ISLAMABAD // Being the tourism minister is perhaps one of the toughest cabinet portfolios in Pakistan, where the precarious political situation and militancy do little to attract visitors to the country.
So the decision by Asif Ali Zardari, the president, to appoint a hardline Islamic cleric, rather than a western-educated liberal, to try and revive the sagging industry, has raised eyebrows.
Last month, Maulana Atta-ur Rehman, an anti-western religious leader belonging to a conservative Islamic political party that calls for the segregation of men and women, was chosen to head the tourism ministry.
The new minister has wasted little time in implementing his vision, making headlines.
One of Mr Rehman's first undertakings was to order a ban on the sale of alcohol in all government- owned hotels and motels, much to the anger of secularists and non-Muslims. The sale of alcohol is banned in public, but Christians and other minorities have special permits to buy and sell liquor.
Critics said the minister's actions will only scare off potential visitors, rather than attract them.
"Sir, you need to immediately visit St Tropez and beaches in France, as Pakistan has coastal areas that could be developed on similar lines to attract foreign tourists," Enver Baig, a member of the Senate belonging to Pakistan Peoples' Party, said during a Senate debate last week, drawing laughter from those present.
The suggestion did have the support of many senators, though others questioned the move to ban alcohol in government-owned hotels while the sale continued elsewhere.
Mr Rehman stood his ground. "Pakistan is a Muslim country. We cannot allow anyone to use liquor," he said. Though he seemed to acknowledge he could not prevent its sale in private hotels, saying: "I have exercised my powers wherever I could."
The minister has also been embroiled in controversy over the firing of a senior official in the tourism ministry, once again making the headlines in local papers.
The minister was apparently angered that the managing director of the Pakistan Tourism Development Corp was using the ministry's Toyota Prado.
Despite the fact that according to ministry regulations the minister was not entitled to use the flashy four-wheeler, he demanded the managing director, a retired brigadier, hand over the vehicle, and fired him when he refused.
The minister was criticised for acting pettily and indulging in trivialities. Bloggers called him "maulana prado". Maulana is a religious scholar, but maulana prado is a taunt.
Mr Rehman defended his decision as necessary for the ministry to function smoothly and that he wanted to have someone able in place of the retired brigadier. The vehicle, he claimed, was not the real issue.
"What kind of authority do I have as a minister if I cannot even implement orders in my own ministry," Mr Rehman said calmly when questioned on Geo, the country's most popular news television network.
Furthermore, he said the action had the backing of the prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, though Mr Gilani admonished the minister and distanced himself from the episode.
Mr Rehman has also been criticised for refusing the Senate standing committee on tourism's proposal that he visit the Swat valley.
Swat used to be one of the most picturesque valleys in the country and a major tourist resort but is now wrecked by violence as militants, who want Sharia to be enforced throughout the region, are engaged in fighting with the Pakistan military.
A wave of terror has been unleashed with public floggings, the killing of opponents and the destruction of hundreds of girls' schools. Local populations have also been displaced.
Hotels that were once full with local and foreign tourists are empty and many have closed down.
Mr Baig said he had urged Mr Rehman to go to Saidu-Sharif, a Swat Valley town, and hold meetings there with local people to assure them the government had not turned a blind eye to their plight.
But the minister declined.
"He said dead bodies are found in Swat every day. I wanted him to visit Saidu-Sharif and Maingora as a confidence-building measure," Mr Baig said in an interview.
Tourism ministers in Pakistan are no strangers to controversy.
Nilofer Bakhtiar, the first female tourism minister, who had been appointed by Pervez Musharraf, received death threats from Islamic extremists in 2007 after photos of her hugging a French parachute trainer circulated in the national press.
Ms Bakhtiar had just completed a parachute jump in France at an event arranged by an aid group, but photographs showing her embracing her instructor were splashed across newspapers and she was roundly condemned for her "un-Islamic behaviour".
Ms Bakhtiar resigned from her post after she found herself without any supporters in the cabinet.
smasood@thenational.ae
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.