FARUKH SHEHZAD

Islamabad, May 05: At the 2022 Huawei Global Analyst Summit, Huawei held the Intelligent World 2030 Forum together with industry partners. 

Huawei presented the research and achievements of the communications network and computing industries and called on industry players to work together to realize Huawei’s future vision detailed in its Intelligent World 2030 report. Released last year at Huawei Connect 2021, Intelligent World 2030 explores the major technologies and advances that will define the next decade in the format of four industry reports and one main report, which includes eight outlooks and forecasts for 32 indicators of the future. 

Intelligent World 2030 is the culmination of three years of research, including in-depth exchanges with more than 1,000 academics, customers, and partners, and a total of 2,000 workshops. The report also draws from the data and methodologies of leading industry organizations across the globe.

At the forum, Gavin Gai, President of Huawei ICT Strategy & Business Development Dept, delivered the keynote speech Building Green, Cubic Broadband, and Intelligent Future Communications Networks, giving a detailed analysis of the six defining features of the communications networks of the future. These are cubic broadband networks; harmonized communication and sensing; deterministic experience; AI-native; security and trustworthiness; and green, low-carbon construction and operations. He also gave a detailed analysis of the future of the communications industry.

"Industries are the foundation of the intelligent world. The Communications Network 2030, Computing 2030, Digital Power 2030, and Intelligent Automotive Solution 2030 reports provide insights into the technology trends of these respective industries, and can serve as a reference for industry development in the future,” said Gai at the Forum. "It is our relentless pursuit of a superior experience that drives innovation and evolution in communications networks. We are about to witness the change from tens of billions of connections between people to hundreds of billions of connections between things.” 

Jiang Tao, Vice President of Huawei's Computing Product Line, delivered the speech Building a Green, Integrated, and Collaborative Foundation for Intelligent Computing. 

“By 2030, the computing industry will be characterized by physical-layer breakthroughs, cognitive intelligence, diversified computing, intrinsic security, multi-dimensional collaboration, and green, integrated computing," said Jiang. "The digital and physical worlds will be seamlessly integrated, and computing will be able to simulate, reproduce, and enhance the physical world."

Also present at the event was Tian Yonghong, IEEE Fellow and Chief Technology Engineer of Peng Cheng Cloud Brain. In his speech, Tian said that through building super AI computing, Peng Cheng Laboratory is creating an innovation engine for the intelligent world. He reported how AI is changing the way the economy grows and approaches to science and technology innovation, adding that the super intelligent computing platform his organization is creating will address top global challenges.

Other guests at the event included those involved in leading the Intelligent World 2030 project. Kevin Zhang, CMO of Huawei's ICT Infrastructure Business, and Wang Youchun, Director of Huawei's ICT Insights Dept, shared their thoughts on the intelligent world of 2030, participated in discussions about how ICTs can advance socioeconomic and green development, and explored how industries can move toward the intelligent world of 2030.

Much of the discussion at the event centered on digitalization and decarbonization, and how these two major trends drive and reinforce each other, both serving as engines of the world's green development. Intelligent World application scenarios, innovations in computing and connectivity technologies, and green development practices were also discussed at the event. 

Explore more on the report, visit: https://www.huawei.com/en/giv 

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ISLAMABAD, MAY 3: Millions of Pakistanis are celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr 2022 with religious real and zest across the country. Large congregations were held in different cities for Eid prayers.

In the federal capital Islamabad, the largest congregation was held at Fails Mosque where President Arif Alvi also attended the Eid prayers among thousands of others including JUI-F Senator Talha Mehmood.

Security has been beefed up in Islamabad with multiple additional checkpoints set up on roads and worshippers were allowed in Faisal Mosque after security checks, Wahab Kamran reported.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz offered Eid prayers at Jati Umra on the outskirts of Lahore. After the prayers, they went to the graves of Sharifs’ parents and that of Begum Kulsoom Nawaz Sharif.

Karachi’s largest Eid congregation was held at the Polo Ground after 8am. Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) leaders Aamir Khan, Farooq Sattar and others attended the congregation.

