December 24, 1952: UN Security Council adopts theAnglo-American Resolution on Kashmirurging immediate demilitarization talksbetween India, Pakistan.

December 31, 1952:Pakistan National Scouts instituted.

December 22, 1957:Malik Feroz Khan Noon is sworn in asseventh Prime Minister of Pakistan.

December 7, 1970:First General elections held. AwamiLeague and Pakistan People Partyemerge as leading parties in East andWest Pakistan.

December 19, 1970: Pakistan wins gold medal in AsianGames hockey, beating India 1-0.

December 20, 1971: General Yahya Khan hands over powerto Z. A. Bhutto, who takes over asPresident and Chief Martial LawAdministrator.

December 30, 1973: Z. A. Bhutto lays foundation stone ofPakistan Steel Mills.

December 27, 1975: 1976 is declared Quaid's Century year.

December 31, 1985: Martial Law is lifted, amended 1973Constitution revived.

December 2, 1988: Benazir Bhutto is sworn in as firstwoman Prime Minister of Pakistan.

December 12, 1990: Pakistan becomes 37th country to sendexpedition to Antarctica.

December 4, 1994: Pakistan regains World HockeyChampionship title after 12 years,beating Holand 4-3.

December in History

Positive Post is published to project positivity all around Pakistan amongst our youth and the entire nation. Our efforts are to inculcate patriotism and a sense of ownership in them. It is a compilation of news extracted

by the students of Mass Communications and Media Studies of Greenwich University.

Volume VI, Issue-XII, December 2016

Pakistan’s Cultural Events at UN in 2016 made Positive Impact on AudiencesWhile articulating and defend-ing Pakistan’s policies on majorinternational issues at theUnited Nations, the PakistaniMission to the U.N. also pro-moted the soft side of the coun-try, hosting a number of culturalevents in 2016 that attracteddiplomats, academics, art loversas well as music and film fans.

“Today, the amazing outpouringof art, literature, music and filmsin Pakistan is the most forcefulresponse to a tiny minority thatseeks to impose an alien ortho-doxy,” Ambassador MaleehaLodhi, who made the holding ofpublic diplomacy events eventsas part of her outreach efforts atthe world stage, said.

These events included thefirst-ever Pakistan Film Festival,a Sufi music concert at the UNGeneral Assembly to celebratePakistan Day, an exhibition ofmodern Pakistani art at theUnited Nations, screening theOscar-winning documentary“Girl in the river” at the UN anda photo exhibition highlightingPakistan’s role as a major con-tributor to UN Peacekeeping,that was opened Secretary-Gen-eral Ban Ki-moon. Well man-aged by the mission officers andstaff, the audiences here ap-plauded the the string of events.

Pakistan’s top-rated movies werescreened at Asia Society, NewYork, to packed houses. The pres-

ence of Pakistani actors and filmpersonalities, who traveled toNew York from Pakistan, was asource excitement for audienceswho cheered them when theycame on stage. The stars includedMahira Khan, Mawra Hocane,Nabeel Qureshi, Saba Qamar,Wajahat Rauf, Yasir Hussain,Sheheryar Munawar, Asim Raza,Tooba Siddiqui, Adeel Hussain,Sanam Saeed, Jerjees Seja ( JJ),Producers Afia Serena Nathanieland Mehreen Jabbar.

On 23rd March, Ustad RahatFateh Ali Khan enthralled thejam-packed UN GeneralAssembly Hall with his Sufimusic, spreading the message ofpeace, tolerance and harmony, asPakistan celebrated its Nationalday for the first time at theworld organization.

In June, Ban, the UN chief,spoke at photographic exhibi-tion, organized by the PakistanMission, to mark the Pakistani

Peacekeeping Day at UNHeadquarters.

Pakistan, a leading troopcontributor, currently has 7,161personnel serving UN missions,including 280 police, 84 militaryobservers, and 6,797 troops,deployed in 7 missions –Democratic Republic of theCongo.Courtesy: www.dnanews.com.pk

F Benchmark KSE 100-share Index rises 0.71%

F Pak Suzuki will launch Celerio in March 2017, Cultus to make exit

F Pakistan Navy undertakes livemissile firing along Arabian Sea

F Pakistan wins three golds, sixsilvers at international ICTAwards

F Innovation series: two countries,one team

F Pakistan conducts live anti-shipmissile test in Arabian Sea

What’s inside:

2

A see-saw ride eventually sawthe KSE-100 Index end positivefor the ninth successive session,breaking yet another recordhigh along the way and poweringpast the 46,000-point barrier.

The bull run has seen the indexgain 8.4% since November 30 –the last day it ended negative –and has contributed to an al-ready phenomenal year for thePakistan Stock Exchange.

