Picture Album Of Pakistan

[keyboardwarrior]

Great pics thanks for sharing

you're welcome my friend,
and thanks for appreciating it.

 

[keyboardwarrior]

Mohenjo-daro, Larkana


Mohenjo-daro (Mound of the Dead), is an archeological site in the province of Sindh, Pakistan. Built around 2600 BCE, it was one of the largest settlements of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization, and one of the world's earliest major urban settlements, contemporaneous with the civilizations of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Crete. Mohenjo-daro was abandoned in the 19th century BCE, and was not rediscovered until 1922. Significant excavation has since been conducted at the site of the city, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980.

Name

Mohenjo-daro, the modern name for the site, simply means Mound of the Dead in Sindhi. The city's original name is unknown, but analysis of a Mohenjo-daro seal suggests a possible ancient Dravidian name, Kukkutarma (the city of the cockerel).


Location

Mohenjo-daro is located in the Larkana District of Sindh, Pakistan, on a Pleistocene ridge in the middle of the flood plain of the Indus River Valley, around 28 kilometres (17 mi) from the town of Larkana. The ridge was prominent during the time of the Indus Valley Civilization, allowing the city to stand above the surrounding plain, but the flooding of the river has since buried most of the ridge in deposited silt. The site occupies a central position between the Indus River and the Ghaggar-Hakra River.

Historical context

Mohenjo-daro was built in the 26th century BCE. It was one of the largest cities of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization, also known as the Harappan Civilization, which developed around 3000 BCE from the prehistoric Indus culture. At its height, the Indus Civilization spanned much of what is now Pakistan and North India, extending westwards to the Iranian border, south to Gujarat in India and northwards to an outpost in Bactria, with major urban centers at Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, Lothal, Kalibangan, Dholavira and Rakhigarhi. Mohenjo-daro was the most advanced city of its time, with remarkably sophisticated civil engineering and urban planning. When the Indus civilization went into sudden decline around 1900 BCE, Mohenjo-daro was abandoned.


Rediscovery and excavation

The ruins of the city remained undocumented for over 3,700 years, until their discovery in 1922 by Rakhaldas Bandyopadhyay, an officer of the Archaeological Survey of India. He was led to the mound by a Buddhist monk, who reportedly believed it to be a stupa. In the 1930s, major excavations were conducted at the site under the leadership of John Marshall, D. K. Dikshitar and Ernest Mackay. Further excavations were carried out in 1945 by Ahmad Hasan Dani and Mortimer Wheeler.

The last major series of excavations were conducted in 1964 and 1965 by Dr. George F. Dales. After this date, excavations were banned due to weathering damage to the exposed structures, and the only projects allowed at the site since have been salvage excavations, surface surveys and conservation projects. However, in the 1980s, German and Italian survey groups led by Dr. Michael Jansen and Dr. Maurizio Tosi used less invasive archeological techniques, such as architectural documentation, surface surveys and localized probing, to gather further information about Mohenjo-daro.

Architecture and urban infrastructure

Mohenjo-daro has a planned layout based on a street grid of rectilinear buildings. Most were built of fired and mortared brick; some incorporated sun-dried mud-brick and wooden superstructures. The sheer size of the city, and its provision of public buildings and facilities, suggests a high level of social organization. At its peak of development, Mohenjo-daro could have housed around 35,000 residents. The city is divided into two parts, the so-called Citadel and the Lower City. The Citadel – a mud-brick mound around 12 metres (39 ft) high – is known to have supported public baths, a large residential structure designed to house 5,000 citizens, and two large assembly halls.

The city had a central marketplace, with a large central well. Individual households or groups of households obtained their water from smaller wells. Waste water was channeled to covered drains that lined the major streets. Some houses, presumably those of wealthier inhabitants, include rooms that appear to have been set aside for bathing, and one building had an underground furnace (known as a hypocaust), possibly for heated bathing. Most houses had inner courtyards, with doors that opened onto side-lanes. Some buildings had two stories.

In 1950, Sir Mortimer Wheeler identified one large building in Mohenjo-daro as a "Great Granary". Certain wall-divisions in its massive wooden superstructure appeared to be grain storage-bays, complete with air-ducts to dry the grain. According to Wheeler, carts would have brought grain from the countryside and unloaded them directly into the bays. However, Jonathan Mark Kenoyer noted the complete lack of evidence for grain at the "granary", which, he argued, might therefore be better termed a "Great Hall" of uncertain function. Close to the "Great Granary" is a large and elaborate public bath, sometimes called the Great Bath. From a colonnaded courtyard, steps lead down to the brick-built pool, which was waterproofed by a lining of bitumen. The pool measures 12 metres (39 ft) long, 7 metres (23 ft) wide and 2.4 metres (7.9 ft) deep. It may have been used for religious purification. Other large buildings include a "Pillared Hall", thought to be an assembly hall of some kind, and the so-called "College Hall", a complex of buildings comprising 78 rooms, thought to have been a priestly residence.

Mohenjo-daro had no circuit of city walls, but was otherwise well fortified, with guard towers to the west of the main settlement, and defensive fortifications to the south. Considering these fortifications and the structure of other major Indus valley cities like Harappa, it is postulated that Mohenjo-daro was an administrative center. Both Harappa and Mohenjo-daro share relatively the same architectural layout, and were generally not heavily fortified like other Indus Valley sites. It is obvious from the identical city layouts of all Indus sites, that there was some kind of political or administrative centrality, but the extent and functioning of an administrative center remains unclear.

Mohenjo-daro was successively destroyed and rebuilt at least seven times. Each time, the new cities were built directly on top of the old ones. Flooding by the Indus is thought to have been the cause of destruction.

Notable artifacts

Numerous objects found in excavations at Mohenjo-daro include seated and standing figures, copper and stone tools, carved seals, balance-scales and weights, gold and jasper jewellery, and children's toys.

Dancing Girl

A bronze statuette dubbed the "Dancing Girl", 10.8 centimetres (4.3 in) high and some 4,500 years old, was found in Mohenjo-daro in 1926. In 1973, British archaeologist Mortimer Wheeler described the item as his favorite statuette:
"There is her little Balochi-style face with pouting lips and insolent look in the eyes. She's about fifteen years old I should think, not more, but she stands there with bangles all the way up her arm and nothing else on. A girl perfectly, for the moment, perfectly confident of herself and the world. There's nothing like her, I think, in the world."
John Marshall, another archeologist at Mohenjo-daro, described the figure as "a young girl, her hand on her hip in a half-impudent posture, and legs slightly forward as she beats time to the music with her legs and feet."The archaeologist Gregory Possehl said of the statuette, "We may not be certain that she was a dancer, but she was good at what she did and she knew it.



Priest-King

In 1927, a seated male soapstone figure was found in a building with unusually ornamental brickwork and a wall-niche. Though there is no evidence that priests or monarchs ruled Mohenjo-daro, archeologists dubbed this dignified figure a "Priest-King"; like the Dancing Girl, it has become symbolic of the Indus Valley Civilization. It is on display in the National Museum of Pakistan.

The sculpture is 17.5 centimetres (6.9 in) tall. It depicts a bearded man, with a fillet around his head, an armband, and a cloak decorated with trefoil patterns that were originally filled with red pigment. The two ends of the fillet fall along the back. The hair is carefully combed towards the back of the head but no bun is present. The flat back of the head may have held a separately carved bun, or it could have held a more elaborate horn and plumed headdress.

Two holes beneath the highly stylized ears suggest that a necklace or other head ornament was attached to the sculpture. The left shoulder is covered with a cloak decorated with trefoil, double circle and single circle designs that were originally filled with red pigment. Drill holes in the center of each circle indicate they were made with a specialized drill and then touched up with a chisel. The eyes are deeply incised and may have held inlay. The upper lip is shaved, and a short combed beard frames the face.

