Over 30,000 young people came on Saturday to Pak Stadium in Karachi to take a police recruitment test for 1167 positions in Islamabad’s police force.

While stadiums are usually packed for sporting events, musical concerts, or political meetings, it was a different story on the last day of 2022, when youngsters gathered at the Pakistani national stadium to compete for jobs.

According to Al Jazeera, more than 31% of Pakistan’s youth are unemployed, with 51% being girls and 16% being males.

Sharing a video on Twitter, Al Jazeera said, “It’s not football that’s filled this stadium in Pakistan but the hope of finding a job. More than 30,000 people turned up to take a written test for Islamabad’s police force, where there are only 1,167 positions available.”

According to a viral video sourced by Al Jazeera, a video emerged on social media space showing thousands of aspirants seated in the stadium, looking to be writing exam papers and hoping for recruitment to the Islamabad Police.

PIDE also revealed that a shockingly large portion of the working-age population is not even in the labor force. It was stated that these persons are either discouraged workers or have other sources of income to support themselves.

It also stated that despite pronouncements and policy initiatives, the female labor force participation rate (LFPR) remains shockingly low.

Taking what we’ve learned from this remarkable year into account, we may set life-changing goals to live better lives as balanced and mindful Muslims.

Here are some New Year’s Resolutions for Muslims that we can implement in our life.

Elevate your prayers

When the five daily prayers become a part of our daily habits, they can become monotonous and robotic activities. For example, by altering the typical Suras (Chapters) we read or the Duas (Supplications) we recite after prayer, we may become more present and attentive to what we are saying during our prayers.

Start Quran Journalling

Islam is all about education and learning. Muslims should strive to comprehend God’s messages and connect with the Quran.

Practice Gratitude

Don’t leave your daily prayers without spending at least 2 to 5 minutes grounding yourself in Sujood (prostration) and reflecting on all the small things for which you are grateful, such as good health, family, and friends.

Give more charity

All Muslims are expected to provide charity (zakat). Find a charity that is near to your heart and establish a monetary goal for yourself.

Surround yourself with positivity

Take some time to consider the individuals in your life; are any of them bringing you down or filling your life with negativity? Surround yourself with people who care about your success, who make you laugh, and who care about you. Test it out and discover how it affects your life!

Get Healthy

We would all be healthy if we all followed Islamic eating etiquette. Simple modifications such as not eating on an empty stomach or introducing sunnah fasting twice a week (Mon & Thurs) can help.

It’s critical that you confirm the legitimacy of any work-from-home job prospects as you look for them. Scammers may pretend to be businesses or freelancers to present you with fake remote employment opportunities. Your identity, your finances, and your welfare can all be safeguarded by exercising caution. In this article, we have described some common scams you can come across.

What are work-from-home scams?

Work-from-home scams occur when dishonest persons fabricate job postings for their own gain. They might make advantage of these to steal your money or personal information. Scammers are starting to target this area with seemingly attractive job offers as work-from-home positions grow in popularity. To gain your trust, they can pretend to be a trustworthy organization or person.

To determine whether a remote job offer is authentic, follow these steps:

The job is too good to be true

 If a work-from-home offer appears too good to be true, trust your gut. Consider a scenario with some caution if a corporation is offering an incredibly high income or great benefits. In addition, if the business is promising you a fantastic job for which you are ineligible, this can be a scam.

There is little information on the company

A corporation should have a website and some sort of online presence on social media when being researched. It might be time to move on to a different job application if you are unable to find any information about it online.

The validity of the job offer cannot be verified by a second source

It’s a good idea if you can speak with another employee of the business. Instead of asking the employer for this information, attempt to locate it on your own. You could request more information about the business from this person. Remember that many scammers operate in groups, so this doesn’t necessarily imply that a job offer is genuine.

There are warnings online

To seek up the name of the business or employer, use a search engine. You might discover from search results that this fraud has been used on other people. It’s always a bad sign if you encounter job boards with cautionary statements about a company. Additionally, if there are negative online reviews of the business, this may indicate that you should hunt for employment elsewhere.

You have to pay to work

When employers assert that you must invest money in your work to get started, this is a prevalent deception. Employers are the ones who should pay you, not the other way around. While looking for remote jobs, keep in mind that certain respectable online job forums may require you to pay a monthly fee.

The employer is overly eager to hire

 When an employer feels compelled to engage you immediately, that is a huge red flag of work-from-home fraud. Most trustworthy employers are preoccupied with their own work and cannot answer you immediately away. Real employers put employees at ease, therefore if a business is forcing you to accept the position, don’t reply to them.

Brand value is the ‘perceived value,’ or how frequently consumers choose one brand over competitors. When consumers believe a brand is distinctive and in line with their personal beliefs, it creates a significant competitive advantage.

Here are 7 suggestions on what you can do to immediately add value to your brand:

Stay on top of your customer needs:

Develop strong ties with your A-level clients, keep an eye on their issues, and maintain “high touch” contact with them. The relationship may be strengthened, and your network can be expanded at the same time by frequent customer visits, evaluations, and networking events.

Be visible to your customers:

A smart method to let your customer know you are continually developing is to provide an updated version of your product or tag on a free service. Make your customer believe that having you around makes their lives easier.

