PESHAWAR: One is greeted by the sounds of glass bottles clinking and their brass lids pop-opening as they enter a nearly 90-year-old soft drink outlet, named ‘Taj Soda,’ in the historic Qissa Khwani bazaar in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar.
The visitors are led through a three-feet-wide passage into a hall room, which boasts benches and tables for customers to sit and enjoy their favorite drinks, with its walls adorned with pictures that depict the city’s history through the ages.
Taj Soda, established by Taj Muhammad more than a decade before the partition of the Indian subcontinent, claims to be the “oldest” carbonated drink outlet in Pakistan, which few say provides an alternative to Peshawar’s famed ‘qahwa,’ or green tea, in summers.
“My grandfather’s name was Taj Muhammad, who established this business in 1936. After him, my father Mukhtar Hussain, may he rest in peace, he ran the business for his whole life for 76 years,” Waqas Hussain, Muhammad’s 33-year-old grandson who currently runs the establishment, told Arab News on Friday.
“Our work goes on in six months of summer.”
The outlet, which offers a range of flavors like raspberry, blueberry, pomegranate, apple, rose, banana, mango and mint, is mostly frequented by customers from April till September, though it offers the cherished soft drinks round the year, according to the owner.
A simple drink, made with carbonated water, sugar, sodium citrate and benzoate, is sold for Rs50, while those with the addition of milk cost Rs80.
“We start [selling] soup in winter and we do serve cold drinks, soda water, but it is not like this [as high in demand as in summers],” Hussain said.
Usman Khan, a 21-year-old resident of Peshawar who took a group of friends on a tour of the city, said he brought them to Taj Soda to introduce them to the historic establishment, which was said to be older than even 7 Up, an American brand of lemon lime-flavored, non-caffeinated soft drink.
“They all are my friends, they are from different places. One is from Balochistan and the other is from Kohistan [in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]. I have brought all of them here,” Khan told Arab News.
“The reason is that it is an old building and was made in 1936. I heard that Taj Soda was established [even] before 7 Up, but this is our bad luck that ... Taj Soda is restricted only to this place. No one knows about it outside [the city].”
But for Hussain, Taj Soda means more than just profit. It is about keeping the legacy of his father and grandfather alive.
“We try not to spoil the name of [our] elders and make the best product, and people trust us,” he told Arab News, with a sense of pride.
“Wherever we go, people know us. We feel happy about it.”
In Pakistan’s Peshawar, famed ‘Taj Soda’ has been cooling summers for nearly 90 years
https://arab.news/9f9j7
In Pakistan’s Peshawar, famed ‘Taj Soda’ has been cooling summers for nearly 90 years
- Taj Soda in Peshawar’s historic Qissa Khwani bazaar offers raspberry, blueberry, mint and several other seasonal flavors
- For some, the establishment, set up in 1936, provides an alternative to the city’s famed ‘qahwa,’ or green tea, in summers
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam becomes most successful T20I men’s captain after Ireland win
- Pakistan beat Ireland on Sunday by seven wickets, making it Babar Azam’s 45th win as skipper
- Pakistan and Ireland will play the final of three-match T20I series in Dublin on Tuesday
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan skipper Babar Azam became the most successful men’s T20I captain after his side clinched a seven-wicket victory over Ireland recently, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Monday.
Pakistan beat Ireland on Sunday by seven wickets and more than three overs to spare, chasing the Irish team’s impressive target of 194 runs. Azam made 0 runs off four balls after he was dismissed by Graham Hume when he edged the ball straight into the hands of Lorcan Tucker but his poor performance had no effect on Pakistan.
An impressive 140-run partnership between Mohammad Rizwan and left-arm batter Fakhar Zaman helped Pakistan to victory over Ireland. it also helped Azam to a new record.
“It took Babar past Uganda’s Brian Masaba for the most wins by male T20I captains and in front of former skippers in the ilk of England’s Eoin Morgan, India’s MS Dhoni and Australia’s Aaron Finch,” the ICC said.
Separately, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi congratulated Azam in Dublin after the match and presented him a jersey with the words “45 T20I wins” written on its back. Naqvi also presented fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi with a jersey for taking 300 international wickets in his career so far. The fast bowler also achieved the feat in the match against Ireland after he returned figures of 3/49.
