S.A.J. Shirazi
While cities are dynamic centres of creativity, commerce and culture, these benefits are often undercut by environmental problems, lack of civic amenities, inefficient governance, and administration. Centuries old historic city Gujrat is a classic example where one can see all the hazards of urbanization.
There are many tales about the remote origin of the place. [...]
By S.A.J. Shirazi
Violent crimes have been at historic up nationwide; they are rising sharply in all cities. The rise seems to have been set off by something more bewildering.
Imagine Lahore only ten years ago: It was a different city; socially cohesive, closely knit. Young children could go visiting neighbors or to nearby shopping centers to [...]
S.A.J. Shirazi
There were many things on my schedule when I travelled from Multan to Quetta by road instead of rail: to see the tomb of Ghazi Khan, to visit famous Fort Monro and familiarize myself with this less travelled route to Quetta.
The photo above shows the entrance of a Government High School in Dera Ghazi [...]
S.A.J. Shirazi
Traveling on Grand Trunk Road all my life, it captured my imagination as a cultural curiosity when I read Rudyard Kipling’s Kim. At the beginning of the last century Kipling called it:
“a wonderful spectacle…. without crowding…. green-arched, shade-flecked … a river of life.”
But Pakistan’s National Highway Number 5 (N5), alias the Grand Trunk Road, [...]
S.A.J. Shirazi
Picturesque Chitral town sits up in Pakistan’s northwest district, walled in by the Hindu Kush range.
During winters, the only way in is by air (weather permitting) as the two passes, the 3118-meter Lowari from Dir and the 3810-meter Shandur from the upper Gilgit Valley are closed to road traffic. The Fokker Friendships drone for [...]
S.A.J. Shirazi
The future lies in mud architecture. Though this sweeping statement may sound prehistoric, but it is very relevant to modern times. Building living spaces with mud is a tradition dating back to the start of civilizations. Some excellent examples from the Great Mosque - the world’s largest mud building and UNESCO’s World Heritage site [...]
