Thursday, June 25, 2009

Pictures of Shangla




Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Pictures of balogram




Pictures of Mingora











Pictures of Kalam valley











Pictures of lakes











Beauty of Skardu Valley


Skardu: Amidst a landscape of stark mountains, deep and steep gorges, crashing waterfalls and quiet lakes, Skardu, the district headquarters of Baltistan valley, is situated on the banks of the mighty river Indus, joined by the river Shigar just about 5 8 km further up. Perched at a height of 8,000 feet/2438 metres, Skardu offers cool and bracing climate. To the east is Laddakh, in the south Indian-occupied Kashmir and to the north is the Chinese province of Sinkiang. Skardu is strategically situated at the foot of an enormous rock, which is crowned by a historic fort
There are three lakes, Satpara about 8 km, lower Kachoora about 35 kilometres and upper Kachoora about 40 kilometres. The Lake Resort Shangri-La (above - left) is a picturesque place to rest and admire the beauty of Lake Kachura and Skardu Valley. To the southwest of the town is the sprawling Deosai Plateau which can be reached via the beautiful Sadpara/ Satpara lake just about 8 kilometres from Skardu. Deosai Plateau is unique in many ways. About 70 kilometres across and averaging 3,500 metres / 11,660 feet in height, Deosai connects Baltistan with the Astore Valley. It is to the north and east of Skardu that the Karakoram mountains assume their most impressive and unyielding character. it takes just two hours, by jeep to reach the gateway to the dreamland, the ancient village of Shigar tucked up in a lush green valley having abundance of fruit trees including apples and apricots for which the whole region is renowned. Of the world's fifteen highest peaks, five are located in this region, including K-2. Most of the longest and the most dreadful glaciers of the world are also located in this greatest geo-drama of the nature having no parallel on earth. Summers attract a large number of mountaineers and trekkers from all parts of the world to this valley. In fact, the entire region is known as the mountaineer's/trekker's paradise. The Kharfocho Fort or the King of forts at Skardu attracts tourists in large numbers. The fort is attributed to the famous ruler of Skardu, Maqpon Bugha (1490 - 1515 AD), the great grand father of Ali Sher Khan Anchan (1560 - 1625 AD). However this claim is contradicted by the Moghal historians, who are of the view that the great fort was built by Ali Sher Khan Anchan himself. This view is upheld by European writers such as Cunningham, Foso Marine, G.T. Vagne etc. Some observations about this fort have been made in the Imperial.

Beauty of Kaghan Valley


Kaghan is one of the most beautiful valleys of Pakistan. The valley is located in the Mansehra District of the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan. Connected with Islamabad via three routes (Balakot, Abbottabad and Mansehra), Kaghan is offers great images. Its mountains, lakes, water-falls, streams & glaciers are still in an unbelievable pristine state, an un-spoilt paradise. The Kaghan valley is named for the town of Kaghan rather than for the Kunhar River which flows to the length of the valley. The valley extends for 155 kilometres rising from an elevation of 2,133 metres (7,000 ft) to its highest point, the Babusar Pass at 4,173 metres. The local population is friendly and easygoing and speaks Hindko (a language spoken by the hill people in Hazara), Pushto, and/or Urdu. The region is Alpine in geography and climate, with forests and meadows dominating the landscape below peaks that reach over 17,000 feet. Kaghan is at its best in the summers. Except for middle of July up to the end of September, the road beyond Naran remains snow-bound throughout the winter.
The Kaghan valley, is blocked at the end by high mountains but a pass lets the jeep-able road snakes into the Chilas valley through 4,145 metres high Babusar Pass, which commands the whole Kaghan panorama gives on a clear day, glimpses of the Nanga Parbat glistening at 8,125 metres.
Naran, 22 kilometres from Kaghan serves as the base camp for the whole valley. From here one can go to several picturesque lakes, valleys and peaks hiring a jeep or horse. Nestled in the foot steps of 5,190 metres high Malika Parbat (Queen of Mountains) is the awe inspiring "Lake Saiful Malook" at 12,000 feet above sea level is a breathtaking site in the entire valley which has a touch of the unreal about it. The scenic beauty has no parallel in the world. One can go boating on the lake and hear the local legend about Prince Saiful Malook. Moving up to the Babusar Pass, and located just before the final grade to Babusar Top is the breathtaking Lulusar Lake.

Beauty of Northern Areas


Land of Tirich Mir and Kafir Kalash
Ask anyone where Chitral is, and one may get a blank look since this land of Tirich Mir and the Kafirs, people of the lost world, is obscured behind the Lowari Top, which due to its inaccessibility generally keeps the tourist and holiday makers at bay. But those who dare to venture and reach out to Chitral Valley, find themselves in a different world - overlooked by the mighty Tirich Mir, standing at a height of 7,692 metres as part of the Hindu Kush mountain range, and located in the far reaches of Pakistan. Chitral is also famous for the Shandur Festival, which is held each year and where polo is played at the highest polo ground of the world at a height of 3,719 metres. The beauty of Chitral lies as much in its rustic, mountainous terrain, as in its warm hearted and friendly inhabitants. Since it is a land high up in the mountains, at such places legends fascinate the on lookers. One such legend describes Chitral as an abode of genies and fairies in times when no one lived here and locals still look up to the Tirich Mir, which they believe still has the castle of fairies.

