The Forum Shopping Mall

Who doesn’t desire an escape in to a gorgeous shopping nirvana? The Forum “Shopping Mall” located in the spectacular city of Karachi is offering you an outstanding experience of shopping, pleasure, dining, offers and splurge-worthy time. This amazingly exquisite and gorgeously designed shopping center offers absolutely worthy shopping flashes and is known to proffer shopping extravaganza along with comfort and rejoice. It is not just a mall that you can pass by thinking, Oh! It’s a shopping center here, instead it makes you drool over and allures you to walk in at once. So get off your seats and step in to this shopping nirvana where shopping has no edges.

The mall is divine and why not it has to be due to its exclusive branded fashion list of outlets all located right in front of you. You never will have to hunt for any other place where all great brands walk in at once. It is just a wonder to go for! Hit upon this shopping extravaganza with the elusive way of shopping that also on whopping discount offers that are placed for you as a present round the clock. Every time you step in, we assure you will get to grab stunning yet colossal sale offers going on in various outlets either regional or international.

The Forum “Shopping Mall” is truly a desirable venue to stop and shop till one drops. Make sure you grasp some fun and frolic along with shopping brilliance by taking your kids in to the play area or to the scrumptious cuisine café, the time out café owned and prided by the forum mall itself. Here this café offers you everything you just covet of from amazing morning breakfast to drooling lunch menu or a cozy romantic dinner with your beloved one of family.

There is so much from it that never ends and when you have a special occasion to celebrate, Wow! You can just not stop humming this word! Yes, the cafe truly rocks due to its brilliance in cuisine and exceptional services. Do not forget to churn along with LIVE singing every night at this café exclusively. This exceptionally designed The Forum “Shopping Mall” takes over impeccably! Walk in to the world trapped with zillions of fantasies by shopping basket full of goodies today. Happy shopping to all!

The recent looming shopping festival is bringing up tons of surprises for you and your family to enjoy the thrills. Every outlet no matter it’s a trademark or not is all geared to offer you exclusive discounts that you can’t grab from anywhere. Make sure you have the prick of shopping in you. The mall also astounds with more than 200 offices along with free valet car parking for its visitors. The Forum“Shopping Mall” is all set to deliver comfort and ease without being costly at all.

Written by Ravi Verma Govind

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Do Darya – The Food Street of DHA Karachi

Do Darya has now become a very well known dining spot in the city of Karachi, formerly known as Devil's Point. Many Karachiites visit this place for a smooth breeze in the evening, for fishing and enjoy delicious food along the scenic sea front. 

Located along the Arabian Sea, on Beach Avenue past McDonald’s, the Village Restaurant, and almost 2.5 kilo meters deep into Phase VIII, its probably the only food street of it’s kind in the region where you will be greeted by many restaurants clustering at the edge of the Sea.

Almost all famous Karachi restaurants have their outlet in this belt.  Few of them includes Mirage, Noorani Katakat, Afridi Inn, Charcoal BBQ n Grill, Desi Hut, Ambala Corniche, Sajjad Restaurant, Al Habib Restaurant, Kolachi, Hot Bite, Creek Inn, Al Rehmat BBQ and few others.

Another good option at Do Darya is Cruise Ride in the Arabian Sea by Savor, located near Defence Authority Country & Golf Club, along the creek, on Zulfiqar Street 1, Savor offers fine dining and boating in a single package. The evening breeze and a dinner by the sea would be the highlight of anyone’s day.

Many restaurants here have opened their first outlet in other parts of city but later since the concept of highway dining started on super highway in mid 90’s by a very well known restaurant Al-Habib, many restaurants found Do Darya as their next business hot spot. Do Darya is also a very good option for DHA residents where they can feel the cool relax breeze of sea and enjoy fantastic view of sunset without worrying about security. And, for the people coming from other parts of the city, they can enjoy the pleasant atmosphere and Huts right above the shores giving an ultimate fulfilling experience.

