Here’s what’s happening across the border: Pakistani advertising sees growing Chinese influence, Karachi sweats amid ‘power tussle’.
Long-distance married couple set up crowdfunding campaign to meet in Karachi
A crowdfunded online campaign was set up to help a married couple reunite in Karachi. Regan Anderson, a resident of Texas, needs $2,000 to travel to Pakistan to visit her husband Ali Umer, a Pakistan citizen.
According to Anderson, Pakistanis have been generous with their donations to the campaign. “When I started the page, initially, I was unsure if anything would come of it. About 75 per cent of my donations came from Pakistani citizens,” she said.
Anderson and Umer met last year in Dallas and got married after spending the summer together. Umer, a student at Ziauddin Medical University in Karachi, had subsequently returned home to his family. Meanwhile, Anderson, who owns a business in Dallas, started a ‘fund-my-travel’ campaign to visit Karachi and meet Umer’s relatives who had not been able to attend the wedding.
“Ali’s family and friends have been very supportive and welcoming. I think people know love when they see it and that inspires them, so they send their help and support,” Anderson said.
With CPEC, Pak advertising sees growing Chinese influence
Pakistan has been seeing a massive influx of Chinese citizens since the launch of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) initiative. There is growing interaction between citizens of the two countries, and advertisers have taken note of their strengthening ties. A recent viral advertisement for a spice manufacturer, Shan Masala, featured a Chinese woman cooking biryani to win the hearts of her Pakistani neighbours.
Other nationalities have also found their way into Pakistani advertisements. An ad for National Foods, for example, shows a white woman learning local mannerisms over a meal with friends.
Although these advertisements have received a good response, they have also spawned more than one parody.
Ministers worry over lack of agricultural projects in CPEC
Members of the federal cabinet expressed concern this week over the lack of agricultural projects under the multi-million dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the Dawn reported Wednesday. Responding to the concerns, interior minister Ahsan Iqbal, who also heads the planning and development division, said the agricultural sector was receiving indirect benefits from energy projects under CPEC.
According to an official handout, CPEC projects in the energy sector would contribute over 17,000 MW to the national grid on completion.
Karachi continues to suffer power cuts amid blame game between power, gas providers
Karachi is grappling with long power outages thanks to a long-drawn fight between electricity provider K-Electric (KE) and natural gas company Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC). K-Electric has slammed the government-run SSGC for supplying gas at low pressure, which has led to the load sheddings. The SSGC, however, has said it has been supplying gas at the regular pressure. The companies have also taken their blame game online on social media platforms like Twitter, where the two regularly take jabs at each other.