Latest news with #Quetta
Arab News
2 days ago
- Science
- Arab News
Three Pakistani schools among Top 10 finalists for World's Best School Prizes 2025
ISLAMABAD: Three Pakistani schools have this week been named among the Top 10 finalists for the World's Best School Prizes 2025, prestigious global awards founded by T4 Education to spotlight exceptional schools transforming education and communities. T4 Education is a global digital platform and community founded to empower teachers and schools to share best practices and drive positive change in education worldwide. It launched the World's Best School Prizes to spotlight schools making an exceptional impact beyond the classroom. Winners of the five World's Best School Prizes — for Community Collaboration, Environmental Action, Innovation, Overcoming Adversity, and Supporting Healthy Lives — will be announced in October following evaluation by an expert Judging Academy and a global public vote. Finalists and winners will share their insights at the World Schools Summit in Abu Dhabi in November. Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif commended the management, teachers and students of the three Pakistani schools: the Sanjan Nagar Public Education Trust Higher Secondary School and Nordic International School, both in Lahore, and the Beaconhouse College Program Juniper Campus in Quetta. 'These schools have made a name for themselves in terms of modern curriculum, research, technology, environment, development of backward and rural areas,' Sharif said in a statement released by his office. 'These educational institutions have made the country's name known all over the world.' Sanjan Nagar Public Education Trust Higher Secondary School in Lahore has been shortlisted for the World's Best School Prize for Overcoming Adversity. The charity school, which began in an abandoned factory, now educates nearly 800 students from marginalized backgrounds through the International Baccalaureate's Primary Years Program. It is the first in Pakistan to offer this curriculum to underserved communities, empowering students with critical 21st-century skills and bridging socio-economic divides. Beaconhouse College Program, Juniper Campus, Quetta, is a finalist for the Community Collaboration prize for its 'Science Gaari' initiative — a student-led mobile science lab bringing hands-on STEM education to remote schools in Balochistan, one of Pakistan's most underserved provinces. The project has reached over 150 schools, boosting science engagement and inspiring rural students to pursue careers in technology and research. Nordic International School Lahore has also been named a finalist for Community Collaboration. The independent school emphasizes strong parental involvement and a culture of kindness to foster a supportive learning environment. Parents are engaged throughout students' academic journeys via an interactive app, regular workshops, and celebrations of learning milestones. 'It is in schools like Sanjan Nagar, BCP Juniper Campus Quetta, and Nordic International School Lahore where we find the innovations and expertise that give us hope for a better future,' T4 Education Founder Vikas Pota said.
Arab News
3 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Hundreds evacuated from Iran via border crossing being sent to homes across Pakistan
QUETTA: Pakistani officials say hundreds of students and pilgrims, who were evacuated after Israeli strikes on Iran, will be transported to their homes across Pakistan today, Wednesday, after they were brought a day earlier to Quetta, the capital of the southwestern Balochistan province, which borders Iran. Commissioner of Quetta, Muhammad Hamza Shafqaat, said 545 pilgrims and 207 students reached Quetta from Pakistan's Taftan border crossing with Iran and arrangements had been made to transport them to their hometowns. 'We are trying to make them stay in Quetta tonight. There are some restrictions on movement at night from Quetta,' Shafqaat told Reuters. 'There are law and order issues on roads at some places. We want to avoid any unfortunate or untoward incidents.' Musharraf Abbas, who arrived from Tehran, said he was a student at the Iran University of Medical Sciences. 'Their [Iran's] military residences and rooms were at about one-and-a-half-kilometer distance from our residence,' he told Reuters. 'They were attacked on late Friday night around 330pm in which their high level personnel, including scientists, revolutionary guards and military leaders were killed.' Pakistan closed its border crossings with Iran at Panjgur in Balochistan province indefinitely due to escalating tensions, the district administration of Panjgur announced on Sunday, June 15. However, one of the busiest crossings at the Taftan border remains operational for repatriation and trade activity. A group of 214 Pakistani students studying in medical and engineering institutions in Iran arrived at Pakistan's Taftan border crossing from Tehran following Israeli airstrikes, officials said on Tuesday. Iran and Israel launched new missile strikes at each other on Wednesday as the air war between the two longtime enemies entered a sixth day despite a call from US President Donald Trump for Tehran's unconditional surrender.
Arab News
4 days ago
- Business
- Arab News
Pakistan's militancy-hit Balochistan unveils ‘largest' $3.6 billion annual budget
ISLAMABAD: The government in Pakistan's militancy-hit Balochistan on Tuesday unveiled its $3.6 billion budget for fiscal year 2025-26, which provincial Finance Minister Mir Shoaib Nosherwani described as the 'largest' one in the province's history. Balochistan is Pakistan's largest province by land size but its poorest by almost all social and economic indicators. The province, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, has been the scene of a low-lying insurgency for decades where ethnic separatist militants demand a greater share of the province's mineral resources for locals. Nosherwani presented the budget for the upcoming fiscal year in the Balochistan Assembly in Quetta, with Speaker Abdul Khaliq Achakzai chairing the session. 'For the upcoming fiscal year, the total budget is estimated at Rs1,028 billion [$3.63 billion]— the largest in the province's history,' Nosherwani told lawmakers during the budget session. 'Out of this, the non-development budget is Rs642 billion [$2.26 billion] while the overall provincial development (PSDP) budget is Rs249.5 billion [$878 million],' he added. The finance minister pointed out that the budget includes a Rs42 billion [$148.3 million] surplus, describing it as a 'historic milestone' for the province. Nosherwani said the government has earmarked over Rs120 billion [$423.5 million] for the schools sector and Rs29.1 billion [$102.7 million] for the higher education sector. The provincial government has also allocated Rs87 billion [$307 million] for the health sector, ₨26 billion [$91.8 million] for the agriculture sector and Rs1 billion [$3.53 million] for food, he said. He said the government had decided not to purchase new vehicles, except for the ones required by law enforcement personnel. 'To create employment opportunities in 2025–26, the provincial government plans to introduce 4,188 contract positions and 1,958 regular jobs across departments,' Nosherwani said. He credited the provincial government for not overlooking any segment of society in the annual budget. 'These measures cover government employees, women, pensioners, youth, migrants, laborers— people from every walk of life,' the finance minister said.