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Foodpanda Launches iOS and Android App

Foodpanda.pk, one of the leading global online platforms for ordering food, is going mobile! The mobile app for Android and iOS is now available in 15 countries divided among 3 regions; Southeast Asia Region, Africa Region and Eastern European Region. The Foodpanda delivery and takeout app is the fastest way to order food with your smartphone and tablet. With just a few clicks, everyone can enjoy different cuisines and flavors delivered directly to their doorstep. Foodpanda offers one of the widest food ranges with over 80 restaurant partners in Pakistan, including International and Local chains like Subway, Domino’s, Mr. Burger, BBQ Tonight, and many more.

Ralf Wenzel, Global Managing Director: “We believe ordering food should be easy, fast and definitely fun. We wanted something simpler, so we made it. The launch of our iOS and Android apps are the result of translating our successful services to the mobile world. We are convinced: Food delivery has never been made easier.”

The app is simple and convenient to use: enter the local area of your city and the app lists all restaurants available nearby you. After placing an order, the user receives a SMS with all order details and the expected delivery time. User payment methods are safe and identical to paying for pickup or delivery. The app is now available in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Morocco, Senegal and Russia.

About the company 
Foodpanda together with its affiliated regional brands; Foodalia, Foodnation,Hellofood, Hungrypanda and Pidiendo is the leading group of online food ordering platforms active in 23 countries. It helps restaurants to increase sales through online and mobile platforms and provides them with constantly evolving technology and analytics. For consumers, Foodpanda offers an online food mall with an extensive range of choices e.g. salads, barbeque, pizza, burgers, thai and many more. Consumers create their favorite meal; Foodpanda processes the order to the restaurant that delivers the meal to the doorstep. Foodpanda is offering its services in Poland, Ukraine, Hungary, Russia, Nigeria, Morocco, Kenya, Senegal, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Peru, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Taiwan and Pakistan.

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NetSol Tech Celebrates 15th Anniversary

LOS ANGELES, CA – NetSol Technologies, Inc. founder and CEO Najeeb Ghauri hosted a dinner event on February 5 in Los Angeles to celebrate the company’s 15th anniversary as a publicly traded company.  Accompanied by his brothers, Salim and Naeem, also co-founders of the company, Najeeb presented key corporate milestones during the last 15 years to board members, employees, customers, family and friends.

Having started with humble beginnings in the city of Lahore, NetSol Technologies today has grown into a worldwide provider of enterprise applications, with its proprietary leasing and asset finance software now managing more than $100 billion in assets for 170 global businesses across industries such as automotive, construction, banking, transportation, retail and technology.

“We started out with two employees and have grown to a staff of 1,100 worldwide, with offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, Beijing, Bangkok, Lahore, Adelaide, Karachi and Riyadh,” said Najeeb Ghauri.  “We are committed to growing our company and fully expect to see growth opportunities as emerging markets like China and Thailand experience increased demand in leasing, and businesses in North America and Europe move their procurement systems to the cloud.”

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An Open Letter to PayPal

PayPal is a subsidiary of Ebay Inc which is NASDAQ listed company 

January 16th 2013.

David A. Marcus
President
PayPal
2211 North First Street
San Jose, 
California 95131

Subject: PayPal for Pakistan

Dear Mr Marcus:

For a little over 10 years now, I have been writing to the President/CEO of PayPal every January asking Why isn’t PayPal available in Pakistan? For 11 years straight, I have never received an official reply. Not once.

Pakistan has been shunned by PayPal for many years now. Unofficial reasoning has been plentiful and speculative at best, so I will not delve into it. My goal here is two folds:

(a). Provide a little bit of statistical information about Pakistan
(b). To help PayPal connect with the right audience (Financial Regulators, Banks, etc.) to enable them to operate here in Pakistan.