In Quetta, at least 2,000 additional police personnel have been deployed in the city on Eid.

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Courtesy Samaa.tv

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ISLAMABAD: The Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee on Sunday announced that the Shawwal moon has not been sighted, hence Eidul Fitr will fall on Tuesday, May 3.

The committee’s chairman, Maulana Abdul Khabeer Azad, made the announcement while addressing a press conference in Islamabad. “No authentic testimony of the moon being sighted was received therefore it was agreed with the consensus that Eidul Fitr will be on May 3,” he said.

Maulana Azad said it was the committee’s effort to further strengthen itself as a platform for “unity” and spread that message to households.

“Our effort in the future as well will be that we move forward together,” he said.

The committee had convened the meeting this evening to sight the moon for Eidul Fitr in Karachi, whereas zonal bodies of the committee also met in Islamabad, Quetta, Peshawar and Lahore.

Meanwhile, the Shawwal moon has been sighted in several other countries, including Saudi Arabia and Oman, where the first day of Eid will fall on Monday (tomorrow).

Earlier, the committee members in Karachi said the moon had not been sighted anywhere in the city, adding the final decision would be announced by the committee chairman from Islamabad.

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Courtesy Dawn News

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Islamabad, MAY 1: Zong 4G, Pakistan's premier mobile connectivity partner, continues its legacy of bringing best calling offers for its International Callers on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr.- IDD Saudi Arabia Mobily Bundles. 

Under these special IDD Saudi Arabia Mobily Bundles, customers from different walks of life may subscribe to a package of their choice according to their budget and requirements. Zong 4G’s prepaid customers can subscribe to Bundles for PKR 100+taxes and PKR 250+taxes to get 15 and 40 call minutes respectively for one week. 

While both postpaid and prepaid customers of Zong 4G can get 90 and 250 call minutes for one month by subscribing to special Monthly Bundles for PKR 500+taxes and PKR 1000+taxes respectively.

For activation of these special IDD bundles, Zong subscribers can dial *6911#. Alternatively, the bundles can also be subscribed by visiting the official website https://www.zong.com.pk/international/saudi-arabia-mobily-bundles while customers may get the bundles on Zong Online-Shop https://www.zong.com.pk/onlineshop/idd-bundles as well.

"The offer will assist Pakistanis to stay in touch with their loved ones living in Saudi Arabia. Continuing to address the needs of our customers, we will continue to expand our International Dialing portfolio for our clients by offering more innovative products and services,” Shared the spokesperson of Zong 4G.

Zong's unrivalled international dialing have allowed Pakistanis to stay in touch with friends and family living abroad. These bundles have been a major help to Pakistani in cross-border communication, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

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Islamabad, APR 28: During the 19th Huawei Global Analyst Summit, Huawei held a forum titled "Dive into Industrial Digitalization, Creating New Value Together" to address the challenges of digital transformation faced by different industries, such as mining, electric power, port, and highway. Huawei discussed how to innovate ICT infrastructure and integrate digital technologies with industry scenarios, and work with partners to create value for customers and build a prosperous ecosystem.

Chen Banghua, Vice President of Huawei Enterprise Business Group, delivered a keynote speech, saying, "Huawei has set up integrated teams to dive into industries and seek technologies for industries, provide ICT products that adapt to scenarios, and converge a wide range of technologies to develop product portfolios and solutions to facilitate digital transformation in industries." 

Industries have entered a new stage of diving into digitalization, which requires digital infrastructure to be highly secure, reliable, and deterministic with efficient data flow and computing. To further facilitate digital transformation of industries and understand customers' business requirements, Huawei continues to launch new scenario-specific products and solutions through technological innovation.

 Intelligent mining: Huawei innovatively introduces passive optical network technologies to coal mines. At the aggregation layer, passive optical components are used to replace active switches, minimizing the risk of electrical sparks caused by network devices. On the device side, the industry's first intrinsically safe optical device is launched to build an intrinsically safe industrial optical ring network, improving production efficiency, strengthening safe production and improving the working environment for workers.

