The Real Potential of Pakistan – The Northern Valleys

Pakistan homes are attracting the businessmen’s attraction now as the country has gone through the troubling era of 2008 and 2009 when the property prices had dropped as there was a general unrest in the world market and Pakistan was obviously no exception. Though the property prices in the major business centers like Karachi and Lahore never went down but the upward trend that was being observed for the past four or five years was wedged. This halted the further investment in the property sector of the country but the year 2011 and the first half of 2012 has seen some positive moves in this direction.

It has been generally observed that the focus of the businessmen in Pakistan has been largely on the big cities only that are Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad and to some extent Rawalpindi and Multan. The investors have been unable to explore the northern areas of the country and the negligence is shared by the government in this regard which failed to realize the actual potential of the hill-stations of Pakistan. In 2009, the Gilgit Baltistan areas were given the status of a province and this has empowered the local people to develop these areas. They have shown great interest in developing these areas and have also been able to attract the tourists from different parts of the world.

The northern areas of Pakistan possess some of the most eye-catching sites in the world. Nature has bestowed this country with utmost beauty and some of the sites are so spell-bounding that it is almost impossible to take one’s eyes off them once glanced at. The striking sites of DeoSai Valley in Baltistan cast a sort of magic spell on the viewer and that is why thousands of visitors from across the country and from other parts of the world visit these places. It has been taken up as tourists’ spot by the administration and is being developed by the government as it is a fact that this industry can earn much more for the country than it is currently doing. These valleys and hill-stations are the crown of Pakistan real estate market.

If this and the dozens of other splendid hill-stations of the country are looked at by the business community, it has the potential to charm thousands of visitors towards itself. The transport industry and the hotel business are also offshoots of the tourism industry and once the property prices start to augment, there is no looking back. Pakistan is not just the energy of Karachi and the culture of Lahore. It is the home to the highest of mountains of the world, prettiest of the valleys and the rivers and lakes running through them. It is the land of four seasons and most importantly it is the home to a hundred and eighty million loving and hospitable people which make it the sixth largest population and thus the sixth largest potential market of the world.

Malik riaz Denied Again by Lahore High Court

Bahria town’s owner and the property tycoon of Pakistan, Malik Riaz and his son are in hot waters nowadays and this has been he case with them now for about three months now. Recent set-back occurred when Malik Riaz’s lawyer pleaded against the Rawalpindi bench of Lahore High Court to refer their case to National Accountability Bureau in Islamabad. The case is currently being persisted by the anti-corruption court. The plea was rejected by the court however, and this was the fourth time that the same plea was rejected by the bench. Mr. Abdul Basit, lawyer of Malik Riaz asked the court to transfer the case to NAB as the Chairman NAB had ordered back in November last year to transfer the case to NAB from anti corruption.

The anti-corruption establishment in Lahore had challenged this order in the LHC and the case that Abdul Basit was pleading was that the appeal of anti-corruption establishment in LHC was unlawful as it is a provincial institution while NAB is a federal body, and thus, only the Supreme Court of Pakistan may be referred in such a case because the dispute between a provincial and a federal body can only be resolved in the Supreme Court.

In response to the argument, Prosecutor General Punjab, Mr. Sadaqat Ali Khan, who in this case was representing anti corruption establishment told the court that Malik Riaz and his son could not approach the court as they were escapees. He went on to say that the lawyers of the Bahria Town have filed various petitions under Constitution of Pakistan, Civil Code Procedure and Code of criminal Procedure.

Mr. Khan made it clear before the court that the Supreme Court had already ordered the court to hear Malik Riaz’s case when Chairman NAB passed those orders. He alleged that Malik Riaz had connections in the NAB and thus wants the case to be taken up by the court so that he may get some sort of favor from NAB. Keeping in view the arguments from both sides, the bench rejected Malik Riaz’s plea and the case will now continue to proceed in the Lahore High Court.

Summer Holidays in Northern Hills of Pakistan

The extreme heat of Lahore and Karachi in the months of June, July and August force the toughest of men to ask for ease. The sun shining bright and sunny with temperature risen up to even 45 degrees in the hottest days make lives difficult even for the birds and animals. In this extreme weather, the incumbents of the plains of Pakistan resort to going to the hilly Northern areas of the country in order to find some sort of escape from the sweat that keeps pouring down from all parts of the body during these three toughest months of the year.

The Northern areas of Pakistan are a gift from God to this nation as some of the most beautiful sites await the visitors in those mammoth mountains and the artistically carved out valleys among them, by the nature. The streams that flow through those valleys bring with them the purest water from some of the largest glaciers in the world. The lush green mountains give a flirtatious look to the sightseers alluring them into visiting these magical structures of nature.