The PSX’s benchmark KSE100-share Index finished with arise of 0.71% or 327.38 pointsto finish at 46,185.27.

Elixir Securities analyst FaisalBilwani said Pakistan equitiesshunned all calls for a breatherto close above key psychologicallevel of 46,000 primarily ongains in oil and select indexnames.

“A positive open was followedby intraday correction wherewider market slipped in red andKSE100 index tested supportnear 45,600,” said Bilwani.

“However, institutional buyingsoon overtook and swayed themomentum back mainly led byindex heavy exploration andproduction (E&Ps).

“Pakistan Petroleum (+5%) andPakistan Oilfields (+5%)emerged as top gainers with for-mer grabbing investor attentionover positive news of Sui leaseextension and improved pricingthat helped sentiments whilelatter hit second consecutiveupper price limit.

“Oil & Gas DevelopmentCompany (OGDC,+1% ) alsoended the day green as battlebetween aggressive foreign sell-ers and local smart money con-tinues with stock trading over10 million shares on the day.“Hub Power (HUBC, +2.5%)

closed another positive day after

recent update on progress overcoal fired power plant while ce-ments were higher on reportedinstitutional buying.

“Autos on the other hand un-performed market after lowerthan expected monthly salesnumbers,” said Bilwani.

JS Global analyst Nabeel Ha-roon said volatility prevailed butthe index finally close at its newhigh of 46,185 (+327 points).“E&P sector was the majorindex mover, as it extended itsprevious day gains to close 2.8%higher.” This gain was on theback of crude oil prices as theytraded comfortably above$52/bbl, on the back of majoroil producing countries’ decisionto limit their production goingforward in their meeting in Vi-enna last weekend, said Haroon.“Intraday rally was witnessed incements as the sector gained toclose 0.7% higher than its pre-vious day close. Maple Leaf Ce-ment (+4.33%) and DG KhanCement (+2.26%) were top per-

formers.”

Trading volumes rose to 360.7million shares compared withTuesday’s tally of 383 million.Shares of 412 companies weretraded. At the end of the day,171 stocks closed higher, 226declined while 15 remained un-changed. The value of sharestraded during the day wasRs18.9 billion.

Dolman City Reit was the vol-ume leader with 30.7 millionshares, gaining Rs0.05 to finishat Rs11.00. It was followed byTRG Pakistan Limited with29.6 million shares, gainingRs2.15 to close at Rs45.62 andBank of Punjab with 17.1 mil-lion shares, gaining Rs0.17 toclose at Rs17.04.

Foreign institutional investorswere net sellers of Rs1.1 billionduring the trading session, ac-cording to data maintained bythe National Clearing Com-pany of Pakistan Limited.

Courtesy: The Express Tribune

Benchmark KSE 100-share Index rises 0.71%

The culture department startedpreservation work of the UmerkotFort with the hope to restore it toits original splendor. Around 200workers, with the help of local ar-tisans and experts, havestarted work on the front of thefort.

According to officials, the front ofthe heritage site where Mughalemperor Akbar was born will befinished by June, 2017. “We aredoing all the development workas per the guidelines of UN-ESCO [United Nations Educa-tional, Scientific and CulturalOrganisation],” said Roshan AliKanasro, director of planning anddevelopment at the culture de-partment. He added that workwas being carried out under the‘protection, preservation and pro-motion of protected archeological

sites and monuments in Sindh’scheme.Cultural heritage: Royal locks do-nated to museum Sharing details of the project, of-ficials said that the most dilapi-dated portion of the fort will becovered with tarpaulin (a heavy-duty waterproof cloth). “Steps arealso being taken to stabilise thewall of the fort with a,” Kansarosaid.

According to conservators, morethan four million bricks will beused to protect the 45-foot-highwall, following the basic rules ofheritage preservation. “We have tocover 321-feet total as well as twogates and six top bunkers,” he said.

There are conflicting reportsabout the historical perspective ofUmkerkot, which was once used

for residential or military pur-poses by the rulers of theprovince. Some believe that thearea is named after ruler UmerSoomro, who gained fame due tohis romance with Marvi of Thar.But some historians and heritageexperts say that it was actually theproperty of the Sodha Rajputs,who were rulers of the area.“When Humayun managed toescape India following his mili-tary defeat at the hands of SherShah Suri, Rana Prasad, the thenRajput ruler of the area providedhim shelter in Amarkot [formername of Umerkot]. This was theplace where Humayun’s sonAkbar was born,” explained her-itage expert Dr Fatah Daudpota.

