‘Your time is up’, Shehbaz tells PM Imran at DG Khan rally

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif has once again lashed out at Prime Minister Imran Khan-led government over rising inflation in the country, saying that “sea of people is ready to overthrow his government”. “The sea of people is a testament that your [PM Imran] time is up..You have made the lives of masses miserable with the back-breaking inflation and rising poverty,” Shehbaz said while addressing a rally at DG Khan in South Punjab on Sunday. https://ift.tt/2Y56khS The anti-government rally was organised under the umbrella of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), a joint opposition alliance. Shehbaz, while comparing the last PML-N’s tenure with the incumbent government, said former premier Nawaz Sharif built a number of public welfare projects in South Punjab. Also read: PDM announces ‘grand rally’ against rising inflation “We built Danish schools across South Punjab under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif.” Shehbaz – who is also the Opposition Leader in National Assembly – said that hospitals and universities were also built in various districts of the southern region of the province. The PML-N president said during the three-year tenure of the PTI government not a single project has been established in South Punjab. Shehbaz said prices of essential commodities have increased manifold and the poor are unable to afford one square meal a day. Quoting the Transparency International report, Shehbaz said that corruption has increased in the country during the tenure of the PTI government. He said PM Imran would label former rulers as “thieves” when prices of petrol and other commodities were increased. “But now petrol and electricity bombs are being dropped on people frequently…” Shehbaz while rejecting the government’s claims that the economy of the country is progressing said that the rate of inflation is highest in Pakistan compared to the other countries in the region. “The PTI government has handed over Pakistan to the IMF,” he added. “This night is not long... stand up and under the leadership of Maulana Fazlur Rehman [PDM chief] take to the streets against inflation and remove the incumbent government,” Shehbaz also said.

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FIA rounds up five officials, books two OMCs for 2020 oil crisis

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested five men – including officials of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) -- and registered two separate cases against two oil marketing companies (OMCs) -- Fossil Energy Pvt Ltd and Askar Oil Services Pvt Ltd -- for their involvement in the fuel crisis of June 2020. The agency rounded up Fossil Energy CEO Nadeem Butt, Ogra Member Gas Amir Naseem, Ogra Member Oil Abdullah Malik, Energy and Petroleum Ministry DG Oil Shafiullah Afridi and Assistant Director Oil Imran Abro. The Ogra officials face charges of illegally issuing licences to OMCs. The officials of the Energy and Petroleum Division are accused of issuing illegal quota of petroleum imports. The FIA claimed that the OMCs, in connivance with Ogra, had set up a network of illegal petrol pumps across the country. The suspects have allegedly caused a loss of billions of rupees to the national treasury by issuing OMCs illegal licences and import quotas and buying and selling petroleum imports in violation of the law. The profits earned through this illegal way have been laundered out of the country, the FIA maintained. The FIA has obtained physical remand of the arrested men and started interrogating them. Read FIA cracks down on TLP’s social media accounts A commission of inquiry formed in July last year to probe into a sudden shortage of fuel in the country had held the OMCs primarily responsible for the crisis, noting that they had deliberately stopped supplying petroleum products to pumps despite having considerable stocks at their disposal. It said in its report that the OMCs had made from Rs6 to Rs8 billion during the June oil crisis by committing every illegality in “business as usual” manner. It said as the OMCs would incur a substantial Inventory loss by free sale in June, they took the easy way out to simply slow down or dry out supplies, against all legal and moral norms. “Consequently, the shortage of petrol began to surface across Pakistan and the filling stations gradually became dry, denying the public at large to reap the benefit of this substantial price cut.” It said the OMCs, in contravention of licence conditions, slowed down the supply of petrol to their filling stations. On a lesser scale, the filling stations also held back on whatever stock they had in their tanks. “All OMCs [other than the Pakistan State Oil (PSO) and Shell] proportionally held on to their stocks with knowledge of anticipated rise in prices. This has been proven during ground check of filling stations and records submitted by the OMCs with affidavits,” the report read. It said the PSO, being a state-owned entity, could not follow this illegal suit due to the prevailing situation. Consequently, its market share in the period of shortage increased by nearly 20% and consequently, it sustained a loss of Rs7-8 billion in the process.

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Is there any stopping the supply chain reaction?

As the world braces up to normalise following a year and a half of severe battering from the Covid-19 pandemic, the after effects of the malady on the global economy continue to emerge in different forms. While the early days of the pandemic saw major world economies impose lockdowns, close borders and reduce business activities, the latest problem concern a disruption in the global supply chain of a majority of commodities. Many of these items are also of daily use. One year ago, the breakthrough in development of a Covid-19 vaccine renewed hopes putting an end to the pandemic by the mid of the ongoing year. However one year later, the world economy continues to suffer despite widespread vaccination campaigns in many countries including Pakistan. One of the major after effects of the pandemic has been the disturbance in the global supply chain which has slowed down the global recovery from the pandemic. Speaking to The Express Tribune, cotton trader Saad Ahmed said that the supply chain crisis was being faced due to a cascading impact of Covid-19. “We all know that the pandemic hit China much earlier [end of 2019] than the rest of the world,” he said. “However, due to stringent lockdowns and strict mobility restrictions, Chinese economy began recovering much earlier than the rest of the globe as well.” Uneven recovery   The cotton importer stated that last year Beijing recorded a nationwide recovery in the beginning of the second quarter (April-June) of 2020 while the earliest rebound witnessed in many other countries, including Pakistan, was in the middle of third quarter (July-September). Right after the economic revival was evident, China began producing merchandise for the world however demand was low so it was able to supply commodities to the rest of the world. At the same time, scarcity in demand of a number of non-essential items forced major logistics and transportation companies to scrap their containers and carriers. “The shipping companies began selling their fleets and containers due to which, congestion at the scrap yard mounted,” he said.“The plunge in demand was seemingly long term therefore the companies had no incentive to pay wear and tear of their assets without utilising them.” Moreover, majority of these companies were on the brink of bankruptcy due to virtually no business hence they decided to sell few of their containers and carriers to keep the business afloat. Towards the end of 2020, a breakthrough in vaccine trials partially turned the market sentiment around and signaled an end to the pandemic in early months of 2021. In addition, in order to stimulate a turnaround in the economy, a handful of first world countries announced relief for their residents. The US, for instance, paid a cumulative $2,000 (in two installments of $1,200 and $800) to its citizens. This liquidity injection coupled with the upbeat newsflow of discovery of Covid-19 vaccine significantly boosted the demand of all products across the globe. “At this moment, people began spending,” Ahmed said.