Good times for investment in property

Since last quarter (July-September 2018) there is a surge in real estate & property business. We as property developers entered into this business 3 years back when this business was at its lowest ebb. Hitherto, it was the only profitable business where people were willingly investing both from home & abroad. But it was purposefully eroded through levying taxes, filer conditions & other regulatory strangleholds by the last govt. People were deterred and discouraged which resulted in nearly three years' slump in this business. Consequently, money laundering became the only way forward for profitable investments. Investors were left with no choice but to launder money to Dubai & Europe. Hence, we witnessed money laundering bonanza in past decade. Expats lost faith in the property investments. Part of the reason was collusion of Bharia Town with PPP Government where both made biblical hay till the sun shone over Mr Zardari's fluke cum genius tenure. Bharia Town left its entire market to handful/ faithful investors who created fake bubbles & burst them at will as & when they wanted. Since Bharia Town had become a brand to reckon with, it pocketed unreal profits through its loyal but brainless avaricious investors. It was a flawed strategy which thwarted small scale investor and the most important person in the whole equation; the end user. Rest of the damage was done by one of the four notorious Ps i.e. Property Dealers ( other three are politicians, prostitutes & press-titutes). They are so amazing at their art that truth sounds outlandish & too good to be true in the face of their lies. People interested in buying property of any type or scale happily get deceived by falsehood than listening to plain truth. This disease is here to stay & there seems no good end in sight.

However, above stated doom & gloom might prove the darkest hour before dawn. Good news is that in last quarter things are changing with Tabdeeli. According to property data wizards, half of the expats remittances are being invested in property in Pakistan. Association of Overseas Pakistanis (OAP) is actively promoting real estate investment opportunities among expats. It deserves due credit towards restoration of lost confidence in this business.

Other good news is that monopoly of Bharia Town owing to its over reliance on its core investors is withering away. New, more efficient, reliable & profitable real estate brands are available in market. For laymen, its best advised to size up the credentials of both developer & marketeers before deciding to invest in any project. Both should have delivered in their respective domains because for those who have had completed / delivered projects in the past, repute matters a lot and this is where you can confidently invest.

Tabdeeli government also seems keen on promulgating easy regulations on real estate & property development business; glimpse of which was visible in mini-budget where non-filers have been allowed purchase of property. Plus its ambitious 5 million housing units construction plan can only work through private-public partnership where govt allocates land, developers & marketeers get their share on investment/ effort. And ordinary people get easy installment plans for owning a home. This subject warrants a full blog entry which shall follow soon.

Bottom line is, its good time for investment in property of any size & budget. At the turn of the year in just three months, prices of property are going to gain 10-15% in their current prices which is not bad at all. Remember, its always the timing in investment that matters & fruition of investment in property is linked again with timing & patience.

Only Allah knows the whole Truth.

