Brand in focus: Hassan Sheheryar Yasin (HSY)

HSY have no necessity of any kind of introduction because his own name is a remarkable starting of a successful business venture known by everyone who belongs to his field even rather only in an inspiration. Off course he is none other than Hassan Sheheryar Yasin who is one of the biggest names in Pakistan Fashion industry. He was born in Lahore Pakistan. This stylish fashion designer has also launched his new studio in the highly fashionable district of Zamzama in Karachi. The flagship studio of this fashion designer is currently in the cultural capital of Pakistan, Lahore.

A graduate of the “Pakistan School of Fashion Design” in 2000, HSY is affiliated with the La Chamber Syndical De La Couture Parisians in France. Started out in 1994, Pakistani Fashion Designer Hassan Sheheryar Yasin worked both as a choreographer and as Fashion designer in various shows within Pakistan and in international shows in Dubai, London UK, New York City USA, and Toronto Canada.
The introduction of Yasin’s own Fashion Label Clothes enters in the marketplace in year 2000, HSY. He starting his career with a bridal collection and formal wear couture house, it has since become one of the most recognized South Asian fashion labels in the world and currently employs over 350 people and six stores internationally, with the flagship studio housed in Lahore.  Among very few Pakistani fashion designers, HSY has won international appreciation and considered among the top Pakistani Fashion designers.

In 2003, First time a Karachi-based top fashion magazine “Diva” of that time placed this Pakistani Fashion designer on the cover of their “Most Powerful People” and also as one of their 10 Faces of the Year. In 2007, this radiant Pakistani and emerging Fashion personality also introduced HSY brand jewelry. Behind all his business ventures set up his philosophy could be explained by his popular quote about designing art is “Creativity is very important to be a designer, but if you want to be a successful designer then you need to be successful in every single way like being innovative and understanding the market”.

HSY is the winner of the Lux Style Fashion Designer Award of the Year (2005). Hassan Sheheryar Yasin has done one of the biggest thing to happen in fashion dress designs in the last decade in Pakistan that was his aim at HSY to showcase a diverse dresses collection in order to represent the rich cultural heritage of the East.
Now in 2010 Hassan Sheheryar Yasin has been actively involved in the world of fashion for over 15 years. This year, his label HSY, celebrates 10 years of excellence. Predominantly a Bridal House specializing in fashion design & tailoring. HSY’s distinctive Pakistani and Middle East inspired designs are infused with western influences. Augmented by vacillating and systematic embroidery, refined cutting, and judicious color choices the HSY brand is tantamount with the art of elegance. It is the thing overwhelming too in his recent collection of “Dubai Fashion Week Collection of 2010”. 

Ambreen Bukhari- Menika Mines

An entrepreneur needs special skills and confidence either male or a female and belongs to whatever country land. But, on the other hand it is quite true that in developing countries he/she has to face more than the developed one. In Pakistan, as in many other developing countries, women are handicapped in society. Therefore they face many challenges, as they do not enjoy the same opportunities as men. They are not only deprived of financial resources but also lack access to basic needs such as education. Limited access to the essentials of life undermines their capabilities, limits their ability to secure gainful employment, and results in low income, poverty and social exclusion. Their ambitions and aspirations are suppressed.
Gradually things are improving for women, which have been caused by their tremendous determination and courage. They are entering in the field of education, health, engineering, IT and active participation is seen in the sports and politics arena. About 60% of women entrepreneurs in Pakistan have opted for traditional business such as parlors, bakeries, boutiques, but the largest number is employed in the garments and handicrafts sector. One example of such a nice and encouraged lady is Ambreen Bukhari; she is running her jewelry showroom named Menika Mines in posh area of capital city Islamabad.
Ambreen Bukhari faced numerous challenges and criticism when she dared to enter into the difficult business of collecting, cutting, and exporting precious stones and preparing studded jewelry for the domestic market. Nobody believed she could succeed when she decided to open for business 11 years ago. The precious stone trade was considered a purely male domain, as one is supposed to travel to the mountains, interact with male entrepreneurs to manage the inner and outer workings of the business, and to actively explore for niche markets. Many of her colleagues thought that it would be insulting for men to have a female entrepreneur in their sector, but she has opened her doors and done very well.
Ambreen Bukhari completed her post-graduate studies abroad, specializing in geology, after which she returned to Pakistan with her two daughters to start a stone trading business. She soon found herself in very difficult circumstances. Yet, she took stock in her business and strove to be able to support her children and strengthening her resolve to fight against all odds. Today, she has full floor showroom for her jewelry in a business center in the most famous market of Islamabad. She also arranges exhibitions in Islamabad and Karachi and has participated in international events. She is a leading exporter of precious stones and has represented Pakistan at international forums. She also works as a consultant and imparts training in stone-cutting techniques.

