Pakistan now has female bike captains as a part of Careem’s women empowerment scheme. These women are Pakistan’s first female bike captains. Riffat Shehraz shines as one of the first few who have taken on this task in Lahore.

These women stand as symbols to the world that women are capable of doing anything they put their mind to.

In an exclusive interview with The Express Tribune, Riffat said that she is glad to have gotten a platform to bring out the best of her passion.
“I have been driving the bike since I was 12 years old and I was passionate about riding the bike,” she said.

Riffat believes that bike riding services aren’t restricted to gender or by gender. “If you are scared, the fear will lead you nowhere. Today, if you are going to be scared, then tomorrow you will not be able to do anything.” She believes that women are capable of achieving a lot more than they are given the opportunity to.

Amid rising tensions on security issues for women and children, Riffat says that she would have never made the effort of visiting places that she does now because of her passengers. She says that this experience also shaped her confidence greatly.

“I am also a female and I also want to take rides at the 11th hour but I know that I have to wake up early and start my day therefore at 10 pm, I take my last ride,” she said of her daily routine. She wakes up at 9 am to initiate her day.

However, Riffat doesn’t have to comply with a set number of rides, “I can take as many as I want to, sometimes I take them till 9 pm and sometimes it’s 10 pm but I don’t want to say no to anyone ever. I try my best to make my passengers happy.”

Riffat believes she is lucky as she didn’t have to face any major issue regarding her passengers. “Everyone respects me,” she said, adding that neither male nor female passengers caused her any hassle.

“I feel, if you respect men, then they respect you in return too, all my rides so far with the males have been very nice and ended on cordial terms,” she narrated.

“I have gone as far as Thokar Niaz Baig, a place I have never visited, so the commuting and distance is not an issue for me at all. It is sometimes from Wapda Town or Model Town that I go to faraway places,” she said.

Riffat is a source of pride with all that she has achieved. She also is a proud part of Careem as that is the platform that encouraged her to pursue this.

In November 2015, the company had announced that they will start hiring female captain drivers.

Situation in Punjab’s Kasur city remained tense for the second day as the protest against rape and murder case of a minor continued, Express News reported on Thursday.

The city remained paralysed as legion of people kept visiting the victim’s parents to offer their condolence. The eight-year-old girl was raped and killed in Kasur, days after she had gone missing from home.

She had gone missing five days prior to being found dead. The family and community took to the streets to protest after the horrific incident forcing all markets to shut down and the city to come to a standstill.

The protest has yet to subside even after officials assured the protestors that the culprits will be brought to justice. A complete shutter-down was witnessed on the second day with enraged people blocking Bagh Chowk from all four sides.

Meanwhile, Punjab Bar Council has also called for a province-wide strike.

During the protests in the city on Wednesday, at least two men were killed as police responded to the protestors. Their bodies have been handed over to the families.

I will not rest until I get you justice: CM Punjab

Chief Minister Punjab Shehbaz Sharif met Zainab’s grieving parents and family members in Kasur on Thursday morning. He also prayed for the departed soul.

He expressed sadness and offered condolences for the horrific incident. “Until I get you justice, I will not rest,” said Shehbaz. “The whole nation cries for Zainab and what happened to her. It is my duty and responsibility to ensure that she gets justice.”

“Whoever has perpetrated this crime is a horrible criminal in the eyes of the government and the people. He will not be able to escape the shackles of law and justice,” Shehbaz added.

“The government will help Zainab’s family in every capacity, and we stand behind you in every aspect,” he told the family members.

At least two people were killed and two others injured on Wednesday when a protesting crowd turned violent and the police opened indiscriminate fire on them.

Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur has called his experience of coaching the Asian team fantastic and full of emotions, colour and intensity.

Arthur was appointed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) after former coach and bowling legend Waqar Younis resigned from his post after some dismal performances in the two limited-over formats.

