Ismat Gul Khattak

Early life and background

Khattak says she was brought up in a very educated family and credits her parents. She says her parents gave her many opportunities and never stopped her from going abroad. Her brother was one year younger than her. She says she grew up with her brother's friends and hardly played with dolls. [1]

She says she never thought of herself as a woman. She says she does not describe her path as a struggle won through great difficulty. [1]

Education

Khattak studied at a school in Abbottabad and then went to a university in Peshawar. She went to Australia in 1999. She did a masters degree in Australia. [1]

Early career

Khattak joined a job and then went to Australia on a scholarship. She says she was working in a Pakistani government environmental agency when she applied for the scholarship. She says that during her scholarship she thought she should resign from the government and explore other places. [1]

She says she was offered a job in London. She says she resigned after a couple of months and came back to Pakistan. [1]

Canada and the move to Dubai

Khattak says she was offered a Senior Program Manager role in Canada and signed a contract. She says she did not intend to move to Canada because she could not leave her family. Her father was unwell at the time, and she worried about him. She says that instead of going to Canada she apologized and went to Dubai. [1]

Dubai

Khattak says that after she went to Dubai, she was offered a job there. She says she stayed in Dubai for about seven years. She says she studied and visited about 12 accreditation bodies. She says she was the mastermind behind an international halal accreditation forum while working in Dubai. [1]

Pakistan National Accreditation Council

She says that in January 2015 she came on a contract of three years. She says the government gave PNAC its mandate. She says she is working with the government again as Director General. She says that during her previous tenure her team began accreditation outside Pakistan as well. [1]

Khattak says she started from scratch with no recommendation or push. She says she is going towards self-sustainable accreditation, so that they will take no money from government. She says that she and others went to give a presentation to Imran Khan, after taking time from the Prime Minister. [1]

Return to full-time work in Pakistan

Khattak says her contract expired in 2018, after which she went back to 50% of her time with Dubai. She says she went every month and spent 15 to 20 days before coming back. She was on the UAE government payroll until 5 August 2020. She says her full-time work started on 6 August 2020. She says her mother is elderly and cannot travel much, and that she cannot live without her. [1]

Halal accreditation

Khattak says Pakistan was the first country in the world to start halal accreditation. She says that, if all goes well, an international halal conference has been scheduled for 26 and 27 May. She says Turkey has said it will bring a very large delegation. She says there will also be halal trade, with manufacturers displaying their halal products. She says this will open many opportunities for people, the business community, industry and halal certification bodies, both in Pakistan and abroad. [1]

Views on accreditation and trade

Khattak says accreditation means etemaad, which she translates as trust. She describes two WTO agreements, on technical barriers to trade and on sanitary and phytosanitary measures. She says a report stated that about 4 trillion dollars of trade, from a few years earlier, is linked in some way to accreditation. She says Pakistan has no share of that accreditation-linked trade. [1]

She says Basmati rice should be a Pakistani trademark. She says that their certificate is equal to America's and Australia's. [1]

Views on work and young people

Khattak does online mentorship calls. She says a government job is not the end of the world. She advises volunteering somewhere, working and learning, and then doing one's own work. She advises people without a proper job not to think of going to Europe or Dubai. She says she used to see people living in very bad conditions. [1]

She says hard work is the only way forward. She says she does not see a job as a 9 to 5. She says she is more interested in doing real, thorough work. She says she thought she should apply environmental auditing and assessments. She says that when anyone brings her a recommendation, she did not accept it before and does not now. [1]

She believes Pakistanis are a selected nation. She says trusting children matters and that trying to control them can do harm. [1]

Personal life

Khattak says about 99.9 percent of her travel was for professional reasons. She says she did a lot of trekking and travel, but has less time for it now. She booked herself on an Antarctic trip but could not go. She says she would love to see the aurora from the North Pole. She says she loves German Shepherds and considers them part of her family. [1]

Timeline

1999

Went to Australia.[1]

2015

Came on a contract of three years.[1]

2018

Her contract expired and she went back to 50% of her time with Dubai.[1]

2020

Her full-time work started on 6 August.[1]

Appearances

Frequently asked questions

References

1. Standards, halal trade, and the courage to come home . Thought Behind Things , 2021-03-19.