Pakistani News for the Rest of Us

Abacus International, Asia-Pacific’s leading travel facilitator, today announced that bookings on the Abacus system for Pakistan for 2005 are set to more than triple those recorded in 2004. In the first half of 2005, Pakistan FIT bookings on the Abacus system increased 299 per cent over the same period in 2004. The World Travel and …

A three-day vintage and classic car show will be held in Lahore in February. Fifty cars from India will participate. Fifty select veteran, vintage and classic cars from different parts of India will participate in the ‘Indo-Pak Friendship Vintage Car Show’. The proposal of the show at Lahore has been sent to the Government of …

TV One has commenced broadcasting on AsiaSat 3S, offering a mix of programming content including news and current affairs, entertainment, drama and music. “By broadcasting on Asia’s most popular satellite platform and in free to air format, we are able to rapidly grow our television viewership across our country and beyond.” Airwaves Media is also …

Pakistan, which has for a long time been known for its brilliant cricketers, hockey stars and squash players is making a mark in golf–one of the fastest growing sport in Asia. About six players from Pakistan are currently taking part in the Southern leg of the Amby Valley PGAI tour. Although Pakistan’s most popular sport …

Tania, Ester and a few other women are making a bit of history along with some controversy as well. With a job title of “sales promoters,” the women are first of their sex to pump gas in Pakistan. Ayesha Malik was born into a rich family but instead of a silver spoon in her …

Hundreds of school-goers did not attend their classes on Monday and went to Karachi’s polluted beach instead to literally clear the officially designated marine turtle nesting sites. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Pakistan, as part of its marine turtle conservation initiative in the area, organised a beach cleaning activity for the schools at …

One of Huddersfield’s newest restaurants, Saim’s, is rapidly becoming a local favourite with those who like to eat out. Abdul, who is rightly proud of his newly created restaurant, describes the cuisine as authentic home cooking influenced by the region of North Pakistan. Abdul, who converted the former shop in Bradford Road into a restaurant …

The first women’s cricket series between Pakistan and India will begin in Lahore on Wednesday with only families allowed to watch because of cultural restrictions in the country. Women’s sporting events in Pakistan have been on the rise even though religious, social and cultural taboos have made it difficult for women to take part in …

The Oxford University Press hosted an incisive and analytical talk, titled, “So you want to write Urdu poetry? A vocal dissection of Urdu verse”. The speaker was Dr Nomanul Haq, Resident Scholar at the American Institute of Pakistan Studies and a Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, USA. Sounding an optimistic note, he said, “Despite …

As a part of the three week-long trip to India, a 32-member delegation from Pakistan comprising of artists, intellectuals, academicians, politicians, journalists and musicians arrived in Bangalore recently. The Sindhis have a rich tradition of Sufi music, which is part of their vibrant culture. Sindhis with a population of over four crores in Pakistan are …

Hasib Rehman, a Pakistani settled in Japan … is setting up a steel plant at the total cost of US$ 100 million which includes Japanese equity. The investment is being made in response to the recent visit by the Prime Minister to Japan where he met various investors and leaders of trade and industry …

The women-only buses, which started plying different city routes on Thursday, would be having male drivers and female conductors who have been already trained. These women-only buses have a pink-coloured strip all around. The Daewoo bus service has introduced one women-only bus on route No 16 while the Monolite transport company would be plying a …

The historic, first-ever National Women Football championship kicks off under floodlights at Jinnah Stadium, Pakistan Sports Complex, here on Friday. The opening ceremony will be followed with 7.00 p.m. kickoff of the inaugural match between Islamabad and Balochistan which are among the eight teams to compete in the seven-day championship which will also be witnessed …

Karachi was a much smaller city then, but its people had rich reading habits. Many of them were content with newspapers, but a lot of them would go to scores of quality bookshops to satiate their thirst for knowledge and imagination. These area libraries would normally open in the afternoon and serve their clientele till …