Search this gallery:

Pakistan - Possibility & Paranoia (87 images)

Slideshow Download
Next >
View: 50 | All
Pakistan is one of the most photographed but least seen countries in the world. Thousands of photographers have passed through here with eyes that are intense, sensationalist but narrow. As a consequence, it is also one of the least understood countries in the world.

Its citizens have a troubled and contradictory relationship with it. They lament the state of the country but never stop believing in a better tomorrow. They are frequently overcome by despair, and yet continue...
more »
  • Indigents find a space to sleep and rest at a sufi shrine in the city of Karachi - such shrines offer refuge and food to the poor and needy and to the millions who come from villages across the country to seek the saints' blessing.

  • street scene, peshawar

  • Flower and wreath sellers in the old city of Lahore - visitors to shrines or graveyards frequent these markets to buy flowers and cloth wreaths that are laid out on top of the graves of the saints.

  • On March 1st 2008 a suicide bomber struck a funeral gathering in Mingora, Swat. The funeral, for a Police District Superintendent killed earlier by militants in the tribal area, was being held in a 'safe' compound. Over 50 people were killed and 150 nursing serious injures. the militants continue their campaign against government and civilian targets despite the presence and actions of nearly 30,000 Pakistani Army soldiers in the aera.

  • students attend an evening arabic prononciation class with their teacher at the darol uloom sarhad madrassa in peshawar

  • worshippers at the mosque at the daral-ulloom madrassa sarhad, in peshawar

  • a local barbar shop in a peshawar bazaar

  • a young boy plays in the court yard of the wazir khan mosque in the old city of lahore

  • Quetta 2007

  • peshawar street scene

  • New housing developments in Gulshan-e-Jouhar neighborhood of Karachi. The new middle class, fueled by the growth in the IT, telecommunications and service/banking industries, is pushing the rapid growth of the city in new directions and changing the very face and culture of the city itself. This new class, consummerist, career oriented and merchentile, remains religiously conservative but demands all the trappings and comforts of modern life.

  • young homeless, abandoned or mentally ill children at the Sattar Edhi Women's Home in north Karachi

  • Inside a typical Hunza home, a family prepares the evening meal.

  • at a pool hall in a Karachi slum

  • Members of Pakistan's elite at a charity dinner and fashion show in Dubai, UAE.

  • madrassa students engage in a theology discussion outside the dormroom facilities of the daral-uloom sarhad madrassa in peshawar

  • peshawar street vendor

  • playing cricket along the walls of the badshahi mosque in the old city of lahore

  • Shopping malls, cars and new highways are redefining the face of the city of Karachi. The new middle class, fueled by the growth in the IT, telecommunications and service/banking industries, is pushing the rapid growth of the city in new directions and changing the very face and culture of the city itself. This new class, consummerist, career oriented and merchentile, remains religiously conservative but demands all the trappings and comforts of modern life. And they are the principal drivers of the future of this city.

  • In the old Saddar bazaar in Karachi, Pakistani dentists continue the tradition of street dentistry first bought to this city by Chinese immigrants. Many such businesses continue to refer to themselves as 'China Destist" and some even retain the original Chinese names.

  • street scene in Karachi's financial and business district

  • overlooking lahore's magnificent badshahi mosque - one of the few well preserved mughal era monuments in the city

  • Hunaz woman in the village of Kamaris with the imposing peaks of the mountain known as The Cathedral in the background.

  • scene from a village of landless peasants in southern Punjab

  • local merchants take a lunch break at a street side vendor's kiosk in the old city of lahore

  • A rickety suspension bridge connects two sides of a Hunza valley near the village of Gulmith, with the imposing peaks of The Cathedral in the background.

  • Pakistani model Fawzia takes a break between photo sessions at a fashion shoot showing off Rizwan Beyg's latest collection

  • At The Edhi Home, young homeless and/or mentally ill boys are given shelter

  • Young hindu children play inside the Hindu mahallah (neighborhood) in the old part of the city of Karachi. The mahallah is adjacent to the Swami Narayan Temple, one of the oldest Hare Krisna temples in the country. <br /> <br /> There are nearly 3 million Hindus in Pakistan, a majority Muslim country that contains many important locations and temples of Hindu heritage. The Hindu minority though faces a life of great uncertainty and discrimination particularly during the last 2 decades of political islamisation of the country.