Great Bath, Mohenjo-daro

The Great Bath is one of the best known structures among the ruins of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization at Mohenjo-daro in Sindh, Pakistan.Archaeological evidence indicates that the Great Bath was built in the 3rd Millennium BCE, just sometime after raising of the "citadel" mound on which it is located.

Features

The Great Bath of Mohenjedaro is called as "earliest public water tank of the ancient world" The Great Bath measures 55 metres x 33 metres, and has a maximum depth of 2.43 metres. Two wide staircases, one from the north and one from the south and easts were for the ghostas and ghostes, served as the entry to the structure.A 1 meter wide and 40 centimeters mound at present at end of these stairs.

A hole was also found at one end of the Bath which might have been used to drain the water into it.
The Great Bath is built of fine baked bricks lined with bitumen (natural tar - presumably to keep water from seeping through), which indicates that it was used for holding water. Many scholars have suggested that it could have been a place for ritual bathing or religious ceremonies, but the actual use is not clear.


Another view of the Great Bath

College of Priests

Across the street of Great Bath, there was a large building having several rooms and three verandas, with three staircases leading to roof and upper floor; and considering the size and proximity to Great Bath, this building is tentatively termed as house of Priest/several priests and labelled as "college of priests".


Conservation and current state

Preservation work for Mohenjo-daro was suspended in December 1996 after funding from the Pakistani government and international organizations stopped. Site conservation work resumed in April 1997, utilizing funds made available by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The 20-year funding plan provided $10 million to protect the site and standing structures from flooding. In 2011, responsibility for the preservation of the site was transferred to the government of Sindh.

 

[keyboardwarrior]

Green Sea Turtle, Karachi

The Green Turtle is the largest of the hard-shelled sea turtles (the Leatherback Dermochelys can grow much larger) although size, weight, and carapace shape can vary markedly between different populations. Average nesting female carapace length 80 to 110cm and weighs 110 to 185kg.

Biology:

The Green Turtle eats exclusively seagrass and seaweed (algae). The Green Turtle forages in shallow, inshore waters. Aggregations of Green Turtles often occur over shallow-water seagrass pastures or other suitable feeding grounds. Migrating Green Turtles may travel 20 to 40km per day. It is suggested that migratory behaviour is particularly linked with herbivory, since the richest feeding grounds (notably sea grasses) are most often found in shallow areas of coastal deposition, and do not typically coincide with the best nesting grounds (often isolated predator-free island beaches). Females do not attain maturity in the wild for 15 to 50 years. After a period of two to five decades, females typically migrate to a nesting beach often used by aggregations of turtles. Females remigrate at intervals of three years, and may lay three clutches of 100 to 120 eggs. Hatchlings emerge mostly at night from eggs buried in beach sand and make their way to the sea.

Habitat, Distribution and Status:

The beaches of Pakistan are some of the most important nesting grounds for the Green Turtles. Each year thousands of female Green Turtles come to the beaches of Hawksbay and Sandspit off the coast of Karachi to lay their eggs. The Sind Wildlife Department in collaboration with WWF-Pakistan is working on a project for safe release of turtle hatchling to the Arabian sea since 1980's. Green Turtle nests are laid throughout the year, with most nests occurring between July and December. The egg are carefully kept in closed enclosers and released after the hatchlings are hatched.



Between 1980 and 1997 a total of 17,008 green turtle nests were recorded. Numbers of nests since 1987 are apparently lower than the earlier years of this initiative (Figure 1). To date, 3087 Green Turtles have been tagged at this site and in addition to many local recaptures individual females have been recaptured in India (Bhaidar Island, Gulf of Kutchch Gujarat, 22°27'N 69°17'E), Africa (Beraisole, Eritrea, NE Africa 13°39'N 42°08'E) and more recently in Iran (Between Lengeh and Dayyer in the Persian Gulf, 27°45'N 52°15'E).



Pakistan has long been known to support a large population of Green Turtles Chelona mydas (with a lesser number of Olive Ridleys Lepidochelys olivacea), nesting primarily at Hawkes Bay and Sandspit near Karachi, Sind Province. There have been indications that the remaining coast of Pakistan, in Baluchistan Province (the Makran coast), may also hold significant numbers of sea turtles. At least 95% of the Baluchistan coast (>700 km long) consists of inaccessable and unfrequented sandy beaches-apparently suitable turtle habitat. Three sources have provided data on turtles in Baluchistan. Butler (1877) reported nesting by large turtles, apparently C. mydas, on Astola (Haft Talar), a small island some 25 km from the mainland. Butler stated "there is no water on the island, which is barren, and only frequented by boats from Muscat, which catch fish and large numbers of turtle". Shockley (1949) recorded that C. mydas was seen frequently along the coast near Jiwani (Jiunri), adjacent to the border with Iran. As many as a dozen large turtles could often be seen close inshore at one particular "turtle cliff", and numerous turtle tracks could be seen on the beach (in September-November 1945). Later, in an unpublished letter (cited by Frazier, 1980), S. Telford reported information from reliable sources that "many thousands" of turtles were harvested from a beach at Ormara during 1975.



Unfortunately, the Wildlife Department is shorts of funds and faces many problems. It is mainly due to these reasons that only 5,000 turtles have been tagged during the past 20 years of the project, and scores of nests go unnoticed every year.

As a result, stray dogs eat many eggs, some get disturbed due to the movement of humans and fail to mature, whereas hundreds of hatchlings die every year after being crushed under the wheels of moving vehicles, since it is their natural instinct to move towards light, and in natural conditions, the sea is the brightest object at night. Other than those mentioned above, many threats exist in the region including: beach development, fishing activities, noise from neighbouring villages, pollution from a nearby harbour and exploitation of turtle products.




Green Turtles breed in different countries in different season generally from July to November. In Pakistan, Green Turtle nests for eggs on,Turtle Beach, Sandspit and Hawksbay beaches throughout the year with a remarkable apex from September to January. A breeding female nests three to four times during the season. Every year, an average of 800 nests have been observed at beaches of Karachi. Coastal areas of Balochistan are also believed to support a large number of Green Turtles.

The Green Turtle species is facing various challenges in order to last in marine world. The threats to its populations include several factors from its low growth rate to other environmental constraints. The rate of successful hatching from eggs in an ideal situation and habitat is just 55 percent. The eggs buried in sand are also foraged by crabs, crows, eagle and stray dogs etc. The survival rate of hatchlings in sea is as low as 0.1 percent, since a large number of baby turtles are eaten by fish and other under water creatures. Many large and small turtles are also trapped in nets of fish-trawlers.

There is another perilous fact about newly born turtles that they start crawling towards light. Those who have been hatched in night hours will move toward any hut with lights, instead of going into the sea. There is a risk of being consumed by dogs as well as quashing by any vehicle for those little turtles.


Human intrusion is another key factor to the destruction of its population. Commercial and industrial expansion on beaches like construction of private huts, hotels, resorts, recreational clubs and hydropower plants etc. caused a sever destruction to turtle’s nesting grounds in many parts of the world. Presently, the status of green turtle in endangered on all of its locales. A numerous projects are running in many countries in order to protect Green Turtles from total extinction.

“Marine Turtle Conservation Project”, run by Sindh Wildlife Department is one of them. The project team works round the clock at Turtle Nursing Centers, two of them at Sandspit and one at Hawksbay. The team consists of 1 Officer, 5 guards and few volunteers who live nearby. They are providing protection both to the Green Turtles and its laid eggs by guarding them from predators. They start tracking along the beach soon after dark and mark the places where turtles are sighted on course of laying eggs.

