I haven’t visit Pakistan since 2000, if I visit there this summer, what notable differences will I find? Good and bad.
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Temperatures in the range of 35-45 degrees centigrade, power failures, increased traffic flows with their jams, increased hypocrisy from Military-Mullas-Politicians-samaritans, desire to get rich overnite and leave the country.
Jokes apart, not much has changed for the common man, unless u were fortunate enough to own property/ stocks or be related to someone important.
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We in the west do nothing but condemn Pakistan but the fact of the matter is that India is way poorer than us and they here in the US potray a good picture of their country as opposed to us, Pakistanis who are ready to leave the country any moment..
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In Karachi you will find more highways now, more “new” cars on the road … I’ll be there in less than 10 days :insha: 
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How about Dera Ghazi Khan.. has it changed much? Will you go to Punjab to meet your family members or you will stay in Karachi only?
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I am gonna go back to Pak in December as well (after 5 years) and i am really excited about it, i will be taking millions of pictures there and i m pretty much interested in the "positive changes" in Pakistan :)
For those saying, "Nothing much has changed" for common people, i don't think i agree with that at all. I speak to relatives often and the lifestyle of a common man has definitely improved, if you keep thinking with negative mindset, you will not see any change in "common man" even after 100 years.
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Myserious_guy jee,
You would be surprised to see the changes both positive and negative. On the positive note, we are getting better economically(Allah kay fazal sey) and education wise as well. It's not about schools or universities, it's about people being aware of how important education is for a country to succeed.
On the other hand, I think we are getting too "modernized." I'm not against liberal minded people since I'm very open minded as well, but sticking to our belief and tradition is very important to me. Also, the traffic congestion is def. increased and property values have "skyrocketed." If you think I'm kidding around, just take a look at "Bahria Town" Lhr or even Defense Lhr. The prices have gone outrageously high as well the prices of gas... But Pak is Pak and it's our land.
Umer
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You will find many new developed areas.
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You'll find BMW dealerships. And brand new 5-series prowling around making the Mehrans and Khybers feel inadequate :( (Ok well I saw one).
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ahmedjee,
What are the plans? :)
One thing's for sure, you will find lot's of changes, whether you personally by your experience find them for better or for worse is something you ought to tell us after your trip ;)
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things that strike you:
1) mobile phones everywhere as well as phone cards
2) A lot more cars on the road (more traffic)
3) Aggressive advertising by banks and financial houses
4) Cable TV everywhere and PTV is no longer the main source of news
5)People flashing debit and credit cards..
6) Internets everywhere..but traffic levels are quite high so logging in can be slow
7)If you are in karachi you will notice the city has changed more dramatically with the end of political violence but increase in random crime especially mobile phone theft
On a personal note you will notice a general decline in air and water standards because of increased population and increased traffic..the culture has turned a lot more apatheic ..a lot more consumer oriented..and speaking for my province..there is a palpable sense of poverty and desperation.
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No one is answering my question about Dera Ghazi Khan.. how is Dera Ghazi khan these days?
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Man! you are dying to see DG Khan. Aren't you? Go check out by yourself!
If you can't afford going there. Then read what zakk said. Items 1-5 are good for DG Khan too.
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I don't have family in DGK, all is in Karachi (majority), Sukkur or Hyderabad and I'll be there for merely two weeks... all in Karachi.
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i havent been to pakistan since 2001 - but my dad went recently, and he was telling me that karachi is a whole new place now. their is way too much traffic for the roads to handle, and the air is positively unbearable to breathe in. for shopping, prices are soaring sky high, even if you want a pair of rubber fip-flops. my dad also said that people who used to be lower class, are getting high ideas now, and the house cleaning people, the gardeners, every1 demands better standards for their pay. mechanics who used to help out as ‘bhai-chara’ are seek money too now.
so i dunno…pakistan’s changing - thats a given. i dunno how much for the good or for the bad?
captain1 - have FUN in karachi - es ma hometoown shizzle. :halo:
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Oh I see.. thought you spoke Punjabi. Anyway, I am hoping DGK is doing good.. cuz way back in 1998 i was stuck on the Multan/DGK route and there was some stupid rally that had made my life hell.. As a result, I had to spend the night at a dhaba.. The Multan-DGK road was horrible.. broken and a tanga would run faster than a jeep on it. I hope they have repaired it. We would always hear news of sipah-e-sahaba men and others fighting in the region.. hope that problem has been fixed too.
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You would be surprised to see the changes both positive and negative. On the positive note, we are getting better economically(Allah kay fazal sey) and education wise as well. It's not about schools or universities, it's about people being aware of how important education is for a country to succeed.
On the other hand, I think we are getting too "modernized." I'm not against liberal minded people since I'm very open minded as well, but sticking to our belief and tradition is very important to me. Also, the traffic congestion is def. increased and property values have "skyrocketed." If you think I'm kidding around, just take a look at "Bahria Town" Lhr or even Defense Lhr. The prices have gone outrageously high as well the prices of gas... But Pak is Pak and it's our land. Umer
I agree there Umer!! I have heard lots of stories about that and it's shocking how much we have modernized, i am all up for modernization but things are getting out of hands there mostly because of media exposure.
I think most development has occured in big cities like Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad but i hope small cities are getting better as well.
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Its about time that we start paying fair wages to blue collar workers, especially domestic workers. There are no enforced standards on work hours, minimum pay, housing standards, etc etc. I say more power to them. For far too long the affluent and semi affluent have been shortchanging these people.
There needs to be massive reform (heck forget reform, it has to be formed first) of domestic worker laws.