ISLAMABAD: A large number of women entrepreneurs and home-based artisans have gathered in Pakistan’s federal capital to participate in the colorful two-day Islamabad Women Gala 2024, which is scheduled to conclude later today on Sunday evening.
The festival, which began the day after International Women’s Day, is organized to honor female workers who frequently face challenges in pursuing their professional aspirations and earning livelihoods for their families due to social constraints.
Hundreds of families were drawn to Lok Virsa on Saturday, where an assortment of garments, paintings, candles, jewelry, and furniture was displayed.
Speaking to Arab News, women entrepreneurs maintained the event provided a valuable platform to broaden their customer base.
“These events are very important when you are a woman entrepreneur and you are working from home,” Amber Fatima, a print designer, said. “The thing is that you get to know your market when you go to such type of exhibitions. You understand the customers, you understand what pricing you should be doing.”
Many participants, running small businesses, highlighted their reliance on online platforms for marketing.
“I don’t have a team, I don’t have a warehouse,” Maryam Ashraf, who sells candles and clothes, informed while describing the handling of her online presence as the biggest challenge.
However, she expressed satisfaction with her festival participation, which significantly boosted her customer outreach.
The gala features over 130 vibrant stalls managed by women entrepreneurs from diverse ages and economic backgrounds.
Some, like Aliya Ahsan, a former educator, embarked on entrepreneurship after leaving previous jobs or retiring.
“I learned this [candle-making] online during the coronavirus pandemic,” she told Arab News. “And I’m feeling very happy that I’m not wasting time.”
“Children have grown up,” she continued, “so now I feel that I have time and I should not waste it.”
According to Kaarandaz, a Pakistani non-profit organization, over 50 percent of women-led businesses are unregistered and face the growth and scaling challenges.
The 2022 Global Gender Report also reveals that women suffer from economic under-participation, and only 4.5 percent of them can be seen in the top corporate or legislative roles in Pakistan.
Many participants of the festival said they enjoyed running a small business as it made them financially independent and gave them an identity.
“The advantage of setting up business is that you become independent,” said Saeeda Tasleem who is in the garment business for 25 years. “You can buy anything of your own choice.”
Two-day festival celebrates women’s entrepreneurship in Pakistan amid economic inclusion challenges
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Two-day festival celebrates women’s entrepreneurship in Pakistan amid economic inclusion challenges
- The festival began a day after International Women’s Day to honor female workers earning livelihoods for their families
- Islamabad Women Gala 2024 has brought together home-based artisans who mostly rely on online marketing to sell products
‘We are not afraid’: Pakistanis at India-Pakistan border ceremony amid Kashmir tensions
- Soldiers from both nations perform aggressive marches, avoid traditional handshake as emotions run high over standoff
- Border crossing closed after attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blames on Pakistan, which denies charge
At the Wagah-Attari border, which marks the final boundary between the nuclear-armed nations of India and Pakistan, the atmosphere is charged with patriotism. The sound of drums can be heard as soldiers perform a choreographed, ceremonial march, showcasing both countries’ pride.
However, the usual symbol of cooperation — a handshake between the two countries’ soldiers — is missing, and the iron gates that separate the two sides remain locked. This is in the context of tense relations between India and Pakistan, heightened by a deadly attack in Kashmir.
Despite the tension, people gather to express their feelings, celebrate their national identities, and watch the dramatic flag-lowering ceremony that has become a symbolic ritual at the border. Visitors on the Pakistani side say they are not afraid of the soaring tensions and for them, it is business as usual.
“We don’t feel any such tension. We feel that we are as safe as we used to be before,” Muhammad Luqman, a Pakistani teacher who was visiting the Wagah border, told AFP.
“The reason for this is that we feel our country’s defense is in strong hands. We don’t have any sort of doubt or fear.”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given his military “full operational freedom” to respond to the attack as public anger swelled in his country after New Delhi accused Pakistan of involvement in the April 22 attack that killed 26 tourists. Islamabad has denied the allegations and called for a credible international probe into it.
On Monday, Pakistan carried out a second missile test in three days after saying it was preparing for an incursion by India.
