spiritual leader in the southern province of Sindh.
Shiv Avtari Sant Shadaram Sahib was born in 1708 in Lahore, now part of Pakistan. Known for his spiritual teachings and emphasis on universal love, he is believed to be an incarnation of Shiva, one of the principal deities in Hinduism, by his followers.
His most notable legacy is the founding of Shadani Darbar, a prominent Hindu temple and spiritual center located in Hayat Pitafi, situated in Ghotki District, which became a pilgrimage destination.
“@PakinIndia has issued 94 visas to Indian pilgrims for their visit to Pakistan to participate in the 316th Birth Anniversary Celebrations of Shiv Avtari Stguru Sant Shadaram Sahib, at Shadani Darbar Hayat Pitafi, Sindh from 05-15 January 2025,” the high commission posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
It mentioned that the Charge d’Affaires Saad Ahmad Warraich wished the pilgrims a “rewarding and fulfilling journey,” emphasizing Pakistan’s commitment to preserving sacred religious sites and facilitating pilgrimages.
Religious tourism remains a key aspect of cultural exchanges between India and Pakistan, governed by the 1974 Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines. This agreement allows devotees from both countries to visit sacred sites, including Hindu temples in Pakistan and Islamic shrines in India. However, political tensions between the two nations have at times disrupted these exchanges, with instances where visas were denied to religious pilgrims.
In recent years, Pakistan has actively promoted religious tourism, welcoming Buddhist monks as well as Hindu and Sikh pilgrims from India and across the globe. The inauguration of the Kartarpur Corridor in 2019, which allows visa-free travel for Indian Sikhs to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, is a significant milestone in these efforts.
Each year, a large number of Indian Sikhs also travel to Pakistan to pay homage at sacred sites, including Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s Samadhi in Lahore, the last resting place of the founder of the Sikh Empire, and Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Hasan Abdal, revered for its connection to Guru Nanak.
Pakistan issues 94 visas to Indian pilgrims for Hindu saint’s birth anniversary in Sindh
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Pakistan issues 94 visas to Indian pilgrims for Hindu saint’s birth anniversary in Sindh

- Shiv Avtari Sant Shadaram Sahib was born in 1708 in Lahore, which is now part of Pakistan
- Pakistani charge d’affaires in India says his country is committed to facilitating devotees
Pakistan to kickstart post-Hajj flight operations today to bring back pilgrims

- State media says Pakistan International Airlines’ flight carrying 307 pilgrims will leave Jeddah for Islamabad
- Over 88,000 Pakistani pilgrims under government scheme to return to country via 362 flights, says state media
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will kickstart its post-Hajj flight operations to bring thousands of pilgrims back to the country from today, Tuesday, state-run media reported, adding that they would continue till July 10.
Pakistan concluded its 33-day pre-Hajj flight operation last month, transporting more than 115,000 pilgrims to Saudi Arabia under both the government and private schemes for the annual Islamic pilgrimage.
This year’s Hajj pilgrimage took place from June 4 to June 9, drawing millions of pilgrims to the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah. Pakistan was among several countries managing large-scale contingents during the annual religious gathering.
“Post-Hajj flight operation to bring back Pakistani pilgrims is starting from Tuesday,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported on Monday, quoting Secretary Religious Affairs Dr. Syed Ata ur Rehman.
Sharing details, Rehman said Pakistan International Airlines’ flight PK-732 carrying 307 pilgrims will leave Jeddah for Islamabad.
“Similarly, the first post-Hajj flight from Madinah PK-7030 will depart for Lahore on Thursday,” Radio Pakistan said. “The national flag carrier will airlift 307 pilgrims.”
The Pakistani official said the flight operation would continue till July 10 during which a total of over 88,000 pilgrims under the government scheme will be transported to Pakistan via 362 flights.
“Meanwhile, Dr. Syed Ata ur Rehman highlighted that elaborate arrangements have been made for smooth transportation of the pilgrims back to their homeland,” the state broadcaster said.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday thanked Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the Kingdom’s “exceptional organization” of Hajj 2025.
“Thank you for making this spiritual experience more comfortable and memorable for all those who performed Hajj this year,” Sharif wrote on social media platform X.
Pakistan likely to hike defense spending but slash overall budget in 2025-26