 High-speed urban rail: Huawei provides a train-to-ground communication solution powered by its highly reliable Wi-Fi 6 series products. An integrated chassis makes this solution easier to install. It provides up to 1.4 Gbit/s bandwidth and 30 ms latency at 160 km/h, enabling real-time service backhaul and ensuring stable operation of urban rail.

 Massive edge computing: Huawei solutions also help enterprises quickly process data in real time to meet ever-increasing computing requirements. Traditional equipment rooms at the edge use all kinds of software and hardware devices from different vendors, such as UPS, air conditioners, and computing, storage, and network devices and application software, resulting in complex installation, configuration, and O&M. To address this, Huawei builds hyper-converged data center solutions by applying its All-in-One design philosophy. FusionModule uses a cabinet to replace the traditional power converter, UPS, power control module, and air conditioning unit. FusionCube uses a hyper-converged, out-of-the-box module to integrate computing, storage, network, and security functions, which works immediately after power-on, achieving cloud-edge synergy. 

At the same time, Huawei converges a wide range of technologies to develop innovative product portfolios such as data centers, campus networks, wide area networks, and digital sites to adapt to industry scenarios.

 Multi-service data center: In online banking, stock trading, and other critical data transactions, in the event of failure in the primary system, it is crucial to ensure fast switchover to backup systems without interrupting services. To address this, Huawei launches the Storage + Optical Connection Coordination solution, which enables storage to quickly detect network jitter, and implements fast I/O handover between the primary and backup systems within 1 second and fast switching of network links within 5 ms. This ensures zero failed transactions in financial services and greatly improves service experience.

 Digital sites for smart highways: With industry-leading 5G wireless and millimeter wave technologies, Huawei innovatively develops a next-generation ultra-long-range high-precision radar, which doubles the detection distance to more than 1000 meters and reduces the number of high-speed sensing pole sites by 50%. In addition, Huawei uses its powerful edge computing platform to develop AI-based sensing engine software that forms an innovative intelligent traffic sensing solution of "radar and video fusion". This further simplifies radar deployment, achieving automatic positioning and optimization with up to 95% precision.

At the Analyst Summit, Huawei shared its industry practices for digital transformation, such as the Mine Team, Electric Power Digitalization Team, Customs & Port Team, and Smart Road Team. Huawei collaborated with partners to dive into the industries faster and more efficiently, focusing on industrial scenarios to facilitate customers' digital transformation and achieve win-win results.

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Islamabad, APR 28: On the auspicious occasion of the anniversary day when Japan and Pakistan officially established diplomatic relations on April 28 seventy years ago, Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio conveyed his congratulatory remarks to celebrate the 70 years of bilateral diplomatic relations.

In the message, Honorable KISHIDA Fumio, the Prime Minister of Japan has extended his congratulations to Honorable Shehbaz Sharif on his assumption of office as Prime Minister. PM KISHIDA also congratulates the people of both Japan and Pakistan for successful seventy years of their bilateral relations.

Japan established diplomatic relations with Pakistan on 28th April, 1952, the very day when the San Francisco Peace Treaty went into effect and Japan regained its independence. Today marks exactly 70 years since then, and I am very pleased to celebrate this milestone with all of you. Japan and Pakistan have nurtured friendly relations over the years, extending support to each other when in need, said PM Kishida.

The PM mentioned that in the postwar period, cotton exported from Pakistan to Japan backed its textile industry and greatly encouraged Japan's postwar reconstruction. In turn, Japan has continuously provided Pakistan with assistance mainly in its areas of expertise, such as water, healthcare, education and disaster management.

"Both Japan and Pakistan are disaster-prone countries, and we have supported each other through the years. When Pakistan was struck by a massive earthquake in 2005 and by severe floods in 2010, Japan dispatched its disaster relief team and provided yen loans and grant aid. When the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred in 2011, Pakistan not only delivered relief goods, such as milk and biscuits, but Pakistani people residing in Japan traveled to the affected areas to serve hot meals to disaster victims" he added.

He also mentioned that recently, when the situation in Afghanistan deteriorated last August, Pakistan extended generous support to Japan to facilitate the safe departure from Afghanistan of Japanese nationals and Afghan staffs working in the Japanese Embassy and the JICA office.

