Pakistanis Adhere To British Traditions

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30879, 12 October 1965, Page 29

Pakistanis Adhere To British Traditions

(N.Z.P.A -Reuter) KARACHI. The cricket-loving Pakistanis, independent now for over 17 years, are proud of their British heritage. While they may remove statues of Queen Victoria in the new capital at Rawalpindi and in the cultural centre of Lahore, they adhere tenaciously to British traditions.

Today in Pakistan, the Americans outnumber the British by about seven to one—but there has been no Americanisation of the ultra - conservative Pakistanis.

The Army, for instance, equipped now with United States weapons and trained by United States officers, still slow marches with beautiful precision, still presents arms British style and still produces some of the world’s best pipe-and-drum bands with mace-throwing drummajors in the van. While American, German, Japanese and other experts roam the countryside on this project or that, the accent of the educated Pakistani is still impeccably Oxford. His habits, too. remain Indubitably British. He drinks his tea English style—with milk and sugar. And it must be strong. The import of thousands of tons of instant coffee powders from the United States, has not yet induced this nation to give up its tea-drinking habits. Call on any Government official in the country and, whether you be American. Frenchman. Eskimo or Hottentot, you will be offered tea—dark brown, with milk and sugar. Ask for coffee and you will cause a bit of a flap. Ten to one a cup of hot water will be produced, a tin of instant coffee will be placed before you and you will be invited to mix your own concoction with milk and sugar—no cream. There are probably more tea-breaks in Pakistan, than there are in Britain. Army Traditions Pakistan's Army officers, off duty, are British to the core, including tweeds and flannels and hacking jackets. They adore hockey and polo. Their mess ceremonies are based on hundreds of years of British‘Army traditions. Take President Ayub Khan himself. This former com-mander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army and now leader of the nation is. at first sight, a typical British senior Army om"er. Standing over six feet high, broad-shouldered, fair-skinned and sporting a typical “regulation" moustache, the President is a typical product of the Royal Military College at Sandhurst. And he looks more British than many a Briton. In uniform he is the redtabbed British officer—the ramrod-backed, stomach-in, chest-out. arms-in-line-with-the - seams - of - thet rouse rs slow-marcher at the ceremonial parades. His English is full of Army colloquialisms which he learned <t Sandhurst and while serving in the old British Indian Armv. Off Duty Off duty, he wears impeccable tweeds, leather-patched ct the e’bows. and brown 1 ’neves. For formal occasions I’ dons suits which just enni.f “Savile Row." Way down to the most

junior second-lieutenant, this adherence to British traditions continues, in spite of the fact that most of the young officers today have only faint recollections of former British rule over the subcontinent. Tombola, also known as I housie-housie, lotto and bingo, is a popular pastime everywhere in Pakistan. This, too, is a hand-me-down from the old days when the British Tommies passed the time with similar sessions in Rawalpindi, Quetta and the other camps. Even shove-ha’penny, so popular in British pubs, has found its way into Pakistan’s national life. Pakistanis also play darts, skittles and old British Army card games such as pontoon, brag, cribbage and solo. Government departments rigidly adhere to British ways. Old school or college ties abound in the civil service The “old boy” tradition lingers on, though the last British “old boys” departed in 1947. Cricket commentators drone on over Radio Pakistan as their counterparts in Britian, Australia, New Zealand and other Commonwealth regions similarly describe to listeners the moving of “silly mid-on” to “square leg” as the Test match enters its fifth day, obviously heading for another draw. On back-street pitches, youngsters play with bat and ball. Their ambition: to be a Pakistan Test cricketer. Baseball? Basketball? No sir. not in Pakistan. While the American in Pakistan certainly knows that he is on alien soil, the Briton, apart from the surprise of seeing the sun. feels more at

home than he does in his native land where Americanstyle super-markets, skyscrapers, hot-dog and hamburger stands are changing the face of Old England. But here, the Briton will still find Ye Olde Tea Shoppe —and, what is more, tea like his mother made.