RAWALPINDI: At a small tea shop in Pakistan’s garrison city of Rawalpindi, Nazar Hussain pours piping hot tea from a kettle into small cups and hands them away to eager customers, many of them regulars who have been frequenting the shop for decades.
This is the scene from a typical evening at Ludhiana Tea Shop, located in the narrow streets of Rawalpindi’s old Lal Kurti area. The tea shop takes its name after the northwestern Indian city of Ludhiana, from where its owners migrated to Rawalpindi in 1947.
“My grandfather named this business in the memory of his hometown in India,” Hussain, who took charge of the shop in 1976, told Arab News, adding that he also sold dairy products and ghee.
“We are a family of milk sellers,” he said. “In India, we used to do the same. We were milk sellers and we used to own buffaloes.”
The shop has been serving tea to customers for the past 77 years. Agha Asghar Saeed, 72, is one of them and has been coming here since he was young.
“I was born here. I spent my childhood here, my youth and now my old age as well,” he told Arab News. “I’ve been having this tea since then.”
During the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Saeed would break his fast at home but have tea at Ludhiana Tea Shop.
“I am addicted to this tea,” he explained.
But what inspires such loyalty in customers?
“You have to buy good quality milk,” Hussain said, adding that he purchased pure and organic milk for his shop that was a bit expensive. “Not everyone knows how to buy good milk.”
He maintained that most milk sellers in Pakistan did not sell pure milk, making him take several sips while buying to check the fat content.
Just like the milk, he continued, the quality of the tea leaves was also important.
The price of one cup of tea used to be around five paisas several years ago.
“Now, we sell it for Rs60 (22 cents),” he added.
The rich taste of Ludhiana Tea Shop means Muhammad Hasnain and his friends visit it every day rather than go to other tea shops in the neighborhood.
“Obviously, everybody wants a good bang for their buck,” Hasnain told Arab News. “The most important thing for anyone is that the quality should be good, and both quality and quantity are good here.”
Ludhiana Tea Shop offers customers deep-fried sweet and savory snacks, such as pakoras, samosas, jalebis and spring rolls, delectable items popularly consumed in Pakistan with tea.
Muhammad Shoaib Khan, a man in his 30s, informed he visited the shop with his friends at least a couple of times every day.
“We come on our bikes and travel for at least 1.5 kilometer on every trip,” Khan told Arab News. “It roughly adds up to 6 kilometers.”
Despite the cost of petrol, which has surged in recent times, Khan said he visited the shop for tea because it was worth it.
Hussain said he understood why customers came from far-off places just to have a cup of tea at his 77-year-old shop.
“Everyone cannot make good tea,” he said. “They don’t pour their heart in it. They lack passion. Making good tea is something that can only be done from the heart.”
In Rawalpindi, 77-year-old tea shop named after India’s Ludhiana is still a hit with customers
https://arab.news/v7ng4
In Rawalpindi, 77-year-old tea shop named after India’s Ludhiana is still a hit with customers
- Ludhiana Tea Shop owners migrated from India’s northwestern city at the time of Partition in 1947
- Customers say they come from far-off places to relish the taste of tea at the shop which they find unique
Pakistan reports fresh polio case from Balochistan, taking 2024 tally to 46
- Poliovirus detected in male child from Killa Saifullah district, says polio eradication program
- Pakistan’s immunization campaigns suffer from misinformation campaigns and militant attacks
KARACHI: Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province has detected a fresh poliovirus case in a male child, the country’s polio eradication program said on Tuesday, taking the total number of cases reported this year to 46 as Islamabad struggles to clamp down on the infection.
The National Institute of Health’s (NIH) laboratory confirmed detecting the virus in a male child from Killa Saifullah district in Balochistan, the program said.
“This is the second polio case from Killa Saifullah, where several environmental samples have tested positive for WPV1,” the Pakistan Polio Eradication Program said. “So far, 23 cases have been reported from Balochistan province, 12 from Sindh province, nine from KP and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.”
