Game changer: extreme heat stifles women’s sports in Pakistan

Game changer: extreme heat stifles women’s sports in Pakistan
In this file photograph, taken on January 15, 2024, Pakistani hockey player Aqsa Shabbir trains at the Star Women’s Sports Academy in Jacobabad. (Photo courtesy: Handout via Reuters/File)
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Updated 14 June 2024
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Game changer: extreme heat stifles women’s sports in Pakistan

Game changer: extreme heat stifles women’s sports in Pakistan
  • Sport has been unaffordable luxury for girls from low-income households in Pakistan
  • It costs money to get to the few sports clubs available and even eating well is costly

KARACHI: Pakistani student Aqsa Shabbir is hot, tired and frustrated. A keen field hockey player, she can no longer train during the day because of a brutal heatwave, she can’t sleep at night and she fears she will not play well in a tournament at the end of June.
The 17-year-old, who lives in Jacobabad in the southern Sindh province, already had to overcome many obstacles — like many girls who live in Pakistan’s smaller cities where exercising in public is frowned upon — and the heatwave is making things harder.
Two years ago, Jacobabad was named the hottest city on earth after temperatures reached 51 degrees Celsius (124 Fahrenheit). This year, as a heatwave seared southeast Asia, temperatures shot up to 52 degrees Celsius (126 Fahrenheit) in May.
“We cannot keep waiting for the weather to get better — it won’t,” Shabbir told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone from Jacobabad.
Rising temperatures are one more barrier for women and girls who want to stay active in a country where there are few training spaces available to them, apart from private sports clubs reserved for the wealthy.
A 2022 study found that the main obstacles to participating in sport in the Muslim-majority country are “religious and cultural limitations, a lack of permission from parents, and a lack of sports facilities and equipment.”
Now add extreme heat, linked to climate change, to the list.
Shabbir is a member of the Star Women’s Sports Academy in Jacobabad, the only women’s sports club in the city of nearly 300,000 people. The girls have started training later in the day in a bid to beat the heat but parents are unhappy with their daughters returning home late on their own.
And there is little rest at night either. Shabbir says the one air conditioner her family has invested in provides “little comfort” because of frequent power cuts. The long days and nights are affecting her performance. “I am not playing my best,” she said.
Haseena Soomro, who plays hockey at the same club, is equally frustrated.
“Of course the heat impacts our game,” the 19-year-old said. “The heat makes you sluggish, and this game is defined by speed.”
‘LONG AND UNBEARABLE’ SUMMER
Sport has long been an often unaffordable luxury for girls from low-income households in Pakistan. It costs money to get to the few sports clubs available and even eating well is costly.
Some sports clubs try to help out with expenses but Erum Baloch, who founded the club in Jacobabad where Shabbir and Soomro play, says that can also be difficult.
And now she is also grappling with the challenge of training her team on outdoor pitches during what she calls the “long and unbearable” summers.
The situation is complicated by the fact that the women wear long clothing when training. Even though Baloch’s club is in a women’s government college, the girls she coaches are uncomfortable swapping shalwar kameez for jogging pants, never mind cooler shorts.
“Families don’t like them wearing pants … shorts is too far-fetched a concept,” said Baloch. “Until society is ready, we need to concentrate on (making) sports for women acceptable instead of letting a dress come in our way.”
Farwa Batool, from Khairpur city in Sindh, wears long sleeves beneath her T-shirt to cover her arms and also wears a hijab when she plays field hockey.
“You cannot imagine the heat we bear,” she said, adding that she envies the men who can wear just shorts and T-shirts. She gets up at 5.45 am to train at the mixed gender club, hoping no men will be around.
“If we could have women-only grounds, or women timings are introduced with men strictly not allowed, we too can be free of yards of cumbersome clothing.”
In Jacobabad, Baloch is hoping to get financing from the government or a sponsor to pay for an indoor facility with air conditioning.
UNSUSTAINABLE EXPENSES
Zamzam Allahbuksh said she pays out of pocket to top up water and ice supplies at the women’s sports club she runs in Mirpurkhas, 230 km (143 miles) east of Pakistan’s largest city Karachi.
“I don’t want them catching a heatstroke,” she said.
To manage costs, she has introduced games like football and volleyball because she does not have enough equipment for everyone to play cricket or field hockey.
“At least with one football or one volleyball, quite a few girls can play a sport,” she said.
Baloch, too, arranges for drinking water every day for her 43 field hockey players along with oral rehydration solutions but this is not sustainable.
“I don’t know how long I can carry on doing this,” she said. “We cannot train girls on an ad hoc basis — there needs to be a continuous and full government support for them, if they want to play their best.”
As heat threatens the viability of the few facilities available to women and girls, Baloch said she hopes they don’t lose out on the opportunities sports can provide.
Some of the athletes Baloch has coached went on to attend university on sports scholarships.
Bushra Arif, a former field hockey player, is keenly aware of what sport offers girls in her country.
“Sports teach lifelong values like endurance, teamwork, confidence, overcoming challenges,” said Arif, now the director of physical education at Khursheed Begum Girls Degree College in Hyderabad in Sindh.
Despite all the challenges, Shabbir is trying to look on the bright side ahead of her important tournament in the neighboring Sukkur district.
“Who knows, we may outdo other teams from other cities with relatively lower temperatures, being more acclimatized to this extreme heat.”


