Pakistan before 90s

[dexter]

Karachi’s congested Merewether Tower area in 1976. A badly managed economy (through haphazard nationalisation), and the reluctance of the private sector to invest in the city’s once thriving businesses strengthened the unregulated aspects of a growing informal economy that began to serve the needs of the city’s population. The flip side of this informal economic enterprise was the creeping corruption in the police and other government institutions that began to extort money from these unfettered and informal businesses.

The American contingent parade past spectators at the 1980 ‘Karachi Olympics’: Zia’s dictatorship managed to strengthen itself soon after the Soviet forces invaded neighbouring Afghanistan in December 1979. Once the US resolved to oppose the Soviet invasion, it (along with Saudi Arabia), began pumping in an unprecedented amount of financial and military aid into Pakistan

President Lyndon Johnson Meets Ayub Khan in Karachi, Pakistan, 1960s

Two hippie tourists at a tea shop in Sibi, Balochistan, in 1972. .
Today, traveling to a Baloch town like the one in the picture has become a no-go area even for Pakistanis! (Photo courtesy Rory McLane)

Crowd at a cricket Test match being played at Karachi’s National Stadium in 1976.

This is a 1967 press ad published in LIFE magazine for the American insurance company, Continental Insurance.
The number of American and British tourists visiting Pakistan began to grow from the early 1960s. The trend hit a peak in the late 1970s before starting to dwindle and peter out in the mid-1980s.
It (in a tongue-in-cheek manner) addresses those traveling to Karachi and getting injured during a ‘camel crash.

Altaf Gohar and Khalid Hassan with Noble Prize winning Pakistani scientist, Dr. Abdus Salam (centre) in the late 1970s.

A serene image of Peshawar’s famous ‘Kisa Kahani Bazaar’ (Storytellers’ Market) in 1972. A culturally rich and ancient marketplace, the area has continuously come under terrorist attacks by Islamist militants ever since the early 2000s now at peace.

A poster of 1973 film ‘Operation Pakistan.’ A B-grade film made by a Greek director, the film was released in Pakistan in 1973. It is about the adventures of an FBI agent who tracks down hashish smugglers in Turkey, Iran and Pakistan. The characters of Pakistanis (seen below left) were all played by amateur Pakistani actors. The film was a box-office flop

A 1972 picture showing European visitors and local Christians seen during a passing out ceremony at a Catholic school in Rawalpindi. –Picture courtesy John Meacham.

British journalist, Tom Waghorn, seen here typing a report while sitting on the slopes of Torkhum near the Pakistan -Afghanistan Border

European tourists take a walk at Lahore’s Shalimar Gardens, 1966

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

Current Pakistani Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, poses with his car as a young man in late 1960s

Natives of a Sindhi village drench a European tourist with cold water from a well to beat the summer heat (1973)

Western tourists wait at a bus stand in Sibi, Balochistan (1975).

Legendary boxer, Muhammad Ali, arrives at a college in Lahore during his 1988 visit to Pakistan.

MQM Chief, Altaf Hussain, at MQM member, Farooq Sattar’s wedding in Karachi.

Famous American film actor and star, Robert Di Nero (left) during a pleasure trip in Chitral, north Pakistan.

LP cover of Nazia and Zoheb Hassan’s first album, ‘Disco Dewane’ (1980).

 

[dexter]

1974 photo showing famous Karachi pop band the In-Crowed performing at the Playboy nightclub on Karachi’s Club Road. The club was closed down in 1977.

The interior of a Jewish synagogue that was situated in Karachi’s Ranchore Lines area. The synagogue was regularly frequented by a small Jew community that resided in the city but migrated to United States and Israel soon after the creation of Jewish State.

A 1955 photograph of famous American painter and illustrator, Norman Rockwell, on a boat with a press photographer (right) and a Sindhi fisherman (left) at Karachi’s famous Kemari area.

Pakistanis and tourists wine and dine at Karachi’s Beach Luxury Hotel in 1969.

