| Facts at a Galance
Full country name: Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Area: 887,700 sq km (550,374 sq mi)
Population: 124.8 million
Capital city: Islamabad
People: 56% Punjabi (also Pathans, Baluch, Mohajir, Sindhis)
Language: Urdu (also Punjabi, English, Sindhi, and regional dialects)
Religion: 97% Muslim, 3% Christian and Hindu
Government: Democracy
Prime Minister: Nawaz Sharif
Environment
Pakistan's neighbours are an eclectic and ornery bunch: Iran to the
south-west; Afghanistan to the west and north; China to the north-east; and
India stretching down its eastern side. The southern coast abuts the Arabian
Sea. The country is composed of towering peaks in the north (including the
second-highest mountain in the world, 8611m/28,245ft K2), dry and scrubby
mountains in the west, an inhospitable plateau in the south-west, barren
deserts in the south-east and alluvial plains everywhere else. These plains,
constituting about a third of the country, are Pakistan's `heart', where
most of its people live and most of its food is grown. Coursing through all
this tumult is the Indus River, which falls from Tibet then travels 2500km
(1550mi) south before emptying through an immense delta into the Arabian
Sea.
Natural fauna in Pakistan's lowlands is patchy - mostly scattered clumps
of grass and stunted woodlands. However, as the landscape rises, there are
quite large coniferous forests and carpeted slopes of multicoloured flowers
in the northern mountains. Fauna includes bear, snow leopard, deer and
jackal. Pakistan's 800km (500mi) of coastline teems with shark, shellfish
and sea turtle, while the Indus delta is home to the marsh crocodile.
Pakistan has three seasons: cool (October through February); hot (March
through June); and wet (July through September). There are, however, big
regional variations. In the south, the cool season brings dry days and cool
nights, while the northern mountains get drizzle and plummeting night-time
temperatures. The hot season means suffocatingly hot and humid conditions in
the south but pleasant temperatures northwards. During the wet season, the
tail end of the monsoon dumps steady rain mostly in the narrow belt of the
Punjab from Lahore to Islamabad. But further north, the high mountains block
all but the most determined clouds, which means relatively little rain falls
there (budding trekkers please take note).
History
The first inhabitants of Pakistan were Stone-Age peoples in the Potwar
Plateau (north-west Punjab). They were followed by the sophisticated Indus
Valley (or Harappan) civilisation which flourished between the 23rd to 18th
centuries BC. Semi-nomadic peoples then arrived, settled down, and by the
9th century BC were blanketed across northern Pakistan-India. Their Vedic
religion was the precursor of Hinduism, and their rigid division of labour
an early caste system.
In 327 BC Alexander the Great came over the Hindu Kush to finish off the
remnants of the defeated Persian empire. Although his visit was short, some
tribes tell picturesque legends in which they claim to be descended from
Alexander and his troops. Later came the heyday of the Silk Route, a period
of lucrative trade between China, India and the Roman empire. The Kushans
were at the centre of the silk trade and established the capital of their
Gandhara kingdom at Peshawar. By the 2nd century AD they had reached the
height of their power, with an empire that stretched from eastern Iran to
the Chinese frontier and south to the Ganges River. The Kushans were
Buddhist and under King Kanishka built thousands of monasteries and stupas.
Soon Gandhara became both a place of trade and of religious study and
pilgrimage - the Buddhist `holy' land.
The Kushan empire had unravelled by the 4th century and was subsequently
absorbed by the Persian Sassanians, the Gupta dynasty, Hephthalites from
Central Asia, and Turkic and Hindu Shahi dynasties. The next strong central
power was the Moghuls who reigned during the 16th and 17th centuries. A
succession of rulers introduced sweeping reforms, ended Islam's supremacy as
a state religion, encourged the arts, built fanciful houses and, in a
complete volte-face, returned the state to Islam once again.
In 1799 a young and crafty Sikh named Ranjit Singh was granted
governorship of Lahore. He proceeded over the next few decades to parlay
this into a small empire, fashioning a religious brotherhood of `holy
brothers' into the most formidable army on the subcontinent. In the course
of his rule, Ranjit had agreed to stay out of British territory - roughly
south-east of the Sutlej River - if they in turn left him alone. But his
death in 1839 and his successor's violation of the treaty plunged the Sikhs
into war. The British duly triumphed, annexed Kashmir, Ladakh, Baltistan and
Gilgit and renamed them the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Thus, they created a
buffer state to Russian expansionism in the north-west and, unwittingly,
what would transpire to be the subcontinent's most unmanageable curse. A
second war against the British in 1849 brought the empire to an end, and the
annexation of the Punjab and the Sind in the 1850s; these were ceded to the
British Raj in 1857.
