Listening to Pakistani Sufi singer Abida Parveen has often been described as a divine experience, but the singer says she often hopes that rulers in India and Pakistan would listen more carefully to her message of peace.

“In Sufism, there is only peace,” Parveen said. “I have always believed that music and the arts is the best way to achieve peace.

“When I sing, I sing of peace, of harmony and culture.” Often called the heir to the legendary Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Parveen is today perhaps the world’s most renowned Sufi singer.

All the rooms and pavilions of the Mohatta Palace Museum buzzed with activity as a major exhibition showcasing the history of Karachi got under way on Wednesday.

Organized by the Mohatta Palace Museum in collaboration with the Dawn Group of Newspapers, the 90-day exhibition is titled Jewel in the crown: Karachi under the Raj 1843-1947.

The exhibition was first held as part of Dawn’s All about lifestyle show last year. In October 2004, a sneak preview of the exhibition was held which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. The organizers held a private viewing of the exhibition on Nov 24 which was attended by Mir Ali Murad Khan Talpur of Khairpur.

The Pakistan chapter of the UK-based international NGO, Oxfam, has recently begun broadcasting a radio series aimed at raising public awareness of honor killings. In general, women fall victim to a variety of assorted crimes carried out under the common name of ‘honor’ across the country, argue rights activists.

“This series of feature programmes, to be aired twice a week, will cover different aspects of the ‘honor’ killing issue through very interesting and moving stories,” Farhana Faruqi Stocker, Oxfam’s country representative, said in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, noting it would highlight the role of government bodies, civil society, traditional community leadership and the public in eradicating the practice over the next three months.

Q: Tell us a bit about yourself, your date of birth, childhood and siblings?

My name is Shahzad Haroon, I was born in Hyderabad, Sindh on December 14th, 1973. I have a sister who currently lives in Kuwait. I have spent most of my early childhood in Iran, moved back to Karachi, when I was five. I had most of my education done in Karachi. After completing high school, I moved to Chicago for further studies. I completed my under-graduate studies in Electrical Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology and graduate degree from DePaul University.