“If I had to encapsulate it in one word, then it’s been fantastic,” said Arthur as quoted by The Cricket Monthly. “I have thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it. Yes, it has been challenging. But I’ve thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed it. If I had finished my career without coaching a subcontinent side, it would’ve been a glaring miss on my CV.

He continued by explaining the roller coaster ride his time with Pakistan team has been and what he plans to achieve with the team in the future. “The passion, the intensity, the focus, the colour, the emotion — we’ve experienced that all this year, and what I’m trying to do is bring some stability, to bring standards, to bring high performance, to bring structure. And trying to just keep pushing our players to be the best they can possibly be. For me, that’s the energy of the job.”

‘I’ve got lots to offer Pakistan’

Before working with Pakistan, Arthur had South Africa and Australia on his resume and he hopes to bring the experience of coaching both teams to help Pakistan become a better side.

“I feel I’ve come in [to coach Pakistan as] a far more experienced coach,” he said. “I feel like I’ve got so much to offer, to this structure, this country, this job. Because if I can bring the best of South Africa and the best of Australia and somehow fit it into this Pakistan side, the world’s our oyster.”

On creating a legacy

Under Arthur, Pakistan won the Champions Trophy for the first time but for the South African, player and structural development takes precedence.

“I would like my legacy to be structure, or high performance, or standards, because ultimately you get those results from there,” he said. “More than wins and losses, to me player development and this excellent structure are the most important things. And that’s how I’d like to be remembered. Wins and losses come and go. But ultimately you’ll be remembered for the structure you brought in and the players that grew under you.”

‘Amir has been outstanding’

Mohammad Amir was trying to fathom his responsibilities in the teams after a comeback when Arthur joined the team and he believes the left-arm pacer has come a long way during his tenure.

“Amir has been outstanding,” explained Arthur. “I must admit, seeing him in England and seeing him now, he’s a totally different character. In England he was very reserved, whereas now he is very much part of the team. He was finding himself as well. I’m incredibly fond of Mohammad Amir and I admire the way he’s gone about it so much. He’s just such an incredible talent with the ball.”

Arthur heaped more praise on the 25-year-old pacer by calling him a player who craves a big occasion and then makes sure he shines in that moment.

“What I do know about Amir is that he is a big-match player,” said Arthur. “The bigger the occasion, the more he rises to it. That is not prevalent in every player. A lot of cricketers in those big, big moments disappear. Amir doesn’t. He wants those big moments. He craves those big moments. And generally, he’s pretty successful in them.”

A foreign woman was taken into custody at the Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore after she attempted to smuggle 9kg of heroin on Wednesday, according to Express News.

Czech woman, identified as 21-year-old Teresa, was able to cross two security checks despite ‘stringent’ controls in place.

She was en route to the United Arab Emirates.
British national arrested at Karachi aiport for carrying heroin

Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) officials as well as Customs personnel took the suspect into custody after finding the contraband.

The value of the drugs in the international market is believed to be Rs150 million.

Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah Historical Video – Muhammad Ali Jinnah, born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a lawyer, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until Pakistan’s independence on 14 August 1947, and as Pakistan’s first Governor-General from independence until his death. He is revered in Pakistan as Quaid-i-Azam (Great Leader) and Baba-i-Qaum (Father of the Nation). His birthday is observed as a national holiday.

Born in Karachi and trained as a barrister at Lincoln’s Inn in London, Jinnah rose to prominence in the Indian National Congress in the first two decades of the 20th century. In these early years of his political career, Jinnah advocated Hindu–Muslim unity, helping to shape the 1916 Lucknow Pact between the Congress and the All-India Muslim League, a party in which Jinnah had also become prominent. Jinnah became a key leader in the All India Home Rule League, and proposed a fourteen-point constitutional reform plan to safeguard the political rights of Muslims. In 1920, however, Jinnah resigned from the Congress when it agreed to follow a campaign of satyagraha, or non-violent resistance, advocated by the influential leader, Mohandas Gandhi.