Saadia Mirza

Saadia Mirza’s VIRTUES, the label, is boldly quixotic. Unique in its creations, the outfits are like costumes, defining individual women with a raw power of fascination, which is in all essence characteristic of true femininity.

Concentrating on diversity, Saadia Mirza has expanded her creative energies in five different lines: VANITY, VINTAGE, VISION, VOYAGE, and VISAGE. All dramatic and spectacular, each line offers a myriad of choices for those who are more expressive of their own individuality. From vibrant bridal line to flamboyant glamour and classic silhouettes, from innovative and classy western wear to a colorful and bold blend of east and west and finally the hand made accessories that flaunt uniqueness and class, Saadia Mirza offers that rare option of exclusivity and distinctiveness.

Maheen Karim

Maheen Karim is a graduate of the prestigious Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. After working with globally acclaimed fashion houses in the west Maheen returned to Pakistan to start her own label in spring 2006.

MAHEEN KARIM is a ready to wear label that is Pakistan’s first to specialise in women’s western eveningwear. It focuses on the creation of eclectic luxury garments with the aide of novel cuts and a silhouette with universal charm.

She was recently awarded the prestigious Lux Style Award 2008 for achievement as best Prêt-a-Porter designer in Pakistan. Whilst still in its infancy this label has already seen immense success and soaring sales in prominent boutiques all over Pakistan as well as UAE.

Maheen aims to use the spectacular raw materials and craftsmanship obtainable to her in Pakistan to its fullest promise in order to create garments of global appeal. The passion to create trendy silhouettes and experiment with shape allows her to furnish the woman of 21st century Pakistan and abroad with a sanctuary where she is able find glamour and glitz in a garment without feeling the need to travel overseas in search of grandeur.

Her Spring Summer 2009 collection is an amalgamation of fun spirited holiday eveningwear and luxury occasion wear for the upcoming celebratory season. The new season brings out a host of ravishing new trends and colour palettes. Here we see a munificent use of vibrant inks and glitzy golds at the same time as maintaining the innocence and chastity of ivory and pure white.

These exquisite pieces not only stand out because of the form they take but they are also galvanized in an immaculate elegance with the use of remarkably unusual methods of embellishment. Swarovki crystals embroidered into a tuxedo top dress shirt or even a tailcoat, hence adorning the chic elegance in the woman of today and styling her dapper.

Kamiar Rokni

I am a fashion designer based in Lahore. I have been in the business for almost ten years. I started the label karma in 2000 and helped establish s a leading brand of couture and prêt a porter until parting ways in 2007 to create my own label" Kamiar Rokni". I am a women's wear designer with a fairly wide range, and am comfortable with many styles and enjoy making eastern, western, bridal, fusion, casual and formal clothes. I am very passionate about what I do and have met with success and recognition early on in my career. I have three Lux Style awards under my belt, an Indus style award and a Maku Hari Grande prix award from Japan from my student days.

I see myself working in fashion for as long as I can however recently I have branched out into the world of media. I am a chat show host for Dawn News, my show "No Reservations" is in its third season and I am also a radio jockey for FM89. I occasionally write as a social commentator. I believe in finding avenues to express myself through. One day I intend to act, sing, dance and sail around the world.

Wasim Akram

A dream cricketer. At his best Wasim Akram plays like most of us would wish to. He has complete mastery over swing and seam, and sometimes moves the ball both ways in one delivery. All this comes at high speed from a quick, ball-concealing action, and is backed up by the threat of a dangerous bouncer or deceptive slower delivery. Wasim is rated by many as the best left-arm fast bowler of all time and his career record certainly bears that out - along with the high regard of his contemporaries. 

He hits like a kicking horse, but batsmanship is one skill in which Wasim has underachieved, despite a monumental 257 against Zimbabwe at Sheikhupura in 1996-97. He was the natural successor to Imran Khan as Pakistan's leader and captain, but the match-fixing controversies of the 1990s harmed him, blunting his edge and dimming his lustre. Though he reached the 500-wicket landmark in ODIs in the World Cup, he was among the eight players dumped after Pakistan's miserable performance. He retired shortly after, after a brief spell with Hampshire.

Aisam-ul-haq Qureshi

Aisam-ul-haq Qureshi Born in Lahore, Pakistan, Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi is Pakistan's top professional tennis player and is ranked in top 50 doubles players. He is the only Pakistani tennis player to reach the final of a Grand Slam, which he has done in 2010 competing in both mixed doubles and men's doubles at the US Open

Like other pakistani boys, Aisam used to play cricket and soccer in his school. Along with that he started playing tennis as a hobby. It all started when he was 14 years old when his mother took him to the tennis club and they used to play with each other.

"I never thought I would be a professional tennis player when I started", says Aisam

When he turned to 16, he got into the ITF team which sponsored him for two years. This was the turning point of his life. Later on, he had a successful junior career he managed to get to No.7 (in juniors).