 

Good Governance tribulations in Pakistan

The issue of governance is a key component of policies for economic development. Good governance acts as a positive force to influence economic growth. A growing amount of available evidence suggests that lack of quality governance hinders growth and investment, and aggravates poverty and inequality. As the matter of fact developing countries are characterized by weak institutions, low growth, poverty and inequality all which translate into low levels of human development. The multiplicative effects of these outcomes result in poverty traps that are extremely difficult to break out.
Good governance can lead a country to achieve high and sustained economic growth by establishing conducive environment for saving and investment, risk taking, providing incentives to producers, creating certainty in markets, increasing the size of markets by removing barriers to international trade and improvements in competitiveness. It is a key component in the development factors. The emphasis on reforming economies to achieve high rates of economic growth is largely motivated by the fact that economic growth associates with lower poverty rates and improvements in the quality of life. It is assumed that there is a strong link between economic growth and poverty reduction.
Basically, Governance means process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented. The quality of governance is determined by the impact of this exercise of power on the quality of life enjoyed by the citizens. Governance can be used in several contexts such as international governance, corporate governance, national governance and local governance. Government is one of the actors in governance. Asian Development Bank (1995) identified four basic elements of good governance such as accountability, participation, predictability and transparency.
Political Governance consists of two factors as (i) Voice and accountability. (ii) Political instability and violence. The political governance indicator is intended to capture the process by which government is selected, monitored and replaced. Indicator such as “voice and accountability” measures political, civil, human rights and independence of the media. It includes a number of indicators measuring various aspects of political process, civil liberties and political rights. It measures the extent to which citizens of a country are able to participate in the selection of government while the “political instability” indicator captures whether the government in power will be destabilized or overthrown by possibly unconstitutional or violent means, including military cop, terrorism etc. Pakistan after analyzing on both factors is a politically instable country.
Economic Governance has also two factors as (i) Government effectiveness. (ii) Regulatory quality. These two indicators summarize various indicators that include the government’s capacity to effectively formulate and implement sound policies. The thrust of this is on the input required government to be able to produce or implement good policies and quality delivery of public good. The ‘regulatory quality’ governance indicator includes measures of the incidence of market unfriendly policies such as price control or inadequate bank supervision, as well as the perceptions of the burdens imposed by excessive regulation in area such as foreign trade and business development. Pakistan is also weak on these grounds.
To remedies these solution what Pakistan needs is to develop proper and transparent process of elections so that right leadership can come on up front. Also planning in every exist but poor implementation is ruining image of government all over the country and abroad which require a serious heed to resolve issues like that.

2010 PAKISTAN-CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES

In 2010, Pakistan still faces fundamental questions of identity, governance, state and nation-building. Asif Ali Zardari, co-chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party and widower of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, was elected Pakistan’s president in an indirect election on 6 September 2008. Zardai’s foremost challenge was to be best in restoration of peace and stability in Pakistan. The most critical challenge that Pakistan, under the leadership of Zardari, faces is geographically concentrated in the country’s western border region with Afghanistan, a challenge that maintains both regional and international dynamics.

Since 1947, Pakistan has had hostile relations with both its eastern and western neighbors – India and Afghanistan. Over the past six decades, the mutual relations between these two countries have been held inmate to larger regional and global alignments, pressures and interests. To improve the relationship with Afghanistan the president, Yousaf Raza Gillani, promised to bring “economic, social, and political reforms” to the tribal areas, where illiteracy and poverty have created conditions for terrorism to spread.

One other big challenge for Pakistan is the rise in sectarian violence between extremist Shiite and Sunni militant factions. The Shiite-Sunni conflict started in Pakistan in the mid-1980’s and has since resulted in an estimated 5,000 deaths. Though the extremists are supported by Saudi Arabia and the Sunni Gulf states on the one hand and revolutionary Shiite Iran on the other, innocent people are the most common victims of the violence unleashed by them.

Despite the centricity of the post-9/11 ‘war on terrorism’ and the current security concerns in the tribal regions bordering Afghanistan, India has always been Pakistan’s main agonize. The 1947 partition of India into two states, Pakistan and India, both solved and created a range of problems from ethno-religious to territorial. Real and tangible peace has yet to be achieved between these two states that have waged three wars over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, and continue to spend considerable portions of their national wealth and political energies on advancing their particular goals over the future of Kashmir.

