TAXILA: In the archaeological city of Taxila, some 32 kilometers northwest of Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, lives an eye doctor of Indian origin, the country’s first female ophthalmologist, who has saved hundreds of thousands of people from visual impairment and continues her crusade against blindness despite crossing her retirement age.
Dr. Pramila Lall, 87, was born in Kerala, India, in 1932. She immigrated to Pakistan in 1957 after receiving MBBS from the Christian Medical College and marrying her Pakistani classmate, Dr. Ernest Lall, who advised her to become an eye specialist. Since then, she has dedicated her life to the cause and is said to have conducted over 500,000 surgeries, the highest number of such operations performed by any single doctor in Asia.
In 1987, Lall became member of the American Academy of Ophthalmologists, and the London Royal College of Ophthalmologists awarded her a fellowship in 1990.
Hailing from a family of academics, she recently narrated her journey from India to Pakistan while talking exclusively to Arab News at the Christian Hospital, Taxila, which was built in 1922 by missionaries.
“When I was young, I had a speech defect. I couldn’t speak out. If the teacher asked me anything, I would know the answer, but I closed my mouth, put my head down like I didn’t know it. It used to make me very ashamed of myself. My only hope was to be a veterinarian and take care of animals since I didn’t need to talk to them,” Lall said while she sat on her favorite black chair next to an old eye examination equipment.
“It was my mother,” she continued, “who told me: ‘You don’t take care of animals; you take care of human beings. You’ll become a doctor.’ My father said, ‘No, we don’t have money to send her to a medical college.’ But my mother said, ‘This daughter of mine is going to do medicine.’”
Lall enrolled in the medical school where she met her future husband, a Pakistani “Punjabi boy” who told her that there was “a lot of eye work required across the border” and advised her to do her residency in ophthalmology.
“I came to Pakistan on the 27th of September, 1957, at 4 o’clock in the evening. I was wearing a sari I didn’t have any socks on my feet and no shoes. I had only chappals, because in India that’s what we used all the time. We wore chappals and we wore saris.”
She had Pakistani visa stamped on her Indian passport and was accompanied by her husband. At the Amritsar border, she said, an “Indian immigration officer said, ‘Two doctors going off to Pakistan. We need doctors in India. You people better not go, you better stay in India.’”
Crossing over, the Pakistani immigration official said: “Welcome to Pakistan. We need doctors in this country.” It was a big welcome, she added, though she had to change her nationality within the first six months to permanently stay in the country.
Since then, Lall has returned to India once to receive the Paul Harrison Award in 1985 after previously being denied entry in 1965 when the two South Asian rivals suspended diplomatic relations while fighting a full-scale war.
“We needed to get an Indian visa to collect an award. The [Indian] embassy officer said, ‘You are a Pakistani. How come you are getting an award from India?’ I had to explain to him, that we came from India. We studied in Vellore, our work was there, training was there, and that was the reason why the Indians were giving me the award because I had done so much for the prevention of blindness in Pakistan. Only then he understood why I wanted to go to India,” Lall said, adding she did not have the urge to return to her country of origin. “Whatever I have are my staff and my friends in this country,” she said.
In 2002, President General (r) Pervez Musharraf gave her Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, an award of excellence conferred by the state, and she capitalized on the opportunity by requesting him to allow Christians to vote.
“When I got the award, I thanked the president and said I had one request: ‘I want you to do something for the rights of the minorities. We are not allowed to vote.’ He said, ‘I’ll do something about it,’” Lall said, smiling.
Discussing her career, she said there came a time when she was not able to take the pressure and influx of patients. She also faced hardships during the 1965 and 1971 wars since she was treated as a suspect due to her Indian origin.
