Art exhibition for diplomats

The dean of the Iqra University’s Islamabad campus, Dr Mohammad Islam, welcomed over a dozen ambassadors and other diplomats to an exhibition of works created by the university’s students.

The event was held exclusively for the diplomatic community and organised by Iqra and the Diplomatic Insight Magazine.

A foreign guest said: “I was impressed by the beautiful works displayed in the university lobby on ground floor and first floor areas. The students showed a variety of works using different materials and techniques. A local guest noted that “old styles were mixed with new ways, thus making people more interested in keeping history alive”.

“I wish such highly professional works could be shown to a larger audience, possibly at one of the city’s main hotels,” said a retired diplomat. “I was also pleased by the way all guests were taken around and given well-informed orientations about the works.”

During the high tea on the university’s front lawn, the staff served authentic local dishes. A guest said: “I enjoyed the carrot cake with two cups of Kashmiri tea.”

Czech defence attaché hosts dinner

The Czech Republic’s defence attaché to Pakistan and Afghanistan, Col Miroslav Kaspar, hosted a large dinner for his fellow defence attachés and other guests, at his residence in Islamabad. The dinner is a much appreciated annual tradition.

Czech and Pakistani cuisine made up the menu, and the home was festively decorated for the Christmas season.

The acting ambassador Lukas Musil was also in attendance. Despite his young age, at 31 he has already had to hold down the fort on several occasion, including for several months before the new ambassador arrived in autumn.

“This time, I am also handling visa issues since the officer in charge of that field is also away. I have gained more respect for the many technical aspects of that field than I had before,” he said.

Annual DAAD dinner held

The director of DAAD, the German Academic Exchange Service, Lars Bergmeyer hosted the agency’s annual dinner at German House in Islamabad. DAAD is one of the world’s largest scholarship and fellowship organisations, and benefits hundreds of Pakistanis every year. It has cooperation agreements with the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and overseas links with local and German universities and research institutes.

Guests included German academics visiting Pakistan to help select new students, researchers and university teachers to undertake short and long term studies in Germany. Among them was DAAD representative Elke Burbach, who previously lived in Pakistan for a decade and a half.

“I am glad to have the opportunity to visit Pakistan every autumn,” she said. “I meet old friends and colleagues, and new staff, too, including senior staff of the HEC.”

A couple belonging to the alumnae of former doctoral students in Germany said the dinner was festive and elegant. They added that while it was a bit chilly to have a sit down dinner in the garden, it also reminded them of the German winter and brought back fond memories.

Published in Dawn, December 12th, 2016