KARACHI: With the Arabian Sea breeze sweeping across the field and the clip-clop of hooves pounding on turf, Naziha Hassan leans low off her saddle, eyes fixed on the white ball, her hammer slicing through the air. In one motion, she sends the ball flying between the goalposts of Karachi’s Clifton Polo Ground, a makeshift arena bordered by high-rises on one side and the beach on the other.
In a city known more for its craze for traditional sports like cricket and football, this unlikely seaside field is home to a rare sight: women competing alongside men in polo.
Once a royal pastime in South and Central Asia, polo was seen as a proving ground for valor and strategy. Traditionally considered a men’s sport, it served not only as recreation but also as a means of training cavalry, developing horsemanship and preparing warriors and noblemen for combat.
“I haven’t felt that they’re going easy on me,” Hassan said of being treated differently by male players.
“I don’t think I was ever treated like a girl in the game... if they have to hit me, ride off, to make me fall, they will make me fall and that is perfectly fine,” she told Arab News.
A doctor by profession, Hassan became passionate about polo when she would go to school in Islamabad and stop by the polo club on her way back home, looking at horses.
After relocating to Karachi, she joined the Gallop Club five years ago to take riding lessons before making her way into polo, a high-speed sport where riders clash mid-play, horses collide and players often fall.
For Hassan and her fellow female players, polo’s appeal goes beyond gender. It’s about the skills, the connection with horses and the strategy. Skill and mental sharpness, they say, often outweigh brute strength.
“I don’t think gender makes a difference in the sport, to be fair,” she said. “Yes, there are some things [like] the physical strength and stuff that sometimes is important, but at the same time, like, polo is a bit different because in polo it depends on the horse a lot also. It also depends on your strategy as well.”
That view is shared by a long-time male player at the club who identified himself as Siavash.
“We absolutely don’t care for them [as female players] here,” he said.
“When you’re playing the game, you only see the other person as a player. And if you start thinking that she’s a female, then basically, they won’t let you play,” he said with a smile.
On the field, players engage fiercely and focus purely on the game. Any suggestion of treating female players differently is brushed aside.
“In polo, we say 70 percent of the game is the horse,” Siavash added. “If a girl plays well and rides a good horse, then she’s a proper player. Some girls even play better than men. It’s about your riding, your swing and your strategy, not just strength.”
Alishba Ahsan, another regular on the field, admits it’s a tough space for women, but she embraces the challenge.
“There are barely three or four girls playing here, including me,” she said. “It’s tough, but it’s also a very good experience. You don’t get any leverage for being a girl. You ride and play just like the boys.”
Ahsan, a law student, said she had fallen five or six times, but instead of backing out, she became more determined.
Off the field, the sport is also inspiring a new generation.
Ayesha Naveed, a stay-at-home mother of a first-grade student, said her journey onto the polo field began with her daughter’s interest in horse riding. She initially accompanied her to practice, but later decided to join in herself.
“I want her to become a good polo player someday,” she said of her daughter. “It makes me really happy to see that this is a sport where everyone plays together … There is no segregation like ‘this is the women’s team’ or ‘this is the men’s team.’ And the women are actually doing even better than the men.”
Her daughter, Alaya Naveed, takes riding lessons twice a week after school. She has already mastered the basics — walk, trot and even how to fall properly.
“I only come here on Tuesdays and Thursdays,” Alaya said, her eyes gleaming. “I would like to play polo because I see the other girls and it looks fun.”
“I think it’ll take me ten more months to be a polo player,” she said after a brief pause, with childlike innocence.
Chasing goals: Women in Karachi take the reins alongside men in polo
https://arab.news/4wh5d
Chasing goals: Women in Karachi take the reins alongside men in polo
- Traditionally considered a men’s sport, polo was seen as a proving ground for valor and strategy
- Female players say skill and mental sharpness often outweigh brute strength while playing polo
Pakistani delegates brief UNSC members on conflict with India, attempt to block Indus waters
- Tensions between nuclear-armed Pakistan and India remain high since a four-day military standoff last month
- New Delhi announced suspending a key water treaty in April a day after a militant attack it blamed on Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: A high-level Pakistani delegation, led by former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, has met representatives of the United Nations Security Council’s elected member states and briefed them on last month’s conflict between India and Pakistan as well as New Delhi’s attempt to block Pakistan’s share of Indus waters, Pakistani state media reported on Monday.
Tensions between nuclear-armed Pakistan and India remain high since they struck a ceasefire on May 10 following the most intense military confrontation between them in decades. Both countries accuse the other of supporting militancy on each other’s soil — a charge both capitals deny.
