Stamps of Pakistan (1947 - 1960)

Stamps of Pakistan (1947 - 1960)

Scinde Dawk: When Sir Bartle Frere of the East India Company became the Chief Commissioner of Sind, also known as Scinde, in 1850, he improved upon the postal system of the state by introducing a cheap and uniform rate for postage, independent of distance traveled. In 1851, Sir Bartle Frere introduced the "Dawk" or the postal system in the British India and the first stamp of "Half Ana" was published from the Scinde (present day Sind province of Pakistan). These were the first stamps issued in Asia and also the world's first round stamps. The runners were replaced with an efficient system using horses and camels, following routes through Scinde province, generally along the valley of the Indus river. The mail was carried quickly and efficiently, connecting government offices and post offices from Karachi through Kotri and Hyderabad up to Shikkur in the north. The Scinde district is now a part of Pakistan. One of the rarest classics of philately, the red ½ anna Scinde Dawk was issued first, on July 1, 1852. However, the stamps were not an unbridled success. The red sealing wax wafer stamps, embossed with a backing of paper, were so fragile that they easily cracked and disintegrated. Since they were often used as a seal on a letter, many were destroyed when the letter was opened. The next attempt was a colourless embossing on whitish or bluish paper. Light blue lines were added between the stamps in the second printing. No one knows whether they were guidelines for separating the stamps or guidelines for the embossing. This version had its own problems. It was very difficult for the postal clerks to see at night by candlelight, especially when they were attached to white envelopes. Finally, the blue stamps, made by simultaneous printing and embossing, were tried. These stamps are found in several shades of blue and they too are found with blue dividing lines between the stamps. This last version was issued shortly before the Scinde Dawk were withdrawn from use on September 30, 1854, and replaced by the East India Company stamps.

At the time of independence, there was no stamp immediately available to be issued bearing the name of the new state. Therefore, a set of British Indian stamps were overprinted with the word "PAKISTAN" and issued on 1 October 1947 for the postal services.

First Postage Stamp of Pakistan:



The first indigenous Pakistani stamp was issued almost a year later in July 1948, printed for Pakistan. The 1 Re stamp on the left beautifully engraved with Urdu inscription reading "Long Live Pakistan" was thus the first stamp. Thereafter, the Postal Services of Pakistan settled down and has since published some of the most beautiful and catching stamps of the world.

​