An Indian's experience in Pakistan

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
1

This was posted by another Indian in one of the news groups.

Subject: Pakistan

Folks,

This mail has nothing to do with work. just wanted to share
certain very overwhelming experiences. Had been to karachi for the
1st one dayer on saturday.

  1. Imagine 39,990 Pakistanis & 50 of us Indians cheering lustily
    ‘for’ each other, throwing chocolates at us !!. Quite a few
    were carrying the flags of both countries imaginatively stitched
    together. Then they all stood to give a standing ovation to the Indian
    cricket team !

  2. Guy on the street selling ‘bhuttas’ refused to accept money saying
    that we were ‘mehmaan’ in their country !!

  3. people rushing to shake our hands on the streets & asking us to
    come to their home for dinner

  4. Restaurant owners refusing to accept the bill payment after
    coming to know that we were from India

  5. Everybody we met & we met quite a few, had some relative staying
    in India.

  6. Star plus is the most favourite channel in Karachi

  7. There was a TV star called Heena ?? who was sitting in the
    stadium, one pakistani put up a impromptu banner saying “heena,
    will u marry me ?”!!

  8. Shops gave us 40 to 50% discount …India again

  9. Taxis, autos, army guys…the list is
    endless…everywhere loads of courtesy, respect…
    more than we would get in our own country !!!

It is really sad that we have an impression of that country that is
so negative. I shudder to think of the plight of pakistanis who would
come to india when the Indo-pak matches will happen here.
Sad, that we consider ourselves ‘secular’ & yet will spare no thought
before making negative statements on that country. It’s sad but true ,
this experience teaches one that…“Perception is not reality”.

Thank u for sparing your time.
Have a lovely day.

Warm Regards
Sai Nagesh,

2

Mashallah, Pakistani hospitality is second to none. :jhanda:

3

I must say no other country would have taken over 5 million Afghan refugees.

Well done Pakistan. Now be good boys and give up claims on Kashmir :slight_smile:

4

^We're still not letting a single Gupta in

5

^ no man, I was thinking of charging gupta some nazrana-e-aqeedat to write a taveez that would let him visit. if this deal falls thru because of u. my lawyers messers pudgy, potrly and stout, and negotiators messrs rocko and bruno will be there to "discuss" matters with you.

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^ No no no Pir Sahib I don't want any trouble....just my cut. Hmm what should we call this sytem of Nazrana e Aqeedat? Charge-A-Gupta?

7

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by mufakkar: *
^We're still not letting a single Gupta in
[/QUOTE]

What a shame. I was so much looking forward to visiting Pakistan during ‘Rundi Mela’. I am still waiting for Lajawab to confirm the dates. :)

Pir Saheb, please be aware; the name Gupta is protected by Scottish copyright laws. Which means the use of name Gupta by any third party for soliciting money from any source in the name of religious or none religious causes/benefits will require explicit permission from ‘Gupta Ji Pvt. Ltd.’. Failure to meet these conditions will result in a lawsuit with a demand for an unprecedented amount of single malt nectar.

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[QUOTE]

*Originally posted by Gupta: *

I must say no other country would have taken over 5 million Afghan refugees.

[/QUOTE]

No country has ever taken such a large number of refugees in, and in such a short period of time.

9

lol, that would be truly awesome if this was genuine. but Sai Nagesh is most likely a pakistani (btw, in the other version of this that i saw, there was no Sai Nagesh). the outstanding reason as to why this is so suspect is that half of the listed items relate to the voluntary refusal of money. desis are poor people. and the richest of the rich are still incredibly cheap. a bhutta seller? come on! 50% discounts for being indian! lol. inviting kaafirs home for dinner? the other give-away was the full paragraph of stark contrast dedicated to vilifying india. "shudder", "plight"........i really hate to be this cynical, but reality has to strike at some point.

10

I think you are wrong. Read on…

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/Displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/sports/2004/March/sports_March503.xml&section=sports&subsection=cricket

Indians feel at home in Lahore

For several years, Man Mohan Sood had wanted to return to Lahore, the city of his birth. Sood, who played one Test for India in 1960, finally got his chance this week after visa restrictions were eased for India’s historic full cricket tour of Pakistan, their first in 14 years. “It’s like a homecoming for me,” Sood told Reuters. “I’ve not just come here to watch the cricket but also to meet old friends and see the city where I was born.” Thousands of Indian fans have descended on Lahore and been welcomed at hotels in traditional fashion by drums and garlands. “It’s great for the fans to be able to watch India and Pakistan play cricket again,” said Pramod Ojha, who runs a construction business in New Delhi. “Lahore looks and feels just like home. The language, the people and the atmosphere - everything is great.”

