Thursday 25 April, 2024

Travels across northern Pakistan with photographer and author Chris Frost

Our next event is a talk by travel photographer and author Chris Frost, backed by his collection of spectacular photos documenting the many people he met and places visited, across Pakistan’s northern areas.

In 1987, Chris was employed as a “NATO International Civil Servant” in Luxembourg. To escape the boredom of life in a small country, he resigned and set out to explore his family’s roots in Pakistan, where he spent three months before travelling over the border to China.

His visit started in Karachi and took him north by train and bus through Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Peshawar. From there, he travelled in a Pakistan Air Force C130 to Chitral, where he spent six weeks in the Bumburet Valley and then walked and hitchhiked to Sor Laspur. From there, he walked over Shandur Pass, spent a night in a cave with some herdsmen, and then hiked to Phander. Then got a ride to Gilgit, where he recovered his strength, and finally headed out via the Karakoram Highway.

In 2016, he again spent three weeks in Pakistan on a whirlwind tour from Islamabad to Chitral, the Rumbur Valley, and again over Shandur Pass (this time in a 4*4 jeep) to Gilgit and then to Hunza.

Speaker bio: 

Chris’s father was born in Poona in 1916, and was sent to England for schooling when he was six or seven. At the outset of WW2, he was commissioned into the Royal Berkshire Regiment, and was posted to India in 1942 and sent to Landi Kotal, where he spent a year attached to the Royal Gharwhal Rifles. He then transferred to the Intelligence Corps and was trained at the Karachi Intelligence Corps Depot. He left India for Burma in 1944, returning in 1946 on his way back to England. In Karachi, he picked up a lift in a Lancaster bomber that stopped off in Jerusalem to refuel on the homeward flight.

In 1987, Chris was employed as a “NATO International Civil Servant” in Luxembourg. In 20I6 as a PwC partner, he was asked to oversee a World Bank-funded project in Pakistan that was being delivered by a local affiliate. This involved regular visits to Islamabad and one to Lahore.

Since then, he has been trying to help a charity, the Chitral Rural Support Program (CRSP), based in Chitral.

Time:Thursday 25 April, 2024 at 6pm (for a strict 6.30pm start) – 8pm. (Light refreshments will be available)

Venue: The Chancery Hall, Pakistan High Commission, 36 Lowndes Square, London SW1X 9JN

Dress code: Smart casual

Attendance: Members may book for themselves, their spouse/partner, and two others.