Despite the fact that the recent Pepco-KESC issue was resolved after intervention by the Federal Government, some news sources claimed yesterday that a 120MW transmission line was broken after a transmission tower was blown up by terrorists near the National Highway.

This did result in a breakdown longer than the usual 2 hour span at my end and from a couple of discussion I have ad so far, the issue has not yet been resolved.

I could not find it on any of the newspapers though. Strange.

Thousands of fishermen of Gizri area are still suffering due to the prolonged dispute between their community and Defence Housing Authority (DHA).
The fishermen alleged that their several fishing boats have been broken and set on fire by DHA security personnel while the DHA authorities have strongly denied the allegation, The Nation was informed on Sunday.

(Note: comments were not allowed “mistakenly” earlier)

A good number of Karachiites live abroad. The aim is to appreciate/highlight Karachiites living abroad. Danial brings you Karachi Bazar Toronto.

I guess its “Asian grocery” & “Video” under KB but whats written at the door (right side)?

A magnificent “Zohra Ke Gali” a presentation by Natakwalay opened at the Arts council Theatre today. The play cleverly highlight the absurdities of our society of thinking not even for a second before pointing a finger at others specially women, worrying more about others life, being judgmental, looking at the single side of the picture and inability to deal our own issues with an open mind.

The play revolves around Zohra a women victimized by the society and pushed into being a “Tawaif” who when tries to save the life of another innocent girl who stands today where Zohra was years ago finds herself face to face with people of the society who instead brutally accuses her of misleading the innocent girl and throw her out of their pious society once again. Zohra strongly fights back and boldly tells in the truth to their face but these people are too blind to see the reality. Sadly all her effort goes in vain, she fails and the society succeeds to create yet another “Zohra”.

The play gives it’s audiences a good shares of laughter, frown, smile and tears delivered by a magnificent cast whose powerful performance won’t let you come out of Zohra Ke Gali even until after the play. A commendable writing of Moeen Qureshi and excellent execution of the script by director Anjum Ayaz makes this play a totally unforgettable experience, an experience to enjoy learn and be inspired from.

Cast :

Nyla Jaffery as ZOHRA, Tanveer Abbas, M. Ayub, Sana, Akber Khan, Kaleem Kazmi, Rashid Masood Alam, Farhan Jamalvi, Shan Ali Shaikh, Rukhsana & Anwar Iqbal.

The play is performed daily from 18th March till 25th March, of the year 2008.

For tickets and further Information Please call :

0300-2604411

0333-3040539

0302-2262141

Yesterday I was shocked to hear this breaking news when news channels reported that 102 out of a total of 114 deportees from Abu Dhabi gave the FIA officials the slip by breaking the glass and running free. It sounds funny yet a very serious proposition that our immigration officials can be so lax that 102 people can actually run free right under their noses.

DAWN – FIA’s immigration officials said the deportees had arrived at around 9:45pm by an Etihad Airways flight and were detained behind the immigration counter in the arrival lounge of the Jinnah Terminal. They smashed a portion of the glass wall of the counter and got away. Witnesses, however, said the trouble started after some of the deportees were manhandled by the immigration staff.

The Vintage and Classic Cars Club of Pakistan held its annual show at the Forum parking area on 16th March 2008. The show was a huge success compared to the last year. There were more cars and much more attendees this time which showed an increasing interest in people for classic cars.

Some pictures of the event are added with credits to the original authors.

For more pictures, visit:

http://www.pakwheels.com/forumreply_az_TopicID!71460~ForumID!17~page!1~pw.html

When will those who claim to be our “leaders” focus their “demands” on actual needs of the hapless people they claim to represent? Take for instance this this recent report from The News. It quotes the the Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan (JUP) Karachi chief, Shabbir Abu Talib demanding amongst other things a two day official holiday for the birth (and death) anniversary of the Prophet, peace be upon him.

“The government should officially announce two-day holidays on the 11th and 12th or the 12th and 13th of Rabiul-Awwal” he insisted, whilst also calling for “uninterrupted electricity supply during Rabiul Awwal processions”, a “special cleanliness campaign” (as a part of which limestone should be sprinkled at roadsides, footpaths, grounds and garbage-dumping centres he demanded) and “high standards of law and order in the city” which would ironically include accommodations for crowds to proceed in processions without any barriers and prior permissions. (more…)

The Karachi Metroblog is looking for fresh blood to join its ranks.

If you are interested, and meet the following conditions, please send a brief note about yourself to karachi[dot]metblogs[at]gmail[dot]com.

In order to join the Metblogs, you must be:
a. A blogger.
b. Based in the city you chose to blog for (in our case, Karachi)

In addition, we require a soft commitment from all our authors to post roughly thrice a week. Not all authors meet the requirements, but most are flexible enough to create a wave a posts to make up for their absence otherwise.

Also, we are seriously looking for beyond text blogging. I.e. Video, photo and even audio bloggers are encouraged to apply.

If you recall almost a year back in April, I made a post titled Saahil Bachao…SAVE Karachi’s Beaches talking about the threat of commercialization of Karachi’s beaches, well it seems that the threat has subsided as the company vying for the project then has ‘run away’ leaving the Sindh Planning and Development department dwindling up yet another Request for Proposal (RFP) to be published soon in a number of leading newspapers around the world

The beach front project is supposed to cover some 21,000 acres of land and could have run a hefty tag of over $500 Billion, while the initial costs and reserve guarantee will be $130-$150 Billion at the time of awarding of the contract. Considering that a big Dubai developer has abondeed this project it wont be surprisingly to see this new RFP also fall flat on its face unless the Sindh Government woo in a few investors to bid on this project, seemingly a tough call, but for now we can almost say… The beaches are safe for now….

Unique Pakistan … the project was standstill since August 13, 2007 by the authorities concerned, when they got Expression of Interests (EoIs) from investors and developers of international repute for development of waterfront on the western coastline of Karachi centered around Hawksbay.
(more…)

The IVS Gallery at the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture opened it’s doors to a magnificent exhibitions of art work by several renowned artists on the 10th of March 2008.

The exhibition which include artwork in mix media, oil on canvas, Photography, printmaking, terracotta, wood fired stoneware and several other medium forms a totally outstanding display of one master peace after another. The super realism work of Shakeel Siddiqui attracts attention of almost every single visitor, while the breathtaking work of Rashid Arshad titled blue, Usman Ghouri’s Etching on Somerset titled “Conversation In Darkness” , and Farah Mahbub’s “Jashan” I & II and all the rest as well are totally wonderful works of art.

The exhibition is sure to amuse, not only artists and art enthusiasts but anyone and everyone who would care to pay it a visit.

The exhibition will remain open for all to visit till 22nd of March, 2008, Monday to Saturday from 10:30 am to 7:30pm .