Pakistan in Pictures

[Da Bannu Mazdigar]

i would post pictures related to Pakistan in this thread.
can be of scenic beauty or anything related to Pakistan.
*Only positive images related to Pakistan

Enjoy

United we stand


Kaghan valley


Shangrilla


ancient Buddhist Eeligious Monument of Dharmarajika Stupa in Taxila



ramkot fort,mangla,AJK



saral lake



taobutt,neelam valley

[Da Bannu Mazdigar]

Tolipeer Meadows , Rawalakot



chitral airport




Gondrani is a unique place in the province of Balochistan , where traces of ancient cave civilizations are existed. It is popular with the name of Shehr-e-Roghan. This marvelous ancient cave city is spread over an area of 2-3 KM. The fantastic cave houses made of rocks is perhaps the largest collection of such individual style. And amazingly these thousands of cave houses are multi storey which are inter connected with each other through walkways. Mostly every cave house consists of a single room and some of them have a veranda in front of them. Source: Lovely Planet







Candlelight vigils: Taseer remembered.
Slain Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer’s children Shaheryar Taseer and Shaherbano Taseer hold candles during a vigil for their father in Lahore. PHOTO: EXPRESS

[Da Bannu Mazdigar]

The 16-year-old Arfa Karim Randhawa, who died on January 14 2012 after complications resulting from an epileptic stroke, that natural desire to mourn should also be accompanied by celebration of a person who in her short life, did manage to achieve more than what most of us could hope for in their lifetimes. At the age of nine, she became the youngest-ever Microsoft Certified Professional, earning kudos from Bill Gates himself and an invitation to visit his company’s headquarters in America. A year later, she was certified as a pilot by a flying club in Dubai. Not only is Arfa the youngest ever recipient of the Presidential Award for Pride of Performance, she was also awarded the Fatima Jinnah Gold Medal in Science and Technology and the Salaam Pakistan Youth Award. The word genius may be bandied about too freely, but in Arfa’s case it was a moniker well-earned. The Express Tribune



Temple of Double-headed Eagle, Sirkap, Taxila

(World Heritage Site since 1980)
The city of Sirkap (Severed Head), chronologically the second major city of Taxila, is to be found spreading down the Hathial Spur and on to the plains of the Taxila valley. It is bounded by the Tamra stream and to the north and south by the Gau stream, which today has been almost completely obliterated by a modern road and water channel. The present layout of the city was established by the Bactrian Greeks sometime around 180 BC and takes the form of a wide and open grid system. A number of temples and monasteries can be found here: Apsidal Temple, Sun Temple, Shrine of the Double Headed Eagle, Kunala Monastery and Ghai Monastery.




A Sikh temple is seen decorated to celebrate the Baisakhi festival in Hasan Abdal, Pakistan, on Wednesday, April 13, 2011. The three-day Baisakhi festival of the Sikh community started at Gurdawara Punja Sahib with the participation of Sikhs from India, Pakistan and other countries. (AP Photo/B.K.Bangash)



Shogran is a village situated on a green plateau in the Naran ValleY, northern Pakistan at a height of 2,362 meters above sea level.



KARACHI: Dr Marilyn Hickey, a US televangelist and a healer of international repute, is here in Karachi for a three-day healing convention.

This is her second visit to Karachi after 1999, but the sixth visit to the country, according to her national manager, evangelist Robinson Asghar. On her last visit to Lahore in 2003, Hickey drew a crowd of about 125,000 people to the hockey stadium on the last day of her healing gathering and cured many by her spiritual powers, he said. The Express Tribune



Saba launches La Chantal at the Designers in Karachi


Ayesha Omar.PHOTO : COURTESY SAVVY PR AND EVENTS



Laiba, Aleena and Murtaza.PHOTO: COURTESY SAVVY PR AND EVENTS

[Da Bannu Mazdigar]