The Queen of England, Elizabeth, riding with Pakistani head of state, Field Marshal Ayub Khan, in an open-top car through the streets of the Saddar in Karachi during her visit in 1961.

A 1966 photo of the beautiful Punjab University in Lahore. Notice the double-decker bus. Such buses were quite common in Lahore till the late 1960s

Cover of a 1972 PIA Wine & Spirits menu.
Between 1962 and 1978, PIA was continuously placed on various 10 Best Airlines of the World lists.

American tourists enjoying a ride on a tanga in Rawalpindi in 1975.

A 1961 poster published by the Tourism Board of Pakistan to attract western tourists to visit the capital city of the rugged Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Peshawar.

Although the poster showed Pashtun tribesmen with rifles, they were not allowed to carry them in the city

Karachi 1961: Brand new buildings and roads in the city began to emerge in the 1960s. The government of Field Martial Ayub Khan that came into power through a military coup in 1958 unfolded aggressive industrialisation and business-friendly policies, and Karachi became a natural city for the government to solidify its economic policies

 

[Bas_kya_bhai]

secular pakistan

 

[dexter]

Faisal Mosque 1983: Shaped like a desert Bedouin's tent, the largest mosque in South Asia, the Faisal Mosque was the largest mosque in the world from 1986 until 1993. Construction of the mosque began in 1976 and completed in 1986, at a cost of over 130 million Saudi riyals (approximately 120 million USD today.

Future US President Barak Obama visited Karachi as a visiting university student and stayed with a roommate of his in Karachi (1981).
Photographer's own copyright

Nawab Akber Bugti and the Premier Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in Quetta.

The Cricketing heroes of 90's.

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

Pioneers of the new wave of Pakistani pop music, the Vital Signs in 1989

Western tourists enjoying a few rounds at a restaurant Karachi’s Tariq Road, 1975.

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.

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.

Benazir Bhutto waves to the crowd at her wedding reception in Lyari, Karachi in 1986.

 

[Pakistani shaheens]

Najanay Pakistan ko kis ki nazar lag gai hay

 

[HttpError]

Najanay Pakistan ko kis ki nazar lag gai hay

Humari Or Indians ki

 

[dexter]

Young American and European tourists with locals at a restaurant in Ziarat, Balochistan, in 1973.

A 1989 magazine centrefold of Pakistan’s deadly pace attack of the late 1980s: Wasim Akram, Imran Khan, Waqar Younis and Aqib Javed.

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.

Western tourists near the Attock Bridge in Punjab in 1982.

Karachi’s Frere Hall and Garden with Queen Victoria’s statue in 1942.

Future Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif during his youth.

1980s: Sultan Rahi ("Maula Jutt") and Muhammad Ali.

1962: Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip with Miangul Abdul Haq Jahanzeb (Wali-e-Swat). Qudratullah Shahab in the background - #Swat #Pakistan

PIA Vickers Viscount plane: Served for almost 2 decades and finally grounded in 2005 Multan crash incident

Young Inzimam,waqar younus.
The Boy is now a renowned singer

 

[Bas_kya_bhai]

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

Humari Or Indians ki

 

[dexter]

Paris? Istanbul? Kuwait? Nairobi? Baghdad? Doha? Bahrain? Jeddah? PIA was among the top ten airlines during 1960's.

Mid 1950s: Glorious Past - Public Enclosure of Chaklala International Airport

Ever used LUX? Pakistani actress Sabia in LUX add

Lining up for a marathon in Karachi: A scene from 1970's

General Zia receiving a Pope. The historical visit took place in 1980's during Zia's regime.