In 1998, Aisamul haq became world number 11 player in junior tennis. This achievement made him Pakistan's highest-ranked tennis player. By the time he had defeated several world junior champions including Andy Roddick (American), Taylor Dent (American), Artem Derepaasco, Simon Dickson (British), Oliver Rochus and Nathan Healy (Australian). After that, he mostly played Pakistan Davis Cup team and ATP tournaments and began appearing ITF tournaments all over the world. After winning plenty of titles, Aisam jumped to top 200 players of the world in men's single and was counted in top 100 in doubles.

In 2002, Aisam played with Israel's Amir Hadad in Wimbledon as well as in US Open. They got eliminated in the 3rd and 2nd round of wimbledon and US open respectively.

In 2007, Aisam became the third tennis player of Pakistan to qualify for the Wimbledon. Khwaja Saeed Hai was the first man to represent Pakistan at Wimbledon singles in 1954, 1955 and 1956. Then it was Haroon Rahim who played at Wimbledon in 1976.

Aisam is not the only Tennis player in his family. His mother Mrs Nausheen Ehtesham was also a tennis player winning Pakistan's several ladies single titles in 1982. She has also represented Pakistan in the Fed Cup, which is women’s version of the Davis Cup. Her father Khawaja Iftikhar Ahmad was also a tennis player who represented both Pakistan as well as India in Davis Cup. In response to the question asked in an interview about his entry into the Tennis, Aisam said, "Tennis is in my blood". It would not be wrong to say that Aisam inherited Tennis from his ancestors.

Khawaja Saad Rafique

Khawaja Saad Rafique(born November 4, 1962 in Lahore) is a Pakistani politician hailing from Punjab. His father Kh Mohammad Rafiq was a renouned Pakistani politician was one of the pioneers of opposition politics in Pakistan. He is an active central leader of PML-N and has been elected as Member of the Pakistan National Assembly since 2002 and was reelected in the Pakistani General Election in 2008. He was the Federal Minister for Culture, with additional portfolio of Youth Affairs for four months in Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani's first cabinet.

He resigned as the minister on May 12, 2008, along with nine other federal ministers of his party under protest for the restoration of deposed judges. He is a graduate of Government M.A.O. College in Lahore and received his masters from University of the Punjab in 1986. He has previously served as Member of the Punjab Assembly. He was also appointed as the special assistant of prime minister for youth affairs with the status of federal minister of state in 1999. He is a former student leader. He is a member of Central Working Committee of PML-N. He was one of the loudest voices in the country raised against the General Mushurruf dictatorship.

Moonis Elahi

Moonis Elahi is a 3rd generation politician. He is the elder son of Ch. Pervaiz Elahi former Chief Minister of Punjab, nephew of Ch. Shujaat Hussain and grandson of Ch. Zahoor Elahi who was a very prominent politician of his time.

Moonis Elahi was born on 12th April 1976 at Lahore. He studied at Lahore American School, where he studied till 10th grade and from there he moved to the London campus of the same school and graduated from there. He went to pursue his higher education from Wharton School of Business, Pennsylvania USA and did his BBA from there.

After the completion of his studies he returned to Pakistan in 1999. He took part in the general election held on 18th February 2008 for the first time and elected as MPA from Gujrat.

Meeran Karim

Meeran Karim is a political activist and organizer from Lahore, Pakistan, campaigning for a number of democratic causes, including the restoration of the deposed Pakistani judges in 2007, when she rallied with the masses in the streets and worked with a local newspaper covering the historic Lawyers’ Movement that swept Pakistan. In order to encourage youth activism, she established a youth parliament at her school which provides a platform for young people to voice their opinions. In order to promote women’s empowerment, she interned at AGHS legal aid cell in Pakistan, which provides legal aid to female victims of violence. She worked under her mentor, the prominent human rights’ lawyer, Asma Jehangir.

Ms. Karim represented Pakistan and young people from all over the world at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland earlier this year, and she has taken part in other conferences, including the International Youth Leadership Conference (Prague, Czech Republic), the Young Leaders Conference (Lahore), and an Initiative for Peace (India).

When Ms. Karim was nine, a military dictator overthrew the democratically elected government in Pakistan, and as a result, she attended her first protest at a relatively young age. Since then, she has always been concerned with the challenges facing Pakistan. Later this year, she will be starting her undergraduate studies at Mount Holyoke College (US), where she hopes to study international relations and political science. After completing her education, Ms. Karim intends to return home to work for Pakistan.

Shahbaz Sharif

Mian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, also known as Shahbaz Sharif is a well known Pakistani politician and currently President of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) (PML-N). He is the brother of Nawaz Sharif, former Prime Minister of Pakistan. He is the incumbent Chief Minister of Pakistan's most populous province Punjab since 2008. Previously, he held this position from 1997 to 1999, when his government was overturned along with all other provincial and federal governments by dictator Pervaiz Musharraf then army chief of Pakistan, in a pre-planned coup.

