PESHAWAR, Nov 30: A unique vintage car show following the arrival of classic cars which took part in the Karachi to Khyber car rally attracted people of all ages here at Peshawar Services Club on Saturday. The Tourism Corporation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa sponsored this fourth annual vintage car show and the National Bank of Pakistan sponsored the rally from Karachi to Khyber. The crosscountry rally was organised by the Vintage and Classic Car Club of Pakistan and hosted by Asim Durrani, CEO of Classic Land Rover. He was also one of the main participants whose vintage car and jeep collection was displayed at the show.

`Cars as old as that of 1930 are on display. It is a very healthy hobby and the show would encourage people not to scrape their old and classic cars,` said Mr Durrani.

Around 60 classic cars, including a 1948 MG and Mustang, a Morris MG, a 1957 Humber Hawk and other vintage cars, preserved by their owners attracted a huge crowd who took photos of the special cars. Around 20 cars of different participants from Peshawar, including members of the vintage car show, Frontier Vintage 4X4 and several others took part in this unique event, presenting a softer image of the province where outdoor activities are a rarity now due to the prevailing law and order situation.

Mohsin Ikram who along with his wife took part in the car rally all the way from Karachi to Peshawar via Lahore and Islamabad said that preserving old cars was his passion.

Mr Ikram, who hails from Karachi and founded Pakistan Vintage Car Association in 1987, said that the association had around 3,000 members. It discovers and preserves vintage cars besides promoting the hobby by holding and participating in such events in the country and abroad, he said.

Mr Ikram, a self-taught expert on preserving old cars, said he wanted to promote a soft image of the places hit by violence.

He said that some of the participants backed out of coming to Peshawar due to security concerns, but the car show and successful rally from Karachi to Khyber sent out a message of peace.

He has also helped restore the fire engine displayed at the British era fire brigade station at historic Gor Khathree in Peshawar city.

Provincial Minister for Tourism Mehmood Khan appreciated the event and said that the car show and rally would create awareness of the classic car models among the youth and encourage them to preserve cars.

TCKP managing director Mushtaq Ahmed Khan said that it was the second time that they were sponsoring the event in Peshawar since it gained popularity recently.

He said that Khanpur water sports extravaganza would be held soon.