Some of the most popular places in Pakistan for summer holidays are Murree and the adjacent streets, Naran, Kaghan, Swat valley, Hunza and Muzaffarabad (Kashmir). Murree was used to be called as Queen of Mountains by the British soldiers in the colonial era. The Army officers used to visit this 700 feet above sea level hilly town to refresh their minds and skills in its cool, calm and peaceful climate.

Lake Saif-ul-Muluk in the Kaghan valley of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa province has a magical touch in it as told by those who have visited this marvel on Earth. The legend would have it that a Persian prince fell in love with a fairy of this lake and the beauty of the lake is so astonishing that the locals would have one believe that the fairies do come to this lake at nights. Such is the picturesque beauty of this lake that the visitors often say that some super-natural thing does exist in the sight of this lake that attracts people towards it.

The Hunza valley in the far north of the country is a sight to watch in the summer season with some of the most unique wild flowers blossom in this region during this season and people from all parts of the country come here to catch the magnificent sites this city offers.

All this activity in the summer season brings a lot of business to the hotels, motels, inns and guest houses in the northern part of the country. Pearl Continental Hotel, Bhurban is a hotel for the cream of the society to live in during this season and people from all parts of the country as well as from outside the country come here to enjoy the peaceful weather and the serene atmosphere of the striking hill-stations of this gorgeous country named as Pakistan.

Bahria Town Lahore Is Setting New Standards

According to the recent researches, power shortage is one of the biggest problems that the Pakistani public faces right now. The solution to this problem has been provided by the Bahria Town Lahore by reserving the rights to exclusive power supply through its own system of power generation that is mainly based on solar energy. Bahria Developers are one of the most successful developers in the country in the real estate business and Bahria Town Lahore is their prime development. The innovation is the primary objective of this society and the main reason of their success while the uninterrupted power supply to the residents is one such move of innovation made by this pioneer of modernity in property market of Lahore.

It provides the best living standards to its residents with its superlative security system which is another important feature of the society as the security issues really haunt the residents nowadays. It is undoubtedly the initiator of the lifestyle residence in Pakistan and enjoys the reputation of being the best living facilities provider in the country. The resolve to keep the climate of the society clean allow the Bahria Town Lahore to stand out in the league of new housing societies in the city because Bahria is highly committed with the environment. The extensive greenery in the society is a clear message of environment friendliness of the developers.

For this purpose, the public transport has been given immense importance in order to make the people adopt the public transport instead of their private one so that less fuel is consumed and the environment remains clean and clear. The modern bus system containing bus routes to all important parts of the city and the latest and fully equipped buses have been introduced to provide the customers with respectable transportation facilities.

Bahria Town has really helped the Lahore real estate by setting new standards of resident facilitation in this city and throughout the Pakistan real estate because any new society that is developed now needs to show something special in order to match the high standard of quality residence that Bahria Town Lahore has set.

Ramadan – The Month of Blessings

The month of Ramadan brings with it the blessings of Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala and the whole month is celebrated like a sacred event throughout the world. In Pakistan this month is celebrated with religious fervor and devotion. The people of Pakistan are religiously devoted and have great passion of Islam in their hearts and the Holy month of Ramadan depicts their love and commitment to their religion as they celebrate it with lighting their mosques and embracing each other on the even of 1^st Ramadan.

They pay Salaams to all their friends, family and the people living in their neighborhoods and then go on to the mosque in order to offer the Taraveeh prayer that is offered only in the month of Ramadan. They sleep early in the night as they have to wake up for Sahar after midnight. Then the women in the house move to kitchen and start preparing the Sahar dishes. Parathas and fried eggs are prepared along with the delicious Pheoni which is a special dish of Ramadan, eaten completely soaked in milk.

Then the boys go on to offer the prayer and return home to recite the Holy Koran. People go on to work and the mosques get filled with devotees during the prayer timings. In the evening, Aftar is prepared in homes and streets of Lahore. Pakoras, Samosas, Fruit salad, sweets, Kachoris and loads of such dishes are prepared. As Lahorites are famous for their love for food, the streets of Lahore exhibit a scene of absolute mess because the rush of people on bakeries and dairies is immense. Then they reach home and wait for the Adhaan to begin, and the moment the loudspeakers of mosques recite the words “Allah-o-Akbar” they finally break the fast with a date following the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.w).

Lakshmi Chowk of Lahore, that is famous for the foods and restaurants, is filled with men and traffic is almost blocked as there is hardly any space left for cars to move. The restaurants in Lahore offer special deals in this month with buffets being offered at the time of Sahar and Aftar and food lovers flock to restaurants to enjoy these deals. As the final Ashra of Ramadan nears the rush in the market starts to increase gradually as people start shopping for the Eid. They buy new clothes, shoes and perfumes while girls buy bangles, mehndi and all the jewelry that they have to wear on the day of Eid.

