Wildlife- Urial (December 31, 1975)

Rocky mountain against the background of a which is cobalt blue in Rs. 3/- and Turquoise blue in 20 P denomination. The slogan ‘Protect Wildlife’ appears at the bottom. of the stamp in Red colour for Rs. 3/- and black colour for 20-Paisa denominations respectively. The country name in URDU and English appear in the top left corner in Red and Black respec-tively for Rs. 31- and 20-Passa denomina-tions. The word ‘postage’ appears below the country name along side the left edge, black in Rs. 3/- and red in case of 2O-Paisa denomination. The name ‘Urial’ is given below in the bottom left corner.
The Urial stamp is the second in the series of commemorative stamps on wild life conservation that are being issued by the Pakistan Post Office to focus, attention on the need to protect wild life.
Pakistan originally had a rich variety of fauna but due to colonization and unscru-pulous hunting a number of mammals, birds and reptiles are on the verge of extinction. The Government of Pakistan have taken a number of measures including the creation of special areas, game sanc-tuaries etc. for conservation of wild life. Apart from Government action public motivation in this behalf is also a must and the issue of the wild life commemoratives aims primarily at this.
Three races of Urial (wild sheep) are found in different parts of Pakistan. The Punjab Urial (Ovis orientiis Panjabiensis) is found in the Salt Range Area and Kala Chita Hills in the districts of Mianwali, Jhelum, Sargodha and Attock. Kala Bagh Reserve is reported to have about 500 Urials. Urial is also found in Gilgit, Astore and parts of N.W.F.P., and is known as Shapu (Ovis Orientali~ Vigne). The race found in Baluchistan and Sind is known as (Ovis Orientalis Blanfordi). The Punjab Urial is reddish fawn in colour white its lower parts, limbs, buttock and tail are whitish. The adult rams have a ruff of long hair from behind the chin down to the chest. Their horns are strongly wrinkled and are set close together and curve around in a circu-lar sweep. There is much variation in horns which may be seen in the same herd. The Urial found in Northern Areas & N.W.F.P. has horns turned inward at the tips. The race found in Sind and Baluchistan has horns turned outwards. Shapu stands about 3 feet or more at the shoulders while the Punjab. Urial is smaller in size and is about two feet 8 inches. Average horns measure 20 to 30 inches. The biggest recorded heads are 39 inches. 2.In Punjab it lives in rocky scrub-covered hills. In Sind and Baluchistan it is found in bare stony ranges and in Northern Areas it keeps to open grassy mountain slopes at moderate elevations below the tree line.
3. In the Punjab, the main rutting season is between September and October. In Gilgit and Astore the breeding season is later than October. The young ones are born in summer and their number is one or two. The gestation period is believed to be bet-ween four to six months. The Urial is wary and active and is a good climber. It cries like a sheep, the alarm cry being a shrill whistle. A ram generally keeps 3 to 4 females.
4. This beautiful animal is now on the danger list and over hunting in the past has reduced its population in Pakistan. Its hunting has been banned all over the country and the animal has been declared protected. It is also necessary that people should stop poaching of this animal so that its population grows to a level, which is considered safe from the point of view of preservation of the species.

Dr. Mohammad Iqbal Commemoration (November 9, 1975)

The stamp is vertical in shape. The portrait of Allama Iqbal expresses his philosophical approach towards life. The titles of his famous works are shown in the background in relief. The wordings IQBAL CENTENARY YEAR 1977 appear in Red on top while the dates 9th November, 1877-21st April, 1938 are in Blue. ‘PAKISTAN in Urdu and English appears in Blue in the bottom. The denomination "20-Paisa" and word ‘Postage’ appear. in the-lower right corner in white.

One fact which strikes every student of Iqbal is his great versatility. First and foremost he was a poet, one of the greatest the world has known. In addition, he was an eminent philosopher, an educationist and a political thinker who played a notable role in the renaissance of the Musalmans of the sub-continent and was aptly described as the Spiritual Father of Pakistan. Although he did not join active politics till late in life, yet on his death he was referred to by the Quaid-i-Azam as "friend, philosopher and guide".Iqbal was born at Sialkot, a small town in the Punjab on 9th November, 1877. His ancestors who were Kashmiri Brahmans were converted to Islam nearly 300 years ago. Iqbal refers to his ancestry repeatedly in his verses:

Look at me for in India you will not see again A man of Brahman extraction versed in knowledge associate with Rum and Tabrez.

Iqbal finished his early education in Sialkot and migrated to Lahore in 1895 for higher studies. In Sialkot he was lucky to have as his teacher Shamsul Ulama Mir Hasan, a great Oriental scholar. Iqbal started writing verses while still at school. At that time Dagh was considered a great master of Urdu verse, and Iqbal started sending his verses to him for correction. After a short time Dagh wrote back that his verses needed no corrections.

Iqbal passed his MA in Philosophy in 1899 and was appointed Lecturer in the Oriental College, Lahore. After some time he went over to the Government College, Lahore. in 1905 he went to Europe on three years study leave, and studied at the Trinity College Cambridge, Lincoln’s Inn, London, and also at

Munich University. He returned home in 1908 and soon after started law practice. He also worked at the Government College, Lahore, as a teacher for some time.

During his stay in England he did write verses but the output of his poetry was not considerable. On his return from England he wrote some epoch-making poems like Shikwa, Jawab-i-Shikwa and Shama-aur-Shair which displayed superb handling of theme and command over the language. With the publication of these poems his place among the great Urdu Poets was assured.

Asrar-I-Khudi was published in 1915 and described his philosophy of the ego with great artistic efforts.

Ramuz-i-Bekhudi appeared in 1918 and described what Iqbal considered ideal society.

In 1921 appeared Khizr-t-Rah and in 1922 Tulu-i-Islam. The poem Khizr-i-Rah still shows signs of quest and search, but the poem Tulu-i-Islam shows faith and hope. Both the poems are in Urdu and rank amongst Iqbal’s finest poems. After the publication of these poems appeared the book Piyam-i-Mashriq. This book is a collection of miscellaneous poems in Persian, and was written in response to Goethe’s West Ostlicher Divan. Payam-i-Mashriq was followed by Bang-i-Dara which is actually a collection of Iqbal’s Urdu verses which were published prior to 1922, and two years later came the Zabur-i-Ajam. The book contains mystic vitalizing and ennobling verses. Zabur-i-Ajam was followed by Javid Nama what can be truly regarded as Iqbal’s magnum opus. Iqbal has said about this book:

What I have said is from another world.

This book has come from another Heaven.

After finishing Javid Nama Iqbal turned to Urdu again, and published a collection of Urdu poems Bal-i-Jibril in 1935 and another collection Zarb-i-Kalim in 1936. in 1934 he had published a Persian poem Musafir. Another Persian poem Pas Che Bayed Kard was published in 1936.. 1 The final, collection of his poems appeared posthumously. It was. known as Armoghan-i-Hijaz.

This is story of Iqbal’s poetry told briefly.

