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We concluded the ‘Also Pakistan’ series late last year. The series that was divided into six parts and took more than two years to research and compile.
Hours were spent going through old newspapers and magazines tucked away safely in Dawn’s archives section. Politicians, sportsmen, artistes and friends were approached to share with us images that would capture the political and cultural zeitgeist of what Pakistan was like between 1947 and 1977.
A Pakistan that was a very different creature compared to what it started to mutate into from the 1980s onwards.
The series has continued to generate a lot of interest among a number of Pakistanis, including those who actually lived through the decades that we covered in the series, as well as those young Pakistanis who weren't even born then.
To most of the young ones the images and related information came as a pleasant surprise. They had little or no knowledge about a Pakistan that wasn't making the headlines for all the wrong reasons. A country where life was ‘normal,’ culturally rich, politically exciting and even pleasantly naïve.
However, many young Pakistanis have continued to write in and implored us to continue the series.
Recently the emails that we received in this context were so many, that we once again went sniffing and looking across the internet, DAWN’s archives and personal collections of friends, families, sportsmen, artistes and politicians to construct yet another instalment of ‘Also Pakistan.’
But this one not only offers some new images that we unearthed of the Pakistani political, social and cultural milieu of the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s, but the 1980s as well.
Images of a strange, alien place that was also called Pakistan. Enjoy.
Previous Parts:
Rana Liaquat, wife of Pakistan’s first Prime Minister, Liaquat Ali Khan, with famous American animator, film-maker and entrepreneur, Walt Disney, in 1951.
Broadcaster, Mustafa Ali, announcing the creation of Pakistan on the radio at 12 am, August 14, 1947.
Fatima Jinnah, sister of the founder of Pakistan, Muhamad Ali Jinnah, playing with her dog at her residence in Karachi in 1959.
US Vice President, Richard Nixon, writing his comments on the visitors’ book at Radio Pakistan’s Karachi station in the 1950s. With him is famous Pakistani radio personality, Z A. Bokhari.
A hotel and pub in Karachi’s Malir area.
A traffic constable directing traffic near the famous Metropole Hotel in Karachi in 1960. Today the hotel serves as a wedding hall and parking lot.
A 1962 tourism poster for Karachi.
Pilots and cabin crew of a PIA flight meet Chinese revolutionary leader and Premier, Zhou Enla (early 1960s).
A 1963 ad for the Tudor cigarette brand. Tudor was launched by the Pakistan Tobacco Company specifically to target the market of women smokers in Pakistan.
European tourists take a walk at Lahore’s Shalimar Gardens, 1966.
Current Pakistani Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, poses with his car as a young man in late 1960s.
Pakistanis and tourists wine and dine at Karachi’s Beach Luxury Hotel in 1969.
Chairman PIA, Nur Khan, hosts a party of the airline’s staff in late 1960s. Under Khan, PIA rose to become one of the top 10 airlines in the world.
A 1969 press ad of Pakistan’s Murree Beer.
A bar, restaurant and ballroom in Swat, 1970.
Former Pakistan military dictator, General Yayah Khan having dinner with famous Pakistani singer, Noor Jehan in 1969. Yayah was having an affair with the popular vocalist and former actress.
The cover of a 1967 issue of the National Geographic. It had a special photo feature on Pakistan’s tourist resorts, wildlife and politics. The cover shows two Pakistani women on a swing. One’s from a village in the Punjab (part of West Pakistan) and the other from a village in the Bengali-dominated East Pakistan.
A winning candidate of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) during the 1970 General Election. The PPP swept the election in the Punjab and Sindh provinces of West Pakistan.
The famous Taj Mahel Cinema in Karachi, 1970. It was torn down and turned into an apartment block in the 1980s.
One of the first Pakistani pop stars, Alamgir, in Karachi (1973).
A cinema house in Peshawar, 1972.
Natives of a Sindhi village drench a European tourist with cold water from a well to beat the summer heat (1973).
Young American and European tourists with locals at a restaurant in Ziarat, Balochistan, in 1973.
Students outside the Arts Lobby at the Karachi University in 1974.
Famous Pakistani painter, Jamil Naqsh, with a model in Karachi in 1974.
Pakistani Christians pose outside a church in Lahore in 1975.
An all-girl Iranian pop band that toured Pakistan, with famous Iranian singer Madam Gagosh in 1974.
Western tourists wait at a bus stand in Sibi, Balochistan (1975).
A 1975 press ad for one of Pakistan’s largest selling cigarette brand, Red & White.
Western tourists enjoying a few rounds at a restaurant Karachi’s Tariq Road, 1975.
Tourism peaked in Pakistan in 1974-75. Over a million tourists passed through or landed in Pakistan between these two years. The government declared tourism to be an industry. To mark the occasion, the Ministry of Tourism issued a special stamp to celebrate Pakistan becoming a popular tourist spot in the South Asian region.
A PTV host interviewing world wrestling champion, Anokhi (from Japan) who arrived in Karachi in the late 1970s to compete with Pakistan’s famous wrestlers, the Bholu Brothers.
Begum Nusrat Bhutto kissing her daughter, Benazir Bhutto, in Karachi’s Mid East Hospital, 1978. Benazir was arrested by the Zia regime after he toppled her father, Z A. Bhutto’s government in July 1977. She developed a serious ear infection in jail and was finally shifted to the hospital for an operation. She was shifted back to jail after the operation.
Famous progressive Urdu poet, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, with legendary Indian actor, Dilip Kumar, 1979.
LP cover of Nazia and Zoheb Hassan’s first album, ‘Disco Dewane’ (1980).
One of the first batches of the ‘Afghan Mujahideen’ arrives in the tribal areas of Pakistan, 1980.
Front page of the (now defunct) Pakistani English daily, The Muslim. It has a photo and story on the Pope’s first ever visit of Pakistan in 1981. The Pope held a rally at Karachi’s National Stadium.
Future US President, Barak Obama with a Pakistani friend in Karachi in 1982.
Canadian travellers in Multan, 1982. They were touring the world on their car.
Western tourists near the Attock Bridge in Punjab in 1982.
Famous American film actor and star, Robert Di Nero (left) during a pleasure trip in Chitral, north Pakistan.
Popular revolutionary poet, Habib Jalib, being manhandled by the police during an anti-Zia rally in Lahore in 1981.
The premier of ‘Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom’ at Karachi’s Nishat Cinema, 1984. In 2012, the cinema was burned down by religious fanatics.
Passengers at the Karachi Airport are shifted to another plane after a Pan Am flight they were on was hijacked by Arab terrorists and forced to land in Karachi in 1986. Pakistani commandos stormed the plane and shot dead the hijackers. Some of the passengers were also killed in the crossfire.
The Pakistan Cricket team celebrate the winning of its first major trophy, Sharjah, 1986. (from Left): Abdul Qadir, Mohsin Kamal, Javed Miandad, Mansoor Ilahi, Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and Mansoor Akhtar.
Future Pakistani Test captain, Misbah-ul-Haq with trophy at school, 1987.
