In the last few days, there had been reports of Pakhtuns being targetted in various parts of the city. Needless to say ethnic violence had to follow as seen last night. MQM cites Talibanisation as reason enough to evict Pakhtuns from Karachi. However, a sudden realization of the threat the Pakhtun community poses is suspicious.

Karachi is the trade hub of the country, and as any economist will tell you, when an urban centre is developed without enough attention to rural or even semi urban areas, rural-urban migration is only natural. Karachi thus attracts a number of migrants from not only the N.W.F.P, but all over the country. This migrant population then assimilates into the workforce and over the years has become an integral economic force in the city.

The Pakhtuns too have become an indispensable part of Karachi. Not only do they control most of the public transportation system, but a majority of cobblers, tea hotel owners, construction labourers happen to be Pakhtuns. Read more

It is being reported from various parts of Karachi that there are wide spread riots in the city, as of last count Dawn has reported that there are eight people dead and over 77 injured.

Areas affected were Orangi Town, Banaras, Orangi Town, Quaidabad, North Karachi and Nazimabad. The resulting panic led to traffic jams in different parts of the city

In Nazimabad area, miscreants forced shopkeepers to close down markets whereas rumours led shopkeepers in Light House, Zainab Market and Jama Cloth Market to close up. While the Pakistan Rangers have dispatched 45 mobiles to different troubled areas, while the city police is operating on an emergency basis.

In a high level meeting with the ruling coalition running the province has issued strict shoot-to-kill orders to the police force. At the same time its ironic to note that with chaos in the city the electronic media has maintained a strange silence, except a few scarce reports, probably coaxed into submission ‘for the benefit of the country’ Karachi Stay Safe Follow twitter hashtag #Karachi for the latest updates

Kids born today due to activities at Do Darya (two rivers, Phase 8, DHA) will surely be a living, futuristic legacy of Gen (r ) Musharraf’s rule.

How? Read below.

Musharraf once announced that women shall be equal to men and that they must receive similar respect as men get (which men, he never told us). Therefore, he announced his famous bill, called Women Bill. The bill was a landmark achievement in the face of strong opposition from mullahs and other tullahs of Parliament and Senate. It said, among other things, freedom of expression (sexual, religious, etc). And lo and behold, people were out dating, doing things, touching, touching more, doing more things, and as we shall know after 20 years, doing lot of things not included in the bill.

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One person was killed and dozens others injured in a series of five blasts that ripped through different areas of the busiest city of country on Monday.

Two explosions occurred here in Banaras area. One of the blasts happened in a pile of garbage while the other one at a footpath near Banaras chowk, injuring 16 people. They were shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, sources said.
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Usually, in this series, we tend to pick up the topic discussed in other blogs that are relevant to Karachi and expand on them but the following description of the North Nazimabad Town by Owais Mughal in All Things Pakistan is worthy of being reproduced in full. Enjoy!

In April 2008, we had a post on Eight Bazaars of Faisalabad, and we presented it as one of the best examples of town planning in Pakistan. We would like to develop this topic into a whole new series about the best planned localities of Pakistan. Among many examples of fine town planning in Pakistan are North Nazimabad Karachi, Model Town Lahore, Faisalabad’s 8 bazaars, Federal-B-Area Karachi, Islamabad Master Plan, Wah Cantonment, and many more in other cities. In today’s post we will cover North Nazimabad, Karachi.

The satellite image below shows North Nazimabad’s 20 residential blocks bound in red polygon. East of NN is Federal-B-Area where as North of NN is North Karachi and Buffer Zone.

Whenever the aesthetics of Civil Engineering and Town Planning Projects is considered; it is an accpetable fact that curves and gradiants are considered more natural than squares or rectangles. Cities planned in rectangular grids, though easy to navigate, don’t have same aesthtics as brought out by circular roads and curves. If you look at North Nazimabad’s map above you can clearly see how aesthetically the curved roads and plots have been designed within mostly rectanguar grids. Atleast to me this is the town planning of highest aesthetic order.

