Inauguration of Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (November 28, 1972)

The Format of the stamp is hori-zontal. Within a rectangle, the nuclear power plant is shown near the lower half portion in Red, Yellow and Black colours. The Blue patches on either side of the plant
represent “Heavy Water” used in the plant. The lower Green horizontal portion indicates the lawn while the warm background colours (Red, Yellow and Orange) of the Sky at the top signify the tremendous heat evolved in the splitting of the atom. On top left side, the mass of tiny Red and Yellow balls with few orbits around and a few balls emerging out represents the phenomenon of ‘Fission of the atom ‘ (The above is an artists concept of the splitting of Uranium atom). “Pakistan” in Urdu and Bangla and “Pakistan Postage” appear in blue at the left side of the rectangle while the caption “Karachi Nuclear Power Plant’ in script appears at the bottom of the rectangle in Black. The denomination “20” with “Paisa” underneath appears in red in the lower left corner of the stamp.
1. Facing the Arabian Sea, Pakistan’s first atomic power station is tucked away on the Buleji Coast, about fifteen miles West of Karachi. Popularly known by its pet-name KANUPP, the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant reflects Pakistan’s impressive progress in the field of nuclear technology and gives the country the singular distinc-tion of being the first Muslim country and the second developing nation to harness nuclear energy to peaceful purposes.
2. The nuclear power plant feeds 125,000 kW into the power grid of Karachi and Hyderabad—two highly industrialized cities of the Province of Sind. About half of the total power requirements of Karachi are currently met from KANUPP.
3. The installation of KANUPP, and with it the simultaneous introduction of sophisticated nuclear technology in the country, promises the diffusion of’ higher technical skills in Pakistan to strengthen its rather feeble engineering base. Foreseeing increasing reliance on nuclear energy to make up for the serious lack of conven-tional fuel resources, it can be safely con-cluded that the experience and expertise gained in the installation and operation of the plant would go a long way in imple-menting the nuclear power programme of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission— a programme which envisages the genera-tion of 7000 MW (roughly 1/3rd of the total generating capacity) by the year 2000.
4. The Karachi Nuclear Power Plant incorporates a CANDU type reactor, which consists of a cylindrical vessel or calandria, with pressure tubes containing the natural uranium fuel bundles. 5. In this type of reactor, heavy water is used as a moderator to slow down the neutrons from the natural uranium fuel to permit fission and the necessary chain reaction to occur.
6. KANUPP is a living monument of fruitful collaboration in the peaceful uses of atomic energy between a developed and a developing country—between Canada and Pakistan. Generous technical and financial assistance for the establishment of the plant has been extended by the Government of Canada following an agree-ment signed in December, 1965 between Governments of Pakistan and Canada. As the prime contractor, Canadian General Electric Company Limited was responsible for the design, supply, construction and commissioning of the project at a firm price with warranty responsibilities.
7. The Canadians had the active support of Pakistani engineers and scientists in bringing the project to a successful comple-tion. During training in Canada, the Pakistani engineers supplemented their academic qualifications with first-hand knowledge of heavy water reactor techno-logy, nuclear fuel management, and nuc-lear power station commissioning, opera-tion and maintenance. Returning to Pakistan in December 1968 this fully trained staff has worked with the Canadian experts to commission the different systems and to eventually bring the plant to full power operation on October 4, 1972.

Education Week (December 23, 1972)

The stamp is horizontal in format. The main theme of the design is Education for the masses’, A group of people, adults and children clad in yel1ow, green, blue and red dress are shown stand-ing in front of a large open book. The right page of the book bears the Urdu Alphabets in black to form the word ‘Pakistan’, while the left page bears the wording ‘Education Week” in red The word “Pakistan” in Bangla and Urdu appears at top left side in reverse against a mauve colour background, while ‘Pakistan’ in English appears on the lower left corner also in reverse. Thc denomination figure 20’ with ‘Paisa’ appears underneath just above the word ‘Pakistan’ also in reverse, The word POSTAGE’ is place4 along the left side of the stamp in reverse form.
The importance of Education and of achieving full literacy rapidly in a country like Pakistan cannot be over-stressed. The need of educa-tion can hardly be denied by any one in any part of the world but in an under-developed country like Pakistan it is of supreme importance. Through Educa-tion alone can we develop a sense of purpose and direction in our life and develop a sense of realisation, of responsi-bility and of devotion among our people. It is only education which gives rise to a man and turns a backward arid an illiterate nation into a prosperous one.
Without education no man, no country can make any progress in any walk of life. The Universal literacy would defini-tely help the people to broaden their mental capability which is pre-requisite for healthy social atmosphere. It is the Education, which broadens our intellect and widens our outlook of life, because an educated person never let the things happen as they may. He tries to under-stand the causes of their happening and if he finds them injurious to him or to mankind he does his best to remove their causes with the help of his education.
But Education has unfortunately re-mained the most neglected sector of our National Life so far. The planners failed to show awareness of the fact that invest-ment in a country’s human resources is most productive and profitable in the long run. The present. Government however is paying its most urgent attention to this sector soon after coming into power has introduced vital reforms to construct an educational system that would prepare our youth to face the realities of a modern age.
Literacy Day is observed every year in so many Afro-Asian Countries. It has a two-old purpose: To eradicate illiteracy from the country in the shortest possible time through uni-versalization of elementary education and a massive adult education programme.
Equalizing access to education through provision of special facilities for women, under-privileged groups and mentally-retarded and physically handicapped children and adults in all areas in general and in the back-ward areas in particular
To highlight the importance of educa-tion in our National life. 1st October, 1972 was institutionalized as “Literacy Day”, and the week following has been observed as the Education Week through-out the country. Education is the most vital factor in the removal of class barriers and distinctions and the Government of Pakistan which is firmly committed to the removal of social barriers and evolving an egalitarian society is vitally interested in universalizing education.
Education is being made free and universal up to Class X for all children through-out the country. However, due to limited resources Free Education Programme will be achieved in two phases. In the first phase, from 1st October, 1972 education up to Class VIII has been made free for boys and girls in both Government and ~ In the 2nd phase, starting from 1st October. 1974. free education will be extended to Classes IX and X in all schools. Depending on the response and reciprocity, it is anticipated that primary education upto Class V will become Universal for boys by 1979 and for girls by 1984. in a further period of 3 years. it is anticipated that elementary education will become universal upto Class VIII, that is for boys by 1982 and for girls by 1987.
In the past, many bright students were unable to complete their education for financial reasons. The present government is determined not to allow finance to stand in the way of such talented students. For helping the students the Government has launched a massive programme of scholarships and loans. Some highlights of the Education Week will include in due course of time national. essay competition declamation contests and inter-collegiate and inter-school debates. Alt these tournaments would be organised on an inter-provincial basis and carry awards and prizes. These activities would constructively focus two main themes namely educational reforms and literacy for masses. There is also a programme to have an annual All Pakistan contests to select a “Student” of the year and the ‘Teacher’ of the year from primary to post-graduate level based on the assessments of the District Board’ Universities/Secondary Schools, etc. The Ministry of Education also proposes to institute a State Award for the most out- standing contribution made by rural and urban teams from all the provinces and it would be called the Quaid-i-Azam “Gold Cup” to he awarded every year from this year on.
Literacy Day is symbolic of Education Reforms and in time to come would emerge as a permanent institution on the national calendar.

