Author name: Press Release

Five designers, one photographer, one heritage venue: Deepak Perwani, Wardha Saleem, Khaadi, The Pink Tree Company and Sana Safinaz turned Karachi into a five-part fashion portrait. KARACHI, SEPTEMBER 26, 2026: LAAM Fashion Week (LFW) closed the second edition of LFW Presents tonight in Karachi with Kaleidoscopic Karachi, a five-designer runway showcase staged inside the historic Nusserwanjee Building at the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture (IVS). The evening brought together Deepak Perwani, Wardha Saleem, Khaadi, The Pink Tree Company and Sana Safinaz, and opened with an archival exhibition by photographer Tapu Javeri. It was the format’s first edition outside Lahore. Kaleidoscopic Karachi was built around a simple idea: that Karachi does not read as a single image. Across the evening, the five presentations moved between the polished and the artisanal, the historic and the contemporary, the glamorous and the craft-first. Together, they read as a portrait of the city in fragments, and of a fashion industry that has never needed to sound like one voice to speak with authority. Speaking at the event, Saad Ali, CEO & Founder of Design651 and Co-Founder of LAAM Fashion Week, highlighted the importance of having an ecosystem of fashion and the decision to bring it to Karachi. “A brand-led Pakistan cannot be built inside two runway weeks a year. It needs a year-round ecosystem where designers, brands and craftspeople are given the room, the settings and the audiences to build lasting equity,” Saad said. “That is what LFW Presents was created to do, and Kaleidoscopic Karachi is the format doing exactly that outside Lahore for the first time. When Pakistani fashion is placed inside a venue that holds the city’s own story, and given the industry weight it deserves, its impact reaches far beyond a single evening. That is the standard we intend to hold to for every edition.” The evening opened with Tapu Javeri – A Four-Decade Fashion Retrospective, an immersive exhibition drawn from the archive of one of Pakistan’s most influential fashion photographers and defining visual chroniclers of Karachi. Spanning decades of Pakistani fashion and the city around it, the exhibition set the tone for the runway that followed, tracing the visual memory of Karachi’s fashion history through Javeri’s lens. The runway then came alive with the presentations and the grand finale. Deepak Perwani’s Cocktail Hour opened the evening as an ode to the historic glamour of Karachi. The clubs, the after-hours, the sensuality the metropolis embodied through the mid-1970s. Perwani translated that memory through svelte silhouettes, sparkle, glitter and an alluring capsule that dressed the city’s past for its present. In a moment that landed as pure Karachi legacy, supermodels of the 80s, Frieha Altaf, Seemi Pasha and Atiya Khan, walked the collection as a living tribute to the era it celebrated. Wardha Saleem followed with Bander Road Se Kemari, a tactile, street-alive reading of the city. The collection paid ode to centuries of Karachi’s architecture: colonial buildings and their balconies, regal motifs, the quiet grandeur of monuments woven into the city skyline. Hip, streetwear-adjacent and modern-luxe in feel, Saleem’s work carried the built city onto the body, turning cornice, arch and facade into cut, drape and print. Actress, model, and the showstopper for the collection, Areeba Habib, walked the runway in elegance, draped in a stunning gold and green lehenga! The Pink Tree Company, a craft-based luxury brand, presented Hands That Craft, a homage to Karachi and to the crafts that built the country’s fashion industry. The collection brought together textile, block print, dye, embroidery, gota and kaamdani, a bouquet of artistries carrying millennia of human excellence into a single runway moment. The showstopper, Aliya Iqbal Naqvi, graced the runway in a colorful lehenga! Staged inside Nusserwanjee, itself a feat of the city’s creative minds, the presentation read as a case for the hand: for craft that no technology can imitate or replace, and for a city that refuses to be subdued. Khaadi presented Karachi – It’s Complicated, a collection built on the dichotomies the city is known for: the love and the hate, the chaos and the quiet. The tension translated literally onto the runway through contrasting colours, woven fabrics and stark, raving prints. The collection’s showstopper and model, Eman Suleman, walked the runway in a striped black and white top with colorful embellishment and a black flowy skirt with pink floral print. Chapter 2 flowed into the presentation, bringing Khaadi’s designer language into direct conversation with its street-facing energy. Together, the four presentations revealed the many visual languages of the city — its colour, contradiction, craft and constant reinvention. For Maheen Kardar, Executive Director Designer Experience and Curation, LFW Presents, that was precisely the point of bringing Kaleidoscopic Karachi to life: “We are all here today for one thing and that is