Live from Pakistan

Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali and his 21-member cabinet was administered oath of office yesterday in the sumptuous Presidential Palace which dominates the grid iron layout of Islamabad, laid out during the late 1950s by the Greek planner Doxiadis. I have always felt that Islamabad is... Sign in to see full entry.

On the eve of the induction of a civilian government as President General Musharraf recounted the achievements of his government, the Asian Development Bank Report has provided critical figures on poverty in Pakistan. As Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali takes oath today and forms his government, he faces... Sign in to see full entry.

The election of the leader of the house was keenly watched by the nation yesterday in view of the fractured mandate given to the Assembly. Will the PML-Q candidate Mir Zafarullah Jamali (Balochistan) get the magic number of 172 votes? was the question, even though it was a foregone conclusion that... Sign in to see full entry.

Yesterday in a meeting with the City Nazim (mayor), while presenting our Karavan Online Classroom for Girls, it was good to see the Nazim expressing concern regarding the need to provide assistance to women and girls. It is good, because the Nazim was at one time an Amir of Jamaat-e-Islami, a party... Sign in to see full entry.

The election of the Speaker has demonstrated that the coalition of parties of the religious right (MMA) have not been able to forge an alliance with either the PML-Q (pro-General Musharraf) nor PPP-P (Benazir Bhutto's party). Reports suggest that where one MMA component may have wanted to come to an... Sign in to see full entry.

The three-day urs (festival) of the Sachal Sarmast is in progress at the shrine of the saint situated in District Khairpur of Sindh. The conclusion will be marked by Governor Sindh giving away prizes to folk artists for their performances. Sindh is often referred to as the land of the Sufis because... Sign in to see full entry.

Where the state of cultural heritage is a cause of grave concern, the turtles of Karachi, once an endangered species, are doing well. Those who have gone turtle-watching on Karachi’s sandy beaches would be pleased to learn that due to the commitment of people such as Sindh Wildlife Department’s... Sign in to see full entry.

Are we building up too much hope from our women representatives in the parliament? Apparently the number of women who now sit in Pakistan Parliament (60 elected on reserve seats and 13 on general seats) is larger than that in the US Congress and the Senate, houses of British parliament and... Sign in to see full entry.

Does this ancient site on UNESCO’s World Heritage list deserve the neglect and apathy that it is facing today? The tragedy is that even this most well-known cultural property of Pakistan is left to fend for itself. An article in one of the newspapers today highlights the plight of the site... Sign in to see full entry.

Yesterday’s proceeding of the oath-taking ceremony of newly elected members of the National Assembly showed a full house. As the elected members took their seats, a breath of fresh air was the presence of a large number of women—there are 73 in a house of 342. Women members have vowed that they will... Sign in to see full entry.