Universal Children Day (October 2, 1972)

Stamp is horizontal in format. A mass of crowded buildings and huts in various colours are shown in the background on the right half portion of the stamp to represent “Slums and Shanty Towns’ together with few trees in light and dark green colours.
Two children, a boy and a girl, are shown in the foreground running towards the multi-coloured square at left, which represents a well-planned town to provide better living for the children. The caption “Better Life for the Children in Slums and Shanty Towns” runs across at the top in two lines in the red colour.
The denomination “20-Paica” in reverse appears in the lower corner of the red section of the multi-colour square. The word “Pakistan’ in Bangali, English and Urdu in blue colour appears at the bottom. The word “Postage” appears at the lower right of stamp in black.
Universal Children’s Day is observed every year in over 100 countries of the world. It has a two-fold purpose:—
Educational: As an occasion for calling the needs of Children to the attention of gov-ernments and the people; and
Recreational An occasion to honour child-ren through special ceremonies and festi-vities. In Pakistan Universal Children’s Day is sponsored by the Pakistan Council for Child Welfare. Each year a special theme is chosen for Children’s Day to focus world attention on special needs of children. Edu-cation, Training, Health and Nutrition have been the subjects of recent years. The theme for 1972 is “A Better Life For Child-ren In Slums And Shanty Towns.” This year Pakistan is observing Universal Child-ren’s Day on Monday, October 2, 1972— the date recommended by the U.N. Gene-ral Assembly and Pakistan Post Office is bringing out a Commemorative Stamp to high light the occasion.
The theme for this year has a special significance for us and invites us to pause and think of the needs not only of our Own children but of All Children in Pakistan. On this annual occasion the Pakistan Council for Child Welfare urge all Pakis-tanis to give special thought to the needs of our children living in slums and shanty towns, and do whatever they can to help these children live happier lives.
Children who live in filthy and in-sani-tary conditions, over-crowded huts, rat-infested slums endure insufferable hard-ships; poorly equipped, over-crowded, sub-standard schools, lack of proper water systems; inadequate recreational facilities; in many cases, the breakdown of family life; in slum, a depressing, destructive en-vironment in which despair and anger are contagious and often fatal diseases.
It is important for all of us to think about the needs and rights of all children, not merely those in our own personal care, whom we ourselves know and love because all children, no matter how rich or poor, their parents are no matter what religious group, political party, social class, nation or race they belong to, have the same needs and the same rights. Every child needs and deserves good medical care, education and food, protection from pre-sent dangers and preparation for future opportunities. If children are deprived of such things today, our entire world will be deprived tomorrow of the healthy, strong, intelligent and capable people it will need to ensure continued and increased progress and peace.
Everyone of us is affected, either di-rectly or indirectly, by the problems gene-rated by urban slums. They are virulent cancers which, if neglected, can destroy the health of an entire society. So all of us must become involved—by professional or volunteer activity in community improve-ment projects and by supporting needed legislation. Slums are a ‘Luxury’ no nation can afford. Today slums and shanty towns constitute half or even 75% of the cities in some developing countries.
Most of the housing in slums is dan-gerously dilapidated. filthy and over-crowded. In some slums there are as many as 20 persons living in one room. Some slums dwellings are so over-crowded that the people who share a room sleep in re-lays. Improper ventilation and impure air spread diseases like, tuberculosis, polio, typhoid etc.
Children in slums suffer from almost total lack of pre-school education, a short-age of day care centres for children of working mothers, and a shortage of both primary and secondary schools.
Most families which migrate from rural areas move into the slum sections of cities, because they cannot afford to live in the better, more modern area. Slums are, therefore, growing even faster than cities as a whole.
Cities are growing rapidly all over the world but “slums” are increasing almost twice as rapidly as cities. In many slums more than half the inhabitants are young children. Unless effective steps are taken to improve these children’s lives soon, while the children are still highly impres-sionable, our cities in a few more years may be victimized by their current victims. We are in danger of raising a generation of untrained, uneducated, frustrated and angry people. However, if adequate health and training facilities are provided in time to help these children, their pot-ential energies and talents will mature and will serve society so that we can all enjoy a better life. Children are the most preci-ous possession of a nation and it is our col-lective responsibility to ensure that they grow into healthy, strong, intelligent and capable young men, and we must all strive to that end.

National Blood Transfusion Service (September 6, 1972)

The format of the stamp is vertical. The subject of the stamp is “Blood Donation.” Two arms are shown, the pink one in front represents that of the donor giving blood which is collected in bottles in the fore-ground, by means of a tube. The arm in the background in white represents the need of blood trans-fusion. The insignia in red is placed in the centre on the top in a white circle, against an orange background. The value 20-Paisa is placed on the top left corner in black, and the words ‘Postage’ lies vertically on the left bottom side of the stamp all in black. The words “Pakistan” in Urdu, Bengali and English are in white against a turquoise blue strip at the bottom of the stamp.
To focus public attention on the need and importance of BLOOD DONATION, the Pakistan Post Office is issuing a Commemorative Postage Stamp of 20 Paisa denomination on the Defence Day of Pakistan i.e. 6th September 1972.
Human Blood is required as a medi-cine for surgical operations and resus-citation of accident and war victims. Since it can not be manufactured by any laboratory in the world nor can a substitute be found for the living red cells in the human blood, it has to be donated as a gift by fellow human be-ings to save the life of a patient, and accelerate the recovery of a wounded person.
In case of injury, accident, burn, abnormal childbirth or major surgical operation, there is a great loss of blood. When more than half the total quantity of blood is lost quickly, death must follow. But if some of the lost blood, at least a pint, a gift from one donor, is put back into the patient’s veins, life can be saved and the patient recovers in due course. Blood from healthy person is thus used through the agency of ‘Blood Banks’. You can save a mother, a father, a lovely child. Remember, once death overtakes life, it never comes back. Think of others in danger of death who can be saved with a little of your blood at no cost to you in health and efficiency. Who knows that you may have to come to the hospitals in some such dangerous emergent condition and need blood to help and save your life.
55 per cent of the blood is a straw- coloured liquid called plasma, which is itself 91 to 92 per cent water and 7 to 8 per cent protein. Plasma also contains small amounts of salt, sugar, and other substances. 45 per cent of the blood is made up of cells, of which there arc three kinds; Red cells the oxygen-carry-ing veins of the blood system; White cells, the body’s warriors and the Platelets, which help in the coagulation of blood after injury.
The average life of blood is 100 days. Your entire blood is 1-100 days old. There is a balanced one per cent pro-duction and destruction of Blood con-tinuously going on. Blood is contained in active circulation and some in storage depots of Spleen. After blood loss as from donation, these organs contract and stored blood is pushed into active circulation. The total stocks is thus replenished in a few days.
In England, every minute of every hour, a person donates blood and no harmful effects are reported. One looses less than five per cent of total blood in one donation. You can give blood every three months. All men and wo-men of 18—65 years of age, more than 110 lbs. of weight, of average normal health, not suffering from obvious illness, and having no history of syphilis, jaundice, and recent attack of malaria, are fit for blood donations.
Blood is taken only after a fair exa-mination by trained Doctors. It takes ten minutes to donate and ten minutes to rest and then you are fit for any job. There is no adverse effect on health, whatsoever, after donating less than 5 per cent of one’s total blood volume. The carefully maintained records in all countries conclusively prove that the process does not entail any ill effects whatsoever for the donor and rather in most cases it has a definite healthy effect by stimulating the formation of new blood and for treating certain latent disease conditions like high blood pressure.
Blood Transfusion Service has been organised by the Government to collect blood from volunteer donors and to supply it to various hospitals for pati-ents free of cost. The large hospitals have also their Blood Banks from which needy patients can get blood. Some voluntary organisations like the All Pakistan Blood Donor’s Association and the Pakistan Red Cross Society have also regular arrangements for collection and supply of blood for the benefit of the needy patients. But their combined efforts have so far touched only the fringe of the need. There is need for a nation-wide consciousness of the im-portance of blood donation to reduce mortality from disease and accident.
It is however very sad that our healthier, wealthier and happier people do not want to donate blood with the result that the professional donors markets are so flourishing. Almost the attendants of every patient, when asked to donate blood, first try to manage donations from these donors as they themselves want to avoid donation of their own blood. When poor people are there to sell their blood, the people with money are ready to buy it. The Blood Banks and Hospitals try utmost to persuade the relations to donate blood themselves, but inspite of this, the latent scare of blood-loss impels them to purchase blood from poor and marginally healthy people. The relatives donate only when no poor fit donor is available. These donors give blood purely for money and they will do it without any regard for their health. Any way under the present circums-tances they are beneficial and unavoid-able, but ultimately volunteers have to fill up the gap. ‘DONATE BLOOD AND SAVE LIFE’

