Ali Xeeshan rose to great heights as a young designer, hailing from Lahore, and known for his retro-cool designs. Recently, he was invited as a guest on Ahmed Ali Butt’s podcast. Xeeshan talked candidly about the ‘mistreatment’ he faced in the fashion industry. He also discussed the comments made against his mother by a prominent editor. Xeeshan responded forcefully to influential members of the fashion business who, he believes, are a group of selected elite.
Talking specifically the Karachi fashion industry’s attitude, Xeeshan said, “After I was given a platform in Lahore, I became an instant star there. But the Karachi fashion industry didn’t like it because people started recognizing me as a fashion designer. So, I decided to go to Karachi. As a young fashion graduate, I felt intimidated by all the big names in the industry. While I was sitting with them, Raheel Rao from Diva magazine showed me his article about my fashion show in Lahore. He said, ‘Look, I reviewed your work. Read my article about you.’ He criticized my work harshly, calling it ‘trash’ and ‘worthless.’ His words hurt me deeply. The Karachi fashion industry made me cry. I went to my car and cried as if I had lost something dear to me. I am a fashion graduate, and he had no right to critique my work without a degree. He had no authority to question my talent.”
Talking about Raheal’s remarks regarding his mother, Ali said, “He kept teasing me while I was organizing a fashion show in Lahore. My mother was away on Umrah, so I had kept a chair empty for her. During the fashion show, he called it a circus in town and even posted on Facebook about me, saying, Holy Cow, What The __ is Ali Zeeshan is wearing! You don’t have the right to criticise my fashion or work. Later, at the after-party, he tapped my shoulder and asked, “Which mother gave birth to this guy? I couldn’t hold back my anger and ended up slapping him. I’m sorry I lost my temper. I want to urge everyone to stop bullying others and just accept them as they are.” In response to Xeeshan’s accusations, The Current reached out to Raheal Rao for comment. However, Rao declined to comment on the matter.
The World Bank has decided to pull funding from the second phase of 5.9 kilometre Mauripur Road, which is part of the Competitive and Livable City of Karachi (CLICK) project. A total of 520 harsh white LED lights installed at the road have become the bone of contention after it was noted that they were disturbing the hatching season of turtles coming to the marine beach to lay eggs.
The lights in the city of lights are surprisingly proving to be hazardous for the endangered species which visit the city to ensure their sustenance and enhance their population. Journalist Oonib Azam working for The Citizenry.pk has formulated a detailed report about the installation of the white lights as part of the rehabilitation program of the Mauripur road from Machli Chowk to the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUPP). He not just did the research but also played an instrumental role in convincing this Bretton Woods institution to rethink about their investment in this particular area.
Background of CLICK
CLICK is a development project by the World Bank to improve “urban management, service delivery and the business environment of Karachi.” Four components of the project involve capacity building of Local Councils and granting them performance-based grants, modernizing urban Property Tax administration, improvement in city competitiveness, and building capacity of local government regarding the technical assistance for solid waste management. The total project cost is a hefty 240 million dollars and it spans over 30 districts of Sindh, six divisions, 25 town municipal corporations, and 209 Karachi UCs.
Detrimental artificial lights for the turtles
Sindh Wild Life Department told Oonib that repelled by Artificial Light at Night (ALAN) in the last season, an estimated 250 female turtles turned back to the sea without laying eggs. The same artificial lights disorientate young hatchlings and they get crushed under cars or are eaten up by stray dogs.
“A female turtle travels all the way to Australian beaches and returns to Karachi’s coast, to lay its eggs at the same coordinates where she layed eggs the last time. This shows how sensitive turtles are to their natural environment,” Oonib quotes a report by Dr. Umair bin Zamir.
Mauripur road project
Oonib explained to The Current how his research about the sanctuaries lead to awareness of turtles’ sensitivity to harsh white light. People attending picnics disrupted the whole process with torch lights just for the adventure. Huts in the surrounding areas put up huge flashlights and third and most glaringly, lamppost lights installed on the roadside in the neighbourhood.
Mauripur road project is a sub-project of the World Bank’s CLICK project which costs 840 million rupees. Because it was a Category B project it required Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) to submit an Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) to the World Bank. The Citizenry report lays out how the KMC blatantly missed out on the turtle sanctuaries. It also stresses that turtles were a common sight in the area since the project is surrounded by beaches.
It was in sheer contrast with the World Bank’s policy (Environment Management Framework) of explicitly protecting the environment while ensuring a sustainable poverty reduction and development of societies at the same time.
Here, Oonib contacted the World Bank via Abedalrazq F. Khalil, manager of Uraban Development, Resilience and Land Practice for the South Asian region and shared all the intel he gathered in his research. It was revealed in that email exchange that World Bank was told that the road was about 5-8 kilometres away from the turtle hatching site. In a video report by The Citizenry, Oonib and Hunain Ameen discussed how Sanspit beach, Turtle Beach and Hawksbay Beach are in a row some kilometres apart as per Sindh Wildlife department’s maps.
