Pakistan 2009 - Worst of our Pakistani Time?

Bombings
Peace, harmony and laughter; the three words which seem more like a distant dream than anything else in Pakistan. There was a time when everything was simple, when children were safe, when families and values flourished but the bombings took away all our laughter, all our joy. 2009 has been a dreadful year, filled with death, chaos and suffering which were the results of innumerable suicide bombings. Thousands were killed, and more so injured but that’s not where the destruction ended. Buildings, vehicles and other properties were blown to pieces but what’s worse are the emotional scars that these bombings left on the survivors and the families of the victims. It takes years to build up families and relationships, and just one bombing incident to blow it up into pieces. The entire year we`ve been living in fear; the fear of dying, the fear of losing our loved ones, and more importantly, the fear of losing our beloved homeland Pakistan. When is this going to end???

PIA
The PIA slogan “Great People to Fly With” has definitely run its course as evident by the incidents that took place in 2009. We all might have laughed and enjoyed watching Ratatouille but real life rats are not so amusing, especially when you come across them on a flight! In the first six months of 2009 in Pakistan, more than seven cases regarding rodent contamination have been witnessed on PIA flights .These rats seemed to be more at home in the plane than the poor passengers who were frightened to say the least. Even though numerous complaints have been lodged against these incidents, PIA hasn’t taken any notable action and people who once loved to travel by PIA have started second guessing their favorite airline. No wonder PIA faced a loss of Rs.5.4 Billion Rupees in the first six months of 2009 and it is still mounting up. I mean seriously….RATS aboard a flight?!!

Railway Pakistan
Travelling through train used to be the most exciting experience for first time travelers but long gone are the days when people used to look forward to a journey on the train. The deteriorating conditions of Pakistan Railway have put off many prospective travelers and it is continuously facing economic losses despite the injection of subsidy worth billions of rupees to make it a profitable public sector organization in Pakistan over the last two years. During 2008-2009 alone, the organization had to face a shortfall in it revenue of Rs6.439 billion. The unhygienic conditions, worn out compartments and obsolete engines are hardly going to attract any customers. Add to that, an unsafe environment and you have the perfect recipe for disaster. From now onwards, if you want to quench your thirst for a train ride, then you should go to JoyLand or some other amusement park because the condition of Pakistan Railways isn’t going to improve anytime soon.

Food Street
Food; that’s the first thing that pops into our minds when we think of Lahore & Pakistan, and Food Street has been or rather was one of the most sought after food places in Lahore. However, Food Street is just a blip on our radar now since the new Punjab Government decided to shut it down due to reasons which are still unclear and rather vague. The closing down of Food Street came as a shock to the desi food lovers for whom Food Street was a wonderland where they could eat delectable dishes and enjoy a night out with their friends. I guess now they`ll just have to make do with Fazal-e-Haq and its contempories….

Wateen
Wateen Telecom is a Pakistani telecommunication company based in Lahore and is a sister concern of Warid Telecom.With the collaboration of Motorola, they plan on deploying a WiMax country-wide network across Pakistan. Wateen`s main target market were the commercial clients or businesses but it also decided to extend its services to households but unfortunately, Wateen failed to deliver its promise of providing a WiMax service all over Pakistan unlike any other. The major reason for its downfall is its unreasonably high prices and packages that are not comprehendible by the common masses. You need a PhD just to understand the Wateen brochure that has details about its packages and if by some stroke of luck you do understand what`s being offered, you practically faint once you realize that you are paying 10-20 thousand rupees just for internet service. Rumor has it that Telenor is taking over Wateen but nothing has been confirmed by both parties as yet. Maybe this takeover will prove to be salubrious for Wateen and its customers. There`s nothing wrong with hoping….

By Mehroz Sajjad