Diplomatic row with India

Diplomacy is a hot subject in Pakistan thesedays. And ongoing diplomatic row between FOs of Pakistan and India has further spiced up the whole scenario.
Few positives of foreign ministry to include newly elected PM's symbolic first visit to FO. Second is proactive diplomacy; since we have a Foreign Minister now who seems busy as bee on foreign affairs of Pakistan. FM SMQ wasted no time in factually correcting US State department's statement in the backdrop of Imran-Pompeo phone call. Lastly, it was brilliant to write letter to Indian PM Modi for diplomatic engagement. Indian nervousness was vivid on initially agreeing & then disagreeing to meet on pretext of lame excuses like dak tickets & imaginary killing of some ghost soldiers in IHK. It is very easy for India to manipulate the information relating IHK for its strict control on local, international media & internet. For Pakistan, its a moral binding to standby Kashmiri brethren & expose Indian atrocities. For India, sky is the limit; kill, pelt, pallet, shoot, repress & rape; let no credible information go out of the Valley and continue to fix baseless blame on Pakistan. As if their fictitious surgical strikes were not enough a hoax, they intend celebrating 'surtrikoversary'. And to top it all, General Bipin Rawat believes 'it is time'.
Now lets break it down to understandable pieces.
Good that out of all ministeries, PM made his first pit stop at Foreign Ministry. Diplomacy is antidote to friction & feuds between nations. Making a dormant ministry active does not require creating friction on petty issues. So Shah Sahab might want to take it easy & keep it proactive not reactive or over-active. Correcting factually incorrect statements of 'apparently friendly country' could have been handled better.
Making India jittery through PM's letter to his Indian counterpart served the purpose well. But it must be said that Indian FO played below belt by singling out IK in its statement rescinding respective FMs' moot during current UN General Assembly session. However, even bigger mistake was PM's Tweet on 'small men in big offices'. Chai Wala is a small man and there is no dispute on this even in greater part of India & across the globe. Our FO could have issued a 'tit for tat' statement or any big mouth from ruling party could have done the same. Talking of Big Mouth, none other fit the description better than our Information Minister both in literal & figurative sense. PM responding under TTS ('Trump Tweeting Syndrome' ) was like playing right into the hands of Chai Wala & his Dhabba politics. With Indian General Elections nearly half a year away, it is obvious that every decision of BJP Government would be weighed against political gains versus losses. Indian politics is still Pakistan-centric whereas Pakistani politics, despite its frailties has grown out of India-centric mania. Lastly, whether its frustration with growing Kashmir Freedom Movement, embarassment of Rafale aircrafts deal with France or pure 'suck up' to show 'solidarity' with BJP Government in the wake of upcoming General Elections, General Bipin Rawat's bravado is no more than a loser's bluff. And if not, then I like hundreds & thousands of others am on reservists' list and  sweating to get back in action.
Only Allah knows the whole Truth.

Political ideals & realities of 'change'

Too much TV is not doing any good to newly elected govt. Everyday whether 6 September Defence Day or 7 September Air Force Day Dam Message (which is strange), we hear about State of Medina. And it seems that PM is missing the point. Medina was an ideal state built by an Ideal Man PBUH through an ideology which was in its purest form. There is absolutely no harm in 'trying' with 'In Sha Allah' as supporting words.Though we wish Pakistan moves in the same direction.
PM is setting the bar way too high. Too much rhetoric. Whereas, its time to walk the walk.  And asking for money from overseas Pakistanis like this seems like a diversion attempt planned & executed in haste & nervousness. Atif Mian issue was not well weighed before hand & govt had to retract. His addition to economic committee was announced by Zartaj Gul (another wanna be who is unable to get over with her excitement on becoming an MNA) on her fb wall. Totally planned move. People reacted. PTI buckled & changed the decision which was not a bad move but too many times social media has dictated/ reverted PTI's decisions. Should they not put up every issue for debate to those social media biffs & smart phone supporters for pre-decision validation. Get a grip ruling party, device a mechanism of sound decision making.
Or it was pure leadership instinct of Kaptan from his cricketing days to come on media & talk to nation overtaking already a noble cause started by a noble man, our CJ. Agreed that the issue was going no where. Only 1800 million were accumulated all this time. If we take out Army's contribution then it would be embarassingly less amount. But build up is very important for sustenance of such issues. National debate which travels overseas. So not integrity but method of dams fund idea is in question.
His Cancer Hospital & University projects were a great success. But the difference is big, he was a celebrity & now Chief Executive of the country. Look I don't mind if OS Pakistanis pay for the dam and we get at least one dam ready in five years but the manner, the tone, the timing, nothing was right about this message. Reasons behind it may remain a mystery like so many other decisions in the history of this nation.
Lastly, just came across Najam Sethi's article of today titled 'Doomed Reset'. All doom & gloom. Trump is angry. Trump wants this and that. India & Afghanistan nexus. Its coming after us. All his pain was vivid in his words. It is amazing how these people defy truth. It is amazing he couldn't sense the 'change' in peoples' mood. Nation seems happy & he is painting all gloom. After a long time, there is a rejuvinated sense of pride in the nation. Beauty of this society is that even Najam Sethi along with his averagely talented spouse & off-springs made a name for themselves. They survived & prospered in this society & will continue to do so. Afterall, snakes are part of the eco-system.
Notwithstanding, the high & low points of Najam Sethi's life, it is great to see Govt & Military on the same page. How long this honeymoon lasts, remains to be seen. One can safely bet its here to stay which is good for Pakistan. For a Pakistan which extends beyond its geographical boundaries for its ideology & for an Army tipped & tagged for bigger things like Gazwa-e-Hind.
Only Allah knows the whole truth.