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries where polio remains endemic. Since late 2018, Pakistan has seen a resurgence of cases and increased spread of poliovirus, highlighting the fragility of gains achieved in the preceding years when cases dropped in 2023 to six, from 20 in 2022 and just one in 2022. Misinformation about vaccinations and attacks by militants on polio teams have been major impediments to immunization campaigns.
At least seven people, including five school students, were killed and 23 injured in a blast in southwestern Pakistan that targeted a polio vaccination team vehicle on Friday, police said. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Last Tuesday, a policeman was killed in an attack on a health office that manages door-to-door polio vaccination campaigns.
The attacks have coincided with Pakistan’s third nationwide polio campaign this year, launched last week with the aim to administer vaccine drops to more than 45 million children.
Pakistani Prime Minister’s Focal Person for Polio Eradication, Ayesha Raza Farooq, has said that the government is revamping its polio eradication program to make the country free of the virus by mid next year.
“WPV1 has been detected in 76 districts, indicating widespread circulation of the virus and a continued serious risk to children’s well-being from a disease that can paralyze them for life,” the polio eradication program said.
“Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five is essential to keep them protected.”
Pakistan PM says policy rate reduction to enhance business activities, boost employment
- Pakistan’s central bank slashed key policy rate by 250 basis points to 15 percent on Monday
- With fourth straight reduction since June, Islamabad aims to revive sluggish economy
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has welcomed the central bank’s decision to cut the policy rate by 250 basis points, saying the move would help boost the country’s business activities and enhance employment opportunities, state-run media reported on Tuesday.
Pakistan’s central bank slashed its key policy rate by 250 basis points to 15 percent on Monday for a fourth straight reduction since June. The development takes place as Islamabad attempts to revive a sluggish, fragile $350 billion economy as inflation eases.
Monday’s move follows cuts of 150 bps in June, 100 bps in July, and 200 in September that have taken the rate from an all-time high of 22 percent, set in June 2023 and left unchanged for a year. It takes the total cuts to 700 bps in under five months.
“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif says the reduction in policy rate will enhance business activities, exports and employment opportunities in the country,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.
Sharif was chairing a meeting of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) parliamentary party on Monday when he touched upon the central bank’s move. The premier noted that inflation has reduced from an alarming 38 percent in May 2023 to 7 percent at present.
The Pakistani premier informed members of the PML-N parliamentary party about his visit to Saudi Arabia and Qatar last week, saying that “a new chapter” has been added to the Pakistan-Saudi investment partnership.
“The Saudi leadership assured all kinds of support for the stability and development of Pakistan’s economy,” Sharif said according to the state broadcaster.
The Pakistani prime minister also informed the lawmakers about his visit to Qatar, saying that the Qatari leadership also assured an increase in investment for Pakistan. He said talks were held between both sides on giving “a practical shape” to projects worth $3 billion in Pakistan.
“He said Qatar will invest in various sectors including aviation, hoteling, information technology and energy sectors in Pakistan,” the state broadcaster said. “Shehbaz Sharif said the government is taking steps on a priority basis to facilitate investment and increase foreign investment in Pakistan.”
Pakistan parliament approves bills to extend tenure of services chiefs to five years
- Extension in services of army, navy and air force chiefs follows controversial amendments to the constitution last month
- The opposition PTI party condemns the amendments for changing Pakistan “from a democracy into a monarchy”
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Assembly and Senate on Monday approved bills to extend the tenure of the army, navy, and air force chiefs from three to five years, amid protests by the opposition benches.
The office of the army chief is considered to be the most powerful in the country, with the army having ruled Pakistan for almost half of its 75-year history. Even when not directly in power, the army is considered to be the invisible guiding hand in politics and holds considerable sway in internal security, foreign policy, and economic affairs, among other domains.
Six bills were passed by the upper and lower houses on Monday evening, including one to increase the term of the services chiefs.
