Pervaiz Munir Alvi

This is second in series of my memories of my dear friend Dildar Pervaiz Bhatti. If you missed reading the first part then it is here.

I don’t know exactly when Dildar made his debut on Pakistan Television (PTV) but I do remember our 1973 meeting in which he had asked me if I would send few TV magazines from the USA. He wanted to see what was going on at American TV in those days. I carefully searched what ever material I could find to send to my friend. However it did not take him too long to find a niche for himself on TV as by our next meeting few years later he was already a household name. I believe at that time he was hosting a show called ‘Mela‘, a precursor to his highly successful show ‘Takra‘. Dildar was a natural talent. To his fans and show business friends he might have been an overnight success, but I know it took years of hard work for him to polish his God given talent.

S.A.J Shirazi

Chiniot – the name is enough to start the furniture lovers, travelers and cautiously curious dreaming. Antiquity is the first message of the town. And, international quality furniture “made in Chiniot” is collectors delight with potentials for marketing all over the world.

On the bank of River Chenab in area called Sandal Bar, Chiniot town is an exotic place in the foot of series of hillocks that seem to be man made rather than evidence of old mountains.

Owais Mughal

A news of significance from last week, which got buried among other high stake news is the alliance of Awami National Party (ANP) and Pakhtunkhwah Milli Awami Party (PkMAP). The new alliance is named as Pakhtoonkhwah National Democratic Alliance (PNDA) with Senator Asfandyar Wali Khan, President of the ANP, as is its chairman.

Historically, ANP has been a left-leaning and secular party whose ideology was influenced by the former Soviet Union (USSR). Although left-leaning, it has never been a ‘communist’ party in the strict sense. The PkMAP on the other hand derives its strength from the Pashtun nationalism and most of its support comes from the Pashtun area of Balochistan.

ANP’s predecessor, the National Awani Party (NAP), played an important role in formulating Pakistan’s constitution of 1973 and especially in crafting its clauses related to provincial autonomy. The leader of ANP (NAP) the late Wali Khan was particularly insistent on this point.