“I just wrote a small message to my father and said, ‘Enough of Taxila. We are going to Canada. We are going to work over there. We’ll get good money over there and we won’t have all this business of being in Pakistan.’ My father wrote back and said, ‘Have you forgotten? Once you put your hand to the plow, you don’t turn back. Stick to your job and have faith in God. That’s the most important thing.’ The Lord had saved me. I am in my 80s now, and I keep praying, ‘Lord! Use me as long as you can, but I am ready to go to you whenever you call me,’” she told Arab News.
Lall continues her mission, though she now feels lonely since her husband passed away in March this year, her children live in the United States, and there is no one left in her family in India.
“I have stopped doing surgery now for four years. But I keep training others who come here so they can develop their skills and be good surgeons. I don’t want to be a burden. I have only one woman [maid] at home and one dog. I keep telling her, ‘If any day you find I am not breathing properly, this is the phone number. You call this ward and tell them, Please come and see Mrs. Lall.’”
Woman of vision: A life spent preventing blindness in Pakistan
https://arab.news/yr5k4
Woman of vision: A life spent preventing blindness in Pakistan
- Dr. Pramila Lall is Pakistan’s first female eye specialist who has saved thousands from visual impairment
- The female ophthalmologist has conducted the highest number of eye surgeries in Asia
Pakistan, Qatar agree to broaden partnerships in environmental sustainability, green investments
- Pakistan and Qatar have longstanding economic, defense and cultural relations
- In 2022, Qatar Investment Authority committed $3 billion for projects in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Qatar have agreed to broaden their partnership in diverse areas, including environmental sustainability and green investments, Pakistan’s climate change minister said on Friday.
The understanding was reached during a meeting between Pakistan’s Climate Change Minister Dr. Musadik Malik and Qatar’s Ambassador to Pakistan, Ali Mubarak Ali Essa Al-Khater, in Islamabad.
Malik said the meeting covered Global Plastics Treaty negotiations in Geneva next week, Pakistan’s upcoming Green Startups Initiative to empower youth and attract international investors.
“Both sides reaffirmed commitment to expanding cooperation in climate action, trade and people-to-people ties,” the minister said, emphasizing the need for fair, accessible, and people-centered global environmental agreements that address the socio-economic realities of developing countries.
Pakistan and Qatar have longstanding economic, defense and cultural relations. In 2022, the Qatar Investment Authority committed $3 billion for projects in Pakistan, spanning airport management, renewable energy and hospitality.
Pakistan, currently bolstered by a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) program, ranks among countries most affected by climate change and has been planning several initiatives to boost green economy, aiming to reduce environmental risks and ecological scarcities while ensuring sustainable development.
“The Ambassador of Qatar expressed strong interest in expanding cooperation in climate action besides trade and investment,” the Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.
Pakistan eyes new avenues for trade, connectivity as Azerbaijan, Armenia sign peace deal
- US President Donald Trump announced Armenia, Azerbaijan had committed to lasting peace after decades of conflict as he hosted the two leaders
- Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif hopes that this spirit of dialogue will serve as an example for other regions facing protracted conflicts
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday welcomed a peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia, hoping that it would open new avenues for trade and regional connectivity.
US President Donald Trump announced that Armenia and Azerbaijan had committed to a lasting peace after decades of conflict as he hosted the leaders of the South Caucasus rivals at a White House signing event.
The development comes as Pakistan, slowly recovering from a macroeconomic crisis under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan, looks to capitalize on its geostrategic location to boost transit trade and foreign investment for a sustainable recovery.
“We congratulate President Ilham Aliyev and the people of Azerbaijan on this historic agreement, that reflects wisdom, foresight and sagacity in charting a course for a peaceful future for their region,” Sharif said on X.
“We also appreciate the facilitation role of the United States, under President Donald Trump, in bringing the two sides together and securing an agreement that opens new avenues for trade, connectivity, and regional integration.”
Christian-majority Armenia and Muslim-majority Azerbaijan have feuded for decades over their border and the status of ethnic enclaves within each other’s territories.
The nations went to war twice over the disputed Karabakh region, which Azerbaijan recaptured from Armenian forces in a lightning 2023 offensive, sparking the exodus of more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians.
