Pakistani News for the Rest of Us

The symposia will take place at universities across Pakistan and will bring together stakeholders with an interest in the topics. Some of the meetings will be held in collaboration with major mass media groups, including Pakistan Television (PTV) and national newspapers. Awards ranging from 50,000 to 100,000 rupees (US$835 to US$1,670) will be given to …

Pakistani music channels are not only fighting off competition from abroad, but actually winning new audiences day by day. Today, because of these music channels, local bands and singers like Atif, Jal, Noori and Junoon are more popular than any foreign band or singer. Vast audiences from India, Canada and North America watch two of …

“Project Ittehad”, which involves the laying of a very high-capacity fibre optic network spanning over 4,000km across the country. “When completed, the backbone will link over 77 towns and cities in Pakistan, which include Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Faisalabad,” Telekom, through TM International, had acquired a 78 per cent stake in Multinet in February. The …

Britannia-Wise Group in collaboration with the Heritage Consulting will set up 14 Britannia Resource Centres throughout Pakistan during next few months to extend support services like facilitating promising students to get admissions to international colleges and universities, helping local businessmen to collaborate with the UK business community for promotion of mutual business, immigration and visa …

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 …

Angry that the person who is stalling traffic in the car in front of you is actually gabbing away on a phone? A mobile phone company has launched a unique public service campaign to promote cellular etiquette. Mobile phones in Pakistan have become a nuisance as well as a necessity. Today, there are more mobile …

My marriage bridges two cultures and two religions in a world that is not as black and white as some paint it. This summer, I had decided to quit wrestling with fear and heed the U.S. government’s warning to avoid travel to Pakistan. For an American, this sun-drenched country along the Arabian Sea is not …

More than two-dozen languages of Indian-Aryan, Iranian, Tibetan and Nooristani origins are spoken in the NWFP and the Northern Areas, most of which do not have a script. Henrik Lijegran, a research consultant at the Frontier Language Institute (FLI) told Daily Times about his institute’s efforts to preserve and promote the mother tongues of various …

Pakistan star Shoaib Akhtar on Saturday launches his 161 Club to encourage integration between children of all backgrounds through cricket. Shoaib was spotted playing on the streets of his hometown, Rawalpindi, and soon found himself leading the attack for Pakistan’s cricket team. In 2002 he bowled what is widely regarded as the first ball to …

Currently in the city to promote his first solo album, Social Circus, the shiny-headed, irreverent and utterly candid former lead singer of Junoon says he actually quit acting seven years ago. Azmat says he’ll never move to Mumbai, even though his professional prospects might seem better here. But don’t assume that Pakistan’s most famous rocker …

From a painter’s palettes to terracotta to simply chewing gum, 71 Italian artists exploited different materials to produce 171 art works in one standard size to be the part of a roving exhibition, titled, Roma Punto Uno, presently at the Italian Cultural Centre for two-weeks. Bruno A Pasquino said Roma Punto Uno consists of a …