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travel
news review
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3
May '99 Army troops have been put on standby in Karachi, as well as about two dozen cities and towns in the central province of Punjab, in anticipation of Ashura, the 10th day in the holy month of Muharram. On this day, minority Shia Muslims begin 40 days of mourning the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, Mohammed's grandson, at Karbala in modern-day Iraq. It's traditionally a time of sectarian violence, when Western visitors are less than usually welcome in Shia villages. Dozens of Pakistanis are reported to have died this year as a result of tensions between Shia and majority Sunni Muslims.
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30 April '99 Border conflicts continue in the disputed Kashmir region straddling India and Pakistan. In the latest incidence of violence, 15 civilians were wounded when Indian troops fired mortar shells at a Pakistani village about 250km north of Pakistani Kashmir's capital, Muzaffarabad. Such incidents are a regular occurrence in the region, a third of which is under Pakistani control. The rest is Indian Kashmir, the only Muslim-dominated province in India, in which guerillas fight on ongoing battle for an independent Kashmir or a merger with Pakistan. The two countries have fought two wars over the region since Indian independence in 1947.
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27
April '99 Relations between Pakistan and India are so fraught that the Lahore-Delhi bus service, which this week celebrates its one-month anniversary, may be the most celebrated bus route in history. All indications are that, after a cautious start, it's been a resounding success. Four bus services run weekly in both directions, leaving Lahore and Delhi on Tuesdays and Thursdays and returning the following day. Visas for bus travellers are currently limited to business people, expatriates of both countries and journalists. Border officials are proving to be as recalcitrant as ever.
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12
April '99 Pakistani counter-espionage efforts, drenched in anti-Indian paranoia, have been dealt a debilitating blow. A young woman code-named Komal was recently apprehended by security staff at Lahore Airport on charges of being a bharati jasoosa, or Indian spy. Further investigations revealed that her name was in fact Shazia, that she was from Islamabad, and she was simply waiting for her boyfriend.
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24
February '99 Pakistanis, Indians, travellers and anti-nuclear activists will be heartened by news of a rapprochement between traditional rivals - and recent additions to the nuclear family - Pakistan and India. A visit to Lahore by Indian Prime Minister Mr Atal Bihary Vijpayee was the first of its type in 10 years. The adversaries have gone to war three times in the past 50 years, twice over the status of the province of Kashmir, which each country claims as its own. Last year, both nations conducted underground nuclear weapons tests, sending shockwaves throughout the region and the world and unnerving each other in the process.
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24
February '99 Pakistani Prime Minister Mr Nawaz Sharif greeted Mr Vijpayee when he descended from a bus full of politicians and movie stars and decorated with the flags of both countries. The bus was on an historic journey - the first commercial service between the neighbours in 51 years - prompting the Pakistani leader to envisage a time when both countries would enjoy a relationship similar to that of Canada and the USA. The catalyst for the 24-hour visit is said to have been the stunning success of the Pakistan-India cricket series recently held in India, during which the Pakistanis were given a standing ovation by appreciative Indian audiences and became cult figures throughout the country. .
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15
January '99 After a number of what have been described as 'dry runs', a bus service between Delhi and the Pakistani city of Lahore is set to commence sometime after 20 January, pending final government clearance. The service is scheduled to run four times a week, completing the 500km (310mi) journey in about 14 hours. Passengers will need valid visas, which will not be issued to tourists. Only those with relations (of the human, not the presidential, variety) on either side of the border are eligible, although both countries issue special visas to businessmen, journalists and artists.
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15
January '99 After a number of what have been described as 'dry runs', a bus service between Delhi and the Pakistani city of Lahore is set to commence sometime after 20 January, pending final government clearance. The service is scheduled to run four times a week, completing the 500km (310mi) journey in about 14 hours. Passengers will need valid visas, which will not be issued to tourists. Only those with relations (of the human, not the presidential, variety) on either side of the border are eligible, although both countries issue special visas to businessmen, journalists and artists.
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23
Decemeber '98 The quality of Karachi's air is deteriorating rapidly, according to a recent scientific report. Professor Liaquat Husain, in his presentation 'Quality of Karachi's Air', said that there was a lot of elemental carbon, or soot, in the city's air as well as magnesium, arsenic, calcium, and an unacceptable amount of lead. He suggested that the city's waste no longer be burned, and that hazardous vehicle emissions be reduced.
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16
November '98
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27
October '98 Despite the rhetoric, India has rejected Pakistan's proposal for a 'no-war' pact because Islamabad has linked it to the settlement of the disputed territory of Kashmir, so don't go booking your Dal Lake houseboat just yet. Pakistani foreign secretary Sartaz Aziz said that relations between India and Pakistan could not be normalised without progress on the Kashmir issue. The nuclear warheads may not help, either.
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15
June '98
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10
June '98
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3
June '98
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8
April '98
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4
March '98
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25
February '98 |
 
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