Elite Police Celebrating Win - Source: BBC News - Suggested by Shakeel Ahmad

In Lahore this morning, three different police facilities were attacked by well-trained and well-equipped terrorists. The incidents at FIA building, Manawan Police Academy and Bedian Elite Force Training Facility left at least 30 people dead including all the attackers, policemen and some civilians. Two of the targets, the FIA building and Manawan Police Training Academy have been hit by terrorists earlier as well. Although the new wave of attacks was serious, however, the response of security agencies and the police has shown an upgraded level of strike-back action.

Police force moving for action against attackers in Lahore - Source: BBC News

Yes, we are living in insecure times and when a full-fledged war is being raged against these mug-heads, they are sure to strike back. What makes all Pakistanis proud is the sacrifice of life that our soldiers and policemen are making to fight terrorism and to protect common citizens like you and me.

We should pray for these brave sons of the soil and help them by providing any information that we are able to gather against terrorists or suspicious activities around our cities and neighborhoods.

To all the policemen who lost their life today in Lahore and Kohat; every Lahori and Pakistani salutes you!

Mud is an excellent construction material. It is being used as a building material since prehistoric times. Mud structures can still be found in a variety of climates across the globe; In Pakistan, it is most strongly associated with rural culture. The idea of mud building is now coming to urban areas. Construction of model mud village in Lahore is the case in point.

Society for the Promotion of Art and Culture (SPARC), registered in Lahore since 1994, is starting construction of mud village for handicraft men. Prof. Dr. Norbert Pintsch (Senior Expert Service Bonn, Germany) is planning to coordinating the project and giving it a practical shape.

Prof. Dr. Norbert Pintsch is an experienced architect by profession is very passionate about mud architecture. Since completing first building project as an architect at the age of 18, Prof Dr Norbert Pintsch has been in various activities as an architect and civil engineer all his life.

In addition, Iqbal, a local builder from Harrapa, Ghayyoor Obaid, a local architecture and very interested in mud construction material, Peerzada Festival Area, a concern that is providing space for construction of mud village near world famous Puppetry Museum are also involved in the project. Beacon House University, Department of Architecture and Building Research Institute are also likely to participate.

It is not good enough to assume that “everything from the past is good. It is necessary to show,” says Dr. Norbert Pintsch who is very passionate about the project. Like national University in Colombia where students practice construction with local materials like bamboo and wood, the project will give an opportunity to the students of Beacon House University to practice what they have been learning while adapting the construction technique mixed with appropriate technology in Pakistan.

Prof. Dr. Norbert Pintsch never gets tired of talking about his passion and, given my own interest, I don’t get tired of listening about the details of the project. Hope you enjoy reading it. {X-Posted From Light Within}

Join Lahore’s 10th Critical Mass Event at 5:00pm this Sunday 27 September 2009 from the Zakir Tikka intersection, Sarwar Road, Lahore Cantonment.

Critical Mass is about having clean cities that provide mobility and accessibility. Critical Mass is about clean transport. Critical Mass is about putting public good over private interest. Critical Mass is about making friends. Critical Mass is about reclaiming public space. Critical Mass is about showing a man or a woman on a cycle is the same as one in a ten lac car. Critical Mass is about democracy.

What do I need to participate in a Critical Mass Event?
All you need is a road-worthy cycle and an sense of fun. Buy, beg, borrow or steal a cycle if you have to, but join the Mass. Come, cycle around Lahore. Reclaim your city, and have more fun than you can imagine!

Where and how else do Critical Mass Events take place?
Critical Mass events are typically held on the last Friday of each month in over 250 cities all over the world. In Lahore, it is held on the last Sunday of every month. For information about Critical Mass Lahore, be at Zakir Tikka at 5:00pm this Sunday 27 September 2009 or visit the Critical Mass Lahore Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38992998526) or the Critical Mass Lahore blog.

Important: Be on time!!!

However, the prolonged loadshedding schedule and additional outages ensured that Lahoris came  back down to earth.

Lets take for example the community I reside in–where on average we experience ’schedule loadshedding’ for 10 hours a day. This translates into not having electricity in our homes about every hour or so–throughout the day–without consideration for weekdays or weekends.

With such a situation, all our basic electrical appliances have either died or been sent to the local repairman. List includes the washing machine, refrigerator, microwave, so and so forth. This is ridiculous, to say the least.

In the wake of this major rainfall today in the city, our local trusty LESCO bunch added another hour of loadshedding. Yes, ADDED!  When we called to ask whether this was due to a fault in the local grid network, a rather disgruntled LESCO employee said that an hour had been officially added to the schedule–and that we will probably face another increase in our monthly electricity bills–as well!  When we expressed our disapproval, he said that the higher-ups are the ones making the call and that the location he went home to often did not get electricity for 8 straight hours!