National self-awareness began growing in British India in the latter
stages of the 19th century. In 1906 the Muslim League was founded to demand
an independent Muslim state but it wasn't until 24 years later that a
totally separate Muslim homeland was proposed. Around the same time, a group
of England-based Muslim exiles coined the name Pakistan, meaning `Land of
the Pure'. After violence escalated between Hindus and Muslims in the
mid-1940s, the British were forced to admit that a separate Muslim state was
unavoidable. The new viceroy, Lord Louis Mountbatten, announced that
independence would come by June 1948.
British India was dutifully carved up into a central, largely Hindu
region retaining the name India, and a Muslim East (present-day Bangladesh)
and West Pakistan. The announcement of the boundaries sparked widespread
killings and one of the largest migrations of people in history. Kashmir
(properly The State of Jammu and Kashmir), though, wanted no part of India
or Pakistan. When India and Pakistan sent troops into the recalcitrant
state, war erupted between the two countries. In 1949 a UN-brokered
cease-fire gave each country a piece of Kashmir to administer but who will
ultimately control it still remains unclear.
Mohammed Ali Jinnah, a prime mover of Muslim independence, became
Pakistan's first governor general but died barely a year into his new
country's independence. His deputy and friend Liaqat Ali Khan replaced him
but was assassinated three years later. What followed was a muddle of
quarelling governor generals and prime ministers and a severe economic
slump. In 1956 Pakistan finally produced a constitution and became an
Islamic republic. West Pakistan's provinces were amalgamated into a single
entity similar to that in East Pakistan. Two years later President Iskander
Mirza - fed up with the bickering and opportunism that pervaded Pakistani
politics - abrogated the constitution, banned political parties and declared
martial law, a state Pakistan has been in, in one form or another, ever
since.
The next two decades saw Pakistan racked by further war with India over
Kashmir, civil war between the east and west, and the declaration of
Bangladeshi independence, another war with India, and the execution of one
of its most charismatic prime ministers, Z A Bhutto. In 1977 Bhutto's chief
of staff, General Muhammad Zia ul-Haq, took control, insinuated himself
successfully with the USA (thereby gaining valuable foreign aid) and was
widely feted as a hero of the free world. His death in an air crash in 1988
opened the way for Bhutto's daughter, Benazir to claim victory in the next
election, the first elected woman to head a Muslim country. She was toppled
soon after but was voted back into power in 1993.
Benazir Bhutto travelled widely, trumpeting Pakistan's investment
potential and casting herself, and her country, as role models for the
modern Muslim state. Her place in the hearts of her own people though was
endangered by a culture of official corruption. She was dismissed as Prime
Minister in November 1996 by the president Farooq Leghari. Elections held in
early 1997 returned her opponent Nawaz Sharif. After India conducted nuclear
tests in May 1998, Pakistan responded in kind two weeks later, detonating
five nuclear devices in south-western Baluchistan. International
condemnation was widespread, and sanctions are expected to put intense
strain on the country's economy.
Economic Profile
GDP: US$282 billion
GDP per head: US$434
Annual growth: 4.7%
Inflation: 12.2%
Major industries: agriculture, textiles, cement, fertilisers and steel
Major trading partners: Japan, USA, Germany and UK
Culture
The pleasures of Pakistan are old: Buddhist monuments, Hindu temples,
Islamic palaces, tombs and pleasure grounds, and widely spaced Anglo-Mogul
Gothic mansions - some in a state of dereliction which makes their grandeur
even more emphatic. Scuplture is dominated by Graeco-Buddhist friezes, and
crafts by ceramics, jewellery, silk goods and engraved woodwork and
metalwork.
Even Pakistan's flotillas of vintage Bedford buses and trucks,
mirror-buffed and chrome-sequinned, are dazzling works of art. Traditional
dances are lusty and vigorous; music is either classical, folk or
devotional; and the most patronised literature is a mix of the scholastic
and poetic. Cricket is Pakistan's greatest sports obsession and national
players are afforded hero status - unless, of course, they proselytise young
and wealthy English women, then marry them.
