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Maat is the story of two poor sisters with opposite personalities – Saman, who is overambitious and has no scruples when it comes to making it big in life, and Aiman, who believes in the fundamentals of contentment, sacrifice and compassion and always upholds them as her guiding force.
Join Shaista a young girl who dreams of glitter and gold- on her journey through society. As she takes advantage of those who are drawn to her because of her youth and beauty, she manages to push those who truly love her further and further away.
It is a story of aaliyan living with two wives in a house, namely arifa and sarah. arifa being his cousin got married to him in his teenage; whereas sarah met him abroad while completing the education. story marks a new turn when his third marriage reveals in his house. the revelation announces an advent of destruction and turmoil in the life of aaliyan.
The story revolves around a poor girl from Thar, Sanjha. Herbrother-in-law, Majeed, sells her to a brothel owner Mumtaz and tells his wife, Nasim, that he has sent Sanjha away to the city to earn a living. Inher innocence, Sanjha does not realize that she has not been hired as a maid.
When a person surrenders himself to his own will rather than the will of god, he / she usually has to rely on such conjurations, incantations and satanic rituals for fulfillment of needs. kaala jadu also fosters them same phenomenon and projects the similar reality of our society.
Every celebrated life must have some hazy shades which darken their whole life. similarly Faisal’s and Ujalla intimate love has been hit by a distrust which came into Faisal’s mind after gone through a tragic.
The story highlights the concept of living conditions of a very poor family in Pakistan and the hardships and difficulties they have to face daily to earn their living.
Maheen gets married to the love of her life. What she thought would be a dream come true, turns into a living nightmare. She discovers the truth about Faizan’s past, his previous marriages and his violent behavior.
Azar and Dolly maybe hitched, but the wedding season isn’t over just yet. Get ready to join the Ahmeds and the Choudarys for yet another round of Dholkis, Mehndis, Shaadis and Bhangra sessions.
Will the love of a woman quell the poisonous hate of a wronged man? Set against the backdrop of greed and deceit, this is the moving saga of Aalam Shah, son of wealthy but crippled business man Dawar Shah.
Maat is the story of two poor sisters with opposite personalities – Saman, who is overambitious and has no scruples when it comes to making it big in life, and Aiman, who believes in the fundamentals of contentment, sacrifice and compassion and always upholds them as her guiding force.
A moving story for those, who believe that all is well abroad. as mujtaba, a local guy from nazimabad (khi) has moved to usa at his uncle’s place with a perception of better quality of life and fulfillment of his dreams.
A moving story for those, who believe that all is well abroad. as mujtaba, a local guy from nazimabad (khi) has moved to usa at his uncle’s place with a perception of better quality of life and fulfillment of his dreams.
The heart-rending story of a simple middle class family and their dreams and aspirations. Ajia and Nimra are the daughters of hard working, lower-middle class Sibghatullah and his wife Zainab.
A story of three special and lunatic characters, out of whom Nabeel leads the plot as he has been disowned by his own father for his care-free attitude. Nabeel has been provided accommodation by his friend Ahmar.
A moving story for those, who believe that all is well abroad. as mujtaba, a local guy from nazimabad (khi) has moved to usa at his uncle’s place with a perception of better quality of life and fulfillment of his dreams.
Akbari Asghari is a story of two brothers, Hatim and Luqman, and their families. Both brothers live along with their families in two distant corners of the world.
The 60-year-old cueist, who is representing Punjab, sent Balochistan’s Zahoor Ahmed packing 4-1.- File Photo by AFP
KARACHI: Mohammad Yousuf, a former world amateur champion, became the first player to emerge group champion and earn a place in the last-16 knockout stage of the fourth NBP ranking snooker championship here at the DA Creek Club on Thursday.
The 60-year-old cueist, who is representing Punjab, sent Balochistan’s Zahoor Ahmed packing 4-1 in his last group ‘G’ fixture to complete league engagements with a clean slate. He won the battle 11-83, 65-30, 61-53, 57-46, 66-8.
Joining Yousuf in the knockout stage were former national junior champion Asjad Iqbal (Punjab), Pakistan’s No. 2 Sultan Mohammad (Sindh), former national champion Mohammad Sajjad (Punjab), Sindh’s Abdul Sattar and former Pakistan No. 1 Khurram Hussain Agha.
