A Lahore School of Economics – IMF Roundtable Discussion “International Financial Crisis and the Role of IMF: The View from Pakistan’s Youth,” was jointly hosted by the Lahore School of Economics and the IMF Pakistan Office, at the Lahore School of Economics, on February 22, 2010.

The discussion focused on the current international financial crisis and its national and international effects, implications of the international financial crisis on future economic policymaking, how will it affect economic liberalization, deregulation, and the role of the state? What can be done to prevent a similar crisis from reoccurring? How will the new landscape affect opportunities for addressing the region’s most pressing economic challenges, such as the need to provide employment opportunities, boost competitiveness, and find new sources of sustainable and equitable growth? And, what role can the IMF play in this respect?

At this round table discussion, students gave their opinion on these topics and proposed fresh ideas regarding the IMF’s dialogue with Pakistan and its support for the international economic community currently and in the coming years.  See more images here and here. 

The hue and cry raised by a certain section of the society on the recent banning of Basant by the Lahore High Court compels me to bring forward my point of view.

These people mourn for the loss of a cultural event which attracted thousands of foreigners from all over the world. In the prevailing geopolitical situation, I hardly think that a bunch of colorful kites would be able to lure an already fear stricken foreigner to a death trap. Moreover this cultural loss might be a matter of concern for a handful of socialites and five star hotels but not for the common man.

It saddened me to read the post Sir, we can’t control this. “Then ban it” where the blogger citing reasons for the ban on Basant writes, “The reasons quoted were not many – two in fact, one being the loss to human life and the other being disruption in WAPDA’s electricity supply causing monetary loss”,  as if these two reasons are not good enough. The blogger goes on to write, “The ban on Basant is silly. Loss of life and loss of the ever-so-present WAPDA supply are not reasons at all. And here’s why: the loss of life is not because the kite-flying itself is dangerous. Kite-flying has been around for quite some time. The murderous streak now automatically tagged with basant itself, has been introduced through the development of stronger string”.

Stronger string or not, if kite-flying has been around for quite sometime then so are the deaths related to this festival. Why do we forget hundreds of innocent lives lost which are not related to the killer string but are still a part and parcel of this event? We can try to get scot-free by saying that if someone is run over by a car or falls from a roof top then it is his own fault but can we blame a poor boy for running after the kites which we so lavishly shower just because he too wants to have his share of fun; or can we blame a child for falling off his roof because his father didn’t have enough money to build proper railing around the roof. Our politicians, so eager to climb up on their roofs might not be so hungry for such an amusement if God forbid it was one of their own who had lost his life to this blood thirsty event.

We would view this entertainment very differently and the ban would not look silly anymore if our own child had to run on the roads to grab a kite!

Coming to the ingenious solutions provided by the advocates of Basant. Yes, you may ban motorbikes and bicycles for two days but have we ever thought that for some people that is the only way of transportation and in case an emergency arises it is their only way out. Secondly you may also ban the deadly string but is it administratively possible to keep a check on such a large scale?

With all due respect to everyone’s viewpoint, I am of the opinion that even if one life is lost due to Basant, it is certainly not worth it.

Basant was a thing of beauty and was one of those rare events where a truly cultural event gathered people from all over the world. Yes, the world. Lahore owned basant, regardless where it came from. Even Lahore Metblogs has a separate category just for Basant!
But you had to be living in a hole to not know that basant has been banned for some time. A petition moved sometime around 2005, initially by none other than the mayor of Lahore, Mian Amer Mahmood. Slowly but surely, you witnessed an exercise in ‘how to control and change a city’s very culture through the power of political will’. The reasons quoted were not many – two in fact, one being the loss to human life and the other being disruption in WAPDA’s electricity supply causing monetary loss.
But here’s how I see it all:
The ban on basant is silly. Loss of life and loss of the ever-so-present WAPDA supply are not reasons at all. And here’s why: the loss of life is not because the kite-flying itself is dangerous. Kite-flying has been around for quite some time. The murderous streak now automatically tagged with basant itself, has been introduced through the development of stronger string. A lot of people think that it is the razor-like solution that the string is soaked in that causes the string to be a knife-on-the-loose. Although the sharpness is part of the reason, the main reason is that the string itself is very strong. There was a time, I remember, when I was able to snap the string by pulling on it with both hands. It is a typical way of checking a string’s strength – tug at it and see when it breaks. But recently, I would notice that it has become harder and harder to just ’snap’ the string. You would have to resort to either some serious pulling or just use to teeth to sever the string. It is the combination of ultra-strong string with razor-sharp solution (a.k.a. manja) that makes the string a killer.
The real culprit has always been the string itself, and building upon that, you can see that the makers of the string are also the culprit. And by culprit I mean the ‘reason’ for the chaos, not the guilty party (guilt is for the courts to decide, remember?)