In 1923 he was persuaded by friends and admirers to stand for the Punjab Legislative Counci1, but as his old friend, Mian Abdul Aziz, wanted to stand from the same constituency be decided not to stand. But ‘.he stood for election from the same constituency in .1926. He continued as a member of the Punjab Legislative Council for 3 years and made valuable contributions to the deliberations of that august body.

In 1930 Iqbal was elected President of the Muslim League Session held at Allahabad in India. In the course of his epoch-making presidential address he said, "The unity of an Indian nation, therefore, must be sought, not in the negation but in the mutual harmony and co-operation of the many. The statesmanship cannot-ignore facts, however, unpleasant they may be. The only practical course .is not to assume the existence of a state of things which does not exist, but to recognize facts as they are, and to exploit them to our greatest advantage. And it is on the 6iscovery of Indian unity in this direction that the fate of India as well as of Asia really depends. India is Asia in miniature."

In 1931 he attended the Round Table Conference which met in London to frame a constitution for the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent. He took an active part in the various committees appointed by the Conference and contributed much.

In 1932, Iqbal presided at the annual session of the Muslim Conference and delivered a thought-provoking address.

Iqbal developed kidney trouble in 1927. He wanted to visit Vienna for its treatment but some friends advised him to visit Hakim Abdul Wahab (Hakim Nabina) for treatment. Hakim Abdul Wahab’s treatment cured him of the complaint and he kept good health till 1934, when he developed heart trouble accompanied by loss of voice. Treatment was tried for this in Bhopal and Delhi without any success. This illness took a serious turn on 25th March, 4938, and in spite of the best medical aid and careful nursing he breathed his last in the early hours of 2lst April, 1938

Half an hour before he breathed his last Iqbal recited the following verses, which he had composed earlier:

The departed melody may recur or not

The zephyr may blow again from Hijaz or not.

The days of this Faqir have come to an end

Another seer may come or not.

After the Pakistan Resolution was passed by the Muslim League in its Lahore Session, on 24th March, 1940, the Quaid-i-Azam said to Matlub Saiyyid, "Iqbal is no ‘more amongst us. But had he been alive he would have been happy to know that we did exactly what he wanted us to do." No greater compliment could have been paid to Iqbal for his political services to the Muslims.

700th Anniversary of Amir Khusrau (October 24, 1975)

The stamp is horizon-tal and rectangular in shape. Portrait of Hazrat Amir Khusrau appears in multicolour in a circle inside a decorated square at fire right- side of the stamps. Two musical instruments ‘Sitar’ and ‘Tabla’ invented by him appear in relief form in the blue tinted rectangular background at left. The inscription

meaning ’The bird of sweet notes’ appears at the top right portion of the rectangle.The stamp is horizon-tal and rectangular in shape. Portrait of Hazrat Amir Khusrau appears in multi-colour in a circle inside a decorated square at fire right- side of the stamps.
Two musical instruments ‘Sitar’ and ‘Tabla’ invented by him appear in relief form in the blue tinted rectangular back-ground at left. The inscription

meaning ’The bird of sweet notes’ appears at the top right portion of the rectangle.
The denomination figure “20 P” appears in the lower left corner of the stamp in red. The wordings “700th Anniversary of Hazrat Amir Khusrau” appear in black at the top of the rectangle while the words ‘Postage’ appears along side the left edge of the stamp. ‘Pakistani in Urdu and English appear in black in the bottom right corner of the rectangle. In the case of Rs. 2.25 stamp, the back-ground in decorated square is in red colour while the inscription (FARSI TEX)”and Rs. 2.25 in blue.
Amir Khusrau’s poetical portraiture of life and the sublime emotions which found expression in his poetry and the music he composed have continued to entertain, and inspire generations of peoples for the last seven centuries. The Government and people of Pakistan are participating in the world-wide celebrations of 700th Anniver-sary of birth of this immortal Muse to pay our homage to this versatile genius and to affirm our faith in his noble message of humanism. Amir Khusrau was born at Mu’min Pura (Patiali) in the 651 of Hijra corres-ponding to 1252-1253 of the Christian era. He lost his father at the age of eight and came over to Delhi under the loving care of his maternal grandfather, Imad ul Mulk. He started composing poetry at the early age of twelve. When he was twenty he lost also his maternal grandfather and adopted Malik Chhajju, a nephew of the reigning monarch (Balban) and the most powerful noble at the Court of Delhi, as his temporal master. In the same year, i.e. 671/1272-73, he published the first anthology of his poetic compositions which he aptly named Tuhfat-us-Sighar (‘The Gift of Youth’).
The poet, then entered the court of Prince Mohammad, the son of Balban who was Governor at Multan and served there for about 5 years. Prince Mohammad who was one of the most accomplished princes valiant urbane and cultured was a great patron of poets and men of letters. He greatly honoured Amir Khusrau in his court and gave him proper recognition. When prince Mohammad was killed in a battle with Tartars who had attacked Lahore and Multan, Amir Khusrau composed a heart rending elegy on the prince’s death and return to Delhi. The poetic compositions of this period were collected by him in the anthology named Wast-ul-Hayat (‘The Middle of Life’).
The poet then entered the service of Go-vernor, Oudh, but to the great relief of his mother whom he loved immensely, he returned to Delhi which saw a succession of monarchs and a frequent change of dy-nasties. While court intrigues and palace revolutions were a normal feature of the political life of those troubled clays, there was a firm sheet-anchor of moral values in Sufi hospice of Hazrat Sultan Nizam-ud-Din Auliya. Amir Khusrau’ s primary loyalty was to the great saint and to the values for which the saint had devoted his life. But he at the same time kept in touch with the court. He did not owe allegiance to the person of the ruling monarch but he consi-dered himself duty bound to the Crown which was the symbol and a rallying point of the forces of law and order in an otherwise anarchic society. He was entrusted by his spiritual mentor with the most difficult task of upholding the higher humanistic values at the corrupt court of the Delhi Sultans and he fulfilled this assignment most eminently. He was deservedly loved by the saint and was the closest to him among his innumerable disciples.
In the year 698/1298-99 he lost his dear mother. And in 724/1324 with the death of the saint was extinguished the Ethereal Light of Delhi. Khusrau was in Bengal on his military duties with Muhammad Tughlaq at that time. He hastened back to Delhi when lie received the tragic news., and he fell down in a swoon. He did not survive long after the death of his Master, and after the separation of a few months went back to his eternal home to have a tryst with his beloved. This happened on Friday night, the 18th Shawwal or perhaps, 29th Dhi-qa’ad, as recorded by Firishta, 725 A.H. (1325).
Khusrau was a prolific writer and a man of versatile genius. The actual number of his works is a highly debated question.
The output of Amir Khusrau’ s poetic genius is simply staggering in its quantity, quality and variety. It is claimed on good authority that he composed about three hundred thousand couplets in Persian and as many in Old Urdu or Hindwi, Punjabi and Brij Bhasha. Of the latter hardly a fragment has survived and that too, in unauthenticated versions. Nevertheless, his position as the Chaucer of Urdu literature is incontrovertible and he is best remembered among the common people of the South Asian subcontinent as a composer of these simple and elegant pieces of poetry in the local dialects most of which, it is a pity, are no longer available in their authenticated versions or in book form. Of his Persian poetry, as well, not all but certainly the largest part of it, has come down to us in very well-arranged and authenticated versions. He tried his hand in all the branches of Persians poetry, Ghazal, Masnawi. Qasida, Rubai and Tarjiat, and having excelled in all of them stands unique and unparalleled in the whole history or Persian poetry.