All the five players have won three of their four games to ensure a passage in the next round.
The rejoice of Mohammad Asif Toba’s upset victory over Pakistan’s No 1 and national champion Mohammad Asif had hardly died when the former was stunned by wildcard Yasir Nadeem of Islamabad 4-3 in the fully stretched game.
Yasir recovered from 2-3 frames down to inflict a 81-27, 15-88, 58-38, 56-98, 33-64, 62-44, 48-38 defeat on Toba in the match of academic interest.The league matches complete on Friday.
Friday’s fixtures: Abdul Sattar v Abu Saim; Sohail Shehzad v Mohammad Imran; Vishan Gir v Mohammad Afzal; Sharjeel Mehmood v Khurram Hussain Agha at 10am; Mohammad Asif v Asjad Iqbal, Sultan Mohammad v Farhan Noor; Mohammad Sajjad v Shah Khan; Naveen Perwani v Imran Shehzad at 12noon; Mohammad Javed v Mohammad Bilal; Mohammad Majid v Javed Ansari; Bilawal Agha v Zahoor Ahmed; Umair Alam v Farrukh Usman at 2pm; Farhan Khan v Mohammad Asif Toba; Shafiullah v Ali Raza; Mohammad Nazeer v Mohammad Akmal; Shahid Aftab v Mohammad Ishtiaq at 4pm.
The new study challenges traditional wisdom on the benefits of calcium supplements. Photograph: Anthony Devlin/PA
Calcium supplements can almost double the risk of a heart attack, according to new research, and should be "taken with caution" and only for medical reasons, such as to prevent bone thinning. The study contradicts the commonly held belief that consuming extra calcium can help prevent heart disease or a stroke.
The findings are based on a study of the calcium intake of 23,980 men and women in Heidelberg, Germany, who were aged 35-64 when they joined a local cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study in 1994-98. Researchers checked participants' health for 11 years afterwards, during which time 354 of them had a heart attack and 260 a stroke and there were 267 associated deaths. They also tracked how much calcium they consumed from any source.
They found that people who used calcium supplements regularly were 86% more likely to suffer a heart attack than those who did not.
This constituted "a statistically significantly increased myocardial infarction [heart attack] risk in comparison with non-users of any supplements", say the four co-authors led by Professor Sabine Rohrmann, from Zurich University's institute of social and preventative medicine.
Those who obtained their calcium exclusively from supplements were 2.7 times more likely than non-users to experience a heart attack, they say in their research paper, published in the medical journal Heart.
"Increasing calcium intake from diet might not confer significant cardiovascular benefits, while calcium supplements, which might raise MI risk, should be taken with caution," they conclude.
In an editorial in the journal two professors from Auckland University warn that the safety of calcium supplements "is now coming under increasing scrutiny". Previous research has linked them to kidney stones and gut and abdominal symptoms, they say.
"Calcium supplements have been widely embraced by doctors and the public on the grounds that they are a natural and therefore safe way of preventing osteoporotic fractures. It is now becoming clear that taking this micronutrient in one or two daily [doses] is not natural, in that it does not reproduce the same metabolic effects as calcium in food," they say.
"We have good evidence that calcium is good for bones. Calcium is important for other organs, including the heart," said Dr Kevin Fox, the Royal College of Physicians' spokesman on cardiology, who added that the study's findings should be "treated cautiously".
But he added: "The message is that if you have a medical need to take calcium supplements to protect your bones, you should do so and there is good evidence to support this. If you have no medical need, then just stick to a healthy mixed diet and don't take unnecessary supplements."
Natasha Stewart, a senior cardiac nurse with the British Heart Foundation (BHF), said supplements did not necessarily lead to heart attacks.
"This research indicates that there may be an increased risk of having a heart attack for people who take calcium supplements. However, this does not mean that these supplements cause heart attacks," she said.
Further research was now needed "to determine whether potential risks of the supplements outweigh the benefits calcium can give sufferers of conditions such as osteoporosis. If you have been prescribed calcium supplements, you should still keep taking your medication, but speak to your doctor if you have any concerns", she said.
