Category: National

A Pakistan-based commodity sourcing company, Saraaf, has secured a deal of whopping Rs1.5 billion ($5 million) in Shark Tank Pakistan, shattering the global record for volume of any deal in the hit investment show around the world.

As per the details, Saraaf made history by securing the deal which is one of the largest in the show’s history. The founders of the company raised Rs80 crores of 20% equity and an additional Rs70 crores as a line of credit with 3% royalty to expand its operations and achieve ambitious goals.

Previously, the highest-ever investment made by investors in any country’s version of Shark Tank was $2.5 million in the American version of the show. 

Saraaf, which specialises in premium onyx, cotton and minerals, has over 25 years of experience and is known for dominating Pakistan’s onyx and marble exports. Their mission is to become Asia’s largest business-to-business (B2B) sourcing platform.
Shark Tank Pakistan is the latest instalment of the business reality show where entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to a panel of investors known as “sharks.” The show aims to inspire and support Pakistan’s startup ecosystem by providing funding and mentorship to promising business ideas.

The sharks on the panel include experts like Faisal Aftab, Rabeel Warraich, Romanna Dada, Junaid Iqbal and Usman Bashir, who were impressed by Saraaf’s business model and potential for growth.

Usman Bashir, the founder and CEO of Braketime! – an unstoppable force in the Pakistani-American business landscape – was the one to strike the deal with Saraaf.

The Pakistani version of the show has already seen some exciting pitches, including one from Arshad Khan, the famous “blue-eyed Chaiwala,” who secured a deal for his chai business. Shark Tank Pakistan is a great platform for budding entrepreneurs to showcase their innovations and potentially receive the investment they need to grow their businesses.

While the show had been a hit with audiences in the United States (US) for better part of a decade, it gained popularity with Pakistani audiences after first season of Shark Tank India was aired in 2021.

Much like other instalments, Shark Tank India features a panel of potential investors or angel investors, who listen to entrepreneurs’ pitch ideas for a business or product they wish to develop. The self-made multi-millionaires judge the business concepts and products pitched, deciding whether to invest their money to help market and mentor each contestant.

Hassan Nawaz, son of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, has been declared bankrupt by the High Court of Justice in London after he failed to clear his tax liabilities, Geo News correspondent Murtaza Ali Shah reported on November 17.

The UK Gazette, an official public record journal, published the details of Hasan’s bankruptcy.

The Gazette stated that Hasan Nawaz, who resides in Flat 17 Avenfield House, 118 Park Lane in London, while serving as a company director, has been declared bankrupt under case number 694 of 2023.

The petition was filed last year on August 25, 2023, and the bankruptcy order was issued on April 29, 2024, after a case brought forward by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

The petition brought forward last year against Nawaz’s son in London claimed that he had unpaid debts and liabilities as the basis for the action.

Dawn reported that under UK law, a bankruptcy order restricts an individual from acting as a company director or managing businesses without court approval until the individual is discharged from bankruptcy. Hasan Nawaz, however, continues to act as a director of multiple companies in the UK.

Previously, in 2018, the two were declared proclaimed offenders after they failed to join the investigation in Avenfield Apartment, Al-Azizia and Flagship Investment references filed by the National Account­ability Bureau (NAB).

Both then left Pakistan after they were named in high-profile corruption cases the same year. They were declared proclaimed offenders for not joining the investigation and court proceedings, and subsequently, their arrest warrants were issued.

In April 2024, Hasan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz were formally acquitted in three corruption cases related to the Panama Papers.

After an accountability court suspended their warrants this year, both returned to Pakistan quietly on March 12, ending their six-year-long self-imposed exile in London.

After their acquittal, the NAB prosecutors did not file appeals against the acquittal orders of Sharif’s son.

The NAB prosecutor informed the court that the cases did not fall under the amendments to the NAB laws, adding that Nawaz, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and her husband, Captain (retd) Safdar, had already been acquitted in the cases against them.

Noting that the accountability bureau had not filed an appeal against Maryam’s acquittal, the lawyer said it was based on the “same documents” on which her father was freed of the charges.

With the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) terming the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) “un-Islamic”, state-run Pakistan Television (PTV) has reported all about it on X, formerly Twitter, which remains inaccessible in the country without VPN.

As per the details, the CII on Friday declared the use of VPNs as “un-Islamic”, emphasising the need to block access to immoral or blasphemous content on the internet.

CII Chairman Dr Raghib Hussain Naeemi, in a statement, said the federal government had the prerogative to curb evil and prevent access to it, declaring that adopting measures to prevent or restrict access to immoral and offensive content was in accordance with the Shariah.

The development came hours after the Ministry of Interior (MoI) penned a letter to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to block illegal VPNs, highlighting increasing risks to national security and public morality.

Amid criticism against the ruling by netizens and religious scholars, including Maulana Tariq Jameel, state-run PTV also reported on the CII decision.

It went on to post about the development on X, the micro-blogging website that remains inaccessible to Pakistanis without a VPN since before the February 8 general elections due to compliance issues. 

“[The] Council of Islamic Ideology has declared the use of VPN in violation of Shariah,” PTV said in a post that went viral soon after.

Earlier, CII chief Dr Naeemi had also said that VPNs, while technically a tool for security and privacy, were often misused to access forbidden content. 

These included obscene websites, platforms spreading misinformation, or those fostering anarchy within society, he said, adding that VPNs were also used for online theft and fraud, making it difficult to trace cybercriminals.

The CII chief said that under Islamic principles, the permissibility of any act depended on its intent and method of use. He said using VPNs for unlawful purposes directly violated both Islamic and societal laws. Furthermore, he added, Muslims were obligated to respect state laws, provided they did not contradict Islamic principles.

He warned that bypassing restrictions on blocked websites not only violated national laws but also went against Islamic ethical principles.

Meanwhile, the MoI stated in its letter that VPNs were “increasingly being exploited by terrorists” to facilitate violent activities and financial transactions in Pakistan. “Off late, an alarming fact has been identified, wherein VPNs are used by terrorists to obscure and conceal their communications,” it said in a statement.

Additionally, the ministry added, unregulated VPNs were also being used for discreetly accessing pornographic and blasphemous content.