Escalation in property prices has taken the federal capital by storm
THE winds of change in Islamabad are always up to something. Either they bring a cool breeze or a hail storm. But this time, the hail storm has come in the shape of spiralling property business.
The rise in property prices in the Capital has taken the city by storm. So much so, that things are now getting out of control. Every Tom, Dick and Harry is now a real estate agent, trying to make millions — left, right and centre. The law of the jungle does not apply to them. They take advance (for what in the property business vocabulary is called bayaana) from one buyer with a guarantee that if either of the party withdraws from the deal, it will end up paying double the amount.
This oath is given on a Rs50 worth stamp paper. But when the time comes for the buyer to pay the remaining amount and make his dream come true, the real estate agent backs off from his promise to hand over the land. Now the buyer is left with two choices — either take the real estate agent to court and wait till doomsday for a verdict in his favour, or pay double the price of the bayaana and buy the land. And he has to go through all of this because the property price is multiplying on an hourly basis. In the time that the poor buyer has been going about town, arranging loans and asking favours of rich relatives, the price of the land has reached a step higher out of his reach.
The hen laying these golden eggs is sitting pretty in a place called “Anchorage”. Off the Islamabad Highway, land is turning mud into gold with property dealers tucking loads of blue bills into their pockets. Commitment, words-of-mouth and even stamp papers are things one can laugh over. But the question is ask here, is the government doing about it? Is the Chairman Capital Development Authority, Kamran Lashari, (the apple of every grade 22 officer’s eye) cautious of this bizarre act, (literally ghonda gardee) being staged in his town? All what needs to be done is to streamline these money dwellers.
Fine they should do business, but with ethics. They should not be allowed to rip people off or break commitments. Because, believe you me, the buyers of Anchorage are not rich people. They are one off buyers putting their all jamapoongi together for a peaceful retired life. Don’t give them heart attacks, sleepless nights, (not to mention sleeping pills). It’s an SOS call Mr Lashari, and not too much to ask for.
Women Empowerment
Although everything is available to the Islooites, going to Pindi once in a while is a fun trip. It usually happens when one has to give clothes for embroidery, get the braids for dupattas or order some formal shaddi wear. The good old Chota Bazar, as it is called, in Saddar is the place for such stuff, as it is both full of variety and cheap. Roaming around in the narrow lanes, it was no doubt a pleasant surprise to see a female wrapped up in her Ridah confidently running her own shop. She was handling four to five customers, all females at the same time, giving resham to one and putting blocks on shirt for another and taking measurements of the third.
Meet Farida Shabbir, who has been sitting in her shop for four successful years selling wool, resham and utilities used in embroidery. It took me a while to get hold of this woman entrepreneur and ask her story — sitting in a man’s world!
Initiated by stitching and embroidery at home to make ends meet, Farida thought it was time to take a step ahead and expand the business. “I started working from home and with Allah’s grace got a very good response from my neighbours. The second step was the idea of having a shop of my own”, she adds. Behind every successful man there’s a woman; it was the other way round in this case. Fardia gives due credit to her husband who is “very cooperative and full of ideas.”
Mother of three, Farida manages her home and business successfully. Early to rise, she tries to finish her household chores before opening her shop at 10.30 in the morning. But managing both home and business is not an easy job. Fardia closes the shop for a two-hour lunch break and goes home to have lunch with her kids. “I come back after sending the kids to the madrassa, refreshed and revitalized” says Farida who finally wraps up at 9:30 to go home. Her customers vary from chore to chore. Block printing attracts many customers and so does stitching. “Many ladies who are not comfortable with male tailors find it easier to get clothes stitched at my shop. Farida is here for 18 years and has maintained a very good rapport with her male counterparts — the shopkeepers in the Chota Bazar. “Although in the beginning some people tried to scare me off but I did not give up and continued my business, there’s no looking back,” adds the confident woman.
Escalation in property prices has taken the federal capital by storm 
