
Throwback: 'Essence of chicken' and 'shake at the Shack'
We take you back in time through advertisements placed in Dawn in the swinging '60s.
Published
July 13, 2014
Welcome to the Swinging '60s - a time in Pakistan that featured the Xavier Sisters at the Grand Hotel, Karachi; where a Rs1,300 downpayment was all that was needed to drive off in a brand new Skoda 1000; where Independence Day advertisements from Dhaka spoke of Pakistan's progress.
As part of a new series focused on our past, Dawn.com presents a small assortment of advertisements selected from thousands of ads that were published during the '60s.
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Comments (110) Closed
Chishtis
Jul 13, 2014 02:19pm
My heart sinks when I reminicise the past Pakistan. We were flying high and came the dictators.
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Anon
Jul 13, 2014 02:29pm
That is the only thing remaining which we can be proud of.......
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Nadil
Jul 13, 2014 02:53pm
lovely!!!
amma tullo me pakao, hamay sehatmand banao.
how i wish those days can come back
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farida
Jul 13, 2014 02:56pm
It all sum down to one thing we have moved one step forward and five step back
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Raees Ahmed Shaikh
Jul 13, 2014 03:05pm
Wonderful! kindly arrange for 70s' adds.
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Raees Ahmed Shaikh
Jul 13, 2014 03:06pm
Wonderful! ,,, kindly arrange for 70s Advertisement
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Qadri the great
Jul 13, 2014 03:18pm
Old times :(
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Junaid
Jul 13, 2014 03:20pm
Wow! Even though i wasnt born back then, but all these advertisements give me a glimpse of how living it was. How I wish we could once again live in a time where those who wanted to watch Scherherzade dance could do so without having fingers pointed towards them.
We could have been at a much better place now!
Sigh!
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event horizon
Jul 13, 2014 03:23pm
Can't stop smiling. Thank you Dawn for bringing memories (before my birth actually) of a Pakistan where human beings used to live. Can I book an order for Skoda car for Rs 13,300 or Dodge Dart?
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Adeel
Jul 13, 2014 03:50pm
i wish, i born in 60's
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Fakhruddin Usmani
Jul 13, 2014 04:08pm
@Chishtis we were moving fast during dictator's time, infact todays basic infrastructures are the outcome of President Ayub Khan,
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Yasser Masood
Jul 13, 2014 04:33pm
Dodge Dart64 for me too please!
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L Ahmad
Jul 13, 2014 04:40pm
Yes it is cheaper to live in the past. Petrol was around 3 Rupees per gallon and meat price was less than 5 Rupees' Sare', did not have kilos then.
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almas mohommad
Jul 13, 2014 04:45pm
NICE LIKED IT , PRINT 50S AND 70S AS AWELL
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Mohd.Bashir
Jul 13, 2014 05:13pm
Wait till general Raheel Sharif topples mian nawaz sharif. Our generals are greedy and power hungry.
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seemab roy
Jul 13, 2014 05:33pm
i like being in past and black and white for sometime
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Fame
Jul 13, 2014 06:13pm
@Chishtis By dictator u mean Bhutto since he nationalized all the booming private industry.
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Fame
Jul 13, 2014 06:15pm
Bhutto and Zia ruined this country, not to forget Ayub in his last few years. Wished Jinnah could have given us a constitution and a governance system to follow.
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Arif Khan.
Jul 13, 2014 06:33pm
"Gone with the Wind" Religious fundamentalism has taken over now, everything including Liberty has faded for ever.
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fazal
Jul 13, 2014 06:51pm
thank you very much,
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Zia
Jul 13, 2014 06:58pm
This is an era from my youth . I feel pitty for our generation which was born in 70's and had to blossom their youth under Zia's time .
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Balasubramaniam Raju
Jul 13, 2014 07:04pm
Good old times when happiness and peace prevailed in the air for you. Where have they all gone now, especially in Karachi and Lahore? Who is responsible?. Pray you get it back in near future.
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Alive
Jul 13, 2014 07:12pm
It seems like we were more moderate and enlightened some 50 years ago....... Thanks to dictators for pushing us back to pre-industrial age.
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Azhar Shah
Jul 13, 2014 07:46pm
I thoroughly enjoyed the past, I lived in this era, the Saddar area of Karachi was the melting pot. People of all denominations lived and got along with each other. Now these are just memories. Dawn, thank you for this nostalgic trip.
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Foucault
Jul 13, 2014 07:48pm
In 1964 Pakistan had a per capita income higher than India, a space programme more advanced than India (Rehbar-I and Rehbar-II), better roads, ports, industry & agriculture.