Heritage conservation: Award forShahi Hammam celebratedAccording to Dr Daudpota the

history of Umerkot predates theadvent of Islam in the region. “Itwas actually the property of theRajputs of Rajasthan until theygifted it to the Kalhoras of Sindhto develop better relations andbring peace between Sindh andRajasthan,” he said, adding thatnot only the Kalhoras but theTalpurs also started developmentwork to preserve this landmark.

Ghulam Hyder Gadhi, a conser-vator in Umerkot, said that themud core of the fort will be sta-bilised with sun dried bricks,while the outer facade of the fortwill be restored using special tilebricks to be laid partly in limemixed with fly ash and mud mor-tar. The top of the fort will bemade watertight by laying soldiercourse pavement.

Courtesy: The Express Tribune

Umerkot Fort to be restored by June 2017

3

Pak Suzuki will launch Celerio in March 2017, Cultus to make exitPak Suzuki Motor Company (PSMC) thecountry’s largest car manufacturer with over50% market share has decided to launch thestandard model of Suzuki Celerio in March2017, confirmed a company official.

A formal announcement, according to re-ports circulating on social media and SuzukiPakistan’s official Facebook page, is likely tobe made by the company.

“We are confident that the government willprovide some incentives to us under the newauto policy. Therefore, the company has de-cided to launch its standard model of Cele-rio in March 2017,” a company official saidon condition of anonymity.

Celerio is a 1,000cc engine car that PakSuzuki plans to replace with Suzuki Cultus,a model it launched in year 2000 that re-placed Suzuki Khyber.

This brings a complete shift in company’searlier stated policy in which it said that allits new investments plans are contingent onthe government offering the same incen-tives it was offering to new entrants in theAutomotive Development Policy 2016-21.

All other variants of Celerio and car modelswill be launched from the company’s newplant that it plans to establish, provided thegovernment allows similar incentives like thenew entrants, the company official added.

Based on the earlier policy, the company inOctober flatly denied that it was launchingany new model in the next two years. How-ever, the top management of the companyhas again met with Finance Minister IshaqDar, and people close to the matter say thathe has given some kind of hope to the threeexisting carmakers.

Pak Suzuki has been requesting the govern-ment to provide it with similar incentives tothe ones offered to new entrants so that itestablishes its new Greenfield plant with aninvestment of over $430 million. However,the government was unimpressed until now.

The company’s intention to launch two newvariants in the local market last year; the an-nouncement was made by the SuzukiGlobal Head during a meeting with theMinister for Industries.

In 2015, the company also revealed detailsthat the two new models would take uparound $110 million of the total investmentof $430 million planned by the company.

The rest would be spent in setting up themanufacturing plant for spare parts.

Pak Suzuki says no launch of new model for2 years. However, at the time, the companyhad specifically stated that the investmentwas conditioned on incentives.

Pak Suzuki, listed on the Pakistan StockExchange as PSMC, was trading atRs390.97 per share at the start of July. It hasnow gone up to Rs586.99 per share, upmassively by over 50%, outperforming theKSE-100 index that has increased by 24.3%during the same time.

Suzuki Motor Company Global Head KinjiSaito met Federal Minister for Industriesand Production Ghulam Murtaza KhanJatoi in December last year, where he, alongwith Suzuki’s other top officials, urged thegovernment to offer the same incentives itwas offering to new entrants.

The government, however, had not offeredany major incentives to the existing topthree carmakers because it was hoping to at-tract new automobile manufacturers.

The new policy was approved after a hiatusof almost two and a half years and offeredtax incentives to new entrants to help themestablish manufacturing units and competewith the three well-entrenched assemblers.

Courtesy: The Express Tribune

Pakistan Navy undertakes live missile firing along Arabian SeaPakistan Navy undertakes live missile firingalong Arabian SeaThe frontline combat unit of Pakistan Navyon Wednesday undertook live missile firingalong the North Arabian Sea, Radio Pak-istan reported.

Chief of Naval Staff Admiral MuhammadZakaullah witnessed the launch of surface tosurface anti-ship missile from sword classfrigate PNS ASLAT. The missile successfullydestroyed its intended target with pinpointaccuracy.

Pakistan test-fires Babur cruise missileSpeaking on the occasion, Admiral Za-kaullah expressed satisfaction on the opera-tional preparedness of Pakistan Navy fleet.“Live missile firing reaffirms credibility of

deterrence at sea and reassures PakistanNavy’s commitment to safeguard its mar-itime frontiers against all threats,” he said.

Last week, Pakistan conducted a successfultest of an enhanced version of the indige-nously-developed Babur cruise missile.

