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Capital: Islamabad
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Pakistan is an impoverished and underdeveloped country that has suffered from decades of internal political disputes since its independence in 1947. It has considerable hydroelectric potential but endemic corruption and political instability have been obstacles to its development. Benazir Bhutto was momentarily prime minister when I visted the country to evaluate its potential as a market for geophysical services in january 1990. Islam does not provide an excuse for corruption as does Hinduism but the same practices prevail here. As a matter of fact, Pakistan scored even lower than India on the CPI in 2004.
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Some collegues and I in the lobby of the Islamabad Holliday Inn.
Islamabad is a brand new capital city built since the 50s some 15 km north of Rawalpindi where the British established a garrison in 1840.
Pakistanis are talented artists when it comes to decorating their trucks and busses.
A street scene in Rawalpindi's Rajah Bazar.
Ninety seven percent of the population is Muslim but cows are allowed to roam free to eat garbage here like in India.
Here is Marius looking at silver jewelry in an outdoor bazar. I was fortunate to
find some ancient stone oil lamps amongst the bric a brac sold by Afghan refugees
in this bazar.
We took an afternoon off to visit the Margalla Hills north of Islamabad. Here is a small shop where we stopped for tea.
A closer view of the tea shop.
My collegues and I overlooking the plain below.
Here is Islamabad seen from the Margalla hills. The large structure is the Shah Faisal Mosque said to be the largest in Asia with room for 100 000 worshippers. It was a gift from King Faisal of Saudi Arabia.
