German Reunification day
Thursday, October 21, 2010
The 20th anniversary of German Reunification Day has been celebrated at Avari Hotel here on the other day in Lahore. The people from all walk of life attend the wonderful event.
An Honorary Consul of Federal Republic of Germany, Mr. Anees ur Rehman, hosted a dinner to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Reunification of Germany. The function was attended by H.E. Dr. Michael Koch, Abassador of Germany and many distinguished personalities.
Mr. Anees ur Rehman explained that how West Germany performed Economic Miracle and emerged as an economic power after the devastation of Second World and how the Germans realized their dream of reunification. West Germans showed a great spirit of solidarity in rebuilding former East Germany and Pakistan can learn a lot from the Germany’s success story.
Labels: German Reunification Day, Germany, Pakistan
posted by Dilshad Rao @ 2:29 PM,
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Q & A with Meera
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Actress Irtaza Rubab popularly known as Meera has lately become a globe trotter concentrating more on building her image than her work as an artiste. In a tete-a-tete with Sunday Plus she revealed for the first time that her showbiz career started at the age of nine. This fact remained a secret for reasons known to her alone. Her debut film was ‘Kaanta’ with Ghulam Mohyuddin playing the male lead. Since then she has acted in about 60 films.
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Labels: Actress, Film Industry, Meera
posted by Dilshad Rao @ 12:32 PM,
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Is NCA delivering to the needs of time?
Monday, October 11, 2010
Almost all the cricket boards throughout the world including the Pakistan have enough finances in its kitty to streamline the games set up. With the emergence of ODIs and T20 format the game has become a money-making industry and to further their earnings the boards hold cricket galas. But unfortunately for over the last couple of years the uncertain situation in the country has deprived Pakistan of international cricket. Still then the national team was given home away from home at neutral venues to host international teams and the board earned enough money even then. But the utilisation of the money is quite different and overwhelming in view of the fact that all boards opt for promotion of the game in different ways. They introduce latest technology in cricket, do experiments, fix the flaws in the cricketers’ skills and make them ready for the national requirement. These practices go on and on throughout the year but not in Pakistan.
Unfortunately, the PCB despite having reasonable finances has different priorities. The money earned through cricket is used for the travel of board officials across the globe, entertaining blue-eyed friends and families tours, projecting fake development plans like construction of wickets that in ground reality don’t exist but are documented in the files, hiring the services of PR company that charges nearly a million rupees per month, which pose a real challenge for any administrator to tackle.
Take the case of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) when it was constructed, it’s basic objective was to facilitate the emerging and talented players. Initially its budget was Rs 900 million for such a fabulous project that could have taken Pakistan cricket to new heights. But it seems the finances here too are misused and recently millions of rupees were spent to construct cemented pitches outdoor for the use of bowling machines.
The NCA’s administration wanted to construct nearly a dozen pitches in the beginning but lack of space reserved the construction to approximately four pitches. In the end a huge amount of money was wasted on the project and to the dissatisfaction of the administration the project was abandoned. No notice was taken on the waste of money with a reason being that blue-eyed person of the PCB chairman was heading the NCA. Even no notice was taken by anyone about Rs 2 million mineral water drinking at the academy.
Another big waste of money is the import of Rs 25 millions bio-mechanic lab from Australia without any know-how. It is in fact a software being called a machine and training through this technology enhance the skills of the players and removes their flaws.
When the NCA did not get anyone who could run the software, a senior official from the academy was sent to Australia for learning the technicalities and bio-mechanic language who enjoyed his trip a lot without achieving the objective and now no one is there to operate it though it identifies and removes mistakes in batting, bowling and fielding techniques.
Former test player and NCA director Mudassar Nazar was the pioneer of the project but after his resignation set aside the bio-mechanics lab the NCA has failed to yield required results.
Former Pakistan captain Aamir Sohail after taking over as director NCA recommended an expert software operator Bashir Tahir to make the lab operational but the administration was not in a mood to keep him in the service and the project was left in doldrums after Sohail’s resignation.
