Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Pakistan Fashion Week April 9-10, 2013

Two-day Pakistan Fashion Week 2013 held April 9 and 10 in Karachi  is yet another illustration of the fact that life goes on in Pakistan in spite of the terror and violence that makes daily headlines. It's a testament to Pakistanis' extraordinary resilience and great capacity to take it all stride. Here are a few pictures of Pakistani models wearing the creations of Pakistani designers at the show which concluded on April 10, 2013:




  















Here's CNN video of a Karachi Mall: 


Dolmen Mall Clifton Featured on CNN from DHAToday on Vimeo.

Related Links:

Haq's Musings

Karachi Fashion Week 2013

Upwardly Mobile Pakistan's Appetite For International Brands

Life Goes On in Pakistan

Resilient Pakistan

Pakistan's Top Fashion Models

Music Drives Coke Sales in Pakistan

Pakistani Cover Girls

Veena Malik Challenges Pakistan's Orthodoxy 

PakAlumni-Pakistani Social Network 

Huma Abedin Weinergate

Pakistan Media Revolution

Protest Music in Pakistan

Resilient Pakistan Defies Doomsayers

Pakistani Entrepreneurs Survive Economic Downturn

Silent Social Revolution in Pakistan

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

We Pakistanis are as talented as designers from any other countries.

Riaz Haq said...

Here's a BBC report on an effort to challenge negative stereotypes of Pakistan:

A new project is using films made made in London and south Asia in an attempt to promote Pakistan as a land of opportunity rather than a failed state.

Pakistan Calling is linking film students at London Metropolitan University with students in Lahore and Karachi.

It will provide a web-platform for short films documenting positive work going on in Pakistani society.

It is a joint venture between the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) and The Samosa, a London-based British Asian website and is funded by these organisations as well as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

One of the main aims is to engage the British Pakistani diaspora in social projects "back-home" using skills and examples from the UK.
'Positive picture'

There were more than one million British Pakistanis counted in the 2011 England and Wales census (2% of the population) with the biggest concentration in the capital. Events in Pakistani cities can affect families from Ilford to Bradford.

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the RSA, says it is vital that there is more to the conversation around Pakistan than extremism and terror.

"It's about trying to present a more positive picture of Pakistan which is far too often portrayed as a place of nothing but problems," said Mr Taylor.

"Of course, we don't think our project is going to solve all of the country's problems, but the first thing is to engage British Pakistanis to try to change the nature of the conversation.

"Only a week ago the media was full of a debate about whether we should help Pakistan when they don't even pay their taxes. A more positive conversation would make a useful contribution."
Change perceptions

The project recognises the many issues facing Pakistan - according to the World Health Organisation one in four Pakistanis live in poverty, and one in 14 children die before their fifth birthday.

Anwar Akhtar, director of Samosa, worries this situation could deteriorate.

"Pakistan's population will double over the next two or three generations. Without further provision of infrastructure, health, education and welfare, Pakistan's problems could worsen."

Those behind the project hope that by documenting positive stories in Pakistan it not only helps to change perceptions but could inspire others to follow suit.

There are also hopes to create a crowd-sourcing platform alongside the project that would mean people could directly contribute to projects similar to those shown.

Mr Taylor is optimistic that the project can have further ramifications.

"I think that's it's very clear that democracies are made possible not just by the rules of democracy - how many people vote and whether the rules of law is observed - but it's also to do with the health of civil society.

"This project talks about civil society and so contributes towards Pakistan being a democratic country."
'All-pervasive fear'

One of the most powerful accounts already featured on the website is that of Asma Jahangir, a Pakistani lawyer and human rights activist, who believes that Pakistan is at a crucial juncture.

"In one way it is very scary [where Pakistan is going]. There is an all-pervasive fear. And the future is very uncertain," she says in the film.

"At the same time, there are some very positive developments in the last five years, and that hasn't come from the government, but from people themselves."

Pakistan Calling is asking British and Pakistani film-makers to document these developments and add their own videos to the site.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-22107965

Riaz Haq said...

Here's a BR report on jewellery business in Pakistan:

KARACHI: The global demand of gold is more than 2500 tonnes and Pakistan's consumption is more than 100 tonnes which makes Pakistan world's 10th largest market.

Gold is usually imported from Gulf States and Western countries.

In gems sector, Pakistan is full of natural resources. Unmatched quality of ruby, emerald, topaz, aqua marine, fluorite and lais-Iazuli are mined from the valleys of Gilgit, Hunza, Swat, Azad Kashmir and Chitral.

This was stated by President, Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Zubair Ahmed Malik while inaugurating three-day International Gems and Jewellery Exhibition at a hotel here on Friday.

This international exhibition has been jointly organised by Jewel Time magazine and All Pakistan Gems and Jewellery Merchants Association (APGJMA) in collaboration with Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP).

Vice Chairman of APGJMA Kashif-ur-Rehman said that more than 50 companies have participated in the exhibition. The products of stone, diamond, gold and silver jewellery are show-cased. A large number of people visited the venue.

FPCCI President said that due to unavailability of gem cutting and polishing facilities, gems are exported in a raw form which brings nothing as compared to its real worth.

Pakistan has been gifted with abundant resources of several precious and semi-precious gemstones. At present, most of these are found in Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber- Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan has a huge potential which remains to be explored.

Most important of the currently found stones are emeralds of Mingora (Swat), pink and golden topaz of Katlang (Mardan) and aquamarine of Chitral and Neelam valleys, he said.

There is no formal survey available to identify the geological resources of gemstones in the country. Due to lack of realisation of its importance as an industry, those who are engaged in the mining, cutting/ polishing and trading of gemstones in Pakistan have not been able to exploit the full potential of this sector.

Malik said Lahore has become the second largest jewellery production hub of Pakistan after Karachi. More than 25,000 business enterprises related to gems and jewellery are operating in Punjab and providing employment to more than 20,0000 individuals.

It is estimated that $1.5 billion jewellery target set up for 2017 by Pakistan is achievable provided the entrepreneurs are encouraged, a supportive infrastructure is developed, latest mining and cutting, gems and jewellery manufacturing techniques are introduced at the grassroots level.

Exports of gems and jewellery in the country has witnessed a sharp increase of 16.99 percent and 138.73 percent respectively during first eight months of current financial year against the same period of last year.

The jewellery exports during the period under review were recorded at $1.21 billion while during last year, the exports stood at $506.3 million.


http://www.brecorder.com/pakistan/business-a-economy/114948-pakistan-10th-largest-market-of-gold-fpcci-chief.html

Hopewins said...

WHat do you think of this?
http://alturl.com/gxp9v

Is it appropriate satire, or do you feel that Kunwar Sahib has crossed the line of propriety?

Hopewins said...

Here is a list of countries sorted according to their HOUSEHOLD savings rates in 2010:

http://alturl.com/xbcx2

Where does Pakistan fit into this list?