India and Pakistan have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947 and were close to a fourth two years ago. The Indian government had banned all home and away cricket against Pakistan in 2000. However the countries have begun a tentative rapprochement, reviving air, road and rail links and calling a ceasefire in disputed Kashmir. Many hope cricket will prove a catalyst for enduring peace. Pakistan has issued about 8,000 visas to Indian fans for the India tour. “I’m here on a three-day visa,” said S.V. Malik, who lives in Bombay but was born in the Pakistani city of Sialkot, 100km from Lahore. “I’m going to try and visit Sialkot, although I’m here for a very short time. If I’d been allowed, I would’ve loved to stay longer and see some other cities as well. But it’s a start that I’ve finally got here. Things should get better with time.” Hotels in Lahore are overbooked and room rates have hit the roof.

“We’ve paying about $200 for the room, and that’s because we know someone who works in the hotel. Some people are even paying up to $500 a night, said Siddharth Chanchal, a New Delhi businessman. “We have about 200 Indian fans staying here and more are expected in the next two days,” said Imran Qadir, guest relations manager at the Pearl-Continental hotel. Tour operator Nadeem Fateh, whose Lahore-based company has put up 50 Indian fans in hotels near the Gadaffi Stadium, said some of his clients had crossed the India-Pakistan border at Wagah on foot. “We have been told by officials that a total of 2,000 people are expected to walk across the border because they could not get airline, train or bus tickets.”

11

Please shut your arrogant trap! You know nothing… I live in Pindi and i invited a group of indians over to my house for Dinner, Asheesh-Jay-Parath and Amit! They were very honest when they said that until they came to Pakistan they had a very bad impression of Pakistanis and when they would go back they would spread the world of how wrong their views were. Ok yes there is still a lot of bad blood, but come-on we are so close yet so far!!! That is really bad!!!

Lets Change!!

And by the way, Cakes and Bakes in Saddar, Rawalpindi (A normal Bakery) offered goody bags to indian guests.,… SO there .. :nahnah:

12

I do not doubt any of this. It is all very believable and is really good to hear. However, I stand by my belief that the first article was a work of fiction.

13

Arrey! How was I being arrogant? I simply said that i believe that first account was a work of fiction. I don’t doubt pakistani hospitality in the least, and I don’t doubt that you are a very hospitable guy.

14

It is said that around 10000 Indians are visiting Pakistan during the cricket series. Each person is spending around $5000.

15

Is that $5000 in rupees? Because surely none of those guys have 2.5 lakh rupees to spend on a trip like this. most of them are college kids. hell, many americans dont have $5,000 in their bank accounts. i would say that could be wealthy indians and celebrities, etc. but im sure they make up only a small percentage of the indian fans in pakistan. something doesnt sound right.

16

It is $5000 US dollars. Some hotels in Lahore are charging Indians $500 for each night.

$500 a night as hotels get ready to welcome

$500 a night as hotels get ready to welcome
By Waheed Khan

ADVERTISEMENT

Karachi: If you are an Indian planning to visit Karachi or Lahore for the one-day series between Pakistan and India, beware! Because the visit is likely to leave a big hole in your pocket.

Hotel operators in these cities have raised their prices to exploit the high profile event. The officer of a five star hotel in Karachi informed that they were now renting rooms at $500 a night. And according to him, people were willing to pay.

“It is a matter of supply and demand. We pay over seven different taxes to the government and this is our chance to make some profits. So why shouldn’t we?” the official questioned.

The regular rate for a single room in the hotel is $120. He insisted there would be no concessions.

The situation is no different in four and three star hotels which normally charge between $40 and $80. “No rooms available,” is the standard retort these days.

Unless a “special price” is paid — double the normal rate. But one tour operator had words of consolation: “Once the Indian team arrives and the first match is held, the situation will ease and rates will come down. The rates are high because of the hype.”

http://in.sports.yahoo.com/040310/149/2bx7o.html

Car rentals shoot up 50%, rates leap 30%

By Asif Khan

KARACHI: The car rental business is expected to rake in 50 percent more revenue as thousands of cricket lovers and media teams, not only from India but from different parts of the world, converge on the city to witness first one-day international between Pakistan and India.