Babur weapons system version II incorpo-rates advanced aerodynamics and avionicsthat can strike targets both at land and seawith high accuracy at a range of 700 kilome-tres. It is a low flying, terrain hugging missile,which carries certain stealth features and iscapable of carrying various types of war-heads, according to a press statement.

Navy acquires third Fast Attack MissileCraft

The missile is equipped with state-of-the-artnavigational technologies of Terrain Con-tour Matching (Tercom) and all-time Digi-tal Scene Matching and Area Co-relation(DSMAC) which enables it to engage vari-ous types of targets with pinpoint accuracyeven in the absence of GPS navigation.Babur weapons system is an important forcemultiplier for Pakistan’s strategic defence.

Courtesy: The Express Tribune

4

TAIPEI: Pakistan on Mondaygrabbed three gold and six silvermedals at Asia Pacific ICTAwards (APICTA), an interna-tional competition featuringparticipants from 17 countriesacross the Asia Pacific.

As many as 28 teams from Pak-istan participated in the eventthat took place in Taiwan capi-tal, said a statement issued bythe The Pakistan SoftwareHouses Association for IT &ITES (P@SHA). Pakistan fin-ished 4th in the overall awardscount, ahead of economic pow-erhouses Australia, Thailand,Singapore, Japan and China.

Pakistani participants receivedaccolades from foreign judgeswho said even the youngest ofteams had shown the caliber ofwork being done by the Pak-istan tech sector.As part of its efforts to bring in-

novation by Pakistani IT com-panies to the forefront, P@SHAsaid it took a delegation of 41people to Taipei for the 16thannual APICTA Awards, a fourday event that is deemed as theOscars night for the Asia PacificICT.

As many as 28 teams from Pak-istan competed against 236from 17 economies across theAsia Pacific and were judged byover 60 seasoned professionals.Leading the way with the goldswere a young team from NUST

for their project ‘Clinical Deci-sion Support System for Diag-nosis of Movement Disorders’,another team from NUST whocollaborated with CASE, AFIOand Biomisa for their Researchand Development project‘Analysis of Optical CoherenceTomography Image for CDSS’and Wondertree, a startup fromP@SHA’s Tech Incubator TheNest i/owho won in the Inclu-sion and Community Category.The Silver awards were baggedby Amin Farid for his chatbotschool project on Conversation

Engineering and Mr. Higgins,NUST for their project Sionser,UBL Fund Managers for theirfinancial product imPro, Tril-lium Information Systems fortheir Security product T-Eyeand two startups of The Nest i/o-MandiExpressandSheops.

The regional Awards ceremonyinvites applications from 17economies, including Australia,Bangladesh, Brunei Darus-salam, China, Chinese Taipei(Taiwan), Hong Kong, Indone-sia, Japan, Macau, Malaysia,Myanmar, Singapore, SriLanka, Thailand, Vietnam,Nepal and Pakistan.

The judging was done by indus-try veterans, tech professionalsand renowned thought leadersand VCs from all across theAsia Pacific region, said thestatement.

Courtesy: The Express Tribune

Pakistan wins three golds, six silvers at International ICT Awards

WWF-Pakistan and PharmEvo join hands to spread happiness

Pakistan, in partnership withPharmEvo, has launched thecampaign 'Spreading Happinessin a Nice Way' Wednesday at alocal hotel.

The event was aimed to raiseawareness among the generalpublic to become the cause ofsomeone's smile by doing smalldeeds, acts of kindness andspreading happiness. In this re-gard, 15 action points such ascleaning public spaces, plantingtrees, greeting people with asmile, helping others, exchanginggifts, and participating in gooddeeds among others have beendesigned.

Speaking on the occasion Dr.Sikandar Mandhro, Minister forHealth, said that we have to strivehard to achieve high goals and in-culcate new spirit in the youth sothat they work with full energy

and passion and contribute posi-tively to society.

He said Government of Sindhsaid that the government is takingall possible efforts to providequality health services to peopleand is equipping public hospitalswith modern facilities.

"Media should play a constructiverole in highlighting positive ini-tiatives and stop disseminatingnegative messages," Dr Mandhroadded.

Speaking on the occasion,celebrity ambassador fashion iconand actress Nadia Hussain;renowned actor Adnan Siddiqui;former Pakistani cricketer Jalal-ud-din said that it was high timethat every citizen pledges to takeaction in his or her capacity as anindividual and participate incleanliness drives, plant moretrees, and other such deeds.

Speaking on the occasion AsadShahbaz, Regional Head South,

Corporate Partnership andFundraising, WWF-Pakistan saidthat people should contributepositively to society and the envi-ronment for real change. 'Peopleindividually and collectively haveunique gifts, skills and contribu-tions that can make others hap-pier,' he added.

