The Londoner

KARACHI: Emaar Pakistan is launching the sale of Alma Townhomes within Canyon Views with on-line registration for customers, commencing from May 25, 2008. According to a press release Saturday, managing director Emaar Pakistan, Steve McCartt said, “Canyon Views is redefining the property sector of Pakistan with its focus on creating an integrated lifestyle neighbourhood”. Canyon Views is an exclusive gated community with villas in a wide range of architectural styles and amenities such as retail outlets, community clubhouses, parks, schools and mosques. staff report

By Irfan Aligi KARACHI: Wouldn’t it be better if we first considered using the resources in Pakistan before importing technology for the electricity crisis? This would seem like the obvious choice but one energy expert, Mian Suhail Hussain of Gresham’s (Pvt) Ltd, argues that the government seems bent on the opposite. Sixty percent of the total energy produced in the country is hydel. But the capacity of reservoirs is shrinking and we don’t have enough dams. According to Hussain, the government has several plans of action. The first is working towards agreements with foreign investors, including Japan Power, Sepcol and Attock Power Company, for combined-cycle fuel oil engines worth US$1 billion. However, the basic cost of such electricity production would be Rs 12 per unit with these engines and the consumer will pay more. These combined-cycle fuel oil engines have a capacity of 48 percent and a waste rate of 52 percent. This means that these engines would use 100 percent fuel but produ...

Tipoo Sultan Coal is presently world’s fastest growing fuel particularly in the developing countries. Coal’s importance can be judged from the fact that it provides 26 % of primary energy and 40 % of world electricity supply. Coal has gained special importance due to growing concerns for energy security prompted by the abnormal surge in world oil prices to over $120 per barrel of oil, mounting tensions of the western countries with Iran , interruptions in the international supply network of gas from Iran and Russia and ongoing stand off in the Arabian Gulf. Coal offers a solution which is still found in abundance locally in most parts of the world. World coal consumption is expected to increase by 74 % from 2004 to 2030. World trade of coal is expected to increase about 40 %, from 800 million tons in 2007 to 1122 million Tons in 2030. Coal share in world energy consumption is expected to increase to 28 % by 2030 but its share in power generation is expected to remain 41 % roughl...

Nokia, the world leader in telecommunication technologies, announced the launch of NOKIA CARE - customer care centre in Karachi at a glittering event today at the Ebrahim Trade Towers. The briefing, which served to introduce Nokia's customer care centre initiative was addressed by Nokia's key regional officials, Imran Khalid Mahmood Country General Manager Nokia Pakistan and Afghanistan, Ian Stewart, Care Director Nokia Middle East & North Africa and Zoff Khan, Managing Director of Global Customer Care, a Koohiji Group Company. The Nokia care centre has been established to facilitate consumers and is a global initiative, which is the first of its kind in Pakistan. Nokia care was launched in Lahore last month and is now being launched in Karachi, with many more to come. The Nokia care will provide customers with the required help and assistance needed to ensure optimal performance of their Nokia devices, with easy access to expert maintenance services and purchase enhancemen...

Zong, a Chinese mobile company, Chief Executive Officer Qian Li has said that the Chinese mobile company has invested $721 million in telecom sector in Pakistan during 2007 and it would further invest $7 million in Pakistan this year. He disclosed this at meeting with Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer here on Saturday, says an official. Zong Chief Operating Officer Zafar Usmani besides telecommunication experts Li Ludang, Babar Ali Sayed and Nasir Khan were also present on this occasion. The head of the delegation Qian Li informed the Governor that 2000 transmission towers of China mobile are already working in Pakistan whereas 350 new transmission towers of China mobile will be installed in Pakistan this year. Welcoming the Chinese investment in telecom sector, the Governor said at present 61 million people in Pakistan are taking benefit from mobile technology of telecommunication. He also said Peoples Republic of China is one of our best friends and promotion of relationship in every wa...