Trees covered in spider webs in the flood-affected areas of K.N. Shah, located near Dadu in Pakistan's Sindh province, on December 7, 2010. The cocooned trees were a side-effect of spiders escaping flood waters in the area. Although people in this part of Sindh have never witnessed this phenomenon, they report there are now less mosquitoes, thus reducing the risk of malaria. (Reuters/Department for International Development/Russell Watkins)

Beautiful Pakistan

[Da Bannu Mazdigar]

Snow leopard

[Da Bannu Mazdigar]

Posting it directly from RABZON thread on IDF.
Hence some of the pictures are of models aswell


Tao Butt in Azad Kashmir





Welcome to Pakistan...the best of Central Asia








peak Falaksair from Swat valley (Pakistan)

This is a view of Tupopdan mountain, one of the most amazing places along Karakoram highway.




[IMG]Nomal Valley (On Gilgit-Hunza Section)[/IMG]


Minimarg


Somewhere near Burzil Pass

Pakistan Vintage Photos

Source: WordPress.com
















Jan 25, 2012. Dream come true: Transgender community celebrates CNICs, voter registration.

The transgender community in Punjab saw new hope on Wednesday as their voter registration began, and Computerised National Identity Cards (NIC) were i[/I]ssued by National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra), reported Express News. :tup:



Verve throws a New Year’s Eve party in Islamabad:

Murtaza, Zainab and Shaza.PHOTO : COURTESY VERVE


Stefan, Ulrika, Gulbarshyn, Asma, Johan, Sarmad and Dorien.PHOTO : COURTESY VERVE


Azlan.PHOTO : COURTESY VERVE

[Da Bannu Mazdigar]

swat valley
























http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u2_7jZT6Xhc/T0JNlI38-9I/AAAAAAAAAmc/o-puyrYouHY/s640/111.338952-MohammadPHOTOTAHASIDDIQUIEXPRESS-1329683169-257-640x480.jpg[/IMG]
Wheel of misfortune: The 82-year-old Olympian who drives a rickshaw

LAHORE: Former cyclist Mohammad Ashiq has shaken hands with prime ministers, competed at two Olympic Games and won several medals at home and abroad, including a silver medal at the Asian Games. He now drives a rickshaw and struggles to keep the wheels of his life turning. A message is plastered across the canopy of his vehicle: “Those nations that do not respect their heroes never prosper.”



Pakistan's first private train service embarks on maiden voyage

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani waves the green flag to signal the departure of Business Express, which he inaugurated in Lahore on February 3, 2012. PHOTO: AFP




M2 Motorway from Lahore to Islamabad.



M1 Motorway from Islamabad to Peshawar.




Karachi: Hens, ostriches, dogs, camels and others animals crowded at the Expo Centre on Saturday January 28, 2012. PHOTOS: MOHAMMAD NOMAN/EXPRESS

[Manzareh]

Pakistani's are regarded as the worlds most corrupt and hated people, you can search the internet for scenery pictures but it will not change the fact that Pakistan is googles number 1 winner for homosexual and animal porn searches.

[Da Bannu Mazdigar]

The Faisal Mosque in Islamabad is the largest mosque in Pakistan and South Asia and one of the largest mosques in the world. It was the largest mosque in the world from 1986 to 1993 when overtaken in size by the completion of the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, Morocco. Subsequent expansions of the Masjid al-Haram (Grand Mosque) of Mecca and the Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (Prophet's Mosque) in Medina, Saudi Arabia during the 1990s relegated Faisal Mosque to fourth place in terms of size. It is conceived as the National Mosque of Pakistan.



The Karakoram Highway is the highest paved international road in the world. It connects China and Pakistan across the Karakoram mountain range, through the Khunjerab Pass, at an altitude of 4,693 m/15,397 ft as confirmed by both SRTM and multiple GPS readings. It connects China's Xinjiang region with Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan and also serves as a popular tourist attraction. Due to its high elevation and the difficult conditions in which it was constructed, it is also referred to as the "8th Wonder of the World."



Karachi.