Centenary of Population Census (September 16, 1972)

The format of the stamp is horizontal. A graph is shown by means of thin dotted lines in green against a pink background. Silhouetted human forms in red and ultramarine colours ate shown in different places to represent adults and children. Also some squares in White, Red, Green, Ultramarine and Black colours are shown in different positions to depict certain statistical features of the Census.
The wording “Population Census 72” in Green colour appears at the top. The de-nomination figure ‘20’ with ‘Paisa’ under-neath appears in the top right hand corner in black. The word ‘Postage’ lies on the left hand side of the stamp vertically, also in black The word ‘Pakistan’ in English, Bangla and Urdu appear in reverse in the green panel at the bottom of the stamp.
Pakistan Post Office is issuing a stamp of 20 Paisa denomination to commemorate the Centenary of Popula-tion Census of Pakistan on 16th September, 1972.
The first Census of Population in Pakistan (then part of British India) was taken in 1872. The next Census in the sub-continent was taken in 1881. And then on, population census was taken every 10 years in the first year of each decade. The first and the second censuses of population census in Pakistan after Independence were conducted in the years 1951 and 1961 respectively. The third decennial population census of Pakistan was due in 1971. But due to political situation in the Country the census was postponed till 1972. This, however, coincides with the completion of hundred years of regular decennial census taking in Pakistan and thus marks the centenary of census taking in Pakistan. Enumeration of population in current census of Pakistan commences from the 16th September 1972.
The word ‘census’ is of Roman ori-gin and is derived from ‘censors’ i.e. the magistrates in ancient Rome who used to prepare a register of population for the purpose of taxation and cons-cription to the military service. The objectives of ancient census being un-popular with the people, it was almost given up in the medieval ages but as the need for reliable data on population was felt by the modern welfare states, census in modern sense of the term was started to be taken from the 18th cen-tury. For example, the first popula-tion census in the U.S.A. was conduct-ed in 1790, in the U.K. and France in 1801, in Sweden and Finland in 1749, in Denmark and Norway in 1769, in Ice-land in 1703 etc.
The purpose of census is to collect general statistical information regarding population, its characteristics, its homes and environments. Replies are required from individuals only to enable comple-tion of such general statistics. No per-sons can be harmed in any way by providing information required in the census, which is treated as confidential as far as individuals are concerned.
Uses of census data are numerous and varied. Census data provides the basis for delimitation of constituencies for election to the National and Provin-cial Assemblies and to the various tiers of Local Bodies. Census figures help measures progress in meeting major national goals, such as provision of lobs, housing, education, health facili-ties, etc. to every citizen of the country. It also permits Provincial Governments, Municipal Authorities and other Local Bodies to meet the requirements of their citizens in respect of sewage, water, lighting, transportation health, welfare and other services.
Thus census is not a mere counting of heads. It collects information on several demographic, social, cultural and economic characteristics of every individual. It also collects information on the condition of housing units where the person or a group of persons live. These data after collection are processed and presented in the form ‘of meaningful tables for use by all concerned.. In the past census data were mainly pro-cessed manually. In the current census electronic computers will be used for processing the data. This will enhance the accuracy of the census results and will provide the results in the shortest possible time. The taking of population census is one of the largest administrative opera-tions of the country. About 200,000 honorary workers were trained and engaged on census duties in the past two census of Pakistan. It is an opera-tion in which Central and the Provincial Governments, Municipal Authorities, other Local Bodies and the people are required to function in closest cooperation on voluntary basis. The success of the population census depends on th willing cooperation of all the people in the country.
The objective of issuing this postage stamp in commemoration of Census Centenary in Pakistan is to create awareness in the people so as to elicit necessary interest and cooperation from them without which such a national undertaking is not possible.

25th Anniversary of Independence (August 14, 1972)