a) Diwans (Collection of Poems and Ghazals)

1. Tohfatus Sighar (comprising poems written at the age of 16-19)
2. Wastul Hayat (poems written at the age of 20-32)
3. Ghuarratul Kamal (poems written at the age of 34-43)
4. Baqiah Naqiah (poems written at the age of 50-64)
5. Nehayatul Kamal (poems written during the last part of his life)

b) Maanawis

1. Matla-ul-Anwaar (An exposition of Islamic values)
2. Shireen-o-Khusro
3. Laila-o-Majnon
4. Aina-i-Sikandari. (An epic comprising episodes from the war between Chinese emperors and Sikandar.)
5. Hasht Behisht. (Story of Romance between Dilaaram and Behram Guar)
6. Qiranus Saadian. (An epic devoted to glorification and and description of reconciliatory epi-sodes between Bughra Khan and Kaiqobad)
7. Miftahul Fatuh (eulogy of Feroz Khilji)
8. Davalrani Khizr Khan (Story of love between Prince Khizr Khan & Devalrani)
9. Noh Sepehr. (Description of a quarrel between Mubarak Khilji and Prince Khusro Khan).
10. Tugblaq Nama.(Description of the region of Ghiasud-din Tughlaq).
    

c)Prose

1. Aijaz-e-Khusravi. (A commentary on contemporary styles of Persian prose with an exposi-tion of Khusrau’s own style)
2. Khazainul Fatuh. (A description of historical victories).
3. Afzalul Fawaid. (A collection of Sayings of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya).

d. Miscellaneous

1. Nisab Badiul Ajaib.
2. Gharyal.
3. Shehr-e-Asohobe.
4. Khaliq Ban. (Ancient Urdu Poetry).
5. Risala Cheestan. (A collection of enigmas).

His prose is much too ornate and full of literary artifices some of which were his own innovations. However, they contain gems of literary criticism. Though he chose poetry as a vehicle for his historical writings, his place as the most accurate his-toriographer of his times is assured.
He was a great musician and instrumentalist and the greatest composer of music that Muslim India has produced. Again, like his Urdu poetry, his original compositions have not been preserved but in the absence of the notation system in the music of the subcontinent it is not the least surprising. But he certainly pioneered the fusion of two highly developed traditions of Music: the Central Asian and the South Asian.
He was the bridge, the cultural. catalyst. the harmonizer and the humanist. Above all, he was a Man: a Great Man.

Universal Children Day (October 6, 1975)

The stamp is vertical in format. An abstract representation of a group of young girls clad in colourful dress forms the base of the design. The different type of head dress of the girls depict the different roles the girl would be playing in future as grown up woman. The slogan “Today’s girl Tomorrow’s woman” appear in red against a pale background. The deno-mination figure ‘20 P’ appears in blue colour in the top left corner of the stamp with the wording ‘postage’ below and alongside the left edge. ‘Pakistan’ in Urdu and English appear at the bottom of the stamp in blue colour.
The first Monday of October every year (this year it falls on October 6, 1975) is observed as Universal Children’s Day and festive celebrations, sports, events, parades and special events are arranged in children’s homes, orphanages, schools and hospitals. Elders arrange events to focus the atten-tion of governments and the general public on the needs and rights of the child. To create universality of the occasion, the children’s day is being celebrated since October, 1953 in 115 countries.
This year the International Union for Child Welfare and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) have selected “Today’s Girls— Tomorrow’s Women” as the theme to coincide with International Women’s Year—as 1975 has been designated by the United Nations.
Earlier, Declaration of Emergency for Children by UNICEF brought to attention the grim situation of 400 to 500 million children in developing countries due to the economic crisis prevailing in the world. As a result of this Declaration, UNICEF organized a coordinated programme to help the children of the most under develo-ped countries and launched special food/ nutrition and health oriented schemes to protect the lives of children in the 25 worst affected countries. The special assistance programmes will amount to approximately 120 million dollars. It was estimated that at one time there were some 10 million severely malnourished children in the world with a high risk of mortality.
From the general resources funds amounting to 128.8 million dollars in 1974. UNICEF assisted 106,800 institutions! centres with supplies and equipment and provided training to 219,400 personnel in child health, child nutrition, social services for children, education and vocational preparation, and completed 48,900 water supply system and 20,300 excreta disposal schemes.
The 30 nation UNICEF Executive Board (of which Pakistan is a member) in their meeting held in May, 1975 committed a total fund of 97.4 million dollars. for programmes for benefiting children in 105 countries. In addition, UNICEF will also assist projects in 18 regions of under-developed countries. One of the major features in the pattern of assistance is the continued effort to fit UNICEF assistance into countries of agreed priorities for the needs of children. The share for East Asia and Pakistan Region has been approved for committing 31,735,000 dollars and a programme of services for children in Pakistan will be undertaken at 4,100,000 dollars for 1975-1976.
UNICEF is already furthering the pro-gramme to help improve the status and condition of women and girls, as an import-ant means to bring overall benefits to children such as installation of clean drink-ing water supplies in villages where the fetching of water from distant sources presents a heavy part of women’s daily workload; maternal and child health programmes; formal and informal education; community development for women and large number of training programmes.
There are approximately 1,988,000,000 women and girls in the world. This covers half the world’s population. The contribution of these women and girls is essential for the progress of the society.
Tomorrow’s women will not be able to take full advantage of opportunities for betterment of society unless present day girls receive adequate nutrition, health care. relief from excessive drudgery, psychologi-cal encouragement and above all, access to training and education. Literacy & training are the first steps to acquiring broader education. It is a pity that the majority of the world’s 800,000,000 illiterates, are females 90% of rural women and 60% urban women.
Coinciding with International Women’s Year, the Executive Director of UNICEF, Mr. Henry Labouisse, in his recommenda-tions to the 1975 Board while emphasizing that women constitute an important human potential force for social and economic development, has further laid emphasis upon their training and education at the village level. Pilot demonstration prog-ramme projects will be undertaken in Africa, Arab and Asian countries, includ-ing Pakistan, in order to identify the exist-ing deterrents to fuller participation of women in development programmes and to find ways to overcome them.
Last year, the theme “A future for Every Child”, was adopted in consonance with World Population Year which culmi-nated in focussing the attention of people and Governments to population problems and the needs of the individual child.
This year the emphasis is more on girls as 1975 has been designated as the Interna-tional Women’s Year. The mother is not only the care-taker of the child, but also as a human being entitled to her own rights and dignity. So UNICEF continues to look for avenues which will assist to bring women and girls into the mainstream of the development process as a corollary to improving the condition of the child.