Tent pegging, A passion of Punjabi and a thrilling game, very famous in central Punjab.


Cafe Bistro opens in Lahore:


Alyzeh and Amna Babar.PHOTO : COURTESY VOILA PR


Nur, Mathira and Ayesha.PHOTO : COURTESY VOILA PR


Pakistani journalist and documentarian Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s and Daniel Junge latest venture Saving Face has won an Oscar award under the category ‘Best Documentary, Short Subject’.

In her acceptance speech, Chinoy dedicated the award to “all the heroes working on the ground in Pakistan”

“All the women in Pakistan working for change, don’t give up on your dreams, this is for you,” she said. Reuters / APP



A vigil in the memory of Shahbaz Bhatti was held at the Liberty roundabout in Gulberg and attended by representatives of Institute for Peace and Secular Studies, Centre for Human Rights Education, the Justice and Peace Commission, the Ecumenical Commission for Human Development and other civil society groups. Daily Times



K2 (also known as Savage Mountain, Mountaineer's Mountain, Mount Godwin-Austen, Balti: Chogori and Sarikoli: Mount Qogir) is the second-highest mountain on Earth, after Mount Everest. With a peak
elevation of 8,611 m (28,251 feet), K2 is part of the Karakoram Range, and is located on the border between Baltistan, in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan, and the Taxkorgan Tajik AutonomousCounty of Xinjiang, China. It is more hazardous to reach K2 from the Chinese side; thus, it is mostly climbed from the Pakistani side.



RaniK ot Sindhi: The Great Wall of Sindh also known as Deware Sindh in sindhi language is the world's largest fort with a circumference of about 26 km or 16 miles. Since 1993, it has been on the list of tentative UNESCO World Heritage Sites.



Peregrine Falcon is the state bird of the country recognized as "Shaheen" and officially the military iconic symbol of the PAF



A girl picks out a "Guddi"(a Pakistani kite) made out of cane at a handicrafts display in Peshawar. PHOTO: INP



Ellemint Pret holds a multi-designer exhibition, Welcome 2012, in Lahore.


The Walled City of Lahore, also known as the "Old City," or "Anderoon Shehr” is the section of Lahore that was fortified by a city wall during the Mughal era.



Snow Lake, or Lukpe Lawo, is a high-altitude glacial basin in the Karakoram mountain range in the Northern Areas of Pakistan. Snow Lake is located 16,000 feet (4,877 m) above sea level, and is approximately 10 miles (16 km) wide. The basin lies at the head of the Biafo and Hispar glaciers, which spread down from the Hispar Pass in opposite directions, forming a 61 mile (100 km) river of ice that is among the world's longest continuous glacier systems outside of the polar regions.




Hispar Village, Hunza valley



Students enjoy in a van as they come for sport events at the Pakistan Sports Complex Islamabad. Online


Levi’s launches its Global store at the Dolmen City Mall in Karachi:

Syra Khan and Shahroz Subzwari.PHOTO COURTESY ADNAN MALIK PRODUCTIONS



Kamiar Rokni along with Bonanza launch their 2012 lawn collection in Karachi:

Maham.PHOTO COURTESY CATALYST PR



Lahore: devotees dance during a three-day festival at the shrine of Madhu Lal Hussain on Saturday. Hussain was a disciple of Shaikh Bahlol Daryai Chinioti. Following his master’s advice, he studied mysticism and spent 12 years in penance at the shrine of Hazrat Data Gunj Bukhsh. Like all Sufis, he was a nonconformist and did not believe in ritualism, but direct communion with the Almighty. He even shaved off his beard and moustache. His tomb and shrine lies in Baghbanpura, adjacent to the Shalamar Gardens . His urs is celebrated here every year.


The Buddhist monastic complex of Takht-i-Bahi (Throne of Origins) was founded in the early 1st century. Owing to its location on the crest of a high hill, about 80 km from Peshawar and 16 km from Mardan. It escaped successive invasions and is still exceptionally well preserved. Nearby are the ruins of Sahr-i-Bahlol, a small fortified city dating from the same period.