1980s: Tourists enjoying Tea in Ziarat - Balochistan

1970s: "Koko korina" - Rock n' Roll star of #Pakistan - Waheed Murad in his study room.
Waheed Murad (2 October 1938 – 23 November 1983) was a legendary Pakistani film actor, producer and script writer. Waheed is considered to be one of the most famous and influential actors of South Asia and one of the pioneering Rock n' Roll stars of Pakistan. Due to his romantic and subtle style of acting, he became famously known as the 'Chocolate Hero' and 'Lady Killer'. His hair cut, dressing style and even his conversation style were very popular among the youth. One can say that he was becoming the cultural icon of the Pakistani Film Industry

The openers of Pakistan Cricket Team. BUTT sports was famous for its sporting equipment

1960s: Tourists enjoying roadside lunch on Quetta - Nushki Road near Galangoor

Foreigners traveling through a local bus in 1970's across NWFP now know Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

 

[HttpError]

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

That's why I said, we are the ones to blame for the current situation of this country We the People

 

[Bas_kya_bhai]

robert di niro.... ns with his car looks good, man.pakistan's glorious past.

 

[dexter]

THe funny thing about this picture is that Pindi still hasn't changed much

Pakistani Currency through ages

A 1970 American magazine ad for Palizzie Shoes. The caption reads: No Karachi Cobra in my size?’

Shoes made from real snake skin imported by western countries from Pakistan (especially Sindh) were hugely popular with the Western fashionistas till clothing and shoes made with real animal skins and furs were thankfully banned

Pakistani models posing as Punjab’s village womenfolk during an international cultural exchange event in 1969.

A 1965 vinyl recording of the song ‘Karachi’ written and performed by popular American jazz ensemble, Maurice Miller Trio.

A 1970 press ad of a perfume named after Lahore’s historic Shalimar Garden.

A 1973 PIA brochure promoting tourism to the site of one of the oldest civilizations in the world, the Mohenjodaro (located in the Sindh province of Pakistan). In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the tourist traffic from abroad and from within Pakistan to Mohenjodaro grew rapidly, so much so that the government built an airport, rest houses and small hotels near the site and began running regular flights there. However, ever since the 1990s, the number of tourists to the site steadily declined and so did the number of flights.

From 1970 till about 1985, T-shirts of most famous Western rock and pop groups were almost all made and exported from Pakistan. T-Shirt makers in Pakistan got orders from the management and marketers representing major rock musicians such as Rolling Stone, Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, Eagles, Aerosmith, etc, and thousands of these T-Shirts were exported to the US and the UK and ended up being sold outside concert halls and arenas in various Western countries.

Imran Khan signing an autograph for a young fan in Lahore just before the start of the Pakistan-India series of 1978

A group of Western tourists push a broken-down truck on Lahore’s Grand Trunk Road (1974)

 

[Pakistani shaheens]

My favorite drama serial "Aeynak wala Jin"

 

[Green Arrow]

Amazing, Where did that Pakistan disappear?

 

[dexter]

A western tourist dressed like a local poses with a group of Pushtun children (and a man) outside a shop in the Bara area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (1975).

A group of hippie travellers enjoying Pakistani beer at a rest house in North Pakistan (1974).

A vintage 1969 coaster of Pakistani beer brand, Murree. This particular coaster is from the bar at Karachi’s Excelsior Club that was situated in the Saddar area but forced to close down in 1977.

Western tourists entering Pakistan from Afghanistan on a bus in 1975

A 1965 tourism brochure published by the government for tourists interested in visiting the historic Gandhara site (for ancient Buddhist art and artifacts) in the Khayber Pukhtunkhwa province (formerly NWFP).

The women on the cover of the May 1972 issue of Pakistan's The Herald look like they could be in Miami or Athens. The magazine initially focused on the changing fashion and social trends of urban Pakistani youth.

A 1978 French release of an album by famous Pakistani Qawali group, the Sabri Brothers

A young 8-year-old Shahrukh Khan (current Bollywood star) visited Pakistan with his family (as a tourist) in 1973. Here he is seen during his family’s visit to Swat. –Picture courtesy Luqman Ghauri.

Cover of a live album by popular Indian ghazal duo, Jagjit and Chitra. The album was recording during one of the many live concerts the duo played during their tour of Pakistan in 1978

A European tourist with two students of the Peshawar University in an old street of Peshawar (1974).