What no one told you about Pakistan

Looking for Facebook Admins

umalik — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 15:43:04 +0500

Hey Pakistanis and our friends from around the world. We are looking to revive our Facebook page and will need a few page managers. If you are interested please drop in a message with your contact details and a line or two on your any experience with managing a Page before.

Thank you!

“Few individuals significantly alter the course of history....

umalik — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 10:30:06 +0500

“Few individuals significantly alter the course of history. Fewer still modify the map of the world. Hardly anyone can be credited with creating a nation-state. Mohammad Ali Jinnah did all three.” —Stanley Wolpert on Jinnah.

(via pakistan-zindabad)

Stakes in Mansha’s profitable power plant up for grabs Few names...

umalik — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 10:30:09 +0500

Stakes in Mansha’s profitable power plant up for grabs

Few names inspire more investor confidence in Pakistan than that of Mian Muhammad Mansha, a man known for his ability to turn everything he touches into gold.

Known for turning around loss-making, state-owned entities, the man at the helm of the Nishat group presented the ‘offer for sale of shares’ in Lalpir Power Limited on Friday. Lalpir is an independent power-producing company owned by his conglomerate, which runs an oil-fired power station of a gross capacity of 362 megawatts in Muzaffargarh, Punjab.

The offer for sale of shares consists of 37.9 million ordinary shares – 10% of the total paid-up share capital of Lalpir Power – at an offer price of Rs15 per share (inclusive of a premium of Rs5 per share). (complete news)

Lux advert from the 1970s with yesteryear Pakistani Actress...

umalik — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 10:30:21 +0500

Lux advert from the 1970s with yesteryear Pakistani Actress Rani http://www.insightpakistan.com/2090/lux-vintage-ad-beauty-soap-film-star-rani/ (via bohemiansufi)

Pakistan bags two awards at Sri Lanka’s SAARC Film...

umalik — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 10:30:09 +0500

Pakistan bags two awards at Sri Lanka’s SAARC Film Festival

COLOMBO: Pakistan won two prestigious awards at the 2013 SAARC Film Festival awards ceremony held at the National Films Corporation Sri Lanka.

Pakistan won awards in the categories of Best Actress and Best Feature Film in this third edition of the annual SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) Film Festival, which was held from 26 to 31 May. (Complete news)

Consumer goods: P&G sets eyes on expanding Pakistan...

umalik — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 10:30:04 +0500

Consumer goods: P&G sets eyes on expanding Pakistan operations

Procter and Gamble (P&G), one of the multinational consumer goods companies operating in Pakistan, will increase its manufacturing footprint in the country, P&G Country Manager Faisal Sabzwari recently told The Express Tribune.

“We have a very clear intention that we will continue to increase localised manufacturing in Pakistan,” Sabzwari emphasised multiple times during the conversation.

The P&G country head, however, added that the company will increase localised manufacturing at the appropriate time. “We need to do it at a time when it is in everybody’s interest and we are poised to be successful in our undertaking,” he said. (complete article)

Turning pro next stop for cueist Asif IBSF world champion and...

umalik — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 10:30:16 +0500

Turning pro next stop for cueist Asif

IBSF world champion and recently-crowned Asian 6-Red champion Mohammad Asif is eyeing bigger achievements and feels turning towards the professional circuit is going to help him realise his dreams.

Asif, who won the world amateur championship in December last year, said the time for him to turn pro was five months ago but lack of sponsorships and funds has dashed his hopes.

However, despite the setback, Asif said he will continue working hard and bring laurels to the country — the latest of which was the Asian 6-Red event in Doha.

“The ultimate goal for me is to play at the professional circuit which is yet to be fulfilled,” Asif told The Express Tribune upon the Pakistan team’s return from Qatar after participating in the Asian Team Championship and the 6-Red competition. (Complete news)

Arm-wrestling gold medalist: ‘I got over my own chauvinism’ In...

umalik — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 10:30:09 +0500

Arm-wrestling gold medalist: ‘I got over my own chauvinism’

In June, Sinthia Rose will sit opposite a 65-kilogramme Uzbek woman and try to wrestle her. The 21-year-old has a firm grip and steady eye. Indeed, she hopes to bring back gold at the Asian Arm-wrestling Championship, buoyed by the pride of representing Pakistan as a Christian at an international event.