St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, Lahore



Dudiptsar is another beautiful lake encircled by snow clad peaks. The word "dudi" means white and "sar" means lake. This name has been given to the lake because of the white color of snow at surrounding peaks. In summer the water of lake reflects like a mirror.



Mingora in Swat valley



Members of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) light candles in front of parliament house to mark the sixth global Earth Hour, in Islamabad on March 31, 2012. – AFP



ISLAMABAD: A woman admires Jafri’s work. PHOTO: MUHAMMAD JAVAID

Artist Tehreem Jafri, who graduated from NCA, Rawalpindi campus in 2009, emerged on the capital’s art scene with her provocative and complex work. Heavy on dualism, her exhibition, “Magazine,” at Khaas Gallery seeks to negotiate the “self,” the personal “I,” with the violence of Pakistani society. Her work can, and should, be characterized as extremely relevant.



Ayesha Khurram launches her national tour from Ellemint Pret in Karachi:

Mathira. PHOTO COURTESY VOILA PR


British company Body Shop launches new fragrances range in Karachi:

Ayesha Omer.PHOTO COURTESY MONTAGE EVENT














Pakistan's cricket players celebrate with the champion trophy after winning the final match against Bangladesh at the Asia Cup Cricket Tournament in Dhaka March 22, 2012. PHOTO: REUTERS



Karachi: D.J. Sindh Government Science College was founded in 1887, chiefly through the efforts of a far-sighted, prominent Sindhi philanthropist, Mr. Diwan Dayaram Jethmal whose name it bears. The College was opened on 17th January, 1887 by His Excellency Lord Reay, the Governor of Bombay in a bungalow in Thaitai Compound, situated on Bunder Road. Later on it was shifted to the present building in 1892. The College was by then a full-fledged institution with faculties of Arts, Sciences, Engineering and Law. D.J.Sindh Government Science College began primarily as an Arts college



Sri in kaghan valley



Paras valley, Naran


In Victorian style, Crabtree & Evelyn comes to Karachi:

The Launch of a leading UK beauty care retailer Crabtree & Evelyn’s first store in Pakistan. British High Commissioner to Pakistan Adam Thomson was the chief guest at the occasion. The glamorous ‘Victorian Era’ dresses displayed by various models were artistically designed and created by Amina Jauhar along with Saman Arif and Afifa Tariq. PHOTO: ARIF SOOMRO.



Kayseria holds exhibition to launch its summer collection 2012 in Karachi:

Fauzia.PHOTO COURTESY LOTUS


Fatima Waleed Zaman.PHOTO COURTESY LOTUS

[Da Bannu Mazdigar]

Pakistani's are regarded as the worlds most corrupt and hated people, you can search the internet for scenery pictures but it will not change the fact that Pakistan is googles number 1 winner for homosexual and animal porn searches.

Open a new thread for this and we willd discuss it there.dont ruin this thread atleast
and please dont act like a typical Afghan tajiki

[Da Bannu Mazdigar]

The Good Old Pakistan
Awesome work by Nadeem farooq Paracha

Most of this will be taken from the dawn edition called 'Also Pakistan'.

Feel free to post with me if you wish. Anyway, enjoy...




Che in Karachi:Yes, that’s the great Marxist revolutionary and legend, Che Ernesto Guevara, standing along side Pakistan’s first military dictator, Ayub Khan.

Guevara stayed for a short while in Karachi during his whirlwind tour of Arab and third world countries (in 1959). He again visited Karachi in 1965 and that is when the above photograph was believed to have been taken (inside the VIP lounge of the Karachi Airport).

It is interesting to see Che standing with Ayub Khan whose military coup (in 1958) was not only backed by the US, but was also highly repressive of leftist forces in Pakistan.

The irony is that the widespread leftist uprising in Pakistan in the late 1960s that helped topple the Ayub dictatorship was mainly led by leftist students many of whose icon and hero was, yup, one named Che Ernesto Guevara!