Dr Claire Bowring, of the National Osteoporosis Society, also urged cautious use of supplements. "This study further highlights the need for care when considering taking calcium supplements. If you get all of the calcium that you need from your diet then a supplement will not be necessary. Boosting calcium beyond recommended levels has no extra benefit for bones.
"Supplementation may be warranted if you are unable to get enough calcium in your diet, but it needs to be done with consideration", she said.
Anyone with a heart condition or who is at risk of a heart attack should talk to their doctor before deciding whether or not to use calcium supplements, she added.
Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), gives a press conference on May 25, 2012, at the end of a UN climate conference in Bonn, western Germany. – Photo by AFP
BONN: Less than six months after the world agreed to craft a new global climate pact by 2015, talks stumbled at a crucial preparatory phase Friday as rich and poorer countries butted heads.
With the mood still strained by the 2009 Copenhagen climate summit, negotiations in Bonn showed developed and developing nations split on apportioning responsibility for tackling global warming.
Fast-growing countries like China and India insisted the West, which has been polluting more for longer, must shoulder more of the mitigation burden.
Amid fresh delays and procedural wrangling, UN climate chief Christiana Figueres warned the target of pegging global warming to a manageable 2 degrees Celsius seemed to be slipping ever further away.
“Current efforts on mitigation are not sufficient, and the doors on improving the probabilities of a maximum two degrees are actually closing in on governments,” she said.
It took the 180-odd countries grouped in the former German capital all of 11 days to agree on a work plan for the ADP – the body that will lead negotiations for a new post-2020 global pact to curb greenhouse-gas emissions.
China and other like-minded countries objected to including pre-2020 emission targets in the ADP’s agenda.
“It was not easy issue to agree,” Figueres said, adding that “all parties needed reassurances from each other.”
Despite this small step forward, countries remained split on a chairperson for the new body.
China and its allies wanted India to chair the ADP, arguing it is the Asia-Pacific bloc’s turn to steer a subsidiary body under the UN Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The other candidates are Norway and the Caribbean state of Trinidad and Tobago.
The United States and Europe accused others of obstruction, and China fought back against accusations that it was to blame.
“There is a kind of division in the room, a small group holding up what the rest of the room does,” European Commission chief climate negotiator Arthur Runge-Metzger told journalists of the countries he said included China.
“We were disappointed and frustrated that discussions at this meeting focused largely on procedural issues,” added US negotiator Jonathan Pershing.
On Thursday, China rejected accusations by Western delegates that it was holding up progress, insisting it was the United States, Europe and other rich states seeking to “evade legally binding commitments”.
Under the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, whose first leg ends this year, 37 industrial countries are held to specific goals for slashing greenhouse gas emissions.
Poorer countries have no binding targets, but this could change under the deal struck in Durban, South Africa, last year to draw up a new global pact within four years.
“We need to move into a system reflecting modern economic realities,”insisted Danish climate negotiator Christian Pilgaard Zinglersen – “a system that has a spectrum of commitments for countries, the scope and nature of which will vary according to a particular country’s capabilities.”
China is by far the world’s number one carbon emitter and its 1.3 billion people are swiftly getting wealthier, causing the country to burn ever more coal, gas and oil.
On Thursday, German climate researchers said the planet was on a track for warming by more than 3.5 degrees Celsius, boosting the risk of drought, flood and rising seas.
Lake Cachet II, located in Chile’s Patagonia region, vanished overnight. The lake, fed by ice melting from the Colonia Glacier, lcoated 1,250 miles south of the country’s capital of Santiago, was reduced to puddles and chunks of ice after emptying into the Baker river.
Since 2008, Lake Cachet II has drained 11 times as a result of rising global temperatures. The glacier typically acts as a dam, yet these temperatures have weakened it’s wall thus resulting in this emptying phenomenon now called, GLOF. GLOFs, Glacial Lake Outburst Floods, have now become more frequent in the area. In May of 2007, Tempanos Lake, also in southern Chile, emptied yet a few months later slowly started to refill.
According to Gino Casassa, from the Center for Scientific Studies, CES, states that this phenomenon will become more frequent. Casassa, also a member of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stated that between 1896 and January of 2010 there have been 53 other cases of lakes draining with the frequency increasing in recent years.
