Islamabad Shops for ‘Love Offerings’

IT'S A cool, breezy evening in Pakistan’s tree-lined capital city, and local womenfolk are busy shopping for Valentine’s Day gifts at a downtown shop. Located in the popular Jinnah market area in the city’s F-7 sector, the store is filled with Western-style “love offerings,” such as teddy bears, heart-shaped candies, jewellery boxes, and giant greeting cards. Matchmaking agencies, via their websites, also cashed in on the occasion, which has its roots in ancient Christian and Roman traditions, by arranging meetings between singles.