A page from my stamp album - Iran (visiting Pakistani Presidents)

Iran and Pakistan have long friendly ties since independence of Pakistan in 1947. Iran was the first country to recognize the independent status of Pakistan upon its independence from the British India in 1947. The then Shah of Iran, Reza Shah Pehalvi, was among the first few heads of the states to have visited Pakistan.

These friendly gestures were also reciprocated by the Pakistan presidents. Sikander Mirza, who ws the president of Pakistan in 1956 paid an official visit to Iran in 1956. The Iran Post issued a commemorative stamp (left) priced at 1 Riyal. In 1959, when President Muhammad Ayub Khan visited Iran, a commemorative stamp of 6 Riyal was issued (right).

Both stamps are from my stamp album.

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Birth Centenary Celebrations – M A Jinnah (Part - II)

“'Few individuals significantly alter the course of history. Fewer still modify the map of the world. Hardly anyone can be credited with creating a nation-state. Mohammad Ali Jinnah did all three.”  (Stanley Wolpert, professor of history, University of California, Los Angeles, and author of Jinnah of Pakistan and Nehru: A Tryst with Destiny)

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While Pakistan Post honoured Jinnah by celebrating his birthday centenary in a befitting manner, many a countries around the world also remembered Jinnah as well and issued commemorative stamps on the occasion. These countries included Turkey, Iran, UAE, Ajman, Jordan, Morocco, Iran and Burkina Faso.

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Commemorative Stamps - Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson, born August 29, 1958, was an American entertainer, singer and founder of innovative slow dancing. After Elvis Presley, no American singer got so much of popularity as Michael got. Though his personality was marred by scandals and other negative news, he remained a King of the Pop music and ruled the pop world all over the world. Not only music, he was a maestro of dance on the stage and innovative and appealing attire.

His music broke all records. His album Thriller (released 1982) remains the best-selling album ever (so far sold more than 110 million copies). His videos of Billie Jean, Beat It and Thriller will always be remembered for their aesthetic composition. 

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Jackson is also credited to have been included into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. His death on June 25, 2009 leaves behind many mysteries as some label his death as a well planned murder. 

No matter how controversial his life may have been, he will be remembered as an unbeaten music maestro for ever. Many countries have issued commemorative stamps in his memory that immortalize the great singer. The stamps shown above include countries like St Vincent, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, British Virgin Islands and Chad.

Related Readings:

Michael Jackson (Wikipedia)

Thriller

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50 Years of Scaling the K-2 “The Savage Mountain”

K-2 (at 28,251 feet), the second highest point on earth, is located in the Karakoram segment of the Himalayan Range in Pakistan. In 1958, Fosco Mariani, an Italian climber described the Karakoram as the "World's Greatest Museum in Shape and Form."  The local Balti people call it "Chogori" meaning “The Mother Mountain”. 

The summit is considered as the most difficult to climb by the mountaineers around the world. And that is why it remained un-scaled till as late as July 1954. And it was on 31 July 1954 at 6 pm to be exact when Lino Lacedelli and Achille Compagnoni from Italy finally conquered K2.

In 2004, the 50th anniversary of maiden climbing of K-2 was celebrated throughout the mountain climbers' associations besides Italy and Pakistan. 

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To attend the celebrations, 78-year old Lino Lacedelli came to Pakistan and went to Skardu “to say hello and goodbye to the king of mountains”. Lacedelli was accompanied by a 24-member team who held a ceremony at base camp on July 15. Compagnoni, 89, lives in Italy, could not attend the ceremony.

On 25th December 1954, Pakistan Post issued an Ana 2 stamp to commemorate the maiden scaling of the K2. And to immortalize the golden jubilee of the K2 scaling, Pakistan Post issued a Rs. 5 stamp on 31 July 2004. Besides a multicoloured first day cover for Rs. 30 was also issued.

Related Reading:

K-2 The Largest Pyramid on Earth

K-2 Expedition 1954-2004

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Handicrafts of Pakistan

The cottage industry of Pakistan thrives existed much before we became an independent country. The handicrafts made from these small places stand out in the world for their uniqueness and quality. These include many kinds of jewelry, footwear, clothes, woodcraft, blue pottery, camel skin objects (specially lamps), objects made from onyx and marble, salt lamps and many other things. 

In fact the rich cultural heritage that Pakistan has inherited from its history which is as old as 7000-9000 years old, has its imprints on our handicrafts. n the year 2003, Pakistan's exports hit the US$ 10 billion mark, mainly because of its handicrafts and textile commodities, which certainly is only the beginning of a long journey of robust economic growth.

Pakistan Post has always valued the valuable heritage of our handicrafts and has issued many stamps on different occasion down the time line. A set of five stamps to project the small scale industry of Pakistan - 10 November 1962.  The details of stamps exclusively on handicrafts can be found in the “Commemorative Stamps of Pakistan” section of my website Pakistanpaedia, beside details on the handicrafts.

Related Links:

Handicrafts of Pakistan (Pakistanpaedia)

Commemorative Stamps of Pakistan

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A Tribute to Painters of Pakistan

While every Pakistani deserves commendation for doing his/her bit for the progress and development of Pakistan, the artists and painters, have also contributed magnificently to project the cultural aspirations of the country. 

There is a long list of these great painters and calligraphers, but few definitely stand out above the rest. On 14 August 2006, the Pakistan Post issued a set of ten commemorative stamps to honour these few. In fact this is a posthumous tribute to ten great painters who helped to raise an awareness of art in Pakistan and established their names in universal art world. 

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These stamps have been designed by Adil Salahuddin, general manager Pakistan Post. A graduate from the National College of Art, Lahore, he is also designer of over 550 stamps for the Pakistan Post.

(A few great names like Chughtai, Ustad Allah Bakhsh, Haji Muhammad Sharif and Aftab Zafar are missing here for the reason that a set of commemorative stamps has already been issued by the Pakistan Post).

The detail of each painter for whom the stamps were issued can be found at the links given below.

Related Links:

A Tribute to Painters of Pakistan

Stamps of Pakistan

Sadequain

Ana Molka Ahmed
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