“We will observe Bari Sarkar’s Urs with or without the government’s consent,” announced Habibullah Hashmi, the caretaker of the shrine flanked by other devotees, sitting on a prayer mate at the saint’s Bari Imam’s shrine at Nurpur Shahan, behind President’s House.

Hashmi said that by locking the doors of the shrine, the government has deprived the devotees of their right to observe their religious rituals. “People will come. Security or no security, permission or no permission, we will hold the festival and hold it in high spirits,” he said. Hashmi said that for the past four years, the government has not been allowing stopped them from to holding  the annual festival. “This has not been done to any other shrine in Pakistan, why Bari Imam?” he asked.

Mushtaq, another frustrated devotee from Kamra, questioned the government’s policy and efficiency, said, “How is this democracy when we cannot even openly practice our religious rituals? How will the government manage the whole country if it cannot even manage one shrine in the capital?”

The shrine’s location, adjacent to the Diplomatic Enclave and behind important government buildings, have rendered the Urs a security risk, after a bomb blast at the shrine in June 2005, killing 20 people and injuring 82 others.

Financial crunch has also delayed the completion of the renovation work at the shrine.

The festival is not only held to pay homage to the saint and promote peace and harmony, but also highlights the Potohar culture and attracts tens of thousands of people from all over the country.

Elevated security was quite evident. Two security gates — one each for men and women — were operational at the entrance. Officials on duty were inspecting people coming in and out. A high concrete structure around the old Bari Imam shrine covered much of its original look. The construction has been ongoing for almost four years now.

“There is dust on the dome of the old shrine and there is no cleaning. If the people cannot respect this place, they should not be here,” Mushtaq angrily said.

The shrine has been locked for years now and the area is cordoned off with wooden barriers. “No one can go inside for Salam and people just stand at a distance and look at the shrine,” said Mushtaq. The barriers are only moved when VIPs come to visit.

“I remember when Hilary Clinton came here. She went all the way inside, just because she is a VIP and other believers who travel for miles and hours are just asked to maintain their distance, which is not fair,” said Anwar Badshah one of the caretakers of the shrine administration.

Despite several requests to the CDA chairman, Islamabad chief commissioner, interior minister and the prime minister from the shrine administration, no response has been received on restarting the festival, he said.

“We will announce the schedule of the Urs next week if the government does not respond to our plea,” Hashmi said.

Financial crunch delays shrine renovation

According to Badshah, the construction is just an excuse to stop people from coming to the shrine.

Saadat Hussain Shah, a regular visitor to the shrine, said that he has been visiting the whole year round and construction has been on hiatus most of the time. The only time they start working is a few months before the Urs.

Project Manager Mukhtar Ahmed Jaffery said the project would be completed before the end of this year. He said that there were funding issues and the contract was handed from one party to another, causing construction delays. He said that because the project is within the red zone, security is always an issue.

Jaffery said that CDA has promised to give Rs4 million for the project but backed off after a while. The total cost of the project is Rs255 million, out of which Rs150 million have released, informed Jaffery.

“On 30th November last year, Interior Minister Rehman Malik had assured that the Urs will take place,”  Badshah said.

“They give us reasons and say that it’s a security threat and we are in the way of presidency and the parliament whereas the fact remains that Bari Imam has been there for 400 years and it came here even before the city itself. They have come in our way and they should be moved elsewhere” he said.

In 2010 an application was submitted to the deputy commissioner. This year on March 28, another application was submitted to chairman and the interior ministry but nothing came of it. Hashmi has said that if the government does not lift the ban, the believers will all unite and hold a successful Urs.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 9^th, 2012.

ISLAMABAD: I kept covering my face with a veil out of habit until I realised I don’t have to do it anymore, said Allah Rakhi, whose nose was chopped off by her husband 33 years ago.

Rakhi, who is from a small village in Gujranwala, was married off to Ghulam Baksh when she was just 13. Belonging to the same clan, Rakhi, like most rural women, had no say in the wedding. She was regularly subjected to domestic violence. “For seven years, he would throw things at me and beat me; it became a routine for me,” said Rakhi.

Life is not simple for women in the village. “We have to make sure our husbands have eaten and until they lie down on their charpoy, we are asked to stay alert and respond to every order.”

One day when Baksh was away, Rakhi packed her bags to leave her husband. Baksh, sitting in a barber shop at the time, spotted her walking to the bus stand.

Enraged, he snatched the shaving blade from the barber and rushed outside. “I tried to run but he grabbed me by my hair and pushed me to the ground,” said Rakhi. “When I tried to get away, he grabbed my leg and slashed my foot. As soon as I fell, he sat on my chest and chopped off my nose,” she added.