Momin Iftikhar In the post 9/11 environment the Indian establishment and agencies have acquired considerable expertise in improvising bloody charades for conducting foreign policy affairs in the context of terrorism. Such shenanigans, notwithstanding the loss of considerable life and framing of innocents, have acquired sickening frequency in the post 9/11 environment. Invariably dovetailed into the overall conduct of foreign policy vis-à-vis Pakistan, such episodes are supported by a widespread propaganda tirade spewed out by a mammoth media infrastructure and minutely timed for maximum effect. The murder of 35 Sikhs in the Kashmiri hamlet of Chattisinghpura, coinciding with the visit of President Clinton to India and attack on the Indian Parliament before mobilizing for Operation Parkaram, being archetype of such fake yet grisly productions. This ingrained trend was eminently evident as the fourth round of the Composite Dialogue Process (CDP) approached culmination in the third week o...

The President of Azad Jammu Kashmir Raja Zulqarnain Khan here on Monday said that the government was fully committed to raise the life style of the common man across Azad Jammu Kashmir equally both in urban and country side areas with special focus to turn the liberated territory a true model welfare state. He declared that the liberated state government has already released development funds of millions of rupees for various mega public welfare projects of Mirpur district including this city under the spirit of the Mangla dam raising project and it was now the responsibility of the nation-building departments to execute and complete new and ongoing development projects respectively in the district. The President expressed these views while talking to Mirpur city Administrator Alhaj Abdul Qayyum Qamar who called on him at the PWD Rest House on Monday. The Administrator briefed the President of the ongoing mass development plans launched for the speedy progress of the city. He said that...

SRINAGAR (IHK): There was complete shut down in occupied Kashmir on Saturday to protest against visit of Indian President Prathiba Patil to the state. The strike call was given by APHC led by Syed Ali Shah Gilani. Educational institutions, commercial establishments and government offices remained closed while traffic remained off the road. Syed Ali Gilani said there was no justification of her visit as human rights violations by Indian security forces were going on in IHK. Through this strike, Kashmiris want to tell the world that they do not endorse policies of Delhi government. Kashmiris want their right of self-determination denied to them by the Indian government, Syed Ali Gilani said. According to reports pouring in from different districts of the India held-Kashmir, complete strike was observed to protest against the visit of the Indian President, media reports said. Prathiba Patil reached Srinagar on Friday for a five-day visit to IHK.

ISLAMABAD: A nine member United Kingdom (UK) defence delegation is arriving Islamabad today, Sunday on a three days visit. The team is to be led by UK Secretary of State for Defence Rt Hon Des Browne MP. During its stay in Pakistan, the delegation will hold meetings with Minister for Defence Ch. Ahmad Mukhtar and senior military and defence officials. The visit of the defence delegation will help in further expanding and strengthening bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

Physically scythe-shaped, the territory of Azad Kashmir is dotted with a vast chain of scenic and natural beauty spots amidst flowing streams, gushing out springs and flowering plants. The mountain tops over the valley look like circular and rectangular caps. The panorama is really enchanting. The valley rivals those of Kaghan and Swat in beauty and boasts of remarkable alpine scenery. It is bounded to the east by the line of control or (ceasefire line) with Indian held Kashmir and travel to foreigners is rather restricted. Azad Kashmir extends from the plains of Mirpur at the northern edge of the Punjab through the outlying foothills of the Himalayas, to the mountains in the north at 6,000 meters above sea level. It is drained by three major rivers, the Jhelum, the Neelam and the Poonch whose valleys are very beautiful. There are four districts of Azad Kashmir namely Muzaffarabad, Poonch, Kotli and Mirpur. These districts abound in natural beauty and rivers and streams flow throughout...

It is situated 133 kms (3 hours by car) from Quetta in the province of Baluchistan at an altitude of 2449m (8200 feet) above the sea level. Ziarat is a holiday resort in the Sibi district amidst one of the largest and oldest juniper forests in the world. It is said that some of the juniper trees are as old as 5,000 years. Ziarat is also known as the Juniper Valley. The name Ziarat means 'shrine'. A local saint, Kharwari Baba is believed to have rested in the valley and blessed it. After his death, he was buried here. People visit the saint's shrine, which is 10 kms by jeep from Ziarat town. Ziarat is a hill station in the Sibi district of the province of Baluchistan. It remains quite cool during summer and receives enough snowfall during the winter. Light woollen clothing for the summer and heavy for the winter are recommended. Ziarat and the Juniper valleys around offer good opportunity of hiking and trekking. Various gorges also offer adventure and fun during the summer. ...

