sometimes lurk the most dangerous of men! Over the years, i’ve seen and heard about stories relating to masjid officials involved in all kinds of sins from rapes to robbery and from slavery to even murder. Many a tmies, they get off scott free with nothing left behind except the crushed victims. With no kind of entry criteria required to become an imam and all the protection “religion” brings, what else can u expect.

Yesterday, a Pesh Imam was caught by the police at a checkpoint as he was fleeing after commiting a robbery. From his posession the following items were recovered. Gold ornaments, three cameras, eight mobile phones and one TT pistol. And on top of that, even the motorcycle he was driving was snatched from someone.

As reported, the inauguration for Bagh Ibne Qasim did take place, and the president arrived, this time with less hoo-haa than usual, which is great.

During the inauguration, the president has announced that one of the worlds tallest buildings would be a part of the Islands Project, needless to say he insisted that they will continue. In another turn of events, it was reported last night on TV that the Chief Minister of Sind, Mr. Arbab Ghulam Raheem has consulted with a group of lawyers to review the situation about the islands. It was further reported that “Sind will never relinquish ownership of these Islands. Any area in the arabian sea, higher than the water level is the property of the Province of Sind, and if required, we will approach Supreme Court”.

Classic case of skewed management!

Avenue Art Cafe is not your average Zamzama restaurant because it offers you something a little different than just expensive food and conversation – it creates a whole experience that appeals to your mind, body and soul.
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I remember this line from when i went to get my license made for the first time. Back then, it was either give bribes or waste an entire day/week at the office to get your license.

for the benefit of non-urdu readers, the above line reads “twelve hundred.. twelve hundred only”

Then the new DSP came, and things changed. When i went with my brother to get his license made, we couldnt even FIND an agent, much less bribe one. The poor guy had to go through three failed tests (theory) to get his license, but he was happy to get it done right. The first two times, he failed cuz he didn’t know what the signs meant in urdu :S and the last because he didn’t use the correct word of urdu.. such were the antics of the traffic cop taking his test. Still, it made him learn the whole book.

Today, i read that DSP has been removed from the traffic office, and of agents rejoicing! Their reign of bribery, curruption and a dreams of a house in the dubai are back! Too bad for us folks though, when a 1600 license starts costing us about 3000……

Art is not as restricted as it seems. You can come up with your own interpretations and have fun oggling at some of the creative pieces displayed at Indus Valley School of Arts. You can buy them too, if you develop an instant liking for them.
“FACULTY Art/2″
Opening Recenption: February 28, 5:00pm to 7:00pm
Gallery Hours: Monday to Friday: 10:00am to 7:30pm
Saturday : 10:00am to 5:00pm
Information: 5861039-40 extensions 326
http://indusvalley.edu.pk/gallery/f_art2.html- for more information you can visit this site:)

This picture appeared in Dawn a few weeks ago, but couldn’t get it from the online verison. This time, i found it via flickr, thanks to Ali Adnan Qazalbash.

Bonus points for whoever tells me HOW this pic was taken?

P.S. Anyone knows where i can find a similar photo of the Nazimabad underpass as well?

Tons of thank you to sarafaraway for uploading this one. Chai paani productions present 3 latest videos on Karachi. A must watch.
Karachi : Dekh Magar Pyar Se Part 1
Do listen to the poetry by the kid. I couldn’t understand all but my fav was :
Shubnum giri pahar se, moti bikhar gai
Hum tum kitney pass they, milker bichar gai
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If you’ve lived in Karachi long enough you must have encountered potholes of different shapes and sizes ready to gulp in a vehicle or a padestrian. Some of those potholes we get so used to that it becomes our nature to drive past it with accurate precision.

So how about we document all such potholes. Point out your favorite pothole in the comments section. A flickr link to the image would give you bonus points.

After months of being torn up, it looks like II Chundrigar road will finally be restored as work begins on it. The contract was awarded recently to Shamsher Shah.

Its slated to be completed in 6 months and at a cost of 210 million.

From the article..

Sources said work could have started this month, but due to VVIP movement it had to be delayed for a month to avoid potential difficulties caused by road closures. The contractor has also provided a traffic diversion plan to the DIG and SSP of the Traffic Police, and asked them to ensure a complete traffic “shutdown” on the areas his firm will be working on.

City government sources have said that the delay was caused by several factors – an intense search for a contractor willing to do the work at the stipulated price, and the attitude of the FWO in not joining negotiations being held with several contractors. Similarly the infighting as to who had overall authority to award the contract led to continual delays.

Bagh e Ibn Qasim (reported on earlier here) quite possibly the largest man-made park in Pakistan, is set to be inaugurated tomorrow (Tuesday) by the president. It is estimated that 10 million people would be using the park annually.

At Rs. 10 per adult, and rs. 5 per child, the City govt stands to literally make millions from this investment! Not to mention all the rent they’ll get from the various attractions in the park and food joints.

I’ve been going by this park at night, and it is absolutely breathtaking! I hope the people of karachi will let it remain like that. Other parks (zamzama park, beach park, nisar shaheed park and aunty park etc) have shown that they can survive defacement, wishing this one gets the same treatment.