The emergence and declaration of a chirpy civil society, the spirit of the business community and the moderation of a very large segment of the Pakistani population are key assets that Pakistan can utilize in establishing a vivacious democracy with stable public and political relations. This may, in turn, provide Pakistan with additional international leverage and add to constructing an environment conducive to negotiated settlements with its neighbors and the international community at large over the variety of issues currently impeding Pakistani development.

In the long-term Pakistan will also have to engage in human development to follow the economic development models of its Asian neighbors to its east. This implies that a larger part of its GDP should be spent on the welfare of its people instead of the financially draining political & military lobby. Most significantly, Pakistani privileged has yet to agree on a unified future vision and work hard to achieve it. Again this implies the active support of the international community, which must recognize that for the sake of international peace, prosperity and stability, Pakistan must be engaged with and not isolated.

Current Crisis in Pakistan - Possible solutions

Pakistan is the world’s first Muslim nuclear-armed “failed state”. The country’s current situation is as terrorist bombings, uprising of Islamic fundamentalists, a weakened democracy and a faltering economy. Every day that passes things get even worse and economy is in down spin. Relations with India were recently on the road to reestablishment after years of conflict over Kashmir issue but received a quick setback after the recent attacks on Mumbai. Before that Pakistan was facing the consequences of the 9/11 accident whose blame is also on the shoulders of Muslims. The situation in Pakistan is very bad or one can say on the edge. Said by one US official “No money, No energy and now No government”.
Pakistan is facing now-a-days existential crisis on its streets, its courts, and its parliaments. Most democracy experts say that the system needs informed and educated masses. Fortunately no one Pakistani political leader denies with this fact but unfortunately these same politicians don’t even help a little to make Pakistanis to read and write.
Pakistan necessitates a lead which has determination, optimistic, and act as a catalyst for it. Basically it is a time of showing new ideas and creativity in building the ruined relationship with whom who are the true friends of Pakistan. With other vital problems Pakistan is facing the high inflation rate along with unemployment & lack of investment.
The most unfortunate aspect of the Pakistan’s crisis is that the judiciary was always kept under restrain by all successive governments. The doctrine of dichotomy of powers is the essence of our Constitution. In reality, this system could not be developed because of regular military invasions. For more than 32 years, i.e. more than half of its life, Pakistan had remained under the rule of different military generals. This one man rule has extended the authority and powers of executive more than the system of dichotomy required. It is very painful to note that the judiciary in Pakistan has extended authority to military rulers to legislate and even to amend the Constitution. 

Inflation remains the biggest threat to the economy, jumping to more than 9% in 2005 before easing to 7.9% in 2006. In 2008, following the surge in global petrol prices inflation in Pakistan has reached as high as 25.0%. In 2009 it jumped to 30%.The central bank is pursuing tighter monetary policy while trying to preserve growth.
While Pakistan has some social and political problems, it has also been stated as being the tourism industry's big thing. Pakistan has diverse cultures, people and landscapes. The country's attraction range from the ruin of civilization such as Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa and Taxila, to the Himalayan hill stations, which attract those interested in winter sports.
The romances of the North West Frontier Province is timeless and legend. Punjab province has the site of Alexander's battle on the Jhelum River and the historic city Lahore, Pakistan's cultural capital, with many examples of Mughal architecture such as Badshahi Masjid, Shalimar Gardens, Tomb of Jahangir and the Lahore Fort. Before the Global economic crisis Pakistan received more than 500,000 tourists.
In 2009, The World Economic Forum’s Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report ranks Pakistan as one of the top 25% tourist destinations for its World Heritage sites. Ranging from mangroves in the South, to the 5,000-year-old cities of the Indus Valley Civilization —Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa.
Pakistan receives economic aid from several sources as loans and grants. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank (WB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), etc provides long term loans to Pakistan. Pakistan also receives bilateral aid from developed and oil-rich countries. In November 2008, The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a loan of 7.6 Billion to Pakistan, to help Stabilize and rebuild the country's economy. More recently the govt. of Pakistan received an economic aid of US $5bn dollars out of which the US pledge of $1bn was described as a down-payment on the previously announced $1.5bn already promised to Pakistan for each of the next five years.

The European Union promised $640m over four years, while reports said Saudi Arabia had pledged $700m over two years. Overall Friends of Pakistan had pledged $1.6 billion in aid, which would help Pakistan, move forward on its way to self-reliance. In my opinion, Pakistan should focus on the self-blessing providing to it by Allah such as its major crops, minerals and the other hidden powers present within its human capital.