fashion. This time, LFW Presents a conversation with the city that I love and hold close to my heart. Karachi for us is the city in which so much of the industry was born. This is where so much of the fashion resides. It is love, it is layered, and it is endlessly generous! It is truly a Kaleidoscope; and this is what we are seeing on the runway tonight.” The finale closed with Sana Safinaz’s Mastaani, the label’s high-end luxury couture and festive line, walked by 20 models. Regal, avant-garde silhouettes met traditional heritage and modern aesthetic in equal measure. Fluid drapes, couture lehengas and statement pieces carried a quiet, graceful rhythm across the runway! Model Javeria Hanif, and also the showstopper for the finale collection walked the ramp draped in a black veil, wearing a heavily embellished gold blouse, paired with a stunning black lehenga and a red dupatta, closing the evening with the cinematic weight the collection was built for. Off the runway, the evening drew an equally dynamic crowd, bringing together some of the city’s most recognisable names from fashion, entertainment, media and the creative industries. Celebrities, fashion icons, designers, stylists, influencers and socialites mingled with digital and news media, corporate

Karachi, Sep 25, 2026: Abdul Hadi has been elected unopposed as President of the SITE Association of Industry, as the new leadership unveiled an action plan to fast-track industrial grievances, including a digital complaint-tracking system and construction on the long-delayed Industry House project. Muhammad Farhan Ashrafi was elected Senior Vice President, while Shahryar Saleem Shah was elected Vice President. The President-elect Abdul Hadi said the digital complaint-tracking system would enable members to register complaints and monitor progress on their resolution. The Association would also pursue the issues with relevant government institutions to ensure effective and timely action. SAI Patron-in-Chief Zubair Motiwala called for an immediate end to power outages and unannounced load-shedding by K-Electric, stressing that uninterrupted electricity supply was essential for sustaining industrial production. He said key industrial issues had been raised at the recent SITE Limited Board meeting, with proposals for their resolution to be presented at the next meeting for approval. SITE Association Patron Saleem Parekh congratulated the newly elected office-bearers and appreciated the services of the outgoing leadership. He said it was a matter of pride that former office-bearers continue to play an active role in Association activities. Earlier, at the 62nd Annual General Meeting (AGM), Election Commission Chairman Muhammad Tariq Yousuf announced the successful candidates, all of whom were elected unopposed. The newly elected Executive Committee comprises Muhammad Kamran Arabi, Muhammad Saleem Nagaria, Abdul Qadir Bilwani, Muhammad Hussain Moosani, Haris Shakoor, Murtaza Ejaz Saya, Syed Haseeb Ahmed, Nadeem Polani and M. Bilal Naseer. Senior industrial leaders Jawed Bilwani, Majid Aziz, Younis Bashir, Suleman Chawla, Riaz Uddin and immediate past President Abdul Rahman Fudda also addressed the meeting.

28th edition to feature 800+ booths, 3,500+ global brands, 75,000+ trade visitors, 350+ international delegates and investors, and 850+ government leaders KARACHI, September 19, 2026: Pakistan is set to host a major convergence of global technology, investment and digital leadership as the 28th ITCN Asia takes place from September 22–24, 2026, at Karachi Expo Centre, bringing together international technology companies, investors, government leaders, startups, CxOs and industry decision-makers. With the support of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), ITCN Asia 2026 will provide a major platform to showcase Pakistan’s technology potential, attract international engagement and connect local enterprises and innovators with global markets, investors and technology partners. The three-day event is expected to feature 800+ booths, 3,500+ global brands, 75,000+ trade visitors, 18,500+ CxOs and decision-makers, 350+ international delegates and investors, and 850+ government leaders, creating extensive opportunities for business networking, investment engagement, technology partnerships and knowledge exchange. International participation will include companies and delegates from Azerbaijan, China, South Korea, Australia, Türkiye, Egypt, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and other countries. Dedicated Robotics, Azerbaijan Country, China Country, Gilgit-Baltistan, SBP Banking, Diplomatic, STZA, Startup, CIO/CISO and Digital Sindh Pavilions will represent diverse dimensions of Pakistan’s expanding technology ecosystem and international engagement. Beyond the exhibition, ITCN Asia 2026 will combine B2B meetings, technology showcases, investment engagement and executive-level dialogue across all three days. Day One will feature the Grand Inaugural Ceremony followed by the 13th Pakistan Investor Summit 2026 by NIC Karachi, bringing investors, founders