Pakistani News for the Rest of Us

Born in Karachi, 42-year old Asim Abdullah made his fortune from hi-tech investments, notably the sale of his company Veo Systems, to Commerce One, the business-to-business internet marketplace. Last summer, the entrepreneur was spotted in Paris at Ungaro’s fashion show, the first clue that the Silicon valley millionaire was to become a fashion sugar daddy. …

The 29-year-old is a customer coordinator at Pizza Hut, and is the only female in her branch which comprises forty. But the fact that she is a lone woman in such a large team has never been a hurdle in her professional life. However, there are times when men from more down-market areas like Jodia …

According to the president of the GSM Association, Ricardo Tavares, mobile operators in Pakistan are expected to invest USD3 billion in GSM technology over the next three years. The country’s six cellcos – Paktel, Pakcom, U-Fone, Mobilink, Telenor and Warid Telecom – plan to have invested USD1.2 billion in 2005 alone, with the country’s total …

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has created world commercial aviation history by flying newly-manufactured Boeing 777 LR (Long Range) — the first airline in the world to fly it from Hong Kong to Heathrow — the wrong way around the globe. Along with five Boeing pilots, Commander Asif Reza, senior vice president flight operations PIA, was …

In 1972 Saghir Tahir left Lahore, Pakistan with about $100 to his name. Today he is a successful businessman and elected representative to the New Hampshire State Legislature in the New England region of the United States. The secret to his success, he says, is hard work. “I wanted to take my kids …

INVESTMENT holding company Eden Enterprises (M) Bhd plans to invest US$1 billion (US$1 = RM3.77) in the energy, housing, tourism and construction sectors in Pakistan. The proposed investment will include the development of two power plant projects that the company will jointly participate with local partners. Pakistan’s Private Power Infrastructure Board (PPIB) approved the development …

In Gulistan-e-Jauhar, there is one name which is on the lips of everyone, whether that person lives in Gulistan-e-Jauhar or some adjoining locality. That place is called “Perfume Chowk.” The name comes from a perfume shop originally which has been running for seven years at the same place. Mursaleen Khan Sherwani established his business after …

The first plant producing ferroalloys to cater to the needs of Pakistan Steel and other steel manufacturing units in Pakistan, has started production in the Dhabeji Industrial Estate. With the commissioning of the plant, Pakistan has joined a select group of countries producing ferroalloys. The AAI, ISO 9001: 2000 certified plant is first of its …

A Pakistani firm M/s Energen Energy Generation is launching today for the first time an electricity-run, petrol-free motorcycle. According to the firm, the price of the bike ranges from Rs 25,000 to Rs 35,000. The motorcycle is smoke-free and noiseless and will come in three models to be initially sold in Karachi only. The …

Rashad Ali and Pulin Patel, two friends originally from Pakistan and India, are running the race for the Next Big Thing on cell phones from a humble office off the back streets of Richardson, Texas’ Telecom Corridor. Ali, 42, and Pulin Patel, who is 35, met in Richardson when both were working at Nortel Networks. …

Overseas Pakistanis remitted over one billion dollars in the first quarter of the fiscal year 2005-06, strengthening the government’s hope of receiving over $4 billion by the end of the year. The country received $1.002 billion during July-September 2005 against $983.15 million it received during the corresponding period last year, which is 1.98 per cent …

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 …

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 …

Investment money has flowed in from expatriate Pakistanis around the world, local citizens seeking higher returns than fixed-income choices and speculators taking a chance on the nation’s future. Large sums of U.S. money pumped into this U.S. ally have improved its balance of payments. In response to requests from the International Monetary Fund and the …