The nation celebrates Independ-ence Day with a renewed pledgeto safeguard the motherlandagainst any threat and make it atrue Islamic welfare state asenvisioned by its founding fatherQuaid-e-Azam Muhammad AliJinnah.

The celebrations of IndependenceDay officially began withfireworks at parade groundShakarparian in Islamabad atmidnight.

The ground and surroundingareas were lit with thousands ofcolourful fireworks and lights.

Thousands of citizens fromRawalpindi and Islamabadwitnessed the great firework.

The day dawned with 31-gunsalute in the federal and 21-gunsalute in the provincial capitals.

Special prayers were offered forprosperity, integrity and solidarity

of the country, unity of theMuslim Ummah and success ofthe long drawn struggle ofKashmiris after Fajr prayers.

The main event of the day was aflag hoisting ceremony at Con-vention Center in Islamabadwhere President MamnoonHussain was the chief guest. Healso addressed the nation on theoccasion.

Flag hoisting ceremonies wouldalso be held at the provincialcapitals and district headquartersbesides other important nationalinstitutions.

Meanwhile, all major public andprivate buildings, roads andavenues have been tastefullydecorated with illuminations,national flags, portraits of thenational leaders, banners andbuntings giving a festive look.

A simple but graceful change of

guard ceremony was held atIqbal mausoleum.

A smartly turned out contingentof Pakistan Army took charge asguards of the mausoleum fromPunjab Rangers.

Garrison Commander MajGeneral Tariq Aman was chiefguest on the occasion.

Meanwhile in Karachi, a changeof guard ceremony was also heldin which a contingent ofPakistan Navy took the com-mand of Quaid’s mausoleum.

Pakistan Naval Academycommandant CommodoreAdnan Ahmad was the chiefguest in the ceremony.

Security across the country hasbeen tightened whereas mobilephone services have also beensuspended.

Courtesy: Duniya news

August 14, 1947:The new Dominion of Pakistan becameindependent and Muhammad AliJinnah was sworn in as its first governorgeneral in Karachi.

August 7, 1954: Government of Pakistan approves theNational Anthem, written by AbulAsar Hafeez Jullundhri and composedby Ahmed G. Chagla.

August 17, 1954: Pakistan defeats England by 24 runs atOval during its maiden tour ofEngland.

August 1, 1960: Islamabad is declared the principal seatof the Government of Pakistan.

August 29, 1971: Rashid Minhas awarded Nishan-i-Haider, Pakistan's highest gallantryaward.

August 14, 1991: Nawaz Sharif lays foundation-stone ofBab-i-Pakistan at Walton Lahore.

August in History

F Pakistan’s prosperity is dependenton its youth

F Self-educated AJK girl getsadmission in Cambridge

F Pakistan Mango Festival held inMorocco

F More than one million touristsvisited northern areas of Pakistanthis season

F Pakistan wins top ranking afterWindies-India Test draw

F Pakistan forces give Indian troopssweets at Wagah on Independence Day

What’s inside:

Positive Post is published to project positivity all around Pakistan amongst our youth and the entire nation. Our efforts are to inculcate patriotism and a sense of ownership in them. It is a compilation of news extracted

by the students of Mass Communications and Media Studies of Greenwich University.

Volume VI, Issue-VIII, August 2016

Enthusiasm on peak as nation celebrates Independence Day

2

China’s alliance with the UnitedStates and their unanimousposition on international andregional issues will have positiveimpact on Pakistan-Chinabilateral ties.

This was stated by Yan Xuetong,director of the Institute ofInternational Relations atTsinghua University whilecommenting on the new phaseof the Sino-US ties in the wakeof President Xi Jinping’s recentvisit to the US.

He said that forming alliancesabroad can help China smoothbilateral ties, like in the contextof Pakistan, the two-countries’growing relation which are citedas exemplary the world over.

The comments are based onYan’s recent lecture “Strategiesfor China’s rise and changinginternational environment.”These appeared in the GlobalTimes, a Chinese tabloidpublished under the auspices ofPeople’s Daily newspaper.

