A new coffee-table book documenting the stories of 25 Pakistani brands that grew alongside the country and became part of its social, economic and cultural landscape was launched at a ceremony here at the Islamabad Club.
Titled Pakistan Iconic Brands, the book has been authored by LSE professor Arshad Awan and funded by Murree Brewery.
The book looks beyond the commercial success of its subjects to explore how some of Pakistan’s oldest and most recognisable businesses became woven into the everyday lives and memories of generations of Pakistanis, said a press release.
The 25 brands featured in the book include Ahmed Foods, Bonanza, BP Sweats, Dalda, Deer Pencil, Eagle Pen, English Biscuits, Ferozsons, Habib Bank, Hamdard, HICO, K2, Kohinoor Textile, Lawrencepur, Medora, Mitchell’s, Murree Brewery, Packages, PIA, General Tyres, Service Shoes, Sohrab Cycle, Millat Tractors, Tibet Snow and Treet.
The launch was managed by Nilofer Qazi and brought together a large gathering of members of the business community, academics, writers, journalists, diplomats and people associated with Pakistan’s cultural and intellectual life.
Chief Executive Officer of Murree Brewery Isphanyar and Member National Assembly M. Bhandara and the author Arshad Awan spoke on the occasion, highlighting the importance of documenting the country’s business history and the people behind it.
Speaking about the reason for undertaking the project, Bhandara said the book was an effort to preserve an important but often overlooked part of Pakistan’s history, the story of the people and businesses that built the country, created employment, developed industries and, over decades, became part of its cultural identity.
He said the history of Pakistan was not only a history of governments and political events, but also a history of entrepreneurs, industrialists, workers and institutions that helped build the country.
The brands featured in the book, he said, represent generations of Pakistanis and the contribution of businesses that have survived, adapted and grown through changing times.
Bhandara also spoke about the need for greater unity within Pakistan’s business community. He observed that traders, retailers and transporters had traditionally been more organised and able to demonstrate collective strength, while the business and industrial community had not always spoken with the same unified voice.
Among the distinguished guests at the launch were the High Commissioners of Sri Lanka and Mauritius, the Ambassador of Ireland, the Deputy Head of Mission of Nepal, representatives of the United Nations Development Programme,
Spokesperson to the President Murtaza Solangi, Press Secretary to the President Danial Gillani, Vice Chancellor of Quaid-i-Azam University Prof. Dr. Zafar Nawaz Jaspal, and a number of prominent journalists, academics and members of the business community.
The launch provided an opportunity to reflect on a dimension of Pakistan’s history that is often absent from conventional accounts, the story of its businesses and brands and the generations of Pakistanis who built them.
Pakistan Iconic Brands thus serves not simply as a record of successful companies, but as a visual and historical account of a Pakistan that evolved alongside these brands, with many of them becoming familiar names in the homes, workplaces and everyday lives of its people.