“Most of the people were still working from home so they bought a lot of a new stuff including home renovation products, technology gadgets (such as laptops) and other essential products.” The demand in the global economy began recovering but bear in mind that at the same time, the supply was limited. Port problems   Due to Covid-19 restrictions, ports were not fully functioning at that time, he said. Ahmed added that many ports were still taking less traffic but a lot more ports had restrictions in place towards the end of 2020 and the start of 2021. In the initial months of 2021, a handful of unprecedented events further aggravated the situation. “Occasional outbreak of the virus in China hindered the production process, the spread of delta variant saw most countries impose stringent lockdowns again and majority of the carriers were shipping Covid-19 vaccines to the nations” he said. “At such a point, the Ever Given obstructed the Suez Canal and paused the flow of logistics from one of the most important shipping routes in the world.” The giant ship go stuck in the Suez Canal on March 23 and blocked the movement of any traffic from the route till March 29, 2021. During this time, an estimated $9.6 billion worth of trade was lost. Moreover, US began experiencing conflicts at its ports, he said. “The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are highly desired routes from Asia to continental US and these two placed began recording a huge influx of ships that they were unable to handle,” he said. “The port companies began implementing wait times for incoming ships which has now growth to 10 days.” The average wait times, which was non-existent before the pandemic surfaced in the world and stood at 7.5 days in August 2021. There were hundreds of ships lined up to offload their containers however, ports are unable to process them despite the fact that they have implemented round the clock operations. “Earlier, ports had set timings during which they operated,” stated the importer. He detailed that a port consists of main area where ships are docked and there is a separate area known as outer anchorage where they wait for being berthed. Outer anchorage in ports in most parts of the world has been filling up because while there was no notable expansion in shipping lines, the scrapping of containers and carriers contracted this segment. Today, the global supply chain is far from normal because suppliers are unable to meet demand due to a host of factors other than the ones already mentioned. Other factors?   The official stated as soon as lockdowns began easing and the recovery of global demand began, the freight companies jacked up prices partly to erase the losses borne during lockdown and partly because of the huge influx of export and import orders. Arif Habib Corporation Managing Director and CEO Ahsan Mehanti said that Covid-19 is still raging in many parts of the world and lockdowns are in effect in a few countries. “The manufacturing sector in these countries is working at half or reduced capacity due to the pandemic induced restrictions,” said Mehanti. “Low amount of workforce translates to drop in production while demand is stable. This has created a wide gap between the demand and supply of products in the world.” Few days back, China shut a terminal for two weeks due to rise in virus infections, he said. This took place in the world’s third busiest port and this was the second time in 2021 when the operations at the port were suspended. On one hand, some countries are unable to absorb the traffic on the port while on the other hand, frequent closure of port operations is being witnessed. This has also alleviated the supply crunch, he said. “These are the after effects of the pandemic,” Mehanti said. “Furthermore, the clearance of goods is also consuming a large window of time compared to the pre-Covid era.” Moreover, many countries are not issuing business visas either which can help resolve this issue to some extent. During business-to-business meetings with their foreign counterparts, traders ink agreements to switch trade routes to less congested passages that could reduce traffic at busy ports. Moreover, cross border trade is also blocked in many areas. Giving the example of Pakistan, he said trade is largely suspended with Afghanistan and India. Input scarcity   The supply chain crisis has lately evolved into a raw material shortage for the global manufacturing sector. What was termed as a temporary phase is not expected to improve for a long time. Few months ago, the world witnessed a shortage of semi conductors that threatened entire digital manufacturing base as well as automobile production. Now, this problem has evolved further. Alpha Beta Core CEO Khurram Schehzad said that the outbreak of Covid-19 forced suppliers to limit production because there was no demand for their products. “Back in March 2020, the malady was expected to continue for a few years and demand was not projected recover over the next one to two years,” he said. In April 2020, oil fell below $0, which signaled excess supply and virtually no demand. This dampened sentiment of producers because up till that moment, oil was considered a necessity and was supposed to remain unaffected by any crisis, he said. Keep the oil price dip in view, producers had little incentive to continue on with production. Therefore inventories of factories shrank and now the world faces a deficit of inputs for the production process even for essential commodities. Sometime, an input has to undergo manufacturing process to act as raw material for manufacturing of another product such as semiconductors. They undergo massive manufacturing processes only to act as inputs for automobiles, laptops, mobiles and other digital gadgets. Now, raw material for daily use items such as cooking oil and ghee is also in a deficit and this has triggered a crisis for factories all across the world. “World demand is recovering and the supply is not ample to fulfill demand therefore prices of commodities and raw material are soaring,” he said.   Inflationary pressure While the supply is limited on one hand and prices are rising, the logistics industry also has a deficit of containers therefore their rates are also surging. The global supply chain is experiencing a multifaceted challenge. The number of containers with logistic firms remained limited hence the companies were unable to absorb the sudden rise in demand. “As a result, they raised the per container cost,” said Schehzad. “Right now, the demand is high, and a shortfall is being witnessed in raw material, commodities, inputs, transport and logistics.” One can say that world does not have enough supply to meet the recovering demand even if logistic and transport issues are resolved. Coal and oil prices are soaring primarily due to reopening of economies and jump in energy demand stemming from planned revival of manufacturing base. Resultantly, the energy prices are skyrocketing as well. The cost of finished products and intermediary goods is climbing due to hike in input costs. “Prices of metal, particularly steel is on the rise,” he said. “A massive chunk of world demand came from China as it opened.” Schehzad said that China is dependent on coal and while, Australia is huge exporter of the fossil fuel, Beijing refrains to buy from it due to geo-political problems. “Hence, change in geo political situation is also contributing to global supply crunch,” he said. “China has supply of products but most western countries refrain from trading with it.” Holiday season Cotton importer Saad Ahmed said that holiday season is kicking in around the world and demand for all products ticks up during October to December every year. There is not doubt that things have started to improve in many countries but the world has a long way to resolve the supply crunch issue. “US and Latin and America are facing shipping problems but things are improving in other nations,” he said. “US port congestion is not expected to normalise atleast until March 2022. It can prolong far more than that but March is the earliest estimate.” Ideally, the port condition of US is expected to normalise at the beginning of 2023. This has created a huge export backlog for companies all around the world and shipping firms are taking back empty containers with them. He