The two former Soviet republics “are committing to stop all fighting forever, open up commerce, travel and diplomatic relations and respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Trump said at the event.
Sharif said Pakistan stood by the brotherly nation of Azerbaijan at this proud moment of their history.
“This landmark development marks the dawn of a new era of peace, stability, and cooperation in the South Caucasus, a region that has endured decades of conflict and human suffering,” he said.
“It is our hope that this spirit of dialogue will serve as an example for other regions facing protracted conflicts.”
Pakistan and Azerbaijan maintain close ties. In July, Sharif met with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev in Khankendi on the sidelines of the 17th Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) summit, where the two leaders agreed to boost bilateral trade and investment.
This was Sharif’s third visit to Azerbaijan in 2025. He last traveled to Baku in May as part of a broader push at economic diplomacy with the Central Asian republics, to whom Pakistan has offered access to its southern ports in Karachi and Gwadar.
In July 2024, Azerbaijan announced a $2 billion investment in Pakistan during a visit by President Ilham Aliyev to Islamabad. In September last year, Pakistan signed a contract to supply JF-17 Block III fighter jets to Azerbaijan, marking the deepening of defense cooperation.
Nawaz sparks Pakistan to five-wicket ODI win over West Indies
- Hasan Nawaz made a triumphant one-day international debut, going 63 not out
- Nawaz struck for six on the second ball of 49th over and blasted the winning shot
TAROUBA, Trinidad and Tobago: Hasan Nawaz made a triumphant one-day international debut, going 63 not out on Friday to power Pakistan over West Indies by five wickets in their ODI series opener.
Nawaz and Hussain Talat formed a sixth-wicket partnership of 104 not out to rally the visitors in the day-night affair, with game two on Sunday and the concluder on Tuesday.
West Indies went 280 all out with Evin Lewis leading the way on 60 from 62 balls with three sixes and five fours while Shai Hope added 55 and Roston Chase contributed 53.
Needing 281 to win, Pakistan got 53 runs from Mohammad Rizwan before he was bowled lbw by Shamar Joseph in the 38th over with the visitors still 101 runs shy of victory, setting the stage for heroics by Nawaz and Talat.
Nawaz struck for six on the second ball of the 49th over and blasted the winning shot to the boundary off the final delivery by Joseph, giving Pakistan the victory with seven balls to spare.
In all, Nawaz reached 63 on 54 balls with three sixes and five fours while Talat finished on 41 from 37 balls with one six and four fours.
Pakistan won the toss and sent the hosts in to bat first, a choice that paid quick dividends when Brandon King was taken for four on the fifth ball of the opening over, bowled by Shaheen Shah Afridi — his first of four wickets — and caught by Babar Azam off stump.
Lewis exited on the last ball of the 19th over, bowled by Saim Ayub and caught by Afridi.
West Indies captain Hope was bowled by Afridi and caught by Rizwan on the second ball of the 41st over, leaving the hosts on 200 for five.
Romario Shepherd, was sent off on four on the last ball of the 43rd over.
Chase made the third half-century for the West Indies with a boundary but went out on the next ball, caught by Azam and bowled by Naseem Shah, who also bowled out Gudakesh Motie and Jediah Blades on the last two Pakistan deliveries.
Pakistan launches national ‘Agri Stack’ to digitize farming sector
- Agri Stack to give farmers digital IDs, integrate land data, streamline access to subsidies, credit, insurance and markets
- Initiative aims to boost productivity, transparency and rural incomes in a sector contributing one-fifth of GDP
KARACHI: Pakistan has begun work on a “National Agri Stack” to build digital infrastructure for its agriculture sector, aiming to boost farmer access to credit, subsidies and markets, the ministry of IT said on Friday.
Agriculture is the backbone of Pakistan’s economy, employing more than a third of the workforce and contributing around a fifth of gross domestic product. The sector faces persistent challenges, however, including low productivity, fragmented landholdings, water scarcity and climate shocks, while farmers often lack formal identification and credit histories needed to access finance.
