Behind the Scenes: The Art and Craft of Creating Vograce Acrylic Charms

Published

3 weeks ago

November 18, 2023

MR SAIFULLAH

Recognizing Vograce Acrylic Pendants

Welcome to the colorful world of Vograce Acrylic Charms, where charm and creativity collide in real life!

Vograce Acrylic Charms:

What Are They?

Envision transforming your most cherished drawings, patterns, or even recollections into compact, priceless items. Vograce Acrylic Charms provide just that!WILD ONE BIKE.COM These charms are little pieces of art made from premium acrylic that come in a variety of sizes and shapes. Pop culture, anime, or personal branding—Vograce Acrylic Charms are a great way to show off your passions and sense of flair.

Gratitude and Attraction

Vograce Acrylic Charms stand out due to their enduring attractiveness and widespread use among devotees of all ages. The charms are now widely used as accessories, keychains, and purses, and have even become a cultural phenomenon. They’re ideal for daily use because of their robustness and light weight.
Their aesthetic appeal is secondary to the fact that you can personalize them to suit your tastes. Vograce Acrylic Charms offer a canvas for personal expression in a variety of styles, from simplistic patterns to elaborate images. Because of their high degree of personalization, they have become highly sought-after collectors and considerate gifts.

Their adaptability adds even more fuel to the charm’s popularity. Do you want to promote your brand, honor a memorable moment, or feature your favorite character? A practical and aesthetically pleasing way to accomplish it is with Vograce Acrylic Charms. They are a popular option for companies, consumers, and creators due to their cost and robustness.

The Craft of Crafting Magnificent Acrylic Charms

Crafting Vograce acrylic charms is an artistic endeavor requiring meticulous thought and specialized equipment. This section will cover important considerations, required software and equipment, and the significance of incorporating creativity into your ideas.

Expertise in Manufacturing Acrylic Charms

Acrylic charms are charming, personalized ornaments that give your possessions a unique touch. These adorable items are made with a careful blending of accuracy and creativity. Let’s go into the realm of producing acrylic charms, examining the components utilized, the production procedure, and the vital role that quality control plays.

Supplies Utilized

The first step in crafting the ideal acrylic charm is choosing premium components. Numerous colors and thicknesses are available for these sheets, opening up countless creative options.

Process of Manufacturing

Design and Prototyping

An idea for the voyage sparks creativity. Concepts are brought to life by talented designers who take into account minute features, size, and shape. A prototype is created after the design is complete to make sure it has the desired appeal.

Using a Laser

When making acrylic charms, accuracy is essential. The acrylic sheets are carefully cut using laser cutting machines in accordance with the approved design. To ensure that the charm is the correct size and shape, this stage requires precision.

Coloring and Printing

Superior printing techniques produce detailed features and vibrant colors. The design is often transferred onto the acrylic surface via UV printing or silk screening, which results in an aesthetically pleasing and durable charm.

Quality Assurance

The quality of craftsmanship is directly proportional to its output. Strict quality control procedures are used throughout the entire acrylic charm production process.

Checks on Production

This guarantees homogeneity and consistency throughout the batch.

Custom Charms for Your Requirements

Consider having a companion that changes its use according on your preferences. Customizing charms to meet your needs is exactly that. You can adjust settings, colors, and functionality with these adjustable features to fit your needs and preferences.

Trends in Personalization

Investigate the most recent trends in personalization to stay ahead of the game. We’ll explore the fascinating advancements reshaping the customisation scene in this part. This includes cutting-edge design ideas and cutting-edge functionalities.

Obtaining Vograce Acrylic Pendants
Locating a Trustworthy Vendor

Selecting the ideal source is essential for producing Vograce Acrylic Charms. Here’s a detailed how-to to assist you in finding them with confidence:

Investigating Possible Vendors

Start by looking up possible vendors on the internet. To determine their reputation, look for ratings, reviews, and testimonies.

Verifying Certifications

Check the supplier’s credentials to make sure they are authentic. Examine years of experience, certificates, and any links with trade groups.