Pakistan says eight killed, 35 injured after India fires missiles at six locations

Pakistan says eight killed, 35 injured after India fires missiles at six locations
Updated 33 min 39 sec ago
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Pakistan says eight killed, 35 injured after India fires missiles at six locations

Pakistan says eight killed, 35 injured after India fires missiles at six locations
  • Pakistan military says Ahmedpur East, Muridke, Sialkot, Shakargarh, Kotli, Muzaffarabad cities targeted
  • India says hit “terrorist infrastructure” at nine sites from where April 22 militant attack against India was “planned”

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan military spokesperson Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said on Wednesday eight civilians had been killed and 33 injured as India launched missile attacks at six locations in a sharp escalation of hostility between the two nuclear-armed rivals.
The development comes amid heightened tensions between the longstanding enemies in the aftermath of an attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir last month in which 26 men were killed. India, without providing evidence publicly, has accused Pakistan of involvement in the assault in the hill station of Pahalgam and vowed to respond. Pakistan has denied involvement, and several top officials have spoken since of intelligence that India was planning to launch retaliatory attacks. 
Kashmir has been disputed between India and Pakistan since 1947. Both rule it in part and claim it in full and have fought two of their three wars over the Himalayan region. India accuses Pakistan of arming and training militants involved in a separatist insurgency in its part of Kashmir since 1989, which Islamabad denies, saying it offers only moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people in their struggle for self-determination. 

Local residents and members of the media examine a building damaged by a suspected Indian missile attack near Muzaffarabad, the capital of Azad Kashmir on May 7, 2025. (AP)

“Total of six locations in Pakistan were hit,” Chaudhry said in televised remarks, saying the attacks were carried out using “different weapons.”
“Eight Pakistanis were martyred, 35 are injured and two are missing.”
An Indian government statement said its armed forces had launched "Operation Sindoor," hitting nine sites in Pakistan and Azad Kashmir from where it said the Pahalgam attack of April 22 had been “planned and directed.” 
No Pakistani military facilities had been targeted, the statement added.

Detailing the casualties, the Pakistan army spokesman said a 3-year-old child, two men and two women had been killed in Ahmedpur East, a city in the eastern province of Punjab, while 31 people were injured.
One man was killed in Muridke, also in Punjab, while two teenagers had died in Kotli in Azad Kashmir, which is a part of the disputed Himalayan region governed by Pakistan. Other places that were struck were Muzaffarabad, also in Azad Kashmir, and Sialkot and Shakargarh in Punjab, but no casualties were reported there.
“The Pakistan Armed Forces, with the full support of the Pakistani nation, are giving and will continue to give a strong response to this cowardly and unprovoked attack,” Chaudhry said, without giving details on the nature of Pakistan’s retaliation.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar told BBC Pakistan had shot down three Indian planes while Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told Bloomberg TV Pakistan has downed five Indian planes and captured some Indian soldiers also.
The claims could not be independently verified by Arab News.
When asked if he feared a further escalation of the conflict, Tarar told Sky News Pakistan had offered to be part of an investigation into the Pahalgam attack but India had acted as “the aggressor without evidence.” 