Nearly all Pakistanis are Muslim and Islam is the state religion.
Reminders of their devotion are many: the muezzin's call to prayer
from the mosques; men sprawled in prayer in fields, shops and airports; and
veiled women in the streets. Christians are the largest minority, followed
by Hindus and Parsees, descendants of Persian Zoroastrians. Note that dress
codes are strictly enforced - to avoid offence invest in a shalwar qamiz
- a long, loose, non-revealing garment worn by both men and women.
Pakistani food is similar to that of northern India, with a dollop of
Middle Eastern influence thrown in for good measure. This means menus
peppered with baked and deep-fried breads (roti, chapattis, puri, halwa
and nan), meat curries, lentil mush (dhal), spicy spinach,
cabbage, peas and rice. Street snacks - samosas and tikkas
(spiced and barbecued beef, mutton or chicken) - are delicious, while a
range of desserts will satisfy any sweet tooth. The most common sweet is
barfi (it pays to overlook the name), which is made of dried milk solids
and comes in a variety of flavours. Though Pakistan is officially `dry', it
does brew its own beer and spirits which can be bought (as well as imported
alcohol) from specially designated bars and top-end hotels.
Events
Nationwide celebrations include Ramadan, a month of
sunrise-to-sunset fasting which changes dates every year (as the Islamic
calendar differs from the Gregorian one); Eid-ul-Fitr, two to three
days of feasting and goodwill that marks the end of Ramadan; Eid-ul-Azha,
when animals are slaughtered and the meat shared between relatives and the
needy; and Eid-Milad-un-Nabi, which celebrates Mohammad's birthday.
Facts for the Traveller
Visas: Visas are required by nationals from most European and
English-speaking countries. A Pakistan visa allows you to enter the country
up to six months from the date you get it, and stay up to three months from
the date you enter. However, if you stay longer than 30 days you are
required to register at a foreigners' registration office; these are in the
larger towns and cities.
Health risks: dengue fever,
hepatitis A, malaria and, in rural areas, Japanese encephalitis.
Time: GMT/UTC plus five hours
Electricity: 220V, 50 Hz
Weights & measures: metric
Tourism: 424,000 visitors
Money & Costs
Currency: Pakistani rupee
Relative costs:
- Budget meal: US$2-3
- Moderate restaurant meal: US$3-8
- Top-end restaurant meal: US$5-10
- Budget room: US$4-5
- Moderate hotel: US$10-15
- Top-end hotel: US$22 and up
By staying in hostels or dorms and eating like a local you can get by
on as little as US$10-15 a day. If,however, you were looking for a moderate
touch of luxury you could spend as much as $30-40 a day which could get you
accommodation that included a satellite T.V., a desk, a balcony, and a
spotlessly clean bathroom. As in any place you can spend as much as you like
to live in the lap of luxury and stay in swanky hotels. It's worth noting
that rooms and food are cheaper in the north than in the south.
Both travellers cheques and cash are easy to change throughout the
country, but commissions on cheques can be high. Apart from top-end hotels
most places won't accept credit cards as payment although you can often use
them for cash advances at western banks. Facilities for validation seem
better for Visa then Mastercard. Occasionally a tattered note will be firmly
refused as legal tender, and often in the smaller towns the appearance of a
1000 or 500 rupee note will cause consternation and an inability to provide
change so make sure you get some smaller notes when buying your rupees.
Baksheesh isn't so much a bribe as a way of life in Pakistan.
It can apply to any situation and is capable of opening all sorts of doors,
both literal and metaphorical. Anything from a signature on a document to
fixing a leaking tap can be acquired through the magic of baksheesh.
Most top-end hotels will automatically add a 5-10% service charge to your
bill so any extra tipping is entirely up to you. Taxi drivers routinely
expect 10% of the fare, and railway porters charge an officially-set Rs 7.
The only time that a gratuity might not be welcome is in the rural areas
where it runs counter to Islamic obligation to be hospitable.
If baksheesh is a way of life, bargaining is a matter of style,
particularly in the many Pakistani bazaars. Unlike the western hesitancy for
bargaining, shopkeepers in Pakistani love to bargain as long as it's done
with style and panache. Bargaining usually begins with an invitation to step
inside for a cup of tea followed by a little bit of small talk, a casually
expressed interest by yourself in a particular item, a way-too-high price
mentioned by the seller, a way-too-low counter offer by yourself and
eventually, after much comic rolling of eyes, a handshake and mutual
satisfaction for both parties. Bargaining should always be accompanied by
smiles, good humour and an ability not to get fixated on driving the price
into the ground.
