Mia Bloom is an Associate Professor of Women’s Studies and International Studies at the Pennsylvania State University. Her focus is on terrorism through her fellowship at the International Center for the Study of Terrorism and her work specializes in Middle Eastern conflicts as well as rape in war. Mia’s studies have been featured on numerous media outlets, including CNN and CSPAN, and has been interviewed by Nightline’s Ted Koppel and PBS’ Jim Lehrer. Mia’s most recent work focuses on exposing the emergent occurrence of women and child terrorists. Her book, Bombshell: The Many Faces of Women Terrorists, brings these growing problems to light, analyzing the root causes and the direction of modern terrorism today.

Peter van Uhm is the Netherlands’ chief of defense, but that does not mean he is pro-war. At TEDxAmsterdam he explains how his career is one shaped by a love of peace, not a desire for bloodshed — and why we need armies if we want peace.

Hanna Lake a delightful picnic spot near Quetta city in Pakistan and is one of the main attractions in the city. The lake is located a little short of the place where the Urak Valley begins and 10 km from Quetta. The greenish-blue waters of the lake provide a rich contrast to the sandy brown of the hills in the background.

Golden fish in the lake comes swimming right up to the edge of the lake. There is a lakeside restaurant with picnic tables shaded by pine trees. At one end, the irrigation dam rises out of the depths like battlements of a fort.

However, in 2011 the lake re-filled and once again gave rise to flora and fauna in its environment. The turquoise waters of the lake provide a rich contrast to the sandy brown of the hills in the background. One can promenade on the terraces or hire a boat and paddle on the lake and round the island in the middle.

hanna lake quetta

Urak is a valley surrounded by mountains in the province of Balochistan in Pakistan. It is located near Hana Lake, and 21 kilometres from Quetta city.  This valley is used for growing apple trees of good quality. It has a small waterfall in the end from where the Wali Tangi valley begins.  The Pashtun owners of the apple garden are very strict about the plucking of apples from the trees; the tourists may view and purchase the apples but may not pluck them from the trees, in case they may fine the tourists more than Rs.500

PTCL leads PTA’s 2011 Broadband QoS survey

Pakistan Telecommunications Company Limited (PTCL) is leading all operators in the country by providing to consumers the highest quality Broadband Internet service, according to the second nationwide Quality of Service (QoS) 2011 survey conducted by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).

Released last week, the PTA survey places PTCL in category A (more than 95%) at Lahore, Rawalpindi, Peshawar and Quetta, and in category B (more than 80%) at Karachi for the 1Mbps wire-line broadband service.

Pakistan Telecommunications Company Limited (PTCL) is leading all operators in the country by providing to consumers the highest quality Broadband Internet service, according to the second nationwide Quality of Service (QoS) 2011 survey conducted by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).

Released last week, the PTA survey places PTCL in category A (more than 95%) at Lahore, Rawalpindi, Peshawar and Quetta, and in category B (more than 80%) at Karachi for the 1Mbps wire-line broadband service.

The survey was carried out in Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Rawalpindi/Islamabad and Muzaffarabad for categories of 512Kbps and 1Mbps in both wire-line and wireless broadband services offered by different operators.

The survey measures operators’ overall performance based on PTA’s key performance indicators (KPIs), including service availability, download and upload bandwidth speed, round-trip time, and service retain-ability.

“Pakistan is the world’s 4th fastest growing broadband market, and PTCL is the country’s single largest broadband service provider with 95% market share,” said Senior Executive Vice President, Naveed Saeed. “In line with the Government’s vision for Broadband growth in Pakistan, we are leading the country’s broadband revolution from the front by making this technology affordable through lowered entry barriers; by geographically bringing the service within the reach of a common user across the country; and by continuous improvements in customer care.”

The PTA terms Broadband as “a significant economic stimulus for any country”, and PTCL DSL is spearheading its exponential growth in Pakistan with a footprint in over 1,100 cities and towns. PTCL is the world’s first operator to introduce “UltraNet” using VDSL2 bonding technology with speeds up to 50mbps on a copper network; and it has deployed the Fiber to the Home (FTTH) technology.

Last year, PTCL again became the world’s first operator to commercially launch 3G EVDO Rev B service. In the form of EVO NITRO, it gives consumers the market’s maximum speed of 9.3MBPs. PTCL has Pakistan’s largest and fastest growing 3G EVDO wireless broadband network, with connectivity and roaming in nearly 200 cities.