While, sharing his views, SyedJamshed Ahmed, Chief Operat-ing Officer, PharmEvo, said thatthe purpose of this initiative is toreignite the philosophy of spread-ing happiness, and realizing thepower of a single individual indriving the wave of change.

Ali Dehlavi, Regional HeadSindh and Balochistan, WWF-Pakistan and Prof. AnisuddinBhatti, former Director JinnahPostgraduate and Medical Centre( JPMC) also spoke on the occa-sion.

Courtesy: The Express Tribune

5

Afghanistan and Pakistan areproving that countries arestronger together in the fight tostop the poliovirus.

The border between Pakistanand Afghanistan is no barrier tothe poliovirus. Close cultural andlinguistic ties connect the twocountries. Populations move flu-idly across these borders. Eachyear, the virus moves with them.Afghanistan and Pakistan haveseen significant progress in thelast 18 months in their efforts tostop polio. But both countrieshave been close before, and havebeen thwarted: the virus hasfound pockets of unvaccinatedchildren where it can hide, re-group, and stage a comeback.Despite historically low levels ofpolio over the last few months,cases of paralysis and positivesamples found through environ-mental surveillance show us thatthe virus has not yet beenstopped.

A new approachArmed with this knowledge,Pakistan and Afghanistan havetaken a new approach. SinceJune 2015, the two have been co-ordinating major programme ac-tivities, as success in one countrydepends on success in the other.Monthly polio immunizationcampaigns have been synchro-nized so that no child on eitherside of the border can fallthrough the cracks, the Emer-gency Operations Centres(EOCs) of each country – whichhouse the government and part-ners of the Global Polio Eradi-cation Initiative to coordinateeradication activities – interactwith one another on a weeklybasis, and the highest level polit-ical and administrative leader-ship meet face to face every sixmonths, to resolve challengesand to develop plans to addressthe remaining hurdles.A common communicationsstrategy has synchronized mes-

saging at the border and – withradio being the main source ofnews for 70% of Afghans and50% of Pakistanis in border areas– the programme has coordi-nated radio programming on theleading border channels, produc-ing weekly health shows andusing popular soap operas to cre-ate Pashto-language program-ming on polio and children’shealth.

This innovative approach is pay-ing dividends. The polio eradica-tion programmes in bothcountries are working closely to-gether to coordinate vaccinationcampaigns, surveillance, and totrack population movements.The three ‘corridors’ of poliotransmission

Three ‘corridors’ are serving toallow the virus to travel withpopulation movements betweencountries: via the Torkham bor-der crossing from Peshawar andKhyber in Pakistan to Nan-garhar, Kunar and Laghman ineast Afghanistan, and via theFriendship Gate border crossingfrom Pakistan’s Quetta Block tothe Greater Kandahar area insouth Afghanistan. Populationimmunity in these transmissioncorridors have been graduallyimproving in the last year, shown

by the vaccination status of non-polio AFP cases.

Wild polio increasingly seems tobe travelling down a central cor-ridor between southern KhyberPakhtunkhwa and the FederallyAdministered Tribal Areas inPakistan travelling across rugged,smaller border crossings to Pak-tika, Paktia and Khost provincesin the south east of Afghanistan.Mobile populations

At the most recent Inter-Coun-try Coordination Meeting in Is-lamabad, Pakistan, theAfghanistan National EOC Di-rector underscored the impor-tance of reaching andvaccinating populations on themove, whether at formal or in-formal locations.

While Torkham in the north-west and Friendship Gate in thesouth are the main border cross-ing points between the reservoirs– with more than one millionchildren under 5 crossing thesepoints each year – the smaller in-formal crossings are considerablymore challenging to reach andvaccinate children.

Pakistan and Afghanistan areworking to strengthen coordina-tion on the communities moving

through these locations, to en-sure that all children under 5 arevaccinated wherever they are.The programmes are strengthen-ing their disease surveillance atcommunity level, mapping outmobile groups and ensuringthey’re included in immuniza-tion microplans, and workingwith leaders and influential fig-ures to understand their move-ments better.

Stronger togetherThe new polio cases in the cen-tral corridor have reinforced theidea that neither Pakistan norAfghanistan can eradicate polioalone, with the virus travellingbetween the two. At the Islam-abad meeting, the NationalEOC coordinator for Pakistanhighlighted the fact that neitherprogramme was where it in-tended to be by this time in2016, and these strategies tai-lored to addressing specific chal-lenges were essential to end thevirus for good.

The significant improvements inthe programme quality in thesouthern and eastern corridorscan be attributed to a relentlessfocus on improving campaignquality and the innovative ap-proach of the two countriesworking as one team across theborder.