The two nuclear-armed countries have exchanged gunfire along their de facto border in Kashmir, and there have been fears that the latest crisis between the nuclear-armed rivals, who have fought three wars, including two over the disputed region of Kashmir, could spiral into a military conflict.
“Pakistan is a brave nation. We live near the Wagah border. If there is any danger, we will be first picked up from the village, then it will be the turn of the people of the city, because we live in the [border] village,” said Muhammad Abu Bakar, a student.
“The villagers should be afraid, but the villagers are not afraid.”
The flare-up between India and Pakistan has once again alarmed world and regional powers, who have called for restraint and urged the two neighbors to resolve the crisis through dialogue.
Pakistan says won’t escalate tensions with India, vows to defend itself in case of any ‘adventure’
- The statement comes amid fears that India may carry out limited strikes against Pakistan over an attack in Kashmir that 26 tourists
- New Delhi accused Pakistan of backing the attack, Islamabad has rejected the charge and called for a credible investigation into it
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, said on Monday his country would not make any move that could escalate prevailing tensions with India, but it would give a “befitting reply” in case of any “adventure” by New Delhi.
Relations between the nuclear-armed neighbors have plummeted after India accused Pakistan of backing an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26 tourists on April 22. Islamabad has rejected the charge and both countries have since exchanged gunfire in Kashmir, taken diplomatic measures against each other, expelled citizens and ordered the border shut.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to pursue the attackers “to the ends of the earth” and there have been fears that India may carry out limited airstrikes or special forces raids near the border with Pakistan. A Pakistani minister last week said Islamabad had “credible intelligence” India was planning to attack Pakistan.
Speaking to journalists alongside Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Dar said Pakistan had nothing to do with the Pahalgam incident and its offer to participate in a credible international probe was still there, adding that Islamabad would demonstrate “full restraint.”
“We will demonstrate patience, we will exercise full restraint and we will not be the first one to take any escalatory move,” he told reporters in Islamabad, following his meeting with the Iranian FM.
“However, if India takes any adventure, any escalatory move, then we will give a befitting reply. So, that’s where we stand.”
FM Araghchi said he discussed the current regional situation, particularly Pakistan-India tensions after the Pahalgam attack and Pakistan’s stance on it as well as the Tehran-United States nuclear talks with his Pakistani counterpart.
The diplomatic flare-up and exchanges of small arms fire between India and Pakistan across their de facto border in Kashmir has alarmed world and regional powers, who have called for restraint and urged the two neighbors to resolve the crisis through dialogue.
Iran has offered to mediate the crisis between Pakistan and India, with Araghchi saying his country was “ready to use its good offices” to resolve the standoff.
Pakistan and India have a history of bitter relations. They have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir, a region split between them, since gaining independence from the former British colonial rule in 1947.
Dar said Pakistan had assured foreign capitals and friendly nations that it would not be the first one to strike, reiterating PM Shehbaz Sharif’s offer for a credible probe into the April 22 attack.
“Our offer is very much there,” he added.
Pakistan detects poliovirus in sewage samples from 18 districts including major cities
- Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Islamabad, Peshawar, Rawalpindi among cities where samples positive
- Pakistan has reported seven polio cases so far this year, 74 cases were confirmed last year
PESHAWAR: The poliovirus has been detected in sewage samples from 18 districts of Pakistan, including major urban cities like Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi, the national polio eradication program said on Monday.
Polio is a paralyzing disease that has no cure. Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of 5 is essential to provide children high immunity against the disease.
Pakistan has reported seven polio cases so far this year and has planned three major vaccination campaigns in the first half of 2025. Last year, 74 polio cases were confirmed in Pakistan.
“As robust poliovirus surveillance continues in Pakistan, 38 environmental samples collected from 31 districts between Apr. 7-17 were tested at the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication,” the lab said in a statement.
“The lab confirmed detection of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) in sewage samples of Loralai, Quetta, Zhob, Islamabad, Abbottabad, Bannu, DI Khan, Peshawar, Tank, North Waziristan, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Badin, Jamshoro, Hyderabad, Kashmore, Karachi, and Sukkur.”
A third nationwide campaign to vaccinate children under the age of five is scheduled from May. 26 to June 1.
In the early 1990s, Pakistan reported around 20,000 polio cases annually but in 2018 the number dropped to eight cases. Six cases were reported in 2023 and only one in 2021.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the last two countries in the world where polio remains endemic.