Soon after the turtle completes laying eggs and returns to sea, the workers dig the pit, collect eggs and transplant them in netted enclosures inside the hatcheries. The collected eggs are incubated under the sand in safe enclosures and the hatchlings are produced in 40 to 60 days.

The workers are also responsible for checking each enclosure for new hatchlings every hour. As soon they find any baby turtle out from the egg, they immediately carry it to the shore and release it safely into the sea. The project team is also maintaining a proper record of each egg and the hatchling since the project was started. Approximately 2.2 millions eggs have been transplanted from open area to the safe enclosures and more than 0.6 millions hatchlings have been released into the sea since 1980.

Breeding females are also tagged with number-plates on their front flippers. These tags help in determining the movement of Green Turtles across oceans since they have long migration tendency. In 1995, a female turtle was tagged and released in sea by Marine Turtle Project team at Hawksbay. The same turtle was recaptured from Beraisole Village, North East Africa exactly after 365 days. The distance negotiated by this turtle was about 3,240 km with an average of 8.9 km per day. Some other turtles tagged at Hawksbay have also been caught in Iran and India.

Marine Turtle Project is the last hope for the survival of Green Turtles in this region. Though, the population of turtles has not been increased so far, however it has been sustained to an extent that the Green Turtle can still be seen nesting at the beaches of Karachi. If the project was not there, we would have been unable to explain to our next generation how the Green Turtle looked like.

Besides providing protection to turtles, Sindh Wildlife Department also arranges Turtle Watching Tours for foreign visitors, schools, companies, private groups and individuals during nesting season at Sandspit beach. The tour includes a visit to Turtle Hatchery where one can watch the eggs of turtle and newly hatched baby turtles, followed by a Turtle-watching trip at beach where the visitors can watch a female turtle coming out from the sea, digging a pit for the nest and laying eggs. Finally, the visitors are given a chance to release turtle hatchlings into the sea themselves. It is really a worth going to see Turtles and their breeding phenomenon at our beaches.



Turtle Beach,Hawke's Bay Beach, and Sandspit Beach, Karachi

 

[keyboardwarrior]

Doodh Dulari (Dessert) ( speciality of Karachi)


This mouth-watering "Desserts" recipe for Doodh Dulari can be prepared in 35 minutes and serves 2-3 people.

Recipe Ingredients

2 liter Milk
1/2 Cup Condensed milk
1 tbsp Corn flour
1/2 Cup Colored vermicelli
1 packet Strawberry jelly
1 packet Green jelly
250 gm Rubri
200 gm Cream
1 large tin Mix fruit cocktail
250gm Small cham cham


Recipe Method

Cook 2 liter milk for 20 minutes till thick, add 1/2 cup
colored vermicelli, 1 tbsp corn flour dissolved with 1/4 cup cold milk, cook
till thick, remove, cool completely, add 1/2 cup condensed milk, 1 large tin
fruit cocktail. Dissolve each jelly packet with 1 cup water and set till firm,
cut in cubes and add to the cooled milk. Also add 200gm cream, 250gm small cham
cham and 250gm rubri, mix all well. Serve chilled.

 

[longknife]

@longkinfe

Nice try,
Sir, try to read the OP again if you are not in hurry to post another searched Link by you.
also its off topic.
and its not a propaganda. There are two sides to every story ..... and There are two sides to a coin ....
If you have a problem with my Thread thn report to admin, Thanks.

You are free to post anything like this you please.

My reply WAS ON TOPIC. As you stated, I only showed the other side of the coin. These are but a few of hundreds of thousands of similar pictures showing the abject poverty of many Pakistanis.

Are you saying I should not post such things?

News for you - for every singly propaganda post you make, I will counter it with more of what I already posted.

 

[longknife]

Do YOU live like this?

 

[keyboardwarrior]

@longkinfe

Nice try,
Sir, try to read the OP again if you are not in hurry to post another searched Link by you.
also its off topic.
and its not a propaganda. There are two sides to every story ..... and There are two sides to a coin ....
If you have a problem with my Thread thn report to admin, Thanks.

You are free to post anything like this you please.

My reply WAS ON TOPIC. As you stated, I only showed the other side of the coin. These are but a few of hundreds of thousands of similar pictures showing the abject poverty of many Pakistanis.

Are you saying I should not post such things?

News for you - for every singly propaganda post you make, I will counter it with more of what I already posted.

Sir, I think you cant understand the ON TOPIC meaning, So I post the OP again for you...

I am starting this informative thread about positive side of pakistan’s past,present,future of culture,fashion,food,music,sports,entertainment industry,people( men or women), economy, architecture, famous personalities, education,places, religions,civilizations, science and technology in the field of I.T,medical,space and military. i will post random pictures with some description. i will try to update this thread time to time.i am not “professional” in making threads. some help from USMBers and positive comments will be appreciated.

P.S: This thread is not comparison with any country.Mods have right to delete this thread or posts if it breaches any USMB rules .I do not own these pictures

See the bold Part in the above quote...
so what things you are posting is OFF TOPIC according to this thread.

If you are trying to ruin this thread, i wont stop you.
USMBers will decide whats informative and whats not, and people know pakistan is a third world country. what are you posting is not Unknown to people.

I am posting the things which many people dont know about pakistan.

and about the news you are telling me that you will counter post on this thread, sorry but its look like childish behaviour from a senior member of the forum,i am not here for useless arguments or fights.

this the last reply to you from my side. Next time Dont bother to Quote/Reply me becoz i will not reply you. thanks

 

[keyboardwarrior]

Masjid Mahabat Khan ,Peshawar

The Mahabat Khan Mosque is a 17th century mosque in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is named after the Mughal governor of Peshawar Nawab Mahabat Khan who served under Emperors Shah Jehan and Aurangzeb and who was the grandson of Nawab Dadan Khan (who had been governor of Lahore).

The Mosque was built in 1630. Its open courtyard has an ablution pool in the middle and a single row of rooms around the sides. The prayer hall occupies the west side flanked by two tall minarets.

The interior of the prayer hall is sheltered beneath three low fluted domes and is lavishly and colourfuly painted with floral and geometric designs

 

[keyboardwarrior]

Urak valley and Hanna lake, Quetta

Urak Valley

The Urak Valley is 21 kms away from Quetta City. The road is lined on either side with wild roses and fruit orchards. Peaches, plums, apricots and apples of many varieties are grown in this valley. The waterfall at the end of the Urak Valley, which is full of apple and apricot orchards, makes an interesting picnic spot.

Hanna Lake

10 kms from Quetta a little short of the place where the Urak valley begins is the Hanna lake. The golden fish in the lake comes swimming right up to the edge of the lake. A little distance away the waters of the lake turn on a greenish blue tinge. Where the river ends pine trees have been planted on the grass filled slopes. The greenish blue waters of the lake provide a rich contrast to the sandy brown of the hills in the background. It is accessible by local transport. It has plenty of picnic spots, which the tourists can enjoy.

Lion's Face,Walitangi Track - Urak Valley

 

[keyboardwarrior]

H.J Behrana Parsi Temple, Dare-e-Meher, Karachi

Seth Heerjibhoy Jamshedji Behrana had established in the year 1218 YZ (1848 AD) an Atash Adaran in Karachi.This Dar-e-Meher was very old and, therefore, after the death of the Seth, according to his will, his widow Bai Meherbai built this new Dar-eMeher and handed over the same along with several other properties for its upkeep to five trustees. On this day the Atash Adaran Shah was again consecrated and was enthroned in this new building for the use of the Parsi Community.

 

[keyboardwarrior]

Mehrgarh,Quetta(Balochistan)

Mehrgarh one of the most important Neolithic (7000 BCE to c. 2500 BCE) sites in archaeology, lies on the "Kachi plain" of now Balochistan, Pakistan. It is one of the earliest sites with evidence of farming (wheat and barley) and herding (cattle, sheep and goats) in South Asia.