The reason the basant was and is still banned is not because the festival has turned deadly, it is because some people have invented and then sold this killer string to a lot of unsuspecting people. In fact, the real reason is that the administration has found it beyond them to crack down on the few string producers that manufacture the deadly string.

The flagship parliamentary debating competition of the Lahore School of Economics Association of Debaters, the Lahore School Debate, has started at the Lahore School of Economics (February 5 -8,2010). The Lahore School Debate shall be following the All-Asian Parliamentary Style of Debates, which employs the 3-on-3 debating format, with reply speeches. The Lahore School Debate shall consist of six preliminary rounds (2 closed and one custom free-speech), followed by the knockout stages of the knockout stages of the quarterfinals (8 breaks), semi-finals (4 breaks) and the grand final (2 breaks).

In an another embarrassing episode of Pakistan cricket Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi, a veteran of 293 ODIs, was caught tampering the the ball in the last ODI against Australia on Sunday. This is the second time in his career that Afridi is charged with ball tampering, the first being in 2005. What’s even more astonishing is that Afridi seems to justify his horrendous act: “There is no team in the world that doesn’t tamper with the ball. My methods were wrong. I am embarrassed, I shouldn’t have done it. I just wanted to win us a game but this was the wrong way to do it,” he told Geo TV.

 Imagine, what would happen if this guy is made captain of all 3 formats of the game? What kind of example are we setting for our youth? That it’s okay to cheat as long as you can win? The problem with Pakistan cricket is that similar to our politicians, we never held our cricketers accountable for their actions. We need to makes examples out of the Afridis and Akhtars of Pakistan who again and again tarnish the image of their country and then proudly make a comeback to the national side to become heroes once again.  

 I have had enough of these cheats and wish that for once, we can make the right call and shut all doors on them!

I took a stroll a few minutes ago  to determine what the weather is like on the last Friday of January twenty ten. And the verdict? Fantastic! We finally have a breeze in Lahore, and not some weak  ‘ruffle-some-papers’ breeze,  a true-blue winter breeze that demands sweaters and makes trees physically sway side-to-side.

Now, a humble request to the Weather Department in the sky; what us Lahoris would really appreciate is some rain showers. To be specific, as I am aware there were some parts that received some drizzle action last night–we would like some proper downpour.  You know, like Islamabad got some and everyone knows Lahore is way cooler–so spread the love!  *grin*

Lahore – the heart of Pakistan is known for its built heritage – historic buildings and splendid structures. For centuries the successive regimes have been enriching the city with love and determination. The construction of each successive era; Mughal, Victorian and the modern, has added tremendously to the grandeur of the city.

Shalimar Interchange is a useful addition in the landmark constructions of the metropolis. Constructed on the road to historic Shalimar Gardens, it is a link with our rich heritage and continuation of the artistic vision and the superb building skills that our master craftsmen possess.

Shalimar Interchange is a state of the art project constructed by Frontier Works Organisation – the leading construction organisation of the country. It is the first 3 level interchange in Punjab over the canal and the railway line and comprises of a 1.6 km Flyover, 2 Underpasses, 2 Ground Level Bridges and 11 km service roads around the site.

The flyover-bridge is of the latest design that is most suitable for the locality. Its sleek transoms (pillars) and girders radiate openness. Besides regulating the traffic at a previous chokepoint, it will provide maximum utility for the residents by uplifting the whole area, says Khwaja Ahmed Hassan, Chairman Task Force Lahore Road Rehablitation Project, I).

The interchange will greatly benefit the people of Lahore by improving the city’s traffic flow. The Mughalpura crossing – accommodating bulk of the city’s traffic, was a choke point where even the ambulances were held up in the traffic jams. The majestic flyover now conveniently connects the city with cantonment. On the canal side; the underpasses convert the canal bank road into a fast moving signal free corridor. Commuters to the Shalimar Gardens, Jallo Park and Mughalpura Dry Port will be much facilitated by the facilities of the Interchange. {Written by Husain Qazi and X-Posted from Light Within}

Watch your step!

Resistance is Futile--You are completely surrounded!

Well dear readers, these are some of the clearer photos I was able to capture for you earlier this morning.  I hope they get the point across–as they say–’a picture is worth a thousand words’.   :)

(the fine print: All photos taken by myself  with the aid of my trusty cellphone camera)

Rather dramatic blog post title, no? Actually, if you have been traveling on Lahore’s roads this morning–I’m sure you can relate–as the city has literally been consumed by heavy layer fog. I’m talking cinematic proportions!

