Features

Karachi is the original capital of Pakistan and is the country’s largest city with more than 12m residents.

Located on the south-west coast – Karachi is home to the region's busiest port which makes it the economic hub of the country. Most of Pakistan’s 162m population rely on this city in some way for trade and commerce.

Waseem Mahmood

It is in Karachi, thousands of miles away from his home in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire that Waseem Mahmood has been encouraging the nation to stand up against terrorism.

He hopes his message will help address the negative image of Islam which increasingly dominates news headlines post 9/11.

Waseem has set up the Hum Naheen Foundation, which in Urdu means "this is not us." The foundation's latest campaign has seen 60m Pakistani people sign a petition denouncing violence in the name of Islam. 

The campaign has been broadcast on TV, radio and in newspapers. Some of Pakistan’s biggest pop stars, with a following of millions at home and around the world, have sung a signature song and soap stars have encouraged the population to sign up.

Waseem Mahmood with volunteers

Most importantly, 6,000 "Rhazikars" or volunteers have been collecting signatures around Pakistan, from rural areas to the inner cities.

Waseem went on his mission to empower the Pakistani’s but why not do all this a little closer to home?

We ask these questions and more in two films on BBC Midlands Today.