ISLAMABAD: Egyptian Grand Mufti Dr. Nazir Mohamed Ayad announced Friday Al-Azhar University, a renowned center of Islamic learning, plans to establish a campus in Pakistan, a move welcomed by Education Minister Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, who pledged full government support during their meeting in Islamabad.
Founded in Cairo in 970 CE, Al-Azhar is celebrated for its rigorous scholarship in Islamic theology, jurisprudence, Arabic studies and modern sciences. With a legacy spanning over a millennium, the university is a key authority on Islamic thought and attracts students globally.
The discussion on branching out into Pakistan took place during a meeting between the two officials, which was also attended by the Egyptian ambassador to Pakistan.
“Dr. Nazir Mohamed Ayad, Grand Mufti of the Arab Republic of Egypt, thanked the federal minister for his warm welcome and said that Al-Azhar University will establish its campus in Pakistan,” read an official statement from Pakistan’s Ministry of Federal Education.
“He said it is important that people learn the Arabic language to understand the true teachings of Islam,” it continued.
The Pakistani minister highlighted the deep cultural and historical ties his country shared with Egypt, both of which, he noted, were part of the world’s oldest civilizations. Siddiqui described Al-Azhar University as a beacon of Islamic scholarship, expressing his aspiration to visit the institution in Cairo.
During the meeting, he also highlighted Pakistan’s upcoming International Girls Conference, scheduled for January 11-12, which aims to promote girls’ education in Islamic countries.
“It is a misconception that Islam does not allow women’s education,” Siddiqui said, emphasizing Pakistan’s commitment to ensuring equal educational opportunities for women.
The Grand Mufti noted that over 40 percent of Al-Azhar University’s students were female. He also encouraged Pakistan to send scholars to Egypt to benefit from the institution’s expertise.
Al-Azhar’s operations are primarily based in Egypt, where it has campuses in several cities. Internationally, the university extends its influence by offering scholarships to students who disseminate its teachings upon returning to their home countries.
The university has also collaborated with educational institutions worldwide and established cultural centers to promote Islamic studies and the Arabic language.
In 2022, Pakistan’s late religious affairs minister, Pir Noor-ul-Haq Qadri, announced plans to open a campus in Lahore.
The initiative, which included Al-Azhar providing faculty, curriculum and textbooks, was to be administratively managed by Pakistan.
Al-Azhar University to establish campus in Pakistan, says Egyptian grand mufti
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Al-Azhar University to establish campus in Pakistan, says Egyptian grand mufti
- Founded in 970 CE, Al-Azhar is known for its scholarship in theology, jurisprudence and Arabic studies
- The grand mufti also asked Pakistan to send scholars to Egypt to benefit from the institution’s expertise
Stitching hope: Sindh’s artisan program uplifts rural women through handicrafts
- The Sindh Rural Support Organization has trained over 6,000 women in some of the poorest areas in Pakistan’s south
- Woman artisans in Sindh say the organization has not just brought them financial stability, but dignity and hope as well
Stitching hope: Sindh’s artisan program uplifts rural women through handicrafts
The Sindh Rural Support Organization has trained over 6,000 women in some of the poorest areas in Pakistan’s south
Woman artisans in Sindh say the organization has not just brought them financial stability, but dignity and hope as well
Naimat Khan
KARACHI: Dressed in a vibrant pink embroidered dress with traditional patterns depicting the Sindhi culture, Ponam Shaam Lal proudly displays her handcrafted cushions to visitors at an upscale mall in Karachi. Had it not been for Sindh’s rural artisan programs, Lal, in her late 30s, would have been bereft of skill, and the means to earn her bread and butter.
Lal’s creations were among the 5,800 handicrafts showcased at a four-day exhibition launched by the Sindh Rural Support Organization (SRSO), a not-for-profit organization, in Karachi’s Ocean Mall on Thursday. The event, a collaboration with the Sindh government, featured 3,545 rural woman artisans displaying products ranging from traditional shawls to embroidered accessories.
The SRSO has trained thousands of rural women in different trades from some of the most under-developed regions of Sindh such as Jacobabad, Kandhkot-Kashmore, Shikarpur, Ghotki, Qambar-Shahdadkot and Badin districts in the last 16 years.
Lal, who rarely ventured beyond her remote village near Rohri up until a few years ago, is one of those thousands of artisans at the Karachi event, which aims to help these women sell to high-end customers in Pakistan’s urban cities.