To our readers who are about to head out–please be safe, drive slowly, use your fog lights and most importantly, your common sense.

For those lounging at home, in a sea of woolly shawls and sipping on Kashmiri chai (tea)-enjoy the weather!

By the way dear readers– Doesn’t it seem like a scene out of a paperback mystery novel? Hah! I simply can not help being intrigued by the fog. :)

Since our ‘beloved’ president Mr. 10% err Zardari is in town today till another week, the ongoing traffic miseries are certainly on the rise apart from the roads overclouded by the PPP flags and banners; Here are some tips to follow before you start your commute:

- Tune into Traffic Radio RASTA FM 88.8 often and listen to the traffic updates
- Call 24×7 Traffic Helpline 1915 before you leave your home
- Visit RASTA.PK to see the updates on traffic

P.S: My personal experience of 1915 helpline is very good when i called them early today for the first time to check on Mall Road status and the lady operator told me that there were some portions closed due to security but they have been restored 5 minutes before i called. And I had a nice and easy commute to downtown; As per the lady operator, you can also get help if your car breaks down.

Last evening (Jan 7, 2009), The National District Management Authority (NDMA) held a policy dialogues to engage provincial parliamentarian (Punjab) and muster their support for the cause. Lt Gen Farooq Ahmad Khan – the soul behind NDMA – gave a very comprehensive presentation to an informed gathering in PC that was followed by a questions answers session and some suggestions.

Risks of natural as well as man created disasters (also include terrorism and war) are growing exponentially around the world, more so in Pakistan. As these disasters have a tremendous impact on us, more structured and intelligent response strategies need to be developed at all level and in all sectors including education. Sadly, to this date, students in Pakistan have generally had little exposure to the challenges of disaster management.

Best thing is that in this age, modern technologies and methodologies are available to help mitigate disasters of any kind. Many of the top universities in developed world are already offering courses on disaster management.

Seeing the level of awareness of parliamentarians during National Disaster Management Policy Dialogue, I suggest that universities should design disaster management programs to provide an interdisciplinary education, in which students and future leaders learn how to function effectively in their respective field should they assume real world responsibilities in disaster situations. And I think this will help the cause of NDMA.

Google Map Maker Community and FAST-NU’s ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) hosted an event on mapping and scope of mapping in Pakistan. The event named Lahore Mapping Party was first of its kind in Pakistan and was held in FAST NU’s main auditorium last week on Saturday.

Lahore Mapping Party - Banner

As opposed to what I had expected, the attendees were only a few in numbers and were mainly comprised of students, professors, IT professionals, and people having a background in geography/architecture studies.

Reason of the event cum workshop was to actually aware & train people about Google Map Maker, host a discussion on crowd-sourced mapping and how local/international companies/organizations are using it and what is its scope in Pakistan.

Another reason was to acknowledge the efforts of two Pakistani youngsters who are recognized as the top mappers in the world. Faraz Ahmad with more than 48,000 edits holds the 1st place whereas; Jabran Rafique with more than 44,000 edits is also in the list of top mappers in the world. And also, to celebrate that Lahore is the fastest mapped city in a total of 120 countries where Google Map Maker service is available, and Islamabad is the cleanest mapped city (there’s not even a single error in mapping).

The whole idea is to promote this activity and involve others as well to be a part of Google Map Maker community in Pakistan.

Well when Google launched this Map Maker tool for Pakistan, I also did some mapping just to get my hands on what Google Map Maker is and does it really work or not. I made maps and it was fun playing with the tool quiet a year ago but I stopped doing it because I had some serious security and privacy reservations. This concern was one of the main reasons why I was so eager to attend this event.

Badar Khushnood, the country representative for Google, presented an overview explaining what Google Map Maker tool can do and how companies are leveraging it to promote their business and how can others use it in different other ways to promote different services or even play with APIs to make their own layers over the Google Maps platform.

Badar’s presentation was followed by Faraz Ahmed’s presentation in which he gave the live demo of map maker with other team members and shared his experience that how and why he started mapping on Google Map Maker. Then the floor was opened for questions and the discussion heated up over the security risks involved in mapping local areas.

Four main topics which were in discussion were security, ethics, profitability and ownership. Everyone had something to say and for me it turned out to be a healthy brainstorming session.

Security Risks

Security remained the main topic of discussion. Due to the growing security risks and threats in Pakistan it is natural for Pakistanis to make sure that they are not risking their own security. Some of the attendees were of the view that it will actually facilitate the extremists to make more sophisticated terrorist attacks against locals or law enforcement forces. The threats are not only from within the country but from over the borders as well. So the security issues must be addressed to clear the situation.