detailed that earlier, the containers would be filled with merchandise destined for other parts of the world. “Importers and export-oriented industries in Europe and US are operating below capacity.,” he said. “Railway, trucks and air cargo have no capacity either to facilitate exporters in delivering merchandise by the deadline.” He was of the view that there were low chances of resolution of the problem in the short run   How is Pakistan faring? Ali, who supplies raw cotton to textile mills in Pakistan, revealed that raw cotton imports to the country are facing delays and the problem is expected to persist until the middle of 2022. “Raw material is a bit harder to secure right now and due to this, the domestic cotton prices are at a historic high,” he said. “Freight rates, applicable on valued added exports, have soared as well.” The gap between receipt of export orders and final delivery has expanded to six months. He detailed that when the orders were registered, the rise in freight costs was not taken into account and the sudden hike in fares is mounting losses for exporters. According to him, shipment delays were being experienced on the export side as well which has sparked liquidity issues among exporters. The working capital cycle for exporters has risen from one month in pre-Covid times to two to three months now. Furthermore, the global supply chain disruption has triggered a slowdown in Pakistan’s exports. “At present, the textile sector has the capacity to fetch $1.8-1.9 billion per month in exports however it is only able to bring in $1.5 billion in revenue under this head,” he said. “Overall due the supply crunch, profits of companies have been impacted and costs have risen therefore they have jacked up prices and this is impacting the overall competiveness of the country in the export arena.” He revealed that Pakistan’s export share is increasing amid US-China trade war while the country also managed to secure a massive amount of export orders in the previous months as the malady battered the regional economies.   An import dependent nation Schehzad stated that Pakistan was facing grave spillover effects of the global supply crunch because the country is dependent on imports. “Energy commodities in Pakistan are mostly imported and prices of oil, coal and LNG are scaling new peaks,” he said. On the other hand, machinery worth millions of dollars is being imported by businessmen of Pakistan under the State Bank of Pakistan’s Temporary Economic Refinance Facility (TERF). The facility aimed to boost expansion of companies and plants to accelerate economic activity. With freight costs surging around the world, the imports under TERF will become more expensive, said Schehzad. He lamented that for every $1 earned through export by Pakistan, $3 were spent on imports. Mehanti noted that Pakistan depended on export earnings for foreign exchange however 60% of the inputs in local exportable merchandise were imported. “The increase in freight prices amid Covid-19 has significantly surged the input cost as well,” he said. “Our import volume has declined but not import bill because of uptick in raw material prices.” Due to low imports, the exports of Pakistan are declining. On the other hand, they have turned expensive as well and the country is not getting as many export orders as it did in previous months, he regretted. The supply crunch is also impacting rupee and triggered volatility in local currency against the US dollar.   Import substitution When asked whether it was a good opportunity to steer import substitution in the economy, Mehanti was of the view that foreign Investment was needed for it and investors were not moving around due to travel curbs. “The supply crunch has impacted our FDI as well,” he said. “However, our relations with Middle Eastern nations are improving and we can ink oil facilities on deferred payment basis to reduce fuel price inflation. Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE can help Pakistan in this regard.” This however, is a short term solution, he stated. In the long term, the investment environment has to improve and tax incentives have to be offered to foreigners to steer local production Schehzad stated that Pakistan had a golden opportunity to steer import substitution however there were a lot of structural issued that were difficult to resolve. “The governance is weak, and provincial and federal governments are not cooperating,” he lamented. “Hardcore reforms are needed.” The state-owned entities are denting public finances of the country while Pakistan’s inclusion in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list is discouraging foreign investors to build plants in the country. He criticised the economic managers for not importing energy when it was being offered on cheap rates in 2020.   Views of global agencies The International Monetary Fund has stated that supply chain disruptions have become a major challenge for the global economy since the start of the pandemic. Shutdowns of factories in China in early 2020, lockdowns in several countries across the world, labour shortages, robust demand for tradable goods, disruptions to logistics networks, and capacity constraints have resulted in big increases in freight costs and delivery times. Suppliers’ delivery times in the United States and the European Union have hit record highs since late 2020. The recent sharp drop in the delivery times reflects surging demand, widespread supply constraints, or a combination of both. During such times, suppliers usually have greater pricing power, causing a rise in prices. Moreover, these supply chain delays can reduce the availability of intermediate goods which, combined with labor shortages, can slow down production and output growth. Once the number of new Covid-19 cases starts to decline, capacity constraints and labour shortages should ease, taking some of the pressure off supply chains and delivery times. However, some experts believe that there is unlikely to be swift relief from supply chain disruptions. Elevated demand during the holiday season in some of the world’s largest economies, another wave of new Covid-19 cases, and extreme weather events, if they materialise, could cause further supply chain disruptions. The World Economic Forum said that as the coronavirus crisis is wearing off in many parts of the world, supply chain troubles are increasing once more for many companies, mainly concerning the US and the Eurozone. Supply chain disruptions have developed during the pandemic, spiking in early 2020 and picking back up over the course of 2021 as the new normal causes all types of goods to become more sought amid a more permanent reopening. The supply chains in China and emerging markets, on the other hand, are less affected. Still reeling from lockdowns and restrictions as well as the loss of manpower due to illness or travel restrictions, many suppliers had to restrict their production and were no longer able to meet their delivery obligations in full. And as even a single missing supply part can quickly affect production processes in a massive way, the complex structure of global supply chains can quickly fold. According to the IMF, supply chain disruptions together with increasing raw material prices are also a reason for the rise of consumer prices. The IMF expected this global inflation to reach its peak at the end of 2021 and return to pre-crisis levels in many countries by the middle of 2022. On the other hand, a recent report from the European Central Bank stated that shipping disruptions and input shortages are leading to considerable bottlenecks in global supply chains. “During the recovery phase of the Covid-19 pandemic, households increased their purchases of certain products, such as electronics and home improvement equipment, which caused a stronger-than-expected surge in demand, especially in some sectors,” it said. “This rise in demand coupled with events beyond the reasonable control of suppliers (owing to force majeure), such as coronavirus outbreaks in ports, accidents at plants and adverse weather conditions, led to bottlenecks in the transport sector and caused shortages in specific inputs such as plastics, metals, lumber and semiconductors.” As inventories fell at the onset of the pandemic owing to the running-down of stocks and shortages of inputs resulting from