History of Pakistan

British Rule and Muslim League
The British ruled the Indian subcontinent for nearly 200 years-from 1756 to 1947. After the Indian Mutiny of 1857, the British government abolished the powers of the British East India Company, which had ruled the sub-continent on behalf of the British Crown, and took on direct powers of governance. Political reforms were initiated, allowing the formation of political parties. The Indian National Congress, representing the overwhelming majority of Hindus, was created in 1885. The Muslim League was formed in 1906 to represent and protect the position of the Muslim minority. When the British introduced constitutional reforms in 1909, the Muslims demanded and acquired separate electoral rolls. This guaranteed Muslims representation in the provincial as well as national legislatures until the dawn of independence in 1947.The idea of a separate Muslim state in south Asia was raised in 1930 by the poet and philosopher Sir Muhammad Iqbal.
He suggested that the north-western provinces of British India and the native state of Jammu and Kashmir should be joined into such a state. The name "Pakistan", which came to be used to describe this grouping, is thought to have originated as a compound abbreviation made up of letters of the names of the provinces involved, as follows: Punjab, Afghania (North West Frontier Province), Kashmir, Indus-Sindh, and Baluchistan. An alternative explanation says the name means "Land of the Pure". By the end of the 1930s, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, leader of the Muslim League and considered the founding father of Pakistan, had also decided that the only way to preserve Indian Muslims from Hindu domination was to establish a separate Muslim state.
Creation of Pakistan
In 1940 the Muslim League formally endorsed the partitioning of British India and the creation of Pakistan as a separate Muslim state. During pre-independence talks in 1946, therefore, the British government found that the stand of the Muslim League on separation and that of the Congress on the territorial unity of India were irreconcilable. The British then decided on partition and on August 15, 1947, transferred power dividedly to India and Pakistan. The latter, however, came into existence in two parts: West Pakistan, as Pakistan stands today, and East Pakistan, now known as Bangladesh. The two were separated by 1,600 km (1,000 mi) of Indian territory.
History of Pakistan: Problems of Partition
The division of the subcontinent caused tremendous dislocations of populations. Some 6 million Hindus and Sikhs moved from Pakistan into India, and about 8 million Muslims migrated from India to Pakistan.
The demographic shift was accompanied by considerable inter-ethnic violence, including massacres, that reinforced bitterness between the two countries. This bitterness was further intensified by disputes over the accession of the former native states of India to either country. Nearly all of these 562 widely scattered polities had joined either India or Pakistan; the princes of Hyderabad, Junagadh, and Kashmir, however, had chosen to join neither country. On August 15, 1947, these three states became technically independent, but when the Muslim ruler of Junagadh, with its predominantly Hindu population, joined Pakistan a month later, India annexed his territory. Hyderabad's Muslim prince, ruling over a mostly Hindu population, tried to postpone any decision indefinitely, but in September 1948 India also settled that issue by pre-emptive annexation. The Hindu ruler of Jammu and Kashmir, whose subjects were 85 per cent Muslim, decided to join India. Pakistan, however, questioned his right to do so, and a war broke out between India and Pakistan. Although the UN subsequently resolved that a plebiscite be held under UN auspices to determine the future of Kashmir, India continued to occupy about two thirds of the state and refused to hold a plebiscite. This deadlock, which still persists, has intensified suspicion and antagonism between the two countries.
Pre-Republican Era
The first independent government of Pakistan was headed by Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan. Muhammad Ali Jinnah was Governor-General until his death in 1948. From 1947 to 1951 the country functioned under unstable conditions. The government endeavored to create a new national capital to replace Karachi, organize the bureaucracy and the armed forces, resettle refugees, and contend with provincial politicians who often defied its authority. Failing to offer any programmed of economic and social reform, however, it did not capture the popular imagination.
In his foreign policy Liaquat established friendly relations with the United States, when he visited President Harry S. Truman in 1950. Liaquat's United States visit injected bitterness into Pakistan's elations with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) because Liaquat had previously accepted an invitation from Moscow that never materialized in a visit. The United States gave no substantial aid to Pakistan until three years later, but the USSR, Pakistan's close neighbor, had been alienated.
After Liaquat was assassinated in 1951, Khawaja Nazimuddin, an East Pakistani who had been Governor-General since Jinnah's death, became Prime Minister. Unable to prevent the erosion of the Muslim League's popularity in East Pakistan, however, he was forced to yield to another East Pakistani, Muhammad Ali Bogra, in 1953.
When the Muslim League was routed in East Pakistani elections in 1954, the Governor-General dissolved the constituent assembly as no longer representative. The new assembly that met in 1955 was no longer dominated by the Muslim League. Muhammad Ali Bogra was then replaced by Chaudhuri Muhammad Ali, a West Pakistani. At the same time, Iskander Mirza became the Governor-General of the country. The new constituent assembly enacted a bill, which became effective in October 1955, integrating the four West Pakistani provinces into one political and administrative unit.
The assembly also produced a new constitution, which was adopted on March 2, 1956. It declared Pakistan an Islamic republic. Mirza was elected Provisional President.
Cabinet Shifts : History of Pakistan
The new constitution notwithstanding, political instability continued because no stable majority party emerged in the National Assembly. Prime Minister Ali remained in office only until September 1956, when he was succeeded by Hussein Shaheed Suhrawardy, leader of the Awami League of East Pakistan. His tenure lasted for slightly more than a year. When President Mirza discovered that Suhrawardy was planning an alliance between East and West Pakistani political forces by supporting the presidential aspirations of Firoz Khan Noon, leader of the Republican Party, he forced the prime minister to resign. The succeeding coalition government, headed by Ismail Ibrahim Chundrigar, lasted only two months before it was replaced by a Republican Party Cabinet under Noon. President Mirza, however, found that his influence among the Republicans was diminishing and that the new prime minister had come to an understanding with Suhrawardy. Against such a coalition Mirza had no chance of being re-elected president. He proclaimed martial law on October 7, 1958, dismissed Noon's government, and dissolved the national assembly.
The president was supported by General Muhammad Ayub Khan, Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, who was named chief martial-law administrator. Twenty days later Ayub forced the president to resign and assumed the presidency himself.