Pakistani News for the Rest of Us

A spectacular 8.4 per cent growth rate in the fiscal year ending in June has surprised many analysts. Among the most impressive indicators is the booming business in Karachi, the 15-million-population city located on the Arabian Sea. Motorbike sales have surged to half a million a year, with export earnings during 2005-2006 expected to …

Pop along to Pakistan’s Decorated Vehicles – part of the Pakistani Film, Media and Arts Festival at Tramway – and you’ll discover the brilliantly embellished moving canvasses that are the country’s trucks and buses. Photographer Peter Grant has recorded these eye-catching vehicles and his images, mounted alongside Billboard Art of Lollywood, create a sense of …

French filmmaker is collaborating with a Pakistani director to produce a series of documentaries exploring the architectural, artistic and spiritual importance of Pakistan’s shrines. The duo previously shot an internationally acclaimed 90-minute feature exploring the state of classical dance in Pakistan entitled Laatoo. Frenchwoman Alix Phillippon and Pakistani Faizan Pirzada have now commenced work on …

Currently the biggest band in Pakistani pop, Strings has had a tumultuous history of disbanding and then reuniting. What hasn’t changed is the consistency of Faisal and Bilal — the band duo — at churning out good music. As for the band’s as yet untitled next album, “it’ll be different — more rock-oriented and not …