Pakistanis should thank the mullahs and Generals for the progress made in last 50 years.
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zaku
Jul 13, 2014 07:53pm
@Anon. you are wright. It is sad that whenever we talk about Pakistan's good days, we speak in the past tense. Only thing we can be proud of Pakistan is its Past. Thanks to mullahs.
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Manzer
Jul 13, 2014 08:08pm
@Alive Learn a bit of history. A dictator was in power those days. He came to power in 1958 and ruled for over a decade.
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Manzer
Jul 13, 2014 08:16pm
@Junaid Those things were considered bad even in the 'good old days', folks would be pointing fingers at you, but thankfully not guns.
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asif
Jul 13, 2014 08:21pm
Pakistan before mullahs, I hate mullahs.
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Sajjad Gul
Jul 13, 2014 08:30pm
Gr8 nostalgia
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Naila
Jul 13, 2014 08:31pm
Unfortunately the mullahs have made sure that the Pakistani people will never live like this again.
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Muhammad Ahmed
Jul 13, 2014 09:03pm
Nostalgia is irritating, yet acceptable when older people reminisce about glorious past since it is their mechanism of coping with unpleasant present. It is stupid when younger generations fantasize about past that they only get to know about from limited perspective. We have this problem at the conservative end of society and now we also see in the liberal end of society. Learning from past is indeed important to face present and to plan for better future but considering it the best phase is absolutely idiotic behavior. Evolution of mind is a reality and it may end up making societies more conservative or more liberal. We certainly can progress towards becoming more tolerant society by not demeaning beliefs of people with whom we disagree based on politics, religion or other aspects of social behavior. 1940s-2000s are by gone and we have a much brighter future to look forward to and we should embrace it with enthusiasm rather than eternal pessimism.
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Omar
Jul 13, 2014 09:09pm
@Chishtis
Then came mullahs and they feasted on our ignorance and hypocrisy.
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Harmony
Jul 13, 2014 09:25pm
@Anon - "we can be proud of" what? We have lost what was good and not gained anything. So, nothing to be proud of (yet).
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Hasan
Jul 13, 2014 09:29pm
@Chishtis This was a great era of a so called dictator the all time mighty democrat Ayub Khan. Then came the disastrous awami daur of Bhutto and till date we suffer from his follies.
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Ahsan
Jul 13, 2014 09:45pm
@Chishtis. It was the 'dictator' Ayub Khan who rightly gets credit for Pakistan's progress at those times. We were far ahead of S.Korea, Malasia, Indonesia, Taiwan and many others economically The cause of our downfall was the corrupt and inept politicians.
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SB
Jul 13, 2014 10:23pm
This is great, I was not born in 60's, but would have loved to have this continue and take its normal course. I get irritated by dialouge on dictators vs what else was there. With the literacy rate of pakistan, i dont think democracy is the way to go. Democracy is for people that have the intellect to select there leaders, without education we can't be in that situation especially considering the past of feudalism in Pakistan. Look at the last 6-8 years, it has been such a facade of democracy, at least during the "dictators" time we gained the freedom of media and were well on our way to bring the country back on global map of economic upcomers. I hope and I pray that we get sincere and competent leaders that actually know a thing or two about leading and have the intellect to surround themselves with economic guru's. These leaders can come from so called democaracy or a "dictator" for achieving economic prosperity.
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AbbasToronto
Jul 13, 2014 10:30pm
All alien and for the top 1%. No wonder it did not last.
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Shehzad Khan
Jul 13, 2014 10:35pm
Not sure why, if we all can identify the reasons of our constant decline, not work on rectifying it?
Why, why do we keep bringing the same old corrupt faces, politicians in power? Why do we take our religious heed from inept and uneducated (mazheebi taaleem) Mullas? Please create change from within ourselves. Share with family, friends so we can start the reconciliation, somewhere, somehow.
We cannot absolve ourselves of responsibilities by only reminiscing in the past. We for sure will be held responsibility for what we did AND not do.
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Hsagheer
Jul 13, 2014 10:46pm
This is brilliant. A wonderful walk down the memory lane. I had no idea Karachi used to be so happening!!!
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Ammar Ali
Jul 13, 2014 11:13pm
These advertisements are reflecting Pakistan that was actually free of terrorism, target killings and ethnicity etc. So called Islamic mullahs in cooperation with fundamentalist dictator deteriorated the image of Pakistan gradually over the time. It would take time to revive the true essence of liberty in much better form than before. Millitary offensive under the title of "Zarb-e-Azb" would be good step to eradicate terrorism revive the true image of Pakistan.
