Pakistan Navy confers Chief of Naval Staff Gold Medal on Saudi cadet
Pakistan Navy confers Chief of Naval Staff Gold Medal on Saudi cadet /node/2327256/pakistan
Pakistan Navy confers Chief of Naval Staff Gold Medal on Saudi cadet
Cadets line up during a graduation ceremony for a new batch of cadets at the Pakistan Naval Academy in Karachi on June 24, 2023. (Photo courtesy: ISPR)
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Navy on Saturday conferred the prestigious Chief of Naval Staff Gold Medal on Saudi cadet Abdul Rahman Jaza S Alharthi during the commissioning parade of cadets belonging to the 119th midshipmen and 27th short service commission ceremony in Karachi, the army’s media wing said.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy fraternal ties rooted deep in history and culture. Both countries also cooperate in various sectors such as defense, military, trade, and economy. Each year, cadets from different countries, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and Jordan, among others, arrive at the Pakistan Naval Academy to receive a one-and-a-half-year training.
Cadets pass out as midshipmen after their training and during their time in the fleet, they experience life at sea while working in different areas on board. After spending six months of training at sea, the midshipmen are commissioned as sub-lieutenants with backdated seniority. Pakistan Navy also receives foreign cadets on short service commissions in different branches.
“Officer Cadet Abdul Rahman Jaza S Alharthi from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was awarded the Chief of Naval Staff Gold Medal during the ceremony,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.
In this handout photo released by Pakistan's Inter Service Public Relation (ISPR) Pakistan's Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Shamshad Mirza awards Chief of Naval Staff Gold Medal to Saudi Cadet Abdul Rahman Jaza S Alharthi during the commissioning parade at the Pakistan Naval Academy in Karachi on June 24, 2023. (Photo courtesy: ISPR)
It added that cadets from Saudi Arabia and Bahrain were present on the occasion.
From Pakistan, the sword of honor was awarded to Midshipman Muhammad Mustafa, the Quaid-i-Azam gold medal was given to Lt. Badar Ali, while Officer Cadet Sanaullah Safeer was awarded the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) gold medal.
CJCSC General Sahir Shamshad Mirza was the chief guest on the occasion, who, upon arrival, was received by the chief of the naval staff, Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi.
Afghan, Pakistani forces trade fire at border as key crossing remains closed
Torkham border has been shut for 11 days due to Pakistan disputing Afghanistan’s construction of new border post
Taliban security forces opened fire unprovoked in the early hours of Monday, Pakistan returned fire, says Pakistani official
Updated 4 sec ago
AP
PESHAWAR: Pakistani and Afghan forces traded fire overnight at a key northwestern border crossing that has been closed for more than a week over a dispute between the two neighbors, officials said Monday.
No casualties were reported on either side of the Torkham crossing, which has been shut for 11 days due to Pakistan disputing Afghanistan’s construction of a new border post there.
Both countries have in the past closed Torkham and the southwestern Chaman border crossing, most often over deadly shootings and cross-fire. The crossings are vital for trade and travel between Pakistan and landlocked Afghanistan.
A Pakistani official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media, said that Taliban security forces opened fire unprovoked in the early hours of Monday, targeting Pakistan’s border post with automatic weapons. Pakistani personnel returned fire, the official said.
There was no immediate comment on the exchange from the Taliban government in Kabul.
Thousands of trucks and vehicles are stranded on both sides of the Torkham crossing, leaving people stuck in harsh winter conditions.
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal (PBM) will launch one of its largest relief campaigns in Ramadan through which it would provide over five million iftar meals across the country to the underprivileged, state-run media reported recently.
The PBM is an autonomous body which undertakes charitable ventures aimed at alleviating poverty through various services and provides assistance to widows, orphans and other deserving individuals.
Senator Shaheen Khalid Butt, the PBM’s managing director, told state broadcaster Radio Pakistan that the campaign will target “the most deserving and underprivileged segments of society.”
Volunteers arrange plates of iftar meals prepared for Muslims waiting to break their fast on the first day of the Islamic holy fasting month of Ramadan at Memon mosque in Karachi on March 2, 2025. (AFP)
“Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal is set to launch one of its largest relief campaigns during the holy month of Ramzan, aiming to distribute over five million iftar meal boxes across the country under the Prime Minister’s Special Initiative,” Radio Pakistan reported on Sunday.
Butt said the initiative would provide ready-to-eat meals through the PBM’s existing district-level infrastructure spread countrywide. He said mosques, orphan centers, women empowerment centers, schools and other designated locations will be targeted for distribution of meals.
“He said thirty-three mobile trucks will also operate on different routes to reach the most remote areas,” Radio Pakistan stated.
Muslim devotees break their fast with an iftar meal on the first day of Islamic holy fasting month of Ramadan in Karachi on March 2, 2025 (AFP)
On Saturday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif launched a Rs20 billion ($71.4 million) relief package a day before Ramadan 2025 began, saying it aimed to benefit four million families across the country.