closures and conservative inventory policies, companies struggled to keep up with the swift rise in demand and the replenishing of depleted stocks. This demand and supply imbalance is evidenced by the unprecedented lengthening of suppliers’ delivery times, especially in sectors relying on transportation and inputs from sectors experiencing shortages, namely computer and electronic equipment, machinery and equipment, wood products, motor vehicles and chemicals. Shipping volumes have recovered since the trough in mid-2020. In the first half of 2021, temporary disruptions, such as the Suez Canal incident in March, led to severe strains in global shipping but did not halt the positive growth dynamics, as reflected in the global (total) and European North Range ports’ throughput indicators. European air cargo traffic was more severely affected by the pandemic as a result of the unprecedented reduction in passenger flights, which decreased cargo capacity. However, by the start of 2021 air cargo traffic had once again reached its pre-crisis level thanks to firms partly switching from sea freight to air transport. The shipping routes experiencing the most severe strains are those from Asia to North America and from Asia to Europe, leading to extraordinary increases in shipping costs. Shipping capacities on the Asia to North America route rebounded more strongly from the pandemic than on the Asia to Europe route, partly on account of increased capacity driven by the robust recovery pattern observed in the United States. Given the relatively inelastic supply of shipping capacity and disruptions in the transport sector, spot (short-term) container freight rates for Asian outbound routes have soared to record levels, particularly for routes to North America. This has also led to a redirection of capacity towards this more lucrative route at the expense of other routes. The shipping business relies mainly on fixed long-term contracts. In the current environment, the negotiation of new long-term contracts has probably been affected, resulting in a remarkable, albeit less strong, increase in freight rates for long-term contracts than for contracts based on spot rates. EU countries are among those countries most affected by the shipping and input-related bottlenecks. Suppliers’ delivery times remained lengthy in almost all countries in August, with EU countries, the United States, the United Kingdom and Taiwan being particularly affected. In the euro area, export sectors that experienced the fastest recovery are facing higher supply shortages. In particular, exports of motor vehicles, electronics and fabricated metals, which had expanded considerably up to the first quarter of 2021 compared with the first quarter of 2020, were affected by supply constraints which slowed the continued expansion of these sectors. This underlies the role played by strong demand in the lengthening of suppliers’ delivery times. The delays also extended to the machinery sector, which relies on electronic equipment and fabricated metals as inputs.

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Cybercrime 101: What you don’t know can hurt the most

The Internet, like all technologies, is a double-edged sword. Where it empowers us to pool our efforts and maximise our potential by interconnectivity and greater convenience, it offers these same boons to criminal elements and predators. Advances and increase in user bases around the world have been matched by a proportional increase in online crime around the world. On the financial front, costs inflicted globally cybercrime are increasing by roughly 15 per cent year on year. Enabled by the Covid-19 pandemic, online criminal activities increased by up to 600 per cent in 2020 and 2021, and are expected to cost $6 trillion by the end of this year. By 2025, a report by Cybersecurity Ventures estimates the figure to rise to a staggering $10.5 trillion. But finance is only one part of the equation. Much of cybercrime leaves in its wake a human toll that is immeasurable by its very nature. As predators, harassers and stalkers prey on the must vulnerable, the damage they leave behind often lasts a lifetime for their victims. When it comes to Pakistan, what is even more tragic is how preventable much of cybercrime is. Unlike their counterparts in many developed countries, criminals and predators here don’t even require that sophisticated a toolkit as they find greater opportunity in exploiting victims’ lack of awareness and knowledge. Speaking to The Express Tribune, a senior anti-cybercrime officer of the Federal Investigation Agency underscored this very point. All around us   “The first thing I think people need to realise and be aware of is that cybercrime is taking place all the time and that it is taking place in a whole host of different ways,” said the head of FIA Cyber Crime Zone Sindh Imran Riaz. “There is a sense among people, perhaps, that it is not as severe or that it is rare and cannot happen to them.” But this lack of awareness is not limited to victims or potential victims of cybercrime alone. Riaz shared that in many cases of cybercrime, the perpetrators themselves were unaware that the activities they were carrying out online constituted cyber offences. Speaking about the need for greater awareness, the FIA official pointed out that most people tend to unaware what risks exist on the various platforms they use. “People do not know, for instance that cybercrime is taking place on gaming platforms – or how is it taking place on gaming platforms? What risks exist for them or in the case of parents, for their children? What features enable such criminal behaviour and what features are provided by the creators of that platform or app to prevent them.” Highlighting the vulnerability children are exposed to online, he said that it is very important that parents thoroughly learn, use and explore an app or platform before allowing their children to use it. “If they play any games online, it is important, the parents sometimes play those with them to understand the risks and the controls they can enable to mitigate them.” Risks for children   According to Riaz, the risks on gaming platforms exist broadly in two ways. “There is a financial element. Many games encourage in-app purchases of various items. These are bought using real money,” he said. “So, on one hand, with children especially, they can either duped by scammers into giving them money by offering to purchase items for them.” He added that there is a second, more alarming risk. “The graver danger children face online is cyber-grooming. Strangers may offer to buy items or provide other services or favours in exchange for explicit photographs, for instance,” the regional FIA cybercrime head explained. “Predators could lure children into meeting them in person. Or, certain twisted individuals may try to share explicit or gory content with young kids, which can be very traumatising. These risks exist on all online platforms for kids, beyond games as well.” As such, Riaz said it is very important for parents to be aware of such risks and also for them to be able to speak candidly and frankly about them with their children. “Parents should be the first line of defence. In order to be that, they need to meticulously research any platform, app or game before they install it into their children’s devices or allow their children to use it,” he advised. After doing their research, parents should sit their children down and tell them about the potential threats that exist and how they can avoid them, he added. “They should tell them how predators operate and how to identify phishing links.” “In the 90s, there was a massive effort on television to inform kids that they should not trust strangers. That if a strangers offers them treats, they should refuse and report it to their parents. I think this attitude needs to be extended to cyberspace, when it comes to children,” the FIA official suggested. According to him, parents must tell children to never accept in-app purchases from anyone other than their parents. “They should be told that they should only contact online close friends who they know in person. Not just that, children should be told to report any account that is behaving irresponsibly or in a sexually enticing manner to their parents. Even if the account seemingly belongs to a friend, relative