The Agri Stack initiative, led by the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT) in collaboration with the Ministry of National Food Security and Research (MNFSR), the Land Information and Management System (LIMS) and the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), seeks to integrate land and farmer data, deliver targeted services and improve transparency in farm support.
In simple terms, the Agri Stack will create a “digital ID and online service hub” for every farmer in Pakistan. It will gather all key information — who the farmer is, what land they own or work on, what crops they grow — into one secure system. This means the government, banks and agri companies can deliver the right help directly to the right farmer, including subsidies, loans, crop insurance, weather updates and market prices.
The system is meant to cut out paperwork, reduce delays, stop resources from going to the wrong people and give farmers better tools to grow and sell their crops.
“The Agri Stack will enable verified farmer identities, land data integration, precision advisory, and efficient delivery of services like subsidies, crop insurance, and credit,” said Federal IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja at a stakeholder consultation in Islamabad, according to a statement from the IT ministry.
“This is the architecture for an inclusive and tech-driven agricultural transformation under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s Digital Nation Pakistan, in collaboration with the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC).”
LIMS Director General Maj Gen (R) M Ayub Ahsan Bhatti said the platform, also called PAKGROW, would “innovate the agricultural arena of Pakistan by transforming and improving the lives of small farmers and convening policymaking.”
The consultation endorsed forming a steering committee co-chaired by MoITT and MNFSR, a technical working group on data and cybersecurity, and pilot projects over the next 12–18 months. Priority areas include smart input subsidies, weather-indexed crop insurance, credit access through alternative data, and market linkages via LIMS.
Officials said the Agri Stack would combine satellite-driven crop intelligence, digital IDs, trusted payment systems and market platforms to create a “digitally empowered agricultural future.”
If implemented effectively, experts say a national Agri Stack could help Pakistan tackle some of its most entrenched agricultural challenges by giving farmers verified digital identities, streamlining subsidy and credit delivery, and providing timely, data-driven advice on crop management.
Integrating land records, satellite imagery, and market information into a single digital platform could reduce leakages in government support programs, expand financial inclusion for smallholders, improve resilience against climate shocks and connect rural producers more directly to buyers. This would ultimately boost productivity, transparency and rural incomes in a sector that underpins both the economy and national food security.
Pakistan PM calls for roadmap to boost IT exports to $30 billion
- IT exports grew 19 percent to $3.8 billion in FY2024–25 as Pakistan seeks new global markets
- Over 315,000 students received IT training last year, including 115,000 women nationwide
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday directed authorities to draw up a roadmap to gradually raise Pakistan’s information technology (IT) exports to $30 billion, urging concrete annual targets and reforms to accelerate digital growth.
IT is a priority sector for Pakistan, which has been seeking new markets, particularly in the Gulf region, for tech firms and startups, and looking to attract greater foreign investment.
The sector generated $3.8 billion in export revenue during the last fiscal year, marking a 19 percent year-on-year increase, according to the IT ministry.
“A complete digital ecosystem and infrastructure is being introduced to take Pakistan’s IT exports to $30 billion,” the prime minister said at a meeting in Islamabad, according to a statement from his office. “We are taking priority measures to align the economy with modern requirements through digitization.”
Sharif praised the growth in freelancing, women’s participation and professional training under federal IT programs, noting the establishment of e-employment centers, digital youth hubs and expanded 4G access across the country.
He also ordered the restructuring of the National Information Technology Board (NITB), including the recruitment of top-tier professionals from the market, and called for timely completion of all IT initiatives.
During the meeting, officials said that over 315,000 students had received IT training in the past year, including 115,000 women, while 386 startups were supported under the National Incubation Center, and nearly $700 million in investment agreements and MoUs were signed.
Pakistan also saw a 91 percent increase in the number of freelancers.
