Pakistanis Defy Taliban Terror
The world media are focusing on scores of deadly terrorist attacks in the last four weeks claiming over 300 innocent lives in Pakistani cities, and tracking the military's counterinsurgency campaign unfolding in South Waziristan. However, the Pakistani blogosphere is buzzing with the news and pictures of the Fashion Week in Karachi.
A series of fashion shows ended Saturday in which 30 Pakistani designers presented their creations. Karachi's Marriott hotel was the scene of the glamorous event.
And there is a lot more that is happening in Pakistan.
In October, a painstakingly detailed production of Chekov's "The Seagull" had a successful run in Karachi.
Karachi's local actors put on a female version of The Odd Couple and the Abba musical Mamma Mia drew large crowds.
An art exhibit opened recently in Islamabad to portray the effects of recent events on Pakistani psyche. Using the snake skin as a symbol of ongoing terror in the country, artist Haleem Khan has used the metaphor of a venomous snake to portray the violence that confronts people.
There were dozens of other events across the country, such as the 25th anniversary of a street theater group, a film festival for children, scores of music concerts, thousands of weddings and endless games of street cricket.
Clearly, many Pakistanis are defying the campaign of intimidation unleashed by the Tehrik-e-Taleban Pakistan. Despite the failed political leadership and extremely poor governance, the country’s saving grace is arguably its people. As the consequences sink in among Pakistan’s secular elite of the rising Taliban, there are signs that the country’s educated middle class – in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi, cities rocked recently by continuing terrorist attacks – is losing its patience with radicalism. The urban middle class has more clout than many analysts think. It constitutes the backbone of the army, the business and professional classes and the opinion makers in the media. And the middle class is getting serious about its responsibility. They have now compelled the government into taking more decisive action. There appears to be visible light at the end of the tunnel. Let's hope it's not an oncoming train.
Here are two video clips of Karachi Fashion Week 2009:
Related Links:
Karachi Fashion Week
Is Pakistan Too Big to Fail?
Karachi Fashion Week Goes Bolder
Pakistan's Foreign Visitors Pleasantly Surprised
Start-ups Drive a Boom in Pakistan
Pakistan Conducting Research in Antarctica
Pakistan's Multi-billion Dollar IT Industry
Pakistan's Telecom Boom
More Pictures From Karachi Fashion Week 2009
ITU Internet Data
Eleven Days in Karachi
Pakistani Entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley
Musharraf's Economic Legacy
Pakistan's International Rankings
Assessing Pakistan Army Capabilities
Pakistan is not Falling
Jinnah's Pakistan Booms Amidst Doom and Gloom
A series of fashion shows ended Saturday in which 30 Pakistani designers presented their creations. Karachi's Marriott hotel was the scene of the glamorous event.
And there is a lot more that is happening in Pakistan.
In October, a painstakingly detailed production of Chekov's "The Seagull" had a successful run in Karachi.
Karachi's local actors put on a female version of The Odd Couple and the Abba musical Mamma Mia drew large crowds.
An art exhibit opened recently in Islamabad to portray the effects of recent events on Pakistani psyche. Using the snake skin as a symbol of ongoing terror in the country, artist Haleem Khan has used the metaphor of a venomous snake to portray the violence that confronts people.
There were dozens of other events across the country, such as the 25th anniversary of a street theater group, a film festival for children, scores of music concerts, thousands of weddings and endless games of street cricket.
Clearly, many Pakistanis are defying the campaign of intimidation unleashed by the Tehrik-e-Taleban Pakistan. Despite the failed political leadership and extremely poor governance, the country’s saving grace is arguably its people. As the consequences sink in among Pakistan’s secular elite of the rising Taliban, there are signs that the country’s educated middle class – in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi, cities rocked recently by continuing terrorist attacks – is losing its patience with radicalism. The urban middle class has more clout than many analysts think. It constitutes the backbone of the army, the business and professional classes and the opinion makers in the media. And the middle class is getting serious about its responsibility. They have now compelled the government into taking more decisive action. There appears to be visible light at the end of the tunnel. Let's hope it's not an oncoming train.
Here are two video clips of Karachi Fashion Week 2009:
Related Links:
Karachi Fashion Week
Is Pakistan Too Big to Fail?
Karachi Fashion Week Goes Bolder
Pakistan's Foreign Visitors Pleasantly Surprised
Start-ups Drive a Boom in Pakistan
Pakistan Conducting Research in Antarctica
Pakistan's Multi-billion Dollar IT Industry
Pakistan's Telecom Boom
More Pictures From Karachi Fashion Week 2009
ITU Internet Data
Eleven Days in Karachi
Pakistani Entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley
Musharraf's Economic Legacy
Pakistan's International Rankings
Assessing Pakistan Army Capabilities
Pakistan is not Falling
Jinnah's Pakistan Booms Amidst Doom and Gloom
Comments
The Islamabad premiere of the much anticipated film Waar was a rare night of celerity and glamour in the Pakistani capital.
The red carpet was littered with big-name stars, well-known politicians and fashionable socialites.
Waar – which means "to strike" in Urdu - is the country's first big-budget action film.
It's based on the real-life events following a 2009 attack on a top police academy by the Taliban.
The multi-million-dollar film is one of at least 21 feature-length film releases this year and is widely seen as part of a revival of Pakistan's struggling film-making industry.
Pakistani cinema, known as Lollywood, after the eastern city of Lahore where it was historically based, has steadily declined since the late 1970s.
It was during that time the then military ruler, General Zia ul-Haq, launched an Islamisation agenda that introduced a rigid censorship code, all but ending what has been described as the "golden era" of the industry.
Back then more than 200 Pakistani films were made annually, today it is less than one-fifth of that.
Adding to the challenges, from a peak of 700 cinemas operating across the country, that number is now just under 200.
Shaan Shahid, lead actor of Waar, says the film has the potential to dramatically change the industry which has struggled for decades.
"I really feel that with the release of Waar, the Pakistani film industry has arrived. We've received a lot of support making this movie and I think it will inspire young filmmakers to come out and make their own movies," he said.
Waar is one of around two dozen Pakistani film releases this year - including Zinda Bhaag - the country's first entry to the Academy Awards' foreign-language category in 50 years.
Many see this as an encouraging sign that the industry has turned a corner. But one of the main challenges facing Pakistani film-makers is being able to raise enough money to fund their projects.
Film-making is expensive, and with audiences mainly limited to a handful of major cities, it is not always easy to turn a profit.
Iram Praveen Bilal, a Pakistani film-maker, believes it will take at least four to five years before the film industry becomes lucrative to investors.
"In India, if you are investing, you can recoup the money on opening weekend for certain budgets. You can't say that about Pakistan cinema. You need a certain film of a certain budget of a genre that you know that the public will watch."
It is a gamble the makers of Waar are no doubt hoping will pay off with record box-office receipts.
http://blogs.aljazeera.com/blog/asia/pakistans-first-big-budget-action-film