He believes that alignmentbetween two powers is asolution of many conflicts. Forinstance, Pakistan is in alliance

not only with China, but alsowith the US. In terms of issuesconcerning Pakistan, there is nodivergence between Beijing andWashington. If China can allyitself with every single ally ofthe US, there will be far lesscontroversies between the two.But the problem is China is notwilling to ally with the USpartners.

According to Yan Xuetong,some say that forging analliance is a Cold War mind-set.On the contrary, he says, it isnonalignment that demon-strates the Cold War mentality.The proposal of nonalignmentwas raised in 1956 by India’sfirst prime minister JawaharlalNehru, Egypt’s second presi-dent Gamal Abdel Nasser andYugoslavia’s then president JosipBroz Tito.

And the very first conference ofnon-aligned heads of states orgovernment, at which 25 coun-

tries were represented, was con-vened in September 1961. TheNon-Aligned Movement cameinto being during the Cold War,and so has a Cold War mental-ity, while forming alliances issimply human nature sinceancient times

The core of nonalignment is notto provide security assurancesfor other nations. All membersfrom the Non-Aligned Move-ment are small and mediumeconomies, and super powershave never engaged in such athing. If China insists in non-alignment, how can they showtheir good will and justice?

Are we going to tell the worldthat China is growing increas-ingly stronger, but China willnever protect your safety, hequestioned.

“For the moment, we shouldconsider how to face the emerg-ing pressure that comes alongwith the rise of China. That’scorrect. Beijing and Washingtonare now trying to ease tensionswith each other by pretendingto be friends. But this strategy isobviously not working,” Yansaid.

“The root cause is the fact thatthe core of this bilateral rela-tionship is competition, ratherthan cooperation. Cooperationis only a method to preventtheir competition from gettingworse. And it is impossible toturn competition entirely intocooperation. Hence, my sugges-tion is to admit that we arecompetitors, and guide Sino-USties toward healthy competi-tion,” he added.

“The conflicts of core interestsbetween China and the US areconstantly growing. So far, thereis no solution to the puzzle. Allwe can do is to prevent thesecontroversies from escalatinginto war. But it is impossible topursue a relationship withoutconflicts of core interests. It’slike you can prevent two stu-dents from fighting over schol-arship,” he said.

“Yet you cannot stop them fromcompeting for it. Instead ofideological conflicts, the majorcontroversy that lies betweenBeijing and Washington isconflicts of core interests.”

Courtesy: The Express Tribune

China-US alliance will have positive impact on Pak-China relations

International Youth day withthe theme, “The road to 2030:Eradicating Poverty andAchieving SustainableDevelopment and Consump-tion.” is going to observed andcelebrated on 12 August2016.There are around 1.8billion youngsters all aroundthe world, as UNESCO re-ports. This youth has to play avital role in eradicating povertyand leading their countriestowards economic and sustain-able growth and prosperity.

Pakistan has one of the largestyouth force in the world, says

UNESCO, about 35% to 65%of country’s population is ofyoungster. According tostatistics released by Election

Commission of Pakistan(ECP)just days before general election2013,47.8% of the 84 million ofregistered voters are 18 to 35 of

age. 19.77% or 16.88 millionregistered voters are under theage of 26 years. Perhaps this isthe number of youth registeredwith ECP, many residing inrural or slum areas either havenot obtained their CNICs orare not registered voters. It ispertinent to mention here thatGovernment of Pakistan hasn’tconducted any census since1998 so the exact figure ofyouth living in a country is dif-ficult to ascertain. Howeverevery one out of five person isfrom youth force according toabove mentioned estimation.

Courtesy Saama

Pakistan’s prosperity is dependent on its youth

“An investment in knowledgealways pays the best interest,”said Benjamin Franklin, and thishas come true for a Kashmir-based girl who managed tosecure highest marks in theA-Levels and O-Levels Englishexamination in Pakistan despitebeing ‘self-schooled.’

She is now preparing to pursuehigher studies at CambridgeUniversity.

“I’ve educated myself since I wasa child. Self-schooling is rootedin the concept of freedom andexploration,” Sandya KaramatBarlaas tells.

