Times photographer Jack Hill in Pakistan.

Islamabad:

After Karachi, we headed to Islamabad, the Pakistani capital. Islamabad is a new city, built during the 1960s to replace Karachi.  Being so new, it doesn’t have as much character as some of the other cities in Pakistan but it is green and spacious and is apparently the cleanest city in the country.

It is also home to the Faisal Mosque, the sixth largest in the world, which can be seen here from the Margalla Hills, the foothills to the Himalayas, which border the north of the city.

Faisal Mosque, seen from the Margalla Hills, Islamabad.

 
The Margalla are also a popular walking area and also appear to be a good place to gather leaves for cooking. 

One of the things we had on the agenda was to meet ‘Colonel Imam’, the ‘nom de guerre’ of Brigadier Amir Sultan Tarar. He is a Pakistani military officer who was a trainer of Afghan Mujahedeen fighters during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. In particular, the ‘Colonel’ is known for his relationship with Mullah Mohammed Omar who became leader of the Taleban. 

Charismatic and warm, the ‘Colonel’ was wearing a Second World War British Army paratrooper’s jacket he has owned for the last forty years, even rescuing it twice from the rubbish after his wife had thrown it out. In the picture above he looks rather stern: he said he wouldn’t smile for pictures so I suggested his fighting face. I think he was being kind.

Security is omnipresent in the city. Here, a guard opens the gates of a guest house.

An unusual effect caused by rain on the windscreen, giving the impression that the car in front is in flames.

 
A monument to Mohammed Ali Jinnah, regarded as the founder of Pakistan and ‘Father of the Nation’ on the airport road, with the phrase he coined: ‘Unity; Faith, Discipline.’ This subsequently became the national motto of Pakistan emblazoned at the bottom of the country’s flag.

Next stop Peshawar.