BAHAWALPUR: Lodhran District Emergency Officer (DEO) Shakeel Ahmed of Rescue 1122 has been suspended from his position.

Dawn learnt that the DEO’s suspension was ordered from Rescue 1122 headquarters in Lahore a day ago.

When contacted, a Lodhran Rescue 1122 spokesperson confirmed the suspension but declined to comment on the reason behind the suspension.

He said that there were some internal matters which led to his suspension and expressed the hope that he might be reinstated soon.

When Dawn contacted DEO Shakeel Ahmed, he said that he did not know the reason for the decision of his suspension.

Meanwhile, some social media posts have accused Shakil Ahmed of abuse of power and mismanagement of government funds.

WOMEN EMPOWERMENT: A delegation comprising representatives from UN Women Pakistan, the Royal Norwegian Embassy, and Kaarvan Crafts Foundation visited the Islamia University (IUB) on Friday.

According to a statement issued by the IUB, the visit was aimed at strengthening the collaboration between academia, industry, and community stakeholders, with a special focus on women empowerment and entrepreneurship in south Punjab.

The visiting delegation included Anja Benedicte Myrtveit, Second Secretary at the Royal Norwegian Embassy, Munazza Azad, Programme Officer at UN Women Pakistan and Danish Jabbar, CEO of Kaarvan Crafts Foundation.

On the occasion, IUB Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Kamran along with Prof Dr Areeba Khan and Prof Dr Salman Bin Naeem highlighted IUB’s ongoing commitment to empowering rural women through innovative, technology-driven initiatives. He said that in collaboration with Kaarvan Crafts Foundation, IUB had successfully conducted specialised training programmes in digital finance, market-based digital literacy, e-commerce, and AI for business applications.

These initiatives were aimed at enhancing women’s participation in the digital economy and enable them to transform traditional skills into sustainable income-generating ventures.

A key highlight of the briefing was the Mini MBA programme tailored for women entrepreneurs, focusing on business development, financial management, and strategic decision-making.

The delegation was also briefed on the Letter of Agreement signed between IUB and Kaarvan Crafts Foundation. The agreement established a collaborative framework to strengthen academia-industry-community linkages and promote joint initiatives in digital skills, entrepreneurship development, research collaboration, and innovation support for women, particularly from underserved and rural areas.

The discussion emphasised the significant potential of women entrepreneurs in south Punjab, while also addressing key challenges such as limited access to markets and digital platforms, lack of business training, financial exclusion, and socio-cultural constraints.

The participants agreed that these challenges could be effectively addressed through digital enablement, policy support, and academic engagement. As part of future collaboration, an initiative, “Skill Development Training Programme” was proposed to provide advanced training in digital skills, develop online marketplaces, offer business mentorship, and implement data-driven decision-making systems.

Published in Dawn, May 2nd, 2026