Pakistani student topsinternational LLB examHailing from Bagh in Azad

Jammu and Kashmir, Barlaassays she is “self-schooled” andhas not engaged services ofprofessional tutors. Despite herlack of formal education, shereceived the Cambridge UniversityOutstanding Learner Award inEnglish Language for gettingthe highest marks in Pakistanand secured grades of A*(distinction) in English lan-guage, A*(distinction) Englishliterature, A in Mathematics,and A* (distinction) in Chem-istry, A*(distinction) Physics, A*(distinction) in Mathematics, inher A-Levels and O-Levelsexams, respectively.

Sister to three brothers, Barlaassays home-schooling runs intheir family with none of hersiblings attending formaleducational institutions either.

“I have three brothers. All of usare self-schooled,” she says,claiming that one of her brothersis currently studying in Germany

while the other two are alsomoving abroad for higher studies.

She adds that she is grateful toher parents, her father an execu-tive engineer for the PublicWorks Department and hermother a homemaker and asociologist, for believing in them.

Talking about the process ofself-schooling, Barlaas explainsthat she reads a lot of books anduses the internet to research top-ics she would come across.

Pakistani student breaksDenmark’s grading scale record“I was fascinated by books andlearning, fuelled by the desireto comprehend, the desire tountangle natural phenomena, theworld around me, the peoplearound me in a more informedand analytical manner,” she says.“When I wanted to read, Iimmersed myself in the magicalworld of books, and when Ifound myself intrigued by musicnotes, I turned to the piano,”

She goes on to say that in a wayshe is the teacher and thestudent at the same time.

“In order to assess my progress, Iwould design questions on thesubject, write their answers andthen score them according tohow good they were while

noting areas for improvement,”she said, adding that she de-signed her own syllabus for herstudies.

Asked why she chose self-school-ing, Barlaas says it afforded herfreedom also that she did nothave any external pressure toadhere to traditional schooling.However, it was not without itschallenges. Barlaas says she had alot of trouble procuring thenecessary textbooks. “I either hadto go to Islamabad for them, or tohave someone else buy them forme,” she said.

With no examination centres forCambridge exams in AJK,Barlaas says she had tofrequently travel to Islamabadfor her exams or to pick upsupplies. At CambridgeUniversity, she plans to studypsychological and behaviouralsciences. “I’ve always had a deepinterest in the human mind andhow it works.”

Courtesy: The Express Tribune

3

Sindh becomes the first provinceto call for legislation against theforced conversions of minorities’girls. The purposed legislationprescribes minimum of threeyears of imprisonment forwhoever facilitates, conducts ordirects forced conversions ofnon-Muslim girls.

“Since the start of this years,until now at least 300 minorities’girls and boys have beenabducted and forced to convertto Islam since January 2016,”stated a representative from the

Pakistan Hindu Council, whichis non-governmental organiza-tion (NGO) advocating forrights of Hindu Pakistanis.

According to this official, thereare no credible reports on suchincidents from the governmenthowever; they are able to com-pile the data based on incidentsreported by the communitymembers. Inasmuch as 99% ofthe cases involving abduction ofHindu girls, the abductees wereforced to convert.

“Authorities do not even registersuch cases due to the absence ofa law condemning forced con-version,” the official said. In this regard, Sindh hasemerged as the first province tocall for legislation against forcedconversions. Secretary of Sindh

Assembly Ghulam FarooqBuriro, says that a year has beenpassed since the anti-forced con-versions bill was moved in thehouse. The purposed bill is stillunder consideration by thestanding committees for morethan six months, he added.

MPA Nand Kumar Goklaniwho moved the bill said, “Thebill is being considered by stand-ing committees for law and mi-nority affairs. It will be approvedsoon.”

Courtesy:.christiansinpakistan.com

Sindh becomes the first province to call for legislation against forced conversions of minorities’ girls

Self-educated AJK girl gets admission in Cambridge

Slovenian climbers Ales Cesenand Luka Lindic climbed BroadPeak, the first mountain theyhave summited that standshigher than 8,000 metres, thissummer.

Mr Cesen, 34, and Mr Lindic,28, also completed the northsummit of Gasherbrum IV,which stands at 7,925 metres –20 metres shorter than the mainsummit.