Know your competition:

Be aware of your competitors and keep an eye out for what others are doing. Prepare to compare your value proposition to that of your rivals. You must be able to support your claims with evidence. You’ll become more competitive as a result, just as how all restaurants provide smaller quantity meals in their own unique ways.

Try new ideas:

If your market is heavily commoditized, you should consider where your profits come from. Many times, competing just on price or service is useless. Try out novel concepts, such as the “freemium” model, where you can initially offer portions of your products or services for free before charging for value-added services or premium accounts.

Improve experience:

Doing business with your organization should be a positive experience from beginning to end. Consider your customers’ needs and strive to make each process as seamless as feasible. They should be aware that they may get in touch with you with any issues and that you will do it in a timely and efficient manner. This also gives word-of-mouth advertising excellent leverage.

Include a human element:

Many businesses don’t put enough effort into humanizing their brand. Customers may feel disconnected as a result. They must sense that they are more than just clients. Logos, slogans, taglines, and websites are merely pointers; they are promotional tools. Allowing your customers to contact you in interesting ways in addition to through your newsletters, pamphlets, emails, and phone calls can aid in the expansion of your business. Don’t be afraid to use your imagination; host events, start a blog, or interact on social networking sites like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

Reward loyalty:

Give your customers something extra in exchange for remaining with you or using your goods and services, much like a rewards program. It might be a pair of baseball tickets, a gift card, or a discount for future transactions.

In Pakistan, over 75% of the population, particularly young people, are said to be suffering from stress, anxiety, or depression, according to public health specialists and intellectuals.

According to Prof. Shahzad Ali Khan, vice chancellor of the Health Services Academy (HSA), most Pakistanis are either depressed, stressed out, or anxious, and they are not overly hopeful about the future of their nation.

He was speaking during the Jahan-i-Maseeha Adbi Forum’s 24th Thematic Calendar launch (JMAF). Considering these conditions, Allama Iqbal’s message of “Khudi” serves as the topic of the 2023 calendar.

According to Prof. Khan, the youth have become increasingly gloomy and dejected, and in these conditions, Iqbal’s message of self-worth can revive Pakistan’s national spirit.

Most young people in Pakistan, he continued, view everyone as corrupt and incompetent, despite the fact that similar problems, such as inflation, unemployment, and recession, affect young people everywhere.

Prof. Khan said, adding that things were not as bad as they were being made out to be, “Initially, teachers and academia of our society were targeted and they were defamed, later, character assassination of physicians and healthcare professionals was carried out, and the same treatment was met out to politicians.”

He praised Iqbal’s ideology and added that by instilling in them the values of optimism, passion, and encouragement, he was able to unite young people from a minority population on the Indian subcontinent.

The occasion was planned in association with the pharmaceutical company Pharmevo, which has been spreading Iqbal’s worldview among medical professionals nationwide.

In addition to promoting literary activities like conducting book fairs and mushairas, Syed Jamshaid Ahmed of Pharmevo emphasized the importance of constructing and developing a healthier society in Pakistan.

Famous poet Ajmal Siraj claimed that the life and literary creations of Iqbal were chosen as the theme for the upcoming calendar by an advisory council made up of educators, authors, and researchers.

Pakistan has urged Afghan authorities to reconsider their decision to suspend university and higher education for female students in Afghanistan.

“Pakistan is disappointed to learn about the suspension of the university and higher education for female students in Afghanistan,” an official statement from the Foreign Office read, adding that Pakistan’s position on the issue has been “clear and consistent”.

The FO added that “every man and woman has the inherent right to education in accordance with the injunctions of Islam.”

Following a statement by the Taliban-run government that women would be barred from tertiary education, female university students in Afghanistan were turned away from campuses on Wednesday.

Foreign governments and the UN denounced the move to exclude women when it was made public on Tuesday evening in a letter to universities from the higher education ministry.

Shaista, a business studies student at a private institution in Kabul, stated, “We got to campus, the Taliban were at the entrance and informed us ‘you are not permitted to enter the university until further notice’… everyone was crying.

Female students were turned away at the gate, according to a professor at a different Kabul institution who declined to be named, because staff members had no choice but to follow the directive.

The decision was made by the cabinet of the Taliban administration, according to a late Tuesday release.

In recent months, a number of Taliban officials, including the spokesperson for the government and the deputy foreign minister, have advocated for the education of women. Major choices are made by the ultimate spiritual head of the Taliban, who is based in the southern city of Kandahar. The matter has been discussed by the leadership, according to diplomatic and Taliban officials who spoke to Reuters.

“This decision had been anticipated for weeks, prompting some Western officials to start talking about additional sanctions and further economic restrictions,” said Graeme Smith, senior consultant at International Crisis Group.

“But the flood of outrage from the West will strengthen the resolve of the Taliban leadership, which defines itself as a bulwark against the outside world.”

The leadership of the Taliban has stated that while they desire peaceful relations with the world community, outsiders should not meddle in Afghan affairs. Most girls can’t attend classes past the first grade. While claiming to be developing a plan for secondary education for girls, the Taliban government has not provided a timeline. The administration unexpectedly changed its mind after giving out signs that all high schools for girls will begin in March.