Benazir Bhutto waves to the crowd at her wedding reception in Lyari, Karachi in 1986.
Hosts joke during PTV’s marathon transmission of the 1988 General Eelection. Benazir Bhutto won the election.
Legendary boxer, Muhammad Ali, arrives at a college in Lahore during his 1988 visit to Pakistan.
A 1989 magazine centrefold of Pakistan’s deadly pace attack of the late 1980s: Wasim Akram, Imran Khan, Waqar Younis and Aqib Javed.
Pakistani pop band, The Strings in 1989. They were part of the first wave of new Pakistani pop bands that dominated the charts in the 1990s.
Pioneers of the new wave of Pakistani pop music, the Vital Signs in 1989.
MQM Chief, Altaf Hussain, at MQM member, Farooq Sattar’s wedding in Karachi.
Blogs
Nadeem F. Paracha is a cultural critic and senior columnist for Dawn Newspaper and Dawn.com. He is also the author of two books on the social history of Pakistan, End of the Past and The Pakistan Anti-Hero.
He tweets @NadeemfParacha
Read more
On DawnNews
Comments (176) Closed
Jun 27, 2013 08:19pm
Fauji and Mullah FUBAR'ed the country real good.
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Jun 27, 2013 08:20pm
Good collection. However, it is really sad that a lot of people are looking at these as wonderful memories which are unlikely to come again!!
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Jun 27, 2013 08:18pm
Thank you Nadeem for taking us back into the wonderful memories as how Pakistan use to be. It brings tears down my face the circumstances we are facing now. For now, I just want to enjoy and cherish old time and hoping we can bring back all the good things once Pakistan had to offer to the world. Cheers
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Jun 27, 2013 08:21pm
After seeing and reading the article about Pakistan only these verse from the Deserted Village come to mind:
Sweet smiling village, loveliest of the lawn,
Thy sports are fled and all thy charms withdrawn;
Amidst thy bowers the tyrant's hand is seen,
And desolation saddens all thy green:
One only master grasps the whole domain,
And half a village stints thy smiling plain:
No more thy glassy brook reflects the day,
But, choked with sedges, works its weedy way.
Along thy glades, a solitary guest,
The hollow-sounding bittern guards its nest;
Amidst thy desert walks the lapwing flies,
And tires their echoes with unvaried cries.
Sunk are thy bowers in shapeless ruin all,
And the long grass o'ertops the mouldering wall;
And trembling, shrinking from the spoiler's hand,
Far, far away, thy children leave the land.
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Jun 27, 2013 08:25pm
"A picture is worth a thousand words".
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Jun 27, 2013 08:30pm
In the last picture, a younger Altaf bhai looks "pappu". I wonder who or what he is eyeing.
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Jun 27, 2013 08:34pm
The Pakistani society was destroyed by General Zia, the worst dictator who ruined a liberal society. Now there seems very limited opportunity for liberals in Pakistan. The series 'also Pakistan' reminds people that once we were prospering and we had hope but now we are doomed.
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Jun 27, 2013 08:32pm
Appreciate the effort put into the article. Would loved to have seen various other cities, besides Karachi, represented as well. A thumbs up, none-the-less.
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Jun 27, 2013 08:38pm
Youth in those days of past must have dreamt of a brighter future but, now the future dreams of going back to the past ..shame
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Jun 27, 2013 08:41pm
I feel so nostalgic when Iread about the old beautiful Pakistan,Well done NFP. I can expect this work from you only
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Jun 27, 2013 08:41pm
Please roll back the time to those innocent days when the world was less biased, more tolerant and just loving in general.
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Jun 27, 2013 08:42pm
speechless!!! Willing to exchange the so called unislamic era prior to Zia with Islamic era of Today. You had more freedom of religion during the supposedly unislamic era then today.
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Jun 27, 2013 08:41pm
Thank you NFP
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Jun 27, 2013 08:43pm
When i started reading Ibn e Safi Imran series i used to believe that the ambiance is totally fictitious and the foreign and non muslim characters are totally made up however, when i started going through this Also Pakistan series then i realized yes there was a time that really existed. I don't but i do crave to exist in that part of time. Bravo NFP
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Jun 27, 2013 08:50pm
What happened to Pakistan? This is one question that might just never get answered.
Thank You Sir, for showing us that once Pakistan was a " Sane " place to be.
Heartbreaking.
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Jun 27, 2013 08:55pm
The photo captioned "A bar, restaurant and ballroom in Swat, 1970" It is Murree, Mall Road and not Swat. This building and the restaurant still exists with same name. In 80's the ballroom became an arcade games hall with various coin-operated entertainment machines. I used to spend all my pocket money there.
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Jun 27, 2013 08:51pm
Man did you guys mess up your country....
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Jun 27, 2013 08:54pm
The Tudor cig commercial, the middle women is Jackie O?
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Jun 27, 2013 08:57pm
Thank You, NFP for reminding us that Pakistan was not always the Hell Hole it is now.
It was once a nice, normal and pleasent country where foreigners were welcomed and treated as guests and the populace had the freedom(s) without fear.
SO SAD WHAT IT HAS BECOME.
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Jun 27, 2013 08:58pm
A tourist tries to navigate a treacherous road in Dir, 1972, in the former NWFP (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)."
Tries to Navigate is an understatement. Tries to dodge the death is more appropriate! Did he make it? Or you don't have news of his fall in you archives?
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Jun 27, 2013 09:01pm
Wow!!! It took less than a generation's time to mess up Pakistan. It will take generations before this country even comes closer to what it was if Pakistan survives. I am not hopeful. We can only cry.
BTW: PanAm flight was not hijacked mid air, it was raided in by the terrorist when it was made its normal stopover in Karachi.
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Jun 27, 2013 08:58pm
i still can't believe on my eyes. this is truly exciting.
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Jun 27, 2013 09:06pm
Brilliant Work!!
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Jun 27, 2013 09:12pm
@Nasir:
You are way off Nasir ! First model does not resemble Jackie O at all, Secondly, if you really have to guess about the likeness of this model; I would say Yoko Ono. So you were partially right on 'O'.
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Jun 27, 2013 09:14pm
@Anam:
Nothing happened Anam, We simply outsourced all the fun stuff to other countries. Now Pakistanis go to Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai etc. to consume their libations and buy their Thiraks.
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Jun 27, 2013 09:20pm
All I can say is "WOW".
Thank you so much for posting the wonderful pictures of the past era. I LOVE Pakistan.
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Jun 27, 2013 09:44pm
Boy it was happy, liberal and prosperous pakistan, people had freedom back then, my dad tells me karachi was full of night life with wine bars & clubs opened, people singing, dancing & chilling all the time. we miss that pakistan now :(
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Jun 27, 2013 09:40pm
I have tears in my eyes when I see these pictures and the current Pakistan. Are you planning to put your whole "Also Pakistan: Beyong the Wall" series in a book? I also request that we look at these pictures and analyze what could have been done to keep what we had and keep progressing vs. going back and back and back.
