Pakistani news for the rest of us

2005 December

Karachi Sisters’ Multilingual Shah Latif Sufi Poetry Software

Designed, developed and illustrated with a meticulous care, the software enables every one to read and understand Shah’s poetry accurately. Two young sisters – Nusrat Khowaja and Naveed Khowaja – have designed and developed first ever illustrated software on Shah Latif’s poetry. The software provides a single platform for reading and translation of Shah’s magnum [...]

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Kashmir Hopes and Builds for Tourism Revival

Domestic tourists have always been able to enjoy the spectacular scenery and hospitality of the people of Pakistani Kashmir. A string of guest houses, most run by state agencies, grew up for the trickle of visitors from the lowlands but most were destroyed in the quake. The earthquake not only opened the region up to [...]

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Pakistan Credit Rating Raised to ‘Positive’ from ‘Stable’

Standard & Poor’s revised its foreign currency credit rating on Pakistan to positive from stable on December 28, citing improvements in external debt indicators. The ratings agency affirmed its current ‘B+’ foreign currency and ‘BB’ local currency long-term and its ‘B’ short-term sovereign ratings assigned to Pakistan. “Sharp declines in the government’s external debt indicators [...]

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Lahore ‘Bhangra Group’ Dances Away the Workload

The group plays the tunes of famous Indian and Pakistani songs and dances in marriages and birthdays. Ahmed said they are happy to be associated with the business although they sometimes have no work for three days in a row. They are not arranging a Bar BQ dinner for six, but that’s the routine of [...]

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Pakistan Documentary Highlights Cruel ‘Swara’ Custom

The film has been produced by Samar Minalah, who had recently challenged Swara, invoking the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. The film has been sponsored by Apna Ghar, a project of Aurat Foundation. The documentary also highlights the fact that the victims of Swara are stigmatised till death. In many cases, when minor girls [...]

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Pakistan Non-Profit Wins Tech-Museum Award

Center for the Improvement of Working Conditions & Environment received the Knight Ridder Equality Award for its efforts to improve working conditions for adults in the carpet weaving industry, thereby encouraging child workers to return to school. Lahore, Pakistan. nnually, The Tech Museum Awards honor individuals, for-profit, public and not-for-profit organizations from around the world [...]

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A Pakistani Collector of 0.2 Million News Clippings

Dr Shaukat Malik’s 200,000 newspaper cuttings collected in his 36-folder post modern art gallery that may qualify him to be listed in Guinness Book of World Records. Dr Shaukat is a retired army officer who takes pride in his hobby and continued it throughout his years of service. He topped the Punjab University exams in [...]

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Microsoft Windows in Urdu Launched in Pakistan

US software giant Microsoft Corporation has launched the Urdu version of MS Office 2003 for users in Pakistan. Microsoft Pakistan Country Manager Jawwad Rehman said that the key objectives behind launching the Urdu version was to make people more comfortable with using computer software as well equip them with new technology. Rehman said the new [...]

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Rediscovering Taxila – The Hidden Pakistani Attraction

Even if you are well traveled and widely read, you probably didn’t know about this remarkable small city in Pakistan with its glorious history. After all, Pakistan is not given much publicity in the West as a great tourist destination. But Taxila is also one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world — [...]

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A US Pakistani Videographer’s Earthquake Documentary

A videographer who runs a part-time media-production business, Aziz had come to document the experience. During a side trip to Balakot and other cities, he expected to see some fallen and cracked buildings. With its kabob stands, travel agencies, bookstores and restaurants, Balakot was a popular stop for vacationers and hikers en route to the [...]

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Found by Khurram