When to Go
The best time for travelling to Pakistan depends on which part of the
country you intend to visit. Generally speaking the southern parts of
Pakistan including Sind, Baluchistan, Punjab and southern NWFP are best
visited in the cooler months between November and April. After that it gets
uncomfortably hot. The northern areas like Azad Jammu Kashmir, and northern
NWFP are best seen during May to October before the area becomes snowbound.
The weather may be a little stormy during this time but the mountain
districts are usually still accessible.
Try and avoid Pakistan during Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting which,
usually occurs sometime during the months of December to early January. This
is because a fasting Muslim is an understandably cranky Muslim, and you may
find yourself involuntary joining in the fast because activity is kept to a
minimum and food is hard to find during daylight hours.
Warning
The security situation in Pakistan deteriorated through 1997, with areas
previously considered safe experiencing the same sort of violence and crime
as in the long-troubled Sind region. As well as the danger of being caught
up in sectarian skirmishes, travellers have been the specific target of
violence in Karachi and Lahore.
Sind, the region in the south of Pakistan which includes Karachi, was
known as the `Unhappy Valley' or the `Land of Uncertainties' by ancient
travellers. Switch to the present day and news of curfews, foreign
kidnappings and atrocities between the two main ethnic groups - Sindhis, the
province's indigenous inhabitants, and the Mohajir, Muslim refugees from
India - suggests its former name is still not out of place. With robbery,
smuggling and gun-running amongst Sind's biggest industries, the province
remains a highly dangerous place to visit.
Travel to Sind as well as to the North-West Frontier Province, Punjab and
Baluchistan should be undertaken with caution and only after consulting a
national foreign affairs department prior to departure or a consulate in
Karachi for current information.
Attractions
Karachi
Pakistan's commercial centre and largest city is a sprawling place of
bazaars, hi-tech electronic shops, scurf-infested older buildings and modish
new hotels. Its sights are spread far and wide so a taxi or rickshaw is
necessary to travel between them.
A good place to start is the Quaid-i-Azam Mausoleum, a monument to
Pakistan's founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah which can be charitably described as
distinctive. More impressive is the remarkable white-marbled Defence
Housing Society Mosque. The single dome, claimed to be the largest of
its kind in the world, will make your gum cleave to the roof of your mouth.
Above the mosque is Honeymoon Lodge, birthplace of the Aga Khan.
Other sights include the Holy Trinity Cathedral and St Andrew's
Church (both good examples of Anglo-Indian architecture), the city's
zoo, and the Zoroastrian Towers of Silence, hills where the dead
are traditionally exposed to vultures. South of the city is Clifton,
a former British hangout and now an exclusive coastal corner for the local
wealthy, the popular but rather drab Clifton Beach, and Manora
Island, a less-crowded beach resort.
Saddar, the city centre, is the main shopping area with thriving
markets selling carpets, fur coats, leather jackets, snake-skin purses,
silk scarves and the country's biggest range of handicrafts. It also has a
number of food stalls and cheap restaurants and the majority of budget
hotels. Nightlife in Karachi is an oxymoron.
If travel outside of Karachi is possible, then the archaeological site of
Moenjodaro - once a city of an Indus Valley civilisation - and the
Chaukundi tombs are well worth a visit.
Lahore
The capital of Punjab is Pakistan's cultural, educational and artistic
centre and easily the most visited city in the country. With its refuge of
shady parks and gardens, its clash of Moghul and colonial architecture, and
the exotic thrill of its congested streets and bazaars, it's not hard to see
why. A collection of some of the city's attractions include: The Mall,
an area of parks and buildings with a decidedly British bent; Lahore
Museum, the best and biggest museum in the country; Kim's Gun,
the cannon immortalised in Kipling's classic Kim; Aitchison
College, an achingly beautiful public school that boasts Imran Khan as a
former pupil; Lahore Fort, filled with stately palaces, halls and
gardens; and the Old City, where a procession of rickshaws, pony
carts, hawkers and veiled women fill the narrow lanes. The city has too many
tombs, mosques and mausoleums too mention.