The three-match series stands leveled at 1-1 after Pakistan’s win. Ireland beat the 2009 T20 world champions by five wickets in an upset victory in the series opener on Friday.
Pakistan will head to England for a four-match T20I series after the final match of the Ireland series on Tuesday. Following the England series, with matches scheduled at Headingley (22 May), Birmingham (25 May), Cardiff (28 May), and The Oval, London (30 May), both England and Pakistan will head to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.
England will face Scotland in Barbados on June 4 in their opening match, while Pakistan will launch their campaign against the United States (US) in Dallas on June 6. Pakistan will take on arch-rivals India on June 9 in New York which is set to be one of the most anticipated clashes of the T20 World Cup.
Egypt’s Zakaria beats Pakistan’s Iqbal to clinch international squash competition in Karachi
- Mohamed Zakaria beat Nasir Iqbal 11-13, 11-4, 11-5 and 11-7 to clinch the international squash competition
- Five local players and 19 international ones participated in the CNS International Squash Competition in Karachi
ISLAMABAD: Egypt’s Mohamed Zakaria defeated Pakistan’s Nasir Iqbal on Sunday to clinch the 16th Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) International Squash Championship 2024 in Karachi.
Held in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi, five domestic and 19 international squash players participated in the championship. Competitors from Egypt, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Czech Republic, Japan, Germany, Great Britain and the Netherlands took part in the competition, Pakistan Army’s media wing said in a statement on Sunday.
Zakaria beat Iqbal 11-13, 11-4, 11-5, and 11-7 to clinch the trophy and walk away with the lucrative prize money of $20,000.
“Mohammed Zakaria of Egypt declared the winner of the 16th Chief of the Naval Staff International Squash Championship 2024,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the army’s media wing, said.
The closing ceremony of the tournament was held at the Pakistan Navy Roshan Khan Jahangir Khan Squash Complex in Karachi. Pakistan Navy Chief Admiral Naveed Ashraf was the chief guest at the ceremony.
“The naval chief distributed prizes to the winners and runners-up players of the championship,” the ISPR said, adding that the closing ceremony was attended by a large number of civil and military dignitaries, sponsors, national players and fans.
Pakistan has always been counted among the world’s top squash-playing nations, introducing legendary players of the sport such as Jahangir Khan, Jansher Khan, Azam Khan, and Qamar Zaman to the world. Between themselves, Jansher Khan and Jahangir Khan won the World Squash Open title 14 times for Pakistan during the ‘80s and the ‘90s.
Pakistan’s deputy PM arrives in Beijing to bolster ties, enhance economic cooperation
- Ishaq Dar will co-chair strategic dialogue with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on four-day visit
- Dar to meet Chinese leaders, senior ministers and corporate executive on sidelines of conference
ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar arrived in Beijing on Monday to take part in a strategic dialogue with Chinese FM Wang Yi, Pakistan’s foreign office said in a statement, with his four-day visit aimed at bolstering bilateral ties, enhancing economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.
Beijing has been one of Islamabad’s most reliable foreign partners in recent years, readily providing financial assistance to bail out its often-struggling neighbor. In July last year, China granted Pakistan a two-year rollover on a $2.4 billion loan, giving the debt-saddled nation much-needed breathing space as it tackled a balance-of-payments crisis.
Dar is on his first official trip to China since assuming the post of foreign minister and deputy prime minister. He will co-chair the fifth round of the Pakistan-China Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue with Yi, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said.
“The Deputy Prime Minister will also hold meetings with Chinese leaders and senior officials and with prominent business enterprises,” MoFA said.
The foreign office said in an earlier statement that Dar’s visit was part of regular high-level exchanges between both countries.
“It reflects the importance attached by the two countries to further deepening the ‘All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership’; reaffirming mutual support on issues of core interest; enhancing economic and trade cooperation including CPEC; and reinforcing joint commitment to regional peace and development,” MoFA said on Saturday.
China has invested over $65 billion in energy and infrastructure projects as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The project is part of President Xi Jinping’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative. CPEC is designed to provide China with a shorter and safer trading route to the Middle East and beyond through Pakistan.
Since its initiation in 2013, CPEC has seen tens of billions of dollars funneled into massive transport, energy and infrastructure projects. But the undertaking has also been hit by Pakistan struggling to keep up its financial obligations as well as attacks on Chinese targets by militants.