“Before, we never went out; we didn’t know the outside world. Only my husband would earn. We would sit idle, wondering how to make ends meet or pay for our children’s education,” Lal told Arab News, as she showed her handicrafts to a customer.
“We were poor, but when we started doing this work, took on orders, and worked hard, our circumstances improved.”
Lal says the crochet and embroidery work she learned due to the SRSO’s training program has helped her send her children to school, and life is “finally stable.”
Shahida Baloch, an artisan and trainer from Sindh’s Sukkur city, learned embroidery from her mother and grandmother, but she had little formal education or access to markets where she could sell her products.
“I am a rural woman from the village,” Baloch, a mother of seven, told Arab News.
“We learned embroidery and sewing at home from our grandmothers, without attending any institute or training center.”
But things changed for Baloch, when the SRSO reached her village almost a decade ago. She says the organization provided her recognition for her embroidery and sewing skills by showcasing her work at exhibitions across the country.
As one of the few trainers at the SRSO, Baloch now guides woman artists on how to transform traditional craft into marketable products.
“I trained women to make cushions, bags, and pouches from the same art. We also worked on color combinations, blending traditional Sindhi colors — blue, yellow, red, green, all natural colors — with modern preferences. This way, the color became more appealing to urban customers,” she said.
“Similarly, we taught them to create buttons as a supplementary product. For instance, if no one buys large, embroidered fabrics worth fifty thousand or a hundred thousand rupees, they might buy a few buttons to embellish their shirts.”
SRSO CEO Muhammad Dittal Kalhoro said the organization has trained over 6,000 women in Sindh’s poorest areas through 316 Business Development Groups.
“Our aim is to connect these women with high-end markets and ensure better incomes,” he said.
Sindh government spokesperson Sadia Javed said the SRSO, part of a larger poverty-reduction initiative, provides loans and support to woman artisans, and with a 98 percent repayment rate, it has proven highly effective.
“Earlier, this program was limited to a few districts,” Javed said. “Now, it has expanded to urban slums in Karachi and Sukkur.”
For women like Lal and Baloch, the SRSO has brought more than financial stability.
It has brought them dignity and hope.
“I am extremely grateful to Allah for making the SRSO the means through which I was empowered,” said Baloch, who could not study beyond the fifth grade, but has managed to send two of her daughters to university.
“Today, I am successful, and so are my children.”
Pakistani forces kill five militants in intelligence-based operation in northwest
- Operation took place a day after more than a dozen atomic energy workers were abducted in Lakki Marwat
- The prime minister lauds the professionalism of security forces, saying the whole nation stands with them
KARACHI: Pakistani security forces killed five militants in an intelligence-based operation on Friday in the volatile northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to a statement by the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
The operation comes amid a surge in militant violence in the region, which Pakistan has attributed to cross-border attacks from Afghanistan by groups like Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Afghan authorities have denied these allegations.
The operation followed an incident a day earlier when armed militants abducted 17 Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission workers and their driver in the restive Lakki Marwat district. Eight of them were freed after a few hours.
“On 10 January 2024, Security Forces conducted an intelligence-based operation in general area Maddi, Dera Ismail Khan District on reported presence of khwarij [TTP militants],” the ISPR said in the statement.
“During conduct of operation, own troops effectively engaged khwarij’s location,” it continued, adding that five of them, including their ring leader, Shafiullah alias Shafi, were killed as a result.
Weapons and ammunition were recovered from the militants, who were involved in attacks on security forces and the targeted killings of civilians, the statement said.
Subsequently, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised the professionalism of security officials, vowing to continue the fight against militancy until it was eradicated from the country.
He said the whole nation stood united with the security forces.
“The entire country pays tribute to the bravery of our security personnel who risk their lives to combat these enemies of the state,” he added.
Four bodies recovered from coal mine in Pakistan’s southwest after deadly methane explosion
- Twelve coalminers were trapped after the explosion on Thursday, with little chances of finding anyone alive
- Mines in Balochistan are known for hazardous working conditions, where such accidents are not uncommon
QUETTA: Rescue teams in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province have retrieved four bodies from a coal mine following a methane gas explosion a day earlier in the Sanjdi coal field, about 40 kilometers from Quetta, which left a dozen miners trapped inside the mine.
According to a senior official of the provincial mining department overseeing the rescue work, the search for the other miners is still ongoing, though he maintained the chances of finding anyone alive were almost negligible.
