Bhurban, 9 kms from Murree.

 Baltistan: Girls walking to school in uniform. On the right is the Shigar fort.

Lahore: Sufi Quwwali singer.

Nausheen Shah

There are many out there who are struggling to enter the limelight. Some succeed, while others have to wait till their stars turn lucky for them. Among those who are climbing up the ladder of success rapidly, Nausheen Shah, with her killing looks stands out.

Gilgit: Shandur top is world’s highest Polo ground.

It is often called the 'Roof of the World' where the Hindukush,Pamir, and Karakoram and ranges meet. The top is flat, a plateau and can be crossed between late April and early November. The grade is very gradual, and the area is crossed by small streams of trout. Grazing in summer is plentiful.

An ancient Buddha carved into into a mountainside sits at Jehanabad in the Swat Valley of Pakistan. The seven meter high Buddha has been named the second most important relic from the 6th Century Gandhara era, only after the giant Buddhas at Bamiyan, Afghanistan, which were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001.

Buddhist tradition holds that the Buddha himself came to Swat during his last reincarnation as the Gautama Buddha and preached to the people here.
 

Lollywood Movie Bol screening at Cinestar, Lahore. 

The government of Pakistan is implementing a project to help protect the historical Rohtas Fort and develop it as a heritage site conforming to international standards of conservation and tourism.

Sher Shah Suri built this strong fortified complex at Rohtas, a strategic site about 16 kilometres north-west of the city of Jhelum.

Moreover, the world’s only museum dedicated to Sher Shah Suri has also been established at one of the gates to the fort. A curator’s office and a library will be set up once the conservation of the external structure of the museum is completed. – Photos by Hassan Soherwardy, text by APP

Ansoo Lake.
The name "Ansoo" comes from its tear-like shape (the Urdu word Ansoo means teardrop).

Ansoo Lake is a high-altitude lake (elevation 16,490 feet or 5,027 metres) in the Kaghan Valley in the Mansehra District of the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan. It is near Malika Parbat in the Himalayan range. It can also be reached by a trek from Mahandri, which is 40 km below Naran.

The lake is said to have been discovered in 1993 by Pakistan Air Force pilots who were flying low above the area. Earlier, the lake was not even known to the locals.

Lahore, Two men ride in the bucket of a tractor disregarding safety rules. app

Pakistan In Pictures

 

The State Bank of Pakistan inaugurated its money museum on Friday, July 1, 2011. With a fascinating collection which charts the rise of money over 2500 years, the place offers a wonderful insight into the sub-continents of economy. From cowries to credit cards, metal sculptures and murals by the great master Sadequain, the SBP money museum is a welcome addition in the city by the sea. – Photos and text by Sumera Adil

 

The tomb of Bibi Jiwandi set against a mass of small, cemented graves. The area in itself is the patch of desert preserved in the area and is surrounded by lush green vegetation.

They say this is where the culture of shrine worship took root. Approximately 75km from the city of Bahawalpur, Uch was founded by Alexander the Great and later came under the control of the Delhi Sultanate. Built near a place called Panjnad – where all of the Indus rivers meet – Uch used to be a centre of political and cultural activities and is home to myriad of mosques and shrines.

Some of the most popular shrines in Uch are those of Bibi Jawindi, Baha’al-Halim and Jalaluddin Bukhari – all of which are concentrated in a compound known as Uch Sharif and are listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site.

 

PESHAWAR:

A local school in Wana, the main settlement in South Waziristan tribal agency

Lahore, Punjab University.

Pakistan In Pictures

My beloved city Lahore.


Old City

The origins of the original Lahore are unspecific. According to carbon dating evidence of archaeological findings in the Lahore Fort, the time period may start as early as 2,000 B.C.E.

The Walled City of Lahore, also known as the "Old City," or "Anderoon Shehr" has 13 gates: Akbari Gate, Bhati Gate, Delhi Gate, Kashmiri Gate, Lohari Gate, Masti Gate, Mochi Gate, Mori Gate, Roshnai Gate, Shahalmi Gate, Shairanwala Gate, Taxali Gate, and Yakki Gate.

These gates were constructed during Emperor Akbar’s rein (1584 -1598) and during Ranjit Singh’s (the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire 1799 to 1849) times.