Arab News
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Family of detained Baloch rights activist moves Supreme Court against her arrest
ISLAMABAD: The family of a detained Pakistani Baloch rights activists, Dr. Mahrang Baloch, filed a petition in Pakistan's Supreme Court on Wednesday, seeking to overturn a provincial court ruling that upheld her arrest under public order laws, according to a local media report. Baloch, a physician and a civil society activists, has been held at Quetta's Hudda District Jail since March 22 after she participated in protests following a separatist militant attack on a passenger train in Balochistan. She was arrested under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) law, a move her supporters described as part of a broader crackdown on nonviolent dissent in the restive province. The petition, filed by her sister, argues that the detention is arbitrary and aimed at silencing peaceful activism. 'Nadia Baloch, the sister of Dr. Mahrang Baloch, urged the Supreme Court on Wednesday to set aside the April 15 order of the Balochistan High Court that rejected the plea against her detention under the Maintenance of Public Order,' the English-language newspaper Dawn quoted from the petition. The detained activist, who leads the Baloch Yakjehti Committee, also published a letter from prison in the US-based Time magazine this week, in which she asserted that 'speaking up for justice is not a crime.' Pakistani authorities have accused Baloch of promoting the narrative of separatist groups like the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) in public. However, her letter in the American magazine maintained the officials had not provided any evidence of her links with BLA or any other militant group while criticizing the authorities for blurring the line between militancy and peaceful protest. Earlier this year, the Balochistan High Court dismissed Baloch's initial challenge to her detention, advising her to seek administrative remedies instead of judicial relief. Her sister's petition has now asked the apex court to suspend that ruling and review whether constitutional protections such as habeas corpus were ignored in the previous judicial decision. The Supreme Court has yet to announce when it will take up the case for hearing.
Arab News
07-06-2025
- Lifestyle
- Arab News
‘Adornment' of Eid meals: Meaty celebrations begin with aroma and activity at Quetta spice bazaar
QUETTA: Hajji Shair Ali moved around his shop, using a griddle scoop to collect generous amounts of cinnamon, black pepper, garlic, ginger and an array of colorful herbs. He then put them all into a grinder, the old machine churning out a bright orange spice mix, the key ingredient for marinating meat during the Eid Al-Adha religious festival. Ali's shop is in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta, in what is commonly called Sabzi Mandi, its alleys lined with shops selling mostly fresh fruit and vegetable but also spices and other condiments. Each year, ahead of Eid Al-Adha, the market comes alive as city residents throng to buy spices to add a fiery zing to their meat-based dishes. The daily rush has kept Ali, 41, busy and working 15 hours a day since the Dhul Hijjah moon, which helps determine the date for Eid, was sighted last month. Eid will be celebrated in Pakistan on June 7 after the end of the Hajj pilgrimage in Makkah. 'For us the season lasts all year but during Eid Al-Adha, demand for spices increases, particularly for barbecue and Pashtun rosh [slow cooked mutton or lamb] spices,' Ali told Arab News. 'Spices are the adornment of dining. If you cook meat without spices, it tastes bland. Thus, the dishes all depend on spices.' Ali said ahead of Eid, there was also a surge in the demand for his special barbecue sauce made by blending papaya and kachri powder, a distinctive spice derived from a type of wild melon and known for its tangy and slightly sour taste, acting as a natural meat tenderizer and adding flavor to various dishes. 'Along with kachri powder, we add black pepper, cumin, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, coriander and garlic,' Aali said., explaining the recipe of his meat tenderizer. Shaharyar Khan, a customer searching for spices as he was planning to host an Eid barbeque, praised the quality of spices at the market. 'During Eid Al-Adha the quality is a little better,' Khan told Arab News. 'Normally it's already good, but for Eid, they make it even better so the taste of the food is enhanced.' But many customers also complained of the rising prices of spices in recent years, which spice shop owners blamed on the higher prices of imported ingredients. Essential ingredients required to make the products are imported from Vietnam, China, India and Iran, merchants explained, and the persistent devaluation of the rupee against the US dollar over the years had caused imports to surge in value. The prices of the spices had also subsequently increased over the years. But customer Hajji Ajmal from Kuchlak town near Quetta, said the increase was not substantial compared to the quality of spices one was getting. 'Last year I bought one kilogram of barbecue spice for Rs900 ($3.20) and this year, it is [being sold] for Rs950 ($3.38),' he said. At the bazaar this week, curry mixes were being sold for Rs1,200 ($4.27) a packet while the price of biryani rice spice mix was higher at around Rs1,400 ($4.98). Despite the price hikes, customers who trust the quality of the product continue to shop and orders have even been coming in from various cities in the Balochistan, Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces. 'I have prepared different spices for this Eid season, weighing more than 3,000 kgs because we have received many online orders from other cities through our social media page,' Ali, the spice merchant, said. 'During Eid Al-Adha season, we work until midnight, even skipping meals. Ten people work in a single shop to prepare the spice orders in time.'