or loved one.” Another thing parents must learn about are any controls or features that apps and platforms provide to safeguard children. “Most mainstream platforms nowadays do have child safety features, like keyword filtering, that can be enabled to protect children from traumatising or explicit content,” he shared. He added that on a wider level, we need a cultural transformation where parents give their children the trust and confidence to be able to share anything or talk about anything. “We need to be able to break some taboos about conversation in order to do so.” Beyond parents, Riaz said teachers too need to be especially aware of the latest developments in cyberspace. “They should be trained on the risks that exist on popular platforms so that they can raise awareness in the classroom. They should be able to take a proactive approach.” Of fraud and scams   Speaking about financial crimes, the senior FIA official said the biggest issue is a lack of awareness about how credible organisations and institutions – both government and private sector ones – contact people and what procedures when they do so. “As a rule of the thumb, no organisation, government or otherwise, will call a person and ask them for information over the phone or through email,” he shared. “No bank will do that and neither will the FIA or FBR, or other government bodies. If your account has been blocked or if a certain notice has been issued to you, credible organisations will not ask you to verify your identity over the phone.” Riaz said most victims of online financial fraud are unaware of this allowing fraudsters to take advantage. Likewise, many people are unaware of how phishing links and malware works, and what links, platforms or sites to avoid in order to stay away from them, he pointed out. “For adults, the first thing they should be aware of are what procedures and protocols credible organisations use to contact people,” Riaz said. “Scammers will often mask their phone numbers or emails to appear credible, so if you do get a suspicious email, call or text message, you need to contact the organisation they are impersonating yourself before exchanging any information.” He added that adult users must also learn to identify phishing links and emails, and avoid any websites, accounts or platforms that can expose them to malware risks. On social media, he suggested it is best to keep one’s account private and to disable comments for anyone you don’t personally know. Unwitting criminals   In Pakistan, it is not only the victims of cybercrime who suffer from a lack of awareness. Riaz pointed out that in many cases, the perpetrators of certain cyber offences were unaware that their actions were criminal. “Take the case of these recent posts on social media concerning Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan. We have been conducting raids against those behind accounts that have been sharing sectarian, anti-state or hate speech posts, and many of them are shocked to discover that they have carried out what essentially is cybercrime or even cyberterrorism,” he shared. “People share hate speech online without batting an eye. They re-tweet a hateful or inciting post and don’t even know they have committed a crime. In fact, they can’t even identify the content they are sharing and re-sharing as hate speech. Some of the accounts involved in such posts are run by people as young as 14 years of age.” Cyber-bullying and cyber-harassment is another area where those involved are many times unaware that these actions are criminal ones, according to Riaz. “People will share posts or images that defame someone, or they will share images or video of a sexually-enticing nature. They will doctor images and with deepfake technology, even footage to show their victims in explicit situations. And people will have a laugh about it and treat it as something normal. They need to be made aware that this too is a crime.” The same, he said, goes for cyber-stalking. “If you are trying to add someone or contact someone online, and they have made it clear that they would not like to be contacted by you, but you still persist with your efforts and keep sending messages, what you are carrying out is cyber-stalking. And that is a crime under Section 24 of PECA 2016.”   Cybercrime trends According to the FIA official, cybercrime had been on a steady rise in Pakistan since roughly 2015. “But in 2020, with the advent of Covid-19, it skyrocketed,” he shared. “At present, we have noticed a decreasing trend, but we are expecting it to increase again.” “The thing is, cybercrime is much easier than physical crime. It is inherently less risky,” he explained. “If you rob someone, for instance, there is a chance you can be hurt. This contributes to the allure of cybercrime.” Providing a breakdown of offences, Riaz said the highest ratio of cybercrime in Pakistan is taken up by financial fraud. “In Pakistan, most of this is taking place through illegal SIMs and through spoofed email addresses and phone numbers,” he explained. According to data provided by the FIA, financial fraud constituted 23 per cent of cybercrime complaints in 2021. Hacking complaints formed the next highest chunk of complaints with 12 per cent, followed by harassment complaints with 10 per cent. “Harassment, bullying, blackmailing and stalking online, in many cases, takes place using the same tools as financial crime – namely spoofed numbers and emails, and fake social media handles and accounts,” Riaz shared. He added that most Pakistanis may be unaware but online impersonation and identity theft is also quite prevalent in the country. Raising awareness   According to Riaz, the FIA has several initiatives in the pipeline, many of which will be rolled out very shortly. “One effort we are involved in is the development of an e-booklet that pictorially explains the various forms of cybercrime taking place in Pakistan,” he shared. “We plan to roll this e-booklet out in private schools in Sindh in the first stage. In the second, we will translate it into the Sindhi language and roll it out in government schools with the help of the Sindh government.” He added that the agency is also working on collaborating with teachers training institutes on courses on cybercrime and online risks in the due course of time so that teachers can make cybercrime awareness a part of their curriculum. “There is also a cybercrime awareness animation campaign in the works which will be rolled out with the help of celebrities and social media influencers to hit 50 to 60 million people across Pakistan.” Beyond high profile media campaigns, the agency is also working on other outreach efforts by setting up dedicated Zoom communities and social media accounts to provide a direct line of communication with the public, Riaz shared. The future of anti-cybercrime   “One measure we are heavily engaged in at the present is cyber-patrolling. We scour cyberspace – social media and other websites – to identify and take appropriate action against online vices, like with hate speech enabling trends at present,” Riaz shared. “We can identify who his behind provoking trends that foster hate, sectarianism and violence. It helps us track other criminal activities, such as gambling and sale of drugs, calling data records, fake Covid certificates and PCR tests, that have migrated online as well. For the future, we are in the process of increasing our cyber-patrolling capacity.” Another plan in the works is the setting up of a Cyber Emergency Response Team, the FIA official noted. “The idea is to have a team that can take immediate action on complaints, particularly of online harassment, or if anything comes up during routine cyber-patrolling, such as a suicide announcement or a heinous offence like child porn or cyber-grooming.” Speaking about current legislation, Riaz explained that it deemed only cyber-blackmailing, child porn and cyber-terrorism cognizable offences. “What this means is that we can register an FIR immediately, apprehend suspects immediately and start our proceedings immediately. For all other offences noted in PECA, we need the court’s permission to proceed ahead,” he said. “This is my personal opinion, but I believe some more crimes – electronic fraud, electronic forgery, glorifying crime, impersonation and hate speech – need to made cognizable offences as well.”