PIA press ad, 1965: This 1965 PIA ad (published in Dawn) bares claims that one can’t even imagine PIA to make in this day and age.

Pakistan’s national carrier has been crumbling for the last many years and today stands on the verge of bankruptcy. And yet, back in the 1960s and early 1970s, PIA stood strong and proud, awarded on multiple occasions and being a constant on the list of top ten airlines of the world!

When this ad appeared in print, PIA was enjoying rapid growth within and outside Pakistan. It had already been noted for having ‘the most stylishly dressed air hostesses’, great service, a widespread route and, ahem, ‘having a generous and tasteful selection of wines, whiskeys and beers’ on offer.’*

*Serving alcoholic drinks on PIA was banned in April 1977.



House full: Pakistani film industry and cinemas began experiencing a creative and financial peak in the late 1960s; a high that would last till about 1979, before starting to patter out in the 1980s and hitting rock bottom a decade later.

There were a number of reasons for the rapid fall of the industry and the consequential closing down of numerous cinemas.

Two of the leading reasons were the brutal censorship policies of the reactionary Ziaul Haq dictatorship in the 1980s, and the arrival of the VCR.

As Zia’s so-called ‘Islamisation’ process began stuffing public space and collective socialising spots with moral policing and restrictions, the people took their entertainment indoors.

Cinemas were hit the worst by this as not only the ‘respectable’ audiences stopped frequenting cinemas; the Pakistani film industry too began to fall apart.

‘Illegal’ video shops renting Indian films and porn (allowed to openly operate after bribing the police) sprang up and cinemas began to be torn down by their owners and turned into gaudy shopping malls.

For example, in Sindh alone there were over 600 cinemas between 1969 and 1980, but only a few hundred remained by 1985.

Similarly, the Pakistani film industry used to generate an average of 20 Urdu films a year in the 1970s, but by the late 1980s, it was struggling to come out with even five a year.

The above photo was taken in 1969 outside Karachi’s famous Nishat Cinema. It was also one of the first cinemas to introduce in-house air-conditioning in cinemas in Pakistan. The picture shows a crowd of cine-goers gathered outside the already packed cinema waiting their turn to see the premiere of a Pakistani war flick, ‘Qasam uss waqt ki.’

Nishat survived the thorny Zia years, the VCR invasion and the local film industry’s collapse.

In fact Nishat still stands, reeking out a survival by running latest Indian and Hollywood films.



Taliban, who? No, this is not an image from a bygone hippie flick. It is a picture of real hippies enjoying a few puffs of hashish on the roof of a cheap hotel in Peshawar in 1972. Yes, Peshawar.

Pakistan was an important destination that lay on what was called the ‘hippie trail’ – an overland route taken by young western and American bag-packers between 1967 and 1979 and that ran from Turkey, across Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, usually ending in Nepal.

Numerous low-budget hotels and a thriving tourist industry sprang up (in Peshawar, Lahore and Karachi) to accommodate these travellers.

The hippie trail began eroding after the 1977 military coup in Pakistan, the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran and the beginning of the Afghan civil war (in 1979).



Tequila twist! One of the rare photographs available of Karachi’s famous nightclub scene of the late 1960s and 1970s.

Live music, great food, lots of booze and dancing were the hallmarks of the scene. Shown here is a club band playing to a happy audience at a ‘mid-range’ nightclub in Karachi (in 1972).

According to former nightclub owner and entrepreneur, Tony Tufail, ‘Karachi would have gone on to become what Dubai later became if not for the ban.’*

*Nightclubs were closed down in April 1977.



Moonwalkers in Karachi, 1973: How many of you know or remember that the entire crew of NASA’s Apollo 17 flight to the moon visited Pakistan? In July 1973, astronauts of the United State’s last mission to the moon arrived in Karachi.