Sindh (Sindhī: سنڌ, Urdū: سندھ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhis. Different cultural and ethnic groups also reside in Sindh including Urdu speaking people who migrated from India at the time of independence as well as the people migrated from other provinces after independence. Neighbouring regions are Balochistan to the west and north, Punjab in the north, the border with (India) to the east, and the Arabian Sea to the south. The main languages are Sindhi and Siraiki. In Sanskrit, the province was dubbed Sindhu meaning "ocean". The Assyrians (as early as the seventh century BCE) knew the region as Sinda, the Persians Abisind, the Greeks Sinthus, the Romans Sindus, the Chinese Sintow, while the Arabs dubbed it Sind. It is mentioned to be a part of Abhirrdesh (Abhira Kingdom) in Srimad Bhagavatam.[2] Historically it was also known as Aparanta.[3] Sindh was the first place where Islam spread in South Asia. As a result, it is often...

Pakhtunkhwa is home to the majority Pakhtuns (Pashtuns) as well as other smaller ethnic groups. The province borders Afghanistan to the northwest, the Northern Areas to the northeast, Azad Kashmir to the east, Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) to the west and south, and Pakistani Punjab and Islamabad Capital Territory to the southeast. The principal language is Pashto and the provincial capital is Peshawar. Geography Pakhtunkhwa is largely located on the Iranian plateau and Eurasian landplate, while peripheral eastern regions are located near the Indian subcontinent and this has led to seismic activity in the past. The famous Khyber Pass links the province to Afghanistan, while the Kohalla Bridge in Circle Bakote is a major crossing point over the Jhelum river in the east. The province has an area of (28,773 square miles) or 74,521 km² of Pakistani territory and its districts include Hazara Division, home to the town of Havelian, the western starting point of the Karakoram Hig...

Gilgit (Urdu: گلگت) is the capital city of the Northern Areas, Pakistan and a tehsil (headquarters) of Gilgit District. Its ancient name was Sargin which later on came to be known as Gilit and it is still called Gilit or Sargin-Gilit by local people, it was the Sikh and Dogra conquerors who gave it the name of Gilgit, in the Burushaski language, it is named Geelt. Ghallata is considered its name in ancient Sanskrit literature. Gilgit city is one of the two major hubs on the Northern Areas for all mountaineering expeditions of Karakoram to the peaks of the Himalayas, the other hub being Skardu. Gilgit has an area of 14,680 square miles (38,021 km²). The region is significantly mountainous, lying on the foothills of the Karakoram mountains, and has an average altitude of 1,500 metres (4,900 ft). It is drained by the Indus River, which rises in the neighbouring regions of Ladakh and Baltistan. Geography Gilgit ValleOnly a part of the basin of the Gilgit River is included within the poli...

In recent years Pakistan has emerged as a strategic player on the world stage—both as a state armed with nuclear weapons and as an American ally in the war against terrorism. Most of Pakistan's population lives along the Indus . West of the Indus the land becomes increasingly arid and mountainous. To the north the land rises to the great mountains of the Hindu Kush and Karakoram —including K2, the world's second highest mountain after Everest, at 8,611 meters (28,250 feet). Pakistan is the site of some of the earliest human settlements , home to an ancient civilisation rivalling those of Egypt and Mesopotamia , and the crucible of two of the world's major religions, Hinduism and Buddhism, both of which have their roots in the subcontinent. The Indus Valley civilization , one of the oldest in the world and dating back at least 5,000 years, spread over much of what is presently Pakistan . During the second millennium B.C., remnants of this culture fused with the ...

ISLAMABAD, May 10 (APP): Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) here Saturday decided to grant 14 FM radio licenses for various cities. The decision was taken in a meeting held here under the chair of Chairman PEMRA, Mushtaq Malik. In addition, education purpose FM radio licenses to SZABIST Larkana campus was also approved. With the award of these licenses, the number of licensed FM radios in Pakistan would reach to 120 while raising the number of Radio licenses for education purpose to (14) fourteen. FM radio license have been approved for Bahawalpur, Tando Allah Yar Khan, Kashmore, Bolan, Loralai, Qilla Saifullah, Attock, Upper Dir, Pishin, Qilla Abdullah, Tando Muhammad Khan, Umerkot, Kharan and Mastung cities areas. Chairman PEMRA said these licenses are being issued pursuant to Authority’s objective to penetrate healthy and accessible media in every hook and corner of the country. The Chairman said PEMRA is constantly striving to adopt latest electronic media techn...