Residents in the area now respond to an alarm when a GLOF occurs, allowing them sufficient time to evacuate themselves as well as their animals before the flood worsens.
The fossilised bones of Eoabelisaurus mefi from Argentina. Photo: AFP
Argentine experts have discovered the near-complete remains of a new species of Jurassic-era dinosaur that stood on its rear legs and had tiny arms.
It belongs to the Abelisaurus family, ''the most common carnivorous species in the southern hemisphere during the Cretaceous period'' 70 million to 100 million years ago, palaeontologist Diego Pol said.
''However, the fossils that we found are some 170 million years old,'' Dr Pol said, meaning they date from the earlier Jurassic period.
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The six-metre creature looks a bit like a scaled-down Tyrannosaurus rex, but with even smaller arms. Baptised Eoabelisaurus mefi, it pre-dates the oldest known member of the Abelisaurus lineage by more than 40 million years.
''It has completely reduced arms and tiny claws, implying it used only its teeth to feed itself,'' Dr Pol said.
Abelisauri remains have been found only in the southern hemisphere. Experts believe a great desert in the Earth's single land mass at the time, Pangaea, could have acted as a barrier, preventing the species from spreading north.
A 25-member team from the Edigio Feruglio Museum of Palaeontology in Chubut discovered the creature's cranium and vertebrae during a dig in 2009 at Condor Hill, in the southern Patagonian province of Chubut, about 1800 kilometres south-west of Buenos Aires.
The team abandoned the site over winter, but returned the following summer to find ''the animal's whole articulated skeleton'', Dr Pol said.
Details of the find appear in an article published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of London.
Argentina is a prime site for dinosaur fossil hunters. In 1993, scientists there found the remains of the Giganotosaurus carolinii, the largest carnivorous dinosaur ever found.
Amidst much speculation and brouhaha, actress Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan made her much-awaited red carpet debut at the 65th International Cannes Film Festival, Wednesday. The actor, a regular on the French Riviera, made her 11th consecutive appearance at the prestigious festival.
Ash has been in the news for quite some time now, especially for her weight-gain post delivery, which explained the curiosity over her outing on the red carpet.
The actress, who first made a chic appearance at the media call, wore a black, white and gray Angelo Katsapis floor-length gown. She later chose to wear an Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla creation at amfAR — a classic chikankari in a dulce de leche sari, offset with a multi-coloured zardosi blouse. The fashion circuit is already in a tizzy. After Hrs asked a few designers their verdict on Ash’s look. Says designer Narendra Kumar Ahmed, “It’s wonderful that she carries the Indian look so well. It accentuates her curves while being elegant. Quite becoming. As for the black and white look, I think it’s a very contemporary design and is in keeping with her present body proportion. Very chic and very resort.” Designer Rocky S says that she looks lovely in the maxi: “She has left everyone spellbound with her flamboyance. The gold base embellished top, worked upon with jeweled shade tone and dazzled with gold brocade, complements the classic toned down cream base sari. It is a perfect combination of beauty and elegance.” Fashion designer Ana Singh also believes that she looks gorgeous in the sari. “The draping is done very beautifully and sets it off nicely with the jacket. It’s trademark Abu-Sandeep. Both the looks complement her current shape.” Fashion designer Lina Tipnis echoes, “The sari is very eclectic, elegant, and regal. Ash is Ash, she is too beautiful. The structured look definitely works well with all that maternal weight. The ombre gown is not a new style, but I love her hair, it’s so 80s, so Charlie’s Anglels!” Designer Archana Kochhar also agrees, “She’s looking lovely in both creations. I love the fact that she’s not succumbed to the pressures of expectations.” What with most designers here giving her look a thumbs-up, it seems Ash has convincingly shushed carping critics this time round. — Compiled by Prachi Kadam
"As the heroine, I will get a lot of opportunity to perform. The director has packaged the film very well with glamour, sentiments and all other ingredients."
Veena was here to attend the promo and photo shoot of the movie.
Producer Venkatappa's son Akshay will play the male lead in the movie and the shooting will start soon.
Venkatappa told IANS that he will not face any date issues with Veena as all the problems relating to her visa have now been cleared.
Starring Vidya Balan, the Hindi version was an unofficial biopic on southern sex symbol Silk Smitha. It was a runaway success at the box office and won Vidya her first National Award.