There was blood all over.

The villagers started running towards them, so Baksh picked her up and tried to take her back home. “When the people saw me with blood dripping everywhere, they started shouting.”

Rakhi was taken by her mother-in-law and husband to a doctor. Her foot was stitched up, but she had lost her nose. “For five years I walked with a stick till my foot recovered, but even now I cannot walk very far.”

Rakhi was 19 when this incident took place and already a mother of two — a boy and girl. “My little boy would not look at my face. My children don’t remember having seen my face, they grew up with their mother’s face always covered with a little cloth patch on her face and a veil on top of it at all times.”

Baksh was sentenced for seven years for the assault. “At his court hearing, he promised to pay for my surgeries after he is released from prison.” The issue was ‘settled’ within the clan and Baksh was released from jail. However a year later, Baksh divorced Rakhi and took her son away from her.

She remarried a bus driver who helped her raise her daughter. After her daughter’s marriage and when her husband passed away in a car accident, Rakhi’s 32-year-old married son asked her to come live with him. He was still living with his father.

Now Rakhi, her son and daughter-in-law live in the same house as Baksh and his mother. “He still curses at me when he sees me.”

Rakhi’s daughter was in Islamabad when she learnt of a charitable organisation helping victims of acid attacks and domestic violence, the Acid Survivors Foundation (ASF). She approached the organisation for help.

Balqees Shehzad, ASF Nursing Care and Rehabilitation Unit said that Rakhi was the first case of this kind handled by ASF. NADRA had refused to give her an ID card and most surgeons had refused to take up her case until Dr Hamid Hassan took up the challenge.

Hassan said that Rakhi’s case was challenge as she had Hepatitis C and many would not take this up. “The operating method used on Rakhi is 400-years-old. Chopping off the nose is a common historical practice in the subcontinent,” said Dr Hassan.

Flaps of Rakhi’s skin were used to construct a new nose for her. “The seven-hour surgery was a success and she only needs occasional touch ups to give it a more realistic look,” said Hassan.

As for Rakhi, “My children and grandchildren are so happy, it’s overwhelming. I feel so strange when I see my face in the mirror.”

“This case gave me everlasting joy. Seeing the happiness on Rakhi’s face is what I really got out of it,” said Hassan.

Rakhi is back in her village now and continues living with her son and ex-husband. “It is my destiny to live with the man who did this to me, but the smile on my face is my revenge.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 7^th, 2012.

The angry protesters stood outside the zoo holding placards and chanted slogans against the administration. Some shared their fond childhood memories with the elephant.

When they tried to approach the zoo deputy director, they were told by the staff that he was not in his office. This agitated them into demanding that the zoo be shut down if it can not care for the poor animals.

“What have the innocent animals done to deserve such treatment?” said Omar Saleem, a protester. He listed the changes that the zoo had undergone over a passage of time. The lions and panthers have gone missing, and then an elephant died “mysteriously.”

As the protest caught the public attention, the zoo administration got active. Sohail Ahmed, an official of the zoo, approached the protesters but could not convince them to leave. They stayed there for over four hours.

Numair Shahzada, who was spearheading the protest, admitted that the turnover was not as big as they had anticipated. “Still, it’s a good start; as long as people are ready to take a stand, we can bring some change,” he said, adding that they will continue to protest till they get some answers on how Saheli died. They are also working towards getting a petition signed.

While talking about Kaavan, the other elephant, he said, “No animal deserves to live in such deplorable conditions. He should be moved to an animal reserve or a larger enclosure.”

Saheli’s post-mortem report is due in on Monday.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 5^th, 2012.

The body was surrounded by huge slabs of ice, while the zoo officials splashed antiseptic water nearby. They went in and out of the cordoned-off cage, outside which a crane stood parked.

But the circumstances under which the 22-year-old Sri Lankan elephant died weren’t any clearer on Wednesday. Dr Saleem Sulheri, a veterinarian at the zoo, told The Express Tribune that post-mortem would take up about two days.

“They have taken some samples of tongue, stomach, heart and other parts of the elephant for post-mortem, so we have to wait a few more days,” said Sulheri.

He added there is no equipment available to lift the body in one piece, so it will have be chopped into pieces. The skin, teeth and feet of the elephant would be taken to Natural Museum Shakarparian for preservation, where the body would be stuffed and skeleton preserved.

Concerns over incident

Saheli’s death has raised many concerns, especially in the veterinary community. Marghazar Zoo Senior Consultant Dr Rana said he was not contacted when she got injured. “They did not inform me that she was unwell,” he said. Another zoo official said the death indicates that the zoo did not have the capacity to treat the animal. “This is not a zoo, [it’s] an animal hoarding facility.”