10-Paisa: The format of the stamp is vertical. The portrait of the Quaid-i-Azam appears in black and white on the top left side in an oval inset against an ultramarine background. The words ‘Unity-Faith-Discipline” in reverse appears underneath the portrait. The Minar-e-Qarardad-e-Pakistan is placed on the right side, against an ultra-marine background and the words ‘Minar Qarardad-e-Pakistan’ lie on the left of the Minar, in reverse. The value ‘10 Paisa’ is placed on the top right corner of the Stamp in reverse and the words “25th Anniversary of Independence” lie on the right side of the Stamp in reverse. The tree and foliage behind the base of the Minar are in light and dark green. The Word ‘Postage’ on the bottom left corner is in dark green. A strip at the bottom of the Stamp in turquoise colour bears the word. ‘Pakistan’ in English, Bengali and Urdu in ultramarine.
60-Paisa: The format of the Stamp is horizontal. The caption “Inauguration of First National Assembly Elected on Adult Franch-ise” is in reverse and is placed on the top against a pink back-ground, the value ‘60 Paisa’ lies on the top left side of the stamp in reverse. The State Bank Building at Islamabad where the National Assembly is meeting farms the subject of the design. The words “25th Anniversary of Independence” on the right side of stamp, the word ‘Postage’ on the left side, and the word ‘Pakistan’ in Bengali, English and Urdu placed at the bottom of the stamp are all in red colour.
20 Paisa: The format of the stamps is horizontal. The set of four stamps depicts four principle reforms. The layout is the same for all the stamps. On the left side is a decorative pattern and on the right, separated by perforation-like dots the design executed symboli-cally which varies according to the subject. The caption “25th Anni-versary of Independence” is placed on the top in red. The word ‘Postage’ lies on the right side of the stamp in blue colour. The words ‘Pakistan’ in Bengali, Urdu and English are in black, at the bottom of the stamp. The value ‘20 Paisa’ is in yellow, and is placed on the foliage, on the right bottom side of the stamp. A sky covered with stars, com-mon to all the designs, stands for the new avenues discovered in all fields and the progress made in agriculture, industry, education and health. One of the designs symbolizes the land reforms. A tractor and fields are shown in the background and trees in abstract form in the background on either side of the tractor and in the foreground on the right side of the stamp.
The second stamp stands for the labour reform in Pakistan. In the background are factories and in the foreground are hands of labourers holding tools, on the right side of the stamp. Trees in abstract form are shown on the right side behind the foliage.
The third design symbolizes the education policy showing a pen, a book and cubes with alphabet on the left side of the stamp and a school building in the background on the right, as well as trees, in abstract form. The fourth design shows a hospital building in the background with a Red Cross, a syringe, bottles of medicine and a pair of surgical scissors, signifying the new health policy.
To commemorate the 25th Anniversary of Independence, the Pakistan Post Office is issuing a set of six stamps (10 Paisa, four stamps of 20 Paisa and one stamp of 60 Paisa denominations) on 14th August, 1972.
TWENTY FIVE YEARS OF PAKISTAN
Pakistan, it has been observed, is the first attempt in modern times to build a political community on the basis of common religious beliefs. The decline of Muslim community in India started in the beginning of the eighteenth century during which period suppressed hostility of the subject peoples such as the Marhatas in the West, Jats, Sikhs and Rajputs in Northern India and other religious groups organized resistance against the authority of the Mughals. This resistance was facilitated by the appearance of the Europeans on the scene in the Deccan and in Bengal, and the increasing pressure on the North Western Frontiers from the Persians and Afghans. By 1803 Delhi had been occupied by the British and within another fifty years, the British had secured complete control over nearly the whole of India. The events of 1857-58 put the final seal on the fate of the Muslims.
As a result of the loss of power and the challenge posed by the rising Hindu militant movements and the application of Western Political ideas in administrative educational and economic fields the consciousness slowly grew amongst the Muslims that their very survival was in danger as they had been left behind in the field of education industry and administ-ration. The new democratic principles of representative government implied the supremacy of the numerical majority i.e. the Hindus. This majority was defined permanently in religion in the tradition-bound caste-ridden Hindu society. It was feared that however broad the franchise and the promises of free and fair elections, Hindu and Muslim voters would support the candidates of their own community, thus giving a constitutional basis to Hindu majority over the Muslims. The natural result was that the Muslims came to the conclusion after considerable mental conflict that they must establish a state of their own in order to preserve and perpetuate their identity as a distinct nation. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan was the first to openly proclaim the existence of two different and distinct nations in India.
Doubts were expressed, both in India and abroad as to the Muslim claim to separate nationhood. Even Mahatma Gandhi expressed his doubts about it but he was adequately replied by Quaid-i-Azam in the following words- “We maintain that Muslims and Hindus are two major nations by any definition or test as a nation. We are a nation of a hundred million, and what is more, we are a nation with our own distinctive culture and civilization, language and literature, art and architecture, names and nomenclature, sense of values and proportion, legal laws and moral codes, customs and calendar, history and traditions-, aptitude and ambi-tions: in short, we have cur own distinctive outlook on life and of life. By all the canons of International Law, we are a nation.”
Syed Ahmad had succeeded in keeping the Muslims away from joining the Congress and becoming its camp followers. After his death the political, social and economic situation had changed and it was not possible to keep the Muslims away from politics for all times to come. The Muslim leaders came to the conclusion that separate electorate would serve their purpose for the present. In 1906 Muslim League was founded and Bengal had the distinction of having given birth to the new political organization. The Partition of Bengal was hailed by the Muslims but was bitterly opposed by the Hindus with the result that within seven years the partition was annulled which not only affected Hindu-Muslim relations but created distrust in the intention of the Govern-ment. As a result of the changing internal situation there emerged the League-Congress understanding which resulted in the Lucknow pact. In 1916 the Congress accepted the Muslims claim to separate electorate for the first time, and also for the last time.
The agreement was short lived and Muslims now began to think of alternative solutions to their problems. Constitu-tional safeguards in a United India appeared to be unsatis-factory and undependable. There were many suggestions, though not seriously taken, of dividing the country between Muslims and Hindus. The first Muslim thinker to give ex-pression to this idea, though in a vague and rudimentary form, was the late Allama Mohammad Iqbal. In his address to the All India Muslim League Session of 1930 at Allahabad, he advocated the creation of a consolidated Muslim State which he believed would be “in the best interest of India and Islam.’
Mr. Jinnah, who was in self imposed exile in London, at first did not accept Iqbal’s arguments but within 10 years he had finally been led to Iqbal’s conclusion as a result of careful examination and study of the constitutional problems facing India. The culmination of this contagious idea of Muslims being a separate nation found expression in the famous Lahore Resolution of March 3, 1940 adopted at the Lahore Session of the Muslim League. In main the Resolution demanded:
“That it is the considered view of this session of the All India Muslim League that no constitutional plan would be workable in this country or acceptable to Muslims unless it is designed on the following basic principles, namely, that geographically contiguous units are de-marcated into regions which should be so constituted, with such terri-torial readjustments as may be necessary, (and) that the areas in which the Muslims are numerically in a majority, as in the North Western and Eastern Zones of India, should be grouped to constitute ‘Independent States’ in which the Constituent units shall be autonomous and sovereign.”
The Indian Newspapers coined the phrase “Pakistan Resolution” which Mr. Jinnah adopted and later on asserted that no power could now prevent Pakistan. From that time onward Pakistan became not only a slogan but a creed with the majority of Muslims of all classes in all parts of the coun-try. In the park where the resolution was passed, the ‘PAKISTAN MIN AR’ has been built and has become a place of pilgrimage for Pakistanis. Mr. Jinnah had by then become the ideal of Muslim masses .and came to be affectionally called the Quaid-i-Azam.
