Islamabad Metblogs » backpacker

Bomb Blast In F-6 Markaz

backpacker — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 16:21:22 +0000

A huge blast rocked F-6 Super market in Islamabad at around 8:50 pm local time in an uptown restaurant called Luna Capresse. This restaurant is right in front of the popular medical store called D Watson and Shaheen Chemist. So far two people are confirmed dead and 11 injured. At the time of the explosion, the restaurant was occupied by mostly foreigners. More updates coming in

Startup Insiders #5, Islamabad, 23rd Feb

backpacker — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 08:30:42 +0000

In a series of events to promote entrepreneurship in Pakistan the next event, named Startup Insider #5, is being held at Planet X Entertainment Theater Islamabad. The event is open for all, so you can just drop by without any prior registration

The theme of this event is : How do I make sure my technology idea is linked with a business need and demand in the market?

Some the important questions that will be addressed in this event include.

Do I really need a killer product or service idea to be an entrepreneur?
What is Innovation? Is innovation necessary for building a successful business?
How do I think about building my product? How do I innovate in my business?

Date-Time
Saturday, February 23rd

Time
3pm – 6pm

Venue
Planet X Entertainment Theater Islamabad (Map attached in the picture)

Panel
-Jawwad Farid – CEO Alchemy Technologies
-Jehan Ara – President, P@SHA
-Faisal Qureshi – CEO Kolachi Advanced Technologies
-Zia Imran – CEO, Vahzay Pvt Ltd-
-Adnan Agboatwalla – Co-founder, PixSense
-Amir Jehangir – Consultant – Innovation Journalism Program, Stanford
-Dr. Qasim Sheikh – CEO, National ICT R&D Fund
-Dr. Zakiuddin Ahmed, CEO E-Health
-Ahrar Naqvi – COO, PalmChip Pakistan (Telecom Division)
-Dr. Nazir Vaid – Chairman, NexSource
-Osama A. Hashmi – CEO, CDF Software

Highlights
-An amazing venue with a lot of secret fun activities.
-Coffee, soft drinks, and other exotic beverages and snacks.
-Two representatives of investment funds in the country.
-People who will be talking about innovation in many different industries
-Zia Imran will be coming up specially from Lahore to add his charm to the event!
-Custom lighting and fitting of the studio to suit the event.

Startup Insiders – a Green & White and P@SHA venture which continues their thematic focus to answer some of the most important questions in the minds of an entrepreneur. We covered Startup Insiders #3 here on Islamabad Metroblog. More details can be found at here

I am pretty positive that with concerted efforts, we are en route to establish a strong ecosystem for entrepreneurship in Islamabad.

Welcome To The Stone Age

backpacker — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 17:00:00 +0000

It seems as if Pakistan is officially on road to wining the race to stone age. The latest crises hitting Islamabad is the outrageous load shedding. Scheduled and unscheduled power outages for long hours have forced every business and household to suffer. Can anyone imagine that in an age of the so called “economic prosperity” with “highest GDP” in the region we have a shortage of 3000 megawatts. The government has failed to come up with any notable power projects in the past eight years. But who do we have to complain to when we have rulers who are not answerable to their people for their incapability as opposed to an elected government representatives. Pakistan requires around 11,000 megawatts per day, while the per day availability is around 8,000 megawatts. The officials said that the shortfall might increase to 5,000 megawatts during the upcoming summer.

Let me get you through a scenario. In a typical day for a working professional in Islamabad the office electricity is shut down for one hour in the morning, and one hour in the evening. Unfortunately, for those who do not have generators, the problem is two folds. So “unofficially” we are having a maximum 6 hour workday in the Capital. For people who are working in the IT industry for global clients, this is unacceptable. Ten minutes before the shutdown, everyone shuts off their computers, and “waits” for the electric supply breakdown. Imagine how much work suffers in whole of the industrial sector with losses amounting to millions of dollars due to unpredictable electric supply. I am wondering, amidst these sorts of conditions, if any sane businessman would really want to outsource their businesses to Pakistan in the first place.