A city view of Muzaffarabad in Azad Kashmir on May 7, 2025. (REUTERS)

Pakistan's foreign ministry said while the Indian air force had remained within Indian airspace, it “violated Pakistan's sovereignty using standoff weapons.”
“MAXIMUM RESTRAINT”
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has meanwhile convened a meeting of the National Security Committee at 10am to finalize Pakistan’s response to the Indian actions while the ministry of defense in New Delhi said it would provide a “detailed briefing” on the operation later in the day.
A spokesman for United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said he was “very concerned” about the Indian military operations and had called for “maximum military restraint” from both countries.
"The world cannot afford a military confrontation between India and Pakistan,” the statement said. 
Speaking to reporters at the White House, US President Donald Trump said he had just heard about the intensification of hostilities that had occurred in recent hours.
"It's a shame … I hope it ends very quickly," he said.

After the Pahalgam attack, India and Pakistan unleashed a raft of punitive measures against each other, with Pakistan closing its airspace to Indian airlines, and India suspending the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty that regulates water-sharing from the Indus River and its tributaries.
Diplomatic relations between Pakistan and India were weak even before the latest conflict as Pakistan had expelled India’s envoy and not posted its own ambassador in New Delhi after India revoked the semi-autonomous status of Kashmir in 2019.
The last military confrontation between the rivals occurred in 2019 when India conducted air strikes on what it said was a militant training camp near the northwestern Pakistani town of Balakot in response to a suicide car bombing in Indian-administered Kashmir's Pulwama area.
Pakistan, which said the planes had bombed an empty hillside and not a camp, launched a retaliatory incursion into Indian airspace that led to a dogfight between the two air forces, leading to the capture of an Indian pilot.
The situation cooled after he was released days later.
On Wednesday morning, Indian police said two women had been injured in Indian-administered Kashmir in shelling by Pakistani troops. One of them was in critical condition, they added. There was no comment from the Pakistani military. 
In Pakistan, an emergency has been declared in the country’s largest and most populous province of Punjab, the provincial chief minister said, with hospitals and security forces on high alert. Schools will also remain closed on Wednesday. 
A spokesperson for Pakistan International Airlines said flights already airborne had been diverted to Karachi, while flights on the ground had been put on hold.
Qatar Airways said on X it had temporarily suspended flights to Pakistan due to Pakistani airspace closure.
With inputs from Reuters


Pakistan Ulema Council urges pilgrims to abide by Hajj code of conduct

Pakistan Ulema Council urges pilgrims to abide by Hajj code of conduct
Updated 06 May 2025
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Pakistan Ulema Council urges pilgrims to abide by Hajj code of conduct

Pakistan Ulema Council urges pilgrims to abide by Hajj code of conduct
  • More than 112,000 Pakistani pilgrims will perform Hajj under government, private schemes this year
  • The code of conduct highlights sacredness of the Hajj period, aims to ensure hassle-free experience

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC), a body of Pakistani clerics and religious scholars, urges Pakistani Hajj pilgrims to comply with the Hajj code of conduct and not to engage in any violation of rules during the annual pilgrimage, it said on Tuesday.
This year’s annual pilgrimage will take place in June, with nearly 89,000 Pakistanis expected to travel to Saudi Arabia under the government scheme and 23,620 Pakistanis through private tour operators. The total quota granted to Pakistan was 179,210, which could not be met.
The Hajj code of conduct urges pilgrims to refrain from disputes, and embody dignity and humility throughout the pilgrimage, according to the PUC. It highlights the sacredness of the Hajj period and the significance of sincere intention solely for the pleasure of Allah.
“Every Pakistani leaving for Hajj should comply [with] Saudi Arabia’s code of conduct and relevant instructions, and stay away from violating the requirements and regulations of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Interior,” PUC Chairman Tahir Ashrafi said in a statement, following his meeting with Pakistani Religious Affairs Minister Sardar Muhammad Yusuf.
In the last few years, some Pakistani nationals have been found to be involved in violations of the code, including chanting political slogans. In 2022, the Madinah police had arrested at least five Pakistani nationals for “abusing and insulting” then Pakistani information minister Marriyum Aurangzeb and minister for narcotics control Shahzain Bugti at the Prophet’s Mosque in the city.
Religious Affairs Minister Yusuf was due to leave for Saudi Arabia later on Tuesday to inspect arrangements for Pakistani pilgrims.
“Serving the pilgrims is our goal,” he was quoted as saying by the PUC.
More than 17,000 Pakistani Hajj pilgrims have reached the Saudi holy city of Madinah via over 70 flights on their way to perform the annual pilgrimage, according to the Pakistani religious affairs ministry.
Pakistan launched its Hajj flight operation on April 29 which will continue till May 31. Pilgrims will continue to leave for Madinah during the first 15 days of the operation and afterwards, they will land in Jeddah and travel directly to Makkah.


