KARACHI: In a small building in Karachi’s low-income and densely populated Baldia Town area, 16-year-old Talha Ahmed is busy recording new content for his Instagram channel. His videos have recently been a hit with millions of people, partly due to his stellar acting and partly due to the relatable themes he employs.
Ahmed is a content creator who started making humorous skits in July 2024 and has amassed over 324,000 followers after uploading around 116 of them. A recent video of his, poking fun at the way India’s Bollywood film industry stereotypes Muslims, has notched over 20 million views.
Despite being shot on just a cellphone, without the support of a professional camera or tripod, his skits have the necessary ingredients to evoke bone-tingling laughs: strong scripts, meticulous acting and perfect dialogue delivery.
“My idea was to create content that families can also enjoy together, something that’s for everyone and can be watched with joy by all,” Ahmed told Arab News in a recent conversation.
His content is indeed relatable. In one of his videos, Ahmed essays the character of that one family member who does not wake up for the suhoor meals in Ramadan and does not fast, but eagerly shows up before everyone else for the evening iftar meal.
In another, he takes aim at popular journalist and television host Suhail Warraich, expertly blurting out dialogues in his signature impassive tone.
One particular video Ahmed enjoyed making focused on the behavior of tailors ahead of Eid Al-Fitr. The Pakistani content creator poked fun at tailors who habitually lie to customers about their orders.
“’No, brother, there’s still an issue... the outfit is out for buttoning,’” Ahmed said, mimicking the typical excuses offered by Pakistani tailors.
‘GREAT SKILL, CREATIVE MIND’
Talha’s creative process is largely self-driven.
“Almost all scripts and ideas for my videos are my own,” he said.
He wrote many of the videos he shot himself, while for others, Ahmed wrote a few lines and then showed them to his family for their feedback.
“If they wanted to refine it or make any improvements, they helped me with that,” he explained.
Dr. Taha Ahmed, his brother, helps record the videos and improves the writing in them as well. He recalled how Ahmed recorded some of the earlier videos when he didn’t even own a mobile phone.
“Some days, he would use his sister’s phone to make videos and other days, he would use his brother’s phone to create content,” Dr. Taha told Arab News.
“That is a testament to his great skill and creative mind.”
Talha said his ability to connect with the audience stems from the fact that he lives with the same ground realities they do.
“The issues I face are the same as those faced by other people,” he explained. “These are relatable, and people can connect with them because we live in the same society that others live in.”
Talha balances his growing online career with his education, having completed his matriculation exams recently.
He suffers from thalassemia, a genetic blood disorder that requires regular transfusions and management since childhood.
However, he doesn’t let the disease define who he is.
“Today, praise be to Allah, my work is my identity— my illness is not my reference,” he said.
Pakistani teen comic takes social media by storm one hilarious skit at a time
https://arab.news/nwe2b
Pakistani teen comic takes social media by storm one hilarious skit at a time
- Talha Ahmed, 16, has attracted millions of views on Instagram with his comedic skits
- Shot entirely on a mobile phone, his videos feature stellar acting and witty dialogue
Fashion and family: Amir Adnan heiress takes father’s legacy forward with sustainable vision
- Parishae Adnan, 30, celebrates taking over as CEO with debut collection Nakhlistan, which means oasis
- Aims to take her father’s iconic brand into future rooted in climate sustainability, cultural integrity
KARACHI: The name Amir Adnan has been synonymous with menswear in Pakistan for over 35 years.
Adnan launched the eponymous men’s fashion wear brand in 1990 and several sub-brands since, and is widely credited for glamorizing the long-sleeved sherwani outer coat in modern times.
Now, it’s time for his daughter Parishae Adnan to take the helm of Adnan’s fashion empire as CEO and transition the company, Shapar Private Limited, into a future rooted in climate sustainability and cultural integrity.
Last week, Parishae, a 30-year-old managerial economics graduate, launched the company’s summer collection, Nakhlistan, which means oasis, a show she has conceptualized and that she exhibited as a formal celebration of her appointment as CEO in May 2024.
“It absolutely feels incredible, I feel a lot of gratitude, taking the legacy forward,” Parishae told Arab News in an interview last week.
Adnan said it was always clear that his children would take over the business.
“My children were raised while we were working in the workshops, and they’ve been seeing this all along. My eldest daughter, Parishae, she worked with me for three years and now she’s become the CEO of the company,” he told Arab News.
“It’s not common, especially in this industry that we are working in, the fashion industry, to see legacy go on from one generation to another.”