He said Pakistan is located in a strategic place that connects Asia and the Middle East. It is, therefore, one of the most important countries not only for the stability of the region but also for international counter-terrorism efforts. In this context, we would like to cooperate with Pakistan to realize a "Free and Open Indo-Pacific".

PM Kishida said that "In this milestone year, I wish to elevate our bilateral relations to new heights. I am determined to work with PM Shehbaz Sharif and the people of Pakistan even more closely for that purpose".

He expressed his sincere wishes for the prosperity of our two countries and the further deepening of the friendship between the peoples of Japan and Pakistan.

JICA also celebrates this important day with the video titled "A story of Friendship and Assistance". Among diverse ties between the two countries, development cooperation is a major factor to bear witness to the solid foundation underpinning the relations.

This short animated film is the story of a girl named Areeba Saleha, born to a family hailing from Abbottabad, Pakistan. Her lifelong friendship with JICA started with her birth at the Children's Hospital in Islamabad. Areeba's parents raised her through thick and thin, but JICA's assistance in health, disaster management, education, and water and sanitation, at every step of the way, did befriend her. Today, Areeba has set up her own fashion apparel brand and is a role model for many children like her who deserve a good life. Her story embodies JICA's vision and mission of decades of partnership with the people of Pakistan.

You will find the link to this video on the FB of both Japanese Embassy and JICA.

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Islamabad, APR 28: Zong 4G, Pakistan's premier mobile connectivity partner, has launched a discounted Saudi Arabia roaming offer, adding to its industry-leading international roaming offering that includes the majority of nations across all major continents.

Under this special Saudi Arabia international roaming offer, customers will get 35 call minutes and 1GB of data with a validity of 90 days for PKR 999+tax only. For activation, Zong subscribers can dial *4255#. 

Alternatively, they can also visit Zong’s online shop to avail the offer.

"Saudi Arabia is one of the most travelled destinations by Pakistanis for a variety of reasons. The offer will enable Pakistanis travelling Saudi Arabia to stay in touch with their loved ones back home. We will continue to expand our roaming portfolio for our clients by offering more innovative products and services,” Zong's official spokesperson explained

Zong has created the international roaming bundle to provide smooth connectivity and an unrivalled experience at competitive price while travelling abroad. 

Zong's industry-leading international roaming plans have allowed Pakistanis to stay in touch with friends and family when travelling internationally. These bundles have been a major help to Pakistani travelers in cross-border communication, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Prior to the Saudi Arabia bundles, Zong had launched industry-leading foreign roaming packages for China, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and a number of other countries.

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Islamabad, APR 26: Huawei kicked off its 19th annual Global Analyst Summit today in Shenzhen. A hybrid event, the summit gathers industry analysts, financial analysts, key opinion leaders, and media representatives from around the world to learn more about future industry trends and Huawei's development strategy.

At the event, Ken Hu, Huawei's Rotating Chairman, gave a keynote on Huawei's approach to innovation and building a greener intelligent world. "We will strengthen our approach to innovation, equip all industries to go digital and intelligent, and help build a low-carbon world," said Hu. "These are key to our future growth as a company."

The following is a summary of these three initiatives:

Innovating nonstop and advancing the industry:

In terms of connectivity, Huawei continues to drive the industry forward. The company announced its vision to enable 10 Gbps connections everywhere with 5.5G and F5.5G, the next evolutions in wireless and fixed networks. Together, these will support a broader range of niche network requirements, including a more immersive experience in homes as well as the low latency and high reliability needed for industrial control scenarios.

In terms of computing, Huawei is redefining system architectures for individual nodes, foundational software, and data centers in an effort to significantly increase system performance and energy efficiency.

In cloud services, Huawei is building MetaStudio, a cloud-based, end-to-end digital content pipeline that will greatly expedite digital content production.

In terms of devices, Huawei aims to provide consumers with a user-centric intelligent experience in all aspects of their lives – what the company calls a Seamless AI Life experience – effectively accelerating the convergence of the physical and digital worlds.