Dawn caught up with bothmountaineers, who are some ofthe finest technical climbers andthe winners of the Piolets d’Or2015 – an event that celebratedthe greatest ascents in the world.

Q: How were you two the onlyones to summit Broad Peakwhen others could not?

Cesen: We were in Pakistan toclimb Gasherbrum IV. Wechose Broad Peak, which,though difficult is mostly a steepclimb, to acclimatize and pre-pare for a G-IV, a bigger chal-lenge. Our strategy on BroadPeak was simple: no gear andless energy wasted on settingcamps and fixing ropes. Wewere motivated and the climb-ing conditions were good so wemade it to the top in one at-tempt.

Q: Why did you chooseGasherbrum IV?

Lindic: G-IV is so appealingand the difficulty of the climb sochallenging. Of course K2 isvery impressive. A lot ofclimbers go after the 8,000metre plus peaks but we preferpeaks that are technically diffi-cult to climb and throw morechallenges at us. Knee highsnow on G-IV, wind against us,throwing us off balance, and thesmall avalanches, all made thedescent dangerous.

Q: How can mountaineering beimproved in Pakistan?

Lindic: The system needs to beimproved to make the servicestandards of liaison officers andporters better. Although we hadthe best liaison officer this year,he wasn’t fit and slowed us

down. We pay $3,100 for a liai-son officer in charges, we wouldlike the services provided tomatch the exorbitant prices.

Q: Does negative news andthreats of terror, especially afterthe incident at the Nanga Par-bat base camp three years ago,give you second thoughts aboutcoming to Pakistan?

Lindic: Sure you think aboutthese things, but then there areidiots in every country. We aredrawn to mountains whereverthey take us.

Cesen: People in Pakistan areamazing. Both of us loved thesmall villages where we felt thesafest. The natural environmentis amazing. It has been a posi-tive experience every time wevisited Pakistan.

Courtesy: Dawn

4

Pakistan Mango Festival held in Morocco

Pakistan (TDAP) jointlyorganized a Pakistan MangoFestival in Morocco from 7th to8th August 2016.

According to press release , Thefestival was held in four cities ofMorocco simultaneouslyincluding Casablanca, Rabat,Marrakech and Agadir onAugust 7, 2016, where thepublic were presented Pakistanimangoes in the form of chunksand juices.

This event was organized incollaboration with Marjanehypermarket which is one of thebiggest chain-store in Morocco,while display area of variousshopping malls was decoratedwith publicity and promotionmaterial related with mangoesfrom Pakistan especiallyprepared and printed in Frenchlanguage.

These events received a highly

positive and exceptional re-sponse from the public. Thegeneral public appreciated thedelicious taste of Pakistanimango terming as far superioras any other mango they havetasted and they also demandedthat this mango should be madeavailable in the Moroccan market.

The main corporate event of thePakistan Mango Festival washeld in a five star local hotel atCasablanca on 8th August 2016in which the leading businesscommunity of Morocco was in-

vited along with the govern-ment officials and media per-sonnel. Ministry of Agricultureof Morocco also collaboratedwith Embassy of Pakistanthrough participation of repre-sentatives of local AgricultureChambers of Commerce. TheChef of the hotel prepared vari-ety of dishes from Pakistanimango and served with freshmango fruit, mango juice andmango milk shakes. Video onVibrant Pakistan and a doc-umentary on Pakistani Man-goes were also played during the

event. Brochures and NewsLetter printed in French lan-guage containing vital informa-tion on Pakistani mangoes werealso distributed. Each guest wasgifted with mangoes andpromotional t-shirts & caps.

While speaking at the event, theAmbassador of Pakistan in Mo-rocco encouraged the busi-ness community to explore thepossibilities of importing Pak-istani mangoes.

The business communityshowed great interest inPakistani mangoes andenquired about differentaspects of mangoes fromPakistan. They were veryhopeful that the demand ofPakistani mangoes will begenerated in Morocco withevents like these and will enablethem to import deliciousmangoes from Pakistan.