Others were quite optimistic about this tool. The map maker supporters responded that this tool will in fact help the government to take better security measures and to plan strategies to curb terrorism in the country (Think about having a security plan for Lahore keeping an eye on its entrance and exit points).

As a matter of fact, I don’t believe that most of the officials are really optimized to use such tools in a way that it helps in curbing terrorism and crime. But in any case if it is going to help those extremists, Google Map Maker is not a good omen for Pakistan.

Ethics

Ethics in mapping is related to the security issues. It includes what to map and what not to map. Think of places like army bases in Pakistan, nuclear sites, borders, and other areas which may fall under national security.

First of all, I believe if it has to be mapped, then it must be everything; whether in Pakistan or in any country of the world. There should be no discrimination over security concerns at international level. Like if Pakistan army bases are to be mapped then why not American and Indian army bases as well.

It is nearly impossible to moderate each and everything being mapped. So, if there has to be a policy, the questions arise are who is responsible or have the authority to decide what is ethical and what is unethical? How many stake holders are there and how can all of them come to a consensus over a uniform policy for mapping Pakistan?

Usually governments regulate the policies regarding national issues and in case of Pakistan if government didn’t pay any attention timely, it would have been too late to make a policy. By government’s involvement I do not mean that there should be restrictions to mapping at all but government can work in conjunction with Google and supervise the process so that it remains beneficial and secure for everyone.

Profitability & Ownership

The point was raised by Dr. Anis Siddiqui, Chairman Department of Architecture, University of the Punjab, that who has the ultimate ownership of the data being produced voluntarily by the people. He was of the view that Google should have some revenue model for the people for doing the mapping because it needs resources and time which are valuable and this value must be converted in some sort of reward for them.

I believe if we ignore the security and ethics part, the value for the effort being put by these freelancers is much more than the effort itself. Imagine where you can use this tool to help you or your business. Think your PTCL’s limited 1217 directory converted and mapped on your screen with more comprehensive and updated information (Local Business Listings – where you find business around you), try finding your house on Naksha.pk, see whether Wateen’s coverage is provided in your area, imagine getting traffic updates in real time, find a gas station near you, measure distance between your house and the nearest police station, get driving details to your destination and a hell lot of other things…

Google Maps Lahore: Before & After

I would like to refer to the efforts put in by Khurram, Asst. Professor FAST-NU and Sarah Ahmad, lecturer Beaconhouse National University for presenting the possible ideas where Google Maps can be used. Updated local info, a new life to businesses, cheap & quick, SMS based white pages, value of getting info quickly, preservation data, geo coding & reverse urban planning, planning and Policy making help in generating demographics, housing variables, income statistics, economic zones and activity etc… were some of the directions presented by Khurram and Sarah.

I believe, if it actually matures enough to a point that we can use it for any product, it will prove a milestone in business and even it may change the way we do business today. I bet corporations have better plans and ideas to develop leverage Google Map Maker API.

Now about ownership, off course Google owns the data and they have the power to turn it off any time they want (you agree to terms & conditions before using their tool… try reading it). But Google provides an opportunity to download the maps to your local machine. In case if you want to volunteer but not for Google, there are a lot of other options to go for where you can help some non for profit foundation in mapping the whole world.

A Case Study

As I said earlier, I had serious privacy issues regarding Google Map Maker and that’s why I stopped using it. But I realized a much better use of this tool when I got the following message from my teacher. Please refer to the image below. It’s about three weeks ago and its self explanatory.

Google Maps helped my teacher find an examination center I mapped.

The areas I mapped some months ago helped my teacher finding an examination center.  And this conversation happened about two weeks before Lahore Mapping Party.

Conclusion

In the end, I would like to finish saying that its all up to how any thing is used. It can equally be used for something constructive and for something destructive. So instead of just opposing it, I think we can volunteer to use this tool in a way that best suits our interests; both in terms of security and in terms of business.

Google Map Maker for Pakistan: will you SUPPORT it or OPPOSE it?

As a usual January every year, Lahore is currently under heavy foggy conditions; commuters & daily life is suffering quite badly with lots of flight canceled and motorway M2, M3 closed down every now and then – So there I was and an idea just kicked into my mind that there should be real time temperature updates for Lahoris from the city – so I managed to build this thing out today and we have live temperature updates going out to Twitter after every 30 minutes :) So if you are into twitter, please follow the tag #Lahore or Follow LahoreTemp to get updates after every 30 minutes. Even if you don’t use twitter, you can still logon to http://twitter.com/LahoreTemp and read the latest temperature from the beacon.

Enjoy the weather, keep your distance on the road, and be safe out there and let us know how you feel about this service :)