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Pakhaear!! Khushamdeed!! Welcome!! Olaa!! Bonjour!! Bon Dia!!

I am from a small city MINGORA located in one of the most beautiful valley SWAT in North Western Frontier Province in Pakistan. Mingora is district headquarter and commercial center of Swat. The Swat Museum,located between Mingora and Saidu Sharif has a rich collection of Gandhara art which is worth viewing. Various excavated Buddhist sites are located near Saidu Sharif at Gulkada, and further south towards Chakdara, Udegram and Nemogram. Buddhist stupas and other remains are spread over the southern part of the Valley.

The majority of the people of Swat are Muslim Pukhtoons, Kohistani and Gujars. Some have very distinct features and claim to be descendants of Alexander the Great. Swat has been inhabited for over two thousands years. The first inhabitants were settled in well-planned towns. In 327 B.C, Alexander the Great fought his way to Udegram and Barikot and stormed their battlements. In Greek accounts, these towns have been identified as Ora and Bazira. Around the 2nd century BC, the area was occupied by Buddhists, who were attracted by the peace and serenity of the land. There are many remains that testify to their skills as sculptors and architects. In the Beginning of the 11th century AD, Mahmud of Ghazni advanced through Dir and invaded Swat defeating Gira, the local ruler near Udegram. Later the land was taken over by the Dilzak, who in turn were ousted by the Yusafzais (a Pathan tribe).

The State was founded in 1917 by Miangul Gulshahzada Sir Abdul Wadud, born in 1882, affectionately known as Badshah Sahib. He's the grandson of Hazrat Abdul Ghafoor ( Akhond of Swat ), warrior saint of the Yusafzai tribe who fought the historic battle of Ambella ( 1862 ) against the British forces under the command of Brigadier General Neville Chamberlain ( whose grandson was later to become Prime Minister of England ). After the death in 1877 of the Akhund of Swat, known as Saidu Baba, whose holy shrine is in the beautiful mosque at Saidu Sharif, a state of anarchy prevailed in the region and it remained in the grip of tribal wars for about 40 years as there was no leader Saidu Baba's two sons having died earlier at the age of 35 years each. In 1917, Badshah Sahib came to the rescue of his much oppressed Yusafzai Tribe who accepted him as thier leader. Nine years of hard struggle and fighting to subjugate the disturbing and hostile elements within and, in 1926, the late British India Government recognized Badshah Sahib as the first Ruler of Swat State on 3rd May, 1926. In 1930 the honour of a knight of the British Empire was conferred upon Badshah Sahib by the late British India Government by consent of King George V of England. The State remained under Badshsh Sahib for 23 years when on 12th December 1949, Badshsh Sahib voluntarily retired in favor of his son, Major General Miangul Jahan Zeb, H. Pk: H. Q. A; C. I. E; born 5th june 1908. He was no new comer to State affairs however, as for several years before his accession, he was ruler and had held delegated authority, first as C-in-C of the State Army and then as Prime Minister to his father, which gave him effective control over a great deal of the administration of the State. In 1969, Swat state came in full control of Government of Pakistan.

Swat is known as the Switzerland of Pakistan. It is one of the most greenest valleys of Northern Pakistan and is well accessible to the rest of Pakistan. There are regular flights from Islamabad and Peshawar to Swat and return. Travelers can also get to the area either from Peshawar (160 kms away) or Islamabad (250 kms away). The valley of Swat is located in the middle of foot hills of the Hindukush mountain range. The main commercial town of the valley is Mingora.

Swat is a place for leisure Lover, Hiker, and archeologist. There are many comfortable hotels where you can stay to relax. In Kalam (upper Swat), there are some very pleasant walks since weather is pleasant one can easily walk over the hills for hours and enjoy the unspoiled nature. The Swat is the garden of Ashoka and was a prosperous land in the Buddhist times (2 B.C to 5 AD). There are at least over 100 archeological sites in the valley, and less then 10 percent of these have been excavated. One can explore some of these sites in a half day tour of Swat.

