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Karachi: Moving beyond isolated interventions toward system-level integration, Karandaaz Pakistan has intensified its push to embed gender equity across the national digital and financial ecosystem. Through its Women Economic and Digital Inclusion (WEDI) initiative, Karandaaz brought together the country’s leading financial institutions, regulators, and development partners for a strategic forum titled “Driving Systemic Change for Women’s Economic Inclusion.” The platform served to reinforce institutional commitments and showcase targeted interventions designed to eliminate gender-related economic disparities. The forum highlighted the critical need to address Pakistan’s persistent gender gaps, where female labour force participation remains below 25%, and women account for a disproportionately low share of formal financial account ownership at 14% as per the Karandaaz Financial Inclusion Survey (K-FIS) 2024. To advance national financial inclusion priorities, the event featured the formal presentation of the organisation’s evolving institutional Gender Strategy by Samia Salik, Gender Lead at Karandaaz, alongside strategic project announcements and partner spotlights. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Carol Coye Benson, Board Member, Karandaaz Pakistan, emphasised the organisation’s vision for gender mainstreaming: “Financial inclusion is a powerful driver of economic resilience. Through Karandaaz, we are working to build digital financial systems that are inclusive by design. By building interoperable digital pathways and intentionally designing systems that serve women, we can unlock immense untapped economic potential. Providing women with reliable, digital access to financial tools is key to strengthening both families and the broader economy, by bringing underserved women into the formal financial fold” A key milestone was the formal signing ceremony for the Financial Inclusion for Women Challenge (FIWC) Round 5, launching field partnerships with Mobilink Microfinance Bank Limited (MMBL) and Manzil Organization. Backed by Karandaaz, MMBL will onboard 50,000 women working in the agriculture sector by offering them digital banking services via its Dost app, combining financial literacy with free healthcare and savings products. Concurrently, another partner, Manzil Organization will empower 9,000 rural women in Balochistan by allotting farmland, agricultural kits, and establishing dedicated community markets in Naseerabad. The Women Ventures Showcase highlighted a strategic partnership to close the financing gap for educational SMEs. The initiative was presented by Shumaila Rifaqat, Director of Innovation Investments at Karandaaz, and Kamran Azeem, CEO of Taleem Finance. This collaboration targets the growth capital needs of low-cost private schools that are currently unserved by commercial banks. By deploying tailored capital, the initiative aims to expand classroom capacity and upgrade school infrastructure. These improvements will create safer learning environments, directly boosting retention rates for young girls. A panel discussion featured prominent leaders from the public, private, and development sectors to explore sustainable and inclusive economic opportunities for women. Moderated by Gender and Policy Expert Aysha Shujaat, the dialogue featured Aamir Hafeez Ibrahim (CEO & President of JazzWorld, Chairman of Mobilink Bank & JazzCash), Musadaq Zulqarnain (Chairman, Interloop Ltd. and Board Member, Karandaaz Pakistan) Jamshed M. Kazi (Country Representative, UN Women Pakistan), and Sana Masood (Senior Public Sector Specialist, Asian Development Bank), who critically evaluated regulatory frameworks and model systems to sustain ecosystem alignment. In her keynote address, Dr Elena Mylona, Counsellor and Group Head, Economics and Trade, at the British High Commission in Islamabad, highlighted the role of international development synergy, stating “Sustaining the momentum of women-inclusive growth requires institutionalising changes across markets and financial systems. Strategic alignments between ecosystem builders like Karandaaz and development partners are pivotal to breaking down structural barriers and ensuring women gain genuine economic agency.” Speaking at the closing ceremony, Syed Salim Raza, Chairperson, Karandaaz Pakistan, emphasised the organisation’s vision for gender mainstreaming: “Increasing women’s participation in the formal economy is absolutely critical to national economic growth, household resilience, and sustainable development outcomes. Karandaaz is moving beyond isolated interventions to embed women’s inclusion across our entire investment, innovation, and ecosystem portfolio. Our objective today was to foster deep collaboration with regulators, development networks, and the private sector to bridge the digital and financial access literacy gaps that restrict women from fully participating in Pakistan’s evolving digital economy.” Through ongoing research, ecosystem funding, and strategic networking, Karandaaz Pakistan continues to champion scalable solutions that reduce the country’s gender gap and enable inclusive, sustainable economic development.