The latest military escalation, in which the two countries traded missile, drones and artillery fire, was sparked after India accused Pakistan of supporting militants who killed over two dozen tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22. Islamabad denies involvement.
In its meeting with representatives of Denmark, Greece, Panama, Japan and other UNSC member states in New York, the Pakistani delegation highlighted that Islamabad’s response to Indian missile strikes was “measured, responsible and in accordance with the UN Charter,” the Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.
“It briefed the UNSC elected members that [India’s] holding [of] Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance may lead to water shortage, food crisis and environmental disaster in Pakistan,” the report read.
“The delegation called on the members of the Security Council to move beyond conflict management and actively support conflict resolution in South Asia.”
India announced suspending the 1960 World Bank-brokered treaty, which ensures water for 80 percent of Pakistani farms, a day after the April 22 attack. Islamabad has called for a credible, international probe into the attack and described the Indian move to suspend the treaty as “act of war.”
Bhutto-Zardari told UNSC members that Indian allegations against Pakistan were without any “credible investigation or verifiable evidence,” and that New Delhi’s targeting of innocent civilians and suspension of Indus Waters Treaty was a threat to regional peace, according to the report.
The Pakistani delegates underscored Islamabad’s commitment to restraint and initiation of a comprehensive dialogue to address outstanding issues with India, particularly the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.
Bitter rivals India and Pakistan have fought three wars, including two of them over the disputed region of Kashmir, since gaining independence from British rule in 1947. Both claim the Himalayan territory in its entirety but rule it in part.
“The elected members of UN Security Council appreciated Pakistan’s outreach and welcomed its reaffirmation of commitment to peace and diplomacy,” the report said.
“They noted the significance of de-escalation, respect for international law, and the peaceful settlement of disputes emphasized that the UN Charter must guide state conduct, particularly in regions of high sensitivity such as South Asia. They acknowledged the risks posed by any further escalation and stressed the need to pursue diplomatic solutions.”
The Pakistani delegation, led by Bhutto-Zardari, will also visit Washington DC, London and Brussels to present Pakistan’s position on the conflict. Another delegation, led by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Tariq Fatemi, will visit Moscow this week.
Pakistan’s foreign office earlier said the two delegations will “underscore the imperative for the international community to play its due role in promoting a lasting peace in South Asia.”
Pakistan’s Punjab issues fresh rain alert after 21 killed by storms last month
- Pakistan has seen erratic weather changes leading to frequent heatwaves, untimely rains, storms and droughts in recent years
- Thunderstorms last month also claimed more than 10 lives and injured 30 others in the neighboring Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province
ISLAMABAD: The Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) on Monday issued a fresh alert about rains and strong, dusty winds in the province from June 2 till June 5, days after thunderstorms killed nearly two dozen people in Pakistan’s most populous province.
Thunderstorms killed at least 21 people and injured more than 100 others in Punjab as moist currents penetrated upper parts of Pakistan late last month, according to national and provincial disaster management authorities.
More rains and gusty winds are expected in Rawalpindi, Murree, Galiat, Attock, Chakwal, Mandi Bahauddin, Gujrat, Jhelum, Gujranwala, Lahore, Kasur, Sialkot, Narowal, Okara, Faisalabad, Toba Tek Singh, Jhang, Khushab, Sargodha, Mianwali, Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Bahawalpur and Bahawalnagar districts.
“Citizens should stay in safe places to protect themselves from lightning. The public should never go out under the open sky during thunderstorms and storms,” the PDMA quoted its Director-General Irfan Ali Kathia as saying.
Due to possible rains, it said, the intensity of heat will decrease during the three-day Eid Al-Adha festival, which begins on Saturday.
Kathia said the PDMA has alerted the district administrations as well as health, irrigation, construction and communications, local government and livestock departments.
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.
Thunderstorms last month also claimed more than 10 lives, while 30 others sustained injuries in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan’s northwest, according to provincial authorities.
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.
Pakistan to play in Colombo when India hosts women’s World Cup
- India and Pakistan have not played a bilateral series since 2013 and play their matches in neutral venues when either country hosts an ICC event
- Neutral venue arrangement between the countries will also be in place for the men’s T20 World Cup in 2026, which India will co-host with Sri Lanka
Pakistan will play all their women’s 50-over World Cup matches in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo when India hosts this year’s tournament, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Monday.
Politically-estranged India and Pakistan, who have not played a bilateral series since 2013, will play their matches in neutral venues when either country hosts an ICC event, the sport’s global governing body announced in December.
“The venues for the knockouts are dependent on Pakistan qualifying as two alternative venues have been identified for one semifinal and the final,” the ICC said.