Wildlife; Black Partridge (September 30, 1975)

The format of the stamp is vertical. The slogan “Protect Wild Life” appears at the bottom in multi colour in both the stamps. The country name is on the top left hand corner in Red Colour in both the stamps. The denomina-tion Rs. 2.25 and 20 P. is on the right hand corner in Red colour. The word ‘Postage’ appears in black colour alongside the left edge of the stamp while the word ‘Black Partridge’ also in black along side the right edge. of the stamp.
Pakistan originally had wide and rich variety of fauna or account of its wide range of topography and climate. Large tracts of vegetated areas which served as natural habitat for wildlife have been cleared for expanding needs of agriculture and industries. Due to the colonization and unscrupulous hunting for Pleasure and trade as many as 34 mammals, 20 birds and 5 reptiles are reported to be on the verge of extinction.
Realizing the alarming rate of decline of wildlife the Gov-ernment of Pakistan constituted a Wildlife Enquiry Committee to investigate cause of this decline and suggest ways and means to improve the situation. The Committee recommended for comprehensive approach through the creation of special areas, like National Parks, Game Sanctuaries and Game Reserves, their scientific management, training of the supervisory staff, starting realistic research work, promulgation of comprehensive legal frame work, creation of necessary administrative infrastructure and constitution of a central wildlife conservation body. The implementation of these recommendations has been initiated by both the Provincial/Local and Federal Governments. At the Federal level the National Council for Conservation of Wildlife has been created to formulate appropriate wildlife conservation policies for the country, coordinate the implementation of these policies and under-take International liaison.
A private body created to formulate conservation of flora and fauna is the Pakistan Wildlife Appeal, now known as World Wildlife Fund (Pakistan).
Prime Minister of Pakistan has shown a keen interest in the conservation of Wildlife and has been pleased to issue four directives on conservation of wildlife. “I want desperately to preserve the wildlife—just desperately”, he, has remarked. In pursuance of the Prime Minister’s directives, and under the guidance of Mr. Mumtaz Ali Bhutto, Minister of Communica-tions, Government of Pakistan, himself an ardent lover of Wildlife and Honorary President, World Wildlife Fund (Pakistan), the Pakistan Post Office in collaboration with the National Council for Conservation of Wildlife in Pakistan has arranged to bring out series of commemorative stamps for public motivation, to be known as the wildlife conservation series. The black partridges stamps are the first of this series. It is proposed to bring out stamps every quarter for at least a year, depicting one or other of the species of Wildlife in Pakistan, which needs protection. For Wildlife Conservation a little forethought and good-will is required to permit the co-existence of men and wildlife. To those whose fascination for wildlife turns them into enthusiastic hunters perhaps the best advice that could be given is : —If you must shoot, shoot with the camera and not with gun.
Black Partridges commonly known as Kala Teeter in Urdu, is Francolinus asiae. Its male is jet black, spotted and barred above with white and dull yellow. Combination of white bright patches on either cheek, a collar of chestnut colour with chestnut’ belly make the bird colourful and attractive. Its female is more or, less like the male but is not as beautiful: it is paler and browner with no white cheek patches or chestnut colour. It is easily re-cognised by its buff white chin and throat. Underparts and flanks wavily barred and scalloped black and white.
There is great variety in size and weight of the birds. The average length of the male bird is about 14 inches, wing 6~ inches, tail 4 inches, legs red, bill brown and black, weight from 8 to 20 ounces.. The female is lighter in weight and small in size.
This beautiful bird has a wide range, but is’ mostly found in Indus Plains, where high grass and tamarix scrub occur in the neighbourhood of water-bordering cultivation. It lives away from the thick forests but prefers areas around cultivated fields where abundance of bushy cover is found. Black Partridge generally keeps singly or in scattered pairs. It rests in thick cover of tall grass, sugarcane or millet fields.
It leaves the thick cover to feed in open crops and grass-lands in the morning and late afternoon. The food consists of grass, wood seeds, cereal grains, shoots, leaves, tubers, larvae and insects of all kinds, particularly termites which are so destructive.
It has a long breeding season extending from March to October varying somewhat in different parts of Pakistan.
For its nest it scrapes a shallow depression in the ground, pads it with grass, camouflaged with tall grass and bushes around. It lays 6 to 9 eggs. The female alone incubates. The young ones hatch in about 18 days.
The call of the cock is well known. It is a curious blend of the harsh and the musical notes repeated at the intervals of 15 seconds or so. Its call has charmed the people so much that the Emperor Babar is reported to have described it as “Subhan teri qudrat” (Omnipotent, thy power). It has also been rendered as “Shir-darem-Shakrak” (I have milk and a little sugar).
This beautiful bird is getting rather rare in Pakistan because of the destruction of its habitat as the wild lands that it prefers are being cleared for habitation or cultivation. Poaching of the bird in and out of season and excessive hunting pressure are constant threats to the continued existence of the species. It was with a view to cease the excessive hunting pressure that the authorities completely banned the hunting of the black partridge during 1972-73. Recently, however, hunting has been rationalised by fixing a hunting period and laying down a maximum limit of the bag. Generally, the shooting season is from the 15th November to the 15th February and the bird should in no case be hunted beyond this period. It is also necessary that people should stop poaching which is nothing short of cruelty to the species. The bird should in no case be disturbed or hunted during its breed-ing season. Hunters should also concentrate attention on control-ling the predators of the bird like jackals.

National Day for Tree Plantation (August 9, 1975)