And Parishae has plans for her father’s company, with her major aim being to introduce and integrate environmentally conscious practices into its operations.
“We need to do anything, even if it’s a little small step,” said Parishae, who explored fields like acting, hospitality, IT, and supply chain before finally embracing fashion designing.
“One of the first things I did was I changed our packaging material, making it recyclable.”
In 2021, she launched the ‘House of Parishae,’ a collection grounded in sustainable couture, with her debut show featuring 35 pieces created entirely from upcycled clothing, extending the life cycle of garments and promoting conscious consumption.
“The idea that couture, high end couture luxury can come out of upcycling or recycling, it’s not an idea that was digestible to the public in Pakistan,” the designer said, pointing to inspirations like Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen.
“People here usually don’t go for that concept for their event wear. They don’t want to spend so much money if it’s going to be recycled or upcycled.”
But Parishae is resolved to take her vision forward — all the while staying true to what she has in common with her father: a deep connection to Pakistan’s cultural identity.
The designs of Adnan, who was born in Lahore to a bureaucratic father and a mother from the royal family of Dhaka, often draw inspiration from the sartorial heritage and timeless attire of South Asian nobles.
“If I go back in time and I look at my forefathers, photographs or paintings, they actually wore what I’m making right now, literally,” Adnan said.
Parishae too sees cultural identity as central to her vision, especially in an increasingly globalized and digitally connected world.
“As globalization is on a rise, it is even more important in this day and age to understand where your roots are coming from and it’s even more important to keep an identity, a cultural identity, in order for you to realize who you are and where you belong to,” she said.
“I wanted to be a pioneer for change, not in the West because they already have that. It’s actually trying to help us here because you never know, there might be a next generation that looks at this story and gets inspired by it and says, ‘Let’s go, it’s been done before, we can do it better’.”
And her father is proud.
“For every parent, whether you’re a father or a mother, it’s always your dream to see your children outdo you,” Adnan said.
“For me to see my daughter excel in my lifetime ... is one of the best gifts I could have asked from Allah.”
Trump says settled Pakistan-India standoff through trade deals
- Trump has repeatedly said he offered to help both nations with trade if they agreed to de-escalate
- India has previously rejected that trade concessions were discussed in ceasefire discussions
ISLAMABAD: President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he had used US trade ties to persuade nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan to back off from their worst military confrontation in decades earlier this month, a claim New Delhi has previously rejected.
Following a May 10 understanding reached between India and Pakistan in what was a US-mediated ceasefire to stop military action on land, in the air and at sea, Trump has repeatedly said he had offered to help both the nations with trade if they agreed to de-escalate.
Pakistan has not commented specifically on the trade-related claim though it has repeatedly thanked Trump for his role in the de-escalation efforts. The Indian government has, however, said trade concessions did not come up in discussions to secure the ceasefire.
“If you take a look at what we just did with Pakistan and India, we settled that whole thing, and I think I settled it through trade,” Trump said in televised comments during a meeting at the White House with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
“We’re doing a big deal with India. We’re doing a big deal with Pakistan,” the US president added, without giving details of what agreements he was referring to.
Before the ceasefire, the militaries of India and Pakistan were engaged in one of their most serious confrontations in decades since May 7, when India struck targets inside Pakistan it said were affiliated with militants responsible for the killing of 26 tourists last month in Indian-administered Kashmir.
After India’s strikes in Pakistan, both sides exchanged heavy fire along their de facto border, followed by missile and drone strikes into each other’s territories, mainly targeting military installations and air bases.
The escalating hostilities threatened regional peace, leading to calls by world leaders to cool down tempers.
Trump has said he not only helped mediate the ceasefire but also offered mediation over the simmering dispute in Kashmir, a Himalayan region that both India and Pakistan claim in entirety but govern in part. The two nations have fought two wars over Kashmir, which has long been described as the regional nuclear flashpoint.
New Delhi has rejected Trump’s offer for mediation, saying Kashmir was a bilateral issue, while Pakistan has welcomed the offer.
With inputs from AP
Pakistan recalls fast bowler Hasan Ali for T20 series against Bangladesh
- Hasan played just one T20 international in nearly three years when he returned against Ireland in Dublin in 2024
- Fast bowler has forced his way back into the squad with a rich haul of 15 wickets in the Pakistan Super League
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has recalled fast bowler Hasan Ali for this month’s Twenty20 home matches against Bangladesh but overlooked senior batters Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam for the third successive series.