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Photography Credit: Jawad Ahmed

This entry could be about any of our localities, where we spend our days and nights. The same path we trudge regularly to get home after long hours in school/university/office.

In Karachi especially, when we build/buy our houses, there’s always that personal touch, some extravagance on our part done to be different from the rest of the houses around the area. It is when we like to extend our lawns a bit more by encroaching outwards; make stretched parking slopes taking main footpath’s space. In such fervor some forget that they are building on the land which is not really theirs.

Then KDA comes in and during their drive of amnesiac building/re-building of roads and you see nothing but rubble when you wake up one fine morning. I found a live example in North Karachi, Sector 8 to 10. I investigated to discover that the concerned authority had issued prior warnings and were instructed to shift their electric & gas meters but nobody paid heed to the notice and on 31st May at 6 o’clock sharp, bulldozers came and did what they are made for.

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Yesterday I spotted for the first time this exciting food festival by the side of the road in North Nazimabad Block N. The scene was filled with the sprit of festivity and I could not stop my self from parking by the road and giving this place a quick visit.

The Street were all lit up with lights, yeah I know we have an acute electricity shortage and this my not be a good idea but well any ways it presented a pretty sight, although very superficial may be a mirage to call it the city of lights, but what so ever it was pretty. And all the food lined up on the stalls, Chola Chart, Gool Gappay other snacks something for every one to enjoy. Kids, youngsters old people, Poor, rich and people who could hardly afford a plate of Gool Gappay. The festival had something of cheer up every one.

Un fortunately being on steroids (for medical reasons) I couldn’t try any of the dishes but looking at all those people enjoying, forgetting all their worries at least for the moment and kids holding candy floss and it’s sweetness showing up all on their face, was a pleasant sight.

I really hope such festivals and events should continue around the year providing specially the under privileged and people with limited income and their children some enjoyment, entertainment and reasons to put their worries away for at least a few moments.

Finally a place for the teenagers of North Nazimabad to hang out at? Or just another window shopping chance for the area’s aunties. Decked with branded shops from top to bottom, I was forced to think if the shops were considering a revision in prices to cater to the customers in this part of the city. Not saying of course, that people here are any poorer but it is a general perception here that the ‘old money’ in North Nazimabad, is less ostentatious than pull paar affluent.

Serious shoppers still head to Hyderi, that’s exactly opposite Dolmen Mall. Hyderi, too has its own version of shopping mall in the form of Madni Mall. Nonetheless, for all those who used to head to Zamzama for shoe shopping can now find some good brands right here.

Yesterday, a young man caught the bandits who had robbed him by chasing them down to Liaquatabad.

Jaffery said that he was a resident of Liaquatabad and worked at a private firm. He went to Block-J, North Nazimabad, for office work Monday evening. On his way back to his workplace, two armed bandits on a motorbike stopped him at the Sakhi Hasan Chowrangi. They took his cellphone, cash and CNIC at gunpoint, and fled. Jaffery chased them, and the bandits sped up their motorbike, crossed the Nazimabad Bridge and turned towards Liaquatabad.

Jaffery said that he saw a patrolling police mobile near the Dakhana Chowrangi, and informed the officers about the bandits. The police party signaled them to stop. On seeing the law-enforcement personnel, the bandits opened fire which was retaliated. After a brief crossfire, Hamid (alias Piya) and Farhan were arrested. Pistols and looted items were recovered from them.

Kudos to the guy, who fought for his right. Of course, this was a bit dangerous as well because these bandits do not hesitate to use their guns, but this needed mentioning.

Link: News

Ali Adnan Qazalbash explains why many people take any other route than SF.View Full Image

By the mid of 2005 Shahrah-e-Faisal (Faisal Highway) used to be the fastest way of traveling from southern Karachi to north-east part of city and vice versa i.e. Karachi Airport. Now a days many people avoid using this highway during rush hours of evening as a huge tide of traffic pass through this time of week days.