Pakistan in brief:

• Is a country of 180+ Million people.
• That puts us as the 6th most populous country in the world.
• Our overall Tele Density stands at 72%,
• Mobile Tele Density at 68.8%.
• Current number of Cellular Users is 121+ Million.
• The number of Internet Users in Pakistan 29+ Million
• Facebook users are 8+ Million.
• Banking-wise, Pakistan has made great strides. Currently their are about 16+ Million users with ATM/Debit Cards
• Roughly 5,800 ATMs in the country
• 35,000+ POS Machines
• 9,300 Real-Time Online Bank Branches.
• On Branchless Banking, Pakistan’s numbers are soaring. At present we have about 1.8 Million users who are using Branchless Banking, with quarterly growth at about 25%.

We are by no means a market that is small, under-developed or not connected. We have ATM switches allowing you to do an instant Inter-Bank Funds Transfer (debit/credit) to any bank account in Pakistan (API is offered for this). Almost all the banks offer real-time KYC and AML checks (APIs available for this as well). Despite what you may read in the media, the country is flourishing and business accumen and entrepreneurial spirits are high.

We have an active Internet population (more than the total population of Australia and New Zealand combined), and yet we are deprived of PayPal, whilst countries like Rwanda, Botswana, Fiji, Panama, Sierra Leone, Tonga and Zambia have access to PayPal.

Our economy is much larger than Bhutan, Chad, Honduras, Somalia, Maldives, Rwanda, Uganda, Yemen —combined! – Yet these countries are considered privileged enough to have PayPal, and Pakistan is not.

To put it simply: This is unfair.

I have read a lot about you, on Quora, and various other forums. How you are changing the culture at PayPal. This was enough to give me and my fellow citizens a glimmer of hope, that maybe you will honestly look at our case and communicate with us to help a dream become a reality… of having PayPal in Pakistan.

My credentials on Quora will testify that I am reasonably versed in Money & Payment Systems. I am cognisant that institutions like yours look acutely at issues like AML, KYC and other Legal & Compliance hurdles. I want to assure you, the financial regulator in Pakistan, i.e. State Bank of Pakistan will work with you to address your concerns (if any).

To the best of my knowledge nothing prevents PayPal (from a regulatory, technology or legal point of view from Pakistan’s side) for PayPal to operate here. The $64 Million question is – Why doesn’t PayPal operate here in Pakistan then?

If there are concerns within PayPal of terrorist funding, etc., then please note, that this is an issue globally not just in Pakistan.

Drug and Terrorist Financing issues are more prevalent in the West than in Pakistan (I can provide you various reports and references as published by the Senate Committees in the US and other US based institutions). Since the mechanism of PayPal payments is electronic, governed, KYC’d at both ends and monitored, there exists (in my opinion) an operable framework by which you can operate here and work with the relevant financial regulators and lawmakers to have PayPal officially launched and covered in Pakistan.

In summary, I would request you to open a dialogue, to ascertain the ground realities in Pakistan vis-a-vis to Factually Incorrect Information. I have in the past cited my willingness to help, providing information or getting PayPal connected to Banks, regulators, whomsoever you would like to meet and/or talk to. I am, in no way proposing or advocating a ‘role’ for myself – my intention is just to help you connect with the right people/institutions.

I hope you will give this issue of PayPal not being in Pakistan a genuine effort to reassess our case. I am hopeful that in PayPal’s point of view, Pakistan’s time has come to join the list of countries where PayPal is offered.

You may contact me via faisal @ ibfsinc.com or alternatively, may inbox me on Quora.

Best Regards,

Faisal Khan.

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Shahzeb Khan Murder

Who is Shahzeb Khan? Many in Pakistan are asking this question.

There was little or no news about him on mainstream media. But through social media, the face of this young 20-year-old has become a symbol of hope against Pakistan's powerful feudal-elites, who live with impunity, above the law.

Pakistan's social media is overflowing with Shahzeb photos with words of sympathy and tributes to the young student who was murdered on 25 December 2012 in Pakistan's largest city Karachi near his apartment:

Till Tuesday night, only a few hundred knew who Shahzeb was. Now, the deceased young man has become a symbol of change.