“PTCL is one of the most progressive data connectivity providers of the world and Broadband is now a driver for Pakistan’s national GDP,” said Mr. Saeed. “We have a responsibility to develop Pakistan’s technology and data network for establishing the echo system conducive for our country’s economic growth and social uplift, and PTCL is fully primed to facilitate that.”

The first to bring to Pakistan EVO dongles with Internet connectivity, PTCL has followed by launching its innovative 3G EVO Wi-Fi Cloud to connect multiple Wi-Fi devices simultaneously and the first ever PTCL 3G Android EVO Tab with built-in wireless broadband offering Internet connectivity on the go.

This month, PTCL launched Pakistan’s first 3G enabled Android Smartphone, IVIO Icon Pro that offers dual support for both EVDO and GSM/CDMA network.

Via: PTCL Media Center

© Pakistan Live News

The Make A Difference Movie – The Teddy Stallard Story – by Mary Robinson Reynolds | The MasterMinding Maven® – Full Length Version.

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recent events in Pakistan, made me write these lines

shenanigans

caesar’s people

lacking brutus

throw to the lions

the very publics

watching from the stands

the fight of brawn and gore

happy in the thought

it‘s not their turn yet

to be fed to the lions.

and caesar’s sly smile

for another day passed

his throne intact

people going home

after a day at the games

more tired of the jostling

than the gladiators themselves

who get fed a potion

and a geese

waiting with aching body

for the morrow in the rink.

no rights here

no doubts cast

no rides to take

no ides to fear

neither a friendly foe

nor to be left out the door.

just a bubble

getting larger

reflecting hues of colors

myriad

empty within

like the coffers

of the kingdom

ready to burst and show

more of nothingness.

promises broken

thoughts askew

hopes shattered

even the last

semblance of life

taken

and still

they flock to the arena

to hear the music

for the dance

must go on!

january 3, 2012. 09:30 hours

  You would have to be exceptionally callous to be able to forget the image of a woman being shot in broad daylight; unarmed and seven month’s pregnant. She was amongst the five foreigners, who were shot in Kharotabad by security officials. … Continue reading →

The Pakistan Medical Association, Karachi has strongly condemned the brutal murder of Dr. Baqir Shah, Police Surgeon, Quetta… The reason for his killing is obvious: that he was the key witness of the Kharotabad incident. He had conducted the post-mortem examination of the victims and had given the factual version that the victims had died due to the indiscriminate firing of the LEAs and not due to an explosion… PMA condemns colleague’s murder | Dr Baqir Shah.

As Reported By The BBC

A doctor who testified that Pakistani security forces had killed a group of unarmed foreigners has himself been shot dead.

Dr Baqir Shah was gunned down in the city of Quetta.

He had contradicted police reports earlier this year which suggested the five victims had been suicide bombers.

Dr Shah was in his car when gunmen pulled up alongside him and sprayed the vehicle with bullets.

He died soon afterwards in hospital.
It was Dr Shah who, back in May, carried out the autopsies in a controversial case.

Two men and three women of Russian and Tajik origin died at a checkpoint just outside Quetta, in the province of Balochistan.

One of the women had been heavily pregnant, but police insisted they had all been militants and that they had been carrying explosives.

Police said that they died as they detonated a bomb.

They said at the time of the attack they had hand grenades and bombs strapped to their bodies.

The BBC’s Aleem Maqbool in Islamabad says that Dr Shah’s autopsy corroborated what many witnesses said – that they had in fact died after being shot many times at a distance by the security forces. Witnesses also said they had been unarmed.

Hours after he filed his testimony, Dr Shah was dragged out of a restaurant and beaten by a group of unidentified men. He later complained that while he was supposed to receive protection, he never got it.

Filed under: Pakistan Tagged: Dr Baqir Shah, Pakistan, Pakistani, Quetta

Sunrises, sunsets and twilight have always been my point of attention. No matter whereever i am traveling to, whatever i am doing, i always stop by at sunset and observe the wonderful colors in the sky. Its like a magic. Like not real. Or real but not from this world. Every single second of it is a treat to my eyes.

First week of september 2011, a usual visit to Ziarat, a usual picnic, a usual shooting, i was on my way back to the city of Quetta. I was on road while the sun showed its last glance and set behind the mountains. The color of the sky started changing from light blue to dark blue and to orange. I was already observing it with my eyes wide open. I wanted a spot to pullover to take the best possible photo.

There it came. A dam. Far away. I knew that is the point i need to capture this moment. I pulled over. Rushed towards the dam. Found the best possible reflection. Clicked. But other then clicking, i observed more of the nature and got indulged into this beauty.