Interaction

Create unambiguous routes of communication. A trustworthy supplier has to be receptive and eager to answer any questions or concerns right away.

Test Purchases

This enables you to evaluate their products’ quality directly.

Evaluating Capacity for Production

Verify the supplier’s ability to fulfill your production needs. To prevent delays in your project, find out about their lead times and production capacities.

Balance between Price and Quality

For a partnership to be effective, the proper price and quality must be balanced. Here’s how to strike this precarious balance:

Establishing a Budget

This will direct your decision-making and assist you in locating vendors who fit inside your budget.

Standards of Quality

Establish your criteria for quality and select a supplier who shares them.

Bargaining

To achieve a price that fits your budget without compromising quality, haggle. For long-term collaborations or large orders, some suppliers might give discounts.

Unknown Fees

Pay attention to any additional fees, taxes, or shipping costs that may be incurred. Comprehending the entire expense of your purchase is essential for precise financial planning.

Extended Partnership

Think about establishing a long-term partnership with your provider. The expansion and success of your projects can be facilitated by a dependable and consistent supplier.

How to Promote and Sell Your Charms

Greetings and welcome to the thrilling road of selling and exhibiting your charms! We’ll talk about two important topics in this part, building a brand presence and using online platforms to up your charm-selling game.

Online Resources:

For charm dealers, the web world offers a wealth of opportunities. Think about well-known websites or Etsy, Amazon Handmade, or even your own.

Etsy:

• Establish an enticing Etsy store: To make your charms stand out, come up with a catchy business name, develop intriguing product descriptions, and utilize excellent photos.
Make use of Etsy’s SEO resources: Make your listings more visible and draw in potential customers by optimizing them with pertinent keywords.

Handmade by Amazon:

• Create an artist profile: Share your charm-making narrative and enthusiasm in your Amazon Handmade profile to gain people’s trust.

• Use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA): Let Amazon take care of the packaging, shipping, and storage to expedite your shipment procedure.

Personal Website:

• Create an online identity: Take the time to build a user-friendly website that will highlight your charms and give customers a flawless online shopping experience.
• Set up safe payment methods: To ensure a seamless and secure transaction procedure, establish confidence by providing secure payment channels.

Establishing a Brand Identity:

Establish Your Brand:

• Write an engaging brand narrative: Tell us how your charms came to be and what makes them unique. Make your brand seem like a personal connection to your customers.

Establish a Uniform Brand Image:

• Create a memorable logo: A well-designed logo improves brand recognition and helps people recognize your charms.

• Preserve a unified visual style: Professional and unified branding is promoted by maintaining consistency in color palettes, typefaces, and imagery throughout your web properties.

Interact with the Audience:

• Make use of social media: Showcase your charms, interact with your audience, and create a community by using sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Provide Outstanding Customer Support:

• Quickly answer questions: Responding to consumer questions promptly and amiably demonstrates your appreciation for their business and interest.
• Handle complaints with professionalism: To preserve a positive brand image, address problems with professionalism and a customer-centric mindset.

Difficulties in the Vograce Acrylic Charm Sector

The Vograce Acrylic Charm Industry has its share of difficulties, just like any other successful company. Let’s examine two significant obstacles that require consideration:

rivalry: There is a lot of rivalry in the colorful world of Vograce Acrylic Charms.

Design Piracy: The problem of design piracy is one of the biggest obstacles the Vograce Acrylic Charm Industry faces. Unauthorized replication or copying poses a serious risk as companies and artists present their original works.
10. Strong intellectual property protection laws are required to handle this issue. This entails keeping a close eye out for instances of design violation and pursuing legal action where necessary.

Advice for a Profitable Vograce Acrylic Charm Company

Take into account these crucial pointers to succeed in this creative industry:

Creating a Specialty

Describe Your Look: Establish your distinct artistic style first. What distinguishes your charms from others?

Determine Who Your Target Market Is: Recognize the targets of your charms. Are they gamers, anime fanatics, or devotees of a specific genre? Make sure your designs reflect the tastes of the people who will be using them.

