In "Dandelion Blooms" the author transports readers back to the mid-1960s, painting a vivid picture of a time when Islamabad's future was uncertain. He takes us into the journey of quaint places of old Islamabad including the Siraj covered market stood as a beacon of expatriate life. Through personal memories and historical anecdotes, the author delves into the early days of Islamabad's development, when political turmoil made investing in the new capital a risky venture.

In words of the author himself: the “Siraj covered market was the destination of choice for the expatriates living and working in and around G-6/3 and G-6/4. My mother remembers gori aunties, from 70s, wearing long red overcoats, holding umbrellas in one hand and pushing the stroller of their small children going to the market and buying stuff from there. As Bahroni, my schoolmate, recalls, the covered market was constructed in the mid -1960s by the CDA. In the late 60s, his maternal grandfather, Mr. Chaudhry Siraj ul Haq, bought it from CDA for PKR 3 million. At that time, especially in the late 60s, people were reluctant in buying property in Islamabad.

There were multiple reasons for that. The biggest reason was the political uncertainty as Ayub Khan shifted the capital to Islamabad from Karachi, but his rival, Ms. Fatimah Jinnah, wanted to shift capital back to Karachi. So people thought that it was really a big gamble to invest in property in Islamabad at that time. Confirming this political uncertainty, my mother recalls that her father’s friends bought plots in Islamabad. They hit the jackpot a decade later. My Nana played safe and missed the opportunity.

Although the government encouraged government servants to buy property in Islamabad, people remained sceptical.For years until the 1970s, the property market in Islamabad remained stagnant with only a very few buyers. When it finally picked-up, it quickly went out of the reach of common man. Now, owning a property in Islamabad is a lifetime achievement for Pakistanis living here and abroad”.