Lahore’s ‘Roses of Humanity’ art installation honors Gaza children killed in Israeli strikes

Lahore’s ‘Roses of Humanity’ art installation honors Gaza children killed in Israeli strikes
Updated 06 May 2025
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Lahore’s ‘Roses of Humanity’ art installation honors Gaza children killed in Israeli strikes

Lahore’s ‘Roses of Humanity’ art installation honors Gaza children killed in Israeli strikes
  • Israel’s 18-month war on Gaza has killed more than 52,000 people, many of them women and children
  • The installation features thousands of fabric roses, each representing a child whose life was cut short

ISLAMABAD: The Alhamra Arts Council in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore has opened an immersive art installation for visitors to honor the memory of children killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza, highlighting the devastating human toll of the war.
Israel’s 18-month offensive against Hamas has killed more than 52,000 people, many of them women and children, and displaced more than 90 percent of Gaza’s population, Palestinian officials say. The Israeli military has also blockaded aid to the Gaza Strip since March.
In remembrance of the innocent lives lost in Gaza, the Lahore-based Labour & Love social enterprise, in collaboration with The Fundraisers BBS, has set up the installation at the Ustad Allah Bux Gallery, encouraging reflection on the situation in Gaza,
The installation features thousands of hand stitched fabric roses, each one representing a child whose life was cut short, transformed into a symbolic garden of remembrance, enveloped in evocative soundscapes, gentle fragrance and thoughtful lighting design.
“A total of 15,000 fabric roses represents the number of children reported killed in Gaza by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights as of June 2024 a number that, heartbreakingly, has since grown,” said Nuria Iqbal, who curated the installation.

This handout photo, released by Roses of Humanity on May 4, 2025, shows an art installation features thousands of fabric roses, to honor children killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza, at the Al-Hamra Arts Council in Lahore on May 2, 2025. (Photo courtesy: Handout/Lotus)

“Together, these roses form a radiant tribute to humanity, reminding us that dignity flourishes when we are seen, heard and held in compassion.”
The installation will be on display at the gallery from May 18.
Iqbal shared that each of the roses was crafted from discarded fabric, once cast aside and now reborn in beauty, symbolizing the forgotten lives of the children of Gaza.

This handout photo, released by Roses of Humanity on May 4, 2025, shows an art installation features thousands of fabric roses, to honor children killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza, at the Al-Hamra Arts Council in Lahore on May 2, 2025. (Photo courtesy: Handout/Lotus)

“The varied colors and textures of the fabric reflect the rich diversity of creation and the strength of unity amidst difference,” she added.
The development comes at a time when Hamas has dismissed as pointless ceasefire talks with Israel, accusing it of waging a “hunger war” on Gaza where famine looms, as the Israeli military prepares for a broader assault.

This handout photo, released by Roses of Humanity on May 4, 2025, shows an art installation features thousands of fabric roses, to honor children killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza, at the Al-Hamra Arts Council in Lahore on May 2, 2025. (Photo courtesy: Handout/Lotus)

The comments from Hamas political bureau member Basem Naim on Tuesday followed Israel’s approval of a military plan involving the long-term “conquest of the Gaza Strip,” according to an Israeli official.
The former Gaza health minister said the world must pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to end the “crimes of hunger, thirst, and killings.”


UK may restrict students from countries, including Pakistan, with high asylum claims

UK may restrict students from countries, including Pakistan, with high asylum claims
Updated 06 May 2025
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UK may restrict students from countries, including Pakistan, with high asylum claims

UK may restrict students from countries, including Pakistan, with high asylum claims
  • The move follows the ruling Labour Party’s poor performance in last week’s local elections
  • Of 108,000 asylum claims in Britain last year, 16,000 were from people with student visas

LONDON: The British government may restrict visa applications from students living in countries that are considered most likely to claim asylum in a move designed to bring down annual net migration, a government official said.
The move comes after Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party was punished in local elections in England last week by voters angry over issues, including illegal immigration.
The government is expected next week to publish a policy document, known as a white paper, which will set out how the government plans to reduce net migration, which reached 728,000 people in the year to June last year.
“Our upcoming Immigration White Paper will set out a comprehensive plan to restore order to our broken immigration system,” the Home Office said in a statement.
High levels of legal migration have long dominated Britain’s political conversation and were one of the major drivers for the Brexit referendum in 2016.
Out of the 108,000 people who claimed asylum in Britain last year, 16,000 had student visas, government data shows. The government does not provide a breakdown of the nationalities of those who had student visas, who went on to claim asylum.
But the government said people from Pakistan, Nigeria and Sri Lanka were the most likely to claim asylum in Britain after arriving on a work, student, or a visitor visa.
In the aftermath of the party’s poor local election results last week, some Labour members of parliament urged the government to do more to take a more decisive approach on issues such as bringing down net migration.
Jo White, who represents a group of lawmakers in previously Labour heartlands known as the “Red Wall,” said the government should stop “pussyfooting around.”