“Arm-wrestling is a new sport for us but I take it very seriously,” she recently told The Express Tribune from her Liaquatabad home. She tried to excel in other athletics and took part in throwball, long jump and basketball events but feels there is no scope in them. “I believe that arm-wrestling has a future.” (complete article)

Interview: “One art inspiring the other” Pakistani author Mohsin...

umalik — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 10:30:07 +0500

Interview: “One art inspiring the other”

Pakistani author Mohsin Hamid talks about his relationship with the director in adapting the novel for the screen (Reluctant Fundamentalist). (complete interview)

Tamanna: Pakistan’s first noir film (complete article) Follow us...

umalik — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 10:30:15 +0500

Tamanna: Pakistan’s first noir film (complete article)

Anum Fatima, a resident of Ibrahim Goth slum located near...

umalik — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 10:30:11 +0500

Anum Fatima, a resident of Ibrahim Goth slum located near Karachi’s Steel Town, is making history; she is going to Harvard Business School this summer as part of a student exchange program. Anum’s father is employed as a driver and her mother works as a maid.

Public transport: New e-ticketing system for buses ready for...

umalik — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 10:30:16 +0500

Public transport: New e-ticketing system for buses ready for test run

The Lahore Transport Company (LTC) is to give a handheld device for issuing bus tickets a weeklong trial run with a view to putting one on each bus operating in the city.

The e-ticketing pilot project will be launched on an Albayrak bus on the B-28 route (Airport to Valencia Town) in a few days, LTC officials told The Express Tribune.

A passenger getting on the bus will tell the conductor her destination. The conductor will type it into the handheld device, which will give a ticket printout for the passenger.

The device will be equipped with WiFi, GPRS and GPS, so it can send real time data on number of passengers to a central computer equipped with software to keep track of numbers and do comparative studies. The main data centre can also monitor the movement of the buses through a GPS device installed in the buses. (complete news)

Soundcheck: When Roy’s in Rome… Globetrotting singer Shehzad Roy...

umalik — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 10:30:13 +0500

Soundcheck: When Roy’s in Rome…

Globetrotting singer Shehzad Roy was recently in Rome on invitation from Pakistan’s Ambassador to Italy, Tahmina Janjuwa. The Pakistan Embassy in Rome in collaboration with Zètema Progetto Cultura, an agency of Rome’s Municipality, had organised the concert last week in Villa Borghese, the second largest public park in Rome, and was part of La Notte dei Musei (The Night of Museums). The solo show presented Pakistan’s rich heritage — especially its music and poetry — to the Italian audience.

La Notte de Musei is an important event on Rome’s cultural calendar. On the night, a series of events such as concerts, plays and other cultural performances are organised at various locations throughout the city. It was indeed a privilege to have Shehzad Roy perform at one of the most prestigious spots in Rome. The audience included representatives of the Italian government, cultural and media leaders, the diplomatic corps as well as Pakistani and Italian community members. (complete)

Countries express interest in Pak-China’s JF-17...

umalik — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 10:30:08 +0500

Countries express interest in Pak-China’s JF-17 Thunder

Many countries around the world are keen on obtaining JF-17 Thunder fighter jet jointly developed by Pakistan and China, said a senior officer of the Pakistan Air Force on Sunday.

“We’ve been getting inquiries and expressions of interest for the JF-17 Thunder from many countries in the Middle East, Africa and from as far as South America,” Air Marshal Sohail Gul Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, told China Daily.

Pakistan has had the privilege of showcasing the fighter plane twice in China’s International Airshow held bi-annually in Zhuhai.

The JF-17 Thunder or the FC-1 Fierce Dragon as it’s known in China is a third-generation multipurpose combat jet co-developed by Aviation Industry Corp of China and the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC). (Complete news)

Pakistani TV smashes taboos with its answer to...

umalik — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 10:30:12 +0500

Pakistani TV smashes taboos with its answer to ‘Glee’

Gay romance, Islamic extremism and a soundtrack of classic love songs make for Pakistan’s taboo-breaking answer to the hugely successful US television series ‘Glee’.