Ekta Kapoor, who produced "The Dirty Picture" in Hindi under her banner Balaji Telefilms, is against the same title being used by Venkatappa.
Trishuli says his story is different.
"I have written a fresh story and it has a lot of native elements that is peculiar to Karnataka. But I thought the title, 'The Dirty Picture', will suit the story very well.
"The title has been cleared by KFC and we are legally bound to use it for the film."
There is very little memory left of a Pakistan that today almost seems like an alien planet compared to what it has been ever since the mid-1980s.
Here, I share with you some interesting photographs that I have managed to gather in the last couple of years of that alien country. A place that was also called Pakistan.
This sequel comprises images of vintage artifacts and photographs that couldn’t make it to the first part.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, addresses a rally at Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s mausoleum in Karachi in 1969. (Photo courtesy of eBay.)
The rally was held immediately after a protest movement led by leftist students; labour and journalist unions; political parties, including PPP and the National Awami Party (NAP), had forced Pakistan’s first military dictator Ayub Khan, to resign.
Construction of the mausoleum began in the early 1960s and was still underway when the rally was held. Wooden ladders and planks being used for construction purposes were acrobatically utilised by the crowd to gain vantage viewing points on the day of the rally.
Army troops patrol the streets opposite Club Road and near PIDC building in Karachi, during the anti-Ayub Khan protest movement in 1969.
The picture was taken by a foreign tourist from his room at the Hotel Intercontinental (now, Pearl Continental), which is situated diagonally opposite the PIDC building.
Legendary jazz saxophonist and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, visited Pakistan during his whirlwind tour of Asia and the Middle East in the early 1950s. Here, he is seen playing his sax with a Sindhi snake charmer at a public park in Karachi in 1954.
Famous Hollywood stars Ava Gardner and Stewart Granger arrive at Lahore Airport, 1954. The actors arrived in Lahore with a full filming crew to shoot a major portion of the film ‘Bhowani Junction.’
Ava Gardner shooting a scene at the Lahore Railway Station in 1954.
Pakistani fans and artistes gather around the main cast of Bhowani Junction on the film’s sets in Lahore.
American tourists enjoy a camel ride at Karachi’s Clifton beach in 1960. [Video grab from a 1960 tourism promotional film made by Pan Am]
A series of apartment blocks, bungalows, fast-food joints and restaurants have sprung up in the area today – but no tourists, especially not the bikini-wearing kind.
A 1964 PIA press ad featuring famous Hollywood comedian and actor Bob Hope.
PIA was one of the first airlines in the world to introduce in-flight entertainment. It regularly featured in all the prestigious top-10-airline lists for over 20 years, before dropping out in the mid-1980s.
This is a 1967 press ad published in LIFE magazine for the American insurance company, Continental Insurance.
The number of American and British tourists visiting Pakistan began to grow from the early 1960s. The trend hit a peak in the late 1970s before starting to dwindle and peter out in the mid-1980s.
It (in a tongue-in-cheek manner) addresses those traveling to Karachi and getting injured during a ‘camel crash.’
American Embassy building under construction in Karachi, 1957. (Photo courtesy of eBay.)
Completed in the late 1950s, the building became an iconic structure on Karachi’s Abdullah Haroon Road.
Apart from having a busy visa section, it also housed a state-of-the-art projection hall and a widespread library, which was used by generations of Karachi’s school and college students before it was closed down in the late 1990s.
Easy to access across the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s – the building was gradually barricaded and heavily fortified after the tragic September 11 episode in 2001. The visa section was moved to Islamabad, before returning to Karachi in 2012 (in a different building and compound).
This building faced at least four terrorist attacks between 2002 and 2006 and survived them all.
Though the US consulate has now moved to a different location in Karachi, the building still stands.
Part of the cast and crew of Pakistan Television (PTV)’s 1970 play, ‘Shazori,’ at a reception given in their honour by Canada Dry beverages company.
Shakeel (third from left) became a heartthrob and sex symbol, being cast in a number of famous PTV plays as a hero throughout the 1970s. He also tried his luck in films but failed to gain the kind of popularity he enjoyed on television.
Today, in his sixties, he still appears on the mini-screen as a character actor.