Pakistan PM briefed on preparations against ‘threat’ from India on visit to ISI headquarters

Pakistan PM briefed on preparations against ‘threat’ from India on visit to ISI headquarters
Updated 06 May 2025
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Pakistan PM briefed on preparations against ‘threat’ from India on visit to ISI headquarters

Pakistan PM briefed on preparations against ‘threat’ from India on visit to ISI headquarters
  • Relations between the nuclear-armed neighbors have plummeted after India accused Pakistan of backing an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir
  • Islamabad denied the charged and both countries have since exchanged gunfire, taken diplomatic measures against each other and expelled citizens

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday visited the headquarters of Pakistan’s premier Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency where he was briefed on the country’s preparations against a “conventional threat” from India, Sharif’s office said, amid heightened tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.
Relations between the nuclear-armed neighbors have plummeted after India accused Pakistan of backing an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26 tourists on April 22. Islamabad has rejected the charge and both countries have since exchanged gunfire in Kashmir, taken diplomatic measures against each other, expelled citizens and ordered the border shut.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to pursue the attackers “to the ends of the earth” and there have been fears that India may carry out limited airstrikes or special forces raids near the border with Pakistan. The Pakistan military has conducted two missile tests since the standoff, with Islamabad saying it had “credible intelligence” that India was planning to attack Pakistan.
Sharif’s office said his visit to the ISI headquarters entailed a detailed briefing on the prevailing security environment, with a particular focus on preparedness for conventional threat in the light of India’s “increasingly aggressive and provocative posture along Pakistan’s eastern border,” regional developments and the evolving threat matrix, including conventional military options, hybrid warfare tactics and militant proxies.
“The prime minister and accompanying dignitaries underscored the imperative of heightened national vigilance, seamless inter-agency coordination, and reinforced operational readiness to deter and decisively respond to any violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Sharif’s office said.
“The leadership reaffirmed Pakistan’s unambiguous resolve to defend the homeland against all threats— conventional or otherwise.”
India’s interior ministry has asked several states to conduct mock security drills on May 7 to ensure civil preparedness, a government source told Reuters. They did not say which states or mention Pakistan.
The drills will include air raid warning sirens, evacuation plans and training people to respond in case of any attacks, added the source, who asked not to be named.
Separately, Sharif on Tuesday inaugurated his country’s National Intelligence Fusion and Threat Assessment Center (NIFTAC) Headquarters. It integrates over 50 federal and provincial departments and agencies into a unified intelligence and threat management architecture supported by a centralized national database. At the sub-national level, the platform is linked to six provincial intelligence and threat assessment hubs, including those in Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, to ensure seamless coordination between the federation and provinces.
“This integrated framework is designed to harmonize intelligence gathering, analysis, and operational responses across multiple domains,” Sharif’s office said. “By leveraging the full spectrum of institutional capabilities, NIFTAC will enhance national preparedness, optimize resource utilization, and enable a coherent and timely counterterrorism response.”
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militancy in its northwest by religiously motivated militant groups like the Pakistani Taliban. The South Asian country has also been faced with a decades-long insurgency by Baloch separatists in its southwest, which has intensified in recent months.
On Tuesday, seven Pakistani army soldiers were killed when their vehicle was targeted by an improvised explosive device in the southwestern Balochistan province, Pakistan’s military said in a statement.
Sharif was accompanied by federal ministers and services chiefs at Tuesday’s inauguration of the NIFTAC headquarters, which will coordinate Pakistan’s national counterterrorism strategy. He commended all stakeholders involved in operationalizing this vital capability and described NIFTAC as a quintessential national platform for collaborative threat assessment and response.
“Dismantling the nexus between terrorism, illicit networks, and external sponsorship requires robust and efficient institutional mechanisms,” Sharif was quoted as saying by his office.
“[NIFTAC] will play a pivotal role in uprooting terrorism and its support structures from the country.”