Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has said that the country is going through tough times, but it wasn’t always the case as he himself has seen the good old days.
“Pakistan wasn’t like this. I was born in 1959 and I have seen the heydays of Pakistan,” the army chief said while addressing a gathering, a video of which has gone viral over the internet.
“In 1962, PIA [Pakistan International Airlines] was one of the best airlines in the world. PIA and Japan Airlines were the only two Asian airlines flying jet aircraft 707. India, Taiwan [and] Singapore, they were all flying Dakota [aircraft],” he said while sharing memories from the good old times.
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Gen Bajwa said that Pakistanis had televisions in the year 1964, while Indians didn’t get any until 14 years later in 1978. “In 1964, we also had an electric train running from Lahore to Sahiwal.”
“I have seen the heydays. Cinema halls used to be full, but so were mosques. The best movies were shown in the cinemas. You know… The Beatles… they visited Karachi,” he said and added that former United States (US) first lady Jacqueline Kennedy also travelled with the PIA.
“[36th US] President Lyndon B. Johnson travelled to Karachi on PIA. Those were the standards of this country,” he concluded.