Newspaper ad (taken from DAWN’s 7 February, 1972 edition) announcing the arrival of a Lebanese belly dancer in Karachi.
Between the early 1960s and late 1970s, Karachi was dotted by a number of nightclubs that competed for clients by offering the best in-house pop bands, bars and professional belly dancers invited from cities like Beirut, Cairo, Tehran and Istanbul.
Nightclubs were ordered shut in 1977.
A vibrant 1973 poster prepared and printed by the Pakistan Ministry of Tourism to attract tourism to the city of Lahore.
A copy of famous spy novelist, Edward S. Arron’s 1962 book ‘Assignment Karachi.’
The book was one of the many he wrote that involved the adventures of CIA agent Sam Durell in various cities across the world.
This novel, which narrated the tale of Durell working with Pakistani authorities to capture Soviet-backed henchmen, became an instant best-seller in Pakistan.
However, in a quirky twist, some copies of this novel were set on fire by pro-Soviet leftist students during a demonstration (at the Karachi University) against Ayub Khan’s education policy in 1962.
A 1967 tourism poster for Karachi (printed by American airline Pan Am and used in Europe and the US).
A special stamp released by government of Pakistan in 1973, to plead the return of the 90,000 Pakistani prisoners of war captured by the Indian forces during the 1971 war.
Pakistan lost its eastern wing (East Pakistan) in the war. The break gave birth to Bangladesh.
A 1970 copy of a paperback version of the conspiratorial (and fictitious) book, ‘Protocols of Zion,’ printed in Pakistan in 1969.
The Protocols, a book describing a Jewish conspiracy to take over the world, first appeared in Russia in 1903. It was written by an obscure Russian anti-Semite author (most probably as a novel), but was given a whole new angle and widespread publicity by anti-Semite American industrial tycoons like Henry Ford and then by the Nazi regime in Germany.
Though constantly debunked as a hoax and a farce, the book soon became popular among Arabs incensed by the creation of Israel in 1948.
The book was little known in Pakistan until the Saudi Arabian regime used Pakistani publishers to print it for the Saudi monarchy in 1969.
Millions of copies of the above-seen book were published between 1969 and 1976 in Pakistan. Most of them were shipped off to Arab countries. In fact late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia used to hand a copy to visitors. He was assassinated by his nephew in 1975.
Many copies also found their way back on the shelves in Pakistan’s book stores. Initially, they became popular with anti-US leftist students, but by the mid-1980s, the book had almost entirely been adopted by the religious right.
It is interesting to note that almost no copies were published in Pakistan after the assassination of King Faisal in 1975, but newer editions with additions made by certain ulema, religious parties and Islamists in Pakistan, have been appearing ever since the 1980s.
The book has also been influential on popular conspiracy theorists in present-day Pakistan.
Two hippie tourists at a tea shop in Sibi, Balochistan, in 1972. .
Today, traveling to a Baloch town like the one in the picture has become a no-go area even for Pakistanis! (Photo courtesy Rory McLane).
A section of a bar in Karachi seen in 1974.
Before the sale of alcohol beverages was banned (to Muslims) in Pakistan in April, 1977, Karachi had the largest number of bars in the country.
This particular bar (called “Karachi On”) was situated at Elphinstone Street, in the Saddar area of Karachi. The area was home to a number of nightclubs.
The picture belongs to Ali Huda Shah, whose maternal uncle was the owner of the bar. It was shut down in April 1977.
Today, though there are no public bars in Pakistan, however, licensed liquor outlets selling local beer, whiskey, gin and rum brands still operate in Karachi and the rest of Sindh.
The makers of these local brands are some of the leading tax-paying companies in the country.
A still from one of the most famous one-off plays on Pakistan television, ‘Quratul Ain’ (1975).
It starred Naveen Tajik (right), a Pakistani Christian, who, along with Roohi Bano and Uzma Gillani, was hailed as one of the finest TV actresses in Pakistan (in the 1970s).
‘Quratul Ain’ (scripted by Asfaq Ahmed) tells the story of a young man who wants to join the air force and is in love with a girl (Qurat).
Passionate about joining the air force, the young man is distraught after he begins to lose his eye sight.