From 1940 to 1947 every effort was made at many levels to keep the country united, but all these attempts failed to make the Quaid give up the idea of partition, mostly because of’ the intransigence of the Congress and other Hindu com-munal parties to realize the justness of Muslim demands. The election of 1946, gave the League a resounding electoral victory which silenced or swept away those Muslim groups which still hoped to reach a compromise with the Hindus and made the Congress and the British to concede partition and independence. Failing to bring about a consensus of opinion between the League and the Congress, Mr. Attlee, the British Prime Minister declared in Feb. 1947 that His Majesty’s Government intended to take necessary steps to effect the transference of power to responsible Indian hands not later than June 1948. Lord Mountbatten who had been appointed the Viceroy and Governor General, however, de-clared in his plan of June 3, 1947 that independence would be granted on 14th August, 1947 that is within 75 days. This haste to grant independence did not affect India much but Pakistan had to start from scratch in order to establish a new Capital, a new Government and a new Secretariat at Karachi without proper housing accommodation for the new Government. without equipment and without adequate financial resources. Besides this on account of the communal riots, Pakistan was confronted with the problem of accommodating huge number of refugees, which constituted nearly 1/10th of the total popu-lation. It may be added that nearly 65 lakh Muslims fled from India and 55 lakh Hindus and Sikhs left Pakistan.
On the establishment of Pakistan on the 14th August, 1947 the Quaid-i-Azam while addressing the people declared in his presidential Address to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan as follows: -“You are free: You are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other places of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed; that has nothing to do with the fundamental principle that we are all citizens and equal citizens of one State”
On August 14, the Quaid-i-Azam became the first Governor General of Pakistan.
A Boundary Commission had been appointed under Lord Radcliffe to determine the boundaries of the two newly created states. When the Award was announced, the Quaid-i-Azam and the Muslims were shocked and Mr. Jinnah described it as “a grave injustice to Pakistan”, but accepted it as the party had agreed to arbitration. Pakistan came into being under adverse circumstances and as a European writer remarked the new born baby was thrown with its swaddling into a raging river. That it sur-vived the initial shock and disorder was entirely due to the innate good sense of the people, and their dedication to the difficult task of making Pakistan a viable state under the fostering care of one of the greatest leaders among the Muslims of the 20th Century. His dedicated lieutenants, the civil services, the army and the new industrialists deserve all praise for this. But as time passed on, p~rticu1arly after the death of Quaid-i-Azam and the assassination of Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan, cracks began to appear in the national edifice. Dedication and patriotism gave place to pursuit of power, prestige and wealth. Corruption and nepotism ate into the very vitals of the society, and slowed down the pro-cess of reconstruction and nation building. Lacking proper leadership, deriving its authority from the will of the people as their elected representatives, politics became a profession for a few leaders and families. Economic and social growth began to deviate drastically from the goals which the Father of the Nation had set before us.
The erosion of democracy in Pakistan and the disgrace-ful exploitation of the poor by the rich and of the weak by the strong led to the imposition of Martial Law in 1958. President Iskandar Mirza appointed General Ayub as the Chief Martial Law Administrator. This imposition of Martial Law was only a variant of Fascism through the agency of the army. It was natural that with the passage of time such military administration would degenerate into rule by a governing clique uninspired by any loftier ideology than cling-ing to its privileged position.
Considerable advance was made in industrial develop-ment which however was lop-sided. Instead of sound plan-ing for the good of the country as a whole and the common man at large a system of patronage in license giving became the order of the day. In the absence of a Constitu-tion made by a National Assembly elected by the representa-tives of the people in a fair and free election, various subter-fuges were resorted to in order to delay elections and have a constitution on the basis of adult franchise reflecting the wishes of all section of the people. The 1962 Constitution which had some good points was suspected from the very be-ginning as it was opined that it was a means of perpetuating the concentration of power in the hands of one person.
The war with India in 1965 acted as a cement in bring-ing together all sections of the people in a concerted deter-mined effort to meet the challenge of Indian Aggression. After the Tashkent Declaration which has for long been the subject of acrimonious discussions because of the mystery in which it is shrouded, a development of far reaching implication was that Mr. Zulfiqar All Bhutto resigned as Foreign Minister in 1967 and addressed himself, with his ability and experience, to the creation of a new Political Party. This was the beginning of the end of the Ayubian era. The accumulated grievances of the people of East Pakistan, real and imaginary were expressed in the famous, six points of Mujibur Rahman. The Pakistan Peoples Party was founded in Lahore in 1967 and it soon won considerable strength to lead a revolt against the dictatorship of Field Marshal Ayub Khan. Ayub Khan had to quit by handing over power to the then Commander-in-Chief, Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan on 25th March 1969. The story of Pakistan from this date to 20th December 1971 is too tragic and pain-ful and too well known to be repeated. General Yahya Khan was finally compelled on 20th December, 1971 to transfer power to the leader of the majority, the Pakistan Peoples Party, President Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. The President with his characteristic energy, grasp of the international situation, knowledge of the potentiality of his own people and his country’s resources set about to salvage what was left of Pakistan which had been the dream and the hope of millions of people. He has initiated many reforms of far reaching impli-cations. Chiefs among them are the following;
Labour Reforms: On February 10, the Government announced its New Labour Policy, which is designed to “guarantee to workers their fundamental rights consistent with the requirements of industrial development of the State.” For the first lime in the history of the country workers were allowed to participate in the management to the extent of 20 per cent at factory level which was to be increased progressively.
Land Reforms: The land reforms introduced by the President Mr. Zulfiqar All Bhutto on March 1, 1972 were intended to bring dignity and salvation to our rural masses. The ceiling on individual land holding was drastically reduced and some 3.5 million acres of land was resumed by the Government without compensation and distributed amongst the landless peasants free of cost. This would benefit some 2.5 million poor farmers and landless tenants.
Education Reforms: The new Educational Policy, announced by the Government on March 15, is a bold measure to eradicate illiteracy and to make education a means to achieve the national goal. It aims at providing uniform edu-cational facilities to all children and to democratize education. Among the measures taken in this respect are free education up-to class VIII from October 1, 1972 and upto class X from October I, 1974. a massive programme of adult literacy; establishment of a People’s University and of literacy centres and peoples libraries throughout the country.
Health Scheme On March 26. President Bhutto made public his seven year Rs, 3,800 million ‘People’s Health Scheme” for providing health facilities to each and every citizen of Pakistan. The Scheme envisages the establishment of a net-work of health centres throughout the country which will cater to the medical needs of the people.
Besides the above reforms initiated within six months of assuming office, Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto must be credited with the foresight of losing no time in getting a Constitution passed by the First National Assembly elected on the basis of adult franchise and lifting the Martial Law and restoring fundamental rights to the people. The most outstanding con-tribution of Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto has been the Simla Accord which, except by a negligible minority, has been hailed as the harbinger of a new era of peace, amity and friendship with India.