It is important to mention that the 520 street lights are actually installed on a road the road from Machli Chowk to KANUUP Road runs parallel to Hawksbay Beach at a few 100-meter distances.
The Current has gone through the email exchanges between the Bank’s representative and journalist Oonib Azam and it is apparent that the Bretton Wood body was not entirely aware of the possible repercussions of proceeding with the project but after concerns were raised it was concluded that it will not move forward with the second phase.
“Light shielding and use of red lights is being considered by the PIU [Program Implementation Unit] as one of the mitigation measures. After consulting with relevant expert, we would have the CLICK PIU implement them,” Abedalrazq asserted.
As he was asked by the journalist about the operation policy of the World Bank regarding critical habitats being triggered for this project only or for the entire project, the respondent answered, “when CLICK was prepared, impacts on natural habitat were not envisaged and hence the Operational Policy 4.04 was not triggered. If a certain policy is triggered during preparation or implementation, it applies to the entire project.”
Current status of the project
Unsurprisingly, the World Bank has pulled funding for the Mauripur project. As a result, local authorities are being directed to implement mitigation measures proposed by the Sindh Wildlife Marine Turtle Conservation. They have proposed the replacement of bright white lights by red lights. Ironically, the email exchange reveals that the PIU office in Karachi plans to cover the lights with a cellophane which can change the white colour to red. As this solution is not durable, the journalist requested Bank authorities to intervene who then asked authorities to change the lights to amber LEDs rather than covering them with a cellophane shield.
The Current asked Oonib about the current status of the project and he described it to be in a lull. “The current status is that city authorities are not ready to change the lights to amber/red as recommended by the World Bank”.
We reached out to Murtaza Wahab multiple times for his perspective on the issue and also the spokesperson of the KMC, Ali Hassan Sajid, yet there was no response from them. While Murtaza committed to responding to it at first, he later did not.
Sindh Wildlife Authority maintains that the lights installed on the nearby hotels and huts are more hazardous for the marine life especially turtles compared to the streetlights but it cannot be denied that these lights of 120 watts are inflicting perils on these turtles to a great extent as well.
Climate change is hitting home. Humans have been the perpetrators of the suffering of other creatures and it is time we actually employ durable techniques which can prove to be a relief for the ecosystem rather than being a pain in the name of development.
Aiman Khan and Minal Khan, beloved Pakistani celebrities with massive social media followings, have stepped into the world of skincare with their new brand, Skin Recipe. The launch event, held in Karachi, attracted a host of social media influencers, celebrities, and the actresses’ family members. The buzz surrounding the Skin Recipe launch is spreading like wildfire on social media, with pictures and videos from the event circulating on Instagram.
Karachi police and intelligence agencies caught two terrorists connected to India’s main intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), during a targeted operation, Korangi Superintendent of Police (SSP) Hasan Sardar confirmed on Monday.
Korangi police and agencies worked together to stop a major terrorist plan targeting a city.
The SSP confirmed that police found two hand grenades, a 9mm gun, and bullets from the arrested terrorists.
In the past, there have been several incidents where RAW agents were caught infiltrating Pakistani territory for intelligence gathering and terrorist activities.
Earlier this year, Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Syrus Qazi exposed the “sophisticated and sinister” Indian campaign of extra-territorial and extra-judicial killings.
Kamran Faridi, a former gangster from Karachi, later serving as a high-profile agent of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), has been released after serving nearly four years of his seven-year sentence in a Florida prison.
Faridi was sentenced to 84 months of imprisonment on his convictions for “transmitting threats in interstate commerce, threatening to assault a federal officer, and obstruction of justice,” on December 9, 2022.
On March 18, 2024, a New York federal judge, reduced the sentence of Kamran Faridi to 72 months.
Faridi was recently released on some conditions which most prominently include surrendering his US citizenship and agreeing to leave the United States permanently before August.
Faridi, now 60, grew up in Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Karachi. He was affiliated with the Peoples Students Federation (PSF), and was a close associate of PSF leader Najeeb Ahmed, who was assassinated in 1990.
His family sent him to Sweden after he was found involved in several violent acts.
Faridi migrated to the US in 1991, and within four years, he purchased a gas station in Atlanta, Georgia. There he met some FBI agents who were impressed with his proficiency in Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi, and Spanish. In 1996, they formally recruited him as a full-time informant and agent, according to Dawn.
Faridi’s journey from a street hustler to FBI agent came to light when he played a pivotal role in the arrest of a Karachi businessman Jabir Motiwala in London in 2018. He orchestrated a plot, posed as a Russian mafia operative, to trap Motiwala in illegal activities. However, a rift developed between Faridi and his FBI handlers when he threatened to expose their manipulation of evidence against Motiwala. This led to the end of his career and he was arrested by Scotland Yard shortly afterwards.
