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| Moving to Pakistan...InshaAllah |
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| Anonymous |
| 01/28/03 at 17:48:00 |
| Asalaamu-Alaikum and Greetings of Peace... I am in desparte need of information about living in Karachi. My family and I will be moving there within in the next few weeks. The family we have there is quite distant, thus we do not have many contacts. I am looking for information about what areas are good, safe, and not that expensive (if that's possible lol) I have heard a lot about Clifton, Defence Area, and Gulshan-e-Iqbal. We also need an area with some Westerners because my Mom is European. Schooling has also been a problem, I have looked all over the net and found only 2 English language schools. I am in the 11th grade here in the states and do not want to delay my graduation, I also have a brother in the 2nd grade. Can an American citizen attend the British or American schools there, while on a vistor's visa, until the status is adjusted? I know these are very specific questions but any information at all would be so helpful. Also do are there any western muslimas married to pakistanis, that have lived in Pakistan, or visited that I could let my Mom chat with. I can be reached at gulmuslima@yahoo.com Jazzak Allah Kheir... Asalaamu-Alaikum. Khadija |
| Re: Moving to Pakistan...InshaAllah |
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| theOriginal |
| 01/28/03 at 21:31:21 |
| [slm] KAS (Karachi Amreekan Eskool) is one of the best schools in the world (I attended the equivalent in Islamabad, and those were the best years of my life, Alhamdulillah.) You can attend it, no problem...but I heard the upped the fees to like 10,000 a year ::) There's always the other very very reputable schools in Karachi (Beacon House, Grammar School, St. Josephs.) Do you need to rent a house in Defence ;D Let me know, I can probably hook you up. And ask any other qs you may have... Wasalaam. |
| Re: Moving to Pakistan...InshaAllah |
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| Tesseract |
| 01/31/03 at 01:37:41 |
| Wa'alaikum Assalam wa Rahmatullah, [quote]I am looking for information about what areas are good, safe, and not that expensive (if that's possible lol) I have heard a lot about Clifton, Defence Area, and Gulshan-e-Iqbal. We also need an area with some Westerners because my Mom is European.[/quote] Clifton and defence are definitely good and safest, but expensive. Gulshan-e-Iqbal is comparatively cheaper but not as good and safe as the former 2. I wouldn't recommend u to go and live in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, specially someone who doesn't really know many people there and is new as well in Karachi. Gulshan-e-Iqbal is not only far from the main commercial area (commonly known as Sadr) of Karachi, but during strikes and break-outs of violence, that area is totally paralyzed and cut-off from the main commercial centre. Defence and Clifton are right next to Sadr area, so they are not affected as much. Not only that, but the Westerners that u are looking for, for sure u can find a lot of them in Clifton and Defence area, and almost nil in Gulshan-e-Iqbal. [quote]Schooling has also been a problem, I have looked all over the net and found only 2 English language schools. I am in the 11th grade here in the states and do not want to delay my graduation, I also have a brother in the 2nd grade. Can an American citizen attend the British or American schools there, while on a vistor's visa, until the status is adjusted?[/quote] U wont find much information about schools on internet as far as Pakistan is concerned. So, the best thing is to go there and explore all options by urself or least have some close relative/friend do that for u if u have. Beaconhouse, The city School are merely names now, their standard of education is not that good as it used to be till sometime back (Wallahu A'lam). Karachi Grammar school is definitely one of the most famous ones, and one of the best as well. I have no clue about the visa system, so can't help u much with that. For any other queries, u can e-mail me at takhlaque@hotmail.com InshaAllah. Wassalam. |
| Re: Moving to Pakistan...InshaAllah |
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| GulMuslima |
| 02/01/03 at 12:32:32 |
| [slm] Thank you so much for all your help theOriginal and Tesseract. Jazzak Allahu Kheir. InshaAllah we will arrive in Karachi on the 18th of Feb. My question is now what do we need to bring with us to Pakistan that we can't buy there? American goods? And my other question is how is Karachi in regards to women in hijab/nikab? Do you see a lot of ladies who observe is? Would it be a problem to attend school in hijab/nikab? And is shalwar kammez still thje norm or has it shifted to western style attire. Jazzak Allahu Kheir again. [wlm] |
| Re: Moving to Pakistan...InshaAllah |
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| Tesseract |
| 02/03/03 at 03:00:46 |
| [slm] [quote]Thank you so much for all your help theOriginal and Tesseract. Jazzak Allahu Kheir.[/quote] Wa iyyaki! [quote]My question is now what do we need to bring with us to Pakistan that we can't buy there? American goods?[/quote] I am not sure what to tell u to take with u that u wont find there, but InshaAllah u'll find everything. Its only that u'll have to go to those markets that have the imported goods. I can tell u of a few. There is one with the name "Agha's supermarket" that has quite a lot of imported eatables and other stuff. Then there is one "Zamzama market". Zamzama is a street in Defence and the market's name is based on that. Agha's is on the intersection of Clifton and Defence. There might be some other markets which I may not know of since its been 2 years I have been to Karachi. But, InshaAllah don't worry about that. Once u arrive there, it wont take u much time to find out about these markets since they are the most famous ones specially amongst foreigners and Overseas Pakistanis. [quote] And my other question is how is Karachi in regards to women in hijab/nikab? Do you see a lot of ladies who observe is? Would it be a problem to attend school in hijab/nikab?[/quote] InshaAllah hijab and niqaab shouldn't be a problem no matter where u live. But u wont see it that frequently as in Defence and Clifton as in other areas because they are supposed to be the richests' and most advanced (basically Westernized) peoples' residential areas. School with hijab/niqaab? I don't think that should be a problem either, atleast from the school's administration. I am not sure how the school-mates would react, but still I would say, not something that u should really worry about. There is much more religious freedom if u are comparing it from the US of A:). However, there are many factions of Islam, so u might not wanna indulge in any religious discussions unless u know the person well (wallahu Ta'ala A'lam). [quote]And is shalwar kammez still thje norm or has it shifted to western style attire. [/quote] Yes, shalwar kameez is still the norm because that's the national dress of Pakistan. I don't think that can be obsolete. But, the types of shalwaar kameez that are in fashion these days are not less than anything in the world. They are see-through, tight body-revealing, deep-cut necks etc. etc. One of my brother's friend visited us recently (here in States) alongwith his wife, and the moment I saw her, I just couldn't believe my eyes and couldn't even say salaam to her. Later, when they left, I found out from my bhabhee (sister-in-law) that the shalwar kameez that she was wearing was the most in-fashion one. Anyways, western dressing is also a norm, BUT in the posh localities (Defence, Clifton, Kaarsaaz) only. Its rare to see in other areas of Karachi. [quote]Jazzak Allahu Kheir again.[/quote] Wa iyyaki again. May Allah make it easy for u and ur family (Ameen). Wassalam. p.s: Feel free to put forward any other queries u may have. |
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