Diving into digital transformation to create new value for customers:

Huawei is adapting its products and product portfolios to different industrial scenarios. At the same time, it will start pre-integrating and pre-verifying products, doing all the complex work beforehand to make digital transformation easier for its customers and partners. With Huawei Cloud as the foundation, Huawei aims to provide "Everything as a Service", turning infrastructure, technology, and expertise into cloud-based services, and making cloud migration easier for customers in different industries.

Huawei is also building integrated teams that focus on specific industries, bringing a specialized group of experts closer to customers' business challenges and more tightly incorporating horizontal resources, i.e., products and capabilities from partners. The goal is to provide targeted digital transformation solutions for each industry and respond more rapidly to customer needs.

Optimizing power supply and consumption with digital technology to enable low-carbon development:

Huawei is redefining the PV sector with AI, cloud, and other capabilities to boost the generation of renewable energy.

Huawei is also developing system-level low-carbon solutions for green ICT infrastructure, focusing on wireless base stations and data centers.

Moving forward, Huawei is taking active steps to boost its business resilience and ensure steady development. "We have to keep the ball rolling through nonstop innovation, creating value for customers and society," said Ken Hu. "We look forward to working more closely with our customers and partners to build a greener intelligent world."

In addition to its innovation strategy, Huawei also shared its far-reaching vision for the future and some of the exploration it's doing to get there. In his keynote speech, Dr. Zhou Hong, President of Huawei's Institute of Strategic Research, said that "everything we imagine today is very likely to be too conservative – too little – for tomorrow. We have to meet the future with bold hypotheses and a bold vision, and throw caution to the wind as we push to break through bottlenecks in theory and technology. This is the only way forward."

In his speech, Dr. Zhou outlined ten challenges that Huawei hopes to address moving forward.

Two scientific questions:

How do machines perceive the world, and can we build models that teach machines how to understand the world?

How can we better understand the physiological mechanisms of the human body, including how the eight systems of the body work, as well as human intent and intelligence?

Eight tech challenges:

New sensing and control capabilities, e.g., brain-computer interfaces, muscle-computer interfaces, 3D displays, virtual touch, virtual smell, and virtual taste

Real-time, unobtrusive blood pressure, blood sugar, and heart monitoring, and strong AI-assisted discoveries in chemical pharmaceuticals, biopharmaceuticals, and vaccines

Application-centric, efficient, automated, and intelligent software for greater value and better experience

Reaching and circumventing Shannon's limit to enable efficient, high-performance connectivity both regionally and globally

Adaptive and efficient computing models, non-Von Neumann architectures, unconventional components, and explainable and debuggable AI

Inventing new molecules, catalysts, and components with intelligent computing

Developing new processes that surpass CMOS, cost less, and are more efficient

Safe, efficient energy conversion and storage, as well as on-demand services

The Huawei Global Analyst Summit was first held in 2004 and has continued annually for 19 years. This year's event is being held from April 26 to 27, and it includes a broad range of breakout sessions on different aspects of Huawei's business.

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ISLAMABAD, APR 23: PTI chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan on Saturday said that he has asked his party to begin preparations for marching to Islamabad.

Addressing a press conference at his Bani Gala residence — his first since his ouster — he said he would announce the date for the march later but directed party leaders, including at the village level, to prepare for the march for “true freedom”.

A huge sea of people would go towards the capital, he said, adding that he had never seen such political awareness among the people.

“People have begun to understand the joke that happened with them and the kind of people placed on us (as rulers),” he said, claiming that there was an unprecedented number of “criminals” and those who were out on bail in the newly formed federal cabinet.

Imran said it had become clear that his claim of foreign interference was “true”. The National Security Committee (NSC) had also confirmed that the minutes of the body’s meeting last month when he was the premier were “correct”, he added.

A day earlier, a statement issued after the NSC meeting said it discussed the telegram received from the ambassador in Washington — which was first brandished by Imran at the PTI’s rally on March 27 — and “reaffirmed the decisions of the last NSC meeting”.

However, the meeting concluded that “there has been no foreign conspiracy”, according to the statement.