Those who have fallen into the trap already, are looking for better options elsewhere in the region. It’s increasingly becoming a highly non competitive business environment, which lacks even the basic facilities to support sustainable business ventures. If you are living in a sector that houses some important minister, or a retired general chances are your street will have an uninterrupted electric supply. If you own a multi million dollar business, and pay millions in tax, don’t expect any government support to make things just a little easier for your life. WAPDA is officially doing five to seven hours of load shedding per day in the rural areas, while four to six hours of load shedding is being done in cities. Unofficially, there is no limit…

If you go out shopping into the markets in the evening, there is hardly any electricity around. As you move from sector to sector, and you are caught in the middle of a bad loop, it might eventually turn out that electricity shuts down at the Markaz that you approach.So you are caught in a perpetual cycle of dark because load shedding is done in different intervals at different sectors, usually following one after another. I talked to the shopkeepers and most say their sale has suffered on an average of at least 20-30%. It’s sad to see the feeling helplessness on their faces….But how much better could we have expected in 2008?

Now Who Wants To Go Skiing?

backpacker — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 08:50:32 +0000

Islamabad received it’s first snowfall of the season today. I took some snaps from my office and it looks lovely.

POLL: Islamabad, Crises & 2007

backpacker — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 08:30:58 +0000

2007 has been an eventful year, which would not go down unnoticed in the annals of the capital’s history. This poll is about having opinions on what our readers think was the biggest crises faced by Islamabad in 2007

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Wandering In A Ghost Town

backpacker — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 14:00:15 +0000

Yes that’s what describes Islamabad right now after the assasination of Benazir Bhutto. I had the chance to wander around in a few sectors of Islamabad like F-6, F-7,F-8, F-10, G-7,G-10 and G-6 and all of it reminds you a scene from the old wild west movies. The markets are all closed with a few shops open in the sub sectors market catering to supply for basic neccessaities of the citizens. The petrol pumps have been sealed off with pavements, no gas is available in the whole of Islamabad anywhere, and there is Islamabad Highway Patrol roaming around in the city. At a few places I did find some batteries of military personal, mostly rangers. The roads all are blanketed with a defeaning silience. Overall the mood of the city is calm, yet there is an air of strange melachony all around.

All major business have suffered, with major private and public offices closed for work. Some companys who work for overseas clients have asked their people to work from home. Many students have suffered as some had examination in the last week of December which had to be called off. I got a chance to talk to a few people on the road and it seems that most of them were taxi drivers or some shopkeepers who were apparently sitting outside their shops to guard them just in case mob hit the malls. There are some angry protesters pelting stones towards policemen on the seventh avenue. However overall there are no major signs of aggression.

This is not by any means how the city planned to embrace the new year. I just hope there is better in store for us as we try to deal with this tragedy which is one more of those tests of our resolve as a nation.

Our National Character On Display

backpacker — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 17:00:37 +0000

I had a chance to take a group of fifty odd hikers into the Margallas this Sunday, mostly expats and there we had our national character on display everywhere. I was shocked to see some recent developments on the Pir Sohwa road leading to Damne-Koh. As we already know that CDA has gone miles in recent years to restore the scenic beauty of Islamabad, with dozens of new parks, new roads, and sign boards. The paint used on these sign boards is extremely expensive, as it has certain capabilities for example being able to resist the rough weather effects, which is not possible with ordinary paints.

However, some illiterate and ignorant people have started using these sign boards for advertisements of their “election campaigns”. Just like apes, without thinking about the consequences of using public sign boards as their own publicity billboards, they have started putting images of their ugly leaders on our public property. Now most of these sign boards have been completely destroyed, thanks to their beloved “heros”. All of the pictures “on display” on these sign boards are anything but despicable, fashion diasters to say the least (Most need a good hair cut, and the execrable moustaches definitely have to go)

The question arises, do we really deserve to have a quality of life in the first place? We are worse than animals. We don’t think before we act, and we don’t have any regard for our environment and surroundings. At least animals are wise enough to keep their surroundings in good shape.

Have a look for yourself :

2nd. Women Rock Climbing Competition

backpacker — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 17:00:37 +0000

The 1st. Women Rock Climbing Competition held on April 15-16′ 2007 proved to be a great success. The response from individuals and institutions was amazing and more than 200 girls were registered and finally 80 girls were selected for qualifying round. There were 12 position holders from 4 categories of competition. On the closing session, Ms. Nilofar Bakhtiar, the then Federal Minister for Tourism awarded shields to position holders while Mr. Bryan Hugill distributed certificates among all participants.