“We have hired cars from other dealers also to meet the extra demand, as our cars have already been booked,” said Raza Khan, owner of rent-a-car at Avari Towers Hotel.

Big hotels across the city are hosting hundreds of cricket fans who are here to see Pak-India match, being played Saturday (today).

On Friday and Saturday each, car rental companies are doing 50 percent more business than an average day of trade.

Due to increased demand, rates of rented cars have risen up to Rs 3,500 per car for ten hours from about the usual rate of about Rs 2,700. Car dealers will charge Rs 150 per hour extra if customers want to keep cars for more than ten hours.

Car dealers are asking for higher rates for their cars due to heavy demand. On any normal day, a Toyota car is rented out for Rs 2,700 to Rs 3,000 per day but due to higher demand rates have also climbed up to Rs 3,500.

Dealers are not willing to rent out vehicles below Rs 3,500 for Saturday— the day when two traditional rivals will face each other at National Stadium Karachi.

It is estimated that some 2,000 people have reached Karachi to watch the match.

“A lot of high profile people and their local hosts have booked cars in large numbers,” said Fawad Khan, a sales executive at rent-a-car counter at Pearl Continental Hotel.

He said around 500 to 600 cars have been booked for movement of dignitaries. Car dealers said they expect that total turnover of rent-a-car business would cross 2.1 million on Friday and Saturday as most of the guests have arrived on Friday morning while others arrived on Friday night.

Most of the car dealers have introduced a package under which if a customer bears fuel charges than rates will come down to Rs 3,000 per car. They have also approached local hotels to rent out their vehicles.

“There are many car dealers who have offered us their cars for Saturday booking,” said Saeed Ahmed Khan, owner of rent-a-car business at Mehran Hotel.

He said heavy demand for rented cars is from corporate sector companies, who have invited their guests from Lahore, Islamabad and other parts of the city.

“The multinational companies, who have offices in India, have invited executives from India to observe the cricket match so there is demand for rented cars in Karachi,” said Aftab Ahmed, owner of Ashraf rent-a-car at Saddar.

He said massive demand for rented cars in the city is seen after a long time.

17

I am an Indian and been to pakistan four times.My last visit to pakistan was in 2001 and all my trips were of official nodes.

I can undoubtly say that Pakistanis are very hospitable people and one will never get such a great hospitability elsewhere.

 I have tasted  and felt the warmth of friendship of pakistani people but I am sad that these are times of better friendship than any other times!!!
18

There is a lot you don’t know about Pak, but I never blame Indians, they are the victims of their schools/media.

Please read.

http://www1.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/580840.cms

There are very few countries in the world where an Indian is made to feel special. Strangely enough, Pakistan, the country that has fought four wars with India, is one of them.

In the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, the expatriate pastures that the middle-class Indian seeks out so assiduously, the welcome mat rolled out is only too often woven with the nettle of snobbery. Despite India’s dominance of cyberdom, despite the growing network of NRI millionaires, despite the star-studded desi presence on the global marquee, Indians remain inescapably brown.

Even those Indians who venture across the border bristling with patriotism, are forced to concede that despite the political hostility between the two countries, the hospitality extended by the average Pakistani is overwhelming.

** By now the story of Pakistani taxi-drivers not accepting money has become the stuff of an e-mail forward doing the rounds on the net, but unlike most FWDs, this one is true.

When you say you’re Indian, strange things happen. Faces break into smiles, doors fly open, rickshaw drivers ask you home, cyber cafes waive away hours of use, tea is called for, Pepsi bottles are uncorked, invitations to lunch and dinner are proffered.

Security guards at stadia apologise for checking your bag, the official at the home office asks about Madhuri even as he regrets that permission to the Khyber Pass cannot be granted. **

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[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Abdali: *

There is a lot you don't know about Pak, but I never blame Indians, they are the victims of their schools/media.

**
[/QUOTE]

Abdali, you will always get a few losers on both sides who want to do down the emerging peace and reconciliation between Pakistan and India. But the vast majority of both peoples now support these moves, so these diehards will be drowned out.

20

man, this is a one sided friendship. I was just on some indian forum baords and they're still the same. So hostile toward Pakistanis. All u gotta do is say ur Pakistani and there goes ur maa bahen.