World Wide Fund for Nature Biodiversity Director Uzma Khan said that foot conditions are one of the reasons for mortality amongst elephants. The animals are at a greater risk of such injuries when they are tied to the ground for a long time, which can even lead to arthritis, she added.

She cited a research commissioned in UK, which states that an elephant can only be tied while undergoing surgery. She added that elephant management is a tricky subject. “They need open space and an enclosure big enough to keep away from other animals. But that is not the case [in Marghazar Zoo.”

If elephants are not kept in a good environment, they suffer psychologically that can also contribute to their sickness, she added. “An elephant tied up is like a person in solitary confinement,” said Khan.

She said that of all the zoos in Pakistan only Karachi Zoo has just recently improved its elephant enclosure whereas Lahore Zoo is planning to renovate soon.

‘No legislation to keep animals safe in zoos’

Khan said that Pakistan does not have legislation for zoos. India has a central zoo authority that maintains a database of zoos  —  they shutdown zoos that fail to live up to standards.

There are six elephants remaining in zoos in Pakistan: two in Karachi Zoo, two in Karachi Safari, one in Lahore Zoo and now one in Marghazar Zoo Islamabad.

But without legislation, there is little that can be done. As Khan put it, “How do you monitor a zoo without set standards?”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 3^rd, 2012.

Saheli came to the zoo in 1991, a gift from the Sri Lankan government. She was brought to partner with Kaavan, a male elephant who has been here for 27 years.

Mohammad, who has worked at the zoo for 35 years, wiped his tears, “I have been taking care of her ever since she was brought here; she was just one-year-old.”

According to Mohammad, Saheli was injured a few days ago and was in a lot of pain. Her movement slowed down and she began limping on occasion. “When we noticed she was hurt, we immediately had the doctors come to examine her.”

Two doctors have been coming to check and treat her for the past two days. “I do not think there was any mistake made in her treatment, but I still don’t know the cause of her death,” he said, taking breaks to compose himself.

Mohammad stood next to Saheli’s body, where flies circled above. Lying on the ground with a small sheet covering all but hear head and feet, Saheli, even in death, remained the centre of attention for visitors who had come to spend Labour Day with the animals. Other zookeepers kept checking on the body, occasionally splashing antiseptic water around it to keep the surrounding as clean as possible. The elephant compound was covered with sheets to detract visitors from crowding around it.

Zoo authorities had sent Saheli’s samples for testing when she was sick and sent a second set of samples after her death. “We are waiting for the results to figure out what went wrong,” said Marghazar Zoo and Wildlife Director Sajjad Hussain Shah.

The doctor checked her the night before and she was reportedly fine. She ate this morning and then just passed out after a while, said Shah.

National Veterinary Laboratories officials who had come to the zoo to take samples also said the cause of death will not be clear until the lab results are in.

Sri Lankan elephants are a sub-species of the Asian elephant and live anywhere between 60 and 75 years. Saheli was 22.

Mohammad said, “She was very playful. I would call her name as soon as I entered the zoo gate every morning and she would trumpet in response. When I entered their cage she would come running to me.  Now I can sense the tension in Kaavan’s behaviour. He has been so impatient and anxious ever since she fell ill.”

According to Director Shah, Saheli was given first aid on Sunday morning and seemed to be getting better. “She was eating and was moving towards recovery, but at night she fell on one side and could not stand straight. A crane and human force had to be used to switch her side. On Tuesday, she ate at around 10:00am. After a while she collapsed again and slowly stopped breathing.

Dr Saleem Sulheri, a vetenarian at the zoo, added, “We feared she was about to die when she fell because she stopped moving her head, only occasionally trying to moving her feet.”

Sulheri said that the animals at the zoo were seasonally examined. Saheli could have had some internal problem but these blanks can only be filled when the lab results come out in the next two or three days, he added. The body will be buried and the skeleton will be extracted for preservation at the Natural Historical Museum at Shakarparian, he said.

“This is the first time such an incident has taken place at the zoo and we are extremely saddened by it,” said Director Shah. “However we do need another elephant to pair with the remaining one and hope the authorities will [procure one] soon.”

Inquiry initiated

Capital Development Authority (CDA) Chairperson Engineer Farkhand Iqbal has directed an inquiry into the incident. The team will be headed by CDA Member Administration Shoukat Ali Mohmand.

Mohammad and another caretaker, Bilal, have also been suspended.

The chairperson said that strict action would be taken if someone’s negligence was found responsible for the incident.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 2^nd, 2012.