Quality Is Important: Make an investment in premium components and workmanship. Magnificent acrylic charms are renowned for their strength and vivid hues. Make sure your goods live up to these expectations if you want to win over clients’ confidence and loyalty.

Interacting with Your Viewers

Social Media Presence: Use social media sites to display your works of art. TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram work well for visual material. Interact with your followers by answering their messages and comments. Creating a community around your business can help spread the word about it.

freebies and Contests: To generate interest in your charms, hold freebies and contests. To increase the reach of your postings, encourage participants to share them.

Consumer Input: proactively seek out and value consumer input. Utilize their feedback to make your designs and services better. Contented clients are more likely to purchase from you again and refer others to your charms.

Keeping Up with the Trends

Observe Market Trends: Keep up with the most recent developments in the Vograce acrylic charm industry. Go to conventions, peruse internet discussion boards, and monitor well-known social media profiles. By doing this, you may remain innovative and provide designs that speak to the tastes of the moment.

Adapt and Innovate: Don’t be scared to try out novel concepts. Continual innovation keeps your brand exciting and new. Think about using a popular topic or style into your designs with your own special spin if it becomes popular.

Customer References

Greetings from the motivating world of customer testimonials, where user experiences and success stories are brought to life.

Conclusion

The positive feedback left by our esteemed clients emphasizes the real-world effects of our goods and services. Each success story, from conquering obstacles to attaining unprecedented heights, is a testimonial to the efficiency, dependability, and customer-focused quality of what we provide.

We would like to thank all of the people who have contributed to this adventure, including partners, consumers, and stakeholders, as we come to a close. Your confidence in us and your life experiences drive our dedication to innovation and constant progress.
With that in mind, the end of current chapter heralds the start of new stories. We encourage you to join us on this continuing adventure as we write the next chapter in our shared accomplishment, success, and progress.

German software giant SAP steps up efforts to cut down

Published

11 hours ago

December 8, 2023

HABIB ABBASI

KARACHI: German software giant German software, SAP, is introducing green solutions, including green ledgers, to cut down carbon footprint in the Middle East and Pakistan region to ensure and foster sustainability, the SAP regional chief said on Thursday.

Based in Walldorf, SAP develops enterprise software to manage business operations and customer relations. It ranks among one of the world’s leading enterprise resource planning (ERP) software vendors and publicly traded software companies by revenue.

The German firm collaborates with organizations, governments, and non-government organizations (NGOs) on a global scale to drive sustainability initiatives aimed at raising awareness, sharing best practices, and developing innovative solutions to tackle environmental challenges.

German software

“SAP is doing its due role especially into the sustainability sector. When we talk about the Middle East region and the Pakistan region, we are coming up with clear green solutions, we are coming up with green ledgers, and climate-friendly solutions,” Saquib Ahmad, the SAP managing-director for Pakistan, Iraq and Afghanistan, told Arab News, on the sidelines of a media roundtable in Karachi.

Ahmad terming climate change was one of the major issues and his organization with global footprint was coming up with solutions that could help and improve lives of the people in Pakistan.

“I think it’s very important to understand that we are working with the Government of Pakistan, we are working with the private sector and trying to make and ensure that such solutions are getting implemented which can help the current climate target that we are looking at currently,” he added.

About the ongoing UN climate conference, COP28, in Dubai, the SAP regional chief said it was a very important factor that the conference was taking place in the region and making it visible “because climate change is hitting this region in a very, very important way.”

“I think we can already see the impacts that has floods, that has bang in Pakistan. We are also seeing overall forest fires. We are talking about overall quality index of the air and all this is impacting Pakistan,” Ahmad said, adding the top SAP leadership was also attending the ongoing COP28.

“We are talking about how this COP28 can help the Pakistan government and the people of Pakistan in better maintaining climate change that is hitting our lives on a day-to-day basis.”