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Naveed
Jul 13, 2014 11:29pm
@Chishtis It was dictators time 60s
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Khalid
Jul 13, 2014 11:30pm
Drigh Road. WOW. I used to go to PAF Model School on Drigh Road. We have got rid of history. Changed the names of streets. Drigh Road was called Drigh Road for so long, a lot of people still call it with the same old name. Why did we have to change our history?. Could we not have called a new street Shahrah-E-Faisal?.
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Naveed
Jul 13, 2014 11:31pm
Karachi seems to be Paris in those times
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Ali
Jul 13, 2014 11:45pm
I wanna go back to 60's and live in that era, these ads alone are making me love my country, sadly the present fails to do.
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Wasif
Jul 14, 2014 01:24am
@Zia Spare a thought for the people born under the Zia regime
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I. Ahmed
Jul 14, 2014 01:25am
@Chishtis No it was during the dictator's time. Actually, we were flying high and then came these selfish politicians!
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Razi
Jul 14, 2014 01:51am
Ok man we get it, Pakistan used to be so awesome when it had ads featuring bikini clad women. Enough remeniscing on the past. Lets talk about the present problems.
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Sajid
Jul 14, 2014 02:03am
@Fakhruddin Usmani
Can you name any one of those please? I can only remember the deep hatred and schism created during that regime. Ultimately resulting in the break up of My Pakistan.
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Mumtaz Mahar
Jul 14, 2014 03:25am
Oh the good old memories ! All this make me feel nostalgic. I too wish that we can go back in time :( "Pakistan with all thy faults I love thee still ! "
Mumtaz
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Rev. Eldrick Lal
Jul 14, 2014 03:28am
We cannot live in the old glorious days but need a transforming leader who can inspire this divided nation. Pakistani's are intelligent and distinctive nation.
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Dinesh
Jul 14, 2014 03:34am
Believe it or not India want Pakistan to strong. Free for terror. Kashmir should be door for friendship .. not enmity.
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omar
Jul 14, 2014 03:40am
I WISH WE COULD HAVE KEPT THE GOOD OLD TIMES WITH FREEDOM OF MIND AND SOUL - WE DECAYED INSTEAD OF PROGRESSING POSITIVELY - VERY SAD
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zaku
Jul 14, 2014 03:56am
@Naila Yes, and brought us in the conditions that we are in today. If you like it good for you. But I know 90% Pakistani don't.
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zaku
Jul 14, 2014 03:58am
@Nadil Also, Ammie aur Dalda, Khandaan Bhalla Chunga. And Ammie , Ammie Aap K peechay kon Aaya.
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azhar
Jul 14, 2014 04:08am
@I. Ahmed You re right. Bhutto was the one who schemed to get power from Ayub. He planned the war or 1965 so Pakistan would loose and Ayub Khan would had to go. Luckily Pakistan did not loose but he wanted power at any cost which led to the separation of East Pakistan.
Pakistan would have been fine had there been no Bhutto in the picture.
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NASR
Jul 14, 2014 05:29am
I am 52 and At least some of them I do have memories of. Nice presentation from the gone by days
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meharaoun
Jul 14, 2014 05:55am
Hardly recognized two or three brand like Treet,Adamgees etc
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fahd
Jul 14, 2014 06:02am
@Chishtis 1960s ! It was actually Ayub's era
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Dhk
Jul 14, 2014 06:23am
Looks a lot less public display of self righteousness.
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Mustansir
Jul 14, 2014 09:35am
A time when you wouldn't require a visa to go to another country. No security issues at airports. When there was so much respect, etiquettes and culture among citizens. Couples and families visiting shows and theatres and return late at night without any worries. There was pride in being a Pakistani. Probably even the air was cleaner and streets much less crowded. You could ride on a horse carriage if you fancied.
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Muhammad Saleem
Jul 14, 2014 09:38am
@Chishtis
You got that wrong...Sixties were the time of Ayub Khan....you may refer to him as dictator...I wouldn't.
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Nooriezk
Jul 14, 2014 09:45am
Life is like that !
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Omer
Jul 14, 2014 09:56am
oh how I wish that Pakistan was still here... I mean I cant believe my eyes seeing all these advertisments..
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Wardah Arain
Jul 14, 2014 10:04am
Thank you dawn for compiling and sharing this valuable asset with us.
As a students of Advertising, I'm sure of one thing that we had creativity and marvelous copy writing skills at that time... which today can rarely be seen.
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Sunny
Jul 14, 2014 10:06am
Seems that everything was manufactured in Pakistan.