As per the package, the Pakistani government will provide Rs5,000 ($17.87) each to around four million families across the country to support them during the month of Ramadan, officials said.
Sharif had said the amount would be distributed to people across all four Pakistani provinces, as well as Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir areas, through the digital wallet system.
While consumer inflation in Pakistan declined to 2.4 percent in January compared to 24 percent in the same period last year, many Pakistanis say they are still feeling the pinch as the country navigates a tricky path to economic recovery from a prolonged macroeconomic crisis.
ISLAMABAD: The Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) recently lifted the international suspension it had imposed on Pakistan after the country unanimously approved its proposed constitutional amendments, the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) said recently.
FIFA hit Pakistan on Feb. 6 with a third international suspension in less than eight years after the federation rejected its electoral reforms. Following the suspension, the PFF unanimously approved FIFA’s proposed constitutional amendments in an extraordinary meeting in Lahore last Thursday.
“The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) welcomes FIFA’s decision to lift the suspension imposed on February 6, 2025,” the PFF said in a statement on Sunday. “The decision follows the unanimous approval of FIFA-proposed amendments by the newly elected PFF Congress in the PFF constitution during an Extraordinary Congress meeting held in Lahore on February 27, 2025.”
PFF Normalization Committee Chairman Saud Hashimi congratulated the nation on the development.
“This is a historic day for Pakistani football, and we are committed to fulfilling FIFA and AFC’s mandate to ensure a stable and progressive future for the sport in the country,” Hashimi said.
The move means Pakistan will now be able to play Syria on Mar. 25 in its first qualifier for the upcoming 2027 Asian Cup.
The PFF has been mired in crisis and controversy since 2015 and this was the third time since 2017 that Pakistan has been suspended.
In June 2022, FIFA lifted the PFF’s suspension, which had been imposed due to undue third-party interference a year earlier. A group of officials led by Ashfaq Hussain Shah, which was elected by the Supreme Court in 2018 to run the PFF but was not recognized by FIFA, took over the headquarters in March 20121.
They had seized control from FIFA’s normalization committee headed by Haroon Malik. The committee had not conducted elections for the body in the 18 months since it took charge.
FIFA suspended the PFF due to the “hostile takeover” but lifted the ban after confirmation the committee had regained full control of the PFF’s premises and was in a position to manage its finances.
Pakistan was also suspended by FIFA for third party interference in 2017.
KARACHI: The Emirates Red Crescent is distributing thousands of iftar boxes in the rural areas of Pakistan’s Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan provinces, the UAE consulate said recently, reiterating its commitment to spreading joy among impoverished Pakistanis without discrimination.
Every year the Emirates Red Crescent distributes iftar boxes in Pakistan during the holy month of Ramadan, during which Muslims fast from dawn to dusk and increasingly engage in the remembrance of the Almighty.
The Emirates Red Crescent distributed thousands of iftar boxes among poor Pakistanis in Ramadan last year as well.
“Thousands of people fasting are receiving the blessings of iftar every day through the iftar dastarkhwan [project] by the Red Crescent,” a statement by the UAE consulate in Karachi said on Sunday. “This is being carried out in the rural and backward areas of Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab.”
The consulate said that the Red Crescent’s first priority is distributing iftar boxes prepared in accordance with the highest standards of hygiene to people.
Emirates Red Crescent Director Hamad Bakheet Ateeq Al Remeithi said spreading happiness and smiles on the faces of one’s own brings heartfelt satisfaction.
“The series of love that begins with the month of Ramadan will double the joy of Eid Al-Fitr,” Remeithi said.
Ramadan is observed by Muslims worldwide through fasting from dawn to sunset, with most practicing Muslims considering it a time of spiritual reflection, self-discipline and devotion. Fasting serves as a means of strengthening faith and developing empathy for the less fortunate.
Pakistan welcomed the start of the holy month on Sunday, a day after the ninth month of the Islamic Hijri calendar began in Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan’s old English manners spell youth Scrabble success
Despite a musty reputation, the word-spelling game has a cult youth following in Pakistan
Karachi schools organize tutorials with Scrabble coaches, grant scholarships to top players
Updated 03 March 2025
AFP
KARACHI : “Dram,” meaning a measure of whisky. “Turm,” describing a cavalry unit. “Taupie,” a foolish youngster.
Not words in a typical teen’s vocabulary, but all come easily to Pakistani prodigy Bilal Asher, world under-14 Scrabble champion.
Despite a musty reputation, the word-spelling game has a cult youth following in Pakistan, a legacy of the English language imposed by Britain’s empire but which the country has adapted into its own dialect since independence.
In the eccentric field of competitive Scrabble, Pakistan’s youngsters reign supreme — the current youth world champions and past victors more times than any other nation since the tournament debuted in 2006.