8th Anniversary of R.C.D. (July 21, 1972)

The format of the stamp is vertical. The layout for all the three stamps is the same. A golden yellow border surrounds the three paintings. The words “R.C.D.” in reverse lie on the top and the words “8th Anniversary 21. 7.72.” are in yellow. The denomination and the words “Paisa and postage” lie in reverse and are placed on the left bottom side of the stamp. The word “Pakistan” in Urdu, Bengali and English lie on the right bottom side of the stamp and are in yellow. A vertical pattern in turquoise blue with a white dot in the centre is placed on either side of the painting. The 10 Paisa stamp bears the painting from Turkey, the 20-Paisa stamp from Iran and the 50-Paisa stamp from Pakistan. The name of the painting is on the left bottom side of the stamp and the name of the artist on the right bottom side.
Following the Istanbul Summit in July, 1964, there came into existence an historic tripartite arrangement among Iran, Pakistan and Turkey, known as Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD) aiming at closer economic bonds and the welfare of peoples of this region. To mark the 8th Anniversary of the establishment of the R.C.D., falling on the 21st July, 1972, Pakistan along with the other two member countries, is issuing a set of three Commemorative Postage Stamps. The subjects chosen therefor are the paintings of the famous national artists of the three countries. Following is the brief description of the subjects chosen for the purpose
PAKISTAN:
This painting “WILL AND POWER” by the famous Pakistani Artist, Mr. Abdur Rehman Chughtai is the portrait of a youth belonging to the generation of Mujahids whose spiritual strength, indomitable will and power is etched out as if with the bold strokes of a sword. It has an opulent harmony representing the dignity and the strength of heroic mankind.
IRAN:
This painting “THE COMPLEXION OF AN IRANIAN WOMAN” is the work of one of the most distinguished miniaturists of Iran, Hussein Behzad (1894-1968). In design and colouring Behzad has few equals among contemporary miniaturists.
TURKEY: This painting “THE FISHING MAN” is the work of Mr. Cevat Dereli, a famous contemporary Turkish painter and is exhibited in State painting and Sculpture Museum. Mr. Cevat Dereli was born in Rize, in 1900. His compositions reflect local life and there is a marked effect of cubism in his multi-figured works. In the process of fulfilling the objectives of social and economic cooperation, RCD has given new vitality to the historic friendship among the nations of Iran, Pakistan and Turkey and it has added entirely new dimensions to their cooperation in economic and cultural spheres. The building of a common infra-structure is far advanced both physically and institutionally. Roads and rail links will soon connect the three countries. A direct microwave link already exists between the three countries and their postal and telegraph rates are at par with internal rates.
RCD Shipping Services has continued to play an effective role in RCD Cooperation. The South Shipping Lines of Iran have commenced operations from the North Atlantic and Gulf Coast Ports in the USA to the ports in the Persian Gulf including the Iranian ports during the fourth week of March, 1971. The National airlines of the three countries are already working in close cooperation with each other. In the field of institutional collaboration, a joint development bank is now under consideration. A joint re-insurance pool has already been formed which has saved the RCD countries millions of dollars in foreign exchange.
The RCD has approved many large industries as joint ventures and such projects as Bank Note and Ball Bearing projects in Pakistan and Aluminum Company in Iran have already gone into production stage. Feasibility studies on many other projects are under completion. These projects when implemented will save millions of dollars in foreign exchange for the member countries.
Technical cooperation and management assistance is also proceeding smoothly with great benefit for each of the three RCD members. So far thousands of trainees and hundreds of experts have been exchanged while the 1972 programme envisages exchange of many more. Over 40 seminars have been held on various subjects and many joint courses on Management and Public Administration have been held in Iran and Pakistan. Increased people-to-people contacts at different levels are taking place.
The RCD Cultural Institute has published over 30 books and work on another 10 is being continued. Exchange of films, news reels, radio tapes, news-papers and periodicals is increasingly taking place and shooting of a joint RCD documentary film will start soon. RCD has so far installed its own stand in three international Exhibitions including Osaka Exposition, 1970.

U.N. Conference on The Human Environment (June 5, 1972)

The format of the stamp is horizontal. The design is based on the caption ‘Only One Earth’ ; placed on the top in reverse against an ultra-marine background. The official Con-ference Emblem in black selected for the United Nation Conference on Human Environment” is placed in the centre of the world, symbolically repre-sented by an ellipse, comprising of different colours, orange, purple and pale blue. The word ‘Postage’ at the right side of the stamp and the denomi-nation “20 Paisa” at the left bottom side are in reverse. The word ‘Pakistan’ in Bengali, Urdu and English appearing on white strip at the bottom of the stamp is in orange colour.
The General Assembly of the United Nations decided to convene a United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, to be held in Stockholm, on June 5-16, 1972. To mark this occasion, the Pakistan Post Office is issuing a Commemorative Postage Stamp of 20-Paisa denomination on 5th June. 1972.
Looking back from his new vantage point in outer space, man sees his earth as a tiny ball floating in the void. The oceans, the continents, the clouds that mark its precious atmosphere are visible; national boundaries cannot be seen. “Like it or not, we are all travelling together on a common planet,” the then Secretary-General U Thant had said, “We have no rational alternative but to work together to make it an environment in which we and our children can live full and peaceful lives, and that it has become clear that we all live in one biosphere within which space and resour-ces, though vast, are limited.
This was not the first time that such warnings had been sounded in the United Nations. Some 23 years ago, the potential perils to the human race were stressed at the first World Scientific Conference convened by the United Nations at Lake Success in 1949. The need for a world conference on human environment can be assessed from a sampling of the evidence as follows
-Reliance of modern technology on combustion of fossil fuels has brought a 10 per cent increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide over the past century.
-Modern technology has increased the amount of waste products which became pollutants.
-All coastal nations use the sea for disposal of waste ; million of gallons of raw sewage, million of tons of garbage dumped from barges, uncertain amounts of low-level radio-active wastes disposed of through pipelines or in sealed containers. Water used to cool power plant turbines returns to rivers, adding heat pollution.
-Industries often create serious prob-lems through pollution of air and water, damage to agricultural lands and destruction of scenery.
-The spread of the urban-industrial network with its associated transport facilities consumes space at a high rate.
-Some 150 species of birds and ani-mals have become extinct because of human activities, and about 1 ,000 species of wild animals are now con-sidered rare or endangered.
— With the accelerating growth of the world’s population and rapid urbani-zation more of the world’s inhabi-tants live in over crowded conditions.
— Some chemicals aiding agricultural development and health protection have adverse side effects recognized long after they have been in use.
— Large-scale construction of dams, reservoirs, canals, power stations and other installations risk undesired effects including siltation, loss of delta lands, salinization, spread of water-borne diseases and displace-ment of people.
Today the world is aware of the need for global defence of the environ-ment as a whole. Separate aspects of the problem, however, have concerned the United Nations and the specialized agencies for many years. The wide variety of United Nations economic and social efforts has included activities relating directly or indirectly to the environment. Many United Nations bodies and specialized agencies are in-volved in the campaign to Improve the environment, and activities in this field have been increasing in recent years. UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations Secretariat divisions carry out many projects and services concerned with fields such as resources and transport; housing, building and planing; social development; population; public administration; and science and technology.
UNESCO: The United Nations Edu-cational, Scientific and Cultural Orga-nization has carried out environmental studies since its inception, and a separate ecology and conservation section was set up in 1961.
IMCO:The Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization has a direct responsibility for placing restraints on contamination of the sea by ships and other equipment. FAQ: Many activities of the Food and Agriculture Organization have a direct bearing on conservation of soil, plants and animals and marine life.
WHO:The World Health Organization has set up international reference centres to assist Governments in identifying, measuring and evaluating air and water pollutants, and to aid in solving waste disposal problems through such methods as simple processes for reduction of solid wastes.
WMO : The World Meteorological Organization’s World Weather Watch, initiated by the 1963 World Meteorological Congress, is a far-reaching pro-gramme for development of a world weather service integrating national and international activities, including the use of observation satellites. IAEA:The International Atomic Energy Agency has a continuing programme to combat radioactive pollution caused by nuclear power plants and other peaceful uses of atomic energy.
ILO: The International Labour Organization which is seeking to protect workers against pollution in the working environment recently has undertaken projects on atmospheric control in mining operations. ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization, which has been studying Sonic Boom “ from supersonic aircraft and airport noise—has made progress in establishing standard procedures for measuring aircraft noise.
The past, present and planned United Nations activities to preserve life on earth have demonstrated that all nations have a common interest in defending man’s environment an interest that bridges geographical or ideological divisions. In the past, common property resources such as air, water and open space were considered resources owned by no one; today they tend to be treated more and more as resources owned equally by all and their uses are increasingly subject to standards and prohibitions by Governments at local, national and international levels.