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N S Parameswaran
Jul 14, 2014 10:17am
brings the nostalgia of the yesteryear's back.
What i find most intriguing is the fact that women are wearing sari's. In today's pakistan you hardly find women (even older one's) wearing Sari.
When did this happen - the change over from Sari's to salwar-kamiz.
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kala Ingrez
Jul 14, 2014 10:47am
Amazing, writings were on the wall of future destruction of the country by the so called selfish businessmen and confused liberals. No wonder, I am called KALA INGREZ - a product of time.
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Muhammad Amir
Jul 14, 2014 11:27am
Amazing and astonishing. How simple we were in those days................... and now we are crossing the limits. How shameful now.............
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Muhammad Amir
Jul 14, 2014 12:07pm
Marvelous and amazing. How simple and think that peaceful too we were in the past.................. and now we have crossed the limits and restless as well........ What a shameful our present is............................
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Moiz Omar
Jul 14, 2014 12:15pm
I wish that era would come back...
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Anjum Hameed
Jul 14, 2014 12:19pm
Brings back many memories...
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aakbera@gmail.com
Jul 14, 2014 12:29pm
@Chishtis
Mine too. But the fact is that we were really flying high when the dictator was there. Come the democrats we sank to the abyss.
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Tahir Toor
Jul 14, 2014 02:05pm
The advertisements of hotels etc were so vulgar, half naked clothes. Well it is very disturbing to know. This is very good that we have changed the pace of that increasing vulgarity. Today is also not good but imagine, if that culture would have been flourished unchecked today we would have bars, and night clubs openly. Thanks to someone whether some general or politician who stopped that.
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Usman
Jul 14, 2014 03:45pm
Those were the days, no violence.
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Harris Naeem
Jul 14, 2014 04:28pm
@Chishtis never mind.
60's was a dictator reign.
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K Wai Nizami
Jul 14, 2014 04:45pm
No wonder it was begining of illegal ad for business according PPC!
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moeed
Jul 14, 2014 04:57pm
@Chishtis what has the dictators got to do with all this as you had very honest leaders
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Umer Farooq
Jul 14, 2014 05:24pm
I missing you Pakistan, please come back. I don't want to live in such Twenty first century.
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M aslam
Jul 14, 2014 10:03pm
@L Ahmad
And the salary of Grade 17 officer is 550, with a promise to be raised to 17000 in 17 years.
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zack
Jul 14, 2014 10:17pm
Get rid of all the politicians and mullahs and waderas, chaudahris and watch how we rise.
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zack
Jul 14, 2014 10:18pm
@azhar Pakistan would have been much better without Bhutto!
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Sada
Jul 14, 2014 11:31pm
Now there are beards every where. What have we done to our Pakistan
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Ali
Jul 15, 2014 01:08am
What a wonderful collection of advertisement depicting the trends in 1960s. Till that time we were still normal society, which rapidly changed after 1977.
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Zulfiqar Shafi
Jul 15, 2014 01:48am
It was wonderful to see old adds. I really appreciate your effort to maintain the old record. Kindly also post some more stuff.
Thanks
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Zulfiqar Shafi
Jul 15, 2014 02:14am
I really appreciate your old adds these are old golden memories. Kindly upload some more stuff too.
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Zulfiqar Shafi
Jul 15, 2014 02:19am
@Arif Khan. You are a 100% right. These mullas have crushed our country development and now we're no where.
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Assad
Jul 15, 2014 04:52am
General zia and mullahs are the ones primarily responsible for this mess. But my fellow Pakistanis, eventually we will have to stop blaming these corrupt politicians, mullahs and military leaders for our state and rise to the challenge. Goodbe with us.
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dawn
Jul 15, 2014 08:29am
Then I was in Pakistan (the only time).
What a wonderful wonderful country it was.
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Anjum Arshi
Jul 15, 2014 08:29am
these ads relate to the 1% richest (including the famous 22 families) of the then Pakistan. I was growing up in a village just 200 km from Karachi (which took more than 8 hours), and I saw abject poverty around me. The price of Skoda was equal to more than 2 years of my father's income (and our family was counted as 'middle class' and 'respectable' in my village). Even though mutton was Rs. 4 per kilo then, we could not afford to have it every day. All the 'shows' featuring foreign dancers in Beach Luxury were beyond the reach of our imagination. Yes, 99% of Pakistan, including the eastern wing, were completely neglected -- no healthcare, no education, no jobs. The drought left thousands without food for weeks. It was then, and it is now, no regard of the government and the elite class for the poor, that has brought Pakistan to this stage today. It is wrong to blame the Mullahs. Our successive governments, both military and civilians (the 'BMW Class' as per Cowsjee), has consciously left the masses uneducated and poor. Otherwise we could have progressed too, like India, where education was given top priority and the government invested in family planning and population control, creating jobs for the rural population, and at least providing the basic health services to the masses.