Mehrgarh is located near the Bolan Pass, to the west of the Indus River valley and between the now Pakistani cities of Quetta, Kalat and Sibi. The site was discovered in 1974 by an archaeological team directed by French archaeologists Jean-François Jarrige and Catherine Jarrige, and was excavated continuously between 1974 and 1986, and again from 1997 to 2000. The earliest settlement at Mehrgarh in the northeast corner of the 495-acre (2.00 km2) site was a small farming village dated between 7000 BCE to 5500 BCE and the whole area covers a number of successive settlements. Archaeological material has been found in six mounds, and about 32,000 artifacts have been collected.


Lifestyle and technology

Early Mehrgarh residents lived in mud brick houses, stored their grain in granaries, fashioned tools with local copper ore, and lined their large basket containers with bitumen. They cultivated six-row barley, einkorn and emmer wheat, jujubes and dates, and herded sheep, goats and cattle. Residents of the later period (5500 BCE to 2600 BCE) put much effort into crafts, including flint knapping, tanning, bead production, and metal working. The site was occupied continuously until about 2600 BCE. Mehrgarh is probably the earliest known center of agriculture in South Asia.

In April 2006, it was announced in the scientific journal Nature that the oldest (and first early Neolithic) evidence in human history for the drilling of teeth in vivo (i.e. in a living person) was found in Mehrgarh.


Archaeological significance

Mehrgarh is now seen as a precursor to the Indus Valley Civilization. "Discoveries at Mehrgarh changed the entire concept of the Indus civilization," according to Ahmad Hasan Dani, professor emeritus of archaeology at Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, "There we have the whole sequence, right from the beginning of settled village life." According to Catherine Jarrige of the Centre for Archaeological Research Indus Baluchistan at the Musée Guimet in Paris:

"…the Kachi plain and in the Bolan basin (are) situated at the Bolan peak pass, one of the main routes connecting southern Afghanistan, eastern Iran, the Balochistan hills and the Indus River valley. This area of rolling hills is thus located on the western edge of the Indus valley, where, around 2500 BCE, a large urban civilization emerged at the same time as those of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Egypt. For the first time in the Indian Subcontinent, a continuous sequence of dwelling-sites has been established from 7000 BCE to 500 BCE, (as a result of the) explorations in Pirak from 1968 to 1974; in Mehrgarh from 1975 to 1985; and of Nausharo from 1985 to 1996"


The chalcolithic people of Mehrgarh also had contacts with contemporaneous cultures in northern Afghanistan, northeastern Iran and southern central Asia.

Periods of occupation

Archaeologists divide the occupation at the site into several periods.

Mehrgarh Period I

Mehrgarh Period I 7000 BCE–5500 BCE, was Neolithic and aceramic (i.e., without the use of pottery). The earliest farming in the area was developed by semi-nomadic people using plants such as wheat and barley and animals such as sheep, goats and cattle. The settlement was established with simple mud buildings and most of them had four internal subdivisions. Numerous burials have been found, many with elaborate goods such as baskets, stone and bone tools, beads, bangles, pendants and occasionally animal sacrifices, with more goods left with burials of males. Ornaments of sea shell, limestone, turquoise, lapis lazuli, sandstone have been found, along with simple figurines of women and animals. Sea shells from far sea shore and lapis lazuli found far in Badakshan, Afghanistan shows good contact with those areas. A single ground stone axe was discovered in a burial, and several more were obtained from the surface. These ground stone axes are the earliest to come from a stratified context in the South Asia. Periods I, II and III are contemporaneous with another site called Kili Gul Mohammed.

In 2001, archaeologists studying the remains of two men from Mehrgarh made the discovery that the people of the Indus Valley Civilization, from the early Harappan periods, had knowledge of proto-dentistry. Later, in April 2006, it was announced in the scientific journal Nature that the oldest (and first early Neolithic) evidence for the drilling of human teeth in vivo (i.e. in a living person) was found in Mehrgarh. According to the authors, their discoveries point to a tradition of proto-dentistry in the early farming cultures of that region. "Here we describe eleven drilled molar crowns from nine adults discovered in a Neolithic graveyard in Pakistan that dates from 7,500 to 9,000 years ago. These findings provide evidence for a long tradition of a type of proto-dentistry in an early farming culture.


Mehrgarh Period II and Period III

Mehrgarh Period II 5500 BCE–4800 BCE and Merhgarh Period III 4800 BCE–3500 BCE were ceramic Neolithic (i.e., pottery was now in use) and later chalcolithic. Period II is at site MR4 and period III is at MR2.Much evidence of manufacturing activity has been found and more advanced techniques were used. Glazed faience beads were produced and terracotta figurines became more detailed. Figurines of females were decorated with paint and had diverse hairstyles and ornaments. Two flexed burials were found in period II with a covering of red ochre on the body. The amount of burial goods decreased over time, becoming limited to ornaments and with more goods left with burials of females. The first button seals were produced from terracotta and bone and had geometric designs. Technologies included stone and copper drills, updraft kilns, large pit kilns and copper melting crucibles. There is further evidence of long-distance trade in period II: important as an indication of this is the discovery of several beads of lapis lazuli originally from Badakshan. Mehrgarh Periods II and III are also contemporaneous with an expansion of the settled populations of the borderlands at the western edge of South Asia, including the establishment of settlements like Rana Ghundai, Sheri Khan Tarakai, Sarai Kala, Jalilpur, and Ghaligai.


Mehrgarh Periods IV, V and VI

Period IV was 3500 to 3250 BCE. Period V from 3250 to 3000 BCE and period VI was around 3000 BCE.The site containing Periods IV to VII is designated as MR1.

Mehrgarh Period VII

Somewhere between 2600 BCE and 2000 BCE, the city seems to have been largely abandoned in favor of the new nearby settlement of Nausharo when the Indus Valley Civilisation was in its middle stages of development.

Mehrgarh Period VIII

The last period is found at the Sibri cemetery, about 8 KM from Mehrgarh.

Artifacts


figurines

The oldest ceramic figurines in South Asia were found at Mehrgarh. They occur in all phases of the settlement and were prevalent even before pottery appears. The earliest figurines are quite simple and do not show intricate features. However, they grow in sophistication with time, and by 4000 B.C., begin to show the characteristic hairstyles and prominent breasts. All the figurines up to this period were female. Male figurines appear only from period VII and gradually become more numerous. Many of the female figurines are holding babies, and were interpreted as depictions of "mother goddess". However, due to some difficulties in conclusively identifying these figurines with "mother goddess", some scholars prefer using the term "female figurines with likely cultic significance".


Pottery

Evidence of pottery begins from Period II. In period III, the finds becomes much more abundant as the potter's wheel is introduced, and they show more intricate designs and also animal motifs. The characteristic female figurines appear from Period IV and the finds show more intricate designs and sophistication. Pipal leaf designs are used in decoration from Period VI. Some sophisticated firing techniques were used from Period VI and VII and an area reserved for the pottery industry has been found at mound MRI. However, by Period VIII, the quality and intricacy of designs seems to have suffered due to mass production, and due to a growing interest in bronze and copper vessels.


Metallurgy

Metal finds begin with a few copper items in Period IIB.

Markhor art on pottery

Light microscopy showed the holes were conical, cylindrical or trapezoidal in shape

 

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Naturally Created Statues of Balochistan


"Great Sphinx of Pakistan" naturally created statue on coastal highway between Karachi and Gwadar

"Princess of Hope" naturally created statue on Makran Coastal Highway between Karachi and Gwadar

Temple of Hope

Nature's Fort

Roman Empire

Lion's Face

 

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Sweet Dahi Phulki of Burns Road (Speciality of Karachi)


Sweet Dahi Phulki of Burns Road - Its a traditional recipe deep-fried snack, dumplings in yogurt, and its very famous in Karachi's street which is called Burns road, must try this.