Like its smash hit forerunner, ‘Taan’ follows the lives and loves of a group of young people who regularly burst into song. But this time they attend a music academy in Lahore, instead of an American high school.

Taan - which is a musical note in Urdu - tackles subjects considered off limits in Pakistan’s deeply conservative Muslim society, with plotlines including love affairs between two men and between a Taliban extremist and a beautiful Christian girl. (Complete article)

Creative industry: Here’s why being Pakistani should make you...

umalik — Fri, 31 May 2013 10:30:12 +0500

Creative industry: Here’s why being Pakistani should make you proud

Would it make you proud if I told you that the Venom character in the Spiderman III movie was developed and animated by a Pakistani? How does it feel to know that a Pakistani animator worked on Hollywood blockbusters such as X-Men First Class, The Day After Tomorrow, Mummy, The Incredible Hulk, Land of The Lost, Surf’s Up and Ghost Rider? How does it feel to know that the same animator won an Oscar in 2008 for working on the winning sequences of The Golden Compass?

Feels great, doesn’t it? I felt the elation at a whole different level, as I came to know all this through a white man I met at the JFK airport when I was flying from New York to Chicago before Christmas last year.

I felt numb with pride when he told me about the exploits of Meer Zafar Ali, a graduate from FAST Karachi, the man who won that Oscar and accomplished the other animation feats mentioned above. (Complete Article)

The Reluctant Fundamentalist movie trailer (2013) A young...

deep-inwonderland — Thu, 30 May 2013 22:59:04 +0500

The Reluctant Fundamentalist movie trailer (2013)

A young Pakistani man is chasing corporate success on Wall Street. He finds himself embroiled in a conflict between his American Dream, a hostage crisis, and the enduring call of his family’s homeland.

Starring: RIz Ahmed, Kate Hudson, Liev Schreiber

Cive Cive Pakistan: Pakistani truck art in Istanbul (news item,...

umalik — Thu, 30 May 2013 10:30:16 +0500

Cive Cive Pakistan: Pakistani truck art in Istanbul

(news item, via umalik)

Aeisha Gulalai:First Female MNA from FATA GHALANAI, May 28: A...

umalik — Wed, 29 May 2013 13:21:21 +0500

Aeisha Gulalai:First Female MNA from FATA

GHALANAI, May 28: A young woman belonged to South Waziristan Agency Aeisha Gulalai vice president of Pakistan Tehreek Insaf become youngest Member of National Assembly on special women seat belonged to tribal area.

She told that there was no representation for FATA women in the parliament while tribal areas have talented women.

“After becoming MNA she will struggle to starts dialogue for peace process in the area keeping all the stakeholders in trust” she said.

“PTI chief Imran Khan has proved the slogans of changed and for the first time he selected a tribal women on special seat belonged to South Waziristan agency which is real changed in the history of country” Aeisha said.

She said that she wants to aware tribal women through education and to motivate for resolution basic issues.

Aiesha told that world consider FATA as terrorists and extremists, in fact tribal’s are talented and peace loving peoples and now they goes to the parliament of Pakistan. (complete article)

Samina Baig: Top award for Everest climber proposed The Alpine...

pak-socioeconomy — Thu, 23 May 2013 13:16:51 +0500

Samina Baig: Top award for Everest climber proposed

The Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) on Wednesday said it will recommend mountaineer Samina Baig’s name for the pride of performance and Tamgha-e-Imtiaz awards.

Samina Baig became the first Pakistani woman to scale Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain with a peak at 8,848 meters. Samina completed the climb to the summit with her brother Mirza Ali, who became the third and youngest Pakistani male to scale the mountain.

Talking to APP, ACP secretary Abu Zafar Sadiq said it was a great honour not only for ACP but for the whole nation and for that, he will recommend Samina’s name for the two national awards.

“On her return here, ACP will be honouring her with a lavish reception,” he said adding that ACP will be sponsoring Samina for her future mountaineering commitments. He further said that ACP will introduce Samina to women around the country to encourage them to come into the sport of climbing.

Via (The Express Tribune 23rd May 2013)