Search results for “Asim Ahmed Khan”

A skills training program for the transgender community by the Balochistan government: For the first time in the province’s history, the Balochistan government has launched a special training program to provide respectable employment opportunities and skill development for the transgender community. Under this initiative, participants are being trained in tailoring, embroidery, beautician courses, computer skills, and other vocational skills. Currently, 60 transgender individuals are receiving training through this program so they can play an active and independent role in society.

The program, running under the Balochistan Endowment Fund, is not only teaching skills but also providing education to participants. Trainees say this initiative will help eliminate the negative perception that transgender people cannot engage in respectable work.

Siraaj, a participant at the training center, said, “Here we have learned beautician skills such as eyebrow shaping, hair coloring, henna application, and waxing. Most importantly, we have received respect and confidence here. Now we can proudly say we earn a dignified living.”

Another participant, Anzela, said, “We have completed computer courses and now plan to open shops and stand on our own feet. Earlier we were struggling in life, but now we hope for a better future.”

In Nawan Killi area of Quetta, as soon as the local government elections were announced, heavy machinery was brought onto the roads and construction work started day and night. However, immediately after the court postponed the elections, contractors and machinery disappeared the very next day.

Local residents say that this battle of political interests has disrupted the traffic system in Nawan Killi, Killi Kotwal, and surrounding areas, where piles of soil, excavation sites, and open drains are not only causing accidents but have also destroyed the sewage system.

According to official documents, the total cost of the project in 2024–25 was set at Rs 439 million. Out of this, Rs 307 million were to be released, while Rs 132 million were shifted to the next financial year. Later, in PSDP 2025–26, the same scheme was included under a new name, “Construction and Rehabilitation of Main Nawan Killi Road,” stating that Rs 100 million would be spent by June 2025, with Rs 70 million allocated for the current year and Rs 330 million earmarked for the next fiscal year.

Residents say the sudden halt of work has proven that public needs are not a priority for the authorities.

Drones are being used in Balochistan to eliminate the illegal cultivation of poppy. Read the full report for details.

Children in Balochistan are being pushed into labor instead of sports and books. Twelve-year-old Nizamuddin starts his morning not with the school bell but by picking up tools in a workshop. He has a desire to study, but he cannot go to school because if he does not earn, how will the household ration be provided?

This is not just his story. According to the Balochistan Child Labour Survey 2023, more than 200,000 children in the province are forced into labor. Around 2.9 million children are out of school, meaning nearly 69% of children in the province are deprived of education.

Poverty, lack of facilities, and government negligence have taken away their childhood and forced them to grow up too early.

Thousands of farmers in Balochistan are facing a threat to their livelihoods. “Due to drought and severe water shortages, apple orchards are continuously drying up, and production has been reduced to almost nothing.”

Experts say this crisis is a direct result of global climate change, whose impacts are appearing more intensely in Balochistan.

According to University of Balochistan Professor Dr. Sanaullah Panizai, rainfall and snowfall have been continuously declining in the province. He said that major apple-producing districts such as Quetta, Qila Abdullah, Pishin, and Qila Saifullah are currently facing severe drought, where groundwater levels have dropped to alarming levels.

Students of Agriculture University Quetta have also described the situation as alarming. Student Ahmad Ali said that the unbalanced use of groundwater and declining tree cover have worsened the crisis, threatening not only apple production but the entire agricultural economy.