“Colombo will be the venue for the first semifinal and the final only if Pakistan qualify for those stages.”
Bengaluru, where the tournament will start with India playing in the opening match, will host the final on November 2 if Pakistan are knocked out earlier in the tournament, the ICC added.
Bengaluru will also stage the second semifinal on October 30, a day after the first semifinal in Colombo or Guwahati. Visakhapatnam and Indore are the two other host cities for the eight-team tournament.
India played all their matches in Dubai when Pakistan hosted the men’s Champions Trophy this year, including the final which they won.
Both the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Pakistan Super League were suspended last month amid clashes between the two countries following an attack targeting tourists that killed 26 people in disputed Kashmir region in April. Matches resumed after a ceasefire was announced.
The neutral venue arrangement between the countries will also be in place for the men’s T20 World Cup in 2026, which India will co-host with Sri Lanka, and the women’s T20 World Cup in 2028 in Pakistan.
Pakistan earmarks $3.5 billion for development projects in upcoming budget
- The budget for fiscal year 2025-26 will be announced in the National Assembly on June 10
- Pakistan’s annual inflation rose to 3.5% in May, though macroeconomic outlook has improved
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said on Monday that the Finance Division has allocated Rs1 trillion ($3.5 billion) for development projects in the upcoming budget for fiscal year 2025-26.
The 2025–26 budget is expected to be presented by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb in Pakistan’s lower house of parliament on June 10, following the Eid Al-Adha holidays, after the government postponed an earlier date of June 2.
Providing the breakdown $3.5 billion development budget, Iqbal said Rs664 billion ($2.3 billion) would be allocated to infrastructure projects, including energy, water, transport, physical planning and housing.
“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed that Rs120 billion ($426.7 million) be allocated for N25 Chaman-Quetta-Karachi Expressway,” he said at a press conference in Islamabad.
“Rs150 billion ($533.3 million) are for social sectors, special areas, including Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, have been allocated Rs63 billion ($223.9 million), and merged [tribal] districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been allocated Rs70 billion ($248.4 million).”
Similarly, Rs53 billion ($188.3 million) have been earmarked for science and information technology, Rs9 billion ($32.2 million) for governance and reform projects, and Rs11 billion ($39.1 million) for production sectors, according to the minister.
“The majority [of allocation] is for water, power and highway sector,” he added.
Late last month, Iqbal said Pakistan’s defense spending would be hiked in the upcoming budget as the military would “certainly require” more financial resources to defend the country against India. But neither Iqbal nor any other government official has so far shared any figures. Pakistan’s defense budget currently stands at Rs2.122 trillion ($7.53 billion).
The remarks came days after Pakistan and India attacked each other with missiles, drones and artillery in their worst conflict in decades that killed around 70 people on both sides. The two nations agreed to a ceasefire on May 10 after four days of hostilities sparked by a militant attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir in April.
Pakistan’s annual inflation rate rose to 3.5% in May, though the country’s macroeconomic outlook has improved in recent months, supported by a stronger current account balance, increased remittances and declining inflation.
Authorities remain cautious as they aim to build on recent economic stabilization, guide the country toward gradual growth, and reaffirm their commitment to ongoing economic reforms.
Pakistan announces four-day holiday on Eid Al-Adha
- Eid Al-Adha is one of two important Islamic festivals, in which Muslims sacrifice animals and share their meat among family, friends and the poor
- Believers observe the annual festival to commemorate the willingness of Prophet Ibrahim (Peace Be Upon Him) to sacrifice his son on God’s command
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has announced a four-day holiday on Eid Al-Adha starting from June 6, the Cabinet Division said on Monday.
Eid Al-Adha is one of the two most important festivals of the Islamic calendar. The other, Eid Al-Fitr, occurs at the end of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting.
Muslims mark the Eid Al-Adha holiday by slaughtering animals such as sheep and goats, and the meat is shared among family and friends and donated to the poor.
“The prime minister has been pleased to declare 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th June, 2025, (Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday) as public holidays on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha,” the Cabinet Division said.
Last week, Pakistan’s moon sighting committee announced that the crescent marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Dhul Hijjah was not sighted due to unclear skies and the Eid Al-Adha festival would commence from June 7.
Eid Al-Adha is observed on the 10th day of Dhul Hijjah to commemorate the willingness of Prophet Ibrahim (Peace Be Upon Him) to sacrifice his son on God’s command.
Dhul Hijjah is the twelfth and final month of the Islamic calendar, a sacred period during which the Hajj pilgrimage takes place. This year, the annual Hajj pilgrimage will commence on June 4.