Courtesy: The Express Tribune

‘We are drawn to mountains wherever they take us’

5

More than one million tourists,locals and foreigners, visited thenorthern areas during thecurrent season, said PakistanTourism Development Corpo-ration (PTDC) Policy & Pro-motion Manager Mukhtar Ali.“The growth in tourists visiting

these areas increased by 25% ascompared to last year due tomeasures taken by the govern-ment to improve law and ordersituation in those areas,” he said.Pakistan has great potential foradventure tourism, said Ali,adding that the country has the

world’s highest mountains thatare a great attraction.

He said that the country has thedistinction of having five peaksabove 8,000 meters each, in-cluding the second loftiestmountain, K-2.

Pakistan also has the largest gla-ciers on the globe outside thepolar region, which offerstremendous attraction for ad-venturers.

The manager revealed that thePTDC planned to furtherstreamline facilities for touristsin various destinations and wasin consultations with provincesto devise a joint strategy to im-prove the sector.

He said that it was a good signthat the people are visitingtourists’ points without securityespecially Naran, Ayubia, Swat,Gilgit and Skardu. Respondingto a question, he said thePTDC has a chain of 39 motelsand three restaurants, which areproviding the best facilities totourists. “We are providinginternational level boarding andlodging facilities,” Ali added.

Courtesy: The Express Tribune

More than one million tourists visited northern areas of Pakistan this season

In the space of only three years,a 20-year-old Pakistani hasmanaged to impress the Aus-tralian state of Victoria with hisvolunteering work with migrantcommunities and was dulyawarded one of the highestranking youth awards there.

Khurram Jahangir Khan, a for-mer student of The City SchoolPAF Chapter, was awardedYoung Victorian of the Year2016. The award was presentedin Melbourne by the Victoria

Day Council as part of VictoriaDay celebrations on July 1.

Two Pakistanis presentedYoung Leaders Award byQueen Elizabeth

Currently a University of Mel-bourne Biomedical student,Khan says he loves to volunteer.“I was inspired by our culture ofgenerosity and selfless care. ButI must acknowledge, excep-tional people including SirAbdus Sattar Edhi, Dr Adeeb

Rizvi and Dame ElizabethMurdoch who played a hugerole in shaping my passions,”Khan said.

“Volunteerism is a core elementof leadership, as I sometimessay, it teaches the true subjectsof life; the chemistry of a com-munity and the physics of a so-ciety. Moreover, joiningSudanese Australian IntegratedLearning Program, directlylinked me to migrant commu-nities and refugees,” he added.

Khan volunteers with severallocal and international organi-sations in Victoria, includingSudanese Australian IntegratedLearning (SAIL), where he isthe coordinator and mentor formigrants with a non-Englishbackground.

Pakistani doctor wins presti-gious entrepreneurship awardin London

No stranger to awards, Khanwas earlier named the New

Resident Volunteer of the Year– Victorian Premier’s VolunteerAward 2014 for his outstandingcontribution to the Australianand international community.

The 20-year-old is also anAlumni Representative for theDuke of Edinburgh’s AwardsVictoria, where his role is tocreate leadership opportunitiesfor the participants. He has alsoreceived the Mayoral YouthAward from Wyndham CityCouncil in May 2014 for thecategory ‘volunteering, commu-nity service and leadership’.

While studying in Pakistan,Khurrum was ‘Student of theYear 2013’ at The City SchoolPAF Chapter, A Level Section.During his time at The CitySchool (Melbourne), he activelyparticipated in volunteer andcharity work and received acommendation for his work asthe President of the OutreachSociety (2012-13).

Courtesy: The Express Tribune

Pakistani honoured with highest youth award in Australia

Pakistan Army soldiers havewon an international snipingand shooting competition inBeijing, said the Inter-ServicesPublic Relations on Thursday.

The team representing PakistanArmy secured first position inall individual and team events.

Naik Arshad was declared thebest sniper in the competition,which was attended by 21 teamsrepresenting 14 countries.

In July, a Pakistan Air Force(PAF) C-130 Hercules trans-port aircraft won the ConcoursD’ Elegance trophy at the RoyalInternational Air Tattoo

(RIAT) Show 2016 at Royal AirForce Base Fair Ford in theUnited Kingdom.