Navigating our way through the LESCO complaints directory, we got through another LESCO employee–this time a bit higher up in the pecking order.  According to LESCO employee number two, the higher ups believe that there are not any complaints and that people are okay with the current situation of power supply (wow that is an ironic phrase–’power supply’). 

Umm, Lahoris, are we OK with what is going on? Are we OK with our hard earned money going down the drain every month–when we pay for a service that we barely recieve?  Are we OK with spending hours listening to whirring generators/ups ?

I doubt that.  But what I think the problem is that somehow, the complaints are not getting through. Is there not enough media coverage? Possibly. Is there not enough public outcry? No, people are making their point.

 I know this sentiment is not new, nor is the situation unfamiliar to those residing in Pakistan–but the point being, something must be done.

My recommendation:

Call the SDOs, the XENs  responsible for the electricity supply in your neighborhood. Here is the LESCO website link. 

Keep tab of the scheduled loadshedding–everytime unscheduled loadshedding takes place, try to lodge a formal written complaint.

Get the neighbors involved–have them do the same.

Communicate your plight, your problem, your discomfort with the current electricity loadshedding schedule. Write an email, a letter to the editor, or to a member of the provincial assembly.  I am sure there are those of you who have family members relying on vital life support machines, or even breathing aids such as nebulizers–all which are run by electricity.

If you have more ideas, please share with us in the comments section.

Remember, this an essential service that you are paying for and that you deserve customer service.

The press conference will be used to convey the points stressed upon at Lahore Bachao Tehreek’s session on 15th of July. We will update you on the things shared at the press conference afterwards.

Enjoy!

Lahore celebrates Pakistan's T20 World Cup crown - Image Source: BBC News

So far, 4 people have died and 8 have been injured. Do check up on your loved ones and Stay safe.

ARY News

The Lahore CCPO’s office and the Rescue 15 center were targeted–both show signs of severe destruction.  The Rescue 15 building is located on Fatima Jinnah Road–formerly known as Queens Road. The Police have said that 25 people were inside the building when the blast occured.

As is the case in such scenarios, there are conflicting counts for those injured or killed in this incident.  Geo TV’s website reports 10 killed and 83 injured.  However, according to Edhi’s services, 30 people have been killed so far.   According to the DCO Lahore, 23 people have died due to the blast.

TV news reports say 3 security personnel are among the dead.  Watching Express 24/7, they say 120 to 130 people have been injured but that the numbers come from two main hospitals serving the victims right now, which includes Ganga Ram Hospital.  The casualties are expected to rise.

Emergency crews are continuing to pull people out of the rubble–and aerial surveillance is also underway at the site. Markets in the surrounding areas have been closed down.

Those in Lahore have been requested to donate blood.  Contact 042-756-8724 or 8725 to find out more about the donation process.

Two suspects arrested by the police

According to DCO Lahore Sajjad Bhutta, this was a suicide car bombing. 2 suspects have been arrested by the local police. Eyewitness reports also confirm the incident as a car bombing.

Earlier this morning, I turned on the TV–when the news came of this blast in Lahore.  At the time, 150 people were reported injured–and children are trapped inside St. Anthony’s school near the Mall.  Now it is reported the students have been sent home with their family members.

It is reported that 35 adjacent buildings have been damaged by the intensity of the blast. Also, that the explosion created a crater 20 feet deep at the site.

I also heard that the windows for Quaid-e-Azam library have been shattered. Friends on Facebook who work near the area also reported shattered windows, falling ceilings.

Blast Site

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Razas Gilani have both condemned the attack.

We here at Lahore Metblogs will keep updating this–as more information comes in.

Do pray for those affected by this tragic incident.

Some news sources for those interested: 

• Dawn  , specifically this story
• Geo TV, specifically this article

All passengers of the ‘Dosti Bus’, including both Indians and Pakistanis, are safe and will continue their journey once events die down and safety is ensured for the rest of their journey.

Sister cities of Lahore and Delhi just got transportation links restored a few years back after decades of cut-out; a luxury that again gets threatened by unrest on either side of the border. In 2007, about 65 passengers were burnt alive when the train link between the two cities, termed as ‘Samjhota Express’ was targeted near Panipat in India. Most recently India has expressed its reservation over the security of the bus service within Pakistan borders, a claim which Pakistani authorities say is unnecessary keeping in view the greater loss of Pakistani life on the Indian side resulting from sabotage and lack of proper security.