Pakistan last year witnessed one of the deadliest monsoon floods, blamed on climate change, which killed more than 1,700 people, affected nearly 33 million and caused over $30 million losses. In recent years, the South Asian country has also experienced frequent forest fires in its northwestern and southwestern regions.

SAP works with the concept of ‘intelligent enterprise,’ wherein advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) and analytics are harnessed to create more sustainable business models, according to the official.

These tools enable the German software giant to improve resource efficiency, reduce energy consumption and make informed decisions that contribute to sustainability.

Ahmad said technology enabled organizations to address gaps in physical infrastructure.

“It connects globally and ensures timely decisions to be implemented across the landscape,” he said. “Pakistan, being a developing economy, stands to gain strong competitiveness in the region through technological prowess, fostering connections and collaboration for positive environmental impact.”

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s election regulator will issue a schedule for the upcoming national elections “in few days,” its top official said on Thursday, as the South Asian country gears up for the February 8 polls.

Elections were originally expected to take place in November after Pakistan’s national and two provincial assemblies were dissolved in August before reaching the end of their tenure. However, Pakistan’s election regulator decided to redraw hundreds of national and provincial constituencies based on a digital census carried out in April before arranging the electoral contest.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) later scheduled the voting process for the last week of January, before announcing Feb. 8 as the final date after consultations with the country’s President Dr. Arif Alvi on the Supreme Court’s instructions.

In his message on Voters Day, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja once again assured the masses that February 8 would be the polling day, dispelling speculation about further delay in the conduct of national elections.

“Election schedule will be issued in few days,” Raja said in a statement. “Polling [for the general election] will be held on February 8, 2024.”

As Pakistan gears up for the general elections, many analysts expect the polls to lead to the South Asian country to some stability after more than a year of political turmoil, following the ouster of ex-prime minister Imran Khan in a parliamentary no-trust vote in April 2022.

The CEC’s statement came a day after Caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi said the federal cabinet did not have any “second thoughts” about holding the polls on February 8.

“The thing is, problems of security and the weather will always remain,” Solangi said in an interview. “But in the federal cabinet, there is no doubt, neither is there any worry nor any second thoughts that we would not hold elections on Feb. 8.”

Pakistan has seen a surge in militant attacks in its western regions bordering Afghanistan ever since a fragile truce between Islamabad and the Pakistani Taliban broke down in November 2022.

The Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam Pakistan (JUI-F), a prominent religious party, last month urged the ECP to delay polls till the security situation in the country improved.

Solangi said Pakistan had held elections in the past despite the threat of militancy, when the security situation was far worse.

“Maybe our memories are a bit weak,” he said. “What was the security situation in 2008 and 2013? If we compare it [to now] then it is nothing.

This week, the ECP also issued a directive for satellite television channels, warning them against airing speculative news about a delay in elections.

Reports suggested Sirajuddin Haqqani was issued Pakistani passport which he used to travel abroad, particularly to Qatar
Foreign office spokesperson acknowledges Pakistan has received ‘updated list’ of Afghans who are to be repatriated to US

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office on Thursday exercised caution in its response to media reports about Afghanistan interim interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani’s use of the Pakistani passport for international travel in the past.

Haqqani was issued a Pakistani passport for five years which he used to travel abroad, particularly to Qatar for negotiations with the United States (US) for the Doha Agreement that resulted in the US exit from Afghanistan, Pakistan’s The News and Jang newspapers reported.

The reports, citing interior ministry officials, said these passports were issued from different cities of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and Sindh provinces, and Pakistani authorities had arrested two officials in connection with issuance of passport to Haqqani, one of whom had retired from service.

Asked about these reports, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, a spokesperson for the Pakistani foreign office, said she did not have “facts” to respond to the query.

“I have just seen the report in the Jang. I do not have the facts to respond to your question,” she said at a weekly press briefing. “Maybe I will be able to comment on some other occasion when I have more information.”

The name of Sirajuddin Haqqani, Afghanistan’s acting interior minister and the Taliban’s second-in-command, started echoing around the world in 2008 as a young commander of the most-feared Haqqani Network that was executing a series of deadly attacks on US-allied forces in Afghanistan.

