KARACHI: Renowned Pakistani architect Yasmeen Lari has refused to accept the prestigious Wolf Prize 2025 in the field of architecture over the “continuing genocide” of Palestinians in Gaza, she confirmed on Tuesday.
The Wolf Prize is an international award granted in Israel since 1978 to living scientists and artists for their “achievements in the interest of mankind and friendly relations among people.”
It is awarded in six fields, including agriculture, chemistry, mathematics, medicine, physics, and an arts prize that rotates between architecture, music, painting and sculpture.
Lari, who works in the intersection of architecture and social justice, wrote to Wolf Foundation that she was grateful for the honor, but could not accept it “in view of the unfortunate continuing genocide in Gaza.”
“I declined the award because of the ongoing genocide in Gaza, a reason I explicitly stated in my response to them. Given the current situation in Gaza, accepting the award was out of the question,” she told Arab News.

The development came as Israeli fire killed eight people in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, Palestinian officials said on Tuesday, even as a fragile ceasefire with Hamas has largely held. Israel last week suspended supplies of goods and electricity to the territory of more than 2 million Palestinians as it tries to pressure Hamas to accept an extension of the first phase of their ceasefire, which ended on March 1.
Israel wants Hamas to release half of the remaining hostages in return for a promise to negotiate a lasting truce. Hamas instead wants to start negotiations on the ceasefire’s more difficult second phase, which would see the release of remaining hostages from Gaza, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and a lasting peace. Hamas is believed to have 24 living hostages and the bodies of 35 others.
Israel’s war on Gaza, which began after Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas, has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, a majority of them women and children. The 15-month Israeli military campaign has laid waste to the Gaza Strip, destroying hospitals, schools and entire residential neighborhoods.
“Declining the award was the very least I could do,” Lari told Arab News.
Lari is known for her socially conscious works on humanitarian grounds and for catering to the spatial needs of Pakistan’s most marginalized communities. She co-founded the Heritage Foundation of Pakistan with her husband, Suhail Zaheer Lari, in 1980, and has constructed over 50,000 sustainable self-built shelters and over 80,000 ecological cooking stoves using natural materials like mud, lime, and bamboo.
The philanthropic architect, who advocates that traditional construction techniques can lead to low-impact carbon-neutral buildings, was awarded the prestigious Royal Institute of British Architects Royal Gold Medal in 2023 for her humanitarian work.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday expressed satisfaction over Pakistan’s progress regarding an ongoing International Monetary Fund (IMF) program and macroeconomic stability in the country.
The South Asian country, which has faced an economic meltdown in recent years, is treading a long path to economic recovery under a $7 billion IMF program it secured in Sept. last year.
An IMF mission is currently in Pakistan to analyze Islamabad’s progress on key conditions as part of first review of the facility. A successful review will result in the release of around $1 billion to Pakistan as second installment under the program.
Speaking to his cabinet members, Sharif said the ongoing negotiations with the IMF were “satisfactory” and moving forward in a good manner.
“The IMF mission is here [in Pakistan]. The foreign minister and his team, and other ministers are holding talks with it,” the prime minister said in televised comments.
“I believe this program is important for our growth because our federal reserves, inflation, core inflation, your banking system, lowering of policy rate, all these are linked with this.”
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb last month said they were confident of meeting targets of the IMF program. Pakistan was able to build some trust with the IMF by completing a short-term, nine-month program last year.
Previous loan programs in Pakistan ended prematurely or saw delays after the governments at the time faltered on meeting key conditions.
Sharif said Pakistan’s growth was vital to meeting these conditions and for that, agriculture, industries, commerce, finance, IT, mines and minerals and maritime sectors were of great significance, hoping his cabinet’s members would transform their ministries to this effect.
“A complete transformation of railways is required. Similarly, there is huge potential in maritime,” he said.
“There would be a review of our ministries every three months, I will sit with you and the results of the review will be presented before the nation.”