Prep Time.
30 min,soaking

Cook Time.
10 min

Serves .
4


Ingredients

For Dahi Phulki:

Yellow (Moong) lentils flour 1 cup (heaped)
Soda by carbonate 1, ½ tsp (heaped)
Water ½ cup or as required
Salt 1 tsp

For Dahi Phulki Masala:

Whole red chilli 1/2 cup
Cumin seeds 1/2 cup
Rock salt (kala namak) 1 tbsp

For Yogurt Mixture:

Yogurt 1 kg
Caster sugar 1/2 cup
Salt 1/4 tsp


Cooking Directions

.
1.
For Dahi Phulki Masala:.

2.
Roast whole chilli and cumin seeds separately on low flame..

3.
Now grinding them together granular not powder form..

4.
Mix salt in the end..

5.
For Dahi Phulki:.

6.
In a bowl mix together moong lentils flour, soda and water..

7.
Mix very well with hands, keep for 10 minutes..

8.
Then heat oil in a wok and drop little balls into oil and fry on slow fire..

9.
When slightly brown remove, again put them back to fry on high flame to a golden brown..

10.
Remove in a tray and leave them to cool..

11.
In another pan add water with salt, put in the fried balls, let them soaked for 1 hour..

12.
Then squeezed out water from balls and put directly into yogurt mixture..

13.
For Yogurt Mixture:.

14.
Strain yogurt in a muslin cloth, well and mix with half cup of caster sugar and ¼ tsp salt..

15.
Sprinkle dahi phulki masala over and then serve.

 

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University of Peshawar

The University of Peshawar (UOP) is a public sector university in the city of Peshawar, Pakistan. The university was established in October 1950 by Mr. Liaquat Ali Khan, the first Prime Minister of Pakistan as an offshoot of Islamia College Peshawar, which was founded in 1913.

The University of Peshawar is an institution that offers educational facilities from nursery to Ph.D. Located in Peshawar, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, it operates as a residential campus spread over 1,000 acres (4 km2). The university is ranked as the 4th Best General Purpose University by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC).

The university comprises six faculties with forty postgraduate departments, four centres, two centres of excellence, four colleges and three high schools. Student population on campus is over 20,000.


Departments

Department of Computer Science
Department of Psychology

Constituent colleges

Khyber College of Dentistry
Islamia College
Jinnah College for Women
Law College
Quaid-e-Azam College of Commerce
College of Home Economics
Institute of Education and Research
Institute of Management Studies
Peshawar Business School (PBS)
Khyber Medical College (KMC)

 

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Indus River Dolphin (National Aquatic Marine Mammal of Pakistan)


Physical description

The specific name, minor, refers to the dolphins' supposedly smaller size. Until the 1970s, this species was thought to be the same as the Ganges River Dolphin.The Indus River Dolphin has a long beak which thickens toward the tip, revealing the large teeth; the mouthline curves upward. The body is stocky with a rounded belly, the flippers are large and paddle-shaped, and there is a low triangular hump in place of a 'true' dorsal. The forehead is steep and the blowhole is on the left of the head, above the tiny, poorly-seeing eye. The tail flukes are broad in relation to the body size. Indus River Dolphins are grey-brown in colour, sometimes with a pinkish belly, and measure between 1.5 and 2.5m in length, weighing a maximum of 90kg.


Social Behavior:

Indus River Dolphins travel either as couples or individuals. Since these dolphins do not have a crystalline eye lens they are effectively blind; all they can do is detect the direction and intensity of light. Navigation, therefore, is entirely by a sophisticated echolocation system. This blindness is one of the reasons why these dolphins swim on one side underwater, with one flipper trailing in the muddy riverbed. The physical touch gives the dolphins important information about their surroundings and helps them find food.

Habitat and Distribution

The Indus River Dolphin is the only cetacean to inhabit the Indus river. These dolphins favour the silt-laden, turbid waters of the Indus river system, at temperatures between 8°C and 33°C.

The Indus River Dolphin is one of the world's most endangered mammals and has been listen in IUCN's list of threatened species. This dolphin is endemic to Pakistan. The species inhabits the Indus river in Pakistan from Kotri, Sind, to Jinnah, northwestern Punjab. The Indus River dolphin was apparently formerly common and distributed throughout the Indus River system in Pakistan, from the Himalayan foothills to the mouth of the Indus, and in the main tributaries - Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej - from the hills to their junction with the Indus.

 

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Masjid-e-Tooba,Karachi

Masjid-e-Tooba or Tooba Mosque is in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Locally, it is known as the Gol Masjid.

Masjid e Tooba was built in 1969 in Defence Housing Society Karachi, Karachi. It is just off main Korangi Road. Masjid e Tooba is often claimed to be the largest single-dome mosque in the world. It is also major tourist attraction in Karachi. Masjid e Tooba is built with pure white marble. The dome is 72 meters (236 feet) in diameter and is balanced on a low surrounding wall with no central pillars. Masjid e Tooba has a single minaret standing 70 meters high. The mosque is the 18th largest in the world with the central prayer hall having a capacity of 5,000 people.

It was built keeping acoustics in mind. A person speaking inside one end of the dome can be heard at the other end. This mosque was designed by Pakistani architect Dr Babar Hamid Chauhan and the engineer was Zaheer Haider Naqvi.


Uniquely and Beautifully designed Masjid-e-Tooba situated in Defence (DHA) Karachi. Unique in a way that dome of the masjid has the diameter 212 feet and does not have any pillar under it.

Beauty of the masjid is really graceful as it does not have any fancy art-work. All the mirror work they had inside is very simple.

Following are details found there:
Capacity - 30,000 (Including Terrace and Lawn)
Height of Dome - 51.48 Feet
Diameter of Dome - 212 Feet
Construction Commenced - September 1966
Construction Completed - November 1969

Inside Mosque

At Night

 

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Takht-i-Bahi,Mardan,KPK

Takht Bhai (or Takht Bahi) is a Buddhist monastic complex dating to the 1st century BCE.The complex is regarded by archaeologists as being particularly representative of the architecture of Buddhist monastic centers from its era. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980.

The word Takht Bhai may have different explanations. In Sanskrit, takht means "well" and bhai means "on a high surface", so the whole word means "well on a high surface". In Persian, takht means "throne". The ruins are located about 15 kilometers from Mardan in Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province. A small fortified city, dating from the same era, sits nearby. The ruins also sit near a modern village known by the same name. The surrounding area is famous for sugar cane cultivation.


Structure

There are four main areas of the Takht Bahi complex:
The Stupa Court, a cluster of stupas located in a central courtyard.
The monastic chambers, consisting of individual cells arranged around a courtyard, assembly halls, and a dining area.
A temple complex, consisting of stupas and similar to the Stupa Court, but of later construction.
The Tantric monastic complex, which consists of small, dark cells with low openings, which may have been used for certain forms of Tantric meditation.

Additional structures on the site may have served as residences or meeting halls, or filled secular purposes. All of the buildings on the site are constructed from local stone, and are mortared with lime and mud.


History

The monastic complex likely was founded in the early 1st Century BCE. Despite numerous invasions into the area, Takht Bhai's hilltop location seems to have protected it from destruction, unlike many comparable early Buddhist monastic complexes.The complex was occupied continuously until the modern era, when charitable funding for the site ended.