EDUCATION BACKGROUND

I did my Matriculation from Public School Sangota, Swat in 1985.Completed my F.S.C (High School Diploma) from Nisar Shaheed College Risalpur in 1988 along with my life time friends Fazal Mabood(Civil Engineer), Fazal Sattar ( Civil Judge), Akhter Aleem (Major- Pakistan Army) and Husain Ahmed (MBA). After that I did my BSC in Agricultural and Civil Engineering from N-W.F.P. University of Engineering and Technology Peshawar in 1992 & 1997 respectively. After my Graduation, I moved to Waterloo (Canada). Acquired my Master's Degree in Transportation Engineering from the prestigious University of Waterloo in April 2000.Worked for four Engineering firms (1) Transearch Group Inc (2) Totten Sims Hubicki and Paradigm Transportation Solutions Limited(3) EarthTech Inc. and (4) McCormick Rankin Corporation. Presently I am working as a Transportation Engineer for the City of Sarnia

ABOUT CITY OF SARNIA

The City of Sarnia, the largest city in Lambton County, is located on the shores of Lake Huron in southwestern Ontario. It's conveniently and strategically located about an hour's drive west of London, Ontario, and about an hour northeast of Detroit, Michigan. The area was first known as "The Rapids" and in 1836 the name "Port Sarnia" was adopted. The community grew steadily over the years and in 1856 was incorporated as a town. It became the "City of Sarnia" on May 7th 1914.

Sarnia became a prominent deep water port during the 1920's when many of the shipping facilities that exist today were constructed. Sarnia is capable of accommodating ships from all over the world. The waterway between Detroit and Sarnia is the busiest in the world with one 100 million tons of shipping passing along this route each year. Ships pass up and down the river at the rate of about one every seven minutes.

The early growth of Sarnia was stimulated by: A wealth of adjoining stands of timber. The discovery of oil in Petrolia. The arrival of The Great Western Railway in 1858. And the Grand Trunk Railway in 1859. These rail lines were later linked directly to the United States by the opening of a rail tunnel under the St. Clair River at Sarnia in 1891. A second tunnel opened in1995 which accommodates double decked rail cars. A convenient link for vehicular traffic was provided when the Bluewater Bridge was opened in 1938 connecting Sarnia with Port Huron Michigan. A second span was completed in 1997. This provides easy access to major American markets. An excellent highway network links Sarnia with all major centers in the United States and with Mexico.

Sarnia-Lambton County has the transportation infrastructure to justify its designation as the Northern Gateway to the NAFTA Superhighway.Sarnia�s petrochemical history began with the discovery of oil near the town of Petrolia (located about 20 miles from Sarnia) in the mid-1800's. Imperial Oil established a refinery in Petrolia at about that time, but later relocated to Sarnia around the turn of the century. During the Second World War, Polymer Corporation (later Polysar, now Bayer Rubber) was established in Sarnia to manufacture synthetic rubber. Following the war, Sarnia experienced rapid growth as a result of major investments by petroleum and chemical companies.

The major petrochemical and refinery facilities located in Sarnia are: Imperial Oil/Esso Suncor Amoco Dow Chemical Bayer Rubber Dupont Canada Nova Chemicals Cabot Canada Air Products Shell Canada Montell Polyolefins Terra International Ethyl Corporation UBE

In addition to encouraging renewed petrochemical expansion, the community is now working to attract investment in a variety of growing sectors These include:

Auto parts manufacturing (a key opportunity due to highway access and the proximity of auto assembly plants in Ontario and Michigan) Transportation Plastics Tourism Environmental Health care Education Software And value-added agriculture-based products The area enjoys a moderate climate with summer temperatures averaging near 27C (80F) and winter temperatures averaging near -6C (22F) which are ideal for the pursuit of both summer and winter leisure activities.

Population

Sarnia�s population is recorded by the 1996 Census at 72,738. The total population of the County of Lambton, of which Sarnia forms a part, is 128,975.The population of the Sarnia Census Agglomeration, which includes the urbanized municipalities of the Village of Point Edward and the Township of Moore, was 86,480 people in 1996. The remainder of the County is predominantly rural, with a number of villages and small towns.

This page was last updated on 05/23/02.

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