- Media reports say government likely to present Rs17.6 trillion ($62.45 billion) budget for budget 2025-26
- Analysts expect increase of around 20 percent in defense budget likely offset by cuts in development spending
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will unveil its annual federal budget for the coming fiscal year later on Tuesday, seeking to kickstart growth while finding resources for an expected hike in defense expenditure following the conflict with India last month.
Islamabad will also have to contend with remaining within the discipline of its International Monetary Fund program and the uncertainty from new trade tariffs being imposed by the United States, its biggest export market.
Media reports say the government is likely to present a 17.6 trillion rupee ($62.45 billion) budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, down 6.7 percent from this fiscal year. It has projected a fiscal deficit of 4.8 percent of GDP, against a targeted 5.9 percent deficit in 2024-25, the reports say.
Analysts said they expect an increase of around 20 percent in the defense budget, likely offset by cuts in development spending.
Pakistan allocated 2.1 trillion Pakistani rupees ($7.45 billion) for defense in the outgoing fiscal year, including $2 billion for equipment and other assets. An additional 563 billion rupees ($1.99 billion) was set aside for military pensions, which are not counted within the official defense budget.
India’s defense spending in its 2025–26 (April-March) fiscal year was set at $78.7 billion, a 9.5 percent increase from the previous year, including pensions and $21 billion earmarked for equipment. It has indicated it will step up expenditure following the May conflict with Pakistan.
The government of Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has projected 4.2 percent economic growth in 2025-26, saying it has steadied the economy, which had looked at risk of defaulting on its debts as recently as 2023. Growth this fiscal year is likely to be 2.7 percent, against an initial target of 3.6 percent set in the budget last year.
Pakistan’s growth lags far behind the region. In 2024, South Asian countries grew by an average of 5.8 percent and 6.0 percent growth is expected in 2025, according to the Asian Development Bank.
RATE CUTS NOT ENOUGH
Expansion of the economy should be aided by a sharp drop in the cost of borrowing, the government says, after a succession of interest rate cuts by the central bank. But economists warn that monetary policy alone may not be enough, with fiscal constraints and IMF-mandated reforms still weighing on investment.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Monday that he wanted to avoid Pakistan’s boom and bust cycles of the past.
“The macroeconomic stability that we have achieved, we want to absolutely stay the course,” he said. “This time around we are very, very clear that we do not want to squander the opportunity.”
The budget is expected to prioritize expanding the tax base, enforcing agriculture income tax laws, and reducing government subsidies to industry, to meet the terms of a $7 billion IMF bailout signed last summer. Just 1.3 percent of the population paid income tax in 2024, according to the tax authorities, with agriculture and the retail sector largely outside of the tax net.
The IMF has urged Pakistan to widen the tax base through reforms which include taxing agriculture, retail, and real estate.
Ahmad Mobeen, senior economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said that he expected the revenue target for 2025-26 will be missed.
“The shortfall will mostly be owing to lack of optimal implementation of announced measures as well as absence of meaningful structural reforms to widen the tax net in general,” said Mobeen.
($1 = 281.8400 Pakistani rupees)
Pakistan’s Punjab says ongoing heat wave likely to continue till Thursday

- Pakistan ranks among top 10 countries most vulnerable to climate change, faces irregular weather patterns
- Heat wave may be severe in Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Dera Ghazi Khan and Multan, says state broadcaster
ISLAMABAD: The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) in Pakistan’s Punjab said this week that the ongoing heat wave in the country’s most populous province is likely to continue till Thursday.
Pakistan’s Meteorological Department last week forecast that the ongoing heat wave in the country will continue throughout the Eid Al-Adha holidays . It said day temperatures are likely to remain 5°C to 7°C above normal in the upper half (central & upper Punjab, Islamabad, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan).
Pakistan ranks among the top ten countries most vulnerable to climate change and has faced increasingly frequent extreme weather events in recent years, including deadly heatwaves and devastating floods.
“Provincial Disaster Management Authority Punjab has cautioned that current heat wave will likely to continue in the province till Thursday,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan said in a report on Monday. “He said that the heat wave may be severe in Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Dera Ghazi Khan and Multan of South Punjab.”
Director General of PDMA Punjab Irfan Ali Kathia said that under the chief minister’s directions, the supply of water is being ensured in the Cholistan desert region located in southern Punjab. He warned that special care of the children, elderly and the sick should be taken during this time period.
Pakistan experienced its most recent heatwave in May but no loss of life was reported.
In June 2024, nearly 700 people died in less than a week during a severe heatwave in the country, with most fatalities reported in the port city of Karachi and other parts of the southern Sindh province.
A similar heatwave in 2015 claimed over 2,000 lives in Pakistan’s largest city Karachi alone, while catastrophic floods in 2022 left more than 1,700 people dead and displaced over 33 million across the country.
From Pakistan to the Middle East: Art director Hashim Ali champions regional creative expansion