Tribute to Sipahi Maqbool Hussain

It is the sacrifice of our people which kept this country together. We all must acknowledge their sacrifice. Our next generation must be familiar with the price of freedom paid by our ancestors.This Defence Day, my 10 years old has researched & wrote a tribute to Late Sepoy Maqbool Hussain:
 

Sepoy Maqbool Hussain was from Azad Kashmir Regiment. He with his five unit personnel had a mission across the border in 1965 .They carried out sixteen blasts and killed seventy people. The Indians were extremely annoyed and they planned an ambush on them. But they could only injure Sepoy Maqbool Hussain and they took him as prisoner. He was considered MIA (Missing in Action) and was believed to be Shaheed. He spent forty years in prison. One night his Sikh friend opened his cell lock and told him the way to the railway station. The next day, he reached station but after few minutes he was captured again. In those forty years, whenever Indians questioned him, he only said one thing,” PAKISTAN ZINDABAD”. The Indians got so annoyed that they ripped his tongue off. Even with the blood coming out of his tongue, he wrote “PAKISTAN ZINDABAD”. After nearly four decades of his capture, during prison exchange in 2005, he was released and entered Pakistan from Wagah Borders. Unfortunately, his close relatives were not in this world to receive him. Whenever, he was asked for his identity he wrote this number 331539. It was his army number. So the army verified his number and they realized that it was Sepoy Maqbool Hussain. He passed away few days back. For his sacrifice for the nation he was awarded by Sitara- i- Jurrat.

A TRIBUTE TO ACKNOWLEDGE SACRIFICE, PATRIOTISM AND COURAGE OF LATE SEPOY MAQBOOL HUSSAIN

ON DEFENCE DAY

6 SEPTEMBER 2018

BY

HAMZA BIN ASAD

I have nothing to add.
May Allah bless the departed soul. Ameen

Love for Muhammad PBUH

Love for Muhammad PBUH above everything else was, is & will remain part of our faith system. Those insensitive abusers of freedom of speech should know that none of those slept well after crossing certain lines, most killed by faithful lovers. Should they do it? Rather, we should ask should you stop playing with the fire. Sooner or later, someone, will appear from somewhere and smash you like you deserve to be smashed. And then everywhere in the world specially Muslims who migrated to western countries for 'better life' will take the brunt. Islamic extremism, Muslim extremists, Islamic terrorists etc are prolificly used expressions. But it all starts here when you disrespect us. We can not let anyone insult the One who was Mercy for both the worlds. You don't understand this, we give you that then try and understand the reasons why we love Him PBUH. Its not only love for Muhammad PBUH, its part of our faith. Faith is lifeline of religion. Religion is way of life. Like you have a way of life, we also have one. Most of us are downtrodden thesedays but we have a way of life. Now, if you disagree, we can talk like people. Like the way people talk over disagreements. If you don't then why you claim to be liberals. What a joke? Just to prove you are leftist, you make hate the centerpiece of it. You can still prove to be leftist. Take on some other issue. Civilised, you claim to be. Civilised is the last thing one can associate to someone who is insensitive to quarter of world's population's sentiments. This is extremism even if we precede it with liberal, it will remain extremism. Guess what, extremism begets extremism.
These Muslims across globe, they are all the same. They all think the same way. They are geographically divided in to nation states. Beyond state boundaries, they are ideologically one nation what they like to call Ummah. They all, all of them are insulted, angered & disrespected when you target someone who for them is above everything else in this world. You may attempt anything for your hatred, insensitivity & political mileage in your country politics, His PBUH stature will only grow. And for your dumbness, you will soon face the music. I'm no freak when I say this. I'm not coming after you. I observe & share my thoughts with people. I can only write few words. My only contribution to this situation is to tell you and anyone who aspires for this misadventure to back off. You will end up in big trouble. You don't know them. I'm one of them. I'm ordinary then the rest. I'm no big deal. Just a simple man who doesn't want trouble. But there are red lines. This is red line. I'm warning you in mercy. Mercy was the method of my Master PBUH. Your life may be better than misconstrued hate & hate based political mileage. Both low degree pursuits are not rational. And this hatred changed nothing except for those who crossed the line, despite living in the free world either kept hiding for the rest of their lives or got killed by lovers of Muhammad PBUH. Although this nation, you are trying to incite through insult, is divided into around fifty nation states, some monarchies, others democracies & few under dictatorial rules, yet this matter is the same for them all. They are one on this issue. They can't help it. Love is just too strong. I'm a peace lover & peace maker but someone out of billions of lovers will get you.
Final word, "Back off'. Once you cross the line, things won't be the same on both sides. We won't be able to warn you. Angry lovers don't warn, they strike. It would be a direct outcome of your liberal leftist extremism. Your love for game of hate is nothing in the face of our love for Muhammad PBUH. You may continue to label us extremists but you sow the seeds of this extremism. When this seed of hatred grows into s strong tree, it comes back to hit you & haunt you.
Muhammad PBUH is & will remain above our kids, parents & everything we own.
Only Allah knows the whole truth.