“It requires a lot of hard work and determination,” said 13-year-old Asher after vanquishing a grey-bearded opponent.
“You have to trust the process for a very long time, and then gradually it will show the results.”
In this photograph taken on February 1, 2025, students compete in an inter-school Scrabble championship organised by the Pakistan Scrabble Association (PSA) at Bai Virbaiji Soparivala (BVS) Parsi school in Karachi. (AFP)
Karachi, a megacity shrugging off its old definition as a den of violent crime, is Pakistan’s incubator for talent in Scrabble — where players spell words linked like a crossword with random lettered tiles.
Schools in the southern port metropolis organize tutorials with professional Scrabble coaches and grant scholarships to top players, while parents push their kids to become virtuosos.
“They inculcate you in this game,” says Asher, one of around 100 players thronging a hotel function room for a Pakistan Scrabble Association (PSA) event as most of the city dozed through a Sunday morning.
In this photograph taken on February 16, 2025, Pakistani prodigy Bilal Asher, world under-14 Scrabble champion, competes against professional Scrabble coach Waseem Khatri during an event organised by the Pakistan Scrabble Association (PSA) at the Beach Luxury hotel in Karachi. (AFP)
Daunters (meaning intimidating people), imarets (inns for pilgrims) and trienes (chemical compounds containing three double bonds) are spelled out by ranks of seated opponents.
Some are so young their feet don’t touch the ground, as they use chess clocks to time their turns.
“They’re so interested because the parents are interested,” said 16-year-old Affan Salman, who became the world youth Scrabble champion in Sri Lanka last year.
“They want their children to do productive things — Scrabble is a productive game.”
English was foisted on the Indian subcontinent by Britain’s colonialism and an 1835 order from London started to systematize it as the main language of education.
The plan’s architect, Thomas Macaulay, said the aim was to produce “a class of persons, Indian in blood and color, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals and in intellect.”
In this photograph taken on February 1, 2025, students compete in an inter-school Scrabble championship organised by the Pakistan Scrabble Association (PSA) at Bai Virbaiji Soparivala (BVS) Parsi school in Karachi. (AFP)
It was instrumental in creating a colonial civil service to rule for Britain according to Kaleem Raza Khan, who teaches English at Karachi’s Salim Habib University.
“They started teaching English because they wanted to create a class of people, Indian people, who would be in the middle of the people and the rulers,” said Khan, whose wife and daughter are Scrabble devotees.
British rule ended in the bloody partition of 1947 creating India and Pakistan.
Today there are upwards of 70 languages spoken in Pakistan, but English remains an official state language alongside the lingua franca Urdu, and they mingle in daily usage.
Schools often still teach English with verbose colonial-era textbooks.
“The adaptation of English as the main language is definitely a relation to the colonial era,” PSA youth program director Tariq Pervez. “That is our main link.”
In this photograph taken on February 16, 2025, Pakistan Scrabble Association (PSA) youth programme director Tariq Pervez (C) teaches children competing in a Scrabble championship organised by PSA at the Beach Luxury hotel in Karachi. (AFP)
The English of Pakistani officialdom remains steeped in anachronistic words.
The prime minister describes militant attacks as “dastardly,” state media dubs protesters “miscreants” and the military denounces its “nefarious” adversaries.
Becoming fluent in the loquacious lingo of Pakistani English remains aspirational because of its association to the upper echelons.
In Pakistan more than a third of children between the ages of five and 16 are out of school — a total of nearly 26 million, according to the 2023 census.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif declared an “education emergency” last year to address the stark figures.
“People are interested in Scrabble because they can get opportunities for scholarships in universities or for jobs because it provides the vocab,” said Asher’s sister Manaal.
In this photograph taken on February 1, 2025, students compete in an inter-school Scrabble championship organised by the Pakistan Scrabble Association (PSA) at Bai Virbaiji Soparivala (BVS) Parsi school in Karachi. (AFP)
But the 14-year-old reigning female number one in Pakistan warned: “You’ve got to be resilient otherwise Scrabble isn’t right for you.”
In the Karachi hotel, Scrabble — invented in the 1930s during America’s Great Depression by an unemployed architect — is an informal training program for success in later life.
“The main language of learning is English,” said Pervez.
“This game has a great pull,” he added. “The demand is so big. So many kids want to play, we don’t have enough resources to accommodate all of them.”
At the youngest level the vocabulary of the players is more rudimentary: toy, tiger, jar, oink.
But professional Scrabble coach Waseem Khatri earns 250,000 rupees ($880) a month — nearly seven times the minimum wage — coaching some 6,000 students across Karachi’s school system to up their game.
In Pakistani English parlance “they try to express things in a more beautiful way — in a long way to express their feelings,” said 36-year-old Khatri.
“We try to utilize those words also in Scrabble.”
But when Asher wins he is overwhelmed with joy, and those long words don’t come so easily.
