ISLAMABAD: Fairy lights sparkle on trees at a sharp bend in a corner of Islamabad’s upscale Jinnah Market. A stretch of road that was just unattended brush not too long ago now has lines of cars parked along it. A wooden cutout of a teapot announces a new addition to Islamabad’s chai scene: ‘Tea O’ Clock.’ Beyond this is a humble little shack where young people sit snugly on colorful chairs around small tables sipping steaming cups of tea.
The scene looks like a still from an early 90’s film centered on a group of teens sharing the simple joys of living and forming life-long friendships around a milky elixir of black tea laced with cinnamon, cardamom and cloves. Coal-filled grills provide the necessary relief from Islamabad’s biting chill. On one table, three girls sing old Bollywood songs; on another, a game of Monopoly is in its final moments; on yet another, a group of young boys and girls discuss the semantic features of Urdu poetry.
Tea O’ Clock is one of five back-to-basics chai shops that have opened up in the upmarket F7 neighborhood recently, all steeped in nostalgia, with simple and unfussy menus aimed at giving the capital’s youth an option other than pricey restaurants and cafes.
“The response has been overwhelming, we are always crowded and it was surprising,” Tea O’ Clock owner Imran Khan told Arab News. “Even in the cold where I find it so difficult to sit out, it’s always full.”
“It sort of proves people needed a place like this.”
Khan opened up the chai shop on the unassuming strip of land about a year ago so he could have a place to sit, work and relax which wasn’t an upscale cafe or restaurant.
“I made something for myself which was not very fancy,” Khan said. “And it turned out to be very successful.”
“The youth here, the young crowd, they don’t have much today to do, honestly. All we have is restaurants where you go eat and have to leave,” Khan said as he warmed his hands on a coal heater. “There’s nothing, no place where you can sit for an hour for something social and casual to do.”
He said people came to his chai shop to do office work, play cards, just chat with friends “all over a simple cup of tea.”
Last year, Chik-a-Chinos started a revolution in Islamabad’s restaurant world as an outdoor cafe with (comparatively) low prices, street eats and, yes, chai.
Quetta Tea ‘n Teas in F10, and it’s sister restaurant, an outdoor dhaba style cafe called #TAG, also opened in F7, both focusing on chais from Quetta and eats to match. Previously home to cellphone stores, an entire strip of the F7 market now boosts of chai vendors that sell a simple cup of tea in a single-serving sized matka, or clay pot.
The largest of these is Tandoor Junction, sitting on the sidewalk of the corner of Jinnah Market. The menu is simple: six different variations of chai.
“We come and sit here because it’s just easy,” said Javaid Malik, 30, who was at Tandoor Junction with a larger group of friends. “You don’t always want to be in a restaurant, paying a ton of money. This feels more free.”
Another patron, Nida Aziz, said at Quetta Tea ‘n Teas: “I like that I can leave work, come here, easily meet up with other friends and finally have a place outside of home and restaurants to have a conversation. That’s what’s really been lacking here: a place you can go and talk like when we were kids in school.”
In Pakistan’s upscale capital, a new tea culture blossoms
In Pakistan’s upscale capital, a new tea culture blossoms
- ‘Tea O’ Clock’ is the newest entrant in Islamabad’s growing chai scene
- Authentic chai cafes replace pricey restaurants as options for the city’s youth
Pakistan, Qatar resolve to boost strategic, economic cooperation at Doha talks
- Both countries urge dialogue on Afghanistan amid renewed border tensions between Islamabad and Kabul
- Discussions focus on bilateral trade and investment, energy, defense, manpower and labor and culture
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Qatar on Tuesday agreed to deepen their strategic and economic cooperation during high-level talks between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Sharif’s office said.
Sharif visited Qatar along with a high-level delegation on the invitation of Qatari emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. The Pakistan premier also held meetings with Qatar’s trade and defense minister to discuss cooperation in various domains.
The visit came at a time when Pakistan is seeking closer economic engagement with Gulf partners amid its broader push to stabilize the economy and attract investment, while maintaining security and defense cooperation with key regional states.
During their meeting in Doha, PM Sharif and Qatar’s Sheikh Mohammed discussed bilateral relations and exchanged views on regional and international developments, according to the Pakistan prime minister’s office.
“They reaffirmed the strong brotherly relations between Pakistan and Qatar and expressed satisfaction at the growing momentum in political, economic and institutional ties,” Sharif’s office said.
“Discussions focused on enhancing cooperation in the fields of trade and investment, energy, defense, manpower and labor and culture, with both sides stressing the importance of their task force to accelerate cooperation in all these areas.”
Pakistan and Qatar maintain strong trade and investment ties. In 2022, the office of Qatar’s emir said the Qatar Investment Authority planned to invest $3 billion in Pakistan, targeting sectors including transport, aviation, education, health, media, technology and labor.
Nearly 300,000 Pakistanis live and work in Qatar, according to Pakistan’s foreign office, with many employed in health, education, engineering and public services, as well as construction and transport. The two countries engage through forums such as the Bilateral Political Consultations and the Joint Ministerial Commission.
Sharif said he had productive discussions with Qatar’s emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on how the two sides could transform their brotherly ties into mutually beneficial economic relationships.
“We also took stock of the regional situation,” he said. “Pakistan and Qatar will continue to work together for peace and stability in the region and beyond.”
DIALOGUE WITH AFGHANISTAN
Earlier, Sharif and Qatar’s Deputy PM Sheikh Saoud Al-Thani discussed the situation in Afghanistan and called for dialogue to support regional stability.
The meeting took place amid renewed tensions after Islamabad carried out airstrikes last week on what it described as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) targets inside Afghanistan. Kabul said the strikes killed civilians and vowed to respond to what it called a violation of its sovereignty.
“Regional developments were also discussed, in particular the situation in Iran and Afghanistan,” Sharif’s office said in a statement. “Both sides emphasized the importance of dialogue, de-escalation and collective efforts to promote peace and stability in the region.”
This was the second time in less than six months that Pakistan conducted airstrikes in Afghanistan. The last strikes triggered heavy, weeklong clashes between the neighbors along their border before Qatar and Turkiye mediated a ceasefire between them in Oct. last year.
Separately, Sharif held meetings with Qatar’s State Minister for Trade Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Sayed and a delegation of the Qatar Businessmen Association (QBA), highlighting Pakistan’s investment-friendly reforms.
He invited QBA members to explore opportunities in infrastructure, logistics, energy, agriculture, technology and export-oriented manufacturing, his office said.