Format of stamp is vertical. A healthy young plant is shown at the right hand side of the stamp against a light blue background of sky. At left side of the stamp are shown few stalks of barren trees representing dead trees. In the black colour ground below, a red colour insect is shown eating away the roots of the tree and creep-ing towards the healthy plant ahead. In the bottom blue colour curved panel appears the slogan:
(URDU TEXT) in reverse. The denomination figure ‘20P’ appears at top left side below the green panel in black. The word “postage” also in black appears alongside the left edge of the stamp near the centre. ‘PAKISTAN’ in Urdu and English appears in yellow colour in the top green colour panel. It is a recognised fact that forests play a very significant role in the economy of a country. Apart from providing greenery and beauty to the country-side they provide timber and fuel wood which are so vital for human beings. Trees also provide pulp wood for different kinds of paper and produce raw material for various uses. In addition they influence in controlling floods; stop soil erosion and check the advance of desert in a country. Forests from the ancient times are known to be the harbingers of rains. They also nourish and sustain wildlife—animals and birds. In short the role of forests in enriching a country is so great that it hardly needs any emphasis.
It is estimated that for a balanced economy of a country the trees should cover 20 to 25 % of the area of a country. Pakistan has only 4.5 % area under forest and thus its timber requirements have to be met from foreign imports.
The Government of Pakistan realizing the importance of forests for the country have launched a massive programme of tree plantation every year. As such August 9 is observed every year as National Tree Plantation Day when trees are planted throughout the country in large numbers by different national orga-nisations; Government and Semi-Govern-ment institutions also participate in the programme. In this connection Govern-ment have issued various directives from time to time for tree plantation and for protection and preservation of forest wealth. Arrangements are also made to pro-vide saplings from Government owned nurseries on nominal rates to the people for plantation. The Forest Department in collaboration with the Agricultural Department readily helps the people to get any information required in connection with planting and growing of trees.
An ambitious plan for the plantation of fruit trees like apples, apricots, peaches etc. was undertaken last year by providing fruit saplings to the people at nominal rates. To make the countryside more beautiful, 1500 cherry saplings and 200 budded cuttings of the same species were imported and planted in the country last year; 300 jacaranda saplings, 200 cuttings of red willow, 500 plants of palm trees and 600 maple saplings were also distributed for planting on suitable sites.
The trees require constant care and nourishment after plantation and it is regrettable to observe that tree plantation has not produced very encouraging results so far in the country. The reason for poor result has been their neglect after planting. To achieve positive results, therefore, on the coming National Plantation Day it has to be borne in mind that saplings planted on this day are carefully looked after and nourished properly.
On the National Day for Tree Planta-tion August 9, 1975, Pakistan Post Office is issuing a commemorative stamp to highlight the occasion and to emphasize the importance of conservation of forest wealth in the country.

11th Anniversary of R.C.D. (July 21, 1975)

Handicraft is the theme for the issue. A beautiful porcelain vase from Turkey and a highly decorated camel skin vase from Pakistan are depicted respectively against blue and magenta colour panels at the right hand side of the vertical stamp, a beautiful white Tile from Iran is depicted in the hori-zontal stamp against Ultra Marine background. The “RCD” insignia appears in the centre of left hand portion of the stamp surrounded by the lettering “11th Anniversary RCD” which is red for Turkey, blue for Iran and Magenta for Pakistan. ‘Pakistan’ in Urdu and English together appear at the bottom of the left hand portion of the stamps in Cyan, Ultra Marine and Magenta colour respectively for the Turkish, Iranian and Pakistani object.—Thc denomination figures “Rs. 1.25, 60-Paisa and 20-Paisa” with the word ‘postage’ underneath appear at the top left corner of the stamps. Name of the country to which the object belongs is shown in small character along side the left edge of the panel.
To mark the 11th Anniversary on 21 July, 1975, of the establishment of the Regional Co-operation for Development, (R.C.D.) Pakistan, alongwith other two member countries, is issuing a set of three Commemorative Postage stamps. The subject of these stamps is “Handicrafts” of the three countries.
During the past decade the Organisation has been successful in fostering close economic and cultural cooperation among the friendly and brotherly countries of Iran, Turkey and Pakistan. The three countries which share a common religious, cultural and historic heritage, arc undoubtedly destined to play an important role in promoting peace in the region and in improv-ing the lot of their people.
International and regional cooperation has assumed increas-ing importance and acquired a special significance, particularly for the developing countries. In a relatively short period, R.C.D.. which is a manifestation of this new trend, has made consider-able progress in many areas. It has helped in improving means of communication among the three countries. Fruitful coopera-tion has been achieved in the fields of shipping and insurance. Exchange of experts, trainees and scholars under RCD program-mes of Technical Cooperation has been to the mutual benefit of the three countries. Maximum efforts have been made in further-ing closer cooperation in the fields of trade and industry and one can now hope for concrete results. Cultural cooperation has led to greater understanding and appreciation of our common heritage. Industry constitutes one of the major fields of economic collaboration between the R.C.D. countries. Some of the motivating factors are the large size of the market of the region, opportunities for the pooling of resources and technical know-how and advantages accruing from economic collaboration.
The need to have joint purpose enterprises was realised from the very inception of RCD. Accordingly, joint purpose enterprises have been undertaken in various forms, such as joint ownership in the public or private sector, ownership by one country or more with products going to the other(s), creating production capacity in one country with the raw material coming from another, and long-term purchase agreements, based on production facilities in any uf the three countries.
During the decade under review, the member Governments have attained reasonable success in establishing joint-purpose enterprises on the basis of participation and off-take guarantees. Three major projects have already gone into production. These are Bank Note and Security Papers Limited and RCD Ball bearings Limited, both located in Pakistan, and Iranian Aluminium Company located in Iran. Also in production on off-take guarantee basis, are Tungsten Carbide, Borex/Boric Acid. Centrifugal/Special Filters. High Tension Insulators and Tetracycline Projects located in Turkey and Ultramarine Blue Project located in Pakistan.
Besides, there are a number of projects which have been approved in principle, but are yet to go into production, and others on which negotiations are continuing.
In order to facilitate the liberalisation and expansion a trade between the RCD countries various steps have been taken including the setting up of the RCD Chamber of Commerce an Industry, the RCD Shipping Services, the RCD Insurance Pool and the signing of the RCD Agreement on Trade. In view of the slow progress in some fields UNCTAD was requested to under take a study to identify barriers impeding intra-regional trade and make recommendations for their removal. An expert of the UNCTAD has already submitted his report. Some of the recommendations of the report are in the final stages of implementation.
In the field of Postal Communications, there is extensiv4 collaboration between the three Postal Administrations. Intra regional mail is carried at specially reduced rates and the national airlines are being increasingly utilised for regional flights Besides, there .is continuous contact between the postal authorities of the region to improve postal communications system and pooling each countries experience in the field of postal mechanization. There has been significant development in thc field of Telecommunications system which has brought the three countries still closer to each other.
The Postal Administrations of the member countries tradi-tionally issue and simultaneously release commemorative postage stamps on July 21 every year to mark RCD’s Anniversary.

International Congress of Mathematical Sciences (July 14, 1975)