Their visit was widely covered by the press and Pakistan Television (PTV). The astronauts were also honoured by a ‘welcome motorcade procession’ that travelled from Clifton Road till Tower area.

The photograph shows the motorcade reaching the Saddar area that was decorated with Pakistani, American and PPP flags and colourful banners.

Some of the astronauts travelled in an open truck (see picture). The truck also carries a banner that reads (in Urdu): ‘Welcome to the Apollo 17 astronauts.’

Resource: US Consulate General-Pakistan.




Safer days, shorter walls: This is a 1974 picture of Karachi’s iconic Pearl Continental Hotel (then called the Intercontinental). Notice the short walls of the hotel, hardly 3 and a half feet tall!

Now compare them with the tall, thick walls and the chaotic barbed wire that surround the same hotel today and what with all the concrete barriers and dozens of armed security personnel that one has to go through.



Say, Vat? Nothing extraordinary about this old 1975 Urdu film poster of a movie released at a time when the country’s film industry was booming. However, check out the bottle of whiskey, Vat-69.

This brand of whiskey (according to late filmmaker and cinema historian, Mushtaq Gazdar), appeared in hundreds of Pakistani films between 1950s and late 1970s. But why Vat 69?

Gazdar wasn’t sure, but he did notice that (for whatever reasons), this brand of whiskey was used by most Pakistani directors if they had to show a ‘good person’ drowning their sorrows with the help of a stiff drink, whereas other brands were used if a ‘bad person’ was shown having a shot or two.

Also, bars and nightclubs in Karachi, though stuffed with local brands of beer, vodka and whiskey, mainly stocked Vat 69 as their vintage foreign/imported brand.

Interestingly, after sale of alcohol was banned in 1977 (to Muslims), Vat 69 lost its iconic status and was replaced by local brands (such as Lion Whiskey) now available in ‘licensed wine shops’ in Karachi and the interior Sindh, and Black Label stocked by enterprising bootleggers.



At the art of it all: This 1975 photograph shows a group of some of Pakistan’s famous painters and sculptors with a visiting British artist at the Karachi Arts Council. Check out the flares, the sideburns and all. And they’re smoking inside the building. Awesome.



Marriot, 1977: This is a 1977 photograph showing Islamabad’s Marriot Hotel (then called Holiday Inn) being constructed. Almost three decades later this famous hotel was blown up by suicide bombers and/or psychotics who were in a hurry to reach the rooms their handlers had booked for them in paradise.

Notice the almost barren area in front of the hotel – a far cry from the wide roads, traffic signals and lines of trees and traffic that surrounds the area today.



Talking heads: A terrific 1975 photograph of a scholarly talk show on PTV. Intellectual talk shows were rather popular on TV in Pakistan in the 1970s. This one shows renowned playwrights, Ashfaq Ahmed and Bano Qudsia (centre right), talking about ‘socialist plays’ with the host.



Damned greatness: A 1976 photo of Pakistan’s Nobel Prize winning scientist, Dr. Abdus Salam (right), with a colleague at a summer college held at Pakistan’s scenic Nathiyagali resort.

Considered to be one of the greatest minds produced by Pakistan, Dr. Salam, a devout member of the Ahmadi community, was associated with various scientific and developmental projects undertaken by the government from the 1950s till 1974.

He quit and left Pakistan in protest after the Ahmadis were declared as non-Muslim (in the 1973 Constitution).

However, he kept returning to the country on the invitation of friends, but he never reconciled with those who’d pushed to declare his community a non-Muslim minority in the country of his birth and work.



Hippie invasion: Cover of the soundtrack album (LP) of 1974 box-office hit, Miss Hippie. The film depicted the ‘effect hippie lifestyle and fashion were having on Pakistani youth.’ (sic)

Starring popular 1970s Pakistani film actress, Shabnam, the film conveniently forgot that more than half of the hashish that was being consumed by the ‘invading hippies’ was actually being produced and smuggled in and from Pakistan!