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Jun 27, 2013 09:54pm
Sir, your articles bring tear to eyes for what our country was and what it has become, thanks mainly to General Zia Ul Haque. What we are leaving to our future generations is much worse than what we were handed over. Even today electronic media is a champion in slanting stories and fabricating TRUTHS. I don't even see a movement in the right direction. We are still in the reverse gear.
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Jun 27, 2013 10:02pm
I envy you NFP...you lived your early years in better times...i was born in the late 80s and all i have grown up watching is operations, strikes and killings. And now in an effort to shun monotony, we witness suicide bombings by terriorist. Sigh
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Jun 27, 2013 10:09pm
@Karachi Wala:
One of the reasion karachi is in this state is that guy and you are giving credit to that guy of what he is wearing..
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Jun 27, 2013 10:25pm
The creation of Pakistan was announced at 12 a.m. on the 15th of August, 1947 not the 14th.
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Jun 27, 2013 10:28pm
Robert de Niro in a chitrali cap... amazing!
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Jun 27, 2013 10:30pm
Truly, even as an Indian I can say that this Pakistan was far FAR better than the India of that same time, and certainly of today. Granted that a lot of things have to change with the times, but surely if Pakistan had not descended into the idiotic times of the 1980s and beyond (going on to the **@@expletives deleted@@** times of today), it would have been the IDEAL country and an example for the rest of the world of what a wonderful place a country can be. I can tell you one thing that Indians would have been the **largest** tourist segment to such a place... a place "foreign" but yet which one can relate to as a "second home". What a shame that such a thing was never to be... really, I felt like to cry...
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Jun 27, 2013 10:39pm
i am 37 years old now living in vancouver. Born in Karachi in late 70's, I vividly recall what a vibrant and beautiful place it was even in 80's. These pics brought tears to my eyes for the nation who seems now lost. Karachi was marred by ethnic violence from 86 onwards, however tourists from all over the worls still flocked to see our lost land. I remember as a young boy going to Nishat cinema to see Indiana Jones with my uncle. The hall was full and pin drop silence throughout the pic. I can also recall last hey days of Metropole hotel went there with my granpa. In those days one would find offices of world airlines dotted all around that part of Karachi. My grandpa who liked to travel, took me to airline offices. It was so much fun for a young boy to collect international magazines. I can go on and on but this is not my space i just stopped to pay hommage to our deceased ephemeral glorious past, icons now esconsed in archives symbol of a tolerant, diverse, cultured and civilized nation.
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Jun 27, 2013 10:48pm
The caption below the picture of Mustafa Ali needs some correction. As much as I know the law regarding the partition, this was 15th August at 12am, 1947, when Pakistan was created. If you search out Islamic and general calenders, you will find out that the very morning of 15th August was last Friday of Ramadhan as well... 14th August was Thursday. The Islamists in Pakistan at least cannot change this fact, though they can fool masses in Pakistan.
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Jun 27, 2013 10:57pm
Crying over spilt milk. Most Pakistanis would not even miss those days, as they would consider them to be full of loose morals and debauchery. One thing to note - no Indian other than Dilip Kumar even showed up on the Radar even in those good old days of relative free thinking.
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Jun 27, 2013 11:23pm
More than half our problems are self created. The other third or half is because of this land mass on our western border called Afghanistan. As if our problems were not enough we have had to deal with the consequences of having not one but two hyperpowers invade that poor country in the last 30 years with the result that our unfortunate nation has had to suffer the fallout/consequences of those invasions. Just have not had a break to set things right at home. Just cannot catch a break!!
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Jun 27, 2013 11:23pm
@Jabbar Khan:
Very True Mr. Jabbar!!
Not many people know that Pakistan was actually created on 15th of august, not 14th!
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Jun 27, 2013 11:30pm
@Jabbar Khan: Oops, we are screwed by few hours! Oh My ALLAH what are we going to do?
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Jun 27, 2013 11:36pm
The situation as it stands today - I saw it coming when I was just a kid - too bad I was one of Pakistan's endangered minority kids and no none would listen!
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Jun 27, 2013 11:43pm
Mulla-nism has ruined this country.
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Jun 27, 2013 11:46pm
My God, this guy NFP is a giant. Over the months I have been following two of his most epic series on Dawn.com. The Also Pakistan and his Crazy Dimond series. Full of hefty, superb write ups and pics.
Those landing here for the first time MUST check out the last six parts of the series as well.
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Jun 28, 2013 12:06am
NFP, what the hell are you doing in Pakistan. Come to India. You can easily find a job here.
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Jun 28, 2013 12:09am
Pakistan of 50s cannot be brought back. Stop dreaming and deal with the reality.
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Jun 28, 2013 12:10am
@Kakar :
Err, he also talks and shows images from 60s, 70s and 80s.
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Jun 28, 2013 12:13am
@Rakesh Kumar:
What the hell is doing here? He's one of the highest paid columnists in Pakistan writing for the largest selling English daily in the country. It's a pity though. That with all that freedom, India has failed to produce a versatile columnist like NFP.
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Jun 28, 2013 12:15am
Stop censoring comments!! why you are behaving general zia?
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Jun 28, 2013 12:18am
NFP taking too much pain to educate pakistanis. Will they listen?
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Jun 28, 2013 12:29am
@Jabbar Khan:
History says that Pakistan created on 14th August.
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Jun 28, 2013 12:32am
@Rakesh Kumar:
Why the hell would he go to India? Money isnt everything, he loves his country and wants to make it a better place for Pakistanis!
Maybe that is something that wont get through to someone like you...
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Jun 28, 2013 12:31am
I hope you keep doing this series NFP.
Maybe you can ask the general public who views these to help with your photo montages...
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Jun 28, 2013 12:32am
After we hang musharraf, I will write a similar set of episodes of what a joy and great time we had as students under his rule. Do watch out for me people will remember his tenure in the same spirit as I have lived through his times. especially when truck loads of foreign tourists used to visit the northern areas and chitral, kaghan and Naran and galiat. I was a witness of all this. good bye Pakistan wake up from sleep after another 10 years or so and In the mean time do enjoy the Muthida-Islami Jamhoori Ittehad of PML-N
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Jun 28, 2013 12:55am
@BRR:
That is such a blanket statement. Most Pakistanis do miss good old days. What do you know?
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Jun 28, 2013 01:03am
Hey Zia,
I am VERY SURE, you are burning in hell. I wish you the worst.
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Jun 28, 2013 01:25am
don't get carried away by the women smoking and men in stylish cafes. this was also the time of the anti ahmedi riots and then followed by them being declared non muslims. this was also the period that saw the beginning of the bleed india campaign - and we all know how that is still ending in pakistan today. This so called golden period was also the time when pakistan started the pre-kargil 1965 war and then tailored text books to tell kids that india unilaterally attacked. This period saw the country breaking into two triggered mostly by bhutto's ego and lies by the army.
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Jun 28, 2013 01:35am
@TKhan:
I also have the same question, Mr Khan.
