Deutsche Bank Art: Imran Qureshi “Artist of the Year” 2013
Deutsche Bank’s art programme has announced Pakistani artist Imran Qureshi as its “Artist of the Year” for 2013.
This award honours promising artists who seek to address social issues in an individualistic manner and have succeeded in creating an outstanding oeuvre which focuses on two important points — works on paper and photography. The award was announced in Berlin where Qureshi’s work will later be exhibited in a solo presentation in the spring of 2013.
The award was announced following the recommendation of Deutsche Bank’s Global Art Advisory Council which consists of internationally-renowned and credible curators such as Okwui Enwezor, Hou Hanru, Udo Kittelmann and Victoria Noorthoorn.
“The award means a lot to me,” Qureshi said humbly. “It is good news from Pakistan for the Pakistani people and the art community which will project a positive image of the country to the outer world and that is the most important thing for me.” (For complete news and more of his work)
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Flashback: Diary of a vagabond (by Samar Mahmood)
Mustansar Hussain Tarar is a man of many shades and a wandering soul who has travelled far and wide. His restless nature made him a man without boundaries. From writing to journalism to acting to anchoring, he tried his hand at everything that came his way. He is also a high-altitude adventurer and explorer. But he likes to introduce himself as a vagabond and a risk-taker.
“I’m not a writer, a columnist, an actor or an anchor. I’m just a vagabond. I do not travel for the sake of writing a travelogue. Rather I travel because of my adventurous and exploring nature. It was because of my mental or physical need that I travelled to so many countries around the globe.
“It all started in 1958 when I was in England for my studies. I was selected by a British delegation for a youth festival in the Moscow University. This provided me with a unique opportunity to go to the Soviet Union, though on a fake passport thanks to the Russians. (Complete article)
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Muhammad Asif victorious in World Snooker Championship finals
BULGARIA: Pakistani cueist Muhammad Asif won the IBSF World Snooker Championship finals, beating his opponent, England’s Gary Wilson.
Asif maintained a strong lead against Wilson, being up 6-3 at the break.
Asif had earlier sailed into the IBSF World Snooker Championship finals, crushing Malta’s Alex Borg, seven frames to one and secured his place in the final. He had reached the semi-finals after beating Syria 6-2.
The Pakistani cueist had triumphed against Australia’s Vinnie Calabrese 5-0 in their last 32-match played on Friday in Sofia, Bulgaria. Asif showed great confidence as he beat Calabrese 63-40, 115-14, 69-65, 67-55 and 67-15.
Asif remained unbeaten in the tournament.
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Ancient tombs discovered in Pakistan’s Swat (AFP)
Italian archaeologists say they have discovered a cemetery that reveals complex funeral rites dating back more than 3,000 years in Pakistan’s Swat valley, recently controlled by the Taliban.
The Italian mission began digging in the 1950s at Udegram, a site of Buddhist treasures in Swat, the northwestern district formerly known as the Switzerland of Pakistan for its stunning mountains, valleys and rivers.
Archaeologists were aware of a pre-Buddhist grave site in Udegram, but only recently discovered the collection of almost 30 graves, tightly clustered and partially overlapping.
“Some graves had a stone wall, others were protected by walls and enclosures in beaten clay,” Luca Maria Olivieri, head of the Italian mission, told AFP.
“The cemetery… seems to have been used between the end of the second millennium BCE and the first half of the first millennium BCE,” he added.
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The Glorious days of PIA
In this rare photo you can see PIA’s legendry pilot Capt. M. M. Salehjee (left) talking to airline’s very first Chairman Mirza Ahmad Ispahani (right). Mr. Anwar Hussain is also seen in this photo taken at Dacca Airport in East Pakistan. The brand new Fokker F-27 seen in the background had arrived at Dacca Airport after completing its delivery flight from the Netherlands. Mirza Ahmad Ispahani was the longest serving chairman of PIA from its inception until 1962. PIA’s wide-body aircraft maintenance hangar at Karachi Airport is named after Mr. Ispahani. Capt. M. M. Salehjee, a respected and talented pilot, was elected as President of Pakistan Air Line Pilots’ Association (PALPA) in 1968. He did a lot to bring PIA pilots to world standard. Capt. M. M. Salehjee also served as Sector Chief Pilot Eastern Division (East Pakistan). Due to his vast experience, Capt. M. M. Salehjee on a number of occasions was given responsibility of flying PIA’s VVIP flights. Famous personalities like Prime Minister of Pakistan Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, President of Egypt Gamal Abdel Nasser and First Lady of the United States Jacqueline Kennedy were flown on PIA VVIP flights piloted by Capt. M. M. Salehjee
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Mergers and acquisitions: Lucky Cement led group buys ICI Pakistan for $152m
The Yunus Brothers Group has bought out a 75.8% stake in ICI Pakistan from the Dutch paints giant AkzoNobel for Rs14.4 billion ($152.5 million), beating out two other bidders for the prized chemical company.