World Health Day (April 7, 1972)

Human heart, the main feature of the design, in displayed in the centre of the stamp against a vignette background of light blue. Carmine red, cobalt blue, yellow ochre and black colours have been used to depict the heart. The emblem of the International Society of Cardiology appears in black and red colours in the right hand corner below. The date of issue “7th April, 1972” appears in red along side the right hand edge of the stamp. The denomination 20’ with word Paisa’ and ‘Postage’ appears in black in the left corner below The words “The heart at the heart of health” appear in black against a pink strip at the top. “Pakistan” in Urdu, English and Bengali appears in reverse in the blue strip at the bottom.
To commemorate the World Health Day-1972, the Pakistan Post Office is issuing a postage stamp of 20-Paisa denomination on 7th April 1972.
On the recommendations of the World Health Organisation (WHO), the World Health Day 1972 is being celeb-rated throughout the World. The theme selected for this day is the ‘PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF CARDIOVAS-CULAR DISEASES,’ with the slogan “THE HEART AT THE HEART OF HEALTH”. The International Society of Cardiology is sponsoring a worldwide campaign of information and education to draw the attention of the public to the risk of cardiovascular and cerebro-vascular diseases which, according to the World Health Organization, may result in coming years in the greatest epidemic mankind has faced.
Heart disease, with its appalling death rate, ranks as one of the greatest public health problems in the western countries. In the past 40 years, the crude death rate has increased 35 folds. In Pakistan, the data from various epidemiological studies and from the hospital figures from various parts of the country has provided ample evidence that Pakistan is fast approaching the western figures of death rate due to heart disease. On the basis of the epidemiology surveys, carried out by the Cardiovascular Research Unit at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Karachi, it is estimated that in Pakistan, one in every 8 persons, above the age of 30 years, is likely to suffer with high blood pressure. The presence of blood pressure increases the probability of dying by 3 folds as compared with the normal population.
Coronary heart disease commonly known as “heart attack” affects 2% of the general adult population. Coronary heart disease is reaching enormous proportions, striking more and more at younger people. Rheumatic heart disease affecting children 5 years and older, with fever, joint pains and heart disease, is a preventable ailment. A large number of children, born with heart disease, die in early years of life. Increased facilities for their treatment will improve this gloomy outlook. The proper care and advice during pregnancy will further reduce the number of children born with congenital ailments of the heart Concentrated efforts are, therefore, directed for its prevention.
The aim to issue a postage stamp on the occasion of the World Health Day 1972 is to create awareness in the society to have a clear, explicit and reasonable understanding of the problem of the heart disease and the need to do something about it.

25th Anniversary of ECAFE (March 28, 1972)

The different races of the world are represented in the design by coloured discs overlapping each other They are shown to emerge from behind the emblem of ECAFE which appears in white against a blue background. The emblem is contained within the cogwheel of progress which is shown in black. The wording “Progress through Co-operation” appears within this wheel superimposed on the emblem. The word ‘Pakistan” in Bengali and Urdu appears in the panel at the bottom beside the wheel in reverse while ‘Pakistan’ in English appear above this panel in black. The words “25th Anniversary of ECAFE” appears in black at the top. Denomination ‘20’ appears in reverse in the left hand corner just above the coloured discs with ‘Paisa’ and ‘Postage’ beneath in black.
To mark the 25th Anniversary of the United Nations Economic Commis-sion for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE), the Pakistan Post Office is issuing a Commemorative Postage Stamp of 20-Paisa on 28th March, 1972. Founded on 28th March, 1947 to encourage the economic and social development of Asia and the Far East, ECAFE is one of the four regional commissions of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. Its area stretches from Iran to the Western Pacific. It is the regional arm of the United Nations, with its headquarters in Bangkok (Asia) and is administra-tively responsible to the Secretary General of the United Nations. At the same time, it is responsible to the member states of the FCAFE region and is subject to their parliamentary control and guidance in policy matters, under the overall control of the Econo-mic and Social Council.
ECAFE seeks to speed up growth and raise living standards both by promoting regional co-operation among member countries and by helping individual Government’s plans and carry out balanced development programmes. Its main fields of work include;
Development Research and Planning,
Trade,
Industry and Natural Resources,
Transport and Communications,
Agricultural Development,
Water Resources,
Statistics,
Social Development,
Population,
Public Administration.
ECAFE has 30 members and 5 associate members, as follows
Members
Afghanistan, Australia, Bhutan, Burma, Ceylon. China, France, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Khmer Republic, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Republic of Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand. Tonga, USSR, United Kingdom, United States, Western Samoa.
Associate Members
British Solomon Islands, Brunei, Fiji,, Hong Kong, Papua, New Guinea.
The Commission, as a whole, with its 30 members and 5 associate mem-bers, meets yearly in different member countries. Its first session was held in Shanghai between 16—25 June, 1947 and was attended by four Asian countries— China, India, Philippines, Thailand and six others Australia, France, Nether-lands, Soviet Union, United Kingdom and United States.
In its current work, ECAFE is also giving special attention to ways of achieving regional growth during the United Nations Second Development Decade (197 1-1980), following the guide-lines adopted at the Commission’s 25th Session in Singapore in 1969.
The Asian Highway Project, approved by ECAFE In 1959, calls for a network of 60.000 kilometers covering 14 countries. During the United Nations Development Decade, ended December, 1970, efforts were concentrated on establishment of at least one through-route from west to east with connections to all other countries not so served by that route. Route A-I from. Iran to the Republic of Vietnam (10,800 Km.), was 93% complete by late 1969. As for the entire network, 83% is now motorable in all weathers.