Islamabad, 23 June 2026 — The Two-Day National Conference “Connected for Care,” convened in Islamabad Best Western Hotel by Ministry of Human Rights with the technical support from Strengthening Participatory Organization (SPO) and UNFPA Pakistan and the generous funding from the development partners the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and the Embassy of the Netherlands, concluded in Islamabad on 23 June 2026. The first day had set a clear mandate: high-level speakers from the Ministry of Human Rights, UNFPA Pakistan, and SPO established that nearly one in three ever-married women in Pakistan has experienced violence, that critical gaps in investigation and case processing continue to deny survivors justice, and that coordinated, survivor-centred GBV case management is a national imperative. Provincial poster presentations by certified trainers from all five regions surfaced shared barriers: weak referral coordination, social stigma, and inadequate supervision alongside promising field practices. The second day translated this into institutional commitments. Ms. Mehreen Jaswal, Consultant, UNFPA Pakistan, facilitated a session on GBV case management for married and adolescent girls, drawing on regional findings that exposed a critical service gap. Married girls, she noted, are systematically excluded from both GBV services and child protection frameworks, fall through the cracks of an uncoordinated system, and rarely access help until years into a cycle of violence or at a point of severe crisis. She called for a bridged approach that proactively informs married girls of available services by ensuring the survivor-centered principles. She also stressed that without addressing economic dependency, legal contradictions, and normalized child marriage patterns in Pakistan, GBV case management alone cannot deliver lasting protection. Following this, A panel discussion moderated by Ms. Mahjabeen Qazi, Head of KP Office, UNFPA Pakistan, examined how GBV case management competencies can be institutionalized within universities, academia and professional training institutions so that graduates enter the workforce practice-ready. Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were cited as provincial leaders in curriculum integration. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Social Welfare Department shared that revising its Standard Operating Procedures to incorporate GBV case management had shifted frontline practice measurably; staff handling cases with ethical disclosure and a genuine orientation toward survivor needs rather than procedural compliance. Participants identified persistent gaps requiring dedicated attention: continuous mentoring support, disability inclusion in crisis facilities, and formal interpretation arrangements for non-Urdu-speaking GBV survivors. Ms. Zehra Kamal, Clinical Psychologist and Mental Health Specialist, led a session on mentorship and supervision as a structural tool in GBV case management, drawing a critical distinction between management supervision and technical case supervision that organisations frequently collapse at high cost. She framed supervision as a safeguard against secondary traumatisation, a mechanism for ethical accountability, and a bridge between policy and field practice. Participants identified key barriers to building supervision culture: administrative overload, staff burnout, and the absence of formal systems that make supervision a requirement rather than an add-on. The key takeaway of the conference is the establishment of a National GBV Case Management Mentorship Forum; the conference’s landmark institutional outcome connecting certified trainers across all four provinces and ICT for peer supervision, knowledge exchange, and coordinated advocacy to strengthen GBV response outcomes. In their closing remarks, the Secretary of the Women Development Department Balochistan, Saira Atta and Arif Leghari, Director (IC), Ministry of Human Rights, underscored the collective responsibility of government, civil society, and development partners to strengthen efforts against gender-based violence response and prevention. They emphasized the importance of equipping GBV case workers with survivor-centered case management skills, including knowledge of legal procedures, documentation, and referral mechanisms. Highlighting the value of cross-provincial learning and collaboration, they called for sustained efforts to institutionalize GBV case management within government systems, standard operating procedures, and academic curriculum. They reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening coordinated responses and ensuring long-term, sustainable support for survivors across Pakistan. The “Connected for Care” conference closed as a landmark convening in Pakistan’s GBV response landscape, moving beyond training metrics to build the institutional, mentorship , and relational infrastructure that durable survivor-centred care demands. About SPO: Strengthening Participatory Organization (SPO) is a leading Pakistani civil society organization working to protect and promote the rights of children, women, and vulnerable populations across Pakistan. About UNFPA Pakistan: UNFPA is the United Nations Sexual and Reproductive Health Agency. UNFPA Pakistan works with the government and civil society to improve sexual and reproductive health and rights, prevent and respond to gender-based violence, and advance the rights and empowerment of women and girls. MEDIA CONTACTS SPO Communications: Aroosa Salahuddin | 03319682419 | aroosa@spopk.org UNFPA Pakistan Communications: Maryam Nawaz | 03001275276 | mnawaz@unfpa.org