ISLAMABAD: A 22-year-old elephant gifted by the Sri Lanka government to Pakistan in 1991 passed away at Marghazar Zoo in Islamabad on Tuesday.

The elephant, named Saheli, had been brought to Pakistan to be partnered with a male elephant named Kaavan when she was one-year-old.

Faiz Mohammad, the caretaker of the elephants, wiped his tears as he narrated the story of losing Saheli. “I have been taking care of her ever since she was a year old,” he said. “She was like my own child.”

Mohammad said Saheli had been injured a few days back and was in a lot of pain. He said Saheli had been limping and her movement had slowed down.

Doctors had been coming in to check and treat the elephant for the last two days.

An elephant’s life is 90 to 110 years of age, unfortunately Saheli was 22 years old and lived a short life at the zoo.

Stuffed

Dr Saleem Sulheri, a veterinarian at the zoo, said that the body will be buried and the fossils will be extracted for preservation at Pakistan Museum of Natural History in Shakarparian.

The display of the elephant’s skeleton would add another attraction to Islamabad, as recently a whale shark was brought here from Karachi to after it was found dead on seashore.

At Barolo’s launch in sector F-8 on Friday, it was not just the pizza that was Italian. Nida Ali, the owner of Barolo, actually brought a slice of Venice to Isloo. The restaurant has indoor seating in a single story building with a separate glass-walled pizzeria set up in the back, but it’s the pool next to the pizzeria that caught every eye that came in. There are five stationary gondolas set up to seat four people each, around a bridge leading to a romantic table for two on a little island in the centre of the pool, the walls around it showing a cityscape of the city of bridges.

Rezz of Rezz Events was impressed by the decor and expressed his happiness at “the new places opening in Isloo”.

“We have seen so many outlets and eating places open over the last few years, which shows the growth of the capital as a metropolis,” he added.

The menus for the fine dining sections and the pizzeria will be varied. Beyond the obvious listing of authentic Italian-style pizzas on the menu, the pizzeria — which will open from next weekend and will operate from noon to 5pm — will also serve burgers and snacks, with the smoked salmon burgers a standout on the menu.

While the pizzeria is furnished with cane chairs, the formal seating arrangement in the main fine dining area — complete with a private room for those uncomfortable around prying eyes — is ideal for dinners.

A meal at the pizzeria can cost around Rs1,000 per head, while a meal in the fine dining section will cost Rs1,500 or more.

Leather-quilted doors in the fine dining area welcome guests into the cigar room, equipped with comfortable couches and lounge-like seating, which would attract anyone, cigar aficionado or not.

Nida Ali said that it will have its own menu from next week and will operate from noon to 11pm. However, for this week it will only be open during hours when the fine dining hall is operating: noon to 3pm for lunch and 7pm to 11pm for dinner.

“This is definitely my new hangout spot. It is ideal for anyone who wants an exclusive setting for a casual evening,” said fashion designer Pashmina Ahmed, while appreciating the delectable testers served at the launch, including Italian-style pizzas, fettuccini in white sauce, bruschetta, and stuffed mushrooms and salmon salad on toothpicks.

Socialites, diplomats, bureaucrats came for the launch of the new Italian restaurant. Light Italian music was playing in the background as the guests mingled and checked the place out.

For authentic Italian approval, The Express Tribune sought out Fredrico Bianchi, the head of the economic and commercial office at the Italian embassy.  He said he “really liked” the set up and found it innovative. Bianchi, who is fond of cooking, also approved of the authentic Italian food label, saying, “There is no overdoing of the spices…it’s very simple and tastes like actual Italian food.”

Published in The Express Tribune, April 29^th, 2012.

Saad Qureshi of Architects Inc said the auditorium was redone and completed in four to five months. The architects travelled to Singapore, Bangkok and parts of Europe to get an idea of movie theatre designs in these countries, he added.

The detailing and finishing of the cinema is remarkable. Large embossed glass doors lead visitors inside. As people wait for the show, they can relax on cushy lounge-esque seating.

Thick carpeted stairs lead one to the cinema, which has a total of 260 seats with two VIP lounges.

Most of the equipment such as the project and the seats were imported from America and Dubai. At the seats, tables slide out of the arm and move to the front with a cup holder on the side.

“This will keep me from dropping snacks in the dark or juggling with food on my lap,” said Sarah Khan, a visitor.

Qureshi explained, “The setting is modern and contemporary with subtle brown and black paisley patterned wallpaper paired with crystal lights and thick carpet for a comfortable feel.”