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Jun 28, 2013 02:05am
I had once been to a photo exhibition that displayed pictures captured by amateur photographers . The common trait in all pictures were that the subjects were 'prepared' to be photographed, and they all looked happy. I asked a friend in charge of the exhibit why no "candid" pics ? Why no pics of every day pains ? His answer was "nobody wants to see an exhibition based on suffering".
Long story short, we always look back at past years with rose tinted glasses. These old pictures of tourists, statesmen, or buildings does not prove that those were happier times.Even back then there was hunger, abject poverty , landlords and corruption. The bars of yesterday are replaced by charassadas today. The beer and whisky bottles have been moved into expensive restaurants. Sure, the tourists have disappeared, but thats pretty much all that has changed from then to now. 50 yrs later, someone will look at pics from today and wonder "How how wonderful life must have been then! Everybody looks happy in the pics!".
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Jun 28, 2013 02:15am
Seems like the world has marched ahead...but Pakistan chose to go the other way.
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Jun 28, 2013 02:20am
*Pakistan problem started the day the creator of Pakistan died. He wanted Pakistan a home land for Muslims but secular Democratic country. Today Pakistan is insult to its creator. A nation can not prosper until and unless the basic rights of all its citizens are restored. I admire my dad decision to leave his village to move to a place now in India. Lot of Muslim friends like brother begged him not leave his and his ancestors place. Had he not made the right decision that time, me, my children and grand children would have been slave like other unfortunate minorities living in Pakistan. I still have a great desire to visit and see the place and people where I was born but present lawlessness situation stops me doing so.
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Jun 28, 2013 02:22am
"By popular demand, NFP constructs yet another instalment of what Pakistan was like between the 1950s and the 1980s." That is about 33 to 63 years ago. Pretty easy write up for anyone from that era. Trick would be to do a write-up on the future. Can NFP construct an image of what Pakistan will look like in next 50 years by extrapolating the culture,economic and geopolitical condtions today? Not a satire that he likes to do, but what he seriously thinks the reality would be. Thank you NFP.
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Jun 28, 2013 02:48am
@Rasul:
Religion ruins the country don't blame the messengers
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Jun 28, 2013 04:02am
What great memories of a time, when Pakistan had great potential.........a golden time for I grew up during this period, where life was simple and no one was wearing religion on their sleeve. NFP always revives nostalgia for my generation, when my Pakistan.......Karachi particularly was a great place to be.
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Jun 28, 2013 04:35am
Whats the last picture for - Showing a known absconder??
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Jun 28, 2013 04:57am
No words but tears in my eyes. I read the article this morning and felt so depressed that I didn't go to work. I want to say a lot of bad things to Zia but I know the auditor here won't approve of it. What a shame!
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Jun 28, 2013 06:08am
Fantastic images, 1950s/60s Pakistan was a progressive developing nation that was a beacon for Asia...
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Jun 28, 2013 06:20am
These memories are a treasure. Please create a web page to preserve them.
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Jun 28, 2013 06:47am
I cried after seeing again the Pakistan of 70's and 80's which I witnessed and still misses while livings abroad. May god burn Zia Ul Haq, mullahs and idiot policy maker sitting in Islamabad in hell for bringing Pakistan to this state. NFP god bless you. Keep on writing.
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Jun 28, 2013 06:58am
Beautiful pics and calm of Pakistan of 1950's,1960's. May those years return! Keiky.
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Jun 28, 2013 07:14am
Good piece of writing but catch 1979 is best so far. I read all Also Pakistan and crazy Diamonds. Well done, NFP.
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Jun 28, 2013 07:49am
Thanks for sharing these pictures. You are among the few liberals in Pakistan with a balanced perspective.
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Jun 28, 2013 08:26am
Question is how can the time be turned back to a peaceful past. How can we attract people from all parts of the world back to Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and other parts of Pakistan. You would agree with the idea of reverting some constitutional changes as a starting point which served nothing but had just one purpose and that was pitting one group of people against other. How many more more lives need to be wasted before we realize that it was all wrong to begin with.
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Jun 28, 2013 08:49am
I am not sure if people read the article like this as an entertainment and visit to memory lane or learn and get the message that we did not have a spectacular past and it was not that great even back then. We had no facilities or anything special in the country but people just keep coming to visit the country. If you look closely then you will realize that there was nothing to offer even back then. Forget about people visiting from outside the country there are quite a few Pakistanis are so afraid to visit Pakistan. There is no surety about anything except getting robbed even killed as an innocent bystander. How many people who are running the show will these article and start thinking about doing the right thing. The choice is your and no one will come and fix your country. Fix it before new ranking is created to place Pakistan to the lowest rung of the ranking ladder. What a pity that the opportunity was lost so many time.
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Jun 28, 2013 08:54am
Keep up the good work NFP! There are always exceptions, but Pakistanis were by and large able to live their lives as they wished in those days. There is no doubt that we were a more tolerant society.
But let us now turn to education. Can you research and write a 'then & now' article on what ZAB's nationalization policy did to Pakistan's education system. Thank you.
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Jun 28, 2013 09:01am
@Rakesh Kumar: Dude we have higher standards for the workplace that we choose other than Pakistan
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Jun 28, 2013 09:12am
Sams' restaurant and ballroom is in Muree not Swat.
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Jun 28, 2013 09:35am
@Dilawer:
we need to detached the relegion from the state affairs as it is a personal meter.
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Jun 28, 2013 09:57am
Pakistan decided to invest all its resources in its Military and not its people, the results of which should be obvious to all. The rulers tried to build unity by destroying diversity, a project gone horribly wrong. Ideological brainwashing has been going on for a very long time, the fruits too bitter for ones imagination.
Sadly the kind of atrocities committed in the name of Allah and Islam is mid boggling. HE is letting everyone know what HE thinks of it, is anyone listening though ? Better to preserve these remembrances of a time gone and opportunities lost, in the Archives as it is too late to turn the chapter.
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Jun 28, 2013 10:11am
With every picture, I tried to guess who it was before reading the caption. With the exception of Nazia, Jalib, Dilip kumar, Faiz, and Jinnah's dog, I failed miserably. Leave aside the Pope's visit, I couldn't even recognize De Niro. Heck, it took me a while to figure out the Metropole road!
Thumbs up NFP!
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Jun 28, 2013 10:47am
If you want to look at the 1950's and 1960's - Dacca is also important because it was part of Pakistan and central to Jinnah's Pakistan.
I hope you will consider a robust coverage of East Pakistan As It Was, covering not just its rich culture and heritage - but perhaps to shed light to modern day West Pakistanis that our eastern neighbors were one of us. We caused the BS for their revolt and it should be highlighted.
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Jun 28, 2013 11:08am
The pictures shook me. This is definitely the different pakistan as what it is today. But dont you guys commenting on the past era believe that there was a lot of western culture that was kind of a spoil sport to young people at that time. I being a indian will not totally agree with the depiction and the positives that is being shown by some of the photos. Remember we come from a different roots and men women gambling and being involved in drugs is definitely a no big time. And that was the sole reason i feel fanatics took advantage of , There must be a mix of both the religious and the modern outlook and it should never unbalance the society. Cause we are not the west.