A memorable Photo of Shahzeb - (Courtesy: In Memory of Shahzeb Khan Facebook page)

Cold-blooded murder

Reports and family say Shahzeb was shot dead by two young men from feudal backgrounds Nawab Siraj Talpur and Shahrukh Jatoi, who were with their armed guards. Before the shooting, a small argument erupted between Shahzeb and Talpur, after one of Talpur's employees passed a lewd comment at Shahzeb’s sister. Shahzeb’s father Aurangzeb, a police officer, quickly resolved the dispute. But later that day, Talpur and his friend came back with vengeance on their minds and guns in their hands and eventually killed Shahzeb Khan, the only son of his parents.

The sad incident was described in this report published on the Express Tribune:

Shahzeb Khan didn’t even get time to change the clothes he wore to his sister’s valima (wedding reception). He was in his dark grey dress shirt and trousers when four 9mm bullets pierced through his car – a gleaming blue Swift which was an early birthday gift from his parents, and entered his body, eventually killing this popular 20 year old.

At first, the family had a hard time registering the case due to political pressure from the well-connected Talpurs and Jatois - two well-known Feudal families in Pakistan. “The police first registered a dummy First Information Report (FIR) but later it took him (Shahzeb's father) hours to re-register another version of the FIR naming the actual culprits” Dr. Awab Alvi told GV. He cautions:

If it could happen to a police officer’s son - it can happen to any person in Pakistan!

The names of key suspects in Shahzeb’s murder have been put on Pakistan's Exit Control List (ECL)and a team of investigators has been dispatched to different areas, as per this published report.

Social media responds

Interesting as it may sound, photos of the suspects have been uploaded on the Sindh police’s unofficial Facebook page and is being shared by friends of Shahzeb on their walls with the caption ‘Wanted Criminal’.

Friends and family of Shahzeb started a Facebook page to seek justice for his murder. The Page “In Memory of Shahzeb Khan“ had some 2,500 Likes in less than a day, and has surpassed 60,000 Likes till now (31 December 2012) brimming with messages like, ‘I’ll miss your smile, RIP and you were a real soldier.' Another message on the Facebook page reads:

Courtesy of the “In Memory of Shahzeb Khan” Facebook page

“Shahzeb Khan was a man of gold, an inspiration and a hero. It is now on our shoulders to bring the murderers of Shahzeb Khan to justice and insist on bringing about a change before it is too late to realize how the simple understanding of justice could have made the difference”

“Pakistan needs to wake up as it could happen to any Pakistani”, such tweets along with condolence messages were shared using the hashtag #JusticeForShahzebKhan

Prominent personalities including politician and chairman of Pakistan's Tehreek-e-Insaf party Imran Khan; Nuclear Scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan and musician (founder of Junoon band) Salman Ahmad have pledged their support to the Justice campaign. The response by Imran Khan was retweeted some 400 times:

Deeply disturbed to learn about the tragic cold blooded murder of young Shahzeb Khan in Karachi by a kin of some “influential” person.

Dr. Qadeer Khan's tweet:

We all should demand #JusticeForShahzebKhan. Stop it now or be ready to become the next Shahzeb. Decision is yours.

Salman Ahmed's reaction:

The killing of Shahzeb Khan is an attack on all of Pakistan's youth. I stand in solidarity with his brave father Aurangzeb.

Vigil for the fallen victim

Thousands gathered at Karachi Press Club on Sunday afternoon (30 December 2012) for a candle light vigil through a Facebook event.

Candle light vigil for the young victim in Karachi. Courtesy of the “In Memory of Shahzeb Khan” Facebook page

Protesters  carrying posters and photographs of a charming Shahzeb, repeated slogans of “We want justice, Justice for Shahzeb Khan”, demanding suo motu action from Pakistan's chief justice.

Moved by the peaceful protest, Shahzeb’s friends, put this message on the Pageafterwards:

“Amazing turnout at the protest. We can’t thank enough to all the people who stood hand in hand protecting Shazeb Khan's Family, maintaining the discipline. This is just the first brick to the never ending revolution we AIM and bring down the cowards who take pride in misbehaving with our females, and taking lives of the innocents!

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