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In conversation with Hina Rabbani Khar

In February 2011, Member of National Assembly Hina Rabbani Khar was appointed the 26th foreign minister of Pakistan in the Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) government. Khar, then 33, was the youngest person to serve as Pakistan’s foreign minister. The appointment also made her the first and so far, the only female foreign minister of Pakistan. The three-time MNA Khar has also served as Minister of State for Economic Affairs and Minister of State for Finance. Khar as foreign minister focused on building and strengthening Pakistan’s relations with its neighbours, giving a ‘Regional Pivot’ to Pakistan’s foreign policy: “Normalisation of trade relations with India; a policy of reaching out to all political parties and ethnicities in Afghanistan; an active role in an Afghan-led and Afghan owned process of reconciliation; and cementing of ties with Iran in a difficult time of increasing economic sanctions.” I have always found the charismatic Khar to be articulate, composed, dignified—some of the most important qualities for the highest office of foreign office. To me as a woman in a patriarchal Pakistan, her achievements symbolise the best of Pakistan’s empowerment of its female politicians. I asked three ambassadors—one serving, two retired—about their assessment of Khar’s work as Foreign Minister from February 2011-March 2013 in PPP’s governmental term, (2008-2013) during one of the most precarious and complex periods of Pakistan’s history in terms of its relations with the US, the countries in the region, and the world in general. The first ambassador was succinct: “Quite good.” The second ambassador said: “I worked closely with her [Khar]. She can be counted as one of the best Foreign Ministers we have had. Clear headed, mature, hardworking, and someone who understands the nuances of foreign policies. During her tenure, we never faced a situation where we had to retract or clarify a statement given by her. [She] would always come up with innovative ideas. [She] was taken seriously by her interlocutors and remains well respected in the international circuit.” The third ambassador stated: “She [Khar] was one of our best foreign ministers. Her formidable strengths were her clarity of vision and the indefatigable energy to realise Pakistan’s diplomatic objectives. Indubitably, she did full justice to the very demanding portfolio.” I asked the former Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar a few questions:   MT: What are your thoughts on the state of play in Pakistan-US relations? HRK: It goes without saying that the US will continue to be an important force not only within the region but in the overall world order. Pakistan-US relations have suffered from becoming a by-product of whatever has happened in Afghanistan post 9-11, and that obviously has been a big problem in the last decade and a half. Pakistan, I think, now needs to concentrate on trying to get back on the bilateral track, which is reasonable and realistic in its expectations of the US. And the same goes for the US. Hopefully, the US will resist the temptation of continuing to blame Pakistan for many of the wrongs that took place in Afghanistan. I fear that as the situation in Afghanistan may not stabilise any time soon, the US and many other western powers will once again be encouraged to put the blame on what is considered to be Pakistan’s role.   MT: Do you see any prospect of a Pakistan-India thaw? HRK: The simple answer is no. I don’t see any possible thaw in the Pakistan-India relations, and the reason for that is very simple: India under Modi is persistently going on the track that is extremist in nature and un-secular, and on which India and its leaders currently feel that they gain by propagating hatred, mistrust, and extreme antagonistic words and behaviour against Pakistan. When a country feels that its in its interest to be antagonistic towards another country, and if a leader feels that it is in his public interest to propagate antagonistic behaviour and feelings toward another country, the chance of a real thaw that leads to some real gains is clearly very low. Yes, a thaw was visible when we saw peace on the LoC. That means that tension has reduced considerably, but will we be able to normalise [our relations], I would not say that. I would also say that perhaps for the first time in my 44 years I’m seriously concerned about another escalation of a level that we previously saw, and like any other time we do not know where that escalation ladder can lead us. In the last many decades I think we have been living in the most dangerous times when it comes to the subcontinental rivalry.   MT: Are today’s Taliban actually different from the old ones? HRK: I don’t know, really. I mean, I refuse to believe that somebody saying they are different makes them different. As the drama of August 15 unfolded in front of our eyes, many of us—I think almost the entire world, including the Taliban themselves—could not believe what was happening, and the pace at which it was happening. Immediately after that we heard some very encouraging words. Even at that time, I kept saying to whoever asked that I would be waiting for the Taliban to walk the talk because the talk looked pretty good. They talked about an inclusive government that is open to everyone, and takes care of the minorities, education for women on all levels, women given the opportunity to pursue their careers. Now when you see the first few weeks of the Taliban regime, I think the world has not helped by ensuring that the Taliban don’t have access to their own country’s reserves, as that doesn’t give them a fair chance to be able to even have a modicum of order within Afghanistan, and therefore becoming a security threat for its neighbours. Having said that, I’m particularly concerned that the [option of] education for girls, even the young ones, is not there yet. I’m particularly concerned that many professional women are being denied the chance to work. And I’m particularly concerned about a general lack of space for cultural and other events. I feel very strongly that in the absence of an inclusive government—currently, Taliban are calling it an interim government—in the medium or long run, we might see a situation that is similar to what we experienced many decades ago, which is a reversion to a civil war-like situation.   MT: Can Pakistan be a bridge between Saudi Arabia and Iran? HRK: I remember we worked very hard on this [Pakistan and its ties with Saudi Arabia and Iran] when PPP was in government, and I was in the foreign ministry. We took a very strong stance that Pakistan has strong ties with both the countries. With Saudi Arabia we have had long strategic relations, and Iran also happens to be the country that is exceptionally important to us. We put its importance back on track by saying Iran’s our neighbour. Pakistan’s stance is equally positive and friendly towards both the countries. It is in our interest to pursue good, brotherly, strong relations based on mutual trust and respect with both the countries. We said that we would not be part of this game of making a choice and that we would strive to strengthen relations with both countries at the same time. Pakistan should stop looking to act as a bridge between different countries, as a solver of problems of different countries, and as a giver of goodies to different countries. Pakistan has to concentrate inward to strengthen itself to be in a position to be able to play any of those roles with more credibility. Right now, Pakistan’s interests should be more local; they should be entirely concentrated on making Pakistan an independent country that is able to make its economic, political, and diplomatic choices on its own terms.   MT: If you were the foreign minister, would you have done anything differently? HRK: I think I would have done everything differently! The reason for that is simple. I think a foreign minister’s job, and for that matter, anyone’s job in the foreign ministry, requires less talk and more action. I think we have to be very careful with our choice of words. I think we have to be very careful when and with whom those words are used. I have a serious problem with many people in the Pakistani government right now becoming spokespersons for the Taliban. I have a serious problem with Pakistan for not stating to the world Pakistan’s concerns on the security situation that is currently becoming a challenge for us because of what has happened in Afghanistan, about Pakistan not making a stronger case of how irresponsible the exit of the western forces from Afghanistan was, and how that has had repercussions for the entire region that we may have a very long time trying to get out of. I would never talk about the Pakistani prime minister not receiving a call or even the need for a call. I think diplomacy needs to be conducted less aggressively and much more maturely. And we have to be very, very careful with our choice of words. Speak less and do more.  