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Courtesy Dawn News

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Islamabad, APR 21: Zong, Pakistan’s cellular and digital services frontrunner, has launched its Sustainability Report 2021, highlighting the powerful impact that the company made last year on over 10 million lives across 9 cities of Pakistan through diversified social initiatives.

Staying true to the sustainability commitment, the environmental friendly report was printed on recyclable paper. More in more, through an industry-first initiative, the company also shared seed papers to take forward its pledge toward a clean and green Pakistan.

According to Zong, the year 2021 was yet another successful year where it maintained its position as the digital and sustainability leader, with values of accountability and integrity inculcated in its culture and the company making strides to create an impactful change in Pakistan.

The thematic focus of Zong’s social endeavours in 2021 was on critical areas including e-health, e-education, environmental stewardship, civic responsibility, and gender & social inclusion. A special focus on gender inclusion with equality at work has also been highlighted as a key priority for Zong.

Impact On E-Health

Zong made a massive impact on e-health reaching 125,500 beneficiaries (114,740 females and 10,760 males). Some of the initiatives on this front included yoga and fitness session for special children, a partnership with Sehat Kahani to provide free e-consultations during the Covid-19 pandemic, digital anti-tobacco and Covid awareness sessions by SKMC, a breast cancer awareness drive, and more.

Impact On E-Education 

Through its e-education initiatives, Zong reached over 22,250 beneficiaries (15,400 females, 6,850 males). Some of the major steps Zong took included setting up digital labs at Pak-China Friendship School (Gwadar), Maulvi Abdul Haq School (Karachi), The Star School (Okara), and more. Zong volunteers also extended their support to SOS Village (Sialkot), among other measures.

Zong’s Environmental Stewardship

Zong’s efforts on the environment front reached a total of 10,000 beneficiaries (8,000 males, 2,000 females). Some key steps here included a tree plantation drive in Karachi in collaboration with HANDS, a ration distribution drive in Karachi, support for law enforcement agencies in the fight for covid-19, and continuation of the employee volunteer program ‘A New Hope’, among others.

 “People are at the heart of everything we do. We have given utmost importance to customers’ needs, together with providing them with a seamless digital experience,” shares Wang Hua, Chairman & CEO, Zong, in the report.

“In line with our ambition of being the digital partner of each and every Pakistani, we created innovative services and solutions to provide for our customers’ digital lifestyles. While capitalizing on our strength as the widest network of the country, we have remained committed to our values and adhere to the growing needs of society,” he adds.

The Way Forward

Stepping in 2022, Zong aims to continue to work with its vision to ‘Lead the Digital Innovation’ in the country while making strides through sustainable endeavours. The company says its major focus in 2022 will remain on gender and social inclusivity.

Through its connectivity penetration and goal to reach a greater number of people, Zong promises to expand the scope of its operations and social responsibility to make bigger impacts and help the dream of #LetsGetDigital materialize into Digital Pakistan.

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Munaza Kazmi

Historically an important trading center, Peshawar lies in close proximity from the Khyber Pass, once part of the celebrated Silk Route, and an important gateway to the Indian subcontinent travelled by prominent conquerors and explorers.

Since most city’s exploration is done during daylight hours, there is plenty to easily fill a space of a few days. 

Starting from Peshawar Museum;Housed inside a glorious Victorian Mughal-Gothic building across the tracks from the Old City, nowhere else in the world is there a collection of Gandharan art more extensive than that of the Peshawar Museum,
ranging from statues and friezes depicting the Buddha's life to winged cupids and Herculean heroes.

Moreover, there’s a small Islamic collection with some delightful illustrated books, and an ethnographic section with wooden effigies taken from a Kalash cemetery, including an ancestor figure riding a two headed horse.

Islamia College; built in the year 1913, is the oldest institutions of higher education in Pakistan, also traces its historical roots from Aligarh Movement. Located on Hawal Road,the grounds of dramactic historical building are open to the public, allowing anyone to relish the glory of its Victorian architecture and tranquil, green premises. 

Next is the splendid Mahabat Khan Mosque,commissioned under Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, and renovated in 1898, is a sunny example of 16th century Mughal architecture, with its ornate interior and courtyard water reservoir especially inviting to visitors.The beautiful mosque is located at west of Chowk Yadgar, Ander Sher Bazaar.