In a report by Geo News, Murtaza Ali Shah explains the extraordinary journey of the Pakistani-origin FBI agent, whose residence permits in UAE and Turkey, issued by FBI have been revoked and he is released only on the condition of never coming back to the US.
A 17-year-old young man was allegedly killed by his close friend for eating a zinger burger the suspect had ordered for his ‘girlfriend’, the police investigation has concluded in Karachi.
The victim was identified as Ali Kerio, son of Javed Kerio, a Karachi District South sessions judge, while the suspect shooter, Daniyal Nazeer Mir Bahar, is the son of Nazir Ahmed Mir Bahar, a retired Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), reports Danial Syed of Geo News.
As per initial investigations, Daniyal invited his girlfriend, Shazia, to his house — located in Karachi’s Defence Housing Authority (DHA) Phase V — where his friend Ali Kerio and his brother Ahmar Kerio were also present. The suspect ordered two zinger burgers for himself and Shazia, but Ali purportedly consumed half of one burger, which enraged Daniyal so much that he seized his security guard’s assault rifle and opened fire on Ali, who later succumbed to gunshot injuries on the way to the hospital.
The unfortunate incident happened on Feburary 8.
The investigating officer (IO) has submitted the report to higher authorities, implicating the police officer’s son in the crime. Daniyal is currently in jail as the legal proceedings of the case continue.
A video has emerged online showing a girl who got abducted from Karachi getting forcefully married in Rahim Yar Khan.
The girl, named Asma, allegedly stated her age as 19 in the marriage certificate issued in Rahim Yar Khan, reported the Nikahkhawan. The nikah ceremony took place at his house and he told ARY News that he asked the girl to go back but she declined stating her mother will sell her to an old man if she goes back.
On the other hand, the girl’s mother, asserted her daughter’s age to be between 14 and 15 years old. She disclosed that the man, who allegedly lured her daughter into marriage, won’t let her talk with Asma in person nor over the phone.
Karachi police authorities are currently in the process of seeking permission from the Home Department to initiate necessary actions, stressing that only the statement of the girl can confirm whether the marriage occurred with her consent or under compulsion.
However, the police authorities of Rahim Yar Khan have asserted that the girl provided a statement affirming that the marriage was entered into of her own free will.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb announced on Saturday that the process of privatization of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will be completed by June this year. Islamabad airport might also be privatized shortly after.
“The government has no business being in business,” the minister declared at a Saturday afternoon news briefing, explaining the government’s plan to divest from state-owned enterprises (SOEs).
“We expect the bids for PIA to come in the next two to three weeks, and by the end of June or early July, we can move it to the investors,” he said. “The Islamabad airport would be the next,” he added, “followed by the airports in Karachi and Lahore.”
The finance minister didn’t respond on a question when asked if Pakistan is selling its skies to prospective buyers.
Mr Aurangzeb didn’t give an explanation when a journalist asked if the government will keep some shares in PIA after privatisation or sell all its shares.
The minister wrapped up his visit to Washington DC on Sunday with 62 meetings in a week. During these meetings, he explained decisions, made pledges, and sought understanding from both multilateral and bilateral donors.
Actor Yasir Hussain did something special for Umer Sharif’s birthday on Saturday. He dedicated a theatre play called ‘Hotel Jan e Jaan’ to the legendary comedian, posting a picture of him on Instagram. “Today, as we celebrate Umer Sharif’s birthday, we dedicate the first performance of ‘Hotel Jan e Jaan’ to the legend himself.
Happy birthday sir, we miss you dearly. This picture holds the fondest memories with the king of comedy.” Umer Sharif was one of the biggest names in Pakistani comedy, with a fan following spanning across borders.
A doctor has been apprehended and his BMW confiscated by the police for reportedly causing significant damage to recently constructed infrastructure in Defence Housing Authority, Karachi, with his allegedly drifting car.
The incident, which occurred in Bukhari Commercial Area, resulted in substantial harm to the area’s development, according to a senior police official.
Dr Salman is currently being interrogated as his BMW was allegedly involved in the incident.
The police revealed that two luxury cars were involved in the drifting, one of which belonged to the detained doctor, while efforts are under way to apprehend the owner/driver of the other vehicle.
The complaint, filed by a sub-engineer of the Cantonment Board Clifton (CBC), highlighted the negligence of the drivers, who caused damage to the official infrastructure through overspeeding and drifting, and then abandoned their vehicles at the scene.
The incident, which occurred on April 12, follows a similar event on April 10 involving another unidentified car and driver. Both incidents have led to the registration of FIRs against the drivers underSections 279 and 427 of the Pakistan Penal Code.