Considering the great response of participants and success of the event, the Club announced 2nd. Women Rock Climbing Competition on 8th. & 9th. March 2008. The dates have been selected exclusively considering the weather conditions, a weekend and International Women Day i.e. 8th. March.

It is expected that the climbers will participate not from the whole country but from SAARC countries as well. The club has plans to organize few training sessions supervised by the experienced and professional Rock Climbing Instructors from USA .

All female climbers, or women, who have an interest in the sport and are willing to give it a shot to participate are requested to send their confirmation to the Club at their earliest. I am not exactly sure about the age and categories, but you can get in touch with them to find out more. Rock climbing is a wonderful adventure sport which involves a lot of physical and mental endurance. However with proper equipment, practice and safety arrangements, it’s a game full of adrenaline pumping action, and you keep coming back for more.

For further details and participation, please feel free to send your queries at adventure@panoramic.com.pk or visit www.adventureclub. com.pk

The contact person is :

Tahir Imran Khan
The Adventure Club – Pakistan
Cellular No. : 0092-333-5128519 : 0092-321-5366570
Office No. 2, Hi-Tech Center,
Block 21, Street No. 39, G-10/4, I & T Center,Islamabad ( 44000 ) – Pakistan
Phone No. : 0092 – 51 – 2110479, 7104015
Fax No. : 0092 – 51 – 2110697
Email : adventure@panoramic.com. pk

Photo Credit : All Posters

“Home Is Where Your Clothes Are”- A Lovely Treat For Your Weekend

backpacker — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 05:00:50 +0000

Shah Sharahbeel and his crew have done a wonderful job in reviving the theatre scene in Islamabad and the initiatives of this crew have been successful in adding a vibrant cultural essence to the capital city. With 18 hit plays such as Phantom of Opera, and Bombay Dreams under their belt in just four years time, the team has been able to establish a loyal fan following who eagerly look forward to their next act.Credit goes to Islooites as well for supporting this burgeoning form of art and showing an eclectic taste for it. As Shahrabeel pointed out himself at the end of the play that Islamabad has proved to have shown the distinction of having a taste for theatre better than Lahore or Karachi. Their recent act “Home Is Where Your Clothes Are” showing at the Islamabad Club is a highly recommended treat for your weekend.

The play is about the plight of a retired major Alon who has rented out his wife’s place to multiple tenants. Retired and divorced by his wife for his adjutant and best friend, Ronald Major Alan Buxton manages to barely eke out a living by his wife’s flat out to two tenants, Radhika an Indian woman, and Phillip a young lawyer. Of course neither one knows of the other’s existence. But when on one fateful evening when both tenants decide to stay over the same weekend, the major finds himself in a “difficult situation” to keep the pair apart. Throw in the return of his wife and her new husband and several other unexpected visitors and you have a perfect recipe for a riotous disaster.

I would not spill the beans here because the play is worth watching if you are looking for a roller coaster ride of two hours filled with comedy, humor and performance that would leave you in fits of laughter. Kudos to Shah Sharahbeel and his crew, most of who are amateur actors, for adding value to the society by providing the means for a healthy entertainment, and establishing a tradition of following strict timings. Believe me the play will start at 8:00 pm and will end at 10:00 pm. There were hoards of people standing outside the hall who were late, and were not allowed inside, after the doors were closed. Very rightly so too, and I really appreciate the initiative.

The play shows for two more days, Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd of December at the Islamabad Club. Tickets (Rs 500)are available at “Illusions” gift shop in F-7, and F-6 Markaz. So hurry up, don’t miss it, and please share your comments and views here with us at the Islamabad Metroblog.

Twin Bomb Blasts Kill Many

backpacker — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 08:40:04 +0000

Twin suicide blasts killed at least 16 people in the Pakistani garrison town of Rawalpindi adjoining Islamabad early on Saturday, the military said, including 15 aboard a defence ministry bus.

A suicide bomber rammed a car into the back of the bus outside an intelligence service office carrying ISI personel. Another bomber blew up his car at a checkpoint outside army headquarters. The death toll is expected to rise, as some news agencies are quoting atleast 35 to be dead.