“In the said Act, in section 8A, in sub-section (1), for the expression “three (03)” the word “five (05)” shall be substituted,” read the bill, seeking to amend the Pakistan Army Act, 1952.
Similar bills were passed to increase the duration of the country’s naval and air force chiefs to five years also.
“The purpose of these amendments are to make consistent the Pakistan Army Act, 1952 (XXXIX of 1952) The Pakistan Navy Ordinance, 1961 (Ordinance No. XXXV of 1961) and The Pakistan Air Force Act, 1953 (VI of 1953) with the maximum tenure of the Chief of the Army Staff, the Chief of the Naval Staff and the Chief of the Air Staff and to make consequential amendments for uniformity in the aforementioned laws.”
Speaking outside parliament, the chairman of the opposition PTI party, Gohar Ali Khan, said:
“Today, democracy has been changed into a monarchy.”
Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Omar Ayub Khan, said “modifying the service chiefs’ tenure is not a good thing for the country and the armed forces.”
The passage of the new bills follows controversial amendments made to the constitution last month, granting lawmakers the authority to nominate the chief justice of Pakistan, who previously used to be automatically appointed according to the principle of seniority.
The amendments allowed the government to bypass the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, and appoint Justice Yahya Afridi as the country’s top judge, replacing former chief justice Qazi Faez Isa.
The opposition and the legal fraternity had opposed the amendments, arguing that they were aimed at granting more power to the executive in making judicial appointments and curtailing the independence of the judiciary. The government denies this.
Pakistani forces kill six militants in shootouts near border with Afghanistan — military
- Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan, has witnessed a number of attacks recently
- Pakistan blames the surge in militancy on militants operating out of Afghanistan, Kabul denies the allegations
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces have killed six militants in two separate engagements in the country’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, the Pakistani military said on Monday.
A militant was killed in an exchange of fire during an intelligence-based operation in North Waziristan’s Dosali area, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing.
In the second incident, Pakistani forces intercepted a group of militants while infiltrating the country’s border with Afghanistan in the South Waziristan district. Five militants were killed as a result.
“Pakistan has consistently been asking Interim Afghan Government to ensure effective border management on their side of the border,” the ISPR said in a statement.
“Interim Afghan Government is expected to fulfil its obligations and deny the use of Afghan soil by Khwarij [militants] for perpetuating acts of terrorism against Pakistan.”
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which borders Afghanistan, has witnessed a number of attacks by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militant groups that targeted security forces convoys and check posts, besides targeted killings and kidnappings of law enforcers and government officials in recent months.
Pakistan has frequently accused neighboring Afghanistan of sheltering and supporting militant groups, urging the Taliban administration in Kabul to prevent its territory from being used by armed factions to launch cross-border attacks.
Afghan officials, however, deny involvement, insisting Pakistan’s security issues are an internal matter of Islamabad.
Pakistan Navy test-fires ship-launched ballistic missile ranging 350 kilometers
- The missile is capable of striking land and sea targets with ‘high precision’
- Pakistan, India consider their missile programs as deterrent against each other
KARACHI: Pakistan Navy has successfully test-fired a ship-launched ballistic missile having a range of 350 km and capable of striking both land and sea targets, it said on Monday.
Pakistan sees its missile development as a deterrent against nuclear-armed arch-foe India. Both countries have fought multiple wars since their independence from Britain in 1947.
The two South Asian neighbors have long been developing missiles of varying ranges in a bid to ensure deterrence against possible attacks from each other, with analysts often warning these developments could push the region into an arms race.
“Pakistan Navy conducted a successful flight test of an indigenously developed ship-launched ballistic missile,” the Directorate General of Public Relations (DGPR) of Pakistan Navy said in a statement.
“The weapon system with 350km range is capable of engaging land and sea targets with high precision.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikldB3jieWo
The flight test of the weapon system, equipped with a state-of-the-art navigation system and maneuverability features, was witnessed by Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf, senior naval officers, scientists and engineers.
President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir and Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar Sidhu congratulated the participating navy units and scientists on the development.