Precious little joys

Precious things are hard to get. Joys are precious & little joys are priceless. Joys are hard to get, little joys are even harder to get. Little joys cost a lot. Little joys are tricky; sometimes you have them & you still don't know you have them. In order to know little joys; sometimes you have to pay price. And the higher the false ego; the bigger the price. So, little joys are harder to get because the price is directictly proportional to size of false ego. Sounds like maths. It is, actually. False ego is even trickier. You don't even know you have got one unless it meets an accident exactly the size of it. And then it opens the door to unlimited garden of little joys. That garden is hard to reach. Because little joys are precious & they are hard to get.
One more thing if you have little joys, hold on to them. They are hard to get. They are precious. Even too much exposition of your little joys at social media can have its cost. Guard them. They can slip through. Little joys should be our best kept secrets. In your perspective, your little joys are important enough to be shared. But others may have a different package. They may have their own worries. Important enough for you may not be significant enough for them. Its would be unfair to your precious little joys. Dignity & discretion can do it for you.
Only Allah knows the whole truth.

Buzdar factor

Journalism is seeing a new low thesedays. Mainstream media & analysts of all shades have been unable to reconcile with Usman Buzdar factor. Most frequently quoted reason of his disapproval is that none of the prominent journalists, anchors & analysts know him. And those politicians whom these media stalwarts know well keep getting in & out of power corridors. Most are affluent influentials of respective areas, hence they are 'polished', 'good hosts', 'friendly', 'accomplished in social graces', 'responsive to any job fatigue assigned by media people' & so on. In return, media people do all the twisting, turning & spinning to cover up for their buddies. Since they scratch each other's back hence there is a chemistry between them & Mr Buzdar fails to fit this setting. In fact, downplaying his selection is part of the deal. And if media people are firm to undermine the 'outlander' than its our responsibility to take them on.
Media is biggest bluff of our time. Anti establishment, pro establishment, anti Noon, pro PTI etc are all ways to sell their merchandise. They are just merchants. Ostensibly, there is polarisation among media houses but none of them talks against Malik Riaz. They will condition our perceptions with Bharia Town's Free Dastakhawan & other welfare projects but none would tell you how in the first place Bharia Town facilitators rip the poor off their lands. Because Bharia Town gives advertisement business & gratifications like no other.
There is no valid reason to doubt integrity of Buzdar selection decision. It is suggested that media people should find time & know Usman Buzdar. Till then leave him alone. If he performs, he stays otherwise he will be despatched back to electricity free zone of Tonsa Sharif. Performance should be the criterion of judging politicians not their crying on chairlifts, absence of electricity in their native area or being relatively unknown in mainstream media.
Only Allah knows the whole Truth.