Sohail even now favours the use of bio-mechanics lab and strongly recommends a proper set up. He said: “Latest technologies have dominated the human lives. I think Pakistan players should learn through this technology to improve their skills. The cricket world is facilitating its emerging players but here in Pakistan nobody is bothered about the use of technology.”
“The NCA would have done a lot of work on players’ batting and bowling techniques, their physical fitness and removing injuries. I think bio-mechanic lab project was a gigantic contribution but despite spending huge money we could not take benefits from it as compared to other boards,” said Sohail.
Looking at another aspect is the coaching book being use at the academy carries a lot of flaws. And the thing to identify in the book is the spin-bowling coaching criteria with just two pages on the topic when we have a lot of legendary spinners including Abdul Qadir, Iqbal Qasim, Mushtaq Ahmed, Saqlain Mushtaq etc. None of them have ever been invited to coach the spin lot, which is getting extinct now.
Even the careers of some emerging spinners were destroyed or overlooked. Take the case of leg-spinner Mansoor Amjad, one of the highest wicket-takers of the domestic cricket has almost left the game. Then Azher Ali who has become a test player, started cricket as leg-spinner and after passing through the NCA he turned towards batting. Another victim of ignorance is Usman Qadir. When he joined the academy, the coaches gave some tips and changed his natural bowling action which was horned by his father Abdul Qadir. Now the country is reeling in the spin department with having no quality spinner.
The coaching education programme was derived from the England’s coaching manuals, which lacks quality spinners when Pakistan can still produce more. Keeping in view all this, the PCB needs to play constructive role for the game and hire professionals rather than obliging friends at key posts. [This story is also syndicated at Light Within]
posted by Dilshad Rao @ 1:00 PM,
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…and now Hassan and Zahra
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
It was long ago in the 1980s when the duo singers Nazia Hassan and Zohaib Hassan performed together. As a matter of fact both were pioneers of pop music and became the first sister and brother who burst into the music industry collectively. But music critics objected and gave statements against them that forced them to leave the country for a time being.
After the demise of Nazia Hassan, her brother Zohaib could not keep up her legacy. Now almost after a decade, a duo of another sister and brother named Hassan Haider Khan and Zahra Haider Khan have emerged who give us a reminiscence of the Nadia duo. They sprung into this profession in 2004 after their debut album.
The budding duo of Hassan and Zahra has strong family background. Their father Sardar Noveed Haider Khan is currently serving as a Director Marketing for event management in Pakistan Football Federation. Due to his support, the siblings were able to complete their education from foreign institutions. After completing his schooling in from Aitchison College Lahore, Hassan pursued his further studies in Finance and Economics at the Pennsylvania State University.
While Zahra Haider Khan completed her schooling from Lahore Grammar School then she completed her graduate schools from Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) and University of Warwick, London.
After having varied backgrounds in finance, economics and management, the duo couldn’t evade their inner ardour for music. Hassan while talking to Sunday plus confessed, “I was ardent to sing in schools’ functions and always strived to participate in talent shows. I never ever took music classes but I am a great admirer of the Kishor Kumar, Muhammad Rafi and Adnan Sami Kahn. During my course in the USA, I performed at various music concerts. The music events were organised by the South Asian Student Association. But I decided to seriously pursue this as a profession more than passion was when watched my sister’s performances. It was 2004 when I started singing professionally along with my sister Zahra.”
Zahra on the other hand have had more serious inclinations and trainings. She told, “I came into this profession after learning music. In my school, my teacher Shahida Hussain and Shakir Sab taught me the basics of music. At that time I was really crazy to learn and sing. I loved to listen to legendary singers such as Madam Noor Jahan and Nazia Hassan. They both inspired me a lot. I wanted to sing but never ever thought to become a professional singer.”
Zahra has participated in various musical competitions that are organised under the banner of All Pakistan Music Conference and has won award in ghazal category in 1997 as well. She was also the president of music society at her school for many years.