Archaeologists have divided the history of the complex at Takht Bhai into four periods, beginning in the 1st Century BCE. This first era continued until the 2nd Century CE, and is associated with the Kushan king Kanishka, as well as early Parthian and later Kushana king. The second construction period, which included the creation of the Stupa Court and assembly hall, took place during the 3rd and 4th Centuries CE. A third construction period, associated with the later Kushan dynasty and the Kidara Kushana rulers, occurred during the 4th and 5th centuries. The final construction period, which saw the creation of the so-called Tantric complex, took place in the 6th and 7th Centuries CE, and was overseen by invading Hun rulers.

The first modern historical reference to these ruins was made in 1836 by the French Officer, the Buddhist remains are in a village named Mazdoorabad. Explorations and excavations on this site began in 1864. The site underwent a major restoration in the 1920s.

 

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Squash in Pakistan

Although hockey is the national sport of Pakistan and cricket is by far the most popular one; the sport in which Pakistan has achieved most success is squash. Pakistan dominated squash like no other country in the world, the domination lasting for the best part of 5 decades. It reached its peak in the 1980s and 1990s during the reigns of Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan. Between 1950 and 1997, Pakistan amassed over 30 British Open titles, 14 World Open titles and a lot more PSA professional titles.

History


Hashim Khan was the first Pakistani to dominate the sport. Having been a squash coach in the British Army, when Pakistan gained independence he joined as a coach for the Pakistan Air Force. It was here he impressed the officers with his skills that they sent him to England to compete out of their own pocket. Despite being in his late forties, Hashim Khan showed great skill and speed and in 1951 competed in the prestigious British Open.

It was here he laid the foundation of Pakistani dominance in Squash. Hashim defeated 4 times winner the current champion Mahmoud Karim of Egypt in devastating fashion, 9-5, 9-0, 9-0.

He went on to win British Open titles, 7 titles over 8 years, the only time his supremacy over the championship was broken, he lost to fellow Pakistani and his cousin Roshan Khan.

Pakistani control over the British Open and the World Open which was created in 1976, The names of such great maestros such as Azam Khan, Roshan Khan, Mo Khan, Qamar Zaman, Jahangir Khan, and Jansher Khan have dominated the sport.

Of these, Jahangir Khan is considered by many to be the greatest player ever the grace a squash court. During his career he won the World Open six times and the British Open a record ten times. Between 1981 and 1986, he was unbeaten in competitive play for five years. During that time he won 555 matches consecutively. This was not only the longest winning streak in squash history, but also one of the longest unbeaten runs by any athlete in top-level professional sports.


Pakistan national men's squash team

The Pakistan national men's squash team represents Pakistan in international squash team competitions, and is governed by the Pakistan Squash Federation.

Since 1977, Pakistan has won 6 World Squash Team Open titles. Their most recent title came in 1993.

World Team Squash Championships

Wins (6) (1977,1981,1983,1985,1987,1993)
Runners-up (4 times)

Asian Squash Team Championships

Wins (12) (1981,1984,1986,1988,1990,1992,1994,1998,2002,2004,2010,2012)
Runners-up (2 times)


Hashim Khan

Hashim Khan is a former squash player from Pakistan. He won the British Open seven times between 1951 and 1958. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest squash players of all time, and was the first great player to emerge from a Pakistani dynasty of squash players which dominated the international game for decades.

Hashim Khan was born in Nawakille (sometimes spelled "Noakili"), a small village near Peshawar, in British India. The year of his birth is usually reported as 1916, though this has been disputed (some believe that he may have been born as much as five years before this). Hashim's father, Abdullah Khan, was the Head Steward at club in Peshwar where British army officers stationed in the area played squash. As a youngster, Hashim served as an unpaid ballboy at the club, retrieving balls that were hit out of court by the officers. When the officers had finished playing, Hashim and the other ballboys would take over the courts.

In 1942, Hashim became a squash coach at a British Air Force officers' mess. In 1944, he won the first All-of-India squash championship in Bombay, and successfully defended this title for the next two years. When Pakistan became an independent state, Hashim was appointed a squash professional at the Pakistan Air Force, and won the first Pakistani squash championship in 1949.

In 1950, Abdul Bari, a distant relative of Hashim's who had chosen to remain in Bombay after the partition of India and Pakistan, and who Hashim had beaten in several tournaments in India before partition, was sponsored by the Indian Government to play at the British Open where he finished runner-up to the great Egyptian player Mahmoud Karim. (The British Open was considered to be the effective world championship of the sport at the time.) This spurred Hashim to seek backing to compete in the British Open the following year.

In 1951, Hashim travelled to the United Kingdom to play in the British Open, and won the title beating Karim in the final 9-5, 9-0, 9-0. He again beat Karim in the final in 1952 9-5, 9-7, 9-0. He won again for the next four consecutive years, beating R.B.R. Wilson of England in the 1953 final; his younger brother Azam Khan in two tight five-set finals in 1954 and 1955; and Roshan Khan (another Pakistani who was a distant relative of Hashim and Azam's) in the final of 1956. Hashim was runner-up to Roshan in 1957, and won his seventh and final British Open title in 1958, when he beat Azam in the final.

Hashim also won five British Professional Championship titles, three US Open titles, and three Canadian Open titles.

In his later years, Hashim has settled in Denver, Colorado, and has continued to appear in veterans' matches at the British Open.

Hashim had a total of 12 children. His eldest son Sharif Khan became the dominant player on the North American hardball squash circuit in the 1970s, winning a record 12 North American Open titles. Four other sons – Aziz, Gulmast, Liaqat Ali ("Charlie"), and Salim ("Sam") – also became top-level hardball squash players.

British Open final appearances

Wins (7) (1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1958)
Runner-ups (1) (1957)

Azam Khan

Azam Khan is a former squash player from Pakistan who won the British Open four times between 1959 and 1962.

Azam was introduced to squash by his older brother, Hashim Khan, who was also one of the world's top squash players in his time. After winning the British Open in 1951, Hashim recruited Azam as his practice partner in the summer of 1952.

(The British Open was considered to be the effective world championship of the sport at the time.) Azam progressed so quickly under his older brother's tutelage that he would go on to face Hashim in the final of the 1954 British Open, which Hashim won in five sets. Azam was also runner-up to Hashim at the British Open in 1955 and 1958. Azam then went on to win four consecutive British Open titles in 1959-62. He also won the US Open in 1962. Later that year, a ruptured Achilles tendon effectively ended his career.

After his playing career, Azam settled in the United Kingdom. Today, he owns and runs the New Grampians Squash Club in London. His granddaughter Carla Khan is currently a professional squash player on the international circuit.


British Open final appearances

Wins (4) (1959,1960,1961,1962)
Runner-ups (3) (1954,1955,1958)



Roshan Khan

Roshan Khan (26 November 1929 - 6 January 2006) was a squash player from Pakistan. He was one of the leading players in the game in the 1950s and early-1960s, and won the British Open title in 1957. His son Jahangir Khan became the world's leading squash player in the 1980s (and arguably the greatest player of all time).


Roshan is sometimes referred to as being the "cousin" of the two other leading Pakistani players of his time – the brothers Hashim Khan and Azam Khan – though he was not in fact a first cousin of the brothers, but more distantly related to them. He was also connected to them by marriage – Roshan's brother-in-law married a sister of Hashim and Azam's.

In 1949, Roshan finished runner-up to Hashim at the inaugural Pakistan Open. He went on to win that title three consecutive times between 1951 and 1953.

In 1956, Roshan faced Hashim in the final of the British Open (which was considered to be the effective world championship of the sport at the time), with Hashim winning 9-4, 9-2, 5-9, 9-5. The following year the pair met again in the British Open final, and this time Roshan won 6-9, 9-5, 9-2, 9-1 to end Hashim's six-year reign as champion. Roshan made a third British Open final appearance in 1960, when he lost to Azam 9-1, 9-0, 9-0.