Karachi, June 23, 2026: BankIslami, Pakistan’s fastest-growing Islamic banking institution, signed a strategic partnership with Resecurity, a leading US-based cybersecurity and intelligence company, to strengthen digital security as part of its commitment to deliver a safe and Shariah-compliant banking experience for its customers. Read More: https://theboardroompk.com/ogdc-poised-for-strong-recovery-with-baragzai-boost-and-sector-reforms/ Resecurity’s Digital Risk Monitoring (DRM) and Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) services will provide BankIslami with real-time visibility into external threats, dark web activity, data exposure risks, and adversarial intelligence, enabling the bank’s security teams to proactively identify and neutralize threats before they impact operations or customers. This partnership is part of BankIslami’s aim to provide secure and seamless digital banking services that comply with Shariah principles and will enhance BankIslami’s capabilities to identify potential threats and ensure security of customers’ data   The signing ceremony took place at BankIslami’s head office in Karachi and was attended by senior officials from both companies, including Saadia Yasin, Chief Information Security Officer (Officiating) and Sajjad Qureshi, Chief Risk Officer from BankIslami and Muhammad Bilal, Vice President of Operations and Burhan Sheikh, Adviser from Resecurity.  “At BankIslami, our highest priority is to uphold our customers’ trust by safeguarding their interests,” said Rizwan Ata, CEO and President of BankIslami. “Our partnership with Resecurity reflects BankIslami’s commitment to adopting global best practices and ensuring a safe and reliable banking experience for our customers.” The collaboration marks another step in BankIslami’s broader digital transformation journey, underpinned by a strong focus on innovation, operational excellence, and responsible growth. As one of Pakistan’s leading Islamic financial institutions, BankIslami remains committed to delivering secure, customer-centric banking solutions and fostering confidence in the country’s rapidly evolving digital economy.

Karachi — June 23, 2026: Pakistan’s leading digital microfinance bank, Mobilink Bank, has launched a meaningful social investment initiative in collaboration with the Depilex Smileagain Foundation, providing 25 electric scooters to female survivors of acid and kerosene burn violence. Introduced under the Bank’s CSR program, the initiative supports survivors in rebuilding independence, improving access to opportunities, and moving through daily life with greater confidence, dignity, and freedom. Senior leadership from both organizations attended the signing and handover ceremony held in Lahore, acknowledging the fact that mobility remains one of the critical challenges faced by women in the country. For many survivors rebuilding their lives after traumatic experiences, the ability to pursue education, employment, healthcare, and social engagement heavily depends on their access to safe and reliable transportation. Premised on compassion and social responsibility, the partnership channels the bank’s social investment into a tangible, long-term asset for beneficiaries, thereby enabling them to commute independently, access opportunities, and participate fully in daily life. The bank opted for electric scooters over conventional vehicles to generate environmental benefits while advancing social inclusion, reflecting its broader commitment to sustainable and responsible business practices. Speaking on the occasion, Head of Strategy & Sustainability, Khowla Shoaib, said, “Women at DSF have shown immense strength in rebuilding their lives. While we cannot change what they have endured, we can help remove barriers that limit their independence. Through sustainable mobility, Mobilink Bank is supporting greater access to education, employment, healthcare, and everyday opportunities, helping women move forward on their own terms.” Speaking at the ceremony, Musarrat Misbah, Founder and President of Depilex Smileagain Foundation, said, “At DSF, we believe true rehabilitation is about restoring independence and opportunity. Mobility is a critical part of that journey. Through this partnership with Mobilink Bank, women survivors will have greater freedom to access work, education, and everyday opportunities as they rebuild their lives with dignity.” Mobilink Bank’s commitment to ESG-driven growth is reflected in its support for women entrepreneurs and underserved communities through inclusive financial services, capacity-building programs, and sustainability-focused initiatives designed to create meaningful and lasting impact. The bank’s collaboration with Depilex Smileagain Foundation embodies this commitment by combining survivor rehabilitation with sustainable mobility, helping women rebuild their lives while advancing a more inclusive and environmentally responsible future.

Bank Makramah Limited (BML) wishes to clarify and categorically refute recent media reports and market speculation suggesting that the Bank is being sold. The Board of Directors of the Bank has accorded in principle approval to proceed further with discussions and engagement with a potential investor regarding a prospective fresh/additional capital injection into the Bank. The objective of such investment is to strengthen the Bank’s Minimum Capital Requirement (MCR) and Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR), thereby supporting the Bank’s growth plans and regulatory requirements. Any investment in Bank Makramah Limited remains subject to satisfactory due diligence, successful negotiation and execution of definitive transaction documents between the parties, and receipt of all applicable corporate and regulatory approvals. Bank Makramah Limited remains committed to maintaining transparency with its stakeholders and will make all necessary disclosures in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements as and when material developments occur.