  • Worshipers at the Kali Mata temple in the city of Kalat. The cult of Kali begins here in town of Kalat and each year thousands of Hindus perform a pilgrimage from across the country and even from India to pray at this remote temple.

  • supports of the punjab provincial assembly candidate mehr abdul sattar foot at a rally in support of his candidacy - abdul sattar is the first man from a landless community to contest a seat at the provincial assembly level

  • Turbat 2007

  • children wait for the start of classes at a school in a village of landless peasants - such schools are mostly paid for by the village residence as there is a serious shortage of government school in such remote and poor villages

  • Inside an old mosque in the port city of gwadar in balocistan, pakistan. gwadar has been in the news recently because of the port being constructed here with the help of the chinese. it is hoped that major trade can start to flow through this port shortly and offer chinese and central asian countries a route directly to the middle east and east africa.

  • Karachi 2007

  • On March 1st 2008 a suicide bomber struck a funeral gathering in Mingora, Swat. The funeral, for a Police District Superintendent killed earlier by militants in the tribal area, was being held in a 'safe' compound. Over 50 people were killed and 150 nursing serious injures. the militants continue their campaign against government and civilian targets despite the presence and actions of nearly 30,000 Pakistani Army soldiers in the aera.

  • street scene, peshawar bazaar

  • At a funeral for victims of the March 1st suicide bombing attack against the Pakistani Police - militants have maintained their campaign of suicide bombing attacks against military, police and civilian targets in the region of Swat, a campaign that has destroyed the economy and social cohesion of this once peaceful and idylic holiday region

  • Outside a local mosque in the back alleys of the port city of Gwadar. Once a part of the Sultanate of Oman, Gwadar was given to Pakistan in 1958 but still retains strong elements of its Arabic character and culture. It is also once of the towns in the Makran region where people of African descent can still be found. It is also home to a unique Islamic sect called the Zikris

  • in a garment factory in karachi, a day-wage worker steals a break from his normal 12 hour work day

  • Models wait backstage at a Rizwan Beyg fashion show before stepping onto the catwalk. Rizwan Beyg typifes a new generation that straddles both the east and the west. Rizwan's designs are rooted in Pakistani/Indian embroidary traditions, while his cuts are distinctly aimed at the modern woman.

  • Young boys mend fishing nets in the seaside town of Jiwani. Lying close to the border with Iran, Jiwani is departure point for many Balochi families visiting relatives on the other side of the international border between Pakistan and Iran

  • In the alleyways of a Lyari marketplace in Karachi - such neighborhoods retain their hussle and bussle, but are no longer the drivers of the culture ane economic life of the city. few of the new middle and emerging middle class come here as more modern shopping centers have opened up across the city and provide greater variety, air-conditioned convenience and better hygienic produce.

  • At a funeral for victims of the March 1st suicide bombing attack at a funearl for a police district superintendent - local militants have continued their anti-government campaign in the region destroying not just the tourism industry but also tearing apart the social fabric of this once idylic tourist region

  • playing cricket, considered the national sport, along the walls of the grand badshahi mosque in the old city of lahore

  • Young men enjoy the pleasures of a recently opened Dream World Resort private club in the Gulshan-e-Jouhar neighborhood of Karachi. Such clubs, requiring membership fees in excess of Rs 100,000, are increasingly popular with the new Karachi middle class that demands spaces and entertainment for itself. Though located on the very edge of the current city limits, the club has a long waiting list for membership.

  • Street scene in a market in quetta, pakistan.

  • Quetta 2007

  • new commercial and residential developments on karachi's sea front as local tourists enjoy the evening sea breeze and sights

  • supports of mehr abdul sattar foot, a landless peasant running for a punjab provincial assembly seat, drive through local villages prior to the february 18th elections

Next >