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Jun 28, 2013 11:15am
@Javed: ZAB's nationalisation of schools was a very serious mistake. In trying to standardise education through bureaucratic arm twisting, he lowered the quality of education across the spectrum. But that damage was not irreparable. Education in Pakistan was never designed to instil the spirit of inquiry, to question and challenge existing mores and values. But it is in the nature of education that it trains people to think for themselves, so to a certain degree that was present in the curricula.The fatal blow to education was struck when Zia handed over the Ministry of Education to the Jammat e Islami. The curricula was 'Islamised'. Before long, education was transformed into indoctrination.Students were taught what to think rather than how to think. Students were mired in dogma. Rationality, critical analysis, original work were stamped upon. No government since Zia has dared and in the foreseeable future would dare to rectify the situation because of the backlash. We need a miracle to extricate ourselves from this insufferable situation..
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Jun 28, 2013 11:26am
Oh those good old days...........every one was so happy, all the visitors in their own way were safe as we were not so Muslim then.................And then came General Zia.........!
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Jun 28, 2013 11:30am
Oh!......those good old days when we were not so Muslim. People were happy; visitors were safe.......every place was safe.......then came General Zia.........every good thing was lost.
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Jun 28, 2013 11:32am
Oh! those old good days......people were happy though they have little to eat, not so many cars, no high plazas, visitors could go anywhere any way they like, Pakistanis were so tolerant.......then came General Zia......we lost everything but one---bigotry.
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Jun 28, 2013 11:40am
Please return our good old days when everyone was safe; all the visitors were welcomed. People could live the way they liked. Alas! we should never had General Zia
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Jun 28, 2013 11:52am
Another great job done by NFP, these pictures take you back to a Pakistan we can only hope or dream about.It saddens me to see what has gone wrong with a country which has almost hosted the most influential people around the world, had the best airlines, had the best hashish and etc!! Its sad to know that I was not born in that era to see Pakistan prosper with its energetic social life and uplifting tourism. I say it with deep regret that I am a child of the 80's and since that time we have seen just warfare and political drama inside Pakistan. I wish we had a time machine, to relish our time back in those days again!! no doubt a greatness like always NFP, job well done!!!
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Jun 28, 2013 11:53am
@Rakesh Kumar:
Let Pakistanis have something they can be happy about.
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Jun 28, 2013 12:05pm
Unbelievable, our past is much better than the present one ......Clam;peaceful;tourist nation from Karachi to Khyber amazing.
NFP, thanks for sharing the soft image of Pakistan!
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Jun 28, 2013 12:04pm
@Lakhkar Khan, Pekhawar dhe khkulo khan:
Pakistan has gradually slipped down the slope of conservatism, and has descended into fascism. Islamic fascists have been supported by the people all along, with funds being provided for their non-state activities. The state itself has funded the non-state actors for its own political advantages. recent polls also indicate most people want Sharia implemented - as if all those blasphemy cases were not enough. The people have gotten what they wanted and perhaps what they deserved - they paid for it and funded it.
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Jun 28, 2013 12:06pm
@Aseem:
You see a women smoking or gambling and jump into conclusion that they have loose morals, and therefore can be mishandled. Such is the mentality of many in that part of the world.
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Jun 28, 2013 12:23pm
@Haroon:
Who cares about Dacca. They wanted out and wanted to leave. If anything I'm glad, it was a blessing. It was unnatural for them to be part of Pakistan. Plus ethnically they were too different and more Indian like in culture. Lets keep the focus on Pakistan here. These are awesome pictures.
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Jun 28, 2013 12:26pm
The dangers of Pakistani people becoming overly religious and following Wahhabis. We are a nation of peaceful fun loving Sufis that welcome everyone in open arms with prosperity. Religion and lifestyle are a personal choice and Pakistan is a diverse and rich country!
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Jun 28, 2013 12:36pm
Thanks to Nadeem - the old collection makes me nostalgic about my youth days in India. In this fine collection, Pakistan looks a Dream land from 1001 Arabian (Sea) Night tales.
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Jun 28, 2013 12:44pm
@Aseem:
Dear Sir, I don't think that there was any restriction on practicing religion back then. it was just that you were a bit free to do what you liked, and now through bigotry everyone try to look and make believe others that they are religious but if you look at the rate of rapes and drug consumption it has increased by multiple times
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Jun 28, 2013 12:47pm
Not Zia alone - Rapid population explosion too has caused the deterioration in the sub-continent. Pakistanis have multiplied six times during the last 60 years. Our Mumbai too is unrecognizable from earlier pics.
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Jun 28, 2013 12:56pm
@Khan:
May Zia burn in Hell for eternity....
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Jun 28, 2013 12:59pm
Dear NFP,
I am a regular follower of your BLOG. No doubt you are one of the excellent Blog writers we have seen in Asia,
I have a query which would rather be a complaint. Pakistani journalism has always talked about minority extinction in Pakistan. Which the world has agree to an extent. I thought this degradation commenced post 1st India pk war for kashmir. But then your Pictorial series of Blog (Also Pakistan) never showed any other community at all, especially Hindus. Surprise to see this, because we have so many actors, Industrialist, Freedom fighters, Players, artist which came from Pakistan and did extraordinarly well in India even after the painful migration. How come not a single hindu/ christen / sikh is seen enjoying his set of freedom in your heritage blog. Does this imply the rights of mionirty were quarantined immediately after partition?
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Jun 28, 2013 01:08pm
@Rakesh Kumar:
NFP has a very well paid job in Pakistan. We need to look after our 500million people who are earning less than 2 dollars a day.
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Jun 28, 2013 01:17pm
intriguing photos
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Jun 28, 2013 01:39pm
@Javed:
Atleast it didnt destroy the moral fabric of the society. The effect of Bhutto's nationalization is miniscule considering the wholesale changes Zia's era has brought
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Jun 28, 2013 01:53pm
It
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Jun 28, 2013 02:02pm
@Nasir:
The world is till the same buddy but it is the Islamic countries that have changed in the wrong direction, no offence. Just take a look around.......
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Jun 28, 2013 02:03pm
Heart weeps..for the present Pakistan
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Jun 28, 2013 02:40pm
Yes indeed those were the days....
Once upon a time there was a tavern
Where we used to raise a glass or two.
Remember how we laughed away the hours.
And dreamed of all the great things we would do.
Those were the days my friend.
Then the busy years went rushing by us.
We lost our starry notions on the way.
If by chance I'd see you in the tavern.
We'd smile at one another and we'd say.
Those were the days my friend
Just tonight I stood before the tavern.
Nothing seemed the way it used to be.
In the glass I saw a strange reflection.
Was that lonely woman really me?
Those were the days my friend
Through the door there came familiar laughter.
I saw your face and heard you call my name.
Oh my friend we're older but no wiser.
For in our hearts the dreams are still the same.