- Cultural overlaps, thirst for diverse aesthetics reshaping industries in Gulf are offering vast opportunities for Pakistanis, Ali says
- Artist says felt “empowered” while directing Pakistani fashion and Sufi music show at Qatar’s Museum of Islamic Art in January
LAHORE: When one of Pakistan’s most renowned art directors Hashim Ali landed in the Qatari capital of Doha earlier this year, he wasn’t quite prepared for how much the city and its creative scene had transformed since he last visited around seven years ago.
Ali, who directed a Pakistani fashion and Sufi music show at Qatar’s Museum of Islamic Art in January, was mesmerized by the cultural transformation in the Gulf nation, balancing its traditional heritage with modernization and global influences.
In recent years, Qatar has established numerous museums, art galleries, and heritage centers, including the Museum of Islamic Art, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, and the National Museum of Qatar. The country has also emerged as a major player in the global art world, with significant investments in the arts and culture sector.
Looking at the transformation, Ali said the time was ripe for Pakistani designers and artists to expand their reach to the Gulf, where cultural overlaps and a hunger for diverse aesthetics are reshaping creative industries.
“Everybody who asks me that we want to expand our business, I say expand to the Middle East because the way that region is growing, it’s not just the buildings, it’s the mindset and the heart,” Ali, who provides production design, art direction and styling services to various industries in Pakistan, told Arab News.
The 34-year-old art director, who graduated in Visual Communication Design from Lahore’s National College of Arts (NCA), said his experience in Doha was quite “empowering” as he was able to present his hometown of Lahore to the world.
“You had this showcase of Pakistan, and the entire space was turned into a Chahar Bagh [Persian quadrilateral garden] for the night with oil lamps and flowers, all the napkins were hand-done from Lahore, we got block printers involved who did the Mughal motifs on them,” Ali said.
“The entire experience was so almost empowering that you are bringing parts of Lahore to the world and you’re showing the world that we just not only do Sufi music, we do great fashion of different kinds.”
Ali, known for creating intricate and stunning sets, said Middle Eastern creatives responded to Pakistani culture because of the cultural and religious similarities between the two regions.
“So, the collaboration, it’s set in stone that it’s going to happen,” he added.
Sana Mir becomes first Pakistani woman to be inducted in ICC Hall of Fame

- Mir inducted alongside former greats Graeme Smith, Hashim Amla, Matthew Hayden, Daniel Vettori and Sarah Taylor
- Mir played over 200 white-ball matches for Pakistan, picking up 150 wickets in 121 ODIs and 89 wickets in 106 T20Is
KARACHI: Former Pakistan cricketer Sana Mir made history this week when she became the first woman from her country to be inducted into the International Cricket Council (ICC) Hall of Fame alongside other cricket greats.
ICC announced the names of the inductees which included Mir, former South African batters Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla, Matthew Hayden of Australia, Daniel Vettori of New Zealand and England’s Sarah Taylor on Monday.
The ICC Hall of Fame pays tribute to the extraordinary achievements of cricket legends who have shaped the sport’s rich history with players inducted only five years after they have played their last international match.
“A veteran in over 100 matches in both formats of white-ball cricket, Sana Mir becomes the first Pakistan woman cricketer to be inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame,” the ICC said in a post on its website on Monday.
Mir has several accolades under her belt. The cricketer remains the highest wicket-taker in ODIs and the second-highest in T20Is among Pakistani women. Mir was also the first Pakistani woman cricketer to pick up 100 ODI wickets.
The former off-spinner has remained a prolific cricket voice off the field as well, amplifying a strong stance on body shaming, prioritizing mental health and helping people affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Mir played international cricket for 15 years, captaining Pakistan for eight of those. She picked up 150 wickets in 121 ODIs and 89 wickets in 106 T20Is, scoring 1630 and 820 runs respectively. Her best year was 2014 in which she collected 21 wickets in 11 ODIs while leading the team to an Asian Games gold medal, a feat she had achieved in 2010 as well, one year after being appointed as captain.
In 2018, Mir became the first Pakistani woman to reach the top of the ICC ODI Player Rankings. She was also the first Asian woman cricketer to play 100 T20Is, along with being the first Pakistan woman cricketer to play 100 ODIs.
She was also the first Pakistani woman cricketer to win the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Cricketer of the Year award and now is the first Pakistani woman to be inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.
The ICC credited Mir for speaking up for women’s rights and pushing women’s cricket in Pakistan. In 2019, she was included in the ICC Women’s committee as one of the three player representatives and was named the ambassador of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier in 2024.
“Mir knew she was doing the right thing and continued to live by her words, inspiring thousands of girls in not just her country but across the globe,” the ICC said.