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Not used to victory, are we?

Pakistan won against India in a World cup match with 10 wickets in hand. Seems like stuff dreams are made of, doesn’t it? Ask anyone how they felt immediately after the victory sunk in and they will tell you they felt numb. This was not a typical Pakistani game. The notoriously “mercurial” side seemed like a whole different team throughout the game. Usually, Pakistan tend to lose the script when it comes to high pressure matches against India, with the batting line-up infamously falling like dominoes by the middle of the innings. Not in this game though. There was no last-minute meltdown, no frenzied self-sabotage, no slapdash field decisions. Pakistan secured a win for the ages by winning the match in the most unpredictable way - by playing better cricket on the day. Chasing a target of 152, the formidable opening partnership of Mohammad Rizwan (78*) and captain Babar Azam (68*) enabled Pakistan to hammer their arch rivals by 10 wickets, marking the end of a 29 year losing streak against India in a World Cup match. This loss is also India's first ever 10 wicket defeat in t20 internationals. The jinx has lifted and that too, at a time when the whole nation needed some uplifting. The odds were stacked high against us. Pakistan had a turbulent run-up to the World Cup, with eleventh-hour management changes and team reshuffles, besides England and New Zealand unceremoniously withdrawing from tours of the country. In such circumstances, the emphatic win left cricket fans dumbfounded. In the 17th over, the Men in Green required only 2 runs from 14 balls with 10 wickets in hand. Fans of any other team would have started the celebrations. Not Pakistani cricket team fans though. Years of having their hopes thrashed due to their side inexplicably losing after having the game in the bag had primed them to always be mentally prepared for a loss. After Babar finally hit the winning run, the fans went into a meltdown but it was interesting to see the contrasting reactions. While the fans in the street resorted to celebrating in the only way they know how - by causing traffic jams and aerial gunshots, Twitteratis were absolutely stumped to see their team actually win. Usually during a big stage game, they are prepared with memes in their arsenal to counter trolls or as their go-to coping mechanism in case of a soul-crushing defeat. Not having to use that defence mechanism left many with existential crises. Did that actually happen? Is this reality or am I on a weird trip? Several Green shirts fans on Twitter were left numb or at a loss of words that their team delivered a strategically sound win. The icing on the cake was that a mere 48 hours later, Pakistan continued their winning streak by beating New Zealand. This win was less perfect due to our wobbly middle order. This match was standard fare with the green caps clinching the game in the last overs. This victory was particularly heartening because of the crushing blows Pakistan received recently after an eleventh hour tour cancellation from the Black Caps, citing security concerns. The decision left many fuming, with millions of cricket fans disappointed and Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ramiz Raja threatening to take the matter before the ICC. Earlier England’s Cricket Board had also cancelled its men’s and women’s white-ball tours of Pakistan due to concerns over “mental and physical wellbeing”. These were crushing blows to Pakistan’s aspirations of having cricket at home, which had been rekindled by hosting international players in PSL. Therefore, beating New Zealand in a high-stakes game felt like redemption. Jibran Nasir, activist and lawyer tweeted "Dear world you can try [to] keep the game out of Pakistan but you can't keep Pakistan out of the game. Pakistan is Cricket. Cricket is Pakistan.” The winning streak of Pakistan had cricket legends cheering them as the favorites of the tournament. "What a statement Pakistan just made in the #ICCT20WorldCup2021. Now favourites in my opinion after that emphatic win over India. Just a super all round & impressive performance," Shane Warne tweeted. Michael Vaughan tweeted, “Pakistan are looking exceptional .. They will reach the Semis .. all other teams will will hope to avoid them & pray that whoever gets them knocks them out before the final .. Love watching them play Cricket .” Each country has its own unique brand of national sense of humor. The British are known for their razor sharp sarcasm and irony, Americans are great at physical comedy and Japanese enjoy puns and wordplay. Arguably, Pakistanis revel in mordant, self-deprecating humor, grounded in stark reality. Whenever there is any sort of a crisis whether it be torrential rain and urban flooding in Karachi, a political clash or a nationwide power blackout, memes salvage the day by making light of our collective misery. I remember seeing a handful of “Pakistan loses the match but wins the internet” articles on the web the last time we lost a crucial match. In the case of the Kiwi’s win, there was a deluge of memes on the theme of “security” which ranged from funny to downright brutal. Psychologists regard humor as the highest adaptive defense mechanism to ward off aggression or hostility. Luckily for us, we have it in spades. That being said, here’s hoping that we do not have to utilize this defence mechanism for the remainder of this tournament.    

