Minimal disruption at Emirates
Emirates鈥 passengers experienced minimal disruptions to their travel plans after the June 23 regional events, as per a press release, with regularly scheduled flights resuming within a few short hours. The airline quickly activated its robust contingency and disruption plans, with no diversions, only a small number of cancellations and a few flights experiencing longer flight paths due to airspace congestion.
Despite rapidly evolving regional developments, it鈥檚 been business as usual across the Emirates network. In the past two weeks, Emirates has maintained scheduled services by rerouting flights to avoid conflict zones, successfully serving over 1.7 million passengers on more than 5,800 flights across its global network and delivering certainty to their travel plans when they needed it the most, while upholding its commitment to safe, reliable travel.
Throughout the last two weeks, the airline kept customers informed with regular operational website updates as well as on its social media channels, and reservations teams helped reaccommodate affected customers.
As Emirates gears up for the busy summer travel season, it will continue to actively monitor developments in coordination with the relevant authorities, and the airline鈥檚 priority will always be to ensure safe and smooth operations by adapting quickly and appropriately so that customers can travel with confidence.
UBL and CashNow鈥檚 supply chain solution
UBL has entered a strategic alliance with CashNow, a leading fintech platform, according to a press release. The agreement was signed recently at UBL鈥檚 Head Office in Karachi. This partnership will enable CashNow to power a 鈥楧igital Supply Chain Finance鈥 solution for UBL that will enable the bank鈥檚 customers to access early payments against approved invoices.
鈥淯nited Bank is committed to fostering growth across all business sectors, with a strong focus on supporting SMEs,鈥 said Abdul Aleem Qureshi, Group Executive, Branch Banking Group, UBL. 鈥淲e are honoured that United Bank has entrusted CashNow with this pivotal supply chain finance initiative,鈥 added Saeed Iqbal, Director/Co-Founder of CashNow.
This collaboration is a significant step towards advancing financial and operational excellence in supply chain finance. With this alliance, UBL reinforces its position at the forefront of digital banking innovation while contributing to Pakistan鈥檚 broader economic development goals by delivering scalable and technology-driven financial solutions.
GeoGemma wins 鈥淏est AI Use Case鈥
Pakistan鈥檚 student innovation took centre stage at the 2025 Asia-Pacific (APAC) Digital Transformation Forum as 鈥淕eoGemma鈥, a student team from the Institute of Space Technology in Islamabad, was awarded the 鈥淏est AI Use Case鈥 Award at the 2025 APAC Solution Challenge organised by the Google Developer Groups and the Asian Development Bank, as shared in a press release.
GeoGemma, comprising students Ahmed Iqbal and Muhammad Abdullah in their final and second years, respectively, earned this accolade for its project that integrates satellite imagery with generative AI to address pressing environmental and geospatial issues.
The jury was impressed by GeoGemma for its use of AI in multiple modalities, noting its strong technology stack and the important problem being solved. Alongside GeoGemma, another Pakistani group, (N + 1)-th Time, comprising final-year students Muhammad Huzaifa Khan and Hashim Muhammad Nadeem from Fast National University, Islamabad Campus, was also one of the top 10 finalists of the Challenge.
Pak鈥慟atar Family Takaful鈥檚 accolade
PakQatar Family Takaful Limited (PQFTL) receives the title of the Fastest Growing Family Takaful Company 鈥 Pakistan, at the International Finance Awards 2025, states a recent press release. This recognition places PQFTL as the only Takaful company from Pakistan to receive this accolade.
The company has consistently invested in nurturing and talent-empowering its teams with robust training programmes and industryfirst products and has embedded a peoplefirst ethos across all levels. This approach, accompanied with the digitisation of processes for convenience, has built customer trust.
By embracing technology and maintaining a strong Shariah governance framework, PQFTL has not only strengthened trust among its stakeholders but also streamlined processes to deliver seamless, customer-centric experiences. This synergy of innovation and dedication has established PQFTL as a benchmark in the Family Takaful space.
Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, June 30th, 2025