More than 200 aircraft from 50countries participated in thecompetition, with the Pakistanicontingent stealing the showand winning the trophy.

Last year, a team of PakistanArmy won the gold medal inthe premier patrolling event ofthe British Army - ExerciseCambrian Patrol - beatingaround 140 teams from armiesacross the globe.

Courtesy: Dawn

6

Pakistani cyclist Samar Khanhas become the first woman inthe world to ride cycle on 4,500meter high Biafo Glacier in theKarakoram Mountains ofGilgit-Baltistan.

She had set out on a long excur-sion from Islamabad to Skarduon July 24 and had coveredmore than 1,000 kilometer in-side 15 days. She then trekkedfrom Shagar region's towncalled Skooli for three days andcame to Biafo Glacier.

Masters in Physics from Fed-eral Urdu University in Islam-abad, a trekker, athlete and acertified para-glider, Samarhails from Lower Dir in Khy-ber Pakhtunkhwa province.

She is also the national recordholder of cycling over 4,693meters by covering 1000km (Intour to Khunjerab) besides

being a trained MMA fighter,member of national youthassembly and a social activist.

Samar is also the brand ambas-sador of ‘Ladies of Pakistan’.

A motivational and TedxSpeaker 2016, a freelancerblogger and an online teacher,she discovered this skill aftermeeting her adventure buddy,Guliafshan in ‘Army School OfPhysical Training’, Kakul.

This is not the first time Khan

has cycled this long as she hasalready cycled from the federalcapital to Khunjerab.

The athlete has been honouredwith a few certificates byTourism Department ofGilgit-Baltistan and is set tovisit the Gilgit-BaltistanAssembly as guest today.

Courtesy:www.brecorder.com

Pakistan have gained thenumber one Test ranking afterthe fourth and final Test of theseries between the West Indiesand India was abandoned as adraw because of a waterloggedoutfield on the scheduled fifthmorning in Trinidad.

The draw meant Indiasurrendered the top spot in theTest rankings to Pakistan afterthey had gained it due to the

whitewash of Australia in SriLanka.

But they needed to defeat theWest Indies 3-0 to preventtheir arch-rivals from supplant-ing them at the top, following a2-2 series draw in England.

However, India still won theseries 2-0, the first time theywon two Tests in a series in theWest Indies.

Courtesy: The News

Pakistan wins top ranking after Windies-India Test draw

Samar Khan becomes first woman to cycleatop Biafo Glacier

Pakistan Army wins international snipingcompetition in Beijing

7

Madiea bagged a bronze medalin the 2011 European AthleticsJunior Championships inEstonia, where she finished thirdin the women’s 400m event.

On Friday, 23-year-old athleteMadiea Ghafoor will createhistory when she becomes thefirst Baloch girl to take part atthe Olympics.

The youngster, who will berepresenting the Netherlands inthe 4x400m relay along withher team in Rio, was born andraised in Amsterdam. Herparents though belong to Lyari,and she is the granddaughter ofthe late Lal Baksh Rind, asenior politician whose diversework included striving for thebetterment of the relativelyimpoverished locality inKarachi.

Talking about her ethnic

uniqueness in the Games,Madiea revealed she was un-aware that she was the first fe-male Baloch to feature at theOlympics.

Shaunae Miller dives for gold atRio Olympics

“I feel honoured to be a part ofthis huge event and to be an in-spiration for the Baloch people,especially the youth,” she said. “Ihad no idea I was the firstBaloch girl to participate at theGames until someone informedme about that. This has made

me even more determined to dothe best I can.”

Madiea said she has beeninvolved in track and field sincea young age and was spottedwhen she was 13.

“We had a sports event at myhigh school where my coachSammy Monsels noticed mypotential and asked me if Iwould pursue formal training,”she said. “Ten years down theroad, I’m training in theOlympic stadium in Amsterdamwith the help of my coach UrthaRozenstruik.”

And Madiea has impressed inher career so far. She bagged abronze medal in the 2011European Athletics JuniorChampionships in Estonia,where she finished third in thewomen’s 400m event, and hasraced for the Netherlands in

indoor European championshipsas well, reaching the semi-finals.

