Pakistani News for the Rest of Us

It should be the quietest time of year at the slimming clinic in the bustling city of Rawalpindi, Pakistan, but days before Muslims begin their holy fasting month, business is booming. “We have devised special Ramadan packages,” says the centre’s medical advisor Farzana Sadiq. A vendor selling cream and pistachio-filled sweets made specially for …

The inclusion of poems by seven renowned poets of Pakistan in an anthology of poems ‘Men of Our Times’ edited by Fred Moramarco and AI Zolynas and published by Georgia University Press brings a unique recognition to the contemporary stature of Pakistan’s literary scenario. The five English poets from Pakistan included in the anthology are: …

Pakistan’s economy is capable of absorbing the devastation caused by Saturday’s magnitude 7.6 earthquake, the strongest in a century, because remote areas were the worst-affected. Pakistan expects growth of 7 percent this year as the government continues its effort to attract investment through privatization and liberalization. Pakistan’s benchmark Karachi Stock Exchange has gained 32 …

Henna producers have popstars like Madonna and Sting to thank for making the tradition a part of America’s mainstream culture. But for Muslims, the dye, which is a pigment made from a plant native to the Middle East and especially Pakistan, has been an age-old tradition dating back centuries, when women used henna for ritual …