Venice in Peril (February 7, 1972)

The format of the stamp is horizontal. A turquoise blue frame, on the left and bottom side of the stamp, encloses a view of Venice. The caption ‘Venice in Peril’, lying below the illustration, and the words ‘Pakistan’ in Urdu Bengali, and English on the left side of the stamp, are in reverse against a turquoise blue background. 1 he symbol of UNESCO on the top. of the turquoise panel on the left and the word ‘Paisa’ value ‘20’ and the word ‘Postage’ at the bottom of the stamp on the left are in black.
“Oh Venice! Venice! when thy marble walls
Are level with the waters, there shall be
A cry of nations o’er thy sunken halls.
A loud lament along the sweeping seal
“Ode on Venice” — Byron
VENICE (VENEZIA), a city and seaport of Italy, occupying one of the most remarkable sites in the world, at the head of the Adriatic, between the mountains and the sea, lies in that part of the Lombard plain which is known as the Veneto. The whole of this plain has been formed by the debris swept down from the Alps by the rivers. On a group of mud banks about the middle of the lagoon of Venice stands the city of Venice. The soil is an oozy mud. The whole site of Venice is dominated by the existence of one great main canal, the Grand Canal, which, winding thro-ugh the town in the shape of the letter 5, divides it into two equal parts. It is usually affirmed that the State of Venice owes its origin to the barbarian invasions of north Italy; that it was founded by refugees from the mainland cities who sought refuge from the HUNS in the 1mpregnable shallows and mud banks of the lagoons. Venice, like Rome and other famous cities, was an asylum city.
The Continuous growth of Venice can be traced through the successive styles of Byzantine, Gothic, early Re-naissance and late Renaissance architec-ture. The two most striking buildings in Venice, St. Mark’s and the Doge’s Palace, at once give us an example of the two earlier styles, the Byzantine and the Gothic. Both are so capricious in development and in decoration that they may more justly be considered as unique specimens rather than as typical examples of their respective styles. Fine examples of Venetian Byzantine palaces - at least of the facades-are still to be seen on the Grand Canal and in some of the small canals. Besides all this, Venice is rich in Gothic Architecture, the Ducal Palace, Gothic Churches and Palaces, modern buildings, paintings, institutions and libraries.
“According to the special study made by UNESCO, 47 per cent of Venice’s buildings are in need of repair, 16 per cent are gravely dilapidated and 50 per Cent are damp-infested. The renovation of housing in Venice is an urgent task, but the cost will be enormous.
On November 4, 1966, at Venice, the sea breached the protecting dykes in several places and rose to nearly two meters above street level. On that very day Florence had sustained heavy damage because of the Arno, rising in spate.
The General Conference of Unesco-meeting in Paris for its fourteenth session in Nov. 1966 unanimous1y adopted a resolution, declaring that the damage to the artistic and historic monuments and treasures of Florence and Venice consti-tutes a grave loss to the cultural heritage of all mankind’ and appealing to the spirit of fellowship of Member States to assist, to the fullest extent of their means, the efforts of the Italian people and authorities to preserve and restore cultural property that has been or is in danger of being damaged. At the request of the Italian Government, Unesco is co-ordinating the international aid provi-ded for both Florence and Venice. To this end, it has started a trust fund, for public and private contributions. UN-ESCO’ s immediate contribution to the work of restoration-in the form of equipment, of services of experts and Consultants, and of funds-is important. What does primarily concern UNESCO is the impairment of the cultural heritage constituted by Venice, which has been described as a museum set upon the waters’. The role of UNESCO is to promote, in close co-operation with the Italian authorities, large-scale action to safeguard the artis-tic and historical monuments of Venice and develop the latter as a cultural centre, taking into account the need to ensure that activities undertaken in the city as a whole and its environs-lagoons and mainland-should be consonant both with its natural and architectural char-acteristics and with its age—old cultural vocation
The Pakistan Post Office is, in response to the appeal of the UNESCO, issuing a commemorative Postage Stamp of 20 Paisa denomination on 7.2.1972, to focus public attention on this impor-tant issue, and thus joins the large community of nations who are interested in preserving for future generations the artistic heritage of Venice.

International Book Year 1972 (January 15, 1972)

The format of the stamp is vertical. A group of children, sitting on the floor, with open books placed on Rahils are receiving religious teaching from old holy man. The traditional lamp (FANOOS) hangs from the arch of the Mosque above the class. The Quranic verse in Arabic is placed

on the decorative arch in black on the top of the stamp. The brown vertical panel appearing on the left side of the stamp, bears the word “Postage”, value “20-Paisa” and the word ‘Pakistan’ in English, Bengali and Urdu in black. The symbol of “International Book Year” in reverse appears at the bottom of the panel. The words “International Book Year 1972” appear at the bottom of the stamp in Brown.

More than fourteen hundred years ago, Allah the Almighty in His first message to the Holy Prophet (Allah’s peace and blessings be on him) stressed :

“Read In the name Of thy Lord and Cherisher Who created”

The Holy Book thus conveyed the divine command;

“ Read, advance your intellect and know for yourself”.

Islam is indeed the “Deen”

of knowledge and urges man to discover “Huq”

and to discriminate between “Haq” and “Baatil”.

And, the Holy Prophet (Allah’s peace and blessings be on him) urged upon the faithful that they should search for knowledge (BOOK~ even if it could be had’ from China-then considered to be the lengthiest and the most hazardous journey from Mecca. A perusal of the following verse of the Holy Quran is indeed of great interest- “We have sent to you an apostle who is from amongst you, reads you our text, sanctifies you, teaches you the Book and the Wisdom and teaches you what you did not know Islam has thus from the outset enjoined upon its followers the imperative necessity of acquiring knowledge which can be had through books. The import-ance of books was very beautifully underlined by the Arab poet Al-Motanabbi in the following words:

It is indeed interesting that the UNESCO decided on 9th November 1970 that 1972 should be celebrated as the International Book Year, the objective being to focus attention on the role of Books in society. Being major media of mass communication and because of striking advances in the production and distribution techniques made during the last several years, there has actually been a virtual Book explosion and the audience for books has expanded enormously.

The vast increase in population, spread of education and the growing leisure time have widened the book mar-ket and new distribution channels as well as the extension of libraries (parti-cularly school and public library services) have added to the free availability of Books, in spite of the vast impact of the electronic media of radio and television, Books have maintained and even expan-ded their influence and remained the essential tool of knowledge.

As stressed in the Holy Book of Islam, “Iqra” - “read and advance your intellect and know for yourself” remains the all-time ideal for humanity to keep peace by acquiring new technological advances and learning new skills and perfecting the older ones. BOOKS FOR ALL is indeed the prime necessity of the time. To highlight the international message regarding the importance of BOOKS-really good BOOKS, the Pakistan Post Office is, in common with other Postal Administrations of the world, issuing a Postage Stamp of 20-Paisa denomination on 15. 1. 72.