The price agreed in the all-cash detail was Rs205.10 per share, a 29.7% premium over Friday’s closing price on the Karachi Stock Exchange. The deal values the company at Rs18.9 billion ($201.2 million). Since the Yunus Brothers Group does not have a holding company, it put together a consortium of the group firms, led by Lucky Cement.
The Yunus Brothers Group is one of Pakistan’s largest industrial conglomerates, with major interests in textiles as well as owning the largest cement manufacturer in the country. Lucky Cement, listed on the Karachi and London stock exchanges is the best known of the group’s holdings, but the largest by revenues is actually Yunus Textile Mills, a garments manufacturer based out of Karachi.
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The Glorious days of PIA
Air Marshal Malik Nur Khan: In this photo from 1960, PIA’s very first jetliner (a Boeing 707-321 leased from Pan Am) is taking gentle turn under the command of Malik Nur Khan. Nur Khan was PIA’s Managing Director from 1959 to 1965. His success in establishing PIA on a firm and profitable financial basis in six years is now a fact of airline history. Under his charismatic and inspirational leadership PIA became one of the leading and respected airlines of the world. Under his tenure PIA became the first Asian airline to operate jet aircraft. The airline inducted modern Boeing 720B jet in its fleet. PIA started flying to China and flights to Europe via Moscow were also launched during this period. In 1973 Nur Khan was specially requested by the government of Pakistan to resume control of PIA. During his second term as airline’s head, PIA became operator of wide-body DC-10s and Boeing 747s. Popular Green & Gold aircraft livery was introduced plus many more achievements were made by the airline under Nur Khan’s leadership. He kept PIA out of Pakistan’s turbulent political arena and returned it to a sound commercial basis. Nur Khan was a dynamic leader and believed in innovation and new ideas.
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Pakistanis more optimistic than US, India about hard work: Survey
No matter what the prophets of doom say in nightly news shows on TV day in day out, an overwhelming majority of Pakistanis still believes that hard work is duly rewarded in the country and leads to material success, according to a recent poll by Pew Research Center — a nonpartisan “fact tank” in Washington DC.
In fact, of all the 21 countries where the survey was conducted, Pakistan came on top with 81% of respondents saying people succeed if they work hard as opposed to 15% who believe hard work is no guarantee of success.
The United States followed Pakistan with 77% of respondents saying hard work assured success. India, China and Japan were more sceptical with only 67%, 45% and 40% of the respondents recognising a close link between hard work and success, respectively.
“Fundamentally, the survey reveals that Pakistanis haven’t lost faith in the country. The Pakistani youth believes that current problems are short-term and can be resolved,” said Asad Umar, who joined politics in April after resigning from Engro Corporation, Pakistan’s largest conglomerate, as its CEO. “That’s why Pakistanis believe in hard work — and its direct relationship with material success – more than the people of the United States, Germany or Japan.”
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K2: On this day in 1954, an Italian expedition finally succeeded in ascending to the summit of K2 via the Abruzi Spur after several previous attempts by both Pakistani and international climbers. The expedition was led by Ardito Desio, although the two climbers who actually reached the top were Lino Lacedelli and Achille Compagnoni. The team included a Pakistani member, Muhammad Ataullah, who had been a part of the 1953 American expedition. Also on the expedition were the famous Italian climber Walter Bonatti and Pakistani Hunza porter Mahdi Khan, who proved vital to the expedition’s success in that they carried oxygen to 8,100 metres (26,600 ft) for Lacedelli and Compagnoni. Their dramatic bivouac in the open at that altitude wrote another chapter in the saga of Himalayan climbing.
K2 (also known as Savage Mountain, Mountaineer’s Mountain, Mount Godwin-Austen, Balti: Chogori and Sarikoli: Mount Qogir) is the second-highest mountain on Earth, after Mount Everest. With a peak elevation of 8,611 m (28,251 feet), K2 is part of the Karakoram Range, and is located on the border between Baltistan, in the Gilgit–Baltistan region of Pakistan, and the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County of Xinjiang, China. It is more hazardous to reach K2 from the Chinese side; thus, it is mostly climbed from the Pakistani side.
K2 is known as the Savage Mountain due to the difficulty of ascent and the second-highest fatality rate among the “eight thousanders” for those who climb it. For every four people who have reached the summit, one has died trying. Unlike Annapurna, the mountain with the highest fatality-to-summit rate, K2 has never been climbed in winter.
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