Pakistan and Afghanistan arelearning from the programme’sexperiences in other countries. Ifthis progress can be maintainedin the traditional corridors be-tween the long-time polio reser-voirs, and the programme canmove quickly to rapidly increaseimmunity in the new, centralcorridor, the programme has theopportunity to strike out polio intwo countries with one blow,working together to ensure thatno poliovirus can find a hidingplace along the porous borderbetween them.

Courtesy: The Express Tribune

Innovation series: two countries, one team

6

“The idea was not just to build a bigbusiness, but start one that would have a bigimpact,” explains Mudassir Sheikha,co-founder of ride-hailing startup Careem.“We wanted to improve the lives ofthousands of people and change society forthe better.”

And it seems like Mudassir’s on track tosucceed on both fronts. Careem’s now thenewest ride-hailing unicorn – it announcedtoday that it’s pocketed a substantialUS$350 million from a slew of investors in-cluding Rakuten and Saudi Telecom.

The funding round is the single largest in-vestment in any startup from Dubai. Andthere still might be more to come – thecompany says it’s planning on locking in afurther US$150 million at some point.

The idea for a transportation service oc-curred to Mudassir and his co-founderMagnus Olsson back in 2012. Both wereworking as management consultants atMcKinsey but itched to do something morerewarding, something entrepreneurial.

“We made a list of problems we faced dur-ing our time in the Middle East, everywherefrom healthcare, to education, and logistics.Eventually we settled on transportation be-cause if you’re a consultant in Dubai, thenyou’re constantly traveling to markets likeSaudi Arabia, Egypt, and Pakistan andyou’re dealing with ground transport com-panies on a daily basis,” says Mudassir.

Mudassir’s prior background in tech start-ups certainly helped the cause. The entre-preneur, who grew up in Karachi, Pakistan,moved to the US for college, graduatingfrom the University of Southern Californiawith a degree in economics and computerscience in 1999. He went on to finish a mas-ters from Stanford in 2003.

His first exposure to tech came with a stintat Silicon Valley startup Brience, which hadraised US$200 million in funding and wasconsidered a hot prospect for an IPO. Butthe dot-com crash hit badly and it was lateracquired.

Mudassir moved back to Pakistan but histech roots stayed with him. He co-founded

Device Anywhere in 2003 to help test andmonitor the performance of mobile appsand websites. The startup eventually grew toa team of over a hundred people – spanningthe Bay Area and Pakistan – before beingacquired by Keynote in 2008.

It was then that Mudassir chose to joinMcKinsey, working out of the Dubai office.

“The idea was that I spend two years inMcKinsey and go back to the entrepreneur-ial world. But two years became four and Ifigured I have to do this now because I’mnot getting any younger,” he says.

It helped that the startup launched duringthe Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a pe-riod where there’s a lull in business activity.“Most people were looking for work anddrivers welcomed us with open arms. As weexplained the concept to them, they werereceptive and told others about it,” recallsMudassir.

Work on a consumer product only startedafter the team noticed immense demand.Uber hadn’t launched in Dubai yet – it onlydid so in the latter half of 2013 – so Careemgot the opportunity to whet local appetitesearly.

The fledgling ride-hailing startup was ableto snare a US$1.7 million seed round tocompete. It quickly expanded to Saudi Ara-bia and Qatar – when demand for its onlinetaxis started to go through the roof.

But Uber had a far bigger war chest, super-star investors, and an established brand.Mudassir knew there were several key bat-

tles that lay ahead and the team would haveto do something different if it wanted tostay relevant.

It did so by tweaking the product to bettermeet local requirements. Mudassir bristlesat the constant reference as an “Uber com-petitor.” He believes competition is healthy,but maintains Careem has always cultivateda distinct identity and brand as compared toUber.

One of Careem’s unique features has beenthe ability, since day one, to schedule ridesin advance and talk to a customer supportagent over the phone. The team believedthese were key in markets where technologyadoption lagged behind the West and itwould help foster trust in the service. Uber-has just recently started rolling out sched-uled rides but still doesn’t offer any humanagent support.

The focus on team culture is clearly payingdividends. Careem – which means “gener-ous” in Arabic – offers stock options to allits full-time employees, even those at thelower rungs. Mudassir says he’s worked hardto ensure employees view their jobs as fun,and not just as a slog.

Since the early days hustling in Dubai,Careem’s now present in 47 cities across theMiddle East and North Africa region. Itworks with a network of over 150,000 driv-ers. SimilarWeb says it’s more popular thanUber in several markets.