Dar’s visit to China takes place in the backdrop of Pakistan’s moves to seek foreign investment from its allies as it tries to navigate an economic crisis that has seen its reserves dip to low levels and its currency weaken against the dollar.
Islamabad has seen visits by diplomatic and business delegations from Saudi Arabia, Japan and Uzbekistan in recent weeks. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has vowed to ensure an enabling business environment in Pakistan for foreign investors and traders.
PM summons meeting as Azad Kashmir protesters to resume march to capital over price hikes
- One policeman has died in days-long protests over prices of wheat flour, electricity
- Both India and Pakistan rule part of Kashmir but claim the disputed valley in full
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will chair a special meeting today, Monday, to discuss ongoing protests in Azad Kashmir, the portion of the disputed Himalayan valley administered by Pakistan, state media reported, with demonstrators expected to resume their march to the federal capital of Islamabad over the prices of wheat and power.
The Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) is leading the protests and demanding subsidized wheat flour and that electricity prices be set as per the hydropower generation cost in Azad Kashmir.
On Saturday, a policeman was killed in clashes between police and demonstrators as authorities blocked a rally from moving toward Azad Kashmir’s capital, Muzaffarabad, from the region’s Poonch and Kotli districts. Weekend talks between the JAAC core committee and AJK Chief Secretary Dawood Bareach in Rawalakot ended in a stalemate and a planned march by protesters to the capital is set to resume today.
The Himalayan territory of Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from Britain in 1947, with both countries ruling part of the territory, but claiming it in full. The western portion of the larger Kashmir region is administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entity while India rules the southern portion of the larger Kashmir region as a union territory.
While the Indian portion has been an ongoing insurgency and multiple armed attempts by the state to quell it, the Pakistani side has remained relatively calm through the decades, though it is also highly militarized.
“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has convened a high-level meeting on Monday, which will discuss the ongoing situation in Azad Jammu and Kashmir,” state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said in a report.
In a separate post on social media platform X, Sharif warned protesters against taking the law into their own hands and damaging government buildings, calling on “all parties to resort to peaceful course of action for resolution of their demands.”
President Asif Ali Zardari has also urged restraint and called on stakeholders to resolve the price hike issue in Azad Kashmir through “dialogue and mutual consultation,” Pakistani state media said, reporting on a meeting between the president and a delegation of members of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly who called on him in Islamabad.
“The President said political parties, state institutions and the people of AJK should act responsibly so that hostile elements could not exploit the situation to their benefit,” the Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.
“The President highlighted that the demands of the people of AJK should be addressed as per law. He said that he would take up the grievances of the people of AJK with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to find a way out of the current situation.”
Pakistan defeat Ireland to level T20 series
- Ireland made a dynamic start after being put into bat as the hosts blasted 29 runs in the first three overs
- But Shaheen Shah Afridi put the brakes on Ireland’s assault, dismissing the opening pair in the fourth over
LONDON: Pakistan beat Ireland by seven wickets in the second Twenty20 international in Dublin on Sunday to set up a deciding showdown in the three-match series.
Ireland made a dynamic start after being put into bat as the hosts blasted 29 runs in the first three overs.
But Shaheen Shah Afridi put the brakes on Ireland’s assault, dismissing opening pair Paul Stirling and Andrew Balbirnie in the fourth over.
Lorcan Tucker and Harry Tector (32) put on 62 for the third wicket, with the former scoring 51 in 34 deliveries.
Curtis Campher (22) and George Dockrell (15) boosted the score before Gareth Delany’s 28 off 10 balls helped the hosts post 193 for seven.
Pakistan spluttered at the start of their chase as Saim Ayub was caught in the first over and skipper Babar Azam nicked Graham Hume behind to depart for a duck in the second.
But Ireland’s hopes of sealing a famous series win with a game to spare were dashed as Mohammad Rizwan (75 not out) and Fakhar Zaman (78) put on a stunning 140-run partnership.
Azam Khan added 30 from 10 balls to take Pakistan home with 3.1 overs unused.
Ireland had claimed their first ever T20 victory against Pakistan in the series opener on Friday, winning by five wickets with one ball to spare.
Pakistan will also face Ireland in the group stage of next month’s T20 World Cup in the United States and the West Indies.
