Adil Najam
The Daily Jang (28 October, 2006) has a special supplement of former President Ghulam Ishaq Khan’s (GIK) death which has some interesting commentary in it and also some memorable photographs that reflect the role he played in carving Pakistan’s history. It makes for some interesting reading and viewing.
My particular favorite is the set of headlines from three critical moments GIK’s- and Pakistan’s - life story (click on image, or here, for larger picture).
The following three pictures are also fascinating documentations of where we (and GIK) have been and are thought-provoking:
(2) President Ghulam Ishaq Khan, Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, and Chief of Army Staff Gen. Aslam Beg together. Interior Minister Naseerullah Babar at far left. I think it may be (later President) Farooq Leghari’s head in the background, right behind GIK’s.
With due respect to pakistan(my birth place) and pakistanis, I think the nation has been caught in a catch 22 situation. it is a mix of extreme fundamentlism(read terrosism) to modernism(as you see in Lahore and karachi). The Army will not loosen its hold and people there will never see a good honest democratic state. Even government machinery ding dongs between extremism and modernism.
i have some nostalgic interest in pakistan because I was born there, although I was only 3 in 1947. My father still gets letters from his friends in Hafizabad. But ironically an average indian(even muslims here) does not seem to bother about what is happening in pakistan. They come to know about pakistan during ind-pak cricket matches or some terrorist attack here.
My good wishes to the people there most of whom are like us.
Adil Sahib,
In the third picture, the man at the extreme right looks more like Iftikhar Arif than Wasim Sajjad. But I wonder what would Iftikhar Arif be doing there.
The man in the background behind Nawaz Sharif is a waiter of the President House and not Ijazul Haq. You can tell from his obsequious mannerism. Can’t you?
Still few significant pictures are missing ;). He is one of the few personalities in Pakistan who are always the part of administration
I saw this in Dawn recently. I believe the military has restored the palace and this picture was from the opening of the restored palace. Not sure what purpose it will be used for. I hope they turn it into a museum or some other public space.
Nice collection of pictures with lost of faces who have disappeared from the limelight but were so important in their own times.
You also have one COAS who declared himself President and one who did not.
In these pictures, we have three deposed Prime Ministers (two of them were deposed twice) and three Presidents who used 58(2)b the Draconian part of our constitution.
Nice collection of pictures.
“formally put an end to Gen. Zia ul Haq’s Martial Law on 30 December, 1985″
Tyrannical rule ending in 1985…haha, good one!