The Stamp is vertical in format. A blue colour globe composed of figures in Urdu and English (in white) representing years, appear at the top centre of the stamp against a vignetted background of golden colour.
The globe is supported by a green colour symbol (Arabic sign) which is the Algebraic Expression representing invention and contribution of Arabs to Mathematical Sciences. This expres-sion is equivalent to “X” of Algebra in English. The wording “International Congress of Mathematical Sciences” alongwith “Karachi, July 14-20, 1975” appears at the bottom of stamp in Red colour.
The denomination figure ‘2Op’ appears in the top left corner and the word “Postage” in the top right corner in black. “PAKISTAN” in Urdu and English appears in black on either side of figure (Arabic sign) near the edges of the stamp.
On the occasion of the International Congress of Mathematical Sciences being held in Pakistan from July 14th thru’ July 20th, 1975, the Pakistan Post Office is issu-ing a commemorative stamp.
This International Congress of Mathe-matical Sciences is the first ever held in Pakistan and is sponsored jointly by the Pakistan Mathematical Association and the Karachi Mathematical Association under the patronage of the Ministry of Education Government of Pakistan, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), and the Hamdard National Foundation, Pakistan.
It is unlikely that an adequate history of the evolution of mathematics will ever be written. Mathematics is often associated with astronomy, physics and other branches of natural science, yet in fact it is the language of science in a deep sense. It is an indispensable medium by which and within which science expresses, formulates, con-tinues and communicates itself. This is especially true in the present highly scienti-fic and technological age where the rate of progress in all fields of science is so fast, that it is said that the number of researches, discoveries and inventions of the current century far exceed the total researches of all the previous centuries.
The necessity of holding a conference was felt for a long time in the mathematical circles of the country. A couple of confer-ences on a much smaller scale and with limited objectives were organised in - the last decade, and the success of these con-ferences encouraged the organizers to bold the international conference. It would be a tragedy that while the nation is addressing itself for the great leap forward in all walks of liIe, the mathematicians of the country should fail to make their full contribution and play the role assigned to them. The known history of mathematics goes as far back as 6000 BC Among the out-standing luminaries who have contributed to the progress and development of mathe-matical science the following names stand out significantly!
Pythagoras, Archimedes, Euclid, Zeno, Ptolemy, AI-Farabi, Al-Khayyam, AI-Razi, A1-Khawarazmt, Al-Haitham, AI-Biruni, Al-Khazin, Thabit bin Qurrah, Al-Battani, Aryabhata, Bhojadeva, Galileo, Copernicus, Kepler, Fermat, Descartes, Newton, Leibniz, Legcndre, Cantor, Gauss, Srinivasa-Ramanjan, Hardy, Landau, Brioschi and lastly Einstein.
With the ever-increasing use of the exist-ing mathematical theories in explaining and analyzing new researches in scientific fields, the need is acutely felt of finding new mathematical techniques so as to be able to construct perfect numerical models of the complex problems of these sciences. It is now the job of the present generation of mathematicians to make a breakthrough by developing new techniques keeping in view the requirements and needs of the modern sciences.
The main objectives of the Congress are:
(1) To help scholars in Pakistan to acquaint themselves with the latest advancements in the field of mathe-matics and thus to encourage them in their own research work;
(2) To study the history and progress of mathematics throughout the centu-ries; and
(3) To focus attention on the works of scholars from Central Asia during the period from the 9th to the 13th cen-tury in the field of mathematics.
The Congress, among other things, will provide opportunities to mathematicians to discuss and exchange ideas on the above mentioned topics and other equally import-ant matters. It will also help our mathematicians to come in dose contact with some of the leading mathematicians of the world and be benefited by their knowledge and experience. One of the main aims of the Congress is to bring home the idea and necessity of holding such meets at least every five years, and to hold annual conferences on an all-Pakistan basis. Only through such gatherings will it be possible to raise the standard of mathematics in the country. This, in turn, will raise the stan-dard of other natural sciences, such as physics and astronomy.
The Congress will introduce these prob-lems to all our fellow countrymen who count, specially the Government. The need of the hour is to provide more and more facilities to research workers in the various fields of mathematical sciences.
Lastly the Congress will address itself to highlighting the mathematical works of the Central Asian Scholars during the period from 9th to the 13th century-a study which forms part of the Central Asian Studies Project of UNESCO-and will also devote itself to bringing to light the great achievements of our illustrious ancestors. The word Algebra is a constant reminder and a living monument to the contribution of Muslims to mathematics.

International Women's Year 1975 (June 15, 1975)

20p: The stamp is horizon-tal in shape. The Role of women in progress is represented by showing a young girl busy in research work in a laboratory. The girl is looking through a microscope for analysis of a sample.
The right hand panel is printed with blue background which contains the insignia of “International Women’s Year” printed in light Mauve and outlined in black on the top. The wording ‘Internatio-nal Women’s Year 1975’ appears in reverse in the middle and ‘Pakistan’ in Urdu and English in black at the bottom edge. The figure 20p and word ‘postage’ appear in reverse on the top edge of the stamp.
Description of Rs. 2.25 : The format of the stamp is horizontal The stamp depicts the theme of Adult Education in women which is represented by showing a young child teaching an old woman. The old woman is holding a traditional Takhti in her lap and trying to write a dictation from young child. The right side panel is printed with a yellow background, contain-ing insignia of International Women’s Year on the top which is printed in green colour and black outline, the wordings “Internatio-nal Women’s Year 1975” is printed in Red in the middle and ‘Pakistan’ in Urdu and English is printed at the bottom edge in Black. The figure Rs. 2.25 and the word ‘postage’ are printed in Black on the top edge of the stamp.
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S YEAR
More than twenty-five years ago the first session of the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women was held at Lake Success, New York, from 10 to 24 February, 1947. On November 7, 1967, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a resolution embodying the aims and princi-ples of the Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. Recognising the effectiveness of the work done by the Commission on the Status of Women since its establishment and the important contri-bution which women have made to the so-cial, political, economic and cultural life of their countries, and also considering that it is necessary to strengthen universal recogni-tion of the principle of the equality of men and women, de jure and de facto, to ensure implementation of women’s rights, by the adoption of legal and social measures by U.N. Member States, which have not yet done so, the United Nations has proclaimed the year 1975 as International Women’s Year, with the object of:
(a) promoting equality between men and women;
(b) ensuring full integration of women in the total development effort, especially by emphasizing women’s responsibility and important role in economic, social and cultural development at the natio-nal, regional and international levels, particularly during the Second United Nations Development Decade;
(c) recognising the importance of women’s increasing contribution to the develop-ment of friendly relations and cooperation among States and to the streng-thening of world peace. 2. In response to this decision of the United Nations, the Prime Minister appro-ved a scheme to formulate a coordinated programme for the observance of this year in the country. Some of the decisions taken in this connection are as follows:
I. AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL:
(i) Setting up of National Organising and Coordinating Committee:
PRESIDENT:Begum Nusrat Bhutto.
SECRETARY: Dr. Firoza Ahmed.
(ii) A lady was appointed by the Prime Minister to serve as Liaison Officer between the Government of Pakistan and the United Nations and external Agencies in following up of activi-ties in this connection.
II. AN INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR:
Theme :“Participation of Women in Social Development: Building Leadership at the Grassroots National Activities:
(i) Women’s Voluntary Organisations Coordinating Committee Meeting of 43 Agencies affiliated and associated with the All Pakistan Women’s Association.
(ii) Seminar on the Status of Women.
(iii) Publicity through radio, newspapers and TV
(iv) Issuance of Commemorative Stamps.
(v) Setting up a National Commission on the Status of Women.
(vi) National Rural Seminar for Women on Social Development.
III. NON-GOVERNMENT LEVELS:
A. Service Projects:
(i) Adult Literacy Campaigns; producing teaching materials for new literates
(ii) Training Courses for Rural Women.
(iii) Training Courses for Rural Workers and Supervisors.
(iv) Local Leadership Training Programmes in all the Provinces.
(v) Setting up of maternal and Child Health Centres in Rural Areas. (Two possibly in each of the provinces during the year).
(vi) Promoting integrated nutrition projects which will tie-in with population planning, training for the pre-school child and adult literacy classes.
(vii) Setting up small mobile libraries.
(viii) A youth Training Project.
(ix) Coaching girls and young women for serving as Paramedical personnel.
(x) Setting of Women’s Community Councils at the neighbourhood level. (Both in rural and urban areas).
B.Subjects to be stressed:
(i) Education through mass media.
(ii) Increasing food production through kitchen gardens.
(iii) Improved care of poultry.
(iv) Teaching methods of storing food.
(v) Health Education; Hygiene and sanitation.
(vi) Environmental Sanitation. (vii) Small scale industries.
IV. INTERNATIONAL LEVEL COLLABORATION:
Working in cooperation and collabora-tion with international agencies some of which are as follows:
(i) Associated Country Women of the world.
(ii) International Council of Women.
(iii) International Alliance of Women.
(iv) Women’s Council of Great Britain.
(v) W. I. N. G. 0.
(vi) Society for International Development.
(vii) Association for International Voluntary Organisations, Geneva.
(viii) W. I. D. F.
(ix) United Nations: F.A.O., F.F.H.C., W.F.P., UNICEF, W. H. 0., UNESCO., I. L. 0.

