I, Maheera Haider is the proud daughter of a military gentleman who has given his prime time to serve Pakistan. Being a devoted soldier, he kept on fighting on various fronts and delivered sublime results. His services have been recognized by Pakistan Army by awarding him ‘Sitara-e-Imtiaz (Military)’ for his outstanding performance. Beside his military services, he has also initiated various projects to bring change in the life of unprivileged; may it be the field of education, social improvement, rehabilitation of terrorists, health and poverty alleviation. Growing up, I always saw him busy in contributing to the society and also strived to give us the best experience of life.
Then came the twilight of my father’s military career and he decided to continue his efforts to serve his motherland because he believed that soldier and farmer never die in bed. We as a family decided that we do our best to create a model for others to follow in tourism sector which was required to improve present image of Pakistan which is linked to terrorism only. We as a family brought this dream to reality by building a place where family, friends and kids can enjoy multiple activities in a natural environment on a scenic and breathtaking water in Khanpur Dam with the name of MABALI.
The main motive of building such place was to create an area which would act as a catalyst in tourism industry. Now you all would be wondering what Mabali means? It is one of the most asked question by the visitors.
It was a Sunday morning, when I walked out of my room and saw my father putting heart and soul into a piece of paper and saw a list on it. On asking about it from my father, he told he was trying to figure out a name but on reading them none of them really suited the place. I remember Mabali was written on the corner of the page. That night we sat down and my father started to present the names. He kept Mabali till the end, you can say he saved the best for the last. Now it was time to announce Mabali so here it goes; Mabali symbolizes his three children; Ali, Abdaal and Maheera. ‘Ma’ stands for Maheera, ‘Ab’ signifies Abdaal and Ali is placed on the whole. Yes, it is true he named the place after us and that make us realize how thoughtful our father is.
It is not it, there is a red mark on the ‘Ma’ which means complete family has to protect Maheera. There is a sun on the ‘I’ of Ali which represent his role in family as the eldest and rising star (Army Officer) and last but not least there is a wave between ‘Ab’ and ‘Ali’ which symbolizes the bondage of the two brothers. This is how it all came into being.
This place also has an essence of family sacrifices. My mother worked like a man on this place, my father along with his job took time out to make the place capable of recognition. Although I couldn’t be with them on ground because of my studies so my weekends were always spent without them, my brother on the other hand always did their best to be on the land and gave the ideas on the back. My father really wanted to advance women empowerment through this place which would be a source of free interactions for personality development, privacy and above all a safe place for women to engage in adventure activities. So now it’s your turn to pack up your bags and hit the road to Mabali which is not an island but a way of life.