Those were the days my friend
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Jun 28, 2013 02:37pm
General Zia may or may may not have done this Islamization by himself if his American masters had not required it in pursuit of their jihadi Afghan policy against the Soviets in the 80s. As for the prohibition on alcohol and the legislation against Ahmedis, this was passed by one Z. A. Bhutto.
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Jun 28, 2013 03:07pm
@Jeeves:
But Mumbai still has its so many land mark buildings, bars, mosques, temples etc. intact.Any one visiting Mumbai after a few decades can still recognize so many of his days land marks apart from the new ones created 24 hours a day without any fear. He can enjoy his local brands of liquor, visit some old movie halls functioning and marvel at the new developments apart from things that are unrecognizable.Many commentators here moan the disappearance of so many things past in Pakistan. Good or bad, we may not know sitting in India.
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Jun 28, 2013 03:09pm
lol this fella with obama in pakistan must be the one who broke the memogate scandal (anyone agree?)
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Jun 28, 2013 03:16pm
@Dilawer:
zindagi ke safar mei gujar jate hein jo mukam.....
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Jun 28, 2013 03:24pm
Yaar NFP, why do you want us to remember and relive those days that can never come back? Its like giving false hope to a small segment of the population, maybe I am being too pessimistic but for someone who has lived through those times and can still find the same abroad, these are now nothing but memories that people refuse to believe or accept.
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Jun 28, 2013 03:28pm
Some one send me 50 years backward. I want to sacrifice tablet pc, android, i phone and all the luxury only to live in a peaceful Pakistan!
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Jun 28, 2013 03:47pm
Rahim Jan: why does your heart weep...Pakistan is getting what it prepared for...life is tough and judgment is fair, honest and swift.
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Jun 28, 2013 03:45pm
Pakistan had what it had, and now its just a crowd. .not a nation...nations have direction...goals. .above all leaders.
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Jun 28, 2013 03:56pm
@Dhanus Menon:
Who changed their direction? Who attacked Iraq and Afghanistan? Who ruined Somalia, Syria Libya and Pakistan? The bloody western powers accompanied by Israel and India, and who created the bloody state of Israel? Who is occupying Kashmir by force? Millions of Muslims martyred by these forces in the process, insepite off that blaming Muslims ?
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Jun 28, 2013 04:02pm
Bangladesh was part of Pakistan for the first 24yrs and just one pic of a Bengali that of the girl on the cover of National Geographic any wonder they felt they were second class citizens and wanted their own country .
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Jun 28, 2013 04:04pm
@Prakash:
We would be extremely happy if you dont grace us with your presence
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Jun 28, 2013 04:15pm
I want my old God back.
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Jun 28, 2013 04:28pm
Nice collection of pictures.
One correction: Sam's restaurant was in Murree Mall, not in Swat. It was still running in the early 2000s - not sure if it's closed down or not.
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Jun 28, 2013 04:45pm
These are great pics but lets wake up and find a practical solution to better our country. Like minded need to join together to create awareness, spread education, form community lookout committees for security. It can be done and has been done. Who will join me?
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Jun 28, 2013 05:19pm
@Rahul:
NFP's earnings is almost 3 to 4 times that of same category in India!
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Jun 28, 2013 05:58pm
Seems like the old/tolerant Pakistan attracted plenty of Western tourist.
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Jun 28, 2013 06:16pm
Simply wow, thanks for sharing NFP!
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Jun 28, 2013 06:20pm
I love the Indian trolls. They don't like this kind of stuff. They only want to hear tales of misery from this side of the border while neglecting their own. Just read their newspapers. There's no news of Chattisgarh, Orissa, Assam, Nagaland, and the tribal areas or their woeful social indicators. They won't discuss caste, Muslims, the needs of a third of the country under Naxal rule. It's all about Bollywood and the IPL. Troll your own sites, kids. You have such treasures.
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Jun 28, 2013 07:01pm
Nostalgia...what nostalgia? This is the purge, sic, till the last man standing...Welcome to the purification chamber, aka Islamic Republic of Pakistan a la 2013.
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Jun 28, 2013 07:03pm
@Nostalgic Me : kudos for your comments..complement the pictures perfectly
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Jun 28, 2013 07:06pm
@Rakesh Kumar:
That's a ridiculous thing to say. Why would he go to India? He's a well respected, well paid journalist settled in Pakistan. In any case journalism in Pakistan is still alive and much higher quality.
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Jun 28, 2013 07:14pm
@Tihmur:
Here.. thehindu.com :)
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Jun 28, 2013 07:38pm
You say 60's never came to pak land , they did come
Aa tad bit late, A decade or so ,A twist and flare of their own
With so much confusion, And a country gone awry .
We went to school and universities , Thinking it was just a fad
A metamorphous of confusion, And mega maniacs
With all that politicking Call of war with a revenge
Country split in two. Brothers became enemies at last.
Yes Sir 60's did come ,With vengeance and flash ,
It were the 70's that were to be had
There was Z.A.B And Z.I.A , with iniials like those
Who could have asked for anything in flesh,
The egotistic Maniacs with, with their agendas at hand
Turned the country into a wasteland
Manipulation of the students and others , Before after and at hand,
Confusion rained supreme All over pakland, .
We talked about the future Which was not to be,
With students getting deeper and deeper
In the politicking hat, The Jamiat, PSF, and PPI were all to be blamed,
They had their agendas , and goals , Which contradicted a Nation at hand.
And then the war my dear , A war that brought Drugs and Guns
Now dont get me wrong , We had them all before hand,
But not with such zeal , And power in the wrong hands
70's turned into 80's and , 90's were not far behind,
The zamindar , wadera's And Fuedals
Ever so ready to loot and plunder,
The God given talents that we had.
Rising of debt , scarcity of jobs
All brought Eclipse that was going to last,
Daily strikes that are to be seen, And terrorist attacks,
Demagogues and their Visions , All contradicted the Common Man
Killing continues , of Babies ,Young , old , Man, or Woman. Poor or Rich
With all the megalomaniacs The country is to be had
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Jun 28, 2013 07:45pm
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Jun 28, 2013 07:45pm
As much as we all love peace......I do not agree with the pubs and clubs pictures etc.
The people of other faith like us what we are, not because we can copy them.
Thanks,
Khan
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Jun 28, 2013 07:55pm
I wish everything here did not turn into a senseless India vs Pakistan argument.
This is a lovely set of photographs, a similar one can be done for any part of the world.
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Jun 28, 2013 07:59pm
Correction: Sam's restaurant is in Murree and not in Swat
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Jun 28, 2013 08:02pm
@Khan:
Uff, delusion, thy name is Pakistan. Dear Khan, you say the world likes us as we are? Then kindly explain this please:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/553830/pakistan-second-most-unpopular-country-in-the-world-poll/
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Jun 28, 2013 08:06pm
@Khan
Btw, the link is to a worldwide survey that puts Pakistan as the second most unpopular country in the world.
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Jun 28, 2013 08:07pm
This series is an eye opener. I wish people who have negective concept against Pakistan should read it, specially radical Indians.