Not only Ziarat, i have seen such beautiful twilights in every single part of Pakistan. Be it in to the farm fields of Punjab, high end mountains in Gilgit-Baltistan,  Sand dunes of Cholistan and every single part of this country.

Have you ever EXPERIENCED any twilight? share it

After the Jazz Karachi offer, Mobilink has hit the market with Provincial level LBC offer. The offer for the residents of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan is being launched in the capital of both provinces; Peshawar and Quetta, along with the following towns:

Balochistan:

• Sibi
• Pishin
• Chaman
• Kallat
• Mastang

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa:

• DI Khan
• Swat
• Karak

With this offer, Mobilink customers with Jazz Easy Package in these cities/towns will enjoy FREE CALLS to all Mobilink numbers.

With this offer, Jazz Easy customers will enjoy:

* Free On-net calls from 6 am to 6 pm
* Daily charges of only Rs.3.99+tax

Subscription Mechanics:
If the subscriber is not on the Jazz Easy package, dial 123 and follow the instructions for package migration. After the subscriber is on the Jazz Easy package, the offer can be availed by dialing *108#.

Details of terms and conditions can be followed here.

Aamir Qureshi / AFP – Getty Images

Cyclists compete during the second stage of the Himalayas 2011 International Mountainbike Race in the mountainous area of Lake Saif-ul-Maluk in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Sept. 17. The cycling event, organized by the Kaghan Memorial Trust to raise funds for its charity school set up in the Kaghan valley for children affected in the October 2005 earthquake, attracted some 30 international and 11 Pakistani cyclists.

Reuters

Policemen pick up clothing and shoes of residents who were targeted by a suicide bomber during a funeral in Bero Shina, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Sept. 15. The funeral was for a member of a pro-government Pashtun tribe in northwest Pakistan. The blast killed at least 40 people.
The death toll from a suicide bombing at a funeral in Pakistan’s northwest climbed to 40 on Friday, police said.

Fayaz Aziz / Reuters

A tear runs down a boy’s face as he lies on a bench after being treated for his injuries at the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar, Sept. 13. Gunmen opened fire on a school bus, killing four children and the driver. Fifteen children were wounded.
Gunmen opened fire on a school bus in the Pakistani city of Peshawar on Tuesday, killing four children and the driver, a police official said.

Naseer Ahmed / Reuters

Mohammad Azam, 56, sits injured as a dead child lies nearby, at the site of a double suicide bombing in Quetta Sept. 7. Two suicide bombers targeting a senior security official struck near government offices in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta, killing at least 22 people.
A pair of suicide bombers killed 22 people while targeting a top army officer in southwest Pakistan on Wednesday, missing him and killing his wife, several guards, a senior officer and two children, officials said.

Banaras Khan / AFP – Getty Images

Local residents attempt to extinguish burning vechicles after a car bomb blast in Quetta on Aug. 31. A car bomb exploded in a parking lot after Eid prayers, killing at least four people and wounding 10 others.

Arif Ali / AFP – Getty Images

Pakistani railway and security officials gather around train wreckage following a crash in Lahore on Aug. 30. At least two people were killed and 17 others wounded, five of them critically, when two trains collided in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore. Train travel is popular among Pakistan’s poorer classes, but the railways have been hit by a severe funding shortfall and a lack of barriers at most level crossings are a frequent cause of accidents.

Saood Rehman / EPA

Pakistani Army officials display ammunition and arms recovered during an operation in Dra Zinda outskirts area of Dera Ismail Khan, Aug. 29. Pakistan is under intense pressure to eliminate sanctuaries of Taliban and al-Qaida fighters, but the militants have responded by intensifying attacks on security and government installations across the country.

Stringer/pakistan / Reuters

A cobbler waits for customers at his shoe repair shop in Quetta Aug. 29.

Fareed Khan / AP

Pakistani paramilitary troops enter into a house during a crackdown operation against target killers and the extortion mafia in a troubled area in Karachi, Aug. 28. Over one hundred people lost their lives in the week prior in a fresh wave of violence which crippled the Pakistan’s largest city.

Asghar Achakzai / AFP – Getty Images

Pakistani security personnel examine a crashed American surveillance drone just inside Pakistan territory in the town of Chaman, on Aug. 25. The American surveillance drone crashed in southwestern Pakistan near a paramilitary base close to the Afghan border, Pakistani officials said.