Rabia Razzaque

Senior Programme Officer, ILO Pakistan

[Geir Tonstol @gtonstol]

What does the Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection mean for Pakistan?

@Afke_B explains how the ILO and @WHOPakistan's joint programme is helping create decent jobs, strengthen social protection and build a more resilient health and care workforce.

[Geir Tonstol @gtonstol]

Honoured to sign an MoU with @PSDF_official to strengthen our partnership for skills development and lifelong learning in Pakistan.

The partnership will advance skills development, apprenticeships & labour market research to help ensure training responds to 🇵🇰's evolving labour market needs.

[Geir Tonstol @gtonstol]

Great to join @PSDF_official and the @pkBritish for a roundtable marking #WorldYouthSkillsDay.

With around 64% of Pakistan's population under the age of 30, Pakistan must strengthen the connection between skills development and labour market demand to prepare young people (1/2)

[Geir Tonstol @gtonstol]

Good engagement with government and development partners on strengthening Punjab's nursing and health workforce.

Through the ILO-@WHOPakistan Joint Programme on Decent Work and Just Transitions, we are supporting efforts to strengthen the nursing workforce, expand decent employment opportunities and improve health systems.

[Geir Tonstol @gtonstol]

Great welcoming Hans van de Glind, former ILO Migration Specialist, in Islamabad.

Hans joins us to support our work to promote fair and safe labour migration for Pakistani workers!

[Geir Tonstol @gtonstol]

Great meeting with Dr. Ines Kaempfer, CEO of The Centre for Child Rights and Business, and Ms Asiya Arif, Executive Director of SPARC to discuss potential collaboration to jointly support the transition of Small and Medium Enterprises from the informal to the formal economy.

[Rabia Razzaque @Rabia_Razzaque]

@araghchi @zaighamkhan Every Pakistani shares in the sorrow and hardship of the Iranian people. We stand beside you, respected Mr. Araghchi, with deep sympathy and unwavering support. الحداللہ

[Sophia Saifi @SophiaSaifi]

I'll be on @CNN all day reporting from Islamabad on the historic diplomatic victory by Pakistan in achieving a ceasefire between the United States and Iran. What a night, what a hectic few weeks.

[Seyed Abbas Araghchi @araghchi]

Statement on behalf of the Supreme National Security Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran:

[Shehbaz Sharif @CMShehbaz]

With the greatest humility, I am pleased to announce that the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America, along with their allies, have agreed to an immediate ceasefire everywhere including Lebanon and elsewhere, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY.
I warmly welcome the sagacious gesture and extend deepest gratitude to the leadership of both the countries and invite their delegations to Islamabad on Friday, 10th April 2026, to further negotiate for a conclusive agreement to settle all disputes.
Both parties have displayed remarkable wisdom and understanding and have remained constructively engaged in furthering the cause of peace and stability. We earnestly hope, that the ‘Islamabad Talks’ succeed in achieving sustainable peace and wish to share more good news in coming days!

@realDonaldTrump
@JDVance
@SecRubio
@SteveWitkoff
@SEPeaceMissions
@drpezeshkian
@mb_ghalibaf
@araghchi

[Geir Tonstol @gtonstol]

Exciting meeting with the team from @PSDF_official today. We discussed how the ILO and PSDF can work together on skills development, job creation, and strengthening assessment and certification systems in Pakistan.

Looking forward to taking this collaboration forward. 🇵🇰

[Rania @umyaznemo]

I'd call that "operation epic mistake"!

[Drop Site @DropSiteNews]

“They put me on a metal table, pressed my chest and head against it, cuffed my hands to end of the bed and pulled my legs apart forcefully.

I felt a penis penetrating my anus and a man raping me. I started screaming, and they beat me on my back and head.

While I was blindfolded, I felt a man who was raping me ejaculate inside my anus. I kept screaming and being beaten, and I could hear a camera, so I believe they were filming me.

I cannot describe what I felt. I wished for death. Every moment."

— UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese reads Palestinian survivor accounts of rape, torture, and killings in Israeli detention.

18,500+ have been detained since October 7. At least around a hundred, including a child, have died in custody. And some 4,000 are forcibly disappeared.

“What is lost in Palestine will be lost to us all.” — @FranceskAlbs told the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

[Rabia Razzaque @Rabia_Razzaque]

@MixtUpMixy @IzadiFoad Piers, you have already demonstrated a complete lack of dignity, so while the questions you've asked aren't surprising, they are deeply disappointing. To have stooped this low is a stark reflection of your character—and at this point, there’s no return.

[Geir Tonstol @gtonstol]

Delighted to sign an MoU today with the Punjab Social Protection Authority represented by Ms. Jahan Ara Wattoo, Vice-Chairperson.

The ILO and @PUNJABPSPA will work together to expand social protection for workers in the informal economy and underserved rural communities, while strengthening policies that advance decent work in Punjab.

[Geir Tonstol @gtonstol]

A big thank you to everyone who joined and contributed to today’s discussion.

ILO will continue to work with government, employers' and workers' organizations to expand opportunities for young people and promote inclusive labour markets in Pakistan. (3/3)

[Geir Tonstol @gtonstol]

Participants emphasised that young people in NEET are not a single group — barriers range from skills mismatches and weak school-to-work links to social norms, mobility constraints and limited awareness of opportunities.

Supporting their transition into decent work is critical for 🇵🇰’s development and social stability. (2/3)

[Geir Tonstol @gtonstol]

Exciting discussion at the fourth in our Brown Bag Lunch series, this time focusing on youth in NEET (Not in Employment, Education or Training).

Grateful to welcome a diverse audience for an engaging conversation on the challenges young people face in entering the labour market. (1/3)