Pakistan has all it takes to be a great nation!

Yes, I strongly believe that Pakistan has everything it takes to be strong, united and disciplined. PHOTO: AFP

It has been four years since I moved to Austria to pursue a PhD degree. At the time of leaving Pakistan, I was overjoyed, filled with excitement and enthusiasm. The picture of Europe, though largely exaggerated, depicted by my friends who were already studying there, was so appealing that I could hardly wait to get there.

On tour around Bangladesh

This gallery comprises of images from various parts in Bangladesh where the International Mother Language Day is observed in commemoration of the movement where a number of students died in 1952, defending the recognition of Bangla as a state language of the former East Pakistan, now Bangladesh; along with protests and much more.

A Bangladeshi decorates the Shaheed Minar, or martyrs mausoleum, on International Mother Language Day in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012. International Mother Language Day is observed in commemoration of the movement where a number of students died in 1952, defending the recognition of Bangla as a state language of the former East Pakistan, now Bangladesh.

Myanmar today

Ever since the repressive military regime was disbanded in 2011, the people of Myanmar are looking up to promising changes ahead.
Despite being a resource-rich country, the nation has the world’s worst legal system for doing business, retaining a position it has held for the last five years despite recent reforms. But the reforms have caught the attention of foreign investors, eager to do business in the nation strategically placed between China and India.
With regards to the perpetual civil war Myanmar has struggled with, the new government has outlined a three-stage plan with all 16 of the country’s ethnic rebel groups, promising of village development projects like housing, roads, water electricity and resettlement of refugees and internally displaced people, in the hopes of permanent peace.

This photo shows a couple walking back to home at the end of the day in downtown Yangon.

Carnival celebrations from around the world

A fire breather performs during carnival celebrations in Barranquilla, Colombia, Saturday Feb. 18, 2012. In 2003 the UNESCO declared Barranquilla's carnival a "Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity." (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Inaugurating the 79th Lemon Festival

With more than 200,000 visitors each year, La Fete du Citron or the Lemon festival is an exclusive event that has taken on a new life in the last few years.
Centering heroes from the world of cartoons and comic books, the festival commemorates numerous sculptures made out of lemon and oranges; each telling a story in a number of scenes.

People work on sculptures made with oranges and lemons representing the Eiffel tower and the entrance of a metro station on February 16, 2012 in Menton on the French Riviera, ahead of the start of the "Fete du Citron" (lemon carnival).

The Sheikh Zayed Camel Festival

Jockeys compete in a traditional camel race during the Sheikh Sultan Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan Camel Festival, held at the Shweihan racecourse, in the outskirts of Abu Dhabi.

Jockeys compete in a traditional camel race during the Sheikh Sultan Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan Camel Festival, held at the Shweihan racecourse, in the outskirts of Abu Dhabi on February 16, 2012.