Qurat tells him she doesn’t care and that they should get married. The young man agrees but then vanishes. Not even his family knows about his whereabouts. Qurat waits for him but is finally coaxed by her father to find another man.
Many years later she accompanies her husband to a Sufi shrine from where she wants to buy some bangles.
As the husband goes looking for a bangles shop, Qurat stumbles upon a blind Sufi fakir (vagabond) selling bangles from a sack.
He has long hair and a beard. He asks for one of her hands so he could put the bangles over her wrist. It’s her lost lover. She does not recognise him.
But he recognises her the moment he holds her hand. In shock, he lets go of his sack and her hand and vanishes into the crowd. It is left to the audience to figure out whether a surprised Qurat realises who the man was.
The play was part of PTV’s ‘Aik Muhabbat Soh Afsaney’ series in which Sufi themes were set in modern urban settings.
Naveen, though hugely successful as a TV actress and fashion model, failed to make a mark in films. She left for the US in the early 1980s.
A shelf in a shop displaying Scotch whiskey brands in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s ‘Bara market’ (smugglers’ market) in 1977.
The market was popular with both foreign tourists as well as Pakistanis coming from Karachi and Lahore to buy imported and/or smuggled cloth, clothes, shoes, electronic good and foreign whiskey brands.
The Bara area began to come under the influence of Islamist groups from the late 1980s and today the area has no such market and is in the grip of a violent and bloody conflict between armed fundamentalist outfits and the state of Pakistan.
Poster and still from 1975’s Pakistani film, ‘Dulhan Aik Raat Ki’ (A Bride for One Night).
The flick was Pakistan’s first Urdu film advertised as ‘For Adults Only.’ In the mid-1970s, British and American ‘adult films’ had become a hugely successful outing for young middle-class Pakistanis and couples, and by 1974-75, films (especially in Karachi) labelled ‘For Adults Only,’ were doing a roaring business.
Karachi’s Rio Cinema and Palace Cinema became known for running such films (Rio today is a gaudy shopping mall while Palace was converted into a marriage hall).
Such films were mainly low-budget European and American romantic farces in which nudity scenes and sexual content were allowed to be shown by the censors, thus the tag: ‘For Adults Only’.
Inspired by the period’s ‘Adult Film’ phenomenon, Mumtaz Ali Khan directed Pakistan’s first Urdu film that was ‘For Adults Only.’ It was appropriately called ‘Dulhan Aik Raat Ki’.
Staring late Badar Munir (then known as the ‘Charles Bronson of Pakistan) and a number of famous 1970s Punjabi and Pushtun film actresses, it was a raunchy fusion of violent Italian spaghetti westerns and 1970s European soft-porn.
It was disallowed a re-release in the 1980s by the Zia dictatorship and was only made available (on VHS) in the late 1980s. It is still not available on DVD, but can be found on VCD.
A video grab from PTV’s groundbreaking coverage of the 1970 general elections.
Running consecutively for 48 hours, the 1970 election transmission was one of the first long duration live events telecast by PTV.
Seen in the picture is famous PTV anchor of the 1970s, Laeeq Ahmed, pointing at the number of seats (162) won by the Bengali nationalist party in former East Pakistan, the Awami League (AL).
In 1971 AL rebelled against the West Pakistan military establishment (for not giving it the democratic right to lead the new democratic regime as a majority party), and after a bloody civil war, East Pakistan broke away and became the independent Bengali republic of Bangladesh.
Notice how the host is holding a cigarette in his hand while discussing the election results. TV hosts commonly smoked on the air until the practice was discontinued in the early 1980s.
Pakistani rock band Irwin’s Error (1973)
The band was made up of (from left) Irfan Bawany (guitar), Tuppu (drums), Uruj Malik (bass) and Owne Patrick (keyboards). Bands like Irwin’s Terror were different from the famous bands of the era that played exclusively at nightclubs (see bellow). Irwin’s Error played harder versions of rock music and mostly performed at high school parties.
A 1978 picture of Iggy Fernandez, famous Pakistani guitar player, who committed suicide in 1980.
Iggy belonged to the Goan Christian community of Karachi that was very active in the city’s pop music scene in the 1960s and 1970s. He often performed solo at nightclubs and was dubbed as the ‘Jimi Hendrix of Pakistan.’