Around Punjab
Punjab is Pakistan's most fertile province, rich in both agriculture and
ancient history. It's also one of the more stable of the country's regions,
and travellers should have few of the problems that are faced further south
and in the north.
The prosperous and hospitable town of Bahawalpur is a gentle
introduction to the area. From here you can journey into Cholistan -
a sandy wasteland dotted with nomadic communities and wind-swept forts - or
the Lal Suhanra National Park, an important wildlife reserve. Further
north is Harappa which is, after Moenjodaro, the second most
important site of the Indus Valley civilisation.
Rawalpindi and the country's capital, Islamabad, are twin
cities. The former is a patchwork of bustling bazaars while the latter is
subdued, suburban and still being built (construction of the new capital
didn't begin until 1961). From here you can visit Taxila, an
archaeological repository, and Hasan Abdul, a place of holy
pilgrimmage.
Quetta
The capital and only place of any size in the parched, barren province of
Baluchistan may be light on ancient monuments but it's fit to bursting with
a vigorous blend of peoples, wide tree-lined boulevards and sterling British
architecture. Even more compelling, Quetta has a dramatic setting, with a
mountainous backdrop on all sides. And unlike Karachi, most sights can be
easily walked in a day. Don't miss the impressive Archaeological Museum
of Baluchistan, the fort or the city's many colourful bazaars
- great places to pick up marble, onyx and some of the finest carpets in
Pakistan.
Just outside Quetta are the postcard-perfect Hanna Lake, plenty of
picnic spots in Urak Valley, and the protected Hazarganji Chiltan
National Park. Also near Quetta is the refreshingly cool hill station of
Ziarat, which is both a restful destination and a good base for walking
or mountaineering.
Azad Jammu & Kashmir
The main asset of the disputed territories of Jammu and Kashmir is their
natural beauty - unfortunately, Pakistan's 16km (10mi) security zone means
most of the truly scenic parts are now off limits. What's left is Neelum
Valley, famous for fishing and trekking, Jhelum Valley, site of
hill stations and more good walks, and
forested highlands to the south. However, even these areas may be out
of bounds, depending on the political climate at the time; make sure to
check restrictions before you travel.
North-West Frontier Province
Impenetrable mountains, intractable people, and impossibly romantic
cities are just some of the reasons why the North-Western Frontier Province
is perhaps the most memorable of Pakistan's destinations.
Most visits begin in Peshawar, the rough and ready provincial
capital. The highlight here is the Old City - a brawl of vendors
selling everything from tribal jewellery to leather pistol holsters.
Clopping horse-drawn tongas choke the streets which are thick with
fearsome-looking Pashtuns - members of a vast tribal society - Afghans and
Chitrali. A short distance outside Peshawar (but a million miles away) is
the Smugglers Bazaar. It's definitely not what you'd expect:
turbanned merchants in tents have been replaced by Westernised malls
stocking the latest TVs, VCRs and refrigerators. There's even a shop
flogging Marks & Spencer's merchandise. The fabled Khyber Pass,
sprinkled with tiny army forts, is nearby.
North of Peshawar is the district of Swat, reckoned to have the
loveliest scenery in Pakistan's northern valleys, and Chitral, a
relatively unspoilt area of lush valleys, hot springs and great walks.
Vertigo sufferers should steer clear of Indus Koshitan to the west, a
land of colossal peaks and bottomless canyons with more good walks.
The Northern Areas
The Northern Areas see few travellers but those that brave the unruly
terrain normally end up in Gilgit, the capital. There's not much in
the city, save a bazaar that's full of Central Asian traders, but it's an
excellent base for alpine walks, trout fishing and pottering about for
historical ruins in the countryside. Baltistan, once an unexplored
dead end, is now privvy to world-class mountaineering, fine treks and lovely
scenery. More accessible and just as striking - check out the irrigated
terraces rippling down the slopes - is the region of Hunza, Nagar & Gojal
towards the Chinese border.
Off the Beaten Track
Little-visited Multan, in the lower Punjab, is claimed to be the
oldest surviving city on the subcontinent, dating back some 4000 years. Once
an important centre of Islam, it has since attracted more mystics, holy men
and saints than you can shake a shalwar qamiz at. Today Multan is dominated
by their tombs and shrines, a fort that affords superlative views over the
city, and one of the best bazaars in Pakistan - those not converted by Anita
Roddick might like to snap up the skin potion, made from lizards, which is
said to be an excellent revitaliser.