Anniversary of Second Islamic Summit, Lahore (February 22, 1975)

The stamp is horizontal in format. On the left hand side of the stamp is depicted the design of the commemorative column proposed to be erected in front of the Assembly Hall at Lahore where the Islamic Summit was held from February 22, 1974. This is surrounded in concentric circles by symbolic reproductions in original colours of the flags of the countries who participated in the Lahore Summit.
On the right hand side is the portrait of Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Prime Minister of Pakistan, who in this capacity was elected the President of the Conference and at whose initiative, combined with that of His Majesty King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, the Second Islamic Summit was held at Lahore from February 22, 1974.
At the base is an inscription in Arabic stylized characters meaning all Muslims are brothers. The caption \"Anniversary Lahore Islamic Summit February 22, 1975\" appears in black on top portion of the panel behind the portrait the colour of which is blue in case of 20p stamp and red in case of Re. 1/- stamp.
The crest of the Lahore Islamic Summit consisting of a stylized rendering of (Urdu text) appears on the right side of this caption.
\"Pakistan” in Urdu and English appears at the top on either side of the commemorative column in blue colour in case of 20 Paisa stamp and in red colour in case of Re. 1/- stamp. Denomination of figures 20P and Re. 1/- appears in black just below the word \'Pakistan\' in English and Urdu while the word \"Postage\" also in black is placed in the bottom left corner. The Arabic inscription at the base is in blue colour in the 20P stamp and in red colour in Re. 1/- stamp, these colours being the same as used for the background of the portrait in the respective denomination.
The Second Islamic Summit Conference held at Lahore in February 1974 was an epoch-making event in the history of Islam. Never before had such a galaxy of Heads of State, Prime Ministers and other Muslim dignitaries congregated and conferred The First Islamic Summit was held in Rabat (Morocco) in October 1969, following the heinous arson in the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque in usurped Jerusalem. This sacrilegious vandalism had deeply moved the entire World of Islam and convinced the Heads of Islamic States and Governments and leaders of Muslim opinion that there was never before a greater need for forging unity among the Islamic ranks.
At the Rabat Summit far-reaching decisions were taken to promote closer cooperation and mutual assistance in the economic, scientific, cultural and spiritual fields. It was resolved that the Foreign Ministers of the Muslim countries should meet once a year. An Islamic Secretariat was created to implement the decisions of these Islamic Conferences. Consequently, four Islamic Conferences of Foreign Ministers were held between March 1970 and March 1973 with a view to accelerating the pace of co-operation among the Muslim countries in various fields. The Arab-Israel War of October 1973 was a turning-point in recent Muslim history in more ways than one. The tremors it sent round still reverberate all over the world. When the tide of Muslim feelings of fraternity was at its height it was decided to hold the Second Islamic Conference, and at Prime Minister Bhutto\'s cordial invitation, Lahore was chosen as its venue. Delegates from as many as 38 Muslim countries converged on the historic city and met under the presidentship of Mr. Zulfiqar All Bhutto.
The Lahore Declaration issued at the conclusion of the Summit Conference spelled out the Islamic Summit Conference\'s support to the Arab cause, specially to the cause of the people of Palestine, to the restoration of the occupied lands to the Arabs and restitution of the Holy City of Jerusalem.
The Lahore Summit Conference, which represented the Muslim world, constituting nearly one-fifth of the human race, resolved to pursue commonly accepted goals. The scope and area of action were greatly broadened when two momentous moves were made. The first was the significant resolve in the Declaration of Lahore to devise ways and means of eradicating poverty, ignorance and disease from the Islamic world. The second major decision was to identify the Muslim world with the Third World and its struggle for social progress and economic justice.
The decisions taken at the Lahore Conference have continued to be pursued with vigour and determination. The fifth Conference of the Islamic Foreign Ministers held at Kuala Lumpur in the middle of 1974 reflected the resolve to play a significant role in the affairs of the Third World. The Conference expressed concern not only for the security, well being and progress of the Muslim countries and communities but also those of the Third World. Pakistan made a valuable contribution to world peace by striking a forceful note of warning against the proliferation of nuclear devices.
In the economic field, the recommendations of the eight-nation Committee set up by the Lahore Summit have covered a wide field. The Committee\'s main concern was to so regulate international trade as to put an end to the exploitation of the developing countries by the developed ones. The institutional framework envisaged in the recommendations is nearing realization.
The Second Islamic Summit held at Lahore will always be remembered as a red-letter day in the history of Muslim Renaissance. The Father of the Nation, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, rightly regarded the birth of Pakistan not as an isolated phenomenon but a part of the worldwide resurgence of the Muslims.
Since her creation in 1947, the promotion of Islamic solidarity has been the cherished goal of Pakistan and the cornerstone of her foreign policy. Under the Permanent Constitution of 1973, it is a constitutional obligation as well, which Pakistan is fulfilling under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.
Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto who has been active in politics since 1954, became Commerce Minister in 1958 at the age of 30-the youngest ever Federal Minister in Pakistan\'s history. He held various portfolios and in 1963 he became Foreign Minister, in which capacity lie completely re-orientated the foreign policy. He resigned from Ayub Government in 1966 on account of policy differences. The Pakistan People\'s Party, founded and led by him, was given an overwhelming mandate in West Pakistan in the 1970 elections. He took over as President on 20th December, 1971, after the forced secession of East Pakistan. With the introduction of the permanent constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan he was elected Prime Minister and sworn in on 14 August 1973.
Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto has always been inspired by a grand vision of Muslim renaissance. Forging of ever-closer fraternal ties between Pakistan and other Islamic states has been the guiding principle of his Government\'s policy. His efforts in this direction took him to one of the highest points in his career; he first convened and organised, and then presided over the Second Islamic Summit Conference at Lahore from 22 to 24 February 1974.

