CALLING ALL GOING THOUGH ISLAMABAD PAKISTAN- OFF TOPIC

[Omid 0]

I do not count anymore. I got deleted and never put back on. BOO HOO HOO Me.

Mary don't say that - you'll always count to me!!! It's always good to see your posts - I miss you!!

Welcome to all the newcomers - wishing you all the best and speedy reunions insha'Allah...

still haven't called DOS - I'm trying to see how long it takes before I break down and call it sure would be nice if they called us this time around

Good luck to all in the next couple of weeks insha'Allah!!

[babybunny 2]

talked to my attorney - nothing can be done .. just gotta sit back and WAIT

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

talked to my attorney - nothing can be done .. just gotta sit back and WAIT

Are you still in Pakistan

[hafiz 1]

shut up agent smith

[hafiz 1]

One would have expected that the power situation would have improved after the initial hiccups following the sale of the KESC. Instead, power outages have gone from bad to worse. Every day, on an average there are three to four power outages in any given locality in the city. Sometimes there are more at night. With temperatures soaring to record levels, when will this madness end?

Several months have passed since the new German-led management took over the KESC. The power outages have only got more frequent. The KESC management has, in its wisdom, blamed almost everyone for the problem - from power thieves who use the kundas, to normal consumers whom it accused of also stealing power by-passing their meters to its own employees whom it accused of sabotage.

Employees at the KESC are demoralized and disenchanted. The public is angry. Consumers, who face growing power bills, are furious. But the KESC management is sitting pretty. Almost nothing has been done to tackle consumer complaints. The KESC complaint line is invariably busy. No one addresses individual complaints. Staff still ask for extra money to address the most minor faults. The complaint centers resemble mini-fortresses - which shows how much anger the public has for this utility.

Who does one complain to? Being a public sector utility in the past, the people could ask the government to intervene. Now, where does one go for redressing the problem? The government has shown almost no initiative in addressing the growing rise in the number of complaints and public anger. To add insult to injury, the minister for water and power said in May that the country has surplus power. And yet, KESC starves its consumers and tortures them on a daily basis.

Almost nothing has been done by the German-led management to address public complaints. The only work has been to spend millions of rupees on a misguided ad campaign in which - again - the people are blamed for the problem.

The people of Karachi say that even if a fraction of this agony was suffered by residents of Islamabad, the government would take notice and act. But for the people of Karachi, the suffering is yet to end. The summer will drag into the monsoon and the power situation will continue to remain erratic. One wonders who the KESC management will blame then?

[babybunny 2]

talked to my attorney - nothing can be done .. just gotta sit back and WAIT

Are you still in Pakistan

no.. Javed wants me to wait a min.. in the mean time I am holding my breath..

[hafiz 1]

whats the second ticker about

[babybunny 2]

whats the second ticker about

I will PM you.

[hafiz 1]

wohoo NVC gives me case number yeah

[babybunny 2]

congrats.. now your ready for the good part..

[PSoft 0]

Cellphone snatching in Pakistan

INCIDENTS of cellphone snatching at gunpoint are increasing day by day. An average 70 to 80 cellphones are stolen every day in Karachi alone. In most cases the perpetrators kill their victims on resistance. In many cases while snatching cellphones the perpetrators also snatch cash and other valuables from their victims.

Cellphone snatching can be reduced by taking certain precautions.

* Do not carry an expensive cellphone so that if at all it is snatched, the loss of money spent on it will be less.

* Always carry your cellphone in a way that it is not visible to the people and put it on vibration instead of bell or buzzer so that it does not indicate presence of cellphone with you.

- Avoid attending calls on your cellphone if you are passing through or are in an area suspected to be unsafe. You can however respond to the caller once you are out of that area.

- Avoid using your cellphone while travelling in the car and always keep the doors of your car locked and windows rolled up. You are most vulnerable to cellphone snatchers and robbers while at an intersection.

- Do not carry more cash than it is necessary. Keep between Rs500 and Rs1000 in your purse and the rest should be carried hidden with you in some other way so that if your purse is also snatched, the entire money is not taken away.

- Do not carry more than one credit card in your purse. Keep the remaining credit cards, ATM cards including their pin codes, your NIC and driving licence separately hidden with you in some way.

- If you are confronted with a cellphone snatcher / criminal remain calm and try to look confident. Do not quarrel or try to resist and let him take what he wants from you, but do not volunteer to give him anything.

- If your cellphone is snatched, inform immediately the company which provided the connection to your cellphone to block the SIM and lodge an FIR with the nearest police station. Remember you can be caught and prosecuted if the police intercept conversation by a terrorist or criminal on your cellphone number.

Lastly, the police in plain clothes should hunt down cellphone snatchers. This will prove as a great deterrence for cellphone snatchers as well as other street criminals.

[saeedeh 0]

Hey PSoft

Did u ever email the embassy to ask when they will give you interview date?

Or if they have reviewed ur documents even?

i mailed them to ask and they said they will hopefully review them this week....Argh!

[PSoft 0]

Hey PSoft

Did u ever email the embassy to ask when they will give you interview date?

Or if they have reviewed ur documents even?

i mailed them to ask and they said they will hopefully review them this week....Argh!

Yes I did

Edited June 27, 2006 by PSoft

[babybunny 2]

I thought this video was cute. so passing it along from the ME forum..

is about the cost of a muslim wedding..

[fooki 0]

I am waiting for Interview date too

1. Embassy gives interview dates or NVC?

2. How long before embassy sends interview date and packet, before interview?

any input please

Fooki