ISLAMABAD: The central Pakistani city of Lahore, once an intellectual center of the Indian subcontinent and now considered the cultural heart of Pakistan, has been included in a list of ‘52 places to love in 2021’ by the international newspaper, The New York Times.
The Times asked readers to “tell us about spots that have delighted, inspired and comforted them in a dark year.”
Out of 2,000 suggestions, NYT picked 52, including Lahore, to “remind us that the world still awaits.”
The ancient city of Lahore, Pakistan’s second largest after Karachi, is home to numerous tombs and mosques, palaces and fortresses, museums and gardens.
“Especially in winter, this city nourishes you. It opens its arms to you, then feeds you and wraps you in a hug,” Haneen Iqbal, a 29-year-old freelance writer in Toronto, Canada, wrote. “Pakistan has a bad reputation, and is often overlooked by travelers who come to South Asia. But Lahoris are some of the kindest, most hospitable people. They love to take care of you and feed you. Lahore’s hot summers can feel oppressive, but in winter, in the cool dusk, lights twinkle in the fog.”
“Androon Lahore, the city’s historic core, is studded with monuments from the Mughal era. I love to watch the Punjab locals feasting on terraces of restaurants overlooking the grand Badshahi Mosque — they are just regular people living their regular lives, and they are so alive in the present, while always connected to their past,” Iqbal wrote.
Other places on the list include South Wales, Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands, Kaliya Dhrow in India, Isfahan in Iran and Cordoba in Spain.
Pakistani city of Lahore listed on NYT’s ‘52 places to love in 2021’ list
https://arab.news/w56mm
Pakistani city of Lahore listed on NYT’s ‘52 places to love in 2021’ list
- The Times asked readers to pick spots that had “delighted, inspired and comforted” them in 2020, picked 52 out of 2,000 suggestions
- The ancient city of Lahore is home to numerous tombs and mosques, palaces and fortresses, museums and gardens
Pakistan says $50 million meat export deal with Tajikistan nearing finalization
- Islamabad expects to finalize agreement soon after Dushanbe signals demand for 100,000 tons
- Pakistan is seeking to expand agricultural trade beyond rice, citrus and mango exports
ISLAMABAD: Tajikistan has expressed interest in importing 100,000 tons of Pakistani meat worth more than $50 million, with both governments expected to finalize a supply agreement soon, Pakistan’s food security ministry said on Tuesday.
Pakistan is trying to grow agriculture-based exports as it seeks regional markets for livestock and food commodities, while Tajikistan, a landlocked Central Asian state, has been expanding food imports to support domestic demand. Pakistan currently exports rice, citrus and mangoes to Dushanbe, though volumes remain small compared to national production, according to official figures.
The development came during a meeting in Islamabad between Pakistan’s Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain and Ambassador of Tajikistan Yusuf Sharifzoda, where agricultural trade, livestock supply and food-security cooperation were discussed.
“Tajikistan intends to purchase 100,000 tons of meat from Pakistan, an import valued at over USD 50 million,” the ambassador said, according to the ministry’s statement, assuring full facilitation and that Islamabad was prepared to meet the demand.
The statement said the two sides agreed to expand cooperation in meat and livestock, fresh fruit, vegetables, staple crops, agricultural research, pest management and standards compliance. Pakistan also proposed strengthening coordination on phytosanitary rules and establishing pest-free production zones to support long-term exports.
Pakistan and Tajikistan have long maintained political ties but bilateral food trade remains below potential: Pakistan produces 1.8 million tons of mangoes annually but exported just 0.7 metric tons to Tajikistan in 2024, while rice exports amounted to only 240 metric tons in 2022 out of national output of 9.3 million tons. Pakistan imports mainly ginned cotton from Tajikistan.