Surviving Gates:

Bhati Gate, the entrance to the Bhati Gate is located on the western wall of the old city. The area inside the gate is well known throughout the city for its food, the gate was named after an ancient Rajput tribe resided here, “Bhat” (Bhatti).

Delhi Gate is considered one of the most famous gates of Lahore,

the Gate was once the main and only road that led from Lahore to Delhi.

There are many historical buildings and markets inside the gate,

(to name a few)

Wazeer Khan Mosque (one of the finest pieces of Mughal architecture), Shahi Hamam (1110 sqm, royal Washroom), and Landa Bazar (the poor man’s shopping paradise)

  Kashmiri Gate is so named because it faces the direction of Kashmir, inside the gate there is Kashmiri Bazaar and Azam cloth market, it has more than 16000 shops of clothes.

Lohari Gate is very close to "Bhati Gate." Like many other gates, it was built to keep enemies out.

Roshnai Gate, also known as the "Gate of Lights," is located between the Lahore Fort and the Badshahi Mosque. As the gate was one of the main entrances into the city. Adjacent to the gate, Hazuri Bagh is another spot that is worth mentioning. This garden was built by Maharajah Ranjit Singh in 1813 to celebrate the capture of the famous Koh-i-Noor Diamond from Shah Shujah of Afghanistan.

Shairanwala Gate, also known as the "Gate of the Lions," was made by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. After its completion, Singh placed two live lions (or Shers) in cages at the gate as a symbolic gesture to warn any invader.

 

Pakistan In Pictures

Wazir Khan Mosque, Lahore

An exhibition called “Rebel Angel” opened at the Mohatta Palace museum on May 18. The exhibition displays the works of the late Asim Butt, a young artist from Karachi who passed away last year.

Butt was a modern artist and a member of the Stuckist art movement. He is also known for his graffiti art, through which he subversively expressed his social and political views. Though he was in his early thirties when he died, he was prolific and had already gained a reputation as an intelligent and innovative artistic mind.

The exhibition is open till July 31 and features Butt’s paintings, murals and other works from various collections, as well as a viewing of a short documentary feature about him. – Text and Photography by Nadir Siddiqui

An exhibition called “Rebel Angel” opened at the Mohatta Palace museum on May 18. The exhibition displays the works of the late Asim Butt, a young artist from Karachi who passed away last year.

Butt was a modern artist and a member of the Stuckist art movement. He is also known for his graffiti art, through which he subversively expressed his social and political views. Though he was in his early thirties when he died, he was prolific and had already gained a reputation as an intelligent and innovative artistic mind.

The exhibition is open till July 31 and features Butt’s paintings, murals and other works from various collections, as well as a viewing of a short documentary feature about him. – Text and Photography by Nadir Siddiqui

An exhibition called “Rebel Angel” opened at the Mohatta Palace museum on May 18. The exhibition displays the works of the late Asim Butt, a young artist from Karachi who passed away last year.

Butt was a modern artist and a member of the Stuckist art movement. He is also known for his graffiti art, through which he subversively expressed his social and political views. Though he was in his early thirties when he died, he was prolific and had already gained a reputation as an intelligent and innovative artistic mind.

The exhibition is open till July 31 and features Butt’s paintings, murals and other works from various collections, as well as a viewing of a short documentary feature about him. – Text and Photography by Nadir Siddiqui

 Indian Sikh pilgrims gather at the tomb of Maharaja Ranjit Singh during a ceremony in Lahore on June 29, 2010. Indian Sikh pilgrims from various parts of the East Indian Punjab province arrived in Pakistan to attend the 171th death anniversary of Ranjit Singh, who was born in Gujranwala in 1780. – Photo by AFP.

Kabadi.

Pakistan In Pictures

Pakistan In Pictures

Munib Nawaz’s techno funk kurtas. PHOTOS: IJAZ MAHMOOD

The bomb blasts continue: A policeman adjusts a yellow police barrier tape cordoning off the site of a bomb blast in Nowshera district, northwest Pakistan on May 10, 2011. The explosion outside the district court in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday killed a female police constable and at least one other person. – Reuters

ALI XEESHAN’S BRIDAL FINERY

Pakistani Sweets/Mithai