“We are lucky to get full support from our parents and friends who have played a key role to mould our singing careers. We are doing everything but only under the guidance of our parents,” the duo commended on their parents and friends’ support.
Hassan and Zahra have mellifluous voices that remind us of the Nadia-Zohaib duo. They like to perform in live concerts and shows. Though they are pop singers, they also take keen interest in classical music. They love to sing with ragas like aiman, darbari and malky.
They are performing across the country in various concerts. They are also frequently invited in the morning and music shows of the different TV channels. Recently they performed at a celebrity camp show that was held in the Mall of Lahore for generating funds for the flood affected people. The charity show was organised by Ali Noor and Radio FM 91.
“We always prefer to compose quality music for the music enthusiasts. We focus to bring the combination of fascinating melody and lyrics for the music lovers. Only music can help us to project a softer image of our country before the western world. If all musicians including Abrar, Jawad and many others release their albums then the boom of the music industry is sure to take place. There is no doubt that the Pakistani music industry has a lot of potential,” they were of the view.
Talking about youth, the duo said that Pakistani youth are equally talented as the youths of the west but the lack of opportunities and privileges in Pakistan has lead to lack of exploitations of their talents as well. In fact youth is the future of our country and they should not be disappointed.
Hassan and Zahra deplorably said that most of the Pakistani music channels are favouring Indian music over the melodies of Pakistan. This trend should change and Pakistani channels should work to promote our culture rather than others.
Their debut album entitled ‘Hassan & Zahra’ was launched in July 2010 in collaboration with ARY musik. Hassan Haider and Mujahid Hussain made compositions; Sohail Javed was the director of the album while Shajjar Fakhar gave the music of this album. This is a beautiful combination of twelve genres of duet and solo tracks. The debut album is a beautiful fusion of feelings with the lyrics blending in well with the melody, which is both energetic and fresh. Their debut album comprises different genres of music pop and folk songs that are sung in Urdu and Punjabi languages.
They have made music videos of their songs like Ujla Kaajal, Ni Soniyeh, Kuch Kahaa, Pyaar Ki in Raahon, Choo Kar, Tujhay and also a solo national song ‘Ae Pakistan’ that have been aired in different music channels. Their songs reflect the aspirations of youth. Their performances remind us of the pop era of Nazia and Zohaib.
They are planning to tour to some western countries in the near future to perform at some musical events to project a softer image of Pakistan.
“We are really working very hard on the music videos in order to provide quality entertainment and quality pop music to the music lovers. No doubt music videos provide a platform to present the feel of the music and lyrics,” they maintained.
In fact they are extremely lucky to get opportunities in the world of showbiz world. Their endeavours and efforts of their debut album should be encouraged. This will help to set new trends in the music industry.
posted by Dilshad Rao @ 9:02 AM,
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Exploiting the fuel shortage
Friday, October 1, 2010
Most of the filling stations had closed shop while a few operated at very low key level spreading panic among the people. After two days the shortage was not just a pinch for the consumer. It had become a crisis. Long queues of motorists could be seen at the few operating filling stations. Thankfully the CNG supply at the filling stations remained steady.
After five days the Punjab government wrote a letter to the prime minister demanding his immediate intervention for handling the crisis. On prime minister’s directive oil companies have increased the supply of petrol. Now the crisis is almost over.
How was the crisis created? When probed a number of factors came into account. The rich oil men are not alone to blame. Some new players including prominent politicians have come into the field. They devised this plan to make some quick bucks.
“I have been running this filling station for many years. After demolishing cinema I started this business. I invested more than four million rupees in this business. For the last two months we couldn’t sell petrol. It was not due to shortage but due to the monopoly of some oil companies.
“Oil companies always facilitate the influential people. When we entered this business Total Company promised to provide so many opportunities but right now whenever we contact for taking petroleum products they refused and said fuel is not available. It was the biggest gaffe of my life to construct this filling station and because non-availability of the petroleum products we have to short listing the employees that were more than fifty and now we have just five.” Sh Hafeez Ullah veteran businessman told the situation while talking to Sunday plus.