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Devoutness cuts across gender

Most people don’t take the transgender community seriously as many of the transgender people earn their livelihood through entertainment and begging or selling their bodies for money. Ranked so low on the human denomination scale that violence against them or mistreatment of them often doesn’t inspire much sympathy either. In this landscape of pigeonholing of the transgender community, Nanni Jameela is the ultimate anomaly. She is a Quran teacher and so far has taught Quran to more than hundred thousand boys and girls during last more than 45 years of her life. Born a transgender, she says she is contended with the creation of Almighty Allah and states, “What if I was born a dog or cat or any other animal? I am thankful to Almighty Allah for making me a human being. I was not born as transgender by choice, rather it was the will of the creator and I am happy with it,” she says adding, “I am teaching the Holy Quran to the children and I think it’s a big reward for me by Almighty Allah.” Though heartbroken due to the negative attitude of the people quite close to her, the 80-year-old transgender Jameela, most popularly referred as Amma Jameela, Nani Jameela or Nani Madrassa Wali, lives in Sukkur and teaches the Holy Quran to children. Born in March 1941, in Syed Mohammad Yakoob Shah’s household in Pishin Balochistan, Jameela never fit in at home or at school, as she neither felt comfortable at home with her siblings who had the society’s accepted genders of boy and girl and nor at school because her class fellows and school fellows used to mock the way she used to walk and talk. So when an elderly eunuch, Pasham Fakir, offered her a different life, she ultimately yielded and followed him. Jameela continued to live in what she now describes as ‘sin’ until May 1970, when one of her elder brothers died while offering resistance to the robbers. “This proved to be a turning point in my life after which I started learning the Holy Quran from my neighbor,” said Jameela. She told that, “my father had two wives: my mother was from a Syed family, while my stepmother was from a non-Syed family,” she said. “My mother died when I was four and my aunt looked after me for two years after which my father sent me to live with my stepmother in Ranchore Lines, Karachi.” Jameela’s stepmother sent her to an all-girl middle school near their house, but the young eunuch left school when she was in grade three. After dropping out of school, she helped her stepmother with domestic chores. “When I was 10 years old, a eunuch named Pasham Fakir came to our house and asked my mother to hand me over to him but my mother refused.” She said that Pasham kept coming back for her and they used to talk outside the house. “Then one day I just went with him without telling my mother,” she said dolefully. Pasham took Jameela to his house in Garhi Yaseen near Shikarpur and she began her ‘training’ as a eunuch. “I lived with him for three years but I wanted to get away because I didn’t like his company,” said Jameela. “Luckily, the fakir took me to Hazrat Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai’s shrine for the annual Urs celebrations, where eunuchs come together from every part of the country.” This is where Jameela met her new guru, Fakir Ameer Zadi, also known as Saboo. “He looked quite decent so I told him I wanted to go with him,” she said. Saboo talked to Pasham and after paying Rs5,000, Saboo adopted Jameela. Saboo took Jameela to Sukkur, where he lived in a double-storey house in Makrani Muhalla. After sometime with Guru’s permission Jameela purchased a house at Takkar Muhalla Sukkur for Rs4,000 in 1970. “I knew how to read Urdu, even though I had dropped out of school. One day I was reading the newspaper when I came across news of my elder brother Syed Muhammad Rasool’s death,” she recalled, her eyes filling up with tears. Rasool used to run a car showroom on Tariq Road, Karachi, and was murdered during a robbery. Jameela said she rushed to Karachi to reunite with her family but they had left with her brother’s body for Pishin. “His death proved to be a turning point in my life. Afterwards, a neighbour taught me how to read the Holy Quran. With Allah’s grace, things just fell into place for me after this.” In 1973, Jameela began teaching Quran to her neighbour’s child, four-year-old Aasia. “Since she proved to be a brilliant student, other neighbours started sending their children to my house to learn,” she said. The number of students grew day by day and went up to 450, who she used to teach in seven different shifts without any charge. “I started teaching when I was 32 years old and at that time people used to call me Khala Jameela. Then it became Amma Jameela and with my growing age, people started calling me Nani Jameela”, she said. Jameela added that her neighbours have always respected her, irrespective of their age or gender. A student’s mother sends Jameela two meals a day and offers to wash and iron her clothes. Since she teaches her students free of charge, their parents give her money and clothes as gifts. Jameela said she was lucky enough to perform Hajj four times and Umrah once. According to her, she had seven siblings, out of which her younger sister died at the age of four, while her six elder brothers died one after the other. “My nephews are well settled in Pakistan and abroad and use to send money from time to time, which I spend on the welfare of elderly transgender, besides helping out poor and needy neighbors”, she said. She further said that, she also give gifts to her girl students at the time of their marriage. “It would be safe for me to say that I have taught the Holy Quran to three generations and will continue till the last day of my life,” she says while thanking Almighty Allah for choosing her for this noble cause. “I teach in groups for an hour each and the children start coming at 10 am until 5:30pm,” she said. There is no age limit for female students but Jameela said that she does not take boys older than 10 because she does not believe in intermingling of “older boys and girls.” “Allah created me the way I am, but nowadays being a eunuch has become a profession,” she regretted, adding, “teenage boys turn into fake eunuchs by taking hormonal injections and this is a big sin.” If you meet thousand eunuchs, Jameela added, you will seldom find a real fakir. The most disturbing part in Amma Jameela’s story is the girl, whom she adopted at the age of five, brought her up, educated and married her off and so much so that, transferred one of the portions of her two storey house in her name. That girl, after marriage, fraudulently sold the house without even informing Amma Jameela and thus rendered her homeless. However, one of my neighbours provided me space in her house, where I started living, besides teaching the Holy Quran to the children, she told. “I don’t know how my nephew come to know about my problem and visited Sukkur, met me and bought me a plot measuring 120 square yards in Mustafa Colony at Bhutta Road Sukkur and constructed ground plus one house and handed it over to me,” she said. “Now, I am living in this house and performing my duty of teaching the Holy Quran to the children but now due to my old age and some ailments I cannot sit for a long time and therefore, have reduced the number of children to 40 and shifts to three only.” “One of my neighbours sends me breakfast, lunch and dinner, while the parents of the students, who complete the Holy Quran give me new clothes and money,” she said. “Besides this, if I fall sick, the doctors in the neighborhood visit my house, give me a check up and give medicines free of cost, what else I need in this old age, she asked. Talking about her new house, Amma jameela said that she has officially transferred it to the Edhi Foundation, who will take over it after her death. While I was sitting with her, one of her old students Bano came to visit her from Shaheed Benazeerabad along with her three children. Talking about Nanni Jameela she said that, she used to learn the Holy Quran from her in the mid 1990s and was married in 2008 and went to Shaheed Benazeerabad. “Nanni Jameela loves every student of hers like a loving and caring mother and I have never seen her become angry with any one”, she said adding, “I remember clearly Nanni Jameela gave me gift of washing machine on my marriage. Bano handed over a shopping bag full of fruits and some money to Nanni Jameela, which she accepted with thanks. Another student Rafia, who is learning the Holy Quran for last four months says, “Nanni teaches us with utmost dedication, never scold any students on their repeated mistakes, rather hold them in her arms and repeats the word many times. “Now a days Nanni is not feeling well and is under treatment, but still she gives us her full time”, she said. Her neighbors including, Noor Mohammad, Ayaz Ali, Khan Mohammad and others when asked about Nanni Jameela they said, “she is no less than a blessing for our neighborhood. She is so loving and caring that, our children feel more than safe with her and keep visiting her even after their time is over. She always helps poor and needy without even letting others know.” Yet another student of her, Yousuf Ali is learning the Holy Quran with her for the last six months and is revising it, after completing once. “Nani Jameela is very loving and caring and never beats us when we make any mistake, he told. She never gets irritated, even if we keep on asking same word many times,” he said. Another student Abdul Qayoom has started to learn the Holy Quran couple of days ago. “Nanni Jameela is teaching the Holy Quran to my elder sisters and now I have joined them, too,” he said. When asked about the number of her students throughout those 45 years, Nanni Jameela said, “I don’t remember the exact number, but am sure that it might have crossed one hundred thousand and is still going up. I am proud that my students are spread throughout Pakistan and almost all of them keep in touch with me from time to time.”  

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