The powerful Taliban commander made the headlines in March 2022 after he revealed his face in a rare public appearance in Kabul. He was attending the graduation ceremony of the first batch of police recruits at the National Defense Police Academy in Kabul since the Taliban took over the reins of Afghanistan in August 2021.

The reports about his travel on Pakistani passport come at a time of a series of visits to Pakistan by senior US officials, including Assistant Secretary for Population, Refugees, and Migration Julieta Valls Noyes, Special Representative on Afghanistan Thomas West, and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Elizabeth Horst.

These visits are part of ongoing dialogue with the US on a range of issues, including the situation in Afghanistan, according to the Pakistani foreign office.

The US has in the past accused Pakistan of backing the Afghan Taliban and not supporting Washington’s decades-long military campaign in Afghanistan the way the US wanted it to.

The allegations, denied by Islamabad, particularly soured ties between the two countries in 2021, following the hasty US exit from Afghanistan.

’Updated list’ of Afghan nationals to be repatriated to US

During the briefing, the foreign office spokesperson said Pakistan had received an “updated list” of Afghan nationals from the US and Islamabad was in touch with the US embassy for their repatriation to America.

“The meetings which are taking place today and have taken place in recent days are related to, yes, Afghanistan and Afghanistan related matters. There are some other bilateral aspects which may come up under discussion in coming days,” she said.

“With respect to the list that you have referred to, we have received an updated list from the US side and we are in contact with the American Embassy in developing the mechanics for the early repatriation of individuals on those lists to the United States.”

Pakistan has previously chosen to ignore individual calls from Western nations for the repatriation of Afghan nationals. This is the first time Islamabad has acknowledged having received a list of Afghans from a foreign country.

“We have already said that it is important that the process of verification and issuance of visas should be expedited and we hope that this process will be completed at the earliest,” Baloch said.

The development comes months after Islamabad asked all undocumented foreigners, mostly Afghans, to leave the country by Nov. 1, accusing that some of these Afghans had been involved in militant attacks and other offenses in Pakistan. Since the expiry of Nov. 1 deadline, Pakistan has launched a crackdown on all illegal foreigners and has been deporting them to their home countries.

Hundreds of thousands of Afghans have since left the South Asian country as Islamabad brushed aside calls from the United Nations (UN), Western embassies and rights groups to halt the deportations.

Pakistan exercises caution over reports of Afghan minister using its passport for international travel

Published

11 hours ago

December 8, 2023

HABIB ABBASI

Repo Foreign office spokesperson acknowledges Pakistan exercises Pakistan has received ‘updated list’ of Afghans who are to be repatriated to US

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign Pakistan exercises office on Thursday exercised caution in its response to media reports about Afghanistan interim interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani’s use of the Pakistani passport for international travel in the past.

Asked about these reports, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, a spokesperson for the Pakistani foreign office, said she did not have “facts” to respond to the query.

These visits are part of ongoing dialogue with the US on a range of issues, including the situation in Afghanistan, according to the Pakistani foreign office.

The US has in the past accused Pakistan of backing the Afghan Taliban and not supporting Washington’s decades-long military campaign in Afghanistan the way the US wanted it to.

The allegations, denied by Islamabad, particularly soured ties between the two countries in 2021, following the hasty US exit from Afghanistan.

’Updated list’ of Afghan nationals to be repatriated to US

Hundreds of thousands of Afghans have since left the South Asian country as Islamabad brushed aside calls from the United Nations (UN), Western embassies and rights groups to halt the deportations.

Pakistan regulator to issue schedule for upcoming national elections ‘in few days’

“Election schedule will be issued in few days,” Raja said in a statement. “Polling [for the general election] will be held on February 8, 2024.”

The CEC’s statement came a day after Caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi said the federal cabinet did not have any “second thoughts” about holding the polls on February 8.

Pakistan has seen a surge in militant attacks in its western regions bordering Afghanistan ever since a fragile truce between Islamabad and the Pakistani Taliban broke down in November 2022.

The Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam Pakistan (JUI-F), a prominent religious party, last month urged the ECP to delay polls till the security situation in the country improved.

Solangi said Pakistan had held elections in the past despite the threat of militancy, when the security situation was far worse.

“Maybe our memories are a bit weak,” he said. “What was the security situation in 2008 and 2013? If we compare it [to now] then it is nothing.

This week, the ECP also issued a directive for satellite television channels, warning them against airing speculative news about a delay in elections.

IMF board to meet on Jan. 11 for Pakistan loan program approval

Published

11 hours ago

December 8, 2023

HABIB ABBASI

The IMF last month said it had reached a staff-level agreement with Pakistan on the first review of a $3 billion bailout If approved by its board, the global lender will release IMF board a tranche of $700 million to the cash-strapped South Asian nation

The executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will meet on Jan. 11 to consider the final approval to hand out to Pakistan the next $700 million tranche of its loan program.

Last month, the IMF said it had reached a staff-level agreement with Pakistan on the first review of a $3 billion bailout, which will unlock $700 million in funding for the country.

The funds to be issued are a second tranche of the bailout, which is subject to an approval from the IMF’s executive board.

“We can confirm that the Board meeting for Pakistan will take place on January 11,” the IMF said in an emailed statement.

Pakistan has been facing an acute balance of payment crisis, with its foreign exchange reserves diminished, along with historically high inflation and an unprecedented currency devaluation.

Bloomberg News first reported on the IMF meeting.

Pakistani-Canadian horror flick ‘In Flames’ wins top award at Red Sea Film Festival

In Flames is Pakistan‘s submission to the Oscars‘ international feature category

Film has also played at festivals in Toronto, Busan, Sitges, Sao Paulo and Pingyao

ISLAMABAD: “In Flames,” Pakistan‘s submission to the Oscars‘ international feature category, has won the Golden Yusr for Best Feature Film at the 3rd edition of the Red Sea Film Festival, taking place in Jeddah from Nov. 30 to Dec. 9.

The gathering, which attracted Hollywood stars like Will Smith, Johnny Depp, Chris Hemsworth and Sharon Stone, on Thursday evening unveiled the winners of its Red Sea competition honors, the Yusr awards, as well as other prizes.

Pakistan-Canadian director and writer Zarrar Kahn said his indie movie was shot for “just $300,000 — the size of a Red Sea Fund production grant.”

“Everyone who gets a grant to go make a movie, because this was made for nothing,” he said.

Last month, In Flames won the International Newcomer Award at the 72nd International Film Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg. Earlier this year in May, the horror-drama became the second Pakistani film in 43 years to make it to Directors’ Fortnight, an event that runs parallel to the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. In October, the film was independently released at the Atrium Cinemas in Pakistan’s southern Karachi city for a 12-day run which was later extended until November 9. The film has also played at festivals in Toronto, Busan, Sitges, Sao Paulo and Pingyao.

In an interview to Arab News earlier this month, actor Bakhtawar Mazhar described In Flames as a psychological thriller that follows the struggle of a mother (Mazhar) and her daughter (Ramesha Nawal) after the loss of the patriarch of the family. The film has been produced by Anam Abbas.

“Even though this film was shot in Karachi, women around the world were crying [after watching the film] and they were like, we know the struggle this character went through, we know the struggle of Fariha and Mariam,” Nawal told Arab News.

“In Flames” is also Pakistan’s official submission under the Foreign Language Film category for the 96th Academy Awards next year.

‘Prudent decision,’ says Pakistan as Denmark passes law to ban Qur’an burnings

Foreign minister says hopeful other European countries follow suit, pass similar laws
Over 500 demonstrations that included Quran burnings registered since July in Denmark

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani has said it was a “prudent decision” by Denmark’s parliament to pass a law this week making it illegal to burn the Qur’an in public places.