“When it was asked about the shortage of petroleum products, the representatives of the companies replied that we have hidden instructions that some of the oil companies are going to wind up their business rapidly. Caltex was running almost 605 filling stations but has been wrapped to almost 250. It has not constructed any new stations either. British petroleum is also going to shut down its business and preferring to invest money in India and other Asian countries. Government should look into this matter seriously and should take constructive measures. Sadly OGDC is not ready to play its role yet. It should be an autonomous body and must take strict actions against the monopolisation of the oil marketing companies, but it does nothing,” he was of the view.
Personal monopoly of the local fuel dealers is also one of the reasons behind the recent fabricated shortage of petroleum because dealers demanded 5 percent commission while the government is only giving just 2.5 percent commission. So if the government wants to provide consistent supply to the people, it should listen to the dealers and their demands should be considered and addressed.
“The monopolisation has risen rapidly. The oil companies are playing the role of cartels. Since 2008 with arrival of the democratic government Gas load shedding has become rampant because more than 75 percent of the vehicles were being run by CNG and oil-marketing companies faced low sales regarding petrol and diesel. So government should keep strict check on all these oil companies and abandon their discriminatory policy. The cooperation between the federal and Punjab government should be enhanced.” Sh hafeez was of the view.
Currently the solvent oil is being mixed with chemical and is sold out in the streets of the city illegally. It is harmful for the engines. The trade of solvent oil is occurring and a number of minor factories have been set up in Lahore. The manufacturing cost of the solvent oil is Rs. 29 while it is being sold at Rs. 130. The need of the hour is to stop them instantaneously.
“We have sold petroleum products even during war with India. Interestingly now floods have ravaged the country and there is an acute fuel shortage. Talking to the scribe, PSO Manager M. Younus said that because of the floods, containers couldn’t reach their destinations on time.
“I think people had to suffer because of the mismanagement of PSO. When flood came we were easily getting petroleum products and scarcity did not exist at that time. After facing shortage at a mass level, a question arises about why PSO didn’t take any precautionary measures to tackle scarcity.
In fact PSO could not manage the situation after floods. Even when the remaining refineries were functioning properly, PSO decided to purchase clean fuel directly. But at the international market, PSO it didn’t have enough money to open the LC accounts because WAPDA, PIA, Railway and many other government departments have to reimburse more than 10 billions to PSO.
Hafeez further informed, “Previously when we got petroleum products, we had to clear the payments within 48 hours but now we have to submit pay order drafts and still are unable to get fuel the same day. PSO provides fuel after checking their availability. Last time we were able to get fuel before Eid and even ten days after Eid we still have not received the fuel. PSO claims that it does not have enough money to buy fuel. Then where is the capital going which PSO has taken in terms of advance payment from all its outlets? Government should ask the PSO’s management about these finances.”
Sadly people are facing quite an ordeal these days due to scarcity of fuel. Still PSO has not stopped sending more than hundred of fuel tankers to Afghanistan from Sheikhupura’s oil depot at a much cheaper rate while in Pakistan people are ready to pay double the rates. This is unfortunate thing that nobody can stop this practice abruptly. “It is true PSO was unable to manage during holidays and it is involved in creating fuel scarcity.” Younus explained the situation.
Talking about the crisis to Sunday plus PSO’s Regional Sales Officer Muhammad Khalid said that after closing the PARCO oil refinery, which is one of the biggest refineries, an acute fuel shortage became rampant. “The other reason were the drives of the tankers could not come back timely after their Eid holidays. All the petroleum products were available but could not be distributed during holidays. So lack of manpower became a major hurdle in delivering fuels to the outlets. Rest of the things and talks were nothing more than that of speculations,” Khalid justified.
It a sheer dismay that when people are facing mammoth crisis of flood that has escalated food crisis, one more crisis of fuel has hit the pavilion. Petroleum products are available at a sky-high price and there seems no sign of relief from the government whatsoever.
Labels: Business, Economy, Fuel
posted by Dilshad Rao @ 8:24 AM,
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