ISLAMABAD: Abdul Waqif grips a worn-out shovel and digs into the earth beneath the harsh midday sun, his body bent with age but still moving steadily.
Moments later, the 70-year-old hoists a heavy bag of cement onto his shoulders and carries it toward an under-construction house, all while fasting.
For Waqif and thousands of daily wage laborers across Pakistan, Ramadan is not just a month of spiritual devotion. It is also a month of shrinking incomes.
Waqif migrated from Mohmand tribal district in northwestern Pakistan to Islamabad two decades ago in search of work.
Like many laborers from rural and former tribal areas, he left behind limited local opportunities to earn a living in larger cities such as Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi.