Roshan also won the US Open three times and the Canadian Open twice.

Roshan had two sons – Torsam Khan and Jahangir Khan – both of whom were groomed by Roshan to become top international squash players. Torsam reached a career-high ranking on World No. 13 in 1979, when he died of a heart attack while playing a tournament match in Australia at the age of 27. In the wake of Torsam's death, Jahangir considered quitting the game, but instead decided to pursue a career in the sport as a tribute to his brother. He went on to achieve unprecedented heights within the game – capturing ten British Open titles, six World Open titles, and enjoying a five-year unbeaten run which stretched to over 500 matches.

Roshan Khan died on 6 January 2006 in Karachi.


British Open final appearances

Wins (1) (1957)
Runner-ups (2) (1956,1960)



Mohibullah Khan

Mohibullah Khan, often referred to by the nickname "Mo Khan", was a squash player from Pakistan. He was one of the leading players in the game in the 1960s. His biggest triumph was winning the British Open in 1963.

Mo was the nephew of the two most dominant Pakistani squash players of the 1950s – the brothers Hashim Khan and Azam Khan.

Mo finished runner-up at the British Open to his uncle Azam in 1959, 1961 and 1962. (The British Open was considered to be the effective world championship of the sport at the time.) He then won the British Open in 1963 in dramatic fashion. In the final against A.A. AbouTaleb of Egypt, he saved multiple match-points from 8-1 down in the fourth game as he came back to win in five games 9-4, 5-9, 3-9, 10-8, 9-6.

Mo also won the North American Open four times (in 1964, 1965, 1966 and 1968), and the US Professional Championships five consecutive times (from 1965-1969).

In the mid-1960s, Mo secured the backing of United States President John F. Kennedy to move to the US and take up a position as a squash professional at the Harvard Club in Boston. He held this role for the rest of his life.

Another Pakistani squash player who was also named Mohibullah Khan emerged as one of the leading players in the game in the 1970s (see: Mohibullah Khan). To distinguish the pair, Mo is somethimes referred to as Mohibullah Khan "the elder" or Mohibullah Khan "senior". (The pair are not known to be directly related, but their families originate from the same village in the Peshawar region of northern Pakistan, so it is possible that they are distantly related.)

Mo died in 1995 when he suddenly collapsed after giving a squash lesson at the Harvard Club.

British Open final appearances

Wins (1) (1963)
Runner-ups (3) (1959,1961,1962)


Qamar Zaman Khan

Qamar Zaman (born 1952, in Quetta, Pakistan) is a former squash player from Pakistan. He was one of the leading players in the game in the 1970s and 1980s. His biggest triumph was winning the British Open in 1975.

Qamar won the Pakistan junior squash championship in 1968. On his first trip to the United Kingdom in 1973, he reached the semi-finals of the British Amateur championship. In 1974, he reached the semi-finals of the British Open and won the Australian Amateur championship.

In the 1975 British Open, Qamar beat the defending-champion Geoff Hunt of Australia in the quarter-finals, and went on to win the title beating his fellow Pakistani player Gogi Alauddin in the final 9-7, 9-6, 9-1.

Subsequently, Qamar reached the British Open final on four further occasions. He was runner-up to Hunt in 1978, 1979 and 1980, and to Jahangir Khan in 1984. He was also runner-up at the World Open four times, losing to Hunt in the finals of 1976, 1979 and 1980, and to Jahangir in 1984.

World Open final appearances

Runner-ups (4) (1976,1979,1980,1984)

British Open final appearances

Wins (1) (1975)
Runner-ups (4) (1978,1979,1980,1984)


Jahangir Khan

In December 1963, a son was born in Karachi to Roshan Khan. He was named Jahangir, the name stands for "Conqueror" in Urdu. He along with the other JK, Jansher Khan, were to become the two most dominant players 1980onwards. Jahangir Khan is probably the greatest squash player ever. His rise was meteoric. He was a prodigy, a star, a genius, a phenomenon, and a legend, with no intervening lapses. He was hailed as the squash superstar.

The fittest man on earth. The finest sportsman ever. A symbol of athletic perfection. The world champion of world champions. Jahangir not only dominated the sport, he redefined it. In 1979, he won the World Amateur title at the age of fifteen. Two years later, in Toronto, he became the youngest ever winner of the World Open Championship. Less then six months after that, he collected his first British Open . Still only twenty, his rule was absolute. His undefeated run stretched to an incredible five years, seven months and one day.

During that period, he played with such devastating authority that only one player - Hiddy Jahan took him to five games. Those who had the temerity to filch a game from him were severely punished in the next encounter. Those, like Gamal Awad, who boasted that they would bring him down, were themselves ground into submission. During the Patrick International Festival final at Chichester in 1983, the Egyptian pushed himself to the limit in a marathon that lasted two hours and forty-six minutes, the longest match on record. Jahangir was equal to the challenge and won 3-1. A fortnight later, they met again in the final of the British open at Derby Assembly Rooms. Shattered by his earlier defeat, Awad could only put up a token resistance. He was never the same player after that ordeal in Chichester.

As he scorched his way to sporting immortality, Jahangir left a trail of over five hundred successive victories behind him. Week after week, he put his life on the line and came through unscathed. His command was total. He created an enormous psychological barrier for his opponents. All that they could hope for were respectable losing scores against him. If they met Jahangir Khan in the early stages of a tournament, they knew that they would be on their way home the next day. He had a happy knack of simplifying other people's travel arrangements.

Defeat came one day. Appropriately, it was in France, a country seasoned in violent overthrow. The date was 11 November 1986. The venue was Palais des Sports in Toulouse. The occasion was the final of the UAP World Open. The score was 9-5,9- 7,7-9,9-1. The victor was Ross Norman of New Zealand. It was the most sensational result in the annals of the game. Sheer amazement soon gave way to an odd sense of relief. Jahangir Khan was human. His detractors were delighted. They felt that his defeat was long overdue. In their view, his reign had always been rather suspect. They argued that his pre-eminence was due to the flatness of the surrounding countryside. He had no real competition. Old masters were on their way down. New, thrusting, young talents had not yet matured. He did not even have to beat some players. They succumbed willingly to his reputation. This is not true, forJahangir played and beat the ageing greats when they too were in their prime as players. He became simply too good for them.

However Jahangir became the victim of the same high standards he had set for others to follow. The change became evident when the Squash world started to throw players like Chris Dittmar, Rodney Martin, Chris Robertson, Gwain Briars, and between them all combined to give a new dimension in squash excellence to the world. Jahangir beat them many more times than he lost to them. His feats are astounding. Ten successive British Opens, six World Opens, 13 Pakistan Opens and he rounded all this off by leading Pakistan to a historic team triumph in the World Team Championship in 1993.

In 1990 he was elected Chairman of the Professional Squash Association and after his playing career finished he was elected Vice-President of the Pakistan Squash Federation in 1997. He was elected as Vice-President of the World Squash Federation in November 1998 and then from 2002 – 2008 was President of the World Squash Federation. Jahangir became Emeritus President of the WSF in 2008 and was re-appointed to this position in 2012.

Jahangir was truly the greatest squash player of his generation if not the greatest squash player ever. He was the world’s first squash millionaire. He also took over the championship of the North American (hardball) game the first time he ever played it.

Jahangir Khan,World’s first Squash Millionaire and President of the World Squash Federation( 2002-2008)

World Open final appearances

Wins (6) (1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1988)
Runner-ups (3) (1986,1991,1993)

British Open final appearances

Wins (10) (1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991)
Runner-ups (1) (1981)


Jansher Khan

Jansher Khan also of Noakili, Peshawar, represents the very best the world of squash has to offer. He is one of the many world squash champions the small village of Noakili, close to the Pakistan Air Force Base in Peshawar, has produced.