Rescue teams from the mining department and the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) have been working for the last 19 hours with heavy machinery.
“We have recovered four bodies after nearly 24 hours of the incident,” Abdul Ghani, Chief Inspector Mines Balochistan, told Arab News. “The workers were digging coal 4,000 feet inside the mine, and we have recovered the bodies at 3,000 feet. The search for other workers is still underway.”
Responding to a question, he said the entire mine had caved in due to the intensity of the explosion.
“An excavator from Quetta reached the site at midnight, and we succeeded in opening the mouth of the mine this morning,” he said.
“The mining department will conduct a thorough investigation to assess what kind of safety measures were put in place by the private mine owners,” he added.
Many coal mines in the province are operated by private companies, often under lease agreements with the government.
Ghani said that 11 of the miners were from Shangla, a town in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, while one was a resident of Balochistan.
Mines in Balochistan are known for hazardous working conditions and poor safety standards, where deadly incidents are not uncommon.
According to the provincial mining department, 82 coal miners working on different projects were killed in Balochistan last year in 46 reported mining accidents.
Pakistan receives over 22,000 applications for 4,500 scholarships for Afghan students
- The scholarships were announced in July last year under the Allama Iqbal Scholarship program, amid ongoing tensions between the two countries
- The program, which covers tuition fees, accommodation and monthly stipend, offers scholarships in medical, engineering, agriculture and other fields
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has received more than 22,000 applications for 4,500 scholarships it announced for Afghan students last year, Pakistan’s special representative for Afghanistan said on Friday.
The scholarships were announced in July last year under the Allama Iqbal Scholarship program, amid ongoing tensions between the two countries that prompted Islamabad to launch a deportation drive targeting unregistered Afghans in late 2023.
The program, which covers tuition fees, accommodation and a monthly stipend for undergraduate, graduate and doctoral studies at Pakistani universities, was introduced in 2009 to strengthen bilateral ties between the two neighboring states.
In a statement issued from his office, Pakistan’s special representative Sadiq Khan said this is the third phase of the program that will offer fully funded scholarships in medical, engineering, agriculture and other fields over the next three years.
“This month, over 22,000 applicants will take an online test, followed by interviews for final selection. The entire process will conclude within 45 days,” he said.
“Notably, 33 percent of the scholarship seats are reserved for female students.”
Pakistan last year announced the scholarships on the same day its federal cabinet approved the extension of registration cards for 1.5 million Afghan refugees for another year.
Ties between the two countries have been strained because of a surge in militant attacks in Pakistan’s western regions that border Afghanistan.
The attacks particularly surged after the breakdown of a fragile truce between the Pakistani government and the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Nov. 2022.
Pakistan has frequently accused neighboring Afghanistan of sheltering and supporting militant groups that launch cross-border attacks. Afghan officials deny involvement, insisting Pakistan’s security issues are an internal matter of Islamabad.
The two countries also conducted cross-border strikes in each other’s territory last month in the latest escalation of hostilities along the border.
Pakistan hopes for stronger ties with Lebanon as Joseph Aoun elected president
- Aoun’s election came weeks after a ceasefire deal halted a 14-month conflict between Israel, Lebanese group Hezbollah
- PM Shehbaz Sharif says Pakistan values its ties with Lebanon and looks forward to strengthen bilateral cooperation
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday congratulated Joseph Aoun for being elected as the new president of Lebanon, expressing Pakistan’s interest in strengthening bilateral cooperation between both countries.
Aoun’s election came weeks after a tenuous ceasefire agreement halted a 14-month conflict between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and at a time when Lebanon’s leaders are seeking international assistance for reconstruction.
Aoun, no relation to former President Michel, was widely seen as the preferred candidate of the United States, whose assistance Lebanon will need as it seeks to rebuild.
In his message on X, Sharif wished Aoun success in his endeavors to lead Lebanon toward peace, stability and prosperity.
“Pakistan values its ties with Lebanon and looks forward to strengthen our bilateral cooperation,” the Pakistan prime minister said.
Pakistan and Lebanon share close relations. In December, Lebanon helped Islamabad safely evacuate around 300 Pakistani nationals stranded in Syria and transport them back home via chartered flights from Beirut.
Pakistan has also sent several relief consignments for the people of Lebanon during Israel’s bombardment of the Middle Eastern country.