Denmark and Sweden experienced a series of public protests this year where anti-Islam activists burned or otherwise damaged copies of the Qur’an, triggering demands that the Nordic governments ban the practice. Over 500 demonstrations that included burnings of the Qur’an or flags have been registered since July, according to Denmark’s justice ministry.

“A prudent decision on the part of the Danish Parliament. Hope other European countries follow suit and pass similar legislation,” Jilani said on X on Thursday night, commenting on the new law. “Desecration of holy books of any faith is against the tenets of all religions, even under the guise of freedom of speech.”

Thursday’s vote on the law followed a five hour debate in parliament and 94 members voted in favour, 77 against.

Breaking the new law will be punishable by fines or up to two years in prison.

Denmark has sought to strike a balance between constitutionally protected freedom of speech, including the right to criticize religion, and national security amid fears that Qur’an burnings would trigger attacks by militants. But domestic critics in Sweden and Denmark have argued that any limitations on criticizing religion, including by burning Qur’an, undermine hard-fought liberal freedoms in the region.

Sweden is also considering how to prevent burning of the Qur’an but is looking at whether police should factor in national security when deciding on protest applications rather than a ban.

In Flames is Pakistan‘s submission to the Oscars‘ international feature category

Film has also played at festivals in Toronto, Busan, Sitges, Sao Paulo and Pingyao

Pakistan-Canadian director and writer Zarrar Kahn said his indie movie was shot for “just $300,000 — the size of a Red Sea Fund production grant.”

“Everyone who gets a grant to go make a movie, because this was made for nothing,” he said.

“In Flames” is also Pakistan’s official submission under the Foreign Language Film category for the 96th Academy Awards next year.

In a first, Pakistan unlocks Islamic bond market for retail investors with Ijarah Sukuk launch

Sukuk is an Islamic financial certificate that represents ownership in a tangible asset or a pool of assets
Pakistan plans to raise Rs90 billion in total from the stock market through three Ijarah Sukuk bond auctions

KARACHI: In a groundbreaking development, the Pakistani government on Friday unlocked the Islamic bond market for retail investors through an auction of the country’s first-ever sovereign Ijarah Sukuk bond at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), aiming to raise Rs30 billion ($105.8 million).

Sukuk is an Islamic financial certificate that represents ownership in a tangible asset or a pool of assets. It is similar to a bond but is structured in a way that complies with Islamic law, which prohibits interest-based transactions.

In connection with the launch of the first Ijarah Sukuk a ‘gong ceremony’ was held at the PSX in Karachi, which was attended by Caretaker Prime minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar and Finace Minister Dr. Shamshad Akhtar.

“The auction gives PSX investors the chance to invest, contributing to a more diverse investor base,” said Shahid Ali Habib, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Karachi-based Arif Habib Limited brokerage house.

“The move also promises a substantial boost to the Islamic capital market in Pakistan.”

The tenure of the Ijarah Sukuk issued by Pakistan Domestic Sukuk Company Limited through the finance ministry is one year that will mature on December 09, 2024. The face value of a Sukuk is Rs5,000 ($17.6), according to a PSX document.

The bidding process for the auction of the Islamic bond will start at around 4pm today, on Friday, for which the process of registration had been completed. Joint financial and Shariah advisers for the issuance of the bond include Meezan Bank Limited, Dubai Islamic Bank (Pakistan) Limited, Bank Islami Pakistan Limited and Bank Alfalah Limited.

The federal government plans to raise an overall Rs90 billion ($315 million) with three Ijarah Sukuk auctions. The second auction is scheduled for January 23, 2024 and the third for February 20, 2024, according to the PSX auction calendar.

Habib said the issuance will help in developing Islamic capital market in the country and will encourage more investors to look for interest free avenues.

Experts also believe the auction has ended the monopoly of big banks who would earlier take part in the auctions.

“The Sukuk would now be in the access of common investor as compared to the past practice where only big banks or mutual fund would invest,” Ali Nawaz, CEO of Chase Securities, told Arab News.

Nawaz said investors now would be able to avail entire profit of their investment, without the involvement of any intermediaries.