Then there is Shab-e-Qadr on 27^th Ramadan, the day when the Koran began to be bestowed upon the Prophet (s.a.w.w). Special prayers are offered in the mosques on the eve of 27^th Ramadan. and after this night, the rush in the markets mounts dramatically as Eid is almost there and this trend peaks on the night before Eid that is known as the Chaand Raat. Shopping plazas and Bazaars look colorful with their lights on and filled with men and women from all parts of the city.

And then comes the Eid to end this beautiful month of blessings of Allah (s.w.t) and the people offer the Eid prayer and embrace each other. Pakistanis celebrate Ramadan in a wonderful way. There are few countries in the world where any event is celebrated in such a special way like they are held in Pakistan and Ramadan peaks them all.

Farmers Being Empowered by PPP Government, says Mr. Dahar

Jam Mahtab Hussain Dahar, the Provincial Minister for Revenue, announced in a media briefing that the PPP government in this tenure has allotted 56,187n acres of land among poor farmers who did not have a land of their own. They were landless and a large number of the people among whom the land has been distributed are women and the government had taken this initiative in order to provide farmers with a respectable source of income.

The total number of allottees is 60,069 and around 80% of the allottees are women and this proves that the current government has paid special attention to women, taking them a step nearer of the dream of their leader Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto of women empowerment. He said this act of the government will certainly help them to eliminate the poverty in the country and especially among the women.

The minister also told that not only the government is providing them with land but also with financial assistance up to Rs. 58000 which has certainly made life much easier for the farmers and it also ensures that the land will get cultivated and will not lay wasted due to dearth of funds. The government is also providing, told he, the seeds, fertilizers and other important facilities that are a must for the farmer and only government of Peoples Party has given all these grant packages to the poor farmers.

He also resolved that this practice will continue in the future and the government will continue its tireless efforts to fulfill the dreams of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto of empowering the poor farmers and lower class of the society so that Pakistan’s agricultural economy of Pakistan can flourish and bear fruit for both the state as well as the farmers.

Pakistan Offers Spectacular Business Opportunities

The Pakistani market has never been utilized to its full potential by any of the governments and the international investors in the past. The amount of investment opportunities that this country provides is more than many other countries of the world. With over a 180 million population, Pakistan is one of the biggest markets in the world as the consumer market is larger than the other 200 countries of the world as only China, India, USA, Brazil and Indonesia surpass Pakistan in terms of population.

Pakistan, although it is at no. 6 population wise, yet the potential in the market for investors is much more than even the larger countries in this country. The argument that is given by the market experts in this statement’s favor is that all the larger countries are a lot more developed as compared to Pakistan and, therefore, the market potential has been to a large extent already utilized whereas in Pakistan, which is a developing country has a lot more to offer to the international investors. Keeping Adam Smith’s Theory of Hierarchy of Needs in mind, it can be said with relative surety that Pakistan still has loads to offer to the society.

The availability of four seasons at a time in the country and with so diversified a land structure with high mountains and low plains to the plateaus and deserts of Balochistan and South Punjab, Pakistan has to offer everything to the business community of the world. Investment in health-care sector and transportation can be extremely productive. Education and Information Technology sectors can offer big bucks to the investors while at the same time Pakistan real estate market that is already on a rise in the country can really be something that this country may provide.

Pakistan is facing energy shortage in the country; the international investors may look into this field. China has already made dams in Pakistan and has benefited through this investment. Other countries and large organizations may also offer their services and products to Pakistan in this regard. South Korea assisted Pakistan in developing Motorway from Lahore to Islamabad and that has certainly borne fruit for them. Daewoo from South Korea is still operating in Pakistan as the major transportation company in the country while the Turkey’s investment in the Metro Bus service in Lahore city, the capital of Punjab, will profit the Turkish company as well.

Karachi city has seen major development in the past decade or so and the international investment in this city has turned it into a modern dynamic city, yet, it is a fact that even the quanta of Karachi and Lahore’s potential has not been utilized as both these cities with over 10 million population can bring billions of dollars for investors if properly utilized. While the mineral rich Balochistan and the Thar Desert have not even been touched by the global investors. It is believed that Thar Coal is the largest reserve of coal in the world.

The tourism industry in the country has been left on its own and though the government is trying but the lack of capital is holding it back. This industry, if focused, can become one of the finest tourism industries in the world given the magical beauty of Pakistan’s northern areas and its historical buildings and monuments.

It can be safely said that Pakistan’s potential as a major business center of the world has always been neglected by the global investors and to an extent the governments have also been responsible. However, this country is ready to provide the best opportunities to the global market today and Pakistan certainly has the guts to prove it capable of being an Asian Tiger.