The Cunningham Clocktower, known locally as "Ghanta Ghar", sits a mere couple of hundred meters away from the Chowk Yadgar, inaugurated in the year 1900, to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of British queen Victoria. 

Going towards the old city, where I suggest don’t risk driving yourself, it is The SethiMohallah within the walls of Peshawar's old town contains rare examples of Central Asian-inspired architecture, building constructed by the once prosperous trader family. The intricate woodwork and carvings, along with ornamental interiors and stained-glass windows and ceilings, make for a fascinating look around.

Bala Hisar Fort; The impressive fort was once the seat of Afghan Durrani royals; ownership was transferred to the Sikhs in the 19th century, the fort eventually being rebuilt by Britain to achieve the look it has today. Bala Hisar now houses the paramilitary forces of Pakistan and an on-site museum is open to the public. Also, there’s a view point, or you can say highest point of the fort, from where one can have the luxury of viewing the whole Peshawar.

Apart from the must-dos of Peshawarone unusual attraction is the 1920s Khyber Railway, trips on which are only possible by prior appointment. Depending on their planned time of travel.

I guess it’s enough of discovering, now let’s jump on the food points of the city. Meat is an essential constituent of Peshawari dining, which comes in two main configurations: as tikka (barbecue) or karahi (a variety of spicy curry). A common way to order is to select the variety and amount of meat, and have it cooked in your presence. Other typical regional dishes include chapli kebab, fried fish, Kabuli palaw, and further Pashtun specialties. If you're sensitive to spice, make sure to indicate your desired levels of heat when placing an order.

The famous Namak Mandi where meat is ordered by the kilo, diners' selection then sent straight to the open kitchen to be cooked to their liking before their very eyes. Transparency is certainly part of the appeal, and so is the traditional ambience and authentic cuisine of Peshawar, where meats are cooked on low heat and full of taste and flavors.

Moreover, for a BBQ feast or special Peshawari taste, the area is also known forHujra Restaurant located on Ring Road.

Bukhara, at Pearl Continental Hotel; The rooftop barbecue restaurant is one of the finest dining in the entire city, offering panoramic views, and traditional floor seating for those who prefer it. Both a la carte and buffet service are available.

And city’s favorite eating place is Jalil Chapli Kebab.

There admittedly isn't much in the way of nightlife in Peshawar. The city's most common evening pastime is dining, with many restaurants staying open until late in the night.

Shopping is an art form in Peshawar, where avid bargain-hunters will feel right at home. Haggling is well-expected at markets and is even acceptable at some shops where prices appear to be fixed. Items to look out for include traditional sandals, Afghani woolen hats, pottery, brass and copper wares, quality fabrics, woven rugs, and a lot more.

A city's busiest shopping area across Pakistan is often known as "saddar", Peshawar being no exception. The array of shops and vendors is simply staggering and may prove overwhelming to the unprepared visitor.

Kabuli Gate is where TheKhyber Bazaar becomes QissaKhawani, or the "street of storytellers", is where traders and travelers of old shared tales of grand adventures in foreign lands, hence it’s the poetic nickname. Much has changed since, howeverQissaKhawani remains a vibrant market street, where clothing, teas, spices, crockery and metal houseware are still sold. Also, there is Dilip Kumar’s ancestral residence and Raj Kapoor’s Kapoor Haveli situated here.

Ander Sher is best known to get quality jewelry including pieces featuring authentic precious stones, it is a popular market with an abundant offering of various ornaments.

The Smugglers Market or Karkhano Market located on Jamrud Road has gained notoriety for the weapons and opiates sold in its closed-off-to-foreigners far end. You can find a variety of stuff;however, I endorse to travel with a local.

It’s much to explore in the city, from history to culture, art to aesthetics and from hospitality to love.

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Munaza Kazmi holds MPhil in Management Sciences (Bahria University Islamabad, 2020). She’s a travel writer, an author, & co-author of scientific contributions in national & international publications. Her main areas of research include tourism & quality management.

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