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Jun 28, 2013 08:26pm
Many thanks Nadeem. It really seems like a different Pakistan. The pictures represents a very diversified and tolerant Pakistan and wish it returns to a state where tolerance and peace be there.
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Jun 28, 2013 08:35pm
Ohh..NFP you have done it again....EPIC collection !!
the fav were Nawaz Sharif in Style, De Niro in Chitral, Foreigners in NWFP, Mrs. Liaqat AK Khan with Mr. Disney and the top, Altaf bhai Tarooing (eyeing or should i say eye2eye) a girl in wedding...
Awesome
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Jun 28, 2013 08:41pm
@ather shehab:
You can't blame Islam for ones corruption. We were muslim before too, but corruption and cheating sneaked into our society after 1970s. Do you think our religion allow us to take bribe or cheat others? We became corrupt and dishonest with ourself, our religion and country. Western countries are more muslim than us, they behave like muslims, they treat others like muslim, they are more honset than muslims. Ones don't have to worry what's going on around him, he himself has to be a true muslim not a fanatic muslim.
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Jun 28, 2013 08:53pm
Picture speaks thousands of words particularly pubs, liquor girls wearing jeans and smoking cigaret in pakisan, so how and when Pakistan made a u-turn, it will be interesting if NFP comes with another edition on transformation of Pakistan where beard starts growing and hijab become fashion of 80s, glorious days of Zia
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Jun 28, 2013 08:59pm
Yes indeed, Pak once had golden era, but now all we can do is to cherish those wonderful past moments.
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Jun 28, 2013 09:43pm
Nostalgia can be a dangerous thing, maybe even retrogressive, for people in our sub-continent. What happened to the left-leaning NFP of yesteryear, all but disappeared, and maybe now himself a part of history ?
The real write-ups NFP should do, is to look at sub-continental political ( equals economic ) developments for its peoples in its entirety, and see whether the fruits of economic growth were distributed in a way to benefit the greater majority of the people who inhabit it, instead of being lopsided.
Boozing, smoking, movies, isn't NFP missing the bus somewhere ? The only pic I could appreciate in this entire set is that of Fatima Jinnah with her dog. For NFP's calibre, he should start writing on comprehensive sub-continental topics, countries that became truncated by awful accidents of history.
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Jun 28, 2013 09:43pm
@Anjum:
the link means nothing, it biased and asks misleading questions
sure pakistan is unpopular compared to say Norway, but most people like pakistan espically muslims
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Jun 28, 2013 09:48pm
Great photos, Nadeem. Thanks for sharing them with us. Just one thing, on the 1986 PanAm hijacking photo, the plane was not hijacked to Karachi, it was hijacked in Karachi itself. Also, contrary to what's been stated, Pakistani commandos did not storm the plane, it was the Arab terrorists who themselves opened indiscriminate firing on the innocent passengers after nearly 15 hrs of ordeal, consequently several died or were gravely injured. I know this, as I was on that flight.
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Jun 28, 2013 10:09pm
I wish to live in that tolerant Pakistan
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Jun 28, 2013 10:45pm
I grew up in Karachi during the 80's, but by the time I was old enough, The Horse Shoe Restaurant on Sahra-e-Faisal, the only place left to serve liquor on table had closed followed by the last active dancing floor of Juliana's at the then Holiday Inn. Both these places were doing business in Zia era.
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Jun 28, 2013 11:04pm
Valuable collection of photos. To me personally, the golden period of Pakistan and particularly Karachi was 1947- 1960 when I was growing up with friends from all religions, ethnics and sects. I left the country in 1960 and now feel very emotional about that era specially my city Karachi.
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Jun 28, 2013 11:22pm
outstanding information
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Jun 29, 2013 01:11am
@Khan:
Well how nice of you to bring in the negativity. Those nations that allow people to go to pubs and clubs are the most loving, tolerant and charitable. They are the ones that gave you technology and science and have made travelling, communications and education at their forefronts of inventions. So please learn to tolerate and integrate. You do not have to drink alcohol or swap partners.
Incidentally, have a look at the cell phone in your pocket. Oh, my God, it is not made in Pakistan is it?
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Jun 29, 2013 03:07am
As a city person I apologize people of Rural area. In our education institutes we work on our religion and spread our religion in peacefull pakistani villages .
The day we deafeat religious students party in education institute , we will get old Pakistan.
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Jun 29, 2013 03:56am
What has happened to Pakistan, as much as I enjoyed watching the pictures, I am saddened by the fact that Pakistan's trajectory transgressed to unprogressive state and unmodernized state of affairs. Where is the booze? What are the women with cigarettes? Where are the cricket players with shorts? Where are the tourists? Where is the cleanliness? Where are the legends like Muhammad Ali, Robert DiNero? When will the next future president will visit Pakistan with his friends? I know they all have moved to India. Thanks for all the readers that believe Islamism was a great assimilation into Pakistani progressive and modern culture.
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Jun 29, 2013 04:58am
Thank you NFP for these trips down the memory lane. It is really sad and depressing to see what our country used to be and what has become of it now.
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Jun 29, 2013 05:14am
What was the purpose of this picturesque collage..........to tell people what they are missing? Or what they can be? Reminds me of the song "yeh kaha aa gaye hum, u hi sath sath chaltey"
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Jun 29, 2013 06:34am
This is an excellent post, I must say. More insights into the founding and development of our great country can be traced in the book "Indians in Pakistan." Read its preview at http://pothi.com/pothi/book/vivek-pereira-indians-pakistan.
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Jun 29, 2013 08:48am
Koi lota dey hamein, hamra Pakistan :(.
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Jun 29, 2013 08:52am
looking at these pictures, i feel sad for the current pakistan.
a nation where a great religion has been twisted by some and as a result, intolerance, cruelty, bigotry and corruption has taken root..
-a sri lankan
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Jun 29, 2013 08:52am
@Vijay: you my dear, perhaps never heard of shabnam and Robin Ghosh. The leading figures of our film industry till the early 90s.
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Jun 29, 2013 09:13am
@Tihmur: I am an Indian. There is a ring of truth about what is said.
Indian mainstream media is awful!
However, many local newspapers and news channels are quite decent.
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Jun 29, 2013 09:16am
I am surprised to see a Pakistani tobacco manufacturer, Tudor, targeting women in 1963! Pakistan has had some great times, but it seems like many other post colonial countries has suffered from lack of attention to infra-structure and a tight turn into right wing ideology, using valuable resources shadow boxing external enemies.
Who said: "Gentlemen, we have seen the enemy..."?
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Jun 29, 2013 09:19am
@Vijay:
Probably your use of lower case in naming Hindus, Christians, and Sikhs indicates what is at work?
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Jun 29, 2013 10:47am
I wish i was born in those times man..... peaceful.... and humanity...... its amazing that we have lost it all with in 11 years of Mr. Zia 's Philosophy.... and still losing what we got in our Desiland....I am speechless... for a while...NFP and Dawn doing a great a work at least showing our younger generation like me who were not seen those golden times .. and thank you for letting us know that once upon a time we are a normal country in this world...... Great Work..and Thank you......