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Waqar Riaz
Jul 15, 2014 03:58pm
In those days we lived better than the Indians. They lived in a socialist economy and they could not buy these things
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Zaf
Jul 15, 2014 05:33pm
OMG. Dawn thank you for bringing back memories of care free, fun loving, live and let live days. I miss the 'old Pakistan'
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Bing-Bud-a-Bang
Jul 16, 2014 12:45am
@zack - and How and Who will do that?
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Bing-Bud-a-Bang
Jul 16, 2014 12:48am
@Tahir Toor - Yeah, really.....imagine.......OMG!
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Bing-Bud-A-Bang!
Jul 16, 2014 12:52am
@L Ahmad - And what were the incomes of the masses.....?
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naka Paka
Jul 16, 2014 04:00am
what happened to Sari's women by women in all the ad's. ?
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syed bilgrami
Jul 16, 2014 04:09am
Beautiful days are ahead and waiting for us,just like our beautiful past. Inshallah. May Allah haste amin
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Abid Iqbal
Jul 16, 2014 09:49am
Yes! I had been the part of some events at that time, even though I was school going boy. But I can remember these
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Sarfraz
Jul 16, 2014 02:17pm
Nostalgic !! It took me down the memory lane of 60's. Still remember "Thanda Thanda Hi-C Mango; Sab say acha Hi-C Mango" and "Amma Tullo main pakao, hamain sehatmand banau". What a wonderful time it was !! Great job. More of 60's and 70's please.
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Mohammed Rahmatullah
Jul 16, 2014 02:50pm
I migrated to Pakistan, coming direct from Calcutta to Karachi in May, 1964, after doing my B.Com. honours from Calcutta University. It was Ayub Khan's time. Yes I remember that a brand-new Skoda car's price was Rs.13,000/-, petrol cost - Rs.4/- a gallon (4 liters), price of fruits like Khobani, aloocha and grapes - Re.1/- a seer, etc. etc. That was really a golden-age for Pakistan. Ayub Khan should have declared himself a Shaikh of Pakistan and rule the country honestly and making Pakistan the most prestgious country of the world. At the beginning, he had some honest and most sincere persons with him, like General Azam Khan, Finance Minister Mr. Shoeb etc., but later on, he was surrounded by sychopants, who destroyed his all efforts of good works.
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Asad Kizilbash
Jul 16, 2014 05:26pm
I am reminded of an old song 'those were the days my love, I thought will never end'.
Alas, those days will never come back, thanks to Gen Ziaul Haq and his prot
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Shash
Jul 16, 2014 08:11pm
Amazing to see how forward looking Pakistanis were in those days
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Javed
Jul 17, 2014 01:32pm
It was the glorios period of Ayub Khan. Call him a dictator if you wish but let us be honest in giving credit for that period which made us proud of our green passport and nationality as pakistanis.
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Javed
Jul 17, 2014 01:34pm
@Chishtis
Sixties was the period of Ayub khan. Before him we were in a mess. We owe it to him.
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Javed
Jul 17, 2014 01:37pm
@Mohd.Bashir
Our politicians ruin the economy and the coutry every time they assume power. Generals have to retrieve us. These pictures are from Ayub Khan,s era. Be honest.
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Bahadur
Jul 17, 2014 07:53pm
Great memories.
I believe education (teaching English & computer) and secularization will help us move forward. Even if it's one step forward at a time, it's better than few steps backward.
Plea to current and future leaders--please invest in education. Start teaching computer and English from KG/first grade. Once kids know English and computer, they can learn on their own using Google, Youtube, etc..
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Farid Ali
Jul 18, 2014 11:40am
I was a teenager living it up.
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rashid zaidi
Jul 18, 2014 12:11pm
Amazing how forward thinking we were 50 years ago.Then came Bhutto and nationalization the first nail in the coffin, then came Zia and he made sure we go backward rather then forward. What a sad sack he really was. Mental midgets brought about the present it is truly sad.
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Nazneen Syed
Jul 19, 2014 03:14am
@Bahadur. Agree. Also we need to nationalize those madrasahs and turn them into proper schools. They are turning our country into lackeys of Saudi Arabia.
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Jamal
Jul 19, 2014 08:40am
@Chishtis The above clippings are from the Golden period of General Ayoub Khan :) (A dictator..right?)
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