Live from Pakistan

So how do we put cultural heritage on the map? This has been the concern of some of us for the last several years. We have researched, and documented and published several books but could reach only a handful of people in the last 21 years. It was not until last year that KaravanKarachi events began... Sign in to see full entry.

Elections in Pakistan were held on October 10, 2002. We are waiting literally with ‘bated breath’ to see the formation of the elected government. However, the little hitch has been that so far women on reserved seats have not been elected. The present government, which is headed by a military... Sign in to see full entry.

Professor Betty Reardon of Columbia University is a wonderful advocate for peace. A committed activist for peace, she arrived with UNESCO’s Ingeborg Breines while Pamela Rogers and I were at Peshwar for the UNESCO project on Cultural Tourism for Peshawar. It was a delight driving back with her to... Sign in to see full entry.

It is over a year now that India decided to amass its troops along the Kashmir border. In retaliation, Pakistan did the same. The two armies, both with nuclear capability, have been stationed eyeball to eyeball, alert and ready to fire against each other. The cost of the armies stationed in the... Sign in to see full entry.

Today we met at City Government office to discuss the traffic management structure for Karachi's pedestrian precinct with the underlying objective of conserving the city's historic architecture, a task set by the Mayor in yesterday's meeting. Although most of us were on time, Deputy Inspector... Sign in to see full entry.

In a meeting held with the City Nazim (Mayor) of Karachi, it was good to note that everybody was keen to establish a traffic-free area in down town Karachi. I had been contacted last week to make a presentation to the Mayor to discuss the Empress Market Gardens and Saddar Pedestrian Project that we... Sign in to see full entry.

The blog of Teach from the Beach by tomlayton is interesting for the developing countries such as Pakistan. We feel that technology does provide a level playing field if it is spread widely in the country. The recent attempts of the government to provide internet access to remote corners can pay... Sign in to see full entry.

Today's newspapers show how political considerations can make yesterdays foes into today's friends. The picture showing warm handshake of the leader of PPP Makhdum Khaliquzzaman (in the absence of self-exiled PPP leader Benazir Bhutto) with Qazi Hussain Ahmed of MMA, a coalition of religious... Sign in to see full entry.

After the return of elected government will there be more investment into educational sector and particularly schools to improve our national literacy percentage? This is one of the important questions particularly since in spite of tall promises by successive governments, literacy levels remain... Sign in to see full entry.

The drawing rooms of the so-called “chattering classes,” the well placed people of the country, are buzzing with speculation as to who will be the next prime minister of Pakistan. President General Musharraf has announced that he will hand over power to the elected prime minister on November 1,... Sign in to see full entry.