History and Background

He was considered a very strict administrator and good chief minister of Punjab but he also get criticism that he was a powerful chief minister of Punjab because his brother was Prime Minister of Pakistan.

He has credit of renewing Lahore and lot of development work in Punjab. Despite all controversies, Shahbaz Sharif is remembered as the best cheif minister any province in Pakistan ever had.

Family

Mian Shahbaz Sharif is the second son of a Kashmiri, named Mian Muhammad Sharif. Shahbaz Sharif's first marriage was with his cousin Nusrat Shahbaz in 1973, with the approval of his father, the late Mian Muhammad Sharif. They have two sons, Hamza and Salman and three daughters. Hamza Shahbaz is in politics and is a member of the National Assembly. Salman Shahbaz, educated at Oxford, concentrates mainly on business. Shahbaz Sharif's second marriage was with Aaliya Honey in 1993-94. They have one daughter, Khadija. He divorced her while in exile in Saudi Arabia. It is claimed that Shahbaz Sharif has a third marriage with Tehmina Durrani but he never publicly admitted it. This is the third marriage for both of them.

First term Chief Minister of Punjab

He was considered a strict and demanding administrator as the chief minister of Punjab. He received some criticism because he took charge of the office when his brother was the Prime Minister of Pakistan [citation needed] He was ousted along with his brother in the 1999 military coup, which brought Pervez Musharraf to power. He had been a famous chief minster due to his strict administration, workaholic nature and public welfare projects all over the Punjab province. He is known as Khadama Punjab these days.

Exile

Shahbaz Sharif lived in exile in London with his brother, the exiled former Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif after coming from Saudi Arabia. He once tried coming back to Pakistan following a High Court decision that he was free to come back whenever he wanted. On May 11, 2004 his plane landed at Allama Iqbal International Airport Lahore but he was arrested and again deported to Saudi Arabia within a few hours.

President of Pakistan Muslim League (N)

Mian Shahbaz Sharif was elected President of PML (N) on 3 August 2002 while in exile in Saudi Arabia. He was re-elected President of PML(N) for a second term on 2 August 2006.

Popular among educated, civil & armed services and the middle-class, he is thought of as a strong future candidate to become Prime Minister, of Pakistan.

Return to Pakistan

In August 2007, Supreme Court of Pakistan gave its verdict which allowed Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif to return back to Pakistan.

On September 7, 2007, judge Shabbir Hussain Chatha ordered police to arrest Shahbaz Sharif, brother of Nawaz Sharif and produce him before the court, after the hearing in Lahore. The court ruled that "Shahbaz Sharif should be arrested (at) whichever airport he lands at." Nawaz Sharif too faces detention on the pair's planned return from exile to Pakistan on September 10, 2007, to challenge President Pervez Musharraf's 8-year military rule.

His brother Mian Shahbaz Sharif changed return plans at the last minute.

Sharif was not allowed to participate in the 2008 elections because of allegations against him. His son Hamza Sharif was supposed to run from a NA seat in Lahore but due to the death of a candidate the elections were postponed.

Second term as Chief Minister

On 8 June 2008, Shahbaz Sharif was elected as Chief Minister of Punjab, receiving 265 votes from the members of the 371-seat provincial assembly. He was the only candidate, and the Pakistan Muslim League-Q boycotted the vote. Speaking after his election, he called on Musharraf to resign. He won a vote of confidence on 9 June, receiving 266 votes.

Mian Shahbaz Sharif after becoming Chief Minister of Punjab was welcomed by the public and media who were keen to see how he pursues his unfinished agenda of public welfare and reforms in education sector.

His second term as Chief Minister lasted until 25 February 2009, when a three-member bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, headed by Justice Moosa K. Leghari, declared him ineligible to contest elections, took away his seat in the Punjab Assembly, and thereby removed him from office. On 31 March 2009, a five-member larger bench of the Supreme Court granted stay order on an earlier decision of the apex court, in which Mian Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif were disqualified from holding public office. As a result, Shahbaz Sharif returned to office as Chief Minister. He is fighting against corruption in the society in general and government functionaries in particular. He seems to have vision; a mega plan to transform Lahore into a true High-Tech City in Pakistan as well as an important high tech center in the entire world.

Sardar Muhammad Chaudhry Former IGP Punjab

Sardar Muhammad Chaudhry (born. 1937, died 2004) practiced law briefly and then joined the Police Service of Pakistan in 1963. He served in the field but the major portion of his career was spent in the Intelligence, FIA and Narcotics Control Board, where he had a unique opportunity to observe and influence The Power Game that our rulers are wont to play.

His last position, before retiring in March 1997, was as Inspector General of Police Punjab, the largest and the most important province of Pakistan. Because of his rich experience and deep insight he emerged as a guide, a wise counsel of the police and government. He is held in high esteem by police force as well as the general public for his high integrity, fairplay and humane approach.