But it’s not just sitting back and lettingthings move on autopilot. After Uber an-nounced it would invest US$250 million inCareem’s core territory region last year, Mu-dassir’s startup countered it by inking a dealto use self-driving electric car pods, helpedby a US$100 million investment in researchand development.

And Mudassir is cognizant of thechallenges that still lie ahead.

“The region doesn’t have good public trans-port and requires too much investment forit to get off the ground. Logistics and trans-portation continue to be big problems thatneed to be solved,” he affirms.

Courtesy: The Express Tribune

Careem: Mudassir SheikhaThis Pakistani helped raise $350 million to slaughter Uber

7

Dutch company FrieslandCampina PakistanBV (FC Pakistan) has completed its acqui-sition of a majority stake in Engro Foods atan estimated price of $446.81 million andthe company is expected to bring in expertiseand introduce new products.

The Netherlands-based dairy company hasacquired 51% stake at Rs120 ($1.14) pershare in Engro Foods. It acquired 47.1% (or361.29 million shares) from Engro Corpo-ration, the parent company of Engro Foods,and another 3.9% (or 29.66 million shares)from general public, Faiz Chapra, CompanySecretary, said in a notification to thePakistan Stock Exchange.

Engro Foods’ share price fell 1.05%, orRs1.82, and closed at Rs170.03 with a vol-ume of 1.34 million shares at the exchangeon Monday. Engro Corporation’s share priceincreased 0.81%, or Rs2.53, and closed atRs311.08 with a volume of 555,100 shares.

Chairman of Engro Foods Board of Direc-tors, Samad Dawood, said in the notification,“Not only was Engro Foods able to achieveits vision of elevating consumer delight andwellbeing by adding nourishment to the foodmarket but the company was able to enhancethe lives of 12 million consumers through itsutmost sincerity and motivation each andevery day.

“This is only the beginning of a better andbrighter future for our organisation and thisnovel partnership with the Royal Friesland-

Campina Group will not only bring growthand prosperity for all of us but will also tell astory about Engro’s commitment to growthand creating a broad-based impact for nowand generations to come.”

Dutch company to buy Engro Foods foraround $460 million. Analysts said the ac-quirer had a history of having expertise,which would be brought to Pakistan to de-velop new products in the foods segment. Atpresent, the packaged milk, juices and icecream remain some of the leading productsof the company.

Final priceThe company secretary added the final saleprice would be calculated within 40 daysafter preparation of closing statements re-flecting the adjustment for certain items in-cluding debt and debt-like items, cash andcash equivalents and working capital (finalsale price).

Any price difference between the estimatedsale price and the final sale price will be set-tled between Engro Corp and Friesland-Campina Pakistan as per the sale andpurchase agreement.

Engro Corporation Group Chairman Hus-sain Dawood said in the notification, “Thisis a defining moment for Pakistan. It is thevalidation of Pakistan as investment friendlyand adds significant value to the country.Our group has a history of bringing foreigndirect investment by joint ventures. This mo-

mentous partnership signifies our continuedcontribution to our nation’s economic pros-perity and a healthier younger generation.”

Engro Corporation Chief Executive OfficerGhias Khan added, “the Royal Friesland-Campina Group shares our commitments tocommunity and eradicating malnutrition.This partnership means Engro Foods gain-ing new capability, localised innovation andright drivers for long-term growth.”

Proceeds to energy projectsAnalysts added the divestment in EngroFoods by its parent company was part of itslong-term plans to diversify its investmentsinto energy projects which offered compar-atively higher rate of return.

Engro Foods’ 2015 profit up 256%The corporation also sold a stake in its flag-ship project, Engro Fertilizers, worth $185million to institutional and high net-worthindividual investors in June, they added.

So far, the conglomerate has made huge in-vestments in Elengy Terminal Pakistan Lim-ited at Port Qasim, which is the onlyterminal in Pakistan that handles import ofre-gasified Liquefied Natural Gas.

Besides, it is also working on a Thar coalproject in partnership with the Sindh gov-ernment under the joint venture SindhEngro Coal Mining Company, establishedin 2009.

Courtesy: The Express Tribune

Dutch company acquires Engro Foods for $446.81m

Pakistan said the successful testreaffirms its commitment tosafeguard maritime frontiers"against all threats".

Pakistan Navy fired a live sur-face-to-surface anti-ship missilealong the North Arabian Sea onWednesday and said the success-ful test reaffirms its commitmentto safeguard maritime frontiers"against all threats". The frontlinecombat unit of Pakistan Navyundertook the live firing of Sur-face to Surface Anti-ship missilefrom Sword Class frigate PNSASLAT which was witnessed byChief of Naval Staff AdmiralMuhammad Zakaullah.