A very sad Desi Expat in Far east....
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Jun 29, 2013 11:35am
Brought Tears To My Eyes.. May Allah bless Pakistan.. Thanks A lot Dawn for these Astounding moments... Insha Allah Allah will bring peace Back to Pakistan again. Ameen
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Jun 29, 2013 11:35am
@Raju:
Pakistan is a classic case of the post independence rot that has set in in many post colonial countries. It starts with lack of expertise in government, slacking on infra-structure, and the leaders' ideological bent and corruption.
That raises the ire of people who want answers.
In Pakistan ans elsewhere, Uganda, Egypt, Afghanistan, Fiji, Tunisia iUkraine, Libya, now Syria, Myanmar, many African countries.
In Pakistan, the Mullahs turned their eye to "the" external enemy --the West and women's freedoms. The Political leaders pandered to the Mullahs and voila!
the "new" Pakistan was born: --Blasphemy, prayer 5 times, no official drinking , or admiring women, no public dancing, no smoking officially, Beards for men, head cover for girls and women, Taliban anti-female education, rote learning, rotting infrastructure, Definition of Muslim, sectarian mass murders, even in mosques.
What did the successive governments leave for Pakistani masses to enjoy?
when all the cousins and in-laws gathered, what did they converse about? --MOSTLY religion and how muslims were oppressed for ever, and where is a cousin to marry?! Then East Pakistan bolted: Conclusion:The Indians did it!! Kashmir independence issue was the next FIRE! We lost Bangladesh, we must make up with all of Kashmir! But it became more about Pakistan's land grab, using Kashmiri Muslim majority. Follow the logic: is "Azad" Kashmir "Azad"? or just another Pakistani province with a Pakistani sanctioned governor?
Why is Pakistan lagging in just about every social and economic indicator?
Their Conclusion: it is because we are different and righteous! Were they ALL righteous in thought and deed?
Government and Mullahs were now in the business of "herding cats". ever tried that?
wonder why the less "righteous" are expanding economically, technologically, and educationally?
Porvocatively, I ask: Has five prayers daily help Pakistanis in their quest for the good life, pursuit of happiness, a booming economy, a great social life in the public arena, the arts, sciences,
strange, the best educated have left Pakistan, They found happiness in the land of the Infidel? I R O N I C !
A happy people are not obsessed with war and Jihad. They just want to enjoy life with their families and children--not fighting wars on both borders, at that!
With Education women will get ahead of men, who will become confused because they will not have much a role to play as head of home, or primary Chapatti w
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Jun 29, 2013 12:08pm
@Krish Chennai:
You are missing the point. He wants to establish the fact that Pakistan was a tolerant country and society back in those days ...
Shahryar
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Jun 29, 2013 12:19pm
Unbelievable and amazing pictures.
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Jun 29, 2013 12:35pm
Priceless. All hats off to you
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Jun 29, 2013 01:01pm
@Khan:
Seriously? You don't agree, no problem, but no one has to force anyone to do anything at all. And FYI, this WAS not copy, this was COPIED in other places.. We had a very relaxed atmosphere but then someone had to come and throw in the name of the religion in order to control the masses and yet most of the people (ahem, ahem) seem to love these invisible chains. Live and let live. It's not that difficult. Would you like if someone pokes just because they think they are right? Similarly, you maybe right but you DON'T HAVE the RIGHT to tell anyone what to do or what not to do.
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Jun 29, 2013 04:40pm
keep blowing keep killing and keep blaming Indians for your own wrongs ...stop your madrassa ,educate your kids else people will die as they are dying now ...what kind of people blow girls just coz they want to be a doctor ...!!! shame shame
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Jun 29, 2013 07:05pm
@Khan:
Khan it is exactly your mind set that has destroyed a once progressive pakistan. No pubs and clubs today and burqas only tomorrow. No one is forcing anyone to drink alcohol, frequent clubs or smoke cigarettes so why the blanket ban. Is it perhaps you are too weak to resist. You have to accomodate paying tourists for if you want them to come to pakistan. There are many muslims in India for example that are true to their religion and have great lives alongside those of other religions and yes even atheists. Come out of the cave friend and save pakistan.
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Jun 29, 2013 07:53pm
@indian:
what kind of people rape their girls on the street? Think about that mr. Indian
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Jun 29, 2013 08:51pm
@Mehra:
So how was the plane recovered? by the angels or the passengers themselves?
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Jun 29, 2013 09:18pm
The world know and the pakistanis know that religious intolerance is the root cause of the dire state pakistan finds itself. The question now is whether pakistani muslims can change that mind set and in large enough numbers as failure to do so will spell doom for the only nation in the world built on a religious philosphy or promise. The immediate future looks bleak and there will be much sufffering before there is hope of better times. Shame and a pity as the aaam admi continues to suffer. The world will not tolerate this injustice and islam will also be persecuted in the future as its followers slaughter followers of other faiths.
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Jun 29, 2013 10:06pm
@Tihmur:
It's not true.iam an Indian and I simply loved this article.
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Jun 29, 2013 10:24pm
The period NFP is referring to has nothing to do with ZAB. It was Ayub's Pakistan. The beemari and downslide started after that when ZAB and Zia inserted religion in the constitution. Ayub for me was the best Pakistani leader after Jinnah. He provided good governance. Under Ayub Pakistan was a strong country, a tolerant and progressive country. It is not like people did not pray or fast or there were no halwa molvis back then but they did not feel the need to display their faith or religiosity. PIA was among the top 6 airlines in the world. Malaysian and Middle-East princes used to come to study at Aitchison College etc. Major industrial development happened during Ayub's time - Steel Mills Mangla and Tarbela dam etc. all happened under his watch. When I talk to my elders, my parents & uncles etc. they only have good things to say about Ayub.
The only blemish on Ayub's almost 11-year rule was A he was a military dictator - but then it was not all his fault. Then ayyash President Sikander Mirza shot himself in the foot when he appointed Ayub Chief Martial Law Administrator CMLA & B he won a rigged Presidential election against Fatima Jinnah
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Jun 30, 2013 04:57am
Dear Sir,
After seeing these photos I am really overcome by grief and dismay as to what our leaders have done to our beautiful country? In the sixties when I was young had many hopes , wishes and dreams about the country if realised would have turned her into a paradise. Alas! It has not been the case. Our leaders whether the politicians or the generals have sought their own glory and filled their own pockets and allowed the country to go to the dogs. A song sung by Mary Hopkins in the sixties comes to mind which goes:
Those were the days my friend
we thought they'd never end
we' d sing and dance forever and day
We' d live the life we choose
we' d fight and never lose
For we were young and sure to have our way
La la la
Those were the days,
O yes those were the days.
Every thing has turned sour now . I hope and pray the dreams we had about our beautiful country come true.
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Jun 30, 2013 03:27pm
I like the pic of mr. Navaz sharief
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Jun 30, 2013 03:27pm
I like the pic of mr. Navaz sharief
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