“Mum... mum, come quickly!” Ahmed called out to mum happily.

“What happened, son? Is everything okay? What did you see in the mobile?” mum asked looking at the mobile phone in Ahmed’s hand.

“Look, today I searched Pakistan,” Ahmed said.

“What do you mean?” Mum asked.

“Every time my friend Shahmir spent his vacation in other countries, he returns and says that there is nothing in Pakistan. But mum, you know there is everything in Pakistan — mountains, rivers, seas, deserts, mines, snowfall, rain and so much more.”

“Very well, my son has done a great job,” mum complimented Ahmed.

“Now I am texting Shahmir all this so that he knows what Pakistan actually looks like!” Ahmed said enthusiastically.

“One minute Ahmed! You do one more thing, first find out what is not in other countries, and how many rivers, deserts, etc. are in Pakistan, then tell him. In this way, you will be able to convince him well, with proper facts,” mum explained.

Ahmed said, “That’s a good idea! Sure, I’ll do that.”

By evening, Ahmed had gathered some interesting information. He too was surprised to know a lot about Pakistan that he didn’t know of before. For instance, he came to know that there are no mountains in Denmark, while there are 108 peaks in Pakistan which are 7000 metres high. There is no sea at all in Afghanistan, but there are many beaches in Sindh and Balochistan.

Pakistan has five deserts and five rivers while Saudi Arabia has no rivers and Antarctica has no desert. The more he read, the prouder he felt. He started smiling with pride. He also came to know that Murree, Malam Jabba, Kaghan, Ziarat and many other areas get snow and there is rainfall in most cities of Pakistan, whereas in the Philippines, there is no snowfall.

In Pakistan, there is 40% forest area and many precious and semi-precious metals and minerals are extracted in Pakistan. And, above all, Pakistan is blessed with all four seasons — summer, winter, autumn and spring — while in some countries it is mostly cold or it is very hot.

In addition, about 60 lakes, springs and waterfalls, many in breathtaking locations, are found in Pakistan.

When Ahmed showed all this information to his mother, his mum was very happy and she told him to share it with all his friends so that everyone knows that Almighty Allah has blessed us such a lovely country, Pakistan.

“Everyone should appreciate and love Pakistan,” mum said while Ahmed smiled.

Published in Dawn, Young World, May 28th, 2022