"The missile successfullydestroyed its intended targetwith pinpoint accuracy reaffirm-ing weapon's lethality and offen-sive punch of Pakistan Navy'sFleet," Radio Pakistan reported.Zakaullah expressed his satisfac-tion on the operationalpreparedness of Pakistan NavyFleet and said the Live MissileFiring "reaffirms credibility ofdeterrence at sea and reassuresPakistan Navy's commitment tosafeguard our maritime frontiersagainst all threats". The success-ful conduct of missile firing alsodemonstrates the efficacy andlethality of modern weaponsystems operated by Pakistan

Navy, the report said.

Last week, Pakistan successfullytest-fired an enhanced version ofan indigenously-designed cruisemissile that can hit targets at 700kms with all kinds of warheads,bringing many Indian citieswithin its range. Named after theMughal invader and founder ofthe dynasty of same name, themissile is part of Babur WeaponSystem version - 2 as it is en-hanced version of earlier missileand incorporates advanced aero-dynamics and avionics that canstrike targets both at land andsea with high accuracy.

It is a low flying, terrain huggingmissile, which carries certainstealth features and is capable ofcarrying various types of war-heads, according to a press state-ment. The missile is equippedwith state-of-the-art naviga-tional technologies of TerrainContour Matching (TER-COM) and all-time DigitalScene Matching & Area Co-re-lation (DSMAC) which enablesit to engage various types of tar-gets with pinpoint accuracy evenin the absence of GPS naviga-tion. Babur weapons system is animportant force multiplier forPakistan's strategic defence.

Courtesy:The Economics times

Pakistan conducts live anti-ship missile test in Arabian Sea

Greenwichians interested in contributions! Shoot an email

to the editor, including your name, roll number and

your work atrizwana@greenwich.edu.pk

Patron: Ms. Seema Mughal

Vice ChancellorEditor:

Rizwana AminAssistant Professor

Graphics & Layout: Shazia Anwar

Greenwich University, DK-10, 38th Street, Darakshan, Phase VI, Defence Housing Authority, Karachi-75500, Pakistan

UAN: (021)111-202-303; Tel: (021) 35840397-98; Fax: (021)35851910; Email: gu@greenwich.edu.pk ; URL: www.greenwich.edu.pk

Many Pakistani women have managed tocontribute greatly to society and realizetheir goals in the face of overwhelmingodds. Their accomplishments are notconfined to a particular field as they striveto bring about change across differentareas and inspire others the world over.From social workers to entrepreneurs, wetake a look at some of the women whomade us mighty proud in 2016.

1. Minhal Sohail

Minhal Sohail became Pakistan’s firstfemale shooter to compete at the Olympics.The 21-year-old secured 28th position inthe 10m air rifle event at Rio this year.

Pakistani doctor wins prestigiousentrepreneurship award in London

2. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy became the firstPakistani to win two Oscar awards after herdocumentary A Girl in the River: The Priceof Forgiveness shined at the 88th AcademyAwards.

3. Gulalai Ismail and Saba Ismail

Gulalai Ismail and Saba Ismail, co-founders

of NGO Aware Girls were awarded theprestigious Chirac Prize for “conflictprevention” in recognition of theircontribution towards the development of apacific and non-violent culture through theaction of women and youth in Pakistan.

4. Fayeeza Naqvi

In January, Aman Foundation chairmanFayeeza Naqvi received the first-ever GlobalHumanitarian Award for Women’s andChildren’s Health in recognition of her con-tribution to Pakistan’s health and ed-ucation sector.

5. Nighat Dad

Lawyer and Digital Rights Foundation(DRF) director Nighat Dad was awardedthe Dutch government’s 2016 HumanRights Tulip award in November

Pakistani woman wins global humanitarianaward

6. Mona Prakash

In May, Hyderabad-based Mona PrakashMahtani received the CommonwealthYouth Award for Excellence, 2016, in the

field of education.

7. Tabassum Adnan

Pakistani activist Tabassum Adnan won theprestigious 2016 Nelson Mandela-GracaMachel Innovation Award in April thisyear.

8. Maryam Masood and Erum Masood

In August, Maryam Masood and ErumMasood made history when they piloted aBoeing-777 aircraft to several local andinternational destinations concurrently.

9. Sania Nishtar

Former health minister Sania Nishtar isamong six candidates nominated for thepost of the World Health Organisationdirector general.

10. Marium Malik

Not just a barrister today, Malik is also therecipient of Lincolns Inn’s Joan DenningPrize for topping the Bar ProfessionalTraining Course (BPTC) across theCommonwealth.

Courtesy: The Express Tribune

10 Pakistani Women who made us Mighty Proud in 2016