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Upper Dir, PAKISTAN: An American woman recently journeyed thousands of miles from Illinois to a remote northwestern Pakistani district to marry a man who befriended her online over a year ago, praising the people here for their hospitable nature and urging other foreigners to ignore the “negative” perceptions about Pakistan. 

Mindy Rasmussen, a 47-year-old procurement specialist at an aviation repair station in Springfield, Illinois, arrived in Pakistan’s mountainous Upper Dir district’s Usheri Darra valley on June 29 to marry Sajid Zeb Khan, a 31-year-old who works at his father’s medical store. 

She’s not the first foreigner who crossed countries to marry a resident of Upper Dir, a district known for its picturesque scenery. An Indian woman, Anju, converted to Islam in July 2023 and changed her name to Fatima before getting married to Nasrullah, a resident of Upper Dir. Anju met Nasrallah on Facebook, with their romance making headlines worldwide at the time. 

Rasmussen, who converted to Islam and adopted the name Zulekha Zeb before marrying Khan on July 2, said he befriended her on Facebook a year ago.

“He (Sajid Khan) sent me a friend request on Facebook and I thought he was very handsome, so I accepted,” Rasmussen told Arab News, laughing. “His first message to me was, ‘I am Sajid Khan from Pakistan.’“

Rasmussen said she responded to Khan and the two got to know each other better as time progressed. 

“He is a really sweet, loving man and I fell in love with him over this past year that we have been talking,” she said. 

Khan is the eldest of nine siblings, who include five sisters and four brothers. The newlywed couple are currently living in Usherai Darra, a famous remote tourist spot in Upper Dir in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province. 

Khan told Arab News his conversations with Rasmussen went from messages to video calls as they grew close. Rasmussen eventually spoke to Khan’s family before she proposed marriage. 

“At the end, she proposed to me, saying, ‘Why don’t we get married as we are so close,’” he said. 

Traveling to the US was always difficult for Khan, given that Pakistanis have to undergo extensive background checks for a US visa, sometimes leading to delays and denials. Hence, he invited Rasmussen to come to Pakistan instead. 

And now that she’s here, he plans to take her to famous tourist attractions in KP. 

“We will go around in our own land, like our Swat, Kumrat, Chitral, Usherai Darra, especially Nehag Darra,” he said. 

‘AN OPEN MIND’

Touched by the people’s hospitality in Pakistan, Rasmussen praised the “tightly knit” community for showering her with affection. 

“The love that they have shown me, you know, we don’t really have this back in the US,” she said. “This level of community. I mean, everybody is a neighbor, is a friend, is a family,” she added. 

Pakistan’s northwestern KP province, despite being home to several glacial lakes, mountain ranges and picturesque locations that lure tourists in droves, has suffered from a surge in militancy recently.

Pakistani Taliban militants have launched attacks against law enforcers and citizens, especially in the tribal districts bordering Afghanistan, in their bid to impose their strict version of Islamic law. 

Rasmussen, however, said she had experienced neither “terrorism” nor any violence during her stay in the country. She advised foreigners not to harbor preconceived notions about KP. 

“Come with an open mind and you will see for yourself that this is a safe place, a peaceful place and just wonderful people,” she said. 

However, her visa expires on August 14 and she is in Pakistan for only a month. 

“I plan to go back to the US and then we are going to get Sajid’s [immigration] paperwork going and he is going to come to the US with me,” she said. 

Khan, meanwhile, insists he didn’t marry Rasmussen to secure an easy path to American citizenship, saying that she was his “honor” now. 

“She has arrived here by choice and has married me by choice,” he said. “Now, she can live by choice and leave by choice.”

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Maritime Affairs Minister Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry said this week that the government is eyeing a $200 million boost for the country’s tuna sector, after securing a new fishing quota from the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC).

Pakistan’s Maritime Affairs Ministry said in a press release on Saturday that the IOTC has issued Islamabad a new tuna fishing quota of 25,000 metric tons, which comprises 15,000 tons of Yellowfin Tuna and 10,000 tons of Skipjack Tuna. 

The IOTC is an intergovernmental body comprising 30 member states, established under the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Its mandate is to manage tuna and related species in the Indian Ocean by promoting sustainable use through scientific research, quota distribution, and regulatory frameworks.

“This is a landmark achievement that promises significant foreign exchange earnings,” Chaudhry was quoted as saying by the ministry on Saturday. 

“With international prices for these tuna species ranging between $5 and $7 per kilogram, and potentially higher with value-added processing, the economic potential is enormous.”

The minister described the development as a “turning point” for the country’s tuna sector. He noted that though Pakistan currently catches more than 45,000 metric tons of tuna each year, much of it has been escaping the formal economy due to unregulated operations.

Chaudhry said to realize the potential of tuna fish as an economic resource, the government has undertaken reforms such as introducing the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy.

He said the policy is aimed at unifying fragmented regulatory frameworks while promoting environmentally sound and revenue-generating fishing techniques.

“This policy framework supports Pakistan’s obligations under international climate and marine conservation agreements,” the minister said. 

Chaudhry said destructive fishing methods such as gillnetting and trawling are being phased out, with the government replacing them with more selective and environmentally friendly longlining techniques. 

“This transition reduces bycatch and supports ocean health in the face of climate-driven stressors such as warming waters and changing migration patterns,” he said. 

He said the government has undertaken reforms such as the revision of certification and testing fees for seafood exports, resulting in a revenue increase from Rs48 million [$168,960] to Rs250 million [$880,000].

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has repeatedly spoken of the government’s intentions to put Pakistan on the path to sustainable economic progress through exports. 

The South Asian country hopes to increase its exports to escape a prolonged macroeconomic crisis that decreased its foreign exchange reserves and weakened its national currency, especially in 2023, before the government undertook fiscal reforms.