He added that a great number of people live in Bahria Town and the cinema is meant for them. Open only to families, the cinema will also eventually have side attractions like a play area and a shopping mall.

Natalia Tariq, another visitor, said, “Even though, it’s far from Islamabad, I’d still go because it’s so nice.”

The single-screen theatre can project movies in both 2D and 3D. The ticket costs Rs400 for a 2D film, while Rs500 for 3D. Cinepax, another popular hangout for the twin cities’ movie buffs, bests Arena 3D’s offerings with more screens and lower ticket prices – Rs350 for 2D and Rs450 for 3D.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 28^th, 2012.

The trade figures have the potential to grow 10 times the current number of US$450 million per year, he said in an interview with The Express Tribune on Wednesday. Spain’s imports from Pakistan are around US$150 million and exports around US$300 million.

Ambassador Saravia said that although the political relations between the two countries date as far back as 50 years, Pakistan is still a very new market for Spain and most of the investors only get the right impression after visiting the country themselves.

The energy sector, he added, remains the focus for Spain in Pakistan. Spanish companies are setting up plants of renewable energy in Sindh, he said.

Pakistanis settled in Spain

There are about 70,000 Pakistanis in Spain. The second generation Pakistanis, the ambassador said, are Spanish and they enjoy perks like any other Spaniard. “We do not treat them as outsiders, they are Spanish and the consulate works here very closely to facilitate the family members when they apply for visa,” he added.

Good memories

The ambassador fondly recollected his experience of Pakistan, dubbing it “tough but rewarding at the same time.”

On a more personal note, he joked, “What more people to people contact do we need, my son is Pakistani.”

He was saddened at the security situation in Pakistan, especially after 2009 — the “black year” for the country. But all is not bad. Ambassador Saravia said that the human rights situation has improved drastically in Pakistan. “Each report shows a better picture, [but] of course there is room for improvement,” he said.

Patience, he added, is the only way to cope with the challenges that the young democracy is facing.

The ambassador, who grew a beard over the years he was here, said that he could easily pass for a Pakhtun but his security personnel would give him away. The ambassador spent almost four years in Pakistan and will be reporting back to Spain in two months.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 27^th, 2012.

He was talking at a seminar organised on Tuesday to discuss the critical question of food security and analyse the government’s National Zero Hunger Action Plan (NZHAP).

The $16 billion five-year plan aims to address food insecurity, hunger and malnutrition issues by reaching out to almost 61 million people across the country.

The programme includes provision of nutritious and fortified food commodities to the most food insecure and vulnerable sections of society, particularly malnourished children, pregnant women and primary school children. It also features a school feed programme and establishment of “zero hunger shops” in 45 extremely food insecure districts of Pakistan.

Siblot said the programme reflects a very high level of commitment towards addressing the problem of hunger and malnutrition in Pakistan. Other experts echoed his sentiment but added that the plan needs to be implemented swiftly.

Dr Chaudhry Inayat of Ministry of National Food Security and Research said the plan comprises of seven components including policy reforms, establishment of a National Food Security Council, targeted social safety nets, capacity building of the ministry and partnership with international agencies.

The NZHAP, drafted after rigorous consultations with various stakeholders, takes into consideration the dimensions of food insecurity in Pakistan and the steps to be taken to address the problem, Dr Inayat said.

Kevin Gallagher, Country Representative United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, speaking at the seminar said that the Zero Hunger Plan was in compliance with the governments “right to food” obligation, which entails provision of nutritious food for everyone.

“It would provide opportunities to vulnerable people who also place conditional obligation on them to secure food by their own,” he said.

Silvia, a UNICEF representative, said that it was alarming to see the stagnant figures of malnutrition in the country. Rates of chronic malnutrition are as high as 50% and that a third of children born in Pakistan are underweight.

“The problem is not with the children but with mothers who do not meet their nutritional needs during pregnancy,” she said.

Pakistan with its low production and increasing prices of seeds and fertilisers is also a factor affecting the quality of food purchased.

SDPI Executive Director Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri warned that food insecurity would be a great challenge in coming years. “More than half of Pakistan’s population is food insecure, anaemic and malnourished,” he said, quoting a study by the Department for International Development (DFID) UK which revealed that the economic cost of iodine and vitamin deficiency in Pakistan equals to 2.5% of the GDP.

Suleri said that the most immediate challenges Pakistan could face in the Zero Hunger Plan’s implementation were related to governance, institutional arrangements, division of responsibilities between federation and provinces and pilferages and mobilisation of resources. He added that Pakistan could learn from success stories such as Brazil, Indonesia and Mexico where these programmes were running successfully.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 26^th, 2012.