Hasan played just one T20 international in nearly three years when he returned with expensive figures of 0-42 in three overs against Ireland in Dublin in 2024.
However, the right-arm fast bowler has forced his way back into the squad with a rich haul of 15 wickets in the Pakistan Super League while representing the Karachi Kings.
Rizwan and Babar were dropped for the last two series in Zimbabwe and New Zealand as Pakistan continued to reshape its top-order ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup.
Rizwan scored 367 runs at a strike rate of 139.54 in the PSL this season as his franchise, the Multan Sultans, suffered nine defeats in 10 games.
Babar’s Peshawar Zalmi also missed out on the playoffs for the first time in PSL history as he finished the season with 288 runs and a strike rate of 128.57.
Salman Ali Agha, who was appointed captain ahead of the T20 series in Australia last year, will continue to lead the side with Shadab Khan as his deputy.
The series will be the first assignment for Pakistan’s newly appointed white-ball coach Mike Hesson, who is currently in charge of Islamabad United in the PSL.
The selectors have made eight changes to the squad which lost the series in New Zealand 4-1.
Fast bowlers Shaheen Shah Afridi, Jahandad Khan and Abbas Afridi were replaced by Hasan, Naseem Shah and Mohammad Wasim while another pace bowler Mohammad Ali was also dropped.
Opening batter Sahibzada Farhan, who leads the PSL charts with 394 runs in 10 games, Saim Ayub and Fakhar Zaman were recalled, with all-rounders Faheem Ashraf and Hussain Talat also making their way back into the squad.
The three-match series will be played at the Qaddafi Stadium in Lahore on May 28, May 30 and June 1.
Pakistan squad: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Shadab Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hassan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Wasim, Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub.
JS Investments launches Pakistan’s ‘first’ Shariah-compliant real estate investment trust
- JS Investments partners with real estate developer Gohar Group of Companies to establish JS Hotel REIT in Hyderabad
- REIT is a regulated investment vehicle that pools capital from investors to finance income-generating real estate
KARACHI: A Pakistani investment firm on Wednesday announced the launch of what it described as the country’s first Shariah-compliant real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on the hospitality sector.
A REIT is a regulated investment vehicle that pools capital from investors to finance income-generating real estate, offering returns through rent or capital gains. It provides exposure to the property market without direct ownership of assets.
JS Investments Limited, one of Pakistan’s oldest private-sector asset and REIT managers, has partnered with real estate developer Gohar Group of Companies to establish the JS Hotel REIT in Hyderabad district, located in the southeastern Sindh province.
“As the manager of Pakistan’s first hotel REIT, we are pleased to offer investors a professionally managed and regulated investment vehicle backed by international hospitality standards,” the statement quoted Iffat Zehra Mankani, CEO of JS Investments Limited, as saying.
The REIT will finance the development of a 139-room hotel in Hyderabad under a franchise agreement with an international hospitality brand. The fund is currently open to accredited local and foreign investors through private placement.
The statement added the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) had granted regulatory approval for the fund, which is not being offered to the general public at this stage.
Pakistan’s REIT market remains small, though regulatory reforms in recent years have aimed to draw institutional investment into real estate through both conventional and Islamic finance structures.
The project will also feature environmentally responsible construction, according to the statement.
Pakistan PM directs task force to propose budget plan for low-cost housing
- Pakistan faces a housing crisis, with the shortage particularly acute in urban areas
- PM says ahead of the budget low-cost housing is his administration’s top priority
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday his administration is prioritizing the development of low-cost housing while directing a task force to present financing recommendations to include the facility in the upcoming budget.
Pakistan has been facing a housing crisis, with the World Bank suggesting two years ago it was short of an estimated 10 million housing units. The shortage is particularly acute in urban areas due to rapid population growth, unregulated expansion and high land and construction prices.
The federal budget, which will be presented to the National Assembly next month, is expected to outline measures to tackle the crisis as the new fiscal year begins in July.
“The government’s foremost priority is to facilitate access to housing through low-cost schemes,” Sharif said during a task force meeting to address the issue.
“Such projects will not only make residential units accessible to the common man but also stimulate economic growth and create employment opportunities,” he continued.
The prime minister instructed the task force to work with the finance ministry and banks to prepare detailed financing proposals for affordable housing, with the aim of making them part of the upcoming budget.
He also emphasized that developing the construction sector was key to sustainable economic growth.
Officials briefed the prime minister on ongoing reforms to the Condominium Act 2025 and Foreclosure Law, saying they were in their final stages and were expected to ease access to housing loans under the new schemes.
