Pakistani News for the Rest of Us

The recent two-and-a-half day A1 Grand Prix test in the south of France provided a great opportunity for Team Pakistan to work through different programmes in preparation for next month’s season-opener at brands Hatch - and helped convince the team that regular runner Adam Khan could trouble more experienced drivers. Buoyed by Khan’s times at …

The Domestic Crusaders, a two-act play about Muslim Pakistani Americans is meant to convey a brutally honest, authentic, and no-holds-barred depiction of a family. Three generations of a Muslim American Pakistani family to be exact, featuring an aged grandfather (Dhada Hakim), his immigrant son and his middle aged wife, (Salman and Khulsoom)… The three standing …

Spunk and bold moves. That’s the new mantra of the Pakistani ramp. Models from Lahore and Karachi are wooing the world of international fashion. Meet Neha Ahmed. At 23, she’s already catwalked in Paris and Dubai. Sunita Marshall, having done ramp shows in London, Sri Lanka, India, Singapore and Dubai, is one of the …

With September approaching fast and summer getting mild, the art scene in Lahore is gaining momentum as three painting exhibitions are being held in the last week of August. Of the three art shows, one opened at Ijaz Gallery on Saturday. A miniature exhibition will be held today (August 28) at the Naqsh Arts Complex …

Devdas is being remade again — this time, in Pakistan, by producer Nadeem Sha and veteran Pakistani director, Iqbal Kashmiri. The budget for Devdas is whopping by Pakistani standards — Rs 10 to 15 crore. The music took a year-and-a-half to compose. “The total cost of recording has taken what would have been the budget …

When Nur Ali, Pakistan’s first professional racing driver, takes part in next month’s inaugural A1 GP series in Britain, a place on the podium is not his only mission. “I want to drive for Pakistan and for its youth,” said Texas-based Ali. Driving was Ali’s childhood passion and he used to navigate for his father …

A Pakistani student, Sonia, has won the top honours in the US by winning a US poem competition on water conservation. Sonia, a fifth grade student, participated in a contest across 60 schools of New York. She was awarded the president medal, Pride of Performance and Excellence Award for her creative work.

The ceasefire between India and Pakistan in Kashmir has produced an unexpected beneficiary - the world’s largest goat. The markhor, a mountain goat that stands almost 6ft tall at the shoulder and can weigh 17 stone, was thought to be extinct in Indian-held Kashmir. Markhor are considered critically endangered, but other populations have survived in …

But at Overland Park’s three-month-old Kababesh Grill in the Highland Plaza shopping strip, the cuisines of Pakistan and India coexist happily on the same menu. There aren’t a lot of Pakistani dishes, says co-owner Joe Hemayoun, a native of Lahore, Pakistan (as is his partner and chef, Zubir Sheh). But the handful of regional dishes …

German luxury sportscar maker Porsche will next year start selling cars in Pakistan, the company said in a statement Wednesday. Starting in the first quarter of 2006, Porsche will open a showroom in Lahore, with an eye toward soon expanding into Islamabad and Karachi. The company said it has signed contracts with Pakistani importer Autotechnik …

Ijaz Nazir, owner of Jaz Licensed Grocer in Craigmillar, was selected to receive the honour for his active role in building bridges between Asian traders, police and local communities. And the 40-year-old, who moved here from Pakistan 17 years ago, collected his award from Lord Provost Lesley Hinds at a ceremony in the City …

The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have launched a ground breaking campaign using cricket to focus on girls’ right to education and sports as part of the regional “Fair Play for Girls” initiative. The programme in Pakistan is aimed at helping young women to start playing cricket, in the …

Pop music is rapidly taking over the Pakistani music scene, despite the moral brigade and diktats of the clergy. “Pop, along with soft rock, is growing in popularity. Already, one private channel - Indus Music - is solely devoted to playing pop music 24 hours a day. There are over 80 FM channels spread all …

Some amateur archaeologists exploring the fast vanishing traces of ancient Sindh have failed to find a mountain spring that was once discovered by British officials before partition of the subcontinent in the city’s western hills that, at that time, was part of an area called Deh Aurangi or Audangi, now spelt as Orangi. In their …