Pray tell: Photograph showing late Pir Pagara talking to the press at the Karachi Press Club in 1977. Pagara was heading a right-wing movement against the Z. A. Bhutto regime.

Here he is seen talking to the press (surrounded by some members of the Jamat-i-Islami, Jamat Ulema Islam and Jamiat Ulema Pakistan).

The men then got up to say their evening prayers.

However, a commotion broke out between the religious leaders of the movement when JI and JUI men refused to pray behind JUP leader, Shah Noorani.

JUI was inclined towards Sunni Deobandi school of thought whereas Noorani was from the pro-Barelvi JUP. Though united in their opposition to Bhutto’s ‘socialism’, both men thought the other was a ‘misguided Muslim.’



The King wuz here: Rare poster of Indian Ghazal king (and queen) Jagit & Chitra’s tour of Lahore in 1979. They held a series of successful concerts, with the most colourful one taking place in the city’s historical Shalimar Gardens.



Not in our name: Women organisations were at the forefront of the many movements that took place against the brutal Ziaul Haq dictatorship. This 1980 photograph is from a violent protest held by female college students (in Lahore) against the Zia regime’s ‘masochistic attitude’ towards women.



Desperado, 1981: This is a rare photograph of notorious Pakistani left-wing radical, Salamulla Tipu, hanging out from the cockpit of a PIA plane that he had hijacked with three other colleagues in 1981.

Tipu, a leftist student leader from Karachi, had joined Murtaza Bhutto’s Al-Zulfikar Organisation (AZO) to instigate an urban guerrilla war against the Ziaul Haq dictatorship (1977-88).

The plane was hijacked from Karachi, flown to Kabul and then to Damascus. Tipu and co. (armed with AK-47s and hand grenades), only released the passengers after the Zia regime agreed to release 50-plus political prisoners from jails.

In 1984, however, in an ironic twist of fate, Tipu the Marxist revolutionary, was executed by the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul after he’d fallen out with Murtaza Bhutto, while the other hijackers travelled to Libya where they are said to be still living.




A couple swings into action at a New Year’s party at a nightclub at Karachi’s Hotel Metropole (1957)



An old vintage photo of the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, attending a wedding in the US, 1972.



Lux's Advertisement in the 'Black & White Golden Era'

Starring Sabiha Khanum - the popular actress of 50's was the 1st female brand ambassador of Lux Soap which has been later endorsed by top film personalities like Babra Sharif, Reema, Meera etc



Zia Mohiuddin, The Pakistani legendry actor seen here in a British TV series, ‘The Adventures of Sir Francis Drake’ (1962).

In Pakistan, Zia became hugely popular with a stage show [for Pakistan Television [PTV], the ‘Zia Mohiuddin Show’ (1970-72).

He went on to act in various British and American TV series and films and then once again found fame in Pakistan as a brilliant reciter of the poetry of Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Mirza Ghalib.



Islamabad - Early 60's.

Former President Ayub taking a look on the land which was to be developed as Capital City!

[Da Bannu Mazdigar]

Islamabad-Muree expressway



Karachi-Gwardar highway



Highways in Islamabad








Khyber pass, connecting pak-afghan







karakoram highway

[Da Bannu Mazdigar]

Baisakhi festival: Sikhs pray for world peace:

A view of the Punja Sahib Gurdwara in Hassan Abdal. PHOTO: MYRA IQBAL



Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram (4-R), Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal (C), Indian Commerce Minister Anand Sharma (L), Pakistani Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Commerce Minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim cut a ribbon during the inauguration of the Integrated Checkpost at the India-Pakistan border on Friday. shabbir sarwar


Baltit Fort:




Baltit Fort or Balti Fort is an ancient fort in the Hunza valley in the Northern Areas of Pakistan. In former times survival of the feudal regimes of Hunza was ensured by the impressive Baltit fort, that sit on top of Karimabad. The foundations of the fort are said to date back around 700 years, but there have been rebuilds and alterations over the centuries. In the 16th century the Thum married a princess from Baltistan who brought master Balti craftsmen to renovate the building as part of her dowry. The architectural style is a clear indication of Tibetan influence in Baltistan at the time. All the above images, Paktrip 2006 were taken by Jilawtan (Zain).



