by Liz McKendrick
Pakistan is very much in the news these days as it shares part of its border with Afghanistan. News reporters are seen standing in cities near the border such as Quetta or Peshawar – names that bring back images of the Afghan wars of the 19th Century when Britain first sent a military presence to this part of the world.

However, the supposed threat posed at that time was by potential Russian expansion and Afghanistan was seen as a strategic buffer zone. In 1849 the Punjab and NWFP were annexed, coming under the control of the British in Lahore. Later in 1839 the Durand Line divided British India from Afghanistan, much to the dismay of the tribal Pathans, whose lands were split by the line.

Pakistan has been a frontier region for many hundreds of years, with groups of people passing through it from the west trying to reach the South Asia subcontinent. To the north its boundaries are made up of the western Himalayas and Karakoram mountain ranges and these merge further south into the Hindu Kush and the hills of the Afghanistan border, finally the lands in the far south of the country become the Iranian plateau.

During the period of British occupation this area was made up of a number of Princely States with the frontier with Afghanistan being governed by the British and it was not until The Islamic Republic of Pakistan (the name was devised taking the first letters from Punjab, Afghani, Kashmir, Sind and Tan for Baluchistan) was made an independent state on 14th August 1947 that the area effectively had one ruler. At that time it was made up of East and West Pakistan but in 1971 East Pakistan seceded to become Bangladesh. Today Pakistan is made up of four provinces; Baluchistan (the largest), Punjab, Sind and the North West Frontier Province. The original capital, Karachi, was replaced in 1958 by Islamabad, an entirely new city built next to the small north Punjab town of Rawalpindi.

It is the provinces of Baluchistan and the North West Frontier Province that are in the news these days as they form the border with Afghanistan. Quetta, at an altitude of 1650 metres, is the state capital of Baluchistan and has long been regarded as a hill station with a strategic role. It controls the access to routes into both Afghanistan and Iran. The city was ruled by the Mughals until 1556 when it fell into disrepair; then in 1872 it was found, in a state of decay, by Sir Robert Sanderman and taken under British rule during efforts to stabilise their hold on the region. Sadly, it was almost destroyed again in 1935 by an earthquake, which left 40,000 dead, and so today none of the old buildings remain. However there are many postcards to remind us of how it looked when it was a vital frontier post for the British.

Peshawar (the capital of the North West frontier Province whose name means ‘frontier town’) lies just 50km from the Khyber Pass into Afghanistan. Today the city can be divided into three distinct areas: the old city, which was originally walled with sixteen gates. This fortified stronghold changed hands many times, the Moghuls occupied it in the mid 16th century and it later fell under Afghan rule until 1818. The present fort was built by the British and is full of bazaars jammed into tiny alleyways, each devoted to a specific trade.

The Cantonment was developed in 1848 by British troops as a base camp. Its original enclosure was soon followed by permanent buildings that followed the classical colonial style adopted by the British throughout India. The cantonment was in effect an independent town, with wide tree-lined roads and spacious bungalows set back from the busy streets. It had its own schools, churches, clubs, Government buildings etc. and was linked to the old city by a railway line.

The University town, originally consisting of the Islamic College, was built several miles outside Peshawar in 1913.Today it houses the University and its associated residential area.

The Punjab has been the site of many wars against the Afghans by the Sikhs, who established their kingdom in this region in the mid 18th Century, making Lahore their capital and Amritsar their main religious centre. However, the second Sikh war in 1849 ended with the storming of Multan Fort and the annexation of the Punjab to British India.

Lahore is the capital of the Punjab (even though it is also home to Pakistan’s Capital city Islamabad). It is one of the great centres of Mughal architecture, being home to the Shalimar Gardens and Badshahi Mosque. Sadly during the late 18th century the Sikhs removed a great deal of the marble and semi-precious stones from the mosque and the gardens fell into disrepair, although they can still be seen today. The British occupied the city from 1849 until partition, and built many imposing buildings of their own. The old city, which is still home to the many bazaars, was originally walled with twelve gates, (six are still standing today). The Fort is one of the three great forts built by the Mughals (the others being in Delhi and Agra in India) and was decorated with beautiful glazed tiles and frescos depicting the Royal family at play.

The town of Muree, to the north of the province, was developed as a hill station by the British before the rise in the popularity of Simla. It stands at a height of nearly 1000 metres and has a climate not unlike that of Britain. It is still closed to motor traffic during the summer months and has many of the entertainments associated with a British hill station on offer.

The final province of Sind lies to the south of Pakistan and was brought under British rule by Lord Napier as a by-product of the First Afghan Campaign in 1843. He moved the capital to Karachi on the mouth of the Indus River and developed it into a planned city and harbour. The old town was transformed by the British who built gardens, schools, clubs and the Napier Barracks (still used today as Government Offices). The railway (built in the 1860’s) linked the city to the rest of the province and the port became, by the early 1900’s, the largest port handling wheat exports from the east. The new city of high-rise blocks contrasts with the old walled town. Today it is the largest city in Pakistan and is the country’s major commercial and industrial centre.

Postcards of Pakistan are very common but are generally found in dealers India stock. Many are interesting as they show the British cantonments – and have often been sent to relatives back in England with comments about their lives.

As a collector of postcards of this area I find it interesting to see these places come to life on the television screen. It is unfortunate, though, that once again it has become a region of instability.

THE CARDS

1/ Quetta the Staff College
This postcard, published by D Macropolo of Calcutta, shows the Staff College in Quetta. The military cantonment took up three quarters of the city, laid out when the town was a vital frontier post to the British, and it is still important today as a centre for the Pakistan Army whose Staff College is also here.

2/ Kabli Gate, Peshawar
This card shows one of the gates leading into the old city of Peshawar. It is decorated for a Royal Visit with ‘God Bless your Excellencies’ across the top of the gate.

3/ Khyber Pass
This photographic postcard published in a series for K C Mehra of Peshawar in the NWFP shows a section of the Khyber Pass between Jamrud and Ali-Musjid. The pass itself is currently closed to foreigners, due to the world situation but the road is open as far as Jamrud.

4/ The Golden Mosque, Lahore
The Golden Mosque in Lahore is in a prominent position inside the city walls. It is so named as its three domes and minaret tops are covered with gold sheets. To the right of the picture is one of the many busy streets.

5/ The Mall, Muree
This card shows the Mall in Muree, the Hill station made famous by the British. Three soldiers can be seen in the front of the image, waking amongst the natives. The large building to the left is the Post Office, which is a prominent landmark, from which there is access to the native bazaars at lower levels.

6/ Karachi, Edulee Dinshaw Charity Hospital
There are not records of this hospital, the Eduljee Dinshaw Charity Hospital, still being in existence in Karachi however the card shows a glimpse into times past, with the horse drawn carriage and natives walking by.

7/ A Kuchi Family
I had to include this wonderful postcard as it shows what is probably a very familiar sight today in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan. The card is actually titled A Kuchi family (a wandering trans-border tribe) moving to Peshawar Plains at the approach of cold weather.

8/ Afridis. The Tribesmen of NW Frontier
This card shows two Afridi tribesmen from the North West Frontier complete with their guns and rounds of bullets. According to writing on the reverse of the card they were waiting to take part in raids into Afghanistan, being stationed at one of the many forts along the border.. Time, it seems, does not really change at all.