and ecosystem stakeholders together for dialogue on growth and market opportunities. Day Two will focus on technology and future leadership through “Pakistan’s AI Imperative: Building Future-Ready Talent, Enterprises & Technology Ecosystems” by STZA, the “Connected Nation: Leadership Roundtable” by NTC, the Future Leaders Awards 2026, and “Inside the Saudi Gaming Boom – Kingdom of Gaming.” The final day will turn to entrepreneurship and policy engagement, featuring “Cyber Crisis Command: Executive Tabletop Exercise” by Ignite, Best of Entrepreneurship Asia (BOE) and “Workforce 2.0: Building Pakistan’s AI-Ready Economy” by TABADLAB, addressing cyber-crisis preparedness, innovation, the creative economy and workforce readiness for an AI-driven future. Muhammad Ali Rashid, Special Assistant to the Chief Minister Sindh for Science and Information Technology, will be the Chief Guest at the inaugural ceremony. “ITCN Asia has evolved beyond a technology exhibition into a platform connecting Pakistan’s technology capabilities with global markets, investment and partnerships. With SIFC support and strong participation from international delegates, investors, government and industry leaders, ITCN Asia 2026 will showcase the scale and opportunities of Pakistan’s digital ecosystem to the world,” said Muhammad Umair Nizam, Event Director, ITCN Asia. Organised by Ecommerce Gateway Pakistan (Pvt.) Ltd., the 28th ITCN Asia will be held from September 22–24, 2026, at Karachi Expo Centre. For information and visitor registration: www.itcnasia.com

Karachi-based institute to offer structured professional education in cryptocurrency, forex, blockchain and Web3 KARACHI: Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Dewan University (SBBDU) has entered into a strategic academic partnership with Lakhmir Zamurani to establish DXL (Dewan × Lakhmir), a specialized institute aimed at providing structured professional education in artificial intelligence, technology, blockchain, Web3, trading, forex, stocks, crypto, and the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) This official partnership agreement was signed on 14-09-2026 at the Grand Ballroom, Marriott Hotel Karachi, Between Mr. Yousuf Dewan, Mr. Aurangzeb, Vice Chancellor of SBBDU and Mr Lakhmir Zamurani, Founder of DXL.The initiative seeks to bridge the gap between growing participation in digital financial markets and the availability of structured, professionally delivered education in Pakistan. Under the partnership, DXL will offer a comprehensive suite of professional programs encompassing AI tech, blockchain, Web3, trading, forex, stocks, crypto, and PSX dynamics. The flagship 12-week Professional Diploma comprises 288 contact hours with a strong emphasis on practical learning. The curriculum covers foundational technology, market structure, price action, risk management, and trading psychology, concluding with a supervised live-trading practicum using demo accounts. Instruction is delivered through a practitioner-led approach by active market professionals with instruction provided by Educational authorities alongside structured academic learning. DXL is expanding its footprint all over Pakistan, establishing core hubs starting from Park Towers, Clifton and Dewan University in Korangi Industrial Area. Designed to accommodate significantly large cohorts well beyond traditional classroom limits, these state-of-the-art hubs will feature dedicated faculty and administrative infrastructure. A robust hybrid learning model will simultaneously facilitate participation for students and professionals nationwide. The establishment of DXL comes at a time when interest and participation in digital assets and emerging financial technologies are expanding rapidly. Despite this growth, access to structured education covering the interconnected fields of cryptocurrency, forex, blockchain and Web3 remains limited. DXL aims to address this educational gap by bringing these areas together within a single learning pathway, combining academic discipline with practical exposure to modern financial markets. Commenting on the partnership, Mr. Aurangzeb, Vice Chancellor of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Dewan University (SBBDU), said: “Our responsibility is to prepare students for the economy they will actually work in. Digital markets are no longer peripheral to finance, and this partnership allows us to teach them with the rigour any academic programme demands.” Lakhmir Zamurani, Founder of DXL, said the new institute would provide aspiring market participants with the structured foundation that is often missing from self-directed learning.“Thousands of people in this country are already active in these markets, most of them self-taught and without structure. DXL exists to give that a proper foundation, taught by people who trade rather than people who only read about it,” he said. The partnership is expected to create a dedicated platform for students, young professionals and others seeking systematic knowledge of emerging digital markets and financial technologies.