Bolt completes 100m hat-trickin 9.81sec

According to Madiea, she waspleasantly surprised to beselected for the currentOlympics as she had had a badyear due to injury. “I was stunnedwhen I received the news, but Iwas grateful as well,” she said. “Ihave prepared myself physicallyand mentally for the relay thebest I could, and hope I canvindicate my selection.”

Madiea said she trains eighttimes a week — six days on thetrack and at least two sessionsdedicated to gym.

Her message for athletes aspir-ing to enter the realm ofOlympics is simple, “Never giveup on your dreams.”

Courtesy: The Express Tribune

Pakistan International Airline(PIA) is starting their premierservice from Lahore andIslamabad for London from the14th of this month.

In a statement, PIA spokesmansaid PIA flights operating onMondays and Wednesdaysfrom London to Islamabadhave been replaced by PIApremier flights while PIA flightoperating on Tuesdays fromLondon to Lahore has beenreplaced by PIA premier flight.

With new aircraft, moreprofessional crew andimproved service standards, thenew service aimed at providingan altogether different

experience to passengers,according to an officialstatement.

This service will go a long wayin helping PIA regain itsmarket share both domesticallyas well as internationally.

Courtesy: Daily Pakistan

PIA starting premier service from Lahore,Islamabad for London

Pakistani troops distributedsweets to Indian troops at theWagah border to celebrateIndependence Day.

Rangers Sector CommanderShaukat Ali hugs BSFCommandant Sudeep beforepresenting sweets. �AFP

Officer Sector CommanderShaukat Ali from the PakistanRangers presented sweets toIndian Border Security ForcesCommandant Sudeep during aheavily-attended special paradeand ceremony commemorating

August 14 at Wagah. The twomen also exchanged a hug andgood wishes.

The Pakistani flag was raisedhigh at the ceremony as the airrang out with cries of PakistanZindabad on Sunday morning.

Called 'mithai diplomacy',giving out sweets on Pakistanand India's respective In-dependence Days (and otherspecial occasions) is a regulartradition at Wagah, despitetensions between the twocountries.

Courtesy: Dawn.com

Pakistan-origin woman set to make history as first Baloch female Olympian

Pakistan forces give Indian troops sweets atWagah on Independence Day

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your work ateesha@greenwich.edu.pk

Patron: Ms. Seema Mughal,

Vice ChancellorEditor:

Eesha Ghani, Assistant Professor

Graphics & Layout: Shazia Anwar

Foreigners who took a chance on Pakistan

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Pakistan may regularly feature in interna-tional news for all the wrong reasons, butthese five foreign tourists were far frombeing deterred from visiting the country.Although they were aware of the newsabout terrorism and bomb blasts coming outof Pakistan, they are glad they took theplunge and had an experience they areunlikely to forget anytime soon.

Alex and Sebastiaan quit their jobs, sold offall their belongings and went off on a touraround the roads less traveled of Asia suchas Iran, Kazakhstan, and their personalfavourite, Pakistan.

Although they admit that before coming toPakistan, they had only heard bad newsabout the country, any fears they had flewout the window the moment they arrived.“Even the Levies in Balochistan were smilingand kind. Everyone we met along the waywas hospitable beyond words, and we soonlearned the views the West holds ofPakistan and Pakistani people are not trueat all. A few bad people does not a badcountry make.”

Sophee Southall, an Australian travelblogger, had intended to stay in Pakistan fortwo weeks only but floods and the ensuingdamage to roads between Sost and theKhunjerab Pass meant her visit wasextended to three weeks. For her, it was ablessing in disguise.

“Within minutes of crossing the Wagahborder, where I enjoyed a friendly chat andcup of tea with the security staff, myimpression of Pakistan started to change. Bythe end of my trip, it had done a complete180. The locals treated my travel buddiesand me like family; we were grantedunconditional hospitality of the highestorder. I never felt unsafe and, even as aWestern female tourist, I felt valued andrespected. It was a heart-warming andenlightening experience.”

Courtesy: The Express Tribune