South Asia Tourism Year 1975 (January 15, 1975)

Stamp is vertical in format. Against a colourful background of blue, indigo, purple, red and orange appears the South Asia Tourism Year motif at the upper portion of the stamp. The variation of colour from a cool one (blue) to warm (red) represents not only the various climates but also the rich cultural variety of the South Asia. The petals of Sun-Flower of the motif is dark yellow while the figure \'75\' indicating the year is dark mauve colour. The caption \'South Asia Tourism Year\' is placed at the top in black while the slogan \'South Asia Invites you\' appears in green colour below the motif. \'Pakistan\' in Urdu and English together appear in the lower right corner while denomination \'Rs. 2.25\' with the word \'postage\' appear in the lower left corner, also in black.
The Pakistan Post Office Department is issuing Rs. 2.25 denomination stamp to commemorate the South Asian Tourism Year on 15th January 1975.
At the XXIII General Assembly Session of the International Union of Officials Travelling Organisation (IUOTO) held at Caracas in October,. 1973, the South Asia Regional Commission SARTC) sponsored a resolution to celebrate South Asia Tourism Year 1975.
The General Assembly of IUOTO acknowledging importance of celebrating the South Asia Tourism Year, (SATY) adopted the resolution and, decided as follows:
(1) To give all material support and assistance necessary for the celebration of South Asia Tourism Year.
(2) To take necessary steps to obtain the participation of as many as possible of national and international organisations, public and private interested in tourism development.
(3) To urge, the Chairman of Regiona1 Commission to make all out efforts
within their own areas to ensure the success of South Asia Tourism Year.
Previously the United Nations General Assembly had designated 1967 as International Tourism Year and IUOTO had nominated 1969 as African Tourism Year and 1972 as Tourism Year of the Americas.
The primary object of celebrating the tourism Year is to create understanding, good-will and friendship through direct contact amongst the nations of the world. It is only through tolerance and respect of the points of view of others that an era of peaceful co-existence can be established in the world. The tourism thus helps in broadening ones out-look and perspective and affords opportunity to understand an4 appreciate problems that confront other nations. The celebration of tourism year is thus a crusade against ignorance and is a means of sympathetic understanding of human problems.
The main object of celebrating South Asia Tourism Year is to focus international attention on this Region and to create an interest to visit the South Asia. With this end in view it has been recommended to relax visa and custom formalities in member countries for the duration of the South Asia Tourism Year. It has also been decided to request Airlines, Hotels and Travelling Agencies to give rebates and discounts to tourists travelling during the year in this region.
Apart from bringing different nations of the world closer the economic benefits of tourism are abundant and obvious. The tourism has now become a very lucrative industry in all countries of the world and is a great source of foreign exchange earnings. In fact the economy of so many countries depend upon the spending of the tourists visiting those countries.
The tourists spending rose to well-over 13 crores in Pakistan in 1970 as against 11.77 crores in 1966. It is estimated that foreign exchange earnings would be well over 56 crores by 1985 through tourists I visiting Pakistan.
Pakistan has a lot to offer to tourists for sightseeing, relaxation and adding to their knowledge.
There are the archaeological remains of the oldest known civilization of the world at Moenjodaro and Taxila-such spots of tourist attraction as Swat and valley of Kaghan, which excel in scenic beauty. Then there are the buildings of historical interest such as Badshahi Mosque, Shalimar Bagh the Fort at Lahore and Shahjahan Mosque at Thatta.
The National Government is making all possible efforts to provide facilities and comfort to the tourists. With this end in view rest-houses have been built at tourist spots and arrangements have been made of buses at reasonable rates to bring tourists to these places. Pakistan as founder member of 109 Nations, International Union of Travelling Officials Organisation (IUOTO) as well as a member of its Regional Commission for South Asia (SARTC) comprising 8 countries viz. India, Nepal, Bangla Desh, Iran, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and outer Mongolia has been participating in the celebration of South Asia Tourism Year-75. The slogan being \'South Asia invites you.

Birth Centenary of Dr. Albert Schweitzer (January 14, 1975)

Stamp is horizontal in format. Portrait of Dr. Albert Schweitzer appears at the right side of the stamp. In the background a dense forest of Africa is shown with a small hut near the centre and in the foreground a river is shown with a boat being rowed by an African reminiscent of the Journey he took on the river Ogowe to visit an ailing patient in September, 1915. “Pakistan” in English and Urdu appears at the top near the Centre in black while the denomination “Rs. 2.25” with the word ‘postage’ underneath appears in the bottom left corner in red. The wordings “Dr. Albert Schweitzer” 14 Jan 1875—4 Sept 1965 appear in red colour across the lower portion of the portrait.
Dr. Albert Schweitzer was a musician, medical missionary and a Christian philosopher who became a world renowned figure through his outstanding humanitarian work for the uplift of the people of French Equatorial Africa. A musician of repute, he was organist to the Bach Society of Paris, and attained wide reputation in Europe with the publication of his outstanding works which included “The Quest of the Historical Jesus”, “On the Edge of the Primeval Forest”, “From My African Notebook”, “Out of My Life and Thought”, and two volumes of his treatise on the Philosophy of Civilisation.
He was born on 14th January. 1875 at Gunsbach to Swiss parents. He was educated at the Universities of Paris, Berlin and Strasbourg and became curate of the church of St. Nicholaus at Strasbourg. Later on he was appointed as the principal of St. Thomas College, Strasbourg. It was at this stage that Albert Schweitzer decided to study medicine and to go to Africa to aid the sick there. In 1912 he married Helene Bresslau. The following year he received the degree of doctor of medicine and left for Africa to establish a hospital on the grounds of the Lambarene Station of the Paris Missionary Society in Gabon. At Lamba-rene where he remained for the greater part of his life, he founded, equipped and maintained a hospital, returning to Europe periodically to give organ recital in order to raise funds for the hospital.
With the outbreak of World War I, the couple were declared “enemy aliens” as German nationals and were interned from August to November, 1914. In September 1915, he took a journey on the Ogowe River to visit an ailing patient. In 1917 the Schweitzer were again placed in internment and were released in mid-1918. After years of duty at Lambarene he returned to Europe to see his family. During all this period he continued his writings and receiv-ed numerous awards from the heads of states.
Dr. Schweitzer received the Nobel Peace Prize for 1952, and used the award money for the construction of a new village for African victims of leprosy. in his 80th year he received the honorary degree of Doctor of Law from the University of Cambridge and was made an Honorary Member of the British Order of Merit by queen Elizabeth II. Deeply concerned with the threat of nuclear war he appealed for the renunciation of atomic weapons through broadcasts from Oslo. Upon the adoption of the Test Ban Treaty in 1963, he wrote to President Kennedy to hail its passage. On September 4, 1965, Albert Schweitzer died at Larnbarene.