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  • Pasha Fabrics I Our Story

Inspiration

The name PASHA hearkens back to the Ottoman Empire, which in its golden age was legendary for its opulence and grandeur. The vast Empire that in its time overshadowed Europe was the centre of fashion, art and culture. The world’s finest silk, brocade, velvet, taffeta, damask and cotton came from here. The cities of Bursa and Thesalonika were the world’s centres for luxury fabrics and elegant apparel.

True, with the passage of time, the machine age overshadowed craftsmanship and technology overtook history, but the vision of beauty of that epoch lives on forever. This is the inspiration of the late Khawaja Amanullah; to bring this legacy to Lahore, Pakistan and establish PASHA fabrics; an organization dedicated to recreating in this modern age with the latest technology, fabrics of incomparable quality and fineness reminiscent of the glory of that era.

The Past

History of
The House of Pasha

 

Khawaja Obaidullah (father of Khawaja Amanullah) was the scion of an old, Kashmiri family. He was an officer of the Accounts Services of the government of British India. He migrated to Lahore at the time of Partition in 1947. Khawaja Obaidullah has the historic honour of presenting the first national budget to the new nation on Radio Pakistan in 1948.

Before partition the Hindus owned almost all industry and commerce in India. Thus after they left the territory of Pakistan in 1947 there was practically no industry in the new nation, except for a few abandoned mills (like what later became Burewala Textile Mills and Kohinoor Textile Mills, Rawalpindi) and there was no entrepreneurial class to run the industry. Quaid-e-Azam, the founder of Pakistan, commissioned Khawaja Obaidullah and his son Khawaja Amanullah in 1948 to promote the textile industry in Pakistan. The father and son team dedicated their efforts to this cause, brokered the sale of the above two mills, encouraged people to invest in setting up new textile mills and promoted a business class to rise and become the future industrial tycoons of this country. The father and son contributed to establishing the textile sector in Pakistan that later became the mainstay of the economy.

Khawaja Amanullah’s (1927 - 2010) name is legendary in textile circles here and he is acknowledged as one of the pioneers in this field. Many industrialists continued to be grateful to him throughout his life. He remained associated with the textile industry for over 50 years. In 1983 he set up Shajarpak, a multi-faceted enterprise dealing with the import and manufacture of textiles.

The Pasha Concept of weaving luxury fabrics that vie and sometimes surpass in quality and innovation the best fabrics in world is an offshoot of Shajarpak. This enterprise started in 1991.Khawaja Amanullah brought to Pasha his long experience in textiles and molded a core of experienced professionals who were experts in their own right and are like members of the family. Khawaja Amanullah passed on his team and his legacy of technical knowledge and weaving high class fabrics to his four sons, who are highly respected in industrial circles also. More importantly, their father passed on his ideal to them of striving to achieve perfection and create something beautiful not for commercial purposes but just to prove it can be done.

Who We Are

Pasha’s philosophy is to bring together people who are passionate about redefining and pushing the boundaries of what they do to provide the best quality and experience to its customers and to society.

The team of four brothers who run Pasha Fabrics

Khawaja Usman

Our eldest brother. He studied at Aitchison College, London School of Economics, medal holder in academics and boxing. He is the visionary amongst us.

Khawaja Arsalan

Next in line of birth. Studied at Aitchison College, Oklahoma University, medal holder in academics, tennis, and athletics. Was selected by Hercules International to join their NASA project. He looks after IT and office management.

Khawaja Hasaan

Third in line. He studied at Aitchison College and Punjab University. He is a medal holder in academics. He is prominent in politics. He was the youngest mayor of Lahore from 1997 to 1999. He takes care of PR and official matters.

Khawaja Imran

Our youngest brother. Studied at Aitchison College, Punjab University, medal holder in riding and made his name in polo. Trained in textiles in Paris and Italy. He takes care of production, imports, exports and deals with all our foreign associates.

Lahore

The establishment is located in the ancient city of Lahore and is very much influenced by the subtle and historic cultural ethos of the city.

Archeologists date the city as being from 2500 years to 4000 years old.

The fort and gates were built by Ayaz, the governor and legendary friend of Mahmud of Ghazni, in 1021 CE. Since the Slave Dynasty, Sultan Qutbudin Aibak’s reign (1192 to 1206 CE) the city has been the cultural centre of the subcontinent. Some historians have called it the Paris of the Mughal Empire (1526 to 1857 CE).

It is also the resting place of the mystical Sufi saints Data Gunj Buksh (the patron saint of Lahore), Hazrat Mian Mir, Hazrat Shah Jamal and several other venerated holy personages whose legacies inspire the spirit of the city.

Today it is the home of aristocratic families, poets, writers, artists and artisans and also a new generation of fashionista. It is an incredibly green city interspersed with historic monuments. It is the fountainhead of art, literature, cultural activities and fashion in Pakistan.

 
 
The Passion

The team at Pasha consider themselves to be artists more than commercial manufacturers.

The loom is their canvas; the different yarns are their paints; the weave is their paintbrush and, in their eyes, the fabric is the work of art they create.

But behind this quest for beauty and aesthetic enjoyment is a serious organisation.

The Company

At its own level PASHA Fabrics is highly reputed for its efforts and the excellence of its products is acknowledged by exclusive textile circles in Italy and Europe.

For many of their designs they have to develop special yarn. The team does this in consultation with their master weavers.

Conceptualizing a new fabric with some unique feature in texture, weave, design and/or appearance and also selecting the colours for the initial prototype sample is a task the brothers enjoy and take up avidly, but thereafter, they undertake each step of the creative process with the circumspection of craftsmen, i.e. selecting fibre of the required micronaire; spinning the yarn; developing the mesh; special attention is given to the weaving and developing new techniques, which is done on state-of-the-art looms. Similar care is taken in finishing. The company imports only the best dyes and chemicals to maintain their hallmark of quality.

PASHA Fabrics is aided by Italian consultants. The team of four brothers has a wide network of associates in Italy, France, Switzerland and China, and they have close and personally friendly relations with many. Thus they remain up to date with the latest technology and international fashion scene.

At its own level PASHA Fabrics is highly reputed for its efforts and the excellence of its products is acknowledged by exclusive textile circles in Italy and Europe. Moreover PASHA Fabrics has invested heavily in an R & D (Research and Design) section that now supplements the creativity of the brothers and they are passionately involved in this department as well.