Tribune 2nd anniversary: Meet the staff

("I think Tribune is one of the best liberal newspaper in Pakistan)



L'Oréal Paris launches a series of interactivemall animations in Karachi:

Aaminah Sheikh.PHOTO COURTESY LOTUS




Kamiar Rokni along with Bonanza launch their 2012 lawn collection in Lahore:


SabaWaseem PHOTO COURTESY BY CATALYSTPR

Afro-Pakistanis

In Pakistan, locals of Black African descent are called "Makrani", "Sheedi" or "Habshi". They live primarily along the Makran Coast in Balochistan and lower Sindh. In the city of Karachi, the main Sheedi centre is the area of Lyari and other nearby coastal areas.

According to The African Diaspora in the Indian Ocean World, Pakistan has the largest African-descended population in South Asia, there are atleast 250,000 persons of East African descent that live on Pakistan’s southern coast.


The sufi saint Pir Mangho is regarded by many as the patron saint of the Sheedis, and the annual Sheedi Mela festival, is the key event in the Sheedi community's cultural calendar. Some glimpses of the rituals at Sidi/Sheedi Festival 2010 include visit to sacred alligators at Mangho pir, playing music and dance. Clearly, the instrument, songs and dance appear to be derived from Africa.











The Jamia Masjid Sheedi is a local landmark and is as old as the community itself.




Jhimpir Wind Power: Pakistan’s first wind farm gets global recognition. It is expected to achieve a target of harnessing renewable energy sources to produce 400MW by the end of this year.


Hassan Sheheryar Yasin holds a preview for The World of HSY Prints 2012 in Lahore:

Sara and Fatima Fazli.PHOTO COURTESY LOTUS


British Council holds a fashion exhibit featuring British designers in Karachi:

Imaan, Sofia & Mishaal.PHOTO COURTESY PHENOMENA

A woman of substance



As Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa police fights its fierce battle against militancy, women officers stand shoulder-to-shoulder with their male colleagues. Some, like Shazia Gul, pay the ultimate price for their courage.

Her family was fully aware of the perils of the job, but for them her wish to die for the country was enough reason to pledge all their support.

And die in the line of duty, she did. Shazia Gul, 25, became the first policewoman to die in the ongoing fight against militancy in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa when she was killed in a bomb blast on May 10, 2011, in the cantonment city of Nowshera, about 35 kilometers (22 miles) east of provincial capital Peshawar. The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, May 13th, 2012



Pir Ghaib, near Bolan Baluchistan.



These mountains of Mankhial and their meadows are located Just above the town of Kalam in Swat.



E-7 Islamabad



A heavy meal in Pakistan is often followed by a trip to the “Paan Shop”. Paan is said to help digestion and freshen breath. A paan can contain many varying ingredients with tastes ranging from sweet to bitter, all wrapped in a fragrant betel leaf and served to be eaten in one bite. Common paan ingredients include areca nuts, lime paste, and tobacco. Source: Dawn





PFDC Fashion Week: After party in Lahore:
Ursula and Sonia.PHOTO COURTESY VERVE


Launch: Deepak Perwani and Orient 2012 lawn collection:

Deepak Perwani and Safinaz.PHOTO COURTESY CATALYST PR AND MARKETING



Celebrities attended the launch of the UK beauty care retailer Crabtree and Evelyn in Karachi:

Ayaan.PHOTO COURTESY VOILA PR

[Karachi]

nice pics, however the western type people only represents 10% of pakistan and mainly cities

on a side note, Karachi use to be so nice, before one political party ruined the peace in the city

[harman]

Baisakhi festival: Sikhs pray for world peace:

thanks for sharing ,every sikh wish to visit this place along with Nankana Sahib , but ...