July 1, 2025
By Rana Malhi
ISLAMABAD
On the shop’s final day, a candlelight gathering was held outside its familiar location. Citizens, civil society members, and longtime customers came together to pay tribute to what they described as more than just a stationery shop. They say it was a place of memories, learning, and community, a home for book lovers.
Tahir Nadeem, the shop’s owner, shared that the decision to close was a personal one.
“My children are not interested in continuing the business,” he said, “so I wanted to wrap things up gracefully and with dignity, just the way this shop has always served the community.”
The farewell event turned emotional as many recalled their memories linked to the shop.
Social activist Tahira Abdullah, who was among the attendees, said,
“This is not just a book and stationery shop. This is part of our collective memory. I’ve been coming here for 45 years to buy supplies.”
Another regular customer, Zainab, who visited with her siblings and mother during childhood, said, “This shop has been a part of our school lives. We always came here for school supplies. It’s the best and most memorable stationery shop in Islamabad.”
The bookshop’s closure highlights the profound impact of digital culture, particularly the shift from print to e-books, and a discernible wane in appreciation for literature and fiction that so enthralled previous generations. This trend is evident even in the diminished appeal of venerable institutions like Lahore’s Ferozsons bookshop. The demise of such long-standing book-selling enterprises signals a broader disinterest in reading and a subsequent erosion of focus on the humanities.
Though the shutters have rolled down for the last time, the legacy and memories of Durrani Stationery will live on in the hearts of those it served.