Missionaries, anthropolgists and Duddley Do-rights come to the Kalash
Valleys, south of Chitral, for one thing - to gawp at a non-Muslim tribe
(yes, you read correctly) that lives there. The people refer to themselves
as Kalasha, live in solid houses made of wood, stone and mud, and quietly go
about their pastoral lives raising grains and herding the odd goat.
Amazingly, they seem unfussed by all the attention and seem to welcome
interested Western observers.
The Nanga Parbat massif (the name means `Naked Mountain' in
Kashmiri), in the southernmost part of the Northern Areas, has a 4500m
(14,760ft) wall that is so steep even snow refuses to stick. The same can be
said of a large number of climbers - they've been dropping from the scene
for years. Beside it is a stomach-churning track that climbs up a valley and
then over a pass. It regularly claimed jeeps over the side until the route
was improved in 1987. Undaunted? Last one to the top is a rotten egg.
Activities
With some of the most magnificent mountain terrain in the world, Pakistan
is naturally enough a trekkers rave. There are all types of trekking
available, from those organised by overseas companies to Pakistan-based
outfits. You can also make your own arrangements, which will be cheaper but
also more demanding. Popular trekking routes which can stretch from a day to
a month are found mostly in Gilgit, Nanga Parbat, Balistan (from where treks
leave to K2) and Hunza, all in the country's north. For something a little
less demanding there are good one-day hikes in the Ziarat Valley,
near Quetta.
Other activities include cycling along the Karakoram Highway (from
Rawalpindi to the Khunjerab Pass), Potwar Plateau (Islamabad to Peshawar)
and the Margalla and Murree Hills (north of Islamabad), mountain biking
from Gilgit to Chitral, and white-water rafting along the Hunza,
Gilgit and Indus rivers.
Getting There & Away
Most flights from European and Asian centres arrive in Karachi, though a
few also go to Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta and Gwadar (Baluchistan).
Much more interesting is taking an overland route. A railway links Lahore
with the Indian railway system through Amritsar, and another from Quetta
crosses briefly into Iran. After the Grand Trunk Road, the most famous road
into Pakistan is the Karakoram Highway, over the 4730m (15,514ft) Khunjerab
Pass from Kashgar in China; roads also run from India and Iran. A bus
service between Delhi and Lahore, operating four times a week, is now up and
running. Sea passage is a possibility with cargo ships calling at Karachi
from either the Middle East or Bombay.
Getting Around
Getting around Pakistan is not always comfortable but it's incredibly
cheap. The state-owned Pakistan International Airlines (PIA, sometimes
referred to as `Prayers in Air') has regular flights to 35 domestic
terminals and daily connections between the major centres. One of the
bonuses of flying is that some of the air routes, especially to the northern
areas and Chitral, are spectacular. Buses go anywhere (the true meaning of
the term Inshallah - God willing - will soon become apparent along
some of the treacherous mountain roads), anytime. Vans, wagons, pick-ups and
jeeps are also a popular form of road transport. Train travel is slower and
easier on the nerves but, unfortunately, there are no routes into the
mountains. If you're fit and unafraid of feverish traffic, cycling is a
particularly good way to see the country. City transport is dominated by
buses, taxis, auto-rickshaws and two-wheeled, horse-drawn tongas.
Recommended Reading
- Brief but descriptive odysseys through Pakistan can be found in The
Great Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux and Danziger's Travels by
Nick Danziger. Other good travel narratives include The Golden Peak:
Travels in Northern Pakistan by Kathleen Jamie, To the Frontier
by Geoffrey Moorhouse and Full Tilt by Dervla Murphy.
- Pakistan's historical and cultural traditions get a good going over in
the excellent Every Rock, Every Hill: A Plain Tale of the North-West
Frontier & Afghanistan by Victoria Schofield and Words For My
Brother by John Staley.
- Less recent histories and more in the `Gripping Yarns' vein are John
Keay's When Men & Mountains Meet, Sir George Robertson's Chitral,
The Story of a Minor Siege and Derek Waller's The Pundits.
- For fiction, don't ignore Shame, Salman Rushdie's engrossing
tragi-comic fantasy about Z A Bhutto and General Ziaul-Haq. Kipling's
The Man Who Would Be King and Kim provide a British colonial
perspective and a romping good read.
|
|
E-mail:
herohera@hotmail.