Jansher Khan is not related to 'the Khans' directly, but comes from the same village. His family was also much poorer. His brother Mohibullah was a dominant force in squash between 1974-¹80, rising as high as World's No. 2. Mohib was an excellent player, his backhand down the line (parallel-shot as in squash) was one of the most explosive I have ever seen, but he was confronted with Geoff Hunt, Qamar Zaman, Jonah Barrington, Gogi Alauddin and was therefore faced with players who had greater claims to recognition.

Jansher's challenge to Jahangir in 1985-86 was dismissed as the precociousness of an upstart and disdainfully rejected. The man was only 16 and a half. Jansher was true to his word, he beat Jahangir six successive times and then started a rivalry which contributed in no small measure to the acceptance of squash as a true international sport. These two were supported by Ross Norman (New Zealand), and the mighty Australian quartet of Chris Dittmar, Chris Robertson, Rodney Martin and Brett Martin.

Jansher's record of domination speaks for itself - eight World Championships, Seven Hong Kong Opens, six British Opens, ten Pakistan Opens - so far. Such is Jansher's domination that his occasional defeat merits a headline, his wins are taken for granted.

Comparisons between Jahangir and Jansher are inevitable. Jahangir had a merry first five years because his opposition was provided by an ageing generation who had seen their best in the early and late 1970's. Jansher was confronted by a most formidable array of younger players all in their prime led by Jahangir, and it was through them he had to make this presence known. His training regimen simply had to be many notches higher.

The manner in which he gradually but firmly established his superiority is now a part of history. Initially, Jansher had to fight many a tenacious opponent in long drawn out battles. It led to classic confrontations and some of the matches would rate as the greatest games of all time. The Pakistan Open final in 1986 when he roared back to beat Jahangir two games down and the World Open final in Malaysia 1988 against Chris Dittmar are classic examples. They also led to renewed interest in squash because Jahangir's domination had ironically led to a loss of spectator interest.

Rivalries are integral to interest. In tennis we had Hoad/Rosewall; Laver/Emerson; Borg/McEnroe/Connors/Lendl; and now Agassi/Sampras; football is nurtured by the Europe/South American rivalry ; golf has had Nicklaus/Palmer/Player; Trevino/Johnny Miller; in squash the rivalry between Jansher/Jehangir/Dittmar/Robertson/Rodney Martin proved very good for the game.

Jansher is like any typical world beater. He is cocky, brash and colourful. His run ins with the authorities add to his personality. He has ignored authority, he has been extremely critical of them. But his squash is excellent, he has worked himself into a position of invincibility and the margins of his wins becomes increasingly one sided.

His on court behaviour is exemplary and has led to the great Irishman, the now Jonah Barrington to say "He is the role model for any sportsman, he is a complete Squash Player". He takes the ball early, his balance, direction and control is phenomenal and his T-domination is fantastic. Jansher is gifted with uncanny anticipation and therefore never seems to be hurried. A World Champion makes his sport look simple, Jansher typifies that as does Pete Sampras in tennis.

Jansher is a truly international figure. He needs to accept his stature and contribute his share to giving back some of the affection millions of his fans have given him by identifying with worthwhile causes. He is the world's undisputed champion and surely must rate along with Imran Khan and Jahangir Khan as the three most recognised personalities in their country and abroad.


World Open final appearances

Wins (8) (1987,1989,1990,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996)
Runner-ups (1) (1988)

British Open final appearances

Wins (6) (1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997)
Runner-ups (3) (1987,1991,1998)

Pakistan national Women's squash team

Carla Khan

Carla Khan (born 18 August 1981 in London) is a Pakistani professional squash player and is the granddaughter of Azam Khan, one of the legends of squash in Pakistan and daughter of Jacqui Stoter and Wasil Khan. She started playing squash in England at age 12. In her early life, her father Wasil Khan (a junior world champion) coached her in squash.

She has won five titles in her career, which are: El Salvador Open 2002, Ottawa Open 2003, Pakistan Open 2005 and Iranian Open 2007 and Austrian Open in 2008. Her highest ranking was 21st. Carla Khan's first tournament was at the prestigious British Open in 1999. After an unsuccessful first full season in 2000, she made a breakthrough the following year, but it was not until 2002 that Carla won her first title

In November 2002, at the El Salvador Open, she reached her first final against Mexican Samantha Teran. Carla went on to beat her 9–1, 2–9, 9–3, 9–1. Her improvements continued in 2003, her most successful season yet, and won at the Ottawa International, where she came from behind to beat Melissa Martin from Australia, 3–9, 4–9, 9–4, 9–7, 9–3. She broke into the top 30.

At the Irish Open in 2004, Carla defeated Nicol David of Malaysia (who was ranked number 9 in the world at that time) on 15 April 2004, and achieved her highest ranking of 21. And in 2005, Carla lost in the final of the Forbes Open to England's Alison Walters. However, she made it to the final of the 1st POF WISPA tournament in Pakistan, and beat Sharon Wee of Malaysia 9–1, 9–3, 9–4. Carla never dropped a set throughout the whole tournament. Carla then ended the year by making it to yet another final, at the 4th Women Islamic Games 2005 in Tehran, but lost to Malaysian Tricia Chuah with a score of 1–9, 9–6, 1–9, 1–9.

In late 2005 she was unwell, and struggled in early 2006 until she collapsed during the 2006 South Asian Games on 24 August 2006 while playing against Joshna Chinappa from India. Carla was not expected to be back until 2008, but she returned playing in September 2007. This had seen her rankings slide outside the top 200 but Carla won her fourth title in 2007, Iranian open beating Donna Urquhart in the finals.

In 2008, Carla defeated England's Emma Beddoes 9–2, 9–2, 9–0 to take the Austrian Open.Carla Khan then retired.

Maria Toor Pakay

Maria Toor Pakay (born November 22, 1990 in South Waziristan) is a Pashtun professional squash player from Pakistan.

She is currently ranked 44th in the world, and is Pakistan No. 1 .Maria turned pro in 2006

In late August 2007, aged just 16, she missed out on making her maiden appearance in a WISPA World Tour final after losing a five-game semi-final thriller in the POF WISPA Wah Cantt Open at the Jahangir Khan Squash Complex in the Punjab city of Wah Cantt in Pakistan. She was nominated as WISPA Young Player of the Year 2007.

Book: Khans Unlimited: 50 Years of Squash in Pakistan.

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Khans-Unlimited-Squash-Pakistan-Jubilee/dp/0195778057]Khans Unlimited: 50 Years of Squash in Pakistan (Jubilee Series): Dicky Rutnagur, Jonah Barrington: 9780195778052: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]

 

[longknife]

Another attempt to gild a dead lily. It's nice to see all the good stuff- but ignore the horrors. The murders in the name of Allah. Killing women and children as part of jihad.

It's exactly like something I received as a joke gift many years ago - a gold-plated horse turd from the Lipizzaner Stallions in Vienna.

Even gold plated, it was STILL a turd!

 

[Sunni Man]

Another attempt to gild a dead lily. It's nice to see all the good stuff- but ignore the horrors. The murders in the name of Allah. Killing women and children as part of jihad.

It's exactly like something I received as a joke gift many years ago - a gold-plated horse turd from the Lipizzaner Stallions in Vienna.

Even gold plated, it was STILL a turd!

Longknife why are you bound and determined to wreck this guys thread?

Sure the country has it's poor areas and destitute people living on the edge.

But it's no worse than Detroit or south Chicago in the U.S.

Many of us here are enjoying the various pictures of Pakistan's buildings and culture.

And would like to see more without your interruptions. ..