KARACHI: Seeing the adventure biker and solo traveller from the United Kingdom, Gul-i-Afshan Tariq, from afar was one thing and listening to her speak another.

The blonde young lady in the black biker jacket with extra pockets, asymmetrical zippers, lapels and armoured elbows, carrying a helmet under one arm, spoke in clear Urdu. It turned out that she was as much Pakistani as anyone else welcoming her at the reception held in her honour by the Culture and Tourism Department of the Government of Sindh at the Quaid-i-Azam House Museum on Saturday.

Gul is from Sargodha originally and she is married to a gentleman from Swat. She lives in Manchester from where she started her solo journey a while ago and where she hopes to reach back soon after wrapping up her solo world tour because she misses her three-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Anaya Ali, terribly.

“I left Pakistan for higher studies. Wherever I went, I used to hear strange things about my beautiful country. With motorbikes being my passion, I represented Pakistan at big bike shows and the people there would be surprised to meet me. They did not know that there were so many women bikers in Pakistan,” said Gul.

Gul rides for her cause ‘Wheels for Freedom’, which is about breaking barriers and stereotypes as women, celebrate cultures and inspire women riders across the world. She is also writing a book in which she highlights her cause.

Inspired by Greek mythology, she has nicknamed her heavy BMW 310CC GS bike ‘Niki’, which is a feminine name of Greek origin that means ‘victory’. On it she has undertaken solo adventures to France, Switzerland, Italy and so many other interesting destinations where she had the honour to run into so many fans.

In Turkey she was warmly received by the Pakistani community. “I always save up to pay for my travel expenditures but there is so much goodwill wherever I go. The Pakistani community in Turkey would not let me pay myself for my hotel stay there,” she shared.

She also regrets not being able to visit Syria, Iraq and Iran, which she very much wanted to. “I was turned back by people despite my being very close to these countries. I myself could hear the firing so I reluctantly I turned back to go to Istanbul and then Bulgaria where I rode an extra 600kms to meet another woman biker when I heard of her even though going there was not in my initial travel plans,” she said.

She also had to leave her beloved Niki in Bulgaria as she found it very difficult to travel here on a UK-registered bike. So she flew to Pakistan and arranged for another bike here for herself, a Chinese Zongshen RX3, which, she says, feels similar to Niki.

Now she is excited and looking forward to riding to other cities in Sindh such as Hyderabad and Sukkur and in Punjab to Multan and Lahore and up to the Northern Areas. “I was welcomed here in Karachi by so many other women bikers at Hill Park,” she said happily while hoping for good outcomes from the peace talks taking place in Islamabad. “I will try again to visit Iran on my way back,” she hoped.

Earlier, while welcoming Gul-i-Afshan to the Quaid-i-Azam House Museum, Managing Director of the Sindh Tourism Development Corporation, Feyaz Ali Shah, said that she is a brave and wonderful example of women empowerment and her travel adventures here, which she will also be uploading in the form of videos, would give a strong message to the West that Pakistan is a peaceful and hospitable country.

Published in Dawn, April 12th, 2026