Pakistani News for the Rest of Us

American companies are finding a low-cost pool of educated English speakers that rivals neighboring India. So far, the bet by Armbruster’s company, TRG Pakistan Ltd., is paying off. It recently branched beyond its main office in Lahore and opened a second office in Karachi, the nation’s commercial center. By year-end, TRG hopes to expand to …

Heavy snowfall on Islamabad’s Margalla Hills, Abbottabad, Northern Areas and Azad Kashmir kept people indoors. Traffic remained suspended in some areas of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and the Northern Areas (NA), while flights to NAs were also disrupted due to rains and snowfall. Scattered rain was had been forecast in Balochistan on Sunday, …

World-renowned artists, poets, writers, scholars and researchers of Urdu language would participate in an International Urdu Conference scheduled to be held in the federal capital from March 9. A unique Mehfil-e-Mushaira will be held at Daman-e-Koh where well-known poets will recite works of legendary poets. An epic presentation of the evolution of Urdu language will …

FOR a Karachi-born nuclear physicist, Pervez Hoodbhoy (54) fits no stereotype. Not surprising, therefore, that Hoodbhoy told Newsline he has no time to take in Bollywood movies. The professor from the Quaid-e-Azam University at Islamabad has spent the last two years bent over his laptop, editing precious footage on Kashmir for a 45-minute documentary titled …

Pakistani journalists have until February 28 to enter a competition for the best gender-sensitive reporting. The Pakistani Press Foundation and UNESCO in Islamabad are organizing the third annual Gender in Journalism Awards. There are two awards in the competition. The first, open to both men and women, honors excellence in gender-sensitive reporting and coverage of …

Pakistani music and especially ghazals are quite popular in Jammu. A Pakistani cultural troupe is slated to present a play in Jammu and Kashmir next week on Baba Bulle Shah, a 17th century Sufi saint who was revered by both Hindus and Muslims in his time. The troupe of 20 artistes, comprising qawwals and actors …

A Tsunami forecast centre would be established in Pakistan. The centre will be established in Karachi, while two backup warning systems would be setup in Islamabad and Quetta. Tsunami waves created by 8.3 intensity earthquake had hit coastal town of Pasni in 1945 killing about 4000 people.

Wasay is an assistant professor at the Aga Khan University in Karachi, Pakistan. He has led efforts to improve public health through programs to decrease rabies and tetanus and to increase support for stroke and multiple sclerosis. Wasay has established a training program for Pakistani neurologists similar to the Palatucci Advocacy Leadership Forum. “The greatest …

Pakistan has passed all diplomatic and political steps to get elected president of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) unanimously. In a meeting of the 54-member ECOSOC Pakistan will be formally elected president of the council. Pakistan being elected fifth time president of the ECOSOC in its 57 years’ history. Pakistan envoy in …

Pakistani band Strings that has featured in Spiderman-2, has a fan following in India too. Music has a greater influence than cricket, when it comes to improving Indo-Pak relations, believes Faisal Kapadia, lead vocalist of Pakistani band Strings. “In cricket one team wins and the other loses, while in the exchange of music concerts, it’s …

Umer Sharif’s name is synonymous with laughter. Known as the ‘laughter factory of South-East Asia’, the actor has legions of fans in Pakistan and India. His video plays and audio cassettes of his stand-up comedy shows are popular with Urdu speaking audiences all over the world. The actor has also written, directed and acted in …

The Metro Group is planning to establish three to four outlets in the first phase at Karachi and Lahore, Dr Hanz-Joschin Korber, chief executive officer of the group, said on Wednesday. According to a press statement issued on Wednesday the Metro is the third largest trading and retailing in Europe and fifth largest in the …

Pakistan expects to receive bids from at least eight investors for the privatisation of its state-owned telecoms company including from state-owned south-east Asian operators Singapore Telecom and Telekom Malaysia, the country’s privatisation minister has said. Etisalaat of the UAE and investors from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, The Philippines and Pakistan are also expected to …

The Higher Education Commission (HEC), pursuing its vision of becoming on effective e-government organisation, has introduced online job application system. All HEC jobs are advertised on the commission’s website http://www.hec.gov.pk. Prospective candidates can be informed automatically of new jobs announcement by subscribing to the HEC website updates, which are being updated day to day. Once …