Pakistan’s polio program began in 1994 but efforts to eradicate the virus have since been undermined by vaccine misinformation and opposition from some religious hard-liners who say immunization is a foreign ploy to sterilize Muslim children or a cover for Western spies.
Militant groups also frequently attack and kill members of polio vaccine teams and security guards protecting them.
19 killed after fuel tanker blast in Pakistan
- Oil tanker caught fire in southwestern Nushki district on April 28
- Police say investigating possibility of negligence in oil tanker blast
QUETTA, Pakistan: The death toll from an oil tanker blast in southwest Pakistan jumped to 19, officials said Monday, a week after the incident.
Crowds had gathered to douse the flames of the burning tanker after it pulled over near a market, when it exploded.More than 40 people were injured, many of them transported to the mega city of Karachi for treatment.
“The death toll climbs to 19,” local police official Muhammad Hasan Mengal told AFP.
The incident happened on April 28 in Nushki, a district of Balochistan province.
He said police were investigating the possibility of negligence.
Pakistan calls on international partners to restrain ‘spoilers’ as Moody’s concerned over India standoff
- Moody’s Ratings said escalating frictions with India would weigh on Pakistan’s economic growth, impair access to external financing
- Last week, according to media reports, India raised concerns with the IMF on its loans to Pakistan, asking for a review of bailout
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday urged the international community to prevent ‘spoilers’ from obstructing its path to economic growth as Moody’s Ratings said escalating frictions between New Delhi and Islamabad could weigh on Pakistan’s economic growth and impair access to external financing.
Dar’s comments came in the wake of New Delhi blaming Islamabad for a deadly attack on domestic tourists in Indian Kashmir last month. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to punish the backers of the attack “beyond their imagination” and fears have been rising that India might carry our surgical strikes or special forces raids along the de facto border that divides the disputed Kashmir valley between the two nations. Pakistan has denied involvement in last Tuesday’s attack but has warned it will hit back if it is targeted.
Speaking at the 4th Annual Regional Dialogue 2025 organized by the Institute of Regional Studies (IRS) in Islamabad, Dar, who is also the foreign minister, said Pakistan was endowed with rich natural and human resources and an enormous economic potential, located at the crossroads of South Asia, Central Asia, and the Middle East, and wanted to “capitalize on these inherent advantages for the prosperity and betterment of our people and that of the region.”
“We have prioritized geo-economics as one of the cardinal pillars of our engagement with our international partners. We are determined to enhance regional connectivity, and increase bilateral and multilateral developmental partnerships for socio-economic uplift,” the foreign minister said.
“To achieve these goals, we are desirous of peace in the region and beyond. At a time when we are headed on the path of economic stability, we do not want any distractions from our people-centric development agenda.”
He said he hoped the international community would help Islamabad achieve its goals, and prevent any spoilers in the region “from obstructing our path to peace and prosperity.”
The recent standoff with India has come as Pakistan treads a tricky and narrow path to economic recovery.
On Monday, Moody’s Ratings said tensions between India and Pakistan would impair Pakistan’s economic growth and access to external financing. The ratings agency said persistent tensions could pressure Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves, though it did not expect a full-scale military conflict.
Pakistan secured a $7 billion bailout program from the IMF last year and was granted a new $1.3 billion climate resilience loan in March.
The program is critical to the $350 billion economy and Pakistan said it has stabilized under the bailout that helped it stave off a default threat.
Last week, according to media reports, India raised concerns with the IMF on its loans to Pakistan, asking for a review.
The adviser to Pakistan’s finance minister has said the IMF program is “well on track.”
“The latest review has been done well and we are completely on track,” adviser Khurram Schehzad, told Reuters last week, adding that Pakistan had very productive spring meetings with financial institutions in Washington.
“We did about 70 meetings ... interest has been very high for investing and supporting Pakistan as the economy turns around,” Schehzad said.
The soaring tensions between the two countries have drawn global attention and calls for cooling tempers.
US Vice President JD Vance said on Thursday Washington hoped Pakistan would cooperate with India to hunt down Pakistan-based assailants.
Kashmir is claimed in full by both Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan, but each rules it in part.
-With input from Reuters
