Irish-born Pakistan guidebooks author Isobel Shaw dies at 83

Isobel Shaw, a renowned Irish author of travel guides, passed away at the age of 83 on November 11 in St-Cergue, Switzerland. She was born as Isobel O’Beirne in Meath, Ireland, in 1943 and pursued her education at Newnham College, Cambridge. Shaw embarked on her journey to Pakistan in 1978 when her husband, Robert Shaw, was assigned to Islamabad as the Ford Foundation's representative.

During her three-year residency, Shaw mastered Urdu and co-authored "A Traveller’s Guide to Pakistan," published in 1981, which marked one of the earliest modern guidebooks dedicated to the country.

Subsequently, in 1989, she released the "Pakistan Handbook," which was shortlisted for the prestigious Thomas Cook Travel and Guide Book Awards. Shaw's illustrated guide to Pakistan went through five editions, cementing her status as a leading expert on the region. Collaborating with her son, Ben Shaw, she penned the "Pakistan Trekking Guide" in 1993 and another comprehensive trekking guide to the Karakoram and Hindu Kush in 2013.

Her contributions to Pakistani tourism were highly regarded, and numerous writers endorsed her as the foremost guidebook author on Pakistan.

During the 1990s, Shaw ventured into tourism consultancy for the Pakistani government and delivered the keynote address at the Pakistan Tourism Convention in Karachi in 1993. Following the catastrophic 2005 earthquake, she generously offered talks to raise funds for orthopaedic care for survivors. In 1993, the Pakistan Society in London recognized her efforts in promoting public knowledge and understanding of Pakistan within Britain.

Shaw's final book, "Trekking Guide to the Karakoram and Hindu Kush of Northern Pakistan," was published by Vanguard Books in Lahore in 2013. She had returned to Chitral the previous year, at the ripe age of 70. Shaw was laid to rest, leaving behind a legacy of three children, nine grandchildren, and one great-granddaughter.