The skirl of bagpipes may conjure up the chilly moors of Scotland, but a British colonial legacy means the unique sound is echoed on Pakistan’s dusty Punjab plains. Not only do Pakistanis play the instruments, they manufacture them and claim to export more than any country except Scotland. “I love playing a bagpipe… It is a great source of relaxation,” said Ibrahim, who is also a member of a local pipe band in the town, 230 kilometres (143 miles) southeast of Islamabad. “We have great potential,” he said of the industry, thriving against the odds despite a Taliban and Al-Qaeda linked insurgency that has killed more than 4,410 people since July 2007. -Photos by AFP
His home, the industrious town of Sialkot, has made Pakistan one of the world's top manufacturers of bagpipes and other musical instruments in a trade worth $6.8 million a year. “Guaranteeing the export of high quality products is something that requires meticulous craftsmanship and finesse,” said Ibrahim, checking over bagpipes at his father's factory, which turns out around 200 a month.
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