Exceptionally talented, Iggy got caught-up in a vicious love triangle that led him to jump from the roof of Hotel Metropole in Karachi, in 1981.
The few recordings of his performances that survived his tragic demise went on to influence moody guitar wizards like Aamir Zaki.
A 1974 photo showing famous Karachi pop band the Captivators performing at the Playboy nightclub on Karachi’s Club Road. The club was closed down in 1977.
A recording of The Communications – a funk band from Karachi. The song was recorded at the band’s performance at the Horse Shoe nightclub in January 1977.
A 1974 press ad of Red & White cigarettes. Just like in other airports of the world at the time, smoking was allowed in all areas of Pakistani airports as well. The shoot for this ad took place at the old Karachi Airport that worked as a hub in the region and was one of the busiest airports in Asia receiving up to 60 flights in an hour from around the world.
The man is sitting at a famous waiting lounge/restaurant at the airport (Sky Grill) that also had a full bar and was the only place at the airport that was centrally air-conditioned.
Former Pakistani Test batsman Sadiq Muhammad (left) and former Pakistan cricket captain, Mushtaq Muhammad, share a beer in Sydney in January, 1977.
The picture was taken inside the players’ dressing room at the Sydney Cricket Ground after Pakistan defeated a strong Australian Test side. This was Pakistan’s first Test victory against Australia in Australia. With the victory, Pakistan squared the series 1-1 after being one down in the series. Seen in the background is a shirtless Imran Khan who took 12 wickets in the match.
Pakistan cricket team’s famous pace duo, Imran Khan and Sarfraz Nawaz, at a nightclub in Melbourne in 1981.
The picture was taken during Pakistan team’s 1981 tour of Australia. Architects of various wins by the Pakistan team in the 1970s and early 1980s, Imran and Sarfraz who were both best friends but had a major falling out as politicians in the 1990s.
Sarfraz, a long-time Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) supporter, joined the PPP after retirement (in 1988) whereas Khan formed his own party (1996). Nawaz changed allegiances last year, when he switched to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).
A 1973 photo of Nawaz Sharif. Sharif came from a business family and according to a biography (published in 2004), he was a music and film enthusiast and a PPP/Bhutto supporter at college (in the late 1960s).
In the 1970s his family had a falling out with the PPP regime it nationalised a large part of the Sharif family’s businesses.
Nawaz joined politics in the 1980s, guided by anti-PPP dictator, Ziaul Haq. Today his party, the PML-N, is the second largest political party in Pakistan after the PPP.
End of an era: Karachi on the day the reactionary military junta led by Ziaul Haq toppled the Z A Bhutto regime (July 5, 1977). In the background is a large cinema that closed down in the 1980s.
Mumbai: Actor Salman Khan who partnered with Sanjay Dutt to host `Bigg Boss Season 5` last year will return to the reality show but minus his co-anchor. The show makers have confirmed to a national daily that Salman has given a nod to anchor `Bigg Boss Season 6` since he and his family follow the show thoroughly.
The show will go on floors only after ‘Jhalak Dikhla Ja’, to be judged by Madhuri Dixit, Karan Johar and Remo Fernandes , goes on air. After ‘Jhalak…’ a talent hunt show will be aired and only after that show gets over will ‘Bigg Boss’ be telecast.
Salman who earlier stole the limelight and won accolades for his witty remarks on the show will surely keep the viewers eyes set on the idiot box. Though we must confess that Sanjay would be missed by his fans!
Unfazed by the number of controversies surrounding him, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) co-owner Shah Rukh Khan's antics after Tuesday night's Indian Premier League (IPL) match are all set to raise the hackles again.
After KKR beat Delhi Daredevils in the play-off in Pune and stormed into the finals, the Bollywood superstar took a victory lap in the stadium waving at the crowd.
However, just as an ecstatic SRK was soaking in the glory, he was seen gesticulating to some people in the crowd asking them to come on the ground. The next moment he pretended to take off his shoe as if to hurl it at someone in the stand.
Not done yet, an irked SRK was again seen daring some people in the crowd to see him on the ground.
SRK has been involved in several controversies in the recent past. The latest of those past incidents saw him banned from entering Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium for five years for an alleged scuffle and heated duel with Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) officials and security guards.
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